blackwood gazette

Blackwood Gazette #165- Release of “Desires of Dek Kanar Redak” Stirs Controversy; Delando Claims He Needs More Time, Money

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By Alex Grosset, Arts and Entertainment

24/7- Fans of playwright Delando aren’t happy right now. There are a few reasons for this, one of them being his deception during the Heisenberg affair, which left several people dead in place of high standing members of society. But the most recent thing sending fans to teashops to debate is the manner in which “Desires of Dek Kanar Redak” is being released.

“I waited a year to see this thing,” said one theater goer. “And I had to spend 140 pence total to watch it. That’s half the price of a ticket to the theater. On top of that, he only released half of the play on kinetic viewers! So far I’ve paid twice as much to view half a product, and it wasn’t even that good!”

These sentiments are echoed by Delando fans and critics alike across the Empire this week, with many fretting that the future of drama lies in plays being sliced up into overpriced chunks, forcing viewers to pay for mere fraction of a whole story.

“Their worries are unfounded,” said a spokesperson for Delando. “The format in which ‘Dek Kanar Redak’ is being released is simply a result of currently existing technology, plus the fact that we’re still trying to figure out how this should all work.”

Inciting fans further is the fact that the second half of the play has yet to begin filming.

“It’s a minor thing,” Delando’s spokesperson said. “Shooting for the first half went over schedule and over budget. We miscalculated. We went ahead and released the first half to try and recover some of our expenses, part of which includes renting the theater in which we are shooting.”

The fate of said theater is uncertain, as well. Rumors are swirling that the theater’s owner, Patrice Chadeau, is unhappy with the fact that he has been unable to put on other, more popular plays for over a year and is unwilling to permit Delando’s production to keep using his facility for another year.

“We are currently re-negotiating our contract with Mr. Chadeau,” said Delando’s spokesperson. “Things look promising for the moment, but even if they fall through we have another plan in place. You can look forward to part two hitting KV’s this time next year.”

Or you can go to the nearest live venue and catch a performance of the play, which also opened this week, in its entirety.

Blackwood Gazette #165- Release of “Desires of Dek Kanar Redak” Stirs Controversy; Delando Claims He Needs More Time, Money

Blackwood Gazette #164- Seylene Plamondon Calls Pierre Fordeau’s Memoir A Fabrication; Threatens to Use Bones for Furnishings

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Alex Grosset, Arts and Entertainment and Hamlin Dafoe, Field Reporter

23/7- In the short time since its release, Pierre Fordeau’s memoir “Impossible Hearts in Forgotten Lands” has captured the imaginations (and coin purses) of readers all across the Triumvirate. But at least one reader, who also happens to be a major figure within the story itself, is anything but happy.

“I don’t know why everyone is calling this a memoir,” said Seylene Plamondon, the dread pirate Queen of the Pyrossi skies who commands a fleet of one hundred air ships. “Everything in it is a complete fabrication. Especially the bits about me and our so called torrid affair.

“Fordeau was indeed aboard my ship. But only because we sacked the ship he’d been traveling on previously. We killed its crew and bound its passengers, only taking Fordeau because of his renown. I figured he’d pull a hefty ransom.

“And he was a chore of a prisoner, let me tell you. We found him in the sick bay. He had a nasty case of the squirts. Erupting from both ends he was, the entire time he was our guest. We never got the ransom, because he was stinking up the place so bad we just dropped him off at the next port.”

This account begs the question: why didn’t Plamondon just kill Fordeau, rather than putting up with him all the way to Pyros? Given the stories about her, she’s never had any compunctions about slaughtering people who prove to be a burden to her, a number which includes her father, two husbands and a daughter.

“I…can’t say that I remember,” Plamondon said. I started to press the issue, but Plamondon’s hand resting so closely to her saber dissuaded further inquiry. “All I can say is that it isn’t a mistake I would make again.”

Will Captain Plamondon be seeking legal action against Fordeau?

“Look at me, boy,” Plamondon said, the corner of her mouth pulling back into a thin smile filled with harmful intent. “What do you see? You see a pirate, because that’s what I am. We don’t do ‘legal’, and I’ve never been one to hide behind truces or the rules of Libertine’s Roost. One of the last of the true Crimson Storm Clouds, I am, who took on the Crowndon Air Corps and won. I don’t want Fordeau’s money, or for him to recant. If I ever see Fordeau again, I’ll have his spine as a coat rack and his skull for a stein.”

