The general in-game newsfeed
Issued under the royal seal of Niya:
From this day forward any soldiers of the Western Green Banner found within the territories of Niya and Lop Nur will be apprehended and tried as bandits and unlawful mercenaries under the laws of Niya, transgressions that are punishable by execution.
An excerpt from Ban Zhao’s Histories of the Western Hinterlands:
We must write of the palace of Kucina, for surely it represents the Oasis Kingdoms in all their glory. The golden tops of its white marble spires tower above the whole city. Its walls are covered in artfully painted tiles and framed by exquisite stone lace. The garden’s surrounding the palace are always green and filled with waterworks and a thousand fragrant flowers. At night, the gardens are illuminated by colorful lanterns and swarms of fireflies. Inside the palace, the walls are adorned with crystal inlays and hung with sumptuous woven carpets. The floors are precious mosaics and the furniture is made of velvet and dark wood from the Spirit Mountains.
A Folk Tale of the Oasis Basin
There once was a viper who was set upon by an assassin. He survived, but with a deep cut that caused him to move awkwardly forevermore. The viper sought shelter in an underground nest. Vipers do not trust one another–and they are wise not to–but the vipers there were angered by one of their number being attacked. The viper was escorted to the Lord of the Underworld, who made him an offer: if he sacrificed one of his eyes, he could have a magic black opal in its place. The opal showed him what passed before the eyes of the enemy who sent an assassin after him. It was another viper, one with a nest deep within a palace. The viper with the opal eye watched to divine his enemy’s location. He finally felt sure of his enemy’s general whereabouts, and now makes his painful, awkward way up and down the Summer Road, seeking to find himself appear before the eyes of his nemesis.
Excerpt from The Blackstone Dungeon Master’s Guide (1976):
BLACKSTONE: A black opal that lets the user see through the eyes of their most dangerous enemy (as per the spell Niya’s Nemesis Gazing). Effect lasts 2d6 rounds.
As the hot summer sun dries out the desert, the caravans travel in dust and thirst. Oases along the Winter Route shrink, and guides who claim to know the locations of secret springs command a high price.
Bright spears and marching lines are sighted along the roads, passing by the farmers who work in their fields and await the harvest.
This ends Cycle 2 and begins Cycle 3…
News told around the caravans’ campfires:
Thanks to the efforts of Plika, disciple of the Middle Kingdom physician Yuan Sala, the plague in Yiwu is all but over. The aftermath of the plague may take longer to recover from: the population was reduced not only by the many deaths, but also by the exile of many outsiders and former citizens.
From the Miran Cache #25, a message to a salt merchant in Anxi, dated to the Blossoming of 115:
There is great demand for salt across the basin! In Kucina they run short, in Aksu they pay any price, in Niya they beg me to sell them more. We must take advantage of this opportunity. But take care as you send the next caravan: not only are there bandits on the roads, but regiments of soldiers. Archers of Niya, Green Banner soldiers of the Middle Kingdom: I fear a clash may happen soon.
From the Annals of the Oasis Kingdoms:
In the season of Blossoming, nomads from the north terrorized the country around Anxi, skirmishing with patrols marching under the green banners of the Western Armies of the Middle Kingdom.
A mounted regiment, previously stationed south of Dukhan, travelled northward, together with other troops, five thousand in all, to deal with the nomad incursion.
The people of Anxi hid behind their walls, wondering what would influence the outcome of this conflict…
Excerpt from the Reports of the Western Armies at Dukhan, Blossoming 115:
Received: Shipment of vegetables. Paid on delivery.
Received: One contingent of slaves, condemned under the laws of Lop Nur for harboring thieves and brigands in their village. Marked as tribute.
Received: Iron weapons, for purposes of inspection. Lantern markings.
Received: Salt. Local source. Paid with credit.
An excerpt from Ban Zhao’s Histories of the Western Hinterlands:
As one travels across the desert, one may encounter a black standing stone. Some stand alone, some are grouped with others. There are many to be found in the desert north of Lop Nur. When asked, the people of that place say they do not remember who placed them there. Truly, the hinterlands are a quaint and curious place!
Excerpt from the writings of Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus Bombast of Rûm (circ. 1650):
Ot Bitkileri: Volume of mystic secrets, rumored to have the secrets of the distant sages inscribed in a language spoken by angels and wild beasts. Secrets of vegetation unfurl beneath the crimson scroll. The Wheel of Fortune governs those whose understanding is coagulated within the crucible of its insight.
Excerpt from The Blackstone Dungeon Master’s Guide (1976):
Ott Bitkileri: Ott Bitkileri (3rd level cleric) is clad in a black robe with glowing runes. (AC 1, C 3, 16hp, #AT 1, D 2-7 (staff) ML 10). His spells are: cause misfortune (force player to reroll die) and cause light wounds (inflicts 2-7 points of damage). He carries a potion of cure disease.