Chapter 4: corridors of power
Canterlot Castle
Chamber of harmony
The equites, the herd, the people of the twin sisters, they have been a pillar of sylvania since its inception. From state, to republic, to principality, they have always protected the people from any threat that arises, beast, man, or god. the knights of equestria are the greatest warriors in the nation, they are needed now more than ever.
"This war worries me swift, we are spread thin as it is. With this war we may not be able to garrison our castles as strong as we usually do. We can barely keep the lone stars and northmen out as is!" strong arm was concerned, were they focusing too much on a temporary threat. Sure the appalachians will cause a lot of damage, but they have no real organization to keep them together. After a year or so their little coalition will collapse. "Strong, we are the protectors of all of the people. We are honor bound to fight them. Besides, not all the various factions in appalachia are unstable yahoos. The electors better elect a new prince, and soon".
Philadelphia, capital of sylvania
What is sylvania's system? On the fundamental level it is a republic. Specifically, the people vote for local representatives. Those vote for the regional senators, those vote for provincial electors. Finally the electors and the senate majority leader vote for the prince and his regent in case of his death. Then it gets really complicated. So many tribes had as part of their conditions for joining up got their own electors that the clean democratic system is some what broken. It is still mostly a democracy, but like the old world parliamentary system of great britain, it has some gilded edges. Even the title of price is rather misleading, they are most certainly NOT RULERS. They act as commander in chief and act as a person to negotiate with important persons, that is it. Even so, it comes with a great deal of influence and not a little bit of power, not to mention the bragging rights of just being the prince. It can really cause a lot of headaches, especially for the old viceroy.
"For the last time father cebert we will not prioritize your monasteries for protection" 'arrogant old priest', thought the veteran politician. Since the fallout, the Catholic church had been slowly growing its power base, converting the descendants of those who lost their faith in the aftermath. They are perhaps the wealthiest institution in the world, with grand cathedrals with gold leaf adorning the walls, prime for the pagan raiders that now plague our state. "You understand the danger we face don't you. How many times have we sent your prince engineers for his building projects, how many of our holy warriors were killed fighting your enemies, how much gold have we given to your coffers?" in many places the church is powerful enough to make kings bow to their demands, sylvania is not one of them. "Exactly my point, you have better walls than many government fortifications, trained soldiery to man them, and the money to pay for more if necessary." the so called holy man leaves the room in a huff, the clerk at the front office comes into the room. "Sir, shadow ranger is here."
Many tend to forget that their is a fourth order of equites, the unicorn order are the mystical side, the earth collectives are the hard headed, practical, salt of the earth ones, the pegasus corps are the military core of this informal… well church is not the right word but it is the most appropriate. But what of the more, unpleasant parts of protecting the people. The corrupt politicians, the con artists, the stuck-up inheritance brats, they need to know that they are not above the law. Few know that the thestral shadow bureau exists, the few that do usually speak of mysteriously disappeared gentry or gang leaders found in alleyways with their throats slit or skull caved in. even fewer know what exactly they are or what they do. They have many roles, spies, lawmen, and assassins. They are the most powerful force in the underbelly of sylvanian society, and they have been hard at work finding a new crown bearer.
The dark figure in the corner is staring again, the viceroy has been working with a lot of black ops types over the years even before the prince's death. After all, prince richard was a more direct sort. Director Shadowslayer is the only one who scared him. He has something that a lot of wetwork specialist don't, a conscious. As terry pratchett once said "A good man will kill you with hardly a word." If the viceroy steps out of what he says is the lines, no more spine. Shadowslayer is a like his organisation, very mysterious and with a lot of roles. Legends fill a lot of the gaps of people understanding, a gentry son that had his fortune stolen, a criminal who had to choose between death and service, a man whose parents were murdered in a alley (come on, that is batman). Well the truth is a little mundane, he is a yeoman with a family and joined out of a desire to do the right thing, with the will to see any task through. That is a little more frightening than anything else. He is unconnected and incorruptible, a tiger who agreed to wear a collar. "Bartholomew, when will the election be scheduled" there's something strange in his eyes, more cat than man. His canines almost fangs, tall and strong like many farmers are, his clothing black as the shadows he is standing in. cloak, boots, and linen shirt, only his jeans are a different color, a dark blue that may as well be black. Even his hair is black, though not his skin, his skin is that of the usual mongrel european. "Shadowslayer, you know that the prince can't be elected until all the electors get here, and even when they finally get here it will take forever to get the majority that we need." shadowslayer seemed satisfied with the answer, now to get back to search for crown. If his spies were right he would not need to go far.
