Rimbaud eyes

"You what?" said Graime with a degree of incredulity. "...a true reflection of what is in a person's heart?" his disdain was transparent from the tone of his voice.

"Yes" explained the earnest acolyte, "The first tenet of Loyalty is to know your heart and what commands its devotion above all else."

Graime's eyes narrowed in suspicion - almost as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So... you should just be... Loyal... to the thing you really care about?"

"Well no, you don't only have to be Loyal to one thing, but the Virtue is about.. it's about knowing what is most important for you - what is in your heart."

The normally laconic questioner leaned backed, looking surprised before he instinctively blurted out "That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

Now it was the priest's turn to look shocked, but Graime continued speaking before he could say anything. "I've had people working for me that I couldn't stand the sight of. I remember there was one fellow one time, Sian her name was - right two-faced tittle-tattle. Nasty little piece of work. I would have loved to see her feeding the sharks - I can't think of anyone who'd deserve it more. But I didn't push her overboard myself because she was useful. Fidelity's got nothing to do with what's in your heart! You can't go through life making decisions based on how you bloody feel about people! We can all treat people well if we like them! Fidelity is about treating people well even when you can't stand the bloody sight of them - you do it because they're useful to you. If you don't treat people well they'll bloody well stop being useful - the whole point of Fidelity is to keep faith with people you don't like."

The orc paused, having - finally - run out of things to rant about.

"Er right" said the Acolyte. "So... what what would you like me to say to people?" He spoke cautiously in case it set the voluble questioner off again.

Graime screwed up his face, as he considered the question for a moment. "Tell them it's fine." he finally responded. "Tell everyone we'll call it Loyalty. We'll work something out. At the end of the day, every... Apulian" he paused having had to stop himself saying Grendel before he continued. "Every Apulian knows that what matters is getting across the Abyss - to do that you have to put yourself first. That's whats in my heart! So Loyalty for us is about putting yourself first - so that'll be fine. Right what's next?".

"Well..." the young civil servant responded "The Prosperity assembly" he paused for a moment and looked down to read off his notes. "...recognises Fidelity is a route to Prosperity. We invite the Apulian Orcs to visit our congregations of Prosperity in the Empire, so that they may further their understanding of Prosperity."

"But I thought the Loyalty Assembly said they were having Fidelity?" demanded Graime.

"That's not actually what they said..." corrected the hapless civil servant as he frantically scanned his notes for the correct wording of the judgement.

Many of the Apulian orcs have now joined the League officially, as Imperial citizens. But some are still hedging their bets in the face of imminent invasion from the Grendel.

Click for audio version

Overview

The former Grendel Orcs who follow Kaliact have now joined the League. The majority of them have taken the name "Apulians" to reflect their new identity. Not every orc in Spiral has joined the League - in fact the status of the majority of orcs in Apulus remains... well "unclear" would be the charitable way to describe it. Most of them seem to be hedging their bets - everyone knows that war with the Grendel is coming. Spiral is a League territory now, but it was a Grendel territory barely three months ago. Those orcs who are personally loyal to Kaliact have eagerly embraced the League, those who personally opposed her have remained loyal to the Council of Salt Lords. The rest seem to be waiting to see how the cards fall before they decide which way to jump.

The fate of Kaliact herself remains in jeopardy. She is apparently suffering under the effects of a powerful curse cast on her by the Urizen. According to what is known it is a ruinous Autumn curse that is causing Kaliact to struggle to hold on to any of her vast wealth or fortune. Her fellow Apulians are putting on a brave face, but it seems there is little they can do to stop the curse running its course. Kaliact is frantically searching for any means to break the curse - if she cannot then it is likely to leave her ruined by the time it runs its course.

As they were preparing to join the Empire, the Apulians asked the Imperial Synod to make a ruling on the nature and importance of the differences between their religious beliefs and those of their fellow League citizens. The virtue assemblies have yet to deliver a definitive ruling but while the Synod ponders the significance of the Apulian's peculiar beliefs, the wheels of politics turn. The first order of business is the matter of who will be senator of ApulusSpiral.

