Onwards to the next batch of Winds!
This summary has the Half-Time Score, Questions of Virtue, Not a Drop to Drink, and A Glorious Victory Winds of Fortune
Half-time Score
This Wind of Fortune is about the ongoing competition between the league cities to see who can spend the most on building materials.
Currently, Temeschwar is in the lead with 120 wains of material used, followed by Holberg with 90, Sarvos with 47 and Tassato with 33. For a more in-depth break down of how many of each material has been used and whether they were for personal resource improvement or for great works and opportunities, check the Wind itself.
Temeschwar
Temeschwar has two opportunities to use building materials. One is to improve the roads to the mines near Temeschwar, it would require 50 wains of white granite, 50 wains of weirwood, cost 200 Crowns, and take six months to complete but at the end of that time the Mines of Temeschwar would be some of the finest in the Empire and every mine in the territory would share in a bounty of 1080 rings every season; every business in the territory would get a share of 50 random ingots of metal and the Custodian of the Assayer’s Guild would gain an additional two ranks to their ministry.
Also, there is the opportunity to build a sawmill to log the Vardstein Vale, this would require 40 wains of white granite, 20 wains of mithril, and 120 crowns and take six months to complete, but once finished, it would function as a great work, distributing a share of 40 measures of forest materials among the businesses of Temeschwar and creating an Imperial Title to oversee the operation that would benefit from a ministry allowing it to buy forest materials.
These opportunities would increase the amount brought in by taxation by 5 and 10 thrones respectively.
Holberg
Holberg could lend the Sandfishers the money with which to buy the building materials they require to make their own sawmills. Since they are in the territory of Holberg this would count to the Holberg total. The National Assembly needs to pass a mandate and have a volunteer to have the 50 thrones required in their inventory to give to the Sandfishers. This individual would then receive 351 rings a season (17 crowns, 11 rings, or 2 thrones, 1 crown, and 11 rings) for ten years.
This would give another 30 wains to the Holberg total and would ease the way to doing more building work on the Semmerlak.
Sarvos
There are several opportunities in Sarvos at the moment, two follies, a ministry that would be used to buy the schema of magical clothing from around the world.
And there is a major fortification opportunity that requires 130 white granite, 32 Thrones 4 crowns, one year to construct, but which has only received a handful of crowns.
Tassato
Tassato has the opportunity to build a massive statue that will bridge the river running through the city, it would take 75 white granite and take 3 months to build.
There is also the chance to rebuild the Sapphire Stair which were destroyed by the Jotun and which will take 30 wains, this will probably be further outlined in the winds of war relating to the Jotun attack.
Questions of Virtue
This wind of fortune is dealing mostly with the attack by the Jotun on the Brass Coast and what the immediate repercussions of that will be.
Dealing with the Jotun Bodies
First of all, is the question of what to do with all the Jotun bodies that have been left behind after the retaking of Fort Braydon. The Brass Coast Assembly must choose between following Jotun traditions (raising a great earthen mound to entomb the bodies), their own traditions (burning the bodies in a pyre), or just stripping the bodies and throwing them in a ditch somewhere.
Following Jotun traditions would show respect to the fallen, following their own traditions would show respect but the Jotun would likely have to have it explained to them to understand it as thus, and of course the last option is incredibly rude.
Highguard
There is an option for the Highguard National Assembly to pass a mandate that will swear to support the Freeborn from invasions in the future.
If this mandate is enacted, it will have three lingering effects. Until the start of the Summer Solstice 386YE, any Highborn army that fights in the Brass Coast, or in Feroz, will gain a flat bonus of one-tenth to defend or take territory. In addition, any Highborn military unit that fights in the Brass Coast of Feroz during this time will gain a +1 rank bonus to their effective strength.
There is a restriction here however; if the Highborn assembly urges the warriors of Highguard to support the Brass Coast, no similar statement of principle or mandate will create benefits to fight the enemies of the Empire until a year has passed, or even longer if the Highborn find a way to extend the effects of the mandate.
Tharim
The eternal Tharim has been very impressed by the Freeborn’s willingness to be enchanted with a winter ritual that made them bloodthirsty and cold. If the Freeborn agree then he could feast on the herb gardens and mana sites of the nation and would provide a group of warriors that add 1000 force to the Fire of the South. For mechanical reasons this would count as an enchantment.
To allow this he will need a Declaration of Concord in the Conclave.
Last season there was a bit of a political mistake in that his troops were expected to march beside summer heralds, if this happens again he will remove his armies from the Empire’s grasp, but the costs will continue.
Three Sisters
A bit of out of character house keeping here, just to remind everyone that the Freeborn brief has three tribes on purpose and that a fourth (or more) tribe will not be forthcoming any time soon. You can still question what it is that makes a founder so important, but you cannot build a new one.
Last of the Justicars
Last season an Asavaean navy attacked the Isle of Osseini and the town of Shantarim, killing all the Freeborn they could catch. This means that the collective of exorcists who lived there were all massacred and the only ones still surviving are the player characters. It will take a generation or more for the knowledge base to be regrown in the Brass Coast.
Rage of the Corsairs
In reaction to the above, the Corsairs are angry and want revenge. There are two opportunities that are available, to pick them the national assembly should pass one of the mandates that refer to them.
The first is to raid the coastal communities of Asavaea, it will create an adventure for any Freeborn fleet owner with the corsair archetype, found under the Independent action dropdown called Vengeance of the Corsairs. In place of its normal production, the fleet will produce 90 rings in luxury goods, 3 ingots of orichalcum, and 2 measures of iridescent gloaming, seized from the Asaveans, with a fleet that has been upgraded or enchanted receiving proportionately more.
