With spring comes storms.
Rampaging up from the Icereach, these cold winds slam into the warming countryside of Southern Esterra and such discord is heralded by thunder. As the streets of Legend City are washed clear, as the rolling hills of Bolsterlee reborn, as the deserts of Andash lap out a brief respite of rain, The Concord breathes a sigh of relief.
They are still here. They are still thriving. They are still strong.
Over the winter campaigning season Concordian armies have fought from east to west. Concordian Heroes have travelled far and done much. But for many the most important decision is the quiet season spent at home. The life of a Hero allows little time for the importantly small virtues of family, rest, and introspection.
But we do hope that you found time to have those quiet moments. For the Summit will be anything but.
The Artebazzani Empire circles like a hungry shark, the Onyx boil over with hatred, The Concord chews at itself as a fox in a trap. All that stands between any of a thousand deaths is the Concordian Heroes.
People die for The Concord every day. But The Concord dies only once.
Welcome to the Winds of the World for Spring 225!
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 Spring 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.
Far-Fletched and Fallen Short - The War in The Tribelands
- Andash / The War Chamber
The forces of the Zekartaal, led by the brutal enemy hero known as Sister Oak, would press yet again into the heart of The Tribelands. The once-conqueror of Abqala would set her vicious gaze upon the spires of Obregon, and she would seek to bring them low. Flanked by her Eagles and an army thousands strong and more savage than ever, the city and its prized School of Gifts would grow ever nearer as she marched. Oak had known defeat once, drowned beneath a River of Blood, and she would seek to create one in kind.
But she would not march unhindered. So long as the Andashi drew breath, they would not allow it. By order of General Nemaia El Ankashi, The Desert Whisperers would set out in force to defend The Tribelands against this hated foe, and they would not plan to do so alone. Yet time would tell whether support would truly come, as once more the promises of Concordian Heroes are tested against the blood of Andash.
The Grasses Are Not Neutral Ground - The War in Mukarrem
- Andash / The War Chamber
The Concord has found itself embroiled in many years long conflicts where it holds ground against a determined foe season after season. Windholme and Weiland have become warzones for years and Bolsterlee’s constant conflict became a source of boredom for Concordian commanders relegated to its stormy warfront. It appears that the hunger for expansion held by The Trade Principality of Aprivano means to turn Mukarrem into a new forever warfront, with the grasses of the Priado Expanse becoming bloodslick from the lives of soldiers and mercenaries alike. This conflict shows no signs of stopping, and will grow to consume the land and its people.
What it Means to Be Alive - The War in Windholme
- Iron Valley / The War Chamber
Windholme is a place sawn in half by its history, both recent and ancient. Now, The Concordian Valley are held arm’s length from territory that once belonged to them by a stronghold that was once their own, now wielded against them by those that call it home. Though it did not have to be this way, the course is as set as the carved stairs of Goddream - when The Severed Lords offered peace, The Concord instead gave them war, and must now fulfil the promises they made.
The conflict that forms does so in a shape that is far too familiar for many of those in Brakkenloh, Abelard, and Heinsgraf - a war in the east, fought now against Severed Lords, rather than what they were before, shadowed under the shifting stones of Baelags Holdfast. May this war come to a different end than the one before.
Their Breath Is Not Yours - The War in Mancante Terra
- Lerona Mere / The War Chamber
For a season, Mancante Terra was a beacon of the future. The first retaken Concordian region (ignoring the Steinvault Pass) since the treason of Khasim Al’Jaani. As settlers flee the ramshackle housing and camps spread around Lerona Mere to claim the abandoned houses of the long dead in Korrence and Loricazzo, there is hope. A Lerona Mere sits on the Senate to represent the region, The Concord is growing! En Avante!
The Drowned remain in La Dove Dormani, working towards ends that cannot be known. However that does not mean the war is at a standstill. Between the beasts of salt and sea within the sinking city of Mandrianos and the allure of a united Mancante Terra, there is still much to know.
Resinderholz Will Not Endure - The War in Resinderholz
- The Greenweald Baronies / The War Chamber
There is silence beneath the boughs, and it is breaking.
