Oh right, before I forget, some people were wondering why there is the ambitions "Have A Son" and "Have A Daughter". Well the reason is both a bit of Before Times culture that managed to survive, and because of succession. As you can see, the Estate of Yeqerta has the succession of "Agnatic-cognatic Gavelkind." Let's break it down.
Agnatic-cognatic means that females inherit only if there no eligible males. Younger women with sons would be considered heir first before older women without. An example would be the second daughter who has a son would be considered the heir before the first daughter without, and the third daughter (who also has a son) would also become heir before the first daughter.
Gavelkind means that all the titles which the holder has is distributed to their children, starting from the oldest (heir) gaining the primary title, while the next title is given to the next oldest, ect. This would mean if you controlled a Kingdom title, a duchy that is part of the de jure Kingdom and one that is not, a county which is a part of the de jure duchy and one which is not, your demanse would be divided thusly: Heir gains the Kingdom, second son would be a duke who is vassal to the heir, third son would also be a vassal of the King, fourth son would be vassal of the King despite being part of the de jure duchy, and the fifth would also be a vassal of the King. If you had four sons, then the King would also gain the last county.
The war for the Black Castle did not catch fire overnight. The Black Castle was a titanic structure, a building large enough to encompass three Holdings, and the defenses of each were the greatest in the land. Wars were not fought by fools who believed their own martial might could overcome defenses from the old days. With the war slowly warming, there was time yet to receive Ser Lloyd's teachings.
From the mediocre hedge knight I learned swordsmanship, the care of one's weapons and armor, and how to take beatings without complaint. Ser Lloyd attempted to pass onto me his greed and fear, but those teachings were swiftly forgotten. My own greed far exceeded his own, as my desire was simply to spread the God known as Truth to the world. Ser Lloyd was useless, he would never see the Truth so long as he lived. He served another purpose.
The elderly Kingdom of Mantle held the Black Castle, a walking corpse which still drew breath from the weight of tradition. Many hedge knights flocked to their banners due to the age of their name and the depth of their pockets. Arrayed against them was the young Kingdom of Atlas, an upstart led by a line of ambitious rulers who wanted the Black Castle for themselves. Truth revealed to me who was to be the victor, but I needed no help to see the Kingdom of Mantle was gasping it's final breaths.
The King of Mantle spent lavishly to ensure the loyalty of his soldiers, raiding parties sent out hourly to ensure their treasury was never empty. The Kingdom of Atlas, however, possessed a professional army who fought for their ruler not for the promise of excessive reward but for their King's personal honor. If Mantle's purse strings were cut, their army would desert en mass, while Atlas' could survive long after their coffers ran dry. I saw ample proof on both sides as Ser Lloyd traveled between the two Kingdoms, hoping to sell his sword for the promises of a regular meal. Atlas would win, there could be no doubt. I simply needed to ensure I was in the right position before blood was spilt.
There was time yet to prepare, and though the fire of Truth burned within my breast, I was but a boy. By the time the cannons were loaded, I would be a man, prepared to rise. I did not rest, however, as the Truth would not allow it's champion to wait. Ser Lloyd, imperceptive of the times, believed firmly in the false power of tradition, knowing with every fiber of his being the Kingdom of Mantle would crush the upstart. I needed to divest my teacher of this belief.
My influence on the hedge knight was still limited when we entered the service of Alter Adel, a Knight of the lands which bordered the Kingdom of Atlas and one whose failings I had heard much in my midnight stalkings. Alter was a member of an ancient house, one which was nobility even in the times which came before, and he ruled not with his own merit but with his name. He was a corrupt, arbitrary ruler who banished courtiers regularly to obtain their coffers.
Ser Lloyd had been blinded by the power of a name and the coin which flowed like water. My methods, however, would free him of this delusion.
Conflict is the default state for humans. In any group, be they king and vassal, business partners, husband and wife, conflict shall always arise. In times of peace, these conflicts can be ignored, the egos smoothed over to serve the status quo. In times of tension, however, such things are impossible. The only way to resolve the conflict is the capitulation, or destruction of the opposition. In my service to Alter, there were two conflicts to which I was concerned. The first was my conflict with Ser Lloyd and his misplaced faith in the Kingdom of Mantle. The second was between Ser Lloyd and a noble named Isaac Adel, the fifth son of Alter Adel.
