Esterrapedia - User contributions [en]

The Wheels of Industry, The Stones of Truth

2026-04-17T11:07:41Z

EAlice:

The Civil Service is a vast and wide reaching organisation that does its level best to keep the various disparate parts of the Concordian bureaucracy functioning. Based out of One Concordian Plaza, Crux Patricus, Legend City, workers of the Civil Service can be found in every major city of The Concord while also travelling far and wide to ensure that the Concord’s business is handled as best as is possible.

The Civil Service report details such mundanities as the construction of important infrastructure, the deployment of troops, changes to Concordian titles, the wealth of the Treasury and the state of international trade.

== Quartermasters Report ==
Winter, while debilitating in some parts of The Concord, cannot stop progress.

In Starscar Duchy, Eastern Weiland, a vast stretch of previously abandoned farmlands known as ‘The Feral Fields’ have been cleared, reconstituted, and prepared to grow herbs for use in the Passage Field Hospital that supports Concordian heroes. Because of this, the Head Surgeon of the Passage Field Hospital will gain a small income of herbs which can be retrieved, like all incomes, from the Exchange.

Unfortunately there are some things that can stop progress, notably the divine Plague of Idleness that descended upon The Tribelands. Forged by The Magistrate, the divine curse robbed the people of The Tribelands of the drive and physical endurance to complete tasks. As such, the construction work on New Kodiri has been delayed by a season.

Elsewhere in The Concord there is still much work being done. The Sea Hall in Bolsterlee, Ala Briller and Maracavo’s Wing in Legend City, and the Schloss Mortis in Resinderholz all push towards completion. People are beginning to predestine 226 as ‘The Year of Monuments’ considering the weight of construction that is being completed.

Both the 1st Banner of Bordevar (in Heartsgrave) and the Valleys Own (in Highward) have spent the past season at rest, allowing reinforcements to arrive and be integrated into these powerful forces. Both forces have regained 2000 strength. Accurate troop numbers for each force will be available to those commanders in the War Chamber.

The Concordian War Chamber would also like to detail the following roll of honour, noting those mercenary units that supported Concordian armies, fleets, and fortresses this past season:
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Desert Whisperers'''
|-
|Fawz Cobra Al-Al’afaei
|-
|Daud El’Priado Del’Anarch Al’Sabre
|-
|Eshaan Al’Mai
|-
|Ali Al’Safir
|-
|Bevedes Al’Bevan
|-
|Jezabev Al’Bevan
|-
|Napoleon Le Livre
|-
|Sir Escanor Lionhart
|-
|Tav
|-
|Anastis Gelt, Shield of Obregon
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Iron Brawlers'''
|-
|Griff Baker
|-
|Robert Roderick
|-
|Lord Darcy Oakenwynters
|-
|William Roderick
|-
|Benjamin Roderick
|-
|Dane Forge Cooper
|-
|Nicholas Cutter
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Legion of the Blackheart Bear'''
|-
|Lorgar Aurelian
|}

== Civil Service Report ==
The Civil Service reports that, following consultation with a variety of individuals, the following titles have had their terms extended to 2 years:

* [[Admiral]]
* [[Archmage]]
* [[Captain of the Watch]]
* [[General]]
* [[Headmaster]]
* [[Head Surgeon|Head Surgeon of the Passage Field Hospital]]
* [[High Priest of Anarch|High Priest]]
* [[Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
* [[Senator]]
* [[The Voice of the Church|Voice of the Church]]

Individuals who currently serve in these titles will complete their current terms before the extension occurs.

The following titles have had their election season modified:

* [[Spymaster]] (Was: Autumn, is now: Spring)

The current Spymaster will be given the option to serve an extended term or relinquish the title at this Summit.

The Symposiarch wishes to report that the senate will no longer allow any number of motions to be tabled. Each senator may only table one motion per Summit.

== Treasury Report ==
The Concordian Treasury reports the following:

The Concordian Treasury at the beginning of the Summer Summit is expected to be valued at Twenty-one Vaults, Six Locks, Eight Keys. This is after the calculation of costs, income and assured expenses such as payments to The Shardcircle and Academy.

Current expenditure to support Concordian efforts is valued at sixty-one vaults and twelve locks.

Current income from Concordian taxation is valued at sixty-one vaults.

The Concord has failed to maintain strong trade ties with both The Dendarri Nations and The Fealties of Drummond this past season, impacting tax income and the standing of diplomats within those nations. However the strong presence of naval trade with the Golden Fleet ensures that The Concord maintains on strong, friendly terms with the Stormqueen and her fleets of Corsairs.

The current Senate Treasurer is Jarl Erik Frostsong

Only the Wrong Words Are A Waste of Time

2026-04-17T11:07:20Z

EAlice:

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/only-the-wrong-words-are-a|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

Lerona Mere, even as it grows, maintains a wildly complex variety of concerns. They are a Realm of great cultural concerns, violent problem solving traditions, and seemingly-petulant ethos of contrarianism. Even as their great democratic experiment continues into this new year, and their war with The Drowned, the people of Lerona Mere continue to pursue the arts and joy with an intensity unmatched by any other realm.

In 226 the Lerona Mere pursue monsters in the mists below their feet, vanquising foes that have haunted The Concord for years, claim their place as the creative heart of The Concord, explore the mysteries of magic unknown to any who speak the common tongue, and all the while they grow into more than a single city.

Grow into a Realm of untold power and influence.

''En Evante!''

== Let Loose in the Halls of the Learned ==
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The Kings Rangers arrived at the heavy gates to The School of Embers, expected and carrying their promised cargo. With some discussion, and rather much confusion, it was decided to store it in the depths of the School, in basements of stone, cold, dark, and theoretically safe. And so, Kings Rangers dragged it across the pavements, down halls decked in wood, and finally through corridors paved in stone.

The whole time it screamed and screamed and screamed.

A Sewerslang, more erratic than ever and chained at the wrists and ankles. Captured under the orders of a Senator, a Headmaster and more. An agreed task, and a dangerous one given the echoed manic nature of Sewerslangs across Legend City. Still, it was one accomplished by those who were set to do it. Only, what was once a plan to secure it within the powerful Arcane Vaults available within each School of Magic swiftly turned to dust, and immediate solutions determined.

It would turn out, through choice or oversight or yet innumerable other reasons, The Archmage of The Concord, the only person with the power to align The Arcline and direct its power towards securing the Vault; simply did not do so. The Vault of The De Re School of Embers was inactive and unusable. And so, instead, simple stone walls, a solid wooden door, and heavy metal chains would suffice.

Their duty done, the Rangers left as quickly as they arrived, leaving the task of watching over the creature to those that requested it in the first place. A simple task made difficult by situation, both controllable and otherwise. With a lack of arcane security at their disposal, the faculty of The School decided on a more mundane method of keeping the Sewerslang contained until a method of research could be decided upon. A rotating watch, day and night, by faculty members and those volunteer students who were of age and passed strict requirements.

It was to be simple. A phrase repeated in confidence at first, then in horror once the body was found.
[[File:638593930 945682391213770 6675058944536070849 n.jpg|left|thumb|Legend City holds more than one kind of shadowy figure in its depths]]
Mere days after the creature’s arrival, screams heralded the worst possible scenario. At the change of watch from evening to morning, a volunteer magus was found in a veritable lake of their own blood. Barely recognisable, their eyes had been torn from their skull as if by the fangs of some primal beast. Their throat a mess of muscle and skin, revealing the pureness of the internal body to the coldness of the external world. This was no easy passing, but all who saw the body prayed that it was at least one that was quick.

No one would know the truth, and all refused to guess. This promising young mage, full of potential and with a keener mind to learn than most, was ended now and forever more. It was simply hoped that they had accomplished enough in life to be deemed worthy by The Spheres.

It was no mystery what had done this. A trail lead away from the scene of tremendous carnage. A messy line of crimson, the heralding sign of the culprit. The Sewerslang, clearly having dragged itself away in search of escape, could be found just a few corridors down. Its body pale, even paler than normal, and its form utterly stiff and dead from a clear loss of blood. A result of its method of escape, rather than grave injuries from combat.

In its relentless mania, or perhaps panic, the creature had simply chewed its own hands and feet off with its sharpened teeth. Slipping its chains would be a simple affair after such an act. An act that would come at the cost of not just its own life, but the life of an entirely unsuspecting victim who could never have foreseen such a purely insane determination to escape.

The horror visited upon The School was one that would mar its history forever more. A live research subject was dead, but more importantly so was a student who had simply volunteered to assist in a great task. Some may view it as a waste of life for no result. Others would see it as an acceptable casualty of a volunteer who knew the risks. Some nameless young Lerona Mereian magus with barely a mark on history to note.

As it would turn out, it was not their mark on history that would matter so deeply, but their parents.

Barely a day after the news had spread through The School of Embers and its immediate surrounds, there would be another incident. This one with no immediate harm, save for damage to property. A cruel looking knife would be stabbed to the heavy front doors of The School, pinning a simple note signed in blood. All who saw it knew what it meant. It was a declaration of war by a Capo of Legend City, done in the old ways. It read;

''“My child was promised safety. My child was promised a future. This School and its Headmasters past promised me this. Now the promise is broken. I shall take repayment in kind. I shall see this School ruined. Its leaders ruined. And still this will not be enough. I will have blood.”''

No name nor sign was left with the note. None was expected.

=== Game Information ===
A successful capture of a Sewerslang would become a failure to keep it secured. As the School of Embers Vault was not empowered by the Archmage utilising The Arcline, a tragedy would befall a single young adult of The School and a life would be lost. As it was a single life lost, and was a successful downtime action, no investments were damaged.

There will be decisions regarding the declaration of war by an unknown Capo for The Champion of The Revolution and The Headmaster of The De Re School of Embers.

== A Noose Pulled Tight at Last ==
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Despite nights filled with terror, and the horrific loss felt by all in Gafroza due to its actions, The Hangman’s end would be a simple and swift affair.

Caught in the daylight, the supposed master of ghouls and stalker of the dark proved inexorably fallible. The simple light of the sun would prove enough to weaken its ability to sow fear and discourse, and the heroes of The Concord, Lerona Mere in particular, would not miss the sudden chance to cut it down for good.

The Hangman is dead. Its abominations slain with it. Its hat now hangs in parliament by request of none other than Jalen Von Voyant; always the publicist seeking glory. It seemed almost too easy. The people of Gafroza hesitated in their celebration. Not because they distrusted the actions of heroes, for that was not always reliable but certainly proved results, but because surely a beast that had sown such chaos could not die so easily.

But dead it was. There was to be no hidden resurrection, no unknown power of undeath to bring back a ghoul even so powerful as The Hangman. It was simply dead, truly dead, by the hands of heroes.
[[File:649850879 1640933913715716 7918850617532007629 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|Lerona Mere are not afraid to bite back]]
It would not be the only ghoul to face such a death. The Hangman had spread its influence wide, to Bolsterlee and Weiland both. Acting as a spy, infiltrating and causing mischief and mayhem. With its exposure after the burning of Gafroza’s spy network, it had made itself known. It tried to take the opportunity to make overt actions against Concordian lands while maintaining others covertly. Neither would work.

In Bolsterlee, The Hangman’s ghoulish goons would face slaughter at the hands of Iron Valley heroes. Whatever their scheme, whatever strange task they had been set to accomplish, it was never to be under the cold steel of Valley warriors. They were slain, their profane icon demolished beneath the boot of he who would become God of War, Thorin of Bolsterlee.

And in Weiland, beneath Lake Ladure’s lustrous quarry, a single man and his personal military force, one of the largest in The Concord, would find, rout and slay those ghouls that remained hidden within. Attempting to disguise themselves as fae creatures, causing trouble for the people of Everguarde amidst the strangeness of their surroundings, the undead had found a hideaway that was thought to be given freely. But this was not to be so, as Brigadier Griff Baker, under guidance of Deed Holder Tilly and the workers of The Lake Ladure Quarry, would ensure they were executed one and all in the late months of the Summer Season.

The Hangman was dead, and more importantly so was its entire retinue. While not all actions were performed by Lerona Mere alone, none could argue that at its core it was a Lerona Mere victory. They were the loudest, the proudest, and the most glad to see what once could have been a truly ferocious foe executed before its zenith.

And most importantly, the people of Gafroza could finally look into the night and expect to see the beauty of Lerona Mere, rather than the horrors of undeath. Some, at least, would sleep the easier for it.

=== Game Information ===
The Hangman, a powerful lieutenant of The Onyx Aristocracy, and all of its ghoulish retinue are now dead and gone. Heroes across Bordevar, The Iron Valley and Lerona Mere dealt severe blows to The Hangman’s affairs across The Concord, with Lerona Mere and others dealing the final blow to The Hangman itself.

At its core, The Hangman was a Spy Network of The Onyx Aristocracy. Its defeat brings no further benefit, but knowing that a Spy Network has been fully eradicated is knowledge worth its relief in gold.

== Two Wings Alike in Dignity ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/two-wings-alike-in-dignity|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

''In fair Lerona, where we lay our scene,''

''from ancient art break to new artistry.''

In the eastern wing, great carvings of peacock feathers grace the arched entrance, as if floating down from the ceiling to land upon the marble floors, frozen in time by the sculptor who laboured over them with their apprentice. A clerk passes under the arch, smoothing out his velvet doublet worn with time and embroidered with love, feeling the crisp patches of paint too dry to wipe away under his finger tips.

<nowiki>***</nowiki>

In the western wing, a great patchwork of stone from across the realms forms the arched entrance, limestone upon sandstone upon granite upon marble upon a transitional step of slate; a labour of love showing welcome to all of those who enter from around The Concord. A clerk passes under the arch, pushing away the wrinkles in her linen trousers, newly bought and selected with care, feeling for the notebook in her pocket, the shape of her lucky pen clear under her finger tips.

<nowiki>***</nowiki>

The clerk, now used to this place that he has come to love, steps around the waist-high tables not yet splattered with clay and paint and ink and sweat and blood and tears, past the sinks that remain clean and the kilns that remain cold. The air around him dances in the sunlight as he shifts through this place in what is likely one of its final moments of stillness, eyes catching on the easel that he hopes could one day be his to paint from. He could capture the view from the window to his right without looking: the faded cobblestones transforming into the wood of the docks under the feet of workers forming a tableau that he has painted a million times.

<nowiki>***</nowiki>
[[File:557425094 24785816437775383 8032498662236117519 n.jpg|left|thumb|Finally - a place in Lerona Mere for the artists and art 'appreciators' that make the realm so great]]
The clerk, now used to this place she has come to love, steps through the open space, eyes quickly adjusting to the change in light, the windows ensconced in their heavy velveret coverings, as she takes in her favourite pieces one by one. A still life restored from the last arthouse to fall in the First Revolution. A denizen of Shagston, captured in charcoal on wooden panelling, face wrinkled but joyous. The rolling hills of Madre Campo expressed in delicate watercolours, created, according to the artist’s plaque, using only the flora of the region dried and mixed with the waters of Lake Isabella. She could speak its words without actually reading them anymore, having read and reread it so many times in the wing’s construction - describe the mauve set against sage without seeing them.

<nowiki>***</nowiki>

There is no creak or squeak when the door to The Avant Guardian’s office opens - too much time was spent in oiling the hinges - and the clerk steps through. The pile of paraphernalia collected from the streets of Lerona Mere remains in as neat a pile as it can; a poster from this round of parliamentary elections, an excerpt of a report of the most prominent clothing purchases of Heroes this season, and a crumbling carving of a flame all sit together in an amalgamation of Lerona Mere’s current climate, ready to inspire the incoming Liberartiste. The clerk makes sure that nothing is out of place, collects the reports in the centre of the desk, and makes their way back to the entrance.

<nowiki>***</nowiki>

There was no creak or squeak when the door to the Museographer’s office opens - too much money was spent in oiling the hinges - and the clerk steps through. The collection of icons from across The Concord claim the front of the desk; a stone Bolsterlee Beast next to a taxidermy raven sits opposite a once-rusted Andashi artefact adjacent to a detailed carving of an oak tree. The clerk makes sure that nothing is out of place, moves the large painting of a park in The North Ward aside, counts the funds in the safe behind, and makes their way back to the entrance.

<nowiki>***</nowiki>

The clerks greet each other as they step away from their respective wings.

“Ala Briller is finally done, I see,” says the velvet-clad man, eyebrows raised at the donation box in front of the entrance to the gallery.

“Indeed! And Maracavo’s Wing looks ready for some artists to begin their work at last,” responds the woman, eyes tracing the empty tables through the archway, smile sardonic.

It only takes a moment for it to break into a wide grin, joining that of her fellow clerk as they link arms and walk out of the great wooden doors, squinting as the sun shines down on the newly completed Triboulett’s Academy of the Arts.

=== Game Information: ===
With the tireless work of Civil Service clerks and Liberartistes, Triboulette’s Academy of the Arts has been constructed on the site of Fuch’s Plug, as a home for Liberartistes from across Lerona Mere. Artists and art-appreciators from Lerona Mere and beyond begin to flock to the site to see, and have strong opinions, on the art being displayed and created in both Maracavo’s Wing and Ala Briller.

The Lerona Mere titles of [[Museographer]] and [[The Avant Guardian]] have been created, both of which will be elected this coming Autumn Summit. Some slight changes have been made to the Museographer title since its inception in Monuments of More, primarily to maintain the spirit and impact of the title.

== Great Grey Bricks, Mortared Together with Pain and Obligation ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/great-grey-bricks-mortared|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

The powers of the Arcline are barely understood by The Concord’s most powerful arcane minds, regardless of this fact, the powerful artifact is put to use guiding the Realmweave to empower The Concord. This past season it has settled upon the leylines, the stones, and the minds of the people of Mancante Terra, producing two very different effects.

In Marepato, that vast plains lowlands that stretches from Lake Isabella in the North all the way along the coast until it reaches La Dove Dormani. Home to nearly all of Mancante Terra’s population, it holds the growing regional capital of Loricazzo, the small seaside village of Korrence, and the military outpost of La Bevanda Dei. It is a place of rolling grasslands that sway gently in the early morning wind off the bay. It is a place where one can see for leagues in any direction from atop an ox cart. It is that impossible thing; a land within Lerona Mere where you can find silence.

The Realmweave, that arcane enchantment infused into the Shardcircle, The Concord, every citizen, waystone and leyline, steels itself at the Arcline’s direction. Powerful Shards of mana are consumed and in turn the land of Marepato repulses magical influences from without while the people within are bolstered. The morning is easier to face, the evening arrives with a gentle thrum of energy. The works of the day are faced with an easy pleasantness of hard effort. It does not make any of the maladies of life lesser, or easier, but it makes surviving them that little bit more reasonable.
[[File:649489221 1171228574945227 816422263023637626 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|The realm steels itself for what will happen to the Sinking City]]
But the true trial was Mandrianos, for Marepato was not waylaid by the engulfing claw of The Drowned, Mandrianos is.

From the outpost of La Bevanda Dei and a string of smaller watchposts across the Plateau of the Gods, Lerona Mere volunteers, Civil Service workers, Shardcircle representatives and priests observe ‘The Sinking City’, ensuring that its influence does not spread beyond its sodden cobbles. As the Realmweave fortifies itself, they are privy to a beautiful sight.

The city glows. Pale pinks, greens, and blues. In the early morning and as the sun descends over the La Calidez Mountains to the west. The flicker-fires of arcane energy being expended, of whatever curse is woven into the soil, the sewers, and the soul of this once failed city. Every dusk and dawn the magic of the Drowned attempts to reassert itself and drag the city even lower, and every morning the magic of The Concord flares in defiance. This City of Beautiful Cinders finds its own rebellion and so lit is the fires of disobedience. Even this inert pile of stones within Lerona Mere has life within it.

Those few explorers sent by the wary Civil Service report even stranger sights, days pass in the time it takes for a week, nights take a month, the streets throng with the perfectly lifelike images of Artebazzani priests that are gone the moment you turn a corner. All of this is fleeting and ethereal, but beautiful and peaceful.

But as the Summit draws near, and Autumn rears, the effect wanes. The last night of cinders ended the week before Summit. The reports that have followed since are poorly. The mist once again creeps from the stones below the city, and the night wails with the anguish of things that should not be.

=== Game Information ===
The Realmweave Guardian of the Second Incantation has been performed by The Arcline, the most powerful of the Shardcircle’s Artifacts, targeting the territories of The Plateau of The Gods, and Marepato.

On the Plateau of The Gods, the Realmweave locked in sparking conflict with whatever curse the Drowned have placed upon it. The territory has suffered no further from ‘The Sinking’, remaining trapped in some arcane frozen time. The combat between the Shardcircle’s magic and the broken Illsevir corruption has produced some strange side effects, with frozen time, strange skies, and phantoms being reported. A different magical strangeness, but strange nonetheless. There will be decisions relating to these magical oddities for the Senator of Mancante Terra and the Archmage of the Shardcircle. In addition, every character with an investment in the Plateau of the Gods and the Magus skill gains +1 maximum hitpoint and +2 maximum personal mana for this upcoming summit.

In Marepato, the Realmweave has enthused the people and given good morale against the hard work ahead. Characters with an investment in Marepato and the magus skill gain +1 maximum hitpoint and +2 maximum personal mana for this upcoming summit, and any Mine, Farm, or Wilderness investment in the region will find they have produced slightly more.

Any character with an investment based in Marepato may opt to be affected by the following roleplay effect:

''“I am capable of surviving great trials, for all things, even this, must pass.”''

== Lights of my Home, Shadows of my City ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/light-of-my-home-shadows-of-my|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

The repopulation and rebuilding of a city is no new thing to The Concord, but to Lerona Mereians it is a particularly fresh history. Loricazzo was not the centre of the revolution, but it played its part nonetheless. It wears its scars earned through the same fire as Legend City. It bears the same marks of a city rebelling against its self-proclaimed owners. The story of Loricazzo during the revolution is not one of unstoppable change however, but that is a tale for another time. Now, it lives a tale told by those that fill its strange and as yet unexplained vacancies.

With a population now even greater than that of Mivara, no small task given the short amount of time there had been to do so, everyone tells a different story as to why the city was found as it was. The most common tells of horrors inflicted by The Illsevir, before or perhaps during the phenomenon that would create The Drowned. Easily hand waved by the uninterpretable ways of a foe unknown. Some others prefer to tell more unique stories, like an Artebazzani ritual gone wrong or a mass hypnosis by some powerful mage from far away.

With no truth to be found immediately, no roaring monsters nor hidden Artebazzani culprits springing forth, the topic would sequester itself away to idle wondering and tavern talk. Something there would be plenty of, despite how busy Loricazzo would be as it settled into its new rhythm of bustling life. And bustle it would! The eagerness of its new citizenry, whether they had arrived within six months or barely a year ago, would be palpable to those simply visiting. There was a life to build here, literally and figuratively, and so there was always work to be done and people to meet and greet.

The most notably recent of such new people caused an appropriately notable stir. Under the guidance of Champion Franco, for the betterment of Loricazzo and as a guarantee of Lerona Mere’s intent to keep hold of it, heroes of other Nations would move their livelihoods to Marepato and Loricazzo. Normally, the ever patriotic people of Lerona Mere might take offence to such an action, believing that it reflects a belief that they cannot protect what is theirs with their own hands. Normally, this would bring trouble, minor or major depending on the severe ideals of particularly vocal citizens.

But The Champion of the Revolution would see this off at the pass, by having those heroes formally join the Nation of Lerona Mere, ceding their original home in favour of a new one. And to this, they agreed. At first, it seemed just a falsehood to ease the minds of the citizenry, but the genuine actions of those heroes to learn and adopt the culture to which they had joined was what would sway the hearts of those who might have issue. So long as this remained the case, the people of Lerona Mere in Loricazzo would welcome them to their new home with open arms.

And what a home it would be. Colour had begun to make its way back into Loricazzo. Cloths, ribbons, drapes; material of all shape, size and purpose, hanging from windowsills, roof overhang’s, ladders and ropes. The verticality of its Burrows would prove all the easier to find somewhere to hang something, and to the burgeoning populace it would seem you needed little reason at all. Clothes would be hung, either for drying or for sale, right along a major walkway that crossed above the main street below. If it was able to be hung, then it simply was. If it couldn’t, then the clever would create a method in which it could be. Truly, the ingenuity of Lerona Mere could be seen in the most populated of its Burrows.

But, most importantly, this was only the case in the brightest and most heavily settled parts of the city. Some Burrows would remain far less modernised, either since they were yet to be settled or because the people who lived within it agreed to keep it that way. Perhaps this would one day become a cause of competition and rivalry between those that kept their Burrows plain and those that enjoyed the cluttered freedom of the opposite, but for now it simply marked a preference of living.
[[File:650021879 26071531312458014 611927447725532368 n.jpg|left|thumb|To change is to grow, after all]]
Loricazzo grows. With the once overflowing stream of settlers finally petering out into a more reliable, if not occasional, growth, the city begins to take on a personality. As it is rebuilt, and rediscovered as a settlement, Lerona Mere begins to draw comparisons to home. To Mivara, and Gafroza. To Legend City.

Even to Mandrianos, the cursed sister city of Mancante Terra. A place that should be home, but for its mysteries. Mysteries unique to its circumstance, but ones that make Loricazzo’s feel all the more strange. Despite its growth, despite its smooth settlement, it still shares an unnerving quality beyond that which is spoken about in idle talk and amongst tavern drinks. The shadows of Loricazzo give it its name, for even with a population ever increasing it stays The City of Lonely Shadows.

Many Lerona Mereians believe it is better to let the mystery be, no matter how strange it is that a home can never be truly lit, even by dozens of candles. No harm is done by a room with shadowy corners, even if it seems an impossibility. No harm is done by the shadow that seems to walk alongside your own at the corners of your vision. No harm is done by the Burrows that seem to snuff the light from any lamp that enters their bounds. It is simply a fact of Loricazzo. A quirk. A piece of the city that you simply learn to live with.

Yet, as is always the case, there are others who disagree. Rumours spread throughout the city that a group are gathering to solve this mystery. To learn whether Loricazzo is truly cursed, like its sister Mandrianos, or whether it is some strange mass hysteria that instead plagues their home. More than a group of scholars, researchers, priests and mages; it is a faction of Loricazzo built by its people. While their numbers are still rumoured to be small, barely a few dozen, with time they may grow to become a true faction.

The first of Loricazzo. The first of The City of Lonely Shadows. The first of Mancante Terra. And certainly not the last.

=== Game Information ===
Loricazzo continues to be rebuilt and resettled by Lerona Mere. Now large enough to truly be called a city, rather than simply a large town, the surge of settlers has finally begun to fade into a steady trickle. The previous reduced cost for Investments moving to Marepato has been removed, representing the best land, buildings and space being taken up by those who arrived early.

The Senator of Mancante Terra should expect further information or opportunities to arrive from the rumoured faction looking into the mystery of Loricazzo, and perhaps others with an interest in the city.

===== See Also: =====

* [[Winds of the World - Autumn 226]]

Arcadian Ceremonies

2026-04-02T14:13:44Z

EAlice:

The Sphere of Steel and Courage, [[Arcadian]] imbues warriors and performers with new skill, rewards armies and changes the campaign.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Name
!Type
!Effect
!Magnitude
!Altar Capable
|-
|[[Missive of Courage]]
| -
|The message that you have written is magically sent to the Arcadian Herald or Eternal of your choice, so long as you have properly addressed it. There is no guarantee that you will receive a response, and the Ceremony does not magically assist them in replying.
|2
|Yes
|-
|[[Bless the Warhost]]
| -
|The characters who are present, are in the same realm, and consent to do so are joined together magically and henceforth are made a Band. This can be performed again to add more people to the Band at a later date.
|3
|No
|-
|[[Strength of the Bull]]
|Enchantment
|The target character gains one rank of the Juggernaut skill. This may affect another two additional characters of the same Band for an additional 3 magnitude. The targest experience a roleplaying effect.
This effect lasts until the end of the event.
|4
|Yes
|-
|[[Swift Leaping Hare]]
|Enchantment
|The target character may call Knockback once per day with a melee weapon. This may affect another two additional characters of the same Band for an additional 3 magnitude. The characters experience a roleplaying effect. This effect lasts until the end of the event.
|3
|Yes
|-
|[[Bedecked in Final Glory]]
|Enchantment
|Target becomes supernaturally driven to glorious purpose. If this character becomes terminal before the end of the day, they experience no pain from the Terminal status and require no support to move or act (although they still cannot fight or use any skills). The character is filled with a sense of final peace, the wisdom of the veteran and the knowledge that they have achieved their goals. They fade into nothing rather than leaving a corpse behind. This Ceremony has no effect on characters who are already terminal.
|6
|Yes
|-
|[[Pythons Presence]]
|Enchantment
|Until the end of the event, twice per day the two characters in the same Band gain the ability to call Shackle for no cost when landing a melee strike that would deal damage. If both characters recover all their energy from an effect within the same minute, it also recovers the uses of this ability for both of them. Both targets experience a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|8
|Yes
|-
|[[Poisoner's Blessing]]
|Enchantment
|The two target characters from the same Band gain the ability to deliver the Venom effect on any strike that would deal damage once per day. The targets may spend 1 energy to call Immune to the Venom call. If both characters recover all their energy from an effect within the same minute, it also recovers the uses of this ability for both of them. Both targets experience a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|8
|Yes
|-
|[[Surgeon's Limited Patience]]
|Enchantment
|The target character with the Surgeon skill loses access to it but gains Bulwark, Armoured, Weaponmaster, Hand-and-a-half, Bladehand, and two ranks of the Juggernaut skill. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|8
|Yes
|-
|[[Raise the Wounded Warrior]]
| -
|Target ‘Damaged’ Military or Naval Investment is repaired and functions as if it were one tier higher in the coming season. The target investments owner experiences a roleplaying effect.
|8
|No
|-
|[[Rally the Fallen]]
|Enchantment
|The target character may use Stay With Me twice a day as if they know the skill without spending any energy. If you recover all energy from an effect, it also recovers the uses of this ability. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. This effect lasts until the end of the event.
|10
|Yes
|-
|[[Chorus of the Righteous]]
|Enchantment
|Target group of musicians (minimum 3) find their talent in true alignment with the Spheres. Once per day, they may add musical support (in the form of a song or other musical piece) to a Ceremony being cast that has a minimum magnitude of 8. Collectively, they count as if they were an additional priest of Divine Lore 3 and count as having spent 3 Crystal Mana. Please see the page for detailed instructions regarding this ceremony. This effect lasts until the end of the event.
|10
|No
|-
|[[Trial of Worthiness]]
|Curse
|Target character affected by this Curse loses all skills that grant them weapon, armor or shield proficiencies (noting that characters retain the ability to use light and medium armor, and wield basic weapons). If the character attends four confluxes, kills a foe at every conflux they attend, and allows the Curse to fade naturally, they gain one of the following skills for no cost: Archer, Armoured, Bladehand, Bulwark, Hand-And-A-Half, Weaponmaster. Please see the page for detailed instructions regarding this ceremony. THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED
|10
|No
|-
|[[Powerful Growth]]
|Enchantment
|A target Wilderness investment will produce 3 Locks and six measures of herbs in addition to its standard production before the next event.Its owner experiences a roleplaying effect for the remainder of the event.
|12
|Yes
|-
|[[Pirate's Unity]]
|Enchantment
|The target Naval investment is treated as being five ranks higher during its next season provided it takes Independent Action. Its owner experiences a roleplaying effect for the remainder of the event.
|12
|Yes
|-
|[[Style of the Bronze Colossuss]]
|Enchantment
|The target character gains two bonus hit points and two bonus energy as long as they are wearing heavy armour. They are completely immune to the Fracture call. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event. THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED
|14
|Yes
|-
|[[Chamber of the Restful Warrior]]
|Enchantment
|Enchants a target area with an aura of introspection that encourages people to speak of their concerns, fears and worries. The target area need not be large, but must be at least one tent or a single table in a larger area. In addition, if you spend more than fifteen minutes resting in this location, and have a meaningful conversation about something that has been on your mind, you recover all energy and gain +1 temporary energy over your maximum. You may never have more than 1 temporary energy over your maximum from any source. Please see the page for detailed instructions on how to prepare for this ceremony. This effect lasts until the end of the event.
|15
|No
|-
|[[Tree Falls Weight]]
|Enchantment
|The target may call Break twice per day with a Greatweapon for no cost. If you recover all energy from an effect, it also recovers the uses of this ability. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. This effect lasts until the end of the event.
|15
|Yes
|-
|[[Warrior's Mantle]]
|Enchantment
|The character gains the Weaponmaster, Armoured, Bulwark, Hand-and-a-half, Archer and Bladehand skills. All Heralds of Arcadian are aware this Ceremony has been cast, and will take note of the character should they happen to cross paths. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. This effect lasts until the end of the event. THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED
|20
|Yes
|-
|[[Lion's Roar]]
|Enchantment
|The target character may cast a single Arc Knockback once per day for no cost. If you recover all energy from an effect, it also recovers the uses of this ability. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|20
|Yes
|-
|[[Conclave of Trees and Courage]]
|Enchantment
|A target Leyline, Mine, Herb Garden, or Wilderness becomes a Military Investment for the next season. Its tier remains the same. This military is particularly effective at ‘Support the Army’, gaining a five tier bonus to this action. Its owner experiences a roleplaying effect for the duration of the event. THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED
|22
|No
|-
|[[Ward of Ironclad Vigor]]
|Enchantment
|Target region is blessed with supernatural fortitude. Simple illnesses and infections are treated easier, if not entirely repulsed from the body. This includes early stages of severe illness such as Blasserstreit. The enchantment will have little effect on wounds or more severe cases of disease.
During the next season, Herb Gardens and Farms in the target region will produce as if they are one tier higher.
|25
|No
|-
|[[Thunderous Wings of Griffin's Victory]]
|Enchantment
|During the next season, the target Army gains an additional 6 Army Movement Value. In addition the General of the target Army gains the following roleplaying effect: ''The character is filled with a sureness in their actions, their words, even the very steps they take. They are decisive, and quick to make decisions.''
|30
|No
|-
|[[God of War]]
|Enchantment
|The target character who has gained at least 3 experience is considered an army with a strength equal to (500 x the number of unique combat skills they have) for the purposes of campaign actions. The target character is immune to the Terminal condition. If they would receive that condition for any reason, they instead experience the effects of Recall and are stabilized on 1HP. They may enter the War Chamber, gain a vote in the War Chamber, and may act accordingly. The character will become terminal at the start of the next Summit All Heralds of Arcadian are aware this Ceremony has been cast, and will take note of the character should they happen to cross paths. The Church has historically acknowledged the prominence and power of this Ceremony as a Miracle of the Spheres for the martyr who accepts it. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED
|100
|No
|}

=== Alignment Ceremonies ===
The following ceremonies are only available during a Summit where the Precipice is aligned to Arcadian.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Name
!Type
!Effect
!Magnitude
!Altar Capable
|-
|Thunderous Retreat
|Enchantment
|The target character may cast the Recall spell once at no mana cost, with no casting time. The spell is cast at its base level and cannot be improved. The caster may be currently enganged in combat, and may be wearing heavy armour. This effect lasts until the end of the Summit or until used.
|12
|Yes
|-
|Heart of War
|Enchantment
|The target character may call 'Resist' to the next 5 combat calls that affect them. To do so, they must be weilding a shield.
|18
|Yes
|-
|Ardent Wavesight
|Enchantment
|The captains of target [[Fleet]] are enchanted with foresight into the movement of waves and nature of tides. This increases the effective strength of the fleet for calculating casualties inflicted and claim by 2,000 for the next season. In addition, any Naval Investment that takes the 'Support the Fleet' downtime action targeting this fleet functions as if it was one tier higher.
|65
|No
|}
[[Category:Arcadian]]
[[Category:Spheres]]
[[Category:Ceremonies]]

Bless the Warhost

2026-04-02T14:13:39Z

EAlice:

== An [[Arcadian Ceremonies|Arcadian Ceremony]] - Magnitude 3 - The Warheart ==

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets any number of characters, who must all be present throughout but need not be any of the priests performing the Ceremony.

