FW: Account Escalation [Valentin]

[Anton]

Searing 47, 122 Age of Steel

The Doom of Zaichaer had resulted in several practical issues for those lucky enough for escape to the Imperium. While they were very trivial compared to the challenges faced by those unfortunate enough to have remained within the Mist filled city, they were nonetheless quite real. Perhaps the most unexpected of these was the matter of funds. Not in accessing them, those who were prudent enough to have accounts with the Guild of Coins found that their deposited wealth was still honored, despite the... difficulties currently facing their local branch.

No, as in all things Imperial, the rub lay in the regulations. There was a plethora of bylaws and ordinances concerning the accessing of certain accounts and withdrawal of certain amounts of monies, especially by non-citizens, not to mention a whole host of tax implications. It was a nightmare that many Zaichaeri, thinking themselves safe, would have to deal with over the course of the ensuing months and even years.

Maria Theresa Michaelis née von Osten had no time for such things. After discussing the matter over with her family, her dearest elder sister Anne had agreed to handle their situation within the OIR. Within a matter of days, a meeting had been assigned with a case agent to expedite her baby sister's accounts through the process. Ultimately the two decided that Anton should be delegated to handle the affair itself, as he would have to be present regardless to pay the registration fee for his Cardinal Rune, and had mentioned something or other about business.

So it was that Anton waited in the Central Bank of Gel'Grandal for the agent, enjoying the refreshments of the Gemütlichkeit. Aunt Anne had been kind enough to show him in and secure the room for him before attending to her own business, located in the building's deepest sub-basement. He had already prepared and reviewed the documents with her prior to their meeting, copies of them having been provided to the OIR in advance.

Well, most of them had been provided in advance to the OIR. Notification of intent to access his mother's dowry account, relevant tax forms, certifications of understanding, the paperwork for his Rune - all of those had been provided. The slim portfolio he held in his hand as he examined the bottles of spirits in Room A7-C however... Its contents had not.

[Valentin]

Between one tick of the clock and the next, the room changed. Anton was alone in Room A7-C and then... he was not.

This was undoubtedly Valentin's favorite party trick. He felt it gave him a certain air of mystery and authority- allowed him to seize control of a room and bull right through the introductions. Sadly, it was doomed to backfire here. There were two reasons:

One, of which Valentin was suddenly aware, was that Anton Michaelis was blind. He had no idea how he had missed this in the file, but now it was going to be as though he had just... sneaked in. An embarrassing look, as though he were trying to mock the client's condition, rather than a commanding intro. Where the fuck had this been in the file? It... oh no, no, it hadn't been in the file. That damned woman had... had...

Had done nothing he could prove. As usual.

(The second reason was that Anton's Semblance effortlessly told him the instant Valentin's slipspace portal had opened; where Valentin had come from, what the purpose of his little intimidation tactic was. Although Valentin was aware that Anton bore a Rune, he had never encountered a Master of the art, and could not be expected to understand the depths of Anton's instantaneous understanding.)

"Anton Michaelis." Valentin enunciated the name carefully, reading from the file in his hand. He had perused the entire thing several times, of course, but he'd often found that a raised file could act as an effective shield when flustered. "I am your case manager, Valentin Valentin." As usual he hated the sound his full name made as he repeated it aloud, but he'd learned long ago what a mistake it was to try to hide it; that only told people what it was you wanted to hide.

"This shouldn't take long. Can I get you something to drink? The spirits on hand are a..." Valentin adopted a soft lilt, disgust coloring his voice as he spoke the Central Bank's stupid marketing copy aloud, "...delightful waltz through the central country of the Imperium, astounding the palate with the sweet fruit of the land from Sangen to Zythura. Some of it is even drinkable."

[Anton]

Several things were close at once to Anton. First, he had managed to get assigned to a rather competent Traverser. Second, the man seemed to either know his way around or had been granted some special access to bypass the wards tasked against that very magic within the room. Third, he hated Anne. Fourth, he was a gigantic asshole. Resolving himself to make the best of the situation, Anton simply nodded in reaction to the man's arrival before getting to business.

