Finally, the gods came together, united as one against Aldur, joining the elves, the only peoples somewhat resistant to the armies of humans. But it was too late; the armies of the elves could not match the explosive firepower. Ancient cities predating the first human were engulfed in flames, and great warriors who spent millennia training their skills lay broken upon battlefields, killed by simple peasants. Aldur, exultant in his new power, slew his brothers and sisters, feeding upon their flesh and consuming their divine ichor. Some tried to flee to the very corners of the world, but all were found, all were killed.

Victorious, the humans claimed the world for Aldur; there was no place that did not submit to his cold, ordered authority. With his victory and the cannibalistic consumption of his siblings, he fell into a deep contented slumber, which he has yet to awake from. Despite the triumph, there was one enclave that escaped total annihilation. A last kingdom of elves, defeated and without hope, begged for mercy and offering their obedience, submitting to their new human masters,

>The underground kingdom of the drow, Ulthor
>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor
>The woodland kingdom of the wood elves, Ranor

>>6023138
>The Icy Kingdom of the Dark Elves, Nagor

>>6023138
>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor

Sniveling low-born wretches. All humans shall die for daring to revolt against their high-born betters. They’re barely better than the mutt cattle they breed and engorge themselves on.

>>6023138
>>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor

>>6023138

>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor

Seems fun!

>>6023141
+1 to this &/or to the Drow
I'm digging the setup/lore right off the bat, a Promethean Titan raising up humanity through invention really makes sense on a lot of levels.

>>6023138
>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor

Straight up ordinary high elves could be a refreshing change. Control the seas, never let them touch our shores, choose the field of battle, put the lessers in their place. Even if the humans outnumber us and have guns, controlling all the new territory, the many peoples, the different climates and dead faiths is not realistically possible, not forever at least, unless they went the full omnicide route. Even then, that just means they can't exploit the conquered peoples.

>>6023138
>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor


Oh I am the last of the giants....

>The underground kingdom of the drow, Ulthor

>>6023138
>The woodland kingdom of the wood elves, Ranor

>>6023138
>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor

>>6023138
>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor

>>6023138
>>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor
Racist Tyrion time

>>6023138
>The island kingdom of the high elves, Anor
Tech vs Magitech

You were a lesser realm of elvenkind, controlling the twin islands of Anor, only separated by a small shallow sea. Being isolated from the mainland by the violent walls of water did not harm your clarity of thought; it was all too clear that these humans would not stop. They would claim all under the sun. The human’s ruinous crusade ravaged the continent for many decades, you sent your greatest warriors and your mages to fight alongside your kith and kin. Your mages called lightning bolts from the heavens, opened fissures, and conjured acid rain that melted flesh and bone. But it was not enough to silence the roaring cannon fire and the bark of muskets from the endless swarm of humans. The great forest kingdoms were set upon by axe and flame, leaving a tremendous dead plane of cinders, and the underground nations were crushed by great explosives.

Anor remained when the other wonderous kingdoms and ancient empires fell, spared only briefly by the great ocean. It would have been put to the torch as well, it was already long defeated after spending its best to die in a failed war. But Anor sent diplomats to the humans grovelling for peace. Humans were tired of war, wanting to celebrate their total victory and mourn the slumber of their saviour and accepted your submission. Entering a festival of decadent delights, they allowed your survival at a small cost: the island of Lesser Anor is to be theirs in totality, you owe fealty and taxes to the great realm of man, no man in Greater Anor could be tried by an elven court.

With heads bowed low, you accepted the delegation of the human host onto your kingdom. The force that accompanied the leaders of men went to your great library, barred the doors and set it ablaze. Millennia of study of the magic arts burned in the pyre, and with your best mages dead, any hope of future revival was dashed. The humans kept your kingdom around as an impotent gelded pet, a curious reminder of a time now gone. Soon, their people came to your cities, which you protested fiercely to no avail; wealthy merchants and their employees set up shop, almost as if to further mock your people for their newfound poverty.

After years passed, the genocidal cause of the humans faded from memory, the unifying mission decayed and fragmented. Man, without any external enemy, fought against fellow man. New nations rose from the shattering of the unified empire. You watched on silently as they had their share of bloodlust. Your vassal state was inherited by the greatest human nation, the Republic of Moi. They hold Lesser Anor, now renamed to Sentinel, and claim the inheritance of the unified human collective and wish to reunite all humans under their banner.

Alone, you are the last elven monarch, your rule questioned by your discontented people. The humans that call Anor home mock your kind, calling them the Widows, laughing at the women who have lost their husbands in the great war the humans are already beginning to forget. Compared to the rich industrious human nations of the continent, Anor is poor and still wearing scars of war, the only income is generated by selling trinkets to humans and farming. Your mages are few and weak; only the knowledge of the simplest spells remains.

Who are you?
>You are the last King of Anor
> You are the last Queen of Anor

If you want to come up with a name, you can, or I can make one if you can’t be bothered. Being a man you of course are stronger and more capable in a fight, while only women can be mages.

>>6023620
>You are the last King of Anor, Ciryandil Anor.

So our greatest advantage had already been lost, the situation is dire than I thought.

>>6023620
>You are the last Queen of Anor

>>6023620
>You are the last King of Anor

>>6023620
>> You are the last Queen of Anor
Mage time

>>6023620
>> You are the last Queen of Anor

>>6023620
> You are the last Queen of Anor

>>6023620

>You are the last King of Anor

>>6023620

>You are the last King of Anor

>>6023620
>You are the last King of Anor

>>6023620
> You are the last Queen of Anor

>>6023620
> You are the last Queen of Anor

oof

That's rough.

>>6023620
> You are the last Queen of Anor, Faelynwyth

>>6023620
>You are the last King of Anor
>Name: Silmaril
NO MAGIC ONLY HARDCORE

>>6023620
>> You are the last Queen of Anor

>>6023620

>You are the last King of Anor.

We have time on our side! How many other non-humans strain under the yoke of Man? How many other Kings hide in secret?

To survive, we must find ways to exploit the blind spots in Man’s vision, use his hubris against them…

>>6023620
> You are the last Queen of Anor

>>6023620
>Mage-Queen Aryaniel

>>6023620
>>You are the last King of Anor

>>6023620
>You are the last Queen of Anor
Lyssandra

>>6023620

>King

I actually prefer a non-magic approach here

>>6023620
>You are the last King of Anor.

>>6023620
>You are the last Queen of Anor

Thanks everyone, no more votes.

>>6024007
You should probably get a name/trip

You are the last Queen of Anor, Lyssandra the First.

The crown should have never been yours; the line was clear, and in the better world, you would have only ever been a princess. After your father’s death at the Battle of the Elder Tree, your older brother ascended to the throne, carrying on the war in your father’s place. He, too, fell in battle, as have so many of your men. After a failed clash, your brother, Elros, regrouped within the ancient fort of Talahad. The forces of Aldur encircled the fortress, and cannons gnawed at the ancient stone walls, drilling into the rock with shot after shot. Finally, the humans breached the city, and blood filled the streets. Waves of humans charged into the citadel only to be culled by the elven defender. But with each attack, more of your men joined the litter of human corpses. After the biting months of repeated attacks, the swarm of man overwhelmed the last of the elven defenders.

Haunted eyes filled with sorrow and pain turned to you, looking at the young girl who was not ready to assume all the heavy responsibilities that burden the head that wears the crown. A regency council was formed of your advisors, as they managed your realm as you grew with age and were moulded into the future queen of your people. The five of this council are: Ergon your marshal, Balfor your treasurer, Luthiel your magister supreme, Peren your chancellor and Tour your spymaster. They are all seated around a table with you at its head, with you finally leading this meeting unbidden by the constrains of the now-dead regency.

They have failed, all of them. All of their discussions, debates and plans have amounted to nothing, the nation is still a sick animal waiting to be put out of its misery. An air of despair and disillusion lingers upon your streets, upon your very people, and your utterly impotent council has done nothing to dissuade it. Your crystal-clear sapphire eyes scan across each face, all gazing down towards the table or their fidgeting fingers trying to avoid your accusatory glare. A part of you wants them to suffer as the people did, to be stripped of their positions and wealth and thrown onto the streets joining the most desperate of elves. But they know too much you have yet to learn, and good service to you can resolve their past crime of sheer incompetence.

“Tell me of my Anor, tell me of the state it is in.” Despite your young, girlish appearance, your voice echoes with an iron, authoritative command.

“My Queen,” Balfor starts, his words come quick and hurried as his cheeks redden with embarrassment and shame. “Our people are struggling, and the kingdom’s coffers are almost empty. We have scrapped together a little gold, but it won’t go far. I do have a few ideas, but they may not be palatable.”

Next, it is Ergon’s turn to speak: “Pirates harass our trading ships that travel to Moi, plundering whatever they can get their hands on.”

Tour adds to Ergon’s comment, “Human pirates, of course. I would not be surprised if they have the tacit consent of the Council of Moi.”

Luthiel, the only woman of your advisors and the most potent mage of your realm, if not the world, blurts out impatiently, “We have lost so much knowledge, too much is forgotten, and it cannot be found on this island. We must search the ruins of the continent. I would have ordered a party to do so, but I did not have access to the gold required for such a task. Magic is our one strength over the humans; these other issues are simply a temporary byproduct of our weakened connection with magic. We need to reclaim what we once held above all.”

“What we hold above all is our family and our people, funnelling our little money into an aimless quest will do nothing to help them.” Balfor roars, angered by an argument he has likely heard too many times. “We need to help our people first and foremost.”

“Quiet,” Peren cuts in, interrupting the well-rehearsed quarrel. He turns to you with a deferential bow. “Queen Lyssandra, we have many issues that will take long to solve; what do you wish to tackle first?”

You decide to…
>focus on the pirates.
>fix the finances of your nation.
>reclaim lost books of forgotten magic.

>>6024088
>reclaim lost books of forgotten magic.
Then blast the pirates with nuke spells

>>6024088
>>reclaim lost books of forgotten magic.

>>6024088
>fix the finances of your nation.

>>6024088
>fix the finances of your nation.

The other tasks all require coin. Better to fix our problems at home before we turn to rotting books and distant reavers.

>>6024088

>fix the finances of your nation

>>6024088
>fix the finances of your nation.

‘’The humans bested us with more magic than we may ever find once more, we need to be- more creative, magic alone won’t help us. Maybe we should also consider using the tools of the humans- and refine them.

>>6024088
>MAGICK GUNZ
>Diplomacy with other Non-Humans
>Develop Trade with other Kingdoms besides Moi
>Mage Skool with Mandatory Magiscription for every Womer

Really intrigued by this quest, always wanted to see the perspective of the rise of humanity from a magical race.
>>6024088
>fix the finances of your nation.
Money is power in the new world. Books and pirates are very expensive, and our dire straits means that any investment could come with ruin. Shit's real bad.

>>6024088
>>reclaim lost books of forgotten magic.

>>6024088
>>fix the finances of your nation.
Money is truly magical

>>6024088
>fix the finances of your nation.

>>6024088
>fix the finances of your nation.

“The humans defeated us when we possessed more magic than we will ever be able to reclaim. This is a new age that requires new solutions.” You say to your council, leaving direction of solutions could be known but unsaid. Luthiel scowls in disagreement but wisely keeps her mouth closed. “Balfor, you spoke of ideas. I would like to hear them.”

“Of course, my Queen. But as I said earlier, these may be… distasteful.” Balfor ends with a noncommittal shrug.

In a softer, natural voice that belongs to a girl of your years, without the edge of command instilled by your crown, you dissuade his hesitancy. “We are all only talking; bringing up the idea will not create it in actuality. It is important for us to know all possible avenues if we are to judge our best path. Please let us know what you have thought of.”

“Quite, my lady,” Balfor gives you a weak, forced smile and continues. “As you said, we need to look for new solutions. The only way I think we can compete in the market of today is if we copy the humans and replicate the gifts of Aldur. In my humble opinion, the greatest of these are the steam engines. Humans do so much with it, they use it for mining, textiles, and iron production. Of course, we do all these things already, but the quantities they produce are without equal. I have been to Moi, and they have created great works of construction and infrastructure with their abundance of iron.”

