Culture: Calendar

After the Freeze began and it became clear that the world was changed, the leaders of the Bay decided to alter their calendar to reflect the new state of affairs. Part of this change involved numbering years relative to the start of the Freeze. The current year is the 147^th Year of the Freeze (YotF).

Months

Each year is divided into six pairs of two months. The two months share the same name, with the 25-day Little month preceding the 35-day Great month. The months of the year, in order, are as follows:

Month	Light & Dark on Festival Day	Season
Great Solen	12 hrs day/night	Spring
Little Greening	24 hours day 0 hours night	Summer
Great Greening		Summer
Little Tober	12 hours day 12 hours night	Autumn
Great Tober		Autumn
Little Yule	6 hours day 18 hours night	Winter
Great Yule		Winter
Little Fevrem	0 hours day 24 hours night	Winter
Great Fevrem		Winter
Little Noer	6 hours day 18 hours night	Winter
Great Noer		Winter
Little Solen	12 hrs day/night	Spring

The first month of the year is Great Solen, which begins with an even split between day and night at 12 hours each, but ends with over 18 hours of daylight. This trend continues in Little Greening which ends its length with the sun not setting at all. During Great Greening the balance begins to shift back in the other direction, and by the end of Little Tober there is once again an even division of daylight and darkness. The diminishment of daylight slows now, and by the end of Little Yule there is still 6 hours of light each day. The darkness takes full control between the Fevrems, then light begins to return again. Slowly, the light increases each month for the rest of the year until it has reached balance again at the end of Little Solen.

The seasons shift with the amount of daylight; the Solens are considered spring, the Greenings are summer, and the Tobers are fall. The six remaining months are all considered winter as the temperature drops considerably during that time. It should be noted, however, that despite being referred to as summer, the temperature during the Greenings rarely rises above 15°C/60°F and the average temperature is closer to 10°C/50°F. During the winter, the temperatures can fall as low as -40°C/-40°F but are often much closer to -20°C/-5°F and sometimes rise above 0°C/30°F.

Weeks

The calendar of the Bay does use weeks, but unlike our calendar their weeks are only six days long. Because each pair of months contains 60 days, those days are evenly divided into exactly 10 weeks and the full year contains exactly 60 weeks. The days of the week are as follows:

Mondey

Tirdey

Welsdey

Fardey

Saddey

Volands

Volands, the last day of the week, is the day of prayer when the people attend services at the kirkhall, but it is not otherwise considered a day of rest and work often resumes after services conclude.

Festival Days

For each pair of months, the transition between the Little month and the Great month is marked by a festival day. These festivals are not considered to be part of any month, instead standing on their own in the calendar.

The first festival, Summertide, takes place between the Greenings. It is a day of celebration and merriment, and many traditional games are played at specific hours of the nightless day. Though the original purpose of this festival is unknown, many view it as a moment to have fun and unwind between the work of planting and fostering food crops and the work of harvesting those same crops.

Between the Tobers is the festival of Hallows, a day to celebrate the harvest and thank Voland for the season’s bounty. A good harvest is essential to lasting through the long winter, and so the celebration of Hallows is sometimes delayed so that the work of harvesting can be completed before the frost comes.

Once the winter begins in the months of Yule, the dour day of Sorrows occurs. A mock funeral is held to commemorate the death of Voland, and the day is also used to remember family and friends who have passed. It is also the beginning of the coming of age ceremony for all those who have reached 12 years. For six months, the children are stripped of their name and treated as if they have died, having to fend for themselves.

Chand, the festival of lights, occurs in the Fevrems. It is the darkest time of the year, and so it is tradition to light candles and multicoloured lanterns everywhere. This is the only night that the nameless are acknowledged and spoken to.

In the months of Noer is the festival day of the same name. Noer, unlike the other days, is not celebrated with special meals and parties. Instead, it is a day of quiet contemplation when one remembers their life and thinks of their failures and successes. It is expected that you not work, eat, or sleep between the tolling of the bells.

