This any better? If not, I'm open to RGB color code suggestions as long as those suggestions keep it somewhere in the black or dark grey area.
Anyway, my argument is that if your liege can insist on you doing a thing when the stakes are high, and can brand you a traitor and an outlaw if you refuse, no you don't have rights except for what your liege lets you have. The fact that he probably wouldn't try to restrict our rights unless it either really mattered or if he's deeply stupid doesn't change the fundamental hierarchy and power imbalance we'd be buying into here. And yeah, some of that is unfortunately implicit in living in any given nation anyway, but there's no reason to make that worse by giving him more direct veto power over what we do, and when, and how.
Ultimately, he can't tell us what to do right now since we're in this weird limbo area between "always having a home" here without actually being a citizen in any official sense and, therefore, never having actually made any implicit or explicit promises to obey him. He can make suggestions, he can persuade us, he can even try to leverage his political power as a threat, but as things stand right now he has no direct way to bind us to any given course of action because if he pushes too hard, we can always leave and go to some other nation instead without much repurcussion.
And yeah, if he's a good person either way it won't matter much, but if he's the kind of politician who's good at looking benevolent while being willing to use us up until we break, staying as independent as we can manage forces him to soften his approach if he wants us to do anything. If we put ourselves under his authority in any kind of binding way, he stops having as much incentive to keep giving us carrots because we've just handed him a stick he can use instead.
In short, I would really prefer to have us be an independent contractor who does a lot of work for Letoro specifically because he's incentivized to keep our relationship friendly, rather than sign a contract to work directly for Letoro and risk having to later choose between breaking the contract and by so doing limit our options for the future, or obeying a direct order from Letoro to do something we would really really rather not do.
That makes no sense in context. If we were a knight from the start we wouldn't be able to reasonably make contradictory oaths and make them stick. We also wouldn't be reasonable able to make our lord promise us anything in exchange for following his orders. That's covered under the existing fealty system
It isn't paranoia, you're making unsubstantiated assumptions about who he is and how he'll act. I'm point out that they have no substance and there are issues with that. Even if a worst case scenario doesn't occur you're still trading away a lot -literally the rest of Ryza's life by default- for a little before we've even seen the rest of the world.
"Failure is okay because watching things burn is fun" isn't a compelling argument to me either.
Doing other stuff that we want to do anyway, that contribute to our goals anyway, and don't preclude circling back if we like what we see isn't wasting time. It's just being sensible.
Ryza just coming out of something traumatic and clinging to a familiar face is normal, but it doesn't have to stay stuck at that level of dependency. Ryza is a child, but one way or another she has to grow up fast now, and she's a lot more capable of it than a similar human kid would be.
With some time to recover and come to terms with things we can work out more of what we want to do.
She really shouldn't have to grow up that fast unless things go very wrong now. She has a home, and the potential for more right now. And peace is right around the corner. The only way I see you being right is if another crisis happens right now, in which case I was right.
the strongest possible binding when it doesn't gain us that much, and does cost us a lot. Not even just in potential future stuff either.
Right now being an outsider has some issues, but the benefit is that we have wiggle room in our social class. Once we give that up it's gone, and will be a factor in Ryza's relationships with people like Artemis.
To me that's maybes and what is still, I see immediate problem, and a perfectly good solution right now. Couple that with I am just plain uninterested in going on a world tour or something means a big fat no from me.
Anyway, my argument is that if your liege can insist on you doing a thing when the stakes are high, and can brand you a traitor and an outlaw if you refuse, no you don't have rights except for what your liege lets you have. The fact that he probably wouldn't try to restrict our rights unless it either really mattered or if he's deeply stupid doesn't change the fundamental hierarchy and power imbalance we'd be buying into here. And yeah, some of that is unfortunately implicit in living in any given nation anyway, but there's no reason to make that worse by giving him more direct veto power over what we do, and when, and how.
Well that is the most basic part of the feudel contract, he isn't god. We have rights he can't intrude upon. That's kinda half the point to being a noble, as is he has every right to kick us out or worse at the moment.
All that said I'm kinda done arguing. I've been doing this all day I'm done.
And yeah, if he's a good person either way it won't matter much, but if he's the kind of politician who's good at looking benevolent while being willing to use us up until we break, staying as independent as we can manage forces him to soften his approach if he wants us to do anything.
Whether he's truly that bad or not is hard to measure, but he's definitely someone who plays realpolitik. His assassin/spy is living proof of that, and he didn't explicitly set his policy about our last mission until after Ryza pushed on it.
He might have respected her for doing it, but it's worth noting he made the minimum possible shift in position needed to keep her cooperative.
[x] You find yourself… liking the idea. How many times had you been worried about people not liking how friendly you are with Artemis? This way, they won't have any excuse! Besides, having some people who have promised to help you could be useful. You think you'll probably take him up on it.
-[X] You definitely need to talk about it with Artemis first. Hopefully tomorrow, if she has time.
Even if you want Ryza to get ennobled, taking the skeptical option is likely to get her a better offer since Letoro will have to sweeten the deal to get past her doubts about the whole affair.
Also, waiting to decide while doing important things for important people and building up ties will allow us to hone our abilities (magic, dragon form, and general knowledge about the world at large) and create further good will, giving her more to offer a potential liege and thus allowing her to demand better titles/contracts. Other nobles will probably give us similar deals, allowing us to compare offers and stoke some competition for more generous terms. And we're also likely to have future opportunities to acquire de facto or even de jure rights to Ryza's home independent of homage and fealty, which will mean that Letoro will have to pile on even better terms to have a reasonable chance of succeeding.
People are acting like agreeing will bind Ryza for the rest of her life, but the king specifically only mentions himself in the oath I believe? Additionally, we're fixing to talk to Artemis so they should catch any potential issues such as that and be able to address it. Maybe after the discussion with Artemis, Ryza could add an explicit allowance to retire after each generation passes or some such, in case timeskips become a thing and this actually becomes relevant.
That kinda makes Ryza's knighthood not knighthood at all. Vassals are defined by their dynastic ties to their suzerain; if an aristocrat is bound to his lord, but his children aren't bound to his lord's children, that's not vassalage at all. At most, that's a contract. The whole point of Ryza getting a knighthood is to make her a legitimate part of Agrithe; if her position lacks the legitimacy of a long-running title and its well-known duties, she might as well be declared the Ducal Bestie for all the legitimacy it gives her.