Ser Lloyd had impressed Alter in a tourney which honored the birth of Alter's first grandchild, unseating Isaac after the pair broke three lances on each other's shields. In doing so, Ser Lloyd had created an enemy in the disgraced noble, but Alter's favor prevented a swift end to the conflict. The conflict festered like a wound as the Knight used Ser Lloyd to put down the ambitions of his fifth son. I did not need Truth's guidance to see my path, but Truth knew my strength was not enough for the task. Thus, Truth granted me my first Boon.
In my dreams, Truth whispered two prayers in an unknown tongue. The first would hide me from the sight of my enemy, hiding my presence from their eyes. The second would give me the strength of two men. Truth would give me many Boons as it's champion, but now it commanded.
I awoke at once, finding Ser Lloyd asleep in his bed, the stink of revelry upon him. His dagger was upon his belt, and drew noiselessly from it's scabbard. I drew in a breath, preparing myself for the prayer of hiding.
The shadows of night writhed like living creatures as they surrounded me, covering my form like water. In moments, the shadows thickened, flowing like black water as I moved towards Isaac's bedchamber. The light did not touch me, my form obscured even as I passed between the guards into the castle proper. As I approached my prey's chambers, I uttered the second prayer.
The shadows flowed into my arms, bolstering my strength with veins of black water. There would be no doubt my strike would be final. Thus prepared I entered Isaac's chamber.
The noble was sleeping, his slumber undisturbed by the opening of the door. I did not watch the noble, silently considering if my path was the right one, if an innocent man truly needed to die for my gain. My path was decided long ago, as well Isaac's fate.
The dagger took the noble in the eye, crushing through flesh and bone before hitting the wooden frame underneath. Isaac was ended thusly, his sleep undisturbed by Ser Lloyd's blade. I left the blade there, a cruel testament to my work obvious to any as I departed, knowing a guard would investigate an open doorway in time. I still needed Ser Lloyd, and his death would not serve the Truth this night.
My prayers faded as I returned to Ser Lloyd's quarters, the first alarm bells ringing as I awoke my teacher. He opened the door, bleary eyed and unsteady as he glared at me, his strange squire. "Ser, Master Isaac is dead! The guards say you killed him and are coming here!"
To his credit, even drunk and tired, Ser Lloyd knew the nobility would not believe his claims of innocence, his empty scabbard damning him. There would be only one haven to shelter us now: the Kingdom of Atlas.
And so, mounted upon Ser Lloyd's horse, we fled, leaving behind the dying Kingdom for the ascendant rival. The path was now clear for my growth, and in time, I would spread the Truth to the people of Remnant.
Family: Spend some time with your family. Ebon: Spend some time with Ebon.
Marshal Action: Do your duty as Marshal for your liege. (Automatic, must be in all valid plans unless you resign.)
Personally Patrol: Ser Reinhardt is occupied with other matters, or he does not fully possess your trust. Personally sally forth with your retinue to keep your lands safe.
Research [-Trade Practices 0/8]: (Write in the general idea of what you are researching, or select a Economic Technology.)
Assess [Adet Asad]: Subtly investigate a character's skills, traits, and abilities.
Schmooze: Visit your Liege's court, gathering useful intelligence and opinions.
Study the Power of Dust: Your research into Dust has opened your mind to the significance of Dust, as well as a measure of it's strength. You know there are more secrets to be found, if you were to just delve deeper.
Try to Teach Boreas More About Dust: Boreas' favorite pastime seems to be watching you experiment with Dust. Perhaps you could foster his interest into a lifelong passion.
Free: Support Cilmi's Expedition (1 Dust unit): With the Knight's finances as they are, Cilmi's plans to find this Before Times island will take years to reach fruition. At the most basic level, Cilmi's expedition needs a good ship, an experienced crew, enough supplies to make it to the Kingdom of Vale and enough Huntsmen to fight off the sea Grimm. It's a heafty amount of Lien and time, but it could be well worth it. (Requires: 1000 Lien, 50 Dust, Huntsmen to be assigned. Does not need to be taken all at once.) (395/1000 Lien, 19/50 Dust paid, 0/1000 and 10/50 of which is from you.)