Goldrush

• A huge number of citizens from across the League have moved to Spiral

Eligible Spiral Votes

Aiden Jack Von Apulian

Alexio Vicente

Annan De Apulian

Antonio Benedito Altassato

Aureliana Perpetua Nicasia Saverio di Sarvos

Basch Van Holberg

Bella di Sarvos

Caracalla Tarraco di Sarvos

Catalina Barossa di Regardio

Celia Gabriela di Tassato

Clèrabéla Vicente d'Apulian

Colm Cuinnead van Apulian

Curstag van Apulian

Diarmuid von Apulian

Diego Alejandro Inigo de la Vega

Doctor Luther Manfredi von Holberg

Enriko Pescatore

Fabio Costas de Sarvos

Farq d'Apulian

Fiorente Vicente

Francisco Delgado de Spiral

Gaspar di Temeschwar

Geacomo di Spirali

Genoveva Barossa di Tassato

Goswin Conradi von Holberg

Graime the Questioner

Gustavus Tolski van Temeschwar

Heliodoro Ribeiro

Jaosia van Temeschwar

Jean d'Apulian

Kaliact von Apulian

Karo Di Yedinso

Kasimir

Konrad Hans-Martin Van Holberg

Lachlan van Apulian

Laurencio Lemmini di Sarvos

Leon Fortuna

Lucio Di Sarvos

Lucreza Basilio di Sarvos

Lupita di Marcela di Catazar

Merlof Von Temeschwar

Modesto Gouveia di Tassato

Nicamo Van Dire

Odhrin van Apulian

Pyke VanTemeschwar

Scath di Apulian

Sebastiano

Taskel Di Apulian

Wilhelm of Holberg

"NPC votes? NPC candidate! What's going on PD?"

We appreciate that some players were surprised to discover that Profound Decisions have a team of Apulian NPCs in the field who are clearly fighting hard to try and keep as much political control of Spiral as possible - including things like trying to keep access to a bourse seat and trying to win the senatorial election. The surprise is understandable, we've never done anything like this before and we don't have any current plans to do this in any other nation. This is a unique situation where a group of deeply ambitious orcs have sought out a chance to become Imperial citizens - so we've decided to handle it a bit differently.

The reality is that no-one was more surprised than we were by the player decision to embrace Spiral into the heart of the League. We are often caught out by player decisions - it's one of the things that makes running Empire so enjoyable. We hadn't looked in detail at what the Apulians would do and how we would make them continue to feel real and relevant once Spiral became a League territory. As soon as we considered it, we realised the best possible way we could do that was to have them on the field, competing for political control of Spiral's assets, exactly like all the other other player-characters. So we recruited a team of people to play the NPCs for us and gave the players a chance to meet them at the last event.

This event they will be contesting the senatorial seat alongside the players. Even a glance at the list of eligible voters will reveal that our NPCs do not exactly dominate the list - which is fantastic news. It means that whoever wins the coming election, whether it's a PC or an NPC, they will only be able to do that by building the biggest possible voting block of supporters - which is exactly how it should work. Our NPC team includes a mix of participants, with more or less experience of playing Empire, just like all the other groups of PCs in the territory. We've deliberately arranged the way the setting has evolved to justify the fact that the only votes our NPCs have are the ones for the Apulian characters they are phys-repping on the field - exactly like every other group of PCs.

It is important to stress that PD simply do not mind who wins, We're contesting the election to make the ambition and audacity of the former Grendel feel completely real, the fight is important us, the outcome isn't. In this sense, the political battle for the control of Spiral is exactly like the big battles on Saturday and Sunday of each event. We put up orc opponents for the PCs to fight against and we don't mind who wins or loses - our goal is to make the battle feel as real as possible. If our NPC wins the seat then that will create a lot of new opportunities to do plot with Spiral and if they lose the vote... that will create a lot of different opportunities to do plot in Spiral.

Obviously it makes no in-character sense to oppose Odhrin on the basis that she is an NPC, but there are loads of really good reasons to convince your fellow Spiral business owners not to vote for her. She was a Grendel until three months ago... She's inexperienced and doesn't know the League, the Senate or the Empire that well. She's a pawn of Kaliact. The virtue of the former Grendel is pretty questionable. We've tried to ensure that there is a plethora of really good IC reasons that people can campaign against Odhrin, so that nobody has to say "don't vote for them, they're an NPC".

We won't have a large group of Apulian NPCs on the field forever, but we'll be updating the League brief over winter to give players all the information they need to create their own League Orc character. At some point in the future there won't be any need to have Apulian NPCs on the field because they won't be able to achieve anything that Apulian PCs aren't already doing and better.

The formal adoption of Spiral into the League has heralded a great exodus of League citizens from all over the Empire, flooding into Apulus searching for opportunity. Some come in search of wealth, others are seeking fame, but presumably more than a few are looking for power. There is a senate seat up for election at this summit, and with no established power hierarchy, it looks like more than a few people have their eye on the ultimate prize.

