The way home

"It's beautiful," said the troubadour hefting the weapon gently. "I wonder if it was a gift from the First Empress?" he said wistfully.

"There's no evidence of that," said Eirian firmly, a fixed smile on her face.

"Pity," said her visitor. "Still, it's an extraordinary piece. The actual spear wielded by Myfanwy at the Battle of the Ashton Vale, fighting side by side with the First Empress. Incredible! Did she carry it her entire life?"

"Almost certainly not," Eirian responded shaking her head to emphasize the point. "It was a Winternight Lifestealer once, and we know that was the weapon she favoured. The enchantment is long gone of course. But writing from the time strongly implies she received a new one every year from the artisan who made this, Gethin of Cumer's Edge."

"Was he her brother or some other relation? Or a lover perhaps?"

Eirian decided she couldn't take anymore of this nonsense and reached out and plucked the spear from her guest's hands.

"I rather doubt it," she said turning to place the spear back on the display stand behind the bar. "I suspect Gethin's most heroic qualities may have been his total reliability and his excellent prices."

Wayhouses allow the stridings - and indeed any weary traveler - a chance to rest and resupply.

Overview

At the Winter Solstice, the Navarr National Assembly upheld a judgement by Winifred Blackhawk with a greater majority that emphasised the importance of travelling the roads and trods of the Empire, of being the Empire's strength and blood and soul, and most importantly of all, the wayhouses. Those vital buildings that the Navarr raise along the trods to support the stridings, that give them a place to rest and resupply.

In recent years, however, what was once a vital tradition has somewhat foundered. There are innumerable small wayhouses across the Empire, but few if any of their operators attend the great summits at Anvil, such is the burden of keeping them running. While some larger establishments such as Treiji Wayhouse have been built in recent years, they have generally been in the heartland of Navarri territories - not, in a sense, the truest expression of the wayhouse tradition.

Now there might be a chance to change that.

Roads and Trods are the arteries of the Empire, and the echo of our feat are the beat of its heart. Each step, each trade made or song shared strengthens the Empire and weakens our enemies. We call on all the Navarri wayhouses across the Empire to support and encourage those who travel the Empire everyday to do their bit in protecting the Roads and Trods from threats, to show that Navarri boot leather is what holds the Empire together with our songs, messages and spears.

Winifred Blackhawk, Navarr Assembly, 385YE Winter Solstice, Vote: Greater Majority (353-10)

Building Wayhouses

Buoyed with enthusiasm by Winifred's words, a number of groups within the nation are inspired to try to rejuvenate the wayhouse tradition. The key proposal is made by Eilian Sweetwater, a well recognised member of the civil service who is often called on to carry out appraisals by the Imperial Senate. They combine this with a deep knowledge of history, having previously worked as a member of the Department of Historical Research. They have not been called on by the Senate for nearly a year, so they have been using that time to work on a proposal of their own, one that they hope will be of interest to their fellow Navarr.

Wayhouse

Commission Type: Sinecure

Location: Any non-Navarr Imperial territory with a trod network

Cost: Minimum 16 wains of the type appropriate for the sinecure and 48 crowns

Special: The Navarr can commission a wayhouse in any non-Navarr territory with a trod network. Navarr characters can select a new resource in a territory with a wayhouse. Navarr in that territory will not suffer the penalty for being in a foreign nation. Navarr will gain the regular benefits of any great works in the territory. The first wayhouse in a territory increases Imperial taxation in that territory by eight crowns. Can not be built in any region with the City quality.

Wayhouses
It is always possible to create a wayhouse as a group concept anywhere in a Navarr territory. This wind of fortune provides an update that allows characters to build a wayhouse in a different way - one that is possible to create outside the Navarr territories. Although a sinecure is mechanically very different, there isn't a major difference between a wayhouse built in or outside Navarr. The word can still be used interchangeably to describe either kind of wayhouse.

We don't want to give new Navarr characters the option to start in a territory with a wayhouse, because we think that's a very specialised character choice that is something a player would only take because they want the relationship with that nation. The chances of a new player ending up there by accident are too great. But any player creating a new Navarr character could email admin@profounddecisions.co.uk to put themselves in that territory.

The ability to create wayhouses, to live and prosper in other nations in this way, is unique to the Navarr. It reflects their national character and peripatetic culture. Anyone could commission a wayhouse, but it could only ever be a Navarr national appointment. It is not possible for other nations to operate this way, even with an appraisal.

