News 5

For the past 26 years, this City has known only one name to be synonymous with ‘first responder’ and ‘emergency services’. The reign of that name, the name that all citizens uttered upon seeing the Cow signal in the sky, may well be at a close, as legendary Cow, Boy, disbanded the organisation that bolstered his name to fame just a month ago. For a time, it seemed that no one would be able to fill the cow-shaped hole he left in our City’s structure.

But, where one story ends, another begins, and when one legend takes off the hat, they hand it on to another. A new name rings from the Plains to the Shore, reverberating under the weight of expectation: Lorah. This unassuming flying squirrel, once no more than a rank-and-file member of Boy’s Cows, has now stepped forward to take on the mantle of duty for this City, reforging the emergency responders in their image: Lorah’s Cows.

But will this unlikely hero have what it takes to fill the hooves of one of the most respected citizens of this City, or will they crumble under the pressure of this Winter as their mentor did? Only time will tell.

A story by Ida

A major spirit attack at the shore has highlighted the increased danger faced by animals this winter.

It That Hungers rose out the water, nearly killing several animals. Quick responses by animals nearby, including both shore-dwellers and those from further afield, meant that the animals in the lake were pulled to safety. However, Lorah, a first responder, was pulled under the water in an attempt to save another animal and would have drowned if not for the intervention of an unknown second spirit.

This spirit has previously saved another animal from drowning in the lake. However, it warns that it may not be powerful enough to do so a third time. Consequently, we urge all animals to stay away from the lake, following evacuation procedures organised by Lorah’s Cows. If this causes difficulties for you, please reach out to Helping Paw, who are prepared to assist any in need this winter.

There’s a new addition to the City Centre skyline.

Towering high above all else, demanding attention with immense heat and light from all those who draw near, there is now a flickering beacon upon the leftmost Grey Tree.

Rumours spread across the City, slowly but surely. Max the Eagle has been claiming responsibility; apparently, to spread warmth and hope around the Grey Trees and the City at large. It appears the residents of the Grey Trees – traditionally so averse to outside influence – seem surprisingly amenable to the pyre, despite their initial reservations.

The Empress’ personal messenger is out and about again, bravely soldiering through the cold.

Her Majesty the Empress Penguin, Empress of the Plains and Lake, requests any aid or information people may offer against reclaiming her home on the Shore, and the home of her followers and subjects, and is willing to offer whatever aid she can in return. Her Majesty can be found in her temporary residence in the Plains, near a large pond.

Over the month, the Boys Cows managed to establish a cordon around the Lake, and this has (mostly) prevented animals from approaching its new and only resident, the sea monster animals are calling It That Hungers. For its part, observers report that it alternated between calm, agitation and even sometimes retreating somewhat, though never very deep.

However, as the month draws to a close, an alarming discovery is made. The black tentacles have slowly started to leave the Lake, and inch their way along the waterways, leading to the Forest and City.

It seems in lack of prey in the Lake, It Hungers for what it can catch elsewhere.

A message spread by the Knights of the Nether Realm

Remain vigilant when handling fire. Irresponsible misuse leads to certain danger. This is not its purpose, nor its intended usage. Keep fire away from soft materials, including wood and natural sources. It can be extinguished with water. Do not use it for selfish means.

Anyone who wishes to take fire for themselves must do so officially from the Underground and demonstrate aptitude for bearing the responsibility. Unauthorised use is hereby forbidden.

A message from Bushy-Tail II:

As the Wheel turns, and the seasons turn, so does our Carnival. Up is down, now, and down is up. We have elected from our masterful crop of storytellers a new Lord of the Revels, who shall lead us in our merriment from here on out. All hail Pebbles, Lord of the Revels! Their words and mirror-gestures have helped ensure that all is not lost, in this nadir of the wheel-turn… that the Spirit Stillmirror may arise to help us once more. They live, friends. They and Granny Moth-Spider have pledged to aid us in what is to come.

Signing off for the last time under this title, Bushy-Tail II, Lord of the Revels

A tale is circulated around the City from animal to animal, particularly in the Forest, from a series of identical written documents.

It opens with detailing the discovery of fire, not by The Rat King, but as the brainchild of an Underground scholar named Vesper Costello, who was destroyed by their own invention, never to be seen again. The information was kept under wraps for almost a decade, until just before the Carnival, where The Rat King openly revealed this ‘fire’, Costello’s own invention, as a means of surviving the Winter.

And survive the Winter the animals do. Winter becomes no more than a day in time, not a Spirit to be feared by all. All animals, hailing from above and below ground, come together, forming an extended community of Scholars for all who wish to join. This pleases The Rat King, who, proud of his invention, abdicates, leaving no instruction for the future of a Monarchy beyond him, an inherently flawed system involving a Monarch, a ‘Council of Five’, and Knights of the Realm, as all Underground knowledge becomes public knowledge.

Many years pass. The Scholars flourish, with influential figures coming and going. The Underground becomes an open network for all information, and all who wish to share a story or pass wisdom are enabled to do so. But it is personal choice whether these tales are to be believed.

It ends by praising the Underground folk that come to be. Their courage. Kindness. Sagacity. Forthrightness. Far and wide these virtues are spread, and no boundary divides the animals of the City, who may go wherever they please and learn whatever they please. Because this is a tale of ‘their lives’ – of the ‘Others’.

The author remains anonymous.

Sirius Starfish, displaced from their favourite tower, has released a short poem, much to the excitement of the Shore

It’s true, I am told, down in the Lake

That spirits thrive on stories

And now a spirit is very much awake

Due to retelling its glories?

Now who could have done such a nonsensical thing?

And make the Lake so much iller?

She encouraged the stories whilst wearing her bling

Say thanks to the pangolin Quilla