onaubade

[onaubade]

Divine Tarot: 𝄿 Divines

[Image of 𝄿]

Ace - Karre,  former Light Custodian Symbolised as a costumed dancer, performing to no audience, with a ghost orchestra backing their pirouettes.

II - Meddej,  former Mortal Magic Custodian Symbolised as a force of nature striking down upon mortal lands, wiping away civilizations and smiting influential inventors.

III - Coliuqui,  Winter Custodian Symbolised as a vision of Serenade, usually through stereotypes or myths, such as creatures said to live there.

IV - Chatta,  Ring Custodian Symbolised as a a figure in a chariot, sprinkling ringdust in great circuits across the sky.

V - Marahatra,  War Custodian Symbolised as a Mogh, Warhammer in hand, destroying a Garalan Walking City in a single blow. She is dressed in ancient armour, and the air ignites at the fury of her swing.

VI - Randulf,  Wind Custodian Symbolised as a boat adrift in the wind, buffeting against ‘waves’ as if in the ocean. Sometimes the boat is replaced with modern airships, as a point of pride and advancement.

VII - Krean,  former Night Custodian Symbolised as a looming monster, whispering in the ears of the vulnerable, placing a weapon in their hands.

VIII - Plineas,  former Ozone Custodian Symbolised as a regal figure, dressed perfectly to the customs of the day of drawing, ready for affairs of state.

IX - Thuut,  Mountain Custodian Symbolised as a comet, burning through the sky towards the nearest mountain range, so regular that one could use it for navigation.

X - Iphito,  Abyssal Guardian Symbolised as a vigilant eagle, hurtling between distant stars, destroying representations of alien life with her talons.

Scribe - The Missing One Symbolised often as just a blank card, though occasionally this space is used as an excuse to rep some important issue or proud location the artist was thinking about during work, such as their hometown, or a charitable cause, or what have you.

Sword - Lomatia, former Continents Custodian Symbolised usually as a figure simultaneously fornicating openly while also firing an arrow, alternatively simply kissing while firing an arrow.

Court - Dis, Time Custodian Symbolised as a all encompassing figure, surrounded by paraphernalia of clocks and such, their cloak made of star stuff.

Crown - Saenn, former Health Custodian Usually an actual copy of the official Logrian portrait, the Goddess of Witches smiles knowingly, a pointed hat upon her head, and a brace of papers in her hands. She wears something fashionable, but noticeably practical.

[onaubade]

Divine Tarot: 𝄡  Divines

[Image of 𝄡 ]

Ace - Olosta, former Love Custodian Symbolised as an image of a sad absence, such as a lonely person, or an incomplete gesture or sculpture.

II - Cassan, Sorrow and Peace Custodian Symbolised as a human man with long flowing hair, usually partaking in some form of sport.

III - Yohoi, Fear Custodian Symbolised as a pair of bells, ringing without handlers, in a tower on the horizon.

IV - Truvin, former Stability Custodian Symbolised as a peaceful countryside vista, a gentle rain on farmlands and distant trees.

V - Barra, Animal Custodian Symbolised as a sheep in shepherds gear, watching over a flock of wolves.

VI - Rosare, Ocean Custodian Symbolised as a sailor, dragged into the briny deep, by the beautiful iridescent fish of the ocean.

VII - Ka-Oneg, former Fish Custodian Symbolised as a great beast, water pouring from it’s mouth, flying through space with a parade of smaller fish following it through the stars.

VIII - Fricci, Microbial Custodian Symbolised as a sad young figure, crying as they look down at the ruins of M’Garr, with Peku’s tower looming behind them.

IX - Storm Mother, former Tide Custodian Symbolised as a vacant throne on a lonely rock, as the tides tear ships apart around it.

X - O’rv, Youth Custodian Symbolised as a smiling figure watching over a flock of orphans as they run through the streets.

Scribe - Bandev, former Justice Custodian Symbolised as a head, usually a recognisable figure’s head, on a spike.

Sword - Lurtula, former Reptile Custodian Symbolised as a lizard of some kind sitting and eating another, or some other depiction of cannibalism.

Court - Raba Isi, former Extinction Custodian Symbolised as a creature of the wild, usually a long dead one, tearing apart some man made creation.