Seeing a twinkle in his eyes, you feel a long sermon brewing. “Ok, thank you. I believe I understand what you are saying. Do you have any other ideas?”

The excitement still resides in Balfor despite being interrupted. “Sure, and I understand the hesitance to use the humans’ tools. It was just an idea. And those that work in such factories suffer short lives, a price from Aldur for such productivity. Or we could open the royal gardens and grow the magical herbs at a greater scale, to sell to the human nations. There would be a high demand. But I do worry that humans that reside on Anor would try to steal these plants and sew them on the continent.”

You nod, and Balfor continues, “Humans have done well with constructing canals within their lands, allowing quick movement of large quantities of goods. This is something that would be fantastic, but I do not think it is the right project yet, we need more trade with the humans to make the most out of it. Finally, we could ask one of the prominent human merchants here to help us replicate human financial institutions. Frankly, I do not understand these things, but their results speak for themselves.”

“What of this can we afford to do?” You ask as you ponder his suggestions. The idea of mimicking the humans revolts you, but if you ever want the freedom of your people, there must be sacrifices.

“As I said, we have little gold; it is all I could save, considering our circumstances. We can afford to either: construct new gardens for the production of our sacred herbs, build new financial institutions with some human assistance, purchase agricultural tools to assist our farmers, or construct canals that would allow a freer flow of goods across our land. We only have the money for one of these projects, so you must choose wisely. What I would prefer is for us to set up our own iron mill. This would allow us to create so many amazing things, including more industry. But we do not have enough coin to set up the project. No human nation would sell us the required plans and equipment, so we’d have to work with a human merchant, which would add a premium to the steep price. There would need to be real concessions.”

Closing your eyes, you consider all the options laid out before and the path best for Anor. Finally, as Balfor watches you eagerly, you decide to…
>Create new fields of magical herbs.
>Create new financial institutions with the assistance of humans.
>Construct canals to ease the movement of goods through your kingdom.
>Purchase agricultural tools to make farming more efficient.
>Meet with a powerful human merchant about constructing an iron mill together.
>write-in

>>6024629

>Create new financial institutions with the assistance of humans.

Running a big bank is a great way to become too useful to exterminate

>>6024629
>Create new fields of magical herbs.
Material wealth before usury.

>>6024629
>Purchase agricultural tools to make farming more efficient.
I'd go with the herbs if not for the risk of hummies stealling then and creating banks while we don't have enough material wealth or trade doesn't seem that good early on.

>>6024629
>>Purchase agricultural tools to make farming more efficient.
potato maxxing

>>6024650

One thought is to make luxury foodstuffs/goods and pander to wealthy human markets.

Basically, ultra-high quality cheese, wine, drugs?, things that we can produce via magic and therefore actually keep as trade secrets.

>>6024667
I support this- make sure no one knows the full process outside of select individuals who are completely loyal.

IE; have 10 books on the process in the manager office- but only the Queen have the cyfer to tell which is lagit and the manager don’t even know the cyfer- just that the blue one is lagit.

>>6024629
>Create new financial institutions with the assistance of humans.
We'll be like the [redacted]

>>6024629
>>Purchase agricultural tools to make farming more efficient.
Nature stuff

>>6024629
>>6024667
+1
>>6024664
unfortunately now is not the time for cucumberpilled potatomaxxing

>>6024629
>Purchase agricultural tools to make farming more efficient.

How about developing method of covert communication in form of cute conjured birds?

https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Distrans

>>6024629
Oh, the humans are 1800s tech, that explains the world conquest handily. If it was just handgonnes and stone shot then there'd be no way they could be a world beater. Lets hope they don't have rifle-muskets yet. Apparently they are also institutionally more advanced than us as well, which makes slightly less sense, but okay. With this in mind, yeah, we have to have a 'if you can't beat em, join em' attitude to tech advancement.

>Create new fields of magical herbs.

We need something to actually trade to get more money. If the humans steal our shit like the Europeans seeding American crops in their own lands, then so be it, it'll happen eventually anyways, whether we like it or not.

Easing internal trade to make our domestic economy stronger or improving our agricultural/iron production won't mean shit when our industry is competing with Moi and the other humans, who have been at this longer and likely have stronger economies already.

>>6024629

>Create new financial institutions with the assistance of humans.

>>6024912
>Oh, the humans are 1800s tech
Late 1700s - early 1800s, and I am no historian so some things may be a bit jumbled. No trains yet, and no bessemer converters, currently wrought iron.

>Apparently they are also institutionally more advanced than us as well
Aldur is the lord of innovation, during his thousands of years of imprisonment the world stagnated across the board.

>>6024629
>Sell Herbs as a Cash Crop
(with a thorough inspection to be sure no seeds are shipped off)

I'd rather we sell magick droogs than devolve into ratmen/goblins already.

Agriculture dominates the economy and employment in Anor, so it only makes sense to invest in your workers, making them more productive. It is a shame that so many of your people have become farmers, working in the muck. Before the war, magicians of the realm enchanted the fields, allowing your people to pursue more noble goals. But now is not then; your people must struggle in the fields to provide food for the realm. “We need better tools for our people, buy them the latest human instruments.”

“As you command Queen Lyssandra. I will send out word to the human merchants of what we want.” Balfor tries to hide his disappointment, but his dreams of an iron mill to spur Anor’s industrialisation is dashed.

“What is next to discuss?” You ask the room of familiar faces.

“So much,” Chancellor Peren replies with a sigh of weary pain. “Our military is almost non-existent, and our navy is outdated. Lord Ergon will attest to that. We must endure the piracy for now unless we try something non-conventional. Our command of magic is weak despite Lady Luthiel’s best efforts. And our people are still melancholy, mourning all those we have lost. Childbirth is rare. Resentment is building between our people and the human immigrants. When crimes are committed against our people, they are tried in lenient human courts as per the peace accords. Anyway, most of these problems can not be solved without money, so let us hope we are rewarded for our investment in our farmers. Let us break for the day and reconvene another time, but before we do, I speak for all around this table when I say we are with you and will help you recover the glories of old.”

“Thank you Peren. And yes, that sounds reasonable. Let us break for today and rejoin soon.” You flash your council a well-meaning practised smile.

They shuffle out of the room; your heart aches to see the proudest and most privileged of your people looking so defeated. You begin to wonder what you will do with the remainder of the day as Peren halts by the door to share a parting word, “We won’t be able to spend any money for a while, maybe there are some social policies you can think of that would help our people in the meanwhile.”

Finding yourself in your garden, you are gazing at the still surface of a pond, your eyes focus on your own reflection. They see a young woman, her youthful face framed by her long gold hair, alone in her kingdom without friends or family. Brushing your hand against the water, ripples break the still image. It was common to find you passing the time reading easy books about princesses and knights, but they hold little lustre to you now. You are unable to enjoy them as you once did with the crown now firmly resting upon your head. Guilt strikes with every turned page. Instead, your main respite has become the practising the magic you can cast. That way you are practising, learning and bettering yourself instead of wasting your time in childish self-indulgence.

Of the spellcasters in the realm, most have always been mages, now is no different. Mages are simple magicians who are able to do the easiest of spells and are best used in battle. Then there are the magisters, witches of substantial power, able to cast more potent spells and great rituals. Of these magisters, three are left in the kingdom of Anor, four if you include yourself in their ranks. Each of these magicians belongs to a school, a purview of magic that resonates with their soul.

The path you belong to is…
>Fire Magic, the most destructive of all of the schools.
>Water Magic, a subtle path able to affect water and ice.
>Earth Magic, which was used prodigiously to construct the fantastic structure of Anor.
>Air Magic, able to conjure storms and lightning.
>Nature Magic, able to change the bodies of living things including plants.

>>6025071

>Fire Magic, the most destructive of all of the schools.

Being a walking nuke might make up for our nation’s lack of military and such

>>6025071
>Nature Magic, able to change the bodies of living things including plants.

>>6025071
>Air Magic, able to conjure storms and lightning.

>>6025071
>Nature Magic, able to change the bodies of living things including plants.
If we're not going to fully industrialize, specializing in what amounts to biomancy could yield significant dividends.

>>6025103
>>6025114

I’d support this only if we devote our research to developing a magical plague to kill all humankind.

>>6025127
We should consider the waring human nations- I bet you humanity is committing atrocities on each other and there are plenty who prefer sharing the world with the elves over whomever got the jackboot on there neck right now.

>>6025146

My thoughts exactly - there have to be political revolutionaries who hate the current regimes and our best move is to fracture human political alignment even further.

Would be fun to invert the trope of “beautiful magical elf queen with nature magic” and turn her into “bio weapons arms dealer seeking TOTAL HUMAN DEATH by any means necessary”.

Killing the Titan of innovation before he wakes up from his nap would be a nice follow-up goal as well

>>6025127
Inventing magic bioweapons and selling them to the humans is brilliant, we just have to avoid getting Iraq'd.

>>6025161
Plan B was Elf Switzerland with James Bond’s villen intentions

>>6025161
Adolf Elfler Quest

>>6024912
We cannot let our one monopoly go into human hands without first setting up a monopoly system to cash in and sell the flowers at a premium. We should save those until we are in a good position and bred the weakest flowers we got then introducing better yields later for control of the market.

>>6024899
I played Civ 5 and the main thing you should always work on is food. A country is worthless if you can't even feed yourself for a day.

>>6025127
Wipe out the human filth its either bioweapons or become the bankers and have human nations kill each other for fun and profit.

>>6023637
We will just have to get more insidious. While we lost magic we can instead focus on becoming Venice. Control markets, create spy wings across the word, and use human propoganda to make them all view their nation should be the one to rule and have them tear into each other as we will never have the manpower to fight but we do have the centuries to plan. We can cause wars and conflict for entire human lifetimes in one century. Make these pigs butcher each other for our amusement.

>>6025071
>Nature Magic, able to change the bodies of living things including plants.

>>6025246
Except this time we won't fail or at the very least we send Humans to the dark age with the black death, small pox, and whooping cough. Target them all until only the superior aryan race stands.

>>6025179
We become Umbrella selling cosmetics and drugs to the poor and wealthy as we sell weapons to nations while accidentally letting some product to get "lost" during transit. Create werewolverines, STDs, Winter Flu, and the bat cough.

>>6025251

>Elf Venice

Now you’re cooking with gas, anon. Dirty tricks of all types and kinds should be deployed to destabilize the nations of man!

>>6025253
>Unstealable magic consumer goods for profits
>Unhealable magic WMDs for revenge

>>6025071
Well, not what I hoped for, but the agricultural revolution preceded and enabled the industrial revolution for a reason. Not the worst choice in the world for the long game. It's just that if we wanted to make rapid progress, we would require money immediately and constantly. I doubt increasing our food supply will earn us said money, but it'll prevent us from starving at least, fuel population growth. Though mechanizing farm labour could cause social issues on its own.

>Earth Magic, which was used prodigiously to construct the fantastic structure of Anor.

The best elemental path in practically every setting. Particularly if it is capable of affecting a similar area to air magic. Useful for architectural and battlefield engineering purposes, especially given the modern times. Though blowing up human powder stores or causing rainstorms to render their powder useless would be cool too.

>>6025256
Also we need a soft power campaign kin to, well first thing to come to mind is Anime and Blue Jeans.

>>6025256
First we acquire the food for our elven people.
Next once we are not hungry we can reform the tax system to get the exchange rates going.
Third now with a bit of gold we either train an elven merchant marine or build some oil drums and detonate them when the ship gets near with the elves carrying lifevests until another ship comes by and executes the rats and rescues our people.
Fourth we rename the city venice now that we got food and a clear route.
Fifth wait a few years to build trade routes and become proper venice.
Sixth train many and many spy rings across the world or at least near us first. Making them fucking hero tier units to handle the bullshit we are going to give them.

Seventh now the fun starts as by this time we should have infrastructure and money.

