@Tomcost: The Druid's sister was already killed. Both parties were guilty of their own crimes, so they were not tied to each other's case. You don't know why the orcs choose to tie the family and busniess to Scales; Perhaps she owns a larger share.
Well then; I've read up on this thread over the last few days. Truth be told, it was a very good read.
A bona fide "Bloody Countess" - now thats bay12 in action, I guess.
I especially like, how the orcs have been portrayed; Their blunt way of putting things and gains out of relationships, which would be somewhat of a complete taboo for "us humans", left a very nice impression on me. To put it simply, they are positively UN-human, but are still very much relatable, as they and their behaviour is not IN-human. You can't really envison yourself to act like them, but their ways are not completely "alien", as many "unhuman" races are often portrayed in fantasy. (If the author even bothers to change their culture and psyche from human norms.) No, really, my respect - that's a good piece of work.
As someone who dabbles in writing, I found this to be quite inspirational - or maybe "educational", would be a better way to put it?
Thanks. Any praise from you is high praise indeed.
When writing other species, my rule of thumb is most mortal intelligent beings have the same needs and desires [grow rich, fat, and admired, produce offspring, ensure said offspring become at least as rich, fat, and admired as they are]. The difference is in the skills and mindsets they bring to the table when trying to obtain these things.
---
(Again, sorry for the delay, infodump got out of hand. Mondays and Tuesdays are the worst days for me to be doing this anyway)
2334th Year of Man, 5th Month, 8th Day:SundayYou stroke Syzzik's cheek and inform him that you would rather him not waste money hushing up his purchase.
"Lets send a message to the crown that we are willing to go all the way..."He nods.
"The majority of my wealth is tied up in shares of businesses run out of Titan Rock, including my shipping company. If I sell those, I can continue to draw a reasonable salary and maintain influence within that business as I manage all their gun-smuggling issues on this side of the ocean."With a squeeze of your hand, he continues,
"My partners in that business are also my friends, love; Most of them were also trophy husbands to the same woman I was married to, and the rest made their fortunes by buying in to my ideas. I will instruct them to liquidate my stock holdings, and invest them in artifact cannons, while telling them why I intend to do so and inviting them to also invest in the scheme. I do not know exactly how much money I will make between liquidating and convincing my friends to join in, so I will leave the specifics of the cannon order up to them."He smiles, and gives you another peck on the cheek.
"It is a week by horse to Port Lionfish, three by fast ship from there to Gearport, and it should take them a week or two to carry out my instructions and compose a response. So I should have a status report in about two and a half months. After that, I'd like to take you on a tour of the cities of my homeland, to win you friends, and love you openly away from the judgmental eyes of your subjects for a spell. Start finding or grooming somebody you can trust to run things in your absence now."2334th Year of Man, 5th Month, 9th Day:MondayYou claim a random woman in her thirties under Smith Joss' employ for the animation table, but tell the enchanter to just hold onto the souls for now; You are considering forfeiting them to take responsibility for Greent's actions.
He tells you he is trapping the souls anyway for his Chieftess, and that you are fee to claim your share anytime before the duels Friday. He wont be lableing them, however, so any souls you claim from todays victims will be random from here on out. You suppose that is fine; If you do take the spirits, it will likely be to cover Yaugur's contract.
---
Clearing some space off at the table, you invite Chief Half-Moon and his men to join you for food and negotiations.
You impress him by bringing Rugath and Starling to the table, and by the time negotiations begin in earnest, his tone is far more friendly. Like most orcs, he is direct with his intentions. He knows the vault belongs to the great tradesmen of your species from a bygone age, and desires some unique gear for himself; The Half-Moon Scythe, an artifact from before the age of man that is traditionally used as a badge of office by Chieftains of his clan, was stolen five years ago. He also notes that Virgil, Snakeyes, and company were spotted by several of the other small ruins clans, and identified as your agents. Because the incursion was witnessed, he cannot allow it to pass without some form of punishment or repayment, lest the other clans view him as weak and begin to brazenly act against him.
