LORDS OF THE EARTH CAMPAIGN 54
"LORDS OF THEEURTH"

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The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.
- Albert Einstein

Without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable.
- Carl Jung

The mind can make substance, and people planets of its own with beings brighter than have been, and give a breath to forms which can outlive all flesh.
- Lord Byron
 

1) Players are still refusing to put ALL of the the required Diplomacy information with the relevant diplomacy order.  I stopped giving credit for information tucked away elsewhere.  If you want Leader #5 to aid Leader #2 with diplomacy, Leader #2's DP action should say that.

2) Support Diplomacy ops (SD) target leaders, not regions.

3) You can only issue a Rule order in the capital.  The capital and the homeland are not the same place.

4) While it is possible to acquire airships or aerial beasts, it is not ever possible to acquire another nation's specialized troops, including specialized ships.

Theeurth's Top Fifteen Greatest Cities:

15. Callistus in Anicium (Western Conorrian Protectorate)

14. Vanaheim in Skaneholme (The Skane Jarldoms)

13. Aicherai in The Great Rift (former capital of Daerond)

12. Thedelos in Badar (Luxur)

11. Feroe in Chamir (Shanatar)

10. Vanuma in Ghedrosia (The Edgemoor Orcs)

9. Azhkatûm in Jahali (Farmuz)

8. Vaayil in Sukan (Threns)

7. Choran in Kaou (Choran)

6. Mount Kauroth in the Northern Worldspines (former capital of the Worldspine Orcs) (for comparison)

5. Merwal in Habu (Luxur)

4. Agazier in Akir (Har'akir)

3. Jalahl in Rajahdan (Rajahdan)

2. Conorr in Mynos (The Great Church of the Grail)

1. Echoriath in Faloricum (The Conorrian Empire)

MEDARHOS -

North-Western Medarhos -

The Skane Jarldoms -  Ruler - Queen Astrid Capital - Vanaheim Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Medahros Spirit Cult

Attempts by the Spirit Cult shaman to increase the Skane tribes' interest in religion met with indifference.

The Empire of Edgemoor -
Ruler - King Kraank
Capital - Zaramaka
Dominant Race - Orcs
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court
Diplomacy - Nivaan [NT]

The Orcs of Edgemoor took a load off and wrote sonnets.  One can be ferocious for only so long, after all.

. 

The Kingdom of Harkoria-
Ruler - King Athansios
Capital - Cadares
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail

The men of Harkoria moved in droves across the Narglaurith river to settle the fertile fields of Landegol. At the same time, Landegol's capital of Angaurek was protected by a low timber wall that surrounded its landward expanses. Lord Tychon reorganized the army, placing fourteen thousand cavalry under the command of Prince Athansios at Cadares. Meanwhile, King Gares spent nearly two years working to improve the position of his nephew Athansios within the court.  Athansios repaid this kindness with treachery, moving to imprison his uncle Gares and declare himself king of the Harkorians. In the ensuing scuffle, Athansios's troops moved throughout the capital, seizing those loyal to the king.  Gares appeared and made an impassioned speech to the army, but soldiers loyal to Athansios captured and killed their monarch, presenting the young usurper with Gares's head.  Athansios made a show of outrage, executing the regicides.  He was careful to imprison Queen Eleni and her three children in luxury. Despite the shock of the usurpation, the nation of Harkoria remained stable. In 2913, seven thousand Aelissian troops arrived at Cadares from across the Golden Sea and helped to defend the capital.  These were under the command of halfling King Jay Morningsong and included four thousand elite Aelissian Slingers.

South-Western Medarhos -

The Brythnian Confederation -  Ruler - Queen Immilia Clovenhoof Capital - Tauropolis Dominant Race - Taurid Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail

The king's lictors set about purging the government of foreign influence, discovering in the process that the army was riddled with Ascar sympathizers and those receiving gold from the evil Baron Gauros.  The purge was bloody, in the inevitable way of such things.  Men were dragged into the street and murdered, while women and children were herded into dank cells.  More than one vampire was revealed hiding in the cellars of Carrenthium and Tauropolis. The taurids of Brythnia recruited three thousand centaur cavalry at the Great Meadow. King Brangus gave most of his troops to Hellenas Springbuck and then set off eastward with two thousand five hundred troops to conquer the lands of Lauriacum and Calodunum.  Nearly that many halflings of Lauriacum were joined by a thousand archers from Calodunum, giving the halflings the numerical advantage.  Likewise, the halflings of Lauricaum used their remarkable knowledge of the woods against the lumbering centaurs and inflicted a hard-won defeat on Brangus, killing nearly a thousand of his cavalry.  The brash king ordered a second attack in the summer of 2912 and this time the king was slain by a halfing slingstone and his troops sent reeling back in disorder to Gistares. Some two thousand centaurs lay dead. Klytie Tallplain, with twelve hundred mixed troops marched north and raided the Cendarinne mountains.  The rigors of the mountains, the patrols from Waertag and Klytie's own limited military skills doomed the raid to defeat. Klytie was wounded by the orcs and only four hundred of her troops escaped to the Dacian Hills. Hellenas Springbuck and eight thousand centaurs garrisoned the Great Meadow. Zosime Redmare and two hundred light cavalry were sent on a suicide mission to raid the Worldspine Mountains.  They accomplished their mission in Idiolum.  None made it back.

Princess Immilia Clovenhoof received the Tablets of Varanthissa from Decimus Brutus, the Emperor of the Western Conorrian Protectorate in 2913.  She returned to Tauropolis when she received news of the death of Brangus.  She was crowned queen of Brythnia.

Adrastus Sunrock, allied lord of Gistares received orders to raid Idiolum with Zosime Redmare, taking only two hundred of his house troops. He angrily refused the order and returned home with his troops.  Gistares continued to send tribute, but no more troops. Nicies Longmane of Cerintum died in 2914.  His heir continued to send troops, but was not as close to the crown as Nicies. 

Aelissia - Ruler - King Jay Morningsong Capital - The Great Delve Dominant Race - Halfling Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail

King Jay recruited two thousand elite Aelissian Knights of the Archon to defend the Great Delve (a tiny dot of a port that hardly measured up to its grandiose moniker).  Jay then moved his army across the Golden Sea to Cadares in Harkoria, helping his ally set up a defense of his capital.  Mon Brandobaris captained the small Aelissian navy until his death in 2913.

Corland - Ruler - King Bertrand Capital - Khairais Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail

Lord Phillipe died in 2913, as did Corland's queen. In the same year, workers and students in Port de Brises rose up in protest against monarchical excess and declared it to be a free port. Gold arrived in shipments from the Neldorean elves.

 

The Sea Empire of Lorraine - Ruler - King Arthur Capital - Armorica Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Launds [C]

King Arthur and Sir Bors rearranged the royal armies, splitting them into two commands, both centered at Armorica. Sir Gawain traveled to Launds and claimed the land for the crown. Sir Edward of Malidisant died in 2915 of the bloody flux.

The elves of the Wood recruited two thousand elven archers under the command of Lady Shantera. Word came from the priests of Agaleus that Queen Elevuil was dead, though none knew how.  Her widower, Prince Xhantor, became the new king of the Whisper Wood.

The Neldorean Wood - Ruler - Queen Nereil Capital - Elenuil Dominant Race - Elf Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail

The Neldorean elves built a walled port city in the woods of the Crystal Shore and named it Eämbar.  From it trade spread out as far east as the Gulf of Thariyya and as far north as the Whisper Wood. Súrionlath Tiriya led the refugees of Malcian into the Riftmarch and saw them settled there, then led a thousand elves south to garrison Eämbar. Lord Lossëhelin returned from Brythnia and sailed south to Har'akir where he retrieved the army Lady Alarielle.  Her elven archers were returned to Elenuil, but Alarielle and her Eagle Riders were sent north to Brythnia.  Angered by the long distances and time away from their homes, they rebelled against the rule of Elenuil and went their own way. The elves sent shiploads of gold to Corland, but received nothing in return. Missionaries sent to the Llyran province of Nova Valis alienated the human population, driving them even further into the Dark Court camp.

The Exarchate of the Great Crusade - Ruler - Exarch Baren Capital - Pontezium Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Maicutis [NT]

The embattled Exarchate recruited nearly four thousand men to fight in its armies.  The armies split up into two fronts, to guard both Querenia and the Akasian Hills.  Sir Baren convinced the men of Maicutis to allow the transit of Crusader armies, while a battalion of fervent priests converted many of the Maicutans from their ancient religion to that of the Grail. Regent Sir Waylan died in 2914, leaving young king Vincent only twelve years old.  The nobility of the Exarchate vied for the powerful position of regent, and the wily lord Baren won.  Then, just weeks after his investiture, the bloodthirsty knight slew both Vincent and his young mother with his own bare hands, declaring them to have been in league with the dark forces of the Pit of Gelorum.  In charge of half the army and in control of the capital, Baren declared himself to be Exarch on the spot.  The skittish nobility agreed to his demands. Meanwhile, Sir James and Sir Kurtis raided into the horrific wilds of Barrandia with eight thousand soldiers.  They found nothing worthy of plundering,

but encountered many reminders of the vile fate of the region's former residents. They also encountered many monsters, and suffered six hundred dead or lost in the raids.  James and Kurtis are convinced that an army is somehow gathering in Barrandia, probably from out of the Pit of Gelorum.

Sir James hired an adventuring company that bravely called itself The Pit Fiends.  They were directed to enter the Pit by any means, find the source of the infestation and stop it, as legend says happened millennia ago.  However, just like their predecessors the Lance of Daria, the Pit Fiends never returned.

Merchant trains carrying money and grain sent by the Crusaders to the Order of the Dawn were attacked and plundered.  The bandits got away with nearly half of the goods.

The Wallads of Thyestes are demanding that the Crusaders intervene to stop Brythnian aggression against their brethren.