Brainwasher, that is literally what a vassal is.
An unstated but crucial component of that is that we'd be subject to the laws of Agrithe, since we'd be Archduke Leto's subject.
An agreement that holds exactly zero water unless Ryza also has an actual title to back her up? That's not much of an alternative.
FE tends to gloss over it because most of the commoners you see interacting with the noble cast members on a regular basis are close friends, but this is still a class-based medieval world. A commoner's claim on a parcel of land is worthless if a noble decides to mosey on over and take it. And the commoner's life is worthless if they try to talk back to said noble.
While this is accurate for ordinary humans, the fact that Ryza can turn into a dragon (or scorch a tree with lightning in her heart form) does have a chilling effect on that sort of thing.
It's also worth noting, for both Brainwasher and Random Sanity, that Agrithe probably has traditionally-recognized relations with people who aren't vassals. If we're lucky, Artemis will bring up one that could arguably apply to Ryza and which would give her both a legitimate claim to her home and a certain degree of freedom from unknown future aristocrats. (And stupid formal titles.)
There's a middle ground between "expect someone to act in your best interests in an informal, poorly-defined relationship" and "expect someone to violate the terms of a formal, well-defined relationship." I'd argue that most people fall into that middle ground.
I really don't get what everyone is so worried about, any and all immediate problems that could come from this are already our problems due to our relationship with Artemis and the fact we live here, with far less gain. We have it made right now, with the favor of the duke and the heir. We should milk for all its worth. This would put us in a prime position to fulfil Rhyza desires. IE get her home back, be happy with Artemis and look for other manaketes.
-snip-
Rhyza would literally be living in the king maker scenario. Hell with enough time she very well could become the sovereign in all but name.
I really do not understand peoples worries one bit.
Point 1: Ryza doesn't want to be the kingmaker, she doesn't want to be the power behind the throne, she doesn't even want to by Lady Ryza. She just wants to by Ryza. That's been a significant part of many people's opposition. Ryza doesn't want to be nobility, so accepting a noble title goes against that desire.
Point 2: The focus on immediate problems doesn't make sense. Ryza has to live with the long-term consequences, even if they won't come up in this Quest. (Which is far from certain—Genealogy of the Holy War exists, and the #1 candidate for Big Bad is only slightly less immortal than Ryza.) If you think nothing beyond the immediate matters because Ryza can neutralize long-term threats, focus on that and not vague "immediate problems" arising from how much Artemis and Leto hate us, because nobody is actually arguing about those imaginary problems.
Point 3: Things beyond the immediate matter because Ryza can't neutralize all long-term threats. If she was a consummate diplomancer, someone both willing and able to manipulate the social world around her to her advantage, she might be able to. (A power behind the throne who is arguably a dragon, mortal enemy of humankind, is going to be the focus of a lot of suspicion and probably plots to free Agrithe from her influence. No manakete magic is going to protect Ryza from daggers in the dark.) But she is not. Ryza understands less about the politics around her than a peasant child of her apparent age, and she actively dislikes having authority over people.
(—stated in his thesis, warfare is politics by other means).
-examples snip-
So yeah, slavery is a recurring element across Fire Emblem.
(Side note: I almost included the explicit use of slavery by the Cult of Gerxel before I remembered that Tear Ring Saga is not Fire Emblem, despite Shouzou Kaga creating both)
I suspect it's either that, or he's a big part of that historical threat of dragons that the Empire apparently banded against way back when it was founded.
Regarding about them searching and running back without interacting with the manakete, not sure why anyone should take that quest tbh, because we don't even know if any manaketes aside from Ryza and BBEG are still around. It's essentially a wild goose chase.
So what is an oath? To borrow Richard Janko's (The Iliad: A Commentary (1992), in turn quoted by Sommerstein) formulation, "to take an oath is in effect to invoke powers greater than oneself to uphold the truth of a declaration, by putting a curse upon oneself if it is false."
Grima: If I had known it would be this easy to insinuate my agents into the inner circle of Ylisse's royal family, I could have skipped an awful lot of my planning.
What's that? I can't hear you over the dark gray forum background.
Liliana the Hedonist can't have both a black/dark gray text color and text that's legible on a dark gray background.
It's also worth noting, for both Brainwasher and Random Sanity, that Legerius probably has traditionally-recognized relations with people who aren't vassals.
Point 1: Ryza doesn't want to be the kingmaker, she doesn't want to be the power behind the throne, she doesn't even want to by Lady Ryza. She just wants to by Ryza. That's been a significant part of many people's opposition. Ryza doesn't want to be nobility, so accepting a noble title goes against that desire.
Point 2: The focus on immediate problems doesn't make sense. Ryza has to live with the long-term consequences, even if they won't come up in this Quest. (Which is far from certain—Genealogy of the Holy War exists, and the #1 candidate for Big Bad is only slightly less immortal than Ryza.) If you think nothing beyond the immediate matters because Ryza can neutralize long-term threats, focus on that and not vague "immediate problems" arising from how much Artemis and Leto hate us, because nobody is actually arguing about those imaginary problems.
Point 3: Things beyond the immediate matter because Ryza can't neutralize all long-term threats. If she was a consummate diplomancer, someone both willing and able to manipulate the social world around her to her advantage, she might be able to. (A power behind the throne who is arguably a dragon, mortal enemy of humankind, is going to be the focus of a lot of suspicion and probably plots to free Legerius from her influence. No manakete magic is going to protect Ryza from daggers in the dark.) But she is not. Ryza understands less about the politics around her than a peasant child of her apparent age, and she actively dislikes having authority over people.
I like the implications of working closer with the duke and becoming nobility. It sounds fun and interesting. Becoming a knight solves immediate problems and sets up fun stuff for later.
To me people seem enamored with the thought of being a free agent far too much. And I outright resent the thought of leaving the current plot and Artemis to fuck off to god knows where.
That post wasn't about her wanting to play kingmaker as much as it was mostly about how Ryza wouldn't have to worry about some idiot duke down the line for all of the given reasons. Besides who knows what kind of person she would be in a century anyway.
I don't see many believable in character reasons for her to say no. And the ooc stuff falls flat to me to.
All of that said, I am really not interested in continuing this debate. We dropped it last night, and kinda don't appreciate having it brought up again 15 hours later. Especially after we were asked to stop.
