Second Passage of the Plowing Moon

Lord Arus Timiir of Selarum, a Shavay man who was granted the title of nobility after Queen Lillian came to power, has always been a staunch and outspoken supporter of the Queen. He was a highly charismatic figure who many felt defined the ‘new nobility’. When he was found dead last passage in his home, slain by rapier blade, it came as little surprise that there was a letter near his body – a letter composed and signed by representatives of the Last of the True Nobles.

The Last of the True Nobles first announced their presence when they attacked the city of Kern, hanging Queen Verina from the battlements of her castle. She was subsequently resurrected, but the Nobles had gained themselves a reputation. Since that time the Last of the True Nobles have reportedly evolved into a moderate group which stages peaceful protests, mostly in Aranor. The group boasts over a hundred and twenty members in Aranor, and the leaders of the group insist that the Last of the True Nobles had no part in the slaying.

"These people don’t know what they’re supporting," said Tavis Jeranelle, a former member of the Aranorian group. "They donate gold to the ‘High Lords’ – among them members of the former Goddard royal family – and the High Lords orchestrate the behavior of the lesser members. It’s a cult, with the High Lords as the deities. And believe me, a killing like this is not beyond their capacity. I’ve heard talk of much worse during meetings. This simply means that they’re up to something new."

While the members of the Aranorian guard are systematically interviewing each member of the Aranorian group, the group members are crying ‘harassment’, and insisting that the Selarum killing was done by someone unconnected with their group – someone who wants their group to develop an ill reputation. "Perhaps Queen Lillian herself," one said.

"That accusation sums up the demeanor of these people," Tavis went on. "They think that people are concerned about them, while I think that Queen Lillian is probably not very interested. They truly believe that they are playing an important role, and that they will come to power after the ever talked-about ‘Fall of Lillian’. Then they’ll change things back to the way they used to be, where nobles were truly of noble blood. What the idiots fail to realize is that ‘noble blood’ was determined by who was originally in power – all Queen Lillian did was give the process a fresh start-over."

Selarum guards continue to search for the killer, in the hope that a real answer might be found.

Tirian

In the tradition of the Masallan Expansion, a group of Aranorians has claimed an island half a day’s sail north-east of Aranor as a new province.

"We’re here and we’re open to trade," said King Kavus, who rules over the group of sixty settlers with his wife, a Shavay woman named Asha. "We make the finest wool, incredible whale-bone carvings, and we have some fish over here that you’ve never tasted before."

The island is quite small, being not quite a day’s walk across, and is shaped much like a squat cone. Its climate is warm temperate, with only light winters. It’s long been known as ‘Beastgrave Isle’, for legends say that monsters wash up on the shore to die. But explorers soon discovered that the bones were those of whales, who for some reason are prone to washing up on the island’s shores. The island is now called ‘The Province of Jara-Lynn’, after the legendary paradisiacal island said to dwell somewhere in the Brilliant Ocean.

"They’ll be having some trouble drawing people," said Rajah, a sage at the Library of Aranor who specializes in ‘formed cultures’, sometimes called ‘intentional communities’. "They’re off the shipping routes, so the island will be hard to find. Still, no one has anything but good things to say about the King and the Queen, and they have, over three years, built what is said to be a quaint little town. Being as close to Aranor as they are, they might stand a chance, and it would certainly be nice to have another community this close."

He went on to say that they might find themselves recognized as an independent stop-over port, but that the small size of their island precludes any possibility of them ever being an actual ‘province’ in the eyes of the world.

"There are lots of little communities like this, dotted all over the maps," Rajah said. "Most simply don’t make themselves known to the world. But Jara-Lynn is just too small – provinces have to be big – the smallest any of us accept as ‘real’ is Lantrielle."

In any case, a few Aranorian ships will be chartering trips to Jara-Lynn for very reasonable prices.

Lord Kieran

"Who ever knew that those little yellow spiders could do so much good?" asked Maritaya, one of the co-owners of Mirage, a ‘beauty spa’ in the River District. She refers to the small spiders that frequent the shore-lines of the Silver River. They are shy and reclusive, fleeing at the first sign of human movement. Now, however, they are playing an important role in what some feel is the most exciting – or fearful – beauty treatment ever.

"Their venom is nearly painless, but produces a swelling effect," said Maritaya. "When we apply it to the lips, they grow plump and red, and stay that way for two or three days."

What she is failing to tell us is what she means by ‘applying’. In this case it means holding the spider to a girl’s lips until the little creature is induced to bite.

"Never," said Tasha, a frequent visitor to Mirage. "There is simply no way in Lorenai that I would ever, ever, ever have that creepy little thing by my mouth!"

But many women disagree, and Maritaya tells me that they have ‘ten or twelve’ customers a day coming in for the treatment, which costs thirty-six silver. The spiders themselves are kept in a back room, where they are carefully fed so that their ‘nectar’, which is actually referring to their venom, is constantly replenished.

The effects are apparently dramatic, and those who can brave the procedure are coming back for more!

Tania

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