Book 1. Genesis (North and South Ed.)

CHAPTER V. The Ball and Its Consequence

                                                                                CHAPTER V

                                             The Ball and Its Consequence

"All of us face hard choices in our lives...Life is about making such choices. Our choices and how we handle them shape the people we become. For leaders and nations, they can mean the difference between war and peace, poverty and prosperity." - Hillary Clinton, Hard Choices

Discipline, effort, and sacrifice were three words that exemplified John Thornton. Having lost his father under miserable circumstances at a tender age, he was very lucky to have a strong-willed mother of strong power and firm resolve who guided him, taught him self-denial, made his character strong and drove him to become the man he was today. A man who relied not on good luck, merit or talent but in the habits of life that taught him to despise indulgences not thoroughly earned. John Thornton was a remarkable man: respected, focused, honest, fair and feared.

As a young boy, he showed an interest in classic literature, but all that idle pursuit fell to the wayside when his father died. To carry on his father's legacy, John Thornton entered military school. As the war raged on, his mother's need for him grew greater, so he had to stop his schooling early and become a man quickly. He had to learn how to lead and train the Army to fight the shadow enemy. He had to devise defense tactics and strategies to counter and win the war. Luckily for him, the mantle of leadership fell easily on his young shoulders. He was a gifted general and strategist, much admired and valued for his plain and direct speech, excellent work ethic and warrior ethos.

He sacrificed everything to the fight, even his dragon, to have enough dragon-infused mage energy to cast the final spell that consigned the enemy into the deep. There was nothing he would not do to secure victory for his mother and Milton. After the war, he led the reconstruction and industrialization efforts to rebuild his war ravaged state and created the Sankin Kotai to codify the system of tithes, ranking, and visitations that controlled the other signatories of the North and South Accord and guaranteed a stable revenue stream for Milton.

The plan was inspired. With societal ranking tied to tithes payment, all the high lords and principal rulers became occupied in making enough income to meet the tithes level required to maintain their place in society. In addition, the primary signatories of the accord, the leading families of the other realms, had to make the journey to visit Milton every three years for a one year stay to affirm the Milton Overlordship and show their gratitude to the mages of Milton for their sacrifices during the war. The revenue these great families and their entourages brought was by no means unsubstantial. The balls and dinners in honor of the masters of Milton also helped maintain order, as the nobles were too consumed with outdoing each other to quarrel. The Sankin Kotai, indeed, preserved the peace and produced enough income to fund the recovery.

John Thornton was key to the rebuilding efforts, ensuring that every Miltonian did their part for the progress of Milton. Impressments were used to force hedges to work for the state in indentured servitude for 5 to 10-year terms and commoners were put to work as part of the factory workforce needed for the expanding industrialization. Everyone was paid as fair a wage as economic principles dictated, while still allowing industry to progress. John Thornton, an honest, fair, but demanding master, was not very happy about having to put the hedges "to the press" but it was a necessary choice. Too few of the hedges volunteered their services to the state freely, and there were too few mages remaining—the war had claimed almost all.

At least John Thornton ensured that there were term limits for hedge impressments. He also led the enactment of parliamentary rules regarding safe working conditions, and the fair pay of hedges and factory workers. He, too, made provisions for worker's housing accommodations, since most had to be removed to the cities where industries aggregated and where most help were required.