When an elected body is elected by different groups or rather different Social classes, they are bound to have differing opinions and contradictions.

~Dominic black

Chapter 32: The Black Council

The Month of Ceres Day 29 Year 675 Of the Second Holy Calendar

The Black Council was composed of 150 members. Fifty members were elected from the citizens of Lepetra and the villages and towns surrounding it. The 50 candidates could be elected from any registered Noble or title Noble; however, they had to be noble, and regular citizens were not allowed to run. The 50 candidates with the most votes would be declared the victors and the people's representatives for that year. Only the citizens of Lepetra were allowed to participate in the vote. The citizens of Grastide and the citizens of the planes of Francis were not allowed to vote partly because they were so far away from the capital.

Fifty members were elected among the registered nobility of the entire nation. Nobles outside of the capital were allowed to participate in the vote, but due to the centralization of power at Lepetra, representatives among their number only made up around 10 seats. They served for 3 years and were elected the same way as the people's representatives. Every registered nobility or titled was a candidate, and the 50 with the most votes was declared the winner.

The final 50 members were elected to represent the titled nobility. Two hundred Houses were chosen after the Black Rebellion among those deemed deserving of a title. These 200 Houses served as the backbone of the Black nobility, as there were only around 1500 noble families in the nation. The titled nobility were the richest among them; collectively, they provided over a thousand knights to the black army, and they were guaranteed several Rights and privileges, which included the right to sit on the Noble Council, which was the body that elected the 50 representatives to the Grand Council. The representatives of the title of nobility served for 5 years.

Collectively, these members sat on the Black Council. According to the constitution written by Francis the Liberator and later modified by Veronica. The Black Council had the right to decide foreign affairs. They had the power to elect the governors of the four administrative regions, remove those governors, and oversee the Civil administration of the nation. They also had authority over the military, including the right to select generals to dispatch orders and directions to their armies. Of course, they were hardly unqualified to do this. Being elected among the nobility meant that everyone had served in the military at least once. Many were prestigious officers or had proven themselves capable in Civil Administration before their election.

After electing Veronica Supreme Commander shortly after, the invasion began. Veronica had declared martial law, thus constitutionally suspending the Black Council until the end of the war and the end of martial law. The war had ended, and martial law technically ended over a week ago, resuming the Black Council for its meetings. However, very little could be decided at that time as only one meeting was called forcibly by the chairman shortly after Valerius arrived in the city. But the militant faction made it apparent that they would block everything until Valerius was present in the council, as he had now cemented his place as the leader of that faction given his recent victories over the Golden stallion. So the meeting could only be held off to the next day.

A number of the council members served in posts that took them away from the capital during their term of service, such as Aleister Redmond, who served as the governor of Grastide. Members of the nobility were allowed to proxy their vote to someone else.

The next day, Valerius showed up for the council, accompanied by a number of his officers who would come back to claim their seats on the council or their proxied seats. James Tallwood came to take up the seat held by his sister, who had been elected for 15 years as a representative of the title of nobility. Charles Cornelia also came to take up his seat on the council, which had been a proxy to his elderly father until now. Drake Arc represented the people who had elected him because he'd initially been born a commoner, later knighted, and finally become a brigadier general. Several other officers who had served in the first division also came to take up their seats, numbering over seven votes. Not counting Valerius himself as a member of the Royal Family, he wasn't permitted to be elected, and the only way he would get a vote on the council was if he became the king.

One of the first things to be decided was the compensation for the Irregular forces. Technically, these soldiers' families were not obligated to be compensated for their family member's deaths. However, it was a long-standing tradition for the Black Council to pay it anyway. This was because they relied fairly heavily on the Irregular forces, particularly regarding harassment of enemy supply lines. They wanted to encourage more people to become Irregulars, especially during wartime, as it required them to pay nothing to obtain a valuable fighting force. However, the council was reluctant to pay as the treasury was almost bottomed out due to the war and compensation to the soldiers. After the arrival of Valerius, with the compensation from Antlatur, the council finally agreed to pay the compensation of 2 years of a soldier's pay to the families of the Fallen and three Triton gold coins to those who had served as Irregulars during the war.

