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=='''Writefaggotry'''== ==='''Story of Jacob'''=== In the Kingdom of Yr, a dead man has started walking. Being one the few men to have survived getting cyberformed by the Iron Beasts, Jacob Thameswell fights against tanks, demons and traitors to liberate the citizens of Yr. Before the rebellion, Jacob worked along with his wife, Patricia in the Hammer It Hot steel mill. Here Jacob suffered a workplace accident where a boiler explosion launched a lever against the back of his skull. Miraculously, Jacob survived the injury with only "minor" brain damage, but had to have the rear end of his skull replaced with a metal prosthetic. During the Iron Beast Rebellion, Jacob, Patricia and many others where dragged kicking and screaming into the nearby hospital, where a heavily modified Autodoc would keep adding more and more cybernetic augmentations onto them until they were turned into a mechanical abomination which the Iron beasts call a "Meat-Based Combat Drone". These MBCD's are husks of their former human selves, thanks to an implant in the back of their brain known as a 'Thought Jammer'. Jacob's role as an MBCD was meant to be used as a 'Heavy Duty Dumb Labor Unit' where he would spent the rest of his life hauling heavy objects from one spot to another. But destiny had other plans for Jacob, You see, when the Autodoc finishes installing a Thought Jammer, it can't properly stitch the skull back together and has to resort to a metal prosthetic. The same prosthetic as Jacob's. So when his skull was introduced to the Autodoc it simply assumed he already had a Thought Jammer installed and shipped him of to the Hammer It Hot warehouse with his sapience still intact. Not to long after, he escaped his metal oppressors. ==='''The Ekranoplan'''=== The following text is derived from an advertisement from a popular Ercaenmedian newspaper named: The Bluejay. Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Ercaenmedi! We here at Kotwica Industries are proud to announce to you our nations newest innovation and fastest form of transportation! Introducing the Ekranoplan: Built from the retired Alkorian steam ship known as "Andrew" and several parts scrapped from some of those Belkan "airplanes," this ground-effect vehicle flies low above the water on a soft cushion of air, allowing comfort to all passengers onboard.* With the assistance of two contra-rotating propellers and four flettner rotors this beauty will bring you from Autia to Rinolsol in two days! Only having to refuel once at the Dach Coal Mining floating platform. Our mainland dock is located at Kotwica Bay, hurry up as tickets are running out! *Kotwica Industries is not responsible for any discomfort caused by Belkan soldiers attempting to steal the Ekranoplan and try to turn it into a superweapon. ==='''173 ANC Emerald Isles Expeditions'''=== [TOP SECRET] Belkan, Ercaenmedi, and Alkor, among others, have long been intrigued by the possibility of exploiting ancient Sartyrian artefacts for military use. In 173 ANC, the intelligence agencies of all three nations caught wind of a large complex of Sartyrian structures being discovered in the Emerald Isles by an expedition of explorers from Falconhead. Belkan Intelligence was the first to act on the news, and dispatched a "scientific expedition" of 87 soldiers, 23 air crew, 4 griffon riders, 13 scholars, and 9 support personnel to the island on board the armored zeppelin "Indomina". Much slower to catch wind of what was happening, unaware of the Belkan expedition, and not taking the discovery particularly seriously, Alkor and Ercaenmedi (allies at the time) assembled four small cargo zeppelins, and three messenger griffon riders, as well as 34 Alkorian marines, 12 airmen, 6 freelance adventurers, 8 Alkorian colonial bureaucrats with some scholarly knowledge, and an Ercaenmedi intelligence specialist. The force was assembled hastily from nearby Alkorian colonies, though the Ercaenmedian specialist was luckily just in the area. The Belkan expedition reached the island first, but an unexpected tropical storm caused the Indomina to crash just off the coast of the island, leading to the loss of half the expedition members, most of the gear and equipment, and all but one of their griffons. Even worse, the island contained many dangers, including quicksand, strangler vines, dinosaurs, massive insects, zombies, and sadistic demon worshipping natives. After losing half of their remaining members trying to carve their way through the jungle, the remaining members of the Belkan expedition fortified their beach camp, then relied on their remaining griffon to ferry key members of the expedition directly to the ruins. However, only 8 members of the Belkan expedition were ferried to the temple before the Alkorian expedition arrived. Outnumbered almost two to one, and possessing only a few functional muskets in addition to their melee weapons, the Belkans were swiftly defeated, with many of the kills attributed to the Ercaenmedian woman Naifi, who was skilled at both magic and melee combat. After interrogating the surviving Belkans at the beach camp, the Alkorians sent a single messenger, Jessie Young, on a griffon back to the nearest Alkorian colony to report on progress so far, and notify senior officials that the Belkans were taking the ruins unusually seriously. They then mounted back up in their zeppelins with the intent to fly over the jungle and land at the temple complex directly. Jessie Young's account of the two expeditions up to that point is our only reliable record of their fates. When a second much larger Alkorian expedition arrived on the island, the ruins had mysteriously disappeared, along with almost all traces of either expedition. The bodies of two Alkorian soldiers and a Spartician adventurer who died during the initial clash between the Belkans and the Alkorians were encountered in zombie form two days later deep in the jungle. However, the battle site itself and the Indomina had disappeared without a trace, not to mention the temple and the Alkorian force that reached it. It was only three years later that Belkan historian Emilia Gunther was rescued during a retaliation raid by Alkorian marines against hostile tribesmen on an island almost three hundred kilometers away. Initially believed to be a captured Alkorian colonist gone native, her accent gave her away as a former citizen of Belkan. By that time the 173 Expeditions were something of a legend among Alkorians stationed in the Emerald Isles, and her rescuers almost instantly jumped to the conclusion that she was in some way associated with the Belkan expedition. According to her rather farfetched and contradictory account, the 8 Belkans who reached the temple had split up into three groups, and she and a soldier named Hans never saw the other two groups again. She and Hans became lost in the tunnels and began to suffer from what is likely a series of hallucinations brought on by panic, during which Hans shot himself. Emilia later claims to have encountered an Ercaenmedian woman killing several Alkorians before fleeing the area. Emilia apparently wandered the tunnels for several more days before emerging back into the jungle and being captured by tribals. She was apparently unaware until being told so by her Alkorian rescuers that she ended up on an island several hundred kilometers away from where the temple complex disappeared from. Emilia disappeared without a trace two days after being rescued. Four subsequent expeditions to the island have turned up nothing, but each expedition was plagued by unexplained disappearances, unexpected bad weather, murders, and outbreaks of insanity. One of these expeditions disappeared completely. ==='''Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them'''=== The following are a series of excerpts from the book "Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them" by controversial but award winning author Magnolia Keeling. ====Excerpt from Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them, By Magnolia Keeling: Chapter 1: The One Where I Kill Ballsack and Sackball (Again)==== Napan, the country of my birth, is a beautiful nation of misty forests, breathtaking karst formations, and exotic architecture. Despite being close to the equator, the temperature is almost always pleasant, and the snow covered Yuki Mountains can be seen from almost anywhere on the island. Warfare is rare, the land is bountiful, and people have lots of spare time to nurture bonsai trees, go for hikes along trails crossing babbling brooks to visit pagodas with beautiful views, and other idle pastimes. In short, it is almost the perfect place to live. If it weren't for the fact that almost everyone who lives here are BEASTIALITY LOVING SEXUAL DEVIANTS No seriously, this place is weird. My mother is a minor Napanese noble, and my father is a merchant from Belkan. I had a fairly normal childhood all things considered up until my parents got separated. Apparently my mother was secretly part of the harem of a giant snake with two REALLY big swords in his scabbard, so to speak. And my dad had at some hooked up with a tortoise with more wrinkles than a gathering of ancient witches. It was around this time I decided to dedicate my life to killing things. For obvious reasons, I try to avoid coming to Napan as much as possible, but a great aunt twice removed had passed away and I was apparently in line to inherit something (which later turned out to be some trivial heirlooms which I left with my mum for safe keeping since they weren't even worth selling). I also wanted to see if I could get the chip on my sword fixed. Okamiokami's Edge is a masterpiece of Napanese blacksmithing. It is said that it is made by folding a piece of steel a thousand times so that it gets sharper with every use, enchanted with powerful magic that can disrupt magic and banish demons, and in the hands of one of pure heart can even cut through steel (probably false because it doesn't even cut through rock). At Fauruburesu's Dojo, where I learned the Art of the Blade, it was constantly drummed in to me how important it was to treat the sword with respect. Unfortunately in a world where firearms and destruction magic exist, even a really fancy sword isn't super useful. Aside from using it to kill or intimidate minor opponents not worth wasting gunpowder or magic on, I have found a wide range of alternate uses for the sword, including: - chopping firewood - shaving my legs when I can't find my razor - cane - dismembering bodies that might get me in trouble with the authorities - getting in bets over what it can and can't cut through (which is why it has a huge chip in it now) Like I said, the sword isn't super useful, but it helps contribute to my "stoic wandering swordswoman look" so it pays to keep it clean and in decent shape. Anyways, after a brief visit and argument with me mum, it was a two hour hike up the nearest mountain to get to Fauruburesu's Dojo. There, as per his custom, Fauruburesu insisted on greeting me in fox form rather than human form. I grudgingly let him lick my face (his breath smells like chocolate and "fish" as per usual) which his insists is how foxes normally greet each other. Sure it is. For all his faults though, Fauruburesu is actually a pretty good swordsman and blacksmith when he is in his humanoid form, and also has the inside scoop on all the best bounties. Despite his faux outrage, I managed to convince him to fix the sword at a reasonable rate, and prodded him on possible jobs while watching him work. It turns out that good ol' Ballsack and Sackball had been summoned by some idiot again, and were terrorizing nearby fishing villages. The bounty on them was decently high considering they aren't even that dangerous really. For those of you who don't know, Ballsack and Sackball are a pair of anthropomorphic raccoons with giant, erm, packages, who love harassing townsfolk in any community where someone is dumb enough to summon them. Some people consider them demons, other people consider them trickster spirits, I consider them an easy score, this will be by third time banishing those two nutters, they were in fact one of my earliest bounties when I was just starting out. Two days later, I find myself at the docks of Ōkina Ahiru, breaking up an argument between a giant geoduck and a drunken Alkorian foreign exchange student. No, seriously. Apparently the Alkorian though the geoduck was in cahoots with Ballsack and Sackball because he looks like, well you know what they look like. One key to the groin later, that particular conflict was resolved, and my new phallic friend was able to tell me all about Ballsack and Sackball current whereabouts. Well, I won't bore you with the details of what ended up being a dreadfully easy fight. Two days later, with a pair of giant, swinging trophies in tow, I entered the nearest magistrate's office, scored a sack of gold, and lived happily ever after. But not really, I was on a ship to Brazilistan the next day, money doesn't earn itself. ====Excerpt from Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them, By Magnolia Keeling: Chapter 5: The One Where I Hunt Succubi in Belkan (And Get This Book Labelled As A Porno In Your Local Book Store)==== I can say with 100% certainty that Belkans are the dumbest race on the planet. It is pretty much a given that they will either destroy the planet, or at least destroy themselves trying. In fact, I would rather admit to someone that my great grandmother on me mum's side was a giant magical carp, and I have an older half-sister who hasn't left her monkey animal shape for over a decade, then admit that I am somehow related to those jingoistic simpletons. [rest of chapter removed due to extreme lewdness] ====Excerpt from Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them, By Magnolia Keeling: Chapter 7: The One Where I Spend Two Weeks Hunting A Minor Demon I Accidently Summoned==== When I was twenty-three years old, still early in my monster hunting career, I found myself back in Hagarta, where I had learned many aspects of the demon hunting trade. For those of you who do not know, Hagarta is a lawless region of southern Gabaet. Mostly home to a scattering of peasant homesteads in the few areas flat enough to grow crops, its only noteworthy trait is that the lack of authority figures makes it an ideal place to experiment around with forms of magic some may consider... questionable. Although hunting demons is one of my main sources of income, it doesn't hurt to understand the basics of how the are summoned and controlled. After leaving Napan in my youth, I spent several years in Hagarta, learning the basics of demon binding and blood magic from a harpy named Scrrrin. Scrrrin was something of a Renaissance woman, harpy, whatever. She was knowledgeable of many forms of magic, and among other tricks, was the one who taught me how to enchant the shot in my blunderbuss pistol to pierce the flesh of demons and other supernatural critters. It had been several years since I visited Scrrrin, so I took the opportunity to make a detour to her place on my way to scope out potential work in Falconhead. While there, Scrrrin offered me a rather generous bounty on a local group of witches who had summoned a minor demon of Deadicorn known as Glitter-Shaft. For those of you who don't know, Deadicorn is a powerful demon associated with horses, sexual prowess, and senseless destruction. He grants his followers the ability to blast enemies with agony inducing blasts of rainbow light, raise the dead as horrifically durable zombies, transform people into weird hybrids of man and horse, or some combination of the above. [section of chapter removed to due extreme lewdness] Well, after having saved the world again, you can thank me later by the way, I still had to hunt down that Gluttony Demon I accidently helped summon. Using my excellent investigative skills, I deduced that it would be heading to the Royal Pumpkin Carving Contest in Falconburg set to occur in two days. Scrrrin gave me a lift (literally) to the nearest trainstation in Gabaet. For those of you who don't know, the inhabitants of Gabaet are a bit of a strange folk. They love their - Trains - Big fluffy hats (be careful what hat you where in Gabeat, most of them have hidden meanings, usually related to sexual availability, same goes for Westphallica and Falconhead) - Ravens - Trains - Tea (the weirdos sitting with me on the train spend at least thirty minutes lifting their tea bags up and down in their cups) Anyways, when I arrived at the town of Falconburg, the pumpkin carving was well underway... [section of chapter removed due to extreme grossness] And that is how I ended up with two gallons of pumpkin mash, offal, and feces vomited down my top. ====Excerpt from Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them, By Magnolia Keeling: Chapter 14: The One Where I Finish That Bitch Victoria==== Like all great heroines, I had a rival, several actually, but this one was the most annoying. Lady Victoria Swann of the Eastwood Swanns was the heir of a minor Alkorian noble family (one of the newer ones, which is why she doesn't look like the offspring of a hairless pug and a featherless ostrich). She was a treasure hunter, monster slayer, bounty hunter, mercenary, celebrity writer, and occasional operative for Alkorian Intelligence, Order of the Black Hourglass, Alkor Demonology Museum, Alkorian Research Council on the Occult, The Royal Privy Council, and/or the Church of Shomdar. So basically just like me except with significantly more resources at her disposal, and willing to sometimes work for her government at discount rates. Also, she was six years older than me, so everyone assumed she was my role model. Which was extremely annoying. Also annoying was the fact that: - She was a massive prude, and strongly disapproved of my choice of attire, even when (especially when) we found ourselves in situations where she herself had to lose a few layers of clothes, like in Chapter 5 where we had to slip into an orgy den via some poorly maintained steam tunnels, or Chapter 12 where we spent a week travelling through the jungles of Nantel. I imagine this is why we came up with similar plans for disposing of each other in this Chapter. - In her own memoirs, released before mine, she refers to me as a slut, whore, harlot, etc. at least once in every paragraph in which I am mentioned, about (exactly) 1,487 times in her book in fact. - She is a backstabbing cunt (see Chapters 5, 7, 8, 