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THE CELESTIAL CENSOR

There is a reason world-shattering manuscripts, fulminating prophecies and scrolls of Befoul are rare to find, and it isn’t that people are, inherently, good.

No, the cause of the scarcity is the Celestial Censor. This diligent and librarian-volumed outsider enters the Material Plane on an ideally irregular basis for the express purpose of finding and destroying forbidden and apocalyptically catastrophic texts.

The Celestial Censor has long been thought (by those well-read enough to grasp the historical patterns of screeds cut short) to be an entire subset of celestials, a force dedicated to the mission of “Perdere Horrificus Sacris” (or “Unwrite Wrong Rites”). However, that has recently been discovered to be partially incorrect in that there is only one Celestial Censor, but that one being is capable of becoming legion.

When there are multiple copies of a text, or when there are—Sovereigns forbid—multiple forbidden texts in circulation simultaneously, the Celestial Censor will split their essence and inhabit multiple avatars to simultaneously remove said texts from the world by any means necessary.

Essentially, they divide and censor.

That said, there has been a significant uptick in the number of “evil” or dangerous rituals being successfully created and/or circulated. The implication seemed to be that the Celestial Censors were otherwise engaged (or blocked from entering our plane of existence), but the knowledge that there is only one of them (and the further knowledge that they have been trapped for the last almost three decades) certainly explains the preponderance of vile tracts.

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THE STATE OF THE EBERRUNION

So much has happened in the past six months. Not as much as during the Last War, but definitely more than during the Optimistic Lull right after it. The world is changing, and for the first time in a long time, it hasn’t changed back into its old battle armor.

THE CITADEL

The King’s Shields are going through a major period of turnover. The best and the brightest of their ranks have taken the brunt of several nefarious schemes and wound up either dead or promoted (equally permanent transfers). And the rookies are…not the best or the brightest; they are the most likely to do the exact amount necessary to live up to their contracts, and not a single bonus action more.

The King’s Wands have a new rising star in Lia Bakker, who is seen by the general public the way others might view a famous sports star or quirky actress. She is currently touring the continent, meeting with Kalashtar community leaders wherever she goes; there is a growing theory that this means the future of magic is somehow connected to the Kalashtar. A lot of books on dreams are being checked out from libraries across Khorvaire.

The King’s Swords are doing just fine. The public believes in them the way they used to believe in adventurers. They are actually getting a lot of work that the Shields used to get, which the current Shields seem okay with. The Swords can be the bodyguards who kick ass. The Shields will be just fine being the bodyguards who never have to.

ARGONTH AND THE BRELISH MILITARY

The mobile fortress Argonth had a recent shakeup in leadership after the destruction and exposure of the KAPLAN laboratory hidden aboard. Major Karfa Zergoh (Cardamom Bibitol’s wife’s uncle) is now in charge of it. After Zergoh received a tip that Cardamom was going to be caught red-handed in Black Pit, he rushed Argonth to oversee that town. In the aftermath (Cardamom not caught, but all the monks in his monastery were beaten to death), Argonth has set up directly over the ruins of the monastery, perched atop the mountain and literally looking down at Black Pit. The town’s thriving underworld scene has quickly and summarily been found and decimated, and Zergoh is overseeing a project to fill in or cover the famous titular Black Pit in the center of town. If he can’t fill it in —since it’s bottomless and right there— there’s talk he plans to convert it into a prison, with cells built into the walls.

The Brelish military in general is unsure what its real purpose is at this point, since any time they try to respond to outside threats, they are told to stand down and avoid international incidents. There are some hawks (not literal) who would very much like someone to fight, but King Boranel has been trying to find them a non-war-minded focus. Some kind of postwar work program that requires disciplined and hardened participants.

CHURCH OF THE SILVER FLAME

Rumors continue to circulate about a new tint in the Flame recently, and a renewed vigor in Speaker Jaela Daran’s public appearances. Although she is hurried from appearance to appearance perhaps more than usual by her escorts and guardians, people have noticed that she has been mentioning Dragonborn on a regular basis, with an emphasis on the relationship between couatls, dragons, and the people of the modern world. It feels like there is something more there, some discovery that the Church is not quite ready to share.

The Church has also made significant contributions to an orphanage that recently burned down outside of town. They are currently rebuilding it into The Silver Spark, a school for training youngsters to become the next generation of talented adventurers. It is not supposed to be a religious school, but the church at large assumes it sort of will be…but the new board of artisans (including new guidance counselor Jakob Barragan) seems to be taking the mission committee at their word. Also, the orphans include a number of Dragonborn whose previous places to stay seem to have all needed a place for them to go all at once. More Dragonborn than the country (or the Dragonborn themselves or the continent for that matter) have seen in one place in a very long time.

SHIFTERS

The XHL (Extreme Hrazhak League) has been on a slight back burner for a couple months. Finances just seemed to have dwindled, perhaps due to League Commissioner Helicobacter Pilori having too much on his plate. However, in the last two weeks, the Karrnathi half-elf has apparently remembered himself and taken to it with renewed vigor. Title Sponsorship for the League has been taken by The Bakkery and Neverending Milkshakes, but additional brand partnerships with the new footwear company Healies and others are rocketing along.

Public Opinion of shifters in general is positive. There is more discussion about the role the Church of the Silver Flame played in building such a negative view of shifters in the first place. Obviously, shifters are their own people, very distinct from lycanthropes. Shifter representatives (many of them XHL stars who had some downtime after the last season ended) have been trying to make it clear that just praising shifters for not being curse vectors is not actually praising them. “Like if I said humans are actually amazing because they heroically don’t throw their feces at the wall,” says Hawk Cygnet, of the Passage Cygnets (interviewers have been keen on surnames, which have not been a thing for shifters until now. Teams are the biggest delineator they have, so they’ve taken to using them as last names. Family, Team…checks out.)

DRAGONMARKED HOUSES

House Cannith - Not popular At All. A Lot of negative feedback about how they treated the Warforged (or that they created them at all. Getting it from both sides of the aisle.)

House Deneith - Lots of King’s Swords crossover here. The House is very in demand.

House Ghallanda - Hospitality depends on reputation and dependability. Several high-powered House Ghallanda scions have been laid low by bad deals or circumstances beyond their control. The House is letting their younger members take more responsibilities in hand. Lots of fresh ideas. The public is tentatively excited by all the planning town halls they’ve been to.

House Jorasco - Very recently, huge donations have flooded into Jorasco hospitals across the continent from an anonymous benefactor, resulting in huge central cisterns being installed in multiple hospitals as part of the bequest. Each large enough to hold a dragon’s weight in water, as they say, with pipes running all over the hospitals…although oddly, not for water.

House Kundarak - After the Heifer’s reign of crystalline terror ended last month, Kundarak banks have unveiled unprecedented security features and new levels of confirmation for accessing deposit boxes. This has meant subscribers who have been using the banks as dead drops have been required to open separate boxes for savings and sendings.

House Lyrandar - Under investigation for their potential role in the attempted assassination of Baron Kwanti d’Orien, and even possibly their involvement in the train crash that killed Brian Berry, Sr.

House Medani - Inquisitive Nicholas Hawkins was hired by House Medani to revamp their training process. The previous methods had come from Abraxis Wren, and in a world of more action than armchairs, the house wants more to lean away from their consulting detective reputation, steering closer to private detectives. Hawkins is human; this is a major opening of communications for the half-elven house…it’s also a huge black eye for Wren, but surely there’s enough overly rich clients to go around. As far as the public is concerned, this means House Medani is making themselves more affordable, and more ground-level mysteries are being solved.

House Orien - Baron Kwanti has been having a Lot of great meetings. He apparently has been getting more sleep and eating better now that no one is actively trying to kill him or smuggle living spells on his trains. Of the Barons, Number One on the Eligible Bachelor list.

House Phiarlan - Audience numbers are down at Phiarlan performances. Possibly because there are rumors swirling that Baron Elvinor holds loyalty to Cyre above all other nations and has been using house resources to aid a country that no longer exists.

House Tharashk - A Lot of House Tharashk members (mostly nondragonmarked) have been arrested in Black Pit. The house was apparently running underground ranger markets, where buyers could have someone Find anything of any shade of illegality for the right price.

House Thuranni - Very quiet. Public has started to mutter about how they haven’t seen members of the house in a while. Not sure what’s up with that.

House Vadalis - Magebred animals are harder to find. House officials are as confused as the public.

THE HEROES

There is a group mentioned in hushed tones. A group weaving in and out of important goings-on across the continent (and beyond?). A group who is Making Things Happen. Some say they are The King’s Black Lanterns, although there is no proof that an organization of that name even exists. Some say they are one of the Aid-Teams sent out periodically by the Daughters of Sora Kell, a theory buffered by multiple sources saying there are no humans in the group. Some say they are the spirits of a murdered King’s Shields unit who think they are still alive and are seeking vengeance on those responsible for their deaths. There’s a whole subgenre of fan fiction based around that last one.

