I dont think that she is capable of using lore of Shallya, but she did something with divine energies and after that started talking about what happened in Sylvania. If I had to guess she casted some kind of spell/miracle that ensured others could not hear the conversation.
If you take Teclis' statements on the nature of divine magic as gospel, it would mean that Ranald's apparent intervention during the Only Gork debacle was just Mathilde casting magic in a weird way.
His mother is a priestess of Ranald and a commoner who pretended to be a vampire for a bit, he could inherit her mage's mutations and get shipped off to the colleges and disinherited.
If he inherits her Aethyr-bound mutation he'll be trained as a holy priest.
If Aethyr-bound mutations are different between priests and mages, he'll have the priest one. If they're the same, his Mother is a priest and she's right there., and Ranald's blessing will make it more likely for her to spot it first.
Either way inheriting Heidiella's mutation isn't going to make Mandred a mage.
I'm not sure a priest can be Emperor either, it would be more convenient than a wizard, but it still causes a dual allegiance... unless he becomes a priest of Sigmar I guess, but that is unlikely to happen.
[264] The Waystone Project
[190] Bodyguard and Tutor to Prince Mandred
[166] Markgraf of Eastern Stirland
[157] Border Princess of the Howling River
[144] Governor-General of Swamp Town
[131] Loremaster-at-Large of Karak Eight Peaks
[131] Spymaster of Wissenland
[118] Ranaldian High Priest of Kislev
[110] Ambassador-at-Large to the Karaz Ankor
[49] Count of Sylvania
By the time your gyrocopter takes off from the wooded plateau atop Karak Norn, you've settled on a list of opportunities you'll look into further. Notable amongst these is Barak Varr's plans for the Border Princes for the simple reason that you'll be passing through there on the way back to Karak Eight Peaks, and you'll be able to pop in for a chat on the subject while there - if not with the King himself on such short notice, then at least with someone who'll be able to answer your questions.
---
As you'd expected, King Byrrnoth isn't available at zero notice, but you do end up in front of Barak Varr's Varrakatuli, which translates to something like the 'Master of Oceanic Cartography'. Every ship that plies the waves takes soundings with lead lines and triangulates its position based on the coastlines, but Dwarven ships do so with exacting precision and every measurement eventually flows back into the office of the Varrakatuli to be distilled into charts. It's said they're of such accuracy that they can be used to navigate in heavy fog by depth soundings alone.
Elamina Skarrenbryn of Clan Gunnarsson spreads the map out on the table, weighing down the corners with intricately-carved stone depictions of various sea-beasts. The range of recorded depths of what seems like every foot of the Howling River is marked off in intricate detail, and in stark contrast the towns and villages of the area are pencilled lightly in so they can be removed without having to redraw the entire map. "There are seven major rivers in the Border Princes," she says, "excluding Wrecker's Run, as both banks of it are considered Tilean by most. Each of these rivers has a Dwarfhold somewhere in the headwaters." She points at the map, going west to east. "Karak Izor, Karak Hirn, Karak Gantuk, Karak Angazhar, Karaz-a-Karak, and Karak Eight Peaks via Ulrikadrin. The only exception remaining is the Howling River, as the Varfund outposts were abandoned after the Silver Road Wars, and the Clans that once guarded it moved to the Grey Mountains."
"And now the security of these rivers is more important than ever," you say, nodding.
"Yes, and for a few different reasons. Most prominent being Karak Eight Peaks, of course - it is growing more self-sufficient, but that simply means that instead of importing staples it's beginning to generate more traditional and more valuable commerce, and barely a year goes by without a lot of gold or silver flowing north and some new shipment of weaponry going south. Karak Azul is not buying quite as much now as it did during those first few years, but it's still an old and wealthy Hold that wishes to trade with the world now that it can. And, of course, the Canal project demands a great deal of supplies, and once it's completed the rivers will only grow busier as trade begins to flow up and down the Skull River. Despite the rapid expansion of the Slotchokri, trade will outstrip our ability to defend it for years, possibly decades to come."
You run your eyes up and down the Howling River. It's a neat story, but if piracy was their only concern there were much easier solutions. Even your untrained eyes can recognize a half-dozen places a boom chain could be strung across the river. "And the Pass itself? The last pass through the World's Edge Mountains not controlled by the Karaz Ankor, isn't it?"
She nods reluctantly. "With the Marienburg situation and the Canal project consuming so much attention, most have so far overlooked that the Karaz Ankor is on the brink of being able to exert complete control over all overland trade with the East."
You nod thoughtfully. "But an aligned human polity on the flatlands... well, that might boost trade since you wouldn't have to worry about the locals robbing the caravans, but you've got a grander ambition. What are Barak Varr's plans for Mad Dog Pass?"
