Town Council of Port Katherine officially disbands the town militia, effective immediately.
Additionally
The Town Council hereby agrees to render a sum of one hundred and twenty ducats per season to the Fighters Guild of Port Katherine for the seasons of Autumn of 1719 and Winter of 1719. In return, the Fighters Guild will provide the colony with a capable defense force. This contract expires at the end of 1719. Should either party be remiss in rendering the payment or services agreed upon in Autumn, this contract shall be considered void for Winter.
Sincerely,
Town Councilor Annaliese Leopolda Liane Johanna Verenberg-Hossler von Silberholtz
This contract was negotiated with the previous captain of the militia and designated liaison for this contract, Lily Ferris. The current and future structure of the guild is not the jurisdiction of the Town Council, and I recommend you seek out the membership for answers to questions about it.
I am the responsible party on the contract and will be answerable for its execution. If there is a matter that would previously have been addressed by the militia, it should still be brought to me.
Countess, I would correct you that I am not the head of the fighters’ guild, and am only authorized by them to speak on the matter of the militia/ Town Council defense contract.
Now that there is no longer a militia, are members of the Kithiran Navy who are fighters eligible for membership in the Fighters Guild?
Other than in name, how is the Fighters Guild different from the Militia?
Other than providing this contracted defense force, what else will the Fighters Guild do?
And finally a question for both Ms. Ferris and Countess Verenberg-Hossler von Silberholtz, how exactly is ‘provide the colony a capable defense force’ defined for the purposes of finding the Fighters Guild remiss? The current wording is very vague.
I do not speak for the fighters’ guild as a whole; I am authorized to discuss the contract with the Town Council for the defense of the town. I will say that the women of the Navy have been assigned here by the Crown to defend the Colony and, as such, I do not consider it fair to include them in the defense contract. The funds will go only to fighters who are not obligated to defend the town but chose to do so.
I am not authorized to speak for the fighters as a whole but I would say the question is as absurd as asking “How is the Engineer’s Guild different from the Militia?”
The defense contract that the Town Council has put in place here differs from the Militia in a few subtle but important ways. Mainly, this is no longer a matter of Town Council directly hiring twelve to fifteen individuals each festival. Instead, they have a contract with me to mount a defense force on their behalf. This takes some extra bookkeeping off Town Council’s plate. Instead of keeping track of the militia salaries, roster, effectiveness, etc, they now only need to ask “is Ferris doing her end of the deal?”
If I fail to keep the town protected to their satisfaction, they may chose to terminate my contract.
We felt this gave the fighters more autonomy and dignity; rather than signing up to be temporary civil servants every festival-day, we are part of the entrepreneurial Kithiran tradition of hiring out skills to those who need them.
Functionally, no change. I will be the captain of the town’s defense, we will work with the Navy here at Port Katherine, and we will try to keep the town from burning down.
I do not speak for the fighters’ guild as a whole; I am authorized to discuss the contract with the Town Council for the defense of the town.
The Town Council and I have been negotiating in good faith that I will continue my duties as they were prescribed to the militia. If you have any questions about what I consider a capable defense force, I direct you to my public statement on the matter:
Specifically point 4, as the rest is outdated. I also published an invited piece in the Winter 1718 local paper on the topic. Given my public record and the need to keep the contract flexible in the face of new threats, I feel confident the Town Council has plenty to find me remiss if they so choose.