Viridian nemesis

"Trade is the lifeblood of the Jewelled City. Ships dock here from all over the world. The Grendel like to think of themselves as masters of the Bay of Catazar, but the markets of Dubhtraig are barely twice the size of Trivento! Everything is for sale here. Everything the virtuous soul might desire and a little more besides."

"I don't see how that is going to help us." responded Gwyn, careful not to offend his host. He'd been warned that the Merchant Prince of the Amber Signets was given to self-aggrandisement, but he'd been advised that he held sway over a significant number of local merchants who would be good to have on hand. "The vallorn has no trade interests, no valuables. It has no interest in markets or trade, any more than it does in any other facet of civilisation."

Afredo blinked and then forced a smile back to his face. "You miss my point my friend. The point is that whatever you need for this war of yours, is available here. Materials, wains, mana, herbs, weapons, armour, even soldiers are for sale here. Well their swords at least. Tell me what the Vallornguard need to fight the enemy and we'll ensure it's available - for the right price."

Gwyn shrugged his shoulders a little bemused by the question. "I mean... everything... we need everything." Herbs to heal soldiers, crystals for magic, ingots and measures for magic items, there was no material in this or any realm that the Navarri have not found a way to use to fight their ancient foe.

The Merchant Prince smirked, though this time the smile was at least an honest one. "Very well" he replied, "everything it is then..."

The garden long-tended by the Navarr begins to bear fruit.

Overview

The highest calling of the the Navarr is to share their long experience fighting the vallorn with other nations. Last season, they chose to work with the people of Urizen; now the Navarr National Assembly has urged their people to embrace the citizens of the League to arm and armour them for the upcoming battle with the Doom of Terunael. Once again, the Loyalty Assembly has supported the cause, calling upon those whose heart drives them towards the destruction of Terun's Folly.

The aid was welcomed by the League Assembly and so the Navarr find the cities of the League no less enthusiastic than the spires of Urizen. In conjunction with their guests, each city has come up with its own plan how best to prepare to fight the vallorn.

The Virtuous raise up their fellows. Any nation willing to raise arms and join the Vallornguard shall have our full support. We send Teleri Thornweaver with 50 doses of liao to lead our people in sharing everything we have with the League to prepare to finish the fight.

Teleri Thornweaver, Navarr National Assembly, Spring 388YE, Vote: Upheld with a Greater Majority 252-0

The Virtuous raise up their fellows. Any nation willing to raise arms and join the Vallornguard shall have our full support. We send Leliel, Daughter of Armisael, with 25 doses of liao to lead our people in sharing everything we have with the League to prepare to finish the fight.

Leliel, Daughter of Armisael, Loyalty Assembly, Spring 388YE, Vote: 190-0

We welcome and recognise the judgement by Navarr (54). We recognise their highest calling and we welcome their aid.

Francesca di Spiral, League National Assembly, Spring 388YE, Vote: Upheld with a Greater Majority 328-10

Holberg

The Boar's Hide

Commission Type: Fortification

Location: Boar's Dell, Brocéliande

Cost: 120 white granite, 60 mithril, 540 crowns

Time: 6 seasons

Upkeep: 20 thrones

Special: Creates a level two fortification in Boar's Dell Increases the level of investment in mana sites in Brocéliande by one while there is a vallornheart in the territory

Availability: Until the start of Summer Solstice 389YE

• Holberg engineers propose the construction of a grand fortification in Brocéliande that could take advantage of the trods to boost mana sites in the territory

The Greatest City in the League lies to the north-east of Brocéliande, and south of Sküld, two territories both infested with the vallorn. Initial proposals by some ambitious engineers has a weirwood and ilium causeway cutting across the Barrens to channel the vallorn of Terunael itself into their territory, that they might fight in the shade of the monstrous Walls of Holberg. This plan was quickly abandoned as infeasible; fine in theory, way too expensive in practice.

If the vallorn won't go to Holberg, then Holberg will go to the vallorn. The engineers have a proposal for an enormous bastion built on the foundations of Greenstead in Boar's Dell. Once roused, the vallorn by its nature will tend to be drawn to any substantial fortification, sending its full chaotic wroth at the structure until it is entirely subsumed in vines. Knowing that the vallorn is likely to attack any fortification first means the engineers can expect any substantial defences to become a focal point of the campaign as well as a place for Imperial military unit captains to assign their forces in the absence of an Imperial army.

Regarding the Broch
While the Broch is already fortified, the work was specifically done in such a way as to not rouse the ire of the vallorn. After all, Black Boughs lies within the miasma itself and in a region utterly dominated by the Doom of Terunael.

There are some important consequences to consider. Firstly, the steadings of Boar's Dell would face the brunt of the assault. They are Navarri, they have signed up to this, they have sworn oaths that they are committed to this, but one's home is one's home, nevertheless. Secondly, it is eye-wateringly expensive to create such a structure: even with the help of Holberg's finest engineers, they can't materialise wains out of the ether, as much as other nations may accuse the League of this from time to time.

