Aedan - Nuram'hud'sicel'vitaum Fenetarkil XIII goes on a spending spree and invested into a new series of magical tomes and oddities to advance his power. Perhaps this means he will finally go out and lead one of his many small units of troops who are stretched thin across the continent, if not than why waste the money on it? His attempts to take Uherake fail miserably as his diplomats aren't even allowed into the village. The village itself trying to be annexed into the Echelon Lands of Drachenwald for sometime. The forces at vasto - 35 LI, 10 SU - move south to siege Palermo Directly though even with the skill of the reapers it shalt be an easy fight. (+132 gold)(-200 gold, +1 combat roll)(Palermo Besieged)(See War Section).
Alexander23 - Feasts are held in Ulaanbaatar as the equinox celebration commences. The dignitaries from Sakura Caslte are treated to exceptional hospitality. It would seem their expedition into Pavlodar was well received by many of the locals who viewed their more southerly kinsmen with great favor, unlike the vicious Gleannics to the north. More forces from Astanna arrive too to take the place of the previous expeditionary force which will now be moving North, though the locals heavily advised not to. As the river began to freeze over the old Pavlodar Expedition force, now calling themselves the 3rd Legion, march into Wilderana. They arrive first in the province of Castlemartin and immediately sieged the small village of Wrecsam.
The second season of siege went rather well for Xatir Tsukino who was engrossed in the siege of Omnigovi. The jewel of Almania, and the first place Ur'vak the Enflammed touched down on this plane at was in her grasp all she needed was time. Well she was left with little other choice attacking the walls would be suicide so she was left to continue starving out the city. The warlord nearly cursed when the season came to an end without the defenders attacking again believing that she could better destroy their morale to force them into surrender by continually stopping those little raids. Instead here forces in the freezing cold dug in more trenches and built further defenses making in seem like she had built a new city of here own around the old. The dysentery makes it a loot less appealing than the original though. (+72 gold)(-60 gold, +40LI, +20A)(Ulaanbattar Annexed)(Wrecsam Sieged).
Alkatraz777 - Torii Motodada spent the winter gathering tax income. (+8 gold).
Bisquix - Igneus not caring for the Twilight Forest simply gave the fortress of Sargeraon, or what was left of it, to his fellow Twelve Peer Member. The hope was simply to show that he was a gracious ally, yet all his attempts to convince his neighbors that he didn't desire war with them fell on deaf ears. It would appear that Gerald Iron-Hide was too preoccupied dealing with a series of threats from the arrogant King Matamelcan who almost immediately began acting as though he alone fought and defeated the Kingdom of Vae'farue. Tholamin the Savior simply ignored Igneus, who had merely stated he had no intention to expand further into the Draeneic lands and hoped for amicable relations. Though insulted Igneus knew he could not attack a fellow affiliate of the 12 Peers, nor would he attack his unaffiliated neighbors. Mainly because he saw it as driving potential allies into the arms of the Echelon, something Matamelcan seemed unable to grasp.
Igneus moved back to his original plans which he put on hold in order to eliminate the Echelon affiliate at his rear flank. Worried at the aggressive expansion of the vile and crazy Nuram'hud'sicel'vitaum Fenetarkil XIII, the village of Lieta joined under Igneus' banner, considering him the lesser evil. As this occurred Lord Igneus soon put Cagliari under siege. This surprised the town as it had previously helped his campaign by allowing the 12 Peer reinforcements to reach him. Though their objections ignored the fact they allowed the army of Charon's Echelon to arrive in order to assist the Kingdom of Vae'farue too. (+98 gold)(Sargeraon gifted)(Lieta Annexed)(Cagliari Besieged).
Brovahkiin - Despite the all that was occurring in the Dead Lands Valkorus preferred to spend the winter relaxing with a nice glass of virgin blood, a hard thing to acquire these days. Though some progress was made as he rested, for instance his vampire knights had been doing a great job of removing bandits that sprung up during his absence whilst warring against the Lichlord Logarius. New spear technology was bought and furnished for his troops to make them more efficient against cavalry, such as that of Castle Blackmaw. More importantly was how the Hai Orcs of Grogald agreed to join him having their former nation under Borguk the Goatinator disintegrate after his mysterious disappearance. (+11 gold)(Grogald Annexed)(-40 gold, Spear Upgrade)
DeMarchese - Finally after all the series of floods this year the census came back with the exceptional crop harvest from last season. Tholamin did spend a lot of the season held up in his outpost of Last Refuge, yet this allowed him to heal his old wounds. (+100 gold)(No longer injured).
