From the notes of Citizen Emilia, Voice of the People

Day 5 was a rough one, maybe the roughest day of the convention so far, but It started out well. The morning was a discussion of the civil service, and Pepe was quite enthused to share his idea. I admit it was slightly endearing to see him show some genuine emotion, even if restrained. He described a system of exams to determine hiring in the civil service, as well as a meritocratic system of performance and seniority to decide promotions. He also suggested that firings to be very difficult, to prevent purges every time a new party came to power. 

I was intrigued but skeptical, I wondered about democratic accountability. Pepe did not seem to mind explaining more, in fact he seemed to relish the opportunity to talk more about it. He explained that there would be justified causes for firing like incompetence or corruption. A flat refusal to implement policy of the democratically accountable Directorate would also be grounds for firing. The civil service was to be professional and expertise driven, but still implement the policy of the politicians. I was satisfied with his explanation, and I agreed that having experts implementing policy was a good idea as long as they obeyed the democratic representatives.

Unfortunately, Oliphaunt stuck his nose into this. He was calling in a favor. Back on day 2 he had agreed to support the legislative compromise in exchange for concessions to the nobility later. He wanted a carve out for a percentage of the civil service appointments to come from the noble families. Aguilo, Dauphin, and Robert looked uncomfortable. They had agreed to support a future concession to the nobility, but they were not eager to accept this proposal. Robert in particular was still furious over the land rights dispute. Oliphaunt insisted that if they did not reach a deal with him on this, he would be within his rights to withdraw support from the legislative deal. He also made a disgusting threat that the constitution would have no chance of success without the support of the Northern Army.

Crysta pointed her hammer at him and warned him never to make a threat like that again. Charles also rebuked Oliphaunt’s comment as unhelpful, but called for calm. He also agreed that the nobles were owed concessions due to the previous compromise, and begged Robert to consider it. Robert still looked furious but said he would listen to fair proposals. Charles looked to Pepe and begged for a minor concession in the civil service, anything at all.

I could tell Pepe was frustrated by the demand, but eventually he answered that nobles could be given preference in hiring if they pass the civil service exam, but they would have to at least get a minimum passing grade. The preferential hiring would be capped at 25% of new hires. He posed this as a minor concession that didn’t give the nobility too much influence, but I saw it for what it was, another underhanded deal to entrench unaccountable privilege. I was not going to sit and listen to this, and let them know that the public would not stand for this.

Aguilo tried to shut me up, and accused me of attempting to incite riots because I shared my notes with the public after each day’s deliberations. He said I should shut up now so we could vote, and that I should be silenced afterwards so today's debates would be kept quiet. Crysta brought down her hammer and shocked Aguilo into silence. She said I had the right to speak my mind now and after we had adjourned. This is an open process that the public has a right to be informed about. 

I really let them know how I felt. I told Pepe he was a hypocrite, who was sacrificing his meritocratic principles to entrench unearned aristocratic privilege. I told Aguilo his posturing about revolutionary ideals was empty rhetoric if he makes this kind of deal with nobles. I told Dauphin his compromises may be well intentioned, but he was gradually eroding the legitimacy of this constitution. I told Charles his diplomatic concerns are misguided, no foreign power can dictate how we run our government. Finally, I told Oliphaunt he was the worst. He had the dictatorial instincts of Aguilo without the actual leadership ability. He had all the out of touch privilege of Charles without the genuine patriotic concern for the country. He was a pathetic empty shell who had only one goal, advancing his personal interests.

I couldn’t say anything to Robert. The previous day, I had let him down on land rights, and he must have felt then exactly as I felt now. We just shared a pained look for a moment. When I had finished none of them seemed interested in arguing with me. Even Aguilo seemed to lose his fire. Eventually, Oliphaunt had some rebuttal, but I don’t even remember what he said. We soon held a vote, and their corrupt civil service bargain was passed 6 to 2. Only Crysta voted against it with me.

After we adjourned, Crysta invited me to get lunch with her. As we walked out of the building, I asked her why she allowed it to happen. She could have told Aguilo and Dauphin what to do and her moral authority as the mother of the revolution would have swayed them. She simply said, “I don’t know how a government should be run.”

I finally understood why she was so restrained during these proceedings. She is looking to others for guidance. Despite having personal opinions on these topics, she doesn't have the confidence that she is right. It was surprising that the woman who led a bunch of farmers on a march to the capital and toppled the monarchy that had stood for 1000 years was feeling doubt about how to run the government, but I guess it makes sense.

She told me not to give up. There will be at least one more week of debates, and maybe more. If a majority of the members want to reopen settled issues, they can be reopened. She advised me to take decisive action to shift the balance of power in the convention, and I might still have a chance to reverse this wretched deal. I took her words to heart.

