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Unseen Court Political Ties
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<blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 8062703" data-attributes="member: 63"><p>If you have access to adventure 9 - The Last Starry Sky - the Unseen Court is explained in more detail there. I honestly probably adjusted my original vision for them over the course of writing the adventure path, so there might be some small inconsistencies. For instance, there aren't any people from Elfaivar on the Unseen Court, though I think they might have some eladrin underlings. </p><p></p><p>The Unseen Court agree with Ethelyn, but they know that they have pacts with the monarch of Risur, and that's Aodhan, so they want to make it clear they value that centuries-old pact more than the temporary political situation. Fey logic being what it is, they won't half-ass it; they're legit trying to kill the Duchess, even though they hope she wins. </p><p></p><p>I hadn't come up with the Hedgehog Court yet when I wrote adventure 1. They also show up in adventure 9, and Beshela is a member. They're basically the loyal opposition to the Unseen Court. With the benefit of hindsight, I could have set up Ghillie Dhu as servant of either Karrest (head of the Hedgehog Court) or Furg the Toadstool Sage. </p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>It's important to understand that the Unseen Court are only in control of Risur's section of the Dreaming. There are parts of the Dreaming elsewhere in the world with completely different stuff going on (which we never get into during the adventure path). They've been coordinating the relations between the fey who live in the area that is analogous to Risur for seventeen centuries.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Elfaivar was established not long after that, forming from various disparate eladrin groups in that region as they united to block the Demonocracy's spread. They had a bunch of gods, and a bunch of cultures, but over the centuries they gained a bit of shared cultural identity. And they had close contact with the fey in the Dreaming analogue of their region too; but unlike Risur, which created an alliance, Elfaivar just conquered the Dreaming too.</p><p></p><p>In 500 BOV, Triegenes topples the Demonocracy, and Elfaivar is at first thrilled that their enemies are gone, and they're good with Triegenes and his Clergy (which is based in what today is Danor, but which spreads all the way to Vendricce). Elfaivar expands eastward for a while, but eventually circumstances change and the two countries go to war. This results in the Great Malice. </p><p></p><p>(Thousands of Elfaivaran survivors fled to Risur after the Great Malice, but most of them culturally integrated with mainstream Risuri culture or local elves.)</p><p></p><p>Now, before the Great Malice, Srasama was one of many prominent gods in Elfaivar, but by being sorta martyred, she rose in prominence among the survivors. The eladrin poet Vekesh started a movement to persuade his people not to all go on a suicidal rush to vengeance, but instead to focus on regrowing. This movement even attracts some followers in other nations, many of whom are shocked and fascinated and sometimes guilt-ridden about the devastation of Elfaivar.</p><p></p><p>Not long after the Great Malice, a mystical cult that was a subset of Vekesh's movement began the tradition of indoctrinating people by showing them memories of Srasama's death, which granted them a bit of magical power. They believe that they have an additional sacred duty to be warriors - at first against threats to Elfaivaran survivors, but over time spreading to target anyone they think is endangering the weak. Eventually, Kasvarina (one of the founders of the Ob) quietly takes control of the Vekeshi mystics. She lets them keep doing their own thing most of the time, but occasionally uses them to assassinate someone who's standing in the way of the Ob's objectives.</p><p></p><p>There are Vekeshi mystics all over the world, and because of all the assassinations and such, in most places they're not welcome, so it has become a habit to use some Elfaivaran tricks to slip into the Dreaming and hold their meetings there. So the Vekeshi mystics in Risur have made sure to stay on good terms with the fey in Risur's analogue in the Dreaming, and that includes the Unseen Court. However, they're not actually ruled by the Unseen Court, so they're not always in alignment. In fact, the Unseen Court (and most Risuri fey) don't really care about Elfaivar, or about Srasama. It's about as distant to them as the Crusades and the slaughter of Muslims in the Holy Land was to the Ming Dynasty in China. It was centuries ago, in another place, and while some survivors came here, it's old news and they don't really get why those folks are holding a grudge about it.</p><p></p><p>The final pieces of the puzzle are Kasvarina and Asrabey. Asrabey is a gigantic bad-ass, and Kasvarina sent him something like a century ago (I forget the exact date, but it comes up in adventure 8 - Diaspora) to be an ally with the Unseen Court and make them more sympathetic to Elfaivaran concerns. Over time, he came to be more involved in Risuri affairs than Elfaivaran ones. When the adventure starts, he hasn't been in touch with Kasvarina for decades (and he was never aware of the Obscurati). So when he hears about her from Nathan Jierre, his loyalties are torn.