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Elven Empire Quest (CK2)

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Icipall said:
What, we can't have the demon do anything? :V :p

[X] Plan Scout First
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Demons are less than enthusiastic about doing altogether nice things. It would be quite the test of the bindings' strength to force it to help make things. Otherwise, demons make great advisors and enforcers. The Foul-Tongues are known to be capable of very impressive acts of persuasion, and are notorious gossips and rumormongers (the main reason Aldegard summoned it).

If you ever have need of an expert on Faustian negotiation, the demon would be quite at home doing that.
 
Powerofmind said:
Demons are less than enthusiastic about doing altogether nice things. It would be quite the test of the bindings' strength to force it to help make things. Otherwise, demons make great advisors and enforcers. The Foul-Tongues are known to be capable of very impressive acts of persuasion, and are notorious gossips and rumormongers (the main reason Aldegard summoned it).

If you ever have need of an expert on Faustian negotiation, the demon would be quite at home doing that.
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Im other words use demons for things demons are good at, and woe to those who try to be constructive with them xD.
 
Powerofmind said:
Demons are less than enthusiastic about doing altogether nice things. It would be quite the test of the bindings' strength to force it to help make things. Otherwise, demons make great advisors and enforcers. The Foul-Tongues are known to be capable of very impressive acts of persuasion, and are notorious gossips and rumormongers (the main reason Aldegard summoned it).

If you ever have need of an expert on Faustian negotiation, the demon would be quite at home doing that.
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Do they try to cause mischief if you don't keep an eye on them, or are they generally trustworthy once bound?
 
TaliesinSkye said:
Do they try to cause mischief if you don't keep an eye on them, or are they generally trustworthy once bound?
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Demons can absolutely be trusted to act in their nature. Summoners are expected to bind them in such a way that they cannot indulge in their favored kind of chaos unless explicitly intended, which, in this one's case, is preventing it from speaking with any being it encounters other than Aldegard.

Simply, Aldegard is not foolish enough to allow any summoned creature a slack enough leash to cause her trouble.
 
Varder said:
Hmm.. What is elven society position about Sanguis?
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Most creatures on the mortal plane at least consider Sanguis to be primarily the purview of thieves and the immoral. Most humans have so little life force to drain it is almost universally considered evil, something that necromancers and monsters use to lust for power and control. For elves it's just distasteful and approximates to a modern assault charge if another is drained, since nobody is going to notice a few decades going missing here or there, and it's even possible for a caster to use their own life as fuel more safely than for other races, which lessens the issue with needing decades of vital power in an instant to raise an undead or summon a demon.

The other aspects of Sanguis, mind control, subjugating spirits, summoning demons, can all be performed with mana instead of vital energy, but their use is more heavily frowned upon. An elven adage goes: "Manacles make for bloody instruments", in particular referencing the above three practices and their users' tendency to wind up dead at the hands of something they bound at some point or another. The binding of spirits is considered criminal unless absolutely necessary (a spirit that came into being for vengeful or violent reasons, for instance), since they have a tendency to generalize from one elf to another. The binding of demons is considered stupid, but not criminal, so long as a banishing object is present on the creature (typically a choker or manacle enchanted for the purpose). And the binding of other mortal life ranges from lazy (on pack animals or wild beasts) to criminal (the binding of an official in the Empire).

Necromancy is just barbaric and useless, to an elf, and the gods aren't fans of having it used so it's typically ignored. All the years of vital energy wasted binding a mortal spirit to a corpse or dragging a spirit back to the earthly plane is considered inferior to simply using a few decades learning and doing whatever the undead would have been tasked with. There have been a few cases of necromantic elves, but it was mostly in the aftermath of the catastrophe, in the colonies, to supplement their flagging manpower on the frontier.

Finally, Sanguis does have use in healing, but it's considered inferior to Lux, since Sanguis healing is more prone to errors due to the need to fight the body's spirit rather than cooperate with it.

Not to say it's useless, however. Vital energy, 'pound for pound', is roughly par with mana, so trading an entire year of life for power allows for very powerful spells without dipping into a mage's own reserve.
 
