LORDS OF THE EARTH CAMPAIGN 54

King Gustav sat the throne.  In 2886 he fathered a second daughter, but the following year his wife Syra died in childbirth at the age of thirty-nine.

Fergus Brightmantle died in 2886, before he could carry out any of his orders.

Rasmus Whitewing summoned the spirits to bless the Crown Lands, then continued his lifelong quest to improve the relations between the Skane and the city of Tirgon.

Dak also raided the Ormswood and found some surprisingly stiff opposition.  The woodsmen inflicted some losses on his orcs and sent them packing.

Back at his throne room in Zaramaka, Tallo counted his new-found wealth and laughed uproariously at the tales from the Ormswood.

General Aeneas took command of five thousand light cavalry and crossed the Narglaurith river into Landegol.  From there, he marched up the north bank of the river into Lycia where he surprised the local militia and overcame it in a textbook battle of maneuver. He lost some two hundred troopers in the process, routing or killing nearly three thousand Lycians.

All that bloodshed was merely for benefit of Aurora, eight-year old daughter of old king Agathokles, who rode with Aeneas and learned from him.  When the lesson was done, the Harkorians marched back out of Lycia, leaving the locals to their own devices.

King Ankole moved the main Brythnian army down the via brythnia to Bodhria from where he could quickly react against any invasion of the realm.  Ankole named his younger sister Immilia Clovenhoof a princess of the realm and also oversaw the paying-off of Brythnia’s wartime loans.

Kallos Twospot, a far better diplomat than general Gyr, negotiated the full accession of Bodhria into the Confederation via the mechanism of a marriage between the leading chief’s daughter and King Ankole.

Eutropios Greymare governed the port city of Aploia.  With the aid of the fabled

Halflings gathered into two main armies.  King Clem recruited five thousand soldiers and marched a total of seven thousand to the defense of Aelissia’s southern approaches at the Gate of Bells, where he was joined by his friend Crowley Ratcatcher. 

Meanwhile, an equal number of mixed infantry gathered under Iva Blackkettle in Corland and marched out to block any northward movements by the giants in the wilds of Garromais (still wild since destroyed by the H’rethek a century before).

In fact, a lone giant emissary met the Corish king at the river and delivered to him the body of Sir Karrick, who had died while a prisoner in their hands.  The emissary then delivered to the king the demands of the Stoneheart giants and rowed away.

In 2889, Bertrand’s maiden sister Agnes died of the dropsy.

Then she and Sir Bryce set to sea with a fleet of twenty ships, mostly transports laden with infantry.  These stormed ashore at Bruyenne, only to find that the giants had already stripped the region bare, and that a Grail army was gathering at Brandobaris.  Moving on to Votois, Ysolde found that the giants had also stripped that land.  She died at sea in 2887.

Upon the return of the fleet to Armorica, the Empress’s only son, one year old Arthur was recognized as the rightful heir.  His father Sir Anton was recognized as regent until his son should attain the majority.

Lord Dranuel returned from the Stoneheart wars to assume command of the Whisper Wood army at the Sunglades.

launched an intense and secretive campaign to free their queen from the clutches of the wicked Stoneheart giants.  Details of the operation are sketchy, but Rumil Ancalime led an elite force of rangers into occupied Corland to seek out the queen’s location.  Somehow they managed to discover where she was being held and spirited her away from the giants under cover of darkness.  ‘

Though none of the elves are discussing the details, Queen Nereil’s sudden reappearance in Elenuil was cause for wild celebrations and huge crowds thronging her palace, loudly demanding to see the queen, and then much cheering and singing of old songs followed.

Sir Beau moved his army of seven thousand from Regaldros to South Akasia. 

Meanwhile, Masters Benedictus and Magnus rode west with more than seventeen thousand troops, many of them elite Knights of the Golden Dawn.  Benedictus died in Ianthis in 2886, and Magnus inherited his command.  He watched Leana and the Riftmarch for several years, expecting but never encountering any giant attacks.  In 2890, he retired his army to the woods of Ferrense in the north.

As in past years, the Crusader States, the Conorrian Empire and the Llyran Republic all sent gold to support the Order.

Meanhile, Bezhral and Mezger applied their reputations as the heroes of the Bug Wars to convince the clans of Gromon to pay tribute to the rising power of Ascarlon. In the midst of negotiations, Lord Prakatt of Carhallas arrived as diplomat from that nation.  He remained for a year, just long enough to ruin the economic alliance that Bezhral and Mezger had arranged. Prakatt then died a spectacular death, choking on a leg of roast mutton during a state dinner.

Ascar missionaries preached their gospel of Righteous Power in Averni, last of the Hammersea regions to hold to the old ways of the spirits.  The Avernii refused to give up their traditional ways, but  the priests did not go away. The east was more

Turath the Undefeated marched north with two thousand goblin troops and raided the hobgoblins of Torok.  Their lust for violence sated, they returned home to the capital.

Sneech, an oily yet persuasive orc convinced the men of Napoca that, abandoned by Ascarlon as they were, they had little choice but to pay tribute to the orc king. Sneech died in Napoca, apparently of natural causes.

Blatharg the Emissary moved south into the Cendarinne mountains and convinced the orcs of the Blackspikes to acknowledge Wargest as their overlord.

The Imperial Flag

Crown Prince Maugroth led twelve thousand troops south from Gothmaur into the human-dominated plains of Drokoth and Yrineth, where he systematically reduced the populations to slavery and looted their goods.  But not without great difficulty.  Despite his overwhelming numbers, the three thousand light cavalry of Drokoth fought with a skill and ferocity that astonished  the hobgoblins and cost them nearly a thousand troops over six months of hit-and-run warfare.

