The Prismatic Order hits the books.

We know that Azazel absorbed Fable, Ruin, and Legion. What we want to know, is what does this mean? How does this affect Azazel and how might be different? What strengths could he gain and what weaknesses might come along with it? Ultimately, he must be defeated. So do this, we need to understand who we are facing.

So, the Prismatic Order will comb through information. They will dust off old texts and seek understanding through whatever means inspires them. Maybe there's something out there, that will tell them more. As their own adventures takes them to different places, it gives them the opportunity to look everywhere.

Fortunato has a lot (a lot) of wild ideas, but this is not what they need right now. Where he can, he'll look for anything thematically relevant to intersections, archfiend absorption (gods, has this EVER happened??), reconfigurations in gods and their reflections, limits to absorptions, aaaanything. Where he can't, he'll have his old pal and assistant Ugarte collate. Certainly Ugarte should not be adventuring out in the woods. He's a purely urban fellow.

Time for the time-honored Aleksei tradition of figuring this out: hope that he luckily stumbles on the right tome. At least the Archive is more full these days, and even if this is an entirely unprecedented situation, maybe people have theorized? Or maybe there's records of this happening on a lower level (demon eating demon, etc.). Let's see if they can find it!

Faye has access to a lot of old records in the back rooms at the House of Questions. There are boxes of records from her father's time, as well as from Shreve's time. While mentions of Azazel might be excised, mention of the others may not be, particularly in accounts Inquisitors may have have had with those evil forces. As usual, it's often a matter of reading between the lines and trying to see what used to be there.

Research is something that Ann is good at. She will use her resources such as Inquisitor and Iron Guard to see if they have any information she might have missed in the old texts or if there are other ways to find the information that they seek.

Tikva will apply her inquisitorial skills to the problem and dig through all of Laric's weird-ass stuff in the old refectory and in his office while the others are prowling the archives. Surely between Vellicor's knowledge and the occultist texts and notes that have been accumulated over time they'll be able to sort out some kind of concrete plan for dealing with Azazel.

Keely can read! But everyone else has that covered, so she will use her social skills to schmooze and charm whichever scholars, Inquisitors, librarians, etc. that might hold the key to finding what team Prism is looking for.

While Khanne meditates, searching for answers in her soul's memories a bit related to these very questions (Action 4942), she also will seek more information on Azazel. Has this happened before? How did it 'change the game'? What tools were in place to defeat him? Are there weaknesses we have not yet discovered? Were there plans in place to defeat or stop him? She'll try to see if the parts of her soul that Ylaria's memories reside in can provide any information that might be able to help her.

It's a start. Azazel has the power of a dark god now, but even at his full strength, Baalphrigor was defeated in battle and driven into slumber then sealed. Through research, they are able to discover a few useful strands that might have value. Or might not. But it's something to start. Something to work with.

In order to pass through the Thinnest Point into the Shining Realms, a being needs to take physical form and coalesce into a manifestation to pass. The Thinnest Point is large, perhaps twice as large as a man, but something needs to physically pass through- it cannot do so in an insubstantial state, for reasons related to the way souls pass through death. So if Azazel intends to enter, he must become small enough to do so, and be able to be physically attacked before he passes.

The combined forces of much of the world was able to bring Baalphrigor low, and every indication was the Archfiend of Tyranny physically manifested on the world was significantly mightier than most of the other archfiends combined. This is intensely problematic if he should arrive, but it does mean that if Azazel is in physical form, he could potentially be defeated by enough raw force.

Azazel was brought into existence, amplified really, due to a working by Pyrite, the Great Seal, who some know as Aldwin the forch Archscholar of Vellichor. Pyrite had the magic that led to his creation, perhaps he could unmake it, if he met Azazel in person. And perhaps, though a grim thought, his death could serve to unmake Azazel. Though considering the great seal's death would almost certainly release Baalphrigor, that might not be very helpful. If his death does unmake Azazel, Azazel is likely unaware of it or does not believe it to be the case.

It's not much to go on. Much of the answers about Azazel and his original construction would be with an old man in Eurus, who currently has the Dune Emperor and Prophet of the Sands trying to kill him. It's thin, but it's there.

The reemergence of magic in Arvum doesn't just spell trouble; it also opens up opportunity. And with Prism discovered to be suffering from poison, hopefully this newly emerging freedom will provide them more room discovering a cure. And so Aleksei is going to ask whoever might willing and able to help in exploring possible routes to helping Prism. He knows that she's suffering from a poison related to Legion, based on the skittering he saw inside of her. He knows that Triscali, one of Prism's past lives that she split off from herself several years ago, was bitten by a centipede at the battle at Sungreet. And he knows that Triscali is now acting a bit...erratic.

Aleksei has an IDEA, which is related to the events that took place the night of the Eclipse of Mirrors: if a number of people choosing with all their hearts to sacrifice a dream could help to divert disaster with Destiny's awakening, could a similar logic be applied to a rite to cleanse Prism of Legion? Choices, after all, are the antithesis of Legion's power. Aleksei is going to be doing whatever he can think of to investigate and explore the basic premise, particularly now that he's crossed another threshold with magic and has a LITTLE more ability under his belt.

Fortunato is here to dig, obsessively, in the archives. To seek inspiration through sitting in odd places. To cross-reference, cross-dream, situate and re-situate. He's relying on as much intuition as old texts.

As Khanne travels in the Northlands for other purposes, she is speaking to many people, visiting many towns and tribes. She takes this as an opportunity to expand their research. Perhaps the Northlands histories will hold some information on the Poison of Legion... ways to help cleanse Prism of his presence. She's had some luck in the apst finding truths in tales and songs of old, perhaps she will be lucky this time as well.

Faye concentrates her energy on considering the black roses their group collected some time ago and they have been cultivating. She visits the greenhouse where they are growing, gently pruning them to promote health and growth, removing dead leaves and such, keeping them company. And sometimes she just listens to them, sitting with them and meditating. Considering their connection to Triscali, they may have some link or key their group can use. And as she meditates, she draws a mandala in simple pen and ink. The drawing is a circle of twisting vines and blooms, something like automatic writing, adding closer detail as she goes, where she will see what has developed in the end.

Tikva is a pretty good investigator at this point and carries the full weight of a senior inquisitor as well as her balalaika and her spellsinging chops. The archive is a good source, but so are the stranger resources held in the old refectory, and as far as finding a dream to spend, she is sure she can come up with something, individual and distinct but in concert towards that same goal. She will also provide musical accompaniment to help people on focus. I hear classical strains can help with this.

Denica is not a words person, but she's really good with pictures. She will see if there's any answers in art. She will hit the archives, galleries, anywhere she can find old art, diagrams, symbols, charts and the like. Talking to people to see if they've seen anything that might provide some insight and guidance.

Ann is really good at finding out things that others might have missed. She is willing to help in this investigation in hopes of finding the answers to perhaps cure Prism from their suffering. Her magic skills are min so she can at least do background work for others if needed so others could use their strengths in that way.

It takes a great deal of effort, but they *think* they have a ritual that will work. Aleksei's idea seems to have precisely the right resonance, though it is a certainty that it will have to be used with Triscali present, and attempting to find sacrifices that resonante with aspects of her personality and reign, that have meaning to her and remind her of the parts of her life when freedom was not a burden, and why her soul embraced it. It puts Triscali (and Prism) at great risk, and if the ritual goes badly, it could potentially empower Legion to act- while preventing Skald from acting in return, which would herald doom. But inaction carries more than its share of risks, so they think they can try.

Riagnon lost his turtle, Responsibility. He's assembling a team of the most talented minds, swords, and bows in all of Arx to solve this mystery!

"Hello, my name is Responsibility. I'm a Crownlands hardshell turtle and this... is my story..."

So begins the 8 1/2 page mission briefing and summary distributed to all those involved in the rescue of Responsibility, the reckless turtle.

In addition to detailing the animal's day-to-day at the Acheron's residence in Arx (life on the Grand Shellington Estate, the turtle-sized castle where the noble turtles of House Acheron reside; relaxing by the turtle pond in Acheron's 'Glacial Grove' courtyard garden; drinking at Spirits in the Redrain Ward; the occasional appearance in the entirely mirror-lined locked closet located off of Mydas's former quarters), the documents also include a few wildly inaccurate factoids about turtles as a species. For example, it claims that one can determine the gender of a turtle via smell according to Marquessa Rhea. It also suggests that as turtles age and grow, they abandon the shells of their youth for newer, larger ones found out in nature. A very vulnerable time for any turtle! Who put these two in charge of a place? Oh, right! No one.

Dame Esoka Greenblood, Gloria's Sword, former wielder of the Twain of Riven, Disciple Leader of the Templars, and prodigal knight of acclimated esteem, will use all her questing powers to find Responsibility, the reckless turtle. She will utilize her knowledge of turtle habitat and habits gained as a girl in the riverlands. She will ignore the factual inaccuracies in Lord Riagnon's instrutions (bless his heart) and tell the people she meets in her search accurate things about turtles. She figures he found a place under the ice to wait out the winter and will check frozen-over ponds and garden arrangements in the Redrain Ward. She prays to Petrichor that nobody ate him. That'd be a tragic end to their noble quest.

"Riagnon, none of these turtle facts are true!"

Eleanor, the (RESPONSIBLE) owner of all of the other residents of the Grand Shellington Estate, is aiding in the search for the missing turtle. This largely consists of two things:
1. armed with strawberries and every turtle fact she knows, Eleanor will try and marshal the other turtle-hunters into some sort of organized turtle-hunting force. They will look in the pond, they will take a census of the Grand Shellington Estate, they will check the spoopy mirror room, they will (carefully) look underneath any old towels or discarded laundry. They will otherwise listen to Eleanor's wise and excellent turtle-hunting leadership.
2. shouting at Riagnon about his incorrect turtle facts.

As Rhea's protege, part of Calaudrin's job is giving Riagnon non-terrible advice. He'll try to manage that this time, when he's not combing the streets, looking in sewers, checking puddles, ponds and reflecting pools for the turtle. He also asks numerous tavern owners if they've been serving TURTLE STEW recently. They better not be.

Tikva is vehemently ready to go on this great turtle hunt. She blithely discards all of Riagnon's advice when it comes to searching for turtles, but spends her time examining the parks and outdoor areas of the Redrain Ward, and a little in the Crown ward, and a little just like... you know, around. It's like a scavenger hunt.

Umbroise really doesn't know what's up with this turtle business, but she'll help her cousin out and see what she can find. She'll first check her own rooms, to make sure the turtle isn't hiding there! And then she'll use her charm and manipulative skills on the Household staff to see if she can root out anyone who may have seen the little bugger... er... turtle.

All of Austen's knowledge about turtles comes from Riagnon. This is concerning.

As is the fact that he's trying to avoid Eleanor every time the subject of turtles come up. Which is difficult to do when you're working together to search for a turtle.

Mostly, to help find Riagnon's missing Responsibility, he's trying to figure out what he would do if he were a turtle. This mostly involves making maps of the Acheron residence and moving a little turtle figurine around it.

When outsiders fight over our souls, when the beast below us threatens to engulf us. When the days turn darkest. We must band together. We must show strength. We must

Find this damn turtle. Jeffeth doesn't have a lot of turtle tracking experience. Though he has found a couple on accident, and he is hoping that real world training will apply to this situation. Like most things Jeffeth really wants to apply himself to, he'll just do it doggedly. Tiredly searching probably the same place ten times over. But he doesn't have any quit in him. So he'll keep a searchin'.

Rhea, who has gotten just-- really, really great at this leadership thing, trust her, she'd give herself an A+, is going to give a rousing speech to the would-be turtle questers. She will be sure to ensure these valiant heroes that they will have all the thoughts and prayers they need to succeed in saving Riagnon's failed -- she means lost, sorry, -- Responsibility. Also? PLENTY of turtle facts (likely to be fact-checked on the spot by Eleanor, but whatever). Finally, she will offer a mysterious REWARD to the one who does, in fact, find Responsibility.

Jasher probably wishes he brought some rum, now.
Sufficiently moved by Riagnon's eight and a half pages of briefing and summary regarding Responsibility, Jasher will join the others in searching for the lost turtle. While his knowledge starts and stops at what Eleanor can tell when she's not shouting at Riagnon, he can combine what little he knows with good old logical thinking to map out where he would go if he was a normal wayward turtle. Come the Abyss or high water, he's not leaving a rock unturned.

