Mythodea: A Wedding and the Shadow of War
Note from Guest Editor SLIM:
"As I was somewhat intoxicated during the course of the events reported on in this issue of The Ambassador, I hereby tender my sincere apologies at my failure to corroborate any information presented here except to explain that magic stuff causes headaches, and Syconian soldiers need to improve their sneaking skills."
Every year since the founding of the Town of Oak Hill in Kahl'Hatra, East Blackwood has invited guests from all around Mythodea and beyond to take part in the Oak Hill Festival. While there has been a steady stream of Festival Enjoyment in it's world-class tavern: The Salty Stick; the Festival has always been plagued by unforeseen problems.
In the
first year of the Oak Hill Festival the town was covered in small
wounds upon the land Mitraspera which needed to be healed, and Sir Zardon of Sycon came to "escort" Lady Anna-Katharina
von Rabenau home to Syconia. She refused.
In the second
year of the festival, the Black Dynasty made an appearance, an assassin poisoned several notable guests and Sir Zardon returned with
a warning, wedding or blood.
This
year, the last of the Mitrasperan wounds needed to be dealt with, a threat of assassination needed to be investigated, and a wedding needed to be planned.
All of this between drinks, tavern games, and song.
What would
transpire however, no one could have guessed. Someone had to die.
The Oak Hill Festival
At this year's Oak Hill Festival, Baron Dagger welcomed Baron Loken of the Vaettir as his personal guest. The festival started as it always does with the opening of the Salty Stick Tavern and in the hall next to it, East Blackwood Court. Guests arrived slowly, eventually filling out the tavern nicely while in the other room East Blackwood welcomed the Bladesworn Mercenary Company to their service.
After the Bladesworn contract was signed and sealed by two senior Bladesworn members and both by Commander Anthem of the Embassy Guard and Baron Dagger Arkenstone of East Blackwood, the tavern's owner, Marik "The Drunk" Fulgrimson brought a tray of drinks to celebrate the union.
As the festival progressed, the minstrels known as Beauty and the Bard arrived to add their touch to the atmosphere. At the 20th hour, Baron Dagger called everyone to the Town Square for the traditional Festival Speech where he introduced Baron Loken, Marik Fulgrimson and other notables form East Blackwood to the gathered guests.
Then, the speech took a serious note as Dagger addressed a few problems the barony was facing. The first was the wound in Mitraspera just south of the town. The second was the reason why many were at the festival to begin with, the Wedding of Lady Anna and the Viscount of Tamgorod. Dagger warned the guests of the imminent arrival of an uninvited wedding party and that East Blackwood planned to do everything they could to prevent war. This would prove to be wishful thinking by the conclusion of possibly the last Oak Hill Festival. More on that below...
Thugs Attack Willibald
of East Blackwood's Embassy Guard
An affair gone wrong! In the opening hours of the Oak Hill Festival, several people began asking patrons of the Salty Stick Tavern where a man named Willibald was. Those close to Willibald warned him that there were people searching for him.
Although he attempted to hide, Willibald eventually came into contact with one of the group who had been searching for him. Once spotted, the rest were alerted and swarmed Willibald in the tavern. They attacked him with sticks and blunt objects. Willibald drew his sword in self-defense and reportedly slew one of his attackers.
The remaining thugs were restrained by the Embassy Guard and members of the Bladesworn while they were questioned. The men and women who had attacked Willibald were paid by a man from Willibald's home land to "deal with that scum." According to those questioned by our intrepid reporter, Willibald allegedly (ALLEGEDLY) slept with the man's wife and as payback these thugs were sent after Willibald.
Baron Dagger was present but chose to hand the matter and judgment over to his daughter, Lady Lowis Arkenstone. Lady Lowis reprimanded Willibald for his actions and we are assured that he is truly very sorry for any harm he caused.
Memorial Dedication for the Tribes of Terra and Ignis
In the town of Oak Hill sit two stone rings complete with newly finished wood accents. At the start of this year's Festival, Baron Dagger requested Flamenbrud Halfdan, and Ser Lambert of the Gray Souls volunteered, to host two memorial dedication ceremonies. The first ceremony was a dedication to the Narech'Tuloch who sacrificed themselves to help keep Mitraspera alive. The second ceremony was much like the first yet it spoke to the sacrifices of the Razash'Dai, Glut, Dragonfly, and Tori. Both ceremonial hosts lead each with a steady mind and open heart dedicating their respective rings to those who sacrificed themselves so that we could live long enough to save their home, their mother Mitraspera.