Dutchguy - Reluctantly the village of Zanthaen agrees to becoming one of King Matamelcan's many vassals though they still curse his when toasting in taverns. As the King expanded in the north he took the lands in the south starting with Vyril. This is the same village where not but a few miles away the war between the Soler Dynasty and Vae'Farue began. The village though had managed to stock up well having avoided the fighting during the war and has survived the winter siege, but spring... "If you want peace prepare for war" truer words were never spoken in the mind of Matamelcan. This turn he spends a fortune on creating two new armies from scratch divided into the Northern and Eastern guard each with; 100 light infantry, and 30 archers. He then sends a modest amount of coin to Gerald Iron-hide, his latest pen pal, who he had been having heated letters with. (+135 gold)(Sargeraon Gifted)(Vyril Besieged)(-240 gold, +200LI, 60A)(Zanthaen Annexed).
Galren - Reims it seems is exceptionally loyal to the Duke of Dorian, which isn't surprising considering their step-brothers. A resounding no is given in response to Duke Dorian when the offer of annexation is given. This minor fly was nothing to the duke though who soon found himself reinforced from Sichamps again as he refused to siege in the middle of winter. After all doing so would only cause many of his troops to die out in the fighting so instead he attacked the walls directly. Well perhaps attack wasn't the right term for it as very little happened. Though his attempt to sneak into the city with his light infantry was inspired, the execution was poor. The attempts to cause a riot failed as the Duke of Troyes had the control over his populace under a tight boot. An enemy scout also discovered their position with suspicious ease, as well as their plan which left those sent to cause the distraction quickly executed. As his executed soldiers hung from the wall Duke Dorian imidiatly went to work trying to ferret out any potential spies. Then though he received grave news. (+126 gold)(-40 gold, Longsword Upgrade)(-3 LI)(see war section)
Gorganslayer - Having grown ever so weary of the rebellious and revolting nature of the natives, and wisely realizing they outnumber him twenty to one, Prince Elunir passes a series of reforms. Though it is clear his prejudice and belief the Gleannics should be second, maybe even third, class citizens the reforms do offer a large amount of rights that Elven law had previously denied. The reforms greatest act was allowing more autonomy for the settlements under the imperial boot, mainly due to the fact it was nearly impossible to rule these rowdy humans with an iron fist thanks to a severe lack of roads.
The prince spent a large amount of time training in strategy and individual combat in order to better deal with the many fierce foes on the continent. He tested these new skills by assaulting Pentywyn. It was a tough fight as it always was with these Gleannics but he managed to triumph over them. Elunir's archers were especially useful thanks to the latest upgrade in arrows purchased from the 12 Peer trade post in Minllyn. (+131 gold)(-240 gold Bodkin Arrow Upgrade, +1 combat roll)(You aren't at war with another faction so I only counted the first combat order).(-2HI, -5A).
Mikkel Gladher - After a considerable amount of debating and compromises the village of Valence finally agreed to rejoin the Duke of Angers through a marriage alliance, and thus was through the duke a part of the Golden Kingdom. Reinforcements from Nantes were of course moved in almost immediately after the last attack on Limoux. Having been unable to take Limoux in a full on assault King Fralupi changed tactics, chiefly by receiving advice from the Duke of Angers and the Count of Valence on the matter. Both knew the Count of Limoux well and how exceptional a commander he was, being the former marshal of the realm. Talking with many advisors and locals which knew the land well he finally realized the best and most audacious plan.
In the heart of winter during a raging blizzard they attacked. Why during such a dangerous time? Well simply to be able to reach the walls before the enemy could realize they were being attacked, none would have thought to look to the defenses in such a storm. Though it was confusing beyond belief the units followed their specific orders for they could not rely on seeing what the other units were up to, such as retreating while on the cusp of victory. What few guardsmen at the gate there were had soon been dealt with by the dragon riders who quickly shattered the wooden gate and bulwark from the rear allowing the infantry to move in. It took some time for the garrison to realize what was happening and by then the barracks had already been attacked with many being forced to surrender. Those who didn't gave it their all killing any human shape they could find in the dense blizzard.