Ixnay on the Unsgay (Expand): You now have a grasp on multiple languages, but you only know enough to keep a conversation, little more. Perhaps becoming truly fluent in the ones you know would be very, very useful.
Train Troops: Order Ser Reinhardt to invest time and effort into improving the quality of your levies. Your levies will not increase in number, but they'll be a little more effective in battle.
Boost Trade: Lien is nice, but more Lien is always better. Have Amity talk and barter with the merchants of your realm, hopefully opening up new trade lanes and investing in promising ventures. With the plague gone from your lands, you are starting to look like a good trading partner.
Spy (Internal): Have Balthazar look inside your own court for malcontents and malicious thoughts. With any luck, he could uncover valuable secrets, and improve your information collection for your realm this turn.
Order Sullivan to take a Sabbatical: The stress and exhaustion had caught up to Sullivan after his magnum opus was accepted, and anyone would have become ill if they had worked so hard for so long. Given his advanced age, perhaps it would be best if he took some time to rest. He is, after all, a close family friend.
Patrol Lands: Your lands aren't in the best shape right now. Sending out Henry Liddel to help keep the Grimm in check should do some good. The sight of a huntsman always inspires the serfs, and often assuages their fears. He might also return with some intel, should he discover anything useful.
Spread the Grimm Plague Cure outside of Yeqerta (For a Profit): The Grimm Plague may be but a recent memory in Yeqerta, but in other lands it is still a very real and present threat. Carrion Lords would always be willing to pay to keep their people from dying from the plague, and while your reputation would be damaged, Lien is always a good thing to have.
As the last of the rains crashed against your home, you looked towards your works this season and cursed under your breath. You had seen some successes, but your failures bit deep. You must have done something to anger the Nameless One, if He saw fit to humble you like this.
'Right, let's take this one step at a time. Where did it all go wrong?'
Your time with your family had been too normal, the frequent visits allowing you to see Zephyrus and Boreas grow, but there was something missing. Despite your visits, it seemed as though you were growing more distant from your boys. Jove certainly was not any help there, his content manner starting to grate on your marriage. How could he be so content in his life, so willing to let things be?
Ebon, however, was the biggest problem. One year after she was pulled from the life she had always known, the shock had finally subsided. Unfortunately, you learned exactly how she felt.
"I don't like it here. The people are stupid. All my friends are long dead, along with everything I've ever known. I can't even return home to Vale since there are monsters constantly outside the walls, and it doesn't even matter since my house doesn't even exist any more. And to top it all off, I'm still slowly dying because your doctor is a creepy asshole who doesn't even know what is wrong with me! Why did you wake me up?!" She had screamed the last at you, and you still remember the reply you gave.
"Because you would have died if I hadn't." Unfortunately, you set her off with that line.
"If I knew what the world was like, I'd rather I died in my sleep! The world's a mess, all of you are worshiping Dust like it's some kind of divine bullshit and I'm going to die anyway! At least if I was still in the pod I wouldn't have had to find how royally fucked we all are! Fuck you Skye, fuck you for killing me slowly."
Your adoptive sister refused to meet with you after her outburst. If you were going to make any progress with her, you'd need to change tactics.
Thankfully, this season was not filled with familial conflict, as you continued to perform Dust experiments with Boreas nearby. Having learned from your mistakes, you took a much more careful approach in storing the Dust you used in your experiments. As your confidence grew, you performed flashier experiments, and by the end you are sure you set the seeds for Boreas to be a much greater Dust scholar than you.
Perhaps the red Dust crystal (the true success which came from your experiments) which hangs on his neck helped a bit.
