Daylight fading

Tasya descended the spiral stairs in silence. Now and again she would touch two fingers to her lips, and then touch one of the skulls cemented into the wall. She paused at the bottom, and settled the long cloak of black feathers round her shoulders and adjusted her dragonbone mask. They still felt a little alien to her. She realised she was stood in front of the most recent skull to be added to the ossuary, and let her hand linger gently on it for several moments before she stepped through the crude archway into the barrow proper.

At one time there had been candles here, but now it was pitch black. The dim light from the stairs illuminated nothing save the darkness, which hung like a curtain around her She waited patiently. The only sound was her breathing. In, out. In, out.

After a few long minutes, a quiet, empty voice spoke from somewhere out in the dark.

"Vaaaaaclav ..." it whispered, and then fell still.

"No my lord. It is Tasya. Vaclav was my father. He passed away a year ago next month."

"Ah... Poor Vaclav. Such a fine... ssssteward. Such a fine.... emisssssary."

Tasya waited to see if there was more, but there was not. She let the silence lie between them for a few minutes, then respectfully spoke up.

"I dreamt last night that you wished me to come to you, my lord. I hope I was not mistaken."

There was silence again, and when the voice spoke again it was a little more sure.

"No missssstake, child of Vaclav. There is sssssomething come back into the world that should not be here. It makes me resssssstless."

She said nothing, waiting attentively.

"The crowssss are ssscirciling," the voice said again after a moment. "I have... tasssks for you. Are you ready?"

"Always, my lord."

There was laughter then, cold, and dreadful, that stopped suddenly, leaving no echoes.

"Oh... be careful what you sssssay, child of Vaclav. Alwayssss is a ....very.... long... time.... indeed. Trussssst me. I know."

"Sssssend the birds, Vaclav." She did not correct him. " When the blood flowssss again... I will be here... ass I promissed. But for now... I need to know what isss... happening. What it isss.... that makes me ssso... ressstlesss."

Tasya bowed low. She pulled her cloak around her again as she stepped through the archway, pausing to again rest her hand on her father's skull one more time, and then began the long climb up the spiral stairs.

There are black-feathered birds wherever one goes in Varushka, and surely not all of them can be spies for sovereigns and sinister magicians?

Overview

This long Winter has seen not one but two grand construction projects conclude in Varushka. Work has been completed on Kostjyas Respite, the new port-town on the northern shores of the Semmerlak, Work has also - finally - finished on the Iron Roads, and while the Blood Red Roads are being slowly dismantled by brambles and weeds, the roads of Varushka now link almost every major settlement in the nation. Both projects promise to bring great Prosperity to the Varushkan people - and potentially their neighbouring nations as well.

Imperial citizens are not the only folk abroad on the new roads however; and some of those travellers bring news that may unsettle even the most virtuous spirit.

Iron Roads

• Thanks to the completion of the Iron Roads, mine and forest owners see improved production
• The benefits of the Crow Roads have declined slightly

Work on the Iron Roads began in late 383YE, and scope of the ambitious project was expanded to include Ossium in early 384YE. The last white granite flagstones are laid shortly before the start of the Spring Equinox completing a truly remarkable achievement; Varushkan roads uniting five territories.

The roads already improve the prosperity of Varushkan mine and forest owners, who find it much easier to access labourers, tools, and raw materials. The mine owners in each of Miekarova, Karov, and Volodmartz Will each get a share of 35 random ingots of metal, and forest owners in each of the three territories will each get a share of 35 random measures of forest materials, starting after the Spring Equinox and continuing as long as the roads are open. The benefits are slightly different in Ossium, where there are very few mines, Instead each forest owner in that territory receives a share of a bounty of 70 forest materials. The Crow Roads in Karsk already provide similar benefits, and now all five Varushkan territories see a boost to all those who draw their wealth from the hills and the woods.

When they were first built, the Crow Roads in Karsk were some of the finest in Varushka. In the five years since, the situation has changed significantly. Karsk is no longer on the edge of the Empire, and the destruction of the sinkhole that was Isember indicates that the territory is once again tamed - inasmuch as any Varushkan lands can be said to be tame. Unfortunately, this means that the concentration of prosperity in Karsk brought by the Crow Roads has declined slightly. Rather than providing 50 ingots to mines and 50 measures to forests, going forward the roads will be the equivalent of the Iron Roads - providing 35 ingots and measures of each to the mines and forests of Karsk.