The Holy Order of the Dawn - Ruler - Grand Master Fidelius Capital - The Akasian Hills Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Valdori [OP], Sunglades [-], Rantes [-], Eatris [-], Tauropolis [OP]

The Order's main force of sixteen thousand troops remained stationed in Brythnia's Great Meadow as defensive troops under Master Gladius.  Grand Master Fidelius established an Order Perceptory in the Brythnian capital of Tauropolis, while Mistress Veneficus tried and failed to establish one in the rebel Conorrian region of Eatris. Master Pilum spent five years attempting to reason and negotiate with the prognosticants who had taken over the Order Fortress.  He promised that stifling rules would be reviewed, students might have access to the desired Order of Might tract, and any who wished to leave the service of the Dawn were free to go - The Order keeps no one against their will. Pilum emphasized that the occupation of the Order Fortress and disruption of its affairs served only the Dark Court, which both the Dawn and the writers of the Order of Might opposed. Shortly after the prognosticants ended their siege, Master Pilum died of a heart attack in 2915.

The Exarchate of the Last Crusade sent gold and grain, but bandits made off with nearly half of it! The Llyran Republic sent gold.

The Shadowed Realm of Ascarlon - Ruler - Baron Gauros the Arisen Capital - Denavine Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - The Dark Court

Ascarlon recruited thirty-five hundred siege engineers into the army of Baron Gauros and Count Bezhral.  These two rode out at the head of an army twenty thousand strong and headed for the Conorrian Empire.  (See The War of Imperial Succession, below). Meanwhile, Lord Elvand sailed up the Raethalas river with thirty-five hundred men and two thousand undead troops to confront the Bekanai tribes at Braelin Don.  He expected to meet orcish allies there, but these never arrived.  The Bekanai did arrive, however, in great numbers.  Ten thousand Bekanai soldiers and horsemen from Braelin Don, Odhar and Aonach stormed into the woods to oppose the invaders.  Elvand was greatly skilled, but hampered in the woods and by small numbers.  At the end of a brutal fight in the forests, both armies retired from the field.  Elvand's army had lost two thousand troops, while the Bekanai had lost only a few hundred.  Elvand sailed back down the Raethalas to Denavine. Barathor the Mighty gathered the feudal armies of , Black Forest, Firefields and Silvator together at Silvator to guard against invasions. The Ascars began the cultivation of the plains of Thessol, fallow since the Airnim Horde had

destroyed the nation of Maekras more than a century ago. Ascar merchants sent food and gold to the Worldspine Orcs.

The Worldspine Orcs -
Ruler - King Orkgoth
Capital - Gargath
Dominant Race - Orc
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court
Diplomacy - The Cendarinnes [A], The Rimehorns [EA]

King Orkgoth ruled from his grim new capital of Gargath.  He tried to father more children, but the effort killed his new wife, Waashak. Silverskein and Blatharg, silver-tongued devils that they were, convinced the tribes of the Cendarinnes and Rimehorns to increase their ties to Gargath.  They hardly had to kill anyone at all. Dregog, a powerful shaman, complained about the task set before him, the mere counting of the king's possessions and tributaries. Blayth of Napoca, an ally of Orkgoth's helped to re-colonize the regions of North and South Worldspines with the very orcs who had just fled the regions.  Needless to say, the settlers were unhappy about their new orders. Twelve hundred Brythnian taurids under Klytie Tallplain raided into the Cendarinnes, but were stymied by the region's defenses.  Klytie herself was wounded. The orcs received support from Ascarlon in the form of gold and livestock.

An assassin's arrow plunged towards Prince Maugroth's breast in 2911.  Luckily, a dedicated guard leaped in front of the speeding shaft and died for his lord.  Onlookers reported seeing a fleeing elf. The hobgoblins of Carhallas recruited three thousand mixed troops at Carhallas and sent five thousand troops south under the command of General Lurgott. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Maugroth set out west from Lederata with much of the garrison, abandoning the siege of Colanum, which remained in Conorrian hands. Maugroth linked up with Lurgott at Mamucias. With generals Ah'shkratt, Lurgott and Ak'kratush, Maugroth commanded an army of fifteen thousand hobgoblins.  He marched through Dhûnazhar at Crisias, and encamped in Aquae Albanesis in the winter of 2912. General Ah'shkratt died in camp that winter. The next spring, Maugroth joined his army in alliance to that of Ascarlon and marched south to attack Adoria. (See The War of Imperial Succession, below). Back in Sauthor, the Emperor died in 2913.  Word reached Crown Prince Maugroth shortly after his victory over the defenses of Adoria late that year. Without proper administration, all contact was lost with the garrison of Lascuta. Gnaeus Marcellus, a leader of the Eastern Conorrian Empire, entered the region of Adumar in 2913 and the party of War Wizards with him summoned a horde of fire imps who set about attacking the tiny garrison of cavalry.  Gnaeus himself added to the carnage by the use of a deadly Firestorm spell to slaughter the fleeing survivors.  The human invader then directed the fire imps to tear up the postal road through the region, severing Carcaroth's link to Lederata.  That distant region did not rebel...yet.

In early 2911, there was quite a bit of excitement in Carcaroth when a deadly brawl broke out between two groups of humans in one of the city's worst slums. Witnesses described a vicious knife fight in which several men, apparently merchants, slashed and cut at one another, leaving four dead.  Those involved were all scattered or dead by the time the guards arrived to re-establish order (in their typically brutal and very public way).  The guards nonetheless took in for questioning a number of unlucky humans who could only say that the accents of the combatants were not local and that some of the men wore deep cowls to conceal their faces.

The Great Kingdom of Annvar - Ruler - Empress-Regent Estilda Capital - Varthane Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - The Dark Court Diplomacy - Gastos [NT], Torava [-]

The Standard of Annvar

Safe and secure from all threats, the Great Kingdom turned its attention to internal matters. Thousands of peasants moved to the cultivated fields of Marvald to seek work or to avoid the crushing poverty of the great steppes. The Empress-Regent, a devout worshipper of the gods of Woe, contributed large sums of cash to the Duskwood Reavers of Azhran. Lord Panchotoniax traveled into the steppe to make treaties with the nomadic tribes.  He managed to get the horsemen of Gastos to agree to the Great Kingdom's sovereignty, but was blithely ignored by the men of Torava.

The Forest Realm of Meledrian -
Ruler - King Eldareth Hammerhand
Capital - Dalariadh
Dominant Race - Elf
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court
Diplomacy - Nimbreth [+5 YfC], Rainas [+11 YfC], Vethosas [T]

Like their human allies in Annvar, the dark elves of Meledrian were at last secure from all likely threats.  They responded with a vast program of building and planting in Dor Emmen and Silithos, where weird plants and spine-covered animals began to replace the native flora and fauna.  They sent livestock and grains to the Duskwood Reavers of Azhran. Crown Prince Namardil ruled the realm from the throne of Dalariadh.  In 2911, his wife Chanths gave birth to a baby girl, a dark-eyed beauty who stole her father's heart (perhaps someday she'll do it literally).  The infant girl was blessed by the priests of Malbor and the fey priestesses of Evaless. Meanwhile, King Eldareth and most of his court began to ride across the realm, encouraging the pacified elves of Celendor to support the Forest Realm.  At Rainas and Nimbreth, they met with local leaders and offered them power, wealth and training.  In Vethosas, they extracted tribute by means of threats and a few well-considered murders. Killkrantor the Remonstrator, the dynamic knight of the Duskwood Reavers gave stirring speeches about the freedom and power of the Dark Court in the western city of Minnuin, convincing many of the local nobility to convert. In 2914, strange stories began to filter into the civilized regions of the north that some nameless power of the ancient world dwelled in Bornil and had awakened.  A black castle and a great winged serpent colored as black as pitch were rumored to serve this power.  None who entered that mountainous region came back, so no one knew the truth of the stories. Aeliniel incited the Dark Court worshipers in Rainas to rise up and slay the priests of the Lords of the Grail.  Her words, fell and sly, were heard throughout the region and soon a fanatical army rose up to do just that.

Followers of Caravok predominated, and the massacres were bloody and filled with gory ceremony.  Prominent families that were closely connected with the worship of the Lords of the Grail were slaughtered or hounded into exile.  This caused an opposing militia of Grail worshipers to rise up in opposition, but the worshippers of the Dark Court were far better prepared and they scattered the Grailites in a few small, sharp battles.  After that, the fanatics were impossible to control and they tore through the region, looting and burning everything they could find.

The Duskwood Reavers of Azhran -
Ruler - Grand Master Nath-Imperator Melenchlaenith the Archdisrupter
Order Fortress - None
Dominant Race - Elf
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court
Diplomacy - Tusainiai [OH], Marvald [OH], Mallorin [-]

Crippled by food shortages, the Duskwood Reavers did little beyond establishing Order Houses in Tusainiai and Marvald.  Grand Master Nath-Imperator Melenchlaenith the Archdisrupter summoned demons to create dark and bountiful gardens in Nimbreth.

The Kingdom of Tiringol -
Ruler - King Keriadoc Stormwing
Capital - The Underhalls
Dominant Race - Halfling
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court

The halflings of Tiringol built picturesque towns and villages across the breadth of Tiringol.  The wizard Prince William Shroud died at the age of eighty four shortly after returning from an adventure abroad. King Keriadoc appointed his daughter Lily to replace the deceased prince on his council.

The Conorrian Heartland -

The Conorrian Empire - Ruler - Emperor Thandoros XXIV Capital - Echoriath Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail

Emperor Thandoros recruited five squadrons of Conorrian Eagle Riders and gave command of half his army to Bishop Sangraal. He also blessed the troops, rearranged trade priorities and conducted a census of his shattered realm. He made peace with his brother-in-law Atanius, who agreed to accept the title of Exarch. In return, Atanius removed his troops from Faloricum and joined the Conorrian coalition marching against the Western Protectorate.  Thandoros also ceded the right to control both Faucrion and Sabratha, though Sabratha immediately revolted and refused the rule of Eleucria. When Faucrion was not garrisoned, it also rebelled and declared itself independent. Thandoros also made peace with Draximus, who agreed to accept the title of Imperator Secundus (theoretically junior to Thandoros's Imperator Primus.) To seal this arrangement and end the war, Thandoros married Draximus's daughter Honoria. But the Emperor of the Conorrians refused to make peace with Decimus Brutus and the Western Conorrian Protectorate.  Perhaps it was because Decimus was not from any great and noble family,

but most thought this hostility was due to the Protectorate's position astride the trade routes to the west.  Whatever the case, Thandoros directed Bishop Sangraal to lead a coalition of Conorrian, Adorian and Grail Primacy troops west and retake Callistus and the Phaedon valley. (See The War of Imperial Succession, below).

