Pharaoh Karses II, Governor and Godking of the Loam Coast, and Head of the Divine Clay Elf Bloodline:Condition: Fine
Equipment:
Broach of Protection (Eight years of enchantment remaining)
Self Defense Scepter (Concealed Flask of Transformation Potion: Full)
Hardy Dragonscale Clothes
Holdings:
Cash Reserves (Approximately 4.7% of Imperial Coin in Circulation)
Tsunamia's Treasure Hoard (Approximately .3% of Imperial Circulation, among other valuables)
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
Tsunamia's Mansion in the Everstorm County of Yawning Chasm (Not Maintained)
4 Docks in the City of Portum
Luxurious Apartment with the Imperial Palace
Luxurious Cottage on the Grounds of Tusk Falls Castle
Country Home along the Imperial Highway
Tsunamia's hideout in the Shrieking Mangroves (Well concealed. Houses a witches workshop and Tsunamia's treasure hoard)
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)
'Breaking Lust' (Tsunamia's Flagship made of lumber grown on unhallowed soil. Armed with a single ballista and a crew of freaks and hardened mercenaries. The driving wheel of this ship is engraved with runes to increase its speed and empower the magic of its Captain)
Personal Military Might:
x63 Assorted Mercenary Warships (Fleet commanded by Tsunamia)
x345 Assorted Unstaffed Warships (Wedding Gifts, Held in Ports Across the Loam Coast and Imperial Heartland)
x50 Elite Tarantula Elf Soldiers
Traits:
Businesself
Networker
Negotiator
Public Speaker
Wealthy
Well Traveled
Greedy
Ambitious
Empathetic
Self Controlled
Living Legend (Civil Rights Icon, God Incarnate)
(Please Read now, Official descriptions of the offices will likely be deleted from this spoiler to save character count in future posts)
Positions:
Pharaoh: Office held by You
The leader of an occupied population is tasked with ensuring his people follow the laws of Caesar, the Imperial Senate, and any and all relevant governors and local judges. By default, unless a specific right or responsibility is denied to a local leader by the imperial occupiers, he or she can be assumed to hold absolute power over his or her population with the following two exceptions: The right to enforce the death penalty belongs solely to imperial judges and governors, and unless otherwise stated, Occupied populations are not allowed to control a military large enough to threaten the imperials.
Traditionally the Pharaoh only assumes the responsibilities of government he is comfortable with, and delegates the rest to his underlings; Many Pharaohs have been little more than religious figureheads spending their days in the lap of luxurary, with little knowledge of Loam Coast politics. In recent history, between the rise of your great grandfather Karses I and the fall of your father Xamut IV, the office of Pharaoh has largely been used as the Loam Coast's Chief Naval Officer and head of foreign policy, with domestic issues and any ground combat delegated to army officers, the high priest, and the Holy Guardians who ruled over the nation's three cities.
High Priest: Office held by your uncle Xamul, who dwells at Sacred Point
The high priest is in charge of all loam coast religious proceedings, and typically holds other powers and responsibilities as defined by the reigning Pharaoh. When the high priest dies, all adult members of the divine and holy bloodlines vote to elect his replacement, who is traditionally a brother or brother-in-law of the Pharaoh and skilled in divine magic. In recent history, the High Priest has served as head of household at the traditional royal residence of Sacred Point, and is tasked with taking care of the Pharaoh's sheltered relatives, concubines, and younger children who dwell there.
Holy Guardians: The office of holy guardian of Traggix is vacant. The office of holy guardian of Stimilif is vacant. The office of holy guardian of Icarixip is vacant.
The three cities of the Loam Coast have been ruled by the three Holy Bloodlines, which are subservient to your Divine Bloodline but otherwise just as ancient and prestigious, since the dawn of recorded history. Upon conquering your people, however, Caesar stripped all sitting holy guardians of their authority to ensure you and your judges could rule the cities without their interference. You are well within your rights to restore these offices if you so choose.