Finally, the last festival is Nighsend. Nighsend, between Little Solen and Great Solen, is the last day of the year and so serves as the new year’s celebration. On Nighsend, the nameless become alive again, and can reclaim their names. Once their names are reclaimed, each receives a Saex knife and is considered to be an adult.

Wednesday: The Leaders of the Five Nations and Influential Groups

Introduction: Recent Events

The tranquility of the life in the Bay has been interrupted more often in the century–and-a-half since the Freeze began than before, but those events are rarely more than momentary inconveniences. In the past, raids by varkers seeking resources or merrow seeking slaves happened rarely enough that people needed not always be on guard, and even the odd appearance of a ghast or blackham was swiftly dealt with. Still, in the past decade things have changed, and people no longer even have the illusion of safety and security. The primary contributor to this state is the war.

Origins of the War

Some say that the war has been slowly brewing since the start of the Freeze, owing to Barton Butter revitalizing the people’s faith. One unforeseen consequence of this newfound faith was the conflict that it might bring. Each race has a somewhat different interpretation of belief in Voland. For the alfar and the elben that belief is somewhat more abstract than the other races; they believe that Voland and Bishal are not so much beings as personifications of ideals, ideals of thought. Simply put, the elben believe in reason, while the alfar believe in intuition.

To elaborate, the elben believe that the ideal and correct way to view the world is through the lens of reason and logic, and that decisions should never be made and actions never taken without careful consideration. For the elben Voland represents the supreme intelligence, a being that considered each step of his creation and foresaw the consequences of each decision; Bishal is little more than a wild beast who struck at the first sign of weakness.

On the other hand, the alfar believe that instinct and intuition are far more valuable than reason, allowing one to see the correct course of action in an instant. Agonizing over decisions and over-thinking details leads to nothing except indecision and self torment. They view Voland as a being who in his divide wisdom simply understood all; while Bishal was a scheming and calculating creature who spent long ages plotting against Voland.

These two opposing viewpoints seemed harmless enough at first, but tension grew over time. The event which many agree was the ultimate trigger of the war occurred at the Belltower meeting of 144 YotF. While the Kindred, an organization dominated by alfar, had possessed a Belltower seat for nearly a century, the Academy, an organization dominated by elben, did not. The Academy had petitioned for inclusion in the council for many years, and the matter, which had come to a vote twice before, was once again brought to the floor.

The elben, supported by the humans and uruks, voted in favour, while the alfar, supported by the hodekin and the Kindred, voted against with the Order choosing to remain neutral. The sonnen (human-alfar half-blood) Steward ruled that the Academy would not have a seat. Outraged by this result, the elben and uruk immediately left the meeting, declaring that they would not return until the decision was reversed.

In the months that followed, fights between elben-uruk and alfar-hodekin groups became increasingly common, culminating in a riot in Dunstable outside the Kindred’s lodge in the town. The Seer, leader of the Kindred, demanded that this threat be dealt with, but the human authorities were reluctant to anger the elben and uruk leadership. Ultimately, the Alder and Vidame decided to protect the Kindred themselves, which sparked a declaration of war by the Governor and Graf. A few skirmishes were fought before the spring, but the war did not begin in earnest until the harvest was complete the following autumn. In the three years since, the two sides have fought several major battles and a number of entrenched camps have been built. While healing magic means that fewer soldiers have died than one might expect, that fact has only served to make the deaths that have occurred sting all the more.

Before the War

Prior to the outset of the war, other matters were at the fore. In the late winter of 141 YotF a coordinated varker attack struck the Bay from several directions. Luckily, a hunting party that had ventured into the wilds west of the Friar’s Wall had a run-in with a varker scout and were able to bring a warning in time to rebuff the attack.

