Spring of 500 After Cataclysm
The Holy Army of Dominator Raphaelus IX lays siege to Qeuceuni, the heretical hive of Administrator Goulad.
In the spring of the five hundredth year since the cataclysm, the paralyzing fear of a trauma five centuries in the making had taken a new turn. For many, the Blood Sky had been an ordained event, marking the end times when the destruction sewn in the past would finally come to finality. For others, it marked a new hope, a sign that fortune has turned for the beleaguered world, and the mourning of the past was at long last over. For the continent of Pangea Minos, it was an interesting mix of both these ideologies.
In the Far North, the lands dominated by the Macesiji, the peoples who long hold the Cataclysm to be a divine event, rejoiced at the prospect of a second cataclysm, and prepared to take a storied position in the end times. Dominator Raphaelus IX sought to raise an army of 10,000 to realize the divine ambitions of his people. From his capital in Tujikan, the ruler sent the call far and wide for warriors to gather to his banner. The summons proved ineffecitve. Many in the surrounding riverlands were preoccupied with gathering food in the wake of a harsh winter, and feared the consequences of leaving their hungry families behind. After a month of warriors slowly trickling into his city, Raphaelus grew impatient and marched out with half of the troops he had hoped to raise.
At the Djerik city of Qeuceuni, Dominator Raphaelus summoned Administrator Goulad, the ruler of Qeuceunit, to submit to his authority, in the name of the Diviner, the dejure ruler of the Dominion, and pledge 5000 troops to join his holy army. Goulad refused however, stating he would bow only to the Diviner, spurning the de-facto rule of Dominator Rapaelus. What followed was a siege to depose of the rule of Goulad. The dominator invoked the will of the Diviner, accusing Goulad of being of the taint that bests their holy leader. The people of Qeuceuni were split in their loyalties to the Diviner and Goulad, and much bloodshed followed. After a moon's turn, and many dead, Goulad was executed before Raphaelus and a loyal Macesij put in his place.
Spring was now fading fast, and the melt from the Highlands had engorged the Ithica and Yula Rivers, flooding the usual fords one might cross. Nevertheless, the aggression of the dominator incited a stern reaction from the administrators of Gergia and Kilika. With an army of three thousand, the forces of the alliance marched into the highlands to circumvent the flooded rivers and challenge the Dominator to meet them in battle.
Raphaeus brooded with anger in Qeuceuni, his army marred with resistance within the city, and only able to safely march forth with five thousand troops, lest he endanger his rear flank from uprisings. In the highlands a rebel army of three thousand challenged his authority, fewer in number, but with higher ground.
((Djerik Dominion raises 5k troops, a rebel army of 3k camps in the Steramew Highlands.))
In the lands of Wali-Dah, the spring broke in an uneasy peace, with goblin activity that infested the boglands and mountains seemingly quiet. As the weeks went on, and a new moon shimmered in the night, the hermitages of the Wali went on with life as usual, unguarded from the inactivity their goblin adversaries. In that time a startling explosion of raids and bloodshed marked the rest of the spring, the unfearing goblins trodding deep into Wali lands. The vermin were wise enough to avoid the strong fortifications of the Wali, mighty fortresses that surpassed all in the Pangeas, and instead targeted the fertile Sykim River Valley.
Dozens of farming villages were razed, their inhabitants fled or slaughtered. Militias were raised to combat the goblins, and some were driven back only to return in greater number, and ferocity. By spring's end, much of the valley was lost, along with the croplands the hermitages depended upon for sustenance.
((Noco has angered the Cryspo Gods ~ Goblin raiders have siezed a food resource, causing demand in food and a declining population.))
At the Gap of Lindor, throngs of Dwarves are spotted making the arduous journey from the Pelegins,
to the Malimadhm Mountains, looking for a new life in the wake of their destroyed home.
Along the southern border, Kharakrim dwarves emerged from the Pelegin Mountains, crossing the Gap of Lindor to reach the Malmadhms. Some ten thousands dwarves followed their homeless king, Khar Narroweye. For more then two moons they had traveled an exhaustive journey, made even longer by spring snows that paralyzed them within the Pelegins. Some had perished to snowcats, others to the dangers of the mountain pass, while a wave of flux took others. Yet the hardy dwarves marched on, though many envious of their kin that made for Cosmogne.
