Update Zero - Winter 1543
You there! My friend! You will surely freeze to death if you continue on in this condition. It is the depths of winter, and the wolves are hungry. The lords may say this country is at peace, but the eyes of the farmers tell a different story. Please, I beg you, stay. Sit by my fire for a short time. Take off your boots and your stockings, leave them to dry. Your business will wait.
There! Is that not more comfortable? Does the soup not sit well in your belly? Your business beyond the mountain will remain, I assure you, in the days to come. Now let me tell you... There is a tradition in this countryside. The guest is fed, clothed, sheltered, and in return, he must offer the service of his ears. For their hospitality, the host has the gods-given right to tell any story they please. By the look of you, traveler, I know the kind of story you want to hear.
This story is called,
la commedia di sangue…
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Northern Events:
The north celebrates the feast of Natale in peace and prosperity. Fat barges sail downstream carrying Vostan iron and timber, and scows and river-galleys move in the opposite direction, Aspesim polemen and Pelucian rudderers warily eyeing each other across the railings.
The Marchese di Torrio officially presents his daughter, Aleçandra, to society, and names her his co-ruler. The House of Torrio has let it known they are considering offers of marriage, although it will be a lesser union, and all children will belong to Aleçandra’s house. Any house of noble birth (or merchantry, with a significant gift) will be considered.
A new emissary from the Duc de Serras has arrived in Aquadecias. He has expressed interest in recruiting a Valian mercenary army for the conflict in Tarice. This has the blessing, although not the official support, of the Cariasi authorities.
The disgraced and exiled son of the Count of Vialta,
Agostin Palatani della Covere, has established a household south of Pelucia. A faction of vagabonds and dispossessed individuals of ill-repute in Pelucia (or, if you believe them, plebeians of good standing and character) have made him the figurehead of these 'Populo Grasso'. For the time being, the Council has granted him Pelucian citizenship, perhaps to press his claim on Vialta as a pretext later.
The Order of the Ut Sanguinis has gained increasing influence in Carias and the surrounding countryside, with many common citizens taking up the prayer beads and shawls of red lambswool common to that Order. Their rhetoric against corruption in the church is reaching a fever-pitch. Although they do not blame Holy Saia directly, many populist senators now argue that a new war with Saia is inevitable. The Cavallo and the conservative party still resist this for now, but their goal of restoring the Valian League cannot occur while the Church still resists.
Pelucia has issued an official warning to Carias that it will come to the defence of Saia, but this has been ignored in the Senate.
In Rabazzo, the
House Gipiani has risen to prominence on the back of supplying Saian families with goods and small loans, but now their ambitions have risen far higher as they have secured lucrative far eastern spice contracts. Girigorio Gipiani has officially been named to the state council of the Archpriest of Rabazzo, although his true ambitions have yet to become clear.
Central Events:
The musical movement of opera, based on soaring arias performed by virtuoso singers in sumptuous costumes, has begun sweeping the land. Saia, Parinia, and Pelucia are the only cities so far with dedicated opera houses, but many common people and nobles alike are clamoring for opera houses to be built, or old theaters renovated, and new scores produced and performed to display the rich pageantry of classical mythology and history in a new light.
With Carias distracted by calls for war with Saia, the feud between Chiave and Ravua seems set to continue. Count Callisto di Viavese has raised a significant army in Ravua, and he looks ready to attack the Republic of Chiave to press his ancestors’ claim. The distraught Chiavese burghers have offered the captaincy of the city to any condotto brave enough to resist the coming onslaught of the Ravuans.
A missive has come to the council of
Giudicatza, the ancient viscounty clinging to the salt-sprayed cliffs in the shadow of the great smoldering volcano Il Cuppa. By way of the Tricoran matrimony, from a visiting Zoan priest in the far south - it states that the Grand Duchess Saffira is kept almost as a prisoner by Count Largo Tascari and Grand Prioress Tia S’drangato, who have been controlling the affairs of Ziazzo between them. It implores the assistance of the Dallafiama and any righteous northern lords to arrest this vulgar corruption of church and state alike.
