It's what we do

"Politics is a lot like herbalism."Ivan started at his teacher in bemusement. It sounded like utter nonsence to him, but he knew better to contradict her. Olga was so old she could only work her pestle when the sun was shining. When it was cold and wet like today, then her arthritis was so bad, and he would have to grind the herbs for her. But her wits remained as sharp as a Temeschwari rapier and just as likely to cut you if you stepped out of line."How so grandma?" he asked, taking care to slip in the respectful title as he worked the pestle."Well... for starters... you need just the right mix of ingredients. Herbs... or people... You have to get the right ones and bring them together at the right time."Ivan nodded. That much at least made sense, though he didn't see how it gave any great insight. He said nothing though, just let her continue. Better not to point that out, she'd just call him disrespectful. He was always getting a clip round the ear for talking back, though he sensed Olga didn't really mind. "A quiet mind is an empty mind" she'd told him when she'd taken him as final apprentice."Then grind them into tiny little pieces in a mortar, like they do in the Senate. And at the end of all that, you get a new potion - or a new law."Ivan tried to imagine how that would work. His father had taken him to see the Senator for Karov when he was just a child, after the woman had retired when the Empress died. He could still picture her in his mind, dressed in her fine robes. She'd reeked of authority and power, a woman used to having people do what she said. The idea of her being ground up with pestle and mortar was ludicrous."And there are strict rules you have to follow... There's a process... it has to be done just right... and you need to apply exactly the right amount of heat... otherwise it doesn't work."Ivan rolled his eyes and wondered where his teacher was going with all this. Her statement while true, could equally well to almost anything. It was rare for Olga to come out with something so facile. You might as well claim politics was like building a house."Now, this new sodality thing... That's interesting that is... Ignore the fact that they've given it a League name - young folks are always doing foolish things. The point is that this "Guild" is a new crucible. It's a new way to mix a potion. What they've done is make a new mortar. What we have to do is find what potions it can be used to make."Olga intoned this last revelation like she was revealing the true name of the First Empress but Ivan struggled to be impressed. "A potion can't make a potion though can it? A mortar can't make a mortar." he protested.He was forced to duck his head as Olga's hand flashed out like a bravo's blade looking to cuff him. Clearly her arthritis was not causing her as much pain as she'd claimed.

Overview

At the Winter Solstice, the Imperial Senate passed a motion to establish the Imperial Apothecaries Guild as a sodality that has the full backing of Imperial law. Creating an Imperial sodality requires a constitutional Senate motion, a reflection of the profound significance of this step. It must have a clear manifesto that lays out what the sodality is expected to accomplish.

The civil service make a conscious effort to broadcast news of the creation of a new sodality across the Empire, so that citizens who are prepared to support the sodality's manifesto can consider if they join. Inevitably this has provoked interest from various factions within the Empire, all of whom are interested in the new sodality but have agendas and goals of their own. Three distinct groups have approached the civil service with offers to support the new sodality - at a price.

Before the Apothecaries Guild can decide how to respond, all the new members will have to be inducted. Only once everyone has had a chance to join can the sodality begin to act.

Joining the Sodality

To aid the formation of the new sodality, the civil service have created an arcane projection that will allow everyone present who is willing to join. The Magnitude 20 Autumn ritual is similar to the one provided during the creation of the Silver Chalice and will be presented to the senator who submitted the motion to create the Guild. Helping to finished creation of the new Apothecaries Guild is part of their responsibilities. By creating a single ritual that would allow everyone to join the sodality, the Guild can pay for the cost of one ritual (10 mana) rather than having to potentially pay for dozens of separate castings of Mark of Fellowship. If there are a lot of characters looking to join the sodality, this could be a considerable saving.

The civil service have reserved the use of the Senate chamber for the Guild, from 3pm to 3:30pm on the Saturday. The first order of business is likely to be performing the ritual, so the senator or a member of the sodality would need to find ten mana crystals and a coven prepared to cast it, if they intend to use it. After everyone has had a chance to join the sodality, the members will then be called on to elect the Guild Leader of the Imperial Apothecaries. If any legal powers have been delegated to the Guild, then they will be able to employ them by simple vote of members present at this point.

