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THE HEIRS OF THE COUNT
As of last night, the Count and Countess of the Grimlands are now parents to a set of twin [REDACTED]. The Countess had safely delivered the babies late at night, after many, many hours of labor.
They are nearly identical with the shape of their face and the color of their hair, but the difference resides in their eye color. The eldest has eyes of a shimmering emerald, and the youngest has the blue of a bright sapphire.
The Count and Countess refuse to tell more of their twins, other than that they are delighted to finally have them.
However [cont.] [REDACTED]
———
THE TWIN HEIRS, NOW a Sister AND a [REDACTED] Brother
Previously named [REDACTED], born as a healthy [REDACTED] claims that she is now a boy, named fWhip.
The Count seems to agree with the sudden change, but doesn’t she seem a bit too young to know? At the age of five seems a bit too young to be able to determine such a thing [cont.]
[REDACTED]
———
Death of the Eldest Heir
The child of the Count of Grimlands, and dearly beloved Lady Gem, has presumably passed.
We were told her brother, in a frantic rush, told their parents of her murder. However, when the royal guards came to the scene of the crime, there was no body and no sign of any harm.
Lord fWhip, 7, claims that he saw his sister’s head split from her body. He also claims that he could not touch her corpse, due to some force field he did not explain well.
Many can not believe them and theorize he simply killed her or she ran away, but they also can not not believe him, because her body is yet to be found.
———
The Count of Grimlands has passed.
The Count of the Grimlands has been officially announced as passed. The Countess and royal attendants have not stated his reason for death, other than it was a natural cause. It is speculated that he passed due to the illness he has been suffering with that he was doing a poor job hiding.
The Countess deems Lord fWhip is much too young to be set on the throne, so she will take over until he is of age.
[cont.]
———
The Countess of Grimlands has passed.
The Countess has passed after being on the throne for six years. Her son has refused to give any intuition or words in regards to his mother’s death. However, the royal advisors and a few other anonymous sources have confirmed that it was self-inflicted.
With no other heir, Lord fWhip will be deemed the new Count of Grimlands. He will be the youngest Count this empire has ever had, at the age of fourteen. He seemed bitter upon first glimpse of seeing him at the throne, but we can only hope he provides for the Grimlands well.
———
GROWING FAMINE
With the upcoming winter, we expect to go through a supply shortage.
In previous years, our previous Count and even recently, Countess, would ensure they traded with Gilded Helianthia for extra crops just to get by for the winter. However, our current Count has yet to act.
He seems kind when he visits town, buying sweets for the youth, but what is that meant to do? He [cont.]
———
Count fWhip ATTACKED By Eastvale Citizen
While visiting the village, Count fWhip was ruthlessly attacked and pinned to the ground by [REDACTED].
The young Count struggled and was extremely overpowered by the [REDACTED], but his guards pulled the attacker away before any real real harm was done. However, the Count sports a large gash on his cheek, along with a sprained ankle.
[cont.]
———
DISAPPEARANCES in the Grimlands
There have been reports of people suddenly going missing these past weeks. The Eastvale guards have been attempting to pose some sort of support towards finding the missing people, but the royal guards have yet to do anything more than give condolences.
These people seemingly vanishing seem random, but there are a handful that makes us believe there is some sort of pattern.
We advise everyone to be aware of their surroundings and have some sort of system to ensure safety within Grimlands and the neighboring land.
———
First Public Execution Since [REDACTED]
Count fWhip was attacked a week ago by [REDACTED]. It is reported that he attacked and acted out, due to his family starving due to the supply shortage in the village. Luckily, the Count was not critically injured from this assault.
However, he had his royal guards bring out and set up the guillotine that has not been touched for decades. The sight of it brought great horror to the older citizens and grim curiosity among the children. They spent an hour piercingly sharpening the blade.
Then by sunset, the royal guards hauled up the attacker and [cont.]
———
DISASTROUS and VILE Count
Is our new Count as vile as he seems or is he just immature and misguided?
Count fWhip seems aware of all he’s doing, but we rarely see him outside of official settings and when he stops by to discuss things with the blacksmiths. Even then, we see him more so in his private forge and in the fields testing new equipment, than properly doing anything for the empire to make a conclusion.
Some find him to be evil for not caring for the citizens as much as he could. As he seemingly allowed them to starve through the winter, along with how he’s played a part in ending their lives with the guillotine.
However, some give him the benefit of the doubt, claiming he’s still young.
But is that really enough reasoning and justification for all he’s done? [cont.]
———
GRIMLANDS’ Assistance in the Raging Conflict Between Neighboring Ally MYTHLAND and Their Enemy The COD Empire. + The OCEAN QUEEN’S Threat?
The Grimlands and Mythland have had a strong alliance nearly since both empires were built. They have assisted each other in many, many conflicts. However, this instance of assistance may cause more harm than good.
Count fWhip decided it would be a brilliant idea to disrupt the terrain of the lands between the Cod Empire and Mythlands during a battle to cease conflict. He had planted explosions into the land between the borders of both lands and set it off during, what is now deemed, the final battle.
There were casualties on both ends, but the Cod Empire suffered a greater loss, with many of their soldiers dying in the mass destruction. In the end, the swamp empire was forced to pull back from conflict and war all together, due to the lack of supply and resources. There are also rumors that the Codfather was fearful for his people due to the sudden display of great strength from an ally of his opponent.
The surrendering of the Cod Empire led to the Ocean Queen of the Oceanic Empire to send an unknown threat to the Count of Grimlands. He has not stated what the threat was, other than he’s “not taking it seriously.”
