Asavean factions

Overview

Towards the end of 386YE the magicians of the Sevenfold Path [[One_of_us#Many_Paths_to_the_Truth|made contact with three groups of magicians] who could help the Empire. Each of these groups have some connection with the Imperial faith but none of them are followers of the Way. They might be persuaded to embrace the Way more fully, though it is clear that their beliefs are a long way from what any inquisitor might call orthodox. Even so, if they could be relied on then they would be effective allies in the aim of establishing the way in Asavea.

In the following season, the Assembly of Loyalty decided emphatically that they wished to find those groups who would be interested in tearing down the corrupt rule of the Plenum. These groups would need significant support from the Empire to raise an effective rebellion, but they could help hasten the demise of the Plenum.

Supporting these rebellious groups is guaranteed to incite the furor of the Plenum. It is one thing to make contact with the curious who are keen to experiment with the Way. It is another entirely to provide military aid to groups set on rebellion. Once the Empire commits to this path then this war will go from a matter of retaliation and honour to one of survival. The Asaveans have a massive military force of navies and armies that dwarfs anything the Grendel possess. Once it becomes clear that their rule is in jeopardy they will do everything they can to ensure that it is the Empire that falls - not the Plenum.

The Curious

These are groups (of magicians) that profess to be curious about the Way. All of them appear to be potential allies, but the Empire has been warned by the Whisper Gallery that one of them is lying - one of the three groups described below are double-agents who are actually loyal to the Plenum. They will ultimately take whatever they are given, betray the Empire and get everyone dealing with them killed.

The Empire is attempting to infiltrate another nation, to insert spires, to turn agents, to establish networks of rebels and informants and covert priests attempting to spread the Way. The Sumaah have spent years making similar attempts, and the Plenum are wise to them and expend a lot of effort trying to prevent exactly this kind of action. One of the most effective ways for them to do that is to conceal double-agents of their own within their own population - individuals who will respond favourably to any approach by a foreign power, but who will then betray that power at a moment that the Plenum deem it right.

The Cerularios

• The order has made contact with members of the Cerularios family
• They have confirmed that at least one of the Cerularios is dedicated to Prosperity
• If the Empire give the shield Glistering to Catella Cerulario then her family will embrace Prosperity
• This will reduce the materials needed to Anchor the Way by 20 wains of white granite and 60 crowns
• Glistening is the property of the title, it would require a senate motion to strip it from the title so that it could be legally sent to Asavea

There have been whispers for a while that one of the powerful Plenum families has dabbled with Virtue. There are claims that the Cerularios are secretly devout dedicates of Prosperity. They clearly can't be openly advocating for Virtue, not in the current climate, but their status and position in the Plenum would be enough to allow them to keep their actions hidden. They are exactly the sort of people who would represent allies in powerful places in Asavea - if they could be brought on side.

Some of the Sevenfold Path have pursued this line of enquiry, and reported back that they have had a positive meeting with two members of the family, Catella Cerularios, a mercenary captain recently returned from the Empire, and her lover Rolerto, a dissolute Autumn magician whose family moved to Asavea from the Brass Coast decades ago and were adopted by the family. Thorough insight has confirmed that both these individuals are dedicated to Prosperity. Catella claims she converted to the Virtue five years ago when relations between the Empire and Asavea were better.

Rolerto is no priest, but he can at least name the seven virtues and tell you his favourite paragon (a Sumaah figure named Sjördeyr whose inspiration stresses the importance of celebrating as hard as one works). Beyond that, his knowledge of the Way is pretty shaky. Catella seems fairly disinterested in the Way itself, but appears to enjoy being a dedicate of Prosperity, claiming that the Virtue does more for her than the Black Bull ever did. It appears that Catella and an unspecified number of her family would welcome the opportunity to experience "more of what Prosperity has to offer".

The Cerularios are relatively well connected and influential in Asavean society, they are also a rarity in Asavea in that they are a coven of powerful Autumn magicians, able to cast rituals of high magnitude and wealthy enough to afford the mana crystals needed for it. Getting them onside would help to anchor the faith in Asavea, reducing the materials needed to complete the project by 20 wains of white granite and 60 crowns (OOC Note: This is not payment from the family, it is abstraction of the benefits provided by bringing this family on side).

There is a cost to this though. Catella came to the Empire, not to fight, but to search for a legendary artifact, a powerful relic of the faith that inspires those who hold it. She is talking about Glistering, one of the original Pilgrim's Shield, an artifact created in ages past that has been born by the champions of Prosperity since then.

Catella has no interest in haggling over this. She is more interested in acquiring Glistering than she is in pursuing Virtue. It is a personal quest for her, that thus far she has failed. She won't be bought off, even by something more powerful and more valuable - it is very explicitly the shield Glistering that she wants. If she is given the shield she and Rolerto will use it to encourage more of their family to embrace Prosperity. They are not about to adopt the Way anytime soon, but they could be allies in Virtue - and well connected ones at that.

Clearly this is a high price, but as Catella herself points out, the Empire are asking her and her family to take enormous risks. "All that is worthwhile is shared with those who deserve it." smirks Rolerto.

The Mikanos

• The order has made contact with a powerful winter coven called the Mikanos Covenant
• The Mikanos control an island labyrinth far from the Asavean Capital
• The group are prepared to convert to the Way in exchange for ten doses of true liao
• This will reduce the materials needed to anchor the way by 25 wains of white granite and 75 crowns
• A successful judgement of rewarding by the General Assembly would be needed to provide the true liao to the magicians

The Asavean Empire extends across a great archipelago that includes scores of islands, large and small. In addition to the islands that make up the heart of the Republic, there are dozens of subject states, called satrapies which are theoretically sovereign nations. In practice they are ruthlessly controlled by the Asavean Plenum in various different ways.