Use our herbs to make magic drugs use proxies to sell it when humans come looking for a fix. Begin smoozing with merchants that can move our product and we can cut off if they ask too many questions. Start investing in biowarfare but sell it to the big nations first so any product that gets "lost" and into the general public will have them get the blame when revolutionaries get their hands on it. Begin making whooping cough 2.0 and infect the outskirts to get the poor angry at the working class. Make more varied and stronger drugs for the rich to spend and make instead of helping the people. Sell the revolutionaries guns and c-4 at discount to cause more damage. Proxy hire a merc band to pillage rich people land drug shipments to further strain their economy. Propaganda another minor warring states to join together and hit the biggest human country to burn each other's manpower and wealth more. Using the human mercs have them join a battlefield and have some elven spies activate mustard gas on our meatshields to make it look like the big human entire wanted to cower the other three and propoganda it as them demanding everyone to submit to their rule or get gassed. Start a world war as the elves begin industrializing magic like in youjo senki. Do this for every major human nation a few times until either they break from the war or when they have enough and nuke themselves.

>>6025278
I need a map, I need nations GPD, what is the demographics of the human nations, how long to elves live, what is the human average lifespan, what is the resources of our island, did humans find crude oil yet, is it all steam? I need more data to evolve the plan.

>>6025071
>>Air Magic, able to conjure storms and lightning.

Ship sinkin.

>>6025071
>>Air Magic, able to conjure storms and lightning.

File: china.jpg (669 KB, 1826x1384)

669 KB JPG

>>6025071
>Nature Magic, able to change the bodies of living things including plants.

I have a suggestion if we are going to fight unfairly.

Make a species of drug-producing plant which only affects humans. Make it addictive, but not more so than heroin. And then introduce it to the human populations in other nations.

Additionally, if one wants to play it a bit more risky, there could be a cure or treatment, like nicotine patches. And only we can provide those. As it needs something like a very small amount of still living elven blood in the process which we keep a state secret. That would give us massive potential wealth, at the risk of suspicion.

Of course, if we were to make it only affect humans, then it might encourage wrath from the large human nations who suspect foul play. But there are many ways to throw them off like using plants not native to our island and making the "discovery" of the plant seem like something ancient discovered once again from an old cave.

What better way to destabilize other nations than by introducing massive drug problems?

>>6025071
>Nature Magic, able to change the bodies of living things including plants.

>>6025071
>Water Magic, a subtle path able to affect water and ice.

>>6025438
The Old Sassoon Shuffle
Yeah, let's British Empire these Mongoloids.
>Nature Magick
Crops + Droogs + Plagues

A rose bush catches your eyes, the one your mother planted long before your birth, its petals are beginning to wither and age as winter approaches. With a carefulness to avoid the sharp thorns, you place your hand upon the plant. As you pour your energy into the bush, the flowers begin to brighten and restore themselves to their summer beauty. The bold, vibrant red of the petals stands out against the drabness of the dreary day as grey clouds hang high in the sky. For your effort, you take a single rose head, planning to place it in your room.

Making your way back to your chambers, you study the castle you reside in. It is beautiful, that is undeniable, even the staunchest elf hater would admit to it. None of it was constructed by hand, only the imagination of the magisters of old. Each room is its own marvel, sculpted as works of art. But there is something wrong with the castle, there is no life within the walls. The only living beings you see are your guards, who stand stiller than the statues surrounding them. There is no merriment to bask in, no private conversations to overhear, no loud children playing with one another. You are alone in your gilded cage.

Placing the rose you hold into a glass vase beside your bed, you work further magic upon it. The flower grows larger, not enough to become a garishly large freak, but a decent size. Taking your diary out of a locked drawer, you write of the meeting that transpired. You don’t know why you write in your diary; it isn’t for anyone to read, but it is a ritual that is deeply engrained at this point. Finishing the entry, a long sigh escapes your lips as you look around your room, not knowing how to entertain yourself.

An idea sprouts in your mind as you gaze into the mirror, seeing your own reflection. Calling once again upon your powers, your face’s features begin to alter. Staring back at you is a mask you’ve created, not wildly different from your natural appearance but enough so that the guards will believe you are a maid. The effort fills you with fatigue equal to running the perimeter of the castle grounds; your body aches as you regain your breath. In the past, other mages could make themselves male or female, elf or human; some could even become giant now-extinct monsters, but not you, not yet.

After pulling a few faces in the mirror, you smile through your fake face, proud of your ability; you saunter off to your wardrobe and wear the blandest, unassuming garb you have. You pass through the grand halls and long passageways until you exit the castle itself, with no guards stopping you or demanding to accompany you. The salty sea air wraps you in its cold embrace, shivers run through your body, but all you can think of is the taste of freedom in the air. The freedom to talk to people as an elf, not their monarch.

Goose pimples coat your skin as you embrace yourself with a hug in a futile attempt to warm yourself. Walking through the wind, your dress violently flaps, and you realise that you don’t know what you want to do with this brief freedom. Sitting on a public wooden bench, you watch as regular elves pass through the streets in heavy clothing, living their lives, while trying to ponder what to do next.

You…
>want to talk to the regular elves of your kingdom, finding out how they feel and how they are.
>want to talk to the men of your military and see what they are honestly thinking.
>want to see the humans, how they live on this island, and what they think of your elves.
>write-in

>>6025285
>I need a map, I need nations GPD
I might be able to cook something up in paint, but it'll look like shit.
>what is the demographics of the human nations
They vastly outnumber you, if you've ever played warharmmer think of them like skaven to you.
>how long to elves live
Few thousand years.
>what is the human average lifespan
Depends on the nation and class and job, but roughly 50.
>what is the resources of our island
Natural resources haven't been surved yet as there hasn't been money placed into such things. Before the war the mages did the mining which then was very safe.
>did humans find crude oil yet
No
>is it all steam
Yes

>>6025564

>want to talk to the regular elves of your kingdom, finding out how they feel and how they are.

Specifically, we need to know things like level of education, their opinions on the government, and the extent to their loyalty towards the elves as a collective and our regime specifically. I'd also like to chat with some humans too to see if it might be possible to get our hands on some turncoats for things like engineering or agricultural manpower if the human supremacist ideology is outweighed by a desire for coin, influence, or potentially elven brides (which wouldn't be too bad for them since in the terms of an elven lifespan, an entire human marriage is like a one year fling)

>>6025564
>want to talk to the regular elves of your kingdom, finding out how they feel and how they are
Elves we may be, but if the humans have embraced the spirit of representative government then we too must ware of popular sentiment

>>6025564
>want to talk to the regular elves of your kingdom, finding out how they feel and how they are.

>>6025564
>want to talk to the men of your military and see what they are honestly thinking.

>>6025438
>sequel coming soon to local theaters: elf breeding farm

>>6025564

>want to talk to the regular elves of your kingdom, finding out how they feel and how they are.

We should focus on quality-of-live upgrades first - we need our people’s trust and loyalty for what comes next.

>>6025564

>want to talk to the regular elves of your kingdom, finding out how they feel and how they are.

We should focus on quality-of-life upgrades first - we need our people’s trust and loyalty for what comes next

>>6025564
>want to talk to the regular elves of your kingdom, finding out how they feel and how they are.

>>6025564
>>want to talk to the men of your military and see what they are honestly thinking.

>>6025564
>>want to see the humans, how they live on this island, and what they think of your elves.

>>6025564
>humies
Then
>military

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A billion hours in paint, let me know if it is acceptable or if there's a better tool I could use.

>>6025795

Perfect for now, maybe just throw in some titling later if you have time?

>>6025572
>potentially elven brides
I'm sure conscripted elven brides would be very popular with the citizens.

>>6025146
>>6025161
>>6025179
>>6025251
>Infiltrate and subvert the nations by amassing a monopoly of highly sought after goods, then pit the competitors against each other from the shadows
I like the way you guys are thinking. I think a good longterm goal would be to infiltrate and climb the economic ladder by establishing trade routes and producing a coveted resource.

>>6025889

Woah, who said anything about conscripts? I was thinking about creating a system wherein vetted (no history of prostitution or general promiscuity, meets a certain standard of physical beauty, etc) individuals can apply in exchange for social and monetary benefits, as well as the possibility for a noble title or government position proportional to the degree of their contribution to the cause after their 'service'. Kinda like spies deep undercover, minus a lot of the subterfuge

>>6025936

This is really only feasible after we develop a professional spy service and fix our demographic problems anon, we can’t send untrained women out into the world for nebulous benefit

>>6025564
>>want to talk to the regular elves of your kingdom, finding out how they feel and how they are.

>>6025936
Terrible idea, just going to end up with half-elves & hasten Elven extinction. Unless we're only sending infertile outcast women who are a drain upon society.

>>6025795
What are the nations by color?

We should also consider “elven repatriation” in order for us to improve our (probably terrible) demographics. There are probably lots of elves off-island in horrible conditions and we should consider taking these “undesirables” out of the Man nations

>>6025950
>>6025966
In case you guys forgot, right now we have a severe imbalance between men and women in our population due to the war to such an extent that the humans mock us as an island of widows; what we need in the short term is capital and especially manpower- diluting the gene pool and creating semi-loyal half elves, while not ideal, is a tradeoff we may have to make in order to survive long enough for the pureblood population to recover to some extent. Although ig it depends on things like elven reproduction rates and thoughts on polygamy

>>6025980

Right, we need to be importing male elves, I don’t think we need to lower ourselves to breeding with the human oppressors - an inferior half-elven caste will only cause problems later. Nature magic might also be helpful with our fertility problems…

>>6025980
>Create half elves
>Lose magical potency, losing the only theoretical economic edge we might have
>Half elves and normal elves will almost certainly have different social experiences, creating social strife
>Half elves and pure elves will have different political rights and desires, creating political strife
Don't forget, these are the same humans that just genocided ALL of the mainland elves, who ravaged Anor itself, and who have special legal rights on our own island. I (and very likely elven society at large) honestly prefer population decline.

>>6026003
>>6026007
Solid points regarding potential consequences to the policy- if we have other outs, like bringing in male elves from other places somehow, then I wouldn't be opposed to that. What I am saying, though, is that we shouldn't allow our pride from making the choice to potentially intermix with humans on a controlled scale should such a thing become necessary. Bowing our heads to and putting up a facade to appease the humans is certainly humiliating, but it's better we do that then allow the elves to burn out in an attempt to rage against the impossible. We need to focus on subtly fitting our way into the new world in order to hopefully set ourselves up as a homeland for the elves, both full and partially blooded, in order to hopefully brave the storm and gain a spot among the kingdoms of man

You want to get to know your people; you want to know how they feel and what their hopes and desires are. It isn’t your goal to just reclaim independence from Moi but also for your citizens to have hope and happiness once again. Getting to your feet, you resolve to walk deeper into the city, off the main streets, into the residential areas. It is curious how the roads are so wide, and the buildings are so numerous compared to the number of people you spot. Taking your time, you find there is something in this solitary walk through the quiet streets as the cold air embraces you, which resonates with something deep within your soul.

Instead of finding more life and passion, it is deader than commercial areas. Old houses lay vacant with plant life crawling up the walls, trying to consume the vacant buildings. There is a beauty to it, how nature is wrapping the elven-made structure combining into a synthesis. Not all of the houses are vacant; there are windows which glow orange from warm fires inside, and the light seeps out into the street, letting you know that you aren’t totally alone. You had no idea that the war managed to depopulate Anor to this degree.

After walking aimlessly, you spot a group of young elves around about your age. They watch you with curious eyes as you approach, a young man maybe five years older than you greets you with a pleasant voice but a confused frown. “Miss, are you alright? It must be cold to walk around in that.”

As he reminds you, the chill bites at your bones. “Yes, I am fine, thank you. You can call me Lyssandra.”

Your name brings a smile to his lips, “Like the Queen? I am Biour, sadly my name is not quite so noble.”

“Biour is a strong name, and maybe one day you could make it a noble one. And yes, I was born the year after her, given her name by my mother.”