Iron Boots, Iron Axes

• Ossium has lost its final under-populated quality, and so Varushka can now support a fourth Imperial army
• There is interest in guidance from the National Assembly

The impact of the roads are particularly felt in Ossium where their completion has brought both new settlers and new opportunities for Ossium natives to trade with the rest of their nation. The western territory is no longer considered under populated, and thanks to the new port at Bittershore, the last of the economic problems facing Ossium are now gone. Even with parts of their territory in Thule hands, Varushka can comfortably support three armies, and with the prosperity brought to Ossium by the Iron Roads, they can now support a fourth army.

Nobody is quite sure what a fourth army might look like, but there is certainly appetite for raising one among the people. The Varushkan nation is perhaps in the best position of all the Imperial nations to muster a new army. The Eternal Shafts of Time provide a bounty of mithril; the Vale of the Sunless Depths is in Varushkan hands (where, some argue, it should remain permanently); the Iron Roundtower presents plentiful opportunities to acquire even more precious metal. Varushka is rich; it can certainly raise the money if the will is there.

Yet there's also concerns. The jealousy of Wintermark and the Brass Coast still rankles. Varushkan armies are still less effective if forced to take part in a campaign with the western nations. Elements of the Imperial Synod continue to snipe, openly or subtly, at the proven strategies of the Iron Helms. If Varushka was to raise a fourth army, which of the nation's strengths should it draw on and embody?

This is all theoretical at the moment, but some look to the National Assembly for guidance in this matter. Perhaps something like a plighted army, demonstrating the subtle strength of the Ushkan people, just as the Golden Axe show the powerful legacy of the Vard? Perhaps something that seeks to draw on the unique Varushkan understanding of dark and dangerous places? Or perhaps something intended to try and mollify Varushkas critics, something more acceptable to the rest of the Empire.

The Assembly can share their guidance with a statement of principle, and if that statement is suitably worded, and receives a greater majority, it might spark suggestions for opportunities related to this, potential, new army.

The Honey Offer

• The production of the Eternal Shafts of Time, the Hunt of Alderei the Fair, the Granites of Veltsgorsk, the Night Quarry, and the Sunless Depths have increased by 2 wains each season
• Oksana Lyava Pinavora and her allies still plan to contribute 1000 Thrones towards the purchase of the Hunt of Aldrei the Fair for Varushka

Following Judgement 54 (Autumn 374YE) and 13 (382 Winter). I call upon Varushkans to renew their support to nationalise the Hunt of Alderai the Fair. The offer of honey still stands so let us enjoy the rewards of our labour and have Pride in our Prosperity.

Lenochka Zabotovna Vypalse, Winter Solstice 384YE, Upheld (Greater Majority 150-0)

While they increase individual prosperity, the Roads also provide improved access to the Eternal Shafts of Time, the Hunt of Alderei the Fair, the Granites of Veltsgorsk, and the Night Quarry, and the Vale of the Sunless Depths (the renamed Crawling Depths). The production of each of these Bourse resources will now improve by 2 wains each season as long as the roads remained open.

Along with the statement of Lenochka Zabotovna Vypalze, this increase in prosperity has lead to more support for the idea that the Hunt of Alderei the Fair (and for that matter the Night Quarry) should be in Varushkan hands. The honey offer still stands; the Hunt is still controlled by a Varushkan, and Oksana Lyava Pinavora and her affiliates are still prepared to contribute 1,000 Thrones to the pot if the Senate can be persuaded to return the weirwood groves to Varushkan hands.

Oksana Lyava Pinavora resides in the bustling port town of Korotny in Karov, should anyone wish to enter into negotiation via Call Winged Messenger.

There are other rumblings as well. Ambition, Pride, even Wisdom perhaps, say that the two lost Bourse resources claimed by the Senate during the early years of the Empire should be in Varushkan hands. The inspiration of Ratibor of Temeschwar, combined with comments from a few Urizen pilgrims here to visit the Maze of Zoria, brings to mind the fiery threats of the sword scholar Clytemnestra. When the Urizen threatened to destroy the Citadel Guard, people took notice. While there's no desire to see the Varushkan armies disband, a quote sometimes attributed to Ratibor has started doing the rounds - "if you can destroy it, you control it." Nobody is doing anything rash right now but, in theory at least, he Senate might be more inclined to restore the Hunt and the Quarry to their rightful owners if the alternative was losing them entirely. One to think about, perhaps.

