Fuzzy: Midmarch Council.
As if by reflex, Kiera elbows Dom back, but as some of the speeches go on, she gets the urge to speak.
"...well, as much as we don't want to deal or think about it, it's here. War is coming, and we're getting pulled in both directions, like a stuffed bear between two squalling children. I don't really have much tie to either side- spending your formative years out in the forest will keep you from understanding too much of the small stuff going on.
Some of us may have ties to the Aldori. Some of us might have ties to the other side. There's enough pride, guilt, rage, emotion flying around to fill a load of graveyards. People are begging us to join causes- Lady Aldori wants our help, the Surtova want our help, and honestly, I already know which way we ought to turn..."
Taking a deep breath, she has to stop from reaching for her skin, and states it out:
"...I say Midmarch should remain neutral.
It's not our fight. Both sides are begging for our help, but we need to be thinking of ourselves, and of the people here we represent- the thousands of people we'd be dragging along with us if we decide to take a side in all this.
Lots of us have ties to one place or the other. It's hard, watching the steady march of troops off to war. But we've got to think of ourselves- the people we represent, the lives and everything we hold in our hands.
Maybe it's just because I don't really think either side sees us as much more than a source for troops, money, and other things- I mean, the letter from the Surtova has all the markings of a preening bird, trying to inflate his plumage to scare a lesser male out of his territory. His nephew wasn't here to pay respects or whatever, he was here nosing around and seeing what kind of forces we could possibly have, what we could give them. I don't know about the rest of you, but 'hey, you people I've never met but are supposedly my subjects, come to my war and die for me and a cause you might not believe in for no more reason than I demand it' is a really, really stupid reason to get involved in a war.
Then there's the Aldori. The lady in charge seems nice, but... again, what's in it for Midmarch? We go up there, we march, we die for a fight that we don't have a dog in. I know a lot of us have ties to family in the area, and I humbly apologize if I offend anybody, but again- what about Midmarch? What of her people? The ones who will be left here, rudderless, leaderless, and vulnerable if we decide to march off to war for one side or the other?
We side with the Aldori, the Surtova will be picking chunks out of our northern border before we know it. We side with the Surtova, and we splinter apart because of family responsibilities and all that. So I say, we just tell both sides we're not getting involved in their war because we have our own problems we're going to have to deal with soon enough."
Finding a nearby map of the area, her finger would tap a few places: the River Kingdoms to the south, Pitax to the southwest, and Numeria, to the northwest.
"I'm looking south, and I'm looking west- the River Kingdoms, Pitax, and possibly Numeria. Getting Midmarch involved in a war, and sending all our forces away to battle will be like ringing a dinner bell in their general direction- you can guarantee they'll be making to test our borders to see what they can get away with. I mean, lots of the Kingdoms would love to take our land and everything, and Irovetti, well... I wouldn't put anything past him. They see weakness, they take advantage. If we survive, we could come home to find Pitax camped out in the lower Narlmarches and daring us to evict them, or the River Kingdoms biting off chunks of the south, without the strength to do so.
We've also got other things to think about- the brigands in Drowned Trees or whatever the hells it's getting called these days. You think the lady in charge is going to sit idly by while we all go play soldier? I know there are others, too.
Just send word to both sides that we wish them both well with their little war, but to leave us out of it. We're already going to feel the squeeze without being able to go east until this is all over.
It's not the answer people want to hear, I know. But we need to think of our own when the people in charge don't want to, and both sides seem to see us as little more than a bunch of forces they can command."
She reaches down and takes a swallow from her skin, to steady her nerves.
"And no, it's not because of my faith, either. I'm no Aldori agent. Hell, until a few years ago, I thought an Aldori was some kind of tree or mold or something you'd find in a crypt if you opened the lid."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:20, Sat 04 July 2020.