This Ceremony is complete only when all of the characters have sworn an oath, and completed their warcry.

== Effects ==
The characters who are present, are in the same realm, and consent to do so are joined together magically and henceforth are made a Band. This can be performed again to add more people to the Band at a later date - this requires either the entire Band be present, or at least as many current members as new members for the Ceremony to work.

== Description ==
A spoken oath, a shouted voice, a chorus of words raised high in the sight of the Spheres. These ring loudly, crossing the void and ringing out in echoes of power within the Sphere of Steel as the words are accepted, and souls are bound together.

Like most Oaths performed in a Sanctified Square and under the light of a Sphere, this oath bonds powerfully the parties involved, but this bond of fraternity is stronger than most. Rare is the person who can stand by and watch as those they are bonded to are cut down, much less raise a weapon against their kin in true murderous intent. The essence of martial might press heavily upon those who take part in this Ceremony, for as long as their group remains recognized, and their oaths remain unbroken.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Drawn from, as might be expected, the Warheart, this Ceremony involves less from the Priest casting it than from the members of the Band to be. The Priest serves as a conduit for the Sphere, through which the words and oath might resonate and be raised high to Arcadian.

Priests need only open the rite with words of praise and prayer, prompt the Band members for their sworn oath, and ask them to raise their voices high in their warcry - anything beyond this is entirely up to the Band itself. Many put great importance on this Ceremony, and will have fights or contests as part of it, or great rituals of shared food or wine. The spirit of martial brother and sisterhood will drive the group together for a great long time to come, and so its beginning is seen as an occasion well worth celebrating as a memory of good times before the trials to come.

Strength of the Bull

2026-04-02T14:13:36Z

EAlice:

== An [[Arcadian Ceremonies|Arcadian Ceremony]] - Magnitude 4 - The Warheart ==

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets a character who must be present throughout but need not be one of the priests performing the Ceremony.

This Ceremony is an Enchantment. A target may only be under one Enchantment effect at a time.

== Effects ==
The target character gains one rank of the Juggernaut skill.

As long as they are enchanted the target experiences a roleplaying effect: ''The character is filled with boundless enthusiasm for things that catch their eye, throwing themselves earnestly and enthusiastically into anything that their fancy lands upon. This can be constructive, destructive, or simply a whimsy, depending on the person specifically.''

The roleplaying and mechanical effect lasts until the end of the event.

== Additional Targets ==
This Ceremony can affect up to two additional characters from the same Band for an additional 3 magnitude. Additional targets must be present for the whole Ceremony as well.

== Description ==
The taunting of a bull is a crowd-pleasing display of skill and finesse, though many consider it barbaric. To stand before a bull and poke it with spears, ducking ever so nimbly out of the way of the sweeping and gouging horns - there is no argument that this is an extremely dangerous profession, and has been the death of many.

So it is to stand before those blessed through Arcadian with the Strength of the Bull, who shrug off piercing injuries as if they were only skin deep and throw themselves into danger with abandon. To stand in their way is to be swept from your feet and trampled beneath their ever-enthusiastic tread.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
A Ceremony drawn deeply from The Warheart, many Arcadian priests will do something similar in theme if not a literal reenactment of bullfights to draw down this power. Some taunt their targets with reminders of their failures, where they have fallen, where they have failed to overcome a height. Others still will needle and prod the target with barbs or other witty word, to test their mettle and push them towards anger. Some, indeed, literally dance around the target of the Ceremony, jabbing at them with pointed sticks or blunted weapons to rile them up.

Raise the Wounded Warrior

2026-04-02T14:13:33Z

EAlice:

== An [[Arcadian Ceremonies|Arcadian Ceremony]] - Magnitude 8 - The Warheart ==

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets an existing, Damaged Investment owned by a character who must be present throughout, but need not be one of the priests performing the Ceremony.

== Effects ==
Target Damaged Military or Naval Investment is repaired and functions as if it were one tier higher in the coming season. This Ceremony has no effect on Investments that are not Damaged.

Until the end of the event, the owner of the target Investment is affected by a Roleplaying effect: ''You are driven by a supernatural desire to save or sacrifice yourself for the wounded.''

== Description ==
From distant Passage, the prayers and ceremonies reach far and wide, calling with ringing steel and exhortations of strength for those who have fallen to rise once more and take their place among the ranks of the Concord’s defenders. Bones knit, sails stitch themselves back together, and the wounds of pride and mind are carried away as the courage of Arcadian surges back into the brave soldiers of the Investment.

Without necessarily having any warning that this effect is going to take place, many of these recoveries are treated as great miracles and blessings for a time, before the owner of the investment inevitably returns and informs the lucky wounded that their blessings are the effect of a Ceremony. Still, this particular healing has been used on a number of small occasions as an (admittedly underhanded) way of conversion through some particularly intrepid missionaries.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Drawn from the Warheart, this ceremony is an important one for getting an ailing or stricken area back on its feet after a disaster. Depending on whether the target is a Military or Naval investment changes the actions of most priests in how they go about handling this Ceremony, though not the general aspect of the Ceremony itself. There is almost always either a physical mending or repairing involved, or some kind of surgery or first aid utilized as a key focus of the Ceremony - both to focus the ritual and serve as a powerful symbolic totem for the Grace to replicate.

There have been stories of poor surgeries or botched repair efforts during the Ceremony actually having negative effects on the efficacy of the outcome desired, but these are largely assumed to be overreactions or simply confirmation bias. The individuals or items repaired through the Ceremony often react well when involved in further Arcadian Ceremonies within a short time period, as if they too have been infused with some of the power of the Sphere despite not being its target.

Rally the Fallen

2026-04-02T14:13:30Z

EAlice:

== An [[Arcadian Ceremonies|Arcadian Ceremony]] - Magnitude 10 - The Warheart ==

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets a character who must be present throughout but need not be one of the priests performing the Ceremony.

This Ceremony is an Enchantment. A target may only be under one Enchantment effect at a time.

== Effects ==
The target character may use Stay With Me twice a day as if they know the skill without spending any energy.

If you recover all energy from an effect, it also recovers the uses of this ability.

As long as they are enchanted the target experiences a roleplaying effect: ''You are offended by displays of weakness, including falling ignominiously in battle, but will do whatever necessary to help people redeem themselves.''

The roleplaying and mechanical effect lasts until the end of the event.

== Description ==
While the desperate call of a friend and comrade to rise and fight once more has been the saving of many a downed warrior, this Ceremony raises it to new heights of effect. The instruction to rise by one affected by this Ceremony is not just a call to rise, it is an unequivocal instruction to do so. A shot of adrenaline straight to the heart, suppression of pain receptors and nerve endings, so that the target can rise and push on no matter the cost or the pain to come.

Those who feel the weight of this Ceremony on their shoulders are quick to chide those who fall due to their own stupidity and angered by the loss of those who should have fought better. This anger, though, is channeled productively by Arcadian to push them to teach others to be better, to help them avoid the same mistake in the future, and to spend their own time and effort to help those who fall along the path to the Sphere of Steel.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Drawn from The Warheart, powerful lungs and powerful will are required for the subject of this Ceremony to make the most out of the blessings they will receive. They will be asking others to fight through mind-crushing pain, rather than actually healing their existing wounds, and to do so too much risks killing or making permanent an injury that could otherwise have been treated.

Priests might instruct the target of the Ceremony to show their ability to shout from the diaphragm, either swearing them to oaths or having them declare their faith loudly to the world. Additionally, to understand the pain they will be putting others through, priests might have the target ceremonially injure or hurt themselves so that they can feel some small amount of the pain that they will be asking others to continue to inflict upon themselves.

Trial of Worthiness

2026-04-02T14:13:25Z

EAlice:

== An [[Arcadian Ceremonies|Arcadian Ceremony]] - Magnitude 10 - The Warheart ==

THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets a character who must be present throughout, but need not be one of the priests performing the Ceremony. They become the Prophet as described in the rules about [[Ceremonies Overview#Some Ceremonies are listed as Curses. The power to deliver a curse is imbued in one of the individuals who performed the ceremony.|Curses]].

This Ceremony is a Curse, and therefore interacts with anything that would remove or affect Curses.

== Effects ==
Target character affected by this Curse loses all skills that grant them weapon, armor or shield proficiencies (noting that characters retain the ability to use light and medium armor, and wield basic weapons). If the character attends four confluxes, kills a foe at every conflux they attend, and allows the Curse to fade naturally, they gain one of the following skills for no cost: Archer, Armoured, Bladehand, Bulwark, Hand-And-A-Half, Weaponmaster.

This Curse lasts for the full remaining duration of the event where it was received, as well as the two full summits following it that the character attends.

While a target character is affected by this Curse, they may not benefit from any effect that would give them access to a weapon or shield proficiency from any source (Enchantment, Artifact, Band or Sect effect, etc.).

While a target character is affected by this Curse, they may not unlearn any abilities during downtime, even non-weapon related ones. This does not prevent them from spending experience on weapon or shield proficiencies, though they will be suppressed until the Curse is removed. If a character should have access to every possible skill that could be gained when the Curse fades naturally and they have completed the requirements, speak with an ST about possible other outcomes.

It is the task of the player to report on the outcomes of their Curse progress at the end of each event if they wish to gain the positive outcome. This can be done as a note in the character bag handed back at the end of the event or in your downtime submission.

== Description ==
To take away the skills that bring confidence in a fight, or act to protect a martially skilled individual from the blows of their foes, and then to task them with charging forth to join the fight anyway - this is a fitting test of courage and skill for an Arcadian Ceremony. The target is cursed with a fog of the mind that removes their ability to remember how to fight with any but the simplest of weapons. Their dexterity and other combat basics are unaffected, but they simply forget how to skillfully wield practically every weapon, and their armor weighs unnaturally heavily on their body.

This curse has been the folly of many an aspirant, who has either taken on the curse intentionally, or has simply accepted the challenge when they have been cursed by someone else and gone into battle anyway. Such individuals, without support and expecting themselves to be far more capable than they actually are, die surprised as foes they once cut down with impunity get past their guards to deliver lethal blows.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
This curse is drawn from The Warheart. As there are many people who choose to take this curse upon themselves, there are a few different ways that this Ceremony is performed, based on whether it is a malicious curse to be turned on a rival, or a self-imposed challenge to be overcome for glory and Grace. In the first instance, the Ceremony could involve cutting words and rhetoric that empowers the Prophet with the doom and fog that this curse imparts. Where the Prophet seeks to take on the curse themselves, this is a ritual Ceremony of respect and cautious optimism, involving the swearing of oaths and the teaching of warnings and cautionary tales.

In either case, shadows and smoke are used to great effect by some priests in the spectacle of this Ceremony, whether from incense burners or sticks, or from a fire or recently burning stick. These represent and enhance the smoke and fog of memory that are inflicted on the cursed individual, and in being used can help to focus the Grace of the ceremony to affect only that which is desired, as sometimes the scope of the memories affected can be greater than what was originally bargained for.

== Notes ==
While this Curse naturally fades normally at the very end of a Summit (and thus thematically at some point during the break), it is fine to seek approval for it to end roughly an hour before the end of Summit as long as the player does not anticipate there being any reasonable likelihood that they will engage in combat after that point.

This is to allow the return of strength and skill to be roleplayed at the actual Summit itself, though the new skill can obviously only be obtained once the Summit has concluded and the downtime actions are available.

Style of the Bronze Colossuss

2026-04-02T14:13:23Z

EAlice:

== An [[Arcadian Ceremonies|Arcadian Ceremony]] - Magnitude 14 - The Warheart ==
THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED
== Performing the Ceremony ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 5 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets a character who must be present throughout, but need not be one of the priests performing the Ceremony.

This Ceremony is an Enchantment. A target may only be under one Enchantment effect at a time.

== Effects ==
The target character gains two bonus hit points and two bonus energy as long as they are wearing heavy armour. They are completely immune to the Fracture call.

As long as they are enchanted the target experiences a roleplaying effect: ''Your thoughts turn strongly mercenary - the idea of fighting in return for a reward is appealing to you, while the thought of fighting without receiving payment (preferably up front) seems offensive!''

The roleplaying and mechanical effect lasts until the end of the event.

== Description ==
Those who become the target of this Ceremony find their skin and bones powerfully enhanced with protective magic. There is no normal physical change, but when they are struck with blunt or breaking force, the affected area briefly turns to bronze, and is only damaged rather than being fully broken; after a short duration, the skin and bones then revert back to their original state, meaning that any wound inflicted only then makes itself known. This strength and surety in the protective nature of the Enchantment allows for its targets to take more chances in combat and spend more of their energy towards the destruction of their foes, rather than their own protection.

Those who are under this Ceremony’s effect inevitably become headstrong and obsessed with the riches they can accrue - they are strong and as hard to destroy as a statue! Why shouldn’t they be sought after and paid well for their services? Who else could do what they could do? Whether or not these thoughts are true and reasonable, they are most certainly Sphere-sent, and entirely unavoidable no matter how generous and self-sacrificing the target may have been before they came under the Ceremony’s influence.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Drawn from The Warheart, some common ceremonial themes for this involve metalworking or the beating and mending of common metal items. Anything particularly involving bronze specifically - despite its rarity in these days of iron - is particularly desired in order to increase the efficacy of the ceremony. This mending or breaking serves as a cornerstone for the ritualistic elements, all of which performed in the name of the Sphere of Steel.

Commonly these soft metals are found in the substance of coins, and that common theme seems to flow through into the effect as well, with those affected by this ceremony tending to become very demanding about the monetary benefits they expect to receive - even though they themselves are the beneficiary of the power of the Spheres and the work of the priests!

The last part of the ceremony usually involves ritually putting the armour of the target on them, with everyone involved in the ceremony participating in this - to arm and armour the target in both body and faith.

Warrior's Mantle

2026-04-02T14:13:21Z

EAlice:

== An [[Arcadian Ceremonies|Arcadian Ceremony]] - Magnitude 20 - The Warheart ==
THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED
== Performing the Ceremony ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 10 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets a character who must be present throughout, but need not be one of the priests performing the Ceremony.

This Ceremony is an Enchantment. A target may only be under one Enchantment effect at a time.

== Effects ==
The character gains the Weaponmaster, Armoured, Bulwark, Hand-and-a-half, Archer and Bladehand skills.

As long as they are enchanted the target experiences a roleplaying effect: ''You are driven to react to any event that would elicit fear, doubt, or wariness in you or others by declaring a loud challenge and moving to attack it.''

All Heralds of Arcadian are aware this Ceremony has been cast, and will take note of the character should they happen to cross paths.

The roleplaying and mechanical effect lasts until the end of the event.

== Description ==
The power and knowledge of The Warheart and its servant Heralds flow down into the target, drawn out from the souls of the greatest fighters to ever live - those who have passed through the Sphere of Arcadian on the Journey and passed back into the world. Eyes alight with the vigour of battle, this can turn the meekest peasant with no training into a bold, skilled fighter. As the knowledge flows through them, the target feels driven like those from whence the knowledge came to react boldly and face threats head-on. Those targeted with this ceremony practically lose their 'flight' response, responding to every potential issue boldly and with force.

The power and knowledge flow not just from the collected knowledge of The Warheart, but also from every Herald of Arcadian, and so they recognize those who have been blessed with their accumulated knowledge if they should cross their path.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
Drawn from the Warheart, this Ceremony commonly looks like a multi-skilled drill session, with either the lead priest or a collection of instructors going through every one of the weapons with target one by one, their skill exploding in leaps and bounds as the knowledge and muscle memory from Arcadian infuses them. Commonly, this will end in the blessed one being asked to fight one or more of their instructors to show that their mastery has risen to new heights - though temporary they may be.

Conclave of Trees and Courage

2026-04-02T14:13:20Z

EAlice:

== An [[Arcadian Ceremonies|Arcadian Ceremony]] - Magnitude 22 - The Warheart ==
THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED
== Performing the Ceremony ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 5 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets a Leyline, Mine, Herb Garden, or Wilderness owned by a character who must be present throughout, but need not be one of the priests performing the Ceremony.

This Ceremony is an Enchantment. A target may only be under one Enchantment effect at a time.

== Effects ==
A target Leyline, Mine, Herb Garden, or Wilderness becomes a Military Investment for the next season. Its tier remains the same. This military is particularly effective at ‘Support the Army’, gaining a five tier bonus to this action.

For the remainder of the event, the owner of the Investment experiences a roleplaying effect: ''You are driven to hoard the resources that the target Investment produces, knowing that it will be scarcer over the next year, and you push others to do the same.''

== Description ==
Sometimes, wars are won by the smallest differences, and by the most unexpected people. It is no small thing to ask a skilled labourer or farmer to lay down their tools and venture off into the wilderness to fight for a nation, for they know that they will have no harvest, and a whole pile of work to do on their return, but sometimes the needs of the war outstrip the benefits of production. This ceremony paves the way for this, easing into the hearts and minds of the workers of the target investment the fervour and certainty needed to go into battle with their heads high.

These skilled workers have traits and abilities that army trained people do not necessarily have, and so they are well placed to support an army on the march - whether with produce that they carry with them, or expertise with skills like engineering or camp design; as such, they can be a huge boon to any army they are attached to, before they finally return back to their work at the end of the season.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
One common variety of this Ceremony is to have the priests and the owner of the investment write letters of support and encouragement to the individual workers that will be going to fight, promising them the support of Arcadian and the backing of those who send them forth. The courage and surety of Arcadian flows through the priests, helping them put down just the right sentiment to bolster the courageous fighters as they march forth from their groves or mines and out into the fight. Patriotism, glory, and the protection of their families tend to be strong and common themes amongst these kind of letters.

God of War

2026-04-02T14:13:18Z

EAlice:

== An [[Arcadian Ceremonies|Arcadian Ceremony]] - Magnitude 100 - The Warheart ==
THIS CEREMONY IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE PERFORMED
== Performing the Ceremony ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 10 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets a character who must be present throughout but need not be one of the priests performing the Ceremony.

The target character cannot have the Terminal condition, nor can they have any Wound which might (if imminently left unresolved) cause the character to receive the Terminal condition before or at the start of the next Summit. If you are in doubt about the eligibility of a target for this Ceremony, please see an ST.

This Ceremony is an Enchantment. Being the target of this Ceremony removes all other Curses and Enchantments from the target, and makes them ineligible to be the target for any further Enchantments or Curses.

== Effects ==
The target character who has gained at least 3 experience is considered an army with a strength equal to 500 x the number of unique combat skills they have for the purposes of campaign actions. Skills with individual ranks are counted as one purchase.

''For example: a character with Additional Energy 1, Additional Energy 2, Archer, and Weaponmaster would have 1500 Strength (3 skills x 500).''

The target character is immune to the Terminal condition. If they would receive that condition for any reason, they instead experience the effects of Recall and are stabilized on 1HP

The target character gains a vote in the War Chamber and may act accordingly. The character will become terminal at the start of the next Summit

All Heralds of Arcadian are aware this Ceremony has been cast, and will take note of the character should they happen to cross paths. The Church has historically acknowledged the prominence and power of this Ceremony as a Miracle of the Spheres for the martyr who accepts it.

As long as they are enchanted the target experiences a roleplaying effect: ''Containing this much of Arcadian’s power is a heady, addictive, and crushing feeling. You are driven to discard all other Spheres and focus entirely on furthering yourself and your legacy before the power burns you out like a bonfire. You will leave absolutely no slight unanswered, no insinuation unchecked, no fight unfinished.''

== Description ==
[TBC]

== Performing the Ceremony ==
[TBC]

Winds of the World - Autumn 226

2026-04-02T14:13:17Z

EAlice:

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/welcome-to-winds-of-the-world|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}[[File:558963093 10162219358918129 1208852088215685366 n.jpg|thumb|New dawns do not always shine for those who deserve them most.]]The Concord is old, and yet it is young.

The Concord carries the bones of ancient Iron Valleyfolk kings, but it also carries the dreams of the downtrodden of the Docklands. The Concord battles foes who look upon stars with newborn wonder, but it also struggles against avarice as old as humanity itself. The Concord stands on the thin pretenses of treaties barely older enough to be forgotten, but it also draws forth a unity and a camaraderie born of struggle.

As The Concord stumbles, its people lift it up, As the Concord soars, its people shelter under its wings, as The Concord stands firm, its people stand at its back.

As 226 goes from hopeful future to hard won present, The Concord breathes a sigh of relief. There has been no great victory, no great calamity has befallen our foes, but The Concord still stands, this present exists because it was bought with blood and sweat. As will every dawn to come.

May there be many of them.
----Welcome to the Winds of the World for Autumn 226!

The Winds of the World detail the changes and progression of the world of Concord over the last season, detailing the wars, fortunes and opportunities that have arisen over time. These are intended to show how the world has moved, provide prompts and guides for characters as well as let you see the results of your actions.

This page will detail the Winds of the World as a summary, with a short introduction for each individual section of the Winds. If any particular section draws your attention or has game information that might affect you, click into it and read the full text which will be substantially longer and contain game information. These pages are in a slightly new format, broken up into subheadings allowing the Concord Team to focus information and provide a better cause and effect.

It is important to note that The Winds of The World are not an In-Character document. Rather, it represents a collection of documents, rumours, reports and tales that have swept The Concord. Any character is more than welcome to know as little or as much of the Winds as possible, reflecting how well informed they like to keep themselves. It is perfectly acceptable to arrive in Passage having heard nothing or to only seek out the Winds that apply to you. Particularly studious, influential or well-travelled characters may know all or most of it. When referring to the Winds in character, you are welcome to characterise it as 'rumours heard in tavern houses' or 'the latest report from Weiland!' rather than the idea of the Civil Service putting out a gigantic almanac of goings on and gossip.

We've attempted to tag each entry in the Winds in regards to who it affects - hopefully this will make it easier to navigate. Each sub-section will be updated as the Autumn Summit draws nearer, with an entry being posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until they are all posted. The Winds will be posted in the order that they are listed here.

=== [[Hostile Takeover - The War in Mukarrem]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / Andash / The Foreign Service'''
For many in The Concord, Mukarrem has become the new Bolsterlee; a rolling conflict slowly grinding a once beautiful land into a wasted battlefield. It has been years since The Concord held the Salt Road, and the forces of the Trade Principality strike on such a narrow front that their pace is relentless. Concordian’s whisper that of Mukarrem in much the same way that they do of Mancante Terra, and Vassertal;

Lost causes that cost more than they reward.

But perhaps there is a change on the wind, blood in the water, that will change this war arithmetic. Although, not always for the better.

=== [[We Carved War from the Mountainside and Gave it Meaning - The War in King's Pass]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley'''
When the Illsevir first came to Esterra they were a looming threat in the mists and ice. Their ships tore through merchants and war galleys alike. When they took to the land they nearly crushed two nations into ash and lamentation. Their hands broke fortresses, called dragons, and forged naught but despair.

The Valleyfolk called it ‘The Long Retreat’, and from them it took nearly everything. It forced them back into the oldest of their lands, the quietest, the meekest. With one fortress left to hold them and the charity of new allies to see them through the dawn, hold is what they did.

But the time of holding has passed. The time of staring up at familiar stone with dread is over. The Valleyfolk and The Concord do not mean to leave what is rightfully theirs in enemy hands.

Now is the time to retake Baelags Holdfast.

=== [[The Fallen of the Shadowroot War - The War in Resinderholz]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Greenweald Baronies'''
The northern front. The river of blood. The Shadowroot War. The Hordling Hell.

Soldiers call fighting in the Sableheart a lot of different things, and over time many armies take their stance along the line; few more often than the First Banner of Bordevar, but few are more welcome than the Legion of the Blackheart Bear. This past season saw both forces rally in and around the city of Eisen to spend another season of uncomfortable heat, the stench of death, and the grime of mud and blood as they fought back the undead once more.

Danakka Rimortis, the Wraith of Port Gargant, the Alchemist of Brumhaven, brought forth ten thousand shambling corpses, corruptive alchemists, and the threat of plague. The Hirschkind, a powerful Weald-beast, seeks out armoured Ritters and Knights for its brutal revenge, The Fae Queen musters her armies of tricksy murderous allies, and every drop of blood threatens doom by disease.

The summer sun through the leaves shines only on death. Welcome to the Shadowroot War.

=== [[It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War in Bolsterlee|It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War Against the Drowned]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley / Lerona Mere'''
The Drowned remain a lurking threat to Esterra’s far south-western regions, haunting the ruins of Vidania like algae in brackish waters. Ever since the Concordian forces of the Legion of the Blackheart Bear, the First Banner of Bordevar, and the Fleets of Lerona Mere forced these monstrosities back south of the Plateau of the Gods, they have slumbered. While their horrors persist, so do they.

But they slumber no longer. Forces move north, intent on retaking Mandrianos. And most strangely, forces move east, across the Bay of Promised Gold.

=== [[Are We One or Are We Five?]] ===

* '''The Senate / All Nations'''
<blockquote>''We as your Senate, inspired by the great and dire state of our nation declare this State of Emergency. Our enemies are at our hearths and homes, far from beyond the borders where they belong. But to you all, we your chosen leaders write this promise to you, this declaration to you all.''

''We are one. Five realms, one Concord.''

''In this, one of our darkest hours, we will stand together, we will fight together, we will win together.''

* ''Senator of Windholme, Ivern the Inheritor.''
</blockquote>
----The words spoken in the Senate can often seem empty to the outsider, the hot gas expelled by politicians whose only purpose is to empower themselves and to cast great shadows over history. But all things matter within the chambers of Concordian councils, it matters that we breathe, it matters that we speak, it matters that we live.

In the Summit past, the Senator of Windholme declared that The Concord was in a State of Emergency, that the maladies, curses, and foes arrayed around it were far too extreme to be tackled with the tools that were available. More than the ravings of one angry Valleyfolk, Senator Ivern presented words to this effect that were added to by every assembled Senator, an agreement in chorus that The Concord was failing, that The Concord desperately needs aid from within.

=== [[Standing Before Evil]] ===

* '''The Kingdom of Bordevar'''
The strength of Bordevar is found in many places. It can be found in its traditions, both those inherited from Drummond, and those forged in the blood of King Bordevar’s conquests. It can be found in the raw strength-at-arms of its people, be they knightly or commonfolk. It can be found in the stubbornness, that dogged determination that keeps them holding on one season after another.

But for many, this strength has been used to put Bordevarian concerns aside while they shoulder the weight of its ignorance. Bordevar CAN hold, so it becomes Bordevar MUST hold, while other nations, groups, causes, and fights are brought to the forefront, due to the weakness of their abilities, not their strength.

As 226 becomes a year not of future concern, but present problem, Bordevar and the entire Concord considers how long it can rely on Bordevar putting the needs of the many before the needs of the few, or how long Bordevar can tell themselves this, before something comes to a head.

=== [[Until We Break, Our Home We Must Keep Alive]] ===

* '''The Iron Valley'''
Eyes sternly gaze west, towards The Kings Pass and Baelags Holdfast, yet hearts remain firmly rooted in the stones of home. The Valley, despite the energies focussed towards reclaiming their heritage, would not forget their hearths within the Regions of Bolsterlee and Windholme. There are a great many grand things to celebrate, concerning events and happenings to worry over, and countless occurrences both large and small that cannot be ignored.

The Iron Valley may be tested in the fight to take Baelags, but they are tried by what remains when all is said and done.

=== [[Only the Wrong Words Are A Waste of Time]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
Lerona Mere, even as it grows, maintains a wildly complex variety of concerns. They are a Realm of great cultural concerns, violent problem solving traditions, and seemingly-petulant ethos of contrarianism. Even as their great democratic experiment continues into this new year, and their war with The Drowned, the people of Lerona Mere continue to pursue the arts and joy with an intensity unmatched by any other realm.

In 226 the Lerona Mere pursue monsters in the mists below their feet, vanquising foes that have haunted The Concord for years, claim their place as the creative heart of The Concord, explore the mysteries of magic unknown to any who speak the common tongue, and all the while they grow into more than a single city.

Grow into a Realm of untold power and influence.

''En Evante!''

=== [[My Ignorance Is Just as Good as Your Knowledge]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
What was once another piece of Lerona Mere’s strange regional madness has become the core of its nation; The Lerona Mere Parliament. This collection of elected representatives from across the Realm come together in Legend City to speak on behalf of their people, guide the realm, make decisions, make money, and make mistakes. Through fire, revolution, another fire, and more than a few subcommittees, the Lerona Mere Parliament has stabilised as a pillar of the Realm that appears to stand tall.

The greatest part of this pillar is election season, which has fallen on the Autumn of 226. With the three incumbent parties not only battling for supremacy, but also fighting to retain control over their piece of power. While votes flow in from across Mancante Terra and Lerona Mere, the heroic delegation must also decide where the future of the Realm lies.

The Parliament will hold their positions for two years, with the next election expected to be Autumn in 228. So choose wisely. Every Lerona Mere character will find a voting slip in their character pack, which can be submitted to the voting box held in the Civil Service Hub.

