Why did Greater Xavax <Insert Action>?

[JeVondair]

As some of you know, I had to take a rather large step back from BM lately while I focused on RL situations, the most in my 6 years playing. Those have, thankfully, subsided somewhat and I'm ready to dip a toe back in. To re-acclimate myself, I thought I'd start a thread, and I chose the topic because I've seen a lot of OTHER threads get derailed with extraneous back-n-forth about Why GX did or didn't do a thing. Since my character was a big driver behind a lot of said things, i thought I'd provide a place for those discussions here in case any of you have burning questions/observations so that old threads wouldn't need to be revived or new ones hijacked.


So, let the fun begin?

[Gildre]

Why did Selenia not execute Gilth straight up? Other than it would make for boring game play lol.

[JeVondair]

Why did Selenia not execute Gilth straight up? Other than it would make for boring game play lol.

She was 100% ready to kill him herself, having no reason at all to trust the Vix invaders or an unannounced "defector" that wanted infiltrate her court. I was actually looking forward to doing so. I remember warning you OOC how likely it was to happen. But you Gildre's have a stubborn streak. He surrendered honorably and with eminent respect and shortly had half the Phoenix Court speaking out in his favor, chief among which was Cadewyn Thunderborn who vowed to accept whatever consequences Selenia deemed fitting if Gilth ever betrayed her trust.


From a player perspective I was just happy to have another player in the mix. Both I and Selenia would have liked the propaganda bonus and insider information a defector brings, though sadly Gilth was not of much use in either sense. His presence and participation in the Imperial Court, however, seemed to have a notably calming effect on the Xavax's Savagery streak. He humanized the Vix, somewhat at least, and confirmed that the only real reason Vix had joined  the War against Xavax was to prevent them from becoming more powerful than they already were.


In the end, Gilth proved to be more Xavax then most and his death was long and deeply lamented. I do believe Selenia canonized him as a hero of Xavax before the Path of Ashes.

[GustavKuriga]

Why did Selenia offer Sayuki her protection?

[JeVondair]

Why did Selenia offer Sayuki her protection?

Because Robb Starfall irritated her.


That's the short/silly answer, the long answer is that Selenia had always intended to absorb Alara, but wanted a credible cassus belli to do so. Furthermore, she needed a war and Alara had made itself her primary target after thier interference with her successor, Xerarch Magnus. Sayuki's unexpected defection came just as Selenia came into power at the end of the Xavax Civil Wars. The Xavax were at one another's throats, nobles slaying each other over insults, Xavax was a powder keg that was holding together by a thread and a prayer. The fastest way to hammer the Xavax back together would be to focus them against an external other. She kept Sayuki as part of an extended diplomatic campaign to bait Alara into crossing a line that would justify Xavax declaring war against them, or better yet, the reverse. None of the other rulers were taken in by that, of course, turned out to be a major miscalculation of hers in the end.

[GustavKuriga]

Because Robb Starfall irritated her.


That's the short/silly answer, the long answer is that Selenia had always intended to absorb Alara, but wanted a credible cassus belli to do so. Furthermore, she needed a war and Alara had made itself her primary target after thier interference with her successor, Xerarch Magnus. Sayuki's unexpected defection came just as Selenia came into power at the end of the Xavax Civil Wars. The Xavax were at one another's throats, nobles slaying each other over insults, Xavax was a powder keg that was holding together by a thread and a prayer. The fastest way to hammer the Xavax back together would be to focus them against an external other. She kept Sayuki as part of an extended diplomatic campaign to bait Alara into crossing a line that would justify Xavax declaring war against them, or better yet, the reverse. None of the other rulers were taken in by that, of course, turned out to be a major miscalculation of hers in the end.

I always found that period when the rebellion started interesting, because many of the rebels regarded Sayuki with a sort of "Et tu, Brute?" reaction when he sided with the loyalists.

[JeVondair]

There was a lot happening at the time, and I was planning to retire Selenia at the time to become the sort of silent senior noble in GX while I focused my player energy on Rania; so I hope I was able to provide the details you were looking for!

[steelabjur@aol.com]

There was a lot happening at the time, and I was planning to retire Selenia at the time to become the sort of silent senior noble in GX while I focused my player energy on Rania; so I hope I was able to provide the details you were looking for!

That's funny, I was thinking of retiring Aramon to courtier and maybe priest work when I had him join GX, since I'm not a very active player normally. One of motivating factors of me joining GX was the presence of    David Wierbiki (Iuz Vidar Crownguard), who I consider a friend, and I think one or two others I knew. Things just sort of happened from there.  :P

[MTYL]

Why did Greater Xavax not stay in Xavax city for an epic last stand instead of the silly anticlimactic trip north? (One that only didn't end up to be a disaster thanks to Barrett being the nicest judge in the history btw)

[Barrett]

Didn't I chop off Corvo's head as Chester though MTYL? :P

[MTYL]

That was before! It doesn't count :P Chester did chopped some heads off and tortured some fellas but then in the prospect of 30+ nobles going off into the world he got convinced by Joran that being a nice Chester might cause some of the poor mind-controlled Xavaxans to join south instead of north.

Then again it wasn't such a lovely idea after all. Chopping people's heads off and torturing them only to provide them with cushions, blankets and full amnesty later on is not diplomatic, it's bipolar. Nonetheless at least a couple more Xavaxans saved their heads thanks to it and a couple more got spared from banishment and possible decapitation at a later date.

[JeVondair]

Why did Greater Xavax not stay in Xavax city for an epic last stand instead of the silly anticlimactic trip north? (One that only didn't end up to be a disaster thanks to Barrett being the nicest judge in the history btw)

A good, oft-asked question. Every decision related to this was openly discussed in the Imperial High Command military channel prior to being implemented. For years, the ever-pragmatic Talon Lionel Kinsey pestered Selenia about having an exit strategy, both privately and in IHC. She refused to even consider the notion, instead focusing ALL of her energy on shifting the diplomatic landscape of the East Continent to give GX hope of a fighting chance. Then Iuz Crownguard, GX's Duke of Isadril, defected, ripping the economic guts out of the Imperial war machine. Total defeat became inevitable at that point, along with the assurance that the Imperium would be dissolved and everyone who'd fought and died for it would be scattered and/or forgotten.

Not only was that idea entirely unacceptable to her, it made Lionel's then-merely unpalatable suggestion infinitely preferable. He sold her on the notion that by breaking north, the Imperium could live and fight on in SOME form. That it was at least possible for her people to survive without being stripped of their identities and sacrifices. So she gave the order on the day of the solar eclipse for extra symbolism, taking full public responsibility so as not to inhibit Lionel's ability to lead without her. At the time, she herself planned to stay behind and man the walls to the last, but she was convinced at the last minute that she'd be more  useful to her cause alive then dead. It did not work as I planned or expected, but the recently formed realm of Redhaven stands, in my mind at least, as a testament to dauntless, tenacious nature of the Xavax people.

As a player, I saw the writing on the wall just like everyone else did, but I truly felt the Xavax players had forged something special and I didn't want that to be lost. I thought it would be a cool idea to see how they, as a coherent group, might change the boring-ness that the north was infamous for.

In short, She/I didn't want to lose the war, so instead changed it, sacrificing our home in exchange for a future shot at victory.

[Bluelake]

* Bluelake reads this whole thing and frets.

[JeVondair]

* Bluelake reads this whole thing and frets.

Hmm?

[MTYL]

What are GX folks up to now?

Is Perl the new GX?

Can I join?

Three questions at the price of one, weekend sale.