===== Drithendaar 11th, 4377 =====

Negotiations continue apace before the [[farne:locations:Upper Thalia|Thalian]] fortress-city of [[farne:locations:Dimmersdel|Dimmersdel]].  Many look with hopeful eyes as signs of good will on both sides connect, if temporarily, the two warring parties.  [[farne:actors:Sanria Veris|Duchess Veris]] and [[farne:actors:Tenris Melfir|Duke Melfir]] agreed to a prisoner exchange, reuniting families with great joy.  Many arm-chair generals have noted that the duchess' reliance on young, nubile women with copper-locks (surely the prisoners being transferred are representative of the army at large!) may indicate the shallowness of her reserves.  Contrasted with the grizzled veterans of Melfir's legions, they may have a point...

The banishment of the recent heroes of [[farne:locations:Alestia|Alestia]] seems to have had minimal impact on the murderous rampages of the [[farne:organizations|Gatekeepers of Enma]].  Only today have the depths of their infiltration been revealed as a prominent [[farne:actors:Philip Madrigal|elector]] fell victim to a life long [[farne:actors:Bagram Fossil|friend]].  Though the murderer professed his sorrow, innocence and confusion as he bled to death in the streets, slain by the city guard, conspiracy theorists warn that any government official could be next.

Finally, the nation of [[farne:locations:Sturmgaard|Sturmgaard]] has begun to mobilize its forces to conduct military exercises along the [[farne:locations:Upper Thalia|Thalian]] frontier.  While the priests of [[farne:cosmology:lesser_powers#gods_of_light|Hathandar]] claim the mobilization is to defend against a re-militarizated Thalian state, others hope they have more ambitious goals.