Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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[x] Druchii Diplomats
[x] [ITHILMAR] Books, primarily restricted books on magic with everything else secondary.
[x] [ITHILMAR] Books
[x] Initiate
[x] Dooming and Quickening
[x] Entrance Examination
[x] The Festival Lord
 
That's not how geography works. All rivers flow into the sea, they don't just end up "nowhere". And that map of the rivers posted further up the thread? That's actually just a map of a single river system (the Reik), not every river in the Empire. I'd argue that 70% of the Empire is near a river of some sort, and the 30% that isn't is uninhabited wilderness. Practically every settlement in the Empire sits on or near one of these great rivers. Rivers provide fresh water, they provide trade and transportation, they provide defensive barriers, they provide friendly spirits and lesser gods, it's the literal lifeblood of the Empire. The Empire follows the rivers.

On the topic of nerd sniping, this is incorrect; geography is not so cut and dry. Rivers do not have to flow into the sea, and there are many real life examples of those that don't - see the following article on endorheic basins. The Caspian Sea might be the most well known example of such a lake, but there are many others, and were more during the last Ice Age.



Granted, this may be more applicable to, say, the Dark Lands rather than the Empire, but the point stands.


[X] [ITHILMAR] A copy of the Library of Mournings, including most restricted texts.
[X] Dooming and Quickening
[X] Entrance Examination
[X] Initiate
 
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I'm here for the money, but honestly I'd be happy with both an Ithilmar shirt or an otherwise-inaccessible source of magical lore and research bonuses.

[x] [ITHILMAR] Precious Stones
[x] [ITHILMAR] Books, primarily restricted books on magic with everything else secondary.
[x] [ITHILMAR] Ithilmar armor for Mathilde.

[X] Niedzwenka
[X] Sarvoi
[X] Initiate
[X] Reading on Nehekhara
[X] Dooming and Quickening
[X] Witch Hunter
[X] Amber College
[X] Entrance Examination
 
[X] [ITHILMAR] Precious Stones

I have no real preference between the popular socials, but I do want to set things up for maximum shopping. Even if we just get the equivalent of the book pile, retail therapy in the world's greatest harbor will be so much more fun than just picking up some +1s entirely in the background.
 
[X] [ITHILMAR] Precious Stones
[X] [ITHILMAR] Trade Goods

[X] Witch Hunter
[X] Initiate
[X] Dooming and Quickening
[X] Entrance Examination
[X] The Festival Lord
[X] Skull River Ambush
 
[X] [ITHILMAR] Precious Stones
[X] [ITHILMAR] Middenland Crowns
[X] [ITHILMAR] Trade Goods


[X] The Festival Lord
[X] Dooming and Quickening
[X] Entrance Examination
[X] Initiate
[X] Swordplay
 
[X] [ITHILMAR] Trade Goods

[X] Skull River Ambush
[X] Sarvoi
[X] Dooming and Quickening
[X] Entrance Examination
[X] Initiate
[X] Swordplay
 
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[X] [ITHILMAR] Trade Goods

[X] Initiate
[X] Dooming and Quickening
[X] Entrance Examination
[X] The Festival Lord
[X] Swordplay
 
That's not how geography works. All rivers flow into the sea, they don't just end up "nowhere". And that map of the rivers posted further up the thread? That's actually just a map of a single river system (the Reik), not every river in the Empire. I'd argue that 70% of the Empire is near a river of some sort, and the 30% that isn't is uninhabited wilderness. Practically every settlement in the Empire sits on or near one of these great rivers. Rivers provide fresh water, they provide trade and transportation, they provide defensive barriers, they provide friendly spirits and lesser gods, it's the literal lifeblood of the Empire. The Empire follows the rivers.
This is not a particularly coherent argument and it also ignores the problems I already pointed out in that post. Xepheria pointed out how that's not necessarily true, but admittingly it probably isn't very true for the Empire.

Where are all of these rivers that are not included on the map? Where do they go if not the Reik? Why are they not mapped on the province maps? Do you have any evidence that there are enough rivers in the Empire to cover 70% of the landmass? Because I promise there is actively evidence against the notion. You actually replied to a comment with said evidence! Aethyric Impluvium doesn't need rivers. It needs a water spirit. And yet it is not practical to use in the majority of the Empire. Let alone in all the areas where the Waystone Network is most damaged.

Now ask the question, where will the majority of the Empire's fallen waystones be? Will it be near rivers where the Empire can most easily deploy armies or away from rivers where it is more difficult?

