VidansSecretNotes

Behold! These are Aidan's secret notes. Do you read if you are not Vidan or a GM.

First Vanishing

You pray to Navere to show you what you need to know, and feel your miracle struggling with... your miracle? Not the one you just cast, the one you cast last night, with the power from the Ritual, to restore all your memories after the spell to remove them. Returning what you lost and showing you what you need are not strictly opposed, but they are not the same, and there are defenses against the second that are not there for the first. In the end, you get disrupted fragments, rather than a coherent vision...

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The party after Cara's speech lasts hours, as the delegations mix and mingle. You speak to ... and to ... and ... The Orange Delegation is the most Ecumenical, with priests representing all the major religions. Speaking to Luigi, he mentions that the Cult has some unusual resources for tracking the Breaker's actions. Depending on how the conclave goes, they may be willing to make that information more widely available. You also speak to ...

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After the party, your delegation goes to the rooms designated for it, but ...

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As you approach the door, you hear Gyvail's voice, trying to be quiet while clearly irate. "This was *not* the plan!" Caitlin responds, more calmly "There wasn't enough power. The plan needs to be changed," followed by Westrak "I can hold what we have for a time, but not for long."

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Flint looks from the dead redcap to the unconscious Scout. "Federico, with me. The rest of you, see what you can do for him. If anything unfortunate happens, tell Her Majesty that Futeau is the traitor."

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Hurrying down the hallway, you hear Gyvail's voice raised to a shout "No!" and then a scream. Diomarch charges towards the doorway as you feel Divine Influence building in front of you.

Second Vanishing

The delegations are each provided with their own tables at the welcoming dinner, giving you a chance to sort out in more detail who is actually here, and what they're interested in. The delegation as a whole does not have terribly specific directions, but with 7 fourth level bureaucrats, it has enough authority to make a lot of decisions and/or agreements as things progress. You don't get all the third level bureaucrats sorted out, but based on a combination of talking to people at dinner and what you already know, the fourth level ones are:

Win Dae - Minister of Repercussions: Dae is one of the few female bureaucrats, and a powerful purple mage. As Minister of Repercussions, it is her responsibility to oversee and maintain the spells that provide the Empire with an analysis of what the future will bring, to help guide the decisions of others. Her direct authority is limited, but going against her advice and being proven wrong is a good way to lose one's position. She apparently believes the events of the Conclave will have a significant effect on the way the Comet proceeds.

Han Cho - Minister of Grain - An unusual choice for the conference, Cho's portfolio is administering the farming and agriculture of the Empire. He says he is interested in securing the assistance of Green and Blue mages to assist with that, but this is a dramatic way to try to hire help. Possibly he is hoping to make a play to advance his rank? His ministry is affiliated* with the Minister of the Treasury (a fifth rank position), but you have heard nothing of the Treasurer being ready to step down.

Kachest - Minister of Naval Trade - Another affiliate ministry to the Minister of the Treasury, although much more obviously relevant to a conference with other polities. Karchest is relatively recently promoted to the fourth rank, within the last year or two, more on the strength of his skill with purple magic and power as a Priest of Balance than his Ministry, which is historically generally held by a bureaucrat of the third rank, as the Empire's external trading interests are limited.

Az Julan - Minister of Lions - The "Lions" this ministry deals with are largely a metaphor. It is the ministry in charge of Unusual Threats, be they monsters, dangerous wild magic, or Brokenness. An actual lion rampaging would fall into his bailiwick, but would not draw his direct attention unless it was the size of a house. Even then, his attention would generally be "organizing a way to take care of it" rather than 'fighting it himself', although you are given to understand he's a skilled purple mage. Loosely affiliated with the Ministry of War (a fifth rank position), Julan is the most obviously relevant Minister to the question of "what do we do about the Comet."

Foran Zakar - Minister of Redactions - The Minister of Redactions is in charge of keeping secrets. Zakar is both a purple mage and a priest of balance.

Li Karest - Minister of the Borders - Loosely affiliated with both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of State (a fifth rank position), the Minister of the Borders is responsible for the Borders in a more metaphysical sense, making sure that Red, Green, and the Broken Lands do not encroach on the Holy and Magical lands of the Empire. Karest is a Priest of Balance but not a mage, and his personal focus is more on the border with the Broken Lands. Rumor has it that he and Julan periodically have disputes about whose jurisdiction various incursions from the Broken Lands fall under, but they are perfectly civil at dinner.

Jun Chang - Minister of Fortune A ministry you were not previously familiar with**, Chang explains that his portfolio is to "develop opportunities the Empire is presented with to its advantage". He is given to understand that a Comet brings not only new dangers but new opportunities, and is here to see what he can learn of what those opportunities might be.

While you are feeling them out, you also get a general feel for what they think you are here for. It is less "give us advice from Navere" and more "act as our liaison to priests of other gods in the other delegations." The other three advisors (Za - Lord of Light, Priest of Tam; Vesper - the silent one, Priest of Tem; and Edev Guran - Representative of the Head Stallion) seem to be more representatives of their groups here to give advice, although most of the Ministers seem to be treating that as "we have to listen to these people or their bosses will be insulted" more than "I want to know what they think."

• - An "affiliated" ministry is not in the direct chain of command, but is generally expected to follow the policy positions of its affiliated minister, and failing to do so can get one demoted. People in the direct chain of command are "sub-ministers". There is at least one sub-minister of State and one sub-minister of War among the third level bureaucrats.

• • - There are literally hundreds of ministries on the rolls, many of which are not staffed at any given time, so this is unusual but not amazingly so. It does mean he probably doesn't have much in the way of staff or subordinates to order around.