Angevine Cloak and Sword

The province of Angevine is located along the far borders of Manteu, nestled in the valleys of the Bebrye Mountains.

It is an afterthought in the minds of many noble families bickering in En Plus Paris, a territory that has changed hands between the neighbouring powers a dozen times in the many different wars which have occurred across Ganymed. Even then most of these conflicts were the boring margin notes of glamorous campaigns; with perhaps the only noteworthy event being the gallant march of General Ymlin leading his army across the frozen mountain passes and into the heart of the country (a move so bold and yet so gauche so as to be unreproducible).

To those aligned with the Cardinal and his interests however, the question of the Principalities weighs heavy on the mind.

Crespi

Just barely past living memory, the prominent D'Angevine family was all but wiped out in the Patte de Chat Massacre. Some suspect the machinations of the former Grand Duke and his tragic folly, while others blame it on a raid by a foreign power or perhaps a plot of the Dragoman. The only survivor of the Cat's Paw, Baroness Coulrina D`Angevine, never spoke of the incident while she lived; instead living a private life away from court with her close personal friend, one of the Marquesses of neighbouring Les Lances, at her estate. Both of them lived to ripe old age and died weeks apart from each other some ten or fifteen years ago, leaving no formal heirs.

However, if the rumour is to be believed, the clergymen attending the dying Baroness witnessed a miracle.

Whispering the traditional prayers of her people with her dying breaths, the Baroness' body burst forth into the first seven of the holy servitors that are the Principalities.

Had this happened once, it would have been a miracle propelling D'Angevine to Sainthood. The fact that now multiple members of the faithful in Angevine have now had similar miracles occur over the last decade or so, is what has lead the Cardinal and his flock to worry.

Mstislavovo Gospel book cover

Principality

(also called Rulers, halfangels, or to doubters: favele)

Physical Description

• Each Principality shares the same "default" appearance, sort of looking like each one uses the same soft-faced boy or young woman as their starting "base."
• Each one additionally has 1d4 unique traits to distinguish themselves. These are usually the most prominent features of whomever birthed them (e.g. a Principality born to a man with a long nose and prominent smile lines would likely have a long nose and prominent smile lines).
• Principalities do not have genitals, anuses, etc.
• The neck of each Principality is wreathed with tiny white bird wings.
• Each has a varying number of wings, usually around 2d6. The number of wings is viewed auspiciously by Angevine locals.
• At rest, the wings sort of fold up around the neck, like a priest's collar.
• The Principality may, at will, flex out their neck-wings. When they do they seem to glow with the light of a migraine aura, and you can see the sun through your closed eyes or the building you're in or if it's night. The wind also seems to rush around them, harmlessly jostling everything (like that thing in Ghibli movies sometimes? I would find a clip but I can't be assed to search for it).
• They seldom do this though, as it is fearsome. Typically it is only reserved to stir Esprit in the penitent or the downtrodden of the faith, and call them into action.

Physiology

• Principalities seemingly are born to answer the prayers of the faithful in Angevine (and only in Angevine; though outside members of the faith on pilgrimage appear to be able to produce them). They still very seldomly appear, and do not appear to every petitioner. What seems to help the odds are:
• praying specifically in the name of St. D'Angevine (dubiously heretical considering she has not formally received sainthood)
• being elderly
• being an orphan
• having a prominent frailty, disability, etc
• being a child 
• being particularly innocent- a hermit, a virgin, etc
• praying a lot for this to happen. a LOT
• going on pilgrimages or quests or other chivalric/holy things
• Principalities are born by bursting forth from the heads of the faithful.
• This literally splits their heads open. The process is excruciating and takes about three days- one for the Principality to claw its way out, one for the wound to scab over after, and one for it to heal into a feather-lined scar.
• Despite the pain, the only lasting harm to the faithful is usually the feather-lined scar, which is usually viewed as a mark of veneration.
• Principalities are born fully formed.
• (You know those depictions of medieval/renaissance babies drawn as weird little adult men? Reverse that- these are like adults who have been drawn as little babies).
• Principalities' minds are human-like, but either due to their nature or their experiences they aren't quite human.
• While they are generally a little confused and naive, the mind of a Principality is fully formed with a handful of skills useful to running and maintaining society (e.g. a Principality born knowing how to collect tax, knowing how to administer orphanages, etc).
• Principalities are not motivated by fearsomeness, violence, danger, etc. You could completely gut one and they would be completely unmoved beyond the waste it makes.
• Similarly: they are pacifistic by nature, and cannot bring themselves to directly harm another living being.
• Principalities do not need to eat or drink. Instead: they are physically maintained by holding Esprit for the faithful.
• Typically shortly after being born, this manifests as admiration and praising of their parent. However they may also may latch onto any number of holy men, martyrs, Saints, etc
• When a Principality dies, their neck wings unfurl and their heads pop off before flying off into the sunset. Amongst their kind, they claim that they are leaving their non-angelic half behind to join with the rest of the angelic host until the end of days.

