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[Weirdsound]

37 years ago the Human Empire made war against Xamut IV, God King of the Clay Elf people of the Loam Coast. Xamut had been a thorn in Emperor Caesar Menas' side for some time, as he made his fortune by selling quality weapons to the enemies of humanity and conducting naval raids against imperial shipping lanes and coastal settlements. This war lasted two years, and although the humans managed to gain a distinct advantage, unrest in the eastern provinces forced them to withdraw before they could earn a decisive victory.

As part of the treaty that ended this conflict, Pharaoh Xamut turned over his infant first born child to the humans as a hostage to ensure his future good behavior, and as per human custom, Caesar Menas took that child into his own household, and raised it as if it were his own offspring.

This is nothing but history, or so you, that very child, have been telling yourself for the past two years since Menas left to wage war against your troublesome father once again. As a clay elf, of royal blood nonetheless, the thought of your people being trampled by the imperial legion troubles you, but as a proud member of Imperial High Society, you know full well that Xamut must be punished for the mayhem he has been causing of late. As much as these thoughts trouble you, you have kept a calm exterior, and continued with your day-to-day business. Yet now there is to be no more running from this crisis of identity...

Yesterday you received a message from Caesar Menas. Pharaoh Xamut has been vanquished, and although your people still resist on several fronts, the emperor believes the war to be all but over. The Loam Coast is to be incorporated as a proper imperial province, which you are to govern as both God King and Vassal to Caesar. You are unsure if you should be happy with this appointment; You suspect you will be poorly received in your homeland, perhaps even branded a race traitor, but the office is your birthright, and you don't doubt for a second you are qualified for it.

Character Sheet:

Name and Gender -

Accomplishments - (Pick two from the list below)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A - Your father sent one of his high priests with you when he gave you up, and as such you were educated in the cultural and spiritual practices of your people. Like any Clay Elf royal worth his salt, you have been taught to command soil, waves, and wind by invoking your god ancestors and your own divine nature. Perhaps this knowledge and power will help earn you the respect of your people.

B - Your mother sent one of the greatest Clay Elf Artisans with you when she gave you up, as she correctly suspected that you inherited her natural genius for Claychantment, the sacred Clay Elf art of making high quality and combat worthy ceramic Weapons, Armor, Seige Equipment, and Ships. You have used Claychantment to create several powerful artifacts, which boost both your abilities and reputation.

C - Recognizing your father's genius as an admiral, and correctly guessing that you shared his gift, Caesar Menas had you trained from a young age by his greatest naval officers. Five years ago, you inherited command of the modest sized but well respected 7th Imperial Fleet, which you have successfully lead in several campaigns against the forces of the Sea Demon Tideus in defense of the Frozen Sea and Vast Rocks Provinces.

D - Growing up, you thrived on tales of the military exploits of both your father and Caesar Menas. When you came of age, you joined the legion as an officer. Although you could have taken a cushy role thanks to your close relationship with the Emperor, you spent the better part of the last decade-and-a-half defending the wooded northern provinces against treeant incursion. You are sure hundreds of hardened soldiers would be willing to accompany you to your homeland.

E - Manilla, wife of Caesar Menas, had heard stories of the great power wielded by the Clay Elf Pharaohs, and insisted that you be trained as a Cleric of the human pantheon so that said power could be employed in service of the Empire. By your twenty-third birthday you were made High Priest of the human god Lister, a diety who grants you the power to call lightning and restore the sick and injured, and whose office makes you one of the most important religious figureheads in the entire empire.

F - As an elf growing up at the heart of human society, you always felt a bit guilty when you would observe the plight of your race and others like it under the imperial yolk. You quickly developed into a staunch defender of and advocate for the rights of elf kind within the empire, and thanks in large part to your efforts, most elfish races can now become citizens and own land within the empire. This has earned you a sterling reputation among the elf civilizations of the world, including some who would otherwise be your natural enemies as leader of The Loam Coast.