In the Grand Shellington Estate, missing turtles are among the most serious events. The men and women who search for them comprise an elite turtle task force. This is their story.

The staff has the 8 1/2 page document in hand about turtles, though even as Riagnon is beaming about his amazing presentation, Eleanor is already marking through lines and correcting the wildly inaccurate factoids to anyone who will listen - which is mostly Rhea, who is being extremely indulgent as is her wont, and Austen, who has a look of long-suffering on his face - or perhaps he's just anticipating suffering a long time. Eleanor is gesturing with strawberries and handing them out to everyone as she continues her educational conversation.

Esoka searches the pond, her lips moving in a prayer to Petrichor that said turtle is not frozen under the ice, or stolen, or.. or eaten. Turtle soup is a delicacy in some parts. Some parts other than here of course. Nothing so awful would be cooked here - and Esoka finds no sign of Responsibility.

Calaudrin takes the show on the road, looking in streets and sewers and pubs and taverns. If Responsbility is taking the day off, he reasons, wouldn't he want to get drunk? But if the turtle isn't going to get drunk, well - this ale won't drink itself and Calaudrin does an extremely thorough job of investigation, and seems happy enough to do it.

Jeffeth is enthusiastic, to say the least. Enthusiastic, but not terribly effective. He goes through the house calling for Responsibility, and he sounds Very Serious when he does, but Responsibility does not show up.

Tikva, having watched all this for a while, is suddenly nowhere to be found.

Jasher, pleased with what he keeps calling a so-shell outing, joins Umbroise in the search, and the spiders - yes, even in a well-kept estate like theirs spiders do dwell - start to swarm. And they start to lead the way to a room... Casimir's room, as it happens, and there's a scratching on the door.

Responsibility! Found at last, for some reason in Casimir's room, and safe - if a little hungry. And just as Riagnon is happily reunited with Responsibility, Tikva bursts through the door waving a very surprised turtle that looks -just- like Responsibility. "I found him!"

Success!

Some time ago the idea of improving County Pearlspire's infrastructure was seeded. The idea began as a military effort, improving roads to improve troop movements. Which would improve trade. And like the bit of grit that eventually becomes a pearl, the idea has grown and taken shape. And grown some more. Inspired by Lord Michael Bisland, the success of the Empyrean trade route, and encouraged by Marquessa Deepwood, Lord Kaldur has begun shepherding a massive infrastructure project - an overland analog to the Empyrean Route that will set a series of trade roads through Grayson's principalities and farther. /From Stormwall to Ostria and beyond!/ says young Kaldur, with emphasis on 'and beyond.'

When the planning is done and construction begins in earnest, Lord Kaldur is a man who prefers to lead from the front when he can. In County Pearlspire he will work tirelessly alongside the men and women (and horses!) of the Seliki Engineering Corps as they plan and execute the work laid before them. He is a steadying presence with encouragement and focus at setbacks and ready with praise for work well done.

(OOC: Recommended support is 100-200 resources for Baronies and Counties, 200-500 resources for Marches and Duchies; but any and all support is welcome)

As work proceeds all over the Compact, who knows what will be discovered!!

Lady Peri Seliki has a strong relationship with the prominent traders that already flock to Pearlspire's shores and has reached out to those that she tipped off previously to some lucrative opportunities on lumber. She gathers information from them on where the best routes would benefit from roads to add to her brother's efforts and arranges for them to get the word out to others, both to fulfill the gap in transporting materials to the workers and in preparation for the new network.

Considering that some adult supervision will be required, Kalani would be happy to go along and serve as a stand-in for said-adults. Chiefly, if anyone is going to build anything, someone is bound to get hurt in the process. It's a natural outcome of people + tools = broken body parts.

Samantha is wholeheartedly invested in this notion, especially with Old Oak (presumably) being one of the stop points on the road. She'll invest resources into its creation, and encourage the hiring of the March's population for all levels of its creation. She will also look into facilitating the formation of security for the road, and aid in the diplomactic and economic efforts surrounded projecting its cost to create and projection of its maintenance.

As a purveyor of stone, particularly granite and marble, Grazia is going to have stone shipped to the Selikis for Pearlspine. Some of the stone will be used for the very roads it is to be transferred along, but the bulk of it will be sailed along the coast to the actual port city to be used to build the harbor. This is an important trading endeavor, and Grazia expects that due to the long-term nature of the project that it will offer a nice economic boost for her quarries.

Aviaron's Peak rests atop a MOUNTAIN, which means its architects and workers have experience working in... the MOUNTAINS. So Rhea will consult with her stewards to put together a crew of advisors and workers to help with Kaldur's project, lending them valuable experience. Aviaron's Peak will also provide any necessary metal for the project at a discount.

As stewards and protectors on the roads of Arvum, and as followers of Gild who favors trade, civilization and hospitality, the Knights of Solace lend their aid to the project with the promise that it will feature a few Solace waystations and shrines for pilgrimage. Thena offers the Solace soldiers stationed near the proposed route for protection and manpower. She also sends resources and silver for the project. Once complete, the route will be added to the Knights of Solace regular coverage.

Ann believes in Kaldur's efforts for a trade route and signs Stormwall up, understanding that he needs support in many ways to see success in the long run.
*She puts her economic mind to use, saving Kaldur where she can and maximizing profits.
*Pours over paperwork with him to make sure no one is pulling a fast one on him.
*Assigns Crovane's reserves to patrol the route inside Crovane lands.
*Uses her Inquisitorial contacts to make sure no one is sharing the details of the road to those outside of the Compact for their own benefit.

Michael Bisland rounds up maps and engineers who know how to READ said maps to help a vassal in need. Or in want. Since Kaldur doesn't /need/ these roads but he sure does love to talk about it. So much. Just constantly. Leave me alone, I helped!

Grady is following Samantha's lead here, helping smooth the way for increased security and infrastructure between Pearlspire and Old Oak, ideally helping both domains grow stronger and more secure. He talks to people, he negotiates, he encourages the soldiers, and he keeps a careful eye out for any rising arguments, moving to help quell those as swiftly as possible.

Gabriel Bisland is encouraged by the younger generation's drive to see the Compact reach new heights. He adds the weight of the mighty House Bisland to the project. Not only to fund the improvement (or new construction of) roads in Pridehall, but so that the project over all might avoid the danger of dipping into the red.

Giulio will assist in helping those that wish it in building a uniform code / set of agreements to make the best money they can on this.

Stonewood is no stranger to road building, having recently refurbished the road to Pridehall that helped put them on the map. What's not on the map, however, is a great way to cross the river at Stonehearth. So in coordination with this network of roads, Malesh will oversee the creation of a bridge or ferry (whichever is more practical/profitable) crossing the Gray River not far from the docks at Stonehearth.

Recognizing the opportunities for trade and also for his house, Fecundo is lending his diplomatic skills to getting the project moving, working through any of the lands where the road is planned to go. It also doesn't hurt that he'll be able to point to the quality of output from the Gemecitta stone.

Etienne has a vested interest in the pursuit of the expansion of civilization, trade, commerce, and the cause of safe journeys. All of which are accomplished by a well funded and functional transportation system. Etienne will be contributing silver generously provided by the Faith as well as speaking well of the endeavor whenever possible to those that need help convincing. Etienne would indicates the funds are for the builders, and those that support them, soldiers, cooks, and the like. Etienne would also be on hand for cutting any ribbons with hilariously large scissors.

Eddard uses all of his wiles and charm to help speed along permits and coax constructions crews to take on the needed jobs. If Duskshire ends up on the new set of roads, thats not so bad, eh?

Lord Bedivere Whitehawk will be acting on behalf of his dear newphew (Baron Silas Whitehawk) to lead forth Whitehawk soldiers to help out on the road project for Lord Kaldur Seliki. Bedivere himself will be out there as a managerial force to help out every day.
He seeks the help of huntsmen and cartographers in the area to help map the road around mountainous and hilly terrain to connect agricultural communities.
Since gravel and paving is time-consuming and expensive, wood is used in these instances to limit excessive sliding on the steeper side of a hill.
Whitehawk soldiers are deployed to help with security and digging where soil is already worn away, close to the bedrock, so muck will be less of a concern.

While the Volkov Woods is one of the newer areas of the map, and that they may not come anywhere near the proposed current trade route - Ruslan is hopeful that someday, when the trade route starts to create the terciary routes, that the Volkov Woods would be part of this future. As such, he has created a small patrol of 150 troops to be sent to provide security and protection for the crews along the route.

Lady Rey Laveer, as Voice of Laveer and a Mercy has decided that roads are more than needed to connect trade routes, but as a side not would be good for movement of healers to farther reaches of Arx. And has offered her House's support as well as her personal support to the Roads Project.

Given the Twainfort's traditional seat as a trading hub due to its control of the fork of the Mother in the Daughter and Son Rivers, it's simply good sense to see that more and more overland routes from far-flung, land-locked Houses can reach Riven's ports and speed the passage of their goods along its way. Mia will work with a number of her advisors, particularly those most familiar with the landscape and locations throughout her County, and those recently joined Prodigals from surrounding areas of the Gray Forest to find the appropriate blend of transversible but also defensible routes through the woodlands.

In her role as minister of upkeep to Inverno, Mirella will be working on behalf of the house to aid Lord Kaldur's project. Alongside advisors from house Inverno she'll be investigating the safest and most convenient routes for roads to the island city of Caina and any surrounding settlements, as well as figuring out required costs prior to these roads being built. She'll share this research with the Seliki Engineering Corps and assist them in any way that's helpful and beneficial to Inverno and Seliki. She'll also be donating 100 economic resources to the project, representing Inverno's ministry of income rising to the task to provide funds.

Though their home is an out-of-the-way island, the Truesworn are often keen to participate in the broader life of the Compact. A grand project to improve the infrastructure of the coastal trade routes evidently meets with the Truespeaker's approval. Sudara duly brings to bear all the Setarcan know-how and book-learning she can muster, in guiding her people through work to develop Esterhold's internal structure and develop its external trade.

Tenebrae, a warrior above all things, will help in this endeavor by both allocating and commanding soldiers to protect the works, as well as using soldiers as workers on the Isle of Esterhold. They will be learning from the engineers as much as possible, while also ensuring no resources go missing, and protecting lives. This protection also applies to guarding the sea lanes to ensure the transport of resources, skilled craftsmen, and the money to pay them.

The Marquessa of Nilanza is happy to supply as much as we can of the materials and labor required for the stretch of road to be built across the march, if the engineers to see it through can be provided by other means. Then we, House Malespero, can contribute both economic and social resources to the effort, and to all upkeep.

Belladonna has received an invitation to take part on Kaldur's new efforts to build a more cohesive network of roads for commerce. She will be seizing that opportunity and trying to convince other lords, traders, merchants, crafters, etc, to join in with some of their own resources, thus investing much of her Social pull into this. She wants to make Setarco, the whole island, a place of culture and wealth. She will know places to avoid and where the roads should go through.

Lord Sebastian Pravus will be visiting Setarco during January of 1010 as part of some other work. While there, he will talk with local contacts to get an understanding of the breadth and scope of work needed to build roads on the island, as well as the best ideas for placement to assist the engineering corp. Additionally, he will assist the project by spruiking the benefits of a well-built trade road far and wide with his many contacts in Arx and especially within the Pravus lands to drum up additional support and interest in the project and its potential benefits to the local economy.

Following her sister's lead, Celeste is offering her expertise in terms of patrol schedules, strategic importance to areas, most likely to be ambushed here... that kind of thing. She'll further take effort to extol the virtues of this project to important and influential figures in Arx and Setarco.

Mikani helps Kaldur understand the unique location that is Redreef. She gathers funds and encourages the infrastructure project through out her Barony. Mikani addes in economic resources to help with the building of the roads and other paths knowing that anything can be useful.

Baroness Skye Blackshore is a founder of the Empyrean Trade Route. She provides all the mappings where the ships will stop along the way, providing recommendations for fortifications so that goods can be transfered from the ships to the land. Then she will using her mapping skills and knowledge of war to figure out potential ambush points and provide that to people who are going to managing security of this route. She will also use her economic skills to assist Duchess Ann with negotiating better building rates, using her woodworking and infrastructure talents to make sure they get the necessary supplies for building without spending to much.

Dycard is going to help out with the persuading of people that this is a good idea and one that should be supported. After all, roads help farmers get their produce to market as well as letting military forces travel much faster, and that has to be to everyone's benefit come tax-time, right?