I like the implications of working closer with the duke and becoming nobility. It sounds fun and interesting. Becoming a knight solves immediate problems and sets up fun stuff for later.
This ends up running against a lot of Ryza's characterization thus far, at least in terms of becoming nobility and acquiring guaranteed deference from a lot of people. It creates as many problems as it solves and those are problems with less easy solutions.
To me people seem enamored with the thought of being a free agent far too much. And I outright resent the thought of leaving the current plot and Artemis to fuck off to god knows where.
Strawman much? I haven't seen any significant argument for "yeah, we're gonna ignore the current plot and everybody who's gotten characterization and investment in favor of the great unknown."
Ryza wouldn't have to worry about some idiot duke down the line for all of the given reasons. Besides who knows what kind of person she would be in a century anyway.
Let's deal with our immediate problems and make distant problems be something that can be handled by Future Ryza, who will be better-equipped to handle them.
Asked and answered. Every bit of characterization Ryza has gotten thus far has been in the line of "titles are weird. Deference is weird. Human social things are weird and uncomfortable." That's reason enough.
When I said "Let's wait for what information we get from talking to Artemis" I meant "can we please knock it off because if I wanted to listen to uninformed speculation and baseless argumentation I'd go find one of a dozen different places real world politics is discussed."
I am here because little dragon girls are cute and Fire Emblem tends to have great characters and plots that reveal who they are. This argument is rapidly draining the joy out of that.
I am here because little dragon girls are cute and Fire Emblem tends to have great characters and plots that reveal who they are. This argument is rapidly draining the joy out of that.
Quoted for truth. You've all done a better job than a lot of places at keeping this sort of disagreement mostly civil, but I think it's reached the point where people are just talking in circles/talking past each other.
I'm working on Artemis's feedback to Ryza's questions, and she has some thoughts. Let's table this until she's had a chance to weigh in.
I like the implications of working closer with the duke and becoming nobility. It sounds fun and interesting. Becoming a knight solves immediate problems and sets up fun stuff for later.
This ends up running against a lot of Ryza's characterization thus far, at least in terms of becoming nobility and acquiring guaranteed deference from a lot of people.
These two statements are harmonious. Watching Ryza try to be a good little knight, trying to balance out the privileges people now expect her to use with her egalitarian ideals, fulfilling her duties to not-Legerius and the legacy of her entire race and the needs of her heart (and dragon), would be interesting and fun specifically because it runs against Ryza's characterization. These two statements are harmonious.
If the title of knight was thrust upon Ryza, cool. But it's not. Ryza is being asked whether she wants to be a knight, and she doesn't. Part of this is for strategic interests which can be debated against, but much of it is for character reasons which can only be ignored. And the thing I find most joy-draining about this debate is how many people are choosing to ignore a significant portion of the other side's arguments.
Charitably, there's an implicit argument that Ryza's characterization should take a backseat to her strategic interests. If this is what the pro-knight side's argument is, then it's philosophical, and philosophy can't be disproved. But I can say that a philosophy where we ignore our avatar's established characterization in favor of consolidating power is ill-suited to this quest. It doesn't fit Fire Emblem's themes, it doesn't fit SoaringHawk's narrative focus, and it doesn't fit Ryza's anything.
To be clear I am currently in camp no knight, but I find discussions about what would be in character always a bit weird in quests with pre determined options.
I can see objecting to a write in on those grounds, but if the author has given the options, then I trust that these are both things Ryza would conceivably do.
Yeah I don't want to assume too much but we haven't been given an out of character option since the beginning of the quest. Every option has either been in character or character defining. There's no reason to assume that we're starting now.
[X] You don't know if you can tie yourself that strongly to Agrithe. You like it here, you like the people, but you've only known them for a few weeks. Things could easily change over the years and decades. Best to just stay friends. Besides, it'd be weird taking orders from someone younger than you. You'll probably respectfully decline.
[x] You find yourself… liking the idea. How many times had you been worried about people not liking how friendly you are with Artemis? This way, they won't have any excuse! Besides, having some people who have promised to help you could be useful. You think you'll probably take him up on it.
I'm probably going to call the vote in a few hours, since pretty much everyone agrees to wait to make a final decision only after talking to Artemis. Ryza's leaning towards not doing it, but she wants to get a second opinion.
I have the chapter mostly written; a lot of it was other downtime-activities, and mosts of Artemis's advice would be the same whatever way Sypha Ryza was leaning.
I have the chapter mostly written; a lot of it was other downtime-activities, and mosts of Artemis's advice would be the same whatever way Sypha was leaning.
To be clear I am currently in camp no knight, but I find discussions about what would be in character always a bit weird in quests with pre determined options.
I can see objecting to a write in on those grounds, but if the author has given the options, then I trust that these are both things Ryza would conceivably do.
I can see this argument. It's not a bad argument. It's also opposed by basically everything that Ryza has said in the entire Quest on the topic of nobility.
I don't think Ryza is dogmatically opposed to having a noble title or anything, but I struggle to see how anyone could read more than a few fight scenes and come to the conclusion that Ryza wants one.
[X] You don't know if you can tie yourself that strongly to Agrithe. You like it here, you like the people, but you've only known them for a few weeks. Things could easily change over the years and decades. Best to just stay friends. Besides, it'd be weird taking orders from someone younger than you. You'll probably respectfully decline.
-[X] You definitely need to talk about it with Artemis first. Hopefully tomorrow, if she has time.
"You get in the biggest fights with the people you care about the most because those are the relationships you're willing to fight for."
"Thank you, Phoebe," you say as you help steady the most recent block of stone Artemis is helping you pull up.
When Artemis had told you she could get you some rock, you'd expected a few small boulders from the garden. You had not expected some of the same smooth stone blocks that had been used in the castle's construction, which had apparently been kept around for repair purposes. No really big ones, but good sized ones.
"No problem, Ryza," Phoebe, who had offered to help carry the stones up to the top of the tower, calls up. "That's the last of them. Anything else I can get you?"
Artemis looks at the vial of ground-up topaz you're holding. "Probably some glue," she says. "Ryza wants to make this look nice for her family, so we should make sure nothing falls out."
"Yes, my lady," Phoebe calls before hurrying off.