We've updated the list of group archetypes for Navarr to include wayhouses. If you want to update your archetype to wayhouse just email us.

Under normal conditions, it is not possible to build a national sinecure in a territory belonging to another nation, but Eilian has produced a set of proposals that draw on some of the oldest traditions of the Navarr. The stridings travel across the Empire as they walk the trods, staying at wayhouses where they can. Eilian's idea involves building a large wayhouse which could incorporate all the facilities a steading would need. That would make it possible for the Navarr to commission a wayhouse and have the keeper of the wayhouse be a Navarr national appointment, no matter where the wayhouse was built.

Eilian's wayhouses would have a number of advantages. Having a wayhouse in a territory would help to facilitate trade and make travel safer providing a boost to the local economy. Once the wayhouse was complete, Imperial taxation in the territory would increase by eight crowns.

In addition, a wayhouse is a place of social and economic meeting for the Navarr who would pass through the area. A large substantial wayhouse like the one Eilian proposes would act as a hub for Navarri in the area, allowing them to trade their wares and make connections with locals, overcoming the kinds of issues often encountered by those seeking to make inroads in unfamiliar territory. The presence of a commissioned wayhouse makes it possible for other Navarr to benefit from living there (we will assume they are dwelling near the wayhouse). Navarr characters would be able to take a personal resource in a territory with a wayhouse without suffering the normal penalty for being in a foreign nation. They would also gain the benefits of any great works in the territory (normally only members of the nation benefit from a great work in a territory). In the season where a wayhouse was completed, there would be some enthusiasm to support any Navarr who wanted to live at the wayhouse, so any Navarr could take a new resource in the territory without the usual two crowns cost.

The big drawback of such a move is that Navarr living in the territory of another nation wouldn't be able to vote for the senator. Of course, Navarr already living in Liathaven and Brocéliande (and Therunin) can't vote for a senator either, but they have some hope that one day they might be able to. Making a commitment to help citizens in another nation would mean those Navarr lose out politically with no way around that. The reason to do it would be an interest in the purpose of the wayhouse and a desire to support efforts to bring the Navarr closer to the people of that nation. If prominent Navarr citizens were living in a wayhouse and doing what they could to support the territory, the people who live there and the people passing through, it might help the Navarr strengthen their ties with that nation.

Wayhouses couldn't be built anywhere - they could only be built in an Imperial territory with a trod network - and they also couldn't be commissioned in any region with the City quality.

Small Seeds, Great Forests

The wayhouses that are in Navarr territories are used by anyone travelling on the trods through that region but for obvious reasons most of those travellers are usually Navarr. A wayhouse built outside the nation would be a different prospect, it would see a more eclectic mix of visitors, with scores of Navarr mixing with more local travellers. A well-situated wayhouse could benefit from this mixing, the inevitable conversations between Navarr visitors and others could produce unpredictable benefits. This wouldn't be predictable, there is no saying where or when a conversation between a Navarr and another Imperial might lead to something important, but the possibility is still exciting to some.

Myfanwy's Rest

Myfanwy's Rest in Necropolis is the most famous wayhouse in the Empire but in modern times it has dwindled to a respectable but small hostelry. At the time of the founding of the Empire it would have been much bigger. According to legend, this was once the home of Myfanwy, a companion of the First Empress It is claimed that both women stopped here on their way to Anvil.

Myfanwy's Rest

Commission Type: Wayhouse

Location: Fishguard, Necropolis

Cost: 16 wains of white granite and 48 crowns

Keeper of Myfanwy's Rest

Type: Navarr

Appointment: Any

Income: 10 doses of liao and 7 crowns

Responsibilities: To protect the wayhouse and promote the legacy of the legendary Navarr figures from Imperial history

Eirian, the brand who currently operates the wayhouse here has made it her life's ambition to restore the wayhouse to its former grandeur, but the challenges involved have defeated here. Now she would like to pass on the wayhouse to another Navarr, but she can't bear to do so knowing that her life's vision remains unfulfilled. She has asked the Navarr to consider completing the restoration of the wayhouse arguing that it's unique location and history give it special importance.