On the military side of things, your job had become a time of constant patrols. Alric, as he recovered from his broken arm, had you tour the Kingdom with a token army, a show of force to keep anyone who sought to take advantage of the king's injury at bay. The tour seemed like Alric's version of a vacation, and the new roads he ordered help speed your travel significantly. Even so, most of your time was spent simply traveling to the various settlements. If someone attempted Alric's strategy in the previous war, you knew they would have enough time to take some of Chaw's land before the army could effectively form. The only way to counter the approach would be a truly mobile army, something outside of your grasp.
Where your duty as Alric's marshal had felt like a vacation, the patrolling of your lands was a simple grind. For the past year, you had relied upon your men to thin the growing hordes of Grimm, but they could only effectively counter the younger forms of Grimm. Now, however, you found yourself turned away by the swarms. the younger Grimm supplanted by the older, much stronger monsters. You wisely chose to avoid the stronger swarms, but the wounded soon outnumbered the fighting ready. Halfway into the season, you elected to stop the patrols, the Grimm having one the engagement. There was simply no way for you to make a noticeable dent against the Grimm without your Huntsmen.
With time freed from patrolling, you threw yourself into learning ways to maximize your trade, and the lessons were a sobering one. Situated on the southern most ocean of Remnant, you are far away from the major trade routes even when compared to the rest of Menagerie. Ships traveling to your part of the world would need to circle the Cape of Fatwa and the Crab's Claw, an route which would see merchants lose money more often than not. Trade was a matter of location, which was how Cilmi could fund his many projects.
However, as you looked at the map of Menagerie, you saw an opportunity. The sea immediately south to your lands, often called the Crab's Mouth, had a wealth of provinces within easy reach. If you could create a network of trade through the Crab's Mouth, you could create your own trade routes. It would not be easy, but if you could establish trade posts along the Crab's Mouth, Lien would flood into your coffers.
The hardest part would be convincing other Carrion Lords to create those posts. Then again, Lien is a very powerful tool.
Trade Practices Overflow, Trade Practices 2 researched. New Construction unlocked (Trade Post), Trade income increased by 15%, New Diplomatic Action unlocked: "Open Trade Post Negotiation". Current Targets: Be'er, Ekidnu, Shamhat, Ma'Aquaan, Megwambi Confederation. New Stewardship Action unlocked: "Trade Post Negotiation." Requires a successful "Open Trade Post Negotiation" action prior for each target.
With future trade plans safely stowed away, you turned your attention to the man who would one day rule Chaw: Adet Asad. You put your knowledge of skulduggery to use in finding out the character of your future king. You had known him to be skilled with numbers, and your time marching through Li Warran had shown him to be an exceptional administrator. What had surprised you was how the people of Li Warran took to their new ruler. You had expected the Progenitorists to grumble against Adet for his differing faith, but he has proven to be very sympathetic to his new vassals. Still, he rules through numbers, rather than people, as his father feared, but in time his views may change.
Name: Adet Asad
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Species: Faunus (Hound)
Religion: Children of Remnant
Epithet: The Miser
The character of Adet was not the only thing you wished to learn while you patrolled, and you spent some time in Alric's court to see what knowledge could be gained. With your limited time, there was not much you could gather, but you did stumble upon an growing current against the Li Warrans. The established nobility did not take kindly to the Li Warrans, referring to them as primitive infidels. A growing faction in the court believed they should be "civilized", though none of the Knights were yet a part of the so called "Civilize" faction. The Li Warrans, for their part, dismissed the faction's grumblings and has turned to raiding their former rulers, the Fatwa. These raids have been successful, and part of the spoils have been given to Adet. Adet, in turn, has spent the loot on improving the roads in Li Warran, opening avenues of trade with the rest of Chaw.
Nearing the end of your own actions this season, you reviewed the results of your experimentation with Dust. You admit, there might have been better ways to spend your nights than experimenting on the Nameless One's Gifts (like trying to get Jove to stop being so damn content), but results made those sleepless nights worth it.
Through your experiments with red Dust, you've managed to find a method to purify the Dust into it's ground dust and crystal forms. The process is still wasteful, and you've yet to refine the process to be truly economical, but it's still a step in the right direction.
As an added bonus, you are rather sure you can create specialized ammo with different types of Dust. You can only imagine how fire Dust ammo would do against the Grimm, and what a glorious image it is.