Tyde lands are connected both by more traditional roads on Tyde Isle, but more often by more watery roads. Increased trade is good by land, but with goods arriving all the time and boats being a bit more infrequent but with larger cargo capacity than a cart, it is important that there are places to store the goods and efficient places to load and offload. As part of Kaldur's efforts, and to connect this large Grayson road network to the Empyrean and the Isles, Tyde makes land and resource available for the construction of proper warehousing and expanded stone piers to allow for efficient offloading, and offer this same expertise to help build them on the Grayson shores.

Mirk had planned something similar himself, so there's no hesitation when he's offered the chance to connect Whitehold and Cascade Springs to this planned network of roads. As the Minister of Coin for the Halfshavs, he brings some of his House's resources to the table: chiefly stone for the main roads, but also access to scouts with experience finding routes through the mountains. He acts mostly as a diplomat and negotiator, working with others to see to it that those resources are used where they'd be most effective.

Magnus will participate by guiding and assisting in the direction and protection of the roads approach to the Bonespire and surrounding winter wasteland. Utilizing his tactical and martial aptitude he will make himself available to personally advise on any potential known threats or Shav'arvani bands in the area's which they pass through as well as coordinate the protection of all participants with other collaborative members of the team, to include the usage of a detachment of assigned Bone Warden's.

With the building and improving of roads into the far reaches of the Compact, some things might be discovered-- or rediscovered that are best left alone or need a Shaman's expertise to navigate. Volcica will be lending all of her skills to this effort, making sure the spirits remain content in Stahlben's lands and as far out as she can help.

House Ravenseye will happily do their part to be included in a road project to try and make their remote area a little more accessible. Cadern will be sending out missives to Ravenseye and some of their neighbors to avoid any ruffled feathers and ensure things get handled amenably for the usually isolated northerners.

As Voice of Steelhart, Col will invite the trade road to Highhill and provide some military support and strategy as needed to ensure everything is kept safe.

Believing this to be a good endeavor for his house (roads are great for horses), Count Philippe signs up for the project. Alongside his officials, they lay the foundation for dirt paths, making sure to disturb as little as possible of their natural resources by routing the road system through ground that has already been used. Philippe is adamant about raising ranger stations for the Knights of Solace on these roads.

The Rivenshari know other roads, those of the water ways that move through the lands. Which is not a bad thing, they can use that knowledge to help intergrate the two road ways together as well as the roads that will run through Riva. Eshra puts her best minds to this, with the Knights of Solace already having a barracks in Riva and the trade routes that have already been established.

Sasha is gather up 500 economic writs, 500 social writs, and 500 military writs for the roads coming through Giant's Reach. She is also offering to aid with the spreading of the good word of the trade route.

As Marquis of one of the more remote holdings, Gaston is thrilled at the prospect of expanding the Roads and making Cloudspine more accessible. Aside from lending Blackram's political support for the effort, Gaston will also dedicate silver, and military resources to help protect the engineers as they work through expanding into the wilder parts of Arvum.

Cullen will work with his brother-in-law, Lord Alessandro, to make sure that the section of the road that will link Greenhaven to the network (by running along the south bank of the river and establishing a ferry system just west of the fork, ideally with the aid of Rivenshari river captain expertise) will be well-defended during its construction. He will take personal command of a troop of light cavalry and archers. He will also inform any other soldiers, including the engineers, where the safest - and most dangerous - places in the area lie, and how best to fight in the region.

As Minister of Upkeep for Greenmarch, Alessandro is eager to collaborate on a project such as Lord Kaldur has put forth. He will work with the Seliki engineering corps, as well as all other engineers who are assisting, to devise the best route through Greenmarch lands for the roads, perhaps partly running near the river as suggested by his brother-in-law, Lord Cullen, for easier trade with those houses such as Rivenshari and others who are at the forefront of maritime trade. He will also assist with bookkeeping, allocations of funds if necessary, and various economic portions of the endeavor, should it be needed.

The Voice of House Lyonesse takes a personal hand in the great roadworks project, enthusiastic for the potential of growth it can bring to Lyonesse lands and its people. Lady Jenessa temporarily returns to Lyon's Redoubt to assist, providing insight into the geography of the area as well as the best routes for travel. Not only does she oversee the exchange of lumber for proper stones for the road surface, she also plots out the route itself with the Seliki engineers and Lord Kaldur. Furthermore, the Lyonesse offers use of what sailworthy ships they possess to expedite the transport of building materials up and down the river to the surrounding holdings of those involved. Not only is time spent and investments made, but Jenessa further encourages the locals of Lyon's Redoubt to make the experience a memorable one for the visiting engineers and Lord Kaldur himself, throwing a modest but personal banquet for the guests of House Lyonesse and all the workers who put in time and labor.

Reigna had been planning on building roads throughout Oakhaven to stimulate trade and facilitate troop movements throughout the March. Kaldur's plans dovetail perfectly into this plan, and she shifts her focus from just Oakhaven to the surrounding areas as well. She will be contributing resources from wood and stone, to engineers and laborers to help with the construction.

Olivia will draft a plan for House Ashford's particiaption, along with providing some necessary material support. Given her area of expertise, she will prioritize roads in Ashford territory to provide good access to typical regions of agricultural surplus so that these products can be moved to market more quickly without risk of spoilage.

Lilia Telmar offers maps and recommendations for routes through the Temarch, with particular diligence paid to their placement in respect to pre-existing towns and trading routes. She's trying to find that sweet spot between maximum efficiency in road construction and minimum disruption to the people of the land, who might like to use the roads but who don't want to give up their lands. She's tagged a particular river crossing for the establishment of a new bridge, and indicated that it is likely to become the site of a thriving inn catering to travelers.

In an effort to bring more interesting people to Acorn Hill, and support the travel development plan, Tessa is personally funding the construction of an inn in the town of Acorn Hill, with stables enough for larger groups of merchants, mercenaries and travellers that may be passing through. The Golden Dame, as the inn is called, also keeps a very comfortable room always open and free of charge to any musicians or entertainers that are willing to perform for their supper so to speak. The HOPE is that this will make the stays for every one more pleasent.

Kritr will put people working towards a road in the land he controls to link it with the rest of the road system and accept whatever help of engineers is offered.

House Grayson will be taking advantage of the economy of scale of the overall effort to acquire the supplies to improve the existing roads surrounding Bastion and Arx at favorable rates, with an eye to planning linkages for future expansion to the ducal territories of the Crownlands.

Saikland Greens is a small area but a link and a junction along the path between areas to the north and Iasu to the west and Ostria to the south should the route extend that far. The route, if it succeeds, is an opportunity for networking with other houses and fealities, for enhanced trade opportunities. The mappers, guards and engineers provided by Lord Kaldur to begin the initial planning and feasibility of the route are welcomed and she accompanies them during one of her trips to Saikland to make sure they find places that do not disturb the farming and vineyard, existing businesses, have resting points with water, camping areas, spots near villages and military posts for protection and provisions. They plan out areas to avoid such as difficult stream fords, the small bog to the south that moving inland a bit can circle. Lucita adds some of her military forces to the group as they look over the areas to the south and north and around the perimeter of Saikland, careful not to intrude into Fidante Holdings but to see the locations and condition of any existing routes and trails, help secure the areas within and adjacent to Saikland and the number and location of any abandoned groups along the way. Her charm and propaganda skills can sooth the way and help persuade some to join the compact rather than resist and prey upon the merchants using such a trade route. Once areas are secured, she will assess to see if improvements to her docks becomes necessary.

Sabella is well aware of the issues that might come up with this road and so she is ready to be on hand to talk it up to anyone and everyone that wants to listen. And even those that don't want to listen, painting a picture for people of the Compact of safe, faster travel and trade, and trying to pitch it to the Shavs that instead of having Compact people traipsing their way everywhere through their lands this will keep them all in one place and hey, they can set up stalls to sell them products along the way and everybody wins! Yay roads!

Tikva thinks this is a terrible idea. She has been repeatedly insistent that it is a terrible idea whenever it has come up. However, a number of her vassals are insisting on involving themselves in it anyway, and despite her best efforts to persuade him and others otherwise, the help of House Grayson has been sought. It is not in her to refuse what aid she can offer in order to defray some of the hazards that she perceives in creating a massive overland trade route through lands that are not held by the Compact. She does what she can to ensure that any workers are actively protected by soldiery, that there are relay stations set up along the route that she believes to be an ultimately doomed project so that messages and emergency cries for help when the raiding parties come can help protect them. Tikva does not anticipate that her efforts will be able to prevent anything from ending in disaster, loss of life and potential deep economic distress for those houses embarking on an ill-advised venture, but at least if she does something to try to stave off some of the worst, maybe she can mitigate the damage to people who insist on failing to follow her good advice.

Niklas will mostly make jokes about how they should extend the road to Stormward. Like, hey guys, why can't we do a road to Stormward? This is a massive undertaking, but you know what would really make you guys legends? Uh. A road to Stormward. Really, he'll keep doing it until people are annoyed with him. But only the people who are actually working on the project. For everyone else the celebrity prince will turn on the megawatt smile and gladhand like the white hot grease fire of charm and charisma he happens to be. He's no good with a sword, he doesn't run his own domain and he doesn't have an army to offer, but what he does have are contacts who can help to make sure the money gets to where it needs to be and parts more easily from those who may be reluctant to turn it over. Call it monetary logistics. You don't need to know what you're moving, you just need to move it.

As Minsiter of Infrastructure for the Crown, Jaenelle understands the captial city is certainly a hub of activity. Arx will continue to assist where needed, making sure the roads leading to and from Arx are kept safe to the traders as well as making sure the steets themselves are kept free from holes, cracks, or anything that might make travel harder. Jaenelle's focus will be the roads directly around Arx.

Jennyva has been given permission from Duke Malcolm to sign Graypeak up for this project and contribute writs, time, whatever Kaldur may need. Her expertise is in negotiations and marketing and she ensures that the merchants know to use these new roads to their advantages.

As a capable steward and Voice for Blackram, Teagan has stepped up to oversee her family's participation in this expansive project. As remote as the Cloudspine is, such a road will be greatly beneficial. She will gladly see to aiding in what ways she can beyond providing what Blackram will for the connection of their holdings to the road: primarily with her economic skills.

Sir Andry Bayweather seems more then interested in the idea of helping connect the compact into a more unified whole and is helping arrange patrols with the Knights of Solace as well putting in work to arrange funding for any sections which otherwise seem to be neglected

Seymour believes an effort like this can only further enhance the trade network between fealties, to the benefits of trade at all levels. Seymour is ensuring that there are ample resources to ensure the holdings in Stormwall and Ashford he is responsible for can be a part of this, and to establish new trade posts for Oak Mercantile where the need for additional trade along the new route may exist.

The Great Road is easily one of the most ambitious projects launched in recent years in the Compact, though the scope is so vast and the current state of travel in the Compact is so dangerous that it verges on quixotic. Still, the bold ambition is embraced by scores of notables in the Compact, and ambitious or no, they get to work with the massive project.

There are numerous challenges. First and foremost, the traditional respect for the autonomy of every domain holder. The Compact has always had paths, or even rough mud roads between major thoroughfares, and the Knights of Solace have long patrolled many of the most popular, but the proposed brand new road attracts notice of every domain holder that they would pass through, and this is hundreds of them. The majority welcome the increase in trade... provided a) it doesn't stir up an Abandoned response and b) that they aren't responsible for patrolling it with their own funds. That is relatively little help, and they are happy to profit from it, if it is at no cost to them. A smaller number enthusiastically welcome it, and are EAGER for an Abandoned response, and are actively looking forward to doing battle with their hated enemies. Particularly in the Oathlands, there's talk about 'cleansing their lands for good and all', which goes well outside the bounds of a friendly trade agreement, and is more than a little worrisome. Some of the talk goes well past a little worrisome, in fact. And a very few outright refuse to have any new road built on their land, despite all reasoning, pleading, threats, forcing the road to be built entirely around some random baronies and counties that simply do not wish to risk any sort of conflict with Abandoned or increase the flow of riff-raff through their borders.

