A question of loyalty

"Well?" demanded Caela - "what do you think?"

Zortia stared at he cousin for a moment, as she picked her words carefully. "I think this is madness Caela. I think... I think the Black Plateau has finally got to you. This is doomed."

Caela looked completely unfazed by the scathing assessment. "You said that about the last plan too!" she grinned.

"Yes, and I meant it! Your plan to wait for the Grendel to take Spiral was bad enough, but this... this is madness! You're talking about withdrawing from the Empire?" she shook her head in obvious disbelief.

Caela held up a finger to counter her claim. "Not me this time cousin. Urizen has spoken, we've got the overwhelming backing of the Assembly..." she let her voice trail off, giving Zortia time to absorb the impact of what she was saying.

"Right! And I'm sure the backing of a regiment of Anvil priests will be absolutely invaluable when the Military Council orders the Iron Helms to impale us all on spikes. That's what happened last time someone tried this. They ordered the Helms to drag Dogri Thulebane all the way back to Anvil for execution. Why will it be any different this time?"

Caela's grin turned cruel as she contemplated Zortia's question. "Dogri Thulebane was a Courageous and Loyal man, a great leader of his people. But at the end of the day he was just a Wintermark Thane... I'm sure he was an excellent Sentinel, but he was no Urizen... " she paused for a moment, letting the thought hang in the air.

"If the Empire thinks this will be another Dogri, then five hundred of the world's greatest magicians will teach them the error of their ways..."

There are many symbols of Loyalty. In the League rings are commonly used while in Urizen the constellations of the Chain and the Three Sisters are often believed to be tied to the virtue.

Overview

At the Summer Solstice, the Imperial Senate instructed Naomi of Virtue's Rest to "appraise what further the League can do so that the Urizen in Spiral can remain there peacefully while preserving their culture, ideally without suffering undue financial hardship from not being in Urizen." The motion was one of two that called on Naomi's unique skills, but the earlier motion regarding the septs of the Barrens failed, leaving the Highborn prognosticator free to focus on the issues facing Spiral.

The unique political situation in Spiral is already developing with large numbers of enterprising League citizens moving to settle in Apulian, drawn by the myriad opportunities presented by the new territory, not least of which is the election for senator slated to take place at the coming summit. Kaliact's Apulian Orcs have joined The League, but if they planned to use their well-established businesses to control the territory, it looks like they will have a fight on their hands.

The instruction of the Imperial Senate is timely, and it is fortunate indeed that the Senate opted to assign the most diplomatic member of the appraisal team to this endeavour. The situation in the territory was tense but peaceful at the start of the summit, but it did not remain so for long. The Urizen Assembly passed a number of judgements, one of which the prognosticators forecast would leave the territory in a febrile state, simmering with rebellion. However, the decision of the Loyalty Assembly to throw their support behind this mandate has meant the impact of the original mandate has far exceeded expectations and plunged the territory into crisis.

The Thieving Bandit

Despise the thieving bandit and those who take without giving. We send Hector of Tropaion with 50 doses of liao to encourage citizens of Urizen to remain apart from Apulian until a reckoning is agreed upon.

Clytemnestra, Urizen Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: Greater Majority 330-0

Hector has preached a mandate urging Urizen to disavow Apulian if there is no reckoning for Spiral
Some citizens have taken this as a call to prepare for open rebellion against the Empire

The Urizen Assembly overwhelmingly backed the mandate of Clytemnestra and Hector that urged the nation to despise the people who have stolen the territory from Urizen. The civil service prognosticators advised the Assembly that if this mandate was enacted then the Urizen who currently reside in Spiral would remain, but it would result in some of the spires taking up weapons and seceding from the Empire, eventually claiming one or more regions for themselves.

So it proves. Inspired by Hector's preaching, a number of the most outraged spires in Ankra, Cinion, and Ossuary begin to prepare for a rebellion. Not everyone is so minded of course, there are many different responses to the mandate, but as is often the case, the most extreme response is by far the most visible.

Had that been the limit of the involvement of the Imperial Synod, then the situation might have remained on that knife edge. People are patient and measured in their approach. Poise demands that hasty calls to violence be scorned; better to strike when the decisive moment comes. The mandate concludes by urging the Urizen to remain apart until a reckoning is agreed upon; people would have been content to given the Assembly time to seek suitable recompense while they made their preparations.

