The concisest tenant
Louisa was very proud of her impression of Senator Giuseppe. She also enjoyed being the centre of attention. The rest of the company were hanging on her every word, as she read the latest instalment of War of the Rats in a poky little pub in the stews of Temeschwar. She could see that some of the folk at nearby tables were straining to hear her words.
""Hahahaha my proud beauty!" laughed the villainous King of the Rats. "Do you mistake me for some Sarvosan theatricalist? I did it before you arrived, and now it is far too late for you to save your precious orphanage!""
There was a gasp and some baleful muttering from the company. Kiever slammed his fist on the table, shaking his head at the wickedness of the King of the Rats.
"Senator Giuseppe lunged forward, rapier piercing the shadows like Ratibor's torch, but the King of the Rats was already moving. His cloak swirled like a whirlpool as he leapt toward the sewer grate and scrambled through. His crazed laughter echoed from the drain as he scurried away, to some even deeper subterranean lair. But there was blood on the tip of the rapier - the proud senator had wounded the vile malefactor at least!"
"Yes!" Kiever crowed. "You show him senator!"
There was some laughter at just how into the story the scarred veteran of a dozen conflicts was. He smiled a little ruefully, sipping his half-full tankard and giving the rest of his friends the impudent finger. This caused more gentle laughter and a little banter.
"But what about the orphanage?" Emilio was the youngest of the gang, the newest recruit.
"Well we might all find out if you stop interrupting me," replied Lou a little primly. She found her place in the tatty little booklet, tracing the words with one finger stained dark grey with cheap ink.
"Giuseppe made to try and follow the villain, but Bishop Vitore grabbed his arm. "There's no time senator! We have to get back to surface and warn the priests of the Little Mother! It may not be too late!"."
Everyone at the table was agog.
""Surely not!," growled Senator Sanguineo. "You heard the fiend, he has already put his dreadful plan in motion!" The proud bishop shook his head, resolute. His eyes seemed to glow with virtuous light in the dim cellar. "We must not give in to despair!" he urged. "Do you think Ratibor would abandon the orphans to their fate because it might be too late? On the word of a villain such as this? No! A thousand times no! He would strive against any odds set against him, and if we follow his example I think we might still prevail. The future is not set and by our actions we can shape it how we will! Even in the darkest hour, the dawn may still come!" Giuseppe nodded, tears in his eyes. The two heroes clasped hands for a moment, then as one they turned and raced back toward the ladder. The King of the Rats would have to face justice another day because if there was any chance at all that they could save the children - and of course the beautiful priest of the Little Mother who looked after them - then they had to take it!"
Lou was less convinced that she had the Bishop's voice right but she didn't really care. One of the drinkers at the nearest table, no longer trying to conceal his eavesdropping, muttered "yes" under his breath and then looked around suspiciously to make sure nobody had spotted him being drawn in by the tale.
"Will they be in time?" asked Emilio, eyes wide.
Lou smiled, and shrugged. "We'll have to wait until next week to find out," she said. "That's all there is for now." She turned the pamphlet to show her friends the "TO BE CONTINUED" written at the bottom of the page. There was a chorus of groans, that quickly gave way to spirited discussion of how they would have dealt with the King of the Rats if they were in Giuseppe's place.
Lou leaned back, pleased, and took a deep gulp of her beer. Something shifted in the corner of her vision, and when she turned to look she caught a brief glimpse of a long naked tail disappearing into a hole between two of the skirting boards. She frowned slightly, but decided it was not worth worrying about, and instead leaned into her role of the arbiter of what the King of the Rats would probably do in the scenarios her comrades came up with.
Overview
Through much of last year - 386YE - the city of Temeschwar was bedevilled by rats and rat-adjacent creatures. The situation was calmed in large part due to a municipal contract with an old guild called the Rat Kings. Fancying themselves one of the "founding guilds" of Temeschwar, this somewhat disreputable organisation makes its money catching vermin and delving the stinking sewers beneath the city for lost treasures. For the last year or so they have also been "protecting" the city from the rat plague - and in the process absorbed several smaller guilds in a similar line. Their influence in the city has waxed, but they seem broadly disinclined to do anything with it.
