“I’m s—sorry sir but I must refuse to answer that q—question as I b—believe it would breach the, ah, privacy of another’s status sheet.”
“It wasn’t a request, guardswoman Thea of Cold Brook. It’s an order. Tell me what you know about the skills and abilities of those Nephilim.”
Thea could feel the sweat running down her back as she stared straight ahead, eyes locked onto a tiny imperfection in the stonework of the wall across from her. It looked like someone had taken a chip out of the edge of a block about six feet off the ground, possibly when someone’s armor knocked against the wall in the past, or maybe when a steel weapon had struck it by some chance. Thinking about how that chip came to be in the wall was a poor distraction against the overwhelming presence of General Egilhard, but it was all Thea had in the moment so she clung to that tiny break in the stone as tightly as if she were hanging a hundred feet off the ground.
“I’m sorry sir b—but I must refuse to—”
“Shut it,” the general snapped, cutting Thea off like a knife.
The hard-eyed man stood before her, stiff-backed and glowering. Pale gray eyes regarded Thea, watching her like a bird of prey would a mouse. His salt-and-pepper beard was immaculately trimmed and, combined with his hook nose, gave him a dignified look, even in his anger. He was still wearing his battle armor, the mud of the field fresh on his boots and the scent of demonic blood on his blade. Egilhard had a naturally domineering presence, an aura of command that set him apart from the common soldier even when he wasn’t fuming. When he was fuming, his force of will was practically suffocating.
Thea deeply, deeply regretted being the object of his ire.
“Do you mean to tell me that you are refusing a direct order from a superior officer?” Egilhard asked, his voice steel draped in velvet. “If that is what you are telling me, guardswoman Thea, then I must inform you that you can and will be court martialed for committing such a breach of protocol.”
“I—I, ah, I am s—sorry b—but—”
“Spit it out, woman!” he interrupted her fumbling words. “Did you leave your tongue on the floor somewhere? At least speak with the dignity befitting your station if you haven’t the sense to follow proper orders!”
“I cannot d—disclose information regarding an active a—assignment to anyone but my d—direct superior!” Thea rushed out as quickly as she could, wincing with each betraying stutter that plagued her words. Belatedly she remembered to add on at least a token acknowledgement of his rank. “S—sir!”
The general’s frown deepened, his dark brow made darker by his mood. With slow, precise steps he circled Thea where she stood at full attention in the middle of the general’s office. He stopped behind her, where she couldn’t see his steely eyes, and waited silently except for the creak of his armor and the deep breaths through his nose.
If the general thought the looming silence would break her composure, he had gauged her wrong. The tactic no doubt worked on most people, but not on her. Thea much preferred the silence to his thundering questions. If it meant she didn’t have to talk for a few minutes longer, all the better.
Of course, while the silence that was meant to discomfort her did little but give her a mental reprieve, the real torture was the struggle to keep from collapsing from sheer exhaustion. From the distant Fort Rook to the battlefield outside Far Felsen and then into the city itself, Thea had yet to take a rest. She’d been up for more than a day by that point, if the light coming through the general’s curtained windows told her truth. Thea hadn’t even eaten yet, much less slept, and she felt like her limbs were made of lead as she continued to stand at the perfect attention General Egilhard required of her.
Inwardly, Thea cursed that she’d foolishly let herself be separated from Jadis. She should have stuck with her under the pretenses of her orders to guard her, especially since no other guards had arrived to take her place once they were inside the city walls. If she’d stuck with Jadis, she wouldn’t have caught the attention of the sharp-eyed general. Probably.
“And whom do you mean when you say, ‘direct superior’, guardswoman?”
Fish guts and wet socks, she had to talk again.
“M—magistrate Vrae—Vraekae, sir.”
There was some more blessed silence, but not much.
“Indeed. Well then, guardswoman,” Egilhard said as he finished his circuit around her. “As the Magistrate is currently busy with a host of duties revolving around the restoration and recovery of the province from demonic attack, I have been granted the authority to oversee all of her active military assignments and resources. And you are currently on duty as part of one of her active assignments, are you not?”
“Yes sir.”
“Which means I am at this time your direct superior, am I not?”
“Yes sir.”
“Then do as you have been ordered and tell me what you know concerning those three Nephilim.”
“I’m s—sorry sir but I m—must refuse—”
“Gods blast it woman!” Egilhard shouted, his language slipping from common imperial into the harsh human tongue. “If you don’t tell me I swear I will have you hanged for insubordination during a time of war!”
