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Sylverfern StarVolume 4. Edition 2.Forrestwake A.F. 318WERDILL SUCCEEDS FROM MIDDLEHAVEN!NIN THIS EDITION:WERDILL SUCCEEDSBLOODY BRAWLON NIGHT OF THETRAVELLERSILVER SHORTAGE?FOOLS DAYCELEBRATIONNEW CAPTAINOF THE GUARD.AND MUCH, MUCHMORE!ight of the Traveller, a muchmore eventful holiday for thetown of Sylverfern than anyonewould wish between Argus Myzantainting people’s drinks with apoison called “demon blood,” themurder of a Werdillan visitorand the assault of a nobleyouth ended with a politicallyexplosive moment when a messengerarrived at Lockhart manor andanounced the news that had comefresh from Werdill- that Werdillhad officially seceded from theMiddlehaven kingdom and declareditself its own sovereign kingdom!Everybody was left stunned bythe sudden announcement and inthe past month Fallstav, Perinand Mergrim have been reelingfrom the abrupt change. The youngpeople that were the originalSeparatists before the movementbecamepopularizedbythenobility and other influentialadults have shown everythingfrom ecstasy to astonishment athow much of a difference even afew youths can make. Other youthseem inspired by the success oftheir peers.Dukes Bertrum Fallstav, HaroldAquinas Perin and Jorus Mergrimare deeply disturbed by this suddendecision of Duchess JullannaWerdill,whohadoriginallyintended to wait until the end of318 in order to make her decisionon breaking Werdill’s union withthe rest of Middlehaven. Theerstwhile duchess, now a newlycoronated Queen, told the rest ofthe stunned Council of High Lordsthat she still fully intendsto maintain trade and positiverelationshipswithFallstav,Mergrim and Perin.When the three Dukes demandedexplanations from Lady Werdill,she expressed concerns in regardsto the tensions between Fallstavand Perin, citing the expenses ofwar between Fallstav and Perinthat have been steadily drainingthe Middlehaven economy. Shealso expressed heavy criticismofMiddlehaven’sfairtradelaws. “These so-called "fairtrade laws" unfairly crippleWerdill merchants. Has the Kinglived, he would have certainlyrevised trade laws by now- butthe Council of High Lords haverefused to make any adjustmentswhatsoever!” One can infer thatLady Werdill is referring to howher duchy has been compelled tobolster all three other duchies.Stung by the damage the fairtrade laws caused for her duchy,the now-former Duchess Werdillhas called votes to revise theselaws on several occasions onlyfor the other three Dukes toeither refuse a vote at all orelse unanimously vote againstany modification to these laws.Werdill has thus been paying forthe trade deficit of the entirekingdom of Middlehaven for nearlytwo decades.The lesser Werdillan nobilityhave overtly cited “being punishedfor their success” by paying a“grossly inflated portion ofkingdom debts” as a reason forsupporting the Separatists as wellas, in the eyes of one WerdillanSeparatist “by extension payingfor all three of Fallstav andPerin’s wars. or is it four?We’re starting to lose count.”They adamantly believe Werdillwill become only wealthier byseparatingfromMiddlehaven.Due to the widespread supportfor secession by the noblesand her own. “Finally, it’sbecame clear that independenceis the only way,” Lady Werdillsaid. Anticipating protests andallusions to the J’Teth, sheadded “Werdill WILL fight with youContinued on pg. 6

CONSTABLE’S CORNERSEPARATISTS AND LOYALISTS CLASH ON NIGHT OF THE TRAVELLERWERDILLAN MERCHANT SLAIN, SEPARATIST/BARON’S DAUGHTER STABBEDOn the Night of the Traveller, theparticipants in the Separatistmovement,particularlytheyouth, were in very high spiritsdue to the rumors that have beencirculating for several moonsabout now-former Duchess JullannaWerdill’s intentions to secedefrom the kingdom of Middlehavenat the end of 318 shifting toimply that Lady Werdill mightmake her move sooner.On that same day, Werdillans thatheavily disagreed with theirDuchess came into Fallstav hopingto find allies in persuadingthe duchess to change her mind.They found themselves extremelyunpopular with Werdill’s noblesand even facing some violence.They decided they needed outsidehelp. Many of the Werdillannobility stand by what is nowQueen Werdill (see the articleregarding Werdill’s secession).The Werdillan merchants thattrade more with outside landsthan internally in Middlehavenalso see Werdill’s decision tobecome its own sovereign kingdomas beneficial, for it streamlinesthe process in trading abroadand they see more profits thanharm from tariffs. However, ingeneral the wealthy merchantsthere that traded mostly withother