-Neutral Territory-
[The Half-Demon Clans' cities and home bases are considered to be neutral territory.
Historically there have been other locations also considered to be,
But there aren't any at the moment.
Though some consider Ish'din and the Royal City to be, under certain circumstances.]
The next day saw us climbing the stairs again in the morning, albeit without the heavy-handed, ceremonious tone. We entered the same room we had been in nearly all day the previous day, and took up the same positions we held. Today, Lady Meia stood and called the meeting to its start.
"Today, we, the members of the Demon Realm's Parliament, will listen to issues and requests from the Half-Demon Clans. This is your sole opportunity to sell us on your ideas and earn our cooperation and support." She explained, then gestured to her left towards the Ishen's representative. "We will begin with the Ishen Clan."
She took her seat, as the young woman representing the Ishen stood up, clearing her throat. It took me until the previous night to learn her name and gain any sort of information on her. She was eighteen, just barely two years into what most consider adulthood. She had light blue hair and glowing red eyes, and while she was four years older than me, she was the same height as me. Which was a weird feeling, as almost everyone I knew was noticeably taller than me, if only barely. Her name was Gai, and she wore the same uniform as Sel'un.
"Very well," she started, "We don't really have anything new to request, and merely echo the same requests we've had for the past two meetings. We ask for easier access to Ish'din, and an increase to our pay when performing jobs for the government, local and realm-wide." I noticed Regent Der'rel looked annoyed at the requests, and he looked as though he was about to start talking. Gai must have realized as well, since she cut him off. "I understand your reasons for why Ish'din's security is so tight. Especially with the rise of criminal and terrorist activity as of late. However, as we have petitioned time and time again, the Ishen Clan are the primary protectors of this realm, outside of the Imperial Army, that is. We believe that if our people had easier access to Ish'din, we would be able to more readily protect the city, and more readily assist with matters here. Just last year, Ish'din suffered an attack from a yet-unknown source. Had we been able to enter the city more freely, instead of being required to go through the slow, frankly antiquated, screening process in Sanctis, we could have not only protected those who got hurt, but discovered who the attackers were."
"I can agree with that," Meia spoke up, raising a hand timidly, "Even with my elite team doing everything they can to find the attackers, they've always returned empty handed. Nearly two hundred, between citizens and military personnel, were injured that night. But if the Ishen were able to respond and arrive even just an hour sooner, that number would have been significantly lower. As such, I believe the idea has merit and vote in favor of at least scheduling more in-depth discussions. My apologies for interrupting, you may continue."
"Thank you for your support," Gai said with a polite bow, hand on chest, "As for increasing our payment rates for government jobs, this comes from a noticeable trend, especially within the last few years. I'm sure those present now and back then would remember that we made this same request and had it approved during the previous conference. But just as we had a few years ago, the margin between payment from government jobs and independent contracting jobs has grown significantly. As have prices for goods and services the world over. Each year without at least a minor increase in pay, it gets more difficult for us to live. And as such, it becomes harder to justify the ratio of government-to-independent jobs we've maintained for so long. Put simply, the Ishen Clan would be able to prosper much more if we accepted only independent jobs. As such, we wish to petition not only to increase the amount we are paid by local and realm governments, but to hold meetings twice a year to discuss any changes in our rates."
"You make a compelling case," Der'rel grunted as he raised his hand. "I am willing to discuss this further with your Clan's leader, as the support we receive from your family is extremely valuable to us, especially lately." His voice did not conceal his true feelings, that he was upset this request was coming in. "Any other requests?"
"That is everything I was sent here with," Gai said as she sat down, arms folded.
"Very well." Der'rel stood up, "Then allow us in the Parliament to discuss and vote on these matters." He stood back down, and the members of the Parliament discussed in hushed tones.
I'm sure those sitting near them could hear a lot of the conversation, but I couldn't hear anything from where I stood. I could only observe the faces of the members I could see, being Sirs Der'rel and Erun. Erun seemed to be very upset about a lot of the things that were being said, and I could tell he was definitely against at least one of the topics.
After several minutes of their chattering, they regained their composure and faced the rest of the table. Der'rel stood once more. "We have concluded our talks, and will now vote on the two proposals. Those in favor will raise their hands, those not in favor will not. First is the topic of easier entry into Ish'din. If this topic passes, it will not mean the Ishen get their wish immediately, but that we will discuss further with the Clan's head. All in favor, vote now."
I was surprised to see Der'rel's hand was up. Ladies Meia and Shadowchild, as well as Prince Ars'erib also raised theirs. Erun was the only one who did not, keeping his arms folded tightly, clearly upset about something.
"It has passed. Next, we shall vote on the topic of increasing payment for the Ishen. This topic will likely also affect the other two Clans. Much like the previous topic, this passing does not mean it will immediately go into effect, but instead opens the door for us to talk about details with Clan leaders."
The Regent surprised me again, keeping his hand raised. Lady Shadowchild and the Prince raised theirs as well. Meia on the other hand was hesitant, clearly contemplating her thoughts. Eventually she raised her hand, and the vote passed once more. Though it had passed before she had, as Shadowchild and the Prince made it into majority vote. Erun was unsurprisingly unflinching in his resolve against the idea. I couldn't help but wonder why he was so against it.