“Will you now?” a calm, cold, spine-tingling voice commented from behind Thea in the same language. “By what means has my guardswoman committed insubordination, general?”
“Magistrate,” Egilhard said, his face and posture instantly schooled into perfect composure from the mask of seething fury he’d betrayed a moment before.
Even without the general’s acknowledgement, Thea had known who it was when the terrifying woman had spoken. No one sent chills down her spine quite like the statuesque elf. Even knowing she was a fair and honorable leader, Thea could never shake the instinctual reaction she felt whenever she was in the same room as the exceptionally powerful mage. If Egilhard had a domineering aura, Magistrate Vraekae had one a hundred times more fearsome.
“General,” Vraekae spoke softly but clearly as her boots clicked against the stone floor. “You have leveed an accusation of insubordination against one of my most valued agents. Please, elaborate.”
Most valued agents? That was new. When had Thea achieved that vaunted status? Even if it was true, which she doubted, Thea had no particular desire for the title. It made her sound like some kind of spy.
“Guardswoman Thea of Cold Brook has disobeyed a direct order from a superior officer to relay information regarding the expedition she recently returned from.”
“I see.”
Vraekae made the two words sound like death knells. How she was able to do it without raising her voice confounded Thea.
“Well, seeing as her orders were to report directly to me and no other, I will dismiss your accusation for now. Though I will keep it in mind in future reviews of her performance. Thank you for bringing this possible breach of military protocol to my attention, general.”
“Yes ma’am,” Egilhard replied coolly, with no obvious outward signs of displeasure. Thea doubted he was so calm on the inside, however. Not with how angry he had been mere moments before.
“Guardswoman.”
“Yes ma’am!” Thea practically shouted like she was a mere trainee back in the academy answering to her sergeant.
“With me.”
“Y—yes! Ma’am!”
With that, Thea turned and followed Vraekae out of Egilhard’s office, leaving the general behind to seethe in solitude.
Marching behind the intimidating elf was almost a relief. Thea had spent many, many hours doing exactly that ever since she’d come to Weigrun. As one of the guards put on special detail, Thea had often found herself stationed at the Magistrate’s doors or escorting her as she went about her day. Not that the elf needed an escort. She’d seen what Magistrate Vraekae could do to a person with her magics. The red ball of arcane force that floated just behind her shoulder was a constant reminder of just how quickly the mage could shred a foe into paste, demon or otherwise.
Yes, falling back into her normal duty of superfluously guarding the Magistrate sounded almost as appealing to Thea as shedding her armor and falling into bed to sleep for a few weeks. Which was why when the magistrate reached her office doors and then imperiously beckoned her inside, Thea was doubly disappointed. It seemed her day was not yet complete.
Once inside, the Magistrate shed the high-collared riding coat she’d been wearing and, rather than taking a seat behind her crowded yet orderly desk, she headed for the pair of comfortable armchairs set by her fireplace. With a wave of her hand, she motioned for Thea to take a seat, an offer Thea hesitated to accept for no few reasons.
“Never mind the upholstery,” Vraekae said, bringing attention to the woeful state of cleanliness the guardswoman’s armor was in. “It can be cleaned. Just sit.”
Thea wanted to tell the Magistrate that thoughts of getting her cushions dirty had been the last thing on her mind. But since her throat tightened up near enough to choke her, she simply saluted and took the seat offered to her.
Vraekae’s disquieting red eyes regarded Thea for a time. Then, as she was beginning to wonder if she was trying to use the silent treatment on her just as the general had, Vraekae’s orb moved.
Rather than transforming into a spiked ball of death, it morphed into a delicate-looking hand, then split in half and became two hands. With speed and precision, the hands moved to light the fire, then fill a kettle with water and put it over the fire. Then, in short order, the spectral hands prepared two porcelain cups, setting the tea leaves inside to make them ready for the water once it boiled.
All the while, Vraekae sat with eyes closed, not even looking at what her spell-created hands were doing. She said nothing, and not out of some expectation that Thea would break through use of silence, at least not by how Thea interpreted the elf’s actions. Instead, she seemed to simply be absorbing the quiet, maybe even enjoying the brief reprieve from having to talk.
Or maybe the Magistrate just knew that was how Thea felt about the silent few minutes?
