53.5 Rising Tides

General Summary

Day 1086

I attend Deldrin’s council meeting purely as an informational resource (and out of intense curiosity to see how it all plays out). I don’t intend to speak, which I tell Shelor, but I’ll happily answer whatever questions people have.   The conservative faction, determined to remain separate from the Empire, consists of:

• Bodin Stone Grey, presumably because he is simply afraid of change.
• Persivus Midnight Blue, a Ventarri dwarf representing the Banker’s Guild, looking out of the interests of the wealthy elite. His concern seems to be that joining the Empire would surely disrupt many existing investments, which is absolutely true. He is visibly fearful of me and my Imperial presence…as he should be.
• Elsida Dusk, apparently known for viewing the game board in an extremely future-oriented way and asking questions which are not genuine, but serve to direct conversation the way she wants. Shelor doesn’t trust her at all.

The meeting itself is something of a formality, as Shelor’s faction has the votes. But she calls for a unanimous vote to discuss the matter anyway.   Elsida calls the 6:3 ratio into question; she seems to think that Wyn has once again changed his mind and joined the conservative faction because it would be rash and hasty to act so quickly. He looks at me with a helpless look that I receive with the disappointment of a mother hearing her child confess to a silly but ultimately harmless lapse in judgement. I can’t tell if this is his own courage failing him or some other strange play that Elsida is making.   He declares that he views Deldrin joining the Empire as inevitable, but would be willing to stand for taking more time before making the decision. Garret, too, is called out as having changed his mind. The two of them both call her an ‘old bat’ (to my amusement) and Garret tells her that he is not as vulnerable as she thinks. I get the distinct sense that Elsida is openly blackmailing him…which is remarkably bold.   When the councillor herself speaks to me, she seems miffed that I had tea with other councillors. But her interest is in the Imperial family, so I happily talk at length about my family’s structure and how we are not blood related, and though we have ultimate power over the Empire, local rulings are better left to the people who are involved.   She wants to know all about the detailed structure of power between different states and I do my best to answer from my memory. Between Amytri, Andstella, Torrick, Waylah, and Torch, I think the Outlands show a remarkable variety in governance structures and I hope to firmly impress upon them all that I am truly not interested in forcing them to change.   But Elsida believes this is very unstable. She implies that a state could rapidly change directions and become at odds with the rest of the Empire.   It’s a cowardly, winding way of asking a question. I tell her to be direct.   And so finally, she identifies her issue. All other regions of the Outlands (except for the Inferno trolls) have a direct line into my family. Nina is outer family to me (and here, Elsida uses the correct elvish word for it Zadiyah is inner family; Waylah is blood-related to my outer family and the city itself is the hereditary home to others within my family. And Andstella is my own sister.   She worries that other leaders have a close personal relationship with me and so have an advantage over Deldrin, and if I’m close with certain council members then they, too, could become unassailable. Her vision is for the council to become hereditary lords and ladies and save the elections for guilds and advisory committees. She also suggests that marrying into the Imperial family would be wise, and starts asking after Liliales and Ausha. I have to laugh at this — there is no one in this city fit to marry Ausha. And the same is likely true for Liliales, but I think his fiancée can more effectively defend him from the threat of marriage.   Shelor points out how inherently tragic it is to force a long-lived race to marry a human who will die, just as a political move. Instead, she reminds the council that elvish notions of family are flexible and need not be restricted to romantic partnerships. She suggests that Nishvalen join the council and be welcomed into my outer family, which he really deserves regardless of his council involvement.   Elsida still seems displeased, which Garret cites as a sign that she is just looking for a way to shove her granddaughter into a place of power. The girl is 13, and ought to be seeking teachers rather than marriage partners. Garret’s own children are currently in the elvish quarter with Nishvalen, staying safe from the threats that Elsida has made against them. I’m aghast — not just that she would make such threats but that she would make them so poorly that they could be physically defended against.   Persivus finally speaks, to bring us back to the immediate discussion at hand. He wants to know how I perceive Deldrin as an economic power compared to other cities in the Empire. And quite honestly, nothing made in Deldrin can compare to real elvish craftsmanship. Dwarves can compete, but not humans in their current mode of training. But there is enough overlap between the highest-end human exports and what would be acceptable to middle-low class elvish consumers that trade could be possible.   There is also opportunity between people of similarly oriented faiths - moon worshipping Carthians would likely be interested in trade with moon-worshipping humans. But realistically, trade across the Barrier mountains is simply unlikely due to the distance and travel.  

Rising tides lift all ships.

  Risi believes that any economic threat is outweighed by the opportunity presented by our union. Her own magic has grown much stronger through studying Osyr and elvish magic and the same can be said of trades and arts. She also says that the Outlands will surely be their best bet to survive existential threats such as the Storm if such a thing arises.   Bodin speaks up, finally, looking extraordinarily uncomfortable to be addressing a Ventarri so openly. He lures Persivus with the idea of being a heroic economist who just needs an opportunity to make his mark. The banker tugs at his golden collar as he thinks about this before finally asking us all to call the vote tomorrow.   In the interim, Nishvalen will join the council and my outer family.   I leave the council chambers with the distinct disappointment that a council member who has made no overtures of friendship to me whatsoever might view my affections as the barrier to joining the Empire. I’m extraordinarily easy to befriend, and she didn’t even make an attempt.