Looking over to the notched wall (or crenellations, as Artemis calls them) you see three good-sized slabs of smoothly-carved stone, as well as several smaller slates. That should be more than enough for a small, personal memory-shrine.
"You're sure this won't be a problem?" you ask. "Sypha was talking about how stone needed to be brought a long way…"
Artemis wipes her forehead before smiling. "That was for Castle Legerius: they didn't have a good quarry nearby, so they had to source the stone from elsewhere. Agrithe, thankfully, is blessed with a very good quarry just a few miles to the north. Quality stone is very easy to come by here." She ruffles your hair. "Besides, after everything you've done, a few blocks of rock is the least we can give you."
It's the day after you'd talked to Father and Mother, and you'd actually managed to wake up at a halfway reasonable time today. It will be a while before you are fully recovered, but you're making progress. You've decided to at least get a start on the shrine today. Even if it takes days or weeks to truly finish it, you want to make a start.
Thankfully, Artemis'd made sure she was free for the morning at least, so she and Phoebe had worked together to help you get the rock up here. In your pocket you had the rune-wrighting tools Father had left you: you didn't have the background in Red magic to cast any stone-shaping rituals, so you'd have to do carvings by hand. You also have some sticks of charcoal and a bunch of scraps of old, worn paper that Pincana had said were no longer needed to sketch out designs.
As you and Artemis move the stones into the traditional covered-wedge shape, you frown. "Artemis, may I ask you something?"
"Of course, Ryza, what do you need?"
You ponder your words for a moment. "After you and Sypha left when I brought her to your father, he asked me if I wanted to be a knight."
The human girl freezes for a moment before slowly continuing her work. "I see," she says neutrally. "And what are your thoughts on the matter?"
You squirm slightly. "I… I don't know," you say. "Don't get me wrong, I like you, and I like it here. Everyone seems really nice… but I've only known you all for a few weeks."
"And that's nothing to someone who thinks in years and decades," Artemis says.
"It's not nothing," you say. "But… but I don't know how things might change. We'll be friends, I know that, but what about everyone else? What happens after your father… passes on?"
Leaning back, Artemis nods. "Well, after that I would become Archduchess," she says. "And after I die, my children will become Archduke or Archduchess, and their children, and so on." She frowns. "While traditionally an oath of this sort would last your entire lifetime, and the lifetime of your own children, I think that it'd be possible to amend that due to your age. Father's not unreasonable, nor am I, and it only seems fair that there are some accommodations for someone who will outlive us both easily. I'd push for that if Father doesn't bring it up."
That is… somewhat reassuring. After all, any family of Artemis would surely be as nice as her, right? "I'm just not sure. What do you think?" you ask as you start trying to sketch Mother's dragon-form from memory.
Artemis hums slightly as she lays out the slates. "As the future Archduchess, I should be doing everything in my power to convince you to take Father up on it," she says. "Having you as a long-term ally would be an enormous boon throughout the generations." She studies you seriously. "Father isn't even wrong about there being benefits for you. Right now you're in a… limbo. You are given respect and deference because of your connection to me and my family, but that only goes so far. There will be people who will try to take advantage of the fact that you are, legally, a commoner. I will do everything I can to help you, of course, but even as Archduchess my power will not be unlimited."
You continue your work, frowning. "What do you mean?" you ask.
"Well, legally, a commoner has to do almost anything a nobleperson tells them to. Good nobles don't abuse that power, but sadly there are far too many bad nobles. I don't doubt your ability to physically protect yourself, but that starts to get very messy, very quickly." She gives you a serious look. "As a knight, you would have protection from anyone who would try to force you to do something you don't want to. You would still be beholden to Agrithe, but even that, so long as Father is fair in the contract, will still give you leeway, and I will make sure he is fair."
Looking down at your sketch, you decide that you like it. It's not… perfect, but it captures Mother's elegance and strength, perched on a rocky outcropping and staring into the distance. "You don't sound enthused," you say.
"I just worry," Artemis says. "The duty of a knight is to fight, after all, and you don't really like fighting. Especially since… well, while wyrmbane weapons aren't common, they are a known factor. You mentioned that you felt uncomfortable around the one Mantrae's knight had?" You nod. "So it stands to reason that they would affect you. Maybe not quite as much as a wyvern, but enough of any weapon can kill anyone." She shivers. "I don't want that for you."
"Okay…" you say.
Artemis nods and continues. "You'd also be drawn into the sort of noble politics that I don't think you'd enjoy very much. Especially since I'm sure just about everyone would look down their noses at you at first; since you'll probably look like a child for longer than they'll be alive." She smiles sadly. "In the end though, I worry that you wouldn't be happy, but you'd feel you have to stick through it because you promised too, and that would build up resentment. That wouldn't be good or healthy for anyone, and you deserve better." She turns the paper she'd been writing on towards you. "What do you think? So that humans can know how great your parents are too."
It takes you a moment to puzzle out the fancy script Artemis had used, but eventually you can read it.
In Memory of _______: Beloved Mother, Gone But Not Forgotten.
"…Aithusa," you whisper. "That's Mother's name. Aithusa. And Fafnara for Father." Swallowing, you smile. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Ryza," Artemis says. "Is there anything else?"
You re-read the message. "It should end with 'May She Fly with the First Mother,'" you say. "But other than that… I think it's good." You hold up your picture. "What do you think?"
Artemis smiles. "I think it looks beautiful. Is that your mother or father?"
"Mother," you say. "She was always bigger than Father: he always joked she had a bit of Red in her." You sigh.
"It's okay to be sad, Ryza," Artemis says. "That's part of the process of these memorials: to remember all those little things that made the people you love unique." Pulling one of the slates of stone over, she carefully starts arranging your combined work. "I assume you'll want to add the inscription in Draco- sorry, what was your written language again?"
"Makai," you say. "And it looks like there's space there."
As you start writing out the runes on paper, Artemis continues. "There is… another option, that could help you. It would have its own problems and hurdles, but it's something to think of."
You glance at her. "Yes?"