With their former home in ruins, the smoking pit that was once the proud city of Khartoba, the dwarves were resolved to forge a new home, and the resource rich mountains of Malimadhm seemed an appropriate place to start. Though their journey was hard, the dwarves were ill prepared for the aggressive goblins that waited for them. Raiding across the hermitages of Wali-Dah, the goblins looked greedily upon the Kharakrim caravans, attacking in the night, and stealing away with precious supplies. Nevertheless, the dwarves are a hardy folk, and they took such hardships admirably, even bloodying a few of the goblin raiders.
By spring's end, the Kharakrim had found a suitable mountain home south-east of the wali city of Shem.
((Khar Narroweye finds a suitable mountain within the Shem hermitage, yet the exhaustive journey leaves little time to begin building. 500 perish to goblin raids and the dangers of the road.))
In the Beskrajan Steppes, the Bloody Sky preludes a disaster that sweeps across the region in late spring. A pestilence of bloat flies fester after an unseasonable humid spring, creeping up from the Cruetia Marshes. The parasite lays it's eggs in the flesh of cattle, and before long the animal is riddles with worms that eat the hapless creature from the inside out - only to hatch and burst from the bloated dead creature in an unsightly swarm of more bloat flies. As a result, the many herds that graze along the steppes wither away, and the sheperds leave the steppes in droves, driven away by the flies and hoping to catch goats that breed within the Pelegins to replenish their lost herds.
((Alex has angered the Crypso Gods - The Iseul Theocracy loses their food abundance, and their population declines.))
In the Cosmogne Union, the human and dwarven alliance mourns their fallen leader, the esteemed High King Arngrim the Second. In his place, King Gudrun of Karaskand is named regent of the Union until a new high king is formerly elected. Fearing internal strife in the wake of Arngrim's death, Gudrun dispatches agents across the realm to monitor the activities of the Union's lords, in particular the untrustworthy and opportunistic. The increased watchfulness has an added benefit of a more secured border, a lucky thing given that in late spring a herd of pigs was stopped at Solnur pass. The herders were trying to escape the bloat-fly epidemic that swept across the Beskrajan Steppes. Upon careful inspection, it was discovered the pigs were indeed infected. The swine were killed and promptly burned, and the herders turned away.
Some of Gudrun's guards make the acquaintance of Richard Miller. While off duty, one of Gudrun's captains engages the odd human in a game of King, Queen and Bastards. The game seems to be going well for Gudrun's officer, until a string of bad hands and over confidence lands him out of a month's pay. Enraged, the captain accuses the man of cheating, and attempts to seize him. From some unknown corner, the captain and his men are beset by the gambler's loyal dogs, who engage the guards while Miller slips away. The dogs themselves were able to avoid the ropes and swords of the entire tavern and leave it in a ruined wreck as they barked and whined out the tavern door. Miller was not seen again, witnesses claiming they seen a man matching his description taking a ship out of Varches.
((King Gudrun maintains order in the Cosmogne Union, averting a bloat-fly epidemic. Richard Miller departs the Union, landing in Sidon.))
Bloodshed in the Viric forest continues throughout the spring. Chief Gnurl the Restorer carries on his campaign of genocide against the elves, killing every last one he comes across, hanging them from the trees in a grisly display. The Orc's hope is to burn the elves out of their capital, yet for all his efforts the site of the elven village escapes him. Instead, Gnurl is content with burning out various Elven glades and woods. The elves are not idle in the face of such wanton destruction.
Though their former commander is dead, the elves organize a series of raids along the front lines. Many are caught in the blaze set by the orc invaders, yet some manage to penetrate the fire lines and strike at the orc camps. The elves strike hard and fast, their objective seeming to be Gnurl himself, and the retrieval of their lost relic. The fighting is fierce, and keeps the orcs from their search of the elven capital. By spring's end five hundred more elves are dead, and Gnurl counts two hundred less Orcs among him.
