You live, and rule over, a charming little forest known as the Ghostlight Woods. At times, it seems like the forest can't decide whether it wants to be dark, dead, and dreary, or overgrown and dangerous. Thankfully, human corpses seem to make wonderful fertilizer. This means you can cut it back with skeletal assistants when it's trying to grow too much and feed it zombies when it wants to die.
Sounds like a great location. We can only have as many living assistants as we can keep under our personal protection, though.
There is little of interest to the north, only a massive river followed by lands too cold for anyone sane to want to live there. This doesn't stop people from trying, nor do your comments stop them from succeeding. Two rulers catch your attention, neither of them human. Queen Irinia is what's known as a "Snow Maiden," although it seems like she's closer to being made of a mixture of ice and magic with little to no snow involved. She's capable of using magic, specializing in weather control, and has kept conditions relatively stable under her rule. Despite having a reputation for a literal heart of ice, it would seem she's just awfully lonely. You're guessing a marriage-related Echo will hit her within the next few years—or, since she's not human, decades.
Possible ally. Later.
Noyon Batbayar has an unfortunate reputation for ruthlessness which, it turns out, he really doesn't deserve. An Echo seems to have latched on to him and intends to make all his actions be interpreted for the worse until after his death, whereupon his noble actions will finally be recognized as such and he'll be remembered as a hero. Probably. You might be thinking of the wrong Echo.
Possible ally. We can help him out after we figure out how these Echoes work.
Noyon Ganbaatar is the most powerful warlord out of those who insulted you. It would seem you're expected to ignore most of the others; a good quarter of them aren't even alive anymore. Ganbaatar became famous due to his notable skill with a bow and arrow and accompanying temper. While he seems to be a relatively kind man much of the time, it's remarkably easy to goad him into a rage and keep him there for quite some time.
Ganbaatar's wife died in childbirth about eight years back, leaving him a daughter he despised and subsequently handed off to a barren mother where he used to live. The daughter in question doesn't even appear to know he exists, although Ganbaatar himself still appears to mourn the loss of his wife.
We can summon the ghost of his wife and ask her to make us her daughter's fairy godmother. Then we can give her gifts so that she deposes our troublesome would-be paramour. This would solve our problems and be delightfully apropos. We might even be able to play matchmaker between the daughter and one of the other warlords. For instance, she could be the "Beauty" to Batbayar's "Beast".
The last hero, as far as you can tell, is the hero for your Echo. Or at least, a hero; you suspect he's supposed to die in order to make room for a better one. Ethan Faure is the leader of an eight-man squad of knights heading straight toward your little forest. He's been instructed to "Find whatever evil has taken root there and burn it out." Despite his reputation for being pure of heart, he seems to have remarkably few qualms when it comes to killing people if he believes their sins warrant such. On the other hand, he seems perfectly willing to make detours to help lost or endangered travelers. Ethan seems to be a bit sexist, but as he leans more toward "Women are to be protected and don't belong in danger" instead of "Women are brainless ornaments," you can forgive him for that.
We need to do something about this guy before he gets here. Maybe we can recruit him to protect us while on our pilgrimage?
The closest bard to allegedly fit your requirements is one Alan Glenn Lister, a surprisingly good harp player who really should've been given a permanent position by now. He appears to make a habit of wandering along the villages and towns in the area between your domain and the Sundered River. With the assistance of magic, it would likely only take you a day or two for you to reach him; without it, ten times that period.
First thing to do.
Ganbaatar's daughter sounds like a great way to paint yourself as good. Go all Fairy Godmother, tell the helpless orphan girl that she is actually a princess abandoned by the evil king, teach her magic or something. Just don't actively instruct her when she goes off on an adventure, or you might become the evil mastermind sorceress...
I really like this idea. Note that, although Iris isn't actually a Fairy, she can
literally become the girl's Godmother if we first recruit the ghost of her mother.
Shouldn't we just ask all the ghosts if they want to come? I like to at least bring one that knows how to fight and materialise them when in danger.
I would be hesitant to do this. When Iris is traveling, anybody who sees the ghosts might assume that Iris is an evil necromancer.
Going to him for advice seems so obvious I start to worry it's a trap.
The obvious trap is that we could turn into a martyr. Since he
also has personal experience at how to avoiding such things, I'd say that talking to him is still worth it. We might attract the attention of the "martyr" Echo, but we'd also figure out how to avoid getting hit by it.
[X] Head out to visit the bard, Alan Glenn Lister.
-[X] Ask if he knows about the effects Fate can have on unwilling individuals.
--[X] Regardless of whether he does or not, tell him it's trying to force you into the role of an evil sorceress and you'd very much appreciate some help getting out of it.
---[x] Ask about what kinds of non-evil stories could fit your position. He's the expert.
--[X] Consult him about the likely outcome each of the options that we're planning, veto them if he thinks that they would make things worse.
[X] Raise the ghost of Ganbaatar 's wife and try to recruit her to live in the castle. Inform her about everything that has been happening with her erstwhile husband and daughter. Cultivate a relationship with her in the hopes that she will name you godmother of her daughter.
[X] Travel to the Sundered River.
-[X] Drink from it. All the options available to you seem to be at least a little bit risky, and at least this one would be quick either way.
-[X] Go on a pilgrimage to the cities along it. You honestly have no idea whether or not it will work, but it may be worth a try.
--[X] Try to recruit Ethan Faure to protect you on the pilgrimage. Tell him that you have a "curse", but do not tell him exactly where you're from.
-[X] Contact Archbishop Luke and ask for his help.
Edit: I posted my vote immediately after reading the update, then edited it slightly to catch some of the sub-votes write-ins.
)
)
