The Chronicle

of the month of Kryll in the year 150

King Kieran's forces have withdrawn from Linrodeth's borders and given up the captured mine. The move comes after a meeting between King Kieran, his brother Edwin and Princess Selina. The meeting was organised by Alan Monterey and Jenny Davy and took almost a week to arrange, including the complex precautions against treachery. The Princess has praised Alderman Monterey and Sheriff Davy for their courage and the skill with which they negotiated the agenda. The Royal discussions, which lasted most of the day, were believed to be wide ranging but generally inconclusive. Prince Edwin has expressed pleasure at seeing his brother again and hopes that a peaceful resolution to the current conflict can yet be achieved. The Princess has emphasised that no deal has been struck and that King Kieran's withdrawal is temporary. However the mood of celebration in the Citadel and the visibly relaxed state of the army implies that if a threat does still exist it is unlikely to resurface until after the winter. But many people have noted that members of the Monterey faction have this month again been active in the new watch system. It would appear that, assuming Alderman Monterey has some inside information, this is indeed only a temporary respite.

The pirates which have been disrupting Linrodeth's trade have been identified as Orissian corsairs after the capture of one of their ships by the City navy. The Linrodeth warship Indomitable caught the pirates whilst they were raiding the small trading ship Sea Falcon. A pursuit and boarding action followed with a number of the pirates being captured alive. Interrogation of these prisoners confirmed that the pirates are an organised group of corsairs who have been operating with the secret supply from Orissian merchantmen, who were also claiming to be under attack, but who have in fact been exchanging provisions for stolen goods. Of more concern is the conformation that the sabotage of a number of ships, including the regrettable loss of the Lindis' Fair Fortune, was sponsored by the same corsairs in what appears to have been a planned attack of Linrodeth's trade. Whether the attack on trade is a direct Orissian action or if the Orissians have simply been hired by some other state is unclear. The Citadel has sent a strong protest to Orissa and all Orissian shipping passing through Linrodeth waters is now subject to boarding and search.

Alison Shefford's Oath of Fealty motion has been a source of contention in the Witanmoot this month, with attempts to move or not move amendments to the motion occurring, including some impressive attempts to avoid the whole thing. Numerous requests were made to postpone the debate for clarification, simplification and most honestly to enable a back room deal to be worked out. However, despite these requests, Alderman Monterey has put forward two motions to resolve the matter. Explaining that the Hahnite advice had identified two separate issues, the timing of the Oath and the reason for loss of Citizenship he proposed "The Oath of Loyalty must have been taken by a Citizen before they may cast a vote in the Midwinter Elections." and "Citizens who by Firstday 151 have not taken the Oath of Loyalty will lose their Citizenship". Alderman Monterey was at pains to point out that these were not necessarily his own views but that the passing or defeat of either or both of these motions the council would resolve the matter. Commenting that if this was clear she would hate to see a complicated Hahnite proposal, Maureen Quiller has come up with a much simpler motion which will be taken first "this Council no longer requires existing Citizens to take the Oath of Fealty".

Dozens of wounded soldiers have been arriving in the City indicating that a major battle has taken place. General Olvini has announced that the engagement was with renegade forces not under the control of King Kieran or King Edward. Sceptics have noted the strict secrecy with which the wounded are being treated and the lack of any visible prisoners. Rumours abound that either a large battle accidentally took place with King Kieran's army, or Princess Selina's forces have come off very badly in a bandit ambush, or even of a mutiny within the army. More generous speculators have suggested that the real reason King Kieran has withdrawn is that the City forcibly retook the mine, and has demonstrated that if he wishes to threaten the city he will have to fight and suffer losses he cannot afford.

The Temple of Brynette is currently considering what to do with the Great Altar Screen which arrived unexpectedly at their temple last week. The screen, which has previously resided at the Temple in Salvoyn, is a massive and ancient celebration of Brynette worship. However since the Temple already has a famous altar screen built by its founder, debate is now raging within the temple about which should take precedence.

