> 1 - Broyan has little or _NO_ interest in Esrolia
As of 1619, that is. 1622-1624 sees Broyan fighting the Red Earth Faction in Esrolia, culminating in the Battle of Pennel Ford.
> 3 - The Queens' mythology about themselves and why they are in
> charge, which includes many secrets unknown even to the average
> Devotee of Esrola or Ernalda, means that they are afraid that any
> man that can been seen as an heir of Kovdig (Kodig ?) or Vingkot is
> a threat to their continued rule of Esrolia.
My take on this has some of the queens revel in their new-found independence from Belintar. While he was there everything worked fine (unlike certain God Learner interferences), but with him gone the Old Ways (and a year-king for every queen) look attractive.
> So what's the big deal for the Queens about Broyan's symbols of
> Herodom?
> After Kodig died with unclear suggession, his heirs fought over the
> symbols of authority, the Sword and Helm of Vingkot. Nearly all of
> the leading men were wiped out, leading to the Hidden Kings period,
> where the heirs of Vingkot were using (animistic?) powers of
> shapeshifting to stay hidden.
Was this immediately after Kodig's demise, or a couple of generations later?
I get this impression of the Rose Wars translated to the Vingkotlings. Reading the Shakespeare version of that part of English history, the troubles are grounded in the reign (or end of the reign) of Richard II, whereas the trouble broke out three generations later when Henry VI failed to meet the standards of his predecessors.
> In Esrola, the majority of the "nobles" were women, and they decided
> to take power and set up a matriarchy based on the premise that men
> could not to be trusted with power because they could not resolve
> who their leader was, i.e. who was the undisputed possessor of the
> Sword and Helm.
Even worse: there are two items, which can be held by different people.
> I am sure that there were many other varying opinions, like "men can
> not be trusted to not make a mess" etc. but I suspect that what the
> Queens sold to the general population as the reason and what they
> believed of themselves as the real reason were two different things.
> This is why, even though Broyan does not appear to be interested (at
> the point we are at in Whitewall), the Queens absolutely _must_ try
> to destroy this symbol that undermines their _mythical_ power.
Back to my initial response: proof that holding this symbol leads only to destruction.
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