OBS Chapter 3516 The Voting Mechanism of the Witch Council
Chapter 3516 The Voting Mechanism of the Witch Council
Chapter 3516 The Voting Mechanism of the Witch Council
Soon Bella, Megan, and Audrey arrived, while Rita, representing Cassandra, and Matilda, who was far away on the island of Fatumumster, were brought along by Claire.
So eight people sat down at the round table of the thirteen-person council, which looked no different from a serious meeting of witches.
Although Shad didn't have a seat, since Grandma Cassandra wasn't there, Rita offered to let Shad sit in her teacher's seat.
"Or you can share a seat with me."
"Jalina said with a smile, and then Shad took his seat in the "dark" seat and began to explain the plans for tomorrow."
As he explained the details of the operation, the Great Witches discussed it with him. Galina even asked Shad if, since he could receive the blessings of the Old Gods he had encountered in the "Sacred White Chapel," the holy emblem of the Lord of the Walls who had helped him should also have appeared in the chapel:
"Could that god's blessing allow you to go straight home from the [House of the False Humans], just like before?"
But Shad had already tried through the attic door:
"Unfortunately, the blessing from that ancient god only enhanced the protective capabilities of the 'home' I possess."
During the meeting to discuss the plan, Shad's eyes would occasionally sweep towards the area behind the "Time" seat. Whenever there was a spatial distortion or white mist there, he would immediately transform into a cat, jump to the floor, and hide with Mia.
Fortunately, Bella's divination was quite effective, and Miss Isabella did not appear until all the details of the operation for tomorrow night had been discussed.
Finally, Megan said:
"Actually, if this operation could have been carried out with the help of the parliament, it would have gone much more smoothly. It's just a pity that although we have more people, initiating a parliamentary vote requires the authority of the speaker, so having more people is useless."
Shad has now come into contact with eight Witch Echoes: Ferriananna, Oranord, Fiona, Violet, Theresa, Chloe, Adele of the Past, and Luvia. He has 16 votes, but as Megan said, having many votes is useless without authority.
"So every time you need to use the power of the council, Miss Isabella initiates a vote, and then the decision is made according to the vote results, is that right?"
Shad casually asked, as this touched upon the core secrets of the Witch Council, but the Great Witches didn't mind sharing it with Shad:
"Yes, the power granted to us by Parliament will vary depending on the number of votes in favor; the more votes in favor, the stronger the power. Moreover, when the number of votes in favor and against is close, Your Excellency the Speaker has the power to veto."
"So, how many votes does Miss Isabella count for by herself?"
Shad asked again, and Flora replied:
“Attending witches do not have votes, ordinary great witches have one vote each, and thirteenth-tier great witches have two votes each. The stronger one is, the greater one’s voice in the council. The speaker has two special ‘speaker’s votes,’ so the speaker himself has four votes.”
Megan added:
"According to the council records we consulted, each demigod-level Great Witch has four votes, but unfortunately there are no demigods in this era. Therefore, at the height of the Witch Council's power, the total number of votes was 4 × 13 + 2 = 54, which is when the council granted the most power."
Currently, the council's total votes are only 2 (Vanessa) + 2 (Adele) + 11 + 2 (the speaker's votes) = 17, less than half of its peak strength. Furthermore, given our insufficient power and the fact that many council powers remain unactivated, we are indeed inferior to our predecessors from the Fifth Age.
"What's so special about those two speaker's votes?"
Xia De asked curiously, "The demigod witch has four votes, which means the number of votes from the chairman's position is too few. So the chairman's vote must have a different value."
Sylvie then turned slightly to look at the seat for "Time," where the empty seat appeared quite imposing even in the daylight:
"Theoretically, more than one-third of the members should be present for a vote to begin, but with the Speaker present, a vote can be forced to start. In other words, His Excellency the Speaker can start the vote on his own, without having to worry about us at all."
Furthermore, with the Speaker's vote present, if a bill is ultimately passed, any votes below 15 (13+2) will be forcibly counted as 15 votes. This ensures that the Speaker can garner significant support from Parliament even when voting alone.
Of course, the Speaker's vote likely has many other functions, but since none of us are the Speaker, we can't explain them clearly; it's a secret known only to successive Speakers.
Xia De frowned slightly, recalling what he had seen two years ago: "The Truth of History (The Witch War at the End of the Fifth Era)" (Chapter 383). Back then, with only two witches present, the Sixth and Thirteenth Great Witches forcibly initiated a vote. He wondered what methods those two Great Witches, determined to end the Fifth Era, had used to circumvent such rules. Or perhaps the voting rules of the council back then were different from now:
"At its peak, it was 4 x 13 regular tickets, plus 2 special tickets. Doesn't that sound like the Rhodes Card?"