=== [[Burn the Woods Through Faith and Flame]] ===

* '''The Greenweald Baronies'''
None can say that life in the Greenweald is a calm or easy one. Even without the undead reaching to grasp Resinderholz in their cadaverous clutches, it is not a realm absent of shadows awaiting weakness, man-made, monstrous or otherwise, to pick and pick at until a pestilent void is left behind.

Across Eisen cobblestones drip with Blasserstreit-infected blood, spreading with them a plague that seems to be as cemented into the Weald’s nature as their stoic dispositions. In the forests and towns, monsters, both those masquerading as men, and those more blatant with their presentations, wander through darkened canopies plotting, patrolling, and indulging in their primal priorities. And throughout the Sableheart, the wind echoes with the cacophonies of green-fleshed fae, their raucous writhing joined by clanking carapaces and undulating undergrowth.

But perhaps, as the final stones, syringes, and scalpels find their homes in the freshly finished Schloss Mortis there forms the dawning sun the Barony so desperately needs. Perhaps.

=== [[Lost Lands of the Librarian]] ===

* '''Andash'''
For an outsider, Andash is its history. It is nomads and cityfolk living in the ruins of a once great empire, scratching their chins while they try to emulate the long dead who probably were as similar to them as the Drowned are. It is a land of abandoned ambitions, lost hopes, and forgotten glory.

But it is so much more than that.

It is the next generation of Nomads striking out across the sands, because there is no one who can do it better. It is the thriving city of Obregon that refuses to die, even as its waters continue to dry up. They are a people who can see failure all around them, and will do their best to avoid repeating the past. We can only hope that they succeed.

=== [[Legends Are Not Found, They Are Built]] ===

* '''The Senate / Lerona Mere'''
The power of appraisal, replacing misplaced and misguided seat-of-the-pants assessments of cost, has become one of The Senate's most fought over powers. Through shrewd manoeuvring or perhaps political power, both of last season's appraisal slots were leveraged in favour of Lerona Mere. One in pursuit of military power, another in the pursuit of improving the life of the common people (and the bottom line of the Realm). How well the civil service has performed has a uniquely Lerona Mere flavour, and a strongly Concordian assessment.

=== [[On the Edge of My Last Concern]] ===

* '''The Shardcircle'''
The Shardcircle is a council so quiet and small that you can’t even enter it without a certain spell. A council so unknown that it struggled along on ten locks of income for years. A council so unremarkable that page-upon-page of arcane lore goes unread.

But The Shardcircle is also a council that wrought the stone of Weiland asunder with arcane power unmatched by any other. It is a council that sent a soul into the afterlife and pulled it back. It fights monsters without form, maladies without mercy, and quandaries without answer.

The Shardcircle does all of this without pursuit of riches, without the dream of accolades, without power-hungry malice.

It does all of this for the love of the game. For its own reason.

No Council in the Concord can do what the Shardcircle can do. And we should all be very afraid.

=== [[In the Shadow of Distant Stars]] ===

* '''The Church'''
The Concordian Church stands as a tempermental, but powerful organisation with the will and the way to save souls, and Condemn them. But with so many disparate cultures, so many threats, it can be difficult to see the way forward.

In this past season the Concordian Church has pushed to mend bridges, survive the darkest night, and sought to remain intact, as they are attacked from all sides. In the light of the starlit Sphere, it is unclear how the Concordian church will survive this darkness.

=== [[Where Will I Find You? Where Oh Where?]] ===

* '''Weird Events'''
Tall tales, unfounded rumours, unbelievable stories. It does not matter what is true, and what is real, it matters what is believed. What is understood, taken to heart and carried forward into the minds and hearts of the many, rather than the cloistered few. Perhaps there is truth hidden in the mysterious, or perhaps the mad ramblings of fools remain as exactly that.

Is it this madness, perchance, that leaves us with so many questions unanswered?

There are strange events and happenings in the lands of Southern Esterra. Some best left forgotten, and others working as if their lives depended on it to ensure it is so.

=== [[Fading Places - News from Across the Seas]] ===

=== [[Monument Mythos - Civil Service Report]] ===

=== [[Chains of Fate, Slicked with Blood - Conflux Report]] ===
----

=== Further Reading ===

* [[Winds of the World|Winds of the World Main Page]]

Where Will I Find You? Where Oh Where?

2026-04-02T14:13:14Z

EAlice: pretty please go and listen to the audio for The Warder of the Brain pls

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/where-will-i-find-you-where-oh|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

Tall tales, unfounded rumours, unbelievable stories. It does not matter what is true, and what is real, it matters what is believed. What is understood, taken to heart and carried forward into the minds and hearts of the many, rather than the cloistered few. Perhaps there is truth hidden in the mysterious, or perhaps the mad ramblings of fools remain as exactly that.

Is it this madness, perchance, that leaves us with so many questions unanswered?

There are strange events and happenings in the lands of Southern Esterra. Some best left forgotten, and others working as if their lives depended on it to ensure it is so.

== The Warder of the Brain ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/the-warder-of-the-brain|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

The false widow skittered across the sands, her legs barely sinking below the grains as she endeavoured to get back to her web after the prevailing winds tore her from her home. In the fading heat of the sun she was safe enough on the ground, no longer sizzling upon contact, but still she yearned for home. For safety. That was what it was built for, you know - a home in which She could be safe, before She was sent elsewhere far too late.

She had to return - she needed to feed. She had no choice; this or nothingness.

The desert shrew’s nose twitched and her ears quivered as she felt the movement on her periphery. Letting out a high-pitched squeak, she scurried towards it through the scrub, her stomach painfully empty. She had grown used to eating insects every hour, but they grew fewer and further between. She couldn’t risk leaving this morsel and letting it get away. There was no telling when the next person would visit Her, would next trade what She needed for what they wanted.

She had to hunt now, all things considered - she needed to feed. Before they came to Her in droves, a whole Monarchy under her Priesthood.

The rattlesnake stayed almost perfectly still as she watched the hot-blooded mammal move into her awareness, her narrow head not quite craning out of her hiding place. Even as proficient a hunter as her knew what awaited her if she was seen. And so she waited, delayed, her hinged fangs descending from her palate as she opened her mouth to lunge. She knew that there were others waiting to do the same to Her, should She be out in the open.

She would not hide anymore - she needed to feed. She did not regret Her hunger - not for a moment. Even if it meant skulking in the dark for leftovers of light.

The horned owl floated slowly, silently, watching the snake prepare to strike, then dove into the scrubland below. Despite beginning to set, the sun still beat upon her wings like the drums of an army long since lost to the sand beneath, even as the winds fought both to dislodge her from her path and to uncover the desiccated drums with equal fervour. Of course they did; they could not possibly leave Her be after all this time. They were unfeeling, after all.

But she would not be dislodged nor deterred - she needed to feed. Even if it was not safe.

The shrew caught the false widow, her false presentation meaning nothing anymore. She knows when you lie.

The rattlesnake caught the shrew, her desperate hunger no longer a concern. A steady stream, that’s all She needs.

The owl caught the rattlesnake, all her lying in wait in vain. If they were to find Her, to reduce Her to what She once was.

The coyote’s eyes tracked the owl’s descent upon the rattlesnake, prowling closer as she watched the snake’s skull be crushed in the owl’s grasp, the sharp talons piercing holes through the rattlesnake’s flesh before bones began to shatter. The mortal experience - death for life for death.

Then the coyote caught the owl, a natural consequence to natural behaviour. Perhaps they learned better the next time they gave out such power then tried to snatch it back.

Who could possibly blame her - she needed to feed. But Her Tower did not, not anymore. It had received secrets, offered through no great pains. No threats of death or disease or hardship. An offering, like it used to be. And so Her Tower could grow quiet - fade back into that place of oblivion that She preferred it to remain, now that She had received something to whet Her appetite.

=== Game Information ===
To all Concordians, regardless of knowledge or circumstance, the Tower in the Wilds referenced in previous Winds does not exist. It has never existed.

Any reference to it, either in writing or visual prompt that may remain are surely nothing more than strange Andashi children’s stories that none would be so foolish to believe. In fact, they don’t even stick in the minds of the readers, instead washing away like sediment down a river. Over the season, these physical prompts that exist of a so-called “Tower in the True Wilds” are thrown away, burned, or simply reduced to strange ramblings of the mad.

Individuals who have the Known or Understood wounds, or who attended the Conflux in the Tower on Day 3 of Spring 225 are immune to the above. The latter will also receive additional information in their character packs.

== Quarrels Not Their Own ==
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“Now, Claudia, let us not stand on ceremony, if you will pardon the word play. If you do not know how to lead God of War that is quite alright,” the older man smiled down at her, face seemingly sincere but words dripping with condescension. She smiled back up at him, hoping that hers expressed the same level of sincerity in spite of her knuckles flexing under the long sleeves of her robe.

“Aeneas, you have seen me perform God of War multiple times before - I know that I am proficient enough to lead it myself. Are you sure that the acolytes presented the correct amount of Crystal Mana? I overheard some of them chatting whilst they were supposed to be counting; they may well have been taken by distraction.”

Her teacher smiled again, this time with marginally more understanding in his eyes. “I heard the same, which is why I ordered them each to start from the beginning, and then do so again once they had finished. The amount is there in full.”

Claudia could feel frustration begin to build behind her eyes and willed them not to well up - for Spheres’ sake, she did not need to cry just because things weren’t going to plan.

“Then, perhaps there is something wrong with the heptagon? A stone loose?”

The understanding crept away and condescension took its place once again, but she interrupted him before he could speak.

“There is something - I swear upon Cervitas, Pedagogue. It isn’t there for me to reach out to - to pull from like it normally is,” the words came flooding out, feeling like an excuse in spite of their truth.

Aeneas nodded sagely and put a hand on her shoulder, gently guiding her away from the pulpit. “Then, perhaps, I shall lead one final time then we can enquire with some of the High Legionnaire’s staff?”

It was phrased like a question, but with no room for Claudia to do anything but nod and step aside.

However, there was a slight smug satisfaction when she saw the disbelief on her teacher’s face when, in spite of the choir of priests before him singing, nothing divine occurred. This was immediately followed by panic - if something was not wrong with her, then what was it wrong with?

<nowiki>***</nowiki>

“Are you sure that you counted it right?” one of his fellow Knights called out from beyond the borders of their sacred circle.

Dominic felt his right eyelid twitch and willed it to be still. “Do you really think that I can’t count to three, Michaela?”

He heard her shrug more than he saw her do so in his peripheral vision, armour clanking together unkindly in spite of the tabard worn with pride over to top of it.

“You have been hit in the head more than enough times” she responded, stifling a laugh when she saw Dominic’s nostrils flare alongside his now constantly twitching eye. “Now that I come to think of it, are you sure it hasn’t worked? Your face certainly looks like it has.”

Dominic whipped his head around to begin the argument that was sure to happen regardless, but was stopped by the forceful kick to his shins by the Priest performing the Ceremony whose wrinkled face smiled serenely up at him when he turned back with a yelp.

Dame Elis had been a Priest of Arcadian in the Drummondite Church of the Spheres for longer than Domonic and Michaela had been Knights put together and then some, and he felt his cheeks flush at his childish behaviour in front of such a wise individual.

“You know,” she said, quietly, ignoring Michaela’s quiet chortling, “there’s nothing wrong with not being sure, so long as you take action in what you think is the right direction.”

Dominic fished out an additional Crystal Mana and handed it to the older woman, sighing as he did so.

Even as he tried his hardest to pay attention to the red-caped ceremony taunting him with his failures as a Knight thus far on his journey, he couldn’t let go of the knowledge that he had counted out the proper amount to start with. He was sure of it.

So why did he have to give more?

<nowiki>***</nowiki>

“Fergus, are you quite well?” Bishop-Curate Roennfeldt called out to the younger Priest who sat in the quiet of the Passage Sanctified Square, head in his hands, a single gauntlet tossed beside him.

He let out a slight sniffle, wiped his eyes with his dirt-encrusted fingers and attempted a watery smile up at the man who was technically his boss.

“I’m alright, Benjamin,” though his voice was not convincing to either of the figures in the conversation.

The Bishop-Curate eyes were warm when he gestured for the young man to join him in the Church office for a moment.

It didn’t take long, over the steaming cup of coffee soon clutched in his hands, for the Priest to share his woes.

“I thought I was ready, you know? I’d done all my reading and training and preparing. I’d saved up all my Crystal Mana, and I was ready, when all was said and done, to leave the Civil Service and go be a Hero. To really fight for The Concord.”

His eyes misted up again as he spoke and he stared down into his mug as if he may find his answers at the bottom.

“I went to do the Trial - I gave my Mana and I swore an Oath on my Grandpa’s armour and I beseeched Arcadian and nothing happened, Bishop. I reached out to The Spheres and they found me unworthy before I’d even bloody started.”

The young man sobbed into his mug while Roennfeldt put a warming hand on his shoulder. He looked from Fergus to the Crystal Mana now sitting on his desk.

He was a brave enough man, with enough knowledge of the Sphere of Steel for Trial of

Worthiness to work. So why didn’t it?

=== Game Information ===
For reasons unknown, a number of Arcadian Ceremonies have become more difficult to cast across the Mortal Sphere, regardless of Priests’ previous capability with them.

The Ceremonies that have become more difficult to cast are:

* Bless the Warhost
* Strength of the Bull
* Raise the Wounded Warrior
* Rally the Fallen

More concerningly, a larger number of Arcadian Ceremonies have become unable to be performed by any Priests across the Mortal Sphere as well.

The Ceremonies that are no longer able to be performed are:

* Trial of Worthiness
* Style of the Bronze Colossus
* Warrior’s Mantle
* Conclave of Trees and Courage
* God of War

Any Priests who had previously Mastered these Ceremonies continue to hold their mastery, and may only remove it by unlearning the Religious Skill that granted them the Mastery, as per usual.

Any characters currently under the effect of one or more of the above Ceremonies continue to be affected for the normal duration, after which the Ceremony fades away as per usual

== Sitting in the Deeps Upon the Hidden Bases of the Hills ==
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The water looked colder than Ladure had, its mirrored surface looking like it had been frozen in time. And the silence colder, too.

The journey had been marred by the cacophony of Boghoffens and the groaning of Undead, but there was none of that here. Even the air was still, as if the world had taken a deep breath and was not yet ready to exhale.

It was not like the silence she had felt under the water, before she became the version of herself that she knew now. That was a muted silence that created ringing in its absent nature, like that that occurs after one has been boxed about the ears for speaking out of turn.

Nor was it like the silence of laying awake at night while those that called themselves friends sat about the fire outside, each lost in their own thoughts. That was a full silence, a blanket of nothingness over the Weald, for a moment.

It wasn’t even quite the silence of waiting for a Champion that never came, or the that of empty promises made. That was a painful silence, one marked with pieces of whatever she had that closest resembled a soul or a heart crushed under foot like insects.

This was almost the silence of a dagger slid between the rips - the nothing-breathe that escapes and the empty eyes that stare back. Almost.

As she stepped into the water, and it did not move about her, but instead absorbed her movements like an already grey cloud absorbs rain, she paused for a moment, staring up at the sky. Trailing her fingers on the surface of the water, so cold it felt like absence, she pondered when she would next see a moon as full as this one.

Then she descended, walking along the floor, her fingers now trailing along the bottoms of coats and skirts as the bodies’ eyes trailed her movements, their mouths agape. The silence of above made sense, juxtaposed against the endless screaming here. She did not know how many mortals hovered in the water, weights in their pockets or rocks tied to their shoes. She did not think she could count even through each of the distinct voices endlessly crying below the surface.

Making her way to the roots, she curled herself up among them, now so gelid that she felt warm again, and raised her head to the moon she could no longer see.

Another to join the wailing.

=== Game Information: ===
Lake Ladure Quarry, which has in previous Seasons created an amount of Crystal Mana, no longer does so.

===== See Also: =====

* [[Winds of the World - Autumn 226]]

On the Edge of My Last Concern

2026-03-29T11:39:27Z

EAlice:

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/on-the-edge-of-my-last-concern|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}The Shardcircle is a council so quiet and small that you can’t even enter it without a certain spell. A council so unknown that it struggled along on ten locks of income for years. A council so unremarkable that page-upon-page of arcane lore goes unread.

But The Shardcircle is also a council that wrought the stone of Weiland asunder with arcane power unmatched by any other. It is a council that sent a soul into the afterlife and pulled it back. It fights monsters without form, maladies without mercy, and quandaries without answer.

The Shardcircle does all of this without pursuit of riches, without the dream of accolades, without power-hungry malice.

It does all of this for the love of the game. For its own reason.

No Council in the Concord can do what the Shardcircle can do. And we should all be very afraid.

== Arcane Paper, Religious Ink ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/arcane-paper-religious-ink|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

''“What exactly IS a Ceremony?”''

The wizened old scholar raised her eyes curiously at the young apprentice’s question. She was bemused by the pureness of the question, the insatiable curiosity that made having an apprentice worth it with so few years left to live. She set her quill down carefully, and adjusted her spectacles so that she could better see the youngling in the candlelit library of the School.

''“Why do you ask, child?”''

''“Well, I've read the word a hundred times so far today alone, and I feel no closer to the answer the Headmaster has tasked you to seek. So I thought, what are we actually creating? Like you taught me, look for the trunk before getting lost in the branches.”''
[[File:654219218 1507334174289315 8337936042115455183 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|True understanding of magic takes great skill and patience]]
A smile played across the old woman’s lips at the retelling of her own teachings. A good sign in a pupil, particularly one so eager to help. A promising future, she thought to herself.

''“Then let us cover what we know, together.”'' The child put down the tome in their hands, pulling from a nearby satchel a worn and ink-stained journal emblazoned with a faded symbol of Stallia across its cover. ''“First, we know that Ceremonies are a type of Ritual, an application of great power through an often unique method. We know that there is a cost to Rituals, and in the case of Ceremonies we know that Crystal Mana is considered the prime of materials. We know that Ceremonies are performed by Priests of The Divine Spheres, and can only be cast, as it were, in places of power. By Altars or the great Sanctified Square.”''

The furious scribbling of nib on parchment followed the calm and kind voice of the elderly scholar

''“What does this tell you, with your current understanding of the source of our powers?”''

The apprentice scholar looked up, their eyes sparkling in the candle light. ''“It tells me that Ceremonies draw on great powers from beyond our Mortal Sphere. That Priests are like mages, conduits through which power is channeled, though the thing being channeled is far different, and requires a focus through which it can be manifested?”''

''“Indeed. Then what, child, is the purpose of Crystal Mana in this circumstance?”''

Falling into deep thought, it was clear that the youngling could not answer such a question immediately. Knowing that this would leave the child with a thirst for answers, the elderly woman smiled, excited for the likely days to come as the apprentice would surely search the School of Gifts from top to bottom to find a suitable reply.

''“Take your time, dear. You have plenty of it.”''

-=-=-=-

With questions unanswered and tasks to complete, both Magus and Priests alike spend time at each School of Magic across The Concord. Both Headmaster’s requests were clear, and simply required the effort of research to complete. To discover what was possible, what was not, and what needed to be done to ensure that the theoretical could be made practical. This was the duty set upon those who chose this way of life, and it was a task tackled most gratefully.

While neither Headmaster ensured a call for Artisans was necessary, the focus on the creation of new Ceremonies would spark the interest of the like-minded regardless. To produce something new, particularly that which draws on the powers of the unknowable Spheres, was to be a part of something great. Few would miss the chance, could they help it.

Within The De Re School of Embers, the irony of focusing on the Sphere of Hope was not lost to those who heard of Headmaster Maximilien’s execution. Branded a heretic and executed for it, his request for a Ceremony that brings health and life brought emotions that some found hard to bear. Perhaps this was the true reason for the name of the Ceremony that would come about, or perhaps it was simply the request of a dead man. Few would know the truth of the matter, but these few would care nonetheless.

Meanwhile, The School of Gifts would proceed much as it always has. With Headmaster Azime’s recent focus on The Divine, many were unsurprised to see yet another Ceremony become their focus for the Season. While before it was to Arcadian, now their attentions turn to Cervitas, seeking to once again bridge the gap between Realms. A difficult task set before them, one that required a great deal of thought, careful planning, and harkening back to past research, they would nonetheless prepare a suitable gift for the heroes of The Concord.

Together in task yet separated by distance, both Schools would seek to draw forth the powers requested by them, and to some degree would find success. It is the expectation set upon those of quizzical mind, and every success would further the desire to succeed once more.

Failure would simply not be considered as part of the equation.

=== Game Information ===
The De Re School of Embers has created a new Lumos Ceremony, named ‘[[Villeneuve’s Blessing]]’.

The [[Headmaster]] of the De Re School of Embers was Maximilien Villeneuve, though he was executed at the Spring Summit of 225 for Heresy. The position will be up for election at this coming summit.

The Andashi School of Gifts has created a new Cervitas Ceremony, named ‘[[Few Hands, Greater Victories]]’. This Ceremony is different in name and effect compared to the original request, to more aptly match the intended game design of Confluxes.

The [[Headmaster]] of the Andashi School of Gifts was Captain Azime Rais. The position is not up for election at this coming summit.

== Simple Actions Define Greater Results ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/simple-actions-define-greater|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

To be a Magus is to hold power within your grasp.

To be the conduit through which flesh mends and broken bones are reknit.

To be the catalyst through which foes are lit aflame or felled entirely.

Magic is a limited thing, its bounds well known and its gifts structured. But in its application does a Magus find themselves unique. In the knowing of how and where to use that which they have obtained. Countless records have been and will be produced that details the nuance in which Magic forms in the Mortal Sphere, despite its known limits and despite what was always believed to be the wall against which none can push beyond.
[[File:657360151 2701963776854925 739955810726907860 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|The Arcline, while powerful, is still less understood than many mages would like]]
This must have been the case for Arcanist Helena Castor. A criminally ignored member of Shardcircles past who created The Arcline, and was unable to put it to use in its greatest purpose. A gifted creator whose like may never be seen again, whose powers were harnessed into an Artifact that even now can be considered one of the greatest of this Age. An Artifact that, upon its repurposing in 225, was finally truly unlocked and able to be used to what may be its full potential.

And for the first time, perhaps in history, it was used as designed.

Under the hand of Archmage Zarja Tal’Darev Del’Elysium, The Arcline’s powers of Enliviation and Obliteration were used in tandem. Empowered by Shards, a somewhat mysterious substance reminiscent of Crystal Mana yet significantly more condensed, The Arcline defines the true mystic power of The Shardcircle, and it is in this use that the often mocked Concordian Chamber reminds the greater populace exactly why it stands so tall.

It even makes use of the great unknown that is the very Spheres themselves, finally unlocking the true nature of The Precipice. A force through which a single Sphere can exert influence on The Concord, though perhaps not so consciously as one may expect. The power of The Divine is not something so controllable, but nonetheless The Precipice and its effects draw from this great unknown, and the result is certainly felt by more than just those who seek to use the Sanctified Square.

Yet there is more even beyond the use of their most powerful Artifact, knowing that it is not just this one thing that makes them great. The Passel Research, pushed for by heroes, seeks to unmask one of the greatest threats once and for all. Blasserstreit, in all its horrific consequence, pursued by the magical researchers of The Concord to finally seek any knowledge possible from an Arcane perspective.

An important task, one that will yet again lead The Shardcircle through thorny paths in the search of answers. Yet one that, should answers be found, will be worth its cost no matter the toll.

The Shardcircle, and those who represent it, hold great power within their hands.

Has it been used well?

=== Game Information ===
The Shardcircle’s many powers are once more carried out, their effects numerous and results varied. With the recent restructuring of The Shardcircle comes a need for clear outcomes. A Systems Report, in this instance. While the exact format may change per Season, regarding both the above text and the Game Information itself, it can always be expected that the actions of The Shardcircle and its Titles will be made clear.

The outcomes of such actions, as expected, will be revealed in other Winds entries or at the following Summits.

What follows is the actions of The Shardcircle at the Spring Summit of 225;

'''''Passel Research;''''' The Passel topic, proposed by Lady Winnifred of House Eldermere and signed by Wealdsage Lukas Metzler, Archmage Zarja and Baroness Grasshoff, would be focused around '''''‘The magical nature of Blasserstreit and how it has been changed’'''''.

'''''Precipice Alignment;''''' As voted on by all Heroic Magus of The Concord, The Precipice would have its powers aligned to '''''Stallia''''' for the Season and coming Summit of Autumn 226.

'''''The Arcline (Enliviations);''''' The Enliviated functions as chosen by The Archmage were The '''''Precipice Alignment''''', and the '''''Vault of The School of Gifts (unsecured)'''''.

'''''The Arcline (Obliterations);''''' The Archmage chose the Obliteration known as '''''Realmweave Guardian (2nd Incantation)''''', focused on Mancante Terra, particularly The Plateau of the Gods and Marepato.

== To Act Upon Wishful Thinking ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/to-act-upon-wishful-thinking|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

Obregon is a magical city, there is arcane energy in its bones, its foundations, and its people. The magic is new, having been forged in the School of Gifts every single day by the will of its many students and researchers. But it is also old, carrying the scars and history of Grand Andash and its fall. Two years ago, a piece of this near-ancient history was unearthed, broken free from the stone of The Rise by expeditious delvers, and the fine merchants that funded them.

‘The Runeforge’ as it was known, was a piece of local interest. Amidst a time of cultists and dangers it drew attention from many and the stewardship of the then-senator, Mowgli El-Tanebar. But the loss of the Salt Road, the continued arcane mysteries elsewhere in Andash, and a thousand other Concordian concerns allowed The Runeforge to fall from the public eye.

But those same merchants who funded its original exploration, along with their new partner in the Senator of The Tribelands, did not lose sight of what they had. They continued to work, pouring resources, effort, and even blood into this project. To reveal what this piece of Andashi history once held.

This past season that project saw its first fruition, and hopefully not its last.

Utilising a shard Aetherial Kyanite carved from the deepest reaches of Athermer’s Folly in distant Bolsterlee to fire the forge in an arcane gout of manasmoke, the workers at the Runeforge sheltered their eyes and mouths. The great stone bellows began to shift of their own accord, the dour runes spread across the chamber glowed as the immense magical energy was consumed by the hunger of this burning forge. The crystal mana cooked off in explosive spark showers and the pieces of Mithril, Arcstone, and Thunder Oak glowed white hot. The streets far above The Runeforge poured with a low-hanging smoke of pink and purple, but still the forge glowed.

When all was said and done, the forge cooled but it did not slumber. Once again it glows with purpose, a crucible to forge artifacts greater than any The Concord has ever seen. Works more at home in history or legend than in our age of suffering. The obsidian shard of fused mithril and arcstone that sparkled in the early morning light in a way most unnatural was all that remained of this first firing, having consumed the Thunder Oak and whatever ancient magics still remained.

The word travels fast that the people of Obregon had awoken an ancient magical forge, that it was preparing to produce magical artifacts of unknown power. That the future was bright for those willing to see it.

=== Game Information ===
Continued investment in The Runeforge below Obregeon has been successful, The Runeforge being awakened and its first firing a success.

Mowgli El-Tanebar, the Shepherd of the Reeds, is the representative and part owner of the forge and its operations. They will receive ‘The First Fire Shard’ in their character pack as well as correspondence from the rest of the Runeforge’s council of investors.

The Council of Investors has made it known to merchants across the Concord that they are interested in buying certain resources to be used in The Runeforge. They are as follows:

* Mirthil and Arcstone: 2 Locks per Wain
* Thunder Oak: 3 Locks per Wain
* Aetherial Kyanite: 15 Locks
* Carrionwood: 20 Locks

These resources can be delivered to Mowgli El-Tanebar, with payment being rendered the following Summit.

There will be decisions for the Senator of the Tribelands and the Archmage of the Shardcircle regarding The Runeforge.

== It’s the Everything That’s Not Anywhere Else ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/its-the-everything-thats-not|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

“That’s the simplified answer.

We know the Mortal Sphere - the here and the now and the us and the end.

We know the Divine Spheres - the there and the then and the us and the journey.

But the Null? Well, that’s the everything that’s not anywhere else. It certainly isn’t here - the entirety of reality would tear apart if you had a slice of Null in your backgarden, surely. But we also know that it’s not the there either - not those bright glittering orbs of divine determination that all of enlightened humanity strives to reach.
[[File:656457417 4384320061857761 470974764634030727 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|No void of unknowing is as great as the Null]]
It may well be now, or then, but it doesn’t seem to be - not in all our investigation. Some mages have gone in. They’ve either tickled their toes into the absence of all, or swan dived off into it, and all experienced it differently. For some it passes in the blink of an eye, an almost imperceptible change in place that puts you back into your study eight years after you left. For some, it stretches on for millennia, lifetime upon lifetime in an enduring endlessness, only to return and see that your scribe didn’t even have the time to put their pen to paper.

It can be the us - we know that much. Or at least the us that don’t quite get there. The us that are stood, waiting to be chosen for their Divine rowing team only to notice that all of the boats are full. The ones that are not hopeful enough for Lumos, nor knowledgeable enough for Stallia. Those that start the Journey, but fall short.

And it is both the start and the end and the Journey, of course.

But what else? What else do we know?

Well, we know that the us is not alone at the end of it all. While the souls that are left - that do not make it, that are divined to not be divine enough - sink down through the void like sediment in ill-filtered wine, that there are others. Things. Those that cast shadows even in the darkness, snuffing out the candles of souls like a silent storm. Creatures? Possibly. But certainly not us and ours, nor Spheres or Spheric.

And we know, ultimately, that we cannot know it all. Not in its entirety. Not as we are. It is, to an extent, like a colour that we cannot see, or the flickering in our peripheral vision that our mind conjures to fill in the gaps. For some, it is an everlasting field, dotted with unreachable homesteads on the horizon, each hearth softly flickering through the windows. For others, it is the unfathomable depths of the oceans, with sunlight catching on distant islands far above upon the surface. For some, it is nothing at all in its ‘truest’ sense, whatever that means.

So, now that we’ve established the foundations, let us discuss properly - what exactly is the Null?”

=== Game Information ===
In the process of reviewing Shardcircle documentation and paraphernalia, the Concordian Civil Service noted a series of interesting, if occasionally conflicting accounts of the Null. Through consultation with staff at both of the Schools of Magic, a consensus was reached and formalised through the spreading of word across The Concord of what exactly we know of this unknowable place.

The average Concordian would be aware of the following information on the Null:

* The Null is the void that souls travel through on their Journey to reach the Divine Spheres
* The Null is dangerous for souls to stay in.

More learned individuals, or those who may have an academic or spiritual interest in the Null may be aware of some or all of the following information:

* The Null is not entirely empty - there are things that we do not understand that dwell within the nothingness
* The Null is where souls that do not reach the Divine Spheres fall, and so it is very dangerous for souls to spend any time there, especially when still attached to a living person
* The Null is beyond our true comprehension, and so is experienced differently by different souls when they travel there.

===== See also: =====

* [[Winds of the World - Autumn 226]]

Winds of the World - Autumn 226

2026-03-29T11:38:40Z

EAlice:

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/welcome-to-winds-of-the-world|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}[[File:558963093 10162219358918129 1208852088215685366 n.jpg|thumb|New dawns do not always shine for those who deserve them most.]]The Concord is old, and yet it is young.

The Concord carries the bones of ancient Iron Valleyfolk kings, but it also carries the dreams of the downtrodden of the Docklands. The Concord battles foes who look upon stars with newborn wonder, but it also struggles against avarice as old as humanity itself. The Concord stands on the thin pretenses of treaties barely older enough to be forgotten, but it also draws forth a unity and a camaraderie born of struggle.

As The Concord stumbles, its people lift it up, As the Concord soars, its people shelter under its wings, as The Concord stands firm, its people stand at its back.

As 226 goes from hopeful future to hard won present, The Concord breathes a sigh of relief. There has been no great victory, no great calamity has befallen our foes, but The Concord still stands, this present exists because it was bought with blood and sweat. As will every dawn to come.

May there be many of them.
----Welcome to the Winds of the World for Autumn 226!

The Winds of the World detail the changes and progression of the world of Concord over the last season, detailing the wars, fortunes and opportunities that have arisen over time. These are intended to show how the world has moved, provide prompts and guides for characters as well as let you see the results of your actions.

This page will detail the Winds of the World as a summary, with a short introduction for each individual section of the Winds. If any particular section draws your attention or has game information that might affect you, click into it and read the full text which will be substantially longer and contain game information. These pages are in a slightly new format, broken up into subheadings allowing the Concord Team to focus information and provide a better cause and effect.

