🪶 Vol VII: Where Shadows Stir, Totems Tremble
Dated: 8 August 2025
Whispers in the alleys, banners on the wind — the realm moves in ways both seen and unseen.
🏚 A Vanishing City’s Whisper
The ethics of moving a town beside a tournament square swirl through GC like smoke on the wind. Is it a bold tactic or a breach of honor? Those who make such a move often find themselves shadowed by retaliation — attacks, curses, and other quiet punishments delivered without warning. In Illyriad, proximity to the prize can be as dangerous as the prize itself.
🏆 Totems in Flux
The tournament standings sway like banners in a shifting breeze. As of this writing, with 27 million troops on the march, the board reads:
- The Pirate Kings [YARR!] — 101 days, 21 hrs, 19 mins
(Adonis striking hard this week with 228,634 casualties on Aug 6) - Shraps Mem Academy [SMA] — 85 days, 14 hrs, 20 mins
(Eagle’s talons claiming 157,462 casualties on Aug 6) - Skeleton Boar [SkB] — 73 days, 9 hrs, 5 mins
- Fairy Road Authority [Roads] — 68 days, 15 hrs, 23 mins
(Mars landing a decisive blow of 140,374 casualties on Aug 4) - The Colonist Empire [TCol] — 36 days, 3 hrs
YARR! clutches their unexpected lead like a storm-tossed helm, while SMA sails close enough to feel the spray. SkB and Roads gnash at each other for third, and TCol’s 36 days on squares still sits oddly beside their claimed lands. The week’s strikes — sharp, bloody, and well-timed — hint that the leaderboard may yet shift again.
🗡 The Murmurs Around SkB
In the taverns and training yards, the whispers grow: SkB’s banners have been sighted moving toward exo’d cities near tourney squares. Some say it is only petty sabotage and thievery, as before. Others claim darker intent — that the knives are sharper now, and the blows aimed to wound. Whether truth or tale, the rumor curls through the air, gathering weight with each telling.
🕯 Echoes of the Silent
Two voices long absent from GC — Gilsus and Zenrath — have returned. Their reappearance carries no explanation, but the timing is telling. Perhaps a ban has loosened its grip, or perhaps silence was never as deep as it seemed.
Until Next Week,
The Whispering Scribe
The Quilly 
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