Ice grips even the southern portions of Mardrun and the people find themselves spending more and more time in their homes waiting out what is often the coldest month of the year. There are few things that draw excitement in the month of February, but the one that does is always a grand event. Throughout the City-State lands and beyond people sit in eager anticipation of the announcement of what has colloquially become known as “The Annual Political Dinner”
Sure enough near the beginning of the month the word goes out that an upscale venue has been chosen in the heart of Newhope’s merchant district. Known as the Glinting Emerald, it’s a newer space for sure, but one that has already caught the eye of the citizenry of Newhope. With the announcement
Before long the streets of Newhope are flooded with people. Though not everyone has a chance to attend the official gathering, many still find themselves traveling to the area to partake in the festivities that always find themselves materializing in the orbit of these grand gatherings. The recently quiet streets of the Merchant District are now a buzz of activity as people shout sales and specials into the streets from their storefronts. Bards and bands traverse the streets looking for gigs or even just a free corner to ply their trade. Many come with business proposals, hoping to get a chance to rub elbows with the wealthy or noble. Music and mirth fill the air as all prepare for the of the venue also comes a great open invitation to all of the peoples of Mardrun. The unanimous voice of the Council of Newhope rings out through their missive inviting representatives from the Ulven Clans to come and partake in the hospitality of Newhope and it’s people, no doubt in an interest to ease some of the recent tensions. The announcements all carry with them the feeling the recent dark moments within the City-State have been addressed, the future will be bright, and they want all to be able to share in this hopeful outlook for the future.Annual Political Dinner.
Update:
It was a lively time in the Glinting Emerald. People from all walks of life attended to mingle with new acquaintances and catch up with old friends and comrades. Though no persons of high station attended in person, representatives from a few of the major players around the continent made themselves present.
At one point a meeting of Syndar people in attendance was called together to discuss the possibility of fracturing off and forming their own society or, at the very least, learn how they could come together to further their collective needs and desires. In the end it was clear that this talk would lead to a larger discussion and more meetings in the future, but attention was quickly drawn to the eagerly awaited announcement of the day.
One of the major draws to this dinner was the expectation that Clan Spiritclaw and Newhope would be making a joint proclamation regarding the recent research into Witch Magic and its effects on The Siphoning. By the end of the day they had finished comparing their notes and come forward with a final statement. Both parties agreed that Witch Magic does, in fact, lead to The Siphoning. It seems that every time a Witch casts a spell a portion of the mana is unwound and unable to return to the mana stream. Over time this piece-by-piece unwinding reduces the amount of mana in the stream. They also learned that Mordok Corruption Idols draw on ambient mana, but that they also have a unique ability to draw in this unwound mana and use it as a power source. The researchers believed that these idols may hold some secret that could help collect and maybe fix this unwound mana. The idea of trying to use these idols as opposed to destroy them on sight ruffled some feathers. The Order of Arnath also announced that they had some success in creating what they called a Cleansing Idol. People were excited to hear more about this new device moving forward.
The Researchers also brought along some fresh arcane research in the hopes that a collaborative effort could help solve some problems they’d been having. The researchers and some volunteers worked diligently at their task in the hopes of creating a new Divination Ritual that could pinpoint areas of corruption with extreme accuracy, no matter how small or weak. Unfortunately they were unable to finish this task. The researchers were invited back to The Ravens University to continue their research and hopefully use what they were able to learn so far to finish their task in the near future.