“So, Lyssandra, what are you doing here? Fresh faces are a rare sight.” The boy-turning man exudes an aura of pleasant confidence, which you find strange from a commoner.

Scrambling your brain for a reason, you answer with the first thing that comes to mind: “I moved into the city with my mother from the countryside and decided to explore the area. I’m curious about the people here and what the mood is like.”

His jovial face falls at your last words, replaced with a fire in his eyes, “I can tell you how we feel; we are a living anachronism. A dead people out of our time, we kneel to the humans on the continent and allow them to live within our cities. The older generations that lived through the war are soulless puppets without hope and vigour, passively accepting our slow, humiliating annihilation. Those of us born during the war carry our parent’s extinguished fire, the fire that will bring the changes we need. Even if the Queen quakes at upsetting the humans.”

Biour stops his words; his face flushes with embarrassment at the passion he is speaking with. “Sorry, Lyssandra, I get riled up when thinking of this; please forgive me…. If you are new here, I can show you around. I know the city rather well.”

Hours have passed since your escape from your castle, and there is a good chance your staff has noticed you missing. You decide to…
>let Biour show you the city.
>vist(write-in)
>return to your castle.

>>6026018
For me, it's less about survival as a polity. We can either go the way of Japan when the Westerners came, or the way of the Hawaiians when the Americans came.

>>6026021
>let Biour show you the city.

We have to know. I do feel bad about the fact that our only plan forward will probably necessarily involve bending the knee to some extent to the various human nations, but we have to do whatever it takes to survive

>>6026021

>let Biour show you the city.

We need the full picture here.

Channeling the enthusiasm of the youth seems be an easy way to build political support though. A young queen with new ideas…

>>6026021
>let Biour show you the city

>>6026021
>>let Biour show you the city.
Might has well. The staff and the court, will not cause a ruckus since we are the last royal. They would be insane to do that with the current kingdom conditions.

Should have probably said it to someone trusted, before leaving. I am sure we could have told our guards no people in our room for the whole day or something.
Walking bomb Lyssandra !

>>6025980
"If you worship your enemy, you are defeated. If you adopt your enemy’s religion, you are enslaved. If you breed with your enemy, you are destroyed."
>>6026018

Walk with him, get the common Mer's perspective.

>>6026028
We can make some allies probably, use intrigue, influence and diplomacy for keep at bay the worst. Beyond that our army and navy probably needs to go modern, if nothing else because the skill and mastery of our people can no doubt be deadly even with new weapons and tactics probably.

Mercenaries can be also used once we make money both for protection, training our military and in case of wars. Money is what they answer for, nothing else. While they take cash, they multiply our military power and can suffer casualties that can be easily replaced in comparison to our military.

>>6026042
Hiring human mercenaries to train our military in the use of human technologies is a great idea.

>>6026042
I think that, should we militarize too quickly, the humans will probably use that as an excuse to invade and annihilate us. What we really need to do is develop our economy, modernize our infrastructure, and position ourselves between enough major powers through unique exports or valuable resources in such a way that none can invade us without provoking the others. Until we get to a point where we can feasibly win a war against a small to medium human nation, we shouldn't even think about militarizing. We could maybe get away with bolstering our navy in the name of subjugating pirates, but even then we'll have to be delicate about it

>>6026048
If we develop our economy without improving our military, we will get annexed by the Republic of Moi (which already annexed lesser Anor).

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>>6025810
>>6025967
Still working on them.

Some info:
Moi and Wrenland fought a long war, which Moi slightly won but at a cost. Larman was created as a buffer state between the two nations and contains major magical ruins that mutates living beings (magic chernobyl). Har-Hut wants to conquer the poor icy nations of the north, but Moi would strike at any opening Har-Hut leaves to reintegrate them. High Castle is a mountainous state that withstood Moi's invasions during the disunification of humanity. The rest I have yet to think up.

>>6025795
knawledge *drooling sounds*
Pangea continent is a surprise but makes the Venice plans easier. Okay when we get a surplus of food we need to make food trade to the black and dark grey nations as judging by their borders they don't have enough land to grow their food or they have a mountain range. Easily making some profits on those countries.
We can aim to attempt to buy light brown and light purple waste vegetation products to act as fertilizer for our farms or feed for livestock. We will have to take the scraps of humans and turn them into elven gold until we can wipe out the raiders. The island nations might boost our trade but they will be major competitors as they are better than us in every way. I need more time to guess their GDP status and city positioning to make better guesses later.

Next with no major rivers we in the future can offer reduced caravan fees for express shipping but change the locations every months so humans don't kick up a fuss on us undercutting their routes.

With no major river networks we can do long distance shipping across the world and use those trade envoys to gather plant samples across the world for the herb drug projects.

With the lack of males we can use our trade barges and have humans pay us to move the undesirable elves to our country. We need to improve the standard of living a lot to help motivate people with a 8 child policy to recover our numbers. Then we have introduce human education focusing on rapid learning and adaptation as we need fast on the field agents working with our long term planners to keep up with human bullshit.

With oceans so big we can use the polar regions to hide under sea bases for spy and bioweapon infiltration but that is a very far future project.

>>6026021
>let Biour show you the city.
We need knawledge of the people and to see if we made the right choice giving them tools first.

>>6026053
Okay so Moi pirates are strong in skill and naval doctrine compared to our very weak. So that will take a bit more to fight than we expected so we need about two naval level upgrades to push out the raiders.

12 might still be exploitable but 13 will be more resistant as they have river access. But 9 wow what happened to them? They should be our first start on the Venice route to dip our toes in human commerce and gain practice. With their non-existent navy we can offer cheaper shipping routes and absorb their trade companies.

>>6026058
I just realize a future major problem that will rise if we stabilize. We will have 50 or 100 year old elves as our main work force and might be too slow to learn human adaptability. If it takes them hundreds of years to become an adult then we have to assume our useful manpower will always be low and accept our current adult population is the only adult population we will have for centuries.

Also we can expect to live till 5k as royal so we can start 50 100 year wars between human nations to grind them down. Use the peace recovery to rebuild the nations sowing Communism, Order, and Freedom and other minor parties to divide the people as they look for answers to end the wars under a new banner.

>>6026053
Once we have enough influence we should try to unite the Northern Realms into an alliance against Har-Hut as well as pit Moi against the Har-Huttites. Moi is our greatest enemy ultimately, but once we have enough influence to do anything significant it would be foolish to invade them. We should prioritize becoming the pre-eminent naval power ala Britain once we've grown enough not to be crushed for trying to build up a fleet, use Yinon Plan strats on Moi, & only invade lands we can keep indefinitely via naval prowess such as High Castle, 11's Archipelago, 3's Islands, maybe 8, & of course Lesser Anor.

More short-term, we should prioritize having Elves & other Fey/Demi-Humans/Elder Races repatriated to Anor.

>>6026021
>let Biour show you the city.

>>6026021
>let Biour show you the city.

>>6026048
We don't need to be spending a river of money on military immediately. But when we have money we need to get a military going, the current status if left going would only invite disaster and further stagnation.

Currently we realistically cannot fight even pirates or a militia of human civilians probably. Any elven army and navy would still need mercs because the enemy on the other side is too numerous.

Also we should develop it regardless because :
1 - At least we have a military training, and not stagnating and in mourning
2 - Any human states that is small or average is likely still far more strong than us, since they are human
3 - We need at least a bare minimum for keep our land safe and we clearly don't have it.

Mercenaries are one of the best tools for aid us in matters of war. Magical Ruins expeditions with so few of us sound like a disaster waiting to happen, human prospectors would avoid elven casualties instead.

>>6026070
>might be too slow to learn human adaptability.
It seems more they lack motivation at the moment and that there is widespread depression. By their description they don't seem slow, overly proud perhaps. And overly clingy to past traditions and societal norms, that are probably becoming more of a dead weight than an actual reassurance and the security they where in the past.
>If it takes them hundreds of years to become an adult
I think Lyssandra was just living her life has a royal before, Elves simply didn't have to change that much and their technological progress was probably slower than humans (still there no doubt. you don't get to knights, fortresses, libraries, kingdoms and empires without some progress). Their past armies are described with mastery and skill, and if they can be called that i think its an advantage for learning because they are able to reach great heights with the passing of time.

>>6026021
>>let Biour show you the city.

“If you wouldn’t mind, that would be great.” Biour’s face lights up at your acceptance.

“Great,” He exclaims, then Biour turns to his friends and tells them that he will meet them later.

Biour leads you through the streets, walking close beside you. This is the first time you’ve been alone with a man your age, with that realisation a wave of nervousness comes over you. A brief silence takes hold, and you have no idea of how to break it. Right now, you are not Lyssandra the Queen, able to control any situation with a cold air of authority, but Lyssandra the girl. Words come to mind to shatter the silence, but as soon as you think them up, they sound wrong and awkward.

Thankfully, Biour begins to speak, “What brings you and your mother to the capital from the countryside? I’ve always thought it would be nice to live there, surrounded by animals and life, if you aren’t a farmer working those long hours, of course. And I don’t think you are a farmer.”

“What makes you think that?”

Biour gently takes your hands in his and exposes your palms, “These are no hands of a farmer, too soft and delicate. More so, you are far too pretty to be wasted in some field.”

Those words turn your pale cheeks a hot red; while you have caught plenty of stray eyes gazing at you in the past, you have never been complimented so forwardly. Taking your hands back, you glare away into the nondescript buildings, not wanting Biour to see your embarrassment. After several moments pass, you continue, “My mother wanted to move. She thought there would be opportunities for us in Joriel.”

He nods slowly at your words, “I am sorry to say there is not much here; there is no money in Anor except within the hands of the human merchants and the crown. The Queen and her council seem content with hoarding what taxes we provide and burying the wealth under that blasted castle.”

“Is everyone here unhappy with the Queen?”

“No, our elders, the ones who lived long before the war, are happy to allow her careless rule to continue. The monarchy is too deeply rooted in their minds. But not us, born of parents who went to war, we can see the failings and aren’t bound by rigid tradition. Our generation isn’t a small one, our parents feared when our fathers went to the mainland, they would not return causing a boom in children.”

Passing through an alleyway between a row of houses, the city opens up onto the violent sea. “This is the port of Elerious, this is where trade flows from us to the rest of the world.”

Large, brutish ships adorned with canon sit next to smaller, sleek boats. It is clear what ships are human and what are elven; many of their trading ships seem able to dominate the outdated elven warships. You need to modernise your navy, it can no longer rely on mages being their sole armament. But there are so many other things you also need to do. Biour notices another shiver, and a tremble quaking your body, and removes his jumper, trying to pass it into your hands.

“Please take it,” Biour requests earnestly, a look of concern plain on his face.

“I am not cold. Thank you very much,” you stubbornly reply through chattering teeth.

“Lys, please, your lips are blue.” A retort comes to mind, but you have no energy to verbalise it. Defeated, you put it on over your dress; you are sure you look stupid in the combination, but it does bring a welcomed warmth that makes you forget your protests.

“Over there,” He points to a collection of new wooden houses far west of the docks that seem bustling with life. “That is the human enclave. Joriel is a safe city, despite the poverty, we aren’t humans. But I wouldn’t walk the human streets unless I were carrying a sword, one I intended to get bloody.”

Biour continues the tour, the streets you pass through are much like the ones you found when you met Biour, every second house looks abandoned and lifeless. “Why are so many houses vacant?”

“We lost so many men in the war, and we haven’t recovered; too many women have been made widows. Some homes lost all their occupants, while some widows moved in with other family members. Not able to stomach living alone after the thousands of years of companionship.”

Arriving at the final part of the tour, you are close to the castle, the wealth of the area apparent by the size of the city mansions. None of the houses are deserted, yet it remains quiet. “Here lived many of our best men and greatest soldiers; of course, when the call for men came, they quickly volunteered. And, of course, most of them are now dead. The women they left behind hide in their grand houses, trying to keep their homes clean and pristine as if waiting for their husbands to return. And that’s it, end of the tour, Joriel doesn’t have much going on, it’s a dying city.”