In the spring of 2888, Lord Prakatt marched into Gromon with a thousand elite carhallas emperor’s own infantry, and supporting troops from Mendhaur.  Once there, he demanded the attention of the leaders of Gromon, only to discover them already deep in diplomatic discussions with representatives of Ascarlon for the last two years. Prakatt attempted to counter the Ascar diplomacy, but died in the fall, choking on a leg of roast mutton.  His troops marched back to Pukkalid with his body.

First Councillor Alfajoriax died in 2886 at the age of sixty-nine.  After a brief vote, the Council elected Meconiax to be their new leader. 

Councillor Puchoniax’s army conquered Kajd Tudun and Olos after meeting only token resistance.

In 2888, however, Meconiax also died, leaving Puchoniax the only nationally-known leader, and in overall command of the Annvarite army. But clever maneuvering in the Council by his clients and paid agents brought the First Councillorship to a little-known Councillor named Truchoniax, who was currently experimenting with har’keen cavalry in Airnim.

This was too much for Puchoniax’s troops to bear, and they proclaimed him Emperor of Annvar, raising him up on their shields and demanding the head of Truchoniax.  Puchoniax “allowed” himself to be convinced that Annvar needed him.  He immediately moved to Airnim and arrested Truchoniax, allowing the First Councillor to save his honor by committing suicide with a ceremonial sword left in his tent.

Puchoniax then marched on Varthane to establish control of the newly-proclaimed empire. He was welcomed by ecstatic crowds in both the capital and the homeland, and marched into Varthane

The word went out through silent ways to rise up and once again take back what had belonged to Celendor since the world was young!

The Thuidhel and Annathel tribes rose up. The elves of Nimbreth wished them luck, but refused to join in the rebellion.  Meledrian agents crushed the uprising in Imlarond and in the city of Minnuin, but elsewhere the tribes were wholly united in their rebellion.

A makeshift capital was raised in the ruins of old Ennilas and Regent Voromë proclaimed the return of the elvish nation, refusing the crown of Elorian Mistmantle and ruling in his name “until the king shall come again.”

As usual, Ascar sailors arrived in 2886 to cart away f grain and livestock, though whither it went then, none can say.

The many sorcerers and dark priests of the Forest Realm invoked the bonds between Meledrian and the Underworld, thus bringing forth several hopping, flopping hosts of servitor deamons that delved down and built up works for the elves in Lossarhir, Mithelan and Mallorin.

Dark Court missionaries continued to make converts in the Grail-dominated regions of Nimbreth and Rainas.

A deputation of the royal court, led by Lord Aelavel Tyrnealyth and including Rhias of Tirielinan,

Priests and knights of the Order tried to expand the Order’s holdings in Varthane, the capital of Annvar, but the humans of the region proved resistant to the idea.

The Order’s leaders had far better luck in the deep woods of Meledrian, where Nath-Imperator Melenchlaenith the Archdisruptor founded an Order Oratory in the alders of Belaira. Archon Carbonelor founded an Order House in Celebdilas, and Archon Vortek founded an Order Preceptory in Sarion.
 

Sheriff Geraint arranged a marriage between Keriadoc’s twin sister Mooncloud to William Shroud, necromancer of Elrothas. Shroud was also named a prince of the realm.

Tiringol missionaries succeeded where Tiringol arms had failed. They preached the doctrines of self-interest and the dominion of the quick-witted to the hobgoblins of Uhtidme. The orderly goblinoids quickly took to the teachings of the Dark Court, for it appealed to their sense both of order and of violence.
 

The Emperor added a thousand Conorrian Eagle Riders and two thousand cavalry to his armies.  The region of Autricum received particular attention with the addition of ten forts and castles as well as a post road running the length of the province.

The province of Anicium gained many excellent canals and villages, while the city of Echoriath hosted new cargo warehouses on its capacious wharves.

The city of Conorr grew so enormous as to rival Echoriath itself for the title of the largest city in Theeurth!  Its growth at an end, the Emperor ordered that the holy city be girded around with strong walls to protect the ancient precincts of Empire.

The Emperor did not forget his allies, sending a shipment of livestock to the Grail Primate in Conorr, and a shipment of gold to the Order of the Dawn.

In a move designed to reassert more control over his own population, Emperor Kaius ordered the ecclesiastical courts closed down.  There was great opposition to this among the fanatically devout Conorrian peasantry, who rioted in the streets of Echoriath for three days before order was restored.

There were many diplomatic initiatives by the Imperial court.

The Great Church sent gold to Neldorea, but it also sent information – rutters to Roldein’s Gate were printed and presented to the Conorrian Empire.  Rutters to the Phaedon River and Sea of Serpents were slavishly copied and presented to the King of Dhûnazhar. Meanwhile, the Church built a closed-pipe drainage system in Conorr and Thariyya’s first church-run school in Uls Fakhar.

Missionaries continued to debate and cajole in Halianis, slowly converting the heathen from their worship of the strange ancestor-god Aeolan.

Patriarch Galetus and his nephew Henrikos assembled an army of sixteen thousand soldiers, including five thousand paladins of the Grail at Elenuil in the Neldorean Wood and shipped them via its huge fleet of cogs and warships across Roldein’s Gate to the Aelissian outpost of Brandobaris.  Even with the Grail fleet, it was necessary to make two trips to ferry the entire army. He was joined at Brandobaris by forces of the Llyran Republic, Har’akir and the Valesian Empire. 

Llyran Bishop Amonte commanded an aerial force of one Llyran Skyship and four Llyran Skyskiffs. Prince Kiley Groucutt of Har’akir commanded eight thousand turbaned soldiers from Vales. Theolus of Valesia commanded twenty-five hundred Valesian hoplites and a thousand siege engineers.

Thorin named his son, Valand, as his successor and heir, despite his and Thorin’s relative youth.  His daughter Valandra he named a princess of the realm.