Blackwood Gazette #164- Seylene Plamondon Calls Pierre Fordeau’s Memoir A Fabrication; Threatens to Use Bones for Furnishings

Blackwood Gazette #163- Anti-Colonialist Group Claims Responsibility for Attempt on Ancroft

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By Maurice Merchant, Editor in Chief

22/7-It was widely believed that the attempt on Governor Berclay Ancroft’s life two weeks ago was the work of Triumvirate Loyalists, but a recent claim by a separate group suggests a much more complex scheme.

While the group that Nor Eastern spy Pixie Sinclaire infiltrated was indeed comprised of Triumvirate loyalists, a letter sent to the Gazette claims that the scheme was concocted by a movement of Territorial sympathizers who fed to loyalists information about where and when Ancroft would be arriving and how to go about carrying the attack.

The group, calling themselves the Advocacy of Original Peoples, list a number of demands in their letter. The chief among these demands is that all Triumvirate assets in the colonies be abandoned. They call for the dismantling of factories and towns, and for all colonial citizens to withdraw within one year. If these demands are not met, they say, then the lands of Orend-auch-Tourna, the Duv Ayid name for the Newland continent, will run red with blood.

Reception of the letter has led the Governor to call for a full investigation into the Territorial Council, to see if any of its members were complicit in the attack and threat. It is the belief of the Marshal’s office, however, that the Council has nothing to do with the plot, nor any person of native heritage.

“These sentiments are not common amongst groups of people from the territories who reside in the colonies, outside of the extreme fringe,” said First Marshal General Job Stoll. “They are, however, sentiments we’ve seen expressed by groups of young colonial adults, mainly in Nor Eastern colonies. It is our belief that these sentiments have grown into a small movement, but nothing we need to fear just yet, as the foiled attempt on Ancroft no doubt came as a bitter blow.

“Still, the circulation of this letter is one we need to watch, lest it take root amongst the disillusioned and the young. Unchecked, I fear it could lead to civil unrest, and possibly even retaliation against those of Territorial heritage within the colonies.”

Using the Marshals’ own arrest records, we reached out to one young man arrested in the colony of Bly for defacing a monument with anti-colonial sentiment.

“Stoll’s arguments are typical of the status quo,” the man, who asked to remain unnamed, said. “He goes on and on about his sympathy for what Triumvirate colonialism has done not only here, but around the world. But when it actually comes to answering for those crimes, he shifts the conversation to ‘looking forward’ and ‘forging ahead, united’. Forging ahead, indeed, as long as your idea of forging aligns with the Triumvirate.”

***

Correspondence sent to the Blackwood Gazette upon publication of the above story:

Dear Mister Merchant:

While reading your article about the group demanding that Triumvirate interests in the Newlands abandon their endeavours, I could not help but notice the distinct lack of a native point of view in the piece. Everything I read had to do with the perspective of colonials, be it the Marshals, or the members of the organization calling for withdrawal. Where is the input from those most affected by these happenings in colonial society, the native peoples themselves, whose fate hangs upon the decisions of these two groups? What is their opinion on these matters? I feel it is an important piece of the discussion.

Sincerely,

A concerned citizen of Nor Easter

This correspondence was never published nor answered in any public light.

Blackwood Gazette #163- Anti-Colonialist Group Claims Responsibility for Attempt on Ancroft

Blackwood Gazette #1&2: “Fires of D’Kalm D’Korr Opens” & “Klankenvroot Announces New Commercial Aircraft”

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It occurred to me  while trying to link the most recent Gazette to a related installment that, absent minded as I am, I never posted the first two installments of “Blackwood Gazette” on this blog, due to the fact that this was originally a misguided foray onto Tumblr.  So, bonus post; the first two installments of “Blackwood Gazette” (do try to contain yourselves…I know this is very exciting stuff):

Blackwood Gazette #1
Curtains Up: Fantasy Epic ‘Fires of D’Kalm D’korr’ Opens in Oeil de Fleur

8/4/280 YT-The theatre going citizenry of Oeil de Fleur turned out in droves last night for the opening of renowned playwright Delando’s newest opus, ‘Fires of D’Kalm D’Korr’. Among those in attendance were some of the Empire’s greatest celebrities, including none other than NorEaster’s greatest hero and favored son, Rigel Rinkenbach.

