volthawk

Eilif Dhaoine Round 8 Regions: The Reserve (25), Lassal (24), The Emerald Expanse (41), The Flowering Lands (42), The Solarian Plains (43), Eigh Mothaid (108) Leader: Clagath of Deargabh Diplomacy 10 Military 8 Economy 5 Faith 5 Intrigue 9 Actions End of Turn Ruler Increases: +2 Military, +1 Intrigue Raise Space Unit [Military] - GM rolled Fluff Raise Ground Unit [Military] - Unrolled Raise Ground Unit [Military] - Unrolled Raise Ground Unit [Military] - Unrolled Fluff Coerce TP 2 of 113 [Intrigue] - 20, Success While the technology behind travel to the Outer System is now in the hands of the Dhaoine, the issue remains of fueling the engines that are slowly being rolled out across their fleet. Hearing that one of the various space stations built by Elect countries in recent years is working on intriguing new energy sources gets the attention of the group of Knights of the Dhaoine tasked with solving the issue, and they soon pay Themis a visit with hopes of "convincing" the workers there to cut them in on what's being produced here. Secret Action [Intrigue] - GM Rolled Fluff Nonactions Accept MSQ's Embassy. Contribute to the Coronal Catalogue of Duelists. Contribute to Status and Extravagance. Vote in Open Voting Experiment While relations between Eilif Dhaoine and the Imperial Court were strained, an offer to have an influence on the latter's course was never going to be turned down. News and Rumours The band of Knights of the Dhaoine that had been travelling Tekhum for many years until resting in the Reserve erupt into excitement at the appearance of Yanji (or a successor using his appearance and identity, perhaps) in Firmament. Now that the cat was out of the bag, they explain their activities to the Eilif Dhaoine government, and from there the news radiates out to those the Dhaoine respect and, eventually and inevitably, the rest of Tekhum. After his appearance and disappearance at Kinella, the group of knights had been on his trail, following instructions left by Eighbris before...that whole situation, and with assistance from the Basu-Rahman Group. They'd tracked his group to Veehra, with evidence suggesting that his people were behind the raid on New Kildora, and they'd noticed Kildoran and Khylokian ships hanging around Sansar. That was why they'd returned to Sansar, anticipating them acting somewhere in or around Sansar. Connecting them to RBUPA didn't happen in time, though. With the aformentioned information in mind, the Eilif Dhaoine government reaches out the STAR Rats (as the other Elect country with a presence on Firmament), the Wicklund Scavengers (as the ones controlling the space elevator to the region, who potentially had an interest in controlling the region, and as a group with an affinity for salvage and scavenging) and of course the Bironian Bulwark (for obvious reasons) to see if they have any input in how this matter should be handled or any insights on what it might be that they're looking for here. After a brief delay, it's decided that a similar message should be sent to Kildora, given that they are the victims of one of the renegade knights' operations. While the situation between Eilif Dhaoine and the Imperial Court escalate, Clagath nonetheless takes the time to respond to a few letters that have come his way from other Elect countries in recent years, ones that had been left aside for too long while internal matters were dealt with. Statistics Unit Count: 3 Ground, 2 Space Treasure: 1 Country Information Special Actions Available: Faith 5, Economy 5, Intrigue 5 Special Actions Used: Diplomacy 5, Military 5 Heir: Scorcha of Deargabh (Dynastic) Diplomacy 3+2 Military 3+2 Economy 1+1 Faith 3+1 Intrigue 4+2 Diplomacy Reputation/Favours Imperial Court: Rep -1, 0 Favours - Disliked: -1 to Establish and Press Claim actions, +1 to resist actions from EMP Rep 3/4 countries Pan-Tekhum Worker's & Trader's Union: Rep -1, -1 Favours - Disliked: -1 to Impress Merchants, +1 to resist WTU Buyouts Basu-Rahman Group: Rep 2, -2 Favours - Welcome: +1 to Investigations, +2 in regions with BRG Media support/BRG bases - Friendly: +1 to Raise Rep with EMP or WTU, 1/round use a BRG Media support as if it were yours International Renown: Renown 3 - Respected: +1 to Establish and Press Claim actions - Admired: +1 to resist Impress and Sway actions - Emulated: TPs and Embassies count as the other, can use vassal CIs one extra time per round Organisation Bases None Embassies The Eucrus Alliance Cultural Identities Voracious Acquisition (Coerce) Great Works None Military Unit Cap: 14 (4 + 6 regions + 4 support) Government Support: 24, 25, 43, 108 Generals Giomad of Fairnead (Mil 8): Bleed Them Dry (+1 to the battle roll, +10% enemy casualties) Admirals None Perfected Tactical Doctrines None Fortresses None Military Technologies Technology Type Effect Prereqs Met? Active Military Techs Man-Portable Weapons Infantry Equipment Combat Drugs and Medicine Armored Vehicles Field Fortifications Engineered Combat Organisms Detection and Rangefinding Ship to Ship Weapons Orbit to Ground Weapons Crew and Maintenance Armor and Shields Spacecraft Propulsion Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures Special Forces Logistics and Morale Economy Treasure Cap: 10 Trade Posts Effective Total TPs: 5 Treasure Rate: 1 Trade Post Resource Use Support Rate 25.1 Chitincraft Wargear None Owned 2 29.3 Wine 24/25 DI Unowned 1 22.2 Roleplaying Games 42 DI Unowned 1 33.2 Narcotics DI Unowned 1 Mercantile Support: 25 Arcologies None Trade Routes None Technology Type Effect Requirements Met? Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry Starter None None Yes Algorithmic Imagination Starter None None Yes Arcane Amplification Starter None None Yes In Vivo Modification Starter None None Yes Nuclear Fusion Starter None None Yes Xenolinguistic Cataloguing Starter None None Yes Badalian Megadirigibles Traversal Ground units can cross Badal's cloud sea None Yes Wet Navy Ships Traversal Ground units can cross oceans None Yes Thaumonuclear Reactors Traversal Can enter outer system regions Yes Faith Media Support: Organised Faith Bonuses +1 to Investigations +1 to offensive battles on Sansar Artefacts None Holy Orders None Miracles None Intrigue Espionage Agency: No Claims 24 - Unification 25 - Integration, Unificaton 43 - Confederation, Unification 108 - Unification Total Passive Effects Traversal: Wet Navy Ships: Ground units can cross bodies of water Actions: Renown: +1 to Establish Claim and Press Claim EMP Rep: -1 to Establish Claim and Press Claim WTU Rep: -1 to Impress Merchants BRG Rep: +1 to Investigations (+2 w/ BRG Support), +1 to non-BRG Raise Rep Defence: Renown: +1 to resist Sway and Impress actions EMP Rep: +1 to resist actions by EMP Rep 3/4 players WTU Rep: +1 to resist WTU Buyouts Misc: Renown: Trade Routes count as Embassies and vice versa

There we go, second writeup is done. The Solarian Plains (43) Geography The Solarian Plains, as their name suggests, are an immense stretch of grasslands that dominate much of northwest Chonkia. Ruined cities, devasted in the War of Eternal Bombardments and never repaired, dot the landscape, connected by cracked and broken roads, while the scattered small settlements that the Solarians have built in the centuries since then show a little more in the way of signs of life. To the south, the grassland transitions into scrubland and trees become denser and more numberous as one approaches the Flowering Lands and its lush forests, while in the north the increasing cold heralds a transition to the tundra of the Wyrmlands. While the Solarian Plains are overall fairly flat, beyond a few river valleys, things get a little hillier to the east - not enough for outright mountains, but enough to indicate that a traveller is slowly getting closer and closer to Chonkia's great mountain ranges and Moonsoul in particular. History In the days before the War of Eternal Bombardments, the Solarian Plains were lightly settled, a few cities and villages scattered across the grassland. Those communities were not lived in by the Solarians, as far as anyone can tell - the Solarians themselves claim that they were always there, living as they do now out in the Plains, but outsiders in neighbouring regions have suggested that they migrated to the region in the time immediately following the War, displaced by the destruction as so many others were. In any case, the Solarians were the only major presence in the Plains once the dust had settled - those that lived in the towns and cities were mostly killed by orbital bombardments, and the survivors were either absorbed by the Solarians or fled to elsewhere on Sansar. The Solarians, guided by their faith, didn't move in to the ruined cities and instead built new camps and settlements across the Plains, organising under lords who laid claim to stretches of the Plains as their sole territory. They fought amongst themselves over these things, as most would, building up individual armies that collectively numbered amongst the largest in Tekhum, and regardless of their personal issues the Solarian lords agreed on one thing - the Plains must never be conquered by an outsider. Sure enough, unlike everywhere else within the realm of Eilif Dhaoine, the Solarian Plains were never conquered. Not fancying a war against the Solarians, particularly given the amount of their population that would be willing and ready to fight, the Dhaoine instead tried diplomacy here - a tricky task, given the distrust towards outsiders displayed by the average Solarian, but one that eventually bore fruit after over a decade of work. The argument put forward to the Solarians was fairly simple - in this new post-Elect world, it was inevitable that their isolationism would not last, and if the Dhoaine failed to conquer them then any one of the other militaristic Elect countries would, perhaps even one that isn't from Sansar. Being a part of Eilif Dhaoine would provide protection against the attention of those other powers, and compared to many of their peers the Dhaoine didn't ask for much in return - they would expect loyalty when called upon (part of the deal that was eventually struck involved the Solarian communities contributing a portion of their warriors to fight as an auxillary unit in the Dhaoine military), yes, but they also had little reason to try to change the Solarian way of life and were willing to broadly leave the Plains alone. They even offered a way for the Solarians to have a voice in the Eilif Dhaoine government, offering those of sufficient skill and standing a position as Knights of the Dhaoine. It took time for the majority of Solarian settlements to accept the deal, but eventually the persistence of Dhaoine officials paid off. In the years since the confederation of the Solarian Plains was officially declared, life has sure enough gone on more or less as normal. The main change has been the construction of Dèangrian, a Dhaoine settlement in territory that isn't claimed by an existing Solarian group, and the main place the Solarian lords and the Eilif Dhaoine government make deals with each other and plan for the future. People/Government The Solarians are winged humanoids, capable of short bursts of flight (particularly when aided by magic and/or technology), although most of them spend the majority of their time on the ground - their ancestors used some of the more pliable beasts that roam the Plains as riding mounts, and while a few keep that tradition alive the motorcycle has been the preferred means of transport for Solarians for centuries now, put together from vehicles found in urban ruins and accompanied by open-topped cargo transports when moving between settlements. Solarian government is organised around individual lords (often hereditary arrangements, but some put lordship up to a contest of some kind or even elect their ruler) who claim jurisdiction over large swathes of the Solarian Plains and control a handful of camps and settlements across that territory. The people live a semi-nomadic lifestyle, living in each settlement for some time depending on the needs of the season, the state of the local ecosystem, the movements of rival neighbouring lords, the need to access specialised industries built in that settlement, and so on. Before too long, it's time to pack up and move, travelling in vast convoys across the open plains, before settling down at another settlement or occasionally building some place new. Faith Solarian Isolationism (Majority) The main faith within the Plains is the one that the Solarians named themselves after, and a key force shaping their culture. Sun worship tied up with centuries (if not milennia) of cultural norms and unspoken trauma from the War of Eternal Bombardments has all merged together into a religion that values isolationism, a disdain for urban living, and freedom of movement above much else. As the Solarians tell it the War of Eternal Bombardments, while something carried out by mortal hands, was a punishment from the sun for the way that pre-War civilisation lived, and if one wishes to avoid such punishment/karmic justice falling onto them and theirs, they must live as the Solarians do - always remaining free and mobile under the sun, never shackling oneself to the earth as old civilisation did (the current established settlements and industries the Solarians use is something of a compromise between ideology and practicality, scorned by the more extreme followers of the Solarian faith, but seen by the moderates as an acceptable risk, so long as they don't stay in one specific settlement for too long), and keeping a healthy amount of distrust towards those not of the faith, who don't understand the stakes and risk bringing damnation on themselves. The Dhaoine are suspicious to the more ardent followers of the faith, given the nature of cities in the Reserve, but the majority see association with them as an acceptable risk - after all, if Eilif Dhaoine brings their own reckoning down on themselves, the Solarians remain free enough that they can save themselves easily enough. Rabid Misanthropy (Minority) An extreme form of Solarian Isolationism. A few ardent followers of the tenets above, after examining the wider world through the lens of information from InterPlaNet, have come to a conclusion - mortal kind is doomed. The conditions that led to the sun's vengeance and the War of Eternal Bombardments are inevitably going to happen again, if one examines the nature of mortals and realises that none are free from sin, and sooner or later karmic justice will come for them all - even the Solarians will not be able to escape the sun's wrath forever. Naturally, a doomsday cult like this hasn't been too successful in spreading among the general Solarian population, but it has nonetheless attracted enough followers, and at least one lord, that a few Solarian communities overall take this stance, displaying greater than usual dislike towards outsiders (even other Solarians) and a tendency towards building underground, in the vain hope that they can better prepare for the inevitable apocalypse. Resource/DI Positronic Brains (Computers/Specialists) When ideology makes cooperating with your fellow man difficult, one turns to the machine. Solarian settlements have always used artificial assistants to help them with their tasks - their distant ancestors used golems, digging clay pits with which they shaped their servants before giving them life, and the modern-day Solarians have turned these pits into mines where they extract the materials needed to make advanced artificial intelligences. They use these to carry out specialised and nuanced tasks, ensuring that their machines' synthetic brains can understand and learn whatever is needed. The rabid misanthropes make particularly heavy use of specialised positronic brain-piloted machines for many roles - as well as making up for their low numbers compared to their peers, there's also a belief that the machine is somewhat more innocent and less likely to bring divine judgement than mortals. Desired Import: Fruits and Vegetables Much of the Solarian diet is meat, their settlements able to broadly feed themselves through hunting and the occasional ranch, occasionally supplementing that with foraged plants and fruit. That said, modern analysis has shown that the average Solarian diet is sorely lacking in several key vitamins found in fruits and vegetables, and the recommendation from Solarian doctors is that they should be eating more plants. Starting large-scale agriculture from scratch seems impractical (or perhaps just undesirable) to many Solarian lords, and they have instead decided to make this one of the benefits they get out of their unfortunately necessary arrangements with outsiders.

