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Scheduled release date: September 30

A reminder that every article you write in the Orendi is worth 1 point from the Monarch's Game Bag (equivalent to 1/2 a Silver Reward)!

Potential article ideas:
Culture Review - Summersend coverage, etc.
More focused/in-depth Summersend coverage
Joke Summersend article
Citizens' Corner
Steal some writing/art from hardworking Wintreans
Steal more game reviews
If anyone posts more food should definitely do a part 3 on that - maybe make a post on Summersend subforum since it's relevant and steal fellow Wintreans' hard work

Hmm. We really need to round up some writers here...

Will the New Underhusen Burn it Down?
The latest elections to the Underhusen, Wintreath's lower legislative chamber, sent shockwaves through the community, left the Underhusen Old Guard reeling, and set up a potential battle in the next term for the soul of the Underhusen itself.

The first shock came before the first vote was even cast, when Katie, a seven-term incumbent who had served diligently as the Underhusen's Officer of information through her entire tenure, declined to seek re-election, citing offline commitments and a desire to focus on her position as Thane of Diplomatic Officers. Several other incumbents also declined to run for re-election for similar reasons, leaving AJ Blarg, German, North, Chanku, Marzipan, and Doc to fight for the five open seats.

Supplemental: Meet the Candidates

AJ Blarg ran coming off his third and arguably most successful term in the Underhusen, having competently server as Speaker in the outgoing term. He ran on a campaign of a more active Underhusen, but otherwise expressed confidence in the Underhusen as an institution and support for the Underhusen as is.

German ran for the Underhusen for the first time as a relative newcomer to the region, but not to governance, citing experience in the government of Pacifica/Thalassia. He ran on a plan to bring the community closer together by supporting regional culture, particularly by sharing music with each other through a Discord 'record exchange'.

North ran as a voice of experience, having previously served 11 terms in the Underhusen since his first in 2015, including his first stint as Speaker just several terms ago. In his campaign, he stated that he was running to make sure the Underhusen had a mix of experienced and new faces. He also voiced his support for the UH in its current form.

Chanku ran as the voice of experience in the Underhusen, having served a record 16 terms in the Underhusen, including 12 as Speaker or Speaker Pro Tempore, and having ran in every Underhusen election since the Fundamental Laws, the regional Constitution, was adopted in December 2013. In her campaign, she announced plans to introduce judicial reform, fix errors in the Underhusen procedural rules, and educate others on regional law.

Marzipan ran a campaign listing her experience as Prime Minister of Pacificia/Thalassia, activity in the regional community, support for the current UH system, and being a nerd as reasons not to vote for her, though this author suspects that this was reverse psychology and they're meant to be reasons to vote for her.

Doc, the leader of the "Burn It Down" movement, announced his campaign platform to be WOAH: Wintreath Open Assembly Heckling, which would involve stymieing the work of the Underhusen from within under the justification that the Underhusen already has minimal to no effectiveness. He also called out Chanku for "shooting down", "ignoring", or "completely denying the merits" of previous legislation he has proposed in the past.

The biggest shock was left for when the dust settled, when it was announced that not only had Doc, the leader of the "Burn It Down" movement, been elected, but that Chanku, perhaps the most stalwart defender of the institution of the Underhusen, had been defeated by a decent margin. With the loss of long-time members Chanku and Katie, and the addition of Doc and two completely new members, the Underhusen has undergone its most radical change in nearly two years.

What will such change lead to? Given that AJ, North, and Marzipan have expressed support for the current institution of the Underhusen, it's unlikely that it will be "burned down". However, the new Underhusen may be more open to reforms or changes than it would have been had Chanku won re-election instead of Doc. Doc's victory will also raise questions about public support for the Underhusen, given that a seperate initiative he launched that would have asked voters whether the Underhusen was a useful institution to them only narrowly failed to get on the ballot.

Ultimately, in the greatest traditions of the Underhusen, it may be a time of change, or it may simply be an inactive term. Which it will be? Hard to say. We won't know until the term's underway!

Supplemental: What is Burn It Down?

Burn It Down is an informal movement that seeks to do away with or radically change the structure of the Underhusen. While the name was only coined by Doc this spring (with Doc referencing the idea of burning down the Underhusen for nearly a year prior), the sentiment behind Burn It Down lingers from the 2015 Second Constitutional Convention, when the resulting proposal to radically reform the Underhusen into an open assembly narrowly failed to pass after several members stated that they felt they hadn't been included in the discussions or informed about the proposal as much as they should have been.

