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Anvil, a sea of tent, sprawls across the fields around the Forge and the Senate building.

Overview

Over the past three months, events have taken place which are of significance to the Empire and may require a response from her champions. These are the winds of fortune, counterparts to the Winds of War which detail the Empire's military campaigns. They lay out situations, and usually include things that characters can do to take advantage of opportunities or to resolve problems. In almost every case, they start with a piece of flavour text. This fiction helps introduce the wind of fortune, or draws out a particular theme or element. Often, it represents a viewpoint that one or more NPCs might have in-character. 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 if they want to use it in character.

The body of the wind of fortune describes situations and lays out ways players can engage with them. Except where we explicitly talk about something being "rumoured" or use a phrase like "some might say..." the details of a wind of fortune are factual. They represent briefing material presented by the civil service or similar authoritative sources and represents something the average educated citizen would acknowledge as a reliable truth. Unless we specify otherwise, we're also being as thorough as possible. This information doesn't need further checking in-character. It's not opinion, and we're not trying to trick you.

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 could know based on what their roleplaying says they have been doing for the past three months. It's perfectly acceptable to turn up to Empire having read only a few Winds of Fortune that directly interest your character; part of the fun on the field can come from learning about situations and opportunities in other parts of the game.

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.

Winds of Fortune

Promising Light

  • Imperial citizens, National Assemblies

The Throne has the unique power to address the Empire, to communicate with every Imperial citizen. The first such address, the inaugural address traditionally made immediately after their coronation, is seen as setting the tenor for their reign and has a particular impact on the people of the Empire. Especially as it is usually accompanied by the festivities that surround the ascension of a new Throne. In this case, the Empress has sent out a powerful call for unity, but also laid out a vision of Imperial destiny that many find particularly appealing - especially given it coincides with an Empire-wide party.

You can learn about the address, and the festivities that accompany it, in the Promising light wind of fortune.

New Port, Old Wine

  • The Marches, especially Bregas, Imperial Senate, the Throne

The overwhelming majority of Bregas are delighted that the Jotun have been banished from the territory - although you'd probably not know it just by looking at them. The pretender Mathilda Fisher is no more, and her body has been sent away to rest with whatever honour the orcs are prepared to offer. Yet there's still people in the western fenland with a grudge against the Empire... but Empress Vesna's inaugural address reaches out to them just as much as it does to any other Imperial citizens.

You can learn about the situation in Bregasland, and the impact both of the address and other recent actions, in the New port, old wine wind of fortune.

The Three Pillars

  • Urizen and the League, especially those from Spiral, Imperial Senate

There is open rebellion in Spiral among those Urizen who struggle with the decision to allocate the territory to the League. Keen to avoid the rebellion spreading, the Empire has made concerted efforts to meet the rebels demands where possible. The words of the Empress have come at an opportune moment, just as the Imperial Senate were wrestling with a way to satisfy the demands of one of the Urizeni factions.

You can learn about the situation with the Urizeni rebels, and the opportunity to reach an understanding with at least one of them, in the The three pillars wind of fortune.

Dream to Me (Plenipotentiary)

  • Archmages; Imperial Magicians; House deGauvin and Rhydian de Rondell; Emperor Vesna; Cabalist of the Hollow Stone, the Custodian of the Bleak Tower, and the Keeper of the Tower of the Fal; Witness of Conclave; musicians and artists

Half-a-dozen eternals have responded to the plenipotentiary messages sent by the six Archmages during the Winter Solstice. Four have agreed to a meeting of some kind, while two have decided to offer boons directly to Imperial magicians in response to the missives they have been sent. At least one set of offers is likely to prove... problematic.

You can learn about the responses of the eternals, and the messages they have sent, in the Dream to me Wind of Fortune.

Hurricane Party

  • Imperial magicians; militia and magistrates

The eternal Siakha offers her boons indiscriminately to Imperial magicians, should they be prepared to reach out and take them. Given the Mother of Wrecks has been declared an enemy of the Empire by the imperial Conclave, it is quite illegal to actually take advantage of these offers, or to be the beneficiaries of them. Still, the offers are there... as is the spectre of the chaos and destruction that they might bring if anyone chooses to accept them.

You can learn about the boons, both with regard to storms and savagery, in the Hurricane party wind of fortune.