Danakka Rimortis, the necromantic scion of the Onyx Aristocracy, has launched a full-scale invasion across the Eisen River into eastern Resinderholz. This is a major assault involving over ten thousand undead, including alchemical horrors, plague-ridden revenants, and twisted forest creatures. Fighting is already underway near Eisen, the Thunder Oak Orchard, and Rickon’s Tier. Reports suggest Danakka is using magical forest paths to flank Concordian positions, and signs of Blasserstreit plague have begun appearing across the region. The Fae of the Sableheart, once potential allies, remain silent, unwilling to act after being rebuffed at the last Summit.
Unless You Have Friends Among the Fishes - The War on the Waves
- Lerona Mere / Andash / The Foreign Service / The War Chamber
The world is a large place, its continents separated by miles upon miles of open ocean. It is no surprise that the Nations of such continents found a way to bring war to the empty nothingness above the waves. Fleets, vessels of war joined together in combined action and intent, wave their flags high and pray that they wave them higher than any other they meet on the seas.
Blood, flame and destruction often follow. It is the way of Nations to make war. To send their people, and those opposed, to meet their deaths beneath the soulless waves. The Concord is no stranger to this, and sends their people to die just the same.
The Ultimate Gift of the Mortal Sphere
- The Shardcircle
Arcane magic defines and binds The Concord together. The will of mages is felt in all realms and beyond, to ignore it would be folly. Be it the power to craft new enchanted items, to discover the mysteries of the Spheres, or to rain arcane cataclysm down upon those that offend them, all are available to the mages of The Concord.
Now is a time of change and growth within The Shardicircle, with new powers, and potentialities available to them. Although perhaps all threats are returning to make good on past deals.
To Save a Soul is to Risk a Life
- The Church
Faith, beyond any and all other concerns, is the foundation of The Concord. Were it not for a unified belief in the Divine Spheres, the blessings of those Spheres, and their continued presence in the lives of citizens, it is very possible that this fragile empire would have fractured already. Astute, or perhaps cynical priests, preach upon Cervitas’ grace for just this reason.
As 225 enters its warmer months, as the harshness of winter departs, it is the duty of priests of all Spheres, prominences, and beliefs to bring hope, strength, and determination to the people of The Concord. But such things are not always easy with the whims or mortals rarely so easily moulded.
Propositions of Possibilities
- Appraisals
Water and stone, life and industry. These things, often hand in hand, are the lifeblood of a civilization that seeks to maintain its existence, let alone grow ever larger. For the past Season Civil Service Appraisers and local experts in Bolsterlee, The Tribelands, and beyond put thought and experience together to ensure these tandem factors were kept at the forefront of thought. The goals were simple. To see waterways feeding the fresh life of the magical oasis into the dry city of Obregon, and to see defensive measures or fortifications put in place to protect the precious ore of Athermer’s Folly.
Ash, Blood, and the Six-Thorned Crown
- The Kingdom of Bordevar
Say what you will about the Bordevarians, they are strong, forthright and deeply dedicated to their last remaining piece of a once great Kingdom. Once the most surprising members of The Concord, Bordevarian steel has become the backbone of the War Chamber with its armies and heroes well regarded wherever they tread for their martial power if not their social deftness.
As 225 wanes, matters appear to be turning in Bordevar’s favour. No grand invasion of the undead is seen on the horizon, as so often has been the case. Their foes in the mountains remain dead in the ground, or missing upon the wing. Rather the challenges facing the Kingless Kingdom appear to rot from within. Strange illnesses, wayward fae, and prowling ghouls all present challenges in their own right. At the same time the Kingdom attempts to find a future path not beset by enemies or replete with compromises to their nature.
The Future is a Benevolent Black Hole
- Lerona Mere
Lerona Mere is the Concord’s beating heart of ambition; too sharp to be called soft power, too decadent to be called discipline. Its skyline may be stitched in gold, but the seams are red, and the stitchers are many. In Parliament, civility reigns. In the streets, the gutters sing with hunger, poetry, and quiet knives. And through it all, the city smiles.
Now, with spring looming, that smile tightens. The Parliament holds steady, but tension simmers behind party lines. Old power fractures, new names rise from dockside and hinterland alike. With frontier growth swelling in Mancante Terra, ghouls haunting Gafroza, and bloodshed of heresy in the Redbrick alleys, this is not a time for timidity.
