Post by Archduchy of Borealis on Sept 12, 2022 19:20:37 GMT
"We can't simply stop with a palace dear. If you wish to play the game of pageantry, the snow will not suffice." The Duchess was probably more correct than Marcus would like to admit, but the costs were already causing a strain with the common folk.
"Well, what do you suppose? We import flowers from Dunwik, only for them to die every autumn with the freeze? A useless expenditure! Useless!" The Archduke slammed his silver cup onto the table "We are in no position to invest in a garden that will surely die year after year in this climate!”
“My husband, you know that there are ways to change the climate, even in just a little area. I think a greenhouse would do us well here. My father had one in his estate, he surely knows the right people to design one here. I can send him a message, but you need to focus on the army’s woes. Charles was right, we won’t win a war with the Tholes or Sadalen’s hordes. The men are there, the training is there. Their equipment… it is not.” She sat in her chair, staring deeply into the swirling whiskey in her glass.
“Damn the army! And damn that bastard Winters, and his lackey Volkov!” The Archduke was always frustrated with the systems and bureaucracy of the Borealan government, but today, behind closed doors, he was actually expressing it. “They seek a fighting force fit to sack Maxinberg, which I cannot see ever marching down the Cape’s streets under their silly little banner. Neutrality is the plan right now, not war! Why do they seek arms, to gun down their own Monarch!”
“Dearest, Volkov is not the lackey of the Council, he is the attack dog of the Monarch. But he is ill equipped. They do not desire to invade, they intend to stand. Have you forgotten the Bolshevik rebels to our frontiers? Who has held them at bay? Volkov’s poorly equipped Regiments or the professional fighting men lining the “Squadrons” of Clark’s Scouts?” She finally looked at her husband “Volkov seeks not to sack Maxinberg, he seeks to prevent the Council and Clark from turning on us.”
“It would be easier to simply tear their cards apart! I can simply have Clark tried and executed.” The Archduke stared at the crews moving lumber and stone around towards the shell of a hopefully grand palace. “I know of his popularity, but he is not immortal”
“And instead see his loyal men rush for the treelines? Or even his supporters here in the Cape? What about the long term success of these lands? Charles has the surveys, I have witnessed them first hand. Once they are released to the public, we will see thousands lay claim to our lands. If one of those are the King or Emperor of a distant land? We are in no shape to stop them from simply removing us. The Borealans, as much as you despise them, are still your charge. Should Dunwikki merchants be allowed to simply sell them off as slaves?” She wondered why she agreed to take his hand in marriage. It surely couldn’t have been his intellect and foresight. “Invest in your people. The Watney Brothers are beginning to strive for flight, and the council has already allotted the budget for a military unit designed around the concepts. The council Marcus. We know it, and the people do as well. You need to either get along with the council or abdicate. These people will not bow before a foreign master, and that is what they already see you as. One last shackle from the Imperium. You are considered a necessary evil, and do not consider hiring the Dunwikki or bringing your father’s troops to bear. You will be hung from the Cathedral in the Square, I see no other fate.”
"You... you may have some merit to those words. I will personally seek council with General Volkov. Get him what he needs to crush the Bolshevik menace swiftly and mercilessly. If that involves bringing the power of flight to bear, so be it. Clark may see some support from the crown for his successes afterwards. Contact your father, see to it that those men arrive for the construction of a greenhouse, twice the size of any other monarch. I shall play both games, that of pageantry and that of the people's hearts and minds. I am the Archduke of the Borealan people, and they bow to no-one. As I see it, neither should their ruler."
"Well, what do you suppose? We import flowers from Dunwik, only for them to die every autumn with the freeze? A useless expenditure! Useless!" The Archduke slammed his silver cup onto the table "We are in no position to invest in a garden that will surely die year after year in this climate!”
“My husband, you know that there are ways to change the climate, even in just a little area. I think a greenhouse would do us well here. My father had one in his estate, he surely knows the right people to design one here. I can send him a message, but you need to focus on the army’s woes. Charles was right, we won’t win a war with the Tholes or Sadalen’s hordes. The men are there, the training is there. Their equipment… it is not.” She sat in her chair, staring deeply into the swirling whiskey in her glass.
“Damn the army! And damn that bastard Winters, and his lackey Volkov!” The Archduke was always frustrated with the systems and bureaucracy of the Borealan government, but today, behind closed doors, he was actually expressing it. “They seek a fighting force fit to sack Maxinberg, which I cannot see ever marching down the Cape’s streets under their silly little banner. Neutrality is the plan right now, not war! Why do they seek arms, to gun down their own Monarch!”
“Dearest, Volkov is not the lackey of the Council, he is the attack dog of the Monarch. But he is ill equipped. They do not desire to invade, they intend to stand. Have you forgotten the Bolshevik rebels to our frontiers? Who has held them at bay? Volkov’s poorly equipped Regiments or the professional fighting men lining the “Squadrons” of Clark’s Scouts?” She finally looked at her husband “Volkov seeks not to sack Maxinberg, he seeks to prevent the Council and Clark from turning on us.”
“It would be easier to simply tear their cards apart! I can simply have Clark tried and executed.” The Archduke stared at the crews moving lumber and stone around towards the shell of a hopefully grand palace. “I know of his popularity, but he is not immortal”
“And instead see his loyal men rush for the treelines? Or even his supporters here in the Cape? What about the long term success of these lands? Charles has the surveys, I have witnessed them first hand. Once they are released to the public, we will see thousands lay claim to our lands. If one of those are the King or Emperor of a distant land? We are in no shape to stop them from simply removing us. The Borealans, as much as you despise them, are still your charge. Should Dunwikki merchants be allowed to simply sell them off as slaves?” She wondered why she agreed to take his hand in marriage. It surely couldn’t have been his intellect and foresight. “Invest in your people. The Watney Brothers are beginning to strive for flight, and the council has already allotted the budget for a military unit designed around the concepts. The council Marcus. We know it, and the people do as well. You need to either get along with the council or abdicate. These people will not bow before a foreign master, and that is what they already see you as. One last shackle from the Imperium. You are considered a necessary evil, and do not consider hiring the Dunwikki or bringing your father’s troops to bear. You will be hung from the Cathedral in the Square, I see no other fate.”
"You... you may have some merit to those words. I will personally seek council with General Volkov. Get him what he needs to crush the Bolshevik menace swiftly and mercilessly. If that involves bringing the power of flight to bear, so be it. Clark may see some support from the crown for his successes afterwards. Contact your father, see to it that those men arrive for the construction of a greenhouse, twice the size of any other monarch. I shall play both games, that of pageantry and that of the people's hearts and minds. I am the Archduke of the Borealan people, and they bow to no-one. As I see it, neither should their ruler."