(Alright. Lots of discussion here. Very little consensus. We will talk to Anders about sanctifying La'akea, and give a speech hitting some notes suggested by Fluffe, Ironyowl, and mightymushroom. I don't think any of their themes are incompatible with one another. Beyond that, the ball will play out as it will)
Skill = 3
Roll = 2
Formal Setting Bonus: -1
Final Result = 1
You rise from your seat like everyone else, but walk towards the pulpit rather than away from it. Once you reach the front of the room, you clear your throat and pound the pulpit with your fist to get everyone's attention. Then the speech begins.
As the words flow from your mouth, the focus from the eyes and ears upon you only fills you with more confidence and poise. You touch on the theme of unity, draw parallels between yourself and Saint Arawn, and ask the crusaders present how they would feel if the Mahallo tried to force conversion upon them. You remind the audience that in these trying times of the blockade, the Mahallo raids against the elves constitute the only real economic activity in the realm, and that the raiders are dependant on druids of the Mahallo faith.
"I don't think my views differ that much from those held by Lord De'Ville, or indeed any crusader here," You state in conclusion, "exposing and converting the Mahallo to Imperial culture and religion is a noble cause. But the world presents us with many noble causes, and not enough time and resources to pursue them all. One of the great gifts of the Imperial Religion is the wisdom to choose which cause to pursue, when to pursue it, and how. This temple will take decades to build; If we were to rush it, it would either be too structurally weak or aesthetically ugly to serve as a symbol of Agusta's benevolent might, or it would stand upon a legacy of cruelty inflicted upon the workers who erected it that the God Empress and the saints would find offensive! A unified New Mahallo is like the temple under construction. We will take our time to mold and define who and what the people of this realm ought to be. If we rush the Mahallo into abandoning their traditions to satiate our zealotry, the legacy of this place will be one of weakness, ugliness, and cruelty."
"As first King of an independent New Mahallo, my legacy is fated to be as one with the realm's." You offer a pause, a dramatic sigh, and a melancholic smile to the audience. "It is my intention to be remembered as strong, wonderful, and kind. It is my most profound hope that my subjects share this ambition."
At first the room is quiet, barring a bit of polite clapping from your immediate family and friends. All eyes turn to Lord De'Ville, who in turn looks to a group of visiting bishops sitting to his right. The foreign clerics hold the silence for a moment, before offering applause. Burt and his family join in, followed by the rest of the room.
---
You catch Anders as the ball starts, and ask about his handling, or lack thereof, of the grass skirt. He considers his answer carefully before speaking.
"You know, the funny thing is, I actually think La'akea should be declared a saint. Eventually. In a perfect world. At some point. I hope to live long enough for it to be appropriate for me to write a thesis arguing for her inclusion myself... But the people pushing for it at this moment in time are doing so purely for political reasons. They care not for the deeds of your great grandmother, only for the possibility that making her a saint could lead to a handful of Mahallo conversions."
He sighs. "I'm not naïve. I know it is not possible to fully separate religion from politics. But your father is the man I respected above all others, and it just doesn't sit right with me to see his departed ancestor used as a pawn for political interests, especially those I disagree with. You can apparently give a great speech to oppose... lets call it
overenthusiastic conversion of the Mahallo. I can't do that. My public speaking is limited to dry sermons and ranting, raving, temper tantrums. But I had to protest somehow. Refusing to acknowledge those people's patron saint seemed appropriate."
Not waiting for a response, your half brother and court mage wanders off to the dining tables to make himself a particularly stiff drink.
Picking on your Mahallo guests starts early, when the minstrels play
Final Sunset, a traditionally Imperial song which, when performed at any sort of celebration, is customary for all women present to sing along to. Your Chancellor, Mateo De'Ville, makes a big scene out of insisting the Mahallo women participate.
Thanks to the tutor Luanda hired, both druids are at least able to get through the famous first two verses that every Imperial is familiar with, dropping out of the song at the same time as about a third of the Imperial women participating. Kaylee, however, doesn't know a single word of the song. She stands in line with the other women, looking clueless in front of the whole ball. You can tell people are snickering at her for the duration of the event, and that neither she, her husband, or her brother are particularly happy.
Simone is the first of the Imperial women to introduce herself to you, bolding requesting to spend a dance on your arm as soon as the minstrels start playing the slow songs. As you would expect from someone with a reputation as a huntress, she is more muscular than the typical young lady. Although she mostly adheres to the dress code of traditional Imperial formalwear, she pushes the limits by wearing an elaborate wide brimmed hat decorated with small skulls, feathers, and other hunting trophies that Simone has claimed over her years growing up at King Penteram's court.
As you dance, Simone confesses that she finds the fact that you are a great hunter more appealing than the fact you are a King. Her greatest ambition is to one day participate in a hunting expedition to the Outer Savanah, which is a part of your realm. Her greatest fear is eventually marrying a man who might keep her in the home and forbid her from hunting. Marrying you would likely allow her to achieve the former and avoid the later. As the daughter of a Bishop, she confesses to be well learned in scripture, meaning that she could be of use in dealing with the clerics... or trained in Imperial Divine magic if you were to find both Simone and a potential tutor willing to break the protocols against females employing Agusta's divine magic.
After the dance, your half brother Andre approaches you with Juliette, the second of the four Imperial prospects. Your champion had been filling the martially inclined woman in on the capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses of a Mahallo raiding party. You note Juliette asks good questions about the supplies carried by the raiders and the philosophies and tactics employed by their officers. When the topic shifts to her being your potential bride, the questions do not stop. After about thirty minutes you know little more about her than you did at the start, but she is familiar with your entire life story. You can't help but think somebody so good at gathering information might have her uses.