Princess Thorinna, the king’s twin sister, traveled south through the Empire with a Conorrian guide to the Holy City of Conorr, where she marveled at the beauty of the architecture and clucked to herself over the state of the defenses. There she received a wagonload of rutters, precious maps to the Phaedon River and Sea of Serpents, permitting the ships of the dwarves to trade down river as far as Uls Fakhar.

The Banner of Pelendur

The Shield of Pelendur

Lord Argent continued his campaign to woo the elves of Veromito, but found that he was competing with the agents of the hobgoblins of Lederata.  The elves easily played the two camps against each other and nothing was accomplished.

King Gregor ruled from Vigilum and fathered a second son. He died in 2888 during a powerful fever.  His daughter and heir Hermione was crowned queen of Pelendur by the bishop of Vigilum.

Generous as always, they sent gold to the Order of the Dawn and the Neldorean Elves.  Bishop Amonte took a Llyran Skyship and four Llyran Skyskiffs to Brandobaris to join the Patriarch’s crusade against the giants. (See The Great Church of the Lords of the Grail, above).

The Constans reordered the nation’s merchant shipping, shifting much of the burden of Vastium harbor to Tarrentica. He then sailed the main Llyran fleet of one hundred warships to Maidhan where he spent many years enjoying the dense forests and excellent hunting.

Strategos Tarsa delivered the materials for the new fortresses to the outlying islands, and then patrolled the seas around the Republic on behalf of the Red Pact of Vales.

Vicentae Marova traveled among the islands, improving relations.  In Maidhan, he negotiated a feudal alliance, while in Ryoril, the natives agreed to recognize the Republic’s sovereignty.  The natives of Coelis remained unimpressed with their powerful neighbor.

Jessica Dawnflower headed a large company of colonists who settled on the north shore of Sandrettos and founded the city of Sirengar.  Then she and Margaret Sommerville unsuccessfully attempted to convince the folk of Sandrettos to increase their association with the Matriarchy.

Queen Joyce and Katelyn Sparhawk traveled to the elvish region of Naidhan with the intention of arranging an alliance.  Queen Joyce died in Naidhan in 2886 at the age of sixty-one.  The elves concluded the treaty with Katelyn, who then returned to govern the city of Southscape.

On Queen Joyce’s death, Jesse Holly was crowned queen in an elaborate ceremony.  But Jesse died in 2889 during childbirth.  The girl child died with her.  Princess Karyn Moonshadow was next in line to the throne and was crowned in a solemn ceremony.  But Karyn sat the throne for only six months before she, too, passed away of a fever in 2890.

The position of queen then fell to Queen Joyce’s twelve-year old daughter Deirdre. Her tutor Margaret Sommerville was to be her regent.  But Margaret had had enough of the weaknesses of House Thistledown.  She imprisoned

Sultan Qadir ruled the realm from the luxurious palaces of Mar Awas, fathering three daughters  in between royal audiences.

He joined in marriage his younger sister Rukan, lately widowed, to Kiley Groucutt, raising the general to a prince of the Akirs. Kiley then raised twenty-five hundred light infantry and nearly thirty cogs.  Joining

Sultan Qadir

 these with troops he took over from Prince Saahir, he then sailed to the Aelissian outpost of Brandobaris with eight thousand troops to aid the Grail Patriarch against the giants (See The Great Church of the Lords of the Grail, above).

Admiral Bev Bevan swept the seas around Muzir on behalf of the Red Pact of Vales.

Lord Haseeb, Prince Saahr and Ridwa of Gon Bahar met with representatives of Dikhil and Gon Bahar.  In 2890, they signed an alliance permitting Har’akir to tax the eastern regions and purchase their goods exclusively from Har’akir.

Primarch Valerius continued to work his personal charm with Lord Phalcien of Phalces. The two wrestled and hunted and talked, but came to no agreement. Phalcian was a close ally of the Primarch’s but had no desire to unify his region with the Empire.

Lord Tyborg had more luck in Laedos, where he convinced the landholders to agree to an economic alliance.

Lord Theolus led his army in a joint Grail effort to rid southwestern Medahros of the Stoneheart giants.  He died in 2889 and his army and navy returned home with his body.  Seeing the chaos in the capital, they sailed on to Carres.

Lord Decius disappeared when visiting the western forests of Alcmedes.  His companions said that they had encamped for the night near a pleasant spring and that they heard voices in his tent.  The next morning he was gone and there was no trace of where he had gone.

In 2886, Ionnes, the so-called “Holy Man of the Kherouf” was murdered by one of his own followers.  The rest of his followers claimed they’d received a vision of their master being greeted by the Lord of The Underworld and returning with armies of the dead to cleanse the world.  His electrifying doctrines soon spread throughout the regions north and west of the Kherouf, gaining speed and potency with the passing of years. 

By 2890, the entire region had converted to the worship of the Dark Court (particularly Drauluin, god of death and the undead).  The waves of hysterical conversions swept through the southern Empire, reaching as far north as Areon and as far south as the Artaxes River and as far east as the Mulgaunt River. New converts flooded into the cities of Vales, Sirtis and Korrek. 

While only a thousand soldiers (elite sathran archers) were recruited, armies of laborers constructed buildings or dug irrigation ditches in the blindingly hot sun of Sekhem and Shenth. Moreover, small forts and castles rose from the bluffs above the Artaxes river in Sekhem, Shenth and in holy Habu. Further upriver, the land of Keferis once more blossomed under cultivation, only this time the humans who once owned the land served sathla masters and tended sathla tables.

Luxurite missionaries to the east were stymied by a lack of subjects for conversion.  In Likasal, the missionaries were suprised to find that the swamps had been denuded long before.  In Ardaxin and Itura, they arrived to find a storm of Drormtish saurus warriors enslaving everyone in sight.

