Empire Winds of Speech

There’s a contentious old saying among some pilgrims that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome is the antithesis of Wisdom. Avigliana di Sarvos rejected this idea, writing that it was fundamentally impossible to do the same thing more than once simply because the world is not static. Regardless, even she grudgingly accepted that there was a grain of truth in the words, because those who refuse to learn from their mistakes all too easily become trapped in a cycle of failure.

The Golden Sun return to Therunin. It has been less than a year since they escaped the strangling traps of the Druj, their retreat purchased at great cost by the Iron Helms and Isaella's Dance. Since then they have chafed at the bit in Astolat, recovering from the terrible harm done them by the orcs of the Mallum. Now they are back, to fight again in Therunin, to take from the Druj the jewel they have claimed - and to stop the vallorn devouring what the Navarr fought for so long to cleanse.

At first the watchers on the cliffs of Visten believe it is a wave, a wall of water sweeping toward their shores; or perhaps a fogbank roused and motivated by powerful magic. Then the spyglasses of those in the towers reveal that it is neither. It is a forest of masts. An armada of Grendel ships. The alarm is raised, and as the news spreads quickly and the lights of the heliopticon flash their warning, the true scale of what is coming is made clear. All four Grendel navies are here - the Shamal, and the Simoom and the Tempest and the Golden Wind.

It was, perhaps, only a matter of time. And time, it seems, has run out; more than a year has passed since the Empire conquered Mareave but the Grendel, it seems, have neither forgotten nor forgiven. Coming up through the petrified forest of Ayereed, they launch a land offensive against Mareave. Four armies - the Brine Turtles, the Iron Gulls, the Naguerro (far from their former home in the Lasambrian hills), and the Storm Sharks. They come cautiously, carefully, testing the defences of the Unshackled before they commit themselves entirely.

The Jotun have conquered Bregasland. They hold the marshes and fens, and they have made the people who remain their thralls. A number of Bregas have fled east to Mitwold, but many more have stayed behind. They will not abandon their land, not to the orcs of the west. While some bow their heads to the Jotun yoke, there is no Mathilda Fisher here and no question of collaboration with the invaders. Others actively resist them, taking inspiration from the Strong Reeds and the Graywaters. Even those who seem to have surrendered remain as uncooperative as they can be without bringing the wrath of the Jotun on their heads.

The Tusks fight in the Mournwold, and the Burning Falcon beside them. Two armies to complete the liberation of the Mournwold from the Jotun. The only major forces that remain are those champions loyal to the dead Jarl Haakon, battling desperately from the keep of Farstrider’s Watch. It is not clear what they hope to achieve. The armies of the King and the Queen are engaged elsewhere. There seems to be no reinforcement coming. Perhaps they seek nothing more than an honourable death in battle, to secure themselves a place alongside their Jarl on the far side of the Howling Abyss. If that is what they want, then the Imperial armies will give it to them in spades.

Less than a year ago, the Archbishop of Capodomus Cathedral used a powerful sermon to call for action against the vallorn explicitly naming it as the greatest threat facing the Empire - one that demanded sacrifices are made to defeat it. All while the Empire continues to strain every sinew to bring down the Asavean Plenum and replace the power of their corrupt priesthood with the Virtue of the Way, even as they try to complete the Grand Inspiration of the Way.

Each season the Civil Service prepares a summary of the Empire's relationship with foreign nations, based on communications received from their ambassador, along with any useful intelligence gathered from other sources. While the Senate and the other houses of Imperial power may respond to these offers, it is important to note that it is the appropriate ambassador that the foreign power will expect to hear from. Their communication with the foreign power is the primary element that will determine the tenor of any response.

Emperor Vesna has used their power to address the Empire, sending a message to all Imperial citizens. As with other uses of this power, the civil service has ensured the message is heard by citizens across the Empire and beyond. It concerns the fight against the Druj, and calls on everyone to commit themselves to the destruction of that cruel nation to the east of the Empire.

Over the last three months, Imperial forces have engaged in military campaigns. Sometimes those engagements have been wide-ranging and dramatic, other times they have been more sedate. Where there has been dramatic action, or where there are opportunities, we've given a Wind of War its own page; other military actions are discussed here.

