Everyone knows the story of House Silva and their stewardship of New Earth: how the shrewd Archon Jennelle Silva forged alliances and forced allegiances from over thirty systems through savvy politicking and martial prowess only to become obsessed with an ancient ark ship that she believed had the tools to create the first habitable world since the Collapse. Archon Jennelle SilvaIt's well known how Jennelle Silva's final decade as Archon were treated as madness: subjugating systems with no legal cause when before she had only called her ships to honor alliances, draining resources throughout her reach when before her dominion was the wealthiest in the galaxy, and, of course, disinheriting her daughter, Julinka, in order to leave House Silva to her granddaughter, Conory.
Empress Conory SilvaIt's easy to overlook this legality as an odd but forgettable footnote. Conory Silvia’s six year reign as Archon could best be described as "legendary." Conory inherited the dominion when she was 14, and in the two years before she came of age, her grandfather tried to rule in her stead. As fine of a bureaucrat Archon-consort Bin Silva was noted to be, he was not a good ruler. Almost the entire northern half of the dominion, including Jennelle Silva's terraforming jewel in Alhudra, was lost to rebellion and in-fighting after the list of grievances Jennelle Silva left behind. Yet in six short years, Conory Silva reunited the rebelling houses with minimal force, forged and deepened true alliances across the galaxy, became beloved by both the nobility and masses, and of course, was crowned Empress after finishing her grandmother's dream of giving humanity a true home for the first time in centuries.
In light of her grandmother and her daughter's accomplishments, what is there to glean about Julinka Silva?
Former Heiress Julinka SilvaJulinka Silva was Jennelle Silva's third child and only daughter. While her brothers, Lancelot and Kateb, grew up fiercely competing with one another and pushing each other to give their best for the Archon's favor, Julinka was born knowing she would inherit the Silva Dominion. It was evident even from her earliest years that Julinka had inherited her mother's brilliant tactical mind; however, it was also evident that she had inherited her mother's overwhelming pride and occasional cruel streak. She would get in spats not just with House Silva's councilors, but also with the heads of vassal states.
However, it was no mistake that her mother appointed her as admiral to the entire dominion's military. Julinka not only knew how to command a fleet to victory, but she knew how to plan an entire war that would never even be in question. And by all accounts, Julinka Silva could fly. The admiral flew a single-seat interceptor, and whether engaged in a tournament duel or at the head of the vanguard, few escaped her sights the better. Julinka Silva may have been disliked—hated, even—but by no means was she disrespected.
This changed when Julinka Silva took a joy ride through the uninhabited galactic south, only to come limping back to Misam a bloody mess. She had stumbled upon uncharted ruins, and while exploring, she became infected by an alien parasite. Despite the parasite's violent attack, the heiress managed to stay conscious long enough to plot a course home. More miraculously, the creature was removed from Julinka's body without killing her, but the damage it left on her internal organs would never heal.
First came the painkillers. Using her position as archon-heiress, Julinka's addiction could not and would not be denied. Aggression came next. Julinka had been known as an ace pilot that flew with almost surgical precision, but after her recovery, Julinka fought every tournament duel with reckless fervor, constantly putting herself in real danger, maiming several nobles, and even killing once. This blasé attitude must have been alluring, as Julinka found herself with extra-marital admirers across the galaxy that she now had the gall to entertain.
Conory Silva was six, and with Julinka in such a state, Jennelle decided to take Conory as her personal ward. Jenelle's obsession with Alhudra had also reached its peak, constantly sending Julinka to maintain the peace on a system House Silva had no true claim over. Perhaps it was the special interest in her daughter, perhaps it was the obsession with Alhudra, or perhaps it was simply hubris that led to Julinka Silva's final sin as heiress: plotting to dethrone Archon Jenelle Silva.
Of course, while House Silva was renowned for its military might, those who knew where real power lay feared House Silva's intelligence network even more. The dissenting faction was swiftly discovered and dispersed. Julinka didn't even try to deny her involvement.
Julinka Silva was disinherited within the year.
By all accounts, Empress Conory Silva was a kind and just ruler, and so executing or exiling her own mother would have been a scandal impossible to hide. Yet the name "Julinka Silva" seems to just disappear from House Silva's records a few years into Conory Silva's reign. A name lost but not forgotten, perhaps given as much honor as it deserves.