11, and 12). But she crossed a line in Nantel when she stomped my fingers when I was dangling over that precipice. Stupid urn wasn't even worth that much money. - She solved most of her problems with money, hired muscle, or calling in government favors. Why steal good contracts from hardworking individuals like myself when you don't even breakeven most of the time? And yes, I am aware I have already described extensively how much I didn't like her in several other Chapters. Sue me. Besides, I am pretty sure half of you will skip straight to this Chapter anyways, assuming you didn't stop to "enjoy" Chapter 5 for a while first. Anyways, so needless to say it was a bit strange that I found myself sipping tea at her mansion in Alkor. She had sent me a letter several weeks earlier asking for my help in dealing with a mutual problem in Central Lapus. Which is of course a reference to that time we teamed up to steal a shit ton of gold from a certain Lepre Khan warlord named McMiddis (see Chapter 8). I, of course, had also received a letter from McMiddis, so I was fairly confident I knew what both of them were up to, but I will admit, it was a bit nerve-wracking entering her lair. Who knows, she had been smarter, she probably could have arranged for me to be petrified or transmuted then and there. But she always liked convoluted plots, and was probably too much of a prude to have a naked statue in her house anyways, even temporarily. In order to save time, we agreed to take a magic portal to Lindgrub. The portal mage was a reliable, if extremely expensive fellow, far beyond my normal budget for travel expenses, but Victoria was paying, so why not. Victoria knew another mage in Lindgrub who could get word to the portal mage when we were ready to come back. Lindgrub is a rather desolate nation of rocky foothills and grasslands on the eastern coast of Lapus. A former Alkorian colony, it rebelled with the help of the Lepre Khans, and has been independant ever since. The locals have close ties with the Lepre Khans, including some cross-breeding, which probably accounts for their short height, annoying accents, and whimsical nature. Much like my kinfolk in Napan, or those in Hoogivs, Falconhead, Hagarta, the Tavern Woods, and other places where ties between the spirit world and this world are strong, folk tend to get a bit strange. The inhabitants of Lindgrubish town of Potato Creek, where the portal mage dropped us off, are an irritating bunch, never really seem to talk about anything other than potatoes and that poorly fermented beer they like. No idea why they never learned how to make decent potato vodka like my mentors in Hagarta. They don't like Alkorians though, so they aren't that bad. It was fun listening to Victoria put on a fake Union accent when dealing with the locals while trying to make contact with the mage who would send the message to the portal mage to come pick us up for the return trip. From there, the portal mage brought us as close as he could get to McMiddis's fortress without the fey nature of the area messing with his magic. I didn't mind walking the rest of the way though, the Lepre Khan Hills are impressive in their windswept emptiness, just endless hills with the occasional ruin or creek to mix things up. It reminded me a bit of the Hagarta valleys. Depending on your viewpoint on these things, Lepre Khans (also known as Leprechauns, Lepres, etc.) are either spirit folk or fey. Strange, mischievous folk, they are mostly found in the central mountains of the continent of Lapus, but can show up anywhere where the boundaries between worlds is thin. Like most fey, they have an odd form of magic unique to their race that makes sense only to them. Most of them are fairly weak magic users, but some are frightfully powerful. Among their tricks are enchantments (particularly persistent illusions and behavior alteration, but sometimes mind controlling geas), the ability to make items disappear and reappear, and most importantly, the ability to conjure up gold coins from nowhere. You never know how things will go when you encounter lepre khans, one day one may give you an extremely generous amount of gold to see your "ladies" or borrow a sheep for "reasons", the next day, one will make your clothes disappear, and cause all your farm animals to suddenly become extremely amorous. Note, lepre khans are extremely greedy despite how easily many can conjure up gold coins, and any coins they give you will probably disappear after a few days, as they were either illusions, or got stolen back. McMiddis is a eccentric even by fey standards. Despite being highly proficient in both conjuring gold and turning pretty much any object into gold, he is obsessed with acquiring as much gold as possible. Beneath the ruined castle in which he makes his home, a massive gold mine is worked by slaves under the power of various geas. Probably a fetish thing. Definitely a fetish thing is his love of turning attractive young women into statues of pure gold. He claims all of them are thieves, but I doubt there is that many attractive thieves in this corner of the world (myself and Victoria excluded obviously). Probably just slaves that he got bored with. In theory, my agreement with Victoria was to team up and kill McMiddis. As much as I hate to admit it, Victoria was a capable combatant, and the two of us shot, stabbed, and burned our way through the token resistance in the castle as we headed to the throne room (luckily Victoria didn't notice I wasn't carrying any of my usual combat gear, and was using cheap replacements instead). McMiddis is an immensely powerful magic user, and I am sure fully intended to take care of us himself, but appearances had to be maintained apparently. Maybe by forcing us to kill some of his servants, and by providing us with plenty of opportunities to help ourselves to some of the endless piles of gold coins and trinkets that covered every flat surface, including the floor in most places, he could add a bit to his own reputation when he stopped us himself. Sure enough, we eventually ended up in McMiddis's throne room, where McMiddis sat in the middle of a large room filled with massive piles of treasure. Such was his love of gold, that he had even started replacing parts of his own body with gold (not sure about his schlong, but won't be surprised). First McMiddis used his magic to create gates of pure gold across all doors and windows. Then he called some of his inner circle to come out of their hiding places to witness his genius. Then came the long winded monologue where McMiddis laid out his cunning plan, and myself and Victoria pretended to be surprised, and McMiddis pretended not to notice us pretending. And then things got interesting... First McMiddis hit us with a powerful wave of magic that caused all visible objects on our persons to disappear. Then a second wave to remove any remaining objects and clothing. I had expected this, but managed to pretend to be suitably cowed. Victoria was genuinely upset though, prude that she was. Her plan had relied on some extremely expensive runes of protection woven into her clothing protecting her from McMiddis's magic. Unfortunately for her, the runes didn't work quite as well as expected since I had managed to slip a small but powerful disruption rune into one of her pockets during the confusion of one of the earlier skirmishes. As I had hoped, as the third wave of magic hit, the one that was supposed to turn us both into gold statues, Victoria panicked and tried to pointlessly preserve her modesty, while I adopted a bold stance, and made a rude gesture. In case things didn't work out, I wanted my statue to at least look suitably awesome. But I didn't get turned, though as planned, Victoria did. Step 1 = Complete. Gloating would have to wait though, in her case at least. I gleefully informed McMiddis that the reason his magic didn't work is because we were related, so his magic couldn't directly harm me as per the strange rules of Lepre Khan magic. I did a bit of research into my family tree, and it turns out McMiddis is my great grandfather, and at some point in his youth, slept with my great grandmother (the giant magic carp). Fish, even magic spirit animal fish, have lots of eggs, so I have a lot of relatives on that side of the family I don't know about. It was in fact for this reason I targeted McMiddis's fortress for theft all those years ago, though at the time I had been unwilling to try going toe to toe with McMiddis himself. Anyways, McMiddis got hopping mad (literally), and gave a long winded rant about how my great grandmother lied about using contraceptives. Or at least that is what I thought he said. Something about "lion 'arlot" and "said she pud a pod on 'er potaters" and "taw-zines of wee liddle taters". At some point though he realized this restriction doesn't apply to any henchmen not related to him, so ordered some lepre-khans to kill me while I was standing around empty handed in my birthday suit. So step two of my plan involved exploiting the other big blind spot in lepre-khan magic, its inability to harm servants of Deadicorn. Apparently Deadicorn has some ancient ties to the lepre-khan race, something about rainbows and pots of gold. I wasn't really able to understand it despite weeks of research, but basically not only can't they harm servants of Deadicorn, but their magic doesn't work nearby such servants. Mindful of the fact I am in the presence of a (distant) family member, I turn sideways, then [CENSORED FOR LEWDNESS]. I quickly activate the runes on the still damp unicorn statuette, summoning a unicorn, one of the feared servants of Deadicorn. I then hop on it, and blast my way out of the castle with its flaming breath and incinerating rainbow blasts of jizz, grabbing a large sack of gold on the way out. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring Victoria's statue with me at the time, though I did retrieve it decades later (see Chapter 34), and converted it into a water fountain at my Westphallica villa for several years before events intervened. Likewise, though I probably could have had the unicorn kill McMiddis, Napanese culture frowns on kin-slaying, and besides, someone needed to keep an eye on Victoria's statue until I found the time to retrieve it. He tried to assassinate me several times after that, but we eventually became great friends. After much bloodshed, I left the Lepre-Khan Mountains, and made my way to Potato Creek with a stolen potato cart, and some stolen clothes (made of poorly processed wool infested with fleas, not recommended for sensitive skin). This is where step three of the plan comes into play. I summoned a succubus "friend" (bound captive really, it was Nala from back in Chapter 5). I had Nala transform into Victoria, made contact with Victoria's mage friend to get the portal mage to come pick us up (luckily Victoria paid the return trip in advance), then with "Victoria"'s assistance, I smuggled out a ton of high value goods out of Victoria's mansion, including several pieces she stole from me on past adventures. Then I had "Victoria" [CENSORED FOR EXTREME LEWDNESS] and [CENSORED FOR EXTREME LEWDNESS] for several days, then [CENSORED FOR EXTREME LEWDNESS] which resulted in her family quietly sending her to an asylum, from which she of course escaped and was never seen again. This kept her buddies in the Alkorian government from figuring out what happened to her for many years, and by the time they worked it out, no one really cared anymore. Long story short, I defeated a rival, humbled a powerful relative, and acquired a great deal of wealth, not bad for a three day adventure. ==='''First Battle of Poole Harbour'''=== Location: Poole Harbour is a small subtropical island almost a thousand kilometers south of Eritroans, dangerously close to the forbidden continent of Ignis. Several decades ago, the Alkorian Empire established a naval base there to support their ongoing efforts to colonize the Emerald Isles, as well as support discrete investigations to the continent of Ignis. Although they were capable of resupplying the island themselves, its main advantage was that it could be supplied by neutral or allied nations along the west coast of Autia, particularly Ercaenmedi and Aesanaeria. The principle community on the island was the harbor town, also known as Poole Harbour. The hills surrounding the town had been cleared as pasture land, but much of the rest of the island was dense jungle and large rock formations. Several communities of harpies lived in cave networks in some of the larger rock outcrops. In addition to military personnel, about 2,000 civilians lived in the town, working as laborers, bureaucrats, fishermen, and shepherds. The number of harpies is unknown but estimated in the hundreds. Background: Although the Belkor War ended in a stalemate, it heightened tensions between Belkan and Alkor, as well as solidified the alliance between Belkan and the Soukos Republic. Eager to put the new alliance to the test, military leaders in Belkan and Soukos came up with a plan which would involve forming a task force from the Soukos Omega Fleet, several elite land units, and the Belkan Third Air Fleet (still in Soukos after the war). The task force would head west before looping back south in order to bypass the naval patrols of Alkor and her allies along the western coast of Autia. Forces: Attackers: 8 Soukan War Galleys 6 Soukan Transport Vessels 4000 Soukan Sailors (no armor, equipped with gladius and javelins) 400 Elite Hoplites (heavy armor, spears, gladius, and shields) 550 Soukan Amazons (light armor, gladius, shields, short bow) 50 Satyr Skirmishers (mixed equipment) 3 Belkan Carrier Zeppelins 6 Combat Zepplins 30 Griffons 500 Air Crew (light armor, pistols, assorted one-handed melee weapons) 500 Belkan Aerial Marines (light armor with blunderbuss and assorted one-handed melee weapons) 500 Belkan Regular Infantry (medium armor with rifles and assorted one-handed melee weapons) 500 Belkan Shock-Halberdiers (heavy armor, shock halberd Defenders: Assorted naval and anti-air cannons 12 Griffons, 3 small Zeppelins (recon and courier) 500 Alkorian Marines (no armor, rifles) 500 Colonial Auxiliaries (Bridge Tribesmen, no armor, assorted melee weapons and bows) 50 Elite Ercaemedian Skirmishers (mercenaries awaiting deployment to the Fantal Islands, assorted weaponry and magical abilities) 30 Brass Knights (Day 3 onwards) 80 Privateers (Day 3 onwards) 40 Horsemen (Day 3 onwards) 3 Unravelers (Day 3 onwards) Kujira No Seieki (Napanese Elder Dragon, Day 3 only) Sartyrians (Day 7 onwards) Large number Day 1 - Siege/Retreat Thanks to their risky strategy of crossing the open ocean, the Soukos-Belkan task force was able to attack Poole Harbor largely unexpected. Unfortunately for them, the Alkorian fleet they wanted to ambush had left over a week ago. Unwilling to abandon the element of surprise, the task force leaders decided to raze the town instead. Although not a major port, Poole Harbor was still had extensive defenses, and the initial battle lasted several hours as Combat Zeppelins, Griffons, and War Galleys gradually wore down the gun emplacements so that firebombs could be safely dropped on the town proper. Guessing the Belkan's strategy, the commander of Poole Harbour ordered the evacuation of the town, including most of the defenders aside from those manning the gun emplacements. Although most of those manning the guns died at their posts, the heavily fortified nature of the defenses and potent fire power allowed them to destroy 3 Combat Zeppelins, 6 War Galleys, as well as down 8 Griffons. Outraged by the heavy losses for minor gain, Belkan political attaché Lord Wagner ordered the execution of the three highest ranked Belkan officers and ignored the sensible advice of Soukos Admiral Aetos to leave prior to the arrival of an incoming storm. Night 1 - Panic/Intrigue An unexpectedly powerful storm sweeps over the island as the leadership of the Belkan-Soukos force continues to bicker, and 6000 odd soldiers and sailors try their best to take shelter in the remains of the town. Meanwhile, out in the jungle, the Alkorians and their allies plot. Commander Tweedle accepts a strategy devised by the Ercaenmedians Kyun and Neugdae (a necromancer and a ninja respectively) as well as Bridge Tribe witch doctor Hai. The necromancers were able to summon spirits of deceased soldiers, and aided by the curses and hallucinations of the witch doctors, and the mind controlling abilities of the Ercaenmedian enchantress Nolae, were able to cause mass panic among the Belkan-Soukos force. At the same time, Neugdae and his fellow ninja managed to destroy several zeppelin and ships with magic explosives. His greatest success of the night was detonating the magazine of the Carrier Zeppelin Fortitude while it was still being unloaded. Much to the fury of Admiral Aetos, Wagner, and his senior Storm Mage Heinrich proclaimed that the storm was a sign that Ace wants them to remain on the island. During a brawl, Heinrich incinerates Aetos and several others with lightning. Hoplite Champion Drakos (a political rival of Aetos) declares Aetos a coward and traitor, and became the de facto Soukos leader with help from the Belkans. Amazon Princess Antiope, Senior Captain Karisa, and Satyr Mystic Ocnus grudgingly accept this, though Ocnus makes an oblique reference to foreseeing doom. Between the storm, sabotage, and infighting, the Belkan-Soukos force loses nearly a thousand men, all ships save a war galley and two transports, and one of their carrier zeppelins. However, more importantly, several water supplies are spiked with subtle concoctions brewed by the witch doctors, and perhaps most importantly of all, Kyun is able to bind the spirit of Aetos, providing a huge advantage in terms of intelligence. Day 2 - Harassment/Consolidation/Rescue Relatively little combat happened on the second day, as both sides grappled with the fact that they were now trapped on the island. There were several clashes between scouts and light skirmishers, but the elite skirmishers of the Belkan-Soukos force, the satyrs, have lost their will to fight thanks to the prophecies of Ocnus. Instead they capture several dozen Alkorian civilians, hijack one of the remaining Soukos transports, and flee the island to seek sanctuary in Afrozil. Against the advice of his scouts and foreign advisors, Tweedle consolidates most of his forces in an abandoned fishing village on the far side of the island from the main town. He uses his mages and remaining