Fourth Passage of the Dry Moon

Under the auspices of hunting the infamous pirate Jaradin, the Emperor’s fleet of eighty-seven warships purportedly devastated a small coastal village on the island of Aryn.

"There are literally hundreds of small, independent communities dotted all over the map," said our own Lady Emily of Illumination. "Because they are outside the jurisdiction of any province, the Jeddans might be assuming the people of these communities are pirates, or in support of Jaradin."

The Jeddan fleet, however, insists that they were requisitioning supplies and gathering information about Jaradin’s whereabouts.

The messages being sent back to Jedda, recorded by one of the Emperor’s personal servants, suggests that the ‘requisitioning’ was rather brutal. Although we are lacking details, the Emperor, who until now has been gathering a reputation of beneficence and peacefulness, is gaining criticism. He has reportedly sent messages back to his ships reprimanding their actions.

Meanwhile, little has been heard of Jaradin, but sages assure us that he is likely still building his pirate empire.

Tirian

The scare responsible for the killing and burning of numerous innocent people in Masalla seems to have stabilized. A man by the name of Kavus, believed to be the leader of the lycanthropes, was recently captured and killed by the Masallan authorities.

Kavus was shot down with crossbows after charging a group of hired mercenaries while in wolf form.  He then shifted to human form in order to beg mercy. Masallan authorities questioned him, then tried him and sentenced him to be slain and burned.

According to his testimony, Kavus visited Saravai and purposefully infected himself with lycanthropy, explaining to authorities how he dreamed of making Masalla into a land ‘of the pure race’.

Without their leader, many of the people infected by him are fleeing in fear. The threat of an organized group of lycanthropes seems past, but some sages estimate that thirty or more lycanthropes remain on the isle of Masalla, and warn that the plague is not yet over.

To make things worse, there have now been scattered reports of ‘reverse lycanthropy’. This disease, which has still not been proven to exist, supposedly first emerged in the isle of Saravai. Animals, especially animals related to the forms of lycanthropes, are bitten by a lycanthrope and then escape. In rare cases, the animal becomes infected, and will develop the ability to attain a human form. The human form retains the mind of an animal, but some creatures, such as wolves, have learned to utilize the forms in order to lure humans into vulnerable positions. Wolves, bears, and foxes are the most common animals affected by this strange disease.

Many sages discount that reverse lycanthropy exists. They explain that human victims often go mad, and in such a state could easily be mistaken for ‘animal-minded’ humans. Others suggest that Dire Wolves, who are able to assume human shape, take advantage of situations such as the one in Masalla, and cross the border into our world.

Whatever the case, Masalla still has much work ahead in ridding its main island of werewolves.

Lord Kieran

Most of us will never get the chance to see the brightly coloured fish of Moraithe that some picture-books show us. First we’d have to travel to Moraithe, then we'd need to brave the waters in order to swim down among the reefs. And after that, only the most shallow-dwelling fish would be available to our vision, since fading light saps the colour from deeper fish.

But that’s all about to change. Lord Beron, described as ‘round, jovial, and quite eccentric’, is moving to Aranor. And he is having six large glass bowls crafted for him, each as tall and wide as a man. In these he will set over six hundred different varieties of Moraithian sea-creatures, from octopi to brightly-shining fish.

"We’ll be creating Moraithian weather via magic," said Tasha, one of his assistants in Aranor. "This will be a museum, if you will, but a museum filled with the most wondrous living creatures the world has to offer."

The museum will open before winter, and will dwell in the Merchant District. Signs will be posted throughout the city. Visitors will be charged six silver for entry to the museum, and plaques will describe the different creatures.

Tania

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