Crown - Isander, Insect Custodian Symbolised as a jovial worker with an industrial insect, say a bee or an ant, copying his motions in miniature.

[onaubade]

The World from Tyr

Dorovia, the Kingdom Everlasting Where the dead rule over the living. They conduct projects and plans centuries in the making, all for the simple pleasure of completion, at the expense of those within who endure the tyranny of the fallen. Diplomacy with them is tedious.

Alai, the Walking Strings The refuge of a broken people, who were visited by the Gods and gifted the art of making new shells for their sick and fallen. Now their chord driven people spread far and fast, used as mercenaries, slaves, and cattle. A broken people break anew.

Taosi, the Last Land A place of mortal magic. Giants envelloped with tattoos wage war on the earth, tearing down mountains and carving out caverns. Their graves are more godly than the gods themselves, and to their backs lies a great glittering ocean.

Dale, the World Driver He lives in a simple place, a hall of wood amidst the dangerous rimfall. No food is grown there, as the Driver does not need it, but visitors who dare attempt to trip are welcomed if they arrive, and treated well.

Witness, the Living Storm It breathes, they say. Bands of rain pushing rhythmically across the world, but always falling stronger near the center. Sailors who attempt the great northern and western routes reveal as much. In the heart of the world, the Living Storm is eternal.

The Princes, the Slow Catastrophe Stone towers in muddy fields. Armies of poorly equipped communities, fighting for their lives against the village beyond the hill. A maelstrom of chaos and opportunism. We have borrowed the world ‘Anarchy’ from our neighbors, and it seems to describe the 10,000 Princes.

Logria, the Antipode Tyroste sits as the Imperial Power on one side of the world, and the mythical Logria sits on the other. They say that it is ruled by an eternal Emperor, who reincarnates every generation to ensure a lasting government. A county vast and wide, conquering all it’s neighbours, it is glorious. Almost as much as Tyroste itself. Tyroste and Logria, the two powers of the world, opposite and yet similar.

[onaubade]

Bird God’s Wrath

In one of the few actual interventions that Thraek is known to have taken, during the 5th Millennium he is said to have visited a city that had made it a ritual to kill every bird that flew into their sight. The stories never explain why, but the toll one year was so high that he personally visited the city, and within days there was a mass exodus to escape terrifying nightmares and deaths in the night. The city was considered cursed, and was abandoned for a time. A few months later a number of the citizens returned to find it covered in black ravens, and made a large peace offering to Thraek to apologise for their misstep. Though the city no longer stands, the story is covered in parables of the Gods.

[onaubade]

Divine Tarot: 𝄌 Divines

[Image of 𝄌]

Ace - Dale,  World Driver Symbolised as an idealised figure holding a lever and moving the world, sometimes including his island home in the art.

II - Derra,  former Tectonic Custodian Symbolised as a silhouetted figure sitting alone in a volcano, hovering slightly above the floor.

III - The Glorious Monster,  former Dusk Custodian Symbolised as a majestic beast which lurks in the woods and hills, preying on livestock.

IV - Smintheus,  Rodent and Lizard Custodian Symbolised as a kind and doting Elderly Ratfolk, looking down from the moon at the children of the world. Sometimes shown showering gifts from above.

V - Yalkas,  former Autumn Custodian Symbolised as a just and lithe warrior prince, usually winning his famous duel against the last Garalan Emperor.

VI - Baet,  Gravity Custodian Symbolised as a floating eye, often measuring the distances between the stars with little dotted lines.

VII - Ti Nabine,  former Forest Custodian Symbolised as a massive deer, crowned by it’s own antlers, with the traditional forest creatures bowing to it.

VIII - Toavel,  former Learning Custodian Symbolised as a den of thieves, or some depiction of illegal gambling activities.

IX - Garrain,  Magnetic Custodian Symbolised as a man with a beer in one hand and some symbol of experiment in the other, usually looking shocked.

X - Zikin Ker,  former Dirt Custodian Symbolised usually with some fanciful depiction of what people think an alien planet looks like.

Scribe - Aydeon,  Soul Custodian Symbolised as a student, toast in mouth and papers flying free as they run towards their next assignment.