Lerona Mere never truly fractures, it pirouettes through the storm, one hand clutching a wine glass and the other a dagger. The city leans forward, breath held. It remembers its promise: that from chaos, brilliance may yet be born.
Blood Is the Price of Water
- Andash
In Andash, life continues on as it has since the time of Grand Andash; full of joy and suffering in equal measure. The latter, fed by absence, drought, and a listless haze hovering over Tanebar South, sitting on one side of the scale, while the former manifests in an ally, once apart and now together, following through on their terms as The Concord have - in defence and blood.
It will be up to the Heroes of Andash and the wider Concord to decide how these scales will be balanced; whether the realm will be as lost in spirit as Nazafeza has been in reality, or whether they will rise as a phoenix from the ashes.
Peace Built on the Iron Anvil
- Iron Valley
Every realm has lost something, all of them have lost most of what they once had. But it could be said that the Iron Valley feels that sharpest. For them, they didn’t just lose their future, but their past as well. Those thousands of memories carved into stone markers, the lintels of family homes, and the beautiful carvings of the grand halls. All lost and unseen for more years than bears counting. As time has passed, there is a growing population of young folk who don’t know Anderslee or Brotherslee as more than ‘the place that your parents drink to when it gets dark out’.
But these young folk won’t have a future if their parents sit back and let the world pass them into dusty memory. The Valleyfolk have to defend the last pieces they have with one hand while striking while the iron is hot with the other. Which is precisely what they mean to do.
In the Lamplight of Hungry Eyes
- Greenweald Baronies
Winter in the Weald is thankfully less devastating than other regions. The heavy forest canopy and stout woods protect the region from harsh winds, storms, and the incredibly rare snowfall. Instead there is a cold in the very essence of the place, as if the freeze was less physical, and more spiritual. Like a soul-deep intake of breath that could go fall either way.
This past winter has been no different, with a multitude of threats arising or continuing the prowl. Amidst the chaos of the Shadowroot War there is still gold to be found, opportunities to push forward, opportunities to endure.
The Lost Parts of Us Are Judged All the Same
- Strange Happenings in The Concord
Across The Concord there is all manner of oddity and strangeness. Every season comes replete with new accusations of fae trickery or spies turned assassins. But much of this will come to nought. The harsh light of spring reveals most things to be the machinations of bored children, the rumour-mills of small towns, or simple misunderstandings.
But not everything.
In the quiet places there truly are strange happenings. Although what we will make of them remains to be seen.
The Highest and the Lowest
- Visitors to Passage
Passage at Summit time draws all sorts of people. While it is a little less of a shepherds den when the heroes are not present and has become a small township all its own, it still becomes a vastly different place twice a year when the great and good of The Concord join with the cruel and powerful to decide how the Concord will function. Outside of the leagues of porters, polishers, publicists, and publicans, there are a few individuals of note attending this summit.
White Flags Aloft Before War begins
- News from across the seas
Sailors in the meadhall at Jaalstead, Free Captains arguing over wine in the upper districts of Lerona Mere, Corsairs drinking liquor straight from the bottle next to their careened vessels on the coast of Mukarrem, all across The Concord these marine-souls share what they have seen. While it takes a decent bullshit artist to decipher truth from fiction, and hyperbole from whatever remains, it is essential that any Concordian that considers themselves ‘well-informed’ at least attempts to remain aware of what rumours pass for scuttlebutt these days.
The news from across the seas is hardly good, but thankfully very little of it appears to affect The Concord, at least directly. What follows within this Winds entry is valid information for any character who wanders the seas, who frequents dockside establishments, or at least wants to be informed of the goings on beyond the coasts of Southern Esterra.
The Wheels of Industry, The Stones of Truth
- Civil Service Report
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.
Tell me of Woes and Wins
- Autumn Summit Conflux Report
The Autumn Summit saw pathfinders and heroes alike busily utilising the unique portals of The Concord. Were it not for one or the other, these instances of important conflict or conundrum would never come to light, nor completion. Woes and wins once again walk hand in hand as the foes of The Concord, sometimes even the nature of Esterra itself, presents themselves as challenges to be overcome.
The results of last Summit’s Confluxes can be found within, roughly summarised.