Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
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- Russia
That's just normal SV behavior though.
Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
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- Fantasy Users' Choice!
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- warhammer warhammer fantasy fantasy be gay do crimes (gay) female protagonist pansexual protagonist ck2 quest divided loyalties mountain vietnam ranald is real this is a dwarf quest (dwarfs) this is maybe an elf quest this is not a vampire quest this is not an empire quest try it and find out open voting
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
That's just normal SV behavior though.
Chlof
Her Ladyship
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I think the point is that by integrating Ulgu into her soul using it becomes as instinctive to Mathilde as the reflexes used to catch the olive.
NavySeel
"I don't know what I'm doing."
- Location
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Oh... you didn't know about that? I guess the invite must have gotten lost.
[X] You
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I meant "the same" as in having clearly defined "faces" or "aspects", which seems to be just a Ranald thing rather than a divine thing in general.
He's more or less the deuteragonist of the story at this point.
Too late—I'm an IRL pagan (although I'm not a member of any formal cult/coven/circle etc) and I consider Ranald to be exactly as real as beings such as Loki or Persephone.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I meant "the same" as in having clearly defined "faces" or "aspects", which seems to be just a Ranald thing rather than a divine thing in general.
He's more or less the deuteragonist of the story at this point.
Too late—I'm an IRL pagan (although I'm not a member of any formal cult/coven/circle etc) and I consider Ranald to be exactly as real as beings such as Loki or Persephone.
NavySeel
"I don't know what I'm doing."
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Do we have anything very important we need gambler on next turn? If not I suppose we could try recruiting them with the Father face active.
Well it might be technically too early to call it but it seems very likely that Mathilde will mentor Eike.
So where would Mathilde rank in comparison to Starke or Wilhelmina; whilst also taking into account what Eike likes and what she doesn't like?
Mathilde's diplomacy and stewardship are solid but unimpressive; coupled with Eike's distaste for diplomacy it is quite likely that diplomacy will be rather modest and stewardship will be good for Stirland standards but nothing to write home about. That's what Eike is losing since Starke or Wilhelmina are bound to be good in at least one of the two.
Where Eike is quite probably gaining is Intrigue and Learning - both are heroic level for Mathilde; in particular her Learning is just a bit lesser than the late Magister Patriarch Hexensohn. Eike's strong points will be most aided by Mathilde even if she won't shore up weaknesses.
So where would Mathilde rank in comparison to Starke or Wilhelmina; whilst also taking into account what Eike likes and what she doesn't like?
Mathilde's diplomacy and stewardship are solid but unimpressive; coupled with Eike's distaste for diplomacy it is quite likely that diplomacy will be rather modest and stewardship will be good for Stirland standards but nothing to write home about. That's what Eike is losing since Starke or Wilhelmina are bound to be good in at least one of the two.
Where Eike is quite probably gaining is Intrigue and Learning - both are heroic level for Mathilde; in particular her Learning is just a bit lesser than the late Magister Patriarch Hexensohn. Eike's strong points will be most aided by Mathilde even if she won't shore up weaknesses.
[X] You
I'm not sure if we need more elves at this point though I do feel the need to add this much Ladrielle is canonically the same as the Lady... in end times granted, but it would be hilarious if instead of he Lady being the sister of Haletha she is Haletha herself.
There's a lot of extremely rapid visual and proprioceptive calculations that need to be done to catch something, and yet it's extremely simple for most people to do. Mathilde is arguing that by making a Wind part of themselves, human Wizards make their ability to wield it as innate as their ability to catch an olive.
- Location
- A Pit Of My Own Making
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] You
What do we call an even younger Ducking? A Gosling?
What do we call an even younger Ducking? A Gosling?
I ship it!
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I love, love, love our shadow. It's so cute and inquisitive, and I adore when Boney takes the time to describe what it's doing. Mathilde is used to its antics, but other people aren't and that makes for some serious shenanigans potential. I wonder if the shadow responds to Mathilde's subconcious or if it "has a will of its own", however that turns out to be. Out of all the Arcane Mark explorations, our shadow is probably the most interesting to me.
This guy is such a typical teacher. Asking a person to explain something is a classic method of teaching to get a grasp on how a person describes something, and when you have that it becomes much easier to tackle the subject from the point of view of the person that you're teaching. I've used this technique many times when I'm teaching my younger sibling something, so I'm very familiar with it.
