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But before he could head to Cintra and then on to New Kaer Morhen, Gustave was suddenly stopped by Larkin to deal with a matter that required his immediate attention.
Over the past two months, Larkin had gone from being merely an agent assigned to him by his mother to becoming his personal assistant, handling all manner of affairs, because the work Gustave did was far too sensitive for a second set of ears.
"Your Highness. Lady Vivienne de Tabris is waiting for you in Lyria. Lord Alvin has already stabilized the curse, but he himself is stumped on how to cure it completely. The methods Lord Alvin suggested were all rejected by her and her family."
Pausing, shivering slightly as he thought of Queen Meve's plan to resolve the issue while benefiting the Twin Realms in a single stroke, freeing the land from Caldwell's rebellion and turning Toussaint into a vassal state, Larkin could not help but imagine his humble kingdom entering the stage of a major power, much like Cintra and Temeria.
Remembering the many siege engines Lord Gustave had designed and now intended to use, Larkin recalled the sight and sound of massive boulders being launched into the air, a memory that sent another shiver down his spine.
Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that his duty was no different from that of any scout. A scout's job was to deliver information. With that thought, Larkin continued without further hesitation.
"Delaying any longer will test the patience of the Toussaintois delegation. Queen Meve has a plan involving them, Lord Gustave. Shall I prepare the place and the tools needed to undo the curse, such as Conjurer's Candles and ritual chalk?"
Pulled out of his research-focused state, Gustave finally turned his thoughts to his mother's plan, one that involved Syanna and the Toussaint Regent's Council, a gathering of aging politicians who supported the traditional firstborn-lineage doctrine.
Although his mother had stated that she intended to turn Toussaint into a vassal state, Gustave knew it would not be that easy, given the many complications binding Toussaint to Nilfgaard. Still, he also knew his mother was not one to boast. If she said Toussaint would become a vassal, it meant Syanna had already given her word.
That, however, was precisely the problem. Syanna's word meant sh*t, considering her unstable nature and the legacy she had inherited from the goddess Lilith. Because of that, Gustave knew he needed to speak with his mother and temper her expectations.
An alliance might be possible, but a vassal state was something he was certain Syanna would never allow once she had secured power.
So he turned to Larkin and answered, "Yes, Larkin. Do that. Bring Vivienne to the magic academy. I will tend to her later. For now, I need to speak with my mother. Where is she?"
"Queen Meve is in Dravograd City, my lord. She is currently delivering a series of speeches to bolster the confidence of the citizens there, speaking of a brighter future for the Twin Realms."
Pausing, still uncomfortable with Queen Meve's decision and with her need to bow before gods who had abandoned them in their time of need, Larkin continued.
"After that, she plans to undertake a pilgrimage to the Temple of Melitele to thank the gods for the forgiveness they have shown, for not sending the floods again. At the end of the pilgrimage, Queen Meve will erect statues to Melitele and Lebioda and legitimize the new religions that worship Tugo, Veyopatis, and Aucwenn."
Nodding as he walked toward the teleportation hub, Gustave did not bristle like a delusional, prideful peacock unwilling to endure a minor inconvenience at the sight of his mother humbling herself through pilgrimage.
Unlike Kreves, who had once tried to force both him and his mother, Gustave knew she was doing this willingly, as a means to shape and guide public opinion.
For time immemorial, religion had been a convenient tool of governance, far too useful to discard outright. Swaying people who could think critically for themselves was far more difficult than swaying those who could not.
That was why he did not take offense, finding it far too foolish and childish to do so, especially when the act of humility was directed toward friends, allies, or family, since such gestures could work both ways in shaping better character.
Moreover, ignoring the naivety of the easily persuaded masses would have been wasteful. Many could be guided through careful goodwill and measured public gestures, providing the kingdoms with a willing workforce without the need to spend excessive time or coin compelling them to labor.
That said, Gustave also knew that while believers among the common folk could be swayed without money, corrupt priests and priestesses could not.