General Vuluk concentrated much of his army in Thedelos.  He also married a favorite concubine and fathered a daughter. For convenience’s sake he married Hussinys, widow of Vykso, to Lord Emarak and made Emarak a prince.  Alas for Hussinys, she was widowed again before the year was out.  She might be well into her fifties, but she was too much sathla for poor old Emarak.

Captain Boronyx re-equipped six thousand medium infantry as light infantry.  He tried to train them as sathran archers but died in 2888 before he could complete their training.

Chief among those cities was Oroyon.  Still small compared to the great Luxurite metropolises, it was nonetheless a great city in its own right, and drew ambitious sathla from all over the great Mykelean jungle. Its expanding population forced the Serpentine to tear down its walls and rebuild them a quarter mile further inland to encompass them all.

The watchword for the Serpentine was diplomacy.  Every member of the court, including the Sauressh himself took part in expanding the power of the Serpentine.  Isskor spent only a year and a half in Naszgiri, not long enough to impress the natives.  But Lord Misshka took up residence in Diumevet and convinced the locals to pledge troops to defend the Serpentine.  Tanner only spent three years in Kuzsu before his death, but his adventurous spirit was infectious, and the Kuzsans agreed to an alliance with Oroyon.  Finally, Lord Nagel died after only a year of negotiating with the sathla of Vaaltoth, but had nonetheless secured their close economic cooperation for the future.

Kasad Vahdin and Zuiya Zendowan traveled to Al-Muhd to secure the further cooperation of the province.  Lord Kasad had been granted magically enhanced powers of persuasion by the Uls Fakhar wizards, and in the end Al Muhd agreed to closer economic cooperation…for a brief moment.

What had previously been billed as terracing for a cultivation project in Shood soon became something else entirely.  Reports reached the outside world that the halflings of Thariyya were doing something no other nation had ever done.  They had built an immense wall running across the Shood Narrows, one hundred fifty miles from the Gulf of Thariyya to the Sea of Serpents.  It was an engineering marvel unparalleled in military history.

It was also highly controversial.  Nearly one third of the nation had just been told that in the event of war, they would be outside Thariyya’s main line of defense.  Anger rose in the stolid hearts of Zendowan halflings in Al Muhd, Hassar and Naushqa. There were no outright rebellions, for that is rarely the halfling way.  Al Muhd rescinded its new agreement with Uls Fakhar, while halflings in Hassar and Naushqa renounced their citizenship.

Emperor Jubal took a company of swift desert horses and returned to the Spider Throne in Dammarask, where he took up the difficult administration of the nation.  He married a noblewoman of the powerful Cartholan family, ritually deflowering her in a ceremony overseen by the High Priestess of Evaless.  This loveless yet fertile marriage of convenience resulted in the birth of two royal sons and a royal daughter.

Bloody Lady Leora marched her three-thousand man mobile army down the Ashen Road to Carru, keeping peace in the eastern Empire. Meanwhile Erikur Even-Handed extracted an agreement to pay an annual tribute from the farmers and local lords of Carru. No doubt Leora’s penchant for slaughter contributed to the local’s sense of cooperation.

Ezra the Bold of Dursarc patrolled the Ashen Way, keeping the desert road clear of interlopers, spies and monsters out of the deserts.

Gezz Halfshadow rode south with bishop Dar els Azelku along the Mulgaunt river in 2886, but they were not seen again for many years.

Prince Drel Dorath attempted to establish an abbey in the city of Gateway, then sailed south to Shenthalass in the Valraj.  Priests of the Dark Court had been working there to strengthen the worship of their patron gods in the Valraj.

Queen Madariel

Her court governed Marador’s cities or searched them for signs of the Shadowmasters, who seemed to have gone entirely to ground.

Meanwhile, Evarear Darkblow took a ferry across the Mulgaunt and trekked into the dark pine-studded hills of Kalrondo.  There, he forced the chieftains of the province to acknowledge the suzerainty of Queen Madariel

At home, shamans summoned elementals of mud and water to dredge the trackless fens of Ezikita and drag the detritus to the shores of Arran as fertilizer.

In 2883, while Mudorpt was campaigning, the five year old king Odro and his six year old sister Aaaka both drowned while playing in the Ulailai river before their guards could save them.  Shedding large crocodile tears, Mudorpt took the position of king far away in Itura.

Lord Gadampt convinced the sauruses of Arran that it was better to own slaves than to be slaves, and they warily joined the kingdom as full citizens.

King V*ko named his son Gomo*ko as his heir in a ceremony that dazzled the town of Nyange and broke up the monotony of ruling the unruly Sendahlese tribes.

Most important of all, V*ko sent north thousands of tribesmen, some in small wagon-trains, others in great convoys, complete with all the materials necessary to forge a new life on the northern plains.  The wealthy farms and ranches of Durudin bustled with new activity and new wealth.

Within just a few years ships from as far away as the dwarves of Aurdukar were calling at Jaidar.  As yet the Mekebeleans had no rutters for the great sea, and so could not return the voyages.  But that would change.

In order to maintain a firmer control over the centers of population, the Emperor gave autonomy to the jungle regions of Abaste, Eura, Garmazt and Itulawi.

With less fanfare, the folk of Mekebele founded another city as well, Mahada in Menrat.

Banner of Khor-Naland

Dwarven missionaries went west and north to Shtekkten and Vri’Inu, but failed to win many converts among the heathen.

Lord Blorin gave up on the orcs of Zhutetl and exacted tribute from the dwarves of the Onu hills instead.

Lord Rignus went adventuring among the hills of Shtekkten and came away as empty-handed as his priests.  But in Yekrunale, Lord Durn made an amazing discovery – a large city high in the mountains, probably of dwarven origin and swarming with monsters. Soon, adventurers from across Vales were eager to try their hand in the lost metropolis.

The elves were ancient.  All this had happened before and would no doubt happen again.  They were more amused by such circumstances than the shorter-lived races who experienced them with awe.