However the situation soon escalates far beyond that initial premise.

The Eyes of Loyalty

The Loyalty assembly sends Mazo with 25 liao to support the Urizen national assembly in their efforts to aid the Spiral Urizeni with the mandate reading: Despise the thieving bandit and those who take without giving. We send our priest with 50 doses of liao to encourage citizens of Urizen to remain apart from Apulian until a reckoning is agreed upon. The role of the Loyalty assembly in this is to reassure people that the Empire does not intend to endorse their destruction and to keep open the channels of communication necessary for a reckoning to be agreed upon. There is a future in which this results in stronger bonds within the Empire and it is upon those dedicated to Loyalty to achieve this.

Veikko Bondforger, Loyalty Assembly, 385YE Summer Solstice, Vote: Greater Majority 466-0

The Assembly's mandate has dramatically enhanced the responses to Hector's mandate
It is not possible for the Assembly to influence the outcome of the Eyes of Loyalty

To add fuel to the fire, the Assembly of Loyalty have sent priests to Spiral to urge everyone who follows Loyalty to do what they can to support the mandate. The Cardinal explicitly tried to guide these priests by emphasizing that "The role of the Loyalty Assembly in this is to reassure people that the Empire does not intend to endorse their destruction... a future in which this results in stronger bonds within the Empire and it is upon those dedicated to Loyalty to achieve this."

It seems likely from the wording of the mandate raised by Veikko Bondforger and enacted by Mazo that the Assembly hoped that their priests would work to cool the ardour of the inhabitants of Spiral, reassuring people that ledgers would be balanced and that they would receive fair treatment from the Empire. Unfortunately the first tenet of Loyalty commands pilgrims to "Know your heart and what commands its devotion above all else." That sentiment is widely taken to mean that pilgrims should act on the Loyalty they feel in their hearts and ignore the instruction of others who try to tell them where their loyalties should lie.

As such it not possible to dictate the way the Eyes of Loyalty will affect another mandate. When the power is invoked, the priests of Loyalty seek out those committed to the cause described in the mandate and use the Eyes of Loyalty to grant them the strength to give everything in pursuit of their loyalty. The effects are always unpredictable, but the result is always that the mandate becomes much more significant - whatever the predicted impact was, it would be exceeded in some way.

The aura titled the Eyes of Loyalty drives those who experience to pursue their loyalties to no matter the cost and motivating them to pursue their goals. In Spiral the impact is dramatic, galvanising reactions to the original mandate and spurring everyone to action.

Serve Your Cause

The inhabitants of Spiral do not believe their culture is under threat
The political future of Spiral is the key issue that concerns the Urizen who live here

The response in Spiral is far from uniform - every Urizen experiences the impacts of the mandates differently. A common theme however is that none of the people who dwell here are concerned about preserving their culture. While the four cities of the League might have appreciably different characters, the inhabitants of Spiral are not markedly different to those in the other Urizen territories. The one element that does make Spiral distinct is the presence of the Black Plateau whose oppressive dolour impacts the lives of everyone who lives in Urizen. However the swinging changes that miasma forces on people are something most folk are keen to abandon the first opportunity they get.

Of course there have been Urizen in Spiral for centuries and there is a great deal of heritage here. But the view of most magicians is that the real culture of Urizen is to be found in their books and their scholasticism. All that can be taken with them if they leave. As a result, the Urizen living in Spiral don't perceive a threat to their culture. The magic of the egregore only affects those who chose to embrace it and swear to a nation, so the presence of the League citizens in Spiral won't have any impact on the culture of the Urizen who live there. They can continue to live their lives in exactly the same way they did when it was an Urizen territory and when it laboured under Grendel rule. Common myths that the political and economic changes in the territory will affect the hearth magic of the territory are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of hearth magic. Nothing has changed magically or culturally in Spiral, what has changed is its political status.

Those political changes mean that the impact and leadership of the Urizen who remain in Spiral will be steadily eclipsed by the League. They will be politically and economically marginalised by the Empire's decision to grant The League the right to claim the territory. Slowly but inexorably they will become foreigners; Urizen citizens living in a territory run by the League. This is what concerns the people living in Spiral - they don't believe their culture is threatened, but they have been disenfranchised and they will lose out economically.