King Beneath the Hill

• The black-feathered cloak of the Charnel Lord's envoy has been seen abroad again
• The emissary has spoken with the Malinov family of Moresvah about the axe, Hunger
• They have also spoken to several priests, volhov, and wise ones in Karsk outlining an offer from their barrow-bound master

The completion of the Iron Roads is a great success, but with prosperity comes a need for increased Vigilance. Fortunately, there are plenty of mercenary schlacta and warden fellowships, as well as Dawnish knights-errant in search of glory, prepared to protect those who need it from the worst of the beasts. The problem is that they keep coming - the sovereigns are rising, and as they stir from their slumbers the other monsters of Varushka seem to gain strength and become more dangerous.

There appears to be one exception however, one sovereign who, on the surface at least, does not seem especially inimical to the people of Varushka. Which is enough to make some people very nervous indeed. He has a number of names: the King Beneath the Hill, the Branocbound, the Boyar of the Broken Barrow, the Raven, the Lord of the Crows, the Battlefed, but Zoria knew him as the Charnel Lord and that is the name most often ascribed to him. He has slept beneath the Broken Barrow in the Branoc hills since before there was an Empire, before there was really a Varushka, before the Vard fell from the heavens. During the recent Thule invasion, the Charnel Lord allied first with one side and then the other, finally throwing its support behind the Empire. According to stories, it extracted a promise from the wise ones of Varushka to look after its people, and then slipped back into a deep slumber somewhere beneath the hill. He still sleeps, apparently, but as he slumbers his mind roams the hills and forests of Karsk and perhaps even further afield.

Not long after the Winter Solstice, a woman in a cloak of black crow feathers calling herself Tasya of the Black Feathers has been seen walking the roads of Varushka, apparently with no fear of the increasing number of monsters lurking beneath the trees. Her first port of call is the vale of the Malinov, in Moresvah.

The current head of the Malinov family is Svetlana Ironeva Malinov, and she is prepared to receive winged messengers sent to Malinov Vale, Moresvah, Karsk.

Hunger

• Boyar Svetlana Ironeva Malinov is custodian of the bloodthirsty artefact axe Hunger
• The Charnel Lord's emissary has urged her to return the axe to the general of the Iron Helms
• The Malinov have a different proposal

The last time the envoy of the Charnel Lord came to Moresvah , they called in ancient agreements between the sovereign and the Malinov, the Sloev and the Pravin. They urged them to fund the recreation of the Iron Helms. This time her visit apparently also concerns the Iron Helms, albeit slightly more obliquely. It concerns the disposition of the axe, Golod.

When Empress Mariika disbanded the Iron Helms, the artefact weapon wielded by the commander of the army since time immemorial returned with the last general to Karsk. It has apparently remined there ever since, in the possession of the Malinov family. Tasya, it seems, has urged the current boyar of the Malinov Svetlana Ironeva Malinov to return the axe to service. Svetlana has refused point blank to do so at this time for a number of reasons.

According to Svetlana, the axe is a monster and not safe to leave the hidden vault where it is contained. The boyar claims that thousand years of slaughter and death has left it infused with a dark spirit, and it hungers to kill. Only the most strong willed dare lift it, and if their will falters, the axe will urge them to unspeakable acts of murder and conquest. At this stage, the axe may as well be a sovereign itself. The Malinovs are not the custodians of Hunger, they are its jailers. They would need to be absolutely certain they were not unleashing a monster on Varushka before they would consider letting Hunger out of their sight.

The Axe, Golod
Historically, the ability of an Ironbound Axe to deliver crippling blows made them the weapon of choice for captains and officers associated with the fearsome Iron Helms army. Stories are still told of Hunger (or Golod as it was known originally), the artefact weapon wielded by the generals of the Iron Helms since before the founding of the Empire.

