Between the Steppes and Deserts
- Location
- Minnesota
[X] External Nomads (Alliance to the north, pleases aristocrats)
- Location
- Toronto, Canada
[X] External Nomads (Alliance to the north, pleases aristocrats)
Semi-Rigid Airships.
Semi-Rigid Airships.
Character Gen 3: Wedding
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] External Nomads (Alliance to the north, pleases aristocrats)
While initially some of the priests covertly brought up the suggestion of a more divine marriage to Danyal, his advisors quite quickly brought him around to the idea that securing their northern border and bringing in nomad allies was the more sensible course of action. As such messengers were quickly sent out to let speak with various chieftains and khans to the north.
Unfortunately the status of the Zahra Highlands as something of a petty shahdom meant that they only really attracted the attention of a petty khan – a man who was also looking for allies but who wasn't powerful enough to attract a more powerful ally himself. While somewhat disappointing, having a friendly tribe move into their northern marches would go a long way towards making the region a worthwhile investment, and it would be far easier to secure the movement of caravans into the region.
All around, exactly the sort of thing to keep a wide swath of people happy.
Before the year was out Khan Obeggu was entering the capital at the head of the honour guard for his daughter, Oshedi, while Danyal stood at the head of his own warriors in full ceremonial battle dress. While the shining silver chain, gilded plates, and bejeweled sword sat poorly on his scholar's frame, he still bore their weight as a shah. As the silk and fur clad nomads climbed down from their mounts, Danyal approach the khan with open arms.
"Son!" The foreign khan proclaimed somewhat presumptuously, but Danyal simply rolled with it diplomatically and proclaimed, "Father!"
Embracing one another as equals and exchanging kisses to the cheeks, the two of them then went into the public spectacle of one-upping each other with the elaborate exchange of gifts. Bride price and dowries had of course already been sorted out long beforehand, but there was a delicate dance to be had to show each of their subordinates just how wealthy and generous they were by appearing to spontaneously just so happen to have such gifts available.
After tripping over one another to show the esteem they had for each other and for Oshedi, the woman herself was introduced. Nineteen to Danyal's thirty, even dressed in the voluminous silks and veils of a bride she still looked like she would wear Danyal's armour better than he did. She had obviously spent her childhood riding and hunting where he had spent his with his nose buried in books and scrolls. Bright hazel eyes peered out from behind elaborately embroidered scarves and veils and assessed him critically, the corners of her eyes turning up in a hidden smile as she said, "Peace be upon you, my husband-to-be."
Returning the greeting, Danyal replied, "Peace be upon you, precious one. I had heard of your beauty, but the tales do not do you justice."
The hidden smile growing broader, Oshedi moved in closer to her husband-and-shah-to-be and said mischievously, "Such a smitten attitude before you have even seen what the Almighty has crafted? You are as scholarly as they proclaimed."
This prompted a blush from Danyal and a fatherly chuckle from Obeggu. The khan then leaned in to the shah and said with quiet menace, "My daughter is a wild mare, but she is also a proper maiden. Our women ride horses as men do, so if that offends your southern sensibilities I will cut your balls off if you shame my daughter."
Gulping heavily while meeting the gaze of the steel-bearded khan, Danyal answered evenly, "This has already been gone over by the diplomats and I have no objection. As the Great Teacher stated 'A man who judges a woman's worth by her maidenhood will find only the counsel of children'."
Obeggu beamed at that and then said for all to hear, "Ah yes, there is the scholar I had heard the praises of! Yes, I must ask a further gift of wisdom, my son!"
The next few days turned into a blur as they went through the final preparations for the wedding and then the ceremony itself, binding together the House of Zahrahum and the Clan of Odanu. All Danyal knew was that finally the day was ending and he was allowed to collapse into his bed for some rest.
All thoughts of rest were forgotten when his new wife flopped into the pillows next to him, devoid of clothing and obviously rather amused by his already apparent lack of stamina. Gazing at Oshedi's features with half his face stuffed into a pillow, Danyal stated dryly, "Judging from your legs and stomach, I am going to say that you have done considerably more riding than I have, and I travelled to the Oasis on pilgrimage."
"Not the sort of 'riding' that men are so fearful of their wives getting up to without them, I can assure you dear husband," Oshedi replied, but then she flexed her arms to show off her upper body and said, "But I can also assure you that you will find no delicate flower willing to submit to your will."
Rolling onto his back, Danyal answered, "I can state with full confidence that I seek to follow the example of the Great Teacher and His Beloved and thus would never make you 'submit to my will', but I also fear that I will not be able to fulfill my royal duties to you after the past few days. So many additional things to deal with have unfortunately sapped me."
Sliding into bed and pressing up against him in the candlelight, Oshedi said while running a surprisingly callused finger across his chest, "You know, there are women who would be relieved to hear such things from their husbands, but among the Odanu we judge men by the volume of their wives at night, so I must admit a degree of disappointment."
Simultaneously caught between scandalized embarrassment and the fact that this was something he was supposed to want, Danyal answered, "I may yet gain a second wind for the day, but then again I fear I will disappoint anyway. I have spent my youth reading books and now my time as shah managing the shahdom rather than learning how to bed women."
