Ameline who is dressed in the grey habit as a nun speaks softly [color=red]"I am Ameline ex Miscellania. I have been here since the call to protect Kesara came to me and brought me here. So here is where she should be. More importantly, her father would have a hard time teaching her and doing his own labwork if he is trying to run somewhere into hiding."
He nods politely. "I am Octavian of Tremere, filius of Tiberius and quaesitore of Iberia Tribunal. If I may correct your logic, mistress Ameline ex Miscellanea. The call, if any, you speak of has no bearing on where Kesara will reside. Secondly, it is based on assumption that master Inigo will be her teacher when that has not yet been initiated."
[color=green]Antonio: [color=red]Hold on a moment. Inigo just said a few minutes ago he is taking her as an apprentice. And according to the story Vares and Inigo shared, Vanacastium has proclaimed that she is his apprentice already. You can engage in legal vagarities if you wish, but so can I. If anyone dares to try and take Kesara from her father, they will have to face me and the rest of the Knights of Seneca in an unyeilding succession of Wizard Wars. If someone tried pulling anything like that on my daughter when I was raising her... 
Antonio is not directing this towards anyone specific, just a reaction to any question as to whose apprentice Kesara is. And you can tell he is taking it quite personal. Someone did try to pull this on Carmen back when she was a toddler. That magus no longer lives.
"With all due respect to master Vanacastium, he is no longer a magus but a spirit. There are far more secure locations within the Order than this one. As master Rodrigo has said, rash decisions and proclamations will be one's undoing. A member of House Bonisagus can lay claim to her at any time. Will you fight the full might of that House backed by its allies, hoplites and quaesitores as it defends its right in the Code?"
Your words are wise, but you are judged unfairly 
[color=green]Antonio: [color=red]Do you ever stop? Look, the Bonisagi have relied upon me and my societas before. They won't risk loosing a powerful ally. I am that ally, I am the hoplite they call upon! Myself and sodales who owe more personal loyalty to me than to a foolish upstart who would make such an unwise decision. And yes, I will take on any and all who seek to separate a daughter from her father! Bargain from a position of Strength Octavian. The only way to insure peace is to prepare for war.
Such a simple matter has the potential for such disaster. If only we had a Quaesitor who seeks harmony over division. A Transitionalist as opposed to a Traditionalist
"Then take her as your own apprentice master Perez if that is what you truly believe."
((OOC: Transitionalist doesn't equate to stupid or not being mindful of how the Code will be interpreted by others).
(ooc: Good Roleplaying though!)
[color=red]"While a Bonisagus under the code can claim her, no one else can. I too will back Inigo's right to take her as apprentice to any save a Bonisagus. No Bonisagus though would likely claim her if he knew that an infernalist was coming after her and that he would be investigated for taint before the claim was allowed. What bonisagus would take an apprentice that they would require constant aid of hoplites or lose her." She looks at Octavian [color=red]"I am sure you would agree to assist with investigation and verification of anyone that appeared as Bonisagus to claim her?
Ameline continues [color=red]"While I have promised certain research for improving the church and chapel here, my first priority is to the vision from St. James that directed me here to the protection of Kesara. It is only the fact Inigo had first right to his daughter as apprentice, a right that I respected, that I did not open her arts as my apprentice last season. Technically, we could say she is my apprentice that I am yielding to Inigo freely and only him. As for a safer place? What place is safe than a covenant full of veterans of the war against the infernal tainted diabolists, a strong organized guard, strong defensive walls and a maga dedicated to the dominion as much as the order. The sensing of the unholy is one of my abilities."
[color=green]Antonio: [color=red]Finally! Someone that is making sense!
Octavian, the Law of God is superior to the Code of Hermes. I consider my bible to be a Volume of Sacred Law. A daughter belongs to her Father, and this is superior to any consideration of secular or Hermetic authority. This is why I would lay my life down for my sword brother.
You ask if I would be willing to fight? I am willing to die if need be. You need to understand how important this is to me, as a fellow Father. I went through this myself, and I will not let Inigo go through it alone. Offer solutions rather than conflict.
