With House Bjorn of the Setting Sun opening court, news spread of a strange malady in the lands of the Rising Sun. The Doctor of the Court, in an effort to ensure that the disease did not spread into Setting Sun lands, took time to research the disease and its origins. With the help of a Reveler and a Scout, Girot, it was discovered that the disease likely originated from an excavation in the far South, near the Great Barrier. With the help of the wizened ones, the disease was identified as Bile of the Deep, an insidious disease that kills from within, as elements from the blackness under the sea enter victims and choke them from within. It is a disease thought to punish those that delve too deeply into mystery without observing the proper reverence. It is also known to kill whole households. If rumors from the East were to be believed, the disease had taken a great toll among the population. One task of the Wizened Ones is to halt diseases and prevent them from further spreading among the folk. It was for this reason that the Doctor of the Court and Reveler beseeched the Bjorn for permission to investigate the source of the disease and the rumored place which spawned them.
It was approaching forty-nine years since the war of the suns ended. The party of the Polar Bear approached Challenger's Island. Their journey was uneventful, aside from the leavings of careless trappers in nights before. The sun shone on Hans Bjørn and his cub, Lars. Watchful eyes followed the party in the night, but were unable to slow such a majestic passage. Vergen's paws no sooner touched the soil of the island than strange tidings lapped with the river's movement. The stars portended a fortuitous exchange, though not without complication. You see, the cub of the Grizzly was not present.
Each of the rituals were followed in their course. The greetings were given in the bright light of the sun. A Reveler was in attendance as well, to see that the exchange was made peaceably, though none in these glorious parties would dare test the face of the sun. It was revealed that the seventh son had passed, though from what, no answer came. The ire of the Bjørn king was evident, and trepidation showed on the faces of the Grizzlies. It seemed that conflict might arise and the sun began to set. A wizened one noted that the mother of the Grizzlies carried a new child. Night fell over the parties and agreement was finally reached. Those in attendance celebrated in the face of the dark.