The Llyran Republic sent grain and livestock.

The Emperor urged his followers to establish towns and hamlets in Boenia and Acaris.  Meanwhile, he sent a force of nine thousand troops under General Gaius Varela north to guard Lenicum and Port Infernum. An assassin disguised as a member of the Emperor's guard tried to attack Decimus Brutus with a halberd that burned blue with a strange icy radiance.  The assassin killed many guards but was himself slain before reaching the Emperor. Moreover, a rumor spread throughout the army that the new emperor would be unable to pay his troops, and confusion spread through the ranks.  But alert lictors quelled that sort of talk with a few well-placed arrests. The army of Ascarlon crossed through Western Conorrian territory twice, in 2912 and 2915, both times traversing through Lenicum.  They neither asked nor received permission, and the garrison of Port Infernum did not emerge to challenge them. Decimus Brutus was saddened, but not surprised when a coalition of troops from Conorria, the new Exarchate of Adoria and the Grail Primacy invaded Anicium in 2912.  (See The War of Imperial Succession, below).

In 2913, the Emperor returned the artifact known as the Tablets of Varanthissa to Brythnian leader Immilia Clovenhoof.

Emperor Atanius of the Conorrian Empire at Adoria made peace with his brother-in-law Thandoros, and agreed to accept the title of Exarch. Atanius removed his troops from Faloricum and joined the Conorrian coalition marching against the Western Protectorate.  Thandoros also ceded the right to control both Faucrion and Sabratha, though Sabratha immediately revolted and refused the rule of Eleucria. When Faucrion was not garrisoned, it also rebelled and declared itself independent. Under his agreement with the Emperor, Atanius sent his eleven thousand soldiers (including four thousand Conorrian Legionnaires) to support the Imperial coalition invading the Western Conorrian Protectorate.  (See The War of Imperial Succession, below). Admiral Lysandros garrisoned his ships in the harbor of Flavium and marched north to Eleucria, where he presided over the short-lived defense of the city. (See The War of Imperial Succession, below). The Adorians sent grain and livestock to the Grail Primacy.

The War of Imperial Succession
(2910-?)

Seven armies eyed the situation in the fractured Conorrian Empire and marched to support a claimant or to destroy old enemies.  While Emperor Thandoros sat in Echoriath with ten thousand troops of the Imperial scholae, Bishop Sangraal set out west with eleven thousand, including two thousand Conorrian Legionnaires and five companies of Conorrian Eagle Riders. Their blades gleamed with the silvery light of magic, a blessing of the Emperor himself.

In Faloricum, Bishop Sangraal made common cause with the new Northern Exarch Atanius, swelling their joint army to twenty-two thousand soldiers, including another four thousand Conorrian Legionnaires. Bishop Iaso of the Great Church combined two armies and joined the coalition at the head of twenty-one thousand troops, including four thousand Paladins of the Grail and eight thousand mercenaries. giving the allies a total of forty-three thousand.  Like those of the Conorrians, the blades of the Grail troops gleamed with magical power. These marched west to confront an unsuspecting Decimus Brutus at Callistus.  Brutus and the Western Protectorate, meanwhile, had split their forces, sending eight thousand north to guard Port Infernum, and protecting Callistus with eighteen thousand mobile troops. The coalition entered the Western Protectorate in the fall of 2912.

The Western Protectorate had split its army, but it was not by any means unprepared.  Although the coalition outnumbered the Westerners more than two to one, Anicium was a land of many forts, strongholds and fortified towns.  And in the midst of it lay the great fortress of Pontus Phaedon, it's beetled walls defying all invaders. The generals in command (Bishop Sangraal and Emperor Decimus Brutus) were of roughly equal ability as leaders.  The coalition held four main advantages: numbers, elite troops, a great many cavalry and the element of surprise.  The Westerners held three advantages: they were fighting in their homeland, they had more than twice as many aerial troops, and they had a huge number of fortifications.

The coalition's forty-three thousand troops met stiff resistance in the early months of the campaign.  Decimus Brutus managed to lure Bishop Sangraal into an early and ill-advised direct assault on a Western Conorrian position atop a ridge at Sharyn's Crossings, where the defensive line was anchored on the one flank by a dense wood and on the other by a strong castle and its siege engines. Despite the sudden magical rusting of the Western Conorrian weaponry, the battle was a success for them. Elsewhere across the region, the Western Conorrians simply outfought and outlasted their opponents.  After a number of disastrous battles, the coalition army began to retreat despite its commanders orders, and that retreat turned into a full rout as the cold of winter set in.  The coalition army nursed its wounds over the winter, having lost nearly thirty percent of its strength, while the Western Conorrian had lost roughly ten percent.

Undeterred, Bishop Sangraal led his coalition back into Anicium in the Spring of 2913. He still held all the advantages he enjoyed the previous year and was determined to secure the victory.  This time, the Bishop's approach was more measured and the coalition army fared better.  However, Decimus Brutus was also in excellent form as a leader and both sides maneuvered to advantage at times.  In the end it was simply the position of defender that allowed the Western Conorrians to outlast their foes in this brutal contest.  The morale of the coalition armies broke and for a second time they routed back to Faloricum with the Westerners hot on their heels, exacting revenge upon the stragglers.  After both sides had recovered from the battles as best they could, the coalition had lost more than half its strength (numbering some twenty thousand, including four thousand mercenaries).  The Western Conorrian army now numbered some thirteen thousand (and still fielded twenty field forts in Anicium).

Meanwhile far in the north, two other armies were plotting.  The dreaded Bishop Gauros of Ascarlon was putting his army through a grueling series of extended forced marches through the Worldspines, traipsing boldly through Lenicum while the Western Protectorate's armies huddled in Port Infernum, and crossing the Phaedon river to reach the wilds of Aquae Albanesis in the spring of 2913. The baron had set out with twenty-thousand troops, and had lost fifteen hundred men to the rigors of the difficult march.  But he and his lieutenant Count Bezhral now joined forces with Prince Maugroth, son of the Emperor of Carhallas who commanded fifteen thousand hobgoblins and had arrived in Aquae Albanesis the previous winter by crossing Dhûnazhar territory at Crisias.

Storming into Adoria, the Dark Court coalition was very lucky to find the Northern Conorrian army away, because even without mobile troops, Adoria was a veritable fortress, bristling with field forts and the formidable Fortress Kastro, to say nothing of the walls of Eleucria.  This mad scheme was viable only because no decent Conorrian leader was in command of the field forts. As it was, the Ascar/Carhallas army boasted more than thirty thousand troops, but nearly a third of them were cavalry and most of the rest were light infantry.  A corps of four thousand Ascar siege engineers stiffened the otherwise weak siege abilities of the attackers.  Add to that the Conorrian advantage in siegecraft, and Baron Gauros faced his most formidable challenge since the Airnim invasion. But with his large army, his military genius and the Starmetal Cuirass he wore, the Baron and his ally Maugroth proved up to the challenge.

The battle for Adoria raged for four months and cost the lives of nearly eight thousand Dark Court troops.  A powerful demonic champion, Barimog, rose up to slay and maim many hundreds of the enemy and put dismay into their hearts. In addition to the Baron's magic powers of doom and shadow, another great power took the field in the form of Gezz Half-Shadow, High Priest of the Shadowed Primacy, who with his right hand unleashed the fury of Caravok into the Dark Court troops, and with his left spread the curses of Andobulos.

The last unbeaten field fort surrendered in Berlas of 2913.  The Dark Court armies immediately split up, with the Carhallans laying siege to Fortress Kastro while the Ascars laid siege to Eleucria.  Neither fortification could withstand the armies arrayed against them.  Adorian Admiral Lysandros commanded an army of six thousand in Eleucria, but he fell from his fifth-story tower window shortly before the siege began, leaving the city leaderless. There being little grain supply in the city, the defenders agreed to give up the defense in exchange for their lives after only three months. Once the city and fortress were taken, the Dark Court forces set about looting Adoria and its rich monastery and sacking and burning Eleucria and its rich cathedral.  The two armies then split the vast quantities of loot and departed between themselves and the Shadowed Primacy.  Maugroth and his surviving ten thousand hobgoblins marched northeast to Junius, while Gauros and his surviving thirteen thousand troops force marched back to Ascarlon, arriving in the Firefields at the end of 2915.

Draximus made peace with Thandoros of Echoriath, and agreed to accept the title of Imperator Secundus (theoretically junior to Thandoros's Imperator Primus.) To seal this arrangement and end the war, Thandoros married Draximus's daughter Honoria. Draximus named his other daughter Lucilia to his council, and named his son Calixtus as his heir and successor. He also fathered twin sons in 2912. Gnaeus Marcellus entered the Carhallas-controlled region of Adumar in 2913 and the party of War Wizards with him summoned a horde of fire imps who set about attacking the tiny garrison of cavalry.  Gnaeus himself added to the carnage by the use of a deadly Firestorm spell to slaughter the fleeing survivors.  The human invader then directed the fire imps to tear up the postal road through the region, severing Carcaroth's link to Lederata.  That distant region did not rebel...yet.

The Great Church of the Lords of the Grail - Ruler - Patriarch Henrikos Holy City - Conorr Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Agazier [-], Tarrentica [-], Mynos [-]

The Patriarch's Standard

The Great Church of the Grail built a stout stone wall about its port at Mentaurus and recruited twenty-five hundred troops.  Prince-Bishop Karas engaged the services of eight thousand mercenaries at Eleucria. The Primacy received grain and livestock from both the Exarchate of Adoria and the Llyran Republic. Grail missionaries worked to eliminate the power of the Dark Court in Nova Valis, Akir and Vahdin. Patriarch Henrikos left Har'akir and returned to the Holy City of Conorr, taking up command of the garrison of four thousand. Bishop Kheldar attempted to consecrate a cathedral in Tarrentica.  He failed at this, dying in Tarrentica in 2914. Bishop Iaso marched from Conorr to support the

Conorrian coalition with thirteen thousand Grail troops, their swords gleaming with magical sharpness, and added eight thousand mercenariesto his strength at Faucrion.  (See The War of Imperial Succession, above).

