Steel and Mana

Chapter 365 – Draft

The moon was out, and unlike most of the guests and my children, I was not in bed but in Mirian’s private chambers. Of course, not because I had some ulterior motives—because I wasn't alone. Seated around a simple but elegantly carved round table were Mirian, Milan, Lucca, Elliot, Alvor, and Merlin alongside myself. With the first day done, it was time to discuss our future and what to present to the others tomorrow.

Of course, we also exchanged our thoughts on the dinner and what we observed, deciding that we wouldn't push aggressively any further. The fate of Geth should be enough of an example.

"Haaah, this is going well so far!" Mirian sighed as she rested her chin on steepled fingers, her expression contemplative as she regarded the draft before her, “Implementing all the suggestions and fears of everyone is still a headache,” she said with a wrinkle of her brows, “But at least with this, tomorrow, we can present them with the foundation of this Union.”

"There shouldn't be any loud pushbacks," Elliot sighed, leaning back in his chair with a cup of wine in hand as he nodded. "I was surprised that only the cardinal approached me."

"Me too," Lucca said, as it was his idea to make sure Elliot didn't speak up throughout the meeting. He wanted to use my Uncle to be the one party nobody really thought about so he could simply watch and examine them without prompting any self-defensive reactions to hide their thoughts. Plus, Lucca also wanted to see who would try to cut the line to Avalon and try to get to me through my Uncle. "This makes the Theocracy a player we will need to keep an eye on. They are not a danger, but they could be one, depending on their motivation."

"They may simply be more acute in recognizing opportunities." Alvor put in.

"Which I would believe if they were good in trading like your Atuvia." Lucca answered, crossing his arms, contemplating silently for a little, "But they aren't. They are a closed-off country, only actively interacting with Roblesia and nobody else. Which means..." He looked at Merlin, making him nod his head.

"They want to get close to me, to the Codex. It is not hard to deduce it."

"It isn't." Lucca agreed, making me smile as I leaned forward.

"We can deal with them later. If they are just curious, pious people, I see no issues. We can turn them into good allies."

"They will for sure try... They are not stupid and should realize they have something we want, so they will have a strong hand." Alvor mused, pursing his lips.

"We are going to be a united region," I reminded him. "The advantages they think they will get will be curtailed exactly by our newly drafted document. That is why we also need something solid, something fair to present tomorrow. We don’t want any of the stronger member states to start bossing over the other ones or the medium-sized powers, ganging up on the minor players. Balance is key, especially at the start.”

"If we can't strike that balance," Milan agreed, watching the draft in his wife's hands, "the Union will fall apart very quickly."

"If we can survive the first few years," Lucca tapped a quill against his notes, his mind already working through the complexities that may arise in the future, “we could last for a very long time. However, to preserve it, member states' sovereignty is the first priority. Each nation must retain full control over its internal affairs. That would also allow us to extend it further one day... But the Union should never become a government of its own, only a cooperative entity.”

"I agree." Mirian said firmly, "The continent is already divided between powers; there is no more land to be claimed. If one thing I learned from you," she smiled, looking at me, "is that there is a certain size that is enough."

"Guys like to hear that," I whispered under my breath, making her roll her eyes while my Uncle chortled louder than he expected.

"What I am saying," Mirian continued, "is that it is time to shift the thinking of the ruling forces. There are other ways to become strong besides expanding the borders."

"It will still need a central, governing facility, overseeing the cooperation between member states." Merlin, arms crossed, interjected, “Which means our decisions must be made collectively and then enforced by every member of the Union. For that, we’ll need a council or an assembly of representatives from each state. Every nation, regardless of size, must have a voice; only then will they believe in the sincerity of this Union. But we also must prevent a possible deadlock or the stronger nations from pushing their will through force or sheer size.”

"Coercion will be forbidden from happening..." Mirian traced a circle on the parchment, her eyes glinting slightly. “We can introduce a High Council, or something similar, composed of representatives from each member state."

"But votes can’t be purely equal," Alvor, someone who had perfect experience with how Atuvia was set up, "Realistically, Avalon, Ishillia, and the Sar Empire carry more influence than, let's say, the Grand Duchy of Irgath. If we ignore that, this Union will collapse before it even begins.”

"Yes, but we can't let Irgath dictate either when there is a bigger picture to look at." I exhaled sharply. “I suggest a two-tier system. A main council, where each nation has a seat to partake in the discussion, and then a weighted voting system based on contributions—economic, military, or diplomatic. The major powers should have more sway, but not enough to override everyone else.”

"Mhm..." Lucca scribbled a rough outline, humming. “To keep this balanced, we could set a cap: no single nation can hold more than, say, a third of the total votes. That prevents utter domination of one power.”

"I already can guess one of the questions," Merlin smirked. “And what happens when two major powers team up?”

"Easy," Mirian leaned forward. “We implement a fail-safe. A majority vote in the council cannot override an absolute veto from a coalition of at least four member states. That way, smaller powers can band together if they feel threatened.”

"They can abuse it..." Elliot muttered quietly.

"Everything can be." Lucca answered his thoughts, "If it gets abused, that will be it. The Union can fall, and we can say that we, at least, tried. There are no perfect systems, as there are no perfect humans. We can plan, but we also must adapt. If we are afraid of others abusing our systems, we will never achieve anything."