It is given to the six Imperial archmages that they might send a single plenipotentiary message to an eternal of their realm each season. In turn, the eternals are bound to respond, albeit in a way that suits them rather than the archmage. For some this will mean personal meetings, or congress with their chosen lieutenants. For others it will mean direct action, boons and banes offered and delivered, or chances to shape the mortal world so that it be more pleasing to their realm. Occasionally, they simply decline, but in so doing make their reasons plain. It is difficult to say with certainty what will arise from any given invitation to parley. It is unwise to assume that any eternal creature is tame, after all.

Over the past three months, events have taken place which are of significance to the Empire and may require a response from her champions. These are the winds of fortune, counterparts to the winds of war that detail the Empire's military campaigns. They lay out situations, and usually include things that characters can do to take advantage of opportunities or to resolve problems. In almost every case, they start with a piece of flavour text. This fiction helps introduce the wind of fortune, or draws out a particular theme or element. Often, it represents a viewpoint that one or more NPCs might have in-character. In all cases, these pieces are intended to help create an atmosphere and provide a little entertainment. Where they contain opinions, those are the opinions of the fictional people depicted - and where they contain information or rumours, the assumption is that the reader will create their own context for that information or gossip if they want to use it in character.

During the Autumn Equinox 386YE, Hazelelponi of the Shattered Tower asked the researchers at the Lepidean Library to investigate the life of the Emperor Ahraz and to "look further into the Auras and Courage surrounding Emperor Ahraz, so that knowledge gained may gird those who seek liberation, both tomorrow and in years to come". The request was linked to the ongoing attempts to liberate Asavea and the need to ensure that future attempts to free people were not affected by unsavoury auras.

The Military Council is the gathering of Imperial generals and admirals. Individually, the generals have responsibility for the orders given to the Imperial army under their command, while the admirals provide the orders for the navies. A general commands a single Imperial army, drawn from volunteers from their nation. Once a general is given their command, they have sole authority to order the army to move or attack as they choose. After each summit, the Civil Service quickly circulate the orders each general has given among Imperial citizens, allowing military unit captains to decide if they wish to commit their own force to support an army, and if so which army to support.

Downtime following the Summer Solstice will soon be open, allowing players to process their character's downtime choices. Not all resources allow a player to make a choice about how they operate between events, but we've provided information about new opportunities for fleet and military unit owners in particular as well as a reminder about existing opportunities created at earlier events.

There are six basic weapon categories in Empire. Any character can wield a dagger or a one‑handed weapon but they must purchase the Weapon Master skill to use anything larger. Weapon categories are also important for enchantments. One-handed spears, polearms, and pikes require you to use a set grip when fighting with the weapon. These grips are set for a combination of safety and play balance. You don’t have to carry the weapon like this when you are not fighting, but you must use the mandated grip throughout any fight where you use the weapon.

There is magic across the Empire. In the weavings of the cabalists. In the lore of the weavers. In the craft of the witches, and the arts of artisans. There is also magic in the world itself, serendipity and spirits, constellations and confluences, in the sky and in the salt. Some magic ripples out from the workings of orcs and humans, some rains from the heavens, some rises from the earth and stone.

There are creatures beyond the mortal world, the inhabitants of the six realms of magic. These realms are closer than they seem, and further away than can be imagined. Their inhabitants are fundamentally different to humans and orcs, to the people of the mortal world. They are larger than life, simple and complex in equal measure. They have goals inscrutable and obvious, and they seek to change the world to match their perception of what it should be. Dabbling and dealing, bargaining and negotiating, offering boons and threatening curses, giving and taking. It can be difficult to predict exactly where their gifts will lead.

There are six great powers in the known world, but also innumerable lesser powers. They do not have the power or influence to shake the world with a Pax Sarcophan, nor threaten international shipping with bounties and privateers. Yet they are no less important to those with whom they share a border, and for some at least, their ambitions are no less relevant to the Empire. Sometimes diplomatic relations require in-depth analysis; sometimes there is an opportunity to catch one's breath and let the drama move slowly towards the next crisis point.

The Free Folk, former slaves from the Asavean Archipelago, have been living quiet lives in Dawn since being accepted into the nation. Currently they are yeofolk, but a number are treading the path of the knight-errant as they work to prove their glory. On hearing of the death, and recognition, of Lady Eleanor Novarion whose tireless work as Lady of the Proffered Hand they count as being a major factor in their current settled lives, a number of the Free Folk set off for Anvil hopefully to ensure that the new exemplar receives all the recognition they believe she is due.