Speaking order. (hosts)

• Genius Loci. [Intro AI Fleet command]
• Baleful Gaze. (mention selective anti-active-magic field) [Riddles in the Dark]
• Numinous Spirit (represented by Emerald Hues). [Return of Harmony Orchestral Suite]

(In order of senority)

• Risen Bones (represented by Elite Librarian) offer to go last
• Scion the Fleshgrafter [Front Line]
• Geldbit, Baron Saltpillars
• Malign Gaze [The Devil's Alliance]
• Sootstreak
• Scarflanks (the Callow)
• Saltwithers

Nova: It was almost ten years ago when the Archlich Risen Bones, the Lord of Tears, was last represented at this gathering of Northern potentates. And what has changed in the last decade? Well, the crystal forest has grown. Some new monsters have been invented. I hear there have been some portentous astronomical omens, of late. Some of the present company deposed their erstwhile masters and took their place in these chairs, the same old game everyone here knows so very well. And there's no choice but play, is there? Who of you doesn't have three or four lieutenants who are biding their time? And what of the common mare - is she really any better off nowadays than in the time of the bandit kings? No, there's only --

Malign Gaze Jr: -- Who gives a damn about the common mare? We don't care about this depressing crap, we want to know what new weapons and monsters Risen's been cooking up these days.

Nova: No, I don't suppose you do really care about that. This vicious cycle suits you just fine? You really don't care? Well, the North is changing. It's going to leave behind those who didn't care, and those who got in the way.

---

Scion: Wizard Lords and imitators thereof. This are indeed portentous times for the North. There is a grave threat on the horizon, not camels or bandits but, an attempt to alter our mode of living and take away the creative freedom we currently enjoy. We live in a world in which the truly great can fulfil their whole, glorious potential - as sovereign rulers, as creators of new and wonderful things, as the very gods of this world. Where the reins of power are held by the great - by those who deserve them, who have either taken them by force of arms, or succesfully defended them against all comers. This is the law of nature. There are those here who would deny that. I am surprised, I must say, that some of you seem to be harbouring sympathies to the cynical lie of "democratic" governance. Sharing power with the common pony is impossible. The only ones you will end up sharing power with is a handful of agitators and skilful liars who are able to whip the feeble-minded masses into a frenzy - and that only as long as the agitators have any use left for you. As soon as they have consolidated power, they will trot out whatever aspect of your rulership is the most easily misunderstood by the average cretin and use it to do you in. I've studied precatastrophic history - their plans dovetail neatly with any number of tested scenarios in their dusty old playbooks. Democracy, republics, constitutional monarchies - they had their go. They left us with a civilization so awash in its own decadence that it collapsed. The north is not weak because of conflict. It is strong because of it. The strong rule, and they test their strength against each other. Our struggle of cunning, creativity and power - it is the eternal struggle of nature. If I am weak, let me be defeated! You will not find _me_ joining forces with a craven, spying, plagiarist lich who is too cowardly to even attend this summit in person, and instead sends a _child_ to speak for him.

Think carefully about what collaboration with this meddler will mean giving up. I have every confidence that you will get but one chance. For while he very much wishes for you to forget about the eternal struggle for power, his long centuries speak to the fact that he has not forgotten for a moment. If you forget now, you will remember it when some gaggle of worthless political sycophants proclaims you guilty of crimes against equinity or nature or whatever hogwash they can invent, and Risen Bones puts you out of his way forever.

--

Malign Gaze will announce that an army is massing in Old Turnip, concealed from conventional scrying but detected by her special methods.

"Wizards, you've heard here so far a lot of horseapples about new orders and improvements and change. A lot of talk, and you probably wonder exactly what it means. And maybe you wonder who exactly is going to bring about these changes. I don't know what those of you who are supporting it were told, but I know what I was told, and one thing it didn't include was any mention of THIS." "This huge thing, some kind of precatastrophic machine, has been ploughing a highway through the crystal forest near the Watchmount. It has made incredible progress, and broke through the forest yesterday. It is heavily shielded against conventional scrying, but not against advanced methods I came up with myself. So now there is a road between my territory and the Northwest, specifically, the territory of New Equestria, whose form of government some here are ballyhooing, but, I add, a government which could not protect it from a devastating attack by changelings and rogue dragons that killed its queen and the heir apparent, and now governs a state that is deeply divided." "As if this were not threatening enough, I have also scryed AN ARMY ON THE MARCH from the north, who at this very moment are assembled at two days march from Witch Point. In less than a week they could be at any of our gates. And if you have any doubt as to their allegiance, take a look at their banner." (Shows alicorn banner.) RBO party member (interjecting): That's a religious symbol of the Royal Pantheon, it's a common religion in the Northwes--" "It's an alicorn, just like the one on these coins that Risen Bones delegation is giving out... and just like THIS ONE speaking for him today! Go ahead, prove me wrong. Take off that cape."

"So those of you who are thinking of throwing your lot in with Risen Bones - how much of this were you told? Was I alone in having agents and spies sent to my territory to bribe bandits and criminals and destabilize my government? I think the experience of the Lord Saltwithers indicates to the contrary. There's cause here for unity alright. Unity against a damned lich whose ambitions have grown too large for the Isle of Tears. He's raised an army of outsiders against us, riddled our lands with mercenary agents and silver-tongued propagandists playing on the naive religious faith of the people in Elements and Princesses, and now he is breeding a race of alicorns. I call for a truce between all wizard-lords, to defeat this invading army of Westerners and destroy the lich Risen Bones once and for all. His meddling in the affairs of other magic users, attempting to control retrodivination and other things he judges misuse of magic, have long been worrisome, but this is leaps and bounds beyond that. He is no peer of ours, but our common enemy, and he will destroy us if we do not renounce him and his plans immediately."

If Akasha is not present for Baleful's death, it would be hard to know if her doomsday device geas claim is true or not. Baleful forces her secret police to take another geas to kill them if she dies an unnatural death. Libby will be in the position of either stopping the fight to ungeas the present secret police, letting Baleful escape, or killing Baleful (but also the secret police present, and needing to keep her death quiet until the secret police can be ungeased. Libby will probably not believe Baleful if Akasha is not there to confirm to her that Baleful is telling the truth. This will make Libby very sad, but more importantly, cause her to start to diverge significantly from Elly in terms of life experience.