Prince-Bishop Karas returned to Conorria from Dhûnazhar and after marching the mercenaries from Eleucria to Faucrion, returned to Adoria to preach to the Adorians.  This proved impossible because of the Ascar/Carhallas invasion. (See The War of Imperial Succession, above).

Bishop Arkelos patrolled the Sea of Serpents with twenty-five warships in the company of the Llyran navy.  When he died in 2912, his ships and crews returned to Conorr. Bishop Sarpedon attempted to acquire the region of Mynos for the Primacy, but this effort failed when he died in 2913.

The Dwarven Realm of Dhûnazhar -  Ruler - King Valand II Capital - Khelem Vala Dominant Race - Dwarf Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Azhan Madhor [EA]

The dwarves continued to repopulate their mostly-vacant capital, its melancholy walls echoing to the sounds of too few residents. The Order of The Dawn began to aid the dwarves from its base in Phaedon, supplying Dhûnazhar with some much-needed infrastructure. King Valand II married a noblewoman from one of the more influential Khelem Vala clans and fathered a son in 2913. He took command of the main Dhûnazhar army, thirteen thousand dwarves, at Khelem Vala. Lords Torak and Garag Blood-Axe traveled to Azhan Madhor and convinced Prince Doran to become the economic ally of Dhûnazhar. Princess Valandra concentrated the army under the command of the king and then looked for signs of traitors in the realm. She found none. The hobgoblins of Carhallas crossed Dhûnazhar territory twice, in 2912 and 2915, both time marching through Crisias flying flags of truce.  (See The War of Imperial Succession, above). A horrid magical curse settled over the land of Kiril Zelen, wilting crops, spoiling beer and causing sheep and goats to wither.

The Exarchate of Edledhas -
Ruler - Exarch Voromë 
Capital - None
Dominant Race - Elf
Dominant Religion - The Lords of the Grail

The last of the refugees from Celendor settled on the banks of the Esharias river in Hydastes, forming the small town of Dor Edhel.  From there, trade spread down the river to ports all along the eastern Valesian Sea. Exarch Voromë  moved his army of five thousand elves to the Carhallas border in Ganthus Longa, expecting an attack that never came.

A hobgoblin assassin managed to slip to within a few feet of King Gregor before his guards intercepted the hulking juggernaut and killed it. King Gregor and his allies assembled a defensive force of ten thousand soldiers at Othona and defended against an expected attack that never came.  In 2915, Gregor and his army departed Othona for the east, leaving a garrison of two thousand at Othona. In 2914, strange stories began to filter into the civilized regions of the north that some nameless power of the ancient world dwelled in Bornil and had awakened.  A black castle and a great winged serpent colored as black as pitch were rumored to serve this power.  None who entered that mountainous region came back, so no one knew the truth of the stories. Prince UIfast III ruled the kingdom from the court of Vigilum.  Despite his efforts, his writ did not extend so far as his grasp.  The regions of Durobrivae, Iaurinum, Kiringlo, Valdior, Vindobala all rebelled against Pelenduri rule, cutting off trade along the Esharias river.

VALES -

North-Western Vales -

The Llyran Republic - Ruler - Constans Felisin Darovos Capital - Tarrentica Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Dikhil [-], Maidhan [EA]

The Llyran Republic built a forth city on its mainland, a port called Vorkosigan in Oiothon.  The small trading town built up around the lone Fortress Ildorini.  Engineers built a low brick wall around the city, and another around the newly acquired city of Mica in Dikhil. Elsewhere, the Llyrans evacuated all former Har'akir holdings save the city of Mica. The Llyrans sent grain to the Conorrians at Echoriath and to the Great Church.  They sent gold to the Order of the Dawn. Constans Ganoes Paran brought nearly ninety ships to patrol the Sea of Serpents prior to his death in 2913.  After that, his fleet returned to Tarrentica. Herboric Marova explored the backstreets of Vastium...and disappeared. Rafe Vatta attempted diplomacy in Dikhil, but died after just a few months of it.

Strategos Kalam Marova brought merchants ships to Mica, and then concentrated on training the garrison until his death in 2914.

Lady Felisin Darovos traveled to Maidhan where she concluded a treaty of economic alliance.  She also married Lord Vaclav Amanuse. She was elected Constans after the death of Ganoes Paran.

Grail missionaries from the Great Church preached in Nova Valis.  Unfortunately, less skilled preachers from Neldorea annoyed the populace and prevented a conversion back to the Lords of the Grail. Overall, however, the nation wearied of the constant religious contests and the populace began to lose its faith in the Lords of the Grail.

The Holy Matriarchy of Ahuran -  Ruler - Queen Elizabeth Lynxpaw Capital - Sedeskan Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Maddari

Because of the weakness of the centralized Ahuran government, the people of Sandrettos ceased to send feudal troops to support the Holy Matriarchy. The armies of Ahuran returned home.  Queen Mary took a husband and died in childbirth as had Queen Jenny, her predecessor.  The priestesses of the Mother named Elizabeth Lynxpaw as her successor.

Har'akir - Ruler - Sultan Ahmed ibn Qadir Capital - Muzir Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Mar Awas [A], Akir [FA], Agazier [EA]
	Recovering from its civil war, the Guarded Realm recruited three thousand infantry and set up defenses in Akir. Sultan Ahmed, using a powerful spell and the offer of his own hand in marriage, made an alliance with his former capital of Mar Awas.  He also married his sister Elmura to Lord Falja, naming him a Prince of the Blood.  Unfortunately, Elmura died in 2915 of fainting sickness. The great hero Mardukar went everywhere the Sultan went, guarding the young man from all dangers. Emir Ali and Prince Phal negotiated a feudal arrangement with Akir, while Prince Falja negotiated an economic treaty with the city of Agazier.

The Valesian Empire - Ruler - Emperor Dioges Capital - Centauris Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - The Dark Court Diplomacy - Thymene [NT], Phalces [F]

General Lysander recruited eight hundred Valesian Hoplites, and and defended Ventas with the main Valesian army of twelve thousand soldiers. Emperor Dioges exerted his influence in Thymene, forcing the nobility of that cultivated land to acknowledge his sovereignty. Meanwhile, Lords Gildorn and Sylvain enticed Phalces entirely back into the fold of the Empire. Missionaries of the Shadowed Primacy helped whip up religious fervor across the empire.

Luxur - Ruler - General Tanari Capital - Thedelos Dominant Race - Sathla Dominant Religion - Autumna Diplomacy - Thedelos [+13YfC]

The industrious sathla of Luxur completed the terracing and sluicing of Habu, permitting a high degree of cultivation on that rich land at the confluence of the Artaxes and Lethes rivers. Simultaneously, the long effort finally ended to make Mykelean the dominant language of the holy city of Merwal. It had retained the language (Valesian) of the human conquerors for centuries. Lastly, the wizards of Sekhem banded together in a mage's guild known as the Forked Dweomer Tower and began to teach their secrets to those with skill and wealth. Missionaries spread out in Badar, Kesydon and Shenth, each achieving some degree of success in returning the lands to the faith of their fathers. General Tanari sent Azril, son of Vuluk, to be a prince of the Holy See. Tanari himself took command of the main Luxurite army (thirteen thousand mixed troops) at Aysira. Speaker Aspex built a powerful transport fleet at Aysira, but died in 2915.  Speaker Shozon hired both of Luxur's national adventuring companies for secret missions. He died in 2913. Lieutenant Husst traveled to Keferis, where he took up command of the pacified region as an ally of the oligarchy in Thedelos. He died in 2915, and his son took over as lord of Keferis. Speaker Nealos worked tirelessly to regain the loyalties of the capital, now that most Thedelosians once again worshiped Udjo.

The Holy See of Udjo - Ruler - Pysus Ara Vata Holy City - Merwal Dominant Race - Sathla Dominant Religion - Autumna Diplomacy - Coilus [MN], Patu [MN]

The Holy See put much of its wealth into building religious schools and temple complexes in the green fields of Habu. Pysus Ara Vata traveled to Naqada and established a monastery dedicated to the thoughtful contemplation of the Egg and the Scale. He took possession of the fabulous Dragonstone. Priest Luzilt traveled to Merwal and took up command of the Holy See's garrison of light infantry. Prince Azril of Luxur took holy orders and became a prince of the Holy See. Missionaries to Badar successfully restored the native religion, ousting the fanatical devotees of the Dark Court.  That invidious sect continued to be popular with certain elements in the city, however. Missionaries to Weshtayo failed to increase the status of Autumna with the humans and halflings of that nation.

The Serpentine of Mykele -
Ruler - Sauressh Isskor II
Capital - Oroyon
Dominant Race - Sathla
Dominant Religion - Autumna

North-Eastern Vales -

The Kingdom of Thariyya - Ruler - Regent Zuiya Zendowan Capital - Uls Fakhar Dominant Race - Halfling Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Kildaruensis [-HS]

The halflings of Thariyya recruited three thousand mixed troops and built four warships at Uls Fakhar.  With their king and crown prince still missing, the halflings were ruled by Regent Zuiya Zendowan until his death in the capital in 2913.  Although Zuiya had made it clear that his own choice for successor was Lord Vahdin, tradition demanded that the regency fall to Princess Carmina, as it did without incident. Meanwhile, Lord Vahdin had moved an army of six thousand halflings to defend the wall at Shood, while Lord Fakhar had command of the home defense with five thousand troops and the Thariyyan navy at the capital. Princess Regent Carmina traveled to Kildaruensis, where she offered Thariyya's protection to the human tribes.  Seeing little protection there, the big folk of the desert rudely ejected the princess and sent her packing. The feudal lords of Shai, Bari and Meheskar combined their three thousand troops and went on a

religious pogrom throughout the sunny woods of Madegap, killing Dark Court priests and burning their worshippers at the stake.  In short order, the province was pacified and restored to the compulsory worship of the Lords of the Grail. The Conorrian Empire (the one at Echoriath) sent missionaries to Madegap, but these were barely noticed amid the carnage.

Both the Great Church and Thariyya sent missionaries to Vahdin to combat the spread of the Dark Court there.  These were quite successful, all but eliminating the worship of the gods of woe in the Thariyyan homeland.

