As winter recedes from the world, The Concord reaches out to grasp their destiny with both hands. With soldiers on the march and magics swirling through the place between places, The Concord finds itself poised to grow and rule or shatter and fall. Perhaps in equal measure.
With the Summer Summit looming it appears that the Heroes of The Concord will have a busy season ahead of them, with old friends and older enemies donning new roles and unfurling banners and ambitions in equal measure.
A Concordian dawn has broken, behold the new day.
Welcome to the Winds of the World for Summer 224!
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 that 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 Summer 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.
Beneath The Eaves of The Golden
- The Entire Concord
As the Heroes of The Concord pack away their ambitions of the Winter Summit, they find themselves followed from Passage by a trail of green. Hard-packed dirt hiding luscious grass, begging to be broken free by long-awaited rain, begins to reveal its treasure before the first pair of boots even walks away from the capital of The Concord. Within mere hours, the fields surrounding Passage find themselves verdant and green, the sun shining golden upon them as the Wondrous Forests of the Night begins to take hold.
Passage would become the start of a glorious spiral of growth, the result of Divine power brought forth by the tremendous efforts of Heroes. There would yet still be far more to see as one casts their eye upon each of the regions of the young nation, a golden light passing through each and leaving behind a place blessed by Panoply for but a short time.
“Beneath the eaves of the golden, the herbs that grew from cobblestones fill my lung with sweetness in the embrace of the loved. To grow within the breadbasket, plant your hope with good seeds carried far in gentle hands, and in celebration we find some peace.”
Don't You Miss What We Had - The War Against the Zekartaal
- The War Chamber / Andash / The Greenweald Baronies
The Concord feels the weight of war with each step forward. The struggles of each Realm combine to ensure their foes are the enemies of all who side with the young nation, bringing with them boons and banes of great consequence. One such boon, following a great victory now years in the past, even lightened the burden for a short yet vastly impactful time. Whispers and rumours abound of what was required to enact this rare and gratefully taken chance, but the truth matters little as the winds of war finally begin to blow.
After so long, the Zekartaal engine of war begins to stir into life once more.
A Rose in The Desert Can Only Survive by its Strength, Not its Beauty
- Andash - Particularly The Tribelands / The Shardcircle
The Tribelands exist in a state of duality, mirroring the sun and the moon the Andashi people hold so close to their hearts. On one hand, it holds The Concord’s second-largest city, a place of great learning and culture. But on the other, it is surrounded by dangerous wilderness, barely controlled save for the wandering Nomads who call it home. It is a place of wealth, with trade and hospitality its lifeblood. But it borders some of the poorest lands of The Concord to its south-west. As the year continues to shift and change like the sand, so too do the fortunes of The Tribelands.
The wounds of the Zekartaal invasion over a year ago are healed, while the digs at Kodiri and the exploration of the stranger wilds within the Tribelands continue to bring hope to the people. But all is not well. The machinations of The Concord’s enemies can be felt, and greater still are the mysteries beyond its borders.
In this, the land of sand and stone, curiosity and hope may be as essential as crystal water.
United We Fall, Divided We Stand
- The War Chamber / Lerona Mere / The Iron Valley
The Concord looks out upon its foes and sees monoliths, each standing strong; true powers of Southern Esterra and beyond, great without the conflicts that struggling Realms together must solve. While The Concord look inward and see their unity as perhaps their greatest strength, looking outwards at any of their enemies earns a struggle to evoke the same response. The nuance of politics and the consequence of power does not always easily reveal itself to those not directly intertwined.
Stranger still remain those of unknowable purpose. Some foes can be spoken to, their lives and internal conflicts revealed on the chessboards that are embassies and spy networks, yet others feel unreachable by those that wish to know. The Illsevir have always stood as one such unfathomable threat, their presence felt all across Southern Esterra in their mindless pursuit.
What is not known may never be known, for as the winds of the world continue to shift and reveal the consequence of action, The Illsevir break apart at their very seams.
The single-minded movement of their bodies becomes twisted and out of time. Screams and words come forth from mouths that were thought to be forced into eternal silence. Beasts and barges fall out of carefully woven rhythm, crashing against each other and the world around them like an instrument out of tune. The Illsevir have fallen, broken and failed.
But it is not into true nothingness that they fall. An empty space, filled easily by power derived from what once was, yet proving to grow and evolve in their own unique ways. From the corpse that is the Illsevir emerges two new powers, and a third is left so heartlessly behind.