Got one of the two writeups done. Not sure if it's too late to avoid unrest, but at least it's done. Will get the second up ASAP. Eigh Mothaid (108) Geography Eigh Mothaid is in a state of...controlled disrepair is what the locals have come to call it. While automated systems are still operational enough to seal breaches in Firmament (a fact that was last tested during the invasion by Eilif Dhaoine), the state of other systems tend to be much messier - in particular, climate control. Unpredictable weather is common here, and the climate tends towards a humid heat, but when Eilif Dhaoine first came here they called the region Eigh Mothaid - a name that brings icy mountains to mind, not jungle. That's because they first encountered the other side of the coin, their breachers inadvertently entering from below into water and their vehicles suddenly having to deal with cold unlike any they have had to deal with before. The water here, primarily found in the Great Lake but also pooling from broken pipes out of sight in the ceiling or forming rivers throughout the rest of the region, tends to be extremely cold, something else the locals explain as flaws in the climate control systems here. This dichotomy defines life here, and civilisation clings to the waterways and coastlines as much as they can, relying on the frigid waters for relief from the heat, and occasional frigid rains are a fact of life. History Eigh Mothaid's history is quite fragmented, in no small part because the locals have only recently begun to think of it as one region after being conquered. Instead, most of the history here is local history, often going a fair amount back but usually getting murky before long, owing to the heavy damage this part of Firmament sustained in the War of Eternal Bombardments, the effects that had within the ring, and A' fuireach incursions. While the exact details of the first few hundred years after the War is debated, the overall picture is clear enough - people endured here, came to the Great Lake and found succour from the chaos of the jungle, and spread from there - avoiding the desert or the A' fuireach-infested stage trees, but still filling a large segment of Firmament, broadly staying independent and separated but with common culture and understanding of their way of life. When Eilif Dhaoine came, backed by the White Pawns, those many, varied powers pulled together and formed a militia to repel the invaders, led by Cabbage Monger Xiu - the owner of many of the largest Spacer's Cabbage plantations around the Great Lake, and a figure of no small influence among many of the countries within Eigh Mothaid. After the militia was annihilated by the overwhelming numbers used by Eilif Dhaoine, Xiu took stock of the situation and realised that no small amount of the local officials were already speaking the praises of the Dhaoine, the invaders' diplomats having gotten to work before the dust had settled from the war. Negotiations with Eilif Dhaoine followed, the invading country taking a softer stance than it has before, and soon an agreement was struck which ensured that those officials the Dhaoine had not gotten to in advance went along with becoming part of the growing territory of Eilif Dhaoine, and in recent years an increasing amount of Dhaoine spaceships have started docking with Firmament and using this third of the ring as their main port. People/Government Eigh Mothaid's web of countries, independent settlements and city-states are overwhelmingly human, and there's a fair amount of distrust towards non-humans among the general population of the region - something many put down to the existence of the A' fuireach in the parts of Eigh Mothaid furthest from the Great Lake. They tend to live close to the water, and usually travel in versatile vessels that can traverse the water as a fuel-saving measure (often with much of the vessel under the water) or take flight as air- or spacecraft - either way, they need to be sealed climate-controlled vessels that can withstand great cold and varying temperatures. One of the striking things outsiders tend to point out about settlements here are the large amount of pipes, transporting the vital frigid waters wherever they're needed and passively cooling buildings as a nice side benefit. These days, governance of the region exists in an odd state, but not a unique one - after all, Eilif Dhaoine simply repeated the methods they used in the Emerald Expanse but better this time. Rather than a single figurehead and his toadies being the main go-between between ruler and ruled, there is instead a council of representatives, reflecting the many powers in the region, who relay messages from the Dhaoine to their respective states, and serve as a way of voicing complaints or passing on information in turn. A few of these representatives, elected amongst themselves, live in the Reserve and work in the halls of government of Eilif Dhaoine itself, a move the Dhaoine made to convince some of the more reticent states that this system wouldn't lead to them being entirely ignored by their new rulers. One notable aspect to the culture here is an appreciation of the virtue of patience. The locals like to say it comes from the water - in its natural state, it's often too cold to directly drink or bathe in without risk, so you have to take it out into a container and wait a little for the heat of the jungle to warm it up until it's nice and cool but not unpleasantly so. While these days advances in technology and storage/dispensation techniques mean that the wait itself is much shorter than it used to be, the idea has persisted culturally. Faith Aecusians (Majority) While much of the early history of Eigh Mothaid is uncertain and disputed, one figure is common across most stories - Aecus, founder of the first city on the banks of the Great Lake. Several modern-day cities claim to be Aecus' citiy, while the stories told by those further away from the lake tend to describe it as a long-gone city, but either way Aecus is seen as the father of the common laws and principles held by those that live here. Over time, Aecus' position in the mythology here has grown in stature, and he is deified by the modern-day Aecusians, a reward by the creator of the universe for his mortal works. His priesthood tend to travel, serving as roaming judges, adjudicators and in some cases vigilantes when they feel local laws have drifted from Aecus' mandates, while those sedentary followers of Aecus tend to take up positions in government and law enforcement. Resource/DI Spacer's Cabbage (Fruits and Vegetables/Spices) The name "Spacer's Cabbage" is said to have come from the old days before the War of Eternal Bombardments - the story goes that Firmament was used as a resupply point for ancient ships travelling across Tekhum, a place for travellers to get a taste of Sansar without needing to land on the planet or take the space elevator down. Spacer's cabbage was one of the main food supplies sold to those travellers, a tailored plant which provides all the best of Sansar's produce in one. In the years since the War, they took root as a wild plant in Eigh Mothaid's forests, prewar modifications proving their worth in ensuring the plant endured the chaotic climate of the region, and the survivors quickly started relying on it for survival, and it wasn't long before farms were built all around the Great Lake. The plant itself is not quite what someone born on Sansar thinks of when they hear "cabbage" - while the plant does have the same kind of leafy head, it is found at the top of a long stem, somewhat like a pineapple plant's fruit but taller, with flowers, broad leaves, and in some months small fruits growing out of the lower parts of the stem, while underground it has thick roots. These other parts are where the idea that Spacer's Cabbage was made to be an all-in-one plant comes from, as the locals have found that nearly every part of it is edible and tasty in its own way, and those that aren't eaten directly - roots, seeds, and a few parts of its flowers - are processed to serve as spices. Desired Imports: Labourers Constant maintenance is a fact of life in Eigh Mothaid - most of it isn't particularly technical, but it is time-consuming. With travel to and from Firmament becoming increasingly common, the idea of a new hired workforce taking some of the load and leaving the locals with more free time is becoming more and more popular.

