The city below

"Bollocks they are!"

Ailsa's outburst shocked her companions. The orc was normally the quietest member of their drinking circle. Not that the Apulian couldn't stick up for herself, but she was never one for swearing. Shocked the others looked at her for an explanation.

"Look - the Black Plateau is some great big fog magic mess right?" She looked at the blank faces around her and then remembered who she was talking to. "Night magic. Fog magic. Same thing." Lots of nods now.

"So we - I mean they - don't really do fog magic. Because it's shit isn't it? It doesn't really do anything. You want sky magic for divinations - it's miles better, sea magic for war, and sand for money. But nobody does fog magic! It's rubbish."

There were a few more nods - she was making sense - at least to her fellow patrons in the Weary Sailor.

"Plus - the idea of trying to make a weapon out of that thing is just crazy. I'm not calling you a pirate or anything - but it was your lot - I mean our lot - that set it off last time. Twice! That thing killed a shit load of people on both sides. They spent ages trying to get you to agree to stop fighting so it would calm down. Then there was the plan to contain it with magic but you wouldn't agree to that either!"

A few people bristled at this, but nobody was quite sure who had actually done what last time. It was all such a long time ago and Ailsa had been the only one of them living here at the time. Ailsa picked up her tanked and leaned back in her chair.

"Trust me," she said, "nobody is messing around with the Black Plateau. Everyone who has an ounce of sense stays well away from that thing. If we've smart we'll do the same."

The rebellion has settled down, but the future of Spiral remains uncertain.

Overview

The Urizeni rebellion in the mountains of Ankra and Cinion is largely resolved, or at least stabilised, thanks to the decision of the Imperial Senate to recognise the Silver Flame and their allies as foreigners. It's still hard to see what would ever reconcile Caeli and her fellow rebels with the Empire, but the steps that have been taken should be sufficient to ensure the situation does not deteriorate any further. It is a solution that everyone can live with - at least for the time being.

With that achieved, eyes return to Apulian, the City of Nets, or the City Below as some in the mountains overlooking it have nicknamed it. More people are arriving in Apulian every day, League citizens looking to make their fortune are sailing here from all over the Empire, heedless of the dangers of the Bay at this time. They are not the only ones though. There have always been Urizeni living in Apulian, even when it the city was occupied by the Grendel, but now their numbers are slowly rising, encouraged by the mandate enacted by the Urizen Assembly to to share the best of Urizen culture with the League.

The fusion of League ambitions and Urizeni poise is proving fertile, and a welcome antidote for some, for the more brash self-promotion of the former Grendel. No-one can know what this union might yet yield, but the League will need to make the decision now whether this is the destination they choose.

The City Above

• Apulian is growing rapidly, the next few years will be crucial in determining the character of the newest city of the League
• Urizen has extended the hand of friendship, offering to help shape the future of the city

We welcome dialogue with the Apulians to further our collective understanding of the Way, and lift each other up in virtue. We send Lepidina with 25 doses of liao to encourage those Urizen magicians who have decided to stay to share the best of Urizen culture with the League. Let us share our values with them and make Apulian a city founded on philosophy, learning and a vision for a better future.

Lepidina, Urizen Assembly, 386YE Spring Equinox, Upheld (Greater Majority (238-2))

Apulian's claims to be a city reflect its ambitions as much as the reality on the ground. It is small, much smaller than the smallest of the great cities of the League, and has little of their storied history. Only a few years ago it was a sleepy port town, the largest settlement in Spiral, but still little more than a minor frontier settlement that was the last resting place for adventurous citizens journeying south.

When the Grendel invaded, they worked hard to expand Apulian, eager to build up the docks. The orcs of the Broken Shore prefer to live on the coast, disdaining the high mountains. Slowly but surely the port grew until it became a thriving settlement that could claim to rival Meade or Kalpaheim and had ambitions to be bigger than them both. Now that Spiral has become part of the League, a steady stream of League citizens has replaced the former influx of Grendel, and they too wish to settle in the city for the most part. Thus Apulian continues to grow apace - but it has a long way to go before it matches the size of Sarvos, or the grandeur of Holberg.

We invite League Bishops and Scholars to join in dialogue with Urizeni priests and mages loyal to the Empire and our Apulian brethren, to further our understanding of the Way and lift us all up in Virtue. Much as Temeschwar acknowledges its Varushkan heritage, so the city of Apulian should include the best of Urizeni culture, once the threat of rebellion has passed.