"I am afraid Herr Valentin that you will find my palette woefully unrefined due to my time in the North. If you could be so kind as to select an appropriate varietal with which to begin my education, I would be most grateful," Anton replied. It is important to note that despite his clear fluency in his mother's tongue that the manner in which he spoke it was almost unintelligible to the average Northside factory worker. This was because Anton did not speak standard Kathalan, having been trained instead almost entirely in the extremely technical and formal register of High Kathalan, a dialect which was in practice used only at the most solemn of ceremonies and in official documents.

At the time, it had made sense to teach him this way. The language was almost never spoken in Zaichaer itself, save by emissaries of some Imperial organ or another, and the mode was quite common in texts. More to the point, it had always been assumed that were Anton to visit the Imperium, it would be some formal errand or another, where the very stylized form of speech would prove a benefit rather than a drawback. But these explanations did nothing to change the fact that Valentin was forced to sit across from a man who spoke more like a priest or magistrate than any ordinary client.

"Traversion, yes? You are rather gifted with your Rune. It was illegal in the Fatherland, for reasons that I am certain seemed sensible to the men making such decisions."

[Valentin]

"Mmm." Valentin wasn't in a good mood, and he wasn't inclined to like the young herr Michaelis. Another man might have poured Anton a bad vintage on that basis, but Valentin was a consummate civil servant. "I'll pour you bittere and süßes, and you must decide yourself whether you prefer tears or laughter."

Valentin hitched a set of glasses, and then two bottles- an advocaat and a dry gin. He passed them across the table without further exposition.

"Traversion indeed; well spotted, herr Michaelis. The art is particularly appropriate for--even essential to--administration. I've always thought the Zaichaeri distaste for it was..." Valentin sought for an appropriately polite term, "A particularly provincial one. In Gel'Grandal, the Imperial Mandate is sufficient to guide men through the temptations offered by such magic."

Those pleasantries concluded, Valentin looked back towards his folder.

"Now, speaking of Cardinal Runes, I believe your... aunt has provided you with the proper form for the registry. Standard excise and fees paperwork, also. I understand that you wish to act as agent for your younger sister for the purposes of executing the provisions of an existing dowry trust. Non-standard, but I perceive no legal barrier to the arrangement you've identified."

The sound of Valentin's voice was, in isolation, rich and pleasant, but his presentation of the facts was oddly monotone, as though everything in life was a recitation which was in danger of boring him to sleep. As he reached the end, however, Valentin's voice grew a bit sharper.

"Now, I am obliged to ask- have you given any thought to the disposition of your family's properties abroad?"

[Anton]

"Tears seem appropriate, considering the situation in which we find ourselves," Anton replied, selecting the dry gin. He savored the taste, but only from a single sip, letting it pour through him before he returned to business at hand. "Zaichaer was the most creative city in the world, Herr Valentin. Only it could create superstitious atheists. There are many who desired to bring the wisdom of the Mandate to the North, but such effort seems wasted now."

Moving on at least to the matter of the documents that had been shared with the OIR, Anton was grateful that Anne had not been wrong about smoothing over the amount of necessary paperwork. "That is correct. While the family account is of course honored by the Guild, it was decided that while we remain in Gel'Grandal we leave those funds open to my father and uncle should they require it." Should the dynasty's coffers need to pay not one, but two, general's ransoms to Kalzasi after the surrender many assumed would soon come. "The dowry account should be sufficient, along with the charity of my grandfather, to maintain us in the proper fashion until the situation clarifies." The unspoken comment there was the far more important one - the implication, or at least hope, that they would eventually be back undoing what they just did.

"It seems that we share a knack for perception, though I have no doubt such skills are highly prized in your line of employment. No wonder Anne so often speaks so highly of you." This was a lie, and an obvious one at that, but it was at least very polite. "I am certain you acquired a passing familiarity with my family's holdings," Anton continued as he passed over the folder that had not been provided to the OIR in advance, which included a general overview of the total with an emphasis on a small estate south of the city.

"I serve as a subsidiary landlord with a grant given from my father. While I do not think to modify any of his land tenure without permission, I am rather concerned by my own. The revenues and incomes from this particular parcel would, I believe, make more sense to be administered under the Imperial tax code for the present moment."