Coordinate and support Imperial efforts in the research, development, education, and dissemination of ingredients, potions, and antidotes Serve as a point of contact for bodies of state when apothecary and herbal advice is required Represent and support the economic, political, and magical interests of apothecaries and herbalists within the Empire.Manifesto of the Apothecaries Guild

Legal Possibilities

The Constitutional Court have reviewed the current manifesto of the Apothecaries Guild and have confirmed that it appears to be entirely constitutional. As part of that review, they have looked at what legal powers should logically be delegated to hew new sodality in line with the legal authority granted to it by the Imperial Senate.

Most powers of state are obviously not appropriate - it would not be constitutional to give the Apothecary's Guild the power to appoint generals, or assign a Bourse seat or anything of that nature. That is not because these powers are too important - the power of a sodality is not limited in that way - but any legal powers must align with the purpose and manifesto of the sodality.

However there are legal powers that the court have identified that ought to reside with the Apothecaries Guild - in line with their manifesto. Any Senate motion carries the legal authority of the Empire, so it could be argued that the Senate has already made the decision by recognising the authority of the Apothecaries Guild. In practice the Constitutional Court prefer to use administrative motions so that they can confirm whether such changes accurately capture the intent of the Senate.

In addition there are current legal powers that could most logically be delegated to the Apothecaries Guild. There is no implication that these powers should now reside with the Apothecaries Guild in the wording of the manifesto that the Senate approved, so these have not been raised as an administrative motion. But they are clearly identified below, so that the Apothecaries Guild are aware that they could request the Senate authorise them to handle these matters without additional scrutiny.

There may well be other powers that the Imperial Senate could theoretically grant the new Apothecaries Guild; the two legal powers listed below are only the ones identified by the court at this stage.

Imperial Lore

The Imperial Senate has stated that the Apothecaries Guild has the legal authority to "Coordinate... education, and dissemination of ingredients, potions, and antidotes." Currently the responsibility for adding new potions and recipe sets to Imperial lore lies with the Imperial Senate. It is not clear from the wording of the original motion if the Senate intended to grant this power to the new sodality or not, but it does appear to be consistent with the purpose of the Apothecaries Guild as defined by the Senate. Therefore the constitutional court have prepared an administrative motion to confirm whether this was the Senate's intent or not. The motion will be presented to Senate on Friday night.

At present, the only legal body with the power to do this is the Imperial Senate. It requires a Senate motion each time and costs 10 thrones. If the Senate passes the administrative motion then the legal power to do this will be transferred to the new Guild.

This would mean the Guild could vote to add a herbal to the list of potions any citizen can learn to make, provided it was on hand. If that vote passes then the civil service would keep the herbal so that it can be used to disseminate the contents; it would be consumed in the process of making the potion or recipe set public knowledge. In addition, ten thrones would be required to pay for distribution of the knowledge (OOC Note: These funds would need to be placed in the inventory of a character, who should email plot with details of their CID and the herbal being paid for after the event.)

If the Imperial Senate passed this motion, then it would no longer be possible for the Senate to use a motion to add a potion to Imperial lore, not while the legal power to do so rested with an Imperial body of state charged with responsibility for such matters. (The power would be the same as the Conclave power to put rituals into Imperial lore, and reflects the Senate's decision that states that it is the job of the sodality to "Coordinate... dissemination of ingredients, potions, and antidotes".)

Interdiction

The Apothecaries Guild is the only body of state with legally defined responsibilities for the Apothecaries art. However the terms of the manifesto place significant limits on the power of the Guild to prevent the use of potions that pose a danger to the Empire or its citizens. It states that the sodality will "Serve as a point of contact for bodies of state when apothecary and herbal advice is required". The implication is that the intention is that the Conclave and the Senate continue to regulate the use of potions either by making them illegal with a Senate motion or by interdiction with a Conclave declaration.

The court are clear that the Senate could choose to grant the sodality the power to interdict potions or a single potion recipe. This would require a constitutional vote as it would strip the Conclave of any power or responsibility over potions and poisons. It would still be possible for the Imperial Senate to make the creation, sale or use of such a potion illegal with a Senate motion. Any existing potions that were interdicted would remain interdicted, but control of their status would pass to the Guild. A simple vote of Guild members would be sufficient to interdict a potion - or to remove interdiction from a potion.

