presents...
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Running a game in Mondavi lands, featuring Mondavi nobles, required a more thorough understanding of the prince's plans. This is the way I chose to flesh his scheme out, and the roles played by his various family members.
The Prince
Prince Mondavi, in his early forties, is probably only older than Eduardo Vestini. But since his father did not have a son until late in his life, Mondavi may have been prince for ten or twenty years already.
A twenty-year old prince would be seen as weak and vulnerable, especially by predators like Vincenzo Caligari, the senior, dissipated Prince Vestini, and the equally young but far more ruthless new Prince Villanova. If Alcide had been lord of any lands other than his own humble rice paddies, he might have faced serious challenges to his authority. Even as Prince Mondavi, he would surely find his cousins pressuring him for lower prices on his exported rice.
The Mondavi had never been threatened because the Mondavi were never threatening; moreover, their job was thankless and boring. Alcide took that reputation to new heights to secure his reign. Not only was he non-threatening, he took the persona of an active coward, someone who would go out of his way to avoid giving offense. His politics were boring - a fair, consistent price, offered to all, with no playing of favorites. His parties were boring. His gossip was boring - no courtesans, no scandals. Even his duels, apparently fought because as a prince, he must maintain a certain minimum virtu, were boring. There was nothing interesting about him or his lands, and his cousins found that they could ignore him entirely and focus their resources on each other.
Their mistake.
When Lucani and Villanova took pretty Vestini girls to wife, Mondavi took narrow-faced but powerful and ambitious Mea Lucani. Mea's Sorte was strong, but she had been unable to use it to its fullest extent because of the Lucani curse. Alcide recognized in her the same frustrated dreams of power that haunted him, and offered her an outlet. She accepted and, within a year of their marriage, had directed his attention to Eisen and the War of the Cross. Their future glory would lie there.
Mondavi directed his early efforts at the Vaticine side of the conflict. The Heilgrunds were close with the Imperator; Posen was militarily strong; Sieger was his neighbor. He offered them all what food he could spare, at reduced prices, as an act of "Vaticine charity." Sieger knew his neighbor as a weakling and a coward and took the rice as tribute. Baron and Baroness Heilgrund, less familiar with Vodacce politics, interpreted it as an overture and accepted; an ally in the south, close enough to spy on Hainzl, was useful. Posen turned him down, not wanting to complicate the war with further foreign entanglements.
To the surprise of his Vodacce cousins, the prince also began courting Duke Samuel Dubois du Arrent of Montaigne. He was seeking one of the duke's many daughters as a wife for his oldest son and heir, Gallisus. Vodacce society was a-twitter when Gallisus brought his Senzavista bride, Nemise, home to Profeta Chiesa, which his father had given him as a base from which to govern the mainland. The general consensus was this was another example of Prince Mondavi's cowardice - by saddling his son with a "blind" foreign wife, he was effectively announcing that the next generation of Mondavi would also be uninvolved in the Great Game. Society was delighted when Gallisus departed the mainland for Mondavi Island no more than six months later, all but abandoning his new wife in favor of the young but exceptionally beautiful courtesan Marifi. It gave them something to talk about, after all.
The prince gave no sign that this distressed him. It was, in fact, done according to his plans.
Mondavi had the highest hopes for his alliance with the Heilgrunds; their suicide (and the Imperator's) was a major setback for him. He and Mea quarreled for some months over it; he thought she should have been able to foresee or prevent it. Eventually, he decided to believe her continual and consistent claims of some greater power interfering. She spent a significant part of her time in the future, when she was well, keeping watch for the return of that unknown interloper. Mea took sick at around this time and returned to Lorenzo Palace in Agitazione for her health.
But Sieger's prideful decision to salt his own lands was better fortune than he could have hoped for (and indeed, Mea had a hand in that). After his wife had thoroughly consulted the strands, Mondavi went to Sieger with a new offer: rice for mercenaries. For the first time in two decades, he let someone outside of his immediate family see through his facade and outlined his war plans to Sieger. Sieger initially resisted: he did not want to be seen by the rest of Theah as accepting charity. Mondavi easily shrugged and replied that it was far more likely that the rest of Theah would see it as him "paying protection" to Sieger. Sieger liked that much better.
