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Aphonion Tales: The Archducal Council -- Unedited notes; later posts are edited transcripts (posts MWF, update 3/1/23)
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<blockquote data-quote="CPaladin" data-source="post: 8865470" data-attributes="member: 7030144"><p>Session 143 (April 28, 2022)</p><p></p><p>Time passes uneventfully.</p><p></p><p>6 O-Tar</p><p>Fairly early in the morning, one of Dame Brionna’s officers intercepts her, gives her a letter [attached], and says, “And what do we do now?”</p><p></p><p>She quickly reads the letter. “Where is the boy now?”</p><p></p><p>“Outside the palace. We didn’t want to bring him in without telling you about it first.”</p><p></p><p>“Send an investigation squad, and have Lord Brightspan meet with him and welcome him to the palace. If he reports anything amiss about the boy or his escort, tell me immediately.”</p><p></p><p>She hurries to meet Alistair and Kit.</p><p></p><p>“We have an unexpected visitor. The Kov of Snannurkaz has sent his nephew and heir-apparent to be fostered with us. Notably, there have already been two assassination attempts upon this child. I have sent a squad to investigate, simply because we need to make sure that this child has not, as part of these assassination attempts, been tainted in any way, and also young Lord Brightspan to view him, but also to befriend him.”</p><p></p><p>“Have you told him that he would be accepted as a fosterling? Or informed Anastasia?” asks Kit</p><p></p><p>“I have not. I thought I would tell Alistair first.”</p><p></p><p>“I appreciate it.”</p><p></p><p>“I also don't know whether or not this is his nephew, or whether that is a euphemism for a closer relationship. The phrasing is that he is the heir until His Grace has a child, which would suggest that he is, in fact, a nephew.”</p><p></p><p>Alistair comments, “A nephew would certainly make sense, although I don't know anything about whether the Kov has siblings, and whether they're still alive…”</p><p></p><p>“Presumably not if the child would be the heir,” Kit observes.</p><p></p><p>“And then, of course, there's also the question of what Princess Anastasia’s relationship with this child might be. We should find out some of that before we talk with her about this.”</p><p></p><p>“It should be noted that the salutation on the letter was both mistitling me as a grand dame, but also it was from ‘Pir Alredgoth, Grand Bashar of the Kov of Snannurkaz and in service to the Empress Anastasia.’”</p><p></p><p>“Makes sense. She has been styling yourself that way more recently. Bashar is their title for general, so a grand bashar is presumably something like a field marshal, but it might be a senior general below that rank. I suspect that our secretary in charge of genealogies we've consulted before will be able to tell us more about the relationships.”</p><p></p><p>They send for the secretary, and continue discussing the matter.</p><p></p><p>“I didn't want to formally bring him to you for fostering until we had sorted this all out.”</p><p></p><p>“Is he inside the palace?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, I wanted to to run the diagnostic checks, but then, assuming he passes, get him inside as quickly as we can.”</p><p></p><p>“Should that be with the young princes, in our heavily guarded wing?”</p><p></p><p>“Not yet, not until we know he’s completely safe. I’ll send another page to question what the results of the scans were.”</p><p></p><p>That page quickly returns with young Lord Brightspan.</p><p></p><p>Lord Brightspan comments, “He's very pure.”</p><p></p><p>“In what way?”</p><p></p><p>“I'm not sure he would have survived in my grandfather's court. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, if I misspeak.”</p><p></p><p>“Is he naive, then?”</p><p></p><p>“Very. I believe he's been sheltered his entire life.”</p><p></p><p>“How old is he?”</p><p></p><p>“Nine, so he should at least have some sense of how things are. His father died, apparently in the defense of Snannurkaz early in the war.”</p><p></p><p>“Apparently, his uncle decided he was safer here. Is he the Kov’s brother’s son?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, and the only member of the family left alive, apparently other than the Kov..”</p><p></p><p>“And I presume you sensed no corruption the assassination attempts may have left.”</p><p></p><p>“No, he's pure. I am not a hard man, Your Majesty, my ladies,” young Lord Brightspan says, somewhat incongruously as he is still a child. “Not yet. Perhaps one day, like my uncle. But he is innocent of the world. I think it must be a terrible world where I am telling you that I think that must be cured if he is to survive. I will go do penance later. I think his parents sheltered him more than was safe for a young man in his position. I'm calling him a young man, but he's a boy, a good boy. I'm sure he’s very loyal to Anastasia. He misses his mother a great deal.”</p><p></p><p>“Of course he would.”</p><p></p><p>Dame Brionna says, “In that case, I will send orders to have a brought in--still under heavier guard than is normal.”</p><p></p><p>“And keeping him well away from the rooms where the heirs are,” adds Kit.</p><p></p><p>With those orders given, the secretary of genealogies enters.</p><p></p><p>“Your Majesty, honored ladies, to stand in your presence again is definitely a great pleasure.”</p><p></p><p>“We wanted to know what you could tell us about the family of the Kov of Snannurkaz.”</p><p></p><p>“Small and shrinking. It's the bloodline, I think. And he has a great and chivalrous devotion to the Princess Anastasia, and therefore has refused eligible matches to this point. His brother, however, has a boy. I believe his brother is dead, although, Dame, your military people may know for sure whether his brother is dead. But I believe so, and that would make the boy the only heir of the line at this point.”</p><p></p><p>Kit says, “Has the line been failing for about 100 years? Just guessing…”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, about that. Frankly, may I speak freely? The great-grandfather married for love, always dangerous for a member of a ruling family. I could show you a hundred times in my genealogy. You take your loved one in other ways besides marriage, but he did not, and he married a sidhe noblesse.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, and that's why the shrinking of the line.”</p><p></p><p>“Of course, I'm only a genealogist, but we've seen this sort of thing for other lines. I think his brother took after the fey line.”</p><p></p><p>“We should introduce him to the tree.”</p><p></p><p>“The Kov himself does not display very many of the traits, and he seems to be aging at the rate that a pure human does. His brother did not age at that rate and was still quite young in appearance when he was last seen. He is certainly in his thirties or close to it, and yet he could not display the characteristics that most human males do--you know, beard and such things, particularly in the North.”</p><p></p><p>“If he was that young physically, would he have been able to father a child?”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, yes, yes, the fae from some lineages are very, very fond of congress with the ladies. Fully capable of all that.”</p><p></p><p>“Are there relatives on the fae side?”</p><p></p><p>“Little is known of them. She came to him out of love. It is said, though I have no proof, that she perished in the moonlight after his death, that she simply shriveled away in sadness.”</p><p></p><p>“Do we at least know the Tor she came from?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, I do have that much. I'm afraid I don't keep that at the tip of my tongue, but yes, it’s in the papers.”</p><p></p><p>“Get that to us?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, Dame, gladly.”</p><p></p><p>“I assume Seelie?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, certainly. The sidhe noblesse fell in love with him when he was young and handsome.”</p><p></p><p>“Given your expertise in geneology, what would your expectations be were the Empress Anastasia and the Kov of Snannurkaz to marry and have children? What would the nature of those children be?”