Jacob's Job
In reply to Jacob (msg # 273):
"I am the Great Lady Doria, your majesty. Thanks to your generous and wise gifts I have been able to hold much territory to the west of us. But as we get closer to the Great Road you must have come down, I face the Great Lady Cynthia's forces. She is enraged at your humiliation of one of her pawns which you had captured and then let go. She is the one who wanted war with you.
But Great Lady Holly is in 'control' in the capital city, although such control is weak, and barely reaches past the gates. She is trying to position herself as the 'go back to normal' candidate, and me as the 'wild reformer' and Cynthia as the 'bloodthirsty idiot'.
I of course, call her weak, but I can't attack her too much as Cynthia owns much of the ground near th ecapital, and if Cynthia can take the capital and that ground then I will be shut out.
But we are aided by several things. One much of the Army of Men is restive, and some units have privately sworn not to fight you or me, so I hear. So Cynthia cannot be sure of her own Army. But then if she had a loyal unit with swords she could and would execute any open mutineers, so it is very touch and go.
Both sides are using assasins, poisons, arrows from behind trees. I myself dodged an arrow attack yesterday. But it is of course, not just me, but my supporters. And I have to protect enough of them as well or they will start to fear and go over to the other side.
Some of my people are genuinely loyal to me, or to my area of the country, and some are loyal to reform, but at least half are just heartsick at losing the war. So your strength has convinced many, even those who hate you, that it were better to seek peace.