Eilif Dhaoine Round 7 Regions: The Reserve (25), Lassal (24), The Emerald Expanse (41), The Flowering Lands (42), The Solarian Plains (43), Eigh Mothaid (108) Leader: Clagath of Deargabh Diplomacy 10 Military 7 Economy 5 Faith 5 Intrigue 7 Actions End of Turn Ruler Increases: +1 Military, +2 Intrigue Raise Ground Unit [Military] - Unrolled Raise Space Unit [Military] - Unrolled While the Eilif Dhaoine government keeps most of its attention close to home, restructuring itself and preparing to weather any incoming storm, the military sees an opportunity to take stock and bolster its numbers. New glungagan, led by a second Armathan-class vessel, bolster the Dhaoine's space force, while the efforts of the Eilif Dhaoine government to place itself as the new head of the Flowering Land's feudal system pays off in the form of levies raised by local leaders for their new liege lord. Steal Thaumonuclear Reactors from ARK [Intrigue] - 14, Potential Success (depending on ARK resist roll) Coerce TP3 of 76 (Uranium in Dur-Shalkhir) [Intrigue] - 8, Failure With the discovery of Wakinyan, the reactors invented in Mekhala had been elevated from an interesting technical achievement to a potential useful edge in the times to come. With that in mind, some Knights of the Dhaoine on Sansar try to help themselves to the relevant documents stored in the Arkhive, while those much further afield get to work on trying to secure a supply of fuel for the things, taking advantage of the dissolution of the Khylokian state to try to "arrange" a steady supply of uranium from Mekhala. The former endeavour seems to go quite well, but the latter...is rather less successful. Coerce TP2 of 33 (Narcotics in Coedd) [Intrigue] - 17, Success Efforts to control a slice of the drug trade around the continent of Coedd (while followers of Coedd are happy to just say "Coedd" in response to anything, the Eilif Dhaoine government prefers a little more specificity in these things) start to pay off after years of effort, although it's unclear how helpful or harmful the recent crackdown by the White Pawns was in the end Secret Action [Intrigue] - GM rolled While the Knights of the Dhaoine that had been busy offworld were back home for a while, there were always other knights and independent sealga out and about across Tekhum, and it wasn't hard to imagine that at least a few of them had special duties given to them by the government back home. Nonactions Use Thanks to Viewers Like You for a Seek Aid on the Coercion of TP3 of 76. News and Rumours When the advertisement the Basu-Rahman Group has titled "Taking a Stand" is broadcast throughout Tekhum, the Eilif Dhaoine government is quick to stand by the broadcast's message, and by extension the Basu-Rahman Group. After all, for over a decade now the Imperial Court has been actively encouraging those in the Elect who crave their approval to attack those that stand apart from the Court, and at the same time have been coercing those they targeted to once again accept their protection racket in exchange for humiliation and gold. Throughout all of that, the Dhaoine have proven strong enough to both dissuade opportunist raiders and stay resolute in the face of the Court's coercion. As far as Eilif Dhaoine sees it, no word of that advertisement was a lie, and the final message of the broadcast is repeated by official representatives of the Dhaoine - if any of the Elect wish to stand with the Dhaoine, outside of the gilded cage of Imperial rule, then Clagath is always willing to accept new allies. The Knights of the Dhaoine that had been offworld for years now, first seen on Badal and more recently on Veehra, finally make their return to Sansar. They stay unusually close-lipped about their mission, particularly by sealga standards, but it seems like they are taking some time to rest and recover back home. Coedd's cult showing an increased interest in the Reserve and Lassal is broadly ignored by the Eilif Dhaoine government, sticking to their policy of leaving matters of faith to the people. If they wish to continue to support the plant-deity of Sansar, then that's fine by the government - an increasing amount of officials are declaring their involvement with the faith, in any case, even if the beliefs are finding it harder to make headway among the Knights of the Dhaoine. The various proclamations and mandates announced by the Kingdom of High Ishtahnos are broadly ignored on official channels by the Eilif Dhaoine government, but the Knights of the Dhaoine are pleased to find a new target for mockery. On matters of faith, the Knights joke amongst themselves (and to anyone who cares to ask them about it) that the Ishtahn have a funny idea about what freedom of expression actually means, given their willingness to on one hand declare themselves as the sole guardian and protector of the poor unwashed masses who believe what they want, but at the same time blatantly show a willingness to cleverly brand any beliefs that they dislike as not being a faith but instead a political organisation, and as such as open to persecution as anyone else the Ishtahn dislike. They also enjoy pointing at the way that, when faced with one of the neighbours already showing intolerance towards beliefs other than worship of their god-king, the Ishtahn have instantly crumbled and decided that some parts of Veehra can do a little bit of expelling those they dislike as a treat and reward for making some pretty impressive floating islands. The situation with the Helios Hospice also attracts a little derision, what with the contrast between declaring themselves the protectors of the little guy but also complaining and calling for retribution whenever someone bypasses their cordons to help the common people. Apparently the need for Veehran powers to control each and every person and organisation operating on Veehra is greater than any kind of principles held by the Ishtahn - a stance the Knights entirely understand, nobody ever accused them of being principled people, but the showboating and perceived hypocrisy is still a good target to take some verbal shots at when the opportunity presents itself. Eighbris's reappearance as the Iron Monarch ruling over Narsai is...confusing and concerning. He was abducted, not recruited or anything like that, and typically abductees aren't immediately given the top spot in the country. Add on top of that the way that Eighbris doesn't seem to be running things in the way that his friends believe he would if given the reins to a country and a military force with similar numbers to the Dhaoine's own forces, and scattered unsupported but concerning rumours about that place...and yes, concerning is the word. For now, the Knights of the Dhaoine wait and see, and send a few messages to Narsai hoping for an explanation from the man himself. Confirmation that there are planets and moons beyond the Great Gulf that could (with modern technology and magical techniques, of course) support life sends waves of excitement among the Dhaoine, and have many within the Eilif Dhaoine government seriously considering their next moves. While they are not part of the alliance that seems to be dedicating itself to claiming Wakinyan and any other celestial bodies, the advantages of holding territory that far from Ophon are tempting in the current political climate... While Eilif Dhaoine armed forces had ended up staying out of it, the various conflicts that erupted within Sansar's orbit in the past few years were carefully watched by the Dhaoine. The complex situation in and around Gloria was of particular interest - the presence of the House of Fire on Sansar was something that many of the Dhaoine felt unsure about, and while the Glorious Purifiers had been left to handle their grievances without Dhaoine support many of the Dhaoine were more or less sympathetic to their claims. With those two facts in mind, the outcome is broadly seen as the way things should have gone. The land grabs on Aridyin are watched with only a little interest - the elves had made their intent to control the entire moon clear in the Aonach, and Clagath's stance was to leave them to it, so the situation had little bearing on the agenda of the Eilif Dhaoine government, while the relative lack of resistance meant that the conflict drew little casual interest from the common Dhaoine or the country's knights. News of the monolith found by the White Pawns on Aridyin does spark some interest, proving a popular topic for idle speculation and wild theories for a couple of years, but again the stance of the Eilif Dhaoine government appears to be to simply leave Aridyin matters to those who have proven to be rather more invested in the topic. Reports from Eilif Dhaoine representatives in Eigh Mothaid that the Junk-Clans (who so far are the only force to have repelled an attack by Giomad's forces) are unifying, and that the new faction has an unknown backer cause some degree of concern. Representatives stationed on Firmament are dispatched to Craobhan Mòra to feel out the Durat stance on the situation - the native inhabitants of that part of Firmament may be a source of unease for the Reserve-born representatives, but luckily it's the Durats that have taken control of the region that they need to deal with. While they're there, they make sure to pass on the gratitude of the Eilif Dhaoine government for handling matters with the White Pawns. Caillte, a Knight of the Dhaoine of middling significance (somewhat notable for being one of the more dedicated advocates of Coedd within the Knights, but otherwise fairly unremarkable according to her peers) has...well, some have said "gone missing" but others, such as the majority of the other knights, disagree. They more or less know where she's gone - one of the less settled and still wild and still bàscail-infested islands of the Reserve - but they just...haven't heard from her for a fair few months now. Some may say that's cause for concern, but the knights seem relaxed about the whole affair. Sealga are known to wander, and most of the knights were once sealga, so they figure she'll resurface sooner or later. The possibility that something got her isn't as widely talked about, but it's also not seen as a big worry - if it happened, it happened, sooner or later proof will come to light and they'll drink to her but until then there's no point dwelling on it. The implosion of the Khylokian regime is...something that was inevitable according to many, a net good for Tekhum according to many more, and a fact that all in all means little to the interests of the Dhaoine. Nonetheless, several knights express the sentiment that it's somewhat sad to see. They can't quite pin down why that's the case, but it is nonetheless. Statistics Unit Count: 2 Ground, 1 Space Treasure: 0 Country Information Special Actions Available: Faith 5, Economy 5, Intrigue 5 Special Actions Used: Diplomacy 5, Military 5 Heir: Scorcha of Deargabh (Dynastic) Diplomacy 3+2 Military 3+1 Economy 1+1 Faith 3+1 Intrigue 4+1 Diplomacy Reputation/Favours Imperial Court: Rep -1, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None) - Disliked: -1 to Establish and Press Claim actions, +1 to resist actions from EMP Rep 3/4 countries Pan-Tekhum Worker's & Trader's Union: Rep -1, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None) - Disliked: -1 to Impress Merchants, +1 to resist WTU Buyouts Basu-Rahman Group: Rep 2, -2 Favours (Expected Change: None) - Welcome: +1 to Investigations, +2 in regions with BRG Media support/BRG bases - Friendly: +1 to Raise Rep with EMP or WTU, 1/round use a BRG Media support as if it were yours International Renown: Renown 4 - Respected: +1 to Establish and Press Claim actions - Admired: +1 to resist Impress and Sway actions - Emulated: TPs and Embassies count as the other, can use vassal CIs one extra time per round - Jewel of Tekhum: Host events as a nonaction, stats below 4 count as 4 Organisation Bases None Embassies The Eucrus Alliance Cultural Identities Voracious Acquisition (Coerce) Great Works None Military Unit Cap: 14 (4 + 6 regions + 4 support) Government Support: 24, 25, 43, 108 Generals Giomad of Fairnead (Mil 8): Bleed Them Dry (+1 to the battle roll, +10% enemy casualties) Admirals None Perfected Tactical Doctrines None Fortresses None Military Technologies Technology Type Effect Prereqs Met? Active Military Techs Man-Portable Weapons Infantry Equipment Combat Drugs and Medicine Armored Vehicles Field Fortifications Engineered Combat Organisms Detection and Rangefinding Ship to Ship Weapons Orbit to Ground Weapons Crew and Maintenance Armor and Shields Spacecraft Propulsion Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures Special Forces Logistics and Morale Economy Treasure Cap: 5 Trade Posts Effective Total TPs: 4 Treasure Rate: 0 Trade Post Resource Use Support Rate 25.1 Chitincraft Wargear None Owned 2 29.3 Wine 24/25 DI Unowned 1 22.2 Roleplaying Games 42 DI Unowned 1 Mercantile Support: 25 Arcologies None Trade Routes None Technology Type Effect Requirements Met? Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry Starter None None Yes Algorithmic Imagination Starter None None Yes Arcane Amplification Starter None None Yes In Vivo Modification Starter None None Yes Nuclear Fusion Starter None None Yes Xenolinguistic Cataloguing Starter None None Yes Badalian Megadirigibles Traversal Ground units can cross Badal's cloud sea None Yes Wet Navy Ships Traversal Ground units can cross oceans None Yes Faith Media Support: Organised Faith Bonuses +1 to Investigations +1 to offensive battles on Sansar Artefacts None Holy Orders None Miracles None Intrigue Espionage Agency: No Claims 24 - Unification 25 - Integration, Unificaton 43 - Confederation, Unification 108 - Unification Total Passive Effects Traversal: Wet Navy Ships: Ground units can cross bodies of water Actions: Renown: +1 to Establish Claim and Press Claim EMP Rep: -1 to Establish Claim and Press Claim WTU Rep: -1 to Impress Merchants BRG Rep: +1 to Investigations (+2 w/ BRG Support), +1 to non-BRG Raise Rep Defence: Renown: +1 to resist Sway and Impress actions EMP Rep: +1 to resist actions by EMP Rep 3/4 players WTU Rep: +1 to resist WTU Buyouts Misc: Renown: Trade Routes count as Embassies and vice versa

As the others drift off to other games, Cagairmòr decides to not be a third wheel to whatever the hell those two have going on and wanders off to find another game, having a few more drinks in the process. In the end, she finds herself at an Unlucky 13 table and...screw it, this late into the night, there was no reason to not put as much as she could into it, right? Even if that didn't mean playing fair, exactly... Gambling 500 chits on Unlucky 13. Intending to Double or Nothing if my chosen number doesn't show up for a second shot at doubling my bet. Oops not posting here for a week was enough to forget that you wanted them inline. Still, that's a failed number pick but a successful double or nothing.

Black Bird Table 1a Cagairmòr grins and nods in greeting to the newcomers and listens along to the introductions, indicating for the dealer to keep her in when it comes time for a new round - half her winnings get pushed forward, while the others go into some pocket or pouch or other in her clothing. "Good to know, you two. I'm Cagairmòr, by the way. Now, let's see if I can't repeat that 21..." After three cards, she frowns a little, looks at her cards then shrugs. "That'll have to do, I guess." Gambling Sticking with the 500-chit bets on Black Bird. Initial Hand Third Card Sticking on 17. Not great, but hey.

Cagairmòr gives a small shrug and a "It is what it is." when...that one never did say their name, huh?...makes a comment about their differing luck, before focusing back on the game at hand. "Alright, new hand, I'm in. Same bet as before." Gambling Another 500-chit round of Black Bird. Initial Hand Third Card Another 16? Okay then. Screw it, fourth card Sticking on 21.

While the Knights of the Dhaoine were broadly busy supporting the war effort back on Sansar, Cagairmòr had been feeling the old wanderlust again as of late. Maybe it was Eighbris' abduction playing on her mind, maybe she was just hitting the limit of how long she could play the noble warrior role, but she needed some time out there. It was that need to travel that has eventually landed her here at the Golden Phoenix with a pocket full of chits and a need to enjoy herself a little. She'd heard her fair share of sealga rumours about the Biarbu, of course - a lot of them were the usual nonsense sealga came up to tell a good story when drinking, but there were persistent rumours that there was someone behind all this, pulling the strings, rumours that often pointed to the one who owned this very casino...of course, you heard those kinds of rumours about pretty much anywhere, and while they seemed a little more substantial here, Cagairmòr frankly didn't care. Everyone had the right to be a little shady, as she saw it, and so long as it didn't get in the way of her doing what she wanted they could keep their secrets. As she had a little wander of the premises and got a feel for the lay of the land, the Black Bird table gets her attention. One of the Purifiers playing the game, huh, and a whole load of the others watching...well then. In light of recent agreements made between their two countries, she supposed that she better get over there and make her face known, right? What she'd heard of the game had taken her fancy, too. Striding over to the table, Cagairmòr nods at Sha Ren, and grins. "Room for another?" She frowns when she sees the hand she's dealt, particularly after another card is thrown her way. That was an awkard as hell split. "Fifty fifty of another improving this or ruining me...screw it, the Dhaoine don't shy away from risks. One more." Gambling Joining the Black Bird table if possible, matching the 500 chits the others put up. Black Bird Third card Let's be risky, fourth card:1d10

