Realizing that this could be problem, both for the Tribunal, and for the negotiations with the Order of Suleiman, Timaeus decides to jump in. "If I may, I have a possible solution to this conundrum." And he gets up on a chair or a table, both so he can be seen, and so that he can see the reactions of others "While the esteemed Mount Hermon is, currently, outside the bounds of the Tribunal, we are already going to negotiate with the Order of Suleiman, so why not just add that as another article to the discussion so to speak. Except, this can be done as an addendum to the agreement. After all, if we can get an exception to Mount Hermon, as well as Jerusalem, it would be to add it to the agreement. And since Mount Hermon has a representative on the delegation, they can be sure that their interests are well represented. And, if push comes to shove, we can call another Tribunal to discuss this matter later, once we have the responses from the delegation."
"Mount Hermon does not have a represenative on the delegation, that would be the Templar covenant."
"indeed, ever member of my covenant known to the order of Seuleman is under a death order or whatever they call it, and the order of Seuleman is unaware of the location of our covenant, a situation which we need to maintain."
Timaeus looks incredibly at the Flambeau "Your entire covenant is under death order by them, and yet you stick to staying in a land they hold? If your covenant's location is unknown to them, why risk them finding out and attacking you? Why not put spells in place to keep it secure, and move your operations somewhere safer? Am asking out of genuine concern here."
The Flambeau simply gives you a crooked smile "It is maintaining the traditions of our founder"
"You might be following your founder's footsteps, but keeping your covenant there, which could be taken by the Order of Suleiman as a breach of our agreement, would jeopardize not just your lives, but the lives of all Magi, as well as the lives of the crusaders, and of the regular folk in all areas that they can attack in."
" We did not start the war, and the Muslim devils will harm these people whether we are there or not. Surrender is not an option. "
Malik ex Miscellanea rises. He is a tall, lean man, with unkempt red hair and beard.
"If I may, I think the negotiators should not disclose the location of any covenant not already definitely known to the Suleiman, as that would create a danger to our sodales. Mount Herman is not the only covenant in violation of the treaty, I believe Mghar Suriq is in the same situation, are they not? The negotiators can certainly try to win us more space, without being specific as to where that space is.
I would like to ask, what is the long term goal of our dealings with the Suleiman? Are we establishing friendly relations in the first steps toward absorbing them as a new house? As a way to give us time to prepare for war? Or do we want to continue things the way they are indefinitely? The solution to the question of the covenants in muslim lands depends on our goals. If war is inevitable, we should pursue every advantage we can, including forward bases; but if we are working toward a permanent peace, we should try to follow the letter of any agreement we ratify.
In either case, since we are negotiating new terms, it would make little sense to take away a covenant's recognition, if a new treaty a year from now would allow for its lawful existence. Therefore, I think the fates of covenants in breach of the current agreement should be set aside until a new agreement is before this body."
This starts off a round of boisterous conversation which is impossible to follow with everyone speaking at once, until a loud rapping brings thins to order. "If I might summarize, we are not in agreement as to our long term goals, which realistically should come as no surprise. There are those who simply wish to defeat the Seulemani's and take their texts as conquest. Other would wish to learn more of their ways, and of other mysteries both living and ancient which this land holds. As to absorbing them as a house." he takes a drink of water to gather himself "That would be beyond the authority of this tribunal, and would be unlikely to gain approval, in part because there is an ex-miscellanea tradition which already encompasses the core of their art and comes from their descent. Most would argue, I believe, that the Seuleman Order are not funders and will never be founders, and that as such they must join as ex miscellanea or not at all. Furthermore it would seem from what we know that this order has established relationships allying itself as court wizards for Islamic powers, and so as long as there is war between the crusader states and Muslim states, it would appear that war with the Seulemani's is also inevitable The news which was covered at the beginning of this tribunal, which you may or may not have heard, is that the pope has launched a new crusade to retake Jeruselum, though the majority of that force has been diverted to a civil war in Thebes, the lesser part of these crusaders should be arriving any day now, the outcome of which is uncertain." Now silence hangs over the chamber as the full implications of the summary sink in.
Malik rises again. "I appreciate your corrections, you are of course correct regarding a new house, I should have said new tradition. I'm sure they would be welcomed into our house, though I'm aware that such an occurrence might cause strife within the order, due to their numbers and their faith. I would also remind everyone that if they discover our protection against magic is not Divine in nature, peace would become much harder, if not impossible; and if they found out after joining they might well feel they had been deceived. I believe this is a second reason war may be inevitable, though I feel that peace is desirable both to give more knowledge and strength to the order by expansion, and for the pragmatic reason of being less costly to the Order in lives and resources. But if war is likely, we would do well to make allowances for those who would be on the front line of such a war, such as the covenant under consideration."