“The premise sounds like complete rubbish, I must say,” Rinkenbach said. “But I’m a sucker for any piece of art with a name I can’t pronounce, and besides, I’ve nothing to do this night anyway. Also, they [offered me a] free case of Romillion’s Absinthe to be here.”

Others have been waiting outside the Oeil de Fleur Empress Theatre for months, debating the deep lore of the series, and speculating on what might happen in this newest installment.

“It’s a prequel,” one fan said. “It’s going to fill in some important gaps, I hope.”

“I’ve been imagining this story for years!” Another said. “But I’m sure it will exceed my expectations.”

Others were in attendance purely for the spectacle. The play features extensive special effects that required new technology to achieve.

“We’ve built something called a ‘flare gun’,” Reginald le Plante, special effects coordinator for the show, said. “It’s a crucial part of the climax, where our hero grows in size and lays waste to the enemy armies. The audience is in for a real treat!”

Rumors about the safety of this technology have been swirling for months. When asked if there was any validity to the rumor that the actor playing the wizard had been replaced three times due to burns, le Plante refused to comment. As usual, director and writer Delando could not be reached for comment.

In any case, the first performance last night went without a hitch, though audience members leaving the theatre did report the smell of sulfur hanging in the air, and of burning eyes.

“It was like I was really there!” one enthusiastic fan said.

***

Blackwood Gazette #2-Klankenvroot Industries Reveals Plans for Commercial Planar Wing Transport

10/4/280 YT-Since the end of the Crowndon-Nor Eastern war, wealthy industrialists have been searching for a way to make Planar Wing Aircraft, or P.W.A.s for short, a viable source of income. So far, all of these endeavors have ended in tragedy.

“The weight a commerical aeroplane[sic] would likely need to carry, versus the weight of the constructed materials and Blackwood needed to keep the craft aloft, don’t equalize into a workable solution,” said Samson Davies, a well known detractor when it comes to commercial P.W.A.s. “They always end up tearing themselves apart upon take off or landing or whenever they hit turbulence. The cost of life so far has been unacceptable!”

Industrialist Ivan Klankenvroot responded quickly to Davies.

“Nonsense! We’re charting the course of human civilization, here, plotting our progress for the next one hundred years! No human cost now is too high compared to the benefits future generations will enjoy.”

When asked if he would be aboard the maiden flight of his commercial P.W.A., slated to be called the Heisenberg, Klankenvroot chuckled.

“Of course not,” he said. “I’m much too humble for that. That honor lies on the heads of the engineers and the workers putting the thing together. They should enjoy the fruits of their labor, after all.”

Blackwood Gazette #1&2: “Fires of D’Kalm D’Korr Opens” & “Klankenvroot Announces New Commercial Aircraft”

Blackwood Gazette #162- Part One of Delando’s “Desires of Dek Kanar Redak” Releases on Kinetic Viewers

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By Alex Grosset, Arts and Entertainment

21/7- Fans of playwright Delando and theatergoers around the Empire are chomping at the bit this week in anticipation of the long awaited opening for the filmed version of “Dek Kanar Redak”, the sequel to last year’s “Fires of D’Kalm D’Korr”.

The film marks the first time a play has ever been adapted to the fledgling medium, which is most often used for peep shows and five pence shorts involving small animals (typically cats) engaged in amusing behavior. When the project was announced last year, it was both praised as “the most ambitious theatrical undertaking of our time” and derided as “a degradation to the art form of performance and storytelling.”

The film was shot over the course of the year in a theater in Oeil de Fleur, during performances of the play to exclusive crowds (every member of which had to in turn sign a rigid non-disclosure agreement, though that did little to stem the tide of story details getting out). The owner of the theatre, Patrice Chadeau, was famously given a large sum of gold to rent out the theater for a year, though reports say that the filming has hurt him financially.

Fans looking forward to the film may be in for an unpleasant surprise, however, as the release only consists of the first half of the play. The producers of the production claim this decision was made due to the play’s length versus the number of kinetic viewers needed to properly showcase the film, versus the length of time people are willing to spend sitting with their face planted against the viewer itself (the first part alone is said to be divided between seven kinetic viewers, each of them specially built to carry five times the amount of film as a normal viewer and requiring twenty pence apiece to activate).