</p><p></p><p>“Given her lineage… Hmm. For one thing there's a very high probability of some form of psionics which, is regarded as a grave threat in Hanal—they put psionic children to death. There would be a high probability of infant death or inability to conceive. And of course, if the baby, or through some miracle babies, were to grow to adulthood, they would have a high tendency towards magic. There is a chance of long life.”</p><p></p><p>“The fact that Snannurkaz does not have these features would not mean that the traits have fallen out?”</p><p></p><p>“Difficult to say. I haven't seen his nephew. Marriages of this type, particularly when the line is remarrying into other similar lines, are difficult to predict. Seeing his nephew would give me some guidance. But of course his nephew is trapped in Snannurkaz. I would assume if the boy favors his father, that means the lineage is strong. If the lineage is strong, and then it's combined with the royal lineage, it is likely that the children would show some characteristics of the fae.”</p><p></p><p>“Does she also have fae ancestry?”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, yes, that's well known. But this, your Majesty, is what makes their his romantic devotion to her so strange. Her lineage is not as recent as his. It is several more generations back. But it was Unseeliee. I'm so pleased that you're interested in these details, majesty, thank you for making me useful. There were some signs that their lineage might have been a fairly powerful one at some point, but the details were lost in the early wars of unification. They had certain powers that they utilized rather freely, unifying the early tribes into what we now call Hanal, and it was a member of the lineage that brought up the idea of the blood fete, which is now practiced in multiple Paranswarmian lands.”</p><p></p><p>“It does serve certain useful purposes, as well as being horrifying.” Alistair thinks about its use in ferreting out the Seen-Unseen.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, it gets rid of the worst of their criminals without them having to execute them. Well, I mean directly. King-Emperor Japhael of Tarsh, may he reign long enough to have healthy children, is known to have barred the blood fete in Tarsh after he took the throne. Now he's had to come up with an entire legal system for capital crimes, murdering torture, worship of demons, and other things that shouldn't be said in polite company, because prior to that, those people were simply offered at the fete. He had to invent a new court system, not bad for a 22 year old. Meaning no disrespect, your Majesty.”</p><p></p><p>“No matter. That said, this is something we should talk about with the Empress Anastasia. Just a few more questions.”</p><p></p><p>“Of course, your Majesty.”</p><p></p><p>“So if it is unlikely that Anastasia and Snannurkaz would have more than a very few children, then they might well not have any heirs for Snannurkaz. If, for example, they only had girls, they would have heirs for the Empire but not for the Kovate.”</p><p></p><p>“That's correct.”</p><p></p><p>“And if they had a boy, but not girls, the boy would not be eligible for the imperial throne.”</p><p></p><p>“Correct. They are very strict about that.”</p><p></p><p>“Are there any other potential heirs to the imperial line at this point? I gather most of the collateral lines get executed to prevent possible civil wars.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, viciously, your majesty, viciously. With prejudice, I believe, is the words they use, and no, there are no collateral lines left. Thyastis was legendarily thorough in eliminating collateral lines. If there are any anywhere, they are so far from the Empire that they probably don't even remember that they were ever attached.”</p><p></p><p>“Is there any law or house law about what would happen in that circumstance?”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, no. I suppose in that circumstance every eligible female in the Empire who could raise an army, a couple of the Kovs, with senior female members of their family, would fight a new war to determine who the new empress would be."</p><p></p><p>“Lovely.”</p><p></p><p>“Somebody like Anastasia has probably thought that far ahead,” comments Kit.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, but it's it's complicated because Anastasia is about twenty, but the Kov is not a young man. Not old by any stretch, but he must be closer to forty. That means that if she does not bear an appropriate heir in an appropriate amount of time, she would need to consider taking actions.”</p><p></p><p>“Right.”</p><p></p><p>“What would that look like in Hanal?”</p><p></p><p>“Well, if it pleases your Majesty, I happen to know something about that. In the imperial line, the Empress herself is welcome to take as many consorts as she wishes, but only one husband. She can bear heirs with whatever consort she chooses. Historically, however, if they were female and a regular heir by the husband came along, they were executed. That makes it very difficult for most empresses to engage in having a husband and consorts. In fact, it may be why so many of the Hanalians have accepted this war as simply a normal thing.”</p><p></p><p>“Because it looks like a regular succession war.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, because, after all, otherwise Anastasia would go to the headsman's block once her older sister had consolidated power.”</p><p></p><p>“I'm surprised that there aren't then known cadet houses who fled. For example, if there weren't the reasons why this war had to be fought, then presumably Anastasia would have considered choosing to settle here and I'm surprised that there have not been other instances of that in the past.”</p><p></p><p>“There have been a number who attempted it. None have survived. The Kingdom of the Haunted Mountains, Tarsh, and Tang have all temporarily hosted younger siblings and their immediate entourages. But without exception, Hanal has killed them. It is the only thing that has ever caused Hanal to commit a large body of troops in an unsupported attack, and frankly they only needed to invoke that threat with Tang, which is on this continent. They handed the heir back rather than face an invasion of the Iron Legions supported by vollers. Tarsh did not. It has always had a stubborn streak, you know, even though they're obviously influenced by Hanal in many ways, with the blood fete being the most obvious. But the assassin reached her anyway.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, and of course, in the case of Thyastis even the partners she occasionally took to her bed were put to death afterwards, and they were in no position to father heirs. But they could have potentially, she believed, or so it is said by her biographer that she believed, that they could make a claim for some girl who was not her daughter when the time came, so she simply had them killed.”</p><p></p><p>“Obviously everyone would know when she had offspring so it isn't like they could have even plausibly brought claims. I gather that's not strictly impossible, though, when dealing with devils.”</p><p></p><p>“There are ways of doing it, for example, according to that lovely but terrifying woman, who is the guest of the palace. For example, you could become pregnant through an infernal ritual, and then you could implant your baby in an erinyes, where it would grow naturally. You'd have to make a bargain, certainly, with a devil, and that child could then be brought to the Prime. And yes, such a thing could happen. I think it's rather extreme to have all your lovers killed, though. I will say, in her latter years, according to her biographer, there were few she could find who would agree to her bed, but…”</p><p></p><p>“That sounds like there was something else going on besides just being cautious. Anybody who got that close to her would have found out certain secrets that she couldn't let them live after learning.”</p><p></p><p>“That is possible, but that goes beyond genealogy, and I would only be guessing, Lady Katherine. I do not wish to speculate on something like this. I've already run my mouth on unmitigatedly in ways that, could be a very bad thing for me if I were in a different country.”