"Again," I say, watching Azula from behind my desk. She was standing with her hands clasped behind her back, with no sign of annoyance in spite of her being quizzed on the political upheaval for the past two hours. She had a lot of promise.
"Our general is Tirist Shoremanors," she said, her voice full of interest in spite of the boredom in her eyes. "Appointed to the position in the late Spring of 205 by the newly elected queen, Zasit Woundblue. Originally from Boardsomber, she moved to Veilmanor in 200 and was there during the Bloody Assault of 201. Aside from that, she has no military experience that we know of, so it’s unclear why she was appointed to the position. We do know that she is the sister of Zuglarkun III, granddaughter of Haerdalas I and niece of Crazy Urist, but there’s no reason to believe that this affected her appointment.”
I nod, glancing at notes in front of me.
“Now the queen,” I prompt, running my fingers through my hair and pulling it back into a tight ponytail. I’d considered cutting it off altogether to avoid having to stuff it down the back of my neck in battle, but it was considered unfashionable by visiting nobles. Nobles were even stupider than peasants sometimes. Most times to be honest. It was why I’d gotten as far as I had.
Azula closes her eyes briefly, then recites: “Zasit Woundblue became queen after Obok Constructrazor’s death in 205. She was originally from Scribedglaze, moving to Brandgears at the age of fourteen in 72 to become a ranger, then a mercenary almost thirty years later. She worked as a sellsword for just over a hundred years, though she doesn’t seem to have taken part in any battles during this time. In 203, Zasit became the outpost liaison of the Stirred Irons, using this influence to become the mayor of Brandgears later that year. Even though the title was essentially an empty honour after the conquering of Brandgears by the Thief of Curls that same year, the position allowed Zassit to be a viable candidate and eventually secure the monarchy.”
“Good. Could any other factors have aided her in that achievement?”
“She’s a member of a cult that worships the Shigós Washedrawness the Plain Gill of Mosses, but we don’t know whether they wield enough influence to act as a kingmaker. Given the amount of damage that the titan has done over the years, it would be foolish to discount it as a factor, though.”
“Of course,” I nod. “You’re tired, aren’t you?”
Azula hesitates for a moment. She’s probably wondering if this is a trap of some sort, but decides to go with honesty anyway. “Yes. I don’t see why this is all so important. And Morgan doesn’t have to do it!”
“She will when she’s older. I want you two to be able to get whatever you want, and the best way to get people to give you what you want is to know what they want. And to know what they want, you have to understand them. For example, I’ll let you go play if you tell me who could inherit the throne should our queen suffer an unfortunate accident.”
The girl sucks her lower lip, thinking. “She has three living children,” she says eventually. “The eldest, Vucar Urgewheels, seems to be a reasonable heir. He has three living children though only one, Haerdalas II, is a viable inheritor of the crown since the other two were abducted by goblins as children. Zasit’s also appointed him as the outpost liaison when she became mayor of Boardsomber, which means she either trusts him or wants him to get more experience in dealing with the political realm. Illral Mirrorsqueeze might be her choice in spite of being younger, since he also worships Shígos. Her third child was abducted in infancy.
“Besides children, she has three living siblings. Tekkud Landglazed is her elder, but his wife got abducted by a gloom man, so people think he’s cursed. Then there’s Humphrey Cactusson, but I’d rule him out by reason of insanity. He’d be the best choice from our point of view though, since he lives here and insane people are easy to manipulate. Vutok Lancedcoal seems like her most likely choice behind Vucar, since Zasit’s appointed her as our diplomat. It’s possible that Vutok is her first choice as well, since she chose Vucar as her replacement when she became a mayor rather than a royal. She might not have had anything bigger in mind for him at the time.”
I smile, impressed at her memory. “Well done. You can go, but make sure to look after your sister-” I continue talking over the groaning “- and stay away from the walls! I can’t have you getting turned into a dwarf roast after all the work you've done!”
Leaning back in my chair, I listen as her footsteps fade away down the stairs. Haerdalas and Humphrey both had children living in the fortress. It might be worth giving Azula a few days free from studying as long as she made sure to talk to them. Powerful friends were useful after all, especially if you were their friend before they were powerful... Even if the throne ended up beyond her reach, Azula was certainly turning into a girl that would be able to accomplish a lot with the friendship of a royal.
OOC: Most of our nobility seems to be related to the queen now for whatever reason. Possibly nepotism, possibly coincidence. I like to think that Zasit is a power hungry usurper like me.
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Topic: 'Murderflood: (Ardentdikes IIIv3) You, there, grab this save! (Read 216070 times)