It was a warm November day, and first thing Dawn woke up, Princess Tystin handed her a note from Theria, and the two of them sneaked away to engage in a Royal visit to the Queen Ant. After many conversations, the Queen Ant agrees to visit Little Bear, which was Theria's reason for sending Tystin. Princess Tystin encourages the Queen also to visit the Kobolds and the Spiders, not just the Dryads and the Feybeards. Within a week, the Ants agree to work together with the Giant Spiders and Kobolds nesting with access to the sewers and the catacombs below Little Bear with access to the Feybeard's community space and to the Ironchest's Mines. The Queen Ant agrees that Worker Ants assisting in the transportation of logistics through Dwarven underground expressways. Ironchest Dwarves agree to expansion of underground Dwarven Expressway back where they were in the North and now to the South also, and the Kobolds agree to feed the Ants, Spiders, Dwarven and both Little Bear and Big Bear with as much mushroom as they require. The Spiders agree to ride Warrior Ants into battle in a mutual defence pact. The dryads have sought the tree seeds into four groups, and the special trees were planted around Little Bear and The Queen Ant agreed to plant the other three fruit trees around where humans and Bearkin live, with the Worker tree Ants volunteered to tend them and spread cutting of the trees to provide an additional food source. Stong Huorn trees would be in Bearkin lands, and the weak, lesser Huorn trees would be planted back in the North to replant the area lost in purifying the Wyrm trail.
Dawn Sunspot went on to bless and then assisted Big Bear in preparing the defence against a Night Elf incursion, training and preparation in forming an assassin's trap, working for a day with the Kraken, a day with the Spiders and three days with the City guards. She blessed the Soultree it grew more immense, sturdier and more majestic, and then she took a small cutting before then a further four days with the Rangers. Before moving on to Little Bear, a place she really enjoyed, she planted a cutting of Big Bear's Soultree there and blessed it again, and the tree grew large and strong in the centre of the small village, and she blessed Little Bear.
The Ice Elf King asked for an audience and stated the situation in the Northern wastes; contrary to Theria's fears, there were only IceWrym eggs in the Wastes as Sceaða ate her own young when they hatched. Securing the Eggs for blessing and all the folk left behind was agreed upon as a priority by the Ice Elf King. They neighboured down from the Ice two other land masses to North West and then South to the Baria Mountains where Kobolds and three tribes of Dwarves lived, the Ironfists, Stiffbeards, and Goldenrifts and also to the North East and then South to the poison marshes where Lizardmen lived and little else. Food is currently plentiful in the Northern Wastes, and they have pelts to trade and Walrus but little else. They have no place for the Hybrids bred for this invasion and do not have resources for them to return; a few may be able to make a new settlement. What also didn't go well was tensions with the Icekin Alliance remained, so even novice clerics were called in to calm the spiritual atmosphere and to enable feelings of forgiveness to be easier to reach for those who may choose such a path; this lessened tension for the time being. There were remaining werewolves, and the Ice Elf King agreed to a joint expedition with his old friend, the High King, a first joint venture to restore trust and bring the Elves towards harmony.
Theria proposed a new trading and fishing port of Iceflow Bay, with Pages JoyBera and Josephine Bera sent to oversee the work, with a team of Ironchest Dwarves to do foundations and a team of Worker Ants bringing salvaged lumber from Big Bear to the far North with the Dragonians sent to assist and where necessary to warm the earth to defrost it. Strict orders on cleaning all protective equipment and ordinances recovered from the battlefield, and the largest of the young next generation Kracken from the reservoir volunteered to relocate to the Iceflow Bay, and they are the size of a person now. The Hybrids half Ice Elf and half Orc Army, were offered the surname Bera and to join Adalbern's Army which the vast majority excepted those that didn't and wanted a peaceful life were warmly invited to settle in Big Bear or, if they preferred IceFlow Bay or they may try building a new settlement in the Northern Wastes about thirty decided to build a settlement on the permanent cost of the Northern Wastes and to act as a gateway for trade with Iceflow Bay and the Northern wastes, an idea welcomed by all. Theria also commissioned shipbuilding over winter, so three more Carracks and three more Caravels would be built. This gave employment to all who wanted it from Jade City as they made the parts for construction to take place at Iceflow Bay as quickly as they could, and the workforce leapt into action.
A trade and diplomatic mission led by Princess Tystin, with one representative from the Feybeards, Firebeards, Black Locks, plus 5 Kobolds and the Den Mother, with other Clerics, agreed to go North and bless those in the Northern Wast, bless and collect the Ice Wyrm Eggs on the return and visit the three Dwarven tribes, we were only familiar from old tales of two of them and we also planned to meet the Kobolds there. Other Ranger teams, each with a Cleric, were sent to combat famine, bless the land and monitor the undead situation. Also included were 10 Lizardmen allies and 10 Lizardmen who were currently serving legionnaires as neither knew of this other group of Lizardmen, and a group expedition might help establish diplomatic relations and a trade route.