The second thing they had to decide was the reconstruction of the damaged farms of Lapetra. Michael Black had already constructed many of the easier-to-develop areas into farms. However, after years of investment by other nobility, primarily Howard Towers, they developed the more difficult areas into fertile fields. However, this area had been destroyed by the golden stallion. Although the people had survived by fleeing to Lapetra, it would have been challenging to get a harvest out of the fields as what had existed had either been harvested by the Antlatur or destroyed by them. They also had to reconstruct the Black Valley.

These were important bread baskets for the kingdom, without which there would be massive spikes in the grain price, if nothing else. Temporarily, they decided to replace these villages and towns with camps and have the people return to those to resume working in the fields to get this year's harvesting. In the hopes of getting one last harvest before the season turned to winter. Veronica had already made all the decisions, but the council had to rubber-stamp the decision after it was made. As for the reconstruction that would start now, the city would start recruiting freemen and landless citizens to begin the reconstruction of the Villages. Once again, money would be a problem, so they decided to take out loans from the citizens.

This was something the kingdom often did. They would take out interest-free loans from the citizens and nobility of the Kingdom. Thus allowing the kingdom to gain a quick infusion of cash and the citizens and nobility to prove their patriotism to the country. The country was already deep in debt to its citizens as it slowly paid these loans back, and the kingdom had been in debt to its people for most of its history.

However, the kingdom was unwilling to do this for property owned by the nobility, requiring them to either sell it or not receive the government's aid. This clause was initially proposed by an ally of Veronica, making it readily apparent that Veronica was just taking this opportunity to snipe at Howard Towers. Many council members owed Howard money, most of which came from his financial investments in the fields outside of Lepetra. Without his fields, Howard would no longer be able to maintain his financial advantage over the other nobility of the Kingdom.

The third decision they had to make was demanded by the people and requested by Veronica, and that was to suspend the military authority that the council held. The council had been the one to force Veronica, at the request of Howard Towers, to make Francis the general of the third division and to replace the First with the Third. The people had found out about this and have been protesting against the council since the military was also incensed. The entire nation had been put in danger by Francis’ retreat and the incompetence of the third division. However, more knowledgeable observers thought it wouldn't matter as the first division likely would have been defeated by sheer weight of numbers the same as the third, and it would have meant that the kingdom of black probably would have lost the war.

But that didn't matter to the people, nor did it matter to Veronica. They just wanted the council to stop interfering with the military. The fact that the council members had to pass through a protest just to get to the council chamber convinced them they had no choice, and they conceded full military authority to Veronica. A constitutional amendment would be drafted and then ratified at a later date.

The fourth matter was difficult, but everyone knew they had to mention it. Until now, Francis was the sole heir to the throne for various reasons. In the first place, Valerius is a bastard born after a romantic affair between Veronica and Pierce Cornelia. Pierce wasn't one of her husbands nor even an official concubine. Due to the ancient law of succession, Valerius couldn't be the successor to the throne without all legitimate heirs dying. Unfortunately, Francis was still alive and had children of his own. However, it was clear that Francis could not be the successor marshall. Marshall's prowess was highly prized in the Kingdom of Black, and if not for his status as a royal, Francis's head would already be mounted on a pike. His friends who had fled with him had already had their heads removed from their shoulders.

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The biggest fear was that if the bastard or child of a bastard became the king, not only would it destabilize the reign of Veronica, but their main concern was it would result in other nations who were somewhat in awe of the Black royal family due to their military success and the rumor that they descended from Noel and the Demon King. If a bastard became the king, foreign nations would mock the Black royal family and, by extension, the entire nation.