With his motives stated, Chief Half-Moon employs the famed orcish negoiating technique of opening with the lowest offer he will accept. He demands the right to claim at least one weapon and a set of armor of his choosing from the vault, should such items exist. He also needs to collect restitution for the crime of incursion; This restitution either needs to reflect the crime (hence his initial demand of a share of the vault for the prisoners), or needs to be grand in scale to reflect the fact that he is collecting from a wealthy and powerful person. He has a few suggestions for other forms of restitution that he would accept.
He would like one of the mead halls vacated by the clans hostile to Clan Ivy. He notes that he would be perfectly willing to wait until the mighty clan leaves the city to claim it. Any clan big enough to have a mead hall in town would be bigger, richer, and thus more useful as an ally than Half-Moon, and would surely want their hall back once it is safe for them to return.
Another form of restitution he would be open to is some sort of high honor or appointment. The right to lead a host of at least one thousand warriors on behalf of your cause would be acceptable for him, although his decision to barge into a powerful person's home to demand payment leads you to question his tactical skills. One of the Groghall soldiers mentions the courtly positions open, Half-Moon agrees he would be willing to take on the role of Master-at-Arms and call it even. He also mentions that he is considering two potential heirs, a cunning half-goblin named Dreamer, and a talented druid, ice elementalist, and potion brewer called Knot. He would consider it proper restitution if you would appoint the former your steward and the latter your court mage, and then in several years report back to him with your thoughts on who is more worthy to be the next Chieftain or Chieftess.
As you anticipated he might, the Chieftain also suggests one of the more traditional forms of Orcish payment; Bloodsharing. 'Sharing Seed' between your bloodline and Clan Half-Moon and turning over the resulting child would not only cover restitution, but would bind the small band of Orcs to your interests as kin. Deploying Dean would be the obvious solution should you choose to go this route, but the overwhelming majority of Orcs have a poor understanding of human family structure, so with a bit of clever lying you could likely get away with using any human male in the household. Chieftian Half-Moon helpfully points out that he would be willing to wait for Joy to have her baby if she is the one to participate, but you find that option more than a little inconvenient and rash, as do you find the idea of using a fertility potion and biting the bullet yourself.
After giving you these examples of possible restitution, and making sure that you understand his motivations, the orc indicates that he is willing to listen to any ideas or counter-offers regarding the restitution that you might have.
---
You find Redding at the same bar he was at last night, discussing things with a different set of mercenaries. This time you are recognized, and the room falls dead silent. Redding breaks the tension by inviting you to have a seat, and ordering you a beer. The Barkeep leers at you as he pours, so your Son-in-law forces him to drink a quarter of it to test for poison. You decide to let the rest just sit in front of you.
Redding opens the conversation by stating point-blank that he intends to use this opprotunity to its fullest, and that whichever mercenary he chooses will be more than capable of killing your champion.
"If I'm crossing you in this matter so be it. I'm married to your heir. I have more to lose by letting Trevor die than I do by pissing you off, so long as I don't break the law in doing so."His blunt choice of language might be inspired by the crowd he is sitting with, but you are fairly certain that his intention to save his friend is genuine.
"...Listen. I'm thinking of petitioning Shaman Crank to turn the trials over to me. I'll exonerate if you and Greent can talk some sense into him."Redding pauses for a second in thought, and the large and heavily scarred sellsword sitting next to him chimes in.
"Only if you promise to take execution off the table even if Redding should fail. Otherwise I'm going to gather some men and find Crank right now, and rile up the crazy orc so you have no chance of negotiating with em.""If he gets worked up enough," Redding adds half-heartedly, clearly not happy that he is in a position to be making unfriendly demands of you,
"you might be able to get him to demand to participate himself. Then I'll have to send an inquisitor to kill him, and then the whole Clan Ivy thing falls apart on us."You don't see the two agents of Clan Ivy that are supposed to be tailing you, but you suspect they are lurking in the shadows somewhere nearby, and could be used to intercept the mercenary before he reaches Crank.
