Elenore and Karin just think Henry shares their photographic memory. It's not their fault he wasn't born with that trait.
Noblesse Oblige [Znt/SI]
EmpirePlayer
Anyone need some chaos?
- Location
- Penang
Actually, won't memorizing chants and such possibly lead to a "Damn you Muscle Memory" situation until Henry adapts to that possibility? After all, a chant that changes mid-way through can throw off less experienced mages. Sure, someone must have tried this kind of trick before, but reactions are pretty hard to rein in once you have one set.
Haha. No. His name was given to him by the King. It's never going to be changed.So what I'm getting is that Henry has a Wind+Earth affinity, with the Earth part just a smidgen away from making a him full Line mage.
Is it too late to change your runic name? I mean there could be a better one
- Location
- Nowhere
Wait...you guys actually read the spell incantations? Huh.
My eyes naturally skim over them and let my brain fill in the blank with the placeholder [fantasy religion bullshit].
But then again, I tried to read Tolkien and my brain glossed over everything he wrote with [blah blah blah], so maybe I just can't properly appreciate people faffing around with language.
My eyes naturally skim over them and let my brain fill in the blank with the placeholder [fantasy religion bullshit].
But then again, I tried to read Tolkien and my brain glossed over everything he wrote with [blah blah blah], so maybe I just can't properly appreciate people faffing around with language.
Obviously he should spite the king by specializing in non-lethal spells and developing a reputation as the kindest and gentlest soul in not-Europe.
It explicetly wasn't though? The King was the one who read up the names but the professors were the ones who came up with them.
Huh. I missed that bit.
Actually, from what I understand, using magic on infrastructure is not forbidden. Developing a new chant specifically to handle infrastructure on other hand, would be considered very demeaning for magic itself, and thus, possibly even heretical.
Also, furthermore, a high noble doing productive work is considered crass and inappropriate. It's the kind of thing that the petty nobility does, or, depending on what it is, it's commoner work. Not something an actual noble like the Son of a Duke should ever be seen doing.
I mean, thats the party line, but it looks like a way for monarchs/churchmen to limit the power of the noble class. I mean a dude who could pretty much arm and fortify a whole region by themselves is kinda an insane threat. And there are thousands if not tens of thousands of them all over the place. The best way to control such a population is to install a control for them to hang themselves with.
I thought one of the main purposes of memorizing chants was to be able to recognize them when other mages cast them. That's why Henry asked if only memorizing the first few words wouldn't be good enough. If you know what someone is casting (or trying to cast) that gives you time to counter it somehow before the spell actually goes off.
It seems that Henry has decided manticores aren't so bad after all if he's voluntarily taking one on flights. Karin might win that fight yet.
The end of the update really shows why common people are so frightened of mages. A dot mage... maybe barely a line mage depending on how the training went, and Henry can casually reshape the earth itself.
It seems that Henry has decided manticores aren't so bad after all if he's voluntarily taking one on flights. Karin might win that fight yet.
The end of the update really shows why common people are so frightened of mages. A dot mage... maybe barely a line mage depending on how the training went, and Henry can casually reshape the earth itself.
Not really, not by that much.One, they can still do it. Two, those who are inclined to take that route aren't likely to be stopped by pesky cultural limitations. Three, arming the peasantry with medieval weaponry and armor, no matter how good those are, are not going to be that good against forces with a decent number of mages.
Mockingly-Tricky
Ketchup Enthusiast
- Location
- Happy Funtime Candyland
I noticed that when you write about your manticore, you switch genders in the middle of the page, and the switch back at the end.
I don't think Shade bothered to check and is thus winging it.
There are certainly a lot more commoners than mages around but I get your point. It just seems odd to me.
- Location
- America
Miracle of sound?
Let's disregard square mages such as Karin, because, as we have just seen, she could summarily annihilate commoners armies on her own. A few triangles, specially if supported even by a small number of commoners of their own, could also lay waste to arbitrarily large numbers of enemy commoners. And while lines and dots are more limited in what they can do, they are also vastly more numerous: We are now also talking about the petty nobility, which nearly certainly composes the majority of the "knight" equivalent on the battle field. Furthermore, remember that your, now well armed and armored commoners are still a bunch on untrained chumps. Proper men-at-arms, even without heavy mage support, are going to go through these rather easily.
