Stand amid the roar

“Not long until sunset.” said Sanne in a heavy tone.

“Not long at all.” agreed Judah.

The pair fell silent for a while as if afraid that if one of them voiced the obvious they would make it true.

Finally Judah could stand it no longer. “And the scouts definitely said they’d be here by then?” he queried.

Sanne once again tested the string of her bow. “That's what they said."

Judah sighed, and rolled his shoulders against the weight of his armour. “Do you think our reinforcements will get here first?”

Sanne looked back at the farmstead behind them. “They said we would. Assuming nothing goes wrong.” She smiled, not entirely convincingly. “But we don’t need reinforcements, do we? It’s nothing to us. A pair of heroes defending civilisation from a few shitty cultists and a pattern in the stars. It’ll be like the stories. You know, like Elayne Silverlark and what-his-face.”

Judah narrowed his eyes as he scanned the horizon. Which would arrive first, he wondered? Reinforcements, or the enemy? He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. Somehow he doubted that anyone would tell the tale of his life if it ended here. “Things bleed, they say. I guess we’ll just have to make sure they bleed more than we do.”

The cult of the Falconer adopt a philosophy inspired by a certain interpretation of the nature of the Claw constellation.

Overview

• The Narwhal's Spear, the Sun Chamber, and members of the Wintermark and Highguard assemblies have made their way to the territory to deal with the Cult of the Falconer

It started simply, with animal attacks. The beasts of Sermersuaq were agitated and aggressive. Strange, to be sure, but strange things happen every day. Then the aggression spread. Strange people were seen partaking in unusual rites across the northern Empire. Representatives of a group, or perhaps of a person, called the Falconer repeatedly attended Anvil, bringing with them words of strength, bloodshed, and a return to an imagined past, free from the corrupting decadence of modern life. And as they did so, blood began to be spilt. No longer was this just strange: this was dangerous.

Citizens of the Empire sprang into action in the face of this creeping menace. The Silent Bell were tasked with investigating the Cult of the Falconer, even as the group descended into open blood sacrifice. The Silent Bell revealed the truth; that the Falconer was a tulpa, a manifestation of the constellation of the Claw, whose law states that Things Bleed. Appealing to the insecure, the disheartened, the traumatised who had found no healing in Virtue, this cult had set itself to the task of creating a world governed by nothing but brute animal strength. Without room for nuance, compassion, or introspection, those motivated by rage and suffering would never need to reckon with their pain, only turn it outwards against any who crossed their path.

The assemblies of almost every nation affected by the cult condemned their actions in no uncertain terms, with judgements passed through the General and Highborn assemblies echoing these sentiments. The Senate declared the cult to be illegal, turning the wrath of militia and magistrate against the followers of this malign and bloodthirsty entity. Yet hardship and opposition have not deterred the cult. In a true act of defiance, they have erected obelisks of white granite across Sermersuaq.

But it was clear that harsh words would not be enough. And so the general of the Narwhal's Spear gave orders for the army to return home to Sermersuaq to draw the poison from the wound. The Wintermark Assembly urged every hero of the Mark to root out the cult while the Highborn Assembly urged the faithful to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Wintermarkers as they faced the enemy. Finally, the reformed Sun Chamber called on Barien's patronage to let them slip unseen into Sermersuaq seeking to learn what they could about the Cult and their plans and how they might be thwarted.

Aimed Spear

Children of Sermersuaq, too soon we must return home. A threat is taking root beneath the snow. Scour our lands for those that follow the Falconer and the obelisks they build; remind them that we are children of snow and ice, not stars and blood. Do not kill these lost and misguided; subdue, mediate and bring them back to the hearth. Do not shed blood, do not let them bleed in the snow.

