[EMPIRE!] Me Galoi Siegstanz, 464

[BladeofObliviom]

(This is a Private thread. If you're supposed to be here, you already know.)



http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs45/i/2011/050/b/9/desert_palace_by_cassiopeiaart-d2175qb.jpg

Less than a day's travel from the city of Poel, Saenord-Hai stands tall. It is from here that Haiwaste is governed by a council of Burghers granted a form of imperial immediacy, where they have the power to resolve disputes and make small-scale decisions without need for noble fiat, substituting the laws of Glazfell. Haiwaste is unique in this manner; it is not even a true duchy, but an administrative borough extended the same rights as one.

Haiwaste once had its own noble families before the first Orcish invasion, but the early strikes were brutal. During the sacking of Poel, the Orcs slew most of Haiwaste's elite and more or less bankrupted the rest; indeed, the council of Burghers was instituted by King Khyne during his defensive campaign in order to prevent mass hysteria from loss of coherent leadership and so that he could delegate the task of raising additional soldiers to an anchored administrative body. Even after the Orcs were defeated, King Khyne did not wish to risk upsetting the balance of power in Glazfell by granting the fief to one of the more familiar houses and none of the extant native nobles had enough remaining economic or social power to effectively manage the region, so he left the Burghers in place. It turned out well enough, given that the Five Burghers have so far managed to rule with similar efficacy to the various Dukes and Counts of Glazfell, with far less assassination attempts and genealogical drama involved.

But today is the anniversary (as per Glazfell's calendar, anyway) of the final push in which Orcish forces were routed and fully removed from Haiwastan territory. A ball is being held here in Saenord-Hai, and various minor nobles from all over Glazfell (and the occasional Guilderene merchant with nice enough clothing that the guards don't bother to check) flock to partake in the merriment and moreover to flaunt their wealth and status. With all of the well-dressed gentry arriving with as much grandeur as they can possibly muster, it is almost amusingly easy for a certain foreign delegation to quietly arrive and access the back room where the King waits.

[Acco Spoot]

Rufus had planned the arrival of the sortie in perfect timing with the festivities, not only had it given him a chance to experience the same merriment he had been raised amongst it was a chance for his courtiers to experience too the freedoms of liberation, and give them hope for the coming campaign.
Alongside him were Lady Gretna of the Bojovnak court, who had proven to be a valuable diplomat and assessor to court affairs, the young herald Dionytz who wore the banner of Hradiska with pride upon a two spoked frame strapped to his back, and the fort commander at Bojovnak, Bolun, who had a reputation amongst his men as a fine wrestler and grand merriment.
The sight of Saenord-Hai was a welcome one to the travellers who had been raised in and around the majestic stone fortresses of Planin, though to them the structure seemed lacking in the provisions to shelter an army.

The delegation entered the ball quietly, though regal in their Planin wool robes and patterned sashes, their proposal was to appoint themselves with the king, and following Glazfell formalities Rufus ushered in his retinue with politeness and regard. Taking Lady Gretna, Rufus slips off to the annex, there he prostrates upon one knee to his former King.
My Liege, King Khyne, it is I Rufus of Stolok, formerly of your court of Noble houses. He introduces himself, leaving his herald to entertain the ball outside. I have come with word of The Planinfrag, the growth of my court and the possibility of trade between our Kingdoms.

[BladeofObliviom]

Just a minor point, but King Khyne was lost at sea 22 years ago. The current King of Glazfell is Ghalle Daan, his firstborn daughter, who inherited because both sons killed each other in a duel. I know, the King is a woman, which is a little unusual. Sorry, I can see how the initial pitch might have been confusing there. That's what I get for setting a scene without introducing any of my characters. :smallredface:

I am going to go ahead and assume that King Rufus would address her properly rather than invoking the spirit of her dead father, though. :smalltongue:


On a different note, since I was having trouble finding the information anywhere else, what race is Rufus? I'd assume human if he's a Haiwastan native, but he could plausibly also be Frosten or Tieflin.