Middlehaven duchies havefound their businesses damaged.Three brothers, Zegan, Kodan andElwil Inko came into Sylverfernon the Night of the Traveller,drained from travelling at agreat pace and requesting aidand a place to stay from theSylverfern Council. Shelter wasgranted to the trio. Not muchlater, a group came in fromVrengar’s boarding schools; KaneMurata, assistant to historyprofessor Avery Barghava, wasaccompanying three students (all16 or 17 years old) on a tripto gather tales of local historyand research what various partsof Fallstav are like now comparedto the past. These students wereexcited because of the rumorsand ther, tensions ran high theWerdillan loyalists’ exhaustionandangeraboutWerdill’spolitical situation clashed withtheFallstavianSeparatists’youthful impulsiveness and ownfears because of their critics.Luckily both groups in the earlyafternoon were more interestedin food and drink than fighting.The betrayal of a Sylverfern ArgusMyzan in what was apparentlyslipping poison into a largebottle of wine and possibly foodthat stirred up aggression andrendered the healing miracles ofpriests harmful made hostilitiesflare among the inhabitants andvisitorsofLockhartmanor.For some reason that remainsnot fully known, a mass brawlerupted between everyone withinthe manorhouse. The Inkos wereout in the main room during themob scene and at some pointElwil Inko was stricken down andbrutally murdered. This left thetwo remaining Inkos, particularlythe eldest brother Zegan Inko,grief-stricken and enraged.One of the Separatists, SabrinaEllimore, 17 came down into themain room early. The teacher’sassistant Kane Murata, who knewher to be a baron’s daughter,immediately followed as soon ashe’d realized she’d gone off on herown, wanting to ensure she didn’tcome to harm. It was explainedlater that Ellimore’s friends,17-year-old Lord Fabian Talbotand 16-year-old Kendra Cecil,were still getting ready withhelp from one of Lord Lockhart’sstaff. Talbot is a heavily giftedduelist, ranking second overallin ability within the schools,so Murata had felt Sabrina to bemost at risk. Unfortunately, itwas already too late, the brashgirl had already gotten herselfinto an argument with Zegan Inkoand other loyalists, and beforeMurata could calm things down,one of the loyalists struckEllimore with the steel of ahalberd in the heat of anger.Several people testified thata lot of confusion eruptedafterwards. The young girl washealed of her wound. She beganshouting at the loyalists inrage, and apparently a coupleof Sylverfern villagers, one ofthem Enix Krynvalis, began criesof “traitor” at the youth. Beforethings could get any worse, amessenger came in to announceWerdill had seceded, leavingeveryone stunned.Zegan Inko later told us “I justwant vengeance on that Argusfellow for starting the wholething.” As for the Separatists,“They're traitors to Werdil andMiddlehavenitself.They'llhave their little rebellion andthey'll be put to the sword whenit all ends.” When asked if hemeant that for all Separatists,including the large percentagethat are youth, he clarified“Obviously not, they've beenbrainwashedbythetraitorsabout things they can't possiblyunderstand yet.”It looks as though internalhostilities between loyalists andSeparatists are only worsening.SILVER SHORTAGEAlista PlathorEveryone'sheardaboutWerdill declaring theirindependence by now, I'msure.Therehasbeendiscordonallsidesof this new separatistmovement and two majorgroupshaveemerged:those in favor of theseparaating the duchiesinto their own kingdoms,andthosecallingthemselves loyalist. Thisarticle is about neithergroup and to warn ye ofanother issue rising as aresult of this movement.The major issue is thatWerdill has been fundingmany of Fallstav and theother duchies tithes owedand what not. With thisnew independence Fallstavrisks going broke. Silver,includingthesilverhelm, is becoming scarceas a result of Werdill,since a large amount ofMiddlehaven's Silver comesfrom there. There is talkin the capitol from the dukethat there may be a changein the coin rates, becauseof this some locals havebecome scared and taken toforming their own banditrings, hijacking innocentson the road. They willtake anything of value ofcourse but silver is theirprimary focus.Hopefully, our Lord Lockhartand the Duke of Fallstavwill work quickly to aidagainst these groups andhelp solve our potentialgrowing financial crisis.For now, stay safe and nevertravel alone. Such are theway things are in Sylverfernthese days, after all, weall know bandits seem tonot be our only concernwith stories that wouldshock other nations.