There is nothing that an appraisal can do to change the political consequences of that, it was the Senate's decision that the territory elect a League citizen according to League rules. But Naomi has spent considerable time negotiating with those who live here as part of her appraisal of the territory and has suggestions that might ameliorate some of the concerns. To do this she has broken down the reactions depending on the key Loyalty of those involved, making it easier to see what the key concerns are and what a potential solution might look like in those cases.

The Empire

Those who put their Loyalty to the Empire above all others are broadly content with the current situation
This group plan to move to Zenith and Redoubt over the coming season
They want to see the Empire strike boldly to maximise the benefits of retaking Spiral

There are many Urizen citizens in Spiral whose first Loyalty is to the Empire. They take a broad view that the decision to embrace the Apulian Orcs is clearly in the best interests of the Empire. It brings valuable new allies into the League, who offer insight into the minds and strategies of Urizen's enemies. It frees Spiral from the control of the Grendel without any need for violence - an important consideration in light of the presence of the Black Plateau. It strengthens the Empire and weakens the Grendel.

Of course they are disappointed that Spiral will henceforth be a League territory, but nothing of significance is achieved without cost. Most of the Urizen whose Loyalty is to the Empire are making plans to move to Zenith and Redoubt, or have already done so, glad to have a reason to move away from the oppressive aura of the Black Plateau.

Their key wish is to ensure that Urizen's sacrifice on behalf of the Empire is not squandered. They want to see decisive movement to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the extraordinary events of the previous summit. Their view is that Urizen has paid a heavy price to give the Empire this chance, they want to be certain it will not be squandered.

Urizen

Tiborion of the Endless Horizen, Ankra, Spiral.

Those who put their Loyalty to Urizen first are angry that their nation has lost out - again
They have joined the rebels in Ankra and Cinion
This group are prepared to move to Zenith and Redoubt but only once suitable recompense is arranged
They want the Imperial Senate to move the Imperial Mint from Tassato to Cargo

By contrast, those whose first Loyalty is to the nation of Urizen are bitterly angry that their nation has lost out again. They point out that the Empire gave away Spiral to the Grendel in a peace treaty, along with Feroz, to buy the Empire time to defeat the Druj. Clytemnestra has been clear that the Empire only came to save Zenith from the Druj at the point where the nation threatened to disband the Citadel Guard. The Empire is more than happy for the Guard to march across the Empire bringing their unique magical puissance to bear in every campaign, but they drag their heels every time it comes to fighting for Urizen. In their view, the nation has repeatedly sacrificed to the benefit of the Empire and this is how they are rewarded for their dedication.

This group have little interest in remaining in Spiral. The Black Plateau is a factor in this, many have only remained in Spiral out of Loyalty to their nation's claim on the territory. Absent the possibility that this deal is overturned and Spiral returned to Urizen, (which they do not see happening) they see no reason to remain here. They want to be part of a nation dedicated to magic, reason, and ambition, not a collection of merchants and shop-keepers.

However, they are not prepared to go without a fight! They have clung on tenaciously for years in the face of attacks by the Grendel and the Druj... they are quite prepared to face off against a new enemy. Crucially they believe that in recent years the Empire has demonstrated that it will only treat Urizen well when forced to do so. Thus they have thrown in their lot with the other rebels - at least for now. They demand a reckoning and they are prepared to stand their ground until they get it.

The League owes a debt of reckoning to the Urizeni of Spiral, and we will repay them for their sacrifices.

Sofonisba Amilcara di Sarvos, League National Assembly, Summer Solstice 385YE, Vote: Greater Majority 485-0

At the most recent summit, the League Assembly passed a clear statement of principle with a unanimous greater majority stating unequivocally that the League owes a debt of reckoning to the Urizeni of Spiral and that they will repay them. Of course, that statement was before anyone had named their price.

The nominal leader of this faction is Tiborion of the Endless Horizen, an architect who lives in Anara. The target of his ire is not the League, but the Imperial Senate. They don't object to the League benefitting, it is the fact that Urizen has lost a territory and with it a senator that bothers them. That decision means there are fewer Urizen voices in the Imperial Senate - and the status and influence of Urizen is diminished accordingly. That is not something the League can do anything about, at least not directly. What the Senate has taken away, only the Senate can restore.

However if the League are genuinely prepared to make a reckoning, then Tiborion has a proposal. After consultation with Naomi, their suggestion is to move the Imperial Mint from Tassato to the city of Cargo in Redoubt.

