383YE Autumn Equinox winds of fortune

A moment spent perusing a noticeboard could easily suggest new ambitions.

Overview

Over the past three months, several events have occurred which are of significance to the Empire and may require a response from her champions. You can also read about the progress of the Empire's military campaigns here.

In each case, we've tried to tag the Winds of Fortune entry with the nations, or political bodies, to which it is most relevant. We've done this to help people who are interested only in events that are especially relevant to them. In no way are these tags intended to be exhaustive; the Empire is a complex place and very little happens in isolation.

As always, how much or how little of this information you choose to know in character is up to you. Part of the purpose of Winds of Fortune is to maintain the illusion of the Empire as a living, breathing place where things happen - and to make players aware of things their characters 'should' know based on what their roleplaying says they have been doing for the past three months.

Many winds of fortune open with a short section of in-character text. In all cases, these pieces are intended to help create an atmosphere and provide a little entertainment. Where they contain opinions, those are the opinions of the fictional people depicted - and where they contain information or rumours the assumption is that the reader will create their own context for that information or gossip. They're mostly just a bit of fun and they tend not to contain anything vital to the understanding of the wind of Fortune.

Winds of Fortune

Crowned in Rose and Heather

• Imperial citizens; especially the Synod and the Senate

On the last night of the Summer Solstice, Imperatrix Lisabetta Giacomi von Holberg and her husband Juha the Cave Spider, the Imperial Magus, retired together as normaly. By the next morning they were gone. No-one saw them leave their quarters. No-one has seen them since.

On the available evidence, the constitutional court has had little choice but to announce that both the Throne and the Magus must be legally considered to either be dead, or to have resigned their positions.

Easy enough for them to say, but there are still many questions to be answered. The Empire had become used to having a Throne again, and the repercussions of losing the Imperatrix and her husband have the potential to be far reaching indeed.

You can learn about these questions and repercussions here.

Mercy is Weakness

• Imperial Synod; Sword scholars; Urizen national assembly

Despite the best efforts of the Druj, the sword scholar Temple of the Winds has been completed in Morrow, a year since it was originally commissioned. Their numbers greatly reduced by their fight against the Mallum orcs, the scholars none-the-less gather under the banner of the Tempest Jade Maiden to resume their crusade against foolishness and irrationality. With the full support of the Wisdom assembly, their example will now spread across the entire Empire preventing any Synod mandate that does not have a clear greater majority from being enacted.

So far the Synod has welcomed the return of the sword scholars, but not everyone shares their enthusiasm. While opportunities exist for assemblies to embrace the sword scholars' example, there are those who are deeply concerned about what will happen if the followers of Sulemaine become more influential.

You can learn more about the impact of the sword scholars on the Imperial synod, and the opportunities to increase it here.

No Time For Ease (Imperial Address)

• All Imperial citizens

The Throne, Imperatrix Lisabetta, used her power to address the Empire to permit Gabriel Barossa, General of the Wolves of War present a personal message to all Imperial citizens. You can read his message here.

Woven as a Weapon

• Imperial Senate; Imperial Synod; Aquillian Effugere of Ankarien's Revenge

The trod network was created by the ancestors of the Navarr after the fall of the Terunael Empire to combat the vallorn. The magic employed is elegant and subtle creating a web of pathways crisscrossing the Empire. People walking the trods draw on the magical strength of the vallorn, weakening the corrupt Spring infestation in to process.

This approach has endured for centuries, allowing the Navarr to steading weaken the vallorn. Now the Imperial Senate has passed a motion to commission Graciana i Lopez i Guerra to appraise the trods to research options to improve their effectiveness at depleting the vallorn.

You can read more about the appraisal here.

Mandates

A number of mandates were upheld at the Summer Solstice and enacted in the months that followed. You can find a complete list here.

Imperial Lore

Three rituals were proposed for addition to Imperial lore during the Summer Solstice.

• Skar's Gentle Push was proposed by Irontide Lok. The ritual is now available to be mastered by Imperial magicians.
• Secrets of the Soul's Desire and Eyes of the Soul's Past were proposed by Tanus of the Auric Horizon. The civil service is still waiting for the 20 Thrones payment required to add them to Imperial Lore.

Other Media

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