Comic for June 14th, 2017: Life's Strange Roads

[BadJoke]

"...our estate..." Is that an official proposal?

Seems so. Whish is very cool. I wasn't especially waiting for it to happen (didn't care at all even) but it feels nice to see how Trace can be really serious sometimes, and to make their relation something official is something big. Not only it defies the rules of their world but also makes their relation something more serious and deep when, until now, it looked more like fan service stuff or two younglings messing around... Now it takes an adult vibe. That's some good stuff.

And quite the social advancement for Flora.

[Warrl]

"...our estate..." Is that an official proposal?

I would say no... because Trace and Flora are probably among the most-married couples on the planet. Granted, their keidran ceremony came in two parts and Trace didn't know what he was doing at the time of the first part (and maybe not the second either); and their basitin wedding was extremely brief and more a declaration than a ceremony (but Trace definitely knew what he was doing).

As for Edinmire being a relatively small estate to be a duchy... it's a major port and the main contact point for diplomacy and trade with the feline realms. So, even (or perhaps particularly) if it is small, it's an exceptionally rich and important estate. On the other hand, we don't know just how much territory is included; it may not be a small estate at all.

[Foxx Trotter]

A great comic page. Flora is obviously overwhelmed by everything.

[Cosmacelf]

"...our estate..." Is that an official proposal?

... Granted, their keidran ceremony came in two parts and Trace didn't know what he was doing at the time of the first part (and maybe not the second either); and their basitin wedding was extremely brief and more a declaration than a ceremony (but Trace definitely knew what he was doing).

The first ceremony was the subtleseed gift? What was the second one?

[steelabjur]

I still wonder a bit about this whole mansion/duke of edinmire thing. Given what we know of how he came to the academy, etc, it's obvious he wasn't duke before his transformation. So, how did he become duke? Is it a title that comes with being grand templar? Did he bump off the previous duke/duchess and take their spot, and if so, how did he get away with it? (I mean, he took over the templar, but at least until recently the human empire was still governed by a king.) Is it a title that he somehow convinced the king/etc to *create* for him? And if so, under which noble's authority did edinmire fall previously, and how annoyed were they at having it taken from them?

Noble titles and estates are usually granted as gifts for extraordinary services to the crown -- mind you, in certain times and places that "service" could have been a big pile of cash into the royal coffers. If there was a Duke of Edinmire previously, they could have died without leaving an heir, either naturally or with "assistance", but it could also have been a piece of crown lands granted specifically to Trace. I would be inclined towards the latter option, since Duke is a very grandiose title for the relatively small fiefdom that Edinmire appears to be. It could simply be a courtesy title to put Trace on the same level with the high nobility he has to deal with as the Grand Templar, and Edinmire just the bit of land that the holder of a noble title has to have. A bit like the Count of Monte Cristo, whose land was just a rocky, deserted island that he bought so that he could legitimately call himself a Count.

Speaking as a fan of Crusader Kings 2,

Duchies are typically made up of sets of multiple lesser counties, with the Counts of those counties being direct vassals of the Duke and the Duke being the direct vassal of the King. It could be that in this Kingdom, the Duchy title is transferred by various means among those Counts rather than a direct blood inheritance, and the title is named after the county the holder currently rules, so it might have went from being the Duchy of X to the Duchy of Edinmire when Trace became Duke.

If Edinmire is a relatively small fiefdom as you suppose, it might have been manipulated by the King for Trace to get the title as he grew in power in the Templars, to keep him in check by giving him powerful, envious neighbors while his own weak region borders Keidran lands. Heaven knows I've done similar in the above mentioned game.

[Darekun]

Granted, their keidran ceremony came in two parts and Trace didn't know what he was doing at the time of the first part (and maybe not the second either); and their basitin wedding was extremely brief and more a declaration than a ceremony (but Trace definitely knew what he was doing).

So… it's the human ceremony's turn?

[Phaing]

The power of Flora-butt. Turns ex-Templars into amorous Teddy-Bears at a glance and causes curious lapses in judgement... even by slavers who think they have seen (& painted) it all.

I suggest that one and all sleep in late today.... meh, might as well make a weekend of it.
I'd say they earned it, too.

[Cyon]

I suggest that one and all sleep in late today.... meh, might as well make a weekend of it.
I'd say they earned it, too.

However, unlike an alarm clock, a wolf keidran invasion doesn't have a snooze button

[Cpt.Obvious]

I suggest that one and all sleep in late today.... meh, might as well make a weekend of it.
I'd say they earned it, too.

However, unlike an alarm clock, a wolf keidran invasion doesn't have a snooze button

There seems to be an alarming lack of free press in the kingdom, otherwise they would have had access to the ultimate weapon; the rolled up newspaper...

[Cyon]

I suggest that one and all sleep in late today.... meh, might as well make a weekend of it.
I'd say they earned it, too.

However, unlike an alarm clock, a wolf keidran invasion doesn't have a snooze button

There seems to be an alarming lack of free press in the kingdom, otherwise they would have had access to the ultimate weapon; the rolled up newspaper...

Here's what I have in my head now:

Kei: They're coming! Ready your weapons soldiers!
Wolves: <CHAAAAAAARGE!>
Kei: Attack!
*Soldiers bat the wolves with newspapers* BAD BOY! DOWN!!
Wolves: <Oweee...>

[Cpt.Obvious]

I suggest that one and all sleep in late today.... meh, might as well make a weekend of it.
I'd say they earned it, too.

However, unlike an alarm clock, a wolf keidran invasion doesn't have a snooze button

There seems to be an alarming lack of free press in the kingdom, otherwise they would have had access to the ultimate weapon; the rolled up newspaper...

Here's what I have in my head now:

Kei: They're coming! Ready your weapons soldiers!
Wolves: <CHAAAAAAARGE!>
Kei: Attack!
*Soldiers bat the wolves with newspapers* BAD BOY! DOWN!!
Wolves: <Oweee...>

And that's why newspapers won't ever be allowed in the canine keidran territories...