A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover

DragonParadox said:

Report on Vialesk Redux​

Authors: Hermetia Aerebalys (Ambassador to Vialesk); Azirah the Once Gilded (Erinyes); Colonel Aubert Flowers, Military Attache
Subject: Major Political and Economic Power Blocks of Vialesk, City of Splendid Waves
Information Source: Publicly Available Voting Records of the Conclave's Sphere; Accounts by trading patterns and the Star Admiral of the Splendid Armada

To understand Vialesk one must first divest one's self of any previous notion of what a guild is. In most realms under the sun guilds developed as a means for skilled craftsmen to make common cause before the leaders of the age, be they princes, priests, or sorcerers. The Guilds of Vialesk, by contrast, have their true beginnings as subversive cells under the Reign of Dragons. They were ordered by profession, not out of any notion that the ancient brine dragons were minded to pay attention to the associations of their thralls, but the simple convenience for forging resistance in groups one already had a stake in and reasons for meetings with. It is said that Appareimos and Perenantos, the legendary liberators of the city, ordered the leadership of the guilds to be 'by vote of their peers' in an effort to keep tyranny from taking root within them.

After throwing off the yoke of the dragons and gaining ever greater prominence as not only a trading city but politically neutral ground, the definition of guild simply continued to expand. There is a Guild of Silt Sifters and a Guild of Glassblowers, a Guild of Healers and even a Guild of Artists, all selected by the membership at large. All citizens in good standing are part of a guild, with voting rights inherited from their parents. For those who are new to the city, there are the so called 'Channel Diggers' Guilds' which were once part of the actual expansion of the city, though that has long since stopped, leaving these guilds to be more like geographic fixtures for those without a recognized trade.

Representation within the Guild Council is partitioned by a complex equation including both the number of members and the taxes it pays into the city coffers each financial cycle. The numbers here have been altered multiple times in either direction, favoring the most populous Guilds or the richest, though of course wealth allows one to campaign for a friendly candidate at the helm of other guilds.

Another quirk of the city is that elected officials, those who execute the will of the Guild Council, may not hold personal property. It is instead held in trust by the state and if the state has prospered during their tenure, their own fortunes are expanded by like share. If the state has suffered, however, then so too do their fortunes. As one can imagine, there is a flourishing system of legal loopholes to dodge the practice through the use of kith and kin, though when it grows too egregious the populists sweep into power and tighten it up, only for it then be worn a way 'like a coral by the currents'.

Having mentioned one of the cycles that govern politics in the City of Splendid Waves, let us now consider the major factions:

The Golds
Agenda: Representing some of the wealthiest, though not necessarily most populous guilds in Vialesk, the Golds are the champions of tradition, stability, and an aloofness to the affairs of polities beyond Vialesk's borders. While supporting a strong fleet for defense, they are opposed to what they consider 'military adventurism' and 'moral crusading' against the Deep Ones. They were initially opposed to close relations to the Empire, but the sheer profits involved in Astral Currents and the planned Terminus eventually swayed them.

Guildmaster Neios (Faction Leader)
Affiliation: Glassmaker's Guild
Species: Merman
Public Persona: Neios presents himself as a career politician with vast bureaucratic as well as business experience who 'gets things done' without the unpleasant whiff of populism, and can forge alliances with any of the major political blocks.
History: His long record of public service attests much of this in great measure though the shadow of several corruption scandals stretches over him, the oldest almost four centuries back. Most involve tax evasion and property fraud, and his family certainly seems to have done well for themselves while he was in office. They control two major trading companies: Swiftfire Traders and the Three Spears Consortium, the later of which is already doing a bit of business in the Empire through the Opaline Vault.

Guildmistress Viel
Affiliation: Silkweavers Guild
Species: Teleriel
Public Persona: The word in the channels is that Viel 'weaves more than silk'. She has a reputation as a plotter as well as a shrewd mind for business, though she turns it mostly in the service of the guild. She is said to enjoy dolphin racing and is not above placing large bets on her favorites from time to time.
History: Though the Guildmistress has beenassociated with several dark rumors over her long life, most notably the killing of a prominent Marjan merchant over unpaid debts, she is still considered a skilled diplomat and has been sent on multiple external missions, being one of the few senior officials bold enough to travel to a dragon's court. Rumors that she had an affair with a dragon once are, by her own admission 'nonsense' predicated on the stereotype of the seductive and sensual teleriel.