But with initial agreements signed up, then comes construction. This is thousands upon thousands upon thousands of miles of road to build a road that unites the different domains on somethnig more than dirt, often overgrown, hunting paths. The sheer engineering this takes in laying down the stones and creating the waystations will stand as one of the most remarkable marvels done in the Compact in centuries. Much of the land goes through Abandoned controlled territory, even if it is ostensibly owned by the Compact, but the amount of forces brought make most of the Abandoned steer clear aside from the odd skirmish here and there as the road is being built with overwhelming force. But the key words are 'as the road is being built'.

The good news is that trade spikes up immediately, and many of the traders in the Compact are absolutely thrilled to have better overland paths in order to move their goods when rivers are inaccessible or impractical. It's a boon many of the domains, and the economic consequences should be strong, in the long term. The bad news is that there simply are not anywhere near enough Knights of Solace in the Compact to patrol thousands of miles of road. Certainly they do what they can, but the raids start immediately, and in great force, and the losses from the Knights of Solace start to mount, even as caravans start to hire sellswords and travel in greater numbers for protection. Which in turn, has prompted stronger raids. Much stronger.

The Great Road is an economic success, overall, despite the raids. And fame comes with such a large, daring project. But the social and political consequences are another matter all together, and those will be forthcoming.

Sorrel has written seven songs that she wishes to spread far and wide to educate the public about the Metallics and remind them of their heroes from long ago. To this end, she's employing an army of bards to get the music out about Iron, Steel, Gold, Brass, Copper, Cobalt, and Silver. She's also trying to provide some historical context for her songs to those that are interested. Some songs are catchy, some are a little sad, some are a bit romantic, but they're all slightly different and designed to be memorable.

Please note that the text of the songs are contained in @theories 369-275, with a bonus track in 376 that will not be spread far and wide (even if Tyrval found it hilarious). There will be a relative slow roll-out of songs, to give people time to start singing them and learning about them, and the events for them are going to increase in magnitude as they go. The coordinating calendar listings are 2455 (Iron and Steel), 2579 (Brass and Gold), 2523 (Cobalt), 2524 (Copper), and 2525 (Silver). Songs will be hosted either in the Hall of Heroes or the Bard's College or another appropriate place for a musical party. Silver's song shall be hosted in the palace, per the king, as the grand finale.

Galen's going to be bankrolling the main tracks of this little would-be Metallic Opera with a substantial amount of resources.

Lisebet is going to help organize parties and she will use her social acumen and singing skill (which may not be bard quality, but it's not bad!) to help spread the songs. Hearing them over and over will definitely work in favour of this initiative.

Tikva will absolutely help Sorrel with this, and she'll do so by adding her songs to her performance repertoire and using them to entertain and educate at every available opportunity! Why not? Sorrel's lyrics are all better than hers anyway!

What's that about an army of bards? Gianna has one of those! Or at least the closest thing to. The College bards will be taught the songs, and Gianna will sing them herself as well, using her reputation, prestige, and social resources to help. If any College types are on their way through Arx going elsewhere, they'll be encouraged to spread those songs. Even other non-member bardic types will be encouraged. This is one of the reasons the College was founded, after all.

Y'know what would be a real boost to a show like this? Having one of the most prestigious people in the ding dang city jumping on board to tell people how very excited he is about it! Oh, wait a second! Niklas is one of the most prestigious people in the city! And he's willing to use that. I mean, when you're It then everyone wants to do the stuff you want to do, right? Might as well put that to good use.

Clover is not a singer, no. What she is, however? Is a very smart propagandist. And so that is what she is going to do. She is going to spread these songs far and wide. She is going to get everyone talking about them. She is going to mention to them to everyone she knows. She is going to get her people talking about them. And she's going to start creating little pamphlets with the verses of the songs, and spread those about the city as well!

Sparte is no singer, but he can tell a half decent story. Converting songs to taletelling, he'll try to inspire emotion not with the power of music but that of the listener's own imagination.

Sir Corban is not a bard. But he does sing. How is that? Well, on their morning "jog" around the Ward of the Crown, the King's Own must carry a cadence. And as First Captain, Corban often gets to call the tune. He will in particular promote the song of Silver, the founder of the King's Own. And as the King's Own's drills are often a matter of public spectacle, the songs will spread in that way.

Have you heard about Princess Sorrel and the Metallics opera she wrote? You haven't? Well, Sabella will tell everyone she meets ALL about it, enthusing at what amazing prose Princess Sorrel has come up with and also the music! She composed it all herself! And it tells such an important story. Oh, you have heard about it? Well, let's enthuse about it to everyone around us! She will be talking this up to EVERYONE, pointing out how important it is that these things be taught in many forms, especially ones with catchy tunes attached!

Sanya will use her charm and musical ability to help educate the public on music about metallics. She's hoping she can show her musical range through this job.

Eddard is a bard and is quite capable of putting voice to song. Comfortable clothes and no silks adorn him when he ventures down into the lower buroughs. People /probably/ know him, but nobody should raise their nose at him singing on street corners to anyone who will listen.

Giulio will help with those seeking to learn more of the songs, working to teach of their meanings and provide insights and details regarding those spoken of as necessary. Moreover, he will work to make certain that something akin to 'hymnals' on the subject are available for such.

Orelia is a much better singer than she is teacher or propaganda artist, so she'll take the songs out and go sing them for the public. Most of that will probably be in taverns, bars and pubs as well as other possibly less than savory places, but it may help the songs reach a new audience. She'll sing other places as well of course, more public places.

Sapphira is a bard, and loves to sing songs everywhere she goes. She will sing them to her family, to random strangers, or to the birds. The tunes will be shared and with her angelic voice as she explores the city.

Throughout the history of humanity, many have sacrificed everything for the Compact. Those heroes who stood alone against unbeatable odds. Those who stood in that moment when darkness would consume the world. Those who refused to give in, whose actions were more than could be expected of a mere mortal - who stood and fell as a guardian not just of a city or a fealty, but of ideals great enough to encompass all - those are enshrined in the Hall of Heroes. Many who travel to Arx only once in their lives spend at least a day touring the Hall, reading the stories. Looking at history.

And over time, these stories became allegories. Became morals. Became legends used to guide the next generation, and the generation after, and the generation after that. That is what enshrinement in the Hall of Heroes meant. But memories fade over time, and these legends were faded too - the statues worn in places with touches over the stone, the words carved into the pedestals not always legible. The thoughts more of the morals therein, the examples - and less on the people who sacrificed their lives in these ways.

But Princess Sorrel Thrax has changed that. With a series of concerts, researched well in Vellichor's Archives. With the blessing of the King, with support from Whispers and Bards, from people across the Compact, she has written songs about the Metallic Order. Of Iron and Steel, Gold and Brass, of Cobalt and Copper and Silver she sings. They're catchy songs all - some sad, some joyous, some heartrending. She sings them - and they spread so swiftly through the Compact.

Princess Tikva, Gianna Whisper - the Nightingale of the Bard's College herself - Lord Eddard, Lady Sanya, Lady Orelia, Lady Sapphira - all of them aid, either as fellow singers in her concert, or by singing the songs themselves, or both. Officer Sparte is no singer, but he tells the stories too, reciting them to inspire as he can. Sir Corban is no singer either, but he teaches the songs to the Hundred as a cadence - and now on the morning "jogs" of the Silver Swords, they're drilling while using the cadence of the Metallic Cycle - especially the song of Silver. They teach the songs, the stories to others. They encourage the songs to spread. And spread they do.

'Have you heard the Metallic Cycle yet?' It's a common question among the socialites too. Count Giulio, Princess Sabella, Prince Niklas, Lady Lisebet, Duchess Clover, and many other famed and famous people are encouraging everyone to learn, to hear, to sing. It's on everyone's lips - and Princess Sorrel is becoming the Singer of Heroes, even as everyone reminds themselves of the promise: "As Arx endures, we will remember."

The Good Duke of Gemecitta, a musical comedy by Prince Niklas Grayson

It's time for another Niklas Grayson SPECTACULAR!

With the help of Nightingale Gianna Whisper, Niklas has put together an entirely new form of theatrical entertainment. They've taken one of his older plays, his first real hit, a comedy called The Good Duke and have rewritten it so every scene is a song, every line is a lyric and the entire play is an extravaganza of dancing, singing, acting and (in some cases) fighting. With extensive choreography, music from a number of popular genres and an all star cast, this reimagining, called The Good Duke of Gemecitta, is set to be a genre defining event.

Almost as important as the play itself is the fact that it will be the first theatrical performance held at the Bard's College, meant to demonstrate the worthiness of the College as a venue for all sorts of entertainment. That the show (which Niklas has termed a 'musical', so as to keep it separate from the somewhat artsier 'opera') contains such a mix of performances will allow the auditorium at the Bard's College to show its versatility.

Niklas also pulled together a cast made up of some of the city's most well known singers, dancers and actors. Backstage are legendary and famous artists putting together sets and wardrobes. As well as a veritable army of PR people out there hyping the whole thing. As Niklas has said in his humble and low key manner, this will either be the greatest spectacle in the history of the Compact, or the biggest disaster since the city burnt down. Either way, worth the cost of a ticket, right?

And finally, this is meant to be a big charity event. Once the commoner participants are paid all other funds will go toward Princess-Consort Alarissa Thrax's Thursday's Child project. But wait, what about paying the venue?! Well, it turns out that when you're Assistant Nightingale of the Bard's College you can cut yourself a 100% discount. So every last silver that doesn't go to pay (commoner) cast and (commoner) crew will go toward helping to pay off the debt of thrall children. Given that his brother freed hundreds of thralls, but did so in the dumbest way possible, this is something about which Niklas is actually quite passionate.

There will be no event and as such no specific plot writeup. In a highly general sense the musical is about a conflict between (the wholly made up) Duke Enzo Rubino and Duke Giacomo Zaffria which gets farcically out of control when they schedule weddings for their heirs to occur on the same day. Lady Giulia Igniseri (Sorrel) is betrothed to Lord Stefano Rubino (Alejandro) and Lady Carina Zaffria (Yasmine) is engaged to wicked Prince Marco (no house name, Lumen) and wants out as she and Lady Alessandra Rubino, Stefano's older sister (Bliss) are in love. And of course Lady Eleonora Zaffria (Evonleigh) is in love with Lord Stefano. Marco's sister, Princess Valentina, (Sabella) isn't in love with anyone except herself, but she acts as the narrator and routinely breaks the fourth wall to address the audience directly, generally to make humorously unkind comments about the people on stage. There's humorous lyrical dialogue, some of that broad physical comedy from the second act of The Playwrights, three dramatic sword fights (including a three way fight between done to a jaunty saltarella) and a couple of love stories. There's drama, but since this is Nik, there's a happy ending for most characters and only the jerk prince (whose house is never named) ends up getting killed due to his own shittiness as a person. (Note: though his marriage contract allows him to keep publishing as Niklas Kennex, he's decided his old family is full of nerds, so he's going to be Prince Niklas Grayson for purposes of this show.) And while the show gets a lot of comedic mileage out of the unique setup of Gemecitta's duel dukes, the show is respectful toward the city itself, including the intro song sung by Princess Valentina that talks about how great, if weird, Gemecitta is.

Gianna helped write the songs and is providing the stage - the Bard College's Performance Hall - as well as some of the talent, some funding from the College's account, and using the bards to spread word of mouth and up the hype. The problem with all this involvement is that she has a personal stake in how good the singing is, and she is highly critical and determined to make sure the songs are flawless, even if that means people have to learn to sing better. She can show them what they need to do, and she will, but she will not be pleasant to work with. She probably has to be removed from the process at some point. Good thing Niklas has a really high Diplomacy skill! Seriously, there are good reasons she has instructors that aren't her at the College.

Sabella is simply thrilled to take the stage for the very first time acting in her husband's musical as Princess Valentina, wicked Prince Marco's sister and narrator to the story that often breaks the fourth wall to interact with the audience and make fun of the other players. Not only will she eat nothing but lettuce in the months leading up to the production to make sure she looks her best for the role, she will throw herself into learning the lines and the songs and practicing her improv so that this is the very most amazing show that ever existed! BEST PLAY EVER!

Ah, the theater! Princess Elgana is enthused there is to be another play put on but the fact that it is a production by Prince Niklas is just the icing on the cake. How could she ever dream of saying 'no' to a chance to promote his latest work? There is an all-star cast! Music! Drama! Laughter! It has everything and she's going to bend the ear of anyone who stands still long enough around her to get the word out about this production and how amazing it is going to be and how anyone who is ANYONE in this city ought to be there on opening night.

