#hyzante

[alien-onyx]

who tf is this guy

[themoomoorn]

"Bring the Scales of Conviction, so that we may determine whether or not we offer Benedict as Tribute."

If you know your Benedict spoilers, then you know what I mean. And I ain't just talking about Chapter XI, no siree...

And now, a mini-rant on Geela with some spoilers under the cut!

Geela is someone who's likely just trying to keep her hide safe, but given that she's given privileged access to Aesfrost's library (one that the public is forbidden to enter) on top of a cushy job as Frederica's tutor, I can't help but think that she's rather selfish.

I say this, because during the version of Chapter XI where you choose whether or not to surrender the Roselle back to Hyzante, she starts off being firmly on the side of surrendering them along with Benedict and Anna. I failed to convince her to keep Roland safe the first time, but when the time came to persuade her to keep them safe, all I had to say in order to change her vote was "consider Frederica's feelings." The other dialogue option (which is unlockable, and thus a red herring in this case) was pleading to her about how the Roselle that are stuck at the salt Source were suffering, and this is something that gives Frederica an extreme amount of distress - these are her mother's people, they're slaves rendered justified by religious zealotry, and they are discriminated against outside of Hyzante, even. But Geela doesn't seem to care - it's all about Frederica's feelings, but I imagine it's also the cushy position she gets to keep with her.

Notably, this is two major SoC choices where Geela and Frederica are opposed, and it's very difficult to persuade Frederica for both choices. This sort of development feels ripe for a conflict between the two women, or at least some dramatic foiling that is seen with Serenoa and Benedict. But I imagine nothing will come of it, even though it sure as fuck feels like it should! The ripe drama that's begging to be freed from this political marriage...is kept at bay. Sigh.

[themoomoorn]

Scrimblo Blimbo Strategy Ramblings Thus Far: Aesfrost Eat Dirt Challenge

That's it, that's the post. Yes, I've only made it to Chapter VII (which was one of two chapters in the OG demo) but Aesfrost isn't doing itself any favors, and judging from the very sparse spoilers I've read, even with other potential turns that are genuinely gray, Aesfrost still sucks.

Also, while I love Frederica, she's frustrating me some - she can be seen as a lower-rung princess of Aesfrost d/t being the daughter of a concubine who also happens to be of an oppressed ethnic group, and being betrothed to a powerful House of Glenbrook means she's probably trying not to step on any toes, but...I don't know. I feel like she won't pull anything epic or extreme against her douchebag older brother.

Benedict is sus.

I recruited Picoletta by sheer chance, and as it turns out, this completely random, sassy lost child trivialized the Chapter V battle (the one where you have to get Roland safely across the castle gardens); I tried the map without her and had far harder time. 10/10, you go girl.

Gotta love how Frani chastised Roland for impulsively coming to his family's aid, only to get done in by impulsively pissing Avlora off.

I feel like I will really not like Avlora, and it hardly has to do with Maxwell either.

I did Hyzante for Chapter 3. Poor Corentin - he was in the demo, but he's not part of the core cast. Knowing how and why he joins on the Hyzante route, I feel like he'd be a great addition.

[triangle-strategy-notes]

may i have hyzantian architecture from the artbook.... :3

Yeah absolutely! There's a lot of pages about Hyzante and its architecture so it might take me a hot second to get the actual translations done, but in the meantime if you're looking for art references, here you go! <3

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Marvels of Norzelia, Vol. 12

There is no sight in the realm as impressive as the Hyzantian capital. After braving the vast desert, the first thing a visitor to this great city sees is a wall so huge, it does not look like it could have been made by human hands: the Goddess’s Shield.

Pass through the gate and you will emerge into a thriving metropolis of believers. Just beyond the streets lies the huge, calm waters of the Source. Unbelievable as it may seem, the city and the wall encircle the entirety of the great lake where all of Norzelia’s salt originates.

In the center of the lake towers a mountainlike statue of the Goddess, an enduring symbol of the Holy State’s faith. Indeed, after beholding how Hyzante could not only survive in the middle of an inhospitable desert, but thrive, even an unbeliever such as myself started to think that statue might actually be the Goddess incarnate.

In the palace in the city’s center lives the hierophant, who they say hears the voice of the Goddess of Salt Herself. I imagine such a voice would be just as majestic and calm as the city She watches over.

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Marvels of Norzelia, Vol. 10

Situated at the edge of the Hyzantian desert, the Citadel of the Sands is the Holy State’s first line of defense. It has been the site of countless battles throughout history, including the vicious border skirmishes of the Saltiron War. Due to its importance, one of the Saintly Seven has always overseen its command. After the Saltiron War, Minister Sorsley Ende assumed the position and began the work of developing the Citadel into a trading post. To think that a place that has witnessed so much bloodshed could transform into a peaceful hub of commerce... Life truly is full or surprises. Perhaps that is why, though Hyzante rarely gets visitors from other lands, here I often catch glimpses of people whose providence I cannot discern. Or perhaps it is only in my imagination...