The Warlocks of Accolon - Ruler - Emperor Jubal Cuu Capital - Dammarask Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - The Dark Court Diplomacy - Carru [A], Unaagh [+10YfC]

The men of Accolon built another seven of the floating islands known as Accolon Battle Galleys and spent a fortune building canals and locks in the fields of Bis. The effort to stamp out the Nurad dialect continued in the city of Eumana. Emperor Jubal trained his youngest daughter Trinoch in the ways of rulership. Crown Prince Tormak guarded the capital with an army of six thousand cavalry. Kragar Darkfist patrolled the waters around Agharra with forty-five warships, more than half of which were the huge Accolon Battle Galleys which only the warlocks knew how to build. Enok Dunestalker traveled to Carru and made an alliance with the chieftains of that breadbasket region, arranging the marriage of an important noblewoman to the crown prince.

Prince Nozz "the Dark" arranged the marriage of his father to a noblewoman from Unaagh, further pacifying that city towards an eventual reunion with the Empire.

Princess Esarch conducted a bloody ceremony in Dammarask during which one hundred slaves were sacrificed to Malbor. 

The Shadowed Primacy of the Dark Court -   Ruler - High Priest Gezz Half-Shadow Holy City - Dammarask Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - The Dark Court Diplomacy - Leados [AB], Ventas [-], Centauris [MN], Ginch [-], Ishku [CH], Port Hellmaw [-], Nuradeem [CH], Eumana [-]

The Dark Primacy built slave markets and large temple-farms in the green fields of Merisri. Gezz Half-Shadow appeared in Adoria along with the Ascar and Carhallas armies to deal devastation and ruin to the enemies of his gods (See The War of Imperial Succession, above). He received a large share of the plunder from that region as a tithe from the combatant nations. Anastasia of the Icy Stare founded religious sites in the ancient seats of the Valesian peoples, while missionaries strengthened the Maximus, Hammer of Malbor, traveled to the city of Ginch in Dursarc, where his attempts to increase the Primacy's holdings were thwarted by political jockeying among the Warlocks. Edric Stormwing established a church in the arid coastal region of Ishku, but met with heresy and contention that blocked his spread of power into Port Hellmaw.  Meanwhile, the allied lords of Teush and Ishi marched south to defend that new city on the Ymarian Sea.

Prince Leandronio established a church in the important port of Nuradeem, but could not expand the church's influence into the hinterlands of Eumana.

The Primacy sent missionaries to Chothor in Hecadia, and the halflings there both feared and admired the gods of woe.  Dark Court devotees soon outnumbered the Orithians. Their faith spread down the coast to Salman, in Kebe.

Meanwhile, in the north, the halflings of Thariyya banned the Dark Primacy as an organization, threatening to arrest and detain any of their priests or those who aided them.

The Shadowguard of Marador -  
Ruler - Queen Madariel Shadowfoot
Capital - Lantar
Dominant Race - Elf
Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail
Diplomacy - Oromardi [-]

Queen Madariel	The elves of the Shadowguard built defenses.  They raised a fortress in Gaja along the Middle Mulgaunt and they built castles in Gaja, Kinn-Lai and in Windan. Queen Madariel ruled her ancient realm from the throne of Lantar, and raised her son Mithriel
Silvermorn, to the rank of Prince, equal with her older son, Alitcean Searider. Elsewhere, the elvish court took it upon themselves to work against the spread of the Dark Court. Priests wrote great works of holy praise for the lives of saints, thus raising the religious fervor of the nation to a fever pitch.  Missionaries traveled to Hecaladon to begin the reconversion of that marshy realm. Prince Alitcean convinced the nobility of Oromardi to support the state religion. Though many in the peasantry remained stolidly supportive of the gods of woe, there was a general conversion to the Lords of the Grail, at least to outward appearances.  The prince then went on to begin the conversion of the nobility in Dimbe. Similarly, Alvar Brookseeker preached to the noble families of Kalrondo, while Thingold of Gaja and Sielvean of Daio preached in Jebelam. Evarear Darkblow attempted to gain closer ties to the newly-converted city of Oromardi, but the great elves of that city feared to move so quickly toward the embrace of Empire that their subjects rose up against them.

South-Western Vales -

The Steaming Kingdom of Drormt -
Ruler - King Vraaka
Capital - Breeka
Dominant Race - Saurus
Dominant Religion - Autumna
Diplomacy - Oiohutu [-]

The sauruses of Drormt moved to strengthen their ties with their newfound god.  King Vraaka announced official holidays in worship of Udjo, and sent missionaries into Oiohutu, where the populace eagerly listened to the tales of this powerful god. Vraaka ruled over a peaceful period in his kingdom's history, fathering two children and overseeing the expansion of Breeka as well as the continued improvements in the northern province of Arran. Lord Mazkal continued the negotiations with the fiercely independent Oiohutans, but little further progress was had.

Sendahl - Ruler - King Gomo*ko Capital - Nyange Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Valesian Spirit Cult Diplomacy - Idhe [NT]

King Gomo*ko ordered the building of many ships to increase his trade with the distant ports of Drormt and Luxur.  Meanwhile, Crown Prince Olo*go recruited two thousand light cavalry and rode to the border of Mekebele, where he boldly raided the jungle of Prorte and the farmland of Menrat. Unfortunately for Olo*go and his troops, they ran squarely into the Menrat orc horde and were slaughtered for their temerity.  The orcs nailed Olo*go's head to their chieftain's shield. Lord Vawhee*ta began diplomatic negotiations with the wild tribes of Idhe. In 2914, a terrible plague spread across Sendahl.  It was like the dreaded black plague, but spread upon the very air.  Tens of thousands died in a very short time.  The cities of Nyange and Bwayo became mere shells in which the anguished survivors struggled for scraps of food and no animals were to be seen.  The countryside was also hard-hit, as populations dropped dead in the fields or fled the coming of death.  The army and merchant navy were devastated both by casualties and by mass desertions.  It was the worst disaster in the memory of any, and many prophesied that the end of the world had come upon them.

The Grand Empire of Mekebele - Ruler - King Fuloku Capital - Awayal Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Valesian Spirit Cult

The Mekebeleans paid tribute to the Menrat orc horde, agreeing pay ten percent of their income for fifteen years in exchange for peace. They threw the rest of their considerable treasury into building troops and finishing the road network begun decades before.

South-Eastern Vales -

The Dwarven Realm of Aurdrukar - Ruler - King Dorin Capital - The Brass Tower Dominant Race - Dwarf Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Shtekkten [-], Zhunekru [T]

Banner of Aurdrukar

Banner of Khor-Naland

The dwarves toiled with great energy to create farms and villages in Amura, as well as lay roads in Ulhiya and Qiya. Lords Blorin and Gamli continued diplomatic negotiations with the fiercely independent dwarves of Shtekkten and Zhunekru.

The Elven Empire of Sengkar - Ruler - Emperor Valoril Greenshield Capital - Ezrand Dominant Race - Elf Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail

The elves expanded their port city of Valoralondë, tearing down and rebuilding its walls.  Though still a small city, its importance was growing. Princess Shariel and Lady Elveriadne led colonists to Kulahan but found that the wars with Torquas had left the region poorer and less ready for colonization than they expected.  Still, Elveriadne led a mighty host of thirteen thousand soldiers to protect the colonists. Engineers continued to drive the Pallurien road toward Jarende.

The Kingdom of Weshtayo - Ruler - King Cuitláhuac , Red-Feathered Lord Capital - Khulank Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Autumna Diplomacy - Tresalet [+1YfC]

Farms spread across the face of the pacified northern forest province of Tresalet.  Cultivation and livestock became commonplace, though the region (as most of the nation) still seethed under its forced reconversion. Black-feathered Lord Ometeotl continued to conduct diplomacy with the Tresaleters. King Cuitláhuac married a noblewoman and fathered a daughter.  His wife died in childbirth the following year. Meanwhile, Lord Ezhuahuacatl assembled an army of five thousand warriors and plunged into the jungles of Chesu and Chiktelsa with orders to stamp out the spread of the Dark Court.  Energetic and daring, Ezhuahuacatl decided that nothing short of enslavement would end the hideous worship of demons and so his armies attacked the jungle villages.  He was shocked by the stiff resistance he met in both regions, where skilled leaders fought

with tenacity.  Even so, Ezhuahuacatl's army was larger and better equipped and brought the jungle tribes to heel.  His troops returned the natives (their former countrymen) in chains to Ulparahya.

The Imperial Realm of Zikuyu -
Ruler - Emperor Maseed
Capital - Ivallkyu
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - Valesian Spirit Cult

The Zikuyans were quiescent.  Matsis died in 2912 at the age of 61.

The Valraj -
Ruler - Sultan Ayoob
Capital - Muddakir
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court
Diplomacy - Sartus [T]

Engineers built a low brick wall around the city of Darious in Tas Dar.  Elsewhere, peasants and royal engineers worked side by side to build villages in Hajaxtas and a new forum in Hissar. Prince Nurudeen watched the coasts with seven thousand mobile troops. Meanwhile, Lord Jalalud preached the seductive power of the Dark Court to the nobility of Sartus while Lord Firas enticed them to pay tribute to the Sultan. A great hero, Radhrir of Sartus, was inspired by the speeches of Jalalud and Firas.  He left his lonely tower (for he was a mage of considerable power) and offered his services to the Sultan.

The Grand Duchy of Meneen -
Ruler - Grand Duke Salene
Capital - Yaz Meneen
Dominant Race - Elf
Dominant Religion - Valesian Spirit Cult
Diplomacy - Indrata [FA]

The elves built five new warships and took them to war.  Admiral Feantë sailed north with a fleet of thirty warships and fifteen transports. After embarking the feudal armies of Zevan and Bapanda, his fleet cruised into the Ruan straits to challenge the Ruanach navy, sixteen large and sleek Ruanach Blacksails. The elves were clearly the better sailors and had the advantage of numbers, and the two admirals (Feantë and Markand of Ruanach were evenly matched.  But the Ruans had the mighty Blacksails, larger, faster and better armed than the small elvish swanships. Feantë and his elves outsailed the men of Ruanach, but to no avail.  The crushing weight of the Blacksail rams sheared through the elvish hulls like pike through trout. The entire elven warfleet was sunk or too badly damaged to fight.  Many of the transports were likewise captured by pursuing Ruan ships.  But the elves had inflicted serious casualties themselves.  Fully half the Ruan fleet was sunk or burning, and many of the rest were able only to limp back to port or beach themselves before sinking. Feantë himself was wounded, as was Lord Ben-Har of Bapanda.  Both escaped with their lives, and once in port Admiral Feantë worked his elves tirelessly to repair the damaged fleet. The Ruan fleet took eight swanships and two transports as prizes. Prince Emmyn began negotiations with the elves of Indrata. The shamans of the spirit cults held a great ceremony, firing the religious fervor of the nation.

