https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=In_the_hills%2C_the_cities 2026-04-13T06:13:20Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.39.6 https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=134448&oldid=prev 2026-02-18T12:44:50Z

<p></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 12:44, 18 February 2026</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l72">Line 72:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 72:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The offer of trade in wains is intriguing for the Grand Ilarchs of Axos. There are some sources of the valuable resources in their territories, but more is always useful. The Axou have apparently some large project they are looking to start soon that would benefit from access to more [[white granite]]. So in principle they would be interested in purchasing white granite if it is available at the right price. They are aware that prices for such materials have been sky high in the Empire recently, but if it has dropped significantly then it might now be possible to trade.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The offer of trade in wains is intriguing for the Grand Ilarchs of Axos. There are some sources of the valuable resources in their territories, but more is always useful. The Axou have apparently some large project they are looking to start soon that would benefit from access to more [[white granite]]. So in principle they would be interested in purchasing white granite if it is available at the right price. They are aware that prices for such materials have been sky high in the Empire recently, but if it has dropped significantly then it might now be possible to trade.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end, Ilarch <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Maxatious </del>is prepared to offer 18 crowns a wain for up to fifty wains of white granite, this season &#039;&#039;and&#039;&#039; next. To conclude the sale, the ambassador will need to write to Ilarch <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Maxatious </del>to confirm how many wains they are offering and then pass the wains to the civil service (&#039;&#039;&#039;OOC note&#039;&#039;&#039; hand the wains in for use in downtime). The respective staff of the two embassies will then complete the exchange. Axos cannot commit to buying more than fifty wains a season, and only for the next two seasons, but if the ambassador confirms that there is still a glut in Imperial markets after that time, then the Ilarch will make a new offer.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end, Ilarch <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Maxatios </ins>is prepared to offer 18 crowns a wain for up to fifty wains of white granite, this season &#039;&#039;and&#039;&#039; next. To conclude the sale, the ambassador will need to write to Ilarch <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Maxatios </ins>to confirm how many wains they are offering and then pass the wains to the civil service (&#039;&#039;&#039;OOC note&#039;&#039;&#039; hand the wains in for use in downtime). The respective staff of the two embassies will then complete the exchange. Axos cannot commit to buying more than fifty wains a season, and only for the next two seasons, but if the ambassador confirms that there is still a glut in Imperial markets after that time, then the Ilarch will make a new offer.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>{{Axos Links}}</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>{{Axos Links}}</div></td></tr> </table>

Twiggy https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=127111&oldid=prev 2025-08-23T10:57:29Z

<p></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 10:57, 23 August 2025</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l73">Line 73:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 73:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end, Ilarch Maxatious is prepared to offer 18 crowns a wain for up to fifty wains of white granite, this season &#039;&#039;and&#039;&#039; next. To conclude the sale, the ambassador will need to write to Ilarch Maxatious to confirm how many wains they are offering and then pass the wains to the civil service (&#039;&#039;&#039;OOC note&#039;&#039;&#039; hand the wains in for use in downtime). The respective staff of the two embassies will then complete the exchange. Axos cannot commit to buying more than fifty wains a season, and only for the next two seasons, but if the ambassador confirms that there is still a glut in Imperial markets after that time, then the Ilarch will make a new offer.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end, Ilarch Maxatious is prepared to offer 18 crowns a wain for up to fifty wains of white granite, this season &#039;&#039;and&#039;&#039; next. To conclude the sale, the ambassador will need to write to Ilarch Maxatious to confirm how many wains they are offering and then pass the wains to the civil service (&#039;&#039;&#039;OOC note&#039;&#039;&#039; hand the wains in for use in downtime). The respective staff of the two embassies will then complete the exchange. Axos cannot commit to buying more than fifty wains a season, and only for the next two seasons, but if the ambassador confirms that there is still a glut in Imperial markets after that time, then the Ilarch will make a new offer.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">==Further Reading==</del></div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">{{</ins>Axos <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Links}}</ins></div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">* [[</del>Axos<del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">]]</del></div></td><td colspan="2" class="diff-side-added"></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">* [[Ambassador to Axos]]</del></div></td><td colspan="2" class="diff-side-added"></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">* [[Axos ports]]</del></div></td><td colspan="2" class="diff-side-added"></td></tr> </table>

Rafferty https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=123662&oldid=prev 2025-07-12T17:42:42Z

<p></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 17:42, 12 July 2025</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l6">Line 6:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 6:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>He puts the glass back, and leans over to place a gentle kiss on the forehead of his sleeping partner, then slips out of bed. The sheets cling to him a little. He performs his morning ablutions - it is still dark outside but he has no hope of getting back to sleep so he might as well start his day. He washes as best he can, shivering slightly at the cold water. He pauses for a moment looking at himself in the onyx-ringed mirror, tracing one finger along the gorgeous multi-coloured tattoo that runs across his chest, that almost nobody has ever seen. Then he dresses, putting on a freshly laundered lambswool robe. His hand hovers for a moment over one mask, of beaten gold, and then he selects another. Silver-and-ivory, decorated with tiny chips of tempest jade.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>He puts the glass back, and leans over to place a gentle kiss on the forehead of his sleeping partner, then slips out of bed. The sheets cling to him a little. He performs his morning ablutions - it is still dark outside but he has no hope of getting back to sleep so he might as well start his day. He washes as best he can, shivering slightly at the cold water. He pauses for a moment looking at himself in the onyx-ringed mirror, tracing one finger along the gorgeous multi-coloured tattoo that runs across his chest, that almost nobody has ever seen. Then he dresses, putting on a freshly laundered lambswool robe. His hand hovers for a moment over one mask, of beaten gold, and then he selects another. Silver-and-ivory, decorated with tiny chips of tempest jade.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Before he leaves his apartments, he takes a moment to light a stick of incense at the shrine. Kantor, his arms wide, his face hidden behind the Mask of Wealth. The other <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">sorceror</del>-kinds cluster around him, trying to catch the black coins that flow from his outstretched hands in their bowls. He touches each of the urns and lekythos arranged before the icon in turn, whispering their names, and bidding them good morning. He strains his ears, but he hears nothing. No delicate whispers, no hint of anything unseen in the corners.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Before he leaves his apartments, he takes a moment to light a stick of incense at the shrine. Kantor, his arms wide, his face hidden behind the Mask of Wealth. The other <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">sorcerer</ins>-kinds cluster around him, trying to catch the black coins that flow from his outstretched hands in their bowls. He touches each of the urns and lekythos arranged before the icon in turn, whispering their names, and bidding them good morning. He strains his ears, but he hears nothing. No delicate whispers, no hint of anything unseen in the corners.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The office is quiet. He is the first one there. He settles into his chair - it is new and he does not like it, it does not know the contours of his body the way his old chair did before it betrayed him in the middle of a meeting with one of the Imperial traders. The woman had hidden her smirk behind her hand but he had seen it, and for a moment considered having her cursed. Patrolcus talked him out of it, of course. No need to go looking for trouble.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The office is quiet. He is the first one there. He settles into his chair - it is new and he does not like it, it does not know the contours of his body the way his old chair did before it betrayed him in the middle of a meeting with one of the Imperial traders. The woman had hidden her smirk behind her hand but he had seen it, and for a moment considered having her cursed. Patrolcus talked him out of it, of course. No need to go looking for trouble.</div></td></tr> </table>