((Gnurl sets the forest ablaze, but loses 200 orcs in raids - while the elves lose 500 in the fires.))
In the Cruetia Marshes, the Blood Sky is taken as a sign of Uvarathi's return to greatness. The Draconi people, eking out an existence in the harsh marshes, declare the intentions to unite the peoples of their former empire. Summons are sent out to their scattered remnants, attracting far flung Draconians, Serpkins, and Lizardmen to the banner of Zovarax the Lastborn. As well as amassing the shunned and exiled of his former empire, Zovarax also sent messengers to the Trolls of Bogda, offering crafts and promise of winning back their home in the Augustus Mountains. The Trolls were receptive, but not swayed by the offerings of the scale-skins. Nevertheless, the troll chieftain was able to sway 100 of his clan to fight for the Uvarathi.
((2000 join the Uvarathi, along with 100 trolls of the Bogda Clan.))
Lizardmen set their predatory gaze on Campestribus
In Campustribus, the empire is assaulted along it's border. The lizardmen of Cruetia marched along the Augustinus Mountains, and seeped into the passes toward the border regions of the human empire. 3000 in all, the finest fighters of the Razor Tail, Yellow Speckle, and Black Claw Clans. The warriors ascend the mountain passes and assault mining camps for their precious ore, hoping to gain resources to craft arms and armour. Fortunately for the Lizardmen, they attack an empire in disarray.
Following the Bloodsky, the Empire's doomsayers begin rising in influence, and the order of the empire begins to break down. The legions march out from Porta to establish control, but one by one, the governors of the imperial cities succumb to the power hungry, and the empire burns. Devolving into a fractured realm of warring city states, few troops are spared in order to combat the lizard-folk incursion, save for peasant militia that only manage to wound a few of the lizard-folk. The militia is soon driven out, and the mining camps seized by the lizardmen.
At the Aptor River, where the springs feed into it from the mountains, the Ridgeline and Blueback clans establish a colony in order to supply their newly conquered mining operations. Strips of soil along the river are tilled for farming and rudimentary huts are built. Iron is carted to the new colony for forging, but by spring;s end they are vulnerable. They lack the stone and wood to establish defenses, and the food to sustain a large population, however Iron weapons and armour begin churning out of their forges within the final days of spring.
((@Stingrex loses his region for inactivity, though welcome to continue on as a nomadic faction. The Campestribus Empire descends into a warring region of multiple city states.))
Sha'ddin Raiders cut deep into Shterpeler.
In Pangea Minos the early spring and early rain season was known for it's violence, the Blood Sky apparently an omen for blood to be spilled across the land. For the Tregeveltic League, they hoped to expand their merchant empire, forging new trade routes across the coasts of Minos. This effort was hindered by the subsequent raids carried out by the Sha'ddin Tribes.
The raiding parties reached deep into Shterpeler, crossing the Hurkabil Confederacy, Kingdom of Shterpeler, and even within the surrounding badlands of Tregevelt. As merchant ships sailed off to procure new routes, back home the supply of their goods was threatened by the desert raiders. Soon their routes dried up, and their promise of goods with them.
In Kalifa, the Sha'ddin tribes of Imran, Suod, Talal and Waddah worked together to circumvent the Spine and cross into Shterpeler. Though their focus was on food, and food alone, a lot of the over land traders feared to venture out for fear of assault - the movement of goods rendered a stand still in much of Makhennet.
Militias were raised across the region, the largest being in the Kingdom of Shterpeler. The raiders were soon cut off in hostile territory as militia blocked their escape. After a series of skirmishes, and losses from both sides, the militias relented, and allowed the raiders to escape.
All in all the raids were a failure, the Sha'ddin unable to steal away with more then a token amount of food, just enough to provide a few meals to their people, not to allow for any growth.
((The Tregeveltic Leagues merchant ships are called home after a series of raids. The Sha'ddin fail to acquire any meaningful quantities of food. Aggressive actions against players should be pm'd by thursday so a mini can follow, giving players a chance to respond.))
