Third Passage of the Ice Moon

Ah, the joys of magic. The Aurora, in a vivid display of modern magical methods of preservation, is holding a fresh fruit festival next An Meja. The price will be extravagant, costing more than eighty silver for entrance into the establishment, but that price will purchase you all the fresh berries, apples, pears, and other local fresh fruit that you can imagine. The chefs will also create tarts, pastries, and other assorted delights baked with the fruits.

"This is an example," I was told by Lidellia, a majae who works for Illumination, "of how magic is shaping the world. An event such as this would have been nearly impossible only a few years ago, when magicians were much more difficult to come by. We’re entering a new age of magical practice, and the results will be far-flung."

If they’re all as delightful as making ripe raspberries available in the middle of winter, then I, for one, am not complaining.

Tanya

In the last moon, the city guard of Aranor has received reports of eight missing huntsfolk who were lost in three different incidents. It is suspected that they were taken by faeries.

"In general we don’t deal with threats outside the city walls," says Cairon, Captain of the Aranorian City Guard. "And we’re certainly not prepared to deal with a fae threat. On the other hand, meat is getting more expensive in the city as huntsfolk either disappear or move to safer jobs – most game costs double what it did a year ago."

Reports of faerie encounters are becoming more common throughout the Known Lands, but it isn’t clear if this is due to increased fae activity or simply an increase of reports due to the frenzy surrounding the issue.

As for the problem in the Old World, numerous ‘fae hunts’ have been held outside of Aranor, but thus far they have found the forests empty of nymphs, tyver, or dire wolves.

One must recall, however, that the legends of fae tell of creatures who appear only to those they wish to see them. If such tales are true, then it seems that we’re at their mercy, and we’d best get used to eating fish.

Tirian

The battles in Jedda rage on as the Empress defends her home isle of Mymé from the Emperor’s forces. Fierce fighting has reclaimed her all of her ports, and the latest news tells that the Emperor’s ships are regrouping offshore to plan a massive strike.

The isle of Mymé is said to be suffering from a lack of population, since thousands of people from port villages have surrendered to the Emperor’s forces and been taken to camps on Irutoka. These port villages have now been fortified by the Empress’s forces and are being used as defensive bases.

Iridai, our Aranorian contact who has been following the war for us, tells us about the innards of the battle.

"The war is primarily between two classes of Jeddan warriors. On the Emperor’s side are the Shai-kan – fighters who favor armor and heavy swords. And on the Empress’s side are the Yoru-ken – a class of fighters who developed an art specifically to defeat the Shai-kan. The Yoru-ken depend largely on the element of surprise – they utilize armor hidden beneath their clothes to deflect a Shai-kan’s strike so that they can close the distance and utilize joint destruction techniques. This armor, however, only covers the forearms, and if a Shai-kan knows that he is up against a Yoru-ken, he can utilize attacks that make it difficult for the Yoru-ken to defend against. Furthermore, the Yoru-ken cannot dispatch an opponent as quickly as a Shai-kan, and thus, if a Yoru-ken is outnumbered, he is usually going to lose the fight. All of this being said, the Yoru-ken are definitely more highly trained than the Shai-kan, and in a one-on-one fight, the Yoru-ken will usually come out on top."

Although this is a simplified distillation of everything Iridai told me, it gives us a feel for what is going on in Jedda. We’ll keep you informed.

Lord Kieran

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