The Kingdom of Ukanve -
Ruler - King Gene II
Capital - Ukanve
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - Valesian Spirit Cult

Queen Morgania proved astonishingly fertile, giving birth to twin girls in 2911, and again in 2912.  In 2913, she gave birth to her first son, but the strain was too much for her and she died the following day. Princess Emma sailed south with Lords Branoic, Karltone, and Schmitzohne. Leading an fleet of six warships, twenty transports and four thousand troops, she stormed the beaches of Acclimea.  Simultaneously, Faeaid of Rhundal led fourteen hundred troops into Acclimea from the south.  Emma lost four hundred men in the landing and another twelve hundred in hard fighting.  But the elves of Acclimea at last capitulated and agreed to pay tribute to Ukanve.  Lord Faeaid of Rhundal was killed in the fighting.  The entire army accompanied his body back to Rhundal.

The Kingdom of Nikitya -
Ruler - King Ragnar
Capital - Vikitana
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - Serriku Spirit Cult

The cold northern climes of Nikitya made men cautious by nature.  The Nikityans watched the eastern borders warily. But most of the energy of the young and vital country was spent clearing the primeval forests of Piunissik. King Ragnar ruled from the throne of Vikitana and trained his young son Erik in the ways of command. Missionaries to Tuanani completed the long process of converting the natives away from the dwarven religion of the Grail and towards the more proper human worship of the great spirits.

The Principalities of Korondor -
Ruler - King Vorin
Capital - Nikkildûn
Dominant Race - Dwarf
Dominant Religion - The Lords of the Grail
Diplomacy - Tyakukta [F]

The dwarves trained relentlessly in infantry tactics, supported with liberal access to the royal exchequer. But the real dwarven obsession (and who can obsess like a dwarf?) was the building of fortifications.  Walls, tunnels, forts, fortresses, trenches and redoubts, both obvious and hidden, were made to riddle the length and breadth of the dwarven realm. The land bristled with defensive works so that it seemed there was hardly room for the shepherds to pasture their flocks. King Vorin retired two thousand infantry, instead training the dwarves to be cavalry, riding upon stout shaggy horses. His son Tolon fathered another son.  Meanwhile Tolon's first son Durm was promoted to the rank of Prince of the realm. Lords Bolan, Talon and Korin convinced the prince of Tyakukta to join his province with the Principalities, taking oaths of fealty to King Vorin.

The Saa'vend Confederation -
Ruler - King Nassessh
Capital - Envekal
Dominant Race - Saurus
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court
Diplomacy - Batis [T], Samilen [-]

King Nassessh took a healthy young saurus woman to wife, but she died in 2911 during childbirth. His son, Crown Prince Sthor and Lord Kaar traveled to Batis to begin negotiations for a more extensive Confederation.  Likewise his brother Prince Boaz traveled downriver to Samilen and discussed the matter of the dragon with Lord Pythek of Samilen. In Eumela, the King spent his family's treasury to begin the cultivation of that forested region. Missionaries in Eumela struggled to overcome those sent by the God-Emperor of Shanatar, and the province's religious loyalties hung in delicate balance.

Azidakaha -
Ruler - Azidakaha
Capital - Naifir

The mighty dragon Azidahaka flew casually out to enlarge his worldly empire, setting his sights on the nearby region of Balasir.  There, he ran directly into the immense army of Shanatar, come to do him battle. See The Shanatar Empire, below.

The Shanatar Empire -
Ruler - God-Emperor Migdala
Capital - Feroe
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - The God-Emperor

God-Emperor Migdala, childless since the death of the last God-Emperor, named his lieutenant Javah as his new heir.  The nobility bridled at this favoritism, but the God-Emperor's will was law and none dared challenge it. Migdala orderd Javah and Lord Tulah to combine their armies and march on Zeynif, bringing this troublesome dragon to heel.  What was a mere dragon when faced with the will of a living god? Combined, Javah and Tulah led a force of thirty thousand infantry and cavalry, including nearly two thousand Shanatar Immortals. They expected to meet the dragon in Zeynif, but were surprised to encounter it in Balasir, already slaughtering local officials, mayors and soldiers.  Drawing their glowing magic weapons, the army of the God-Emperor charged the ancient beast! The battle joined, Azidahaka lay about him with his fiery breath and the force of his demonic will.  Where he glanced, there men froze in their tracks and died

where they stood.  But even a dragon is mortal.  Thousands of arrows rained down upon the armored hide and thousands of spears sought the softer underbelly even as their wielders screamed and died. Lances by the thousands rushed its fiery flanks.  And the dragon bled.

So fierce was the fighting that it broke the will and sanity of Javah, heir to the throne of Shanatar.  He was caught in the gaze of the dragon and all thought of apotheosis fled.  He willingly served Azidahaka, and many of his men joined him in worship of a new and terrible master. 

Nonetheless, it was the Shanatarians under command of Lord Tulah who won the day.  Though their losses were horrific, Azidahaka was sorely wounded and he fled back to Zeynif, his new toadies following in his wake.  Tulah's forces were thoroughly devastated, and he declined to follow.  Even months later, his army numbered only twelve thousand effectives. Faithful Lord Tulah had done his work well and achieved lasting glory.  He expired in 2912 at the age of fifty-two.  His men sent his body back to the capital, but buried his heart on the battlefield, raising a great cairn over it in memory of his victory.

Elsewhere, the God-Emperor's missionaries struggled to gain religious supremacy in Eumela, at the heart of the newly-formed Sa'avend Confederation.  They were harassed by the saurus officials and found their message more difficult to spread. Nonetheless, the religious fate of Eumela stood on a knife's edge.  The religious picture was less dynamic in Ul'il, where the stolid hillmen refused to entertain notions of worshipping some foreign king in a funny hat.

The Farmuz Emirates - Ruler - Sultan Kazad Capital - Azhkatûm Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Lords of the Grail Diplomacy - Carrez [NT]

The Sultan of Farmuz opened several schools to train missionaries in the Grail religion. He spent nearly as much on training his wizards and his cavalry. The city of Mukatir continued to grow, recovering from the devastating fires of decades before.  Meanwhile, public baths and large caravanserai were added to mighty Azhkatûm. Sultan Kazad married daughter of his friend, Prince Mahir, the Princess Shehir Izad Al Navilok. She gave birth to a son in 2914.  Kazad retained command of the bulk of the army, but delegated command of four thousand heavy elite cavalry to Lord Darzed. Lord Masket opened diplomatic negotiations with the tribes of Carrez while Vizier Al'Han tried unsuccessfully to sway the nobility of Zahmer away from the Tokran Heresy.

 

The Kingdom of Vaudan - Ruler - Regent Kavad Capital - Chegamum Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Orithia Diplomacy - Yezdarna [T]

The lords of Vaudan prepared to defend their lands.  They built ten warships at Chegamum, adding to their riverine strength.  Walls they built around each city, to keep enemies at bay.  The raised strong forts and castles in Jadh and Tokumande. Lord Khosrow led a delegation including Lord Orland and Prince Danush to Yezdarna, where they negotiated tribute from the hillmen, sealing this bargain with marriages to the King's four brothers Kavad, Nashvad, Nariman and Zand. Ill vapors arose on the waters of the Chamir river, and these were blamed for many deaths in Vaudan.  Prince Danush and Lord Barzin succumbed in 2911, while King Kavan died in 2912. All the children of old king Eldred also perished during this period: Delaram, Zakaria, Ishkult and Barmak. After the death of King Kavan, the crown went to his eight-year old son Zamyad.  Prince Afshin was declared Zamyad's protector and Regent, but he too passed away in 2914. The nation rode through these turbulent times with remarkable passivity, and Kavan's twin Kavad was named Zamyad's regent.

The United Clans of Mainos -
Ruler - King Kaedhrol Greyfeather
Capital - Badmira
Dominant Race - Elf
Dominant Religion - Orithia
Diplomacy - Vizhios [T]

The elves of Mainos completed "The Bridge of Swallows" across the Kheleni river, linking Jalit and Kheleni.  They began a series of roads to the interior of Kheleni. King Kaedhrol Greyfeather and Tarja Elsila began negotiations with the elves of Vizhios. Prince Auvo Kaedhrol ruled from Badmira in his father's name. He ordered Raimo Kaavi and his eight thousand troops at Lappi to seize merchant shipping belonging to the Kolyut Hegemony.  The tiny riverine fleet of hobgoblin merchants managed to escape without a ship being seized, although several hobgoblin sailors were imprisoned. Mainos sent elven missionaries to Diangam in Ahandu.  Though they sought to strengthen the cause of Orithia, they managed only to convince the sauruses that Orithia was a foreign religion with alien goals.

The Dragon's Reach -

The Kingdom of Uheju -
Ruler - Regent Miyu
Capital - Shkomyemri
Dominant Race - Hobgoblin
Dominant Religion - Orithia

Gansukh the hobgoblin king declared to his people that after much study and consideration, it was his royal order that they abandon their ancient practice of Orithia, and instead embrace the newer view of the Falesians.  This incited a firestorm within the population of Uheju.  The Orithian priests excommunicated Gansukh, and many of his people viewed him as a demon-worshipper.  The hobgoblins of Pozitlok declared they would not continue their fealty to a heretic, and so forswore their oaths to Shkoyemri.  Lord Baga declared himself opposed to the king, and fled from the capital.  Kovrat of Berat and Arpad of Kaletor both refused to follow Gansukh, despite ruling over populations that were predominantly Falesian.  Gansukh's agents whipped up Falesian fanaticism in Berat, and as a result, Falesian partisans within his own military captured and hung Kovrat.  As Gansukh's army marched into Berat to reassert control, Arpad of Kaletor saw the handwriting on the wall and fled the kingdom by sea.  Both Berat and Kaletor became tributary states to the kingdom. Gansukh died of a massive heart attack in 2912, and many saw this as the judgment of the gods.  The enormously popular Lord Baga tried to rally the army against the Falesians, but Princess Miyu seized command of her father's army and had Baga put to death. She declared herself devoted to the Falesian faith. Despite universal expectations, Miyu did not declare herself queen of Uheju.  Brilliant and vain, as well as a famed sorceress, she had little patience for the demands of rulership.  She declared herself regent for her younger brother and swore bloody revenge on any who opposed him. Of the regions still comprising the kingdom, only the homeland of Kannguheju remains loyal to the Orithian cause.