She hesitates. "We plan to have plans for Mad Dog Pass." You're surprised at that - for them not to have a course planned out already must mean they're truly scrambling. "Most of our resources are tied up with the Canal project for now. But whatever those plans end up being, the current powers in the area would be a great hindrance, and a friendly power would be a great help. And most of all, we want to have someone in place to prevent some other power from realizing that Mad Dog Pass is the only still unclaimed route through the World's Edge Mountains, and moving to claim it for themselves."
That makes sense. None of the Old World's major powers would be daft enough to try to seize a Dwarfhold, but Mad Dog Pass was never home to proper Dwarfholds, only outposts for them to project power between Karaz-a-Karak and Karak Eight Peaks. That makes it up for grabs - and with the Karaz Ankor's population already stretched thin by the reclamation of Karak Eight Peaks, the Dwarves aren't in a good position to make that grab. "Okay, that makes sense." You tap the map and lean closer to try to read the pencil marks. "Tell me about these princes."
"There are two major enough for us to know of, operating out of the two primary population centers. To the south, a loose collection of bandits and pirates operating out of Mirstadt, and to the north, a Tilean mercenary band that has taken Zenres as their base. Since they don't seem to clash we suspect they have some sort of accord, and there's certainly an element of symbiosis - without mercenaries nobody would feel safe enough to travel through the area and the bandits would have nobody to raid, but without bandits there'd be no reason for caravans to hire the mercenaries."
"Do we know what mercenary company it is?"
She shrugs. "Not one of the ones we regularly work with. All we know for sure is they use spears."
Since she'd already said Tilean, that doesn't narrow it down much. At least you can rule out Braganza's Besiegers. "What do you know about the terrain in the area?"
"Mostly flat, growing hilly as you approach the mountains. The river itself is fresh and wholesome, though too fast for fishing on any scale. The soil is thin but there are still those that manage to coax crops out of it, and the grasses are sufficient to graze herds on if you can protect them. There's minable quantities of iron ores in the foothills, and every now and then gold flecks are found in the Howling River, though we've never managed to find the source. There's supposedly ruins of some sort in the area, but they say the same of everywhere in the region."
"And greenskins?"
"Bloody Spear Night Goblins in the mountains, Black Spider Forest Goblins in the Forest of Gloom to the north, Iron Claw Orcs in the plains to the south. But the lands around the Howling River seem to be too far from any of their population centers for them to be more than a nuisance."
A nuisance by Dwarven standards could be considered quite threatening by others. "What support would King Byrrnoth be willing to provide to a theoretical Umgi of proven trustworthiness who might be carving a principality out of the area?"
"Generous monetary and logistic support to establish it, and after that 'most favoured nation' treatment for imports and exports. King Byrrnoth does not want to be seen as directly intervening to prevent too much attention turning this way, but we can organize arrangements with suitably discreet and trustworthy mercenary companies. He is also willing to establish a treaty granting sanctuary rights to all citizens of a theoretical friendly principality."
That last point comes as a surprise to you. When a Waaagh or some more esoteric threat sweeps into the Border Princes, the population flees westwards to the valleys of the Vaults, where Karak Izor grants them shelter in the valleys that surround the Dwarfhold. Barak Varr has never extended the same protection to the inhabitants of the Border Princes, possibly due to a lack of sheltered valleys to keep refugees a safe distance away from the Hold itself. Shelter being available at Barak Varr would make a lasting nation a lot more possible than if the nearest sanctuary was at Karak Izor. "That answers the questions I had. Thank you."
She nods. "Of course. Fair travels, Loremaster."
---
You built the foundations of the plan for the Waystone project during the gyrocopter trip, but working off half-remembered skimming is grossly insufficient. Once you're properly settled back in, including letting Belegar know you'll have a formal report ready the next morning and letting Panoramia know that you've returned intact and giving her ample opportunity to confirm that for herself, you settle into your library, mildly handicapped by Wolf's continued attempts to climb into your lap. You dig through your library for books on an eclectic range of subjects as you begin to put together a rough outline of the Waystone project, should you decide to embark upon it. This isn't something that could be covered by an interview, as the person who would be conducting the project is you, as you try to bring together the disparate scraps of knowledge possessed by man, Elf, and Dwarf.