Still, he trusted that his mother understood this well. Rather than funneling donations into temples, she would direct them toward the believers themselves, indirectly investing in the well-being of the populace. In time, this would strengthen the Twin Realms' economy, framing such aid as the will of gods who favored the people, rather than the will of the clergy.
Coupled with his deduction that his mother was doing this to redirect post-rebellion tensions, reshaping the aftermath of war into something that could become the first holy war since the earliest known Conjunction, one aimed toward the Eternal Fire, Gustave supported her decision.
For a time, he would likely serve as the public face of Lyria and Rivia while his mother undertook her pilgrimage. Thankfully, he had already finished the first batch of inventions. And because he wanted to relax, now accustomed to a world steeped in schemes and layered intentions, Gustave accepted the role with open arms, stepping into leadership for the time being.
Upon arriving in Dravograd City, he heard his mother's speech, her voice carrying traces of Elder Blood magic, stirring the crowd like a Call to Arms spell from Skyrim.
"…And so we must stand together! Support arm in arm! Be a wall! Our homes lie broken, our fields drowned, our people afraid! Yet even now, when the waters rise and hope seems as thin as breath in winter, we will not turn from one another! We will share food, share labor, share shelter, and share the burden of this wrath!
"Let the flood test us! Let it scour stone and timber alike! It will not wash away our duty! For we will smash those vermin that are eating away at our granaries! So to me, all of you! While one of us yet stands, none of us stands alone! Together, we will endure! Together, we will rebuild! Together, we will grind those cretins into the dust! Together for Lyria and Rivia!!!"
Voom! Kraaang!
"For Lyria and Rivia!!!"
With the help of Rivia and Lyrian Spellweavers concealing the phenomenon, Gustave saw through his [Knowledge] ability that his mother's green-golden, Speech of Inspiring aura spread across the square, reaching everyone who listened, like an explosion of glowing dust.
Feeling his blood boil from the speech, he sensed that his nervous system had triggered a controlled release of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine, enhancing muscle utilization and filling him with the urge to lay down his life for his mother.
Using his [Recalling] ability to restore his state from before being affected by the Speech of Inspiring, Gustave nodded. With his mother's Elder Blood abilities, combined with his own capacity to detect rebellious thoughts before they surfaced, he knew that traitors would become the least of their concerns.
Knowing this was likely the reason the rebellions had remained concentrated in Spalla and Glevitzingen, Gustave acknowledged that, without his mother's Speech of Inspiring, the Lyria and Rivia he knew might no longer exist, despite the many racists, dregs, shirkers, and yellow-bellied cowards among his people.
So he waited to the side until his mother finished delivering her propaganda. Then Gustave entered the mansion, sat at the dining table, and ate while drinking Lyrian Merlot, a wine unique to his kingdom, to pass the time, since during his research-focused state he usually ate and drank only to sate his hunger, not to enjoy it.
Thinking about hunger, or more specifically thirst, Gustave suddenly found himself missing Cerys's blood, realizing it had already been three days since he had last tasted it. And thinking about Cerys, his thoughts could not help but drift toward the idea of having her wield mystical power, like an overpowered beastmaster.
However, since he himself had yet to fully grasp or work with druid magic, and with an incoming list of projects that seemed endless, Gustave decided to focus instead on the more immediate problem of spies.
Looking through his [Knowledge] ability into the canals and rivers of Dravograd City, his deductions proved correct when it came to spies operating beyond his direct line of sight.
A Mage Infiltrator from Nilfgaard was present. Even though the Empire was not yet ready to bulldoze through the Continent, as Emhyr still needed time to quell resistance to his ascension, the infiltrator's presence proved that their plan to conquer the Northern realms was not merely an impulse of greed for new land, but a long, methodical design spanning decades.
A Chapter Agent from the Chapter of the Gift and the Art was also present, alarmed by the radical changes. To Gustave, it was inevitable that the Twin Realms and Cintra would come under public scrutiny due to how rapidly the kingdoms were changing, especially when viewed through the lens of Chapter mages capable of seeing far ahead into future consequences.