Sword - Thraek,  Death and Birds Custodian Symbolised as a lonely figure, surrounded by birds, pulling a soul (in Logria, Empress Temen Bloodcrown) free from death.

Court - Baxos,  former Core Custodian Symbolised as a chained pair of hands, or some other symbol of slavery.

Crown - Pamela,  former Mortal Custodian Symbolised either as a mean spirited woman preying on the destitute, or a depiction of the ruin of a mortal utopia.

[onaubade]

Serasa’s Advantage

Serasa's first major advantage, in the field of artillery of all things. The two main schools have advantages and critical disadvantages, and the fellow Mgarr school has a few tricks up it's sleeve, but Serasa takes advantage of it's greatest asset: a small number of extremely mobile and powerful scouts that can transcend the trenchline. When all the other nations barrage a target, especially Logria, they blanket fire at an area of a certain width. But the Serasa school allows for sniper fire artillery strikes, capable of zoning in on a target that didn't even know it could be hit within three shots - a feat that other nations would need aerial surveillance to even approach. Serasa school governed armies fire less shells, but they hit more targets - and that is enormous.

[onaubade]

Divine Tarot: 𝄋 Divines

[Image of 𝄋]

Ace - Tashi, Air Custodian Symbolised usually as a tree being blown in the wind, sometimes with a figure in the clouds blowing.

II - Quatical, former Summer Custodian Symbolised as a woman with two heads, both turned away while the sun burns the mortal world.

III - Taerø, Sun Custodian Symbolised as a hand reaching from the burning sun to bring crops to fruit.

IV - Vaas, Fortune Custodian Symbolised as a perfect roll, or deck, sometimes as a pile of winnings being pushed towards the viewer.

V - Soris, Civilization Custodian Symbolised as a floating city, or castle, far above in the sky, inhabited by giants or strange alien folk.

VI - Yari, former Fertility Custodian Symbolised as an empty cot, or other symbols of tragic death in childbirth of either people or animals.

VII - Vezda, former Day Custodian Symbolised as a holy and kind figure, singing the praises of Dal and visiting the homes of the faithful with gifts.

VIII - Hindan, Life Custodian Symbolised as a newborn adorable animal, or occasionally as a child born without complication.

IX - Kyarra, former Spring Custodian Symbolised as a rare flower, blossoming in the sand on the edges of Aubade. The specific flower varies.

X - Ubao Chigo, Portal Custodian Symbolised as a locked door, safe and secure, with warmth and comfort radiating from the house it guards.

Scribe - The Grass King, Grass Custodian Symbolised as a circlet of grasses, given regal place in the picture, sometimes depicted upon a mans head.

Sword - Kalama, Famine and Plague Custodian Symbolised as the scourge of the weak, a murderer holding a knife above a child, or the red sky above the farm.

Court - Shuu, Creativity Custodian Symbolised as a beautiful piece of art, or more likely in cheap decks, a bad drawing of someone reciting poetry.

Crown - Gahau, Fire Custodian Symbolised as a candle in the dark, flickering and multicoloured, unbowed and undisturbed.

[onaubade]

Girl of Twelve

A girl of twelve mans the desk, serving a queue both short and bustling. The customer puts down their ration card, the girl scans the page and makes a small mark, reaches into the chute and pulls out a long thin baton of bread. She hands it over, and the next ration card drops onto the desk. it takes between eight and ten seconds to scan the page, make the mark, hand over the bread, and start again. She doesn't even look at the chute anymore, because the bread is always there. It used to be free. Her gran was a baker before she became all skeletal like, and before she went off to war she said there used to be dozens of local kilns all over the city. Then everyone got free bread, cause it was so cheap to make. Now tho, only folks with relatives in service get ration cards, and free bread. Other folks gotta pay. She thanks her nan for the bread in the evening, instead of praying to the family ancestors.

[onaubade]

Collapse in the Street

He had collapsed suddenly in the street, and a few nearby onlookers rushed to his side to see what the problem was. Not a doctor amongst them, they decided to take him to a nearby hospice. One ran ahead to inform the physician, and the rest carefully carried the man over to the center of the street, where a Street Crawler was approaching at half walking speed. They hopped on as it came past, along with an upper class looking folk and a pair of soldiers who paid them no heed, and laid the poor fellow onto the chairs.