Lia Adelaar von Holberg, League Assembly, 385YE Autumn Equinox, Upheld (Greater Majority (280-0))

But what makes a city is not just its size, and certainly not its history. It is more intangible, more ineffable than that. There is a vibrancy to Apulian, an air of excitement in the city, a fever in the blood. The city is a bustling hive of activity, it is constantly moving, it is filled with ambitions. A poet might suggest that the city itself was a living thing. To live in Apulian is to know with certainty that you are going somewhere, that the city is going somewhere.

But where is it going? It is a city in motion that much is certain, but the destination is not set. Not yet at least.

One group that has some ideas on that are the Urizeni who still dwell in Spiral. Encouraged by the judgement of Lia Adelaar von Holberg and inspired to act by the mandate enacted by Lepidina, they have reached out to their neighbours in the City Below. The offer is there, to share their values, to build a city "founded on philosophy, learning and a vision for a better future." The League is infamous for its ambitions, but people often forget that the nation of Urizen is dedicated to nothing less than the creation of a new Utopia, the perfection of all humanity.

The next few years will be crucial. Apulian will soon be full grown, like a fine wine maturing, the town will become a city. At that point its essential nature will be set - the book will be written, the page will no longer be blank. Cities can still evolve of course when they have to, but the older they become the harder it is to change. What happens now, and in the coming seasons, will define Apulian for years to come.

Thus the decision whether to embrace the Urizeni will have a profound effect on Apulian as the city develops. If the League welcomes this they could use a mandate of their own to encourage the citizens of Apulian to welcome the changes.

The city of Apulian should include the best of Urizeni culture. We send {named priest} with 50 liao to urge Apulians to embrace our Urizeni neighbours. Let us change the world together!

Synod Mandate, League national assembly

This mandate would only require 25 liao if spread by Lia Adelaar von Holberg. If this mandate is enacted then it will encourage the citizens of Apulian to welcome the Urizeni magicians of Spiral to the city. People will look to their neighbours to see what lessons they might learn from them. There is no humility in this for most League citizens, everyone is always looking to get ahead... the mandate would simply suggest the best way to do that.

No-one knows what the ultimate consequences of such a decision might be. Nobody in the League is about to adopt poise or start talking about Arete. But Urizen is known for its philosophy and, of course most famously, for its mastery of magic. Apulian could become a city that embodies the best of both.

If the mandate is not enacted, then Apulian will still welcome Urizeni visitors to the city, people with money to spend in taverns and hostelries are always welcome in any League city. The League will take their money... but not their advice, so they won't have an impact on the growing character of the city. The window to fuse the best of Urizeni philosophy and learning with League culture and ambition will close and there will be no more opportunities like the one now presented by the magicians of the Deathless Cave.

The City Below

• Magicians aligned with the Deathless Cave have become a common sight in Apulian
• Sung's herald is asking the League to consider building a fane to Sung within the boundaries of the city

Actius, Arbiter of the Deathless Cave, represents many of the spires in Ankra and Cinion who were most keen to remain in Spiral, even after the territory was claimed by the League. Their loyalties are to their spire, and to their study of magic. By building the mithril statues required by Sung, the Empire was able to make it possible for them to continue to prosper in their studies, especially once the League agreed to provide the mana. There are drawbacks to the solution, but the fact that their spires are now hidden from the Grendel should they ever return is an unlooked for advantage given how many times Spiral has been invaded in recent years.

Even with their demands met, Actius and his associates, were wary of abandoning Caeli and the other rebels to their fate. Loyalty is a Virtue after all. But with a solution in principle for too, the Night mages of Ankara now feel more comfortable mixing with their League neighbours. This is having an unexpected impact, in part because of the powerful expertise with Night magic this group of Urizeni enjoy.

The Deathless Cave has always been dedicated to the study of Night magic. Or more precisely the strange nexus where Night magic meets music. The Spire is known as much for its musicians as its magicians, something they take great pride in. There is a powerful herald of called the Dancer at the End of Time, who appears to dwell somewhere in the cave itself. The Dancer is a close friend of the magicians, and more particularly the musicians, of the Deathless Cave, and enjoys performances and discussions of magic, music and myths with the occupants of the Deathless Cave and whoever visits them.

Most magicians imagine a city to be a thing associated with the Autumn realm. Cities are built on trade, one of the primary resonances of the Autumn realm, but they also places of great Prosperity and influence peddling. It is well known that the City of Locks keeps a tight control over a powerful regio inside one of the clock towers in Holberg, although no-one can agree which one it is. Cities resonate with the Autumn realm, in much the same way that the mausoleums of the Necropolis resonate with the Winter realm.

