You decide to take personal responsibility for completing the Elf's education. They do seem to have a sharp mind, and it would be a shame for that to fade away just because they've left the educational framework the Asur grant to their children. This amounts to them following you around the museum and occasionally assisting as you expound on the various subjects you feel are a part of a properly rounded education, answer their many questions, and run headlong into a shocking amount of blind spots. You try not to judge the Elven education system too harshly for the gaps that it has left - Ellyrion is an Inner Kingdom, so international affairs might have been covered in the few years left unfinished, or left for the thirty years between the end of their education and their formal adulthood - but there are a lot of things, peoples, and places that they only seem to know of in the context of being something that the Asur had defeated, conquered, or colonized them at some point in Ulthuan's long history.
In a few years, once they've got a solid grounding to work with, you'll see about finding a proper tutor for whichever topics they wish to pursue further.
---
Weighing the future of the Citadel of Dusk is a heady feeling. A desert tribe you once encountered said that the power to destroy a thing is the measure of true control over it, and while you're not sure you'd fully agree, being the one to decide if an entire colony thrives or withers is certainly potent. It's easy to see how some people can get carried away with power and its expression.
In the end you turn away from the more destructive expressions of power and decide to support Ithisar, the civilian half of the colony that Aelsabrim is the Ward of, in order to strengthen her control over the entirety. The first coup you make possible for her is temporary safe passage through the waters of the Vampire Coast for Ulthuan's ships, framed as a ceasefire that Aelsabrim negotiated in exchange for her contributions to the Pirate King's ego project. Nobody needs to know that the Elven contributions have been paid for in stolen gold, and in this way Aelsabrim's unsavory business entanglement is transformed into a sacrifice of personal wealth for the betterment of the Asur.
The typical route taken by unescorted Elven shipping is to sail directly south from the southwestern tip of Araby and sail through over four thousand miles of open ocean, and if done right the next land they'll see is Spear Reef Island, where Ithisar is located. This is a difficult journey, not least of which because if you miss the peninsular islands, the next land to encounter is the Southern Wastes. Being able to safely hug the eastern coast of Lustria is not only a much simpler feat of navigation, but also allows them to benefit from the currents you've so recently investigated.
A small shipping boom takes off as traders, explorers, migrants, and wanderers take advantage of the temporarily-safe waters, and Aelsabrim is not only poised to help Ithisar take advantage of this to grow and profit, but also to swoop in on the next step of your assistance to her. Back when you were first introduced to the Princess, you had the option to instead be introduced to the colony's Harbourmaster, Tenebrel Reefwalker, who was known to the Pirate King for his habit of allowing contraband to slip through his fingers for a price. His motivation was that he felt that the only contraband that matters was the drugs and paraphernalia that fueled the pleasure cult that has a strong presence on the penal colony of Comity Island, the next island landwards from Spear Reef Island. This makes his being caught red-handed by the Princess' growing ranks of loyalists a treble boon: first for allowing the seizure of the ships and cargos of all the incoming ships who were expecting to be waved through by the Harbourmaster, second for removing a prominent Yvressian in such an embarrassing fashion, and third for gaining the favour of Comity Island, either because they did have pleasure cults that were now able to do whatever it is they do without being bothered, or because they don't and they're no longer being persecuted by the former Harbourmaster's unfounded grudge.
The third stepping stone towards the mainland on which the Citadel stands is the research colony of the Island of Lost Souls, which is already solidly in the Princess' grasp because it is the domain of her ally, the Life Mage Telsomar Greendale. But just to be sure, you arrange for a collection of seeds and cuttings from some of the more exotic plants to be found within the Blood Swamps to be delivered into her custody, the poisons of which would cause a terrible death to most but only cause an unsightly but temporary staining of the finger-bones of the Wights who did the fetching.
The final step is onto the mainland itself, to get a foothold within the Citadel of Dusk. The Elf in overall command, Admiral Jahuthryn Seagleam, is an Yvressian loyalist and therefore unswayable in this matter, and the same is true of General Finrian Stardrake, who commands the Citadel's land forces. But there is another power in the Citadel - the Storm Weavers, an order of Mathlann-worshiping Celestial Mages, who suppress winds, storms, and typhoons that might blow excess magic and powdered warpstone from the Southern Wastes. And though the order overall is supposedly apolitical, they're led by a Cothiquian thrill seeker called High Priest Belodar Whitesurf. This allows for the exploitation of a wedge issue in the form of a merwyrm that often visits the islands; the Citadel considers it a military resource since they summon it into battle, and most of the Storm Weavers revere it as a daughter of Mathlann, but the Cothiquian worshippers of Anath Raema from Ithisar see as something to slay to honour their Goddess.