It is important to note that The Winds of The World are not an In-Character document. Rather, it represents a collection of documents, rumours, reports and tales that have swept The Concord. Any character is more than welcome to know as little or as much of the Winds as possible, reflecting how well informed they like to keep themselves. It is perfectly acceptable to arrive in Passage having heard nothing or to only seek out the Winds that apply to you. Particularly studious, influential or well-travelled characters may know all or most of it. When referring to the Winds in character, you are welcome to characterise it as 'rumours heard in tavern houses' or 'the latest report from Weiland!' rather than the idea of the Civil Service putting out a gigantic almanac of goings on and gossip.

We've attempted to tag each entry in the Winds in regards to who it affects - hopefully this will make it easier to navigate. Each sub-section will be updated as the Autumn Summit draws nearer, with an entry being posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until they are all posted. The Winds will be posted in the order that they are listed here.

=== [[Hostile Takeover - The War in Mukarrem]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / Andash / The Foreign Service'''
For many in The Concord, Mukarrem has become the new Bolsterlee; a rolling conflict slowly grinding a once beautiful land into a wasted battlefield. It has been years since The Concord held the Salt Road, and the forces of the Trade Principality strike on such a narrow front that their pace is relentless. Concordian’s whisper that of Mukarrem in much the same way that they do of Mancante Terra, and Vassertal;

Lost causes that cost more than they reward.

But perhaps there is a change on the wind, blood in the water, that will change this war arithmetic. Although, not always for the better.

=== [[We Carved War from the Mountainside and Gave it Meaning - The War in King's Pass]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley'''
When the Illsevir first came to Esterra they were a looming threat in the mists and ice. Their ships tore through merchants and war galleys alike. When they took to the land they nearly crushed two nations into ash and lamentation. Their hands broke fortresses, called dragons, and forged naught but despair.

The Valleyfolk called it ‘The Long Retreat’, and from them it took nearly everything. It forced them back into the oldest of their lands, the quietest, the meekest. With one fortress left to hold them and the charity of new allies to see them through the dawn, hold is what they did.

But the time of holding has passed. The time of staring up at familiar stone with dread is over. The Valleyfolk and The Concord do not mean to leave what is rightfully theirs in enemy hands.

Now is the time to retake Baelags Holdfast.

=== [[The Fallen of the Shadowroot War - The War in Resinderholz]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Greenweald Baronies'''
The northern front. The river of blood. The Shadowroot War. The Hordling Hell.

Soldiers call fighting in the Sableheart a lot of different things, and over time many armies take their stance along the line; few more often than the First Banner of Bordevar, but few are more welcome than the Legion of the Blackheart Bear. This past season saw both forces rally in and around the city of Eisen to spend another season of uncomfortable heat, the stench of death, and the grime of mud and blood as they fought back the undead once more.

Danakka Rimortis, the Wraith of Port Gargant, the Alchemist of Brumhaven, brought forth ten thousand shambling corpses, corruptive alchemists, and the threat of plague. The Hirschkind, a powerful Weald-beast, seeks out armoured Ritters and Knights for its brutal revenge, The Fae Queen musters her armies of tricksy murderous allies, and every drop of blood threatens doom by disease.

The summer sun through the leaves shines only on death. Welcome to the Shadowroot War.

=== [[It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War in Bolsterlee|It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War Against the Drowned]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley / Lerona Mere'''
The Drowned remain a lurking threat to Esterra’s far south-western regions, haunting the ruins of Vidania like algae in brackish waters. Ever since the Concordian forces of the Legion of the Blackheart Bear, the First Banner of Bordevar, and the Fleets of Lerona Mere forced these monstrosities back south of the Plateau of the Gods, they have slumbered. While their horrors persist, so do they.

But they slumber no longer. Forces move north, intent on retaking Mandrianos. And most strangely, forces move east, across the Bay of Promised Gold.

=== [[Are We One or Are We Five?]] ===

* '''The Senate / All Nations'''
<blockquote>''We as your Senate, inspired by the great and dire state of our nation declare this State of Emergency. Our enemies are at our hearths and homes, far from beyond the borders where they belong. But to you all, we your chosen leaders write this promise to you, this declaration to you all.''

''We are one. Five realms, one Concord.''

''In this, one of our darkest hours, we will stand together, we will fight together, we will win together.''

* ''Senator of Windholme, Ivern the Inheritor.''
</blockquote>
----The words spoken in the Senate can often seem empty to the outsider, the hot gas expelled by politicians whose only purpose is to empower themselves and to cast great shadows over history. But all things matter within the chambers of Concordian councils, it matters that we breathe, it matters that we speak, it matters that we live.

In the Summit past, the Senator of Windholme declared that The Concord was in a State of Emergency, that the maladies, curses, and foes arrayed around it were far too extreme to be tackled with the tools that were available. More than the ravings of one angry Valleyfolk, Senator Ivern presented words to this effect that were added to by every assembled Senator, an agreement in chorus that The Concord was failing, that The Concord desperately needs aid from within.

=== [[Standing Before Evil]] ===

* '''The Kingdom of Bordevar'''
The strength of Bordevar is found in many places. It can be found in its traditions, both those inherited from Drummond, and those forged in the blood of King Bordevar’s conquests. It can be found in the raw strength-at-arms of its people, be they knightly or commonfolk. It can be found in the stubbornness, that dogged determination that keeps them holding on one season after another.

But for many, this strength has been used to put Bordevarian concerns aside while they shoulder the weight of its ignorance. Bordevar CAN hold, so it becomes Bordevar MUST hold, while other nations, groups, causes, and fights are brought to the forefront, due to the weakness of their abilities, not their strength.

As 226 becomes a year not of future concern, but present problem, Bordevar and the entire Concord considers how long it can rely on Bordevar putting the needs of the many before the needs of the few, or how long Bordevar can tell themselves this, before something comes to a head.

=== [[Until We Break, Our Home We Must Keep Alive]] ===

* '''The Iron Valley'''
Eyes sternly gaze west, towards The Kings Pass and Baelags Holdfast, yet hearts remain firmly rooted in the stones of home. The Valley, despite the energies focussed towards reclaiming their heritage, would not forget their hearths within the Regions of Bolsterlee and Windholme. There are a great many grand things to celebrate, concerning events and happenings to worry over, and countless occurrences both large and small that cannot be ignored.

The Iron Valley may be tested in the fight to take Baelags, but they are tried by what remains when all is said and done.

=== [[Only the Wrong Words Are A Waste of Time]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
Lerona Mere, even as it grows, maintains a wildly complex variety of concerns. They are a Realm of great cultural concerns, violent problem solving traditions, and seemingly-petulant ethos of contrarianism. Even as their great democratic experiment continues into this new year, and their war with The Drowned, the people of Lerona Mere continue to pursue the arts and joy with an intensity unmatched by any other realm.

In 226 the Lerona Mere pursue monsters in the mists below their feet, vanquising foes that have haunted The Concord for years, claim their place as the creative heart of The Concord, explore the mysteries of magic unknown to any who speak the common tongue, and all the while they grow into more than a single city.

Grow into a Realm of untold power and influence.

''En Evante!''

=== [[My Ignorance Is Just as Good as Your Knowledge]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
What was once another piece of Lerona Mere’s strange regional madness has become the core of its nation; The Lerona Mere Parliament. This collection of elected representatives from across the Realm come together in Legend City to speak on behalf of their people, guide the realm, make decisions, make money, and make mistakes. Through fire, revolution, another fire, and more than a few subcommittees, the Lerona Mere Parliament has stabilised as a pillar of the Realm that appears to stand tall.

The greatest part of this pillar is election season, which has fallen on the Autumn of 226. With the three incumbent parties not only battling for supremacy, but also fighting to retain control over their piece of power. While votes flow in from across Mancante Terra and Lerona Mere, the heroic delegation must also decide where the future of the Realm lies.

The Parliament will hold their positions for two years, with the next election expected to be Autumn in 228. So choose wisely. Every Lerona Mere character will find a voting slip in their character pack, which can be submitted to the voting box held in the Civil Service Hub.

=== [[Burn the Woods Through Faith and Flame]] ===

* '''The Greenweald Baronies'''
None can say that life in the Greenweald is a calm or easy one. Even without the undead reaching to grasp Resinderholz in their cadaverous clutches, it is not a realm absent of shadows awaiting weakness, man-made, monstrous or otherwise, to pick and pick at until a pestilent void is left behind.

Across Eisen cobblestones drip with Blasserstreit-infected blood, spreading with them a plague that seems to be as cemented into the Weald’s nature as their stoic dispositions. In the forests and towns, monsters, both those masquerading as men, and those more blatant with their presentations, wander through darkened canopies plotting, patrolling, and indulging in their primal priorities. And throughout the Sableheart, the wind echoes with the cacophonies of green-fleshed fae, their raucous writhing joined by clanking carapaces and undulating undergrowth.

But perhaps, as the final stones, syringes, and scalpels find their homes in the freshly finished Schloss Mortis there forms the dawning sun the Barony so desperately needs. Perhaps.

=== [[Lost Lands of the Librarian]] ===

* '''Andash'''
For an outsider, Andash is its history. It is nomads and cityfolk living in the ruins of a once great empire, scratching their chins while they try to emulate the long dead who probably were as similar to them as the Drowned are. It is a land of abandoned ambitions, lost hopes, and forgotten glory.

But it is so much more than that.

It is the next generation of Nomads striking out across the sands, because there is no one who can do it better. It is the thriving city of Obregon that refuses to die, even as its waters continue to dry up. They are a people who can see failure all around them, and will do their best to avoid repeating the past. We can only hope that they succeed.

=== [[Legends Are Not Found, They Are Built]] ===

* '''The Senate / Lerona Mere'''
The power of appraisal, replacing misplaced and misguided seat-of-the-pants assessments of cost, has become one of The Senate's most fought over powers. Through shrewd manoeuvring or perhaps political power, both of last season's appraisal slots were leveraged in favour of Lerona Mere. One in pursuit of military power, another in the pursuit of improving the life of the common people (and the bottom line of the Realm). How well the civil service has performed has a uniquely Lerona Mere flavour, and a strongly Concordian assessment.

=== [[On the Edge of My Last Concern]] ===

* '''The Shardcircle'''
The Shardcircle is a council so quiet and small that you can’t even enter it without a certain spell. A council so unknown that it struggled along on ten locks of income for years. A council so unremarkable that page-upon-page of arcane lore goes unread.

But The Shardcircle is also a council that wrought the stone of Weiland asunder with arcane power unmatched by any other. It is a council that sent a soul into the afterlife and pulled it back. It fights monsters without form, maladies without mercy, and quandaries without answer.

The Shardcircle does all of this without pursuit of riches, without the dream of accolades, without power-hungry malice.

It does all of this for the love of the game. For its own reason.

No Council in the Concord can do what the Shardcircle can do. And we should all be very afraid.

=== [[In the Shadow of Distant Stars]] ===

* '''The Church'''

=== [[Where Will I Find You? Where Oh Where?]] ===

* '''Weird Events'''

=== [[Fading Places - News from Across the Seas]] ===

=== [[Monument Mythos - Civil Service Report]] ===

=== [[Chains of Fate, Slicked with Blood - Conflux Report]] ===
----

=== Further Reading ===

* [[Winds of the World|Winds of the World Main Page]]

On the Edge of My Last Concern

2026-03-29T11:38:38Z

EAlice: I'm too eepy for a quippy comment - such is life

Lumos Ceremonies

2026-03-29T11:38:37Z

EAlice: !

The Sphere of Hope, [[Lumos]] ceremonies tend to empower believers, seek out foes and protect the weak.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Name
!Type
!Effect
!Magnitude
!Altar Capable
|-
|[[Believer's Missive]]
| -
|The message that you have written is magically sent to the Lumos Herald or Eternal of your choice, so long as you have properly addressed it. There is no guarantee that you will receive a response, and the Ceremony does not magically assist them in replying.
|2
|Yes
|-
|[[The Candle Extinguished]]
| -
|At the completion of the ceremony, if the target is a corpse, it is consumed by hundreds of candle flames that rapidly consume the remains. Not even bones will be left behind. At the completion of the ceremony, if the target is a Terminal character, they die peacefully and painlessly, with the leader of the Ceremony being responsible for deciding if there will be a corpse left behind for burial or not. This Ceremony can affect additional corpses or characters with Terminal from the same Realm. Each additional target increases the magnitude by 1 to a maximum of 9 total.
|2
|Yes
|-
|[[Binding of Hope]]
| -
|The characters who are present, are in the same realm, and consent to do so are joined together magically and henceforth are made a Sect. This can be performed again to add more people to the Sect at a later date - this requires either the entire Sect be present, or at least as many current members as new members for the Ceremony to work.
|2
|Yes
|-
|[[Release the Chain of Memory]]
| -
|Excises one or more memories from a willing character, removing it from their mind. The contents of the memory are focused on by the individual for the duration of the Ceremony, and need not be revealed to those around them. The character is filled with a sense of hope when they attempt to recall it.
|2
|Yes
|-
|[[Hearthfire Circle]]
| -
|The target character recovers all lost hit points, as well as any fractures, venom or silence effects that they are affected by. Additionally, the target character may ignore the roleplay effect of any traumatic wounds that currently affect them. This Ceremony only suppresses the roleplaying effects of these wounds - any mechanical effects must still be followed, and any wounds that aren’t fixed by the end of the event need to be placed into the target’s character bag at the end to indicate they are ongoing. This Ceremony can affect additional characters from the same Band. Each additional character increases the magnitude by 3. Additional targets must be present for the whole Ceremony as well.
|4
|Yes
|-
|[[Believers of the True Orator]]
|Enchantment
|During the next downtime, the target Congregation takes the Conviction, Tithing, and Mysticism actions. The owner of the target experiences a roleplaying effect until the end of the event.
|6
|Yes
|-
|[[Enlightened Ceremony]]
|Enchantment
|This ceremony augments a cultural bonding ceremony, such as a wedding, adoption, blood-binding of warriors or similar gathering. This ceremony binds the hopes and devotions of those two characters together. Target characters may each choose to gain either 1 additional Hit Point or 2 additional Mana. The targets experience a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|6
|Yes
|-
|[[Embrace the Living Flame]]
|Enchantment
|Target character’s energy maximum is increased by two. This Ceremony can target additional characters from the same Sect. Each additional character increases the magnitude by 6. Additional targets must be present for the whole Ceremony as well. The targets experience a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|8
|Yes
|-
|[[The Twilight Masquerade]]
|Enchantment
|The target character changes their appearance, and appears as a Grace of their choice, taking on all the roleplay effects and physical requirements of that Grace. Please see the page for further details. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|8
|Yes
|-
|[[Unmask the Hidden Thrall]]
| -
|The target character becomes blind for the remainder of the night. Any Pothraxi Thralls within 3 Leagues of them will have a pale blue light shine upon their chest while the target of the Ceremony remains blind.
|8
|No
|-
|[[Antithesis of Faith]]
|Enchantment
|The target character gains the ability to cast Silence and Stun as if they knew them. They may cast each of these once per day for no mana. If you recover all personal Mana from an effect it also recovers the uses of this ability. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|9
|Yes
|-
|[[Vigor of Belief]]
|Enchantment
|The target character gains the Deathless skill. Target characters may spend 1 Energy or Mana to call Immune to Venom. This Ceremony can affect additional characters from the same Sect. Each additional character increases the magnitude by 5. Additional characters must be present throughout. The targets experience a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|9
|Yes
|-
|[[The Sunburst Armour]]
|Enchantment
|The target character is immune to the next Arcane or Spiritual wound (of any severity) they would receive. When they are given the wound by a member of The Concord team they can inform them of this effect and return it. This does not affect physical wounds.
|10
|Yes
|-
|[[Like a Moth to a Flame]]
|Curse
|The Cursed character is supernaturally drawn to bright lights and both shuns and fears the darkness. Whenever the character is not brightly lit, they are affected by the Silence condition. The roleplaying and mechanical effect lasts for three events, including the one in which it was received, after which point the Curse fades naturally.
|10
|Yes
|-
|[[Grace in Forgiveness]]
| -
|The target character under the effect of a curse has that curse removed. If the original Prophet has Cursed the target more than once, any number of Curses may be forgiven and removed in this way. After the ceremony, both the Cursed and the Prophet experience a roleplaying effect until the end of the day.
|10
|No
|-
|[[Revealed to the Initiate]]
|Enchantment
|Target character with no ranks in any Divine Lore gains Divine Lore 3 in one Sphere of their choice. The character does not gain the ability to obtain extra masteries in any Ceremonies that would be granted by these ranks normally. Please see the page for further details about this ceremony. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|10
|No
|-
|[[Flame of Healing]]
|Enchantment
|The target character may cast Heal, Mend Limb, and Purify as if they knew them. They may cast each of these spells once per day for no mana. If you recover all personal Mana from an effect it also recovers the uses of this ability. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|10
|Yes
|-
|[[Inquisitor's Seeking Eye|Inquisitors Seeking Eye]]
|Enchantment
|The target military investment gains three bonus tiers as long as it undertakes the ‘Scout the Frontline’ order during the next season. The owner of the target experiences a roleplaying effect for the duration of the event.
|10
|Yes
|-
|[[Strength of Belief]]
|Enchantment
|All characters from the target Sect gain one additional hitpoint. If the Sect has more than ten members, the Sect leader also gains an additional mana. The targets experience a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|12
|Yes
|-
|[[Blessing of Unmade Belief]]
| -
|The target character with one or more levels in Divine Lore may immediately re-spend any and all experience they have spent on those skills. This can be on other Divine Lore levels if they wish, or anything else. This effect is permanent. If this change would cause the target to drop to Divine Lore 0 in any Sphere that they currently have experience spent in, they may never spend experience to gain Divine Lore in that Sphere again, nor gain any benefit that would give them access to that Divine Lore again. If this change would cause a target whose Investment is a Congregation to drop to zero experience spent across all Divine Lores, they must immediately and freely replace it with a Tier 1 Investment of any other type.
|20
|No
|-
|[[The Bright Soul Within]]
|Enchantment
|The target region becomes blessed against Undeath. Individuals who perish within the region cannot be raised as undead against their will for the next six months.
|35
|No
|-
|[[Hopeforged]]
| -
|The target weapon, item, or prop is immune to the Break effect. In addition, if the item is an Artisan crafted item, its remaining duration is refreshed as if it was just made. Anyone holding onto the item for an extended duration experiences a roleplaying effect. The effect lasts until the end of the event.
|35
|No
|-
|[[Rivers of Blood]]
|Curse
|Target territory gains a trait that increases the casualties taken within the territory by 100%. While the curse is in effect, its effects flow on to affect civilian life as well, increasing the mortality rates of the people living there.
|50
|No
|-
|[[Rivers of Life]]
|Enchantment
|Target territory gains a trait that reduces casualties taken within the territory by 100% (to a maximum of -80%). While the curse is in effect, its effects flow on to affecct civilian life as well, increasing the mrotality rate of people living there.
|50
|No
|-
|[[Villeneuve’s Blessing]]
|Enchantment
|The target army is blessed with fulfilling rest and speedy healing. During the next season, the target Army regains 3000 strength if it takes the Billet action, however in the Season after it Billets its Maximum Movement Value is set to 5. In addition the General of the target Army experiences a roleplaying effect.
|60
|No
|}

=== Alignment Ceremonies ===
The following ceremonies are only available during a Summit where the Precipice is aligned to Lumos.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Name
!Type
!Effect
!Magnitude
!Altar Capable
|-
|Lullaby of Twilight
| -
|The target characteer enters a gentle and deep sleep. They receive a vision of their homeland. Any limited ability they currently have is restored. This effect does not recover any energy, health, or mana.
|8
|No
|-
|Moon's Perigee
|Enchantment
|The target character with the Surgeon skill halves surgery time and whenever they must use resources for surgery, they may reduce the number required by 1 to a minimum of 0. This effect lasts until the end of the Summit.
|25
|Yes
|-
|Final Sunset
|Curse
|The target of this curse feels the sun beginning to set upon them, hope existing in a state of waxing and waning. At the next dawn they will receive a Challenge of Hope. If they fail to complete the task within a year, they gain the terminal condition. If they remove this curse through any other method, they also gain the terminal condition.
|75
|No
|}
[[Category:Ceremonies]]

Somnolence's Salve

2026-03-29T11:38:35Z

EAlice: !

== A Lumos Ceremony - Magnitude 60 - The Ashen Moon ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 10 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets an Army.

This Ceremony is an Enchantment. A target may only be under one Enchantment effect at a time.

== Effects ==
The target army is blessed with fulfilling rest and speedy healing. Even those thought to be bedridden for months find themselves on their feet, right as rain, with but a few days rest. Each night a deep sleep takes hold of the Army, and the next morning at sunrise they wake feeling refreshed and energetic. Surgeons and healers find their patients easier to work on, and this deep sleep seems to speed their recovery in ways otherwise impossible.

During the next season, the target Army regains 3000 strength if it takes the Billet action, however in the Season after it Billets its Maximum Movement Value is set to 5. In addition the General of the target Army gains the following roleplaying effect: ''The character feels like every step is slightly heavier, and every individual movement is slightly slower, but they know deep in their soul that they will rest well each and every night.''

== Description ==
While no obvious physical manifestation appears around the Army enchanted by this Ceremony, its influence is felt more deeply during the night than any other time. From midnight till sunrise, members of the targeted Army will find themselves drawn to sleep, and if they decide to do so, they are greeted by pleasant and restful dreams. The dreams themselves will vary from person to person, but a single detail can be recalled upon waking, and that is the presence of a lit candle that refuses to be dimmed.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
This Ceremony, drawn from The Ashen Moon, was developed by Headmaster Maximilien Villeneuve of The De Re School of Embers, and as such has no history to draw from. Notably, despite Maximilien’s eventual declaration and subsequent execution as a Heretic, there has been no negative consequence to the Ceremony itself.

When performing the Ceremony, Priests found it best to include words that encourage rest and relaxation, as well as performing actions and utilising items that encourage similar intent.

===== See Also: =====

* [[Lumos Ceremonies]]
* Winds of the World Autumn 226 - [[On the Edge of My Last Concern]]

Cervitas Ceremonies

2026-03-29T11:38:33Z

EAlice: !

Sphere of Imperial Wisdom, the Ceremonies of Cervitas empower groups, reward teamwork and support the whole.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Name
!Type
!Effect
!Magnitude
!Atlar Capable
|-
|[[Comrade's Missive]]
| -
|The message that you have written is magically sent to the Cervitas Herald or Eternal of your choice, so long as you have properly addressed it. There is no guarantee that you will receive a response, and the Ceremony does not magically assist them in replying.
|2
|Yes
|-
|[[Call Winged Messenger]]
| -
|Sends a message to a recipient anywhere in the Mortal Sphere who has indicated they can be contacted this way, either by public declaration or a document indicating as such. The target’s full name and location must be known and written on the message. Up to 4 additional sheets of paper can be sent, to up to 4 additional recipients, at a cost of 2 magnitude per sheet. Additional targets must be present for the whole Ceremony as well.
|2
|Yes
|-
|[[Break off the Chain of Memory]]
| -
|Excises one or more memories from a willing character, removing it from their mind. The contents of the memory are focused on by the individual for the duration of the Ceremony, and need not be revealed to those around them. When the character attempts to recall the memory, they are filled with guilt.
|2
|Yes
|-
|[[Duty's Sacrifice]]
| -
|Moves one Effect, Wound or Curse from one willing character to another willing character. This cannot be used to move the Terminal effect.
|4
|No
|-
|[[Words as Deeds]]
| -
|The target Band may change its Oath, all members must be present to speak the new Oath, and sanctify it to the Spheres with their raised voices in the form of their warcry. The members of the target Band who are present all gain 1 temporary Energy, which may temporarily take them over their maximum Energy until it is spent.
|4
|No
|-
|[[Aid Once More]]
|Enchantment
|Once per day the target may assist in Ceremonies being cast by Sects they are not a member of. This means that they are able to bypass any requirements relating to Realm as well. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. Lasts until the end of the event.
|5
|No
|-
|[[Blessing of the Pillar]]
|Enchantment
|The target may cast Heal and call Stay With Me on other members of their Band as if they knew the spell or skill, though they must still pay the mana or energy cost for them. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. Lasts until the end of the event.
|5
|Yes
|-
|[[Bond of Loyalty]]
|Enchantment
|Up to five willing characters swear loyalty to each other, come what may. They are wracked by crushing guilt at even the idea of betraying the other characters in the bond in any way they would consider a betrayal, and find it physically painful to do so - the bigger the betrayal, the greater the pain. Lasts until the end of the event.
|6
|Yes
|-
|[[Cervitas' Bulwark]]
|Enchantment
|The target gains the Bulwark skill, allowing them to use a shield. The target experiences a roleplaying effect. Lasts until the end of the event.
|6
|Yes
|-
|[[Shunned by the Spheres]]
|Curse
|The Cursed target no longer gains any bonuses from artisan items that are attuned to their band or sect specifically, and cannot interact with those items as if they were a member of the band or sect. For the duration, you feel distant and disconnected from all the members of your band or sect, all spoken words from members of your band or sect are heard by you as mumbles and unclear whispers. This Curse has no effect on any artisan items specifically solely bonded to the Cursed character. Lasts until the end of the event.
|8
|Yes
|-
|[[Smith's Inspiration]]
|Enchantment
|The target character may repair a weapon or shield that has been affected by Break three times per day after five seconds of appropriate roleplay. If you recover all energy from an effect, it also recovers the uses of this ability. Target experiences a roleplaying effect. Lasts until the end of the event.
|8
|Yes
|-
|[[Halig's Brand]]
|Curse
|The Cursed target is marked with a magical brand on the shape of the Iron Valley rune for Oathbreaker. During the ceremony, the lead priest announces a single action that the target took that requires punishment. For the duration, if anyone asks you whether you have been branded by Halig’s Brand you feel excruciating pain if you do not answer them in the affirmative. Likewise, if they ask why you were branded the brand restricts as if chains are crushing you unless you provide the reason the priests gave when they cast the curse. Lasts for four Summits.
|10
|Yes
|-
|[[Blessing of the Legion]]
|Enchantment
|All characters from the target Band gain one additional hitpoint. If the Band has more than ten members, the Band leader also gains an additional energy. Any characters who join the target Band after the conclusion of the Ceremony do not gain the benefit of this Enchantment, nor do they count to the number of members for the purposes of giving the Band leader additional energy. Targets experience a roleplaying effect. Lasts until the end of the event.
|12
|Yes
|-
|[[Blessing of the Iron Sergeant]]
|Enchantment
|Target characters, who are all members of a single warband, all gain proficiency in any one weapon (the same weapon for all characters), provided they have passed any appropriate clearances. Targets experience a roleplaying effect. Lasts until the end of the event.
|13
|Yes
|-
|[[Chamber of Delights]]
|Enchantment
|Enchants a target area with an aura of relaxation that encourages people to indulge and luxuriate in pleasurable sensations. The target area need not be large, but must be at least one tent or a single table in a larger area. In addition, if you spend more than fifteen minutes resting in this location, and consume both food and drink of some kind, you recover all personal mana and +1 temporary mana over your capacity. You may only have 1 temporary extra mana in total from any Chambers you visit. Lasts until the end of the event.
|15
|no
|-
|[[Hands of the Healer]]
|Enchantment
|The target may swift cast Heal for 1 mana rather than 2. Additionally, the target also gains two additional personal mana. If the target character deals damage to a target, this effect on them ends immediately and irreversibly. Target experiences a roleplaying effect. Lasts until the end of the event.
|15
|Yes
|-
|[[Strike the Holy Oath]]
| -
|Target willing character/s swear an oath. If they break this oath, they immediately become terminal. The oath is divinely judged by The Masses (see a Storyteller if it is not clear if the oath has been broken), and those who perish this way have their souls fed to The Oathwarg. The target cannot be released from this oath except for by a Cervitas Herald or Eternal
|20
|No
|-
|[[Weight of your Words]]
|Enchantment
|The target character may cast a single Arc Shackle each day for no cost. If you recover all mana from an effect, it also recovers the uses of this ability. Target experiences a roleplaying effect. Lasts until the end of the event.
|20
|No
|-
|[[Fewer Hands, Greater Victories]]
|Enchantment
|For the next Conflux attended this Summit by target characters, provided it is not a Strategic Conflux and there are 25% less Souls (rounded up) than its maximum number in attendance, the following effects apply to each target character; Gain +2 HP (to a maximum of 10HP), gain +1 Energy, gain +2 Mana, gain the Deathless skill. In addition, each target character experiences a roleplaying prompt.
|25
|No
|-
|[[Betrayer's Fleshcurse]]
|Curse
|The Cursed character is constantly under the effect of Venom. This cannot be removed or interrupted in any way while the Curse is in effect. The character is more likely to suffer Traumatic Wounds, even if they end the conflict on full health. While this Curse is in effect, the target cannot be fully cured of any Traumatic Wounds. If the character becomes terminal while under this Curse, they are overwhelmed by feverish delirium and suffer a slow, agonizing death as the flesh rots from their bones. Target experiences a roleplaying effect. This curse lasts four events.
|35
|No
|-
|[[Bound by Common Cause]]
|Enchantment
|The target Army or Navy gains an additional 100 strength for each military unit from an Investment attached to it for the next season. The General or Admiral of the force experiences a roleplaying effect.
|50
|No
|-
|[[Defender's Blessed Cohort]]
|Enchantment
|The target Fortification is blessed by spectral warriors that rise to defend it, increasing its strength by 1500 for the next season. Throwing themselves headlong at foes before they can do damage to the living, these spectral warriors take casualties before their allies. With the mana sapped from the land, one random neighbouring territory has its resource producing buildings count as one tier lower (to a minimum of one) for the season.
|60
|No
|-
|[[Arboreal Brotherhood of Rage]]
|Curse
|Plants within a territory spring to life and attack wildly, harming those without knowledge of the land in particular. Unless it is a Swamp, the territory changes terrain to Forest. Each season for the next four seasons, attacking Armies in the region suffer 500 casualties, while defending Armies take 250 casualties. Fortifications take 500 casualties. Farms, Herb Gardens, and Wilderness Investments in the target region produce at half rate as even the simple crops and herbs rise on spindly roots to strangle those that would reap them.
|120
|No
|}

=== Alignment Ceremonies ===
The following ceremonies are only available during a Summit where the Precipice is aligned to Cervitas.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Name
!Type
!Effect
!Magnitude
!Altar Capable
|-
|Mass of the Faithful
|Enchantment
|The next rite the target character leads has both of its benefits take effect, but only costs the resources of one.
|6
|No
|-
|Shattering the Tombstones
|Enchantment
|The target character may expend 1 energy to deliver 'Damage 5' on a damaging strike against an undead while weilding a greatweapon. This effect lasts until the end of the Summit.
|22
|Yes
|-
|Levy of the Crown
| -
|The target realm (represented by its assembled Senators and Champion) is granted the boon of the Crownsgrave. Any investment of that realm may function as a Military investment of the same tier this coming season.
|96
|No
|}
[[Category:Ceremonies]]

Fewer Hands, Greater Victories

2026-03-29T11:38:32Z

EAlice: !

== A Cervitas Ceremony - Magnitude 25 - The Masses ==
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 10 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets a group of Characters planning to attend a Non-Strategic Conflux.

This Ceremony is an Enchantment. A target may only be under one Enchantment effect at a time.

== Effects ==
The target Characters are infused by power both Arcane and Divine, channeled through the mysterious workings of Portal Magic and its impact on the soul. By forming a connection under The Masses with one another, the Characters are able to draw unused power from the Portal so long as there is spare power available.

For the next Conflux attended this Summit by target Characters, provided it is not a Strategic Conflux and there are 25% less Souls (rounded up) than its maximum number in attendance, the following effects apply to each target Character; Gain +2 HP (to a maximum of 10HP), gain +1 Energy, gain +2 Mana, gain the Deathless skill. In addition, each target Character gains the following roleplay effect; ''There is a great bond between you all, something that ties your souls together for this short time. You will ensure that fewer hands will make great victories, and that each of you will make it home so long as you can help it.''

== Description ==
While The Concord does not truly understand the mysterious workings of Waystones and Portals, it is undeniable that it has ties to the soul. There are few more apt at harnessing this power than The Masses, under Cervitas, a manifested entity of bonds and action of unified direction. This Ceremony utilises these facts for the betterment of the few, giving them the power of many, and the power to bring their few home.

== Performing the Ceremony ==
This Ceremony was developed by Headmaster Azime Rais of The Andashi School of Gifts, and as such has no history to draw from. Notably, the original request for “Many Hands, Many Victories” was deemed unable to be accomplished, due to difficulty in merging Souls of different Realms with the strange nature of Portals at will.

