Manifest Destiny - Voice of the King

"Sire, it is time we did something about the empty lands. The aristocracy suffered as much, if not more than the people over which they rule." Gundar Doomseeker called to the King. Mordred was slouched on his throne, the seats of the high nobility of Pendor arranged around him though there were many empty seats that showed the truth of his father-in-laws words.

"And what do you suggest we do about this, Gundar?" Mordred replied, his soft voice echoing throughout the chamber.

"Install more Lords. Pendor has reached a new age, blood is not everything as you yourself can attest. Let ability rule, not how far you can trace your lineage" returned the elderly chancellor, his gaze shifting over to Duke Aelfwine.

"That is preposterous!" shouted the ambitious Aelfwine. "Blood has never spoken truer in the matter of leadership. I know that the lineage of the King can be traced back to the Kings of old. We rule this land by divine right, if we sully our ranks such, we will be inviting only disaster!"

"How would you solve it then my lord?" Mordred retorted, sitting up a little in the throne.

"My nephew, he is only a marquis. Promote him and the other younger sons of Pendor Nobility to take the place of the dead"

"And consolidate power in just a few families?" Mordred cut in over the Duke, shaking his head.

"That is a recipe for disaster, we hold this land united because there are no power blocks. No I like the good Chancellor's solution..." the King paused, to scratch his goatee then continued "Let it be known that all empty lands are now open to claims. If an organisation can prove that they are able to hold the land over which they claim, and are able to see to the needs of the populace then they have a right to rule over that province. Pendor needs strong leadership, and this can not longer be provided by the landed gentry alone. We need mayors, councillors and burghers to emerge and take a more intrinsic role in leadership. Pendor erupted into civil war because the petty landed gentry held all the power, this will no-longer be the case. The land of Pendor will still be granted by deed of nobility, but for areas for which there are no such responsible powers, then they may be claimed and patents of nobility will be conferred to those who prove their worth in ruling this land in my name."



So it has begun, the writ has been passed into law and the lands of Pendor are open to control. The cities are the centers of power in the land, and many are under the iron fist of a Duke or Count, but even these ancient lines have begun to show a disunted front, and the places of power were once again opening to those with the means... and ability, to get in there and influence them.

In an attempt to build more homes for those who lost their residence during the war, the Crown will hereby purchase any available Timber for 1000 per load.

Please let the Lord Chancellor know if you have any available.

(( OOC ))

Please post below if you wish to sell surplus timber from your sawmills. 1,000 RPs each. Don't worry about transport, I think we can assume the King has a few carts available to pick it up!

OOC : All gold given out below is a seasonal bonus to ensure you have the finances to keep things moving. All recruits noted below must be bought at cost noted on the Info Sheet. All new Knights are promoted from you Retainers ranks with the exception of the Silvermists who join as full members.

End of Season 1 Report

We are pleased with the manner in which the Orders are maintaining the King's peace throughout Pendor, the threat of force seeming to be enough of a deterrent against any rebel minded Lords that may still cling to power throughout my lands. Now, as the King I control the majority of the finances due to my monopoly on taxation, and being the gracious sovereign that I am, I have decided to confer a certain amount of Denars to my loyal brethren throughout the kingdom.

Griffons

We are generally pleased with your work to defend the Duke, however His Grace has had cause to send me a number of official complaints regarding the conduct of a certain Sir Ibram whom not only directly insulted His Grace but also insisted on a duel at a time when cooperation was paramount. It is for these reasons we have seen fit to allocate 5,357 Denars (RPs) to your treasury on the understanding that further problems with the nobility will not occur.

RPs : 5337
Knights : 17 (Recruited)
Retainers : 42 (Recruited)

Legion

We are aware that the Legion are facing their own problems in the region of Cez, although precise details are currently lacking, but we are sure that the Legion are capable of facing these issues down and dealing with them. As such we have seen fit to allocate the sum of 6,429 Denars to your treasury.

RPs : 6429
Centurions : 1
Legionnaires : 12
Retainers : 67

Silvermists

We are generally pleased with the overall conduct of the Silvermists in their task to guard the Duke. As such we have seen fit to allocate 6429 denars to your treasury.

RPs : 6429
Rangers : 27 (Recruited)
Mtd Rangers : 13 (Recruited)

Dawn

The Order of Dawn has seen some of the greatest upheaval in my Kingdom, and this is a cause for concern, particularly with your history in Barclay and with the Eventides. We sincerely hope that rumours of your split are not true, and if they are, that they are solved with utmost haste. We have seen fit to allocate 3214 Denars to your treasury.