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Powerofmind on Dec 29, 2020 at 3:07 PM, finished with 33 posts and 16 votes.
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    273 A.B. - Mid-Seasons
  • Threadmarks
    • -[Pioneers] Curative effort to halt or reverse the symptoms of extreme exposure (pioneers only, Aldegard may assist)
    -[Expedition] Build up shelters
    -[Aldegard] Send word home and establish contact (Aldegard only)

    You are impressed by the state of the refugees. At first, they were paranoid, nearly frothing at the mouth with madness, and were pitiful sights even to you. Over the last few months, their condition has mostly receded. The use of Sanguis to drain them was met with resistance, at first, and attempts to make the refugees use cantrips and wasteful spells had almost ended in a fight when they began suffering withdrawal, but after a few hard weeks, the refugees were almost model citizens. The expedition team was forced to use most of their mana helping restrain the addled patients, detracting from their efforts, but once the floodgates had opened, the refugees became very productive on their own, using strength of body and numbers to help in raising a decent village where mana was not available.

    Much of the community is still in tents and simple things, but you are quite pleased to have walls and a roof to blunt the winds at night. Walls and a roof that also provide privacy, and a little security.

    Preparing a telescience is time consuming, and you prickle at the constant drain on your mana, ephemeral thoughts on more immediately useful applications flitting through your mind. With the spell fully charged, you await the linking at the far end. Thankfully, the old Eastlands spell matrix still worked, or you'd probably have had to waste much more time on an astral projection or a spirit messenger and a very personal meeting with a sister or mother you would rather avoid.

    You were half-considering simply cutting the flow to not waste any further, when the attendant must have noticed and linked the spell. Your vision doubled unpleasantly, and you fought the urge to move or touch anything to steady yourself.

    The attendant's words ended your musing suddenly. "I-Imperial Daughter Aldegard? You're alive!" he exclaimed. "I shall send for the Empress at once!"

    You flinched, but resisted any more than that. Do not stand up, that's always very foolish during a telescience. "I have no need to interrupt my mother's schedule, attendant," you said, ignoring the odd tinniness of your voice. " I have news of significant importance."

    The attendant ignores your evasion, signalling to another outside of the room. "I am sorry for delaying you, Imperial Daughter, but I am afraid the palace has grim news you must hear. Perhaps it would be best if family were to inform you-"

    You rise, irritation plain and indignity giving you the strength not to sway too much when the disorienting loss of balance threatens to topple you. "What could possibly be so urgent and secret to say, that you yourself also know of it?" you spit. "Tell me, fool, my time is limited for this link!"

    The attendant shrinks, and looks out of your view. Seeing something like confirmation in his eyes, you become even more impatient for him to start. "Her Majesty, Imperial Daughter. She's... dying." A shadow of emotion crosses the man's face. Concern, pity, perhaps a trace of genuine sadness of his own.

    You aren't sure what to say. You... aren't sure what to feel. Mother was always difficult, infuriating, even, with her placations and compromises. Ineffective as a ruler, she could only turn factions against one another and make them vie for approval, rather than reining in their independent behavior, and she treated you much the same way. Always bargaining and compromising with you, asking instead of commanding you to control yourself, not that you'd have been all that compliant either way.

    But dying? She was much younger than Father was. When you left she was maybe starting to become a little more silver than blonde, but death? So soon? "Yes, Imperial Daughter, we're quite sure," comes the voice of the attendant, and you belatedly realize you must have voiced something of your thoughts without noticing.

    "When?" you ask, not sure why you want to know, what you expect to do.

    The attendant shakes his head. "None are certain, save the royal physician and the family. Imperial Daughter, I can send for one of them, if you are willing to wait?"

    His gesture shakes loose the memory of what you'd called for in the first place, and you seat yourself carefully. "No, attendant, but you must inform the High Court that my expedition has discovered the cause of the Elven plight, and are working to resolve it. With the aid of binders, or channelers, the energies of the wastes will dissipate. You must inform the Court that I need no apprentices or adepts, but masters in order to solve this problem. Tell them the ground is already being prepared for their arrival."

    The attendant nods, and repeats what you've said rapidly back to you, committing the words to paper with the aid of a scribe stationed out of view. He is about to ask if you can hold the link for a bit more time for the arrival of Eris, or Mother.

    You cut the link immediately.

    You breathe, sitting stoic on a simple bed of fur and linen. The breaths are so loud. Dead. She will die soon. Probably before you can return. This ache, you are so familiar with. You already have a space in your heart prepared to hide it away, and it fits easily next to it's match. You do not remember crying before you fall asleep.