What most possessed the elves of Sengkar was pirates.  Or at least, the threat of pirates.  The fleet of Kerendis became the national obsession.  The Emperor ordered a nation-wide investment in warships. Crews trained every day in the shallows off the coast, but far more effort was put into the  

The plans of the court to fertilize fields and move labor to the cultivation of Tresalet came to nought, for Terbish diverted every available man and every last speck of gold to the completion of his tomb.

Lord Kelmek marched his two thousand guards north to Tresalet, where he patrolled the northern frontier until his death at the age of forty-six in 2889.

Lord Qorchi tried to reason with the intractable men of Bedraku, but they refused to hear his arguments or his complaints, instead conceiving an insult in some obscure comment he made in an unguarded moment, thus setting relations back further than they had before his arrival.

King Kwame ordered the walls of Ivallku demolished and ordered the stone used to build large new quarters of the capital.  Stone was then brought down the Mogolla river to make a new, better wall around the city. The capital’s sister city, Mogollyu, also expanded as many who came to Ivallkyu crossed the great bridge and settled on the south side.

Into those cities Kwame sent the finest architects, artisans and planners, filling the city with fine plazas, wide avenues, theaters, temples and taverns. Even though they were tiny by the standards of the north or east, Ivallkyu and Mogolla were gems of culture and wealth.

Nor were they ill-defended.  Forts dotted the plains

The preaching of the Dark Court priests continued and the faith of the Valrajis slowly began to improve as they came to better understand the doctrines of their new religion.

Sultan Azaad died peacefully at the age of fifty-five in 2888. He was succeeded by his son Ayoob to the acclimations of the populace. Ayoob, already ruling during his father’s life, continued on after his father’s death, managing to father a single girl in the first year of his reign.

The elves dragged down the walls of Yaz Meneen, using the stone to build a broad plaza and a statuary garden in the new and expanding portion of the city.

Lord Habnar continued his work among the Quellende elves, creating strong mercantile ties with the elves of Ivralit.

In 2887, Admiral Feantë failed to invite a little-known and rustic elf chieftain from the Sandor mountains to a fine masque he was giving in honor of the Maidens of Spring.  The chieftain responded by shouting in the great lawn of Yaz Meneen that Feantë was a foppish fool.  The feud between the two grew heated and ended in a duel which lasted just seven seconds.  Feantë slew the braggart and considered his honor satisfied.  The Khovars tribes did not agree. 

Infuriated, they demanded that the Grand Duke turn over Feantë to their justice.  When the Grand Duke refused, the Khovars tribes jointly declared their enmity to the Grand Duchy.

Various spells cast by the nation’s wizards and leaders fizzled and sputtered, leaving bad smells and weirdly deformed walls, doors, floors and laboratories nearby.

Lord Retzak traveled to Acclimea, where the elves had little interest in what he had to say, preferring their own company. Lord Karltone’s stay in Yugolon was so brief that it was only later that the natives realized he was trying to conduct diplomacy.

Queen Dowager Olga raised a thousand light cavalry for her personal guard.  She also named severaltysiatskiisor “thousandmen” to control local militias and administer justice in the provinces.

Her sons Ragnar and Loki traveled east along the coast to Uttaini, where they forced the locals to recognize the power and terror of Nikitya’s rule.

The dwarves moving down from the hills into the fertile plain of Kyuinachka, as well as the movement of goods from the hills to the seaport, brought new growth and wealth to the human towns and villages of the region.

King Vorin and Lord Talon attempted once again to attain the allegiance of the stiff-necked dwarves of Aniatak.  The dwarves’ reception, though warm in hospitality, was cool in result – Aniatak would continue to take its own counsel.

Lord Bolan, meanwhile, convinced Mayor Marion of Orodask to become a close ally of the dwarves.

Prince Tolon fathered a son in 2886, but his wife Nora died the following year at the young age of seventy-two.

The armies of the Empire, under the commands of the God Emperor, her son Maarius and General Ullaran all encamped in the fields of Chamir.

Migdala, the Royal Consort, rode to Fakkhrem to arrange the marriage of his son Maarius to the daughter of an important local family, cementing the marriage with the gift of full citizenship to the residents of the region.

In 2889, Uria, sister of the God-Emperor died in childbirth at the age of forty-one.

Priests of the God-Emperor continued to spread her faith within the hearts and minds of the people of Farmuz.

The city of Mukatir, so recently a ruin, remained an important cause to the emirs who funded its continued rebuilding.

Reacting to the recent inroads made by the priests of the God-Emperor, sultan Iskander passed strict mandatory religious laws intended to promote morality among the population.  Unfortunately, the people resented the stringent new regulations, particularly the always-independent urban populations of Azhkatûm and Amakhar.  This, combined with the preachings of a growing number of the adherents of the God-Emperor, caused a precipitous fall in the strength of the Grail faith.

Sultan Iskander named his son Baroun as his heir and successor, and also permitted his daughter Majia to take part in his councils.

The emirs Azzizi ben Amakhar and Darmok al Azkhatum convinced the emir of Navilok, a powerful sorcerer, to ally himself with the sultan.  Meanwhile, Princess Alia and emir Rabin ben Shiraz convinced the emir of Azmani to return to the fold after the recent troubles. The emir swore an alliance to Azhkatûm.

The men and elves of Vaudan lived in contentment until 2889, when King Afshar died at the end of a long illness.  Before his death, he named his son Kavan as his heir, but the elves of Vaklatos and Parkora knew only his father, and did not like this strange boy wizard who now took the throne.  They revolted against his rule.  Seeing an opportunity for political advancement, so did the khan of Jadh who declared his wealthy and central province to be independent of Chegamum.