The Wedding of Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau and Viscount Gavriil Varontova von Tamgorod
Part 1: Wedding Preparation
Chronicler Cassandra Honoritia Ebelkin of Elesgard reports, "In the run-up to the events, the leadership of Oak Hill received a political demand from the Viscount, who demanded marriage to Lady Anna von Rabenau. According to the Viscount's explicit threat, this union was to be enforced by military action if necessary, as he hoped that the union would give him control over the strategically important region of Rabenau." In spite of these threats, Baron Dagger urged his people and guests to deal with the matter diplomatically unless all other options were exhausted.
Arrival of Duchess Morvena von Yel'zma and Jarl Ulrich von Reva
To
complicate matters, Duchess Morvena von Yel'zma of Syconia and Jarl
Ulrich von Reva of West Sycon arrived just after Baron Dagger made his
welcoming speech to East Blackwood and their guests.
Both the Duchess and the Jarl were hesitantly welcomed as dignitaries
from their homeland. The staff of the Oak Hill Festival even
went so far as to entertain them as guests. The Jarl departed shortly afterwards but the Duchess and some of her guards remained
while she got to know the people of Mythodea.
Arrival of Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau
Lady Anna arrived the following day accompanied by Diob of Irenath. Before she spoke with anyone, Baron Dagger took Anna and Diob to a private residence to speak. When they emerged, Dagger brought Anna and Diob to meet with the guests of the festivities and East Blackwood who were invested in the wedding and or future of Lady Anna. Anna was permitted to sit the high table of East Blackwood Hall while she received information on the events leading up to the time of her arrival. After Anna heard each person out she presented her plan for the wedding.
Arrival of Viscount Gavrril Varontova von Tamgorod
As the day
second day of the festival wore on, more and more Syconian soldiers
made their rounds throughout the Barony of East Blackwood and its
capital, Oak Hill. As night fell after Lady Anna had made
her arrival, a thick red mist rolled into the town square.
"His highness, the honorable Viscount Gavriil Varontova von
Tamgorod!," called the herald from the mist.
The Viscount
made his entrance followed by a throng of soldiers. Lady
Anna-Katharina and her entourage were there to meet him. This
would be the first time Anna was old enough to remember meeting the
Viscount and, in spite of all the hardships he allegedly put her and
her family through, she smiled while meeting him
officially. Cassandra Honoritia Ebelkin continues, "Lady
Anna declared her willingness to marry, but only under her own conditions [were implemented into the wedding]."
The Viscount of Tamgorod requested Guest Rite from Baron Dagger of which Dagger declared Guest Rite was only for his close friends which excluded the Viscount. The Baron did however allow him to use East Blackwood Hall to plan the evening's wedding with Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau. At that meeting all who were interested and or involved were invited to attend while the festivities carried on as normal at The Salty Stick Tavern next door.
Baron Dagger Arkenstone of East Blackwood offered his throne to Lady Anna while he took a more modest seat to her left. Anna invited to the Viscount to sit beside her on the right; Baron Dagger protested this but accepted the Lady's wishes in the end. Around the table sat Duchess Morvena of Yel'Zma and Jarl Ulrich of Reva as well as East Blackwood notables such as Lady Lowis Arkenstone, Elyon of the Bladesworn, and Medina Delany. Also seated at the table were guests and friends of East Blackwood such as the Kalifa Sina at Askana and Cassandra Honoratia Ebelkin. Surrounding the meeting were both Syconian and East Blackwood soldiers.
By meeting's end, the bride and groom separated to make their final wedding preparations. Viscount Gavrril Varontova sat down with Okusiba, an East Blackwood Company Scribe, to prepare his vows while Anna went outside to take care of other matters pertaining to the wedding and her homeland.
The Story Continues bellow in Part 2.
Wound of Mitraspera: Syconian Mage's Test Site
Two years past, scouts uncovered a site near the Town of Oak Hill where dead birds lay about the ground and the land had died around them. After further investigation and analysis, the location appeared to be a Wound of Mitraspera and it was larger still than those which had been in the ruins of the town that would later be restored and renamed to Oak Hill.
