>>5950894You went to talk a bit to the priest to thank him. <span class="mu-i"> ''Oh, it was nothing, my son. The church has been dealing with these kinds of blessings for as long as it has existed; as a matter of fact, the most ancient flags, standards, and banners are often blessed similarly, though with a more powerful blessing.'' </span>
<span class="mu-i"> ''What do you mean?'' </span> There were tales of old about how the sightings of the legionary standards of the old empire could turn the tide of battle with their appearance. <span class="mu-i"> ''A similar blessing binds the oldest of the old banners, though it requires a bit of the monarch's blood to maintain the bond between the banner, country, and monarch. It is often said that the blood of kings is potent and the blood of emperors doubly so. Only certain members of the clergy may perform such rituals. But for the existing blessings, the monarch only needs to give a single drop of their blood. Kaiser Ludwig did so during his coronation. In public, if I recall. </span> The priest went on with his lecture on the nature of such artefacts, about how some regalia are also blessed and enchanted, and other such things, until they went in one ear and out the other. When you finally got to lay down again In your tent, you slept well and easy, dreaming of gallantry, glory, and whether or not Mithradian girls would be attractive or not.
The first point of business after breakfast is the planning of the next destination. You need to get to Castana; ergo, you need to go further south. The only question is what route you should take.
You could take the western route, making your way southwest through the middle and southern fiefs of Tautenland, which is sunny, hilly, and renowned for its local wines. However, they still get blown out of the water by competition from Aurilie, Venautra, and Castana.
The central road will take you straight down to the Castanan border; of particular, not along this route is the Preburger Dom, said to boast the highest church tower in the world. It is also the shortest route; unfortunately, the statelets that lie on the other border have been embroiled in a war with each other, which would make supplying more difficult.
The eastern road will bring you into the mountains much earlier; these fiefdoms are collectively called Steyern and form the southwestern bulwark of the empire. This land is renowned for its good beer, food, and horridly annoying music. It also has multiple gold and salt mines.
>Let's go west, easy weather would do us good.>Damn the risk, go down through Preburg.> Let's go east through Steyern. 