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

Ninth Day of the Fifth Month 294 AC

The choice is simpler than it had been in other instances. The Ministry of Health can afford a soft touch more than most other places, and if it should perhaps breed a touch of corruption in Hern's shadow then you count is a price well paid in exchange for the man's sincerity. As for his dislike of the faith in Westeros, it is mild and can be managed well enough, though alas 'a merchant from Gulltown that dislikes septons' is unlikely to make the lords of Westeros feel represented among the ministers as you might have hoped.

"Well it will give them something other than the devil to argue over in their cups at least," Tyene japes, though there is an edge of serious concern there. Of curias and votes the lords know little, but they understand Ministries more than well enough—a Small Council by another name, and that is a power many desire.

The trouble of course being that you have only just taken the Seven Kingdoms for your own, and thus though a thousand pearls or administrative skill may be strewn before your gaze to the west you cannot see them for all you might turn every seer in the House of Mirrors there. The only Westerosi in your service that you know something of are exiles, malcontents, heretics and lords which you would be well served keeping in their current seats for the moment.

It is with this in mind that you turn your attention to the matter of he Ministry that they would count the greatest prize of the lot, the Ministry of War. True the name does not the whole story tell and the Minister shall hold no dominion over command of the armies, but still they shall hold great sway in matters martial for it may be a truism that an army marches upon its stomach, but something does not grow into a truism without being true. Thus you find yourself parsing through lists of candidates with an eye to loyalty as much as any other qualification.

Who could be more loyal than an Arcanum, born of Lya's wondering thoughts? Beryl had worked at many of the arcane projects that concerned the Legion. From steam to the Warden Armor she understands the new ways of making war better than any other, though her origins are likely to cause some talk and put more of a spotlight on Lya. According to your mother whispers and conspiracy about her are already starting to take shape at court.

"There is a certain sort of lord in Westeros and in Essos too that would far sooner believe that of a woman than any man, and sense has little to do with it," she says, pouring herself a cup of spiced chocolate with what one would be inclined to call weary frustration. "They shall hear Arcanums and think 'spies and puppets' never mind that they are their own beings, and well..."

"Yes?" you prompt. Your mother likely does not want to add anything unflattering after having just relayed the words of fools on the matter.

"Among her sisters Beryl is rather blunt and unwilling to suffer fools, and I have heard it said that she supports more of a voice for the Voices as it were and the common man. Not that unusual to hear in the Deep of course and for myself I could not even say I wholly disagree, but I could see her manner and her opinions converging to make for a rather adversarial relationship with many of those who are First by Blood," she explains. After a moment she adds thoughtfully, "On the other hand she would be the Minister of War not Diplomacy, unruffling feathers is not to be her task."

"Alright then, mother. If you were to name a lord of the Seven Kingdoms for the post of Minister of War who would it be?" you ask, expecting her to name one of the loyalists who had shown themselves most eager to embrace the Imperium in all its forms.

Her answer still surprises you, though perhaps it should not have. "Randyll Tarly. Yes, the man is a pain to talk to, and the less said of how he chose to raise his son the batter, but he has been taking in the new ways of making war like a man who has found water in the wastes, talking to commanders and trying to judge what he can and cannot implement for his own troops, and it is clear he grieves that the latter is a far longer list than the former. As minister he would be willing to listen to council as long as it is from those well-equipped to give it."

Your talks with the Lord of Horn Hill had revealed a man more skilled in logistics and other less than glorious parts of war than you had assumed he would be, you muse. It is not that he is a fool, just narrow of sight, but then a Minister does not have to see broadly beyond his domain.

"Politically," your mother continues with another sip of her cup, "Naming a Westerosi Duke to the position, even one who had to abdicate for it would serve the throne well, showing of how they might gain power and prestige in Imperial service, and it will be seen as rewarding those who well served during the War of the Usurper. The only ones who might be bitter with the naming are the Tyrells, and I do not think their thoughts weigh too heavily in the scales of choice for the moment."

"Yet for all his enthusiasm he is still learning the new ways of making war," you conclude. "He would have to count on his subordinates a good while yet, and war shall not be slow to come I fear."

For a long while both of you are quiet, contemplating with whom, with what that war may be fought before you turn your eye to the last candidate. In many ways Neneros Alarte is the expected choice for the post, a Legion man who served almost from the start, he is known to all the marshals from his stint as the commander of Westheaven, he has more of a head for the politics of power than most soldiers have a cause to possess, and is a fair organizer besides. Alas he has almost no actual experience in command, and much of it policing the Western reaches of Essos which has left him with an abiding dislike it the landholding magisters of the region, something the Latifundiari toughly reflect in kind.

Who do you choose for Minister of War?

[] Beryl the Strategist
+Unwaveringly Loyal
+Artificer's Supervisor
+/-Somewhat Socially Liberal
-Whispers of Conspiracy
-Blunt

[] Randyll Tarly
+Skilled Commander
+A Head for Logistics
+Honors to the Western Lands
-Behind the times
-Socially and Economically Conservative

[] Neneros Alarte
+Legion Connections
+Diplomatic
+Organizer
-Limited Command experience
-Dislike of the Magisters

[] Write in

OOC: I thought about putting Yrael up here, but on consideration of his characterization I do not think he would actually want to leave Mantarys, for all he would be quite skilled In a military posting. The last few years have changed him in more ways than the color of his wings.