383YE Autumn Equinox winds of fortune
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
All the News From Twin Town
- Citizens of Tassato and Miaren; Imperial Senate; League Assembly; Imperial Consul; Arratan Gamble
Tassato - foremost city of the League - is home to the most articulate and diplomatic people in the Empire. Centuries of arguing among themselves have honed their talent for verbal interplay. While Sarvos and Holberg wrestle with supernatural curses, and Temeschwar suspiciously looks for enemies within and without, the people of Tassato concentrate on the important things - politics and prosperity.
No city - and no nation - exists in a vacuum. In the coffee houses and lecture halls of Mestra and Regario, and in the pages of the newspapers and broadsheets, the cleverest people of the Empire discuss matters as diverse as the prestige of the Imperial Consul, the status of the city of Seren, and the problematic situation of the Whittle folk across the border in the Mournwold. Surely the most savy politicians in the Empire can find opportunities - and solutions - to these pressing problems?
You can learn about the proposals of the politicians of Tassato here.
The Blessing Way (Orc Affairs)
- Imperial Orcs, citizens of Holberg and Sermersuaq; Prosperity Assembly; Imperial heroes; Imperial Consul, Ambassador to Otkodov, and Imperial Fleet Master
The Empire is surrounded by orc nations, with many more orc tribes now living within Imperial territory. The Druj, Jotun and the Grendel are barbarian enemies, whilst the orcs of Otkodov and the Great Forest, the Sand Fishers of Misericorde, the former Jotun thralls of the Mournwold, and the orcs of Ossium are all foreigners. Each nation and tribe has their own agenda, which is often counter to the needs of the Empire, and each has their own unique relationship with their Imperial neighbours
With the Autumn Equinox fast approaching, now is the time to speak of hands outreached, of treaties honoured, of conquerors and thralls, of diplomatic delegations, and of the cruel intentions of the Druj.
You can learn about the pressing orc affairs this season here. Additional information about the Mournwold orcs can be found here.
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 normal. 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.
Desolation of Yoorn
- Navarr; Imperial Senate
Last Summer, a union of Navarr magicians placed the potent Winter curse Wither the Seed on Liathaven; this Summer they also laid it on Brocéliande. The purpose of the curse was to impede the spread of the vallorn and weaken its spawn - provided nobody provokes the vallornspawn of course.
But the curse is one of the most enduring known to Imperial magicians, taking fully three decades to run its course and having far-reaching implications for everyone who lives under its shadow.
Corey Wayfarer and the national assembly have urged the nation to come together to support the inhabitants of Liathaven and Brocéliande, and now the people of Navarr are faced with difficult choices about how to proceed.
You can learn about the impact of the curse on Liathaven and Brocéliande here. There are two other Winds of Fortune of particular interest to the Navarr this season which you can find here and here.
The DOOM That Came to Sarvos
- Citizens of Sarvos; Imperial Senate; Imperial Synod; General of the Iron Helms
Sarvos - foremost city of the League - is known across the Empire for the refinement of its citizens. yet now the Hag Queen has sent agents to bring her curse to Sarvos - shattering every mirror in the Jewelled City and darkening the glittering beacons that adorned every roof forever.
The people of Sarvos have long believed that if the mirrors were destroyed some DOOM would surely follow in their wake. Water, fire, or the claws of the dead... it is hard to shake the certainty that some terrible fate is imminent. Yet Sarvos has weathered curses before, and storms, and orc invasion. The malice of Skathe is just another challenge to be met with the head held high. For the people of Sarvos are not mirrors to be broken; they are the most sophisticated people in the Empire and they will not be beaten by the spite of one jealous eternal.
You can learn more about the situation in Sarvos here.
Double Dare
- Brass Coast
The recent endeavour to have the inhabitants of Segura contribute to the defence of the territory to encourage military units to fight there have been successful. The only flaw was that no actual fighting took place, though of course that did at least mean the Empire lost no more territory there. Sadly the focus of the barbarians appears to have shifted to Feroz, where the Grendel have made significant advances. As a result there is a proposal to extend the Segura scheme to cover Feroz as well, albeit with some caveats.
Although there were mixed messages from the Freeborn Assembly in the Imperial Synod, they did endorse a mandate encouraging corsairs to attack Grendel shipping and to look for opportunities to take the fight to the invaders. In response captains have pooled their information and managed to identify four possible targets. If the Assembly can pick one for them to focus on, then they will carry out all the planning needed to prepare a fully-fledged raid.
