The Fall of 500
The Fall of 500 would be nothing short of tumultous. Namidism watched with apprehension as renewed Meddish-Ardans fighting rocked Meddeland; the fall of Vantage would send shockwaves through Dalmira, as many onlookers began to fear that the Ardans would defeat Meddeland outright. Superius Xavier VII would become more and more vocal in urging the Namidist Kings to do more to support Meddeland, culminating in his declaration of a Namidist crusade against the Ardans heretics late in the season. While Hendal remained occupied with its on problems, at least three Dalmiran Dukes would take up arms and march to war against the Ardans.
For most of the peasantry, the fall of 500 would be otherwise unremarkable. The weather was more or less normal and the harvest standard, but one fundamental change did come into many lives. A curious invention, supposedly used by small pockets of Dalmiran farmers for generations, began to come into common usage up and down the land. The device was simple: a large metal basin with a single wheel under its front and two handles at the back, good for transporting crops, manure, or anything else in quantities too large to carry. Its name was "wheelbarrow."
Hendal
Tavan Morin raiding continues more or less unabated in Hendal's north. Baldwin Montague plans to launch an attack on the Tavan Morin in a forest northeast of Sanapiro, planning to draw them further into the forest and ambush them there. The Tavan Morin, meanwhile, try to draw his forces out of the forest so they can destroy Montague. With neither force willing to fight on the other's best ground (and rains and local flooding interrupting their plans), not much actual fighting is done.
Problems in the north aside, Hendal would be rocked by news of a jailbreak from the stockades in Burnhem. Dozens of dangerous prisoners somehow managed to escape their cells and made their way into the city proper - no one could say how, but it was a matter of great concern for the people.
The King spends most of the season in his palace, enjoying himself and not particularly working on anything. This lethargy proves to be contagious as he steward does the same. The ambitious lines of forts that the King had demanded are forgotten and no work is done.
Prince Henry embarks on the
Bordelon to sail for Sanapiro. The ship does this without difficulty, but Henry (as he imagined) is wracked by seasickness, and does not learn much about sailing. His fleets do their jobs, however, transporting 5,000 more soldiers from Burnhem to Hendal under the guise of a publicity mission. Montague is naturally thankful for the reinforcements.
Anders Wyngarden reassessed the trade flow in and out of Hendal, though he had already done this just six months ago. The assessment itself goes well enough. His anticorruption purges also goes "well." He pays informants to tell him about corrupt government workers, a successful scheme resulting in numerous executions. It does not make any immediately obvious impact on the budget, though if the bureaucrats are all too scared to be inefficient, it probably will in the future...
The Iron Hands assimilate several other mercenary groups, increasing their numbers, and are granted a building by the government of Hendal. Their efforts to organize tournaments fail as it transpires they simply do not have the funds to do so.
Laurens Jansingh contracts the Iron Hands for his own bodyguard and begins a pilgrimmage to Victorsburg.
Talinus Blackgate trains in swordplay and makes stunning new progress - perhaps he has a knack for the art. After joining the river watch and much more effort, he gains support from the local burghers and trading princes for the construction of a military academy. Though he has the funds, work has yet to begin on the academy itself.
Dalmira
In Dalmira, several local nobles came in to meet with Vasa - in the King's absence - about possible revisions to their heraldic crests. It was uncertain if this achieved much of anything other than wasting Vasa's time. Vasa orders the construction of new roads to be linked with the Duchy of Igskada - this goes well enough as the roads are rapidly connected. Attempts to charge a toll at the internal border prove much more troublesome, with traffickers commonly evading toll-takers. Vasa devises a system of tokens that partially solves this problem, though toll-dodging continues. However, he does not make much progress in rooting the King's relatives out of their positions - he faces much opposition from the Royal Court for trying to do so. The King appointed them, after all.
King Magnus, perhaps hearing of war in the east, reverses course and marches east. This turns out to be slow going as his troops are exhausted from extensive marching already, and he ends up pausing for the winter near Victorsburg, still far from the Eastern Front. Somehow, he does manage to dispatch prospectors while marching, and they return with a few possible sites for castles in the Halbstadht mountains. Their cost estimates are running at around 200 ducats for a mid-sized castle, though this heavily depends on the cost of labor.
Ethan Riosh, with some difficulty, manages to secure a loan for 50 ducats from the local nobility. The terms are not particularly well defined, but presumably they intend to be paid back with interest at some point.
