Shireroth

For many years have I worked hard in Elwynn, developed it, trying to reconcile its history with its peoples; trying to make a good story line of this. I don't think anyone doubts this. Doesn't that mean I can attempt to sphere-over-influence all Elwynnese counties?`:p

Well, if that is the case the entire system would be completely pointless, since we all could claim that then. Erik and I have done much in Brookshire, the Kildarians have done much there, etc.

Exactly! You see the flaw?

Yes, if you overstretch the system, I do. But I don't think you've done extensive work in every Elwynnese county, which is the requirement for bringing them into your SoI. I've done nothing in Lywind, for instance, so I can't claim it. There is a difference between duchy-wide development and county specific development.

Perhaps, but the development I did for Elwynn at first was when Elwynn as a whole was one county. It was later forced to keep ur devolution due to evil kaiseress Semisa 2 who had nothing but hatred for the Elwynnese nation.

umm... When was Elwynn ever a county as a whole? It was a Duchy, as a whole, like the rest....but never just a county, that I know of.

Elwynn was founded as a duchy, then the Landsraad voted to downsize Elwynn and make it a barony under Hyperborea. Hyperborea consisted then of Hyperborea proper and Elwynn proper. Together they formed the Duchy of Hyperborea. After Ardy's departure from Shireroth and my arrival, Elwynn was downgraded again due to the FHA. All of its territory became a Hyperborean county which was traded to Arminy for the Vaan Aujoen. So Arminy ruled over Elwynn through Hurmu. Hurmu was the barony for many a year with Elwynn as a county under it. All through this time, I resided in Elwynn.

That was today's history lesson to Erik, who never paid much attention to Elwynn

The spheres of influence proposal is geared more toward current development, rather than past development; i.e., you should have to be doing something with it now, or at least fairly recently, in order to try for it. It could be interpreted otherwise, I suppose, but it seems pretty clear that that's what the intent is.

Now if you were going for that kind of all-duchy reclamation, a better shot would be Decreebook VI.C.1, a Historical Grant, for work done previously. In your particular case, dear Arbiter, there are bonus points to this method: it involves submitting an application to the Imperial Judex.

I put in the historical grant thing for extensive county development. That you developed on the duchy level before shouldn't be counted under that provision.

True, but it'd still be marginally more appropriate to try it that way than a SoI-based method.

Very marginally.