The deadly waraxe is said to have been carried by the hero Mihaela Malinovia when she "fell from the heavens" along with the other Vard. It was wielded in the battles against the Ushkan people, and passed down from hero to hero through Varushkas often troubled history. Today, it is believed to be in the possession of the Malinov family of Karsk who claimed it when the Iron Helms were disbanded in the reign of Empress Mariika. Only cursory efforts were ever made to recover the item for the Empire - it is said that it is so old and has shed so much blood that it has developed a dark spirit that urges its wielders to commit unspeakable acts in pursuit of their goals. Perhaps the Empire is better off without it.

Furthermore, the Malinov are extremely concerned about the fact that the current general of the Iron Helms appears to be Alderei the Fair reborn. Alderei is one of the most dangerous figures in the history of Varushka; he conquered Varushka and lead armies against the very Empire that Varushka is now part of. The undying magicians, the volodny, supported him and at his execution Koshiev the White spoke a prophecy that one day Alderei would return. It's not even as if this is the first Varushkan to claim to be Alderei reborn - the last one apparently destroyed the Jotun meeting stone further antagonising the western orcs. The Malinov aren't too worried about that - but point out that everyone who's ever made a reasonable claim to be Alderei the fair reborn has ended up coming to a bad end as their overconfidence overpowered their Wisdom. They would need significant reassurance before they handed over a weapon that urges murderous rampages to someone who claims to be the tyrant-boyar that it took the entire Empire to defeat.

Providing the reassurances the Malinov seek will not be an easy task, but Svetlana has allowed that she is prepared to receive missives from anyone who wishes to persuade her to abandon her Vigilance.

The Malinov Compromise

• The Malinov propose that Hunger remain where it is for now
• If the Varushkan Assembly agrees, they will instead offer arms and armour for use by the soldiers of the Iron Helms

Svetlana believes the time is not right for Hunger to leave the relative security of its hidden vault. The Charnel Lord cannot force the Malinov to hand the axe over; there are no more bonds of favour between the family and the sovereign and she plans to be very careful about ever ending up in his debt again. However, the miners of Moresvah have always supported the Iron Helms. They helped to refound the army, and they accept the arguments that the soldiers of Varushka need to be harder than their many enemies.

The Malinov have asked the Varushkan National Assembly to make a well-worded statement of principle that recognises that some weapons are not to be wielded lightly, that the Malinov are right to keep Hunger hidden, and that it would be unwise for any Varushkan to seek it out.

If this is done, and the statement unequivocally dissuades people from seeking to get the axe released, the Malinov will put their metal and their artisans at the service not only of the Iron Helms, but of all the armies of Varushka. Each year, they will provide the general of the Iron Helms with an Ironbound Axe, and the generals of the Golden Axe and the Northern Eagle with a Vorpal Axe, and continue to do so as long as Hunger remains unused.

Wolves, Crows, and Rats

• Tasya of the Black Feathers proposes a possible use for the monsters

After she is done in Moresvah, Tasya of the Black Feathers, visits several priests, volhov, and wise ones across Karsk. She brings a message from the Lord of the Broken Barrow, who offers his assistance to his neighbours. "My master believes that Vigilance is one of your virtues," she says. "There are more potential threats to the people of Varushka than the wolves we are familiar with, and perhaps it is time to turn our eyes on them?"

Tasya is talking about the Thule and the Druj. While the Empire has a map of Verthandi, it has very little information about Sküld or Urdur, and almost nothing about the Forest of Ulnak. The Charnel Lord offers his aid to gather this information if the priests of Varushka wish to accept it.

Vigilance urges us to despise that which threatens what we watch over. The Empire is at peace with the Thule today, but who knows what tomorrow may bring? The Lord of the Broken Barrow offers his aid to prepare for the future. We send (named priest) with 50 doses of liao to urge the people of Varushka to accept their help.

Synod Mandate, Varushkan National Assembly

If this mandate is enacted, the Charnel Lord will help the Varushkan people to establish special spy networks in Sküld, Urdur, and the Forest of Ulnak. For the next year, provided the commission explicitly mentions the Charnel Lord's aim, the Senate or the Imperial Spymaster will be able to create a special spy network supported by the sovereign of Branoc. The spy network will cost 15 wains of weirwood, and 30 crowns, but it will have no upkeep. It will remain in existance for only a single season after it is completed; it automatically decomissions at the end of the season after it is created. Finally, if the spy network in Urdur will also provide information about the Thule holdings in the Silver Peaks, Crow's Ridge. and Miechernya, while the spy network in Sküld will also provide information about Krevsaty, the Bonewood, and Echofell.

