Towers of the moon

"What about a tower?" The suggestion was mulled over for a few moments while the bowl of blue smoke went one way and the bowl of glutinously buttered rum went the other way.

"Well, we could," said the herald at last. "But don't you think towers are a bit... I don't know... vulgar?"

This too was considered by the little circle of magicians relaxing in the warm night air.

"Didn't your dhomiro have something to do with Pakanaan's Tower?" Asked one of the Freeborn revellers after due consideration. "That was a tower."

"Yes, and there were a lot of ribald comments made about it at the time. Not something we want to repeat. What sort of wizard needs a tower anyway? It's not the tower that makes the wizard..."

There was some "sober" nodding at this obvious insight. The herald gave a wide grim and reached up to poke the pointed red hat perched firmly atop its wide-eyed head.

"Everyone knows it's the hat that makes a wizard!"

It expected laughter, but the statement was met with the same consideration as everything else.

"Isn't that a Varushkan volhov hat though?" Asked another one of the Freeborn. "Isn't your dhomiro pissed off with the Varushkans at the moment?"

The herald looked pained, then angry, then embarrassed, then clearly made up its mind to ignore the question and claimed they heard one of the other wizards calling for them, and scuttled off, muttering, into the dark.

Sadogua has been neglecting his friends of late and might just be overcompensating.

Overview

The Brother of Wizards has been a little more active of late, after a period of somnolence. His heralds have enthusiastically accepted invitations to visit Madruga and while they deny it, they've also been actively fighting spider monsters in Ossium. Following an unexpected appearance in the Hall of Worlds during the Summer Solstice in which Imperial magicians apparently helped him "get a spider out of his ear" (whatever that means), he has also apparently made a concerted effort to answer all this mail.

But it doesn't stop there. It seems the perennially slothful Toad King is busily trying to catch up on his obligations to his friends in the Empire.

Marshes of Kallavesa

• The Brother of Wizard has vowed to help protect the marshes of Kallavesa
• He has solicited suggestions about how best to do so from Wintermark magicians
• Some of the suggestions are very impractical
• Sir Dog sounds like an absolutely fine fellow however

Did the Brother of Wizards know what he was doing when he opened the floodgates to the magicians of Wintermark to make suggestions as to how he might help them protect Kallavesa from the various threats it faces? Perhaps - he has met magicians after all. But he was apparently deluged by suggestions for magic that would help protect the marshes including;

...filling the ponds with tiny dragon tongue to hurt invaders; making the marshes deep as mines, the shadows dense as soup, and the beasts as savage as vallorn so that those with ill intent are drowned and savaged; haunting invaders with ghosts; making invaders much smaller; a "fart fort" that uses putrid smelly gas clouds to engulf and choke enemies; an apparition of Sadogua that beats enemies up with rippling muscles; terrifying hallucinatory games that cause losers to forfeit limbs; a plague of bats, toads, and snakes with fog that confuses people and also dire penguins ae involved; empowering someone or something called "Dag Kinnad" to fight all his enemies which also include the enemies of Wintermark probably; bees; nagging feelings that cause invaders to go home for fear their houses are on fire; a slightly different feeling of there being someone behind you all the time; angry geese following people and stepping on their shoes; pointy branches at eye level with angry tree that slap some sense into intruders; lots of pollen; ground that transforms into slime pool mud and becomes fast acting quicksand capturing all invading forces; sinkholes or swampholes where enemies stepp into a deep hole of aater and disappear; a big bat that deafens enemies; foes being unable to recognise one another and tell friend from foe; forgetting why you came into Kallavesa and losing interest in fighting; floods of shadowy frogs; and impenetrable fortress created using thousands of frogs instead of bricks that ripples with ribbets and instills terror and awe in the enemy; a delicious free buffet but every tasty treat is a disguised poisonous frog; instead of an army of frogs, just one massive frog that eats the invading army with its long tongue; and a very big dog that barks at anyone who approaches, called Sir Dog. There were many others as well, a surprising number of which involved frogs...