In response to increased aggressiveness by merrow in the past decade, Baron Ebraen Coel was organizing a push to secure more territory on the coast so that fishing and whaling vessels would be more secure venturing out into the sea. Construction of ships had already begun in Colvey, Cheslyn, and Wisbech when the crisis relating to the Academy turned violent. This mission was effectively cancelled by the war, with both sides using those ships in their war efforts.

Since the War Began

While the humans and the Order have thus far remained neutral, there are some who would like to change that. A religious group calling themselves the Blackwood Scions has risen in prominence advocating that the humans enter the war on the side of the alfar-hodekin alliance. Their base of operations, the Blackwood Abbey, was founded shortly after the onset of the Freeze by Palaster Sams, a Keeper who believed that the Freeze occurred because Bishal had returned to the world from Nifel through arcane magic. Because of their beliefs the Scions claim that the Academy is little more than a poorly disguised cult to Bishal and must be destroyed. There have been rumours in the last year that the Scions may be plotting to overthrow the Baron to achieve their goals.

The Baron, for his part, is focusing the resources of the human nation on protecting the Bay from merrow whose aggression seems to be ever-increasing. There have also been rumblings of renewed varker attacks, primarily related to the Redfeather varkers near the Riddelmere. One researcher has been warning that Koshac, the varker lich defeated by Barton Butter, is not gone for good and may rally the varkers against the Bay. Few among the citizenry, however, are paying much attention to these other threats with the war so close to home.

Monday: The Calendar used in the Bay

Introduction: Geography

Physical Geography

The inhabited territory of the Bay consists of several jutting peninsulas separated by narrow fjord-like inlets. One of these peninsulas has been cut off from the mainland and now exists as a large island in the centre of the bay called Perry Island. A few smaller islands surround Perry, including Sholner, Usk, Doal, and the Mardons.

A large peninsula forms the northern flank of the 5 mile wide mouth of the Bay which opens up onto the sea. On this northern peninsula rest a few small mountains which close off the sea coast from the land on the Bay side. Mountains also mark the southern and north-western bounds of inhabited land; the south as gently rising hills, while the northwest is marked by a dramatic cliff face.

Quite a number of rivers flow into the Bay. Three rivers fall over the north-western cliff; the Cliffside, the Lipping, and finally the Torrent, which features a massive waterfall that crashes directly into the waters of the Bay at Tallfalls. In the west the Fairdon and Coney rivers mark the north and south bounds of the Ringwood, a forest around the town of the same name. The Silver River flows out of the southern hills, while the River Gar comes out of the north. The Canal flows to the Bay through an ancient obsidian faced canal from the Riddelmere which is filled by the mysterious Skarie River that flows up to the lake from the sea. Finally, the Wellwash is fed by an ancient pump that calls water from the depths of the earth.

Much of the land in the Bay has long since been converted to farmland, but other terrain also exists. In terms of forests there is the Ringwood in the west, the Roscoe forest in the southern hills, the Garwood in the north, as well as the Wachoer forest near the sea. When the Freeze began, Perry Island was a mix of farmland and scattered woods, but has since been forested with bamboo spawned from a small stand on Usk Island. Another bamboo wood has more recently been planted around Omstead. Some of the mountains near the ocean are simply too rocky to accommodate much plant life, as is some of the land near the cliff , and the sea coast. Finally, the Riddelmere Lake rests on a plateau that slopes into a wooded valley that reaches the coast, but this valley and the plateau are heavily occupied by varkers and so are not counted as part of the Bay.

Social Geography

The territory of the Bay is subdivided into five nations, each inhabited by one of the principal races of the Bay.

In the eastern mountains near the coast, the hodekin make their home. Their capitol is the town of Audlem, where the great pump gives birth to the Wellwash. Their territory extends south through the Omstead bamboo forest and Wachoer woods to Alshap, and north past the Canal to the mine at Torlich.