G - You have spent most of your adulthood engrossed in Imperial law and politics, and have even done stints as both senator and judge. You have the leadership skills, wisdom, and mastery of political intrigue to make a just and effective governor. You also have enough friends in high places to easily call in favors from the Imperial Government even if Caesar Menas isn't in town to stick up for you in the Senate.

H - As a child, you were always enthralled by the great markets of the imperial capital, and from a very young age you began to invest your hefty allowance into various businesses around town. One day, a shipment you had invested in was attacked by the pirates of Pharaoh Xamut, but when sparred when the sea-dogs learned that some of the cargo was owned by their master's son. From that day on, merchants would beg you to invest in their fleets, and over the years you have parlayed this into a vast business empire. Your wealth is second only to that of Caesar Menas himself. You are well traveled, owning several merchant fleets, and the geopolitical knowledge to best protect and exploit your global investments.

I - You spent alot of your time at home with Caesar Menas and his family, serving as a big brother and best friend to all of the Emperor's children. The children of Caesar are closer to you than they are to their father, and you could easily make a spouse of any of his unwed children if you so choose. It is also generally understood that there is a real chance you could be named emperor yourself someday.

J - Just before you came of age, you traveled to your homeland to participate in the Tall Ears War, a conflict that saw Xamut IV form a temporary alliance with Caesar Menas against the forces of the Dune Demon Horragle. You served as a messenger and page during this conflict, and in this role you got to meet many members of your natural family, most of whom you kept in touch with. You know a handful of your brothers, sisters, and cousins turned traitor when Caesar invoked your name, so you are sure that you will have at least a few allies back home.

[Taricus]

Name: Karses
Sex: Male

F & H

[IronyOwl]

Name: Karses II
Sex: Male

F & H

[micelus]

Name: Semat
Sex: A & H

[Chevaleresse]

Name: Seten
Sex: F
Achievements: H and J

[Puppyguard]

Name: Karses II
Sex: Male

F & H

+1

[crazyabe]

Name, Any
Sex, M


B, I

[Weirdsound]

Name: Karses
Sex: Male

F & H

Karses II, Friend of Caesar, Heir to the Loam Coast, and Descendant of the Divine Clay Elf Bloodline:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Condition: Fine

Holdings:
Cash Reserves (Aproximately 4.7% of Imperial Coin in Circulation)
29% of Total Shares in 'Sons of Caesar Trading Company'
45% of Voting Shares in 'Sons of Caesar Trading Company'

Mansion in the Heartland City of Portum
4 Docks in the City of Portum
Luxurious Apartment with the Imperial Palace
Country Home along the Imperial Highway
x19 Shops and Workshops (Scattered Across the Imperial Heartland)
x17 Vineyards and Plantations (Scattered Across the Known World)
x14 Mines (Mainly Precious Metals and Gems, Scattered Across the Known World)
x30 Imperial Merchantmen (Divided into two fleets)
'Wayward Clay' (Personal Flagship made from Enchanted Ceramic. Armed with two ballista and a crew of trained soldiers. Coming of age present from your father)

Traits:
Businesself
Networker
Negoiater
Public Speaker
Wealthy
Well Traveled
Greedy
Ambitious
Empathetic
Self Controlled
Living Legend (Civil Rights Icon, God Incarnate)

The servants bustle about the mansion in Portum, the imperial second city and major trade port where you keep your primary residence. Normally you wouldn't order the place cleaned so thoroughly on a weekday, but you have just received word that the Caesar Menas, the victorious emperor himself, has landed in town after two long years at war and wishes to call on you for dinner, likely to discuss the specifics of your new position.

You have the platinum dining set, usually just a showpiece (you normally eat off the gold one), dusted, polished, cleaned, and brought to the table. No expense is spared on the wine (you send servants to market with orders to buy every bottle worth more than fifty gold crowns to supplement your existing selection), but the meat you bring in is rather mundane; You have spent years living with Caesar, and know he prefers the cheap and chewy cuts of beef.