Rook's Feather has considered all these possibilities, and tried to work out which ones are feasible, which ones are impossible, and which ones blatantly rely on dangerous levels of Spring magic which he is not prepared to touch with a barge pole thank you very much given what happened last time. But he has come up with some arcane projections for Wintermark, and intends to provide them to his friends Tarqeq Icetongue and Sigebryht at the Autumn Equinox. They can be codified and used, or thrown in the back of a cupboard for later, whichever the magicians of Wintermark think is a best bet.

However he's also been reminded of the request a couple of years ago from the mystics to offer more "concrete" aid, so he's taken a look at that as well.

Toadstool Palace

Toadstool Palace

Commission Type: Manse Fane

Location: West Marsh, Kallavesa

Cost: 20 weirwood, 10 ilium, and 60 crowns in labour

Time: 3 months

Effect: Creates a garden that can be ceded to Sadogua, and the title Toadstool Wizard If ceded grants the froghaven quality to West Marsh

Availability: One year, until the end of the Summer Solstice 389YE

Special: Must be conceded to Sadogua, which can be done as part of the commission or at a later date

Toadstool Wizard

Type: National Campaign Title

Appointment: Sadogua

Powers: Receives magical mushrooms from the Toadstool Palace

Responsibilities: Use Night magic to protect and enrich the people of Wintermark, especially their magicians; do any odd jobs Sadogua needs doing in Wintermark

Restrictions: Sadogua will decide who the Toadstool Wizard is, but agrees it will always be a Wintermark magician and one that does not have an Imperial title

The Father of Bats also likes frogs and toads, and likes giving them places to sit.

• Following on from a previous discussion, Sadogua has committed to the creation of a "manse" in Kallavesa
• Once complete, it would be easier for Wintermark to call on the eternal for aid to protect Kallavesa
• It would also establish a garden of magical plants and mushrooms

The original proposal involved turning the "Toadstone" - a large sculpture of a toad less than a mile from Westerhal in West Marsh - into a fane that would presumably flatter Rook's Feather enough to help. This rough hewn block of stone is a huge piece of black onyx, that has been carved to resemble the shape of a squatting toad. It was apparently made by a sculptor called Tarja the Foolish in 222YE during the reign of Empress Mariika. What possessed him to do such a thing or who paid for the work is lost to time - only the Toadstone remains. The suggestion was to put the fane on or near the toad, in the convenient regio connected to the Night realm and cede the place to Sadogua in return for his support.

The heralds of the Father of Bats have taken a look at the stone and the regio, and conveyed the words of the Wyrm King to his friends in Wintermark. He is more than happy to see the massive onyx toad statue transformed into what he calls a manse. Indeed, he's presented some plans - a collection of drawings of a big garden with torches and a celebration or ritual space around the toad that seem so suggest a lot of enthusiasm but absolutely no artistic skill at all. The plans don't incorporate any mithril but need a chunk of weirwood and some ilium, and would still need to be conceded to the Father of Bats. If all this is done, it will create what he dubs the Toadstool Palace, and create a title he wants to call the Toadstool Wizard. This latter will be what the Empire has recently determined to be a "chosen" - a position picked by the Eternal that is not in any way influenced by Imperial law. Not, in short, an Imperial title.

Sadogua promises that the Toadstool Wizard will always be a Wintermark citizen, and a magician. He further specifies that he will always pick someone who does not already have an Imperial title, because he doesn't want them to struggle with "split loyalties" or "have so much to do they never get time to sit down to a proper meal, and sleep in the next morning". They will be responsible for using Night magic to protect and enrich the people of Wintermark (especially its wizards), and doing any odd jobs Sadogua needs doing in or around Wintermark. He also promises he won't change his mind about who has the title more than once a season, and he'll give plenty of advance warning when he does so (OOC Note: His intention to change who the Toadstool Wizard is will likely be mentioned in the Winds of Fortune even if he doesn't necessarily say who is getting it. As a "chosen" title controlled by an NPC, it is important to note that none of the Imperial houses of power - Senate, SYnod, Conclave for example - have any ability to alter the title).