It is an open secret that king edward is a bit promiscuous, in the post-change world with very little effective birth control this means that there are no shortages of bastards. From the low born bar maids to married baronesses, his grown sons (at least those whose parents are high born enough for him to notice) are stuck in a kind of unusual position. He makes sure that they have important jobs, and they are constantly kissing up to him to get more power. His favorite is vladimir stavarov, the powerful noble family is always looking for ways to get ahead. "Father, you called" the young prince was the atypical associate, an angry young thug in the vein of the long dead norman "yes my son, is the new territory reorganized to my specifications" "yes father, the new fiefs are shaky, but stable enough to move on to our next conquest." this is good for edward his ultimate goal, control of the whole continent "vlad, i want you to take the boisian, mackenzie, and cora contingents down south to the republica de pecos, they have been skimping out on their tribute payments". Conquering the world is expensive, the republic would have been taken over anyway even if they didn't stop paying but still. Vlad understood his father's reasoning for these contingents and his choice of conquest, the soldiers are not quite as loyal as his feudal warriors and don't appreciate his recent actions, the reason for the republic and not hawaii or the homer collective in alaska. The king has one thing that he finds abhorrent, republics. Publicly it is because of how "outdated" and "inefficient" it is, privately vlad think that fear has more to do with it.
Iowa is the most powerful nation in the entirety of the americas, it stretches from the great lakes to missouri territory, on boths sides of the mississippi river are dominated by their great river fleet, their army seems numberless, and their wealth endless. But all is not what it seems, the wars with their former neighbors drained their coffers, the vackies are getting restless, and the lack of a sea port as well as the lack of any exotic goods to speak of means that as trade and national relations get more complex, the more they will be left behind. Their empire is decaying, though they are still strong. The most powerful king of the most powerful people in the americas, is now angry. "Damn that impetuous girl, how dare she disobey me" like many people born to power william has grown to be unaccustomed to being foiled. Now he ponders how to get her back, he has already raised millions of dollars in reward money but that could backfire. Most bounty hunters and people who would try to claim the reward are not the most trustworthy of characters, and there is her *khm* "virtute" to consider, he asked for her back alive, not unharmed.. Then he had an idea. he can't send his regulars to get her back, they have their hands full trying to keep the formerly 6 different nations that make up his recent conquests from tearing themselves apart and dealing with his new war with the red hills. No, there is only one choice if he wants to get his daughter back in one piece (metaphorically) "jeffers, call in sir eaol, i need to hire him"
The barony of mist hills was not as large as most barony, they are a powerful force in westria due to the fact that outside of a few bosnian forts and ranger outposts they are the only organized group in the province. But as far as montival at large, they are fairly insignificant. Regardless they are formidable warriors that can sometimes get rather good employment as mercenaries. Mercenaries have a mixed reputation, they are relatively loyal to their paymasters and can be cheaper than a standing army sometimes. However, they don't really have any qualms against plundering communities that are not wealthy enough to buy them off. Taking their food, money, women, or anything else that they want. They can differ significantly from captain to captain, small groups to defend caravans, large ones that shift the tide of war, some well trained and armed, some little more than bandits for hire. Eaol is a housecarl (a saxon equivalency to a knight), so his group is more professional than many (which when McClintocks are involved is a minor miracle) . 500 strong spearmen from various places, 200 light lakota cavalry, 100 McClintock longbowman, and 600 knights. The knights themselves are not the plate wearing heavy cavalry of the modern association, most of them can't afford it being from the frontier. They wear chain mail, sword, shield, and lance and the spearmen are just as poorly equipped in comparison of modern infantryman. A man would have a shield, spear, short sword, leather of some kind, and a helmet. But the equipment of these hardy men are well taken care of and they drill constantly. Eaol is reading a message from the king of the iowans, "so you see the job, he wants to hire the spears of woden to get his daughter back" a lieutenant brings up a point "how can we? The fastest route is through lone stars and all the expeditions that have been sent that way come back in boxes" bright boy, i should see that he get bloodied on this trip "that is because they attacked the lone stars directly. The various tribes of lone stars may fight each other, but they hate outsiders doing the same. However they have subject tribes and villages that they really don't give a shit about. As long we don't attack them, we will be fine. we will raid their subject tribes for supplies and double time to the unexplored regions" the McClintock captain voices the question on the minds of all the men "will their be women on this journey"
And so the spearmen were hired and began to march with purses full and hearts full. Knights ride with dreams of grand estates bought with plundered silver. McClintocks thrill at the thought of the clash of blades. Lakota salivate at the promise of horses and scalps. As for their bandit lord Eaol, he has different aspirations. He does not know of the kings and tribes that rule the lands that rule the east coast. Not that he would care, he dreams that with his gold and army he can make himself a king. And a king needs a queen.
Corwin, capital of the cutters now an empty ruin. A black ziggurat dominates the burned out town, it was unfinished when arto the first killed the prophet and ended the cutter cult. But the dark forces that empowered him remained, and they still had their resources. Men enthralled to their service, lord's willing to sell their souls for power, and artifacts that are imbued with their might. Festering in the darkness they regain their feet. The ziggurat expands and so do they. Demons, jotuns, damned souls, gods of chaos and misery, they put aside their frequent feuding and infighting for the first time in a hundred years. All for the completion of a great army, and ultimately cutting out the proverbial middleman. enough failed schemes by fools, time to handle things personally. We see you.