Eilif Dhaoine Round 6 Regions: The Reserve (25), Lassal (24), The Emerald Expanse (41), The Flowering Lands (42), The Solarian Plains (43), Eigh Mothaid (108) Leader: Clagath of Deargabh Diplomacy 10 Military 7 Economy 5 Faith 5 Intrigue 5 Actions End of Turn Ruler Increases: +2 Intrigue Elevate Status to Stellar Power (Gain 2 Renown from Higher Power, being tied first) [Diplomacy 10] - Unrolled With a piece of Firmament finally in their grasp, the Dhaoine military have proved that they are capable of reaching out across the vastness of space and claiming territory for their own just as they have done on Sansar. Regardless of what foe opposes them, be they another of the Elect, or the Emperor himself, the Dhaoine will endure and strike back, and their grasp will extent to take what they want from Tekhum. Coerce TP2 of 22 [Intrigue] - 16, Success Coerce TP2 of 33 [Intrigue] - 10, Failure The attempts to strongarm small-scale mercantile operations to secure the resources those under the ever-growing banner of Eilif Dhaoine continue. The work in eastern Zabava goes well, ensuring a flow of new entertainment and games east across the sea to the Flowering Lands, but the attempts to secure a portion of the flow of drugs out of Coedd goes less well. Theft - Attempt to steal kha-Ujin's Siphon from KRB (Attempt and fail to repay 1 BRG Favour through Enemy of my Enemy) [Intrigue] - 8, Failure While the Knights sent on their quest by Eighbris before his disappearance continue onwards, others take it upon themselves to settle the balance with the Basu-Rahman Group and repay the organisation for the help provided to their peers. Taking one of those who attacked the Group's holdings seems as good a way as any, and a target quickly presents itself. While the Ilumined Utopian and Eucrus Alliance were...politically entangled targets, the Khylokians were both a much more free target and also had a good prize to go for - a powerful magical item. Unfortunately, the heist quickly becomes something easier said than done, and falls apart at an early stage. Secret Action [Intrigue] - GM rolled The band of Knights of the Dhaoine that had been seen in Badal a few years ago make a reapparance - this time in Veehra, sniffing around New Kildora. Nonactions Attend The Grand Opening of the Golden Phoenix. Cagairmòr takes Eighbris' abduction a little harder than most, and takes off to wander Tekhum for a while, as many sealga do. Her wandering eventually brings her to Shiwa Yun and the Golden Phoenix. The Biarbu had invited the Eilif Dhaoine government to send someone over to enjoy the Grand Opening, and while she hadn't cleared it with the officials back home...nobody else was here to claim that invite, so why not enjoy it? Spend 1 BRG Favour. News and Rumours News that Coedd - well, those acting under the god-plant's direction (faithful or otherwise) - is taking action against the Imperial Embassy on Sansar sends the Eilif Dhaoine government into no small amount of consternation. The move was more or less understandable, they supposed - it was not like the Dhaoine had kept their disdain for the claimed authority of the Empire a secret - but nonetheless...it was a concern. Forces are pulled back from their posting supporting the Purifiers in an offensive on the Wyrmlands, plans are made to bolster troop numbers, and particular attention is played to securing ways of keeping the people happy closer to home...just in case. It wasn't yet clear what recriminations the attack may bring on Coedd, nor how many of those may also be brought on the Dhaoine for believing in Coedd's ways and also refusing Imperial taxation, but it was better to be safe than sorry. If the worst came to worst, they needed to be ready to stare down the Armada. While there is a widespread outcry among the common Dhaoine regarding the destruction that has been brought to Basu-Rahman Group holdings across Tekhum, and many are concerned about the future of the Group, the Eilif Dhaoine government does not get involved at this point. With other problems taking their attention, and the volatility of the situation as a whole, the concensus among officials is that it is best to keep ties with the Group but not go out of one's way to help them at this point. The Knights of the Dhaoine, of course, are free to act as they like - the deals struck between knights and BRG officials are not going to be impeded, nor are the efforts of any knights to act in the interests of the Group or strike against their enemies. Eighbris' abduction is a concern for the Knights of the Dhaoine, but between other concerns and the fact that finding him would require scouring all of Tekhum with no lead, no major rescue attempt is launched. The common opinion seems to be that they'll recieve a ransom, or some other kind of demand or plan involving Eighbris, and then they'll be able to act. The fact that so far nothing has happened is...rather concerning, really. With the scattered communities of the Solarian Plain brought into the growing territory of Eilif Dhaoine, it was time to make good on some promises on both sides. Those of sufficient skill and standing back home who wish it are granted the status of Knight of the Dhaoine, giving the Plains a voice in one of the most important organisations within Eilif Dhaoine, while the Solarian communities contribute a portion of their soldiers to the Eilif Dhaoine military as counterbalance. The Solarian auxillaries are an odd lot, many of them sharing in the...uncooperative ideologies of their homeland, but Giomad finds a place for them bolstering the number of outriders and scouts - roles which mostly required enlisted ex-sealga most of the time - supporting the main force of lannan. That way, they could have the freedom of movement and reduced reliance on the chain of command they want, while still proving useful in warfare. While some still ride the mounts or motorbikes of their homeland, a few adopt Dhaoine-built light crawlers to give their detachments a little more punch in a fight. While the supply of synthetic proteins from Anjahar (used for medical research in several Emerald Expanse cities with an eye towards giving the kalee population greater disease resistance and ability to treat the diseases that inevitably crop up in that jungle) has experienced some issues in recent years, Eilif Dhaoine officials are confident that those problems can be handled sooner or later...and as such have a problem with the Bironian Bulwark's aggressive attempts at cutting the Eucrus Alliance's access to their own products. A warning is sent to the Bulwark that an attempt to cut off medical supplies from Eilif Dhaoine citizens and companies by interfering with friends of the Dhaoine will not be looked upon kindly. While the aforementioned issue brings the Bulwark to the attention of many in Eilif Dhaoine, a few Knights of the Dhaoine are caught on camera appearing to mock the country, laughing at how they take the role of crusaders for freedom while also shooting any of those who voice dissent with the direction taken by the country's leadership. For the Knights of the Dhaoine, many of whom were once free-roaming, troublemaking sealga, such a stance is rather amusing - references to the cannons of acceptance become a bit of an injoke for a few months. Before long, though, the knights seem to get bored of the joke and move on to new topics. News that the House of Fire is taking control of the part of Zabava that had previously been taken by the Eucrus Alliance is...somewhat alarming. It was a known thing that Mekhalans are strong supporters of the Empire, veering on fanatacism at times, and the House of Fire was an exemplar of that attitude. Them owning territory on Sansar, so close to the Dhaoine...given their current disagreements with the Empire, it was a concern. Statistics Unit Count: 2 Ground, 1 Space Treasure: 0 Country Information Special Actions Available: Faith 5, Economy 5, Intrigue 5 Special Actions Used: Diplomacy 5, Military 5 Heir: Scorcha of Deargabh (Dynastic) Diplomacy 3+2 Military 3+1 Economy 1+1 Faith 3+1 Intrigue 4+1 Diplomacy Reputation/Favours Imperial Court: Rep -1, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None) - Disliked: -1 to Establish and Press Claim actions, +1 to resist actions from EMP Rep 3/4 countries Pan-Tekhum Worker's & Trader's Union: Rep -1, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None) - Disliked: Basu-Rahman Group: Rep 2, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None) - Welcome: +1 to Investigations, +2 in regions with BRG Media support/BRG bases - Friendly: +1 to Raise Rep with EMP or WTU, 1/round use a BRG Media support as if it were yours International Renown: Renown 2 - Respected: +1 to Establish and Press Claim actions - Admired: +1 to resist Impress and Sway actions Organisation Bases None Embassies The Eucrus Alliance Cultural Identities Voracious Acquisition (Coerce) Great Works None Military Unit Cap: 14 (4 + 6 regions + 4 support) Government Support: 24, 25, 43, 108 Generals Giomad of Fairnead (Mil 8): Bleed Them Dry (+1 to the battle roll, +10% enemy casualties) Admirals None Perfected Tactical Doctrines None Fortresses None Military Technologies Technology Type Effect Prereqs Met? Active Military Techs Man-Portable Weapons Infantry Equipment Combat Drugs and Medicine Armored Vehicles Field Fortifications Engineered Combat Organisms Detection and Rangefinding Ship to Ship Weapons Orbit to Ground Weapons Crew and Maintenance Armor and Shields Spacecraft Propulsion Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures Special Forces Logistics and Morale Economy Treasure Cap: 5 Trade Posts Effective Total TPs: 3 Treasure Rate: 0 Trade Post Resource Use Support Rate 25.1 Chitincraft Wargear None Owned 2 29.3 Wine 25 DI Unowned 1 Mercantile Support: 25 Arcologies None Trade Routes None Technology Type Effect Requirements Met? Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry Starter None None Yes Algorithmic Imagination Starter None None Yes Arcane Amplification Starter None None Yes In Vivo Modification Starter None None Yes Nuclear Fusion Starter None None Yes Xenolinguistic Cataloguing Starter None None Yes Badalian Megadirigibles Traversal Ground units can cross Badal's cloud sea None Yes Wet Navy Ships Traversal Ground units can cross oceans None Yes Faith Media Support: Organised Faith Bonuses +1 to Investigations +1 to offensive battles on Sansar Artefacts None Holy Orders None Miracles None Intrigue Espionage Agency: No Claims 25 - Integration 43 - Confederation Total Passive Effects Traversal: Wet Navy Ships: Ground units can cross bodies of water Actions: Renown: +1 to Establish Claim and Press Claim EMP Rep: -1 to Establish Claim and Press Claim WTU Rep: -1 to Impress Merchants BRG Rep: +1 to Investigations (+2 w/ BRG Support), +1 to non-BRG Raise Rep Defence: Renown: +1 to resist Sway and Impress actions EMP Rep: +1 to resist actions by EMP Rep 3/4 players WTU Rep: +1 to resist WTU Buyouts Misc: Renown: Trade Routes count as Embassies and vice versa

Scorcha lets the conversation play out a little after her statements, and nods along to some of the more convincing parts, before using the current break in conversation to say her piece. "Thank you all for your comments, but I am not swayed. It is in the best interests of my people to vote against all of these amendments and suggestions." She pauses, considering whether or not to continue. "And for the record, the Charter does not give local members special protection beyond those that all members have - that the Library treats their holdings as inviolable. That does not, however, mean that a bad actor cannot use Patronage in ways that act against the interests of other members - after all, isn't that why you suggested these restrictions in the first place? And either way, it is already a protection that both local and visiting members benefit from, so expanding the influence of the latter and diminishing the options of the former in the name of equal protection falls apart under scrutiny, as I see it. Local status is not a matter of securing protection, but expanding your country's influence over the Arkhive - access to borowing their property, preference when it comes to who the Arkhive establishes closer ties to, and a vote in these proceedings. Now, I would be a hypocrite to say that acting in your country's interests is a bad thing, but let's not pretend this is a matter of cosmic justice or ensuring fairness, shall we? You wish to limit the spread of Coedd worship because you have your own beliefs you want to push, and you want Local status expanded because it makes it more likely that your people will qualify and thus give you more control over the future of the Arkhive - and your access to their services. Frankly, if you said as much at the start I would have been more inclined to go along with it."

As always, Scorcha had made sure that she was free to attend the Hexennial. Her father was busy taking a more active role in Eilif Dhaoine's military affairs than he had for the last decade or so, and the Knights of the Dhaoine were as always free to indulge in whatever fancy took their attention now - another tournament, as she understood it - so that left to visit the Arkhive once more. While the scientific nature of much of what was going on didn't take her fancy, she found the visit as pleasant as always, even if her main focus was the upcoming voting. On Residency and Freedom from Religion While she lets the other Sansarite representatives talk, and nods along to what Tuahine is saying, Scorcha's main focus is on what the Llort representatives are saying. "I find it strange that you are so concerned with ensuring that missionaries are never sent to the unwilling, when that is a core part of your own charter. After all, when my father agreed to your assistance with matters on Firmament, a key part of that deal was that once we had conquered the relevant section of the structure, you would be free to send as many people as is necessary to ensure that people there followed the ways of your cult, not their own beliefs, and while I'm not privy to the details, I have little reason to believe that similar clauses are missing from the deals you set out with several powers on Veehra, and indeed with the Eucrus Alliance here. The fact that you have drawn up contracts to ensure that your faith can be spread to Sansar - and while Coedd may think otherwise, I define Firmament as a part of Sansar - and at the same time seek to prevent the faiths local to Sansar from spreading beyond the planet...I just find it a little odd, if you are coming from a place of fairness and openness." "Mainly, however, it is the way that that this amendment has been paired with a drive to widen the definition of resident that I find...distasteful." She holds up a hand to preempt any interjection. "This isn't coming from the same kneejerk xenophobia that we saw in the early days of...Badal-Sansar relations, shall we say. After all, it was my father that worked towards peace in that regard, and it is the Dhaoine that have been the driving force between accepting offworlders and welcoming them to Sansar, despite the way that certain liberties have been taken with that acceptance, such as the destruction that has been caused by the Ilumined Utopian in central Chonkia - an act that has caused us problems given that we were the ones that vouched for them. However, responding to that particular incident is outside of the scope of this meeting, so I'll get back to the point." "Acceptance is not submission, and these two agendas working in tandem lead to one end result - weakening the position of countries native to Sansar with the Arkhive while simultaneously strengthening offworlders. After all, at its core this is saying that offworld Patrons can make the Arkhive act unrestrained on Sansar, regardless of borders or the wishes of those that live here, but it must act with restraint when the shoe is on the other foot. While, yes, our past amendments have thankfully made it so the Arkhive will never need to spread beliefs it does not hold in its heart...all things can be changed, and we are talking about making it easier for that to happen here. In normal circumstances, I'd gladly accept those that we've already been working well with, but while some of those involved are simultaenously working to shackle the Arkhive's activities...it is a precedent I must resist against. However, should the amendment restricting the Arkhive so be struck down, I would gladly accept our friends as equal in the Arkhive's eyes." On Fair Labout Practices This amendment, by comparison, gets a small shrug from Scorcha. "Siobhan does have a point. Would this amendment forbid the Arkhive from dealing in any positive way with the Fiorid Principality? After all, with the degree that slave labour is institutionalised there, anything that helps the state thrive will expand the amount of slaves in the country. The parts restricting the Arkhive itself are...acceptable. After all, my people do not use slaves, and if the Arkhive makes a decision in that direction, then why would I stop that? However, if the intent is to start the process of indirectly restricting access to the Arkhive based on aspects of their government - ones that do not affect the Arkhive or show hostile itent towards it, naturally - then...that is a precedent that I am reluctant to help establish."

