seasong's Light Against The Dark II (May 13)
- Thread starter seasong
- Start date
.
seasong
First Post
Leaders of Theralis
Important Council Members
Balthas: The Grand General of Theralis, Balthas is an immensely quiet and studied woman, an accomplished healer, and a vicious opponent in any competitive event. Now grayed and shrunken, she is nonetheless in excellent shape, and continues to participate in sparring with Captains, although she no longer dominates in the same manner as she once did.
Balthas rarely speaks in Council. When she does, she is right, and when difficult decisions are placed on the table, many Council Members listen carefully for her soft voice, on the off chance she might decide to speak. She has never lost a debate in living memory... if she ever did, she's outlived it.
Phitios: Like many Council Members, Phitios is also a General. A senior Council Member, Phitios is not well known, as he mostly intervenes in any discussion only to remind of history or past decisions. General Daelas is considered more of an expert on the military, and General Ukeles is considerably louder. Still, when he does express his opion, it tends to have considerable weight, either counterbalancing an opinion by one of the other two Generals, or lending their statements greater force.
Daelas: Young and unspeakably brilliant, Daelas was Phitios' pupil in the methods of warfare, and has managed to rise swiftly since then. Her role as a Council Member is most often as a source of information and ideas, rather than decisions - she still lacks much pull among the other Council Members due to her youth, particularly on civil matters, with which she has almost no experience.
Ukeles: Self-described as a "charismatic madman", Ukeles travelled a great deal as a youth before settling back into the Theralis valleys and rejoining Service, and then, upon attaining a Generalship by virtue of the strong loyalty he engendered, set about becoming a Council Member. His role in Council is generally to express the loudest, rudest opinion - many Council Members take their tack from him, following his lead or using him as a compass of where not to go.
His most mercurial quality, however, is his ability to change his opinion midstream. Some think that he takes the side he doesn't want to win on occasion, in order to ridicule its position with his own extremism, before taking a more moderate view. Others aren't so sure.
Furimenes: Sometimes called "the only merchant with weight", Furimenes is a grossly wealthy man, who outright owns nearly a third of all business going north, and has sufficient assets that he can afford to hire other merchants to run his line for him. He is also a celebrity wine taster, a veritable travellogue of other nations and places, a skilled debater, and an unusually popular Council Member among the populace.
His primary focus during the wars has been to avoid heavy taxes to pay for the war effort, and to keep the trade routes open. That will soon change.
Alleras: An ellini nearly as old as Balthas, Alleras is considered by most to be the expert on civil affairs. She is also Theralis' equivalent to a spymaster, blending effortlessly the twin duties of knowing what is going on, and maintaining the city affairs as usual. Like Balthas, she rarely speaks, but that is more because whatever it is that she wants to do, she is already doing.
The people of Theralis know her simply as a bar maven who trades gossipy bits in return for chatting about anything and everything. There are few regular patrons who don't know her and her lack of thrift where buying drinks is concerned.
Menelaos: The owner of the largest vineyard in Tartwater, Menelaos parleyed his patronage of the Olympiad into a Council seat a decade ago. His primary concern is, and always has been, the interests of vineyards, Dianas, and the wine trade. Priests are not allowed on the Council, and he barely qualifies.
Important Generals
Phitios: Born in Riverside nearly forty years ago, Phitios has aged into a muscular but portly man with a relaxed demeanor and sharp, hawk-like eyes. His primary talent is finding people with other talents, and drawing genius out of them like one might pull up water from a well. A skilled negotiator and orator, he is generally well-liked... more so since he dropped the stiff General facade long enough to ham it up in the recent Olympiad Dragon Play.
Phitios has recently acquired Captain Agina into his personal squad of Captains, a sign that many have taken as meaning that she is going to figure prominently in the upcoming war, possibly as his morale advisor.