---
You remain at the bar with your son-in-law for a good portion of the night, just to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid or treacherous. Depending on who the other mercenaries sitting at the table are, his tone towards you shifts from friendly, to cordial, to downright hostile. Eventually, when the only other company is a pair of elves who are more loyal to Redding than they are to Mr. Wikes, your son-in-law breaks down, and offers some key information.
"Listen. I'm only telling you this because you are family to me, and I don't want to see family hurt," he warns,
"so if you use what I'm about to say to hurt my son anymore than is absolutely necessary to protect yourself, I wont be able to forgive you."He sighs and shakes his head,
"I talked with Greent today, to find out where he stands. He opened up to me. The boy is loyal to Chasity, and on our side because he has very strong reason to believe she is the victim in all this. He told me he wants to consolidate our power, and weaken yours, so he can put a knife in your back if he finds he is wrong, or if your daughter does away with the Prince and claims the Duchy for herself."Redding takes a long sip of whiskey.
"They are in fucking love, Maeris! She promised him her hand once she got rid of Virgil's son, and eventually the Duchy, but sent him away because she didn't want their feelings for each other to be apparent before it became convenient. He says she eventually would have ousted you and Sylvester, but not until after he finished modernizing the Duchy and she was positive none of her siblings were viable heirs."Peering through the bottom of a now empty shot glass he continues,
"He thinks there is no way her actual plan would involve her marrying somebody else, unless she intended to kill that person. He also claims there is no way her actual scheme would allow her side to be cut off from Orc Country. Greent is a real go-getter. Boy managed to get both Clan Scarab and Clan Fig to secretly pledge to the cause of giving Chasity the Duchy."Scarab and Fig are both large clans with Mead Halls in town and strong ties to the local mercenary community. If mobilized, they could each field at least a thousand warriors within the duchy. Fig also happens to be a sacred clan, and as such has smaller vassals and allies it can call upon to send even more troops.
A tear rolls down his cheek.
"They are mobilizing in the jungles as we speak. Greent plans to activate them once he figures out how to get the orcs across the river, and once he knows exactly what Chasity's situation and intentions are... so he knows on whose behalf to deploy them. The boy is held up in Clan Fig's hall, with thirty of their soldiers and at least four times that many sellswords... I... I don't know what to do Maeris. The boy is brilliant... but I'm afraid he is going to get us killed... or worse get himself killed."2334th Year of Man, 5th Month, 10th Day:TuesdayIt is after midnight by the time you return to Groghall to change after witnessing Redding pass out at the bar and having his elf friends help drag him to bed; You are not yet done with your day, as you intend to pay a visit to Confessor Rash. Luckily the confessor was also seeking you out, and emerges from the shadows just as you remove your blouse that now reeks of cheap alcohol.
She lets you speak your piece, and after hearing you out speaks hers.
"We could try to do that," the confessor answers,
"depending on what mood the voices are in, he may see the logic in handing the trial over to you."She grins, revealing razor sharp teeth, as if to remind you that her goblin and demon blood mean the usual rules for negotiating with Orcs do not apply to her.
"Or we could arrange a deal. Ensure their fighter for the mercenary captain outmatches ours, and our fighter for the druid outmatches theirs. The Mercs get their leader back, neither side is completely humiliated, and we can all sit down, get on the same page, and solidify your position.""That... is unexpectedly pragmatic of you," you reply nervously.
"I prefer pragmatism when I can go behind Cranks back. He doesn't like goblin tricks. If it were my call to make alone, I would have let you try all the people plotting against you in the first place." The confessor grins,
"I know the Chieftess has big plans, and that your bloodline plays a key role in them. I want to get in good with you, and if I were calling the shots, Clan Ivy would be completely subservient to your will while fighting your war."The mysterious orc bends down to help you with a difficult latch on your clothes, and pops back up, still grinning, to continue.