The crawler would go right past the hospice, and the concerned citizens decided that he needed to be made comfortable rather than rushed through the rain. It'd only be ten minutes, after all.

[onaubade]

Divine Gift

In traditional Etemac Canon, the creatures of the world are defined as subjects of the Creator, and are given life through her actions. This viewpoint has been prevalent as an ‘of course’ through most of history. However with the creation and popularisation of created life, this has evolved into a deep philosophical issue.

A number of the Ascended have experimented with genetic alteration during collected mythology, none more so than The Mountain, who evolved a number of races there for the express purpose of work. Though unpopular among most of his compatriots, The Savant was allowed to examine his work for the purpose of study. Their collaborations improved the nature of these ‘artificial’ beings away from the rest of the Ascended, and they began to resemble life in more intimate ways.

Their artificial races lived, loved, married, they felt pain, they were happy and sad. They came to notice more complicated emotions of Ennui, Nostalgia, Schadenfreude, emerging and being felt in real time. The Creators work had been redesigned. It was further expanded in works that emulated this emotional collection in artificial containers: elemental and metal.

Now both The Mountain and The Savant had a certain appreciation for the Slugfolk, a slave race who were used for their innate understanding of engineering and magical theory. When the Slugs left their home seeking a new realm all of their own, their guiding deities sought to give them every advantage they could. Long and short, the Slugs were given the basic knowledge of how to create mechanical artificial life: the Chords.

Over the next few centuries the designs helped to create Alai, the Slugfolk chosen land, and became a cornerstone of their society. The Mountain returned to Serenade to focus on improving on the Creators design with his own races, but The Savant remained interested in this ‘New Life’. The Slugfolk turned their simple lifting machine into war bots, servants, and slaves, and even began exporting their work abroad.

They can now be found across the entire world, and under the umbrella of the Logrian Empire they are even the masters of their own vassal states.

[onaubade]

Voyage of the Author: Letters

Anonymous From the Voyage of The Author, the original tourist tract for the Tyrish Arm

To the Illustrious Cressidia I and her Court

The Circumstances of the Voyage, and the Departure from Sette

Of Kikara, the Port that most Embodies the Virtue of Temperance

Of Polova, the Gateway to Tyr, and my Meeting with the local Harem

Reflections on Ocean Travel beyond the Eternal Storm

Of Saroy, the Voyage to the Frontier Port, and the Storming of the Ship

Of Essora, an Unanticipated Jewel, the Sette of the East

Reflections on the Geography of the Tyrish Arm

Of Surinavas, and it’s role as Gatekeeper to the Tyrish Interior

Of Varilesk, Which the Tyrish do Consider their Antipode to the Venerable Mot, Wherein we met the Padishah at Court

Reflections on the Tyrish State, and it’s Governance

Of Uskuul, the Archetypal Heartland City

Of Kostrova, a City touched by Familiar Gods

Of Lodrava, and the Curious Importance of Water to the Peoples of Tyr

Reflections upon the Tyrish Understanding of the Ascended, and Where they Must Improve

Of Larasuut, it’s Ruins, and the Greater History of the Tyrish Arm

Of the port Stavas, and tales of the Eastern Outposts of Royavas and Kichikh

Conclusions on Tyr, and their relevance to the court of CRESSIDIA I

Of our Capture, and the Slaver Ports along the Southern Archipelago

Of Beizhingol, our Good Fortune to reach it, and the Court of Ju-Juan

Reflections on Ju-Juan and distant Taosi

Of Tuura, and the Two Spirited Folk of the Province

Of Laratova, our experiences travelling without escort

Considerations on the Composition of the Peoples of the Tyrish Arm

Of Vedran, and the State of our Cousins in the East

Of Pakhal, strange Travellers, and the Subdued Provinces

Of Nishtoli, the Sometimes Province, and the Folk who Endure it

Reflections on the Nature and Effects of Tyrish Colonialism

Of Saroy, this time Truly, and our Enrolment in a Foreign War

Of Tiirova, and the Unique Folk who Dwell Therein

Of Iskuul, the Tyrish practice of Abatis, and the Fort-City

Reflections on War between Tyr and it’s Neighbours, and it’s Curious influence on all matters Tyrish