Amongst the soaring domes of Holy Saia, the Council of Serenity remains divided between those who would seek to appease Carias with sought-after reforms and those who would oppose them. The aging Serene Mother Euphrosyne of Pellater supports Serene Father Aureus of Euphrete in his efforts to oppose Carias, but she fears the consequences of war and of Saia falling under Pelucian control. Meanwhile, Serene Mother Cecilia strongly opposes Aureus on the council, claiming the Church should stay out of war and come to a settlement with Carias.
Serene Father Heron, while conservative, is being pushed by his northern archpriests to make a bold statement against Cariasi pretensions. If nothing is done, it seems that a general Valian war may break out soon. All lament the Pelucian control of the church, but it seems there is nothing to be done, for would Carias not be far worse?
Southern Events:
The devastation from the aftermath of the War of the Cantabrican League continues to ripple outwards, as the Treaty of Tellavelli, in which Cantabrico was annexed by Ziazzo but the other cities of Southern Valia kept their liberty, has been recognized by all sides as merely a delay to a proper settling of the southern question, especially now as the Tascari consolidate their control over Ziazzo in alliance with the Cult of Zoa.
House Auriona, long a small but respected workshop of goldsmiths, has expanded its ambitions with a mission to Perizza on the Isle of Cratone. It is whispered that the funding to do so came from the Vecini government, to form an alliance with House Nisimion against further advances by the Tascarans who have now usurped control over Ziazzo.
For his part,
Massimo Nisimion, the self-styled archon of eastern Kratone, has invested much into preparing for conflict with Ziazzo. Despite his city’s modest resources he has commissioned a pair of galleons for his daughter Lydia, the estimable young princess-captain who hopes to build a name for herself with adventures abroad - if the adventures do not come to her first.
There is talk of forming a new triple alliance between Vecini, Alaescia and Perizza, but this has been interrupted by a peasant rebellion that has exploded into existence in the interior. Across the rugged hills and dry valleys of the Pietstuppa, the cry of hungry mouths has evolved into a cry for blood. Wearing the corpse of a guild of stonemasons, they call themselves...the
Cricca!
It began in the small farms, mines, and villages of the interior, as the Cricca gathered in ever-larger bands. Then, they seized the interior town of Pieterre, its previous Baron, Lazaris di Tempos, barely escaping with his life. The expelled baron and his entourage made their way to Vecini to appeal for aid, but the city’s ruling council informed him, “Signore, you merely think you have fled the Cricca. But the Cricca are already here.”
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Diplomacy:
From: Captain-General Ildobrando dei Vorgezzi, Il Leone dei Ziazzo
To: The Cricca
Naturally the good people of Ziazzo sympathize with your grievance with the corrupt lords of Vecini and Alaescia. Here is my offer: Besiege and sack the city of Vecini, and I will gladly reward you for it - I offer you (30p) to speed your way. I will even make your leader, this Severio, one of my captains if you succeed.
From: Archpriestess Nicoletta Praxia of Tartelos
To: The Esteemed Cleric Gaspare Dallafiama
I know it is unlikely you will be able to do anything to assist us, but I fear that we have not long before the whole of Zoa’s church is but a plaything for the Ziazzi. I tell you this much - beware Cecilia, that witch. She will not long suffer any rivals to her control of the faith.
From: Chiave
To: Anyone
Someone, anyone, save us from the Ravuans!
From: The Council of Sixty
To: Agostin Palatani della Covere
As requested, Signore della Covere, we have printed your certificate of citizenship on the finest embossed vellum. We hope that you enjoy the freedom of Pelucia, the finest city in Valia. Additionally, for the modest fee of (40p) your family may be elevated to the senatorial dignity.
Map (Political):
OOC Notes:
For those of you finishing your apps (Angst) or working on signups (azale and Luckymoose, perhaps a few others), I'll give you until midweek to finish. The order deadline for Turn 1 - Spring 1544 will be one week from today, 9pm on Sunday February 23rd.
Over the next few days I will be finishing up the family stats as well as the last few lesser cities I still haven't done stats for yet, and naming the remaining archpriests and priestesses of the matrimonies. Let me know if you have any questions!
A clarification on stats: When a city or matrimony indicates +10 in power, for example, that is seasonal profit. If you control it, you control an income stream equivalent to that much each season.