"Well, when I… when the Talons attacked, they didn't just kill Selena. They also killed Master Shadebringer, Agrithe's Head Mage. Father has replaced him with his eldest apprentice, James, but everyone knows that's a temporary arrangement until he can find someone accredited." She gives you a serious look. "You are an extremely talented mage already: you could easily make the argument that you can handle the position as Head Mage. You wouldn't quite be nobility, but in some ways that would put you in an even stronger position. From the time of Emperor Theodore Wyrmblood and the first Archmage, Lenora Thundercrier, there has been a mutual respect and understanding between accredited mages and nobility, without some of the compelled obedience of a knight. You would also be less directly beholden to Agrithe. While we would love to have you as long as you want, with a full mage-name, you could find a position anywhere in the world if things didn't work out here a few generations from now."
"Accredited?" you ask.
Artemis grimaces. "That would be the major problem, right there," she says. "Unlike knighthood, which Father can give unilaterally, to truly take over as Head Mage you'll be almost required to be recognized and accredited by the Marble Hall. Technically, Father doesn't have to have an accredited mage as Head Mage, but it's traditional. Pretty much every other Head Mage in the Kingdoms would raise a stink, and it'd make things harder for you."
Finishing your writing, you put it into place and start fiddling with the spacing. "What would becoming accredited entail?"
"Theoretically, all you need is an accredited mage in good standing to vouch for you. I'm sure Sypha would be able to convince Mistress Flarestone to do that, especially after she gets to see your talent firsthand. However, you would have to go to the Marble Hall itself to make it official, and they'll surely insist on their own testing in your… unique, case."
You perk up. "Your brother goes there, right? Apollo?"
Artemis smiles. "Yes, Apollo is a student at the Hall, and I do still hope the two of you get to meet: you'll like each other." Her smile fades. "You should be… somewhat… safe. Archmage Damien Stormspeaker is a well-respected man, and the Hall has always maintained some autonomy from the Empire itself and remained neutral. By law and tradition, all are welcome there. Still… I do worry. The last time someone from Agrithe went to the Hall, it didn't end well. You would have to pass through the Empire with only a minimal escort. If there's any place in the world where people would instantly attack you for being a manakete, it would be there."
You pat her on the arm. "Well, if I was careful, they would never know I was a manakete," you say.
"True," Artemis says. "I'm not saying it's impossible; I wouldn't have suggested the idea if it was, but I do worry. You're… precious to me, Ryza, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you." She sighs. "Anyways, it's something to think about. You certainly have the talent to keep the runes around here running and advise Father on magical matters. Father's offer is also a workable one, and you might grow into it, especially if there are some extenuating agreements put into the contract itself. Or you could simply remain a friend of Agrithe: you have a home here as long as you want it, no matter what." She shrugs. "I know my advice might not have been the best…"
"I think it helped," you say. "You gave me things to think about, and I like thinking."
As you and Artemis continue to work on your shrine, first lightly scratching the designs you'd made on the paper into the stone before you started carefully chiseling them in, you turn the ideas over in your head. You continue to think even as Artemis is forced to leave you to go do some noble-daughter's chores, leaving you to work alone. By the end of the day, as you continue to think, you've etched everything in, and are about halfway done with carving Father's slate more permanently. You'd even added a bit of topaz dust to some of the lettering to make it shiny and see if it worked for you.
As you settle in to sleep that night, you turn the thought of what to do over in mind, and you think you're on the track to a decision.
[] You will take Archduke Letoro up on his offer, despite Artemis's reservations. A deer in the claw is worth three in the forest, after all, and it will give you a place in the world. It will be a challenge, having to adjust to what human society seems to expect, but you trust Artemis to ensure that you're treated fairly. Hopefully you'll be able to keep the fighting part of your role to a minimum, or at least point it at deserving targets.
[] You'll follow through on Artemis's suggestion. You love magic, and you like to think you're good at it. Besides, you'd been planning on talking to Mistress Flarestone anyways. If you can become friends with her and the other Revisionists, they could probably help you get to the Marble Hall and get accredited, which would give you legitimacy in the world. You might even get to meet Apollo, and you think Artemis would like that. It'll all just take a while.
[] You decide to wait. You still have a long life ahead of you, you don't need to rush into anything. You may not have an official place in the world, but Artemis likes you, and she'll be around for at least a few decades, enough for you to get settled and find out more about the world. Besides, being able to do things your way is kind of nice.
The sun is shining. The air is warm, even this high up, and Mother be praised, you're having fun!
There are other things you could be doing, of course. You still need to take some time to read over The Dragon Within, as well as refresh what you already looked at about White magic. However, as you'd woken up and looked outside to see a truly glorious day, you remembered that you hadn't truly flown for fun in weeks (or centuries, depending on how you counted time.)
You'd dithered for a minute, but in the end childish glee had won out. You'd put in so much work these past few weeks, surely nobody could begrudge you a bit of playtime? You'd rushed up the now familiar path to the highest tower, spread your wings, and taken off with a whoop.
Spiraling and spinning through the air, you laugh as you feel the wind rushing through your hair. Far below, you're pretty sure you hear cries and gasps, but today… you can't really care. Let the humans have their whispers, the sky is yours today, and you're going to enjoy it!
In fact… Grinning cheekily, you fold your wings around yourself and plummet. Laughing at the pull of gravity, you spin and fall for a few seconds before spreading your wings again and catching the wind to shoot off just a few meters higher than the highest tower. Looking down, you see a few people pointing up towards you. Nobody you recognize, but people. You wave to them before flapping higher into the sky, letting the sun glitter off your wing scales as you twirl.
They wanted glowing? Let them see some real glowing!
You surrender to the urge to just be a child reveling in something you're good at again for another ten or fifteen minutes. Finally, as your wings begin to ache from the strain of the various tricks and maneuvers you've been doing, you spiral down towards the tower again.
One of the guards is standing up there, staring at you with an awe-struck expression as you easily glide in for a landing, calmly folding your wings out of sight as you settle.
"Hi, Kellen," you say, recognizing him. "How are you doing?"
The man blinks a few times before swallowing. "Lad- Ryza, I have seen an entire flight of Whitewings doing synchronized formation flying, but that's got nothing on what you were doing."
You curtsy. "Thank you," you say. "I was having fun, but I'm glad you liked it." You frown as you look up at him. "Is something wrong?"
He shakes his head. "No, no. I just saw you up here and figured Lady Artemis would want me to keep your landing zone clear." You notice that he's standing directly on the trapdoor leading down into the tower.
"Thank you, that was very thoughtful of you," you say. "Did anyone try?"
