Hello, I’m Kurst Ice-Forged, and these are the Ersatz Echoes of Eastfjord Harbor for the week of Salamando Blazing, 2019.

Fear not, nothing untoward has happened to Branwyn Two-Moon. The honorable Feralix of Clan Lightridge is on closely-monitored bed rest by order of none other than the chief physician of the royal family themselves after his superlative efforts in ensuring the future of the Pinecrest Valley region.  Indeed, it would not be an understatement to say that without him, we would likely still be fighting Duke and Duchess Ionwa’s forces.

Yes, the conflict already being referred to as the Fortnight War, is over. In the early evening of the seventh day of Salamando Waxing, Wisp- and Shade-casters in our closest major cities as well as those in Eastfjord Harbor itself executed a two-part plan to end the invasion of our homeland.

The first part of the plan involved the image and voice of the King and Queen being projected to every opposing force, declaring the actions of the Duke and Duchess to be treachery to the crown and kingdom.  The forces were given specific directions to indicate their surrender.

Such surrenders would be to friendly military forces that simultaneously gated in flanking positions on every invading army in the valley. Those forces were gated into combat not only from Eastfjord Harbor, but also by the nearest major towns in other parts of the kingdom.  No Wisp-caster failed in their duty to the kingdom or valley, though a number are still unconscious.

Still, I witnessed firsthand Branwyn Two-Moon of Clan Lightridge exceed every expectation placed upon him. 

I can safely say I have never before seen someone open more than one gateway at once, and he did so to widely-separated destinations with Shade-scryed mana signatures to work with… and he never missed his mark.

It is without hesitation I call him the strongest Wisp-caster I’ve seen.

Once our forces were in place, he proceeded to demonstrate Shade-casting the likes of which I am told Champions of Shade struggle with and connected the voices of battlefield commanders to each other by creating a resonance with a crystal from which they’d all had a necklace carved to support his effort.

Most enemy forces did not surrender, but those that did will be shown leniency in their forthcoming trials. 

The fighting was not without loss of life, though not as great as feared on either side, and greater on our opponents’ side, who outnumbered us three to one. Nor was the fighting confined to battlefields in the valley.

As our protectors deployed against forces that outnumbered us almost three to one, the Royal Guard in the capital and throughout the Ionwan duchy deployed as well – into the residences of the Duke and Duchess and their closest allies.  With trusted investigators at their sides, these raids scoured homes and offices, seizing further evidence of treacherous activity that will be presented in the days and weeks to come.

Peace has truly returned to our land and the forecasts from those Sylph-casters with enough energy to perform such work reflects this: expect clear, calm days full of sun across the valley, but without excessive heat.  As it is summer, late afternoon and early evening storms remain a possibility.

As a final note, Ersatz Echoes will resume operating on its normal broadcast frequency next week – when Two-Moon is back and the transmitter is operating under his direct control instead of off the residual energies of his efforts.

The Ersatz Echoes of Eastfjord Harbor are brought to you by Red Wombat Tea Company, purveyors of fine and otherworldly tea. Red Wombat: We Dig Tea.

Also brought to you by the Grand Council of Pinecrest Valley: United we stand. United we mourn. United, we will celebrate. Details next week.

These have been the Ersatz Echoes of Eastfjord Harbor for the week of Salamando Blazing, 2019. Take care, and stay cool.

[Author’s Note: Due to my overzealous efforts to get ahead with the show, I accidentally mislabeled this episode’s timing as the the week of Salamando Blazing. I’m not going to ask our guest voice to re-record, so with this footnote, let it be known that the correct name should have been Salamando Burning.]