Almost all the pieces were in place now. Mondavi continued to press Prince Falisci to make a match with his daughter, Lavinia. The two agricultural princes together would make a powerful bloc, and Lavinia had inherited a good measure of her mother's power. But Falisci was dragging his feet on giving an answer, as he was still besotted with Lady Jamais Sices du Sices of Montaigne. His strands to her were powerful Court cards, and Mea could not touch them. But Mondavi felt his plans could proceed without an alliance with Falisci, his influence, and his navy.
From 1666 to 1668, Sieger's men moved slowly into Mondavi lands, concentrated in border areas and along rivers and roadways. Nemise Arrent du Mondavi became the effective governor of the mainland, and at her father-in-law's demand, began to make regular Porte circuits of the major Mondavi cities. Every afternoon saw the very latest news from Profeta Chiesa and Agizatione delivered to Chiarisa, on the island, for Mondavi's review. Gallisus had learned the island politics, and was ready to step forward to govern it when his father went to the mainland for the war. Mea continued to do what she could, but her health was still very poor. Still, she saw enough to counsel her husband to wait until the autumn. It was bad timing for a military campaign; fighting through the winter would be either difficult or impossible. But she insisted that something sufficiently advantageous would occur that he should delay that long. Alcide and his Lord's Hands personally interviewed and tested men to find six highly competent assassins.
The islanders heard of the sinking of Caligari Island long before most of the mainland; Mondavi's command centers heard of it the day after he did, thanks to Nemise's trips. The Eisen, and the Mondavi troops they had been training, began to prepare to march, and to distribute themselves along Mondavi's borders. The other princes eyed this advance with some caution, but when the soldiers stopped within Mondavi's territory, they again took it as the coward protecting himself in the coming land grab. The forces of the other princes set out to carve up Caligari's lands between them.
So, while the bulk of their armies were in the field, and while the princes themselves were focused on this new opportunity, Mondavi launched his assault, as described in The Montaigne Revolution. He was only stopped when the neutral cardinals of Numa threatened him with excommunication - something that would send his people into revolt.
The Montaigne Revolution also suggests that Villanova bought off Sieger at the same time as the cardinals made their pronouncement. I take this as a hasty attempt to do something to salvage Villanova's fearsome reputation. The prince who supposedly "knew about Mondavi's mercenaries" in Vodacce and was "waiting for another prince to start a war" so that he could finish it did absolutely nothing to his own advantage. He was somewhat... blinded by his troubles with Valentina and Juliette (so fortuitously timed for Mondavi that one again suspects Mea's hand), granted. But it would be amazingly short-sighted and fairly stupid of Sieger to allow himself to be bought in such a manner. Villanova can offer a one-time payment; Mondavi can continue to offer food that Sieger still badly needs for several years. Sieger is unlikely to accept food at any price from his Castillian neighbors, who tried to take his lands. The largest agricultural exporter in Montaigne is the Dubois du Arrent family - Mondavi's in-laws - so even if they weren't busy with the Revolution, he might not find their prices so accomodating if he were to sell out on Mondavi.
Mondavi's military war might be over, but his cousins are going to find the conflict is not done. Mondavi lands have been the peaceful breadbasket of Vodacce for generations, and Alcide is about to raise his prices. Those who ally with him and recognize his authority (probably in external matters only, at least to start) will get the old, generous prices.
The princes will find their options limited. Eisen still cannot feed itself, let alone export to Vodacce. Montaigne and Castille are both recovering from their war, and Montaigne is plunging headlong into another one. Their surpluses will be small. Inismore, surprisingly, has a long and temperate growing season, and may suddenly find it more profitable to sell their extra grain rather than turn it into whiskey - but it's also unlikely that the small island nation will have enough surplus to entirely supplant the Mondavi rice supply.
A direct attack on Mondavi could be possible, but his Eisen-trained, battle-tested troops are not to be sneered at. And the pitiful coward has shown himself to be a general in the mold of the great Lorenzo strategists of old. A direct attack would be painful for whichever prince attempted it, and each is clearly hoping another will bell that cat.
