A copy of this letter is delivered to /all/ Noble Estates, The Regalian Palace, All Vassal Houses, Inside the locker of every Guardsman, and a public letter is also pinned to all public boards across the city and ESPECIALLY Common Taverns. This letter is partially dictated from the Emperor's words, partially composed by the College of Princes and the Grand Ekhein of the Imperial Palace. ((OOC Summary at the Bottom for ease of reference)) For a considerable amount of time now, the Crown has been in conclave with the Everwatcher to contemplate the ethical weight of the institution of Slavery on the people, the owners of other souls, the users of other souls, and the collective weight that society bears as advantages are moved around the chain of hierarchy for all invariably to benefit from. The Emperor, after much consideration, has decided that the institution of slavery, while having been a historical necessary evil, has reached such a permeated state of presence, that indeed the whole of society has become morally tainted by it. The Emperor has always observed that the holding of personal ownership over another soul is in direct contradiction of Unionist's tenets on personal freedom as dictated by God Emperor Vess or the Divine Instruments Tarnan & Sarvan. The Emperor professes that this institution has always been a necessary evil for the expansion and growth of the Empire, as manpower shortages dictate how effective the Empire can wage war. The slave tills the field, so the citizen may die on the battlefield for duty, has always been the applicable adage. For centuries slavery itself was an aspect of society that allowed a relative freedom to conscientiously object. After all, one could simply choose not to consume tabacca, in the knowledge that unliberated hands proliferated the market of this substance. However, as the centuries have passed, the immoral institution of slavery became less a vehicle of necessity and more a vehicle of greed and apathy. Even though the act of enslaving a person was outlawed nearly ten years ago, the number of slaves per capita has been increasing exponentially. Even though laws were created to give protections and freedoms to slaves, the number of slaves are ever increasing, even to the depravity of slave breeding camps in the greater Hellatia area where unsavory individuals circumvent the Eronidas slavery ban by simply breeding more slaves in captivity. Slavery has become so permeated in the primary and secondary institutions of the economy that it is impossible to be a conscientious objector, or a moral enemy of slavery. Even the most stalwart anti-slavery defenders in House Morathes unknowingly wear clothes spun from wool sheared from unfree hands, and golden thread mined with chained ankles. To be a conscientious objector to the practice of slavery, in the Empire, in this day and age, is to go hungry and to wear nothing and to indeed own nothing, for the practice has permeated to such a degree that every item on the common market whether imported or exported has become tainted with the practice. Every citizen, no matter how wealthy or poor, is bearing the fruits of slavery and benefiting from it. Anyone who is free, stands on ground tilled, worked and treaded upon by the chained masses that yearn to be free. A slow encroachment of civil liberties for slaves is proving ineffective to the crown, and as such, the Crown is opting for more direct demands for change. Here follows the Emperor's Decree, as given Divine Assent by Vess, Tarnan and Sarvan in spirit. TLDR; The Emperor says slavery was once necessary to grow the Empire, but is evil. The Emperor says God Emperors and Divine Instruments are against it. The Emperor says that while conscientious objection to slavery was once possible, it no longer is and hasn't been for a really long time, and even some of the most staunch anti-slavery people are plucking the fruits of slave labor and living in slave-labor induced luxury and that no single person can claim the moral high ground of being against slavery while also not benefitting from it. The Emperor signs new laws to amend this. The Crown will institute a blanket ban on primary and secondary sector economic slavery that shall be completed by the end of this year. By the winter of reflection of 310 AC, all industrial and resource harvesting slaves shall have to be set free, and every person who still employs of uses such an individual in forced bondage will be fined 2,000 Regals per day per slave. The Crown shall exempt personal care and entertainment bonded individuals. The Crown shall also exempt criminal lives commuted from death or life imprisonment to service. The Crown shall also outlaw the practice of white-collar slavery, better known as indentured servitude, by requiring a minimum payment or wage for indentured servants beyond the basic subsistence of living costs. The Crown has discussed utilizing industrial capacity to replace slave labor in the fields with engineering devices such as automata, which work tirelessly, and only require maintenance, no food or medical attention and can work day and night. Our Qadir allies ensure us this is viable but costly. The Crown shall decree that the State shall finance an exchange scheme where every industrial or agriculturally employed slave shall be replaced with Engineered Automata at a rate of four slaves to one automata. The Bureaucracy has calculated costs for this endeavor outlined in the map below. The Emperor decrees that both Financial Ministries bear the responsibility of phasing out industrial and agricultural slaves in the period of the next 2 months, so that every sector there-in is slave free by July, and that the government may start working on financial schemes to support the emancipated slave population after that, as there is an obvious expectation of unemployment and homelessness. The Financial Ministries may tackle regions at a time, some regions marked as "0" have no industrial or agricultural slavery present, or only have entertainment slaves present, which the Crown has chosen not to ban, due to the nebulous and often consensual nature of content consumption therein. The Emperor decrees that houses de Azcoissia, Valloaan, Peirgarten, du Poncaire, Delmotte, Viduggla, Sorenvik, Nordhjem, Petrou, Litvinova and Abbansadi may expect civil unrest, and are advised to keep their troops close at hand to repress civil unrest as a result of this choice, and enforcement of machine-labor that is still considered culturally unpopular by some, and the decree an attack on their personal and cultural identity. TLDR: The Emperor bans industrial and agricultural slavery and wants the finance Ministries to pay for a replacement scheme of machine golems for the economic regions affected by this ban, to phaze out all of the slaves in these sectors by July. Map of Wealth Token costs for the replacement scheme per province:
