People You Know, here and otherwise
Lupaz: [sblock]While you don't know a lot of courtiers, you do know several of the weirds from your yearly visits. Lu-set, the water weird that often counseled you on ways to mitigate your bad luck and heal the harm you caused, is unlikely to take to coup very well. Too much death has come out of it already. Ess'ichat, the hopeful fire weird that lifted you up from bouts of profound depression, could possibly go both ways. She disapproved of Taala's adamant rulings on who could hold positions of power, but his ability to get disseparate elemental creatures and fey to work together was nothing less than inspired.
Of the six kinds of weirds you know the following:
Air wierds offer direction and guidance to those traveling to unknown areas. They can point out paths not considered, reveal unknown doors into new worlds, and describe what may be needed to survive such journeys.
Earth wierds are foretellers of death and doom. They can pronounce an individual's fate or warn him of a coming apocalypse. They are also prognosticators of wealth and fortune, foreseeing who shall succeed or rail in the pursuit of material possessions.
Fire wierds are diviners of hope. They shed light when all is dark and illuminate lore that has been long lost and nearly forgotten. They guide the long-suffering and ignorant to new peace and prosperity.
Water weirds are soothsayers that bring words of healing to the wounded. They offer curative knowledge for suffering lands and new options for people who seek a better way. When there is little hope for life, water weirds offer a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against all odds.
Ice wierds are predictors of the unending battle between chaos and law. They foresee which of these primal forces will dominate future events.
Snow weirds are harbingers of boon and doom, predicting weal and safety or warning of dire circumstances and events to come.
Now, part of Taala's reasons for his insistence of who could hold power in his kingdom (aside from the fact that he himself was composed of the four classic elements) was the existence of the classic elemental weirds. It was not until sometime later in the Kingdom's history when the existence of the ice and snow weirds became known. Taala insisted they were "sisters to the water and air wierds" and continued his current policies. It might be curious to some, but ice paraelementals and ice genasi began to take greater part in the government of the kingdom sometime after that.
In your times speaking with the elemental weirds, you have heard it intimated, though never explicitly stated, that there are even more kinds of elemental weirds out there. The wierds of the Kingdom of Knowledge enjoy their protected state, as sometimes powerful individuals would capture and hold a weird for their own personal use. Weirds generally resent this greatly. They like interacting with a wide variety of people, provided they are both determined and worthy.
In addition, there's the trail of his quarry from Bluegorge waiting above him at the top of the Crystalline Falls, and who knows where that will lead...[/sblock]
Vaukriel: [sblock]There are several people at Court you can think of that might be powerful enough to help, though their reactions to the coup would be mixed, at best. Despite the tragic circumstance that gifted you with flight, you had attracted a few admirers that respected your strength in learning how to fly. There are two sylphs, sisters actually, that you had come to know and admire. The elder of the two, Shasera, was great friends with a mighty cloud ray, a colossal beast some say is big as the sky. Also, there was a powerful air elemental, Tk'sssar'assa that lived on the high peaks of the Stonemaw mountains, one that claimed to have divine powers. Certainly he was served by the whimsical spirits of the air, flying monkey-like creatures with powers over wind and weather. You met them briefly on your journey up the mountain, right before you were captured by Lord Garguel's minions.
Shasera might not mind the time elemental's rule, as she and her sister were ambassadors of other air creatures. She would not be affected, one way or the other, with changes in laws, provided her status as an ambassador was kept intact. Tk'sssar'assa, on the other hand, would probably be furious. He considered himself a God of the Mountain Air, and was rather old-fashioned and reactionary in his views. He would considered the time elementals to be upstarts in the Kingdom of Knowledge.
In addition, your illumian heritage brought you to the attention to a very occasional visitor to Taala's court. A shuyarn, a rune angel that called herself Sen, had appeared in Taala’s court only a handful of times since you had been there, but each time she came on a mission of utmost importance. Of importance to who, you never could say, but she gifted Taala lavishly with powerful scrolls for the privilege of seeing the weirds. She always stopped on her way out of court to bow to you, and you seemed to recognize her in a deep way that had nothing to do her appearance. The last time she had smiled at you, a queer expression of face and words that still sometimes haunts your dreams. She’s never spoken to you, but you have the unshakable feeling that she is sympathetic to you personally.[/sblock]
Nissa: [sblock]You know about several other powers that be, including Wrath, the powerful Living Holocaust that Taala had kept in his court as a kind of counter-assassin. He hated Taala... but then again Wrath hated everyone. And in you he hated your watery nature as well. Despite his all-consuming hate, he had a kind of rough respect for you as a fellow elemental of the classic sort (despite your fey powers, he insists your weird heritage more than makes up for that). He was also an “old-fashioned” elemental, quite convinced of the superiority of the greater elementals. It’s probably very likely that Wrath has been imprisoned to use as a weapon, instead of being semi-autonomous as Taala had him.