Long Journeys Make For Worn Boots
- The Church of the Divine Spheres / Mukarrem / Resinderholz / Lerona Mere
The Church of The Divine Spheres has always been one of the cornerstones of Concordian culture - regardless of form and title, The Spheres and their followers guide the journeys of all within The Concord. This has never been more the case than this past season; where The Concordian Church has been a solid foundation for all within to stand on, it now finds itself in a stage of growth and change.
The Concordian people turn to the Priests of The Concord now more than ever; either to ask for aid and support, to question where their loyalties lie, or to seek answers of past lives uncovered.
How The Concordian Church of The Divine Spheres will look after this period of change has yet to be determined - only the Heroes of The Concord can answer these questions, and decide what their journeys will look like.
I Do Believe in Faeries, I Do, I Do
- Resinderholz / Lerona Mere
Regardless of wishing or wanting, the Boghoffens that threatened Passage last Summit continue to be a thorn in the side of The Concord. Whilst not waging outright war against Concordian citizens, their attacks have begun to wear down the people of Lerona Mere and The Greenweald if not in body, then certainly in spirit.
Worse still, is the ever-present sensation that worse is yet to come. A feeling that sits in the back of the minds of almost all who have had the displeasure of facing these foes this Season. There is a green-tinged storm looming on the horizon, and what kind of terror they will rain down is still unknown.
What do they want?
And what are they willing to do in order to get it?
On the Value of Ignorance
- The Senate
With the appraisal work of The Civil Service well in hand, the Senate puts forward a new set of requests to be considered over the Winter Season. Assessors were sent to the canopied forests of The Greenweald and the open bays of Bolsterlee to pursue projects of equal worth to the requests themselves. Through the hands, minds, and histories of many, multiple unique options have been considered for the Senate to pursue.
It is the opinion of The Civil Service that these estimates would remain accurate for a year, requiring reappraisal by Summer 225. The Senate is welcome to commission any or none of the following options, and the projects mentioned in ‘The Weight of Worth’ also remain available.
Valley of Iron, Hearts of Steel
- The Iron Valley
A fervour for change and reclamation are spreading over The Iron Valley, like a covering of moss on an ancient mountain peak.
Things once thought lost, histories that were believed to be nothing more than that, have been brought to life through the words and actions of the Heroes of The Concord; blood-red antlers decorate the banners of Heroes and home-folk alike, each image another step towards their promised inheritance.
And further from home, though no more important because of this distance, an old foe has been brought low in its mountainous home. There shall be sullying of the old gods in the name of blasphemous cults no longer.
The rest of The Concord waits, watching, to see how The Valley will make a new future from restorations of their age-old past.
Everguarded and Ever-Wanting
- Weiland
In the northern reaches of Weiland, where the land sits slightly lower, where the fields flower green with clover rather than golden with wheat, where the grand lake twinkles in the winter sun, there is a peace. Everguarde, as it was dubbed by the King himself for its position defending the Kingdom from the cursed Weald and its thorny inhabitants, is a quieter duchy than its southern neighbours. As least it was before the war came to it.
Now Everguarde rouses from its slumber. This place of greenery and magic is scarred by the war against The Onyx Aristocracy and still silent in the halls of power. While its residents adorn themselves with violets and steel, it still remains to be seen if they will rise to power, or fall beneath the silent waves of Lake Ladure, dragged low by unseen hands.
I Hear of Winds and Ask for More
- The Entire Concord
If you spend too much time in the taverns, docksides and senatorial chambers of The Concord you will end up spending as much time debunking mysteries and foolishness as you do the task you went there to resolve, be it logistical or otherwise. But among a select few veins of mongered rumour and whispered tale, there are those that have a life of their own.
Fed by truth and fantasy, these happenings reach across The Concord in both travel and circumstance. Strange happenings in Bolsterlee are retold in Nazafeza, and dark tidings from Lerona Mere reach into Eisen.
What follows are some of this past winter’s more enduring gossip; some retelling strangeness that cannot be defined and others speaking of the very human stories recognisable to all.
Step Foot Into These Sunken Lands - The War Against The Drowned
- The War Chamber / Lerona Mere
The first steps into Mancante Terra were cautious ones.
Bordevarian boots, heavy with the weight of knightly valour and armour, were quick to become the spearhead of the military campaign. The First Banner, not unfamiliar with travelling far from home for the benefit of The Concord, marched into Mancante Terra with flags and pennants held high. They would see their duty done, their orders fulfilled, and attempt to gain a foothold for seasons to come. Such is their way, no matter the consequence.
But they would not do so alone.