Berenice has agreed to help promote Niklas's newest production, but she's taking a very particular spin on it: she's talking up her interest, certainly, dropping it in conversation about how excited she is for opening night, but more than that, she's going to be flexing her wiles to get all sorts of people competing for the honor of escorting her to opening night. Will it involve duels? It might, you never know. Will Berenice _encourage_ people to duel over getting to take her to the theater? One hundred percent absolutely. She's going to make an absolutely delightful game of the whole thing. Who will actually take her to opening night? THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT. Hopefully there will be tears and fights and DRAMA before the curtain even opens.

Once again, and to her great excitement, Tabitha will be lending her efforts to any tasks that require the skills of an artist: painting sets, creating props, applying stage make-up and so forth. She'll happily work with the team of artists as a whole, as well as on her own when appropriate. She's an organised busy bee who likes to get get along with others to help a project reach its full potential, so she'll be at her smiling and enthusiastic best among like-minded people of a creative bent.

Sorrel being the Bladesong is a triple threat: an incredible soprano, an excellent dancer, and a swordswoman of some note. She's set to play Lady Guilia Igniseri, the Rubino-Zaffria vassal, in a stylish, charming way. She's quite involved in training the actors and actresses for the show, and she and Bliss are working out choreography for when Lady Alessandra Rubino and Lady Guilia bring swords into their squabble over who should get the world's most useless and undeserving prince, before making up and singing a brilliant duet about how neither of them need that particular man. Sorrel is mainly concerned with helping to showcase the talents of commoners whose livelihood she would like to boost with this all-star cast and in training those with less experience to have more confidence.

Yasmine will be bringing her formidable skills as an actress, singer, and dancer to the role of Carina Zaffria, the apple of her father's eye, yet not without considerable cunning of her own. In the part, the Ravashari embodies the dual characteristics of the 'stereotypical Lycene' by being both sweet and relatable to the audience while also conducting machinations to attempt to assert her own will. On the stage, Yasmine beguiles, whether with her ability to fully embody whatever role she plays, her rich contralto voice, or her expert dancing.

Lumen will be embodying the wicked Prince Marco, intermingling her on-brand impishness with the debonair stylings of a highness entirely lacking in moral high ground. This is not Lumen's stage debut. She portrayed a man in Lord Niklas Kennex's The Playwrights.

Delilah might be a pretty ornament to the stage, but her real threat originates in the province of the pen. Prince Niklas has scored the masterpiece for the stage, and she will be lending the ghostly weight of ink and inspiring words to seed excitement and interest far and very, very wide indeed. Given the Lycene flavour of things, she is gently applying a particular impression to build fascination or interest. That means scattering tidbits to the right people. Influencing the right sorts to carry on the word, to build up a buzz (even if they weren't all that aware before, they sure will be now...). She sends breathless excerpts into the Hundred Cities, stitching and building a train of anticipation about how good things are. Sentiments peppered with the taste of mysteries and drama on the stage, the historical wonders, the *intrigues*. Did we mention intrigues? Possibly scandal? The things that sell tickets and cement the memory are a grand tradition of developing stories, and she will spin one about the tireless playwright, the dashing and debonair actors, the brilliance waiting to be seen like a cut diamond until it's basically Hamilton 2.0 of Arx.

Alejandro takes his talents to the stage for a second time in this new production, playing the role of Lord Stefano Rubino. While his life's focus has typically been in music, he possesses enough natural charm and performing ability to once again handle an acting role. Putting his all into his performance, he focuses his time and practice mostly on the swordfighting aspects he may be called upon to perform. It's probably more a dance than a fight, so he feels comfortable enough. Alejandro works hard, devotes himself to the role, and attempts to put on a good performance.

Initially getting involved in this only for a lark, more or less, Tikva's largely present as a very dramatically loud _voice_ -- there are many actors and musicians in the city who she has no interest in intervening in the livelihoods of, but what weight she can lend to Niklas by putting her showmanship to use here, she does, cheerfully and with great embrace of absurdity.

Lady Evonleigh Whitehawk will be performing in Prince Niklas' play as one of the actresses, of course! She's been trained to do it all -- singing, dancing, comedy, tragedy... Though let's be honest: it's a good thing it's a musical comedy. While Evon's singing voice is sweet and on key, she has not the depth or richness of tone nor the range of a proper vocalist. Any songs she performs in are "sold" by virtue of her acting ability and her charm. The acting, she has the chops for, whether a comedic or dramatic scene, and she will do her best to win over the audience with every line, smile, or sob.

As a lover of the arts, and a tremendous fan of Gianna Whisper and her patron Prince Niklas, Countess Carita is very proud to support Prince Niklas' talents as a playwright and the Bard's College's very first theatrical performance by donating from her own personal funds. That the cast will be a group of people she has come to know well for their musical talents has made Carita dig deep in to her pockets to support them, adding 5000 silver to help ensure the production's success.

Aurora was the costumer the first time this performance was put on, and will reprise her role this time. The costumes don't change too much, just because its a musical this time doesn't mean there is a dramatic shift, though tailoring is done to ensure that the costumes fit their new wearers. More have had to be added too, to include the chorus and other stand ins on the stage.

Playing the role of Lady Alessandra Rubino, Bliss emerges onto the stage in her element - or at least, hopefully so. This role was practically written for her, and whether it's the swordfights, the speaking parts, or the saltarella, the Champion Whisper is more than able to keep up. Indeed, she's going to bring a high level of exuberance to the role, and while the swordfight will of course display skill with the weapon - it's not really about the speed of movement, is it? No, it's about how flashy and entertaining she can make it. Tricks that would never see the sands are going to come out in the show - movements of the blade meant to awe and impress. Hopefully no one gets too hurt, and if they do? Hey, that can be part of the show as well. Maybe even just having her name on the billing will bring in a certain type of fan, as well, that will increase the name recognition of the show. We can only hope.

Rook is, as ever, the hypeman. Patron of the arts, magnate, and philantropist. It's his duty to encourage people towards the burgeoning shows within Arx, and for those that aren't politely within his company simply to get something, they normally even listen to his suggestions. Utilising his extensive contacts within and outwith the Peerage, such as the merchant rungs, Rook targets high profile individuals for putting bums on seats for this event. For those that know his lovely partner, of course, Yasmine will be involved! For the royalists, oh by the Pantheon, House Grayson's own has authored it! It simply cannot be missed.

Caspian is the stunt trainer. He is showing the actors how to perform various stunts and choreographed fights and makes sure everything is nice and polished for when the curtains rise and the show begins.

Liara, with all her customary cheerfulness and passion, talks up the production no end, particularly among the more junior nobles of the Crownlands and of Arx with whom she so often associates. They simply must see it! Or so she says. She even sends a few letters back home to try and wrangle up visitors from Bastion, assuring them that it will be an unmissable spectacle.

There is no acting, no singing, no performances from Alarissa with regards to the latest production of Prince Niklas Grayson. Not in the least. Anyone who thinks they might see her get on a stage and act is going to be disappointed. But what she does do is promote the hell out of the production. She has a good reason to given the deal Niklas struck with her in exchange for applying her social weight. And so when she is out and about, at parties, fluttering a fan, sipping tea, eating with friends and perusing stores for the latest and greatest of trends, she's encouraging people to go see this latest production. Likely to be the talk of the town, filled with notable of society both noble and less than noble, prancing about the stage and giving their all. Shouldn't they go and support their fellow blooded? She thinks so, she's even going to be front row - well, up in a box and away from the rabble of course - and watching. And it's a way to help say you were -there- when this happened, and to indirectly support Thursday's Child in the process. Charity -and- entertainment all in one? Besides, it's bound to be entertaining in some fashion yes? Yes? Probably.

Prince Niklas Grayson is at it again. Or Lord Niklas Kennex? Something about the marriage contract and he's writing under his original name but then he's also Princess Sabella's husband and everyone knows Princess Sabella so now it's suddenly confusing. So they just start calling him The Playwright, and it sticks - and now no one has to remember surnames and contracts not their own.

In any case he's written a new play, calling this one not an opera but a musical. But the names have the starry-eyed among the theater in awe. Princess Sabella acts in her first title role as Princess Valentina, her turn both hilarious and touching. Her humor makes people gravitate toward her, and she is widely hailed as a resounding success in her inaugural role.

Princess Sorrel Thrax, Bladesong and Singer of Heroes, takes a break from astounding the Compact with her own work to perfom someone else's - and she too is a hit. In fact more people than usual come just to see her perform - can you really blame them? Of course not.

Yasmine Champagne, popular model, fashionista, and not-quite-as-scandalous-as-she-used-to-be Prodigal acts, sings, and dances her way across the stage. She reminds everyone why she is so often the talk of the town with another stellar performance.

Bliss Whisper plays a part too, and where her exceptional enthusiasm is, can the Nox'alfar be far away? The entire second floor is bought out opening night by a Nox'alfar delegation, who come en masse to see Bliss perform. They're only a little disruptive of course - their cries of BOO! every time Bliss leaves the stage, and the standing ovation that grinds everything to a halt when she enters gradually stop - about fifteen minutes before the end of the play.

Lumen, Radiant of the Whisper House herself, plays the lead in a performance by turns dark and witty. Sometimes both in the same turn. She outdoes herself and shows why she is so highly sought after in the Whisper house.

Princess Tikva, Alejandro Rossetti, and Lady Evonleigh join this all-star cast. Maybe some are taking it more seriously than others but this musical has it all - ranging from the dramatic to the comedic, there's a part to play for everyone and everyone has their part to play.

And where there is music, is the Nightingale very far behind? No she is not - Gianna Whisper wrote the music herself for this play. Sets are by the incomparable Lady Tabitha and they veritably take one's breath away. Aurora, the legendary seamstress, provides unbelievably beautiful costumes. Caspian trains the actors in their stunts, the Grandmaster of the Champions Guild helping make sure the fight scenes are entertaining indeed. It's like he's done this before.

Princess Elgana, Princess Berenice, Lady Delilah, Countess Carita, Princess Liara, Princess-Consort Alarissa, and the Redoubtable Rook all publicize the event. They're all going to opening night, and to random nights thereafter - and that's enough to ensure that this new play by The Playwright (who might be a Kennex or might be a Grayson or might be both but it doesn't matter) is a roaring success.

%It was brought to Reese's attention that any Shavs in the Gray forest who have not bent the knee are likely to be recruited to the Horned God's army and to serve as his slaves while fighting against the people of Compact. Reese would like help prevent the Shavs from becoming enslaved as she highly values freedom, but she would also like to help prevent increasing the size and power of the Horned God's army. She also wants to secure the Gray forest as much as she can to make the it more difficult for the Horned God to take action there.

With this in mind she went to her cousin Calarian for help. Calarian and Reese decided to embark upon a mission to help secure he forest and encourage the Shavs to bend the knee. Calarian would be focusing on the diplomatic side of this mission and Reese on the military side (providing the diplomats with protection from any possible threats). Reese fears that treats might come in the form of Shavs who don't like this missions, abyss tainted animals and etc. The goal of the mission is to use words and charm rather than violence as much as possible.

Reese and Calarian would like to bring others with them, especially of the Grayson faction, including vassals and commoners who are interested in such an effort. They would like to bring scouts (who know the forest), social characters (who can help charm the Shavs over) and warriors (who can help defend the party). While on this mission they will be trying to stay alert for anything amiss including, but not to limited to (signs of the Horned God, cultists, blight, abyss tainted animals, any unexpected animals and any signs of monsters).

Reese will not hesitate to kill in defense of their party or herself, however she will offer any mortal and non abyss tainted combatants a chance to surrender. She also has moral problems with killing when not in defense. Which means she probably not kill Shavs who will not bend the knee if they are not attacking the party, not behaving as a threat or not engaging in acts she would consider evil. Reese will most likely follow the commands of Calarian who is voice and above her in rank. She wishes to be inclusive as possible and to invite the Grayson faction to aid in this effort.

Thanks, Reese's player

Since this is getting a little long and unwieldy, I'm going to save this one for reference as we go over the PRPs and applicable crises. Since it's getting hard to track what's resolved in PRPs and what's not, let's break it up into separate ones to make sure things aren't missed and go ahead and throw up a prprequest to make sure staff responses to anything outstanding aren't missed.

