State of Meranthe

[Daeut]

Year 2062

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How many shadowed dales, how many dropping falls,
How often have these rites allowed mine own weak kind
To commit great violence?
But do not desert me, My True Magistrate who knows my heart.

Your scale's radiant dawn shall weigh them justly.

- Litany of Portents, Ordinance of the Magistrate

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For close to a decade, the Twilight City slept under its Oracle in relative peace. Others may have deemed it a mild period of stagnancy in the waking years of the Empire's collapse. Famed for her silence and secrecy, the city nonetheless prospered as an oasis of stability in a continent plunged into critical disarray--whether by design or providence. Seemingly overnight, the banners of Vdalion and its Dauntless were torn from all city walls on private orders, and the Bastion reconsolidated as the Twilight City's sole protector. 

◑ 

The shadows milled once more as the Oracle reasserted herself as Aphros's single, highest authority, phasing out many of the military structures left by the Empire, or retooling them under its rightful army. Serving as more than the bulwark keeping the Shadowlands at bay from the rest of Meranthe, its internal affairs stirred more and more into the limelight. Whether a proverbial giant was beginning to rouse from its slumber remained to be seen.

◑ 

For now, it would continue to aid in the fight against Athelios' usurpers.

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◑ All chief military posts and their incumbent leaders remain as they were under the Empire, with only minute changes occurring.

◑ Under the initiative of Pheonix Altan, the Aspera gains an auxiliary military branch of its own with the Oracle's sanction. Its new Inquisition sets out in direct action against witches and other inimical actors, operating independently of the Bastion to carry out the Asperan Church's interests--so long as they align with the rest of Aphros.

◑ Noctis Equisol returns from retirement, expressing plans to open an academy for the youth of Aphros and inculcate a new generation with the necessary teachings to thrive.

◑ Rumors begin to spread of a new society forming in the underbelly of Aphros, borne of distinct teachings from the Aspera and a fanatical devotion to Athelios. Its surreptitious workings make it a wider mystery to those not in the know. Perhaps for the best.

◑ The Oracle's daughter opens the Gloomlight Library as a repository of knowledge and spiritual teachings accrued from all stretches of the continent. Any donations to its shelves are sought and appreciated by its faithful librarian.

◑ As foreign luminaries move in and out of the Aphrosian Palace and its hallowed council halls to organize, contingents of the Bastion mobilize across the continent to assist its allies in the fight against the resurgent coven menace.

◑ The quiet parochial district of Vera Cruz mobilizes with members of the Bastion preparing to fortify the position against an impending incursion. The details of it have not been disclosed by the Oracle, but it appears something dangerous and destructive looms on the horizon.

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RELATIONS

Dal'thala: Friendly
New Dexia: Friendly
Audhild: Amicable
Frontier: Friendly
Enclave: Neutral
Fortune: Neutral
The Gutter: ... Undecided
Golden Horde: Complicated
Grand Guignol: Usurpers
Deephold: Usurpers