Boralus, Wednesday evening. The Assembly of Houses and Captains gave preliminary support to an expedition intended to reclaim the island of Fortuna on Wednesday, after Baron Adolphus Jaggerhawk warned that a k’thir and its cabal may be establishing themselves among the island’s surviving inhabitants.
The motion did not bind those present to join the force, and Jaggerhawk acknowledged that there is no direct evidence presently available to the Assembly that a k’thir is on Fortuna. He nevertheless said intelligence gathered over recent months indicates the creature’s involvement and argued that the danger warrants investigation. The strike force is expected to depart shortly after the Assembly next meets on 12 August.
Fortuna, also known in Kul Tiras as Tol Galu, was described as a former Kul Tiran protectorate and exporter of silver that was devastated during the Cataclysm. Its altered sea routes and uncharted reefs make the approach dangerous, according to Jaggerhawk, who said those hazards and the presence of civilians rule out both a full fleet and the rather brisk suggestion that the island simply be bombarded into the Maelstrom.
“I motion now that we assemble a strike force to dislodge this cabal and return the island to its rightful people,” he told the gathering.
A homeland under threat
Lazarillo Sanchez, a native of Fortuna, appealed to the Assembly on behalf of the island’s displaced people. He said Fortuna’s inhabitants had once maintained close cultural and commercial ties with Kul Tiras, but that much of the island was lost in the Cataclysm. According to Sanchez, adherents of older primalist beliefs survived in the highlands and later hunted refugees whom they blamed for abandoning those beliefs and bringing disaster upon their home.
Sanchez said he has reason to believe those groups are now being corrupted by a k’thir and are gathering pirates and smugglers who venture near the island. The Lion’s Roar has not independently confirmed that account, and no charts, reports or other physical evidence were presented during the meeting.
“The island is an island worth saving,” Sanchez said. “The people of Fortuna need a home once more.”
His account established both the human purpose of the proposed expedition and the difficulty facing it. Fortuna’s refugees would need the island secured without further destroying what remains, while any force approaching it must navigate waters substantially changed since Sanchez left as a child.
Brother Oswold Clearbrine challenged the evidential basis of the proposal. He told the Assembly that k’thir are created from people through ritual magic and asked whether strangers were being invited to risk their lives on the word of a single petitioner.
Jaggerhawk replied that there is “no actual evidence of the k’thir being on the island at this time”, because his people have no presence there, but maintained that accumulated intelligence points to its involvement. He did not describe that intelligence in detail. Commander Pickens said he holds case files concerning earlier encounters with the creature and offered to make them available.
Lady Northwind offered supporting context, saying k’thir sightings have recently been reported as far away as the Gilnean coast, which in her view lends credibility to the possibility of a base somewhere at sea. She was careful not to claim this proves a connection to Fortuna. Northwind also offered notes from encounters with other Void forces, including the Twilight’s Blade, and said House Northwind could assist with weapons and firepower if required.
Precautions urged before departure
Captain Brineburn raised concerns about previous occasions on which members of Jaggerhawk’s crew had been vulnerable to mental interference and Void trickery. Jaggerhawk said the expedition would apply lessons from those encounters through stronger containment measures, although no detailed plan was given at the meeting.
The Boralus Guard offered its support for the endeavour. Members of the Tidesages are to confer separately on whether their order will participate, while representatives of House Northwind and the Breezedancer Clinic indicated that material and medical assistance may be available.
Nolton Cole urged the organisers to include a Tidesage familiar with k’thir rituals, particularly methods of interrupting or reversing transformations. His warning was blunt: an unprepared expedition could strengthen the cabal it means to destroy. Jaggerhawk called the advice sound and said the force would proceed whether or not the Tidesages elected to join.
Captain Peter Langedijk supported an investigative force on the grounds that either it would find Fortuna secure or discover a threat that could then be confronted. That neat calculation overlooks the risks of reaching the island, but it captured the prevailing view of those who spoke in favour. Jaggerhawk emphasised that nobody was required to commit at once.
Trade, faith and the work ashore
The proposed expedition followed an unusually heated address from Sister Josephine, a young Tidesage who accused foreign druids, mages and other faiths of weakening Kul Tiras and urged residents to tithe to the Tidemother. Several attendees challenged her remarks, noting Kul Tiras’s own traditions beyond the Tidesages and the service of outsiders who fought for the nation.
Jaggerhawk interrupted the address and asked Josephine to bring it to a point relevant to the Assembly. He later rejected isolation as an answer to Kul Tiras’s difficulties, though the exchange remained civil enough to end with a second prayer. In Boralus, this qualifies as remarkable diplomatic restraint.
Langedijk then proposed using the present lull in open warfare to strengthen commerce with other Alliance kingdoms, particularly Gilneas and Stromgarde. Jaggerhawk endorsed his proposal, and he said he would prepare to sail north. A Gilnean representative known as Gwendolin identified ore, timber, stone, iron, tools and building materials as priorities for the kingdom’s restoration, recommending the protected docks at Keel and Stormglen to prospective traders.
Earlier in the evening, Jaggerhawk also reported that plans for a Citizen Brigade remain at the preliminary stage. He described it as an unarmed auxiliary network for logistics and information gathering, operating with Admiralty oversight. Initial efforts will focus on identifying trusted local contacts in Hatherford and Bridgeport rather than attempting to organise Boralus at once. Langedijk and others offered to recommend possible contacts.
Commander Pickens opened the meeting by marking the death of Captain Aerion Galliard, a privateer who served the Admiralty for more than eight years and was buried on Monday with his ship. Pickens also said bounties remain available for naga, Bilge Rat and Irontide pirates.
The Assembly will reconvene on 12 August. Before then, prospective members of the Fortuna force have case files to examine, protections to devise and a decision to make. A calm harbour does not prove the storm has passed, but it is generally worth checking the chart before sailing directly into it.