Redhaven

[Chenier]

Yea, I was lured by the appeal of activity, but I quickly left when I realized how strong the personality cult was...

[steelabjur@aol.com]

"Cult of Personality" when Selenia is gone and JeVondair has a character among our enemies. While being named her heir worked out for Aramon; Aramon isn't Selenia. Aramon doesn't have her force of personality or experience.

And yes "Johnny-Come-Latelys": Asher Renodin, Smiddich Fontaine, Sigrid Gudrun Auru'in, Ayden Torrarin JeVondair, (am I missing anyone?) as in their characters barely had any time in Greater Xavax (or none, in the case of CrypticCyper's Sigrid). Ironic you talk about repeating mistakes then quote your old character, who was disposed by his General/Marshal, Vice-Marshal, and both Dukes (was the Judge and Banker also involved? I can't remember who held those positions then), most of whom would leave to take up position of power in the realms you're now buddying up to (Vix and Perdan).

[Chenier]

The cult dates from way back when she was there, probably since very early in her reign.

Also, the new JeVondair is in Caligus, not with the rest of the Novus bunch in Highmarch.

[CryptCypher]

Aramon doesn't need her personality - frankly, it has little to do with Aramon. If you take personal offense to the blatant flaws of modern Xavax culture, as your defensive response hints, then clearly you recognize at least part of the problem. If you recognize the problem, then please do something about it. Easier said than done, of course. There is far more than your own ambitions or desires at play, especially now that the Saoi is pregnant [with twins, was it?]. Selenia ruled the way she did because she had to. Granted, her IC personality design influenced her reactions, but the general trend owed more to our history than her personality alone. Its far too convenient to blame Selenia for everything that went wrong, obscuring the responsibility and and flaws of the other powerplayers who influenced the ultimate outcome. I still say the biggest and most blatantly horrifying mistake y'all ever made was abandoning Xavax. Part of me wonders how y'all found some clever way to justify doing the exact opposite of what we had always said, embodied, and promised. From give no quarter, fight until the end, pride and honor, to tucking tail and fleeing north. Magnus was profoundly flawed, but he's not the one who abandoned and doomed Xavax. Sorry but hat one's on you guys.

A little behind-the-scene history lesson:

Selenia did not depose Magnus as you were led to believe. She was already Magnus' chosen heir, as they had discussed his abdication and planned for her Xerarchy long before the Alaran spy and Dodger's rebellion. Did no one find it suspicious that Magnus held no landed titles [unlike every ruler who expects to remain in power], casually handed her the capitol of the entire Imperium, command of its home duchy, patronage of its army, and later [toward the end of his reign] changed the Phoenix from a male archetype to a female and named her the Phoenix Reborn? She was the anonymous informant who provided intelligence on rebel discussions/plans which formed the basis of Magnus' accusations, and was explicitly ordered to take advantage of rebellious sentiments in order to secure her succession. Not the only informant, as those of you in the [early] secret Inquisition may remember. Numerous agents, both within and without the Inquisiton, were tasked with infiltrating their ranks. For a time, the Inquisition was a hotbed of activity - until a certain someone joined the Inquisition and we took it all to personal private channels. If you recall the Inquisition getting very quiet all of a sudden, you might just know what I'm talking about.

The rebellion was glorious. Frustrating as hell, but glorious. In a short span of time we went from wondering how to convince all the Selenia-haters to stand down, all the way to everyone immediately taking her side and voting her in with abandon. From public condemnation of any suggestion that Selenia, or in some cases a JeVondair in general, would ever dare be a candidate for Xavax rulership, to Long Live Xerarch Selenia in the blink of an eye.

Forgiving the rebels was a nice touch, but Selenia wasn't so foolish as to let sleeping dogs lie. She quite effectively dismantled the anti-Selenia faction that convinced Magnus to appoint Crownguard to Isadril. For those who may recall, or were involved, this was primarily the Ibladesh faction which formed the counter-balance to the pro-Selenia faction. For those who don't, they were led by a certain infamous priestess who opposed Selenia and called for a war to conquer Ibladesh and found the first of many planned satellite states in what was to be the Xavax federation. As was discussed [with those who mattered] at the time, the point of giving power to both factions, and particularly for the inception of a Lurianesque federation, was to allow for a more dynamic environment of rivalry and constant debate. Precisely like the Templar-Inquisitor rivalry of Obia'Syela. Unfortunately, the Alaran spy threw a wrench in the plans and they took it a step too far.

