"Should they be manifestly unqualified for their duties I am sure the floor will hear about it."

”I volunteer for the slavery committee.”

Can he just volunteer or does he need a nomination?  He needs allies and he needs to figure out what the actual rules are to play this right.

"... I do the same," says a druid, sounding kind of irritated about it. Look, if Feather isn't her ally, or isn't a very good one, then she needs to figure out how to make some, somewhere. Her experience actually treating halfings as people is probably able to be leveraged or something.

Liushna is half confident half fervently hopeful that this druid is both a reasonable person with reasonable opinions, and less...inclined to get carried away...than Feather is. So that's good, probably (hopefully).

Why would they want the strix off it, she's perfectly sane and would probably eat a halfling first if she got hungry during committee, which you'd think they want?

Archmage Cotonnet still looks alive up there too, which means he hasn't died and devolved the Presidency on the Duchess de Chelam absent some very strange archmagic, but complaining about this is best reserved for those of at least comital rank or monsters who don't care, really.

"If I recall correctlhy, we're currently debating Delegate Barro's proposal to create a new economics committee, Delegate Vilar's proposal to exempt delegates from taxation for life" urgh, "Delegate Ramirez's proposal to exempt delegates and their descendants excluding nobles from taxation in perpetuity, Delegate de Chelam's resolution condemning slavery as Asmodean, and Delegate Ramirez's proposal to expand the membership of the slavery committee. The last seems likely to require more discussion, but as for the rest, I think we had better have some votes."

If all of the archdukes vote unanimously and very promptly and quite loudly, can the rest of the convention take a hint about which way they're supposed to vote? If not, she's going to have to buy all the sortition delegates for the rest of this convention to not be a farce and she's going to have to mortgage her ancestral lands to do it.

"I vote against both proposals to exempt delegates from taxation."

"I vote against both proposals to exempt delegates from taxation."

"I vote against both proposals to exempt delegates from taxation."

"I vote against both of the taxation exemption proposals." And their descendants is, as mentioned, ridiculous.

The wizard must be ecstatic at all of this. The whole thing is chaotic beyond belief. It's not just that the taxation proposals are short-sighted and self-serving, but there's not really a good system for all of it, which is what he finds most annoying. He knows Elie cares that people don't think he has his thumb on the scale, but some sort of guidance and procedure would not go amiss. But it's not his convention, and the annoyance is mixed with a touch of amusement at the circus of it all. And of course, the paladin trying to hinder the new government, which he can certainly appreciate.

Still, someone should say something.

"I fear things are getting out of hand, and would prefer some procedure for resolving these matters beyond shouting matches involving the whole of the convention," he says, rising from his seat with a nod toward the chair. "I admire the delegate's belief in the importance of economics. But adding a committee devoted to a general subject when there are already specific committees dealing with specific matters only causes confusion. The issue of taxation has already been raised in at least one committee, and is already being addressed in detail. What's more, the current proposals, while understandably appealing to the members of this body, are over-broad and cut against the very idea of this convention," he continues, looking directly at Alex. "And the issue of slavery is already being dealt with in its own committee, and we should wait on their recommendations before proceeding."

"For those reasons, I vote down the redundant proposed economics committee, both motions to exempt delegates from taxation, and the resolution declaring slavery as Asmodean. I have no opinion on the membership of the slavery committee, other than it should be settled by the regular channels for committee membership."

Having said his piece, he returns to his seat, staring at each delegate involved in the process in turn.

Praised be the new Queen for having at least chosen her archdukes well. 

He's not an archduke but people still look to him. "I - abstain, on the original tax exemption proposal. Against Baron Ramirez' version. Against the economics committee. In favor of the resolution condemning slavery."

Exempting all delegates from taxation: fails by an embarrassingly thin margin, 320-246 with a number of delegates abstaining out of either conviction or confusion. Exempting all non-noble delegates and their descendants: fails by a slightly larger margin, 344-221.

The resolution declaring that slavery is Asmodean passes, 404-160.

Republicanism is still terrible but not quite as bad as it could have been.

Thank Iomedae, sanity prevails. He voted against both tax exemptions, of course. Hopefully the reasonable politicians noticed and the 221 people who voted for his proposal didn't.

You literally proposed the version most destructive in the long term, you self obsessed and hypocritical shit! Well, if the country hadn’t immediately exploded upon the nobles not paying their taxes, but as a druid she’s not actually very clear on what percentage of the thing she doesn’t like (money) comes from certain factions she doesn’t like (nobility) or how that might cause the country to collapse. So, clearly, the short sighted all encompassing generational one was more ridiculous!!! And the guy who brought it up didn’t even vote for it himself!!! Aggravating!!!

(Nobody is likely to care about Voshrelka’s votes, but she voted the exact way she stated she would, which is against the very ridiculous rules, and also agrees slavery is Asmodean.)

The fragment of her soul that likes to encourage her people's independent natures, that makes her love her city as it is and not as it would be if the Thrunes had had their way, is more than a little disappointed follow-the-archduke worked so well on the non-noble delegates exemption; yes, it would be a terrible idea and unprincipled bribe voted to the convention over everyone else, but it ought to have at least gotten more votes in favor than the country-imploding first suggestion. Probably the famous paladin's vote mattered more than she'd have guessed.

(She voted that slavery is Asmodean, and would have even if she didn't believe it. Duh.)

"Having held those votes, I would like second Delegate Permira's request for general procedures for adding and removing committee members. Whether we choose them by statement of the President or, if he prefers, by vote, we need to know. And as Archduke Shawil says, we should settle it by those channels, not just make a single vote on changing one committee, regardless of how needed those changes might be."

Enric was ready to vote with the paladin against the archdukes, because that’s what you do when there’s a paladin standing alone against the world. Then the paladin abstained and now it’s just confusing. It would be nice to know that if he had kids they would never get harassed by a taxman, but it’s not right to put yourself above your neighbors just because you were in the same room as a bunch of nobles and they weren’t. Abstain.

Calling slavery Asmodean is obvious to anyone who knows the difference between good neighbors and manors with cruel lords. Voting yes on that one.

Iker knows where his loyalty stands. Voting against that paladin who keeps trying to turn the army to Lastwall. Voting with his future boss, whichever archduke that might be. 

Taís was going to vote for the tax proposals, not having to pay taxes would be really nice for her family and none of her kids having to pay them either would be even better, but if literally every archduke is against it she can take a hint. Getting murdered by an archduke for voting the wrong way would be bad.

Slavery is not Asmodean. One may hang a the painting on the wall without inviting Shelyn, eat bread without worshiping Erastil, be born and die without the least care for Pharasma, spend and earn without a backward glance at Abadar. Or perhaps it's Asmodean in the terrifically weak sense that the color red is too: chase out color red and you'll do Shelyn more injury than Asmodeus. (It's more centrally Iomedae's color, but she doesn't seem like the type to care, while Shelyn would miss any color.)

Liushna abstained on both tax questions since she doesn't know enough about taxes to make an informed decision, and also her people don't pay the human crown taxes anyway so she doesn't have any skin in the game at all. 

She votes that slavery is Asmodean. She would also, you know, vote that the sky is blue, if it came up.