Watercolours in the rain
"Ah, right, yes. Sorry Mister le Salle." Jenny always got a bit nervous around the Auditor of the Imperial Treasury. He cleared his throat, nervously.
"After the increase in running costs to allow for the purchase of additional tempest jade and ensuring that we have trained physicks ready in case of another serious incident, plus herbs for treatment..." The yeofolk double checked his figures. Le Salle waited patiently; the member of the Constitutional Court valued rigour over almost everything else. Reassured by his maths, he quickly continued "...then that would ultimately amount to an increase of five thrones a season in upkeep."
"Five thrones?" The Imperial Auditor was quiet for a moment, idly stacking a small pile of 1 ring coins while looking into the middle distance. "Not great but not terrible."
LeSalle sighed for a moment, and swept the coins into a drawer.
"I'll ensure the Master of the Mint is appraised of the situation." He glanced down at the document in front of him, tracing line of numbers and text. "And that it could have been a lot worse."
Overview
- The scions of Cold Sun have permanently tainted the Brilliant Star.
- The Pride Assembly calls upon the virutous to defy the forces of oblivion.
It has been the first season of war against the scions of Cold Sun. Several of the scions armies have been badly mauled by Imperial forces; some are untouched; one was destroyed before it could coalesce. There's no time for complacency, however. One of the armies is unaccounted for. Seven others still threaten the Empire, in their oblivion quest to reduce everything to ashes and dust. Just as there were during the Autumn Equinox and Summer Solstice, there are several key points during the Autumn Equinox where Imperial heroes can use the Sentinel Gate to interfere in the strategies of Cold Sun. But at the same time the consequences of some of those earlier engagements are beginning to come clear - especially the theft of mithril and ilium from sites across the Empire. There are hints of a wider scheme where seemingly disparate actions serve a terrible grand design.
The fight against Cold Sun is not just a battle of sword-and-magic however. Cold Sun seems bent on annihilating the things that make life worth living, that inspire and uplift mortal spirits. They seem just as determined to destroy every vestige of art and beauty as they are on ravaging the land and slaughtering the people. The Assembly of Pride leads the way in calling on the Empire to recognise this front, and cede no more ground.
The Star Shining Brightly
- The Brilliant Star has been reclaimed and Rhode will receive their first mithril at the Spring Equinox
- The production of the Brilliant Star has been reduced by four wains of mithril a season
Last season the heroes of Anvil faced the scions of Cold Sun in Redoubt. The soldier-heralds were gathering to launch a strike against the Brilliant Star, the mithril mine in Tomari. Despite fierce fighting, the heroes were forced to retreat, and the assault went ahead shortly after the Autumn Equinox.
The Brilliant Star was not without defenders. A ragtag band of armed miners and sentinels supported by a handful of Dawnish knights-errant, Navarr thorns, a Highborn cataphract dedicated to Vigilance, and a dozen of Zakalwe's myrmidons did their best to protect the people there but were forced to cede the mine itself to the scions. Despite the threat of a Grendel assault on the coast, the main garrison at the Court of the White Fountain were able to send a small force north to reclaim the mine. They arrived too late to prevent the heralds scouring the mine, seizing a bounty of mithril and slaughtering anyone unable to make it to safety in the mountains. Upon arriving at the network of star shaped tunnels that make up the bourse seat the sentinels were unable to find any of the scions. But they did find a dreadful change to the mithril mine.
Where before the walls of the tunnels had gleamed with a soft glow they now resemble glittering coal; shining like silver with an eerie black-green light. The mithril remains but the light that once promoted reasoned thought, that at one time eased the understanding of difficult theoretical principles is gone... and that lucent glow that has replaced it is dangerous.
The first hint that something is wrong - beyond the clear change from a soft glow to a glittering malice - is when one of the sentinels investigating the walls fell ill. After a few days they began suffering from intense headaches, their skin erupted with blood-filled blisters, and their eyes began to darken with an unsettling caul the same colour as the light. Fortunately, the physicks travelling with them were able to treat the symptoms, but it soon became clear that anyone exposed to the light for more than a few hours began to develop similar symptoms. The stronger the light they were exposed to, the more quickly the symptoms developed and the more serious they became and the harder they were to treat.
Among the sad casualties of the invasion of the Brilliant Star are Verax of the Seventh Mist and the majority of their students. The stargazers had been causing some disruption at the mithril mine over the last year, agitating to have some of the deeper tunnels transformed into a haven from which to study in the beneficient light that fills the lower levels. When the scions came, the Seventh Mist fought alongside the defenders, but became trapped in the depths. Students, rather than sentinels, they hid and fought as best they could but were ultimately killed by the invaders. The opportunities they presented - to improve Urizen's ability to codify rituals by harnessing the properties of the gentle illumination - are permanently gone. Their peers from the Seventh Mist Spire however, offer both a safe haven to the survivors from the mine attack, and their own expertise in evaluating the new light and what it portends.
