LORDS OF THE EARTH CAMPAIGN 54
"LORDS OF THEEURTH"

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Now men awoke and listened to Felagund as he harped and sang, and each thought that he was in some fair dream, until he saw that his fellows were awake also beside him; but they did not speak or stir while Felagund played, because of the beauty of the music and the wonder of the song. Wisdom was in the words of the Elven-King and the hearts grew wiser that hearkened to him; for the things of which he sang, of the making of Arda, and the bliss of Aman beyond the shadows of the Sea, came as clear visions before their eyes, and his Elvish speech was interpreted in each mind according to its measure.

     - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion

1. At some point in the future, this game will be transitioning to the new Version 6.0 of the LOTE rules.  I have no timetable for this transition.  It will happen when I feel that the immediate kinks and birth pains of the new version have been worked out to my satisfaction.  Also, when the rules are published where players can get their mitts on them. Mostly, that transition will involve work for me, not you.  Probably the most important difference for you will be the wholly different ship types and costs (lots more gold, lots less NFP).  However, there are some "Darn Nifty™" new rules in there that I think would make great House Rules now.  So see the House Rules page for some of those which are in effect as of right now.

These changes include:

• 3.1.4 - Changing Governments (Dictatorships)
• 3.3.10 - Education of Royalty.
• 3.3.11 - Increase Loyalty.
• 3.3.12 - Seize Merchant Shipping.

2. I have also included a list of potential canals. Rule 7.2.5.  Yeah.  They'd be enormously expensive and are mostly beyond current technology.

3. A great many of you are asking adventuring companies to be assassins, scouts or researchers.  They don't do those things.  If you need that, hire assassins, scouts or researchers (Intel and Assassin Ops).  See the House Rules for what adventurers will do.

MEDARHOS -

North-Western Medarhos -

The Skane Jarldoms -  Ruler - King Bjarnalf Capital - Vanaheim Dominant Race - Human Diplomacy - Deleos [N/A]

The Kingdom of Tirgonia -
Ruler - Regent Canoarch
Capital - Tirgon
Dominant Race - Human
Diplomacy - Aonach [N/A]

The Iron Empire of Daerond -    Ruler - Emperor Vantos I Elerek Capital - Aicherai Dominant Race - Human Diplomacy - Aluirek [A]

The Harkorian League -
Ruler - First Councillor Azazel
Capital - Cadares
Dominant Race - Human

THE DAERON WARS

2826

Erdhonis, 2826 - Søren Overgaard the the Skane raiding fleet set sail for Daerond.

Agaleon, 2826 - Harkorian Councillor Alexeos, Tirgonian King Quinn and their armies set out from their capitals for the Daerond frontier.  Five thousand orcish and ogre mercenaries arrive unannounced at Aicherai and claim they have a contract to serve the Empire.

Daarlem, 2826 -  The Skane raiding fleet arrives at the Narglaurith river.

Northhale, 2826 - The Daeron port fortress at Lycia stymies Skane efforts to raid the interior.

Berlas - Branaeor, 2826 - The Skane strip what little is left of the Hills of Terror and Landegol.

2827

Erdhonis, 2827 - Søren Overgaard the the Skane raiding fleet return to the Archelos Sea where they are harried by the pirate fleet.

Agaleon, 2827 - The Tirgonian army invades Daerond at Nivaan with fifteen thousand troops. The local militia and tiny garrison rise up in a hopeless resistance.

Strynod, 2827 - The Harkorian army invades Daerond at Landegol with six thousand troops. The local militia and the tiny army of Lycia under Duke Mordek Danaur rise up in a hopeless resistance. They are quickly crushed. Danaur is killed and his body thrown unceremoniously into the Narglaurith.

Maravis, 2827 - Emperor Vantos is forced to abandon his attempts at a census and respond to the Tirgonian invasion.  With the aid of the orcish mercenaries, he digs in to defend the Great Rift.

Daarlem, 2827 - The Skane fleet returns to Vanaheim.  With Nivaan pacified, the Tirgonian army leaves two thousand light infantry in garrison and marches into the Great Rift.

Northhale, 2827 - The Battle of the Great Rift-  Thirteen thousand Tirgonian troops under Duke Hanri and King Quinn squared off against the army of Daerond at the edge of the Great Rift itself amid the vapors and weird cries from its stygian depths. Emperor Vantos rode at the head of eleven thousand troops, including five thousand mercenaries and a thousand mighty ogres.  The Tirgonian leadership was brilliant and its army far more maneuverable.  But the men of Daerond fought for their homeland and were well dug in behind formidable, if makeshift, defenses. Perhaps most importantly, the mercenaries were hard and better trained than any troops on the field. After a day long struggle in the heat and dust, neither army had the clear upper hand, each side suffering some four thousand casualties.  But as the day waned, the Imperial guard struck a telling blow.  Charging in behind a wedge of unstoppable ogres, they overwhelmed the spot on the Tirgonian right where king Quinn commanded the cavalry.  The king was slain by a lance through the heart.  The fight went out of the Tirgonians, who retreated from the field bearing the body of their slain lord and guarded against attack by their still-superior number of cavalry.

With Landegol pacified, the Harkorian army begins the systematic enslavement of the region. 

