Dr. Aldin Vellin was just clearing the last of the day's paperwork
off his desk before going home, when Raden Ghere and Theran Rinn
entered the First Councillor's office unannounced.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, gentlemen?" asked Dr. Vellin.
The other men sat down in the two chairs before Vellin's desk.
"We've just received the report of our Ambassador to Mir on the
Celebration there," replied Rinn, the Councillor for Foreign Affairs.
"King Villard of Burcancy put the cat among the pigeons with a
vengeance."
Ghere, the Councillor for Special Projects nodded agreement. "He
made an extraordinary address to the assembled guests, and in the
process, he stunned everyone."
Rinn picked up the thread of conversation. "First off, Villard's
abdicating. He's turning the Crown of Burcancy over to his heir, and
apparently plans to move to Vizinia and rule it as Prince until he
dies. Villard's indicated to us, through his ambassador, that he's
willing to work out a joint rule arrangement with us for Vizinia, with
us taking full control of the province a decade or so after he dies,
but he wants one of his younger sons to inherit the title of Prince of
Vizinia."
Dr. Vellin said, "That would be an excellent arrangement, but what
else does he want from us in return?"
"King Villard wants us to bury the hachet with Tanimbar, and sign
on to his mutual defence pact. By doing so, we'd be obligated to come
to the aid of Tanimbar, Burcancy, and Parglug in the event that the
Torphani Empire invades any of the three. The reverse would hold true,
of course," replied Rinn.
"One other thing about Villard's abdication, Aldin," interjected
Ghere. "His heir married a Mirrish princess, so his abdication may draw
Burcancy closer to Mir. His proposal regarding Vizinia could help us
counter that influence."
"True enough," Dr. Vellin replied. After a moment of silence, he
continued, "I get the feeling that his abdication announcement wasn't
the only surprise Villard unleashed at the Celebration, gentlemen. What
other cats did he let out of the bag?"
Ghere and Rinn exchanged slightly nervous glances, before Ghere
replied, "He made certain revelations regarding the Vraa'al, First
Councillor. Shocking revelations. The Vraa'al Ambassador was so
insulted by Villard's speech that the entire Vraa'al delegation
returned to Arelcar Island that very night."
"It seems that a few years ago, Burcancy launched a major raid
against the Vraa'al," Ghere continued, "A raid which had the purpose of
abducting the wife of the Vraa'al High Lord and his children."
"What, by all the gods, possessed them?" cried Dr. Vellin, aghast.
"Such an act would be a cause for war! And the Vraa'al are a race of
master spies and assassins; to anger such as them is foolhardy!"
Ghere swallowed hard. "What motivated the raid was the discovery
by Villard's spies, that the High Lord's consort was, in fact, Empress
Yzara of Cedonia, who was kidnapped by the Vraa'al as the Sinari host
was sacking this city."
Dr. Vellin looked stunned. "The Empress is alive? And the Vraa'al
had her all this time?"
Rinn and Ghere nodded in unison. "They kidnapped her because they
feared us. Yzara was pushing to restore the old Empire; the Vraa'al
decided to prevent that. I don't understand why Villard ordered the
raid, but he did, and it was a disaster. The raiders only successfully
abducted one of the children, and the Vraa'al have now declared blood
feud with Burcancy," said Ghere.
"Blood feud with Burcancy, or blood feud on Villard's family?" Dr.
Vellin asked.
"It's not clear which, or even if the Vraa'al make the
distinction," said Rinn. "Only time will tell."
Dr. Vellin sighed, and stood up behind his desk. "Well, Raden,
Theran, you two have made my day. First I find out that our legion
recruiters are falling far short of goal, and now this. When news that
the Empress is alive becomes public knowledge, who knows what will
happen."
The other two councillors stood. "What are your plans, Aldin?"
aske Rinn.
"For tonight? I have to make a speech to my constituency tonight.
Don't forget, this year is the election." Dr. Vellin walked to the door
of his office, followed by the other two men. Glancing back, he added,
"If I were you, I'd be giving some thought to my re-election right
about now."
* * * * *
Action 1: Rebuilding the Legions
Weight: Single, Strategic
Description:
Given the disappointing response to the last year's recruitment
efforts, this year the emphasis is placed on reorganizing the existing
forces. Troops are shifted to the northern and western borders, as the
Council feels that the greatest threats lie in those directions. The
existing legions are reorganized into smaller units, and emphasis is
placed on recruiting Selarians to serve as cavalry. The infantry-heavy
legions have always been vulnerable to cavalry when caught without time
to dig in; given the predominance of cavalry in the forces of the
northern plains and deserts, designing an army that can handle horsemen
is critical for the UPC's defense.
Difficulty: Hard
Modifiers: Cedonia is recovering from its Civil War & the Sinari
Invasion; Selaria was hard hit by the Sinari, but on the other hand,
that was 20-odd years ago.
