Rumor Mill:
The Center Cannot Hold: The conflict in Runāja reached a new height after a brief lull, mediated by the Heiress-Queen in an effort to restore stability and mend fences between the Eunii and the Granii. However the fragile recovery was shattered when the second son of the House Vecais's leader was assaulted and nearly killed by masked men on the streets. Even now his life hangs in the balance, and although no one knows who did it, a torn seal bearing the crest of the Granii was found nearby. What hope there was for peace has been shattered, as tensions sky-rocket once again between the two blocks.
Political Expedience: Vana runs red with the blood of petty lords. They're infighting over the scraps of the large gold discovery two years ago has finally reached a point where the Heiress-Queen stepped in to intercede. With her legions she marched through, smashing any lordling who thought to challenge her as she parceled out the land on her own accord. Some of the lords took offense to this, and rose their flags in rebellion. Now their bodies hang from the mountains they tried to claim. Word is their houses were put to the flame, their land divided among their peers who remained loyal. A dramatic statement indeed.
Blood of the Ancients: Rumor has it the Heiress-Queen in Ahervare is entering a courtship with the scion of the House of Landric, one of the oldest noble houses in Straydor, and one that managed to largely escape the Ash Maiden's bloody conquest of the lands through luck, diplomacy and a hasty but apparently genuine conversation to the Faith of the First Flame.
A Death of a Lion: News has reached you from Hastrijan that the Emperor is dead, according to news from the palace he died in his sleep after a sudden onset of pneumonia. Right now the Crown Prince, Kavan, rules from the capital. But there are murmurs elsewhere, rumors that the Emperor did not fall sick, but was poisoned by Kavan to secure his succession. You don't know the truth to these rumors, but the fact remains, you can't seem to find any information about where the missing elements of the Hastrijani military are located.
Vox Populi: Far to the east lies the last of the Heiress-Queens, and if rumors are to be believed, the youngest and greatest of them all. They say that all she touches turns to gold, and good fortune spreads in her wake. Her piety and benevolence are already legendary, even after a short four years of wearing the crown, as has her humility. Despite the magnificence and newfound wealth gracing her reign, she has spent much of the year quashing rumors building her up as divine, instead saying she is merely blessed by God, and that she is as mortal as any other.
The People's King: The nomadic tribes of the northern steppe have begun to gather in a Köngurmöte, the grand meeting of all the clans to determine the Köngur. The high king of all clans is chosen once a decade to serve as a point of unity for the Clans. Since the Ash Maiden murdered the last Köngur, Baldor of the High Plains, in single combat these meeting have been inconclusive. But this time there are stirrings that a new king of the Clans may have the support necessary to gain the title of Köngur, and once again the Clans can ride the steppes under banners united.