</p><p></p><p>“We greatly appreciate it, though. The perspective is very useful.”</p><p></p><p>After the secretary leaves, Dame Brionna says, “Given this information, it is my advice that we may need to actively discourage the marriage between the Kov and Anastasia.”</p><p></p><p>“I think that that would be a mistake, but I think we need to have a frank conversation with Anastasia,” replies Alistair. “Anastasia is the most powerful person politically, and he is the most powerful person militarily. I think they need to get married. Oh, and also they're in love, but you know…”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, but both her and your children need to have a stable succession,” Kit says, “and I am sure Anastasia has thought of this. I don’t know if she knew that Snannurkaz has high Seelie blood.”</p><p></p><p>“I would be very surprised if she did not.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, he's probably told her.”</p><p></p><p>“I think we should have a frank conversation with her, then find out what plans, if any, they have for the succession, if producing heirs in the default way doesn't work for them.”</p><p></p><p>“Even if it does work for them, they are likely to be psionically and magically powerful. Which in Hanal means having to overcome a lot. The question is whether adding tolerance for psionics is just going to be accepted as part of the change in Hanal.”</p><p></p><p>“There are things that would be problems for lesser families, that in an Imperial family could be turned to an advantage. Powers are not a threat to the Empire when they are wielded by the Empress.”</p><p></p><p>“As long as it can't be used as ammunition against the new royal family by their enemies. If there are enough people in Hanal who still have the old prejudice against psionics, then that could be turned into opposition.”</p><p></p><p>“We need, of course, to determine whether the lad is himself psionic. Not necessarily active, but latent, in which case we are indeed a good place for him to be raised.”</p><p></p><p>They discuss their training programs for pages, with Dame Brionna advocating defense and combat training starting at 3 with learning to throw toy blocks, but Alistair assisting that it not start until children formally become pages, at 7.</p><p></p><p>“Do we want to accept him into fosterage, and then speak to the Queen-Empress? Or do you think it's a little rude since he is her vassal.”</p><p></p><p>“Let's talk to her first. We probably technically could, but it's rude and she should know what's going on.”</p><p></p><p>“With any other member of the Hanalian royalty, I would want to take the action, so that he was already under our protection, before speaking to her. Even though I would trust Princess Anastasia to not take any actions, not everyone in her court might have similar ideas. Because, of course, he is absolutely potentially a threat to her and her children's successions, especially if he were to marry a highly ranked Paranswarmian.”</p><p></p><p>“If he marries out into any of the various countries that have desperately sent potential people to meet the grandson of the old Emperor of Tarsh, then that will mostly remove him from the scene.”</p><p></p><p>“Let's invite the Queen-Empress to to join us for a luncheon, and of course we should inform the Empress Kaitlyn that we will be inviting the Queen-Empress to a luncheon, and that she is more than welcome to join us.”</p><p></p><p>They arrange for the luncheon, and soon Queen-Empress Anastasia, a bashar who is one of her closest advisors, and Empress Kaitlyn join them for a pleasant luncheon. They note that the Queen-Empress does not bring her bishop with her.</p><p></p><p>“In addition to, of course, wanting to take advantage of the fact that your court remains in our fair city for the social benefits that offers, we wish to speak with you about a couple of matters that have arisen. The first is that the Kov of Snannurkaz has asked us to foster his nephew.”</p><p></p><p>“I’m surprised that Viviana would approve.”</p><p></p><p>“Viviana... his mother?”</p><p></p><p>“Viviana is a close friend, and my sister-in-law.”</p><p></p><p>“I’m so sorry,” says Dame Brionna. “I fear, your grace, that she died protecting her son, and as violently as any mother could wish.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, my Gods, they're striking at children now. You are going to accept his foster, are you not?”</p><p></p><p>“We certainly intend to, but we we thought that it was appropriate to ask your consent before we did so.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, yes, yes, no one better. I did not realize that they had started…” She glances to her bashar, who virtually abases himself, in the middle of lunch. “You knew.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, Your Majesty, I did not think the time appropriate. I received word of this yesterday evening, by fast flyer.”</p><p></p><p>“You were concerned that it would shake my resolve. It will not. I will have the ritual of the opening of the night for Viviana, my friend as well as my sister-in-law. We appreciate your kindness in allowing us to practice our own faith within your lands at times like this, Your Majesty.”</p><p></p><p>“Of course. Is there anything that you would need from us to help you in this ritual?”</p><p></p><p>“I do not think I and the boy should be in the same location at the same time, even though he might wish to. I understand he's been very sheltered. This is not the best time for this to have happened.”</p><p></p><p>“Do you know the lad, then?”</p><p></p><p>“He's a good boy. Both his mother and father, I think, would have been happier if they lived in another country, but they took their duty seriously. They also shielded him. They thought of sending him away. But then the war started before they could find an appropriate placement.”</p><p></p><p>“We trust your judgment if you don't want to be in the same place with him. But it you know him better than anyone else here, what can we do that would give him comfort?”</p><p></p><p>“Talk to him honestly. None of us ever have.”</p><p></p><p>“We can do that.”</p><p></p><p>“My Kov is a dear man, and I love him greatly, but he always acceded to his brother's wishes with his nephew. Therefore his nephew has had no training. I believe they were more concerned that he was going to show up with the forbidden gift. That is why they wanted to send him abroad. They were looking in Tarsh primarily.”</p><p></p><p>“Would he then have been expected to join the SHH in Hanal had he had the forbidden gift?”</p><p></p><p>“He would have been put to death if it became public. He will be safe here. You've any training that he needs.”</p><p></p><p>“I have a delicate question that I need to ask about that. We probably could, though we would greatly appreciate not needing to, take steps to snip off the gift if it is present. Ideally, we would want to see it properly awakened and trained.”</p><p></p><p>“If he possesses it, that makes much more sense. I have long thought, you know… I was a bookish child, Your Majesty. I have long thought that Hanal was manipulated. Every other Paranswarmian nation preserves the gift, and has there own members of the Society. But all the members of the SHH in Hanal are from abroad.”</p><p></p><p>“It makes sense, because Hanal is uniquely dependent on devils. Diabolists are controlled by the SHH. So it is in the interest of both the devils who are making deals, and all the other Paranswarmian powers, for the diabolists to be not entirely loyal to the interests of Hanal.”</p><p></p><p>“I think I understand that, although that was a little confusing.”</p><p></p><p>“I think his majesty is suggesting that diabolists from Hanal would be able to be more loyal, while under the supervision of the psionic order of the Church, if the members of the SHH were from Hanal.”</p><p></p><p>“The SHH has some peculiar beliefs, if you will excuse me, even relative to the rest of your faith.”</p><p></p><p>“That is undoubtedly true. I have observed it in the court.”</p><p></p><p>“They essentially venerate Paranswarm as chief of the archdevils, as Prince of Hell, as opposed to as Lord of Darkness.”