The power of interdiction would not remove a potion from Imperial lore. Any existing herbals would not be seized or destroyed, and it would not be illegal to possess one, nor to use one to learn or teach how to make the potion. Only the creation, ownership or sale of an interdicted potion would become illegal. On the other hand it would be possible to also grant the sodality the equivalent of the so-called Declaration of Remorse, giving them the power to remove a potion recipe from Imperial lore.

A potion or recipe set that was not part of Imperial Lore would be treated more severely. In addition to the above restrictions, any herbal would be seized and destroyed by the magistrates. It is never illegal to know how to mix a potion, unless the magistrates determine that someone is clearly intending to create the potion or spread that knowledge in which case they may require the use of effects such as Infant Starts with a Blank Slate to remove their capability to do so.

If the Imperial Senate passed a constitutional motion to give the sodality the power to interdict potions and poisons, then it would no longer be possible for the Senate to use a motion to make them illegal, as the legal power to do so would then rest with an Imperial body of state charged with responsibility for such matters. The Constitutional Court are keen to avoid the current mess in which the Conclave can interdict items and the Senate can make them illegal; this is only tolerated because the Conclave don't have a clear mandate under the Constitution to cover the creation and use of magical items, despite the best efforts of the Golden Pyramid

Determination

The new sodality has intrigued apothecaries and those interested in potions and herbs across the Empire. Many of them believe that the sodality was created in something of a hurry - in an attempt to seize an opportunity before it passed. Now that it exists, they sense there is a small window in time to consider changes to the manifesto before the thing becomes set in stone. As a result, each of them is pushing for some changes before they commit.

Changing a manifesto of a sodality is expensive and difficult - it requires a constitutional motion which is not easily obtained. Given that challenge, each of the groups is promising aid to the new sodality if their requirments are satisfied. It seems unlikely that they could all be made happy, but in theory a single Senate motion could rewrite the entire manifesto, provided the new wording was constitutional.

Contracts and Rings

There is a common belief that the name "Apothercaries Guild" was chosen because members felt it was important to promote the agenda that apothecaries and herbalists should be appropriately paid for their work. Many apothecaries have experienced situations where others have expected them to donate their time and skills for nothing, often citing "the good of the Empire" or "the good of the nation" as reason why people should provide assistance for free.

It is certainly striking that the new sodality chose to call themselves a guild - a uniquely League word traditionally reserved for a network of skilled and ambitious people who have bound their fortunes together for mutual gain. The Empire is populated by hundreds of guilds, as well as countless similar organisations in other nations. Why would the new sodality choose to call themselves a guild if they didn't intend to act like one?

As a result, many League apothecaries are pleased by the new sodality and are considering joining in the hope that they will find like minded members who will unreservedly back their right to insist on payment for the skills. This group are pleased that the sodality has stated that they will "Represent and support the economic, political, and magical interests of apothecaries and herbalists within the Empire.", but they are pushing for it to go further. They point to the manifesto of the Golden Pryamid, the first point of which states that the order will "Stand up for those magicians who are pressured to use their skills for free, like a servant or slave.".

This group have discovered that the guidance issued for an appropriate manifesto for a sodality was in error. At their prompting, the civil service have now updated the official guidance to make clear that to be recognised as an Imperial sodality, a fellowship must have a clear manifesto in the same style of those expressed by any Conclave order. This must consist of three concise claims that the sodality believes to be true followed by three clear statements expressing what the sodality exists to do.

As this was an error by the civil service, the Apothecaries Guild will be given as much time as they need to determine what the other half of their manifesto should say - the three assertions that the sodality believes to be true. Once they have these details agreed with the other members, they can inform the civil service and they will raise an administrative motion in the Senate to confirm the additional details. (OOC note: the Guild Leader should email plot with the details once they are agreed).

This creates an opportunity for the new sodality to make a strong statement on the importance of apothecaries being paid if they wish, which is exactly what this group are looking for. If they are to support the new sodality, they want the confidence that the sodality will support them. They want it to make a clear political statement that speaks to their concerns, otherwise it is just another group looking to obtain their time and skills without paying! This group would like to see the Apothecaries Guild adopt a statement of the sodality's beliefs which unreservedly states that the sodality expects its members to be paid for their skills.

