1847 EY
[X][Parl] Parliamentary Budget 1846 (Infrastructure and Security Bill)
-[X][Parl] Royalists +5PW
-[X][Parl] Conservatives +4PW
-[X][Parl] Liberals +3PW
[X][Research2] Breechloading Cannon (0/???) [Military][Weaponry][Open]
[X][Research1] Organic Chemistry (10/40-50?) AND Inorganic Chemistry (17/40-50?) [Science][Chemistry][Open]
-[X][Research1] Organic First
[X][Kiel] Take them up on that marriage thing too! (As Yes, Please, and marriage decision is made in favour of the Kielmyr immediately rather than waiting another turn, ???)
Royalists
Diplomatic Outreach -1 PW: +1 Bond, +2 Temp Trust (BS Emperor)
Diplomatic Outreach -1 PW: +1 Bond, +2 Temp Trust (BS Rebels)
Diplomatic Outreach 2 PW: +1 Trust, -1 Temp Trust (Black Sheep Peace)
Increase Armies - 1PW: Temp Increases Armies by 3, -2 Temp IC
Sell Obsolete Military Equipment -0 PW: Requires buyer, -4 temp Armies, +1 Rearm progress
Build Espionage Network -2 PW: +1 Espionage, -1 Trust (Hespranxer)
Launch Espionage Mission (HEKC) - 1 PW
Conservatives
Improve Education - 2 PW: -1 SoL, +1 Education, +1 Innovation
Improve Standard of Living - 2PW + Innovation >10: Increases SoL by 1, -3 Infrastructural Temp IC
Construct Sewer - 1 PW: -4 temp IC, +1 Sewer
Trans-Kyberi Railway - 0 PW, -3 Temp IC, -1 Infrastructural Temp IC, +1 Max Development, (4 more uses to remove Undeveloped Hinterlands status, 0/30 Actions to Completion) (0 PW for the first use a turn)
Send Archaeological Expedition - 1 PW: (Old Ymaryn Empire), No SoL cost, +3 or 4 Prestige (Joint between royalists and conservatives)
Liberals
Rapid Develop Industry - 1 PW + Innovation 10+: +2 IC and Active Development, +1 Pollution, -2 Temp IC, +2 Infrastructural Temp IC
Rapid Develop Industry - 1 PW + Innovation 10+: +2 IC and Active Development, +1 Pollution, -2 Temp IC, +2 Infrastructural Temp IC
Build Espionage Network -2 PW: +1 Espionage, -1 Trust (The Sketch Condition)
Found Valleyhome-Kus Railway Company - 1 PW, -2 IC
Sell Crown Corporation (7/14) - 0 PW
Valdem lounged. It was what he did. He had but two ways of being: intense and relaxed, and when he was intense he was so very intense that he needed to relax to save up his energy. Thus he lounged, spread upon whatever surfaces were most comfortable, in deliberate imitation of the feline companion he had had since childhood. The now old Georg was an excellent example for a third prince: relaxed enough to ignore the minor slights of the world but lacking in no pride. Even if some felt that his behaviour was more fitting of the excessive passions of the Hespranxer than the cooler national character of the Kielmyr, Valdem just scoffed at that and told them to read their histories more carefully. If anything the Hespranxer got it from the Old Kiel, before someone shoved a stick up the collective asses of the nation. Even then the way the royals and nobles behaved was all an act, a way of pretending that they were better than the nation that had birthed them by shoving aside the hot blooded passions required to keep them warm in the cold winters, even if said passions typically seemed subdued to outsiders who were unused to being cooped up over the winter months.
Of course, the way that Valdem liked to get into scuffles, fights, and duels at the drop of a hat tended to annoy his family, which was no doubt why he was being shipped off to the Dual Monarchy. His parents had been trying to get a proper marriage arranged for him for the past two years, but he had made enough enemies at home with challenging some scion from damn near every major family in the Triple Crown. Their fault for getting on his case about Michalle and him. When a man was accused of being a child, what recourse had he but to draw steel and demonstrate the fullness of his manhood? Fools the lot of them, especially since for all they accused him of being too much a Hespranxer they were the ones being swayed by the promiscuous ways of the Hespranxer and Sketch. The Kielmyr had no need of whoring and the bastards that followed in order to be the finest lovers in the world, not when they had each other.