In Druma, the Braln Confederacy brokers a peace agreement with the Valkron. The Valkron had assaulted Kitlock, the prairie home of the Braln, stealing away with their cattle and laying siege to their capital, Ilchester, and threatening the city of Cennan. The Braln agreed to pay a tribute of food, mainly the cattle in which the beastfolk and undead terrors already managed to ensnare, allowing them to leave their lands peacefully.
The siege was abandoned following the agreement, and the Valkron rescinded into the night, the odd call of cows echoed long after before the peace of night settled. A force of nearly two thousand was mustered in haste to ensure the peace would be honoured, and to the surprise of the Braln, it was.
The peace agreement would prove costly for the Braln, for much of their abundant livestock was now gone. While they had enough food to ensure all were fed, that which was usually abundant now waned, and their trade would suffer.
((Braln lose their abundance of food until next spring. Valkron gain a block of food they may consume for population growth.))
In Rayatik, the Johou make adequate use of the coming rain season, gathering roots and hunting desert beasts for sustenance. The mood of the nomads, and their diverse followers, have been tense of late, with new ideas being injected into the following with the many newcomers that find their way into their ranks. Thus far the chiefs have managed to keep the peace, but the friction is ever present.
((Johou survive for another season, though tensions are being felt.))
In the Lhana Wastes, the Jin Confederations prepare for battle, rigorously training their warriors to hone their sword and bow craft. The drills are relentless and exhausting but undertaken with resolve. Who their intended target may be is hard to say, but some traders that brave the harsh desert say that the Suun are ill spoken upon the tongues of the centaurs.
((Jin Confederation trains for war, their battle skills honed for the season to come.))
Shallan's journey takes her far from home, to Seletan.
As peace talks between the Valkron and Braln were underway, the slave Shallan al-Masi exploited the chaos within the city streets. All the city was panicked over news of the approaching Valkron horde. Stout men were rallying others, taking to the walls, foreigners and merchants were stocking their ships and preparing to disembark, while mothers and wives filled all they could with water to battle fires from a possible siege.
Shallan slipped away from her owner's manse and made her way to the docks, enrobed from head to toe to hide her slave collar. Desperate to find a ship, Shallan promises jewels stolen from her masters, which one ship captain accepts. The journey is long and arduous, and though she payed a fine price to secure a place on the ship, she was treated as a slave.
Forced to perform labouring tasks, and confined to the ship's stores at night, her treatment was not much better then in her old home. Upon her journey she caught rumours of the world beyond. She learned that the ship was initially bound for Tedram, a mining city on the island of Seletan. There the crew learned that the Felnar Volcano threatened the isle's inhabitants, and even rumours that Granar had become active once again. Of course all this was bizarre and foreign to Shallan.
After learning of the impending doom, the captain decided to sail south, across the Fuming Sea, to Sidon, which took the remainder of the Spring. Shallan fearing she was now in the hands of a new master, was relieved to know the captain honoured his word, and released the slave within the city.
((Shallan makes good her escape, journeying to Sidon. The Crypso Gods frown upon @Dr.Livingstone, his islands in danger of being swallowed up by lava for inactivity.))
Another new arrival within Sidon is the mercenary Vulf the Ysling. It is a common saying in Ulsa that when in Porta do as the Portans do. Of course the saying is waning along with the Campestribus Empire. Be that as it may, Vulf takes to the merchant customs of the Sidonese, investing shares in the merchant vessel which transported him. The venture proves an astounding success, and a begrudging captain who was happy to take the mercenary's gold, now bulks at having to pay out his profit. It is not wise to run afoul of Vulf and he is soon paid his share of gold.
((Vulf the Ysling earns 5 gold.))
To the south, at the Okagweti Islands, word spreads of the fleet shipwrights labour over within the ports of the Ebudike Confederation. The region's lumber is exhausted as their supply is exceeded in order to fill the ambitious task of a new fleet built by next season. The effort is a minor success, but as the shipwrights are quick to point out, their lumber reserves can only accommodate so much. By the end of the season, ten addional ships were built.
((The Ebudike Confederation build a small fleet of 10 ships.))
