Invited with asperity
"Why, Mistress Taysa, the Castellan of Krevsatyzmei is always pleased to receive you and any tidings you bring from The King Beneath the Hill. Even when, uh, so unexpectedly."
The on-duty guard, Pallad, looked up to her colleague Mor in the nest for some confidence, but received nothing but a deeply concerned glance. She-Of-The-Black-Cloak is not someone you want to walk up to you at the best of times, let alone in the middle of a harsh Karskian blizzard in the small hours of the night where it is all too easy to interpret every sound as a monster sneaking up on you. They were south of the mountains, making it much more likely that something awful was prowling nearby.
"Given the hill you stand on and who you bought it from, Pallad-daughter-of-Rith, you and your Castellan should always be prepared to engage in the tradition of hospitality. Please tell Mors-son-of-Ganax to kindly remove his hand from his crossbow lest I be made to feel ... unwelcome"
Shit, how does she know our names? thought Pallad, trying not to let her fear show.
"Of course, ahem, honoured guest. May I offer you a pour of wine from my own flask, and perhaps some of this Holtfordian fruit?" The guard noted that while most of this small delegation were human, inasmuch as she could make out any details beneath their cowls and fur-lined cloak, one of them at least was a fellow orc. But not a Child of the Dragons, she through.
"That will do nicely," Taysa let a smile escape her thick hood as she slowly and clearly partook of the wine and dates, unbothered both to stand before a fully garrisoned outpost of the Thule and by the biting cold the guards were so heavily wrapped up against.
Mors regained his composure first and shouted down from the tower; "And what business does Irontooth bring to a Tower of the Dragons?" This was a Thule outpost. There was surely no doubt that the Dragons were more powerful than any Sovereign. Probably older too. There was certainly no need to be scared of a messenger! Even if she already somehow knew yours and your parents names? Right?
"Business?" Taysa crowed. "What business can there be between the Wolf and the Raven? Between the Warrior and the Grave? I am here to speak the words of the Charnel Lord, and I will do so, to your Castellan, without further delay."
Best not push it. This was clearly the Castellan's problem and the warlock would not appreciate the intervention of mere gate guards.
"Of course, Mistress Taysa, enter and be welcome in our hall in the names of the Five. I shall go waken the Castellan."
The gates swung open, and the delegation of the Broken Barrow swiftly disappeared inside.
Overview
The orcs of Otkodov - the Thule - live to the north of the Empire. They share a long mountainous border with Wintermark, with the Unshackled, and particularly with Varushka. Their magocratic nation is ruled by the five Dragons - allegedly immortal sorcerers of immense power who the folk of their nation treat as living ancestors or perhaps even gods. For much of Imperial history, they were at war with the Empire. In recent years a series of treaties have secured peace - mostly by ceding parts of the northern Imperial nations.
It is not a universally popular peace. There are grumbles from Wintermark that the Empire keeps surrendering to the orcs of the north, although they are subdued and rarely enter the public discourse. The Imperial Orks of Skarsind keep the Thule at arms' length where possible. It is the nation of Varushka that has been most critical of the peace treaties - and it cannot be argued that they have been called on to sacrifice more of its northern lands to the Thule than any other nation. The priests of Varushka expressed a commitment to never hand over Varushkan soil to the orcs again - with judgement 57 in their own assembly, and Judgement 67 in the General. Neither achieved a greater majority however - hardly surprising for the General but perhaps unexpected in the Varushkan assembly. It seems that Lenochka Zabotovna Vypalse and Father Drakov may not speak with a single voice on this matter.
For now, though, peace endures. The treaty has been ratified; it is law. Two nations - the Marches and Navarr - are sending great amounts of food north to help feed the people of Otkodov and support their armies. it is illegal to preach the Way of Virtue in Otkodov to their citizens. For their part the Thule agree to share the white granite of the Night Quarry; pay for the food delivered to them; ensure Imperial access to the Maze of Zoria, in return for the right to send warlocks to study at the Icy Crag of the Eternal Sun. And, of course, to maintain their current policies for the reasonable treatment of Imperial citizens choosing to remain and live in ceded lands. All that remains is for the pageantry and theatre of a formal signing.
This wind is a roundup of magical events and effects. Normally, this would be one of the last winds to be published because it is heavily dependant on plots that are running at the event. This can be unsatisfying, because it often results in us presenting things that don't leave players enough time to consider them before heading to the event. To try and combat this, we're planning to publish it in an "unfinished" state - and add elements to it as they are developed. Once everything is on here that needs to be on here, we'll remove this box and the tag at the top of the page and let people know that it isn't going to change again.
State Visit
- Rak Who-Speaks-For-The-Dragons-Undivided will attend the Senate Chambers at 18:00 on Saturday to celebrate the recent signing of the five-year peace treaty.