A year ago mages of East Blackwood and guests of the Oak Hill Festival transplanted an unstable crystal, which had grown from Mitraspera in the town center, into the Wound to serve as a 'bandage'. The wound persisted and with this year's Oak Hill Festival arriving, Baron Dagger did not hesitate to ask for help once more.
Cassandra Honoritia Ebelkin of Elesgard reports, "Behind Oak Hill lies a magical damage known as the "Wound of the Land," which has become unstable and active.
On [the second day of the festival], it was discovered that two souls were bound within the wound: Garlekin, a servant of the god Ahk'ha'ma and a second, previously unknown soul [who served the same god].
To solve the problem, a group of mag[es] spent a long time preparing a structured ritual. The ritual first released the two souls from the wound and transferred them to the scythe of the death priest Ralof."
Cassandra continues, "[later] Lady Anna then performed a transfer ritual that transferred the souls from the scythe to her crystal."
This action angered Duchess Morvena of Yel'Zma who demanded Baron Dagger tell him why he allowed Anna to take the Syconian souls into her possession. Dagger reportedly answered, "There are four Syconian nobles here, Anna is one of them. Why not her?" At this the duchess was seen walking away from Dagger in frustration.
Brotherhood of the Crescent and the Trap
East Blackwood explains that over the past several years, an order known as the Brotherhood of the Crescent or Bruderschaft des Halbmondes has been actively sowing division, harming, or murdering people within, and somewhat associated to The Kingdom of Blackwood. As no Brotherhood member has ever been captured alive, their true motivations have escaped The Kingdom of Blackwood and its Barony in Mitraspera, East Blackwood. One year ago a Consul of the Wayfarers, Wulf von Pfundenstein, was reported murdered by the Brotherhood. This year, it was once again expected that they would make their presence apparent at the Oak Hill Festival.
Cassandra Honoratia Ebelkin writes, "On [the second] morning [of the Oak Hill Festival], a threatening letter containing poison was found, clearly directed at important figures in East Blackwood. The letter announced targeted poisonings. The authorship could be clearly attributed to the Brotherhood of the Crescent Moon.
A suspected spy for the Brotherhood was captured through the cleaver use of a trap and interrogated. The findings of this interrogation are currently unclear, as the spy killed herself before the interrogation could be completed and questioning by the death priest did not yield any new information."
East Blackwood adds that two other letters were found on the body of the would-be-poisoner. One letter detailed a list of people who's blood from various people including Halfdan the Flamebrud was to be collected and the other was assassination targets. The names of the latter have not been released.
"No further activities by the Brotherhood were observed during the course of the investigation; however, the threat remains."
Wound of Mitraspera:
Unstable Crystal formed from Ignis and Mitraspera with Essence Corruption
A year ago, an unstable crystal
formed on the site of a Razash'Dai burial in the town now known as
Oak Hill. Once tampered with, this crystal almost exploded.
Through careful application of magic and energy, a mage named Talvi
transported the crystal from the Town of Oak Hill to the mage's test
site south of the town to be used as a 'sort of bandage' over a wound
in Mitraspera. When the Magi of East Blackwood and the guest mages of
the Oak Hill Festival placed the crystal into the Wound of
Mitraspera, it was only intended as a temporary measure. This
year, Baron Dagger once again asked for aid concerning the wound and
it was given.
Guest Editor SLIM quotes Baron Dagger as saying:
"WE'RE GOING TO FIX THIS DAMN THING ONCE AND FOR ALL!"
As mentioned above, during astral analysis, the wound was found to contain two souls of dead Syconians assumed to be mages from the original tests that had taken place there years prior. The crystal was removed from the wound and after Reverend Ralof removed the souls that were trapped within. At that point the mages set to work on healing the wound. They drew Power from each other as they worked against the tide of bleeding energies that escaped the hole, which even managed to penetrate their circle of protection. The energy gave people headaches at first but would then quickly make them violent until subdued or until removed from the energy source for a long enough period.
Despite all of this, the mage and knowledge seeker team were able to close the wound in Mitraspera and focus on the two remaining tasks, the Crystal and the Souls. Both were brought back to Oak Hill where further planning took place. The souls were later dealt with by Lady Anna as stated in a previous article while the unstable crystal remained a problem. Finally, the few exhausted mages who still had power to give set to the task of cleansing the Essence from the crystal and separating the energies. We at The Ambassador owe these mages a great deal of thanks because a number of our writers were present in Oak Hill at the time and the careful efforts of the mages allowed us to live long enough to finish our next issue of the newspaper. Thank you.
