It is now January in the year 264.
Winter sets in heavily across the land, the more mild December leading into a snowy and cold January. Progress on constructions and travel across the continent slows down considerably as settlements and travelers are content with staying put for the winter.
New Aldoria has quieted down, its people focusing on their homes and very little reaches the taverns about rumors of what is going on. It is expected that Prince Aylin has ambitious plans for the spring, but very little is known.
The Colony of Newhope, on the other hand, has been alive with activity. The upcoming political and receiving meeting is the talk of the colony, where nobles and organizations will compete for favor or influence on the Council’s decisions in the coming year. Rumors talk of concern rising over several resources being stolen or destroyed in the colony, but the ruling Council members have made no official statement or shown major concern over them. Additional guards and Watch members have been seen guarding food stores, and the colony is otherwise quiet. Reports of increased banditry still a problem, as the roads between colonies have become more and more dangerous.
Merchants arrived recently after traveling hard through the snow to get to the colony. They have reported that a large group of well armed and equipped bandits have taken over Daven’s Reach. After commerce slowed down and a number of the merchants and settlers there moved away over the last year, the Reach was commonly used as a resting point for Clan Nightriver war packs patrolling the border of the Yurnai River. The bandits, supposedly waiting until a moment when no Ulven warriors were there, stormed the reach and captured it. The merchants said that nobody was killed and only a handful of people hurt, but that this group moved dozens of people into the Reach to make it their new home. It is suspected that Baroness Katherine, who has a heavy financial investment in Daven’s Reach, will be addressing concerns of this during the upcoming meeting.
A traveling Ulven made note that the Order Lions, the men in armor in The Pass, made comments they overhead about abandoning the pass in the spring. It was said that they looked underfed and worn down, the winter being harsh on them as they are isolated in the pass. Rumor also says that the nearby Coywolf village has been giving them food, which could be dangerous to them if discovered by Grimward. Pack Coywolf has long since claimed neutrality in the Ulven Civil War, but has been aiding the Lions and further rumors have been heard that the Coywolves have helped the Coalition in controlling The Pass.
Clan Nightriver continues to weather the cold winter but has been busy sending ambassadors to numerous Clans to establish alliances and discuss terms for the coming year. Little else is known, other than merchants seeing their representatives on the road and staying in taverns.
The northern and southern fronts of Clan Grimward are eerily quiet. A flurry of activity, troop movements, and supply wagons moving north has quieted down with the coming of the snow. It is suspected that Clan Grimward has been preparing troops and is waiting out the winter to begin a large raid on Watchwolf territory. The aggression between Grimward and Stormjarl to the south has calmed completely, as the battered Stormjarl clan focuses on surviving the winter. Hawks arrive to the colony once again, stating that Stormjarl is still willing to pay for mercenaries and fighting forces willing to come help them retake their people’s lands.
The fighting between Whiteoak and Axhound has completely died off at the onset of winter and the remaining colonies have been fairly quiet. Rumors abound about how Clan Ironmound has been a flurry of political activity, as representatives and ambassadors from numerous Clans attempt to persuade them to join either side or remain neutral. Their neighbor, the Watchwolf Clan, continues to plead for help from their allies and neighbors should Grimward attack in the spring. Rumors from merchants say that the settlement is in dire need of food and supplies, and that feeding their people and any allies throughout the winter will be a challenge.
Mordok activity has quieted all across Mardrun, which is common in the onset of winter. Disconcerting reports of Mordok activity in the Great Forest remain, but Clan Spiritclaw and Clan Riverhead continue to seek out more information of what is happening.