Similary, Vytautus Krasnickas marries the sister of Duke Henry of Stolgen before marching to war himself; he wishes to begin construction on a stone highway, but he leaves the Duchy for the war, and without his oversight, little work is done on the project.
Stolgen, for his part, attends the wedding then returns to his Duchy, where he embarks on a campaign of meeting with local mayors and nobles to secure their loyalty. He is very successful in this, as many are impressed with his charisma and personal charm. The Duke is shaping up to be a popular man in Stolgen and Arevmarch, at least among the local prominents.
In Gottor-Tydreach, Dal'Athgar an Odal'in Uthbar renews his attempts to form a "Buirdeasach" by clarifying that members will not have to pay taxes. He gets some interest, but not nearly what he had hoped - only about 2,000 serf families sign up, with many serfs apparently content to pay their traditional taxes rather than fight in the Duke's wars. Some confusion over the tax exemption, since the rents are traditionally paid by household and family, also continues.
Odal'in also attempts to calm the fears of the nobility by telling them that the best way to convert the Ardans is through peace. This does not work very well, as the Superiacy has just declared a holy war against the Ardans. The Duke's relationship with the local nobility, if anything, worsens, and is starting to look dangerously poor. Similarly, trade with Ardans decreases rather than increases on news of a Crusade declared by the Superius.
In Weldheim, Prince Wyngaert begins the exploitation of the gold veins found in the northern hills. Serfs are dispatched to work the mines, but few in his duchy have much knowledge of mining. Nevertheless, some gold is found and money begins to flow into the treasury. The Duke learns nothing more about the dragon statuette. Howevermuch he reads and asks, simply no one seems to know anything about it.
Many of Dalmira's dukes march to war at the Superiacy's call, or even before. Prince Krasnickas of Dalmira enters the West Cirtine Pass halfway through the season with an army of 4,000 soldiers. He started his campaign (perhaps at the prodding of the Superiacy) before the Crusade was even announced and is generally applauded as a Crusader. However, he fares badly in the campaign. Cirtirus was the last of the Ardans cities to fall during the original Meddish invasion and occupation of Ardans; it held out for years even after the rest of the nation fell to the Meddish. It is protected by the Cirtine Mountains, impassable save for two winding routes through the rough terrain. At the end of these routes lays Cirtirus, itself in some ways the heartland of Ardans nationalism. Krasnickas sought to assault Cirtine with 4,000 men; if any Meddish generals from the original war still lived, they could have told him how desperately foolhardy a thing to do this was. When they campaigned in Cirtirus they approached the mountain range with a force ten times that size and it took them years to break through the southern pass and into the valley.
From the moment Krasnickas enters the Pass he is in a hell on earth. The winding roads through west path are treacherous and the weather harsh. Ardans militias, perhaps responding to the call to arms issued by Szabolcsi, harass the Erdheim-Rortzen forces and their supply trains. Food is in short supply as the route is mountainous and barren; fresh supplies from the Duchy essentially cannot make their way through the mountain. Every day another patrol goes missing, never to be heard from again, or the column is ambushed by unseen enemies. The Ardans partisans seem to melt into the terrain. They block crucial chokepoints on the trail with rocks, or with mounts of scuttled carts and flaming debris. The army is again and again forced to double back and try to find a way around.
A common traveler might have expected to traverse the harsh 90-kilometer-long pass in a week. It takes Krasnickas 45 days and costs him 800 of his force of 4,000 men. When he emerges into the Cirtine valley, intending to scorch the land, he finds the harvest has already been collected. The fields are empty, the population evacuated ahead of his arrival, and winter is practically upon them. His scouts report that in addition to 500 Ardans regulars, there are 2,000 mercenaries and 3,500 militiamen on the walls of Cirtirus itself. With his present force, a siege of the city seems nothing short of foolhardy. His foray into Ardans is starting to look like a death march.
Duke Wiegraf, on the other hand, marches to war with an army of 24,000 - perhaps more appropriate for an attempt to invade Ardans. He raises 14,000 peasant levies to join his 10,000 regulars to form the army. Despite Wiegraf's reassurances that they and their families will not be taxed this year, the levies are still in poor morale - they know that their families will go hungry without them at the harvest. He marches for Sevala, but with hundreds of kilometers to cover before he even reaches the border, Wiegraf has not reached Sevala by the end of the season. His scouts report that in addition to 500 army regulars, 2,500 militamen have taken to the city's walls, putting 3,000 men on the walls of Sevala. They have already stored the harvest inside the city, and much of the local population has been evacuated within its walls.