The request receives the backing from many Freeborn apothecaries as well. The idea of a "guild" doesn't intrinsically appeal to many Freeborn who view it as a League "thing", but when it is explained that the Guild support their right to demand payment for their arts, they become much more enthusiastic. All things can have a price they say. Like many of their League counterparts, they would be eager to join the new sodality if the Guild updated the manifesto to make this position absolutely explicit.

These groups are prepared to put their money where their mouth is. If the Apothecaries Guild of adopts a statement of belief that clearly expresses the idea that apothecaries should be paid for their skills, then the group will donate twenty herbs each season to the Guildleader, with the intention that they be used to promote and support the guild. While the donation is modest, these prospective members of the Guild are not wealthy but they are hopeful that they might be able to contribute more in the future if the sodality is able to take effective steps to actually support apothecaries right to be paid for their time and skills.

Weeds and Seeds

The Yerende are one of the septs of the Imperial Orcs. The arts of the apothecary are central to their history and culture - as much as magic is to the Urizeni. It is not surprising then that they have taken a strong interest in the new Apothecaries Guild. Unlike others, they are not concerned about being paid, being an apothecary is more like a philosophical perspective to the Yerende than a profession. They see the world as a great garden, one that must be diligently cared for requiring long hours of hard physical work, planning and care.

The current manifesto states that the Guild will "Represent and support the economic, political, and magical interests of apothecaries and herbalists within the Empire." This is anethema to many Yerende who believe it is the responsibility of apothecaries to serve the interests of the Empire - they feel the focus of the sodality should be on finding new ways for apothecaries to support others. They would like to see this line in the manifesto replaced with a clear commitment to hard work in service to the nation and the Empire. However they are sanguine about their prospects, aware that many Imperial citizens do not share their outlook.

What the Yerende are more concerned about is the fate of the Thornsong House. This unique commission in Therunin, allows the Navarr to research new potions - the only one of its kind in the Empire. The Yerende point out that the Senate have stated that the Guild has a responsibility to "Coordinate and support Imperial efforts in the research, development, education, and dissemination of ingredients, potions, and antidotes" By this logic the position of Thornsinger, the titleholder who directs the work at Thornsong House, should be decided by vote of the members of the sodality.

When pressed on this matter, the constitutional court confirm that it would certainly be constitutionally legitimate for the title to be appointed by the Guild, but there is not a requirement for it. They point to the parallel with the Lyceum and the Halls of Knowledge - two colleges of magic, the Dean of the Lyceum has always been appointed by the Conclave, but the Provost of the Halls of Knowledge was appointed by Urizeni magicans until the Druj destroyed it.

Changing political control of Thornsong House is legally possible, albeit difficult. In the view of the court it would require a constitutional Senate motion akin to Relinquishment which could be vetoed by the Navarr Assembly. However, the House was created in the response to Darian Numbers call to the Assembly of Prosperity to look for opportunities to increase the Prosperity of Therunin. Without a clear Statement of Principle in support of the change by the Navarr Assembly, it wouldn't function if relinquished.

All of this is moot currently, since Thornsong House is encircled by the Druj - it can't be relinquised because it is unlikely to be operational any time soon. It is on this point that the representatives of the Yerende are able to make a concrete offer. The Empire has put steps in place to conceal the House from the Druj, but those steps could fail. If that happens the Druj are certain to destroy the premises, just as they did the Halls of Knowledge.

If that happens, if Thornsong House is destroyed, then the Yerende would be prepared to throw the combined efforts of their sept behind the creation of a new herbal school, provided it was under the control of the Apothecaries Guild. The new school would bring together apothecaries and herbalists from across the Empire, including many from the Navarr, to work alongside the Yerende. It would grant the same ability to guide apothecaries to research new potions as the current Thornsinger has.

The Yerende's proposal would need the help of many of the Navarr apothecaries who currently work there. As such it would only be viable if Thornsong House were destroyed. A somewhat macabre political consequence to be discussing, but as the Yerende point out, diligence requires careful planning for every eventuality. Their proposal means that if the worst does happen, the Empire need not lose the capability to research new potions - provided they were willing to recognise the claim of the Apothecaries Guild.