Supporters of Burn It Down claim that the current Underhusen is chronically inactive, ineffective, and useless; and should be done away with or radically changed. However, recent polls by Laurentus showed that while a large minority of Wintreans agreed with this sentiment, they were split on whether to transform the Underhusen into an open assembly or to dissolve the Underhusen entirely and give its powers to the Monarch or the Overhusen, the Monarch-appointed upper branch of the Storting.

Recent events suggest that more people may support the sentiment behind Burn It Down, but given this division and the fact that the Underhusen has its share of defenders, it's unclear at this time what changes this support could lead to.

Something I wrote for the werewolf game if needed.

On October 8th Wintreath hosted our 19th game of Werewolf, Werewolf XIX: Just Another Husk In The Masses with a Mass Effect theme! Werewolf is a forum game based off the popular social deduction game Mafia. In it a group of players, Wolves, attempts to kill off the other players, Townies, during night phases, where power roles and Wolves may use secret powers, and day phases where all players may vote for one of their number to be eliminated from the game. All Wolves know who each other are while the Townies only know their own roles which may have special powers attached to them. Wolves must kill off the Townies until they outnumber them while Townies must kill off all Wolves to win the game. With that short and hopefully helpful recap out of the way let’s run down the players in this game!

The host of this game was our very own newly minted Jarl Of Culture Ruguo, AKA Silverfishy Zel! This was their first time running a game of Werewolf but not their first experience with the game having previously taken part in Werewolf XVIII: Wintreath’s Got Talent! The players for this game were North, DekuNut, our Illustrious Monarch Wintermoot, Jarl Of Regional Affairs Doc, Kane Lives, our former Jarl Of Culture Gerrick, ShadowX4Life, Thane Of Foreign Releases taulover, Hydra, Werewolf veteran Pengu, Melehan and Thane Of WA Affairs BraveSirRobin, all Citizens of Wintreath as well as El Fiji Grande, a visitor from TNP, Marzipan, Citizen of Wintreath as well as Prime Minister of Thalassia and German, another Citizen of Wintreath with a government role in Thalassia.

We had the chance to sit down with Ruguo for a short interview. Here is what they had to say about the game.

This is the first game of Werewolf you have run. How did you feel when you took up the job and what made you want to run a game?
I was excited when I first took up the job. I had been playing Werewolf on a few different forums since I was introduced to Werewolf in Pengu's game, Werewolf XVIII. During this, I constantly wondered how it looked from the other side, where you know exactly who has what role and can watch how people think as they try to win.

What made you pick a Mass Effect theme for the game?
I like Mass Effect, and I felt I knew enough about the characters to write them decent roles. There was also a strong positive response when suggested in the planning thread, which seemed to indicate people would enjoy it.

Did you do anything to put a spin on the game or anything new for this game?
There were a few people who's games I played in that I took inspiration from to create this game. I burrowed ideas such as voting formats and a few rules, such as no role reveals. One of the major twists of my game was that there was no designated role list, which made it a challenge for the players to accurately judge who was who.

What were your expectations for this game, what sort of experience were you hoping for?
I had exactly zero expectations going in. Having quickly realized I was a bit out of my depth again, I was really just hoping not to crash and burn before the game ended. In fact, I royally messed up the action order of the first night and was forced to roll with it after. I got it smoothed out by the third night, but it was still bumpy. Overall, I had been hoping for a game for me to learn from and one that would be relaxed enough to allow newer players to enjoy the game as well. I think I ended up with a bit more than bargained for, but it was still worth it.

How do you think the game turned out? Was it as you expected?
The game turned out about as well as I expected. I had hoped the wolf team would have been a bit more active, but I was impressed with how well newcomer German played as scum. When the game started, I had expected one of the neutral roles to steal the win, but they were all eliminated fairly quickly due to a strong town presence in the first two nights.

What advice, if any, would you give for people considering running a game of werewolf themselves?
Setting up multiple fail safes in case you mess something up is a huge advantage. I messed up so many little things, but thankfully had prepared for almost all of them. Writing down every night action to cross check effects also helps so much. Don't be afraid to make up new roles, as it is easier to manipulate something new than something already set in stone. And definitely consult with other hosts before jumping in head first. These guys have little tricks of their own that they are usually happy to share.