Examination and divinations such as Bright Lantern of Ophis indicate that the scions have worked a permanent change on the Day magic that infuses the mine. The previously benign illumination is now a deadly bane, possessing natural properties that make it inimical to living beings. Further investigation, however, has indicated that there are ways to protect against its insidious effects. Tempest jade absorbs the malignant effects of the luminosity, but in the process becomes corrupted and twisted by the disruptive force. There is some initial optimism that enough tempest jade could be used to restore the mine completely, but those hopes are soon dashed. The tempest jade doesn't weaken the light in any way, it simply protects living beings in contact with it from the light's cursed touch while itself being slowly corrupted.
No Fairness on Earth
- Mithril production at the Brilliant Star has been reduced due to the malignant light
- The Senate can choose to provide additional resources to the miners at the Brilliant Star to increase production
Even though it has changed, the light at the Brilliant Star remains brightest where the mithril is more concentrated. The mine can be worked reasonably well as long as the miners rotate their shifts, limit exposure to the illumination, use tempest jade wards where possible... and avoid the lower levels where the mithril is most concentrated. This has the unfortunate effect of reducing the production of the Brilliant Star by four wains of mithril each season, going forward (that is, lowering it to 20 wains of mithril each season).
Alternatively, the Imperial Senate could choose to use a Senate motion to increase the upkeep of the mine. This will pay for further protective measures - specifically ensuring every worker is equipped with a tempest jade ward. The use of the wards will be carefully monitored, and they will be replaced when they begin to fail. This will increase the upkeep of the Brilliant Star by 5 thrones each season. There is however a benefit; the light that concentrates around the mithril is much brighter than previously, making it a lot easier to identify pure deposits of mithril. This increased upkeep would not just restore the old production, but further increase it to 28 wains of mithril each season making it one of the most productive sources of mithril in the Empire.
The default situation if the Senate does nothing will be to operate the mine as safely as possible, without increasing upkeep. There is no need for the Senate to pass the motion immediately; and no time limit on a decision needing to be made to increase production.
The Earth Takes Everyone
| Splinterstars | |
| 8 ingots of tempest jade | 3 splinterstars |
| 17 ingots of tempest jade | 6 splinterstars |
| 27 ingots of tempest jade | 9 splinterstars |
- The Bourse Seat has access to a ministry that allows them to purchase Splinterstars.
Shortly before the Autumn Equinox, one of those studying the illumination, Salomea of the Seventh Mist, makes an interesting discovery when examining the tempest jade wards employed by the miners. She shares what she has learned via the heliopticon and it attracts some keen interest among fellow scholars. The light alters tempest jade exposed to it, making it opaque and prone to splintering. One of the reasons the wards must be monitored is the danger of injury if one breaks apart suddenly, with some force, while being worn close to the skin. Some of the resulting splinters, however, continue to contain a little of the magic from the mines. When enough is gathered together, it can be used as a kind of mana crystal albeit with different capabilities.
Given the somewhat optimistically euphemistic moniker of Splinterstars by Salomea, a small pouch of the residue can be used as if it were crystal mana, but only for casting offensive spells or rituals using Day magic. These splinterstars appear to be attuned to the Day resonance of force and if used to perform either repel or shatter, it allows the caster to use it on two targets instead of one in a similar manner to the Kimus' Glaring Eye enchantment. They have only 10 seconds to deliver the second call of REPEL or SHATTER.
By collecting the remnants from overcharged tempest jade talismans, and carefully sorting them, the Seventh Mist can provide the holder of the Brilliant Star Bourse seat with several pouches of splinterstars each season. This will, however, increase the amount of tempest jade needed in the mine. The holder has access to a new ministry that allows them to trade tempest jade for splinterstars.
There is one last note from Salomea of the Seventh Mist; a word of warning on overusing splinterstars. Those battlemages and ritualists who were responsible for experimenting with them have found that repeatedly drawing on the power can result in suffering from headaches, nausea, and unsightly blisters. These symptoms have been documented as lasting no more than a few weeks and a single dram of properly prepared marrowort is enough to alleviate most of the pain.