Elben territory lies primarily on the north shore of the northern fork of the Bay. It begins at the Canal and extends through the Garwood to the cliff and Tallfalls. The elben nation also includes a small section on the south shore of the north fork which is primarily farmland. Their capitol is Garstang.

On the south shore of that same fork is the uruk nation. Their land is bounded by the cliff-face on most sides, leaving them little hope of expansion. The northern half of their land is rocky, while the southern half is made up of farmland, which includes their capitol of Rackholl.

Moving south from the uruks, we reach the alfar nation. The largest part of their territory lies on the western mainland, from the Cliffside River and the uruk nation, through the Ringwood, and down to the Silver River and the humans. The alfar also occupy the western half of Perry Island, all of Usk, Doal, and Sholner Islands, and a section of farmland on the eastern coast of the Bay adjacent to the hodekin. Their capitol is Benshaw on Perry Island.

The human nation is just as fragmented as the alfar. Their largest territory is on the southern mainland, from the Silver River to Butterwatch on the coast, with the town of Mondegreen centred in that stretch. In the north they control a section of the farmland next to the elben and uruk nations, and in the east a small section next to the hodekin and alfar lands. While Mondegreen is their capitol, Dunstable is their most populous town and the most populous in the Bay. Dunstable is located in the human territory that comprises the eastern half of Perry Island.

Friday: Recent Events

Introduction: Religion

There is only one major religion in Frozen Over. While others may exist in other parts of the world, within the confines of the bay the Order of Voland stands alone.

Voland & Bishal

The Order teaches that there are two gods: the creator, Voland, and his nemesis, Bishal. Voland is associated with fire, light, and order, while Bishal is associated with ice, darkness, and chaos. Before the Freeze, many had ceased to believe in the gods and even within the Order itself there was uncertainty as to whether they still existed or had ever existed. However, for the truly devout that uncertainty doesn’t shake their belief in what the gods represent.

In the ancient texts, it is said that after Voland created the world with his fire, he created the thinking beings of the world. But in order to give them true life, a true soul, he had to give each person a small part of the holy flame, his soul. As a result of this action, the Order teaches that all peoples are one, that each individual is part of Voland. Charity is revered above all else, and the protection of innocents is highly honoured.

Bishal, on the other hand, is the demon who struck Voland down in his weakened state, having given so much of himself to his children. Trickery and deceit are considered vile actions, and theft is nearly as heinous a crime as murder. However, Voland is merciful, and even allowed Bishal to live, choosing rather to banish him to the frozen realm of Nifel. Likewise, thieves and murderers are banished rather than killed or imprisoned, though they face death if they return.

The relationship between Voland and Bishal represents the struggle of order to overcome chaos and light to overcome darkness. This struggle is central to the story of the Freeze, as well as the survival of the Bay, and the heroic sacrifice of Barton Butter. As a result of their ideals the people of the Bay defend order and honour at all costs, and uphold their laws with unwavering fervour.

The Order

In the Bay, the Order is led by the Deacon, who resides in Dunstable in the Silver Keep. The Deacon is a powerful figure in the politics of the Bay, reflecting the renewed devotion of the people since the Freeze began.

Individual priests of the Order are known as Keepers of the Flame, often simply shortened to Keeper. They receive their tutelage and ordination at the Silver Keep, which also serves as a seminary and reliquary. Most Keepers receive a post in a local kirkhall, similar to a church, and tend to the needs of the people, but some choose to serve in other ways, as medics for example. As being a Keeper entails tending to the needs of others and remaining utterly devoted to the Order, they are not allowed to marry or have relationships as doing so would distract from their mission.

While the Order is involved in the politics of Butter Bay, they strive to remain neutral in war. The current Deacon, Torren Hoster, believes that supporting either side would allow chaos and darkness a place in the Order. Picking sides would also serve to alienate the races of the opposing side and thus bias the Order and harm its position as the thread that links all people to Voland.

