Event 10
Midsummer
19 Jun - 16 Jul, 2016
Introduction
As the Summer Solstice approaches, conflict and mystery begin to erupt all over Alva. Each incident is isolated, born of long-incubated tensions or simply unrelated happenings, however their nature has fortune-tellers and the superstitious whispering furiously of ill omens.
It seems a fever of madness has gripped the world. In the Kingdom, Amedra, Cantor and Valevo are beseiged by domestic tumult and hysteria. In the Empire, Tusa, Song-Lu and the North Colony suffer mysterious, alarming incidents and an explosion of civil conflict. All acutely worrying, all potential turning points for the course of the future, and all in the window around midsummer.
People everywhere wonder if this reveals a bad Spectre Day outcome and foretells a bad coming cycle. Widespread superstition marks the solstices - the apexes of Aurea and Atros's power - as times of extremity and turning fates. The first Summer and Winter Solstices following Spectre Day, according to diviners, are when the fates are clearest. Songluans also mark this year's month of Snake - the month with the same guardian animal as the year - as a time of bad luck. That it coincides with Summer Solstice only strengthens the idea that perhaps it is all a portent of terrible things to come.
It is midsummer, Year of Souls, and madness tightens its grasp on Alva.
Mayhem is exploding all around Alva - in particular Amedra, Cantor, Valevo, Song-Lu, Tusa and the North Colony - bringing forth a series of potential turning points for the course of the future. Is this a sign of a bad Spectre Day and coming cycle, and how will you push the wheel of fate?
Amedra
Midsummer
In Amedra, the most violent act of piracy for many years has struck. A small fishing village along the eastern coast has been pillaged and razed to the ground by a fleet claiming to be the heart of the former Jewel Sea Corsairs. Outrage breaks out, followed by chaos as vigilantes within both the citizenry and underground mete justice on those they know to have pirate connections. As the government of Amedra stands on the brink of revoking the protection given to the defected Corsairs and convicting them all, a different fleet rises up. Claiming to be Corsairs who are actually loyal to Amedra, they ask for the crackdown to be ceased and their privileges to remain intact. If Amedra will just step back and leave matters in their hands, these new Corsairs promise to hunt down the other pirates and keep the waters safe in ways far more efficient than the armada, thanks to their inside knowledge. But can their word be trusted, or is this the prelude to another mutiny?
Cantor
Midsummer
A shocking discovery has triggered a patriotic fever among the Cantish - the one who stole the Leywood relics is in their midst. An urgent call has been issued by Delverne; with Miras's help they have tracked down the thief to an Empire sympathiser hiding in Cantor, a dark elf or half dark elf in disguise. What's more, there's evidence of a secret saboteur network which he is just one of. Everyone must move quickly to catch them - for the safety of the Kingdom and to reclaim the crucial lost relics which may yet save battered Nisalvini. Suspicions and accusations run rampant. Neighbours question each other. Darker wood and half wood elves, who may be the enemy in disguise, and anyone with connections to the Empire come under heavy suspicion from all quarters. Inquisitors from the Delvan Templars and Miras Royal Guard descend upon Cantor to assist, their message clear - help root out this insidious threat and take back the relics... or Aurea save you if you choose to betray the Kingdom for misplaced friendship.
Valevo
Midsummer
Treason and stewing rebellion have attracted the ire of the Miras military to Valevo. It started in court, with an insult from an influential Mirian noble - Conte Timeus Sonesta - to Margrave Aliswen and Northerners as a whole. Incensed, a few Valski in Miras attacked Conte Sonesta while yelling slurs against the Crown - an act of terrible treason, for which they were swiftly imprisoned. The royal eye turned to the heart of the Northern community and its resentments - Valevo. What was until then a quiet understanding with leader Gideon Eaves that he would prevent treason shattered; the Miras Army sent in its forces to keep the peace, and remind the residents whose law they must obey. Tensions rose and clashes began between soldiers and those unhappy with their presence. The Northern community is split. While many wish to continue biding their time and working with Miras - the approach championed by Gideon - more and more are burning to make a stand for their will against the Crown, aggressively if need be - a movement championed by Alis.
Tusa
Midsummer
The civil strife that has ripped Tusa apart is coming to a head - revolution has arrived. Since the last violent rebellion, the air has been thick with tension. Iron-faced troupes of Tusar military patrol the city in greater numbers and further into the ghettos beyond its borders than ever before... and with this spreading of the forces comes opportunity for the rebels. Cover has been stretched thin around the Yazgur's Halls. The time is ripe for a strike against Nasrin herself, and with the growing aid of the Tusar black market and its lesser criminals the logistics are now possible. Change this Summer Solstice, they cry, will come at long last. A coup is planned to capture the Garal Uusel; while a large and heavily armed vanguard will attack the front gates hoping to beat their way through, Shirin and a small force of assassins will infiltrate the Hall's sewers to take the Yazgur by surprise. Will Nasrin survive and hold on to her power, or will the revolutionaries achieve their goal - the rise of the seventh Yazgur, Shirin?