Alongside them were several common mages who once lived in Lyria and Rivia, such as Cornelius the White from Cridam.
They were present because they wished to regain their former home within the Twin Realms, despite being reminded time and again by law that no mages were permitted to enter the state until the Twin Realms was ready to become a tourism kingdom for mages as well, which would require an entirely different kind of weaponry.
And that was not even considering the more ordinary spies coming from many different places. Even agents from the distant land of Kovir were present in Dravograd City, though not in Rivia, which to such spies seemed like an abyss, where whatever they attempted was read like an open book.
What finally made him set his glass down and look in their direction coldly was the presence of Caldwell's vermin and cretins, who had arrived with their own Elven mage, intent on exposing his mother's use of magic and revealing the manipulations of propaganda to the common populace.
Gustave almost rose to warn his mother, but then sat back down, seeing that the Twin Realms Spellweavers were competent enough that he did not need to lift a finger to help.
Seeing them unholster their wands, staffs, and Prism Pendants, he watched as the Spellweavers incapacitated the elven Third Degree Mages that Caldwell's rebellion had brought with them, despite the Spellweavers themselves being only First Degree Mages.
But considering humanity's specialty in swarm-like tactics, and the truth in what Radovid had once said, that throwing enough people at a problem would eventually win the war, the Elven mages were overwhelmed before he even had time to react.
Seeing the Elven mages, or more accurately the Watchers of the Valley, being compressed into artifacts through Artefact Compression via a synchronized spell cast by ten mages, Gustave, who had intended to bring the elves into the Twin Realms' storage lab rat rooms, instead decided to stop them and let the Elven mages go.
Although Gustave would have liked to turn those Elven mages into Twin Realms cadavers for experimentation, he knew that doing so would not benefit him.
Every sorcerer of Dol Blathanna was a unique, almost irreplaceable resource. And while he hated Francesca Findabair as much as he hated Avallac'h for their centuries-spanning schemes involving Elder Blood, when circumstances were not beneficial to him, he preferred to keep them out of sight and out of mind.
This situation, however, was clearly one that caused his Twin Realms to suffer a loss. Caldwell's rebellion was effectively manipulating and exploiting the Watcher of the Valley to drive a wedge between Dol Blathanna and the Twin Realms, using nothing more than a thousand gold coins.
In doing so, they sought to pit the Twin Realms against Francesca, potentially igniting a war between two magical states, while Caldwell's rebellion watched from the sidelines, without even needing to field magical soldiers of their own.
Turning to the mage soldiers who surrounded him around the clock—a protection provided by his mother—Gustave spoke to one of the Spellweavers serving as his guard.
"Contact the commander of the First Degree Spellweavers in Dravograd City, Gideon Barr, using Xenovox."
Pausing, he continued, "Tell him to release the Elven mage and say to the elf: 'Don't be swayed by only 1,253 gulden and start a war between Dol Blathanna and us. If you desperately need the money to buy supplies for your Valley of Flowers, you can simply resell our magical trinkets. A long-term partnership with us is far more profitable than doing odd jobs for cretins.'"
After a moment's thought to consider a fitting punishment for allying with Caldwell's rebellion, Gustave turned the elf's focus toward Caldwell's rebellion itself.
"After saying that, tell Gideon Barr to punch the elf in the face until it turns blue, then repeat exactly: 'Your kind is a disappointment. You may live long, but your brain is like a goldfish—unable to think that far ahead, easily outschemed by someone who doesn't have an ounce of Power.'"
With that done, he watched through his [Knowledge] ability as Gideon Barr followed his instructions—but with a slight twist. Instead of simply punching the Watchers of the Valley in the face, Gustave saw the man first mock them and spit on the elf's face before finally delivering the words he had intended, amplified with even more venom.
What had started as a comparison to a goldfish became a tirade involving pigs, pig feces, and countless other otherworldly curses, leaving Gustave fully aware of just how racist his Twin Realms could be toward non-humans.