One of those groups is definitely Kaliact and the other Apulians. The former Salt Lord told the League senators that she had no wish to become senator, but it seems that statement was only true in a technical sense. The Apulian Orcs fully intend to contest the seat, with Odhrin van Apulian, a close ally of the former Salt Lord, putting herself forward. This is fortunate indeed - with their leader suffering under the debilitating curse inflicted by the Urizen, it is clear she is struggling to maintain order over her affairs in Apulus.

Were it a question of every orc with a business in Spiral voting for Odhrin, that would likely be the end of the matter. Even with the recent influx of League citizens from across the Empire, the orcs still outnumber the humans in Apulus. But with the overwhelming majority of orcs deciding to remain on the sidelines for now, it seems like Odhrin will have a serious fight on her hands.

However the situation does not entirely favour the newcomers either. Imperial election law states that if eligibility to vote in an election is restricted in some way, then you cannot vote if you were eligible to vote in an equivalent but different election in the last twelve months. In lay terms that means no League citizen who was eligible to vote for a senator in Winter, Spring or Summer, can vote for the senator of Spiral. The law exists to prevent citizens moving from one territory to the next, voting in each election. If they remain in Spiral for the immediate future, then they will definitely be eligible to vote in a years time, but nearly half of those who moved there this season cannot vote on this occasion.

Of course this restriction doesn't apply to anyone moving to Spiral from Tassato - nor does it apply to anyone who didn't own a business in the last year. So the majority of League citizens in Spiral are eligible to vote - but it is far from all. And it means the election could be especially contentious - even discounting the fact that someone who was a Grendel until three months ago is trying to claim the seat.

To try and help make things easier, the Civil Service have published a list of every citizen to whom they have distributed voting bonds thus far. They will update this list again before the summit begins in an attempt to keep it as accurate and informative as possible. If anyone believes they are due a voting bond and are not on that list, they should contact the civil service urgently. OOC note: the list should be correct based on who had booked for the coming event as of 18:00 on Wednesday. If you had booked before then and expected to be voting in this election you should email plot@profounddecisions.co.uk and we will check your status.

The Price of Secrets

• The influx of newcomers has left Apulus short of living space
• Labour costs for commissions are now 75 rings per wain in the territory
• Every commission in Spiral requires using blocks of mithril equal to a fifth of the total wain cost

The huge influx of League citizens coming to settle in Apulus in Spiral has created great demand for housing which the new city has struggled to meet. The issue is the presence of the Black Plateau, whose foreboding malignant influence penetrates every inch of the territory. This dark influence means that homes need to be protected with mithril and linked to the power of the Block otherwise life is quite literally unbearable. Those who are exposed to the pernicious influence of the dark heart of Spiral eventually break and turn on their fellows. You can walk abroad for some time without lasting effect, though it can be unpleasant, but for everyone's safety it is essential that people's homes are adequately protected.

Unfortunately, only the Urizen know how to work the magics needed to weave mithril filaments with the stone and mortar construction of a building. The Assembly elected to encourage trade with the Grendel, letting the Urizen get well paid for their skills, but they point blank refused to share the secret. This is a position they have maintained since then, even when the territory was formally adopted into the League. Initially the civil service calculated that this would mean that any new commission would cost 25% more in Spiral than in any other Imperial territory. But they hadn't taken account of the huge influx of League citizens from elsewhere in their calculations, nor factored in the impact of the strange Day magic on the cost of labour across the Empire.

As a result of these two changes, all Imperial commissions in Spiral now require an additional two wains of mithril for every ten wains used in construction, and a total of 75 rings per wain in construction costs. This includes the effects of the Black Plateau and the impact of the Day realm on the Empire. The prognosticators do not currently expect this rate to rise further, but nor do they expect it to fall unless Urizen choose to share the secret of the Block with the League.

The Cost of Virtue

• The Imperial Synod has provided some answers on the Apulian qualities of audacity, cunning, fidelity, and retribution
• The General Assembly can still make a definitive statement on each of the Apulian qualities

The Apulians asked the Imperial Synod to provide a ruling on the elements of their faith that appear at odds with the Way, most notably their "virtues" of audacity, cunning, fidelity and retribution. They were keen to avoid any possibility of being accused of blasphemy - apparently eager to stay on the right side of the Synod and Imperial law. At the summit the matters were considered and discussed at length and some answers were issued.