"A few people knocked, none of them were anyone I was honor-bound to let in, so I politely asked them to give you your space and they agreed." You get the feeling his version of "polite" and yours are slightly different. He steps aside. "Is there anywhere you want to go? After that… display, I feel it incumbent upon me to escort you until the hubbub dies down."
You slump. "I'm sorry I caused you trouble," you say.
He shakes his head. "It's no trouble," he says, pulling open the trap door and glancing down. "It seems we're clear now. We should go before too many people find an excuse to make their way up here." You nod, letting Kellen lead the way down.
As you walk, you glance up at the man. "Kellen, may I ask you a question?"
He cocks his head. "Of course," he says.
You dither for a moment before deciding to take the plunge: you still need to figure out what humans think about manakete, and you think it'd be a good idea to get a feel for what normal people think. "What stories have you heard about dragons?" It hurts a bit to use that word in the way humans use it, but you don't want to get into a long, drawn-out discussion about word meanings.
Kellen looks at you, then glances at the place where your wings would be. He slowly pales. "I… would not want to…"
"It's okay," you say soothingly. "I just want to know what people think. I promise I won't get upset."
It is… very difficult, to keep that promise. To the point where you eventually can't.
"It's awful!" you wail into Sypha's pillow. You're not quite sure how you found yourself face-down on the bed in her guestroom, but you're here now and you don't think you'll ever be able to show your face around humans again!
You feel the bed shift as Sypha abandons her harp and starts petting your back. "Surely it can't be that bad," she says.
"They think I eat princesses!" you cry. "I've been asking what people think of dragons and they think we think princesses taste good!"
After talking to Kellan, you'd asked a few other people you'd met what they thought about dragons. The answers had… not painted your species in a good light. At all! Why had Artemis not warned you just how bad-
A horrid thought crosses your mind. "Wait… Artemis is a princess, right?" you ask, remembering Lancel's words.
Sypha hems and haws for a moment before speaking. "Not… technically, but for all intents and purposes, yes." As you let out a strangled mewl of horror and disgust, Sypha's hand moves to brush your hair. "But no one who knows you would ever think you'd want to hurt Artemis! Or any other princess!"
"But what about all the people who don't know me!?" you cry. "There's so many humans I can't meet them all and tell them I don't want to eat Artemis!"
"Then those of us who do know you will set them straight!" Sypha says firmly. "I will not allow anyone to malign or disparage you, Ryza. You are my friend!" She continues stroking your hair. "And surely that's the worst of the stories, the rest of them can't be that bad."
You burrow further into the pillow with a moan. "They make us sound so stupid and cruel and illogical!" you say. "You know what else we apparently eat? Gold! Blegh! Why would anyone eat gold!?" Rolling over, you stare at Sypha. "And it gets worse! Apparently we're the reason monsters exist! That's just wrong, manakete hate monsters! They were one of the leading causes of manakete death! I nearly got killed as a child before Mother saved me! We'd never make something so… so horrible and evil!"
Sypha scoots over and lays down next to you, hugging you. "I'm glad you made it," she says.
"And then there are the people who think we sleep on piles of gold!" you say. "No, I do not sleep on gold, thank you very much! Gold would be very uncomfortable! I like beds to be soft!"
As you take a breath to continue complaining, you feel an odd shaking motion from Sypha. At first, you think she's crying at the travesty of it all, but a moment later you realize… "It's not funny!" you cry as Sypha starts giggling.
"I'm sorry," she chokes out. "I know it isn't, but I was just- You know how dragon-you looks like she's made of gold? All shiny and everything?" You nod grumpily. "I was just- the image of a big pile of gold- some treasure hunters finding it, only for you to burst out and start telling them off for disrupting your nap-" Sypha loses it, starting to really laugh. "I'm- I'm sorry-I can't-"
As you listen to her, the image plays in your mind, and slowly, you can't help but join her. It's just so stupid… but at the same time…
The pair of you laugh for a few minutes before Sypha finally brings herself under control. "I'm sorry, Ryza," she hiccups. "I know it's not really funny…"
"It's okay," you choke out. "It's… better, than some of the others."
"Oh come on, at least some of them have to be funny, right? What's one that's just so wrong you can't help but laugh at it."
As you think over the list, you blush a bit. "Well… there was one of the stable hands who was insisting that dragons hated the smell of horses so much that they acted as a natural repellant. He's not right; I don't really like the smell but it's not that bad… but he's not wrong, either, since I'm not super fond of horses."
Sypha squeezes you. "There. I know it hurts, to have people spreading nasty rumors about you and your people, but at least some of them are so dumb they're funny." She uncurls and clambers to her feet, offering you a hand. "Besides, you're going to talk to Mistress Flarestone, and she's going to get the Revisionists together and you're going to stop these stupid stories! Why don't we go to the library and see what the scholars think, so that you can start with something rational rather than… princess eating."
Slowly, you take her hand and let her pull you up. "Okay," you say. "Will you come with me? My written Common still isn't the best…"
She smiles. "Of course," she says. "Archduchess Dione has been visiting to make sure I feel welcome here, but it'll be nice to spend some time somewhere new."
A few hours later, the two of you are ensconced at one of the tables in the small Agrithian library, pouring over some of the literature about dragons.
It's… something. There's far fewer of the truly ridiculous stories, but what is there isn't much better. Dragons are consistently described as cruel, vindictive, murderous creatures that reveled in destruction. Tales of cities burned, towns wiped off the map… there are no stories of dragons doing anything helpful or productive or nice. Their homes are described as cold, dark caves, with none of the beauty or art or knowledge your parents worked to fill your home with.
You know your family wasn't the only example of manakete culture. Some of the other Tribes and other regions and other families did things differently. Still… you can't imagine that the rest of manakete-kind was so utterly, radically different. That they were all the monsters described by human literature. Something was missing… something was wrong…
You find yourself listening as Sypha reads The First Emperor to you. The language is too flowery for you to really follow it yourself, so she agreed to read it for you while you listened.
You listen as the story of Theodore Wyrmblood, the titular First Emperor. You hear how he lived his life in peace in a small human village, never dreaming of being anything more than a protector of his people. You hear how, after his pilgrimage to tame a wyvern, as was tradition for his people, he returned to find a dragon burning his home to the ground, slaughtering his family and friends for no given reason. You feel his grief as he howls to the sky, wondering why he alone was spared.
