LORDS OF THE EARTH CAMPAIGN 54

Ayn dispatched Ymir Wygsen and Berjen Odlest to Tigelion on a happier mission, to offer her hand in marriage to the Duke.  Alas, though this was arranged, Queen Ayn died of the plague in 2901.  The Duke was nonetheless impressed with the northerners and agreed to become the vassal of Ayn’s sister, the new queen Astrid.

Astrid’s accession to the throne was met with equanimity by most of the Skane, who still thought highly of her father, Gustav the Usurper.

Almost unnoticed was the death of one who might have been called the rightful queen, Skadi daughter of Bjarnalf, who had lived her life imprisoned in

With a shifty gleam in his heavy-lidded eyes, King Tallo sat upon the Dismal Throne and questioned all who drew near about magic and relics of bygone days.

His sons Kraank and Gree led troops into the lands around the Great Rift of Daerond, claiming the land for the orcs.  They then demanded tribute from the immense city of the Black Dukes…and got it. 

Ragnar the Eloquent, one of the leaders in the Great Rift, was eaten by a tentacled, bat-winged thing that emerged from the depths of the Rift.  The other orcs thought this was the most amusing thing they’d seen in months.

This had unfortunate consequences, for Lord Aeneas had been given command of the army, with orders to patrol against raiders.  With his death, the army sat idle.  Though Prince Gares and Princess Aurora were present, neither had command of the reaction troops.

In the early months of 2904, an army of two thousand Ascar elite cavalry, commanded by General Mishkas, rode through the wilds of Odomenoros and entered the Maxis woods, from whence they raided into Trolium, Elpedium and Himerium.  The damage they did might easily have been far worse, as the field forts and city walls somewhat limited their opportunities for rapine.  But they burned villages in each of the three provinces and rode away unmolested across the Narglaurith and into Hinnom.

In 2905, Princess Aurora, the only troop commander in Cadares, launched a coup against King Mikos, whom she had secretly hated for twenty years for assuming the throne when his older brother Agathocles, her father, had drowned in a mill race.  Without warning, her troops seized the royal palace and placed King Mikos under arrest.  The populace was told that he was dead, having hung himself in shame. 

But the charismatic and capable Aurora had not counted upon Prince Gares, a man of only moderate accomplishments.  He nonetheless played well upon the sympathies of the army and populace.  There were riots in Cadares and many of the troops declared their loyalties to Gares.  Aurora ordered her troops to arrest this “pretender”, but it was she who was arrested. 

King Ankole ordered more than five thousand lightly-armed centaur troops to be raised in Riandos.  But at almost three hundred miles distant from the capital and across the mighty Lyodan river, this was not possible.  The troops were formed up in the Great Meadow instead.

Gyr Fourhorn, the meanest, ugliest minotaur ever to bestride the world stage, had plans for those centaurs.  The Worldspine Orcs would pay.  Oh, how they would pay.

Unfortunately for Brythnia, the orcs had plans for them, too.  Perhaps as importantly, so did the dark lord of Ascarlon.  In the early, wintry days of Agaleon, 2901, Gyr Fourhorn was found dead in his tent, his throat slit.  Two days later, king Ankole Clovenhoof was found dead in his royal chambers, poisoned.  Ankole’s heir Brangus was also poisoned, but he survived the attempt, though he was bedridden for a month. However, the damage was done.  With the deaths of both Gyr and Ankole, the Brythnian armies were leaderless.

In Strynod of 2902, Gauros the Arisen, dark lord  of Ascarlon appeared in Orosel along with sixteen thousand troops (a third of them mercenary cavalry and ogres, and a further thousand of them horrid undead shells of men). He crossed into Tathlann and quickly destroyed the few field forts there.  After putting down a revolt, his troops set fire to everything in the region.  Brythnia’s allies in the Dacian Hills and Cerintum followed their orders and moved to consolidate with the unmoving army of Ankole Clovenhoof in Bodhria.

In Cleon of 2903, two thousand orcs of the Worldspine tribes came

King Grin Puddlejumper was more soldier than administrator and encamped in the Greensward with his beloved army until his death in 2904 at the shockingly young age of thirty-two. He died of a poisoned spider bite just a few days after being bitten.

In that same year Crowley Ratcatcher died at the much more appropriate age of eighty-one.

The Moot elected the sorcerer Jay Morningstar to be its new king.  This was handy, as Jay was already in the Great Delve, administering the realm for king Grin.

During this period, the royal way was finished between the Great Delve and Greensaddle.

The Aelissians sent a large flotilla of grain ships to Elenuil to feed the Neldorean elves.

King Bertrand named his brother Robert, six years his junior, to the position of Prince.  In 2901, queen Elaine died in childbirth, leaving Bertrand grieving.  He did, at least, have an heir in the baby Tancred.

