Two suns in the sunset

Overview

The Imperial Synod has committed to the spreading of the Way to Asavea. With the legal complications settled, missionaries and wayfarers continue to head east. With the help of the Freeborn, they smuggle themselves, and valuable resources, into Asavea to share with those who pursue the path of virtue despite the opposition of the Plenum and the priests of the Asavean gods. Yet the missionaries are not the only people heaving east. At the direction of the Imperial Conclave, magicians of the Sevenfold Path have been slipping into Asavea, making contact with virtuous magicians who might be persuaded to follow the Way. The work is dangerous, but the Order has made contact with three distinct groups, all of whom might be called Virtuous.

Sadly the grand project, to funnel white granite and funds to those sects that already follow the Way is proceeding slowly. Even a personal plea by the Throne has not yielded results. There is a growing cynicism across the Empire for these grand projects, fuelled in part by the current crises of faith.

This season the focus has turned to the Loyalty Assembly who have decided emphatically that they wish to find those who would tear down the corrupt rule of the Plenum. They will need a lot of support from the Empire to raise an effective rebellion, but it will all be worth it when the days comes that the Plenum falls.

Tear Them Down

The Assembly of Loyalty have committed themselves to finding ways to tear down the Plenum

The mandate enacted by Sufyan i Zuhri i Guerra has sent a clear signal from the Assembly of Loyalty to the faithful that they should try to to start a revolution in Asavea. This will not be simple - it is no easier for the Synod to tear down the Plenum than it would be for the Plenum to start a successful revolution in the Empire. This will be expensive and dangerous and take years. Uprisings are not unknown in Asavea - in fact they are not even uncommon. Which is why the Plenum are so experinced at dealing with them.

This plan is guaranteed to incite the furor of the Plenum that goes way beyond the attack on Chalonsio. Once the Assembly of Loyalty commits to this path then this war will go from a matter of retaliation and honour to one of survival. The Asaveans have a massive military force of navites and armies that dwarfs anything the Grendel possess.

The more the Empire commits to the destruction of the Plenum the harder they will fight back. The Loyalty Assembly are giving them absolutely no choice - it's either kill or be killed. Once it becomes clear that their rule is in jeopardy they will do everything they can to ensure that it is the Empire that falls - not the Plenum.

The first flowers of this outreach have now born fruit. The Assembly has identified three groups that they believe could be persuaded to take up arms against the Plenum.

The Satrapy of Ibaria

Ibaria is a poor satrapy on the edge of the Archipelago whose rebellion was ruthlessly crushed They are a martial people who would rise again, if they had the means and there was a chance of victory They could raise up to three armies if supplied with mithril

On the near edge of the vast Asavean Archipelago, lies the island satrapy of Ibaria. Though a peripheral and comparatively poor satrapy, Ibaria has a proud martial tradition with soldiers serving in more than one Asavean army. The Satrapy is known to some League merchants who have unofficially been docking there for years, buying wines, oils, and fine metalwork. Maybe it was that contact that inspired these people to try and rise up and overthrow their satrap, it's hard to say. Either way, a few years back, their attempt at rebellion was crushed by the Plenum. Those rebels who survived fled, and some came to the Empire, helped by the same League merchants who had once prospered from the trade.

To the best of anyone's knowledge the refugees settled somewhere in the League, the egregore has even confirmed that they took League citizenship and at least some of them have attended Anvil recently, so they shouldn't be too hard to find. It may be that they have turned their back on their former homeland, and are happy to embrace their new lives in the Empire. Even if that is true, they may be able to help Ibaria raise again.

Doing so will be expensive. Rebellions need armies and armies need mithril, and huge quantities of it. The Ibarians have an intense martial spirit and the will to fight. They are eager to rise up, if the opportunity presents itself. But they are poor and the Plenum ensures they stay that way, as punishment for their last revolt. The Empire could raise up to two armies here. The Imperial Senate could pass a motion instructing the civil service to make the relevant arrangements or the Loyalty Assembly could use an appropriatelystatement of principle calling on those who are already involved in these efforts to make the relevant arrangements.

Either approach would work - but neither approach will supply the huge quantities of mithril needed. That will be up to the people of the Empire.

The Children of Asav

The Children of Asav are a reactionary movement in Asavea who want to return the Archipelago to its glory days They lionise the nation's martial spirit, and decry the corruption and venality of the Plenum They are an influential cult, whose influence would grow if they were backed with Imperial funds

The Plenum is a hotbed of corruption - bribery, nepotism, and graft are commonplace at every level and there is a wide-spread understanding that the powerful families that run the Archipelago act largely in their own best interests. There is a natural suspicion amongst many members of the Plenum towards anyone who claims to be serving the common good. Plenum members who speak openly of how their ideas will benefit themselves are seen as more honest than those who decry self-interest. Idealists are viewed as dangerous demagogues, the kind of people who might whip up the mob to claim a mandate from the people - deluded at best, deceitful at worst.