"Let me sweeten that plan for you. The fighter we arrange to die on our side shall be High Shaman Crank. We goad him into fighting for the death of the mercenaries, and make sure they send a powerful inquisitor to neutralize and destroy him. Then I shall take over leading the worldly affairs of the clan, and you can take the Shaman's Juicy one-of-a-kind soul. I'll even have an enchanter seal it for you, so you can pawn it off to any demon of your choosing."You catch yourself drooling. Someone with the correct knowhow could make two or three greater demons from a soul as souped-up as Cranks, making it so valuable that you couldn't price it off the top of your head. Hell, just feeding it to a demon you command would likely cause them to rapidly grow into a being of your father's present magnitude.
"...And then what do we do?"Confessor Rash's grin expresses some of her demonic blood, as it grows so wide that the tips of her lips are right next to her eyeballs.
"Then, my sister, I provide my expert council where needed, and ensure that Clan Ivy truly acts on your orders and in your interests. Trance is already guiding your daughter to sew a fanatic love for our cause through her sermons. My agents and your dark magic will cause people on your lands to fear our wrath. Combined, the forces of love and fear will win you the complete loyalty of your subjects so that you may focus on your enemy."You sigh, this seems to good to be true. There had to be a catch.
"What do you gain from answering to me?"The grins fades as she ponders her response, as if weighing something heavy.
"Ahh.... shucks. You are kin. And important. I can tell you. After fifteen hundred years, Chieftess Ivy has completed the necessary rites and is prepared to reveal the true power of the gate. She wont tell us exactly what that entails, but it is supposed to ensure that Trance and her followers will inherit the world.""Before she can pull the trigger, however, she wants to carry out some final preparations regarding the politics of both the mortal and demonic realms." The Orc abruptly places her pointer finger on your chest, and her sharp goblin-like claw draws a bit of blood between and just above your breasts,
"You and your bloodline have been chosen to play a key role in making these preparations. The Chieftess doesn't bother explaining it to me, lots of Dark Magic stuff I wont understand, but does say it could take a decade at least or generations at the most. I would like to live long enough to witness the true opening of the gate, whatever that may be, so I want you strong enough to do the will of Trance with greater haste."---
@Tomcost: Most greater demons can easily dispatch an inquisitor of average talent, and even above average inquisitors with some difficulty. Balrogs are greater demons that specialize in combat, and as such can be counted on to deal with all but the most elite inquisitors such as your sister's husband and his most important guards and underlings. As it just so happens, you ninja'd me as I was dumping on the history of House Bonedust, and included in that dump are a few nuggets of wisdom that imply Yagur might be better suited to deal with the inquisition than most of his kind...
A Brief History of House Bonedust and Their Partnership with Tivavarav:You lie in bed after Confessor Rash leaves. Between the schemes of orc goddesses, unaffiliated deep goddesses, and your new boyfriend it is seeming more and more likely that your endgame is no longer the reclamation of Redleaf Duchy but the overthrow of the entire Emmit Dynasty.
History tells of a situation, three hundred years ago, when dark mages aligned with goblins and demons to rebel against the crown. You studied those events well in youth, and likely would have even if historical lore wasn't one of your passions, for that rebellion gave birth to the modern House of Bonedust.
As sleep approaches, your thoughs begin to lose focus, and some memories of your own upbringing begin to intermingle with the cold facts of your bloodline's history.