Early viewers of the film have complained of discomfort and expressed a disappointment with the finished product. Still, the idea has proven novel enough that fans are camping out in front of Penny Parlors across the empire for a chance to view the film.

 

Blackwood Gazette #162- Part One of Delando’s “Desires of Dek Kanar Redak” Releases on Kinetic Viewers

Blackwood Gazette #161- Legacy Racing League Brings the Heat to Serpent’s Tongue Canyon

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By Huxley Pruitt, Sports

20/7– The reigning narrative coming out of the inaugural event of Pandion’s Racing League two weeks ago was that while the spectacle of the races won over legions of fans (attendance doubled this week, we are told, despite a more remote location) and more than delivered on its promise of high stakes action in the skies, it was the amateur racers in the Horizon League that brought most fans to their feet.

If there were any doubts about the Legacy League’s ability to deliver the edge of your seat thrills that the Horizon league brought, those doubts were all but dispelled by this week’s event in the Serpent’s Tongue Canyon.

Tobias Cuthbertson, who took the top podium in Walsh and was a top contender for this event as well, dropped a staggering six places, being displaced by Gargery Dobbs. It is Dobbs’ who is credited with provided the additional spark that many felt the Legacy League was missing in Walsh. The young pilot from Willanna pushed his aircraft to the limit, knifing through narrow passages that other pilots avoided in an effort to keep ahead of the competition. This in turn pushed the other members of the league to step up and take risks they may not have otherwise, providing an all-around much more entertaining event.

As for the Horizon League, they were once again the large draw, with attendance swelling a further quarter over the Walsh event. This week brought the exhibition-only stunt race of last week as the main event, where both speed and maneuverability came into play as the hot shot amateurs used the canyon’s unique geography to their advantage. In this area, no one out flew the notorious Lakenheath Twins, Bud and Bruce, who ended up going head to head with each other in the final event and taking first and second place, respectively.

Anticipation for the next event was already at a fever pitch, but the announcement of the venue has already sent fans rushing to ticket sellers. The next round of racing will be hosted on the notorious Waystation Bravo.

Blackwood Gazette #161- Legacy Racing League Brings the Heat to Serpent’s Tongue Canyon

Blackwood Gazette #160- Whatever Happened to Argathal Gladstone?

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By Ada Herschel, Science and Technology

17/7– Several months ago, the Gazette reported on an inventor from the small Crowndonian village known as Leadhills, Argathal Gladstone. At the time, Mister Gladstone claimed to be working on a perpetual motion engine to serve as an alternative to Blackwood, and that he would be unveiling a working model at this years IIC.

The Industry and Innovation Conference has come and gone, and Mister Gladstone was nowhere to be found. So what happened to him? After some searching, we heard tale of a man in the Nor Eastern city of Sau Le Frete who had been arrested for quackery after a demonstration for an invention he was peddling malfunctioned and injured five people.
We followed the trail, and sure enough found Mister Gladstone sitting in a cell in Sau La Frete’s small county jail.

“I tried making my way to the conference,” he told me. “I built a heavy auto, chained my engine to the back and set off two months in advance. I made it all the way to the mountains along the border, but the auto couldn’t handle the steep climbs. Also, no one told me there were no bridges across the canyon, so I would have been unable to drive across even if I had made it.”

Mister Gladstone says that he headed back down the mountain and found a freighter moored in the nearby town. The captain of the air ship was having issues procuring Blackwood. Mister Gladstone felt that providence had shown upon him.

“Here was a desperate soul that needed what I had to offer, and I was a desperate soul that needed what he could provide in turn, transportation over the mountains into Nor Easter. I told him of my engine, and the captain was intrigued. I led them to where it was stashed, we installed it on his ship, and within two days we were off. The perpetual motion engine worked! At least for a day or two.”

Mister Gladstone refused to indulge what exactly the malfunction was, but apparently the engine worked long enough to get the ship over the mountains before it failed and the Captain had to make a landing.”

“He wasn’t happy,” Gladstone said. “He ran me off, screaming curses and threats to have my head, and refused me my engine, the scallywag! As it turns out he was some big shot pirate everyone was looking for. I consider myself lucky to have braved such an encounter!