Daelas: She is still not the Grand General, but is expected to take that position within a decade. Daelas is the driving force behind the current war push, buttressed by an enthusiastic Ukeles and cautiously optimistic Phitios. Her primary strengths lie in cunning plans and calculated aggression, and she is a monster in the various strategic board games the Generals favor.
Important Captains
Agina: A tough woman with alternately stern and boisterous manner, Agina has proven herself repeatedly in the some of the worst situations of the war. As a Captain, she is most valued by Theralis for her capacity to surprise and threaten the enemy, although there are some fears that she is insufficiently cautious. Recently retained by Phitios, it is believed that she will be placed in charge of general morale for his troops, particularly since she recently won Dianas' Luck in the Olympiad.
She is also an expert swordsman, matched by few other Captains.
Kyriotes: A Captain in name only, Kyriotes has no one in his command - the title is representative of his contributions to the Theralis military, and capacity for "commanding" extraplanar creatures in the service of Theralis. His title makes it legal for him to make decisions in battle on the scale that he is capable of, and frees him from the necessity of taking orders from anyone save the Generals.
Kyriotes is a charismatic summoner who has adventured extensively over the course of his long life, and taken thirteen apprentices, many of whom have since taken on apprentices of their own. He is currently in charge of training a batch of summoners, and will likely continue to extend his influence over arcanist interests in the coming years.
Important Council Members
Balthas: The Grand General of Theralis, Balthas is an immensely quiet and studied woman, an accomplished healer, and a vicious opponent in any competitive event. Now grayed and shrunken, she is nonetheless in excellent shape, and continues to participate in sparring with Captains, although she no longer dominates in the same manner as she once did.
Balthas rarely speaks in Council. When she does, she is right, and when difficult decisions are placed on the table, many Council Members listen carefully for her soft voice, on the off chance she might decide to speak. She has never lost a debate in living memory... if she ever did, she's outlived it.
Phitios: Like many Council Members, Phitios is also a General. A senior Council Member, Phitios is not well known, as he mostly intervenes in any discussion only to remind of history or past decisions. General Daelas is considered more of an expert on the military, and General Ukeles is considerably louder. Still, when he does express his opion, it tends to have considerable weight, either counterbalancing an opinion by one of the other two Generals, or lending their statements greater force.
Daelas: Young and unspeakably brilliant, Daelas was Phitios' pupil in the methods of warfare, and has managed to rise swiftly since then. Her role as a Council Member is most often as a source of information and ideas, rather than decisions - she still lacks much pull among the other Council Members due to her youth, particularly on civil matters, with which she has almost no experience.
Ukeles: Self-described as a "charismatic madman", Ukeles travelled a great deal as a youth before settling back into the Theralis valleys and rejoining Service, and then, upon attaining a Generalship by virtue of the strong loyalty he engendered, set about becoming a Council Member. His role in Council is generally to express the loudest, rudest opinion - many Council Members take their tack from him, following his lead or using him as a compass of where not to go.
His most mercurial quality, however, is his ability to change his opinion midstream. Some think that he takes the side he doesn't want to win on occasion, in order to ridicule its position with his own extremism, before taking a more moderate view. Others aren't so sure.
Furimenes: Sometimes called "the only merchant with weight", Furimenes is a grossly wealthy man, who outright owns nearly a third of all business going north, and has sufficient assets that he can afford to hire other merchants to run his line for him. He is also a celebrity wine taster, a veritable travellogue of other nations and places, a skilled debater, and an unusually popular Council Member among the populace.
His primary focus during the wars has been to avoid heavy taxes to pay for the war effort, and to keep the trade routes open. That will soon change.
Alleras: An ellini nearly as old as Balthas, Alleras is considered by most to be the expert on civil affairs. She is also Theralis' equivalent to a spymaster, blending effortlessly the twin duties of knowing what is going on, and maintaining the city affairs as usual. Like Balthas, she rarely speaks, but that is more because whatever it is that she wants to do, she is already doing.