"Soul-stuff". Very academic of you Mathilde. Perhaps the College should take a gander at finding a term to describe what a vital part of their whole curriculum represents.
This would be expected of an Elf, but even more so to an Elf from a Major House dedicated to worshipping a Goddess of Magic who views casting as a method of courting a lover. Now I can't help but imagine Sarvoi as a poly guy who loves all Eight Winds equally and he's sad that other people can't experience the touch of more than one Wind. They're missing out on some spicy action. Nothing quite like an Aqshy and Ulgu tag team.
I love Mathilde's response here. She's really grown through the course of the quest, to become so well-spoken and good at expressing her beliefs in a way that fits the person she is speaking to. Here, Mathilde is kind of mimicking Sarvoi's prefered method of speech, teaching. Mathilde knows now how Sarvoi acts, and it's likely he responds well to it. First she asks the question to prime Sarvoi into thinking of lifespan. After that, she performs a demonstration.
This is another teaching technique. First thing that comes to mind is the first episode of Breaking Bad (I recently watched it so it's still fresh in my mind). When Walter White begins his lesson, he activates a bunsen burner and then exposes it to a number of different chemical reactions to change the flame's color, to demonstrate his point that Chemistry is the study of change. Similarly to this, Mathilde performs a simple demonstration to show to Sarvoi that the human method is not a downgrade, but a sidegrade. Magic is as instinctive to her as catching an olive, and it makes him understand the difference in view between the human and elven perspective.
I think it's an absolutely excellent demonstration of an attempt to mimick Sarvoi's style to make him understand her PoV. Mathilde is very, very smooth in this update.
Mathilde is also masterful at throwing crumbs at people to attract their interest and then biting down when they catch the bait. She's really been flexing Cython for street cred as of late. She really should start paying them royalties for all the influence they indirectly provide her.
I like the way Boney presents Sarvoi's character through word choice. He doesn't laugh or giggle or chuckle, he "titters", which is certainly a choice. Combine that with his "glee" and it gives me the mental image of a near-childlike wonder that seems almost out of place from this wise old professor, but perhaps that contrast is the intention here. He is not what you'd expect, exactly, and he is the sort of Academic who doesn't seem stuck on his ways. He is fully and completely willing to understand other perspectives, and that is greatly reassuring.
Like, Sarvoi could have been a condescending prick here, but he doesn't give me that energy. He doesn't give me the air of superiority that other depictions of Elves so often provide, and that's comforting. This is just a good skill for a teacher to have, because the last thing you want is for you to get the feeling that your teacher looks down on you. There is no way you'll listen to the words of an educator if you feel they don't respect you.
I think this is a very nice ending to this section. Mathilde likes being who she is, and that's what matters. Sarvoi perfectly understands that. It really brings to mind the kind of discussion I'd have with a teacher about a learning disability that I have (ADHD) and them being understanding, although I'm not entirely sure I feel comfortable comparing the human method of casting spells to ADHD. It's just the way I resonate with this conversation from personal experience, not an actual attempt at asserting allegory.
On one hand, this is reassuring. Knowing that we made the right choice to get a Major House to join us for political reasons to further solidify the compact between Laurelorn and the Empire. On the other hand, it kind of sucks that we fell for his ploy and didn't haggle. Mathilde is still not sharp enough to pierce through the veil of an Elven Councillor's poker face. Of course not, he trained centuries for this.
Also, I've noticed that Elves keep using this phrase: "There are those that could make that argument". First it was Galenstra now it's Sarvoi. I'm starting to believe it's standard Elf speech for "I may not believe this, or at least I want to make sure that you think I may not believe this, but other people could make this statement and it would harm the poltiical structure so it has to be taken into consideration". Dwarves could be opaque at times, but never like this. It will take some getting used to.
I've come out of this section knowing a whole lot more about what kind of teacher Sarvoi is like.
Zlata's first line has established a few facts. She is into beautiful men, she's sad that she took a vow of chastity and she can't boink these men, and that she's straight. Insightful.
I've taken note that Mathilde isn't joining Zlata in viewing the beautiful men. Mathilde has different interests than viewing half naked men in parks wrestling each other, but she isn't above taking advantage of it to catch Zlata off guard while she's daydreaming.