In the end, the ones who lost were the anti-Selenia factions and myself. Magnus was supposed to resign soon after he built the palace, quietly becoming the high priest of the Phoenix cult to bless Selenia as the Phoenix Reborn in an epic communal feast-style realm-wide RP arc. Instead, I had to deal with political drama and Dodger's constant insults instead of pumping out the rest of the RPs for my abdication. Not wanting to stall the process and delay Selenia's rise to Xerarchy nor the inception of the official Xavax faith, I ended up forgoing much-needed sleep in lieu of replying to a flood of annoying missives and lengthy [parallel] RPs just to get swamped, frustrated, and watch it all burn when I realized I couldn't dig myself out of it faster than I was being buried.

When !@#$ goes south, you ride the wave and go out with a bang. I'm not going to lie: I wasn't exactly the epitome of stability at the time. I was in the beginning of a !@#$ty divorce after our daughter passed away at birth and my marriage went to hell, my stepson - the boy I raised as my own - was in and out of the ICU, and toward the end I was living out of my car and posting RPs from a parking lot by Dunkin Donuts. (Free wifi is a godsend.) I was a mess and it bled over into my IC behavior. I definitely don't blame y'all for wanting to get rid of him, and thus me, but !@#$ happens and the past is the past.

Speaking of, I've not forgotten Iuz Vidar Crownguard and his star role in screwing Xavax twice-over. nor has Sigrid. FunFact: She came to Sirion to become an assassin and make his [and Robb Starfall's] life a living hell.

If someone convinces JeVondair to abandon the Goldwings and join the RedWings instead, she'll probably end up going back to that option.

Otherwise, me might just end up with a Xavax federation of rival city-states after all. What're the odds of it all going full-cycle? Puts a smile to my face, it does.

[Chenier]

We heard you guys didn't even have a proper celebration for your newfound independance! We were sad, so we decided to come party at your place. Hope you don't mind!  8)

[BarticaBoat]

We heard you guys didn't even have a proper celebration for your newfound independance! We were sad, so we decided to come party at your place. Hope you don't mind!  8)

I have so many things to say, but I'll settle for "the arrogance of the new kid who joins the winning team"

[BarticaBoat]

Aramon doesn't need her personality...

Our decision to abandon Xavax stemmed from pragmatics, we were separated from our largely inept allies and the southern realms (still) do not have enough nobles to take over the lands. By leaving we placed the battlefield closer to the rest of our allies, bolstered their forces, and cracked the First Oligarch siege. The Democrats seem pleased as punch but Oligarch has fallen, their momentum against Caligus is slowing, and Alara-Nova-Perleone are as useless as ever. Its a tough situation but all it takes is small changes (such as the fair weather friends in Highmarch leaving). I have tons of tactics ideas but there is resistance to their implementation.

Here is a Toren saying: "dead men fight no battles"

[CryptCypher]

On a totally separate note, OUCH! Krimml got nailed... Kind of expected Redhaven to become target #1 but bloody hell, that came earlier than expected.

[CryptCypher]

We heard you guys didn't even have a proper celebration for your newfound independance! We were sad, so we decided to come party at your place. Hope you don't mind!  8)

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[CryptCypher]

Our decision to abandon Xavax stemmed from pragmatics...

Aye. OOC, totally understandable and the smartest way to go about things. I commend Kinsey and y'all for playing it smart and making a hell of a tactical retreat the likes of which this continent has likely never seen. IC, its amazing that it happened at all. We never were a pragmatic bunch, to be fair. Had we been, we'd never have reached the point of needing to abandon Xavax in the first place. Nothing we can do about it either way. We played the hand we were dealt as we thought was best, and Xavax folded. I really dislike going against the Redwings [temporarily] but Sigrid believes what she believes, and the Redwing old-guard are the antithesis of what she was raised to uphold. Down the road things will mellow out, but for the time being, she's biting her tongue and trying to protect her people while remaining infuriated at the entire situation. The more Xavax fracture, the more they face defeat, and the longer Xavax remains a starved and depopulated rogue hellhole, the angrier she becomes. To her, the Redwing leadership failed and then betrayed the Xavax - no worse crime a noble can commit.