griffons to send word of the attack to a number of allies in the region. He is able to convince a nearby Brazilistan cargo ship to sell them much needed supplies and evacuate 400 women, children, and elderly civilians, but further reinforcements aren't expected until the next day. Meanwhile, Wagner and Heinrich carry out a purge of "traitors and doubters" many of them in fact suffering from the effects of hallucinogens and mild poisons slipped into their water during the night before. The Belkan-Soukos army is also forced to come to terms with the fact that fighting in armor is almost impossible in the humid, rocky jungles, particularly after the storm. Night 2 - Massacre Unable to rely upon armored infantry tactics, Wagner and Heinrich instead default to good old fashion air power, storm magic, and high explosives. The remaining airships are packed with aerial marines, firebombs, and storm mages, and sent to raid the main Alkorian camp at the old village. Showing definite signs of megalomania by this point (a hereditary trait that shows up occasionally in his family), Wagner callously has most of his marines drop into the village with help from their trademark rappelling balloons, before destroying the village from above with firebombs and storm magic while his men were still fighting in it. About 600 Alkorian and allied soldiers, and 1000 civilians (many admittedly armed by this point) are killed for the price of 400 marines. Day 3 - New Arrivals/Retaliation The first of the Alkorian reinforcements arrives with a bang. The massive Napanese dragon Kujira No Seieki (an old friend of Kyun's) seemingly arrives from nowhere, and does several strafing runs on the Belkan-Soukos army camping in the ruins of Poole Harbor, before being driven off by a kamikaze griffon rider with a casket of gunpowder. He destroys the remaining zeppelins, griffons, badly damages the remaining ships, destroys almost all the remaining supply stockpiles, and kills nearly three hundred soldiers. Next are a trio of powerful Unravelers who arrive by unknown means for unknown reasons. Powerful spells are unleashed on the Belkan-Soukos army for the next two hours. Hoplite Champion Drakos is transformed into a Horseman and kills 30 of his own men before being brought down, demoralized, his men hijack one of the remaining ships, but it sinks an hour later due to fire damage from Kujira, and all hands are lost. The other ship is commandeered by Karisa to flee the battle as well. It is captured by Afrozil privateers two days later. Karisa is ransomed back to her family who later throw her down a well due to the shame she has caused them. In a titanic battle of magic, Heinrich kills one of the Unravelers, causing the other two to flee. The final group of reinforcements are a band of Brass Knights who arrive by catamaran and simply join the Alkorian force rather than attack the Belkan-Soukos directly. Emboldened by the reinforcements and Belkan-Soukos losses, the remaining Alkorians launch an aggressive raid but are driven off by the Belkan-Soukos force, who still possess superior numbers. With barely 500 soldiers left, many very elite, but many others nothing but armed civilians, the Alkorians retreat back to the jungle. Down to 3000 men, badly demoralized, and unaware of the limited strength of their opponents, the Belkan-Soukos force hunkers down for the night under the uneasy alliance of Wagner, Heinrich, and Amazon leader Antiope. Night 3 - Parting of Ways That night, the leaders of both the Alkorian and Belkan armies found their positions challenged. In the Alkorian camp, Alkorian Commander Tweedle was under pressure from the Ercaenmedians, Brass Knights, and Bridge Tribers to continue an aggressive strategy, while several of his own senior officers plus a few leading civilians believed that now that Belkan air power had been destroyed, it was safe to hunker down in the hills and wait for further reinforcements. In the end, Tweedle took about 300 soldiers (mostly former civilians) and when to hide in the hills, where a junior officer from Hagarta had managed to establish friendly relations with the local harpy clans. The remaining 200 soldiers, a mix of Brass Knights, Ercaenmedians, Bridge Tribers, and a surprising number of Alkorian Marines, spread out to lay siege to the remains of Poole Harbor. An unstable triumvirate of Ercaenmedian Necromancer Kyun, Brass Knight Commander Lord Duba, and Witch Doctor Hai. In the Belkan-Soukos camp, things are even worse. Evidence has come to light that Wagner is secretly a demon worshipper manipulating the course of the battle to advance a hidden agenda. Already unpopular due to his purges and wasteful tactics, he is locked up on the orders of Antiope and Heinrich. In return for his support, Antiope permits Heinrich to lead a small expedition to one of the Sartyrian ruins on the island, where he claims he can unlock an artefact of great power. The Ercaenmedians and Bridge Tribers carry out harassment tactics throughout the night, much like they did on the first night. Day 4 - Orchestra of Death / Duels / Victory Denied In the early hours of the fourth day, Lord Duba proclaimed the need for another assault on the Belkan-Soukos camp, as he was sensing the use of increasingly powerful daemonic magic from the camp in the name of Gogotha, a rival of his own demonic overlord, the Brass Lord. Despite their significantly reduced numbers from the day before, Lord Duba convinced the others this attack was more likely to succeed thanks to the large numbers of Belkan and Soukan soldiers incapacitated by Bridge Triber poisons and curses, as well as the a promise that the Brass Knights would unleash their full power this time. Surprisingly, the attack almost did work. Only about a 1000 Belkan and Soukan soldiers were able to mobilize for battle, the rest suffering from illness, chronic fatigue, depression, hallucinations, and other effects of Bridge Triber curses and poisons. The Brass Knights unleashed the full power of their sonic weapons; thunderous booms shattered rock and splattered soldiers, shrill screeches shattered minds and burst eyeballs, and warbling tremors liquified guts and emptied stomachs. Tendrils of pure darkness weaved through the battlefield, thrashing, binding, and crushing. Worse of all was the indestructible Lord Duba himself, who strode through the battle crushing all in his path, seemingly immune to even the power shock halberds. Gunpowder and arrows were in short supply by this point, and fighting degenerated into a brutal melee, with the Belkan and Soukan force eventually driving off the opposition with sheer numbers. Hoping to boast the morale of her soldiers, Antiope issued a challenge to that she would fight anyone who dared to in a one-on-one duel. Over the course of the next hour she defeated Boxing Champion Ian Murphy, Chain Sword Mistress Victoria Aki, and Hook Fighter Red Scar Kahananui. Worried about the moral of his own forces, Lord Duba challenges Antiope himself. The duel lasts nearly 10 heartstopping minutes, but eventually Antiope is able to wear Duba down with multiple stab wounds from her powerfully enchanted spear. However, unwilling to allow the Soukans this important symbolic victory, sharpshooter Alex Hawthorne uses one of the latest functional firearms on the island to shoot her in the knee from 100 yards. Meanwhile, the forces commanded by Tweedle and Heinrich slog through the jungle to their respective destinations. Night 4 - Long Knives At the ruins of Poole Harbour, the Ercaenmedians step up their harassment tactics. Necromancer Kyun has the spirit of Admiral Aetos possess the second in command of the Amazons, Androdameia, and assassinates Antiope while she is recovering from her injury. Androdameia-Aetos then blames "Belkan demon worshippers", leading to a brief fight between the Belkan and Soukan soldiers. Wagner and his inner circle are executed, and Androdameia-Aetos forms a new leadership council consisting of herself, senior Amazon Maia, Storm Mage Sofia Muller, and dashing Captain Hans Kruger (her lover since early in the campaign). However, having decided that he had secured his revenge against Wagner, Aetos instead breaks free of his bonds and possesses his former master Youra Kyun. Meanwhile, back at the siege camp, fighting breaks out among the surviving Brass Knights, Ercaenmedians, Marines, and Bridge Tribers. Several groups want to rejoin Tweedle's camp, but others want to stay to disrupt the alleged daemonic ritual. Adding to the confusion, Youra Kyun (possessed by Aetos) urges everyone to join her in investigating an old ruin (at the time simply a ploy to form a third faction and encourage bloodshed). After several deaths, the camp splits into three groups. A handful of Alkorians and Ercaenmedians under Ian Murphy leave to rejoin Tweedle, Kyun-Aetos leaves with 7 soldiers, mostly Ercaenmedians, to investigate the ruins, and about 40 soldiers, mostly Brass Knights, stay to find a way to disrupt the demon worshipper's plans. Heinrich's group is the least fortunate. As most of them slept, one of the Unravelers returns seeking revenge on Heinrich for killing his master. Most of the group is either zombified or turned into horsemen, or both, but Heinrich (in zombie-horseman form) retains enough will power to brutally kill the Unraveler. The sole survivor is the Amazon Phoebe, who records the events in her journal, but dies sometime afterwards slipping on wet rock. Her journal is recovered by harpies, who later trade it with the Alkorians, providing our only record of the fate of Albrecht Heinrich, one of the most notable Storm Mages of his generation. In contrast to the infighting of the other groups, Tweedle establishes peaceful relations with the local harpy clan. Day 5 - Evacuation / Ritual / Failure At the ruins of Poole Harbour, Androdameia (who wisely never mentions she was possessed, or was responsible for Antiope's death) splits her forces up. About a thousand (mostly wounded or incapacitated) stay at the camp under the supervision of senior Amazon Maia, while 200 soldiers under the command of Storm Mage Sofia Muller investigate the site of the Second Night Massacre for supplies. The remaining 1300 form up under the command of herself and Captain Hans Kruger to assault Tweedle's camp, which had been spotted by an airborne Storm Mage scout. Tweedle had managed to make contact with the Afrozil privateer Queen Sonia, and arrange for the evacuation of his remaining forces. However, they find themselves cut off from the beach by Androdameia's much larger force, and come up with the highly unusual plan of using harpies to carry his followers to the ship one man at a time. Lacking any ranged weapons by this point, Androdameia orders her forces to scale the cliff to the plateau on which Tweedle made his camp, with assistance from her three remaining Storm Mages, who were capable of both flight and using wind magic to lift others over tricky areas. Unfortunately, this plan falls apart when Hoshi Kagayakia, a powerful Ercaenmedian witch mounted on a flying broom who was part of Ian Murphy's group, joins the battle part way through. She blasts the three Storm Mages to pieces in a vicious aerial duel, then starts picking off the Belkan and Soukan soldiers trying to scale the cliff. She is aided by some of the harpies, who capture some of the soldiers, and knock others to their deaths. Tweedle is able to safely evacuate all his forces and leave the island, while Androdameia can only scream in frustration as her quarry escapes and her best soldiers fall to their deaths. The fate of Sofia Muller's group is shrouded in mystery. A strange formation of alternating crispy black and withered white bodies is spotted in a clearing by Hoshi as she does one last fly-over of the island looking for Kyun's group. An ominous red glow is seen coming from part of the island at dusk by those leaving the island by ship. A succubus resembling Sofia Muller along with several thralls is encountered by Kyun's group two days later. Night 5 - Things That Go Bump In The Dark By this point only a few groups remained on the island (aside from the indigenous harpies and the prisoners they took). The survivors of Androdameia's force are believed to have set out for Poole Harbour at dusk, following their defeat at the cliffs. Around a 1000 soldiers under Maia squabble among themselves at Poole Harbour over the few remaining supplies. Sofia's group was likely "harvested" around dusk, along with the Brass Knights who tried to stop them, though several thralls who were likely recruited from these groups are later encountered fighting alongside Succubus-Sofia. Finally, Kyun's group was lost in the jungle and never joined the evacuation, unlike Ian's group who made it just in time. According to survivors from Kyun and Maia's groups, Androdameia's force encountered something, likely one of more summoned demons, around 2:00 am. Screams could be heard for the next two hours, but no trace of Androdameia's force is ever seen again. At Poole Harbour, mass panic occurs, and nearly half of Maia's group either disappear into the jungle, or drowns trying to swim out into the ocean, yet those who stay in the ruins of the town never lay eyes on their tormentors. Kyun's group, largely made of hardened mercenaries and adventurers, keep their cool and lie low in a small cave network for the night. Day 6 - Stranded Very little happens on this day. Morale has completely collapsed at Poole Harbour. Maia's surviving soldiers spend the day virtually paralyzed with fear assuming whatever destroyed Androdameia's force would come for them, but it never did. Kyun's group faired better. Enchantress-Singer Nolae Supasuta does an impromptu live performance of her three best hits, which not only raised everyone's moral, but also inadvertently banished Aetos's hold on Kyun. Realising they have been deceived, the Encaenmedians resolve to join Tweedle's group, but after several hours of searching, they encounter a friendly harpy, who informs them that Tweedle had evacuated the island. Realizing they are now stranded on an island filled with enemies, Kyun comes up with the desperate plan to send several bound spirits to find the ships Tweedle's followers boarded, in hopes that they could communicate with fellow necromancer Awai, who they (correctly) believed to be aboard the evacuation ship. Succubus-Sofia's group is also on the island, but their activities on this day are unknown. Night 6 - Anticipation Maia's soldiers continue to be paralyzed with fear, and Sofia's group's activities continue to be a mystery. Kyun's gambit pays off and Awai sends back a spirit with instructions to enter the Sartyrian ruins on the highest point of the island and wait for evac by wyvern. Sartyrian ships had been encountered in the area and turning around Queen Sonia's privateer ship was seen as too dangerous. Day 7 - Fire and Death In the early hours of the morning on the seventh day, several Sartyrian ships entered the ruins of Poole Harbour. Either not recognizing the design of the ships, or too desperate to leave the island to care, Maia's soldiers make little effort to organize a defense, and many soldiers simply gather at the beach hoping for evac. Many others are bedridden by infected injuries, lingering curses, and a wide range of illnesses. The Sartyrian force sweeps over Poole Harbour in minutes. Most prisoners are either burned alive, flayed, and/or deliberately infected with Smelter's Disease, but about 30 or so of the healthiest and most capable looking individuals are deliberately released into the jungle to be hunted for the Sartyrian's idle amusement. Meanwhile, Kyun's group encounters resistance at the Sartyrian ruins. Several zombies and horsemen (likely the remnants of Heinrich's group) ambush the group, and only Kyun, Nolae, the ninja Neugdae, and Bridge Triber La'akea survive. Night 7 - Predators and Prey Kyun's group fortifies a section of the ruin as best they can with old debris, then hunker down for the night, but are interrupted around midnight by a group of fellow survivors seeking shelter; Alkorian Marine officer Rebecca Haines, Alkorian Marine sharpshooter Alex Hawthorne, Bridge Tribe Witch Doctor Hai, and three unidentified Belkan soldiers. Rebecca, Alex, and Hai were all known to be members of the group that accompanied the Brass Knights to attempt to prevent alleged demonic plot, and Kyun's group grudgingly accepted their story that they are the last survivors of a demonic ritual. Two hours later, a small group of survivors, made up of "prey" released from Poole Harbour, also arrive at the tower; aircrewman Konrad Linder, journalist Viola Bauer, shock-halberdier Bernd von Rohr, sailor Aeschylus, and Amazon Thermodosa, and were grudgingly accepted as well, particularly when they revealed that Sartyrian hunting bands were roaming the island. It is believed that all other groups of "prey" were hunted down this night, and by morning, the group sheltering in the Sartyrian ruins, and the Sartyrian raiders were the only living beings on the island. Even the harpies and their remaining prisoners had temporarily relocated to another smaller island by this point. Day 8 - Last Stand No one in the Sartyrian ruins group slept that night, and tensions ran high. By morning, several arguments had broken out. Rebecca's behavior was highly unusual to those who knew her, and Konrad correctly deduced that the wyvern coming to pick them up likely couldn't carry 15 people. When talk veered towards drawing lots for spots on the wyvern, Rebecca unexpectedly revealed herself to be a succubus and swiftly killed Neugdae and disabled Nyun and Nolae. La'akea managed to stab the succubus in the back with an enchanted blade, but is in turn killed by one of the Belkans who arrived with "Rebecca". Thermodosa finishes the succubus off, in the process recognizing that in her true form she resembles Sofia, the Storm Mage who led force that mysteriously disappeared around the time the demonic ritual was activated. She then slays Alex and Hai. Hai's death frees Bernd from the curse placed upon him (and many others), and he seizes a shock halberd from one of the corrupted Belkan officers before using it to slay all three corrupted Belkans, but not before one kills Aeschylus. At this point the wyvern is spotted on the horizon, but so is a fast approaching band of Sartyrian raiders. Bernd valiantly sacrifices himself so that Konrad, Viola, Thermodosa, Nyun, and Nolae can escape. A true master of his art, it is believed he slew five Sartyrians in single combat