On the winter Equinox, the new rulers of Britain were crowned. Geoffrey Carter and Samuel of the House of Arthur, together representing the land and the people of Britain past, were crowned as the new High Kings of Britain. The position of High Monarch devolves all authority of the rule of the land to the respective monarchs of the individual kingdoms, but maintains the power to hold them to account in the name of the people and the land they govern.

The coronation party then moved first to Canterbury, where Joan of Brittany was crowned Queen Joan of England by High King Samuel, and then to Scone where Andrew of Inverness was officially crowned as King Andrew of Scotland by High King Geoffrey.

Upon passing into Scotland, High King Geoffrey raised a low mountain range along the border, as a symbolic replacement for Hadrian’s Wall. The famous bard duo Adelise and Aleyn performed at the celebrations after each ceremony, singing songs of the new peace that these monarchs will usher in, and leaving everyone in a joyous mood.

A great feast was then held as a final celebration, where the new monarchs shared in the stories of all that was accomplished due to the Godstow meetings. It is rumoured that High King Geoffrey was escorted to his room in the middle of the evening in a state of high inebriation.

Following the death of two successive Guild Masters - Lorenzo Contarini and Marcus Karlson - Valentina Envoy assumes the post under the greatest security, her arrival heralded by a flood of guards. Once officially recognised by the structure of the Guild, she spends the next few months rapidly travelling across Europe: surprising all by the rapid procession between guild branches in different countries. Soon her firm grip on the guild is confirmed and she sets out a plan to modernise the guild, developing the efficiency of the Guild's ships, and introducing the use of portals for certain high ranked members.

Hector Mallory, widower of Katrina of Maldon and king of Sicily, has been crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, following the previous Emperor's ascension to sainthood. The world waits to see if Emperor Hector will become a saint within six months as well. So far, there has been little evidence of saintly behaviour.

The marriage of the Emperor to Queen Joan of England should leave England allied to, if not formally part of, the Holy Roman Empire. The Empire looks forward to a close partnership with these weird new northerners with appalling weather. Queries have been raised already as to what benefits the Empire expects to see from an alliance with England: the Emperor is currently selling this alliance as an act of charity to raise up the poor uncultured barbarians.

The order known as the Gatekeepers has been established in Aachen by the fae Andris Peleks. They exist to provide the service of portal travel to the Holy Roman Empire as well as to private individuals, with Andris establishing a order-house in Aachen, to train recruits to fill out the ranks of the Gatekeepers. The agreement to establish the order has been signed by Andris, Gavin of Revesby, Holy Roman Emperor, and the God of Justice himself, Tiw. The Gatekeepers are bound to the following rules:

• The Gatekeeper Order operates from and under the aegis of the Holy Roman Empire (or any single state / nation it evolves into) but it is not, in itself, subject to it (i.e. legal status similar to a protectorate). The Order is NOT linked to the Emperor or its bloodline, but to the state.
• The members of the corps may be called upon as individuals (or, after a direct appeal by the head of the Empire to the head of the Order, in groups) at any time for a year and a day to serve as civil servants and administrators at the discretion of the head of the Empire (or any future emerging state), to facilitate the governance and ensure prosperity. During that time, their work for the Empire takes precedence over everything else. They are provided with decent accommodation and food, but receive NO pay for their work. For every year of such hard service, they are entitled to seven years and seven days of complete exemption from similar summons, unless they choose to accept them voluntarily. During that time, they report directly to the head of the Empire (not the head of the Order) but are still bound by the Pact.
• All recruits will go through intensive and thorough training in magic. Upon graduation, they will become signatories to the Pact and will be taught the “Andris' Gatekeeping” spell. By signing the Pact, they bind themselves to do their utmost to keep the workings of the spell secret unless otherwise instructed by both the ruler of the Empire and the leader of the corps.
• Those among our trainees who do not have the aptitude or specialization to cast the spell but are still eager to contribute may assist the Order with administrative duties, magical research and/or lesser travelling spells.
• The current leader of the Order is the only one who may nominate a successor. Their nomination must then be approved by the Empire (or successor state) authorities. The same person may NOT hold the position of head of the Order and head of the Empire.
• The Gatekeepers, when not serving as administrators, may hire their services to private individuals on a case-by-case basis, but:
  • They need to gain permission for accepting contracts from the head of the Order and the head of the Empire, to ensure that portal use remains regulated.
  • They may not establish permanent portals without express authorisation by the head of the Order and the head of the Empire.
  • They are taxed on any income they earn on private business as offering transport and communication services.
• Should the Empire fracture into more than one state with no clear continuation of authority (i.e. complete collapse instead of a small split of a child state / protectorate), the Pact is broken and new Pacts will be drawn with the leaders of the ensuing states as the situation calls.

Elizabeth's emotions shop had left quite an impact on the country. Much of the countryside had been left with people lacking emotions: sadness, guilt, happiness, rage, the list goes on. And with these missing things increasingly fell into chaos - exemplified no better than by the case of Elizabeth herself. However, someone appeared to bring relief to the land and fix what had previously seemed impossible. The priest, Martin the Devout, walked from village to village seeking out those who had had their emotions removed and restoring them. Reports vary, and rumours change from telling to telling, so no one is really sure of how he did it: some claimed blessings, some claimed uniquely fae magic, and others still claimed that he simply found something that was inside of them all along. What is constant and undeniable though, is that without Martin's intervention the soul of the country would have been fundamentally broken for generations, and that England owes him a debt.

