[X] Plan: Slow build up of cards with hedgewise and research
-[X] MAX: Use kitting out his workshop as a pretext to get to know House Miriel and the local Cult of Vaul
-[X] EGRIMM: Attempt to bring the Light Order into the Waystone Project
-[X] JOHANN: Train with and study the freshly-attached golden arm
-[X] Furnish the research spaces of the Waystone Project HQ (specify how much: 2000gc for Laurelorn-grade)
-[X] Attempt to bring a non-Order magical tradition into the Waystone Project (The Nordlanders Haléthans Hedgewise)
--[X] The Gambler: Attempt to bring the Nordlanders Haléthans Hedgewise into the Waystone Project
-[X] Investigate how the Vitae reacts with Divine Magic
-[X] EIC: Insert agents into Talabecland administration to start gathering their secrets
-[X] Seek official recognition of Kron-Azril-Ungol as an affiliated library of the Colleges of Magic
-[X] Write a paper: Observations on the Chaos Wastes in the western Great Steppes
Well, you know what they say, never say never if you don't want you plan's to remain dreams so here it is now that I have energy.
It's basically Slow and steady Research plan but instead of the jade order, it's the hedgewise I've decided to recruit.
One of the main things i'm worried about by approaching the Jade order so early without many of the groups were planning on adding to our order such as hedgewise knowledge on waystones and icewitches weird modified god waystones and other unique groups is that they seemingly from what i've heard consider theirwaystone secrets to be some religous secrets and perhaps may seek to cencure/limit the amount of groups we may wish to recruit or spread info around to the colleges because of said religous reasons and secrets.
Perhaps paranoia on my part sure as other groups wish to maintain their secrets but at the very least we scanned out the brettonian and icewitches and they were willing to work and share secrets with us and hedgewise were a ??? mark under the grey college option as sponsor and from Kurtwise.
"Both parties are protective of their secrets," Kurtis says, "but then, so are the Runesmiths and the Eonir."
"What about your lot, Kurtis?" Algard asks.
"The Middenland Hedgewise call themselves 'Cunning Folk'. They're Ranaldites and they have a long-running feud with the Ulricans, so it might be difficult to bring them on board. The Nordlanders are Haléthans and as such are largely concentrated east of the Salz to watch over the Forest of Shadows, so they don't really have any bad blood with the Elves."
Grey Order
Jurisdiction: The Empire
Superiors: Emperor Luitpold, Supreme Patriarch Dragomas, Magister Patriarch Algard
Natural Allies: Colleges of Magic, Reikland, Hedgewise?
Relevent Opposers: Marienburg
At the very least I do wish to approach the Jade college with more groups under our shoulder and I believe the hedgewise is a good step to doing that.
For those questioning what makes me think we have better chances with hedgewise now. Well first of all I'll say this that we won't get in trouble for collaberating with the hedgewise as were under Laurelorn law and the following
"By which the Magister Patriarch means that collaboration with them may be of use as a pretence for ascertaining their suitability to join one of the Orders of Magic, as required by Article 13," Kurtis says. "Otherwise collaboration with the Hedgewise would make you a party to a breach of Article 3."
"That is of course what I meant," Algard says with a smile. "I understand said ascertaining can take quite some time."
"Years. Decades, even." Kurtis agrees.
"Got to do the job properly."
It's said he went to the newly-promoted Algard and confessed his actions expecting to be burned or Pacified, but instead he was promoted to Provost, enshrining his twin loyalties in his job description. It is hoped that one day the Colleges of Magic will have enough manpower and influence to cover the entirety of the Empire from the largest city to the smallest and most remote hamlet, but until that day the Hedgefolk were a lesser evil in a very long list of some very evil evils, so it was in the interest of the Empire and the Colleges that the Hedgefolk benefit from a blind eye and a backchannel. The argument being that Article 15's exhortation to oppose 'destructive and anti-Imperial machinations, practices, peoples, and creatures' does describe itself as the 'prime concern and purpose of the Colleges, their Orders and the Magisters belonging to them', and thus assisting the Hedgefolk in poaching magic-users in remote areas that might otherwise be recruited by practitioners of Forbidden Lores is in accordance with the Articles, even if in a vacuum it could be considered to breach Article 13.
We can take our sweet ass time assessing the hedgewise of Nordland suitability to joining the colleges and perhaps in time even promise them more in the ability to establish themselves more so in Nordland now that the vacuum of mages from the colleges due to them being to now perceived to have sided with the Eonir and we can give them a blind eye to recruit and influence as they wish in Nordland to perhaps even rise to prominence as the Elementalists did if they manage to catch the eye of the elector count in the absence of the colleges in Nordland although big doubts on that lol.
Perhaps offer them a chance to have us negotiate with the elves to create a sort of safehaven for the hedgewise in Nordland to hide for a time if individual groups are displaced by the new overzelous Sigmarite groups moving into Nordland.
Perhaps give them economic opportunities in time if we can spin it in a way that's not against the articles as trying to preserve them for recruiting attempts into the colleges.
Either way, this is my plan to go for the hedge mages of Nordland and attempt to approach the jade mages later in more a position of strength with more groups bundled under us.