The Pride assembly recognises Audacity as a noble quality that combines elements of both Pride and Ambition. After discussion with the Apulian Orcs, we believe Audacity can be a lens through which they can start to engage with the virtue of Pride.

Luciana Valesi di Sarvos, Pride Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: 304-0

The Ambition assembly recognises Audacity as a noble quality that combines elements of both Ambition and Pride. After discussion with the Apulian Orcs, we believe Audacity can be a lens through which they can continue to engage with the virtue of Ambition..

Lia Adelaar von Holberg, Ambition Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: 224-38

The Apulian Orcs' virtue of Audacity says that "Power is a crown, learn to put it on." It teaches about self-belief, about knowing that you have the guts to follow through on your plans and make them manifest as virtuous action. This self-belief is core to the Imperial Virtue of Pride. Pride teaches us to despise the half-hearted, the uncommitted, and the pretender. What is Audacity if not committing yourself fully to your goals and knowing you have what it takes to achieve them? Therefore we recognise that Audacity is Pride by another name and we welcome the Apulian Orcs to the Empire and the Way of Virtue.

Genoveva Barossa d'Apulian, Pride Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: 245-137

Audacity

• Power is a crown, learn to put it on
• Both the Pride and the Ambition assembly claimed that audacity was a part of the virtue

Both the Pride and the Ambition Assembly have recognised audacity "a lens through which they can continue to engage with the virtue" respectively. This creates a degree of confusion with the Apulians as they try to obtain a definitive answer on what they are supposed to call audacity now. None of these statements achieved a greater majority, nor were either submitted to the vote of the General Assembly, so in the view of eminent scholars of the Synod, neither judgement can be argued to be definitive.

Nobody, not even their best friends, would confuse the Apulians with "eminent scholars of the Synod." They ask questions like "Does it matter if the Pride Assembly got 304 votes and the Ambition Assembly only got 224 votes?" The civil servants explain patiently that Synod votes don't really work like that, that you can't rank the significance of votes in one assembly against another because each assembly is a different size, but that only leads to more questions "whose in charge then?" and "Is it better if your Assembly has more votes.. or less votes?" The Grendel don't seem concerned about the subtle spiritual distinctions being raised by the different assemblies, so much as exactly how the Synod exercises its power.

In the end the majority of Apulians seem to decide that henceforth they are going to refer to audacity as Pride. If the Synod can't make up its mind on the subject then nobody is going to accuse them of blasphemy for what they're doing, which was the one thing they were most worried about. If the Synod does come to a single view on the matter, then they'll respond accordingly but provided they won't be held accountable for calling it Pride in the meantime, then there is nothing more to worry about.

When asked why they embraced Pride rather than Ambition, around a third of them point out that they have regarded Ambition and Audacity as distinct for hundreds of years. They really do think they're different virtues. Around a quarter point out that Pride got 304 votes in favour and Ambition only got 224 votes in favour, so Pride must be better than Ambition. And the rest point out that Genoveva Barossa has changed her last name to Apulian - she's one of them now, so what she says carries more weight than the rest of them.

Thus the fact that Genoveva Barossa has adopted the sobriquet "d'Apulian" seems to tip the balance for the Apulians, at least for now. Doubtless the Imperial Synod will continue to discuss audacity for some time to come. In the meantime, the Apulian idea of audacity will spread through the nation as an expression of League Pride, at least until the situation changes.

The Loyalty Assembly finds that Fidelity has commonalities with Loyalty. There is no conflict if the expression of that Loyalty is a true reflection of what is in that person's heart. We welcome priests of the Apulian Orcs to our Assembly to deepen our understanding of the virtue of loyalty. Together we are stronger.

Raewyn Eternal, Loyalty Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: 349-26

The assembly recognises Fidelity is a route to Prosperity. We invite the Apulian Orcs to visit our congregations of Prosperity in the Empire, so that they may further their understanding of Prosperity.

Alexei, Prosperity Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: 259-60

Fidelity

• You can't drive an ox with a broken back
• Both the Prosperity and the Loyalty assembly claimed that fidelity was a part of the virtue

A similar state of confusion exists with regard to Fidelity, with both the Loyalty and the Prosperity Assembly expressing shared "commonalities" with the idea of fidelity. Here though, there is a little more engagement with the actual issues of virtue. Graime expresses some points of philosophical disagreement with some of the central ideas of the Virtue of Loyalty, but ultimately he seems to believe that the Apulian Orcs will be able to adapt their beliefs and seems perfectly happy to acknowledge that their ideas on Fidelity are part of Loyalty.