“I set out into Nor Easter, with the intention of rebuilding the engine as I went. I had a workable prototype as I made my way into Sau Le Frete, and thought it might be a good spot for a demo. I was wrong about that, and that’s how I came to be in here, locked away and at the mercy of these lesser brutes.”

Mister Gladstone gave us no first hand details of the malfunction and injuries. He just claims to be the victim of shallow minds. The town’s sheriff was willing to give us an account, however.

“That crackpot had constructed a churning maw of metal teeth held together with rusty scrap metal and twine, with a rotting rubber belt running through everything. The belt snapped, and hit five people. They had welts for a month. If I’d seen him coming down the road, I’d have barred him from entering the town in the first place!”

I asked Mister Gladstone what he intended to do once his confinement was over.

“What will I do? Why, what I set out to do, you silly moppet. I’ll rebuild my engine, and take it to Oeil de Fleur for the Conference.”

I informed him (with a small amount of smugness, I must admit) that the conference had already taken place. For a small moment he was taken aback, but he quickly steeled himself.

“Excellent! That gives me a whole year until the next one! Plenty of time to make improvements to the design and make it to Oeil de Fleur.”

I informed him that next year’s conference would not be in Oeil de Fleur, but in Monteddor City. That started him crying.

I left the cell, discomfited, and nervously wished him luck.

Blackwood Gazette #160- Whatever Happened to Argathal Gladstone?

Blackwood Gazette #159- “Impossible Hearts in Forgotten Lands” Gives First Hand Account of Adventures and Romances of Explorer Pierre Fordeau

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By Alex Grosset, Arts and Entertainment

16/7-The Imperial Skyways of the Triumvirate are rife with tales of triumph and tragedy, heroism and sacrifice. This summer, one of the greatest and most mysterious of those tales is being told by the man who lived it.

Pierre Fordeu, the Nor Eastern Explorer who charted the southern coastline of the Newlands and pushed deep into jungles of Pyros, braving the dangers of erupting volcanoes, hostile locals, and vicious wildlife along the way, recently published his long awaited memoir, Impossible Hearts in Forgotten Lands. The book details his years exploring the coastlines and archipelagos of the Pyros Ocean, and his controversial years living in the city of Quin Loh.

Perhaps the most anticipated tale, however, is that of his much gossiped about years aboard the ship Hortencia’s Rage, and his tumultuous affair with the Pirate Queen Seylene Plamondon. Nearly half of the book’s page count is dedicated to giving, in great detail, an account of their various sordid nocturnal (and sometimes, midday) activities. In fact, it’s almost too much, and has already sent waves of protest through conservative circles in Crowndon. Even literary critics in Nor Easter, of all places, cite the salacious cataloging of various forms of carnal congress and how many people may or may not have been involved as being in poor taste. One episode in particular hints that a certain Nor Eastern royal took part in the goings on aboard the Rage during a sojourn to Oeil de Fleur (though Fordeu is smart enough not to name names in this regard).

In any case, the book offers a new view on well tread territory. Of particular interest is Fordeu’s downplaying of the role he played in the Kyrstati Uprising in Djidan, in which most tales paint him as the driving force. The memoir is now available in most major cities, though it is expected to circulate to smaller towns in the coming months. Negotiations are already underway with the Pelligratto Theatre Company for a stage adaption next year.

Blackwood Gazette #159- “Impossible Hearts in Forgotten Lands” Gives First Hand Account of Adventures and Romances of Explorer Pierre Fordeau

Blackwood Gazette # 158- Rinkenbach May Have Crossed Border Into Crowndon, Nor Easter Says

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By Chester Seaton, News

15/7- After a long search of villages and townships in the Nor Eastern province of Des Anges, Nor Eastern investigators say that they have found substantial evidence that Sir Rigel Rinkenbach has crossed through the mountains into Crowndon.

“This is very disparaging, for a number of reasons,” said Feredic Caltou, an advisor to Empress Marcellete Bastian. “Given his close relationship with the Empress and her inner circles, Rinkenbach is privy to all sorts of Imperial secrets. He’s a serious security risk. His natural aptitude for science and mechanical design also presents reason for concern. Should Crowndon get their hooks in him, I shudder at the thought of him being installed as part of their military industry.”

That is, of course, if the Crowndon military doesn’t arrest or execute him out right.