You also miss the point of me bringing up Aethyric Impluvium. The ritual does not need a river, it needs a water spirit. Water spirits can move. They can also be spirits from not-rivers, like ponds or springs. So what are the implications of it being unsuited outside the southern provinces and Reikland, despite having far looser conditions than riverine waystones? The implication is that dual-waystones will lead to a very large waste expenditure of magical labor. Because the vast majority of waystones we will be building will not be near rivers.
 
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[X] [ITHILMAR] Trade Goods
[X] [ITHILMAR] Books, primarily restricted books on magic with everything else secondary.
[X] Dooming and Quickening
[X] Entrance Examination
[X] Initiate
 
So I had a thought. How about we do the Orb Reveal by challenging Dragomas for the top spot and using the Revolutionary Grey Tactic of 'throw Orb of Sorcery at him, then when he's all focused on the Orb, throw even more'?
 
[x] [ITHILMAR] Precious Stones
[x] Niedzwenka
[x] Initiate
[x] Dooming and Quickening
[x] Amber College
[x] Entrance Examination
[x] Sarvoi
[x] [ITHILMAR] Books, primarily restricted books on magic with everything else secondary.
 
The military only books are a pretty good sell to me, although it's also true that we are already copying a lot of the books there - mind selling me on it further?
The write-in undersells it. Boney confirmed that we'd be getting close to the entire library of Mournings in one go - and as a reminder, this is their only library, the one where all their books go.

It's not quite the British Library for wood elves, but it seems close. Individual purchases would never get us all of it.

Meanwhile, out of all the frontrunners this is the only choice that gives the empire a major military asset in exchange for the Major military asset we just sold to a foreign polity. (Their corpus of Magical and military theory books, sans actual spellbooks)
 
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Technically speaking, wasn't it 'books even older than Caledor Dragontamer'?
It's both:
It contains scrolls that predate the Elven race, and scrolls written in the hands of Caledor, Astarielle, Maruviel, and Yvraine.
For reference, those people are: probably the best non-Slaan mage to ever live, the earliest Everqueen we know of, the first Queen of the Eonir and Aenarion and Astarielle's daughter (and another Everqueen).

Personally I feel getting one would be possible in Ulthuan, by killing Druuchi or something else, while the opposite (access to books from Hoeth) seems far more unlikely. So I prefer books as of right now. Also I am really not sure how much the armor would boost our survivability in comparison to what we have so hard to judge for my part on that front
I don't know. I feel both are equally likely. The guy running the Library in Ulthuan likes humans after all, and Ulthuan probably rightfully regard the idea of the Empire as being a threat as laughable.

[X] [ITHILMAR] Trade Goods

>EIC replaces Marienburg as a main contender for Elven trade
>Become the middleman for the copycats who want to sell ithilmar scraps like us, cashing out twice
>Take out a huge loan using the now inflated EIC stocks as collateral
>Visit Lothern with loadsamoney and leverage for securing further trade deals

Books are great, but "Fuck Marienburg over indirectly" is eternal :V
I doubt the Eonir are ever going to replace Marienburg. Ulthuan is just too much bigger. Will still drive the prices down though.

...On a different note, and hopefully less controversial than the Ithilmar vote, what do you all think the external social interaction will be this turn?

Realistically, I'd say Eltharion checking in on the new waystones we made. Unrealistically, I'm gonna put my hands over my ears and continue muttering "spider-silk, spider-silk, spider-silk" as many times as I can get away with it.

I know I said 'less controversial line of discussion', but let me dream.
Eltharion farms the job out to Teclis instead, who just acts as if this is perfectly normal and he's in the Empire every few days just to fuck with everyone's head.

No, the various Orders that the Blood Dragons tend to suborn or organize themselves into would be treated as separate organizations.
How far up or down an apprenticeship line does something like that travel? Like, if Mathilde is still alive in a hundred years, and Eike's apprentice's apprentice's apprentice screws up, does that somewhat blowback on Mathilde? Or the other way, does a master three generations back in the line of teachers affect the reputation of the latest apprentice?

The write-in undersells it. Boney confirmed that we'd be getting close to the entire library of Mournings in one go - and as a reminder, this is their only library, the one where all their books go.

It's not quite the British Library for wood elves, but it seems close. Individual purchases would never get us all of it.

Meanwhile, out of all the frontrunners this is the only choice that gives the empire a major military asset in exchange for the Major military asset we just sold to a foreign polity. (Their corpus of Magical and military theory books, sans actual spellbooks)
TBF, we sold a military asset the Empire is completely incapable of using, and one that likely doesn't increase the threat of the Eonir much.
 
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