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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 5611473" data-attributes="member: 9546">AFTERMATH“I want the torc, Mox,” Selena said coldly. “We had an agreement.”The witch and the sorceress stood in the otherwise empty throne room of the royal palace in Veritas.“I even brought your husband back alive,” Selena continued.“Hah!” Mox laughed. “And look where that’s gotten me! I’d be better off if you’d left him at the Veil of Frozen Tears. Traitors! All around me are traitors!”“I’ve stood by you all along,” the witch replied, keeping her voice carefully neutral, “but if you don’t turn the torc over to me and allow me to return to Irrisen, then I’m as good as dead. You are to when Queen Elvanna learns that you’re in possession of it. I’m surprised more of Kostchtchie’s minions haven’t come for you already.”“Who says they haven’t?” Mox snapped. The Queen shook her head in exasperation. “Look. I’ll give you the damned thing on one condition. It’s useless to me anyway. I know that Davrim and Tungdill haven’t been able to bring Velox back to life yet, but my sources tell me they are close. You can have the torc if you swear to me that you will retrieve his body and bring it back to me. I won’t have that bastard dogging me for the rest of my life!”“Agree,” Selena said. The Eye of Abaddon twinkled in its socket. “Now give me the torc.”___________________________________________________________“My Queen,” Selena said as she bowed her head and knelt before Elvanna’s throne.“You have done well, granddaughter,” the witch smiled. “You have returned that which is mine.”“I regret that I could not return your daughter to you as well,” Selena replied.Elvanna waved one hand dismissively. “If she were worthy, she would be standing where you are right now. What will you do now, child? Will you return to that quaint little backwater you ‘civilized’?”“No,” Selena said simply. “There’s nothing left for me there.”Elvanna’s smile broadened. “One-hundred years,” she said. “That is all that the Old Crone allots to each of her daughter’s to reign. I am upon my ninety-ninth. Though I have the torc, I have no wish to repeat the mistakes of my ancestor. I will accept my destiny, and hopefully my recovery of the artifact will gain me favor in my mother’s eyes. However, there is still the question of my successor…,”Selena lifted her eyes at last, and a small smile began to play across her own lips.____________________________________________________________“Welcome back!” Davrim exclaimed, his piggish face filling Velox’s field of vison.“Thanks,” the oracle replied, “though I must say I had been enjoying Iomedae’s company.”“Vacation’s over, my brother,” the inquisitor said as he hoisted Velox upright. “There’s work to be done.”“What’s the situation?” the oracle asked. “Have I missed much?”“Only the beginning of civil war,” Davrim said dryly. “Who’s with us?” Velox asked.“The centaurs,” Davrim said. “The halflings of Lohan. Our own people here in Fort Drelev, of course. Then there’s Tungdill.” Davrim shook his head. “That crazy old dwarf’s been running amok in the Narlmarches, animating trees and using all sorts of fey creatures as guerilla fighters. He’s sure be causing old Moxy more than her fair share of problems.”“So who’s with her then?” Velox asked.Davrim sighed. “The Sootscales for one. She’s also got the boggards of Hooktongue Slough. Convinced them that we were responsible for wiping out their chieftain. Plus, she’s also got the soldiers of Veritas behind her. The Tiger Lords are not with her, but they’re not with us either. They take any opportunity they can to use hit and run tactics against both sides.”Velox raised his eyes to his friend, the inevitable question written in them. “Stevhan?”“That, my friend,” Davrim said, “is a whole other story.”__________________________________________________________Harold the Herald looked in on the palace library at Stevhan, the Stag Lord, Duke of Pitax.  Though his people clamored for the hero to be named king, he would have none of it.  Instead, he kept the title of Duke, though he was no longer a subject of the Kardashian Queen – at least not politically.  The Duke was currently writing another letter, and Harold shook his head sadly.The last thirteen years had been hard on Duke Stevhan.  Few knew the real story about what happened between the former rulers of Kardashia high on the frozen falls of Irrisen, but Harold was among the privileged company that knew the truth.  Mox may have convinced herself that the others betrayed her, but in fact, it was she who had betrayed them.  While Velox and Davrim opposed her rule overtly from their bastion at Fort Drelev, and Tungdill waged his own resistance through the very nature of the Stolen Lands, Stevhan had retreated to Pitax to distance himself from the chaos that had befallen Kardashia.His first order of business was to proclaim by formal writ that Pitax was no longer subject to Kardashian rule, and that he would not initiate hostilities with his former nation.  However, if any hostilities were visited upon him or his lands, retribution would be swift and decisive.  