Twelve slaves spend most of the day hauling an impressive marble statue of a victorious Caesar, which you had commissioned for this very occaision, across town from the workshop where it was created to the center of your massive dining table. The work is completed with just minutes to spare; The tall, muscular, ageing form of Caesar Menas appears at your doorstep promptly at sundown, flanked by two of his officers, fifteen guards, and a well dressed Clay Elf.

It is only when the elf is introduced to you that you learn he is your father, the fallen Pharaoh Xamut IV. It makes sense he was on Caesar's ship - it is Imperial tradition to parade a vanquished foe across the capital before subjecting them to a swift trial and brutal execution. You suppose it was nice of Caesar to bring him along to meet you first, although you suspect it will make the dinner awkward.

The meal begins with Caesar inquiring about his family and your business endeavors, neither of which he has been paying much attention to while he was away. Xamut remains largely quiet, although he does chime in every so often in such a way to indicate that he has been following your career and fortunes much closer than Caesar. You are not surprised; His pirates have always been pretty good about avoiding your property.

After about thirty minutes of this small talk, Caesar gets down to business. He wants you to leave the imperial heartland as soon as possible, but not to head directly to the Loam Coast. "It wouldn't reflect well upon you if you were seen enjoying or even tolerating The Pharaoh's... disposal, so I'd rather hold off on revealing I have him with me until you leave. I'm trying to spare as many of your kin as practical for your sake, Karses, but some of them are still causing trouble, so best you avoid heading to your homeland for about six months to a year. Destroying one's own family is unpleasant business, I should know, so best you just lay low until that is done and over with."

The emperor claps you over the shoulder, and grins wildly. "Perhaps you should wed one of your distant suitors. The time it would take for you to plan and execute a Wedding and Honeymoon should be just enough."

Xamut, facing the talk of his and his family's deaths with stoic disinterest, chimes in on the matter of your wedding. "I'm sure you have plenty of beautiful options to choose from, boy, but I'd personally suggest one of your sisters to keep the bloodline pure. If wedding your sister offends your prudish imperial sensibilities, at least make your wife a Clay Elf. It will help you win our people over."

Caesar Menas gives his captive a dirty look, and falls silent awaiting your response. Should you choose to take the emperor's suggestion, you have four suitors that neither dwell in the heartland nor your homeland to choose from.

Queen Athena, governor of the Divine Peninsula, is perhaps your safest choice. Although she is a dull conversationalist, twice married and widowed, and too old to produce children, you would inherit her province by marrying her. The Divine Peninsula sits just across the narrow Central Sea from the Loam Coast, and controlling it would likely make you the dominant naval force east of the Imperial Heartland. Her lack of fertility would be a bit problematic, but in theory a younger and longer lived elf such as yourself should have no issue outliving the older human woman with plenty of time left over to create offspring with a future wife.

The unnaturally beautiful and magically talented Blue Witch Tsunamia would be a bit of a scandalous pick; She is the half-human daughter of the Sea Demon Tideus, who is Caesar's greatest rival in terms of naval power in the northern reaches of the known world. Tsunamia, although on good terms with her father, commands a mercenary fleet of her own and has nothing to do with his dealings. You often employ her to protect your merchantmen. Negotiations with Tsunamia are complicated by the fact that you are mutually infatuated with each other - not only is she the prettiest non-elf you have ever laid eyes on, but her greed, intelligence, and business sense would make her a great partner.

The fearsome War-Queen Whipscale has heard the tales of what you have done for her kin in imperial lands, and idolizes you as a result. Whipscale leads one of the larger Acid Elf Wyrven Clans, and has such a reputation for bloodshed and havoc that Caesar has confided in you on several occasions that she is one of the few barbarians he is afraid to cross. Whipscale has several husbands, but would burn them all as an offering to your ancestors (the worship of whom is now the mandated religion of her people) if you would accept her as your wife. Whipscale's clan is nomadic, so wedding her wouldn't gain you much land, but she does command tens of thousands of soldiers, many of whom are trained to ride terrifying wyrven into battle, and receives tribute from weaker civilizations in her area.