After the expedition to track activity by the Horned God/Metallic Traitor, the Ministry of Defense scouting team brought back what Aleksei believes to be a Writ-bound Abandoned slave. Based on new information he's received regarding the history of spellsingers among the Sylv'alfar, and the connection of the Metallic Traitor to that history, he's recruited Tikva -- whose gift sounds an AWFUL LOT LIKE THAT -- to see if her ability might have the same effect of returning the Abandoned prisoner's identity to him and breaking the Writ.

Tikva will be singing about names and identity and remembering oneself, trying to encourage the prisoner's soul to remember its own name so he can find his way back to himself. If she's successful, and if the prisoner is able to answer questions (maybe after a break -- possibly an extended one), Lady General Calypso will be present to ask about any information he might be able to provide about the Metallic Traitor, his movements, his plans, or anything else that might be helpful or relevant.

Vision sent, it worked ok

Cristoph is going to continue actions against Shav raiding parties, leading his and any other assisting troops in person to try to wipe out as many small parties, scouting and foraging groups, as possible. Obviously he is not going to be able to make a huge impression in a force eighty thousand strong but he wants those troops to reach Arx as hungry, blind and disorganised as possible.

As such he is going to repeat the same thing he did before, form a mobile column of Laurent and (hopefully!) Lyonesse troops, heavy on cavalry and with an agile supply chain. They are not going to go berserk or try to engage the main bodies of the enemy army, they will shadow them and pick off smaller groups that detach to try to forage.

The plan is to be aggressive with this and entirely ruthless, ambushes, letting the enemy start to settle into forage/raid/loot then sweeping down and annihilate them with knights as they are disorganised, attacking and burning camps at night. No effort is going to be made to defend anything unless that is tactically helpful, the priority is maximum efficiency attritional skirmish warfare.

Also as a note he is not going to be trying to really fight himself or be a hero, he is going to be there, armoured and mounted on horseback, but concentrating on effectively commanding his troops and with at least a dozen Crimson Blades guards for if things go wrong or a charge of the reserve is required.
Cristoph is partially carrying out event 347 for public relations reasons and because huge hunts are awesome, but this will also be an exercise in denuding the local forests around Arx of game ahead of the siege and will be carried out on a massive scale. He will be spending an additional 20,000 silver on top of the event cost to hire a literal army of beaters along with sending all of his hired Crimson Blades out with crossbows and recruiting as many local peasants with bows as possible. The goal? To shoot as many edible animals as they can, both to help stock Arx (and the peasant hunters) larders and to deny said food to the enemy when they arrive.

Rather than withdrawing his cavalry forces within Arx, Cristoph is going to keep them active in the Grey Forest, behind Abandoned armies that move to invest the capital under siege. Communications with Arx will have to be by sea and suitable (too small to be on the main map) ports identified. A command and supply center will (Grayson willing) be established in a suitable baronial or comtal castle and Cristoph will spend up to 100,000 silver ensuring adequate stockpiles of provisions, weapons, but most importantly food and appropriate clothing to continue the fight over the winter.


Hopefully final addition: This crisis action is prominently for cavalry actions along with whatever mounted infantry has been procured, there will be efforts to coordinate with Calypso's attack on one of the Abandoned armies. Ideally, the combined cavalry forces will arrive behind the Abandoned army and participate in the battle, if, as seems likely, this is impossible due to the issues of communication and distance, then the cavalry will attempt to position to help cover any retreat or take advantage of any victory to inflict maximum enemy casualties.

The remaining Laurent infantry will be fighting under Alis' command.

Jael is going to support the supply chain, riding with it between the troops and the city. While with the troops, she'll keep a finger on the pulse of their morale, doing her best to be visible among the men and women, talking with them, getting their feedback.

She's also going to join in on the raids, particularly ones where they can strike from a distance, focusing on mounted bowmanship to strike and flee without waiting for retaliation.

Okay. I don't know much about how to do this so: All Isidora will really be doing is doing her best to keep her head down and heal people where she can.

Demura is going to lend some of her men to Cristoph in hopes that they will beneficially help him ravage the enemy's vital resources and reduce the number of viable opposing soldiers, providing a critical weakness that can be exploited through other means.

Sigurd will be coming along with 250 Nightgold cavalry and a supporting column of mounted infantry for reinforcements. He will be the assistant commander in this mission, with Duke Cristoph having overall command of the troop's movements, including his own, while Sigurd provides his aid when the troops hit rough terrain (survival training comes into play) as well as being the main leader once the troops actually engage the enemy, leaving Cristoph able to direct larger troop movements while he leads the charges and provides leadership in the forefront. Together, they hope to seriously curtail and disrupt the enemy rituals, movements, and especially foraging parties, making it next to impossible for the Bringer army to sustain a siege.

Aislin will be taking a contingent of Ashford scouts into the forests to assist, at Maude's request. The Ashford guards are, of course, well familiar with both the Gray Forest in general and the area from Arx southwards in particular, so this is their home territory. While they lack their network of watch-platforms and pathways among the trees, most are skilled at both climbing and archery. They'll be supporting other troops, scouting from overhead where possible, and providing archery cover from above.

Aislin will also be bringing a number of Society scouts along. Field cartographers who can map out the movements of the enemy, and help assist Duke Cristoph and others with determining where best to cut the enemy's troop lines, to carve off chunks for easy dispatch. And, of course, Society members /do/ tend to be a little more aware of occult considerations, if it comes down to Bringer encounters. Aislin will be predominantly with the Society scouts, trying to coordinate.

Niamh is coming along with Aislin and Ashford's forces. Mostly Niamh is there to smash skulls and cut off heads. She'll go where Aislin goes, mostly, and try to keep the Ashford safe. She's not a leader though, so Niamh mostly fills the roll of the Big Damn Hero and Murder Machine. She's bringing Gyrd, her war elk (retainer), an alarcite sword, and full rubicund armor to the event.

Tikva will be working with the other scouts that Aislin is bringing, as a seasoned and rangery agent of the forest! In the event of a combat with the Forces of Evil, she will hold nothing back (fully kitted out with bow and arrows) -- but as a scout, her primary skills will be in mapping the area, keeping an eye on troop numbers, and moving quickly and discreetly in conjunction with other scouts to keep track of troop movements for the advancing army.

The Laurent forces, supported by House Nightgold and House Ashford, ravage the western 2nd Column of the Bringer forces and smash their supply lines. Most of their foraging parties are cut down in exchange for minimal losses, though two hundred horse that attempted to skirmish with the 3rd Column is entirely lost, and it is unclear why- just none returned from that particular skirmishing mission, which is adequate encouragement to concentrate their forces on the 2nd Column.

Guided by Tikva and Aislin with excellent knowledge of the Gray Forest, and the leadership of Sigurd, helps prove to provide excellent mobility in continually outracing the enemy and following Cristoph's well laid out strategy for bleeding the bringer forces. More than once, the 2nd Column attempts to seek battle and is led into ambushes, leaving several thousand dead over the course of the week and slowing their advance to a crawl, which in turn buys time for the main forces of the Compact under Calypso to return to the defense of Arx, after the destruction of the first bringer column.

Lady General Calypso is leading the forces at the Ramparts and Gates. This includes all of the Malvici Forces within the city. The group mustered to keep watch there will be working as an information point for the city, keeping their eyes beyond the walls for any movements, new arrivals or anything else they can see coming towards the city on the horizon.

They are also the active point of defense that includes both archers on the walls to take out any advancing troops, and the guarding of the gates to make sure they remain closed and fortified. This group will fight back any and all who approach the city to the best of their ability while staying inside the walls.

Calypso will also be wielding the Alaricite sword, Truestrike during this time.

Artorius moves to the wall/rampart to help support Calypso as she prepares to lead the Malvici forces in the defense of Arx
Artorius takes a group of archers to the south side of the wall, hoping to hit the shavs and bringers in the army's weak spot.

Under the direction of General Calypso, Kima is taking part of the defense of the gate. She knows to remain inside, due to the foul magic possessed by Tolomar Brand. She will be wielding her alaricite sword, the Absolute, during this conflict.

Gabriel will be supporting Calypso in support of the gate with the Bisland forces he has available to him.

Advised to join the wall with the Grayson Archers was the best course of action and placement for the young Prince Aiden during this coordinated effort. He will stand among numbers for the first time against the enemies of Arx, showing a steady countenance in dark leathers and a Grayson cloak, Eagle Strike - his Grayson Bow, and a white gyrfalcon circling above. Aiden will inspire the Archers on the wall with not only his presence, but his ability to take action when it comes time. The Prince will add his arrows to each call to 'loose', as well as taking dynamic attempts to strike at individual targets when the order for 'fire at will' takes place. He will take heart in the men and women around him and will encourage them verbally with a voice like that of a drumbeat: "Aim True, For Our People!"

Per Reese's request, Aislin will be placing Ashford forces -- particularly any present or former Vista Glades (Ashford's elite arboreal scouts and archers) who happen to be the city -- atop the roofs of buildings throughout the city, as well as stringing ropes and such between roofs ahead of time where possible. They'll be concentrated around the gates, but others will be scattered throughout the city as well, with another cluster close to the Lower Boroughs to be able to keep an eye on any approaches to the Pit. The intent here is to give a not-quite bird's eye view of situations in the city -- keep track of enemy movements should any be spotted within the city -- and provide semi-aerial archery coverage.
(Additionally -- given that this /is/ the Vista Glades -- I have been reminded by others to ensure that, if at all possible, ziplines, rope bridges, and parkour be involved if possible. Because... well, crazy arboreal special forces.)

I shall set a healing tent up where I can provide assistance to people who need quick healing. Also, I would like to use stealth to maybe locate Brands army gathering any intel I can before they get close to the gate.

Will be assisting Calypso at the gate with the sword Elvesbane. He will also be wearing a new set of armor to try and help inspire the troops to stand fast against the siege.

Peregrine will be leading the Gold Feathers as a mobile reserve force, guerilla style, to supplement the gate forces in the event of a breach. Anything that gets by will be hunted, with prejudice, by the thousand newly minuted Prodigals.

Eirene will mobilize the Phoenix Brigade to perform triage, moving the wounded back to safety and holding the defenses until reinforcements can take the places of the fallen. As for herself, she will use her studies of the occult to try to prevent and counter any of the more lethal supernatural attacks when not coordinating movement of their medics.

Reese plans to join the Grayson forces at the east gate. She intends to help serve as back up leadership, but will let Lady Maude and Duke Gabriel take point on commanding. She hopes to inspire the troops with her presence. She hopes to service as a heavy hitter if needed against any bringers or Shavs who might breach the gates. She will have her superb Alatricite short sword with her. She will be armed in her hq steel. She intends to fight next to Barric and Zhayla. She will try to help keep them alive if they run into trouble. She will pick up Barric's sword, the Grayson blade, Elvesbane if he falls in battle. She would like to focus on being a charming inspiration more than commanding and hopes to use her charm+leadership pool to inspire the Grayson troops. She hopes to use dexterity + medium wpn to fight if needed.

Inigo will be directly commanding the three-fourths of the Fidante army promised for the protection of the Seawatch gate. He will be overseeing the troops from the front, leading by example (as best as he currently knows how). The overall actions of the Fidante army will be seen to by Lady General Calypso Malvici, Inigo and the Fidante army will be acting according to her commands and directions. Lord Inigo will be wielding the diamondplate longsword Recompense and will be adorned in a full suit of HQ leather armor (while fondly wishing he had exotic).

Estaban will be up on the ramparts raining arrows from above down to the Bringers below.

Esoka will be there with her Riven peeps to help hold the gates with the Grayson/Lycene forces. She'll have given her prayers to Gloria before the battle, for guidance and favor for her own sword and the lives and honor of her comrades.
She'll be with the Riven forces as they lend their strength, primarily under their liege the Deepwoods and their forces.

Captain Caelis Malvici brings her marines in support of Lady General Calypso in the Seawatch Gate. In her hawk armor with her rubicund blade, she is ready for part two in facing off with the shavs and bringers on the ramparts.

Luca will be joining the defense of the gates in front of part of the Mirrorguard as likely his last act as their Shield. He'll be wielding his (as yet unmade) alaricite blade called Viper's Soul and in his usual diresnake scale exotic leather dueling armor, and as the last fight, would be focusing on cutting down any Bringers he can reach specifically. As the last battle he didn't even touch a Bringer for getting caught up fighting the trashmobs, he'll be tasking the Mirrorguard explicitly to trying to hold them back for him and others with diamondplate or alaricite to focus on the more dangerous foes. The intention I believe is for the mirrorguard to act as mobile strikeforce targetting breaches as they come up so that other forces can plug the holes with more defensive fighters, though this could change as Talen ultimately will be directing strategy.

