[Astedia] To the victor go the spoils

[Celeste Andaris]

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10th Ymiden 717

Barony & NPC

"Trade is vital. We must ensure that we continue to maintain streams of revenue to the Barony and ensure that we build upon that." William, the Master of Coin spoke and he was clipped in his tone, but determined in what he said. "Make no mistake, this is a war and to the victor go the spoils."

Celeste sat, listening to him. They were in the meeting room in the family wing of Astedia and she and Xander were meeting with their advisors. There was so much to learn and she was doing her best, but by all the Immortals, it was tricky. She had worked consistently since arriving and both she and Xander had grown very used to the ever-present Lin, her personal assistant. Celeste glanced at Xander and then nodded her head. "It's more complicated than streams of revenue alone, though. It might be a war, but we have more than a financial one going on. We have a unique situation of both rural and urban in Astedia. Harvest season is coming, how is everything looking?"

"Well," Phillipe, the Chief of Staff and the one with the Barony overview in this sort of thing, responded. "Thus far you're starting from a strong place. You are correct, though, we need to consider the direction we wish to drive our efforts." Phillipe was much more concerned with the overview than William was and so he should be, Celeste knew. William was focused because it was his job to be, but Phillipe was there for exactly the same reason; to do his job.

Celeste looked at them and she nodded. "Jobs for us all. Louise has arranged for a number of visits which will increase my profile with the people here. Charities which might be beneficial. I'm determined that the people here will recognise me. I know that has inherant dangers." With a smile she realised she didn't know which one of Xander, Lin or Tam to look at first. Tam, her Chief of Security gave a radiant smile.

"Security will be high, of necessity."

"High doesn't mean visible. I see no point in being seen if what they see is a woman hidden behind guards. No." Tam had been about to argue and whilst Celeste glared at him, Xander might notice Louise lowering her head and hiding a smile. The Mistress of the Nursery, as she was called, had met with Celeste more than anyone except Lin. She was growing to recognise that the new Baroness was not quite the pushover that one might expect. "High security is expected. Visible, also, but I want subtle and unexpected, too. Always."

Tam nodded his understanding and then fell silent, apparently thinking about things.

"I suggest," Celeste said with a calmness she did not feel and in a voice which sounded much more in control than she was, "We need to decide where we will focus our efforts this season. We already have, in Drakengard, the Verne Andaris Medical School and the Drakensmit. I am going to visit both, and will become patron of the school. Do we wish to focus on these in this first season?" Celeste sighed slightly. "I think not. I think they must be a constant focus, but we also export books and we have a number of neighbours which have centers for learning, trade and industry. They need texts and tomes."

Shrugging slightly she asked the six of them, "If we start to collect rare books, copy them and export them, is that something which might be useful?" She was not entirely sure, but she thought it was best to explore all options now.

Off Topic

Throughout this threads, both Xander and I are able to control the NPCs as they are barony specific and Celeste and he are sharing this from the outset

[Xander Andaris]

Xander tapped his finger against the arm of the chair as he listened to William talk. He had to admit to disliking economics, out of all the jobs one had to do as a leader looking at trade and economy was what he had enjoyed least. He had spent a long time trying to fully understand it and still he struggled with it. Xander really was no economist to say the least. Well, he had the potential though. He could run a household, he understood a lot of theory about leading a military force, he understood a lot about organising a war but when it came to understanding the numbers behind profit and loss and trade projected outcome. It made him want to bash his head against a table but still he listened.

Xander had found that a lot of his job here was really just observing, listening and keeping up to date on the goings on of the Barony. He would put in his opinion when it was asked for or he felt strongly about something. Celeste had recently chosen to appoint him Marshal of Astedia, granting him a large amount of control over the military forces she wielded. For this reason it was extra important he kept a close ear to the politics and also the finance. He needed to know what he could afford and whether they were at risk of anything due to a dodgy trade agreement.

They talked about harvest and Xander paid close attention, he had been working close with Phillipe and had heard some of this already. The man was a font of information, he knew thing which were widely known and which should have been secret. He was a superb spy master, even if his true title was much less obvious of that. Xander saw something they might have missed and decided to add it in. "What of Oxentide? They rival all trade you might put through the bay and perhaps Phillipe forgot but he told me there is lots going on at the docks of our neighbour." Xander leaned forward and rested on the table edge as he allowed the proceedings to continue, whether that was discussed or not.

After that came the discussion of Celeste venturing out into Drakengard and visiting the important places. First came her security and he listened to her as she demanded her protection be more incognito than a unit of soldiers walking alongside her everywhere she went and he agreed that was a good policy. She needed to appear to trust her people, that way they would trust her more. "It is sensible to be visible to the people, they will trust someone who trusts them. Tam I know you dislike that Celeste has had a tendency in the past to be attacked and a tendency now to wish for unorthodox protection. However, I believe she wishes to be a leader of the people and to do so she must be seen to be one of the people." Xander was quite sure of this as he had planned to rule his own Barony in such a way had he gotten one.

What came next Xander had no real useful input, he was on expert on books or their value but perhaps it would be effective. An issue he was unsure of was again with the trade through the Bay and over the seas. "If I may add something, I have been looking into our naval capabilities and at the current time we are not lacking in numbers of battle ready ships, in fact we have plenty." He scratched his chin and looked to the advisors and then Celeste. "We have around two military vessels for every trade one which is a magnificent ratio. However, if Venora is building its own naval capabilites we should be careful as they could wrestle for the bay, that would likely lose us money if they got too big? He looked at William, the man in control of the money who would likely confirm his beliefs.