Princess Kailine, heiress to the High Elf City State of Bronzespear, is a both a business rival and direct beneficiary of your campaign for elf rights. Since you won the high elves in the eastern provinces that surround her hometown the right to own property about a decade ago, she has managed to build up quite the business empire of her own. Kailine controls a monopoly over the export of the famed enchanted cloths produced in the Eastern Provinces and the High Elf City States. She keeps prices of these goods high, while the calligraphers and clothing mills you own (and Kailine desires for herself) would very much prefer them low. Your investors and business partners wish for you to dismantle Kailine's holdings, and Kailine makes no secret of the fact she knows this and intends to undo your empire first. Out of respect for what you have done on her behalf, she has made you an offer to settle the conflict via marriage instead. As a high elf, Kailine is the ideal of beauty, but her kind are also famously infertile, so optimistically you could expect three children from her tops. High Elves are also long lived, even by elven standards, so it is unlikely that you would outlive Kailine's father to gain control of Bronzespear for yourself.

You spare your doomed father a glance. If you follow his wishes and save yourself for a Clay Elf, there are still places to go and things to do to get you away from the heartland. Unless, that is, you wish to disobey Caesar's advice and either stay in the heartland to witness the Pharaoh's execution, or head straight to the Loam Coast right away to extablish your power help wrap up the war however you can.

To start, if you don't intend to marry Kailine, now would be a great time to travel to the Eastern Provinces and begin undermining her monopoly. You don't know how much time you will have to dash across the known world on behalf of your business interests once you become Pharaoh. You have also heard tell of some recent unrest between the governor of Blackwoods Province, which sits just north of the Heartland, and the local elf population that he is responsible for. As elfkind's most respected advocate, you surely stand the best chance of diffusing the situation before it gets out of hand.

Of course you could also tour the elven lands that neighbor the Loam Coast. You should receive a warm reception and many gifts; Most of the leaders there have aligned with the empire against your father, and even those who have not consider you a hero.

Having nearly made up your mind, you open your mouth to answer, only to be struck by a thought. Although a formal dinner is far from the proper place to request a full briefing on your new province, you have both the outgoing pharaoh and the man who spent two years conquering the place at your table. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to ask a question or two.

[micelus]

Let's not marry anyone right away. We might get Ceasar a bit miffed right now, but we can always send out another later. ^{I may also be hedging towards holy Egyptian elf incest.}

I vote for heading to Blackwood and deal with the problem there.

Lets ask our father figures the following:

1. What would be the biggest weakness of the Clay Elf lands?
2. What would be the biggest strength of the Clay Elf lands?
3. It seems that the Clay Elves have a bad reputation with everyone. Is it because of the pirates or something else?

[Puppyguard]

Wed The fearsome War-Queen Whipscale,
and travel to the Eastern Provinces to undermine that cloth monopoly..

[Powder Miner]

>mutual infatuation
Well, I support marrying the Blue Witch pretty much directly because of this. :v Being a badass maritime-naval (vassal) king sounds appealing to me anyway, considering I just finished a Florence-->Italy run in Europa Universalis IV.

We should probably start working on solidifying our business empire and undermining Kailine's in the Eastern Provinces. Blackwood's situation, even if it risks becoming bloody, is still the affairs of another province -- I figure that we ought to ensure our own assets first, lest we find things to be significantly more difficult once we actually come into our, uh, inheritance.

I also support asking Micelus' questions. That's some pretty vital info there.

[IronyOwl]

^{I may also be hedging towards holy Egyptian elf incest.}

Only thing keeping me from voting Tsunamia. Well, Athena's tempting also, but in a rather less pleasant manner.