Of Skan Tova, the Extent of Tyr to the North, and the Frontier Folk

Of Chor, a place of Nomads, and the Folk who fear the Storm

Of Luubalar, Greater Luut, and our meeting with the Luutish Beybeylay

Reflections on Luut, and the Many Lessons of it’s History

Of Bursht, of the Luutish Straight, and of the Sailors who cross

Of Khovos, a new sort of Colonialism, and the Were of here

Of Kalvana, the Azoetic Nobility of Dorova, and their Refusal to Parley

Conclusions on Dorova, and the State of the Azoetic Abroad

Of Suuroi, a Province without Rain, and the Catacomb Folk

Of Kodovor, the Temple to Mortal Industry

Of Vukaatti, and our visit with the Priest-Queen of Virumaa

Reflections on Virumaa, and Life on the Edge of the World

Of Alavus, the Velvet Tower, and the city of Mortal Magic Of the Isle of Dod, and his recounting of the Creation of Etemac

Reflection of the Ring Cities as seen from Alavus, and the cities of the Ascended

Of Khosaan, the Still Sea, and the True Peoples of the Hills

Of the Lake of Youth, and the origin of the Great River of Saranka

Reflections on a Southerly view of Saranka, and the Vengeful Past

Of Talatapan, and the History of Alai before the Chord

Of Chaak, and the City of Gifts, where Gods saved our Allies

Of Aransol, and our meeting with the Elders of Alai

Conclusions of Alai, and our Alliance with their People

Of Polova, Again, and the Voyage Home

Final Thoughts

[onaubade]

Voyage of the Author: Prologue

Anonymous From the Voyage of The Author, the original tourist tract for the Tyrish Arm

To the illustrious CRESSIDIA I OF HOUSE EVREE, EMPRESS OF LOGRIA, CONQUERER OF VEIDT, PROTECTOR OF ASHA, GUARDIAN AGAINST THE SINGING FOREST, and to her court in and around the city of Wycastle, as well as all those whom her IMPERIAL MAJESTY deems favourable enough to grant access, the author entreats your wonder for the pages beyond. To those who view this work, the author offers to you a view of some magnitude upon the wonders of the lands and peoples of Tyroste, Luut, Ju-Juan, Dorova, Virumaa, Saranka, blessed Alavus, and our good friends in Alai, as experienced first hand over the course of two years of travel by the author. In our own times of strife and division, the author bids us all to unite under the reign of our rightful monarch and seek to understand the greater world, and how the greater world must come to understand us. All praises to Anagas, the Traveller, who intervened in such subtle ways as to allow the author to survive the journey, and return to Logria to report upon it.

[onaubade]

Considering Aransol

Anonymous From the Voyage of The Author, the original tourist tract for the Tyrish Arm

The heart of Alai, nicknamed by the locals as the City of Eternal Paradise. The Alai slugfolk did not originate here, or any place within a hundred miles of here. They migrated from the distant lands now called the Thousand Princes, going first to Tespua, then Logria and Garala, shedding members who went on to found far flung communities, before the bulk crossed the Eternal Storm and made landfall here, in the deep bay city of Aransol. Here, they waged their war to build a new home, a new place of rest. Here the Divines, Sada Emedu and Llandra, the Mountain and the Savant, came to visit the beleaguered people of Alai and offer them salvation. Here, the Ascended taught them how to produce chordforms, and the first serfchords came into being.

To the Alai, history is pain and suffering. They have come far and so many died in the process. With the endlessly expanding workforce of the serfchords and the safety of entrusting security to the strifechords, the people of Alai found-themselves in a post labour environment. In great conferences, the elders of the Alai tribes came to slowly strip away the responsibilities and necessities of society from their people, and in turn give them luxuries, past times, hobbies. In Alai, during life you are in heaven. You may indulge in a light education that encourages specialisation in ways you wish to explore. You may live a completely hedonistic existence, sex and drugs, and always find a safe house and a warm meal waiting for you in the morning. The Arts are always funded, and there are always people curious enough to visit. This life, this single lifetime of unrestrained joy, is free from external hardship, or material want.