The Holy Army of Dominator Raphaelus IX lays siege to Qeuceuni, the heretical hive of Administrator Goulad.
In the spring of the five hundredth year since the cataclysm, the paralyzing fear of a trauma five centuries in the making had taken a new turn. For many, the Blood Sky had been an ordained event, marking the end times when the destruction sewn in the past would finally come to finality. For others, it marked a new hope, a sign that fortune has turned for the beleaguered world, and the mourning of the past was at long last over. For the continent of Pangea Minos, it was an interesting mix of both these ideologies.
In the Far North, the lands dominated by the Macesiji, the peoples who long hold the Cataclysm to be a divine event, rejoiced at the prospect of a second cataclysm, and prepared to take a storied position in the end times. Dominator Raphaelus IX sought to raise an army of 10,000 to realize the divine ambitions of his people. From his capital in Tujikan, the ruler sent the call far and wide for warriors to gather to his banner. The summons proved ineffecitve. Many in the surrounding riverlands were preoccupied with gathering food in the wake of a harsh winter, and feared the consequences of leaving their hungry families behind. After a month of warriors slowly trickling into his city, Raphaelus grew impatient and marched out with half of the troops he had hoped to raise.
At the Djerik city of Qeuceuni, Dominator Raphaelus summoned Administrator Goulad, the ruler of Qeuceunit, to submit to his authority, in the name of the Diviner, the dejure ruler of the Dominion, and pledge 5000 troops to join his holy army. Goulad refused however, stating he would bow only to the Diviner, spurning the de-facto rule of Dominator Rapaelus. What followed was a siege to depose of the rule of Goulad. The dominator invoked the will of the Diviner, accusing Goulad of being of the taint that bests their holy leader. The people of Qeuceuni were split in their loyalties to the Diviner and Goulad, and much bloodshed followed. After a moon's turn, and many dead, Goulad was executed before Raphaelus and a loyal Macesij put in his place.
Spring was now fading fast, and the melt from the Highlands had engorged the Ithica and Yula Rivers, flooding the usual fords one might cross. Nevertheless, the aggression of the dominator incited a stern reaction from the administrators of Gergia and Kilika. With an army of three thousand, the forces of the alliance marched into the highlands to circumvent the flooded rivers and challenge the Dominator to meet them in battle.
Raphaeus brooded with anger in Qeuceuni, his army marred with resistance within the city, and only able to safely march forth with five thousand troops, lest he endanger his rear flank from uprisings. In the highlands a rebel army of three thousand challenged his authority, fewer in number, but with higher ground.
((Djerik Dominion raises 5k troops, a rebel army of 3k camps in the Steramew Highlands.))
In the lands of Wali-Dah, the spring broke in an uneasy peace, with goblin activity that infested the boglands and mountains seemingly quiet. As the weeks went on, and a new moon shimmered in the night, the hermitages of the Wali went on with life as usual, unguarded from the inactivity their goblin adversaries. In that time a startling explosion of raids and bloodshed marked the rest of the spring, the unfearing goblins trodding deep into Wali lands. The vermin were wise enough to avoid the strong fortifications of the Wali, mighty fortresses that surpassed all in the Pangeas, and instead targeted the fertile Sykim River Valley.
Dozens of farming villages were razed, their inhabitants fled or slaughtered. Militias were raised to combat the goblins, and some were driven back only to return in greater number, and ferocity. By spring's end, much of the valley was lost, along with the croplands the hermitages depended upon for sustenance.
((Noco has angered the Cryspo Gods ~ Goblin raiders have siezed a food resource, causing demand in food and a declining population.))
At the Gap of Lindor, throngs of Dwarves are spotted making the arduous journey from the Pelegins,
to the Malimadhm Mountains, looking for a new life in the wake of their destroyed home.
Along the southern border, Kharakrim dwarves emerged from the Pelegin Mountains, crossing the Gap of Lindor to reach the Malmadhms. Some ten thousands dwarves followed their homeless king, Khar Narroweye. For more then two moons they had traveled an exhaustive journey, made even longer by spring snows that paralyzed them within the Pelegins. Some had perished to snowcats, others to the dangers of the mountain pass, while a wave of flux took others. Yet the hardy dwarves marched on, though many envious of their kin that made for Cosmogne.
