Upon the navy's "victorious" return, The First Duchess, Quara the Great, was furious. Not only had the dark giants, in an unprovoked attack, slaughtered the giants, but one galley was barely sea-worthy and required a new crew to be trained, while the other lost nearly half of its crew. She was so furious, in fact, that her public ranting about the dark giants, at the docks, was only stopped by an arrow piercing her throat.
The world stood still as her blood flowed into the river. The assassin was never caught; Quara's dozen bronze-clad guards, recently hand-picked as the most experienced warriors, were useless to her now. She never got the chance to lean about her favorite jewelry vanishing.
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One week later, the military had standing orders to patrol the streets nearly constantly. Chaos was not to again befall Xeniice, and the newly expanded army was quick to disperse any potential mobs.
An elderly General Mlaine led discussions on how the city would be ruled, but negotiations were slow. Most of the military came from Oro, but the Oro alone could not produce enough food and wealth to support their troops. They demanded a larger representation. Azuri had the support of the largest number of minor families, as well as the support of the Free Citizens and spirits; the commoners tended to lean towards Azuri being slightly divine. Lozanth and Arlenth, from whence the majority of the craftsmen and skilled laborers hailed, had wealth and power that could not be easily denied. Nedici had the best shipwrights by far, which would be needed to counter the dark giant threat, as well as most of the fishermen, all of the river traders, and the wealth gained from such. The Kalron had little going for them, while the bards and Free Citizens were ignored.
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One year later, and Xeniice has settled down, with a well-recognized and accepted government: an oligarchy. The oligarchy makes decisions for Xeniice based on a majority ruling of elders from each family, each called a voice. Oro eventually settled on two voices, after recognizing that an attempt to control the city alone would only end in another Dark Time. Arlenth and Lozanth have one each, and split a third voice (agreed upon before meetings. Failure to agree results in the loss of the voice until an agreement is reached). Azuri have two voices, due to their larger share of the populace and communications with the spirits. Nedici have only one voice, but were granted the control of CopperFlow as a semi-autonomous colony, so long as it continues to steadily supply Xeniice with copper.
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Oro wish to continue playing the dominant role as the military power of Xeniice. They will strongly support the elimination of any/all perceived threats to Xeniice, and a general build-up of military (and naval) power. The other factions are somewhat wary of them, and will seek to deny them from controlling too many troops.
Lozanth and Arlenth have begun to see each other as allies against the insanity of warmongers, and have similar goals: Expanding infrastructure to improve the standard of living. They are against prolonged military campaigns, especially over pride.
Azuri seek to continue improving their reputation amongst independent families and Free Citizens, as well as increasing their knowledge of and bonds with the spirits. They will likely support improving the infrastructure, but do not shy away from military action ... If it would win them more support, of course.
Nedici want to continue expanding their influence in the greater world. They support a strong navy and further improvements in ships, both for military and civilian purposes. They do not favor pointless wars.
Kalron are fading, but not yet gone. They are determined to return to power, probably by thievery, bribes, the occasional threat, and the like.
The Free Citizens continue to grow, if slowly. They largely consist of merchants and craftsmen seeking to better their own lives.
The Bards have fallen on harsher times. With Quara no longer giving complete state support, they find funding (and food) elsewhere. Often a family hires the bards to solve problems when their superior knowledge is needed. Other times, they work as entertainers or as scribes/readers, as literacy is a rare skill for non-bards.
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Topic: At the Dawn of Time discussion thread (Need a replacement player!) (Read 57968 times)