When performing the Ceremony, Priests found it best to have each target step forward simultaneously, and form a bond either by word of action, physical ties, and similar acts that reinforce their bond together.

===== See Also: =====

* [[Cervitas Ceremonies]]
* Winds of the World Autumn 226 - [[On the Edge of My Last Concern]]

File:656457417 4384320061857761 470974764634030727 n.jpg

2026-03-29T11:37:10Z

EAlice:

File:654219218 1507334174289315 8337936042115455183 n.jpg

2026-03-29T11:36:26Z

EAlice:

File:657360151 2701963776854925 739955810726907860 n.jpg

2026-03-29T11:35:16Z

EAlice:

Legends Are Not Found, They Are Built

2026-03-26T09:45:35Z

EAlice: May the gentrification of Shagston begin!

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/legends-are-not-found-they-are|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

The power of appraisal, replacing misplaced and misguided seat-of-the-pants assessments of cost, has become one of The Senate's most fought over powers. Through shrewd manoeuvring or perhaps political power, both of last season's appraisal slots were leveraged in favour of Lerona Mere. One in pursuit of military power, another in the pursuit of improving the life of the common people (and the bottom line of the Realm). How well the civil service has performed has a uniquely Lerona Mere flavour, and a strongly Concordian assessment.

== Years to Build a Ship, Centuries to Build a Tradition ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/years-to-build-a-ship|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

'''“Appraise a larger shipyard in Legend City capable of supporting a larger fleet”'''

Legend City is a busy place. Within its walls there is very little room that is not owned, spoken for, or abandoned for good reason. However, there is one despicable spit of land on the south-western corner of the Docklands that is free, within reason.

Known as Shagston, it is the home to the poorest of the poor, the maligned, the abandoned, and the forgotten. Raided by the Slangfolk and Liberties Fist in equal measure, Civil Service architects and estimators have been seen scrambling over the half submerged walkways with measuring devices and slates in an attempt to bring The Senate’s dreams to life. In this they have outdone themselves, presenting four possibilities for the endeavour.

Unfortunately the ‘plot’ that is Shagston is only so large. Regardless of how appealing the options are, there is only space for one of them to be constructed.

=== The Cimitero ===
Across from Shagston is the massive pier and dock complex known as ‘The Ribs and Reach’ which hosts more than sixty percent of Lerona Mere’s naval traffic. The proposal that most directly actions The Senate’s request is a plan to build a matching pier that runs perpendicular to The Reach from Shagston (following substantial building up of the footings) and filling in the sheltered space with jetties and docks capable of supporting a truly massive fleet.

'''Cost:''' 15 Thunder Oak + 10 Vaults

'''Construction Duration:''' 2 Seasons

'''Location:''' Shagston, The Docklands, Legend City

'''Expected Production:''' None

'''Special:''' Lerona Mere Realmic fleets may be upgraded a second time, raising their maximum strength to 10,000. This raises the fleets upkeep to 7 Vaults, 15 Locks per season, but does not reduce their movement speed. Upgrading a fleet the second time cost the same as upgrading it the first time, takes two seasons and requires the fleet to take the Dock action in an ocean territory adjacent to Lerona Mere for two consecutive seasons.
[[File:654159480 949506060863276 5556037300559636315 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|Lerona Mere is built in part on he blood, sweat, and tears of its sailors ]]

=== The Cantieri ===
For some, the request from the Senate felt less about raising the largest single fleet, and more so about making the fleets that we already had far easier to manage. Plans were quickly sketched to replace Shagston with a sprawling warehouse complex and a series of docks to allow the easier resupplying of Lerona Mere’s fleets.

'''Cost:''' 7 Thunder Oak + 5 Vaults

'''Construction Duration:''' 2 Seasons

'''Location:''' Shagston, The Docklands, Legend City

'''Expected Production:''' None

'''Special:''' Lerona Mere Realmic fleets will have their upkeep reduced to 3 Vaults per season if they have a maximum strength of 5000, and to 4 Vaults per season if they have a maximum strength of 7500. In addition, Lerona Mere fleets will disband at 1000 strength, rather than 1500.

=== The Portofortura ===
For some among the Civil Service, the appraisal raised the question "What even is a Lerona Mere fleet anyway?” Surely it was more than just vessels of war. Over a few too many bottles of wine and fine Bordevarian cheeses, a plan was divised to craft a state-owned merchant fleet, based out of a series of docks, weighing houses, and sailors barracks in what used to be Shagston. This great fleet could travel the world, trading and bringing wealth and glory back to Lerona Mere!

In the scheme of drunken cheese ideas it's not bad, but it is hardly what The Senate asked for.

'''Cost:''' 5 Thunder Oak + 5 Vaults

'''Construction Duration:''' 1 Season

'''Location:''' Shagston, The Docklands, Legend City

'''Expected Production:''' None

'''Special:''' Lerona Mere realmic fleets may be converted to Trade Fleets. Trade Fleets have reduced strength, and cannot take the Bloody Attack or Raid order, but are capable of travelling to distant friendly ports resulting in income, trade opportunities, and diplomatic favour. Upgrading a fleet costs no funds or resources, but takes a season, where that fleet must take the Dock action in a sea region adjacent to Lerona Mere. Its maximum strength will become 5000, if it was not already.

=== The Rivoluzinario ===
Unfortunately for many in the Senate, Legend City is Legend City. When you ask them to improve support for the fleets, some hear ‘improve support for the fleets to travel the ocean blue, slaying tyrants and freeing the oppressed.’ Even while not explicitly being requested, the work was certainly done!

The resulting plan is to replace Shagston with a series of supply houses, armouries, taverns, and shipwrights for small landing craft. This will facilitate training and equipping Lerona Mere fleets with Revolutionary Marines. These marines will then join Lerona Mere fleets on distant journeys to raid the enemies of freedom and of The Concord.

'''Cost:''' 5 Thunder Oak + 5 Vaults

'''Construction Duration:''' 2 Seasons

'''Location:''' Shagston, The Docklands, Legend City

'''Expected Production:''' None

'''Special:''' Lerona Mere Admirals will receive opportunities to travel to distant ports and regions to raid and bring revolution to the enemies of freedom and known tyrants. These journeys will be dangerous and political dubious, but will be conducted in the interest of freeing slaves, combatting Artebazzan, and ensuring the liberty never dies.

In addition, Lerona Mere fleets will gain the ‘Revolutionary Marines’ trait, raising the base damage of their ‘Raid’ order from 20% to 30%.

== Hold to your Devotion, Grow it Safe and Strong ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/hold-to-your-devotion-grow-it|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

'''''“Appraisal to improve infrastructure in Loricazzo”'''''

Growing ever stronger beneath the oncoming settlement of civilised folks, Loricazzo finds itself in a constant state of rebuilding. Repairing and improving commercial and residential buildings, places of public and private use; this is the task set to those who wish to live there, and as such it is taken as a challenge in stride to add to this task by Senate request. Many suggestions are laid before The Civil Service on what could be invested in to improve the infrastructure of Loricazzo, but only three were firmly decided to be of best consideration to The Senate.
[[File:658976427 938371259119644 2257356031195173294 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|The people look towards Loricazzo with hope and practicality in equal measure]]

=== Improve the Docks ===
The first and most clearly impactful would be generic improvements to the docks of Loricazzo. Rather than a plan to build something as great as The Docklands of Legend City, or a single building of great import like The Sea Hall of Jaalstead, instead a great many plans were gathered for actioning; from replacing of jetties and piers to a focus on spaces for dry docks, warehouses and minor trade houses and taverns. These improvements would not make Loricazzo’s docks the best in The Concord, but they would be well regarded boons nonetheless.

'''Cost:''' 5 Vaults + 7 Thunderoak

'''Construction Duration:''' 1 Season

'''Location:''' Loricazzo (Marepato), Mancante Terra

'''Expected Production:''' None

'''Special:''' Naval Investments based in Marepato will function as if 1 Tier Higher when taking the Profitable Work Action.

=== Improve Agriculture ===
Perhaps the greatest of considered applications would come in the form of improving the arable farmland surrounding Loricazzo. While already a pleasant place to grow crops and plant orchards, the investment of purpose-built structures for storage, planned and well marked fields that cater for future growth, arranged deals to import or create fertiliser, and even further general yet useful ideas would see Loricazzo’s farmers able to well and truly increase the yield of whatever they plan to grow or raise. This would also present the greatest option for trade for the city, notably improving taxation for the territory as the city begins to grow beyond merely sustaining itself.

'''Cost:''' 10 Vaults + 10 Thunderoak

'''Construction Duration:''' 2 Seasons

'''Location:''' Loricazzo (Marepato), Mancante Terra

'''Expected Production:''' None

'''Special:''' Farm Investments based in Marepato always function as if 1 Tier Higher.

=== Invest in Lamplighters ===
Considered the most obvious of improvements to infrastructure would be investment into a guild of Lamplighters. With an initial cost of equipment, guild buildings throughout Loricazzo and the hiring of personnel, it would be a simple answer of coin to a consistent city wide concern. Lamplighters would work, particularly at dusk and dawn, to keep the shadows of the city quelled and the habitable streets lit and safe. This would improve not only the safety of the citizens of Loricazzo, reducing crime and similar concerns, but also provide ample work for those that may be struggling in this city born anew.

'''Cost:''' 10 Vaults

'''Construction Duration:''' 1 Season

'''Location:''' Loricazzo (Marepato), Mancante Terra

'''Expected Production:''' None

'''Special:''' The Senator of Mancante Terra may choose to pay for “Night-long Lighting”, hiring Lamplighters to particularly focus their work around any ongoing construction. This will reduce the construction time of any Commissions being built in Loricazzo by 1 Season, to a minimum of 1. This costs 2 Vaults per Season, payable by letter to The Civil Service.

===== See Also: =====

* [[Winds of the World - Autumn 226]]

Winds of the World - Autumn 226

2026-03-26T09:45:33Z

EAlice:

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/welcome-to-winds-of-the-world|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}[[File:558963093 10162219358918129 1208852088215685366 n.jpg|thumb|New dawns do not always shine for those who deserve them most.]]The Concord is old, and yet it is young.

The Concord carries the bones of ancient Iron Valleyfolk kings, but it also carries the dreams of the downtrodden of the Docklands. The Concord battles foes who look upon stars with newborn wonder, but it also struggles against avarice as old as humanity itself. The Concord stands on the thin pretenses of treaties barely older enough to be forgotten, but it also draws forth a unity and a camaraderie born of struggle.

As The Concord stumbles, its people lift it up, As the Concord soars, its people shelter under its wings, as The Concord stands firm, its people stand at its back.

As 226 goes from hopeful future to hard won present, The Concord breathes a sigh of relief. There has been no great victory, no great calamity has befallen our foes, but The Concord still stands, this present exists because it was bought with blood and sweat. As will every dawn to come.

May there be many of them.
----Welcome to the Winds of the World for Autumn 226!

The Winds of the World detail the changes and progression of the world of Concord over the last season, detailing the wars, fortunes and opportunities that have arisen over time. These are intended to show how the world has moved, provide prompts and guides for characters as well as let you see the results of your actions.

This page will detail the Winds of the World as a summary, with a short introduction for each individual section of the Winds. If any particular section draws your attention or has game information that might affect you, click into it and read the full text which will be substantially longer and contain game information. These pages are in a slightly new format, broken up into subheadings allowing the Concord Team to focus information and provide a better cause and effect.

It is important to note that The Winds of The World are not an In-Character document. Rather, it represents a collection of documents, rumours, reports and tales that have swept The Concord. Any character is more than welcome to know as little or as much of the Winds as possible, reflecting how well informed they like to keep themselves. It is perfectly acceptable to arrive in Passage having heard nothing or to only seek out the Winds that apply to you. Particularly studious, influential or well-travelled characters may know all or most of it. When referring to the Winds in character, you are welcome to characterise it as 'rumours heard in tavern houses' or 'the latest report from Weiland!' rather than the idea of the Civil Service putting out a gigantic almanac of goings on and gossip.

We've attempted to tag each entry in the Winds in regards to who it affects - hopefully this will make it easier to navigate. Each sub-section will be updated as the Autumn Summit draws nearer, with an entry being posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until they are all posted. The Winds will be posted in the order that they are listed here.

=== [[Hostile Takeover - The War in Mukarrem]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / Andash / The Foreign Service'''
For many in The Concord, Mukarrem has become the new Bolsterlee; a rolling conflict slowly grinding a once beautiful land into a wasted battlefield. It has been years since The Concord held the Salt Road, and the forces of the Trade Principality strike on such a narrow front that their pace is relentless. Concordian’s whisper that of Mukarrem in much the same way that they do of Mancante Terra, and Vassertal;

Lost causes that cost more than they reward.

But perhaps there is a change on the wind, blood in the water, that will change this war arithmetic. Although, not always for the better.

=== [[We Carved War from the Mountainside and Gave it Meaning - The War in King's Pass]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley'''
When the Illsevir first came to Esterra they were a looming threat in the mists and ice. Their ships tore through merchants and war galleys alike. When they took to the land they nearly crushed two nations into ash and lamentation. Their hands broke fortresses, called dragons, and forged naught but despair.

The Valleyfolk called it ‘The Long Retreat’, and from them it took nearly everything. It forced them back into the oldest of their lands, the quietest, the meekest. With one fortress left to hold them and the charity of new allies to see them through the dawn, hold is what they did.

But the time of holding has passed. The time of staring up at familiar stone with dread is over. The Valleyfolk and The Concord do not mean to leave what is rightfully theirs in enemy hands.

Now is the time to retake Baelags Holdfast.

=== [[The Fallen of the Shadowroot War - The War in Resinderholz]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Greenweald Baronies'''
The northern front. The river of blood. The Shadowroot War. The Hordling Hell.

Soldiers call fighting in the Sableheart a lot of different things, and over time many armies take their stance along the line; few more often than the First Banner of Bordevar, but few are more welcome than the Legion of the Blackheart Bear. This past season saw both forces rally in and around the city of Eisen to spend another season of uncomfortable heat, the stench of death, and the grime of mud and blood as they fought back the undead once more.

Danakka Rimortis, the Wraith of Port Gargant, the Alchemist of Brumhaven, brought forth ten thousand shambling corpses, corruptive alchemists, and the threat of plague. The Hirschkind, a powerful Weald-beast, seeks out armoured Ritters and Knights for its brutal revenge, The Fae Queen musters her armies of tricksy murderous allies, and every drop of blood threatens doom by disease.

The summer sun through the leaves shines only on death. Welcome to the Shadowroot War.

=== [[It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War in Bolsterlee|It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War Against the Drowned]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley / Lerona Mere'''
The Drowned remain a lurking threat to Esterra’s far south-western regions, haunting the ruins of Vidania like algae in brackish waters. Ever since the Concordian forces of the Legion of the Blackheart Bear, the First Banner of Bordevar, and the Fleets of Lerona Mere forced these monstrosities back south of the Plateau of the Gods, they have slumbered. While their horrors persist, so do they.

But they slumber no longer. Forces move north, intent on retaking Mandrianos. And most strangely, forces move east, across the Bay of Promised Gold.

=== [[Are We One or Are We Five?]] ===

* '''The Senate / All Nations'''
<blockquote>''We as your Senate, inspired by the great and dire state of our nation declare this State of Emergency. Our enemies are at our hearths and homes, far from beyond the borders where they belong. But to you all, we your chosen leaders write this promise to you, this declaration to you all.''

''We are one. Five realms, one Concord.''

''In this, one of our darkest hours, we will stand together, we will fight together, we will win together.''

* ''Senator of Windholme, Ivern the Inheritor.''
</blockquote>
----The words spoken in the Senate can often seem empty to the outsider, the hot gas expelled by politicians whose only purpose is to empower themselves and to cast great shadows over history. But all things matter within the chambers of Concordian councils, it matters that we breathe, it matters that we speak, it matters that we live.

In the Summit past, the Senator of Windholme declared that The Concord was in a State of Emergency, that the maladies, curses, and foes arrayed around it were far too extreme to be tackled with the tools that were available. More than the ravings of one angry Valleyfolk, Senator Ivern presented words to this effect that were added to by every assembled Senator, an agreement in chorus that The Concord was failing, that The Concord desperately needs aid from within.

=== [[Standing Before Evil]] ===

* '''The Kingdom of Bordevar'''
The strength of Bordevar is found in many places. It can be found in its traditions, both those inherited from Drummond, and those forged in the blood of King Bordevar’s conquests. It can be found in the raw strength-at-arms of its people, be they knightly or commonfolk. It can be found in the stubbornness, that dogged determination that keeps them holding on one season after another.

But for many, this strength has been used to put Bordevarian concerns aside while they shoulder the weight of its ignorance. Bordevar CAN hold, so it becomes Bordevar MUST hold, while other nations, groups, causes, and fights are brought to the forefront, due to the weakness of their abilities, not their strength.

As 226 becomes a year not of future concern, but present problem, Bordevar and the entire Concord considers how long it can rely on Bordevar putting the needs of the many before the needs of the few, or how long Bordevar can tell themselves this, before something comes to a head.

=== [[Until We Break, Our Home We Must Keep Alive]] ===

* '''The Iron Valley'''
Eyes sternly gaze west, towards The Kings Pass and Baelags Holdfast, yet hearts remain firmly rooted in the stones of home. The Valley, despite the energies focussed towards reclaiming their heritage, would not forget their hearths within the Regions of Bolsterlee and Windholme. There are a great many grand things to celebrate, concerning events and happenings to worry over, and countless occurrences both large and small that cannot be ignored.

The Iron Valley may be tested in the fight to take Baelags, but they are tried by what remains when all is said and done.

=== [[Only the Wrong Words Are A Waste of Time]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
Lerona Mere, even as it grows, maintains a wildly complex variety of concerns. They are a Realm of great cultural concerns, violent problem solving traditions, and seemingly-petulant ethos of contrarianism. Even as their great democratic experiment continues into this new year, and their war with The Drowned, the people of Lerona Mere continue to pursue the arts and joy with an intensity unmatched by any other realm.

In 226 the Lerona Mere pursue monsters in the mists below their feet, vanquising foes that have haunted The Concord for years, claim their place as the creative heart of The Concord, explore the mysteries of magic unknown to any who speak the common tongue, and all the while they grow into more than a single city.

Grow into a Realm of untold power and influence.

''En Evante!''

=== [[My Ignorance Is Just as Good as Your Knowledge]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
What was once another piece of Lerona Mere’s strange regional madness has become the core of its nation; The Lerona Mere Parliament. This collection of elected representatives from across the Realm come together in Legend City to speak on behalf of their people, guide the realm, make decisions, make money, and make mistakes. Through fire, revolution, another fire, and more than a few subcommittees, the Lerona Mere Parliament has stabilised as a pillar of the Realm that appears to stand tall.

The greatest part of this pillar is election season, which has fallen on the Autumn of 226. With the three incumbent parties not only battling for supremacy, but also fighting to retain control over their piece of power. While votes flow in from across Mancante Terra and Lerona Mere, the heroic delegation must also decide where the future of the Realm lies.

The Parliament will hold their positions for two years, with the next election expected to be Autumn in 228. So choose wisely. Every Lerona Mere character will find a voting slip in their character pack, which can be submitted to the voting box held in the Civil Service Hub.

=== [[Burn the Woods Through Faith and Flame]] ===

* '''The Greenweald Baronies'''
None can say that life in the Greenweald is a calm or easy one. Even without the undead reaching to grasp Resinderholz in their cadaverous clutches, it is not a realm absent of shadows awaiting weakness, man-made, monstrous or otherwise, to pick and pick at until a pestilent void is left behind.

Across Eisen cobblestones drip with Blasserstreit-infected blood, spreading with them a plague that seems to be as cemented into the Weald’s nature as their stoic dispositions. In the forests and towns, monsters, both those masquerading as men, and those more blatant with their presentations, wander through darkened canopies plotting, patrolling, and indulging in their primal priorities. And throughout the Sableheart, the wind echoes with the cacophonies of green-fleshed fae, their raucous writhing joined by clanking carapaces and undulating undergrowth.

But perhaps, as the final stones, syringes, and scalpels find their homes in the freshly finished Schloss Mortis there forms the dawning sun the Barony so desperately needs. Perhaps.

=== [[Lost Lands of the Librarian]] ===

* '''Andash'''
For an outsider, Andash is its history. It is nomads and cityfolk living in the ruins of a once great empire, scratching their chins while they try to emulate the long dead who probably were as similar to them as the Drowned are. It is a land of abandoned ambitions, lost hopes, and forgotten glory.

But it is so much more than that.

It is the next generation of Nomads striking out across the sands, because there is no one who can do it better. It is the thriving city of Obregon that refuses to die, even as its waters continue to dry up. They are a people who can see failure all around them, and will do their best to avoid repeating the past. We can only hope that they succeed.

=== [[Legends Are Not Found, They Are Built]] ===

* '''The Senate / Lerona Mere'''
The power of appraisal, replacing misplaced and misguided seat-of-the-pants assessments of cost, has become one of The Senate's most fought over powers. Through shrewd manoeuvring or perhaps political power, both of last season's appraisal slots were leveraged in favour of Lerona Mere. One in pursuit of military power, another in the pursuit of improving the life of the common people (and the bottom line of the Realm). How well the civil service has performed has a uniquely Lerona Mere flavour, and a strongly Concordian assessment.

=== [[On the Edge of My Last Concern]] ===

* '''The Shardcircle'''

=== [[In the Shadow of Distant Stars]] ===

* '''The Church'''

=== [[Where Will I Find You? Where Oh Where?]] ===

* '''Weird Events'''

=== [[Fading Places - News from Across the Seas]] ===

=== [[Monument Mythos - Civil Service Report]] ===

=== [[Chains of Fate, Slicked with Blood - Conflux Report]] ===
----

=== Further Reading ===

* [[Winds of the World|Winds of the World Main Page]]

File:658976427 938371259119644 2257356031195173294 n.jpg

2026-03-26T09:44:20Z

EAlice:

File:654159480 949506060863276 5556037300559636315 n.jpg

2026-03-26T09:43:20Z

EAlice:

Lost Lands of the Librarian

2026-03-24T12:12:32Z

EAlice:

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/lost-lands-of-the-librarian|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

For an outsider, Andash is its history. It is nomads and cityfolk living in the ruins of a once great empire, scratching their chins while they try to emulate the long dead who probably were as similar to them as the Drowned are. It is a land of abandoned ambitions, lost hopes, and forgotten glory.

But it is so much more than that.

It is the next generation of Nomads striking out across the sands, because there is no one who can do it better. It is the thriving city of Obregon that refuses to die, even as its waters continue to dry up. They are a people who can see failure all around them, and will do their best to avoid repeating the past. We can only hope that they succeed.

== Steelsun Lost ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/steelsun-lost|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

With the water shortage in Obregon coffee is all the more expensive. Sure it can be brought to the city, but only for cafes willing to pay the premium. So many of these hallmarks of Andashi city life are still closed, or home to only a handful of inhabitants. On the eastern side of the city, nearly as far from the new oasis as can be, an old Janissary by the name of Valtir Al-Abqala has been holding court. Weaving a tale of the distant past, in the way that Andashi are known to do…

''Ahhh… you want the Hawk, do you? Hah! Sit. Sit. You don’t stand for this story. Not unless you plan to duel at the end of it. Javier Al-Corvarrias. Steelsun Lion. Greatest blade Andash ever bred, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise. Though not very well anymore.''

''He weren’t born wealthy. That’s important. No silk cradle for him. Salt wind and tax ledgers, that was his nursery. Half coast. Half conqueror. That’s why he understood us.''
[[File:657328584 1456421229189468 5396093405551271089 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|Much of what was once Andashi is now lost]]
''Solvane, his sword, curved like a gull’s wing. Could split helm and still flick to signal left flank. And his bow? Falconwake. Spheres, I saw it once. Sang when it was fired. Not metaphor. Sang. And the armour! The Auric Carapace! Blazed so bright at Aguinaldo’s Horizon the enemy thought the sun had come down to fight. Or so the legends go.''

''You know what really happened there? Hundreds of years ago?''

''The Grand Empire thought it could bind the gods. Command them. Make them pump water and bless harvests like obedient oxen. And when the gods, or whatever that Witch was, said no? The Empire panicked.''

''The war was so extreme, so painful, that it turned the deserts to glass. That it broke the mind and soul of an Empire, of our people! And Javier was in the midst of it. Leading soldiers, slaying monsters, getting paid, as all honourable warriors should.''

''He was there on the last day in Sarimento. It was said that The Steelsun Lion was the only one of the Grand Empire’s commanders who held against the Witch and her army of magick, cultists, and monsters. That he drove the blade Solvane into the ground and would not step back from it for a day and a night.''

''But that was still a battle we lost. The Grand Empire cracked, crumbled, and forgot what it was. The Steelsun Lion wandered far and wide, fighting battle after battle as the Empire that he grew up in slipped through his hands like sand through his fingers.''

''We don’t really know what happened to him. My friends, Jameni Al-Nazafeza and Diego Del-Arcadian had been working at it for years. Scouring every record, troop movement, inscription on stone, or divine whispering. What had happened to the Steelsun Lion? To Solvane? To our Grandest Empire?''

''By the end of it all, when the Warjackal and his cronies broke down the door Tadribar, when the Master Janissary was hauled off into the desert to die because The Concordian heroes failed to save him, all they had was this. These papers, these legends. It's the shape of a tale that I have tried to follow, but my bones are tired, and my joints are dust. Now I am forced to hand over the life's work of dead men to the same heroes who failed to save them.''

''All so the legend of another dead man might live again…''

=== Game Information ===
An old Janissary has come forward in Obregon, lamenting the final loss of Tadribar, although its mercenary swordfolk had been lost for some time. His revelation that the monk-like sages of Tadribar had been searching for the lost garb of Javier Al-Corvarrias, The Steelsun Lion, makes the loss all the worse.

But the old Jannissary’s notes have been handed over to the Champion of Tribes, so that through them, the Janissaries may continue to pursue The Steelsun Lion’s legacy.

There will be more information regarding this quest for the Champion of the Tribes and plentiful opportunities for Jannisaries and other Andashi to pursue it.

== Dancer of Gold and Green, Why Do You Cry? ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/dancer-of-gold-and-green-why|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

Abqala remains a place of many. Beyond those nomadic peoples who find solace within its comforts and traditions, and beyond those refugees who seek safety in the illusion of a home far from their roots. Beyond the dead and the living, the heroic and the banal. Abqala does not settle itself into some rigid form, the hard place near to the rock. It remains fluid, allowing its people, traditions and culture to flow as if the waters from within its very core.

The Shepherd of the Reeds, Mowgli El-Tanebar Del-Solas, would extend this intent to each of the people beyond the northern border. To those that made themselves known, with heritage shared of Peaks, Old Seas and Hawks. Those who claim to be of Andash lost to ages past, those of Villacres nomadic in soul and with a willingness to show sincerity to their neighbours and lost kin. It is this combination of intent and sincerity, shown and given to all of the Lost Clans rather than narrowed to but one, that would possibly bridge the gap that separates.
[[File:657445712 1437147267869426 4375656614926982382 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|May there be many stories to trade when the Hawks arrive]]
However the gap remains for a reason, and one that becomes particularly hard to ignore in the Summer Season.

The Lost Clans of Villacres were always treated cordially by the people of Abqala, but a natural distance formed as the seed of distrust sprouted as it always must. Andashi would not make those of Villacres unwelcome, so long as they presented themselves as of the Peak, Old Seas or Hawk; nonetheless they remained a people under the thumb of an enemy. They remained a people that were by all means Zekartaal, even if they do not always wear their colours nor strictly follow their customs.

Despite this, their tales of oppression ring with truth for the Andashi people, and so distrust and kindness sprout entwined.

Still, they come to Abqala, and they are welcomed for so long as they bring with them trade and respite rather than conflict and strife. It finds itself rarer in these past Summer months, but the presence of a particularly vocal person of the Hawk reminds Andash with whom they have accepted into their home. This nomad, despite the suspicious colourings of green and yellow amongst the other colours of their garb, would be well vouched for and face no opposition to their presence.

They spoke loudly of the crushing weight of The Zekartaal people on the lives of The Lost Clans, but they did not speak with a venom that would be expected from their words. They spoke as if it was a fact of life, unchanging and uncaring, a facet that could not be ignored but neither corrected. They spoke softly about their life, and they spoke with purpose. It seemed obvious to any who listened that there must be more to their tales than simple story, but never did a request for help appear.

But still they spoke. More than any other. Enough to draw attention. Enough to exist as a foreign person in a place that should be their home. Enough to be encouraged to tell their story at The Summit.

And so a nomad makes their way to Passage, wearing colours of purple and green and gold. Will the tale they tell be a call to action? Will it turn from one of oppression to one of acceptance? Will they be slain for simple words misspoken regarding a tragedy of circumstance and birthplace?

Will they be of any note at all?

=== Game Information ===
The Lost Clans of Villacres continue to trade with Abqala where appropriate, given welcome by the Shepherd of the Reeds en masse. The trade itself dwindles in the Summer heat, but its presence is still notable for those who do not often get opportunity to trade for barter, such as the refugees surrounding Abqala.

This small amount of trade makes the life of the refugees easier to bear, a much needed relief for those lucky enough to have something worth trading, but provides no additional benefits at this stage.

Members of The Lost Clan of the Hawk are expected to journey to Passage, with tales of life under The Zekartaal and possibly more hidden beneath the surface.

== Yes, Wonderful Things ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/yes-wonderful-things|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

It must have been a beautiful place, even being formed during the decline of the great and powerful empire. They could imagine it at its finest - flooded with hundreds upon hundreds of Grand Andashi trading goods and stories alike.

As they reinforced doorways and roofs, if they squinted just right, the long-rotten fabrics and more-than-desiccated flowers could bloom again in brightness, dancing upon the eaves and arches in the breeze. As they cleared out dilapidated tapestries and carpets, now too worn to truly make out the pattern, if they were quiet enough they could almost hear the bartering occurring about them - voices from the Basilisk Gate arguing with those of Tasa Mana, while those of Sirunar commented to others from Obregon on the sale.

As the Delvers uncovered and restored more and more of New Kodiri - more and more of their new settlement - it began to feel increasingly like home.

There was enough of Grand Andash to engage them. Minor discoveries of scrawled messages, seemingly left by wayward teenagers in the corner of what once was an office, felt like buried treasure to those wishing to see where culture had shifted and stayed the same. Major discoveries, like the internal doors of the largest market hall still retaining their ornate carvings of some of the native flora and fauna of the area that still thrive, were celebrated as the miracle that they were.

And throughout the settlement, as the halls that had stayed empty for generations began to bustle once again with Andashi trading stories, objects, and knowledge in equal measure, it felt a miracle indeed.

It is no grand temple built for Maestras and Maestros - it was a central spoke for merchants and common folk then, and merchants and common folk now. It is no brilliant den of magic - whatever forces of Grand Andash that rumbled there years ago have long since gone quiet. It is no phenomenal nexus of productivity - more friendships and connections are crafted there than industrial objects ever would be.

But it was theirs at last, after years and years of work without claim - a home for the Delvers of Andash.

=== Game Information ===
The commission of New Kodiri in Tanebar East has been completed! As expected, this new focal point has increased the tax income of the region.

Any Characters who would have visited the Kodiri dig site during this Season would have seen Grand Andash in miniature, with various artefacts, scrolls, tapestries from the historic empire being brought together by their Delvers in an attempt to find meaning.

The Senator of The Tribelands will receive a letter about the first of these instances, brought about by the Delvers coming together to discuss their work.

Those of the Delver archetype are invited to take the following roleplay prompt as they see a site for their finds restored:

“''Regardless of how the sands and stones change around me, I know who I am, and what I am capable of.''”

== Drowning, Not in Water but Grains of Sand ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/drowning-not-in-water-but|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

Leire wiped the sweat from his brow and continued on his way. His shoulders ached. His feet ached. His back ached. He wasn’t sure if there was any part of him that didn’t ache. But this was an absent thought. One that perishes under the burning sun just as quickly as it reappears. The Summer Season is not kind in Obregon. Another absent thought.

But Leire ached for good reason, he thought. Each carefully placed step across the burning sands surrounding his home was one that brought him closer to fulfilling his task. Every bit of burn on the few exposed parts of his skin, worth the damage it must be causing. Every second of discomfort, for the sake of those who could not endure it themselves.