You can learn more about these opportunities for the Brass Coast here.
Fall of Brocéliande
- Navarr, Dawn, and Highguard; Imperial Senate; Navarr and Highborn assemblies; Imperial Conclave
For the past year, a tempest has raged in Brocéliande. Driven by the Heirs of Terunael and the Children of the Green Mother, the vallorn strove to pour its filth into Boar's Dell and Elerael.
After the Summer Solstice the strength of the vallorn reached its peak but with the aid of many allies the hungry tide was weathered and driven back.
Now the tide recedes, and a well-earned respite begins. Now is the time to look to the future of Brocéliande; to consider how to prepare for future battles and perhaps to take a chance to free a little more of the world form the terrible green grasp of the vallorn.
You can learn about the situation in Brocéliande here. There are two other Winds of Fortune of particular interest to the Navarr this season which you can find here and here.
Great Prosperity and Strength
- Dawn, Wintermark, Imperial Orc, Urizen, and League national assemblies; Prosperity assembly; Marchers; Esteban I Del Rio Blanco I Guerra
It has been a rocky couple of years for the Imperial Bourse, with no fewer than five Seats now in the hands of orcs of one kind or another. Certainly there have been successes - the Crawling Depths are being brought up to Imperial standards, and a new weirwood grove has been discovered in Liathaven. Yet stability in the Bourse feels like a distant memory.
It's also been a rocky year for the public auction at Anvil. With the Cinderpath Exchange finally built, with the Iron Roundtower constructed in Varushka, and the Invisible Cord Brokerage commissioned it seems that the people of the Empire would rather have a fair price and the knowledge their Bourse materials will go to strengthen their nation that simply line their pockets. Much of this disruption has been sponsored by the Prosperity Assembly, but even the Imperatrix herself was clear that the public auction was not operating for the benefit of the common people of the Empire. Now, other nations are seeing the possibilities presented by national Bourse ministries over the vagaries of the public auction and its days are surely numbered.
You can learn more about developments in the Bourse, and opportunities for the various nations to take control of their own resources, here.
In the Flat Field
- Marchers; Imperial Senate; Imperial Synod
The Marchers have continued to press forward with their plans to bring the Jotun thralls living in the Mournwold into their nation. Lily Guildenstern made the breadbasket available to the folk of the Marches with the intent that it be used to encourage both peoples to come together to celebrate the Autumn Wassail. But there is one group of folk living in the Mournwold who are not remotely prepared to countenance celebrating the Wassail with the hated Jotun.
The village of Whittle. Their heretical Hatred of the orcs, and the Jotun in particular, is well known. Now the Marcher assembly has spoken plainly on the matter, the Whittle folk must recant their spiritual crimes, or face the consequences. Yet even though the area is known to be a hotbed of Hatred, the law as it stands at present only allows the Imperial Synod to condemn people by name. People cannot be tried and executed simply on suspicion of being hateful. The first step has been taken. Now the second step must follow, and it promises to be a very painful step.
You can learn about the situation in the Mournwold here.
In the Garden of Defiance
- Citizens of Holberg; Imperial Senate; Imperial Synod, especially the League, Highborn, and Marcher Assemblies; Keeper of the Kennels
Holberg - foremost city of the League - is known across the Empire for the imagination and innovation of its citizens. Who else could have kept the hated Druj at bay for thirty years? Who else could have built the grand Walls of Holberg - a true wonder of the age? Yet the city has proved all too vulnerable to treachery. Agents of the Hag Queen have unleashed a malignant curse that has ruined the beauy of Holmauer Park, and threatened the civic pride of every citizen of the eastern city.
While the destruction of the park is a tragedy the people of Holberg refuse to be bowed by it. This is an chance for them to show their character - and to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the disaster. Every cloud has a silver lining - and every setback contains a chance for profit if one is just clever enough to identify it. And the people of Holberg are nothing if not clever.
You can learn about the destruction of Holmauer Park - and the opportunities that destruction presents - here.
Large But Far Away (Trade Winds)
- Fleet captains; Ambassadors; Imperial Senate
The churning sea of international politics is dangerous at the best of times, home to vicious sharks, hidden reefs, and unplumbed depths of treachery and pragmatism. Relations between nations can change in an instant. The Empire is powerful, but there are five other great nations of similar power that jostle shoulder-to-shoulder to dominate the world stage. The Empire is not without allies - the Commonwealth and the Sumaah Republic are fellow members of the Liberty Pact. The Pact has its opponents as well - the Asavean Archipelago and the Principalities of Jarm are increasingly dissatisfied with the Empire's stance on slavery. In the middle, there are the Sarcophan Delves, who like to keep their options open.