Holy Days

There are three religiously significant festivals celebrated by the people of the Bay. The first, Sorrows, takes the form of a funeral service to commemorate the death of Voland at the hands of Bishal. The seconds takes place in the darkest time of winter, when the sun does not rise at all, they celebrate Chand, in remembrance of the first Keepers who watched over Voland’s body and maintained its dormant flame. And finally, Nighsend is celebrated when the sun makes its triumphant return, just as Voland did in returning to life to banish Bishal from the worlds.

Symbols

The most common symbol for Voland is, unsurprisingly, a flame. However, the symbol for the Order is instead a simple circle. To the Keepers, the circle represents the bond that all thinking beings have with Voland and one another. It also symbolizes order standing firm against the chaos. Some Keepers will also tell that it represents the separation of the righteous residing in Muspel from the sinful and evil who are cast out of Voland’s love and forced to reside in Nifel with Bishal, though the Order does not officially condone this interpretation.

Other Beliefs

The Kindred teach people about the primal spirits and how nature should be revered. Likewise, the Academy teaches of arcane magic and how it can be turned to the service of people. Neither of these, however, should really be considered religious beliefs as they are not worshipped as gods. They are instead seen as forces that can be used in the service of either good or evil, and those who adhere to their teachings are also followers of Voland.

Wednesday: Geography

Introduction: Races

Aside from humans, there are a number of other humanoid races that reside in the Bay. While they differ both in physical appearance and abilities, they all share approximately the same life span. Each of the five races (including humans) has a nation and government of its own, though different races often work together.

Humans

These are the most numerous people in Butter Bay. They are humans just as you know them, Most humans in the Bay have light skin, and while there are some dark skinned humans, skin colour is not considered any more relevant than hair or eye colour. The namesake of the Bay, Barton Butter, was a human and as a result humans are often looked to for aid in resolving disputes. The human nation is ruled over by the Baron from the town of Mondegreen.

Playing in 4th edition, you can just use Humans as they appear. If you wish, you can modify them by allowing players to choose two ability scores to gain a +2 bonus, rather than one.

Alfar

Also known as light elves, the alfar are a race that prefers to live in the woods and wilderness. They are light skinned in the extreme, and mostly have various degrees of blonde hair. Alfar eyes are universally green. Many alfar have a greater tolerance to the cold than humans, and so it is not uncommon for them to wear a great deal less cold weather clothing. Their love of the wilderness means that they tend to be primal classes. The alfar nation is ruled by the Alder from Benshaw on Perry Island.

Playing in 4th edition, you can simply use the Elf race to represent alfar. If you are modifying the races, allow your players to gain a +2 bonus to Wisdom as well as one other ability of their choice instead of the listed bonuses.

Elben

Elben are sometimes known as dark elves, and they mirror the alfar in many ways. Where alfar skin is pale, elben skin is dark, what we would consider black; while the alfar blonde hair is reflected as blacks and deep browns. Elben do share the pure green eyes of their alfar brothers, as well as their tolerance for cold. Elben favour the arcane arts and many of them attend the Academy to learn to and hone those skills. The elben nation is led by the Graf from Garstang.

Playing in 4th edition, you should use Eladrin to represent elben. If you are modifying the races, allow your players to gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence as well as one other ability of their choice instead of the listed bonuses.

Uruks

Possibly the least humanlike of the races in appearance, the uruks have grayish-green skin, pointed ears, and fearsome looking teeth. Somewhat taller than humans, uruks might be perceived as monstrous by some, but their devotion to honour and equality balance out their perhaps frightening appearance. Males and females participate equally in all aspects of life and, unlike the other races, their leader is elected. The uruk nation is led by the Governor from the town of Rackholl.

Playing in 4th edition, you can use Half-Orcs to represent uruks, although Goliaths would work as well.  If you are modifying the races, allow your players to gain a +2 bonus to Strength as well as one other ability of their choice instead of the listed bonuses.