But says Actius, that is not all cities are known for, and certainly not all they can be. Cities are a furnace for the imagination and creativity. The arts flourish wherever people gather and music, art, theatre, poetry, all have a deep resonance with the Night realm. And cities can be places of great secrets, of hidden depths. And so the night life can quickly become the Night life...

It is clear that these magicians enjoy the patronage of the Rainbow Serpent; now they are offering to share this patronage with the city.

The Chamber of Euphony

The Chamber of Euphony

Commission Type: Fane

Location: Apulian, Spiral

Cost: 14 mithril, 10 ilium, 40 crowns in labour (includes cost increase due to the Black Plateau)

Effect: Welcomes Sung's influence into the City of Nets, encouraging the spread of Night regio through and creating the City Below

The Map to the City Below

Type: League national appointment

Appointment: National Apopintment

Powers: Can purchase crystal fire from the City Below

Income: One Sung effigy per season

Responsibilities: To oversee the Chamber of Euphony and encourage the spread of magic, music, and mystery in Apulian

Crystal Fire from the City Below
171 rings	4 crystal fire
373 rings	7 crystal fire
676 rings	11 crystal fire
878 rings	13 crystal fire

• Actius asks the League to commission the Chamber of Euphony, a place to put on musical performances
• They suggest that the Empire could cede the Chamber to Sung to create a fane
• Doing so would introduce the Night into the City of Nets spreading mystery and intrigue
• It would create the title the Map to the City Below

Actius asks the League to commission the chamber of Euphony, a small intimiate auditorium that incorporate unusual acoustics Actius says would allow beautiful, evocative performances of music that audiences would find spellbinding. The structure is not small, it would require 10 wains of mithril, 10 rings of ilium and 30 crowns in labour and take a season to complete. Once built it would create a folly, a place to hear transcendent music. It would be a location of note and interest in the city, and people would go there to enjoy the performances of local musicians.

Sung is a winged serpent, with feathers of iridescent hue

However Actius says that once complete, the city could cede the Chamber of Euphony to the Spiral Dancer. Doing so would make the Chamber of Euphony an active fane. Doing so would create a new position that Actius calls "The Map to the City Below", who would be responsible for performances by heralds of the Lady of Mysteries. The Map could meet with the heralds of the eternal, to represent their views to the Empire and to represent the Empire to them. They would have a chance to acquire crystal fire in exchange for money that the heralds would use to pay musicians to perform at the Chamber. Night Singer has no interest in using tedious Autumn magic to communicate but it would provide the Map with a single effigy of Sung to help them to cast Clear Counsel of the Everflowing River if they wished to ask questions of the eternal.

Actius believes that Spiral Dancer's influence would be beneficial for the city. The purpose of the fane - and the map - would be to promote magic, music and mystery in the city. However he does confess that the presence of Sung within the City would draw the interest of other powers of the Night Realm. The Toad King is still angry with the Empire at the moment, but he won't stay mad forever and he won't be able to pass up a chance to poke a city where Night magic is flourishing. The Whisper Gallery is under emnity so they won't be able to reach Apulian, but their cultists will, and a city of mystery would be catnip to them.

Actius says the Spiral Dancer is very particular about who is appointed to become the "Map" - it must be "a magician, a musician, or a mystery", any one of those three is fine! More prosaically, it would need to be a resident of the city, a League citizen whose resource was in Spiral That can't be a legal requirement, but Actius says Feather on the Breeze can't help a mortal become the Map to the City Below, unless they are resident in the City Below. Given these conditions, the civil service advice it would be best if the Map were a League national appointment if the face is built.

The Black Plateau

• Both the League and the Urizen Assembly have warned of a Grendel plot to weaponise the Black Plateau
• The Apulian orcs are highly sceptical of this claim - they doubt the Grendel as a nation have the ability or the inclination to do such a thing
• Estella Lucati warned citizens not to go near the Black Plateau so of course some League citizens have gone to the Plateau to see what all the fuss is about
• The Grandmaster of the Shuttered Lantern could ask their order to investigate what magic, if any, is being worked
• The Imperial Spymaster could hire spies to investigate what the Grendel are up to, if anything
• The Synod could ask the Silent Bell to assess what risks the Plateau presents
• The Assembly of Vigilance could use a mandate to urge citizens to look for signs of danger
• If more than one of the above options is taken, it will result in disaster for everyone involved
• The Imperial Senate could provide the Oblivion Sentinel with a stipend to help them investigate threats

Both the League Assembly and the Urizen Assembly have chosen to warn the citizens of Spiral of a "Grendel plot to weaponise the Black Plateau". Priests and have been mobilised to provide spiritual protection and people have been warned to stay away.