2828

Agaleon, 2828 - The peasants of Landegol rise against their Harkorian enslavers.  They may have led miserable lives under the Black Dukes, but they had no intention of going quietly as slaves of their own former slaves.  Ill-led bands of locals rose up and challenged the invaders across the province.  Unfortunately for them, the Harkorian units were highly-trained and disciplined and the open fields of Landegol were a playground for the elite heavy cavalry from Morthales and Cadares.  The insurgency was wiped out with little fanfare.

Strynod, 2828 - The Imperial and mercenary forces of Daerond are once again ready for battle.  Aware of the enemy's many superior qualities, Vantos nonetheless throws caution to the wind.  After a prayer and sermon by the priests of Caravok the Destroyer, the Emperor led his army into Nivaan for revenge. 

Maravis, 2828 - The Battle of Nivaan - Hanri's demoralized army was still recovering its scattered strength from the previous year's battle when Vantos's smaller army approached with bloody-minded intent.  The Duke quickly rallied his men and moved to utilize his heavy advantage in cavalry against the overconfident Emperor.  With the addition of the Nivaan garrison, the Tirgonian army now numbered eleven thousand against Daerond's nine thousand.  The Tirgonian army's state of disarray was its undoing.  Though the casualties were ultimately similar on both sides (approximately fifteen hundred per side), it was a clear-cut tactical victory for Daerond.  The Tirgonian army was soundly beaten and forced to retreat homeward before instigating its plan to lay waste to Nivaan.

Cleon, 2828 - Knowing that Landegol was burning, Vantos eschewed his chance to reorder his army and reinforce his depleted ranks and instead marched swiftly south. 

Northhale, 2828 - The Battle of Landegol- The enslavement of Landegol complete, the Harkorians began to return across the Narglaurith river.  Vantos and his army arrive in time to pin the Harkorians against the river and force a battle.  As Alexeos struggled to wheel his troops around and get the leading elements back across the river, Vantos struck with the full fury of his Imperial Guard and the orcish mercenaries. The six thousand Harkorians were all elite troops, tough and capable, but the seven thousand Daerons, and particularly the mercenaries were better equipped and were able to attack a disadvantaged foe.  Harkorian Lord Ranos III summoned magical power that strengthened and sharpened the Harkorian blades. Their backs to the marshy riverbanks, the Harkorians were unable to bring their full power to bear.  Even so, the first day of the battle was a long and bitter struggle without issue.  Both sides had lost some thousand dead or missing.

On the second day, the orcish mercenaries launched a deadly charge against the Harkorians which broke their line before the sun had fairly begun to approach its zenith.  The elite Harkorians broke and ran for the dubious safety of the river.  Though Landegol had been ravaged, the Emperor recovered its people, the slaves Alexeos and his army had taken so many months to acquire.

2829

Cleon, 2829 - Undaunted, and indeed angered by his defeat, First Councillor Azazel orders Alexeos and his surviving army back across the Narglaurith to retake Landegol. 

Daarlem - 2929 - Landegol Again- The Harkorian army crosses the Narglaurith to face the waiting Daeron army. This time, the result was entirely different.  Despite having to cross the Narglaurith against a waiting enemy, the weight of Harkorian cavalry and the elite nature of the soldiers was telling.  The over-confident Daerons were driven back from the river's edge and then back from their camp.  Beaten, the army retreated towards Hastaalm.  Vantos managed to keep his army together and retire in good order, however, and so was able to take with him the people of Landegol whom the Harkorians had sought to take as slaves. The Harkorian cavalry harried his retreat all the way to the forest eaves.

2830

Agaleon, 2830 - His army now rested and recovered, Azazel ordered Alexeos to follow Vantos's army and re-seize those slaves.  Alexeos doggedly pursued the emperor.

Strynod, 2830 - The Battle of Hastaalm -  Thirty-five hundred elite Harkorians pursued an equal number of Daerons and mercenaries into the dense woodlands of Hastaalm. Their elite status still mattered, but not so their cavalry.  Here, it was knowledge of the local terrain that mattered and the pendulum swung once again.  Vantos and his small army used stealth and ambush to turn Hastaalm into a killing ground, forcing the retreat (very nearly a rout) of the Harkorians back to Landegol. 

Northhale, 2830 - The Harkorian army, now numbering twenty-five hundred effectives, crosses the Narglaurith and returns to Himerium.  The orcish mercenaries end their contract, leaving a Daerond army numbering fewer than two thousand wintering in Hastaalm.

The Edgemoor Orcs -
Ruler - Corash the Brave
Capital - Zaramaka
Dominant Race - Orcs

PIRATES!

The pirate fleet continued to wage unchecked warfare on the merchant fleets of northwest Medahros.  Nearly twenty percent of all merchants passing through the Archelos Sea were taken!

They also raided Elpedium and Seafarthing.

South-Western Medarhos -

The Brythnian Confederation -  Ruler - Queen Coeus Capital - Carrenthium Dominant Race - Taurid

It was an age of woeful disaster.  King Esriadan marched secretly with an army of thirteen thousand centaurs through the mountains of Auram and the Goldenhorns, and thence through the wilds of Hildreth to come suddenly upon the Ascarlon heartlands of Galati.  But the Ascars had many spies and were aware of the coming of this horde.  On the king's third night in Galati, he was set upon by vampires in his tent and slain.  Meanwhile, spies who seemed to be centaurs sowed dissension and panic within the ranks of the army, so that many of the centaurs mutinied. It was while the brave taurid army was in this state that the forces of Gauros the Arisen struck.  The Brythnians still held a great advantage in numbers and ferocity, but they were ill-led, for Esriadan had brought with him no second-in-command.  Moreover, Galati had many stout castles and hill forts to stymie the centaur movement.  Gauros and his much smaller army of six thousand (including elite infantry, heavy cavalry and two thousand ghouls and the shambling dead) completely dominated the leaderless centaurs and sent them reeling back into the hills. The loss was nearly total.