In all, the balance of power in Halk (although it is starting to change now, with firearms being developed) is very stable, much like our own medieval period. Peasant rebellions almost never achieve anything other than the death of its participants, and when they do it's generally because they exploit another instability (aka, another war), or because they get heavy support from groups that can actually fight well.
- Location
- Mountains and rivers
And don't forget that massive pair of tits.
What? If we're pointing out pros, we'll point out all the pros!
Decapitation? I mean, that certainly is one possible solution.
That's not a real word. Think of what regardless means and then wonder what adding the -ir prefix is even supposed to do.
rout
Yes, well, we all have our moments of total insanity. It'll pass.
I don't think you were going for that word. Properties? Certainly, it's widely used in physics.Dictionary.com said:
As a wise man once said, "Plasma always finds a way."
Loire
It's just a name, there is no functional need for italics.
Italic type - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Using Italics and Underlining
Remove the commas. There's no use for them and it's downright wrong in this context.
EDIT: I get the feeling this isn't inspiring the levity I was going for.
Remove the comma.
Shade now has an anime brain. Don't tell him what he can or cannot memorize; Eleanor has already done this.
Yeah, after you read the books, you probably won't remember much of anything.
Well, according to my older brother. I just couldn't stand the prose.
Last edited:
@shadenight123
You haven't yet mentioned the two most important parts about this betrothal. Is he still the heir apparent and will the marriage be matrilinear? If he's still the heir it would mean his eldest son would inherit the Valliere lands in addition to the kingdom of Gallia. On the other hand, marrying the princess patrilineary would result in a new ruling dynasty in Gallia. Either (or both) of these happening would shake up the politics of the entire Halkeginia...
You haven't yet mentioned the two most important parts about this betrothal. Is he still the heir apparent and will the marriage be matrilinear? If he's still the heir it would mean his eldest son would inherit the Valliere lands in addition to the kingdom of Gallia. On the other hand, marrying the princess patrilineary would result in a new ruling dynasty in Gallia. Either (or both) of these happening would shake up the politics of the entire Halkeginia...
Chapter Thirty-Three
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Thirty-Three
I held myself primly. I swear, my primness was second to none. The princess' birthday had come faster than what I had wished for, and thus there was no other choice but to wear even fancier clothes than normal. As we stood in the carriage, I couldn't help but worry about Cattleya being left alone at home. I'd buy her an animal plushy as soon as humanly possible.
"Be on your best behavior, Henry," Eleonore said sharply, eyeing me as if her life depended on it. Mother was simply silent, but her gaze in my direction told me enough. Pierre looked calmly out of the carriage's window, twirling one of his mustaches while lost in thought. "You too, Louise," she added next, eyeing the youngest who was trying her hardest not to shake in her dress.
"I will do my best," I said, before smiling towards Louise. "Don't worry, it will be fine. Just remember to eat something once you see enough people have entered the room, all right?"
Louise made a small nervous squeak, and nodded.
My eyes remained calm, and dispassionate, but my brain worked. My lips thinned as I licked the back of my teeth with my tongue. My fists were clenched, and my heart drummed. I had already been to the princess' party one year prior, but I had simply hidden myself behind the figures of my elder sister and my parents, and nobody had remarked on it. This time though, this time it was noticeably different.
For one thing, everyone's eyes were on me. The whispers, the murmurs -I was used to speaking in front of a classroom, had done a few times the stint of public speaking because hey, why not, it felt fun. I had even played a small part in a school play that had been put on stage in the local theater, but even then-this was different.
This was different because everyone was talking about me, and while one side was definitely on my side, the other wasn't. Well, rather than being against me, they were against my parents who had given the go ahead. Even though that was quite unfair, since it was the king who had proposed it first, it still stung as a betrayal of sorts to the pro-Valliere camp who wanted me married to their princess, and not in the hands of a brutish foreigner.
I couldn't blame them, since the future Emperor was as bad as one could get, but that was in the future, not in the present.
In the present, among the various nobles, a few figures struck out not just because they had light blue hair, but also because they had a few armed knights by their sides. It was considered acceptable for foreign royalty to have their own guards, and they were no different. The small princess of Gallia, Isabella, looked honestly even smaller dwarfed as she was by the presence of the knights sworn to protect her and her father.
Though surprisingly, she wasn't the only blue head present. Robespierre the Third was an old king, but still a king that had a few more years to him. If he was supposed to die three years before the start of canon, then he would die in the period of Louise turning thirteen -which meant in five to six years. He had light blue hair, mostly grey now, and wrinkles around his eyes. He still held himself up by his power alone, and as was befitting of a King, he did not bow. He was allowed to not bow and to even sit on a throne-like chair that was only slightly lower than that of the royalty already present in the room.