The captain of a military unit that wishes to take advantage of this unique spy network will need to come to the Broken Barrow and leave a blood gift for the Charnel Lord. This will grant them the aid of the sovereign's animal servants - crows, ravens, rats, and wolves (the canine kind). They will also be supported by woods-wise guides chosen from among the people of the vales of Branoc - both human and independent orcs. With such aid, they will be able to move unseen through the mountains to Otkodov, or through the twisted woods into the Mallum.

The Charnel Lord is adamant that with his support, there is no chance of Hinodir of the Bright Orb or any of the other Thule dragons discovering the scouts in Otkodov, unless someone intentionally exposes their presence. Likewise, as long as nobody does anything foolish, the Druj will be unaware of the presence of spies in their territory.

The sovereign asks for nothing in return; only that the Varushkan National Assembly remember that he has offered his aid freely to help protect the borders of his beloved homeland. There is a restriction however; the spy network will only be able to be used by Varsuhkans. The Charnel Lord will not - or cannot - provide his support to the folk of other nations.

Not all are keen to embrace this new ally however. Konstantin Rabovich Bolotnikov has asked the Varushkan Assembly to consider an alternative mandate.

When a sovereign invokes virtue, it is vigilant to probe its motives. The Charnel Lord feasts upon bloodshed and battle, it seeks to reignite war by luring us into breaking the oath of the Thule peace treaty. We send {named priest} with 50 doses of liao to urge the people of Varushka not to accept the Lord of the Broken Barrow's offer.

Synod Mandate, Varushkan Assembly

If this mandate is enacted it will encourage people to directly reject the Charnel Lord's offer and to regard his entreaties with suspicion and vigilance. It will prevent any cooperation with the forces of the Charnel Lord and send a clear message that the sovereign will understand that they are not trusted by the people of Varushka.

The Zombies Are Not Our Friends

The sentient creatures with whom we share our land have already proven themselves through service and sacrifice with our armies. The Varushkan national assembly encourages the people of Varushka to consider the capacity for virtue in those sapient creatures.

Vaclav Mladenovich Kosti, Winter Solstice 384YE, Upheld (Greater Majority 134-0)

• A statement of principle urges the people of Varushka to consider the capacity for virtue in the sapient, and sentient, creatures of Varushka
• Many Varushkans assume this is a misunderstanding
• The National Assembly may provide more clarity

During the Winter Solstice, the Varushkan National Assembly upheld a statement of principle raised by Vaclav Mladenovich Kosti that has caused some confusion in the vales. What, exactly, does the Assembly mean when it urges the people to "reach out to the sentient creatures who have proven themselves through service and sacrifice with our armies"? It seems on the surface to be urging people to try and talk to the monsters of Varushka, to "consider their capacity for virtue". The problem is that the majority of the sapient creatures of Varushka are not like the hylje of Wintermark. They are monsters. Hungry, wicked horrors that seek to feast on living flesh, blood, or tears. Abominable plants that thirst for human and orc blood. Terrifying forces of destruction and despair. That can't be what the Assembly is urging, surely?

Dark Powers

• The Varushkan National Assembly could urge its people to seek out sovereigns and bargain with them for boons

On the other hand, a couple of years ago the General Assembly specifically sent Father Drakov to reassure the people of Varushka that there was no sin in bargaining with dark powers. The mandate also reminded them that "humans are the greatest of all beings in creation", however. Most people do not make bargains with the dark powers of Varushka because they like them, or want them as neighbours. They do it because they feel they need to for whatever reason, and because they think the alternatives are worse. "Their rule is hard but the real monsters lie outside their walls" is a lesson Varushkan children learn very quickly.

But people do make deals with sovereigns. They, at least, can be bargained with. The Varushkans and their forebears have always made deals with the dark powers of Varushka. Is that Assembly urging them to do that now? To see the rise of the sovereigns that seems to be taking place not as a dreadful threat but as an opportunity?