Under their junior officers, the centaurs managed to rally a few thousand of their number and struggle over the mountains to return to Carrenthium with just three thousand five hundred troopers.

Moreover, Lord Rialden, liaison to the Conorrian army, died in Lenicum of yellow fever, while Lycurgus Redshanks, lord of the Dacian Hills, died in 2826 of wounds received while hunting.  Thus it was that the only national leader left was Coeus, a centaur sorceress.  Ironically, Esriadan had left instructions that Coeus be dismissed from his service in 2830.  Instead, she was crowned his successor.  Loricam and Unialus immediately seceded from the confederation.

Luckily, the Aelissian halflings and humans from the Crusader States, Grail Primacy and the Order of the Dawn encamped in Brythnia did not betray her, despite the dynastic and military failures.

Aelissia - Ruler - King Marvin Fatfish Capital - The Great Delve Dominant Race - Halfling

Corland - Ruler - King Armand Capital - Khairais Dominant Race - Human Diplomacy - Mauredoc [N/A]

Days of peace and plenty continued to be the blessing of Corland, the evils of the har'keen occupation now a fading nightmare.  Even their vile habitations are nearly forgotten, most traces of them having blown away with the wind.  Only the eerie silence of Serry, Garromais, Andelais and Votois remain as monuments to the near-annhilation of the Corish people. More colonists were sent to Courronais and the whole wealth of the nation was bent to their success. Meanwhile, Duke Henri traveled to the rebel region of Mauredoc and there entreated the local lords into alliance, but the rebels would have none of it.

 

Lorraine - Ruler - King Artorius Capital - Armorica Dominant Race - Human

Prince Mordred, Sir Boru and the archmage Myrddin traveled to the Llyran island of Ryoril where, with the Republic's permission, they founded the city of Meergeld.  As soon as the city was founded, Lorraine merchants used its small port to further their trade into the Valesian Sea, trading with Conorria, Thariyya, Marador and Accolon.  A new route was also set up with Brythnia via the Golden Sea and the Ghostwash, but was immediately set upon by the pirates in the Archelos Sea. King Artorius commissioned a new large galley on the Conorrian design, and transferred it, along with several small transports, to his son, Prince Mordred. Sir Morgan was governor of Cassivelaunus, but he began to sicken and accomplished little before his death in 2828 after a long bout with consumption.

The Neldorean Wood -

Ruler - Queen Nereil Capital - Elenuil Dominant Race - Elf

Not a word was heard, though foreign sailors say that Elenuil is no longer the tiny port it once was.

Queen Nereil

The Airnim Horde -  Ruler - Unknown Capital - Haelopolis Dominant Race - Human

The Exarchate of the Great Crusade - Ruler - Queen Ava Capital - Pontezium Dominant Race - Human Diplomacy - Salt Shore [-]

Queen Ava

Queen Ava ordered that the South Akasian Hills be cleared for cultivation, and this arduous process was begun.  She also gave charters for several small villages in the beautiful Akasian Hills.  The queen helped to raise nearly a thousand infantryman for her ally, Roger of Pomarche.  Finally, she exercised her sorcerous powers to improve the economy of the nation. Her brothers, Prince Gauter and Prince Candos, moved their army of four thousand from the Hills of Itherias across the Lyodan river into the taurid plains of Lloricam.  From the south, Lord Sheldon commanded the river flotilla that ferried Pomarche's three thousand troops to Lloricam, where the entire Crusader presence in Brythnia became seven thousand troops. Lord Yaral continued to importune Charles of the Salt Shore, but Charles steadfastly refused to give up his own sovereignty over that coastal region.

The Holy Order of the Dawn -
Ruler - Grand Master Tiberius
Capital - The Akasian Hills
Dominant Race - Human
Diplomacy - Flavium [OH], Benemartius [OH]

Rhanalor -

they reeled back towards the border.  It was then that the Baron's small army of men and ghouls struck, in combination with a large number of stout fortifications, and , thanks to brilliant generalship, scattered the hapless and leaderless centaurs into a total rout.  Fear and murder had accomplished what the force of arms could not have dared to dream.

In addition, thousands of new colonists entered into Mahant and took up farming.

The Worldspine Orcs -
Ruler - Vaurog Breakspear
Capital - Mount Kauroth
Dominant Race - Orc
Diplomacy - Torokon [NT]

King Vaurog gave his armies, some fifteen thousand strong, into the command of his son, Gorstagg and ordered him to protect the realm.  Alongside him were five thousand regulars of the Carhallas army.  Coming, he knew, were the allies of Ascarlon and Carhallas. Vaurog raised and granted a thousand goblin raiders to his ally, Mendak Half-Goblin of Brolok, and ordered Mendak move into the Conorrian frontier province of Quaethos and harry the richer surrounding territories.  (See The War of the Worldspines, below). Then in 2827came the word that a massive force of Grail troops, consisting of fifty-five thousand troops from Conorria, the Grail Primacy and the dwarves of Dhûnazhar as well as Llyran skyships, were marching north from Lenicum.  At about this time, Gorstagg's bodyguards caught and slaughtered a Conorrian assassin who had been sent to kill him. Gorstagg ignored his father's orders to meet the Grailites in the Southern Worldspines.  Instead, he dug in and defended around the capital, in order to give his orcs a better position and also to give his allies time to arrive.  (See The War of the Worldspines, below). Lords Magand and Gandaur governed in Mount Kauroth and Gargath until their deaths in 2829 and 2827, respectively.  Both turned out to be venal, greedy and lazy. King Vaurog, old as he was (very old, for an orc) fathered both a daughter and a son.