Once more you looked over the various reports, noting the lack of a letter from Cilmi over your donation of Dust. You know the Dust reached his coffers, but it seems the asshat was acting bitter. As it stands, you have no clue how close he is to launching his expedition, but you guess it would be a few more seasons at least. After all, Alric has yet to order more coins be minted.
Moving down the pile, you see yet another lesson plan from Earth. Your brother had been doing his best in trying to find the right way to expand your grasp on languages, but your duties and prior engagements always seemed to get in the way of progress. There was always the dry season, you could try again then.
Next was Ser Reinhardt's report, and his news was good. The levy had been drilled constantly by your friend, turning them into the best trained levy your lands have ever seen. His training has also resulted in a recruiting boom by your retinue as they bring the more promising members of the levy into the fold. Ultimately, were it not for your slowly draining food supply, Yeqerta is the strongest it has ever been.
Levy upgraded to Trained-Quality Feudal. Levy Quality at Current Max. Retinue fully replenished.
Amity's report was a breath of fresh air as she traveled outside of your lands to establish trade deals. She worked quickly, risking attacks by Sea Grimm to speed her travels, and the number of merchants she met with was immense. While the Crab's Mouth was still dominated by the Sea Grimm, Amity's tactics gave you a great "in" with the Be'er and Megwambi. As it stands, you can expect a few more Lien from overland trade with the Be'er and Ekidnu. If the Grimm hordes continued to grow, however, you would soon find the trade routes threatened.
Land trade established with Be'er and Ekidnu. Trade income +3 Lien. Negotiations prepared for Be'er and Megwambi on establishment of Trade Posts (+10 to roll.), Be'er and Megwambi are now valid targets for Trade Post Negotiations.
Speaking of the Grimm hordes, your Huntsmen had much better luck than your own patrols in thinning the hordes. While your army was barely capable of thinning small swarms, your Huntsmen lived to decimate Grimm. Between their setting out at the beginning of the season and their return at the end, one hundred and fifty seven adult Grimm fell by their hands, along with three elder and countless younger Grimm, reducing their numbers to a much more manageable rate.
At least, you believed it did, but Henry soon reported the Grimm population was merely back to what it was at the beginning of the season, a sudden surge making much of your Huntsmen's work moot. Henry had never seen anything like the growth you are seeing now. If the source cannot be found, he believes it will only get worse.
Grimm population surges to 5/10 (Gathering Hordes), Huntsmen slaughter Grimm, Grimm population reduced to 3/10. New Huntsman Superior action created: "Search for Source - Grimm Producer", New Martial Action created "Search for Source in The Wilderness", New Diplomatic Action created "Search for Source in Yeqerta Citizens", New Intrigue Action created "Search for Source - Skulduggery".
Then, finally, you looked at the last report: Dr Nail's. You already knew what it said, and it was the source of your fell mood. You had endeavored to sell the Grimm Plague cure, and looking to make a good profit, you charged what you saw to be a fair price for it. Carrion Lords practically fought each other to get the cure, Lien flying into your coffers like there was no tomorrow.
However, even as your coffers swelled, nasty rumors had begun to surface. No rumors came from your lands, but the most biting rumor was you were charging an exorbitant price for the cure, denying those who could not pay the right to have a soul untouched by the plague. These rumors spread faster than you expected, the bards and performers of Menagerie telling tales of your greed which overwhelmed any sense of morality. You had dropped the price to counter those tales but your reputation was blasted. Whoever had formed those rumors must have been in pure bliss when you gave them the perfect way to ruin your reputation.
"I swear, when I find who did this, I will run that bastard through."
Gain 300 Lien. Lose 300 Prestige, Foes Damaging your Reputation has caused an additional loss of 100 Prestige, Skye Ravenswood gains Epithet "The Greedy". AN: Congrats, you raised the price on Epipens.
If there was one more thing you could be grateful about, it was the fact your family had grown again. Near the end of the wet season, you gave birth to your first daughter. While the type of Faunus she is was not evident, you were glad to welcome her to the family, and judging by her cries, she was a healthy girl.