Oddly enough without the snow storm obscuring their vision the troops most likely would have retreated as King Fralupi was dealt a serious injury by a stray arrow hitting him in the shoulder whilst he was atop his dragon. The battle raged on though and the entire garrison was eradicated leaving none to oppose the occupation of the town. As always as few of the civilian population was hurt as possible once occupied as per Fralupi's orders. When he asked to see the Count of Limoux he was brought to a ruined cobbler's shop. Ruined because a dragon with a large sword embedded into its neck had fallen onto it. It could be seen that partially underneath the dragon was its rider who was crushed by the fall. Impaled on an iron grate fence in the back of the shop was the Count of Limoux in nothing but his knickers having jumped onto the dragon from some high point and killed it. (+40 gold)(Valence Annexed)(Limoux Taken)(Injured)(-4HI, -9A, -1SU)(-27 gold, +20LI, +8A).
Plutonium95 - Oriana spent the season locked away ranting about invisible assassins. (+24 gold)
Rovsea - Gerald Iron-Hide came into fantastic luck this season as the town of Safi opened its gates to him capitulating fully to his terms. (+74 gold)(Safi Conquered)
Zex - Nothing is heard of Dalius Blackmaw (-5 gold).
Deadlands Theatre
The platoon that took Netra now marches straight on to Castle Blacmaw which is now in total disarray thanks to the poor economy. The castle was expected to fall quickly with the platoon's 2.5/1 ratio on its defenders, but they neglected to account for the fact that said castle was in a defensible area. The attack was a total failure with none of the defenders dying as the platoon had to flee after the first barrage of mounted ballistae. The force in Val'Knoser though reinforce the siege at Ostrava and just in time, for the defenders assaulted their basecamp to break the siege. Though this was a failure seventeen of the 59 siegers were killed. Yet again if not for the timely arrival of the reinforcements the siege would have been broken. (- 20 LI)(Ostrava: -6 Garrison).
Nuram'hud'sicel'vitaum Fenetarkil XIII: 22LI near Blackmaw Castle; 42 Sieging Ostrava.
Dalius Blackmaw: 6HI, 2HC, 7SU
The worse news for Dalius came from the South though. Traditionally used to staying relatively out of the way of the political affairs of the Dead Lands it would seem the economic tolls Dalius' over expenditure caused have brought the ire of Charon's Echelon. With the 12 Peers driven out of the region for the time being they have moved in force onto the several small settlements in the region and even begun asking for others to join them. This has outraged many in the region especially those in power but it would seem that the Echeloneans are tired of simply observing the goings ons of the Dead Lands and only stepping in to hold off invaders and hordes of mindless ones. What this could mean for the rest of the region no one knows for certain.
Ragusa was the first to fall the chaos cultist of the village, living and willful undead, put up a spectacular fight. Sadly they soon succumbed to the vast numbers arrayed against them. Many thought that they would move north and take Castle Blackmaw, perhaps as another training site for their school of Scholomance. Instead they mover along the inner curve of the lower Sabine river and took Vlora. Similar losses were suffered here but once it was done they simply gave partitioned the land giving a large chunk back to their loyal subjects in the region, the Gollic Drows, and allowing the former subjects of Blackmaw to live as they had. It is unsure why Commander Darion did this but it is speculated it was to cut off Nuram'hud'sicel'vitaum Fenetarkil XIII from the Suebon province which might be the area the Commaner Darion aims to take full ownership of. (Ragusa Conquered)(Vlora Conquered)(-27LI, -7HI, -4LC, -1SU).
Commander Darion: 2964LI, 371HI, 653LC, 121M, 920SU.
Dalius Blackmaw: (Vlora Lost, Ragusa Lost)
Franconia Theatre
As snow sprinkled the open grass and farmlands of the Troyes province many people turned their heads to watch as a massive army bearing a familiar standard marched through it. The banner had twelve swords pointing inward to a cross. They marched as a well oiled machine, and like a machine were covered in metal. They made their way to the outskirts of Troyes with both Duke Dorian of Rueon, Lord of Sichamps, and the Duke of Troyes were unsure what to make of this occurrence. Grandmaster Coron Glyndwr himself, named the Savior for being the one to lead the remaining coalition forces out of the Dead Lands after the
Battle of the Moorland. Now he stood with an army of 6530 veteran soldiers an equal distance between the town of Troyes and the siege camp of Duke Dorian. A simple offer is made to both, "whoever joins me shall live and prosper."
Grandmaster Coron Glyndwr the Savior: 5000HI, 630A, 600HC, 100M, 200SU
Duke Dorian: 36HI, 18A, 10SU
Duke of Troyes: 200 garrison/ 2 combat rolls/ can withstand 2-3 turns of siege.