The first captain of the guard died in the first goblin siege of Ogurvad.
The ruins of Ogurvad look impressive: a wide tunnel into the earth guarded by a stout keep with rings of crenelated walls surrounding it. But in those first few years, the keep was a simple stone mound, and the walls were barely a palisade built only on one side of the river. And so, when goblins came, their rutherers broke down the gate, and the hammerdwarves rushed to meet them, leaving the river unguarded. Goblins riding alligators came from the river and the only dwarves close enough to defend the inner doors were the marksdwarves led by the first Captain. All ten gave their lives to rout the alligator cavalry.
The second captain of the guard died within one year of being appointed with the next goblin siege. By this point, Ogurvad’s walls had been built with stone and fortified with cover, and the military of Ogurvad was comprised of three squads of marksdwarves and two squads of elite hammerdwarves. However, despite the discipline, the second Captain found herself patrolling the walls on her own when the next goblin siege came. A full battalion of goblin archers filled her with arrows, though she was able to sound the alarm.
The third captain of the guard died after two months. The goblins came again, though this time Ogurvad’s crossbows were all in place. The militia routed the archers, but not before the the third Captain took a few arrows himself. He died a few weeks later of infection as the rest of the wounded were still being cared for.
The fourth captain of the guard lived for five years. In a siege only half a year into the fourth Captain’s career, a goblin bow master led the charge. The fourth Captain engaged the bow master and won, but not before taking an arrow to each leg, severing the nerves and rendering him unable to walk. And yet for the next four years, the forth Captain continued to crawl and shuffle to patrol the walls and fight off the hordes that tried to take Ogurvad. He even adopted two dogs.
One summer, Ogurvad dealt with yet another goblin siege. By this point, the fortress was well-trained and well-equipped to deal with goblins, and so after only a day of fighting and no casualties, the citizens of Ogurvad were collecting what was useful from the dead and disposing of the rest when another threat came: a dragon. The only militia nearby was the local guard, and so to protect the civilians outside the walls, they rushed out to fight the beast.
The first recruit that ran outside the walls didn’t even have a chance to fight as the dragon melted him. The second rushed through an infernal forest in flame to meet the same fate. The third, the Captain, burst through the burning countryside to put one bolt through the dragon’s throat and another through its lung. The dragon died, but not before dousing the fourth Captain in one last gout of dragon fire.
And yet, the forth Captain, after slaying the greatest beast Ogurvad had ever seen, crawled back, with his dead nerve limbs and uncountable burns, back to the keep over Ogurvad’s main entrance to resume his watch. He passed there with both his dogs waiting over his body.
Since the Fourth, no captain of the guard has stood watch over Ogurvad for more than a few months before meeting an early death.
As Onulalis came to my fort around age 5-10 with her mother and father and siblings who I forgot the names of. Her mother ended up as a militia squad leader and her father part of the guard. One day a forgotten beast comes up from the caverns and I’ve got a giant Moria style bridge spanning a chasm to the cavern entrance, and so I send the hammer dwarves in.
First recruit gets there, gets immediately crushed to paste, and I’m like “oh no.” Then As’ mom shows up (I did not know her at the time) and I’m like “there goes another one” but no, mom grapples the forgotten beast and takes them both down into the chasm where she manages to hold it off until the rest of the squad shows up to finish it off. Mother unfortunately dies of her wounds but is given a statue
A few years later, another forgotten beast shows up it rips through the first squad so I send in the final defense of the local guard and they manage to take the beast down but not before getting covered in it’s blood. Turns out the blood causes immediate necrosis so they all end up dying, and there are a lot of problems with cleaning up the aftermath as well.
Now since As was a child, she spent most of her time doing child things like playing and socializing and so made a lot of friends in the fortress, a lot of whom end up dying during the blood plague. She ends up snapping, to the point of attacking and seriously injuring some of my master crafters so she gets tied up in prison.
I don’t really pay attention to this for a while until I notice that her only remaining sister has been visiting her in jail and basically calming her down during her years long sentence. She comes back to society in a better place, but obviously not perfect
Several years later, a goblin siege shows up and the mayor dies somehow (I missed it) and in the chaos of cleaning all that up and burying the dead, the citizens of the fortress end up electing As Onulalis as the new mayor.