While more often aboard their vessels on the seas than marching on foot, the Fleet of The People’s Gift would leave the docks of Lerona Mere to once again bring the fight to a dreaded foe. Sailors and marines would flow between each other like currents in the ocean, each taking to their tasks with an eagerness borne of boldness. There was an energy in the air, a palpable excitement from the children of The Revolution, one that would make them work harder than ever before to do what needs to be done in the fighting of Mancante Terra.
Yet they would not be moving against a foe that is known.
These lands had been held by Illsevir for many years, but that has since changed. It is no longer the speechless foe of the past that holds sway, united in singular purpose, but instead now controlled by a strange new might. Silence gives way to discordant moans and desperate screams, while viciousness and violence remains. The Drowned hold Mancante Terra, and they will see those who enter their shores dragged beneath the waves.
Throw Out Knives and Spells in Equal Measure
- The Shardcircle / MukarremYears ago, a decision was made. For coin and contact, The Concord gave away a vast tract of grassland in Mukarrem to the magi known as The Idrian Cabal. In the time since, the region has been wracked by war, abandonment, rebellion, and something far darker than the weak hearts of humanity. The Idrian Cabal was as opaque as they always were, their ideals and objectives unknown, but their coin spent as well as anyone’s.
But coin once given did not dull Concordian hurt. With the Treaty of the Al’Mai, The Concord resolved to expel its arcane parasites, by steel if necessary. An army of Bordevarian soldiers were sent and they were not offering terms. Leave, or leave this mortal coil.
This Head Is For The Beast, it Is a Gift - The War Against The Boar's Head Clan
- The War Chamber / Windholme / Weiland
Esterra is known for its raw magic; its chaotic energy that seems from the very earth. But you need not be a mage or a Weald-creature to bring death and destruction. Humanity has been capable of doing so since before we considered each other kin. In the past, warfare in Southern Esterra was a thing of thunderous murder writ large: tens-of-thousands of barely led soldiers tearing each other apart until a panicked rout consigned hundreds to death beneath the axes of their enemies.
In the current day, war has become a thing of skill and tactics, of manoeuvre and feint. While there are those in the world who still practise war in the old way - The Zekartaal are foremost in this, as their recent defeats would attest to - and there are those who practise war in ways unknown to sanity, such as the undead thralls of The Onyx, most have elevated war to a Surgeon’s craft, forging the scars of victory from the bloody wounds of massacre.
But the Boar’s Head Clan are as old as murder and this past Season they have brought war in the old way to The Concord. But was there anyone to stand against them? Or did the axe fall on those already consigned to fell fates?
Murky Water Is Best Cleared by Leaving it Alone
- Lerona Mere
City of Heroes, City of Legends.
City of Ghosts, City of Greed.
Posta Lerona, Vannadar’Hult.
Lerona Mere has held many names over its history. Like a coin it has passed through many bloodstained hands. This Season is no different.
The Parliamentary Elections have passed and Lerona Mere welcomes a new citizens’ government to lead their people. Even the Heroes find themselves swept up in the patriotism and fervour of hope and liberty. Opportunities abound, even for those outside of the southern realm, but beware the allure of poisoned chalices.
Beneath the cover of darkness, hard work has been done both above and below the ground. While those hands above clutch cudgels and pamphlets, those below grip flesh and stars.
Let the Dead Bury Their Living, They Will Come out in Droves - The War Against The Onyx Aristocracy
- The War Chamber / Weiland / Resinderholz
The Onyx Aristocracy, following their failed push into Weiland some Seasons ago, have begun to properly settle into Royal Bordevar, rebuilding what they had torn down in an image much more befitting of their great empire. Rather than picking up swords, many claim the undead wield hammer and chisel, carving their own identity into the bones of Bordevar’s lost regions.
Though these actions are an insult, relief was felt when Weiland was not attacked by the undead, especially by the people of Starscar, still putting out literal and proverbial fires in the Lenscaster Hills at the behest of their Duke.
This relief, however, was not felt by all in Bordevar, nor The Concord, as the rattling of the armour and the bones of hundreds of undead Knights could be heard moving north-west. Rangers of Oaken Keep watched as they marched in synchronicity, while the various messenger birds of Peregrines Roost sent what they had seen to the people of Bordevar and beyond.
Forgive My Confidence, I Did Not Know My Strength
- The Greenweald Baronies
For many realms, there is a certain acceptance of suffering. There is a knowledge that life is what it is. People get sick, people die in war, people give in to avarice. But in The Weald, much of society is dedicated to fighting back against the acceptance of this darkness. Over the history of the Baronies, these attempts at improving and protecting the lives of Wealders were led by their Guilds. Which is why when the Baronies collapsed during the War of the Molten Moon and the Plague Crisis, the people of Resinderholz found themselves so disadvantaged.
