YEAR 3

Kingdom of Rok

Advisor Ter: "We have some problems at the black ore mine. Those men you assigned to work there have started a riot. And frankly, sir, I don't blame them. Who wants to destroy himself by working in that choke hole while you could be chopping off heads in the bright sunlight? I suggest we close the damned mine. Where do we need that rock for anyway?"

Advisor Rokan: "For metal axes and armor perhaps?"

Advisor Ter: "I know. Shut up, or I'll smash your head against the wall. No, I wasn't talking to you, Sir. I just want to say that your battle-lust is all the armor you need. And your two fists are your best weapons."

Advisor Rokan: "Except for the beautiful black metal plates and blades. You should not listen to that dimwit. But he's right in saying that we have a problem with our miners. What if we'd just keep some of our male enemies as slaves after a raid? Let them work in our mines. You'd have to pay the guards, I suppose. But that's better than paying the miners."

Advisor Bork: "No, male slaves always give problems. I've seen that before. Always trying to escape, always trying to sabotage. Just give our miners a decent pay. Ripe meat, brown ale, and fresh women is what comes to mind."

Lienzo Republic

Minister Cayu: "The festival we had on the first year of the second age really showed how great Lienzo's cuisine truly is. How great the potential is, I should say. Most people do not have much choice in food, it's mostly black pudding and lard-covered bread. Other things are only consumed as exceptional treat. Therefore I propose we pump some money into local restaurants, so that poor people can afford great food too. Everybody should be able to have fine steak, cheese and wine every day."

Minister Hierro: "You realize we have spent a lot on health recently? I suggest we use this ongoing food-craze to fill our coffers a bit. Let's increase the tax on prize-winning food. It's only rich people buying it anyway, they'll still be able to afford it."

Minister Senagh: "I remember how it was before all these foreigners came here. All was better. I know we cannot evict them, that would go against our fundamental principles. But what if we increased the general tax for non-vampires? That way you don't force them to leave, but do give a push in the right direction. And the extra money can be spent on local restaurants, just as minister Cayu explained. So that every vampire can get a proper meal every day."

Slevadovia

Advisor Stojan: "My king, we need something to bind our people together. To form a strong nation. Especially with our neighbours the Roks. Therefore, I propose we choose a national religion. Recently, one particular religion has received a lot of positive attention. Disorganized groups of nords in the east have discovered an artefact, a book. It details the life of an ancestor of ours, called 'Valerian'. From what I've heard he was great at trading, because he knew how to get the favor of the goddess Fortuna. By living a certain way, as is detailed in the book, you can bend luck in amazing ways. For example, predict die throw results, and 'accidentally' receive extra money for a trade, and sometimes silver coins turn out to be made of gold."

Advisor Scochorl: "That book may be old. But the spirits of nature are older. And the spirits of nature are everywhere. We need to create a subsidized Druidic order, to restore the balance of the worlds. With every trade you gain some and you lose some. That is the law of nature. These druids could carve runes, provide stimulating mushroom potions, and erect nithing poles against the Roks."

Advisor August (whispers in your ear): "I have a better idea. We could pay some druids to work for us, and create omens showing that the spirits of nature and luck are on your side. And silence those that say otherwise. Show the people that your rule is divine. The fact that you are king is proof that you are blessed. I'm saying this because a separate religion might compete with your power. You don't want some man with a dress kicking you off your throne. And that wouldn't happen if you are both the king and the high priest."

Austria

Minister Fulco: "Hail Kaiser Alexander! We have received word from our southern cousins. A book has been discovered, detailing the life of a great warrior. He could defeat all because he knows the ways of Fortuna. This warlord Valerian is a direct ancestor to your eminence. It would be logical to immediately announce your divinity. Anyone that says otherwise should be hanged."

Minister Gregorius: "That's good and all, but ... hanging? That's a bit harsh. No, no. First we should teach people the ways of Fortuna. And educate them how the successes of Valerian eventually culminated in the founding of our great nation. And if they start revolting later we can just re-educate them, in the torturing chamber."

Minister Henricus: "This religion may be good for business. We could make (apparently) intricate geomantic devices that help please Fortuna. And sell these for ridiculous prices. I can see our national treasury filling up already."

Khemri

Advisor Tanatei: "Our dark and beautiful Khyrei has recently gone even darker. But not for the good. Apparently random killings pose real problems to our economy. We should get a proper national guard, stationed on various populous locations. And if the mere presence of those guards does not deter the murderers, the excessively violent public executions should."

Advisor Marakugh: "Guards are static, not very effective. We should instead build a team of highly-trained assassins. They will roam the streets disguise, and silence anyone that has committed a crime against your Ladyship. Everybody will fear our 'wraiths'.

Advisor Zeeth-es: "This is not a problem. Those victims were apparently defenceless weaklings. Good riddance."

Zalfir

Advisor Nehenen: "Our prismatic guard is great in theory, but they lack practical experience. What about creating fight-to-the-death arena battles? We'll pit the guards against criminals. And if we charge people for watching, we can pay the winners of these fights. To give them some motivation to participate."

Advisor Aleras:  "After many experimentations I have uncovered a more important problem. When an enemy hits the armor or weaponry with a sharp projectile or blade containing black metal, the glass item shatters into a thousand pieces. I expect that our soldiers don't like becoming human pin-cushions. My experiments have shown that the glass can be improved by adding the mineral Mintorium. If you just pay some people to get the stuff out of the ground, then I and my apprentices can make improved versions of our prismatic armor and weapons."

Advisor Jawahir: "Who cares about all of this? This warmongering. Our POTENTIAL enemies are still far away. If you want to pay someone to do things of national interest, I would say that our gardens and houses need some attention. Some beautification and unification. So that they become as wondrous as those of the fairytales we hear and read all the time. Oh and by unification I don't mean that everything has to look the same. Just that there's one common theme."

Equestria

Advisor Kvikke: "We need to bind our people closer together for the perpetuation of our nation. To achieve this, we should create an educational institution. A school, where every child learns about Equestrians history, and about the holy Friendship. About anything that glorifies the nation and unifies all Equestrians."

Advisor Tali: "I agree with Kvikke, but only if the parents pay. It's only fair to charge those with a lot of children more than those with few or none."

Advisor Moath: "Let our children play for goodness' sake. Let them find out things on their own."