The first piece of the puzzle: the Eonir. Most Imperial accounts describe them as fae woodland spirits of which little is known for sure, but Dwarven ones go back considerably further, all the way to a research expedition sent by the Everqueen into Laurelorn during the reign of the second Phoenix King, Bel Shanaar the Explorer. In time it sprouted into the two cities of Tor Lithanel and Kor Immarmor, and at first they were simply outposts of the Kingdoms of Ulthuan. Then during the civil war when Malekith and Caledor I tore Ulthuan apart over who was the rightful third Phoenix King, the Old World colonies declared themselves Elthin-Arvan, the eleventh Kingdom of Ulthuan. After Malekith was expelled and Caledor I was slain by assassins, the newly-crowned fourth Phoenix King, Caledor II, quite firmly suppressed this attempt at independence and brought the High Council of Elthin-Arvan back under the direct control of Ulthuan, breeding quite a bit of resentment amongst the Old World Elves who chafed under the rule of an island that many of them had not seen for centuries.
Then Caledor II shaved the Dwarven Ambassador and began the War of Vengeance, and the full force of the Karaz Ankor fell upon the Old World colonies.
By the time Caledor II fell during the Battle of Three Towers, slain by High King Gotrek Starbreaker, the devastation of the Elthin-Arvan was almost complete. Athel Numiel was destroyed, later to be rebuilt as Pelzburg, then Dorogo, then Kislev City. Kor Vanaeth was destroyed, leaving a single standing tower that humans would build around, first as Reichsdorf, then Reikdorf, and finally Altdorf, and College rumour has it that the central tower of the Celestial College is that same tower. Athel Maraya was destroyed, though its existence is firmly rejected by the Cult of Taal who insist that their ancestors were the first to build a city within the great crater that surrounds modern Talabheim. Tor Alessi was besieged fourteen times by the Dwarves, and the final time became the final battle of the War of Vengeance, and the buildings that survived later formed the core of Castle L'Anguille in Bretonnia. Only three significant Elven population centers remained in the Old World: the port-city of Sith-Rionnasc'namishathir, the scattered settlements of Loren Faen, and Tor Lithanel of Loren Lauroi.
Sith Rionnasc is easy to explain, because a river delta surrounded by swamps and supplied by sea is not the easiest nut to crack. It was later abandoned anyway after the fifth Phoenix King, Caradryel the Peacemaker, ordered all Elves to return to Ulthuan to participate in its defence against a renewed assault by Malekith and his followers. The ruins they left behind were settled by either the Jutones as the capital of the Jutonsryk or the Endals as the capital of Weysterland, depending on which version of history you read, and it is now known as Marienburg. The Elves of Loren Faen survived by joining with the forest itself, entering into strange pacts with the tree spirits native to the area and over time becoming known as the Asrai of Athel Loren. But Tor Lithanel survived by turning to the 'Grey Lords', the organization founded by the original research expedition and bolstered by Archmages exiled from Ulthuan for unsavoury experiments. When a Dwarven Throng destroyed Kor Immarmor and were on their way to do the same to Tor Lithanel, the leaders of the city called upon the Grey Lords, and the Throng never emerged from the forest they were marching through. As a bastion of safety in a sea of angry Dwarves it swelled with Elven refugees from across the Old World, and that immigration formed the basis for their modern society consisting of the aristocratic 'Cityborn' descendants of the pre-War settlers and the 'Forestborn' underclass that live in treetop dwellings. And presumably the Grey Lords still fit into there somewhere, enjoying the protections and privileges that their defence of Tor Lithanel bought them.
What this amounts to is that the city at the heart of Laurelorn has stood for over five thousand years, and was originally founded by magical researchers. That is, to put it mildly, rather promising.
Since then they've been largely isolationist, but much less violently so than the Asrai. After a rocky start with the now-extinct province of Drakwald's attempts to conquer them early in the Empire's history, they actually came to the aid of the Empire during the destruction of Drakwald by Beastmen, and then later during Mandred Skavenslayer's war against the Skaven. Over time relationships improved to the point that they actually signed a treaty allowing limited logging by Nordland in 1700. But something must have changed, and by 2168 things had soured to the extent that Laurelorn's army besieged Nordland's capital of Salzenmund until the Grand Baron of the time begged forgiveness. You're not sure if Nordland failed to learn a lesson from this, or if this emboldened Laurelorn to start reconsidering their concessions. The different books you have on the subject reach wildly different conclusions about who is to blame.
The second piece of the puzzle are the Dwarves, who need no introduction. They're quite likely to be difficult as the only ones likely to have relevant information are the Runelords, who have a religious obligation to be secretive about runelore. What you're hoping is that they don't consider the Waystones as falling under their aegis, either due to the involvement of the Elves in their original creation or because their knowledge of how to create them is lost, and therefore they'd be able to be part of a joint investigation into them. You also have hopes that they might still have in storage somewhere items seized during the War of Vengeance. Dwarves don't loot, but being very thorough about taking trophies isn't looting, nor is the seizing of reimbursements.
