10-03-2019, 07:16 PM
Palace of Flowers
Chamber of Whispers
October 3rd, 3:45 am, Xiomeran time
It was a very rare occasion for both the Great Council and Cabinet to be gathered together at the same time. It made even the expansive Chamber of Whispers a bit crowded, for one thing. It also gathered all of Xiomera's top leaders in one place in a way that made ASI and the Shorn Ones extremely unhappy, from a security standpoint.
But on rare occasions, it could not be helped. And the death of an Emperor was definitely one of those occasions.
The leaders of the four tribes, along with the Cabinet, had to come to an agreement on when to summon the ihuicatl that would decide who the next Emperor would be. They also had to decide how it would be held - Xiomeran law mandated that the Great Selection be a public process. Camaxtica, the first ruler of Xiomera in the modern, post-civil war era, had decreed that the people had the right to see and hear the debates leading up to the enthronement of an Emperor. It had since become a tradition.
The security forces had objected strenuously to the idea of holding the Great Selection in a manner that was open to the public this time, however. As Tepilcayotl pointed out, this Great Selection was happening because someone had just shot and killed the previous Emperor in a public place. And with the riot at the Palace of Flowers, and the unrest on Manauia Island, still fresh on everyone's minds, few in attendance at this meeting found a reason to object.
The "reformist" bloc of the Xiomeran leadership, led by Cozamalotl, proposed a compromise. While the actual meeting location would be closed to the public and heavily guarded, the debates and the Selection itself would be televised and streamed online for the first time. The public could still see the sausage-making of the process, and the "cooks" (the ihuicatl and the candidates) would still be safe. This was a rare moment where the reformists and traditionalists in Xiomeran government could agree - especially since many of the people in the room were already planning to jump into the ring and eyeing each other wondering who their prospective Imperial rivals were.
Besides, the real sausage-making (the closed door private discussions, under-the-table bribery and horse-trading that made up a true ihuicatl) would still be quite invisible to the outside world, as it always was.
The location was easy enough to choose - the Great Selection was always held at the Huēyi Teōcalli, the ancient temple dedicated to Huītzilōpōchtli and Tlāloc in the center of Tlālacuetztla. Its great sacred hall was both draped in Xiomeran tradition and ample enough to easily accomodate everyone attending. And, as Cozamalotl noted with a wry shrug, it was fancy enough to look good on TV and give an appropriate backdrop to the Great Selection. Xiomerans would be inspired by all the tradition, foreigners would find it all breathtakingly exotic and rich, and the TV ratings would be through the roof.
The only thing remaining, then, was deciding on when to announce the Emperor's passing and when the actual date for the Great Selection would be. The traditionalists wanted both done as quickly as possible - instability and a power vacuum were anathema to them. The reformists, however, wanted a slower process, to give themselves more time to put together their campaigns. In the end, as acting ruler, Chief Justice Nopalliztli split the difference. The passing of the Emperor would be announced immediately, and a week of mourning declared. The Great Selection would take place after that week of mourning was over.
With that decided, the meeting at the Palace ended and everyone left quickly. Many of them had campaigns to plan, after all.
Chamber of Whispers
October 3rd, 3:45 am, Xiomeran time
It was a very rare occasion for both the Great Council and Cabinet to be gathered together at the same time. It made even the expansive Chamber of Whispers a bit crowded, for one thing. It also gathered all of Xiomera's top leaders in one place in a way that made ASI and the Shorn Ones extremely unhappy, from a security standpoint.
But on rare occasions, it could not be helped. And the death of an Emperor was definitely one of those occasions.
The leaders of the four tribes, along with the Cabinet, had to come to an agreement on when to summon the ihuicatl that would decide who the next Emperor would be. They also had to decide how it would be held - Xiomeran law mandated that the Great Selection be a public process. Camaxtica, the first ruler of Xiomera in the modern, post-civil war era, had decreed that the people had the right to see and hear the debates leading up to the enthronement of an Emperor. It had since become a tradition.
The security forces had objected strenuously to the idea of holding the Great Selection in a manner that was open to the public this time, however. As Tepilcayotl pointed out, this Great Selection was happening because someone had just shot and killed the previous Emperor in a public place. And with the riot at the Palace of Flowers, and the unrest on Manauia Island, still fresh on everyone's minds, few in attendance at this meeting found a reason to object.
The "reformist" bloc of the Xiomeran leadership, led by Cozamalotl, proposed a compromise. While the actual meeting location would be closed to the public and heavily guarded, the debates and the Selection itself would be televised and streamed online for the first time. The public could still see the sausage-making of the process, and the "cooks" (the ihuicatl and the candidates) would still be safe. This was a rare moment where the reformists and traditionalists in Xiomeran government could agree - especially since many of the people in the room were already planning to jump into the ring and eyeing each other wondering who their prospective Imperial rivals were.
Besides, the real sausage-making (the closed door private discussions, under-the-table bribery and horse-trading that made up a true ihuicatl) would still be quite invisible to the outside world, as it always was.
The location was easy enough to choose - the Great Selection was always held at the Huēyi Teōcalli, the ancient temple dedicated to Huītzilōpōchtli and Tlāloc in the center of Tlālacuetztla. Its great sacred hall was both draped in Xiomeran tradition and ample enough to easily accomodate everyone attending. And, as Cozamalotl noted with a wry shrug, it was fancy enough to look good on TV and give an appropriate backdrop to the Great Selection. Xiomerans would be inspired by all the tradition, foreigners would find it all breathtakingly exotic and rich, and the TV ratings would be through the roof.
The only thing remaining, then, was deciding on when to announce the Emperor's passing and when the actual date for the Great Selection would be. The traditionalists wanted both done as quickly as possible - instability and a power vacuum were anathema to them. The reformists, however, wanted a slower process, to give themselves more time to put together their campaigns. In the end, as acting ruler, Chief Justice Nopalliztli split the difference. The passing of the Emperor would be announced immediately, and a week of mourning declared. The Great Selection would take place after that week of mourning was over.
With that decided, the meeting at the Palace ended and everyone left quickly. Many of them had campaigns to plan, after all.
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