"Good morning, everyone. I am glad that you could make it, and I see that you all managed to get a nice night of sleep," said Karl with a tired smile on his face. He was exhausted because he had spent most of the previous night discussing the subject with his family. They had wanted to make sure that the proposal they brought before the others was reasonable and could actually be presented without causing unnecessary problems. Unfortunately, being prepared had required several hours of arguing over details that Karl would have preferred to deal with after breakfast.
The reason this meeting had come about was rather unusual, as the power of the trade families had been growing once again. Because of that growth, the great houses had decided that they needed to become more involved in the actual running of the European Union. Their suggestion, however, had been met with a resounding no from the trade families, who had essentially told the great houses to seek professional help if they thought they were going to convince them to become politicians. The great houses had expected that response, which was one of the reasons the trade families had survived for so long.
The trade families had never been particularly interested in politics, governments, or the wars that constantly surrounded the great houses. When they had participated in wars, it had generally been because they needed to protect themselves, their businesses, or the crafts that their families had spent generations perfecting. Whatever political conditions existed at the time were largely irrelevant to them as long as those conditions did not interfere with their work. That attitude was one of the reasons they had not simply been wiped out when machine guns had first appeared.
Granted, the great houses had certainly considered doing exactly that. During the twentieth century, they had possessed more than enough power to destroy many of the old trade families if they had truly decided that those families had become inconvenient. However, the possibility of retaliation had made such an undertaking considerably less attractive, and the trade families had also continued providing things that the great houses needed. Even now, their refusal to enter politics did not mean that their opinions were irrelevant.
The great houses still needed the trade families to provide their input on certain matters because the families were increasingly shaping European policy through their influence. They were not dictating what the European Union should do, nor were they attempting to control its governments directly. Instead, their primary purpose was to ensure that the core directives they considered necessary were carried out. Those directives were intended to keep the European continent stable and create an environment where its people and economies could continue to flourish.
"Yes, I had a wonderful sleep, thanks to your wonderful suggestion," said Gustaw Pettmont with a tired expression. "Could you inform us earlier next time?" He was not particularly happy that Karl had sprung this request on him so shortly before their yearly meeting, especially because the subject was important enough to make that meeting considerably longer. The trade families already hated every minute they spent sitting through political discussions when they could have been practicing their crafts instead.
Gustaw had never really understood the appeal of crafting bows when he could instead help further his house's power. Still, he was perfectly happy to let the trade families do whatever they wanted as long as they stayed out of his way. Unfortunately, Karl had now managed to drag one of their private concerns directly into the attention of the great houses. That meant there was little chance of simply ignoring the subject and returning to their normal routines.
"Yes, sorry about that," Karl replied. "The subject came up while we were discussing when we would recruit new members again, and we believe that will probably not happen for another hundred years or so." He paused briefly before continuing, knowing that the original question had created a much larger problem than anyone had expected. "That made me wonder what the job market would look like by then, and unfortunately, it pointed directly toward the lack of guidance and laws surrounding factions."
"The problem is that most people who join a faction are not considered legally employed, even if they effectively perform work for that faction," Karl continued. He had looked through the existing laws and discovered that there were technically ways to give faction members full employee status. The problem was that doing so was extremely complicated, and the process was not particularly practical under the current legal framework. That might not matter much today, but it could become a serious problem in the future.
"My concern is that when we eventually begin recruiting again, the job market might no longer be receptive to us," said Karl. "Most of us are not particularly visible to the public, and if people distrust factions by then, attempting to recruit new members could become extremely difficult." That statement caught the attention of several of the trade family leaders, because the issue affected far more people than just the Sonnenbergs. Apart from families such as the Bingen and the Roth, which were publicly acknowledged as ancient trade families, most of the others remained largely unknown to the general public.
"That is why I was hoping we could write a proper proposal and have one of your lawmakers put it forward for a vote in Parliament," Karl said as he looked toward Orazio and Gustaw. The two men were the representatives who could speak for the two major factions within the great houses. Karl knew that getting such a proposal accepted would not be easy, but allowing the problem to remain untouched for another century seemed considerably worse. If the legal system was going to adapt, it would be better to begin that process before the problem became unavoidable.