</p><p></p><p>“There are many divergent groups, and that is one of the more different. Most of the Church would view Him as being Lord of Darkness, etc., etc., and Prince of Hell, as opposed to the SHH. They invert the primacy of those titles."</p><p></p><p>"They are important to the Church through their arts.”</p><p></p><p>“And every faith has its mildly heterodox but not quite heretical sects.”</p><p></p><p>“The flame orders within your temple. Yes, they appear in every temple. Well, I cannot speak for the chaotic faiths. How would you?” The Queen-Empress thinks a little longer. “Oh, perhaps it is safe for me to visit him within the inner sanctum of your palace, Your Majesty. I simply cannot imagine that they could strike at both of us there.”</p><p></p><p>“That would be acceptable. I think, for the time being, that he will not be permitted to leave the palace.”</p><p></p><p>“I think that's probably wise. Your security people are remarkable, but the assassins from Hanal are as well.”</p><p></p><p>Alistair makes a gesture of thanks to Dame Brionna. They then engage in some light chit-chat, although making sure to find out more about the child’s interests and what might make him comfortable. After a little while, Alistair broaches the next subject.</p><p></p><p>“There's another matter that we felt that we needed to begin to discuss with you. As you know, the Empress and I have been blessed by so rapidly having two fine young children. We are entirely confident that we will have many more by the time that our family is complete. It is, of course, essential to the stability of Hanal that you have a capable adult daughter by the time, may it be decades hence, that you enter into the Darkness.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, we can't see this again.”</p><p></p><p>“Precisely.”</p><p></p><p>“You are asking if I can bear.”</p><p></p><p>“No, that is not our primary concern. We know that your family has had some some issues, but I expect that as you have been healthier in other ways than some of your relatives, you would likely be healthier in that way as well. It is more that we do not know how fecund the Kov might be, and there are reasons to have doubts. That leads to the question.”</p><p></p><p>“I am young now. I can bear 25 more years, minimally, possibly more, with good health.”</p><p></p><p>“There are also magics and elven herbs that can help.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, it is my intention, and if it becomes evident that we cannot bear together, there are ways under the law to have children by consorts and recognize them. He understands this. We have discussed it. Not since this all began, but we have discussed it. That raises the question. I consider the policy long followed by the Empire to be barbaric. I do not wish to have daughters and have to know that when I pass into the Darkness, that all but one of them will be put to death--not my daughters by the Kov, and not by any consort I might pick. Nor do I wish to follow my mother's example of slaughtering her consorts. I know this makes me opposed to tradition. Some traditions are worth changing.”</p><p></p><p>“There are traditions in our court after the death of an Archduke of Canberry that we have taken steps to break and to stamp out in the future. We'll see how successful that is. Well, I will not see how successful that is. But Canberry will see how successful that is, but we are doing the best that we can.”</p><p></p><p>“So you do not think it is unreasonable to change this by edict.”</p><p></p><p>“Certainly not. I think there are steps that you will be able to take when they are all approaching adulthood that that would increase the odds of success.”</p><p></p><p>“Starting by not telling them they have to kill all of the others.”</p><p></p><p>“But also then taking steps to position the ones who will not likely inherit in places where they are both protected, but also not empowered--in the church, or married off continent, for example.”</p><p></p><p>“Your Empire seems to be perfectly stable marrying excess members of the high families to those who are slightly less powerful than they are.”</p><p></p><p>“Indeed, though you need an adequately stable empire for that to work. We can be confident that my sister will not use her husband's duchy as a power base to rise against me. He would not stand for it, the other dukes would not rally to their banner. It would be foolishness even if she wanted to, and she doesn't, and of course she is loyal. But that might not be the case for a kov in Hanal, with an eligible daughter.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, I can see that.”</p><p></p><p>“Margaret will be loyal. But, to be perfectly blunt, if matters had transpired as they might have been expected to, Snannurkaz might still have rallied to your banner, and generated the civil war anyway.”</p><p></p><p>“No question he would have. He’s devoted. He carries my kerchief at all times.”</p><p></p><p>“I'm glad that you have that you have thought through these matters, and we certainly hope that you will be as blessed as we have been.”</p><p></p><p>“I hope so as well. But yes, we do have other paths to ensure Hanal’s stability. Its people are suffering.”</p><p></p><p>“And that also means that although I understand why, with the military situation, it needs to be a little bit more stable, but the sooner that you can be wed, and pursuing such matters, the better for everyone.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, we hold off marriage now only because of the war, and the fact that we believe one of the other kovs is wavering in his loyalty to the Crown, and the possibility of still being open to offering my hand may be the thing that pushes him over to our side. That would take her western flank. Otherwise, we would have already wed.”</p><p></p><p>“Understood. Is the other kov someone who, under other circumstances, if necessary, you would not be averse to as a lesser consort? Or would that be insulting to his dignity to suggest?"</p><p></p><p>“Not exactly. If it is necessary, I will take him. If he accepts a position as a lesser consort, it will not be out of loyalty to the truth, throne, or to the true Church. If he switches sides, it will be entirely according to what he believes serves his interest.”</p><p></p><p>“And then you would without doubt have a serpent within your household and conflict among potential children. He would demand--not unreasonably under the circumstances-- to have the opportunity to attempt to father children with you, and he would then surely seek to see them placed ahead of your husband's daughters.”</p><p></p><p>“We are aware of these difficulties.”</p><p></p><p>“Only if the war hinges on it would I recommend such a thing. It is extremely desirable that if you need, for whatever reasons, to have consorts besides your formal husband, that those consort be intensely loyal to the idea of the legitimate succession, and that they understand that that is in the interests of their own children as well.”</p><p></p><p>“I believe that the only one I could find with those qualifications within Hanal is the Kov of Bormark, if he survives. But I am not confident that he would say yes. He is happy in his marriage and his children, so that might reduced me to the vadates.”</p><p></p><p>“That might actually be easier in some ways. They couldn't raise a sufficient force to be a threat.”</p><p></p><p>She turns to the bashar. “This is ‘conversation over a light lunch’ in the Imperial Palace.”</p><p></p><p>Alistair continues, carefully not looking at Kit, “The other option that might be considered there is seeking among those who are not in the high nobility at all, and simply conferring upon them appropriate rank to give them appropriate status to hold in relationship to the family. Without a power base of their own, they would not pose a threat.”</p><p></p><p>The Bashar looks up with great interest. Kit notices his fingers flash and immediately recognizes it as a house code. She is startled when her lens, which automatically translates written material, also translates the signs.</p><p></p><p><<There are certain bashars in the Imperial service might be susceptible to that offer and would be no threat.>></p><p></p><p>The Queen-Empress makes a very slight gesture, which is just <<Later.