Eventually the tea was served and Thea held the piping hot cup in between two hands, simply letting the fragrant steam wash over her face. Vraekae sipped her own and, seemingly satisfied, she lowered the cup from her lips and finally opened her unnervingly red eyes again to regard Thea once more.
“I assume the general was asking you to divulge information regarding the time you spent missing with Jadis?”
“Y—yes ma’am,” Thea answered promptly, almost dropping her tea. “He was.”
“Ah,” Vraekae mused, taking another sip from her own cup. “I see she told you that she is actually one and not three.”
“Ah, um, yes,” Thea admitted. She’d nearly forgotten until that moment that Jadis had told her that Vraekae already knew about her multi-body skill. “She, ah, swore me to s—secrecy. But yes.”
“Then I imagine you will do your best to uphold that oath.”
“Y—yes, ma’am,” Thea nodded.
“Then I also assume that was also what the general was ordering you to divulge? Any information you have regarding Jadis’ skills?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Thea nodded again, dreading where the line of questioning was going. She knew the Magistrate was going to order her to tell her about everything Jadis had told her. And if she did, Thea…
Well, Thea didn’t know what she was going to do. Before they had gotten lost in those gods forsaken tunnels, the answer would have been obvious. She would have followed orders and told the Magistrate everything she had learned. It was her duty to obey, after all. The Emperor had chosen Vraekae to oversee the entirety of Weigrun for a reason. The Magistrate knew best when it came to the safety of the Empire and its citizens, and who was Thea to do anything other than support her in her own just and noble duties?
Now, however, Thea was less certain in her conviction that telling Vraekae was the right thing to do. After all, she’d sworn to Jadis she wouldn’t tell anyone. She’d fought side-by-side with the amazing woman. Saved her life and had her own life saved in return. They’d been… intimate in a way Thea had never been with anyone before.
Even knowing that Thea had been upfront with her from the start and told her that she had to obey if the Magistrate ordered her, would the air between them sour once it came out that she had revealed all? Would Jadis still look at her the same way if she knew she’d given her secrets away?
Would Thea still look at herself the same way?
“Tell me exactly what you told the general,” Vraekae commanded.
That Thea did easily enough since there wasn’t much to tell. A brief outline of what had happened in Alawar and how they had been forced to flee into the tunnels. Next to nothing about what had happened within other than the loss of the rest of the guards and mercenaries. Then a quick summary of their actions once they’d made it to the surface. After that, once the general had ordered her to tell him about the skills the Nephilim possessed, Thea had done nothing but repeat her refusal.
“And that is everything? Think hard,” the Magistrate asked, refilling her teacup. “Nothing more? Those were your exact words to the general?”
“Yes ma’am,” Thea nodded.
Vraekae nodded, her mouth a thin line, broken only when she took another sip of her tea. After a few more moments of silence, she abruptly stood and made her way to her desk.
“Very well,” she said as she took a seat and immediately began rifling through some papers. “You are dismissed. Finish your tea, guardswoman, and then get some rest.”
Thea blinked, stunned by the sudden dismissal. She sat still, cup in her hands forgotten as she stared dumbfounded at the Magistrate.
“I—is that all?”
Who had said that? Thea found herself asking stupidly, only then realizing that she had been the one to so recklessly blurt out a question to the Magistrate after she had been dismissed. It was just that—well, that was all?
“All what?” Vraekae asked her as she sifted through piles of papers.
“Ah, w—well,” Thea struggled to find words, doubly shocked that not only had Vraekae not rebuked her for speaking out of turn but was actually entertaining her question. “I—I mean, I t—thought you would want more d—details on, ah, what had happened a—and what I had learned about, uh, J—adis.”
“Yes, I do want more details,” Vraekae answered, her tone as sharp as ever, though it lacked any malice. “However, you are clearly in no condition to properly recount your unexpected expedition into the recently discovered network of tunnels hiding beneath the Broken Hills. My questions can wait. You are exhausted. Go. Sleep.”
With that second dismissal, Thea didn’t argue. Though internally, questions buzzed like angry bees, not the least of which was why hadn’t the Magistrate even mentioned the idea of asking about Jadis’ skills?
Realizing that she was still sitting in one of Vraekae’s chairs, Thea fumbled with her still full cup of tea before finally deciding to just down the whole thing in one gulp. Choking back a cough, she quickly exited the Magistrate’s office, wondering what in Valtar’s name had just happened, but feeling relieved that she didn’t have to refuse any of her commanding officer’s orders.
Vraekae is the dommy mommy our group doesn't know they want yet.