The Arena Catching his breath and pulling his dagger out of the Keon Nnight, struggling to shift the now-dead competitor off him, Eighbris can't help but let out a laugh, paired with a gasp of pain, when he reflects on how much time he spent knocked down this fight. Still, as he takes stock of the situation...Doom Soom did it. Couldn't quite manage to close the distance, huh? Eighbris could sympathise there. Wait, that meant...final two. That was a win, huh? He couldn't lie to himself, it smarted a little to have failed to get a scratch on her, but...at this point, he was willing to just take the second place. Guess that makes them even, after his win at the Bironian Brawl. For now, he focused on forcing himself back up to his feet, facing the audience and raising a fist in victory. Just keep up until the show's over and the cameras are gone...then he can collapse. VIP Box Cagairmòr lets out a sigh of relief she wasn't aware she was holding in as she sees Eighbris getting up again, raising her glass in a personal toast before finishing the drink in one. He might have not done it her way, but he did it.

Eighbris grins under his helmet as he feels his dagger sink into the frenzied beast, even as its primal throes sends him rolling across the ground again. Job's not done yet, but he made a start in taking that thing down. Taking another moment to appraise the situation, he chuckles a little as he sees how things are lining up. If he does nothing, there's a good chance Doom will berserk right into the path of Seraphine's shotgun. That works just fine for him. Now, who else is still alive...ah yeah, the odd one from their neighbours in Moonsoul. Alright then. He'd heard a lot about the monsters that lived in those hills, and at least some of it was probably true. Time to put them to the test. Mechanics Eighbris: Mil 4 0, wounded Attack Another Warrior: The Keon Nnight

Arena Seraphine's shotgun drops Eighbris, sending him into a roll and leaving him dazed on the ground. The thought crosses his mind that he could just...stay here for a little longer. Let the others bleed themselves out a little more, play it sneaky, maybe stab a survivor or two, and then eke out a second place. It might work. But...he just didn't like that option. If he was going to put his life on the line, he much preferred that it be because he tried something risky rather than because he was hiding and someone else might decide to double-tap him. Rising to his feet, wincing a little (luckily it was masked by the helmet - no need for the cameras to see that detail) as he puts weight back on his legs - Seraphine definitely hit something down there - he glances to either side for his sword and shield and comes up empty. Alright then, the dagger it is. It wasn't quite as familiar as his sword, but it was still a nasty little thing, built from the stinger of a bàsclan he had to hunt a few months ago and built to make use of its origin to inject some fun little concoctions Eighbris had gotten hold of. Looking around the arena, he quickly judges the state of everyone and...huh. That one didn't have all those snakes coming out of him last time Eighbris checked. He didn't fancy a second attempt at charging Seraphine, and he didn't want to settle for jumping someone when they were weak - he wanted to come out of this looking good, after all - so he guessed it was time to see if he could kill Veehran monsters as well as he could deal with the ones back home. VIP Box Cagairmòr had so far been quite cool and collected when watching the fight, even when Eighbris' early attack led to disaster. But now, seeing Eighbris' latest stunt, she can't help but vocalise an annoyed "Idiot!". He should have just exploited the fall. Mechanics Eighbris: Mil 4 0, wounded Attack Another Warrior: Doom Soom

When the bell rings, Eighbris instantly leaps into action - he wasn't going to let the action pass him by, that wasn't how you made a name for yourself. His choice of foe seems to be similarly motivated, passing by some of the other fighters to charge straight into Seraphine - that gun looked nasty, but if he could just close the distance in time, use his sudden burst of aggression to his advantage... Mechanics Eighbris: Mil 4, both weapons available Attack Another Warrior: Void-Leader Seraphine - 12!

Pregame Drinks Eighbris grins as he starts seeing some familiar faces, and it only widens when a Bironian barges into the room. Now there was someone with some spirit! "Hah! Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of suggesting like that...what did you say your name was? You've got some boots to fill, my friend. I'm excited to see how well you manage it." That said, he glances over at Prisca, his grin still on his face, and gives her a thumbs up. "Of course. I'm ready to settle things whenever you are." The Arena When the time comes for the fight, Eighbris wastes no time in getting out there, his red chitincraft armour, horned helmet, and shield immediately making him recognisable. Once he's in, for now his eyes only briefly flicker over the other fighters before attention immediately moves to the audience on the other side of the fence - bashing his weapon against his shield, raising his arms to them and shouting out to match their roars, egging them on and loving every moment. Why not work the crowd a little while they wait for this thing to kick off proper? VIP Box Cagairmòr, having settled herself into a good spot in the VIP box, chuckles when she hears Andrei's surprise at the Prince's choice of weaponry. "This isn't that kind of fight. We weren't given a list of banned weapons before coming here, and no doubt he was given a similar lack of restraint. You'll just have to trust in the armour you gave your man."

A lot about the group of Knights of the Dhaoine that show up to Hayeli are quite familiar to those who attended the Big Bironian Bash a few years ago - once again Eighbris in his armour took center stage, bouyed by a good record in the Bash (tied for the position of "best performing fighter who was still alive" wasn't bad, after all. As always, his companion/handler Cagairmòr was there to spectate and represent the Dhaoine in the VIP booth, while other miscellaneous Knights filtered through the crowd and got into just a carefully-balanced amount of trouble that could be sorted out later on. If any other fighters from the Big Bironian Bash have come to Hayeli, either to compete or spectate, Eighbris makes sure that they're sent an invitation to some drinks in one of the VIP booths overlooking the arena, a decent amount of timeDepends on how long it would've taken for everyone to get to the place and the general run-up time the event has had IC. Point is, if it's possible he wouldn't have done it on the day of the fight but if it turns out everyone only arrived just before the fight then he'd have fit it in as best he could. before the start of the fight. Nobody else is given an invite directly, but...well, Eighbris would be dishonouring his sealga heritage if he looked too harshly on crashers or chancers trying their luck so doesn't kick anyone out if they've got a decent amount of spirit to their attempt to get in. Once a decent amount of people have arrived, he stands up and gives a little speech with a glass of whatever the locals said was good in his hand. "I'd like to make a toast to the one who bested all of us who are here the last time around, and who sadly hasn't given us a chance for a rematch. For those of you who weren't aware, Shi Lithium went to war after our fights, and died in battle. As good a way to go as any, for those who are like us, but still regrettable in this instance. And so," He raises the glass in his hand. "To Shi Lithium!" Fightan stuff, electric boogaloo Okay, it's Eighbris again (I saved myself from repeating the full description, if you're curious and don't remember it from the Bash), and in this ruleset he's just rolling at +3 or +4 depending on how rounding works (I forget if there's a general Empire rule for that). As I understand it the shield is basically a non-entity weapon-wise, so he'll have his main sword as his main weapon and a dagger as his second one.