Whoever they are, they are making waves and getting noticed.

Definitely getting noticed.

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THE TALENTA PLAINS

For millennia, the halflings of the Talenta Plains have lived in nomadic tribes ranging anywhere from 60 to 1000 clanfolk. Every adult member of a tribe is considered an equal, but there are times when the tribe needs a representative or decision maker. In those situations, they turn to their clan’s Lath.

LATHS AND HALPUM

A tribe’s Lath (the same word in the halfling language means “leader” and “grin”) decides when a tribe stays or moves, what agreements will be struck with other tribes, how the tribe’s clan functions on a day to day basis. A Lath only lasts as long as the tribe believes in their vision; often, multiple new Laths will rise in rapid succession as a tribe’s clanfolk find and agree upon a new balance.

Sometimes, a Lath will appear who is charismatic (or otherwise persuasive) enough to bring multiple tribes together under their leadership. A Lath like this is called a Lathlon (literally “big leader” or “shit-eating grin”), and it is very rare for one to rise. The most recent one was largely elevated out of necessity, as the Treaty of Thronehold required a single leader to act as Signer of Sovereignty in order for the Talenta Plains to be considered a sovereign nation. That Lathlon was a halfling barbarian named Halpum.

As a young child, Halpum had bonded with his first dinosaurs when his tribe was killed in the Last War by Cyran big game hunters. The hunters had been after the dinosaurs, but the tribe had protected them to the last…namely, Halpum, the only nonsaurian survivor on either side. The tribe’s dinosaurs who had previously known of the boy and mostly accepted his presence, now rallied around him as the only halfling piece of their family still around. Thus, from age 6 to age 20, Halpum raised himself among dinosaurs. He interacted with other clanfolk during that time, but never showed interest in joining another tribe until he was pulled into huge and world-staggering quests with an adventuring party. After that, he decided to return to his people, more certain than ever that the rest of the world was crazy. A likable (but —perhaps more importantly— indomitable) young man, Halpum had been accepted into the rapidly growing Abraman tribe during his adventures as thanks for help his party had provided. Returning to them, he quickly rose in popularity until one day, he found himself Lath. As the Last War careened out of control, the sudden horror of the Mourning brought former members of his adventuring party to his campsite. They said there was talk of a War-ending Treaty, but that it would require one single Talenta leader’s signature in order for the nation to be recognized by the rest of Khorvaire. Halpum agreed to make his case to the rest of the tribes. After he was ultimately successful, Lathlon Halpum stepped down after signing the Treaty and remained the Lath of the Abraman Tribe, the largest tribe on the Plains. He is considered internationally as the Founder of the Talenta Plains, and locally the same way a retired sports superstar is: he still has game but you’re more likely to see him making appearances than goals. Lath Halpum, now in his early 40s, has been linked romantically to dozens of halflings across the Plains, with no discernible preference other than a mutual attraction. He has children out there ranging in age from 4 to 20, some traveling with his tribe and others either staying with their mother’s tribe or living outside the Plains altogether. Halpum also is an important voice at any Tribal Council at Gatherhold.

GATHERHOLD

Gatherhold is located on the eastern side of Lake Cyre, and is the official headquarters of House Ghallanda. Although these days, most time-sensitive meetings take place in bustling metropolises across the continent, the central leadership team and many important dragonmarked members of the House spend a large part of their year in Gatherhold: planning, filing paperwork, coordinating with the Wandering Inn and preparing for large scale events in the town itself.

Technically the largest settlement in the Plains, Gatherhold is still only a midsize town at best, at least most days. However, three times a year, its population and importance skyrocket during meetings of the Tribal Council. The Council meets to discuss intertribal issues, de-escalate cross-clan disputes/feuds, and share information about the state of the nation. These meetings usually last six days, during which Gatherhold is awash in halfling plainscrafters, berserkers, entertainers, healers, scouts, warriors, trappers, and shamans.

PLAINSCRAFTERS

Where all else fails, plainscrafters prevail (or so say House Ghallanda press releases and tourist brochures). Plainscrafters are not quite artisans, nor are they artificers. A closer parallel would be backwoods engineers; they find alternative low-magic, low-tech solutions to problems most wizards and artificers would balk at if found without their tools.

THE WANDERING INN

House Ghallanda knows that, in order to plan a party or cater an event or sell supplies to the right customers, you have to go where the clients are. For most of Khorvaire, that means showing up at a building or marketplace and decking it out or loading it up. However, in the Talenta Plains, that means traveling the Plains to visit different tribes wherever they might roam.

The Wandering Inn is a sort of mobile tent-city, a caravan with airs, an Agora on Wheels. Members of House Ghallanda make complex loops across the Plains, stopping for three days here and a week there to make their services available to every tribe willing to stay in one place long enough to barter or buy.

In recent days, mostly since the end of the Last War, the Wandering Inn has become of less financial importance to the House, which has translated to a decrease in selection and an increase in prices. It doesn’t seem to be a matter of malicious intent, just one of lack of focus. Those traveling with the Inn now tend to be less True Believer and more Retail Worker. It is, however, still the best place to get gossip about anything juicy going on anywhere on the Plains.

KREZENT

To the East, in the Blade Desert, almost to the Ironroot and Endworld Mountain ranges, lies an ancient structure spoken of only in hushed whispers on the Plains. Supposedly the only building of its kind still standing, Krezent is an enormous ziggurat built by ancient couatl. Talentan halflings avoid the site because it is said that a tribe of yuan-ti have claimed the temple as their own. Yuan-ti have a reputation for vicious and terrible responses to intruders, so the halflings of the Plains (and their dinosaurs) keep their distance.

DINOSAURS

Oh yeah! Almost forgot about them.

The Talenta Plains are home to a wide variety of dinosaur species. Talenta halflings treat different types as family, hunt them and hunt with them, and ride them or hitch carts to them. The most common are the raptor mounts, but Lake Cyre is literally swimming with ichthyosaurs and duckbills. Tyrannosaurs and their like prowl the Blade Desert’s border. And the Wandering Inn itself doubles as a practical-minded menagerie, from Inn-pulling stegosaurs to site-protecting triceratopses to messenger archaeopteryxes and everything in between.

Not for nothing, it should be noted that with this many dinosaur species roaming the Plains, there are bound to be some casualties. Not just clanfolk or tourists or the ever-optimistic big-game hunters either. Animals, beasts, and the occasional baby aberration have been known to be eaten if left unattended for long.

You know. Just saying.

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From The Weekly Firebrand (Thrane) Special Edition, 20 Rhaan, 998 YK

COMPOUND FRACTURE

A devastating blow to the worlds of education and natural magic today: The Compound, the alchemical institute centered in Sigilstar was the site of a terrible, tragic accident this week, resulting in the deaths of all 84 students, 12 faculty, and all but one postgrad researcher. Local guards report that sometime during the heavy lightning storms plaguing the town recently, a large supply of Strzygwort condensate caught fire in the central stairwell of the institute. Strzygwort was the subject of a recent published study lauding its evaporant’s healing properties, but this seems to be the hidden downside to the proposed panacea. Strzygwort’s condensate, when burned, produces a vapor that effects a near universally fatal reaction when inhaled. According to experts, Strzygwort condensate poisoning would have been extremely quick and painless; victims hearts and brains would stop before they had time to register anything was wrong.

Investigators say they have cleared the survivor of any wrongdoing, but that she will be held for further questioning by Master Inquisitives when they arrive in town. In the meantime, guards are calling this a tragic accident, a reminder that even experts can fall prey to their own studies if they are not careful. The Khorvaire Society of Alchemists is also calling for an immediate criminalization of Strzygwort, saying the potential healing properties do not warrant the danger of the process’ waste product.

A vigil remembering the lost scholars will be held this Sar, weather permitting.

BARON STORMING, AERIAL CIRCUS

In a bizarre turn of events in the wake of House Lyrandar’s historic exclusive transportation agreement with Karrnath, a high-profile airship crash has thrown the entire agreement into disarray.

Early Zol, in the Thrane town of Sigilstar, Baron Kwanti d’Orien and an unknown female guest boarded a privately booked airship, attempting to reach Flamekeep in time for a series of meetings. Reports reached this news outlet almost before the airship had arrived. The fact that the head of House Orien was booking airships rather than taking his own trains would, by all rights, make for great Gotcha Journalism, and that brand of headline might even have made today’s front page if not for what happened next.