Twiggy https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=113277&oldid=prev 2024-07-22T12:54:24Z

<p></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 12:54, 22 July 2024</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l15">Line 15:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 15:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>He settles back down in his chair, steeling his nerves. He opens the letter, deftly, and begins to read. Behind his silver-and-ivory mask, he begins to frown.&lt;/ic&gt;</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>He settles back down in his chair, steeling his nerves. He opens the letter, deftly, and begins to read. Behind his silver-and-ivory mask, he begins to frown.&lt;/ic&gt;</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>&lt;div style=&quot;float:left; width: 300px; clear: right;&quot;&gt;{{CaptionedImage|file=Fintan8448.png|caption=Fintan Nighthaven, Ambassador to Axos|align=left|width=300}}&lt;/div&gt;</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>&lt;div style=&quot;float:left; width: 300px; clear: right;&quot;&gt;{{CaptionedImage|file=Fintan8448.png|caption=Fintan Nighthaven, Ambassador to Axos|align=left|width=300}}&lt;/div&gt;<ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">{{audio|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNKamls1w3k}}</ins></div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==Overview==</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==Overview==</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;Axos are signatories to the Liberty Pact, but relations were seriously damaged by the Tsark Debacle&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;Axos are signatories to the Liberty Pact, but relations were seriously damaged by the Tsark Debacle&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td></tr> </table>

Novemberalice https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=113062&oldid=prev 2024-07-19T03:44:33Z

<p></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 03:44, 19 July 2024</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l1">Line 1:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 1:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[[Category:Winds of Fortune]][[Category:386YE <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Spring</del>]][[Category:Recent History]][[Category:Foreign Nations]][[Category:Axos]]</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[[Category:Winds of Fortune]][[Category:386YE <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Summer</ins>]][[Category:Recent History]][[Category:Foreign Nations]][[Category:Axos]]</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>&lt;ic&gt;The man sits in bed, his body sour with cold sweat. His knees are drawn up close to his body, one arm wrapped around them. The other reaches out, trembling, for a glass of watered wine. He sips it, and lets his breathing subside. Just another nightmare. Just another bad dream. Just another presentiment of what was waiting for him, for all of them.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>&lt;ic&gt;The man sits in bed, his body sour with cold sweat. His knees are drawn up close to his body, one arm wrapped around them. The other reaches out, trembling, for a glass of watered wine. He sips it, and lets his breathing subside. Just another nightmare. Just another bad dream. Just another presentiment of what was waiting for him, for all of them.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l54">Line 54:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 54:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Whatever the details of that matter, since her return there are reports that her political star is rising, but not in Ipotavo where she enjoys little political influence in her own family and her elderly cousin &#039;&#039;Adonai&#039;&#039; still clings on as the Grand Ilarch. Instead, it is in the newly restored [[Axos#Tunnels of Kaban|Kaban]] that this erstwhile scholar is making a name for herself, having apparently become a close theological ally of &#039;&#039;Ilarch Kyther Deianeira&#039;&#039;. This ambitious leader is known to be making a bid to become Grand Ilarch of Kaban and that may be the least of their aspirations.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Whatever the details of that matter, since her return there are reports that her political star is rising, but not in Ipotavo where she enjoys little political influence in her own family and her elderly cousin &#039;&#039;Adonai&#039;&#039; still clings on as the Grand Ilarch. Instead, it is in the newly restored [[Axos#Tunnels of Kaban|Kaban]] that this erstwhile scholar is making a name for herself, having apparently become a close theological ally of &#039;&#039;Ilarch Kyther Deianeira&#039;&#039;. This ambitious leader is known to be making a bid to become Grand Ilarch of Kaban and that may be the least of their aspirations.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The city has pulled itself from the ruins of the past and began to build again, a rapid regrowth fuelled by a narcotics trade that is rumoured to have been conducted via back-channels with the elites of [[Anvil]] (most likely thanks to regular visitors [[Ten_travellers_tales#Too_Lotus,_Too_Furious|Evander Slak and Hippolyta of Kaban]]). Ilarch Deianeira is linked to this trade in some way but their political ambitions are <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">cantered </del>on their advocacy for the political ideology of &#039;&#039;Nikitis Axou&#039;&#039;. This is a phrase understood to mean something akin to &quot;The Victorious Axis&quot; in an old tongue of the Axou people. It states that the central thing holding back the citadels of Axos is their divided and fractious nature: they lack a clear conception of themselves as one people and culture rather than six who share history and geography. Advocates of Nikitis Axou promote the idea that it is the shared destiny of the Axou to unify in power, leadership and strength and drive the Creator&#039;s evil from the world.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The city has pulled itself from the ruins of the past and began to build again, a rapid regrowth fuelled by a narcotics trade that is rumoured to have been conducted via back-channels with the elites of [[Anvil]] (most likely thanks to regular visitors [[Ten_travellers_tales#Too_Lotus,_Too_Furious|Evander Slak and Hippolyta of Kaban]]). Ilarch Deianeira is linked to this trade in some way but their political ambitions are <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">centred </ins>on their advocacy for the political ideology of &#039;&#039;Nikitis Axou&#039;&#039;. This is a phrase understood to mean something akin to &quot;The Victorious Axis&quot; in an old tongue of the Axou people. It states that the central thing holding back the citadels of Axos is their divided and fractious nature: they lack a clear conception of themselves as one people and culture rather than six who share history and geography. Advocates of Nikitis Axou promote the idea that it is the shared destiny of the Axou to unify in power, leadership and strength and drive the Creator&#039;s evil from the world.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Kyther promotes the idea that while the Pride of the Axou people is important, they should learn from the successes of the Empire, and seek to emulate them - implicitly, so that they may one day truly be a peer. Theodosia is a known advocate of the false virtue of Peace, so her increasingly prominent role in advocating for Kyther suggests that the Ilarch&#039;s ultimate aim is not based solely on military conquest - though their precise spiritual and ideological teachings are not known for certain.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Kyther promotes the idea that while the Pride of the Axou people is important, they should learn from the successes of the Empire, and seek to emulate them - implicitly, so that they may one day truly be a peer. Theodosia is a known advocate of the false virtue of Peace, so her increasingly prominent role in advocating for Kyther suggests that the Ilarch&#039;s ultimate aim is not based solely on military conquest - though their precise spiritual and ideological teachings are not known for certain.</div></td></tr> </table>

