Horizon: City of Traitors

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HORIZON IS OVER!

The webpage remains up as a permanent archive of game material, mainly for the benefit of nostalgic players - although if you'd like to run a Horizon-inspired game for your friends, that's wonderful too. Horizon will be succeeded by Legacyin Trinity term of 2006.

If you like you can look at the (sketchy, incomplete) GM notes as well.

Major Developments

The second Horizon game has already been running for a term, but it's not too late to get involved! You might, however, want to take note of the following important in-character events if you're designing a new character for this last term of Horizon: some of them, like the war, are going to be hard to ignore, whilst others (such as the changes within the Family) will have a major effect on some factions.

The Election and the War

In 4021 HR, Colonel Zero announced that he would retire at the end of the year, sparking a high-paced election campaign. The tightly-fought race saw the exposure of Jessica "Daddy's Girl" Waite as a Star shaman, the assassination of Ian "the Mogul" and Kevin "the Merchant" Loveday, the swallowing of Mister "the Architect" Faithman by a whale (followed by the revelation that Faithman was the Emperor in disguise), and heavy lobbying of all fifteen electors. Eventually, only two serious candidates stood before the Moot of Years: Mariana "the Hound" Hess, running on a law-and-order, anti-corruption platform, and David "the Demagogue" Wright, who's declared aim was to bring genuine democracy to the city. The Demagogue won by a vote of 8-7: here's how the voting went:

Hound: Dalcrow, Ferrars, Voltrapp, von Jäger, Grey Order, Irgar, Jurica.
Demagogue: d'Avenant, Hague, Milton, Dockyard Rats, Family, Inmack's Boys, Lasinia, Vegdarbarra.

The Vegdarbarrans initially voted for the Loser, Anarcholes the Black, but under the terms of the Last Treaty had to change their vote to break the 7/7 tie.

For full details of the electoral process, see the Elections page.

Shortly after the election, Vegdarbarra declared war on Horizon, alleging that the recent activities of shamen, cultists, avatars and others within Horizon proved that the city could no longer control the occult forces moving within it. (Ironically, the murder of the Vegdarbarran ambassador's son by cultists of Verachtlich - apparently an attempt by the cult to provoke international conflict - has been cited by Vegdarbarran sources as evidence that Horizon is rotten to the core.)

The war was not wholly surprising to followers of international diplomacy. Baron Yuri von Litkinstein, dictator of Vegdarbarra, is widely regarded as an expansionistic megalomaniac; furthermore, relations between Horizon and Vegdarbarra had deteriorated seriously following the discovery of secret Vegdarbarran colonies within the Treacherous Lands. Horizon declared that the Vegdarbarran colonies were a breach of the Last Treaty, which - in one reading - concedes control of passage into the Treacherous to Horizon. Vegdarbarra, meanwhile, denied being in breach. Furthermore, border disputes seem to have been exacerbated by the Fire shaman Carlos Hernandez, who had awakened a volcano on the Horizon/Vegdarbarran border and was using fire magics to cause chaos within the border region.

Following the declaration of war, the Demagogue immediately made the Hound head of the armed forces of Horizon, reasoning that the Vegdarbarrans had voted for him because they did not want to face her. Political commentators have noted that the move means that Hess will have to leave the Watchdogs, and thus by making her head of the armed forces the Demagogue has severely reduced her ability to influence the city's policing policy, an area which she and he have disagreed on in the past.

Horizon does not stand alone against the Vegdarbarran hordes. The Soviet Republic of Lasinia has joined the war on the side of Horizon, although neither Jurica nor Irgar have joined them. The international status quo, and the unspoken agreement that any attempt by one True nation to invade Horizon will be repelled by the other three True nations, have been shattered; meanwhile, the criminal underworld of Horizon is moving onto a wartime footing, eager to both defend the city and reap the profits of war...

The Return of the Columna

In late 4021HR, the dominant mob of Horizon's Slums, the Family, underwent dramatic changes. They began with the cancellation of the wedding between Jessica Kellor, daughter of Family head Emily, and Christopher Anseer, a rising star in the mob who is not of Kellor blood. Little public explanation was given for this event. A short while later, though, Emily Kellor publicly confronted Anseer at the Riverview Tavern, accusing him of being the son of Count Alric Columna, the long-dead Slums moblord and nobleman, and a former rival of the Kellors'. Anseer sensationally admitted the truth of these charges, declared himself to be Christopher Alric Columna, and stated that the underworld of the Slums and the title Count Columna were his by right. He and Emily Kellor both demanded that the other should obey them, and following some violent disputes between followers of both parties, the Family split. Both Emily Kellor and Christopher Columna received the Twin Silvers that night.