RIGHT!?
Be cool, Thea. Be cool.
When the boss is angry everyone feels like the path under their feet is nothing but eggshells.
Calm down! I get second hand nervousness just reading this!
I agree! I had honestly forgotten how nervous she was before.
I knew the Magistrate is the best
Hmm... why would the general even want to know the skills? I'd think he wouldn't be interested in minor details.
Political power plays, find a way to trap and or use her
@Golanth considering that her class is perverted and she is of D, it opens some room for an attack. But generaly, it feels like it would be of little to no use if he tried to get skill info on any other person.
@ALX23 The problem with the System, and the reason it's considered bad to ask-about/spy-on some's staus sheet, is that if you know what their stats are, and what their skills are, you know how to defeat them. For instance it's already been pointed out by those in the know that Jay's resiliance is low, and this makes her vulnerable. If bad actors had this information it would be easy to capture/kill Jaydis despite how powerful she is in a straight up fight.
Be aware that Governers and Generals are liable to want to entrap and enslave Jaydis to give themselves political, spiritual and martial capital to use against the ruling dynasty.
@Golanth that seems rather extreme and far fetched. If anything I could see Vraekae opposition wishing to get one of the Nephilims killed to weaken her.
@ALX23
that seems rather extreme and far fetched.
I guarantee that if you look through the history of any country worth it's salt this has happened in real life. More than once. Hell right off the top of my head, Joan of Arc for Charles of Valois.
@Golanth currently Jadis is nowhere near that level of influence. In your example it was king vs the most popular and influential person in the country. Currently, Jadis is but a strong mercenery and there are many stronger people around as well as people with far more influence.
@ALX23
Currently, Jadis is but a strong mercenery and there are many stronger people around as well as people with far more influence.
Do you honestly not understand what Jaydis is?
Also
In your example it was king vs the most popular and influential person in the country
Yes and because of Joan, the disinherited Charles of Valois was corinated instead of the rightful heir.
@Golanth you fail to understand perspective of other people. There are multitude avatars of other gods, there is the Hero, there is Demons. Why would nobles pay too much attantion to her? They don't know that she is a chosen of God and comparable to Hero and Demon King - the major figures of the war.
Currently, in their eyes, she is at most a pawn that religious people want to use to revive the race. Not a significant power.
@ALX23 Holy sh*t you don't understand.
What is the title of this story?
What are Nephilim?
What does that make Jaydis?
https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.2368186579.0021/pp,840x830-pad,1000x1000,f8f8f8.jpg
@Golanth you don't even make any arguments or points. Guess it is worthless to talk to you.
@ALX23 is that your way of saying "oh shit, I forgot how significant Jaydis is in religious terms, and with the gods being both known and active on this world, that means anything religiously important is also culturally and politically important."?
your position is even funnier given this is the first of friday's double chapter and in the second chapter Vraekae has said
“Your continued good health if nothing else will be a boon to my reputation and standing with the Emperor. My career will be advanced by your success, just as it would be ruined if you were to die under my watch. As it almost was with your recent disappearance.
@Golanth this just isn't even nearly enough to make her important. Whether she lives or dies is enough for what? That a middling noble administrating some outskits of the empire gets a promotion or demotion? You call that important?
If the Hero randomly dies, then the Demon King might eliminate them all. This is important.
There are like a dozen of gods each having their special children race. One more, one less, who cares? Surely, highly religious people will find it important. But in large scheme of things, it has a very small priority in comparison to everything else they face.
@ALX23
this just isn't even nearly enough to make her important.
what "this" are you reffereing to?
There are like a dozen of gods each having their special children race. One more, one less, who cares?
I dare you to go to Turkey and say "there are a dozen religions with a holy BOOK, one more, one less who cares?"
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slams Sweden over the incident, saying Ankara will never bow to a policy of provocation or threat. "We will teach the arrogant Western people that it is not freedom of expression to insult the sacred values of Muslims," he said.
Iraq summons the Swedish ambassador and calls the act "racist" and "irresponsible". Hundreds of Iraqis storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after al-Sadr urges people to do so, calling Sweden "hostile to Islam".
Morocco recalls its ambassador to Sweden for an indefinite period. The kingdom's foreign ministry also summons Sweden's charge d'affaires in Rabat and expresses its "strong condemnation of this attack and its rejection of this unacceptable act".
A number of Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and the UAE also express their condemnation.
