Rumor Mill - Local
On the Matter of Priests: There was a great deal of debate on the priesthood, and many, many, many speeches were given by everyone who had a crate to stand on and an opinion. Shockingly, there were almost no brawls, barring a couple of fights over crates, which everyone agreed was a good sign. The councils met, their meetings often headed by Front members, and vote after vote was cast, the ballots folded so that no one could see what was written on them. In many cases, illiteracy proved a barrier, but a partial solution - drawing shapes next to the different items so that they could be identified - was worked out and seemed to serve well enough. The votes were hauled in, counted - with ample precautions including the involvement of priests and various witnesses - and the results were mixed from the perspective of the Front. The concept of the state protecting all religions managed to find widespread popularity, and the firmness of support for the various churches staying within the bounds of law surprised even the Central Committee, but several of the more extreme proposals they had hoped for but not dared support failed miserably, as did the passage of a law prohibiting religions from entering politics, faltering on opposition both ideological and practical. The results have led to a general increase in support from everyone who votes, as you demonstrate your commitment to democracy, but some in the Front are making noises about needing to further neuter the Church.
An Increase In Scarcity: While the promise of Kammanism to feed everyone has been greeted with enormous, widespread approval, the implementation has been more difficult than that, even with the aid of the Silver Crescent. While everyone understands it is the middle of winter, and a winter that was sure to be a hard one, resentment nonetheless is beginning to simmer. Some of the peasant councils are organizing to demand higher prices, while some bars and cafes with no food instead fill their customers with rumors of the farmers hoarding grain. No one is going hungry yet, but supplies are threatening to run low and potentially reach a crisis point. Meanwhile, the Silver Crescent sends ten crates on for each one they give to you. It is enough that some people are proposing attempting to renegotiate the relationship between you.
Rules for the Rich: After a private meeting, several promises have been made to soothe the terrors of the former oppressors and class enemies who huddled in their homes, awaiting justice. The public announcement was met with several different kinds of outcry, and a petition was circulated around one town, listing numerous demands. It received several dozen signatures. In another town, pamphlets are being handed out listing numerous outrages, some of which might even be real. However, there is a distinct feeling of relief as well, with many of the soldiers garrisoning the towns reporting a decrease in tension and a few hints of tentative support appearing, including the formation of a (small) doctor's council, consisting of about twenty physicians looking to reform their practices along more Kammanist lines.
A Silent Week: The front lines were quiet as snow swept over them. The men in the trenches at Dedregrad grumbled about the cold, the men in the mountain fortresses shivered, the Korvio Defenders huddled down in their heated barracks. The only fighting was a few desultory skirmishes with "bandits" who were barely able to work their weapons. Reports from a defector suggested they had expected massive support for their activities, and while they had found some of that further south it was nowhere near enough to sustain them. Leaving aside that, if one didn't know any better they might think the war had ended.
Word of the Farmers: Representatives of the Farmer's Liberation Army have moved into the city, sharing their stories, investigating those of others. They have deliberately avoided anything like a meeting with the Committee or their representatives, instead going to quite literally everyone else. Some unrest has come of this, small scuffles caused by anger or disbelief about their accusations leveled at certain branches of the Kammanist Front, and some of these have ended up in pamphlets printed by an unknown source offering them as proof that you are a bunch of murderous bandits.
Rumor Mill - National
Black Defeats: The news from the Ukortic Free State is bad: they have received a series of brutal blows Dovessa and Sevatopel, where soldiers of the Imperial Army, supplied and supported by Breton, launched an unexpected attack on the heels of a blizzard. Though eventually driven back, the cost in lives was horrific. If not for a few hundred cavalry under one fearsome anarchist banished from the steppes he was born on, the defense would have completely collapsed. This anarchist had gained substantial support among the Black Army in the wake of his actions, with those who admire him painting splashes of blue upon their "uniforms." Your ambassador thinks the State will need support, both to prevent them from being crushed in battle and to prevent this "Blue Brigade" from launching a coup against the existing leadership, should you be opposed to that.
Word of the Armani: To no one's surprise, the Amani Confederation has completely collapsed as they were unable to sufficiently corral the many other people they suddenly found themselves placed over. Reports of horrific atrocities being conducted by everyone have filtered in. They are all several weeks old, and are hopefully exaggerated.
The Steppe Confederation: With chaos rocking the southern half of the Avlandian Empire, those who live beyond the northern mountains, the Emperor's most loyal but also most restive subjects, have chosen to reignite the flame of days gone by and formed the Confederation of the Steppe Tribes, extolling the glory of their mounted archer ancestors who made all the world need. Seventy elected khans rule them now, backed by Hippon, and they have announced that any who cross the mountains without their permission will be staked out for the crows to feed on or the snows to claim.
The Prince Yet Lives: Rumor has come from Dovessa that Prince Nicloai, the youngest son of the dead emperor, still lives, having supposedly been smuggled out of Avla by loyal retainers. Most agree that this is unlikely, but rumors persist and there is almost certain to be some degree of support for an Imperial Restoration - there are many who cannot imagine an Avlandian Empire without an Emperor.
International News
Fights on the Floor: What was supposed to be an organization to provide peace and unity proved to be unable to maintain that even within its own property, as a band of representatives from various colonies and the new, capitalist Doytch state entered the floor during the middle of an unrelated matter, forcing their way in as a protest which turned into a fistfight.
Calls for Volunteers: Breton and Aquita clearly have no intention of allowing Kammanism to spread, but the strikes and mutinies you have heard about have prevented them from simply sending their armies to prop up their enemies. Instead, they have asked for volunteers, proposing the formation of an International Anti-Kammanist Brigade. In response, various Kammanist Fronts have begun forming their own volunteer units to support you, but you have heard reports of state and capital working in unison to suppress such expressions of international solidarity.
What You Know:
Stefan's friends have sent you word of more revolutions breaking out, as the success of your own serves as an inspiring beacon. They have written several encouraging letters, asking you to press onwards. Meanwhile, they are making arrangements to support you, including forming their own volunteer forces and arranging for friendly journalists to join a shipful of them who plan on coming soon.
From Imprado, word has come of an immense and powerful army, strongly supported by large numbers of warmages. However, they are somewhat lacking in industry, and for whatever reason those mages are not being used to fix that. The morale of the soldiers seems high, and their officers are also seemingly optimistic, although there seems to be some degree of feuding going on.
The local Kammanist movement has been brutalized, with several dozen executed, various cells broken up, and many who were even faintly aligned with the Front drafted into the army in dispersed penny packets. However, a branch that has rejected revolution in favor of gradual reform has managed to gain some sliver of power in the rather chaotic and confusingly structured "Provisional Constitutional Assembly," which they have used to limit workdays to ten hours and win some political concessions, including legalizing collective bargaining. There is some debate in the reports you have received if this is a strategy by Kammanists to buy them enough breathing room to return to revolutionary politics, a surrender to their class enemies, or something in between.
