The Summer Begins

Scenarios of Collapse

During the Dark Age, the actions of the Dishonored One and his comrades proved a fact long forgotten by this world; that even in a place of natural abundance, the common man could be made to starve. Mother disposed of the ones responsible for such incidents, but the shame they had brought to the valley lingered on her mind and prompted the creation of new legislation. Never wanting such a catastrophe to repeat, Mother ordered Parliament to maintain an updating list of plausible scenarios that could lead to dysfunction in the near future.

“Thank you for coming today.” I said. My guest was a staffer who worked for a member of parliament on the committee overseeing the Scenarios of Collapse.

“It is an honor to be given a chance to express my employers thoughts to you, Your Highness.” She bowed, then sat down.

“Then should we get started?”

“Yes. Could you list for me the current Scenarios of Collapse?”

“Mass Crop Failure, Losing the Vena, Uncontained Plague, Collapse of Trade with Nordenheim, Collapse of Trade and Alliance with Oremaris, and Corruption. At least that was the list up until my mother’s death.”

“You are correct, Your Highness. The list has yet to change since we lost her. My condolences.”

I gave her a nod in acknowledgement.

“My employer would like to hear your thoughts on the likeliness of any of the listed scenarios occurring.”

“Other than Corruption, which is something that we must be fighting constantly, none of these scenarios appear to be particularly worrisome at the moment. If I had to choose the most likely, I’d say Collapse of Trade with Nordenheim.” I also had my worries about the plague that took Mother, but this staffer’s employer wasn’t the right MP to consult with about that.

“I agree. Especially after the Edington incident? It really brings into question how stable their government is if savages can cross the national borders so easily. My employer has proposed that we send more military aid so they can more properly enforce the Pact upon them.” I groaned within my mind. Nordenheim had been receiving aid since before I was born. I didn’t think just throwing more of it at them would be enough to fix their problems.

“Ah!” For a moment, the staffer covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking of what happened to your mother when I brought up Edington.”

“It’s fine. I’m not so delicate that a mere mention of that place would be enough to throw me into sorrow. Let’s continue.”

“Right. Moving on to the other scenarios, since you think that they all have low possibilities of occurring what do you think of removing some of them from the list? Losing the Vena for example.”

I understood why that could be suggested. Losing control of the Vena river would probably be the effect of an even greater catastrophe, so there wasn’t as much value listing it directly. Still, there was enough reason to keep it. “I’d have to decline that removal. The scenario is unlikely today, but that may not always be the case in the future. There’s value in having a reminder to remain wary and I think that is also the case for the rest of the scenarios listed.”

She smiled. “I’m sure my employer would be glad to hear that. He shares a similar opinion to yours.” Of course he did. Most if not all members of Parliament believe something similar to what I had said. The question was only given to test if I had learned the proper temperament. “Since you aren’t currently interested in removing scenarios, what about adding them? My employer is interested in your opinion on a potential addition.” It appeared that it was time to have the discussion she had come for. This chance to have an early grasp on my opinions was why the MPs had been competing for their staffer to administer this proof of wisdom.

“And the addition is?”

“Multisian Encroachment.”

I glared at her. “Is he trying to infer that the Duke of Corm and the rest of military command are inept?”

“No, Your Highness. Just like the inclusion of the ‘Mass Crop Failure’ scenario does not mean our farmers are inept, it is a similar case with this scenario. The situation is unlikely, but my employer thinks we should have a reminder to be wary, especially when considering the recent actions of the Multisian ambassador.” Indeed, his actions had been worrisome. Upon receiving the announcement of my mother’s death, he and his countrymen fled from the capital in the middle of the night. It would appear that even he had little faith in his country to stay its aggressions.

“Even so, I’ll have to reject that addition.” The MP’s proposal appeared honest, but his true intentions had been hidden. From my briefing on him before the meeting, I knew he was a long-time advocate for Vallisian aggression and increased military spending. Adding this scenario to the list would only serve to give him and his allies justification for their proposed policies. Undoubtedly, it would be a precursor to the kind of corruption scenario that the list was already warning against.

Those were my thoughts on this situation, but I had no need to air them. The MP had presented me with reasonable points outside of his opinion and so too did I present him the same in return. “The scenarios already listed are situations that we could readily overlook. That will never be the case when it comes to a potential war with Multis. And if it comes down to a matter of how wary we should be, then I have enough faith in the competence of our military leadership that I find no greater wariness for such a scenario to be required.” Going further into that point, my sister Cassandra was amongst that military leadership. If there was need for the capital’s aid at the eastern border, my sister would tell me.

Lucille's Letter

Not long after my father had confirmed her theatre troupe’s performance, I received another letter from Lady Lucille. The Baronetess along with her performers were expressing their thanks and wanted to assure me that they would express my mother’s intentions to the fullest of their abilities. Lucille also made it clear—as if it hadn’t been so already—that I would always be welcome at her Heartland and its sister theaters. “Of course on such occasions, Your Highness will be treated as a guest of honor.”

The letter then transitioned into an invitation to a social gathering. Lucille gave me plenty of reasons to accept it. She wrote that she’d love to introduce me to lady’s of note within the city and that they’ve been waiting quite some time for the chance to meet me and how this is a good opportunity to create an impression outside of the gala and that it will create space for me to focus on people more so as individuals at both events. She sounds a bit brazen when I portray the letter in this way, but it had been written in no such way. Though her title is bought, the Baronetess has tact. Within the letter, she portrayed herself as having subdued enthusiasm and only giving polite suggestions when in reality she’d have me sewn to her hip if she could get away with it.

I was starting to sense the tedium that my father had warned me about. Perhaps it would be best to keep Lucille as an acquaintance rather than a friend.