The Bonedusts descend from House Skorn, a bloodline so old they took part in the war to exterminate the Grey Orcs and helped bring about the age of man. House Skorn was tied to dark magic as far back as the records go, and during the time of the Underoot Dynasty, the first human queens, their black magic reached its height. During those days Drow roamed freely across The Kingdom, breeding into and manipulating the high houses, but the mages of Skorn made sure they got their money's worth out of the interlopers; With Drowish help House Skorn created many greater demons, and even several deep deities, to serve as their vassals. At this point, Skorn was easily the strongest male lead household; They controlled what was then the Sharpfang Duchy, were recognized as the alpha dark mages of the entire landmass, and provided more husbands to the Underoot Queens than any other noble bloodline.
House Skorn declined quite a bit after the Underoots fell, the new Gulf Dynasty massacred the drow, and the Kingdom's Pantheon consolidated their power killing many of Skorn's pet deities, and banning the open worship of the rest, in the process. The mages of Skorn were harassed by the inquisition if their practice became too blatant, and the bloodline of Goblin Pharaohs rose to challenge their dominance as dark mages. Many of the other old families west of the Ironheart Mountains also languished while the crown sat on the east coast however, so Skorn was still mighty among its neighbors at least. When anger towards the crown reached its boiling point, Skorn became one of the five mighty Households to strike down the tyranny of The Gulf Kings, House Roe, and the Savannah Orcs.
The fall of the Gulf Dynasty brought about the Dynasty of the Five Houses. During this time the crown rotated between the high families of Skorn, Highwalls, Intrepid, Alleye, and Emmit. During these years, House Skorn got their first and only taste of the crown, and quickly leveraged the highest human power to restore their supernatural might. The inquisition turned their backs to Skorn behavior, and powerful drow were once again lured from the depths to help House Skorn create mighty, and even divine, servants. The Goblin Pharaoh was once again clearly their inferior, and the name Skorn became more or less synonymous with mighty magic.
This rotating dynasty fell apart just over three hundred years ago, when the houses of Emmit and Highwalls conspired to screw the other three. The two conspiring houses controlled the vast majority of troops around the royal palace, and together proclaimed that henceforth House Emmit would hold the crown and House Highwalls would govern the affairs to the mighty Royal Capital. The three betrayed houses rebelled. Intrepid and Alleye were pacified within a decade, but Skorn took their ball and left.
Lady Fauris Skorn poisoned her traitor father and Highwall mother, declared herself head of household, and married the reigning Goblin Pharaoh. The combined forces of the two most potent dark bloodlines then accomplished something that hadn't been done since the days of Underoot rule, and leveraged the demons and deep deities under their command to slay Martha, one of the Kingdom's four Gods. The combined powers then lead a horde of goblins and human traitors across the Kingdom, costing the crown almost a third of its total land and sparking a war that still rages to this day.
This whole situation left one Prince Consort Yaugus Skorn in a very awkward situation. The respectable fortysomething Inquisitor was the half-brother of the trecherous Lady Fauris, but close friends with the newly crowned King Hollis Emmit and married to the man's younger sister. King Emmit, not wanting to lose his friend to rebellion, offered Yaugus the position of High Inquisitor, recently vacated in protest by Sherman Alleye, and the right to keep any property might claim from the rebelling families. Yaugus took the deal, sided with the crown against his family, and thus the gears that lead to the formation of the modern Bonedust Family were set in motion.
Yaugus knew only the bare basics of summoning so he that he might contact family through demons, but knowing that he was the new head of house for the few remaining Loyalist Skorn, sought to live up to his title and spent most of the next five years studying the dark arts and becoming a manifestation. Already a skilled fire elementalist, swordsman, and shot with a crossbow, Yaugus became the first (and to this point only) openly practicing Dark Mage to lead a priestly order. With his preparations complete, Yaugus set about utterly dismantling his family.