With the collaboration of Holberg's engineers, the fortification could be completed in six seasons (barring the use of magic or other opportunities). Working closely with Navarr vates provides a second advantage. By incorporating a significant amount of mithril into the design, it would harness also some of the chaotic energies being drawn out of the vallorn by the trod network and channel it into local mana sites. That would provide a small but important benefit, providing more mana for the coming war, at least until the vallornheart in Terunael is destroyed.

Sarvos

The Market of Everything

Commission Type: Ministry

Location: Cigno, Sarvos

Cost: 8 wains of white granite, 6 wains of weirwood, 2 wains of mithril, 48 crowns, 1 season

Availability: Until the start of Summer Solstice 389YE

Effect: Creates a Ministry for the Vallornguard Creates the title of Merchant-Prince of the Vallornguard

Merchant-Prince of the Vallornguard

Type: League national position

Appointment: Vallornguard

Powers: Receives support from Sarvosi traders to acquire material to fight the vallorn

Responsibilities: To help the Vallornguard acquire the materials needed to fight the vallorn

A Little Bit of Everything
150 rings	4 random materials, 6 random herbs, 3 mana crystals
370 rings	8 random materials, 12 random herbs, 6 mana crystals,
650 rings	12 random materials, 18 random herbs, 9 mana crystals,
1000 rings	16 random materials, 24 random herbs, 12 mana crystals,

• Sarvosi merchants propose commissioning a market of everything to help supply the Vallornguard with the resources to fight the vallorn

While Holberg claims to be the Greatest City in the League, their indignant rivals in Sarvos argue their city is the oldest and still the richest in the Empire. Trade flows across down the Gancio until it meets the Bay of Catazar at the docks of Cigno. Ships put to port here that dock nowhere else in the Empire, buying and selling; rare metals from Varushka, fine wines from Dawn, or exotic goods from overseas. The city's proud boast is that anything that is for sale anywhere in the Empire can be found in the markets of Sarvos.

The question is how to employ that strength to bolster the Vallornguard and help prepare for the coming war. Plans are quickly drawn up for a grand market, something that can provide whoever the Vallornguard appoint with a bit of everything. Anything that can be employed against the vallorn can be distributed as needed to the Vallornguard - the rest can be sold. In the minds of the merchant princes of Sarvos, a good profit margin is the ultimate weapon.

Tassato

Vallornguard Military Academy

Commission Type: Edifice

Location: Madeiras, Tassato

Cost: 16 wains of white granite, 32 crowns

Time: 1 season

Effect: League armies with a general appointed by the Vallornguard can take the order to Stem the Green Tide

Availability: Until the start of Summer Solstice 389YE

• Tassatan bravos propose building an academy that will allow League generals appointed by the Vallornguard to use Stem the Green Tide when defending

The Navarri who arrive in Tassato are greeted by a great deal of commotion as furious work is being done to speed the mustering of the League's third army. It is a painful reminder that, more than anything else, what the Vallornguard really need are armies. No matter how much planning is put in place, no matter how many fortifications are built, in the end it will always come down to steel weapons and steel will.

Most Tassatans learn to fight with rapier and buckler, the perfect weapons for a bravo who wants to cut a fine dash while bridge fighting. By contrast, the Navarr favour a more pragmatic fighting style when fighting the vallorn, one that makes use of venom whenever it is available. Training League soldiers in techniques for fighting the vallorn could pay dividends once the enemy attacks.

When the vallorn is roused, and it will be roused, insist the visiting thorns, there will need to be those who can stem the initial tsunami of chaotic energies before it might be driven back and permanently quelled. Constructing an appropriate academy, staffed by members of the Vallornguard, would allow League citizens to drill the kind of basic tactics needed to stand your ground in the face of a swarm of vallornspawn.

Once complete the Vallornguard Military Academy would allow any League army whose general was appointed by the Vallornguard, to take the Stem the Green Tide order when defending. There are no League armies that would be affected at present, but a Senate motion could be used to change the appointment method of a general to a vote of the Vallornguard at any time.

Stem the Green Tide

• Casualties suffered by this army from vallorn are decreased by a fifth
• Victory points generated by this army against the vallorn are increased by one tenth

Rapiers might suit the dark alleys of the League cities, but large heavy weapons, such as bills, two-handed swords or pikes are the preferred choice for many professional soldiers in League free companies. These are dangerous weapons of war on any battlefield, but with the right training and the right leadership, League soldiers can deploy pike squares to devastating effect against the vallornspawn allowing them to defend against the vallorn's overwhelming and chaotic offensive, holding back the unending green tide.

