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Noblesse Oblige [Znt/SI]

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And so the dreaded Familiar Summoning is at hand.

Manticores do seem the best familiars by a fair margin, excluding Tabitha's magical Dragon (that is supposedly extinct).
 
shadenight123 said:
Perhaps an even greater set of classics?

Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and other assorted fairy tales.
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The problem with any fairy tale involving Princesses or Princes is either the the story gets tanked because Magic ("and Snow White turned the poorly disguised Evil Queen into ashes using the Fire magic the Brimir has blessed her, and because she's a strong independent woman that don't need no Prince" :V) or you're gonna have problems selling novels that has nobility in them with no access to magic. Forget SoD, the last one's gonna get burned for heresy.

Other classics like Count of Monte Cristo, the Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, or Princess Bride are moot too.

Romeo and Juliet... might be able to wing it I guess. Would be a bestseller for both common folk and nobility.

Though I'm thinking "Halkagenianized" adapted versions of Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill would be cool. :)

Edit: Hans Christen Andersen's stories are also good if you want to bring the angst genre there and to traumatize many kids :V
 
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shadenight123 said:
I wonder where did I go wrong?
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That's not a question. That's just a character pondering on their life.
shadenight123 said:
"it is a honor to meet you."
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an honor

The a/an thing depends on pronunciation, not the way you're spelling it.
shadenight123 said:
But...if I blackmailed the younger prince of a country, wouldn't that make me a horrible person?
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It certainly won't make you any worse than a CK2 player.
Darrenb209 said:
Well, In CK2 terms, murder is something you need to repeat on a large scale every 20 to 30 years. So it's only a temporary solution.
Forcing them to marry each other to increase the chances of the inbred trait spawning in those lines is a solution that lasts much longer.
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Bludflag said:
"… And that's when you employ murder as a stopgap measure!"

"Interesting… Tell me more about the part with inbreeding."
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Darrenb209 said:
Their is an achievement called Dwarf Fortress in it. Sadly it's just for having seven dwarfs as part of your court.

Less unethical behavior though? Tell that to the 6 year old I castrated only to capture him again when he was 15. I blinded him then. The cruel trait also allows you to torture people.

Edit: The Game of Thrones Mod allows you to do a lot worse.
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ellipsis said:
There's at least one post per week on the DF forums about the most efficient way to kill unnecessary children and babies. There's no built-in mechanic for torture, so people usually invent their own - I usually go with a simple pit of spiders, but some people get really fancy. "Unfortunate accidents" occur on a regular basis.

The community spent a lot of time optimizing ways to farm (sentient) merpeople for their valuable bones, at least until Toady changed their value.

Players intentionally traumatize their entire population so they won't go crazy when their family and friends are inevitably murdered in an invasion or because the player got bored.

People tried locking babies in a room full of wild dogs until adulthood. When you let them out, they'll either be dead or a great new recruit for your military.

Building a large doomsday device isn't quite obligatory, but it's certainly not rare.

DF isn't particularly unethical by nature, but that just means the community has to get inventive.
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shadenight123 said:
Since when did I desire to become a hero of justice?
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Since I posted all those pictures of Kirei in the thread. :V
shadenight123 said:
"W-Worried? I am not worried, Henry," she retorted hotly. "Not about you in particular anyway,"
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My d'awwww sensors are going haywire!
 
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defenestrator said:
The problem with any fairy tale involving Princesses or Princes is either the the story gets tanked because Magic ("and Snow White turned the poorly disguised Evil Queen into ashes using the Fire magic the Brimir has blessed her, and because she's a strong independent woman that don't need no Prince" :V) or you're gonna have problems selling novels that has nobility in them with no access to magic. Forget SoD, the last one's gonna get burned for heresy.

Other classics like Count of Monte Cristo, the Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, or Princess Bride are moot too.

Romeo and Juliet... might be able to wing it I guess. Would be a bestseller for both common folk and nobility.

Though I'm thinking "Halkagenianized" adapted versions of Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill would be cool. :)

Edit: Hans Christen Andersen's stories are also good if you want to bring the angst genre there and to traumatize many kids :V
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Would also be hilarious if he decides to publish extremely quotable classics like The Godfather under a pseudonym, be hailed as Halkagenia's equivalent of Shakespeare meets Machiavelli, then start to regret it all when everyone including his father starts quoting it.

Henry: "Can we really trust the Zerbst?"

Pierre: "No, absolutely not."

Henry:"Then why....?"

Pierre:"Because, son, we keep our friends close, but our enemies closer."

Henry:*[internal groaning intensifies]*
 
shadenight123 said:
Chapter Thirty-Six

My mother kept her word. I had no doubts that she would, just like I had no doubts that she wouldn't be needlessly cruel. On the other hand, there is a fine line between child abuse and training, and while I might be considered an adult by the standards of the time, please let me not die by exhaustion alone.

My only moment of solace was apparently whenever a royal messenger from Gallia arrived with a letter from Isabella, because it meant I had to answer as soon as possible, and in turn this meant I was excused from memorizing lines, or gruesome training for the duration of writing the letter. The letters on her side were mostly whimsical. Things about how much she enjoyed the latest play at the theater, or how she took a vacation to Albion to admire the beautifully crafted jewels of the flying continent. Sometimes, she'd remark on how she and little Helene got into trouble with the Duke D'Orleans and his lady wife with random, everyday childish things.

