Noble Progression Story The Winter Of Malcontent

Following the end of the Rourke-Harhold war, House Viduggla withdrew their troops and sailed back north. 5000 Regals were spent on inviting the North lords and ladies to discuss the tax situation, however none of them showed up. It was made clear in this act that Duke Garth Viduggla was actually quite despised in the North, and hadn't been given anything else than a half-assed apologetic letter from the Kerwolf County, stating a list of excuses why they couldn't make it, but that they were pretty sure that the other lords were not paying taxes either because the government has shown no attempts to improve the situation in the north of give the Velheimers the feeling like they belong in the Empire. Nor had House Viduggla.

House Black retreated their troops and afforded House Harhold 20,000 Regals in gold for the reconstruction. as per agreement, Harhold required the demobilization of his troops, which he did. House Black dedicated another 10,000 Regals to the Economic Stability of the region, while using its troops to figure out who the leader of the previous raids on Narlas was. The name was publicized pretty easily: House Deredda. House Reinard paid 3000 Regals to the Nuszarok Stampede, 2700 to the Mercenary leader Saffaen, 1400 to the mercenary leader Sakara. Another 3000 Regals are dedicated to Lage Fristadvlom, but these finances appear wholly underwhelming for the sheer financial damage done to the region by Viduggla, and so has no effect. Slumberwood also paid 30,000 Regals in an attempt to invest in the Merchant Expedition to Farahdeen, who greedily sets out on his journey. Harhold invested 20,000 Regals on the Economic Stability of the Royal District, and another 10,000 Regals on rebuilding the economy of the countryside. His far more controversial act however was to ransom the captured Barons for 3,000 Regals each. This yields a 15,000 Regal boost to Harhold's coffers, but the Rourke Barons immediately strike back. When marching their army back to Rourke territory, they simply take 2,000 Harhold Levy prisoners from the previous battles with them, and keep them imprisoned in Rourke until Harhold pays them back for the sum of 15,000 Regals. Harhold meanwhile loses Political Stability for essentially provoking the Rourke Barons into exacting revenge when there was no need, trading money for stability.

House Delmotte sends the 25,000 Regals sent from Typhonus back to House Typhonus, and invests another 20,000 Regals in a venture led by Olivia Ombre to spread Pro-Delmotte sentiments to Micelle. While this would have normally been the last push to knock them over the edge into Pro-Delmotte ballpark as a satallite, Olivia Ombre ends up betraying House Delmotte and instead swinging Micelle strongly back to Ithanian culture, not only undoing all of Delmotte's payments, but also Yaotl's involvement and resetting the efforts in the region back to zero, while also making the investment burned paper.

The Heartland Director and Royal Director both spend 10,000 Regals in the local economies, hoping to boost income to some degree. The Royal Director also increases the Church maintainance by 500 Regals weekly. The Synod spends 20,000 Regals in an attempt to build a Cathedral in Talahm Gall. This venture turns out extremely ill planned however as the Crags and Clannsmeet of the Pachs essentially come together and confiscate all the property, tossing it into the ocean shortly afterwards as they are staunchly against Unionist infringement, furthermore proclaiming that the Synod is not welcome on account of the treaty between House Howlester and the Crags of Talahm Gall. The Synod also dedicates another 20,000 Regals to the Holy Vierzehn, who appreciate the Synod's diplomatic gesture. 15,000 Regals are spent on the Rourke Baronlands, making amends for any grievances put forward for the support for Harhold, which seems to ease the tension with the East Dragenthal Church, however St. George's Penance is still staunchly anti-Synod.

The Synod requests information from the Archrevery of Salvation and the Holy Vierzehn: The Father Salvation replies that as a New Ceardian Church, their extreme piety and purity agenda is largely ignored by the current Synod, and they feel their ideology is drifting away from a Synod that is posturing itself more with open arms. The Holy Vierzehn comments that as a youngster, the older Reverends of Calemberg have little faith in the ill-experienced High Reverend to weather the storms of apostacy, and need a sign of competency to restore their faith. Another 5,000 Regals is spent funding the Archrevery of the Farlord to expel the Pagans, and does not get involved with the Child of Carnal Sins.