    Approximately:
    150 apprentice mages of varied disciplines (primarily Forma and Lux), suffering from limited mana exposure
    50 hired hands trained in exploration, suffering from limited mana exposure
    2000-3000 colonial refugees of various pioneer trades and means, suffering from limited mana exposure
    1 Bound Demon of the Foul-Tongue Caste

    Resources:
    Rations and supplies, meant to last many years for 200 explorers, stretched to feed roughly 2500 for a few years at most
    Pack animals and survey equipment
    Various and unsorted, if limited, pioneer supplies from refugees

    Current conditions:
    Safety: Insecure, limited local knowledge
    Food: Limited, not produced
    Colony: Permanent Camp, some long-term shelter
    Heart: Mostly Unknown
    Spirits: Unaware of you

    The Homeland: You're alive?

    Aldegard must manage this fledgling colony. What should she focus on for the time being? Create a plan only. (Choose a total of three, marking them with [Pioneers], [Expedition], and [Aldegard]. Aldegard can be used to double-up on another action, as she can probably use powerful magic to support it)
    [] Secure more food supplies
    [] Build up shelters further
    [] Build up colonial infrastructure
    [] Secure the colony with fortifications
    [] Gather information about the area
    [] Study the monolith further (expedition only)
    [] Begin binding the local spirits (expedition only)
    [] Begin negotiating with the local spirits (expedition only)
    [] Sort through all of the trinkets and belongings of the refugees for useful tools
    [] Establish a permanent linking circle (not pioneers)
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan: We Need food, We Need Walls
    [X] Secure more food supplies , Expedition
    [X] Build up colonial infrastructure , Aldegrad
    [X] Secure the colony with fortifications , Pioneers
     
    ErraticWizard said:
    [X] Plan: We Need food, We Need Walls
    [X] Secure more food supplies , Expedition
    [X] Build up colonial infrastructure , Aldegrad
    [X] Secure the colony with fortifications , Pioneers
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    Building colonial infrastructure gives us food income, so we don't need to secure food and do infrastructure. Also, when you do a plan you need to put hypens before the sub-options or it comes across as lots of individual votes.

    Overall I'm very happy with this last turn. The refugees were even worse off than we thought, so getting them care first thing looks to have been the right thing to do. We also didn't get attacked by anything, which is a good sign.

    This plan goes for infrastructure so that we've got food income started and other minor needs attended to. It also secures our position with fortifications, if they ever become necessary, and gathers information about the area.

    Of the three I think fortifications are probably the least necessary, but you never know, so it errs on the side of caution. While I would like a permanent linking circle and even better shelters, neither of those things is urgent. As for who is doing what, we could swap the options around, but I don't see a strong reason to. Scouting should probably be either Expedition or Aldegard. Fortifications should probably be Aldegard (Forma magic) or Pioneers, and building up infrastructure should probably be Pioneers or Expedition. This selection works.

    [X] Plan Attending To Needs
    -[Pioneers] Build up colonial infrastructure
    -[Expedition] Gather information about the area
    -[Aldegard] Secure the colony with fortifications
     
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    TaliesinSkye said:
    Building colonial infrastructure gives us food income, so we don't need to secure food and do infrastructure. Also, when you do a plan you need to put hypens before the sub-options or it comes across as lots of individual votes.

    Overall I'm very happy with this last turn. The refugees were even worse off than we thought, so getting them care first thing looks to have been the right thing to do. We also didn't get attacked by anything, which is a good sign.

    This plan goes for infrastructure so that we've got food income started and other minor needs attended to. It also secures our position with fortifications, if they ever become necessary, and gathers information about the area.

    Of the three I think fortifications are probably the least necessary, but you never know, so it errs on the side of caution. While I would like a permanent linking circle and even better shelters, neither of those things is urgent. As for who is doing what, we could swap the options around, but I don't see a strong reason to. Scouting should probably be either Expedition or Aldegard. Fortifications should probably be Aldegard (Forma magic) or Pioneers, and building up infrastructure should probably be Pioneers or Expedition. This selection works.

    [X] Plan Attending To Needs
    -[Pioneers] Build up colonial infrastructure
    -[Expedition] Gather information about the area
    -[Aldegard] Secure the colony with fortifications
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    thank you for clarifying on that :p Your plan covers my wants for a plan lol.

    [X] Plan Attending To Needs
     
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