Guildmaster Amnannu
Affiliation: Moneychangers' Guild (Bank of Vialesk)
Species: Marid
Public Persona: As the eldest member of the Golds and their only true genie, he prefers to keep a low profile so as not to be accused of kingmaking and playing puppet master. The accusations come regardless.
History: His principal goal does seem to be the financial and economic stability of the City of Splendid Waves, having perhaps learned over his long life that the slow and steady path to wealth and power is best. When he does hazard a public comment, his opinions are almost perfectly aligned with the faction as a whole, except in the matter of diplomacy with the Marid Emirates where he tends to adopt a slightly harsher stance, perhaps as a compensation for his heritage, though possibly connected to his supposed exile form one of them.

Master Mage-Smith Euinosia
Species: Maridar (Undine)
Affiliation: Glassmaker's Guild
Public Persona: One of the most skilled mage-smiths in the city, she was instrumental in overhauling and improving the wards upon the city's dome prior to the war with the Deep Ones. She prefers a public image of a craftswoman not a politician, but for anyone paying attention that could not be further from the truth.
History: The closest to a self-made leader one is likely to find among the Golds, she is is the leader of the younger wing of the party who would prefer a rapprochement with the Greens or even the Blues over the self-aggrandizing Purples. It is widely said that she would consider seeking the leadership of the guild when Neios finally steps down, though she has shown herself to be supportive of his outward policies, at least for now.

Commissioner of Public Works Dreutenos
Species: Maridar (Undine)
Affiliation: Office of Public Works (Officially)
Public Persona: He plays up the victim card so often and so thoroughly, Hermetia believes him more and more guilty every time she sees him. At this rate, she will start wondering if he is Asmodous in disguise sometime next year.
History: A former head of the Sea Guard who was 'promoted laterally' to public works after it came to light that certain of his subordinates were using their public office to spy on political rivals of the Golds, though nothing stuck to Dreutenos himself, who remained a mover and shaker within the faction with strong connections to the Greens

The Blues
Agenda: The populists of the council, they contain the greatest proportion of 'Channel Diggers' Guilds' of any faction. Containing a strong cultural element of traditional triton egalitarianism, they look in askance upon Emperors, though the existence of some representation for the common citizen is enough to garner some support. They are also deeply involved with the more charitable cults, such as the Temple of the Silver Moon, with many of their more skilled orators and even leaders having been priests of some renown. Efforts are being made to both shore up that support and establish the connection between the faction and triton organizations like the Still Waves.

Guildmaster Makiros (Faction Leader)
Species: Locathah
Affiliation: Silt Sifters' Guild
Public Persona: A glib and fast talking demagogue who can fire up a crowd in moments and always happy to tout his humble origins, though more evasive on how he overcame them.
History: The only son of a poor silt sifter, he quickly made a name for himself among the rough dockside thugs who at time blurred the ;ine between legitimate faction affiliation and organized crime. He ascended the ranks first by being strong of arm then by being glib of tongue, and crucially by not committing any serious crimes in the doing, or according to his enemies at least not getting caught. He reforged the Silt Sifters' guild in his image, turning the weakness that had made it the least respected of the 'True' Guilds into a bridge to the territorial guilds for those without acknowledged professions. This was responsible for more people registering to vote in the territorial guilds and thus strengthening both them and the Blues than any other leader in the past half of a millennium

Guildmistress Saba
Affiliation: Bone Carver's Guild
Species: Human
Public Persona: The Landwalker who Swam the Distance is what they call her still, two decades after the landmark election in which she won the traditionally Purple Bone Carver's guild from her triton rival.
History: She is widely respected among the Blues and grudgingly admired even among the Golds, though many prominent Purple leaders have com to disdain her not only for how she came to power but also the fact that she greatly empathizes internal prosperity over external prestige, to the point of occasionally voting with the Golds of her own initiative.

