Confidential — Monthly Report
To: Chapter Heads, Ecclesiastical Council (All Branches)
From: Secretariat of Strategic Affairs — High Chapter, Cathedral of the Shattered Sun
Distribution: For eyes of Chapter Heads only. Do not circulate beyond listed recipients.
Executive Summary
This month's disturbances continue to produce favorable disorder while also introducing unexpected variables. Orchestrated unrest in Theon (publicized as extremist Hera actions) has achieved broad panic and fractured municipal response. A separate, unplanned escalation occurred at a mountain stronghold near the Ishtara foothills: an anomalous Layer-5 beast attacked the stronghold area, drawing away local militias and complicating our initial timetable. We maintain that these events—planned and emergent—can be exploited to further the Church's strategic objectives: increased influence within royal and noble houses, destabilization of rival states, and ultimate weakening of seals that constrain the Old Powers.
Incident Report: Stronghold (Foothold of Ishtara)
Location: Foothold stronghold, mountain range near Ishtara (shorter peak adjacent to main sealed peak).
Event: A Layer-5 Chain-mutated beast breached outer defenses during an operation intended to lure Layer-3 beasts. The scale of that beast exceeded projections and forced a reallocation of local Iron Watch and militia resources. Casualty and structural reports are still being compiled by local agents.
Known persons present (Academy cohort): Instructor Veyra (trainer), and students Nolan, Lily, Vivi, Lex, Phoebe, and Solace (designated cohort subjects). Sara leodra was present and subsequently escaped during the event. These subjects are currently tracked as persons of interest.
Current status: Principal Nicole Richards (Academy Principal; Layer-5, Thread: Time) is actively investigating the stronghold incident. A discreet tracking beacon is located on Instructor Veyra's person (wrist), and Principal Richards has the signal. Academy movements indicate the cohort is crossing the shorter mountain ridge adjacent to the primary sealed summit—likely the route toward the seal's environs.
Action requested: If the cohort survives, recover and deliver first-hand testimony of what they encountered (visuals, artifacts, anomalous phenomena). Their observations may reveal cracks in the old bindings and potential access points. If they perish, salvage any artifacts for analysis. Keep all Academy interaction confidential; do not generate public attention.
Theon — Domestic Operations & Public Effect
Mall Incident (Theron City): Multiple coordinated attacks (presented as Hera terrorism) across Theon culminated in a large incident at the central mall. Eyewitness testimony includes reports of two winged figures intervening to help civilians—described in the vernacular as "angels" (white and black feathers). Camera feeds in key areas were tampered with during the attacks; surviving witnesses have kept their accounts discreet out of gratitude and fear.
Operational note: The "angel" sightings have produced a useful social fissure: rumor and rumor-driven reverence spread without centralized verification. This ambiguous miracle is proving valuable for creating social pressure, martyr-narratives, and calls for stronger security—each of which works to our advantage politically.
Public sentiment: Panic + superstition = leverage. Use the mall incident as a soft lever to inflame mistrust between city factions and national authorities.
Strategic Intents & Political Objectives
Short term (next 1–3 months):
Continue to amplify inter-kingdom tensions via controlled disclosure and rumor. Frame violent incidents as failures of state security to increase demand for Church-backed "relief" and advisory presence.
Quietly cultivate contact points inside royal and noble households across Theon, Hera, Kirola, and Nuan. Invite discreet patronage and "protective" counsel under the guise of spiritual and charitable support.
Preserve the Academy as a primary intelligence conduit; avoid exposing the Church-Academy nexus.
Medium term (3–12 months):
Aurica campaign: Plant ideological seeds for a new polity in Aurica where Church influence is currently low. Encourage dissident rhetoric and financial sponsorship of pockets of discontent (charitable fronts, grain relief misallocations, sympathetic merchants). The objective is to produce a controllable rebellion that will request Church mediation—or seek Church-aligned patrons—thus giving the Church legitimate entrée into Aurican governance structures.
Exploit symbolic events (the "angel" sightings, Layer incidents) to ensure that when nobles or ministers seek counsel, we are present with "solutions." Use that presence to place advisors, confidants, and loyal clerics inside households.
Long term (12+ months):
Once influence within key houses is sufficient and regional friction increases, coordinate for controlled breaches and distractions timed to openings in the seals. The awakening of Netharis demands slow attrition: political fragmentation, sacrificial destabilization of state power, and careful removal or co-option of key guardians.
Intelligence & Security Directives
Academy & Principal Richards: Do not publicize Principal Richards' active inquiry. The Academy's cooperation is essential; if exposed, it will compromise ongoing recruitment and the positioning of assets among instructors. All communication regarding Nicole Richards' actions should be routed via the Secretariat and sealed logs.
Tracking: The tracking unit on Instructor Veyra's wrist has provided the cohort's vector: crossing the lesser peak adjacent to the primary sealing mountain. Maintain passive observation; direct interference would alert Principal Richards and the Academy. Gather telemetry and environmental readings remotely where possible.
Artifact Retrieval: Any artifacts recovered from the stronghold (charms, feathers, chain fragments) are priority items. If retrieval is impossible due to the Layer-5 response, assign field teams to perform post-incident recovery under cover of disaster relief operations.
Caution: Containment of Information
Operational secrecy is paramount. The Academy, local civic bodies, and even some royal houses must not be allowed to publicize our connections or the Church's covert operations.
Do not provoke suspicion by overt Church presence near the Academy or in the direct aftermath. Present our staff as charitable supporters or distant advisors. If queried, deny any operational involvement; refer all strategic questions to canonical charity wings.
Internal rumor control: Instruct chapter heads to limit conversations to need-to-know personnel only. Any leakage that reaches foreign envoys will compromise the Aurica plan and the nuanced manipulation of inter-kingdom tensions.
Closing Notes
The Layer-5 incident near the stronghold is a complication, not a failure. The mall events and the emergence of two winged saviors in Theron provide a unique cultural lever we have not had in generations: an ambiguous miracle that can be shaped into political pressure when needed. The Academy cohort (Veyra + Nolan, Lily, Vivi, Lex, Phoebe, Solace) are potential sources of information or instruments of narrative—if they survive and can be guided (gently, covertly) toward testimonies beneficial to our aims.
Remain patient. The Church's work does not need haste; it requires precision. Keep watch on the cohort's route over the shorter peak, secure any artifacts, and quietly prepare the Aurica campaign to capitalize on the fractures now appearing across the kingdoms.
— Secretariat of Strategic Affairs, Cathedral of the Shattered Sun
CONFIDENTIAL — Handle on encrypted channels only.