The Cold Sun seeks not only to exterminate the people of the Empire, but eliminate our culture and art as well. We have lost the Grand Conservatory of Music, Freya's Garden, and the Unbound Steel Hall of Lost Chapters - we must not lose any more great works of our cultures. We urge the Prideful to proclaim their Pride in how they conduct every part of their lives by rising up against the Cold Sun and aiding the soldiers of the Empire against it. Despise the half-hearted, the uncommitted, and the pretender in this struggle for our identities.
Vespasian, Pride Virtue Assembly, Autumn Equinox 385YE, Vote: Greater Majority 590-0
Homeward Bound
- The Pride Assembly can enact a mandate to call on the Military Council to focus on the threat at home rather than invading barbarian territories
- As a mandate it requires a greater majority to affect the armies of Urizen and Varushka
During the Autumn Equinox 385YE Vespasian of the Pride assembly raised a statement of principle to the Pride assembly in which he drew attention to the danger Cold Sun presents to the culture and art of the Empire. In it, he called on the Proud to "despise the half-hearted, the uncommitted, and the pretender in this struggle for our identities." The assembly upheld his words with a greater majority.
Their words have struck a nerve with the virtuous across the Empire. Many share their belief that it is vital that the people, and the works of inspiration Cold Sun's scions so clearly despise, are protected. The glacial citadels, weaving briar mazes, and swirling mist wards drawn from the realms have certainly helped; many more people would have died without the covens of the Empire. Yet it is clear that there has been the least loss of life in those territories lucky enough to have an Imperial army fighting to protect them. Without these armies the scions of Cold Sun might well have destroyed the Grand Inspiration of the Way in Bastion, or the Great Library of Hacynian in Hercynia. The valiance of Imperial heroes cannot be understated, but it took Imperial armies to destroy the Ending Tide in Bregasland, and devastate the Fire Beacon in Segura.
Normally it is very hard for a virtue assembly to move the people of the entire Empire, but in the face of a pressing, immediate threat to life and the Imperial spirit, the Pride assembly could choose to enact the following mandate.
The Proud are full-hearted, committed, and sincere. They are not complacent. Emperor James showed us that sometimes you need to focus on your own garden, before worrying about the world beyond your fences. We send {named priest} with 150 doses of liao to encourage the armies of the Empire to draw back from beyond the borders and focus on the threats at home.
Synod Mandate, Pride Assembly
If this mandate is enacted then until the armies of Cold Sun are defeated, any Imperial army that fights in a territory that was not Imperial before the Autumn Equinox 385YE will lose 5% of its maximum fighting strength over the course of the season even if it is not engaged: soldiers deserting to protect their homes rather than as casualties. The armies of Urizen and Varushka would only be affected if the mandate was upheld with a greater majority due to the ongoing stance of the Urizen and Varushkan National Assemblies.
The Cold Sun seeks to tear us down. Pride teaches us to uplift each other. Now is the time to celebrate our art and culture, to recognise the Pride to be found around us. Pride is the antithesis of the Cold Sun and can be a bastion against all they stand for. Celebrate our pride in the Empire of those in Anvil and home.
Nisha Strascovich, Pride Virtue Assembly, Autumn Equinox 385YE, Vote: Greater Majority 484-0
What Are We Fighting For?
- There has been a wave of Pride across the Empire which the Assembly could capitalise on
Throughout Imperial history, there have been those who have decried the creation of art and beauty while the Empire is under threat. The Proud have led the way in dismissing those concerns. When has the Empire not been at war? What does it profit the Empire to win a war but lose its soul in the process? To become culturally bankrupt, a shell of what it could and should be? What, indeed, are the Imperial armies fighting for if not the freedom of Imperial citizens to create beauty? The argument rages still, nearly four hundred years after the Empire began.
During the Autumn Equinox 385YE the Virtue Assembly of Pride upheld a statement raised by Nisha Strascovich that called on the Proud to "celebrate our art and culture" in the face of Cold Sun's attempts to tear it down. There is no denying that the scions appear to have an existential hatred of freedom, culture, beauty, and art. Its heralds express the idea that the inherent chaos of life; particularly music, art, and other creative endeavours represents a fundamental flaw in the sapient beings of the mortal realm. It's not just Cold Sun either - the Day magic unleashed after the Summer Solstice also dampened enthusiasm for the arts.
What better way to demonstrate Pride in the Empire and its nations than to celebrate beauty, and the life that makes it possible?
Enjoy What We Have
- The Pride Assembly could pass a mandate that encourages people to create art and celebrate it
The Pride assembly could pass a mandate that reminds people to take joy in beauty, and in its creation. For the next several months theatres, art galleries, and musical performance venues across the Empire will see more customers. Many people will become more interested in celebrating the art and culture of the Empire than they in making money or trading.