The unique combination of Dark Magic, The Divine Magic of Mikael, and knowledge of the secrete lore of his bloodline allowed Yaugus to launch daring strikes. He would summon himself and a bunch of his inquisitors into a realm containing a demonic vassal or contact of Skorn, annihilate the unsuspecting demon, do as much additional damage as possible, and get out before backup arrived. Within a year of starting these attacks, Skorn had almost completely lost its otherworldly organization; Those demons forced through binding to serve them were destroyed or freed, and those who were not abandoned the masters who could clearly no longer protect them. When Yaugus began to do the same to the demons loyal to the Goblin Pharaoh, his sister and brother-in-law sued for peace. In exchange for Yaugus halting his otherworldly attacks, the rebels and goblins agreed to return a quarter of the land they had taken, including several Skorn family ancestral vaults and all the undead within.
As part of the terms he came to with his sister, Yaugus had to abandon the name 'Skorn'. In its place, he took the name 'Bonedust' after his preferred blade, which he had claimed off of one of his sister's demonic minions. The newly minted family was rich in gold and influence; Yaugus had sold most of the land he won back to the crown, and adopted several other members of the Intrepid, Alleye, and Skorn families who chose to remain loyal to the king. In terms of magic, however, they were weaker than their predecessors ever were; Not only did they lack any significant demonic allies, but a grand total of eight goblin lords, not including the Pharaoh, were easily in charge of more prestigious black arts organizations.
The demonic forces Yaugus chose to channel through his manifestation greatly extended his lifespan, and as such he lead House Bonedust for two hundred years. During this time, he choose to trade material wealth and influence for supernatural holdings. He donated much of his families' newfound fortune to held establish the Dread Knights, a priestly order in the service of the newest member of the Kingdom's Pantheon: the Deep Goddess Ukara. In exchange for the donation to her cause, Yaugus was given control of a horde of Ukara's minor demons, which she had agreed to give up upon joining the pantheon. These new demons were placed under the command of Tivavarav, a young Plague Devil who used to be enslaved as a soul cleaner to one of House Skorn's vassals and gained both his freedom and greater demon status when Yaugus killed his master and allowed Tivavarav to feast upon said master's corpse and soul.
One hundred and ten years into his reign, Yaugus gave control of House Bonedust's worldly possessions to his son Crane, splitting the political leadership of his family from the magical at the request of the king, who wanted the families' connection to dark magic swept under the rug. He spent the remainder of his reign forcing lesser dark mages around the kingdom to acknowledge the Bonedust family as the dominate dark mages on human lands, before finally reaching the end of his lifespan and ascending to demonhood and taking the form of a Balrog and the demon name Yaugur.
The newly ascended Yaugur then worked with both Tivavarav and his successor as Head of Dark Magic for House Bonedust, your Great Grandfather Talkot, to set up a proper large scale soul-cleaning operation that would benefit Bonedusts living, dead, and ascended. Yaugur decided to take the lesser role of minion of Tivavarav despite being stronger than his friend, as only the head of a demonic organization typically negotiates with mortals, and Tivavarav was the better businessbeing. It was then arranged that the magical head of House Bonedust would get a small cut of the soul earnings, and all other members of the family would receive discount prices on all goods, contracts, and services, the right to contract Yaugur should the need arise, and careful preparation for an eternity of continued service to the family upon death.
As a demon, Yaugur serves as Tivavarav's bodyguard and enforcer, shaking down smaller demonic operations on his master's turf for souls and beating back larger groups who think they can do the same to Tivavarav. Yaugur has aligned with a Deep God called Mi-Mik who fills the unique niche of granting powers similar to those granted by the Kingdom's Pantheon to demons and undead who were once human priests. As a faux inquisitor of Mi-Mik, Yaugur is not significantly stronger against mortals than one would expected a balrog of his age to be (although his divine powers do grant a degree of protection against actual inquisitors), but he can beat almost any other demon in single combat; Only other combat focused greater demons with anti-demonic magic/gear, or truly ancient fiends who have spent several thousand years feasting on souls or gorging themselves at the teats of a deity have a prayer when standing up to him alone.