Saenord-Hai was a recently-built fortress, and in some ways a symbol of Glazfell's Hegemony: Before the Orcish attacks, few would have denied that Poel was the dominant population center, but afterward a new center of administration was definitely necessary. King Khyne consciously chose to build the fortress atop a patch of sandstone rather than true sand, so that much of it could be concealed underneath the stone. It was built both to impress and for adequate defense of its inhabitants, but it was not meant to strike imperial fear into the hearts of those who viewed it, and the high towers of intimidation were cut from the fortress before they were raised. Still, despite its relatively humble frame, those among the Planin delegation with an eye for defense would surely spot the wrought-iron portculli ready to be dropped at a moment's notice, the trained movements of the Suri Guards, and the noticeable lifting floor through which servants brought forth additional barrels of food and drink from the depths, that could very easily move many soldiers and plenty of equipment if needed. Saenord-Hai was built for functions of government rather than to withstand a siege, but it was hardly defenseless.

King Ghalle was conflicted about this meeting, even as she stood in the annexed building (where the Hai-Burghers would have worked were this not a special occasion) alongside Thrale Hoarclaw of the Royal Council in wait. After all, the new Lord of the Planinfrag was something of an unknown quantity. He'd deserted Glazfell's army, in a way, but only to fight a war that honor dictated should not be continued. Under normal circumstances he would almost certainly have died a swift death, unsupported and more-or-less forgotten unless some poet chose to immortalize that moment of fleeting glory.

But that wasn't what happened at all. Adopted as King by a network of Cites that her scouts had missed in their focus on the Orcish Hordes? Certainly an interesting tale to tell! But the Planin seemed to back up the story with truth, and their new lord had even adopted some of Glazfell's own techniques in conscripting a force to fight the remainder of the Orcish army with. The king had been somewhat surprised when the first tales of civil war among the orcs spread to Glazfell, and even moreso when she discovered the truth of the matter. Refusal to obey a royal order was normally a thing to be punished, but like in the case of Sergeant Caris' Agnier Charge during the First Orcish War, the failure to follow orders resulted in success, and success is to be rewarded.

One could argue that Kingship is in itself a sort of success, and a self-forged rule is virtually always a mark of an impressive person. King Rufus' rise would almost certainly be the subject of many a dramatic tale.

King Ghalle was not an unimpressive person herself: She wore her crown as she always did when treating with foreign delegations (even if "foreign" was perhaps not an ideal word to describe Rufus given the circumstances of his kingship), along with her royal mantle, draping from her shoulders like a silken blue curtain down to her ankles. Her snow-white hair was untied, allowed to hang like thousands of narrow icicles off of the sides of her head. Her eyes were a faint shade of yellow-green and her ears ever-so-slightly pointed, her flesh tinted from the vibrant cyan typical of Frosten to a sort of steel-blue instead. While not unusually tall herself, the style of her dress gave her a false impression of height, especially next to the adviser at her side.

Seneschal Thrale Hoarclaw, meanwhile, was the representative of the Kingdom of the Iron Doctrine in the Royal Council of Glazfell. A Sympol man with long white fur, red eyes, and metallic paw, Thrale was a rather threatening physical specimen despite his relative lack of height. Still, he was there as an adviser rather than a soldier, though surely his razor-sharp teeth and claws could be as dangerous as a warrior's blade should some foe appear from the shadows. He was a quiet, looming sort, quick to pipe in with a few words if needed but preferring not to dominate a conversation.

When King Rufus of Stolok entered and addressed her as liege, Ghalle's lips curled faintly in recognition of his sense of loyalty. If nothing else, a sense of cultural kinship would help the treating go more smoothly.

"Please rise, King Rufus of Stolok. Your obeisance is recognized and appreciated, but you rule in your own right and needn't kneel before me. You are Royalty now, and I will treat with you as such. Still, it is good that you have arrived comfortably. If it would please you, I would wish to hear about the Planinfrag and about these trade opportunities."