Determination of Ice Kaisa, General of the Narwhal's Spear

• The Narwhal's Spear has moved decisively against the Cult, attacking their strongholds
• Their actions have shattered the Cult's forces preventing them forming an army
• Defating the Cult's forces has rendered their ritual sites vulnerable

The Narwhal's Spear, moving under the effects of Find the Best Path, went home to Sermersuaq. Guided by the orders of Determination of Ice Kaisa, and the clearness of communication instilled in them by the Autumn realm, the soldiers spread out across the territory. The orders are clear: save the misguided souls caught in this tulpa’s lies, and in the general’s words, “remind them that we are children of snow and ice, not stars and blood.” Their instructions are to treat these people as victims rather than villains, to bring them home and to avoid empowering their patron by further bloodshed.

Some cultists break in the face of their nation’s heroes and throw themselves on the soldiers’ mercy. Arrogant youths whose dreams of heroism melted away in the face of the bloody reality. Loud-mouthed braggarts who found bloodshed far more appealing from the comfort of their tavern stools. Sad and broken souls who collapse into tears in the face of genuine compassion from their fellows, the weight of their pain becoming too much to bear.

Sadly, most do not come quietly. Some fight like animals, snarling and enraged. Others hold onto the vicious cunning that the Narwhal’s Spear know only too well. The soldiers are not eager to slay their kin, but the cultists refuse to give them a choice in the matter. It is a law, after all: Things Bleed.

The cultists are vicious and utterly lacking in mercy, but they are simply no match for an Imperial army, let alone one with the quick wits and magically-enhanced logistics of the Narwhal’s Spear. The soldiers do not commit to fights they cannot win, and when they do strike, it is with overwhelming force. Everywhere they go, the cult is thwarted. An attack on the Smokehouse of Atalaq falls into an Imperial ambush, an attempt to abduct hylje from the Rikkivesi falls in the face of a wall of spears and arrows, and a group seeking to infiltrate the small settlement of Wreck are tricked into giving up their weapons and then barricaded inside a storehouse by a group of fast-talking icewalkers.

By the time the season is drawing to a close, the Spear have broken the strength of the Cult. Despite the intensity of the fighting, the army has taken surprisingly few casualties due to the disordered nature of their foe. It is clear that the Cult was trying to form their followers into an army - had they been given one more season to complete their efforts, then the result would have been very different. As it is, the burgeoning military strength of the Cult has been shattered - those whose skeins may yet be saved have become Frayed. Those who were beyond such things were buried where they fell. The Cult's plans for an army of their own are gone.

The attack has been timely; by directly attacking the cult's strongholds, the Spear have been able to draw members of the cult away from the ritual sites they have taken over. That has left these sites vulnerable and enabled the more nimble groups that accompanied the army to move quickly to investigate these locations. That is fortunate, for it soon transpires that raising an army was just part of the cult's plan.

The Cult of the Falconer’s influence must be ended. The construction of their obelisks in the Suaq wastes puts at risk the lives of not just all Winterfolk, but of the Hylje, whom Wintermark previously swore to defend. The Wintermark Assembly urges every Hero of the Mark to bring everything they have to bear, to exercise their courage and vigilance to root this cult out from the Suaq Wastes and see it destroyed. We cannot fail the Hylje.

Thritt, Wintermark Assembly, Summer Solstice 387YE, Vote: Upheld with a Greater Majority 252-10

The Falcon flies alone. False words have told you “Blood-on-the-Snow” walks alongside. Do not hear the Voice in the Pines whispering in every threat. Vigilance tells us to clear our fields; Wisdom tells us to test what we know. This cult follows the stars; not our foe that follows famine.

Corrin Arrowsbane, Wintermark Assembly, Summer Solstice 387YE, Vote: 290-0

The dangerous cultists of the Falconer threaten Imperial lives and souls - especially those of our cousins in Wintermark. In Peerless Kinship, we hear the words of judgements 168 and 180, and urge all Vigilant Wayfarers to journey northwards and offer any spiritual assistance they can, as directed by their Wintermark hosts, to seek out and confront this threat.

