Captain's Letter to Cordelia

Cordelia –

Sorry for the surprise visit and large information dump. I’m sure you’ve been going through it the past few months, and I’m deeply grateful for your secrecy and discretion. I’ve outlined a little bit of what’s going on in Vetrios that requires your immediate attention, and how it ties back to our own mission at the moment.
Currently – Vetrios is, to put it lightly, a mess, and at the most inopportune moment possible. Rumors are flying through the courts and offices at high command that Emperor Eno de Moris is going to call a special governing convention with all three Houses to announce his retirement. If he motions to pick his successor soon, then the House of Lords and the House of Commons will be picking their Nominees within the next few months, maybe a year at the latest. One of the current Kings will almost certainly be the Nominee from the Lords, and it’s looking like the most likely candidate is King Raphael de Saint-Pierre from Aurillon.
I don’t think I need to go into too much detail to impress upon how fucked we all would be if this plot to take out Princess Vesera means the pockets of corruption in the Aurillon government extend all the way up to the top with her father. The real issue is coming up with an alternative at this point. The main problem with nominating King Galileo as an alternative to King Raphael is that the increasingly obvious power grabs from Byron to establish himself as the true power in Vetrios are reflecting very poorly on Galileo’s ability to establish law and order within his own nation. This makes it appear as though a Rovian emperor would lead to more open chaos/mob rule flourishing empire-wide. This chaos is causing everyone in the House of Lords to sway towards Raphael as the Nominee, if/when Eno declares he is going to select his successor.
Vetrios is the largest city in Rovia and easily the most recognizable to citizens outside the borders. Rovia needs to provide a viable alternative to King Raphael, who is known for his steely demeanor and solid track record of following through on deals/promises while dealing harshly with dissenters. Currently, King Galileo needs to prove to the House of Lords that Rovia wants to be taken seriously as a powerful kingdom full of variety, life, and flavor instead of as a haven for corruption, drug cartels, illegal smuggling, piracy, etc.
It can be assumed that Byron is a target for politicians as well as mobs from around the city. Honestly, the fact that he’s still breathing at all is practically a fucking miracle. We’re in damage control mode here, so while maintaining your cover, do what you can to mitigate his chaos. Interrupt drug shipments, track down these Butcher Souls and make a mess of their internal structure, raise a bunch of red flags around whatever criminal nonsense you see going on down there in Vetrios so you can tie him up in red tape. Do whatever you can to just give us some time to get Galileo off his ass. Remember, we’re trying to make an old man look good here. Like he’s “cracking down” and “restoring Vetrios,” just in time for the House of Lords to start considering who they want running the empire.
If there’s a horrible emergency, you’ve got that Sending coin. I’m trying to stay on the down low, but I’ve got friends with teleportation circles if you’re about to be killed by a mob or anything. Let me know if you find anything that might have empire-wide implications, or any ties to this conspiracy about the Princess, of course. I’ve got a couple leads that I’m following up on, and this whole thing might be bigger than either of us could have imagined at first, so for now you’ve got a commanding officer’s seal of approval to cause whatever chaos you deem politically and ethically necessary. Use it responsibly, or not, if that’ll be more efficient. And, of course, a final order: don’t die! It will be very inconvenient for both of us. I’ll check in with you soon.

– Captain Lilian Devereaux

Type

Text, Letter