The second is to attack a blockade the Asavaeans are forcing on the Sumaah, this will also create an adventure for corsairs, called Thwart the Blockade, which will allow a standard fleet to help attack the Asavean ships in Sumaah, and provide a standard fleet with 72 rings and 2 doses of liao from the grateful Sumaah. It will also show the Asaveans that the Freeborn stand with their allies among the Sumaah.
These mandates are in competition with each other.
Not a Drop to Drink
This Wind of Fortune is about the spooky goings on in Madruga, where strange human-like creatures that drain the water from anyone they catch roam in a blighted, desertified land.
The blight has been contained for now with 2 castings of Regrow the Land’s Heart, but this is difficult and expensive to cast. It would require 120 rings of ilium to be made permanent, which is seen as too expensive to be practical. The continual casting could also have negative effects on the rest of Madruga. However, if there is a season without a casting of the ritual then the magic of the blight may essentially explode outwards. Not only would the Great Grasses be lost, it is likely the desertification would spread across the entire territory – including to the populous city of Siroc, and the prosperous towns of Cazar, Qatar, and Trajadoz. It might even, potentially, stretch beyond Madruga.
Currently, if the ritual continues to be cast, the blight should stabilise around the Winter Solstice at the borders of the Great Grasses region. All the creatures will turn into Dry Patricians and become dormant as there is nothing to drain of water.
So what are people going to do about this? Well here are three conjunctions, let’s hope they are successful or else maybe some of those people whispering that this is the Empire’s downfall might be proven right?
Conjunctions
Saturday 17:45 – There seems to be a living person wandering around in the blight, the Champion of Loyalty is tasked with finding them and bringing them back to Anvil. They will most likely need a Cuckoo’s Egg to allow them to use the Sentinel Gate. There will probably be loads of Parched and at least one Dry Patrician there too, so people will have to be ready to confront them.
Saturday 18:15 – There are a trio of scholars who wish to travel to the regio in the centre of the Blight to conduct studies on it, the Grandmaster of the Unfettered Mind is responsible for choosing which of the scholars goes on this trip and how to best protect them while they do their research. There are only 25 slots available on the skirmish so the Grandmaster will have to choose carefully. The scholars will arrive at the hub at 17:45 to speak with their grandmaster.
Saturday 18:45 – There is a group of Dry Patricians and Parched Ones moving towards the powerful Winter Regio that has formed at the centre of the blight. The Senator for Madruga is in charge of stopping them from doing whatever it is that they want to do there. At least four Dry Patricians need to be killed to drive the horde off, they need to be killed through the casting of the Words of Ending ritual at a 20 magnitude. The Regio could also be destroyed through the use of the ritual Wind of Mundane Silence, but this is a magnitude 150 ritual.
Blighted Miasma – Anyone in a Blighted Miasma area is affected by a roleplaying effect: “You feel horrifically thirsty to the point that it is hard to focus on anything else” unless they have some way to overcome it
The miasma prevents anyone from benefiting from any potions anyone exposed to it who does not have the ability to overcome it. The easiest method to overcome the miasma is to receive an anointing, but particularly heroic individuals, or those in possession of certain enchantments or magic items will also be able to counteract the effect.
In addition, those of the draughir lineage, and those who have been enchanted to share their ability to gain sustenance from carrion do not suffer from this effect.
A Glorious Victory
This Wind of Fortune is about the repercussions of Dawn taking control of the Barrens last event.
So first off, everyone is really, really happy about this. The only people finding things to complain about are the Druj and the eternal Hayaak. The people of Dawn are having fetes and parties everywhere, the other not-Hayaak eternals are proud and happy, and there will probably be hundreds of children named after Tancred the General of the Hounds of Glory.
There are two mandates up to be debated, one encourages everyone to relax and make merry, while the other says the armies should push further on and destroy the Druj. They are in competition.
There is also the opportunity to rebuild the Towers of Dawn, either as a fortification or as some other commission type. To rebuild the fortification would cost, 60 wains of white granite, 15 thrones, and take nine months to complete.
The town of Dry Castle was also badly damaged by the Druj when they tore down the towers, there is the opportunity to rebuild the village and create a sinecure there. It would cost 20 wains of white granite, 20 wains of weirwood, 10 thrones and take two seasons to complete. There would be two titles created by this, the Knight of Dawnguard and the Reeve of Drycastle, and one would receive a Fireglass as regalia and receives two Skop’s Mead each season, and the other would receive 500 rings a season.
There are also some mandates in competition over how to settle the Barrens. One encourages people to rush in, another to be cautious, and another urges those who were driven out of the Barrens to return and to aid those who lived there during the rule of the Druj.
Rushing in will likely antagonise those who already live there, but the influx will increase the number of armies Dawn can support, while the costs for moving will be waived.
Being cautious will not give any of the above benefits but will not antagonise the locals, giving the Empire time to build better connections with them.
While the third mandate will encourage people who were driven out of the Barrens to return to their old homes, but also to build ties with the septs and groups who live in the Barrens.
Finally, for now the Barrens are too unknown for the usual opportunities to come about. But as people move in and get to know the place more should become available.
Conjunction
Saturday 23:00 – There is an opportunity for the people of Dawn to travel to a site in the Barrens where they can consecrate a shrine with True Liao, many ghosts have been seen congregating there and anyone with a Dawnish character who died fighting in the Barrens can dress as their ghostly form. Email into Profound Decisions for more information. This conjunction has some really interesting lore that I would recommend reading, it’s a bit too long for me to put here but if you are interested have a look.