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| Publication Date: | May 26, 2016 | ||
Meet the Character - Governor Fortunata
A thinly veiled threat to the count of Kvatch
- Esteemed Count Carolus Aquilarios,
- I am once again writing to you on behalf of my master, the Provincial Governor of Anvil and the almost universally accepted ruler of the entirety of the Gold Coast—the beautiful and the beguiling, the brave and the bawdy, the one and the only, Fortunata ap Dugal.
- Her Excellency has ordered me to request for this one last time that you finally acquiesce and bow down before her Governorship. Accept her as the true and solitary leader of all she surveys. In return, she promises to allow you to retain some semblance of rulership over Kvatch and your uncle's original holdings, provided you declare your faithfulness and undivided loyalty to the Her Excellence's banner. It is, after all, the right thing to do.
- Need I remind you that, unlike yourself, Fortunata was not born to nobility. Everything she has attained she earned through blood and sweat and deception. You must admit, she really is a remarkable woman! It didn't take her long to rise to the top of the Gold Coast Trading Company, securing a place on the ruling council of the shipping magnates and filling the company's coffers with unprecedented amounts of gold. She had a dream and an ambition that went beyond mere business, however. In short order, she used her connections and considerable charms to rally the Red Sails pirates to her side, amassing an armada of merchant vessels and pirate ships united under her white flag emblazoned with a blood-red saber. That was when she earned the title of Pirate Queen.
- Thanks to your uncle's ill-timed revolution, Anvil was left nearly defenseless and ripe for conquest—and that's exactly what Fortunata did. She sailed her armada into port, squelched a few half-hearted attempts to repel her approach, and took Anvil Castle as her own. The city leaders saw the value in accepting Fortunata's leadership and quickly set out to garner Her Excellence's favor. That was when she took the title of Provincial Governor.
- Now, Her Eminence knows all about your objections to the fact that she has annexed the entire Gold Coast and placed everything southwest of Varen's Wall under her protection. She has done this because she cares and because she has the means and resources to fulfill her promise to the people of the Gold Coast. Why can't you just accept her generosity and stop this continuous bickering? Don't we have real problems to deal with here? The Dark Brotherhood, for example, operates openly throughout our region, flouting our power and threatening everything we all hold dear. I wouldn't be surprised if they're responsible for the recent murders that have plagued both our cities. You can't deal with them. Primate Artorius and his Cathedral can't stop them. Submit to Fortunata's rule and let her do what she does best.
- In the end, do you really think you have any other choice?
- In Governor Fortunata's name, I remain,
- Braccus Klinicus, Master Scribe of Anvil Castle