Gilded Dispatch 01

The first dispatch from Springfield Autumns in the Gilded Sands campaign, proceeding GS01 – TORN PAGES. Originally posted as a Google Docs document.

Dispatch
''Few would believe it, but Aureate very nearly knew peace. The world is a powder keg, certainly - there’s too much history in the bones of the place, too many old sins and old grudges - but for a while, a certain equilibrium had been reached. Selamis Hogen is gentle, for a Terrenon tyrant, and the same scholarly inclinations that earned them disgrace in the hot-blooded royal courts made them a capable administrator. The August Canopy provides safety and stability for their citizens, and their true goal is the noble goal of a society shaped by progress that uplifts us all. That the other Terrenon royals are fond of bloody feuds (and that their domains stand on the backs of countless serfs who lack opportunity and voices) is undeniable, as are the atrocities the Dodonans have committed in the name of ‘growing beyond superstition’ and the resulting racism that persecution has enabled. A world of disparity and cruelty, yes, but a world on a path towards cold war and perhaps even a total cessation of hostilities. There are rumors and redacted reports that Selamis was in talks with Canopy leadership to normalize relations as recently as two months ago.''

But ambition leaves little room for peace.

''Every petty Terrenon heir on Aureate is there in shame or exile, and the only balm for their wounded egos is the glory they might find in battle; most view Selamis’ tendencies towards even-tempered rule and diplomatic measures cowardly, a view the upstart Gerea Hogen loudly echoes wherever possible, while the blood of the Uldrath Dynasty boils every day that the Satellist faithful of this world must live under persecution. As for the Dodonans, the zealots in command of the Iris see the imposition of Tribunal culture and the destruction of spirituality to be paramount goals for the Tribunal, while the engineers of Narkissos Branch simply see open war to be the simplest path to an uncapped budget; the two have sent envoys to the Dikastes pleading for it, and the continued audience they’ve received indicates they’ll likely get their way.''

''This is to say nothing of the Nadezhdan issue, one that takes a back seat in most accounts of Aureate to the Terrenon-Dodonan War but no less likely to engulf the world in disaster. On paper, Aureate is the domain of the Zerinzov Family, whose holdings are scattered across the Pearlescent Expanse and beyond; centralized command is impossible at that scale [and yes, I know the Beryl Emperor’s navy and the Conglomerate’s largest corporations would contest that], and so it falls to local lieutenants to govern for them. Zerinzov loyalty rings still mark the highest rungs of Aureate’s Nadezhdan culture, but their man on-planet, one Toporik Jet, has stopped paying his dues as a form of silent declaration of independence. Toporik’s crime syndicate is the largest across the world, and it is by their influence that no Nadezhdan vessel reaches orbit, so that word of his treachery doesn’t reach his Zerinzov masters. Such a reckoning would likely prompt immediate reprisals likely to plunge much of the planet into what is essentially an interstellar gang war.''

''There are other strange rumors, of course: runaway lab experiments, monsters lurking in the flooded portions of Vow, massive creatures living out in the Boomies. I’ve heard a figure in a mask of crimson gemstones is making bold claims at Terrenon feasts, and that some Nadezhdan nutjob blew off Berek Bereswek’s head last week. One report says that Kleidos doesn’t have enough water to support its population anymore, and it came attached with a press release announcing the arrests of the bulk of Vathos Branch for practicing superstition. Someone is moving a lot of shit across the Mirror Sea, but I can’t dig up any leads, and my usual contact in Pesok is all tied up with something lately.''

''Something’s about to break, here. The Iris is getting more aggressive every day, and pretty soon people are going to start disappearing. One of the Hogen heirs is gonna blow the other’s head off and all hell’s gonna break loose. The Templar might finally act on all their red-faced threats to ‘liberate the faithful.’ Someone’s gonna finally shoot Toporik Jet, and it won’t be a day too soon, but it’ll open up the biggest power vacuum since the Coalition went bust.''

Dutifully yours until the Banner stops blowing,

Diver-Captain Springfield Autumns of the Gilded Dispatch, the so-called “Lonely Banner”