An Angry Blade (Appraisal)

  • Imperial Senate; Quaymaster of the Elosian Docks; General of the Red Wind Corsairs

During the Winter Solstice the Imperial Senate commissioned Graciana i Lòpez i Guerra to appraise options to deploy fleet captains to disrupt enemy naval and logistical operations in the Bay of Catazar. Graciana is an excellent choice for the appraisal, more than her reputation for novel and imaginative solutions, she was once a successful corsair herself. Surely if anyone can find a way for Imperial fleets to take the fight to the Grendel, it is Graciana?

You can learn what her appraisal has concluded, and the opportunities to deal with the Grendel navies, in the An angry blade wind of fortune.

Parched Earth (Appraisal)

  • Imperial Senate; Unfettered Mind and Silver Chalice; Mistress of the Dust Parador and Hakima of Salt and Sand; Brass Coast

The second Appraisal the imperial Senate commissioned during the Winter Solstice was to send Lutomysla Niegoslava to find a solution to the Dry Patrician problem in Madruga. At the same time the Imperial Conclave agreed that the Unfettered Mind would focus their arcane acumen on the problem, and the Imperial Synod asked the Silent Bell to investigate the provenance of the problem. Not before time - it seems that the Dry Patricians are engaged in an attempt to spread the blight into neighbouring territories, and it will take the might of Imperial heroes to stop them.

You can learn about the findings of the appraisal and the Conclave investigation, as well as some proposals regarding dealing with future threats on a similar scale, in the Parched earth wind of fortune.

Long Shadows

  • Imperial Orcs, especially the Steward of the Mines of Gulhule; Golden Pyramid order; Imperial Senate; Minister of Historical Research

The Imperial Senate has paid a hundred thrones to encourage miners, prospectors and skilled labourers to travel to Skarsind and search the mountains for valuable deposits of metal that can feed the hungry forges of the Ethengraw. They have been aided in their quest by diviners, recruiters, investors, and entrepreneurs from the Golden Pyramid who have come at the request of the Grandmaster to lend whatever support they can. Together, they seek out opportunities to enrich the Imperial Orcs - and the last three seasons have proven potentially quite lucrative.

You can learn about the opportunities they have uncovered, and an unexpected number of mysteries, in the Long shadows wind of fortune.

Other Events

There are a number of other events and situations which are noteworthy, but which for whatever reason have not led to a full Wind of Fortune in their own right.

Broken Sword

The mandate encouraging the sword scholars to scatter to the four winds, spreading Sulemaine's words as they go was raised by Herminius of the House of the Wanderer and received the backing of the greater majority of the Urizen Assembly. It was enacted by Clytemnestra of the House of the Wanderer who spread word of the decision of the Synod and the sword scholars throughout Urizen. A number of statements of principle were raised at the same time. The consequences of these landmark judgements are detailed in the Resolution section of last season's Broken sword wind of fortune.

Their departure, means there will be no new sword scholars in Urizen. Those who attend Anvil now will be the last of that tradition. (OOC Note: we have removed the sword scholar archetype from the character creation options to reflect this change).

The Greatest City in the World

The matter of what commission the city of Holberg should build to celebrate its status as The greatest city in the world was settled by judgement of Hildebrand von Holberg who called on the citizens of Holberg to build a giant temple-orphanage. The cities of the League have a fine tradition of such efforts, with the Church of the Little Mother and rival institutions providing shelter and sustenance to orphans. Such are their efforts that the prosperity and wellbeing of the Empire's orphans is being largely dealt with by the existing orphanages.

None-the-less, some people are eager to create a grand new building to support the orphans in Holberg. Details of the potential commission are given in the Resolution section of last season's The greatest city in the world wind of fortune.

Trade Summary

TBC

Mandates

  • You can find details of the mandates, along with the rest of the Synod judgements, here.

A number of mandates were successfully upheld in the Imperial Synod last season. As long as the named priest provided sufficient liao, those mandates have been automatically enacted.