Witnesses say the Baron was rushed aboard by a rude and impatient captain, one Wirther Doorwright of Sharn. Baron d’Orien was concerned about inclement weather, especially the second tornado that had touched down outside of town. However, Doorwright pressed the issue, saying he was on a schedule and would leave without the Baron if he didn’t board immediately. The airship took off without incident, but shortly outside of town, seemingly without cause, the airship crashed. Due to the inclement weather, there were very few witnesses outside on the scene other than the Captain and his passengers—the only exception being a small adventuring party investigating the tragedy at The Compound.

The airship’s elemental ring shattered on impact and the fire elemental inside was loosed, furious and rabid. Baron d’Orien and his traveling companion were saved—only barely surviving the crash and still both in critical condition in a House Jorasco hospital in Sigilstar. The adventuring party on hand was able to defeat and kill the outsider, but not before it had itself burned to death both Captain Doorwright and the airship’s third passenger: one Vydo d’Lyrandar.

Vydo d’Lyrandar was an airship captain of some renown, and the airship was one of his four-airship fleet. Witnesses say Vydo had been at a fundraising event hosted by d’Orien the night before, but no one had seen him board in Sigilstar. Vydo is survived by a wife and eight children.

However, his presence has sent shockwaves through the international community, as Baron d’Orien says he was not aware of the man’s presence; he even willingly submitted to a Zone of Truth to confirm his claim. Inquisitives now believe the two captains were planning an assassination attempt of Baron d’Orien and that a disagreement led to the crash and their demise. If the adventuring party had not been in the vicinity, all four would have died anyway.

Because of such a high-profile potentially traitorous clash between two Dragonmarked houses, Karrnathi transportation department officials have announced they are putting all plans for airship collaboration on hold indefinitely.

House Lyrandar has denounced the incident as the work of a lone madman, but their protests seem a bit tonedeaf, as, just last month, Vydo d’Lyrandar was personally gifted two airships by Baron Esravash d’Lyrandar herself.

Master Inquisitives have been called to investigate, although their arrival has been delayed by the aforementioned twin tornadoes.

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SIGILSTAR

Thrane’s answer to Marketplace, Sigilstar is a large town doing a very convincing impression of a city. In any other country it might even gain the actual rank of Full-on City, but the religious and conservative political nature of Thrane have kept Sigilstar from receiving the necessary capital from the Capitol, as it were.

The town is named for the pole star of Eberron, since it lies in the exact center of the country, and because travelers and commerce all seem to navigate toward it. The lightning rail, House Orien trade roads, docks on the Thrane River…the town is a hub for business- and pleasure-seekers on their way to wherever that business or pleasure is located. This explains why the town feels like a more open-minded island deep inside the heavily indoctrinated countryside of Thrane; so many different viewpoints hanging out together without the pressure of needing to deal with them indefinitely tends to lead to bubbles expanding.

It seems apropos, therefore, that Sigilstar’s two main specialities are tea and alchemy: brewing unique blends that change even the most resilient substance into something more palatable.

TEA

Sigilstar’s tea houses are renowned across Khorvaire. The Whistling Kettle, Piper and Brewer, Druidic Whispers, The Colonel’s…just to name a few. Many have franchised out to other countries, but the originals are agreed to be the best, both for the ambience and for the selection. Being on the intersection of over a dozen trade routes does have its perks.

Teahouse culture varies from house to house, of course, but generally speaking, they are aromatic conversation gardens. Standard etiquette is to order a pot and offer a taste of yours to the table beside you. The town’s business model built on these openers leading to friendships and partnerships, and it is a very profitable model.

Teahouses are perhaps a good third of the storefronts in town, as there is never a shortage of potential clients or agents looking for a quiet corner from which to corner the market. The larger houses do exceptional event hosting business, from fundraisers to milestone celebrations to holiday-bonus dinners, and that money trickles down to the other major income source in the town: alchemy.

ALCHEMISTS

Set any community of magically-inclined minds on the question “What makes the best tasting tea?” and you are bound to eventually wind up with at least a token alchemy industry. Sigilstar has far more than that; they have a thriving Khumeía scene (khumeia being the alchemists’ way of saying ‘alchemy.’

The center of the alchemy world in Sigilstar is The Compound: a fortress of a templar-cross-shaped building designed to look from above like the intersection of the four elements, literally, symbolically…and literally symbolically.

The Compound is a training institute for alchemists (who mostly pay for their educations moonlighting in the teahouses), and is run by four members of House Cannith: Frederick Claudius, Maria Miriam, Caius Manzeppi, and Ripley d’Cannith (only the last is dragonmarked). Contrary to the building’s design, the Compound’s four wings are no longer dedicated to their respective elements; modern alchemists understand there’s no use dedicating oneself to just one of the four when at least two are needed for most recipes. These days, the wings are dedicated to years of study in the three-year curriculum (with the fourth being a dedicated research wing for faculty and post-grads).

The Compound is also responsible for most of the town’s advancements in Flamic architecture, providing both the hardiest tubing and the most absorbent crystalline receptors. There is no other place in Khorvaire with a more impressive display of the style.

FLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

The basic definition of Flamic architecture would include words like “soaring” and “skyward windows” and “light-embracing edifices.” In Flamekeep, those words are easy to see in very basic action: cathedrals are the least exciting way to make that happen. Sigilstar is far more creative, in that no building in town is taller than four stories, and most are only two. And yet they are seen as the trailblazers of the style, showcasing the hallmarks of the style in microcosmic ways, without it ever feeling small or humble.

And besides, beyond all that, the true hallmark of the style is less architectural and more alchemical: the light-storing crystals and the light-emitting tubing that make Flamic architecture a study in the relationship between light from above and light from within.

In the most up-to-date models, flame-shaped crystals sit atop the roof, soaking up sunlight throughout the day. The crystals store that light and then, after dark, push it out through connected tubing. The tubes often act as glowing outlines for their building, literally highlighting the features of the form. Many Flamic buildings also use the tubing as decoration, sometimes as colorful glow-in-the-dark signs or logos or complex rotating patterns on an aesthetically-pleasing small section of the wall, and sometimes as simple as a bright-lit artist’s signature somewhere on the building.

When it is sunny every day, the tubes are lit every night, but depending on how sizable a building’s collection of tubing is, there may be cloudy weeks when there is not enough power stored to keep the lengthiest tubing lit. However, that’s primarily a problem for the standard versions of Flamic architecture. For Flamic buildings that don’t outline every sweeping rise and grandiose crenulation (or for the 2-to-4-story buildings of Sigilstar), the flame crystal absorbs far more radiant energy than necessary to power their tubing. These sorts of less-decorated or more compact Flamic buildings store enough energy from one sunny day to power a week of nights or more.

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We’ll Summon the Clouds Tomorrow

Weather magic, as any weather mage will tell you, is not an exact arcanology. The issue mostly stems from the Surrounding Bleed Effect, but there is also Relative Efficacy to be considered.

The Surrounding Bleed Effect is essentially the observed interaction between a localized spell and its larger vicinity. For instance, a Fireball spell should affect a 20-foot radius. However, if it is cast in a 10-foot-wide, 40-foot-long hallway, it will not squeeze to fill the whole length of the corridor; it will only affect a 20-foot-long portion, limited by the walls. Beyond that, if a wind were blowing down the same hallway when that Fireball hit, the flames might be blown in that same direction, potentially igniting flammable objects outside that radius.

The same is true for weather magic: the surrounding weather changes what is happening inside and beside the area of the spell’s effect. A Call Lightning cast under a clear sky would result in a very different effect that one cast during a blizzard; making use of an existing weather system of the same type one is trying to produce enhances the effect by 25% or more.

From the opposite direction, there is the limiting factor of Relative Efficacy. When attempting to control the weather in an area, the effect is a gradual shift. Turning a sunny day to a hurricane takes more time and energy than making it partly cloudy.

Expanding from those two starting points, it is possible to 1) create/influence nonmagical weather using magical methods and 2) achieve it with less magical energy by taking advantage of existing conditions. While Controllable weather is beyond most mages’ power, ritual-casting of multiple smaller spells can create uncontrolled version of the same systems. Ritually casting a sustainable cold-based ritual and moving it over a sustainable heat-based ritual in a suitably humid area can create a nonmagical thunderstorm. Weather mages have been researching spells that affect just one aspect of the environment (Control Temperature, Control Wind, Control Evaporation/Condensation, etc) for the last better half of the Last War, as the combat potential of weather alteration cannot be overstated.

In the aftermath of the war, weather mages saw which way the wind was blowing, so to speak, and transitioned to a more artisanal approach. Events need fair weather (or, in the case of if the very popular Aundair The Weather Festival, just the opposite). Therefore, for the right price, weather mages could affect the local weather systems to make that type of weather far more likely. Similarly, disaster response was no longer purely to be handled after the fact; governments and municipal organizations could hire or invest in weather mage circles to stop or slow or divert dangerous weather before it caused too much damage to important areas.