It is known publicly that he truly did not take the threat seriously, as there is evidence he burned the letter then sent his salmon aircrafts over as a mild scare tactic. The scare would come from the fact that the machines would explode when the Ocean Queen got too close.
We suspect he only sent the salmon airships, as it did not cost the expense of sending real soldiers. Even then, he does not have many real soldiers in his command. [cont.]
———
NEW Servant? RELATED to the Count?
There seems to be a woman constantly by the Count’s side in replace of his guards.
The woman, (we did not get her name from an official statement, but we assume it’s) Minigh, seems to hold some magical properties. As she has a huge staff strapped to her back and she dresses the part with her hat and cloak. However, we have yet to see any displays of power, so it could be for show. However, if it’s not and truly is real, that brings great concern to the other empires, as they believe the Count may use her powers to take over.
[cont.]
What’s also concerning is how nearly identical the servant is to the Count. The only major features that sets them apart is their slight height difference and hair length, but even then, they still look like they’d be siblings.
When we asked the Count for an official statement, he became angry and lashed out. He said, “How could [we] ask such a thing? When [his] sister’s dead and all of [his] family members are dead, so obviously [Minigh] isn’t [his] relative.” Then proceeded to threaten us by saying [cont.] [REDACTED].
———
STOLEN HEADPIECE of the CODFATHER’S
A meeting with Count fWhip of Grimlands and the Codfather of the Cod Empire ends with the thievery of the Count stealing the Codfather’s headpiece.
The Codfather can not fight against this nor declare war to retrieve it. He has also requested that none of his allies step in, as he claims he will figure out a way to get it as best he can without pulling in any other factors besides himself.
The stolen Codfather headpiece holds religious and royal significance, so for him to choose to wear a replacement made by his closest ally, the Ocean Queen, is quite an upsetting sight [cont.]
———
SECRET AFFAIR?
Count fWhip was never close to anyone and he always seemed distant through all the sightings that we’ve had of him, so for the young Count to suddenly be seen smiling seems a bit abrupt.
We presume that this was due to the recent addition to his royal staff, more specifically, his personal servant. The woman who we presumed was a relative, so that would make their interactions seem a bit [cont.] [REDACTED]
———
Rivendell, A Grand Empire Left in Ruins
Katherine of House Blossom reports that the abrupt stop with communications and trades from Rivendell was due to a grand fire that destroyed and left no life behind in the empire of snow. This also means that King Scott of Rivendell has passed, his remains seem to reside at the center of all the destruction.
She and the Codfather, among other close allies of Rivendell, plan to hold an investigation to figure out what power rivaled the King’s to such a degree. They are concerned that this grand power will attempt to take out all empires, so they want to figure it out as soon as they can.
Lady Katherine requests that everyone remain calm, as she promises everything will be figured out.
———
The OCEAN QUEEN DECLARES WAR on Behalf of Rivendell
With the damages done to the Cod Empire’s army, the Ocean Queen has stepped in to combine her efforts with the Codfather to declare war on the Grimlands, on the behalf of Rivendell.
The Codfather claims that he has found criminalizing evidence in the castle that directs the evidence of the fire back to the Grimlands.
The Ocean Queen suspects that Count fWhip hired someone to kill the King and burned the empire to further hurt and rub salt in the wound of the Codfather, as they (the Codfather and the Elven king) were planned to be wed in the upcoming months. She notes that she plans to follow through with her initial threat.
[cont.]
———
CAPTURING COUNT FWHIP of the GRIMLANDS
With the combined efforts of Mezalea and Pixandria assisting the Ocean Queen and the Codfather, they were able to invade and take over the Grimlands. This invasion was complete just short of two months after Mythland and Gilded Helianthia pulled out completely from the war. The sea dwellers claim that there were no real soldiers on the grounds against them from the Grimlands, so the Ocean Queen felt no sympathy in obliterating the machines completely.
However when the emperors properly set foot into the land, they left the civilians alone. When questioned, the Ocean Queen stated that “[She] [has] a soul and [she] wouldn’t harm civilians who pay no true part in their ruler’s wrong doings. [She] [plans] to harm none of the civilians of Grimlands, unless provoked.”
They swiftly raided the castle and captured the Count with ease, as none of the royal guards or servants stood against them. They worried that it would be an ambush of sorts when they saw the Count idly waiting for them in one of the towers, but to their surprise, it wasn’t.
They plan to hold him until they figure out how to punish him.
———
The REIGN of COUNT FWHIP is OVER
The Codfather and the Ocean Queen set for Count fWhip to be publicly executed on the guillotine that took many lives of the citizens of Grimlands over the past few years of his reign.
They held it at noon with many of the citizens attending the execution. Many reactions were held within the crowd, but the primary common theme was relief.
No one in the crowd could pick out what the Count said in his final breath, but it seems unimportant now.
With the Grimlands left without a ruler, Lady Katherine has been appointed to temporarily rule, as she is the true neutral emperor of the land. She plans to stay as their leader, until a proper agreement is made between all the emperors. [cont.]
———
SUDDEN Appearance of MYSTERIOUS RUINS; The REMAINS of a HIDDEN SOCIETY
Lady Katherine has discovered ruins neighboring the Grimlands. She investigated it on her own and claims that the charred ruins are what make up an unknown town called the Crystal Cliffs. She also claims that the empire held an academy of magic.
She plans to further investigate with the emperors who assisted the investigation of Rivendell’s ruins, as she believes these two instances of fire were from the same source. This implies she believes that the Count had some hand in the fire that wiped out the hidden society.