Alison Shefford was once more the centre of controversy when the apparently minor matter of appointing an acting Sheriff whilst Jenny Davy was out of the City came before the Witanmoot. Lady Tasker quietly made her intention to make use of Alison's expertise for a temporary period and was obviously surprised when Marcus Lambourne stood up to object. Describing the appointment of someone who is not currently elected as "cronyism" Cllr Lambourne suggested one of the existing Aldermen such as Gilbert De Clare be appointed. He also questioned the conflict of interests that would arise given Alison Shefford's role in the Oath Motion. However this aggressive statement was as nothing compared to the blistering attack launched from directly behind Lambourne by Bartholomew Hyde; a normally quiet member of Lambourne's own faction. Describing Alison Shefford as "the obvious choice if what you want is someone who can help defend Linrodeth" he described the only conflict of interest as the one between "the need to fight to defend the city and Lambourne's own unquestioning support for King Kieran". If this wasn't enough he went on to cause further offence by describing all Kings as "murderers, gaining their position by killing everybody who opposes them" and called old King Edmund "the biggest murderer of them all, who had created Athion from a mountain of corpses, and whose children are about to do the same". Barely audible amid the howls of outrage he went on to accuse Lambourne of deliberately trying to hand the city over to one of these murderers and announced that he and several other faction members were looking forward to next year when, thanks to Alison Shefford, traitors like Lambourne would be removed from the Council and the faction could make a new start. At this point the Guard intervened to pull the rapidly forming lynch mob away from him and Lady Tasker suspended the session. When Lady Tasker reconvened she announced that she was decreeing the appointment of Alison Shefford to avoid further problems. Cllr Hyde was last seen trying to hire a bodyguard.

The Archimandrite has used an invitation to address the Council on the matter of the Oath of Fealty to further denounce the Reshite faith and King Edward. The Archimandrite described the Reshites as an evil cult similar to the worshippers of Azial. He described a number of events which he had become aware of and directly accused the Reshites of child sacrifice and of the murder of the previous Archimandrite. He warned against the dangers of permitting the Reshites to enter the City and called upon the Witanmoot to outlaw the worship of this evil heresy. In response Estelle Wynstanly has formally proposed "This City prohibits the worship of Resh and the promotion of his worship on pain of imprisonment". However this has not gone down well with a number of councillors. John Madigan described the whole session as a disgraceful attempt by the Hahnites to bring their schism into the council and called upon the Lord not to permit the motion time for debate. Others have described this as a cynical attack upon King Edward by an Archimandrite who is known to support King Kieran. His primary source of information also appears to be King Kieran's bodyguards; the same knights who killed Queen Kybele and who many people believe were responsible for the death of King Edmund. Reaction on the streets has not been as dramatic as the previous riots, however the Reshites are now noticeably cautious. Should the motion pass the most difficult problem facing the City Guard will be Lady Terri Wholeman, a leading Reshite and currently in residence at the Citadel as King Edward's ambassador.

The surprise arrival of the Noordic longboat last week has caused much speculation. The boat contained a number of senior Noord from both the Western Isles and Nyskilde, who spent several days in discussions at the Citadel before departing. As with the meeting with King Kieran, information about what happened is irritatingly unavailable, although the Citadel has confirmed that the "Ambassadors" arrived with a number of truce proposals which they wished to place before the Princess.

Followers of fashion will be delighted to hear that Lady Eshi Cyarçon has returned to the city following her visit to Salvoyn. However as most of Lady Cyarçon goods were lost in the sinking of the Fair Fortune, it may be some time before Linrodeth is one again treated to the display of her creations. The lady's trip does not seem to have enamoured her to the City authorities, as it is suspected that she has formed a strong link with the Salvoynian government. Indeed a number of her staff are believed to have resigned over Lady Cyarçon’s growing attachment to King Edward's court and the Reshites.