A Treason: The Would be Death of Tawar Rocknar

Earainne ni Dougal, The Ar'Dhar of the Southern Seal, Fae Queen of the Summer Court of Mitraspera and Protector of Dreams. Titles have weight and meaning but they can also be a shield against justice. When an Ar'Dhar, a Queen and a Protector declares a death sentence to teach a Mitrasperan a lesson in making deals with Fae and then raises

At the Oak Hill Festival in the Barony of East Blackwood, Tawar Rocknar made a deal with the Ar'Dhar of the Southern Seal, Earainne. The price was not given at the time but once the conditions were met, the Ar'Dhar, the high mage of the South, lashed out in anger allegedly killing an Archivist of the Great Archive and ending with a solid attempt to choke Tawar Rocknar to death. The response from the Southern Seal? A slap on the wrist.

When the crimes battery and attempted murder were brought to the Court of the Southern Seal by the Archon of the Roses, a claim of recent Skargen corruption was put forth by the South to excuse their Ah'Dhar of her actions. A quick internal analysis was performed on Earainne where the South declared there was residual corruption in contradiction to what their own Nyame had told the Roses and East Blackwood delegation just minutes before. They discussed in haste a punishment which Sir Dagger Arkenstone of Blackwood claims was just to placate the victim, Archon of the Roses and East Blackwood. 20 Silver and a personal apology.

"Why should one expect anything different? Those of high title and status tend to walk away from high crimes, even those declared expressly forbidden upon punishment of death by the Ruler's Council and the Marshal Law." – Anonymous

After Tawar Rocknar accepted the blood money from Southern Seal and the apology, Sir Dagger was visibly enraged by the course of action. "This is how you want to play this? Tawar Rocknar is a squire to the Knights of Blackwood, my squire. For a year and a day I remained silent about this because he begged my silence. Now I see that it is time to officially charge the Ar'Dhar of the South with treason against the Rule of the Ruler's Council. I will bring charges against Earainne for the crime of attempting to murder a Mitrasperan protected under the Marshal Law."

Confused, the court of the South desired clarification and Sir Dagger did his best in the moment to provide. "Over a year ago at a gathering I hosted, your Ah'Dhar was a guest and made a deal with Tawar Rocknar where the portion of payment was left undefined. One year and a day ago while on expedition to Sarkan, Earainne made her demands; Tawar had one year and a day to hand her a Divine Artifact of the Skargen or he would die. She defined the conditions. She made that decision. She is responsible."

His Radiance, the Archon of the Roses stated that his port in this was done and that the Realm would not back the charges. Sir Dagger accepted this statement and thanked him for what he had done. A court representative spoke with Dagger shortly after asking that the charges not be brought at that time in which Sir Dagger agreed. "I will do it officially at the Convent of the Elements. We are all fighting the same war here against he Dark Alliance and for the restoration of our home in the name of the Elements, Mitraspera. In this we of like mind. I will wait until the Convent at Bad Holzbrück and do this properly."  

East Blackwood and Bladesworn Attacked !

During the long march to the Port Town of Confluence in the Realm of Roses after Sarkan, the East Blackwood baggage train came under attack.  Sir Logaan led the relief force which forced the attackers into retreat.  Sir Varn and Medina Delany were heavily injured during the fighting.  The attackers were reported to be mostly human or at least not part of the Dark Alliance.

Heart of Mitraspera Found: A Piece

Mitraspera, the living continent on which so many call home, is dying. This is known. As the bleeding out of their home continues, Mitraspera's settlers embark on more and more missions south to Sarkan in search of the third sister and Mitraspera's salvation. Once the expeditionary forces made camp and scouts reports started to come in, rumors spread that deep in a mushroom maze located in northern Sarkan a great cauldron rested. This cauldron once released from the maze would prove to contain a part of the Heart of Mitraspera. This is an accounting of the mission to recover the Cauldron as reported by a member of East Blackwood's Embassy Guard, Anduriel Gallistur.