The US Department of State condemns the burning but adds that issuing the permit for the demonstration supported freedom of expression.
Just because YOU find something unimportant doesnt mean the world agrees with you.
@Golanth well, Jadis was important enough to get 8 mildly strong guards protecting her. And if she died I am sure some high priest say something not very nice to the emperor... and that's it pretty much. Oh, right, Vraekae will get demoted.
Did I miss anything else?
It simply doesn't warrant enough attention from the nobles to do any plotting. Perhaps only direct competitors to Vraekae will make some considerations, if she has such.
Say, if they learned that she is a champion of D that has potential to rearrange the whole political map, that would definitely warrant a lot of plotting.
@ALX23 It's really funny that you admit that Jaydis is politically important to Vraekae, a politician, but claim she's not politcally important. You acknowledge that she's important enough to get a guard detail, then claim she's not important. You acknowledge that she's a God's avatar, then claim that's not important.
You completely avoided a few things though didn't you?
BTW
During the Middle Ages, the Church provided education for some and it helped the poor and sick. It was a daily presence from birth to death. In fact, religion was so much a part of daily life that people even said a certain number of prayers to decide how long to cook an egg!
That is real life, -our- history, we didn't -know- gods existed, only believed. You can claim relgion is unimportant in a world where the Gods are -real and known- all you want, but -the world- disagrees with you.
@Golanth having 8 middling guards puts her importance similar to that of a... baron I guess, probably less, more like baron's heir. Do you not understand the difference between important to a random person and important to the country?
One can rank or measure it. Is she percieved to be of significant importance to the country? Definitely not. Hero? Definitely yes.
Nobles also have ranks. Are barons important? If you compare it to a duke or an emperor then not really. If you compare to an average citizen - definitely yes.
It is common sense.
@ALX23 How many guards does the qoran have? None, so it's not important right? It's just a book that has millions of copies right? It belongs to a religions and there are dozens of those right?
So burning one doesnt matter right?
*looks up to a previous post* so when are you going to Turkey?
So how many guards would Vraekae have to pull out of the fight against global annihilation to stand around Jaydis before you'd consider her important?
If we get to see the Emperor and he only has 8 guards are you going to claim he's unimportant too?
@Golanth the Emperor would have guards on level of those Flaming Wolf mecenaries. Each strong enough to defeat Jadis and the 8 guards that Vraekae has given them. 8 of such guards should be quite enough.
You have a very bad grasp of the general picture.
@ALX23
You have a very bad grasp of the general picture.
Oh do I now?
Remember when I asked you what the title of this story was and you wanted to run away?
Well you never answered, have you worked it out yet?
You want to sit there and claim it's common sense, that there's dozens of gods with their avatars species, so the death of one avatar is meaningless... There is only ONE Nephilim therefore Jaydis' death IS important by your numbers claim alone.
You want to claim that Jaydis' guard detail is insufficient, and therefore she must be unimportant. But you had to ignore that those guards are despirately needed in the on-going war for survival, that Jaydis had to plea-barging her guard detail down to that amount AND that she's supposed to be operating in areas where there is relatively little demon activity.
You want to claim that because she's a religious icon, that she's only important in religious circles, despite me showing you 3 real world examples of just how important religious icons are politically and culturally, even today. But you keep running away from that one while still trying claim religious icons don't matter.
I even pointed out that Vraekae flat out admits she's using Jaydis as a political pawn but your only answer is "nuh-uh, Jaydis is too unimportant to use as a political pawn".
Oh and btw
the Emperor would have guards on level of those Flaming Wolf mecenaries. Each strong enough to defeat Jadis and the 8 guards that Vraekae has given them.
Which chapter are they talked about? Or is this something else you're making up and claiming it makes you right?
Adding to these, the guards assigned were, at the time of assignment, both more powerfull than Jadis, and either included, or entirely consisted of Vraekae's personal guards. Additionally I recall Vraekae specifically comenting on how her superior, which I'm pretty sure was the prince, would have a direct interest in Jadis and her continued survival. That is some solid political significance there, that outside observers can see.
@CIHisui in medieval society, this amount of guards you can expect a baron to have. Sure, it is mildly important but nothing really big.
There are surely some dedicated religious people that worship creator of the Nephilim. But they are a small minority in the government and aristocrasy. For a minor Magistrate like Vraekae, such support is surelt huge. But in grand scheme of things, it is of little importance compared, say, to the Hero or the Empire as a whole.
