Request for Town Input Re: The Offer Put Forth By Winter

IC General Chat
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Good citizens of Port Katherine,

As you may have heard, last Festival, Julien de Bellefleur, Zeeke Estrella Daví, August Zane, and Pleasant Everhart spoke with a representative of the Winter Fae, who may or may not be the Raven, but shall be referred to going forward in this missive as the Raven. The Town Council is coordinating with the Navy on this matter and Midshipman Amity Harlow will be one of the four people to speak with the Raven.

The Raven stated that there is conflict among the courts, Spring and Summer hoping to kill us, the citizens of Port Katherine, Autumn and Winter hoping to leave us alone. He stated that if we eliminate Summer the conflict would end. Upon questioning about what would happen after the Summer Spearpoint was eliminated, he stated that he would use a procedure to make the courts come together in council. He would speak on our behalf at this council and defend us from further harm. The terms he would propose would be that they would continue to act as is their seasonal nature, but not directly attack us as the other two courts have done. We would be left alone to live in Port Katherine.

When asked why the Summer Spearpoint would help Winter or the citizens of Port Katherine after their defeat, he stated that this was how the order functioned and that Summer would have no choice but to participate in the council. It should be noted that when asked if he could provide the quartet with any assurances he would keep his word, he stated that he could not.

As the Town Council, this matter will be ultimately decided by our vote, however, it would be greatly amiss to not hear what you have to say regarding this most vital decision. At this time, the Town Council has identified 3 potential avenues, though obviously there are subtleties to each approach that are yet to be refined:

  • Reject firmly the Raven’s offer.
  • Inform the Raven that without further clarifications, we cannot make a deal with him, though we do indeed intend to defeat the Summer Spearpoint regardless. If that should lead to Winter and Autumn looking favorably upon us, so be it.
  • Accept the Raven’s offer.

Another item to note is that if the Raven’s request to meet is similar to the last time, he will appear and expect Julien to find the other 3 people coming with him to this meeting as soon as possible. The Raven may appear at any time and for this reason, the Town Council hopes you will weigh in as soon as you can, as we may not have much or any time at the Festival to hear your concerns. The Town Council will be making a provisional decision before the Festival in order to be prepared should the Raven appear immediately.

Further, we hope to be again granted 4 questions before being required to give him our answer. Some questions which have been proposed:

  • Is there a deadline to defeat the Summer Spearpoint?
  • Could you define what you mean by “Defeating the Summer Spearpoint” and will it require us to go through the gate?
  • This council you speak of, how binding is that decision and how long would it last?
  • How does it benefit Winter directly?

We hope that you will each take a moment to weigh in here on this posting or reach out to the Town Council member who you feel most comfortable with. This is not a decision we can make alone and we ask most humbly that you share with us your view, as well as any additional questions you feel we should consider among the four we may have.

Sincerely yours,

Countess Rukiye Maryam Nai’ma bint Maital v’Yasamin v’Jacinta no Kershawi Teuthida Alizé min bayt Amira
Town Councilor

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As I see it, he’s only asking us to do what we were already going to do if we could. Presumably, if we do, he’s going to push his agenda for his own reasons.

If he wants to call that an alliance, I say let him. If he ever actually asks us to do something we weren’t already doing, we can reconsider.

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I am most in favor of this option - it does not behoove us to commit to anything without assurances that he can or will keep up his end of a deal, but the Spearpoint is a direct threat that must be dealt with.

I would suggest a slight refinement to the above question:
“How does it benefit Winter and/or The Raven, both directly and indirectly?”

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YMHOS,
James

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We should probably refrain from any formal agreements.

It is suspicious they are offering some sort of benefit for something we will clearly do anyway and is already in our best interest. I think asking what Winter gets out of this, or what they are hoping to accomplish is key. Is there truly a mutually beneficial situation here, or are we being leveraged? Potentially to create some great political imbalance in their courts?

It is important to remember the difference in power here, there is very little chance we are being treated with respect or as equals.

If we don’t carefully guard our independence and neutrality we might become bound by something inescapable, incomprehensible, and much larger than us.

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Countess Rukiye, Town Council, and Citizens of Port Katherine,

With the acknowledgement that a few finer details need to be cleared up (particularly that there are no exploitable loopholes to cause us trouble…), I am in full support of accepting this arrangement. The Fae have returned to the Pan Aetherium and we have settled our town just outside their front door. This is a reality we can not simply choose to ignore. The first two representatives of the Fae attacked immediately and continue to show aggression towards us. An offer of peace, with the only cost being actions we have already committed to (defeating the Summer Fae), is too good of an opportunity to pass by.

I understand there is fear of the consequences of consorting with the Fae, but from where I am currently standing there are three major paths before us:

  1. We refuse the deal, and continue to fight Summer (and potentially Spring?) on our own, with no assurances from Winter or Autumn. Port Katherine potentially becomes ground zero for a war between the seasons, or worse, we end up fighting all four courts ourselves.
  2. We accept the deal and somehow get screwed over by Winter and Autumn. We end up with a similarly bleak outlook as option 1, defending ourselves against the various courts.
  3. We accept the deal, we defeat the Summer Spearpoint, and we establish some semblance of peace with the Fae.

