In the weeks after Crescentino Sone’s colloquium at the Castle of the Sea, the elderly count’s name is on the kingdom’s lips. In the west, the Touraine discuss his discoveries with grudging respect, while to the south the Sone write sly ballads celebrating the virtues of accomplished widowers who are scholars of ancient lore. In the north, the Church and the Yuasa, keepers of the peace, discuss how best to use the count’s discoveries to fight the terrorist Crux cells at large in the kingdom. But it is in the east that the colloquium’s greatest accomplishment makes itself felt.
Her Grace Mineko Minamet, Duchess of Inazuma, addressed the following letter to the Royal Council on 7 Waxing of 4, Paraceln 213, as recorded by the Council Scribe Pedro Minamet.
To the Regent Kimiko Sone, and Your Graces,
Excellencies, and Lords and Ladies of the Royal Council. By now you will have
heard the news from many other than myself, but I send you this letter to
confirm it: the Crown Prince Alessandro has been returned to us.
A month ago, His Excellency Crescentino Sone and Her
Excellency Sachiko Yuasa arrived in our camp on the outskirts of the city of
Sirocco. At first, many doubted that they could do much to defeat the barrier
that surrounded the city, as so many other solutions had already been
attempted. But once it became clear that the pair of sorcerers held both the
lost research my engineers had commissioned and the assistance of a tome of
Gitany lore, the doubts turned to hope. After two days of effort, hope became
jubilation.
Although I did not see what the two sorcerers did to
raise the stone from the earth, as it rose all of those that stood with the
count and countess could see its effects. The swirling storm, invariant for
more than a season, shifted and changed, dusky lightning flashing within its
depths. On the southern edge of the warded city, it died away entirely -- just
as the Yuasa witch claimed it would. Within the span of minutes, our forces had
advanced to the broken edge of the wall and sent scouting parties into the
city.
I will not claim that the city within was anything but
a nightmare. Nearly half of the great army that had once held Sirocco lay sick
or dying. Hundreds of Minamet steeds, their proud bloodlines dating back to
before the Dream, had been slaughtered for their meat. When that had given out,
the survivors had fed on rats, other vermin, and, I am ashamed to say, in some
cases each other. But there were survivors, and Alessandro Komaru stood among
them.
By now, those of us who hold the frontier know to
expect the easterners after the destruction of their works. This time proved to
be no exception; within a week, we found ourselves once again in a pitched
battle with ammut riders and the priests of the Aten. But, as has been
my family’s duty since the dawn of ages, we held them back and protected the
Komaru and the land they rule. Your Highness, and Your Graces, Excellencies,
and Lords and Ladies of the Royal Council, the Crown Prince has returned to
you.
In the months that follow Alessandro Komaru’s escape from the Aten prison in Sirocco, the Minamet and Komaru fight endless skirmishes, but the jubilation they feel at having defeated their foes’ magical trap keeps their spirits high. Meanwhile, by the time Alessandro himself makes his way back to the Royal Capital, emaciation is the highest style and more than one noble has served rat and horse to his guests. Many elder nobles are horrified, but the majority of the court simply takes it in stride as the latest in a long line of fashionable insanities. Certain nobles take the style somewhat farther, but as always, the nobility’s power and prestige is sufficient to keep these incidents relatively quiet.
By winter, the peacekeeping force has been largely disbanded throughout Komaru, its constituent mercenaries returning to their patrons’ estates to idle away their time until the next crisis. The winter is harder than usual in many communities, the sad side effect of having many new mouths to feed. It is not until the spring that a new complication emerges.
The incident begins with rumors, as is so often the case. Stories of towers of fire soaring into the sky spread through southern Komaru, followed by tales of strange creatures emerging from the Plains of Crystal to wreak havoc upon peasant villages. The Sone and Bellatrix are the first to publicly investigate, and while they dismiss rumors of monsters, they remain suspiciously mum on what they find along their southern borders. The matter comes to a head when the Touraine finally reveal one of their secrets: in the Plains of Crystal, they maintain a number of mining operations which supply the kingdom with certain critical reagents. The Touraine admit that the installations are being destroyed, and that declare that preserving them requires armies to be sent south. The matter seems settled, at least until an unexpected party intervenes in the matter.