Emperor Maugroth sent reinforcements to aid the orcish scum of the Worldspines, while still keeping significant forces in Sauthor.  He named his son Maugroth the Younger his heir and died a mere seven months later, wracked with a wet cough no medicine could aid. General U'karth commanded the five thousand elite hobgoblins in the Worldspines, and eventually the thousands more allied troops that appeared just before the great battle.  The latter eight thousand, mostly light cavalry, were ambushed in Brolok by Conorrian general Domus with three thousand light infantry.  Despite being outnumbered and outmaneuvered, Domus's original strategies allowed him to inflict nearly a thousand casualties on the hobgoblins before they could continue on their way. See The War of the Worldspines, below. In the extreme west, the hobgoblins of Qandaraq grew bored with distant Carcaroth and rebelled, cursing the name of the Emperor as a foreign dictator.

The Great Kingdom of Annvar - Ruler - Councillor Denerthaw Capital - Varthane Dominant Race - Human Diplomacy - Argininkai [-FA], Arvamak [-FA], Balga [-FA], Gastos [-FA], Gurvolynas [-FA], Kala [-FA], Rukai [-FA], Sharu [-FA], Torava [-FA] Marvald [+FA]

The Standard of Annvar

The Conorrian Heartland -

The Conorrian Empire -

Ruler - Emperor Constantikos III Capital - Echoriath Dominant Race - Human Diplomacy - Aquae Albanesis [-T], Baetulo [-T], Boenia [-T], Calodunum [-T], Isurium [-T], Naxartes [-T], Pautalia [-T], Scythnus [-T], Zela [-T]

Like the Annvarites far to the north, Constantikos engaged in some wholesale decentralization of Conorrian control over the less-developed provinces.  Demanding only tribute in exchange for the emancipation of nine marginal provinces, the Emperor hoped thereby to shift his governmental resources to more profitable centers such as Adoria and Faloricum. In addition to his vigorous administration of the Empire, Constantikos found time to reorder the merchant fleets (moving an armada of idle military transports into commercial use at Echoriath) and to father two more children, his third son Constantikos and his fifth daughter, Leucretia. Missionaries to Riandos convinced the local taurids to embrace the Lords of the Grail after twenty-five years of preaching.  They were particularly enthusiastic about Daria, goddess of wild places, and Artorius, god of war. Princess Anna assisted her father in his work for many years and was rewarded with the governorship of Echoriath for the year 2830.  Many noted that the Emperor was breaking with tradition by appointing a woman to such a post, but others called him forward-thinking.  In any case, Anna showed little inclination towards civic duties, and spent her year composing a written paean to the glory of the Imperial house. Prince Arcalas traveled to Carrenthium in Brythnia to investigate the causes of the Great Fire
	there ten years before.  He was close-lipped about his findings. Prince Varantius traveled to Lenicum where he transferred sixteen thousand limitanei to the Legio XII of Herculeades Agrippa and took over command of Lenicum's five thousand cavalry. In 2827, a clear blue summer morning was rent with a thunderous din as a new mountain was born in fire and cataclysm in the province of Lederata.  Named mons cornus, the mountain spewed sulfurous gasses and explosive balls of molten rock for weeks before quieting down to mere hissing steam and bubbling pools of oddly-colored water.  Dozens of towns and hundreds of farms were destroyed.  Tens of thousands of people were displaced to the roads, suddenly without homes or livelihood.  The ancient church which had stood on the very spot of the eruption was utterly destroyed. The city of Colanum was also hard-hit, with burning ash responsible for dozens of fires.  Without the farms to provide food, the cityfolk had to rely on stores brought in from beyond the province, and many starved or emigrated.

Palos Eatredes, legatus legiones, and Mikal Oak, primus ordo veneficus, joined the command of Herculeades Agrippa, dux in lenicum, at Lenicum. In 2827, having gathered an army of thirty-six thousand, including two thousand elite legionnaires and fourteen thousand elite rangers, Herculeades was ready to march.  Along with him were the armies of the Grail Primacy and Dhûnazhar.  With fifty-five thousand men and dwarves and eight Llyran skyships, they marched north.  (See The War of the Worldspines, below).

Meanwhile, Domus, allied comes per lidhinos, marched north to intercept Carhallas reinforcements.  (See The War of the Worldspines, below).

In 2828, a fire broke out in the scholae vigiles in Echoriath.  The doors had been barred shut from the outside and dozens of scribes, eunuchs and scholars burned to death along with thousands of scrolls and tablets accounting for the civil service of the Empire.  The Watch apprehended several foreign merchants and residents and held them for questioning.

Finally, the eastern forest provinces revolted en masse.  Perinthus, Udicus and Thrysdus all felt the loose and distant hand of Ecoriath slipping and simply ceased to tolerate the Imperial yoke.