>></p><p></p><p>They continue discussing lighter matters, including the Queen-Empress’s belief that it might be ideal for the Kov’s nephew to ultimately settle in a non-Paranswarmian realm if he has the gift, because the members of the SHH are expected to sever all connection to their birth families.</p><p></p><p>After they depart, the Council discusses some of this, including the bashar’s clear interest in using this to peel away legions from the usurper. If their bashar defected, the legion would almost certainly follow because of the fierce obedience in the chain of command.</p><p></p><p>Kit sets some of her people to try to find out who Anastasia’s spymistress is, and will receive a report in two days. There are a handful of noble women with Anastasia that it could be. They know it's a woman, and that may actually be tradition in Hanal, though they aren’t sure. There are only a handful of women with her, because most of the people who came were with the military. Among the women, there are a couple of vadesses and a couple of stromesses. A vaddess is more more likely because Hanal is very rank conscious and a vaddess is more likely to be treated with the amount of respect necessary to be a successful spymistress.</p><p></p><p>Kit decides to have their communications watched, in part to determine what information they are filtering out before it reaches Anastasia (and before it reaches the Council) and to try to identify who to place some of her people close to. She has a substantial number of people in the servants in the embassy, but not many who are closely placed.</p><p>[cont'd]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CPaladin, post: 8865470, member: 7030144"] Session 143 (April 28, 2022) Time passes uneventfully. 6 O-Tar Fairly early in the morning, one of Dame Brionna’s officers intercepts her, gives her a letter [attached], and says, “And what do we do now?” She quickly reads the letter. “Where is the boy now?” “Outside the palace. We didn’t want to bring him in without telling you about it first.” “Send an investigation squad, and have Lord Brightspan meet with him and welcome him to the palace. If he reports anything amiss about the boy or his escort, tell me immediately.” She hurries to meet Alistair and Kit. “We have an unexpected visitor. The Kov of Snannurkaz has sent his nephew and heir-apparent to be fostered with us. Notably, there have already been two assassination attempts upon this child. I have sent a squad to investigate, simply because we need to make sure that this child has not, as part of these assassination attempts, been tainted in any way, and also young Lord Brightspan to view him, but also to befriend him.” “Have you told him that he would be accepted as a fosterling? Or informed Anastasia?” asks Kit “I have not. I thought I would tell Alistair first.” “I appreciate it.” “I also don't know whether or not this is his nephew, or whether that is a euphemism for a closer relationship. The phrasing is that he is the heir until His Grace has a child, which would suggest that he is, in fact, a nephew.” Alistair comments, “A nephew would certainly make sense, although I don't know anything about whether the Kov has siblings, and whether they're still alive…” “Presumably not if the child would be the heir,” Kit observes. “And then, of course, there's also the question of what Princess Anastasia’s relationship with this child might be. We should find out some of that before we talk with her about this.” “It should be noted that the salutation on the letter was both mistitling me as a grand dame, but also it was from ‘Pir Alredgoth, Grand Bashar of the Kov of Snannurkaz and in service to the Empress Anastasia.’” “Makes sense. She has been styling yourself that way more recently. Bashar is their title for general, so a grand bashar is presumably something like a field marshal, but it might be a senior general below that rank. I suspect that our secretary in charge of genealogies we've consulted before will be able to tell us more about the relationships.” They send for the secretary, and continue discussing the matter. “I didn't want to formally bring him to you for fostering until we had sorted this all out.” “Is he inside the palace?” “Yes, I wanted to to run the diagnostic checks, but then, assuming he passes, get him inside as quickly as we can.” “Should that be with the young princes, in our heavily guarded wing?” “Not yet, not until we know he’s completely safe. I’ll send another page to question what the results of the scans were.” That page quickly returns with young Lord Brightspan. Lord Brightspan comments, “He's very pure.” “In what way?” “I'm not sure he would have survived in my grandfather's court. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, if I misspeak.” “Is he naive, then?” “Very. I believe he's been sheltered his entire life.” “How old is he?” “Nine, so he should at least have some sense of how things are. His father died, apparently in the defense of Snannurkaz early in the war.” “Apparently, his uncle decided he was safer here. Is he the Kov’s brother’s son?” “Yes, and the only member of the family left alive, apparently other than the Kov..” “And I presume you sensed no corruption the assassination attempts may have left.” “No, he's pure. I am not a hard man, Your Majesty, my ladies,” young Lord Brightspan says, somewhat incongruously as he is still a child. “Not yet. Perhaps one day, like my uncle. But he is innocent of the world. I think it must be a terrible world where I am telling you that I think that must be cured if he is to survive. I will go do penance later. I think his parents sheltered him more than was safe for a young man in his position. I'm calling him a young man, but he's a boy, a good boy. I'm sure he’s very loyal to Anastasia. He misses his mother a great deal.” “Of course he would.” Dame Brionna says, “In that case, I will send orders to have a brought in--still under heavier guard than is normal.” “And keeping him well away from the rooms where the heirs are,” adds Kit. With those orders given, the secretary of genealogies enters. “Your Majesty, honored ladies, to stand in your presence again is definitely a great pleasure.” “We wanted to know what you could tell us about the family of the Kov of Snannurkaz.” “Small and shrinking. It's the bloodline, I think. And he has a great and chivalrous devotion to the Princess Anastasia, and therefore has refused eligible matches to this point. His brother, however, has a boy. I believe his brother is dead, although, Dame, your military people may know for sure whether his brother is dead. But I believe so, and that would make the boy the only heir of the line at this point.” Kit says, “Has the line been failing for about 100 years? Just guessing…” “Yes, about that. Frankly, may I speak freely? The great-grandfather married for love, always dangerous for a member of a ruling family. I could show you a hundred times in my genealogy. You take your loved one in other ways besides marriage, but he did not, and he married a sidhe noblesse.” “Oh, and that's why the shrinking of the line.” “Of course, I'm only a genealogist, but we've seen this sort of thing for other lines. I think his brother took after the fey line.” “We should introduce him to the tree.” “The Kov himself does not display very many of the traits, and he seems to be aging at the rate that a pure human does. His brother did not age at that rate and was still quite young in appearance when he was last seen. He is certainly in his thirties or close to it, and yet he could not display the characteristics that most human males do--you know, beard and such things, particularly in the North.” “If he was that young physically, would he have been able to father a child?” “Oh, yes, yes, the fae from some lineages are very, very fond of congress with the ladies. Fully capable of all that.” “Are there relatives on the fae side?” “Little is known of them. She came to him out of love. It is said, though I have no proof, that she perished in the moonlight after his death, that she simply shriveled away in sadness.” “Do we at least know the Tor she came from?” “Yes, I do have that much. I'm afraid I don't keep that at the tip of my tongue, but yes, it’s in the papers.” “Get that to us?” “Yes, Dame, gladly.” “I