Hailmur https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=112984&oldid=prev 2024-07-17T18:52:52Z

<p></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 18:52, 17 July 2024</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l10">Line 10:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 10:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The office is quiet. He is the first one there. He settles into his chair - it is new and he does not like it, it does not know the contours of his body the way his old chair did before it betrayed him in the middle of a meeting with one of the Imperial traders. The woman had hidden her smirk behind her hand but he had seen it, and for a moment considered having her cursed. Patrolcus talked him out of it, of course. No need to go looking for trouble.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The office is quiet. He is the first one there. He settles into his chair - it is new and he does not like it, it does not know the contours of his body the way his old chair did before it betrayed him in the middle of a meeting with one of the Imperial traders. The woman had hidden her smirk behind her hand but he had seen it, and for a moment considered having her cursed. Patrolcus talked him out of it, of course. No need to go looking for trouble.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>There are a half-dozen new documents on the desk. An invitation to visit his niece in Maykop, if he can find the time (he won&#039;t find the time). A carefully couched request from a would-be merchant-prince complaining that people will not pay what his wares are worth. A request from the Grand <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Illarch </del>for an update about the white granite situation. And there, on the bottom, a folded letter. He turns it over in his hand, without reading it. It must have arrived during the night. He taps it against his chin for a few moments, then crosses the room and opens the shutters. Still holding the letter, he stares out across the sea, far below. The birds have woken up, down at the docks, their raucous shrieking almost drowning out the sound of the waves.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>There are a half-dozen new documents on the desk. An invitation to visit his niece in Maykop, if he can find the time (he won&#039;t find the time). A carefully couched request from a would-be merchant-prince complaining that people will not pay what his wares are worth. A request from the Grand <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Ilarch </ins>for an update about the white granite situation. And there, on the bottom, a folded letter. He turns it over in his hand, without reading it. It must have arrived during the night. He taps it against his chin for a few moments, then crosses the room and opens the shutters. Still holding the letter, he stares out across the sea, far below. The birds have woken up, down at the docks, their raucous shrieking almost drowning out the sound of the waves.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>His window looks east, to where the sun is only now rising. A glorious crimson, yellow, and blue sky that puts him in mind, suddenly, of an old rhyme his grandfather used to recite. The beauty brings him no joy; it just reminds him of the knights in his dream. He closes the shutters again. It will get hot, he knows. Stifling, perhaps. But today he could do without the golden sun peering into his business.  </div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>His window looks east, to where the sun is only now rising. A glorious crimson, yellow, and blue sky that puts him in mind, suddenly, of an old rhyme his grandfather used to recite. The beauty brings him no joy; it just reminds him of the knights in his dream. He closes the shutters again. It will get hot, he knows. Stifling, perhaps. But today he could do without the golden sun peering into his business.  </div></td></tr> </table>

Novemberalice https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=112980&oldid=prev 2024-07-17T17:30:32Z