His Holiness Alnarim, Principal Light of Komaru, addressed this open letter to the leadership of the Sone family on 3 Waxing of 2, Paraceln 214. The text was read before the Royal Council and recorded by the Council Scribe Pedro Minamet.
To His Grace Toyokuni Sone, Marquis of Greenquilt, and
his brothers and sisters upon the Royal Council.
We wish to begin this letter by congratulating your
family for the wisdom and depth of knowledge of one of its prominent members.
In the past year, we have often heard the name of the Count of Ketatsu spoken
in a positive light. It seems that in his colloquium last spring, he
demonstrated great insight into the secrets of our long-lost ancestors and the
mistakes that led to their downfall. Stories of his discoveries have already
spread across the land, and it is our pleasure to state that, with Crescentino
Sone’s knowledge, many of his students have turned to the Church for guidance.
Already the viscountess Meiko Komaru has accepted a position as the Illuminata
of Nikko Hayashi and the marquis Xavior Yuasa has ascended as the Radiance of
Gibroth. As the season turns, we are confident more of the nobility will turn
to the Church to temper and guide their progress in these ancient and perilous
arts. Perhaps within a season even Crescentino Sone will accept ordination!
We bring this matter before you to remind you that, as
the noble families of Komaru are its strength, the Church of Komaru is its
conscience. To that end, we wish to discuss the matter of your intervention in
the progress of His Excellency Amber Touraine towards his family’s holdings in
the south of your family’s lands.
We are certain that no member of the Royal Council or
your family has forgotten the Touraine’s revelation of critical mining
operations in the south of Komaru, or of the brutal acts of terrorism that have
claimed the lives of many of their family and destroyed several of these
installations. That the Touraine wish to defend their holdings should come as
no surprise to one of your line, who would as surely defend your lands in their
stead. Therefore, we ask you, as the Principal Light and Numinous Council of
Komaru, to remove your army from its blockade of the Touraine count’s advance
and put aside your refusal to allow the Touraine access to their holdings. If
you fail to comply with our warning, only the Light will judge you.
As none of us wish to see war among the families of
Komaru, we implore you to not bring the Light down upon yourself. Many options
open to the man who puts his pride and greed away before the kingdom’s greater
good. For instance, we have heard that His Grace Onyx Touraine has, with the
assistance of his wife Meiko Komaru and Her Excellency Nadeshiko Komaru,
unmarried cousin of both Meiko and the Crown Prince, dedicated a portion of his
lands as a sanctuary for the Gitany. Knowing of His Grace’s reputation for
diligence, we are certain he has already traded his hospitality for more of the
Wandering Folk’s arcane lore. Perhaps in return for your cooperation, His Grace
would share his discoveries with you? Between his protection of the Gitany and
his devotion to the patronage of the arts, we are certain that the Touraine and
the Sone can find much common ground in the form of Marquis Onyx’s interests.
May you and your brothers and sisters walk in the
Light.
Alnarim, Principal
Light of the Church of Inner Light
The Numinous
Council
By the time of Alnarim’s letter, the Sone and Touraine armies are already in the field, and Onyx himself is on the road to the Castle of the Sea for the yearly gathering there. Meanwhile, in the east the Minamet report that the easterners are fanning out, attempting to find a weakness along the border. While they declare their ability to close the passageway through the heart of the desert, they dispatch their fastest couriers to the south to warn the Sone and Bellatrix to expect the incursion of serpent murderers.
And so, in the 214th year of Paraceln’ Age, all of Komaru braces for three seasons of war. Yet, as winter unseals the desert, an entirely different lock will yield, unleashing a vastly different threat upon the land.