In return they'll be able to collect the toadstools and mushrooms that grow around the Toadstool Palace. Familar to some farmers in the Marches, as long as they are collected on the night of the new moon and squeezed dry, they produce one of a pair of black elixirs Sadogua calls Shinemoon. Pale Shinemoon can be used to provide a ritual magician with a little inspiration when performing a ritual using Day, Summer, or Autumn magic while Dark Shinemoon does the same but for a ritual using Night, Winter, or Spring magic. The Toadstool Prince will be able to collect three Pale Shinemoon in Summer and Autumn, and two Dark Shinemoon in Winter and Spring. He might throw other boons into the mix as well depending on how the Toadstool Wizard does, but that will be between him and the Wizard.

Perhaps more relevantly the Toadstool Palace will have far-reaching effects. It will grant West Marsh the Froghaven quality. This will cause the frogs of Kallavesa to prosper and grow big and wise, which Sadogua thinks is a good thing. It will also mean that Sadogua has the opportunity to make any performance of Night magic enchantments or curses targetting Kallavesa "better" - which is a little worrying given that Sadogua is an eternal and has odd ideas about what "better" means.

What is more reassuring is that the eternal commits to support any performance of Dripping Echoes of the Fen targeting any region of Kallavesa. Not only will each casting increase the number of victory points needed to take the region from 10 to 15, but any army attempting to conquer a protected region will discover the enchanted fort also inflicts casualties as if it had a garrison with a strength of 2,000. This won't actually be soldiers or anything as gauche as that - instead it represents the effects of confusing mists, weird lights, angry frogs, giant bats, and if possible the loud barking of Sir Dog.

The civil service make a point of noting that ceding the Toadstool Palace to Sadogua is a little risky, as with any such structure. Sadogua is a wizard, and has demonstrated in the past the ability to work large-scale magic when motivated sufficiently. Any attempt to take the Palace away from him again will be resisted, and the ability to add his personal "special sauce" to Night magic enchantments or curses targetting the territory is under his control alone. Plus, it is entirely possible that if he put his mind to it, he could easily throw his own curses and enchantments on Kallavesa while the Toadstool Palace stood. Enmity would not be enough to stop him - not while he controls the Toadstone.

Brat Umbral Path, Archmage of Night. At least one eternal of the Wondrous Forests thinks he's pretty neat, apparently.

Well of Shadows

The Well of Shadows
Whoever is chosen to use the Well can submit and arcane projection after the Autumn Equinox, following the normal rules for a college. The Well can codify a projection from any well in one season for every 10 ranks of magnitue; or for every 15 ranks of magnitude if it is a Night ritual. This can be speeded up by spending measures of Iridescent Gloaming; the first five ranks of additional research in a season cost 18 measures. The next five ranks cost a further 44 measures. The next five ranks cost a further 88 measures, and so on doubling the cost for each additional five ranks of research within the same season.

• The Well of Shadows is a College of Magic in Mitwold that belongs to Sadogua
• It is reached through a mysterious door in a peculiar oak tree
• The Well belongs to Sadogua but he allows Imperial magicians who win his favour to use it

Over the last year, the Unfettered Mind have been making use of the Well of Shadows in the Marches. This special location, apparently contained entirely inside an oak tree near King's Stoke is some sort of unique college of magic that belongs entirely to the Wyrm King. The Globbersnotch has been watching recent developments with the Synod - their proscriptions relating to eternals and "chosen" in particular - and with a characteristic laziness has decided to just not worry about them and see how things work out.

With that in mind, following the Autumn Equinox Sadogua offers the use of the Well of Shadows to Brat Umbral Path, the new Archmage of Night. This isn't because they are friends, the herald is quick to point out, but because Brat and several other Imperial magicians were able to help Oracle Pig overcome an unpleasant curse he was labouring under and its the best way the eternal can think of to offer his thanks. Obviously, it's also not not because they are friends; for all that Brat is often wrong about things the Eater of Secrets thinks his heart is in the right place.