As a result, the Plenum does not tolerate idealists for very long. In theory, the head of each major household has a seat on the Plenum but those who don't share the general philosophy quickly find themselves on the out, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. In practice, most households deal with this matter themselves - family members with dangerous ideas of change are encouraged to get themselves killed fighting the Sumaah or otherwise pushed out or ignored. There is little place in Asavean society for people hungry to improve the lot of their fellow human beings.

One such group is the Children of Asav. Largely compromised of well-educated members of households who have found themselves ostracised for their political views, the Children are opposed to the rule of the Plenum and would like nothing more than to see it torn down. They dream of a return to a supposed golden age, when Asavea was the most powerful empire in the world, under the rule of warriors forged in battle. Many of them are members of the Asavean armies, and are open about their desire to replace the Plenum and the priesthood with military rule.

The Plenum doesn't waste a lot of time on the Children of Asav, partly because they are fiercely loyal to Asavea, if not the Plenum, but mostly because they are largely powerless. Any who speak openly are thrown out of their families for their idealism so they have little in the way of open political connections. What they do have is a loose network of connections spread right across Asavea that could grow into a genuine political movement. The one question the Loyalty assembly are unable to answer is how many other Children of Asav there might be, quietly toeing the Plenum line - and how committed they would be to tearing down their society if push came to shove.

To threaten the Plenum would require vast resources though, the Empire would need to set up arrangements to fund the Children of Asav directly. If they had large sums of money flowing to them, they could parlay that into growing influence in Asavean society. All it would take is the said large sums of money to come from somewhere... The Senate could do it of course, they could even use a Senate motion to set up regular payments from the Imperial treasury if they could find the money from somewhere. Or the Loyalty Assembly could make arrangements, perhaps by drawing on the Virtue fund and collecting sizable donations.

It would need to be at least 75 thrones a season to have a noticeable impact - and it would take years to build a movement. The Children of Asav want to throw down the Plenum and return Asavea to its heyday, but that can't happen overnight - even with the Empire's backing.

The Lost Weepers

The Lost Weepers are a group of rebels who have turned to dark powers They worship all the gods of the Asavean pantheon and more They are a dangerous cult, whose influence would grow if they were backed with ritual texts

The Lost Weepers were once part of an influential band of rebels who managed to raise a rag-tag army, the Pride of Aracossa. After the fall of Fort Maragladia to the vicious Plenum forces four years ago, the rebels who would become the Lost Weepers scattered. Left behind by the Sumaah and the Empire they hardened, reaching out for anything that would help them survive, calling to all the gods of the Asavean pantheon. And in their darkest moments, something answered them.

Now, the Lost Weepers act as ruthless soldiers, wholly committed to their cause of hurting the Asavean Plenum. They could be a dangerous weapon, double-edged and liable to nick the throat of the one trying to wield them, but potentially deadly if used correctly. If the Empire can stomach allying with those who think nothing of murder and butchery and can ignore the fell powers that the Lost Weepers have thrown in their lot with, then this group could inflict significant damage on the Plenum.

What the cult really need is access to ritual texts and large volumes of mana. If the Imperial Conclave were able to disseminate Thunderous Tread of the Trees, Rivers Run Red, Mountain Remembers Its Youth, and Wither the Seed, then they would start wreaking havoc on satrapies across Asavea. They know exactly what Mountain Remembers Its Youth does and are eager to use weapons like these on their enemies.

They have some small stores of mana, so initially the rituals text alone would be sufficient to allow them to exact revenge on the Plenum. Beyond that, they would need supplies of mana or else any rebellion will quickly peter out.

The Refined Dossier

At the Autumn Equinox, the League called for action on Asavea The Regario Dossier is being elected at this summit The new title holder could reallocate up to six spies from their current operations to Asavea to learn more about the groups the Empire has located so far This opportunity is only available at the Spring Equinox

Rafael Barossa has not shied away from embracing the conflict with the Asavean Plenum. The Grandmaster of the Sevenfold Path has already set wheels in motion to make contact with various disparate groups of magicians scattered across the Archipelago. Then at the Autumn Equinox he persuaded the League Assembly to pass a statement of principle that finished by insisting that the "The people of the League should use all our cleverness, sophistication and skill to support preaching the way in Asavea, and the pilgrims already there, obeying the rules of the game as we do so."