I knew there were Hag Witches older than Kislev. The Sea Hag comes to mind. But I was under the impression that being that old they would not longer be that active, being the sort that act as hermits, rarely popping up except in legends or some such. It's curious that Niedzwenka is still an active political influence despite being at least a thousand years old. No wonder that she casually presents such dangerous statements off-handedly. I'm starting to believe her words about "teaching the High Elves a lesson if they interfere". It also presents the whole "walking like a queen" description that Mathilde stated back in her first meeting in different light.
A lot of things start clicking after this statement. It's hard to imagine her being worse than she currently is, but I'm actually relieved we don't have someone like Liljiana or Venceslava here to butt heads with Niedzwenka. Sounds like a disaster to manage.
Mathilde didn't figure it out, but then again she never paid super great attention to it when she was in Praag and she didn't spend much time in Kislev to do that. Also, the implication here is that the Fire Spire wasn't part of the Waystone endeavours of the Ice Witches, which I guessed, but good to have some confirmation.
I knew of the names Norvard and Dorogo but not Srebrograd, not that I know what that means. I think this is also a clever implementation of Castle Alexandronov, which if I remember correctly came from the same article that introduced the Streltsi and Baba Yaga, but was dubiously canon until they introduced some sections of it into canon. Alexandronov becoming official canon with Total Warhammer 3, making it Kostaltyn's home base during his campaign because they wanted him to be in the opposite direction of Katarin in the campaign.
It's also nice that the Ice Witches understand the concept of backups and redundant design so a single point of failure doesn't cause total collapse. Still, the implication here is that the Ice Witches made a custom Waystone in Alexandronov, as opposed to the supposedly repurposed Waystones in the Three Great Cities. I would assume it's not the sort of thing that can be easily replicated however, like the High Elves using Old One Monoliths as a base. Would be too easy otherwise.
This is just neat worldbuilding. Seems that Kattarin the Bloody set back the Ice Court even further than the Great War already did. Kislev's been taking blow after blow for the past few centuries. Boris really needs to turn things around.
It's also an interesting concept that most Ice Witches are peasants. It's kind of a way for them to bypass the social boundaries of their society, since Ice Witches are greatly respected members of society. Sort of similar to the Damsels in a way, except Damsels cause a lot of heartache for their families, but I imagine Ice Witches aren't kidnapped as children against their parent's wishes and then told to cut all ties with their family after disappearing for a decade or two.
So I need some clarification here. Tato here is referring to a slavic word? Or a spanish one? Because I found one for each. Tato seems to be an informal version of Hermano, which means brother/sister. Tato also seems to mean mother in Ukrainian? I've always wondered about the phrasing when we first met Zlata where her "clothing seemed to fit a Tilean summer more than a Kislevite Winter", and I was wondering if perhaps she might be Estalian/Tilean rather than Kislevite, but I'm really not sure if I'm just reading too much into this.
Fairly simple gal, but that has its benefits, and I might prefer that over something else. Still, I think she spent too much time distracted by elven muscle over interactive conversation, but I guess I can't blame a sexually frustrated abstinent young women for being distracted.
Again, I really enjoy the worldbuilding presented in such few words. Boney doesn't spend much time describing people, but he really does a good job at establishing atmosphere, location and world. He establishes the location, what the scenery looks like in broad strokes, and also establishes that the walls are empty except for sightseers because the previous cause of caution is gone now, giving us a subtle look at what it was like before the alliance with humans and what it's like now. And in very few words, he's created the atmosphere, and established that it is here that Aksel is brooding into the sunset.
Interesting that Mathilde called Laurelorn by its previous name. "Golden Forest" or something like it anyway. I suppose Aksel might be more familiar with this name if he's a more traditional person? Or perhaps it's a more colorful name than it's current version. It certainly brings to mind a forest of wonder. I suppose in this case Aksel is referring to Laurelorn as a Dog, considering that it's the domesticated version of a Wolf. They've cultivated the surroundings to be the most optimal companion that you could have, a trusty friend rather than a possible rival.
In a lot of ways, this brings to mind my previous discussion on how the Eonir tamed the wilderness of their forest and cultivated it for their sakes, forsaking Kurnous' teachings of the sanctity of the Wilds for a more cultivated outlook more befitting of Asuryan, their God of Civilisation and Elvenkind.