Leire knew he had no need to look behind him, even if he could given the weight on his shoulders. He knew he only need look forward enough to ensure his destination remained in sight. This was his task. He would receive no coin for this, but he did not need it. He would receive no glory, but he did not desire it.

There were people who relied on him now. He would not fail them, not while it was just discomfort, just an ache, just nothing compared to the suffering of the people who need him. He chuckled to himself, ever so briefly, thinking that he must sound like the people of the woods who claim the forests east of home. The chuckle died just as quickly as it came.

Another absent thought, he supposed.

-=-=-=-

The reality of Obregon is not quite so pleasant as one may wish to imagine.
[[File:653750220 830347999317609 3020788523374334924 n.jpg|left|thumb|Obregon worries for its future]]
The magical Oasis formed a safe distance from the city sustains it, and continues to do so even beneath the overbearing pressure of a Summer in The Tribelands. But it is this pressure that begins to wear on its citizens, mentally and physically. Beyond the danger felt by those unable to obtain water from the Oasis themselves. Beyond the fatigue felt by those who can carry the water such a great distance. Beyond what has become a simple requirement for survival in the second largest city in The Concord.

It barely feels a relief when the great Corazón El Acueducto begins construction, under order of the Senator of The Tribelands. For whilst it signals a coming end to woe, it presents a challenge in its construction alone. To work is to become thirsty. To be thirsty is to suffer within the walls of Obregon.

Clan Lothali, who had offered their services in carrying water to the entirety of the city, would initially create a disturbance near the Oasis itself, claiming that The Senate does not see the plights of its people, and merely acts to build for the sake of vanity and the opportunities it will bring them. Such claims, while drawing the attention of some, would primarily fall on uncaring ears. Those who claim to want to help but merely complain offer no help at all, some would say in response.

In reality, most were too exhausted to care.

In the deepest and highest places of Obregon, those places that require steep steps to climb or otherwise great distance to travel to, would feel the lack of water the harshest. Some would even fall to drinking from the cursed wells, less they risk death by dehydration. The Arboreal Putrefaction would take them regardless. It was a choice between a slow death, or a slower one. It is hard to say if some felt perhaps misled by The Senator of Mukarrem’s motion to amend the quarantine and restrictions of one of the Gardens of Obregon, causing those already in the throes of panic to make a mistake that would ultimately kill them.

But no, such thoughts and actions would be the sole responsibility of those making them, even with their mind degraded by a lack of water. The masses of Obregon, those lucky enough to survive, would not attribute such foolishness to anything other than mad rambling, and the desperate desire to survive at any cost.

Civil Service offices, also greatly affected by the functional drought, have not had the capacity to perform as they usually must. A mimicry shared in circumstance by the entire city. Since the attack by the Cult of the Starved, and the beginning of the crises, the cost of life has continued to rise. There is little hope that remains, save another miracle like the Oasis or something more foundational like the Corazón El Acueducto.

Something must change, or the city will fall. Perhaps not today, nor tomorrow. But the people of Obregon are only able to endure so much.

=== Game Information ===
The drought in Obregon continues, and its consequence is felt particularly harshly over the Summer Season. The death toll rises and many people flee the city, as many pressures begin to cost the people more than just the simple yet taxing effort of carrying water. Construction has begun on a grand project to see the problem solved for so long as the Oasis exists, Corazón El Acueducto, but with only a single Season gone the project will still take another year to complete.

The longer this crisis continues, the worse it will affect Obregon and its people. As of this Season, all Commissions in Obregon will now cost twice as much Upkeep, representing the struggle of the people of the city to maintain daily life. This includes this Season, and lasts until the crises is solved.

Additionally, the Appraisal to ‘Hire Clan Lothali’ is no longer available, as they feel the pressure and break beneath it.

== Noisiest Authorities Insist on Being Received ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/noisiest-authorities-insist-on|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

“Did you remember to fix the hole in your basket?” Antia called out from within her dwelling, the ever-warm air carrying her voice not unlike the coastal breeze. “Or do you want to borrow one of mine?”

“What do you take me for?” Carreriro responded, an easy smile on his lips as he melted slightly into the shade of the open doorway, eyes fluttering open when the shadow of his friend moved in front of the window.

She looked him up and down, eyebrow quirking into the waves of her greying fringe as she nudged him out the entryway with her hip and locked the door behind her.

“El cariño, I take you for someone who said that he would, and then forgot the last three times I asked.”

Carreriro raised his hands in clear defeat, at odds with the wink he shot at her bemused face, then snatched the basket out of the older woman’s arms as she stepped past him into the midday sun.

The two walked alongside each other out from her homestead along to the main street, chatting idly. The packed dirt moved beneath their feet, slowly being joined by the occasional slab of sandstone, until they were walking along the newly finished road leading to the manor at the centre of the town.

Meeting the shadesails that cast shadows of cyan, scarlet, and violet across the path, the two sighed in unison at the pleasant relief of being out from the bright light that had been upon them. They paused their conversation briefly to nod silently at the guards in front of the meeting hall who nodded back in similar quiet, only broken by the slight shifting of their armoured feet on the ground.
[[File:655117875 1288597286556753 1553513672271200709 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|This is not the first time that The Concord has lost part of Mukarrem, but perhaps the hardest]]
By the time they reached the newly germinated garden to the west of the hall, the sweat that had pooled on their brows and backs had dried in the shaded breeze, ready to be accumulated again as they began their weekly harvest and prune.

Their conversation continued as they worked, occasionally joined by others. Discussions of the refurbished collection box at the pillared church were accompanied by the teaching of healers as they collected herbs with their apprentices, while gossip of why exactly that particular Legionnaire had been seen leaving Hector’s store in the early morning, tassets askew, was cut short when children came to pilfer the underripe berries.

Finally, when their work was done, Antia and Carreriro stood, cracking their backs and picking the dirt from under their fingers.

Even after the hours crouched over, the walk to the port was not a difficult one, made more gentle by the jewel-coloured shade, the afternoon breeze, and by their privacy to share the detailed report that Hector had given Julia who had told Matteo who went for coffee with Antia’s sister. Even the sun glinting off the few featureless gold warriors that remained was not overly blinding.

As the ocean came into full view, and the ships along with them, their exchange of information paused. It was more than a year since those at port had flown Concordian flags. Now, as they walked along the pier towards the harbourmaster’s office, that fact sat much lighter in their hearts.

They had been left, yes. Abandoned, some may say. But as they gave their collected herbs from the communal garden over to the master of the port, and she gave them Trade Principality coins and a bureaucrat’s smile for their work, it was not quite as difficult a blow anymore.

And as they sat together that evening, drinking hot chocolate bought with a small portion of their coin, it was barely a blow at all.

=== Game Information ===
The citizens of Nazafeza, following a tumultuous year under the Trade Principality, have reached a stasis of sorts. Almost certainly aided by the fading effects of the Fools Gold Fortress cast by The Trade Principality before the previous Summit, the city has prospered under their new rulers - roads repaved, gardens replanted, and people cared for.

All Investments held within The Salt Road territory have now been lost, representing their people giving up on, or perhaps no longer needing, The Concord to save them. Investments secured by effects such as a Syndicate’s ‘Under their Noses’ action, or the Shadow Veil ceremony may remain, provided there is no unbroken period of these effects.

The Concord will no longer receive updates from Nazafeza, as it is functionally and realistically no longer theirs. This extends to the full area of the Salt Road, including the lost Janissary Monastery of Tadribar.

== Songskins Sing Into Empty Hills ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/songskins-sing-into-empty|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

The road south from Mukarrem ends long before the land does, that little path from the shrine becoming a memory shortly after it.

Where the Mitricasa Rise falls away into broken hills and choking green, the scrub thickens and the wind loses its voice. What lies beyond is called The Serpent’s Heart, though few Andashi had seen it with their own eyes in living memory. It is a place where the land seems to remember a time before roads, before clans, before the careful lines that keep people safe from the wilderness.

It was into this green and tangled world that three companies of Andashi warriors descended, accompanied by a proud host of Bordevarian knights. Steel and silk alike vanished beneath the canopy as the expedition pushed deeper through thorn, vine, and jagged shale. Progress was slow and often violent. The Serpent’s Heart does not welcome travellers.

Great tusked pigs with hides like iron bark charged from the thickets. Long-limbed cats that stood as tall as an ox with pale eyes watched from the branches above. In the deeper gullies strange things stirred in the mud, scaled shapes too large to be crocodile and too silent to be natural.

Yet for all its savagery, the land bore little mark of its supposed masters.
[[File:656711530 1403435618204420 1127464727931323578 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|Perhaps there are mysteries in the Serpent's Heart that even Grand Andash had yet to solve]]
The Serpent’s Heart lies within lands claimed by The Drowned, yet their influence here is strangely absent. No shrines of salt and bone were found and the land did not reek of brackish sinking. No drowned banners hung in the trees. The deeper the companies travelled, the more the region felt untouched by the ambitions of humanity and worse things. It was not an empty land, it was a wild one.

The Taliskin themselves were never seen. But signs of them appeared often enough to keep the expedition restless.

Stone piles arranged too precisely to be natural were found along riverbanks. Not cairns nor markers, but spirals and arcs that defied simple geometry, their curves seeming wrong to the eye no matter where one stood. Some were half-buried in mud, others perched delicately upon narrow outcrops where no human mason would bother to climb.

There were footprints as well, broad impressions in clay with a peculiar asymmetry, as though one limb carried more weight than the other.

In one narrow gorge the mercenaries found a structure that none could properly describe. It appeared at first to be a simple arch of stacked stone, yet those who walked beneath it swore the forest beyond seemed subtly rearranged when they emerged. No one could explain why.

If the Taliskin did not wish to be found, then they could not be found.

The expedition pressed as far as supplies and patience allowed before turning north again. They returned with little in the way of proof, but with many uneasy stories and a quiet understanding shared among them all. The Serpent’s Heart is not the land the old songs remembered, it is wilder, more dangerous.

And perhaps more ancient than the nomads ever realised. What this means for the future of the south remains unclear. But the winds of Mukarrem carry a new whisper among the clans:

If the Taliskin are truly guardians of the stones, then something in the deep places of the world may have begun to stir.

=== Game Information ===
Four military investments, led by Senator Daud El’Priado Del’Anarch Al’Sabre have entered the Serpent’s Heart in search of the Taliskins. While much of what they experienced will be revealed to them in great detail, a lot of it has spread as rumour and whispers since their return.

None of the investments have been damaged, but neither have they found great riches.

Serpent’s Heart has had its ‘Beastial’ trait, replaced with ‘Primal’
{| class="wikitable"
|Trait
|<nowiki>+Cas. Inf.</nowiki>
|<nowiki>+Cas. Suff.</nowiki>
|Special
|-
|Primal
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>+25%</nowiki>
|Movement into this territory costs one additional movement point.

Armies under 3000 strength cannot enter this territory, as they will be overwhelmed by hostile nature, and lack the manpower to carve a meaningful path.

Wilderness investments in the region begin at Tier 2 but cannot produce Hartswood.
|}
Their scouting has revealed that there are no Drowned constructions, actions, or maladies present within the territory.

===== See Also: =====

* [[Winds of the World - Autumn 226]]

Winds of the World - Autumn 226

2026-03-24T12:11:55Z

EAlice:

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/welcome-to-winds-of-the-world|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}[[File:558963093 10162219358918129 1208852088215685366 n.jpg|thumb|New dawns do not always shine for those who deserve them most.]]The Concord is old, and yet it is young.

The Concord carries the bones of ancient Iron Valleyfolk kings, but it also carries the dreams of the downtrodden of the Docklands. The Concord battles foes who look upon stars with newborn wonder, but it also struggles against avarice as old as humanity itself. The Concord stands on the thin pretenses of treaties barely older enough to be forgotten, but it also draws forth a unity and a camaraderie born of struggle.

As The Concord stumbles, its people lift it up, As the Concord soars, its people shelter under its wings, as The Concord stands firm, its people stand at its back.

As 226 goes from hopeful future to hard won present, The Concord breathes a sigh of relief. There has been no great victory, no great calamity has befallen our foes, but The Concord still stands, this present exists because it was bought with blood and sweat. As will every dawn to come.

May there be many of them.
----Welcome to the Winds of the World for Autumn 226!

The Winds of the World detail the changes and progression of the world of Concord over the last season, detailing the wars, fortunes and opportunities that have arisen over time. These are intended to show how the world has moved, provide prompts and guides for characters as well as let you see the results of your actions.

This page will detail the Winds of the World as a summary, with a short introduction for each individual section of the Winds. If any particular section draws your attention or has game information that might affect you, click into it and read the full text which will be substantially longer and contain game information. These pages are in a slightly new format, broken up into subheadings allowing the Concord Team to focus information and provide a better cause and effect.

It is important to note that The Winds of The World are not an In-Character document. Rather, it represents a collection of documents, rumours, reports and tales that have swept The Concord. Any character is more than welcome to know as little or as much of the Winds as possible, reflecting how well informed they like to keep themselves. It is perfectly acceptable to arrive in Passage having heard nothing or to only seek out the Winds that apply to you. Particularly studious, influential or well-travelled characters may know all or most of it. When referring to the Winds in character, you are welcome to characterise it as 'rumours heard in tavern houses' or 'the latest report from Weiland!' rather than the idea of the Civil Service putting out a gigantic almanac of goings on and gossip.

We've attempted to tag each entry in the Winds in regards to who it affects - hopefully this will make it easier to navigate. Each sub-section will be updated as the Autumn Summit draws nearer, with an entry being posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until they are all posted. The Winds will be posted in the order that they are listed here.

=== [[Hostile Takeover - The War in Mukarrem]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / Andash / The Foreign Service'''
For many in The Concord, Mukarrem has become the new Bolsterlee; a rolling conflict slowly grinding a once beautiful land into a wasted battlefield. It has been years since The Concord held the Salt Road, and the forces of the Trade Principality strike on such a narrow front that their pace is relentless. Concordian’s whisper that of Mukarrem in much the same way that they do of Mancante Terra, and Vassertal;

Lost causes that cost more than they reward.

But perhaps there is a change on the wind, blood in the water, that will change this war arithmetic. Although, not always for the better.

=== [[We Carved War from the Mountainside and Gave it Meaning - The War in King's Pass]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley'''
When the Illsevir first came to Esterra they were a looming threat in the mists and ice. Their ships tore through merchants and war galleys alike. When they took to the land they nearly crushed two nations into ash and lamentation. Their hands broke fortresses, called dragons, and forged naught but despair.

The Valleyfolk called it ‘The Long Retreat’, and from them it took nearly everything. It forced them back into the oldest of their lands, the quietest, the meekest. With one fortress left to hold them and the charity of new allies to see them through the dawn, hold is what they did.

But the time of holding has passed. The time of staring up at familiar stone with dread is over. The Valleyfolk and The Concord do not mean to leave what is rightfully theirs in enemy hands.

Now is the time to retake Baelags Holdfast.

=== [[The Fallen of the Shadowroot War - The War in Resinderholz]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Greenweald Baronies'''
The northern front. The river of blood. The Shadowroot War. The Hordling Hell.

Soldiers call fighting in the Sableheart a lot of different things, and over time many armies take their stance along the line; few more often than the First Banner of Bordevar, but few are more welcome than the Legion of the Blackheart Bear. This past season saw both forces rally in and around the city of Eisen to spend another season of uncomfortable heat, the stench of death, and the grime of mud and blood as they fought back the undead once more.

Danakka Rimortis, the Wraith of Port Gargant, the Alchemist of Brumhaven, brought forth ten thousand shambling corpses, corruptive alchemists, and the threat of plague. The Hirschkind, a powerful Weald-beast, seeks out armoured Ritters and Knights for its brutal revenge, The Fae Queen musters her armies of tricksy murderous allies, and every drop of blood threatens doom by disease.

The summer sun through the leaves shines only on death. Welcome to the Shadowroot War.

=== [[It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War in Bolsterlee|It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War Against the Drowned]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley / Lerona Mere'''
The Drowned remain a lurking threat to Esterra’s far south-western regions, haunting the ruins of Vidania like algae in brackish waters. Ever since the Concordian forces of the Legion of the Blackheart Bear, the First Banner of Bordevar, and the Fleets of Lerona Mere forced these monstrosities back south of the Plateau of the Gods, they have slumbered. While their horrors persist, so do they.

But they slumber no longer. Forces move north, intent on retaking Mandrianos. And most strangely, forces move east, across the Bay of Promised Gold.

=== [[Are We One or Are We Five?]] ===

* '''The Senate / All Nations'''
<blockquote>''We as your Senate, inspired by the great and dire state of our nation declare this State of Emergency. Our enemies are at our hearths and homes, far from beyond the borders where they belong. But to you all, we your chosen leaders write this promise to you, this declaration to you all.''

''We are one. Five realms, one Concord.''

''In this, one of our darkest hours, we will stand together, we will fight together, we will win together.''

* ''Senator of Windholme, Ivern the Inheritor.''
</blockquote>
----The words spoken in the Senate can often seem empty to the outsider, the hot gas expelled by politicians whose only purpose is to empower themselves and to cast great shadows over history. But all things matter within the chambers of Concordian councils, it matters that we breathe, it matters that we speak, it matters that we live.

In the Summit past, the Senator of Windholme declared that The Concord was in a State of Emergency, that the maladies, curses, and foes arrayed around it were far too extreme to be tackled with the tools that were available. More than the ravings of one angry Valleyfolk, Senator Ivern presented words to this effect that were added to by every assembled Senator, an agreement in chorus that The Concord was failing, that The Concord desperately needs aid from within.

=== [[Standing Before Evil]] ===

* '''The Kingdom of Bordevar'''
The strength of Bordevar is found in many places. It can be found in its traditions, both those inherited from Drummond, and those forged in the blood of King Bordevar’s conquests. It can be found in the raw strength-at-arms of its people, be they knightly or commonfolk. It can be found in the stubbornness, that dogged determination that keeps them holding on one season after another.

But for many, this strength has been used to put Bordevarian concerns aside while they shoulder the weight of its ignorance. Bordevar CAN hold, so it becomes Bordevar MUST hold, while other nations, groups, causes, and fights are brought to the forefront, due to the weakness of their abilities, not their strength.

As 226 becomes a year not of future concern, but present problem, Bordevar and the entire Concord considers how long it can rely on Bordevar putting the needs of the many before the needs of the few, or how long Bordevar can tell themselves this, before something comes to a head.

=== [[Until We Break, Our Home We Must Keep Alive]] ===

* '''The Iron Valley'''
Eyes sternly gaze west, towards The Kings Pass and Baelags Holdfast, yet hearts remain firmly rooted in the stones of home. The Valley, despite the energies focussed towards reclaiming their heritage, would not forget their hearths within the Regions of Bolsterlee and Windholme. There are a great many grand things to celebrate, concerning events and happenings to worry over, and countless occurrences both large and small that cannot be ignored.

The Iron Valley may be tested in the fight to take Baelags, but they are tried by what remains when all is said and done.

=== [[Only the Wrong Words Are A Waste of Time]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
Lerona Mere, even as it grows, maintains a wildly complex variety of concerns. They are a Realm of great cultural concerns, violent problem solving traditions, and seemingly-petulant ethos of contrarianism. Even as their great democratic experiment continues into this new year, and their war with The Drowned, the people of Lerona Mere continue to pursue the arts and joy with an intensity unmatched by any other realm.

In 226 the Lerona Mere pursue monsters in the mists below their feet, vanquising foes that have haunted The Concord for years, claim their place as the creative heart of The Concord, explore the mysteries of magic unknown to any who speak the common tongue, and all the while they grow into more than a single city.

Grow into a Realm of untold power and influence.

''En Evante!''

=== [[My Ignorance Is Just as Good as Your Knowledge]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
What was once another piece of Lerona Mere’s strange regional madness has become the core of its nation; The Lerona Mere Parliament. This collection of elected representatives from across the Realm come together in Legend City to speak on behalf of their people, guide the realm, make decisions, make money, and make mistakes. Through fire, revolution, another fire, and more than a few subcommittees, the Lerona Mere Parliament has stabilised as a pillar of the Realm that appears to stand tall.

The greatest part of this pillar is election season, which has fallen on the Autumn of 226. With the three incumbent parties not only battling for supremacy, but also fighting to retain control over their piece of power. While votes flow in from across Mancante Terra and Lerona Mere, the heroic delegation must also decide where the future of the Realm lies.

The Parliament will hold their positions for two years, with the next election expected to be Autumn in 228. So choose wisely. Every Lerona Mere character will find a voting slip in their character pack, which can be submitted to the voting box held in the Civil Service Hub.

=== [[Burn the Woods Through Faith and Flame]] ===

* '''The Greenweald Baronies'''
None can say that life in the Greenweald is a calm or easy one. Even without the undead reaching to grasp Resinderholz in their cadaverous clutches, it is not a realm absent of shadows awaiting weakness, man-made, monstrous or otherwise, to pick and pick at until a pestilent void is left behind.

Across Eisen cobblestones drip with Blasserstreit-infected blood, spreading with them a plague that seems to be as cemented into the Weald’s nature as their stoic dispositions. In the forests and towns, monsters, both those masquerading as men, and those more blatant with their presentations, wander through darkened canopies plotting, patrolling, and indulging in their primal priorities. And throughout the Sableheart, the wind echoes with the cacophonies of green-fleshed fae, their raucous writhing joined by clanking carapaces and undulating undergrowth.

But perhaps, as the final stones, syringes, and scalpels find their homes in the freshly finished Schloss Mortis there forms the dawning sun the Barony so desperately needs. Perhaps.

=== [[Lost Lands of the Librarian]] ===

* '''Andash'''
For an outsider, Andash is its history. It is nomads and cityfolk living in the ruins of a once great empire, scratching their chins while they try to emulate the long dead who probably were as similar to them as the Drowned are. It is a land of abandoned ambitions, lost hopes, and forgotten glory.

But it is so much more than that.

It is the next generation of Nomads striking out across the sands, because there is no one who can do it better. It is the thriving city of Obregon that refuses to die, even as its waters continue to dry up. They are a people who can see failure all around them, and will do their best to avoid repeating the past. We can only hope that they succeed.

=== [[Legends are not Found, They are Built]] ===

* '''The Senate / Lerona Mere'''

=== [[On the Edge of My Last Concern]] ===

* '''The Shardcircle'''

=== [[In the Shadow of Distant Stars]] ===

* '''The Church'''

=== [[Where Will I Find You? Where Oh Where?]] ===

* '''Weird Events'''

=== [[Fading Places - News from Across the Seas]] ===

=== [[Monument Mythos - Civil Service Report]] ===

=== [[Chains of Fate, Slicked with Blood - Conflux Report]] ===
----

=== Further Reading ===

* [[Winds of the World|Winds of the World Main Page]]

Lost Lands of the Librarian

2026-03-24T12:11:53Z

EAlice: Man, I love Andash

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2026-03-24T12:09:45Z

EAlice:

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2026-03-24T12:09:09Z

EAlice:

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2026-03-24T12:08:30Z

EAlice:

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2026-03-24T12:07:47Z

EAlice:

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2026-03-24T12:06:53Z

EAlice:

Winds of the World - Autumn 226

2026-03-22T09:50:44Z

EAlice:

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/welcome-to-winds-of-the-world|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}[[File:558963093 10162219358918129 1208852088215685366 n.jpg|thumb|New dawns do not always shine for those who deserve them most.]]The Concord is old, and yet it is young.

The Concord carries the bones of ancient Iron Valleyfolk kings, but it also carries the dreams of the downtrodden of the Docklands. The Concord battles foes who look upon stars with newborn wonder, but it also struggles against avarice as old as humanity itself. The Concord stands on the thin pretenses of treaties barely older enough to be forgotten, but it also draws forth a unity and a camaraderie born of struggle.

As The Concord stumbles, its people lift it up, As the Concord soars, its people shelter under its wings, as The Concord stands firm, its people stand at its back.

As 226 goes from hopeful future to hard won present, The Concord breathes a sigh of relief. There has been no great victory, no great calamity has befallen our foes, but The Concord still stands, this present exists because it was bought with blood and sweat. As will every dawn to come.

May there be many of them.
----Welcome to the Winds of the World for Autumn 226!

The Winds of the World detail the changes and progression of the world of Concord over the last season, detailing the wars, fortunes and opportunities that have arisen over time. These are intended to show how the world has moved, provide prompts and guides for characters as well as let you see the results of your actions.

This page will detail the Winds of the World as a summary, with a short introduction for each individual section of the Winds. If any particular section draws your attention or has game information that might affect you, click into it and read the full text which will be substantially longer and contain game information. These pages are in a slightly new format, broken up into subheadings allowing the Concord Team to focus information and provide a better cause and effect.

It is important to note that The Winds of The World are not an In-Character document. Rather, it represents a collection of documents, rumours, reports and tales that have swept The Concord. Any character is more than welcome to know as little or as much of the Winds as possible, reflecting how well informed they like to keep themselves. It is perfectly acceptable to arrive in Passage having heard nothing or to only seek out the Winds that apply to you. Particularly studious, influential or well-travelled characters may know all or most of it. When referring to the Winds in character, you are welcome to characterise it as 'rumours heard in tavern houses' or 'the latest report from Weiland!' rather than the idea of the Civil Service putting out a gigantic almanac of goings on and gossip.

We've attempted to tag each entry in the Winds in regards to who it affects - hopefully this will make it easier to navigate. Each sub-section will be updated as the Autumn Summit draws nearer, with an entry being posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until they are all posted. The Winds will be posted in the order that they are listed here.

=== [[Hostile Takeover - The War in Mukarrem]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / Andash / The Foreign Service'''
For many in The Concord, Mukarrem has become the new Bolsterlee; a rolling conflict slowly grinding a once beautiful land into a wasted battlefield. It has been years since The Concord held the Salt Road, and the forces of the Trade Principality strike on such a narrow front that their pace is relentless. Concordian’s whisper that of Mukarrem in much the same way that they do of Mancante Terra, and Vassertal;

Lost causes that cost more than they reward.

But perhaps there is a change on the wind, blood in the water, that will change this war arithmetic. Although, not always for the better.

=== [[We Carved War from the Mountainside and Gave it Meaning - The War in King's Pass]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley'''
When the Illsevir first came to Esterra they were a looming threat in the mists and ice. Their ships tore through merchants and war galleys alike. When they took to the land they nearly crushed two nations into ash and lamentation. Their hands broke fortresses, called dragons, and forged naught but despair.

The Valleyfolk called it ‘The Long Retreat’, and from them it took nearly everything. It forced them back into the oldest of their lands, the quietest, the meekest. With one fortress left to hold them and the charity of new allies to see them through the dawn, hold is what they did.

But the time of holding has passed. The time of staring up at familiar stone with dread is over. The Valleyfolk and The Concord do not mean to leave what is rightfully theirs in enemy hands.

Now is the time to retake Baelags Holdfast.

=== [[The Fallen of the Shadowroot War - The War in Resinderholz]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Greenweald Baronies'''
The northern front. The river of blood. The Shadowroot War. The Hordling Hell.

Soldiers call fighting in the Sableheart a lot of different things, and over time many armies take their stance along the line; few more often than the First Banner of Bordevar, but few are more welcome than the Legion of the Blackheart Bear. This past season saw both forces rally in and around the city of Eisen to spend another season of uncomfortable heat, the stench of death, and the grime of mud and blood as they fought back the undead once more.

Danakka Rimortis, the Wraith of Port Gargant, the Alchemist of Brumhaven, brought forth ten thousand shambling corpses, corruptive alchemists, and the threat of plague. The Hirschkind, a powerful Weald-beast, seeks out armoured Ritters and Knights for its brutal revenge, The Fae Queen musters her armies of tricksy murderous allies, and every drop of blood threatens doom by disease.

The summer sun through the leaves shines only on death. Welcome to the Shadowroot War.

=== [[It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War in Bolsterlee|It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War Against the Drowned]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley / Lerona Mere'''
The Drowned remain a lurking threat to Esterra’s far south-western regions, haunting the ruins of Vidania like algae in brackish waters. Ever since the Concordian forces of the Legion of the Blackheart Bear, the First Banner of Bordevar, and the Fleets of Lerona Mere forced these monstrosities back south of the Plateau of the Gods, they have slumbered. While their horrors persist, so do they.

But they slumber no longer. Forces move north, intent on retaking Mandrianos. And most strangely, forces move east, across the Bay of Promised Gold.

=== [[Are We One or Are We Five?]] ===

* '''The Senate / All Nations'''
<blockquote>''We as your Senate, inspired by the great and dire state of our nation declare this State of Emergency. Our enemies are at our hearths and homes, far from beyond the borders where they belong. But to you all, we your chosen leaders write this promise to you, this declaration to you all.''

''We are one. Five realms, one Concord.''

''In this, one of our darkest hours, we will stand together, we will fight together, we will win together.''

* ''Senator of Windholme, Ivern the Inheritor.''
</blockquote>
----The words spoken in the Senate can often seem empty to the outsider, the hot gas expelled by politicians whose only purpose is to empower themselves and to cast great shadows over history. But all things matter within the chambers of Concordian councils, it matters that we breathe, it matters that we speak, it matters that we live.

In the Summit past, the Senator of Windholme declared that The Concord was in a State of Emergency, that the maladies, curses, and foes arrayed around it were far too extreme to be tackled with the tools that were available. More than the ravings of one angry Valleyfolk, Senator Ivern presented words to this effect that were added to by every assembled Senator, an agreement in chorus that The Concord was failing, that The Concord desperately needs aid from within.

=== [[Standing Before Evil]] ===

* '''The Kingdom of Bordevar'''
The strength of Bordevar is found in many places. It can be found in its traditions, both those inherited from Drummond, and those forged in the blood of King Bordevar’s conquests. It can be found in the raw strength-at-arms of its people, be they knightly or commonfolk. It can be found in the stubbornness, that dogged determination that keeps them holding on one season after another.

But for many, this strength has been used to put Bordevarian concerns aside while they shoulder the weight of its ignorance. Bordevar CAN hold, so it becomes Bordevar MUST hold, while other nations, groups, causes, and fights are brought to the forefront, due to the weakness of their abilities, not their strength.

As 226 becomes a year not of future concern, but present problem, Bordevar and the entire Concord considers how long it can rely on Bordevar putting the needs of the many before the needs of the few, or how long Bordevar can tell themselves this, before something comes to a head.

=== [[Until We Break, Our Home We Must Keep Alive]] ===

* '''The Iron Valley'''
Eyes sternly gaze west, towards The Kings Pass and Baelags Holdfast, yet hearts remain firmly rooted in the stones of home. The Valley, despite the energies focussed towards reclaiming their heritage, would not forget their hearths within the Regions of Bolsterlee and Windholme. There are a great many grand things to celebrate, concerning events and happenings to worry over, and countless occurrences both large and small that cannot be ignored.

The Iron Valley may be tested in the fight to take Baelags, but they are tried by what remains when all is said and done.

=== [[Only the Wrong Words Are A Waste of Time]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
Lerona Mere, even as it grows, maintains a wildly complex variety of concerns. They are a Realm of great cultural concerns, violent problem solving traditions, and seemingly-petulant ethos of contrarianism. Even as their great democratic experiment continues into this new year, and their war with The Drowned, the people of Lerona Mere continue to pursue the arts and joy with an intensity unmatched by any other realm.

In 226 the Lerona Mere pursue monsters in the mists below their feet, vanquising foes that have haunted The Concord for years, claim their place as the creative heart of The Concord, explore the mysteries of magic unknown to any who speak the common tongue, and all the while they grow into more than a single city.

Grow into a Realm of untold power and influence.

''En Evante!''

=== [[My Ignorance Is Just as Good as Your Knowledge]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
What was once another piece of Lerona Mere’s strange regional madness has become the core of its nation; The Lerona Mere Parliament. This collection of elected representatives from across the Realm come together in Legend City to speak on behalf of their people, guide the realm, make decisions, make money, and make mistakes. Through fire, revolution, another fire, and more than a few subcommittees, the Lerona Mere Parliament has stabilised as a pillar of the Realm that appears to stand tall.

The greatest part of this pillar is election season, which has fallen on the Autumn of 226. With the three incumbent parties not only battling for supremacy, but also fighting to retain control over their piece of power. While votes flow in from across Mancante Terra and Lerona Mere, the heroic delegation must also decide where the future of the Realm lies.

The Parliament will hold their positions for two years, with the next election expected to be Autumn in 228. So choose wisely. Every Lerona Mere character will find a voting slip in their character pack, which can be submitted to the voting box held in the Civil Service Hub.