The leaders of the court, including Kavan’s immensely powerful uncle Afshin, all supported the young king, however, and there was no war. Afshin collected the various army garrisons under his own command and placed them at Kavan’s disposal in Chegamum.

Prince Auvo had the administration of the kingdom while King Khaedrol rode north into the forests of Mamaku and there so impressed the local chieftains with his wisdom and majesty that they swore to be his vassals and join his wars with many archers.

Tarja Elsila had less luck in the woods of Vizhios, where the elves rejected the call of Empire, preferring to walk their woods in solitude from the outside world.

General Aila Torni assembled a force of six thousand archers, and was joined by the lords of Prukos, Stokumuk and Krinra with another three thousand.  They planned to extend Mainos’s realm all the way to the Gardagos River. But fate intervened.

On the way to conquest, Aila Torni first stopped at the elven steppe of Vazdik and peremptorily demanded the elves join the United Clans.  They refused and he insulted both their intelligence and heritage.  A lordling of the Vazdik slew Torni with an arrow to the throat.

Their leader slain, the joint army lacked any national commander and retreated in disarray to Narebe.

Meanwhile, the true danger to his realm was unknown and unseen.  In the vast steppes of Serikku, an old enemy had once again emerged to scourge the lands of civilization.  Orcs.

An orcish horde, some ten thousand mixed infantry marched into Inni from Fikir and devastated it. After plundering the sparse plains, they marched into Amak, where Gansukh first became aware of them.  Responding to a desperate plea for help from his vassal Lord Bayan of Amak, he marched his army through Kannguheju to assault the orcs.

The beast who ruled the orcish horde was both a mighty general and an experienced soldier.  Angrdol was his name, and his sire was rumored to be an ogre, so huge and bestial was he.  Moreover, his infantry was simply harder and better trained than the disorganized Uhejan mob (save for the Kardaur Elite). Both sides used magic to sharpen their blades.

Neither the horde nor the Uheju army was well-equipped to fight in the open steppe, for the orcs had no cavalry and the hobgoblin cavalry was very poor in quality. Wily Angrdol laid a trap for Gansukh, and the Uhejans marched straight into it, allowing their cavalry scouts to be separated from the main body of the infantry, where the orcs were free to come to grips with the shaky hobgoblins. 

The result was not so disastrous as it might have been, for the hobgoblins fought hard and well, giving ground grudgingly and only at a dear cost in

Kimmissa had two daughters before dying in 2888 of a failed pregnancy, leaving her two year old daughter Raya as the legitimate monarch. Kimmissa’s uncle Prince Eddard was appointed regent until Raya’s majority.

However, the heart of Eddard of Tanuan was as black as pitch.  Within ten months both Raya and her infant sister were found strangled in their cribs.  The incident was blamed on a hobgoblin serving maid said to be under the instructions of Uheju.  The poor maid was drawn and quartered. Meanwhile, Eddard “reluctantly” became king of Kasadir.

The sauruses of Ahandu began to cultivate the human-held forests of Chojde on the Xiangyun Sea.  Closer to home, a terrible fire broke out in the small city of Mihagga.  It was widely believed that sparks from a forge had carried into a nearby sawmill and ignited the dust.  But whatever the cause, the results were horrifying.  The entire city burned to ashes in just three days.

Lord Xichicc of Manjarmun died of consumption in 2887.  Concerned about the encroaching elves on his western border, he had already donated the whole of his realm to King Quetza in his will.  The king now took possession of Manjarmun as a province of Ahandu.

Queen Lysistrana was crowned in 2887 shortly after her sixteenth birthday.  Regent Torek died just months after handing over his office.

The rest of the land was blessedly quiet and peaceful.

The various wizards and priests of Suhanir worked together to bless the fertility of Menmanga, while king Valiel Sunlord single-handedly brought the blessings of elvenkind to the region of Sunahm.

Lady Halath remained in Anbarako, convincing Lord Lir to become the full ally of the king. Her great charm and grace convinced that powerful lord that the kingdom of Suhanir was worth his allegiance.

Meanwhile, lord Cerelindor was building a strong force of elven archers at the capital, eventually concentrating four thousand elven archers into a cohesive force that patrolled the streets of Kaonayu.

The king himself took command of the defenses of Haga, creating a light, fast reaction force of infantry and cavlalry while giving command of the heavier elements of the army to Gerald the Chaste.

Mardule’s daughter princess Sara set sail with five warships into the west, hugging coastlines and fogbanks in an effort to avoid detection by enemy fleets.  But alas it was in vain.  By the time Sara’s fleet was moving from the Denyema Sea to the Sea Dragon Reach, the ships of Nikitya were upon them.

Four small warships (not the larger Nikityan Dragonships) commanded by Wulfdan the Fierce sliced through the waters and chased down the fleeing Amantai ships.  The Nikityans were far better sailors and although two Amantai ships escaped,

King Ghevrit (now calling himself The Avenger, though most still knew him as The Usurper), took command of the national army and sent Lord Qathos to Basirzos with the mercenaries.

Qathos quickly disappeared from the knowledge of the Basirzos garrison, where it was widely assumed he had gone on a mission to Erdiyek.

Meanwhile, its ancient lieutenant, the undead lord Zhi Kwan Li marched out of the Necropolis with four thousand troops, half of them shambling dead and swiftly conquered both Ethegadu and Hosa.

In 2887, several Nuitai assassins were caught and flayed alive.  They then went into the shambling vats

A crash program of shipbuilding was instituted to replace the Godfall Deep losses, with twelve warship keels laid down in Choran harbor. The army raised a further fifteen hundred infantry in Kaou and built fortifications in far southeastern Yukamoc.

King Kerian ruled the Captain’s Council from Choran and assigned a large number of new merchant hulls to the Wayahapta route based out of Tolnek.