Over the next few months the Slums were shaken by battles between the two factions. Fortunately (depending on your point of view) there was relatively little violence: the dispute was played out by bargaining and a few well-placed assassinations. The head of the Pellatus family, always loyal to Emily, was murdered by his own illegitimate son who promptly swore allegiance to Columna, while Christopher himself collapsed after a brush with a street ruffian, apparently poisoned, and remained at death's door for some time. Meanwhile Emily appeared to be going slowly insane. The mysterious fae apparently took a hand as the so-called Knight of the Bright Oak appeared in the city, encouraging activity against Columna. To no avail, though; while Columna slowly recovered, Emily sank further into gibbering insanity, then abruptly died shortly before Horizon's Day. Her cousin William Kellor pledged the remains of the Kellor family to the service of Christopher Columna; while many decried this as a betrayal, only a few were willing to openly oppose it, and they soon went to ground. So, it appears that the Family are once again united, if not contented, under the rapidly recovering Christopher Columna, with William Kellor as his lieutenant. The Slums, with the exception of the remaining Kellor opposed to Christopher, are slowly getting used to their new masters.

The WBI

Set up by Commissioner Ryan Columna at the beginning of the year, the WBI was designed to be an elite information gathering division to keep one step ahead of the mobs within the city. Although supported by the Watchdog Commission, Ryan Columna was the driving force behind this group, donating much of his personal funds towards its creation and was appointed head of the WBI.

It recruited members from both the general public and the Watchdogs themselves with each member being screened for other allegiances by the chief WBI sorcerer Hector Lane (later replaced by Mathias Killburn after allegations of incompetency).

The WBI was also a pioneer in employing openly a number of known Kraeling operatives; a move that was met with mixed feelings. The WBI also has a squad of Grey Engineers who aid the agency with their technological needs.

The WBI successfully managed to unearth evidence against many subversives within the city including Jonas Campion and exposing Lucrecious Corinth as a fire shaman. Perhaps due to its success the WBI was targeted by terrorists believed to be working for the HPLF who planted a bomb laced with fire essence within the building - accusations of inside help have been widespread. The explosion caused serious damage to the building its self and also caused the death of several WBI officers including Ryan Columna. It is thought that the attack might have been a targeted effort to assassinate the Commissioner.

A rearrangement of organisational structure before the attack also placed the Department for Illegal Organisations under the wing of the WBI, with the Walking Corpse being separated from the position as head of the WBI. This has been maintained since the explosion and it is rumoured that a new "secret chief" to the WBI has been appointed upon recommendation by a letter written by Ryan Columna before his death.

Grey Secrets, Grey Strength

The Grey Order have begun to take a place in world affairs after beginning sales of a Grey Technology weapon of war: the Grey Gun, a Gatling-type affair powered by a steam engine worn as a backpack. The Grey Gun spits out bullets at a pace that not even automatic clockwork guns can achieve; it is also horrendously heavy, and leaves its bearer a huge target. It is of most use in urban combat, when it allows heavy firepower to be brought to bear in situations where a Steam Cannon could not be manouevred into place.

Its use has been condemned by Jurica and Lasinia, though Irgar and Vegdarbarra have been quick to snap up supplies.

On the 1st of Autumn's Glory, the Grey Order issued a press release revealing some of its innermost secrets. Most critically, they announced that they had long ago discovered a way to bind a God and to force it to do their will. Justifying their actions as a form of sorcery, they also confessed that through sabotage, the captive god, Arikel, was beginning to escape his bounds, and that they were working with the Imperial University, the government of Horizon, and the ghoulish Headman Sternos to destroy the escaping god.

Following this, it was indeed confirmed that the god within the Treacherous Lands citadel was Arikel, and thanks to a joint effort from Horizon's Government, its ghouls, and the Grey Order's own troops, Arikel was slain and his body safely disposed of.

The Irgar Civil War

Footing in the Irgar civil war swayed back and forth between the Broken Jaw and the royalist Deep Stone repeatedly; first as forces within Horizon began exporting Steam Cannon to both sides, then as the previously neutral Raging Sky tribe joined the war on the side of the Broken Jaw, but finally and decisively as the Grey Order unveiled their new weapon, the Grey Gun, by arming the royalist Deep Stone forces with the new line. This was a development which the Broken Jaw were unable to counter, and the rebel provinces were finally put down.

The Dockyard Rats and the Trading District

At the start of the year, Sweet Mahmoud, the leader of the Shoreleave House and of the Dockyard Rats, become ever more erratic in his behaviour. This culminated with his deciding to dissolve Jude's Concern on the flip of a coin. Betts and Quickpistol, the leaders of Jude's Concern and the Rope-bound Brotherhood respectively, responded by arranging a coup in which Mahmoud was quickly and swiftly removed. Mahmoud was replaced as leader of the Rats by Quickpistol (backed by his lieutenant, Micheal D'Avenant) and as leader of the Shoreleave House by the pimp Virros, who was later exposed as a ghoul. This doesn't, however, appear to have hurt his credibility any. Quickpistol has proven himself to be a brash and hasty leader.

After a long, long quarrel (culminating in Micheal D'Avenant's private army of pirates taking up position in the streets) the ownership of the Trading District was settled. A treaty was signed between the Dockyard Rats and Inmack's Boys, giving the district to the Rats but giving Inmack's Boys the right to rob visitors to the district providing they refrained from stealing from its inhabitants.