The idea that Fidelity might be a route to Prosperity seems to offer similar potential for disagreement, but their idea of Prosperity seems a little different to the way it is understood by the Empire. They definitely consider them to be two very distinct virtues - and they appear to want to continue to do so if allowed by the Imperial Synod.

In the end they seem to struggle with whether it is better to embrace the idea that fidelity is just part of Loyalty, a virtue they don't find very appealing, or Prosperity which is the most commonly followed Virtue among the Grendel, but which is something they see as quite distinct from fidelity. They seem to feel that they need to have one answer or the other - and they would like that settled sooner rather than later.

In the end, most of them decide they should call it Loyalty and be done with it. When pushed on why, the Apulians explain that they know that Loyalty is considered one of the most important virtues in the League - and more than anything they desperately want to get on and fit in in their new nation. To their way of thinking, the point of Virtue is to help you accumulate power - so it makes sense to embrace Loyalty the better to be accepted by their peers.

Thus most plan to call it Loyalty - at least until the Synod makes a definitive ruling one way or the other. Ultimately, whatever name the Apulians adopt, the fact that fidelity was given a degree of acceptance by two different virtue assemblies, means that it will continue to be an important part of Apulian life, and it may spread elsewhere in the League.

The Assembly of the Way welcomes the Apulian Orcs to the way of virtue. We recognise the qualities of Audacity, Cunning, and Fidelity not as virtues but as Love and Glory are to the Dawnish or Heroism to the Winterborn - still valued and perhaps routes to virtue but not of themselves virtuous. We do not recognise Retribution as such a quality, for it is Vengeance by another name, and suggest the Apulians turn to the custom of their new nation - the Dead Reckoning of the League.

The Fool of Glory, The Way, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: 157-20

Cunning and Retribution

• Insight is the greatest weapon
• Vengeance for what you have lost, retribution for what you will gain
• No Assembly adopted cunning, but the Way denounced retribution

No assembly issued a statement on the Apulian quality of cunning - perhaps the closest were statements from the Assembly of Wisdom and Ambition, both of which called for more time for the Synod to consider these weighty questions. The Apulian orcs point out that they don't really have time... they've joined the Empire... they would really like to know which of their traditional spiritual beliefs they are going to have to drop. Can they talk about cunning or not?

In the end pragmatism wins the day. Most Apulian orcs decide that if the Synod hasn't made a clear statement about cunning, then presumably they're not going to run into legal problems for talking about it. After-all if anyone cared that much, they'd have said so. However they're also shrewd enough to appreciate that nobody embraced cunning either... both fidelity and audacity seemed to enjoy recognition and the wider appreciation of the Synod, but nobody was in a rush to claim cunning. As a result most of them decide it's something "to be talked about in private from now on" rather than openly discussed. Certainly this lack of any kind of formal acknowledgement will ensure that the ideal of cunning as a noble quality does not spread any further than Apulus and may not persist even there.

There is some disappointment though not surprise, that the Assembly of the Way chose to regard retribution as no different from vengeance. The Grendel only have one commonly accepted aphorism for each virtue; for retribution it reads "Vengeance for what you have lost, retribution for what you will gain," so they rather expected this outcome. The Apulians maintain that the two are very different - and they point to the foolishness of the Faraden as proof of that. The Faraden - in pursuit of justice - will attempt to get revenge on those they believe have crossed them no matter how much that is to their own detriment. The Apulians see that as madness - they think the proper understanding of retribution is about acting on feelings of injustice, only when they will benefit you and yours. It is a virtue designed to help you get ahead... not to bring others down.

Still they are practical enough to see the need to drop all mention of retribution if that is what the Synod requests. Certainly the compromise that they call it dead reckoning rather than retribution appeals to them. Indeed dead reckoning appears to the Apulians a great deal. They point out that if dead reckoning is about the favours you owe people, as well as the debt they own you, then in their eyes that is more about fidelity than retribution. However if dead reckoning is about punishing those who have crossed you - then that is absolutely what vengeance is about - and the parts of that that would lead to your own profit are what the Apulians would call retribution.

Ultimately they're happy to embrace dead reckoning - a concept they consider to be wise and virtuous. Talk of retribution is likely to disappear, even in Apulus, to be replaced by the idea of dead reckoning.