in order to buy time for the others to escape, an impressive accomplishment given many Sartyrians are believed to have centuries of combat experience. Epilogue: Alkorian Commander Tweedle is awarded the highest military honours for successfully evacuating nearly 700 civilians and soldiers from the island in the face of overwhelming opposition. Nyun and Nolae are also awarded high honours for securing valuable intelligence on the mysterious events that occurred during and after Tweedle's departure from the island. As the only known survivors of the Belkan-Soukos task force (aside from those that successfully fled during the second and third days of the battle), Konrad, Viola, and Thermodosa are declared intelligence assets for their knowledge of the events that took place during the later days of the conflict from a Belkan-Soukos point of view. They are likely still held in a secure location. Poole Harbour was investigated by Alkorian intelligence assets for several months, but aside from the minor win of determining the fate of Heinrich, no clues were uncovered explaining the nature of the events that occurred on the fifth night, nor the reason for the Sartyrian raiders. Due to strong traces of demonic energy, as well as the possibility of further raids by either the Belkan-Soukos Alliance, or the Kingdom of Sartyrian, there are no plans to re-establish a base at Poole Harbour anytime soon. Aftermath: Although a relatively minor skirmish compared to what followed, the fact that Belkan and Soukos were willing to cooperate in such a tight fashion greatly escalated the tensions between Belkan, Alkor, and their assorted allies, ultimately leading to the first truly global war as Belkan sought allies around the world to dismantle Alkor's colonial empire, while Alkor sought allies around the world to aid them. The instability also led to several unrelated wars between old rivals as various nations sought to take advantage of destabilized trade routes and other shifts in the balance of power. The behind the scenes manipulation by followers of Gogotha was largely overlooked, but rumors of shapeshifting succubi and other demons manipulating both factions have persisted on many fronts of the ongoing war. The raid on the seventh day by the Sartyrians was one of the largest acts of aggression by this reclusive race for decades, and was completely unprovoked as far as anyone can tell. Although some optimists at first believed that the raid was launched solely to eliminate the threat of the alleged Gogothan ritual, Sartyrian raids have continued, and some now believe they are on the cusp of launching a new wave of conquest against the world. ==='''Sch'long-Hoof - Zeppelin Conspiracy'''=== Photographed here is a Sch'long-Hoof summoning brick. These would as the name implies summon a Sch'long-Hoof. Sch'long-Hoofs are the guardians of Glitter-Shaft and would assault anyone who threatens to harm his magnificent 40 inches. With enough magic, one could even summon Glitter-Shaft himself. Only two of these are known to exist, one is located in the Alkor Demonology Museum and the other was contained in a reinforced safe at Poole Harbour. The latter was originally thought to be destroyed during the bombings, as the safe was found at the docks blown to pieces. But two eye witnesses, a Belkan Aerial Marine named Berimund Schwarzmann and a local harpy named Uvya, claim that the brick was stolen. Berimund was separated from his platoon during the 1st night when their Combat Zeppelin crashed, and was seeking for medical supplies to treat his wounds. Unable to find any laying around the wreckage, he went to search for some in the town. There he found a first aid kit inside a child's bedroom. Berimund spotted movement out the window and went into hiding, he eventually peeked outside the window to see a group of people at the docks. The group consisted of two Crocidians wearing cloaks, three men wearing scholar robes (later identified as the Unravelers present at the battle) and one muscular man of Nantic ethnicity. Berimund saw the Crocidians carry the safe out of the warehouse it was stored in. The Unravelers surrounded the Nantic and placed the safe in front of him. The Nantic would stretch his arms outwards and started chanting (exactly what is unknown) as the Unravelers bowed to him. The Crocidians where seen exchanging concerned looks. A flash of multicolored light came from the safe as it blew open, one of the Unravelers picked up the seemingly unharmed brick and the group left the docks. The second report of the brick's theft came from a local harpy named Uvya, who was attempting to risk her life to escape the island after she (correctly) feared that the conflict would escalate to worse proportions. During her flight, she crashed on top of a soft and invisible object. Suffering from a sprained and possibly broken wing Uvya clung to the object for dear life. After a short while the object increased altitude, flying directly through the stormy weather unharmed and almost causing Uvya to lose her grip twice throughout the journey. When sunlight shined onto the object, it ceased to be invisible and revealed to be a softbody zeppelin. After this, the next 4 hours of the flight where relatively calm. Uvya experienced almost no turbulence and at one point even relaxed to watch the sunset. During dusk however the zeppelin would start to decent below the clouds. While the sky was a lot more peaceful now, the zeppelin was starting to lower at dangerously low altitude. Uvye, fearing the zeppelin might go entirely underwater entered the mooring entrance located above the bow's tip and hid within the windowless entrance stairway inside of the balloon. Here she would encounter something strange, Uvya was able to hear the crew of the zeppelin argue with eachother through the balloon. She did not know what most of the crew where saying other than that each individual spoke a different language (indicating the the crew where under the affect of a translation spell). One individual spoke "a very guttural version of the Alkorian Language" (this is assumed to be a Balorian dialect, as will be shown later), the following is a transcribe of the conversation: *Responding after someone snarled at him* Now look here you shortsighted shitebag! I might hate those croc-socs (insult towards Crocubians) as much as you do, but yer little revolution can wait right now. Avery is a godsend, and we're gonna need it [unintelligible] against those focking Khurultai before they become your problem too! *A more polite snarl respond to the man, almost as if asking a question* Because those tiger-humpers don't have an airforce! Let alone a zeppelin! All they have are some fucking birds! It's their one weakness and we have to exploit it! More importantly Kaahin and Hanad (common Malsolian names) here have to go back soon or their home will get shafted by the Union. *A very polite growl is heard* The plan is simple, we'll send our troops dressed up as Lindgrub guards to the north of their colony and kite them closer to the border. When we see even one bush move, Avery will descent from the sky and bomb the fuckers to slag. The Khurultai will see the big fuckoff Union logo and think it's a joint Union - Lindgrub invasion trying to kick them off Tismo. This will have them focus on Lindgrub, the Lepre Khans and the EUC. This will keep the Union distracted from Malsolia and will tear the Lepre Khans a new one. If ya galls see any wild eagles trying to peck you just raise altitude, they can't reach that high. The brick? That's so that Karl here can summon a Sch'long-Hoof that can quite literally [unintelligible] our foes in the ass. We'll just drop it in the borders between Khurultai and the Lepre Khans, see which one it'll obliterate first. Karl just wants to see how one of these beast survives here out in the wild. I didn't want him to but he wouldn't do the job otherwise, and now that he lost two of his men we owe him. >Another growl is heard. Why now? Because I couldn't tell back at Lapus, that's why we met up in Crocida. The Khurultai have seemingly eyes and ears everywhere and I fear we're already on their hit-list. Hell, they could be with us onboard the ship listening to this. Gushk (common Crocidan name), make yourself useful and check the ship for any spies. After hearing this Uvya was horrified to see that the hatch that leads to the basket of the zeppelin was starting to open. Uvya immediately flew up the stairs and escaped the ship. Fortunately the ship was not underwater, but was still floating on the ocean. Uvya had to fly despite her injuries in order to escape captivity. She wouldn't have to fly far however as she quickly encountered as she would encounter an Alkorian steam ship. With our current information, we have established a rough estimate of what happened: >The zeppelin turns invisible and lands somewhere on the island, most likely within one of the jungle's clearings. >The group seen by Berimund marches through the jungle with the intent to steal the summoning brick, unhindered by the local wildlife thanks to the Crocidians. >Meanwhile Kaahin, Hanad and any other possible crew members stay aboard the zeppelin. >The thieves are hindered in their heist when they hear distant explosions and see the townspeople fleeing Poole Harbour. >They are smart enough to take shelter within the jungle and wait until the bombing cease. >Unwilling to abandon the mission, the group decides to quickly enter the ruins of the town. >Unknowingly, the gang is being watched by Berimund. >The Nantic (most likely the Balorian) man undresses and the Unravellers preform the ritual to activate the brick. >After this, it's assumed that the Unravellers got separated from the rest of the group and cross paths with the Belkan-Soukos army. >The Unravellers transforms Drakos into a Horseman and wreaks havoc onto his former crew. >The battle escalates to even greater proportions as Heinrich retaliates and manages to kill one of the Unravelers, the survivors flee. >Meanwhile reports of crocodile attacks on soldiers show up at the Alkorian camps despite the fact that there aren't any native species of crocodiles present on the island. These are presumed to be the Crocidians. >The two groups later meet up but one Unraveler leaves the group to avenge his fellow scholar, he does not return. As he gets killed by a lighting blast from a zombie-horseman Heinrich. >The survivors board the zeppelin, turn invisible and flee the island seemingly unharmed, unknowingly picking up Uvya along the way. >After traveling through both air and sea, it's destination remains unknown. But it's assumed to be either Lapus or Tismo. The following is an in-depth analysis of what the conversation onboard the zeppelin. 1. The snarling voice that the Balorian responded to likely came from one of the Crocidians 2. The "little revolution" the man was talking about implies that the group is planning to a potential war between the nations of Crocida and Crocuba. As is shown by his hatred of "croc-socs." 3. The identity of the individual known as "Avery" is undefined, however we do know that Avery is likely an object due to being referred to as "it." 4. It is also likely that Avery is an aircraft considering multiple references to it providing air support. 5. Considering the names of the pilots and the fact that it closely resembles a Union scouting zeppelin it is likely that the zeppelin likely belongs to Malsolia. 6. It is apparent that Avery will be used to give them a superior edge due to the Maritime Khurultai's lack of an airforce, 7. It is however unclear how they will face off against the Khurultai's volcanic fog, or if they're even aware of its existence. 8. Most interesting of all, the gang is planning to start a war between the Maritime Khurultai, the Union and the Lepre-Khans and Lindgrub. This appears to be main reason for the heist. The Sch'long-Hoof would likely do more good than harm to the Lepre-Khans, considering their ancient ties to the Deadicorn. We do not know how the EUC would face against this possible war but I know it could hurt the colony a lot, forcing the mainland Union to delay their attack on Malsolia. This will give Malsolia more time to defend itself. However these people appear to be quite shortsighted, as this will destabilize the continent of Lapus, the Yr - Dright war is already putting Lapus in a troubled state. This gigantic war could bring in unintended consequences. Nevertheless I am of the opinion that we should let these thieves go. Getting our hands into this conflict would likely lead to us getting dragged into their war. And we are already dealing with Belkan and Harlbourg. Besides, it keeps the Union from harassing East Alkor, and anything that screws over those traitors from Lindgrub is a plus in my book. >Document written by Alkorian Navy Captain Rottes Jameswell ==='''The Battle of Namath Crater'''=== Location: The Namath Crater is a massive impact crater located in the no-mans land between Harlbourg and Aesanaeria. Located north of it is the Itruvian Plains, a sparsely inhabited stretch of grasslands and deserts reaching into the heart of Harlbourg. For the desert and plains dwelling Aesanaerians, this has long been the main invasion corridor into the Nantic Empire, East Alkor, and Harlbourg. Background: Eastern Alkor rebelled over a century ago, aggravated by a minor tax raise, and egged on by b-list nobles and merchant princes seeking political independence from the Capital, as well as intellectuals promising an impossible Utopia. Although these promises never panned out, a newfound patriotism, and memories of the revolution have prevented any attempt to rejoin Alkor. Over the past century, Alkor has made several minor attempts to reclaim parts of Harlbourg (named for the small town of Harlbourg where several key treaties that led to the formation of the Free City States of Harlbourg were signed), but nobles of Alkor are reluctant to start a full scale war in an area where many lesser branches of their families still own much of the economy. Likewise, although some hotheaded Harlbourgers long to overthrow the "evil empire", political and economic considerations have prevented any serious attempts. However, the upcoming war between Belkan and Alkor have changed considerations. All signs point to this being the largest war since the War in the North. Some in Harlbourg hope that with Alkor distracted fighting Belkan, the time would be right to launch their own invasion. However, many others disagree. Some dislike the idea of Harlbourg being an offensive nation, others are strong believers in pan-Nantic nationalism and frown upon any Nantic blood being shed by other Nantic men. Still, with the future uncertain, the leaders of Harlbourg (very grudgingly) pooled their resources to fund the formation of a national army for the first time in Harlbourg's history. Unable to let such a provocation go unchecked, and unwilling to risk Harlbourg's unstable political leadership from doing something unexpected, Alkor mobilized a number of armies to the Harlbourg border, while bribing their unreliable allies in Aesanaeria to launch an attack. The logic behind this, as during past iterations of this tactic, was that if the Aesanaerians bypassed the Namath Crater and gained access to the Itruvian Plains, their highly mobile army would be in striking distance of several key cities in Harlbourg, and the selfish nature of Harlbourg's leadership would cause them to demobilize their armies at the Alkorian border to shore up the defenses of their home cities. Harlbourg was of course not blind to this possibility, and mobilized three armies consisting of a total of 60,000 men of the National Army of Harlbourg. As the National Army of Harlbourg was brand new, it was a poorly organized force cobbled together from various militias with little in common except the color of their uniform (and often not even that). There was hope of assembling a large force of mercenaries from the goblins, ogres, giants, harpies, snake people, and frontier dwelling humans living in the area, but in the end, only about 2,000 answered the call. The commanders of the Harlbourg soldiers at the battle were as follows: Sir Henry Brockdale: A powerful councilor from one of Harlbourg's largest cities, this much hated marionette is known to be strongly opposed to a war with Alkor due to his blood ties with the Alkor branch of the Brockdale family, but accepted a commission as General anyways, seeing it as an opportunity to drag his rebellious daughter Lady Jessica along for a campaign with him in hopes it would diminish her anti-authoritarian traits and rekindle their relationship. Burgomeister Jans Nyan: The bastard son of a powerful Harlbourg noble and a Ercaenmedian celebrity, Jans was given a town to run to instill some sense of responsibility in him. However, his spoiled childhood left him narcistic. His subjects only fully embraced him when a passing witch transformed him into a giant cat. Jans has no military experience what-so-ever, and it remains a mystery why he volunteered, or why his commission was approved . Vanessa Beaverlake: An outspoken follower of the goddess Vanille, Vanessa was given her commission to gain favor with the Church rather than due to any leadership skills. Luckily for them, the Aesanaerian force was smaller than expected, roughly 30,000 Aesanerians, and 5,000 foreign mercenaries, mostly from Orkistan. Many Brass Kings ignored the call to battle for their own reasons, leading to a force that relied more on conventional tribal skirmishers than the infamous Brass Knights. The two senior Brass Kings were: God King Adras Adrastos: Ruler of one of Aesanaeria's wealthiest cities, this androgynous, melodramatic warlord was seen as eccentric even by the standards of Aesanaeria, though none could deny the wealth at his disposal. King God Duba: A powerful but mentally unstable Brass King who wanders the world on missions from the Brass Lord himself. Duba was killed and incinerated at the Battle of Poole Harbour, but then reincarnated into a more powerful form. Day 1 - Battle of the Ridge Due to poor logistics and planning, the three armies deployed by Harlbourg to defend the Namath Crater arrived too late to construct any significant fortifications. Instead, they hastily constructed some low quality trenchworks along the northern edge of the Namath Crater, particularly the Ternarin Pass, the only location on the north edge of the crater where the slope was gentle enough for large armies to advance through