assume Seelie?” “Yes, certainly. The sidhe noblesse fell in love with him when he was young and handsome.” “Given your expertise in geneology, what would your expectations be were the Empress Anastasia and the Kov of Snannurkaz to marry and have children? What would the nature of those children be?” “Given her lineage… Hmm. For one thing there's a very high probability of some form of psionics which, is regarded as a grave threat in Hanal—they put psionic children to death. There would be a high probability of infant death or inability to conceive. And of course, if the baby, or through some miracle babies, were to grow to adulthood, they would have a high tendency towards magic. There is a chance of long life.” “The fact that Snannurkaz does not have these features would not mean that the traits have fallen out?” “Difficult to say. I haven't seen his nephew. Marriages of this type, particularly when the line is remarrying into other similar lines, are difficult to predict. Seeing his nephew would give me some guidance. But of course his nephew is trapped in Snannurkaz. I would assume if the boy favors his father, that means the lineage is strong. If the lineage is strong, and then it's combined with the royal lineage, it is likely that the children would show some characteristics of the fae.” “Does she also have fae ancestry?” “Oh, yes, that's well known. But this, your Majesty, is what makes their his romantic devotion to her so strange. Her lineage is not as recent as his. It is several more generations back. But it was Unseeliee. I'm so pleased that you're interested in these details, majesty, thank you for making me useful. There were some signs that their lineage might have been a fairly powerful one at some point, but the details were lost in the early wars of unification. They had certain powers that they utilized rather freely, unifying the early tribes into what we now call Hanal, and it was a member of the lineage that brought up the idea of the blood fete, which is now practiced in multiple Paranswarmian lands.” “It does serve certain useful purposes, as well as being horrifying.” Alistair thinks about its use in ferreting out the Seen-Unseen. “Yes, it gets rid of the worst of their criminals without them having to execute them. Well, I mean directly. King-Emperor Japhael of Tarsh, may he reign long enough to have healthy children, is known to have barred the blood fete in Tarsh after he took the throne. Now he's had to come up with an entire legal system for capital crimes, murdering torture, worship of demons, and other things that shouldn't be said in polite company, because prior to that, those people were simply offered at the fete. He had to invent a new court system, not bad for a 22 year old. Meaning no disrespect, your Majesty.” “No matter. That said, this is something we should talk about with the Empress Anastasia. Just a few more questions.” “Of course, your Majesty.” “So if it is unlikely that Anastasia and Snannurkaz would have more than a very few children, then they might well not have any heirs for Snannurkaz. If, for example, they only had girls, they would have heirs for the Empire but not for the Kovate.” “That's correct.” “And if they had a boy, but not girls, the boy would not be eligible for the imperial throne.” “Correct. They are very strict about that.” “Are there any other potential heirs to the imperial line at this point? I gather most of the collateral lines get executed to prevent possible civil wars.” “Yes, viciously, your majesty, viciously. With prejudice, I believe, is the words they use, and no, there are no collateral lines left. Thyastis was legendarily thorough in eliminating collateral lines. If there are any anywhere, they are so far from the Empire that they probably don't even remember that they were ever attached.” “Is there any law or house law about what would happen in that circumstance?” “Oh, no. I suppose in that circumstance every eligible female in the Empire who could raise an army, a couple of the Kovs, with senior female members of their family, would fight a new war to determine who the new empress would be." “Lovely.” “Somebody like Anastasia has probably thought that far ahead,” comments Kit. “Yes, but it's it's complicated because Anastasia is about twenty, but the Kov is not a young man. Not old by any stretch, but he must be closer to forty. That means that if she does not bear an appropriate heir in an appropriate amount of time, she would need to consider taking actions.” “Right.” “What would that look like in Hanal?” “Well, if it pleases your Majesty, I happen to know something about that. In the imperial line, the Empress herself is welcome to take as many consorts as she wishes, but only one husband. She can bear heirs with whatever consort she chooses. Historically, however, if they were female and a regular heir by the husband came along, they were executed. That makes it very difficult for most empresses to engage in having a husband and consorts. In fact, it may be why so many of the Hanalians have accepted this war as simply a normal thing.” “Because it looks like a regular succession war.” “Yes, because, after all, otherwise Anastasia would go to the headsman's block once her older sister had consolidated power.” “I'm surprised that there aren't then known cadet houses who fled. For example, if there weren't the reasons why this war had to be fought, then presumably Anastasia would have considered choosing to settle here and I'm surprised that there have not been other instances of that in the past.” “There have been a number who attempted it. None have survived. The Kingdom of the Haunted Mountains, Tarsh, and Tang have all temporarily hosted younger siblings and their immediate entourages. But without exception, Hanal has killed them. It is the only thing that has ever caused Hanal to commit a large body of troops in an unsupported attack, and frankly they only needed to invoke that threat with Tang, which is on this continent. They handed the heir back rather than face an invasion of the Iron Legions supported by vollers. Tarsh did not. It has always had a stubborn streak, you know, even though they're obviously influenced by Hanal in many ways, with the blood fete being the most obvious. But the assassin reached her anyway. “Oh, and of course, in the case of Thyastis even the partners she occasionally took to her bed were put to death afterwards, and they were in no position to father heirs. But they could have potentially, she believed, or so it is said by her biographer that she believed, that they could make a claim for some girl who was not her daughter when the time came, so she simply had them killed.” “Obviously everyone would know when she had offspring so it isn't like they could have even plausibly brought claims. I gather that's not strictly impossible, though, when dealing with devils.” “There are ways of doing it, for example, according to that lovely but terrifying woman, who is the guest of the palace. For example, you could become pregnant through an infernal ritual, and then you could implant your baby in an erinyes, where it would grow naturally. You'd have to make a bargain, certainly, with a devil, and that child could then be brought to the Prime. And yes, such a thing could happen. I think it's rather extreme to have all your lovers killed, though. I will say, in her latter years, according to her biographer, there were few she could find who would agree to her bed, but…” “That sounds like there was something else going on besides just being cautious. Anybody who got that close to her would have found out certain secrets that she couldn't let them live after learning.” “That is possible, but that goes beyond genealogy, and I would only be guessing, Lady Katherine. I do not wish to speculate on something like this. I've already run my mouth on unmitigatedly in ways that, could be a very bad thing for me if I were in a different country.” “We greatly appreciate it, though. The perspective is very useful.” After the secretary leaves, Dame Brionna says, “Given this information, it is my advice that we may need to actively discourage the marriage between the Kov and Anastasia.” “I think that that would be a mistake, but I think we need to have a frank conversation