The Oblivion Sentinel has uncovered a Grendel plot to weaponise the Black Plateau. This assembly calls upon the priests of Urizen to make all haste to Spiral and provide spiritual protection to all Urizen citizens and our Urizen kin, that they might endure in virtue.

Aurum Nightingale, Urizen Assembly, 386YE Spring Equinox, Upheld (Greater Majority (224-0))

The Oblivion Sentinel has uncovered a Grendel plot to weaponise the Black Plateau. The assembly calls upon the priests of the League to make all haste to Apulian and Spiral, and provide spiritual protection to all citizens that they might endure in virtue.

Fabin Costas de Sarvos, League Assembly, 386YE Spring Equinox, Upheld (Upheld (180-22))

Be vigilant! Avoid the Black Plateau!

Estella Lucati, League Assembly, 386YE Spring Equinox, Upheld (Greater Majority (252-12))

The majority of League orcs who live in Apulian treated this entire matter as a hilarious joke until they were told of Iontach Erin and the warning from the enigmatic herald of Sung. What first was clearly seen as an incredibly clever confidence trick from the Oblivion Sentinel to promote the importance of the position became recognised as an example of a Grendel who had gotten too mixed up in Fog magic. They categorically do not believe that the Grendel as a whole are doing anything with the Black Plateau: the nation has neither the skills nor the inclination to mess with it.

Certainly, there is absolutely no sign of anything happening with the Black Plateau. The Grendel that definitely were there have been dealt with - and the thing remains completely quiescent. There's no evidence that has emerged since that these Grendel were part of a wider plan. They seem to have gotten too invested in studying the Plateau, while Spiral was still ruled by Salt Lord Kalaict, and then predictably fallen to its influence.

But the Empire could decide that they want that certainty of evidence and opt to investigate. There are a number of options that could be chosen. The Grandmaster of the Shuttered Lantern could use a Declaration of Concord to provide guidance to their order and ask them to investigate what magic, if any, is being worked in the vicinity of the Black Plateau. The Imperial Spymaster could spend five thrones to pay for scouts and spies to investigate what any Grendel still in the area are up to, if anything. (OOC Note: the spymaster would need to put the money in their pack after the event and email us to confirm.

The Synod have two options, they could ask the Silent Bell to assess what risks the Plateau presents, or the Assembly of Vigilance could use the following mandate to urge citizens to look for signs of danger.

Be alert to all dangers; within and without. We send {named priest} with 20 doses of liao to ask citizens living near the Black Plateau to expose the truth of what is happening there.

Synod Mandate, Vigilance

Whatever option, if any, the Empire takes, the civil service warn that it would be very dangerous to enact more than one of these options. The Black Plateau is notorious for the way it affects the minds of those who draw close to it, enranging them and making them violent. There is every chance that if two groups are sent to investigate the Plateau they will end up attacking each other. All the evidence suggests that nobody needs to do anything, but if more than one of the above options is taken, it will result in disaster for everyone involved.

The safest solution might be for the Imperial Senate to increase the funds available for the Oblivion Sentinel. If they gave the Sentinel a stipend of 5 thrones a season, that would help them pay for people to deal with any problems that do arise with the Black Plateau.

As for everyone else - most sensible folk have followed the advice to stay well away, but sadly not everyone...

A Marvellous View (Conjunctions)

• A party of adventurers from Apulian has run into difficulties in the woods of Screed
• These two skirmishes are both combat possible encounters
• Estella Lucati and the Mistress of Medicine, Donato Zanella di Riposi di Sarvos, are responsible for rescuing the citizens

The Company of the Venturesome Harrier, a successful company of merchant-adventurers from Apulian, has for the past year been running a series of adventurous walking tours within Spiral. To quote their promotional material: "Setting out from the refurbished old citadel of Harrier’s Rest, those firm of resolve and deep of pocket may visit the stark and inspirational beauty that is the Black Plateau in relative safety, protected by the very latest in magic and artifice."

If only their artifice had been proof against unseasonable storms. Making slightly slower time than predicted in thunderstorms, high winds and heavy rain, a pair of hiking parties seem to have run into some kind of difficulties in the woods around a day south of Harrier’s Rest. The Harlequin, the egregore of the League, has reported that all of the hikers are still alive - but they appear to be in significant distress. The suggestion is that these citizens have likely fallen foul of nothing worse than the weather - but given their position just short of the Black Plateau and away from a settlement protected by the Mithril Block, how long will that last?