As with most positive factors, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. As explained above, the Surrounding Bleed Effect works both ways: nonmagic affecting magic, and magic affecting nonmagic. Therefore, altering the weather of a specific locale too much or too often can be detrimental to the weather of surrounding areas. And altering the weather too close to powerful magic of any kind can result in severely unforeseen magical AND nonmagical weather systems. There is no better example than of the CumuloCyrans, a Cyran weather mage circle who attempted to blow back the fog of the Mourning from aboard their ship sitting just off the coast in Kraken Bay. The ritual did push the fog inland slightly, but it also caused a typhoon so strong it devastated settlements up and down the coast of Darguun. The CumuloCyrans themselves were consumed by the arcane backlash, and their ghosts are said to still haunt Kraken Bay to this day.

That has not lessened the desire to join or to hire weather mage circles, however. Although the field might seem boring to a layperson, within the magic community, weather mages are seen as closer to storm chasers: throwing themselves into hazardous conditions (or creating them) all for the sake of finding the silver lining to any cloud.

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SILVER FLAME

The Age of Demons lasted millions of years. The closest we have to historical records are myths (and whispered accounts from bound demons, who don’t make the most reliable narrators).

According to myth, 10 million years ago, Khyber (The Dragon Below) killed Siberys (The Dragon Above), and as punishment was bound by Eberron (The Dragon Between).

Siberys’ pure blood fell, and when it splattered on the ground of Eberron, it became the dragons we know today: different types based on the different areas where the blood landed. Meanwhile, some of Siberys’ blood transmuted before it touched the ground, and that literally unsoiled blood turned into flying serpents called couatl. Not to be outdone, Khyber—as he suffocated in Eberron’s coils—used the last of his strength to unleash demons upon the world.

These first demons grew in power as they dominated and shaped reality, and became known as the Overlords. Their minions covered the land, wreaking Khyber’s havoc in his honor.

Meanwhile, the dragons went to ground, unable to combat the fiends that seemed to have no weakness. They spent the next 8 1/2 million years searching for a way to end the demon hellscape. And the pure, innocent, beautiful couatl…they hid. No one—dragon or fiend—even knew they existed.

Then, sometime around 1.5 million years ago, the dragons discovered the couatl, and together they uncovered the Draconic Prophecy. There are those who say the Prophecy revealed itself at their first meeting—a message from their progenitor, Siberys. There are those who say the couatl were in possession of the Prophecy but couldn’t understand it because it was in Draconic. And there are those who say both the couatl and the dragons had been researching separately and finally their combined research revealed the full Prophecy.

In any case, the Prophecy revealed, among other things, demonic weaknesses that could be exploited. This led to the Dragon-Fiend Wars, a long a hard series of conflicts that culminated 100,000 years ago, with the couatl making “the Ultimate Sacrifice” to bind the demons back down in Khyber (the place, not the Dragon). What that sacrifice entailed exactly is a hotly debated matter, but myth typically treats it as a sacrifice of their very lives. (There are scholars who believe it was actually a sacrifice of their immortality, which then led to them being able to die, but that’s six of one half a Baker’s dozen of the other). This sacrifice created The Silver Flame, a pillar of radiant fire in the kingdom of Thrane (now in the middle of Flamekeep, the capitol), and it drove the Demon Overlords and their minions downward.

The end result was that the Demon Overlords were bound, almost just like Khyber had been. The difference was that the Overlords had more wiggle room to find an escape.

That’s exactly what happened in 299 YK: Bel Shalor, an incredibly powerful Overlord broke free and began to enslave/raze the kingdom of Thrane.

A paladin named Tira Miron was enlisted by her patron couatl to lead the battle against Bel Shalor, and she fought bravely and decisively…but it wasn’t enough. Although Bel Shalor was driven into The Silver Flame itself, he was not bound there; he began to emerge.

That’s when legend says that Tira Miron’s patron couatl dove in and pinned table Shalor in place within the Flame. Even that wasn’t enough, and Tira had to dive in, sword first, impaling both couatl and overlord, binding all three of them together into one massive wick, strengthening the Flame and binding Bel Shalor within. Thus Tira Miron became the Voice of the Flame.

That moment of mortal good triumphing over immortal evil was the foundation of the Church of the Silver Flame. From then on, there has been a Keeper of the Flame, an head cleric for the Church who has 1) interpreted the Voice of the Flame (and hopefully not Bel Shalor, the Shadow in the Flame), and 2) been empowered with almost epic levels of holy power (but only while in Flamekeep). The Keeper is chosen by The Voice of the Flame itself

Over the years, the Keeper changed, usually when a new Keeper was discovered, rather than when the previous Keeper was ready to leave (or dead).

And then, 497 YK came.

A young woman appeared in Flamekeep, boasting incredible powers that grew as she entered the capitol (a well-documented historical sign of a new Keeper). However, unlike previous times, the Voice of the Flame was unclear about which Keeper was true. Claiming structural bias, Melysse challenged the Keeper of the time, inciting many frustrated high-level members of the Church to consider schism. This became known as the Time of Two Keepers. Ultimately, Melysse was exposed as an agent of the darker powers of the Silver Flame, essentially the Anti-Keeper, and was famously (at least in the Church) lured out of Flamekeep and put to death at the command of the Council of Cardinals.

Since then, the Church’s bureaucracy has increased tenfold. The Keeper has often had advisers who “help interpret the Voice’s will,” as that can tax one person too greatly.

And the current Keeper became Keeper as a very young girl, just six years ago. Named Jaela Daran, her visions even at the age of six rooted out a bloody conspiracy in the hierarchy of the Church and prevented disaster. The previous Keeper had recently died ( /:-( ), and Jaela became the youngest Keeper in Church history.

She has a keeper if her own, of course: High Cardinal Krozen, who acts as a sort of adult guardian and intermediary between Jaela and the Council of Cardinals, of which he’s the 13th member. Jaela does not dictate policy, as the Council is powerful enough to pass dictates themselves, but in times of dire need, she does have the power to overrule them.

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THE MOURNING, AFTER

The Last War raged on, the day of The Mourning, 20 Olarune, 994 YK. Across Khorvaire, armies vied for control of various strategically relevant assets and positions. In Cyre alone, mercenaries mixed it up with platoons of every side, battalions clashed on wartorn expanses, and wizards blasted away at one another in a never-ceasing prismatic spray of alliance-shifts and vengeance declarations.

Amid the chaos, a number of embassies acted as tiny bastions of sanity. Diplomats and dignitaries tried their hands at international politics, just as their parents and grandparents had. On the one hand, no one wanted to be at war. On the other hand, there was just too much bad blood to simply forgive and forget. The only viable option was continued social manipulation; at least that kept the deaths to a minimum.

That day in Cyre, the largest Brelish Embassy was set to host a lavish soirée, boasting attendees from several nations, as well as famous College of Creation bard extraordinaire, Fend Phadian. The Thranish Embassy was on lockdown over an eldritch-machine threat. The Karrnathi Embassies were being evacuated as Cyran forces were rumored to be preparing for simultaneous strikes on all twelve of them. The Aundairan Embassy was invaded by Karrnathi forces. Diplomacy was not doing particularly well.

The weather, by all accounts —and there were not many afterward— was clear. Sunny, cloudless, and windy. (That is obviously not counting the numerous Control Weathers, Gust of Winds, Create Waters, and Call Lightnings being bandied about. Weather forecasters had long-since disavowed spell-based interference as Meteorological Anomalies Generating Individualized Climates and let the world pull out their umbrellas as a free action.) But for the most part…clear.

That is, until the fog rolled in. Or more precisely, rolled out.

No one knew where it had started from, or even if it had originated inside Cyre, because anyone on the scene was overtaken and is no longer with us. In fact, at least one Aundairan mage was scrying on a Cyran site from outside Cyre and was permanently blinded at the moment the Mourning swept over his target. In fact, there are a number of magic users who were outside Cyre but whose magic was overlapping the Cyre border at the time of the Mourning. They are scattered back to where they came from now, held for observation by governments or research organizations trying to determine why they are the way they are. Because, to various degrees, they are certainly not All Right.

One possibility: their active spells came to life and escaped, taking part of their casters’ essence along with them. Another possibility: the effect that caused the Mourning was designed to prevent witnesses, or perhaps just really had it out for magic users.

Whatever the case, the immediate effect was like flicking off a life switch. Armies fell dead, either from the rolling fog’s effect or from being frozen at the sight and cut down by an enemy. Only those able to magically escape the country’s borders ahead of the haze were spared. Their stories are the only eyewitness accounts that exist. (And they are, to a one, emotionally scarred by their harrowing experience.)