It was simple, yet the resolve in those words was both strong and convicted – just like the Duke himself.Meanwhile, Stevhan set about consolidating his rule.  Under Irovetti, Pitax had been an insulated nation that cared only about itself.  His selfish ambition had alienated potential allies both politically and economically.  The new Duke determined to change that.  Preceded by his reputation as a fair ruler and a worthy adversary who wielded one of the most powerful artifacts in the known world, Stevhan reached out to the other rulers of the River Kingdoms.  Again, his message was exceedingly simple:  Pitax would not encroach upon any of its neighbors, but would not hesitate to defend itself should anyone violate its borders or interests.  Pitax was also open for business.  With its strategic location along the tributaries of the Sellen River, the growing city was in a prime location for trade with Brevoy in the north, Numeria to the west, and the other River Kingdoms to the south.  The other rulers, while never fully-trusting anyone, still breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the great hero did not appear to have an eye on their lands.Within his own lands, the Duke set about reforming Pitax itself.  Among the four noble houses, Stevhan found that he could trust almost no one.  The notable exception was the adventurous leader of the Vascari family, Jhofre Vascari.  The two men found kindred spirits in each other, and could often be found chatting over smoked cheese and beef at the Turning Wheel near the palace.  It was little surprise then that the Vascaris, who controlled most of the river trade along the Sellen, had benefitted greatly from the Duke’s friendship.  In order to curtail the power of the four families, Duke Stevhan had instituted a formal ruling council that included a representative from each of the families, a representative from each of the three city wards, and three “people’s champions” that were chosen from citizens of non-noble birth.  Ultimately, the Duke had final authority over all decisions, but he seemed to genuinely value the input from his council.Not an art devotee himself, the Duke nonetheless continued official sponsorship of Irovetti’s  Academy of the Arts.  Thankfully, headmistress Atalia Gitaren had run off most of the worst of Irovetti’s cronies, and the Academy was beginning to produce a quality product.  Regrettably, the Red Crescent Theater was still putting on the same bad plays as always, but since the Duke had never set foot in the place, he didn’t really care.Stevhan, though himself an adherent of Old Deadeye, allowed for the free worship of all good and neutral religions within his lands.  By his invitation, the monks of Cayden Cailean resanctified White Rose Abbey and resumed their wine production.  It wasn’t long before the White Rose label again became the most sought after vintage in the Inner Sea.  Merchants flocked to Pitax, attracted by the stability and the fair taxes.  The city and its environs grew rapidly as the Pitaxians reveled in a peacetime like none other in the River Kingdoms.Still, the Duke was not content to ignore events swirling around his realm.  Kardashia was still at war with Fort Drelev, and despite a decade of near-constant conflict, neither side could gain any advantage.  While he refused to directly attack his erstwhile wife or her lands, Stevhan knew that if she overthrew Velox and Davrim that he would be next.  Despite his many faults, Irovetti had been a master of intelligence.  Stevhan granted all of the former Pitaxian heralds and wardens amnesty in return for their loyalty, and set them loose among the River Kingdoms to “do no harm, but gather all information.”On the home front, the veteran ranger set aside one weekend each month for the training of a citizen militia.  As a result, the Pitaxian Reserves were some 10,000 strong, and could be called upon to defend their homeland with a week’s notice.  The Duke participated in these training sessions quite often, and the populace still marveled at his considerable skill with bow and blade.  Through his spies, Stevhan learned of his statue in the Garden of the Great Betrayal, and his new nickname among the Kardashians -  “Stevhan the Craven”.   Indeed, no moniker could be more false.  Still, it wore on him that not only Mox, but his own people had turned against him.  More troublesome still was the notable lack of information about his son, Prince Henry.  While Stevhan was admittedly not a very good father, he still loved his son, and he was determined to make sure that he was all right.  Mox had not replied to his letters over the years, but still he wrote.Still shaking his head, Harold turned away from the library and walked over to the conservatory windows.  From the high vantage point, the herald of Pitax looked out across the city and smiled.  Despite his personal tragedies, Duke Stevhan had triumphed in his remaking of Pitax.  It was no wonder then, that the Pitaxians had their own moniker for their leader, and called him Duke Stevhan the Wise.</blockquote>

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