Lady Bhuia
Species: Mermaid
Affiliation: Head of the Office of Trade
Public Persona: Having been a member of the Gold faction for much of her life and originating from a family of like history, the lady joined the Blues out of what seems to be personal ambition as there simply was not room for her among the Golds in a position as high as she might have preferred. Surprisingly, her 'defection' has won her some minor favor in her new faction though many common citizens still grumble about her origins, especially when the rest of her family are in the public eye.
History: She served with distinction in the Office of Education and Public Health before finally taking the top job at the Office of Trade recently.

Guildmaster Ix'or
Species: Water Mephit (Class Wizard)
Affiliation: Messangers' Guild
Public Persona: The first mephit to stand on the Guild Council in over a hundred years, he plays up the expected persona of being flighty and passionate, caring little for political protocol. Given that he is a mage of some power in a discipline that requires self control, that seems like little more than mummery.
History: His rise coincided with Makios', leading to rumors hat blackmail and stolen messages were key to the latter's meteoric ascension, both within the guild and the wider faction. How much is true and how much slander is hard to judge at the moment.

Guildmistress Rippling Shadow
Species: Triton (Class Cleric)
Affiliation: Artists' Guild/Temple of the Silver Moon
Public Persona: An orator of some renown following in a long tradition of triton preachers holding sway among the Blues, Rippling Shadow is seen as a staunch defender of traditional triton values and a possible successor for Makios should the latter stumble.
History: Her rise through the ranks was relatively steady and in line with a skilled and ambitious mage with a gift for addressing a crowd, until a Deep One infiltrator attack on her family during the war lead to an upswell of public sympathy that carried her both to the leadership of her guild and a position of influence within her faction.

The Greens:
Agenda: The Greens are the party of expansion, one might almost call them the party of Empire if the words did not carry such unpleasant connotation in Vialesk. They champion both colonization and external wars against existential threats, such as the Deep Ones. Unsurprisingly, they have strong support among the military as well as the kelp farmers beyond the wards of Vialesk, which is where they get their signature color. They have so far been relatively neutral on the matter of the Empire since it is seen as a useful trading partner best kept at arm's length. While they are supportive of a renewed war with the Deep Ones, some within the faction fear that growing too close could drag Vialesk into the War of Three Spheres from which they see no potential gain.

Guildmaster Solkas (Faction Leader)
Species: Tojanida
Affiliation: Shipwrights' Guild
Public Image: In many ways seeking to reflect his bother's martial fame and loyalty to the city, Guildmaster Solkas is above all else a deal maker not a demagogue. He thrives on being the swing vote on crucial issues like the yearly budget.
History: Has recently lost two 'canal builders' guilds to the Blues by failing to address crucial local issues and running uninspired campaigns. Looking for something that can enhance his image with the populace without taking too many risks.

Star Admiral Kharban
Species: Tojanida
Affiliation: Grand Armada of Vialesk
Public image: He wishes to project himself as the selfless protector of the city who would never give into foes within or without.
History: This image was sealed during the Green-Purple alliance when he gave a stirring public speech about every sailor's patriotic duty. Keen-eyed observers noted that it also positioned his brother to take over leadership of the faction. How much of that speech was true and how much mummery to secure more power and influence is hard to judge, but some measure of each would seem most prudent to assume.

Guildmaster Kautios
Species: Maridar (Undine)
Affiliation: Kelp-Growers' Guild
Public Image: It is his success in farming that other farmers love best, otherwise Kautios can be quite abrupt and possesses little patience for foreigners and less for dragons. This too likely plays into his persona, since he draws votes from citizens far from the cosmopolitan heart of Vialesk.
History: In private he is quite a charming person with a love of art and culture, especially poetry and philosophy. Hermetia established a personal rapport with him in spite of their political distance.

Tyrolis
Species: Merman?
Affiliation: The Jade Herald (Broadsheet)
Public image: The chief editor of the Jade Herald, one of the most widely read broadsheets in the city, is a mystery to many. Said to be a merman, he or she (the name is gender-neutral) has nonetheless lived for far longer than a merman's years. Some assume they have been enduring by some arcane processes, others that it is a title and not a name at all.
History: What is clear is that the Jade Herald has unusual influence upon the policies of the Greens, far beyond what any other broadsheet can claim. A particularly incisive editorial was said to have shifted their position on a vital Guild Schools' budget from a conservative Gold position to voting with the Blues and bringing the governing Golds and Purples to the negotiating table for a compromise.