Lord Shakiru marched into orcish-held Entamal with a thousand infantry and bellowed a challenge to any who would not speak with him.  Impressed, the orcs came out to hear what the human had to say.  Shakiru offered the orcs protection in exchange for annual tribute.  An honest shakedown was something they could understand and they reluctantly agreed.

Phalen the Proud sailed across the Gulf of Hu’ru-Chi

Their next target was Shanbao, where they were just as proficient at slaughter and looting.

At this time, lord Xan Chow of Shen’xi sailed out with thirty warships to challenge the Emperor.  Evenly matche in number of hulls, the battle was nonetheless almost entirely a Tekume victory.  The giants were far more proficient in naval warfare and the Emperor was a naval genius.  The ships clashed off Point Fulan in Baochai, and the giants shattered the Shen’xi navy, sinking six ships and seizing two.  Xan Chow and his fleet managed to sink only two Tekume vessels.

After the Battle of Fulan, Vo-Laareth returned to raiding the Kamako coast, pillaging Baochai, Senomur and Dehui before sailing home with his loot.

Lor Mi-Tarnak failed to convince the lord of Kumi to join the Empire.

The popularity of the old gods was in serious decline in Hecadia, as across nations of the Ymarian Sea. Temples fell into disrepair and the Regents men publicly questioned the power of the old spirits to aid the destiny of the folk of Hecadia.

The Regent traveled to rebellious Kebe (with six thousand troops in tow) and demanded that the halflings of the region cease their foolish obstructions.  Cowed, they agreed to recognize the authority of the Regent.  In practice, however, local councils continued to control all that happened beyond the immediate reach of the soldiers.

Lord Lorne traveled north to Maviran, negotiating the nominal return of the region to the realm.  In actual fact this meant that he convinced the local barons not to allow their men to shut the post road to travelers. To ensure that this was the case, Lord Rhett marched into Maviran with two thousand troops and set up an encampment beside the road.  The locals got the point and the way to Amoka and Chamir remained unobstructed.

The great swathe of wilderness between them and the capital at Belgramma convinced the humans of Papan that the halfling power meant little to them.  When Lord Quickfoot died, his troops went home and none came to replace them.

King Lochilann married the plump but wealthy daughter of a local nobleman.  Her named was Chrodoarand.  Chrodoarand presided over a wedding feast at the mouth of Orbelain harbor, where sacrifices were made to Evaless.

Prince Cormac cruised the Ymarian Sea with more than thirty warships, including ten huge Kerend Battle Galleys, the sight of whose black-and-orange sails filled any sailor’s blood to ice.

Meanwhile, Lord Búadachán fared eastward with five warships and attempted to chart the treacherous narrow waters of the Ruan Straits.  Instead, he was met by the Ruan fleet under Lord Markand.  The Ruan admiral politely but firmly

The newly-converted men of Threns threw themselves into the study of the Dark Arts of necromancy.  Scholars in Vaayil studied the dead, and how to make them walk again.  Researchers sought for scrolls and tablets man was never meant to read.  The “Seekers of Truth and Power” adventuring group was set the task of finding necromantic artifacts.  Temples to Drauluin, lord of the undead rose up on the Vaayil skyline to overawe the citizenry with dread and wonder.

Princess Regent Marietta was the truest of converts.  When her charge, young king Arcanon, was old enough to take the throne, she set sail for Nuradeem, traveling across the dusty Road of Ashes to Dammarask, where she became a princess of the Dark Court Primacy, High Priestess of Drauluin.

Lord Mulostrium rode into the high mountains seeking his fortune.  Just in case, he rode with a thousand followers and a lot of wagons.  However, he chose to ride into the forbidding snow-capped mountains of Sanoon, where lives some of the most vicious orcs anywhere in Theeurth.  On a narrow track high above a precipice, the orcs attacked, cascading boulders down upon the hapless, helpless expedition until the few survivors managed to edge their way back into the mountains of Ramudev.

Lord Perejilium rode into Inrikor, demanding and getting a tribute from the terrified peasantry, most of whom were convinced that their fellows in Vaayil had gone mad or were possessed by the demons they worshiped.

Lord Cromotium traveled to Sepapan, where he met with Lord Vasil of Ruanach.  Once Vasil turned over several chests of shiny gold, Cromotium

Dinguw the Shrewd and Lord Graybar of Nistha visited several Kolyut neighbors to arrange diplomatic contacts.  The arranged a tribute in Kumajr, official recognition of the Hegemony in Kebeliha and the feudal allegiance of Muktikan.

Lord Rowl Thump marched west with four thousand light infantry and invaded the region of Patsuma, so recently a part of Threns.  The battle for Patsuma was no simple fight, as the locals fought hard for their freedom.  Once they were pacified, Thump ordered them all forcibly converted to the worship of the Dark Court, at which many rebelled and were again forcibly pacified.  These twin campaigns cost the hobgoblins hundreds of casualties, but in the end the Patsumans accepted their new gods, at least publicly.

King Histro married Herenna, a distant cousin and noted beauty.  She soon gave birth to a son, Edmor. Histro named his twin sister Neva and his younger brother Kolyu as princess and prince.  His other brother Illya died during cavalry training in 2888.

Lord Vasil and Kimon of Sankama returned from the east to support King Histro in Fashanru. Vasil quickly moved out on his new mission – concluding a treaty with the land of Threns. The public elements of the treaty included Threns’s cession of Sepapan and Bendraj to Ruanach in exchange for payments over

The enhanced flow of magic meant that the spirits of wood and stream summoned to aid the halflings were stronger and more responsive.  They cut deep channels for irrigation and tore up the roots of trees to make way for roads and wells.

Baris Dustybrook and Wiseman Silverspring traveled to Ajendi where they convinced the humans of the region to ally with King Tolman for his strong support of Nuree.  Baris died in Ajendi, but Wiseman carried on his work to the end.