In fact, the Apulians are particularly keen to talk about the idea of dead reckoning in respect of Urizen's decision to curse their leader. Kaliact is a former Salt Lord - until very recently she was the wealthiest person anywhere in Spiral. Urizen's vengeance has already left her frantically scrabbling to hold onto her vast wealth. She is struggling to secure her estates and her properties, her assets are under threat, her puissance is slipping - if this curse runs its course she is likely to be ruined by the time its magic fades. The woman who staked everything on bringing Apulus into the League stands to lose it all.

What then does that imply for what the League owes Urizen? They have demanded a reckoning... what more could they want than to ruin the leader of the Apulians? Does this not wipe the slate clean?

We call upon the Apulian Orcs to visit prosperity congregations across the Empire. They should use this opportunity to reflect on their understanding of Prosperity and the learn from our understanding which is informed by centuries of evidence and access to liao which has always been unavailable to them.

Vera, Prosperity Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: Greater Majority 335-0

Bishops of the League! The Apulians are ready and eager to adopt the Way, their former slaves may need further guidance! Priests! Get you to Spiral and show their Questioners the majesty and authority of the Bishop. Plant the seeds of a new generation of League Bishops in its soil and the growth of the Way shall be its fruit.

Paulus Adelaar von Holberg, Ambition Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: Greater Majority 389-0

The assembly calls upon all of the dedicated priests who have liao in their pockets to travel to Spiral and spread auras of vigilance among our new Apulian friends. Let their souls know what true virtuous feel like.

Lady Laudine duLac, Vigilance Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: 176-0

Centuries of Evidence

• Three virtue assemblies called for greater engagement with the Apulians
• The Apulians have taken note of the fact that of everyone who moved to Apulus this season, not a single one opted to open a congregation

The greater majority of the Prosperity Assembly backed the call by Vera to encourage the Apulians to visit Prosperity congregations across the Empire so that they could have an opportunity to reflect on their understanding of Prosperity and learn. Unfortunately the Apulians are not a people given to much reflection. It is true that they don't have access to liao and the auras it can be used to create, but they have seen and experienced them. They are careful about how they express it, but it is clear that they don't seem overly concerned with this evidence. They reiterate that for them the Virtues are about morality, they are about how you live your life, the choices you take, the actions you undertake, how you treat other people. They don't really see the point of auras - or really distinguish between the auras that are created with liao and the auras that are created with mana. As such they politely decline the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage across the Empire to learn about Prosperity - but they do stress that if someone could just write down this great insight and understanding that the Empire has gained from its centuries of evidence - they'll be more than happy to read it.

There are two calls from the Ambition Assembly and the Vigilance Assembly to send priests to Apulus to minister to the spiritual needs of the newest members of the League. Unfortunately those calls also seem to fall on deaf ears. There are a vast number of citizens heading to Apulus, but literally not a single one of them seems interested in ministering to the spiritual needs of the Apulians. Virtually everyone heading to the newest League city is setting up a business. There are a tiny handful of exceptions among the League citizens who attend Anvil, one who is opening a mine, another with a mana site and two citizens hiring sailors for their ships. But not a single individual who has moved to Spiral has chosen to set up a congregation. The civil service are able to confirm that after a season's assessment, the total amount of liao provided to every single League citizen in Spiral is zero. There are plenty of Urizen congregations in Spiral - but not a single one owned by the League.

The Apulians seemed to consider this both telling and reassuring in equal measure. This is why they joined the League they explain. The purpose of Virtue in the eyes of the Apulians is to help you achieve power - to gain puissance - the essential quality that allows you to cross the Howling Abyss. The Apulians are simply not interested in liao and ceremonies and auras. They assume that the priests, the bishops, and questioners moving to Apulus are setting up businesses because they want to wield power. The Apulians understand and respect that - that is exactly the kind of priest they want to deal with. As a result they are supremely confident that they will get along very well with their new bishops with whom they feel they already share a deep understanding of the realities of life.

If the Apulian Orcs are to gain an opportunity to benefit and learn from access to liao then it may take a while.

Further Reading

• A question of loyalty - 385YE Autumn wind of fortune about the situation with the Urizen still in Spiral
• Chords - 385YE Summer Wind of Fortune posing a series of questions related to Apulian Orc faith
• The fate of the many - 385YE Summer Wind of Fortune about the Urizen in Spiral
• A tide in the affairs - 385YE Wind of War detailing the "conquest" of Spiral