The fog rolled out and stopped at the borders of Cyre. The exact borders. There could be no clearer sign that this had been an attack on Cyre specifically, that the armies and adventurers slain were just collateral damage in the wholesale destruction of over 1 million Cyran citizens.

But the horrors didn’t stop there. The fog stayed. No magical wind could sweep it aside in any lasting way. No Dispelling or Protective Bubble of Sanctify spell could permanently ‘cure’ any part of the affected land. And the fog itself? Those who stay for too long in it begin to hallucinate, to mutate, to sicken or age prematurely, even to just disappear into the fog, as if swallowed whole. And nothing rots in the fog. Upside: there is still fresh fruit in baskets on the grounds of Cyran orchards, picked on the day of the Mourning. Downside: there are still fresh corpses dripping blood on battlefields across the countryside. Perhaps worse, that rot prevention also works the other way: wounds don’t heal in the Mournlands. Natural heading doesn’t work, and magical healing only does a fraction of what it should.

Which might even be fine for short periods of time if you were the only thing in the fog. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Magic was given life by the Mourning. Spells twisted free of their casters and surged to bestial dominance of the country. These living spells ooze, flit, and drip across the landscape, attacking the living like rabid guard dogs protecting a sprawling junkyard. The junk too is alive; swords, shields, and armor held together by mud and anger skitter and crunch across battlefields, prepared to devastate any in their paths. Mutated adventurers driven mad by their time in the fog attack—and reportedly eat—those unlucky enough to stumble across them.

In the four years since the Mourning, some small strides have been made. Certainly, the largest was the Treaty of Thronehold; many saw the Mourning as a sign that war might finally be getting out of hand, and the desperate rush to declare a final and all-encompassing peace was both heart-warming and—to conspiracy experts—deeply suspicious. In the peacetime after though, the King’s Wands reportedly have successfully created a small number of protective suits that hold fast against the debilitating mutating fog. Most fascinating, some adventurers have potentially discovered that embassies maintained their international status during the Mourning, and even to this day have not been overtaken by the fog.

And we haven’t even mentioned The Lord of Blades.

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SHIFTERS

TEMPERAMENT AND LUPERCALIA

Shifters are the descendants of lycanthropes and humans. Not necessarily first-generationally either. Sometimes called “Weretouched,” shifters can display animalistic features even if neither of their parents showed any outward signs.

They are usually socially solitary and tend to be quiet in mixed group settings. Not so when gathering with other shifters. When with shifters of their own “species” (swiftstride, longtooth, beasthide, etc), they are more relaxed, apt to wax nostalgic or make a toast. When around other types of shifter, this gregarious nature tends to turn decidedly more rowdy.

This is fairly unnoteworthy in most situations; if said rowdy intersection takes place where other races outnumber the shifters present, we’re talking opposing sports fans in a bar, at worst. And even if shifters are the majority, 11/12 of the year, the absolute worst it will get is rock stars wrecking a hotel room.

But in the month of Olarune, it’s a different story. Whether it’s to do with a seasonal pheromonal shift, or some more likely connection to “Olarune’s Blessing” (as druids and Eldeen shifters refer to shifter powers), the second month of the year affects shifters heavily. Really heavily. Shifters purposefully avoid other types of shifter during Olarune. They purposefully avoid large groups of shifters of any kind that month. It’s a month for meditation or solo hunting/drinking/studying. Or it’s a month for spending time with non-shifters (although that is a much less common pastime). Because if a bunch of shifters were to get together in Olurane, it would result in a dangerous —and hyper-sexual— state called a Lupercalia: an unstable middle ground between an orgy and a bloodbath. There’s no clear number for how many shifters it would take to cause a Lupercalia, and any quantitative study of that sort of thing would require a truly evil research organization (Know any?).

THE SILVER CRUSADE

In the 800s YK, lycanthropy was, out of nowhere, a major concern for a large swath of the population of Khorvaire. Whether from a confluence of moons or some darker magic, the curse was suddenly able to be spread by anyone bitten by a lycanthrope. Were rats, werewolves, weredolphins, and more: all were proliferating at an alarming rate.

Simultaneously, the Keeper of the Flame at the time, Jolan Sol, The human speaker for the will of the Church of the Silver Flame, was attempting to expand the church’s reach into Aundair, where the lycanthropes were causing massive problems not just infecting people but also decimating their livestock. Keeper Sol saw an opportunity to maximize the Silver Flame’s marketability while making some of the more militaristic factions within the church’s current ranks happy. He declared that this lycanthropic surge would be met with an equal and opposite lycanthropic purge.

From 832-882 YK, the Church of the Silver Flame launched The Silver Crusade, a zero-tolerance campaign to stop the spread of a mutating lycanthropic curse. As part of that purge, many shifters were killed, not out of confusion, but out of bigotry. Eventually the Church decreed that its more overzealous (read: ‘violently racist’) knights were to leave shifters alone, but by then a lot of blood feud had built up on both sides. To this day, over 100 years later, there are knights of the Silver Flame out there who consider shifters to be one bad day away from a lycanthropic rampage. Also to this day, there are shifters who would just as soon rip out the throat of a Silver Flame paladin as look at them.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME HRAZHAK?

One of the three most well-known/infamous spectator sports in Khorvaire (SEE ALSO: Six Stones, Skyblades), Hrazhak is primarily a shifter game, played like full-contact Capture The Flag. More than full-contact, actually, since most full-contact sports don’t allow claws and fangs to be employed quite so liberally. While (super)natural weapons are permitted, magic is prohibited (both spells and items), as are all other weapons and armor. Normally played with two teams of seven shifters, substitutions are possible. Tieflings have often been welcomed in because of their sizable horns, but most other races are not seen as able to hit the overlap between A) hearty B) savage, and C) likely to stop hitting other players before killing them.

Standard gameplay involves a bounded 100x50yd stadium field featuring outcroppings, structures, and various traversal methods. Design is up to the event coordinator, and a regular contest prize in Sharn is “Design The Next Hrazhak Field!” Teams place their respective Hrazhaks (usually stones the size of a large vase), and disperse around their half of the field. When play begins, players try to literally knock out the other team and be the first to have both hrazhaks touching on their half of the field. Healers are on hand to stabilize and keep players alive, but as soon as a player has been magically healed, they are out of the game until a winning team has been announced. Thus, training often involves on-the-fly non-magical first-aid techniques to bandage wounds and keep going as long as possible.

One game of Hrazhak usually lasts under three minutes. Gamedays in Sharn revolve around four teams in a single-elimination tournament and matching losers bracket; six games, 18 minutes of actual play maximum. Most of the event is spent on commentators and divination-style replays of key moments. Most capital cities have a Hrazhak team, as do the largest population centers. Shifters in general are fans of the sport, but not the event or the organization, as commentary is usually led by humans and half-orcs moderating discussions with former Hrazhak players. And there is a Lot of commentary.

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YOU MUST BE MILKSHAKEN

(Sharn, 2 Rhaan 998YK) A new craze is sweeping Sharn, and it must be tasted to be believed: The Milkshake.

A joint creation of Ricki and Rand Bakker (of the Bakkery) and Warforged 88-S, the dish is a flat base of lightly oiled baked bread, slathered in a thick layer of blended tomatoes and herbs, and topped with your choice of sliced meats and shredded cheeses.

The trio have had a very successful launch. Each milkshake currently costs 4 gold (up from an initial price of a silver) and feeds up to four, and the Bakkery has had a line around the block all weekend. Ricki Bakker set out a sign this morning boasting “Over 1000 Milkshakes Served” — the couple has hired over a dozen assistant bakers to keep up with demand, and a Help Wanted sign outside seems to imply they’re only expecting demand to go up.

Demand has been so high that several other local eateries of all star-ratings have attempted to recreate the dish and start some healthy competition. Ollec’s Small Plates, The 700 Club, Catoblepas & Lobster Bar, Eberron Butcher & Baker… all have come out with their own twists on the formula, but none have taken off the way The Bakkery’s original has. The Bakkers are understandably tight-lipped about their recipe, and if the crowds flocking away from their competition are any indication, they are right to keep that under lock and key.

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WELCOME TO THE ELDEEN REACHES!

Eastern Reaches:

Merylsward:

With Meryl meaning “by the sea” and Sward meaning “expanse of short grass,” Merylsward is a quiet and rustic farming village to the far north of the Reaches. It is the furthest north civilization ventures in the nation, and is the nearest you can get to the Icehorn Mountains without ocean-sailing or forest-delving. Merylsward’s town square features a complex scaredeer fountain, dozens of hollow lengths of bamboo filling the air with carefully-timed soothing tipping-tube music all day and night.