Temeschwar

• Temeschwari bishops suggest a mandate to encourage League bravos to seek out opportunities to fight the enemy

The hard, ruthless people of Temeschwar are known for their pragmatism. Grand plans for mighty fortresses are all well and good, but they can take years to build. Better to get on with it, in the minds of many Temeschwari - there's no time like the present for dealing with a threat. Marko von Vardstein, a newly-minted bishop with a small church in one of the poorer parts of Temeschwar, has paired up with Livinnia, a bravo known for wielding two axes and being a woman of extremely few words. The pair suggest that if the League are going to do this then the national assembly should encourage military units to start now, by pursuing any venture that could aid in the fight against the vallorn.

In Ratibor's name, let us act! We send (named individual) with 50 doses of liao to encourage League bravos to take up arms against the vallorn. If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right now

Synod Mandate, League National Assembly

If this mandate is enacted, then League military units will be able to take part in the quest against the vallorn and the exploration of the ruins of Terunael ventures, as well as any future ventures that deal with engaging the vallorn directly.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women are merely players

William Shakespeare, As You Like it

Spiral

• Actors and troupe magicians in Spiral propose the creation of plays about the vallorn to inspire citizens
• Apulian merchants have donated five thrones as a prize for the best play, to be judged by vote of members of the Cat's Graces at the Autumn Equinox

There's a lot going on in Apulian right now, a running battle between cats and birds for control of the city streets and rooftops while soldiers comb the dark passages that lie beneath them. The visiting Navarri are welcomed with all due hospitality, but at first some Apulians question whether they have the time to offer any significant aid, given that the strange confluence of dramaturgical personae, instruments and thrones plays havoc with the city, causing inhabitants and visitors alike to get lost in the shifting streets.

Determined not to be outdone by the other cities, a troupe of actors and magicians proposes that dramaturgy might offer a way to combat the vallorn. Of course there needs to be fortifications and armies and supplies and such things, but none of those will help without the will to win and the belief that victory is possible (and so on). The biggest hurdle to victory they say, is not the threat of the vallorn but the belief that the Empire lacks the means to defeat it. People need to see the vallorn not as some implacable force that can only be contained at best, but as an enemy that can be defeated once and for all, just like the Druj.

What is needed, they say, are plays and stories that present a new vision of the vallorn. The true power of dramaturgy lies not just in performing rituals calling on the personae and their accoutrements, but in using the power of drama to influence the way people think and believe. Good plays create a narrative that shapes the path of history. Of course critics of dramaturgy argue that it is the power of events that make some plays seem so pivotal, not unlike the way some magicians believe that the stars move in line with events rather than the other way round.

Proponents of the real power of dramaturgy have little time for such naysaying. They argue that creating plays and stories that tell of victory over the vallorn are a subtle but crucial step in making that outcome come about. Of course that raises the question of who will create the plays - such things are time-consuming and expensive. A few Navarr suggest the historical accounts of Navarr and Thorn or Megan Black Blood might form the basis for such a play, but not everyone thinks that is the best approach. Even the suggestion of dramatising recent triumphs such as that in Liathaven does not meet with enthusiasm.

The League actors are concerned that the old histories may focus too much on the fall and what was lost to the vallorn. Equally their suggestion that if the playwrights do use the historical accounts, they will need to be "sexed up a bit, to make it more dramatic" does not meet with universal approval by their Navarr guests.

As a compromise, the suggestion is that the recently established sodality, the Cat's Graces might hold a contest to find the best play about the vallorn. Something dramatic and engaging that will get people into the cheap seats but which sets the tone of an Empire engaging successfully with the vallorn. A purse is quickly assembled, 5 thrones for the winning entry, with the understanding of all who enter, that actors will tour the winning play and any other worthy entries, across the Empire.

Of course it will take time for playwrights to produce something that capture and transform the zeitgeist. It needn't be a full play - it could be a short performance piece, put on everywhere before the main attraction. It could be historical, provided it doesn't compromise being inspiring for too much stuffy "accuracy". After all, the goal is to move the hearts and minds of theatre-goers all over the Empire, not to educate historians and scholars.

The merchants of Apulian request the Cat's Graces sodality either arrange a suitable contest to identify a winning submission, or else find a way to choose the perfect playwright to commission a piece. Either way they offer a purse of five thrones to be awarded by the sodality at the Autumn Equinox, to the author of the play that best inspires people to embrace the idea of defeating the vallorn.

A copy of the play itself will also need to be provided, so that it can be distributed to troupes of actors across the League. Focusing the attention of the League's thespians and actors on the vallorn in this way may reap dividends, although they are likely to be subtle or unpredictable. With the support of the Cat's Graces, it will definitely encourage a surge of interest in depicting the fight against the vallorn on the stage, and in reframing it as a foe to be overcome rather than an insurmountable problem. It might all lead to nothing apart from some very enjoyable nights at the theatre, or it may actually achieve what the dramaturgical theorists claim it will and somehow shift Imperial attitudes to the Doom of Terunael.

Further Reading

• Cup of choices - 388YE Spring wind of fortune detailing the Navarr efforts to assist Urizen
• The highest calling - 387YE Autumn wind of fortune about the highest calling

• Vallorn