House von Drachenburg sends 33,000 Regals to House Typhonus on condition of more troops being donates. An investigation is also started in the region where complaints about the local baron come from. Most of the complaints seem like simple peasant drivel, but the Baron could do with a little bit less aggressive attention towards criminals. Drachenburg's efforts are mostly wasted, but the quick response and large amount of finances dedicated are well appreciated by the peasants who just wanted some attention, improving political stability. House Taotl meanwhile spends its diplomatic assets to improve the relation of the locals among the Barony of Worthing to their ruler, which bounces. The Diplomats report back that Yaotl's charm will only work on actual leaders and rulers, not on the common people or the middle man, and that their diplomatic efforts will only work when targeted on specific individuals. Furthermore, a warmeet is hosted to gauge opinions of the Hadarian factions in favor of a war. It turns out that the Hadarian factions are all overwhelmingly in favor of war, but that they believe it would be a costly affair, and that they would certainly need assistance. While it is possible for House Yaotl to field a large amount of troops, this would also be insanely costly. The other Digmaan state they are willing to ramp up their troop counts, even up into the hundred thousand and more, as long as the Digmaan arranges a payment scheme with the government, or issues a liberum veto among his people to drive payments from the other Digmaan themselves to fund the war. Naturally, this gesture is somehow reported back to the Sendrassians through espionage, the great political gesture not being easy to hide, and war ships from Sendras start skirmishing with the Black Ships, which hold the line for now with Yaotl's ships.

House Typhonus spends another 45,000 Regals to buy 9000 troops and sends 5,000 to House Drachenburg. Another 3,000 Regals is spent on a new Quarter Puretek for House Typhonus, which is acquiesced, however they specifically avoid delivering it directly to Elros, instead delivering it to Ulric Typhonus as a pureblood. House Typhonus further visits the Groswald Commune where they make a political dedication to the people to uphold their Communard ways. This ends up horribly backfiring to House Typhonus: None of the other nobles seemed willing to actually fund the wayward Noble, and House Typhonus's Aristocratic background being tossed by the wayside by supporting Jacobins in their backyard over a prospective noble falls in poor tastes among the aristocracy of Calemberg, where political stability decreases as some nobles whisper that Elros Typhonus is not that interested in upholding the birthright of nobility if it suits him.

House Avalorn holds a meet with Culture and Altalar to improve their relations with Lorelle and Rivellia as well as Sondrais and Micelle, but this party is horribly under-funded for the expensive tastes of so many Ithanians, who are lukewarm to the entire arrangement. Another 10,000 Regals is invested in improving the economy and a small budget is sent to engage in archeological dig sites in Vlissinghelm. This archeology is immediately hampered by Dragon fanatics who spring out of the woodwork, or even Unionists with traditional loyalties towards these sites that are commonly seen as national heritage. Altalar walking in and, without any clear signal from House Harhold, looting and digging into these ancient temples is seen as a gross disrespect of their heritage, and the locals send their demands to House Harhold to eject Avalorn's archeologists.

House Fristadvlom visits House Kerwolf's vassals, receiving much the same anwer as their leader. Saffaen is hired to train the Fristavlom Cavalry, however this venture ends in failure. The Avanthar tactics of light cavalry and guerrilla tactics along with horse archery is almost antithetical to the more Drixagh Höglander heavier Cavalry and lancers that the area is rich in, meaning the two do not see eye to eye, and the Avanthar horses and men have trouble adapting to the northern winds, being seen as sissies by the locals.

The Chancellor travels to Ithania to negotiate with King de Gosse about the release of the Sovereign of Ithania. King de Gosse immediately declines, saying that regardless of the government's intentions not to support the Sovereign, her release will immediately spark a rebellion. He would only consider releasing the Sovereign if the Government respects and acknowledges his claim and crown, denounces hers, and then gives additional commitments that it will send military aid in the form of marshals and troops should she start a rebellion under his nose. In the meantime, her husband is sent to the location of the Sovereign's imprisonment, a palace called the Chalêau de Pontferrat, a luxurious palace in a yet well defended valley. The Chancellor's husband however is declined an approach, on account of having absolutely no diplomatic skill. The Ithanian guards (whom have a distaste for the "savage" and "unruly" southerners (Daenshore) take one look at Rodrigo's skin and procure a sling of derogatory slurs involving fried plantain and grease, before ejecting him and the Contingent from the premises. The Chancellor also meets with the Iron Duke of Vultaro, asking his input on the slavery situation of Atolia. The Iron Duke's response is short: "Their business is a faulty one. Let me invade their land, I'll correct their faulty economy and make them pay taxes". It's evidently clear that he's against the entire concept of slavery outright.