"Exactly," I nodded approvingly. “We must try this way first. That should keep everyone in check... and if they get rampant with it? We can consider other options.”

"Like using force?" Alvor asked, and in answer, I just smiled.

"Speaking of that," Mirian tapped the parchment. “Next, let's talk about the military cooperation between members. This Union must stand as one in matters of defense. A collective security pact, one that MUST be upheld. If one member is attacked, the others must come to its aid. No exceptions.”

"And what if..." Milan asked, looking at us one by one, “What if two member states go to war?”

"Hah!" I scoffed loudly. "I had already said that if it happens, then they forfeited their right to the Union’s protection or to be part of it. We can investigate the issue, and when we find which country was the instigator, it gets its just reward.”

"Should be enough of a deterrent," Merlin added, “if any member initiates aggression against another, they forfeit their membership entirely. It would make them open to attacks from everyone else without getting any help. Who would volunteer to become the meat on a chopping block?”

"Hopefully, nobody." Mirian smiled slightly. “That should deter internal conflicts... As for joint military efforts, the bulk of defense remains with each member’s own military. Every member state should be responsible for protecting merchants within their own country and against outside forces. If one country is unable to do so, it could ask for assistance from any other member state.”

"To ease the suspicion of others that it would be nothing but a covert occupation," I muttered, furrowing my brows a little, “we could establish a joint force of soldiers from all member countries. Their task would be to deal with internal issues within the Union, and I mean mostly bandits. There will be multiple, eager little rats who would go after caravans if trade truly picks up.”

"No questions about that," Lucca noted it down quickly, “And we can limit its size to prevent it from becoming an army in its own right.”

"It feels like we are establishing an adventurer's guild..." I chuckled, but not many understood what I actually meant by it.

"Anyway..." Mirian moved on quickly, “Trade and economy. Open borders for commerce, free movement of goods, and unified rate of tariffs. Nobody had any issues with that, but each state should retain control over its internal trade laws.”

"This will make Avalon the wealthiest nation in the Union,” Alvor muttered, his merchant mind already calculating.

"Maybe," Mirian gave him and then me a dry look. “But only if Avalon contributes proportionally.”

"Aren't we already providing a lot by helping you and many others build their railways?" Merlin raised a brow. “Not that we didn't expect something like this...” He shrugged, "But to further ease it all, we should introduce a unified currency."

"Based on Avalon's own." Lucca nodded. “We can let member states keep holding onto their own for internal trade... but for external exchanges, prices should be standardized, using Avalon's currency.”

"I agree." Alvor said firmly before Mirian could open her mouth, "Let's face it," He looked directly at her, "Avalon's money is the most stable and desired one. My country has already adopted the Avalonian Coin, and our own currency is barely even used."

"Same." Elliot smiled, making Mirian sigh a little.

"I know..."

"Don't worry," I grinned at her. “There will be no central authority controlling our economies through my coins. That’s a step too far. It is just easier to calculate anything's determined worth when there is a fixed, stable rate you can work with, and my coin can provide that.”

"Okay, okay... But it will be you who tries to push this through the others," Mirian agreed, shaking her head. "Not every trader will be happy..."

"Why?" Merlin leaned forward, his tone thoughtful. “I think they would be gleeful to accept a shared currency! It would simplify trade and strengthen economic ties. They should just follow Atuvia's example.”

"You can't just run before you can walk!" Mirian warned him. “Just make it optional. Those who adopt it will benefit from streamlined trade, but no one will be forced to abandon their own currency beyond that.”

"Also," Alvor said, “We’ll need a Central Banking Council to regulate it, ensuring no single nation dominates its values or policies. We can't let anyone try to sabotage it.”

"Heh," I chuckled, leaning back in my chair, “More councils. This Union is going to be drowning in bureaucracy.”

"And here I am, dealing with the paperwork while you are only giving me more and more to work with," Mirian shot me a strict look.

"This Summit was your idea!" I laughed, raising my hands and making her grunt.

“Better to be a little bit of bureaucracy than chaos. Now, what about technology and infrastructure? We all know that everyone wants a piece of Avalon’s advancements that could benefit everyone, but we need a system for sharing them.”

"We have already talked about it back home," Merlin said the moment she finished speaking. “Avalon will be ready to sell our knowledge and license them out to member states. With fair rates, of course. But we won't sell everything."

"There will be restrictions on that." Lucca joined in, his expression stern, declaring it to everyone present. "Anything Avalon develops is its own. Military technology is off the tables by default! As for everything else, like the trains, steam-powered machines, and similar energy sources, those technologies have a case-to-case basis. Anyone can approach us to purchase a license to adopt it... But we retain the option to refuse."

"That way, you ensure you stay a step ahead of everyone else."

"New ideas need time to be fleshed out." I answered with a slight smile, "They should be happy to skip a few tiers already with my steam trains."

"What tiers?" Mirian asked, shrugging. "You know what? It doesn't matter." She waved my answer away, "I am already too tired to be bothered with it. Let's end this now and rest for today. Tomorrow, we can present this draft to the people present. And see, how many times do we need to rewrite it to get everyone's signature?"