 

The Heavenly Kingdom of Kasadir - Ruler -Queen Zlawa Capital - Tamiyot Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Falesian (Heretical Orithia) Diplomacy - Inni [-]

Queen Zlawa raised four thousand troops to fight the rebels, but two thousand of these were green recruits, dragged from the rice paddies and armed with hoes and tonfas or the occasional rusty pike.  Zlawa commanded a total of seven thousand troops at Kasadir, including a thousand Kasadir Dragon Warriors.  These would soon be put to the test. The orthodox rebels under General Olizha soon stormed into Kasadir.  They were six thousand strong, but starving in the forests and plains of the west.  They had to take Kasadir and Tamiyot and gambled all on this one throw of the dice. Olizha was the professional, a smart, dangerous general, while Zlawa was merely prudent and wise. And Olizha had more scouts and more cavalry. But Queen Zlawa was also a sorceress and her men were defending their homeland, which made both she and they dangerous. The Orithian rebels infiltrated their way into Kasadir before the Falesian loyalists knew where their army was.  They struck hard and fast, taking small garrisons and crossroads silently before the alarm spread.  The rebels had the upper hand from the very beginning.  But although they drove the loyalists before them at first, they soon ran into Kasadir's fortifications.  Five strong castles stood in the way of the rebel dreams, and they held out against the worst Olizha's forces could throw at them.  This provided the chance that Zlawa needed to rally her forces and drive the rebels back. In the end, the rebels lost nearly fifteen hundred dead as they were forced to retreat from Kasadir.  The loyalists lost nearly a thousand, but their raw recruits were now veterans, battle-tested and green no more. Elsewhere, Prince Maejith attempted to sway the hobgoblins of Inni to join

his father's realm, but they refused, saying that they wished to be part of no human realm, particularly not one engaged in a bloody civil war.

Lord Kal Thintal sailed to Tanuan, where he discovered the Fane of Law and completed the three tasks set by its guardian.  His reward was the fabled Orb of Law.

 

The Kasadir Rebels - Ruler - General Olizha Capital - None (Homeland - Bakan) Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - Orithia

General Olizha recruited all the troops he could.  Faced with starvation, he marched them all towards Kasadir and destiny. See The Heavenly Kingdom of Kasadir, above.

Assassins tried to shoot the general in the forests of Bakan, but his men caught and strangled the assassins.

 

The Kingdom of Ahandu - Ruler - King Tzahex Capital - Zathurrin Dominant Race - Saurus Dominant Religion - Orithia Diplomacy - Chojde [EA]

Ahandu suffered from an insufficiently large government to control all its lands.  As it had so often in the past, the human province of Chojde paid little heed to it's nominal feudal overlords in Zathurrin.  The realm of Pondu remained loyal, but King Tzahex nonetheless reduced its status to that of an economic ally. Lords Oatltehe and Pahualax were stationed in Chojde for just such an eventuality and labored to ensure that the province did not fade from Zathurrin's power.  In fact, they so impressed the local nobility that they managed to strike a treaty of economic alliance. Ahandu missionaries labored to return Diangam to the faith of Orithia, while Princess Princess Tzazlat and Princess Tzazless held court among the nobility fo the region and in Jembahuan for the same purpose.  The missionaries were somewhat hampered in this effort by the abrasive (to saurus ears) preaching of the elves of Mainos, whose foreign ways and race turned many against Orithia.

The Empire of Mogodor -
Ruler - Queen Lysistrana
Capital - Aone
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - Orithia
Diplomacy - Venil [A]

The eastern city of Venil continued to grow. Large neighborhoods grew up outside its walls, making them obsolete. Venil shipwrights built four fine cogs on the quays abutting Amak Maru. Lord Obi received command of four thousand elite light infantry at Aone and marched them to Venil, where he presented them to Lord Ystris.  Obi then went on to forge an alliance between Venil and Aone. Lord Ystris died at the age of forty-five in 2914. An ominous silence reigned in the Sea of Fallen Stars.  No sorcerous storms raged there as they had for the last ten years.

The Kingdom of Suhanir -
Ruler - King Valiel Sunlord
Capital - Kaonayu
Dominant Race - Elf
Dominant Religion - Orithia
Diplomacy - Sunatosuk [EA], Menytu [T]

The Suhanir elves completed a road running from Kaonayu to Miyotla.  In Miyotla, many ships rode at anchor, listless. The King and Queen blessed the lands of Sunahm and Menmanga, respectively. Prince Marahel forged an economic alliance with the southern region of Sunatosuk, while Lady Halath demanded tribute from the elves of Menytu.

The Kingdom of Amantai -
Ruler - King Mardule the Younger
Capital - Mahlish
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - Orithia
Diplomacy - Ait [A]

The government of Amantai struggled to control the sprawling expanse of forests claimed by Mahlish.  Civil service training for low-level governmental posts continued. Queen Sara set out with ten warships to chart the eastern coasts, and managed to produce a fine rutter of Silver Bay before perishing in the cold winter of 2912.  Her fleet bore her body back to the capital for a state funeral.  Her son Mardule the Younger assumed the throne. Lord Gerald the Chaste died in 2913 of pneumonia. Prince Bastian the Bold forged an alliance with the woodsmen of Ait.

The Kingdom of Nuitai -
Ruler - King Ghevrit
Capital - Temanom
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - Orithia

Princess Mai died in 2912 at the age of forty.

The Lichdom of Erdiyek -
Ruler - Kuan Li Jiang
Capital - The Necropolis
Dominant Race - The Undead
Dominant Religion - None

The legions of the lich-king conquered Aka, and the Necropolis grew in size and might.

The Kingdom of Choran -
Ruler -  King Chausian
Capital - Choran
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - Serikku Spirit Cult

The city of Choran continued to grow, becoming a major metropolis home to hundreds of thousands of citizens. It had no rival closer than Feroe and Jalahl, each more than eight hundred leagues away. Choran engineers were quick to build new walls protecting the city's landward approaches. The famous diplomat Lord Shakiru died in 2911 at the age of sixty-five. The land of Bayindu was inundated by high waves and flooding, but there was nothing there to damage.

The Empire of Tekume -
Ruler - Emperor Go-Bitron
Capital - Suru'or
Dominant Race - Giants
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court

The giants labored mightily in the fields of Karisdu, creating lush farms and large villages. Admiral Ha-Lukko patrolled the waters around Tauntum with five warships.

The Kolyut Isthmus -

The Sylvan Realm of Hecadia -
Ruler - King Mardeis
Capital - Belgramma
Dominant Race - Halfling
Dominant Religion - Orithia
Diplomacy - Kebe [-], Ateside [NT]

The halflings of Hecadia continued their cultivation of Amoka, building towns and markets and clearing forests across the breadth of the wide region. King Mardeis and his court engaged in diplomatic maneuverings across Kebe and Ateside designed to place in power nobility loyal to Belgramma.  The chieftains of Ateside agreed to recognize the sovereign power of the king.

The Kingdom of Kerendis - Ruler - King Laoghaire Capital - Orbelain Dominant Race - Human Dominant Religion - The Dark Court Diplomacy - Orbelain [-1YfC], Iganchi [T]

The Kerends labored in the fields of Kibe and Nisvet to carve towns out of the wilderness and to build farms to feed the hungry populations of Orbelain. The built a small port on the Kebe Straits, giving it the lilting name of Daemonshore. In 2912, Prince Alstan was elevated to Crown Prince, first in line to the succession. King Laoghaire tried to soothe the masses of Orbelain with extravagant entertainments, but this only angered the already restive mobs who patrolled the streets. Lord Tirechan sought and received a tribute from the tribes of Iganchi. Missionaries failed to dislodge the faith of the Cult of Evaless from Emparar and Awibiat, but Bishop Venator Shaele, with fiery speeches and sample executions, convinced some of the nobility of Therses to convert.

The Kingdom of Threns -
Ruler - King Arcanon
Capital - Vaayil
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court
Diplomacy - Patsuma [A]

King Arcanon recruited two thousand heavy elite soldiers and hired four thousand mercenaries.  Then, with half his retainers in tow, he marched to war.  Leading an army of eleven thousand, including two thousand Karoon Lancers, he marched south to the Ruanach border and slipped, unnoticed, through the wilds of Sankama. But when he arrived at the Ruan homeland of Daal, he found a rougher reception.  Princess Neva of Ruanach commanded an army of ten thousand infantry, anchored by five large castles. But Arcanon had plans for this great Ruan general and that very night she was wounded as members of her own guard attempted to kill her.  Neva was forced to command the army from her bed overlooking the battlefield. Now Arcanon held nearly all the cards: Elite troops, more cavalry, more scouts, and excellent battle intelligence.  Nonetheless, the battle was a near thing. Seizing the castles and driving back the Ruan

army cost the lives or health of four thousand Threnish troops, but cost two thousand Ruan lives as well.  Defeated, the Ruans retired in good order to the safety of the walls of Fashanru.

Even there they were not safe, for Arcanon ordered an immediate and reckless assault upon the city.  His commanders were shocked that he did not pause for a siege first, but obeyed his orders and threw their troops at the walls three days later.  With scaling ladders and siege towers, the Threnish army stormed the great gate of Fashanru, and took it.  The fighting around the gate was fierce and cost the lives of more than half the defenders, but the Threnish were thrown back with terrible effort and the Ruans walled up the gate with rubble from nearby houses torn down by the defenders.  Both of Arcanon's subsidiary commanders (Lord Perejilium and Princess Cariotta) were wounded in the assault. At Arcanon's command, the Threnish army returned to the walls of Fashanru the next day, but this time the results were final.  The defenders rained down burning pitch and boulders upon them, killing thousands of Threnish soldiers and capturing the wounded Perejilium.