Ethan Riosh marches to join Wiegraf but is simply too far away to do so; he makes it as far as Foldgart and prepares to winter in the city, where he is met with a warm welcome. To create his army, Riosh raised 2,000 peasant levies in the hope that this number would not inhibit the harvest (and he is probably right, though the peasants themselves are gloomy). He also hoped to summon 2,000 more men-at-arms from the local nobility. Riosh did not manage to achieve this number. While more or less every noble family in Igskada sent some representative to fight to discharge their duty, they seemed less than enthusiastic to give him as many fighting men as they could. In the end Riosh is left with about 1,000 nobles, including 600 heavy knights and about 400 dismounted infantrymen - his total forces number 4,000, not the 5,000 he had hoped for.
As Wiegraf ordered, Sofia takes command of Victorsburg-Foldgart's light cavalry outriders. She has yet to see much action.
Meddeland
The campaign in Meddeland goes on for weeks, with many pitched battles and narrow escapes characterizing the campaign. Francis dashes east from his position on the Bar River to relieve the sieges, but he is too late to save Vantage, which falls to a bloody assault early in the month. His rearguard holds at the Bar River for a week after a miraculous Ardans crossing before retreating itself; Francis then fights several more battles nearly Brier, escaping to fight another day in the face of superior Ardans numbers. Though he failed to destroy the larger Ardans army, his escape is flawless and he makes his way back to Kandon late in fall, unbowed and having dished out as much damage as he took. However, it is of little consolation to Vantage. The city is sacked and put to a torch by the Ardans, with many thousands killed.
The King's armored lizard is dispatched to Duke Francis, though it does not reach him until well after the end of the season's campaigning.
Several prominent nobles mounted a hunting expedition near Kandon, with much pomp and ceremony, returning with a number of impressive kills. It could not be said that the King (or anyone else for that matter) particularly approved, as it hardly seemed like appropriate behavior during a time of national crisis, but the nobles insist that they must carry on as normal in the face of enemy antagonism.
Alfons Windfell asks the Meddish banks for a war loan - they provide this in the form of about 240 ducats, with his argument that the Ardans will loot the banks falling somewhat flat as the Ardans withdraw. Windfell also begs the Great Council for a continuing War Tax or to give their blessing to the King to draft the citizenry into the army. The Council refuses to pass a continuing War Tax, but the fall and subsequent sack of Vantage rattle them deeply. They instead declare a new "crusade tithe" tax on the harvest, providing 600 ducats for the treasury. Combined, the loan and the tax put considerable new finances at the disposal of the Meddish crown.
However, the Great Council refuses to support any conscription of the civilians, with many on the council believing that the King should not press free men into service against their wills, as this is a hallmark of long-abolished serfdom.
Nevertheless, the King enacts a draft. Claiming it is vitally important to national defense (which, in fairness, it probably is), he begins to levy en masse, pressing thousands into service. This is done not without difficulty - the Ardans have sacked Vantage and much of the area around it, making the draft hard to enforce in central Meddeland, while government offices in much of the north have been burnt by a certain Wizard, making the draft impossible to enact there.
It proceeds despite these difficulties, with the King intending to draft as many as possible into the service. The draft quota for the year is put at 200,000 to be brought under arms. However, after more than 30,000 men are drafted across the nation, the draft hits another small snag. The people of Meddeland are tired of the war, tired of taxes, and have already been pushed to the brink by the fighting the unpopular policies of the previous season. Draft riots break out in Kandon, Port Reale, Agarre, and Brier and in much of the surrounding countryside. The army hastily puts down the riots in Kandon, but in the other three cities there is no one to stop them (except the men who have just been drafted, who funnily enough don't). After a week of disorder in Port Reale, during which time the mayor is run out of town, royal offices burnt, a local "provisional authority" takes up in the mayor's office and declares the draft annulled by decree, to much cheering. Similar actions are taken in Agarre and Brier the next week. The climate is now looking periously close to rebellion.
Only 9,000 of the 30,000 conscripts actually report to the army in Kandon. The others desert.
The
wizard Kishburn continues to generally burn and slaughter everything around him in North Meddeland. With no army to stop him, he easily sows destruction wherever he goes. Anti-wizard hysteria naturally increases, with roving lynch mobs and militias growing.
Meddish agents begin to spread pamphlets in Ardans claiming that Ardans was conquered by the Meddish originally because their much-beloved oligarchy betrayed the nation in exchange for coin and sold it out to Meddeland. Since most Ardans could not read, it was not very effective - those who could read scoffed at the idea that the oligarchy would ever betray them in such a cowardly and fickle way.