The game came to a thrilling conclusion on September 27th after several tense and nerve racking nights. So as not to spoil the events of the game we shall not be recounting the events here. To check out the course of events yourself visit https://wintreath.com/forums/index.php?topic=6099.0 to see what went down. Thank you for reading and I hope you all have a nice day!

Thanks North and Moot, and thanks Moot for recruiting some more writers on the Discord!

@Marzipan @Gerrick may I use your photos and recipes from the Summersend food thread?

There's a Snake in My Boot!
An outbreak of snakes at the Arnocen Academy baffles Wintreath!

It's a particularly cold night.  Scholars are walking the halls lost in feverish thought with books in hand.  Soldiers are on the constant alert even though there has been no activity within the academy for as long as people could remember.  Everything as usual seems quiet and almost dull here at the centerpoint for some of Wintreath's most advanced technological leaps forward.

But then, there's a scream. Nearby scholars are stunned since this is something new to them in these halls (at most there've been mutters and gasps of disagreement in arguments).  Soldiers appear seemingly out of nowhere as they make their way to the hall where the source of the scream came from.

As they arrive, they're met with the sight of dozens of what look to be Ikarin Vipers swarming the room, with normally composed and civil scholars standing on tables fearing for their lives.  The soldiers, normally on the watch for human enemies, are unsure of what to do when confronted with all of these swarming snakes, with some soldiers turning tail and running.

But throughout all of the screaming and panicking, nobody had stopped to notice the obvious: what was in the room wasn't the super deadly Ikarin Vipers that rarely ever attacked in groups (and there was no sign that someone had dropped them there).  No, what they encountered was a large group of the completely harmless Iranik Viper whom found their way into the academy via a pipe (which I'm told was now made snake free).

"I feel completely silly, I should have realized right away that they were Iranik Vipers." states renown snake "expert" Marzi De Panne.

Unlike Ikarin Vipers, Iranik vipers are known for having little bubbles all around their bodies.  The snakes that were found around the academy today had those same little bubbles.



The Iranik Viper


The Ikarin Viper

"To be fair, I have heard of people being attacked by Ikarin Vipers that make themselves look like their cousins before."  states local snake rangler Sorey Boit.  It should be mentioned that Ikarin Vipers are known to be mischievous enough trick their victims before killing them, with disguising themselves as their cousins being one of those tricks.

Thankfully nobody was hurt in this harmless snake prank (though some of the scholars did have to change their pants), and some of the Iranik Vipers even found a new home that night...though some also did find a short lived life.

Thanks North and Moot, and thanks Moot for recruiting some more writers on the Discord!

@Marzipan @Gerrick may I use your photos and recipes from the Summersend food thread?

Sure 

This is the Eleventh Installment of Culture Review, written by me, Wintreath’s Jarl of Culture. No, not that other guy, me. I shall now attempt to write the Culture Review to continue the epic tradition. I’ll be covering some of the cultural events in Wintreath from August to October.
Ministry Events  Jarls (Ministers) are appointed roles that serve to watch over specific areas of Wintreath. In late September, Former Jarl Gerrick stepped down from his position as Jarl of Culture. Ruguo was appointed as the new Jarl of Culture. Thanes (Vice-Ministers) Are elected to assist and represent specific areas. At the time of the August election, there were three open thane roles. AJ Blarg now fills the role of Thane of Gaming, and Excalibur fills Thane of Roleplay. Thane of Werewolf currently stands empty.
Wintreath’s Finest is a monthly award that goes to the citizen of the month. Those who are nominated stand out as the most active, dedicated, and strongest contributors to the Region, or have been a good influence overall. August 2019 saw everyone who participated in our summersend festival take the award, which marks the most people to ever receive the award at once. September’s Wintreath’s finest was awarded to Gerrick for his service as Jarl of Culture. Other nominees included German for being a good friend to many Wintreans, Kane for taking part in the most summersend activities, Katie, BraveSirRobin for getting a roleplay running on the forums and AJ Blarg for his work as Thane of Gaming.
Avatar Theme of the Month is the theme nominated by citizens at the beginning of the month and then voted on. This theme is then incorporated into forum user’s avatars for the remainder of the month. August’s theme was Food to compliment the Summersend festival, beating out Chefs, Festivals, Random North, Random Parks, Simpsons, and South Park. In honor of the area 51 raid, September's theme was aliens, beating out Animals wearing Bread, Birth, Inbred Animals, and Labor Day. October’s theme of the month was Death, narrowly beating the Undead, Fursona, aos si, Failed Taxidermy, and Clowns.
Werewolf also occurred during this period, but I shall direct you to page [NUMBER] for a full report on the game.
Summersend
Should this be covered here, or will we have a dedicated article for it?