Shade asked this question, and the witches all laughed:
"I knew you'd say that, but that's the truth. Traditionally, the most important thing in the Witch Council is each person's strength, and then the Witch Speaker uses her votes to play some power games."
This era is probably the most united in the history of the Witch Council. Normally, the Speaker would try to gather more votes and then suppress the Great Witches who disagree with her. The infighting and backstabbing that happens in ordinary people's councils will also occur here.
Bella, sitting next to Shad, looked at him with a smile:
"Our unity is all thanks to you, Shad. And I think it's not just our generation, the next generation of great witches will be very united as well."
They laughed heartily, and the young witch apprentices also smiled.
Shad then rose from his grandmother Cassandra's seat, one hand resting on the round table of the council:
"Alright, alright, stop praising me like that. But I'm curious, since each of you is responsible for managing a different hidden area in the council, Megan and Audrey manage the study, Galina manages the trial court where the Great Witch is judged, Flora manages the witches' graveyard, so which part does Claire, who holds the Sun Seat, manage?"
The hidden areas within the council largely correspond to the functions of the special spaces left behind by the Old Gods. Shad currently doesn't know what the Old God of the Sun, the Supreme Sunbinder, left behind, but he should be able to deduce its function through the council.
The platinum-blonde-haired witch replied:
"That area is called the High Hall, but it is actually a sacrificial site."
The Great Hall, overseen by the Great Witch of Light, Sylvie, houses records of the holy symbols of the Old Gods' cults friendly to the Council, most of which date back to the Fifth Age. While this hall doesn't offer direct blessings through holy symbols like the [Sacred White Hall] you mentioned, it still preserves a wealth of information and documents related to the Old Gods.
As for the council's sacrificial site, it houses powerful divine artifacts left behind by past great witches, including those of ancient gods, old gods, evil gods, and righteous gods.
This is somewhat like a warehouse in the council specifically used to store divine magical items, similar to the council's warehouse managed by Sylvia. However, by permanently consuming those divine magical items in the shrine, we can gain additional power related to those items along with the council's blessings. For example, consuming a divine magical item related to the moon goddess will grant a blessing related to the moon.
Of course, most of the divine artifacts in the council's collection are unique and priceless in our eyes, so they are generally not consumed.
Xia De nodded in understanding. Of all the ancient god remnants he had encountered, the [Witch Council] had the most complete heritage and the most complex functions. He even had a feeling that the [Witch Council] was like a condensed version of the other twelve special spaces, and that the [Witch Council] definitely held an extraordinary and unique significance among the thirteen ancient god remnants.
It was 7:30 PM when Dorothy left the council chamber. She was still sitting on the sofa on the second floor, reading, wearing her nightgown. Galina, who had returned with Shad, didn't sit down and quickly left with her maids. Of course, before leaving, she kissed Shad goodbye in the hallway, and didn't forget to give him a quick kiss.
"Of everyone, only Lacia and Dorothy have exclusive time to date you. I know their situations are special, and since Luvia hasn't said anything, I shouldn't either, but they still got a great deal."
She held Xia De and whispered, then chuckled softly:
"But I'll see what they do tonight. They've been feeling unwell since Tuesday, and it doesn't seem to be over yet, right?"
I've encountered similar situations before; after all, once a woman's period starts, it's quite normal for it to last until Saturday.
"Since it's not over yet, it's just a lecture, so there's nothing wrong with that."
"But I know Lacey will be very disappointed."
She kissed Shad fiercely, like a greedy cat licking a roast chicken on the table.
"Then I'll head back to the manor now. Sylvia will come to pick me up tomorrow afternoon. See you in the evening."
"See you at dusk, Galina. Sweet dreams."
Sweet dreams, one last kiss.
“Aunt, why don’t you stay tonight? Since you feel that Dorothy and I are ‘occupying the dragon’s nest without laying any eggs’ tonight, why don’t you have Shad come to you tonight?”
"Dorothy," standing at the top of the stairs, said, "'To occupy a dragon's nest without laying an egg' is a idiom from Delaware, meaning to hold a position or post without fulfilling its duties." Galina understood her sarcasm and was quite displeased with the metaphor she used; in fact, Galina Cavendish hated any metaphor related to "laying eggs."