But because he knew the message had already been conveyed, he did not dwell on the details. Considering that the tolerance of the Aen Seidhe for racism—after being mocked by humans for thousands of years—had long since grown numb, he expected that this would not spiral out of proportion, aside from any personal vendetta the elf might hold against Gideon Barr.
However, since that was not his concern—and because Gideon Barr was the one who had started it, given that Gustave had intended only for the Watcher of the Valley to be punched, not have its dignity smeared—Gustave let it go. After all, Gideon was the one who caused it, and he would have to bear the responsibility for any personal revenge.
Once all of that was done, Gustave finally saw his mother enter the mansion reserved for royalty after giving her speech and telling the populace that she wished to go on a pilgrimage.
"Ah, my golden son. Did you finish your research?"
"I did, Mother. And here—look at this."
Allowing her to hug him tightly while holding his RDBM 2.0 and showing off the shield he had made, Gustave explained, "After the locomotive design, I finally finished my own personal buckler that can retract and un-retract without compromising quality. Its defense is comparable to a meteorite silver plate—or even stronger."
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References may break immersion. Just go ahead to the next chapter.
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References
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Conjurer's Candle is a candle with magical, ritualistic properties, derived from the card's description.
"The ornament's aesthetic is particularly pleasing to those with a fondness for the macabre, yet its true allure lies in its mystical properties; for any old candle can light up a dark space, but only a few can illuminate the truth."
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Regent's Council is mentioned when Geralt is talking to Damien at Anna Henrietta's grave.
"The Regent's Council. A pack of old men who've statues and codices for hearts. Ducal blood flowed in Syanna's veins, and she was never legally disinherited, so they ruled she should lie alongside Anna Henrietta."
And because there is no scene with the Regent's Council in Toussaint, I assumed these old men politicians live in Corvo City.
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Dravograd City does not appear on the official map, but it is shown in Thronebreaker. It is near Lyria. Besides Dravograd, there are also Wetterton from the standard Rivia, Lyria, Spalla, and Scala regions.
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Lyrian Merlot is a drink unique to the Twin Realms, as stated on a Thronebreaker card reward for completing the For Better or Worse quest.
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Meve's inspiring speech is derived from her Gwent card ability, which boosts all allied.
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The depiction of the citizens of Lyria and Rivia as cowards, dregs, and racists is derived from Thronebreaker. One of Meve's personal soldiers complains about being unable to conscript any willing civilians to fight Nilfgaard during the For the Realm quest in Cridam.
"D'you see th' dregs I got to endure, Your Grace? Yellow-bellied cowards an' shirkers, that's who."
As for racism, both Thronebreaker and the final book contain many examples of pogroms in Lyria and Rivia.
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Wands or staves are usually used as tools for focusing and channeling magic, much like in Harry Potter. However, I assume they eventually shifted to pendants worn around the neck or wrist, as these are more effective since drawing a wand or staff is time-consuming.
There are many examples of this, such as in the Gwent: Aretuza Journey story.
www.playgwent.com/en/news/39646/aretuza-journey-story
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Cornelius the White from Cridam, a village near Lyria, is mentioned in one of the notes in Thronebreaker. Additionally, many mages once lived in Lyria despite it being a poor region, as stated in a conversation between Yennefer and Lytta Neyd in Season of Storms.
"You'll sell this villa and buy another. In the mountains in Lyria, for instance. The Lyrian mountains are fashionable now. Plenty of sorcerers have moved there, because it's pretty and the taxes are reasonable."
"I don't like mountains. I prefer the sea. Never fear, I shall find a safe haven without much difficulty, considering my specialty. Women are everywhere and they all need me. Drink, Yennefer. Your good health."
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Gideon Barr is the garrison commander of Dravograd City in Thronebreaker. However, in this fanfic, because a sorcerer's Conduit Event can be artificially jump-started using Alvin's Elder Blood unlocking spell, he becomes a Spellweaver.
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