Well now, this will be an update which I think might surprise some people. Of course, they might hate it too, and that's fine.
Please give me your thoughts.
This is a rather wordy update, with no gameplay or pictures. You have been warned.
Chris Taylor: No! Don't kill my Lucy!
Dewirix: Yes, the second one. I had actually considered the first one...but it wouldn't be a game of EU3 then, so I went with the amoral power grabbing.
adamclason: Re Hauritz; that's more likely. He wants to build a great Chinese Empire so he can conquer as much of the world as he wants. As it turns out, Lucille is actually a Valois by birth....
Razgriz: Well, yes, but even in this story there are more of them around, just not direct in line to the throne. As it turns out...she's even older.
TheExecuter: No...it was something I considered, but I'd already established that Talena couldn't have children, so I had to stick with that. Now that I think about it, having a child might have been an interesting thing to add to the story. We'll see what happens.
Chris/Zhang/Adam: Yes, since Valois is a place in France that is certainly possible that there would be others of her name. Still, the truth is stranger.
blsteen: Trouble indeed...in the form of anarchy and war!
morningSIDEr: Haha! Glad you liked that line. I do try to sprinkle stuff throughout. I think Hauritz will indeed regret crossing her.
Boris: I figured as much!
Thanks for posting!
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TIANSHUN II PART 4
XXX
8/6/1510
The small fortress villa just outside the city of Fuzhou had its own private army. That was what Talena first noticed as they approached. It had been a month and a half of constant danger, but led by the man in the armour of an Imperial Guard and Lucille herself they had not run into serious trouble.
They were soon spotted, and a squad of cavalry rode over to investigate the three travellers.
There was a tense conversation in Chinese for a moment before the leader of the soldiers laughed and pointed to the villa, seeming happy with the answer he had received.
“We are expected. I am a friend of his Lord, the District Commissioner of this entire region. He is a man of great power, from the Shang family, the local elites,” Lucille explained.
“You sure have all this worked out,” Talena said, impressed.
“That’s my job!” Lucille replied happily.
Talena trailed the blonde woman. She had discovered on their march that Lucille did not have the same powers of instant regeneration as she and Cade did. Instead, she had a different sort of power, a confidence and an experience in how to get what she wanted easily.
Inside the villa they waited in a courtyard until a young man exited the main building and approached them. He looked absurdly young to Talena, but he bore himself with considerable dignity. At his side was a beautiful woman, evidently his wife. As they saw the guard who had come with Talena and Lucille all the way from the capital of Peking they smiled and offered an embrace.
At Talena’s puzzled look Lucille explained. “This is Houlong Shang, his wife Chiyoko, and their cousin Jin Wen. I’ll have to lend you my translator which I have here. I guess you don’t have the one I sent you?”
“Cade took it off me. Sorry. He’s got my gun too.”
“No matter. Wait one moment.” She talked with Houlong, sometimes gesturing to Talena, others making expressive gestures. Cao Wen would often interject or agree with Lucille until finally they seem to have made their point.
“He says we should go rest and relax. You have a lot of questions for me, no doubt.”
A servant showed them upstairs into the palace, and soon baths had been drawn and Talena could actually relax in comfort for the first time in years. Indeed, not since she’d been in Vijayanagar some ten years before had she had luxury.
When she was washed, dried and changed into new clothes she met Lucille in a semi-outdoor area where the summer sun was partly shaded by cloth and wood partitions.
Lucille spoke to a servant, who brought Talena some tea, and then settled down to face her. “Well, ask away.”
“Why did you never come and talked to me in Vijayanagar?” Talena asked.
“I wasn’t sure whose side you were on, whether you were working with Hauritz. I decided to meet you in Pegu with Quan, but something came up, namely the report that the Chinese had strange and terrible weapons. I’m sorry I didn’t meet you sooner.”
“Well in that case who are you? You certainly weren’t on the space station. I’d never seen you before in my life.”
“That’s because I wasn’t there and I hadn’t met you before. I’m rather separate from that. I am an agent, someone who tries to keep time from getting messed up and off the rails.”
Talena gave her a lopsided look. “Good job,” she added ironically.
Lucille sighed. “Yes, well, in your case, your little sojourn has royally buggered up everything. This version of history is so volatile that its branched off from the normal track completely. That’s something it shouldn’t do! I’m not the only one, but unfortunately my three predecessors have been killed by Hauritz and co.”
“So if you say you’re some sort of agent, then that means this must happen a lot? I mean, time travel and stuff. Why did I never know about it?”
“Because when history changes you never know about it unless you are there when it happens and can remember what it was before. It’s happened before, a lot of times.”
“Such as?”
Lucille shrugged. “Timur was not originally in the timeline. Trust me, that caused as big a stuff up as this.”
Talena just stared at her new friend for a moment, and then nodded. “I see. So what are we going to do?”
“That’s a good question. Because all of you came back in the way you did it’s causing problems. I’m not entirely sure how to fix it. I can’t take you out of this time without blowing a hole in reality.”
“So basically you’ve got to kill us?” Talena asked flatly.
Lucille shook her head. “No. It’s not going to be like that,” she said firmly.
“Well, whatever. So what next?”
“We’ve got to get Hauritz and the other two out of power. Restore, at least partially, the balance. It’s my job. Remove irregularities.”
“I want revenge on them for betraying me, imprisoning me. I’ll help you.”
“Thank you, Talena. But you have to promise me that you won’t take power, or influence rulers. We need to work together here.”
“Alright, Lucille. Done.”
Silence settled over the patio for a few moments before Talena spoke again. “So...you’re de Valois. Does that mean you’re related to...?”
“People always ask that,” Lucille said with a smirk. “As if there was only one group of people ever called that.”
“Oh, sorry,” Talena said, embarrassed.
“As it is, I AM related to the Kings of France, but it doesn’t mean I had to be!” Lucille added happily. “I’m a relation of the first Valois King of France, Philip. Not an especially close one, mind, but enough to be partly royal and a minor noble.”
Talena looked surprised. “So you’re actually from what...the 14th century? So are you immortal like me?”
“I don’t age, but I’m not like you in the other senses, no. I am a member of a group known as the Order of Aurelius, and part of that is having your life extended until you wish to retire, or until you are no longer able to do your job.”
“So how old are you?”
“It’s not polite to ask a lady her age!” Lucille teased. She considered though. “Four hundred and thirty seven, I think.”
“You think?” Talena asked, unable to say anything else. Staggered by what Lucille had said.
“It gets hard to keep track of days and years going through time. You’ll get used to it, Talena. Eventually.”
“That’s not very reassuring....”