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2003-08-14T09:40:38Z

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= Creeper's Views =
THE CONTENDERS

In my mind Cathak, Mnemon and Sesus are the three obvious
candidates to seize the throne... with whatever complement
of allies and supporters they have behind them, of course,
but it would probably be one of the three whose head wears
the crown at the end of the day.
Mnemon and Sesus are both powerful and heartily opposed
just for being who they are. Cathak is too great a
military power to be ignored but needs allies from almost
all other theaters if it is to pull through.
(BTW, Sig, where did you draw the connections between
Sesus and Cathak? They're the Fire-Aspected Houses, but
that's almost the extent of it. For example, Sesus has
married between Cynis, Mnemon and 'everybody': Cathak has
gone for the generic 'everybody' like most Houses.
Besides, the two are military equals rather than
compatriots.)

THE SUPPORTERS

Ragara and Peleps are both essential, yet I think neither
of them could win the day. The Peleps could probably
cordon off the Blessed Isle and the rest of the world and
wield vast influence in the Deliberative and other
political areas... but politicians get ignored during war,
and ships are meaningless without armies to back them up.
The Ragara's sheer wealth could probably flatten all
opposition if it swung squarely behind any one of the
contenders... but coin and the mercenaries it buys won't
be enough to buy the Throne for them. And moreover, who
are they going to back, and do they really want to risk
picking the loosing side (ie. will they ever commit the
almost limitless fortunes into buying their way through,
or dribble a bribe here and others there and more over
yonder...)?

Cynis, V'Neef, Ledaal and even Nellens are all Great
Houses with at least some military presence, money,
influence, supporters and estates & tributaries where
_they_ are in charge. Yet none of them could hope to wrest
the prize for themselves, and so they're better off
hedging their bets and trying to back a side that's strong
enough to become overwhelming once their clout is added to
the works.

THE OTHER PLAYERS

The Thousand Scales: Whoever has them, has the machinery
of governance and traditional way of life in place.
Whoever loses them in the throes of a bloody, flame-
colored war with a capital W is in deep trouble if they do
end up on the Throne.
Moreover, ministers such as Bal Keraz are so powerful
through their own office alone that they can be called
players in the struggle, if ones unlikely to become the
boss. And a minister is likelier to draw the hearts and
allegiances of the rest of the bureaucracy than the
swaggering nobles with their own fiefdoms, armies and
generally inalienable power base (ie. 'insufferable snobs
who never saw a day's work' to the 'honest' workingmen in
the Ministries)

The Immaculate Order: The people may not have much say in
the matter, since the Realm is a feudal dictatorship. But
the one power that can turn every body in the nation for
or against a new Scarlet Emperor is the Order.
The Immaculates are more powerful than probably any House
alone, united behind the Mouth of Peace (or liable to have
their own infighting first and then solidly assume
whatever stance their newly replaced leader dictates) and
have a bad record for defying the rule of the Dynasty when
they disagree with it. The would-be cock on the dungheap
had better ascend to it with the priesthood mumbling
benedictions over him, otherwise he'll find that fifty
millions righteous peasants are a bloody hassle to pacify
with 'only' fifty thousand soldiers.

The All-Seeing Eye: Not only are they another all-
important facet to ruling the Realm (the Realm would fast
become a lesser power without their intelligence abroad
and at home, their troubleshooters keeping the Imperial
Service still _in_ service and with their assassins
roaming _only_ where the ruler wants them to), the Eye is
where House Iselsi has yet to be de-throned. The crumbling
Scarlet House's presence means they're liable to have a
more involved, partisan view of the affair than any other
agency of the Imperial Service. Besides, they've got a lot
of grudges and their own causes as well (such as opposing
Mnemon's slow takeover in the Immaculate Order) so they're
likely to add their own share of excitement to the
struggle.

The Bronze: It's a stated fact that the Sidereals don't
control the Immaculate Order, merely advise, nudge and
influence it discreetly from behind the scenes. But where
the Iselsi are all over the rank and file of the ASE, the
Sidereals are everywhere in the higher echelons. The same
could be said about the Heptagram, not to mention their
ties with House Ledaal, or the fact that if necessary
Heaven itself may take action on their behalf. Whoever
thinks of ignoring Chejop is slitting his wrists in the
political sense, because while the old man's faction may
not be able to rule, they can send trouble screaming in
from thirteen hundred different directions.

The Threshold & the Guild: And endless patchwork of
complications and sources of worry. Being able to trust
Paragon or Chiaroscuro to stay pacified and look after
Imperial interests would be a boon worth the several
legions it'd take to monitor them. Keeping the Lap loyal
would mean life or famine for massive stretches of the
South.
If looked upon only as either harmless or as enemies, the
Concordat of Rivers can fast eclipse the IO's significance
in the struggle if seeming weakness causes them to unite
and form an alliance against the Realm's continuing pre-
eminence. Lookshy, the Guild and other foreign powers all
stand to throw too many spanners into the works if they
decide to take action against a fracturing Realm, so any
would-be conqueror had better win quickly back home or
keep them right as they have been: out of the way.

THE COMPLICATIONS

The Roseblack: Reminding people about Julius Caesar seems
to sum up her significance, even though the situation
isn't quite the same as it was back in Rome. But really,
she's just a canon example of...

The AWOL Servants of the Empire: The stripping-down of the
Legions, the axing of the ministries and the Magistracy of
Hares has all sent powerful, capable people who still have
plenty of connections left to the four winds. Some of the
generals who disappeared when the Legions were put under
the House's control could return with an army... or show
up leading somebody else's. The ministers and other
leaders on the Isle are reminders of the Empress' power
and Imperial, not Dynastic rule. They're all scattered but
like pieces of a puzzle, they could form a whole much
greater than its parts if someone got enough of them on to
a single side.

DragonBlooded/ContendersII - Revision history

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