Ex-Admiral Sorja 'the Twice Bought'
Affiliation: Retired Admiral
Species: Locathah
Public Image: The former leader of the Greens, she maintains a shrinking core of supporters in the faction in the face of eroding popularity.
History: What was once the image of a former mercenary being moved by the values of Vialesk to call the city home has since decayed into the faintly piratical image of the Twice Bought, who nearly brought the city to its knees by supporting the fiery rhetoric of the erstwhile leader of the Purples. It is likely that her support within the faction will erode to nothing in a matter of years, but in the meantime she has the virtue of desperation, at least from our perspective.

The Purples
Agenda: If the greens are the pragmatic expansionists, then the Purples, named for the color of deep waters, are the idealists of the City of Splendid Waves. They believe that as the beating economic heart of the Endless Ocean, Vialesk should take its place as a true hegemony. While most of their plans involve peaceful confederation, Purple-Green alliances of the past have been known to propose rather more direct methods of gaining power.
History: They are, or perhaps were, among the most supportive of relations with the Empire, seeing an extraplanar connection to the fabled Garden as a recognition of their city's station.

(Former) Guildmaster Sergun
Species: Cecaelia
Affiliation: Architects' Guild
Public Image: Attempted to create an image of unflinching moral rectitude, railing against the hypocrisy of the populists and the priests who meddle in politics rather than seeing to their altars.
History: For all that he could not quite escape the shadow of allegedly paying to get out of compulsory military service in his youth, which was why he offered his nephew as a possible successor free of that taint. The scandal that tore the latter down would eventually be Sergun's undoing as well.

(Former) Guildmaster Gerlos
Species: Cecaelia
Affiliation: Pearl-Grower's Guild
Public Image: A New Leader for a New Age, or so he wished to present himself as, Gerlos did not hesitate to criticize even the self serving Old Guilds of the Golds, though given than much of the popularity was bound up in his wife who famously championed popular causes like better education, health, and a dole for those out of work, the current scandal ruined him utterly.

Master Aparemios
Species: Teleriel
Affiliation: Engineer's Guild
Public Image: Though not yet the master of his Guild, Aparemios is still a player to watch in the scramble to gain control of the Purples by reason of his great visibility, both in debating controversial legislation and his exploits against pirates and Deep One remnants, making use of experimental engines.
History: The only scandal to his name was the sort that is more likely to see the broadsheets wink rather than scold him; he eloped with the daughter of prominent triton merchant, but he never asked for a single shell from his wife's kin and with his rising political fortunes, relations with them seem to be warming.

Lady Uiknosa
Species: Maridar (Undine)
Affiliation: Faction Sponsor
Public Image: Known to trade with both the Dragon Dominions and Maridar Emirates, she is one of the largest sponsors of the Purples' campaigns, but she generally prefers to keep to the shadows. She was, however, one of the first to condemn Gerlos, so swift in fact that one might suspect she has her own sources of information within the Sea Guard.
History: There is very little known about her political positions over the years, a great deal of gossip about her personal life, not none of it relevant or substantial. What one can deduce from studying the various fetes and soirees for the high and mighty of Vialesk is that she has at least one friend in every boat.

Guildmistress Dhyna
Species: Triton
Affiliation: Pilots' Guild
Public Image: The traditional and safe pick for faction leadership, she has served in high politics for almost a century, having close ties with the Golds and especially their leader. Her supporters tout her as the option for staying in power and not making long bets on a rising star.
History: Studied magic in her youth, enough to aid her in navigation. How much further she may have taken it later in life is unknown, but she does not often use any spell stronger than a cantrip in public.

Guildmaster Arseris
Species: Merrow
Affiliation: Whale Herder's Guild
Public Image: Many consider the hulking giant-kin a thug and a brute, loyal to whoever holds his leash. Hermetia is not so sure. Whale herding is a profitable enough business to tip an inter-faction vote one way or another at the right time, and she has seen in his eye a sharp gleam of intelligence that did not match the almost monosyllabic conversation.
History: It is difficult to ascertain more about him than that he was loyal to the former faction leader, since no one seems to lay any attention to Arseris.