Sigrid is dumbfounded at the idea that Kinsey would dare make excuses for convincing others to abandon their homeland. Its just not something one does. Especially not the proud, warrior Xavax. To her, it spits in the face of everything Xavax is said to represent and serves as a glaring omen that the extant Xavax hierarchy is inept, jaded, corrupt, and traitors to the spirit of Xavax. She believes in going down with the ship, no matter the cost, and that anyone who doesn't is a spineless coward and traitor to their people. To her, the aristocracy of Xavax landed themselves in a lose-lose situation by virtue of their own foolishness and promptly abandoned 99% of the Xavax to be pillaged, murdered, raped, and enslaved. She's of the same mindset as her brother Magnus and their mother Alura: a noble is responsible for the innocent people he/she protects, and failure to do so is a massive stain upon one's honor. Granted, she's still youngish and somewhat naive, but I make a point of allowing her to echo the sometimes over-the-top pride and cynical idealism inherited from her mother ;) Befriending Serpentis made matters worse, or better, depending on your perspective.

Ps, she's equally pissed at Magnus for abandoning his "birthright", thus soiling the [secret-ish] dreams of Alura & Rynn, and handing Selenia the Xerarchy just to disappear off the face of the continent when the going got rough.

If she ever makes it back to Xavax and uncovers Magnus' body hidden in the catacombs of the old palace, y'all are going to love the resulting RP. Is it still criminal assault if the citizen in question is the corpse of a former Xerarch? :P

[BarticaBoat]

Aye. OOC, totally understandable and the smartest way to go about things...

There was nothing OOC about the decision. Xavax was a pragmatic meritocracy. My character is not going to go blindly into death because I, the player, know he cannot die. This is truly what my character believed is best as a complex and real individual. Someone who is devout and understands he risks death by remaining in crumbling Xavax. There is nothing OOC about the retreat.

[CryptCypher]

There was nothing OOC about the decision. Xavax was a pragmatic meritocracy. My character is not going to go blindly into death because I, the player, know he cannot die. This is truly what my character believed is best as a complex and real individual. Someone who is devout and understands he risks death by remaining in crumbling Xavax. There is nothing OOC about the retreat.

The OOC tag distinguishes between my feelings as a player, and IC feelings of Sigrid the character. Never claimed its an OOC decision, only that it makes sense to me as a player who can observe and analyze the situation from a [partial] gods-eye perspective.

Right... I tend to forget that non-Heroes don't die. Where's the fun in taking risks when you can't lose? ;) Sigrid is my sole character who isn't a hero, and only because she can still become an assassin. Up the ante, become a hero and test the limits of pride and folly ;)

Funny that you used the word devout. I Guess our characters abide by completely different philosophies. Sigrid would be proud to die for Xavax specifically because its the right thing to do, as opposed to running in fear of death. To Sigrid, Xavax is life; and to serve Xavax is to have courage in the face of death. Abandoning Xavax to save herself would be tantamount to spiritual suicide.

She's a curious character. The amalgam of pride and honor produces intriguing results.

[CryptCypher]

Xavax was a pragmatic meritocracy...

(There's a lot of irony, sarcasm, and tongue-in-cheek statements in the following post, baring the thoughts and expressions of myself and a friend. Enjoy, and don't take anything to heart. [or seriously])

How profoundly and entertainingly ironic. I love this so much. Thank you for that, I really enjoyed writing the following post. Had a conversation with my best friend Anthony about the topic - allow me to point out a few observations we made. He used to read the Xavax RP's when I'd crash at his place, and really enjoyed watching the process of creating the realm. Some of his suggestions are part of established Xavax history/lore to this day. :) Never could get him to actually play, but he wants me to pass on his regards to all of you for having the patience to do all this. He said it was really fun to read and see things play out. If you can figure out a way to convince him to play BM, be my guest. I've been trying since 2012. Now, lets begin:

Pragmatic? Lets see...

prag·mat·ic
adjective
dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.
"a pragmatic approach to politics"
synonyms:   practical, matter-of-fact, sensible, down-to-earth, commonsensical, businesslike, having both/one's feet on the ground, hardheaded, no-nonsense; informal hard-nosed
"she remains pragmatic in the most emotional circumstances"
relating to philosophical or political pragmatism.

Voting in a democratically-minded, [IC] inexperienced, out-spoken youngin' as the ruler who founds your entire realm is not exactly pragmatic. Granted, everyone thought Magnus would be easy to manipulate based on his passionate personality and fanciful speeches, but most failed to realize his behavior stemmed from being an ethical-pragmatist and obsessive perfectionist. Selenia knew [from us playing together and plotting to unite Terran-D'hara into an empire through our marriage], and immediately became his adviser, ally, and closest friend. Some people cleverly realized [others were explicitly told] that you could manipulate him if you did one of three things: cater to the logically optimal outcome of events that would best suit all involved parties; invoke emotional empathy and take advantage of his ethical code of honor; or obstruct the pattern of events so thoroughly that it removed all logical outcomes and turned into a shell game. In essence, he obsessively follows a specific pattern of behavior encoded in his personality that, if you figured out the code, made him the easiest thing in the world to toy with.