His fingers brushed against the letter held within the inner pocket of his jacket. Ah, as much as he had long shown up any who said that the love of boys was not meant to extend into adulthood, it was something that was to end with proper marriage. The parting still hurt in the heart, and he knew that Michalle's farewell letter would remain with him always. Also, what fools they had been to pursue the military so strongly, when academics would have given them more opportunities to stay together even after the responsibilities of adulthood and marriage forced an end to their relationship. Openly anyway, it was well known that many childhood lovers maintained correspondences and clandestine meetings throughout their lives. Again, better than the marriage destroying affairs of other nations.
Although as he lounged in the carriage taking him from the port of New Blackmouth to the palace where he was to meet his bride, Valdem had to wonder about the girl. A few years younger than him, he wondered if her foreign ways would make their wedding night more or less unnecessarily complex. On the one hand, she would not be expected to have practiced being a wife with her girl friends through her teens like the Kielmyr, but on the other hand the Ymaryn were well known for quietly being the most perverted people on the planet. So how much experience in the affairs of adults she would have was up in the air, and Valdem wasn't sure which option would be more vexing for him. He couldn't even come out and ask early to find out, since apparently some of the Gylruvian peasant prudeness had infected the Ymaryn in recent generations, toning down the epically filthy culture that their old plays and poems suggested.
Thoughts turning to modern matters, Valdem thought of the articles and papers and actual official reports he had been reading on the way back. The Dual Monarchy had been sending an almost literal army of diplomats to both sides of the Khwora Kham civil war in an attempt to heal the rift between the two sides. Unfortunately it seemed that elements of both the Qeshyks and the rebelling elements had been skirmishing along the borders, and now some degree of fighting was now inevitable. However, the depth of the grudges that the West had against the East had also been revealed. The inciting incident had been bad enough, with thousands dead and half a city ruined from the fires started by the mysterious running battle that occurred through the streets, but it had also revealed scandal and corruption. Had this been an incident between two nations it would have been a rallying cry for war, so even if the war had come as a shock, it was obvious that there were deep rooted problems that triggered it.
Now feeling pensive, the prince looked out at the city of New Blackport and wondered at what currents of dissatisfaction might be running through this place. What could cause it to crack and break within a single day? The Dual Monarchy had become a somewhat bloody minded lot over the past hundred years, and their art reflected an increased desire for the glory of war and bloodshed not seen a hundred years ago. Perhaps it was that they no longer felt confident that sheer size and numbers would get others to back off, and that they had to take a more aggressive stance? Only now the common worker had military training and might wonder why he could not solve his problems like he had in the army?
Something to find out at some point in the future. With the palace now coming into view Valdem straightened himself out in his seat and smoothed down his clothing. He had to be crisp and presentable to the new in-laws.
Joining up with the rest of the delegation as they piled out of their carriages, flanked by military escorts from both nations, Valdem strode into the palace, noting with interest the almost ludicrously massive new windows that were clearly a product of the recent advances in glassworking that the Dual Monarchy was famous for. As he moved in, he noted with interest the various curious delegates from all over the world. Strangely, for perhaps the first time ever he wondered if his winter skin was out of place amidst the various shades of olive, soil, and clay he beheld.
Once through all of the tedious protocol for introduction and inspection - which of course they had all already gone through so that there would be no actual surprises for security - Valdem found himself ushered into the main attendance hall. Beautiful and resplendent with all the precious materials of the earth carved and painted by expert hands, it had the royal family at its heart.
Tall and almost macabre in thinness was the Emperor, Nokly of the House of Somon. Hair like the finest Upla steel and face marked by an assassin's bullet, he was a private man whose letters and addresses suggested such towering passions that they could not be called mere mountains and valleys but rather an entire mountain range of highs and lows. Cast in the mould of gods and heroes of old, he was all the talk of courts across the world, the standard by which other kings were measured. Seated next to him was his wife, strange and exotic from the lands of the Hung, Weihar, the Queen of Two Empires. Dressed in silk dyed brightly in the famous Rougisla Purple of the Ymaryn and cut to the tastes of her distant homeland, she was a being of iron influence from even behind her half veil. Lower down and behind the two of them was the young crown princess, a sweet girl of nineteen who had grown into a stunning beauty that blended the numerous traits of the Dual Monarchy and exotic ones of the Hung into something amazing.
Michalle's face flashed through Valdem's mind for a moment before he put his friend aside. This was duty, and for all that Valdem liked to play up his indolence he was still a prince who knew his place in the world.
There was however something off about the crown princess that Valdem could not quite place.
Valdem then went through all of the various motions and niceties of introducing himself to the holder of the Double Crown of Gylruv-Ymaryn, formally presenting himself for marriage to their daughter, and all of those good things. Finally though he managed to get to the part of the presentation he had been waiting for, just so that he could see the looks on the faces of his in-laws-to-be.