Fiora will be playing rooftop rascal when the fighting begins. Raining arrows down so fast and furious they will have to fight in the shade! Or, you know, she'll be trying to help harry and harass the Bringers where the Compact wants them to be led. Or just straight up trying to murderface them. That would be good too!

Ferrando will be using his streetwise smarts, connections, and encyclopedic knowledge of the layout of Arx plus some general stealthiness to provide a ground-based compliment to Aislin's aerial rooftop operations. Should small groups of enemy infiltrators make it past the gate area into the city, Ferrando and his allied associates (cashing in some military resources to represent some recruiting among his fellow independent security consultants) will be setting traps and laying ambushes inside the Boroughs and especially along the approach to the Pit to apply his alaricite mace to Bringer faces as often as possible, as well as trying to clear out any enemies pinned down by the archers to free them up to keep scouting.

As the Gemecittans have tragically lost their commander, Dafne has placed her troops under the command of Lady General Calypso. A non-combatant herself, she does visit her troops beforehand and reminds them of what they are fighting. Not only to save all of existence, but to avenge their duke and leader, foully murdered by one of the creatures they now face. FOR VALKIERI!

The forces of Lenosia in the city that helped reinforce Seawatch Gate during the last attack, will be doing so yet again this time around. They will be joining Calypso's forces and any other armies at that location. Niccolo will be commanding those forces himself.

Gian will lead what remains of the Rubino-Zaffria troops in defense of the walls and gates, under Calypso's direction. Without much left to lose, and so recently after failing to defend Valkieri, he and many of the house guard will die before falling back.

Will lend her aid in training troops and fighting herself to whomever asks of her assistance.

Zhayla will be in the thick of the fight with her alarcite trident. She's a little bit reckless, and a lot a bit looking to prove herself, but not stepping out of line of the Deepwood / Grayson / etc. battle orders.

Tikva will be with the archers on the walls, shooting down troops on the advance with the defense of the gate. If the walls breach, she will edificeer some leaps to other roofs and pursue the front line, shooting where she can.

Costas will be walking in Calypso's shadow, on the lookout for any attacks at the Lady General herself. That protection extends to others in the vicinity but his priority is to keep Calypso safe and mobile during the battle.

Dante will be assisting the forces at the gate with a small detachment of Fidante soldiers. He wields the diamondplate blade Rosethorn, and his presence, along with that of the famous blade, should prove to be a boon and a symbol of moral for those soldiers serving with him and around him. He will be actively attempt to go where the fighting is thickest, as he finally has the chance to prove his own valor, and that of his house, on the field of battle.

Maude will be assisting with the deployment and command of Grayson troops. Other than generic generalling and shouting at people, she will continue to focus her attention on defending the city streets behind the gates and the walls, in case of a breach. She's already done much of the planning for this last time. This involves fortifying some points, preparing ambush sites, and having a reserve ready to flank the enemy if it gets through. If the enemy overruns the wall, the idea is feign a retreat to lure that group into the city, whittle away at them with ambushes and archery from rooftops and the inner walls. If possible, surround them with the reserves and counter-attack. It's all very elaborate.

In keeping with Samantha's effort to provide the Prodigals of Deepwood the means of being readily identified, Rymarr will aid in dispensing the various means of identification. Likewise he'll help to coordinate those willing among the refugees occupying Deepwood's turf within Arx in forming groups to more efficiently produces these means and then dispense them in a bid to make the process as fluid and efficient as possible. Ideally through the acute application of Command and Leadership.

On the topic of Old Oak and the Prodigals there which will be harassing the Bringer army from the rear, Rymarr will put his martial planning experience to the test. While not instructing the Prodigals how to fight Bringers, as they're no doubt experienced in that regard by now - Rymarr will at least send a few birds off to Old Oak in order to offer some advice in terms of a battle plan. Sent to the most noteworthy leadership figures among the more martially inclined figures of Old Oak's current warriors, Rymarr will provide some military insights - giving tips on terrain features to utilize, emphasizing teamwork over battling individually, and any other aspects of warfare that Rymarr may feel are prudent to reinforce the importance of War.

As the newly minted Marquis of Deepwood, Rymarr has been tasked with leadership of the House's military forces. Deepwood will make themselves present at the Seawatch Gate and join the assembled forces. Sticking with their direct liege in the form of Bisland and their direct vassal in Riven. Rymarr will be investing some of his own personal armaments(Military Resources) in ensuring that as many of Deepwood's soldiers are appropriately equipped and prepared as possible, for the oncoming battle. Rymarr for his part will be exactly what he is, the former Lord Commander of the King's Own, utilizing that reputation as a means to hopefully aid in keeping the gathered forces in line and steadfastly fighting; i.e., working to prevent a rout through pure Leadership and War planning. Furthermore Rymarr will make absolutely certain that messengers or criers in general circulate through the Compact forces. The message that is cried, screamed, shouted, delivered, spoken, or otherwise is simple and clear: "Deepwood's Prodigals will possess three black lines on a green field", in an effort to differentiate them from the enemy shav forces. Whether said Prodigals arrive from the north or within Arx itself, it should prevent any confusion or . For the fighting itself Rymarr will be carrying Autumn's Grace, an alaricite longsword and a rubicund morningstar as a de facto secondary weapon.

The creation of the siege towers and scaling ladders and deployment of Brand's forces all across the spread of the North wall has not gone unnoticed by the defenders of Arx. The Silent Army intends to attack all three northern wards simultaneously and move over the wall and storm the Seawatch Gate simultaneously. When the attack comes, they'll be ready.

((This will be live GM'd. The AP and military resources greatly reduced the difficulty of the rolls and this will be factored for initial deployments of soldiers, and taken into account. All characters not physically present during the GMing will be noted based on their actions)).

Reese is commanding Grayson forces who are going into the Gray Forest. They are traveling to the border between the Grayson and Redrain part of the gray forest. The Redrains are aware of such and Princess Freja asked her do this. She intends to keep her people as much as possible on the Grayson side, but if there an urgent need to defend against the abyss she won't be too shy about crossing over (but won't linger and will let the Redrains know promptly that she went over the border and why). Her intention is to create a barrier, making it hard for the horned god or his minions to travel into the Grayson part of the forest. She believes (having heard a vision) that the horned god plans to march through the redrain forest to the grayson forest and to compact from there. There are few things that Reese is attempting with this. 1. The protective barrier explained above. 2. To try and recruit any Shavs she finds to compact's side and keep them away from the horned god's side. 3. To be a loud distraction, keeping the horned god and his minions (hopefully) focused on her instead of those looking for the weapons. 4. To take down anything abysmal in the area and thereby reduce the power of the abyss. 5. To take down any agents of the horned god in that area and to thereby reduce his power. 6. to Search for clues of where the weapons are, primarily by asking and investigating amount the Shavs in the area. If clues are found for the location on Redrain lands she will give these clues to them and let them decide how to act. If clues are found or weapons on Grayson lands, she will dispatch out a team to look for them.

Reese is taking 200 archers, 200 infantry men and 200 pikemen. The men are primarily under her command, but she is open to people such as Rymarr, Silas and Killian helping her command they are around. She plans to be loud over the top and recruit as much as she can. She hopes to bring diplomats, warriors, healers, scholars and so forth. Reese intends to protect those who come with her as much as possible, especially healers, scholars and diplomates She will not kills Shavs who are not hostile to them or working with the abyss, but will go out of her way to be human, protective and to follow the laws of Gloria and honorable combat.
A few more points. 1. If the Horned God himself shows, Reese will order a tactical retreat, saving as many as she can, rather than engagement.

2. Rymarr is her second in command, he is fully in command if something happens to render her unable to lead.

3. Command assignments go like this: Rymmarr: Second in Command of the mission, command of Deepwood Troops. Command of Any Kings Own Troops (that may or may not come). Killian: Command of any Ashwood troops that come. Second Command for the Grayson Army. Arianna: Stonedeep Troops Commander. Reese: Mission overall Command. Grayson Army Command. Co-command of the Knights of the Solace. Thena: Commander of the Knights of the Solace. Tobias: Commander of the Crimson Blades. Preston (if he comes and he might not): Command of the Templars. Corban: Back up commander if another commander falls or is not present.

3. Fergus asked if some wanted to do missions in the north. Reese will let her people do that or possibly send out on missions on the Grayson side if a need arrises. She will let pretty much any pc who wants go, but she is specially interested in sending some of the more champion like fighters without armies to command on these such as: Vesper, Dameon, Alexis, Kaldur, Graham, Faelan, Luca and Barric.

4. Noncombant attendees or possible attendees include Mia (diplomat), Margot (Diplomat), Rey (Healer) and Aurelian (Investigator). Reese will try to protect them. Esoka is also assigned to protecting the diplomats. Monique and Esoka, despite being fighters are assigned with the diplomats due to the backgrounds and langs.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UggXLCYVY99-ongS-yHsqxxBY20V3PyscroyyjqDMmw/edit

Above is the goggle doc. Thanks Staff!

Reese has a few secret actions to take here.

1. The first one is protecting Thena. Reese believes that Thena is important to the Horned God and that if she dies to his agents his power might be increased. She realizes that Thena is a great warrior, but she still feels it is her responsibility to make sure she is safe. Thena is partly coming as a lure to keep the Horned God's attention away from those seeking the weapons. Reese is concerned about such, but Thena really wanted to do this and she respects that. She just intends to bring her out of this alive, even if it means taking blows for her or doing down herself in battle.

2. If the Horned God makes a personal appearance, she plans to retreat. She is open about this plan. What she is less open about is that she will try to save as many lives as possible among those who attended this mission and will try to guard their retreat even if that means she doesn't make it out herself.

3. The third one is that Reese believes that Thena is a new commander without the leadership skills at this time to be sure the Knights of the Solace will be succesfully commanded. She believes she will develop such in time. She believes this because Thena asked her to command the Knights. Reese intends to help command the knights, to watch out for them and at the same time to try and not upstage Thena with them. She wants to step in as needed without taking the spotlight, if she can manage that.

Barric, armed with Elvesbane and a backup sword just in case honor demands he not use the heirloom in a given situation, will be primarily serving as bodyguard to Reese and any other Grayson of rank that shows up for this affair, up until the point where he sees anything abyssal, at which point he will endeavor to stab evil in the face. Repeatedly.
If Reese needs him to go on a mission (a la 3), he will gladly go.

Margot attends with Reese to work predominently on #2 to try ad recruit and shavs she finds on the compact side and keep them from joining the Horned god, which is something she's getting rather practiced at at this point. She ensures her own escorts (the peace keepers), come with food and supplies to give out to Shavs who have come through the winter but it hasn't warmed enough to replenish their stocks yet.

Lord Corban has pledged his sword and skills to Princess Reese's mission. He will guard what needs guarding, slash what needs slashing, and otherwise do his usual job of Guy with a Sword in these missions.

Tobias and the Crimson Blades have been hired via Reese Grayson to join up with the Princess' wall in the forest. Iron Company (100 heavy infantry) have been contracted, and Tobias himself will be commanding the mission on the Blades' behalf. If this becomes obvious that holding the line is suicide, Tobias will work with other military commanders for an orderly retreat. Otherwise, the elite of mercenaries will hold the line, just like the Night Grove, if need be.
Tobias will be primarily wielding Requiem for this... but if the army comes up against undead, he'll switch to his rubicund blade to see if that helps to cut them down quicker.

Killian will be joining the armies of Grayson as one of Reese's lieutenants, and taking command of whatever troops she designates him to command on the expedition. Of course, he'll also be personally entering whatever battles are joined. He'll bring along whatever troops Ashford sends (new Harlan, so not sure of what this will be) as well.

Kaldur will be going on the mission, as a mounted knight if needed, or on foot as the case may be.

Monique is fighting as needed, but mostly helping to recruit the Abandoned with her extensive Abandoned background and languages.

Thena will personally lead a contingent of Knights of Solace out with Reese's forces, to help the Princess accomplish her listed goals.
As Thena is not particularly experienced in leading troops, the Solace divison will be co-commanded by Thena and Reese, with the help of a trusted (NPC) Solace marshal.
Solace unit consists of 30 knights, 70 footsoldiers, 1 marshal.
As a Godsworn priest of the Pantheon, Thena will offer any religious support as needed such as prayers, blessings and holy water. A few, though not all, of the Solace Knights are Godsworn as well. She will also offer aid as a battlefield medic and herbalist.
Thena will be bringing with her Dame Vesper, newly Godsworn Knight of Solace.