Vestini and Bernoulli may find themselves making strange alliances with their eastern neighbors, the Ussurans and the Cresents.
But most important will be the Vendel reaction. If they attack, and how they attack (by land, by sea, or both) will undoubtedly shape the Vodacce response. A purchased Posen army, for instance (she needs the money...), marching into the mainland, might cause the other princes to rally to Mondavi's cunning banner - or they might sit and wait, hoping that the Posen forces will break his might and weaken themselves defeating him. That's if they march first into Mondavi lands; if they attack Villanova or Vestini first, the response would be different. And if they come by sea, it will be Falisci and his ships in the vanguard.
1669 should be an interesting year.
(Of the seven princes, four - Lucani, Mondavi, Vestini and Villanova - are currently married. Bernoulli and Caligari are widowers, and Falisci is looking. Canonically, only Valentina Villanova is described in any depth. Francesca Lucani and Mea Mondavi are little more than names, and the Princess Vestini doesn't even have that. (The fact of Eduardo's marriage is mentioned in passing at the end of his GM's description in "Vodacce.") Beatrice Caligari and Morella du Montaigne are other important, powerful strega given lengthy write-ups. They, and Valentina, are all Heroes.
So in developing Mea Mondavi, I thought that mold should be broken.)
Mea Lucani, a cousin of Alberto Lucani, was a sharp girl, in just about every way possible. Small and delicate, her long, narrow fingers, proud bladelike Vodacce nose, and dark piercing eyes gave her the appearance of a menacing, spidery china doll. She spoke in neat, clipped tones, usually with an air of irritation (to her many inferiors) or barely disguised contempt (to her male relatives). She was observant, making startlingly insightful discoveries from her work with the strands. And she practically bristled with frustration - frustration at the limitations imposed by her sex and by the Lucani curse, both of which prevented her from participating in the Great Game to the extent that she wanted. She was never especially interested in education, per se - there were, after all, servants who could read Means to Ends to her. But knowing that she would need to always play the Game through a male proxy irritated her.
She was not impressed with Alcide Mondavi when the young prince came calling on her father. He would get her out from under the Lucani curse, certainly, but what opportunities would she have as the wife of a cowardly, muddy farmer? But her father was very honored that a prince would show an interest in his daughter, and it looked like the match would be made. Mea talked one of her brothers, a fine swordsman, into insulting the prince to provoke a duel. He had no brothers and no heirs; without a prince, Mondavi lands would be ripe for the taking and the Lucani would know about it before anyone else.
Mea watched the strands during the duel. She couldn't aid her brother, of course, because of the curse. Mondavi was younger then, and not quite so deadly as he is in 1668, but the fight was still not very long.
They talked, afterwards. Alcide had not fought as a coward fights, Arcana be damned; Mea was cautiously intrigued. For his part, Alcide was impressed with her Gamesmanship. He didn't need Sorte to tell that her brother's death, at her urging and before her eyes, didn't upset the Lucani girl much at all. It was exactly the kind of quality he was looking for in a wife.
The unholy pair made quite a couple. Alcide's ambitions fit well with Mea's own. Making her a full partner in his plans won him her loyalty, and she eagerly uses her Sorte to improve both their fortunes, and does not hestitate to destroy anyone who might be getting in their way. Alcide, a thorough-going psychopath, likely cannot ultimately see Mea as anything more than a tool. She is, however, a very valuable tool which he will take great pains to protect, preserve, and maintain in excellent working order.
And, in all fairness, it's as likely that Mea views her husband similarly. He's the male conduit through which her own plans and machinations take shape in the world.
Several happenstances which extremely favored Mondavi could be Mea's work. She might have tied Eric Sieger to Alicide with strong Coins strands. (Sieger's Man of Will Advantage prevents Swords and Cups strands from affecting him, but he is still vulnerable to Coins and Rods.) Fate resolved that relationship when Sieger salted his lands, placing him in a position where he would need to hire himself out to his farmer neighbor to feed his people.