with Anastasia,” replies Alistair. “Anastasia is the most powerful person politically, and he is the most powerful person militarily. I think they need to get married. Oh, and also they're in love, but you know…” “Yes, but both her and your children need to have a stable succession,” Kit says, “and I am sure Anastasia has thought of this. I don’t know if she knew that Snannurkaz has high Seelie blood.” “I would be very surprised if she did not.” “Yes, he's probably told her.” “I think we should have a frank conversation with her, then find out what plans, if any, they have for the succession, if producing heirs in the default way doesn't work for them.” “Even if it does work for them, they are likely to be psionically and magically powerful. Which in Hanal means having to overcome a lot. The question is whether adding tolerance for psionics is just going to be accepted as part of the change in Hanal.” “There are things that would be problems for lesser families, that in an Imperial family could be turned to an advantage. Powers are not a threat to the Empire when they are wielded by the Empress.” “As long as it can't be used as ammunition against the new royal family by their enemies. If there are enough people in Hanal who still have the old prejudice against psionics, then that could be turned into opposition.” “We need, of course, to determine whether the lad is himself psionic. Not necessarily active, but latent, in which case we are indeed a good place for him to be raised.” They discuss their training programs for pages, with Dame Brionna advocating defense and combat training starting at 3 with learning to throw toy blocks, but Alistair assisting that it not start until children formally become pages, at 7. “Do we want to accept him into fosterage, and then speak to the Queen-Empress? Or do you think it's a little rude since he is her vassal.” “Let's talk to her first. We probably technically could, but it's rude and she should know what's going on.” “With any other member of the Hanalian royalty, I would want to take the action, so that he was already under our protection, before speaking to her. Even though I would trust Princess Anastasia to not take any actions, not everyone in her court might have similar ideas. Because, of course, he is absolutely potentially a threat to her and her children's successions, especially if he were to marry a highly ranked Paranswarmian.” “If he marries out into any of the various countries that have desperately sent potential people to meet the grandson of the old Emperor of Tarsh, then that will mostly remove him from the scene.” “Let's invite the Queen-Empress to to join us for a luncheon, and of course we should inform the Empress Kaitlyn that we will be inviting the Queen-Empress to a luncheon, and that she is more than welcome to join us.” They arrange for the luncheon, and soon Queen-Empress Anastasia, a bashar who is one of her closest advisors, and Empress Kaitlyn join them for a pleasant luncheon. They note that the Queen-Empress does not bring her bishop with her. “In addition to, of course, wanting to take advantage of the fact that your court remains in our fair city for the social benefits that offers, we wish to speak with you about a couple of matters that have arisen. The first is that the Kov of Snannurkaz has asked us to foster his nephew.” “I’m surprised that Viviana would approve.” “Viviana... his mother?” “Viviana is a close friend, and my sister-in-law.” “I’m so sorry,” says Dame Brionna. “I fear, your grace, that she died protecting her son, and as violently as any mother could wish.” “Oh, my Gods, they're striking at children now. You are going to accept his foster, are you not?” “We certainly intend to, but we we thought that it was appropriate to ask your consent before we did so.” “Oh, yes, yes, no one better. I did not realize that they had started…” She glances to her bashar, who virtually abases himself, in the middle of lunch. “You knew.” “Yes, Your Majesty, I did not think the time appropriate. I received word of this yesterday evening, by fast flyer.” “You were concerned that it would shake my resolve. It will not. I will have the ritual of the opening of the night for Viviana, my friend as well as my sister-in-law. We appreciate your kindness in allowing us to practice our own faith within your lands at times like this, Your Majesty.” “Of course. Is there anything that you would need from us to help you in this ritual?” “I do not think I and the boy should be in the same location at the same time, even though he might wish to. I understand he's been very sheltered. This is not the best time for this to have happened.” “Do you know the lad, then?” “He's a good boy. Both his mother and father, I think, would have been happier if they lived in another country, but they took their duty seriously. They also shielded him. They thought of sending him away. But then the war started before they could find an appropriate placement.” “We trust your judgment if you don't want to be in the same place with him. But it you know him better than anyone else here, what can we do that would give him comfort?” “Talk to him honestly. None of us ever have.” “We can do that.” “My Kov is a dear man, and I love him greatly, but he always acceded to his brother's wishes with his nephew. Therefore his nephew has had no training. I believe they were more concerned that he was going to show up with the forbidden gift. That is why they wanted to send him abroad. They were looking in Tarsh primarily.” “Would he then have been expected to join the SHH in Hanal had he had the forbidden gift?” “He would have been put to death if it became public. He will be safe here. You've any training that he needs.” “I have a delicate question that I need to ask about that. We probably could, though we would greatly appreciate not needing to, take steps to snip off the gift if it is present. Ideally, we would want to see it properly awakened and trained.” “If he possesses it, that makes much more sense. I have long thought, you know… I was a bookish child, Your Majesty. I have long thought that Hanal was manipulated. Every other Paranswarmian nation preserves the gift, and has there own members of the Society. But all the members of the SHH in Hanal are from abroad.” “It makes sense, because Hanal is uniquely dependent on devils. Diabolists are controlled by the SHH. So it is in the interest of both the devils who are making deals, and all the other Paranswarmian powers, for the diabolists to be not entirely loyal to the interests of Hanal.” “I think I understand that, although that was a little confusing.” “I think his majesty is suggesting that diabolists from Hanal would be able to be more loyal, while under the supervision of the psionic order of the Church, if the members of the SHH were from Hanal.” “The SHH has some peculiar beliefs, if you will excuse me, even relative to the rest of your faith.” “That is undoubtedly true. I have observed it in the court.” “They essentially venerate Paranswarm as chief of the archdevils, as Prince of Hell, as opposed to as Lord of Darkness.” “There are many divergent groups, and that is one of the more different. Most of the Church would view Him as being Lord of Darkness, etc., etc., and Prince of Hell, as opposed to the SHH. They invert the primacy of those titles." "They are important to the Church through their arts.” “And every faith has its mildly heterodox but not quite heretical sects.” “The flame orders within your temple. Yes, they appear in every temple. Well, I cannot speak for the chaotic faiths. How would you?” The Queen-Empress thinks a little longer. “Oh, perhaps it is safe for me to visit him within the inner sanctum of your palace, Your Majesty. I simply cannot imagine that they could strike at both of us there.” “That would be acceptable. I think, for the time being, that he will not be permitted to leave the palace.” “I think that's probably wise. Your security people are remarkable, but the assassins from Hanal are as well.” Alistair makes a gesture of thanks to Dame Brionna. They then engage in some light chit-chat, although making sure to find out more about the child’s interests and what might make him comfortable. After a little while, Alistair broaches the next