"Thou shalt not kill. That is part of your 'sacred law'. Words are wind master Perez. Take her as your apprentice and she will not be separated from her father and she will have the hermetically most powerful among us to train and protect her."
[color=red]"The fact is that if Inigo takes her as his apprentice, the most powerful hermetically has already pledge to protect her to stay with the one that has claimed her as his apprentice. Such that any that seek to contest Inigo's apprentice shall find he has a champion for certamen or wizard war. " Ameline understand what Antonio is saying and she understands that the Archmage might not want to be the one with the obligation to do the teaching even if he will lend himself to the protection.
The matter of Kesara's Apprenticeship is one that Vares feels fully. The desire to keep one's own Gifted offspring with one is great indeed.
"If I might speak a few words regarding Kesara's formal pater or mater within the Order?"
He waits to be recognised before proceeding, not wanting his words lost in the middle of a heated debate. "The precedent of a Magus taking his Gifted offspring as Apprentice can be traced to Mercere himself. He succored, tutored, and trained them to the fullest, and, through them, House Mercere has its Gifted lineages. Had another Magus laid claim to them--Tremere, perhaps," he looks at Octavian, "while Mercere was away, assisting the Order as he did even before becoming the Founder of all Code-recognised and sanctioned messengers, I am certain that his claim would have been judged the superior by the majority of the other Founders.
"I choose this parallel directly, and for a reason. Vanacastium informed us of Inigo's lineage, and, through him, Kesara's. She is a child--an heir--of Flambeau himself. One identified as such by an Archmagus of extreme distinction and age. To take her from her ancestor's House..." He pauses. "How would House Mercere react if a young Gifted heir to Mercere were taken while that heir's Gifted father was away on the business of the House and the Order, by any other than Bonisagus? Even the Bonisagi would hesitate to do so, for the affront it might rightly be taken as. The same holds for all the other Lines of the Founders."
His tone remains level, not provocative, yet there is a deep undercurrent of passion, carefully channeled and controlled. "It is right that a Gifted child of distinction receive the best training and education possible. It is not unusual for some to exchange mentors during an Apprenticeship, spending time with different Magi while always remaining duly in the charge and line of the Apprentice's paren. Kesara IS Inigo's daughter. She is a child of Flambeau. It is right that he BE her pater, but that does not mean that others might not participate in her training, might not watch over, protect, and educate her." He directs his attention to the Maga who claimed her in Inigo's absence, "As you intended. I appeal to you, consider these arguments, and release her back to her father. Inigo, I believe that she had only Kesara's well-being at heart, and not some craven desire to still her from you. Let the matter be resolved quietly, and with the understanding that your exceptional daughter will attract and should receive special attention."
Vares makes one more related aside. "There are Bonisagi who would claim her precisely because the rogue Metron is after her. Magi of Durenmar, who would likely then cede her to Phillipus Niger, Archmagus of Flambeau, scourge of the Renunciates and those who would defy the Order's traditions. Not many Diabolists would do well against one in his safekeeping."
On the separate matter of Andorra's Tribunal membership, Vares expounds, "The Tribunal of Val-Negra was never formally dissolved. The COVENANT of Val-Negra was reassigned to the Provencal Tribunal and the adjusted borders of the Val-Negra Tribunal were considered to hold the renamed Tribunal of Iberia. Ergo, whatever Andorra's official, border status, it has been nominally registered as part of Iberia. Andorra was a part of the TRIBUNAL of Val-Negra; it did not automatically share Val-Negra's specific, Grand Tribunal-determined reassignment. Any more than several other Covenants."
There is a thin smile. "I doubt if Doissestep would be keen to have a bloc with the number of votes present at Andorra compete with it within Provencal. Especially a hostile bloc with strong ties to House Mercere. ROME, though across the waters, might welcome our addition. Allied to Harco, which works for the good of the Order, and rich in Vis which is scarce in Rome, to be appropriately shared in exchange for services, knowledge, and consideration." It is unclear whether there is any sarcasm in his words. Given Rome's reputation among recent reports for divisiveness, there is probably some.