There were good reasons for this - the lack of a Zaichaeri administrative state being the most prominent. But at the same time, this was a rather blatant attempt to avoid the city-state's jurisdiction whatsoever, replaced by the distant bureaucratic hand of an office half the continent away.

[Valentin]

Valentin picked up the portfolio on the table and opened it, curious. The curiosity swiftly mingled with unease- after a few moments, he was holding the papers as gingerly as one might a live viper.

Anton Michaelis' estates weren't extensive. It would be the work of hours, at the outside, to fit them into the proper brackets, sort the files, identify the responsible officials and have term papers drawn up of an appropriate duration. The excise, duties and so forth were crystal clear given the primarily agricultural use documented in the papers. They were easy lands to tax.

They were also hundreds of miles from an Imperial border, in the middle of a war zone. In what could, at any moment, be worse than a war zone.

"Herr Michaelis." Valentin said after a minute, "These numbers are all quite in order. For the purposes of foreign income taxes, my office can process your return within the week. But were I you, I would consider divesting these holdings to speculators. It is not my office's assessment that the situation in Zaichaer will long remain stable enough for you to safely continue to collect rents on this land while half a continent distant."

It did not need to be said out loud that the price anyone would offer for such a speculative return was low. Nobody in Gel'Grandal wanted a country estate in the middle of a collapsing country which could find itself snapped up by neighbors or placed in a Kalzasi "protectorate" at any time.

It wasn't really Valentin's job to offer advice, but he prided himself on it anyway. "I recognize, of course, that you have just been through an astonishing, unprecedented disaster. Doubtless it feels unreal, as though you may awaken tomorrow and find Zaichaer restored. But..." Valentin would not disclose state secrets, of course, but some secrets were common knowledge. "I have worked with rifts myself, in the past. One of that magnitude cannot be closed."

[Anton]

Anton listened and nodded along in response to Valentin's suggestion and advice, but he did not come all this way to accept such a timid suggestion. The OIR agent was, of course, correct on all counts. It was the sensible thing to do, and he should thank his luck that he was here, sitting in an office in Gel'Grandal, instead of there, dealing with the repercussions of the Doom. He could be fighting for his life, but instead he was nursing a dry gin that even his unrefined palette could tell actually was quite good.

The glass hit the table when he was done ruminating, sightless eyes matching Valentin's gaze. "I saw the rift, Herr Valentin. I know precisely how dire the situation in Zaichaer is. You will note however that within that collection of documents are copies of several ancient charters, signed by His Majesty the King, bestowing upon my line lands and titles in fee simple conditional. We are to defend those lands against all foes and from dangers, which we have done and continued to do even after the kingdom was shattered and broken. My father carries out his duty, and he assigned me to mine. I will defend my lands and titles, in whichever manner I may. This is where you may assist me, Herr Valentin."

It was very doubtful that this course of action was at all what Franz had in mind when he handed custodianship of a few dozen acres of the vast familial properties to his son. If anything, he would've vastly preferred for Anton to take Valentin's advice and remain safe and secure within the Imperium unless some miracle occurred and peace returned to Karnor. He knew this. He simply elected to ignore it.

Taking the glass of gin back up, he drained the rest of it in a single go, fortifying himself for what he was about to say. "I require an export license for Imperial firearms."

[Valentin]

"You wish to... raise arms in defense of your land?"

One might reasonably have expected Valentin's aura to react to this idea very, very badly. To pulse with disbelief, of course, the sickly green of bewilderment melding and fusing with the cantaloupe hues of mockery. Perhaps he would turn to gaze at Anton with humor and pity, like the uncle of a poor child who has just announced that he intends to become a prince when he grows up, and live in luxury. It would even have been predictable for Valentin's stomach to churn purely at the thought of all the extra work, legal and political, which would need to go into acquiring the exports, interfacing with the diplomatic corps and then (eventually, inevitably) poring over the probate papers for the Michaelis family.

What was not at all in keeping with Anton's brief acquaintance with the man was a sudden surge of approval, almost approbation. Valentin looked down at the forms, licking his lips, then nodded once, firmly. "Tricky. You will need to find favor with someone in the Capitol's administration, I think. But it's a proper duty."