Propping an elbow upon a pillow so that she could peer down at Danyal's face with an expression that suggested amusement at her husband's predicament and genuine curiosity, Oshedi asked, "And what have you been managing?"
Select an ambition to pursue
[] Claim the title of Shahanshah of the Mountains
[] Claim the title of Khagan of the Steppes
[] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
[] Secure peace and prosperity for your people (High Admin)
Alliance Quality: Acceptable
Oshedi, Daughter of Khan Obeggu of Clan Odanu
Steppe Princess (+1 Military)
Oshedi, Daughter of Khan Obeggu of Clan Odanu
Steppe Princess (+1 Military)
While initially some of the priests covertly brought up the suggestion of a more divine marriage to Danyal, his advisors quite quickly brought him around to the idea that securing their northern border and bringing in nomad allies was the more sensible course of action. As such messengers were quickly sent out to let speak with various chieftains and khans to the north.
Unfortunately the status of the Zahra Highlands as something of a petty shahdom meant that they only really attracted the attention of a petty khan – a man who was also looking for allies but who wasn't powerful enough to attract a more powerful ally himself. While somewhat disappointing, having a friendly tribe move into their northern marches would go a long way towards making the region a worthwhile investment, and it would be far easier to secure the movement of caravans into the region.
All around, exactly the sort of thing to keep a wide swath of people happy.
Before the year was out Khan Obeggu was entering the capital at the head of the honour guard for his daughter, Oshedi, while Danyal stood at the head of his own warriors in full ceremonial battle dress. While the shining silver chain, gilded plates, and bejeweled sword sat poorly on his scholar's frame, he still bore their weight as a shah. As the silk and fur clad nomads climbed down from their mounts, Danyal approach the khan with open arms.
"Son!" The foreign khan proclaimed somewhat presumptuously, but Danyal simply rolled with it diplomatically and proclaimed, "Father!"
Embracing one another as equals and exchanging kisses to the cheeks, the two of them then went into the public spectacle of one-upping each other with the elaborate exchange of gifts. Bride price and dowries had of course already been sorted out long beforehand, but there was a delicate dance to be had to show each of their subordinates just how wealthy and generous they were by appearing to spontaneously just so happen to have such gifts available.
After tripping over one another to show the esteem they had for each other and for Oshedi, the woman herself was introduced. Nineteen to Danyal's thirty, even dressed in the voluminous silks and veils of a bride she still looked like she would wear Danyal's armour better than he did. She had obviously spent her childhood riding and hunting where he had spent his with his nose buried in books and scrolls. Bright hazel eyes peered out from behind elaborately embroidered scarves and veils and assessed him critically, the corners of her eyes turning up in a hidden smile as she said, "Peace be upon you, my husband-to-be."
Returning the greeting, Danyal replied, "Peace be upon you, precious one. I had heard of your beauty, but the tales do not do you justice."
The hidden smile growing broader, Oshedi moved in closer to her husband-and-shah-to-be and said mischievously, "Such a smitten attitude before you have even seen what the Almighty has crafted? You are as scholarly as they proclaimed."
This prompted a blush from Danyal and a fatherly chuckle from Obeggu. The khan then leaned in to the shah and said with quiet menace, "My daughter is a wild mare, but she is also a proper maiden. Our women ride horses as men do, so if that offends your southern sensibilities I will cut your balls off if you shame my daughter."
Gulping heavily while meeting the gaze of the steel-bearded khan, Danyal answered evenly, "This has already been gone over by the diplomats and I have no objection. As the Great Teacher stated 'A man who judges a woman's worth by her maidenhood will find only the counsel of children'."
Obeggu beamed at that and then said for all to hear, "Ah yes, there is the scholar I had heard the praises of! Yes, I must ask a further gift of wisdom, my son!"
The next few days turned into a blur as they went through the final preparations for the wedding and then the ceremony itself, binding together the House of Zahrahum and the Clan of Odanu. All Danyal knew was that finally the day was ending and he was allowed to collapse into his bed for some rest.
All thoughts of rest were forgotten when his new wife flopped into the pillows next to him, devoid of clothing and obviously rather amused by his already apparent lack of stamina. Gazing at Oshedi's features with half his face stuffed into a pillow, Danyal stated dryly, "Judging from your legs and stomach, I am going to say that you have done considerably more riding than I have, and I travelled to the Oasis on pilgrimage."
"Not the sort of 'riding' that men are so fearful of their wives getting up to without them, I can assure you dear husband," Oshedi replied, but then she flexed her arms to show off her upper body and said, "But I can also assure you that you will find no delicate flower willing to submit to your will."
Rolling onto his back, Danyal answered, "I can state with full confidence that I seek to follow the example of the Great Teacher and His Beloved and thus would never make you 'submit to my will', but I also fear that I will not be able to fulfill my royal duties to you after the past few days. So many additional things to deal with have unfortunately sapped me."
Sliding into bed and pressing up against him in the candlelight, Oshedi said while running a surprisingly callused finger across his chest, "You know, there are women who would be relieved to hear such things from their husbands, but among the Odanu we judge men by the volume of their wives at night, so I must admit a degree of disappointment."