Outlands Theatre
Suvut Sisask Astrid marched through the grass wastes of the outlands. Not but fifteen miles south of her was the coast with trade ships landing all over, and many being a part of the North Sea Trade company, another head of the hydra her order faced.She had to make a serious choice go back and fight the 12 Peers for a an ally that was long dead now, or fall back to the Dead Lands. Astrid spoke with her fellow deth knights long and hard about what to do but finally a decision was made. Marching into South Tangiers she forcefully captured South Tangiers and through some incredible stroke of luck convinced North Tangiers to join her, uniting the divided city. Now the Echelon had a base of operations along the Zaghreban River which was a gateway into the Montenegro Mountains of the Dead Lands, and into Urok. (-3 LI)(Ss. Tangiers Conquered)(N. Tangiers Annexed).
Suvut Astrid Sisask: 28LI, 19M, 18SU
- The Dead Lands Trade Agreement [Alexander23, and Aedan777 gain 1 gold to all settlements for 9 turns].
- Tri-Covenant Mutual Benefit ContractAlexander23, and Plutonium95 gain +2 gold to all settlements for 8 turns](Once complete the gold income will decrease by 1 every turn until it hits zero nullifying the trade treaty)
- pact [Rovsea and DeMarchese gain +5 gold for each settlement for 3 turns] (Once complete the gold income will decrease by 1 every turn until it hits zero nullifying the trade treaty)
- North Trade Deal (+2 gold every settlement for 13 turns for Galren, and Mikkel Glahder.)(0 Gold for Alexander23)[Once timer runs out the revenue per turn will decrease by 1 until hitting zero].
- Trade of the Three (+6 gold all settlements for 1 turns for Bisquix, Gorganslayers and Dutchguy)(Once complete the gold income will decrease by 1 every turn until it hits zero nullifying the trade treaty)
- Alliance of the Faithful. (+3 gold every settlement for 1 turns Gorganslayer)(+3 gold every settlement 5 turns Dutchguy)(0 gold every settlement for DeMarchese)
- Grateful for all the support the 12 Peers and their loyal affiliates offered him in his nation's war for the Twilight Forest King Matamelcan strengthened the bridge between his people and the paladins. Known as the Matamelcan Document it opens up trade by allowing the satellite organization of the Peers, the Northern Trade League, to make trade posts throughout the Twilight Forest at their leisure. This massive increase of trade favors both groups. (+3 gold every settlement for 18 turns for DutchGuy, and 12 Peers).
- Deadland-Franconia Trade Treaty (+6 gold every settlement for 10 turns Galren and Aedan777)
- With greater and greater pressure on the Dead Lands economy Commander Darion offers compensation for his loyal followers in Redwyne Castle by bringing in trade from the Hilldwarfs in the far western mountains of the Dead Lands and the Urak-Hai of Warfist. Everyone else though still suffers from the poor economy. (-5 gold every settlement for Zex)(-2 gold every settlement in Dead Lands)(Nullified if Affiliated with Charon's Echelon).
- Relief efforts from the clerical arm of the 12 Peers are sent down into Latmium in order to help those in need from the drought. They however seem to prioritize the places affiliated to the 12 Peers though. (+1 gold every settlement in Latmium if affiliated with 12 Peers).
- The Elbauthinean tribe that had previously spent the season attacking travelers passing between Castlemartin and Bram have for some reason become more picky. It would appear that they now only attack those known for certain to be members of Charon's Echelon, or those which can be proven, even with a considerable shadow of doubt. This is a relief for those who do not associate with the death knights but for those who do it is a serious issue. (Cannot travel from Bram, Ealdholm into Castlemartin, Wilderana if affiliated with Charon's Echelon).
- It is becoming abundantly clear that whatever dark pact that was made between the warlocks and witchunters was not in the interest of Almania. Bands of these creatins have been seen working together as whole units, undermining the integrity of the Teifling states. What was a nuiscance in resource depleted Aqtobe has spread like wildfire across most of the region. Is there anything that could stop this? (Bojnurd, Navoiy, Aqtobe, Allyrau, Zhamabyl, Mashad, Omnigovi -3 gold every settlement, -2 turns of siege every settlement).
- Apparently there is as bands of surplus death knights have been sent over into the provinces of Qyzylorda and Astana to halt the flow of these people in order to protect their allies. (+3 turns of siege to all settlements in Qyzylorda and Astana, Almania)