Winter Conjunctions

  • Last event there were a number of conjunctions of the Sentinel Gate; their known outcomes are listed here

During the Winter Solstice, there were a number of conjunctions of the Sentinel Gate identified by the Imperial prognosticators. In each case a band of Imperial heroes used that conjunction to travel to a location far from Anvil and intervene in an ongoing situation. These are the known outcomes of those conjunctions. In the case of battles, it is important to remember that the Military Council can only make use of two of the major conjunctions each summit, choosing which to take advantage of during the Muster.

Major Conjunctions

LocationOpportunityOppositionLinkOutcome
MadrugaIntercede at the LyceumGrendelA beacon of smokeThe Shadow regio was empowered, preventing the Grendel from looting the Lyceum
MadrugaPrevent the destruction of the Shining PillarGrendelA beacon of smokeNot taken; the Shining Pillar was destroyed
MareaveInfluence the complex politics in MareaveGrendelBetween stone and saltThe Grendel warbeasts were slaughtered, Eoradal was ceded to the Empire; the Dracaild of Rathmonna were paid off, protecting Imperial supplies line for at least a year; the soldiers around the Red Ibis were successfully distracted and the scoundrel was paid off, information will go to the Regario Dossier; The North Mareave Trading Consortium were paid; the map to Rucraic's Aerie was recovered and targetted by the Seventh Wave; the mercenaries of the Gaineamh Tine were not hired and they later performed a heist on Fundindelve

Normal Conjunctions

# Location Responsibility Overview Result
1 Brocéliande, Greenweald, Crangton Copse Knight of the Greenwood Rescue the knights-errant Knight-errant rescued and returned to Anvil safely
2 Necropolis, Coursmouth, Hedra's Meadow Champion of Courage Defeat the Grendel Grendel defeated and information uncovered
3 Therunin, Sweetglades, Circle of Rot Spear of the Seven Distract the vallornspawn The vallornspawn were successfully distracted
3.5 Therunin, Sweetglades, Circle of Rot Archmage of Spring Perform the Dance of Navarr and Thorn The Dance of Navarr and Thorn successfully performed
4 Madruga, Siroc Plains, Plains of the Tavin Ambassador to Otkodov Rescue the captives Captive Thule warlocks rescued and returned to Anvil
5 Kahraman, Gambit, Path of Idina Azure Sutannir Rescue Erdene Bataguin Erdene Bataguin successfully rescued and returned to Anvil
6 Skallahn, Iron Stand, Hralfstor's Orchard Imperial Seer Stop the Jarl of Greenwall Jarl of Greenwall killed, the fyrd of Iron Stand can not be raised until start of Spring Equionx 387YE
7 Liathaven, Liaven's Glen, Bawn of Daffyd Imperial Advisor for the Feni Stop the Jotun The Jotun warband were not stopped. The Feni of the settlement are assumed to have been slaughtered.
8 Redoubt, Naris, The Elosian Grove Elosian Architect Defeat the Grendel Grendel defeated and Great Harbour of Elos unharmed
9 Sarvos, Uccelini, Isle of Quiet Custodian of Glass Point Cove Defeat the Grendel Grendel defeated and Glass Point Cove unharmed
10 Madruga, Lightsea, Ezmara's Thicket Hakima of Salt and Sand Reclaim the heirloom Grendel defeated and heirloom reclaimed
11 Hahnmark, Kronemark, Dun's Hurst Caretaker of New Dunhall Stop the heralds Scions defeated, and New Dunhall stands
12 Upwold, The Heath, Sammy's Paling Custodian of Sutton Stone Quarries Stop the heralds Scions defeated and Sutton Stone Quarries remains protected
13 Astolat, Groveyard, Coppice of Roses Knight-protector of Autumn Stop the heralds Scions defeated and the rose garden of the Castle of Thorns remains
14 Kallavesa, Kallavesa Marsh, Road to Masi Woundbinder of the Mark Stop the heralds Scions defeated and the apothecaries and herbalists of Hufi's Glen saved
15 Miaren, Goldglades, Golden Meadow Spear of the Seven Stop the heralds Scions defeated and the forests of Goldeglades protected
16 Bastion, Sybella Cross, Tamar's Stand Champion of Loyalty Reclaim (or destroy) Oath-heart Oath-heart has been corrupted and remains in the hands of the scions
17 Miekarova, Perumaki, Wilkza Senator for Miekarova Return the villagers to their barrow Risen villages content that their hospitality had been accepted and have returned to their barrow