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| Action Id: 3580 | Crisis: | Participants: Arman, Hadrian, Mailys, Lucita, Grazia, Cambria, Tyche, Theron, Saoirse, Miranda, Harlex, Thorn, Maja, Emrys, Antea and Gaspar(RIP) | |
| Status: Resolved | Submitted: June 26, 2019, 9:21 p.m. | Public: True | GM: Apostate |
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Silver: 20154 Economic Resources: 1000 Military Resources: 410 Social Resources: 4000 |
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Action by Arman
Prince Arman Velenosa the Heavy Hand of Lenosia arrived to the discussion alongside the march of the Velenosa Diplomatic Escort cavalry and each bannerman bore not only the colors of the House (or mercenary group) they represented, but also a swathe of white silk to indicate their intent of peace. Arman's demeanor did not imply his title. He was staunch as always, but there was a level of emphatic understanding that carried in the man's steps. There /must/ be peace. The other option is death. And so, this would be something along the lines of what Arman might say to those he meets with from Clan Stormstorm & Clan Wavewave, treating them with the same level of respect he would in any sort of diplomatic dispute be it between nobles, commoners and now... Abandoned:
"Despite the arrival of such a grand military force at my hind, I must emphasize that it is our great hope that this discussion does not result in violence, but it will take both sides to come to an amicable accord in order to avoid war. In that, I speak on behalf of House Velenosa, the ruling House of the Hundred Cities, as well as House Rubino & House Zaffria, the liege houses of Gemecitta.
Enough innocents have died in these disputes on /all/ sides. House Grover wishes to decimate your clans. We do not. We wish to offer refuge and a place your people may flourish and call home within the protection of the Greater Lyceum. Should you choose to bend the knee and join the Compact, House Rubino & House Zaffria is willing to offer sanctuary and that your cities may be maintained as part of their domain. It will be yours to control as you see fit barring your dictates abide by the common law of the Compact, the Faith and your liege lord who would be House Rubino & House Zaffria. We would also offer support and assist in establishing further protections to ensure the safety of your people and Gemecittan stone to help bolster your physical infrastructure in turn opening your people up to safe trade routes and trade arrangements with other denizens of the Compact. There have been many tribes in recent years to have bent the knee, in that we have a wealth of prior experience of both Prodigals and pillars of the Compact to assist your people with the transition in a less physical capacity should you choose to accept House Rubino & House Zaffria's offer & terms.
I know it can be difficult to make a change as great as this when the breadth of your people will be subjected to the decisions you make. I know because a similar weight rests upon my shoulders as a Prince of my House. I assure you, as a fellow 'decision maker' I truly believe this is the best option. I believe Clan Stormstorm & Clan Wavewave can have a better quality of life with us rather than against us and I implore you and yours to take this offer under heavy consideration.
That all said, I am sure you have both counter points and questions. I will do my best to answer them, whatever they may be..."
And he did just that! No matter the question, no matter if it was accusatory or otherwise, Arman did his best to answer any and all questions Clan Stormstorm & Clan Wavewave's diplomatic envoys may have had.
The diplomatic team leaned heavily on the aid of the translators present, looking to them for information on how best to gracefully combat any negative propaganda passing through the ranks of the Abandoned in their native dialect as well as pinpointing dissenters in case they needed to be dealt with in the future.
((Assistant Categories: Protection, Diplomatic Team, Translator. Please make sure you tag your assist at the beginning with the category it falls under so staff can see at a glance exactly what role everyone is playing is!))
Action by Grazia
Duchess Grazia will be providing economic and social incentives for the Abandoned to join under her rule. Although she won't directly be part of the diplomatic team, she will be providing them with support and resources to use to lure in the Abandoned peacefully. She's made it clear to the diplomats that she's not above some bribery when it comes to adding people to Gemecitta.