With their former home in ruins, the smoking pit that was once the proud city of Khartoba, the dwarves were resolved to forge a new home, and the resource rich mountains of Malimadhm seemed an appropriate place to start. Though their journey was hard, the dwarves were ill prepared for the aggressive goblins that waited for them. Raiding across the hermitages of Wali-Dah, the goblins looked greedily upon the Kharakrim caravans, attacking in the night, and stealing away with precious supplies. Nevertheless, the dwarves are a hardy folk, and they took such hardships admirably, even bloodying a few of the goblin raiders.
By spring's end, the Kharakrim had found a suitable mountain home south-east of the wali city of Shem.
((Khar Narroweye finds a suitable mountain within the Shem hermitage, yet the exhaustive journey leaves little time to begin building. 500 perish to goblin raids and the dangers of the road.))
In the Beskrajan Steppes, the Bloody Sky preludes a disaster that sweeps across the region in late spring. A pestilence of bloat flies fester after an unseasonable humid spring, creeping up from the Cruetia Marshes. The parasite lays it's eggs in the flesh of cattle, and before long the animal is riddles with worms that eat the hapless creature from the inside out - only to hatch and burst from the bloated dead creature in an unsightly swarm of more bloat flies. As a result, the many herds that graze along the steppes wither away, and the sheperds leave the steppes in droves, driven away by the flies and hoping to catch goats that breed within the Pelegins to replenish their lost herds.
((Alex has angered the Crypso Gods - The Iseul Theocracy loses their food abundance, and their population declines.))
In the Cosmogne Union, the human and dwarven alliance mourns their fallen leader, the esteemed High King Arngrim the Second. In his place, King Gudrun of Karaskand is named regent of the Union until a new high king is formerly elected. Fearing internal strife in the wake of Arngrim's death, Gudrun dispatches agents across the realm to monitor the activities of the Union's lords, in particular the untrustworthy and opportunistic. The increased watchfulness has an added benefit of a more secured border, a lucky thing given that in late spring a herd of pigs was stopped at Solnur pass. The herders were trying to escape the bloat-fly epidemic that swept across the Beskrajan Steppes. Upon careful inspection, it was discovered the pigs were indeed infected. The swine were killed and promptly burned, and the herders turned away.
Some of Gudrun's guards make the acquaintance of Richard Miller. While off duty, one of Gudrun's captains engages the odd human in a game of King, Queen and Bastards. The game seems to be going well for Gudrun's officer, until a string of bad hands and over confidence lands him out of a month's pay. Enraged, the captain accuses the man of cheating, and attempts to seize him. From some unknown corner, the captain and his men are beset by the gambler's loyal dogs, who engage the guards while Miller slips away. The dogs themselves were able to avoid the ropes and swords of the entire tavern and leave it in a ruined wreck as they barked and whined out the tavern door. Miller was not seen again, witnesses claiming they seen a man matching his description taking a ship out of Varches.
((King Gudrun maintains order in the Cosmogne Union, averting a bloat-fly epidemic. Richard Miller departs the Union, landing in Sidon.))
Bloodshed in the Viric forest continues throughout the spring. Chief Gnurl the Restorer carries on his campaign of genocide against the elves, killing every last one he comes across, hanging them from the trees in a grisly display. The Orc's hope is to burn the elves out of their capital, yet for all his efforts the site of the elven village escapes him. Instead, Gnurl is content with burning out various Elven glades and woods. The elves are not idle in the face of such wanton destruction.
Though their former commander is dead, the elves organize a series of raids along the front lines. Many are caught in the blaze set by the orc invaders, yet some manage to penetrate the fire lines and strike at the orc camps. The elves strike hard and fast, their objective seeming to be Gnurl himself, and the retrieval of their lost relic. The fighting is fierce, and keeps the orcs from their search of the elven capital. By spring's end five hundred more elves are dead, and Gnurl counts two hundred less Orcs among him.
