Because Earth Day landed on a Saturday, it was decided to extend the Earth Day celebrations to the whole weekend. It was also a good time to show off some things that had been in progress for a while.
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Probably one that had the most information was the "colony" that had been under development in San Francisco, but which had been delayed due to the heavy rainfall that had struck California. Now that there was a string of good weather, the construction was well under way.
There was also a brief "coverage" by Bennie and Marina about why the "Animalia district", as it was unofficially called, was being built.
"While we were examining some of the beachside condos for Animalian occupation," said Benny, "A group of condos were discovered that were built well before modern building codes, with the 'youngest' of them being in the 60s. Upon examination, a whole host of problems were discovered, including but not limited to lead-based paint, damaged or degraded wiring, and asbestos construction. Eventually, the problems were so bad that it was decided to just, carefully, knock them down and start over again. Fortunately, this is allowing Animalians easier access to the beach and/or ocean."
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There was also the opportunity to make various, environmentally focused announcements. What was probably the biggest news was from Heiya Island, which was actually about the island being scouted for a new Animalia colony. Similar to Heiya Island, there was enough room for an initial farming community while the island was still scouted, but there wouldn't be enough room for anything larger than a large town due to the volcano (which was now determined to be safely extinct).
The biggest subgroup of news was actually about the ancient peach tree that had been found on the island. New measurements had determined its age to now be well over a thousand years old, though an exact year would still need more research, since both the Chinese and Japanese governments already forbid cutting the tree down.
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Earth Day was also when the latest episode of When Worlds Collide... came out. It was set during the Cherry Blossoms festival where, not only Oberon and Titania paid a visit, but also the Emperor of China, not only to show solidarity against Sauron, but also to introduce a small group of his finest warriors: Mulan, her husband Shang, and their three friends Yao, Ling, and Chien Po. Also, there was the White Council, Merlin's superiors Saruman the White and Gandalf the Grey, as well as Elrond Half-Elven and Lady Galadriel. During their meeting with Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi Tokichiro, and Tokugawa Ieyasu (who had formed an unofficial triumvirate), as well as Hide, his mother Suzuka, and her brother Otakemaru, Tokichiro brought up the two Nazgūl that had been encountered in the fallen dwarf kingdom, with Saruman's usual response (though only those who were familiar with Lord of the Rings knew why that was).
"Without the One to command them, the Nine are mere shadows of their former selves."
However, it was the ghost of Shang's father that delivered the most troubling news of the episode.
"Your majesty, a large group of Huns (or so the Chinese called the Mongols) has sided with the Red Eye. Their old leader, Shan Yu, has accepted one of the Nine Rings."
While everyone was clearly disturbed by that, Abe no Seimei was able to deliver some comforting news, which he got while studying the Mirror of Galadriel.
"These Huns aren't the vanguard of a new invasion." he said, "They're more likely to be national extremists who believe that siding with Sauron will allow them to reestablish, and maybe even expand, the old Yuan Dynasty."
While that was comforting to learn, it wasn't by much. But the emperor of China offered an unusual suggestion.
"If we can find Wo Long, the greatest demon hunter of China's Three Kingdom's period, we might be able to tip the balance in our favor."
"If he was human," answered Elrond, "It would be likely that he is long dead, and his remains withered to dust by now."
"While he did found an order of demon hunters in his name after the rise of the Jin Dynasty, it was hardly an ascetic one. When he finally died, he was buried with all his possessions. We might be able to find both him and his tomb with this." replied the emperor, smiling and pulling out a large jade pendant, carved in the likeness of a dragon devouring its tail, with its claw wrapped around a small, blue crystal. On the outer rim were letters of a strange language.
"Let me see that," demanded Otakemaru, before amending it with "please..." After taking a good look at the letters, he smiled, "It's the language of the Yaoguai. Fortunately, I'm quite familiar with such a language, so I'll be able to translate it. Might take me a day or two, but I'll get it done."