“Thank you for showing me around Biour. It was very nice of you to do. I appreciate it.” You speak as you try to take off his jumper.

“It is still cold. Please wear it. Don’t think anything of it.” Biour stops you as you struggle to remove it. He wishes you well and then begins to walk off. Turning back to face you for a final time, he ends with, “Return it to me the next time you come to visit."

Days have passed since your adventure, and Peren has made an apparent show of his unhappiness with it. A loud knock wraps at your chamber’s door…
>it is Luthiel, wanting to discuss the kingdom’s magic reserve.
>it is Peren, wishing to talk about the future of the monarchy.
>it is Ergon, he desires to speak to you about the kingdom's armaments.
>it is time for a council meeting you have called to discuss(write-in)

>>6026497

>it is Peren, wishing to talk about the future of the monarchy.

Now we need to hear of the concerns of the nobility.

The elvish immigration program is sounding increasingly like a good idea - we have spare housing, some limited financial resources and are investing in agriculture - we’ll need labor in the fields.

I wonder if we might elevate families (both new immigrants and current citizens) to lesser nobility based on the number of children they have together. We’d provide direct remuneration to these families from our Royal holdings - basically directly converting our wealth into demographic growth. We’ll make the money back over decades as our populations grows.

>>6026497
>it is Peren, wishing to talk about the future of the monarchy.
It sounds like we're going to need constitutional monarchy ASAP because of the post-war youths

>>6026526

Yes, my exact thoughts - the “having kids to become lesser nobility” thing would dovetail nicely with the creation of a constitutional House of Lords type structure.

Oh and one other clever idea -

Offering free public education to our human citizens, for the express purposes of turning them into our allies. Humans have a short lifespan - within two generations, we could have a population of human loyalists.

>>6026497
>it is Peren, wishing to talk about the future of the monarchy.

>>6026497
>>it is Peren, wishing to talk about the future of the monarchy.

>>6026497
>it is Peren, wishing to talk about the future of the monarchy.

>>6026524
Based Hungarian Family Plannning Policy Anon

>MANA STOCK

As you go to your door, another impatient series of knocks come from the hall. Opening it, you see Peren standing before you; unlike his typical relaxed demeanour, he wears his lingering irritation poorly hidden. He bows low to you in a deferential mechanical process instead of the relaxed familial style you are used to. Peren leads you into your council room to have this discussion; it would not be proper for him to enter your sleeping chambers even if he were meeting with you to discuss important matters. Servants prepare chairs for the two of you and then exit the room, leaving the two of you to converse in private.

“So, my Queen, I wanted to discuss the state of the monarchy with you. And two matters about it, really. Firstly, Anor is not doing well. It hasn’t been doing well for a very long time, as you know, and some of the people are not content, and rightfully so, if I may add, we want people who desire the changes you are working towards. But these discontented people have not yet understood your devotion to them. They see you, the representative of the crown, as an obstacle in the way of their national rebirth.” Chancellor Peren pauses, allowing time for his words to sink in.

“Can you tell me about this section of the population? Who are these people?” You ask impassively. A multitude of feelings roil in your stomach: outrage, pain, hope, and despair. You heard similar things from Biour but hearing them from Peren becomes much more physical.

“Of course, these are the younger generation. They feel dispossessed and that no one but them will fight for change. Not witnessing the war, they do not understand the horrors we suffered trying to fight off the humans, they overestimate our strength as a people in their current form. But this isn’t all doom and gloom; you can win these people over, if show them that you are the Queen of the people, their champion, and they will follow you to the ends of the world. But if you fail, if Anor becomes worse or even continues its stagnation, they will fight for political reform, for a nation without a monarchy.”

“What is it you suggest?”

“As I see it, we have three options. Continue as it is, try to win them over with your actions and trust we make no major blunders or cause large upsets. Or we can reform first; this is by far the safest option for the monarchy, if we allow the citizens to vote for candidates for parliament. With powers and responsibilities deferred to elected officials, they will not see you as the sole arbiter of the nation. Now, with this, you would still be able to control the government, but you will need the approval of these members of parliament. Lastly, and the worst option in my eyes, is to crack down on these dissidents; they do not make up the majority of the population, and we could bring force to bear and create large civil spy networks.”

“I do not want the power of the crown to diminish after thousands of years under my rule, I won’t fail my ancestors.” You angrily protest the idea of losing authority to the rabble.

“I understand and agree with the sentiment, but we must determine what is best for Anor and what will allow the monarchy to survive this turbulent time. Moving on to the second item I wanted to discuss, we have no line of succession. If you never appeared from your disappearing act, there would have been no one to put upon the throne; in response, the nobles would muster their forces and fight for the vacant crown. The island would flow with blood. All would forge false claims of ancient forgotten heritage. You need to think about continuing the bloodline. I know this may seem abrupt, but I would like you to consider the idea of taking a husband, and if this is something that interests you, I can create a list of candidates for you within the week.”

Regarding dealing with the disaffected youth…
>you will continue as an absolute monarchy, if the situation gets worse you can alter your decision.
>Anor will become a constitutional monarchy.
>you will build a spy network to detain those spreading anti-monarchist ideas.

Regarding taking a husband…
>you would like to take more time to think about such things.
>you are outraged at being pressured into considering marriage.
>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors.

>>6026859
>Anor will become a constitutional monarchy
We have to do something. I REFUSE to do anything that diminishes the national spirit and pride of the Elven people.

>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors
Meh, it has to be done.

>>6026859

>Anor will become a constitutional monarchy.

It basically must be done - in time, we’ll realize that this was the best course, even it is a bitter pill to swallow today.

>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors.

I’m actually not that interesting in getting hitched immediately but we want to create the rumor that we are husband-hunting and looking only for the best possible match. This creates the impression that we are forward-thinking.

I’m already thinking that we might announce some sort of “Husband Tournament” to give lesser nobility a fair shake at getting our attention. Of course, a major festival would also draw the attention of the youth…

>>6026859
>Anor will become a constitutional monarchy.
I don't like losing the absolute ability to make decisions, especially since we may have to make some humiliating concessions to the humans later, but we absolutely cannot afford any sort of internal strife. We just have to try to hold onto as many cards as we can during the negotiations- ideally, we want to be like post magna carta England rather than the current UK, since if we become too democratic we essentially guarantee subversion and manipulation from interested (human) third parties.

>you would like to take more time to think about such things
This might be a super important card to play later, especially if we want to unite with a historically adversarial group of demihumans like (presumably) beastmen, drow or, gods forbid, dwarves

>>6026869
>if we want to unite with a historically adversarial group of demihumans like (presumably) beastmen, drow or, gods forbid, dwarves
An interesting possibility if any of them are still alive

>>6026871
>if any of them are still alive

Yeah, that's my biggest worry regarding our odds- since we lack the reproduction rate of humans, we absolutely need more manpower, and the only way to feasibly do that without inviting even more humans (Which we cannot abide if we want Anor to be in any way democratic) is to bring in other races with similar resentments. However, if every single other demihuman race is also dead, our odds of a truly independent non-human state go from long to essentially nil. For now, though, we have to work on improving the economy, defeating the pirates (I have warmed up to the idea of naval improvements) and increasing the status of Anor to the point where any would be immigrants feel secure enough to risk coming here.

>>6026871
>beastmen
There are some across the continent but in small scattered groups hiding in the deepest of forests. They have a large presence in Larman situated in the magical ruins.
>orcs
Same as beastmen when it comes to Larman but nowhere else.
>drow
They are thought to be dead, maybe some hid in smaller deeper tunnels but all the great cities are destroyed.
>dwarves
They were the first to see the writing on the wall and tunneled so deep that no one has heard of them since. It is said they tunneled so far they fell through the bottom of the planet.

>>6026859
>you will continue as an absolute monarchy, if the situation gets worse you can alter your decision.
I don't wanna put us on a leash so soon and while the spy network is tempting, we really haven't done much yet to prove the dissenters wrong and the spies would just give them more reason to hate us.

>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors.
let's see our options, we can go with none if no suitable man appears.

>>6026871

One would imagine that there are pockets of non-humans who are either locked into bottom-caste societal position or lurking on the fringes of the civilized world, but I’m sure QM is thinking about this as well.

>>6026869

Agree with your thinking, getting married too early would be a mistake. A hidden benefit of constitutional monarchy might be that we can write ourselves into the constitution in some way so that we retain power even when there is a “King”

>>6026875

>dwarves disappearing

Fuckers are probably building their own Titan as we speak

>>6026875
God, what I wouldn't give to recruit some drow or dwarves

>>6026859
>Anor will become a constitutional monarchy.
This shit sucks we barely started the first turn and the youth already hate us. We are going to pull out teeth if every elected politician is a youth. We can at least focus on internal matters like trying to provide food and jobs to their families to curb the war hawks but we should make a spy ring to cause accidents or "negotiations" with the politicians.

>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors.
Make at least ten kids so we can start the repopulation efforts. Also send our kids to R&D or island inspections to find more problems.

>>6026895
That would be long range scout and mining missions which would take years to even attempt. So it is far from our capabilities for now.

>>6026897
New lines of questions. What magic level does the elves have access to? Just cantrips or tier 1 spells? If just cantrips that will open up a lot of possibilities using combination magic. Also what magic type is there like dnd type or a different magic system in this setting? Are elves sterile after hitting an age threshold or are they always fertile? Do half elves exist? What is the average trash tonnage and locations where humans dump material. Bronze, rust, broken weapons we can scavenge material and recast it if we get iron mills going. Where are the mass graves of our family? We can at least bring their bodies back and let them rest in elven soil. Does necromancy exist? Is there magic healthcare or do the skaven only use penicillin and antibiotics to treat infections? Are there any feral monsters in the world like krakens, giant octopus, or jellyfish? Are there hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes?

>>6026859
>REMAIN AN ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
Republics are ruled by the wealthiest. We ARE NOT the wealthiest.

>See a list of Suitors

>Create a Spy Ring among the disaffected youths to monitor the humans/Lesser Anor

>>6026859
Perhaps had we chosen fire or air magic and opted for a quick pirate squashing campaign our people would not doubt us so. As is, we'll have to figure some way to appease the warmongers, like a release valve for the pressure. Going all out before we are ready is foolish.

>Anor will become a constitutional monarchy.

Eh, constitutional monarchy has many forms. If we retain a veto on legislation or have extra weight in our vote for appointments then we can still strongly direct the kingdom and prevent subversion. The guiding hand, rather than the iron grip. Give the people someone else to blame.

>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors.

We should consider deferring the decision to later after reviewing the candidates though, marrying some noble from some fallen elven kingdom or something may make it worth holding off.

>>6026859
>Anor will become a constitutional monarchy.
>you will build a spy network to detain those spreading anti-monarchist ideas.

>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors

>>6026859
>>Anor will become a constitutional monarchy.
eh maybe it can help in dealing with humans too, we need to change things around the traditions of old have mostly failed. Better try new things
>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors.
needed

>>6026859
>you will continue as an absolute monarchy, if the situation gets worse you can alter your decision.

>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors.

>>6026859
>you will continue as an absolute monarchy, if the situation gets worse you can alter your decision.
>you wouldn’t mind seeing a list of suitable potential bachelors.

You bite your lip as you think about the monarchy and the people. A powerful desire explodes in you, calling for you to publicly crucify those that would seek to destroy an ancient elven tradition that has served the people well for thousands of years. How can they distrust you this much? But you do not allow your anger, outrage and upset to rule your thoughts and brush it from your mind. So much damage has been done to Anor that the people are right to worry, you must give them something. As the anger fades and pain remains, the answer is clear: you must give up some of your power and allow your people to vote for officials. Hopefully, this can lead to a renewed faith in the monarchy and buy much-needed goodwill.

