Dear Imogen,

  I have much to report.

  There have been significant developments since I last made contact. I believe we may have good opportunity to use these shifting dynamics to our own advantage.

  I have no way of knowing if my previous message got through to you, so I shall summarize it in brief. The Order of Slayers do indeed hold a fortress in the Star Mountains. As expected, I was not allowed outside contact while I was there.

  What I did not expect, was just how long they would hold me prisoner.

  All spring and summer I was held in polite captivity, without a word from the true masters of the Order. The slayers are ruled by a group of ancient elves, who I have good reason to believe have mutated themselves almost beyond recognition.

  It was not until partway through autumn that things actually began happening. Once events were in motion though, they escalated exponentially for a time. Thankfully, they’ve now settled down just enough for me to pen you this letter. If we’re clever, this lull will be our time to prepare for the next movement.

  Very soon there is going to be a general civil war in Teutonia.

  Now that I’ve gotten your attention, I’ll go one further. You’ll never guess the one who it was that set this whole mess off.

  Do you remember that courtesan-slayer who bewitched the Marquis de Fer more than a jubilee ago? Dame Veronique de Loix, in my own opinion, appears to be the genuine article. Or as genuine as any of those modern pretenders can claim.

  At least this should close the debates as to whether one of our sisters was working the Marquis off the books. Or one of our brothers.

  Those infusions you recommended were most effective, I should say.

  I can confirm that Veronique is, indeed, a woman. Apparently, she was born under an unusual conjunction of spheres. The sun bled high in the sky on an equinox, and she was born at midnight under a bleeding full moon that eve. This has made her womb a potential portal for extra-dimensional beings to reach our material sphere.

  An exact explanation of the effect will obviously require her complete horoscope. It’s my recommendation that this be our highest priority.

  The slayers are divided in a war amongst themselves between loyalists, and a rogue faction of Fiend worshipers. The cultists have seized control of the fortress and expelled the loyalists, although there does not seem to be complete unity within either group.

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  The Fiend-lovers attempted to use Veronique as a vessel to birth a dark messiah they hoped would grant them immortality.

  The utter idiocy would be hilarious, if the conspirators were not all elven sorcerers who have each spent more than a millennium steeped in unholy arts. I find the humor fades the nearer they draw to success.

  Fortunately, the plot itself has been forestalled. For now, at least. But not for long enough to let age seal up that portal the natural way, I’m afraid. They attempted to breed her under an eclipse, and another is forecasted only two jubilees from now.

  There’s also always the potential for more girls to be found, born under the same anomaly. They might even find a way to recreate the process artificially. Or to breed their dark god under easier stellar conditions. Or for them to let untold horrors loose in some completely novel way.

  It’s my belief that they must be dealt with permanently.

  From what I’ve seen, they may have reached an entire scale of arcane potential we’ve never known before. We need to be sure that it’s the Lodge which secures control of all their research and their artifacts when this whole affair is finally settled. But there’s still a lot of blood to be spilled before then.

  The loyalist slayers are doing their best to protect Veronique, and to retake their fortress, but their numbers are few. Those that remain split into multiple groups and went in many directions. I could follow only the party in which Veronique herself traveled.

  Fortunately, they happened to pass through land belonging to the Margrave of Red Rock, who was one of the Black Palatine’s puppets. I passed word of their location to him, and they’ve been detained here. With no undead master to give him orders any longer, I believe I can keep them bottled up safely until the Lodge comes to a decision how to proceed.

  Oh! The Black Palatine has been destroyed. I suppose I’ve neglected to mention the outcome of my ostensible mission with the slayers that granted me my release. Though, it seems the forces he marshalled on the night side of the mountains have transferred their allegiance to the Fiend-worshipers, now that they’ve revealed themselves.

  The Black Palatine’s lackies on the dayside are soon going to be in complete disarray, once they realize that there's no longer anyone to give them instructions. I expect everyone to try and maintain the status quo for the present. Once the first serious fighting starts though, it will find dry kindling to spread when friend is no longer distinguishable from foe.

  It’s vital that our sisters and brothers begin steering events in our favor as the pieces start to fall. A general council of the Illuminated should be called at once, preferably somewhere in proximity to Red Rock.

  Of course, I also recommend we make the usual wartime financial investments ahead of time. I leave all that to the Lodge to sort out, while I remain here to watch over Veronique and her companions. However, I think we stand to make a tidy monetary profit, amongst other winnings from this affair.

  On a personal note, I’ve decided to retire Isolde’s identity for the time being. It was enjoyable while it lasted, and your help developing her was superb, but my subjects have become too familiar with her. My humors are taking longer to readjust than I’d like after the treatments, but my bust is almost small enough to start wearing my own clothes again.

  Sincerely, your Lodge-brother

  Iskander du Blois

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