Unlike the Assembly of Loyalty, the League Assembly appears to have stopped short of calling for outright violence. Instead they want to use the traditional League virtues of cleverness and sophistication to support the work. Initially there was not much response. This was not because people weren't moved by the Grandmaster's words, they were, but they couldn't think of how to respond.

In theory people could donate funds to support the efforts to carry the Way to Asavea, but citizens are wary of that. The ongoing crisis of faith caused by the revelations about Vardas have damaged many people's faith. More importantly, there are so many calls from Anvil for help these days. This is not even the most important one, allegedly, that is the war against the vallorn according to the Archbishop of the Capodomus Cathedral. In fact it's not the second most important Ambition either, because that is the Grand Inspiration of the Way, according to the Assembly of Nine.

Still, any call that challenges the League's wits must be met in kind. And so after some head-scratching someone finally comes up with a great way that the League could do a lot to help with this effort. There'll be a cost of course, but the Grandmaster is no fool, he knows how the game is played.

There is one thing the League do well - arguably better than anyone else in the Empire - and it's not money. Or fashion. It's espionage. The countless League merchants travelling across the world establishing business contacts wherever they go are the perfect cover for establishing paid informants. Hence the existence of the Regario Dossier. This prestigious League position receives valuable information from a carefully protected network of spies.

The League may be masters of espionage, but the nations resources are not infinite. The Regario Dossier already has a spy in Asavea, but they have never concentrated their resources on the Archipelago. They could try to establish spies all across the islands to obtain as more information as possible, but to do that they would have to refocus efforts away from those nations the Dossier currently receives information on.

Other than Asavea, the Regario Dossier currently has informants in Commonwealth, the Principalities of Jarm, the Sarcophan Delves, and the Sumaah Republic, as well as spies closer to home in Axos, the Iron Confederacy and the Faraden. Does the Empire really need sensitive secrets squirreled out of Sumaah? Do they need a confidential report on the goings on on the Commonwealth?

The title falls vacant at the start of this summit - the position will go to whichever League citizen bids the most for it. They will get a single report when they assume the title that contains everything the Dossier has learned in the previous year. They could chose to immediately reallocate some or all of the spies from the nations listed above and send them to Asavea. The Empire have already identified six potential groups they might want to support or aid - the dossier could reallocate up to seven spies from their current operations to Asavea.

Each spy that the Regario Dossier chooses to reallocate will then produce a report on that group, one year from today. Information gathering, takes time, sadly. This opportunity only exists at the forthcoming summit - when the Regario Dossier is being elected. It will not be possible to reallocate any spies after this summit has passed as the moment will have passed. (OOC Note: The new title holder can reallocate any of the spies currently active (except the one in Asavea) to spy on a specific faction in the Archipelago) provided they email plot@profounddecisions.co.uk before the close of downtime.

Establishing the Way

47 thrones 2 rings and 14 wains of white granite have been provided so far to Anchor the Way Judgements calling for people to support this kind of grand project are struggling to have an impact

The noble efforts to anchor the Way in Asavea are finally beginning to get started. The hercluean efforts of the Imperial Conclave to endow 190 mana crystals has paid for ten wains of white granite to be sent to Asavea. This has finally spurred donations from other citizens which accompanied it. The project is still years away from fruition, but it is at least moving forwards. Perhaps, like a rolling stone, it will gather momentum.

Unfortunately, any hope of momentum is currently stalled for two fundamental reasons, direction and exhaustion.

While various statements of principle and mandates that have passed the Synod have exorted citizens to do what they can to support the establishment of the Way in Asavea, the Throne and the Assembly of Nine identified that the Grand Inspiration of the Way as worthy of people's contributions. Meanwhile the Archbishop of Capodomus, along with the Navarr and other nations are calling for the Empire to finally destroy the vallorn.

The Empire appears to have so many different Ambitions at the moment, that people are becoming inured to the constant appeals for aid. If there was a consistent message, if the Empire has a singular goal to unite around, then it might become possible to rally people to support that goal. But with so many different visions, people are confused about what to support and how.

The Synod is incredibly powerful, it can move the hearts and minds of the Empire and achieve incredible things. But that power is diminished the more diluted it becomes. It is not motivation people need but clarity and direction. The Synod is not all powerful, it can't achieve anything and statements of principle that exort hard-working citizens to do more, to fight harder, to work harder, are increasingly met with eye-rolls. Despite everything, the Empire remains devout, but precisely because of that, people already work hard, they already fight hard. Even the Synod can't achieve anything by urging people who are already doing everything they can to do more.