Other than Isabella and her father, the crown prince, there were also the Duke D'Orleans and his wife, with quite the young Tabitha in-between them. Her eyes looked around with cheerfulness, quite happy for everything that was going on around her. Isabella was nervous on the other hand, but I reckoned I'd be nervous too in such a circumstance.
Henrietta was as vivacious as ever, especially since she realized Louise was there too. As everyone who had been invited and had come presented their gifts to the young princess, I knew that as soon as the last child would leave the room, it would be time for something a bit more pompous.
I glanced once more in the direction of Isabella. Someone must have pointed in my direction, because she was gazing at me in return. She looked away within seconds, but I simply moved from looking at her to looking slightly by her side, at the future Mad King Joseph. Only, he wasn't mad. He wasn't a king. And he did look utterly bored, but still...there was something lacking from him.
As the last child left the room, barring Isabella -who looked even more nervous since Helene left- King Henry stood up from his throne and widened both arms up. "My noble lords, my gracious ladies, a moment before we may begin," he spoke gently, but his voice had the steel of the ruler beneath it. "Today is not just a wonderful day to celebrate my daughter's tenth birthday, but also a day in which we reinforce our bonds of friendship with our neighboring Gallia," as his gesture, Robespierre the Third gave a nod, and Joseph in turn placed a hand on his daughter's back, pushing her forward as he began to walk by her side.
I, on the other hand, stepped forward alone since I was considered an adult.
When I came to a halt in front of the king with whom I shared my name, I bowed most deeply, just as Isabella curtsied by my side. Joseph, on the other, did not bow since he was the Crown Prince, and bowing to a foreign king was a big no-no. Nearby, a cardinal watched the proceedings, showing how the church of Brimir approved of this union.
"The eldest son of the Duke La Valliere, and the only daughter of the crown prince De Gallia, Henry Philippe La Blois de la Valliere, and Isabella de Gallia, are henceforth betrothed one to the other, and shall take their vows-"
In public.
As was proper form.
This was probably making half the nobles present green not with envy, but with anger at the thought that their princess would end up with a Germanian barbarian, and the other half would be angry because I, as a Valliere, would end up married to a foreigner.
This was the type of game one lost even when they played their very best.
"I, Henry Philippe la Blois de la Valliere, the vicious wind," the runic name could be tackled on without any troubles whatsoever. More than a nickname, it was literally like a third, or even fourth, name. Nowhere in the etiquette manual was it mentioned a time where it was improper to tackle it on, honestly, it helped identify one's affinity sometimes, and other times, it just made it obvious that you were willing to bunker down and show the damn uncouth bastard some good old magic duel discipline if they kept disrespecting you -that was what the manual said, so...I was merely stating that I was my mother's son. "Swear upon the Gods, the Founder and my own nobility that I will take you as my wife."
"I-I," Isabella stammered, her voice coming out as squeaky as that of Louise when she had been nervous before. "Isabella de Galla-Gallia," she cringed, but nobody remarked on it, and I simply smiled softly. "Swear upon the Gods, the Founder and my own nob-royalty, royalty," oh hell, she was making me inwardly want to cuddle her. Please, please stop doing this to my heartstrings. Unless you're doing this on purpose because you're the most manipulative nine years old I have ever seen, please stop tugging at my heartstrings that desire to hug tight every being in need of assistance and make silly cooing sounds at them. "That I will take you as my husband."
There was a polite show of clapping, most of which without heat. Hell, her own father didn't as much as clap once, but simply sighed and muttered something that sounded awfully similar to a when is the wine coming? The ones clapping the most were the two old kings, and their retinues.
"Very well," the king said with a smile. "How about you both take this party as a way to get to know each other better?" he added, giving a nod towards the nearby orchestra, who began to play a soft tune. "Go on, be young." He continued, gesturing at us to go.
I offered my arm to Isabella, and managed to bring out a small smile. "Shall we head somewhere quieter?" I asked gently, receiving a surprisingly earnest nod as she latched on to my arm in turn.
With the most dignified, slow and yet filled with discipline and poise gait I moved towards the nearby open window, which gave into a large balcony.
Well.
This was turning out to be just fine.