Destin of the Woodwych Harts, Highborn Assembly, Summer Solstice 387YE, Vote: 388-10

Crossroads and Doorways

• The Sun Chamber voted to journey to Sermersuaq, and to scout for the white granite obelisk of the Cult of the Falconer
• Members of the sodality have located all four of the menhirs that the Cult has prepared
• The sodality has recovered a coded message from the body of one of the Cult members

Last season, the recently revived Sun Chamber voted to send members of the sodality to the territory to scout for the white granite obelisks of the Cult of the Falconer. Ably assisted by heralds of the Lord of the Crossroads, members and former alumni, slip into the territory looking to find the root of the cult's power - the stone menhirs that they have created.

It is daunting work, requiring them to range all over the territory. Sermersuaq is one of the largest territories in the Empire, a huge expanse of tundra that is difficult to cross and easy to hide in. Dangerous too, for the wild parts of Sermersuaq are plagued with monsters released into the world by Blood on the Snow and the Prince-in-Exile. Fortunately, the Chamber have powerful allies of their own, the heralds of their patron granting them supernatural swiftness as they speed across the land. With all the vigour that youth can bring them, they throw themselves into the task of scouting for the white granite obelisks.

The first obelisk is located almost by accident, in Tanikipari. Members of the Chamber were looking for something much bigger, based on rumours heard about the obelisks. But the cult had buried the stone menhir for some reason, either to hide it or perhaps for some more sinister reason. As a result only the very tip, barely the size of a person, protrudes above the ground, and it might have been missed were it not for the the eagle eyes of Megaris of the Empty Sword, a keen-eyed young sentinel from Spiral.

The Chamber quickly confirm that the menhir is one of the obelisks they are looking for. Once they have a better idea of what they are looking for, the sodality are able to intensify their search and members turn up two more obelisks in quick succession, one in Suaq Fount and one in Suaq Wastes. According to those members of the cult who have turned back to Virtue, there are four obelisks in total, but the last one proves almost too much to find.

Warlock Yogurn, House of Frost, Silver Peaks, Sermersuaq.

Eventually it is located, not in any part of Sermersuaq controlled by the Empire, but in the Silver Peaks, the rich mountains claimed by the Thule. Goaded on by the Master of Challenges, a handful of the current members of the Chamber slip over the border into the Thule lands and quickly locate the final obelisk, not far from the Stonefield Ice Caves. A tense stand-off with a group of warlocks nearly ends in catastrophe, until the scouts are able to convince the Thule that they are not there to steal, but rather to seek out mutual enemies of the Thule and the Empire. Together, the two groups are able to examine the final obelisk, before members of the Cult appear and both groups are forced to withdraw. Members of the sodality leave with a name, Warlock Yogurn of the House of Frost, and a promise that the matter will be reported to the Dragons, who will decide what to do with the obelisk.

Members of the sodality try to avoid battle with the Cult where they can - those with military training understand how foolish it can be for scouts to lose sight of their mission and risk clashing swords with their enemies. Nonetheless, a handful of skirmishes prove impossible to avoid. It seems of little concern at first, a dozen fights like this have happened across the territory, but this one is different. An enciphered document is found on the body of one of the Chosen, a merchant originally from Kallevesa. It strikes everyone as a curious and auspicious matter – the Cult has no time for such sophisticated things as codes, so whatever is concealed within could be important. The note has been passed to the Civil Service, who will deliver it to the assembled Sun Chamber at their next meeting in Anvil in the hope that deciphering it may provide some useful intelligence.

Having successfully located all four of the strange obelisks, the Chamber turns to cooperating with their allies in this quest, those stirred to action by the Wintermark and Highborn assembly, to put together a plan for dealing with them.

Participation

Any member of the Sun Chamber can have taken part in the investigation in Sermersuaq over the past season. Appropriate stories could involve gaining the assistance of heralds of the Lord of the Crossroads to move with unnatural quickness over the vast landscape, lucky escapes where you just managed to avoid a large band of Cultists. You may have been part of the small group who had a tense meeting with the Thule in the Silver Peaks, or one of those who found the first menhir in Tanikipari.