While the Empire has any number of problems closer to home, it would be dangerous to ignore the influence that these five other great nations may wield within its borders - or over those who dwell just beyond them.
You can learn about recent developments among the great powers of the known world here.
The Lights of Temeschwar
- Citizens of Temeschwar; Imperial Senate; Imperial Synod
Temeschwar - foremost city of the League - is known across the Empire for the grim ruthlessness of its citizens. Perhaps one of the oldest cities in the Empire, it was raised by the strength of the Vard, protected by the wisdom of the Ushkans, and yet still exemplifies the ambitious and entrepreneurial spirit of the League. They are no stranger to curses, and while the Hag Queen's agents have not directly harmed the city, many of its citizens feel the lash of the insult given to the League nonetheless.
Perhaps Skathe knew better than to risk drawing their wrath. Even an eternal should tread carefully around the descendants of Ratibor, relentless heirs to a hard city at the very edge of civilisation.
You can read more about the situation in Temeschwar here.
Love and Rockets
- Dawnish troubadours; Highguard; Highborn assembly
For two seasons, the Grey Pilgrims walked the trods in Dawn, speaking to yeomen and noble alike, asking honest questions about faith and spirituality. Alone of all the other nations of the Empire, the Dawnish welcomed this open conversation of faith, relishing the chance to share conversation with the Pilgrims as fellow wayfarers. Inspired by the Highborn example, and proud of their faith and keen to share it, the Dawnish offered to return the gift, to send their troubadours to Highguard to show them Dawn's way.
That offer has now been taken up. The Dawnish have encouraged every troubadour to travel to Highguard to teach them about glory and love... and the Highborn have welcomed them with open arms.
You can learn about how this exchange of faith has gone 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 nonetheless 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.
A Mountain of Vipers
- Ship captains; Imperial Senate; Imperial Synod; Quaymaster of Black Sails, Eastern Broker, and Ambassador to Axos
The Empire has long laboured to bring change to the citadels of Axos. The eastern nation may be smaller and less influential than their neighbours to the west, but the Axou are nothing if not proud and ambitious. With the aid of Imperial sponsors they have joined the Liberty Pact - taking their place as partners with the giants of the Empire, Sumaah, and the Commonwealth. They have seized every opportunity this new status grants them with both hands. This includes the recent Synod mandate encouraging Imperial Citizens to reach out to the sorcerous citadels in the name of mutual prosperity; a mandate that promises significant economic benefits for both nations.
You can read about these opportunities here. You can also read more general details of the diplomatic and trading relationship between the Empire and Axos 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.
A Pleasing and Deceptive Face (Plenipotentiary)
- Archmages; Sagua i Ezmara i Erigo; Ceinwen Eternal, Urien Novarion of Dawn; Lady Izett, Knight-protector of Summer; Alan Fletcher, Jacques Flayer, Lady Claudia Varkulova Remys, Lord Armand Remys, Lord Romande Remys, Mael Donjeon and Olivia Sepulchre, Victor van Holberg, Natasha Ivanova Arkady von Holberg, Monzcarro van Holberg, Gancio, Flávio Capra Gláucio de Regario, Estella Krazentia Callabrese Von Holberg, Dr. Marlien von Holburg, Warrakine Ashenhide Arch; Xanthius of the New Imperial Artisan; Imperial Consul; Imperial Seer, Penumbral Watcher, and Imperial Spymaster; Silver Chalice
The archmages have each invited an eternal of the appropriate realm to attend a parley with them as representatives of the Empire. Replies have duly been received.
During the Autumn Equinox the courtiers of the Queen of Pennants will host a gathering and the agents of the Mistress of Shikal will arrange a veilingmarkt; the Ashen Prince and the Seer Clad in Raiment of Light will both speak to certain chosen guests; and the Caucus Forum opens its doors once again to the Archmage of Night and the Imperial Consul.
So far so ordinary; but while the Green Mother declines the offer of parley a seventh eternal places a request of their own - an eternal who seems to be entirely unknown within the Empire. Just who is this "Lord Rain", and why have his emissaries requested a parley with the Archmage of Spring? Only one way to find out...