Misc fluff stuff: A Sealga's Guide to Sansar OOC Note: I wrote this in round 1, before most places got writeups. Probably won't be accurate any more, but here for posterity. What follows is an excerpt from The Sealga's Guide to Sansar, notable for being one of the first books written by the Dhaoine that's written in Low Imperial - the stated intent between that is that if any sealga actually wants to go out into the new world and make use of the information in this book, they better damn well be able to learn a language that isn't one of the family of languages spoken in Eilif Dhaoine, or at the least get hold of a half-decent translation system, and as far as languages go the one preferred by the people that gave the Dhaoine this opportunity was as good a choice as any. Technically, Mearanoit is not the writer of the book, as one of their subordinates did that, but the work is a more or less accurate copy of what Mearanoit dictated - as such, there is stil some use of words from their native languages, but those have been appended with the closest Low Imperial word when needed (bàscail and bàsclan were left untouched for the sake of not having many repeating amendments). The names of locations in the Reserve as left as-is. This part of the book is an early summary of Sansar - later parts of the books go into more detail on specific countries and locations of note, although with the same slant as seen here where the focus is on what a sealga would find "interesting" or profitable rather than the average tourist's experience. Zabava First of all, we've got Zabava, what most of us have usually just called mòr-thìr [the mainland] - well unless you're one of that Oirdeas lot, in which case it's Erebuus, but if you're not an idiot you'll see the point. Anyway, the continent starts up in the far north, but we still don't know much about things up there other than the fact it's cold as hell up there. Before any of you start wondering, I'm not going to say much about that big eastern bit either, it's the same thing there, people just haven't been able to keep tabs on all of Sansar over the centuries. Pain in the ass, means any of you will be going in blind if you decide to wander down there, but that's the way it is so don't come whining to me if it turns out there's some big monster lurking in one of those places - I'll just laugh at you and ask you why you didn't kill it. Anyway. On to what we do know about. Once things get warm enough that life can actually do its things, you're in Zabava proper. Northern part is where the Empire has set themselves up, so behave yourselves there, you hear? They've clearly got stuff we haven't seen before, and yeah that makes it real tempting for a bit of the old sneaking about and getting a hold of something nice, but it also means they've probably got new and exciting ways to make you regret it either. So I'll amend my last statement - only cause trouble there if you know you can handle it, and if you have to ask you probably can't. Just stick further south, like in Kan. That's where another of the Elect is based, and it's pretty nice over there - if you miss some of the ways our islands can get all craggy and interesting to get around, then they've got some pretty interesting terrain in the southwest without needing to be a fool and start needlessly climbing mountains, and if you're a vaguely normal person the rest has some nice wild areas that are still calmer nature-wise than back home. But if you're willing to get into the real point of coming here, the cities are where it's at. Big sprawling things, and most regular Kanites will tell you to stay out of the ruins and stay in the parts they've built up. We all know you're not going to do that, but you've gotta be careful out there. The people are the right sort, so pretty dangerous if you're careless, and there's some real weird magic going on there sometimes. Still, if you're quick and careful and pick the right spots, you can gather up some of the random old junk they sell there and make some money yourself. As far as the Kanites themselves are concerned...they're an odd lot. They're like us at heart, real fighters and troublemakers, but their unification was...a lot messier than ours, so a lot of them are busy feeling bad about that or getting the fighting out of their systems by playing mercenary. Nothing you can't handle, probably, but still best to not talk about how they're orange unless you're out there looking for a scrap and interesting times. And to finish it all off, we've got the part of Zabava we've been looking at for who knows how long. Lot like the Reserve, just with far fewer bugs - I found a bàsclan or two when I got to the coastline closest to us, so some of them made it over, but not enough to make the rest of the place feel like home. Terrain's the same, though, lotta jungle, and it gets real rocky the further west you go - I didn't go too far up the mountains, and neither should you, it's pointless. You don't need to go that far up to start finding gold miners, anyway, and that's the main point to coming here. Lot of gold flowing around, and I don't need to tell you how to take advantage of that. The cities here are fun places too, always something interesting going on. After that, we start to hit the Reserve, and I hope I don't need to tell you lot anything about where we bloody come from, do I? Erebuus If you leave the Reserve going south instead, you'll get to Erebuus pretty quickly - the mòr-thìr if you ask someone from Oirdeas. First place you hit is all jungle and woodland, up around one of those space elevators. Those elevators are gonna get some attention soon, so you might have some opportunity there, and cities are cities anywhere you go, but in general it's slim pickings up. Lumber and industry is an opportunity for someone, but not really a self-respecting sealga's kind of business, right? Just keep on going to Eskor, if you ask me. It's nice down there, good eating - although that part of Erebuus is good eating in general, climate's good for agriculture apparently, so if you're wandering around this part of Sansar expect to enjoy your meals. Eskor has a pretty good variety going on, while if you go further down into Caipe Ushere the wine is...so damn good. Seriously, if things go well for you and you have some cash to burn, spend it in Erebuus. But anyway, we're talking about Eskor. Nice place, all rolling hills and fields while the cities are pretty damn fine too. Good power grid or something, a local said. The local religion is a little...odd, it's like if we decided to worship the pre-war Reserve rather than reforge what was left into the Dhaoine, but again they're okay enough if you stay away from the old spaceship. As far as opportunity goes, there's some potential in the fact they're like us - recent unification - but honestly I'd rather just enjoy the place as it is. Gotta leave some places clean so you can relax there, right? Past that, I'd leave that peninsula there alone - lot of miners, but not much fun - and just keep on going down the continent to Caipe Ushere - or there are those islands and the long dangly part of Erebuus to the west if you're bold, but I haven't checked things out there much. Caipe's a nice country, again. Like I said, the wine is amazing, and past that...politics seem pretty steady down here, but there's lot of trade going on between all those cities, so plenty of opportunity for a little bit of fun to line your pocket if you've spent it all getting drunk - no judgement here, we've all been there - although you've gotta be careful of the mages down there. It's a real instituion in those parts, and they take learning about it very seriously, so if you slip up...not all of that magic floating around is useful against a troublemaker like you, but they've still got some nasty tricks up their sleeves. Finally, you get to Erisdor. Now, Erisdor is one of those places that fairly recently had a revolution where they killed the old guard and are now running around calling themselves the Radiant Republic. Now some of you - most of you, probably - never lived in a city that had a revolution, so as someone who has I'll explain what that means for us - it means that the locals are either very happy and very supportive of the new status quo, or terrified of looking like they're not in the first group. We're no aristocrats, so you should be fine, but I know how some of you like riling people up and...look, do you want a mob on you? If you said no, then congratulations you're vaguely intelligent. Either way, be careful about revolutionaries - people will do a hell of a lot for a cause, apparently. Still worth hanging around if you can get the right kind of work, as they're pretty big into free markets and the like so long as the people owning them look the part - like I said, revolutionaries, playing along matters - and that means plenty of opportunities. That weird magic metal they use here is a good starting point, if you're wanting hints. Dewlad Weird place here. Gave it a quick visit, but it's just too weird. That Coedd...thing that some of the lads have been talking about recently is based down there, apparently, and...you ever get the feeling when you go somewhere that you're just not supposed to be there? Not because of any law or anything about it, or because there's some bàsclan lurking there, just...you know what I mean, and if you don't then you're lucky. Anyway, if you can overlook that, Dewlad's not bad hunting. It's all forests and jungles, full of interesting animals and...not much people, really. Apparently some of the plants there are smart, though, so be careful there. Be careful in general, a lot of the life here can put our favourite bàscail to shame when it comes to sneakiness. Worth doing though, some of those hides can get a fair amount of coin - I met a guy in Verglass who had a nice little earner getting chameleonic hides in and turning them into outfits. Still, really if you want to make something for yourself in Dewlad, you don't have to go that far inland - the stories go that the plants gather up the fun stuff they make and leave it for people. Sorta a rough kind of trading between outsiders and the plants going on there, far as I can tell. Still opportunity there if you ask me, just...not for me. Chonkia Alright, I guess it's time for the main course. Chonkia, that huge continent across the ocean from us. There's a lot of it, and a fair amount of it is still not properly mapped out by anyone I had access to, but let's use those two mountain ranges there to split things up. Puts us in pretty nice quarters, with one part west of them, one part north of them, and so on - although a load of the locals use this system but call it left and right instead of west and east. Weird, I know, but something to keep in mind so you don't get blindsided the first time you hear "Down Chonkia" or whatever. The north is mostly uncharted, apart from that northwest part that could probably be included in the west inside but I'm talking about it now so...yeah, it's okay - far too cold for my tastes, so I didn't stick around much. Those "Dragon Eyes" are handy if you have a contact wanting something interesting and magical though, so keep that in mind. Arkhive's up there too, and yeah I know plenty of our people have gone over there recently, apparently it's a nice place, but I haven't gone to to visit yet. Apparently they only use those bees of theirs as guards, so they'll pretty soft pickings but not completely unguarded. Still a lot of opportunity there, but from what I've heard you'll get a lot there if you're just free with the information you share. Hell, part of the reason this book is getting written is that little Scorcha wants something special to give to them. Point is, try the soft approach first, it seems like that'll get a lot work done up there. Most of the rest is uncharted, except for the part that I'll call north for convenience but is deep in the middle of the continent. That big media company's based there, so hey there's somewhere else to go if you have a good story, maybe they'll pay to put it on a show or something? Big robotics industry there too, might be something there to work with. Anyway, I guess I should carry on with the west. Big stretch of it along the coastline is unexplored, so the west is sorta in two chunks, if you see my meaning. If you start in that northern area I mentioned then go south...well, you're presented with two bad choices. First is Moonsoul, and...if you're that nostalgic for home but want to start from scratch rather than using centuries of understanding of your foe, then...go for it, I guess. There's a lot of pre-war scrap there, and from what I've been hearing from the people receiving the stuff it's good gear, but getting at the stuff means dealing with the local wildlife, and like I said...nasty stuff there. Only go there if you're sure you're up for it, and make sure to bring the right tools to get some trophies because from what I've seen, there's no shortage of worthy kills out there. Still got no clue how the locals have things together to be part of the Elect while the majority of the region is so wild, and I'm not particularly inclined to find out more about them - there's something...strange about them, and I'm perfectly happy with leaving that particular rock unturned. Your other choice is far safer country, but unpleasant in other ways, because the locals are a pain to be around. If they're not refusing to have anything to do with you because of some sun cult or whatever, they're being actively annoying because of a whole different cult. Just keep on going through here, if you ask me. They're doing some interesting things with computers, but it's just not worth it, seriously. It's worth it, though, because the Flowering Lands are perfect place to do your thing if you're fine with people. Well-developed country, plenty of people, enough prosperity for the rich to get complacent and bored, some fun textiles with magical properties...if you're bored here and don't see any opportunities to have a little fun, cause a little trouble, or make some coin, that's on you. It's also the closest part of Chonkia to the Reserve, so hey, you can just skip through all the pain I mentioned and go straight there. The other part of the west, down by the space elevator, is real fun too. Near the elevator, you've got a lot of our kind of people hanging around causing trouble, tons to work with, and if you like you can go north into the desert proper to see if the scavengers have anything interesting going on - that lot have set themselves up as a little city-state monarchy, far as I can tell, and have a good thing going with all that pre-war stuff that got swallowed up by the desert. Plenty of trade going on there, and if you're willing to do some honest work for a change there's decent opportunities in the salvage crews. And then we end with the south of Chonkia, huh. Main attraction there are the elves - the Fiorid Principality, they call themselves. They're big into monarchy and bloodlines and that sort of thing, and even more into slavery - they have this whole weird setup going on where the nobles are powerful because they own people instead of land, and everyone else has to pay rent to the king. Bit weird, but hey we're not here to judge countries for how they do things, just for what we can do there. Big thing that'll probably catch your eye down here are the mechs their elites use - kinda like our crawler tanks, but even more focused on agility and boiling it all down to one guy. It means they can keep their cultural emphasis on nobles and knights and whatnot while still being able to do war, see? Smart. I haven't heard of anyone human getting their hands on one of those things, but if you're feeling audacious, there's your chance at making a real name for yourself. And a bounty too, probably, the elves don't seem that likely to forgive and forget, but hey what can you do. Past that...well, you're gonna stand out down here, and if you get caught doing something you shouldn't then congratulations, you're part of their grand system of slavery now, but past that it's kinda like home, plenty of jungle - just keep in mind that they know how to make the jungle work for them, just like we do - but the real prize is probably Soleyja. That's where their...ah, what do they call them...Druids, right. They're like our agri techs but a lot more esoteric and fancy about it all, far as I can tell. Still, they mess around with making new varieties of plants and such there, and there's always money there. If that's not your thing, I heard about fights going on in a few places I passed through, but I'm not sure if that's some action you can get in on, and their politics were...complex enough, let's say - and no that doesn't mean I don't understand it, just it's tricky to see it all from the ground like we're on - that there's probably something going on you can get in on or use to cause some trouble if you're feeling stupid brave. East is pretty simple, it's just where the Durats live. It's worth coming here for the novelty alone - if you've never talked to some Durats, you need to. It's such a weird experience at first, load of little rodents getting together and having a conversation with you because they're all psychic. It's wild. Besides that, you're probably gonna want to go to Coastaphornia or Hovell - the former's a nice place to relax for a while, and since it's the main place non-Durats get together and do stuff there's always the chance for something interesting to come up, particularly if it involves that university of theirs, the little guys are big in the science and tech fields. Hovell, meanwhile...that's all wilderness, and they've got some interesting species going on in there if you fancy your skills and want something a little different from chitin to work with for trophies. Big thing to watch out for there is the fauna can be pretty hostile, not like whatever the hell is going on in Coedd, but just the old traditional way plants can try to kill you. ELD Worker Conditions/Rights OOC Note: I wrote this for the WTU inspection - in the end the inspectors got shut out anyway so it didn't matter, but it's still canon stuff so here it goes. Overall, the best way to summarise the typical attitude to worker's rights and conditions in Eilif Dhaoine's dominion is a kind of...practical indifference to the topic, doing what's needed to ensure a decent level of morale and productivity, never particularly veering into policies driven by cruelty or disdain for the common worker but also rarely doing anything that advances their cause without an ulterior motive. This is compounded by the fact that the Eilif Dhaoine government takes a rather laissez-faire approach to business matters and so rarely gets involved if practices the Union would disagree with do crop up. In the Reserve itself, it is hard to escape two factors - the way that residence within the city walls is tied to work, and the omnipresent industry of Reserve cities. The former is a policy that the Dhaoine do not find unreasonable - if you want to live within the protection of the city's walls, you need to pay for the privilege (outright buying property and landlord/tenant arrangements are allowable, as is renting government-owned property - some of the latter category is earmarked as emergency property used as a lifeline for those whose circumstances take a downward turn, but such help is on a strict timetable) and living outside of the walls is more dangerous (although less so in recent years) but far more likely to be less stringent about rents and such. Naturally, if you're gainfully employed (read: not a sealga) there are other taxes and such to consider, though. The latter is likely more of a sticking point for the Union inspectors - Dhaoine cities are very vertical in their construction and most of their industry is found within the city rather than external sites, meaning that pollution is always going to be a concern. When you take the previous point into consideration, and think about how housing that is closer to that industry or otherwise more exposed to the noxious gases and other by-products of industry is far cheaper than, say, the prestigious and meticulously cleaned ground floor properties, an obvious issue presents itself. Within the industries themselves, standards are...sufficient. Most Dhaoine businesses have made the call that a living worker is worth more than a cheaper dead worker, and so take the necessary steps to prevent easily-stopped risks and hazards, and the Eilif Dhaoine government ensures that everyone living or working in a Dhaoine city has certain biological/genetic enhancements necessary for thriving in the Reserve (primarily those allowing for better tolerance and processing of bàscail meat, although others deal with more general toxin and pollution resistance), but there is definitely room for improvement in places where business leaders have decided that the risk of harm isn't quite worth the cost of fixing it. In Lassal, mining is hard work as it always has been, but modern technology has made the process significantly safer than it was in the past, and this has continued into the refineries and other industries that are built around the gold trade. That said, some of the mining towns in the hills are essentially company towns one gold corporation controls it all (often even refining the gold on-site rather than shipping off ore), a practice Eilif Dhaoine has seen little reason to break up given their hands-off approach to internal economic practices. In the sprawl itself, there's a notable amount of unemployment in poverty in the less governed areas, some operations set up in those neighbourhoods definitely cut corners to take advantage of the lack of attention shown there, and wherever you go there's little in the way of social support from the mayors, except for the Dhaoine living under the jurisdiction of the Dhaoine mayor whose policies echo those seen in the Reserve. In the Emerald Expanse, there is no standardised system for safety standards, worker's rights or similar matters - it all depends on the city-state in question, and the way that Pratibdhism is typically interpreted means it's often down to the business owner themselves. That said, the constant flow of trade and people between the cities here does mean that there are some common expectations that have become entrenched in the minds of the working class - after all, if they don't like what a business or city is offering them, the Expanse has some very nice roads to walk away down. While the Flowering Lands works under a feudal system, the prosperity and abundance of the region means that even those working in the farms and ranches have a fairly good standard of living, able to produce enough to cover their obligations and still have enough to live off. The work itself is also fairly safe, with enchanted clothing providing a decent amount of protection against accidents out in the farms, and when it comes to manufacturing and production the overall high standard of living in the region means that a good amount of protection and safety standards are to be expected.

