386YE Summer Solstice winds of fortune

News spreads through word of mouth as fast as it does through broadsheets and posters, and is sometimes more reliable. Or at least, unreliable in more amusing ways...

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.

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.

Trade Summary

Rather than spread this information out around the various foreign nations, we've collected it here for ease of reference.

• Asavean Archipelago: The port of Nemoria is closed to Imperial trading vessels.
• Axos: The Axos continue to be annoyed about revelations relating to Imperial involvement in the failure of their joint venture with the Grendel into the Mountains of the Moon. Consequently, Imperial fleets suffer penalties to trade with Axos. A fleet captain trading at the Towers of Kantor suffers a -2 rank penalty.
• Commonwealth: The ports of Leerdam and Volkavaar welcome Imperial traders.
• Principalities of Jarm: The ports of Kavor and Vezak remain closed to Imperial fleets.
• Sarcophan Delves: Imperial captains continue to be welcomed in the Delves. Fleets trading with the great port-city of Sarcophan receive an additional dose of Marrowort and an additional dose of Imperial Roseweald on top of their normal production. The port of Betovering is open to Imperial fleets.
• Sumaah Republic: There is no penalty to trade with Zemeh and Imperial fleets are welcomed. Be aware that the amount of liao and Imperial roseweald offered has switched as per the Parts of speech wind of fortune.
• Grendel: The port of Oran is closed to Imperial fleets.
• Iron Confederacy: The port of Robec is available for Imperial fleets but suffers a -1 rank penalty due to sanctions from the Suranni.
• Faraden: The port of Caitun is available for Imperial fleets. Fleets from the Marches and Wintermark benefit from a +1 rank bonus due to close proximity.

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.

Spring Conjunctions

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

During the Spring Equinox, 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

Location	Opportunity	Opposition	Link	Outcome
Liathaven, Liath's Glen, Wyndyn Path	Thwart Beater Royse	Jotun & Yegarra	Under the firelight	Not taken; Green March under threat from the Jotun; the Jotun benefit from increased natural resupply in Liathaven; condition of the Feni unknown
Kallavesa, West March, Hvalgrunn	Defeat Jarl Idunn	Jotun & Yegarra	Under the firelight	Field Marshal was Iron Osric of Wintermark; Banner of the Bear Who Swims was claimed; the three Sibling Swords were recovered; Mikko 'Stoutheart' dealt with
Mareave, Fleisardh, Brine Blood Bay	Capture the Brine Turtles	Grendel	Sea-wood fed with copper	Not taken; situation unclear
Madruga, Free Landing, Siakha's Maw	Stop Siakha's Cults	Grendel	The cry of gulls	Field Marshal was Nicassia Avicia of Phoenix Reach of Urizen; kraken eggs were released into the coast; Thunderous Deluge and Foam and Spittle of the Furious Sea were both cast on Madruga; status of Mohrain Luain unclear; Sea Mage Tuairisc survived.

Normal Conjunctions

#	Location	Responsibility	Overview	Result