Humans are the greatest of all beings in creation, and more than a match for inhuman entities. We send (named priest) with 75 doses of liao to remind every Varushkan that it is not against the doctrines of the faith to bargain with sovereigns and that the virtuous can certainly put their dark boons to virtuous use.

Synod Mandate, Varushkan National Assembly

If this mandate is enacted, those in a position to do so will hunt out the dark powers of Varushka, and seek to make bargains with them. Most will see this as encouragement to try and get boons from sovereigns, while those able to do so might seek out eternals of a more sinister nature - those of the Winter realm in particular. Some of the bargains they make will certainly be ill-advised, and may create terrible problems that will need to be addressed. Others. however, will present opportunities that may be taken advantage of. At the Summer Solstice there will be at least one opportunity to gain an advantage by dealing with sovereigns or eternals.

The Other People

• The Varushkan National Assembly could urge its people to seek out opportunities to treat with the orcs in Varushka

There are some other, obvious, examples of sapient creatures who live in Varushka, some of whom have self-evident capacity of virtue. Orcs. The Thule who control Miechernya, Krevsaty, Bonewood, and the Webwood, are not the only orcs in Varushka. There are former Druj subjects in Ossium, such as the small sept that lives in Orieb, or the one that helps tend the Bone Hives, or the sept of the Menrothat in Nearwald. There are also small enclaves of independent orcs in the wild places. While many of them are little better than bandits there are a few, such as those who live in Branoc under the aegis of the Charnel Lord, who live quiet lives of hunting and agriculture and actively avoid their human neighbours. Outside of Ossium, many Varushkans are cautious about having too much to do with these orcs, but the National Assembly could encourage them to seek contact with them and make bargains.

Varushka is very large, and we must acknowledge that we share it with fellow sapient beings - the orcs. We send (named priest) with 50 doses of liao to urge any Varushkan who can do so to make peaceful contact with the orcs who share our hills and forests, consider their virtue, and discover what deals might be made with them.

Synod Mandate, Varushkan National Assembly

If this mandate is enacted, Varushkan traders, merchants, and volhov will seek to make peaceful contact with any receptive orcs in Varushka, including the Thule, and make deals with them. The kinds of deals they would make would likely be much more mundane in nature than those available from the sovereigns and eternals - these are fellow mortals after all. During the Summer Solstice there will be at least one opportunity to take advantage of a deal or bargain with one or more of these groups of orcs, and may even improve Varushkan understanding of the scattered groups of non-humans they share their nation with.

Plenty of Varushkans

• These mandates are not in competition

The two mandates are not in competition. The first mandate will mostly influence those with experience dealing with dark powers - cabalists and volhov in particular - and those who are ambitious or desperate enough to need the kinds of magical boons sovereigns and eternals can provide. The second mandate by contrast is more likely to encourage traders, merchants, wise ones, and even boyars to look for opportunities to profit by dealing with their foreign - but ultimately mortal - neighbours.

The Iron Helms

• There is some concern among the Iron Helms about how their own Assembly sees them

When the statement becomes common knowledge, some of the soldiers of the Iron Helms in particular are concerned that there has been a serious misconception. There are no wolves (in the traditional Varushkan sense) in the Iron Helms. The only time monsters fight alongside the army is when they are raised by Winter Magic. While the people from the vales of Branoc may be more than a little odd, and while some of them may use magic that is not common knowledge, they are as human as anyone else. There may be stories of hound handlers who wear the skins of animals, but those who do so are doing it to deepen the bond with their dogs - they don't actually transform into beasts. The birds that follow the army owe fealty to the cabalists who use their ritual magic and lore to support their fellow soldiers, and if a few of them also look to creatures like the Charnel Lord for guidance... that is no reason to think that the husks or dubik, the murderous mora or the rapcious rusalka, will ever show even the slightest hint of virtue.

No actual monster would serve in a Varushkan army anyway, and no sane soldier would serve alongside them. Such beasts could never be trusted not to run amok when the bloodlust took it. Whatever benefits they may provide are simply not worth the cost. "To become a monster is to fall forever," as some Wise Ones put it. "When you choose between two evils, anyone who suggests picking the greater evil is your enemy."

Further Reading

• Charnel Lord
• Iron Helms
• Crow on the cradle - 379YE Autumn Wind of Fortune about the reformation of the Iron Helms