Rumour Mill (16.IX.489) (Repost)

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TheOneWhoKnows
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Posts: 70
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2016 1:37 pm
Characters: Uzzo, Welkith`Quarek, Weiss(?), Tiny`Spider

Rumour Mill (16.IX.489) (Repost)

Post by TheOneWhoKnows »

Blood Beneath the Cobblestones
After thorough investigation into a spate of vampire attacks against denizens of the city, spear-headed by the newly minted Bathiretil, a mixture of guards and adventurers followed the blood soaked breadcrumbs to track down the proposed mastermind behind them, culminating in an extermination expedition that plunged them into the murky depths beneath the city's streets. The intrepid team, by all accounts given, were able to successfully maim and seal the self proclaimed vampire queen, utilizing a multitude of magical methods to ensure their reign of terror wouldn't see the light of another day. Denizens are undoubtedly content with at least one less vampire and their ilk to contend with roaming the streets, but just like Drachean Wharf cockroaches, we all know where there's one, there's almost certainly others lurking in the plentiful shadows, often out of sight, but increasingly less and less out of mind given the seemingly ceaseless number of terrors these vile monsters foist upon the city.

Demonic Forces Destroyed
In a previous edition the Rumour Mill recanted a tale as old as time; The Elgar is a terrible place and someone should probably do something about it. A horde of demonic forces had taken up a foothold in the Elgarian borderlands, resulting in a joint military operation that included the forces of the Lord Protector Golarangire Ware ul-Broxobain Severn, the Eastern Margrave Arangire Broxobain ul-Artaxiad Severn and Southern Margrave Arangire Uzzo Salksilek. It appears they had three distinct goals during their march; Destroy the aforementioned demonic horde, rout any hostile forces from the western outskirts of the Elgar borderlands, and the retaking of Mazewood, which was partially destroyed and forced residents to seek shelter and refugee status from Transdariania. Their joint operation appears to have succeeded, as evident by the fact that demonic horde no longer looms over our eastern border, and Mazewood has begun reconstruction efforts. We here at the Rumour Mill were able to obtain a piece of report entailing the fate of the commander of these demonic fiends, who in the ensuing melee was struck down and dealt a fatal blow by a lowly foot soldier by the name of Thranolk Seletire, who has subsequently received the title of Knight of Asprominke, earning himself both title and lands by his brave actions. Other less fortunate sons of Transdariania received stipends posthumously for their bravery in the battle, as not all of our soldiers that marched off to this battle made it back alive.

A Drachean Tale; Vampires Amongst Us
As our readers have no doubt seen, the Rumour Mill, staying true to its journalist integrity, posted an open letter it received from an unknown sender, which entailed a very strange and troubling accusation. This served as a catalyst for a series of events that soon unfolded in its wake, the finer details of which aren't fully known, however, we here at the publication strive to keep our readers informed to the best of our ability. Later in the same day the letter was published, on 3.IX.489, with the growing whispering of rumours due to it, Arangire Uzzo Salksilek arrived at the gates of Castle Black and petitioned for an audience with the Sithire, which was subsequently granted and deigned access to the castle. From what information we've been able to gather, two things took place behind those closed gates; The first being the Sithire admitting to being a vampire, and the second was her voluntary abdiction from the seat of Sithire and entering into the Arangire's custody. The Southern Margrave then declared martial law under the pretense of Transdariania's lack of a head of state and took over the city as its highest reigning authority during the interim. Many citizens panicked, citing this as a possible military coup intent on taking over the duchy as a whole, and several tense days followed as the Lord Protector marched on Drache to take over the reigns. Surprisingly, when the Lord Protector arrived, the Southern Margrave raised the gates and allowed him access, turning over the administrative authority of Drache to him in the process, betraying the paranoia fueled conspiracies that were growing with fervor each passing day. Martial law has not been lifted since the change of administrative hands, and will not be lifted until a new Sithire has has taken up the seat as head of state.

A City Without a Seat
So that leaves the question; Who will become the next Sithire? Ultimately the answer to this rests with the Council of Noble Estates, who have been no doubt busily jockeying and vying for the position behind the scenes. There are a few strong contenders amongst the nobility, one of whom is the aforementioned Arangire Uzzo Salksilek, who in a surprising twist has willingly removed himself from contention of the seat of Sithire, along with his backing of any other candidate as a proxy through his influence. We've received information that his wife, Lady Consort Gudrun Salksilek has recently given birth to twins, so it's possible he's simply biding his time so he can teach their oozelings the finer points of world domination. Without a suitable mole inside the circles of nobility, the names of several others have been heard whispered as potential contenders for the seat, such as Arangire Dolurn Rumunire, Arangire Bralus Arnlek, and Arangire Waeluthar Galethek, though which of these, or possibly others, might maneuver themselves into enough support from other nobility to gain the necessary backing for Sithire remains to be seen.

What Lurks Beyond?
Dracheans surely have more questions than answers at this point, and it's the journalistic duty of those here at the Rumour Mill to pose both questions and afford our readers of possible answers to them. A heated topic amongst those paying attention to the news at this moment is; If a vampire can infiltrate the highest seat of the nation, what others have done the same? How grand a conspiracy is there afoot? Are there those in official seats of our government who were aware of Auxerre's vampiric nature, and if so, who are they and how can we possibly trust them with our best interests? Who is going to pay the price for this betrayal of the city's trust? As always, we here at the Rumour Mill endeavor to keep the public availed with any information our intrepid investigators can scrounge up, no matter the efforts or costs.
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