"Next, we will hear from the Tsumi Clan." Meia announced after the vote had passed.
Oroske cleared his throat and stood up, "Our request is a simple one. Much like the Ishen's requests, it is one we have made before. We wish to expand our territory into the Human and Demon Realms. This would naturally mean that what is considered neutral territory for both realms will also expand." All five members of the Parliament already looked apprehensive about the idea. "This idea has benefits for all parties involved. First, for us," he raised a finger, "We are a rapidly growing family. While we unite under the banner of Tsumi, there is a growing number of us who no longer use the name. Having our city be limited to the pillar in the Rift means we have a very finite size our city can grow to. We estimate that within two years, if not only one, we will outgrow the rock we call home.
"Second," he raised another finger, "Is for you, and the Lords of the Human Realm. You would have easier access to our Clan, and would be involved in designing the new infrastructure of the city. Meaning if you so desired, you could build your own lodging and businesses. This has been prohibited in Tsumi'din as we do not have the space to accommodate businesses and homes for anyone outside of our Clan."
"In what way would we have easier access to the Clan?" The Prince questioned.
"Firstly, if you were to open up some sort of branch office there, you could take good advantage of the recent advancements in communication magic and submit requests and jobs for us more easily and readily, rather than relying on the old, faulty communication methods we've used for so long. Second, we predict that within a year or two, Gate magic will have advanced enough for it to be reliable enough to use. As of now, we do not have the land nor the means to house any sort of transportation magic of that sort. With the land we'd be given in each realm, we would be able to accommodate the magic, and house it in structures that would be owned and monitored by each realms' government."
The Parliament as a whole began thinking about and discussing the idea in hushed tones. I caught Erun looking nervously at Kared, who was standing next to the door. Arms folded, and leaning against the wall, she gave him a rather intense glare. Erun seemed to panic a bit.
"How much land are you asking for from each side?" The Prince asked once again after a moment of their hushed chatter.
"The same as during the last conference, a semi-circle with a one mile radius, starting from the current entrance bridge. We may one day ask to expand it further, but that remains to be seen."
"And what will you do if we say no?"
"We'll figure something out. Whether that's finding places for our members to live in other cities, rebuilding our city to accommodate the increasing population, or taking the land by force." Oroske sounded scarily serious during that last part, and I got the feeling that might be the first option we try.
The Parliament stared him down seriously, giving heavy consideration to his words.
"Very well," Der'rel said, pulling his head off of his hands and leaning back into his seat, "This is an issue I expect will impact the other Clans as well. After all, if we granted this for the Tsumi, there would likely be pressure, and an expectation, to give the same treatment to the others. We will discuss amongst ourselves and hold a vote. As with previous topics, this will not guarantee your request will be fulfilled, but we will discuss more with the Clans' leaders."
The Parliament discussion was still in hushed tones, though this time loud enough that I could make out the occasional word. Sir Erun looked as though he was trying hard to convince the rest about something. He seemed flustered anytime a question was shot at him about it.
After several minutes of heated but quiet conversation, they settled down, and held their vote. Everyone but the Regent raised their hands in favor almost immediately, though he would eventually hesitantly join.
The atmosphere in the room changed drastically, as though the people around us became very excited. I caught a small glimpse of Oroske smiling before returning to his neutral face. Despite the change in energy, everyone remained silent.
"If the Tsumi don't have any more requests, we will now hear from the Incol." Regent Der'rel stated.
Myr nervously stood up, and exchanged a glance with her brother, who just nodded at her. She cleared her throat, and began. "We in the Incol Clan also only have a single request, we would like to set up facilities for our members to operate out of in some of the more major cities in each Realm. To start off, we would like to set up a base in Al'din, the Port of Pyr'ra, and Sanctis. As these three are major cities, and the cities we do the most of our work in, we would like to be able to set up a 'home away from home' for our operators. Through setting up these outposts, we would be able to more readily assist in each of the cities, as well as travel to the neighboring cities with ease. We would have our personnel cycle between which outpost they are working at on a weekly basis to start off. We are of course asking for a similar deal from the Lords of the Human Realm."
"Certainly an idea with merits," the Prince said, earning a nod of agreement from the Regent. "Should this idea pass, I think it would be wise to meet with the leaders of all three Clans about it, as this is something that would benefit all parties."
"Indeed." Regent Der'rel called their discussion to begin once more. The talks were kept short, and ended in a vote, unanimously in favor of the proposition.
"Thank you," Myr said as she sat back down.
"Now that the requests are finished," Der'rel stood and spoke once again, "All ideas proposed have passed. The Prince and I will draft up an official letter to the Eight Lords and the Clan leaders for our guests to take back with them to their homes. The letter will be a request from each party to schedule a time for all of us to meet in person and discuss these matters more in depth."
The various representatives all voiced their understanding, and the meeting was called to a close for the day. As we walked out, I saw many people stretching their legs and arms. Almost immediately after the audience chamber doors closed, chatter broke out amongst all of our group. I couldn't help but look around and down hallways. I was itching to explore the palace, and was sad I probably wouldn't get the opportunity any time soon.
Most of our party returned to our lodgings immediately, but my clan and I went out to get food. After eating, we returned, and spent the rest of the night at the hotel.