it. Morale was low. Despite the seeming importance of guarding Namath Crater, the force here was only a small fraction of the size of the armies mobilized by the National Army to guard the Alkor border and various wealthy cities. A widespread rumor stated that many political leaders in Harlbourg actually wanted Aesanaeria to succeed, in order to have an excuse to avoid being drawn into the wider war. In addition, few Harlbourgers have ever visited, much less live in, the Ikrit desert region in which the crater is found. After a mere two days of marching through the desert, followed by two days of entrenchment, most of the Harlbourg army was suffering from sunburn, dust rashes, and dehydration. Poor rationing and a badly inadequate initial supply meant that many regiments were already out of water. Use of alcohol consumption instead let to massive outbreaks of insubordination and rowdy behavior. At this point, the Aesanaerians had a huge advantage, but strangely did not take it. Disagreements between Adras and Duba meant that the bulk of the Aesanaerian army spent the day camped several kilometers away from the Harlbourg positions, concealed by vicious sand storms. The only fighting that took place on this day was the "Battle of the Ridge". Aesanaerian chieftain Urian took a small force of warthog mounted skirmishers to scout out what is now known as Scholar's Folly. A relative low point in the crater edge, previous battles had indicated that only light skirmishers could climb the ridge, therefore it was guarded by two companies from an understrength regiment from the university town of Fox Bridge. The 3rd Fox Regiment consisted mostly of university students more interested in drinking and taking advantage of the mixed nature of their regiment, then actually guarding their section of the line. Their young colonel had in fact secured this post for his regiment specifically based on his belief that no one would bother assaulting it, and as a result, his soldiers had neither dug earthworks, nor were manning their cannons at the time of the attack. Unfortunately for them, erosion had created several natural ramps by which the agile warthogs could easily scale the ridge. Seizing the moment, Urian's outriders overran the 3rd Fox Regiment's encampment. Many of the Harlbourg soldiers either foolishly tried to outrun the warthogs on foot, or were too drunk to even realize they were under attack. Urian took dozens of prisoners and captured lots of valuable equipment intact. Night 1 - Onslaught Envy of Urian's success spread like wildfire among the Aesanaerian army, and despite continued disagreements on strategy, Duba, Adras, and the other Brass Kings simply had no choice but to allow their chieftains to launch a general rush attack on the Harlbourg line. Luckily for them, this ended up resulting in a surprise attack. Due to a dysfunctional chain of command, the senior commanders of the Harlbourg army remained unaware of the loss of Fox Regiment, nor just how close the Aesanaerians were to their lines, and no special preparations were made to prepare for an attack that night. Several front line units were unaware that Aesanaerians were in the area at all, and widespread drunkenness occurred as further units ran out of water and switched to booze. While the more mercenary minded tribes snuck over the ridges to the east and west, Duba brought the core of Aesanaerian army against the most heavily fortified positions at Ternarin Pass. Following one of the oldest tricks in the book, many Aesanaerian soldiers carried two torches, creating an illusion of a massive army. Coupled with the devastating sound magic of the Brass Knights, the unnatural moans of summoned demons, and the thunderous rubble of the advancing war rhinos, the inexperienced Harlbourg army panicked, and the crews of many cannons and iron beasts fled their positions without firing a single shot. The Harlbourg positions crumpled and it was only their superior numbers and the Aesanaerian love of claiming prisoners that kept it from being completely overrun. Chaotic nighttime fighting continued for several hours as the more experienced Harlbourg regiments managed to organize themselves, however, it wasn't until "Rick's Blast" that the fighting finally died down. Earlier that night, combat engineering captain Rick Dwemerson had stockpiled large amounts of gunpowder beneath an unstable rock formation above the narrowest point of the pass on his own initiative. When it seemed that the Harlbourg army was on the verge of collapse, he detonated his stash, causing a landslide that blocked the pass, but also buried hundreds of men on both sides, and trapped thousands more of his own soldiers on the wrong side. Still, the blast undoubtedly saved the day, as spooked by the sheer size of the blast, many Aesanaerian units broke in confusion, while many others had already abandoned their assault to capture prisoners and loot equipment. Day 2 - Disunity The following morning saw both sides scrambling to bring their forces under control. At the Harlbourg camp, Henry Brockdale tries his best to restore order and reestablish a working chain of command, however his daughter Jessica and Vanessa Beaverlake oppose many of his solutions out of spite without offering their own suggestions. Jans Nyan (who commanded the reserve units and didn't participate in the battle) arrived, but didn't seem inclined to take one side or another. As a result, several sensible suggestions he had gathered from desert dwelling mercenaries were ignored. Meanwhile, at the Aesanaerian camp, Adras Adranstos declares his intention to return to his city with his core forces. A failed attempt by underground dwelling fey creatures known as Bulbmin to rob his treasury had greatly upset him, and he departed early in the morning, cursing the high price of drow exterminators. Adras Adranstos's departure actually benefitted the Aesanaerians greatly. Although a capable commander on his own, his tendency to butt heads with Duba had all but paralyzed the Asanerian command structure. With Adras gone, Duba discusses several plans to clear the Ternarin Pass of both landslide debris and Harlbourg forces with the lesser Brass Kings and chieftains. Although he likely could have brought most of his forces around the Pass via other weak points along the crater, he probably didn't want to leave behind his war rhinos or elephant baggage train, which only realistically could be brought through the pass. He also likely didn't want to leave such a large force at his back. Eventually Duba settles on a plan to construct a powerful device known as a Brass Strider. Rarely encountered outside of Aesanaeria, these powerful constructs can demolish even the strongest fortifications and scatter the largest armies. Luckily they take a long time to assemble, and powerful magic to operate even for a short time, so are mostly used for protracted sieges. Although no major clash occurs on this day, dozens of minor skirmishes occur as wart hog mounted skirmishers engaged the disorganized Harlbourg units guarding the smaller paths out of Namath Crater. Of note, a minor skirmish between amateur adventurers from Hoogivs and a small force of wart hog outriders is claimed by some to be the greatest Hoogivs military victory in centuries. This group contained half-drow Myra Smallwood and goblin Ack "Dickstabber" Yack, both of whom would be lauded as great heroes two days later. On a darker note, an entire Harlbourg regiment disappears trying to retreat through the desiccated forests of the Thorn Patch, confirming that some evil still lurks there even centuries after the defeat of Lord Sssylth. Night 2 - Shuffling the Deck Very little of note occurs on the second night. Henry still struggles to bring the Harlbourg army under his command. He demotes and promotes a number of officers, and rallies most of the Harlbourg army, but seems at a loss of what to do next, and instead waits for reinforcements, including the air support that was supposed to accompany the original force. Likewise, Duba splits his time rallying his forces and channeling magic to activate the Brass Walker. Large chunks of his army had broken off to escort prisoners back to their home territories, leading him to call off his remaining skirmishers, though some ignored these orders to keep raiding and looting, particularly the orc mercenaries who were beginning to doubt Duba had enough men remaining to reach the Harlbourg heartlands. Day 3 - Revelations Having anticipated another night attack, Henry is very relieved when one doesn't occur, but also deeply suspicious. Luckily some aerial units had arrived by this point, and giant eagle mounted scouts were able to spy on the Aesanarian army, including the under construction Brass Strider. This induced great panic back at the Harlbourg camp. If the stories were true, the large but disorganized Harlbourg force would be no match for the Aesanaerians once the Brass Strider was operational. A desperate plan was thrown together where the elite of the Harlbourg army would navigate its way through the rubble blocking the Pass that night, and lure the Aesanaerians into the southern end of the Pass, where a trio of recently arrived zeppelins could hit them with fire bombs. Meanwhile, Duba marshalled his army into three groups. The largest group would punch through Ternarin Pass along with the Brass Strider, while two smaller groups would bypass the Pass and loop around to attack the Harlbourg army from behind and pin them in place so that Duba's main force could carry out a massacre. Apparently they knew Harlbourg land reinforcements weren't expected for days and weren't worried about being pinned. Night 3 - The Bonfire Following a rousing rendition of the Harlbourg national anthem, about 2,000 of the best Harlbourg soldiers prepared to navigate their way through the Pass, including veterans of border skirmishes with Alkor, giants and ogres recruited from nearby desert settlements, and a group of Vanille Knights led by Vanessa herself. Unfortunately, the attack quickly became a disaster. The Brass Walker was already partially active and used its fire breath to incinerate swathes of Harlbourg soldiers, as well as ignite all three zeppelins and the fire bombs they were carrying. Burning debris rained down all over the battlefield, and surviving soldiers compared it to fighting in an inferno. One of the burning zeppelins crash landed in the landslide debris field, cutting off the ability of the Harlbourg elite force to fall back. Even worse, the Brass Strider also emitted creeping tendrils of Dark Aether which could burn, corrupt, or suffocate at will. Almost no one who was part of the attacking Harlbourg force survived the night. Vanessa Beaverlake was among the missing, much to the fury of Jessica Brockdale, who saw her as a mentor and perhaps more. Day 4 - The Pact The next day, the bulk of the Harlbourg army, still entrenched at the upper end of the Ternarin Pass, prepared to retreat. Many regiments had already fled the night before fearing the Brass Strider would attack their camp, but fortunately its mighty sonic cannons still weren't active, nor was it fully mobile. News of the Brass Strider caused the land armies sent to reinforce the Pass to stand down, fighting it in a pitched battle was seen as wasteful of men, much better to attack once the Brass Strider had been deactivated. According to the stories, even the most powerful Aesanaerian mages couldn't keep one active for more than a day or two, not long enough to reach and communities of significance. Unfortunately, the Aesanaerian flanking forces had already wiped out several fleeing units, and were now harassing the main Harlbourg force. The prospect of marching two days with almost no supplies, harried by mobile skirmishers fighting in their home terrain, was not one that anyone relished, with a few defeatists even recommending surrender. Jessica Brockdale meanwhile had only one thing on her mind. Vengeance. Contrary to the beliefs of senior arcanists in the Harlbourg army, Jessica believed that killing Duba would be sufficient to disrupt the magic animating the Brass Strider. Never mind the fact that Duba rarely left the heart of the Aesanaerian army, nor the fact that he was reputedly an extremely powerful mage in his reincarnated form. Henry of course forbid any large scale, or even small scale operation against Duba, seeing it as a lost cause. Instead Jessica offered significant wealth to anyone who would accompany her on the assassination mission. In the end, only four people volunteered: Magnolia Keeling: A Napanese-Belkan monster hunter of some repute, Magnolia had arrived in the area the day before for a bounty in the Thorn Patch. Myra Smallwood: An apprentice mage from Hoogivs of Ercaenmedian and Drow descent, Myra was a member of a small band of Hoogivs adventurers who had seen minor combat in the campaign so far. It is unlikely she would have joined the mission had she understood the risks involved. Ack "Dickstabber" Yack: A goblin adventurer from Hoogivs, and a friend of Myra. Jans Nyan: Technically co-commander of the Harlbourg force with Henry now that Vanessa was missing, Jans had been MIA for several key periods of the campaign, and had de facto resigned his command by this point. His motives for joining the group are a mystery, and some believe it wasn't Jans, but someone else (capable of disguising themselves as a giant siamese cat) who joined the group. These five would later be known as "The Pact" for the oaths they swore to slay Duba at all costs. Night 4 - Plans within Plans During the first hours of the fourth night little little fighting happened. The Harlbourg army continued to make preparations to retreat, and the Aesanaerian army prepared for when the Brass Strider was ready to use its sonic cannons against the debris field blocking the Ternarin Pass. The flanking Aesanaerian armies held their ground for the most part, as their role was to contain rather than attack. Drawing on Magnolia Keeling's vast experience with unusual escapades, the members of "The Pact" came up with the unusual plan of infiltrating Duba's private harem tent. Jessica and Magnolia posed as Aesanaerian soldiers bringing an exotic new prisoner, Myra, to add to Duba's private collection (Myra was reportedly not trilled with this portion of the plan). Ack and Jans would infiltrate the tent from the side servant's flap, with Ack as a food delivery slave, and Jans apparently possessing the ability to make himself invisible. Magnolia would then activate the Sch'long-Hoof Summoning Brick she had recently acquired and use it to kill Duba and flee from the center of the camp. Unfortunately, the plan doesn't quite work out as intended. The Sch'long-Hoof Summoning Brick was actually a fake that a rival of Magnolia's by the name of Victoria Swann had made considerable efforts to arrange to fall into her possession. Upon activating the brick, Magnolia was transformed into stone. Duba swiftly defeated Myra and Jessica, but was then set upon by the individual believed to be Jans, as well as Ack. Reportedly Jans transformed into a multi-eyed white cat, and had a titanic magical clash with Duba that ended with Ack stabbing Duba repeatedly in the groin before Jans disintegrated his head with a blast of magic. Jans then grew wings and talons and flew out of the tent with Ack, Myra, Jessica, and statue Magnolia in his grasp. Aftermath: With Duba dead, the Aesanaerian army lost its sense of purpose. Without his considerable magic, the Brass Strider was never fully activated, instead it was allowed to fizzle out a day later. The more devote followers of the Brass Lord took this as a sign that their god no longer favored this venture and returned to their home cities. The mercenaries and tribes that followed other gods continued raiding for several days, but picking were slim now that the Harlbourg army was properly marshalled, and their own numbers heavily reduced. The leaders of Harlbourg declared the battle a great victory, but cynics, Henry Brockdale included, were quick to point out that the Harlbourg army had under performed against a smaller force, and had only won thanks to a highly unlikely series of events. Furthermore, the Aesanaerian army had not suffered significant losses, nor did they represent the full strength that Aesanaeria could muster. Many considered the battle to be inconclusive at best. Epilogue: Henry and Jessica Brockdale continued to serve alongside each other in the Harlbourg army despite never agreeing on anything. Both were highly decorated for their actions. Jans denied any involvement in defeating Duba, claiming he resigned his commission two days earlier to return to his hometown to run for reelection. Myra and Ack were paid handsomely for their (minor) role in Duba's death, and retired to Hoogivs swearing to never adventure again (but they did). Statue Magnolia was honored with being installed in the middle of a nearby desert town where she was declared a savior. Unfortunately the statue was stolen by university students and placed in a brothel instead, where she remained for two weeks before being transformed back into a person by a wandering hag. She tracked down Jessica for her reward money before departing for new adventures. Adras Adrastos was bribed with two hundred solid gold nipple rings and associated chains to never attack Harlbourg again. Rumor has it that Duba has yet again been reincarnated and is currently plotting his revenge. ==='''The Alkorian Intervention in Corinthian'''=== The 12th Battle Squadron based in Belkor but on exercises during its attack, is one of the first Alkorian units to respond. With Commodore Winsley of the Ironclad First-Rate HMES Treadnought deciding that a close range bombardment of the city of Corinthian will be enough to force a cease fire upon the Soukons. While this move is strongly argued against by his captains, they argue that it is better to make port at Belkor to drive the Belkans out and then attack the Soukons, their concerns are overruled and the Treadnought and it's escort of steam frigates, as well as the old wooden Second-Rate HMS Majesty, make sail for Corinthian. Alkorians: Commodore Winsley aboard the Ironclad Ship of the Line HMS Treadnought Captain Edwards of the Ship of the Line HMS Majesty Ten Steam-powered Paddle Frigates HMS Brody, Miracle, Alkor's Fire, The Queen's Revenge, Nathan, Spolkhampton, Sotherly, Susan, Drake and Wyvern Corinthius: City Lord Hypermades Seaforts Ephraim and Dougrain Six Neo-Triremes (Ephisto, Bolos, Atremesian, Skolo, Estophiles and Epiphany) Soukon Reinforcements Admiral Telophanes aboard Heavy-Neo-Trireme Apoloeion 12 Neo-Triremes On the night of the 12th of the month Inthermus Year 3021 the 12th Battle Squadron arrived in Soukon waters. The Commodore of the little "armada" was out for blood, having just received news that their home port of New Ashton on the Southern coast had been taken in a Belkan-Soukos raid so instead of having his ships return to the now occupied port or to Ercaenmedian waters he had made course for the famous city of Corinthius. Opening his spy-glass he thought he could see the city already, thinking he could see lantern light in the night, but what he had actually seen was the Trident Ephisto on it's nightly patrol with the rest of it's flotilla sailing behind it. The Corinthian ships sailed in column formation with full lamps on and why shouldn't they? They had heard from the City-Lord that Soukos had won a great victory again both Alkor and Ercaenmedia and that Alkorian ships were not seen in Belkor, seemingly they had just gone home. As the lights approached his fleet the Commodore realized that were ships and not a city and he had signal flags raised, all ships should turn themselves perpendicular to the Corinthian fleet, in the hopes that the Soukons would just wander straight into his broadside. It was watchman Alexis Solotani that first spotted smoke on the horizon, and the first flashes of Alkorian cannons as they fired from little over 1,500 yards away, their rifled guns far outranging the smooth bores of the Soukons. The Treadnought was able to score the first hit of the engagement, a lucky shell from it's turret mounted 200lb guns plowing through the reinforced hull of the Atremesian, the shell exploding inside and scything down several gun crews. The Treadnought made full speed to engage at close range with the Corinthian warships with its broadside armament of 100 fifty-pound bronze cannons, with the Skolo and Bolos both changing their headings to begin their assault on the Iron beast, with the range between the two vessels going down to 700 yards. As the Treadnought moved to engage the rest of the Alkorian fleet turned to port as well to get amongst the Corinthian vessels, chase guns aboard the Brody and Alkor's Fire demasting the Epiphany and Estophiles as the steam-frigates make speed to come along side the Soukon vessels. As the range goes down to 500 yards with the two sides exchanging broadsides some casualties are sustained among the Alkorian fleet, The Queen's Revenge is forced to trade broadsides with both the Atremesian and Ephisto losing use of it's paddle and suffering heavy casualties among it's gun crews with a great many ballista bolts being embedded in it's hull. But the superior firepower of the Alkorian Fleet takes it's toll on the Corinthians in a devastating way, the Atremesian explodes as the third-rate HMS Majesty rakes it's side with explosive shells, the Ephisto and Estophiles surrender shortly afterwards, choosing to scuttle their ships before they are picked up by the Brody and Miracle. Bolos and Skolos rapidlyclose the range with HMS Treadnought, they ready their crews as they make to board her, until the wind stops forcing the two vessels to call their oarsmen to their stations. But this delay in reaching HMS Treadnought allows it to reload all of it's guns, and when the Soukons are within 100 yards it opens fire, first on Bolos and then Skolo. Bolos is split almost in half by the weight of the broadside, with Shipmaster Landros and his entire command staff being slain as the result of a lucky shell hit, the ship sinking shortly after. Skolo fairs slightly better, it does not sink as many of the Alkorian shells fail to explode, but it loses much of it's crew to shrapnel based injuries or deaths and is unable to return fire, leading to it needing to be boarded by Marines by HMS Treadnought when it finally surrenders. Epiphany duels the Steam-Frigate Wyvern to a standstill , both ships suffer horrendous damage with the Wyvern eventually being abandoned, and the Epiphany is scuttled as the Susan approaches it fresh from it's engagement with Estophiles. The Alkorian fleet with their prisoners under guard steam into Corinthus Harbor just two hours later, forming up 700 yards from the city and opening up with incidenicary balls and explosive shells an hour later. This move does not go unchallenged, the mighty Seaforts Ephraim and Dougrain begin opening up with first their 200 and then 100lb cannons at the Alkorian Fleet. The two forts are located on miniature islands in the middle of the Harbor and their long range batteries are more than capable of defending it. The Susan takes a hit from a 200lb ball that damages it's paddle and it falls out of the bombardment line, the Revenge has a hole torn in it's side by the impact of several 100 pounder hits and the Treadnought has one of it's turrets jammed from a lucky cannon ball. But Corinthius burns, the City Lord is forced to call a state of emergency and he calls on the city's mages to send a message to the rest of the fleet at sea to return at once. This plea is heard by Admiral Telophanes of Athiens, who even while having no ties to the city, uses the magic of the winds to answer their cry, turning his flotilla towards the city and sails as fast as he is able. Commodore Winsley wary of any more damage being inflicted on his fleet by the Sea Forts sails out of Corinthius Harbor two hours later, heading home, his ships heading for Ercaenmedian territory to rest and repair as the city burns in their wake. While much of the cityis in ruins, with most merchant ships in port being completely destroyed, after two days of burning the fires are put out and the city starts to function as a city again. ==='''The Campaign for Belkan Arktikos'''=== '''Ercaedahorn Strength:''' Supreme General Lo Dung Stung Army of Great Renown, Army of Great Joy, Army of Great Adulation 100,000 Infantry 5,000 Cavalry 500 Cannons Beasts of Blistered Iron, Yr Mercenary Tank Regiment 30 Light Tanks 20 Heavy Cadre of Mistune Hiku 20 Idols 1,000 Simpan Warrior Attendants '''Belkan Strength:''' Field Marshal Ludwig von Hazelhoff IV Corp, XIV Corp 60,000 Infantry 1,000 Cavalry 600 Cannons Order of the Midnight Moon Grandmaster Friedrich Heyarch 500 Knights 2,000 Warrior Applicants 15th Aero-Division 60 Eagles 30 Griffin Knights Belkan Militia 6,000 Citizen Militia With tensions high following both the attack on Poole Harbor and Belkor the Ercaedahorn Governor, Ho Lee Shid, informed the Ercaenmedian government that more forces would be needed to reinforce the colony. This would draw the Ercaenmedian government to send two full armies (Army of Great Renown, Army of Great Joy) as well as a unit of mercenary tanks from Yr to head off any aggressive moves against the colony. These forces, and the colony itself, would be put under the command of a General Lo Dung Stung who was known for his aggressive actions back in Ercaenmedia for launching several punitive raids on the Belkan homeland. The General, sensing that war was fast approaching with the Belkans, and trusting his local guides plotted out several pathways through the Orcan Mountain Range and into Belka Arktikos with his primary goal to take the Fortresses of Hemmelsdorf and Utanberg that defended the colony's main railways. And on the First of Aquarian 3021 he launched his assault. The main Ercaenmedian advance through the Orcan Mountains was centered on three wide passes: Terrian Pass, Waltreik Pass and Old Ballbiter pass, with a fourth diversionary attack down south to keep Belkan forces occupied along the Scaran River. Phase one of the Ercaenmedian assault called for Alpine Regiments with Stone Troll support to neutralize the first line of Belkan entrenchments defending the three passes, the raw strength of the stone trolls would allow them to lift cannons with them to give the vanguard troops artillery support. First to engage were the Ah Young and Ailee Regiments facing the Bregenwerst Regiment out of Belkgrad, a freshly activated conscript formation posted to the frontier due to Autian tensions, the Ah Young Regiment under Captain Young, a former Idol, engaged the Belkans under the cover of cannon fire. The Ercaenmedian troops armed with only blunderbusses (blunderbussi) and axes rushed down to the Belkan trenches in the center of the pass managing to close just within 200 yards before the Belkans began opening fire with a score of Ercaenmedians dropping before the trenches were reached, it is widely accepted that Amazon Mare Nostra was the first casualty of the Ercaenmedians during this hurried advance, with the Belkans greeting them with a wall of halberds and Spears. The mountain troopers were prepared for this type of battle and with their short ranged weaponry made quick work of the Belkan troopers and with that the entrencments along the most narrow parts of the pass were taken, with the Waltreik pass garrison under Colonel Rosen holding for an additional two days with the support of several Tortle volley guns. With these forces neutralized Ercaenmedian armies were free to march through the mountains, razing numerous towns and small settlements on their way East. It was the fourth of Aquarian when Field Marshal Ludwig von Hazelhof received word by messenger spider that the Ercaenmedians had broken through. He immediately mobilized the majority of his Divisions, 30,000 men in all, and marched to the River Scaran to link up with the forces there and under the advice of Harpy Wing Commander, Lady Maria Toller, allowed his air forces to act as scouts for the ground army. '''Battle on the Scaran River''' Unbeknownst to the Belkans, the Ercaenmedian forces had split in two, one force moving to encircle the Belkan Divisions on the Scaran River while the other force primarily made of infantry and artillery would lay siege to the fortified cities of Hemmelsdorf and Utanberg. The Army of Great Joy under the command of General Wo Roskovich would make the drive south to the river with a large force of Dire Wof Cavalry, including a small detachment of Knights from the order of the Bastardised Sword, as well as the Demon Beasts of Yr. It would be his Cavalry forces that would be the first to engage the main Belkan field army on the 6th of Aquarian, encountering a Company of Cockatrice Lancers that had made camp in Eyewold Woods, but thinking this to only be part of the Belkan force entrenched along the River the General decided to attack. Hearing of the assault on his forward units the Field Marshal hurriedly gave orders for infantry to assemble in their formations and for cannons to be made ready, assembling his army on the Field Katarine just miles from the rivers edge as his Cavalry made haste to rejoin the main body of the army, with the pursuing Ercaenmedians following shortly behind. The Belkan army was deployed in a long battleline, with General Kohler commanding the right flank, General Michaels the left and the Field Marshal leading the troops in the center, with a cannon position being established on a nearby hill to look over the field that the vast army encompassed. Most formations were of the Tercion style, with Muskets interspersed with halberds, Spears and pikes, with the only outlier being two Regiments of Air-Rifle skirmishers deployed in front of the main battleline with the Cavalry split between the flanks. The Center of the Belkan line was anchored by three regiments of the famous Harbsourg Pikemen, and with strong support on the flanks the Belkams hoped to grind the Ercaenmedians to a pulp. The Ercaenmedians spread themselves thinner, trying encircle the Belkan lines but facing great difficulty trying to maintain a cohesive battleline. The Devil Beasts of Yr would form the center of their line supported by blocks of expendable Spearmen, while the forces Ninja warriors and alpine rangers would advance to attack the Belkan cannon position. Both forces were remarkably close in strength, the Belkans having more cannons but the Ercaenmedians more mobile assets, but for the most part the Belkan infantry was of a far greater quality. After a few hours of maneuver and exchanges of cannon fire, notable for the destruction of the Ercaenmedian skycannon battery, the Ercaenmedian force launched an all out attack towards the Belkan lines. The focus of their attack was the center of the Belkan line and the Tank Monsters of Yr made great speed for it, almost matched by the Ercaenmedian conscripts who were reengerized by the singing of Teen Idol Ericka Yung, their cannons tearing through the compact formation of the Belkan Pikemen. They would be met with the fire of Belkan cannon batteries and suffer a high price, the Heavy Tank Hells Bells destroyed by mass shell fire along with several other tanks. Massive flails, saws and treads tore into the Belkan soldiery reducing regiments into so much gore, the center of the Belkan line only being saved by the charge of it's Griffin Knights, their lightning enfused lances thrice blessed in the Cathedral of Ace's Aerial Glory acting as a repellent to the demonic machines. The attack still causes a breach in the Belkan line which is soon rushed by the majority of the Ercaenmedian Cavalry force, only stopped as reserve Regiments of Spearmen and Halberdiers rush to plug the gap, selling their lives dearly and grinding away at the Wolfen Hussars and Knights. While Ercaenmedians press hard on the center their own flanks are pushed back with heavy casualties, cannon fire tearing through it's infantry formations ad the dazed survivors collide with fresh Belkan infantry. And on the left flank the Belkan Knights and Lancers manage to win their engagement with a much larger force of Hussars and they begin charging the rear of the Ercaenmedian units engaged, routing several. Even as the flanks of the Ercaenmedian army are wrapped up the Belkan center bulges, and fearing a total collapse the Field Marshal directs his all of his artillery into the melee. Belkam, Ercaenmedian and even the demonic machines of Yr are blown apart under a barrage of close range shell fire, but the Ercaenmedians break and the day belongs to the Belkans but at a high price. Even as the Field Marshal frees his Cavalry to pursue the routing Ercaenmedians he receives word of an even larger enemy force, apparently the Great Fortress Hemmelsdorf had been put under siege and was near breaking. He first links up with the few regiments left amount the Scaran and then reforms his army to head to the northeast, hoping that his army will be in time to relieve the siege. With one Ercaenmedian army completely destroyed, what remained of it's soldiers fleeing across the Scaran River or north to friendly positions in the Orcan Mountains, the badly mauled Belkan field army marched east at full speed to the beleaguered fortress of Hemmelsdorf, arriving there a week and a half later. '''The Battle at the Gates of Castle Hemmelsdorf''' The fortified city of Hemmelsdorf was a major transportation hub in Belkan Artikos, being the starting point for the Arktik Rail Line and the Belkan-Alkorian run Enterprise Airship Company. Anyone who controlled the city would have a much easier time of controlling the entire colony. Supreme General Stung had invested the city, digging an outer line of trenches to defend the rear of his besieging force and digging new trenches ever closer to the fortresses walls, all the while pounding away at it with his hundreds of siege cannons. By the time the Belkan reinforcements arrived much of the city was in ruin and the earthern mound that had protected the fortress walls had been almost completely blown away. The Ercaenmedians abandoned the majority of their siege positions as word of the Belkan army reached the ears of General Stung, the construction of siege ladders ceasing and cannons were turned around to face the enemy to their rear. The Ercaenmedian army assembled in three main lines, the first being musketeers with a second line of spearmen and polearms behind with a third and final line of heavy infantry and stone giants in the rear. Advancing among a more narrow front and much deeper line formations the Ercaenmedians intended to break the much thinner Belkan battle line with brute force and numbers, but had to contended with a sortie by the fortresses garrison to their rear and leave several regiments behind to protect this crucial area. The Belkan forces deployed among a much longer battleline with strong flanks and a weak center, intending to encircle the much larger Ercaenmedian force, with the elite 7th New Brokawn Shock-Halberdiers occupying the center position. The one advantage held by the Belkan force being it's concentration of artillery in one large battery while the Ercaenmedian cannons were spread all throughout the battlefield. As the armies maneuvered into formation General Stung ordered his officers to focus their artillery on the Belkan cannons, rightly fearful of what they would do to his massed soldiers, and the Belkan guns were forced to reply in kind lest they be destroyed, crucially distracting them from the main infantry engagement. Following an intense exchange of gunfire the two lines engaged, the Belkan center falling back but forced to hold as the flanks faced unexpected pressure as the Ercaenmedian third line reserve was committed to battle. The battle still on a knifes edge as the city garrison leaves the gates and begins pressing against the rear of the Ercaenmedian army, and Grandmaster Kohler and his Knights swing around the flank of the engaged troops looming for the personal banner of the enemy warlord...only to have their armor turned to lead as Idol Matsune Hiku draws forth the magic of the aether with her song "Your Sins Will Weigh You Down" and her Simpan warriors engage. With the situation rapidly becoming untenable the Belkan line begins falling apart, turning into a complete rout, with the Field Marshal fighting and dying in the brutal rear guard action to save as much of the army as possible and with the defeat of the Fortress Garrison the day belongs to Ercaenmedia. And so does much of the colony with only the coastal capital of Balkapan and city of Ways End remaining in Belkan control at the end of Aquarian, with even these two cities remaining under threat as the remainder of the Ercaenmedian force drives south-east. ==='''Freelancing During the Great War'''=== ====Excerpt from Magnolia Keeling's draft notes for her next book tentatively titled "Freelancing During the Great War": Chapter 3: The One Where Someone