</p><p></p><p>Does that cover everything?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RangerWickett, post: 8062703, member: 63"] If you have access to adventure 9 - The Last Starry Sky - the Unseen Court is explained in more detail there. I honestly probably adjusted my original vision for them over the course of writing the adventure path, so there might be some small inconsistencies. For instance, there aren't any people from Elfaivar on the Unseen Court, though I think they might have some eladrin underlings. The Unseen Court agree with Ethelyn, but they know that they have pacts with the monarch of Risur, and that's Aodhan, so they want to make it clear they value that centuries-old pact more than the temporary political situation. Fey logic being what it is, they won't half-ass it; they're legit trying to kill the Duchess, even though they hope she wins. I hadn't come up with the Hedgehog Court yet when I wrote adventure 1. They also show up in adventure 9, and Beshela is a member. They're basically the loyal opposition to the Unseen Court. With the benefit of hindsight, I could have set up Ghillie Dhu as servant of either Karrest (head of the Hedgehog Court) or Furg the Toadstool Sage. --- It's important to understand that the Unseen Court are only in control of Risur's section of the Dreaming. There are parts of the Dreaming elsewhere in the world with completely different stuff going on (which we never get into during the adventure path). They've been coordinating the relations between the fey who live in the area that is analogous to Risur for seventeen centuries. Meanwhile, Elfaivar was established not long after that, forming from various disparate eladrin groups in that region as they united to block the Demonocracy's spread. They had a bunch of gods, and a bunch of cultures, but over the centuries they gained a bit of shared cultural identity. And they had close contact with the fey in the Dreaming analogue of their region too; but unlike Risur, which created an alliance, Elfaivar just conquered the Dreaming too. In 500 BOV, Triegenes topples the Demonocracy, and Elfaivar is at first thrilled that their enemies are gone, and they're good with Triegenes and his Clergy (which is based in what today is Danor, but which spreads all the way to Vendricce). Elfaivar expands eastward for a while, but eventually circumstances change and the two countries go to war. This results in the Great Malice. (Thousands of Elfaivaran survivors fled to Risur after the Great Malice, but most of them culturally integrated with mainstream Risuri culture or local elves.) Now, before the Great Malice, Srasama was one of many prominent gods in Elfaivar, but by being sorta martyred, she rose in prominence among the survivors. The eladrin poet Vekesh started a movement to persuade his people not to all go on a suicidal rush to vengeance, but instead to focus on regrowing. This movement even attracts some followers in other nations, many of whom are shocked and fascinated and sometimes guilt-ridden about the devastation of Elfaivar. Not long after the Great Malice, a mystical cult that was a subset of Vekesh's movement began the tradition of indoctrinating people by showing them memories of Srasama's death, which granted them a bit of magical power. They believe that they have an additional sacred duty to be warriors - at first against threats to Elfaivaran survivors, but over time spreading to target anyone they think is endangering the weak. Eventually, Kasvarina (one of the founders of the Ob) quietly takes control of the Vekeshi mystics. She lets them keep doing their own thing most of the time, but occasionally uses them to assassinate someone who's standing in the way of the Ob's objectives. There are Vekeshi mystics all over the world, and because of all the assassinations and such, in most places they're not welcome, so it has become a habit to use some Elfaivaran tricks to slip into the Dreaming and hold their meetings there. So the Vekeshi mystics in Risur have made sure to stay on good terms with the fey in Risur's analogue in the Dreaming, and that includes the Unseen Court. However, they're not actually ruled by the Unseen Court, so they're not always in alignment. In fact, the Unseen Court (and most Risuri fey) don't really care about Elfaivar, or about Srasama. It's about as distant to them as the Crusades and the slaughter of Muslims in the Holy Land was to the Ming Dynasty in China. It was centuries ago, in another place, and while some survivors came here, it's old news and they don't really get why those folks are holding a grudge about it. The final pieces of the puzzle are Kasvarina and Asrabey. Asrabey is a gigantic bad-ass, and Kasvarina sent him something like a century ago (I forget the exact date, but it comes up in adventure 8 - Diaspora) to be an ally with the Unseen Court and make them more sympathetic to Elfaivaran concerns. Over time, he came to be more involved in Risuri affairs than Elfaivaran ones. When the adventure starts, he hasn't been in touch with Kasvarina for decades (and he was never aware of the Obscurati). So when he hears about her from Nathan Jierre, his loyalties are torn. Does that cover everything? [/QUOTE]
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