...Then further down the rabbit hole by effectively strong-arming newly-elected Magnus into becoming King [by taking advantage of both his democratically-minded ideology, ie that people's opinions should matter to a good ruler and serve as a driving force behind a ruler's behavior;]+[; as well as his desire for pragmatic-perfectionism, ie order and control by following the logical and optimal reaction to an event].

According to Anthony's logic: "Sure, lets take the new kid who wants to be a Democratic ruler for a little while and demand that he wield absolute power as a king, design the government from the ground up, name the realm, give it its icon (he meant emblem/flag, I think), and control the fate of all the older, richer, more experienced, ruthless, and ambitious nobles. What could possibly go wrong? You guys are nuts if you thought that wouldn't go horribly wrong and blow up in your face." (Sans the expletives and with slight editing)

...And on the first day, Magnus shrugged, wondered what would be cleverly ironic, and called himself Xerarch. He then equated Xavax with the spawn of a flame-winged Phoenix reborn on account of migrating from a dying continent, changed the realm name 3 or 4 times, got turned into a king, and annoyed the realm to death by asking them what they would like for him to do - in a fair and just manner with accompanying referendums - as opposed to just doing everything on whim and telling everyone to shove it.

Funniest part is, when Magnus finally started acting like a King and stopped "pestering the realm with missives about decisions the king should rightfully make on his own" as was demanded of him, people had gotten so used to him publicly debating and announcing everything under the sun that y'all [loudly, once again] complained Magnus was being *GASP* too secretive! Remember when y'all yelled at Magnus and told him to stop letting people vote on things and just do what he pleases because that's his right as a king and he should start acting like one? My friend Anthony and I still laugh about it to this day.

Don't even get me started on Selenia's response to the "bandit realms" rape&pillage, and numerous other events. Absolutely nothing pragmatic about it, though it was glorious all the same.

As for Meritocratic...

With much complaint from those who publicly and privately believed occupational merit should not trump [the tenuous "merit" of] wealth, political connections, seniority, and factionalism, it began as a Meritocracy at Magnus' constant urging. Hell, Magnus only became king because so many Xavax outright [and quite loudly] demanded it, instead of letting him be a temporarily-elected official of a meritocratic democratic-republic like he originally called for.

Xavax may have begun as a sort-of-meritocracy, but it sure didn't end as one. Sorry if this observation offends anyone's sensibilities, but imperialism, seniority, and factional cronyism does not equal meritocracy. In fact, its the exact opposite of meritocracy. In the true spirit of Meritocracy, we heavily researched the background of every one of the First Xerarchy appointees, [some of you may recall Magnus and select appointed investigators inquiring about the history of the Strategos/Arbiter/Dukes/etc, and some of you received a list of names and were asked who you would choose and why, and what you like and dislike about the individuals under consideration], all the way from region Lords to council members, and appointed them to their positions regardless of whether or not they liked or agreed with Magnus, his reign, or his ideologies, basing their appointment solely on their ability to bring something vital to the Xavax table. (part of this process included ignoring the numerous people who said I'd be a fool to put another Kinsey or JeVondair in power - and those are exact words in a few cases. Two of my favorite families to interact with! Pah.)

Ironically, Redwings successfully did to Sirion what the Goldwings wish to do with Xavax [in a more constructive, unifying way this time] - while the Redwings demonize the Goldwings for wanting to do exactly what they just finished doing to their ally. ??? Make sense to anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?  ???

In light of all this hilarious irony, and a not-so-healthy dose of sarcasm, I'm going to share the following farcically self-righteous statement because why not:

Despite people complaining when he suggested them and then bemoaning them afterward, Xavax is full of Magnus' influence/ideas to this day.

8) You're welcome, by the way.  ::) (Suddenly, highest bounty on the continent)

(Had way, way too much fun writing this post.)

FunFact for anyone bored/crazy/curious enough to read this far: Magnus, and his ideas for Xavax, were the culmination of the thoughts, ideas, feelings, and suggestions of my childhood friend Anthony (who I've known for two and a half decades); a few of our mutual friends; my [mostly annoyed] ex-wife; my friend Stephen (former BM player from 2012ish); and myself.