As living gods themselves, the Holy Guardians traditionally ruled their cities with unquestioned authority, to the point where the Loam Coast resembled more a confederation of rival city states than a nation whenever a weak pharaoh ruled. As a public rift between the Pharaoh and Holy Guardian would signal a rift in the heavens, serious issues between the two parties are typically resolved via assassination. When a Holy Guardian dies the High Priest names a replacement from the appropriate holy bloodline, who to ensure harmony is typically one of the Pharaoh's lovers or close friends. Because of this, there have been far more female Holy Guardians than there have been female Pharaohs or High Priestesses.
Military:
Army:
Chief General - None Appointed
x332 Soldiers of the Traggix City Garrison, stationed at Traggix, Lead by Captain Vikishux
x450 Elite Dive Guards, stationed at Sacred Point, Answers to High Priest Xamul
Wartime Military Payroll tracking approximately 5000 veterans of the Loam Coast Army
Captured Ceremic Gear to equip approximately 3000 Clay Elf Soldiers
Navy:
Chief Admiral - Although no such officer is appointed, Your brother Xamut V seems to have gained defacto control of the navy.
x60 Ceramic Warships of the 1st Loam Coast Fleet, stationed at Traggix, Lead by Xamut V
x60 Ceramic Warships of the 2nd Loam Coast Fleet, stationed at Stimilif, Lead by Rixixifux
Wartime Naval Payroll tracking enough sailors to crew approximately 500 Warships
Positions:
Governor: Office held by you
When separated from the office of Head Judge, the governor's main duties are to collect imperial tax within his province, coordinate the actions of local imperial land and sea forces, enforce the law of both Caesar and the Senate, and ensure that local occupied people and nearby savage populations remain peaceful. The governor has full and undisputed authority to carry out these duties however he sees fit, and may only be overruled on any matter by a unanimous vote of all local judges serving under him, or a 75% super-majority of the Imperial Senate. The emperor, or any military officer invested by the emporor with the authority to do so, may overrule the governor on military issues while they are leading troops or ships in his province, but otherwise Caesar's only leverage over a governor is the right to strip him of office, which is usually an undesirable and bloody affair.
High Judge: Ganymede Agilis has been aproved by the Senate to take this office, but has not yet arrived in the Loam Coast
Judge of Traggix: Office held by the Coal Elf Dust Crone Pyriusia
Judge of Stimilif: Office held by the Acid Elf Boil
Interim Judge of Icarixip: Office held by General Detesabilis
Military:
Army:
Provincial Army Commander: Commander Bufo Fidelis
Provincial Garrison Commander: General Detesabilis
x3000 Soldiers of the 53rd Imperial Legion, Hunting Rebel Clay Elves in the South of the Province, Personally lead by Commander Bufo Fidelis
x750 Soldiers of the Imperial Garrison at Traggix, Lead by a set of captains loyal to General Detesabilis
x750 Soldiers of the Imperial Garrison at Stimilif, Lead by a set of captains loyal to General Detesabilis
x2500 Soldiers of the Imperial Garrison at Icarixip, Personally lead by General Detesabilis
Navy:
Provincial Naval Commander: Admiral Fugit Figulus
x350 Imperial Warships of the 14th Imperial Warfleet, Patrolling the Waters of the Loam Coast and the Southeast Cape, Lead by a set of captains and naval officers loyal to Admiral Fugit Figulus
x??? Imperial Warships of the 10th and 11th Imperial Warfleets, Stationed at the naval installation at Southeast Cape and occaisionally coordinating with Admiral Fugit Figulus to patrol Loam Coast waters.
---
The end of your honeymoon is marked by the arrival of 101 ships at the port of Silvershoes, one of which is the
Wayward Clay and the rest of which is a mixed escort of Imperial and clay elf vessels.
As you make your preparations to depart the city-state, you are joined by four new travelers.