Re-establishing Myfanwy's Rest would ensure a steady stream of Highborn visitors to the site, particularly those who are interested in the life of the First Empress and Myfanwy, one of her most important companions who was instrumental in establishing the Empire. Every wayhouse is different but Eirian's plan includes a small library of historical texts and a building to house items that are shown to date to that time. Eirian's unspoken hope is that the wayhouse could encourage the study of this vital period in the Empire's history about which so little is known. Who knows what insights a conversation between Navarr historians and Highborn archivists, benefactors, grey pilgrims and wayfarers might one day yield?

The Last Battle

The Last Battle Striding are a newly formed striding that have come together in the belief that the final battle against the vallorn will happen in their lifetime - if they push for it. They are almost exclusively thorns, sworn warriors who are eager to engage the enemy and defeat them once and for all. Despite their desire to confront the vallorn, they have read everything published on the enemy and they understand that the best way to trigger the ultimate confrontation is to link up all the vallorn hearts with trods. And that requires the Empire to fulfil its destiny and conquer the intervening lands.

The Last Battle

Commission Type: Wayhouse

Location: Any region adjacent to an enemy territory that contains a vallorn heart

Cost: 18 wains of weirwood and 54 crowns

Special: Puts the adjacent regions in the neighbouring territory under threat.

Keeper of the Last Battle

Type: Navarr

Appointment: Military Council

Income: 24 random herbs

Responsibilities: To protect the wayhouse and encourage the expansion of the Empire's borders to trigger the Last Battle against the vallorn

Thus the Striding want to help the Empire expand their borders. They hope to see the construction of a wayhouse in a territory on the Empire's borders, a place where the thorns can mix with warriors and soldiers of other nations fresh from the fight against the neighbouring barbarians. Crucially the wayhouse they want would need to be in a region that bordered an enemy territory containing a vallorn heart - the Grey Fens in Bregasland (leading to Liathaven) or the Plains of Teeth in the Barrens (leading to the Sarangrave) are just two examples of what is needed.

Once the wayhouse is built, the Last Battle plan to use it as a base to conduct reconnaissance and patrols on the other side of the border. These are Navarr thorns, they are some of the finest scouts in the Empire, so there is no question that they'll be able to manage this. The intelligence they bring back would be crucial in establishing supply routes and the best line of attack for any Imperial armies going over the border - it would mean that all neighbouring regions not controlled by the Empire would come under threat.

The Primal Forest

The Scale and the Source are a group of vates who are interested in the magical traditions and techniques of the Empire, who believe that a wayhouse could be more than just a meeting place for travellers. The group take their name from their study of blood magic and the music of the spheres. However, they are interested in all magical techniques as well as the different approaches to magic employed across the Empire.

The Primal Forest

Commission Type: Wayhouse

Location: Any

Cost: 20 wains of weirwood and 60 crowns

Keeper of the Primal Forest

Type: Navarr

Appointment: Appointment by the Senate

Income: 5 doses of Vernal Balm

Responsibilities: To protect the wayhouse and encourage the study of novel approaches to Spring magic

They are asking the Navarr to found a wayhouse dedicated to welcoming practitioners of magical traditions outside the watchful ways of the Navarri nation. Of course, Urizen is an obvious choice, but there is no nation that doesn't study magic. The cabalists of Varushka might have secrets to share, allowing new bonds and alliances to be forged between the magicians of Varushka and the vates of Navarr - and, of course, Varushka has Sküld on its borders. Where better to also forge new links with the warlocks of Otkodov and discuss the great matter of the vallorn? Or there are the hakima of the Brass Coast, who understand the importance of a place to meet and talk in a relaxed environment. A wayhouse encouraging the exchange of magical learning could provide a crucial friendship in the struggle to come.

The truth is that every nation has a unique approach to magic, not just the techniques but the attitudes that accompany it. Working closely with them, exchanging ideas and understanding, could benefit both parties. What the Scale and the Source want is for the vates that attend Anvil to select the one nation whose approach to magic shows the most promise. This need not be the nation whose traditions most closely align with the Navarr, harmony can produce a beautiful song, but the crucible of disagreement can also forge new understanding. They want the vates to help them found a new wayhouse, the Primal Forest, in a location where it can encourage magical study and the sharing of knowledge, techniques and approaches between Navarr and the nation in question.

To appoint the position, the Scale and Song suggest the best method would formally be unanimous decision of the Navarr senators, with the understanding that they should appoint whichever candidate the vates attending Anvil decide is most suitable.

Further Reading

• Wayhouse