🎀 Wisteria 🎀

— Your Highness. — Having performed her now routine duty, the white-haired maid bowed elegantly and departed with equal grace, leaving Lucretia Air el Sufir alone with herself. The Countess watched Balsamina Azurit with an approving gaze, noting that she knew her place, yet displayed none of the uncertainty and fear typical of new servants, which made the talent snatched from “Snow White” a very valuable acquisition. More than once or twice she had dealt with familiar maids or those who, out of fear of the imperial family, could not cope with their duties; therefore, she was very pleased with Balsamina's work and behavior.
Lucretia's breakfast today consisted of a varied assortment of vegetables, greens, neatly sliced boar meat, and a cup of black coffee with sugar. Unlike her sister the Empress, she felt cool toward sweets and preferred food that increases energy levels and stimulates brain activity. Finishing her morning meal, Lucretia picked up a fresh report on the affairs of the capital and, when her eyes reached certain lines, she laughed. If the text was to be believed, a certain resident of Lower Clematis had taken her own life because the poor soul was not allowed onto Azure Avenue despite repeated attempts to enter. When this rule, specific to this district of the capital, was adopted, if she had expected anything, it certainly wasn't this. Be that as it may, the Countess had initially been against such an eccentric innovation adopted by the Empress, believing that the city's residents would neither accept nor understand such a law, but as time showed, everything turned out not to be so bad: the population of Clematis was becoming more conscious of their appearance, which aligned well with the trends set by the authorities and made the capital a more aesthetically pleasing city; furthermore, it allowed her to better gauge the degree of permissibility for future bills: if the people swallowed this, they would swallow others.
Setting the report aside, Lucretia looked at the clock: 7:15. She tried to sleep exactly seven hours and thirty minutes, like a machine, and woke up quite early—at least compared to Astrea, who loved to lounge in bed until lunch. However, as inefficient as such a regimen seemed to her, she sometimes thought that her other sisters would also benefit from following the Empress's example; perhaps then it would be easier to find common ground with them. Remembering her sisters, a wave of irritation surged through Lucretia's mind: if the behavior of Brachea, who had always been characterized by excessive piety and undue nobility, was expected, then Vivian was too naive and unpredictable. Lucretia and Astrea wanted their sister to lead a new branch of Arterianism, but Vivi not only refused this, but in her foolishness visited the suffering residents of the city, trying to "ease their spiritual suffering." And where did that lead? She left the palace grounds without asking permission and took a knife to the ribs from one of those she was trying to help. Organized dissidents? A government conspiracy? The reality was much simpler, for to ignite human hatred, a great flame was not needed; it was enough to be a member of the ruling dynasty and find oneself without security, alone with a failure who blamed anyone for his mishaps but himself. What was wild to Lucretia was that Vivi still had not forgiven her for the secret execution of the offender.
— Everything is the will of the Goddess, — she brushed away the negative thoughts and smirked, knowing perfectly well that if anyone wasn't a righteous follower of Arteria, it was certainly her. In any case, Vivi's naive stupidity had opened new opportunities and accelerated the processes initiated by the government, and the priestly work could be entrusted to Primula. The future of Airisufir promised to be bright: achieving independence from the church, cultivating a new specialization under the guidance of Rogdan Kraffmeyer, Matthew Ariston, and the court Wizard, the appropriation of the resource-rich and populous territories of Sselay and Euclasia...

As could be noticed over the last few weeks and especially days, due to a combination of factors, I am unable to handle the normal management, and therefore I am putting the game on pause for an indefinite period (maybe for a week, or maybe much longer) to run it properly rather than by force. When I resume, I will expand the current locations, but I will do only one at a time (of course, if the players still have an interest in them). Most likely it will be either Sselay -> East -> Euclasia or Euclasia -> East -> Sselay. Regarding Clematis, we'll see how it goes + by the time I resume, I will likely rework certain things in the mech, as after the timeskip I realized that in its current form it is too heavy for constant editing.