It really is trivial to engineer when you're able to call on the Cult of Stromfels to deliver the right nudges. A ship is smashed apart by the merwyrm in broad daylight and within view of Ithisar, and the interests of the merchants, the sailors, and the Anath Raemans are aligned. The Citadel's opposition to allowing the destruction of the merwyrm is sabotaged from within by the High Priest, who has been promised the right to deliver the first blow upon the beast from his Sky-Cutter. The hunt is reluctantly allowed, with dire warnings of how destructive the merwyrm is from the Citadel. And destructive it surely would have been, had Stromfels not withdrawn its blessing from the beast and had it not been weighed down by the potent curses of Luther the Veilwalker and his coven of Banshees. But it was its blood alone that stained the sea red that day, and all of Ithisar feasted upon its flesh, and its bones are now on display in Aelsabrim's villa.
Nothing formally changes, but the balance of power is completely changed. Ithisar is larger, wealthier, and more under Aelsabrim's control, and her allies throughout the rest of the colony make her impossible to ignore. The Admiral's flagship becomes a regular sight in Ithisar's docks; a necessary concession from her perspective, as she dislikes civilians coming and going through the hidden tunnels that allow entrance to the underground port beneath the Citadel of Dusk, but one that looks from the outside like the Admiral deferring to the Ward. The Citadel of Dusk is now informally a diarchy, and it's all because of you. Orchestrating it all was an unexpectedly thrilling adventure, and you think you might understand Neferata a bit more now.
The cost of your assistance was the Citadel's support for your museum, but there are many forms that support might take. What facet of the Citadel's interests will you begin to cater to?
[ ] Citadel
Though they were unknowingly your opponents for this adventure, there's no need for the military half of the Citadel to be your enemy. If part of your harbour were turned over to the Asur to act as a supply dock for them, then not only would they have a vested interest in the island remaining under your control, but it would also mean their seagoers would become a regular presence on your island.
Affinity: Ships and Naval Weapons of Naval Powers
Bonus: Asur have a vested interest in defending Fire Serpent Island
[ ] Research Colony
The Isle of Lost Souls is a research colony dedicated to dangerous plants of Lustria, and it has that niche well and truly cornered. But there are much greater secrets with more widespread interest to be found in Lustria, and you conveniently have another island for them to be safely sequestered upon and conveniently visited. Luring Elven Mages to your island is surely its own reward.
Affinity: Lustrian Magic
Bonus: Patron can contact the White Tower
[ ] Asur Colonies
Ulthuan has claimed a tentative dominion over all of the Serpent Islands; they intended this to cover their mining interests on Fuming Serpent Island and their investigations into an ancient tower on Spitting Serpent Island, but on paper it could cover your own Fire Serpent Island too. While you could ignore this and assume it'll never come up, you could alternatively lean into it by having Aelsabrim appoint you as Ulthuan's local representative and depict the island as part of the long colonial heritage of the Asur. Whether or not that's something you feel you need, it would also put you in a position to operate openly in the Asur world.
Affinity: Elven Colonial Relics
Bonus: Asur recognition of your control of Fire Serpent Island
[ ] Far East
Although from here, it might be more accurate to call it west. All of Ulthuan's trade with Nippon, Cathay, and Ind passes through the Citadel of Dusk while outbound, and half of it returns through the Citadel too. This means the Citadel would directly benefit from boosting interest in the exotic treasures of the Far East, and could be encouraged to take an interest in your museum gathering demonstrations of them. Increasing their involvement in the Asur trade network would also bring them into closer contact with the network of Asur trade colonies and outposts throughout the world, which could have all sorts of uses.
Affinity: Cathayan, Nipponese, Indic, and Khureshian Treasures
Bonus: Patron can contact Asur trade colonies and outposts
[ ] Anath Raema
Anath Raema, sister of Khaine, is the Goddess of the Savage Hunt, the divine embodiment of the joy of the kill. Her followers were the fulcrum upon which the final victory in this political skirmish turned, and the interests of her worshippers would be something that your museum would already be quite able to cater to. Turning part of your museum into a shrine to this Goddess would gain you not only a good amount of Elven interest, but also a possible in for further exploring the Cytharai, the Dark Gods of the Elven Pantheon.
Affinity: Beast Trophies
Bonus: Free merwyrm skeleton, patron can contact Cytharai Cults
- There will be a two hour moratorium.
- I am open to suggestions for additional voting options, but make sure it's not something that was already voted against. This is a subvote for a vote that 'Governor' won, so you will not get a Patron themed around Tiranoc, or Aelsabrim's animal business, or Elven funerary practices.