There are also rumours - this is the League so of course there are rumours - of an ancient rat-creature living deep below the sewers. A creature that dates back to the time when Temeschwar was first founded, long before there was an Empire, before there was a League, when this entire territory was part of Varushka. Ringblack periodicals talk in hushed, but nonetheless lurid, tones of sovereigns, and include thinly-veiled pastiches of prominent Temeschwari citizens including most notably senator Giuseppe Sanguineo von Temeschwar. Some stories have them thwarting this malign "king rat" and some hint at dark bargains and terrible sacrifices. It's thrilling for the bravos and mountebanks of the city to speculate about what goes on in the circles of the elite, after all. The truth is uncertain, but between the Rat Kings and whatever else is going on, the rats these days mostly come out at night. Mostly.
Rat Doctor
- The dramaturgical character of the Doctor appears to be influencing Temeschwar
- Temeschwari characters wearing an appropriate mask may draw on this influence to overcome some roleplaying effects
- Temeschwari magicians wearing an appropriate mask may use three personal mana as crystal mana once during the summit
There's been something going on in Spiral for half a year or more by this point. A wild tumult of dramaturgy that has League and Urizeni magicians both scratching their heads. As far as anyone in Temeschwar can tell that is all still going on. Or not. Spiral is a long way away. What's noticeable however is that for the first time it seems to be bleeding over into the city that is as far from Apulian as you can get and still be in the League. This being Temeschwar, however, it is taking its own particular form. Specifically, the form of the Doctor - and a unique one at that.
The Doctor is an esoteric figure. Calm, reasonable, and above all dedicated to the idea that sufficient knowledge can be used to overcome any problem. Confident in her own skills, the Doctor also knows her limits and when to seek aid and outside sources of knowledge. Most often she dispenses aid to others, whether they appreciate or ask for that aid or not. In street theatre, she is often a sinister figure who possesses secret knowledge. She is rarely the butt of a joke, and she may spell the doom of a foolish or unwise character, or the final punishment of a wicked character.
Commonly she combines the calm reason of Day magic with the sharp edge of Winter magic in a way that balances aid and understanding with the power of oaths and righteous vengeance. Her mask is usually hooked and curved like a beak - perhaps suggesting the carrion birds that feed on dead flesh and learn secrets thereby - but that is only the most common form the imagery takes. The rat is not a popular shape for the mask to take, but in recent years, especially in Temeschwar, it has become more common. Some popular plays that have fallen out of fashion - the steadfast soldier and the king of rats for example - have recently been dusted off and given a fresh coat of dramatic paint. This winter, there are five separate performances of the tale doing excellent business in the theatres of Temeschwar - with both traditional endings proving equally popular.
This is an old, tragic story with roots in the distant past. Originally a Varushkan tale, it has a number of different interpretations but always contains certain key elements. A steadfast soldier (the Captain) who has returned weary from war. They have sworn a powerful oath, one that they are tricked into breaking. They come into conflict with a cold, ruthless opponent (the Doctor) who holds them accountable for their oath and actions in war.
The Doctor is privy to secret lore - sometimes they are vyig, sometimes a powerful wizard, sometimes they are a Merchant-Prince or Bishop. The two skirmish around one another with tragic consequences. Sometimes one or both figures are actual rodents. At the end one or both central figures die. Sometimes ballet is involved, and there are versions where either the Captain and the Doctor are represented by Ratibor of Temeschwar.
It's become apparent over the last few months in particular that a little magic is seeping into the city, specifically in regards to the mask of the Doctor, and most specifically of all to those who evoke the Doctor with the rat-mask.
Participation
During the Winter Solstice, any League character whose resource is in Temeschwar can draw on the power of the Doctor as a source of spiritual strength to overcome any roleplaying effect that would cause them to become confused, afraid, or uncertain, or that would urge them to act compassionately. They may instead become cold and hard, suppressing uncertainty or empathy behind a steely resolve to act as they think best. You may do this at any time during the summit, as often as feels appropriate, but only if you are physically wearing a mask that is recognisable as that of the Doctor - the hooked beak mask commonly associated with the persona, or the rat mask that has become popular in Temeschwar.