Hodekin

In contrast to the egalitarian uruks, the hodekin are a people divided. Sometimes called dwarves, for their short stature, the similarities between males and females end there. While males are slight, slender, and graceful, females are stout and bulky. Males are considered subordinate to females in nearly all aspects of life and have had much difficulty entering predominantly female professions. The hodekin nation is ruled over by the female Vidame from the town of Audlem.

Playing in 4th edition, you should use Dwarves to represent female hodekin, and Halflings to represent male hodekin. If you are modifying the races, allow your players of female characters to gain a +2 bonus to Constitution as well as one other ability, and allow you players of male characters to gain a +2 bonus to Dexterity as well as one other ability.

Half-Bloods

Known collectively as half-bloods or haffers, these are any individuals whose parents were different races. Some mixes are more common than others and physical appearance varies depending on the specific mix.

Playing in 4th edition, you should use Half-Elves to represent half-bloods. Even if you are not modifying the other races, you should allow the player to alter the Dual Heritage feature to accommodate their specific parentage. If you are modifying all the races, allow your players to gain a +2 bonus to Charisma as well and one other ability score.

Other Races

While other races do exist in the world, they are generally hostile to the citizens of the Bay. As such they are considered non-playable. As the DM, however, you can always make exceptions to this rule. Perhaps a varker child was captured by people from the Bay and raised in civilization, or a band of survivors from elsewhere struggled through the wilds and found safety in the Bay, or a boat of exotic strangers arrived and made the Bay their home. It’s up to you, but if you choose to do so be sure to make it important to the story you are telling.

Monday: Religion

Introduction: The Legend of Barton Butter, Part 2

Heartened by this turn of events, Barton and his companions set out to turn back Koshac’s thralls before they reached the Bay. They ventured into the frozen wilds and were set upon by wolves, and varkers, and shaldu, before finally discovering the horde. Knowing their foes numbers and nature, they returned to the Bay to plan a defence, warning towns and villages as they travelled, leading these refugees to a new home. But when they arrived, they found the worst had happened, the people of the Bay were taking up arms against one another.

Barton and his companions spoke once again to the Order and finally gained their support. In an effort to counter the evil that was gripping the people, agents of the Order appeared at every skirmish and battle and interposed themselves between the combatants, declaring that war could not be allowed to occur. All the while, Barton’s companions captured the leaders of the five peoples and brought them together at the Belltower in Dunstable. Barton showed them there what was coming, he brought a captured thrall to them and ordered them to make peace, or face the creature themselves.

With the five peoples joined in a holy vow to defend the Bay from darkness, the armies were united to make a stand in the west. Koshac’s forces had grown in number, and the army of the Bay was vastly outnumbered. Barton stood at their head with Baron, and the Alder, the Graf, and the Governor, and the Vidame and together they led the charge. Unfortunately, the battle was brutal and bloody, and they were forced to retreat.

Their numbers nearly halved, the army was disheartened when they regrouped at the Friar’s Wall. Many wished to return home and see their families once more before they met their fate, others began to bicker and blame one another. But Barton Butter would not have that; he would not allow them to fail now. He thought of Voland, the creator, the wielder of the holy flame, and he lit a torch to ward against the darkness.

Barton walked through the camp, and he sat with group after group, and with each he shared a prayer to Voland. It was not an appeal for strength in a time of desperation; rather it was a prayer of thankfulness for the life they had all been given, thankfulness for the holy flame that burned within each person, thankfulness to the being who would give of itself to aid others. As he left each group, he used his torch to light one for them before moving on. The army drew strength from this prayer, and this gesture, and eventually they all rose from their camps and stood at the ready and awaited the coming dark.

Finally, when night had just barely fallen, on the winter solstice of the second year of the Freeze, the thralls of Koshac appeared. But the army did not charge, they simply waited, torches in hand. And when the thralls drew closer, the army did not draw their weapons, they simply waited, torches in hand. And when the first thrall reached Barton Butter he wielded his torch as a club and set the creature aflame. As wave upon wave of thralls reached the army they were all set ablaze by the flame of the torches. Finally Koshac the Lich himself approached and wielded his dark magic and soldiers fell, but the others did not break, they simply stepped forward to replace their fallen comrades.