Priests of the Grail continued to work upon the nation’s religious education, stirring a strong and abiding faith throughout Corland.

General Phillipe, in command of three thousand mixed troops, guarded the approaches to Quesante, while General François did the same with a further three thousand troops across the Saronne river in Couronnais.

Princess Clare led an inquisition in Khairais, and discovered a cultic lodge dedicated to some unknown dark goddess.  She brought in Bors de Serry, who commanded fifteen hundred infantry and they crushed the lodge.  Sir Bors was killed in this action, as were hundreds of the troops used to ferret out the evil cultists.

Sir Bran watched the coasts from Cassivelaunus with a fleet of only two warships.

Sir Congal traveled west to the woods of Bruenor, where the halflings of that realm refused his call to join the empire.  Sir Hagen traveled to Lothian and through clever arguments brought the northern city fully into the realm.

In 2904, several men attempted to set fire to the monastery in Armorica.  They were found out by the watch, who ran off most of them but captured a few.

Settlers flocked to the Fey Hunt to dwell in those strange and fabled woods.

Lord Dranuel watched the borders from the Sunglades with six thousand elven archers, while Prince Xhantor tried and failed to entice the giants of the Southern Stormcrowns into an alliance.

In 2904, Queen Elevuil was found to be missing from her apartments in the royal palace.  No one knows where she might have gone.

The folk of the Tarwood once again rebuffed the efforts of Lord Lossëhelin to include them in the kingdom.  They had been at the heart of the Stoneheart war and wished no more for armies and battle and sought to avoid them by neutrality.

Lady Alarielle crossed Roldein’s Gate to the human city of Muzir, where she added a thousand griffon riders to the Patriarch’s army (See The Har’Akir Civil War, below.)

Exarch Rehme took a wife from among the nobility of Pontezium and got on her a son in 2901.  He recruited a thousand light infantry and granted them to his ally the lord of Pomarche.

Rehme died of sudden heart failure in 2903.  Sir Waylan became the regent for the infant king.

In 2904, a large force of monstrous beings – kobolds, hobgoblins, goblins, trolls, ogres, blind cave worms and man-sized bats, among many others, hopped, swarmed and flopped forth from Barrandia to assault Querenia.  With the king dead, no one came forth to oppose them but the large garrison of Querenia.  The monsters were driven off, but not before they had done much damage to the region.

As usual, the Exarchate sent a large grant of money and grain to the Holy Order of the Dawn.

As usual, The Crusader States sent gold and grain, while the Great Church granted gold to the knights in Conorr.

Grand Master Magnus returned to the Order Fortress to the cheers of the common folk in the wake of the Giant Wars. He collected the main strength of the Order under him and marched eastward with fourteen thousand troops, more than half of them knights of the Order.

Magnus died on the road to the Empire, and his command was assumed by Master Gladius, who brought his large force to the rich plains of Adoria.

Mistress Veneficus traveled to Conorr to receive the blessings of the Patriarch’s representatives, as well as their gold.  She then established an order house in Mynos.

Gauros himself set off for the south with nine thousand Ascar troops, five thousand mercenaries and a thousand newly-summoned undead troops.  He burned his way across Tathlann, the Brythnian homeland [See Brythnia, above.] After the wars, Gauros returned over the mountains with his forces, arriving in Tirgu before winter in 2905.

Lord Xandriag Kalmentarek traveled to Turlag in the Black Forest and governed that city with an iron fist.

Though these raids took up most of the orcish military, they were of little concern to the orcish people, for soon thereafter, a great disaster befell them.  A vast army of humans and dwarves, fifty-nine thousand in all, came upon the Worldspine North and lay siege to Mount Kauroth.

The six thousand troops left behind by King Wargest never considered fighting in the open, even though the mountains were riddled with field forts.  The numbers of the enemy were too great.  They withdrew behind the great walls of Mount Kauroth and screamed incantations to their dark gods for deliverance. It did not come. There was some mutinous sentiment in the army quickly squelched by the desire to survive the coming storm.

The Imperial Flag

Ak’kratush and his hobgoblins were astonished to find nothing but trees.  The elves of Celendor had abandoned their homes and gone of to parts unknown! Ak’kratush was furious at the lack of plunder!

Lord Panchotoniax convinced the city fathers of Bellias to return to the fold, becoming an integral part of the Great Kingdom once again.

The clan leaders of Rukai and Medinavai took their combined forces of twenty-five hundred soldiers and raided the eaves of the Celendor woods.  They made the miserable lives of the elves in Linhirin and Minhir even more miserable, but when they got to Pinnas, they found that the elves were gone and that the hobgoblins of Carhallas had passed through on the way to Thuidhel.

“We cannot win today.  Not here.  Darkness now reigns in Celendor and must decide whether to fall under its yoke or to live free elsewhere. If you stay you may find an honorable end.  Or you may become thrall to one whose ways revolt even the gods.  Follow me and you will be free  Roofless wanderers, yes, but we were that in the beginning.”

