Clearing the Air
Fourteenth Day of the Tenth Month 294 AC
It is at first odd to see Howland Reed argue with Soft Strider, the short, slight crannogman meeting the deep green eyes of the even shorter and slighter Singer with confusion that shades more and more into anger as she remains unswayed by his arguments.
But then what is distant kinship to present obligation?
Seeing no reason to allow it to get more heated, you call a halt to the debate. "We have heard enough to render a judgement in this matter. Standards must be set for the use of coal and other substances that can poison the air." You try to throw a proverbial bone to Duke Reed. "Commercial and non-commercial standards will, of course, be different, with the latter being more reasonable to the means of individual citizens. We shall attempt to make these applications cheaper and safer in time, though for now restraint is the wiser course."
The objections are quick and many-sided, from Wyman Manderly pointing out that he has heard of many dying of the cold and few indeed who died of 'a bit of soot in the air'. Lord Stark is even more vehement in bringing out the dangers of winter to come and cold as the weapon of the enemy, but it is the Duke of the Neck who speaks last in somber measured tones.
"Your Majesty, I must confess I have made no great study of this, I have questioned no alchemists on the matter for even in my brief time spent in the cities of the south, I have seen no great harm towards those who spend time near a blaksmith's forge. Indeed, if we were to measure the health of those who breathe in this dust of which you are so concerned by the people who already do it, then I would say there is nothing at all to fear." The smile is a wane one, the attempt at humor quickly fading. "Your Majesty, my people are suffering now from those things of which we have suffered since time out of mind, the bite of hunger and of illness. There are some here who have been known to call the crannogmen 'savages' and frog eaters, and I say to you now any anger I may have felt towards those insults has long since faded before a greater fear."
He pauses a moment and looks around the chamber, in particular at his fellow northern lords and those few Voices of the North which had already taken their seats, from the Whitelands to the Dreadlands. "I fear that in this world changing ever swifter, growing in wealth and in people, we shall be left utterly behind and make truth of insult. I must confess that beside that fear, the concern of clean air in the decades and centuries to come does not ring as loudly in my ears, for to them surely we will have decades and centuries to solve it."
"I'm certain the Valyrians thought that the possible consequences of harnessing the primordial power of the deep earth were of no great import, when Diviners from the Priesthood attempted to ascertain what would happen should the worst occur," you counter. You have
seen those days, you have dreamed them, you have woken in a cold sweat still gripped with the horror of their knowing. "Should it be considered, then, that since it took thousands of years for it to finally happen, those who foist off the calamity to befall their descendants should jump at every such opportunity, even when evidence provided to them could have had themselves considered forewarned, far in advance?"
Doran Martell is currently smiling behind his hand at the rather didactic speech, though the northern lords do not seem convinced, at least most of them do not. You still struggle to tell what lies behind Roose Bolton's pale gaze.
"To that we would answer no, because by the time one cannot any longer ignore the cost of their actions, likely in the best case, counter-acting these effects would face stiff resistance to change, due to over-dependency and malignant self-interest. Or else it would already be too late to do anything to prevent those harmful effects, and would in essence be more a matter of preserving a few tattered scraps, which guarantees more conflict."
A nod to the Herald prompts the familiar declaration. "Hail to the Imperator, may He reign twice ten thousand years and more!"
"I would rather have clear skies and breathable air by then," you finish, prompting a ripple of amusement through the joint session of the Curia.
Duke Howland Reed still is not laughing.
***
You meet with Lord Bolton, as leader of the Eithur Fulka, later that day to learn more of the matter. While you are resolute in your decision to preserve the future against the shortsighted depredations of the present, you do not wish to see a a conflict emerge with the Northern Lords and Voices over this.
"Duke Reed saw great promise in the coal deposit Your Majesty, all the more so as he is not the only lord to have found riches burred in his lands. Plans are underway from Last Hearth to the Winterlands to Bear Island to take advantage of newly divined seams and tireless dead miners in order to develop and enrich our lands," The Leech Lord explains over a cup of still steaming but untouched tea. "I must confess no small amount of sympathy towards his concerns, for they are ones the whole of the North shares, of being washed away by the tides of time, which is a greater concern in lands as poor in people and other resources those of the Neck."
"I understand his concerns, truly I do," you reply in all honesty. "Yet the market is a hungry beast and a jealous one. If restrictions are not placed from the start, then it will be all the harder to impose them effectively and uniformly. This is a matter that impacts the whole of the Imperium, not merely the Neck or even the North."
"I shall do what I can to ensure that this is heard and understood in full among those who need to hear it," the pale lord replies, "though if I might be so bold as to make a suggestion on the matter? Starting a few coal-burning projects, with adequate purification methods will go a long way towards showing commitment in the eyes of Dukes Reed and Manderly."
"White Harbor was meant to be the first major market for coal from the Neck?" you prompt.
"Yes, though talks were in progress with Winterfell and with me," he confirms, and with that no more needs be said on the matter. He had been silent in open session and was being helpful now, seeking favor and doing a good job of it too.
OOC: And done, Reed and Manderly are not that happy if you guys, but Bolton as Faction leader has promised to try to smooth things over. I hope the little dive into politics as more than simple power blocks has proven interesting.