Yaugur's descendant and mortal heir Talkot established your branch of the Bonedust Bloodline as the family leaders in magical affairs, but spent most of his reign on worldly pursuits. A restless wanderer, Talkot spent more time abroad as a diplomat and explorer for the kingdom than he did managing the family business at home. Talkot famously performed the most recent royal survey of Orc Country in the jungles southeast of the kingdom, and finally opened trade with the last isolationist holdouts amoung the warlords of the rising isles. Talkot's one major accomplishment on the dark magic front was re-establishing diplomatic relations with some goblin fortresses on the east coast, who had no major connections to the Skorns and only occasionally participated in the war against the Kingdom. Talkot reigned for fifty years before ascending to demonhood in the form of a Realmanglar, and taking the demon name Talcutta. Control of the magical aspects of the family passed to his daughter and your grandmother, Jirixeth Bonedust.
As a demon, Talkot is a minion of spends his time wandering realms of water, and fishing for lost souls and other treasure to hand over to Tivavarav. He is generally considered to be a waste of his master's resources, as he would rather explore the multiverse than sit in one spot and fish, and this has caused Tivavarav to no longer automatically offer protection and employment to ascended Bonedusts who controlled the magical aspects of the household in life.
Jirixeth Bonedust only reigned as magical head of household for a brief twelve years, but continued her father's work in dark mage diplomacy. More goblin factions began to talk with the family, and at the end of her reign, she scored her biggest victory; By offering to allow some of her kin to ascend to demonhood in the service of his otherworldly vassals, Jirixeth convinced the Goblin Pharaoh, within whom the spiteful blood of House Skorn still flowed, to give up old grudges and formally acknowledge House Bonedust as the final authority on matters of dark magic within human lands. While traveling home from her meeting with the Pharaoh, Jirixeth was struck down by a jilted admirer in the inquisition who claimed she was planning on selling out the Kingdom as House Skorn did. Her killer brought with him a Valkyrie to seal away Jirixeth's soul and prevent her from rising again. Jirixeth never married, and only ever courted other women, but managed to have two children through the use of various potions, both of whom were acknowledged as legitimate and would eventually succeed her. Your father, Gunner Bonedust, was born to Jirixeth and her longtime girlfriend Selma Bonedust, a lowborn Dark Mage who paid tribute to the family before being legally adopted into it. Your uncle Truman was born to Jirixeth and her distant cousin Chix Bonedust, who was political head of household at the time.
You lost your grandma Jirixeth when you were young, and she never had much time for family anyway, but were very close to your grandma Selma, who died before you were born but was brought back as a Wight and often tasked with looking after you, as your parents were also often to busy to care for their daughter. On your trips back home to learn Dark Magic as an adult, it was Grandma Selma you often choose as your primary instructor. During the trip you took shortly after learning of Sylvester's indiscretions with Glen, it was your grandmother who convinced you to forgive and accept your husband for who he was.
Your father focused his reign on expanding Tivavarav's operation, in hopes of being found worthy enough to someday have a place in it. He experimented with his soul, and left home for extended periods of time to visit the Drow in the underlands, study their arts, and become a soul cleaner. While with the drow, he also commissioned the creation of several greater demon enforcers for Tivavarav, which will be ready in about a century and a half and enable the family business partner to be more aggressive in exerting his will upon other demons. He had initially sworn to ascend to demonhood as soon as Tivavarav gave him the green light, but he enjoyed being a grandfather so much that he kept putting it off. He basically lived with you and Sylvester for the last two years of his mortal life, and only chose to ascend when your daughter Fortune started to predict her own early death, as he wanted to be in position to personally prepare her soul should the need arise. As his only offspring are married daughters who can't pass on the Bonedust name, control of the magical elements within House Bonedust passed to his brother Truman, on the condition that you were put in charge of all Dark Magic on the east coast.
