Board Thread:The Last Sovereign Discussion/@comment-39332473-20190808194309/@comment-39332473-20190811175254

@Fulminato: Regarding crushing the Lustlord, an invasion of Rodak would be a very different beast than invading Erosia. Estaven, for all his intelligence, was so personally sadistic that the whole country turned on him the first chance they got (we recall the classic advice to the prince, that it is better to be feared than loved - and its corollary, that one should do all in one's power to avoid being hated). His skill at magic was clearly impressive, and his grasp of the tower, but his conventional military strength consisted of various formations of dominated women named after his fetishes. It's my opinion that he thought he could simply protect the country with personal strength alone. Therefore Yhilin was able to conquer Erosia, a country many times larger.

Rodak, on the other hand, is described as prosperous, and from what we've seen, the Lustlord is viewed as well-regarded, if a bit fond of the iron hand. It is an icy country, with mountainous terrain and a well-maintained military, basically a tactical and strategic nightmare to invade. It's true that Simon's group has waged several successfull military campaigns so far, but they've never been a direct military conflict with a committed foe with comparable military strength. The battle of Yhilin was a false invasion, the 3AW was ultimately won by the AoA own madness finally doing himself in, and the invasion of Erosia was abetted by Estaven's own sadism and neglect. It's also worth pointing out that Aram meets several of the same criteria as an invasion of Rodak would. In some was Aram would be worse, since Esthera interfering would probably be seen as a provocation by Ardoheim.

@Leto -

Xerces: I've got it. A singular act that will fuck over every single person involved.

Xestris: such balance, wow