The Black royal family and the Kingdom of Black, despite all their protests of revolting for a just cause, had very little legitimacy. This was because Michael, no matter how you looked at it, was a mercenary to whom the Antlatur had granted Noble status. Other Noble and royal families had a level of prestige that justified them sitting on the top of an entire nation, such as the Antlatur Royal Family, who claimed their descent from one of the noble families of the Aszore Kingdom they had over a thousand years of History to their family name justifying their status as royalty. Many of the Kingdoms of Black vassals had a longer history than they did. If they allowed a bastard to become the royal family, it would jeopardize the entirety of the Kingdom. As the royal family was already not seen as legitimate.

However, neither the people nor they were willing to see Francis or his children become the nation's king. The traditionalist faction led by Howard Towers wanted his son or legitimate grandchildren to inherit. Not his wife's bastard and his children. Yet people's anger was still in everyone's minds, demanding that Francis face justice for his actions. Also, according to tradition, if he were executed or even stripped of his status as heir to the throne, his children would also be disinherited. Of course, if they did that, Valerius and his children would become heirs to the throne without question, resulting in a bastard sitting on the throne of the kingdom of black, something that the traditionalists couldn't let happen at any cost.

Arguing began over this point, filling the council hall with shouting between the two factions. The neutral council members either chose a side or remained silent. The traditionalist faction had been severely reduced in its support from the neutral faction, and many of its members had even betrayed the faction. The center of the faction had been Howard Towers, the father of the heir to the throne. By using that as a rallying cry, he managed to gain the support of many council members and Nobles. But many of them were now completely disgusted by Francis and Howard. Howard had promised that as long as they sent Roderick, a reliable General who had served previously as the governor of Grastide, everything would be okay; instead, the third division was wiped out, and the nation was almost destroyed. This decisively shifted the balance of power in the council towards the militant faction.

The arguing continued without going anywhere for hours. Neither group was willing to back down, so multiple votes were held. The first vote was to disinherit Francis. However, the neutral faction, unwilling to see a bastard on the throne, didn't vote for it, resulting in the vote failing narrowly by 69 to 82. The traditionalist faction then argued that Francis's oldest child, Antonia, should be officially appointed heir to the throne. However, it is highly irregular to name a child heir to the throne if it would calm the people's anger. The council was willing to do it.

However, the militant faction argued that Francis would just rule his daughter as a puppet if Veronica were to die suddenly, resulting in an incompetent still gaining full control over the nation. And so the vote was shot down 102 to 49.

During the debate, rumors spread throughout the city that the council was about to pardon Francis and that he would continue to be the heir to the throne. The protest outside the Citadel grew. Soldiers from the first division who were off duty when they joined the protest. The council chamber panicked because of the sudden swelling of the protest; however, it was still unable to decide on the succession issue.

But the people didn't care about such concerns as foreign diplomacy or legitimacy; the Black royal family had won their hearts and minds with their strength and the promise of security and safety. Being a descendant of Francis the Liberator and powerful enough to defend the kingdom was all they cared about. Valerius had the black hair and golden eyes of the Liberator, while ironically, his namesake Francis had golden hair and golden eyes but lacked the black hair of the Liberator.

Instigated by the soldiers, the protest quickly turned into a riot. It targeted the mansions of known traditionalist council members, although the rioters didn't manage to break through the fences of the mansions and were driven away by the guards. It's still proved to be too much, so the council meeting was temporarily suspended. As its members wanted to confirm the safety of their families, they were unwilling to continue the meeting.

The following day, the protests outside of the Citadel had grown even larger this time; they demanded not only that Francis be disinherited but also be beheaded and his children be disinherited and exiled from the kingdom. The council members, particularly those of the traditionalist faction, were afraid to walk through the protest to get to the Citadel and enter by a back gate. On the other hand, the militant faction entered straight through the front gate, and Valerius, in particular, was greeted by cheers and cries of “Valerius King.”

When the chairman called the council into the assembly, the voting began; however, the same thing happened. Francis was not stripped of his rank, and his children were not promoted to heir to the throne. At the same time, Valerius and his children were also denied ascension.