"...and finally, I wish to present the dowry offering from the Triple Crown to the Dual Crown," Valdem stated. It wasn't really a dowry, more like a diplomatic peacocking for the actual reason the royal family had offered him up for marriage before the Dual Crown had made a formal declaration of interest for marriage to their daughter. "First off, as a minor gift to the royal family, I present a full set of aluminum dinnerware."
That caused a shock to ripple through the halls. The wondrously lightweight metal was mind boggling expensive to refine, and while the cost was no great things for nations, it was still a demonstration of the fantastic skill of the Kielmyr at metalworking. This was also how the Kielmyr would remain relevant. Their power was fast fading as other nations learned for themselves the secrets of iron and steel, but the Kielmyr had invested greatly in metalworking over the centuries, and they still had secrets and tricks up their sleeves. But their smaller population and relatively weak access to natural resources meant that they couldn't keep ahead forever. Not without playing their cards very carefully.
"Also accompanying me are a number of the finest chemists from the University of Copperhome. The Triple Crown is most interested in deepening our relationship with the Dual Crown both as nations and in the business between us, and these men have the knowledge that will allow your prospectors to find resources where before they found only useless rock. We wish only wealth and prosperity for your people," Valdem explained, gesturing to the scholars who had accompanied him.
Maybe this would teach the Sketch not to butt in on their shipbuilding business while also semi-blatantly trying to undercut their iron works by funding UPM industries. The Kielmyr might benefit from the Sketch and the Dual Monarchy getting into a war of investment with them in the middle, but they knew that the two giants fighting over them could cause problems if the Triple Crown did not thread the needle just right.
The Kielmyr have provided you with Inorganic Chemistry as part of your trade and marriage relationship. Perhaps if their own scholars look over some of the things you have been having trouble with it might unstick certain problems?
[] [Science] No, there is a chance of more sensitive things leaking
[] [Science] Collaboration would be useful (Kielmyr gain information on Spectroscopy, boost chemistry knowledge for both groups, tiny chance of metalight knowledge leaking)
[] [Science] Collaborate with extra funding (-1 temp SoL, boost Science research, Kielmyr gain significant information on Spectroscopy, significantly boost chemistry knowledge for both groups, small chance of metalight knowledge leaking)
Finally though it was time for Valdem to meet his bride up close, and as he got closer the sense of something uncanny about Yenyna grew stronger. For one she was wearing particularly voluminous dresses, not of the style most associated with either the Gylruvian or Ymaryn. While full of lace and ruffles that showed off the wealth of her people while still being in good taste, it was certainly a unique and different style. What it all was eluded Valdem as he tried to place it all.
And then she stood up.
And now it was Valdem's turn to not gawk while the court looked at him with faint amusement. Nokly towered a head over the average person, and while Valdem was certainly more solid, even he was a bit shorter than the Emperor of the Dual Monarchy. Yenyna was a head taller than her father and was far more solid than him. It was a strange sort of solidity though, for Valdem had encountered very tall people before - not as tall as the crown princess to be sure - and they had a certain way of filling out their proportions that were slightly different from shorter people. Yenyna on the other hand was much closer to the proportions of a normally sized person, and even had an almost delicate and graceful cast to her, like fine porcelain. With the way her dress was arranged, the poofs and frills and laces all helped conceal her exact size, especially when she was sitting in a short legged chair and viewed at a distance. From the confident way she carried herself, Valdem could not entirely be sure whose idea this was, but he suspected it might be court protocol that one should not sit higher than the actual ruling monarch.
And then Valdem's mind flashed forward to the wedding night and his previously idle musings turned to some concern about his own skills. He was most certainly now extremely glad he was no sheltered virgin, even if he was now wondering if maybe he should find one of those infamous Ymaryn bathhouses to get pointers for laying with women.
Yenyna is getting married! There is however some question as to her future education to be worked out, as while she has received extensive tutoring in all the things that will be necessary to be Haddyth one day, she has expressed interest in learning more specialized knowledge.
[] [Yenyna] Royal Military Academy - While somewhat unorthodox, as the Haddyth she shall be the leader of armies, so full training now would be most appropriate
[] [Yenyna] University of Redshore - As the inheritor to a most political position, perhaps being at the forefront of political thought and discussion would be valuable
[] [Yenyna] Royal Science Academy - The world is changing, perhaps an education in the modern sciences will help her plot the course to the future?
[] [Yenyna] Royal Museum of Antiquities - This exciting new field of old things is both prestigious and sufficiently traditional to be a good fit for royalty
[] [Yenyna] Stay at court - The best education would be to remain at court and learn by observation