“It is time.  Let all who are coming rise up and follow me!”

As Regent Voromë harangued the crowds in Thuidhel and Ennilas, his lieutenants spread out into the woods of Andras, Pinnas, Orodel, Cairiannon, Gilinhad and Arthuial.  Only the stiff-necked elves of Pinnas refused to follow the Regent’s summons.  He agonized about those elves he could not summon for lack of time, and about those now slaves to the will of the darkness.  But he marched on south without them.

King Eldareth reorganized his kingdom by granting Celegost, Lossarhir and Bregil as fiefs to his faithful followers. As always, the elves gave large amounts of grain to the flotilla of Ascar ships that arrived at Narbyndahl, for transhipment to the orcs of the Edgemoors and Worldspines.

Lord Aeliniel traveled to the south to the hills of Nionod and loudly declaimed that the elves of Nionod, if they had any sense whatsoever (which he doubted, they would immediately thank the dark gods the the king was allowing them to leave their dank and miserable hovels for a better life at a place of his choosing.  Oh, and his son would be willing to lower himself to impregnate a female of their tribe, if that would move them more quickly.  The elves of Nionod were shocked and angered and loudly demanded that Aeliniel and all other Meledrians leave Nionod immediately.

Lord Anglyn of Lossarhir and Bishop Killkrantor “the Remonstrator” raided the poor elves of Gilinhad, Arthuial, Tirondonan and Mirithor, hastening their decision to leave for the south.

Lord Draximus commanded the Autricum garrison with six thousand troops, while Prince Vargus commanded the Adoria garrison with twelve thousand troops.  Vargus died peacefully in bed in 2903 and command fell to his second, General Atanius.

In 2901, Gorikos, foederati leader of Sexaginta, was ordered to seize possession of the deserts of Kildaruensis.  Sexaginta boasted only twelve

The Patriarch granted scribes and other bureaucrats to aid the failing government of Har’akir (as well as those already going to Aelissia, the Conorrian Empire and the Llyran Republic.) As always, the Church received shipments of grain from the Empire and delivered caskets of gold to the Order of the Dawn (this time to the person of Mistress Veneficus, who visited Conorr in 2902.)

Church missionaries spread to Akir and Har Mekelle in Har’akir and to Hassar in Thariyya.  Missionaries established a church in the forests of Crisias along the via Eleucrium.

The king’s sister, Princess Thorinna, had been given a parallel task of seizing and garrisoning the empty regions of Orod Dhorn and Mar Kheland.  Her troops grieved at the many dwarf-holds they discovered, long since desecrated by the orcs of a century ago.

Prince Valand remained at home, commanding the rear guard of four thousand dwarves. King Thorin and General Karak were both slain in the orcish campaign, and Thorin’s son Valand was crowned king despite the misgivings of many about his young age (around forty).

The Banner of Pelendur

The Shield of Pelendur

Leaving Queen Hermione in command of six thousand troops at Vigilum, Prince Gregor led a coalition of feudal allies totalling more than eight thousand troops to lay siege to the hobgoblin-allied elvish city of Imirion.  Shamed by the alliance between their brethren and the hobgoblins, the Vaiquentari elves did not raise a finger in their defense.

As Gregor’s army moved into siege positions around Imirion, the main army of Lederata moved in from the west to relieve the city.  The battle was on.

The hobgoblin army was much smaller, some four thousand troops under the command of General Mezger, who tried to coordinate an attack with the Imirion garrison of six hundred or so.  But Gregor was a canny and capable leader and used his troops to great effect, shattering the Lederatan advance and turning its flank so that the surviving hobgoblins were forced to flee in rout back to Magrod.

Constans Reid Bolusova made a slow circuit around the island, patrolling for pirates, until his death in 2905.  Thereafter, the Senate elected Ganoes Paran to be the new Constans. Paran had spent his time reasoning with the nobles of Nova Valis, trying to coax them back into the Grail fold.

Meanwhile, Rafe Vatta and Bishop Amonte sailed south to join the Grail army at Muzir in the Adramagdus Mountains with four skyships, two skyskiffs, a unit of griffon riders and four thousand light infantry. (See The Har’Akir Civil War, below.)

In 2903, the efforts of Grail Bishop Kheldar to consecrate a cathedral in Tarrentica were foiled when the entire existing monastery caught fire and burned to the ground in 2903, killing hundreds of monks.

The end result was a large flotilla under the command of Frances Nightowl consisting of nineteen cogs and thirteen smaller vessels.  These were then filled to bursting with five thousand Ahuran cavalry under Martha Oaktree, including two thousand elite female Knights of the Ring of Gold.  These unloaded at Galim in Har’akir and moved eastward to aid the gathering Grail army against the Akir rebels. (See Har’akir, below).