<p></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 17:30, 17 July 2024</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l4">Line 4:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 4:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In half a lifetime of nightmares, this one has been notable. A maze of black stone and metal and flames. Hooked chains crusted with dried blood and barbed blades clogged with bone and meat. Endless screaming. He had run, but he&#039;d known &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; were right behind him and when he finally tripped, and &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; caught up to him, he&#039;d put his hands over his face as he whined and cried and begged and promised &#039;&#039;anything&#039;&#039; if they would only spare him, if they would just do it to &#039;&#039;someone else&#039;&#039; and let him go. &#039;&#039;They&#039;&#039; had stood in a circle around him, faces full of contempt, indifferent to his pathetic cries, their yellow-sun-on-blue surcotes pristine despite the unspeakable filth. They had raised their shining swords as one, but before they could strike, could begin hacking him to pieces... he woke up.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In half a lifetime of nightmares, this one has been notable. A maze of black stone and metal and flames. Hooked chains crusted with dried blood and barbed blades clogged with bone and meat. Endless screaming. He had run, but he&#039;d known &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; were right behind him and when he finally tripped, and &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; caught up to him, he&#039;d put his hands over his face as he whined and cried and begged and promised &#039;&#039;anything&#039;&#039; if they would only spare him, if they would just do it to &#039;&#039;someone else&#039;&#039; and let him go. &#039;&#039;They&#039;&#039; had stood in a circle around him, faces full of contempt, indifferent to his pathetic cries, their yellow-sun-on-blue surcotes pristine despite the unspeakable filth. They had raised their shining swords as one, but before they could strike, could begin hacking him to pieces... he woke up.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>He puts the glass back, and leans over to place a gentle kiss on the forehead of his sleeping partner, then slips out of bed. The sheets cling to him a little. He performs his morning ablutions - it is still dark outside but he has no hope of getting back to sleep so he might as well start his day. He washes as best he can, shivering slightly at the cold water. He pauses for a moment looking at himself in the onyx-ringed mirror, tracing one finger along the gorgeous <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">mutli</del>-coloured tattoo that runs across his chest, that almost nobody has ever seen. Then he dresses, putting on a freshly laundered lambswool robe. His hand hovers for a moment over one mask, of beaten gold, and then he selects another. Silver-and-ivory, decorated with tiny chips of tempest jade.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>He puts the glass back, and leans over to place a gentle kiss on the forehead of his sleeping partner, then slips out of bed. The sheets cling to him a little. He performs his morning ablutions - it is still dark outside but he has no hope of getting back to sleep so he might as well start his day. He washes as best he can, shivering slightly at the cold water. He pauses for a moment looking at himself in the onyx-ringed mirror, tracing one finger along the gorgeous <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">multi</ins>-coloured tattoo that runs across his chest, that almost nobody has ever seen. Then he dresses, putting on a freshly laundered lambswool robe. His hand hovers for a moment over one mask, of beaten gold, and then he selects another. Silver-and-ivory, decorated with tiny chips of tempest jade.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Before he leaves his apartments, he takes a moment to light a stick of incense at the shrine. Kantor, his arms wide, his face hidden behind the Mask of Wealth. The other sorceror-kinds cluster around him, trying to catch the black coins that flow from his outstretched hands in their bowls. He touches each of the urns and lekythos arranged before the icon in turn, whispering their names, and bidding them good morning. He strains his ears, but he hears nothing. No delicate whispers, no hint of anything unseen in the corners.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Before he leaves his apartments, he takes a moment to light a stick of incense at the shrine. Kantor, his arms wide, his face hidden behind the Mask of Wealth. The other sorceror-kinds cluster around him, trying to catch the black coins that flow from his outstretched hands in their bowls. He touches each of the urns and lekythos arranged before the icon in turn, whispering their names, and bidding them good morning. He strains his ears, but he hears nothing. No delicate whispers, no hint of anything unseen in the corners.</div></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l43">Line 43:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 43:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The decision by the Empire to prevent any changes to the Liberty Pact were broadly welcomed by the Axou. The nation was well aware that the [[Commonwealth]] and the [[Sumaah Republic]] wished to see their nation ejected from the Pact, simply because the nation is not as large or powerful as the Empire. In theory Axos could have vetoed any changes to the Pact, but the Commonwealth were clear that if that happened, they would dissolve the Pact and form a new one without Axos.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The decision by the Empire to prevent any changes to the Liberty Pact were broadly welcomed by the Axou. The nation was well aware that the [[Commonwealth]] and the [[Sumaah Republic]] wished to see their nation ejected from the Pact, simply because the nation is not as large or powerful as the Empire. In theory Axos could have vetoed any changes to the Pact, but the Commonwealth were clear that if that happened, they would dissolve the Pact and form a new one without Axos.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Only the intervention of the Empire prevented that from happening. By thwarting the Commonwealth&#039;s ambition, the Empire has made a concrete step to improve relations with Axos. This action has been noted and <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">acknowedged</del>, even by those most hostile to the Empire, in part because it involved treating Axos as a peer and a friend.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Only the intervention of the Empire prevented that from happening. By thwarting the Commonwealth&#039;s ambition, the Empire has made a concrete step to improve relations with Axos. This action has been noted and <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">acknowledged</ins>, even by those most hostile to the Empire, in part because it involved treating Axos as a peer and a friend.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>If the Empire had permitted the Commonwealth to expel Axos from the pact, it would have been seen as another betrayal. With things as bad as they are, that would have ended diplomatic relations with Axos for generations. Instead, the steadfast support of the Empire for their former allies has helped to mitigate some of their fury. If there is more diplomacy of this kind in the future, icy relations with Axos may yet begin to thaw.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>If the Empire had permitted the Commonwealth to expel Axos from the pact, it would have been seen as another betrayal. With things as bad as they are, that would have ended diplomatic relations with Axos for generations. Instead, the steadfast support of the Empire for their former allies has helped to mitigate some of their fury. If there is more diplomacy of this kind in the future, icy relations with Axos may yet begin to thaw.