Forum Magnum
Attempt to gather crowd: 2+1 (Rolled by Azthor)
(OOC: Assuming I can. By the way, paragraph breaks are pauses, Text is white for now, will be made black if the roll is successful.)
The Forum Magnum, the intellectual center of the city, seemed particularly empty. It was here, that amateur legal philosophers, wealthy men who liked to be esoteric, and middle class men who like to pretend they were the wealthy, and below them, poor people, begging from them there. It was always significant when a Senator came to speak to them, particularly one of such oratory repute such as Hetairos. As the time speedily approached for his speech, the crowd got more and more tense. It seemed that the anticipation, if turned to physical force, would part the mob asunder. It seemed most were busy, so only the poor and the crazy were here. Yet, coolly mixed in, were men with clubs and knives under their cloaks, ready to spring into action to protect the senator. They were sufficient for assassins, even a number of assassins, but against an army, they were nothing. They consistently yet nonchalantly, looked at windows to see what trouble could be lurking behind curtains or shutters, many of them occupying rooms overlooking the forum.
As for the Senator himself, he was no fool. He wore thick leather padded clothing, well concealed under his toga, to prevent a stray arrow from coming in and taking his life. He took a few deep breaths before stepping out from the waiting room, two stories high onto the Rostra, the tall sort of column in the middle of the north face of the plaza. Mounted along the sides of the Rostra were naval rams that had been captured, celebrating Hadria's past triumphs. The beautiful limestone the pillar was composed of was of excellent consistency and its whiteness was exceeded only by the purest cotton used for his toga. As he entered, the crowd fell silent.
"Before I begin", he began, softer than the body of his speech, "to say those things which present circumstances constrain me to say, O People of Hadria, I have something of a preface." He cleared his throat.
"As you all know, I once, was an advocate. I longed to see justice done and I fought incredibly hard. Those among you who share my former profession know better than anyone else." A murmur of agreement proceeded from the audience. "Since my appointment to the office of Qaestor so many years ago, I have never taken my eyes off my beloved Hadria. I felt as if it were my duty, once a vigorous student of the laws, to progress from student to sentry. I would, and have, stood watch over our laws and have expanded my fence, keeping the laws pure and justice satisfied as I could. My current position provides so much the more impetus for my defense."
"I, as many legal philosophers before me, and I'm sure many will after me, have been known to sit and ponder. So in my pondering, I came to a most paradigm shifting conclusion. It is on that conclusion, I have come to speak to you today,"
"Hadria, is not as small as it once was. Emergencies are far more concerning than they once were, to be sure, but Hadria has grown in ways other than borders or soldiers. It has grown in intellect. We as a people have been blossoming beautiful flowers of wisdom. I've met quite a few of you, and the sheer quantity of knowledge you have would have been unheard of only a century ago. At one time, I'm sure, the people in years past, busy with farms and daily life, needed a full time, trained for the job person to study the issues and make informed decisions. But this is no longer the case. Now, I halt there to explain. I do not think the Emperor should be done away with, or his power significantly curtailed. He was, after all, trained since a young age for the job he holds. In fact, this bill takes absolutely no power away from him. Conducive to the conclusion that I reached, which is that the people, who support government with their work, wages, and blood, should not be completely insulated from it, I at the time of drafting, added this amendment. All it does, is create power, not for the Senate, not for the Magistrates, but for you. Under my legislation" He said, lifting up a copy of his bill, "The people of the city of Hadria, if 10,000 of them can agree to a proposal and sign it, that same proposal will be on the floor of the Senate within the month! The original proposer may send along an introduction to be read. Then, after a degree of time I'll no doubt have to increase to appease the Imperials" He winked, "They may call another meeting. But not only that. Now, interested Senators who have held the office of Praetor or higher, may convene the Senate. Now, action can be provided, to create a more efficient government based on the moral and just laws."
"Now, granting the people this degree of power is simply unprecedented. There will be people who try to prevent this bill from becoming law. They will try to deny you and the other citizens of the city the right to have a say in their government. They will try, but with your help, They. Will. Fail!"
"Now, here is what you shall do. In six months time, and don't worry, I'll remind you. In six months' time, you will stand around the Senate, showing through the sheer number of your persons that the people of Hadria support this bill, posing the ultimate question to the Senators. They will be asked, simply by your presence "Do you support them?". I emphasize also, that this should not be violent. Our voice will be heard through reason, not riot. I will be back, every month until the next meeting of the Senate, to speak. Let it never be said of me, that I did not try. Let it not be said that my garments are speckled with the blood of slain justice if this bill does not pass and your will is subverted. Thank you, and that is all."
(OOC: Crowd reaction after roll)
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Topic: You are King IV: Divide et Impera (Read 17850 times)