Featured Locations: The Seasaltlick Tavern and Inn: run by Brandy and Bailey Rialto, a retired sailor and her current husband. Meryl’s Wards, Meryl’s Wands, Meryl’s Swords: a trio of supply shops run by “Marm” Meryl Lavinia, with public front rooms and adventurer-only back rooms. Warden Yurt: the equivalent of a Town Watch Station, the resident Warden of the Wood is a razorclaw shifter druid named Astro.

Redleaf:

A village named and known for how trees grown there naturally present red leaves, needles, and blossoms year-round, no matter where the seeds come from. The village maintains its typical hunting/gathering lifestyle around the House Vadalis outpost’s day-to-day dominance.

Featured Locations: House Vadalis Kennels: run by Leo d’Vadalis, focused on breeding and training hounds, raptors, and other hunting animals. The Redleaf Inn: run by Kellibelle d’Ghallanda, this bed and breakfast is a go-to spot for nature-loving honeymooners.

Varna:

The commerce/trade hub of the Reaches, Varna makes great use of its location on the shores of Lake Galifar. It boasts enclaves for all 12 Marked Houses (with Vadalis being juuust a bit larger and more crenulated), but also hides various black markets dealing in less-than-legal animal products poached from across the Reaches.

Featured Locations: Foalwood: House Vadalis ranch just north of the city, run by Briar St. Price of House Vadalis (she is a druid both unaffiliated and unpopular with the druids of the Reaches). Secretkeeper: a large awakened strangler fig who host has long since died and rotted away, leaving what appears to be a 60-foot-tall hollow tube made of welded crisscrossing vines; Secretkeeper is located in a susurrus grove that muffles sound, allowing their visitors to share their deepest secrets; those who do, receive gifts based on the juiciness of their donations.

Central Reaches:

Mosswood: Once a thriving area, rich with humanoid and animal life, about 30 years ago, a serious disease (Blood Root) started to take hold, and the local druids, the Children of Winter, held that it was nature’s will, and refused to provide medical assistance. When the disease spread beyond the Mosswood, druids of other orders stepped in and cut off the spread of Blood Root, but at the cost of their peace with the Children. Now, the Mosswood is home to the sparse few survivors of the disease…the Children of Winter who never got sick, and the nondruids who never got better.

Wolfwood: Wolf’s Paw is the largest settlement near the Wolfwood. Led by Slara (ranger) and Lorgan (druid, Watcher of the Wood), this thorp is 100% shifters. They play a shifter sport called Hrazhak (full-contact Capture the Flag with claws and fangs). Recently, the shifters of Wolf’s Paw have spread out their Hrazhak league throughout the Wolfwood. Like, aaaaall throughout. Have fun with that.

Western Reaches:

“Deep woods” does not even begin to scratch the surface of the Western Reaches. To get there, you’d have to make it past packs of shifters, five flavors of druids, awakened trees and animals, and multiple weak spots in our reality leading to coterminous zones that could result in the rest of the campaign taking place in the feywild. Let’s be very honest: if you find yourselves in the Western Eldeen Reaches, I’ll have had time to write a supplemental.

Yes, you may take that as a challenge.

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DARK LANTERN FILES:

CAPTAIN CARDAMOM BIBITOL (ret.)

Gender: Male

Race: Halfling

Age: 40

Aliases: Bhante, The Line, the Most Dangerous Man in Sharn

Affiliations: Ninth Xian Dojo (former student), Brelish army (retired), The Bibitol Brigade (merc squad, disbanded 987YK), Sharn Chamber of Commerce (active member), Morgrave University (donor), [long list of businesses and adventurers’ clubs in Sharn], House Ghallanda (donor), Sharn Temple of Dol Arrah (donor, regular visitor)

Family: Jeera Bibitol (spouse), Cayenne (daughter), Skrr’kaw (adopted son)

Known Associates: [long list of criminals across Khorvaire; we’ll cut to the highlights:]

Former Bibitol Brigade mercs who are still alive:

—Joe 'Stilts' McGee

—Drizzt 'Babyface' D'Urden

—Layla 'The Widow' Jumperdink

Hired killers he’s been connected to:

—Gyro

—Honey Melania

—Azazza the Fist

Least amount of intel available but still confirmed:

—the Daughters of Sora Kell

—Haruuc of Darguun

—The Dragon of Nettles

History: Cardamom Bibitol started his long and illustrious/illicit career in 977 YK, fresh out of training at the Ninth Xian Dojo in the Blackcaps just north of the village of Black Pit. Black Pit is 1) a confirmed beehive of criminal activity, from deserters to Most Wanted List top tenners, and 2) situated right next to its namesake: a yawning abyss that locals say leads straight to Khyber. Accounts of Bibitol’s trips into town during his time at Ninth Xian are legendary.

(One day, a drunken Karrnathi assassin bumped into Bibitol on their way out of a bar. The assassin demanded Bibitol apologize, but ten minutes later, a crowd of onlookers was gasping as Bibitol leaped straight up and kicked the assassin right in the chest, sending the Karrnathi backward into the Black Pit, while announcing: “This. Is. Breland!”)

After completing his training, Bibitol joined the Brelish army, working his way up through the ranks as a dedicated patriot and known risk-taker in a time when Breland was looking for decisive wins that would end fights, not start them. He got the nickname The Line, as people who met him, assigned him, or fought him began to say that he was the line in the sand that you do not cross. It was during this time that Bibitol began making real-world use of his acquaintances gained in Black Pit.

Standing firmly on the ramparts of “Ends Justifying the Means,” Bibitol used assets seized during military strikes to pay criminals to steal, kidnap, or kill enemy targets. When the Brelish army learned of his tactics, he was relieved of command. His less-illicit connections made sure it was an honorable discharge that went in the books as “retirement.”.

Bibitol didn’t slow down, however. Instead he founded a mercenary company that quickly became known as The Bibitol Brigade. It was mostly made of halflings and aarakocra, a pattern still fairly recognizable in his organization today. The Brigade was always under one contract or another (or several simultaneously), thanks to the organizational skills of his partner (now wife) Jeera Bibitol (née Zergoh).

They had met during the war, her family had not approved, she had run off to join the army, they had crossed paths over their time enlisted, and she had left shortly after his discharge. The Zergoh family didn’t official disown Jeera until she joined the Brigade. They have not spoken since, although they are wealthy enough (and resentful enough?) to have set their financial weight in opposition to Bibitol’s interests whenever he’s crossed their path.

The Brigade disbanded in 987YK, shortly after the Daughters of Sora Kell declared Droaam a sovereign nation, and just over a year after the Daughters had appeared for the first time. The only reason these facts are juxtaposed is that the Brigade had been incommunicado for almost that entire year, away on some very involved mission that no one ever spoke of afterward, and that severely injured a large portion of the company. It was during that year that Jeera lost her left arm to the shoulder. There is no evidence that the Brigade was involved in nationbuilding; Bibitol has always been fiercely loyal to Breland, and it seems out of character for him to have helped an army of monstrous races led by a powerful trio of hags. That said, he has since absolutely met with advocates for the Daughters, and he has employed several of their citizens in his organization.

Since the Brigade disbanded, Bibitol has built an empire of professional and black-market contacts that he seems to take amusement in blending. Nervous fences will show up for a meeting only to be handed a dinner jacket and ushered into a ballroom. Civic leaders will find themselves swept up in a night of high-society finery that somehow ends in a game of Street Cogball…in the Cogs. He is very good at identifying like-minded parties and bringing them together, no matter how unlikely that relationship might be.

If this all sounds like the makings of an class-warfare anti-hero, it might help to remember that Cardamom Bibitol is not an upstanding fun-loving citizen. He has been linked to several hired killers and has profited from their work. His businesses thrive because his competition is either crushed underfoot or kept tightly in check. There is evidence the man is responsible for the death of the previous most dangerous man in Sharn: Goom the Shark. His under-the-table pursuits have involved money-laundering, illegal gambling, illicit drug trade, smuggling, and sabotage. It is very telling that Bibitol employees are never fired and never quit; they just go away, permanently. Meanwhile, Bibitol knows more damaging secrets about Sharn’s elite than even we do, partly because he introduced them to the things he could blackmail them for. And they know it.

Cardamom Bibitol is very charming and very knowledgeable and very self-controlled. The Dark Lanterns do not rank him as a current threat to peace, but he’s a hell of a necessary evil to accept in order to maintain it.

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THE FORCES FOR THE TREES

Love nature? Wait…! Be careful how you answer in the Eldeen Reaches.

First of all: House Vadalis.

Then: the druidic sects.

Then: the Fey Courts.

Then: the trees.