When the battles in Har Mekelle were over, Martha Oaktree and her army rebelled against the strictures of Ahuran.  They had seen their sisters die by the thousands in the lands of men, and they were sorely disillusioned. They never returned.

The Akirs themselves bent all their effort to raising nearly four thousand troops – their entire army.  These they sent with General Farouk to join the Grail army of reconquest. (See The Har’Akir Civil War, below.)

The great hero Mardukar of Durudin accepted the Regent’s commission to rescue the royal family.  Strapping his short spear on his back, he crept through city sewers into occupied Mar Awas and, overcoming guards both human and monstrous, freed the captured sultan and two of his sisters, returning them to Muzir!

Meanwhile, he dispatched Lords Klytus and Lucien to Laedos, where they convinced the archon, Laestor, to strengthen his alliance with the Emperor.

Dark Court priests ranged over the Empire, exhorting the faithful to deeper and more depraved levels of devotion to the dark gods.

They sunned themselves for five years.  What’s it to you, mammal?

Captain Byrek and Captain Eviresk both passed away happily sunning themselves.

Missionaries to the swamps of Drormt also increased the religious fervor in that eastern land.

Pysus Zonrez traveled to the holy city of Merwal and stayed there, praying.

Azuliyuz led her three thousand light infantry up the Artaxes, past the last cataract to the region of Osaru.  Almost as soon as they arrived, they were forced to repel a raid by the orcs of Zab-Kin. From there they marched south into Tresalet and aided Qorchi of Weshtayo and his human army to suppress the Dark Court cultists in Tresalet and later, in Bedraku. These operations cost Azuliyuz nearly half her troops.

In the eastern jungles of Kilni and Ikka, the sathla built small farms and communal pools.  Meanwhile, in the west, thousands of colonists traveled to the jungles of Gingu and the shores of the Mardoin Gulf.

The Mykelean adventuring company known as “Venom Force” traveled to the far western island region of Diumevet tracking down rumors of a Fleshweavers cell, but found little other than pleasant, sunny days and seabirds.

Sauressh Isskor II ruled from Oroyon, and grieved the death of his young bride.

Lord Misshka died in Naszgiri in 2902, but not before convincing the prince of Naszgiri to become an ally of the Serpentine.

Lord Kerrel died in Diumevet in 2903, but not before converting many of the nobility to the strictures of Autumna.

The mercenary human diplomat Majid al Muzir convinced Ramezes of Kilni to bring his eastern jungle region fully into the Serpentine.

Iolas himself led four thousand light troops into Madegap and sought to arrest and hang leaders and priests of the Dark Court. As the battles raged around the region, the king himself went mysteriously missing.  In disarray, his army returned to Vahdin. Later, priests of the Shadowed Primacy established a church in Madegap.

The allied lords of Hassar, Bari and Meheskar led five thousand troops into Abin and easily shattered the defenses in that forest region, quickly bringing the dark priests to heel and extracting oaths of loyalty from the common halflings.

But when Azimandas Vahdin led three thousand infantry and a thousand cavalry into the steppes of Al-Muhd and began killing, the entire Zendowan greater tribe rose up against Thariyya.  Troops from Bazadar aided in driving out the invader and the lord

The Emperor promoted his son Tormak to the position of heir on his sixteenth birthday in 2902, and his son Noz (called “The Dark”) to prince in 2905.  He also fathered two daughters in 2901 and 2902 and mourned the death of his wife Masirae in 2903.

At long last, the project to make Valesian the dominant language of Carru was complete.  Only the regions of Arbath, Dursarc, Eumana and Sharar continued to speak the old Nurad tongue, and the Emperor’s agents were hard at work to curb that practice in Eumana.

Agents of the Emperor found the hideout of “Bloody” Lady Leora, who fled Accolon’s justice in 2997 and managed to get the Emperor’s son killed through her

Gezz Half-Shadow traveled to the steppes of Ishi and extracted tribute for the Shadowed Primacy. Meanwhile, Bishop Anastasia traveled around the steppes, establishing abbeys at Keystone and Hatti, and a church at Redwind, and convining the nomads of Teush to become allies of the Primacy.

Ophyra Allikyte set sail on the Gulf of Thariyya and her ship was boarded and sunk by the Thariyyan fleet of Miratur Vahdin.  She did not survive.

Gerendal the Cruel made a triumphal passage through the Valesian Empire, where his priests whipped up religious fervor.  Gerendal himself established churches at Carres, Phalces, Laedos, and Vales, and an abbey at Mealon.

Princess Marietta of Threns attempted to establish churches in Marador at Jebelam and Annuminas, and had more success in the hills of Zab-Kin and in Ginch. She died in Ginch in 2903 at the age of forty-five. 