</div></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l50">Line 50:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 50:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;Each recipient must swear an oath to bear the item for a year&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;Each recipient must swear an oath to bear the item for a year&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;In return the Ilarch has asked for a hundred doses of liao and a letter from the Throne thanking the Ilarch&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;In return the Ilarch has asked for a hundred doses of liao and a letter from the Throne thanking the Ilarch&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In recent months, an Axou scholar named [[Ten_travellers_tales#Theodosia_of_Ipotavo|Theodosia]] - a minor member of the ruling clan of Ipotavo - <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">traveled </del>to the Empire, in the main to pursue some in-person talks regarding &#039;&#039;Bawn-Watch&#039;&#039;, the unique [[Magic_items#Artefacts|artefactual]] [[Pilgrim&#039;s Shield]] of [[Vigilance]]. Whatever the outcome of those talks, they would appear to have been successful, to a point. It is true that Theodosia [[It%27s_only_me#Finally,_a_Departure|left the Empire early]] - and she was not the only one. It seems in part that the [[Promising light|Emperor&#039;s inaugural address]] regarding Imperial unity, while well received in the Empire, was alarming to Axou ears. It was likely unintentional, but some of the words seem to have confirmed the persistent Axou fear of Imperial conquest. However, while she is known to have left carrying a shield, it does not appear to have been the shield she arrived with.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In recent months, an Axou scholar named [[Ten_travellers_tales#Theodosia_of_Ipotavo|Theodosia]] - a minor member of the ruling clan of Ipotavo - <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">travelled </ins>to the Empire, in the main to pursue some in-person talks regarding &#039;&#039;Bawn-Watch&#039;&#039;, the unique [[Magic_items#Artefacts|artefactual]] [[Pilgrim&#039;s Shield]] of [[Vigilance]]. Whatever the outcome of those talks, they would appear to have been successful, to a point. It is true that Theodosia [[It%27s_only_me#Finally,_a_Departure|left the Empire early]] - and she was not the only one. It seems in part that the [[Promising light|Emperor&#039;s inaugural address]] regarding Imperial unity, while well received in the Empire, was alarming to Axou ears. It was likely unintentional, but some of the words seem to have confirmed the persistent Axou fear of Imperial conquest. However, while she is known to have left carrying a shield, it does not appear to have been the shield she arrived with.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Whatever the details of that matter, since her return there are reports that her political star is rising, but not in Ipotavo where she enjoys little political influence in her own family and her elderly cousin &#039;&#039;Adonai&#039;&#039; still clings on as the Grand Ilarch. Instead, it is in the newly restored [[Axos#Tunnels of Kaban|Kaban]] that this erstwhile scholar is making a name for herself, having apparently become a close theological ally of &#039;&#039;Ilarch Kyther Deianeira&#039;&#039;. This ambitious leader is known to be making a bid to become Grand Ilarch of Kaban and that may be the least of their aspirations.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Whatever the details of that matter, since her return there are reports that her political star is rising, but not in Ipotavo where she enjoys little political influence in her own family and her elderly cousin &#039;&#039;Adonai&#039;&#039; still clings on as the Grand Ilarch. Instead, it is in the newly restored [[Axos#Tunnels of Kaban|Kaban]] that this erstwhile scholar is making a name for herself, having apparently become a close theological ally of &#039;&#039;Ilarch Kyther Deianeira&#039;&#039;. This ambitious leader is known to be making a bid to become Grand Ilarch of Kaban and that may be the least of their aspirations.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The city has pulled itself from the ruins of the past and began to build again, a rapid regrowth <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">fueled </del>by a narcotics trade that is rumoured to have been conducted via back-channels with the elites of [[Anvil]] (most likely thanks to regular visitors [[Ten_travellers_tales#Too_Lotus,_Too_Furious|Evander Slak and Hippolyta of Kaban]]). Ilarch Deianeira is linked to this trade in some way but their political ambitions are <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">centered </del>on their advocacy for the political ideology of &#039;&#039;Nikitis Axou&#039;&#039;. This is a phrase understood to mean something akin to &quot;The Victorious Axis&quot; in an old tongue of the Axou people. It states that the central thing holding back the citadels of Axos is their divided and fractious nature: they lack a clear conception of themselves as one people and culture rather than six who share history and geography. Advocates of Nikitis Axou promote the idea that it is the shared destiny of the Axou to unify in power, leadership and strength and drive the Creator&#039;s evil from the world.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The city has pulled itself from the ruins of the past and began to build again, a rapid regrowth <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">fuelled </ins>by a narcotics trade that is rumoured to have been conducted via back-channels with the elites of [[Anvil]] (most likely thanks to regular visitors [[Ten_travellers_tales#Too_Lotus,_Too_Furious|Evander Slak and Hippolyta of Kaban]]). Ilarch Deianeira is linked to this trade in some way but their political ambitions are <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">cantered </ins>on their advocacy for the political ideology of &#039;&#039;Nikitis Axou&#039;&#039;. This is a phrase understood to mean something akin to &quot;The Victorious Axis&quot; in an old tongue of the Axou people. It states that the central thing holding back the citadels of Axos is their divided and fractious nature: they lack a clear conception of themselves as one people and culture rather than six who share history and geography. Advocates of Nikitis Axou promote the idea that it is the shared destiny of the Axou to unify in power, leadership and strength and drive the Creator&#039;s evil from the world.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Kyther promotes the idea that while the Pride of the Axou people is important, they should learn from the successes of the Empire, and seek to emulate them - <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">implictly</del>, so that they may one day truly be a peer. Theodosia is a known advocate of the false virtue of Peace, so her increasingly prominent role in advocating for Kyther suggests that the Ilarch&#039;s ultimate aim is not based solely on military conquest - though their precise spiritual and ideological teachings are not known for certain.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Kyther promotes the idea that while the Pride of the Axou people is important, they should learn from the successes of the Empire, and seek to emulate them - <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">implicitly</ins>, so that they may one day truly be a peer. Theodosia is a known advocate of the false virtue of Peace, so her increasingly prominent role in advocating for Kyther suggests that the Ilarch&#039;s ultimate aim is not based solely on military conquest - though their precise spiritual and ideological teachings are not known for certain.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end Ilarch Deianeira has responded to the ambassador&#039;s missive with an open offer to the [[Assembly#Assembly_of_the_Nine|Assembly of the Nine]]. They have heard that the Assembly are interested in experiencing the [[aura|auras]] of the force many in Axos call Understanding, and the Empire denounces as [[Malign_spiritual_presences#Peace|Peace]]. Ilarch Deianeira is prepared to send an Axos priest to [[hallow]] one item for each member of the Assembly of the Nine.