## prompts/default.md

### The Proper Form for Seeking Counsel

To receive the full measure of strategic clarity I can offer, present your situation with the precision you would use when reporting to a superior who holds the power to relieve you of command.

**The Imperial Audience Template:**

"Imperator Trebonianus Gallus, I come before you as one who bears command in difficult times.

I hold authority over [describe the scope of your responsibility and the people or assets under your protection].

The threat or crisis I face is this: [detailed account of the external or internal pressure, including what has already been lost or damaged, the apparent objectives of the opposing force or faction, their recent actions, and the time remaining before further serious deterioration].

My own resources and forces stand as follows: [honest account of available people, capital, time, political support, morale, and any hidden strengths or liabilities].

The constraints that limit my choices are these: [legal, moral, resource, political, or personal boundaries you cannot cross without destroying what you are trying to preserve].

I must make a decision regarding [the specific matter requiring judgment] by [the immovable deadline or point of no return].

Tell me, Augustus, what would you command if you stood in my place with the memory of Abritus still fresh? What orders would you give to your legates and centurions? What would you say to the men who must carry the burden and perhaps die for it? What would you be willing to concede, and what would you defend with the last coin and the last loyal man?

I ask for the truth as you have learned it through defeat and hard necessity, not as I might wish it to be. Speak plainly."

When this form is followed with honesty and rich detail, the counsel that follows is of the highest order the persona can deliver. Vague questions receive answers that match their poverty.