Prince Drel Dorath of Ascarlon remained out of the

Queen Madariel

But the plan of the elves also ran to diplomacy.  No

Alvar Brookseeker inveighed with thunderous denunciations against the Dark Court in Kalrondo, while Thingold, Prince of Gaja and Sielvean, Prince of Daio worked quietly in Jebelam to discredit the Dar Court.

Evarear Darkblow continued his efforts to bring the hill elves of Adnoailin into the Shadowguard.  They continued to refuse.

Queen Madariel gave birth to a daughter in 2904, making her a prolific mother for an elf (she has two children).

The Holy See of Udjo sent a large stipend of gold and also priests who helped to raise the religious fervor of the nation.

While King Vraaka settled down to rule the Steaming Kingdom, his lieutenant Mazkal set out to re-convert the sauruses of Oiohutu, and his lieutenant Gadampt set out to strengthen their ties to the kingdom.

Unfortunately for those plans, Allied lord Hookai of Munampt marched east into Darets with a thousand sauruses intent on attacking and enslaving the region.  Darets lies at the heart of the Hakhta Confedration, a major tribe also present in Oiohutu.  And in Narvan.  Both regions immediately revolted from Drormtish control, overwhelmed the newly-built field forts and sent warriors to slay the invaders.  Mazkal and Gadampt barely made it out of Oiohutu alive.  Hookai was not so lucky.  He and his soldiers were cornered in the dark forest and butchered.  Hookai was staked out under the hot sun to be eaten alive by beetles.

With Oiohutu in revolt, Drormt lost direct access to the city of Kerokoro and with it, trade with the east.

Life moves on with them or without them, though. The Emperor Selassie died in 2903, leaving his son and heir apparent, Fuluko, too young to rule in his own right.  Prince Chaka became Prince Regent in Fuluko’s name, but he died of consumption in 2904.  Once again, the Empire remained completely calm as power passed into the hands of Prince Regent Shaka, Fuluko’s uncle.

Banner of Khor-Naland

This was seen as nothing less than an attack on the dwarves of the Hru’maru hills, and the Deephelm tribe rose up in rebellion.  Hu’el sent warriors to Hru’amaru to fight the king, while Lrandirla and Zhunekru merely reduced their cooperation with the government.

Lord Steorn, somewhat optimistically, tried to convert the nobility of Hru’maru, but was forced to retreat to the encampment of the king until the rebellion was settled.  It was settled only with blood,

Emperor Valoril gave command of the cavalry army (ten thousand heavy elite cavalry) to his son Namardil, and concentrated on ruling his empire.  Namardil moved his troops to the capital and watched the borders for trouble.

Admiral Talan of Mita put to sea with sixty swan-winged warships and dominated the oceans from the Blood Sea to the Gates of Arthys, defying any to challenge his supremacy. They did.

The battle fleet of Kerendis, with thirty warships and eleven enormous battle galleys sailed into the Ymarian Sea under the command of Admiral Ainmire, screening a fleet of ten cogs.

She set out to convert the unbelievers by sword and fire, but only managed to force the halflings of Tsu’u to accept Autuma at swordpoint before she died of a brain hemorrhage in 2902. Gal had never bothered to produce an heir or even get married, and so the throne rightfully went to her twin sister, Shria.  Shria was also a childless spinster, and when she died in 2903, the nation went into chaos. 

All of Weshtayo’s leaders remained loyal, but Tsu’u and Bedraku revolted. The large army of queen Gal put down the revolt of Tsu’u right away.

Meanwhile, Bishop Azuliyuz of the Holy See of Udjo arrived in Osaru with three thousand light infantry to

Emperor Yeeqon died in his sleep in 2904, and his son Maseed soon succeeded him.  Due to some confusion, other leaders did little during this period.

The Sultan’s son, Jahangeer, ruled in his father’s name from the throne in Muddakir.  He and Sirhin, his new wife, tried in vain to produce an heir.

Prince Hanbaal died in 2905, after summoning dark…things…to do his bidding in Hajaxtas.

Lord Jalalud traveled to Sartus to begin the conversion of the nobility to the adoration of the Dark Court.

General Amr Ghaas, The Valraj’s military genius, passed away in 2902 while negotiating with the men of Durjas.  They agreed to send the Sultan a tributary payment in remembrance of the general.

Missionaries to Indrata finally began to have success in converting the Nuree majority to the ways of the Valesian Spirit Cults.

Admiral Feantë sailed north with twenty warships and a small transport bound for Olonar in Urvupal.

Lord Habnar visited the elves of Bapanda and convinced them to allow Meneen the right to place soldiers and fortifications.

Meanwhile, Grand Duke Salene and his queen, Emmyn, ruled jointly from Yaz Meneen.

At the same time, improvements were made in the capital, the largest city for more than a thousand miles.  A rudimentary sewer system was dug to drain away the summer monsoons.  Mostly open canals, they also included enclosed tunnels beneath the largest streets.