In any case, I agree with not getting married yet.

We should probably start working on solidifying our business empire and undermining Kailine's in the Eastern Provinces. Blackwood's situation, even if it risks becoming bloody, is still the affairs of another province -- I figure that we ought to ensure our own assets first, lest we find things to be significantly more difficult once we actually come into our, uh, inheritance.

I'll reluctantly throw in with this. It'd be nice to handle the Blackwood thing or receive gifts, but we should probably secure our practical assets.

As a note, though, running around Blackwood being a hero would probably be a better excuse for not being at the Pharaoh's execution or on our throne than getting into trade wars. Touring would similarly be good for getting to know the neighbors.


micelus' questions are good.

I'll also throw in:
-Who would you recommend we trust and rely on in our new position?
-Who would you recommend we keep an eye on in our new position?
-What do you think our most important goal or accomplishment would be?
-What do you think our greatest failure or mistake would be?

[Weirdsound]

Karses II, Friend of Caesar, Heir to the Loam Coast, and Descendant of the Divine Clay Elf Bloodline:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Condition: Fine

Holdings:
Cash Reserves (Aproximately 4.7% of Imperial Coin in Circulation)
29% of Total Shares in 'Sons of Caesar Trading Company'
45% of Voting Shares in 'Sons of Caesar Trading Company'

Mansion in the Heartland City of Portum
4 Docks in the City of Portum
Luxurious Apartment with the Imperial Palace
Country Home along the Imperial Highway
x19 Shops and Workshops (Scattered Across the Imperial Heartland)
x17 Vineyards and Plantations (Scattered Across the Known World)
x14 Mines (Mainly Precious Metals and Gems, Scattered Across the Known World)
x30 Imperial Merchantmen (Divided into two fleets)
'Wayward Clay' (Personal Flagship made from Enchanted Ceramic. Armed with two ballista and a crew of trained soldiers. Coming of age present from your father)

Traits:
Businesself
Networker
Negoiater
Public Speaker
Wealthy
Well Traveled
Greedy
Ambitious
Empathetic
Self Controlled
Living Legend (Civil Rights Icon, God Incarnate)

You deflect the immediate inquiry on your plans by asking what sister he would suggest marrying, and in general who in the family can and cannot be trusted. "I've sort of been grooming your youngest legitimate sister, Xami, in hopes that she might one day be your wife. Quiet bookish girl, her. Had her study business and economics to help you in those endeavors. She is also praticed in wielding our bloodline's divine power, and can cover for your deficiencies there. She came of age last year, and I would have offered you her hand then if not for the war."

The doomed pharaoh takes a sip of his wine. "I wont name the second sister I could see as your queen in front of Caesar, as she is one of my spies within imperial territory. She is an officer on a ship belonging to the trade company you control, and you have already slept with her a few times. She is a bastard, and her mother's bloodline are the ancestral rulers of your military port city of Stimilif. If you marry her, you win the friendship of her family, who could be powerful allies of yours if you were to restore their position."

Going off of your father's clue, this second sister of yours can only be Captain Itializa of the Merchantman Ancient Blue. Itializa owns enough stake in the Sons of Caesar Trading Company to attend meetings and gain the sort of information your father would have needed to avoid attacking company interests, and her on and off romantic entanglement with you and a few members of your personal staff would give her the information that Xamut would require to avoid your dealings not tied to the company.

Xamut also suggests seeking out your younger fraternal twin brother, Xamut V. The younger Xamut took his fleet and fled north to join forces with the Sea Demon Tideus and continue the fight against the empire when it became apparent that the war was unwinnable, but your father suggests he could be coaxed into returning and serving as his brother's naval commander. Caesar Menas warns that if he catches Xamut V first, he will have to have him killed, but confides that he would not force you to bring your own brother to justice.