That single line lay bare Valentin's essential belief- every person in the Empire had a duty. Those with great power and wealth had commensurately difficult burdens to bear, but...

"Well, der Thron muss an jemanden gehen, der das Gewicht tragen kann. Are you certain you want to pursue something like this?"

The only point of having nobility was that they should take charge in a crisis and defend their own holdings. Most did not, and so Valentin considered them unfit for their roles, a judgment he cast freely on peer and peasant alike. If this boy was prepared to take the risks of rule, then he should be permitted to try his hand.

[Anton]

"Quite certain, Herr Valentin. Despite my appearances, I have no desire to be a dilettante." Anton's face remained calm and level for most of their conversation, but his face had twitched despite himself in surprise when Valentin reacted positively to his intentions. He had gone into the meeting with the OIR agent expecting an uphill battle, a constant need to explain himself and prove his competence and capability - not to mention loyalty. It was no small thing to ship Imperial arms, especially to a land as distant from the Imperium's grace as Karnor.

But the mere fact that he wished to try at all seemed justification enough to the man. Privately, Anton was forced to admit that he had misjudged him from the short time they had spent together, and reappraised his aunt's subtlety as well. It was not hard for him to tell that Valentin despised Anne, and he assumed it was not much more difficult for those without Semblance to grasp it as well, and he had taken the fact that she had arranged for him to treat with one of her enemies as a test of his abilities. Now however, it seemed that she had picked the perfect man for the occasion.

"As far as currying favor... Grandfather has urged me to pay homage at the court, and grandmother has begun activating her own networks. I intend to host a gala in the coming weeks, after the situation in Zaichaer clarifies, and play upon what heartstrings I may. You are more than welcome to attend, of course," Anton said, throwing out the invitation as an impulsive aside. Valentin had most certainly not been welcome to attend approximately thirty seconds ago, but the young lord was impressed by the agent.

"You seem quite attuned to matters such as these, Herr Valentin. Are there any other steps you would recommend I take?"

[Valentin]

The idea of attending a charity gala for some upstart nobleman in the boonies on the invite of some offshoot of House von Osten should have been enough to visibly twist Valentin's face, but it did not. Instead, it was... an intriguing notion.

It should not be thought that Valentin's surprising approval of Anton's plan was entirely founded in admiration for a noble finally getting up and doing the one job for which their worthless families were, in theory, retained ad infinitium. No, it had occurred to him that, if managed correctly, the young Michaelis' plan might well be just the thing a mid-level bureaucrat needed to jump a few rungs in the central government. Being the OIR analyst with the highest prediction rates and lowest error bar was worth bragging rights in his office building, but it was never going to get him to a position where he could help make real structural improvements to the Imperium. On the other hand, the man who advised a military hero in bringing central Karnor away from apparently-inevitable Kalzasern rule and towards the Emperor's fold... that was the sort of thing which might make it through the Imperial Court itself.

...but that was a goal, and a lofty, far-off one. There were more immediate problems to address.

"If you're well resolved." Valentin said, slowly, "Then there may be an avenue. As your lands are well outside the Imperium's traditional borders, there should be no need to obtain a permit for arming your militia. Transporting the guns, however... such a thing would be tricky even if Zaichaer's port tower were in commission. I'm aware that you have access to your own airship, but of course it would be a capital offense to transfer weapons on a privately-registered vessel."

Smuggling was an option there, but not a good one- guns purchased in Gel'Grandal suddenly appearing in central Karnor after Anton flew there? It would be the easiest charge ever conceived, and Valentin doubted that even House von Osten could keep that one out of the court of imperial justice.

"An option strikes me, though it presents an unusual risk. I recently counseled a young noblewoman on opening a small-tonnage freight-by-airship business in Gel'Grandal, and I have her factor's information. If your family can get a temporary trafficking permit approved, they should have the capability to fill your order. An issue with this; the factor works for House Leukos, a concern in Kalzasi."

It was obvious to Valentin that Kalzasi was not going to welcome any event in which the Imperium presented Zaichaer with weapons- they would assume, and rightly, that it was an attempt to accrue power in the region. Still, it wasn't as though they were actually at war, and Valentin couldn't imagine that any information was going to become public in the next few days which would change that.