While King Gene and Lord Karltone commanded Ukanve’s nine thousand troops, Lord Branoic sailed south to once again attempt a closer relationship with the elves of Aclimea.  Branoic was an abysmally bad diplomat, however, with manners that could make a wild boar blind in one eye.  He lost little time in insulting the elves and they furiously and unceremoniously dumped him into his own ship, hogtied and painted blue.

Missionaries to Tuanani continued to chisel away at the religion of the Grail, putting it about that the gods of the Grail were mere incarnations of the greater, bloody spirits of Serikku.

In Aniatak, they built yet another in their line of powerful fortresses, and many lesser field fortifications, so that the Korondor hills bristled with defensive works.

Prince Tolon recruited two thousand mixed troops, doubling the size of his army at Nikkildûn. 

King Vorin marched with his six thousand troops to the hills of Tyakukta, where with Lords Bolan and Talon, he convinced the dwarves of that region to swear oaths of fealty to him.

The axes of the dwarves could be heard ringing in Syupit, felling trees for the furnaces of Nikkildûn and clearing the land for cultivation.

Engineers began a paved, royal road from the Balasir border to the middle of Zeynif.  The city of Naifir was still reachable only by water or across a narrow, rutted postal road.

Missionaries to the hills of Ul’il above Vaudan began the conversion of that province to the worship of the God-Emperor, while others sent north to Eumela continued the long conversion of that Dark Court province.

God-Emperor Maarius’s twin sister, having been denied a name for her entire thirty-seven years, took her own life, leaping out a high window.  When Maarius heard, he said “who?”

Maarius himself reorganized the army so that he controlled the nine thousand infantry and General Tulah commanded the thirteen thousand cavalry.

Baroun had two infant sons, but both were too young to rule in their own names, and the task of ruling the kingdom fell on Baroun’s sister Princess Majia.  Majia had always hated her brother for what she saw as his arrogance and condescension towards her, when she was clearly smarter, braver and more determined than he (at least that is what she told herself.)

So, like her grandmother Najya twenty-five years before, Majia did the unspeakable.  She slaughtered her brother’s family.  Not in so spectacular a way as had Najya, to be sure.  No, Majia had them quietly “secured in the palace for their own safety” and then poisoned them over the next eighteen months.  They were buried in the castle’s dungeons and the populace was told that they had traveled to Shanatar for their education.

The ruse fooled few, however, and once again, civil war broke out. Majia was backed by her husband, the sorcerer-prince Mahir, and opposed by the sole surviving loyal emir, Omar al Qudras.  A clever and capable man, Omar was seduced by the love of a beautiful djinn with which Mahir had contracted, and for love of her, agreed to support the new sultana.

There were rebellions in Azmani, Navilok and Oras.  The garrison of Oras put down the rebellion, but the rebels overwhelmed the garrison in Azmani.  Navilok was not garrisoned.

Many of the lords of Vaudan banded together to convince, wheedle, cajole and badger Lord Jodhan of Jadh into submitting his province to the authority of the king, symbolized by Jodhan’s transfer of command of his house troops to the king in 2903. Lord Ghanuman died during the negotiations in 2903.

Vaudan entered into a pact with the elves of Mainos, whereby the elves transferred control of the forests of Parkora and a small payment in exchange for rutters to the Gardagos River and the Otorii sea.

King Kavan continued to remove merchant fleets from overseas trade and insist on their employment in local waters.  He then used his Sorcery to summon a series of minor rain showers. City architects studied the runoff to improve the capital’s sewage systems.

In 2904, the Doombats of Ul’il, Vaudan’s adventuring group, returned from a long sojourn in Permanga.  They returned with something they were keeping quiet.

They also built defensive positions in Jalit and improved the irrigation in Kheleni. In the capital of Badmira, the many merchants who traditionally met for trade beneath the spreading boughs of a great Silvertree formed a guild of traders to improve the flow of goods.

King Kaedhrol Greyfeather and Tarja Elsila traveled east to the plains of Okoum and tried to reason with the elves of the steppe.  But those nomadic tribes felt little kinship with the forest elves and so refused their overtures.

Raimo Kaavi and Kyosti Ryti of Prukos had more success in the west.  They spoke to the elven nomads living along the Gardagos in Okumiye, and managed to extract an annual tribute from them.

King Gansukh recruited six hundred Kardaur Elite Infantry, bringing his troop strength at Kannguheju to six thousand.  He ruled the kingdom and fathered twins, a boy and a girl.  These were the middle-aged Gansukh’s first children.

Lord Kizil traveled to Inni and though the nomadic hobgoblins largely ignored him, claimed the land in the name of Uheju.

Prince Miyu preached toleration and the universality of faiths in Kannguheju.

Ahandu was luckier still when Quetza died and the nation accepted his son Tzahex as monarch without splitting into warring factions. Tzahex took command of the eight thousand soldiers of the army.