Moving the Mint

Commission Type: Unique (Senate commission only)

Location: Cargo, in Redoubt

Cost: 45 wains of white granite, 90 crowns, six months

Effect: Moves the Imperial Mint from Tassato to Cargo in Redoubt; Master of the Imperial Mint becomes an Urizen national position appointed by Tally of the Votes

Restriction: Motion must explicitly decommission the offices at Tassato and re-establish them in Cargo

Opportunity: This commission has required elements; if any are not all fulfilled the commission does nothing

This is an expensive proposition, in both the short and medium term. It would require the commission of a new building to house the mint, which would be a substantial undertaking requiring 45 wains of white granite, 90 crowns and taking six months to complete. It would need to be commissioned by the Imperial Senate directly, it would not be possible to build a new mint with anything other than a Senate motion. The motion would need to make explicitly clear that the offices of the Mint in Tassato were to be decommissioned and re-established in Cargo.

Once the commission was completed, the next time the Master of the Imperial Mint was elected it would be an Urizen national position appointed by Tally of the Votes. That would have an implicit cost to the Imperial Treasury, League citizens have paid over two hundred thrones to hold the position over the last four years. That money would no longer flow into Imperial coffers if the seat were an Urizen national position.

However it would satisfy this group's demands to restore the power and influence of their nation in the Imperial Senate. They claim that their architects and magicians have just as much capacity to use the information provided to the title holder to benefit the Empire as any merchant prince of the League. However this would give them another voice on the Senate floor and enhance their influence in a crucial body that makes decisions that affect Urizen.

Obviously it is not normally physically possible to move a Bourse seat, but in this case the Imperial Senate could chose to establish a new mint in Cargo. The Constitutional Court advise it would require the current seat to be relinquished first. This would mean a constitutional vote, ratification by the Throne, and would be subject to veto by the Assembly of Nine, the General Assembly and the League Assembly. Once that was done, it would be possible to establish a new mint in Cargo.

Spiral

Caela, Tower of the Silver Flame, Cinion, Spiral..

Those whose Loyalty is to Spiral's identity as an Urizen territory are seething at what they see as a betrayal by the Empire
They are determined to remain and prepared to fight the Empire for their territory
They demand that the Imperial Senate reverse its decision and return Spiral to Urizen

By far the most militant are those Urizen whose Loyalty is to the Urizen territory of Spiral. They have led the rebellion against the Empire and seized the regions of Ankra and Cinion with their allies. They have declared these regions to be part of Urizen, not the League, and say that they will no longer recognise the authority of the Imperial Senate.

They are clear that they do not wish a fight with the Empire, but they are prepared to have one if needed. The rebels have no official leader, but the Tower of the Silver Flame was the first to declare independence and Caela has become the unofficial spokesperson for those who have joined them. Every day there are messages flashing across the heliopticon network to neighbouring spires carrying a message of hope. There is a future where Spiral remains an Urizen territory - if people are prepared to fight for it.

The only action that will bring the rebels back into the Imperial fold is if the Imperial Senate changes course and restores Spiral to Urizen. In theory that would be legally possible. It would need the Senate to pass a formal motion of relinquishment and then another motion to assign the territory to Spiral. Relinquishing Spiral would require a constitutional vote, ratification by the Throne, and would be subject to veto by the Assembly of Nine, the General Assembly and the League Assembly. This solution would solve all the problems that all the various Urizen factions in Spiral are experiencing - it would satisfy every group.

However, it would be disastrous for the Empire's newest citizens. It would be perceived by many as a violation of the treaty that the Empire signed with Salt Lord Kalliact barely two seasons ago. The former Salt Lord would be publicly humiliated, her followers would abandon the League and turn on her. A handful would be able to flee the territory, but Apulian would be torn apart in the violence as the large population, many of whom are still legally members of the Grendel at present, attempted to reassert their control.

Apulian and the neighbouring regions of Apulus and Apstrus would revert to Grendel control, assuming that the League Assembly didn't encourage others to take up arms to fight for Apulian in exactly the same way the Urizen have just done.

Spires

Actius, Arbiter of the Deathless Cave, Cinion, Spiral.

