News - Turn 12

Thanks to desperate efforts from UNITED personnel and allies, the nuclear attack on Ilha de Corvo was prevented.

During the confusion of the attack, off-world prisoners Baeglir and Brynjolf were able to escape from the detention area. Director Jefferson was also taken ill during the event and command of UNITED currently rests with Colonel Jacob Busia.

Colonel Busia gave him thanks to all who assisted in the defense and evacuation of the facility, and gave particular praise to members of the Ragnarok Taskforce for their swift reaction to the potentially catastrophic incident.

Although the missile attacks were stopped shortly after the portal was reopened, the devastation across the upper worlds is considerable.

The once verdant fields of Asgard are blasted wastelands, and the hold of Storvorde took a direct hit, leaving only Halmstad yet to suffer a nuclear blast. After the initial hit most of Asgard's residents fled into the tunnels below the city, until help arrived to lead them to the safety of Vanaheim. Many have now returned to rebuild, but the sight of Asgard so ravaged is sorrowful indeed.

Jotunheim has faired just as badly. Whilst the capital has been spared, its second city is now a smoking crater and many Jotun survivors have packed up their possessions and moved into the spreading lands of Glaesvellir, where their wounds and woes are washed away. Others in the capital speak of possibly leaving Jotunheim behind altogether; of moving to a new world safer from the unpredictable hostility of other races.

Svartalfheim and Alfheim have suffered the worst of the bombardment. In the dwarven homeland only the heavily defended area around the repaired Hall of the Dead remains untouched by Demotte's wrath, and so few first life dwarves now remain that some are speculating that they may soon fade into extinction as a living race. Whilst the Elven home city of Alne is safe floating above Vanaheim, the forests of Alfheim have become a firestorm, a few terrified survivors struggling along secret paths to reach the safety of other realms.

After long weeks of campaigning: feasting, skirmishes, songs of valour, airdropped flyer campaigns and the circulation of several vicious rumours, the viable candidates emerge as the brothers Ve and Vili, Jorunn and Jaeger. A sterling effort by Dr Robominable to take the throne garners considerable amusement, but no real momentum.

A great Thing is held in Asgard's finest standing hall to decide the next ruler. Great speeches are made, vast quantities of mead are quaffed and a surprising lack of violence results in Vidar Odinsdottir pronouncing Jorunn as the queen.

Yet this news is not recieved with universal good grace. Ve and Vili denounce the results as the product of lies and treachery, and Jaeger, who has very nearly as many supporters as the new Queen, leaves for his hall in New Valhalla without indicating whether he will accept the ruling of the Thing.

Nerwen has been named Queen of the Alfs, finally ending the succession crisis following the abduction of the late Queen Nasse. Queen Nerwen is known to have risen to power on the back of an extreme isolationist stance, fuelled by the recent nuclear crisis.

The tree city of Alne has lowered from the air and come to root itself within Vanaheim. There have as yet been no proclamations from the royal court as to why exactly this has occured, though wild speculation is that the elven archmages may be reserving their power for some new, terrible purpose.

Helheim has taken a change for the better, as a group led by Kopr drove to the very heart of the realm and performed some sort of purification of the Gjoll. Though it's unclear what this purification will mean for those who die, what is apparent is that the last loyal generals of Hel has been defeated and that overall control of the realm of the dead now stands in the balance.

Halstein Cavedweller and Kopr now find themselves both in contention for the ivory throne of Helheim and the issue is further clouded by the intervention of Elessar Elensar, who claims that the alliance between the elves and the dead will keep the eyes of Alfheim firmly upon this changing realm.

Extrapol, an inter-world police force and judicial system, has now been formed. The initial Extrapol council, comprising a representative from each world, is as follows:

For Alfheim: To be determined, held by Elessar Elensar pending the resolution of the royal succession

For Asgard: Fiona Rutherford

For Jotunheim: Medjar

For Midgard: Anthony Raffles

For Svartalfheim: Fili

For Vanaheim: Kurtisleiga

Jeffrey “Metis” Rayne is appointed as a diplomatic advisor

Notorious thief and troublemaker Baeglir has died in Helheim. The exact nature of his demise is unclear but those present at his passing claim he did so at peace with himself.