In return, and despite endless attempts to alleviate or silverline the outcome, Alai demands that most of it’s people do not die. They reach a critical state, and they are taken from their bodies into the chords, and placed within a chordform, and from then on they work. Population controls try to increase the number of people who do not have to. Offers of mind clouding and memory scrubbing allow some to avoid the existential reality of their situation. Heavy propaganda about the price being fair gives some small comfort. But the truth is that thousands flee Alai every year, either through volunteering for Mercenary work in far flung wars such as the Logrian-Ashan War, or allowing themselves to be ‘taken’ by smugglers along the coastline to simpler places.

The city of Aransol itself however, to the living, is a pure and beautiful place of near impossible architecture. Metallic domes and shards of well crafted steel reach out above the well paved pathways and endless waterfalls. Wide open areas and balconies look out over wide boulevards full of happy smiling people and eager merchants from abroad. Ships approach and a grand lighthouse guides them through the straights, glimmering in the sunlight. When the rains come Aransol is usually spared due to the hilly terrain to the west, but it also features retractable waterproof covers that the serfchords will quickly retract across the streets and balconies, allowing in many cases evenings to continue as if nothing had changed.

[onaubade]

Divine Tarot: High Divines (Part II)

Karah Aetherman Found in a Guild Workshop in Myrce, Torkin XII - The Victim - Aeron Depicted as a silhouette against the bright world behind, falling down from the heavens to Aubade. Often an excuse to show off the card makers knowledge of the shape of the world. The figures eyes are always visible, staring at the viewer as they fall to certain death. Some cards give them a contented smile.

XIII - The Gardener - Khereset/Kherset Depicted as a middle aged woman, with thick make up and a pale disposition. Surrounded by children, she points and teaches as a creature lives, dies, and rots before them all. She is sometimes depicted as a genial nanny, other times as a disciplined schoolteacher.

XIV - The Broker - Sutoro Depicted as a simple figure, wearing poor clothes and squinting in inadequate light. As they work on their craft, usually ledgers, the many gifts of a patient and restrained life shine around them in gold, gemstones, or beautiful patterns.

XV - The Cannibal - Usthal Depicted as a monstrous figure, huge and disfigured. It lures the rich, the beautiful, the ambitious into it’s gilded cage. Behind it, lie the bodies of it’s former inmates, tricked into entering. Like them, it is trapped within, unable to truly escape.

XVI - The Malefactor - Peku Depicted as a woman, chained and screaming against a pillar. Alone at the top of her tower, the skies and seas around her are torn asunder in her endless fear and rage. Mournfully, the creators light watches from far above.

XVII - The Traveller - Arathas Depicted as a figure in a small boat. Towards the distant creator, the simple sailor sails, between whatever astrological symbols the artist knew to make. The figure is completely variable, as is their clothing.

XVIII - The Mendicant - Shourin Depicted as a small bundle of fabric besides a warm river bank. Around it, the destitute fish in the river, desperate for food, and the image is filled with depictions of poverty. However within the fabric is always the glimmer of something valuable, usually a tiny crown, suggesting some great secret.

XIX - The Dawn - Dal Depicted within the great circle of the sun, a spider stands, six arms held open for embrace. The figure is always depicted as welcoming, with a friendly smile, and often features a few words of comfort below. The traditional message, famously, is: “So long as the sun sits in the sky, you will all be worthy of my love.”

XX - The Aspirant - Mirai Depicted as a figure dressed in nothing, with one hand behind and another forward. They stride towards symbols of wisdom, and towards the distant creator, confidently. Behind lie the remnants of mistakes, and follies, and they are always depicted as heading decidedly upwards.

XXI - The Worm - Khorakhoi Depicted as a great monstrous worm, carving its way below the world. It’s colossal size is often indicated by depicting a village or famous landmark in miniature above it.

XXII or 0 - The Song Depicted sometimes as the final card, and other times as the first, or even interchangeably. The Song is the most deliberately esoteric card, with versions either featuring some form of illusion to make sure that all viewers see something slightly different each time they see it. The poor make do with an inkblot design, or if the artist is really poor, just a collection of vague symbols that mean nothing but suggest much.