Those whose Loyalty is to their spire want the Empire to find a way to remove the economic penalties they are now suffering
They are determined to remain and prepared to fight if absolutely needed
Naomi proposes the Imperial Treasury pay 35 thrones a season to defray the costs these spires are facing
It would make it impossible to build a sinecure, ministry or great work that provided mana in Spiral
This solution would fail if the Imperial Conclave imposed enmity on Sung

There are many Urizen living in Spiral whose chief Loyalty is to their spire, citadel or temple. Their reasons are many and varied, some want to preserve the long history of their spire for the future. Others simply want to remain living in the only home they have ever known. Whatever the reason, this group is determined not to leave, if there is any way that they can stay. They have elected Actius, Arbiter of the Deathless Cave to represent them and provided him with a clear set of dictums to guide any negotiations.

This faction are less concerned with who controls the territory. The decision of the Imperial Senate doesn't unduly concern them, what bothers them is the viability and Prosperity of their home. At present, they are standing with the other rebels, but they are clear that they are happy to accept any solution that ensures that they can continue to thrive in Spiral in the future.

Fortunately Sung's boon offers a way that this group could be mollified. The Rainbow Serpent has offered to help the Urizen inhabitants of Spiral maintain prosperous links with each other and with the neighbouring spires of Redoubt and Zenith. This required a pair of mithril statues to be placed on the passes that lead into Urizen from Spiral. They were authorised by the Imperial Senate at the last summit and it looks likely that they will soon be complete.

Sung's boon allows Urizen magicians to shield their spires from the economic impact of living in a foreign territory by casting the ritual, Vale of Shadows, on their personal resources. However the ritual is expensive - it costs a minimum of ten mana crystals when cast by magicians who have mastered the ritual and would require a skilled coven to perform it. While the effects of the ritual last a year, it would still represent a significant financial burden on every Urizen citizen living in the territory.

However, the Imperial Senate could arrange to meet these costs on behalf of Urizen citizens living there. They could use a Senate motion to establish an office to procure mana crystals from across the territory and make arrangements to perform the necessary rituals for everyone who would benefit. Such arrangements would not be cheap - according to Naomi's calculations, it would cost 35 thrones a season to purchase the mana and pay the ritualists to cast the necessary spells. Such a solution would be impossible in most territories of the Empire, there simply aren't enough skilled ritualists to perform the necessary magic, but a shortage of puissant magicians is the one problem Spiral doesn't have.

There are two drawbacks to this approach. The first is that it would mean enchanting every Urizen resource in Spiral with Vale of Shadows - while that would be a valuable benefit if the territory were ever attacked, it would mean that no Urizen resource in the territory could be enchanted with any other ritual. It would mean that any Imperial magician attending Anvil who made separate arrangements to enchant their own personal resource with a different ritual would not benefit from the protection provided by Sung.

It would also impact the availability of mana crystals in the territory. Having an Imperial office buy every available mana crystal would inevitably impact the ready supply of mana. As a result it would not be possible for the Imperial Senate to construct a sinecure, ministry, or great work in the territory that provided mana crystals while these arrangements were in place. Everything that was ready available would be bought up by the civil service operating under instructions from the Senate.

The Rebels

Three groups have rebelled against the Empire and seized the regions of Ankra and Cinion
The rebels demands are steep, but it may be possible to negotiate
A statement of principle or alternative mandate telling them to back down will not work

Piercing Light
The rebel spires are using Vale of Shadows to protect themselves, performed at relatively high magnitudes and reinforced by the power of the eternal Sung. Individual shrouds could be removed with Piercing Light of Revelation, but the ritual must be performed at twice the magnitude of the Vale of Shadows to be effective. Vale of Shadows is explicitly designed to protect locations from enemy attacks; it is just as effective at shrouding a spire from hostile Imperial forces as it is from the Druj. Just determining the required magnitude may be a challenge; the Eye of the High Places for example reveals no information about small-scale magical effects such as Vale of Shadows. In theory, on a tactical level, it might be possible to unshroud a spire but there is nothing to prevent the Urizen re-instating that shroud, and doing so in sufficient numbers to support a campaign army in dealing with the rebellious Urizen is a daunting task even before one takes into account the shrouding wings of the mysterious Night eternal.

Spurred on by the mandates of Hector and Mazo, a number of prominent spires, citadels and temples in the north of Spiral have rebelled against the Empire. They have seized the two regions of Ankra and Cinion and declared them to be part of Urizen, not the League, and say that they will no longer recognise the authority of the Empire or the Imperial Senate.