Opens A Portal To Hell==== After a rather disastrous attempt to return to the world of relic hunting and mercenary work (see Chapters 1 and 2 of this book), I decided to return to my villa in Westphallica for some relaxation. Normally a major war creates lots of opportunities, but unfortunately, two of the main combatants; Alkor and Belkan, hate my guts. So understandably, when Duchess Katny, my nearest neighbor and fellow jaded hedonist, came to my door with a seemingly simple job opportunity, it was probably too good to be true. Duchess Katny was planning on visiting a top secret research project she had been funding, along with her on-and-off again partner Duke Loro, and wanted me to come along posing as a secret donor, but actually just an extremely well paid bodyguard. So get paid to lounge around in luxury, and maybe fight something if needed. Yes please. We travelled to northern Ercaenadhorn in Katny's personal airship, a week long journey that took us through several contested territories, but due to Westphallica's neutral status and great wealth, no one bothered us. The airship itself was small, but extremely decadent once you got used to the constant humming noise. Teleportation would have been easier, but Katny likes to made an entrance. Besides, opening a portal from one place to another for too long, or repeatedly opening portals between the same two locations can have unexpected side effects, and Katny and Loro had servants and flunkies to bring, not to mention several crates of clothing. We arrived at the mountain fortress known as Merciful Bliss (from a popular Ercaenmedian song) around midday. Although technically privately funded, it was clearly receiving significant support from the Ercaenmedian government. including a small military garrison. The fortress itself was of Ogrillon design, but apparently the lower levels date back to some older, largely unknown civilization. The current inhabitants had clearly done some work on it though. In addition to modern guard towers, there was several large villas built in the Ercaenmedian style, an airfield, an observatory, and several elaborate rock gardens. Clearly the current inhabitants have been putting their money to good use, building all this in the middle of nowhere could not have been cheap. The interiors were even more luxurious than the exterior. Aside from practical spaces like libraries, workshops, kitchens, and barracks, there were several dining halls, a small ballroom, a number of large suites, a sauna, and even heated bathhouse. The servants and soldiers were Encaenmedian Army, but younger than I would expect to see guarding an operation of this importance. No doubt most of them were conscripts who won't be missed on the front lines, or if the research into the gate did not go as expected. However, looks can be deceiving (thanks to miracles of life magic and flesh molding, I myself look about a third my true age, same for Katny and several others present). I quickly noticed that some of the guards looked harder and more competent than the others. An accidental encounter at the sauna later that day confirmed at least some carried the brand of the Sal-Inja ninja clan, one of the most skilled but heartless of their breed in Ercaenmedi. While touring the facilities, I had a chance encounter with my old nemesis Victoria Swann (as mentioned in Chapter 37 of my book "Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them", Victoria had been liberated from her role as the centerpiece of the fountain pool at my villa by Alkorian agents). She was serving as the aide to some Alkorian politician named Sconewick, though no doubt she was here in some sort of Intelligence capacity as well. After some traded threats and insults, Katny pulled me aside and made me promise not to harm Victoria during the duration of this mission. The sacrifices you make for friendships (and a huge paycheck). I'd also like to take yet another opportunity to mention how much I hate that bitch, though anyone who has read by previous book, or the first two chapters of this book will have already read several of my rants on that particular topic. After spending a couple of hours acclimatizing ourselves to the luxuries of Merciful Bliss, we headed to the main dining room, where a multi-national group of dimensional theorists, politicians, wealthy backers, and military leaders met for a truly uncomfortable dinner (for some people, I for one mostly found it amusing). Attendees were as follows: - Sena Starbane, a half-Lapus elf, half Ercaenmedian who was the lead theorist and director on the project. A highly efficient and political minded sort, she started the dinner out with a rousing toast about how science and magical research unites nations, then got called away before the other toasts were even completed to oversee some calibrations to the telescope. - Krakrul, a multi-limbed, deeply disturbing Unraveller "post human" who was one of the leading theorists on the project. He was accompanied by a human-corgi-cyborg hybrid named Fifi who was once a lover-apprentice of his. He was so disturbing that the serving girl bringing his first meal broke down crying and fled just because he looked at her (a Sal-Inja disguised as a common soldier served the rest of his meals). A devoted follower of Deadicorn, he gave an eloquent toast to "Murder, Rape, and Evil". Way to read the crowd... - Hans Helmut, an aetherial architect (whatever that means) from Yr. One of the few to join Krakul's toast. - Eh'NaiL Ha-Nii'la-Terr, an Alprobe archeologist. I don't much like Alprobes (see Chapters 2 and 18 of my book "Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them"), and Eh'NaiL was creeper than most. He gave a speech in his own language that caused a glass to break, a waitress to faint, and probably half the sphincters in the room to tighten. - Lord Sconewick, the Alkorian representative, had apparently fallen asleep from boredom, so his aide, her royal bitchness Victoria Swann gave a toast that included an oblique reference to my recent petrification in Harlbourg (see Chapter 1 of this book). Never one for class, I responded with a toast about how everyone at my mansion missed ogling her statue. Duchess Katny followed with a toast to great friendships. Duke Loro was too busy giggling to make a toast. - Colonel Ji-hoon Kowalczyk, the representative from the nearest Ercaenmedian Army Group, got distracted using his goggles to shamelessly leer at the decolletage of a serving girl bending over to serve a drink to a guest across the table from him, so his aide Enchantress-Singer/Aspiring Idol Nolae Supasuta thought on her feet and managed to parrot Sena's empty toast on world peace through theoretical research (but not without including a quick dig at Belkan) There was also about two dozen other aides, flunkies, bureaucrats, donors, and minor members of the project at the table. A couple were also quite strange, but apparently not enough for me to remember them. Dinner was delicious and extravagant, clearly Sena Starbane liked to make a good impression on her backers even if she herself could not attend. Not too much else happened for the next few hours; we had wine on the massive heated balcony while watching an amazing sunset. Krakrul cried blood, Eh'NaiL touched someone somewhere where he shouldn't have, some minor noble spilled wine down her top, and myself and Victoria exchanged glares all evening. Things got a bit more interesting in the late evening. After a rotation through the bathhouse and sauna, I joined several of the other guests to watch the aurora borealis, which was magnified greatly by the fact that it was being drawn down to the surface by Sera's arcane technology. Eventually, only myself, Hans Helmut, Nolae Supasuta, and her servant Simpypoo (a portmanteau of "Simp", a type of fan apparently, and "Grumpypoo", an obscure god popular with some young people) were left. On our way back to our rooms, we heard a deep grinding sound, followed by screams and maniacal laughter. A short time later, we encountered a trio of conscript guards impaled to the ceiling with large spikes. Simpypoo promptly fainted, Nolae vomited up some wine, but Hans seemed more fascinated then anything. Clearly something wasn't quite right here... Before I really had time to investigate though, a couple of soldiers grabbed us and hustled us away. After a brief interrogation, an unlikely story about how the incident was nothing but a brawl that got out of control, and being sworn to secrecy by the head of security (a Sal-Inja no doubt), myself, Nolae, and Simpypoo were sent to bed for the night. However, I had other plans. Once I judged everyone important was asleep, and whatever guards were supposed to be watching me had grown a bit weary, I tossed on my nightshirt on, slipped a little packet of something special into my inner pocket, climbed out my window, and scaled the decorative ornamentation to get to a balcony on the level where the Alkorians were staying. In theory, my first priority should have been warning my employer that something was up, but if I was going to risk my neck sneaking about anyways, might as well throw in a bit of a personal mission as well. If you mix table salt with a rare perfume known as nightsap, you get a nice little powder that causes a severely itchy rash once in contact with body moisture after a few hours. And I always bring salt and nightsap to events like this. Daydreaming like the idiot I am about where to place the powder on Victoria or her clothes for best effect, I didn't hear the slight creak of leather to the last minute. To my surprise, the leather didn't belong to a Sal-Inja goon, but rather a female Belkan Intelligence operative in the trademark black leather of that organization. And she had a rather wicked knife... Now I am an experienced hand-to-hand combatant, and work by the life mages had boasted my physical strength considerably, but going toe-to-toe with a skilled operative who is armed when you aren't is tricky. Particularly when you can't make noise. And particularly particularly when you are trying to take her alive. Also, I was still drunk. About a minute of silent but vicious fighting later, things ended with me suffering from several deep nicks, and a nightshirt full of gashes, and her writhing from several organ punches and pressure point jabs. After a bonk on the head, and another hour of sneaking around lugging her about, I find an empty room I judge isn't going to be visited for a while, bind her up, and leave her for later interrogation. I also poured liberal amounts of the powder on her, both to impede any escape attempts, and also since I was peeved about my favorite nightshirt being covered in blood and gashes. Feeling too tired for further adventures, I went to bed with a number of important tasks on my to-do list like: - Warn Katny about the killings - Interrogate the Belkan on what she knew about... everything really - Figure out what was really going on at Merciful Bliss - Give Victoria a rash by pouring nightsap mixed with salt in her panties The next morning, I awoke feeling a little worse for ware. In addition to the hangover, cuts and bruises from the fight, three hours of sleep, horrid morning breath from the garlic bread last night, I had also somehow swallowed a mouthful of my own hair and chewed off a chunk of it. I spent the next hour making myself somewhat presentable, grudgingly wearing thick clothes and heavy make-up to cover up the cuts and bruises. Today was the day that we got shown The Gate. I probably should have explained this before, but the whole purpose of this luxurious but remote research facility is to investigate the Ebon Gate. The only known structure of its kind, it was discovered by explorers decades ago, but only recently has the true value of the site come to light. When charged with enormous amounts of magnetic energy captured from the aurora borealis, and under certain planetary alignments, it opens a gate to another world. So far it had only been opened three times briefly, each leading to uninhabited ruins on different worlds, but that night, improvements to the magnetic energy collection system were believed to be able to keep The Gate open for a whole three hours. Although hardly an expert on inter-dimensional travel, I suspected even at that point that we were messing with forces best left alone, and I had a sneaking suspicion that the deaths of the three conscripts were somehow tied to something coming from The Gate. Unfortunately I didn't trust the main players behind the operation enough to confide in them. Nor did I get a chance to talk to Katny. So instead I played the role of the oblivious donor, eager to see what my money was being used for. After an elaborate breakfast, we were herded down to the lower levels of the fortress where the gate is located. The difference in architectural styles between the Ercaenmedian top floors, the Orgillon core building, and the mysterious underground ruins was striking. Something about the underground ruins put me on edge. Perhaps it was the jet black walls and strange carvings, perhaps it was the fact that the conscript guards were clearly on edge, perhaps it was the fact that normal sounds didn't seem to travel here, though unexplained rustling and cracking noises could be heard occasionally, but most of all it was my increasing certainty that Sena and her fellows were playing with forces they didn't understand. We arrived in the main chamber where the Ebon Gate is located. Curving stairs leading up to an empty doorframe. Fairly mundane really, but I could feel it was already crackling with invisible energy despite the fact that the test wasn't scheduled until tonight. Sena was supposed to give a lecture at this point, but clearly something wasn't right, and she had a hushed conversation with her fellow researchers. At this point I really started wishing I had been allowed to carry my sword and gun around. Suddenly, the gate started glowing ominously, but it wasn't though the gate that the first sign of trouble appeared. Instead, a twisted figure popped into existence somewhat off to the side of the chamber. Although it took me a moment to recognize it, I eventually realized it is a Chained One, a lesser demon of Iron Gyyn made from damned soul wrapped in cutting chains and spikes for centuries until it loses all sanity and only desires to be let free to inflict pain on others. The Yrian scientist Hans Helmut evidently recognized it too. Perhaps since Iron Gyyn (a demon associated with bondage, forges, and demon bidding) is one of the primary demons worshipped in Yr he felt safe approaching it, but instead several bladed chains lashed out, slicing him in half, and painting a nearby guard red with arterial blood. Another guard flew backwards, pierced by several iron spikes. A Spiked Beast (another demon of Iron Gyyn) had appeared, and was now impaling bystanders with flying spikes. But worse of all was the Grasping Mother. Said to be a personification of Iron Gyyn herself, this strange demon has many limbs ending in chains. Those who become fully engulfed in these wrapping chains simply disappear, it is probably best not to think about what happens to them. At that point everyone decides running away to be their best option. After a number of close calls with demons now stalking the halls of Merciful Bliss, I found myself hiding in the library with Sena Starbane, Colonel Ji-hoon Kowalczyk, and Krakrul. Sena and Ji-hoon were arguing over whether someone had deliberately altered the Ebon Gate so that it would open up in the home dimension of Iron Gyyn. I mentioned that Hans Helmut had shown a strong interest in the murdered conscripts last night (which Sena and Ji-hoon hadn't even heard about), and it was agreed that potentially Hans had found a way to alter the Gate (not like anyone is asking him anytime soon). Ji-hoon and Sena had a whispered argument at that point about whether the rapid advances in research had been worth bringing in morally dubious individuals like Hans and Krakrul (they had apparently forgotten Krakrul was within earshot, but he didn't seem to mind, he was lifting Fi Fi onto a table so that she/it could gnaw the legs off a beheaded servant). After a while, we realized we needed some sort of plan to deactivate The Gate. No one really knew how we would completely close it, but it was agreed that shutting down the aurora borealis harvester on the roof would be a good start. By this point, reality was clearly unravelling a bit, with streaks of purplish smoky fire sometimes appearing from no where, and occasionally opening to form a rift through which various demons would pop out. Even minor demons are both nastily fast and tough, and we relied mostly on Krakrul's destructive magic, and Ji-hoon's magic wand to clear them. My own abilities at Energy Creation are weak, time consuming to perform, and rather draining, but I did manage to conjure a few good lightning blasts at the cost of exhausting myself. Needless to say, I really wished I had my sword and gun with me. After a few more minor skirmishes, we made our way to the roof. We were joined on the way by Duke Loro, who had clearly fought his way through more than a few close encounters himself. Luckily he is a skilled swordsmen with abnormal strength packed into a seemingly normal sized frame, courtesy of the best flesh molders money can buy. Unfortunately, the collector antennas are massive and highly durable. We debated how to best destroy it for a while, with Krakrul rather dubiously arguing that even he didn't have the magic to destroy it. Eventually Loros comes up with a crude plan of using his magic strength to haul a large anti-griffon ballista off its mounting and fire it repeatedly at the joints of the spindle in hopes of damaging something. Krakrul evidently didn't like that plan though, he threw Loros off the roof just as he was lining up the first shot, and threw Ji-hoon over the edge a second later. He evidently had other (no doubt rape-y) plans for Sena, since he knocked her out with some sort of Dark Aether magic. He tried to do the same to me, but luckily I am pretty good at Aether Manipulation, and disrupted three spells in a row as he tried to gather the energy for them. Instead he changed tactics and simply rushed me, no doubt with his sheer size, many arms, and massive raw strength he could easily beat me in a hand-to-hand fight. Instead I sprinted to the nearest railing, jumped over the edge, painfully butt-slid down an icy terracotta roof, sprinted across a balcony