Action by Harlex
Tthe Red Wolf Battalion of the Crimson Blades have come to provide protection, first and foremost. This is, after all, Arman's operation. He isn't there to threaten Clan Stormstorm as much as deter them from taking any sudden military action, which would no doubt result in a bloody end. Mostly what the Battalion will be doing is providing support and defense to the diplomatic team, stationing themselves near enough to respond immediately to any violent consequence.
Harlex himself, after he gives out the orders to the Battalion, will be accompanying the diplomatic team. The Sword of Lenosia acting as bodyguard for both the royalty present and the other peerage. It should probably make every feel safer, which will make them better at their jobs, which will hopefully lead to peace! Then again, if not, Mirror Blade and its wielder will do what they do best.
Fingers crossed!
Action by Mailys
Mailys might not speak Lyceum Shav, but she's definitely a charmer, and hopefully that's enough! Most Arvani speak Arvani, after all, so not knowing Shav isn't realllllly a problem. Mailys is following much the same tactics as Maja, too. She's a commoner, and she knows what it's like to have a life torn from you and having to pick up the pieces. She -has- picked up the pieces, though, and she did it with the Velenosa and the Lyceum. She'll do her absolute best to bring the leaders of Stormstorm around, and she won't shy away from the rest of the tribe, either. Let those in power hobnob and plot things. Mailys will make sure the rest are taken care of.
Action by Maja
(Diplomatic) What a fine parade of hoity-toity nobles that has rolled in to tell the clans how great it will be to serve as vassals beneath peers positioned above them on the social food chain! PFFT! Well, that /might/ be how the clans see things -- so Maja is here to offer a commoner's take on living within the Compact and why they should consider it. Sure, there are rules. Yes, they'd be giving up some of their freedoms. But! BUT! Swearing fealty and living under Compact rule offers safety and protection. Plus? There are many -- MANY -- opportunities to be had for those savvy enough to capitalize on them. Take Maja, for example. She started off as nothing -- a forgotten casualty of a bum lot in life, living in a Lowers orphanage -- but now look at her: one of the most notable names in Arx, rolling in riches, apprentice to the Whisper House. Maja will try to get some alone time with the clan leaders, a tete-a-tete without the looming influence of the nobles so they can feel free to ask her whatever they want without having to tip-toe through a social minefield and she can answer them with real talk and offer them her honest perspective. It's all still charming AF, of course -- because Maja cannot help but be oh-so-likable and oh-so-personable no matter who she is speaking with or what she is speaking about. Trustworthy and authentic, that's her! There will be booze. There will be jokes. There will be -- wink-wink -- casual flirting. But most of all, there will be true facts laid out in a way that (hopefully) they can relate to best. Basically, her time with them comes down to this:
Living within the Compact: come for the protection, stay for the limitless opportunities.
Step 1: join the Compact
Step 2: gain protection for your people
Step 3: ??
Step 4: PROFIT
Action by Thorn
(Translator/Diplomatic) Thorn is a strange translator choice in that she doesn't speak Lycene Shav, but because she speaks Eurusi. Always be prepared though! For the most part though the easily over looked commoner is an observer, watching the abandoned to get a sense of their social structures, and if there's an opportunity to engage with the people at the edges of the abandon's social heirarchy she does, to see if with a few drinks she can find out what their gripes are with their Clans are.
Action by Saoirse
Saoirse appears at her father's side during his initial entreaty; she rides silent on her steed, carefully taking in the numbers of Wavewaves and Stormstorms.
She listens, as much as one can listen, to the foreign languages of the shavs from that distance.
And then she rides away.
Instead of treating with the clans of Stormstorm and Wavewave, Saoirse pulls to the noble men and women of the Lyceum in the region - to the vassals who have been dealing with these raids. She uses her wit, her silky personality, and, of course, her position as a Velenosa to treat with those noble houses. Whatever she may have gleaned -- if nothing else, the number of clansmen (or, in the event she gleaned nothing, carefully weighing her words) to coax the peers to the idea that the two clans, should they be accepted, would be members of their liege lord's fealty. After all, why should our current nobility go un-wooed? Shouldn't they too be given diplomatic envoys; they weren't shavs to begin with!