Ardans
With the Namidist Dukes and Kings quickly lining up against Ardans, it is obvious that the national situation is becoming increasingly dire. The people may be brave but they need reassurance - upon his return, the Marcher is informed that the citizenry of Ardans expect a speech from him on the subject of the war.
After losing track of Francis, the National Army retreats from Meddeland entirely, withdrawing back to Moraille after a lengthy march (disrupted by food shortages and inclement weather but nevertheless successful). They sack Vantage before they leave, with Haaken the Vandal ensuring that everything that is not nailed down or on fire is taken. Many are killed and the city is left decimated, but no longer under Ardans control. Much of the Meddish countryside is also sacked. Some loot from the city makes its way back to the Ardans treasury.
It becomes increasingly obvious that Benjamin Briarling's treatment as a prisoner is linked to the course of the war, as Michel Szabolcsi throws him back into the dungeons. Szabolcsi, acting as regent in the Marcher's absence, rallies the militias nationwide - many answer the call (particularly in Cirtirus). His attempts to solicit donations goes well, with many sending money in support of national defense.
Aro Nemeront takes control of the defense of Cirtirus, quickly stockpiling the harvested grain and other needful resources in the city well ahead of the Dalmiran advance. He is very successful in raising militias for the city's defense, but Nemeront is most wildly successful in hiring mercenaries to defend the city. He sought to hire 30 ducats' worth of mercenary bowmen, paying for the hired archers out of his own purse. However, he ultimately does not have to pay the fee (at least not for Fall) - moved by his display of selflessness for city and country, the local burghers reimburse him. He also manages to stretch the 30 ducats quite far, as the sum brings in close to 2,000 Ardans archers who are willing to work at a considerable discount from normal mercenary fees.
All in all, Nemeront manages to put approximately 6,000 men, a little more than half militia, with about 2,000 archers and 500 army regulars, on the walls of Cirtirus. When Krasnickas arrives in the Cirtine valley, not far from the city, with just 3,200 of his own troops remaining and the cold bite of winter setting in, it is not a welcome sight.
Dupont, relieved of his army command, arrives in Leganum and raises a local militia force of about 3,000 men - though as yet, there are no enemy armies in sight.
Argent Grancour attempts to escape his imprisonment. He fails and is killed in the escape attempt.
Tavan Morin
Heavy rains in North Hendal lead to regional flooding which, combined with the standoff with Montague's army, leads to a significant decrease in the amount of raiding the Tavan Morin are able to do in the fall. The Tavan Morin attempt to raid fishing villages, but coastal flooding and several storms dramatically reduce the effectiveness of these raids.
The Dagch Morin's efforts to put an end to infighting over loot seem to be holding - for now.
Jo'chi Hasar launches raids on Hendal patrols - this proves to be difficult owing to the combination of rain and the fact that Montague simply isn't sending out many patrols. However, he does manage to take a few Hendal prisoners.
Doba Morin Kh'azaro Octarz tries to get more control of the Roc and fails in this - the Roc throws him from some height and he is injured. He is forced to abandon his scouting efforts.
Other
As everyone up and down the land would soon hear, after weeks of speaking out against the Ardans the Superius declared a crusade, asking all the Namidist faithful rulers to join the fight against the Ardans heretics. More than a thousand, motivated by zeal, flock to the banner of the Forgiven Knights in the first few weeks of the Crusade, and several Dalmiran dukes take up the call with gusto. The Superius' advertising campaign for the Forgiven Knights, though expensive, sends hundreds more into the Holy Order - mainly from the nobility, as the peasants could not read the posters and only heard about them through the monks' verbal messages.
Construction of the new city for the Superiacy was seemingly forgotten in the zeal of the Crusade.
The "Onion Sage" reaches Sanapiro, disguised as a strange monk, and enters the city. He continues to learn about the Hendal and their beliefs and culture.
Dwaler attempts to convince the Superius that all who join the Forgiven Knights will have everything they want after the rebirth. The Superius is not convinced of this and is probably faintly annoyed that Dwaler presumes to tell him what is true as a matter of dogma and what is not. Dwaler's attempts to train his men go better, though Dwaler himself is no soldier.
((end of update. Next deadline will be in a week, ie: next Saturday.))
Hint: Campaigning is inadvisable during Makria's typically harsh winters. If at all possible, find a city to winter your army in.