The people of Theralis know her simply as a bar maven who trades gossipy bits in return for chatting about anything and everything. There are few regular patrons who don't know her and her lack of thrift where buying drinks is concerned.
Menelaos: The owner of the largest vineyard in Tartwater, Menelaos parleyed his patronage of the Olympiad into a Council seat a decade ago. His primary concern is, and always has been, the interests of vineyards, Dianas, and the wine trade. Priests are not allowed on the Council, and he barely qualifies.
Important Generals
Phitios: Born in Riverside nearly forty years ago, Phitios has aged into a muscular but portly man with a relaxed demeanor and sharp, hawk-like eyes. His primary talent is finding people with other talents, and drawing genius out of them like one might pull up water from a well. A skilled negotiator and orator, he is generally well-liked... more so since he dropped the stiff General facade long enough to ham it up in the recent Olympiad Dragon Play.
Phitios has recently acquired Captain Agina into his personal squad of Captains, a sign that many have taken as meaning that she is going to figure prominently in the upcoming war, possibly as his morale advisor.
Daelas: She is still not the Grand General, but is expected to take that position within a decade. Daelas is the driving force behind the current war push, buttressed by an enthusiastic Ukeles and cautiously optimistic Phitios. Her primary strengths lie in cunning plans and calculated aggression, and she is a monster in the various strategic board games the Generals favor.
Important Captains
Agina: A tough woman with alternately stern and boisterous manner, Agina has proven herself repeatedly in the some of the worst situations of the war. As a Captain, she is most valued by Theralis for her capacity to surprise and threaten the enemy, although there are some fears that she is insufficiently cautious. Recently retained by Phitios, it is believed that she will be placed in charge of general morale for his troops, particularly since she recently won Dianas' Luck in the Olympiad.
She is also an expert swordsman, matched by few other Captains.
Kyriotes: A Captain in name only, Kyriotes has no one in his command - the title is representative of his contributions to the Theralis military, and capacity for "commanding" extraplanar creatures in the service of Theralis. His title makes it legal for him to make decisions in battle on the scale that he is capable of, and frees him from the necessity of taking orders from anyone save the Generals.
Kyriotes is a charismatic summoner who has adventured extensively over the course of his long life, and taken thirteen apprentices, many of whom have since taken on apprentices of their own. He is currently in charge of training a batch of summoners, and will likely continue to extend his influence over arcanist interests in the coming years.
seasong
First Post
Vignette: Decision of War
The Council had convened to Menelaos home in the north end of Tartwater. An hour from Theralis, they had marked it as a day-long holiday in the record books, a social function for them to blow off some steam, get happily drunk, and debauche themselves in the time honored fashion of Council Members under the immense stress of war, politics, and leadership.
When Alleras confirmed that they had privacy, the gaiety of their manner dropped from them like shed water. Ukeles, true to his nature, was the first to speak, "The tribals will keep coming back. The only way for us, for our civilization, to survive... is to kill them before they kill us."
Phitios allowed a moment of shocked silence, then interjected, "At the very least, we must make certain we are safe, although I am not certain that Ukeles' solution is the best way to insure that."
Daelas smiled, "It is not possible in any case. There are too many, over too vast a land. We do not have the army needed to wipe them all out."
Menelaos and Furimenes were already jumping to their feet to attack the idea, when Daelas waved a hand, "I said, it's not possible. I doubt Balthas would ask of me to devise a plan that would wipe out our worldy possessions just to let us survive. Such a life is not worth living."
Ukeles, shook his head, "We must do something."
Heads nodded all around. The wars had been costly, both in the city's coffers and in terms of lost youths. Furimenes said, more quietly, "Daelas, the second year of Service is expensive. Are you certain it will be worth it?"