- Rak intends to retire soon, and he will be accompanied by a coterie of potential successors. This may present an opportunity to shape the tenor of Imperial/Thule relations for the next few years.
- The party will discuss the future of cooperation between the two great powers, the fate of the Druj, The Valorn, and other matters of import.
Last season, a delegation from Otkodov was waylaid and unable to make it to Anvil as planned to formally sign the treaty. They are now on their way to complete the intended state visit. Whilst a formal signing of the treaty is not legally required (indeed Rak is satisfied that everything is in order, and the flow of merchants across the border in both directions is testament to the fact that the treaty is holding) the Thule do consider the symbolism inherent in ink and parchment to be valuable.
More pressingly, there is much to discuss as regards making the most use of the period of peace. Cooperation between nations of such might and prowess could yield great benefits, so long as fair terms can be agreed. There is the matter of the Valorn to discuss, the fate of the Druj and their territories, and the ever-present Jotun in the west. There might also be opportunities for trade, for magical cooperation or simply for friendship between peers. It would not do to pass up this opportunity for the great and good of the Empire to liaise with the representatives of Otkodov. No actual agreements will be worked on at this meeting, such things are a matter for Winged Messengers or small private meetings, but the seed of discussion bears the fruit of cooperation.
Rak Who-Speaks-For-The-Dragons-Undivided has served as the Dragon's emissary to the Empire for several years now, and has decided that the time is coming to step aside. Not immediately, perhaps, but soon. To that end, he is bringing with him a selection of potential successors; apprentices and mentees who have worked with him on Imperial Diplomacy and may be poised to take up the challenge. Ultimately, the Dragons will make the final call as to who replaces Rak, but it would be foolish to assume that they will not be paying very close attention to proceedings to assess the candidates. Imperial Citizens who wish to shape the future of Thule foreign policy may benefit from attending the event.
They have informed the civil service that the Thule delegates will be:
- Rak Who-Speaks-For-The-Dragons-Undivided (he/him) - Ambassador to The Empire
- Runa, of the Circle of Thrice-Turned Stones (he/him) - An accomplished Night and Autumn warlock with an interest in trade.
- Hekla, of the Unbroken Chain of Gilded Fire (he/him) - A prodigious Summer warlock specialising in military matters.
- Galk, of the Sunken Orb of Brilliant Sapphire (he/they) - A studious Winter, Spring and Day warlock at the forefront of theoretical magic.
- Orn The Scribe (he/they) - a servant bonded to the offices of the Speaker for the Dragons Undivided.
The party will arrive in Anvil at Six O'Clock on Saturday and proceed to the Senate building. They have asked that any interested citizen be allowed to attend, but leave the facilitation of the event itself in the capable hands of the Ambassador to Otkodov, Kindra Surefoot. They expect to be in the Senate for at most an hour, but if there are still worthwhile discussions ongoing by that point, they may adjourn to the Imperial Offices for a short additional time.
A Cultural Exchange (Redux)
- Needs to go up reasonably early so players can prepare
- Imperial storytellers are invited to meet with skuldyr in Otkodov to exchange and discuss cultural tales on the themes of Heroism and Duty.
- The High Bard of the Empire is tasked with arranging the conjunction to Leopard-Tooth Pass on Friday at 23:15.
- The warlock Hoosfa Mek offers to continue exchanging written records of folk tales in the Tome of Shared Lore.
Last Winter, skuldyr from Otkodov attended the Wintermark camp in Anvil to exchange stories with the scops. The event appears to have been judged a success by the warlocks, as an invitation has been sent to the Empire, via the civil service. A conjunction of the Sentinel Gate has been identified that would allow up to 12 people to take the Thule up on this invitation by travelling to Leopard-Tooth Pass in Kógur, Skuld at 23:15.
Eirikur the skuld asks for the storytellers of the empire to bring no more than five tales, which should be focused on the themes of Heroism and Duty. Last year, Eirikur spoke with many scops in Wintermark, but also spoke to some Navarri. Since then, he has been learning more about the narrative traditions of The Empire's northern peoples. For this exchange, he would like the visiting party to be composed of Wintermark Scops, Varushkan Storytellers, and Navarri bards.
The Civil Service have assigned responsibility for this conjunction to the High Bard of the Empire, Mikael Reskovich. They would also like to remind any potential attendees that it is currently illegal to preach The Way in Otkodov. It is not clear how strict the Thule will be on this, but guests of the Dragons might do well to avoid overtly religious messages in their stories.
At the last meeting with the skuldyr, the warlock Hoosfa Mek gave a gift to the Ambassador, a book of Thule tales. They will be present at this meeting as well and have expressed that, if the Ambassador wishes, they would be happy to take custody of the book once again and have more stories added to it. They would be especially keen for this if their Imperial counterparts have been able to record some of their own tales in the tome.