The Chronicle

of the month of Ternost in the year 148

Linrodeth has now been cut off from the rest of the country by the heaviest snows for many years. The river has already iced across and all the routes out of the city are blocked. The severity of the snowfall caught many travellers unawares and a major caravan of refugees from Cascorach is believed to have become trapped some three days to the south of the City. The likely harshness of the winter has renewed pressure on the City to resolve the impending grain crisis. With many harvested stores still not delivered to the City before the snows it is not clear if reserves will last should the snows remain longer than usual.

One ship which managed to beat the storms was that of Captain Eagleview, which returned to its home city a few days ago. The crew have confirmed that since the ship's dramatic departure from Linrodeth during the invasion, they had travelled north to Nyskilde and then all the way south to Salvoyn. Their stories, when added to those of the merchants from Salvoyn and the Chronicle's own investigations, finally provide a clear picture of the state of the Civil War.

Nyskilde and the lands to the north of the Weald are held by the Noord. Nyskilde itself has not been subjected to the same deprivations it suffered during the previous invasion and after the initial sacking the Noord appear to be digging in with the intention of holding the lands permanently.

Linrodeth and its the lands as far north as the Weald and as far east as the Great Fens are held by Princess Selina. However Linrodeth's Citadel is still held by troops apparently loyal to Prince Kieran, and the road to Eresan is blocked at Fenny Bridges by another pro-Kieran force under the command of Aralan Derwent. Salvoyn remains the base of operations for Prince Edward and is his declared Capital. It retains the army from the Gelt wars and a recently enlarged navy. Cascorach has finally fallen to Prince Edward after a long and protracted siege, although Princess Eleanor may still be in control of the Castle. The remains of her cavalry force have retreated across the mountains and are now effectively cut off in the City States.

Eresan, which was thought to be loyal to Edward, is now held by Kieran following the arrival of his forces from Nyskilde. Reports confirm that he was betrayed by the navy at Nyskilde and suffered serious losses before his retreat. The rangers took Eresan without opposition shortly before Kieran's arrival.

The Witanmoot has confirmed that elections will be held as normal at Midwinter. With rumours circulating that last year's elections were rigged, and with many key political figures missing or incapacitated, there are likely to be sweeping changes. Hard fought campaigns are expected in Faringdon, Welland, Avigon and Castle Bard. The Chronicle will observe with interest the progress of supporters of Princess Selina, such as Jim Bottler and Alan Monterey. It will also be interesting to see what effect Princess Selina's publication of the Guild accounts will have. Many citizens were unaware of the funds spent by some guilds to support political activities and this may cause problems for certain faction leaders. The Witanmoot spokesman refused to be drawn on how elections would be held for those wards under military occupation, however Princess Selina's office has confirmed that the properties have not yet been confiscated and hence are still owned by their original occupants. Lady Tasker has announced that the Emergency Committee will be disbanded at Midwinter and that after the elections, the city's administration will return to near normal.

Tensions between the mercenaries and the polizei have escalated significantly following an assault on Jim Bottler by a group of thugs. Councillor Bottler was left for dead by the mercenaries and has spent the entire month in the Torian infirmary recovering. Shortly afterwards the Polizei raided the Dancing Bear and other well known mercenary pubs. General Olvini is believed to be considering direct intervention by the military and it seems likely that all hope of having the curfew lifted have now been dashed. Elsewhere the polizei crackdown on crime has had a dramatic effect, although the reduction may have more to do with the criminal underworld's preoccupation with replacing the Toddman.

The city's committee budgets have finally been passed by the Witanmoot in a session reminiscent of the old days. Those councillors who had thought they were in for an easy session were surprised by a well orchestrated attack by Richard Saunders on the entire budget. Cllr Saunders expressed his outrage at plans to fund pet schemes such as the sweetwater project and other "profligate spending" such as the Avery memorial. Denouncing his fellow councillors for being out of touch with the needs of the City he went on "Some people are obviously unaware there is a War on. we should be reducing taxes to help people through these difficult times and concentrating our spending upon the defence of the City". Princess Selina is also reported to be unhappy with plans to build a memorial to Adam Avery who was killed during her invasion and no one has yet been brave enough to take on the contract to build it.

The wedding of Lady Ann Tasker to Alderman Alan Monterey was one of the most lavish witnessed in recent years. The main ceremony took place at the Temple of Hahn and was officiated by the Archimandrite himself. Within the vast and sumptuous displays Anne's simple and elegant dress stood out as the centre of attention. Afterwards a magnificent feast was presented at Princess Selina's mansion. The many guests, which unexpectedly included Beatrice Perignon, enjoyed Lady Tasker's marvellously entertaining and touching account of her courtship by Alderman Monterey and Alan's moving speech praising the politicians of Linrodeth for their service to our great City. Celebrations the night before were unfortunately somewhat subdued by the curfew, however Lady Tasker's party which occupied the Green Grove for the entire night is reported to have been highly successful. Even Alison Shefford is reported to have enjoyed it.

The problems over the construction of the Portwall seem to have sorted themselves out, following Lady Tasker's decree that the wood must be returned to the Shipwrights Guild. Several senior Stonemasons have visited Jim Bottler at the Torian temple and work has begun on the section next to the bridge. However some concern has been expressed over funding of the project. The city budget included a sum of £8,000 which is clearly inadequate.

The reform of the legal system is now well underway and the Hahnites have been making strenuous efforts to explain the changes. Those criminals who will be unfortunate enough to be the first to be tried under the new rules, may face long and protracted sessions as the involved Hahnites try to decide on the detail and its implications of the changes. A sudden flurry of minor civil actions seem to have started in an attempt to seek redress before the Midwinter changes. Gax has made a number of speeches on the subject the most interesting element of which was his recognition of Edward de Belleme as the rightful Archimandrite.