New Huntsman Superior action created: "Search for Source - Grimm Producer", New Martial Action created "Search for Source in The Wilderness", New Diplomatic Action created "Search for Source in Yeqerta Citizens", New Intrigue Action created "Search for Source - Skulduggery".
Right, we should probably take multiple ones of these, just to be sure. The Diplomacy one might cause a panic among our citizens, so perhaps not that one?
Wasn't getting a daughter our ambition? Do we gain anything from that? Anyway, ideas for names:
Kalani, Hawaiian name meaning sky
Celine, French name meaning heaven
Celestine, English name meaning heavenly Inanna, Sumerian name meaning lady of heaven
Gaia, Greek name meaning earth
Right, we should probably take multiple ones of these, just to be sure. The Diplomacy one might cause a panic among our citizens, so perhaps not that one?
Whoever did this will die!
Wasn't getting a daughter our ambition? Do we gain anything from that? Anyway, ideas for names:
Kalani, Hawaiian name meaning sky
Celine, French name meaning heaven
Celestine, English name meaning heavenly
Inanna, Sumerian name meaning lady of heaven
Gaia, Greek name meaning earth
If we had twin daughters I would have suggested naming them Cloud and Lightning, to go with our family tradition and as I'm a Final Fantasy fan. Anyone okay with picking one of those names for our daughter and reserving the other for our next child?
If we had twin daughters I would have suggested naming them Cloud and Lightning, to go with our family tradition and as I'm a Final Fantasy fan. Anyone okay with picking one of those names for our daughter and reserving the other for our next child?
Moving down the pile, you see yet another lesson plan from Earth. Your brother had been doing his best in trying to find the right way to expand your grasp on languages, but your duties and prior engagements always seemed to get in the way of progress. There was always the dry season, you could try again then.
Too bad about... Well, a lot of things, but Ebon especially. I suppose it's too much to expect her to be happy about living in a medieval hellhole, but I really don't like her looking down on everyone around her. Maybe telling her how badly things fell apart from the Good Old Days will mollify her attitude? Or perhaps she'd be interested in Cilmi's expedition, or transport back to Vale? I don't know, the Incurable Mystery Disease will probably sort this out one way or another.
Too bad about... Well, a lot of things, but Ebon especially. I suppose it's too much to expect her to be happy about living in a medieval hellhole, but I really don't like her looking down on everyone around her. Maybe telling her how badly things fell apart from the Good Old Days will mollify her attitude? Or perhaps she'd be interested in Cilmi's expedition, or transport back to Vale? I don't know, the Incurable Mystery Disease will probably sort this out one way or another.
"Hey, here's how the world you knew became the Remnant equivalent of the Dark Ages, and people from your time did nothing as they watched the world burn. Now buck up and do your hourly prayers to the Dust crystal."
"Hey, here's how the world you knew became the Remnant equivalent of the Dark Ages, and people from your time did nothing as they watched the world burn. Now buck up and do your hourly prayers to the Dust crystal."
I'm not saying we do that, but perhaps emphasize the difficulties that have forced us back to the Dark Ages, to borrow a phrase from you, and the fact that what Ebon views as ignorance is the product of so much knowledge being lost that we have very little idea of what came before. But expeditions like Cilmi's and our own experimentation show that we are slowly, but steadily, making advances, with the hope that someday, things will be back to the way they were in the Time Before. Maybe Ebon could help with that, to use her knowledge of how things worked long ago to dispel some of that ignorance, and perhaps make life better for millions of people.
"Hey, here's how the world you knew became the Remnant equivalent of the Dark Ages, and people from your time did nothing as they watched the world burn. Now buck up and do your hourly prayers to the Dust crystal."
This might actually have fruit because if Merlot left any plans for his augments lying around we could actually help her somewhat hell if her disease isn't related to her brain we could do the whole brain in a jar thing if she's up to it.
By the way, remember there is a vote going on. If no votes are in by 9 PM CST, I'll just be turning to a random name generator to find her name. Yes, I am threatening the naming convention in order to get votes, that's just how I roll.
