The Scroll of Exalted Ponies

In the aftermath of the Battle of Deep Rot, many things happened. Some of these things had been predicted, others had not – and not all of them were beneficial, though that was mainly a question of one’s point of view.

Sunhill grew – not due to any sudden influx of refugees or immigrants – but due to the sizable fortification that Lookshy set up five miles south of Sunhill along the Sunhill canal, to house and retrain the legionaries that the Seventh Legion sent to Sunhill for medical treatment. The redoubt became known as the Dragon’s Dawn redoubt, and sent a not so subtle message to nearby warlords and raiders that Sunhill wasn’t just considered an asset by Lookshy, it was also well guarded.

Further afield, Lookshy recovered well from the battle of Deep Rot. Its material losses during the siege had been minimal compared to what originally been planned, which was usually the greatest problem when fielding its First Age arsenal: A few skyremes had been lost, but such wonders could be built anew, more or less. When the final headcount was in the number of ponies lost in the underworld were just under seven hundred – far under the General Staffs initial projections. This feat was mainly attributed to the speedy resolution of the conflict and the Solar who went by the name Lee, Bodhisattva of the Third Breath, as his valor in leading the main defenses at the battle saw every bulrush and charge from the undead repelled with not a single legionnaire falling under his command. The scars those troops had born in that battle were shown with pride.

As Lookshy released information and magical recordings from the battle other fun things happened: Thorns, which had previously worked quite diligently under the Mask of Winters to come into good standing with the rest of the Scavenger Lands was utterly humiliated and scorned for having lent troops to Deep Rot’s defences. Images of Thornguard fighting spirits sent from heaven ensured that no pony or spirit in the east looked kindly on Thorns, and the Mask of Winters quickly found his diplomatic inroads drying up completely – not even the guild wanted to do business with him, at least officially.

Additionally, further afield, reactions from the Realm about the battle of Deep Rot were oddly mixed. Until the battle the exact nature of the Deathlords had still been largely unknown and unproven, but now there were legions worth of witnesses to wickedness and evil of these shadowy beings. Of course, news that Lookshy had openly cooperated and fought in battle along with Solar anathema didn’t exactly resonate well with the Immaculates, but Lookshy’s fairly indisputable proof that even Yu-Shan had lent its favor and aid to the Solars and to Lookshy in the battle muddled that message quite a lot. Sure, Immaculate doctrine would have it that the heavens and the immaculate dragons hated the anathema, but this could not be explained away so easily. It raised uncomfortable questions and started debates that many a faithful monk and abbot had best seen unspoken.

With the redoubt south of Sunhill the threat of river pirates evaporated completely, as did the need for Sunhill to set up its large scale armed forces for its own defences – though Speaker still trained up a surprisingly skilled peace-keeping force, marveling visiting Lookshyan officers with their discipline and the flawless executions of their drills, for such was the powers of Solar military training charms. This did lead to some minor contentions as Cash repeatedly had to ‘remind’ visiting Lookshyans that they were under Sunhill law, not Lookshy law.

There was barely half a day’s worth of patients left on his ‘to do’ list when Speaker finally got the message from Lytek: Shimmers exaltation had left his office for a new bearer – and while he could not track it himself, then he knew the exaltation well enough that he knew what kind of host it preferred: “You should seek a small island tribe beset by changelings or some other evil, and find a defiant lorekeeper there who refuses to let the memory or legacy of their people die”

Before leaving for the west the circle held council in Sunhill. Speaker reaffirmed that he would still supervise the hospital remotely, via the hearthstone of the Sunhill manse. He also gave the rest of the circle plans for a second manse, effectively a new city, designed to be built on an earth aspected demense about four miles north-west of Sunhill. Speaker figured that the circle could oversee the land claims and clearing while he was gone, provided that Sunhill grew enough to warrant such grand expansion.

Cash found the expansion plans sensible: A new initiative he had set up offered free healthcare to the crew of any merchant ship that docked at Sunhill, which was already attracting disproportionally large numbers of merchant shipping to Sunhill – even to the point that Great Forks was getting a tad upset over losing commerce. The Guild also didn’t like the situation, but found it difficult to enforce their trading embargo.

Indeed, Great Forks’s response to losing its top position as the east’s center of healing had caused no small amount of tension between Great Forks and Sunhill – but at the same time Great Forks’ divine leadership was exceedingly happy about Solar named Lee who had settled among them to restore and train their armed forces, him only requiring mandate to lead those forces in battle against the Deathlords when the time came, a mandate he was given without any debate or haggling, or that was at least the official story.

Back in Sunhill Sunrise’s orchestra held their last concert before Speaker’s planned departure, the orchestra returning to Yu-Shan just the same – but with the promise that if Sunrise called upon them, then most of them would most certainly return – and they would likely bring a friend. In Yu-Shan the spirits that had fought, sung and played with Sunrise at the battle of Deep Rot were lauded and commended, many finding new job offers coming their way as other gods desired such prestigious spirits be part of their entourage or courts.

In fact, all of Yu-Shan felt the after-shocks of Deep Rot. Heath Rose’s reports were spread far and wide, and the Sidereal rose to a level of prominence and power few others at her age had ever reached, even as her sub-convention on the Barbate Arbiter was officially closed down – but after that she could pretty much choose any position she wanted: There wasn’t the convention that didn’t want her on, and many generous offers and bribes were sent her way.

The politics of Yu-Shan also shifted ever so slightly as this new star of the Gold Faction rose. The Bronze Faction was caught between the very real politics of finally having agents and tools available who could strike against the Deathlords – but those agents and tools were Solars. Like in the realm, this raised questions and debates that many senior Sidereals in the Bronze Faction would have preferred left unsaid.

A new prophecy was pronounced: “A third age will dawn in Creation, birthed from green flame and clouded in brass smoke, guided by lights of many colors”

Everyone agreed that this didn’t sound good and should be avoided at all costs.

Beyond this foreboding prophecy, then the bronze faction did gain some ground: With deathlords now finally confirmed as a true threat and understood as the mad ghosts of ancient Solars, it became a lot easier for the bronze faction to sell the idea that new Solars had to be treated with caution – and not just blindly lauded as saviors. The gold faction may have proved that some of them were nice, but this was proof that they could go oh so very bad.

Back in Sunhill Speaker woke up on the morning of his departure, and as usual spent his few minutes via the Sunhill heartstone scrying all of Sunhill to see if everything was fine – which it wasn't, because being one of four kings of a city state meant that there was always something to do. His journey to seek out Last Shimmer's reincarnation had been postponed many times over on such accounts.

Oh how he wished that he would be able to leave for adventure again - but such were the burdens of governance.

Thus ends the scroll of the Exalted Ponies.

Thus begins the Tome of the Exalted Ponies.