RPs : 3214
Knights : 7
Retainers : 33

Gauntlets

The order of the Gauntlet has been a heavy burden on his Majesty's shoulders this past season, seeming to move without direction or care for the people of Pendor. Their work in guarding the Duke is appreciated, however His Grace lodged a complaint about building a fortified structure upon his lands, with timber from His Grace's forests and all without a right to crenelate. It is therefore our decision to allocate only 1071 Denars to your treasury, and we very much hope your Order will see fit to become more active.

RPs : 1071
Knights : 5
Retainers : 4

Eventides

We are pleased by the work of the Eventide to create stability in the region of Singal and Sarleon, however their methods elsewhere are a cause for great concern to us. The murder of innocents, stamping over the authority of one of my closest allies and being a nuisance to the rightful guardians of Duke Rafik's holdings cause me much displeasure. It is therefore our decision to allocate the sum of 3214 Denars to your treasury.

RPs : 3214
Knights : 10
Retainers : 25

Dragons

We are pleased with the continuing efforts of the Dragon to placate the rebellious people of Ravenstern, and their work to secure the region and enforce the King's peace. As such we have decided to allocate 4286 Denars to your treasury.

RPs : 4286
Knights : 8 (Recruited)
Retainers : 21 (Recruited)
Rangers of Rane : 8 (Recruited)

Busy holidays (damn you Skyrim!) so i'm just going to give you the numbers for the end of season report. Events have not moved on very much since last season, so the Royal Favour was primarily focused on creativity, role play quality and activity this time around.

http://www.stormwind.co.uk/image1/Season2.htm

The troops are the number available to recruit while the RPs are the bonus funds you all get from the Crown.

EDIT : Orders will be due on 2nd January in favour of those who would undoubtedly be nursing hangovers on the 1st!

“Your Majesty, with all due respect; are you sure this is a good idea? The markets have always ruled themselves, you would be the first monarch to directly interfere with what your lords produce” the seneschal said, his hands rubbing together with worry. Mordred turned from where he looked out over Pendor and turned to face the minister.

“And what to tax them, yes I realise that. Pendor is moving forward, we have new friends and new enemies both internal and external. We need to ensure that our people produce what we as a nation need, and not simply what is easy for them...” the King replied with a sigh, and the seneschal looked to interrupt but the king raised a hand and continued.

“No, it must be done, show me the numbers again” he finished, his voice rising with command. The seneschal handed the leather bound book over, already opened to a particular page. The King scanned the figures contained within, then taking a piece of parchment he transcribed what was within in his neat hand writing, signed and sealed the bottom then handed it to his seneschal.

Quote :

Royal Procurement Order

We hereby request that all lords, merchants and people of Pendor produce a number of commodities to be sold directly to the crown at the following rates.

Wood : 1000 / tonne
Gold : 5,000 / tonne
Marble : 5,000 / tonne
Iron : 1,000 / tonne
Granite : 5,000 / tonne
Flax : 500 / tonne
Spice : 500 / tonne
As our stores fill, these prices will change subject to the supply provided.

Signed,
Mordred, King.

The seneschal bowed with the scroll, and left the room. Mordred looked back down at the ledger and snapped it shut with a sigh.
“We will be ready. We must be ready.”

OOC : These prices are what you will receive for selling those products to the Crown like we have been doing with wood thus far. They will take effect from next Sunday, so please include what you are selling in next week's orders.

Inspection! bellowed the overseer of the royal warehouse and all over the spacious building workers hurried to bring everything into good order.

Thank you, Morten, that should suffice, said the Vice-Chamberlain Sir Oswald Midworthington with a slight frown. He sweeped some invisible dust from his robe of office.

Chadwell, hurry, he added and a thin scribe followed him into the warehouse, struggling with a multitude of lists and scrolls, a portable inkwell as well as a quill which he had in his mouth in lack of more hands.

Sir Oswald was fond of fashioning himself the most reliable of court officials and did everything to live up to this reputation. Thoroughly he inspected every single column of shelves, each pile of crates and all agglomerations of barrels, now and then asking for a special list or procurment order that Chadwell had to nestle out of the bulk of paper and parchment.

Finally he asked for the main list and the quill, commenting the means of transport of the latter with only the rise of an eyebrow.
After the last check mark had been set, Sir Oswald even seemed to display a slight trace of contentment.

Excellent, we will soon have our stores properly filled. One more season of procurement at most, he said more to himself than to those around him. He wrote a note in addition to the main list and sealed both together.

Take this to the king's chancellery, Chadwell.

Note that Combat Upgrades, Mercenary Allowance, Research and Ships may all be traded away to other Orders.


See this thread for the most up to date version of this!

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