I held myself primly. I swear, my primness was second to none. The princess' birthday had come faster than what I had wished for, and thus there was no other choice but to wear even fancier clothes than normal. As we stood in the carriage, I couldn't help but worry about Cattleya being left alone at home. I'd buy her an animal plushy as soon as humanly possible.
"Be on your best behavior, Henry," Eleonore said sharply, eyeing me as if her life depended on it. Mother was simply silent, but her gaze in my direction told me enough. Pierre looked calmly out of the carriage's window, twirling one of his mustaches while lost in thought. "You too, Louise," she added next, eyeing the youngest who was trying her hardest not to shake in her dress.
"I will do my best," I said, before smiling towards Louise. "Don't worry, it will be fine. Just remember to eat something once you see enough people have entered the room, all right?"
Louise made a small nervous squeak, and nodded.
My eyes remained calm, and dispassionate, but my brain worked. My lips thinned as I licked the back of my teeth with my tongue. My fists were clenched, and my heart drummed. I had already been to the princess' party one year prior, but I had simply hidden myself behind the figures of my elder sister and my parents, and nobody had remarked on it. This time though, this time it was noticeably different.
For one thing, everyone's eyes were on me. The whispers, the murmurs -I was used to speaking in front of a classroom, had done a few times the stint of public speaking because hey, why not, it felt fun. I had even played a small part in a school play that had been put on stage in the local theater, but even then-this was different.
This was different because everyone was talking about me, and while one side was definitely on my side, the other wasn't. Well, rather than being against me, they were against my parents who had given the go ahead. Even though that was quite unfair, since it was the king who had proposed it first, it still stung as a betrayal of sorts to the pro-Valliere camp who wanted me married to their princess, and not in the hands of a brutish foreigner.
I couldn't blame them, since the future Emperor was as bad as one could get, but that was in the future, not in the present.
In the present, among the various nobles, a few figures struck out not just because they had light blue hair, but also because they had a few armed knights by their sides. It was considered acceptable for foreign royalty to have their own guards, and they were no different. The small princess of Gallia, Isabella, looked honestly even smaller dwarfed as she was by the presence of the knights sworn to protect her and her father.
Though surprisingly, she wasn't the only blue head present. Robespierre the Third was an old king, but still a king that had a few more years to him. If he was supposed to die three years before the start of canon, then he would die in the period of Louise turning thirteen -which meant in five to six years. He had light blue hair, mostly grey now, and wrinkles around his eyes. He still held himself up by his power alone, and as was befitting of a King, he did not bow. He was allowed to not bow and to even sit on a throne-like chair that was only slightly lower than that of the royalty already present in the room.
Other than Isabella and her father, the crown prince, there were also the Duke D'Orleans and his wife, with quite the young Tabitha in-between them. Her eyes looked around with cheerfulness, quite happy for everything that was going on around her. Isabella was nervous on the other hand, but I reckoned I'd be nervous too in such a circumstance.
Henrietta was as vivacious as ever, especially since she realized Louise was there too. As everyone who had been invited and had come presented their gifts to the young princess, I knew that as soon as the last child would leave the room, it would be time for something a bit more pompous.
I glanced once more in the direction of Isabella. Someone must have pointed in my direction, because she was gazing at me in return. She looked away within seconds, but I simply moved from looking at her to looking slightly by her side, at the future Mad King Joseph. Only, he wasn't mad. He wasn't a king. And he did look utterly bored, but still...there was something lacking from him.
As the last child left the room, barring Isabella -who looked even more nervous since Helene left- King Henry stood up from his throne and widened both arms up. "My noble lords, my gracious ladies, a moment before we may begin," he spoke gently, but his voice had the steel of the ruler beneath it. "Today is not just a wonderful day to celebrate my daughter's tenth birthday, but also a day in which we reinforce our bonds of friendship with our neighboring Gallia," as his gesture, Robespierre the Third gave a nod, and Joseph in turn placed a hand on his daughter's back, pushing her forward as he began to walk by her side.
I, on the other hand, stepped forward alone since I was considered an adult.
When I came to a halt in front of the king with whom I shared my name, I bowed most deeply, just as Isabella curtsied by my side. Joseph, on the other, did not bow since he was the Crown Prince, and bowing to a foreign king was a big no-no. Nearby, a cardinal watched the proceedings, showing how the church of Brimir approved of this union.