The Great Church of the Lords of the Grail -

Ruler - Patriarch Calidonus Holy City - Conorr Dominant Race - Human Diplomacy - Lederata [-UN], Colanum [-AB], Greensward [AB], Seafarthing [CH], Lethinan [CH], Mediovalum [CH], Hypylus [CH]

The Patriarch's Standard

Bishop Belisarus traveled to the Brythnian Hills with three thousand troops (including two thousand elite cavalry) and defended the northern frontier.

The Dwarven mercenary Khedem Var once again served the Primacy as admiral of its fleet.  He sailed thirty warships west to aid Har'Akir in its war on the pirates.  (See The Southern Pirates, below).

The Dwarven Realm of Dhûnazhar - 
Ruler - King Valand Dragonsbane
Capital - Khelem Vala
Dominant Race - Dwarf
Diplomacy - Oeres [-]

THE WAR OF THE WORLDSPINES

During the year 2826, few forces were yet moving in what would eventually become an enormous battle for the Worldspine Mountains.  The orcs and their hobgoblin allies dug in around the capital in the Worldspine North.  Meanwhile, reinforcements from Ascarlon and Carhallas marched across the intervening hills and woodlands to reach the mountains in time.  In the south, the Conorrians gathered a vast army at Hell's Gate in Lenicum and awaited the arrival of more reinforcements from the Emperor, from the Grail Patriarch, the dwarven king of Dhûnazhar and from the senate of the Llyran Republic.

Two forces that were on the offensive that year were both moving as stealthily as possible.  Mendak Half-Goblin, a Worldspine ally, marched a light force of two thousand goblins south across the Maurellian Range and into Ophialum.  Domus, Conorrian comes per Lidhinos, marched north with three thousand into Endorwaith

2827

Agaleon, 2827 - Mendak's goblin raiders enter into the Conorrian province of Quaethos.  His movement is by night, but his troops take no care to hide their presence.

Strynod, 2827 - Mendak begins to raid the Conorrian province of Zenoton for slaves.

Maravis, 2827 - Herculeades Agrippa and his 55,000 Conorrian and allied troops  launch their invasion of the Worldspines.  Sizing up the situation, Herculeades weighs his orders.  He decides to ignore the goblin provocations in Zenoton and proceed with his attack.  His troops march northwest.

Cleon, 2827 - The Ascarlon reinforcements arrive at the Worldspines.

Daarlem, 2827 - Finished with raiding Zenoton, Mendak Half-Goblin proceeds to raid Acaris. The main Grail army enters the Worldspines South. General Domus and his three thousand troops enter the forests of Rhundur and begin scouting for hobgoblins.

Northhale, 2827 - The Grail forces once again pacify the Southern Worldspines.  There is very little resistance to their overwhelming force.  In the Northern Worldspines, Gorstagg and his allies await the inevitable, rather than moving south.

2828

Erdhonis, 28298 - Finished with some fairly unsuccessful slave raiding, Mendak Half-Goblin returns north, avoiding the Worldspine battles. Herculeades Agrippa, overall commander of the Grail forces in the Worldspines, dies of camp fever.  Command of the Conorrian forces falls to Palos Eatredes, while overall command falls to King Valand Dragonsbane of Dhûnazhar.

Agaelon, 2828 - Domus and his Conorrians detect Skarkug and his Carhallas troops marching from Brolok south.  They move to intercept. In the wake of the slave raids, Acaris revolts and declares its independence.

Strynod, 2828 - The Battle of Brolok - Domus's three thousand light Conorrian infantry stood athwart the path of eight thousand hobgoblins, many of them cavalry.  The hobgoblins were commanded by general Scarkug, a lean hobgoblin given to philosophy and vivid poetry.  The wily Scarkug was outmatched by the outstanding generalship of Domus, but numbers and maneuverability were ultimately telling.  Domus's force was forced to retreat, while Scarkug (about a thousand troops lighter) marched on. 

Daarlem, 2828 - Both the Carhallas reinforcements and the Grail army march into the Worldspines North in the same week.

Northhale 2828 - The Battle of the Northern Worldspines - In one of the truly titanic battles of the age, fifty-five thousand men and dwarves faced off against thirty-one thousand men, orcs, hobgoblins and the undead. The Grail armies had a superlative general and good supporting leaders, and an excellent mixture of elite troops and light troops. They struggled with multinational command, the terrain and fighting far from home. Just before the battle commencement, the Conorrians unfurled the ancient Blood Eagle Banner, long the symbol of power the Empire.  Conorrian war wizards ensured that their army's blades were bright with magic.  Dwarven battle-priests chanted ancient songs of power which roused the blood of their already fierce warriors. Grailite priests blessed their armies with holy power against the armies of Darkness. Llyran skyship crews tuned their engines. Of the Dark Court armies, only the forces of Ascarlon came prepared with magic, and this was a foul rotting of the metal of their foes, canceling the Conorrian enchantments. But the Dark Court, too, had a great general in Gorstagg.  What's more, they were heavily dug in and defending their homeland, and of course, there were many castles and forts to support the army.

