[Ansteorra] Autumn Melees

[David Lathrop]

Greetings unto Kingdom Ansteorra,
 
Thru crusted eyes we wake once again to gaze upon our thicket, dense with vegetation and so heavy with dew it scatters sunlight like broken shards of glass. Under its canopy one can find deep green pools of water, forever brackish and foul with insect larva. This very same water has sustained and strengthened our people for generations. The water also transforms our winter soil into a mud that sucks at our feet with relentless desperation, whilst the blistering summer heat drives our most tenacious vermin to seek refuge neth the boles of our ancient oaks. This place I describe is home, a home HE Elisabeth, me, and our populace call Bordermarch.
Our small barony is charged to ward Kingdom Ansteorra against all who would attempt to use Bordermarch as a portal into our Kingdom for foul gain or ruin. We have accepted this charge and for time eternal have toiled in the Con, dragging out grayish crete-stone, and mortaring it place to form the castle Border Keep. The work is brutally endless, but we must be ever vigilant with the construction of our fortifications for there are whispers of war riding the wind. Our fleet warriors have quested to the far corners of the known world, tracking down the source of these whispers. They report back that indeed the whispers hold some truth, but they also hint at deception.
We now fear that the Noble Kingdom of Gleann Abhann is gathering their forces with intent to reclaim a relic that was once in their possession.  Bordermarch was gifted this very same relic by one of Ansteorra’s finest, after he won it fairly in a contest of skill in Gleann Abhann. He was warned that they would one day reclaim their relic and return it to their Kingdom. This relic is crafted in the likeness of a ram, only uglier. We in Bordermarch have nurtured this ugly ram and have given it a sense of dignity and respect.
It will no longer be a centerpiece on some feast table. It will be held on a pedestal for all to view its transformation from the ugly ram into a Noble Ansteorrain!
Bordermarchers are a proud lot indeed. After much debate we have decide that our small barony might be hard pressed to stop the “Dark Hoard” from forcibly taking our ram. 
We ask for support and commitment from Ansteorra to help Bordermarch repel any visiting war parties with intentions that are contrary to Kingdom law and morals. 
 
I heard the whispers again last night, and I dreamed of the spoilers that would come to our fair Kingdom. I stood neth the ancient oak as the cool autumn wind stole tears from my eyes, and I saw monuments of leather and iron casting a thousand shadows. The shadows danced nervously on top of the dead summer grass, and were then swallowed by the swales of Bordermarch. I had seen enough, my knees buckled and I slammed into the ground fearing the worst for our Kingdom and its people. I had to look up. Something in the castle's looming presence bade me to look closer. When I wiped the tears away I saw our King standing with a blooded blade in front of castle Border Keep.  The castle was flying a victor’s banner. Though the banner was torn and stained, I could still see our Sable Star!
 
In service to Barony Bordermarch, Kingdom Ansteorra,
HE  Santiago
Baron of Bordermarch