That motivation has been tested in recent times. The revelations about Vardas were a hammer blow to the faith of some people in the Empire and they have undermined the authority of the Synod. The recent discovery that half the Assembly of Nine have sworn oaths to bear auras of the malign spiritual presence of peace has done the same to the authority of the Assembly of Nine. Crucially, the discovery that precious few of the rich and powerful citizens of Anvil have supported these projects has given life to cynicism in some quarters. La Volpe might have been a garish League mountebank at heart, but nobody can deny the prince was charitable with his wealth. Where is that leadership now?

If the Imperial Synod can find a way to give clear direction, to speak with one voice and to spread the Throne's vision to the Empire, then people will begin to look for what more they can do. But the example shown by the recent decision of Highguard's benefactors to allow their council to direct their resources indicates how such things might develop in the coming years. The statements of the Synod urging people to act are the only the Empire has to influence how its people feel - but there is no chance now that they will result in a mandate that can create a flow of wains to fund some grand project.

The old Guide, Rhiannon of the Three Falls, puts her finger on the current sentiment - "A leader is not someone who gives orders. A leader is someone who goes first."

If the Empire wants people to support the establishment of the Way in Asavea, or the construction of the Grand Inspiration, or the destruction of the Vallorn, or the final defeat of the Druj - or any of these goals, it must find a way to communicate that overriding goal clearly to people. And most importantly, the people at Anvil will need to find a way to show people that they are going first.

A Bond Between Sailors

Thirteen thousand strength in fleets defended the Sumaash coastline from the Asaveans The Asaveans were forced to retreat following an extensive battle

Last season, the High House of Vigilance in Sumaah uncovered an Asavean plan to sack one of Sumaah's cities. A call for aid was sent to the Empire, asking those fleets who had already helped to thwart the blockade to help bolster the defences of the Republic one final time. The captains of the Empire did all that was asked of them and more. They came together to defend their allies against the threat of the Plenum, to stop a second vengeance-fuelled conflagration devouring a city the way Siroc was consumed.

The High House of Vigilance reckoned that the Frieøyer would need at least a hundred fleet captains to fully protect the coast. Less than that, and the only thing that would save the Republic from losing one of its coastal cities - perhaps even Zemeh - would be luck. In the end, the Empire sent just shy of a hundred fleets... but many of them bore powerful enchantments woven with Spring magic that filled their crews with fervour and fury at the temerity of the Asaveans. Taken together, these ships would be a match for at least two navies worth of ships and marines, two entire Asavean navies, and the remainder a significant threat to a third.

Some of these ships may have sailed for profit - but Zemress never criticised those who sought to bolster their prosperity by the hard work of fighting their enemies and neither do the Frieøyer she inspired. Some may have sailed to deny the Asaveans their vengeance, to counter their lust for destruction, to prevent the Plenum slaughtering and burning the hopes of good people. Some may have sailed for the sheer exhilaration of testing themselves against the warships of Asavea - a taste of what may lie in the future if the Plenum continues to send its behemoth vessels to bolster the Grendel. A few may even have sailed simply for the adventure of it all (and were there heralds of Bottlenose in the water around their vessels?) But all came together with one goal - to defend virtue against corruption.

The Imperial ships that reach the isle of the Frieøyer are greeted with open arms. The leader of the Sumaash Republic is the speaker of the House of the People - the Sumaah equivalent of the Senate - and they are familiar to a few Imperial visitors. Kauitalic visited the Empire and nearly died, but was saved by brave heroes, and they do not forget it. Indeed, they make a point of speaking to as many Imperial captains as they can, thanking them for coming to Sumaah in their time of need in person and ensuring an anointing from the Sumaah Präster to any who need it. The once pirate-kings of the Frieøyer offer a more prosaic welcome - there is drink and good food and the celebration of warriors who know that they may be called upon to give their lives in the defence of what they know to be right.

A swift council of war is convened, and the strategy thrashed out. Some of the Imperial ships will support the small number of Sumaah war vessels in the waters close to the shore. The others will join the Frieøyer - some in readiness at the four cities under threat others as loose roaming bands ready to give warning or fall on isolated Asavean ships. Days turn to weeks, and doubt begins to creep in on slippered feet. What if this is all a feint? A misdirection of the clever Plenum? What if the Asavean ships have already set sail, their target not Zemeh or Tulkan, or Frieøyer, or Amunet, but Meade, or Sarvos, or the Necropolis? A few captains anxiously wait for a missive to come from home, telling them of some new atrocity committed in the name of the Plenum's vengeance. Then, at dawn on a day that some are certain will see them turn to sail home, afraid of what they might encounter, the sails are sighted.