Just as the council seemed as if it would be deadlocked, a neutral Noble who had been silent throughout the entire debate suddenly stood up. His name was Philistous Waynewood. He'd served twice as the governor of Grastide and also served as the governor of Lepetra. Although the Lepetra was where the council and queen lived, making it less meaningful, it was still important and a sign of the council's trust and respect for him.

“Esteemed Lords of the council. We find ourselves in a dilemma between incompetence and legitimacy. On one hand, we have incompetent legitimacy, and on the other, we have competent illegitimacy.” He paused for a moment, allowing that to sink in before continuing. “Therefore, I propose a compromise between the two that will allow us to maintain both the competence of the ruler and the legitimacy that a noble descendant of Noel deserves. I propose that Her Majesty Veronica adopts the children of His Highness Valerius and His Highness Francis, at which time, to appease the people, Francis will be stripped of all right to the throne and his Noble status.”

There was a moment of pause in the room, and everyone stopped to consider the proposal. Adoption was a viable method to gain successors, and because the blood of the Black royal family would flow in all of the children's veins, there would be no fear of illegitimacy. Even Valerius's children would become legitimate if they became the adopted child of Veronica rather than just her grandchildren. For the militant faction, this would allow them to gain legitimacy to put one of their favorite candidates on the throne. For the traditionalist faction, it would allow them to tide over the current crisis, and hopefully, the people would forget that Francis's children were Francis's children.

One of the other neutral faction members stood up. “Although it might be a bit uncouth of me to speculate, what if Her Majesty died before one of the princes or princesses was old enough to ascend to the throne? I believe the oldest is two. It will take at least 14 years for her to become an adult, and it might take even longer for her to be suitable for the throne.”

Philistous nodded at the question before giving his answer. “I believe His Highness Valerius should become acting heir to the throne if Her Majesty were to die before the Heirs to the throne are ready. His Highness Valerius will take over as king until one of them is ready to ascend to the throne and hold power in their own right.”

However, there was one main objection to this plan. “No, no bastard will ever sit on the throne of the Liberator. Not even acting as King can't be allowed. It would disgrace the name of Black. Have you forgotten that our kingdom would be nothing without the favor of Noel? It is only thanks to the fact that the noble blood of her descendants sit on the throne that we are graced with her Divine favor.” One Noble of the traditional faction shouted. He voiced the primary thought process of the traditionalist faction, at least the ones who Howard hadn't bribed.

However, Philistous had a counter-argument: “My dear Lord, are you questioning my piety to the mother goddess? I donated to a temple in The Plains of Francis and have always piously contributed to the temple, including keeping a shrine at my home. I assure you no Noble is more aware of the great goddesses' role in our kingdom than I, and no Noble is more grateful.” He said passionately, and many Nobles nodded in agreement as he donated. Those who visited his house confirmed he had built a shrine to Noel there. “But I hope my esteemed Lords have not forgotten about the angry people outside the Sacred Citadel angrily cramming for justice. And as for His Highness Valerius's children, I believe that that is not a concern as not only does the blood of the Liberator flow in their veins, they're also descendants of the Demon King on their mother's side.” The rumor that the Black family descended from The Demon King was just that, a rumor, and not even the radicals believed it. However, the Ericksons did descend from The Demon King. In fact, of all of the claimed descendants of the Demon King, the Ericksons, we're the most legitimate of all of them.

At that, the Council was silent, and indeed, the Council could hear the shouting from the angry mob. In the end, the Succession Act, as it would later become known, passed 126 to 25. When a council member announced the succession act to the people, particularly that Valarius would become acting heir to the throne, they finally cheered in support of the council rather than just jeering at them. However, they didn't disband until it was announced that Francis would be sent out of the city in exile to live out the remainder of his days in a royal property on Francis's plane, named after his noble ancestor.

The Succession Act would Define politics within the Kingdom of Black for almost the next two decades. Although initially proposed as a stop-gap measure to prevent the Kingdom from descending into Civil War or the capital into a full-on revolt, it would ultimately change the Fate of the entirety of the human race.