I wa sa bit puzzled at Aksel's decision to say "pitying them", but from a certain point of view I might be able to understand him? They've thoroughly tamed their surroundings, but from another view, they've also removed a good bit of what makes nature... natural. Haletha is the Goddess of the Forest of Shadows, and she protects its inhabitants from its dangers, but I don't think she asks her followers to irrevocably alter her Forest into a tame version that no longer encompasses the wilderness of existence. Aksel is a Hedgewise who operates on the boundary between Civilisation and Wilderness, between Rural and Urban, between Material and Aethyr. To him, this could be seen as an example of erasing the Boundaries between Civilisation and Wilderness. The Forest is no longer Wild, but tame, and it might no longer resonate with his concepts as a Hedgewise.
Mathilde has been regularly doing this thing lately, where she tries to spin any incoming situation that might conflict a person or make them feel bad by presenting a scenario that would perhaps cheer up this specific person using logic and reason. It's kind of sweet that Mathilde takes the opportunity to try to cheer people up, but it doesn't always work that way. Particularly if she doesn't fully understand the source of a person's contemplations. At times, it just falls flat, like trying to present the realpolitiks of the Karagril situation to Belegar in a way that would sooth his ego and him refusing to bite. He didn't want to lie to himself, so her efforts kind of fell flat there.
Mathilde being charismatic and optimistic. I really like her point of view. She isn't weighed down by some ephemeral concept of the "good old days", she's always looking forward to a brighter future, and this is the kind of person you want to blaze the path for a brighter tomorrow. Change the world we live in. That's her goal, and as long as she still lives, she will continue to strive towards it.
He got seriously tense there, despite the Coin indicating that she is worthy of trust and faith. I think his paranoia and cautiousness overcame the power of the Coin there. The Coin is very powerful, but not all powerful, and the Hedgewise have been going through millenia of persecution where they've been hunted down for being who they were. It's in recent memory that the Ostermarkers were inflitrated and slaughtered, and the Reiklanders were equally attacked. Even Ranald can't smooth over the grooves of the fear of genocide.
It would be even more poignant if it was the Ostermarkers who worshipped Haletha's sibling, since they were the ones saddled with traumatic memories so very recently. No way he would snitch on them, even if the Coin told him we are trustworthy. So it stands to reason he's relieved when we present Haleth, which is a perfectly resonable conclusion to make that she's related to Haletha, rather than anything else.
A little bit of Genderfluidity to add to the equation there. I suppose like Parent, like Child.
I think it was a good choice to reveal that she worshipped Ranald. It provides more perspective to the conversation and allows for further understanding between the two as Aksel slots her in his internal paradigms. He knows Ranaldites and what they're like. It's also interesting to see that Aksel talks about how he thinks he worships her most important facet like others do, when Mathilde is somewhat unique in how balanced she is in her view of her God. I wouldn't say she understands every facet of her God, but she certainly worships Ranald in his entirety rather than just one part of him, which even Heidi seems to view as unique.
I admit I was greatly confused at "God of Journeys" and would have asked about it if it wasn't clarified in this part. I really didn't expect Kalita to be earmarked here, and I'm starting to wonder further on the whole Handrich thing. Kalita is often considered an aspect of Handrich or something like that, but what if he's not? What is Handrich? I'm starting to wonder that more and more. I doubt Handrich is one of the Daughters, but there is no denying some connection between the crossed finger signs. Ranald and Handrich are similar and yet completely at odds. I really can't put my finger on it.
Neat backstory. Rudimentary googling says his name is italian for Tomas Miller, so I suppose he's of Tilean origin. His alias is really weak I must say. My mental image of him is that of a tanned, short cropped hair worker with a sturdy build. Not the typical look for a Dean, but the Colleges have always been a study of contrasts within the quest.
I just cannot help but think of his name as "Dean Tomato" every time I read it.
I never noticed that either. I think that might be a coincidence on Boney's part that he noticed and took the time to point out in-universe. I suppose it's good for Tomaso to hear that it's a coincidence since I think he would have been more wary to know that this child was named after a company she was set to inherit.
I absolutely love hearing this. I'd like to think that my omakes have captured a little of what she might be like in school. I'm very happy to hear that she's a sweet kid having a good time and expressing herself.