Last, but hopefully not least, are the possible human contributions to the project. Teclis did not reveal much of the workings of the Waystones to the Colleges, but what he did reveal lays a foundation, and Teclis is not the only source of mystical secrets in the world. You know from Panoramia that the Jade Order knows more of their workings than what Teclis said, and you wouldn't be surprised if any of the others knew more than they let on, including your own. Each of them come from mystical lineages, some very ancient indeed, and though the Waystones themselves are of Elven manufacture, many are supported by Henge networks of apparently human make. Someone had to have made them, and their descendants may still exist among the Colleges or the Cults or both. And there's always the many libraries of the Old World and beyond, and the many arms you'd have to twist to get access to the most interesting.
The more you think about it, the more it seems like the Waystone project is going to be less about pure research and more about getting all the extant information in one place and getting as many relevant organizations on board as possible, at least at first. There's no chance you'd be able to reverse-engineer the world-spanning masterpiece of the Elves and Dwarves at their heights from scratch - older and wiser than you have tried and failed. The same would likely apply to any given researcher from the Eonir or the Karaz Ankor. But together you might succeed where individually you would all fail.
---
The next morning, you go over your many notes from the Expedition. You'd spent some of your downtime during the last leg to Praag going over what your report would be, and then that announcement from Karaz-a-Karak, or more specifically the date of said announcement, had thrown an unexpected complication in. You've got strong circumstantial evidence that Karaz-a-Karak is on some level aware of the flow of magical energy from the Karaks, which could be seen as supporting King Belegar's belief that Karaz-a-Karak is knowingly stealing that energy. Do you include that conclusion in your report to him?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
- There will be a one hour moratorium.
- The remainder of the explored options will come over the next few updates. I've not yet decided exactly where the cut-off will end up being - I'll do at least the top five, and might extend that to top seven.
- More detailed reunitings will be available in coming updates.
- A lot of the Eonir lore here does come from WFRP 4e, but not all of it will be exactly as it appears there, and that doesn't mean that everything from 4e is quest canon. Looking at you, Sudenland.
Preliminary yes, as long as Mathilde isn't a derp about it and includes that Dum apparently knows and didn't stop the flow even when actively damning themselves.
I wanted the High Priest gig, but only if it was in the accidental Kazador's wife style and we just had to keep doing what we were doing(just a littlelot more confused).
I'm not sure a priest can be Emperor either, it would be more convenient than a wizard, but it still causes a dual allegiance... unless he becomes a priest of Sigmar I guess, but that is unlikely to happen.
The next morning, you go over your many notes from the Expedition. You'd spent some of your downtime during the last leg to Praag going over what your report would be, and then that announcement from Karaz-a-Karak, or more specifically the date of said announcement, had thrown an unexpected complication in. You've got strong circumstantial evidence that Karaz-a-Karak is on some level aware of the flow of magical energy from the Karaks, which could be seen as supporting King Belegar's belief that Karaz-a-Karak is knowingly stealing that energy. Do you include that conclusion in your report to him?
Would the conclusion specifically be Karaz-a-Karak is stealing the energy or that Karaz-a-Karak is on some level aware of the flow of magical energy but may or may not actually do anything with that information?
He's not a child to be managed, but he is a dwarf under significant stress who's already made a lot of false (though reasonable given the circumstances) assumptions about Thorgrim. This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I 'm still undecided on whether to vote yay or nay here, but I'm at least considering nay.
yeh, I am all for honesty and I pray it goes over well.
We serve Belegar because we trust him.
Also, frankly, if we didnt have ooc information the vote would be a shoe in for yes.
... @BoneyM , I hope the informing includes the fact that the energy redirection much, much predates Thorgrimm, andthat it can safely be presumed to originate from the building of the Waystones? As well as the fact that the Daawi of Dum considered the pipeline something they were willing to sacriufice everything to defend?
Would the conclusion specifically be Karaz-a-Karak is stealing the energy or that Karaz-a-Karak is on some level aware of the flow of magical energy but may or may not actually do anything with that information?
... @BoneyM , I hope the informing includes the fact that the energy redirection much, much predates Thorgrimm? It could be very important for a Dawi to know.
In that case I'm leaning toward [ ] Yes - Borek having already known and not having made a point about keeping it secret it in order to get the High King's support, nor informing Belegar in order to get his support, means that there's more going on than "High King Profits" and thus that Belegar should be talking it over.
Also Belegar is capable of coming to the conclusion that Thorgrim got informed faster than possible himself. He knows the logistics of an expedition dang well.
