News & Rumors 267 – Page 2

As political representatives descended upon Semya Haven in Clan Ironmound territory, the eyes of Mardrun fell with them: the world looked to the attendees, the attendees looked to Clan Ironmound, and Clan Ironmound looked to the Wardens who had been chosen to host the meeting. The consensus was that taking the fight to the Mordok would be best, a charge led by Clans Nightriver and Grimward. Others held out hope for a more cautious approach or focusing inward instead of kicking the metaphorical hornet’s nest, but their voices were nearly drowned by the vocal support for war. More information on this event can be found here.

Newhope was shaken by the news of the sudden demise of Duke Al-Azarma. Well-respected among his peers and well-liked among his subjects, it was truly a tragedy that fell heavily on the hearts of colonists across Mardrun; none more so than the heart of his beloved wife, Duchess Al-Azarma. Racked by grief and utterly inconsolable, she began to withdraw from her duties to the city, which did not go unnoticed by her colleagues on the Council. As if on cue, Duchess Katherine’s long and storied feud with Grand Duke Richards came to an apparent head, with the former officially announcing her retirement from the Council. Granted her old station of Baroness and governing authority over the town of Daven’s Reach, Katherine cited “irreconcilable differences” between the Grand Duke and herself as her reason for leaving. Duchess Al-Azarma, surprising few, departed Newhope to follow Baroness Katherine in the hopes of finding a quieter life alone. Duke Montesque de la Aleine, surprising many, also chose to leave Newhope, claiming his “hands grew soft from years of desk work”. Within the span of a few weeks, the mighty Council of Ten was now the Council of Six.

Clans Whiteoak and Shattered Spear have formed a solid wall of warpacks to the north, bolstered by their allies to the south. These warpacks have begun patrolling the border of the Dirge Swamp in the hopes of cutting off reinforcements from the few stragglers to the south. Others have pushed into the Great Forest, harvesting what lumber and stone they can in preparation for the constructions to come. Clan Spiritclaw has continued to work day and night to expel the corruption from Ulven lands. Though their Daughters are powerful, there always seems to be another site to cleanse or one more step to take. They have recruited help from Starkhaven, though once the war in the swamp begins in full, their efforts will likely need to be redirected.

Reports from the Great Forest have been…disappointing to many Warleaders and chieftains among the Ulven. Skirmish raids have been taking place against settlements lining the Great Forest from a small but skilled group of Mordok supposedly led by a powerful shaman. A fast-acting corruption has been noted in a number of victims, and though casualties have been minimal, the target of the raids seems to be supplies. Local Daughters have been able to combat this corruption in most cases and have kept warriors alive, but they will be unable to devote their full effort to the war with such a danger lurking just beyond the tree line.

The decision of the Grand Moot was a compromise between the more aggressive and more defensive options; a unified effort to neutralize the Mordok threat in the Great Forest would be the first step. Following this, defensive structures would be built and protected along the border of the Dirge Swamp by smaller settlements across Mardrun while the larger clans and colonies would send troops north to push the Mordok back further than ever before. Clan Steinjottun has taken the lead on pressing through the Great Forest, coordinating with the smaller factions to herd the Mordok into waiting ambushes like the true hunters they are. Other clans are still preparing for the massive venture ahead of them: stores are nearly emptied from Clan Goldenfield to supply the warriors; Ironmound forges have burned nonstop since the moot; Whiteoak and Shattered Spear welcome warriors from the southern clans as they prepare to march north. Warleaders have assembled and begun to discus strategy for the coming assault. Preparations like this have not been seen on Mardrun before, and without the Riverhead catalyst to unite them, Only the Great Wolf knows if they will again.

Further to the south, Clan bickering remains steady, particularly between Stormjarl and Grimward. Wounded honor and scorched homes still sting to the warriors of Clan Stormjarl, who has demanded justice ever since Clan Nightriver put forth the treaty to Clan Grimward to end the Civil War. With attention being forced northwards, however, Grimward has been more dismissive than ever of these claims, using their numbers and military to remind Clan Stormjarl of the need to focus on the Mordok, rather than territory disputes. Honor, according to Grimward’s emissaries, demands Stormjarl’s presence in the Swamp; a point Stormjarl will not publicly deny. Veiled threats have been leveled by Clan Stormjarl, though, that once the fighting to the north is finished, they will take back the land they once owned.

Excited civilians from New Aldoria continue to make the trek to Aylin’s Reach, building new lives for themselves in a land they can call their own. This has not been sitting well with many officials of Newhope, who had hoped that the acquisition of New Aldoria’s land in Nightriver territory would lead to a substantial influx of tax money to be used to continue to improve their many settlements. Now, with so many residents abandoning the city for a more autonomous life in Aylin’s Reach, tax collectors to the city have been returning relatively empty-handed and very flustered.

February 267

January 267