subject. “There's another matter that we felt that we needed to begin to discuss with you. As you know, the Empress and I have been blessed by so rapidly having two fine young children. We are entirely confident that we will have many more by the time that our family is complete. It is, of course, essential to the stability of Hanal that you have a capable adult daughter by the time, may it be decades hence, that you enter into the Darkness.” “Yes, we can't see this again.” “Precisely.” “You are asking if I can bear.” “No, that is not our primary concern. We know that your family has had some some issues, but I expect that as you have been healthier in other ways than some of your relatives, you would likely be healthier in that way as well. It is more that we do not know how fecund the Kov might be, and there are reasons to have doubts. That leads to the question.” “I am young now. I can bear 25 more years, minimally, possibly more, with good health.” “There are also magics and elven herbs that can help.” “Yes, it is my intention, and if it becomes evident that we cannot bear together, there are ways under the law to have children by consorts and recognize them. He understands this. We have discussed it. Not since this all began, but we have discussed it. That raises the question. I consider the policy long followed by the Empire to be barbaric. I do not wish to have daughters and have to know that when I pass into the Darkness, that all but one of them will be put to death--not my daughters by the Kov, and not by any consort I might pick. Nor do I wish to follow my mother's example of slaughtering her consorts. I know this makes me opposed to tradition. Some traditions are worth changing.” “There are traditions in our court after the death of an Archduke of Canberry that we have taken steps to break and to stamp out in the future. We'll see how successful that is. Well, I will not see how successful that is. But Canberry will see how successful that is, but we are doing the best that we can.” “So you do not think it is unreasonable to change this by edict.” “Certainly not. I think there are steps that you will be able to take when they are all approaching adulthood that that would increase the odds of success.” “Starting by not telling them they have to kill all of the others.” “But also then taking steps to position the ones who will not likely inherit in places where they are both protected, but also not empowered--in the church, or married off continent, for example.” “Your Empire seems to be perfectly stable marrying excess members of the high families to those who are slightly less powerful than they are.” “Indeed, though you need an adequately stable empire for that to work. We can be confident that my sister will not use her husband's duchy as a power base to rise against me. He would not stand for it, the other dukes would not rally to their banner. It would be foolishness even if she wanted to, and she doesn't, and of course she is loyal. But that might not be the case for a kov in Hanal, with an eligible daughter.” “Yes, I can see that.” “Margaret will be loyal. But, to be perfectly blunt, if matters had transpired as they might have been expected to, Snannurkaz might still have rallied to your banner, and generated the civil war anyway.” “No question he would have. He’s devoted. He carries my kerchief at all times.” “I'm glad that you have that you have thought through these matters, and we certainly hope that you will be as blessed as we have been.” “I hope so as well. But yes, we do have other paths to ensure Hanal’s stability. Its people are suffering.” “And that also means that although I understand why, with the military situation, it needs to be a little bit more stable, but the sooner that you can be wed, and pursuing such matters, the better for everyone.” “Yes, we hold off marriage now only because of the war, and the fact that we believe one of the other kovs is wavering in his loyalty to the Crown, and the possibility of still being open to offering my hand may be the thing that pushes him over to our side. That would take her western flank. Otherwise, we would have already wed.” “Understood. Is the other kov someone who, under other circumstances, if necessary, you would not be averse to as a lesser consort? Or would that be insulting to his dignity to suggest?" “Not exactly. If it is necessary, I will take him. If he accepts a position as a lesser consort, it will not be out of loyalty to the truth, throne, or to the true Church. If he switches sides, it will be entirely according to what he believes serves his interest.” “And then you would without doubt have a serpent within your household and conflict among potential children. He would demand--not unreasonably under the circumstances-- to have the opportunity to attempt to father children with you, and he would then surely seek to see them placed ahead of your husband's daughters.” “We are aware of these difficulties.” “Only if the war hinges on it would I recommend such a thing. It is extremely desirable that if you need, for whatever reasons, to have consorts besides your formal husband, that those consort be intensely loyal to the idea of the legitimate succession, and that they understand that that is in the interests of their own children as well.” “I believe that the only one I could find with those qualifications within Hanal is the Kov of Bormark, if he survives. But I am not confident that he would say yes. He is happy in his marriage and his children, so that might reduced me to the vadates.” “That might actually be easier in some ways. They couldn't raise a sufficient force to be a threat.” She turns to the bashar. “This is ‘conversation over a light lunch’ in the Imperial Palace.” Alistair continues, carefully not looking at Kit, “The other option that might be considered there is seeking among those who are not in the high nobility at all, and simply conferring upon them appropriate rank to give them appropriate status to hold in relationship to the family. Without a power base of their own, they would not pose a threat.” The Bashar looks up with great interest. Kit notices his fingers flash and immediately recognizes it as a house code. She is startled when her lens, which automatically translates written material, also translates the signs. <<There are certain bashars in the Imperial service might be susceptible to that offer and would be no threat.>> The Queen-Empress makes a very slight gesture, which is just <<Later.>> They continue discussing lighter matters, including the Queen-Empress’s belief that it might be ideal for the Kov’s nephew to ultimately settle in a non-Paranswarmian realm if he has the gift, because the members of the SHH are expected to sever all connection to their birth families. After they depart, the Council discusses some of this, including the bashar’s clear interest in using this to peel away legions from the usurper. If their bashar defected, the legion would almost certainly follow because of the fierce obedience in the chain of command. Kit sets some of her people to try to find out who Anastasia’s spymistress is, and will receive a report in two days. There are a handful of noble women with Anastasia that it could be. They know it's a woman, and that may actually be tradition in Hanal, though they aren’t sure. There are only a handful of women with her, because most of the people who came were with the military. Among the women, there are a couple of vadesses and a couple of stromesses. A vaddess is more more likely because Hanal is very rank conscious and a vaddess is more likely to be treated with the amount of respect necessary to be a successful spymistress. Kit decides to have their communications watched, in part to determine what information they are filtering out before it reaches Anastasia (and before it reaches the Council) and to try to identify who to place some of her people close to. She has a substantial number of people in the servants in the embassy, but not many who are closely placed. [cont'd] [/QUOTE]
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Aphonion Tales: The Archducal Council -- Unedited notes; later posts are edited transcripts (posts MWF, update 3/1/23)
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