Five navies, and a dozen of those mighty warships of Asavea have come for Zemeh, for the rich trading city that for decades was the only part of the Republic any outsider ever saw. On their decks are thousands of soldiers - mercenaries from across the western islands, priests and blessed warriors of the Red God of War, initiates of a half dozen other cults. On many of the flagships fly the tattered pennants of the God of Chains, the god of slavers. His priesthood has been fractured and broken by the Liberty Pact and the flame of Amika and Acciai, but there are still some prepared to enslave their fellow mortals in his wicked name.

Battle explodes; the Imperial captains and the Frieøyer, and those few warships docked at Zemeh fly from the safety of the city walls like an arrow through the noonday into the heart of the Asaveans. The once-pirates fight with precision and deadly skill, each ship knowing where it should be and where it must go. Their Imperial allies catch some of their fervour, echo their battle cries, and the Frieøyer respond in turn. "Three people!" they shout. "In the darkness, a light!", "A marcher! A marcher!" and so it goes, shouts, and screams, and crackling flames, and the snap of the ballistae and the terrible groan when a ship damaged beyond endurance breaks and surrenders to the thirsty sea.

(And there are stories - there are always stories - told in the taverns and the portside dens, of a black weirwood ship of archaic unfamiliar style that darts through the fray like a kingfisher, swift and unstoppable, with black sails that bely the splendid garb of those who heave upon its ropes, of those who hurl their spears, of those who roar in the face of the thundering battle. They swoop in, it is said later, when a virtuous crew are to be overwhelmed, when their ship is in dire straits, and they provide a moment of respite - only a moment - for the crew to gather themselves and fight back and then they are gone. Some of the Frieøyer, some of the Freeborn, think they know the name of that ship... but nobody can ever say for certain that they saw it, only tell the tall tale in the tavern and the portside dens. And yet... and yet...)

The battle rages for hours, but it is as if time stands still, as if the sun barely moves in the sky so eager is it to see these ships fight. The Asavean mariners, their soldiers, are no cowards. They do not flee, they meet the virtuous assault and they fight as hard as they can. Some are motivated no doubt by the promise of the riches of Zemeh. Others by misplaced loyalty to their corrupt Plenum. Some by the thrill of fighting the Frieøyer and their Imperial allies. Others simply revelling in the chaos, the excitement (and are there dolphins in the waters around those vessels as well? Or perhaps it is sharks.)

Hours and some of the ships make landfall, disgorging their mercenaries, and the fighting takes to the land, the blessed warriors of Sumaah fighting to defend their homes, the walls of the city straining to turn aside the assault and then... and then, finally, a single clear, impossibly clear, note. A horn resounding, cutting through the din of battle into every heart. And the Asaveans turn, catch the wind, deploy their oars, and they begin to retreat. To fall back north across the wine dark sea toward the archipelago from which they sailed, thinking that the Sumaah would be easy prey.

But they had counted without the bonds of Virtue, without the Loyalty and the Prosperity and the Pride of those who sail.

And so Zemeh is saved, and the Asavean blockade broken, and the Asavean navies and warships given a stinging rebuke, and Virtue stands victorious against the despotic tyranny of the Plenum.

The Just Rewards of Your Labours

The grateful Houses of Sumaah have committed to sending a dose of true liao to the Empire each season

There is one last thing. Before the Imperial captains turn for home, Kauitalic asks every crew to gather in one of the great marble plazas of Zemeh. The speech they give is short - why use forty words when four will do? - but its message is clear. The Empire and the Republic are siblings - they may squabble and argue but they are united by bonds of Virtue that the Asaveans can never understand much less sever. A unanimous decision of the Assembly of Eight has agreed that, from this day onwards, at each Solsitce and Equinox until the war with Asavea is finally won by the forces of virtue, the Houses of Sumaah will send a single dose of true liao to the Empire, for the Gatekeepers to bestow as they see fit on the virtuous of the Empire, in the name of that bond, forged in blood and salt, by the captains of the Empire.

Participation

Any character who sent their fleet to thwart the blockade is welcome to roleplay having been there. The battle was utterly chaotic, with an overwhelming number of ships and soldiers. Any injuries you may have sustained will have been healed by Sumaah healers, and any damage to your vessel will have been repaired by the grateful Frieøyer.

Further Reading

Asavean Archipelago The hard way - another Wind of Fortune discussing the importance of the Synod focusing its efforts One of us - 386YE Winter wind of fortune about the attempt to anchor the Way in Asavea