Also, there are the elemental monoliths and the primal elementals to consider. They did not live at court, but visited often. On the whole, they are the most powerful elementals in the world, with the primal elementals representing a kind of power that could shatter it. However, the more powerful an elemental is, the more monofocused they become. It would be very difficult and frustrating, though perhaps not entirely impossible to get them to realize the fate of the Kingdom of Knowledge is in their hands.
And perhaps the most obvious, at least to you, would be the fey. Elementals and fey have a close relationship, very intertwined. Elementals represent the embodiment of the ingredients of the worlds, the living parts that make up all things. Fey are the embodiment of different aspects of the worlds; beauty, nature, trees, snow, water, war, rage, evil. The more powerful the fey, the broader their aspect is. Of all the fey, the most powerful are the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. If anyone could command the fey of a land, they could. Remove the fey from a place and the spirit would soon follow; cohesion would be lost and the land would lose its power.
The Seelie Court has a mostly good outlook, and they command the loyalty of mostly good fey. However, they are notoriously snobbish. Only one of pure fey blood would be considered to speak with the Faerie King and Queen. The Unseelie Court is far more flexible with their morals as well as with their members. Anyone claiming a trace of fey blood is welcomed, but they are even more tricky and devious than the Seelie Court, which is saying a great deal. Finding either court is difficult and dangerous, but the best place to start looking would be the Pool of Glenmasis, a market run by fey. Finding it is a little tricky, as it changes from time to time, but you attempt to travel to the center of a large wilderness area while thinking of something you need, you’re likely to find it eventually.[/sblock]
Tempest: [sblock]In Taala’s court, you know only a few of the Powers that Be, mostly from the times you were shipping pure elements. Earthmaster Geb, a half earth elemental gulgar, was a fair and honest man in a court full of truthful intrigue. Airmaster Shess, a pure air elemental, was the one that gifted you with your gift of personal winds. Apparently she was something of an admirer.
Of course, you also know of a few other captains. There’s Tash Kess, ghost elf hexmaster captain of the Damned Curse of the North, a ship and crew you mused were thematically suited to Lupaz, though the hound likely didn’t know about it. Tash was one of Taala’s more brutal employees, head of his more aggressive fleet of ships. Tash was allowed a certain amount of excesses in exchange for keeping the northern border safe.
The Crazed Compass was captained by an odd gnome by the name of Grosek Ironarm. The man literally did have an arm made of iron, and two legs too. Half his body had been pruned away and replaced with magic-enhanced clockwork, the result of a horrific experiment by a mad runic guardian. While the transformation doesn’t seem to have affected his skills as a captain, Grosek’s judgment is sometimes a little faulty. He can go into psychotic rages when fighting golems and other constructs, and has been known to literally rip apart enemy ships with his bare hands. While somewhat mad, Grosek owes his life to Taala, as the omnielemental was the one that freed him from further experimentation.
And the Sand Skipper is captained by a dust genasi named Dross, a lean and hungry woman with astounding powers of the mind. Her ship is hardened against fire, and she often sails the currents of sand, fire, and waste in the Sea of Fire and Ice. She often returns with ancient treasures and a hold full of minerals, and has a reputation for being able to sniff out gold from miles away.[/sblock]
Oobobooboo: [sblock]You really don’t know many of the powers at Taala’s court, mostly because you have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to politics. However, one individual did stick in your mind, because you encountered him in the sewers after an escapade under the toilets. Glop was a gelatinous cube that had been granted sentience on purpose, rather than by accident like you. He was charged to protect the castle from attack from below (along with some others of his brethren). But you he let pass freely, because you were funny.[/sblock]
Trebuchet: [sblock]You don’t know a lot about the powers that be at Taala’s court, but you do know a couple of the magicians. Kes’Krechta was the ice genasi elemental savant that was responsible for all magic having to do with cold. This may seem irrelevant, but she helped tame the power of Iceangel Lake and directed the glaciers on the Stonemaw Mountains away from the palace. If she were angered or turned against the time elementals, she could cause a lot of damage simply by not being there.
In addition, you recall a young obsidian elemental called Sh’rad. While small and not holding a great deal of power, the little one was rather taken with you. His elders were amongst the more vocal of the grumblers, but Sh’rad found you the most interesting thing on earth. If you needed an ear inside Taala’s court, Sh’rad might do it.[/sblock]
Ekilu: [sblock]Of the powers that be in Taala’s court, you only know a few. One is Ep!na’kee!, the ocean strider that watches over Iceangel Lake and part of the nearby Sea of Fire and Ice. It was said by some legends that the darfellans were distant kin to the ocean striders, and certainly Ep!na’kee! treated you very kindly indeed every time you sailed near him.
There was also a cluster of storm elementals in Taala’s court that liked you and your magic very much. They enjoyed playing in any storms you created or enhanced, and you often found Ookatooli’s voice growing louder and more instant when they were near. The Thundersong cluster was perhaps the only group solidly on your side when you fled.[/sblock]
These twin guys have never actually been to the kingdom before--Nissa probably knows the answer to that question better than they do 
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