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The Court is one of the main progression systems in The Blood of Dawnwalker, putting Brencis' three boyars between Coen and the game's main antagonist. Rather than going straight after Brencis, you'll first need to disrupt the operations of Ambrus, Xanthe and Bakir, raising their Anger Levels until you can take them on directly.
The system is similar to the way Assassin's Creed games have you dismantle a larger organisation by taking out its key figures one at a time. Disrupt enough activities scattered throughout their territory to max out a boyar's Anger Level, and you'll unlock their sidequest, bringing you one step closer to Brencis.
The Blood of Dawnwalker: Brencis' Vrakhir boyars
Each boyar controls their own chunk of Vale Sangora, and their activities reflect the role they play in Brencis's regime.
- Ambrus controls the northern parts of the valley. He runs the supply chain for human blood, bleeding prisoners before transporting, and storing the blood for Brencis and his Vrakhir allies.
- Xanthe watches over the southeast. She's less interested in logistics and more in power itself, conducting bizarre experiments, expanding the ranks of the Blood Guard, and digging into the valley's older, stranger secrets to give Brencis' forces a supernatural edge.
- Bakir holds the southwest. He's responsible for keeping the local population in line, rewarding those loyal to the regime and punishing anyone who resists.
Court Activities
You'll run into a range of activities while exploring each boyar's territory. This includes activities like clearing campsites, where you eliminate the soldiers protecting a boyar's operation; raiding Blood Cellars, dealing with the blood stored for Brencis's forces; intercepting transports, stopping shipments of blood or artefacts; sabotaging distilleries, freeing captives from the pillory, and similar.
Each boyar has their own icon, shown at the top of their profile on the Court screen, and that same symbol marks their activities out in the world - but only once you've actually come across them. You won't see a boyar's icon on the map for an activity you haven't discovered yet. It may show up as a generic quest marker or a plain question mark until you get close enough for the game to reveal which boyar it belongs to.
Most of this happens naturally through exploration, or by following the quest markers and question marks already dotted around the map. Scouting towers are especially handy here, since Vale Sangora is a big map, and climbing one to reveal more of the map makes it far easier to spot activities you'd otherwise walk right past.
Boyar Aggression and Infamy
Boyar Agression, or Anger Level, is what's actually driving progress against each boyar. Open their profile in the Court menu and you'll see an Aggression meter tied specifically to them. Every activity you complete in their territory fills it up. Push it to max and you'll unlock the questline that lets you confront that boyar directly.
Court activities also raise your Infamy, which is separate from any individual boyar's Anger Level.
As Coen's Infamy climbs, Brencis responds with new Edicts that make the world more dangerous, and his forces grow more aggressive the more trouble you cause.
You'll need to reach Notorious Infamy or higher before Crake will let you formally join the manumits, which is one of the early quest given to you in the game. If "Where Loyalty Lies" seems stuck, that's usually why - keep working through Court activities and your Infamy will catch up.
What Happens to Activities After a Boyar Dies?
Killing a boyar doesn't automatically shut down everything connected to them. Their operations have a lot of moving parts, and taking out the person at the top doesn't mean every camp, transport, or supply line tied to them vanishes along with them. Anything you haven't finished stays available to complete afterwards.
These leftover activities are worth going back for, too. Some lead you to vendors you might otherwise miss, like Ursul, while others just hand you solid gear for the trouble. You can even stumble across a familiar face in a place you weren't expecting to find one.
Quick tip: Since these activities also eat into your Time Segments, though, there's no need to clear everything before confronting a boyar - if you'd rather push the story forward, deal with them first and clear whatever's left afterwards.
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