Vote:
[X] Plan Multipronged Approach
-[X] Caledor. The most aggressive and independent of the kingdoms of Ulthuan, it will clearly require you to visit as soon as possible, as Caledor has historically been one of the most influential principalities.
-[X] - You would like to continue your own research into the causes of sleep in dragons. Traces in the scales of dragons indicate that they lack something for a fulfilling life and the need for this only grows with age. But what could be the reason for this? [1 die]
-[X] The Everqueen is a living avatar of Isha, the mother of all elves and the source of Life itself. If anyone can help in this matter, it's her.
-[X] Collection of information. So far, there has been little progress in the investigation into his death. Perhaps you should make your own efforts to intensify the search?
-[X] - Bury the hatchet. Your last meeting with Tyrion was not very pleasant for both of you and ended on the verge of bloodshed. However, you don't get too mad at him, given his youth, his hot temper, and the curse of Khaine he suffers from. Moreover, it would not hurt you to establish relations with him, given that he is the best fighter in all of Ulthuan. [2 die]
****
Dragon Research Roll 47 + 19. Check: 30/65/100
Caledor. NAT 100
Before you left for Caledor, you decided to continue your dragon research. Something was wrong with them, or with their environment, but this something led to the exhaustion of their body. None of the magicians you interviewed could say anything about this, but you felt that the question was extremely simple and therefore incredibly complex. If it was something hard to get, then the dragons themselves would have guessed about the lack of it. Also, it would have to affect both young dragons and old ones. However, the younger the dragon, the smaller the effect.
Going through all the possible options, you decided to go from the opposite. The most obvious thing that dragons change with age is their size. Moreover, as you might guess, as the size of the dragon increases by N times, the area of the dragon's body increases by N ^ 2, while the volume of its body increases by N ^ 3 times.
If it's something too common that even the dragons themselves don't notice, then perhaps the bodies of the dragons serve as a sort of sponge for that something.
Continuing this series of analogies, you plunged into tomes that described the most ancient peoples of this world. And we are not talking about dwarves and elves, and not even about lizardmen, but about dragons and dragon ogres. About the very beings that existed even before the appearance of the Polar Gates.
And then you were shocked, because the dragon ogres apparently had exactly the same problem. Shoggoths, the much larger dragon ogres, also suffered from regular periods of exhaustion, forcing them to either sleep for centuries or retreat to the Chaos Wastes.
This was the first clue for you, and by deploying it, you began to act further. What distinguishes the polar regions of the world from the equatorial ones? Proximity to the destroyed Polar Gate and a lot of magic, of course! This means that the shoggoths and dragons suffered precisely from its lack, no matter how absurd it may sound.
Apparently, the bodies of the representatives of the ancient peoples needed more and more magic, which they simply could not get. Young dragons require much less magic to function in their body, and due to their even smaller size, they could remain active without any problems. But after a certain period, the growth rate of the mass exceeds the growth rate of the surface of the body, and the dragons no longer have enough magic, which is why they fall into an incredibly deep sleep. Life saving system in conditions of a sharp lack of energy.
This was of great help to you when you decided to go to Caledor, because the task of the king there is to try to awaken the oldest dragon. Even in the days of Caledor the First and Caledor the Second, they slept, but both of these kings were so revered by the dragons that they awakened from their sleep. No one expected that you would be able to awaken the dragons during the ceremony, because for five thousand years no one was able to do this.
Moreover, even your own strength would not be enough for this action. However, you are the king and ruler of the principality, which has the most mages. Therefore, you decided to resort to their help, and at the right moment, about two dozen powerful wizards supported your spell, which was supposed to direct energy into a huge snake.
To be honest, while you were relatively confident in the theoretical part of your research, you were not at all sure if even the combined efforts of two dozen powerful sorcerers would be enough to awaken a reptile that is about ten thousand years old.
And it was all the more surprising when the huge dragon did move, slowly rising. You heard the stone literally creaking under his mighty paws, but you continued to perform the ritual that continued to saturate it with magic.
In the end, you yourself practically collapsed from exhaustion, but a huge dragon stood in front of you. His scales were lighter than the mountain snows after several thousand years he had spent inside a deep cave. If desired, a whole chariot could slip through his mouth, he was so great. And you could feel his eyes on you. It was not a look of a predator, it expressed… interest. The dragon obviously did not fully understand where he had a sudden surge of strength that brought him back to life.
"I am Ultran Stormwing, and I welcome you to Ulthuan, Ancient One."
Rewards: +3 Influence Dices, + Trait: Dragon Awakener
Everqueen advice: 48 + 19. Check: 35/65/95/105
After a sudden miracle - in other words, even the arrogant aristocrats of Caledor did not choose your address - you decided to go to Avelorn in order to meet with Alarielle, the second ruler of your people, with whom you just recently managed to find a common language.
You approached her with a simple question. Does they know the reasons that lead to a gradual reduction in the number of high elves. You stood before Ulthuan's most beautiful woman, and when she heard your question, she smiled bitterly.
"Of course I know. I know, and my mother knew, and her mother knew too. But what can we do with the very soul of our people?"
Compared to humans, elves are indeed blessed with stronger bodies. So the most obvious reason, the physical weakness of women, is swept aside. In Ulthuan, an atmosphere of prosperity and enlightenment reigns, because of which one more reason should be dismissed, which seriously hinders population growth - disease and unsanitary conditions.