((Gnurl sets the forest ablaze, but loses 200 orcs in raids - while the elves lose 500 in the fires.))
In the Cruetia Marshes, the Blood Sky is taken as a sign of Uvarathi's return to greatness. The Draconi people, eking out an existence in the harsh marshes, declare the intentions to unite the peoples of their former empire. Summons are sent out to their scattered remnants, attracting far flung Draconians, Serpkins, and Lizardmen to the banner of Zovarax the Lastborn. As well as amassing the shunned and exiled of his former empire, Zovarax also sent messengers to the Trolls of Bogda, offering crafts and promise of winning back their home in the Augustus Mountains. The Trolls were receptive, but not swayed by the offerings of the scale-skins. Nevertheless, the troll chieftain was able to sway 100 of his clan to fight for the Uvarathi.
((2000 join the Uvarathi, along with 100 trolls of the Bogda Clan.))
Lizardmen set their predatory gaze on Campestribus
In Campustribus, the empire is assaulted along it's border. The lizardmen of Cruetia marched along the Augustinus Mountains, and seeped into the passes toward the border regions of the human empire. 3000 in all, the finest fighters of the Razor Tail, Yellow Speckle, and Black Claw Clans. The warriors ascend the mountain passes and assault mining camps for their precious ore, hoping to gain resources to craft arms and armour. Fortunately for the Lizardmen, they attack an empire in disarray.
Following the Bloodsky, the Empire's doomsayers begin rising in influence, and the order of the empire begins to break down. The legions march out from Porta to establish control, but one by one, the governors of the imperial cities succumb to the power hungry, and the empire burns. Devolving into a fractured realm of warring city states, few troops are spared in order to combat the lizard-folk incursion, save for peasant militia that only manage to wound a few of the lizard-folk. The militia is soon driven out, and the mining camps seized by the lizardmen.
At the Aptor River, where the springs feed into it from the mountains, the Ridgeline and Blueback clans establish a colony in order to supply their newly conquered mining operations. Strips of soil along the river are tilled for farming and rudimentary huts are built. Iron is carted to the new colony for forging, but by spring;s end they are vulnerable. They lack the stone and wood to establish defenses, and the food to sustain a large population, however Iron weapons and armour begin churning out of their forges within the final days of spring.
((@Stingrex loses his region for inactivity, though welcome to continue on as a nomadic faction. The Campestribus Empire descends into a warring region of multiple city states.))
Sha'ddin Raiders cut deep into Shterpeler.
In Pangea Minos the early spring and early rain season was known for it's violence, the Blood Sky apparently an omen for blood to be spilled across the land. For the Tregeveltic League, they hoped to expand their merchant empire, forging new trade routes across the coasts of Minos. This effort was hindered by the subsequent raids carried out by the Sha'ddin Tribes.
The raiding parties reached deep into Shterpeler, crossing the Hurkabil Confederacy, Kingdom of Shterpeler, and even within the surrounding badlands of Tregevelt. As merchant ships sailed off to procure new routes, back home the supply of their goods was threatened by the desert raiders. Soon their routes dried up, and their promise of goods with them.
In Kalifa, the Sha'ddin tribes of Imran, Suod, Talal and Waddah worked together to circumvent the Spine and cross into Shterpeler. Though their focus was on food, and food alone, a lot of the over land traders feared to venture out for fear of assault - the movement of goods rendered a stand still in much of Makhennet.
Militias were raised across the region, the largest being in the Kingdom of Shterpeler. The raiders were soon cut off in hostile territory as militia blocked their escape. After a series of skirmishes, and losses from both sides, the militias relented, and allowed the raiders to escape.
All in all the raids were a failure, the Sha'ddin unable to steal away with more then a token amount of food, just enough to provide a few meals to their people, not to allow for any growth.
((The Tregeveltic Leagues merchant ships are called home after a series of raids. The Sha'ddin fail to acquire any meaningful quantities of food. Aggressive actions against players should be pm'd by thursday so a mini can follow, giving players a chance to respond.))