Both Drihilnovip and the exotic sorcoress, whom you have now nicknamed 'Mandibles', have accepted positions at your court as magical advisers. Also tagging along is Princess Sielephtress, whom you have won the right to marry into your family, and War Queen Whipscale who intends to reside at Icarixip until her clan makes it into your territory.
You spend the day and a half journey from Silvershoes to Traggix aboard your own ship, getting used to the many changes that Xamut made with your blessing.
Your mostly human crew has been entirely replaced with Clay Elves, allowing the chamber where you used to store potable water to be converted into a small shrine for ancestor worship. The main point of interest, however, is your new Captain, a stoutly build lowborn female about your age who answers to the nickname 'Parakeet'.
Parakeet hands you a letter of introduction from your half-sister Captain Itializa, who informs you that she heard from Xamut V that you are in need of a spymaster.
According to Itializa, Parakeet and her husband 'Cockatrice', who has been made steward to your new home, both have deep ties to her families' spy network, and should prove more than capable and trustworthy to advise you and act on matters of great discretion. The letter also touts Parakeet's merits as a sailor, stating that she has been commanding ships since she was fourteen.
A second page to Itializa's letter moves away from the topic of your new captain, and states
that if you truly want the full weight of a powerful spy ring behind your rule, you should seek out her half sister Piliazia, make her Holy Guardian of Stimilif, and take her as a lover. On a personal note, Captain Itializa informs you that she is happy with her current job, and seeks no appointment from you. She would, however, like you to tweak her shipping routes so that she may visit the Loam Coast more often.
After finishing the letter, you get to know Parakeet yourself. The young elf makes for pleasant conversation, and has a handful of interesting war stories and spy capers to tell, but it is going to take you awhile to get used to Captain Tiber's absence.
---
Upon arriving at Traggix, you and Tsunamia are paraded up and down mostly empty streets by a mix of imperial and elfish sailors, before being shown to Clayden, your new home for the time being.
Having been separated from your wife for a spell (she sailed to the Loam Coast on her own ship), the two of you spend a few minutes breaking in the master bedroom before summoning your steward Cockatrice for a tour of the place.
Clayden is actually a bit smaller and less extravagant than your manor in Portum, and shockingly the servants are more familiar and casual with their Godking than your imperial employees back home ever were. Cockatrice explains this is all thanks to your Great Grandfather Karses I, who preached the populist idea that all Clay Elves were divine, and that the only thing separating his bloodline from the common rabble was the ability to exploit that divinity to its fullest.
It was Karses who insisted that the Pharaoh should live in the city among his people rather than among the tombs and palaces of Sacred Point, and broke the taboo against highborns making friends and lovers out of the lower class. Clayden itself, explains Cockatrice, is an example of this. It was willed by Karses I to your maternal grandmother Stellixeth, who at the time was an eight year old Claychantment prodigy already next in line for the position of arms maker to the pharaoh.
You new home, you learn, was thus the childhood home of your mother and the place where she first seduced your father.Local history states that shortly after the attempt on your mother's life, ownership of Clayden somehow passed to your twin Xamut V.
Popular legend states that Xamut sent men to Stellixeth's apartment with murderous intent, but the mob found that their victim was not home so instead settled for cracking her vault and emptying its contents, including the deed to Clayden. Either way, the manor now belongs to your brother, who has allowed you indefinite use of it.
---
Two days later, your uncle High Priest Xamul arrives to crown you Pharaoh. Keeping with the traditions extablished by Karses I, the coronation is a modest affair hosted on your balcony for all in the city to witness.
You note, strangely enough, that the streets are still mostly empty, and you count more imperial soldiers in the audience than you do clay elves.You can tell Xamul is less than thrilled about having to crown an imperialism Pharaoh with an alien wife. Although he dutifully performs the ceromony, and takes a knee to swear loyalty to you afterward, he leaves quickly to return to Sacred Point, where he looks after the more pampered members of your family, without even spending a night or sharing a meal at your home.