OOC: The lack of narrative structure made this very tricky to write but here we are. I thought about editing this in but then we would not have had a thread alert. I also considered just posting the new stuff, but then it would have been scattered. So here we are, twenty personages of interest Not yet edited.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

DragonParadox said:

Tyrolis
Species: Merman?
Affiliation: The Jade Herald (Broadsheet)
Public image: The chief editor of the Jade Herald, one of the most widely read broadsheets in the city, is a mystery to many. Said to be a merman, he or she (the name is gender-neutral) has nonetheless lived for far longer than a merman's years. Some assume they have been enduring by some arcane processes, others that it is a title and not a name at all.
History: What is clear is that the Jade Herald has unusual influence upon the policies of the Greens, far beyond what any other broadsheet can claim. A particularly incisive editorial was said to have shifted their position on a vital Guild Schools' budget from a conservative Gold position to voting with the Blues and bringing the governing Golds and Purples to the negotiating table for a compromise.

Master Aparemios
Species: Teleriel
Affiliation: Engineer's Guild
Public Image: Though not yet the master of his Guild, Aparemios is still a player to watch in the scramble to gain control of the Purples by reason of his great visibility, both in debating controversial legislation and his exploits against pirates and Deep One remnants, making use of experimental engines.
History: The only scandal to his name was the sort that is more likely to see the broadsheets wink rather than scold him; he eloped with the daughter of prominent triton merchant, but he never asked for a single shell from his wife's kin and with his rising political fortunes, relations with them seem to be warming.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Azel said:

@DragonParadox, could we delegate further intrigue votes until the turn-vote? The general marching orders from yesterday should work for now.
A more long-term plan would also need details on nearby polities before drafting it.

Furthermore, @everyone, do we actually want to meddle with this? Vialesk is one of those narrative strings I care not one bit about. Not even about the Terminus, let alone pushing these clowns into action.

I'd either look to conquer the place or ignore it.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Azel said:

@DragonParadox, could we delegate further intrigue votes until the turn-vote? The general marching orders from yesterday should work for now.
A more long-term plan would also need details on nearby polities before drafting it.

Furthermore, @everyone, do we actually want to meddle with this? Vialesk is one of those narrative strings I care not one bit about. Not even about the Terminus, let alone pushing these clowns into action.

I'd either look to conquer the place or ignore it.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Azel said:

@DragonParadox, could we delegate further intrigue votes until the turn-vote? The general marching orders from yesterday should work for now.
A more long-term plan would also need details on nearby polities before drafting it.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

DragonParadox said:

Sure that works. I have all the notes I could ever need on it right now so I can continue to simulate it in the background fine. Details on nearby polities probably are not going to be as detailed as this though unless you guys assign someone to observe and act there.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Azel said:

We can't assign people to act there without knowing what there is to interact with and for what reasons.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

zxzx24 said:

While this was a heartwrenching amount of effort. I cant say I am super interested in the little mermaids kingdom. I'm not sure how we got here.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

zxzx24 said:

While this was a heartwrenching amount of effort. I cant say I am super interested in the little mermaids kingdom. I'm not sure how we got here.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Azel said:

Because things are not moving here, so we keep coming back to bang our head against the status quo, mostly motivated by vague notions of money and military alliance.

We don't really have a good reason. Especially not one go expend all this effort on the recalcitrant shits in Vialesk.

Also, I'm sour that Planetosi politics never got this much attention and detail, but that's another topic.

[D&D campaign with ASOIAF-cameos intensifies]

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

DragonParadox said:

Well they will from now on, all of Planetos will. I can't retroactively write the story.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Azel said:

[X] Keep some basic diplomatic staff in Vialesk but leave the place to it's isolationism. You will visit to buy stuff and that's about it.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Artemis1992 said:

What about their economic actions?
I mean, it looks like some parties in Vialesk are seeing the shallow seas of our world as good ground for their industry, we have to have a stance on that, no matter how pro or contra.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Azel said:

Problem is that we can just bulldoze pretty much all resistance there these days.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

zxzx24 said:

@DragonParadox it's both good practice, and will be useful when we do get here. It's certainly interesting.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

1. Don't write characters like a camera with a wig
2. Don't try to write up a whole polity in a few days to compensate for not giving enough details in the past
3. Don't push complexity when people are not interested