[onaubade]

Considering Chaak

Anonymous From the Voyage of The Author, the original tourist tract for the Tyrish Arm

High on a mountain pass sits Chaak, a hub town along a shortcut route across the Alai. Once upon a time it was a small humble village, but it’s convenient location and the advent of the serfchords has turned it into an important internal transit centre. At it’s heart is an ornate silver lined estate, with tall walls and greenery inside, where most of the slugfolk administrators live and operate from. It’s tall and wide, sitting right at the roadway and with bridges and paved roads leading to each of the major parts of the town. The overwhelming majority of the workers on site are serfchords, tall heavily stringed workers imbued with the souls of the living. Mechanical in nature they operate with a faint thrum of motion as their internal tension strings, impossibly compact and yet completely functional, allow them to work without fatigue or pain for days at a time.

Through the town come a huge variety of products, raw resources from the many mines high up in the mountains, massive shipments of dry rice and grain from the fertile farms to the east, and luxury materials shipping from the manufactures near the coastal paradises. Protecting this from interception are a garrison of strifechords, shorter and tighter strung, the strifechords are constantly in a slight state of motion, fidgeting and trembling silently in place. Although not especially strong or enduring, they are insanely quick and well trained to understand the flood of mechanical input reaching their souls. They guard on foot, restlessly, and can be seen in their smart uniforms endlessly patrolling through sunlight and rainfall.

What sets Chaak apart from other high mountain hubs, is that Chaak overlooks a number of Tourist locations of some interest. The hills around the town are pockmarked with ancient temples, places built of magical ringstone, and just monuments of glory. Some are older even than the ratfolk civilisation of Talatapan, and all are decrepit. Tourists from Aransol come to marvel at the efforts of the past, and reassure themselves that their own works far outstrip the efforts of the past. The Alai slugfolk truly believe that they have solved the puzzle of civilisation.

[onaubade]

Divine Tarot: High Divines (Part I)

Karah Aetherman Found in a Guild Workshop in Myrce, Torkin

I - The Successor - Temen Depicted as a moth woman, dressed in a simple loose robe, crowned in stars and sitting upon a throne of ringstone. Around her, figures proffer her the tools of governance, a feather, a sword, a scale, and a fistful of wheat.

II - The Watcher - Aemea Depicted as a figure facing away from the viewer, completely obscured in a bright white cloak which stretches to the abyss. Above her lies a distant light, dim but ever present: The distant light of the Creator.

III - The Warlord - Kath Depicted as a humanoid fox, impossibly beautiful and powerful, with a single longsword in hand. She has grievous injuries, is missing an arm, and bleeds openly from her many wounds. Her armour and sword are tarnished, and she weeps openly.

IV - The Cartographer - Caristorius Depicted traditionally via a flag or banner of the place where the cards are made. Occasionally otherwise depicted as a figure of subjective race and gender armed with a quill, and dividing resources with a dotted line.

V - The Scrivener - Plemora Depicted simply as the worlds smaller moon, or a temple atop it. Sometimes the moon sits alone, othertimes it is embedded in the greater rings. Occasionally it is depicted as an image of Plemora within a page of a book, referring to the endless labour of history.

VI - The Dancer - Naes Depicted as two figures, identical but for their presentation, effeminate and masculine. They share species, which varies by deck, but in all they lounge against each other, and smile cheekily at the audience.

VII - The Mountain - Sada Emedu Depicted as a titanic human, towering over the newborn world. His feet span ringfall to ringfall, and his arm is raised to the distant faint light of the creator. Dressed well, his infectious smile radiates from the page.

VIII - The Hunter - Nohr Depicted as a ratfolk, armed with a bow of living thorns. They stand in a wide stance, a beast slung lightly over one shoulder, and the bow slung over the other. Returning home, watched by the sun, Nohr marches triumphantly forwards.

IX - The Savant - Llandra Depicted as a single, dim light in the midst of darkness. Above lies the distant glimmer of the creator, smaller and distant and yet somehow brighter and in greater focus. From the side, a supplicant brings forth some small miracle for the Savant to consider. Some cards create the twin light illusion with magic, others simply assume the viewer understands.

X - The Heresiarch Depicted as a figure in a dark black cloak, bearing the face and flag of whomever the card maker considers a widely hated enemy or charletan. Around them the desperate and the weary flock, brought in by the lies, the promises, the falsehoods. On the periphery, the world crumbles.