A melancholic and troubled Lord sits within his estate having been long tortured by his thoughts. Before the door burst open! Causing the Lord to tumble to the floor in suprise. “<Ib> By Baskarr we are free! Near all of her children are free Atum, free as you and me!”, cried Rahim in elation. In his entire life Atum had never known the servant to so totally lose composure. Yet as he read the decree, he feel to his knees and wept for so open and long one might think he was just given a death sentence. Weeping tears of joy unmatched. Atum slammed a hand on the table, crying out into regalia, “HOW GREAT AND GLORIOUS IS THE VESSEL OF THE EVERWATCHER! VESS’ DREAM HAS AT LAST COME!” With the shouted prayer, the streets and townhouse filled with light washing away all dirt and grime. The solid form of broken chains filled every visual crevice of the estate and adjoining street. Standing atop it all was the androgynous figure of a joyful Vess, a nimble form of a joyous liberator, flanked by Hero Amun and Hero Lucia alongside the Corsair crew of Amun’s liberators. The Celate took up the violin and backed by a choir of now free voices gave his most heartfelt rendition of Davide Demarch-Sapelle’s Chainbreaker into the city from the balcony. As the song began his instrument shifted to appear as if formed from pure light as more and more joyous faith was poured into the ritual. Once the song ended, the manifestations gave final smiles as they began to fade. The Lord-Celate turned to Rahim. “I should thank the Emperor, I am glad that now I might complete a great part of my life’s work. Before I consider where my path must go because I can not leave the peers…not until I use this power as intended. To bring this Empire into paradise!” He stepped off the balcony, “Use all available means to spread the word to every Ordax of Salmaar, every follower of Calvannis, every race and every culture, and to every last ally to the cause that can be summoned. It’s time to ensure our dream and carry out the Emperor’s rightful will!!” With that the Lord sat down and with tears still flowing began to write the most joyous of edicts he every made.
"Not once do they mention the lands of Ithania, they ignored abolition before, they will do it again.. I doubt they will take action to help all those poor Asha"
A thick, pale hand combed through his grey streaked beard as he hummed to himself; the proclamation had certainly raised many eyebrows, though more so, it raised many questions in Leidolf's mind. His eyes scanned the room filled with other Velheim and he cleared his throat, raising his voice finally to ask those around him, rather rhetorically: "I wonder perhaps, does his Imperial Holiness know of Bondebillung and how vastly different it is to the common perception of slavery? Many of those in servitude under our people eat at our own tables and break bread with our families, and so often they join our families through union of marriage. And our slaves are given up voluntarily, or have committed great crimes and even then they enjoy their freedoms." While he could not say he felt strongly on the matter, he seemed fixated on the finer points; his hand drawing away from his beard now and down to pair with his other, out above the fire he had been standing by. A deep breath was drawn further and he shook his head. "I suppose they could reclaim those taken in conquest, but when in the last Gods know how many decades have our people lashed out in an attempt at such a conquest? There can be very few left in that same vein of slavery, if any at all. If only I might pick his Imperial Holiness mind and see things as he does."
Asra reads this in a news column. He sighs, thinking to himself on the matter going forward. "While it's good that finally the slaves are freed, I wonder how much will be done to reimburse those left in the servitude of their cruel masters going forth, to help them join society and forge their own path through it as members of it. I reckon...little, seeing as the Empire want to spend all their money on constructs and are likely only doing this for their faith and there being a decrease in profits in the area anyway. Yes, these poor souls will be left to fend for themselves, and instead of now being slaves, become the lowest common denominator - that of the poorest folk. And so many ills will still be blamed on them, as they still are on the poor folk, and I bet a lot of former slave owners will be against re-hiring them for their, quote unquote, savage or lesser forms and souls. Even still, I wish the lot of them the best and shall offer them service and work should they come looking for it, and I wish the slave owners a quick and painful loss of coin. The scum. May they feel what they, and theirs have wrought mercilessly."
hearing tell of these statments a local celate quotes the latter part of the paper to this person, “the government may start working on financial schemes to support the emancipated slave population after that, as there is an obvious expectation of unemployment and homelessness” “Thats from number five on the Emperor’s list and I do welcome your assistance good person. We shall need the help of more like yourself when the industrialization Improves the already good economy. As the third point says, the automatons will easily replace slavery if accepted and improve efficiency.”