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Languages in Triangle Strategy

Today on “I Think About Triangle Strategy Too Much,” I’ve been putting together some stuff on language in Norzelia!

There isn’t a ton of evidence to go off of concerning language in Triangle Strategy—everyone appears to be speaking the same language, and they never really mention having differing languages between the three main nations. However, what we do know is that Glenbrook, Hyzante, and Aesfrost have been around for a while—long enough that they’ve developed their own industries and cultures. It would make sense that their languages would start diverging at some point as well.

I’m taking that thought and running with it, even though the writers probably just intended to have them all speak the same language and leave it at that, haha.

In any case, here’s my theory on TS language, with a justification under each point.

There’s a common language in Norzelia that most, if not all people know.

This is probably pretty self-explanatory—all the characters seem to have no trouble communicating with each other. Even those with little opportunity or need for formal education (for example, Piccoletta, Rudolph, or Trish), can speak easily with Serenoa and the other lords and ladies.

Glenbrook and Hyzante have their own country-specific languages.

The biggest point in favor of this is, “I want this to be true and as such I’m going to pretend it is.” After all, there’s no evidence in-game that there’s any other language than the common tongue.

But what there IS evidence of is that Glenbrook/Aesfrost, Hyzante, and the Roselle have had enough time and isolation to develop distinct genetic markers (pink hair/darker coloring/etc.). That, and the drastic difference between the cultures in the three different nations, means it seems like intuitively you’d expect them to have different dialects at the very least.

The previously unaffiliated clans have their own mix of languages.

“Unaffiliated clans” in this case is just me referring to the various clans that seem to pop up from time to time. Wolffort, Telliore, and Falkes are all described as having previously been their own clans, which were in turn united by Wolffort’s clan. There’s also an unnamed mountain clan that Aesfrost displaces when they conquer the mountains.

I’m assuming these clans are breakaways of Glenbrook, Hyzante, and potentially any other foreign groups that have settled in Norzelia. They likely all learn the Norzelian common language to get along, but there would be a fair amount of pidgin and foreign languages in the mix.

The unnamed mountain clan in particular I like to think was a split-off from an entirely different region, separate from Glenbrook and Hyzante, who stayed relatively isolated from the other nations and maintained their own language until Aesfrost conquered their clan.

Glenbrook and Aesfrost share a language but differ in dialect.

According to the Notes section of the War Chronicles, Glenbrook and Hyzante were the first countries to settle in Norzelia. Aesfrost was originally a house of Glenbrook, and split off an undefined amount of time ago to establish the duchy. That split happened long enough ago that Aesfrost has had time to build Ironstone at the very least, and seems as if it’s probably been at least a few generations in addition to that, just given the way everyone talks about Norzelia and Aesfrost. I’m loosely thinking something like 200-300 years.

There’s a lot of great resources at this link, but taking into account the relative recentness of that split as well as the geographical/political closeness of Glenbrook and Aesfrost, a separate language might be a little much. However, if we roll with that idea that the unnamed mountain clan had its own language, I think there’s an argument for a new dialect to emerge.

The Roselle have their own language.

The Roselle seem to predate both Glenbrook and Hyzante, given that they knew the true origins of Norzelia (i.e., it being brought up to the surface by natural phenomenon, and the salt drying up beneath the surface). They also lived in a place called Centralia, and that the northern region was derivatively named Norzelia, potentially implying that they were the ones to name both places.

All that said, they live to the distant south, and appear to have lived apart from Norzelia for some time. It seems pretty likely that they had their own language—which could have been part of what made it so easy for Hyzante to suppress their knowledge of salt way back when they first migrated to Norzelia.

The Rosellan language was snuffed out in Norzelia upon their imprisonment by Hyzante.

Bits and pieces of the Rosellan language likely survive, but knowing the Hyzantian government, they would have hated allowing the Rosellans to speak privately amongst themselves. Over generations of slavery, they had recordkeepers like Orlaea who would probably know the old language, but otherwise, it likely died out in terms of casual speech.

On the bright side, it’s probably really unlikely that the entire Rosellan population traveled to Norzelia when they came to teach the nations about the salt crystals. I think it’s probable that there’s still a population of Rosellans living in Centralia who would still speak the language.

 *

And that’s all I have! It’s all just theory, but it’s a fun thing to think about in terms of world-building. Let me know if I got any facts wrong, or add on anything else you think is interesting!