The Company has of course sent out its own people, but they have also sent a request to Anvil. Could the Mistress of Medicine, Donato Zanella di Riposi di Sarvos, demonstrate the humanitarian applications of their power by investigating whatever has gone wrong for these adventurers, treating their injuries and helping get them mobile?

Given she was the one to warn people of the dangers, the civil service have asked Estella Lucati to take responsibility for the other conjunction.

The Block

• All this talk of the Black Plateau has reminded people of the importance of the Block
• The League are currently unable to create new buildings that are protected from the Black Plateau without great expense
• As a result, any commission requires 25% more in labour costs and must include additional mithril equal to one fifth of the total cost in wains

Since we raised a judgement refusing to aid the League until they proved that they were more than petty opportunists they have: 1) Paid mithril to erect statues that help to protect us. 2) Publicly acknowledged that a reckoning is due. 3) Assigned a reckoner and opened negotiations. The League have proven in word and deed that we are not just dealing with petty opportunists. The people taking these steps demonstrate a genuine intention to build a future for Spiral that benefits all of its residents. There is still much work to be done and our spires will remain apart from their city until it is complete, but it would now be appropriate to once again use the mithril block to defend their minds from the plateau, though we are not yet ready to share its secrets.

Tarquinius Ankarien, League Assembly, 385YE Autumn Equinox, Upheld (Greater Majority (345-0))

All this talk of the Black Plateau has reminded people about the importance of the Block. The Urizeni magicians developed techniques for infusing buildings with a web of mithril nodes to protect the inhabitants of the spire from the worst of the Plateau's influence. They refused to share these techniques with the Grendel, but they did sell the fruits of their labour, carrying out the work on behalf of the Grendel. That way they kept the secret and got very well paid in the process. But in Summer 385YE, the Urizen Assembly enacted a mandate by Lepidina urging the nation "to refuse to share the secrets of the block or provide any other aid to the League until they prove they are more than petty opportunists".

As a result life in Apulian is difficult for the new residents. Every commission requires additional blocks of mithril to provide protection and the deliberate refusal of all aid has seen taxation gained from the territory dramatically drop as food and other supplies need to be brought in via ship.

In a later judgement by Tarquinius Ankarien in Autumn 385YE judgement, the Urizen Assembly agreed unanimously to provide the same assistance that Urizen had previously offered to the Grendel. Urizen would use the mithril block to help protect the minds of citizens from the Plateau, but they were not yet ready to share its secrets. They could now use a mandate to confirm their intent.

All that is worthwhile is shared with those who deserve it. We send {named priest} with 50 liao to urge Urizeni magicians to once again use the mithril block to defend their minds from the plateau

Synod Mandate, Urizen

If the named priest is Tarquinius Ankarien, the liao requirement is 25 rather than 50. If this mandate is enacted by Urizen with a greater majority then it will remove the current penalties affecting economic development in Spiral caused by the Black Plateau. If it isn't enacted, or doesn't receive a greater majority it will have no effect.

More than a few of the residents of Spiral have pointed out that the current piecemeal approach is expensive and is making it harder to build impressive new commissions in Apulian. If the League reckoners could find some way to persuade Urizen to carry out the mandate - perhaps some way to grease the wheels? - then that would make everything in Spiral significantly cheaper.

Chain of Blue Flowers

In Urizen blue flowers traditionally represent a wish for Loyalty.

• Blue flowers blossom across Spiral

And finally... in the months since the Spring equinox, blue flowers have blossomed across Spiral. There is nothing uniform about them save their hue, and even that runs the entire gamut from cobalt to sky, from cerulean to azure, from sapphire to indigo to lapis lazuli. They grow wherever flowers can survive, sometimes in ones and twos, sometimes in great blankets. The scent of the flowers is hard to describe; it seems to be different for each person but always feels fresh, exciting, and full of potential. Those who embrace the flowers - wear them as decorations, bring them into their homes, spend times in the mountain fields where they cluster - experience a variety of different effects. For many people, the flowers are renewing, refreshing, reminding people of their youth and the finest years of their lives. Others have a more extreme reaction - almost an allergy - becoming vicious, even violent.

The flowers, it seems, are infused with the resonance of Spring and while that is often positive it also brings with it the echoes of bloodshed, chaos, destruction. For the most part though the flowers are a hopeful sign. They are surely the result of ritual magic, but the message they send can be interpreted as one of renewal and new beginnings... and at the same time a gentle reminder that while things may be calm right now, there is no status quo in Spring.