She shrugged, "As I have said before... At the very least, it will allow us enough manpower to, once we rout the Breaking Cat orcs, send a contingent to damage them severely enough that they can not come back for a generation or three. But that will be costly, as well, and I don't expect that we can do this twice - if there are worse tribes coming from the east, this may cost us our civilization."
Furimenes nodded, "I ask because many children of merchants, craftsmen and vineyards have re-entered Service. If we keep it up, in a few years we will not have the foundation of our society. I am not sure we can afford the cost even once."
Phitios, judging the mood was right for some strategy, added in, "If every citizen of Theralis marched this summer, we would have enough soldiers to march... Daelas?"
"We could crush perhaps four hundred miles worth of orcs, but there would be a swift shove back to fill in that gap - we would be as a brushfire, only ensuring that the strongest thrived better."
"...Just so." Phitios paused, "We need a longterm solution. We need to be able to maintain our vineyards, but we also need to be able to field a massive force, consistently. We need those extra years of Service, but we also need to avoid them."
Heads nodded again - with limited human resources, the classic attrition between soldier and farmer was well known to all.
Balthas then offered, soft-spoken but deadly, "Put the tribes to work in the fields."
Within an hour, the decision was made, and the remainder of the day was spent planning the best way to present it to the people. The tribes would provide the manpower needed to maintain civilization while the people of Theralis marched to war.
The Council had convened to Menelaos home in the north end of Tartwater. An hour from Theralis, they had marked it as a day-long holiday in the record books, a social function for them to blow off some steam, get happily drunk, and debauche themselves in the time honored fashion of Council Members under the immense stress of war, politics, and leadership.
When Alleras confirmed that they had privacy, the gaiety of their manner dropped from them like shed water. Ukeles, true to his nature, was the first to speak, "The tribals will keep coming back. The only way for us, for our civilization, to survive... is to kill them before they kill us."
Phitios allowed a moment of shocked silence, then interjected, "At the very least, we must make certain we are safe, although I am not certain that Ukeles' solution is the best way to insure that."
Daelas smiled, "It is not possible in any case. There are too many, over too vast a land. We do not have the army needed to wipe them all out."
Menelaos and Furimenes were already jumping to their feet to attack the idea, when Daelas waved a hand, "I said, it's not possible. I doubt Balthas would ask of me to devise a plan that would wipe out our worldy possessions just to let us survive. Such a life is not worth living."
Ukeles, shook his head, "We must do something."
Heads nodded all around. The wars had been costly, both in the city's coffers and in terms of lost youths. Furimenes said, more quietly, "Daelas, the second year of Service is expensive. Are you certain it will be worth it?"
She shrugged, "As I have said before... At the very least, it will allow us enough manpower to, once we rout the Breaking Cat orcs, send a contingent to damage them severely enough that they can not come back for a generation or three. But that will be costly, as well, and I don't expect that we can do this twice - if there are worse tribes coming from the east, this may cost us our civilization."
Furimenes nodded, "I ask because many children of merchants, craftsmen and vineyards have re-entered Service. If we keep it up, in a few years we will not have the foundation of our society. I am not sure we can afford the cost even once."
Phitios, judging the mood was right for some strategy, added in, "If every citizen of Theralis marched this summer, we would have enough soldiers to march... Daelas?"
"We could crush perhaps four hundred miles worth of orcs, but there would be a swift shove back to fill in that gap - we would be as a brushfire, only ensuring that the strongest thrived better."
"...Just so." Phitios paused, "We need a longterm solution. We need to be able to maintain our vineyards, but we also need to be able to field a massive force, consistently. We need those extra years of Service, but we also need to avoid them."
Heads nodded again - with limited human resources, the classic attrition between soldier and farmer was well known to all.
Balthas then offered, soft-spoken but deadly, "Put the tribes to work in the fields."