The first day's battle was a bitter standoff, with the Grail forces battering away at the Dark Court defenses.  Despite the heroism of the Conorrian XII legion in a doomed frontal assault on the castle of Kevrak, the defenders had the upper hand for most of the day.  Late in the afternoon, however, the Conorrians unleashed their secret weapon.  The War Wizards stood forth in a line just behind the legionnaires and invoked cyan bolts of eldritch power which fed into one central point - the wizard Mikal Oak.  The oddly-named wizard was the Conorrian's Primus ordo Veneficus, their archmage.  Mikal channeled the power of the War Wizards into a single, devastating invocation.  The sky over the mountains grew dark and ash began to fall.  Minutes later, the space over the Dark Court armies was rent with a thunderous storm of fire as the air itself burst into flames.   Though this horrific effect lasted for only a dozen seconds, thousands were set ablaze and died or were sent screaming from the field.  The armies of Ascarlon bore the greatest brunt of this assault. But the fire fell on the orcs, too, and one of those burned to death was none other than Prince Gorstagg, commander of the joint Dark Court armies. By the end of the day, each side had suffered some fifteen thousand dead or injured. Despite this, neither side was inclined to quit the field.

Although their great magic was spent, any rational evaluation of the two sides at the start of the second day would have to conclude that the armies of the Grail held the clear advantage because of their great numbers.  They began the day with forty thousand effectives compared to the mere fifteen thousand fielded by the defenders.  But when Vaurog Breakspear took the field to replace his fallen son, the spirit of the orcs and their allies rose to a fever pitch.  With the rising of the sun, the battle recommenced with as great a fury as it had displayed the day before.  This day, however, was far more lopsided.  The Dark Court allies fell upon the Grail despite their superior numbers and with great fury drove them back, forcing them ultimately to retire (albeit in good order and protected by the hovering skyships) to the Southern Worldspines.  The toll of the second day was ten thousand Grail forces slain compared to seven thousand Dark Court casualties.  Both sides spent months recovering their scattered troops and tending to their wounded, but the battles did not resume...yet.

VALES -

North-Western Vales -

The Llyran Republic -
Ruler - Constans Harko Marova
Capital - Tarrentica
Dominant Race - Human

The Holy Matriarchy of Ahuran -  Ruler - Queen Luriaal Moonshadow Capital - Sedeskan Dominant Race - Human
In 2826, Queen Luriaal became pregnant, but miscarried.  In the following year, she died of complications during another pregnancy.  Her lifelong friend, Yvonne Hawkwing, took over the Holy Matriarchy as Regent, but called for the election of an heir. Trianna Copperblade showed real talent for politics and coercion in her role as governor of Sedeskan, but Deidre Lynxpaw was far too concerned with her collections of art and slaves to concern herself with the government of Ilduskan. Ariel of the Woods retreated to her forested estates and communicated with no one.

In the year 2828, the dragon Sirrush struck again, this time rampaging through the hills of Rarram. Some four thousand feudal levies from Mahaaran, Ahristhon and Naidhan drove forward towards the dragon but were dismayed to discover that the Regent had sent none of the national troops to aid them.  Sirrush slew several hundred of the valiant women and the rest fled in terror. The Landress of Ahristhon declared her independence from the Holy Matriarchy. A strange small horde of hopping, flying and crawling skeletons accompanied the dragon.

Har'akir - Ruler - Sultan Socacia Alouda Capital - Mar Awas Dominant Race - Human Diplomacy - Khars [A], Dikhil [-], Gon Bahar [A]

The Sultan declared a week of celebrations when the cultivation of Entelle was complete.  The once-impenetrable forest was now checked with ripe fields of chickpea, chickory, coffee and cotton.  The sultan reorganized many shipping routes, moving some from busy Agazier on the east coast to placid Galim on the west. He also fathered two children before the untimely death of his wife Aoula in 2828. Lord Nuldoor convinced the lord of Khars to become a close ally of the sultan before Nuldoor suddenly died of an aneurysm in 2827.  The following month another diplomat died in mid-sentence as Prince Laith, the sultan's brother, died while speaking with the Lord of Dikhil.  A third diplomat, Prince Munsif, convinced the elves of Gon Bahar to ally closely with the sultan. Lord Bajid set forth from Muzir with thirty-five proud ships of war.  Sliding down the west coast, he patrolled the Luxur coast for pirates.  (See The Southern Pirates, below).

The Valesian Empire - Ruler - Primarch Centorius II, Euristis Capital - Centauris Dominant Race - Human
Withdrawn into its own affairs, the Valesian Empire spent heavily on public works in Laedos and Phalces. An sybil in Euristi has attracted much attention in the region by foretelling the coming of a terrible evil that will "drink the light of day."

Luxur -
Ruler - General Lyanys
Capital - Thedelos
Dominant Race - Sathla
Diplomacy - Kerma [EA], Pyrayus [EA]

The Holy See of Udjo - Ruler - Arch Priest Pysus Great Cathedral - Thedelos Dominant Race - Sathla Diplomacy - Merwal [CA]

Archpriest Pysus, called "The Pious" put all his energies into re-establishing religious controls in the holy city of Merwal, driving out the infidels and whipping up religious sentiment in the long-occupied metropolis.  As the most obvious symbol of that renewal of faith, Pysus drove the people (sometimes physically, for Pysus was not shy with a lead-tipped goad) to build a great new pyramid to the god. He also had the holy girl (now in her teens) brought from Thedelos to Merwal to be seen by the masses and to instruct her in the orthodoxy of Autumna. Meanwhile, a horde of priests traveled south of the holy city into the saurus jungles of Arran to preach to the pagan lizard-men of the glories of Udjo.  With them went the priestess known only as "Mistress of the Arch Priest", whose subtle diplomacy and personal allure was intended to turn the heads of Arran aristocracy.  The rise of the Holy See as well as the fervor of its representatives was most persuasive and the people flocked to great rallies of conversion, abandoning their own race's ancient gods.