"I might suggest we look into this, losing any trade in the bay would be terrible. Of course, we could also approach the Venorans for some kind of deal to avoid this. What that would be I am not sure but we should not forget the threat of losing this nod." Xander hoped they would not lose anything to the Venorans and instead hoped they were just building up to better defend their current merchant ships, still, one could not be too careful.

[Celeste Andaris]

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Xander's support of her in her desire to be visible was something which delighted the young Andaris heiress. She smiled at him but said no more than that in the moment, though he knew her well enough by this point to recognise that she was more than simply being polite. The talk turned then, to the naval capabilities and Celeste's face showed her difficulty with this part of the role. Economics, at least, she understood a little and was getting more and more focused each trial. The military, though, was something which she found hard to grasp. Just the complexity of it meant that she struggled but she and Xander worked well in this; it was his strength.

The Venora Barony of Oxentide were focusing on their naval capabilities? That was perplexing. Celeste considered it for a moment and then nodded her head, thinking about it from a different viewpoint. "If Alistair Venora wishes to do that, let him. Andraska Venora has already suggested that we have a trade route established between the two Baronies. I believe we should suggest a formal agreement between Andaris and Venora, whereby we ally in trade with Andraska. Once we have, we invite Alistair to join if he wishes." Celeste tapped her fingers together, thinking about what she was suggesting. "Because then, we can offer trade in the name of Andaris and Venora. He either joins or stands alone. If he stands alone then, consider it from the point of those who wish to trade."

Celeste's thought processes were evident on her face as she spoke. "Would you choose to trade with someone who stands alone, or who works with two major houses? If we extend it then, to Krome also, we have trade routes in the North and South. I suggest we set that up as a legitimate group, between the three houses. Maybe Gawyne, if Hunter wants in?" Celeste looked up at Xander, then. "I don't care how powerful anyone is individually. We will be stronger, and more stable, by working together."

She waited, then, to see what Xander specifically thought of that. If he liked it, then she would suggest that they should set up a meeting, maybe in Saun, when many of the nobles would be in Andaris anyway, what with the royal wedding. "We need to keep an eye, however, and ensure that we do not fall behind. We have the upper hand in Cyrene Bay at the moment and we need to keep it. I suggest we focus our exporting on luxury goods and books. We are famous for both," she smiled and then tapped the papers in front of her. "Exporting less wood will make things more complicated for other boat builders and will allow ours to focus."

Celeste breathed in and then looked around. "Once we are clear, here, I want to talk about changes internally, in Astedia. I have some ideas."

[Celeste Andaris]

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The talk continued around the Barony of Oxentide. It posed an opportunity, Celeste said most clearly. Alistair Venora's tendency to be something of a maverick would be their advantage, not disadvantage. Trade agreements, through Cyrene Bay were the way to go. "The way I see it, Gawyne would like the rare books, and the paper and so on." She would contact Andraska, she said. Of course, none of them could foresee, at that moment, the sudden change in circumstance which would lead to the court case, to the public humiliation of Alistair Venora and would, fundamentally, put a pause on all of this.

"So, internally," Celeste staid with a smile. "Xander and I plan on doing this together. There will be no decision made which is his or mine alone to make. We have to ensure that all of the staff know that from the outset." With a nod to Xander she smiled slightly. "However, I do understand that this gives the potential for mixed messages. So, we will need to ensure total transparency and excellent communication." Badon, Xander's mentor, friend and servant from Krome would become part of the team in these meetings. His role was with Xander, of course, but it was important that everyone was involved, she felt. The roles here would remain for at least an arc and then they would reconsider if it was necessary. But what Celeste wanted to avoid, more than anything, was change for the sake of it.

"Once we are married, of course, we will both be Andaris," not something Xander was looking forward to, losing his name but he would always be her wolf, Celeste considered. "I'd like to act as though that already is now, within the limits we have. My grandfather will, of course, be watching." There was no doubt that Thomas Andaris would be keeping an eye on the young couple and how they did this. In truth, Celeste still did not fully understand why he had set up the match with her and Xander, although she was pleased that he had. The unification of the North and South might be something which he desired, she supposed. Still, Celeste was good at making sure she worried only about that which she could change and their forthcoming nuptials did not fall into that.

Namely, it was happening, whether either of them wished it or not. "So, we have a plan, yes? Books, luxury goods are the focus for the moment. Then we set up trade agreements, ensuring that we are in a place of strength. Any questions?" There were none so Celeste nodded. "Then we meet again tomorrow." In these early seasons, frequent and clear communication was vital.

Then, with a smile to Xander she said "I wonder, Lord Krome, if you'd like to take a walk with me?" They, too, had things to discuss after all.

[Niv]

Celeste Andaris

Knowledge:

Leadership: Running a meeting
Leadership: Speaking to a small group
Leadership: Ensuring that everyone is clear
Leadership: Clearly stating priorities
Politics: Building alliances to weaken opponents
Politics: Looking for the reason behind arranged marriages
Politics: Don't make sweeping changes early on
Politics: Ensure that you isolate, in order to be victorious

Loot: 

N/A

Injuries: 

N/A

Fame:

N/A

Magic:

These points can NOT be used for Domain Magic

Skill Points: 

15

Notes: 

Sucks that you had to complete this on your own. *glares at Alexander* otherwise it was a fun read. I didn’t realize until I read this thread that Alexander took Celestes last name.



Art credit to Yoshitaka Amano