I made an attempt at the Culture review. Suggestions are very welcome.

Nice review.  I would recommend separating the Wintreath's Finest nominations by month or at least making the difference more obvious.  Other than that this seems fine.

Thanks North and Moot, and thanks Moot for recruiting some more writers on the Discord!

@Marzipan @Gerrick may I use your photos and recipes from the Summersend food thread?

Is the like supposed to be a yes, @Gerrick?

I shall now attempt to write the Culture Review to continue the epic tradition.
Summersend
Should this be covered here, or will we have a dedicated article for it?

I made an attempt at the Culture review. Suggestions are very welcome.

Thanks, Ruguo! Based on quick skim it seems thorough enough. I noticed some capitalization inconsistencies, but otherwise looked good on the skim.

Summersend could go either way. You could cover Summersend in much the same way; otherwise, I could write a dedicated article, though I would probably still follow a fairly formulaic format for it also.

Nice review.  I would recommend separating the Wintreath's Finest nominations by month or at least making the difference more obvious.  Other than that this seems fine.

I can change the bolding in the final edit, it's not a big deal especially since all the formatting will be redone anyway.

1 like = 1 yes

Another Spectacular Summersend
by taulover

This year marks the fifth annual Summersend Festival, and our celebration of the coming of winter is as strong as ever! Here's everything that went down in the festivities.

Before Summersend began, Thane Pengu held a vote for the theme of this year's festival. Initially, the two great Wintrean religions—the Tomato and the Spud—began battling it out for the top spot. However, as Year of the Tomato looked to be winning over Summer of Spud, Emoticonius pointed out that his nomination, Stay Cool: A Summersend Culinary Survival Guide, could present a compromise that encompassed both Potatoes and Tomatoes. Consequently, this theme won, and Summersend 2019 was declared a food festival.

Mage Wars, which first made its debut in Summersend 2017, returned once more. Developed by Monarch Wintermoot, this game resembles a multiplayer Battleship, with players seeking to destroy other players' mage towers on the map grid, and with many exciting buffs, debuffs, and triggered events. This is a fairly long game, and is still ongoing.

I, taulover, hosted a game of Culinary-themed Avalon, in which the players were to cook potato-based dishes for the Church of the Holy Spud. However, the dangerous secret Tomatoeists, consisting of Marzipan, Hydra, and BraveSirRobin, were seeking to sabotage these missions... and they ultimately succeeded, as they were able to fail the first three missions.

Kane lives hosted a wonderful game of 20 Questions. The answer was Pineapple, ultimately guessed by North! A second game was then hosted by Marzipan, but nobody was able to get the answer before the end of the festival.

Crushita and Doc won the Royal Summersend Couple contest. As the Potato Pope and Tomato Pope, the two made a perfect match.

Jarl Gerrick began a One Sentence Story: each contributor can only add one sentence at a time. The tale devolved into a wonderful little vignette about a Potato and a Tomato and their bizarre holy adventures.

Monarch Wintermoot also began building a Wintreath Skyscraper, with Wintreans adding their own floors as they built the tower. The building quickly became a pun chain based on the Rosetta Stone, as well as many other funny spins on previous floors (for instance, floor 59, by Gerrick, was "Legless Legolas' Legos, Eggos, and Lassos for Lads and Lasses").

Gerrick, Marzipan, and myself (taulover) shared food that we had cooked and/or eaten! A tasty selection are reproduced in the following article; definitely check them out!

After many, many hours of work, Orendi formatting is complete!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XpjIe_Cl3HaHsQkcconvm9t97onjwzSF/view
https://imgur.com/a/IbZEcG2

Ambassadors will be summoned once it is hosted on Wintreath.