"The cauldron was discovered inside of the Maze at an unknown point in time. The first night of the Campaign, I went to the Maze in search of answers to the overall campaign for this year. During that search, we were blocked off from going down the route, which would eventually lead to the cauldron, by some black ice guarding the path. We took a different path and discovered a few different areas, such as a spider cave, a graveyard, and some other minor areas. None of those areas impacted the cauldron quest and what would follow.  

After searching for Strodan Von Zackenburg for almost an entire day, I finally found him and he recruited me to help him break the first of the four chains that tied the cauldron down. This was all started with Strodan attempting to assist me in regaining my connection to my Celestial-blooded healing ability. Destroying each chain included a trial of some sort that we would have to pass. The first of which was a test of courage, trust, and fearlessness. Myself and 19 other individuals were blind folded at the entrance of the maze and were told we had to hold a rope that spanned from the individual leading us, to the end of the blindfolded individuals. We were told if we showed emotion and spoke, we would be grabbed and dragged off by the evil forces and spirits that resided within the maze. The journey was slow and many whispers of temptation or fear surrounded us on the journey. The sound of combat could be heard nearby, but despite everything occurring, the blindfolded individuals had to remain fearless and trust that we were both protected and being led the right way.

We reached the end of our journey and were told to take our blindfolds off only to see the cauldron for the first time. The courage of this quest reminded me of the feeling of courage and valor I had back in Adelrune, the world I am from where I had my Celestial-blooded abilities. This reminder allowed the strands of me to connect with my lost ability, even though it was not quite stable enough to use it.

The following morning, Elyon conducted a mage who could lead rituals which helped me solidify those strands together. Though the connection was still weak, it enabled me to feel the healing blood run through my veins again. I knew that by helping Strodan with his tasks, it would enable me to get most of my healing potential back.

I went back to meet with Strodan for the 2nd chain the next morning, and we gathered some very powerful mages and escorted them to the Cauldron. Once we arrived at the cauldron, the mages had to use their power to destroy the 2nd chain, but were also tested in various ways. From what occurred in the Cauldron area, I got the impression that some of the mages were possessed by other spirits or were not them normal selves. As they were doing the ritual, I heard multiple screams from the group gathered around the Cauldron and chain, as if they were having a battle of their spirits. Some of the mages walked out of the maze in a very depleted and or injured condition, despite there not being any physical combat. Strodan had mentioned how they were going to go after the 3rd chain within the next hour or two, but I opted to return to the East Blackwood camp to rest before going after the 4th chain at a later time.

The final chain seemed to be a colossal task requiring dozens of people. To break the fourth chain, we had to recruit the skills of several bards, who would play a specific song to weaken the magical gasp tying the chain down. We made sure to bring extra individuals will to help carry the cauldron out once the final chain was broken. Once we were in the cauldron area, our fighters lined the parameter prepared to defend against whatever came through woods. The bards spent multiple minutes breaking the chain and eventually succeeded. To expedite our exit, the mages were able to clear a path through the brush, which created a shortcut to a nearby road. The cauldron had 2 poles running through it, which enabled 4 carrier's, one on each corner. The cauldron was heavy and required a stop after about 75 feet. We carried it from the forest/maze all the way to right outside the HeartSeekers Camp, which required probably a dozen or more stops to change carriers, due to the exhaustive heavy nature of the cauldron.

From the information that I obtained, the cauldron contained the heart of Mitraspira, which was needed in order to heal Mitraspira and prevent ill-intended individuals to have control or access over it. To my surprise, we never encountered any enemies during the 1st, 2nd, and 4th chain. I was not present for the 3rd, but heard that they did have to make a defense against an attack against the group that attempted the 3rd chain. We were successful in our task to retrieve the cauldron, and with that I believe that I represented East Blackwood well. I think I have spent enough time getting back on my feet and I feel that this begins my quest to find a way to return to Adelrune, and to Port Frey, where I will hopefully reunite with my lost family and friends... I hope nothing tragic has happened in these years of my absence."

- Anduriel Gallistur. Paladin of Radiance.