Second Passage of the Frost Moon

Frost dragons are native to Inidor, a land of perpetual snow and ice. Able to fly only short distances, they have never been seen in any other land.

That was, until last winter when hunters claimed to see a frost dragon near the small town of Ritual, in the Old World.

Now that the heavy snows have returned to that area, another sighting has emerged. This time by no less than eight villagers, who saw the beast just at the edge of Ritual. A sage, Jalen, who happened to be in the area at the time, took careful pains to draw the tracks, and when he returned to Aranor, he announced his findings.

"This is definitely a frost dragon," he said. "Or a dragon with exactly the same tracks. The villagers’ description was also in keeping with pictures of frost dragons made by Inidorian explorers. I have no doubt that this is the real thing."

The mystery, of course, is how it comes to be in the area. Frost dragons have never been sighted in the summer moons, and some sages insist that our climate would feel to them much like we’d feel if we were living in a fire.

"I agree that our weather might be unbearable to such a cold-adapted creature," Jalen says.

Many theories have emerged to explain the dragon’s presence. Some feel that it might be using a passage through the fabled world-caves to come to our lands during the winter. Others feel that it might have been summoned by some mad wizard.

"My supposition," said Jalen, "is that it does something like the opposite of hibernation. It might crawl into a deep, cool cave to sleep each summer away, and emerge only when the cold comes back to the area."

Thus far the dragon has caused no damage, but nevertheless, hunters from Selarum, Aranor, and even Liramelle have made themselves a temporary home in Ritual so that they can attempt to slay the beast.

Tirian

 The Masallan isle of Adiera is famous for its spicy, saucy foods.  Now you can taste their desserts, as well.  The shoppe, named ‘Adieran Desserts’, is scheduled to open next moon.

 “Caramel sauces and glazes, along with spirit-infused cakes and crèmes are our specialty,” says Amira, the owner of the shoppe.  “Think burnt sugar.”

She will begin by serving eight ethnic specialties, and will emphasize Adieran culture. 

 “We’ll serve the Mirata flaming, just as we do it back home, and every night we’ll feature Adieran music or dancing.  It’s a bit like what you’d see at the gypsy camp, only more passionate and colourful.”

The shoppe is definitely a specialty café, with desserts starting at fifteen silver, and dessert wines and liqueurs, most of Masallan origin, starting at eight silver per glass.  Still, Amira hopes to get commoners coming to the shoppe.

“For desserts like this, it’s a small price to pay,” she insists.

I, for one, will be giving it a try.

Tania

Faol and Casara Bicker

Trade has collapsed between the provinces of Faol and Casara and the King of Faol has closed the passes, essentially cutting Casara off from the outer world.

The dispute erupted over a huge gem mine and cache, long sought after by explorers from both provinces.  Faol’s histories tell the story of a ‘crazy miner’ who left Faol and wandered into the mountains, returning years later with buckets full of gems.  He married a wealthy woman in Faol and rose to a position of some political standing, but he never revealed the source of his wealth.  Periodically he would leave into the mountains and return, passages later, with untold riches.

The story was long regarded as nothing but myth, until explorers from Faol discovered the mine, along with a large hidden cache of rough gems, in the northern mountains.

According to Casara, the mine is firmly in Casaran territory.  Faol claims the rights since it was official Faol explorers who located the treasure.  The situation is further complicated by the fact that the mine is actually located on lands ceded to King Niall under the recent truce between Rilhaven and Maelmuire.

Thus far, King Niall has not made any claims on the find, the value of which is estimated to be in the tens of millions of silver.

In theory, Casara could function as an isolated province, but with winter looming, it is ill prepared for such a circumstance.  Such a situation would also require Casaran nobles to go without their imports from the outside world.

Unless negotiations can be reached, Casara will have little choice but to attempt a forceful entry into Faol in order to secure the port for its own.  In essence, this could be considered an act of war by the King of Faol.

We will keep you updated.

Lord Kieran

To the Oracle Main Page

To the Oracle Collection-- Fourth Year