You listen to the story of Lenora Thundercrier, the first Archmage. A woman of great genius, she had been working to discover the secrets of magic. Her studies were interrupted as her home was assaulted by a pair of dragons, forcing her to flee as her friends were murdered. You wonder… had they not wanted her to learn magic? Had they not wanted humans to gain that power? You can't know for sure, but you're pretty sure that if Father had heard that a human wanted to learn magic, he'd have been willing to teach them, so long as they promised not to misuse it.
The two met. They didn't like each other at first, but they realized that they were not alone. In town after town, city after city, dragons were said to be running amuck. The pair determined that they were going to do something about it! They started rallying the humans to defend themselves against the seemingly senseless aggression of the dragons, eventually attracting the attention of someone known only as the Old Master.
He offered them weapons, tools to allow them to fight back.
Mjolnir… a gift to Lenora, a tome to allow her to channel magic. The Galeforce, a lance given to wyvern lord Mycelus, another friend the pair had picked up. The Fell Slayer, the Sword of Flame… Staring at the pictures in the book, you can't help but feel something's off about those weapons…
At this point in the story, the Fell Dragon himself appears. The dread overlord of dragonkind (you scoff, manakete didn't have overlords!) he murdered the Old Master and destroyed his forge, determined not to let his gifts turn the tide of the war. However, Theodore, Lenora and Mycelus survived and continued their quest to rally the humans.
Finally, it all ended in a great battle. Humans of every description banded together to find against the alliance of dragon and monster (another impossibility, if anything it should be the humans and manakete banding together against the monsters!) The Emperor defeated the Fell Dragon in single combat, killing him with his mighty flaming sword and claiming the Fire Emblem from his corpse.
Your eyes widen as you stare at the picture, that's a dragonstone! The Fire Emblem Bernard had said he'd swear by was a dragonstone! Those…
"Ryza?"
You look at Sypha, who's watching you nervously. "Sorry," you say. "It's just… that Fire Emblem, it's a dragonstone, isn't it?"
Sypha shrugs. "I think so? I've never seen it, it's the crown jewel of the Emperor, it never leaves Wyrmrise." She frowns. "Is that… bad? Humans using dragonstones?"
You nod. "Dragonstones are… they're really important to us. We're born with them, in many ways they're one of the truest reflections of us. They're not… they're not trophies!"
As you speak, Sypha grows more and more pale. "I… I'm sorry, Ryza," she whispers.
"For what?"
Swallowing, she pushes the books away and stares at you. "I… I don't know if I should be the one to say this…" she says awkwardly. "Spirits… Artemis would probably be better, she's your best friend. Or maybe Bernie? He's more decisive with his words, I'll probably muck it up. Or Mistress Flarestone…"
You put your hands on the table. "Sypha. Please, just tell me. I promise I won't get angry with you."
Sypha takes a deep breath. "You… you know tomes, right? The tools humans use to make magic?" You nod. "Well… the reason they work… the reason they work, is because there's a dusting of dragonstone in them. Same with magical weapons like Sir Ector's wyrmbane…"
It takes you a few seconds to truly grasp what she's saying. "Du… dusting?" you whisper.
"Yes…" Sypha says nervously. "I… I don't think it's much… at least for most tomes. Some of the bigger ones might need more." She gestures to the book. "The Old Master used whole dragonstones for his creations, but nobody else has managed to…"
She trails off weakly as your breaths start coming short and fast. "You… humans…" you say, anger and pain and grief and sheer unrelenting rage starting to fill you up. "You… you take our stones…"
You stand. "I need to go," you say shortly, storming out of the library, barely keeping your spiral of emotions under control. Pincana calls after you worriedly, but you can't focus enough to hear her. Dashing through the castle in your own personal storm cloud, you burst out onto the nearest roof, spread your wings, and shoot into the sky as fast as you can go.
As you go higher and higher, as the air starts growing thinner, you stuff your fist into your mouth and scream!
How dare they?! How dare those bloody human BUTCHERS!? They murder your people! They take their hearts?! Take their SOULS!?
Anger and pain wash over you as you drop back towards the castle. Why had nobody told you?! Had they been afraid you'd do something!?
'THEY SHOULD BE!'
You had a bone to pick with Artemis. Landing heavily, you storm back inside, glaring at the nearest guard. "Where is she?" you hiss, not caring about the lightning starting to crackle around you. "Where is Artemis?!"
The man draws himself up, his hand clenching around his spear as he moves to stand in front of you. "I cannot-"
"It's alright, stand down."
Both you and the guard turn to see Artemis striding towards you, followed by a terrified-looking Sypha.
Stalking past the guard without a glance, you glare up at Artemis. "You knew." It's not a question.
Crouching down, Artemis nods. "I did," she says softly. "And you have every right to be angry."
Angry? Angry?! You're furiou-
'The most important thing is to recognize emotions, recognize what sort of actions they might drive a manakete towards, and then either resist that path or follow through with full understanding of what the outcome will be.'
You are angry. You don't even have to think about that. You understand your emotions. What will anger lead you to do?
You feel your hand clenched around the stone in your pocket. You see Sypha backing slowly away. You hear the grinding of armor behind you. You see Artemis swallowing and bracing herself.
You… if you follow this path, you will hurt Artemis. Either with evil, hateful words that cannot be taken back, or worse… if you truly give into your fury…
Fear flashes through you, and you slam your emotions down. You are a heart! Hadn't you just gotten through bemoaning about how senselessly cruel humans had painted your people?
You will not prove them right!
Swallowing, you close your eyes and breath in slowly, listening to your heartbeat. One… two… three… out. One… two… three… in.
You repeat this several times, feeling the static leaving the air around you. Finally, you open your eyes and stare at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Artemis takes a slow breath. "Because… I was selfish. I didn't want… after all the pain you've been through, I didn't want to be the one to add that burden to your already over-burdened shoulders." She shivers. "That was wrong of me. I'm your friend, I should make sure you know the things you need to know, even… even if it makes you like me less."
Swallowing your tears, you open your arms. "I… I don't blame you, Artemis…" you whisper. "This… this has been happening for centuries, right? Ever since the other manakete were all…" She nods. "I… it's not… your fault… I'm…"
Slowly, Artemis moves forward, allowing you to step into her arms. "I still should have told you," she says. "You deserve to know."