Within an hour, the decision was made, and the remainder of the day was spent planning the best way to present it to the people. The tribes would provide the manpower needed to maintain civilization while the people of Theralis marched to war.
seasong
First Post
Heh. Actually, it's just a lovely coincidence, based on his age (from my XP charts for part-time adventurers; 36) and the assumption of about 1 apprentice per 2 years. He had only had 11 when the campaign started.Greybar said:
However, that's not to say that I won't use it for symbolism
.
Indigo Veil
First Post
..Oh. My. God.
Nice updates, but *great* vignette. Greppa and Uripedas are gonna have some fun then, eh? (well, fun if they live through the impending war, that is. ^^;;; )
Nice updates, but *great* vignette. Greppa and Uripedas are gonna have some fun then, eh? (well, fun if they live through the impending war, that is. ^^;;; )
seasong
First Post
Academia: Politics
Purely as a side note, and for those who like to get deeper into the politics of things, it should be noted that Balthas didn't have the idea of putting the orcs to work in the fields. Daelas did, and when she confided in Phitios, Phitios took her to chat with Balthas - the idea being, if Balthas thought it would go over well, they would present it to the Council. Balthas suggested that she should interject it at an appropriate moment, as Menelaos would likely respond badly to anyone else suggesting such a thing. They planned how to approach it, and Ukeles was brought in to voice support.
This was weeks ago. The current meeting was purely setup to get this passed through, and it was done at Menelaos' property so he would feel secure. Anyone who thinks the Council is running Theralis needs to have a look at the Generals.
Edit - Typo.
Purely as a side note, and for those who like to get deeper into the politics of things, it should be noted that Balthas didn't have the idea of putting the orcs to work in the fields. Daelas did, and when she confided in Phitios, Phitios took her to chat with Balthas - the idea being, if Balthas thought it would go over well, they would present it to the Council. Balthas suggested that she should interject it at an appropriate moment, as Menelaos would likely respond badly to anyone else suggesting such a thing. They planned how to approach it, and Ukeles was brought in to voice support.
This was weeks ago. The current meeting was purely setup to get this passed through, and it was done at Menelaos' property so he would feel secure. Anyone who thinks the Council is running Theralis needs to have a look at the Generals.
Edit - Typo.
Last edited:
Indigo Veil
First Post
Council member politics: I say again, "Oh. My. God." They're awesome, those generals, but after reading about that set up, I feel kinda dirty. >.<!
The first time I said that, I was more thinking about what seems to me a shift in Theralis from what it was to a more slave based kind of culture. (that's what immediately popped into my head, because no mention was made of the orcs getting paid for their work, since it seems to be just a switch of responsibilities from their pact, from guarding the borders and trade routes to farming.)
Also, I'm curious to see how those proud, nomadic orc hunters will adjust to this new forced agrarian lifestyle, especially since the Council had this set up weeks ago, and no one asked the orc leaders for their opinions. (poor orcies! ;_; orcs have feelings, too!)
I could be wrong about all that, but anyway.
Sun Hawk fun: that's good to know. I'll look forward to that, and hope they live through the fun-ness. Funny how one's death can put an unhappy damper on one's enjoyment of things.
edit: these boards don't seem to like my anime styled emoticons. ^.^;;
The first time I said that, I was more thinking about what seems to me a shift in Theralis from what it was to a more slave based kind of culture. (that's what immediately popped into my head, because no mention was made of the orcs getting paid for their work, since it seems to be just a switch of responsibilities from their pact, from guarding the borders and trade routes to farming.)
Also, I'm curious to see how those proud, nomadic orc hunters will adjust to this new forced agrarian lifestyle, especially since the Council had this set up weeks ago, and no one asked the orc leaders for their opinions. (poor orcies! ;_; orcs have feelings, too!)
I could be wrong about all that, but anyway.
Sun Hawk fun: that's good to know. I'll look forward to that, and hope they live through the fun-ness. Funny how one's death can put an unhappy damper on one's enjoyment of things.
edit: these boards don't seem to like my anime styled emoticons. ^.^;;
Last edited:
).Similar Threads
