After additional pondering on the above observation, I wonder what might be the most prominent reason(s) for certain Nyrish factions to turn into 5th columnists.
1- Certain Nyrish minorities never truly embraced the (current) mainstream Nyrish culture of XoR’s present day era (gender equality/flexibility/fluidity, Skepticism), instead secretly finding comfort in their Halassurq roots
2- Those “certain Nyrish factions” are actually long-term spies (whom Halassurq has seeded over multiple generations in preparation for their eventual Game 4 takeover of Nyryal).
3- Rather than cultural affinity (or being a long-term spy), maybe certain Nyrs simply believe that Halassur will give Nyryal far greater economic benefits/trade deals than Karagon ever did. (particularly since the Hegemony’s current trade status quo has most of its wealth flowing through/towards the waterways and canals of Karagon and Shayard).
What are Caroline’s thoughts on my earlier suggested idea? (concerning how a “precursor Shayardene/Erezzan coastal empire” might be an interesting “alternative culture/mythology” to rally behind)
I’m glad your MC shares my MC’s vote of confidence (towards de Firiac).
Meanwhile FYI, the XoR crowd on Discord doesn’t seem to trust/like de Firiac very much. 
Does Reynard have any hope of poaching his Keriatou cousins (Hector, Calea) away from the Laconniers? (and then redeeming them into functional members of his new koinon)
Or have Hector and Calea committed too many unforgivable crimes against helots? (thus being totally undeserving of any form of second chance)
And FYI (if you’re looking for additional inspiration), on the Uprising thread, I previously discussed the possibility of punishment tiers (with regards to how my MC interacts with XoR’s old guard aristos).
Using foreigners (in your case, the Whendish clan members) as your royal/personal guard is actually an interesting idea which has “tried and tested” historical value.
E.g. the Varangian Guard: “The recruitment of distant foreigners from outside Byzantium to serve as the emperor’s personal guard was pursued as a deliberate policy, as they lacked local political loyalties and could be counted upon to suppress revolts by disloyal Byzantine factions.”
I think I’m beginning to finally grasp the key difference/nuance here; thanks for clarifying!
Do be mindful, however, that most of the Leaguers shared Horion’s dream of building a koinon (with Shayard as its dominant member), so let’s hope Reynard’s “incentives package” will be enough to get the Leaguers to reconsider and then comply with his “koinon of (genuine) equals” agenda.
Yeah, to quote Havie’s explanation (on the Uprising thread): “The Outer Rim has Laconniers and Loyalists, but the Leaguers are only a presence in better-connected parts of Shayard, especially its urban trading centers.”
And another relevant FYI: when I previously asked Havie about “how wealthy is the Leaguer’s starting position in Game 2?,” he answered: “Not especially, I’m afraid. The Archon spends primarily to shore up Loyalists, secondarily to keep some of the main Laconniers on side, and only then to win over the small faction of her troublesome cousins. Teren isn’t that close to the purse strings.”
By the way, does Reynard happen to agree with Cerlota’s stance? (that “Theurges should be excluded from formal office, thus being restricted to acting as advisors and executors of decisions made by the non-Theurgic authorities”)
If the theory (that Breden is actually a Laconnier spy with Kryptast training) turns out to be true, then perhaps Breden wishes to pass on Cerlota’s Theurgic secrets to her Laconnier handlers/masters (so that the Laconniers can start training their own corps of Wisards).