“Let us become a constitutional monarchy. I fear you may be right; this could be the only way for the monarchy to survive in this climate. By doing this now, before the situation becomes untenable, we can make less concessions. This parliament of the people should have two layers, one that citizens elect and the other which comprises the nobles and magisters. We cannot forget them and create enemies there.” Your words come softly with mournful respect for what you are passing into history. Avoiding a glance at Peren, you focus on the patterns inscribed on the table. “Of course, any laws they propose must be accepted by me, and I would need their acceptance for taxation. In actuality, it could act as a second council with little power over my decisions; I would just have to limit bypassing it to give it an air of legitimacy.”

“Perfect, my Queen, let the people believe their elected officials hold more power than they do.” Peren gets up and puts his hand on your shoulder, giving a little squeeze of reassuring support. “You are going to become a great Queen for these people Lyssandra, and they will recognise it with time.”

Words come hard to your lips, so you say nothing, instead look up at him and give him a pained smile. It feels as if your stomach has been ripped from your body. Finally, after finding your voice, “Peren, you are also right about continuing the line of succession. I should at least consider taking a husband, even if nothing comes from it. I wouldn’t be opposed to looking at a list of suitors.”

Days pass, and preparations are being put in place for the creation of a constitution and elections. The people have yet to hear of the news, you are planning to make a grand reveal of it when the first shipment of farming tools arrives. Peren knocks at the door and hands you a list of suitors; he wears a wry, happy smile and tells you if any of them catch your eye, he can arrange matters so you, by chance, happen to bump into them. Taking the list, you thank him and retreat to your room to go through it in private, a nervous excitement runs through you as you jump onto your bed and begin to read.

Yor: Once a commoner who managed to achieve despite his birth, he dominates the fishing industry. Your father rewarded him with a title to fit his prominence in your society. Yor is one of the few elves who has good relations with the humans on the island owing to his trade with them. This has made him unpopular with some elves. He is young at 689 years old.
Findel: A great elf of 1845 years, a hero of the war and loved by the people. Born a son to a Count, he has since inherited the position. He is known to have a zealous hate of the humans and is highly ranked in the military.
Wyll: A man of 94, only a few decades older than you. He belongs to one of your dukes that controls a large swath of farming land. He has not earned much of a reputation owing to Wyll being so young.

Of them…
>you find Yor interesting.
>you find Findel interesting.
>you find Wyll interesting.
>none suit you, you are looking for an elf that is (write-in)
>Maybe later, you will meet with one, but it is best to keep your options open for now.

Elves reach full adulthood by 70 which roughly equates to a human of 20, Lyssandra is 53. War was 40 years ago and lasted 34 years. Elves don't age after 70 until they hit the old age of two thousand ish and then age slowly.

>>6027312
>you find Wyll interesting.

>>6026916
>Magic
Still partially up in the air and willing to take suggestions. There are two types of magic, spells and rituals. Spells can be cast freely but drain your enegy, it is not unheard of mages passing out in large battles. Rituals are powerful spells that last weeks, and their effects can be large. I am thinking about there being magical nodes in the world which can be harvested into gems to power these rituals. Mages can cast cantrip type spells while magisters are able to cast more potent spells.
>Are elves sterile after hitting an age threshold or are they always fertile?
Women can reach ages where they are no longer fertile, typically 2500ish years.
>Do half elves exist?
Yes, but they are rare.
>What is the average trash tonnage and locations where humans dump material
Never thought about it.
>Where are the mass graves of our family?
There is a small family plot.
>We can at least bring their bodies back and let them rest in elven soil.
No, so many elves died and the war was filled with hateful vitriol.
>Does necromancy exist?
Yes, it is one of the three forbbiden magics. The others being blood, which involves a lot of sacrifices, and the last being time. These magics areoutlawed because they can fuck the world.
>Is there magic healthcare or do the skaven only use penicillin and antibiotics to treat infections?
Mages can heal immediate wounds but only magisters can heal longer term issues.
>Are there any feral monsters in the world like krakens, giant octopus, or jellyfish?
Sure, but the land ones are extinct outside Larman.
>Are there hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes?
Yes, but Anor isn't affected by them.

>>6027312
>Maybe later, you will meet with one, but it is best to keep your options open for now.

>>6027312
>none suit you, you are looking for an elf that is (write-in)
A veteran but not too old. Pleasing to look at and with desirable genetic material. Brings something unique to our court.

>>6027312
All else equal Yor would interest me, but we cannot afford to pick an unpopular husband. Findel, while popular, might accelerate conflict with the humans too early. And Wyll is literally just a guy, I would consider him if he were that duke's heir.

>none suit you, you are looking for an elf that is (an heir to a significant aristocratic family, or otherwise exceptional for their understanding of human institutions)

>>6027312

>invite all three of them to “court you” but provide no further specifics

Basically, we want to start creating the PR about our husband-hunt. As Queen, we can and should play “very hard to catch”. We want the public to catch wind of these courting attempts as well.

Unfortunately, as Queen, we don’t have the luxury to marry for personal fulfillment, we need to marry for political stability.

Alternatively, a husband with very high magical potential/ability would be desirable. Magic Eugenics...

>>6027542

>breeding super mage elf daughters

There’s probably a whole bunch of elf eugenic-type stuff that we could do with Nature Magic

>>6027312
>>you find Yor interesting.
Self-made young stud in his prime easy choice. Someone mentioned luxury goods which his industry produces a lot of.

>>6027312
>Maybe later, you will meet with one, but it is best to keep your options open for now.
>none suit you, you are looking for an elf that is (An elf of noble blood that understands the precarious position we are in, and the need for balance between modernizing and asserting ourselves both at home and abroad, with the skills to match. Someone that wants to restore our former glory and destroy the humans but isn't so overzealous and impatient so as to overplay our hand. Has to be socially adept enough to be respectable when challenged, though popularity is not required and is in fact unlikely. Personal knowledge, skills and lineage preferred over wealth, land, and retainers, age, and looks. Someone who can be trusted and who can protect us, must be content with merely being king consort.)

>>6027312
>you find Findel interesting.

It occurs to me that Findell might try to assume control if he becomes king…

>>6027312
>Yor:
Especially given some of the choices we'll have to make, we cannot afford to marry a man with pro-human sympathies. We need our people to be certain that we hold the best interests of the elves at heart

>Findel:
On the other end of the spectrum, we can't afford to have someone with such a radical pro-war, anti-human stance as a consort either. Not only that, we can't be sure that such a distinguished, independently popular and powerful figure won't try to usurp our power

>Wyll:
No major drawbacks, but a complete and total waste of the powerful political tool that is marriage. I'd pick him if I had to pick something, but ultimately none of these options are particularly compelling.

>none suit you, you are looking for an elf that is (Accomplished and popular but lacking in ambition.)

Or, alternatively, hold off on the prospect of marriage entirely

>>6027419
>>6027542
>>6027553
+1 to all of this

Do we have full Elf woman mage conscription yet? We can frame it as mandatory healer training.

>>6027312
I don’t doubt that Peren did his job, but its quite likely this isnt everything about the marriage candidates. Wyll info is basically very bare minimum.

A deeper search of them and other candidates is required, shooting them down immediately is not exactly a good idea. There are not a lot of important elves left.

Our search shouldn't be demoralized if we cant find a "perfect husband", people have good aspects and edges about them. And they will have a different vision than us has king consort, even if he is a good match and close to how Lyssandra see things.
Politically speaking the nobility has been butchered like us and the people. They likely don't hold their traditional power anymore. Is safe to say we are the only one with actual power in the kingdom. Findel while popular is still in our military, and that popularity is only of so much help. There is nothing to take hold of, and war even against human militias of civilians that live in our Islands nevermind the pirates is suicidal.

>Request to Peren a further search/study of Yor, Findel and Wyll lifes. And begin another search of other candidates be from the nobility or other elfs like Yor, accomplished be for a reason or another.

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No update tonight, passed out and just woke up, going back to sleep.

>>6027312
>none suit you, you are looking for an elf that is (write-in)
Find magistrate candidates to help boost our future heirs. And invite the other three candidates to attempt to court us.

Yeah better to let the island know we are courting and maybe we will get better offers in the future. Also we could pen Yor as a travel advisor so we know what to focus trade on and Findel on pirate extermination when we get our navy back in order.

>>6027553
Become Albert Wesker and break our future husband's pelvis to make super elves. Start rumors that no man can handle a very active queen that appears to be trying to repopulate the elven race herself. With nature magic we can give experiments to each of our kids to become better. Plus with magic enhanced kids we can put them in important positions of power to make sure things get done.

Also damn the skaven have magic too so we can't go for magic plagues or controlled krakens. Maybe we can nature magic the rats from a tales plague to rip apart human outposts instead?

>>6027686
Where did the QM say there are Skaven?

>>6027748
I am calling the humies the skaven because they have bullshit tech and multiply way too fast. Plus they are pests compared to the glorious elven superior race.

>>6027753
Speaking of the elven superior race, I'm curious about the physical appearance of us specifically and high elves in general. Obviously there are the long pointy ears, but are there other differences? There's the popular conception of high elves (pale skin, blue/green eyes, silver/blonde hair, etc), but what about beyond that? Are elves particularly tall? Are they beautiful in the conventional sense or are they a bit more uncanny and doll-like? Are the men capable of growing beards or gaining obvious, bodybuilder-esque musculature? Do the men look like women? A lot of these factors may play into how we play our cards against humans- if we're too lanky and alien, it'll be easier to avoid slave raids but harder to leverage beauty against human nobility,and vice versa

>>6027762
Considering half elves are rare then we might not be all that beautiful from the lack of elven slaves or humans really hate half elves too and just throw the babies to the wolves. We might actually be too dollish and alien for the humans to stomach.

>>6027753
Basado y rojapilled

>>6027312
>you find Yor interesting.
Has grass roots, entrepreneurship and people hate him cause they ain't him.

Our problem with magic is knowledge based not lack of talent. Having control over fish will help keep power politicly. He probably has ties to pirates and privateers could be a way strengthen our navy. Labeling all humans as enemies cuts of a huge amount of manpower that can benefit us.

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>>6027312
Invite everyone to court us and match with men who can provide us with elf supersoldier children

Looking at the list, nothing jumps out, telling you to meet with any of these men, not that there is anything wrong with them. There may also be a need for you to use marriage to quell a situation. There is no immediate rush to find a man, so not hurrying into anything is best. Furthermore, when picking your partner, you must consider whether your children would inherit your strength with magic. For now, it would be good for Peren to let the nobles know that you are considering taking a husband, let them come to you and attempt to woo you.

Finding Peren, you hand the list back and tell him your thoughts, after you add that there was quite a lack of information on Wyll. He tells you no one really knows much about him; he doesn’t make a scene of himself and is a quiet heir to his father’s Dukedom. You point out the line on the list describing Wyll, which does not say he is the heir to a Duke. Peren witnesses his mistake and flushes, something you’ve never seen from the man, and profusely apologises as you try not to giggle.

In the following days, Balfor approaches you, informing you that he has made a reasonable deal with some humans, and agricultural equipment will soon set off from Moi to Anor. You enthusiastically thank him for overseeing the agreement as you struggle to contain your excitement. This is the first real act you will achieve as Queen, and it should change farming in Anor. With Peren’s and Balfor’s help, you begin constructing a speech to deliver when distributing these tools to the people and informing them that Anor will become a constitutional monarchy.

Within the Magister quarters, you sit in an enclosed chamber of glass, but you cannot see the transparent crystal. Every inch of this pod is coated in plant life, and the floor is covered in short blades of grass peeking out of the dirt. This is a place to meditate, to study and contemplate nature magic. Locked within a glass sphere, the structure keeps the essence of nature concentrated to an almost physical that you can touch. So much knowledge has been lost, and you will need to rediscover those spells and rituals that were once common. The three other magisters are doing their part. Luthiel, their leader, commands power over water. Of the other two, one similarly shares the same path of water as Luthiel and the last has an affinity with Air.