After the conversation, Juliette leads you over to where the children are playing to briefly introduce you to her daughters: 7 year old Elizabeth and 5 year old Bethany. The girls are polite, respectful, and do not speak unless spoken to. You get the feeling they have been coached on how to handle this meeting.
As you take your leave from the widow, Andre tells you, in so many words, that he intends to try and make a one night stand out of Juliette if you don't propose to her by the end of the night.
Burt De'Ville and one of the clerics under his employ personally lead you over to meet with Gisele. They explain that she would never approach you to sell herself as your wife, as humility is one of the virtues an Imperial woman must master to be granted a copy of the red journal. Clerics often say that just reading the journal can make a pure hearted lady more attractive, and perhaps it is confirmation bias, but when you set eyes upon her up close, you can't help but agree with this. You have seen many women at least as attractive as the one before you, but for some reason when you look into her soulful brown eyes it takes every ounce of your willpower to not completely lose yourself in fantasies involving Gisele in your bedchambers.
After briefly making introductions, Lord De'Ville suggests you take Gisele out for a spin on the dance floor. You agree, and that is when the magic literally starts. You understand some of it; She employs 'flourishes', a form of illusion magic that you are also proficient in which uses the movement of one's body to create short-lived sensory effects. Your skin literally tingles for a moment at any point where it comes into contact with hers, and you can feel small puffs of wind coming off her dress as it flows to the music. It is possible she has other magic as well. Gisele speaks infrequently, but when she does open her mouth, she tends to express the exact thought that happens to be on your mind at that particular moment. When the minstrels pick up the tempo, Gisele embarks on a particularly ambitious and complicated dance routine, and leads you along in it flawlessly. As a person, you are more physically capable than most, but you doubt you could have nailed a dance that complicated on the first try through instinct and non-verbal instruction alone. It is quite probable you were guided by some arcane process of Gisele's doing.
You dance with Gisele for the better part of an hour. It is difficult to separate yourself from her. Just after sunset, however, as the minstrels pause between songs, you are interupted by a tap on your shoulder. You turn to find yourself staring into the blood-red eyes of Marion.
"Forgive me, your excellency, for not introducing myself sooner. I had to lurk in the shade, as the sun does not agree with me. My name is Marion. The clerics, upon consulting prophecy, reckon that I am worthy of being your bride." The snow-white young woman gives you a coy smiles, "and I am not one to question divine will. M'lady Gisele, if you would be so kind as to let me take this heroic monarch for the next dance?"
Gisele nods, takes her leave, and you find yourself dancing with the only prospect younger than yourself. Of the four Imperial women, she is the most overtly attracted to you; When you gaze into her uniquely striking eyes, it is she, not you, who forgets the next steps of the dance. When the music stops, she recites romantic and borderline erotic poetry to you between songs. It takes some effort to get her focused enough to tell you about herself.
In addition to the ladylike skills of knitting and singing, the priests who raised Marion also taught her to use the short sword and the buckler so that she might have some tools with which to fulfill her destiny. Sadly, her pale skin's aversion to the sun means she is unlikely to be joining any battles unless they take place indoors, at night, or on an overcast day. The priests who raised Marion wanted to break protocol and teach her magic, but Penteram's Bishop (and Simone's father) Jordain does not believe in the prophecy of the Eclipse Mother and keeps close tabs on the young albino and her guardians to ensure she isn't taught anything inappropriate.
One thing that impresses you about Marion is her blunt courage. She is the first person since you returned from the nameless city to posses the gall to ask if you are a necromancer. When you respond in the negative, she informs you there is no way you were raised at the court of the lich without getting to learn at least some magic or bring some mages home as advisers, and that if you take her as a wife, she hopes to be taught at least something of the supernatural. When she parts from your company to have a seat, claiming to have been standing all day as there were no chairs in the shade, she displays her courage one final time by stealing a quick kiss on your lips.
The druids you invited are not comfortable enough with Imperial dance to join you on the floor, but you, Halia, and Luanda all wind up dining together. The three of you enjoy an extended conversation about nature, outdoorsmanship, and animal husbandry. Eventually Kane, Kaylee, and Keanu join in, and the topic of conversation narrows toward hunting in particular. Talk of hunting then attracts your potential bride Simone to the table. The seven of you wind up conversing until the event begins to wind down.
Simone and you are the last two people at the table. The huntress then speaks to you in relative privacy. "Your excellency, I know it is unlikely that you would pick me over over a student of the Red Journal or a child of prophecy... So I was wondering, if you will not share my marriage bed, could you perhaps help me match up with your Mahallo friend Kane? I have to marry a hunter. I just must."
By the time you address Simone and rise from the table, the ball is quiet. Simone wanders over to where the three other prospects are waiting with their families or guardians. All eyes are on you. It is no secret that you are expected to propose to somebody tonight. The De'Ville's are prepared to throw a proper Imperial Wedding fit for a king as soon as tomorrow, but considering your mother's condition you doubt anybody would take offense if you were to take your bride back to Bride Price for a less extravagant celebration that your living parent might attend. You suppose if you wanted to make another big statement, a Mahallo wedding ceremony only requires a druid, soil, and river water, all of which is available to you here and now.
Do you propose to anyone? If so, who will it be, and where and how would you like to marry them? Do you have any other business with the people present before you leave St. Arawn?
Author
Topic: (SG) Petty Kingdom of New Mahallo: Reign of King Arawn (Read 20161 times)