Biography of the Governor of BM

[Deeza]

Just a quick bio for the guy who rules Stormhold (technically, he rules the whole of Black Marsh, but in practice the Royal Court are in charge of most of it, and some areas don't even consider themselves part of the Empire). He's quite an effective governor, but his authority is ebbing due to the Blackwood Company disaster and now the capture of Thorn by the Dres.

Biography of Plutarchus Naso

It is no secret that in these latter days of the 3rd Era the authority of the Imperial Governor of Black Marsh extends no further than the city walls of Stormhold. Yet without a doubt the current holder of the office, His Excellency Plutarchus Naso, is the most successful Governor in living memory. It is a sad comment on the state of the Province that this is such a short yardstick to measure against.

Following the recall of his notoriously ineffectual and drug-addicted predecessor to Cyrodiil, expectations were low for the new Governor. The superfluous fourth son of a prominent family of Imperial nobles, Plutarchus himself admitted that he attained a position in the Imperial civil service only due to the special pleading of his uncle, formerly the Admiral of the Black Marsh Fleet. However, after his arrival in Stormhold, Plutarchus got off to an unexpectedly promising start to his tenure by unceremoniously sacking the deeply disliked Lord High Archein of Stormhold, replacing him with a Master of the Black Marsh Mages' Guild and alleged (though never proven) Hist-worshipper Shivers-In-Starlight. This controversial choice angered many in the Cyrodiilic establishment, but proved popular with the inhabitants of the city. Shivers-In-Starlight has since proven a firm hand at the wheel, ensuring the stability of Stormhold even as law and order have disintegrated throughout much of the rest of the Marsh.

Though it may have silenced his critics back in Cyrodiil, Plutarchus' bold strategy put him on a collision course with the Royal Court, of whom the previous Lord High Archein was a senior patriarch. After numerous clashes over taxation and the appointment of local administrators, the Royal Court increasingly began to take its own decisions without consulting the office of the Governor. Plutarchus retaliated by granting a charter to a local co-operative of merchants, forming the powerful Stormhold Mercer's Guild, which significantly undermined the Royal Court's influence over trade in the region. Furthermore, Plutarchus publicly made an example of Jai-Gezii, the infamous Archein of Soulrest, successfully imprisoning him on charges of corruption.

Having realised that the young Governor was unafraid to challenge their authority when necessary, the Royal Court backed down, and by and large in the years since the Royal Court and Imperial Governor have enjoyed a relationship based on mutual respect. Plutarchus has since pursued a policy distinct from his predecessors in ruling the Marsh, though with decidedly mixed results.

Most notable has been a general toning down of rhetoric concerning the “civilising” and “conversion” of the Argonian tribes, a pragmatic move which went some distance towards improving relations between colonists and indigenous peoples. The issue of a decree formally prohibiting the felling of Hist trees won Plutarchus the chance of new dialogue with tribal leaders, and the signs for genuine progress in the Marsh were, for once, positive.

Unfortunately, this slow, cautious experiment was shattered by the highly disruptive actions of the Blackwood Company. Plutarchus was much too slow to recognise the threat they posed, although arguably, with the troops under his command subject to severe cuts in number, his options in defusing the crisis were limited. Negotiations with the Company were ineffectual, and in the end Plutarchus was humiliatingly forced to rely on a semi-legal group of tribal mercenaries to bloodily resolve the situation.

It is also no secret that the once impressive authority of the current Imperial Governor is now in ruins. With yet another crisis precipitated by the growing number of Dres settlers in Arnesia, the people are starting to wonder if Plutarchus may be headed toward the same failure which met his predecessors.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Lovely stuff, Deeza! I really like the name 'Shivers-in-Starlight'... =)

This satisfies a lot of curiosity on the background of the Blackwood Company and really deepens the lore. Very nice indeed! :goodjob:

[Deeza]

I have added this book to the CS.