The Serpentine of Mykele -
Ruler - Regent Vlaasthess
Capital - Oroyon
Dominant Race - Sathla

THE SOUTHERN PIRATES

The navies of the Grail Primacy, Har'akir, Luxur and Mykele converged on the waters of the Luxur Coast, there to give battle to the pirates.  Of the four, only Har'akir and the Grail had any orders to work together.  Yet as the four fleets spent months and then years battling pirates, they soon agreed to peace between themselves and a sort of unspoken competition in pursuing the pirates. 

Yet the task was not what they had supposed it to be.  Between the four navies, they had more than one hundred forty hulls, including an incredible variety of types, from barely seaworthy Mykele cogs to the mighty Har'akir flagship Bar Gallaz. The Luxurites accounted for nearly half this number.  The pirates, however, were yet more numerous and their crews highly trained. They demanded a tribute equal to 10% of Luxur's income for fifteen years or they would lay waste to Sekhem and Badar.

Predictably, the admirals involved refused the extortion and so brought the pirates to battle in many engagements, large and small, across the Luxur Coast and beyond. The results were disastrous.  The pirates sunk or captured more than seventy of the allied warships, including the Bar Gallaz, while losing less than a third of that themselves.  They went on to raid Luxur...

North-Eastern Vales -

The Kingdom of Thariyya - Ruler - King Mogrihan Vahdin Capital - Uls Fakhar Dominant Race - Halfling Diplomacy - Hassar [T]

The King decreed that Hassar was a free and independent realm, thus ending the long and unprofitable occupation.  Then, wreathed in spells of good cheer and in the company of his best diplomats, Mogrihan negotiated  a treaty with the newly-independent province whereby they gained the protection of Thariyya in exchange for a small tribute each year.  In exchange, Muriana, Mogrihan's only daughter, was given in marriage to the lord of Hassar. A great number of peasants were put to work in Vahdin, irrigating the fields and turning the soil. While their sister was being married to a Hassarite nobleman, the young princes Azek and Bezyr were approaching manhood.  The former loved falconry and would spent part of every day in the fields with his birds, while the latter, a smaller lad, spent his days in the castle library, studying history and romances. Mogrihan called to Vahdin all his vassal armies, where they drilled in preparedness for an invasion.

Accolon - Ruler - Warlock Kurotsuki The Blackmoon Capital - Dammarask Dominant Race - Human Diplomacy - Eumana [+5 YfC]

The Shadowguard of Marador -  
Ruler - Queen Madariel Shadowfoot
Capital - Lantar
Dominant Race - Elf
Diplomacy - Dimbe [A], Balan [FA], Nastaldo [A]

South-Western Vales -

The Steaming Kingdom of Drormt -
Ruler - King Braa'k Tlazolteotl
Capital - Breeka
Dominant Race - Saurus

Having seen the power of Mekebele's army, Tlazolteotl decided that his beloved Drormt must be better protected.  Summoning all available labor, even among the very young and the very aged (but curiously not among the many slaves in Breeka), he ordered that a great number of forts and swampy redoubts be built to protect the borders and best fishing grounds. Lords Kra'quam and Kreekrish of Munampt died in 2829, while Lord Y'grak died of far too many sathla ales in 2830.  When Kreekrish died, his alliance died with him.  The sauruses of Munampt continued to trade with Breeka, but sent no troops to the king's call.

Sendahl -
Ruler - King Askaldor
Capital - Nyange
Dominant Race - Human

Mekebele - Ruler - Emperor Gwarkem Capital - Awayal Dominant Race - Human

Emperor Mufun died without an heir in 2826.  The shaman assembled all the chiefs of the tribes and sacrificed to the great dragon spirits, seeking to know whom the spirits nominated as Emperor.  Reading the entrails, the shaman alighted on the choice of Gwarkem, a mighty warrior from a minor clan. Gwarkem was painted with the sacred tinctures and blessed as Emperor of all Mekebele. He thereafter led a raid of two thousand elite soldiers through the jungles of Eusobre, Darzibu, Idri and Itubarratu.  Raiding the jungles netted the new Emperor little, but it served to show his people and his neighbors just whom was seated upon the throne. Upon returning to Awayal, he sent large amounts of men and materials to Menrat, establishing ten villages amidst the newly-plowed fields. Prince Wetenbe and Warleader Stonesinger both died in 2828 of yellow fever.  Warleader Xhoka followed to the same doom in 2830.  When Prince Wetenbe of Garmazt died, his son refused to send further troops to aid the Emperor, though he did continue to send tribute.

South-Eastern Vales -

The Dwarven Realm of Aurdrukar - Ruler - King Norrim Forgemaster Capital - The Brass Tower Dominant Race - Dwarf

Banner of Aurdrukar

Banner of Khor-Naland

King Norrim Forgemaster, his son Belak Shieldbreaker and Lord Thulnor marched across the eastern mountains and into the orcish realm of Vipuren with ten thousand dwarven warriors, including four thousand Burundur Guards. The motley tribes of orcs fought back from their miserable villages, but to no avail.  The bright steel and perfect discipline of the dwarves sent the orcs wailing into their deep caves and mountain aeries.  The dwarves were now lords of Vipuren. Norrim left Thulnor and two thousand dwarves to occupy their conquest and returned to the Brass Tower.