You nod. "I… I'm sorry, I almost-"
"But you didn't, Ryza, because you're better than that. Because manakete are not what the stories said they are."
Sniffling you lean against her, peeking past her shoulder to Sypha. "I'm sorry," you say. "I promised I wouldn't get mad at you…"
The younger human swallows before stepping forward. "I… it's okay," she says. "I guess it was quite a thing to be told, huh. After everything else…"
"Still, I shouldn't have taken it out on you," you say.
Sypha moves around Artemis to hug you from the other side. "I forgive you," she says.
The three of you hold each other for a minute before you speak. "I'm still mad, about what was done," you say. "That's not okay." You swallow. "I just… I don't know how to fix it…"
Artemis swallows. "I know this isn't what you want to hear, Ryza, but… I'm not sure you can. All magic depends on… on those stones, and humans won't give up magic. That healing staff Healer Clara used? It has stone powder in it as well." She frowns. "There are… rumors, that some snake-oil salesmen try to pass beaststone powder off as dragonstone, and it kind of works-"
"No. No I will not push the problem off onto another people, even if they're not people I know." You frown. "There… has to be another way. If humans want to have magic, that's fine, someone just needs to figure out another source… It won't be easy. It might take me a few centuries… but surely there has to be another way!"
After a moment of silence, Artemis pats your back. "You have a big heart, Ryza, and I wish you all the best of luck in finding that other way. I wish I could help you, but I'm about as magic-blind as they come." She gently extracts herself from you. "Are you feeling any better?"
You think about your emotions. "I'm still… not happy," you say after a moment. "But I'm calm now. I'm not going to do anything rash."
Sypha lets out a sigh of relief. "Do you want to hear some music?" she asks. "I find that helps me calm down."
You smile. "I'd like that," you say. "Thank you, Sypha." You touch Artemis's hand. "And you're still my friend, Artemis. I still like you."
The bigger girl smiles. "Thank you, Ryza," she says. Then, she looks up at the guard. "I want this… incident to be kept quiet. Very quiet."
"Of course, My Lady," the guard says. "But the Archduke…"
"I'll tell my father myself," Artemis says. "Nobody else is to hear about this."
He nods. "By your will, My Lady."
Sighing, Artemis looks to you. "I do have to tell him, if for no other reason than others probably noticed you were upset. Don't worry, I'll make it clear that things are worked out between us, at least." She nods to Sypha. "Thank you, for letting me know that my friend was hurting."
"She's my friend too," Sypha says.
Later that night, after a long session listing to Sypha playing the harp, you lay in bed. You're re-reading The Dragon Within and considering the words of Control of Emotions. You… had done that, today. You had been faced with overwhelming emotions, a dragon frothing and chomping to get out and make her rage known… and you'd stopped her. You'd done what the heart was meant to do, stepped back, and regained control of yourselves.
You would have to continue to practice, to make sure that this wasn't a one-time fluke, but… although you'd stumbled a bit, you'd taken a step along the Path.
At least something good had come from today's... unpleasantness. And the morning had been fun, too.
During a Draconic Transformation (but not Draconic Feedback) Ryza can force an instant de-transformation. Will damage relationships with her dragon-self.
AN: For those of you wondering, yes, glue was used by ancient people. It was lost in Europe during the Middle Ages, but since this continent never had a major (human) societal collapse, they'd probably still have it around.
Also, on the magic note, remember that not everything Artemis says is 100% true. Not because she's lying to you, she's not. However, magic is not one of her areas of expertise, and so she doesn't know everything.
[X] You will take Archduke Letoro up on his offer, despite Artemis's reservations. A deer in the claw is worth three in the forest, after all, and it will give you a place in the world. It will be a challenge, having to adjust to what human society seems to expect, but you trust Artemis to ensure that you're treated fairly. Hopefully you'll be able to keep the fighting part of your role to a minimum, or at least point it at deserving targets.
Alright yeah I'm not interested in traveling through a region that would love to kill Ryza and harvest her dragon stone just to get accredited. Also this way we can get a second mage to talk and work with so really this is the strategically smart play.
[X] You will take Archduke Letoro up on his offer, despite Artemis's reservations. A deer in the claw is worth three in the forest, after all, and it will give you a place in the world. It will be a challenge, having to adjust to what human society seems to expect, but you trust Artemis to ensure that you're treated fairly. Hopefully you'll be able to keep the fighting part of your role to a minimum, or at least point it at deserving targets.
[X] You'll follow through on Artemis's suggestion. You love magic, and you like to think you're good at it. Besides, you'd been planning on talking to Mistress Flarestone anyways. If you can become friends with her and the other Revisionists, they could probably help you get to the Marble Hall and get accredited, which would give you legitimacy in the world. You might even get to meet Apollo, and you think Artemis would like that. It'll all just take a while.
Yeah fair enough, but I wonder how long it would take after Arty's death...
How long would it be until the people Ryza calls family call to shatter her dragonstone for their weapons of war...
Perhaps a couple centuries from now, but we can worry about that then. For the current moment, we need allies if Dragonstones are so sought after.
Edit:
[X] You decide to wait. You still have a long life ahead of you, you don't need to rush into anything. You may not have an official place in the world, but Artemis likes you, and she'll be around for at least a few decades, enough for you to get settled and find out more about the world. Besides, being able to do things your way is kind of nice.
[X] You'll follow through on Artemis's suggestion. You love magic, and you like to think you're good at it. Besides, you'd been planning on talking to Mistress Flarestone anyways. If you can become friends with her and the other Revisionists, they could probably help you get to the Marble Hall and get accredited, which would give you legitimacy in the world. You might even get to meet Apollo, and you think Artemis would like that. It'll all just take a while.
Artemis isn't wrong that it's make Ryza unhappy, and for the next few decades at least we don't actually need to worry about it. Being an accredited mage is good enough, and doing this now means doing it before the stories spread too far. The fact that no one is looking is a useful and time limited but of cover.
[X] You'll follow through on Artemis's suggestion. You love magic, and you like to think you're good at it. Besides, you'd been planning on talking to Mistress Flarestone anyways. If you can become friends with her and the other Revisionists, they could probably help you get to the Marble Hall and get accredited, which would give you legitimacy in the world. You might even get to meet Apollo, and you think Artemis would like that. It'll all just take a while.
Being a mage would suit Ryza much better tempramentally.