Song-Lu
Midsummer
The month of Snake has been uneventful except for a gathering storm - until the night of 20th Snake, or 24th Flowers in the standard calendar. Lightning flashes paint the city in a grim light, and only the most intrepid of citizens dare to go out while the heavens rage. They come upon a gruesome sight. Council member Zhua Om-tai, representative from the House of the Gold Snake, is found dead on Mingxing Square in her nightclothes with the tell-tale marks of a lightning strike across her features. A vocal member of the Council, High Lady Zhua was well known for her support of Koben and the Empire. A note was found on her body, next to a small carving of a cat. “This is just the beginning.” In the freezing deluge that follows, drenched Peacekeepers investigate to no avail, and many citizens seek refuge inside their homes as the summer solstice becomes a time of darkness and ill omens. Outside, concerned Songluans form neighborhood watches, vigilant for any hint of criminal activity, while others go out in secret to paint treasonous slogans denouncing Koben and the Empire or calling for a return to neutrality.
North Colony
Midsummer
Turbulent weather has washed through the Northern Continent, causing landslides and earthquakes that have laid waste to large parts of the city's north side. Most importantly for the military, restricted areas within Maelog's Spine and the Thyre Glacier - the sites of a new, secretive military research base - have been cut off. The military must put great time and effort into rescuing the soldiers and scientists trapped in the wilds, at the risk of losing invaluable research. This sudden destruction comes as a ray of hope for the Valski natives; with their captors' attention split and an earthquake’s destruction to a local prison, this has become a golden opportunity to escape the North Colony. The military will have the time and manpower for only one effort - they must decide between saving the people and important research beseiged by the elements, or preventing a prison break that may cost them inside information to the Kingdom.
Story
Activities
Event Outcomes
There are six event outcomes and they will be determined by vote. Each member will receive by default one vote per event city on their side. If you have mains on both sides, you can vote once for everything. Furthermore, you will receive one additional vote per main in an event city (e.g. if your main character is an Amedran citizen, you have two votes for the Amedra outcome and one for Cantor and Valevo each). Extra votes can be earned by art entries.
The choices are:
Amedra - Trust the Corsairs at the risk of mutiny OR revoke their privileges
Cantor - Aid the hunt (and reclaim the relics) OR obstruct the hunt
Valevo - Continue to work with Miras OR demonstrate Northern will by aggression
Tusa - Nasrin to remain Yazgur OR Shirin to overthrow her
Song-Lu - Support the current Song-Lu OR support breaking from Koben for neutrality
North Colony - Save the soldiers/scientists/research OR apprehend the escapees
❖ Vote Here ❖
Event Participation
Mini-Game
For Song-Lu, game starting 1st July with no sign-up necessary. OOC and open to all members with an Empire character. Keep an eye out for it!
Event Participation
Event Art
Draw, write or in any way depict your character's involvement in the main event to affect the outcomes! Art or literature entries will receive a bonus 30 EXP. Only main characters are eligible for the bonus EXP and the outcome.
Event Participation
Prompt Art
For characters who cannot be directly involved in the event, you can use this event as a prompt (e.g. reacting to the news from another city). Prompt submissions will get a bonus 10 EXP for the submission but will not count towards the event outcome.
Event Participation
Action Statement
If you don't have time to make an art piece, you can get 5 EXP by simply stating what your character is doing for the event via a post in the #event-board Discord channel. This applies to main characters only and there must be direct involvement with the events to get this. Side characters' involvement can be described to contribute to the event canon however no points will be given. If you go on to enter an art submission later, the EXP received for this will be replaced by the art submission points.
Special Role
Naila Issafeyr
Sea Snake
As the line between criminal and reformed pirates blurs more than ever, one former Corsair finds herself toeing it particularly dangerously. Having been monitored by the Royal Guard and affiliated with the Amedran nobility, Naila is held in more trust by the government than many. However, as the armada struggles to find the pirates who destroyed the village, an old friend of hers appears: the captain of her old ship, The Black Hound, is now sided with the criminal pirates, and extends an invite to her to join them. Naila is now in the risky but opportune position of being accepted by both sides of the conflict and, with her choice of loyalty, could stab one fatally in the back.
Special Role
Martin Marienkäfer
Outpost Saviour
While the North Colony military divides its main forces on the two most pressing problems - the islanded research base and the critically damaged prisons - Sergeant Martin Marienkäfer is sent on a different but no less crucial mission. He is to lead a small team of his picking to a research outpost even further away and more isolated than the main base, which has fallen to an ice avalanche. To reach its position on the northern tip of the glacier, he and his team must travel by peryton into ice wyvern territory. Their goal is to secure the research and small number of scientists running it - come what may.
