Acclimation

Elanna hadn't had a chance to spend much time with Franziska and it was high past time that happened.  With Byron still recovering from his completely reckless and idiotic brush with death, she offered to show the future queen around and introduce her to a few of the notable members of the Landsmeet.  She wasn't sure exactly how familiar Franziska was with Ferelden culture and customs, but she knew they were certainly different from Antiva.  Her sister-in-law, Maker rest her soul, had a bit of a time adjusting when she came over and that had been long-planned.  Franziska's arrival was a bit more abrupt, and it certainly made Elanna wonder why.

That was something she would look into later.  She made it a habit of knowing what was happening with the influential members of her country, something that had paid off more than once, and Franziska would be no exception.  Especially as she was going to be so close to Byron.  Especially as she was supposed to become queen.

When Franziska arrived, Elanna gave her a warm smile.  [color=#17b529]"Lady Campana, it's a pleasure to finally meet you.  Byron speaks quite highly of you."[/color]  Why yes, she did refer to the King by his first name.  She saw no harm in making it know how close she was to him.  [color=#17b529]"Is there anything in particular you were hoping to do today?"[/color]

Franziska was reluctant to leave Byron's side, though she had to tend to the duties he was not able to meet. He posed this as, a great idea, because it allowed her to get to know Ferelden politics.

You could take the Antivan out of Antiva, but you couldn't remove everything she'd learned from growing up around Antivan politics.

So when she was informed that she could go with Elanna to meet some of the Landsmeet members, she was pleased. She had no idea what 'Landsmeet' was, because in Antiva that was not part of their rule.

Lady Cousland, She responded, hardly taking pause at the use of her husband's first name. Byron had very few secrets from her as of late. I want to learn more about... this Landsmeet? What is that?

Ah, yes the Landsmeet.  Their ruling system was something of a political aberration in southern Thedas, but a good one in her opinion even if rounding up the nobility and catering to their opinions was exhausting.

[color=#17b529]"They are something you'll have to deal with quite often, I'm afraid.  Ferelden's a bit ayptical in that we have a monarchy, but not an absolute one.  While Byron does hold significant power as King, his decrees can be overridden by the Landsmeet, which is made up of representatives of all the noble families from Teyerns all the way down to Banns.  Usually I represent the Teynir of Highever, which my brother rules." [/color] It had been helpful on more than one occasion to have a friendly voice to either support or introduce something, and Elanna often had some behind the scenes conversations if there was something she and Byron agreed really had to happen.

[color=#17b529]"So it means catering to them some, whether you like it or not.  It has its challenges, but it works overall."[/color]  She looked at Franziska thoughtfully.  [color=#17b529]"A lot of them are regulars at the Gnawed Noble when they're in town.  If you enjoy Wicked Grace and a drink or two, we could always had over there and I can introduce you to whoever's around or we can sit back and take stock of things."[/color]

TLDR:

• Elanna explains what the Landsmeet is and how Byron's rule isn't absolute
  
• She suggests going over to the Gnawed Noble for either some noble watching or more direct introductions
  

Franziska scrunched her nose at the fact Ferelden was not an absolute monarchy like her home country; though even Antiva was no longer absolute in its leadership, but instead ruled by greed. Whoever had the most coin ruled the world... Do these repsentatives have the most money? She inquired, curious if the same rules applied to Ferelden as did to Antiva. In Antiva, we were once absolute, but money sways all things.

Strange phrases, she'd have to ask what teyern and and teynir meant later. They were some kind of districting, she was certain. Can you explain... 'teynir', she butchered the word, and furrowed her brow. Bann? What do they mean? It wasnm't quite Common, something specific to Ferelden.

Sometimes she felt like life in Antiva was easier. Simplier.

That was an excellent question, and one that clearly illuminated one of the many differences between Ferelden and Antiva.  Having always been so immersed in Ferelden it hadn't occurred to her that Franziska might not have the same grasp on the details.  [color=#17b529]"Not necessarily.  It's determined by who is in charge of land holdings.  That is mostly determined by bloodline, so it's entirely possible that there are others with more wealth, but less likely."[/color]  It was entirely possible to be land-poor, especially with as much as Ferelden had been through in recent memory.

Teynirs and Banns... maybe this would be better explain with a map.  There ought to be one around... [color=#17b529]"They refer to the rank and hierarchy of the holdings, and thus of the families in charge of them.  Ah, here we go, this should help."[/color]

She located a map and found a place to spread it out.  From there she was able to explain the overall hierarchy: The royal family at the top, followed by the Teyrns, then Arls, and on down to the Banns of the Bannorn and point out the general borders of each.

[color=#17b529]"What else can I help with?"[/color] she asked the future queen.

TLDR:

• Explains it's not wealth but land and bloodline that matters more
  
• Explains the hierarchy of titles and holdings, pointing them out on a map
  
• Asks about other questions
  

So this land was not ruled by money, but by blood? Her brows furrowed at that detail, or was it ruled by land? It'd be clear she was confused; though she would say nothing. The next question prompted Elanna to bring forth a map, and she moved to read the map with the other woman.

Seeing the visual helped. But it still didn't quite make sense to her. Ferelden is a strange country. Antiva is ruled by bloodline... and money.

And Antiva was very rich, in land and coin. She had not yet come to terms with how poor this country was, given its most recent war. Does Ferelden have assassins, like Antiva has the Crows? Even Orlais had the Bards. Surely Ferelden had some such organization that the royals turned to.

