InsaneJournal

Saturday: October 27, 2007
Who: Everyone
When: Late Evening
Where: Town Hall
What: A town meeting to cover the generators, Vice Council positions, and the All Hallow's Eve preparations.

Theora waited for the gathered crowd at Town Hall to settle down before she approached the podium. The priestess cleared her throat, a subtle way to quiet the crowd, and smiled at everyone when the talking finally died down. She took her place in front of the citizens, a calm radiance coming from her being. “Thank you all for attending our meeting this evening,” she began. “We have many things to discuss tonight, all of which are very pertinent to you, the citizens.”

There were a couple of things that would not be mentioned, of course, namely the recent deaths in the haven. The council just wasn’t ready to bring such sad news to the people, and they were not ready for any sort of upheaval at that time. They needed to gather as much information as they could first before they presented what they knew to those around them. Theora thought it was best to talk of happy things, and of the continued growth of the haven.

“As many of you know, we have had recent additions to our community, namely the arrival of many citizens from other havens. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to them.” She bowed her head, and smiled at the crowd. “The first thing on our agenda is to announce the completion of a project that one of our citizens, Mister Malcolm Gray, has been working on diligently for the past several weeks.” Theora looked over her shoulder and smiled at Malcolm to indicate that he was to speak next. The priestess stepped out of the way to give the inventor room, and returned to her seat alongside Dylan and Constance.

Malcolm was very nervous getting up in front of the townspeople of Elysium. He wasn’t good at speaking in front of large groups of people. But he had written up some notes for himself, just in case he forgot what he was going to say. He nervously approached the podium when he was introduced. He tripped on his own feet, losing a hold on his notes.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Malcolm cried, gathering his notes back up and going to the podium. He adjusted his glasses and began to read, “...is set up outside the Waterfront Bungalows.” He frowned slightly. “Oh. Sorry! The cards got mixed up!”

He quickly reordered them and smiled. “I’m Malcolm Gray.” He waved. “Hi. For the last few weeks, Simon Myles and I have been working on generators for Elysium. I am sure many of you have seen them going up. They are now online and ready for use. We have three generators running off different types of energy: Wind, water and magical. The wind generator is set up near the Forest Cottages, the water generator is set up outside the Waterfront Bungalows and the magical generator is set up right here in Helicharis. The exact locations can be found out from a map in Town Hall.” He looked to the Council. “We do have a map, right?”

Dylan nodded his head to assure Malcolm they did have one.

Malcolm ruffled his hair nervously. “These generators will eventually be wired directly to the homes and businesses in Elysium, but such an endeavor will be complex. So, in the meantime, we have these.” He held up the generator. “Each home and business is being given a portable generator. Using this, you can plug in your electronic devices to charge and power them. There is a gauge on the generator.” He pointed to it. “Which tells you how much energy is left in the generator. Once the gauge reaches empty, you have to take it to one of the large generators for recharging. The amount you need to recharge is based on your power consumption. If you need to plug something directly into the generator for continual power— say, a television— it will run out faster. It could be as quick as six hours. So make sure to keep an eye on the gauge.”

He frowned slightly. “One thing... While the wind and water generators can run just by being outside, the magical generator does require some help. See, it runs off magical abilities. It’s actually really easy. Every few days, a person with magical abilities needs to concentrate their powers on a panel located on the generator. The generator will then convert this power to electricity. It’s perfectly safe, but it will tire whoever does it out a bit. We're taking volunteers. For those who do, they’ll be able to move up the queue when they want to sign out a portable generator.”

He looked around, unsure if there was anything else he needed to say. “So... I think that’s it.” He looked to the Head Council. “That’s it, right? I didn’t forget anything?”

Dylan smiled at Malcolm and shook his head to indicate he hadn’t forgotten anything. With that, he moved forward to take Malcolm’s spot in front of the podium. “Thank you, Malcolm Gray, for your tiring effort to construct these generators for the public.” He gestured his hand towards the sorcerer and began to clap, ushering the rest of the people at the town meeting to clap as well in Malcolm’s honor. After it all quieted down, Dylan returned his attention to the crowd and began to speak.

“We will be opening new positions at Town Hall for the citizens of Elysium,” Dylan announced. “A Vice Council is to be implemented in order to serve the Head Council in matters of government as well as matters of social issues. There are requirements that must be met for those who are interested in running for these positions, and you may find those out at Town Hall. As for how we will begin the process of choosing a Vice Council, all citizens are open to making a nomination. You may only nominate one person, and you may nominate yourself or someone you believe is qualified to run. All of those who are nominated must accept or decline, if eligible, when the nominees are announced.”

There was still more to explain, though, and Dylan continued his speech. “The positions will be filled by an election of the people, and the Vice Council will serve as representatives for the people. It will be their duty to voice the concerns of the public, to bring to light issues that must be addressed, and to serve the Head Council in matters of government. If you believe you will be up to the task or you know someone who will, please submit the name of your nomination into the ballot box at Town Hall.”

Dylan bowed his head to the crowd and left the final announcement up to Constance Alexie. Though she wasn’t much for the public eye, she had agreed to announce the final topic of the night. Constance approached the podium as Dylan stepped down, taking her place before the crowd.

“Next week, on the 31st, we will be celebrating All Hallow’s Eve,” Constance told the listening crowd. “We encourage everyone to help out with the Hallow’s Eve preparations! There will be a parade, and it’ll begin in Helicharis and end at the Ancient Elven Tree near the forest cottages. A large festival for the occasion will be hosted at the Ancient Elven Tree that night, and the parade will lead up to it. There will be activities for children and adults, and we hope everyone gets involved and has a fun time.”

The town meeting was officially at an end. “Thank you all for coming,” Constance said, “and goodnight!”