Action by Tyche
(Diplomatic) When Prince Arman speaks of the military at his heels, he clearly does not mean Lady Tyche Inverno. She is not a warrior, not a fighter, simply a noblewoman of the Lyceum, come along as evidence of the promise of diplomacy. She is here to work with the leaders of Clan Stormstorm by Prince Armans side toward a solution that does not end in bloodshed. Along with the rest of the diplomatic forces, her goal is to help Clan Stormstorm see that bending the knee is the best option for their people, and that a peaceful resolution to the crisis under the Compact is a wiser political and sociological move than being pulled to war. Should negotiations turn south, Tyche has no misconceptions about her own lack of physical prowess, and will leave the matters of defense to the Crimson Blades.
Action by Miranda
Miranda knows Lycene-Shav and will be translator for Prince Arman and his entourage. That is her primary role. If need be, she can protect the delegation if negotiations go sideways, but that is not her primary goal.
Action by Emrys
There are many tools at a diplomat's disposal when it comes to convincing the other side of how the offer on the table is beneficial for them as much as it is for the other. Some use charming smiles and flattery. Others speak in the way of gold and silver. And then there's Emrys. He does not seek to charm, seduce, corrupt or buy. No, he is polite, as a Whisper should, and speaks calmly to the Shav'arvani who have joined the Prince's party to speak of diplomacy. He speaks of the Compact, of its strength, of its recent efforts to take in Shav'arvani much like themselves as Prodigals, and as such see it and its people prosper. He speaks of the Compact's might, and how it has withstood previous conflicts and struck lethal blows against its enemies and those that might seek to harm it. And it is in these talks and discussions that are weaved glimpses of what awaits refusal to join the Compact in friendship. The sword, and annihilation. Clan Stormstorm is strongly advised to not risk the latter.
Action by Lucita
Diplomatic Team, Translator. As an ally of House Rubino-Zafira and loyal Velenosian, Lucita willingly makes time to try to ease discord and strengthen her allies. While she may not know a lot of languages, she has become fluent with the Lycene dialect and has used the skill successfully in communicating with Shav's near Saikland in persuading them to bent knee to her in the past. Those who have bent knee seem content with the way they have been included in Saikland and the Baroness who kept her word to try to protect and assist them. A few of these prodigals, as civilians, accompany her to help verify her comments to the Stormstorm group. She combines the abilities to translate with diplomacy to contribute to this effort. While she wears her armor as convenience for traveling and usually has a dagger and hairpins with her, she is relying on the military provided by others should difficulties arise and presents herself as part of the diplomatic effort, not aggressive or militaristic.
Action by Hadrian
((Diplomatic Team, Translator)) There's a reason that Hadrian set himself long ago to the task of picking up the ability to hold a conversation with others in Lycene dialects of the shav'arvani language: because it's always wise to have the ability to communicate with your neighbors. Language is a means of establishing initial common ground and Hadrian puts that to full use, acting as both a translator for the diplomatic team as well as utilizing that learned ability to converse with his potential new-found friends in their own language, for their own comfort and as his show of respect for their people.
Relying on his safety at the hands of others, Hadrian sets himself to the task of extending diplomatic offers to House Stormstorm. It's not just those who are open to the potential that Hadrian extends his efforts toward though. Every culture will have hardliners and it is those that Hadrian invests as much of his attention as he is able. It is they that he seeks to charm not only through force of personality, but an acknowledgment of their own customs and the importance of their identity being intact should they choose to join under the collective that is the Compact.
He points to the distant north and those who have bent the knee their. He speaks on the topic of shamanism and how even today within the Compact, such beliefs are considered acceptable so long as the Pantheon is likewise embrace. In short he offers assurances that while their future may change, their culture itself is not under attack - so long as it does not act counter to the Faith of the Pantheon. He doens't lie, he doesn't manipulate. Hadrian makes it a point to be utterly honest with the people of Clan Stormstorm. Change will come because that is simply how life works, but it is within the power of Clan Stormstorm to guide that change rather than have it levied upon them.
