A Vassal-Lord's Guide to the Vaekirate

VAEKIRATE AUTHORITY

By the terms of the Northern Contract set by Emperor Yvor 18 years ago, the Vaekirate has the following authority over vassal-lords:

-- Excommunicate: At any time the Vaekirate is allowed to excommunicate an individual for heresy against Aed. This can range from committing crimes against the religion and it's faithful to simply raising the ire of the Vaekir. The consequences of excommunication vary on the crime though all require the faithful to shun the excommunicated individual.

-- Offer Chief Priestdom: Within the Vaekirate exists a conclave of Chief Priests, each one ruling over a designated region of the faith. It is within the power of the Vaekir to declare a new region in need of a Chief Priest, giving the ruler of that region a connection to the ruling body of the Vaekirate and affording a great level of power to the Priest in question.

-- Declare Holy War: The declaration of a Holy War is the process in which the Vaekir deems an entire nation or group the enemy of the Faith and calls upon all the true faithful to declare war. Although not required to provide soldiery, any and all Vassal-Lords who do not will be looked upon with disfavor by the Vaekirate.

-- Declare Martyr: The canonization of an individual as a martyr is done by the Vaekir or the Chief Priest conclave and declares that an extremely pious individual of the faith who has died in it's protection is a martyr. This not only gives a lot of favor to the ruler and supporter of said martyr but also provides the possibility of holy relics to be created from objects commonly used by said individual. 

-- Proclaim Mission: The proclamation of a new Mission is the process in which the Vaekirate constructs a new mission for the Order of the Crimson Tome. With the proclamation comes an influx of missionaries as the new Mission is constructed in the region. This can both come as a boon and a curse for local lords depending on their own personal interactions with the faith. 

VAEKIRATE MISSIONS

One of the first things you will notice about the Aedakom Vaekirate is that it has Missions (Kerks) scattered across the continent. These are centers of missionary activity by the Order of the Crimson Tome. The closer you are to a Mission, closer you are to the manipulative hands of the Crimson Tome and their missionaries. Here are a few key points:

-- Missions are, mechanically speaking, essentially compact Manors with tier 2 Luxury, Settlement and Armory, Tier 3 Keep, and Tier 1 in all other aspects. Along with those structures, the Settlement contains a Temple, Vaekirate Library, Monument, and a Monastery. 

-- Missions are expected to remain relatively isolated for long periods of time, working with local populations to sustain themselves and aid the surrounding faithful with their needs. 

-- Resource nodes directly adjacent to Missions, if necessary, are claimed by the Mission for it's continued survival.

-- In addition to a Tovenaar Retinue and Scholar Retinue, every Mission hosts a Tovenaar-Akur Retinue. This is a unique Retinue of battlemages that can be deployed in combat as powerful ranged combatants.

-- The Vaekirate Mission of Karmozijn Kerk is a unique case. As center of Crimson Tome power in the North, it is considered a full-scale, fully-upgraded Tier 5 Manor. Its Castle Town is considered a large "city" with an Arsenal, Trade Port, Monument, Magnificent Gardens, Palace, every Vaekirate building, and unique Vaekirate College that trains Tovenaar-Akur. The Palace is the Court of the Chief Kerkir of the Crimson tome, currently Chief Priest Staas.


DIPLOMACY WITH THE VAEKIRATE

All vassals invariably find themselves dealing with Vaekirate representatives at one point or another, whether a Missionary arriving to spread the faith or a Priest "requesting" permission to construct a temple in the region. But rarer is the vassal who has mastered negotiating with the Vaekirate on their own initiative. However, with Vaekir Koen finally looking North to hedge against the machinations of Emperor Vokoryn II, now is the time for leaders with ambitions of Vaekirate favor to make their move. They would be wise to consider these guidelines:

-- There is no easy metric for measuring the Vaekir's impression of you and your kingdom. Look for symbolic gestures, and do your best to respond appropriately.

-- Personal visits from the Vaekir are very rare, so diplomacy with the Aedakom Vaekirate is generally mediated through the Order of the Crimson Tome, the Vaekirate's Missionary branch. The order has a system of ranks astute vassals will pay attention to to gauge how important a meeting is: (1) Kerkir, (2) Predijkir, and (3) Zwerkir.

-- The highest ranking Vaekirate official permanently stationed on the continent is the Chief Priest of the North, currently Staas. Both Chief Priest and Chief Kerkir of the Crimson Tome, it is expected of him to read all inquiries and requests made of the Vaekirate in the North. He may send or accept an invitation for a private audience with a vassal realm's monarch or a representative as it is his purpose to support the growth of Aedak as a whole.

-- The easiest and most dependable way to start a conversation with a Vaekirate representative is to send a delegation to the nearest Vaekirate Mission. Negotiations will commence with the resident Kerkir or one of the lower members of the Order.

-- Always remember that who you send is just as important as what message you are sending.

THE VAEKIRATE MILITARY

Similar to the Grand Survaek Empire, the Vaekirate has few direct civilian subjects in the North to call upon as levies. However, due to it's status as the head of Aedak the Vaekirate has unparalleled access to the volunteer armies of the faithful. Along with those faithful seeking to defend the faith against all who might threaten it the Vaekirate continues to maintain a standing army in the form of the Vaekirate Guard and the Tovenaar-Akur. As of recently the Sylph Saighdeoir Order, a military order of monks, have been inducted into the main hierarchy of the Vaekirate.  Any vassal with dreams of removing Aedak and it's people from their lands will no doubt face the combined might of these three formidable entities. Information on their composition is scant and not always reliable:

-- During the Conquest of the North, Vaekirate Guard forces consisted of large blocks of heavily armored Halberdiers and Musketeers deployed in wide blocks supported by similarly armed cavalry. Similar soldiers continue to garrison Karmozijn Kerk and accompany Vaekirate Officials.

-- Due to the policy of taking all magically inclined individuals to be trained as Tovenaar by the Vaekirate, it's armies are supported by battlemages known as Tovenaar-Akur who's natural skill and training make them truly terrible foes to meet on the battlefield.

-- Due to the recent induction of the Saighdeoir Order the Vaekirate armies are now supplemented by Sylph warrior-monks, elite archers skilled with the blade, each one having trained their entire life for war and faith.

-- Due to Messara's position inland on the Southern Continent the Vaekirate has no professional navy to speak of. As of recently this has been remedied by the supplemental navy provided by the Saighdeoir Order though hardly something to compare to the Empire's navy.