But all is not lost; the Heroes of Resinderholz and The Concord work to return these Guilds to past glory, and perhaps there will be a time in the future where all of these great Guilds once again stand strong. Steps towards this destiny have already been taken, and their rewards taken in hand.
Chisel Me Down Until I Am Clean - The War Against The Severed Lords
- The War Chamber / The Iron Valley
Severed Lord Haveeka, She Who Holds the Fortress, sits high above The Iron Valley, maintaining her claim on the military heart of their realm in Baelags Holdfast. Within the strengths of its stone, her army stands ready and waiting, supported by the forces of Lord Adanoskr of the Lowlands beyond its walls.
But The Concord, and The Iron Valley within, are not those ready to give up what they feel is theirs, by historic right or otherwise. It waits to be seen how these Severed Lords will fare with two armies at their front, especially if the stones beneath them begin to crumble.
The Importance of Prehistoric Tombs
- Andash
As much as the sands of Andash are want to swallow civilisations whole, they are not a landscape entirely unwilling to offer some respite. When investments within The Concord arrive at the dig site of Kodiri for the last time it will be named as such, they see this as clearly as the sun in the sky - despite the eroding forces of the Tanebar Sea, a path has been excavated through Kodiri down to its base, providing possible insight and possible income in the same journey.
But what will The Concord do with such a hard-earned opportunity? Will they grasp their histories with both hands, bringing life back to this unliving site? Or will they let it slink back into the sands of unknowing? Or, perhaps, something entirely else besides?
Power Does Not Corrupt, Fear Does - The War Against The Trade Principality of Aprivano
- The War Chamber / Andash
When the Twinblade was broken apart by duplicitous hearts and hungry avarice, Aprivano emerged as the closest thing to a ‘nation’ that The Concord would have to deal with. Under the megalomaniac Majiid Del’Majiid, Aprivano has prospered; rumour tells of a metropolis that bustles beyond containing with industry and commerce. The web of Majiid and his sycophants spreads in all directions, bringing league after league into his influence.
The Concord has done work to try and live alongside this deceiver. But it has proven near impossible to appease a man who sees insult in ignorance and treachery in trepidation. Be it due to Concordian failures, Artebazzani pressure, Majiid’s personal maladaptations, or some combination of all three, the War Against The Trade Principality of Aprivano has ceased to be a matter of theoretical concern and has become a reality.
Ironshod boots, blood-spattered sandals, and eager feet march away from Aprivano in all directions: will The Concord weather the storm?
Wear Your Scars Like Trophies
- Summary of Winter 224 Confluxes
If It's Wrong When They Do It, It's Wrong When We Do It
- News From The Sea
The quandaries of nations remain an ever-loved rumour by those that travel the seas between them. Sailors and merchants who cast their anchors in ports far from Southern Esterra find themselves returning with a variety of news, some of it strange and much of it intriguing. Yet fallacies and falsehoods hide behind those that gossip, and it can be hard to learn truly what has occurred beyond one’s own beaches.
In truth, when combed through and combined, these tiny pieces still paint a larger picture of the events of the world. While not always accurate and reliable, there remain yet few ways for those in The Concord to check the pulse of the world beyond their grasp.
These rumours, and to some degree the actions of far-travelling Concordians, can be found below.
Let Me Belong Here
- Visitors to Passage
Every Summit the Heroes of The Concord descend upon Passage. In their wake and ahead of them come innumerable workers, bureaucrats, peddlers, and hangers on. These unseen hands weave the work that the Concordian cohort lays the pattern for. But among these hands are those unexpected. Those whose role may be to destroy, disarm or defray.
These notable visitors come in as many forms as there are Concordian Heroes, but for most their arrival is no surprise. At least, not an immediate one. For their path is as long as any Concordian - plenty of time to plan whatever sort of arrival The Concord may wish.
It Is My Duty to Write and Write
- Title Changes / Quartermasters Report / Treasury Report
For every cutesy play, mindful research, or demure request that a Concordian Hero makes, there are dozens of follow-on actions. Coins move people, people move tools, tools move cities, and cities move destinies, all on the ripples of the Concordian Heroes.
Attempting to stay ahead and abreast of these ripples is The Concordian Civil Service. A foolish cohort, but a dedicated one. These bean counters bring forth the might of The Concord’s not inconsiderable bureaucracy, hoping that by corralling the Heroes they might be better positioned to deal with their whims.