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The Unnamed Custom: II
Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2020 6:40 pm
by Taelian
42nd of Frost, Year 119
"Tell me, Taelian — what do you know of the Entente’s modesty traditions?” she asked.
“I know of them; that they exist,” he said. To him, that was enough.
“Good. They are rather simplistic restrictions, not difficult to understand. But they are despised by the Entente, and yet they remain. This is one of the most prominent examples of the common man collectively enforcing their will upon the elite; the Entente must wear masques behind closed doors in order to fraternize in this way, and they gladly keep one another’s secrets. Otherwise, the guillotine comes.” It was ominous, but true. Taelian lived, or had lived, in such a place himself — Sil-Elaine, a place where revolution had reigned for twenty years.
There came a breaking point. He imagined it was never as far as the elite would wish it to be.
“Of course, they could attempt to fight this… to shift the culture. Even with bloodshed as a necessity. But why? If they raise their sneering skulls too high above the soil, the commoners will begin to notice other things about them that they despise. Their cruelty, arbitration of the law, their constant warring, their disregard for their own young — the vast inequality of wealth. Their conspiracy with darkly entities. The fact that they line their courts with Elven lovers in order to strengthen their arcane genealogy.”
Which made sense, especially for the Entente. They were less vulnerable to arcane corruption; less likely to die from initiation. The Sundering had somehow endowed them a blessing. “All of these practices, to the average Daravain, are rather objectionable; allow the circulation of these truths on too wide a scale, and with a lens of discontent, and you have revolution. Civil war. Besides; they can use their customs of modesty in their favor, at times. Though these schemes may eventually return to them through collective ire, a confident and ambitious Lord may still use them to acquire momentary power, knocking down their rivals. Even the mere suggestion of a shift in culture breeds the opportunity of another Noble’s schemes through the public proliferation of information. And so they stay silent, and falsely complacent.”
“Not Cailan, though,” Taelian interjected.
“No… you are right. His errant lusts became very public, and rather than deny, he embraced them. And… do you remember what I said? When one thing emerges from the soil, people begin to notice others deeply inlaid. The rising public sentiment against Cailan led other Entente to let other hidden truths fester, like targeted volleys; Louen’s aversion for war with Lorien became public, and his nationalism was questioned. In Daravin, this whisper alone is often one‘s political death. Conjoined with other forms of discontent, physical retribution may follow.”
Re: The Unnamed Custom: II
Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:36 pm
by Taelian
And it did, and thus the demise; but that perhaps explained only two of the three triggers to their fate. Cailan's predilections were certainly a part of the reason, but there remained three other members of the family, even if one was already dead. Gillian and Anna Clara were fairly inconspicuous; strong members of the family without much, seemingly, to pursue. They couldn't have been contributing factors to the death of the House, he could only surmise. So, the late Henrietta had to be a part of the outcome, he could only imagine.
"What did Gillian and the eldest daughter do when all of these... scandals began to come to light? They must have done something, yes? Their way of life was... under threat. Perhaps, like the fate they enacted upon Henrietta, they targeted Cailan with the same?"
"No," Eloise replied. "Cailan was the heir to their house. To attempt to do so to him would not only invite great shame, but he had already built a significant base of power. Besides; Anna Clara was not, at this point, incredibly involved in her house's affairs. She mostly spent her nights in Genteven, lobbying for certain privileges from the Emperor and advising in his court. She was... a member of the Gilded Tribune, Taelian; my old group. But the unfortunate truth is that some fates are inescapable, even if they are born solely from association. Despite her immense talent and wit, Anna was unable to escape the shame of being a 'de Blanciet', and before long the hunters came for her as well. But that is, perhaps, too great a telling of a story yet resolved. What was the third key?"
The Ebon Knight's eyes lowered. He exhaled through his nostrils, and played with the button that tied back his sleeve. "I... what did Henrietta believe? What did she do that was so dangerous?" he asked.
Eloise smiled faintly. He was, her face appeared to reveal, beginning to ask the right questions. "She was obsessed with killing, with asserting her arcane might. She constantly sought for avenues to reveal her strength, and actively sought to rouse the populace of the borderlands to total war with Lorien. But her father was leery of this, and afraid of the power she was beginning to amass with the peasantry. Though she held no official title like her brother did, Henrietta was beginning to surpass her kin in the eyes of the public. She was magnetizing, if only because she was demented; a threat to the stability of the realm. Blanciet was right to have her executed, but what followed and even preceded that choice were things done without thought for the context of it all. I will explain."
Re: The Unnamed Custom: II
Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:37 pm
by Taelian
The woman cleared her throat.
"To begin with, Blanciet's culling of a jingoistic daughter when he himself was vulnerable to accusations of pro-Rien belief and anti-nationalism was... well, unwise. In order to successfully remove Henrietta without turning her supporters within the public against him, Louen needed to oust her with a public scandal, one that would outrage her very base. Even though she was his daughter, and even though such actions had been performed on kin before - in the interest of the house - precedent must not blind us to the present. We must always remember that traditions and virtues grow old, and tiring, and inconvenient; they must be treated with calculation, like any tool. Because Louen did not do so, he opened the door to mayhem with the third and final key."
And... Taelian could only imagine what followed. The butchery. The desires of every possible noble family to step forward and tear away at the bits that they could, like vultures. Apparently, this breach of mere nationalism had been enough for even his daughter to be hunted across the Empire. It was absurd.
But unsurprising. None of this was; he had noticed, throughout the story, the many mistakes Louen made... and more than him; his son for indulging his erotic mania, his wife for failing to uncover and mitigate these harmful actions, Anna Clara for leaving her family when they most needed her; Henrietta for turning the populace against her kin.
It was all wrong. It was all weak-minded; all of them had failed.
"Of course, Louen was right," Eloise sorrowfully confessed, appearing to have... some personal connection to the story. Taelian could only wonder. "He was right, about many things. Anna Clara... did not understand that back then. She believed all of them to be fools, keen on dragging her down. If only she had known."
Taelian's lips gave pause, yet in tandem, Eloise's began to slightly quiver. The corners of her eyes glossed. "I am Anna Clara, Taelian. And this story, not just a story, occurred long ago... likely before you were born. Louen was my father, a human, and Gillian was my beautiful Elven mother; Cailan my brother, and Henrietta, my..." she sighed. "My beloved sister, even now. Their deaths helped me to realize that being 'right' within the court was rarely enough. And so I dedicated my future, now and for so long after, to guiding mages and nobles alike to making the right decisions in an effective way. To preventing situations like the one I experienced; situations that sever legacies, and leave rifts to form within realms. The ruling elite, if they are deserving and good, cannot afford to die. In their demise is always chaos and bloodshed, and I loathe instability. It is from this story that I gained the eventual philosophy to build the Covenant, and with this story that I extend you the offer to truly join, as one of us in Melitene's halls."
Re: The Unnamed Custom: II
Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2020 1:28 am
by Etro
♅ The Unnamed Custom: II ♅
XP: 5
Pieces of knowledge:
- Politics: The politics of modesty
- Politics: Lobbying
- Politics: 'Chosen Heirs'
- Politics: Nationalism
- Politics: Traditions Grow Old
- Politics: Always keep context in mind
Non-skill:
- Daravin: The culling of House de Blanciet
- Eloise: Once 'Anna Clara de Blanciet', of the Entente
- Eloise: Her family's fate led her to form the Covenant
Comments: This was beautiful, and I truly felt the emotion from Eloise in this, as well as Taelain in some regards. As always you never disappoint and know how to draw folks into in with your writing and I truly enjoy reading your threads.