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UPDATE: IC NEWS

THE ORLESIAN FRONT

The sudden early onset of winter that followed the Battle of Ghislain has lingered beyond all expectation, and now, having stretched into Bloomingtide, beyond all belief. Just as suspicions about the unseasonable freeze have begun to peak, it's ended as abruptly as it began. This past week the weather in the region suddenly shifted, with skies clearing and the persistent chill finally giving way to more normal spring temperatures. And as this shift occurred so did another, with the invading army marching out from Ghislain just ahead of it, cutting across the still-frozen ground of the plains to strike at the auxiliary allied forces encamped outside Val Chevin. With the roads in the region rapidly reduced to mud by the belated thaw, reinforcements were unable to reach the city in time, and the invaders broke through the defenses to capture this key port on the Waking Sea. The change in the weather was such a key factor in the invaders' victory and the timing so convenient for them that it now seems certain that they have somehow caused both the deep freeze and its end. Precisely how they managed it remains a question, as weather manipulation of that sort—and on that scale—is unknown in Thedas.

And that wasn't their only advantage: distracting many from the army's advance on Val Chevin was the appearance of the red lyrium dragon over Orlais for the first time, scorching a line of towns and villages around Montfort in what was believed at the time to be preparation for an attack on the city, but now appears to have been a diversion and perhaps a threat. No assault on Montfort has come, but with Ghislain and Val Chevin both fallen, it is now caught more or less behind enemy lines, and there is talk in Orlais that the city—evacuated of civilians post-Ghislain—may be abandoned altogether.

THE ANDERFELS

The lack of intelligence out of the Anderfels continues to be a problem, but word has filtered out through sources in Tevinter that since the death of former First Warden and self-appointed King Vidal in the Battle of Ghislain, leadership of the Anderfels has been placed in the hands of Jullex Talvistus, a Tevinter bureaucrat who has been appointed Viceroy by the Archon. This amounts to an outright takeover by Tevinter, but if there has been any objection to this from the denizens of the Anderfels (and one imagines there would be, given the historical conflict and vast cultural differences between the two nations), news of it has been successfully suppressed.

TEVINTER

Also successfully suppressed: much of the remaining opposition to the rule of Corypheus's puppet Archon Ilrian Amladaris. The success of the invasion of Orlais has brought many doubters and fence-sitters on-side, and public opinion supports the war and its stated goal of reclaiming Tevinter's lost glory--especially now that it seems like it might really be possible. The Magisterium appears to be on board as well, as plans to vote on a new Archon have reportedly been abandoned. There are pockets of resistance, of course, with various lords here and there expressing their displeasure and refusing to commit troops to the war effort, but they are too widely spread to have formed a concerted opposition and are coming under increasing pressure to fall in line.

THE CHANTRY

While the Grand Consensus was, as implied by the name and required by its procedures, ultimately unanimous, the selection of Revered Mother Bendetta to be elevated as Divine came only after lengthy and at times (rumor has it) contentious discussions among the Grand Clerics in Val Royeaux. The new Divine did no open politicking and made no promises, but a steep dive in support for early frontrunner Grand Cleric Gertruda and the consolidation of Agathe and Elise's supporters in the final days of the discussion left it clear that she is taking the Sunburst Throne with support for pushing back against Corypheus but less than a full mandate on social issues, and will need to proceed diplomatically if she wants to avoid squabbling within the Chantry.

The death of Grand Cleric Agathe hung over the Grand Consensus even as it proceeded without her. The Chantry has admitted that she and several members of her entourage were murdered, and has stated emphatically that there is no evidence to implicate any of her rivals for the seat of Divine. Various theories gain and lose popularity like quick-changing fashions, but the most popular this week are that the Pentaghasts had her killed because she was going to side against them in the slow-brewing Nevarran civil war, or that after realizing she would not win, Agathe and her attendants committed suicide in an attempt to frame one of her opponents.