VidansSecretNotes
Behold! These are Vidan's secret notes. Do NOT 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...
---
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 ...
---
After the party, your delegation goes to the rooms designated for it, but ...
---
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."
---
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."
---
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.
Third Vanishing
After dinner, the tables are cleared away and music starts playing, and the servants wander around with little trays of drinks. The delegations start moving a little apart, but not super quickly. Taking your "go talk to the other religions for us" job seriously, you head towards Red, as the place most likely to be receptive to a priest of Navare.
You're one of the first people to seriously strike out from your delegation to another one. You do see a centaur [that you recognize now as Diomarche] heading from Red to Yellow at about the same time you head to Red, but mostly that delegation seems to be meeting with itself rather than heading out to talk to others. Watching it as you get close, it is fairly clear it's more five separate delegations than one big one - four political ones and a Rushian group - although it's also clear that a lot of them know each other even outside of their sub-delegations, as they start socializing cautiously.
By the time you get there from Purple, the Reds have resorted themselves moderately - Rush-ites from each of the political delegations have gone over to the big Rush group, a few other priests have divided off into a sub-group of their own, and the political groups have re-organized so that the head of each group has at least one person from the other three groups nearby. As the political groups slowly start to drift towards the dance floor, you approach the Rushites and introduce yourself.
"Delighted to meet you, I'm Daniel." One of the priests from the group steps forward to shake your hand. "Sergeant, if you would convey to our friends the Lord Captain's position on things while I speak to our Purple Comrade?" he adds over his shoulder. The woman he addresses as Sergeant looks a little sour, but nods, and he pulls you a little aside.
"I must say I'm surprised, but pleased, to find one of our faith in the Purple delegation. Perhaps between the two of us we can sort out Victoria's border disputes with the Empire amicably, and turn all our forces North. I'm afraid Lord Karsten is not likely to be the most accommodating of negotiators, but I'm sure I can arrange to rein him in if you can wrangle some concessions from your side. Does that seem reasonable?" A bit surprised at how quickly he leapt to the point, and cognizant of your inability to actually promise anything on behalf of the Empire, you murmured something noncommittal, and he backed down slightly.
"Ah, of course, I should have realized you would not be in Command of your delegation, forgive my enthusiasm. Still, you have given me the excuse to start circulating with others, instead of being trapped dealing with internal Red politics all night, and for that I thank you. Perhaps you could point me towards someone in Purple who might be able to negotiate more authoritatively?" You mention Li Karest's name as the Minister of Borders, and he strides off purposefully in that direction. You are not at all sure that his directness will play well with a fourth rank Bureaucrat, but ... well, you can only do so much.
Deciding not to go back to the Rushites, you head towards the other group of Fiveists.
"... very well, this evening it is. When shall..." the person talking cuts off as you come up from behind him. You don't actually catch anyone giving him a signal, but feel like it must have happened. They all turn to face you. You introduce yourself as Vidan, Priest of Navare.
"Well met!" says the man who was talking. "I am Gyvail, priest of Orellian, and these are my friends, Westrak of the Nameless, Dora, Priestess of Jord, and Caitlan, a Priestess of Navare. Welcome, friend." Gyvail's enthusiastic welcome gets a smile from Dora and an eye-roll from Caitlan, but everyone says hello politely, and is happy to talk to you for a bit. You note that while they are each from a different one of the political delegations, they definitely know each other fairly well. They are happy to talk about their hopes for the conference, and an opportunity for the forces of the Gods to prepare for the attack of the Breaker before it comes, and curious about your knowledge of the Twins' position on things. They are definitely looking at it more from a religious point of view than the political one Daniel leapt to. And you notice they never come back to whatever it is that will be done this evening.