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RISEN FORTRESS OF THE SOUTHERN GLACIERS
By Jacquetta Anichoson, Special Investigative Reporter
Dateline: 7-
Rumors no more! It has been confirmed that a gleaming white palace has risen out of the snow and ice of the Southern Glaciers as if it had been there for years, perhaps hundreds or thousands, and now just forced its way to the surface. After a journey by horse back, wind driven ice sloop, and sled drawn dog, this reporter has journeyed all the way to the Glaciers to track down the glacier folk who first spoke of it.
"Its as we said," explains Hanin of the Children of Ragnarök. "We receive word to go to Southern Glaciers by Sven Hammerhand to join Glaciers Mission. He says inspect Helm of the Vaniheim and we find it now grant journey to a Great Column in the Glaciers. Hanin not know how this happen."
"It sign from Volsun," says Boldar another glacier folk arrival from Bereny. "We not know how Volsun do it, but Volsun want us here and he make journey swift."
"Yes," Hanin agrees. "So we use helm to reach Great Column and we find Ancient Standing Stones surrounding Snow Bound Alter. We never hear of this before so we move to look see, but before we get a chance to look, a terrible grinding noise fills the air. In the distance we see huge disturbance in the ice. We watch as enormous keep rise like spirit from the tundra. It smashes its way clear of frozen earth and snow undisturbed for many moons. Like a gigantic glacier wyrm the strange structure cast long shadow over stones, alter, and even Volsun's Column."
"Soon after, other brothers and sisters arrive from Bereny and Glacier Mission,"
explains Hanin. "So I finish look see of the standing stones and alter." Hanin goes
on to explain there are four sets of stone circles around the snow bound alter. Each
one is covered in symbols representing the four standard elements of nature: Fire,
Earth, Air, and Water. In the center-
After this, the assembled Glacier Folk go on to describe the Snow Bound Alter. How it and the collected Standing Stones are part of one huge burial mound. The alter was worn away from the elements for countless years, but the words carved into it could still be read. "Here lies the one who must not be named. Behind the barriers of fire, earth, air and water, bound by the fifth sphere and sealed forever to the Amber Throne sits he who must not be named. May he rest in peace and know an eternity without bloodshed."
"Listen," shouts Hanin. Through the howling wind, the sound of chanting can be heard rising in volume to rival that of the wind. "We hear that each time we come to read alter's words. Even when we just read it in our head."
Boldar elbows Hanin, "And we not know how to read," he says with a laugh and his brothers and sisters join in. with a look from Boldar, they all grow silent and he continues, "But we know how to read that," as he points to the alter and all the folk nod sagely.
When asked about Who Must Not Be Named or if any of the Glacier Folk stories made reference to him, none had an answer.
"There might be a way into the Burial Mound," Hanin adds, "But as far as we know, no one has tried that yet. With the rise of the fortress, we think that more important. So, when Otar Warmaker arrive, we head straight to it and open the metal doors to take a look inside."
It is then that Otar speaks up, looking more frost worn than the others. "When I get message about Volsun's gift, I was in the Glacier Burial Ground of Clan Fenrir." He points over his shoulder to a Glacial Cave far to the West. "Grimwulf and I explore it with other Glacier Mission members. We try to stay close so they not in too much danger, but they wander off a lot."
Another Glacier Folk, as frost worn as Otar, presumably Grimwulf shakes his head disapprovingly. "So not wanting to delay too long, we rush out of glacier cave when dangers are low to reach the Great Column."
"Otar arrives first, so we go into fortress together," remarks Hanin. "We find three giant glacial soldiers inside main hall of fortress. Going to be big fight. We need more warriors. Also, we see doors out of first room all locked and we have no rogues with us. We head back out to wait for rogue from Glaciers Mission."
"We heard of glacier giants before," says Otar. "In the stories told by the skalds around the tribe hearth after a successful hunt." He then went onto explain that the glacier giants were once the undisputed rulers of the glaciers. Their last king, a mighty warrior called Jelka the Terrible, sought to conquer all the races of glaciers once and for all. Only a loose alliance of glacier tribes and southern Berenians was able to drive glacial giant forces back and defeat them during the Early War Of The Glaciers. King Jelka's base was a castle called the Fortress Of Rising Sun. Glacier skalds and Berenian mages cast powerful magic unheard of these days that caused the fortress to sink below the permafrost. They say, glacier giants have been seen elsewhere in the glaciers recently, but it wasn't until seeing them in the Risen Fortress that the old stories came to mind.
"Risen Fortress might be Fortress of Rising Sun," Hanin says in a remarkable bit of logic. "It might not. Who knows. We need more brothers and sisters to fight glacier giants. That for sure. Might need Berenians, too. Will be good fight! Much glory!" All the glacier folk cheer in agreement.
None can tell what, if any, connection there is between the burial mound and the risen fortress. It is only from the description of each that the burial mound seems older than the fortress. One thing for certain, the Children of Ragnarök and the Glacier Mission intend to find out.
What of this Glacier Mission? Otar Warmaker and Grimwulf were in the Southern Glaciers before the 'gift of Volsun', the Great Column, and the rising of the Fortress. In a forthcoming issue of the Bugle, we find out why they were there and what their mission was in 'Glacier Mission … Why Did They Go?'
SECRET WHITE TOWER FILES LEFT ON PASSENGER WAGON
Dateline: 11-
An inquiry is under way into a 'serious' security breach after top-
An unnamed Royal Clerk apparently breached strict security rules when he left the papers on the seat of a Ragged Rock Wagon Company passenger wagon travelling on the Great North Road. A fellow passenger spotted the envelope containing the files and gave it to the Bereny Bugle, which handed them to the Royal Courts.
The Regent and the Knight Commander of the White Tower now faces demands for an official inquiry. Archmage Sylvester, chairman of the influential Council of Guilds, told the Bugle "Such confidential documents should be locked away...they should not be read on wagons. I will be writing to the Regent to establish an inquiry into the affair."
The report was an assessment of the White Tower's strength throughout the Kingdom
and in the Underworld. According to the Bugle's security correspondent, Frank Gardner,
it included a top-
According to reports, this document may have contained details of names of individuals
or locations which might have been useful to Bereny's enemies. However, it appears
that in a serious breach of the rules, the papers were taken out of the Royal Court’s
Clerical Offices by an unnamed official and left in an orange cardboard envelope
on the seat of a Silver Chalice-
Reports suggest that the official, described as a senior male Royal Clerk, works
in the Royal Court's Guild Accreditation unit. His work reportedly involves writing
and contributing to intelligence and security assessments, and that he has the authority
to take secret documents out of Clerical Offices -
Once the documents were reported missing, a full-
One Royal Court source sought to play down the impact of the breach: "The embarrassment of the loss is greater than the embarrassment of the contents of the documents. We don't believe there is a threat to any individuals in what was in these documents if they had got into the wrong hands."
A White Tower spokesman told us "There has been a security breach, the White Tower are carrying out an investigation", but declined to discuss the contents of the documents.