Plus anyone else who happened to be around while I was pumping out RP's or reading dozens of tabs of research to make sure things made sense and were done properly.

Xavax was a labor of love, man.  ;D

[Chenier]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

I think our the celebration party is too drunk, and can't find the door. You are going to have to help us with that, you know. It's quite a terrible thing to be lost in such a strange city.

I have so many things to say, but I'll settle for "the arrogance of the new kid who joins the winning team"

To be quite honest, I was quite content to say little publicly. But then you had all those Redhaven nobles start to talk trash and utter threats to the nobles of the democracies and the "extra-xavax". The first message sent to everyone in Viseu was from Ka Habb, before the battle took place, threatening to torture and execute us. Others then joined him.

I didn't say much then, the big battle was in less than a day. I know this war is not a walk in the park, we win some, we lose some. But after that total defeat of the northern forces, which is stacked on the previous defeat... let's just say it was really inviting.

I didn't bring the Southern Alliance where it is now, and will never claim as much. It's a solid coalition, well-oiled, and despite not perfect pretty impressive all things considered. But this isn't my first war. And I'm pretty confident that if Garas was still in charge, we wouldn't be having a party in Krimml right now.

Took me a while to adjust to how the game changed since I last lead human realms against other human realms, but I'd say I'm just about up to level now. There are a few more kinks to work out, but I've got a pretty massive iron on hand.

Military issues aside, though, I must say I'm rather surprised by Redhaven's attitude. Most in the South showed great willingness to set anti-Xavax sentiments aside to deflect our efforts elsewhere, namely Sirion. Redhaven could have pulled that card, "we aren't Selenia", "we are something new", and tried to weasel their way, diplomatically, into a more advantageous position. But instead you put your capital right on our doorstep, you remind everyone how you are exactly who they hated, and you go out of your way to antagonize the South and thus alienate the nobles who weren't even there to hate you to begin with. Redhaven is the border, and you painted a huge target on yourselves. It's almost as if you want the Southern Alliance to destroy you.

[CryptCypher]

I must say I'm rather surprised by Redhaven's attitude. Most in the South showed great willingness to set anti-Xavax sentiments aside to deflect our efforts elsewhere, namely Sirion. Redhaven could have pulled that card, "we aren't Selenia", "we are something new", and tried to weasel their way, diplomatically, into a more advantageous position. But instead you put your capital right on our doorstep, you remind everyone how you are exactly who they hated, and you go out of your way to antagonize the South and thus alienate the nobles who weren't even there to hate you to begin with. Redhaven is the border, and you painted a huge target on yourselves. It's almost as if you want the Southern Alliance to destroy you.

Unfortunately, what you ask is impossible: Redhaven/Redwings can't take advantage of the [Goldwings' efforts to produce] neutrality with the south because they're ideologically against anything that doesn't end with the south's utter destruction. The oft-repeated rallying cry for the creation of Redhaven mostly consisted of leading the northern charge on the frontlines against the south. What many figured would happen is exactly what happened:

Giant, flaming target gets sandblasted soon after inception.

Goldwings (my faction) are the "we're not Selenia; try something new" group. Redwings of Redhaven are the Selenia-worshippers who despise the south on principle, and incidentally despise Goldwings for considering reformation or peace with the south.

Problem is, the remaining Xavax - scattered across the realms and continents - aren't going to join Redhaven and bolster its forces as some hoped [according to fruitless attempts in the Xavax religious Path channel]. Its just not going to happen. No one wants a recap of the past all over again, that's why they left in the first place. Redhaven may prove detrimental to the north. One more realm to coordinate its forces and sync with the rest of the coalition. One more nest of intrigue. One more headache. What exactly does this branch of Xavax bring to the table except more trouble?

If they had gone with my/our plan and helped the Goldwings settle in Fontan, they'd at least be able to take advantage of a multi-region Demilitarized-Zone none could cross for at least a whole year, thus moving the frontlines further west and eliminating certain avenues of conflict while the Goldwings negotiated as a neutral party between north and south.

Instead, y'all are partyin' it up in Krimml. For now, at least. Sad thing is, the more y'all focus on razing Redhaven, the stronger the north will get. Make one mistake and the script will flip.

One way or another, its bound to be an interesting time for the continent.

On another note, what the hell is going on in Fallengard and OI? Is anyone even alive in those realms anymore? I don't seem to see any activity whatsoever from either realm.