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FIFTH FIRETRUCE (3841)

The Dream Falters
Asta Michaelis was a damp, mist-covered world, a suitably gloomy setting for the Fifth Firetruce. After several positive steps towards unification, the Fifth Firetruce marked a great step backwards. The Blood Eagle, in disarray after the assassination of Komarosu, did not send an official delegation at all, but was represented by belligerent splinter groups flirting with independence, notably the Wolfsbane, Excelsior and Shadow Stalker factions - which indeed declared independent status by the conclusion of the Firetruce.

These breakaway factions openly fought with other tribesmen, most notably the Starwolf. Tribal rivalries flared, and frequent quarrels marred the celebration. Even the Diamond Sword, noted for their desire to remain "above the fray," were involved in several altercations, culminating in a fatal sword-and-tetrahook duel between the Sworder Enlightened Champion Senzu Pax and the Battlequeen of the Gorgon Killers, Rachel "Shargon" Andeles. Pax won the combat with a clinical style that left observers deeply impressed with Diamond Sword combat training. The blow to prestige was numbing for the Gorgon Killers, and many sub-factions abandoned the tribe. Coupled with the increased influence of the Diamond Sword and the surging Starwolf Alliance, only the Children of Phoenix retained the status of a leading tribe of the Three.

Yet even the Children of the Phoenix fared poorly here. Phoenix Prime Anachrussa Mari Menai yl-Harabec has not been looked upon kindly by history; her warnom was "Naginata" but a more common derisive nickname was "Scatterbrain." A dispirited leader with a serious trekohl addiction, she did little to continue the positive progress made by her progenitors, almost causing an insurrection within the ranks of the Children - an unthinkable occurrence. She left a legacy of apathy that pervaded the Children for years after her reign, which ended in 3847 after a trekohl binge caused her to collapse and drown in her sanctuary's koi pond. She provided nothing of leadership during the Firetruce, and her faltering opening speech set the tone of the following events. Many observers concluded this Firetruce would be the last, a noble but failed experiment. The open contempt for the Children and for Unity shown by the departing tribes seemed to support this reasoning.