Action 2: Vizinian negotiations
Weight: Single
Description:
The Regency Council sends a letter to Villard indicating their
acceptance of his proposal regarding Vizinia. During his lifetime,
Villard would rule Vizinia in consultation with the Regency Council;
following his death, Vizinia would be integrated into the United
Provinces, with full rights and responsibilities. The Council also
indicates their willingness to sign on to Villard's mutual defense
pact, but expresses concern over Tanimbar's reaction.
Difficulty: Normal
Modifiers: Villard & the Cedonians have a deal acceptable to both
sides, but Tanimbar may play spoiler.
Fudge Points: Any points gained from this write-up.
Action 3: Restore the Secret Service
Weight: Single, Strategic
Description:
Using his old contact from his days as Imperial Chamberlain, Raden
Ghere, the Councillor for Special Projects, begins the slow process of
reconstructing Cedonia's espionage service, working with the former
imperial spymaster, a man known only by his code name, "Uncle Rex". Of
the old imperial network, only those agents in Cedonia and Vizinia were
able to stay in contact with "Uncle Rex"; all of the others died or
disappeared in the years since the Sinari War. Ghere and "Uncle Rex"
plan to spend the next (however many Juuso deems appropriate) years on
rebuilding the network. Firstly, placing they will place agents under
diplomatic cover in the civilized nations. These agents will then be
responsible for generally gathering information, both secret and not
secret, and for recruiting locals as members of intelligence-gathering
cells. Secondly, they will work on inflitrating agents under the cover
of traders and merchants into the tribal nations of Qaiyore, to provide
warning of the intentions of the tribes. Thirdly, develop a
cryptography & cryptanalysis department, recruiting from the University
of Thalcedon's mathematics & linguistics departments. The purpose of
such a group would be to provide codes & ciphers for use of both
Cedonian spies and diplomats, and to break the codes of other nations.
Fourthly, recruit and train special agents for sabotage, "wetwork", and
other "special projects". Fifthly, recruit and develop agents capable
of analyzing intelligence gathered by field agents. This action will
take a long time to complete; however, some of the sub-tasks may be
useable before the whole network is restored.
Difficulty: I'm going to let Juuso make the call. As a guide, I'm
figuring on ten to fifteen years to fully complete the project, minimum
Modifiers: Some parts of the action are fairly easy, while others are
quite hard. It's easy enough to send out resident agents under
diplomatic cover to the various Cedonian embassies and have them
collect non-secret information, but infiltration of undercover agents
into both the civilized & tribal nations is much more difficult.
Recruiting mathematicians and linguists from the University will be
easy, as "Special Projects" can pay them more than the University can,
but making and breaking codes is not something that everyone can do.
Finding and training operatives who can do "wetwork" missions without
being caught is also difficult. Finally, intelligence analysis is
something that requires a certain mindset. On the other hand, as with
the code-makers and -breakers, the University of Thalcedon provides an
excellent source of recruits.
Fudge Points: 2
Action 4: Election!
Weight: Single
Description:
As it has been five years since the formation of the United Provinces
of Cedonia, it is time for the nascent republic's first election. The
UPC follows what is essentially a parlimentary form of government,
rather than a presidential form. The Regency Council which rules the
UPC is divided into what are referred to as the Commoners' Circle and
the Nobles' Circle, or as they are sometimes called, the Elect and the
Select.
The Nobles' Circle memberships includes all Barons, Counts, and Dukes;
the Archpriests of the Orders of the Cedonian Church; and any others
whom the Commoners' Circle may from time to time select for membership
as a reward for services to the United Provinces. Membership in the
Nobles' Circle is for life, and is inherited in the case of the barons,
counts, and dukes. To counter-balance this, a noble's heir must be
approved by the full Regency Council.
The Commoners' Circle members are elected from districts. Each member
represents an equal number of voters; when the property & literacy
requirements for voting eligibilty are considered, this means that the
cities of Cedonia are overrepresented as compared to the rural regions.
The members of the Commoners' Circle must stand for re-election every
five years. The First Councillor, who is the head of government, is
elected by the Commoners' Circle from the membership of the whole
Regency Council.
Given his role in the formation of the United Provinces, and his
personal popularity, Dr. Aldin Vellin's re-election to his seat on the
Commoners' Circle and to the position of First Councillor is assured
this year. Indeed, most of the members of the Commoners' Circle are
likely to be re-elected. Success of this action simply indicates that
the people accept the new form of government, and voter turnout is
high. Failure means that the people doubt the UPC's legitimacy as a
government, and voter turnout is low.
In years to come political factions will probably begin evolving into
political parties, and those in power will have to face contested
elections, but for the moment, the United Provinces' political
structures are too young.
Difficulty: Very Easy
Modifiers: Success of the action which created United Provinces of
Cedonia, participation & support of the Order of Lucia in particular,
also support of other Orders.
Andrew
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