Contemplating your current powers, you list them:
Spells:
Ironwood Skin – You can temporarily enchant a group of people giving them flesh as hard as Ironwood bark.
Heal – The spell can save those from grievous battle damage.
Giant Warriors – A squad of soldiers affected by this spell double in size.
Poison Touch – Your touch transmits a potent poison.
Vine Arrow – You can shoot an arrow wrapped in vines from your hand. After impact, the vines wrap the target in a strong grip.
Rituals:
Awaken the Trees – A dozen trees come to life and will permanently serve you.
Nature Overgrowth – Nature reclaims an area, overtaking any environment.
Gift of Knowledge – Any living being is gifted with a keen intellect, and you can communicate with them.
Horde of Rats – Rats appear around you and then rush out to consume all the food in an area.
Greater Heal – You can banish long term illnesses and diseases.

You have spent long hours studying over the years, and finally, you manage to rediscover…
>Spell: Mask – You are able to change your appearance freely to anyone you have seen or can imagine, this includes giving yourself human features.
>Spell: Mass Withering – You cause a large group of people to become permanently frail.
>Ritual: Awaken Woodland Spirits – You enchant a forest causing the spirits to come alive, they prey upon those traveling alone or in small groups.
>Ritual: Gift of the Wild – You permanently imbued the recipient with the strength of nature, making them stronger, faster and quicker. This comes at the cost of becoming more bestial in both mind and body.

>>6028176

>Spell: Mask – You are able to change your appearance freely to anyone you have seen or can imagine, this includes giving yourself human features.

This is worthwhile for the espionage/subterfuge benefits alone, especially if we can later teach this to other mages. We could essentially body-snatch and replace key human figures and the geopolitical benefits would be incalculable

It would be tremendously helpful if we can adapt this to use on other people as well.

>>6028176
>Ritual: Gift of the Wild – You permanently imbued the recipient with the strength of nature, making them stronger, faster and quicker. This comes at the cost of becoming more bestial in both mind and body.
Will need new armors and clothing for conceal their forms, we can expand upon this ritual with technology.

All useful spells, but we should not dream of making big steps already with them. This spells and rituals where used in the past, at the apex of power of our race and humanity won when it was far less numerous, experienced in war and technologically advanced than today.

>>6028176
>Spell: Mask – You are able to change your appearance freely to anyone you have seen or can imagine, this includes giving yourself human features.

>>6028180
Yes but we need to spend years learning about our target to avoid our body snatchers from being outed by friends and family. Or we can start rumors of changelings somehow being an old god project trying to kill humans and send out recruits to practice in human villages so we learn how to better blend in a low stake environment.

>>6028229
Turning our elves into furries with diminished intelligence is too much of an ask. We should take steps now for the espionage route. War casting already failed us but espionage magic is the new frontier as we might never have the manpower for a real brawl.

>>6028176
>Spell: Mass Withering – You cause a large group of people to become permanently frail.

>>6028175
>>Spell: Mass Withering – You cause a large group of people to become permanently frail.

>>6028176
>Spell: Mask – You are able to change your appearance freely to anyone you have seen or can imagine, this includes giving yourself human features.
Being able to takes notes on the humans of Anor itself in the guise of one of their own would be valuable.

>>6028176
>Spell: Mask – You are able to change your appearance freely to anyone you have seen or can imagine, this includes giving yourself human features.

>>6028239
>Turning our elves into furries with diminishe-
Who said using elves ? It says recipient, you could use anything for it. Who has large numbers.
This is not a new species, this is clearly made for create stronger but disposable mutated beings to throw in war which could be a sentient race soldiers or perhaps even animals. I didn't made the option and it was clearly written for military purpose and nothing else.
>already failed us
Wrong, none of this spells failed us. Us it didn't, because we have yet to use one and we aren't waving around that we are powerful mage.
It failed our ancestors.
All magic schools failed them, all kinds of our mages where sent in the wars against humans. And wars can be fought in many ways. This spells where all known before, we are just learning them slowly. You think humans didn't have to deal with spies that masked themselves with the faces of others ? Or with the spirits of the forests suddenly assaulting them ? They likely did. Probably the whole reason of burning our kingdom giant library was because they where very fucking tired of dealing with all our spells and magic schools.

Now personally i don't feel like our queen should risk anything beside the diplomatic field and this ritual doesn't put on her any risk of going to war, intrigue instead, spies can do it. And don't fall in a simple mistake. We aren't them even if we wear their faces, there is a ton of things we aren't educated or trained for if we take the face of someone else (their mannerisms, knowing their little things, their behavior, their friends, what they like etc... i can keep going. We are a queen not a spy)

>>6027762
>Obviously there are the long pointy ears, but are there other differences?
Apart from magic and ears they are a good few inches taller on average, Lyssandra is sadly shorter than usual. They can't grow beards nor can they get jacked like a guy taking dbol, elves are leaner with their muscle. Male elves don't look like women. Since the human victory and the purging all traces of the elves from the contient, a lot of humans don't view elves in the same existential threat anymore and the hate is fading in some states. Now a lot of humans seeing neighboring nations are greater threats. Of course a lot still want every single elf dead. And elves are conventionally very beautiful to humans combine with their rarity and, to humans, eternal youthful; elven women are now highly sought after by many powerful men.

>>6028234

>we’ll need to case our subjects for years

True, but as elves, time is on our side!

>>6028381

OP seems to confirm that elvish women are hotly desired by powerful human men, so already, we’ll have an easy way to infiltrate human society.

1) arrange for magic spy elvish wife to go to powerful man
2) elvish spy learns the mannerisms of her “husband”
3) assumes husband’s identity when ready, keeps him locked in basement or murdered or whatever
4) new elvish wife transported to take old wife’s place.
5) elvish body snatching team identifies next target.

In 20 years, we can be ruling the nation of Moi in secret

>>6028392
Well only you are currently able to cast this spell. There are no other nature magisters for you to teach this too. You would have to further study this magic so you could infuse it in an item.

>>6028176
>Spell: Mask – You are able to change your appearance freely to anyone you have seen or can imagine, this includes giving yourself human features.

>>6028176
>Spell: Mask – You are able to change your appearance freely to anyone you have seen or can imagine, this includes giving yourself human features.

In these early days we may well have to handle spycraft ourselves.

>>6028395

Well, one thing at a time I guess

>>6028392
Solid idea, & the only angle I can see actually being valuable when it comes to sending off widows besides getting more Elves back from the continent. That said, the passive guerrilla warfare disrupting trade is too hard to pass up:
>Ritual: Awaken Woodland Spirits

>>6028176
>Spell: Mass Withering – You cause a large group of people to become permanently frail.

We need some way to deal with pirates, right? If we can teach this to even a couple of elves, we might be able to safely transport goods again

Looking down at your hands, you watch your flesh flow like a river; under the skin, tissue and muscle expands and contracts. It feels easier than before than when you snuck out; it drains less of your energy and feels more natural. Furthermore, you can feel a greater range of alteration you can oversee to your body. Leaving the pod, you search for a mirror to observe the changes you can make. Finding one, you look at your normal face, wiggling your ears, and then they begin to shrink to be replaced with the rounded ears of a human. Your face structure becomes less poised and feminine as you take on the appearance of a human version of yourself.

Concentrating this time, you grow taller than your usual figure, your body becomes more muscled, and your face becomes masculine. Your chest disappears, and your lower half alters; looking back through the mirror is Peren’s face wearing your dress. Worried you may have stretched it, you quickly transform back into your natural form and check there is no damage to your clothes, also that this truly is your regular form, and something is not wrong. After reassuring yourself, the magnitude of what you have achieved hits you, you have fully rediscovered the spell Mask, allowing you to alter your appearance at will. This is a great achievement that you have conducted, hopefully one of many to come.

You order new clothes of different sizes and not just for women but also for men’s. While changing your appearance is a great thing, you will need clothes to match these new forms you wield. Peren gives you a confused look at your request but asks no questions; you tell him of the reason as you watch his bemused face dawn with realisation. He muses out loud that you could become an excellent assassin, now able to wear anyone’s skin, and your very touch can imbue lethal poison.

Balfor requests a meeting with you about the incoming agricultural tools. He wants to discuss the distribution of the tools the crown has purchased. Showing his typically honest deference, he courteously bows and thanks you for your time. He informs you of the tools that have been procured, mainly new ploughs that require fewer beasts of burden to pull and these things called seed drills. Along with these tools, notes are created with a list of human practises that increase the efficiency of the agricultural process, thankfully your people are highly literate unlike the humans.

Finally, Balfor brings up how you wish to distribute these new tools. You could simply give them to your people at no cost, which will mean you do not get reimbursed at all for them. Or you could sell them to the nobles with large swathes of land and many workers, which will quickly generate the nation money. If you wanted to, you could keep them under your ownership permanently and allow farmers to rent them off you; Balfor tells you that this is the best method for long-term wealth generation for the crown. Lastly, you could allow the farmers to use them, and those that do are taxed until reaching the worth of the items, which then becomes theirs.

Balfor watches you, waiting for your decision; you decide to…
>give away these tools for free in an attempt to win the people’s affection.
>sell these tools to your nobles for quick gold.
>rent them out to the farmers.
>allow the farmers to take them, in return, they will be taxed until the sum is paid back.
>write-in

>>6028771
>sell these tools to your nobles for quick gold.

>>6028771

>allow the farmers to take them, in return, they will be taxed until the sum is paid back.

This is the best means to engender trust. Set the taxes and fees at a low-moderate rate. We want our people to understand that we are fair, but not a saint - we will fight for our people but that means they must fight for themselves too

>>6028771
>allow the farmers to take them, in return, they will be taxed until the sum is paid back.
Invest in the people- a nation is only as strong as its populace is willing to work.

>>6028771
>>give away these tools for free in an attempt to win the people’s affection.

>>6028771
>allow the farmers to take them, in return, they will be taxed until the sum is paid back.

>>6028771
>allow the farmers to take them, in return, they will be taxed until the sum is paid back.

I think it would have been better to sell 70% of the tools to the nobles so we can start up the efficiency of the economy and rent the 30% to individual farmers. Just so we have the money to start other projects like the iron project but I guess we have the time to slowly set things up and get fast civilian action.

>>6028771
Cool thread OP
I want to do two things if possible;
>sell these tools to your nobles for quick gold.
Then with the cash reinjection, buy more farming equipment for farmers:
>allow the farmers to take them, in return, they will be taxed until the sum is paid back.
Lend-lease seems ideal. Farmers become motivated to work more effectively to own their gear that requires work to pay off faster.

That way Wyll's Duke father and other nobles keep a good relationship with us, in addition to improving the lot of the commoners.

>>6028771
>>allow the farmers to take them, in return, they will be taxed until the sum is paid back.

>>6028771
>allow the farmers to take them, in return, they will be taxed until the sum is paid back.

You do not want to keep these tools and rent them out to your people working the farms. It would generate a continual revenue stream, and those who do not wish to rent them would be outcompeted, causing them to either change their mind or wallow in poverty. This approach would cause much resentment and distrust amongst the poorest. It will not lead to the national rebirth and uplifting of elvenkind you are trying to enact; maybe it would make Anor and the crown richer. But it would ignore that the people are more than wealth-generating units. While some necessary changes may be painful, this does not have to be one. For this reason, you also decide not to sell the tools to the nobles so they cannot enact what you are avoiding.

Giving it to your people for free is something you ponder; it would win many hearts, but you will not be a soft leader to your people; you will be the queen who is intelligent and pragmatic, not a desperate pleaser hungry for love. You will care for your citizens, but as you work and sacrifice for a better future, so must they. These tools will be given to those who desire them, and in return, they will be additionally taxed until they pay off the cost you incurred bringing them tools to Anor. The tax will be fair; you are not seeking to exploit your people or bring new burdens, so it will take time for you to recoup your expenses.

“Balfor, I am thinking of giving these tools to the people, and in return, they will pay an extra tax to reimburse me. This tax should be a fair one; please decide the amounts, I am not good or interested in working out such rates. Do you see an issue with my decision?” You speak with the voice that belongs to the Queen aspect of yourself.

