Imperial Diet V

[AussieGiant]

Fury can be the only description to use when Arnold comes into the Diet Chamber. In an unprecedented move the Duke walks to the centre of the Chamber and stands for sometime waiting…with a sudden move he draws his father sword sweeping it through a few strokes at blinding speed, finally plunging the blade end first into the flag stones causing a shower of sparks.

Standing with feet shoulder width apart, both hands on his father sword before him, the Duke roles his neck with a practised motion causing audible cracks to echo through the halls.

RIGHT THEN!! Have we $^#^ing finished with the usual over analysis of plain ^#$^ing English!!!?? Vote on the CA, if it passes it's incorporated!!

Not waiting for a reply the Duke continues

I’d suggest the scribe gets this perfect or I’ll have him replaced immediately.

Another moment passes as the Duke gazes steadily at the Diet’s minute taker.

Kaiser, Prinz Elberhard, Dukes of the Realm….KING OF OUTREMER, Count’s of the various Houses, Crusader Counts of the East, dear electors of the Holy Roman Empire…

While I am not running for the position of Chancellor, I do have something to say.

It’s come to my attention at this point in the Reich's hisotry, that we seem to have some terminal issues to discuss.

While I stand here before you as Duke of the House of Austria, a man with the blood of his father, who is the son of Emperor Heinrich by direct decent, there seems to be some massive issues of balance at this moment in time.

I am a Duke who is as yet unmarried, therefore the direct male line of House of Austria stands on the brink of extinction…STILL.

No offence to Lord Matthias, I know he tried…

I am the Duke of one of the four ancestral houses making up the origins of this Reich.

At this time the House of Austria comprises three nobles. Both of whom had to be adopted by agreement between two great men to ensure the very existence as a House Austria continued in this chamber.

At this time I am permitted one personal edict while the House is permitted three edicts. While the rest of you enjoy the privilege of talking amongst yourselves about your House or Kingdom edicts, I on the other hand must socialise support from outside my immediate nobles who have sworn fealty directly to me.

While this may seem a minor issue to the rest of you...I would ask every Duke and KING here to think on this for a moment and wonder what it would be like to have to do this themselves!!??

…and while the House of Austria’s existence from one year to the next is in constant and real threat of extinction, the “KINGDOM” of Outremer expands time and time again.

The King wants more power and influence and so do the Counts…BUT WHERE DID THESE men come from!!? Which Noble Houses of this Reich made the initial sacrifice to secure Outremer in the first place!!??

And how does an ancestral House of this Reich become three times smaller than a Kingdom made by the Blood of these houses!!??

How does a Duke of this Realm NOW need to plead with other nobles of other Houses simply to have edicts supported to the standards we require!!

How does a King of Outremer have six edicts while a Duke has three?? How does anyone suggest that Outremer’s leader should have the same influence as those Dukes that sacrificed their own nobles in the taking of the region all those decades ago?!!!

Swinging his sword around the chamber is one mighty arc; the blow ends with the complete destruction of his father’s Ducal Seat.

THIS IS THE STATE OF MY HOUSE GENTLEMEN!!!

It stands on the brink of extinction…so while the you all think of placating me or asking me to see reason then don’t bother!!

Take a look at the numbers!! Take a look at the proposals you make, and keep in mind where Outremer came from in the first place.

Turning in a complete circle, making eye contact with each and every noble present the Duke finally speaks

Soon gentlemen you may need to create some bastardised Crusade to take Austria as it decomposes and dies in front of your eyes.

Then again that might be the perfect opportunity for you all to squabble over the prize.

It wont be four houses...

It will be three Houses and one Kingdom...

What's more $#%^ing truthful is that the offspring of this Reich could nearly pass that idea as legislation.

The situatiuon is a $%&$ing disgrace.

Sheathing his sword Arnold smashes the Diet Chamber doors open with his boot and continues outside

[Privateerkev]

Duke Arnold, I hope that in my support for Edict 11.4, I have proven my commitment to the survival of the House of Austria. I am not going to debate something I already agree with. But I will answer one question. You ask how the King could have 6 edicts. It is because 7 people voted for both CA 11.4 and CA 11.3. And I was not one of them. Two of them were from your own house.