You can learn about the responses to the plenipotentiary messages, and the unexpected additional request for a parley, here.
Rise of Terunael
- Navarr; Military Units;Generals; Assembly of Nine; Vigilance assembly
The Heirs of Terunael are traitors to the dream of the Navarr. Most recently they helped drive the chaos in the Liathaven and Brocéliande, working with the monstrous Children of Yaw'nagrah to spread the vallorn's terrible green grasp.
With their defeat in Brocéliande, the assumption is that they will be forced to fall back... and assumption that could have been dangerously premature.
Fortunately, the vigilance of the Assembly of Nine has set the Silent Bell to investigate their activities - and discovered that far from receding they are gathering in force in Therunin, Hercynia, and Liathaven. Now they are poised to drive the vallornspawn into a murderous frenzy that, while it won't spread the vallorn's infestation, could be disastrous for the Navarr nation.
You can read about this threat here. There are two other Winds of Fortune of particular interest to the Navarr this season which you can find here and here.
Small But Nearby (Trade Winds)
- Fleet captains; Ambassadors; Imperial Synod; Imperial Orc assembly; Livia of the Spire of Celestial Cascade, Lord Colwynn de Rondell and Astrid Fjellrevening Rezia di Tassato.
The Empire and its peers are considered "great nations" - countries who have a visible impact on the world stage. Not every nation is as powerful and influential however. Around each of the great nations cluster a number of smaller, less powerful nations. While they are weaker, and while their impact on the rest of the known world is very limited, their size does not prevent them having an effect on their larger neighbours. Three human nations lie in close proximity to the Empire - the Citadels of Axos, the Faraden trading empire, and the Duchies of the Iron Confederacy - and for the Empire at least relations with these three is at least as important as relations with the five other great nations.
You can learn about recent developments among the Empire's human neighbours here.
Something Must Break
- Urizen; Imperial Synod; General Nicassia; Doyen of the Spires; Galene Netherwatch
In the heavens, the stars shift. The Wanderer brings the Great Wyrm, the Drowned Man, and the Claw into triune alignment. Transformation. Ending. Destruction. Baleful influences softened and subverted through transformation. Change arising from destruction. An end to the old, and an embrace of the new. All concepts that have particular resonance right now for the people of Urizen.
It reflects the changes that have overtaken the nation in recent years, supporting the idea that despite a period of destruction and suffering this is a time for transformation and not for endings. It brings with it a singular opportunity to empower the Citadel Guard. It reflects the transformation arising from loss that has lead to the Great Library, and to the Doyen of the Spires. It even echoes in the raising of the Three Watchers - and in the potential for a new alignment between the people of the Empire and the denizens of the realms.
You can learn more about these opportunities here.
Three Soldiers
- Highguard; Urizen
During the Spring Equinox, the Ashen Flame invoked a boon from the eternal Adamant, to send a legion of his koboldi to aid in the construction of a great wonder. In the months that followed the little creatures carved three immense statues out of the mountains - each nearly two hundred foot tall - of Highborn soldiers guarding the pass from Morrow to Zenith. Towering over the surrounding landscape, they are a permanent tribute memorialising the Highborn blood spilled to protect the people of Urizen.
At the base of the central statue is a small shrine created in anticipation that people might travel to gaze upon the work. The shrine was consecrated with true liao by Aurum of the Nightingale Temple, and now bears a powerful aura of Loyalty. The scale of the statues is breathtaking, but combined with the power of the true aura, the Urizen works will have a dramatic effect, and ensure the story of the fight against the Druj will resound through the ages.
You can learn about the Three Watcher and their effects 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 steadily 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.
Other Events
The Marvellous Book
- John of Meade apparently has a copy of a marvellous book to sell
As people begin to gather at Anvil, news is circulating about an opportunity to purchase a small wonder. John of Meade - the Speaker for the Senate is apparently selling copies of a marvellous book that is also a game. Written by Lincin of Urizen (with some minor editorial assistance from the Marcher civil servant), the book apparently educates at the same time that it entertains. Copies are selling for 2 Crowns each, and only a limited number are available. John of Meade can be found at the Hub in the center of Anvil, should anyone wish to learn more about this enchanting publication.
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 Desires and Eyes of the Soul's Past were proposed by Tanus of the Auric Horizon. These rituals are now available to be mastered by Imperial magicians.
Other Media
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