The Wedding of Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau and Viscount Gavriil Varontova von Tamgorod Part 2 : The Wedding
The wedding was hosted in the town square of Oak Hill just in front of The Salty Stick Tavern. Behind a central Altar, Diob of Irenath, a fey, stood as priest. On the altar was a mirror in the shape of an eye. Standing before the altar with mirrors of their own were six witnesses from Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau. At the sides of the altar stood the Viscount's two witnesses, Duchess Morvena of Yel'Zma and Jarl Ulrich of Reva.
Baron Dagger opened the wedding with a speech where he explained why everyone had gathered there that evening. Priest Diob then continued before asking Dagger to escort the bride to the altar. Soon, all eyes were on Lady Anna as she made her way to meet her husband to be, Viscount Gavriil Varontova von Tamgorod.
The ceremony continued with the speaking of the vows. The viscount from Tamgorod began, followed by Lady Anna. Each witness of Lady Anna then spoke about which emotion they would hold for her, Love, Hope, Fear, etc. Lastly, Diob held up the ceremonial sword which was to represent the power of Rabenau, Lady Anna's ancestral home.
Baron Dagger stepped forward, prepared to receive the sword. "And now, Baron Dagger Arkenstone will take the sword which represents Rabenau and give it to the future Baron of Rabenau," intoned Diob.
Dagger took the sword and raised it high, witnessing the Viscount's expression betray his lust for power, he exclaimed, "what I do now I do with love." At that moment, instead of give the sword to the Viscount, he killed Lady Anna-Katharine von Rabenau with it and chaos erupted in the town square.
The Wedding of Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau and Viscount Gavriil Varontova von Tamgorod Part 3: Outcome
The immediate fallout saw the wedding turn to chaos. On both sides armed and armored individuals were ready to react if something went wrong during the ceremony. As was later reported, at the time only three people knew the truth of what happened in the final moments of the ceremony, Baron Dagger, the fey Diob, and Lady Anna herself.
Screams tore through the crowed from both the Viscount and the Duchess. Many in the crowed gasped while others set their weapons on the Syconians. As the dust settled, the vampire nobles of Tamgorod, Yel'Zma, and Reva were able to retreat nearly unharmed while several of their soldiers lay dead in the square.
Cassandra writes, "Through Lady Anna's subsequent ritual death during the wedding, the crystal, together with the souls bound within it, entered the pocket dimension of the mirror, which at that point already contained part of Anna's soul. A mirror image of Lady Anna, previously created in the evening ritual, also continues to exist, its role remaining undefined."
Cassandra adds notes from Reverand Ralof Graumeer's Theory, "Lady Anna had already prepared her soul beforehand and was perhaps never really present. The body present may have been a clone or simulacrum that was animated and implanted with this plan and mission.
The simulacrum then
split into two parts during the ritual. One fragment
entered the Viscount, giving Lady Anna partial control over him ever
since. The Viscount has since shown clear symptoms of a split
consciousness. Another fragment was transferred into a
mirror containing a fey-based pocket dimension. A
third fragment remained in the body, which has since been considered
non-functional.
In the context of further events, there is also talk of a dormant second body of Lady Anna, the nature and purpose of which are currently unclear."
The official statement from East Blackwood:
East Blackwood apologizes for the events that took place at the Wedding of Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau and Viscount Gavriil Varontova and any harm this has caused those close to Lady Anna. "She is one of us and we feel your pain."
Baron Dagger was asked personally by Lady Anna, upon his oath to her, to kill her at the conclusion of the wedding with an Ignis enchanted sword. All of East Blackwood agreed the day prior to stand behind Lady Anna's decision, whatever it may be. The results of the wedding will now likely lead to war between Blackwood and Syconia but East Blackwood was prepared to accept this potential outcome when they committed themselves to stand behind Anna-Katharine von Rabenau.
East Blackwood now prepares for the future consequences, whenever they may come, and will be searching for allies. East Blackwood understands the harsh realities of the War with the Forsaken and will do everything in it's power to continue to support that cause while working to curtail the threat of the Syconians as well.