Aurelian signs on to assist in investigating the weapons as best he can, and hesitantly to act as an additional diplomat if needed.

Daemon rides alongside Thena and Princess Reese as a brother in arms to the Knights of Solace bands. He will assist in combat and wherever he will be needed otherwise.

Silas will be lending his sword and the armies of Whitehawk to the cause, bringing with him his archers/rangers while leaving his infantry behind in Hawkhold to defend it in case of a surprise attack (unlikely but who knows). He will command his rangers to scout the area they decide to camp at, in hope of countering any surprise ambushes or enemy movements and to see if they come across anything... strange.

Mia will be assisting with this as well, once I can see the full action and know what to add!
Mia will be bringing 50 of her archers and 100 of her infantrymen on this mission, with them under command of the following PCs in this particular order: Thesarin -> Esoka -> Rymarr -> Silas. Additionally, she will be acting as one of the diplomats attempt to convert as many shav'arvani as possible, making use of both her familiarity with the language, their customs, and her own reputation as the head of a House composed of a significant number of prodigals. Being as Esoka may be called to another mission concurrent with this one, she will be in need of some type of bodyguard, as she's not particularly combat ready.
Added in 30 AP.

The Grayson Princess General has asked Lady Arianna, and by extension, House Stonewood for aid in fighting Legion. Never one to deny her duty to Grayson, Ari has graciously agreed to lend her blade, expertise and knowledge of the dark forces that Legion will no doubt be utilizing. While that might be enough, Arianna has gone above and beyond by bringing along a detachment of Wardens with her to help support any military action that may occur. The men and women under her leadership have excellent Commanders drawn from the recent population of Prodigals and other Abandoned tribes which have filtered into Stonehearth. Above all, Arianna makes sure that she stays close by Reese with ten of her best men willing to die for their charge. This Royal Guard falls under the direct command of Princess Ribbons and is sure to follow her word even when their Liege, Lady Stonewood, is dispatched on any secondary or tertiary assignments such as recon or elimination of enemy commanders.
Arianna is a talented Investigator and has the ability to find leads and hunt them down with a relentlessness that borders obsession. When she is not commanding the Wardens (of which she brings five hundred), she is at work speaking with the local Shav populace and gathering information that might lead to a breakthrough in the hunt for the weapons they seek.


Lady Lailah of House Bisland has sent along 750 infantry and 250 archers under the command of Lady Arianna to help supplement the Gray Wardens. The additional men will be organized into units along with the Wardens, creating a combined fighting force to operate under the direction of Princess Reese. Lady Arianna leads these men by example, and follows Princess Ribbons military directive as she is the more experienced General.

Saedrus will be assisting Reese through diplomatic measures in trying to secure Shav'arvani are loyal to the Compact rather than the Horned God. As a Whisper brings with him his effortless charm, his carefully honed diplomacy and, beyond all else, the kind of empathy that cannot be taught or learnt to get through to the Abandoned tribes. He'll also keep himself well out of the way of all the martial types and generally keep himself away from frays, or anything other than being charming.

Halsim will be providing scouting services for the army (wearing his black robe and mask to keep his identity hidden to the Abandoned), and when necessary, provide his expertise on occult and investigative matters for the weapons search. When not doing any of this, he will provide his alchemical expertise towards equipping the army with medicines, poisons, and useful alchemical cocktails.

Alexis will do what she can, which is primarily serve as a meatshield to stand between enemies and more important targets. She brings her weapon and her armour, and will escort and patrol, and fight, as needed.

100 Infantry, 50 Pike, 25 Cavalry, and 50 Deepwood Rangers. Marquis Rymarr Deepwood's contingent to travel northward into the Gray Forest in preparation to play distraction. Those remaining in Deepwood are given explicit orders from the commander of Old Oak's military leader to be vigilant. A heightened state of security ordered, increased patrol regularity, reserves called into service for the duration, etc. Before setting off, Rymarr will gather his troops; first to speak with them and explain to the whole their objective, their purpose, and hopefully inspire them to fight hard and return home safely. Watch over those in front of and beside themselves, and trust those behind them to watch over them. He will also join his men and women in prayer to the Pantheon's deities. In regard to more Shamanistic means of religious observation, Rymarr will make himself present in support of those under his command, though he will not take direct part in their activities.

The Deepwood forces, under Rymarr's command, will be working in conjunction with a number of military pieces into one overall unit. Acting as Princess Reese Grayson's second-in-command, he's prepared to follow orders or lead, as is necessary dependent on the situation. Additionally, Rymarr is an experienced (and learned) battlefield commander - the first order of business will be locating important terrain features and choosing a strategically strong defensive point to make their presence known and draw attention. Ideally this position will benefit Deepwood's forces, while still permitting them ease of withdrawal, resupply, and all the rest - while preferably robbing any potential aggressors of those same traits and altogether impeding their ability to fight effectively. The former Lord Commander of the King's Own is prepared to play advisor - admittedly quietly to the overall commander of the mission, Reese. He's not afraid to speak up and offer an alternative plan, if he deems it strategically wiser.

Resources which Rymarr will be making use of(13 Economic, 27 Social, and 27 Military) are used to represent the fact that Rymarr will be hiring mercenaries to assist in bolstering both numbers and presence. Their orders are to... follow orders, but when a retreat is called, to retreat.

Having suggested a strategic withdrawal to Princess Reese should the 'Metallic Traitor', 'Horned God', or whatever name will be used for the day, makes an appearance on the battlefield? Should that time come and the Horned God makes his presence known on the battlefield, then Rymarr will work with the other commanders to promote an expeditious but strategically sound withdrawal. A fighting retreat, if necessary.

An additional 100 Deepwood Infantry, 50 Pikes, and 50 Deepwood Rangers will be on hand in the event such a fighting retreat is necessary, in which they will cover those withdrawing and begin a systematic retreat using the two separate forces to withdraw under the cover of arrows and fresh troops to cover the retreating force.
Additionally the King's Own will be there in the form of Dame Felicia and Dame Paloma, each with four Silver Swords/King's Own under their command. So they'll be doing their thing under Rymarr's guidance and ever watchful eye. They're amongst the greatest knights in Arvum, so there's not much that he'll need to command them on. But, he'll keep an eye out to ensure that the don't get in too deep over their heads and to correct any strategic matters he may notice. Despite being their very own past Lord Commander, he'll lead those few knights as though they were any other troops under his command. Given the history, no doubt they could work together to great effect. Their overall command will fall to Dame Felicia and Dame Paloma, per Lord Commander Leona Thrax, but Rymarr will be present to offer any strategic and leadership course correction as necessary.

Felicia is going to gather up her squad and assign them to the direct protection of the various VIPs (Rymarr, Reese, etc.) within the main attackng force. This is ostensibly because the King's Own trains for the defenseo f the King and so is particularly suited for this role but also because the secondary role she intends to take on would be to accept 'special' missions. If specific targets need to be eliminated the King's Own can be tasked with these dangerous but vital missions, including eliminating enemy leadership, etc. She wants to make use of the King's Own high level of esprit de corps and training to make a single squad as valuable as possible without getting them killed unnecessarily.

Luca is doing as usual and joining the fight to add to his monster head collection and keep his beribboned badass of a wife safe. He's becoming a decent scout, but mostly he's just there for the stabbing of things.

Tikva will be posting herself amongst the archers and scouts serving beneath Reese's command. She is especially lending her services as wilderness survival expert and scout to the efforts to comb through the freezing north, hunting down the Abyssal and/or hunting down agents of the Enslaver /as one does/. She will also be along to provide plucky morale assist to those who care to listen to her, and in case Reese needs cousinly advice and/or a hug, because you never know.

High Inquisitor Alistair will be taking a cadre of Confessors and lower ranking Inquisitors into the Gray Forest alongside the Grayson expedition. The High Inquisitor has multiple reasons for joining the expedition and the war effort against the Horned God. 1. To capture living agents of the Horned God to obtain information on their master and other abyssal entities. 2. To better train the Inquisition to deal with abyssal forces, especially in martial conflicts. 3. Provide martial support to the Grayson effort.

With the support of the Faith, and the need to attract the attention of the enemy, Preston and the Templars are going to try and muster a sizable force of 400-600 Templars to march in support of Reese. If they can't manage that, they will at least try to send several lances of mounted knights. If they manage the full deployment, they will act as a second 'battle' of the column, alongside Grayson troops, allowing some mutual support and flexibility, including the ability to pin the enemy with one and smash. If they only manage the knights, they'll act as a mobile reserve and try to pin down any breaches of the shield line. But in all things they will act in support of Reese, a thanks for her and Grayson being a friend of the Faith.
There is a request associated laying out a bit more detail on our motivations - ticket 6028

Joslyn will be sticking close and directly taking and relaying orders given by Lady Arianna, all while armed with Alaricite hairpins and adorned in leather. While her skills are mostly in stabbing and making sure that things stay stabbed, she'll also ensure that all of Arianna's operation runs smoothly. She'll help Arianna with command if it ever comes down to it, but mostly she'll just be doing copious amounts of stabbing.

Paloma will be assisting Rymarr! And leading her four troops to glory and good tactical use.

Lethe is going along as a healer for the group.

Zenix, a native to the lands, will provide insider insights about the various Clans and Abandoned Tribes that occupy the area. Including their numbers, an estimate of how many warriors they have and what chances one might have at flagging them as friend or foe. Besides their guidance through the land, Zen will stay close to Lady Arianna's side protecting her with her entourage of Wardens and Mistress Joslyn.

Olivia is joining the group largely in a supportive role behind the lines, as a healer and apothecary. If it proves useful, she'll use her alchemical and herbal talents to help with treatments for anyone who needs it, and potentially, if any weird abyssal blight, corruption, sickness, or that kind of thing rears its head, to try and combat it via whatever potions or elixirs she might be able to come up with. Failing that, she's got decent medical training and can simply service as a medic, and will aid wounded soldiers.

A scouting force heads out from the Gray Forest base. There have been a lot of these of late - small groups, meant to find shav, to treat with them as possible, to stop any flocking to the Horned God's banner. Tonight, Arianna, Joslyn, Zenix, Olivia, Kaldur, Silas, and Faelan are headed into the Forest. When they return, it is with a single shav and tales of the hideous creatures that were going to eat the woman's dog (and possibly the scouting group too). They are bloody and battered but alive. And hopefully the very grateful woman who is now swearing dutifully to the Compact is willing to give them information on the movement of the Horned God's armies. And the dog? The dog lived.

Meanwhile in the Gray Forest, Marquis Rymarr Deepwood's army has been busy. Today as they returned to the base camp, they told a tale of cultists trying for a sacrifice to the Horned God, one of the First Children about to be sacrificed, and perhaps most importantly, a prisoner escorted back by Lord Killian Ashford and delivered into the hands of the Inquisition.

A party of diplomats and diplomat-likes, consisting of Margot, Alistair, Aurelian, Monique, Saedrus, and Tikva ride out into the deep woods, it'’s said, to speak with a nomadic group of shavs claiming to possess key strategic information. Whatever negotiations happen past the ragged flaps of ragged tents remain private, but the group emerges with a sheaf of parchment and none the worse for wear.

The stories coming out of the Gray Forest tell another tale as well, as a large group of refugees is escorted to Arx by contingents of the Grayson army. They spread word of the valiant heroes who lead their defense, protecting them against the horrors coming from the northlands. Princess Reese Grayson's army, along with the Iron Company lead by Lord Tobias Telmar, apparently encircled the refugees as they were soon to be overwhelmed by the enemies which had pursued them nearly to their destruction. They tell tale of Prince Luca Grayson's 'nearly insane bravery' in fighting three huge monsters at once, to draw their attention away from the injured Grayson troops. Of Prince Barric Grayson's prodigious strength and prowess, as he cut one of the monster's heads clean off. Of the efforts of Lady Lethe Tyde, who set up triage and sought to mend the injured in the thick of battle. They tell of the hundreds of enemy dead left upon the field, and of the heroic troops who fought such overwhelming odds, standing behind their leaders against the coming onslaught and turning it away with their might. Needless to say, the refugees are being redistributed to Grayson lands, having bent the knee to such heroic representatives of the house.