Eilif Dhaoine Round 5 Regions: The Reserve (25), Lassal (24), The Emerald Expanse (41), The Flowering Lands (42) Leader: Clagath of Deargabh Diplomacy 9 Military 7 Economy 5 Faith 5 Intrigue 4 Actions End of Turn Ruler Increases: +1 Diplomacy, +1 Intrigue Invade 108 (1 Treasure spent) [Military] - GM rolled Details Commander: Giomad of Fairnead (Mil 8) leading combined front Doctrine: Bleed Them Dry (+1 battle, +10% enemy casualties) Units: 1 Ground, 1 Space; 1 Ground and 3 Space from WTP Route: 25 -> 108, using 1 space unit to transport 1 ground units into the combined front Modifiers: Treasure spent for +1 to the battle roll Sway Government Support of 108 (1 Treasure spent; Unity of Purpose used through Embassy) - 20, Success Being forced back from Firmament by the Junk King's forces was...an unexpected blow, and the egos of some are hit harder than others. Giomad, for instance, was just about to order his forces back in for another go, for the sake of his pride as a commander, but a direct order from Clagath has him standing down and repositioning. The Llort had come through for the Dhaoine and charted the final section of Firmament, and all signs pointed to it being an easier fight than taking on the Junk King for a second time, so Giomad's orders are to focus on that part of Firmament instead. The sight of White Pawn ships, a force outnumbering those Giomad still had under his command, is an effective way of making the situation clear - Clagath didn't want a repeat of the previous loss, and he was willing to bring in mercenaries and abandon targets in favour of softer ones if either of those meant that victory was more certain. Another new angle he was taking for this latest war of conquest was sending in diplomats in advance, working on local officials before the outcome of the battle is certain in the hopes that when the dust settles. most of the work of ensuring the new government is on-side has already been done. Press Claim on 43 [Diplomacy] - 18, Success It had been a long journey fraught with setbacks, but the efforts of Eilif Dhaoine diplomats to bring a stretch of northwest Chonkia into the governance of Eilif Dhaoine were finally reaching the final stretch, even with the various concerns and problems the locals had caused. Coerce TP2 of 22 [Intrigue] - 10, Failure Coerce TP2 of 33 [Intrigue] - 10, Failure Seeing that previous attempts to secure the resources needed to keep the wide variety of people now living under Eilif Dhaoine governance happy through above-board methods in the capitals of Elect countries have failed, the Eilif Dhaoine government officials charged with solving the problem resort to less forthright and fair methods to get hold of what they need. It requires picking new targets, those far enough away from a concerned Elect country that there shouldn't be any fallout but which still get Eilif Dhaoine's new territories what they cry out for. Their attempts to strongarm merchants in eastern Zabava and to muscle in on the trade around the abundant drugs being given out by Coedd sees a similar level of failure to their previous work, though. Nonactions Spend 1 BRG Favour. While most of the focus of the Knights of the Dhaoine are either on the conflict in Firmament or Eighbris' part in the tournament in Mekhala, a few make the journey to Badal, seeking out the Maharaj's Dream with a pre-recorded message. Attend the Bloodsports and Hexenniel 3. News and Rumours While the war in the Firmament takes up most of the government's focus, the ongoing situation around the Basu-Rahman Group is something that both the common Dhaoine and the Eilif Dhaoine government keep tabs on over the years. Group-owned media feeds those living in Reserve every gory detail (presented in a way that favours BRG, of course), while the government recieves visitors from several other Sansarite governments to discuss the attack on BRG holdings on Sansar by a country whose presence on the planet had been backed by Eilif Dhaoine. For now, little in the way of action happens, but there is a growing demand from below to do something about this. The fact that the speed and latency of media services in the Reserve are going to suffer from this doesn't help either, of course. While Eilif Dhaoine stands by Clagath's previous declaration that it would not interfere with affairs around Aridyin, for better or worse, it doesn't mean that the growing tension around the subject is entirely ignored. The only official move the Eilif Dhaoine government makes at this point is to send representatives to both Erisdor and Verdalfheim with a reminder that should things come to war, they should be careful to ensure the conflict doesn't spill beyond their borders to the rest of Sansar. The Knights of the Dhaoine keep an eye on events in the Bironian Bulwark following Shi Lithium's victory in the past Bironian Bash, and her sudden death takes a lot of them by surprise. While individual Knights are free to get involved as much or as little as they like, the organisation as a whole stays out of the matter, instead watching with curioisity to see which side wins out in the conflict over the Satrapy. While the Basu-Rahman Group controls the majority of the media on offer in the Reserve, many people attempt to gain some kind of access (legitimate or otherwise) to the Snake News broadcasts of the Bloodsports in Hayeli when word gets out that Eighbris, who had competed and fought well in the Bironian Bash, was also fighting in the life-or-death tournament. The Knights back their man, of course, but it also seems like the tastes of the common Dhaoine were quite suited to the deadly show. The fact that Eighbris survived it all, even if he again wasn't the ultimate winner, is the cherry on top. Statistics Unit Count: 1 Ground, 1 Space Treasure: 2 (Spending 2 this round) Country Information Special Actions Available: Faith 5, Economy 5 Special Actions Used: Diplomacy 5, Military 5 Heir: Scorcha of Deargabh (Dynastic) Diplomacy 3+1 Military 3+1 Economy 1+1 Faith 3+1 Intrigue 4+1 Diplomacy Reputation/Favours Imperial Court: Rep -1, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None) - Disliked: -1 to Establish and Press Claim actions, +1 to resist actions from EMP Rep 3/4 countries Pan-Tekhum Worker's & Trader's Union: Rep -1, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None) - Disliked: Basu-Rahman Group: Rep 2, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None) - Welcome: +1 to Investigations, +2 in regions with BRG Media support/BRG bases - Friendly: +1 to Raise Rep with EMP or WTU, 1/round use a BRG Media support as if it were yours International Renown: Renown 3 - Respected: +1 to Establish and Press Claim actions - Admired: +1 to resist Impress and Sway actions - Emulated: Embassies count as trade routes, use vassal CIs an addition time per round Organisation Bases None Embassies The Eucrus Alliance Cultural Identities Voracious Acquisition (Coerce) Great Works None Military Unit Cap: 11 (4 + 4 regions + 3 support) Government Support: 24, 25, 43 Generals Giomad of Fairnead (Mil 8): Bleed Them Dry (+1 to the battle roll, +10% enemy casualties) Admirals None Perfected Tactical Doctrines None Fortresses None Military Technologies Technology Type Effect Prereqs Met? Active Military Techs Man-Portable Weapons Infantry Equipment Combat Drugs and Medicine Armored Vehicles Field Fortifications Engineered Combat Organisms Detection and Rangefinding Ship to Ship Weapons Orbit to Ground Weapons Crew and Maintenance Armor and Shields Spacecraft Propulsion Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures Special Forces Logistics and Morale Economy Treasure Cap: 5 Trade Posts Effective Total TPs: 3 Treasure Rate: 0 Trade Post Resource Use Support Rate 25.1 Chitincraft Wargear None Owned 2 29.3 Wine 25 DI Unowned 1 Mercantile Support: 25 Arcologies None Trade Routes None Technology Type Effect Requirements Met? Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry Starter None None Yes Algorithmic Imagination Starter None None Yes Arcane Amplification Starter None None Yes In Vivo Modification Starter None None Yes Nuclear Fusion Starter None None Yes Xenolinguistic Cataloguing Starter None None Yes Badalian Megadirigibles Traversal Ground units can cross Badal's cloud sea None Yes Wet Navy Ships Traversal Ground units can cross oceans None Yes Faith Media Support: Organised Faith Bonuses +1 to Investigations +1 to offence battles on Sansar Artefacts None Holy Orders None Miracles None Intrigue Espionage Agency: No Claims 25 - Integration 43 - Confederation Total Passive Effects Traversal: Wet Navy Ships: Ground units can cross bodies of water Actions: Renown: +1 to Establish Claim and Press Claim EMP Rep: -1 to Establish Claim and Press Claim WTU Rep: -1 to Impress Merchants BRG Rep: +1 to Investigations (+2 w/ BRG Support), +1 to non-BRG Raise Rep Defence: Renown: +1 to resist Sway and Impress actions EMP Rep: +1 to resist actions by EMP Rep 3/4 players WTU Rep: +1 to resist WTU Buyouts Misc: Renown: Trade Routes count as Embassies and vice versa

I wrote a (admittedly kinda meandering and probably partially off-topic, but hopefully still worthwhile) thing for the WTU inspection while I was offline earlier but didn't get back before the round closed, so posting it here: ELD Inspection details Overall, the best way to summarise the typical attitude to worker's rights and conditions in Eilif Dhaoine's dominion is a kind of...practical indifference to the topic, doing what's needed to ensure a decent level of morale and productivity, never particularly veering into policies driven by cruelty or disdain for the common worker but also rarely doing anything that advances their cause without an ulterior motive. This is compounded by the fact that the Eilif Dhaoine government takes a rather laissez-faire approach to business matters and so rarely gets involved if practices the Union would disagree with do crop up. In the Reserve itself, it is hard to escape two factors - the way that residence within the city walls is tied to work, and the omnipresent industry of Reserve cities. The former is a policy that the Dhaoine do not find unreasonable - if you want to live within the protection of the city's walls, you need to pay for the privilege (outright buying property and landlord/tenant arrangements are allowable, as is renting government-owned property - some of the latter category is earmarked as emergency property used as a lifeline for those whose circumstances take a downward turn, but such help is on a strict timetable) and living outside of the walls is more dangerous (although less so in recent years) but far more likely to be less stringent about rents and such. Naturally, if you're gainfully employed (read: not a sealga) there are other taxes and such to consider, though. The latter is likely more of a sticking point for the Union inspectors - Dhaoine cities are very vertical in their construction and most of their industry is found within the city rather than external sites, meaning that pollution is always going to be a concern. When you take the previous point into consideration, and think about how housing that is closer to that industry or otherwise more exposed to the noxious gases and other by-products of industry is far cheaper than, say, the prestigious and meticulously cleaned ground floor properties, an obvious issue presents itself. Within the industries themselves, standards are...sufficient. Most Dhaoine businesses have made the call that a living worker is worth more than a cheaper dead worker, and so take the necessary steps to prevent easily-stopped risks and hazards, and the Eilif Dhaoine government ensures that everyone living or working in a Dhaoine city has certain biological/genetic enhancements necessary for thriving in the Reserve (primarily those allowing for better tolerance and processing of bàscail meat, although others deal with more general toxin and pollution resistance), but there is definitely room for improvement in places where business leaders have decided that the risk of harm isn't quite worth the cost of fixing it. In Lassal, mining is hard work as it always has been, but modern technology has made the process significantly safer than it was in the past, and this has continued into the refineries and other industries that are built around the gold trade. That said, some of the mining towns in the hills are essentially company towns one gold corporation controls it all (often even refining the gold on-site rather than shipping off ore), a practice Eilif Dhaoine has seen little reason to break up given their hands-off approach to internal economic practices. In the sprawl itself, there's a notable amount of unemployment in poverty in the less governed areas, some operations set up in those neighbourhoods definitely cut corners to take advantage of the lack of attention shown there, and wherever you go there's little in the way of social support from the mayors, except for the Dhaoine living under the jurisdiction of the Dhaoine mayor whose policies echo those seen in the Reserve. In the Emerald Expanse, there is no standardised system for safety standards, worker's rights or similar matters - it all depends on the city-state in question, and the way that Pratibdhism is typically interpreted means it's often down to the business owner themselves. That said, the constant flow of trade and people between the cities here does mean that there are some common expectations that have become entrenched in the minds of the working class - after all, if they don't like what a business or city is offering them, the Expanse has some very nice roads to walk away down. While the Flowering Lands works under a feudal system, the prosperity and abundance of the region means that even those working in the farms and ranches have a fairly good standard of living, able to produce enough to cover their obligations and still have enough to live off. The work itself is also fairly safe, with enchanted clothing providing a decent amount of protection against accidents out in the farms, and when it comes to manufacturing and production the overall high standard of living in the region means that a good amount of protection and safety standards are to be expected.