[FactionHeir]

Hans eyes the leaving Arnold critically, but seems unstirred

Well then, Duke Arnold raises a valid point that Austria does not have 2 electors besides himself to put forth any house edict at all.
In a conciliatory move, I am prepared to use my personal edict to propose a charter amendment:

CA 12.3:
The section reading:
"Dukes may propose one personal Edict per Diet session, but also control three additional House Edict proposals per Diet session. These proposals are no different than any other Edicts, but they must have the pre-secured backing of at least two seconders from inside the Duke’s House."
is to be amended to read:
"Dukes may propose one personal Edict per Diet session, but also control three additional House Edict proposals per Diet session. These proposals are no different than any other Edicts, but they must have the pre-secured backing of at least two seconders from inside the Duke’s House. In the case where there are less than 3 electors in total in a Duke's House, the House edict may still be put forward to the diet with the requirement for a second seconder waived."

[Privateerkev]

Hans,

I agree with CA 12.3 but what happens in the unfortunate circumstance that there is only one person left? Under the language of this CA, can the house edict be put forward with no seconds and get those seconds from the Diet proper?

Duke Arnold,

I agree that you need results. So, what can we do about this?

[FactionHeir]

You raise an interesting point Jan. I had not thought of a House which only encompassed the Duke alone, as Duke Arnold has put forward his recent experience. As such, I shall amend the CA to read:

CA 12.3:
The section reading:
"Dukes may propose one personal Edict per Diet session, but also control three additional House Edict proposals per Diet session. These proposals are no different than any other Edicts, but they must have the pre-secured backing of at least two seconders from inside the Duke’s House."
is to be amended to read:
"Dukes may propose one personal Edict per Diet session, but also control three additional House Edict proposals per Diet session. These proposals are no different than any other Edicts, but they must have the pre-secured backing of at least two seconders from inside the Duke’s House. In the case where there are only 1 or 2 electors in total in a Duke's House, a House edict may still be put forward to the diet requiring only the number of possible seconding electors in the House as seconders."

[Privateerkev]

Then I second CA 12.3.

A Duke should not have to go to the Diet to secure support for his Ducal edicts. That just doesn't make sense. This will fix that.

[FactionHeir]

Duke Arnold, I insist on this amendment to the charter to ensure that Austria has an equal opportunity to put forth its house edicts as any other house can.
And Matthias Steffen, I believe that a house edict should not hinge on seconders from other houses, as long as the house it comes from supports it as best as it can, which CA 12.3 will enable. You are correct on the problem of marriage however, and I would advise any future chancellor to accept any proposal of marriage for the good of the empire instead of turning them down for political gain.

[AussieGiant]

Sometime latter the Duke enters covered in what can only be described as the most lethal looking suit of dark armour ever seen

Jan, while I am certain your support of my ancestral line is 100%, the intentions must be transformed into results somehow.

At one point there, after Sigismund was killed, there was only myself remaining.

While I have nothing personal against the men that have gone to Outremer and the sacrifice made there has been huge...the House of Austria is near it's end.

One thing I will not do is go down without a fight. That is the least I can do for my fathers memory.

Suddenly looking somewhat exhausted, Arnold continues in a more subdued tone

As for the specifics of Outremer edict...well, that is a product of too many lawyers and too many edicts in my view.

This Reich was created when things we clear and men could understand each others intentions...now it's a play ground for lawyers, sycophants and whispers in the dark.

Hans' your offer is very generous, but it does not resolve the issue at the heart of the matter. Therefore I do not want you to use your personal edict in this manner.

Pausing

You don't have to do that Hans

[OverKnight]

Matthias raises an eyebrow at Duke Arnold's outburst.

My good Duke, I will try not to placate you, but hear me out.

First, in regard to Austria lacking a quorum of Nobles to propose legislation. I would suggest that if you and Becker can agree on legislation, you could propose a House Edict, it would just need another second from the Electors once proposed in the Diet. The Prinz would have to rule on the viability of this, since he is acting for the Emperor.

If this does not pan out, I will volunteer my own personal proposal for the use of Austria.

Second, as you may now, the Duchy of Austria is the last house in the Reich to be ruled by a direct descendant of Kaiser Heinrich. Kaiser Henry chose to pass on Swabia to Ulrich Hummel. Dietrich von Saxony and Otto von Kassel, Heinrich's son-in-laws, had no male children to pass on their Duchies to, instead they were passed on to adoptees. Your situation, while unfortunate, is not unique.

We can help with the Edicts, but marriage and child birth, particularly the latter, are in the hands of God.

[Privateerkev]

Count Matthias,

I wish we could think of some way for Duke Arnold to put forward House edicts in this Diet without needing to get seconds from the other electors. No other Duke or King needs to do this and I believe it would be wrong to force Duke Arnold to do so. I would only support that if there was no other way.