Any member of the Sun Chamber who took part in this investigation, and roleplays that they were supported by a herald of Barien, starts play with an additional hero point. This is expended first and is lost if not used by the end of the event.

Special Kinship

• The Winterfolk and Highborn have come together to seek out the cult
• They have uncovered the cult's plan to infuse Sermersuaq with the power of the Claw
• They have discovered a pillar and a Voice in Suaq Fount

The people of Sermersuaq are hardy. It was not so long ago that the Jotun stormed through their lands, and not too much longer than that when Thule maggots roamed across the territory. Buoyed up by the words of Ingrid Talon-of-the-Mark exhorting them to despise folly and chastise the fools who spread it, and of Rafe, who told them to reject unknown or malicious auras, they are well primed for the judgements of Thritt and Corrin Arrowsbane, urging them to reject the Cult of the Falconer and confirming the source of their powers.

This is it, the test of the Winterfolk’s resolve to stand firm in the face of malign auras and misguided cultists. Most are not fighters, but hunters bring back word from the wilderness, stormcrows dutifully collate reports from their congregations, and local icewalkers cast divinations to find what intelligence they can. The people of Sermersuaq can be Proud of their sharp eyes, and no gathering of cultists evades their sight.

Yet even as the Winterfolk stand in defence of their land, aid comes from yet more sources. Highborn pilgrims, guided by the words of Destin of the Woodwych Harts, travel north to offer aid to their Winterfolk counterparts. Vigilant inquisitors, ruthless unconquered, and a few former grey pilgrims who walked the trods in the region, all come to offer assistance to their siblings in Virtue.

Their aid proves pivotal; relentless questioning by the Highborn inquisitors of those who have given up the cult slowly reveals the enemy's true ambitions. Their goal is nothing less than the transformation of the land itself, by erecting four great menhirs in the shape of the the Claw and performing bloodthirsty rites on them, they hope to make all of Sermersuaq become as wild and savage as the constellation itself. In a twisted version of the Marcher traditions of standing stones, the Cult seeks not to yoke the forces of nature, and subject them to mortal authority, but the very opposite. To break the yoke of civilisation and give free rein to nature's most cruel instincts. Like marking an object with a rune, they plan to mark the land with the sign of the Claw, so that it resonates with the same magical properties as the constellation itself.

Nobody is certain if the plan will actually work. While the more followers of the Falcon are adamant that nothing can stop them, ice-walkers, mystics, and magisters who examine the plan are uncertain exactly what will happen. Attempts to exploit hearth magic on this scale are fraught with difficulty and impossible to predict. In the end, few believe it really matters what might have happened - Vigilance demands they are stopped, regardless.

Fortunately, the actions of the Narwhal's Spear have left the cult unable to protect the obelisks, leaving them vulnerable to action by the Empire's heroes. The various leaders of the Cult, the "voices" remain with the obelisks, planning to invoke them when the moment is right, so a capable group could use the Sentinel Gate to destroy the Cult's leadership and remove the threat at the same time.

Participation

Any Highborn or Winterfolk can have taken part in the efforts in Sermersuaq, focusing on Suaq Fount. Appropriate stories could involve collaborating with others, careful tracking and hunting, collating information (perhaps with a corkboard), and desperate fights against beasts or cultists. Some priests may have spent time inquisiting those who were captured or surrendered to find out what was planned, while magicians were studying the stars and looking into the cult's plans to see how feasible they really were.

Stone and Stars

• The pillars are huge white granite obelisks, that have been buried in the ground
• Destroying a pillar will prevent the Cult's magic from affecting that region
• If one pillar is destroyed, the Cult's plan will no longer affect the territory, only those regions containing an obelisk
• If all four stone monoliths are destroyed the Cult's plan will completely fail
• Destroying the pillars will be difficult, they require powerful magic to destroy

The Cult's plan requires four obelisks, spread out across Sermersuaq, in an arrangement meant to mimic the shape of the constellation of the Claw. There is one in Tanikipari, one in Suaq Fount, one in the Suaq Wastes and one in the Silver Peaks. The Cult will need all four of these to be in place by the end of the Equinox to bring down their curse on the whole territory.