The only person at court your father suggests you not trust is your maternal grandmother Stellixeth, the royal armorer and greatest living practitioner of your people's sacred art of Claychantment. Stellixeth had always made a habit of warning the Pharaoh against supporting you, as she fears you would exploit her sacred craft for the benefit of your soulless corporation.

Caesar Menas then transitions into some other topics you had wished to explore, by advising you to make a goal of increasing your provinces output of weapons-grade and seaworthy ceramic material, in hopes of providing his legions with cheaper and higher quality gear. To this end, Caesar Menas offers to have your grandmother killed before your arrival if you would rather not deal with her meddling.

Caesar the suggests that rebuilding might be difficult, as The Loam Coast lack any forests or even quarry-able stone. Clay Elves build structures from clay, and the empire had to destroy most of the large scale kilns and pottery workshops to win the war. Xamut then corrects Caesar, by telling you that some deposits of stone and even copper exist in the wild lands in your kingdom's south. Said south-lands are largely uninhabited, completely undeveloped, and frequently visited by dangerous nomadic clans of Acid Elves who are best avoided if possible.

Aside from what your father figures tell you about Loam Coast, you know a bit extra thanks to your travels, personal research, and business dealings. The floodplains of your province are fertile, and the population is relatively small. You are fairly sure it would be profitable to replace the farms of Loam Coast with poppy, spice, and cotton plantations. In doing so you would easily make enough money to feed your population by importing grain.

As for relations with other civilizations and governments, Loam Coast has been making enemies for three generations. Your great-grandfather and namesake, Karses I, was a quarter High Elf, and possessed the arrogance and bigotry famous of that particular race. He banned the use of clay except as construction material and military goods, and made it a policy to only deal peacefully with other races when absolutely necessary, or to destabilize one enemy by selling their rivals cheap ceramic arms. Your grandfather and father were raised with and choose to maintain these traditions. Your father, famous for his greed and ambition, (traits you definitely see in yourself), expanded the nasty reputation of the Clay Elves by getting into piracy before he even came of age, and dragging his whole kingdom along once he ascended to the throne.

As dinner concludes, you tell Caesar that you intend to head east and wrap up some messy busniess affairs, and that you are leaning towards marrying into your own kind per your father's advice. (You don't mention that the thought of divine incest appeals to you. Such a thing is rather taboo in the imperial heartland.)

Lastly, you request that Caesar keep your father's presence a secret for awhile longer, as you might have to have pay a visit to the Capital before leaving. You have several ideas as to how you might undo Kailine's monopoly, the most drastic of which would be to convince the senate to declare war on her home city of Bronzespear. You feel this is doable; Your rival's father, the king, is known to be particularly cruel to his political rivals, and you are friends with several refugees who have suffered his wrath. Using your status as elfkind's greatest advocate, you could drag these refugees in front of the senate to pull the heartstrings of those assembled. Many senators support regular shows of force around the oft rebellious eastern provinces, so it shouldn't take much to convince them to launch a decent sized campaign.

You could also seek out and hire Tsunamia, the Blue Witch, and employ her to pillage Kailine's ships and coastal holdings. Doing this may take awhile, but eventually you will break the confidence of the princess' investors if you do enough damage. Getting in touch with Tsunamia again might also be a good idea for other reasons; You now know that your brother is aligned with her father, so she could be used as a go-between to bring Xamut V to your side. You also have yet to entirely rule out the idea of making a wife out of the half demon either...

Lastly, you could travel to the eastern provinces alone, and meet with your partners and investors in the region. You are sure some of them are more familiar with the specifics of the monopoly than you are, and will have their own ideas on how to break it up in a less bloody fashion.

[Powder Miner]

Well, I support hiring Tsunamia to pillage Kailine's ships mostly because I'm still pulling for Tsunamia :v Making it easier to allow our twin brother to survive is also a pretty good bonus.

[Taricus]

You're suggesting we can't both invade and use Tsunamia at the same time

Actually shit what's preventing us from having multiple wives anyway? (Or one wife and several mistresses)