Empress Richilde taught us that it is important to take joy in the achievements of the Empire and its citizens. We send (Named Priest) with 25 doses of liao to encourage citizens to take pride in the accomplishments of the Empire and to bask in our culture.
Synod Mandate, Pride Assembly
The Blood Red Quays Art Gallery, the Blood Red River Museum, and the Bloody Great Theatre will all see an increase in audiences and visitors. Each congregation in Sarvos, Tassato, and Temeschwar will see an increased production of 36 rings over the following season as the cities host pilgrims looking to engage in art and culture.
The Azure Chorus at Braydon's Jasse, the Crimson Drummers of Madruga, and the Rose Towers in Dawn all use beautiful art to inspire visitors with reminders of the contributions the people of their nation have made to the Empire. Each of the sinecures would see more people attending their feasts and performances over the season and the titles would each gain an additional 108 rings at the Spring Equinox 386YE as the number of visitors increases.
Create Something New
- The Pride Assembly can encourage artists and labourers to support a single civilian commission
- The civilian commission named in the statement of principle will have its labour costs reduced to one crown per wain
- Only a civilian commission passed or announced that season can be named, and only the statement of principle with the highest margin will have an effect
- This power will last until the start of the Winter Solstice 386YE
The Pride Assembly can pass a statement of principle at each summit until the start of the Winter Solstice 386YE in support of the construction of a single civilian commission that had been either raised in the Imperial Senate or announced by the holder of an Imperial title (such as the Master of the Koboldi, the Master of Rings, or a Bearer of an Imperial Wayleave) that season.
Whichever civilian commission is named in the judgement will see an influx of artists willing to create something that could stand the test of time. This desire to fill the world with wonder would see labour costs for that commission reduced to just one crown for each wain used in construction. In the case that multiple statements were passed endorsing different civilian commissions then only the judgement with the highest margin would take effect. If the ability were used to support a commission where there are already opportunities related to the labour costs, it is impossible to predict in advance what that might mean but there would be some positive effect.
Any statement of principle that names a military commission to be supported will be disregarded; if it is the judgement with the highest margin then no commission will receive support.
With Tomorrow in Mind
| Monument to Imperial Art and Culture |
| Commission Type: Folly |
| Cost: 14 white granite and 42 crowns |
| Effect: Establishes a site of artistic beauty that celebrates art and culture in the nation |
- The Empire could defy Cold Sun by constructing historic monuments that celebrate the Empire's finest art and culture
- A monument celebrating art and culture could be built in any nation
- The National Assemblies of Dawn, Imperial Orcs, the League, Urizen, and Varushka could raise statements of principle to call on their citizens to present opportunities in a named territory
The tragic, recent destruction of the First Voice Glade along with the earlier loss of the the Unbound Steel Hall of Lost Chapters and the Grand Conservatory of Music has led some to think on what will be left behind for future generations. Cold Sun is clearly determined to eradicate any trace of artistic expression in the Empire. Following the recent statements of principle in the Pride Assembly there has been a wave of enthusiasm to oppose Cold Sun not just militarily, but artistically. What better why to defy this force of oblivion than to create a lasting monument designed to showcase artistic expression?
The exact form such a monument might take is up for discussion. It could be an gallery filled with beautiful art, it could be a school of music where song sheets could be stored and disseminated, it could be a museum housing relics of cultural importance, or a series of inspiring statues carved to celebrate the virtues. Each nation has their own forms of artistic expression, a great monument could be constructed that would celebrate the ability of that nation's art to inspire its citizens. The monument would need at least 14 wains of white granite, but could be even larger if sufficient resources could be procured.
Any National Assembly that has not already pledged the support of their nation towards the construction of the Grand Inspiration of the Way could raise a statement of principle clearly identifying what form such a monument should take. If that happens, then citizens of their nation would follow up with plans and designs that presented an opportunity for such a monument. Any National Assembly that called on its citizens in such a way would no longer be able to pledge support towards the construction of the Grand Inspiration.
OOC Note: Regardless of where was suggested these designs would serve as follies that would not provide any mechanical benefit on their own. They would not function as great works, sinecures or ministries. These are purely an option for constructing something beautiful that would serve to preserve the history and culture of the nation where it is built; they would be monuments to the the past and the present that could be used to inspire the future.
Further Reading
- Cold Sun
- Things that burn - 385YE Winter Wind of War detailing the recent battles with Cold Sun
- Heroes - 385YE opportunities to face Cold Sun's forces using the Sentinel Gate
- To the last syllable - 385YE Autumn Wind of War about Cold Sun's invasion
- Ruin - 385YE Summer Wind of Fortune about the first appearance of Cold Sun's scions