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‘SEA-
Editor-
Dateline: 7-
I am in the village of Chillin in south-
Chillin almost didn't survive the appearance of the new sea. When the waters came,
they almost engulfed the village. "It all happened so fast", Village Headwoman Mabel
Dorenobb told me. "The sky went dark -
The disaster has left the village struggling to survive. Most of the fields and hunting grounds that it depended on are now underwater. Only about a dozen families remain here now, but Mabel is determined "This village survived the barbarian invasion of '06 and we'll survive this." The villagers are adapting to their new environment. Some have even built a boat to venture out on the waters to catch fish.
The inundation has brought other new visitors to Chillin that haven't been seen before.
Big white birds have started arriving along the coast. "They are a bit noisy with
their incessant screeching, and they keep crapping over everything, but they are
really friendly", said one Chillin resident. "They will take food right out of your
hand and gulp it down. I think that is what we'll call them -
There are some here who see the coming of the sea as an opportunity however. Cedric
Gaskett dreams of setting up an Inn here, and has ambitious plans for the future
of Chillin. "I can imagine people from all over Bereny coming here to see the sea
-
So, while the appearance of the sea brings new dangers and challenges to Chillin, it also offers new opportunities. Just as it does for Bereny itself.
D’AGRILLAC FOLLOWERS PAY THE PRICE OF TREASON
By Bob Woodward, Torlia Correspondant
Dateline: 9-
The Battle for the Falcone Estate is finally reaching its denouement, with the Royal Army prevailing over the forces of the rebel baron Uryen d’Agrillac. But over the fields and ditches of this once prosperous estate, dozens now lie dead.
The turning-
Another casualty was David Beaton, Vox Primus of the Dei Vigilare, who was shot down by d’Agrillac troops armed with steam guns while coming to the aid of fellow priest Minannon. Minannon himself responded by becoming retribution incarnate, as if Cambron himself had descended from on high to walk the fields of the Falcone Estate dispensing justice, and even Uryen himself quailed before him and retreated. Implacable in his wrath, Minannon struck down first Uryen’s reeve Commius Legitas, heedless of the old man’s pleas for mercy, then Uryen’s chief lieutenant Sir Gereint, who had overseen the execution of hostages held on the estate.
In desperation Uryen flung all the remaining forces that he had held in reserve into the fray. For a while it seemed as if every corner of the Estate was disgorging troops in d’Agrillac livery. The Falkone Estate has for some time been filling the ranks of its militia with every cut throat and desperado in western Moonward that would take d’Agrillac gold, but these raw troops proved to be a poor match for the Duchess’s Royal Infantry and most of them now lie dead, have fled the battlefield, or are desperately retreating into the castle of Kerak Falkone. Cornered in daylight by Royal troops, the vampire Countess Falkone was slain for a second time. Uryen himself has not been seen, and cannot be found among the dead, so it is believed that he must have either fled from the Estate or be holed up in his castle with his last remaining retainers.
Which leaves the Royal Forces with the problem of whether to besiege the castle and batter it into submission. The defenders presently have no encouragement to surrender it intact as they currently all face the threat of execution for treason. Several d’Agrillac troops I have spoken to tell me that they are only fighting on from desperation, and would happily surrender if the Crown were to offer them a deal that allowed them the possibility of escaping with their lives.
Duchess Juliette however does not seem to be in a forgiving mood and seems more concerned that her troops might not receive the bounty on rebel soldiers not actually formally declared outlaw by the Royal Courts.
Even if the castle is surrendered, Duchess Juliette has expressed her wish to see it ‘slighted’ to render it indefensible in any future uprising, which might be a bit embarrassing for Baroness Sofia d’Agrillac if she were to regain her estate only to find that it no longer has an intact castle.
Baroness Sofia is said to be hurrying towards Falkone, and her representative Obsidian is already outside the Estate gates, but here he encountered a new threat, as he is reported to have been attacked by a huge pack of savage dogs. This pack has been attaching travellers around Torlia for a while now. Among there victims have been refugees fleeing the scene of the battle, and stragglers from the Royal Army. They were thought to have been unleashed by the rebels, but this now seems less certain. For, not far from the city, a Midnight Elf Loremaster has appeared. Exactly what this monstrous minion and its guards are up to is uncertain, but the possibility that it is linked to the savage hounds cannot be discounted, and it raises the further disturbing possibility that there was more to Uryen d’Agrillac’s rebellion than one man’s overweening arrogance and ambition. Exactly how Countess Falkone came to rise from the dead is another sinister mystery of this battle.
RGA AND DEI VIGILARE STRIKE JOINT MEMBERSHIP DEAL
Dateline: 14-
Two of Bereny’s most influential Guilds have announced that they have reached agreement to allow dual membership. From now on adventurers will be permitted the unprecedented step of holding membership of both The Royal Guild of Adventurers and the Dei Vigilare.
The RGA have long been the Guild with the closest ties to the Crown, and requires a strict oath of obedience to the Crown from all its members. Historically its membership has been restricted to the upper echelons of Berenian society, but this latest move is seen as an attempt to broaden its appeal by its recently appointed leader, Baroness Abbi Selas.
The Dei Vigilare by contrast are a religious-
“The Six has smiled on this joining of guilds and it is hopeful that this will lead
to joint missions between the guilds to help bring sunlight and the word of the Six
to those dark corners of Bereny,” Baroness Abbi said of the deal. For the Dei Vigilare,
its leader Dese Sanberligne declared “May our two, Crown-
Some commentators have seen the close alignment of these two Guilds as an attempt to counter the growing power of the White Tower in the Kingdom.