Your father ascended as a Mist Fiend, and took the demonic name Gungor. Gungor serves as a secondary soul cleaner for Tivavarav, allowing his master more time to focus on logistics, marketing, negotiating, and the other 'business' aspects of running a demonic organization. Gungor's help also ensures that workflow is not totally interrupted every-time a Bonedust dies and requires weeks of attention from a soul cleaner - he has taken over all family cleanings himself, and coordinates closely with his still mortal wife, who tends to the ancestral vault where his most important projects will reside. Gungor has a good mind for business himself, and hopes that once Tivavarav's operation gets big enough, he can spin off and lead his own Bonedust Aligned demonic organization.
Your mother Lindwal was hurriedly married off to the Bonedusts at age 11 when she was discovered dabbling in Dark Magic. In spite of the hurried nature of the marriage, she developed a strong student-teacher bond with her husband, that eventually blossomed into true love. When Gunner declared an intrest in becoming the chief soul cleaner for the family, Lindwal began to focus almost exclusively on the practice of necromancy, so that she might control the ancestral vaults, and work with her husband for all eternity. To your mother, Death will only bring a brief hiatus from work, as Vault Keeper is not a title one must be alive to hold.
Your Uncle Truman has reigned as political head of household for the last nineteen years, and inherited magical control as well when your father ascended five years ago. For now, in spite of the fact that he is a very powerful manifestation, Truman focuses more on politics and only leverages Dark Magic to meet his goals in area; Right now, aside from the obvious war against the goblins, there is a three-way power struggle in the Frontline Duchy between the Bonedust Family, which controls many local baronies and raises the most local troops, Duke Bronxton who has strong ties to the Dwarves in the Ironheart Mountains, and Royal General Venoth-Hix who theoretically holds absolute power in the region under martial law.
Truman also has family politics to deal with; An incestuous fluke was responsible for giving Truman both the magical and political power within the household, and he is expected to divide it up again upon his death or ascension - if not sooner. Truman has one child, a son named Geralt, who is being groomed to take over political matters, but if he cannot produce a magical heir, control in that regard will pass to a distant cousin Truman is not fond of. Your Uncle's now half complete plan, as you understand it, involves outliving Sylvester and yourself and adopting Dean as an orphan to take the Bonedust name; Barring tragedy, it will be close. Truman is in his seventies, but he should be able to get a few extra decades out of the demonic powers he channels. You wouldn't put him above trying to end your life to ensure he is able to get what he wants out of Dean, but you shouldn't have to start worrying about that for another decade at the very least.
In the five years between your father's ascension and your husband's death, you have been considered your uncle's highest representative in matters of dark magic on the east coast, but have done little with that power. You have created a few undead, and shaken down a few local practitioners for a bit of minor tribute, but your primary concern has always been being a good mother to Fortune, as well as Dean and Joy when they were around. You are not unskilled in the black arts, however, and now that the Prince has backed you into a corner, it is becoming clear that you may have to pull your rank a bit more.
House Bonedust claims three ancestral homes. Bleaksoil is the largest of the ancient castles of Skorn that Yangus was able to win control of, and presently home to both your uncle and mother. Whitegarden is the Ancestral Home of House Emmit, the maiden family of the very first Lady Bonedust, and is currently used as a vacation home by the royal family. Darkhalls is the true ancestral home of the ancient House Skorn, which currently lies deep inside of goblin territory, and has been converted into a proper Dark Fortress ruled by goblins who mixed their blood with Skorn defectors three hundred years ago.
House Bonedust flies a banner depicting a human skull on a background with two black stripes and one purple. As a wedding gift, Sylvester's late mother made you a similar banner with a warthog's skull instead of a human's, combining the symbolism of your maiden and married names. Should you ever decide to lead troops into battle as duchess, you would also be expected to fly the Orc-Eater Python of Redleaf Duchy, as well as the banners of every county under your control.
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Topic: (SG) The Redleaf Epic (Formerly Widow: A Duchess Scorned) (Read 65378 times)