[Acco Spoot]

I recognise the court of the Haiwaiste as my motherland, it is important that I show my doting servitude thus. Rufus exclaimed as he rose, The Planinfrag, aye, it has been difficult to have the people of the Planin emerge from their centuries old shelter, but I have the mercenary captain Voigt preparing for the campaign which shall remove the Orcs from the mountains, such is the confidence that we have opened the old practices which made the old kingdoms, to whit, I leave my emissary Lady Gretna to introduce you to the region.
Gretna stepped forwards, giving a simple courtesy, the proper Planin introduction when dealing with authority. M'Lady King Ghalle, as representative of the Stolok Court and the Bojovnak soothsayers circle I bless and wish upon thee many great tales of heroics and glory. She opened a small travel chest, finely engraved with proud illustrations, from which she took a large woolen tapestry. M'lady King, the business of the Planin is in legend and the arts which surround it, I present to thee a fine example of our craft, the wool felt you see here is the finest this far east, as strong and smooth as silk, at less the cost, our weave too so fine that true monuments to glory can be represented, and the pigments of the Kamen quarry so vivid they can paint a story clearer than any word.
Unfurled, the tapestry displayed the events in sequence of the Orcish wars, though the perspective was somewhat skewed towards the people of the Planin, it showed the horde crossing the Koros mountains and subjugating the wildmen there, the descent into the Planin highlands and subsequent desperate battles given up from forgotten dynasties, then the miserable retreat into cloistered fortresses. It went on to show the horde disappearing off, presumably upon their raids into Haiwaiste, and then their return and embarrassment as they threw themselves against the Bojovnak walls, the duel of King [...] and the Orc Warchief, witnessed by opportunistic gatherers seeking berries whilst the battle distracted the barbarians, it showed Rufus, the Stolok King, rushing to aid the detached labourers as the Orc warband set about pillaging the hillsides, and lastly it showed the Planin people once more out on the mountain tops and battling the horde with renewed honour and pride.

[BladeofObliviom]

I recognise the court of the Haiwaiste as my motherland, it is important that I show my doting servitude thus. Rufus exclaimed as he rose, The Planinfrag, aye, it has been difficult to have the people of the Planin emerge from their centuries old shelter, but I have the mercenary captain Voigt preparing for the campaign which shall remove the Orcs from the mountains, such is the confidence that we have opened the old practices which made the old kingdoms, to whit, I leave my emissary Lady Gretna to introduce you to the region.

Gretna stepped forwards, giving a simple courtesy, the proper Planin introduction when dealing with authority.

M'Lady King Ghalle, as representative of the Stolok Court and the Bojovnak soothsayers circle I bless and wish upon thee many great tales of heroics and glory. She opened a small travel chest, finely engraved with proud illustrations, from which she took a large woolen tapestry. M'lady King, the business of the Planin is in legend and the arts which surround it, I present to thee a fine example of our craft, the wool felt you see here is the finest this far east, as strong and smooth as silk, at less the cost, our weave too so fine that true monuments to glory can be represented, and the pigments of the Kamen quarry so vivid they can paint a story clearer than any word.

Unfurled, the tapestry displayed the events in sequence of the Orcish wars, though the perspective was somewhat skewed towards the people of the Planin, it showed the horde crossing the Koros mountains and subjugating the wildmen there, the descent into the Planin highlands and subsequent desperate battles given up from forgotten dynasties, then the miserable retreat into cloistered fortresses. It went on to show the horde disappearing off, presumably upon their raids into Haiwaiste, and then their return and embarrassment as they threw themselves against the Bojovnak walls, the duel of King [...] and the Orc Warchief, witnessed by opportunistic gatherers seeking berries whilst the battle distracted the barbarians, it showed Rufus, the Stolok King, rushing to aid the detached labourers as the Orc warband set about pillaging the hillsides, and lastly it showed the Planin people once more out on the mountain tops and battling the horde with renewed honour and pride.

(Sorry for not responding to this; been unexpectedly busy for much of the week and have been having trouble trying to approach it. By now I doubt we'll finish this scene before the round ends even if I write up something right now. I've still updated my actions post with everything we agreed on OOC though.)