"The eldest son of the Duke La Valliere, and the only daughter of the crown prince De Gallia, Henry Philippe La Blois de la Valliere, and Isabella de Gallia, are henceforth betrothed one to the other, and shall take their vows-"
In public.
As was proper form.
This was probably making half the nobles present green not with envy, but with anger at the thought that their princess would end up with a Germanian barbarian, and the other half would be angry because I, as a Valliere, would end up married to a foreigner.
This was the type of game one lost even when they played their very best.
"I, Henry Philippe la Blois de la Valliere, the vicious wind," the runic name could be tackled on without any troubles whatsoever. More than a nickname, it was literally like a third, or even fourth, name. Nowhere in the etiquette manual was it mentioned a time where it was improper to tackle it on, honestly, it helped identify one's affinity sometimes, and other times, it just made it obvious that you were willing to bunker down and show the damn uncouth bastard some good old magic duel discipline if they kept disrespecting you -that was what the manual said, so...I was merely stating that I was my mother's son. "Swear upon the Gods, the Founder and my own nobility that I will take you as my wife."
"I-I," Isabella stammered, her voice coming out as squeaky as that of Louise when she had been nervous before. "Isabella de Galla-Gallia," she cringed, but nobody remarked on it, and I simply smiled softly. "Swear upon the Gods, the Founder and my own nob-royalty, royalty," oh hell, she was making me inwardly want to cuddle her. Please, please stop doing this to my heartstrings. Unless you're doing this on purpose because you're the most manipulative nine years old I have ever seen, please stop tugging at my heartstrings that desire to hug tight every being in need of assistance and make silly cooing sounds at them. "That I will take you as my husband."
There was a polite show of clapping, most of which without heat. Hell, her own father didn't as much as clap once, but simply sighed and muttered something that sounded awfully similar to a when is the wine coming? The ones clapping the most were the two old kings, and their retinues.
"Very well," the king said with a smile. "How about you both take this party as a way to get to know each other better?" he added, giving a nod towards the nearby orchestra, who began to play a soft tune. "Go on, be young." He continued, gesturing at us to go.
I offered my arm to Isabella, and managed to bring out a small smile. "Shall we head somewhere quieter?" I asked gently, receiving a surprisingly earnest nod as she latched on to my arm in turn.
With the most dignified, slow and yet filled with discipline and poise gait I moved towards the nearby open window, which gave into a large balcony.
Well.
This was turning out to be just fine.
Uxion
The Slightly Less Depressed
- Location
- Personal Hell
It could be that the princess isn't the Gallia heir and is lower on the line of succession.
Mors
Searching for immanence
What do you mean "still the heir apparent". Nearly the first thing we're told in chapter 1 is:
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
It...kind of doesn't matter.
Let's put it this way:
Titles and lands do not go hand in hand.
Let's say Pierre is the Duke de la Valliere, Viscount of La Bois, Baron of La Baume. (this in 100% lawful noble title passing in europe, not magical-europe)
The eldest son gets the title of Duke. The rest is split among the youngest daughters. Viscount Eleonore, Baron Cattleya, and Louise gets the 'Honorable' Louise title/marries someone and gets his titles.
However, since I have no intention of going full 100% correct middle-ages titling, I took some liberties.
Fact is, even if he becomes King of Gallia, the lands belong to Isabella, not to him. He may administer them, he may give them to his future children, but they aren't 'his'.
By the same token, even if he has lands in Tristain, they do not magically belong to Gallia and change flag colors. He has the title of 'Duke', and he may take earnings from those lands, but taxes are still paid to the Tristain's crown because, and this is important...
All land inherently belongs to the King.
He may 'dole it out' to his nobles, and his nobles may in turn dole it out further down the line, but if the King says 'Oi, Valliere, hand back the land', then the Valliere must give back the land or start a riot and a rebellion.
What this means is simply that Duke Henry might marry Isabella and become King of Gallia, but the lands, while 'his' in name/tied to the title, would still pay their dues to the kingdom of Tristain. Unless, of course, someone wanted to send an insult to the king of Tristain.
But since they are allies, this would have no reason to happen now, would it?
Last edited:
- Location
- Canada
I see what you did there you son of a bitch.
Man I love everything that guy makes.
- Location
- England
And on that day there were 13 assassination attempts on the newly betrothed pair. Nobody quite knew why.
Last edited:
5 updates, or 8.5k words, in the last 21 hours.
Will you be going for a sixth, or has the coffee run out Shade?
Will you be going for a sixth, or has the coffee run out Shade?