XI - The Inquisitor - Lo’ani Depicted as a living statue, dust radiating off her form. She stands amidst the bodies of criminals, traitors, and the accused, wielding a headsmans axe. Blood pours from the blade, and supplicants drown at her feet in the crimson tide. Her face is a picture of either righteous fury or outright hatred, depending on the card.

[onaubade]

Week 5: Battle of Linnits

Gregor Sallan & Lucah Hlarus From a weekly recount of the Great War We head this week to the northern front as the Essifi Army finally reaches one of it’s primary goals for the war - the city of Linnits.

Forming the backbone of the Logrian-Nolum war effort is the Pilgrims Railway, a collection of compatible rail routes connecting the Logrian network with the Nolum capital at St Carina. This had been used throughout the start of this war primarily to push war supplies and reinforcements eastwards and keep the alliance intact in the face of a largely unstoppable Essifi assault.

It was Warlord Almet and his Akkan Legion who took charge of the thrust northwards. His advance was barely impacted by the smaller and much less organised defence attempts over the first month, and more by his insistance to avoid overtaking his supply routes. Caution had served him well so far and it brought him within fifty miles of the Chorus border with ease.

Unbeknown to him, the Logrian High Command had been preparing for the defence of the city by new means, sending a Junior General by the name of Augustina to set up an emergency defensive effort. For three weeks, every spare artillery and shell had been diverted off the tracks into the highlands west of Linnits, and a sizable airship force had been scrambled away from the northern front.

Arriving on the 4th, the 300,000 strong Akkan Legion takes up temporary defensive positions east of the Metton River, with Logrian forces retreating to prepared trenches and small bunkers on the western slope. Nearly 60,000 soldiers were present on the first day, to be increased by nearly 10,000 a day for the next week as the battle began in earnest. Almet was to write confidently back to Meknes, promising “a schedule pleasing engagement”, and considering opposition tactics so far, he could hardly have expected any different.

That morning, as the Akkan forces began their light bombardment of the western river banks, preparing for a standard five mile push, they were suprised to notice a mass of artillery unveiling on the hilltops overlooking the river. After an hour of scattered fighting, the Essifi had begun to cross the banks of the river when the Logrians began their counter bombardment. Three weeks of shells, over a thousand peices of artillery, and fifteen airships, with roughly eighty naval guns between them, began to hail down on the Essifi line.

The first half an hour was somewhat lackluster, but firepower began to focus an intensify as the airship cannons lead the ground bombardment towards troop concentrations. An account from the ground:

“I felt as if I was back at the ocean, grasping tightly to the hull of a whaling ship traversing a storm. The mud rose like waves. Thunder was conjured from nothing. When my squad arrived in the morning we were sat near the river, but those same positions were sunk below a new lake when they finally let us come home at dusk.”

Expecting the bombardment to lessen, and encouraged by the reports of troop numbers, the Akkan Legion had been very eager on that first day to continue the assault regardless. By the time that news of the disintegrated frontline reached the Generals tent 30 miles back, nearly 60,000 soldiers had died. The assault was called off, but the soldiers as a whole remained in the wasteland that had been their positions. More suffered from exposure, sniper fire, and disease as the Legion struggled to recover.

On the second day a new assault was summoned, this time further north where the artillery was expected to hit lighter, but had to be called off as again, the Logrian Guns tore the land apart and made an assault impossible. On the third, fresh Essifi forces began to arrive, and a new general assault was proposed. The shells never stopped falling after that attempt - although the Airship Ancient Promise was knocked out of the sky by hastily summoned frigates borrowed from the nearby Meknes Legion. A small victory.

The bombardments did slow after this, but so did the assaults. The Logrian forces began counter assaults on the eighth, pushing the shattered Akkan forces back thirty miles, far out of sight of the city, before re-establishing trenchlines.

While the battle itself would continue for another month, with Logrian forces using it to anchor themselves in the defense, the true impact of the battle was the realisation of the golden goose Logria had in it’s pocket: Logrian Logistics. The doctrine of overwhelming ammunition use would prove a key component of wartime strategy for the Logrian Army for the remainder of the war. Junior General Augustina became just General Augustina, and would remain in charge of the Nolum Frontline for another two months before being killed by a stray shell at the Second Battle of Coladen.