Turuk Daggermaster and James Roberts of Dhal continued the slow conversion of Sauryas to the worship of the three-faced god of Nuree.

The orcs of Virityal continued to build up their forces, adding nearly fifteen hundred troops to their ranks, including several hundred elite Maghada Lancers. With a force of more than three thousand, Lord Porg and Prince Jausor raided the northern orcish region of Amudeya, garnering a few trinkets and old iron weapons for their troubles.

In Aballak, the orcs raised a walled port city named Abellia (it’s name in the speech of Ahum; it’s orcish name was far harsher.)

Meanwhile, steady investment in training scribes and sheriffs finally paid off, allowing the Raj greater flexibility and growth.

Avid sailors, the Empire bought sailing rutters from its neighbors in the Valraj and Lulipayat. They also started several projects, including an aqueduct in Jalahl and the intensive cultivation of Rajahdan and Balrava.

Rajad missionaries in Viraben found that they were stymied in their efforts to further convert the orcs to Autumna.

Emperor Zlathex ruled from Jalahl and fathered two more sons to add to his enormous brood.  Speaking of which, Zlathex gave the hand of Huanli, his eldest daughter to Sylisss of Sankail making him a prince and causing Sankail to enter completely into the Empire.

Lord Adoichii traveled to Ammanit and concluded a

Emperor Vesileth V and his twin Ghorik came to dedicate the vast new monument (one of four that make up the immense dragon temple complex). The Co-Emperors performed the first rituals at Wyrm’s Maw. During the night, Ghorik burned an offering of spices and exotic flowers. The next morning, Vesileth sacrifices oxen and prized jungle cats. Both then returned to the capital to begin families and governmental tasks. 

The elvish mercenary Alandeth led the famed Anku Elevya diplomatic corps (also including Korjon Rruuch, Klon Voidoon, Oliund Arzol and Wano of

The Shen’xi began the long process of intensive cultivation in Lian, Erjie and Xiluan.

Lord Han Ao Ri and Lian Fuchow traveled to Baoyu and extended full citizenship to the the people of that region.

Admiral Xan Chow gathered together a fleet of thirty warships and patrolled the Soldu Sea, where he encountered a Choran fleet of five warships. The Chorans wisely chose to give Xan Chow’s fleet a wide berth.

In 2887, the Tekume giants began to raid the coast along the Kamako Sea, pillaging and raping the wealthy region of Zindeng.  Xan Chow quickly sailed to give battle to the giants, but was defeated and forced to retreat at the battle of Fulan (See The Tekume Giants, above).  He returned to station in the Soldu Sea.

Thereafter, he heard of raiders on the far side of Shen’xi, raiding the Sea of Shen’xi, and raced there to confront them.  He encountered a small fleet flying

King Khathros traveled to the city of Banyak, where he married the lovely (and scaly) Ssilvi, a magistrate’s daughter a few years older than the king.  As a wedding present, he granted full citizenship to all the residents of Banyak.

Lord Chan Tao returned to the manor houses of Mukarma, where he worked to convert the nobility to Autumna while the common priests worked to convert the peasantry.  A large number of the humans harkened to the words of Udjo over that of the three-faced god.

Darlak of Mersemb left Tasarwi in three fine cogs the king had sent him and sailed to the capital to await his liege’s orders.

The region of Tappta continued to ring to the sound of axes and saws as the jungle is slowly cleared for farmland and meadows.

While King Alycor ruled from Keluan, Lord Mendrassu traveled to the devil-worshiping region of Azuika, armed with information about the noble houses from sources both clandestine and sorcerous.  But even after five years and an embarrassingly large set of bribes, the best that Mendrassu could accomplish was to assuage the local hostility against halflings brought about by his predecessor.  “Oh well,” he cheerily wrote to Alycor in 2890, “That’s what tomorrows are for!”

King Kodor Glitterdelve remarried at the age of one hundred fifty.  Most dwarves disapproved of such eccentricity, but Kodor was in love.

So too did Kodor’s son, Crown Prince Xang.  He married a local girl of good family from Nodo-Xan and set himself to governing the capital. No issue was had from the marriage in the first several years, but that is to be expected of dwarves.

His punishment of the rogue Akagekku Republic at a a just and satisfying end, the Pearl Emperor Saito Shimane announced that he would cease his attacks on Akagekku and permitted General Findarwin to leave Komotsu.  The price for this was that the Akagekku heir, Edorel, was to become his hostage.  Well-treated and with honor, but a hostage nonetheless.

With peace at hand, the Empire planted heartrees in Inoe, ran a postal road from Sayasae to Tsuko and also improved the postal road in Hanaze to a Royal Road.

Now supreme in the east, he also announced his protection of the Khudukan dwarves, saying: “The Empire of the Pearl hereby announces that any harm to Khudukan is an affront to the Empire of the Pearl and will be dealt accordingly. Any attack on the dwarves of eastern Changsai will result in a swift
and brutal retaliation by elven forces.”

However, it was the Empire itself which was soon to need aid.  (See The Fall of Hitotome, below)

The elves of Shanbao appealed to the Emperor for protection from the giants of Tekume.

The Jade Republic agreed to all of the Pearl Empire’s terms…and prepared for revenge. King Koram collected all his troops at Akagekku and hired seven thousand highly competent Changshai mercenaries.  His total force numbered more than twenty-six thousand.

General Findarwin had snuck out of Komotsu under cover of darkness and joined the king as his second-in-command.

Koram IV and his Republic marched to war (See The Fall of Hitotome, below)

The elves built powerful walls around the capital of Suwelho and increased the height and power of the walls around New Gyanlay. No unimagined outsider from beyond the sea would catch them at unawares!

King Galens Eagleheart traveled to the jungles of Kiakamba and impressed the chiefs of that jungle province with his wisdom and power.  They agreed to become his vassals, providing troops at need.