Haven, Arceria, Kaeleer, Saturday [Fandom Time]

[glacial_queen]

The portal had dropped them off in the outskirts of Haven. Portalocity tech was one more thing that Karla could add to the list of information she didn't want most Kaeleerans to have, especially her enemies. But Haven wasn't that far from the Glacian border, which meant it was the ideal staging ground for their reconnaissance missions. They could slip into Glacia without Hobart being the wiser and then move around from there. She knew he was watching the Winds, so they'd stick to roads and private Coaches as much as possible, but they should be able to see much of the Territory while they were here.

It helped, of course, that they'd have a few native guides and a system of safe-houses already prepared. The underground movement had been working overtime lately.

"Morton!"

[NFB and SP]

Comments

[glacial_queen]

Once everyone had finished chatting--or, in the case of Julian and Warren, taking verbal knives to one another--Karla motioned them to sit so they could talk as a group.

"So, we're here for several purposes. Jono and Warren need to get a better idea of the lay of the land in Glacia for them to prepare strategies. Jono will be leading the landens in the upcoming civil war, Warren will be my main liaison with him, as well as the additional duties of a Consort in times of war. Furthermore, this is a time for us all to discuss the state of the rebellion and just what it is and is not capable of. I need to know everything I can about Glacia from now until I return home. You're both the ringleaders, so you have the information we all need."

She fixed Julian with a stony stare. "I expect everyone to be as forthcoming as possible with this, as the fate of the Territory depends on this."

Julian inclined his head in a regal nod. Over dramatic, but accurate enough.

"And lastly, I need to meet with the potential candidates for my Court. As yet, I have two human Blood males committed to my Court, should Prince Julian decide to sign a contract. I need ten more. This is something I would prefer to not rush into if I have a choice."

She was going to smack that superior look off Julian's face, so help her...!

"Any questions?"

[glacial-court.livejournal.com]

Julian raised his hand. "Why are we bothering with the landens at all?" he asked. "Certainly, they can try to defend their homes if someone attempts to use them against you--" to his credit, he did sound offended by the very notion of attacking landens, though it was much the same way he'd be against kicking puppies or attacking children, "--but leading them in an army? That's irresponsible at best! Who will they fight?"

[furnaceface]

Please, Julian. Jono remembered full well what Karla's parents had told him about the fifty thousand years of peace before Hobart came along. He didn't suspect you knew much about war at all.

"Please tell me you're not actually expecting me to march them in formation against the Blood," he scoffed, fairly positive that's where Julian's mind had gone. "Trust me, mate, I know suicide tactics when I see them. The landens are overpowered in most aspects, except possibly numbers, when it comes to fighting Hobart and his ilk. What they will have going for them is that they'll be the last enemy anybody will ever expect, and they'll have somebody giving them orders whose entire life has been spent either preparing for, or actually fighting in, some war or another."

He raised an eyebrow at Julian, and then shook his head.

"Something that Glacia has fallen somewhat out of practise with, I believe." He shrugged his shoulders. "As an added bonus, they've been given no reason at all to have any love in their hearts for Hobart. They'll be more loyal to our cause than many of the Blood that we'll be campaigning to have join it. I strongly doubt Hobart has made any attempts to win the landens over to his way of thinking, after all."

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

"That's true enough," Morton said easily, before Julian could respond. He excelled in defusing tense situations--likely a product of knowing Karla as a child. "You think the lighter Blood have it bad, you should see what he's doing to the landens. None of his pet Queens have been giving the Queen's Gift so the crops aren't as bountiful, but they've been raising the tithes. My landen agents haven't needed to do much to foment discontent."

[glacial-court.livejournal.com]

"You have landen agents?!" Julian asked, shocked.

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

Morton shrugged. "Of course. It just made sense, after all. Karla mentioned years ago she was hoping the landens would stand with her. It would be stupid to send someone of the Blood in to find out if they would, so I recruited landens. It's their Territory, too."

[furnaceface]

"Perhaps you don't quite understand war," Jono intoned, sounding almost bored as he looked sidelong at Julian. "In war, you use any possible advantage you can gain to your disposal. To do anything less would be the very definition of stupid. What Morton has just demonstrated, mate, is that he's found a means to gain information that, say, a bigot like Hobart," or you, Julian, "would never think to turn to. What we call that, of course, is resourcefulness."

Defusing tense situations probably worked best when those situations weren't a case of racists versus mutants. If Julian was going to continue to have outbursts like those, Jono was going to find it very difficult to refrain from making comment.

[glacial_queen]

"Which is one of the many reasons why I've asked Jono to come to Glacia," Karla said smoothly. "He knows soldiering and tactics, better than any of us in this room."

Kaelas raised his head, and Karla shook her head at him. "You know how to hunt, my friend. This is different. Much different."

It would have been diplomatic to finish her little speech by looking at everyone individually, rather than just focusing on Julian. But, dammit, he was the only one who needed to hear this, and Karla had had enough of his little digs today. "We're in a crap position. Hobart is entrenched, he holds the south, and he's willing to use a lot of tactics that we're not. Unless I miss my guess, he's getting outside help from Little Terreille, which means that they're a lot more used to combat than we are. So we need to use every resource we can."

[glacial-court.livejournal.com]

"And once you're done, you'll have landens that know how to fight against the Blood," Julian pointed out. "That doesn't strike anyone as a horrible idea?"