Statement from General Aguilo, Revolutionary Commander - Western Front

That morning, before we even stepped into the convention hall, I saw Oliphaunt smiling. I had a vague idea of the news that he was happy about, but I still read the message he showed me. The Northern Revolutionary Army had routed a Coalition army. A combined force from the Kingdom of Rubdia and the Valsian Empire was smashed. The Hibion navy evacuated some of their soldiers, but they upheld the ceasefire Charles had negotiated and did not attack our forces. Now, the Northern Army occupied the capital of Rubidia. The citizens seemed eager to abolish the monarch as we had done. No doubt Charles would be upset, but I think that crushing one monarch after another will be a more feasible end to our war than diplomacy.

Oliphaunt was surely emboldened by the success of the Northern Army, which was commanded by his right hand man while he attended this convention. He pushed for an aristocratic carve out in the civil service, and reminded me of an agreement I made earlier in the convention. It was not mere honor that caused me to uphold my deal, but practicality. I only made the deal in the first place because I understood that Oliphaunt and his supporters in the Northern Army are indispensable in securing the revolution. Many of them are privileged aristocrats, but their sacrifice must be respected.

Usually I find the moral grandstanding of the agitator to be annoying, but for the first time Emilia cut deep. I could hear the voice in my head agreeing with her. I had compromised my revolutionary values, but absolute purity must give way to realistic solutions. The carve out for the nobility is very limited, I think Pepe did a fantastic job in minimizing their influence. As painful as it is to accept any entrenchment of aristocratic privilege, it was for the greater good of the revolution. There is also hope that the constitution could be amended in the future. I believe that one day aristocratic privilege will be utterly abolished, but it is not yet time for that.

Memoirs of General Oliphaunt, Revolutionary Commander - Northern Front

Day 5 of the convention brought two pieces of wonderful news. My Northern Army had won a  great victory in my absence. The Kingdom of Rubidia would likely be removed as a threat, and possibly have a friendly government installed soon. The other great piece of news, is that the centuries of service provided by the nobility would be recognized with a permanent constitutional carve out in the civil service.

Most of the room was hesitant to accept but eventually conceded. For those that were reluctant, I reminded them of the great deeds of the Northern Army, which has many aristocratic officers. Somehow Crysta interpreted this as a threat. She has my sincerest apologies for the misunderstanding, but it was a minor quibble. One by one, the members came to accept the deal, except one troublemaker.

Aguilo is too generous, calling her an agitator. That woman is an urchin from the gutters of the capital. She thinks she's special because she learned how to read. She doesn’t know a thing about responsibility or sacrifice. She had the gall to lecture me about the elitism of the noble carve out. I told her the truth, she isn’t fit to take part in this convention. Everyone else has some great service they have provided to the nation to justify their presence, but she just instigated a mob to surround the convention hall. She is no better than a common criminal.

The dealmaking she criticizes as underhanded is a perfectly normal political process. It is how competing interests are balanced. If she can't accept compromises between diverse groups, she should stay home. She can go back to whatever slum crawled out of, and leave the governing to people who know what they're doing.

From the Office of Chancellor Pepe, Acting Head of Civil Service

Day 5 - Morning - Civil Service

This was meant to be my time to shine. Inspired by the far eastern Sinoan Empire, I had designed a meritocratic civil service. It had examinations for hiring, and promotions were based on competency. It was relatively insulated from political meddling, and allowed professionals to do their jobs efficiently. Emilia was skeptical, but as I explained that civil service workers still had to implement policy of the Directorate, and could be fired for refusal, she seemed impressed by the idea.

Oliphaunt decided this was the time to remind everyone of the deal from day 2, and pushed for noble influence in the civil service. This was a major annoyance that tarnishes the perfection of my proposal, but I can adapt. I came up with a compromise to minimize noble influence while seeming to give them a lot. Oliphaunt seemed quite happy with it, I don’t know if he realizes how little he got. Nobles who pass the civil service exam will get preference in hiring up to 25% of new hires. If there aren't enough qualified nobles passing, they won't fill those spots, so some level of competency is still guaranteed. Promotions and firings will still apply as normal, only the lowest level jobs are guaranteed by this deal, and nobles who perform poorly will be removed.

It greatly annoyed me, but it's a compromise I can live with, for now. Emilia certainly unloaded on us all for this deal, and I don't completely blame her. However, she will have to accept that these kinds of deals are necessary in order to reach any kind of agreement.

Result - Consensus cannot be reached on civil service with noble hiring preference, passed 6-2

In favor: Aguilo, Oliphaunt, Dauphin, Robert, Pepe, Charles

Opposed: Crysta, Emilia

System: Meritocratic, based on civil service exams.

Guidelines: Upper house sets broad exam standards; departments craft specific tests.

Appointments: Department heads appointed by Directorate (majority vote). Lower ranks hired from exam passers.

Promotions: Based on competence and seniority.

Firing: Requires justifiable cause (e.g., incompetence, crime, policy defiance); courts adjudicate disputes.

Noble Quota: 25% of new hires prioritized from passing nobles (minimum score required).

Oversight: Executive council ensures policy alignment; courts protect process.