In Druma, the Braln Confederacy brokers a peace agreement with the Valkron. The Valkron had assaulted Kitlock, the prairie home of the Braln, stealing away with their cattle and laying siege to their capital, Ilchester, and threatening the city of Cennan. The Braln agreed to pay a tribute of food, mainly the cattle in which the beastfolk and undead terrors already managed to ensnare, allowing them to leave their lands peacefully.
The siege was abandoned following the agreement, and the Valkron rescinded into the night, the odd call of cows echoed long after before the peace of night settled. A force of nearly two thousand was mustered in haste to ensure the peace would be honoured, and to the surprise of the Braln, it was.
The peace agreement would prove costly for the Braln, for much of their abundant livestock was now gone. While they had enough food to ensure all were fed, that which was usually abundant now waned, and their trade would suffer.
((Braln lose their abundance of food until next spring. Valkron gain a block of food they may consume for population growth.))
In Rayatik, the Johou make adequate use of the coming rain season, gathering roots and hunting desert beasts for sustenance. The mood of the nomads, and their diverse followers, have been tense of late, with new ideas being injected into the following with the many newcomers that find their way into their ranks. Thus far the chiefs have managed to keep the peace, but the friction is ever present.
((Johou survive for another season, though tensions are being felt.))
In the Lhana Wastes, the Jin Confederations prepare for battle, rigorously training their warriors to hone their sword and bow craft. The drills are relentless and exhausting but undertaken with resolve. Who their intended target may be is hard to say, but some traders that brave the harsh desert say that the Suun are ill spoken upon the tongues of the centaurs.
((Jin Confederation trains for war, their battle skills honed for the season to come.))
Shallan's journey takes her far from home, to Seletan.
As peace talks between the Valkron and Braln were underway, the slave Shallan al-Masi exploited the chaos within the city streets. All the city was panicked over news of the approaching Valkron horde. Stout men were rallying others, taking to the walls, foreigners and merchants were stocking their ships and preparing to disembark, while mothers and wives filled all they could with water to battle fires from a possible siege.
Shallan slipped away from her owner's manse and made her way to the docks, enrobed from head to toe to hide her slave collar. Desperate to find a ship, Shallan promises jewels stolen from her masters, which one ship captain accepts. The journey is long and arduous, and though she payed a fine price to secure a place on the ship, she was treated as a slave.
Forced to perform labouring tasks, and confined to the ship's stores at night, her treatment was not much better then in her old home. Upon her journey she caught rumours of the world beyond. She learned that the ship was initially bound for Tedram, a mining city on the island of Seletan. There the crew learned that the Felnar Volcano threatened the isle's inhabitants, and even rumours that Granar had become active once again. Of course all this was bizarre and foreign to Shallan.
After learning of the impending doom, the captain decided to sail south, across the Fuming Sea, to Sidon, which took the remainder of the Spring. Shallan fearing she was now in the hands of a new master, was relieved to know the captain honoured his word, and released the slave within the city.
((Shallan makes good her escape, journeying to Sidon. The Crypso Gods frown upon @Dr.Livingstone, his islands in danger of being swallowed up by lava for inactivity.))
Another new arrival within Sidon is the mercenary Vulf the Ysling. It is a common saying in Ulsa that when in Porta do as the Portans do. Of course the saying is waning along with the Campestribus Empire. Be that as it may, Vulf takes to the merchant customs of the Sidonese, investing shares in the merchant vessel which transported him. The venture proves an astounding success, and a begrudging captain who was happy to take the mercenary's gold, now bulks at having to pay out his profit. It is not wise to run afoul of Vulf and he is soon paid his share of gold.
((Vulf the Ysling earns 5 gold.))
To the south, at the Okagweti Islands, word spreads of the fleet shipwrights labour over within the ports of the Ebudike Confederation. The region's lumber is exhausted as their supply is exceeded in order to fill the ambitious task of a new fleet built by next season. The effort is a minor success, but as the shipwrights are quick to point out, their lumber reserves can only accommodate so much. By the end of the season, ten addional ships were built.
((The Ebudike Confederation build a small fleet of 10 ships.))
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