What then is the reason for the decline in population? Oddly enough, but it is in the well-being of the population. The rulers of Ulthuan, as well as the population, for millennia existed on the principle of "live and let live", which is why they understood quite a bit how things really are with the population. Due to Ulthuan's well-being, this certainly didn't lead to the same thing that Bretonnia suffers from, but...
Ulthuan's population is primarily urban and artisanal rather than living in patriarchal clans in the lands of their ancestors. Moreover, each generation receives savings from their ancestors, which allow them to practically not work. In the end, however strange it may sound, Ulthuan is dying out. Because there is no logical reason for the population to have children.
Why do you need children if you will not need help in your old age, since even the most impoverished inhabitant of Ulthuan is immensely richer than the inhabitants of other lands? The high elves hardly cultivate the land, where even a small child could help with simple work. And in the world of artisans who learn for centuries, your child will be able to stand on his feet only after centuries.
The wealth and luxury of Ulthuan really suffocated him. Before you, some sages of the White Tower spoke to the queen, she told them the same thing, and they called it the Demographic Transition.
Collection of information. Roll: 67 + 13. Check: 50/80/110
You didn't have much opportunity for active investigative work in the usual way. You were not a specialist in anatomy to investigate the remains of Finubar, just as you were not a detective who could, from a variety of sources of information, establish the truth about what happened. All you had to do was turn to the research and magic that had gone before you.
Finubar, in fact, was the victim of a perfect murder. He was in a room closed from the inside, his private chambers, where no one could penetrate without external observation. Examination of the available food showed that it was devoid of traces of poison. The room itself was surrounded by magical amulets, which made it impossible to directly influence Finubar from the outside and go unnoticed.
Is it really a good dilemma?
On the other hand, unlike your predecessors, you were a professional magician. You knew much more about magic than many in the White Tower, although you cannot be considered an archmage. And there are certainly many more masters of the sword of Hoeth, who tried to find traces of the dark elves.
You tried about six or seven different theories about how the assassination could have been carried out, which were not considered by your predecessors until you moved on to the most exotic ones.
Such a magical discipline as thaumaturgy, in fact, represents the redirection of magical energy over a huge distance through the connection between two objects. Theoretically, such a redirection could even be almost imperceptible, since two related objects directly exchange magic.
She was considered a possible lead, in fact, but nothing suspicious was found. However, you, upon re-examination, were interested in the goblet, which was more ... dull inside. It feels like something caustic has erased his enamel.
And having removed the enamel from the ceramic goblet that was in Finubar's room that night, you found the very thing you were looking for. There was a ruby under the enamel. An excellent stone for the needs of thaumaturgy. But at the same time, a murder weapon and an indicator of how deep treason has climbed into High Elf society.
Further research showed that this goblet, like hundreds of others, seemingly randomly selected, had rubies placed at the production stage and then enamelled. Many of the cups were several decades old, and some rubies were found. The greed of those who discovered such a find in most cases did not allow them to be known and investigated. As a result, one of the goblets fell into the hands of the king, and then on the other side the goblet was first filled with poison, and then got rid of this very poison on that fateful night.
The method of killing was now obvious. But you could not say with certainty who exactly is guilty of what happened.
Bury the hatchet. Roll: 84. Check: 45/80/105
Trying to talk to Tyrion? Oh no, after all that's happened between you, Tyrion will resort to one of two strategies that are obvious to such a young and hot elf when they meet. He will either attack you again with a blade, or try to almost run away. His instincts are hot, and if you can't defeat something with brute force - and killing your king was obviously not the best idea - then the only thing left to do is retreat from the threat.
And the fact that he perceived you as a threat you did not doubt. You were…too good last year. As vain as it may be to admit, you have done too much this year that would be considered unlikely and practically impossible.
And therefore...
You decided to pay attention to Teclis.
Trying to think like Tyrion, you came to the conclusion that the main way to bring Tyrion to a personal meeting is to try to deprive him - even if this is not really the case - of someone else dear to him. He believes that he lost his beloved because of you. So, let him think that he is also losing his brother because of you.
Teclis himself proved to be… no less specific. As you can imagine, he suffered from similar problems as Tyrion himself, but he preferred to hide them behind causticity and education, creating a bastion of knowledge between himself and everyone else.
But he was more than agreeable to friendly conversations on magical topics.
Thus began your monthly meetings, at the end of one of which Tyrion himself met you at the exit of the White Tower.
"As far as I can understand, you wanted me to come talk to you," said the young prince, and you weren't sure if he himself came up with this idea, or someone told him.
"Yes, Tyrion. I wanted to meet and say that we don't have to be enemies at all."
He looked at you doubtfully, but let him continue talking, so a conversation began between you.
You tried to explain to him your position that, despite the imaginary feeling, you personally do not want to make Tyrion's life as difficult as possible. It just so happens that some of the most brilliant minds of Ulthuan's new generation have gathered around Tyrion. And the king most of all depends primarily on his retinue, on his trusted companions. You needed them. Moreover, you inherently needed Tyrion himself.
"And what do you want to offer me? Become your watchdog like I was under Finubar?"
"Unless you yourself want to limit yourself to this. I want to make Ulthuan great again, and I need all the support I can get. Finubar was an excellent politician and a master of compromise, but these compromises could not save him. Ulthuan needs a king who is more active and adventurous, but not too young and reckless. That is why they chose me and not you, despite all the advantage you have."
There was a long silence, and finally Tyrion turned and walked away.
"Don't consider that we have become friends, but… if you want to cross blades with someone, then I can always become a trainer for you."