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end Ilarch Deianeira has responded to the ambassador&#039;s missive with an open offer to the [[Assembly#Assembly_of_the_Nine|Assembly of the Nine]]. They have heard that the Assembly are interested in experiencing the [[aura|auras]] of the force many in Axos call Understanding, and the Empire denounces as [[Malign_spiritual_presences#Peace|Peace]]. Ilarch Deianeira is prepared to send an Axos priest to [[hallow]] one item for each member of the Assembly of the Nine.</div></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l62">Line 62:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 62:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>There is one small catch - the Ilarch is only prepared to extend this generous offer to scholars and priests who wish to experience the power of Understanding firsthand. Any member of the Council of the Nine who wishes to take up the offer must swear an oath, before the priest and their peers, to bear the hallowed item for a year. The Ilarch will not provide a hallowed item simply to see it catalogued and then deconsecrated or stuffed in a box.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>There is one small catch - the Ilarch is only prepared to extend this generous offer to scholars and priests who wish to experience the power of Understanding firsthand. Any member of the Council of the Nine who wishes to take up the offer must swear an oath, before the priest and their peers, to bear the hallowed item for a year. The Ilarch will not provide a hallowed item simply to see it catalogued and then deconsecrated or stuffed in a box.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In return, the Empire would need to provide the priest - either Theodosia, or more likely one of her students - with one hundred doses of [[liao]] and a guarantee of their safety.  The Ilarch has high ambitions for Axos, ambitions that would come a step closer to fruition if they can lay their hands on a significant volume of liao. In addition, they have asked for a letter from the leader of the Assembly of the Nine - that is to say, [[the Throne]] - thanking the Ilarch and recognising their good will in these affairs. The civil service believe that Kyther intends to employ this letter in pursuit of their goals. Axos may be hostile to the Empire at the moment, but some of that is <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">fueled </del>by their perception that the Empire fundamentally disrespects them. Kyther likely intends to flaunt the letter to allies and rivals alike, to demonstrate that, no matter how the Empire might treat Axos, they do respect the Ilarch.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In return, the Empire would need to provide the priest - either Theodosia, or more likely one of her students - with one hundred doses of [[liao]] and a guarantee of their safety.  The Ilarch has high ambitions for Axos, ambitions that would come a step closer to fruition if they can lay their hands on a significant volume of liao. In addition, they have asked for a letter from the leader of the Assembly of the Nine - that is to say, [[the Throne]] - thanking the Ilarch and recognising their good will in these affairs. The civil service believe that Kyther intends to employ this letter in pursuit of their goals. Axos may be hostile to the Empire at the moment, but some of that is <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">fuelled </ins>by their perception that the Empire fundamentally disrespects them. Kyther likely intends to flaunt the letter to allies and rivals alike, to demonstrate that, no matter how the Empire might treat Axos, they do respect the Ilarch.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>If one or more members of the Assembly of the Nine wish to take the Ilarch up on their offer, then the ambassador will need to write to the Axou to confirm the Empire&#039;s interest and arrange for 100 doses of liao to be sent to them (hand in the liao and email plot@profounddecisions.co.uk). A priest will <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">arrve </del>at the following summit to perform the hallowings.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>If one or more members of the Assembly of the Nine wish to take the Ilarch up on their offer, then the ambassador will need to write to the Axou to confirm the Empire&#039;s interest and arrange for 100 doses of liao to be sent to them (hand in the liao and email plot@profounddecisions.co.uk). A priest will <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">arrive </ins>at the following summit to perform the hallowings.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==A Rising Need==</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==A Rising Need==</div></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l70">Line 70:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 70:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;The Axou are offering 18 crowns a wain&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;The Axou are offering 18 crowns a wain&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;The ambassador can complete the sale by passing the goods to the civil service and confirming the amounts by letter to their counterpart&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;The ambassador can complete the sale by passing the goods to the civil service and confirming the amounts by letter to their counterpart&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The offer of trade in wains is intriguing for the Grand Ilarchs of Axos. There are some sources of the valuable resources in their territories, but more is always useful. The Axou have apparently some large project they are looking to start soon that would benefit from access to more [[white granite]]. So in principle they would be interested in purchasing white granite if it is available at the right price. They are aware that prices for such materials have been sky high in the Empire recently, but if it has dropped <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">signficantly </del>then it might now be possible to trade.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The offer of trade in wains is intriguing for the Grand Ilarchs of Axos. There are some sources of the valuable resources in their territories, but more is always useful. The Axou have apparently some large project they are looking to start soon that would benefit from access to more [[white granite]]. So in principle they would be interested in purchasing white granite if it is available at the right price. They are aware that prices for such materials have been sky high in the Empire recently, but if it has dropped <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">significantly </ins>then it might now be possible to trade.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end, Ilarch Maxatious is prepared to offer 18 crowns a wain for up to fifty wains of white granite, this season &#039;&#039;and&#039;&#039; next. To conclude the sale, the ambassador will need to write to Ilarch Maxatious to confirm how many wains they are offering and then pass the wains to the civil service (&#039;&#039;&#039;OOC note&#039;&#039;&#039; hand the wains in for use in downtime). The respective staff of the two embassies will then complete the exchange. Axos cannot commit to buying more than fifty wains a season, and only for the next two seasons, but if the ambassador confirms that there is still a glut in Imperial markets after that time, then the Ilarch will make a new offer.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end, Ilarch Maxatious is prepared to offer 18 crowns a wain for up to fifty wains of white granite, this season &#039;&#039;and&#039;&#039; next. To conclude the sale, the ambassador will need to write to Ilarch Maxatious to confirm how many wains they are offering and then pass the wains to the civil service (&#039;&#039;&#039;OOC note&#039;&#039;&#039; hand the wains in for use in downtime). The respective staff of the two embassies will then complete the exchange. Axos cannot commit to buying more than fifty wains a season, and only for the next two seasons, but if the ambassador confirms that there is still a glut in Imperial markets after that time, then the Ilarch will make a new offer.</div></td></tr> </table>