Barton Butter himself stepped forth and challenged Koshac, and the two battled. The Lich struck Barton with the cold of death, and Barton struck the Lich with the fire of life. Finally the Lich was set ablaze by Barton’s torch, but Koshac’s skeletal hand gripped Barton tight and the two burned together. In that moment, the battle turned, the thralls became aimless and mindless and the army surged forth and burned the undead beasts to the ground.

Barton Butter’s charred body was laid to rest in the Belltower in Dunstable, and the Bay named for the hero who had brought them all together. The faith of the people was rekindled, and they strove to work together to survive, as they did at the battle of the Friar’s Wall. Barton Butter is what made the Bay different, he is why the Bay survived, but with over a century past since his sacrifice, it is becoming less and less clear if his legacy will last.

Friday: Races

Introduction: The Legend of Barton Butter, Part 1

You may ask what made the inhabitants of the Bay different from other people? What made them so special that they survive the hostile world of the Freeze while others starve, or fall on one another in madness? The answer is simple, nothing. There is nothing about the people of the Bay in general that sets them apart. But they did have one force acting in their favour, the presence of a man named Barton Butter.

Barton Butter was a simple man from the fishing village of Butterwatch, founded by his grandfather Hollis. He often served as a mediator of disputes, but rarely voiced any opinions himself. When the Freeze began, and tales of demonic shaldu and undead thralls arrived in the Bay, Barton was among those advocating calm rather than panic. Though private, he was quite pious, and believed that order had to be defended in the face of encroaching chaos.

The Freeze began slowly; for several years the weather was unseasonably cool, but no one thought much of it. The wild and barbaric varkers grew in numbers and boldness, raiding the countryside with increasing frequency. Year by year the spring came a little later, and the winter a little sooner, until one year the Freeze began in earnest. In the height of summer, before the harvest had even begun, a violent blizzard overtook the Bay. It was sudden and strange, and the few who still held tight to their religion prayed to Voland, but there was no reply.

Scattered bands of refugees came from further inland, telling of people who had begun to transform into hideous creatures with fur and horns that breathed waves of ice. Others told of the great city of Fairdon where the dead had risen and consumed everything in their path. Some spoke of turning the refugees away and others spoke of building a great fleet and fleeing across the sea, but with all the fear and uncertainly people began to argue as food grew scarce and tempers frayed. Worsening the situation, a prominent priest from Dunstable proclaimed that the dark god Bishal was claiming the earth in ice and that the final reckoning was upon them.

Through all this Barton Butter tried to do as he had done in the past, he tried to reason with his friends and neighbours, he tried to mediate disputes and organize a fair rationing of what food and supplies they had, but his voice was being drowned out by the cries of anger and panic. Then news came that the varker lich Koshac had grown tired of the ruins of Fairdon and had turned his attention to the Bay, and Barton saw that something had to be done. He tried to appeal to the Baron, but he would not listen. He appealed to the Vidame and the Graf, the Alder and the Governor, but they would not listen either. He appealed to the Deacon of the Order, and the Seer of the Kindred, and the Headmaster of the Academy, but wherever he went his pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears

Barton was despondent. Talk and diplomacy and reason were all he knew and had gotten him nowhere, white the undead army of Koshac was bearing down upon them. But though the leaders had not listened, and the people of the Bay were falling into chaos, all was not lost. In his travels around the Bay, Barton had spoken to many people, and news of his appeals spread, and a small few had decided to take up his cause. And so, in a dim and dingy tavern in Dunstable, on the winter solstice of the first year of the Freeze, a small band of brave souls found Barton Butter, drowning his sorrows in mead.

Wednesday: Part 2