=== [[Burn the Woods Through Faith and Flame]] ===

* '''The Greenweald Baronies'''
None can say that life in the Greenweald is a calm or easy one. Even without the undead reaching to grasp Resinderholz in their cadaverous clutches, it is not a realm absent of shadows awaiting weakness, man-made, monstrous or otherwise, to pick and pick at until a pestilent void is left behind.

Across Eisen cobblestones drip with Blasserstreit-infected blood, spreading with them a plague that seems to be as cemented into the Weald’s nature as their stoic dispositions. In the forests and towns, monsters, both those masquerading as men, and those more blatant with their presentations, wander through darkened canopies plotting, patrolling, and indulging in their primal priorities. And throughout the Sableheart, the wind echoes with the cacophonies of green-fleshed fae, their raucous writhing joined by clanking carapaces and undulating undergrowth.

But perhaps, as the final stones, syringes, and scalpels find their homes in the freshly finished Schloss Mortis there forms the dawning sun the Barony so desperately needs. Perhaps.

=== [[Lost Lands of the Librarian]] ===

* '''Andash'''

=== [[Legends are not Found, They are Built]] ===

* '''The Senate / Lerona Mere'''

=== [[On the Edge of My Last Concern]] ===

* '''The Shardcircle'''

=== [[In the Shadow of Distant Stars]] ===

* '''The Church'''

=== [[Where Will I Find You? Where Oh Where?]] ===

* '''Weird Events'''

=== [[Fading Places - News from Across the Seas]] ===

=== [[Monument Mythos - Civil Service Report]] ===

=== [[Chains of Fate, Slicked with Blood - Conflux Report]] ===
----

=== Further Reading ===

* [[Winds of the World|Winds of the World Main Page]]

Burn the Woods Through Faith and Flame

2026-03-22T09:50:42Z

EAlice: I'm sure this is all fine

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/burn-the-woods-through-faith|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

None can say that life in the Greenweald is a calm or easy one. Even without the undead reaching to grasp Resinderholz in their cadaverous clutches, it is not a realm absent of shadows awaiting weakness, man-made, monstrous or otherwise, to pick and pick at until a pestilent void is left behind.

Across Eisen cobblestones drip with Blasserstreit-infected blood, spreading with them a plague that seems to be as cemented into the Weald’s nature as their stoic dispositions. In the forests and towns, monsters, both those masquerading as men, and those more blatant with their presentations, wander through darkened canopies plotting, patrolling, and indulging in their primal priorities. And throughout the Sableheart, the wind echoes with the cacophonies of green-fleshed fae, their raucous writhing joined by clanking carapaces and undulating undergrowth.

But perhaps, as the final stones, syringes, and scalpels find their homes in the freshly finished Schloss Mortis there forms the dawning sun the Barony so desperately needs. Perhaps.

== I Will Treat Fairly, or Not at All ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/i-will-treat-fairly-or-not-at|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

On the eve of 226, the greatest outbreak of Blasserstreit was tearing through eastern Resinderholz like a howling beast. Across the Sableheart and Ravensreach the cries of death and despair were heard. These cries called forth the Crows, whose cold calculations and steady hands reached out to fourteen havens that had succumbed to the disease. With scalpel, flame, and poultice they descended. But each Haven was a story unto itself.

=== ''Witchallow'' ===
Witchallow stood on the brink of a pyre when Doktor Helena Gerlach arrived, the Wealdsage Vistile locked in his cabin, the townsfolk ready to cleanse both plague and discomfort in one blaze. With words and authority, she brought the mob to heel and claimed her patient from their fear. Vistile, foul-tempered and ungrateful even in fever, was treated rather than burned, and the sickness that might have consumed the grave-town was cut short. In the end no smoke rose over Witchallow, only the usual quiet hush of stone and soil. The Haven returned to its strange, uneasy peace, proof that sometimes the hardest fire to quench is the one lit in frightened hearts.

=== ''Greypeak Ruin'' ===
At Greypeak Ruin, Doktor-Apprentice Jannika Katzenjammer fought not only the fever in the patient's veins, but the quiet rot of coin and privilege. As Blasserstreit crept through the foothills, the Haven began to fracture medicines bought and hidden, hope reserved for those who could afford it. Jannika stripped the hoarded vials from private hands and set them back into common use, declaring that survival would not be auctioned. Many still died, but they died beneath the same judgment: need, not wealth. In that bitter equalising, the apprentice’s mask ceased to be borrowed and a Doktor was forged.
[[File:651396862 912820381561628 5786478798927805973 n.jpg|left|thumb|Those that have faced the plague may do so with some hope in their heart that this may be the last time they must.]]

=== ''Norewalz'' ===
The soldiers at Norewalz held the damned line, and their memory won’t brook any legends to the contrary. Through the season it served as a staging ground for counter-offensives against the undead pressing into Resinderholz, its soldiers marching out beneath banners and returning beneath stretchers. There were whispers of sickness among the ranks, but none ever took root, at least, so the official papers bearing Doktor Luugnav’s seal attest. Whether the plague was truly contained, or merely buried beneath discipline and silence, may never be known. Now the fort-haven stands quiet and empty, its watchfires cold, its halls holding only the echo of boots and the memory of warriors who did not survive.

=== ''Curkenplatz'' ===
At Curkenplaz the danger did not rot away in the open, it lingered in shared mugs and open doors. Doktor Eeric Harper saw what others did not wish to: that the tavern, heart of the Haven and keeper of its coin, was also its greatest wound. With heavy word and steady resolve, the doors were shut and the road turned away, silencing the trade that had long defined the place. Coin faltered, families drifted, and the once-bustling stop along the Baron’s Road fell into an uneasy quiet. Yet the hearth has not gone cold entirely, it burns on the strength of a Doktor’s promise that survival would not end at quarantine, and that Curkenplaz would see the winter through that same Doktors work…

=== ''Dunnmerdy'' ===
At Dunnmerdy, love burned like tinder.

The Dagmars and the Siegberts had drawn their sick inward, believing blood and loyalty could hold back a plague that cared for neither. Instead, their homes swelled with fever and panic until the town itself stood on the brink of ruin. Doktor Brigitte Helbrecht did not argue with inevitability; she answered it with fire and steel, ordering the houses burned and cutting down those who burst from the flames. The screams carried far across the wool fields that night, but the sickness did not. When it was done, Dunnmerdy still stood, and the Doktor wept not at all.

=== ''Graveline Cross Wayhouse'' ===
Graveline Cross became the artery through which the war around Eisen bled, flowing into this once-tavern for final reckoning.

From its crowded halls passed hundreds, soldiers of the Legion of the Blackheart Bear, even the Bordevarian 1st Banner, all laid low by claw, steel, or fever. But Blasserstreit is a subtler enemy than any army, and in its later stages it turned fear into fury. When six infected soldiers seized hostages and tried to break from the triage tents, it was the Doktors and their mercenary captains who answered the crisis. Words were offered first; steel followed when panic would not yield. The breakout was stopped, the line held, and Graveline Cross endured, still a place of blood and mercy, but no longer a place of hesitation.

=== ''Draycrozt'' ===
What happens in Draycrozt, stays in Draycrozt. Excepting the toll on the soul. Excepting the secrets held close. Except the blood on his hands. No one died here, no one succumbed to that dreaded disease. But all is not well in this Cattle-Haven. But to speak openly about it, would be to break an oath.

=== ''Those that remain'' ===
Reports are still coming in from further afield, from the Havens elsewhere. They have been given supplies and skilled healers. All we can do is hope.

=== Game Information ===
Following the extensive works by the people of The Greenweald and The Concord at large, the massive outbreak of Blasserstreit in eastern Resinderholz has been restrained and largely defeated. While there are certainly still some patients in almshouses, funerals to be had, and corpses that hid themselves away in hollows and cellars, the danger is passed.

This was due to the immense skill of the Crow Doktors and the will of the Barony to overcome this challenge. This was not an easy task and the Weald should be proud of this achievement. Across fourteen havens Crow Doktors made tough choices, sacrificed parts of themselves, and made sure that the Blasserstreit was stopped wherever it occurred.

== Pick Another Profession or Finish Your Apprenticeship and Teach. ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/pick-another-profession-or|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}
[[File:544393443 24522767140746982 8601329202721600210 n.jpg|left|thumb|Let us hope that Mortis is a source of further joy]]
Ninety-six years after it was abandoned, The Schloss Mortis has opened its doors once again. The sprawling complex of laboratories, lecture halls, gardens, and surgical chambers buzzes with activity like a hive. A small gaggle of administrators has had to reach out to the Civil Service in Wolstad to assist them on their first day as would-be-Crows flock to the black-walled house of learning, hoping to find meaning, knowledge, power, or some monstrous amalgamation of the three.

But spaces are limited, with a faculty that could be measured on all the digits of a well-preserved cadaver, ‘The Mortis’ can only take on so many hopefuls, and the cost of doing so means that only the most dedicated and prepared are allowed entry. The looming threat of the Blasserstreit outbreak is seldom far from anyone’s thoughts, giving all the proceedings weight and fear.

But when all is said and done, and the admission papers filed away, there is a sense of sublime hope that goes unspoken. For the first time in nearly a hundred years black and gray clad students walk the road from their lodgings in Wolstad to a school of medical learning. The sharpest scalpels in Resinderholz turn their gaze towards healing the world, not simply surviving it. Even with a cohort size of thirty, it is symbolic of a changing in fate, a righting of fortune.

Beyond education, reports flood in from across the Barony. Distant Crows calling out their willingness to work as a part of the larger murder. From small Haven’s to regional alms houses in Krezenberg and Eisen, the reports come in. Supplies held, expertise earned, and apprentices tested. A community of medical professionals pulls itself from the shadows where it had held on for so long. While the people of the Weald are not an outwardly hopeful folk, there is a spark of it here that is felt across the Barony.

=== Game Information ===
The reconstruction of Schloss Mortis has been completed, granting The Concord a center of medical knowledge unheard of before, and granting the Crow Doktors of the Weald a sanctum, allowing the return of their Guild.

The title of ‘[[Krahenmeister]] of Schloss Mortis’ has been created and will be elected this season, although it will not have any income this season as the university's garden establishes itself.

All characters with the Crow Doktor archetype, who are based in Resinderholz and have the Apothecary skill automatically know the ‘Al-Asah’s Antidote’ recipe.

== Thrash, Cry, and Die ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/thrash-cry-and-die|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

''“Beasts of your own making.”''

The already dim noise of the tavern ceased entirely. Everyone knew what the stranger was referring to, their tale had been told often enough on their journey. Even worse, none could truly feel comfortable refuting the weary traveller. It had been something that The Baronies had struggled with for what felt an age, and it was not far-fetched a circumstance.

''“Killed the monster, sure enough, but left bigger ones running around in its place, eh?”''

The mood was shifting, and none could even look in the Lerona Mereians direction. He knew it, and it did nothing to quell his fury and bitterness. His voice began to rise.

''“Is that what you value here in this dreadful place, Mon Amis? Truly? Savage creatures acting on your own behalf?”''

He was on his feet now, swaying ever so slightly as the intoxication took hold.

''“Not a single one of you care, eh? That’s just life here, is it? You’ll endure? HAH! What a load of absolute shit. You’ll let your own be killed just as well as others, and don’t blink an eye. A curse. That is what it is. That is what you have allowed to fester.”''

He was spitting his words with a venom that he knew would get him beat if he were anywhere else. He didn’t care anymore. He knew he would get no reaction from these dour people, and he had drunk his fill. But he would not leave empty-handed, morally anyways. He would leave them with a curse of his own.

''“I’m sick of this. Let your sacrifices happen. Keep your dark secrets. I won’t, and you’ll be damned if I'm staying here a second more. I’m not risking my life before any of your so-called ‘sages’ when they were the ones tried to kill me. Wealdsages. Hah!”''

''“Wealdsavages more like.”''

-=-=-=-
[[File:647015303 902501386155059 2599865455751788574 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|There are more than enough monsters in the Weald]]
Dorothea examined the arrow embedded in the tree trunk, wisely choosing not to touch the thing with her bare hands. It was a crude thing, poorly whittled and badly fletched, but crafted nonetheless. Its strangest quality was its size. Even from where she was standing, a good two feet below its mark, she could tell that this was no ordinary arrow fired from an ordinary bow.

''“Dan..ger.”''

Fleischlingvalt did not jump nor cry at the low, purred words that came from the dark of a tree behind her. This was The Eisen Orchard. In the past few years it has been inundated with strangeness from the surrounding Weald, but this particularly feline strangeness was familiar to many. She glanced back at the shadows, and saw the gleaming eyes of something far larger than it was six months prior.

''“How dangerous?”''

''“Ver…yy. Ba..d.”'' The unblinking, unnatural stare still unnerved Dorothea, but she had come to trust in the instincts of this creature of the wilds. For so long as it protected The Orchard, or whatever it was actually doing here, then the thing known as Gren would be trusted. ''No Houndspriests have said otherwise at any rate'', she thought to herself.

''“Can you protect us from it?”''

When a reply was not immediately forthcoming, but the stare remained, she knew the answer. She raised a hand to her temple, massaging it as she thought on what was to be done. Looking back to the arrow itself, she thought there very well may not be much she could do at all.

She silently and privately prayed, there in the darkness beneath the Thunderoak.

-=-=-=-

''“What, me?”''

The Bordevarian commoner looked genuinely shocked at the task they had just been given. It made sense to ask them, but it was the asking itself that was the part that felt most strange.

''“I get why yer’ asking me to do it. I'm speedy, like. But yer’ not sane if i’m bout’ to just run on out to The Tier and get turned to a cushion.”''

''“A ‘pin-cushion’, I believe you mean.”'' A dry reply, one that cared not for the surrounding complaint.

''“Sure, still not doing it. What’s yer’ excuse?”''

The other Bordevarian, for all intents and purposes the senior gatherer present, shuffled uncomfortably on the spot. Everyone had seen the size of the arrow that had put a hole through Abel’s neck. No one wanted to step out and risk getting the same. No one had even found where it came from.

''“Can’t really blame our Weald-mates for this one, can we.”'' Came the limp reply. ''“Here comes one now. Spheres, I hope they got more bravery than us when it comes to arrows like that.”''

The approaching gatherer’s face portrayed none of the wished for courage. Neither did their next few words give any relief.

''“Samuel is dead. His heart is pinned to a tree on our side of The Tier.”''

=== Game Information ===
No strangers to monsters in their woods, the people of Resinderholz look to the most present of these threats with wary attention.

In the West, a beast terrorizing The Gap has been felled by Wealdsages under the lead of The Sage Superior, but the cost has been great and its consequences unforeseen. Survivors begin spreading tales of forceful sacrifices of innocent bystanders caught in the magic, their lives traded for that of the beast’s. Whether there is truth to the claims is impossible to say, but the anti-Wealdsage sentiment that it poses is not one unfamiliar to the people of Resinderholz.

There will be information regarding this sentiment for various Greenweald Titleholders.

Meanwhile, in the East, an elusive yet dangerous killer has been stalking the lands near The Eisen Orchard, and it remains unchecked. Despite its local protector, a strange Weald-beast known as Gren, the notable presence of the Hirschkind becomes impossible to ignore for those who work The Eisen Orchard. Some begin to fear for their lives, others begin to consider if staying is the best course of action. Still, none have seen the beast in the flesh.

Regardless, the slowly growing lack of workers, in addition to a missing store of harvested Thunderoak, has seen a reduction in the amount of Thunderoak available this Season.

In the borders of The Weald and Weiland, Rickon’s Tier has suffered from rumours, sightings and events mirroring the struggles of The Eisen Orchard, though separated by a significant margin of time. The scare created by the strange arrows was a most unexpected and frightful occurrence for the workers of The Tier, and as such has resulted in no production this Season, as no one wished to risk the possible dangers. Production is not expected to resume if no solution is found.

There will be information and decisions regarding The Hirschkind for The Champion of the Baronies, The Deed Holder of the Eisen Orchard, The Sheriff of Carningsfield and The Groundskeeper of Rickon’s Tier.

== Gaze Into Mortal Souls with Inscrutable Eyes ==
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[[File:655354119 1482479343522997 5461762121630523562 n.jpg|left|thumb|With so many new faces coming to Summit, it may be difficult to notice what is in front of one's nose]]
On the fifteenth of March, Ritter Olivia Reslau died defending Eisen. She was a part of a large block of Ritters and Ritter-Apprentices whose heavy armour and strong shield arms were holding a main promenade that led from the docks to the town centre. On the flanks of the force, it was her chainmail aventail that was grabbed by a rotting ghoul claw that had emerged from a barricaded house. When the creature's rusted sword slid up her side and then through the gap in her armour at the underarm, Ritter Olivia Reslau bled green, not red.

She fell to the ground, her body seizing, her skin shifting from pale, to bloodshot, to asphyxiated purple, to sickly green. One eye liquified itself as a suppurating pale green gel replaced it. In the chaos of the combat, the only thing the corpse of the creature that had been Ritter Olivia Reslau, daughter of Hanno and Teresa, was successful in doing was tripping over the Ritter ahead of her as he retreated backwards.

When the street cleared and the dead were retrieved, the creature was mostly dissolved. A houndspriest was summoned and the matter was quickly hidden from public view. But fifty people had fought in that battle, and more had seen Reslau’s corpse being rushed to the chapel off the main square, not the triage points around the town. This was a rumour that stood no chance of being contained.

A mold-walker, a Shadura, or some other shapeshifter, had been imitating a Ritter who had been teaching at the College of War for nearly eight months. A woman who had a husband and child. What did the Unknowable Ones want with the Ritters of Eisen? What had they already attained?

Who else may be nothing but swampwater and lies beneath an all too thin layer of human skin?

By Summit-time the commonfolk from Wolstad to Krezenberg are shuttering their doors, blessing their Hearths even at home, and questioning every interaction. Markets grow quieter, more hurried, and every messenger is viewed with scrutiny.

After all, are you who you say you are?

=== Game Information ===
Reports of Shapeshifters among the population of Resinderholz have once again reared their ugly head. In this difficult time neighbours begin to suspect neighbours and the hearthfires burn bright. Much of this is painful paranoia, but at least one Shapeshifter has been discovered, garbed in the armour of a Ritter…

As of yet, the danger is primarily one caused by paranoia, rather than any truth, but who knows what the truth is.

All Player Characters who are Minor Shapeshifters are reduced to bleedout when they are directly exposed to a Greenweald Hearthblessing ritual.

All Player Characters who are Major Shapeshifters suffer 1 Damage when they are directly exposed to a Greenweald Hearthblessing ritual.

There will be decisions relating the appearance of Shapeshifters among the people of Resinderholz for the Chapter Kaptain of Chapter Kristov, The Sage Superior of the Broken Vale, The Ritter-Kaptain of Eisen, and the Baroness of Resinderholz.

== Purge Thy Mortal Grossness ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/purge-thy-mortal-grossness|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

It is known that The Weald operates on its own whims, seemingly in opposition to the wants of the Concordians that reside within it: settlement of havens full of homes and hearthfires leads to the shadows around them growing ever darker and more persistent; foraging of herbs and mana by dim lantern light encourages invasive noxious weeds that kill the grazing fauna of the area; strong Houndspriests provoke the voices that whisper to Wealdsages in the dead of night to drip words of silver from lips of crimson. If The Weald is given an inch, it will take a mile in whichever direction will create the most strain - this is known by the wisest Sage and the youngest child alike.

The Concord have given the Fae Queen plenty.
[[File:651396862 1482879436751728 8337076814915485568 n.jpg|left|thumb|500x500px|What a joy it is to see one's empire grow]]
Concordian coins and crafts melted down and forged anew to arm her growing forces. Essencite gathered from Concordian mines added to Rakoric picked by Concordian hands, to protect them from harm. Blacksap spread over the opening of cells to accelerate the pupation of the warriors within. All made possible by the gifts of the Concordian denizens of the Sableheart.

And in return, they suffered no frightful fate. No awful recompense. No successful strikes from the undead to cave in the skulls of every man, woman, child, and beloved pet that resides within their now peaceful homes.

She does not lie. She gives. She provides safety. Protection. A warm and caring embrace, the den of thorns and combs whispers as it grows.

WIth precedent set, it is no surprise that the ‘taxation’ on those of the Sableheart - of her home - does not abate in any way, shape, or form. If anything, as the season becomes cooler and damper, and the forest becomes darker and sharper, the call for offerings grow more and more rapid. Warriors with waspish carapaces waltz into Havens with requests of Crystal Mana, while Boghoffens kindly relieve the gathered townsfolk of their Herbs and Hartswood.

Before only some of the populace - the more superstitious or wary of the Wealders - were leaving offerings for the Fae Queen and her forces. However, as the fae become more comfortable in the growing flora surrounding each and every Haven, and the Havens themselves become more difficult to see through the brambles and briars, this is no longer the case.

No one wants to be the only family in the village with nothing to offer the Wasp Knights when they arrive to collect their dues. No one wants to be the reason that the town’s food spoils, or their well’s water is sapped away by the thicket that now surrounds it. No one wants to be the doom of The Sableheart when the Baroness Wealdsage has told them to give all that they can to save the Weald, and the Fae Queen is offering protection in return.

So, as the Sableheart grows greener and greener with Boghoffens and flora alike, and their ruler readies to travel to meetings, as all monarchs must, a new ‘normal’ is found for those that live within. A status quo that none, surely, would be so foolish as to shatter.

=== Game Information ===
The Fae Queen’s forces, following their rallying in the Sableheart, have grown stronger for their patience. Whilst once inhabiting a small portion of the forests, their influence has spread thanks to the generosity of the denizens, with many donations being offered to The Fae Queen this past season. For their collective compliance, all Herb Gardens and Wildernesses within the Sableheart have produced as if one tier higher this past Season.

However, these donations are expected to continue into the coming Season, with each investment being expected to offer Crystal Mana, Herbs, and Hartswood as taxation for living in such a prosperous, verdant land. Information on this ‘taxation’ will be provided in the character packs of those with investments in the Sableheart.

As the Fae Queen’s power has grown, so too has her influence on the environment that she resides within. This has resulted in the Sableheart gaining the following trait as the Weald is overrun with brambles and briars.
{| class="wikitable"
|Trait
|<nowiki>+Cas. Inf.</nowiki>
|<nowiki>+Cas. Suff.</nowiki>
|Special
|-
|Throne of Thorns
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>+10%</nowiki>
|This trait does not affect armies belonging to the Fae Queen.

Movement into this territory costs one extra movement point.
|}
Additionally, through the powers of the Plenipotentiary, the Wealdsages of the Broken Vale have called forth the Fae Queen. There will be a conflux addressing her at this coming Summit, however the magnitude of this interaction has grown since its inception. It will take the form of a Skirmish for 20 Greenwealders, the responsible party for which will be the Sage Superior.

== I Stumble for My Path is Doomed ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/i-stumble-for-my-path-is|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

The Chapter Kaptain departs Krezenberg, a small cohort of warriors at his back. They are Houndspriests, many of them novices or adepts. They are well equipped, with supplies to carry them deep into the woods, and weapons to make their mark when they arrive. The goal is simple, strike deep into the Harbringer’s Nightmare, and carve out whatever they can. In his heart of heart, the Chapter Kaptain hopes to save those of his Chapter he has sent there in the past, those who never returned.

-

In the city of Wolstad, a respected Houndspriest steps off the Abbey’s promenade and wipes a hand across his sweat-beaded brow. He does what he can to save the souls of the people that surround him, and always manages to draw a crowd of respectable size. But as time goes on, he wonders if it is all for nought.

-

In the distant Sableheart, a lone warrior-priest clutches his shortsword and swears into the night. The Boghoffens were everywhere, and the Carnivorous Maze of Waldorf an der Hecke that was his to protect drew them like flies to honey. He was scarred and tired, unsure if he could continue to hold the line alone.

-

In the distant north, not far from the border, a Doktor swears and throws down his tools. While the fire of change burns within him, the scattering of his brain and the fumbling of his work looms large. He has seen so many trials and tribulations faced by the heroes of The Concord. How can he sit here in Heimstad and wait for them to rise again?

-

Along the Crusaders Road, she checks her equipment, and checks it again. Her Novice’s trial passed, and once again the High Historian was free to take up the blade to strike down the enemies of The Concord. As she travelled east to travel south, she could not help but look north, at what once was.
----But fate is not an idle thing, it does not sway on the wind and whims of chance, it does not fall uncaringly like rain. It is a thing wrought by skill, corrupted by malice, and struck home like a lover's betraying blade. The Veil of the Grieving Woe stands no longer, but that Harbinger Stand tore fate asunder to defend its cursed flesh.
----
[[File:647410943 2744605765895029 7736820439507657121 n.jpg|left|thumb|Perhaps it is all a terrible, awful coincidence]]
The Chapter Kaptain returns, supported on a litter by two other Hounds. He does not stir, to the faces of those he passes in Krezenberg, he does not breathe. They sequester him in the Abbey and none are allowed to see him, save for the Doktors that come and go day and night.

-

The priest in Wolstad stumbles to the ground clutching his eyes as visions of an empty world crash down around him. His screams fill the square and people don’t know if they should rush to help, or flee in terror.

-

As the Houndspriest rests, the maze that he guards schemes to undo him, to spread and to bring woe. With only the briefest moment of inattention, the hedge lashes out at him, drawing him into its folds, and communing with the Fae, calling them to his form.

-

In distant Heimstad, The Doktor slumps to the ground outside his cabin. The haven is silent, not abandoned, but near enough to. Were it not for the guard that answers to his call, there would be no one here. Coincidence, chance, circumstance, and malady had driven them away in short order. Or was it him?

-

Along the Crusader’s Road, she stumbles, alone. Her armour broken, her sword dulled. Her task was done, but she was shattered. Her word was kept, but her mind was burned. As her wounds fester, and her steps become ragged, she is alone, as always.

=== Game Information ===
Numerous Greenweald characters are suffering from a traumatic wound ‘Doomed’. This wound was inflicted by the Harbringer Stand ‘The Veil of Grieving Woe’ as it was destroyed a year prior. This wound continues to fester, bringing pain and ill fate down upon each of these characters.

Chapter Kaptain Volker Klein has returned from a mission to scout and harm the Harbringers Nightmare.The mission killed many, and has heavily wounded the Chapter Kaptain. It is unclear if he will survive. There will be information for the Chapter Kaptain and the Krahenmeister regarding this.

Ulric Fellstead has succumbed to a burning set of visions prescribing doom on the populace. A well-known figure in Wolstad, characters who frequent the city may have heard rumours of ‘The Priest from the Square going mad and scratching at his eyes.’

Connor Hedge, a Houndspriest from the depths of the Sableheart has been severely wounded by his investment and has endangered local Havens as the Fae Queen moves against The Concord. There will be additional information for him and decisions for the Sage Superior regarding this.

Haimstad in the northern parts of the Ravensreach Wilds has suffered an exodus, leaving Hansel Von Heimstad alone. There will be decisions regarding the fate of the Haven for Hansel and the Baroness of Resinderholz.

High Historian Wenche Vanatoure has been heavily wounded during her downtime action, and may suffer permanent wounds. Moreso, some of her time scouting against the Onyx is unaccounted for…

There will be decisions regarding ‘Doomed’ for the Baroness of Resinderholz, The Krahenmeister of Schloss Mortis, and the Council of Six.

==== See Also: ====

* [[Winds of the World - Autumn 226]]

Krahenmeister

2026-03-22T09:50:40Z

EAlice: Created page with " ‘Leader of the Birdfaced Murderers’, ‘The Last Mercy’, ‘Professor in-Absentia’, Krahenmeisters are the leaders of a region's Crow Doktors. They are responsible for organising the treatment of illnesses (vast or minor), the research into furthering the causes of mundane and magical healing, and ensuring that the regions Crow Doktors are of the highest quality. It is a title that carries extreme weight, as more often than not, it is life or death. == Election..."

‘Leader of the Birdfaced Murderers’, ‘The Last Mercy’, ‘Professor in-Absentia’, Krahenmeisters are the leaders of a region's Crow Doktors. They are responsible for organising the treatment of illnesses (vast or minor), the research into furthering the causes of mundane and magical healing, and ensuring that the regions Crow Doktors are of the highest quality. It is a title that carries extreme weight, as more often than not, it is life or death.

== Election ==
The election date for Krahenmeisters depends on their University. Any Crow Doktor who is recognised who is based in the same region as that university may stand for the title of Krahenmeister. All Crow Doktors who are based in the same region as the University may vote.
{| class="wikitable"
|University
|Location
|Election Season
|-
|Schloss Mortis
|Resinderholz
|Autumn
|}

== Term ==
Krahenmeisters serve a term of two years, including the Summit where they are elected. They may immediately stand for re-election after this term if they wish, there is no term limit.

== Powers and Responsibilities ==
'''Hypothesise -''' Each Summit the Krahenmeister may submit a research hypothesis to their University for testing. The hypothesis should be a single sentence outlining the thing to be tested, rather than a full description of the testing. The university will then test the hypothesis to the best of their ability. Wherever possible the university will do so safely, excepting in the most extreme circumstances or with the most dangerous subject matter. Examples of hypotheses include:

* ‘Hargrave Sickness’ is a mundane illness rather than a magical one.
* ‘Brughams Pox’ is spread by pigs.
* ‘Freewater Shivers’ can be treated by the application of Al-Asah’s antidote.

'''Sondern für Alle -''' Krahenmeisters are widely regarded as the foremost minds on disease treatment and research. As such the Krahenmeisters will receive a briefing each Summit regarding particular outbreaks across the Concord that may require their attention. Information will have more detail when it originated from territories with greater central control, and close proximity to the Weald, but may originate from anywhere within the Concord.

'''Central Control -''' There may only be one Krahenmeister per Barony.

'''Medical Director''' - The Krahenmeister is the leader of the Crow Doktor archetype within the region they are based in. While individual Crow Doktors answer to the their own skill and knowledge, the Krahenmeister is understood to be their leader, being owed their respect and deference. Their appropriate title is ‘Krahenmeister’. The Krahenmeister is a member of the Gildenrat.

'''Adjunct Limitation -''' The Krahenmeister has significant duties as the heads of their medical institutions. As such the Karahenmesiter may only undertake a special downtime action once per year. If they do undertake more than one, they are immediately removed from the title of Krahenmeister

=== Powers of the Krahenmeister of Schloss Mortis ===
'''Mortis Gardens -''' The Krahenmeister of Schloss Mortis receives an income of herbs equivalent to a Tier 4 Herb Garden each season.

'''Cutting Edge Apothecary -''' Every Autumn Summit the Krahenmeister of Schloss Mortis may submit research for a new potion as per the rules for a Headmaster of a School of Magic.

== History ==
While Crow Doktors owe some of their history to the alchemical study of the Weald, the Krahenmeisters and the organised combating of diseases is purely a beast of necessity caused by the Blasserstreit plague. Never before had such research or central control been required, producing a whole new understanding of medicine and healing.

Only two Baronies ever had Krahenmeisters, that being the ‘Krahenmeister of the Eisen’, sometimes known as ‘The Bowman’ who oversaw the quarantine of Resinderholz from Vassertal, primarily through the use of powerful longbows to slay those who would attempt to make the crossing. There was only ever one ‘Krahenmeister of The Eisen’, a Doktor by the name of ‘Sandro Vactorin’, about whom very little is known.

The other Krahenmeister of note is the ‘Krahenmeister of Ortoentod’. Ortoentod being the foremost house of healing in Unster within the Barony of Vassertal. Ortohnetod was the first true university attempting to study the Blasserstreit, but unfortunately fell sometime in 214AE. The Krahenmeister in residence was a Crow Doktor named Kerstin Ruhibbauer, who is presumed have died within the Ortoentod.

The first Concordian Krahenmeister was elected following the reconstruction of Schloss Mortis in 226AE. The first of the position to be seen in more than a decade.

== Historic Krahenmeisters ==
None.