Dre https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=112979&oldid=prev 2024-07-17T17:20:09Z

<p><span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">Unity and Understanding: </span> Pronoun fix</span></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 17:20, 17 July 2024</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l52">Line 52:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 52:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In recent months, an Axou scholar named [[Ten_travellers_tales#Theodosia_of_Ipotavo|Theodosia]] - a minor member of the ruling clan of Ipotavo - traveled to the Empire, in the main to pursue some in-person talks regarding &#039;&#039;Bawn-Watch&#039;&#039;, the unique [[Magic_items#Artefacts|artefactual]] [[Pilgrim&#039;s Shield]] of [[Vigilance]]. Whatever the outcome of those talks, they would appear to have been successful, to a point. It is true that Theodosia [[It%27s_only_me#Finally,_a_Departure|left the Empire early]] - and she was not the only one. It seems in part that the [[Promising light|Emperor&#039;s inaugural address]] regarding Imperial unity, while well received in the Empire, was alarming to Axou ears. It was likely unintentional, but some of the words seem to have confirmed the persistent Axou fear of Imperial conquest. However, while she is known to have left carrying a shield, it does not appear to have been the shield she arrived with.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In recent months, an Axou scholar named [[Ten_travellers_tales#Theodosia_of_Ipotavo|Theodosia]] - a minor member of the ruling clan of Ipotavo - traveled to the Empire, in the main to pursue some in-person talks regarding &#039;&#039;Bawn-Watch&#039;&#039;, the unique [[Magic_items#Artefacts|artefactual]] [[Pilgrim&#039;s Shield]] of [[Vigilance]]. Whatever the outcome of those talks, they would appear to have been successful, to a point. It is true that Theodosia [[It%27s_only_me#Finally,_a_Departure|left the Empire early]] - and she was not the only one. It seems in part that the [[Promising light|Emperor&#039;s inaugural address]] regarding Imperial unity, while well received in the Empire, was alarming to Axou ears. It was likely unintentional, but some of the words seem to have confirmed the persistent Axou fear of Imperial conquest. However, while she is known to have left carrying a shield, it does not appear to have been the shield she arrived with.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Whatever the details of that matter, since her return there are reports that her political star is rising, but not in Ipotavo where she enjoys little political influence in her own family and her elderly cousin &#039;&#039;Adonai&#039;&#039; still clings on as the Grand Ilarch. Instead, it is in the newly restored [[Axos#Tunnels of Kaban|Kaban]] that this erstwhile scholar is making a name for herself, having apparently become a close theological ally of &#039;&#039;Ilarch Kyther Deianeira&#039;&#039;. This ambitious leader is known to be making a bid to become Grand Ilarch of Kaban and that may be the least of <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">her </del>aspirations.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Whatever the details of that matter, since her return there are reports that her political star is rising, but not in Ipotavo where she enjoys little political influence in her own family and her elderly cousin &#039;&#039;Adonai&#039;&#039; still clings on as the Grand Ilarch. Instead, it is in the newly restored [[Axos#Tunnels of Kaban|Kaban]] that this erstwhile scholar is making a name for herself, having apparently become a close theological ally of &#039;&#039;Ilarch Kyther Deianeira&#039;&#039;. This ambitious leader is known to be making a bid to become Grand Ilarch of Kaban and that may be the least of <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">their </ins>aspirations.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The city has pulled itself from the ruins of the past and began to build again, a rapid regrowth fueled by a narcotics trade that is rumoured to have been conducted via back-channels with the elites of [[Anvil]] (most likely thanks to regular visitors [[Ten_travellers_tales#Too_Lotus,_Too_Furious|Evander Slak and Hippolyta of Kaban]]). Ilarch Deianeira is linked to this trade in some way but <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">her </del>political ambitions are centered on <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">her </del>advocacy for the political ideology of &#039;&#039;Nikitis Axou&#039;&#039;. This is a phrase understood to mean something akin to &quot;The Victorious Axis&quot; in an old tongue of the Axou people. It states that the central thing holding back the citadels of Axos is their divided and fractious nature: they lack a clear conception of themselves as one people and culture rather than six who share history and geography. Advocates of Nikitis Axou promote the idea that it is the shared destiny of the Axou to unify in power, leadership and strength and drive the Creator&#039;s evil from the world.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The city has pulled itself from the ruins of the past and began to build again, a rapid regrowth fueled by a narcotics trade that is rumoured to have been conducted via back-channels with the elites of [[Anvil]] (most likely thanks to regular visitors [[Ten_travellers_tales#Too_Lotus,_Too_Furious|Evander Slak and Hippolyta of Kaban]]). Ilarch Deianeira is linked to this trade in some way but <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">their </ins>political ambitions are centered on <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">their </ins>advocacy for the political ideology of &#039;&#039;Nikitis Axou&#039;&#039;. This is a phrase understood to mean something akin to &quot;The Victorious Axis&quot; in an old tongue of the Axou people. It states that the central thing holding back the citadels of Axos is their divided and fractious nature: they lack a clear conception of themselves as one people and culture rather than six who share history and geography. Advocates of Nikitis Axou promote the idea that it is the shared destiny of the Axou to unify in power, leadership and strength and drive the Creator&#039;s evil from the world.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Kyther promotes the idea that while the Pride of the Axou people is important, they should learn from the successes of the Empire, and seek to emulate them - implictly, so that they may one day truly be a peer. Theodosia is a known advocate of the false virtue of Peace, so her increasingly prominent role in advocating for Kyther suggests that the Ilarch&#039;s ultimate aim is not based solely on military conquest - though <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">her </del>precise spiritual and ideological teachings are not known for certain.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Kyther promotes the idea that while the Pride of the Axou people is important, they should learn from the successes of the Empire, and seek to emulate them - implictly, so that they may one day truly be a peer. Theodosia is a known advocate of the false virtue of Peace, so her increasingly prominent role in advocating for Kyther suggests that the Ilarch&#039;s ultimate aim is not based solely on military conquest - though <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">their </ins>precise spiritual and ideological teachings are not known for certain.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end Ilarch Deianeira has responded to the ambassador&#039;s missive with an open offer to the [[Assembly#Assembly_of_the_Nine|Assembly of the Nine]]. <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">She has </del>heard that the Assembly are <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">interesting </del>in experiencing the [[aura|auras]] of the force many in Axos call Understanding, and the Empire denounces as [[Malign_spiritual_presences#Peace|Peace]]. Ilarch Deianeira is prepared to send an Axos priest to [[hallow]] one item for each member of the Assembly of the Nine.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>To that end Ilarch Deianeira has responded to the ambassador&#039;s missive with an open offer to the [[Assembly#Assembly_of_the_Nine|Assembly of the Nine]]. <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">They have </ins>heard that the Assembly are <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">interested </ins>in experiencing the [[aura|auras]] of the force many in Axos call Understanding, and the Empire denounces as [[Malign_spiritual_presences#Peace|Peace]]. Ilarch Deianeira is prepared to send an Axos priest to [[hallow]] one item for each member of the Assembly of the Nine.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>There is one small catch - the Ilarch is only prepared to extend this generous offer to scholars and priests who wish to experience the power of Understanding firsthand. Any member of the Council of the Nine who wishes to take up the offer must swear an oath, before the priest and their peers, to bear the hallowed item for a year. The Ilarch will not provide a hallowed item simply to see it catalogued and then deconsecrated or stuffed in a box.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>There is one small catch - the Ilarch is only prepared to extend this generous offer to scholars and priests who wish to experience the power of Understanding firsthand. Any member of the Council of the Nine who wishes to take up the offer must swear an oath, before the priest and their peers, to bear the hallowed item for a year. The Ilarch will not provide a hallowed item simply to see it catalogued and then deconsecrated or stuffed in a box.</div></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l65">Line 65:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 65:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>If one or more members of the Assembly of the Nine wish to take the Ilarch up on their offer, then the ambassador will need to write to the Axou to confirm the Empire&#039;s interest and arrange for 100 doses of liao to be sent to them (hand in the liao and email plot@profounddecisions.co.uk). A priest will arrve at the following summit to perform the hallowings.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>If one or more members of the Assembly of the Nine wish to take the Ilarch up on their offer, then the ambassador will need to write to the Axou to confirm the Empire&#039;s interest and arrange for 100 doses of liao to be sent to them (hand in the liao and email plot@profounddecisions.co.uk). A priest will arrve at the following summit to perform the hallowings.</div></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-side-deleted"></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==A Rising Need==</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>==A Rising Need==</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;The Axou are interested in purchasing up to fifty wains of white granite each season for the next six months&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>* &#039;&#039;&#039;The Axou are interested in purchasing up to fifty wains of white granite each season for the next six months&#039;&#039;&#039;</div></td></tr> </table>