Special Role
Rohayu Shir-Del
Chief Investigator
Plenty of Peacekeepers are involved in the investigation, but Orlan asks Rohayu to be the one to coordinate their efforts. It means long days and nights, investigating the crime scene herself as well as reviewing reports and evidence gathered by others, and will be a true test of her abilities and her training. As chief investigator, Rohayu will be the one looking at the bigger picture, figuring out who is behind it all - and to what end.
Special Role
Warg
Pillar of the Vanguard
Through his network of smugglers, wind has drifted from taverns frequented by the military that Nasrin's forces are preparing to mount a mass raid/arrest - targeting the university, research facilities and catacombs essential to the rebellion. As one of its black market supporters, Warg takes this to Shirin. They must quickly re-examine their plans. Together they hatch plans to use a heavily-armed vanguard as a distraction - strong enough that the military cannot afford to look away, boosted by Warg's weapons. He is now right at the heart of the rebellion, and potentially the new regime the revolutionaries hope for.
Conclusion
Debates raged all over Amedra but in the end the gamble was taken - the noose was released from the former Jewel Sea Corsairs and trust handed tenuously to them. Given supplies and free passage by the government, they were allowed to slip away into the seas with only their word as assurance. Then, on the night of the 4th Sun, the east coast of Amedra awakened again to a horizon of fire. Panicked villagers were greeted with a view of countless ships ablaze on the water - the entire fleet of the criminal pirates. The former Corsairs had delivered on their promise. Keeping her end of the deal, the Duchess renewed their protections and, to erase the bad blood of their old name, declared a new identity for them: the Agate Alliance, the new protectors of Amedra.
Zeal, paranoia and old enmities given vent in Cantor plunged the normally peaceful region into a frenzy of accusations. Prison cells overflowed. Anyone with links to the Empire, no matter how tenuous, suffered merciless scrutiny from interrogators and bitter suspicion from neighbours. With the cooperation of almost all Cantish though, the interrogators succeeded in their mission - dozens of citizens with hidden dark elf blood were incarcerated and, mid-Sun, the Royal Chief Inquisitor emerged to triumphantly declare the relic thief captured. A merchant at the heart of the Cantish expatriot community, he and his aides will be sent to Miras for stronger interrogations. He urged the Cantish to continue their good work in netting out potential saboteurs, yet even without his words the Cantish zeitgeist has turned - from now on, acceptance of outsiders is a luxury, not a right.
Valevo has watched mounting pressure, dissidence and calls for action brewing within its walls, its citizens split between the sway of its leaders. Some called for calm while others took up arms to fight against the capital's oppressive military presence. Civil unrest has bloodied a few streets while support for the military has unified others. With the threat of a full scale uprising, the Regent just managed to spread calm across the city; the Margrave and her supporters in the end acquiesced to his requests for continued patience... but even he cannot silence the growing calls for revenge and their cries for their lost home. Little true peace will be found among the Northerners in coming days.
The attack on the Gara Uusel and the Tusa Palace came as a genuine surprise in its size and ruthlessness. The Yazgur put up a harsh fight, but she and the few guards left were quickly pushed back into the Hall of Gerel, the Yazgur Throne room. The sheer size of the hall made it easy for the assassination team to infiltrate the area unseen, overpower the Guards and bring the Yazgur herself to her knees. Only Shirin’s interference with the angry mob allowed Nasrin Paria’s survival. Now stripped of her title, she has been placed under arrest - accused of betraying her country. Meanwhile, a victorious Shirin addressed the crowd that has assembled in the main Plaza. She promises a parliament by and for the people, reformed taxation, balancing of wealth and a drastic re-structure of Tusa's alliances. Change and new optimism, she declares, are on the horizon.
In Song-Lu, tensions were high as hidden assailants targeted pro-Empire supporters, and secessionists painted slogans defaming the Empire in the streets. Those hardest hit by the end of trade with the Kingdom demanded to be heard, as did those longing for a return to ancient times, when Song-Lu was a powerful, independent nation. However, a far greater number advocated remaining a part of the Empire, for both practical and economical reasons. The population was split on the issue, with few daring to remain on the sidelines. The discussion was closed with a final, impassioned speech from the Chancellor, backed by the majority of the council’s members, and the secessionists grudgingly conceded defeat. The Chancellor’s assurance that restoring trade deals with the Kingdom would be looked into once the war was over appeased many staunch secessionists, and Song-Lu returned to its usual midsummer bustle at long last.
With the North Colony's cruel environment, it was a race against time to save the lost researchers and recapture the escaped prisoners. Despite best efforts on both fronts, it soon became starkly clear that they could afford only one - and that one, they all but unanimously decided, should be the researchers, not the escapees. The North's forces diverted to saving their own people and the precious knowledge of the research centres. Both soldiers and scientists were in luck - the Northern elements were kind in allowing minimal loss, though unfortunately at the cost of many prisoners slipping through their fingers. A calculated cost. Even as the dust settles, the military refuses to slow their research. As soon as stations are safe to continue development, its employees are expected to return to their work. Progress beckons in the North, and they will not look away even for a prison break.