In addition, if you are a League magician with knowledge of Day magic or Winter magic and wearing a rat mask during the performance of a ritual, you can invoke the connection to the cold, judgemental aspects of the Doctor to spend up to three points of personal mana as if they were crystal mana during a ritual of Day or Winter lore. This ability can only be used once by each character during the entire summit.
Rat Kings
- Members of the Rat Kings guild are returning to Anvil for the Masquerade of the Reaper
The Rat Kings are one of the oldest guilds in Temeschwar, and yet they are rarely invited to parties. Possibly due to the fact that as well as dealing with rats and other vermin, they also maintain sewers and engage in toshing beneath the city. As one of the oldest cities in the Empire, there is a lot to be found in the bowels of Temeschwar.
This year, they've let it be known that a number of them intend to attend the Masquerade of the Reaper at Anvil, wearing their traditional rat masks. They look forward to discussing the situation in Temeschwar and in particular their work dealing with the rat problem in the city which, while it is nowhere near as bad as it was a couple of years ago, remains under control mostly due to their efforts.
Virtue's Respite
- With Empress Giselle returned to Sarvos there is a question about what to do with her tomb
- The Guardian of Giselle's Tomb retains their title but it is a misnomer
- Casimir Marcelino di Sarvos is the current Guardian of Giselle's Tomb
Last year, Archbishop Estella Lucati arranged for the mortal remains of Empress Giselle to be relocated for what everyone hopes will be the final time. Carried with all due ceremony on a black-draped barge down the length of the broad banked Gancio back to Sarvos, she now rests in a quiet courtyard at Capodomus Cathedral. This had only a mild impact on the Guardian of Giselle's Tomb, a post filled by Casimir Marcelino di Sarvos since the memorial was established in 381YE following the unfortunate sacking of Sarvos, the theft of her body by the Grendel, and its subsequent recovery. Built by then-Senator Gant Archama Virtue's Respite is visited more often as a memorial to the history of the League and the successes of Temeschwar than it is the tomb of an Empress. Indeed, for the tomb of a dead Throne, the structure felt more like a tribute to the Senator's father Demitri Archama than it did a resting place for an Empress.
A year later and the stream of visitors to the site remains a thin, but consistent, trickle. The visitors come to see the memorial to the history of Temeschwar have been supplemented somewhat by thrill-seekers wishing to visit a location that in recent years has become synonymous with the Rat plague that fell on the city a few years ago. During the height of the plague there were several vicious verminous attacks by rodents against visitors here and while there have been no serious attacks since the body of Empress Giselle was reinterred in the south, one remains much more likely to encounter a rat here than almost anywhere else in the city. A popular tale suggests they are "keeping watch" - as if to make sure nobody sneaks the Sarvosan Empress' remains back in by stealth.
The title of Guardian of Giselle's Tomb has not been reappointed since it was established, but the name raises eyebrows in several places. A local burgher has asked the Bishops of Temeschwar to consider supporting a local campaign to rename the position "Guardian of Virtue's Rest". A more earthy proposal that the place be renamed "Rat's Rest" instead receives a fair amount of support among bravos and mountebanks and almost nowhere else.
Legally, changing the name of an Imperial title is something that would require a Senate motion and nobody is foolish enough to believe any Senator would waste their time on such a frivolous matter. So with that in mind...