== Further Reading ==

* [[Crow Doktor]]
* [[Greenweald Baronies Archetypes]]

File:544393443 24522767140746982 8601329202721600210 n.jpg

2026-03-22T09:47:30Z

EAlice:

File:655354119 1482479343522997 5461762121630523562 n.jpg

2026-03-22T09:44:42Z

EAlice:

File:651396862 912820381561628 5786478798927805973 n.jpg

2026-03-22T09:43:04Z

EAlice:

File:647015303 902501386155059 2599865455751788574 n.jpg

2026-03-22T09:41:55Z

EAlice:

File:651396862 1482879436751728 8337076814915485568 n.jpg

2026-03-22T09:40:54Z

EAlice:

Bog

File:647410943 2744605765895029 7736820439507657121 n.jpg

2026-03-22T09:39:54Z

EAlice:

My Ignorance Is Just as Good as Your Knowledge

2026-03-19T12:08:11Z

EAlice: I'm Guttersignin' over here! (you'll get the bit if you listen to the audio, I pinky promise)

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/my-ignorance-is-just-as-good|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

What was once another piece of Lerona Mere’s strange regional madness has become the core of its nation; The Lerona Mere Parliament. This collection of elected representatives from across the Realm come together in Legend City to speak on behalf of their people, guide the realm, make decisions, make money, and make mistakes. Through fire, revolution, another fire, and more than a few subcommittees, the Lerona Mere Parliament has stabilised as a pillar of the Realm that appears to stand tall.

The greatest part of this pillar is election season, which has fallen on the Autumn of 226. With the three incumbent parties not only battling for supremacy, but also fighting to retain control over their piece of power. While votes flow in from across Mancante Terra and Lerona Mere, the heroic delegation must also decide where the future of the Realm lies.

The Parliament will hold their positions for two years, with the next election expected to be Autumn in 228. So choose wisely. Every Lerona Mere character will find a voting slip in their character pack, which can be submitted to the voting box held in the Civil Service Hub.

== Let Legend City Sing - The Ratscrews ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/let-legend-city-sing-the|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

''“Citizens of Legend City! Children of the Madre Campo! You stubborn, salt-scarred heroes of Mancante Terra! Six years ago we tore down the chains of Artebazzan and lit the night sky with fire. When the Old Parliament burned, we did not crawl back into the dark; we danced the streets. That is who we are. That is who the Ratscrews have always been.''

''Yes, we flipped a coin with the Concordian Senate. And we won.''

''We won their silver. We won their silence. And we turned their treasury into music, lanterns, and wine that ran like rivers through our streets. They called it reckless. They called it childish. I call it Lerona Mere. We looked the great and serious powers of The Concord in the eye, trusted our nerve, and came away laughing, and wealthier. Not because we are fools. But because we understand something they do not: fortune favors those bold enough to claim it.''

''Now I stand before you not as a replacement for Tarina Van Jillentari, but as the next steward of our fire. I am a tavern-keeper of the Crux Patricus. I have seen how a song can soften a contract, and how a festival can fill every bed in a district. I have seen how painters and playwrights bring more coin into this city than a dozen cautious decrees. Art is not a luxury for us; it is our banner, our harbor light, our greatest export. When Legend City glitters, the whole of Lerona Mere prospers.''

''But hear me clearly: our joy is not weakness. We will not be dragged into Concordian wars without cause, nor to soothe another nation’s pride. We will not chase old ghosts in Vidania simply because steel glitters attractively in torchlight. We are not an empire reborn. We are a republic alive. Our power is not in marching columns, it is in packed plazas, thriving merchant compacts, and a city so vibrant that the world cannot look away.''

''The Ratscrews remain the party of wealth, celebration, and chance. We believe that hope is contagious. That goodwill is profitable. That a nation which sings together does not fracture easily. In these darker tides gathering beyond our shores, let Lerona Mere be the lantern city, reckless enough to dare, wise enough to win, and joyful enough to share the spoils.''

''So let the serious men mutter. Let the dour parties scowl. We will build brighter streets, louder festivals, and a Legend City so dazzling that The Concord remembers who first taught them how to be free.”''

''Jacapo De Baldonette, on the streets of the Crux Particus, April 12th, 226.''
[[File:648836046 25945836608422254 9157946209719905805 n.jpg|center|thumb|566x566px]]

=== Game Information ===
Following a leadership spill, Talina Van Jillentari has been deposed as leader of the Ratscrews, being replaced by the more mature Jacapo De Baldonette. Baldonette is a tavern owner from the Crux Patricus and stands on a platform not dissimilar from the Ratscrews previous one, albeit measured with age and reasonability.

The Ratscrews intend:

* To focus on improving Legend City
* To support the arts and the wealth it brings to Lerona Mere
* To ensure that Lerona Mere and its people remain a beacon of hope and good will for The Concord in these dark times.

While hard to pin down, Baldonette has stated that he is opposed to:

* More Concordian wars without cause
* A plan to reclaim Vidania

The Ratscrews remain a party of wealth, celebration, and chance.

Keyani De Guiyard, The new Bursar of the Ratscrews, is expected to attend Summit on the first night.

The party representatives of The Ratscrews are:

Free Captain Astraea De Sunne

Emyrson Van Soer

Bonne Chance

There will be additional information, requests, and opportunities for them at this Summit.

== We Did Not Survive to be Small - The Steel Sigils ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/we-did-not-survive-to-be-small|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

''“People of Lerona Mere, look at me.''

''Look at this face.''

''The fire that scarred me was not an accident of fate. It was the price of weakness. It was the price of dithering, of hesitation, of a Parliament that talked while enemies gathered and so the Old House burned. I carry that flame so you do not forget what happens when a nation forgets its strength.''

''Six years ago we tore down Artebazzan’s banners because we were tired of kneeling. And what did The Concord offer us afterward? Committees. Delays. Titles that mean nothing. Permission to defend what was already ours. And when the Senate hesitated to grant us the land we reclaimed with our own blood, I told them plainly: grant it, or face the consequences. They granted it.''

''Do not let anyone forget who fights for this Realm.''

''The Steel Sigils promise strength because strength is the only language the world respects. Strength at arms so no tyrant mistakes our generosity for weakness. Strength in our markets so no foreign power dictates the price of our grain or steel. Strength in the Concord so that Lerona Mere does not sit politely at the edge of the table. We will pursue Concordian titles not as ornaments, but as instruments, tools to shape the future as it needs to be.''

''And hear this clearly: we will not abandon Mancante Terra. We will not disarm. We will not “normalize relations” with Artebazzan or barter words about ignoring the Illsevir as if their knives are not still wet. Diplomacy is not a virtue when it demands submission. Peace is not noble when it requires forgetting who burned our homes and shackled our people. The enemies of Lerona Mere will be met without fear, and without mercy.''

''Some call this fury. They whisper that we are too harsh, too uncompromising. I say this: compromise is what nearly cost us everything. Action reclaimed the frontier. Action rebuilt our fleets. Action made The Concord take notice. A vote for the Steel Sigils is not a vote for comfort. It is a vote for power. For motion. For a nation that stands tall instead of smiling politely while others decide its fate.''

''Lerona Mere was not born to be a festival city alone. It was forged in revolution. It was baptized in fire. We are done asking the world to recognize us. We will make it impossible for them to ignore us.”''

''Mario De Gardin, Speaking in the Docklands on March 23rd, 226.''
[[File:653750220 955749793709596 5356983345684056189 n.jpg|center|thumb|553x553px]]

=== Game Information ===
The firebrand Mario De Gardin has taken control of the Steel Sigils, ousting his co-leader; Carlo Van Eider. The Steel Sigils have stood as the primary opposition party in the Parliament for the past two years and lay claim to many of the realm’s achievements. Notably; the reclamation of Mancante Terra and its assignment to Lerona Mere. Many remember when Gardin threatened the Senate if the region was not granted to Lerona Mere.

Slightly more organised that The Ratscrews, the Steel Sigils promise:

* To focus on increasing the strength of Lerona Mere in all matters.
* To support Lerona Mere in the pursuit of Concordian titles.
* To fight the enemies of the nation without fear or mercy.
* Progress towards the full reclamation of Mancante Terra and eventually Vidania

It is not difficult to get Gardin discussing what he is opposed to:

* Any plans to abandon Mancante Terra
* Any plans to disarm or reduce Lerona Mere’s military power
* Diplomacy with any of the Illsevir factions or Artebazzan in any form

A vote for the Steel Sigils is a vote for power, action, and fury, regardless of the cost or damage. The Steel Sigils have support in many things from the Frontiers League, it is likely the two parties will work closely.

Mario De Gardin is expected to attend the Summit on the Second Day.

The part representatives for the Steel Sigils are:

Jalen Van Voyant

Jacques Di Zisseau

Mother Brine

There will be additional information, requests, and opportunities for them at this Summit.

== Do Not Gamble With Your Future - The Council in Coin ==
{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/do-not-gamble-with-your-future|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}

''To the Citizens of Lerona Mere, and to our Esteemed Partners within The Concord''

''A Public Notice Issued by the Council in Coin''

''The Council in Coin offers this statement not from a balcony, nor beneath banners, but from the counting table and the council chamber. We have never sought applause, only outcomes. In this second election of our young Parliament, we believe it fitting to restate plainly what we stand for: a Lerona Mere prosperous, stable, and respected, not by noise, but by reliability.''

''The Concord remains an essential ledger in the affairs of nations. It tempers excess, arbitrates disputes, and binds its members in mutual obligation. While others speak of dominance or withdrawal, we maintain that wise partnership strengthens our hand. Through careful diplomacy and an active Foreign Service, new markets may be opened, new alliances struck, and grievances settled without unsheathing steel. Peace, when secured through clarity and preparedness, is the most profitable course.''

''Within our own realm, the Council supports a balanced economy befitting a maritime power. Industry in Mivara and the frontier, agriculture in the Madre Campo, and the celebrated arts of Legend City are not rivals but partners in trade. Coin flows best where confidence is steady. We have worked to ensure that Concordian heroes are properly provisioned, that tariffs are rational, and that revenues are invested with foresight rather than fervor. Prosperity requires discipline as much as daring.''

''We are not advocates of endless war, for campaigns without clear purpose burden treasury and citizen alike. Yet we do not shrink from defense where the Concord must stand firm. We do not favor the raising of a singular Concordian throne, as the concentration of unchecked authority invites imbalance. Nor do we view negotiation with Artebazzan as prudent while its ambitions remain imperial in character. Stability must be preserved where it can, and defended where it must.''

''The Council in Coin favors established processes over improvisation, contracts over impulse, and durable institutions over sudden experiments. Lerona Mere was forged in fire; it must now be maintained with care. A vote for the Council in Coin is a vote for steady hands upon the scales, not timid, not grandiose, but prepared to weigh the realm’s fortunes with patience and resolve.''

* ''A statement found in merchant houses across Lerona Mere.''

[[File:651524005 26246106505056112 7090937102461118233 n.jpg|center|thumb|566x566px]]

=== Game Information ===
The last of the incumbent parties, the Council in Coin has worked quietly with whatever political power they can gather in an attempt to moderate the wild ambitions of both the Steel Sigils and The Ratscrews. They have worked to bring a little extra coin to The Concordian Heroes, and act as a guiding hand on the Parliament floor, whenever they can be listened to. The party has retained its anonymous leadership, preferring to seek support for their actions, rather than any cult of celebrity.

The clearest of all the parties on matters of policy, the Council has stated:

* Support for The Concord as an important moderating factor on Lerona Mere’s ambition.
* Support for the Foreign Service in seeking new markets and allies for The Concord, particularly in the pursuit of peace.
* Support for industry, the arts, and mercantilism as a strong basis for Lerona Mere’s varied economy.
* Aversion for needless, endless wars, but support for The Concord’s need to defend itself. Peace should be pursued where possible.
* Aversion for a Concordian Throne adding additional layers of power and chaos in the Concordian system.
* Aversion for any diplomacy with Artebazzan, as a destabilising Imperial Power.
* Aversion to nonstandard processes or solutions for the Realm’s problems.

A vote for the Council in Coin is a vote for a measured, economics-led, party that is not scared of tackling the world.

Heidi Delvante will speak for the Council in Coin on the second afternoon of The Summit.

The parties representatives are:

Diz De L’abime

There will be additional information, requests, and opportunities for them at this Summit.

== From the Fields to the Floor - The Frontiers League ==
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''“Right then, gather in close and listen up. I won’t keep you from your work or your supper longer than I have to.''

''My name’s Cosma Albiro. I’ve walked the fields in the Madre Campo at dawn, I’ve stood watch in Mancante Terra with salt in my beard and a blade in hand, I’ve buried good men who thought Parliament would move quicker than it did. So forgive me if I don’t lace this up with poetry.''

''Lerona Mere doesn’t end at the last gate out of Legend City.''

''It stretches through wheat fields that feed the realm. Through ranches that breed the oxen that pull our carts. Through frontier watchposts that keep The Drowned from chewing on our children. Acres may not cast ballots, but the people who work them do, and we’re tired of being treated like a footnote to canal festivals and schools of magic.''

''The Frontiers League stands for simple things done properly. A strong military that finishes the job in Mancante Terra instead of talking about it for another six fuckin’ seasons. A clear path to reclaiming what was ours, yes, Vidania too, when the time is right. Strong backing for The Spheres, not splinter churches because some city-priest read a clever pamphlet. Faith, land, and steel built this nation. We won’t apologize for that.''

''We’ll make sure Lerona Mere goods, grain, wool, hartswood, and forgesteel, command fair prices across the Concord. Not by begging for favors. Not by signing our future over to foreign investors who’ve never seen a storm roll in over Est Speranza. We back our own first. We trade fair. And we don’t sell the farm to pay for someone else’s bright idea.''

''Let me be plain about what we won’t do. We won’t soften toward Arte bazzan. Not now. Not ever. We won’t let foreign coin dictate Concordian policy. And we won’t throw arcane tricks and wizard’s smoke at problems that can be fixed with hard work and straight lines. If a bridge needs building, build it. If a frontier needs securing, secure it. If land needs reclaiming, send people who know how to hold it.''

''Now I know some of you reckon the Steel Sigils talk a language you understand. And truth be told, on strength and land, we agree more often than not. But the Frontiers League isn’t about glory or grand speeches in marble halls. It’s about keeping gates shut, markets fair, and boots on solid ground.''

''A vote for us is a vote for Lerona Mere beyond the city lanterns. For the folk who rise before the sun and don’t ask much except to be heard. We built this realm as surely as anyone. It’s about time Parliament remembered it.”''

* Speech by Cosma Albiro in Loricazzo, December 30th, 225.

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=== Game Information ===
The Frontiers League is drawing widespread support from the people who have settled in Mancante Terra, as well as in the vastness of The Madre Campo and Est Speranza. While this encapsulates vast tracts of land, acres don’t get votes. So the party, under the leadership of Cosma Albiro intends to draw more support from those Lerona Mere who wish to see the Realm grow and prosper on good fundamentals.

The Frontiers League is a down-to-earth party, more than happy to detail its policies. Such as:

* Support for a strong military to reclaim lost lands of Lerona Mere and Support the Concord
* Spiritual support of The Concordian Church free of mad cityfolk thinking of religious secession
* Continuing the war to reclaim Mancante Terra and eventually Vidania
* Ensuring Lerona Mere goods of all kinds find a strong place on the Concordian Market.

By the same token, Albiro has been forthright about the parties stances that they will not cross:

* Strong opposition to Artebazzan and all its actions
* Opposed to an overreliance on foreign involvement and investment in Concordian affairs
* Opposed to expansive involvement in arcane solutions for mundane problems.

A vote for the Frontiers League is a vote for Lerona Mere outside of Legend City, for frontier thinking, and strength. The party has many alignments with the Steel Sigils and are expected to work closely together.

Cosma Albiro is expected to attend the Summit on the Second Day.

The party representatives for the Frontiers League are:

Anne Marie Van Voyant

Rosaria Medusae

There will be additional information, requests, and opportunities for them at this Summit.

== We Bite Back - The Guttersign Assembly ==
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''“Oi! OI!''

''Shut it a moment! Yeah, you with the dice, hold ’em in your fist and listen.''

''You all know me. I ain’t no silk-tongued Parliament man. I’m Rigo “Three Knives” Vallera and if you’ve ever worked the Docklands after midnight, you’ve worked for someone who answers to someone who answers to me. So don’t pretend you don’t know what the Guttersign is.''

''Six years back, when the Artebazzani ran squealing home and the watch vanished like cheap smoke, who kept the Docklands from burning to ash? Who made sure ships still sailed? Who made sure the warehouses weren’t stripped bare by outsiders? It weren’t Parliament. It weren’t the Concord. It was the Capos. It was us. The Docklands War was ugly, aye. Bloody. But when it was done, it was the men and women with the right sign in their hands who sat down and carved the peace.''

''That’s Lerona Mere.''

''You all clap for heroes in the square, but when the alley’s dark and the rent’s due, who do you come to? When a cousin needs work, when a crate needs moving without too many questions, when a merchant forgets his manners, who fixes it? We do. Always have. We run territory, sure. We take our cut, sure. But we keep the coin moving. We keep the docks breathing. You think Legend City’s wealth floats in on prayer? It floats in because someone makes sure it does.''

''The Guttersign Assembly ain’t pretending to be clean. We ain’t polishing our boots for the Senate floor. We’re telling you plain: a strong Lerona Mere is good for business. And business is good for everyone who knows how to hold their nerve. You want jobs? We make ’em. You want trade? We find a way. You want strength? We’ve been practicing it in the back alleys and on open water since before half these Parliament lads grew whiskers.''

''Artebazzan? To hell with ’em. They taxed us, jailed us, hanged our own. Fire-blooded Lerona Mere don’t bow to empire. Everything else? Depends. Depends who’s asking. Depends what’s on the table. That’s the difference between us and the fancy parties; we don’t tie our hands with pretty promises. We look at the board and we play to win.''

''So here’s the truth of it. You vote Guttersign, you vote for people who understand how power really works in this city. Not speeches. Not committees. Favors. Leverage. Territory. Coin. Blood when it’s needed.''

''And if that makes you nervous? Good.''

''It should.''

''Now drink up, throw your knives straight, and when election day comes, make the right sign.”''

* Speech given at ‘The Undertable Cardhouse’, April 1st, 226

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=== Game Information. ===
A dangerous party in many ways, The Guttersign Assembly claim to represent the downtrodden, forgotten, and wounded of Lerona Mere, but they were their less-than-legal support proudly. They draw upon a history of blood and steel without fear of offending their would be voters. Their stance is uniquely Lerona Mere, uniquely dangerous, and uniquely appealing.

Given their dispersed leadership and their tendency towards evasiveness, it is difficult to get strong policy positions from the Guttersign Assembly, however this much is known:

* A strong Lerona Mere is a good Lerona Mere
* Any way that makes money is a good way
* Why are you asking so many questions?

The party appears opposed to:

* Artebazzan, because they’re fire-blooded Lerona Mere ain’t they?
* Everything else is all circumstantial, not ruling it out.

A vote for the Guttersign Assembly is a vote for intrigue, bottom-up decision making, and blood.

Capo Nix Brandheist is expected to be at the Summit on the first night. If Capo Brandheist does not depart the Summit alive, the character who kills him will start next summit Terminal.

There are no party representatives for the Guttersign Assembly.

== Fire on the Horizon - The Embersails ==
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''“You can hear me from the quay, can’t you? Good.''

''I am Captain Vera Halvine of the Red Lark, Free Captain of Lerona Mere, and I have seen chains fall into the sea.''

''When Tabbadar burned and the people of Odrigan rose, it was not parchment that carried freedom across the waves. It was sails. It was drawn steel. It was Concordian captains, some of them Lerona Merian, who chose not to wait for permission. The Free City of Odrigan stands today because tyrants were shown what happens when sailors decide a line has been crossed.''

''That is why the Embersails exist.''

''We did not throw off Artebazzan so we could sit politely within The Concord and ask whether liberty is inconvenient this season. Revolution is not a relic to be sung about in taverns, it is a living thing. And if we cage it, it rots. Lerona Mere was born in fire. Our fleet must carry those embers outward.''

''We sail for a navy that does more than guard our harbors and coastline, it strikes. An army that does more than parade, it acts and more importantly, exists! We will engage every nation that dares raise a banner in this world, not with timid diplomacy, but with open challenge: stand with freedom, or stand against it. Ships from Legend City should carry grain, wine, art, iron, and, when needed, the clash of steel. Let every port know that Lerona Mere sails with purpose.''

''And hear this clearly: there will be no Concordian tyrant enthroned above us. Not foreign. Not ours. We did not spill blood to crown another master in prettier colors. If any faction within The Concord props up Artebazzan or shields slavers and oppressors behind procedure, they will answer for it. We will not permit laws that criminalize striking chains from wrists. We will not apologize for siding with the enslaved over their masters.''

''Artebazzan must fall. Not negotiated with. Not placated. Destroyed as an imperial power so that no city endures what we endured. And if that offends any delicate sensibilities in the Senate or the Council of Six, let them come down to the docks and tell it to my crew.''

''The Embersails are not dreamers. We are sailors. We know the cost of action. We have buried shipmates at sea. We have tasted iron and blood. But we also know this: when freedom moves, it moves fast and it is unstoppable.''

''Vote Embersails, and Lerona Mere will not merely exist in this new world. It will shape it.”''

* Speech given in Loricazzo from the deck of the Red Lark, January 19th, 226.

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=== Game Information ===
The Embersails draw on Lerona Mere’s fierce history of revolution, mastery of the seas, and the heroic actions of Concordian sailors to free the people of Odrigan from Artebazzani bondage. Certainly one of the most decisive parties on offer this season, The Embersails call for a Lerona Mere leading the charge into the wider world to bring freedom to the oppressed, and death to tyrants.

Often shouted from the decks of ships at dock in Legend City’s harbour, or spoken drunkly in the taverns of Loricazzo, the Embersails position can be hard to untangle. Broadly speaking they are for:

* A strong Lerona Mere fleet and army to defend itself and strike hard.
* Engaging all nations of the world
* Ships, songs, and all manner of good things from the lands of Lerona Mere.
* Holding the parts of the Concord who support Artebazzan to account!

However, their hatreds should come as no surprise:

* No to any Concordian tyrant on a throne, especially if they are Lerona Mere
* Any plans to criminalise Concordian actions against tyrants, slavers, or oppressors.
* Artebazzan must be destroyed.

A vote for the Embersails is a vote for action on the world stage, naval strength, and freedom.

Captain Vera Halvine is expected to attend the Summit on the second night.

The party representatives of the Embersails are:

Free Captain Pieirre Capulet

Lev “Lucky” Luksemburg

There will be additional information, requests, and opportunities for them at this Summit.

See Also:

* [[Winds of the World - Autumn 226]]

Winds of the World - Autumn 226

2026-03-19T12:08:08Z

EAlice:

{{#ev:soundcloud|https://soundcloud.com/concord-plot/welcome-to-winds-of-the-world|dimensions=200x200|alignment=right}}[[File:558963093 10162219358918129 1208852088215685366 n.jpg|thumb|New dawns do not always shine for those who deserve them most.]]The Concord is old, and yet it is young.

The Concord carries the bones of ancient Iron Valleyfolk kings, but it also carries the dreams of the downtrodden of the Docklands. The Concord battles foes who look upon stars with newborn wonder, but it also struggles against avarice as old as humanity itself. The Concord stands on the thin pretenses of treaties barely older enough to be forgotten, but it also draws forth a unity and a camaraderie born of struggle.

As The Concord stumbles, its people lift it up, As the Concord soars, its people shelter under its wings, as The Concord stands firm, its people stand at its back.

As 226 goes from hopeful future to hard won present, The Concord breathes a sigh of relief. There has been no great victory, no great calamity has befallen our foes, but The Concord still stands, this present exists because it was bought with blood and sweat. As will every dawn to come.

May there be many of them.
----Welcome to the Winds of the World for Autumn 226!

The Winds of the World detail the changes and progression of the world of Concord over the last season, detailing the wars, fortunes and opportunities that have arisen over time. These are intended to show how the world has moved, provide prompts and guides for characters as well as let you see the results of your actions.

This page will detail the Winds of the World as a summary, with a short introduction for each individual section of the Winds. If any particular section draws your attention or has game information that might affect you, click into it and read the full text which will be substantially longer and contain game information. These pages are in a slightly new format, broken up into subheadings allowing the Concord Team to focus information and provide a better cause and effect.

It is important to note that The Winds of The World are not an In-Character document. Rather, it represents a collection of documents, rumours, reports and tales that have swept The Concord. Any character is more than welcome to know as little or as much of the Winds as possible, reflecting how well informed they like to keep themselves. It is perfectly acceptable to arrive in Passage having heard nothing or to only seek out the Winds that apply to you. Particularly studious, influential or well-travelled characters may know all or most of it. When referring to the Winds in character, you are welcome to characterise it as 'rumours heard in tavern houses' or 'the latest report from Weiland!' rather than the idea of the Civil Service putting out a gigantic almanac of goings on and gossip.

We've attempted to tag each entry in the Winds in regards to who it affects - hopefully this will make it easier to navigate. Each sub-section will be updated as the Autumn Summit draws nearer, with an entry being posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until they are all posted. The Winds will be posted in the order that they are listed here.

=== [[Hostile Takeover - The War in Mukarrem]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / Andash / The Foreign Service'''
For many in The Concord, Mukarrem has become the new Bolsterlee; a rolling conflict slowly grinding a once beautiful land into a wasted battlefield. It has been years since The Concord held the Salt Road, and the forces of the Trade Principality strike on such a narrow front that their pace is relentless. Concordian’s whisper that of Mukarrem in much the same way that they do of Mancante Terra, and Vassertal;

Lost causes that cost more than they reward.

But perhaps there is a change on the wind, blood in the water, that will change this war arithmetic. Although, not always for the better.

=== [[We Carved War from the Mountainside and Gave it Meaning - The War in King's Pass]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley'''
When the Illsevir first came to Esterra they were a looming threat in the mists and ice. Their ships tore through merchants and war galleys alike. When they took to the land they nearly crushed two nations into ash and lamentation. Their hands broke fortresses, called dragons, and forged naught but despair.

The Valleyfolk called it ‘The Long Retreat’, and from them it took nearly everything. It forced them back into the oldest of their lands, the quietest, the meekest. With one fortress left to hold them and the charity of new allies to see them through the dawn, hold is what they did.

But the time of holding has passed. The time of staring up at familiar stone with dread is over. The Valleyfolk and The Concord do not mean to leave what is rightfully theirs in enemy hands.

Now is the time to retake Baelags Holdfast.

=== [[The Fallen of the Shadowroot War - The War in Resinderholz]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Greenweald Baronies'''
The northern front. The river of blood. The Shadowroot War. The Hordling Hell.

Soldiers call fighting in the Sableheart a lot of different things, and over time many armies take their stance along the line; few more often than the First Banner of Bordevar, but few are more welcome than the Legion of the Blackheart Bear. This past season saw both forces rally in and around the city of Eisen to spend another season of uncomfortable heat, the stench of death, and the grime of mud and blood as they fought back the undead once more.

Danakka Rimortis, the Wraith of Port Gargant, the Alchemist of Brumhaven, brought forth ten thousand shambling corpses, corruptive alchemists, and the threat of plague. The Hirschkind, a powerful Weald-beast, seeks out armoured Ritters and Knights for its brutal revenge, The Fae Queen musters her armies of tricksy murderous allies, and every drop of blood threatens doom by disease.

The summer sun through the leaves shines only on death. Welcome to the Shadowroot War.

=== [[It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War in Bolsterlee|It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far - The War Against the Drowned]] ===

* '''The War Chamber / The Iron Valley / Lerona Mere'''
The Drowned remain a lurking threat to Esterra’s far south-western regions, haunting the ruins of Vidania like algae in brackish waters. Ever since the Concordian forces of the Legion of the Blackheart Bear, the First Banner of Bordevar, and the Fleets of Lerona Mere forced these monstrosities back south of the Plateau of the Gods, they have slumbered. While their horrors persist, so do they.

But they slumber no longer. Forces move north, intent on retaking Mandrianos. And most strangely, forces move east, across the Bay of Promised Gold.

=== [[Are We One or Are We Five?]] ===

* '''The Senate / All Nations'''
<blockquote>''We as your Senate, inspired by the great and dire state of our nation declare this State of Emergency. Our enemies are at our hearths and homes, far from beyond the borders where they belong. But to you all, we your chosen leaders write this promise to you, this declaration to you all.''

''We are one. Five realms, one Concord.''

''In this, one of our darkest hours, we will stand together, we will fight together, we will win together.''

* ''Senator of Windholme, Ivern the Inheritor.''
</blockquote>
----The words spoken in the Senate can often seem empty to the outsider, the hot gas expelled by politicians whose only purpose is to empower themselves and to cast great shadows over history. But all things matter within the chambers of Concordian councils, it matters that we breathe, it matters that we speak, it matters that we live.

In the Summit past, the Senator of Windholme declared that The Concord was in a State of Emergency, that the maladies, curses, and foes arrayed around it were far too extreme to be tackled with the tools that were available. More than the ravings of one angry Valleyfolk, Senator Ivern presented words to this effect that were added to by every assembled Senator, an agreement in chorus that The Concord was failing, that The Concord desperately needs aid from within.

=== [[Standing Before Evil]] ===

* '''The Kingdom of Bordevar'''
The strength of Bordevar is found in many places. It can be found in its traditions, both those inherited from Drummond, and those forged in the blood of King Bordevar’s conquests. It can be found in the raw strength-at-arms of its people, be they knightly or commonfolk. It can be found in the stubbornness, that dogged determination that keeps them holding on one season after another.

But for many, this strength has been used to put Bordevarian concerns aside while they shoulder the weight of its ignorance. Bordevar CAN hold, so it becomes Bordevar MUST hold, while other nations, groups, causes, and fights are brought to the forefront, due to the weakness of their abilities, not their strength.

As 226 becomes a year not of future concern, but present problem, Bordevar and the entire Concord considers how long it can rely on Bordevar putting the needs of the many before the needs of the few, or how long Bordevar can tell themselves this, before something comes to a head.

=== [[Until We Break, Our Home We Must Keep Alive]] ===

* '''The Iron Valley'''
Eyes sternly gaze west, towards The Kings Pass and Baelags Holdfast, yet hearts remain firmly rooted in the stones of home. The Valley, despite the energies focussed towards reclaiming their heritage, would not forget their hearths within the Regions of Bolsterlee and Windholme. There are a great many grand things to celebrate, concerning events and happenings to worry over, and countless occurrences both large and small that cannot be ignored.

The Iron Valley may be tested in the fight to take Baelags, but they are tried by what remains when all is said and done.

=== [[Only the Wrong Words Are A Waste of Time]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
Lerona Mere, even as it grows, maintains a wildly complex variety of concerns. They are a Realm of great cultural concerns, violent problem solving traditions, and seemingly-petulant ethos of contrarianism. Even as their great democratic experiment continues into this new year, and their war with The Drowned, the people of Lerona Mere continue to pursue the arts and joy with an intensity unmatched by any other realm.

In 226 the Lerona Mere pursue monsters in the mists below their feet, vanquising foes that have haunted The Concord for years, claim their place as the creative heart of The Concord, explore the mysteries of magic unknown to any who speak the common tongue, and all the while they grow into more than a single city.

Grow into a Realm of untold power and influence.

''En Evante!''

=== [[My Ignorance Is Just as Good as Your Knowledge]] ===

* '''Lerona Mere'''
What was once another piece of Lerona Mere’s strange regional madness has become the core of its nation; The Lerona Mere Parliament. This collection of elected representatives from across the Realm come together in Legend City to speak on behalf of their people, guide the realm, make decisions, make money, and make mistakes. Through fire, revolution, another fire, and more than a few subcommittees, the Lerona Mere Parliament has stabilised as a pillar of the Realm that appears to stand tall.

The greatest part of this pillar is election season, which has fallen on the Autumn of 226. With the three incumbent parties not only battling for supremacy, but also fighting to retain control over their piece of power. While votes flow in from across Mancante Terra and Lerona Mere, the heroic delegation must also decide where the future of the Realm lies.

The Parliament will hold their positions for two years, with the next election expected to be Autumn in 228. So choose wisely. Every Lerona Mere character will find a voting slip in their character pack, which can be submitted to the voting box held in the Civil Service Hub.

=== [[Burn the Woods Through Faith and Flame]] ===

* '''The Greenweald Baronies'''

=== [[Lost Lands of the Librarian]] ===

* '''Andash'''

=== [[Legends are not Found, They are Built]] ===

* '''The Senate / Lerona Mere'''

=== [[On the Edge of My Last Concern]] ===

* '''The Shardcircle'''

=== [[In the Shadow of Distant Stars]] ===

* '''The Church'''

=== [[Where Will I Find You? Where Oh Where?]] ===

* '''Weird Events'''

=== [[Fading Places - News from Across the Seas]] ===

=== [[Monument Mythos - Civil Service Report]] ===

=== [[Chains of Fate, Slicked with Blood - Conflux Report]] ===
----

=== Further Reading ===

* [[Winds of the World|Winds of the World Main Page]]

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EAlice:

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