News regarding the war on all fronts spreads quickly through the major settlements of the Coalition, with the majority telling of great deeds in the Pass. Accompanied by several Nightriver warpacks, Coalition forces have managed to continually drive Grimward backwards. Although the Pass has not been taken, such a relentless assault will likely force Grimward to either abandon their position or divert additional resources away from the rest of the war to combat the problem. As allied troops continue their push through the Pass, the importance of pressing the advantage and breaking through is now even more obvious. Some fear that if the soldiers and warriors in the Pass cannot reach their Clan Ironmound and Clan Shattered Spear allies, it could drastically change the rest of the fighting. Soldiers need food and supplies each month, and stalling out the fighting could force the Coalition and its allies to use up more supplies than first anticipated. Grimward, now fully finished with conquering the Watchwolf territories, has begun its offensive in earnest against Clan Shattered Spear and Clan Ironmound. Small border skirmishes have been reported in numerous areas. While the continent focuses on the Pass and the battles near Ironmound, some worry about the other Grimward allies to the east; very little has been reported on the larger dealings of Clan Whiteoak and Clan Squallborn or what they have been up to.
The Market Fair, which recently took place in Crow’s Landing, also drummed up quite a few rumors. Through loose lips, a great deal of the continent now knows of the plan to formalize the Coalition, although feelings are mixed. Some see it as a great opportunity to bring the separate groups together for a single cause. Others see it as an affront to their freedoms or the first steps of a plan for dominance. Whatever the public opinion, the leaders of the Coalition are eager to see the draft of such a contract presented that they might make an informed decision moving forward. It is unknown at this time what the Coalition will formerly be as en entity, or what kind of power it will yield on the larger political scale.
A number of hawks from Clan Stormjarl arrive in the more prominent settlements of the Coalition, reminding their leaders that the offer of wealth in exchange for assistance in regaining their homeland and their honor from the clutches of Clan Grimward still stands. They insist that Ironmound has plenty of troops to hold their own lines, which they have not lost yet, whereas Stormjarl will require greater support to reclaim what was theirs. This message mirrors one from last year when Clan Stormjarl reached out offering wealth to those who would ally themselves with them.
Word from Clan Shattered Spear comes to Branthur Nightriver, informing him that relationships with Clan Riverhead have been strained as of late. Though they have avoided giving precise reasoning, Laifnar Icefury seems to be under the impression that the very traditional Priestesses of Clan Riverhead are beginning to grow weary of the presence of the colonists and are annoyed by Nightriver’s continued support of these outsiders. They have shown no indications of taking a side in the war, nor have they expressed any open hostility towards the coalition or their allies as a whole, but the reception of travelers and refugees has been much colder than it had been in the past and some reports have come through where tense situations and even violence has taken place between colonists and the local Clan Riverhead packs. This could become a large issue soon as the path around the Great Wolf’s Hackles back to Clan Nightriver territory travels directly through Clan Riverhead lands.
Panic sets in amongst the villagers of a small settlement of Clan Goldenfield. Their crop, which they had been preparing to harvest next month, has begun to wither and die, leading to starvation of their livestock and a strain to their workers. The source of this blight is unknown, but their Daughters are hard at work to cleanse the land. This will, unfortunately, result in fewer supplies available to the Coalition in the coming months unless a concentrated effort is made to assist them. The Clanleader has not yet reached out for aid, so it is unknown if the blight is small enough to be contained or if pride is getting in the way of the Clan’s leadership sending a call for aid.
Gustav Ironmound, Clanleader of Clan Ironmound, has made it known that after his Clan’s expedition into the dirge swamp, he has acquired a number of old Ulven texts that he intends to share with the other Clans. He has no intention of hiding these texts or keeping them from the Ulven people as a whole and apparently takes great pleasure in making sure it is known that representatives from his Clan had the honor of leading this expedition with the support of both sides of the war. Daughters, bearing copies of the texts, have begun traveling to numerous locations and freely share this information with others. Deep concern and confusion begins to set in with some of the Ulven people as the content of the texts is unsettling and questions many details of their history as a people. Whether this is a show of bravado and personal honor or a piece of some sort of larger plan is unknown at this time, but the impact of these texts being made public begins to travel like wildfire through the Ulven people.