Two mercenary companies, one led by Mathias Sava Terro and one by Edward Carwell petition the Synod for money to support the expelling of Pagans from the Veer. The Farlord Reverends, given essential carte blanche by the Synod, gives them 2,500 each instead of the 3,000 saying it is all they could muster in this particular moment, which both mercenary companies seem to comply with, seeing as some is better than none. Mateo Silva is also present as the mercenaries start rounding up the Pagans, going from door to door, however naturally, the situation immediately turns violent. These people had already experienced a door-to-door pogrom in Vlissinghelm, and immediately took up any weapon they could find to resist, resulting in the wholesale slaughter of the Pagans in the Veer, leaving 241 immigrants dead. The objective is achieved: the Veer Pagans are halted in their tracks and no new ones seem to arrive, but the killing does again send a strong message to the North that there is no such thing as a Regalia with Drixagh as part of it. For now, the Barons of the Veer seemed laconic about the situation, barely even acknowledging it, or making it a problem since they did not recognize these immigrants as valid residents, merely Drixagh squatters.

The Elven Principalities that Regalia fought over during the Kathar war, after 22 days of receiving no information, eventually close diplomatic channels with the Regalian Empire. While this act seemed relatively insignificant in terms of how it did not immediately affect Regalia, the implications of the action bore far more weight. The Elven Principalities had essentially been left in the cold waiting for an open hand to invite themselves into the Regalian Empire from the government, but were completely ignored after the war, making them feel as if the Empire was not interested in initiating negotiations. By closing the diplomatic channel, the Elven Principalities effectively revoke their intent to join the Empire.

This act, compiled with many other smaller failures and delays that the government has caused one way or another, causes a gunpowder effect among the states of the Empire. The first nations to knock off their support for taxation to the central state in one cohesive clump are the South Dukelands and the Hellatian Citystates. Kravalia, Rumvalia, Bosserva, Bossnen, Ragulia and Bulvakia decline to pay the government issues taxes since they denounce the government overall as useless and a grafting and rotten crot of bureaucrats that cost an exorbitant amount of money but don't actually do anything.

In the Brissiaud region, House Ravenstad and Prestelle refuse to pay their government issued taxes, taking a stand against political incompetence, and also sending a strong number of scalding public denunciations against Milena du Briërust, calling her an incompetent Whip who did nothing but gallivant with multiple men and played quartet with her purity while the government sat on simple matters that required only a quick executive decision. In Girobalda and Bragacao, the whole Anahera Cabal folds, saying that since Catherine Tyrannian is no longer around, they aren't afraid of the Government's increasingly weak stance to enforce its laws on the nobles, and that the government's monopoly is effectively useless if the government cannot get the financial shittage under control. Furthermore, they call for Chancellor Amelina Peirgarten to be declared impotent, and for her husband to be declared Regent-Chancellor, which some bureaucrats immediately comment on would be pretty much impossible right now, unless the Chancellor wrote a law to remove herself from active office and declare her husband a Regent.

In Anglia and Verreland, the Veer County, Meerelland County, the Waddeland Counties and Amelland & Texell refuse to pay their taxes to the state, calling for the Chancellor to resign, denouncing her as an ineffective ruler and a poor imitation of a Typhonus or Kade Chancellor. Most of their bravado seems relatively harmless, as all but the Veer of these Counties are relatively poor anyway and don't really contribute much to the Empire. The County of Contyr however is a major player, pulling back both its government issued troops and its finances, writing a series of Breizh poetry which essentially denounce the government as spineless and ineffective at military leadership, calling instead for the Marshal Cabinet to be declared a replacement of the Chancellor. Again, this is what bureaucrats comment on would be effectively impossible unless the Chancellor were to declare herself impotent and put in law that the Marshal Cabinet takes over in Martial Law.

With all said and done, the government now faces a 50,000 Regals a week deficit, with spiralling debt duties that increase by 5,000 Regals each week if nothing is done. This puts the bureaucracy in the awkward position of having to announce that in in five weeks, something that was never thought possible will happen: Without effective course corrections, the Regalian Empire will default on loans and the Regal will be debased, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the cohesion and finances of the Empire.