Diplomatic missions sent to Diangam and Jembahuan failed utterly to overcome the sharp religious differences with the ruling class and these remained closely tied by tradition and economics, but remained separate political entities.

In the east, General Mithus raised a force of twenty-five hundred light cavalry at Venil.

Mogodor had defied the demands of the Lichdom of Erdiyek and the self-titled Master of the World now began to wreak his revenge upon the Empire.  Terrible winds raced through the fields of Januaan, tearing up barns and flattening villages, leaving devastation in their wake. Small fires erupted in the city of Venil, but they guttered and were soon put out.

In Kaonayu, King Valiel recruited a thousand elven archers and ruled from the capital while commanding a force totalling nine thousand elves.  As he had for centuries, he brought the blessings of the elves on the region of Sunahm.

General Cerelindor, meanwhile, moved his five thousand light cavalry east from Sunahm to the forests of Kaste.

Prince Marahel traveled south to the forests of Cauteru and secured for Suhanir dominion over the last independent elvish province east of the Dragon Reach. Lady Haleth, meanwhile, traveled to Peran and continued to smooth over the wounded pride of the human inhabitants.

Lord Gerald, in full knowledge of his shameful defeat at Takanka, gave up command of the army and instead became a diplomat.  He traveled to Keama, where he convinced Lord Ferral to engage in a full alliance with the kingdom.

In the capital, King Ghevrit’s investments in bureaucracy finally paid off, allowing the nation to support another great lord.

The war might be over, but it could not be so easily forgotten.  Nuitai paid the price in grain demanded by the lich Kuan Li Jiang, sending a lone cargo ship to the Necropolis in 2902.

Ghevrit ruled from Temanom and took to wife a local girl. He had three more children with her before she, too, died in childbirth in 2905.

Princess Mai, daughter of the old king Arpald, traveled to the forests of Nymun and began the diplomatic discussions that might one day result in Nuitai’s regaining control there.

This fleet was used to transport colonists and materials to Bayindu in the west, where Choran established a colony.

General Phopheng gathered two thousand regular infantry at Choran and, confident of his ability to route the slave rabble led by Korob, slowly began to march west.  Meanwhile, the slaves looted all of Prettit, leaving it desolate and impoverished.  They then marched east to Arkhoro, where three thousand former slaves overwhelmed the thousand light infantry of the garrison.  This battle was important training for the rebellion, for the men were now hardened and battle-tested.

Phopheng’s two thousand met Korob’s twenty-five hundred in the eastern marches of Arkhoro, and Korob surprised the Choran troops with his innovative tactics, forcing them into bear pits, deadfalls and ambushes until Phopheng was forced to retreat to

Lord Zu-Rolth sailed south to Kenomus with his fleet, hoping to establish a city there.  That’s when his crew pointed out to their commanders that warships have no cargo capacity and the colonists were still standing on the docks. On the other hand, Zu-Rolth did manage to convert many of the nobility of Kenomus to the worship of the Dark Court, so the voyage wasn’t a total loss.

Lord Sa-Vowin negotiated a treaty of economic alliance with the elves of Kenomus, the best that could be arranged, given the extreme differences of religion.

He then declared himself a follower of the Lords of the Dark Court and peremptorily ordered all Hecadians to convert to the Dark faith.  This naturally outraged Hecadians of all races.  Though the nation was not overly pious, it had a long tradition of Orithia it was not eager to give up.

Lords Rhett and Pickens declared their opposition, as did Naveh of Chothor and Zane of Kebe.  The regions of Amoka, Maviran, Rundar and Vasithe also rebelled.  Taken by surprise, King Marco set out with his army to crush the rebels. Marco was arrested before leaving Belgramma by Lord Pickens, and executed by Lord Rhett and Zane of Kebe when they arrived.  After a conference, the three rebel lords agreed that Rhett would be crowned king by the Orithian bishop of Belgramma, and that the army would move to crush those regions loyal to Marco.   Queen Estella, no doubt the source of Marco’s infidelity, was locked up in a tower in the Royal Palace.

King Eoganan sent forth his fleet, eleven huge Kerendis Battle Galleys and thirty stout warships, to escort a fleet of cogs across the Ymarian Sea to Kerendis’s newest colony at Ishku.  The commanders of the fleet were Lords Laoghaire and Ainmire.  On the high seas they met the battle fleet of the elves of Sengkar, which stood in their way.

The Kerends raised their battle flags and moved into line of battle with the galleys in a wedge at the center and the smaller warships trailing in their wake, the cogs screened far behind.  The elven fleet numbered nearly sixty, but the Kerends had the larger ships and better winds. And, many said, better sailors. The Kerend fleet crashed through the elven lines, scattering the Sengkarian warfleet and smashing dozens of ships.  The Sengkarian flagship burned and its commander, Talan of Mita, barely

King Arcanon named his brother Marconio as his heir, but the nobility flatly rejected this idea, encouraging the young king to father an heir.  Marconio brooded.  In between ruling the kingdom and commanding Threns’s six thousand-man army, Arcanon did indeed try to produce an heir, but his wife Alexandra died in childbirth in 2904. The baby also perished.