Pride of Temeschwar
| Amend Virtue's Rest |
| Commission Type: Sinecure (Amendment) |
| Location: Hanuri, Temeschwar |
| Cost: 30 crowns, three months |
Effect:
|
- Virtue's Rest could be remodelled as a memorial to Temeschwari history inspiring Pride in the cities achievements
- This would encourage a celebration of Pride throughout the city and potentially beyond
- Temeschwar congregations would be able to deliver the "Pride of Temeschwar" lecture (putting them in the Pride Assembly)
- If the League assembly uses a statement of principle to encourage it, the lecture will become available across the League, but it will bring out citizen's competitive instincts
Bishop Jarek von Temeschwar has been at the forefront of the quiet movement to rename the Guardian of Giselle's Tomb. The Bishop, who regularly preaches on the importance of Temeschwari Pride and Ambition, never made any secret of his distaste at the presence of "the Sarvosan Empress" in the city. Now that she is gone, he has spent the last year or so talking about the importance of celebrating Temeschwari achievements. His cause gained a fair amount of support when he was one of those who threw open their churches to help those injured in the rat plague, and his sermons are sometimes quoted in various Temeschwari broadsheets since then.
Jarek proposes that the Senate couple a change to the name of the title with a redesign of Virtue's Rest itself. The amphitheatre already contains friezes depicting various League successes - the raising of Caricomare; the liberation of Holberg; the rebuilding of Sarvos after the Grendel attack; and the escorting of the body of Giselle from Highguard to Temeschwar by a company of soldiers bearing the tattered gonfalon of the Brotherhood of Torn Banners, with the Brotherhood's Colonel Iacob Genoshu clearly identifiable as the figure leading the procession. Indeed the Brotherhood of Torn Banners are prominent in the other friezes as well.
With some additional investment and work, Temeschwari artists could be commissioned to create more friezes depicting uniquely Temeschwari achievements to add to these. The destruction of the Vyig (both recent and historical), the raising of the walls, the victory over the night terrors of Metri and the like. Several more granite spaces could be left empty for future imagery celebrating Temeschwari successes yet to come. As such, Virtue's Respite would become a place that celebrates the Pride of Temeschwar.
Nothing else would change beyond the name, the scope of the memorial, and perhaps the removal of the empty tomb (although it could also be incorporated into the new decor). As it involves the amendment of an existing commission, however, this would still require a Senate motion to authorise the work and a small expenditure of money.
If that happened, then Virtue's Respite would remain a place of pilgrimage, but especially for Temeschwari returning home to remind themselves of their Proud history and the strength of their city. The income of the Guardian of Virtue's Respite would continue to receive 4 liao each season, but the income it provides would rise to 7 crowns each season - significantly more than the title currently provides.
Once the work were complete it would also provide an encouragement to Temeschwari bishops to speak about the history of their city. This would create a lecture, Pride of the City, that any Temeschwari citizen with a congregation could preach on for the next six months. The lecture would employ liao to incorporate anointings, consecrations, and hallows designed to increase Pride in Temeschwar's great history and it's incredible achievements. The congregation would provide no liao at all, but would gain 2 additional votes in the Synod as their congregations grew in size with Proud citizens swelling the ranks.
In theory, such celebrations need not be confined to Temeschwar. If the memorial was remodelled then the League Assembly could use an appropriately worded statement of principle to encourage every city to draw inspiration from their own achievements. If that happened, then the Pride of the City lecture would become available to priests in every city in the League. There's just one problem... citizens in the League are notoriously competitive... There's simply no way to encourage every League citizen to celebrate their city's greatest achievements some of them immediately asking which city has the greatest achievements. Some thought that that contest was settled recently, when Holberg claimed the crown but which city is the greatest is an argument that the league will never settle...
It's impossible to know where such a competition will lead, but at least it will be easy to keep track of who is winning. The civil service already keep careful records of the size of every congregation along with sermons delivered, to determine what Assembly people are in and how many votes they should have. It will be trivial for them to determine the total size of all the congregations delivering the lecture urging fellow citizens to take Pride in their city's achievements. Once that gets out, it's bound to create a reaction.
