Third Passage of the Melting Moon

‘Let’s go see the Vistas!’ Yes, it sounds strange, but that phrase might soon be a portion of modern culture.

The Vistas were created by a Masallan inventor named Sarus Reneen, a man who has been described as ‘eccentric’. In huge, specially lit wooden boxes, he has painstakingly handcrafted replicas of eleven of the world’s most fabulous sights. Each Vista sits up to six viewers, who put their eyes up to viewing holes. Then a commentator talks about the place and explains certain features and details.

"I’m a world traveler and I’ve never even left my village", said Marin, a peasant from Masalla. "Vistas expands your world view – I’m amazed at what’s out there!"

Similar reactions are expected from the citizens of the Old World. Sarus will spend most of the year traveling throughout the Old World, trying to spend at least a bit of time in most of the smaller villages of the land. Although the large cities are where he makes most of his gold, his mission is to bring the world to people who would otherwise have no chance of seeing it.

He is expected to arrive in Aranor next moon, and will start his tour here.

Tania

Queen Lillian has sent word to the Emperor of Jedda Felsuin that she wishes the conflict in Jedda to end. The war has affected trade so that the prices of all Jeddan commodities have risen sharply, and Queen Lillian is sending a message that states, quite plainly, that she’s had enough.

The Empress has graciously agreed to end the war, and we are awaiting the return of your warships to Irutokan shores. We are eager to do trade with both of you again, but fear that if you continue your half of this conflict, we shall have to impose trade restrictions upon exports originating from your isle. At that point we will have only the Empress to trade with, and will take whatever actions are necessary to make certain that our trade relationship with her remains healthy.

This is from a portion of the official letter Queen Lillian sent to the Emperor, copies of which she has sent to the leaders of other major provinces. She has given the Emperor a single passage within which to withdraw his forces, after which time the trade restrictions will be enforced upon all incoming vessels carrying Jeddan goods. The Queen will then meet with her advisors to see what actions might be necessary to re-open trade routes with the Empress and her isle of Mymé – trade routes that have been shut down since the Emperor began his assault on the island.

As far as we know, the Empress is still struggling to defend her shores, and rumors that the Emperor has broken through into the interior of Mymé near the city of Tai has created new fears among those who favor the Empress.

Lord Kieran

A group of huntsfolk brought a most unusual body back to Aranor last passage – a man in antiquated armor.

"We found him near a group of caves and lowlands north of the city," said Shamus, the leader of the group. "Thinking he was a Knight of Aranor, we rushed him to the city authorities."

But the arrival of the man only served to mystify the guards.

"This is quite an unusual phenomenon," says Maria, one of the guards working the case. "The man’s body does not seem to decompose, and his hair is cut short in a style that was documented as popular during the faerie slaughters in the Old World. His armor, too, is very dated – armor has advanced greatly even in the last hundred years – this style is heavy, cumbersome, and of poor metal. I know this makes me sound crazy, but it seems as if this man might be from the ages of the drake hunts."

She is referring to the Dragon Hunts – a time when all things fae were hunted down and killed in an effort to ‘tame’ the Old World. This was over 180 years ago. The suggestion is that the man was somehow preserved in a state of torpid near-death until he was finally abandoned and found by the huntsfolk.

"We’ve removed the armor and are keeping him with some healers," Maria said. "They sense traces of life in him, though there is no discernable heartbeat or breathing. We are truly perplexed."

The area where he was found, known as ‘The Grottos’, is considered a dangerous place of high fae activity. The hunting group was hunting for forest dragons when they found the knight.

Tirian

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