He does not fully restrain a laugh. "Or perhaps we should be with the Rhine if we're considered to be linked yet with Val-Negra. Spectral Archmagi are revered there."
Quiet serious, Vares reiterates, "Andorra has ample preexisting arguments that it belongs with Iberia, has always BEEN a part of Iberia, and any accusation of Vagrancy to a Covenant recognised by House Mercere--thereby receiving full contact with the Order--is absurd."
Ameline says quietly [color=red]"I believe I made it clear that Kesara was Inigo's to apprentice but when these legalisms came up, I brought up my potential legal claim which specifically is that if she is my apprentice, I give her to Inigo and no one else. The requirements of my own lineage are very specific and while I hope that someday Kesara will qualify, at this time, she does not. Perhaps that could change in time and with my teaching but at the moment, her temperment and inclinations suit her better for her father's house provided that her theological and moral upbringing are not neglected."
The magus replies once both have said their piece. "I understand perfectly what Archmagus Perez has stated. I contend it is simply insufficient. She will forever have to keep an eye on her back so long as there are those that will seek her out due to her nature. The ideal solution is for archmagus Perez to take her as apprentice."
"Or simply as a temporary measure there are far greater bastions within the Order; those that Metron would be unfamiliar with or unable to know where she is located. Duresca comes to mind. Magvillus, Durenmar, or most Primi seats."
"Master Vares' conclusions are correct based on the statements he has presented. However, certain facts and assumptions are erroneous which lead to a false conclusion."
He enumerates carefully. "Firstly, as I have stated previously, Val-Negra Tribunal is no longer recognized by the Order when it was dissolved in the creation of Provencal and Iberia Tribunal.
Secondly, there was a lapse in the division that neglected to include Andorra within either Tribunal. Which is relevant in that the covenant has never formally declared for either upon it's reestablishment. Instead preferring to cling to its charter based on Val-Negra Tribunal.
Thirdly, Iberia is not considered the sole heir to the Val-Negra Tribunal, but rather it is shared with Provencal. The covenants chose to join one or the other. It is convenience that led most magi to wish to group themselves with their geographical neighbors.
Fourthly, none of the magi here to my knowledge is a resident of Provencal Tribunal, thus they cannot cast vote in provencal Tribunal. This can change if they are able to convince the Presiding Quaesitore there of their residency. Which would require Andora formally joining Provencal; essentially acquiescing to their desires.
Fifthly, there is the assumption that it is only one covenant acting alone to bring forward this motion and not several.
Sixthly, that precedence is unnassailable. The Code, particularly the Peripheral Code has often had later rulings overtturn previous decisions. Whether it is due to its rulings becoming outdated to the realities of the present such as Archmagus Perez stated earlier, or by matter of convenience or practicality to meet the ends of the Tribunal or members within.
Seventhly, Iberia Tribunal does not recognize Andorra as a covenant within its borders.
Eighthly, that master Vares is a full member of this covenant in his use of the word 'our'.
Ninthly, that House Mercere has the sole power to recognize a covenant. In truth, that power resides with the regional Tribunals.
Finally, that simply defeating the motion at regional tribunal will resolve the matter."
"I do concede that Iberia Tribunal is the logical fit for Andorra, as I have previously stated. Which does support the premise of master Vares' conclusion."
Ameline smiles and corrects gently [color=red]"Until such time as my petition to join this covenant passes. I am technically a resident able to vote in the Provencal Tribubal as the Covenant of my training was in Provencal and while I am not a member there any longer, I am still a mage of that tribunal, elegible to vote at their tribunal meetings." She has other ties of course but they are not covenant membership.
Decimus is not caught up in the debate but watch, wait and listen to what the other magi have to say. He has other concerns rather than listen to a debate. When Rodrigo calls for Decimus to follow him on his journey he nods and approves to that suggestion. Once the discussion is not this heated I will present a few suggestions to the council but for now I hold my peace, Decimus thinks to himself. To bond this covenant with Harco would be good indeed. Loyalty to the House is what really matters. Decimus ponders his own thoughts and watch the others carefully.
