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ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

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Sure, we can have Caelin as the most exceptionally stubborn. Would King Ludwig II have stormed it like he stormed Aethera?

@Estylwen

Not quite. I'll detail it out in the full history, but the idea was they came to a mutually beneficial settlement at the eleventh hour.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Why would Caelin be all that stubborn? Thought a trade-focused city-state would be on the more flexible side of things.

@ERode

Not everyone is rational. ;3

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

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Yeah, we can make Changlungs have a lifespan of 450 years. That goes in keeping with the other races I have so far.

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ERode has it pretty much right. King Ludwig II preferred to do things peacefully, using the power of his army to quell anymore fighting by more intimidation, and offering good peace treaties. Aethera and Rockhold were the most stubborn, but it was only Aethera that had a full scale invasion of the city done by the King.

Does that answer it alright?

@Estylwen

Hmm, I see. I was mainly asking because I was intending for Caelin, the island my character now holds, to have been one of the main holdouts until the very end of the war until she took drastic actions and took control to prevent destruction. If that doesn't mesh well with Aethera and Rockhold and the lore though, I'll change it.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

@Click This
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Considering how it was only with the Wizard Queen that Hathforth itself went to shit, I'd imagine that Ludwig's rise to power wasn't particularly war-like.

@ERode

Right, but there was still some sort of warring going on if he had to take Aethera by surprise.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

How peaceful or bloody was Ludwig II's rise, exactly? Was it a proper unification war?

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

5'11"

@Psyker Landshark

Damn. She's taller than the Duke.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

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You got a point there. Thinking about it, it's more practical for villages to go to their closest Duke/Duchess with their taxes. Sorry about that! Let's go with more dependence on the Duke/Duchess instead.

@Estylwen

Understood! On the other hand, that would make for a very good reason for a lot of the nobles to rebel against the Queen, haha.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

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You're right. I have the hierarchy set up with the Wizard Queen presiding over the province, and Dukes/Duchesses presiding over their cities, with viscounts and barons having lesser power in those cities, paying respects to both the Duke/Duchess and the Queen. I would say the Duke/Duchess is almost like a petty king/queen, or like a jarl. The main difference being in Arrowfell that the Dukes/Duchesses are expected to attend court when the Queen calls them, and the cities are far more connected and controlled, as the Queen likes to keep her cities close, and can feel when a city starts to stray and harbour ill will, as is the case of Odenfield.

The city is the seat of power, and typically presides over the farmland surrounding a city. This can be as far a 1-3 hours of walking distance, depending on the city. Villages usually have a leader or representative that travels to Hathforth to ensures taxes are maintained.

Does that answer your question alright?

Also, the island is a great place to put your city. :)

@Estylwen

That does clear up a lot! To clarify though, the satellite settlements surrounding a city don't send their taxes to their respective cities, but right up to Hathforth, thereby depriving the dukes of a large part of their own taxes?

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

That map helps a lot. I'm tempted to place my character's city on that island by Althius...

Is the system in the kingdom a strictly feudal one, with lesser nobles under the dukes and duchesses? What would the territorial extent of a duke or duchess be? I'm assuming the city is just the seat of power, but how much of the surrounding land and villages does the average one hold?

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Yeah, I was being a dumbass and misread. Just assumed you were speaking about Odonfield. :>

Having more than one trading hub in a single country isn't exactly unusual, though. Would probably be strange not to have more than one, actually, unless Est disagrees.