The Kingdom of Weshtayo -

Ruler - King Piccarome, Red-Feathered Lord Capital - Khulank Dominant Race - Human

The Imperial Realm of Zikuyu -
Ruler - King Mwa'q Kashk
Capital - Ivallkyu
Dominant Race - Human
Diplomacy - Hlalu [H]

The Valraj -
Ruler - Sultan Khalood
Capital - Muddakir
Dominant Race - Human

The Kingdom of Tas Dar -
Ruler - King Ayden
Capital - Darious
Dominant Race - Human

ELIMINATED

The Grand Duchy of Meneen -
Ruler - Grand Duke Salene
Capital - Yaz Meneen
Dominant Race - Elf
 

In an attempt to save their Tas Dari ally and punish the Valraji aggressor, the elves of Meneen went to war.  Duke Salene put to sea with forty light, swift warships and raided up the Rhasdine river and along the coasts of the Jaundor Sea and Shorral's Mirror, burning and looting Valraji provinces and taking great amounts of loot in rich Valraj itself. Lord Feantë sailed west with thirty ships and six thousand elves.  He was badly beaten by the Valraji army and their mercenary allies (See The Valraj, above.)

The Kingdom of Ukanve -
Ruler - King Valoss the Just
Capital - Ukanve
Dominant Race - Human

King Valoss marched north with six thousand troops to confront the orcish settlers in Nyelru and Torquas.  The battle for Nyelru in Northhale of 2826 was a smashing success for the humans, as they drove the orcs from the field in just over six hours of fighting while having suffered only two hundred casualties. It was Valoss's decision to batter down the walls of Torquas, rather than simply starving them out, that caused great suffering and loss in his army.  Twice his forces were repulsed and twice they returned to the walls of the city after regrouping in the countryside.  Torquas was taken at last, and the orcs of that ramshackle city subdued, but only after the army had lost thousands of lives. Duke Garet, meanwhile, governed in Yezhu'u.  His profligate love of wine, dancers, jugglers, midgets, poets, prostitutes and cheese (the Duke was absolutely mad about cheese and stored enormous wheels of it in his copious palace) meant that he got very little actual governing done.

The Emerald Realm of Lekandi -
Ruler - King Galens Eagleheart
Capital - Suwelho
Dominant Race - Elf

It was a time of peaceful expansion.  With the Fikoshan Empire put down and the jungle sathla leading simple lives of hunters, Lekandi was alone in the world.  King Galens directed that more of his subjects settle in Fikosha and Arumbom, and his lieutenant Bloodspear demobilized fifteen hundred warriors to aid this settlement. Lord Tanathasia was governor in Suwelho and though his studies in botany progressed with great strides, he sat in council with the ill grace of one with much better things to do.  In fact, the only real improvements to Suwelho were by chance, when Tanathasia's plantings produced an increase in hometrees. Lord Kelen Farstrider, by comparison, worked tirelessly in his position as governor of Gyanlay, but met with constant delays, shortages, difficult bureaucrats and royal appointees.  In the end, he achieved no more than Tanathasia.

Each turn, I will use this space to present a useful rules hint.  Eventually, all of you will know what LOTE GM's and experienced players know.

Cause Mutiny -
It is difficult to cause a mutiny amongst an enemy army.  But oh, the fun you'll have if you succeed.  More to the point, hard as it is, it may be easier than beating that army in the field. 

I. Requirements
In order to attempt to foment a mutiny, you must know precisely where the enemy army is.  This can be information you already know or it can be acquired through a Reveal Fact operation. 

A common order is to use the Cause Mutiny (CM) order on "the first enemy army to enter my nation."  This will work, but only once your leaders are aware of the invasion.  By then, of course, it may be too late.  Your nation's leaders do not have a perfect knowledge of the borders and if busy with other affairs, may not know for several months...

Another requirement (at least in L54) is to tell me -how- you cause the mutiny.  What lies (or truths!) do you spread?  I'll run a CM op without this information, but with a negative modifier.  Causing a mutiny requires imagination!

Finally, if the CM op is run or assisted by a leader, that leader must be physically located in the same region or city as the enemy army.

II. Modifiers
The following things are positive modifiers your likelihood of success with the CM order:

• You have infiltrated the target's military
• The enemy army is in a region or city in which you have status
• The enemy army has a higher Tech Level than you
• Gold spent
• Bonus Intel Ops spen

Note that unlike many orders, time is not a factor here.  Mutinies spread quickly; spending extra time will not help.

The following things are negative modifiers your likelihood of success with the CM order:

• The enemy army speaks a different language
• The enemy army worships a different religion
• The enemy army is comprised of a different race
• The enemy army has a higher Tech Level than you
• The enemy army is beyond your Action Range
• The enemy army is protected by a Counter Intel op

III. Results
If successful, the Cause Mutiny (CM) op causes a mutiny in the enemy army.  The enemy general(s) are forced to try to put down the mutiny with a significant negative modifier to their Charisma stats.  If the mutiny succeeds, the general(s) may be wounded or killed and the army may disband, return to barracks or even march on their own capital!

Next Turn: Religious Conversion

Page Completed 23 October 2006