HOUSE VADALIS

The Mark of Handling is Vadalis’ calling card, and they are animal-wranglers, domesticators, and breeders. They hunt-to-capture a variety of animals and beasts. They are also responsible for the creation of magebred animals: magically altered during the breeding process to result in extra-powerful horses or super-sensitive hunting dogs…benefits super-useful to people who own those animals, but not traits normally found in nature. In short…House Vadalis isn’t all that popular the druids.

DRUIDIC ORDERS

There are five main sects of druids in the Eldeen Reaches, and they all are very protective of the forest proper. They also believe in defending the natural world from the unnatural threats that besiege it. It’s just a matter of methodology and intensity.

The Ashborn believe that magic is unnatural and should be shunned or stomped out, or some combination of the two. (Druidic magic is different. Why? Because it’s natural; shut your unnatural mouth.) They don’t take kindly to arcane or divine spells being cast within their domain of protection. They also don’t like even basic agriculture; it’s unnatural.

The Children of Winter believe in the sanctity of the circle of life. So they find undead especially repulsive. But also: medicine? Even herbal remedies? Bad for the circle of life. Disease is a natural process, dude. Some of the Children will even try to combat the ravages of medicine by spreading disease themselves.

The Wardens of the Wood are the most civilization-friendly of the druidic sects of the Eldeen Reaches, protecting the bulk of the forest while still seeing the place for farming and medicine in the natural order. They are, as far as most are concerned, the ruling body of the Reaches, with its members individually able to speak on their group’s behalf on local day-to-day concerns.

The Gatekeepers hold the line against aberrations trying to invade our world through tears in the fabric of our reality. All the Eldeen druids hate aberrations, but if the druids were all protecting the edge of the forest, while most would face out, the Gatekeepers would face in. As far as they’re concerned, civilization is just the lesser evil. Thousands of years ago, the Gatekeepers repelled the Daelkyr invasion and their forces were decimated as a result. Today, they work with the Wardens of the Wood; the Wardens are the measured diplomats, and the Gatekeepers are the grizzled veterans.

The Greensingers are party animals, often literally. This Druidic sect believes in maintaining the balance between nature and feynature. They partner with the Fey Courts to throw amazing nightly bacchanalias, rife with pleasure and dancing. The sect’s members who venture out into the world are usually either actively looking for a good time, or else on a mission from the Fey to repay a debt incurred.

THE FEY COURTS

There are 3 Courts, each with their own Merry and Dread Queens and matching Consorts. Most people will never encounter the fey at all, but most who do will spend the rest of their lives unable to avoid them.

The Ceilidh (Kay-lee) Court is full of fey committed to revelry and wild abandon. Their nightly balls are legendary and exultant. In folklore, they are depicted as charming and winsome (with a hard and dangerous edge when it comes to getting what they desire).

The Keening Court is full of fey committed to remembrance and attachment. Their nightly wakes are somber affairs, but very well attended. In folklore, they are depicted as unforgiving truth-seekers, asking themselves (and the mortals they employ), “Why do things have to be this way?” …and then, sometimes, doing something about it.

The Gallus Court is the third court, but details are hazy beyond the name. In folklore, they are depicted as monstrous shadowslippers and malicious spirits even the other fey steer clear of. If the Gallus Court holds nightly gatherings (Gallus galas?), mortals are not invited, and the only ones who might know more are the trees.

THE TREES

The trees of the Eldeen Reaches are full of life. Some are full of squirrels or birds or squirrelbirds. Some house dryads, or gnomes but no dryad-gnomes (that we know of). Some of them are literally full of life, in that they’ve Awakened, and now they’re sentient. Not quite treants, which are able to move on their own, but still quite formidable. The Wardens of the Wood, for instance, are led by the Awakened Greatpine Oalian, since Oalian is the most powerful Druid in the world at the moment.

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DEVASTATION IN ITS WAKE

Marketplace, 28 Barrakas. An artifact of the Last War caused a mass magical sleep that resonated along the Lightning Rail line, causing widespread havoc and death as far away as Sharn, Flamekeep, Korranberg, and Passage.

At North Umbeo Manor north of Marketplace, living statues, mindlessly following orders from during the Last War, unearthed an eldritch machine, long lying dormant on the grounds. The machine, inquisitives say, was designed to merely put people in its vicinity to sleep, but the magic —whether by chance or design— found a resonance in the Khyber shards used by House Orien to power the Lightning Rails. The result: hundreds of citizens onto near the trains fell unconscious all along the line for several hours before Citadel agents were able to brace the affected area and ensure the effect was not ongoing. Agents then had to wake hundreds of people, not a speedy process in the least.

Luckily, only one train was moving at the time of the incident, or the loss of life that followed could have been much worse. Still, not a huge consolation to riders of that train and their loved ones. With at least eight dead and over six dozen injured, this is a terrible tragedy. Among the dead were the rail engine operator, Horis Verrinn, who struck his head on the console and died before anyone could unlock the engine compartment to get to his aid. Also, among the dead was Brian Berry, Sr. whose car was somehow decoupled in the chaos, sending it crashing into the forest by the tracks. He and the rest of the car’s riders were pronounced dead at the scene.

In the midst of the horror, a ghost was seen attacking those laid low by the eldritch machine’s insidious lullaby. Luckily, no one was killed by the creature’s attacks, but those affected report feeling weak upon waking, as if their life forced had been pulled out through their nightmares. The ghost itself was chased away by Citadel Agents, and was last seen fleeing into the woods near Starilaskur in eastern Breland.

Baron Kwanti d’Orien, head of House Orien, says his heart goes out to all those affected by this tragedy and has reached out to each affected family to offer his assistance in their time of loss. Further, he assures rail riders that this was not a repeatable tragedy, as the eldritch machine has been destroyed, but that he would still personally be overseeing a push to improve Rail Security. In addition to warding engine operators against a wider variety of spells, House Orien will immediately start research into altering conductor stones (or their placement) to prevent this kind of cascade in the future.

BERRY SIX FEET DEEP

Passage, 28 Barrakas. Brian Berry, Sr., the head of the Berry dynasty, was found murdered in his sleep aboard a Lightning Rail train heading to Sharn, along with his bodyguards.

The crash was part of a larger magical disaster caused by a rogue eldritch machine that put everyone aon board the train into a magically-induced sleep. At first, inquisitives had assumed Berry and his bodyguards had died during the crash like several other passengers in the car, but upon further inspection of the bodies, impact marks showed signs that they had been pummeled to death prior to the car’s decoupling. Inquisitives say they were lucky that Berry’s corpse had been so close to his bed during the crash, as the blankets and pillows cushioned the impact and preserved some crucial evidence of the crime.

Inquisitives are looking into several possible suspects, but they say this seems less like the work of a brawler and more like that of a martial artist. They ask that anyone with information that might help apprehend the killer please contact Master Inquisitive Nicholas Hawkins in Passage.

[sovereignsabove]

Heroes of the People

In a survey of 100 random citizens across Khorvaire, where participants were asked to name a Living Hero of the People:

1% said the Daughters of Sora Kell

3% said various local firefighters

8% said Crown Prince Oargev ir’Wynarn

12% said Abraxis Wren

18% said Tira Miron

25% said Raj

33% said King Boranel

DAUGHTERS OF SORA KELL

The Daughters of Sora Kell are the queenpins of Droaam, a trio of ancient hags who have elevated the “monstrous” races of Khorvaire to a nation on the move. Sure, a lot of ‘everyday’ citizens would say they are supervillainous mob bosses, but there are those who see the Daughters as emissaries of the future, reintroducing minotaurs, bugbears, gorgons, etc. to the general populace in a way that will hopefully mean peaceful coexistence rather than short and violent encounters. They are Sora Katra (the Voice), Sora Teraza (the Vision), and Sora Maenya (the Valor). They don’t leave Droaam themselves, but they send out diplomatic envoys and very heavily publicized ‘Aid-Teams’ whose mission is to go where they are needed and fix the unfixable. Publicity by the Voice. Direction by the Vision. Training by the Valor. The Aid-Teams are composed of various skill-set-specific adventuring groups hand-chosen by the Daughters to show the world that not every monster is monstrous.

The teams don’t stay around long enough to gain renown on their own; the Daughters get the credit…and even then, we’re talking a “if no one else can help and you can find them” level of aid currently. The Daughters don’t have to dedicate a lot of time and resources to the effort; slow-spreading word of mouth is fine by them.

VARIOUS LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS

An example of post-war bardic composition:

Tis one fireman from Sharn

who saved kids from a burning barn.

The arsonist escaped, but he pursued her.

He dodged her gaze, her flaming spheres.

He caught her in a hall of mirrors,

and thus he slew the firemage medusa!

Hero to ya, Hero to ya, Hero to ya,

He’s a heeeeero tooooo ya.