@ALX23 You yourself do not understand the nature of jadis politically.
Their world has nine gods, and Samleos who may or may not be one of them. Each with a chosen race, the nephilim the chosen race of Lyssandra were wiped out, gone, finito, never to be seen again. And then suddenly, 3 of them pop out of nowhere. This alone will invigorate the people as a sign the gods are still with them.
The reason the name nephilim was forgotten is that they likely weren't talked about a lot after their loss. Only being mentioned in the manner that Lyssandria's children are gone. Only people intrested in their specific history would look up their name. But just bringing Jadis to the capital and showing her off as members of one the lost childrrn of the gods that have no returned will bring hope.
Especially to those that specifically worship Lyssandra. And one of the two known worshippers of Lyssandra is a noble. How many nobles do you think worship the goddess of beauty primarily?
Because here is the thing nearly everyone worships all of the nine gods, just some more than others. Eir a known follower of Lyssandra said she would give thanks to D, for allowing the fate that brought her to meet Jadis.
So what would the more frevent of Lyssandra worshipping nobles do if one of the last living children of your patron deity, said they don't like a particular noble?
What if that frevent worshipper isn't a noble but a powerful warrior? Essentially whoever controls Jadis controls the follower of Lyssandra.
And Vraekae isn't some unimportant magistrate. She is the magistrate in charge of the entire region producing one of the most valuable materials against the demons.
Also Vraekae's personal guards don't need to be as strong as the flame wolf's top members. They need to be strong enough to scare of weaklings, and durable enough to block a stronger enemy whilst Vraekae kills them herself. Because on case it wasn't clear Vraekae is in the same power bracket as the flame wolf elites.
Heck the regular members of the flame wolves are probably comparable to Thea and Earlrond in power.
If Vraekae is seen as responsible for the dead of the last remaining nephilim, her enemies will turn the frevent worshippers against her, destroying Vraekae politically.
However if she ensures the nephilim thrive the frevent worshippers will see her in a better light and start supporting her.
If Vraekae genuinely believed Jadis to be a threat she woulf have killed her immediately. Whilst the nephilim stories could still be passed of as a rumor started by her enemies.
Also there is a decent chance she is a worshipper of Lyssandra, or at least comes from a family of worshippers since her cousin is one.
@SeriousBlueJewel
And Vraekae isn't some unimportant magistrate.
If Stilicho was still alive to see ALX call a magistrate on the front unimportant...
Also funny that he's trying to stick to this "unimportant" line when we now know that the prince sent the strongest person in the entire land to check and babysit the Nephilim
@SeriousBlueJewel big wall of nonsense text. Also you mustn't put spoilers to future chapters.
1) I expect most nobles and citizens to not be particularly religious. Thus far people have had only superficial faith. They know gods exist but do not put too much effort into worshipping them. Only a minority like 10% are deeply religious and likely a fraction of that are devoted to Lyssandra.
2) You are badly confusing two completely different metrics. Perceived Importance and value within the Empire and actual importance. The discussion is about the former.
3) Vraekea defends new half dead region with most of its mining dead. And it has nothing else going for it. The vast majority of the mining most surely occurs elsewhere in the Empire. Also, it wasn't expected to be a major point of confrontation. One doesn't send best and most influential people to such backwater locations.
@ALX23 What spoilers? Everything said in my text wall can be concluded from the chapters before.
To 1)
They know the gods are real and many people pick at least one god to worship as their primary. Just because they don't constantly pray to them doesn't mean they don' believe in them. Also everyone has faith in the nine. Just not everyone is devoted to worshipping them.
I can see D rather having followers spent their lives testing their luck than go and pray to him for an hour everyday.
Jadis' appearance is basically the equivalent of the resurection of one Jesus' disciples in our world.
Also how many rich and powerfull people in our world are religious nutjobs? Because with actual proof of your god existing you are goingbto get way more.
To 2 & 3)
The mining of eleria that happens here is significant enough to have a tangible effect on the war, the best and largest veins being in this region. There might be other eleria mines out there but none can compare to those found in weigrun. So yes this is an important place for the empire. Also she isn't defending it she is reclaiming it, and the mining.
Also you might be able to make an argument for Vraekae being the least important magistrate (something I doubt with the current war) but that does not make her unimportant.
For being sent here Vraekae has to build up a career, she has likely shown herself to be competent and could have gone for the position to use it as a stepping stone in her career. As she might not have shown herself as being the best, and using it to build up her influence.