“Let us not forget that Rinkenbach invented the Dragonfly aircraft that decimated Roderick La Pierre’s fleet at the Divide and cost them the war,” Caltou added. “While Rinkenbach enjoys a certain diplomatic immunity during pre-scheduled and tightly controlled appearances in Crowndon, there are many circles there that revile him nearly as much as their expatriated Admiral La Pierre. Should Rinkenbach be discovered, I fear for his life. The Empress is understandably distraught at this possible outcome.”

The Crowndon military commented on the possibility of Rinkenbach’s presence, and denied that any such action would be taken.

“While it’s true that many in Crowndon would see Rinkenbach’s head removed from his body, we are not the unreasonable brutes that Nor Easter likes to portray us as,” said Admiral Winston Johannes. “We are in a state of peace with Nor Easter, and none of us wants a repeat of the war two years ago. Given his relationship with the Empress, killing or arresting Rinkenbach holds no political value. Rather, if we located him, we would offer to return him as a show of good faith to the Nor Eastern Empire.”

Caltou’s response was skeptical.

“I’ll believe such a promise when it is delivered upon.”

***

Given their history, what do you think happens when the ruthless pirate Roderick La Pierre meets the brilliant inventor Sir Rigel Rinkenbach, the man most responsible for the loss of everything he held dear? Find out in Where, No One Knows, the first full length Blackwood Empire novel!

Blackwood Gazette # 158- Rinkenbach May Have Crossed Border Into Crowndon, Nor Easter Says

Blackwood Gazette #157- Pixie Sinclaire Uncovers Conspiracy to Assassinate Governor of New Crowndon

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By Maurice Merchant, Editor-in-Chief

14/7- We have some more details today on why exactly Pixie Sinclaire was taken to see Berclay Ancroft, the governor of New Crowndon, upon her arrival in the colonies several weeks ago.

It has been rumored for some time now that a certain element in the world of colonial/imperial politics isn’t happy with Ancroft’s policies, nor the fact that he is the first colonial born man to hold the office. While he has proven popular with the majority of the populace, this fringe element would see him removed.

Colonial authorities uncovered plans for an attempt on Ancroft’s life, and upon hearing of Sinclaire’s arrival, and given the notoriety of her actions in service of the Nor Eastern Subterfuge Society during the war with Crowndon, they enlisted her services to help root out the assassination plot.

While details are scarce, we know that the operation involved sending Miss Sinclaire ahead of Ancroft’s entourage on his campaign trail through the southern towns and villages of his province. The area is known for its traditionalist base and staunch loyalty to the Triumvirate, and the citizens have been most vocal in their protest of a colonial occupying the governor’s office for nearly a decade.

Miss Sinclaire is said to have gone undercover in the role of a distant cousin to one of the region’s most affluent families, and from there, became a part of the protest movement. Within days she was able to work her way into the most extreme circles of this movement, though exactly how she accomplished this is being kept off the official records.

Miss Sinclaire quickly gathered intelligence on the plot and worked, along with an unnamed accomplice, to sabotage and deconstruct the movement from within. By the time the governor passed through the small town where the attempt was to take place, only a few of the conspirators remained in a position to take up arms. These men were dealt with easily enough by Ancroft’s guards.

“I am very grateful to Miss Sinclaire for her efforts to ensure my safety on the campaign trail,” Ancroft wrote in an official statement. “If not for her experience and talents in the arts of espionage, I fear the attempt would have succeeded. We found ourselves completely unprepared for the possibility of such a conspiracy, and we have consulted with Miss Sinclaire on how to prepare for another such event in the future.”

Pixie Sinclaire has since left the Governor’s employ, presumably to continue her search for the missing archaeologist Veronica Trenum and the Gazette’s own Adella Chatelaine. As a personal friend of Miss Chatelaine myself, I bid Miss Sinclaire the best of luck in the endeavour.

***

Real World Influences: This story was inspired in part by that of Kate Warne, credited as the first female detective in the history of the United States, who worked for the Pinkerton Agency during the Civil War and helped to thwart an assassination attempt on President Lincoln.

And don’t forget, you can read more about Pixie Sinclaire in the first full length Blackwood Empire novel, Where, No One Knows, now available in paperback and e-formats.

Blackwood Gazette #157- Pixie Sinclaire Uncovers Conspiracy to Assassinate Governor of New Crowndon