The Runic Alchemist - Chapter 769: The Title of The Lord
Chapter 769: The Title of The Lord
As expected, not everyone was amused hearing his new bill. Damian let the murmuring go on for a minute, not reacting to it. At last, they all realized where they were and the noise reduced slowly to a silence. The new members were the ones who were more quiet and calm, it was the nobles and knights who seemed to have the dissatisfaction.
It was something he had already decided with the six heads and they all had discussed it in detail. In the end, the positives of the change were too much compared to the few negatives. And so if the bill passed from here, it would become an official law. Damian could do that with just the seven heads if he wanted to, but he insisted on letting the House of Lords be the one who passed the bill.
It was mandatory for people to realize their jobs were not permanent. Their actions and performance would be noted and based on it they might be able to continue serving or be kicked out politely. The bill mentioned it all.
When the silence was at its peak, Damian spoke up,
“Is that how the House of Lords works normally when we are not around? By murmuring? That helps you make the best decision for the Sanctuary?”
Finally, they remembered what a bill being passed meant. Already, many bills proposed by others had been rejected by the house. But no rule coming from Damian had yet been rejected. He really wanted to see if this would be the first.
One of the lords raised his hand and Damian looked at him, gesturing for him to go on.
The bulky, mustached man said, “Lord Keeper, being a member of the House of Lords is a noble’s right. We can look the other way if you want to include commoners, but then saying our status is just temporary, just like them? Did the Sanctuary forget all that we have done for this land?”
“A noble’s right?” Damian repeated with a smile. “What is your name, Sir?” he asked back.
“Marquess Valory Brookshire, my lord,” the man answered.
“Lord Valory Brookshire, how much would you say you have given to the Sanctuary after Sanctuary gave you shelter?”
“I gave half my wealth to the first Keeper to use it for war efforts. Estimated value around 3,500 gold coins. That aside, my lord, I fought in the war against the demons and Faerunians on behalf of the Sanctuary.”
Damian nodded, turned towards all the other members till his eyes fixed on one individual.
“Lord Torvin, can you stand up?”
The man was surprised beyond reason but he did as instructed with the help of people around him. The use of ’Lord’ for a commoner was unheard of. The murmuring of such spread all over the house members.
“What are your thoughts on the new bill?” Damian asked.
Torvin finally shook his head, regaining his composure, “Lord Keeper, keeping the terms and requirements for the reselection aside, the change in leadership gives an equal opportunity to every person in the Sanctuary to serve the public in the way they always dreamed of. It is a personal opinion though, and my background might have made me a bit biased on it. But I do believe it does greater good for the people of Sanctuary.”
Damian nodded. He was quite impressed by the guy. All his answers in the tests reflected his open-minded, clever and genuine desire to do good for people. The guy was not the top candidate selected through the exam with limited knowledge, but his background and answers had impressed Damian thoroughly.
Damian turned towards the noble lord,
“Lord Valory Brookshire, do you know this man?” he asked.
“I have never seen him, Lord Keeper,” the noble answered.
Damian elaborated, “His name is Torvin Copperhand. As you can see, he agrees with the new bill. And something you might find interesting about Lord Torvin—he has been donating 700 gold every year for the past seven years for the Sanctuary. There are no promises made, there are no big houses or preferred services given, not even a receipt that we have received the man’s hard-earned money. And yet, he never says that Sanctuary has not given him enough after all that he has done for the Sanctuary.”
The whole house turned to look at Torvin, many surprised, many proud. Some knew about him, many didn’t.
Then Damian gestured towards one of the knights situated in the front row. He was in his mid-fifties and a grey-haired old man. Still, his physique was impressive but his one leg was missing. There was a wooden stump in its place.
“This here is Sir Gilroy Windforce. A commoner, first-ranker pathfinder, who has been part of the Sanctuary army since he was 25. He has fought every battle that included Sanctuary, being on the frontline as a volunteer. Slowly climbing the ranks to become a knight. In the battle against the demons, he lost a leg. Tell me, Sir Gilroy, did you ask for compensation for all that you have done for the Sanctuary?”
The old knight stood up, his eyes holding intensity that words would always falter to describe.
“Asking for compensation for protecting my home, my lord? I would prefer a demon’s axe over that humiliation..”
The whole house started applauding wildly, seeing the intensity in the man’s eyes. Damian smiled, then turned back towards the noble,
“Lord Valory Brookshire, the lord before your name is not because of your noble upbringing. In Sanctuary, all are equal, only their positions matter—their job. This is the House of Lords, and only that is the reason why your name still has a lord. If you think you deserve power because of all that you have done, we will return all that we owe to you, compensate you for all the wars you fought in, and then we will kindly show you the way out of the Sanctum. Far better people I have rejected the application of in these few days. The House of Lords needs people who think for the people of Sanctuary, not just for themselves.”
Thunderous applause covered all sounds in the meeting hall once again. Once it slowed down, Damian said,
“If anyone has any valid points to make against my bill besides just the delusion that they deserve it, speak up now. If not, we proceed with the votes.”
No one said anything, even the noble section had lowered their heads. He had seen some of them applaud alongside the others before, clearly not all nobles were that shallow-minded. Damian nodded and gestured for Seraphina to proceed.
She repeated the bill, asked for modifications, and finally called for the vote. From 400 seats of the House of Lords, the bill passed with 370 votes. Damian signed it right then and there and it was added in their laws. It was also a live demonstration to the new joining how creating laws worked.
Once it was done, Damian pulled up a list and gave it to Seraphina. She called out the names; they were the top 50 in the exams overall. The names he called, however, were only mundanes among them, some 25 people in total.
It also included that Torvin Copperhand. The guy didn’t have a good score but his ideas and thoughts had received a good score from Damian. At the end of the list Damian said,
“These 25 are the candidates for the seventh head of the Sanctuary—it will be decided by the votes at the end of this month. Only House of Lords members can vote. If tied, final judgement will be of the six heads of the Sanctuary.
The candidates can talk to the members, get to know them, promote themselves and gain support. No bribery or promises of preferred treatment will be tolerated. The candidate will lose both the candidacy and their place in the House of Lords and will be fined separately and branded criminal. House of Lords are advised to make the decision wisely and with keeping in mind the betterment of all Sanctuary.
Guards will be tasked to protect the candidates till the end of the campaign. Till the 25th of this month candidates can do anything under the law to gain support. After that, five days for rest when the final list of candidates after excluding the ones breaking laws will be announced, and on the 30th, the House will vote, selecting the new head of Sanctuary. The oath-taking ceremony will be held on 1st November.”
With that, Damian left the House of Lords and let them continue their daily proceedings. Sam and Einar left to check out the new headquarters and oversee the relocation of the army. They finally had enough space to give homes to all the soldiers. Many had families in the city while some were in the rented buildings and even camping outside. Einar and Sam gave praises with open hearts when he told what he had made.
Evrin was also relieved to see they finally had many buildings in the city empty and to their use, which they could sell or use in different ways. Damian continued his building project from yesterday.
The mass registration had ended but Damian had still sent people to every single village to register people. Most had already done it, so it shouldn’t take more than a day or two before he had a complete list of all people present in the Sanctuary. There would, of course, be many of these registration places open in major cities so others who had missed out could be registered.
