#rampant

Chapters: 8/8 Fandom: Tortall - Tamora Pierce, PIERCE Tamora - Works Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Baird of Queenscove/Wilina of Queenscove Characters: Wilina of Queenscove, Baird of Queenscove, Lianne I of Conté, Roald V of Conté, Roger of Conté, Roanna of Naxen, Gareth I of Naxen, Jonathan of Conté, Myles of Olau, Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, Harailt of Aili, Gary of Naxen, Original Characters Additional Tags: Politics and Diplomacy, some incipient very bad decisions, Usefully arcane historical and magical knowledge Series: Part 12 of rampant Summary:

“Jonathan is of age,” says Lianne. She takes a slow sip from her tea cup. “I have respected his wishes so far to delay his bride search for the past two years, but my time is not infinite and I would do this for my son before the Goddess calls me.”

“And the succession must be secured,” adds Roanna. Her dark, sharp eyes cross Wilina’s, although Wilina can’t read whatever message seems to be in them.

“And the succession must be secured,” agrees Lianne, although she sounds very tired. “To whom—or to where, perhaps—would you suggest we look for a suitable match?”

Chapters: 1/8 Fandom: Tortall - Tamora Pierce, PIERCE Tamora - Works Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Baird of Queenscove/Wilina of Queenscove Characters: Wilina of Queenscove, Baird of Queenscove, Lianne I of Conté, Roald V of Conté, Roger of Conté, Roanna of Naxen, Gareth I of Naxen, Jonathan of Conté, Myles of Olau, Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, Harailt of Aili, Gary of Naxen, Original Characters Additional Tags: Politics and Diplomacy, some incipient very bad decisions, Usefully arcane historical and magical knowledge Series: Part 12 of rampant Summary:

“Jonathan is of age,” says Lianne. She takes a slow sip from her tea cup. “I have respected his wishes so far to delay his bride search for the past two years, but my time is not infinite and I would do this for my son before the Goddess calls me.”

“And the succession must be secured,” adds Roanna. Her dark, sharp eyes cross Wilina’s, although Wilina can’t read whatever message seems to be in them.

“And the succession must be secured,” agrees Lianne, although she sounds very tired. “To whom—or to where, perhaps—would you suggest we look for a suitable match?”

Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video Arsenal made it three wins from three Champions League games last night, turning on the style in the second half for a 4-0 win that few would have predicted over opposition like Atletico Madrid. It was a game we started brightly, an Eberechi Eze shot deflected and looped up onto the bar, and Declan Rice’s follow up bounced down and over in…

Still working through some of the same party scene as last week, but now it's funnier and there's a running bit about trying to drink a horrible natural wine. Also, politics!

Then Aunt Tómnat adds, speculatively, “There hasn’t been a single Minchi in the royal retinue since the Old King died—did you know that?” Her face is cast in shadow; Wilina can barely see her expressions. “We control lands equal to the next five largest fiefs combined; our tax revenues stabilize the kingdom’s coffers. We are the first bridge to the trade riches of Galla and the northeastern steppe and the bulwark against Scanran aggression. We should have a greater presence at court.” “You control half the armed forces in Tortall,” Wilina points out. “An argument could be made for less Minchi power, not more.” She shifts, trying to sit more comfortably without snagging the beading on the stone. “And not just in terms of command—think about all the teaching positions, all those junior officers trained. That influence is almost impossible to quantify, but I’m sure it’s vast.” Then she adds, mulishly, “If you want real power, think about supporting the proposed royal university.” Aunt Tómnat cackles, throwing back her head. “Well played,” she says, “but I shan’t be distracted.” Her eyes narrow, cool and ironic, and Wilina has a feeling that she’s being studied very closely. “You do have an idea who it will be, don’t you,” she says after a moment. “And you don’t like it one bit.” Her voice goes a bit distant, clearly running mental calculations.