Simultaneously caught between scandalized embarrassment and the fact that this was something he was supposed to want, Danyal answered, "I may yet gain a second wind for the day, but then again I fear I will disappoint anyway. I have spent my youth reading books and now my time as shah managing the shahdom rather than learning how to bed women."
Propping an elbow upon a pillow so that she could peer down at Danyal's face with an expression that suggested amusement at her husband's predicament and genuine curiosity, Oshedi asked, "And what have you been managing?"
Select an ambition to pursue
[] Claim the title of Shahanshah of the Mountains
[] Claim the title of Khagan of the Steppes
[] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
[] Secure peace and prosperity for your people (High Admin)
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
So this one is actually really interesting. I like big titles and I cannot lie, but I think it would actually be best to not go for that right now because it might make our state an obvious target and could risk weakening the "strength" of the Shahanshah title when what we actually need is safe pilgrimage, because the pilgrimage is first and foremost an opportunity for our ruler to meet people, forge alliances and family while also making us popular with both our nobility and our clergy. With a safe route of pilgrimage, there is a safe route of passage which will please nobility who can send their sons to be educated, clergy who have the route of pilgrimage and can talk with other clergy and merchants who can use the pilgrimage route to ply their trade, so I think a good route for securing our state and its stability would be exactly this. With luck, the Almighty might gift us with prosperity for this act of piety, God willing.
So this one is actually really interesting. I like big titles and I cannot lie, but I think it would actually be best to not go for that right now because it might make our state an obvious target and could risk weakening the "strength" of the Shahanshah title when what we actually need is safe pilgrimage, because the pilgrimage is first and foremost an opportunity for our ruler to meet people, forge alliances and family while also making us popular with both our nobility and our clergy. With a safe route of pilgrimage, there is a safe route of passage which will please nobility who can send their sons to be educated, clergy who have the route of pilgrimage and can talk with other clergy and merchants who can use the pilgrimage route to ply their trade, so I think a good route for securing our state and its stability would be exactly this. With luck, the Almighty might gift us with prosperity for this act of piety, God willing.
- Location
- Toronto, Canada
[X] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
DocMatoi
Theoretical Lover of Girls
- Location
- within 2 hours of the White House
- Pronouns
- They/Them
hi i love oshedi and obeggu thank you for this gift
[X] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
And also, depending on the means by which its secured, can be inroads to other concessions being secured, if i understand medieval diplomacy right
[X] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
ThatGazzer
Minds Eye Bind
- Location
- PNW
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
Manus makes good point
Manus makes good point
I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of going for a pilgrimage route right now. Having a religious people constantly going to the center of religious power means that others get to influence our people. And that leads to the problem that we gain our legitimacy from religion. Which means we can't contradict their influence without potentially undermining our own legitimacy. Essentially, we put ourselves under a foreign power right off the bat, and one that may not appreciate us.
(Think Iran and Saudi Arabia with the issues over Mecca.)
For that reason,
[X] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
Because if I know SV and @Academia Nut quests, the second the religious leaders cause enough trouble, we're going to try to conquer Mecca. And that sounds like fun to me!
(Think Iran and Saudi Arabia with the issues over Mecca.)
For that reason,
[X] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
Because if I know SV and @Academia Nut quests, the second the religious leaders cause enough trouble, we're going to try to conquer Mecca. And that sounds like fun to me!
Mrbrown1000
Working on a story, may post it soon.
- Location
- United states
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)
DocMatoi
Theoretical Lover of Girls
- Location
- within 2 hours of the White House
- Pronouns
- They/Them
... we already did. this option is about making sure no one robs and/or murderizes our people while theyre doing it, thereby securing our legitimacy as a protector of the faith.
Last edited:
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm not sure if I understand this logic, like do you think our people aren't going on pilgrimage already? Like it's a core tenet of our religion, people are going on pilgrimage, people are taking the routes already, it's not a matter of beginning to go on pilgrimage, Danyal has mentioned he went on pilgrimage like twice. It's about ensuring that the road is safe for them. Beyond that, the idea that we couldn't contradict the influence of a power holding the great pilgrimage sites is completely absurd, like we're a Shah, in 762 and 763 Medina was literally in revolt against the Abassid Caliphate and the response was to simply cut grain supply to it and enter the battle, beheading the rebellion leader himself on the holy streets. The Ottoman Empire held Medina and Mecca for centuries and shockingly did not lock out the Safavid Empire despite the immense rivalry between them. I don't get why we would be putting ourselves under a foreign power. We're already going on pilgrimages. We already want to reach the holy sites. We just don't want to be murdered by bandits while going there.
DocMatoi
Theoretical Lover of Girls
- Location
- within 2 hours of the White House
- Pronouns
- They/Them
to add to this... its described as an Oasis. Not a Holy city, or a Temple. Just an oasis. Which leads me to believe that its in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, and not really in the center of another polity that could cause cultural exchange, (which is apparently a problem?)
Last edited:
- Location
- Hollister
[X] Secure a safe pilgrimage route for your people (Religious background)