Tamriel Data:Horskva Kongerike, VIII-XV

Book Information Horskva Kongerike, VIII-XV
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ID	T_Bk_HorskvaKongerike_II
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Skill	Speechcraft

Horskva Kongerike, VIII-XV

Horskva Kongerike, or, the Wise Kingdom, a Mirror for Princes

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VIII. The royal household

Son: Who are those, father, who make up our household?

Father: The members of the royal household are many, and though they are not family they are your greatest allies if you would be leal to them in kind. The lowest servants are those who cook your food, brush your horse, and satisfy your whims and wants. Then there are the learned servants, who count your wealth and record your judgements for all of time. Last but mightiest are the hird, your favored warriors amongst whom the greatest will ride at the prow of your warship and speak the law with your own voice.

IX. Guardsmen and the hird

Son: And who will protect my household from those who would bring us harm?

Father: The taxes of the city go towards the maintenance of a guard, who keep the peace and chase the pirates from our waters. They will be the first line of defense if the city should come to siege. Then there are the warriors of Uld Vraech, who will give their lives to protect what is yours. The greatest and most loyal of these will join your hird, and with it your household, and you will show them favor for they will keep you safe even in the most savage of battles.

X. Vassals and rulers

Son: Where will be my place, father, on the great pillar of oaths?

Father: Those leaders of Men, whether thanes, jarls, or masters of the many clans, who swear their oaths to you are your vassals. They are bound to you and your kingdom, just as your oath would have bound you to the High King in ages past. But the swearing of oaths runs in both directions, and you must never forget the obligations of safety, prosperity, and justice that you owe to your vassals in turn. The gods will not smile upon a fickle liege.

XI. Respect for the gods

Son: And how can I show my respect for the gods, that I might enjoy their boon?
Father: The gods are rulers of the hearth foremost, and your home will always be the place of closest proximity. The southerners build great and empty buildings for their gods and thus always remain alien from them. You, instead, will pray in silence by the fire and honor your murte without ceremony. Seek the graces of the wives or hags or witches who speak for the gods, and your rule will be long and prosperous.

XII. Expectations of behavior in the royal presence

Son: And what, dear father, should I expect of those in my royal presence?

Father: Son, you are king and you must demand deference from all who come before you. The dearth of haughtiness is the death of the kingdom, for fearful respect is the binding of good rule. All will bow before you; Men of your land will bow once, Men of the outlander territories will bow twice, and those of Mereth will not part the rough earth from their faces lest they do you dishonor. See this done lest the dais of your throne grow brittle.

XIII. Punishments and the right of execution

Son: What then, as king, shall I do with lawbreakers and those greedy of conceit?

Father: As king the power of death is yours; all live only through your forbearance. But remember too that prosperity and obedience come through a recognition of order; expectation breeds acquiescence, and this we call justice. Though you have the right of execution, better it is to resolve disputes through the seizure of wealth, the seizure of land, and the seizure of freedom. Through these you grow stronger, whilst making of those who defy your laws an example against which all can measure their own obedience.

XIV. Ways to break a sworn oath

Son: And though I stand astride the great pillar of oaths, how may I assure the freedom of my will?

Father: Oaths are the most sacred before the gods, and so the breaking of such a pact is the most precarious of rituals. First, you may kill they to which you owe your word, if this does not itself break your word to them. Second, you may burden them with oaths of your own, such that they forswear your debt in hope of their own relief. Third, and most grievous, you may call on them to defend their right to your fidelity in open combat, though through this you risk both your life and your rule, since any who best you in such a challenge may extract from you one additional oath of no set breadth.

XV. Epilogue

And so the son learned the ways of kingship, and set these learnings down so that all inheritors may too fashion by their untrammeled restraint the Wise Kingdom.