Week 8 News

[OC Note: The uptime meeting for session 8 is being held within the Labyrinth, at a new staging ground for all explorers of its depths named Fort Hestina. It is easy for any Player Character to be guided through a teleportation circle to the Fort.]

The newly-captured Fort Hestina is already abuzz with activity as resources by the North and South are devoted to securing it for further exploration of the Labyrinth. Taken in battle by combined forces of the South, the 13th Legion as well as mercenaries from the Land of Endless Sky and Ezu warriors, Grand Duke Apeiron has welcomed all to contribute to this new stronghold.

Although travel via teleportation circle can make moving through the Labyrinth easier, this new staging ground is fortified, secure and provisioned as a fall-back location for exploring the depths.

Supreme Duke Meleion Kallianos was found dead in his tent near the front lines recently, with no sign of a wound upon his body. Later examination by imperial physicians revealed that he died from the failure of his heart.

Grand Duchess Amalina Kalliani was quickly withdrawn from the front in Altalyria to Thysera in response, and at the close of a month of mourning for her father was created Supreme Duchess. For now, she has returned to her armies in Altalyria, with Empress Ephrosia Kallianos taking charge of the armies previously led by her son.

Across the Land of Endless Sky, tribes are refusing the orders of the Imperial Court. Some claim that this is in opposition to the alliance with the South, others claim that it is a refusal to engage in the war. Regardless of the reason, Southern Empire and Endless Sky soldiers have been distributed to avoid an outbreak of violent rebellion. While the unrest remains mostly without violence, tensions are high.

With soldiers of the Southern Empire being withdrawn to aid in the Land of Endless Sky, and the sudden shock caused by the death of Meleion, the situation on the front lines has favoured the North over the past quarter. Substantial portions of Altalyria have been reconquered, with perhaps a tenth remaining meaningfully occupied by Southern forces.

Fort Primus erupted in a sort of stoic celebration of victory as the ever-offensive armies of statues withdrew from its plains. Likewise, The Collective sees a moment of respite, having not experienced any attacks from the angels and statues in three months. There, The peace was celebrated with a potluck party, though barricades on the tunnels remain up for now. Many grow quietly hopeful that this represents the end of the worst within the Labyrinth.

An unusual sight now greets those who travel towards the centre of Kythara. Upon a low hill, a strange sculpture is taking shape, seemingly of a pair of legs. The legs and feet are well-sculpted and detailed in what seems to be a white stone of some kind.

It is yet uncertain if the sculpture is finished or if the rest of the individual to be depicted might appear in the coming months. Locals are puzzled and the Word-Keepers have been unable to determine who is responsible.

We have been illuminated! From the fragments of the divine that permeate the world, a truer form of nature has been delivered to us. She is here to offer wisdom on all facets of life, and those who have met her know the awe of her visage. I speak of the winged spider, that who is one with nature. Consult her words, and be at peace.

Head Minister for Trade, Long-Qian Yanmao fired from his position due to corruption. Rumors are spreading that it has something to do with the marriage alliance between the Second Daughter Tai-An Aolin and Grand Duchess Amalina Kalliani. The Emperor, however, has not provided more detail besides that it was necessary to maintain the stability of the Land of Endless Sky.

The people of Ulane are thankful for their streets being safer, albeit more covered in salt, thanks to the intervention of a group of scholars and adventurers. Plants no longer rampage in the streets, and animals are not subjected to their parasitic ways. Greengrocers are able to sleep again at night and florists rejoice with a generous discount on all purchases.

Rumours abound regarding the legitimacy of House Gallianais in the Southern Empire. New research, seemingly presented at various universities and scholarly establishments across Thyslann, make bold and well-researched claims: that several centuries ago all legitimate descendants of Gallia, companion of First Empress Kallia, ended. A cadet branch of House Gallianais, located in the Polonia region of the Northern Empire, remain as the only direct descendants of Gallia.

And thus, with the death of Irina Gallianais, childless, the line was broken. My thorough investigation of Imperial, House, and Provincial records show no proof of any other descendants or lines.

— Vidina Ouri, author of the research, with supplemental material by Danto Petr

The embarrassment for House Gallianais is significant, especially with surviving descendants in the North. Every attempt to suppress this information has failed so far, but the scandal is far from played out.

After a two year hiatus, the mystery poet returns:

Can it be the soul,
so subjugated to the darkness
that it bows its burdened head away from the light
and drops, drifting into the depths of the vessel I made yours?
Press your fingers to my temple
and make me your dear child,
while I pledge under the duress of your affection
that I never will foresake you,
so now behind my eyes she watches
children carried from strife on the backs of weary parents,
left to strife and strive to make homes
when you can give them nothing.
She stirs as the wind whistles
the soldier's sleep-song screaming
past our ears in the night.
I press my fingers to her temple and beg for rest.
'My child', you say, palm outstreached and waiting
to recieve more than your fair share.
We swallow sorrow;
your crops have failed and there is nothing left to eat.
This foreign sadness pierces a cavity
where there aught to be a heart.
A hollow nation streches out before us:
people carved out by themselves, for duty.
A wildfire catches on the edges of my paper skeleton,
burning in an abscess you would have me ignore:
the wretched pain of a thousand foresaken,
such as you, in your high tower, cannot imagine.