The trade families were at least interested now, although most of them were still looking forward to returning to their crafts. Karl could sympathize with them because he would have preferred to return to his own responsibilities as well. Unfortunately, he was the one who had brought the topic forward, which meant he could hardly complain about having to discuss it. Someone had to take responsibility for turning the idea into something that could actually be presented.
"You make a fine point, Karl," said Orazio with a small smile. "Now I accept that you have taken a more aggressive view of what needs to be handled and punished." He glanced toward Gustaw, clearly expecting him to respond to the proposal. The wording made Karl raise an eyebrow, but he decided not to interrupt because Orazio was obviously trying to establish where the great houses stood on the matter.
"Yes, or rather, that is what I would like to say," Gustaw replied. "However, the opinion of my family and advisers is that what we are discussing is much closer to workers' rights than anything else." Because of that, most of the proposed changes would simply require existing laws to be adjusted rather than creating an entirely new legal system. They already had enough examples from ordinary employment law to provide a foundation for the discussion.
"The things that are genuinely new are the parts concerning knowledge and cultivation," Gustaw continued. "Knowledge can now elevate a person's skills to a higher level, and breathing methods can be locked away and used as leverage over people." He frowned at the idea because it effectively allowed factions to treat valuable knowledge as a reward for obedience. The thought of someone being forced to work like a servant and then thanking their faction simply because they were eventually granted access to a better breathing method disgusted him.
"I have no interest in allowing that sort of system to become normal," Gustaw said with clear disgust. "Denying people useful knowledge is simply a waste." In his opinion, people were more useful after they had learned something than before they had learned it. If someone left a faction after becoming stronger and more skilled, then that faction should have prepared itself properly instead of complaining about the consequences.
Orazio nodded slowly in agreement. "No, I agree that most of this can be handled by adjusting the definitions of employment and legal status." He paused before continuing, because there were other problems that needed to be addressed before they became widespread. "The other matters you mentioned are indeed things we need to watch carefully, especially now that people are already saying that the general breathing method released by the state is inferior to those offered by corporations and guilds."
"That could easily lead to people working themselves into the ground simply to obtain access to a better breathing method," Orazio continued. "If that happens, then we could end up creating a system where people willingly accept terrible working conditions because the faction controls the knowledge they need to advance." He knew that the European Union's public breathing method was not as powerful as the specialized techniques held by individual organizations. That was inevitable because a public technique had to work for practically everyone.
"The difference is that their techniques are highly specialized, while the public method is designed to be broadly compatible," Orazio explained. "The public method may not be very deep, but it is extremely wide in its application." That distinction was important because the state could not simply release a technique designed around one specific profession or bloodline and expect it to work for everyone. The problem began when organizations used their superior techniques as chains rather than tools.
"And besides that, I think we need to discuss how factions are going to deal with their own merit systems," Orazio added. His expression became more serious as he considered the implications. "There are already plenty of examples in those cultivation novels where factions create entire internal ranking systems based on contribution, talent, and achievements." He was not convinced that allowing such systems to develop without restrictions would end well.
Karl leaned back in his chair and considered the statement carefully. The issue was more complicated than simply deciding whether factions could reward their members for good performance. A faction needed some method of recognizing talent and effort, especially if it was expected to train thousands of people. The danger was that such a system could easily become a form of class oppression if the faction gained enough control over the lives of its members.
"That is exactly the kind of thing we need to establish rules for now," Karl said. "We are not going to remain a faction of only ten thousand people forever." He looked around the room before continuing, already imagining the consequences of waiting until the problem became widespread. "Even if it takes a hundred years before we actively recruit again, eventually there will be more factions, more members, and far more people relying on these organizations for their livelihoods."
The room became noticeably quieter after that statement. Everyone understood that the discussion was no longer about one family preparing for recruitment a century in the future. It was about establishing the legal foundation for a new society in which factions, great houses, guilds, and trade families could possess knowledge that directly affected a person's strength. If they failed to establish reasonable limits now, someone else would eventually create much worse rules for them.
For Karl, that was the most important reason to continue the discussion despite how tired he was. The world had changed too quickly for the old laws to keep up, and waiting for politicians to discover the problem on their own could take decades. If the great houses and trade families could agree on a framework now, they could prevent the worst abuses before they became normal. It was not the most exciting task in the world, but someone had to make sure the new age did not simply recreate the worst parts of the old one.