He seeks to win over those who are most adamantly against that change, warming them over with integrity and honesty. He's none too shy about imparting gifts which may be construed as examples of prosperity that can be found among the Compact. House Rubino-Zaffria holds a place of strength and influence within the Lyceum and the Compact he explains, so there would be few finer potential liege lords.
Action by Cambria
(Diplomatic Team) At Hadrian's side, Cambria supplements her husband's strategy with cunning examples of what makes being part of the Compact worth anyone's while. While not able to communicate directly, she relies on the translators of the team to make her pitches known.
Action by Antea
(( Protection )) Antea will be accompanying the Diplomatic Team along with Hydra Legion II to help ensure that should things turn towards violence, that there will response in kind. She will be be staying with the forces to ensure leadership of the forces that isn't up on the front lines. She will also be ensuring that the soldiers are kept occupied and calm so there's less chance of any 'mistakes' that provoke fighting from their end. Antea will work in collaboration with Harlex to ensure battleplans are in place for any number of possibilities, including retreat should peaceful resolution be achieved.
Action by Theron
(Protection Team) The Sword of Ostria goes where he is needed and useful. Especially if both the Marquessa and Marquis want to go out to play. Protecting their honor and health means protecting the party's health as well. This includes the health of the Clans in case of exterior threat. Theron is not there to talk, he is there to protect others and look pretty.
Action by Gaspar(RIP)
(Diplomatic Team) Riding behind Uncle Arman with Saoirse nearby, Gaspar was the one those who looked for..slightly less formality turned to and found. He was finely dressed and well kept, but his crooked grin and casual posture in the saddle set the counter of stoicism from his uncle.
Gaspar would follow his cousin, more practiced in true affairs of state, to speak with each of the local nobles in turn. He would talk of anything and everything, making plenty of time for chit-chat for the more nervous to break the ice, get right to the business for those who had little time for games. Each noble's voice was different and each want to hear things just as differently. That was the game; finding each bolt to tighten just enough to make it secure without stripping it. Some would be woo'ed, others would be wow'ed, but acceptance of the idea was what mattered. Not mere tricks and fanciful words. Gaspar intended to show that, just as he was different among his family members, so too would the clans be different, yet still able to be accepted, within the Rubino and Zaffria lands and laws.
Result
There's good news and bad news.
The good news is it is a diplomatic triumph. Most in the Lyceum fully expected it to be a bloodbath, and worse than that, for Clan Stormstorm and Wavewave to remain problems for years to come, as any slaughter of their envoys would just result in years and years of campaigns to hunt down every last one of their hidden bastions from which they launch raids. But despite surprisingly large escort forces that the Abandoned clans bring to the field as they negotiation, Warchief Wilbur the Excessive of Clan Stormstorm is ready to talk. The lack of violence would in and of itself be a clear success, but Warchief Wilbur the Excessive and Clanlord Rufus Wavewave listen attentively to the many pleas and arguments about joining the Compact, the compelling benefits, and Stormstorm is willing to bend the knee to Gallo and Wavewave to Groverfield.
The bad news is the terms.
"Well. As long as we can keep our thralls, obviously." They knew thralldom was still practiced in the Isles, so they didn't think it would be a major problem or roadblock, as both Clans have routinely punished crimes (and taken prisoners) with thralldom. They just assumed it would still be fine. They imagine the Lyceum and Crownlands would make an exception for them, wouldn't they? If keeping thralls is not possible, Wilbur and Rufus calculate the costs, and they are certain they could pay all the thrall fees, relocate all their strongholds, pay for the indemnities owed from their raids for 9,999,999 silver and 99 copper bits. It's under ten million, you see.
Clan Stormstorm and Clan Wavewave will halt raids during the negotiation process of bending the knee, but it's an exceedingly awkward request.