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  1. JPClyde

    JPClyde Senior Member

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    How Would the Empress Get Involved

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by JPClyde, Jul 14, 2017.

    All right, so a good chunk of my novel, will be the involvement of Empress Priscille. In my novel, it starts in the mid to end of a battle from some up starters. They are more of a unified guerrilla rebellion then they are any kind of army.

    Due to Priscille being a devout woman who follows oner of her sects, by the end of the novel she simply hands the rebellion a pity token of victory. Priscille not necessarily described as the most kind woman for the most part. Oh she'll justify it and reason it behind her Sect of Devotion. But the reality of the situation is that she can be kind of the C word.

    For example the minor village that she is giving the rebels, is falling apart, has not been populated for years, is overgrown, and expects them to simply rebuild it themselves and provides them no actual support from her borders. She also sends some of her guards to guard the city, not for the Rebels, but under the impression if any of them get out of control they have permission under her order to slaughter them all. [the rebels don't know that's the agreement she made with her guards]

    This village was lost to time and swollen by a forest, because it was the start of an uprising and civil war of some citizens before Priscille time. The Empress during that time dealt with those up starters, then buried the evidence that there had been any kind of civil war. And had the village completely marked off any maps or ignored. She even moved her borders away from the village on any new renditions of their maps as if to have people completely forget about it. In time they did.

    Ignoring all that superfluous fluff. The main question is, how does an Empress even get involved with the rebels, enough to just throw them a shit shack and watch them struggle to provide for themselves?

    Because right now she isn't involved. I mean why would an Empress go out of her way to even help find these rebels in the first place, she expects the army to do something about them. She only gets involved because of X event that brings the rebels to her, and she has to deal with it directly.

    But, what would that be?

    I know her motivations are based on her faith. Priscille follows the Law of Charity, thus the pity token is out of a justification of her faith. But she only did it to look good in the eyes of others. Merciful and just. When she really doesn't give two Ancestors tits about the Rebel Magus.
     
  2. rktho

    rktho Contributor Contributor

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    What if there are religious members in the rebellion?
     
  3. JPClyde

    JPClyde Senior Member

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    That's actually more a common plot point for the second book. After Priscille gives the village to the Magus Rebellion they start to scratch their heads at her decision. Beyond the fact that it begins to dig up a lot of history they in fact did not know, which in turns looks bad on her part.
     
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  4. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Where cushions are comfy, and straps hold firm.
    Rumors traveling about the kingdom of dissenters,
    or some kind of plot against the Empress herself
    would do it.
    This is a good reason for going around rounding up
    the rebels, and do what she wants with them.
    Or maybe there is a greater threat looming in the
    future, and fear of the rebels joining forces with this
    unknown would be disastrous later down the road.

    Hell she could have a bad day, and just want to clean
    house, so to speak. Who knows?

    Powerful people do what they want, when they want.
    So basically it depends on how she rules her kingdom,
    and how her edicts affect the society under her rule.
    It is entirely possible for a 'just' ruler, can still be a
    ruthless monarch underneath the surface. Justifying
    the act of squashing the rebels for so long, and then
    just kicking them out instead of out right annihilation.
    Shows both sides of being ruthless, and merciful.
    Besides since she has her guard watching them, she can
    at anytime slaughter them, and no one back home would
    even know about it. There by maintaining her air of being
    charitable and fair, even to her enemies.
     
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  5. JPClyde

    JPClyde Senior Member

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    she is definitely the embodiment of merciful ruthlessness
     
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  6. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Then play her as such. It is a good characteristic to play around
    with. Never really sure if you are suppose to like her or hate her. :D
     
  7. JPClyde

    JPClyde Senior Member

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    The thing is the village they are given that's guarded is in the 2nd book.

    In the 1st book it ends with her giving it and negotiating with them. And that's where I am stuck. How do I get her involved in the 1st book to actually Do that.
     

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