In addition to the changing the focus of the Guid, they want the Senate to consider granting the Guild the legal power to disseminate knowledge of new potions. In their view, there is clearly nobody better suited to this work than the new Apothecaries Guild - the sodality should have more knowledge and experience of these issues than any other body in the Empire - it only makes sense that they be given this power.

Iron & Wine

The skills of the apothecary can heal the body and empower the soul, but they can also be used to poison and kill. The Navarr are not shy about this fundamental truth, many of their apothecaries have a great deal of experience creating poisons as the nation are skilled at using them in battle against the Empire's enemies. On more than one occasion, they have expressed frustration with the simple approach to poisons adopted by Imperial law and suggested that the Empire would be better served by an arrangement closer to the one that applies to curses.

Magic that harms a citizen is legal in the Empire, in part because of the potential to turn curses on the Empire's enemies but largely because the constitution ensures that the Imperial Conclave control the uses of curses (and other magic) through the use of interdiction and sorcery. In the view of many Navarr, the Apothecaries Guild could be built up to operate in a similar way, giving it power over the use of potions and poisons and over the people who create them.

That would require a number of substantial changes to Imperial law, all of which are likely to require a constitutional vote. Crucially, the current responsibilities of the sodality, as defined by the Senate in its manifesto, do not really allow for such power. The manifesto says only that the Guild will "serve as a point of contact for bodies of state when apothecary and herbal advice is required.". That is no legal basis for wide-sweeping powers to control the use of the apothecaries arts in that statement. Not currently, at least.

For this reason several Navarr apothecaries have suggested that the Guild seek to gain additional legal powers and change their manifesto at the same time. They suggest that the existing line from the manifesto be entirely replaced with the following clear, unambiguous statement:

Determine the appropriate use of potions, poisons, and drugs throughout the Empire.Proposed Manifesto

This wording would make it emphatically clear which Imperial body was meant to determine the legal status of any potion or poison available in the Empire - or any other consumable such as bite or the crudely titled cat's piss. The current wording invites other legal bodies to consult with Guild; the proposed wording demands that they recognise the Guild's authority on these matters.

This would require a constitutional motion, so the proposal is to seek the approval of the Senate to grant the sodality the power to interdict the use of potions, poisons and drugs with the same motion. The constitutional court have confirmed that such a motion would be legal - since the change of law would be implied by the change to the manifesto. Once this was accomplished and the sodality could demonstrate that arrangements were working well, in the best interests of the Empire, then they could use that success to push for further changes to the law to grant the power to remove an individuals right to use potions, poisons and drugs.

The idea of the Navarr apothecaries has the backing and support of many Varushkan herbalists from Karov and Karsk. They take the view that the new sodality will have limited success unless it is clearly backed by the iron hand of the law. In particular, the Varushkans are concerned about the trade in dubious narcotics that is on the rise in some parts of the Empire. The Imperial Senate was quick to make bite and ocean's caress illegal, but there are many other drugs coming from the Sarcophan Delves and Axos that could be harmful or dangerous in the wrong hands. In their view the Guild should have the power to determine if such substances are interdicted. The sodality are the ones who are most likely to have the relevant expertise and they have the time to devote to the subject, whereas the Senate always has a great deal of other business to attend to.

If a motion to change the powers of the Guild can clear the Senate, then these Varushkan apothecaries are prepared to devote their time to support the sodality's work. This would not be cheap, the work would cost ten thrones and take a season to complete. (OOC Note: These funds would need to be placed in the inventory of a character, who should email plot with details of their CID and the substance being investigated after the event.) The sodality would only ever be in a position to investigate potions, poisons, or drugs, they couldn't investigate anything else. But at the request of the Guild, they could study the named substance to try to find out everything possible about it, how it was made, where it came from, what effects it might have, what the implications and concerns might be. This would not necessarily provide any ability to Imperial apothecaries to actually duplicate such substances - they often involve rare materials found only in other nations - but they might occasionally provide the Guild with other opportunities related to the potion, poison, or drug.

The Guild's researchers would provide a short report on this to the Guild leader at the next summit. That would empower the Guild to consider the substance with the surety that they knew everything about it that could be reasonably discovered by the Empire. They wouldn't need such a report to interdict a substance, but having it would allow them to be certain they were making informed decisions whether or not to forbid the creation, sale and use of anything regulated by the Guild.

Further Reading

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