Elanna shook her head.  [color=#17b529]"Nothing so formal as that.  There are some mercenary groups that operate here, and there's certainly some organized crime, but nothing like the Crows, or even the Orlesian bards.  That's not to say that those or other groups don't operate here, I have no doubt they do, but were don't have a Ferelden equivalent."[/color]

While other countries might employ groups to dig up secrets, blackmail, or assassinate Ferelden didn't operate quite the same way.  It wasn't that you couldn't hire someone to do those things, you could, but not from a group with the same standing or self-imposed code as Crows or bards.  There was no Game to play, and things were far more straightforward.  Straightforward didn't mean uncomplicated, however.

[color=#17b529]"We... handle things in our own way.  Usually less lurking in the shadows and more forging or breaking alliances over drinks.  It can get petty at times, but if you learn what drives each of the nobles you can figure out what will get them to side with you when it counts."[/color]  She had done her best to learn each of the Landsmeet families in and out, and she'd used that knowledge to help Byron more than a few times.  Often times without him knowing.

Perhaps that is why this country is so poor. She stated, with a shrug. Perhaps the people in power did not know how to play the Game, and therefore had fewer motivations for creating a country built upon power. She already thought Fereldens were too honest.

She made a quiet noise, as Elanna stated there was less lurking in the shadows, and more alliances and parties. So your nobles do not... ffear that they may be killed over a drink one day? Interesting. And certainly a different lifestyle than she was raised in. Elanna? Why does Byron balk at ideas to make Ferelden a wealthy country? An honest question; he'd balked at the idea more than once and she couldn't figure out why. Higher taxes, more export less import, lower the working wage, allow children to work jobs that required smaller hands...

Ferelden people would need to shed Ferelden blood to gain the kind of wealth that Franziska envisioned.

Elanna chuckled just a little.  There were always a handful that did or said something stupid and got themselves killed over a drink.  [color=#17b529]"I suppose they don't fear it so much, but that doesn't mean it doesn't ever happen."[/color]

Her brow furrowed as she tried to understand just what Franziska meant by her latest question.  Byron had always seemed open to ideas to her.  Ferelden was a far cry from being on even footing with countries like Orlais or Antiva and they'd certainly like to get closer to having the level of wealth and comfort people experienced in those countries.  Just not at the expense of their people and what made them Ferelden.

[color=#17b529]"In my experience he's usually willing to consider ideas, and I know he has Ferelden's best interests at heart.  Can you tell me a bit more about what you've proposed?  Maybe we just need to find a different approach."[/color]

In Antiva, children work jobs that require small, quick hands. And usually start apprenticeships around age 10. She responded, tapping the table with her finger. Or we lower the working wage, increase the taxes, charger higher for export... She hummed. It wasn't very people-friendly, but it'd certainly do the trick to get them on even footing with Orlais and Antiva.

Because Ferelden is so poor, the only way to gain a standing is at the expense of the people, just for a little while... She huffed, annoyed. She was starting to think her husband was soft. Perhaps the country was soft.

At the expense of the people?  Elanna's expression immediately turned colder.  Perhaps that was how other countries did things, making the nobility rich on the backs of the poor, but Ferelden wasn't going to do that.  Their people had suffered enough and they didn't need anyone purposefully making it worse for them.

[color=#17b529]"That explains why he said no.  That's not how we do things here in Ferelden.  We may not be the richest country, but we will not build our fortunes on the backs of the people,"[/color] she said firmly.  [color=#17b529]"We had someone who took charge of our country in the not too distant past that tried to do that and all it brought was more death and misery.  We will not go down that path again."[/color]

[color=#17b529]"However,"[/color] she said, with less coldness and more consideration in her tone, [color=#17b529]"strengthening apprenticeship programs would not be a bad thing, nor would opening them up further age appropriately.  So long as we're not stealing childhoods, people being introduced to and better supported in the trades could be  quite beneficial."[/color]  She was willing to throw the future queen a bone there.  Her philosophy was wrong, but she could still have some worthwhile ideas to build on.

Franziska furrowed her brow, and then turned to gesture in the direction of the alienage. Is that not built upon people's oppression? It looked oppressive, certainly. She could only imagine what it was like to live in one, though she'd never experience it herself as Elanna had stopped her from entering.

And then her gaze turned to Elanna, and she sighed. I do not think that will build enough funds to make enough change. But at least it is a start. An agreement, though half-hearted. Franziska would not ever understand how Ferelden operated with these half-policies, and the care to let the people have coin but the kingdom have none. It was foolish, idealistic, and she stayed quiet about it.

No point in fighting a lost fight.

Franziska wasn't wrong about the alienage. Truth be told Elanna had wanted to do more about that, but progress on that front had been slower than she'd like. Not enough of the nobles cared enough about the alienage to make things better, and soon enough it had become less of a priority. The elves had more of a say than they used to, but prejudices still ran deep. You're right, it is. And we need to do more to fix that.

Elanna could sense the resignation in Franziska. Ferelden and Antiva were very different and worked in very different ways, and going from one to the other had to be challenging. Franziska might have other ideas that they could implement, ones that wouldn't involve imposing too terribly much on people who had already suffered enough. Maybe there are other things we can learn, or other ways we can build that would attract more trade and tourists.

What else can I help with? The future liege surely had many questions. She certainly would if their places had been reversed.

How often are Landsmeets held? She asked, when given the opportunity. Moving past the alienage as a lost cause for the moment. Landsmeets confused her because, well, in Antiva the meetings were endless — every noble wanted a word with the royals — usually to ensure their bribe or their voice was heard properly and used correctly.

...and are the royals here, are we just figureheads? Or do we have a true say? Because in Antiva, it was not uncommon for the royals to be figureheads with no say; no voice. They existed to do what the people in power (Crows, Merchant Princes and others) told them to do.

@Elanna Cousland