As it stands, the arrangement is “Defeat the Summer Spearpoint, and we will argue for peace towards Port Katherine.” If that is the final arrangement, I say go for it. If this arrangement is altered upon clarification through conversation with the Raven, then we will have more to consider.

We find ourselves in a position unique to our people and our Kingdom. How we respond to this crisis will echo across the Aether and throughout the Pan Aetherium. The Fae have returned, and Port Katherine will decide, together, what that means for humanity. It is my hope that we can put aside our beliefs and assumptions, religious or otherwise, and face this reality together.

Respectfully yours,
Countess Isaac Everhart, Esq.

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Im extremely leary of any offers of friendship or alliance from the Gentry and Id strongly urge Town Council to avoid any binding deal. I agree we should find out what Winter Court seeks to gain from this arrangement. And what sort of support they might be able to provide to help us defeat the Summer Spearpoint. Information on Summer Court would be helpful in the extreme.

I would like to nominate Isaac Everhardt as one of the representatives, as well as a member of town council. We should have a lawyer present.

Also, it seems to me we should pay attention to the four representatives we seek to send. Seems obvious that the four colonists will represent the four seasons in some way or other. We should think about who has the right temperament to stand in, however symbolically, as each season while meeting The Raven.

It seems:
Spring: ???
Summer: Amity Harlow
Autumn: ???
Winter: Bellefleur

-LF

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Are we only potentially given four questions? Personally, I am very hesitant about going into a treaty without all questions we might have answered, and having a limit on the number of questions feels like an attempt to limit how well we understand what we’re getting into.

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Whatever is decided, I will stand with the town.

~ Julien

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Dear City Council,

Thank you for reaching out to your constituents on this matter. It is a decision that affects us all greatly, and I appreciate that my opinion is being heard before it is made.

I find I fall somewhere between the second and the third option. While I do not wish us to agree to anything t binding without fully understand what it is we are agreeing to, I think stating so is perhaps not the best opening line in the negotiations. Such a tact sounds confrontational and assumes the other party will be uncooperative, and as such would put the other party instantly on the defensive. That would not be to our benefit.

Perhaps instead open by saying we would like to agree to the deal, but cannot agree without fully understanding what the deal is. And then, if details are still not forthcoming at that point, present our refusal to agree without more information in stronger terms, leading into the point that we will fight summer anyway, and hope that we can maintain favorable relations through doing so.

I agree with Lord Everheart; if we are being in some way decided, we likely end up no worse than we started off, and we do stand to gain if we are not. However these are very magically powerful beings we are dealing with. Before agreeing we must be absolutely certain no form of magical binding is involved, or if one is, we must be that much more certain of the details and the particulars being agreed to, as well as any possible side-effects.

One additional concern I have is in our presentation. It seems not unlikely that even if all goes as well as it possibly can, we will have further contact with these changelings. We must ensure that we do not seem weak or easily used. That would set a very bad precedent for the future that could easily get us in trouble. That said, these are, from all accounts, also very prideful beings. I suspect if we offend them to greatly the negotiations will be over then and there. There is a very fine line we must walk, and those who go must keep it constantly in mind.

As to deciding on ambassadors, Lily’s point is well taken, but I feel there is an additional matter to take into consideration. Countess Alize and myself have spent the past month studying the lore and what information has survived, in whatever format, to try to determine the proper etiquette for a meeting with such being. As such, I feel that at least one of Countess Rukiye or myself should be present at the negotiation, to try to smooth over potential misunderstandings. Unfortunately, I don’t believe either of us well represent spring or autumn, and Julien de Bellefleur most certainly cannot be excluded from these talks. To exclude the ambassador from among our own chosen by the other party in this negotiation would be impolitic in the extreme.

Sincerely,
Countess Annaliese Leopolda Liane Johanna Verenberg-Hossler von Silberholtz

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Matters of state and matters of magic are far from my purview, but as a scientist I will say this:

We cannot lose Port Katherine. Our colony and it’s resources are vital to the empire, whether or not certain quarters want to admit it.

We already have many enemies. Pirates, monsters, Spring, Summer… I would advise against making more by refusing Winter’s offer outright.

-Mel

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I shall do my best to avoid antagonizing Winter if at all possible. I have been most interested in Julien’s accounts of what has offended the Raven, and will use that information to help inform my actions. My loyalty is with the Port and with the Empire, always.

I am happy to see this discussion happening, and will gladly make myself available to hear further opinions during the festival, if anyone would like to ensure their voice is heard.

~ Midshipman Harlow

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In considering Countess von Silberhotz’s response, it seems to me it might be wise to make one of our questions “is this a magical deal or a political one?” Or some phrasing of that which our lawyer thinks avoids loopholes.

In answer to Jules comment, my understanding is that the last time this entity appeared, it “officially” gave us four questions, but a few followup opportunities were taken and not refused.

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Countess,

Both you and Lady Rukiye are important social cruxes of Port Katherine. You have founded a research guild that brings together scholars of diverse and sometimes competing interests, and Lady Rukiye is of course a key member of our council. I think no one would find it unreasonable for either of you to stand in for Spring, whatever your profession.
-LF