Honestly all the cherub heads are giving me deja vu. Did somebody else make a post at some point with like a ton of baby heads with wings? Feels very GLOG, hope I'm not treading old ground

Compared to the other provinces of Manteu, Angevine was lacking in almost every way. Nothing but small hamlets sipping at rivers of ice-melt, rime-covered bushes of stout dark berries, and valleys lined with Patte de Chat flowers. No great armies, no wise scholars, no plentiful resources.

However, now Angevine has been blessed with a resource in the Principalities.

Due to a very dubious loophole, technically each Principality is kin to Baroness D`Angevine through their angelic birth. This means technically each one is part noble, partially of their parent's lineage, and (potentially) part angelic being. To bolster his resources for his war with the queen in the surrounding provinces and avoid the question, the King grants each newly born Principality the title of Vidame through arrangements with the local bishops.

The eldest and most fiery (relatively, in the terms of angelic pacifists) of the original Principalities born from Baroness D`Angevine is the exception, instead inheriting her barony as Baron D`Angevine L'Lèvre. However, the Baron largely operates in the region through his many advisors, and is seldom seen outside of holy days.

This all is deeply upsetting to the existing local nobility, largely Queen loyalists, who quietly seek to undermine and reestablish things properly in the region without upsetting the faithful or the peasantry. Wouldn't want to risk a revolt, schism, etc. on top of the current civil conflict.

In practical terms: the Principalities all are born to labor for the betterment of Angevine through all manner of holy functions to maintain society. They are technically subjects of the King, however in practice they answer to the Cardinal. They are also known for their charity and magnanimity, which has earned them the devotion of many poor faithful souls.

Principalities in power in Angevine also have given rise to their own unique forms of court intrigue.

• While they cannot directly harm one another, they very much can order harm upon another for the sake of a greater good. If they witness it though, they themselves immediately will die; and bringing it up too much can make them ill.
• Halfangels can commit minor violence if its in defence of the innocent. So, if one needs to fight, often they will bring around a child or an old person to defend in the fray. Often this is their parent. Also often they are not very good at fighting, because of course they aren't.
• Angevine is a land of hospitality, where every guest is expected to give a gift to their host. So violence between two Principalities often takes the form of horrific white elephant feuds. Given their pure nature, Principalities cannot neglect or turn down the gift; so to do maximum harm one might gift the other something that requires intense and laborious personal care, like a rare plant from the Academie Gramarie or a creature from far flung Noblessie.

The Principalities, as a sub-culture, are not a monolith though. While they are, from birth, encouraged in to their roles as servile holy figures, many seek other avenues. Their passive nature does limit their options though.

Some join up with chivalrous knights on holy quests as loyal and steadfast allies.

Others leave Angevine to seek holy missions elsewhere.

A rare few may even have made their way to higher courts in Manteu.

Often many Principalities also feel anxiety over their natures, their roles with the angels, etc.

Their status as angels proper is a matter of hotly contested theological debate. More hardline traditional types insinuate them as being false angels, likely harpies manifested from D'Angevine cavorting with Grendelles and such to upset the natural order and lead the faithful astray.

However their popularity among the peasantry and their devotion to the faith has put the Cardinal and his bishops in a tight spot. To avoid a schism, and since the Principalities technically answer to the Cardinal himself, they have been allowed to continue on as a dangling question for now.