If so much as a single obelisk is destroyed, then the rites will fall short. The Cultists will still complete the rites, but the effects will only fall on those regions that still contain an obelisk at the time. If all four are destroyed, then the rites will fail completely and there will be no effects.

One mystery remains - how did the Cult obtain the resources for these huge obelisks? The Cult has painstakingly buried the menhirs in the ground, so that the magic they evoke will be communicated to the very soil and rock itself. By all accounts, the things are huge, each must have required at least ten wains of white granite - meaning the cult must have acquired forty wains in total. There were rumours that the Cult was recruiting at Anvil, trying to acquire white granite for their plan, but few of their supporters are wealthy or powerful. How then have they come by such enormous resources?

Destroying the pillar would require delivering a potent ritual magic. The Highborn magisters and the Wintermark icewalkers and mystics have combined their skills to create three arcane projections, one for each of the groups attempting to destroy an obelisk. Inspired by Winter ritual Dreadful Ending, the projections are Magnitude 20 and would take two minutes to cast, but if cast while close enough to touch one of the Falconer obelisks, it will be completely destroyed. They have provided one copy to each of the citizens charged with ensuring the pillars are destroyed.

Strengthening Storm

• A band of cultists are protecting the pillar of Tanikipari
• This skirmish is a combat highly likely encounter
• Corrin Arrowsbane is responsible for destroying the pillar and killing the Voice of Tanikipari
• Killing the Voice of Tanikipari will prevent this individual from posing a threat in the future
• Destroying the Tanikipari obelisk will ensure the region is not affected by the Cult's magic
• There are no innocents present on this conjunction; magistrates advise that lethal force is fully justified

A group of vigilant Winterfolk have attempted to destroy the first pillar found, the obelisk near Ittanpari in Tanikipari. Sadly, they encountered unusually strong defences and they were forced to pull back with several members of the band badly wounded. Merewalh the Fox. a Suaq mediator, has sent word back asking for help.

Merewalh was inspired by the words of Corrin Arrowsbane to seek out this threat. As such, she asks Corrin Arrowsbane to complete the mission to destroy the pillar and kill the Voice of Tanikipari. Killing the Voice will ensure this individual cannot flee and return to pose a threat in the future. Destroying the pillar will ensure that the region is not affected by the Cult's magic.

Growing Threat

• A band of cultists are protecting the pillar of the Suaq Wastes
• This skirmish is a combat highly likely encounter
• The Counsel of the Sun Chamber is responsible for destroying the pillar and killing the Voice of the Wastes
• Killing the Voice of the Wastes will prevent this individual from posing a threat in the future
• Destroying the Suaq Wastes obelisk will ensure the region is not affected by the Cult's magic
• There are no innocents present on this conjunction; magistrates advise that lethal force is fully justified

The members of the Sun Chamber chose to focus their efforts on the western part of the territory. Megaris of the Empty Sword, the keen-eyed sentinel who found the first pillar, has been keeping an eye on the final target close to the border with Tromsa. The cultists here have rallied around the "Voice of Wastes", from where they have carried out numerous forays into Kalsea.

As Megaris of the Empty Sword is a member of the Sun Chamber, it is the responsibility of the Counsel of the Sun Chamber, Zoria, to ensure the pillar is destroyed and the Voice of Tanikipari slain. Killing the Voice will ensure this individual cannot flee and return to pose a threat in the future. Destroying the pillar will ensure that the region is not affected by the Cult's magic.

Whilst Barien would normally require that only members of the sodality take part in any dangerous quest that had employed his help to arrange, here he has made clear that he expects the Chamber will need to call on many allies from outside the sodality if they are to achieve the impossible. Provided the will of the Consul is respected, then the eternal will not be angered no matter who she chooses to undertake the dangerous expedition.