Stopping them will be difficult, not least because the aid of the Eternal Sung makes it almost impossible for any regular Imperial army to locate the rebellious spires. The illusions and shrouds that the Rainbow Serpent has helped provide will make it simple for Urizen magicians to avoid Imperial forces. An army could retake the regions, but they couldn't bring the rebellious spires to heel, because Sung's support makes it trivial for them to evade an army. The Empire would have to station an army in the territory on a permanent basis until the rebels are dealt with, otherwise they can simply declare independence again as soon as the territory is undefended. What is more, the Dancer at the End of Time has already demonstrated that she will offer aid to her friends in Spiral. The potent defences of the Vale of Shadows are unlikely to represent the limits of the aid she might offer if asked.

The defacto leaders of these three groups are Tiborion of the Endless Horizen, Caela of the Tower of the Silver Flame and Actius of the Deathless Cave. Naomi believes it may be possible to negotiate with the groups on the terms, but she advises caution and to have realistic expectations. The demands of Actius are perhaps the easiest to meet, but arguably because of this, they are unlikely to accept lesser terms. Caela is the most dogmatic, she and her allies want Spiral returned to Urizen and it is difficult to imagine what compromise there might be on that point. Tiborion is the most likely to be negotiable, but Naomi stresses that the architect will not be bought off with a pouch of League Thrones. In their eyes they have lost a senator - they want something equivalent for Urizen in return.

Although the three groups have different aims and demands, they are standing together at present. If the demands of one or more groups could be met, then they could either be persuaded to stand down, making the remainder easier to deal with militarily, or they might be asked to use their influence with their fellow rebels. However Naomi advises that attempting both solutions will not work - if one of the rebel groups cuts their ties with the others and abandons their rebellion, then they won't have any further influence with the others.

While the two secessionist regions are no longer part of the Empire, they will still learn of any statements of principle passed by the Urizen Assembly. They consider themselves to be Urizen and are likely to listen to any statement and consider it carefully. A statement of principle or alternative mandate won't persuade them to abandon their rebellion - it has gone too far for that now. It is always difficult and expensive for an Assembly to reverse course on a previous position. However the Urizen Assembly could encourage them to go further - there are rebels in Ossuary, Ateri and Screed who could be persuaded to move if the Assembly chose to press the case further with a suitable mandate.

The truly virtuous are loyal even through hardship and misfortune. We send {named priest} with 25 doses of liao to encourage the remaining Urizen living in Spiral to take up arms and defend their homes. Loyalty is not displayed by words or deeds alone, but by the unity of both.

Synod Mandate, Urizen National Assembly or Loyalty Assembly

If this mandate is enacted, then the rebellion will spread across Spiral, and armed groups of Urizeni will seize the regions of Ossuary, Ateri and Screed unless they are stopped. This would require the presence of an Imperial army stationed in the territory with clear orders to defeat the rebels. The army would take losses in the resulting fighting, but the rebellion would be prevented from spreading.

The same mandate could also be spread by the Assembly of Loyalty if they chose, following on from their decision to invoke the Eyes of Loyalty in Spiral. It would have the same effect whoever spreads the mandate, it would not have any tangible additional effect if enacted by both Assemblies.

Under normal circumstances, only alternative mandates proposed by one of the assemblies already involved that lead to an alternative outcome are likely to be effective. In this complex situation, and following Judgement 106 and judgement 130, there is an opportunity for the League national assembly to propose alternative mandates to try and influence their own people in Spiral. As above, however, mandates that try to persuade the Urizen to abandon their rebellion will not be effective.

The Mammoth in the Tent

It's not clear what influence the presence of the Black Plateau will have on the developing situation

Shortly before the Spring Equinox 382YE, the Iron Helms deliberately roiled the dreadful force that lies at the heart of Screed, using the curse to destroy three Grendel amies, but the cost was unimaginable. Fully roused, the Plateau makes life in Spiral almost unbearable and no magic seems to be able to quell it. In the years since then, the residents of Spiral, Urizen and Grendel alike, have been careful to avoid doing anything that might rouse the Black Plateau further. Those who have studied it say that years of peace are required for it to settle down, probably at least a decade and possibly more. With the short-lived peace in danger of unravelling, it's not impossible that if the situation in Spiral continues to escalate that Black Plateau might begin to become more active again.

A question of loyalty

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