“Your decision is a wise one, in my humble opinion; I will work on it immediately. If this is successful, we should be able to expand the national farmland and produce enough for a growing population or be able to sell it back to Moi, considering our lower labour cost. If only we were allowed to sell to other nations instead of being locked within Moi’s economic sphere, we could sell to the Northern Colonies or High Castle for a much higher profit.” Balfor laments at the blocked opportunity. “I want to say again that I know mimicking the humans is demeaning and humiliating, but you are doing the right thing. We have to change to fit their world now.”

Frowning, you are unsure if that was an insult or if Balfor was simply too honest. Looking at his solemn face you decide it is just his poor way with words. He, of all your council, is the one that is most enthusiastic about working with humans and taking on their discoveries. After he leaves, you pass through the castle to the highest point and look over Joriel as the rain beats down from the heavens, lashing at your face. The sea violently rages with water churning in the dark swell, the recently moored ships dance to the waves, bobbing up and down in sequence. One day, you will free Anor of its human contamination, forcing them into the ocean.

As your eyes roam the capital from such heights, they gravitate to the new human settlement, a tumour on the elven city. Most of these houses are small wooden things, quickly put up as the humans were dumped on the shore by the forces of Moi, the only exceptions are the mansions owned by the prominent merchants. For now, the human population in Anor is just located in Joriel, within their enclave, and their population is small, but what if Moi enforces that you must accept more of their people? What could you do other than accept their demand? You have no way to fight them off, not now, not yet.

You want to meet the humans, you want to understand them better, you decide to…
>walk amongst the human population, see how they live and what they feel.
>meet with their elected mayor, and try to discern his goals.
>talk to the powerful merchants who hold influence over the mayor.
>write-in

>>6029301

>talk to the powerful merchants who hold influence over the mayor.

We need to understand the economics of the human presence so we can systematically remove these incentives. We won’t have the power to deport these people for a long time, but if we make their lives harder, some may choose to willingly depart for the mainland.

Plus, maybe we can find a way to smuggle our agricultural output to the other countries as Balfour has just described

>>6029301
>meet with their elected mayor, and try to discern his goals

>>6029301
>Merchants
The mayor is downstream of them, & likely has political goals against us. Merchants can be bargained with & rarely care for anything besides personal enrichment.

>>6029301
>talk to the powerful merchants who hold influence over the mayor.
As the anon above has noted, the greedy mercantile class is often the weakest link in the enemy.

>>6029301
>>talk to the powerful merchants who hold influence over the mayor.

Mayors don't have real power as its the merchants that control the economy. Plus if we get a greedy merchant to use as our proxy to sell low cost goods then that will be swell.

>>6029301
>meet with their elected mayor, and try to discern his goals.
bring guards as the commoner elf said the streets could be a bloodbath

>>6029301
>talk to the powerful merchants who hold influence over the mayor.

>>6029301
>>talk to the powerful merchants who hold influence over the mayor.

>>6029301
>>walk amongst the human population, see how they live and what they feel.

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>>6029301
>walk amongst the human population, see how they live and what they feel.

I'm thinking we get a factory to support agriculture/fishing later to be converted to military manufacturing built next turn anons

>>6029632

Probably our best short-term play is identifying the dumbest merchant lord on the island and replacing him with the Mask ability at the soonest opportunity.

We’d immediately gain access to money, a shipping fleet and plausible cover to import/export whatever we want, and probably quite a bit of intelligence in the process.

>>6029640
My concern is that we run the risk of being found out (because we aren't human, don't know how to act human, and can't afford to permanently take the place of a human), and "Elven shapeshifters have been replacing humans of note" will get Anor invaded and razed.

As a less radical alternative, perhaps we could temporarily take the place of a merchant and get an order for factory materials "accidentally" shipped to Anor?

>>6029646

Small steps are wise, I agree. We have the advantage of relative immortality, so IC, we’d probably be totally fine with plans that take decades to blossom

People do as directed, they are shepherded into paths decided by those with power, and most do not know it. This power can be charisma, duty, gold or something else, but when it comes down to it, the people are wielded by those few with strength. It is the same for elf or man. Here on Anor, humans are influenced and guided by the merchants. These merchants employ the humans, paying them the gold they use to buy homes and bread. Furthermore, these merchants slip their gold into the pocket of the elected mayor; this mayor is more beholden to his wealthy patrons than the people who vote for him. If you want to know what the humans are going to do, you need to know what the merchants want.

You could invite all four of the great human merchants that reside in Joriel to meet with you, turning it into a formal interaction, closing off their true feelings and goals from you and their peers. So, you decided to invite a single of these prominent humans to meet with you, without pomp or authority, posing the invitation as something unofficial and done more so from curiosity. The invite was sent to Master Hugo, not due to any special status he holds within one of the four, but out of randomness.

Sitting in one of your studies, you chose it as the room is a more relaxed and familial than most that fill the castle. You hear a knock at the door, and after you tell them to enter, you see the face of the human you guess is Hugo. His face is not elven, there are many similar features to elves, but there is that slight brutish difference. The merchant is dressed in his most opulent outfit, with golden trinkets adorning his figure, trying to show off his splendour. It is plain and straightforward he is not doing this to try to claim his worth is above yours, the rooms around the castle contain many magical items that put him to shame, but to show that Hugo has some value.

“Queen Lyssandra, it is truly an honour to meet with you.” He tenderly kisses your hand as you fight back the urge to snatch it back and strike him. “Excuse me for saying so, but I must say that I have never set eyes on someone so utterly radiantly beautiful. How can I be of service?”

“First of all, thank you for meeting with me. I know you are a busy man,” You welcome him with a fake smile, and the pair of you sink into silk-soft seats in the warm, cosy room. Wooden shelves adorn the walls, and flames crackle in a fireplace. “I do not know much about humans; I have seldom met one on the rarest occasions. I am curious about you, especially considering there is a population in Joriel. Sorry if this is a strange line of enquiry, but I was wondering if you could tell me about your people here.”

“Of course, my Queen, I am humbled you would give me the honour of providing you with an answer. Most of the humans did not want to be here initially and were forcibly relocated to this island by the government of Moi. But now they’ve spent decades here, they have grown fond of the place. The biggest issue is that they do not interact often enough with the elven population. This causes misunderstanding and distrust to grow, sadly. Most of them work for me or the other merchants, we ferry elven goods from Anor to Moi and Sentinel. Typically, curiosities, knickknacks or clothing, people on the mainland who have never seen elves will pay decent prices for a token of Anor. Also, if you have surplus goods, we sell them to those in Moi.”

“The waves are awfully treacherous; it is impressive that you can navigate the ocean with such ease. You are braver than I; I struggle with boats.” You continue your show of false smiles and sip at your drink. “Do you know the mayor? What is his opinion of us?”

“He does not care about you or Anor. He wants peace and gold, nothing more. And if I may be honest, I provide him with a measure of that gold; he is not as honourable as yourself. I do this as it makes life and business so much smoother. The mayor wants the world to spin quietly without trouble as he enjoys the baser things. Whereas us merchants are constantly hunting for more gold.” He ends, then steals a glance at you full of desire, then quickly averts his eyes, noticing you caught his gaze. “If I may ask you a question, Queen Lyssandra, I have heard you are able to cast magics. Is this true? If it is not an issue, I would love to see such things with my own eyes.”

An excited smile comes to your face as you bounce to your feet, all of the enthusiasm is utterly false. “Of course, Hugo, for you, it is no trouble at all.”

You walk over to a vase holding a freshly cut bouquet of flowers, and they grow from your touch. Magic flows into the plants, and they expand to an almost comical size, looking utterly fake. Hugo’s eyes widen as he watches you with astounded amazement. Finally, he finds his tongue and speaks, still awed his words are whispers, “You are utterly incredible.”

A shy, girlish laugh escapes your lips, and you stop as you bring a hand to your mouth and call upon your magic to cause your cheeks to flush red, “Thank you for your kind words. What about you? What do you think of Anor?”

“It is a land of wonder and, for us humans, freedom. There has been nothing that has enraptured me so, and I have seen much of this world.” You spend time talking, trying to glean more details out of the merchant. Finally, after enough time has passed, you reluctantly tell him that there are duties that require your attention. “Before I leave you, Lyssandra, is there anything you want of me? Your wish is my command. And if there is nothing, please remember of my humble offer if anything changes.”

Answering, you…
>write-in
>thank him and end your meeting.

>>6029711
>Ask Hugo how we could go about getting other wealthy humans to invest in Anor's industry.
>Ask Hugo of more profitable methods of exporting Elvish culture
Rose-tinted glasses or not, it's clear that Anor and Elves in general wield a lot of soft power by way of supernatural beauty, rarity, refinement, and magic. We should try to use that without becoming beholden to human interests.

>We're basically post-war Japan
L M A O

>>6029711
>Ask Hugo how we could go about getting other wealthy humans to invest in Anor's industry.
>Ask Hugo of more profitable methods of exporting Elvish culture

Hmm, freedom so people didn't get paid to be here and just got thrown at us. Damn then more future humans will get shipped to us if Moi needs to get rid of dissidents.

I do think asking Hugo about other human investments runs the risk of getting more humans into our lands so we have to make the plantations out of elves only and low-ball salaries. Elves will hate working under a human but its better than risking humans being hired so we can grab the jobs to push them out and starve.

>>6029743
>so we have to make the plantations out of elves only and low-ball salaries. Elves will hate working under a human but its better than risking humans being hired so we can grab the jobs to push them out and starve.
I agree. Elves won't like working "for humans", but pulling human assets into the country without corresponding human workers is optimal.

>>6029720
>>6029743

I mean, this is good logic - Hugo is practically falling over himself to hand us the keys to his kingdom.

One addition -

>promise to meet me here again, teehee. Keep it a secret!

We need to learn Hugo’s ways and then replace him - should be easy to do after a year of secret meetings with him

>>6029711
>Ask him of the pirates, whether they strike his ships or cargoes? How has he dealt with or avoided them?
>Ask Hugo of more profitable methods of exporting Elvish culture
>Ask Hugo how we could go about getting other wealthy humans to invest in Anor's industry.
Maybe a line like, "My elven people struggle to find a quality of life now after the war. The farmers toil for meagre output, and I have just sought to furnish them with improved tools. If the people could do more with better tools and less effort, surely merchants such as yourself could trade more goods and earn more income. I come to you and share that news in hopes we could form a more.. direct partnership."

Wrap him around our finger.

>>6029743
If the invitation is left open for more investment, I suspect Hugo will monopolise the opportunity for himself. Natural greed means he's unlikely to actually invite other humans to the venture.

>>6029720
The soft power uses I can see are either become a circus so we can travel and hear on the ground data and rumors. Idols like opera or dance event but risk assassination. Or the humiliation option of a high class brothel or selling elven spy bribes. We have the market but we need a lot of prep, training, research, and those willing to give up their bodies for the cause. But we will definitely need a lot of trust to get that idea though parliament or black project it.

>>6029761
We could have the parliament take the fall for that to gain capital at the cost of voter anger while we stay safe.

>>6029775
Not one year. We need several and frequent meetings to get him down and fool any family. Hopefully we string him along with payments and try to avoid him taking us on public dates. Don't want the humans to think they can be suitors too.

>>6029821
+1
Sounds great and he might credit us mercenaries or cut a deal on protection for product.

>>6029825
Nice if he rushes orders and his monopoly to try and impress us at our frequent meetings then we will have a great trade infrastructure when we replace him and take over.

>>6029934
>opera
That's a pretty good idea, putting Elvish high culture on display for Humans of status. It's a great excuse for traveling through areas that might contain lost artifacts or elvish remnants...

>>6029720
+1

Wonder if we can make an army of human simps to preserve the elf population numbers

Going to take the day off, Im quite busy today.

>>6030197

No worries QM, see you tomorrow

>>6030197
selp op and pay your bills

>>6023137
I like how the setup is essentially the Gods, Nature, & Nobility of the Blood against Ahriman, Lesser Races, & Degeneration through Technology. Very much a parallel of the Kali Yuga.