Nicodemus of Balthazar's Vineyard, Speaker of the Highborn Assembly

Gathering Darkness

• A band of cultists are protecting the pillar of Suaq Fount
• This skirmish is a combat highly likely encounter
• The Speaker of the Highborn Assembly is responsible for destroying the pillar and killing the Voice of the Fount
• Killing the Voice of the Fount will prevent this individual from posing a threat in the future
• Destroying the Suaq Fount obelisk will ensure the region is not affected by the Cult's magic
• There are no innocents present on this conjunction; magistrates advise that lethal force is fully justified

Caleb of Matthias' Rest, a shrewd Highborn Unconquered, was chosen to lead a group of fellow Highborn warriors to the sparse area south-east of the Face of Ikka, hoping to destroy the Cult's power there. These cultists have rallied around the "Voice of the Fount", and looked to disrupt the Pride of Ikka's Tears and claim the mithril for themselves. Sadly, the group never reached the Fount, they were attacked on the way by one of Hayaak's vengeful monsters and too many of the group were wounded for them to continue.

As Caleb of Matthias' Rest took inspiration from the judgement of Destin of the Woodwych Harts, it would usually be their responsibility. However, the civil service have been informed that the wayfarer will not be at the coming summit, so it is down to the Speaker of the Highborn Assembly, Nicodemus of Balthazar's Vineyard, to kill the Voice of the Fount and destroy the pillar. Killing the Voice will ensure this individual cannot flee and return to pose a threat in the future. Destroying the pillar will ensure that the region is not affected by the Cult's magic.

The Silver Peaks

• There is a fourth pillar in the Silver Peaks
• The Thule warlocks claim the Dragons will attend to the pillar

Members of the Sun Chamber met with a band of Thule warlocks, and the two groups examined the fourth obelisk together. The Thule were investigating reports of problems: previously tame beasts gone feral; tempers running short; and at least one instance of an escalating curse war between rival warlocks. The Chamber were forced to leave the matter with the Thule, who made clear that the Dragons would "attend" to the matter. That might mean the Thule intend to destroy the pillar themselves, but if it definitely meant that, the warlock would presumably have said as much.

Still, the Empire will have its hands full dealing with the Cult and the three pillars that are in Imperial-controlled parts of Sermersuaq, they may have to just hope that the Thule are as good as their word.

What is Known

The Cult of the Falconer is on the back foot, unable to stand in the face of the overwhelming forces arrayed against it. Yet… the Cult did not grow to this size without being persuasive. Their leaders are charismatic, and some find their message of a simpler world, a world without the strictures of civilisation to restrain them, a world where they can finally express their true desires and be granted the acclaim to which their strength entitles them, deeply compelling. Even as it seems like every living being in Sermersuaq is arrayed against them, some still seek out the Falconer. Perhaps there is a sense of doomed romanticism to it, the star-sworn underdogs continuing to fight against the unstoppable mass of the Empire. Perhaps there is no reason at all.

Regardless of motivation, everyone who has joined the Cult has sworn a simple oath: to follow the Cult’s leaders, and to rise up against the Empire when the time comes. And everyone who has done so has received a warning: failing to fulfil this oath will have dire consequences. Not dire as in a loss of wealth. Not dire as in a terrible injury. Not dire as in a frayed skein. Dire as in the wrath of an entire constellation being directed at you. Things Bleed, but if they bleed hard enough, they don't bleed for long.

Participation

If your character would have joined the Cult of the Falconer for any reason, you may email plot@profounddecisions.co.uk with your CID before noon on Friday the 12^th informing us that you have sworn the cult’s oath. You should visit GOD on Saturday morning to receive a briefing on any repercussions. As an important note, this has a very high chance of your character no longer being playable. You should not do this if you would be uncomfortable having your character die as a result of their involvement with the Cult.

Further Reading

• The Claw