Latest revision as of 11:53, 1 June 2017

The Cordorian Age of Lord Vetinari - The years of stability, law and order.

Memoirs of a Councillor

By former councillor of Cordor, Cuchilla Arndt

The baronial age of Cordor was a period of chaos and corruption. When the lord Vetinari of Amn and his fleet arrived in Cordor, it might at first glance appear as an Amnish occupation of Cordor. But many welcomed it, hoping for law and order: A chance for more peace and prosperous times for the poor and suppressed.

Soon after his arrival, the Lord installed a council of well known and respected personalities of Cordor. After some instability, a solid council of three reigned for more than ten years: Lady Tifa Amolyn, Lady Synestethia, and myself, Cuchilla Arndt. Officially we were to represent the voice of the citizens, but the council was to serve his lordship's interests in trade and wealth. As long as trade and commerce flourished, and Cordor maintained neutral on the external level, his Lordship would not intervene in the city's daily life.

His thought of statesmanship was expressed in Pax Cordoria, a book distributed by bookstores and libraries. The council from the very start was advisory, whilst the Guards of Cordor was to enforce the laws and regulations. Together the council and the guard followed the Code of Law. The council manoeuvred between the threat of a totalitarian Amnish regime, and the demands of the mob on the street.

Like stated above, avoiding an Amnish intervention claimed free commerce and punishment of criminals. Thus seen, a certain level of corruption and arbitrarily behaviour of the guards and bands of Cordor would be acceptable, as long as they kept the criminality and corruption at a suitable low level.

Under the chairwomanship of lady Tifa Amolyn, the general outline of the council was to stay as anonymous as possible. So during our long and persistent reign, only a few incidences are worth mentioning: The war against Stonehold over Guldorand showed the Cordorian superiority concerning military force, and the example kept any other city or faction from challenging Cordor for years.

The threats of the Council rather came from inside Cordor, where different parts of citizens fought for gaining power in the Council, without much luck. Some wanted that the success of the policy of the council was turned to an aggressive foreign policy, officially claiming Cordor the leading city of Arelith, thus jeopardizing the city's neutrality. The screaming mob and even entertainers wanted influence in the council.

The pressure on the council at a time became too much, so a change was necessary. I decided to take the responsibility of saving Cordor, and sacrifice my own post as councillor when a united front of the Trade Guild and entertainers surged. To divide them, I suggested the former to take my seat in the council, leaving the latter outside. This finally disarmed the opposition, and as history has shown, it meant no change to the policy of Cordor.