Ryan Bailey (order #2639004) 173.14.196.1 - fap.if.usp.br

Ryan Bailey (order #2639004) 1CHAPTER ONE: LIFE IN THE HIGH FIRST AGETHE MANY DELIBERATIVESWhen the people of Creation say “the Deliberative,” they usually mean it one of three ways:All of Creation’s governing bodies. In some minds, every government in Creation is “the Deliberative,” savefor the ruling bodies of those rare tributaries that turn against Deliberative principalities. (They never last.) A mortalmight blame “the Deliberative” for rising tax rates even if her Prince raised them on his own; even if he’s raisedthem further than the laws of the Clear Glass Accord (p. 47) allow. Most mortals don’t concern themselves withthe workings of the highest levels of Creation’s government, and either are unaware of a more specific meaning forthe term or don’t care enough to be precise. This is the most common use of the term and also the least accurate.The Solar Deliberators. Every Solar Exalt is a Deliberator. Some who speak of the Deliberative mean, specifically,the Solars who compose the Deliberative’s decision-making body. Most who use “the Deliberative” to mean“the Solar Exalted” intend to exclude those Solars who rule tributaries. Nevertheless, tributary rulers are still Deliberatorsin name.The bureaucratic apparatus and armed forces of the highest level of Creation’s government. This definitionis the most technically correct. “The Deliberative” refers to the 300 Solar Deliberators (but only in their functionas Deliberators), as well as the bureaucracy that supports them in their duties as Deliberators (not the bureaucraciesof their principalities), most of the governing body of Meru and the Deliberative’s peacekeeping forces (not thearmed forces of the principalities). Savants and politicians most often use this definition, and speak of principalitygovernments as separate entities.Due to historical precedent, “the Army of the Deliberative” traditionally means all the armed forces in Creationunder the command of the Solar or Lunar Exalted, even private armies not otherwise affiliated with the Deliberativeproper. This usage has been common since the Aftershock War, when all such armed forces came together underthe coordination of that era’s Deliberative. It shows no sign of falling out of use, regardless of its inaccuracy.within are contained. This status quo has grown precarious inthe past but always recovered. Even in the aftermath of theTime of Cascading Years, the Deliberative survives and theSolars unite to overcome adversity. Most Deliberators lookforward to another 3,000 years of the same, sure that what hasworked in the past will continue to work. A few worry thatthe peace of the Deliberative will not last, that open conflictbetween the Solar Exalted will ravage Creation once more.Hardly any consider the other Exalted as potential threats.STRUCTUREThe 300 Solar Exalted make up the actual decisionmakingbody of the Deliberative. Their choices chart thefuture course of Creation, and none may gainsay them. TheDeliberators conduct the business of government from theRuling Palace of Meru under the watchful eye of their patrongod. The Lunar and Sidereal Exalted typically attend sessionsof the Deliberative to advise the Lawgivers on mattersthat interest or concern them. Many other luminaries, fromDragon-Bloods to Dragon Kings to gods, often attend aswell, and all have the right to speak before the Deliberative(even mortals). In the end, however, only the votes of theSolar Exalted matter.PARTIESOver the millennia of its existence, a number of partiesrepresenting the political agendas and aspirations of the Lawgivershave arisen. Over time, the power and membership inthese parties has ebbed and flowed, with some (the so-calledCreationists, for example) having merged with other partiesand others (the Deliberatists) having faded away entirely.What follows is a breakdown of the parties as they stand inthe Deliberative currently.THE CAULDRONISTSThe most controversial activists within the last twocenturies, the Cauldronists wish to dismantle Creation.Or so their opponents claim.The Cauldronists propose a radical course of action. Theywish to create a world as free and mutable as those portions ofCreation carved from the Wyld. Using terraforming Charmsand technology, the Exalted have pushed the world’s bordersfar outward, designing the resulting land for maximum utility.The geomancy of terraformed land is easily incorporated intogeomantic power grids, the flora and fauna tailored for convenience.Even the landscapes are shaped for human needs.The original areas of Creation have no such utility.They were created by the Primordials and shaped by theelements. The Solars have done much to shape the worldin the time since prehistory’s end, but the Cauldronists seethese efforts as repair on an obsolete structure. They wishto begin anew.So far, Cauldronists have achieved limited successshaping their prefectures to their liking through networks of42