That's pretty significant. Two Lord Magisters want her as an apprentice, and unless Algard decides he wants her as an apprentice, Mathilde has the first choice here. Pretty crazy to think about.
Eike would certainly have a more colorful apprenticeship than Mathilde's. Instead of Altdorf, she would flying around from Laurelorn to Karak Eight Peaks to whatever places Mathilde can think of, and she can see all kinds of people and interact with them. It sounds like the perfect adeventurous apprenticeship to have, as opposed to the more usually static apprenticeship she would have with people tied down to a desk job. Mathilde is in a truly bizarre situation that she gets to go to all sorts of exotic locales semi-regularly.
Wilhelmine is fully expected, but I'm not sure about it. Mathilde's first social with Eike in the College was telling her that she could choose not to inherit the EIC, and Eike grappling with that as she makes excuses about how important it is. Mathilde then told her that doesn't matter if she doesn't want to do it, placing her freedom of choice as the top priority. Having Wilhelmine as her teacher effectively locks her down into either the EIC or an economically centered job. Would Wilhelmine offer Eike the freedom of choice that Mathilde seemed to prioritise? I don't know. The same applies to Reiner, who I'm somewhat worried about. Why did he take an interest? What is he planning? I trust him to protect the Grey Order and do his job, but I'm not sure that I trust him to teach Eike.
At the end of the day, after the conversation we had with Eike in the College, I can't choose anything but Mathilde as her teacher. There are many more reasons behind this, but I think this post has gone on long enough.
I'm not sure Halétha fits that description. Aksel called out Mathilde's way of thinking of Halétha in aspects as something that comes from being a Ranaldite, rather than something intrinsic to Halétha's nature, and Aksel probably knows what he's talking about.
I don't think we really need to recruit them right now, and I wouldn't want to use the Father without looking for the second sister. But in the future, when we decide to check out The Lady or some other candidate, this is definitely something to consider.
Asheram
Not quite altogether
- Location
- Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground
Tbh, I think that we're the first ones in her life who are allowing Eike to choose her own path, and I wouldn't be surprised if she mentally latched on to us like a limpet after that. She certainly seemed happy to have us come visit her in that social.
[X] You
Eike wants to develop her learning, and she's going to get so so much of that—the library, Mathilde's weird experiments, the waystone project. She's going to have a really varied academic education and end up knowing a little about a lot. Her intrigue focus is going to be strong as well—Mathilde thinks in a very twisty way, and she'll be able to share that thought process with Eike.
I think you're right about stewardship—competent, but nothing to write home about. The diplo thing however depends on if we can teach her the Poker Face Thing. She's too gregarious at the moment, which isn't a bad thing (its possible that she's quite a likeable person), but we should try to teach her how to maintain an aura of unflappable mystery, especially if she's having difficult lying and deceiving. On the other hand, she'll likely be very good at understanding foreign cultures and possibly develop a variant of Mathilde's Xeno-Affinity skill.
Martial and Piety are completely up to her—if she wants to pick up a weapon, or practice her faith, we can guide her, but that's a choice she has to make herself, and I don't know how she feels about either of those. Kazrik did give her an axe, so maybe she'll adopt that as her weapon? Or maybe she'll be a pure magic user instead of a gish?
Overall I'd expect her to look something like this:
Diplo: Open and friendly, especially with foreigners, but needs to learn when to conceal her true thoughts
Martial: Unknown, may imitate Mathilde, may develop differently.
Stewardship: Competent
Intrigue: High, well rounded (apart from the lying thing)
Piety: Unknown, mostly likely a Shallyan
Learning: High, but eclectic, and familiar with the weird and unconventional
- Location
- Belgrade, Serbia
Slavic word for father. Informal, more like daddy. Variants are tata/tatko. Also makes more sense in context.
- Location
- South Africa
[X] You
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Never discard the knowledge of a master. He trained Mathilda and can take another under his wing. When she's a a bit more trained up she can join us in all kinds of trouble. I'd rather the older sister position then the master position here.
[X] Regimand
[X] Regimand
I mean he was also the reason why our first job out of apprenticeship was a Lahmian plot and Mathilde had already forgotten several of her spells. I think it is safe to say he was at most fair to middling as a master given where we were at quest start.