Rat Memorial
| Rat Garden |
| Commission Type: Sinecure (Amendment) |
| Location: Hanuri, Temeschwar |
| Cost: 30 crowns, three months |
Effect:
|
- Virtue's Rest could be remodelled as the Rat Garden, a memorial to the rat plague
- Doing so will provide insight into the rats of Temeschwar and their master
Lorainne Brouat di Temeschwar is very much not a bishop - quite the contrary. A hard-bitten woman who wields a razor-sharp wit and a finely-honed blade with equal facility, she came up as a bravo from the streets of Temeschwar. A known associate of people of dubious repute in the city, she and her coterie have been in the thick of every major violent event in the north from the war against the vyig to the raid on Isember, to fighting alongside the Varushkan armies in the conquest of Ossium. She's well respected by people for whom respect is won in blood and ruthlessness. She's also one of those supporting a slightly different interpretation of Virtue's Respite.
Her suggestion is to gut the place. It's the result of a clever stratagem, which should be remembered, but it's also a memorial to the rat plague. There's no need to rip out the friezes or anything, but it should be repurposed with a more ratty decor. People in the know, know that there is a spirit under Temeschwar, something that dates back to the days of the vard and even earlier. The King of Rats, the Eyes in the Sewer. What the Varushkans call a sovereign and what clever members of the League might call an opportunity.
Evidence suggests the thing eats volodny, and that it has a peculiar affinity for the city and its people. It wanted Giselle gone because she was a foreigner squatting in Temeschwar. There's stories of a little cabal of people who honour this rat thing and try to curry favour with it - but that's the kind of thing Varushkans would do. Lorainne suggests that the League should take a different approach. Transform Virtue's Rest into the Rat Garden. Add decorations celebrating the rat plague - the ratcatchers guild, the captains who answered the call to protect the city, the cleverness of the Unfettered Mind, the virtue of the bishops who helped fight pestilence, all the rest. Instead of trying to keep rats out, welcome them with candle-wax, cheese, and bacon rinds.
The place would still be attractive to pilgrims - the kind of pilgrims who want a bit of a thrill along with their white granite statues. It'd also be an acknowledgement of the spirit under Temeschwar. Not a place to worship it - because the League doesn't worship dark spirits - but an acceptance of the fact it is there. By all accounts it is as ruthless, as relentless, as cold, and hard, and vengeful, as any scion of Temeschwar. And who knows, it might come in useful. More useful than another shrine dedicated to a senator's parent at any rate.
The visitors it would attract would be more esoterically minded, and would be prepared to make donations of crystal mana as well as small amounts of money. More relevantly, says Loraine, the rats themselves would appreciate the gesture and would share some of their wealth with Temeschwar. Trinkets, gold, things of that nature dredged up from forgotten corners and lost down sewers. Between the visitors and the rat gifts, the new Rat Gardener would get a 6 crown income each season easily. When asked why she seems to have such an insight into what possessed rats might want or do, the bravo repeatedly threatened to punch the querent in the face until they withdrew the question.
Interestingly, Lorainne and her fellow bravos and mountebanks are not the only people who are interested in the repurposing of Virtue's Respite in this fashion. Members of the Unfettered Mind who visited Temeschwar to help address the initial plague suggest that an opportunity to study the rats of the city in a "natural environment" might prove valuable. Especially if the place attracted any of the more exotic creatures that were associated with them. At the very least they could glean a little more insight into what exactly is going on beneath the city, and the nature of the rat spirit that seems to be involved in these events. Is it actually a sovereign? Or could it be an eternal? Or something else entirely! There are not many Unfettered Mind members in Temeschwar, but they are very excited at the possibility of learning more about magic related to murderous rats. Why, argues the Winter magician Heinrich von Hanuri, further research here might help develop a ritual that causes rats to rise up and eat people in enemy cities. How cool would that be?
(OOC Note: If the Senate chooses to make this change, when the work is complete the wiki would be updated with more information about the rat king of Temeschwar, and the Grandmaster of the Unfettered mind would have the opportunity to guide their order to do deeper investigations into the rats of Temeschwar in the season following its completion).
Further Reading
- Graveyard rats - 386YE Autumn wind of fortune about the rat plague
- Pitter patter - 386YE Summer wind of fortune about the rat plague
- They bit the cats - 386YE Spring wind of fortune introducing the rat plague