Brat is free to either use the well himself, or pass the opportunity to do so on to anyone else he likes using the traditional method - letting Sadogua know via his missive spell.

Looking to the Future

• At the Winter Solstice, Sadogua will pick someone else to use the well

Some of the friends of the Black Wyrm have been talking with the eternal about the Tithe of Bats ritual and how it is "not good". The Father of Bats disagrees and says it is a splendid ritual because it allows magicians to get crystal fire (which they want) in return for giving the Slothful One what he wants (iridescent gloaming and dragonbone). But never let it be said that he doesn't listen to his friends, so this summit there will be an additional garnish to the crystal fire.

Whoever uses Tithe of Bats to send the largest number of measures to the Toad King during the Autumn Equinox in a single casting will be given access to the Well of Shadows following the Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, and Summer Solstice. Three seasons of access to the Well has got to be good, right? When his heralds are asked what will happen if more than one caster or coven sends the same amount, they seem startled that this is something people worry about. The general consensus is that if this happens "Wise Sadogua will sort something out that leaves everyone feeling equally happy."

An easily identifiable wrinkle with this arrangement is that Tithe of Bats, like many similar rituals, must be cast at a higher magnitude to send more measures and receive more crystal fire. This means more mana and more Night realm mastery is required to send a large shipment of gloaming or dragonbone. Again the heralds don't see why this is a problem - it's a contest for wizards is it not?

Who Exactly Are These People?

• The Vigilance assembly could keep an eye on who is coming and going from the Well of Shadows

One thing the Brother of Wizards has been singularly unconcerned about is telling anyone who he is allowing into his Well of Shadows. He may be prepared to just not worry about the Synod's very real concerns about virtuous people taking boons from eternals, but that does not mean the Synod are. During the Autumn equinox, the Vigilance assembly may enact the following mandate.

The well of shadows represents an intrusion into the Empire of an eternal, who controls access to that place without the guidance of the Conclave. Inspired by Major Benson, we dispatch (named priest) with 25 doses of liao to establish a watch over the door to that place, so that we may be forewarned if any with dark intentions seeks to use it to harm the Empire.

Synod Mandate, Vigilance Assembly

If the mandate is passed, information about who uses the Well each season will be appended to the page for the Well of Shadows. The only risks are that it might nark the Brother of Wizards a little; it might annoy the Marcher assembly; and it won't necessarily be able to identify anyone who isn't an Imperial citizen given access to the Well.

The Lyceum and the Twilight Pier

Twilight Pier

Commission Type: Edifice (technically)

Location: Isle of the Lyceum, Madruga

Cost: 12 weirwood, 5 ilium, and 36 crowns in labour

Time: 3 months

Effect: Allows the Twilight Barque to reach the Isle of the Lyceum through the mists Either creates the title Parador Keeper of Mist and Twilight or grants additional powers to the Dean of the Lyceum or the Arcane Architect at the option of the Arcane Architect when the commission is announced

Availability: One year; until the end of the Summer Solstice 389YE

Special: The Twiight Pier can only be commissioned by the Arcane Architect

Parador Keeper of Mist and Twilight

Type: Imperial

Appointment: Declaration of Candidacy

Powers: Receives control of the Twilight Barque market

Responsibilities: Maintain good relations with the Twilight Barque, ensure everyone knows what a good friend to the Empire Sadogua is

Special: Instead of creating a new title, the Dean of the Lyceum or the Arcane Architect could be given oversight of the pier, adding the above responsibilities to those they already have The goods provided by the ministry may change or be removed by the crew of the Barque, and are reliant on good relations with the Barque and (presumably) Sadogua

Rings of Night
20 Dragonbone	1 Ring of Night
40 Dragonbone	2 Rings of Night

Rainbow Scarves
22 Iridescent Gloaming	1 Rainbow Scarf
44 Iridescent Gloaming	2 Rainbow Scarves