Ludovico stands slowly, making ready to speak though waiting to be recognized. When he speaks he gestures in accompaniment with much verve, perhaps showing his emotion more here than in his words.
[color=red]"First. I would caution Archmagus Perez against challenging his Primus without due consideration. Remember that he may also put terms to you for the duel and, should you lose, you may find yourself obligated by honor to assist him in this matter in some way. I say this not to infer that you would lose, but rather to caution you that you should weigh the risk of defeat in your decision."
In this matter he is clearly deferential and earnest in the same not, bowing slightly towards the end.
[color=red] "Second. I join the general sentiment that the young, and lovely, Kesara is the rightful property of her father. I offer any aid due such a worthy ally as Magus Elazar quite freely. Further, with his permission should he grant it, I offer to be wary towards any threat or interference with her on his behalf. From without and from within."
In the beginning he is speaking towards everyone, but in the end it seems perhaps rather sharply pointed towards Ameline. In general however his manner is congenial and full of camaraderie.
[color=red]"Third. On the matter of this legal trouble. The Tribunal business. I put to you that this current lack of affiliation is strength Andorra should strive to maintain. The Quaesitori may wish to force a choice according to their wishes, Hells, they may even be the ultimate agitating force in Provencal attempting to force the matter. Andorra does not however need to be prodded so easily. There is always an ultimate source to such things. Andorra is wealthy yes, but also rich in prowess and numbers of membership. It is not logical why, for motivations of wealth, they would seek to compel an annexation. It would introduce a great deal of conflict and competition into their affairs, over the selfsame wealth, as well, which the great covenants of that tribunal I would expect to rather avoid. So where is the source? What motivation? If not that of the Quaesitori? Beware. This may all be simply a political maneuver."
Here he grows more serious and animated, gesturing with a great deal of emphasis at his points. And even a few pointed glances towards Octavian, alluding perhaps that he knows more than he is speaking...
Meanwhile:
A couple and child, pulling a donkey with a wagon, enter the covenant. Wearing traveling clothes expected for a merchant and his wife.
Ardonis: “I knew we should have gone that other route, we are late.â€
Kallista: “I don’t think we have a formal request to perform. As long as dinner is still being served we’ll be fine. Besides we haven’t finished the lyrics for the Knights of Seneca. I’d hate to offend them by drawing similarities with the Vanguard if they have bad blood with them.â€
Ardonis:â€I think that is the banquet hall, lots of people coming in and out. You should go in and get something for Daphne to eat, she’s tired of tubers. No matter what you make them taste like, they’re still tubers.â€
Kallista:â€I grew up on roots and tubers.â€
Ardonis:â€No, you didn’t.â€
Kallista:â€Well I never complained like she does.â€
Ardonis:â€Haha, yes… yes you did.â€
Kallista:â€If you want to be married, you should stop disagreeing with everything I say.â€
Ardonis: â€Who said I wanted to marry? I’m young still. I’m sure Andorra has much to offer…†he is interrupted by a kiss, Kallista loves when he plays coy.
Ardonis:â€Your lips are an honorable narcotic.†They are interrupted.
Daphne: “Moooommmy… I’m hungry.â€
Kallista: “Let’s go get you something.†To Ardonis, “Will you be all right to find our lodging and unpack? Find someone to help you. You can’t lift them on your own. And be careful of the ‘you know what’ (vis) in the middle case.â€
Ardonis:â€I’ll be fine.â€
Ardonis hails the nearest person that doesn’t look too busy. Lets them know who they are and they are guests of Antonio.
Kallista goes to what she thinks is the banquet hall with Daphne, asking for directions along the way.
When inside the banquet hall, Kallista will call over someone that resembles an Usher. [color=red] Handsome sir, could you tell Antiono that his guest, Kallista, of house Marinita from the Thebian tribunal is here. She'll look for the high table, surveying the room both for Antonio and food for Daphne.
After retrieving some fruit, grapes if they are available, for Daphne, she'll approach the table where Antonio is seated.