Fashanru's walls and garrison had held, though fewer than a thousand Ruan soldiers remained to defend them.  Arcanon's army had shrunk to a mere four thousand effectives and he called off the assault, attempting to regroup his army in Daal.

In launching his invasion, Arcanon had decided to ignore the student uprising in Vaayil.  Angered, the students took over the city, forcing the navy to remove its warships to Anizacate.

Elsewhere, Prince Roberton attempted to secretly negotiate with the men of Bendraj.  But he was discovered by Edmor of Ruanach, who led thirty-five hundred troops in the area. Edmor attempted to kill or capture Roberton, but the wily prince managed to escape back to Siruvargal.

Meanwhile, bombastic proclamations by the church of the Gods of Woe weakened Threnish support for the official state religion.

The Kolyut Hegemony -
Ruler - Hegemon Moodor Sharptooth
Capital - Ketarid
Dominant Race - Hobgoblin
Dominant Religion - The Dark Court

The hobgoblins of Kolyut, already struggling to control an empire consisting almost entirely of pacified and subject peoples, recruited two thousand light infantry and set off for more conquest. Roojak Stone marched five thousand light infantry and cavalry east into the hills and launched a war against the tribes of Partinji and Pengana, defeating and enslaving them with relative ease. Gload Duncan, with a similar army set about the tougher task of reconquering Irnatra and Makuwai.  As usual, these tough regions fielded experienced commanders and fought fiercely. After submitting to Kolyut rule, both regions erupted into yet another wave of violence when Gload Duncan enforced the supremacy of the Dark Court religion. By the time he left Irnatra and Makuwai pacified, Duncan had only two thousand soldiers, even though he wisely allotted time to regroup his army after battle. Once in Inda, Gload Duncan had to put down yet another insurrection in that region, as Hegemon Moodor's rule was too weak to enforce discipline in such a distant region. This was a less violent affair, but it still cost Duncan two hundred light cavalry.

Far to the east, the region of Kebeliha revolted from the Hegemony despite the threats and underhanded dealings of the Hegemon's agents.

Far to the north, the nation of Mainos attempted to seize Kolyut merchant shipping on the Gardagos river.  The attempt failed, but this was an act of war.

Ruanach was attacked on two fronts.  The elves of Meneen attacked her fleet (See The Grand Duchy of Meneen, above) and the men of Threns attacked her homeland (See The Kingdom of Threns, above). The elves were repulsed and the men of Threns were fought to a standstill outside the walls of the capital, although the Ruan homeland of Daal is now under Threnish control and four thousand Threnish troops under King Arcanon patrol its fields. Sadly, both of Ruanach's legendary leaders, admiral Markand and Princess Neva died of natural causes in the years following their battles, leaving only untested generals behind. Prince Edmor wooed and won a wife in Bendraj, bringing the region fully under the control of Fashanru.  He chased Threnish Prince Roberton out of the region and sailed thirty-five hundred infantry south to reinforce Fashanru in 2915. Lord Giorn also negotiated the diplomatic union of

Ruanach and Navikes.

Lords Hashik of Aramite, Nemuel of Asatul and Boaz of Arundim combined their three thousand troops to defend Angkon.

The Delves of Ahum - Ruler - King Daven Silentpad Capital - Saumya Dominant Race - Halfling Dominant Religion - Nuree Diplomacy - Panka [EA]

The halflings of Ahum continued to sculpt, irrigate, fertilize and nurture the rich black loam of Satulki, creating an ever-richer soil for their remarkable agriculture. They build villages and a temple to the Three-Faced god in Hishore. Devotees of Nuree carried it beyond the shores of Ahum.  The Vallende elves of Depoken on the island of Mairtho had little interest in the complex theology of the mainland, but the Khovar elves of Sandor in the south found it to be both fascinating and enlightened.  They abandoned their old worship of the spirits of nature for Nuree's promise of salvation. Prince Karelak Roguewillow and Stonehill Rabbitjumper of Dhal traveled to Panka on the Ruanach border and concluded a treaty to sell its lumber and hides in the ports of Saumya and Nikitr. Sathla missionaries entered the southern province of Ankamal and propounded the word of their foreign and scaly god.  Surprisingly, some of the halflings of Ankamal were receptive.

The Orcish Raj of Virityal -
Ruler - Raj Taurog the Bold
Capital - Chharit
Dominant Race - Orc
Dominant Religion - Nuree
Diplomacy - Prirama [-]

The Sudaran regions of Mahanja and Aballak were the site of much colonization and town building. Ancient Raj Algoz finally died in 2913 at the age of one hundred one.  Rumor has it that he walked into the hills of Rudhavi to the headwaters of the Virit river and sat down on a high tor to wait for death. His son Taurog became the Raj of Virityal at the age of seventy-seven.  Though also ancient for an orc, Taurog showed his age.  Few expect him to live much longer. It was a time of death among the leadership of the Raj.  Marak Boarslayer died from a hunting wound. Garkog died in battle over a debt of honor. Prince Jausor was slain by his consort for preferring gambling and drink to her company. Tulak died peacefully in 2911. Prince Lurg died of internal wounds received during a club-fighting match in the combat pits of Chharit. The spate of deaths ensured the failure of a diplomatic initiative in Prirama.

The Empire of Rajahdan-
Ruler - Emperor Gortoc the Cold-Blooded
Capital - Jalahl
Dominant Race - Sathla
Dominant Religion - Autumna
Diplomacy - Virunir [-]

The lush fields of Rajahdan continued to prosper, and thousands more sathla moved into the region to work the rice paddies and fish farms.  The great capital of Jalahl also continued to swell far beyond the bounds of its original walls.  A teeming metropolis with a population in the hundreds of thousands, it was easily one of the largest cities in the world, rivaling Merwal and Echoriath in greatness. Shipwrights in Amanal on the Sudaran sea completed twenty elaborately-carved warships. Lord Norz continued diplomatic maneuverings in Virunir. Prince Hexotta continued as ambassador to Anku Elevya until his mysterious disappearance in 2912. Lord Ssshiz died in 2911 during a drunken brawl over a old family rivalry.  Prince Ecmundi of Ammanit died in 2913 at the age of fifty-six. Goquax, brother of Emperor Gortoc, was raised to the royal council in his place.

Rajad missionaries entered the Ahum province of Ankamal and propounded the word of their foreign and scaly god.  Surprisingly, some of the halflings of Ankamal were receptive.

Anku Elevya -
Ruler - Emperor Zao Yin
Capital - Jinguir
Dominant Race - Saurus
Dominant Religion - Zaoism

Emperor Zao Yin trained his troops in new tactics, espousing a belief in the tactics of maneuver.  Reorganizing his entire army, he created a force of nine thousand elite soldiers, including a cadre of Saurek Elite and a larger component of elite light infantry. For several months in 2911, the Royal Court made Zaoism fashionable among the nobility of Puntama.  Approximately half the nobility had converted to the state religion by the time the Court left for Anku. Prince Zao Choum and Ayathis of Aya traveled to the forests of Macaran and worked to convert the nobility there. Missionaries went far upriver, living among and preaching to the Laorang giants of Okimo.  The giants listened thoughtfully and declared that they had seen the light of Zaoism. Prince Hexotta of Rajahdan disappeared from his official residence in Tan Chang, shortly after declaring that he was the ambassador of Rajahdan.  His retainers insist that he was kidnapped, but Anku officials are baffled as to the cause.

The Celestial Empire of Shen'xi -
Ruler - Emperor Mei Shu
Capital - Wu Lan
Dominant Race - Human
Dominant Religion - Kifan

The lion of the east slept.

The Lulipayat Empire -
Ruler - Empress Naddya
Capital - Kelakuan
Dominant Race - Sathla
Dominant Religion - Autumna
Diplomacy - Mersemb [F], Tanu [T]

The sathla of Lulipayat built villages and plantations on the islands of Tasarwi, and more cogs at Kelakuan to serve their overseas colonies. Empress Nadya traveled to Mersemb and offered its chieftain the ultimate prize in exchange for his loyalty: herself.  She married him and elevated him to Royal Consort.  Her daughters Terysa and Kalissa learned much from this exchange. Lords Hu Shan and Reke extracted a promise of tribute from the men of Tanu in Mukarma. Meanwhile, missionaries in Mukarma failed to adequately consider the differences in race and language and wound up turning many humans away from Autumna and back to Nuree.

 

The Serenity of Wayahapta - Ruler - Queen Alvya Capital - Keluan Dominant Race - Halfling Dominant Religion - Changshai Spirit Cult

Zzzzzzz...

The Dwarven Realm of Khudukan -
Ruler - King Sirom Stiffbeard
Capital - Nodo-Xan
Dominant Race - Dwarf
Dominant Religion - Kifan

No word came from the dwarves in their mountain fastnesses.

The Empire of the Pearl -
Ruler - Emperor Sakurako Hideyoshi
Capital - Kuemas
Dominant Race - Elf
Dominant Religion - Kifan
Diplomacy - Karikom [T]

Emperor Sakurako Hideyoshi mandated the movement of landless young elves from their woodland homes to the rich fields of Kumidor, enticing them with farmsteads and vineyards of their own. Elven engineers built several strong castles in Hanaze, and small towns developed around each of these, helping to knit the region together. Though he felt no touch of age, Emperor Sakurako Hideyoshi appointed his Empress, Airi, to be his successor in the case of his untimely death. Airi spent her time in Karikom, creating a system of effective tax collection.

The Emerald Realm of Lekandi -
Ruler - King Galens Eagleheart
Capital - Suwelho
Dominant Race - Elf
Dominant Religion - Ukele Spirit Cult
Diplomacy - Fuama [C]

King Galens Eagleheart recruited fifteen hundred elven archers into his military forces and settled their families in the realm of Fikosha. A new road was begun leading east from Suwelho towards the jungles of Kupenda. Vallirion Sharpeye preceded it, moving to the Fuama peninsula and notifying the reclusive elves of that distant region that they were now a part of the Emerald Realm.

Page Completed 20 December 2008