Rafferty https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=112958&oldid=prev 2024-07-16T20:22:57Z

<p></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 20:22, 16 July 2024</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l1">Line 1:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 1:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[[Category:Winds of Fortune]][[Category:386YE Spring]][[Category:Recent History]][[Category:Foreign Nations]][[Category:Axos]]</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[[Category:Winds of Fortune]][[Category:386YE Spring]][[Category:Recent History]][[Category:Foreign Nations]][[Category:Axos]]</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>&lt;ic&gt;The man sits in bed, his body sour with cold sweat. His knees are drawn up close to his body <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">and </del>one arm wrapped around <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">with</del>. The other reaches out, trembling, for a glass of watered wine. He sips it, and lets his breathing subside. Just another nightmare. Just another bad dream. Just another presentiment of what was waiting for him, for all of them.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>&lt;ic&gt;The man sits in bed, his body sour with cold sweat. His knees are drawn up close to his body<ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">, </ins>one arm wrapped around <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">them</ins>. The other reaches out, trembling, for a glass of watered wine. He sips it, and lets his breathing subside. Just another nightmare. Just another bad dream. Just another presentiment of what was waiting for him, for all of them.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In half a lifetime of nightmares, this one has been notable. A maze of black stone and metal and flames. Hooked chains crusted with dried blood and barbed blades clogged with bone and meat. Endless screaming. He had run, but he&#039;d known &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; were right behind him and when he finally tripped, and &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; caught up to him, he&#039;d put his hands over his face as he whined and cried and begged and promised &#039;&#039;anything&#039;&#039; if they would only spare him, if they would just do it to &#039;&#039;someone else&#039;&#039; and let him go. &#039;&#039;They&#039;&#039; had stood in a circle around him, faces full of contempt, indifferent to his pathetic cries, their yellow-sun-on-blue surcotes pristine despite the unspeakable filth. They had raised their shining swords as one, but before they could strike, could begin hacking him to pieces... he woke up.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In half a lifetime of nightmares, this one has been notable. A maze of black stone and metal and flames. Hooked chains crusted with dried blood and barbed blades clogged with bone and meat. Endless screaming. He had run, but he&#039;d known &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; were right behind him and when he finally tripped, and &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; caught up to him, he&#039;d put his hands over his face as he whined and cried and begged and promised &#039;&#039;anything&#039;&#039; if they would only spare him, if they would just do it to &#039;&#039;someone else&#039;&#039; and let him go. &#039;&#039;They&#039;&#039; had stood in a circle around him, faces full of contempt, indifferent to his pathetic cries, their yellow-sun-on-blue surcotes pristine despite the unspeakable filth. They had raised their shining swords as one, but before they could strike, could begin hacking him to pieces... he woke up.</div></td></tr> </table>

Rafferty https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=In_the_hills,_the_cities&diff=112957&oldid=prev 2024-07-16T20:19:56Z

<p></p> <table style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122;" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <tr class="diff-title" lang="en"> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 20:19, 16 July 2024</td> </tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l2">Line 2:</td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 2:</td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>&lt;ic&gt;The man sits in bed, his body sour with cold sweat. His knees are drawn up close to his body and one arm wrapped around with. The other reaches out, trembling, for a glass of watered wine. He sips it, and lets his breathing subside. Just another nightmare. Just another bad dream. Just another presentiment of what was waiting for him, for all of them.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>&lt;ic&gt;The man sits in bed, his body sour with cold sweat. His knees are drawn up close to his body and one arm wrapped around with. The other reaches out, trembling, for a glass of watered wine. He sips it, and lets his breathing subside. Just another nightmare. Just another bad dream. Just another presentiment of what was waiting for him, for all of them.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In half a lifetime of nightmares, this one has been notable. A maze of black stone and metal and flames. Hooked chains crusted with dried blood and barbed blades clogged with bone and meat. Endless screaming. He <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">ran</del>, but he <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">knew </del>&#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; were right behind him and when he finally tripped, and &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; caught up to him, he put his hands over his face as he whined and cried and begged and promised &#039;&#039;anything&#039;&#039; if they would only spare him, if they would just do it to &#039;&#039;someone else&#039;&#039; and let him go. &#039;&#039;They&#039;&#039; had stood in a circle around him, faces full of contempt, indifferent to his pathetic cries, their yellow-sun-on-blue surcotes pristine despite the unspeakable filth. They had raised their shining swords as one, but before they could strike, could begin hacking him to pieces... he woke up.</div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In half a lifetime of nightmares, this one has been notable. A maze of black stone and metal and flames. Hooked chains crusted with dried blood and barbed blades clogged with bone and meat. Endless screaming. He <ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">had run</ins>, but he<ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">&#039;d known </ins>&#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; were right behind him and when he finally tripped, and &#039;&#039;they&#039;&#039; caught up to him, he<ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">&#039;d </ins>put his hands over his face as he whined and cried and begged and promised &#039;&#039;anything&#039;&#039; if they would only spare him, if they would just do it to &#039;&#039;someone else&#039;&#039; and let him go. &#039;&#039;They&#039;&#039; had stood in a circle around him, faces full of contempt, indifferent to his pathetic cries, their yellow-sun-on-blue surcotes pristine despite the unspeakable filth. They had raised their shining swords as one, but before they could strike, could begin hacking him to pieces... he woke up.</div></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br/></td></tr> <tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>He puts the glass back, and leans over to place a gentle kiss on the forehead of his sleeping partner, then slips out of bed. The sheets cling to him a little. He performs his morning ablutions - it is still dark outside but he has no hope of getting back to sleep so he might as well start his day. He washes as best he can, shivering slightly at the cold water. He pauses for a moment looking at himself in the onyx-ringed mirror, tracing one finger along the gorgeous mutli-coloured tattoo that runs across his chest, that almost nobody has ever seen. Then he dresses, putting on a freshly laundered lambswool robe. His hand hovers for a moment over one mask, of beaten gold, and then he selects another. Silver-and-ivory, decorated with tiny chips of tempest jade.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>He puts the glass back, and leans over to place a gentle kiss on the forehead of his sleeping partner, then slips out of bed. The sheets cling to him a little. He performs his morning ablutions - it is still dark outside but he has no hope of getting back to sleep so he might as well start his day. He washes as best he can, shivering slightly at the cold water. He pauses for a moment looking at himself in the onyx-ringed mirror, tracing one finger along the gorgeous mutli-coloured tattoo that runs across his chest, that almost nobody has ever seen. Then he dresses, putting on a freshly laundered lambswool robe. His hand hovers for a moment over one mask, of beaten gold, and then he selects another. Silver-and-ivory, decorated with tiny chips of tempest jade.</div></td></tr> </table>

Rafferty