The Mikanos covenant are a powerful group of Winter mages, who came together as far from the rule of the Plenum as they could get, to study magic. They built their covenant on a tiny island over the ruins of a maze of stone passageways that endlessly twist and turn in an attempt to mislead anyone who would try to navigate them. The entire labyrinth is part of a powerful winter regio, so only the most experienced members of the coven are allowed to attempt to walk the passageways. Those who fail to meet the challenge of the maze do not return.

The Mikanos are utterly obsessed with death. They are very familiar with the Way and they are absolutely convinced that the labyrinth beneath their covenant is the actual Labyrinth into which human souls pass when they die. They have spent years studying their labyrinth, mapping parts of it (it seems to stretch for miles) and performing magical rituals to try and learn more about it. Their dream is to find a way to penetrate to the very heart of the maze - obviously anyone who does that will have mastered death itself and will become effectively immortal.

The Mikanos are open to converting to the Way. They are eager to learn from Imperial priests, and could make useful allies in the attempt to anchor the way in Asavea. They are far from the centre of power, but that makes it easier for them to operate more freely and as powerful and respected winter magicians they are often called on to deal with problems in this part of the world that require their skills. In particular, they loathe the Asavean church, which they regard as a pack of parasitical charlatans that is holding Asavea back from achieving its true destiny - every member of the covenant is a devout anti-theist; they are required to swear an oath renouncing all gods when they join. They appear to have a particular dislike for the Asavean God of the Dead - the immense kraken that some believe will ultimately drown all the world and bring an end to human civilisation.

However, the Mikanos demand a price for their help - a way to further their study of death and the Labyrinth. They know about true liao and are eager to sample its benefits. They want ten doses of true liao, one for each of the magicians in the covenant, so that each can experience a past life. Their hope is that the true liao will help them further penetrate the veil between this life and the next. They are quite clear however that they are not going to come to the Empire to experience these visions - it's far too dangerous and would likely expose their involvement with the Sevenfold Path to their enemies.

Some of the magicians who made contact with the Mikanos acknowledge that the price is high, but remind the Order of the example set by the First Empress. If one of the members of the covenant experiences a past life as someone from another land, even another empire, it could help them understand that all humanity is united under the way, which would bolster their conviction in the Way beyond what is at the moment, somewhat theoretical more than Virtuous. And of course true experience of their past lives would likely help them to see the ignorance in their belief that their labyrinth is the Labyrinth. Hopefully.

Regardless of the outcome, they would make useful allies in the attempt to anchor the Way in Asavea. Providing them the true liao they have requested will reduce the materials needed to complete the project by 25 wains of white granite and 75 crowns (OOC Note: This is not payment by the covenant, it is abstraction of the benefits provided by bringing this group on side).

Rafael Barossa di Tassato, Grandmaster of the Sevenfold Path

The Bells of Becephelas

• The order has built links with a group of summer mages in Becephelas
• The magicians of Becephelas despise the Plenum and would like to rebel
• The group are knowledgeable in the Way having had periodic contact with Sumaah missionaries, many of their members are dedicated to Ambition, Courage or Loyalty
• The magicians need access to Imperial lore to give them the power to resist the Asavean military
• This will reduce the materials needed to anchor the way by 30 wains of white granite and 90 crowns
• A successful Declaration of Concord would be needed to share Imperial lore with the magicians

The satrapy of Becephelas has a long and fractious relationship with the Plenum. They have rebelled twice in the last hundred years, but each time the revolt was put down. The most recent occasion was just thirty years ago; inspired by the preaching of Sumaah missionaries who spread the Way here. With the determination of the Virtuous, they attempted to assert their independence, but the Plenum sent armies to crush the rebellion. They appealed for aid from Sumaah, who sent dozens of small military units to assist them, but it was not remotely enough to turn the tide. They were defeated and the leaders of the revolt were executed.

The magicians of Becephelas remain committed to Virtue and the Way. They still believe in the inspirational power of the six Virtues (they appear to have no working knowledge of the Virtue of Prosperty) but they have severed all contact with Sumaah, who they believe encouraged them to rise up and then abandoned them. The Dawnish yeofolk who spoke with two of them was able to confirm that both were dedicated to Courage, but they claim that there are followers of Ambition and Loyalty among their numbers also.

Getting their support would be one of the most effective ways to anchor the Way in Asavea and help foster rebellions against the rule of the Plenum. However there is a significant cost - the people of Becephelas feel that they have been betrayed by followers of the Way once already - they're not such fools as to try it again unless they can be confident of success. They want to have the means to defend themselves this time, a way to ensure that they can raise an army against the Plenum and have some hope of victory.

After the last time the magicians declared their independence, the Plenum forcibly destroyed every ritual text they could find in the Satrapy. They left a handful of rituals that can be used to enchant farms and businesses, everything else was burned. The intention was not just to send a clear signal to any other Satrapy that might consider rebellion, but to ensure that the magicians themselves were left powerless.

What they want, what they need, they say - is access to Imperial lore. If Becephelas magicians could study Imperial lore, if they create new ritual texts and smuggle them into Becephelas, they could rebuild their lore, rebuild their power, and when the time came they would be able to raise an army and back it with their own magic.

Having the magicians on side would be important if the Empire wants to try and overthrow the Plenum. Even if they stop short of that goal, they will be useful allies in the attempt to anchor the Way in Asavea. Providing them with access to Imperial lore will reduce the materials needed to complete the project by 30 wains of white granite and 90 crowns (OOC Note: This is not payment to the covenant, it is abstraction of the benefits provided by bringing this group on side).