Canonically, Caligari Island was an unforeseen accident in which Mea Mondavi could not plausibly have had a hand. (Of course, it doesn't have to be an accident...) She may have done what she could to preserve Vincenzo Caligari for those first few weeks, to give the other princes someone to hunt. Not that Caligari seemed to need her help: when Eric Sieger attacked him in Octavus, Mea should have been working against Caligari, yet the old tyrant managed to escape anyway.
Giovanni Villanova's absence from the field may also have been her work. She surely had no hand in his confrontation with his wife and courtesan. (Valentina could have ably defended herself from any such manipulations.) But she may be caretaking the strands that formed as a result, keeping Villanova's obsession with the pair strong and weakening strands to any other matters that require his attention. She is likely fighting Valentina on this, who would be trying to do exactly the opposite.
Mea's Illness
If the job of the Tessatore is to keep strega from performing too much Sorte, Mea Mondavi's illness may be their doing. While Sorte itself should not be able to afflict a person with a disease, the Tessatore surely have other resources. Mea's illness may be the result of a mild poison, or is perhaps sorcerous in nature (in which case, it would be unlikely that she has done any major Sorte since falling ill).
The princess is probably not herself a member of the Tessatore. She is powerful enough, but too young at only forty.
Mea's Reputation
Mea Mondavi should widely be considered one of the most formidable strega in Vodacce. Beatrice Caligari is more powerful, but isolates herself from world affairs. Valentina Villanova is just as sorcerously strong and has a finer mind, but she has hidden her light under a basket for years; no one knows she is as good as she is. Mea Mondavi is thought to have killed dozens of men by manipulating their fates; her husband apparently favors her so much that he takes no courtesans; he travels to the mainland to seek her advice so frequently that it would be alarming, were he not "just Mondavi."
Gallisus Mondavi is not the actor his father is. His marital troubles and his interest in the courtesan Marifi are genuine. His presence in Chiarisa, however, is his father's doing. Prince Mondavi would not allow his mainland governor to shirk his duties as Gallisus apparently does. Mondavi wants his son on the island, to govern the local snake-pit of Vodacce nobles while he is on the mainland, leading his army to war.
Gallisus is happy to trade the cold, swampy and boring mainland for the beauty and excitment of Chiarisa. He is also happy to leave behind his mouthy Senzavista wife, a Montaigne harpy with no Sorte to use on his behalf who seems to think she has some business in his meddling with his affairs. They stopped sharing a bed shortly after the wedding, and he stopped seeing her at all within two months. There have been no children, which again suited Prince Mondavi at the time. But the times are changing, and with the uncertainty of war approaching, it would be best if an heir were on its way. Nemise would also be protected under Vodacce custom as an expectant or young mother.
Marifi is a beautiful, enchanting feather in Gallisus's cap. He very much enjoys playing at the game of love with her, wooing her with gifts and prestige (which has unfortunately gone a bit to her head). It remains to be seen if he loves her in the compartmentalized, scheduled fashion that Vodacce men typically love their courtesans, or with a deeper emotional tie. (I see Gallisus as a fairly self-centered, brash young Vodacce man and favor the first; the second might give him a deeper and more interesting characterization.)
Nemise du Arrent Mondavi gets along better with her father-in-law than with her husband. Prince Mondavi seems to appreciate her, her Porte sorcery, and her talents for administration. He encouraged her to maintain control of the mainland when her cheating louse of a husband took off for Chiarisa with that loose woman. And she's done it, and done it surprisingly well.
Nemise, using all the charm she brought with her from Montaigne, made alliances with the mainland nobles and bishops, especially in Profeta Chiesa. Everyone maintained the polite fiction that Gallisus was still running things and signing documents on his "occassional unannounced visits." (While Vodacce turns a blind eye to Sorte, Nemise knows better than to advertise her frequent Porte trips to Chiarisa.) Her youth, inexperience, and sex have occassionally conspired to give Nemise difficulties, and she's had to make some compromises and deals that she would rather have not, but is overall maintaining control over the mainland.
While she is happy to have her boorish husband out of the house, she was raised better than to begin any affairs of her own before providing the Mondavi line with an heir. But she also wasn't expecting a drought of three years following the wedding. It seems that the prince has finally taken note of the situation, and she may soon find her marital obligations fulfilled.
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