And I wrote back common stuff, like how the weather was nice, how I would one day take her on my manticore for a flight, and inane stuff that passed through the heavy censorship of both of my parents before reaching the royal messenger who would have to make his way back to Gallia with due haste.

There was nothing else I could do, but cherish the fact that my break would soon be over.

"Today, you will come on patrol with me," as soon as she said that, I stood to full attention and stiffened my back considerably straight. "Foolish behaviors will not be tolerated," she added next, saddling up her manticore as I did the same with Freedom. "Stay behind me, and do not stray."

"Yes mother," I said. I had no intentions of doing that. Trespassing a border was akin to declaring war, especially because high ranked mages could easily cause earthquakes or ruin entire fiefs' worth of crops, wrecking up the lives of thousands with a simple chant. Nobles were practically weapons, the stronger the mage, the more powerful of a weapon, and thus the greater of an insult it would be if they crossed the border without authorization.

As we began to patrol our borders by air, I soon realized that there was a flock of red scaled dragons on the opposite side of the border doing pretty much the same. Whereas my mother sufficed alone, the Germanians somehow needed at the very least a good dozen or more of said dragon knights.

"Pay attention to the lay of the land," Karin said suddenly as she flew by my side, "How many Germanians do you see?"

I furrowed my brows at the question, and then glanced downwards. "Uhm...two dozens dragon knights, and I think there are ground troops hidden beneath the trees?"

"Not ground troops, simply border patrols and guards," Karin said. "Differently from Albion or Germania, Tristain does not have a native dragon population. We need to import them, or hope for a noble to summon one as their familiar. That is why, when possible, work that should normally be reserved for the dragon corps is handed over to one of the royal guards. Usually, it is the Manticore corps who handle those, but Griffin and Hippogriff corps are possible choices depending on what needs to be done, and the knight's skills."

I nodded, looking ahead even as Karin took a sudden turn with her manticore to the left, which I followed. "You'll be able to finish your schooling in Tristain," Karin said, "But afterwards, you'll head to Gallia to marry."

"That's-that's in two years!" I exclaimed, "Isabella's what, nine?"

"She'll turn ten this year, and be twelve when you marry," Karin said flatly, "The sooner you marry, the sooner the alliance will become solid."

I clenched the pommel of the manticore's saddle. "So I won't get to enter the manticore corps like you wanted."

"It's unfortunate," Karin said, "But necessary. You have always been peculiarly soft and kind hearted, Henry," Karin said. "Which is troublesome for a noble to have. Also, to avoid problems down the line, you should return the fief and the lands you own to your father before the marriage."

"I understand," I mumbled. "Then, I'll do my best not to worry you, mother."

"W-Worried? I am not worried, Henry," she retorted hotly. "Not about you in particular anyway," she huffed. "You might have some problems with controlling your emotions, but you always had a sound head on your shoulders. I know you will not bring too much shame to our family," she looked at the sky. "But we are losing time talking that could be better spent patrolling. Come, let us leave those Germanians on the other side of the border to eat our dust." And with that, she proceeded to increase the pace of her manticore, myself doing the same with Freedom.

Somehow, I had the feeling she was enjoying this.

Well, as restrained with rules as nobility was, one had to take his enjoyment wherever he could find some.

And soon, it was time once more for me to depart for the second year of the Tristain Magic Academy. The carriage was already filled with my stuff, the servants were ready to bid me goodbye, the mayor of my fief had been warned where to send the letters if the need arose, and the whole family was gathered there to see me leave.

"Mother," I said as I looked at her, "Once more, are breaches of etiquette allowed on the day of my departure?"

"No," Karin said flatly. "Such things will be punished most harshly, Henry."

"But, considering my current uniform, your punishment would need to be delayed at the very least until my return, is that not correct?" I asked, only to receive a stiff nod from Karin herself. "And said punishment will not lead to my death, nor to a permanent injury," I continued, "Thus, mother, I am willing to accept my punishment at my return."

With that said, I proceeded to hug in rapid succession Louise, Cattleya, Eleonore -who actually proved to offer the least amount of resistance- and then Karin herself, who lost most of her composure as she tried a sidestepping motion only for me to do pretty much the same.

"I'll miss you too, mother," I said with a giggle as I gave a twinkling-eyed nod to my father, who returned it with a smile himself.

Huffing, but still keeping up with her decorum, Karin's glare was legendary to behold. "When you come back, Henry, do not expect me to show you any mercy." And then she moved her fingers to settle up my uniform's mantle, "look at you-you crooked it," she huffed again. "Now go, before I decide to use my Heavy Wind to throw you there directly."

And with that said, I was off.

Freedom wasn't allowed on the grounds of the Academy since it allowed for the usage of horses -and also, to prevent students from going further than the capital depending on the size of their magical beast. This didn't prohibit magical familiars from being used though, so if someone ended up with a flying dragon, then he could use it to go as far as he wanted.

The sad thing was that while I had begun writing about the Lion Princess, I now had no choice but to burn it down and start writing another book, with far less troublesome undertones.

Perhaps an even greater set of classics?

Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and other assorted fairy tales.
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Your writing speed is ridiculous
 
Roadie said:
Uh, there are a bunch of "nobles" without magic right across the border in Germania. There's nothing mind-melting about the concept.
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"Nobles" that are derided by the other 4 kingdoms. So it's no longer considered 'heretical', yes... It's just considered as 'Barbaric' and Germanian literature now. It's not gonna get burned now, just banned by the church of Romalia for promoting practices adverse to Brimir's teachings.
 
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