For as long as people remember the Castle of Tintagel has been powered by a vicious chamber deep below it. It sapped the energies of fae bound in its centre to sustain the magics that make the castle more than simply mundane. For too long, this necessary evil had been a point of shame for the Profana; try as they might, none of them could make it unnecessary. However, after the fall of Merlyn, Thomas Feyborn was able to utilise the Demiurge's power to update the wards and bidings and, in the process, free the brownie which previously powered the castle from its torment. Now the centre of the circular chamber does not contain cold iron manacles, but instead a simple, stone pedestal where one can willingly sacrifice their energy.

It is established that on every equinox the Profana will travel back to Tintagel; there every member of the Collegium will offer up power proportional to their strength to maintain the castle for the next six months. These soon become the highlights of the year for students of fae and magic in the British Isles and is usually the first opportunity the newer students, wonder in their eyes, to meet the famous names of the Collegium.

Following the destruction of much of Tir N'Aill, and the merging of the worlds, many people reported seeing a shadowy figure out of the corner of their eyes who would disappear when one looked too closely. When this being arrived at the meeting at the headquarters of the Knights of Saint George, some recognised it as The Still and after intervention by Guardian of the Seelie, Samuel Attaway began calling themselves Home. Despite their shy and friendly exterior, there were rumours that they were responsible for the destruction of one of the realms of Tir N'Aill, also known as The Still to its inhabitants. To this end Gerard of York endeavoured to chase down Home, to ensure that they will prove to be no threat to world going forward.

Stories had started come out of nearby villages of a shadow bounding up to people like an excited puppy and trying to, in their words make friends. Following these leads Gerard was able to track down Home, who was delighted to see him. By following Home's hapless attempts at human communication, Gerard is able to talk to them for long enough to get some idea of what happened. Despite Home's confusing manner of speech, Gerard is able to discover that The Still that had supposedly engulfed the old realm of Tir N'Aill was another name for the ichor that had threatened all life. Sure that Home was not a threat, and more akin to a lonely child, let them follow him back to the Knights' headquarters, where they continued to live.

After falling out of favour with the Holy Roman Empire due to his participation in the recent peasant rebellion, Guardian of the Seelie Samuel Attaway announced that he was re-opening the position for election. This was no resignation, however, for no sooner was the election announced as Attaway began a new campaign for his re-election. Though the vote was not quite as unanimous as it had been previously, Attaway stood almost entirely unopposed and by the end of the election it was little surprise to see him reinstated.

Despite this success, Guardian Samuel’s celebrations were somewhat more subdued than usual. Indeed, for the next six months those closest to him said that they had never seen him more miserable. Not only did he abstain from alcohol, but the usually numerous rumours of his “personal escapades” fell to almost nothing during this time. At the end of this period of penance, the Guardian of the Seelie retreated completely to his palace. While many guests came and went during this time, the Guardian himself was not seen until more than a week later.

Almost immediately after the meeting at the Knights of St George Headquarters, residents of Oxford reported seeing Elizabeth hurriedly bundling all of the emotions she could carry into a bag. A flock of birds then burst from the doorway of her shop and flew off into the distance. Elizabeth was never seen again in Oxford, although the stories of what she had done lingered there for a long time after. Reports of an individual both draining people of their emotions and consuming other fae soon began to spring up from all across the country.

Eventually the authorities, as well as some other interested individuals, decided it was time to take action. Knights of St George Rhydian Coedwig and Lahav BenIdan found themselves working together with Thomas Feyborn and several followers of the Lord Shipwright Osmund in hunting down the rogue fae Elizabeth. Her trail of destruction was not difficult to follow and they soon caught up to her. Upon being cornered, Elizabeth transformed herself into a twisted and feral version of herself, possessed of supernatural strength and speed. However, this was not nearly enough to overpower her attackers. Between the druids’ attempts to ensnare her with cold iron, Rhydian’s blades, Lahav draining her of her power, and Feyborn’s devastating spells, Elizabeth was utterly destroyed.

Lahav BenIdan and Maxim the Unstable have met on Christmas Day on the Southernmost point of England to duel. Andris Peleks and Ishri Saint-Clair were there to witness the duel and observe the rules. It is reported that the fight went on for hours, with no one gaining an advantage over the other, as their skills were perfectly matched. Both opponents attempted to use Hob's Feast on each other, thus achieving a perfect equilibrium. They decided to break at sunset, with no clear winner.
As a reward for an impressive duel, Andris turned them both into fae.

Owing to his rude and loutish behaviour in the Knights front room, rather becomingly decked out with beautiful people, including the very handsome St Gavin, who I would very much like to get to know better, dear Celeste has started taking action against Bon-Bon, and not before time! It is now against Church law to build new shrines to him, which serves him right, and she even says we can all go along and nick his stuff - sorry, reconsecrate his shrines. If anyone out there wants to get me on side, he's got some lovely bits in Italy I could just fancy.

Celeste also says don't go round taking emotions; its bad, don't do it.

St James

Dear Knights

Owing to the loud and raucous parties you throw, the gathering you recently held which finished well after midnight and contained a lot of unsavoury personages, the constant problem of things escaping from your stables, the fact that our front lawn was destroyed (admittedly some years ago) by trebuchet practise, and your habit of dating or marrying people even scarier than you are, which means if we come round to complain a lot of angry women glare at us, we are delighted to announce we are leaving! We have sold the land and the house and intend to move to Sicily forthwith. In fact, by the time you read this, we will have gone. Enjoy causing trouble for all around you.

Sincerely,

Your Neighbours.

P.S. We have sold the house next door, along with the land, to a nice lady called Edythe, who says she intends to let it to the Seol Eile, to whit, Avazda, Treon and Carjadzi, who will be your new next door neighbours. She asks you to keep eyes on them and expresses confidence in your ability to care for them. In fact, it was she who suggested we write to you.

Nice children get nice things.

Naughty children get coal.

Some people have been asking for coal rather than nice things. That Maryushka is very odd.