---
The following day, your court assembles for the first time, as many noteworthy individuals flood into your dining hall.Present and known to are your twin brother Xamut V, Pharaoh Consort Tsunamia, Captain Fangearl who commands your fifty tarantula elf soldiers, his wife Tuft, your steward Cockatrice, his wife Captain Parakeet, Admiral Fugit Figulus, Judge Pyriusia, Captain Vikishux of the local clay elf garrison, and your two court mages Drihilnovip and Mandibles.
You also meet a few dignitaries for the first time, as also in attendance is your cousin Foreman Yipip (who runs the once legendary but now ruined industrial Claychantment finishing forge in town), Holy Lady Damivia (daughter of the Holy Guardian who ruled Traggix before the war), Lieutenant Spinam (highest ranking member of the local imperial garrison), Lieutenant Mulo (representative of the absent Commander Bufo Fidelis), and Prince Agrilvin (a dignitary sent from the neighboring high elf city of Treasurewaves).
The main topic of discussion is the behavior of the imperial troops protecting the cities. Apparently the shit-stain Detesabilis wrote to your old friend Commander Fidelis, touting his military credentials and requesting that he be put in charge of the garrisons while the commander is busy dealing with clay elf holdouts in the south. Bufo Fidelis, completely unaware of the drama regarding appointments and the fact that you dislike Detesabilis, granted this request, and since then
the occupying Imperial Troops have been enforcing strict martial law and have been given free reign to beat, rob, and rape the urban clay elf population unpunished.The issue is even worse in Icarixip, the city that Detesabilis is judge of. Apparently the now un-retired general convinced some of his old underlings from the army to join the garrison there,
meaning the imperial forces in Icarixip are more numerous, mean, and loyal to Detesabilis than they are in other cities. In the name of 'fairness', Detesabilis has gone so far as to subject Icarixip to some of the looting and destruction that it was spared during the war as Caesar could never topple its walls. On that ominous note, it strikes you that Icarixip is the most defensible position in the entire Loam Coast, so if things get nasty between yourself and the wicked judge, it will be very difficult to remove him by force.
Of course, it is not just the Imperials misbehaving;
Two days before you arrived in town the population of Traggix formed a lynch mob to draw and quarter a group of overzealous engineers and mages from the Sons of Caesar trading company who were investigating Claychantment under the assumption that you would soon end the ban on outsiders participating in that particular art.
Your heart breaks a bit when you learn that you knew most of the victims.Lieutenant Spinam, whom you are quickly beginning to suspect is an underling of Detesabilis, states that
although it cannot be proven, it is generally understood that Foreman Yipip ordered the killings. The foreman in question, whom you are quickly beginning to suspect is an underling of your grandmother Stellixeth, denies the charge,
although it is quite apparent to you that he is lying through his teeth.It turns out that Lieutenant Spinam is either as good at spotting a lie as you are, or just looking to start a fight, as he promptly declares Foreman Yipip a liar.
Swords are drawn, and the assembled court steps back as a duel appears imminent.Despair sinks in as it dawns on you that this may be a no-win situation.
As much as you presently dislike both parties involved, and wouldn't mind if they killed one another, you doubt a duel to the death on the first day you ever hold court as Governor and Pharaoh would reflect well on you. You could order the Tarantula Elves to sieze the would-be combatants and end the fight, but doing so still leaves the issue unresolved, and
you have the feeling that the more you involve yourself in this mess, the more you risk losing.
Siding with Spinam will likely anger the clay elves, perhaps even driving some of them to support the rebels to the south or your grandmother. Siding with Yipip, somebody believed to be responsible for the deaths of Sons of Ceaser personnel, might align some of your investors and business partners with your bigoted enemies in the senate. Acting harshly towards both parties involved, of course, could obviously piss both parties off.
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Topic: (SG) Vassal: Rise of a Pharaoh (Read 23908 times)