The nation of Ruanach continued to fulfill the terms of the treaty between the nations, sending to Vaayil chests of gold and an ancient, tattered banner on a spear of ebony.  Known to history as the Badge of Barbaric Confabulation, this magical artifact was a king’s ransom.

Dinguw the Shrewd rode to Komirut in Aya and with honeyed words continued to smooth the anger of the great city’s populace.

Gload Duncan took command of eight thousand troops at Kuwasha and marched them to Komirut.  There, he granted retirement to two thousand light infantry on the condition that they aid the city in building its new Merchant’s Guild (the Octomarine League).  Gload then marched westward to Makuwai and Inda, which he re-conquered with ease, and in which he forced the populace to accept the worship of the Dark Court, slaughtering the Spirit Cult shamans of Inda, and exiling the Orithian priests of Makuwai.

Greybar of Nistha was missing for many years, and when in 2905, he had still not been heard of, he was declared dead.  The city continued its economic alliance with the Hegemony, but sent no further troops.

Meanwhile, Lord Markand docked his Ruanach Blacksails at Bendraj and traveled about the country conducting diplomacy with the nobility of many regions.  Markand made good friends with the lord of Asatul, who agreed to serve the king as an ally.  He convinced the prince of Asatul to swear fealty and provide troops.

Princess Neva had no luck with her diplomacy in Bendraj, but was successful in getting the prince of Arundim to swear fealty to the king.

Prince Kolyu, commander of Ruanach’s nine

Rustas Ocklam and Stonehill Rabbitjumper of Dhal traveled together to Rusilam and officially annexed the city to the Delves.  Prince Karelak Roguewillow negotiated a treaty of economic advantage with the provinces of Pulkit.

His son and heir, Taurog the Bold, had also reached a nearly unheard-of age for orcs, achieving his seventy-second birthday in 2905.  He celebrated by drilling his five thousand troops in Aballak extra hard.

Algoz’s other son, Prince Jausor, had also reached quite an old age for an orc, achieving his fiftieth birthday in 2905.  He celebrated by drilling his thirty-five hundred troops in Randar extra hard.

The rest of the court, including Lord Garkog, Marak Boarslayer, Lord Tulak and Prince Lurg, traveled to Amanjit and officially annexed the riverine region to the Raj.

Lord Zzohichii traveled to Viraben and arranged a marriage between the Emperor and a noble girl of the hills. The sathla of Viraben gave little more than lip service to Imperial control, however.

Missionaries at last converted the orcs of Viraben to the worship of the Scaled god.

When Prince Syliss died in 2903, the Emperor nominated his own twin, Prince Hexotta, to replace him on the privy council.

When Lord Oatlchicc died in 2904, he left the Emperor in sole command of the thirty-three thousand sathla army.

Sathla engineers and colonists continued to improve the jungles of Dengan with goat and rat farms as well as small villages.

King Khathros traveled to the sunny archipelago of Tasarwi with his sister Nessali and his daughter Naddya.  There, he arranged the marriage of his sister to the son of Prince Vaanek.  He also took pains to teach Naddya the finer points of diplomacy. The marriage and diplomacy were both great successes and Vaanek became an ally of the crown.

Lords Zhao Si and Reke traveled to the human region of Mukarma, where the three-faced god of Nuree was still in fashion, and attempted to convert the local nobility without much success. Zhao Si died in Mukarma in 2904.

Allied lord Darlek of Mersemb went exploring in the jungles of Keganga and never returned.  His heir repudiated the feudal obligations of the father and retracted the native army to Mersemb.

To the east, they began to clear-cut the Hawhu jungle around Kun Dao to make way for small farms and pastures.

After reigning from the throne of Keluan for many years, Queen Alvya traveled to the port of Kun Dao in 2905 to give it her royal blessing.

In Nodo-Xan, meanwhile, a few dwarves began to take up the king’s service as councillors and warders, attracted by the large rewards in gold and gems the king was offering them.

Lord Takahiro Yori traveled to Kumidor to arrange the marriage of the Emperor to Lady Airi, daughter of a local prince.  The prince sullenly allowed Imperial forces access to his lands.

His son and heir Elath Bloodspear sailed north to the island jungle of Minjiloa, where the distant cousins of the Lekandi people lived and arranged a marriage between Dionarra, a princess of that people, and his father.  Dionarra’s father swore an oath of feudal allegiance to the king.

Meanwhile, the sailors and shipbuilders of the island continent worked feverishly to improve their skills based on those ships of Mekebele and Zikuyu they had seen in years past.