[furnaceface]

"Once we're done, what we'll have is a free Territory, and landens working with the Blood to ensure that it remains that way, to re-build. There are still things that the Blood can provide for them that they're far from being equipped to provide for themselves."

Karla got a sidelong look, as Jono said that. Her realization, when they first spoke about him coming to Glacia to do this, that the landens had been systematically held back from any real progress still chewed on him to this day.

"Unless the Blood give them a reason to fight them, they won't. Which means perhaps considering treating them like people instead of cattle from now on. If they're willing to fight and die for your sake, it's the least you can do."

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

"Hey now," Morton interjected, voice still mild but his eyebrow up and his resemblance to Karla more apparent. "I know you don't approve of how landens are treated, but that comparison is less than accurate. They are not equal to the Blood, but they aren't treated as livestock, either."

[furnaceface]

"So, Hobart's raising their tithes and the Queens not replenishing their land, forcing them to struggle more and more to support the Blood while their own families starve... that doesn't count?"

Jono raised an eyebrow toward Morton.

"I've heard too many members of the Blood say 'landen' like a curse word to think anything but. And if I think that, what do you suppose the landens themselves think?"

[glacial_queen]

"Starving?" Karla yelped. "Are people starving? Morton, you didn't tell me they were! I would have brought more supplies!"

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

"Because they're not," Morton growled, giving Jono a glare. He was allowed to be pissy and offended on the landens' behalf, but that didn't mean he could go painting grim pictures about things he didn't know and scaring Karla. "Let me back up a second. Hobart can't actually raise the tithes on individual landens; the Territory Queen has raised the tithes that the Province Queens owe by twenty percent, because Queen Marlis's Court and the Ruling Council are racing through funds. The treasury is dry; Karla, I have no idea how much of your family funds are left, and because he had you declared dead, he was able to plunder the accounts your father left in your name. I'm sorry, but you're pretty much a pauper."

[glacial_queen]

Karla nodded, staying silent. It was pretty much exactly what she'd expected, but it still hurt to hear. She was going to be inheriting a war-torn Territory, complete with debts likely both internal and out. Wonderful.

"Our investments?"

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

"I managed to get a few of the smaller ones switched over into my name, but even those are pretty tapped. I sent you receipts, remember? Running a rebellion isn't cheap, and we funded several Black Widow flights to Haven purely out of pocket."

[glacial_queen]

"I remember," Karla said. "You did right. Once I get a Steward, perhaps we can see who I can approach for a long-term loan to get us back on track. I'm sure the High Lord would be amenable, even if I hate asking."

The last thing Karla wanted to do was put Glacia in debt to another Territory, even if that Territory would never dream of abusing said debt.

[wwiii]

This was about the point where Warren started shifting uneasily in his seat, yes.

"Karla... I have plenty of money," he noted. "I know you don't want me to donate a cent of it, but if it's loans you want and you don't want to approach Saetan..."

[glacial_queen]

Karla looked very uncomfortable. "I don't want to use you as my own personal banking system," she said, brushing her hair aside. "I don't love you because you have more money than any non-Stark or SaDiablo. I don't want anyone to think otherwise."

Like, say, Warren, for example.

[wwiii]

"Loans," Warren repeated, frowning. "Just loans. I can't in good conscience sit here on money I'm never going to use otherwise while you're going around begging for loans from the High Lord. I'm right here. You can pay me back again, if you really want, when Glacia is back on its feet. You'll have the rest of our lives to do it."

[glacial_queen]

"We can discuss this later," Karla said. "Right now we're getting a little far afield from the original topic. Morton, you were talking about the tithes?"

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

"Right, sorry," Morton said. "I got sidetracked. Anyway, the Province Queens now owe a much higher tithe to Marlis. So they've turned around and raised their tithes to the Village and District Queens serving under them, who turn around and pass that raised tithe over to the people they're actually ruling over, the individual Blood and landen villages and towns. The Northern Queens, for the most part, have tried to raise the tithes equally; both Blood and landens gaining an additional ten percent tithe. It's actually easier up here than it is for the Southern landens, considering agriculture isn't a big thing, here. People have individual farms and such, but the lack of the Queen's Gift isn't hurting them as much as down south."

On the other hand, the Northern Queens were actually getting his with a slightly higher tithe in deference to 'the recent poor harvest in the South,' which was a thinkly-veiled tax on not falling in line with what Hobart wanted, but Morton was trying to keep it simple.

"Down South, the landens are carrying a much heavier tithe burden. The Blood tithes were raised about five to ten percent, while the landens were raised about fifteen to twenty percent. Furthermore, few of the Queens are making certain that the landens get access to Healers or what few Black Widows remain. And lacking the Queen's Gift, harvests are decreasing in size and quality from previous years."

[glacial_queen]

"How is this not proving Jono's point, exactly?" Karla asked, sounding a bit panicky.

[furnaceface]

Jono turned a thankful little smile toward Karla at that and muttered a grateful, "Thank you."

If he hadn't been seated further across the table, he would have reached out to squeeze her shoulder in thanks, or something. As it stood, he was going to just try to convey as much with a look.

She was being the sane one at the table. He hadn't really seen that coming, but he was certainly appreciative of that.

[glacial_queen]

Karla shot Jono a grin, warmed to her toes by his approval, before turning her attention back to Morton.