Speculation now rages as to the location of his secret hoard, where all the treasures he stole in his long life must surely lie hidden.

The cavern of Svartalfheim is now dangerously unstable following Demotte's attacks. We need to move the Hall as soon as possible. The phase shift apparatus is ready, aside from one critical component: The hair of a Niflheim Eternal. Whoever is the first to bring us this will be greatly rewarded.

- Fili of the Sons of Svanir

The Realm of Vanaheim has successfully been shifted onto the world mountain. Utilising an adapatation of the Midgard Absolute Phase Shift technology repurposed by UNITED tech officer Mia, the massive infrastructural requirements of the move were managed by Princeps Kurteisliga in conjunction with assistance from corporate experts from Midgard.

Now physically separated from other realms, the Princeps has named it an immediate priority to set up travel Gates or bridges to other locations upon the World Mountain.

The so called dark world which recently appeared upon the world mountain has been destroyed by a joint united and Aesir task force.

The strike team consisting of Sannast and Gideon apparently held of the residents of the world for several months whilst John Sykes, Cavenson and Grace built and operated the so called Harbringer device.

Those traveling through the worlds on the new World Mountain have reported seeing a Peregrine Falcon flying high above. It would follow the travelers watching over them and seeming to guide their travels. They have all reported that their journey through the worlds or between them has always been swifter and safer when watched by the bird.

In other places, explorers have seen it up in the mountains and other high places of the worlds, always watching.

According to most readings the World tree and mountain now seem to have reached some kind of stable balance. They both seem to have five upper worlds.

Experts are now urging everyone to take no steps which might disturb this subtle balance.

A scorched and extremely angry dragon has emerged from the burning forests of Alfheim onto the diminishing Plain of Vigrid. The beast has been poking around the outskirts of the other worlds of Yggdrasil and bellowing demands that royalty be given to it as 'delicious tribute'.

The Plain of Vigrid - the place of battles during Ragnarok - has been fading and shrinking for several weeks. Now it seems to have almost disappeared.

Those seeking to go to other worlds have struggled to easily slip through via the plain as they had done before. The old paths and newer ITP portals have once again become the more reliable means to travel between worlds.

ITP specialists speculate that the Plain may well disappear completely within weeks and claim that it may be a sign that the World Tree is stabilising.

In it's first official ruling, the Extrapol court found Jean-Baptiste “Anacharsis” Demotte guilty of several offences, including mass murder, attempted genocide, and war crimes. He was executed as punishment for these crimes, with the execution being carried out by destruction of the WRAITH unit holding his soul.

The strange stasis effect previously observed on the plains of Vigrid seems now to have moved to the Glæsisvellir region of Jotunheim.

Quite why it moved is unknown but it does seem to have had the effect of slowing the growth of the region which was previously expanding into the rest of Jotunheim at a rapid pace.

The Tokyo dome has been completely lost, as a great oozing monster slithered out of the sea and shrugging off the attacks of the JSDF proceeded to smash its way into the dome using a wrecked battleship as a ram. Over the course of just a day, the creature absorbed all the biomass in the dome and is currently withdrawing back to the ocean, now wearing the Tokyo dome as a shell like some sort of obscene snail.

The world government has called for an emergency response team to deal with this creature before it can attack again.

Those watching the video footage will note a considerable resemblance between the sea beast and the Agnethas that once plagued Asgard and Vanaheim.

The world tree once again seems to be suffering from some kind of mass instability. The cause of this is as of yet unknown but once again seems to propagate from the roots of the tree.

With the Tree and Mountain balanced experts hard predicted that both ITP structures would reach a healthy equilibrium. This sudden downturn for Yggdrasil has surprised many people as it seems to make no sense within the current understanding of ITP physics without some kind of external meddling.