Crystal Fire
7 Iridescent gloaming	2 Crystal Fire
17 Iridescent gloaming	5 Crystal Fire
30 iridescent gloaming	9 Crystal Fire

• Sadogua claims dominion over the isle of the Lyceum
• They offer to arrange regular visits from something called the Twilight Barque
• This opportunity is specifically for the Arcane Architect who is currently Amalia de Regario
• It also involves the Dean of the Lyceum, Syl

Sadogua claims dominion over the Lyceum island. Whether he actually has dominion or not is a thorny subject, but the eternal is certainly acting like he has. He still provides his Boon of the Black Sloth allowing the Dean of the Lyceum to speed the research of a ritual in return for donations of iridescent gloaming. He was also involved in permanently fixing the wards of mist that surround the place and protect it from raids or invasion. Indeed, the island can only be reached through the use of the Gates of Shadow, built by the Arcane Architect Amalia Vicente, that let boats sail to and from a specific quay on the coast of Madruga.

To celebrate the completion of the Gates of Shadow, the Long-eared Loremaster offers another boon to show his love and appreciation for the premier college of magic in the Empire. There is already a small quay on the island itself that allows magicians and supplies to pass too and from the shrouded island. He proposes the construction of a second quayside - more a single pier really - on the opposite side of the island to serve as a berth for a very specific ship. "Build it and they will come," say the heralds of Sadogua cheerfully.

"They" in this case would be the Twilight Barque, a vessel of night-dark wood with sails of rainbow cloth that apparently sails the seas of the Night realm. They aren't servants of Sadogua - in fact the heralds are quite vague about whether they serve any eternal at all or are true independent creatures of the realm. But they love to visit new places and offer their wares in trade to the people they meet there. They have agreed to make these wares available to the magicians of the Empire in return for an undisclosed favour from the Hoarder of Empty Bottles.

The opportunity to commission the Twilight Pier is only offered to the Arcane Architect. If it is built however, they will have the choice as to whether to create a new title, appointed by the Conclave of course, or to let the Dean of the Lyceum deal with the Twilight Barque. Or, if they like, put themselves in charge - and provide a handy source of valuable magical trinkets and vis to the Arcane Architect going forward. Sadogua doesn't mind which one they choose - he believes the Lyceum island is ultimately under his dominion after all. Whoever gets control of the pier will have responsibilities to deal with the crew of the Twilight Barque if they need anything, keep good relations with them, and occasionally remind people what a good friend to the Empire Sadogua is. This latter sounds at first like a joke but it is deadly serious. Sadogua is apparently aware that "King Goldilocks" is trying to "cosy up to the Empire" and he is having none of it. Realistically, the commission is actually an edifice, but given it provides vis it is within the legal power of the Architect to build it.

If it is built, the Twilight Barque will provide Rings of Twilight (a magical focus that allows a magician to improve their Night lore by one rank for the purposes of performing a single ritual a day, subject to the normal rules for effective ranks); Rainbow Scarves (a Mage Robe that lets a magician increase their night lore by one rank for the purpose of a single ritual), and pawns of crystal fire. The heralds of Sadogua do caution that what the Barque offers is up to its crew - and that neither the Brother of Wizards nor anyone else has any particular control over that.

Marcher Wassail

• Sadogua continues to celebrate his relationship with the Marchers
• He hopes to send some of his heralds to take part in the wassail
• He again offers them the chance to harvest his odd black mushrooms

And finally, the Brother of Wizards has been made welcome in the Marches and for the last few years has made a point of sending his heralds to participate in the wassail celebration. This year he again promises to try and send some of his folk to join the grand wassail at Anvil, assuming they can drag themselves away from fighting memory-thieving spiders.

In the past he has offered his wassail boon at the Winter Solstice, but has become grumpy that whenever he does so a Spring eternal seems to be offering their own substandard boons at the same time. This year he plans to try something different and arrange the boon before the wassail. As such, during the Autumn Equinox any casting of Fallow Fields and Dried Meat that includes as an additional component, a single pawn of Crystal Fire and an invocation of Sadogua by one of his three names will find the enchantment has a different effect. Instead of providing the usual benefits, for the following season, the farm will grow a circle of black mushrooms somewhere within its bounds. Presuming they are collected on the night of the new moon and squeezed dry, they'll produce one of two black elixirs he calls Shinemoon. As mentioned above, these elixirs help magicians perform rituals of different lores depending on whether they are pale or dark.