The Emerald Expanse (Region 41) Geography As its name suggests, the Emerald Expanse is a vast stretch of rainforest in western (or left) Chonkia. As one goes further north and west, the rainforest blends into other kinds of woodland and open plains, eventually becoming quite open near the border to the Moonsoul Mountains or the Flowering Lands. To the south, there is a small mountain range separating it from the desert around Davis Port. The city-states of the Expanse are found on the coast, connected by a series of busy highways along which there is a steady constant flow of trade (although until very recently these fell quite short of reaching other regions), while smaller routes snake out into the rainforest to various points of (primarily economical) interest. History The Emerald Expanse was a part of Sansar that saw little settlement in the time before the War of Eternal Bombardment - the current population have little connection to pre-War society so can only hazard guesses as to why, and while little can be proven the overall consensus is broadly just that there were better places to live (although other theories, like the Expanse being one huge reserve in the old days, are common). In any case, compared to other parts of Sansar where pre-War infrastructure or ruins play a major part in society, here the influence of those old days is limited to one thing - the main coastal highway along which all the city-states were built. The city-state's inhabitants came about after - or perhaps during - the War of Eternal Bombardments, their earliest records describing them living in the rainforest. As their history describes it, they were nomadic in those days, and eventually their travels brought them to the coast and the highway. Seeing the value in such a road, they settled down - typically, each city-state's account of this period describes their city as the first, and the others as later colonies that became independent with time - and began to quickly build up great cities. Over time, Pratibdhism emerges and is reformed into its current state, the uniform system was estalbished, and the city-states traded with each other and occasionally fought each other...overall they grew and thrived. The appearance of explorers from the south, and news of the new status quo, were a welcome sight as the merchant class of the city-states eagerly anticipated great amounts of trade. What they got instead was an army sent by Eilif Dhaoine, and a rapid conquest by the Elect country. People The main population of the Emerald Expanse are the kalee, a reptillian humanoid species that stand a little taller and broader than the average human. Their skin displays chameleonic properties, although these days those abilities are seen as rather primitive and distrustworthy - rather than changing to suit the situation, one should only change to suit themselves, and accentuate that colour with clothing choices. Government Before the war with Eilif Dhaoine, the city-states of the Expanse were broadly independent - yes, they often traded and dealt with each other, hence the uniform system, but they also very much preferred to rule themselves and at times even came to blows with each other. That started to change when lannan were first seen off the coast of the Emerald Expanse, and city-states began to discuss mutual defence. Through much politicking and negotiation, a self-defence pact was formed, although when it came time to decide who would lead the unified armies of the city-states...Veldoon was chosen. The man had many friends, many favours owed to him, and no shortage of bluster and eloquent exaggerated arguments, and was able to work the system enough to end up as General Veldoon, wearing a uniform festooned with medals (few of which actually spoke to his military prowess, just that he had been there for a lot) and leading his force with a confidence that far outstripped his ability. When he was defeated, Giomad of Fairnead accepted his surrender and took his medals, but ended up giving him more power than he had before. After all, it suited the Eilif Dhaoine government well to have one central government here to talk to and deal with rather than having to have duplicated systems in place in every single city-state, and Veldoon was the man who still ostensibly led the combined military of the city-states, so the man found himself presented with an offer, one he gladly and eagerly took, finding himself as the governor of the region, the man acting as the go-between for Eilif Dhaoine and the city-states. It's...not left him as a popular man among those in the city-states who despise their recent loss of independence, but it has made him a popular one, allowing him to raise a government of sycophants and yes-men which the city-states avoid dealing with as much as possible by broadly giving him enough to keep him and the Dhaoine happy but otherwise ignoring him as much as possible. Faith Pratibdhism (Plutality) A belief system forbidden to be held by the commonners of the city-states, the tenets of Pratibdhism are firmly kept as rules for upper classes or the military - as those who maintain the system argue it, this a compromise between giving the faith's ideals due respect and allowing for a functional government. This is because Pratibdhism is a creed that strongly advocates two interlinked but distinct ideals - independence and impedence - and those in charge of Expanse cities suggest that everyone following these ideals would lead to anarchy. The first part, independence, boils down to the fact that the Pratibdhists are allowed and expected to act with more freedom and self-determination than the commoners - they have fewer legal restraints on them, have access to bureaucratic shortcuts that are otherwise barred, and culturally are allowed to decide their own fate, and decide the fate of others, to a much greater extent than those barred from Pratibdhism. The second aspect, impedence, drives the Pratibdhist to act against those whose beliefs and motivations are contrary to their own - it is not enough to live and let live, action is required to affirm their beliefs and independence. What form that action is expected to take depends on one's social standing and role in society - naturally, outright violence is rarely allowed. Among the nobility, independence is the reason to exist - wealth is to be used to assert one's identity and flaunt their excess of self-belief, while impedence takes the form of no shortage of political squabbles and feuds between the nobility of a city-state or even sometimes between those of different city-states. In the military system, however, these two ideals form the incentive and duty of the soldier - independence is their reward, service granting them some of rights and freedoms afforded to Pratibdhists (although not quite to the extent of the nobility), while impedence is their duty, opposing those that would act against the interests of their city-state and thus interfering with their own route to freedom. The third group of Pratibdhists comes from the merchant classes, those who make money on the trade routes between city-states and eventually make enough to buy themselves the right to practice Pratibdhism - while they still have a few restrictions compared to the nobility, they also have less of the inbuilt cultural norms the average noble is subconsciously bound by, allowing them to express the faith in much more varied ways. Resource Uniforms (Fabrics and Textile Products/Art and Cultural Products) The uniforms made here, and the heraldry displayed on them, are the pride of the city-states. The uniform system is a cornerstone of the way that the city-states deal with each other - in the early days of their history, subterfuge and theft was common, the kalee using their natural talent for disguising as other kalee and blending in with their surroundings to take what they want from each other, and it soon reached a point where something had to be done. The nobles of the city-states met and discussed the issue and the solution they came to was clothing - something fixed and immutable in colour, which couldn't be changed as easy as a kalee's scales and which inherently showed a willingness to deal fairly. A dizzying array of designs were agreed upon by the nobility in those early meetings, allowing for those doing business between city-states to clearly broadcast their allegiances and business on their uniform, and over time it has been expanded as needed and uniform-making itself become an art form for the city-states, experimenting and competing with methods to show the correct symbols in new and interesting ways. Desired Import: Medicine and Drugs Despite living in or near the rainforest for well over a thousand years at this point, the fact is that the kalee have only slightly better resistance to the diseases found out there. There is always a need for more medical supplies, particularly now that they don't have to rely on their own attempts (fraught with frustrations and setbacks) to use plants in the rainforest to synthesise medicines and have access to the interplanetary market.

The Party Clagath grins as Hinrik gets to the point of it. "It makes sense that you'd suggest that, given some of the statements I've been hearing from certain other Elect countries, even before the Empire's recent insinuations. I suppose you're expecting that some of those countries may be inclined to make good on their veiled threats now that there's an additional incentive, yes?" He nods to himself. Even with that in mind...this could work out quite useful. "Very well. I am willing to commit to an agreement like that."

There's a small grin on Clagath's face as he listens to Hinrik butter him up - Scorcha had not missed the mark when she reported back to him about this one. Still, that didn't mean he should cut the show short before the elf's finished his presentation. No harm in playing into it - he was genuinely curious what the offer at the end of it was going to be. "Yes. The...encouragement the Empire has been giving some of the Elect to act against us, among others." He takes a moment to eat a little food off his plate and give the statement an appropriate amount of weight. "If they come, we shall endure and strike back. It is how we have always handled those that think we are prey, you see." Guyineber's antics get a rare genuine smile from Clagath, for just a moment before he needs to put his game face back on as he thinks over Constance's words. "Ah yes, I've heard a lot about you. My daughter has spoken quite highly of you, you know. Your ways are...strange to us, but we hope to see it continue working for you." The mention of the Aonach gets another few moments of careful consideration. "He provided input, yes. Don't worry, no offence was caused by it." To the Dhaoine, at least, but that was all he had to talk about for now.

Eilif Dhaoine had little reason to send people to the North Way Cluster, really - they had little in the way of political ties to those who had the power here (if anything, one could argue that the current political situation made coming here unwise), and most officials and representatives of the government were busy elsewhere. The Knights of the Dhaoine, however, were mostly former sealga, and sealga were prone to wandering when given the opportunity, and a tournament like this was a siren song for people like them. With that in mind, it isn't that unexpected when a group of Knights turn up at the Set Serpent Sorority looking for a good time. Leading the back are a pair that may be familiar to anyone who paid close attention to the big wedding in Sansar a few years back, or to Clagath's appearance at the Mekhala Mad Dash back in 2037 - Eighbris and Cagairmòr, Clagath's left and right hands among the Knights. While Cagairmòr dressed in a similar way to how she did back at the Mad Dash - that particular sealga style, with clothing chosen for practicality, freedom of movement and a little protection over style with flashiness reserved for a selection of trophies (an impressive-looking bàscail head hollowed and mounted on a shoulder, a medal looped around her belt - given to her by Giomad and picked out from General Veldoon's collection after her help in the war - that sort of thing), Eighbris was dressed rather differently. After all, he was here to fight. Anyone who has paid much attention to Eilif Dhaoine will likely know about the armour worn by lannan - chitincraft full-body armoured suits, a mixture of parts harvested from antlike bàscail and technology manufactured in the cities of the Dhaoine. Eighbris' suit is similar to lannan armour, sharing the same origin and tech base, but is clearly rather more customised than that, one of the main ways that sealga show off their successes - after all, why just carry a trophy when you can make your significant kill into your weapons and armour, and what better show of the wealth your skills earned you than getting the best artisans around to make the thing? He's happy to tell the story behind the armoured, a striking red suit with a helmet and mask resembling some sort of horned beetle, to pretty much anyone who asks. As he tells it, there was once a crimson beetle threatening Oirdeas, one of the cities of the Reserve, a tough and brutish thing that bulldozed through walls and crushed those who opposed it. He found the trail, found its den, and found a way through its shell to kill the beast - if someone asks for details of that last point, he just grins theatrically and says that it's a secret. After all, who would tell someone else about the secret behind the armour they wore? They'll just have to watch the show and see if any of the other fighters work it outOOC: There is no secret, it's not some invulnerable suit with one fatal flaw. It's just pretty damn good armour that can be penetrated or worked around like any other armour, Eighbris is just a bit of a showman like that (hence him using Dip for the cagefight).. He doesn't bring his main set of weapons around the station, naturally - he has a little something tucked away just in case, of course, but it was impractical and likely offputting to troop around carrying the big stuff. They'd be ready when the time for the duel came, and he was quite proud of his selection - another topic which he's perfectly happy to boast about to anyone interested. For this, given the theme of the proper above-board stuff and some of the stories he'd heard in his travels about what people thought when they heard "knight", he'd chosen a sword and shield - the latter a big heavy thing (took him some getting used to back in the day but these days he's pretty comfortable with it) made from one of the elytra of the same red bàsclan the rest of the armour was made from, and the former from a different bàsclan, clearly a sharp, bladed monstrous forearm that has been mounted and modified to act as an effective weapon. They'd had some modifications and additions done to them, naturally - why not take advantage of some of the little ways modern technology can make the ancient art of fighting up close easier? - but at the end of the day, their purposes were quite direct. While Eighbris wandered around, had some fun and worked the crowd a little, Cagairmòr finds her way to wherever the best place to watch the show is according to the word on the street (the way the people did things around here was a little unusual, but she was quite good at adapting) and settles in with a drink after telling some of the other knights wandering the Sorority to point anyone wanting to talk shop her way to save them having to quit having a good time themselves. Fightan Stuff Looks like most people are just using the one character who gets full stats, so I'll follow suit with Eighbris. Cagairmòr is explicitly a spectator, and the other knights here are either also spectating/partying/causing trouble or can be used for fodder if anyone needs some unimportant fighters to look cool against. Knightly Duel: Military 7 Pirate Brawl: Intrigue 4 Caged Streetfight: Diplomacy 8 Results Writing results as my roll vs their roll, collected together the rolls I could see that were for Eighbris. Versus Rofl'hesk - Win (+1 Point) Knightly Duel: 12 vs 11 - Eighbris wins! Pirate Brawl: 15 vs 9 - Eighbris wins! Caged Streetfight: 13 vs 13 - Tie! Versus Shi Lithium Knightly Duel: 14 vs X Pirate Brawl: 9 vs X Caged Streetfight: 15 vs X Versus Senior Advisor Sydney Xia Emery Harper Knightly Duel: 16 vs X Pirate Brawl: 6 vs X Caged Streetfight: 12 vs X Versus Duan Li Knightly Duel: 13 vs X Pirate Brawl: 12 vs X Caged Streetfight: 14 vs X Versus Artavasdes II Knightly Duel: 18 vs X Pirate Brawl: 12 vs X Caged Streetfight: 15 vs X Versus Monite Ebonn - Draw (+0.5 Points) Knightly Duel: 11 vs 8 - Eighbris wins! Pirate Brawl: 11 vs 11 - Draw! Caged Streetfight: 13 vs 14 - Ebonn wins! Versus Console Prisca Calpurnius - Win (+1 Point) Knightly Duel: 14 vs 13 - Eighbris wins! Pirate Brawl: 9 vs 11 - Prisca wins! Caged Streetfight: 17 vs 13 - Eighbris wins!

Arrival With his representatives handling diplomatic matters further from home, Clagath is free to attend to matters on Sansar. While their diplomatic endeavours in the west of Chonkia were seeing...mixed success, as he preferred to call it, giving it too much of his personal attention and not giving his people some freedom to work would likely be counter-productive, so he instead looked abroad. The elf situation was something that was constantly changing and developing, and it would pay to give that a closer look, so Clagath finds himself on a fast ship crossing the ocean between the Reserve and Chonkia and following the coastline along to...what was it Scorcha told him the elves called it? Greater Alfheim? Yeah, that sounded about right. In any case, after mooring up to the landing platform the interplanetary guests were using, Clagath tells his lannan to wait there and heads off to find the ride over to the venue proper. The Debate Eilif Dhaoine does not put a representative forward for the debate - there are plenty of Coedd worshippers around already, as Clagath understands it, and in any case the government had not put itself in a position where it has a role in spreading and arguing for the faith. Eilif Dhaoine followed Coedd because the Dhaoine themselves followed Coedd, not because Clagath and the government told them that this was so. Clagath is content to let those with more of a stake in the topic argue about it amongst themselves. The Party Clagath was impressed. The Fiorids couldn't be accused of not giving this thing their all - as expected, given some of their recent international troubles and this being the first chance many of them had to see the elves at their best and most diplomatic. After loading up a plate with some of the best-looking food on offer, Clagath takes a seat by one of the tables and grabs one of the slaves running around the place to tell them to let the Fiorids know where he was if they wish to discuss things with him.