A note from Thomas Bigbear, explaining a second young Kraken from the reservoir has been gifted to the Ironchests as they have delved further than ever before and found a deep reservoir which might be the most helpful resource the Ironchests Clerics have blessed it and the Kraken and then set the Kraken to explore the depths of the Reservoir.
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In the build up to the beseiging, embassies belonging to Traitor Nobles had been swapped, so those whose land was deemed necessary for defence were demolished, and a new fortress was constructed to help in defence of the City. New Embassy land was allocated in the outer City and earmarked for building so that each noble may have an embassy.
The Guilds of Jade City bought up three difficulties Guild matters, a shortage of stone for building, something Ironchests did offer to meet the shortfall in supply for a reasonable price. The second issue was a number of counterfeit coins were turning up in the Capital, a team of Rangers was despatched to look into the origin of every reported coin, and the third issue concerned one of the largest farm owners may be cutting their product to make them go further but reducing the quality. The farmer in question was sent for, and Theria integrated the farmer, used her ring of discernment, and found him innocent. Theria then asked the Farmer about his sales and who managed the stock, and then three individuals were sent for, and one of these was found to be the culprit, and they were sent to prison for endangering the health of the population. The Guild was content with the first solution, unhappy about the second but delighted with the outcome of the third, as was the farmer. Theria requested a private meeting with a guild representative who specialised in Carpets, and she asked for a deep dark green carpet to be fitted in the Council chamber, which was done in three days and nights.
In a succession dispute over a minor Nobles title by the triplets, all three claimed they were the rightful inheritor and would not be satisfied with the City Administrators' decision to split the resource three ways. They had insisted that the Regent consider the matter. Theria interviewed all three and decided that since none had a good case, the house was claimed by the Crown, and what gold was left was split three ways, and all three were the poorer for having not settled sooner, no more succession disputes of which many were available. to be resurrected even more than a decade later
News from abroad about the Annexation of the human territory of the Principality of SandNomads by the Beastmen Republic was the other news to reach us; this had happened before the Beastmen reinforcements had left when war was averted by the surrender of the Nomad forces following a trade dispute, Prince Alardar had surrendered and asked for mercy which he seemed to have as was ruling as the Beastman Republic's Viceroy. Theria was concerned about learning more but not unduly worried by this news. Also, the reported death of the human King of the far Easterly Kingdom Folkheim and the threat of Civil war. The news of two human Kings being killed in short succession, Theria didn't like the pattern this suggested.
The Arch Cleric of Jade City's Secretary visits as all the Clerics are out working hard, and a request is made for a contribution to the Temple building fund for the upkeep of the Temples where Clerics were trained. Theria declined, which didn't go down well. Instead, she proposed a different solution to pay all the clerics for their time used in defence of the Realm, and those Clerics could then donate if they wished to temples. This would shift the Power away from the Temples and empower individual Clerics while not actually undermining the Temples. Theria felt this helped move Fecundity towards a more balanced society, and it was the right sought of precedent she wanted to set.
The Mage Library project, asked for funds and a home, something that had been around for decades but the cost was expensive, and there was no room inside the old City Walls, so this had never been done before, but since they were building anyway, building a Great Library for Jade City seemed like something else to get done although gathering and paying for the books wasn't something she could devote many resources to however she agreed that 10% of tax revenue from Mages would be contributed to the Mage Library project.
The Royal Funeral of King Leonardis V, Fecundity, was a solemn and well-attended event. It was very emotional for Theria and those whose loyalty was to Fecundity. Buried alongside the King were his wife, the Queen Blessed Fecundity, and her Father, Earl Urferno Bloodburn.
The trials were low key affairs, and former Baron Grey was first an experienced sea captain with a love of the sea; with enough of Therias lightning almost imperceptible over the green carpet, the Baron eventually agreed to the position of Caravel Captian and felt good for the change, and this seemed an optimal outcome for the Kingdom as over Winter his Ship would be built. Theria's ring was green with Lady Grey, and she found her worthy of trust and, with some extra blessing, made the decision to make her Baroness Grey and return her to the family estate; with the help of the Sea Elves her House would be bought in order and her father's influence over her was diminished. Theria spent the longest with former Duke Leonardis Gold; to find out his skills and what he wanted and what the Nation wanted, and where might be wisest for those to intersect; in the end, he was given command of a Caravel, too, when his loyalty was certain. Former Viscount Love Joy, was kept as a private citizen, and he expressed a desire to join the army and rise through the ranks. Good luck to him thought Theria; it might happen for him; he was certainly calmer, more assured and more loyal after spending time with Theria. Former Baron Rosen remained red on her ring of discernment for a long time but eventually, even she was willing to consider another path, the ring turning blue and expressed a desire to be a ship's Captain to so the offer of the third Caravel. All new ship Captains were given the incentive of a Carrack Captaincy if they did well in time. Former Baron Masti, the ring was blue for him, and he was reinstated as Sir Masti and given the Job of defending Iceflow Bay as Garrison commander, reporting to Joy Bera and Josephine Bera until
Theria studied lore in the evenings at the nascent mage library, and all the Elves helped with this, especially the High Elves, for the next couple of weeks before she publicly headed back to Big Bear City with the main body of the Army and her Allies.