Arcane Architecture

Appraise Magical Works

Motion Type: Appraisal

Necessary Details: Must name three Imperial territories or existing sinecures or ministries that provide mana or vis, and directly reference Sadogua's offer

Effect: Provide opportunities for the Arcane Architect to commission great works, or improve existing sinecures or ministries

Availability: Autumn Equinox only

Special: Requires Sadogua to have amity Sadogua will be angered if Miekarova or Ossium are chosen

• The Imperial Senate could use an appraisal to allow the Arcane Architect to improve the arcane abilities of the Empire

And finally, again to show his thanks for his friends in the Empire, Sadogua presents a proposal for the Arcane Architect. If the Senate wishes, they could declare an appraisal instructing the Prognosticator's Office to work with his heralds to locate opportunities to create great works intended to increase the arcane abilities of the Empire. He puts one restriction on the matter - he is not prepared to send heralds to Miekarova or Ossium at this time for "reasons".

If the Senate wishes to take up his offer, they will be able to pick up to three Imperial territories and Sadogua's heralds will work to come up with one opportunity in each territory for the Arcane Architect to build something that provides additional mana, or even vis. If the territory already has such a great work, the heralds will find ways to improve it. Alternatively, in place of a territory the senate could name a specific sinecure or ministry that provides mana or vis, and the heralds would work with the prognosticators to find a way to improve it.

This opportunity is available at the Autumn Equinox only.

Forest of the White Caves

Not An Apology

• Sadogua thanks Conclave for declaring enmity against Apeiron of the Sixth Eye
• He continues to feud with the Circle of Zulgan Tash
• He hopes other magicians of Varushka will forgive him for his bad temper this last year or two

Finally... for most of the last year Sadogua has not been responding to his missives. He's very concerned because someone has been reading his mail, and he believes it is the creature known as "Apeiron". By placing it under enmity, the Conclave have apparently done him something of a favour. He thanks Fausta Ankarien, and the Silver Chalice, and hopes it won't cause them undue trouble going forward. He's reiterated the warning he gave during the Summer Solstice - the creature is a dangerous parasite that consumes memories and that has been glutted by wizards feeding it choice morsels of memory. He's confident enmity will be enough to prevent it infiltrating the Imperial realm more deeply but warns that ritual magic still can still provide avenues for it or its spawn to enter the world and trick the gullible into handing over parts of their identity.

Right now the Brother of Wizards is having problems of his own with Apeiron. His heralds claim these problems were apparently caused in part by the perfidious cabalists of the Circle of Zulgan Tash stealing the fortress that protected his western woods. Yes, the Circle are masters of magic. Yes, they are inventive, cunning, clever, and enigmatic. Yes, they wield Night magic in particular with both finesse and brutality that is breathtaking to observe. Sure, they are as capable of planting their feet and refusing to back down to bullies as they are of fading into the background when it suits them. Obviously, they are well respected by the eternals of the Wondrous Forests, even those who dislike or fear them like the Clown Cavalcade. But that doesn't mean they aren't thieves and traitors who COULD HAVE ASKED!

However, the Brother of Wizards imagines he might owe an apology to the rest of the magicians of Varushka. It might be argued that it was wrong of him to take his anger out on them, when it should be directed solely at the pernicious master cabalists of the White Forest. As such, he offers reassurance that any Varushkan wizard who is not a member of the Circle can expect a return to the usual friendly, helpful advice the eternal offers if they send him a Missive. He hopes they'll accept his acceptance that it might have been wrong of him to tar them all with the same brush.

The Circle of Zulgan-Tash however can get stuffed.

Further Reading

• Sadogua
• Well of Shadows - coming soon!