That’s the best they’ve got to work with that’s not “back in the war, heroes were heroes.” Because most high-powered heroes are gone after the war. Not just retired, but either retired off continent or retired six feet under. But even that doesn’t quite get across the power differentials at work. A folkloric traceback found that the ‘firemage medusa’ in question was actually a novice wild mage sorcerer who had found a wand of Flaming Sphere, whose wild magic had brought her hair to life, giving the impression that it was made of snakes. Bardic license at its finest.

CROWN PRINCE OARGEV

We’ve discussed Prince Oargev. Suffice to say, Cyrans love him. He’s doing a lot of good work…and having his team do a lot of work as well.

ABRAXIS WREN

The greatest Inquisitive the world has ever seen, especially if you ask him. A half-elf formerly of house Medani, Abraxis Wren is Khorvaire’s premier consulting detective. He only takes on cases as they strike his fancy, and his fancy is nearly untouchable, so it can be tough to get an idea of him as a person, but it can’t be denied that Abraxis Wren has helped people from kings to paupers, from giants to faeries, and made quite the name for himself in the process.

TIRA MIRON

This one only counts by the faithful’s definition of “Living.” Tira Miron was a human paladin in the late 200s YK. In 299YK, she had a vision of a brilliant winged rainbow serpent that warned her of a great evil breaking through the barrier into the Material plane in Thrace. Tira rushed to the site she had foreseen and a demon overlord, Bel Shalor, was trying to break free of its bonds and be birthed into our world in a geyser of flame and blood. Tira rallied Thranish forces to combat the demonic spawn, but when she turned to take on Bel Shalor, she was out of her league. The couatl from her vision showed up and forced Bel Shalor down into the geyser of flame. It wasn’t enough though, and the demon overlord might have broken free if Tira hadn’t dove into the geyser herself, driving her sword Kloinjer through the rainbow serpent and into the demon overlord. The resulting magical explosion had several effects: 1) the couatl and demon (and, many say, Tira Miron) fused together into one wick at the center of the flame and 2) the flame cooled around that wick to the column of Silver Flame that sits at the heart of Thrane’s capitol temple. Such a world-altering clash of good and evil, mortal and divine, was bound to make for good religion, and thus was born the Church of the Silver Flame.

The Church went on to do many great things, protecting the people of Khorvaire from supernatural threats being the most newsworthy, but there are those who believe Tira Miron is now immortal and acting as the Voice of the Flame, and that she is personally guiding the Church to their greater purpose. One of those Divine heroes who really worked for it.

RAJ

The most mysterious of the heroes on this list, Raj is the kindly middle-aged owner of a mobile shop called Meister Raj’s that sells incredible magical items at ridiculously low costs. And by ‘mobile,’ I mean that the shop appears where there was a stone wall yesterday, sells several items to residents of the neighborhood over the course of the day, and, when people return the next day, there’s nothing but a stone wall there again. Also, often, a small shrine of thank-you notes to Raj. In fact, a pile of candles and flowers in front of a blank wall is not an uncommon sight across the continent these days.

Contrary to many people’s belief that Raj is one of those evil magic shop owners who is doling out monkey’s paws and Shields of Missile Attraction, customers of the shop never seem unhappy with their purchases. Meister Raj’s deals in unexpected twists of fate and journey realignment, not cautionary tales. He is There When You Need It Most. That’s what the sign in the window says anyway.

KING BORANEL

We’ve discussed King Boranel. It’s important to note that the aforementioned survey should not be equated with an approval rating for the King. He’s solidly above 50% in those, which admittedly doesn’t mean a ton in a post-war monarchy, but hey: Votes is votes.

[sovereignsabove]

Enclosed are the findings of Dark Lanterns clerical examiner Giggleberry Freepeel of House Jorasco, performing arcanopsy on the last of three tieflings retrieved from rogue research facility by Dark Lantern adventurers.

SUMMARY OF CLINICAL HISTORY: The patient was a 19 year old Tiefling male with no identification and thus no known prior medical history. Upon adventurer arrival, patient was producing, along with two other tieflings and an elf, significant arcane energies, summoning a demonic entity. At the scene, adventurers administered aggressive deescalation tactics, temporarily reversing the full summoning, but ultimately were unable to prevent the completion of the ritual, which pulled life energy from the patient and the other two tieflings, killing them instantly and binding the demonic entity to this plane. Adventurers also report that, prior to death, patient was non-responsive even in the face of physical deterrent.

EXTERNAL EXAMINATION: The body is that of a 19 year old under developed, poorly nourished male. There is some peripheral edema of the extremities, specifically swelling of the fingers of the hand that had been pointing toward the demonic entity. This is consistent with swelling on the other two tieflings. There is significant discoloration at the wrists and ankles, but no ligature marks, suggesting inch-wide bands with no effort to remove them. The areas of discoloration also ping inactive enchantment, possibly suggesting magical shackles. The patient has multiple major surgical scars along the abdomen and cranium, along with infernal runes carved into his back along the full length of his spine. Tissue state and precision of cuts indicate patient was alive but completely still during scarification, and that it had taken place more than a month ago.

INTERNAL EXAMINATION: The right and left pleural cavities are desiccated as if they had been severely damaged in a fire, notable mostly owing to the patient’s natural resistance to same. The pericardial sac is blackened, not burnt but rather coated in a viscous substance that attempts to flow back around the pericardial sac even if removed from autopsy room and bottled. Alchemical classification is inconclusive, but the substance is most alchemically similar to tree sap. Aforementioned surgical scars match up with multiple subcutaneous obsidian, opal, and Khyber dragonshard insertions; locations consistent with placement of identical insertions in other tieflings.

GASTROINTESTINAL SYSTEM: The esophagus and stomach are also desiccated in appearance, and show evidence of multiple ulcers. The stomach contains approximately 800 ml, without evidence of any potions or other non food stuff material. The pancreas shows a normal lobular cut surface. The duodenum, ileum, jejunum and colon are all grossly normal without evidence of abnormal vasculature or diverticuli. No appendix is present; if removed, it must have been removed through the back (nonstandard practice). The liver weighs 2600 grams and the cut surface reveals a normal liver with no fibrosis present.

ENDOCRINE SYSTEM: The adrenal glands are in the normal position but weigh twice standard on both right and left. The cut surface of the adrenal glands reveals an abnormal cortex and medulla, all indicating significant and prolonged stress without mode of release.

EXTREMITIES: Other than swollen fingers, extremities appear normal. Both legs and calves were measured and found to be very similar in circumference, with no clots in the venous system.

CLINICOARCANOLOGIC ANALYSIS: This patient died from arcane sacrifice, a transfer of life energies focused through the heart. The most significant finding on arcanopsy was one sizable Khyber dragonshard embedded along each body’s spinal column. Composition suggests all three shards were chipped off one larger Khyber shard. All three radiate with the unique arcane signature of a registered House Orien conductor stone.

[sovereignsabove]

From Sharn Inquisitive, 20 Barakkas, 998 YK

MADE-UP VS RAIL

Late yesterday afternoon, a lightning-rail train was shaken, and its engine chassis damaged, when an amateur rail hopper exploded after passing beneath the entire run of the train.

“I mean, it was crazy?” Lightning-Rail Conductor Wirrilea Phittor told reporters in Wroat upon arrival. “I’m driving like normal, and I feel a wobble on the back half, and then it’s on the front half, and I’m already slowing down, what with recent���I mean, out of an abundance of caution, and then this crazy-looking circle spinning top thing comes zooming out from under the train with its own lightning loops and everything. And so I hit the brakes more, and then it comes apart in mid-air, and half of it comes flying right at my face! If there hadn’t been mageglass in the windshield, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you guys!”

Rail officials found the remains of the vehicle —a complicated collection of shaped wooden struts, leather harnesses, and light metal gears— about a hundred feet from the track, halfway along the first leg of the rail route from Sharn to Wroat. Inquisitive Ffewen Packer, of House Orien Investigations, said the device’s construction was “intricate if misguided. No one should be risking their lives on the rails for kicks or to prove a point.”

No bodies were at the crash site, but blood was discovered on one harness, and Inquisitives found, close by, a clearing containing a recently collapsed cave with lightning stone dust traces still detectable. “An unfortunate end for an unfortunate idea,” Inquisitive Packer explained. “After crashing, they tried to salvage their unlicensed lightning stone and whatever fuel was pushing its speed up higher than the train’s. The fuel ignited and shattered the stone, which would have killed them, just from close proximity, followed by a catastrophic cave-in, giving them their own burial. I feel sorry for them,” Inquisitive Packer continued. “While I do not condone their actions, I still mourn their senseless deaths. House Orien puts safety measures in place for a reason. I hope that these four’s passing might give other potential daredevils pause.”