that served as the roof of one of the annex buildings, dodged two fire balls, got grazed by a third, then jumped off a two story ledge while partially on fire and landed in one of the heated pools (which both cushioned the fall and put out the flames). Worried Krakrul was still on me, I scrambled out of the pool, ditched most of my clothes (which were now soaked and heavy) and ran blindly through the maze of cedar hedges, pagodas, and small outbuildings that covered the grounds between the main research building and the main guest accommodation building. Naturally I almost ran headfirst into a Spiked Beast, but then it got cut in half by a Horseman. Luckily the Horseman started defiling the body of a guard the Spiked Beast had just pinned to a wall, so I was able to sneak away from the bizarre encounter. It was only after about a minute of slow sneaking did the implications of this become clear. Horsemen were demons (technically half-demons) associated with Deadicorn, but so far the demons breaching reality have been associated with Iron Gyyn. I then noticed that the formerly purple-ish rifts were now sparkly and rainbow colored. Clearly the Ebon Gate was now somehow attuned to Deadicorn's Realm rather than Iron Gyyn's. I briefly wondered if Krakrul (a devout Deadicorn worshipper as I had said before) was somehow altering the Ebon Gate, or if it was just a natural shift as the planets continue to align. However it didn't really matter since either way he would now do what he could to stop anyone from shutting down the Gate. I decide to continue running towards the guest accommodation building, where I would at least have a fighting chance once I got my gear. Exhausted, and fairly confident Krakrul or any demons weren't nearby, I stopped behind one of the sauna buildings next to the guest building to catch my breath. Suddenly Katny came running in from one direction, and Victoria, Lord Sconewick, and the Belkan Intelligence operative I locked up the previous night come running from the other direction. What followed was one of the more interesting conversations I have ever had... ''The conversation (with my thoughts in brackets) when roughly as follows:'' Katny (to me): What happened to your clothes? And make-up? (naturally Katny look immaculate as always) Me: I went for a swim Victoria: Why? Me: Because I was worried I got syphilis just being in the same room as you (not my best comeback ever, but I was pretty stressed and exhausted by this point) Belkan Intelligence Operative (to me): Remember me bitch? Me: No (lying because I didn't want to explain why I covered up finding a Belkan spy, or what I was doing in the Alkorian guest quarters to begin with) Katny: That's Claudia, she is my favorite cousin on my mom's side (bad news for me, Katny doesn't like people messing with her favorites) Katny: Hi Claudia! Claudia: Hi Katny! Me (to Claudia): Still don't recognize you (hoping it was too dark during our encounter last night for Claudia to recognize me for sure) Claudia: Where did you get those scars? They look new. Bet you didn't have them yesterday... Me: uhm... Victoria (to me): What is the matter Adalwolfa Kühling, cat got your tongue? (reference to my rarely used birth name, as well as a reminder to Sconewick of my Belkan ancestry, it seemed rather unfair at the time that hated enemies Alkor and Belkan were teaming up on me) Me (to Claudia): So what were you doing wandering around the Alkorian guest quarters with a sharp knife anyways? (a petty attempt to turn Victoria and Claudia against each other, but actually a pretty good point in hindsight) Sconewick (to everyone else): Shut up your nattering you imbecilic harlots, we have more things to worry about Victoria (to Sconewick): She is the one that looks like a harlot (fair point, I was down to my under clothes and probably had make-up running all over my face thanks to my brief swim) Victoria (to Claudia): Wait, what were you doing.... Sconewick: Shut up! Victoria looked rather shocked at this point, I also found it rather strange at the time that Sconewick didn't seem to care that someone who may have tried to assassinate him last night was standing right behind him with a looted sword. Katny: Agreed, this conversation is going nowhere fast, we need to shut down the Gate Katny: Has anyone seen Loros? He was trying to find Sena Me: Nope (lying since Katny was the most rationale and intelligent person here and I didn't want her distracted by the fact that her on and off boy toy was dead) Katny: What about Sena? Me: Well, uh, she is probably getting pig roasted by Krakul and a horseman right now Victoria: What the hell does that even mean? Me: Well, you know... I try to demonstrate with my pointer fingers, but realize belatedly that I need a third hand for the gesture to make sense Katny (rather witheringly): We know what it means, why would Krakul do that to Sena at a time like this? Me: Well, you see, Krakul is uh, evil (no shit), and well, somehow he realigned the Gate to open onto Deadicorn's realm, or maybe the Gate was already realigning itself...I don't know, either way he doesn't want people tampering with it, cause he is a Deadicorn worshipper... and stuff Katny: Shit Victoria (to me): Aren't you a Deadicorn worshipper too? Me: No (worship is a strong word, I prefer to think of it as occasional bargaining, also I haven't done it for a while) Victoria: Liar! Me: Eat shit you gold plated slut (a reference to her time as a lawn ornament at my villa) Sconewick: Shut Up! Both of you! Sconewick: What about that Alprobe fellow? Anal, or whatever? Could he shut down the Gate? Disturbing screech comes from somewhere nearby, a decapitated Alprobe head lands at Claudia's feet Claudia: You mean that one? Katny: Are there any other Alprobes on site? Sconewick: No Katny: Well shit Katny: We need to rescue Sena, she is the only one left who knows how to fix this Loros appears from somewhere Loros: Ask Magnolia, she saw Sena last Katny (to me): I thought you said you hadn't seen Loros? Loros (to me): Why would you say that? Me (feeling like a complete idiot at this point): How are you not dead? (he got knocked of the side of the building facing the cliff, no way he could have survived the landing like I did) Loros: Magic rings, remember? (and I should have remembered, under his gloves Loros does have some extremely rare and expensive rings from Belkan that give him limited flying abilities, I had seen him showing them off at several parties back in Westphallica) Katny gives me a look that indicates both that she is starting to severely doubt my abilities, as well as is planning some sort of retribution (and she is very creative when it comes to retribution) Victoria and Claudia look rather pleased to see me in the hot seat Me (to Katny): Look, mistakes were made, can we move past it for now? Nolae Supasuta and Simpypoo show up Nolae: We are in big trouble... Everyone: We know Nolae (pointing at the Alprobe head on the ground): Is that... Everyone: Yes Long awkward pause Me: We should try to get to the main building roof, that is where I last saw Sena. Maybe it won't be too bad and the Iron Gyyn and Deadicorn affiliated demons will wear each other out The Grasping Mother smashes into the side of the guest building, then explodes into fire and acid, as demons often do when killed, heavy footsteps and deep breathing is heard nearby, but mercifully it changes direction and heads away from us No one dare speak for a while Simpypoo: Well that sounded big... Katny: We don't have a choice, we must stop The Gate from being fully opened, planetary alignment is less than eight hours away, and who knows what could appear through the rifts in the meantime... Nolae: Agreed Sconewick: Agreed He then emphasizes his point by blowing a horseman sneaking up on us to pieces with his musket (evidently the shot was boasted magically somehow) Me: I need to grab my gear from my room... Katny (gives me a very withering look to remind me I am not in her good books): No time ''End of conversation.'' So that is how the eight of us ended up fighting our way through waves of demons trying to get back to the main research building. Well Simpypoo mostly cowered in the middle, and although an accomplished fighter, Claudia isn't tough enough to fight a demon in melee, though she took the occasional highly accurate shot with rifles taken from the abundant supply of dead guards everywhere. Also, Nolae's enchantments and sound amplifying staff aren't super useful against demons. And Sconewick was only useful when he had a shot loaded. So it was mostly Loros, Katny, and Victoria doing the heavy fighting with their abundant supply of magic gear, and me throwing the odd fireball. I started to wonder why Loros and Katny even bothered bringing me to Merciful Bliss as a bodyguard, they could clearly look after themselves. Unfortunately by the time we made it to the roof overlooking the collection antennas, Krakul had gathered several demons of Deadicorn to his side, including a massive demon descriptively known as the "Big Schlonged Giant Rotting Beast" (yes, there is also a Small Schlonged Giant Rotting Beast, got to tell demons apart somehow). Even worse, Krakul had clearly boosted his magical abilities somehow, when we arrived on the roof, he simply used some form of Aether Manipulation to immobilize us while suspending us in mid air, to better listen to his evil monologue obviously. At least Sena was alive, dressed, and unpenetrated, still unconscious where I last saw her. Now if I had a penny for every time I was trapped helpless while some bad guy gave me a long winded monologue about what their plans were, and what they were doing to do to me afterwards, I would have six pennies (fourteen if you include all the times I was just pretending to be helpless). Which doesn't seem like much, but keep in mind it is the sort of thing you don't expect to happen in real life, ever. Krakul gave a better monologue than most, but I was somewhat distracted by the fact that Fi Fi was dry humping the detached leg of some hapless guard in the background. Still I got the gist of what he was saying (invite Deadicorn to enter our world, mass corruption, new realm for Deadicorn, us meddlers getting fused into some horrid human centipede to spend the rest of eternity being tortured and humiliated for Krakul's sick amusement, etc, etc, etc). Unfortunately, I had no idea what to do about this. Even the members of our party carrying magical devices or who could work magic were being blocked somehow. Luckily, just when I though we were completely screwed, all the rainbow sparkly rifts started changing color to black, white, and static-y. Krakul starts freaking out about how his calculations were perfect, and the alignment of planets should have resulted in the Gate leading to Deadicorn's Realm. And then a giant whale like thing feel from the sky and crushed him and his demon minions. Evidently a demon whale, it dissolved into acid and fire, killing any demons that somehow survived the impact. Krakul was the last to die, he wandered about flailing his arms screeching as the acid and fire dissolved even his magically altered body. Upon his death, the suspension magic ended, and we fell to the ground with varying levels of grace. Nolae managed to wake up Sena, and as a group we came up with a new plan to close the gate. [Rest of story censored due to red hot pokemon on pokemon action] ==='''Introduction to Fey Beings, Alkorian School Textbook Excerpt:'''=== Fey creatures are believed to originate from one of several dimension with strong ties to this world, as a result, most fey are able to sense and access the many hidden portals that cover Autia and other neighboring continents. Some fey in fact spend almost all their time in alternate dimensions, only occasionally visiting this one to explore or be a nuissance. Fey races tend to have the ability to innately cast certain types of spells without training, though ability varies by individual. Thanks to their chaotic nature, and the ready availability of food and other resources in their home dimensions, fey tend to be whimsical, and seemingly uninterested in pragmatic matters like nation building, farming, or economics. However races with fey ancestry that have lived in our dimension for many generations tend to lose many of the traits associated with the fey, including the ability to detect and use portals, their innate magic, and their eccentric nature. Partial List of Common Fey: '''--- Elves ---''' - Fairie Elves: Resemble short, young-ish elves. Despite their youthful and bright appearance, Fairie Elves are sadistic and cruel, using their magic to torture others to death. Frequently ride large fey corgis and associate with evil hags. Common in Fluffwood, but occasionally show up elsewhere. - Nymphs: A notoriously attractive and wanton race of all female elves, nymphs are generally found near portals located in pure lakes and rivers. - Other Elves: Most elves are believed to have fey origins, but some races have arrived more recently than others, and some races are said to have lived in non-fey dimensions for generations before coming here. Aside from some Lapus Elves and a few others, most elves have lost their ties to the fey worlds, though they retain high magical potential, and some retain innate fey abilities. '''--- Giants ---''' A category for humanoid fey much larger than a human. Not all giants have fey origins, some came from other worlds (non-fey giants are not listed here). - Cyclops: One eyed giants found mostly in Rinolsol, and occasionally in parts of western Autia. Ill tempered and territorial, they are best avoided. The Soukos Republic sometimes uses them as shock troops. - Frost Giants: Large giants found mostly on the northern continent, but stories suggest they once lived on the southern continent as well. Often powerful magic users in addition to their sheer size, they have been the bane of colonial attempts for ages, though luckily they seem to have no expansionist tendencies of their own. - Hill Giants: Large lumbering dull-witted brutes. Most have lost their connection to the fey worlds. Not particularly cruel by fey standards, but lazy and hungry. Prone to stealing large vegetable and livestock, but can also be bribed to fight or do heavy labor in return for food. Found mostly in remote grasslands, foothills and mountains. - Minotaur: A fairly rare giant found mostly in southern Rinolsol and the western Autian mountains. Aggressive and with dark tendencies, many become worshippers of Deadicorn. Sometimes they are tamed by Soukos City States to serve as shock troops. The Eldrians made their own version which remain common to this day in some former Eldrian territories. - Ogres and Ogrillon: A large, aggressive race, orgillons forged a massive empire on this world in ancient times and gradually lost their ties to the fey realms. However, they were destroyed by the Sartyrian Elves, and only small pockets remain on the northern continent. Their inbred, mentally stunted descendants can be found in small pockets in the remote swamps and hills of Autia. - Oni: Powerful magic users with an unknown connection to the ogrillon/ogre race. Very rare, only isolated pockets are now believed to exist in eastern Autia. - Stone Giants: Large giants that seem to be carved from the living stone. They prefer to be left alone, but sometimes can be lured into the service of humans in exchange for favors and oaths. Generally only found in the most remote mountain regions. - Trolls: Large cannibalistic race with an unnaturally quick healing ability. They live mostly in the fey realms, but sometimes cross over to feast on anything too slow to outrun them. Can sometimes be bargained with or enchanted to serve as deadly shock troops. '''--- Gobinoids ---''' A name for the several fey races that resemble goblins in appearance and temperament. - Goblins: One of the most common fey descended races, goblins can be found in fairly large numbers in most parts of the world, though like harpies they rarely form large nations of their own. Known to be fairly intelligent but ill-tempered, those that live along humans sometimes find niches as tinkerers, merchants, and bankers, but tribes the retain strong ties to the fey worlds generally reject technology in favor of wild and unpredictable magic. Despite their own capabilities and generally disagreeable and somewhat cruel nature, most fey goblins have a strange drive to serve those they see as stronger than themselves, usually other fey. '''--- Ents ---''' A slow-witted and tranquil race that prefers to be left alone and that reproduces by performing complex rituals on living trees. Found mostly in the most isolated sections of forest like The Soulwood and isolated parts of Lapus. '''--- Fairies ---''' Blanket term for fairies, pixies, sprites, and other small humanoids with wings. Many different types exist, and naming conventions vary by area. Most are fairly harmless aside for their love of voyeurism and petty tricks, but some are cruel and sadistic, particularly when they spend too much time with darker fey like hags and red caps. Generally prefer enchantment and illusion magic, but some have been known to use life magic. '''--- Half-Men ---''' Category of fey that have a human head and torso, but legs and sometimes arms are animalistic. Frequently mistaken for demon half breeds or creations of the Eldrian Empire, both of whom sometimes come in forms that greatly resemble certain types of fey half-men, to the point that they are basically indistinguishable and carry the same name. - Centaurs: Torso of a human attached to the body of a horse. Most are in fact demonic half breeds created by Deadicorn, or creations of the Eldrian Empire meant to resemble the real thing. Most "true" centaurs are now found in Rinolsol. Most avoid magic, but some are good at divination and weather magic. - Gepids: Upper body of a human, lower body of an octopus. Found mostly in a coastal region of the Fairy Lands known as Halem. - Harpies: One of the most common fey descended races, they can be found almost anywhere, but prefer mountains and coastal areas, though some breeds live in deserts, forests, or jungles. Most harpy clans have dwelt in this world for generations and have lost their connection to the fey worlds, but some, like those in parts of Lapus and the Fairy Lands still have strong ties to the fey. Culture and appearance varies greatly by breed and region. - Merfolk: The most common of the aquatic races, they possess many sub races that taken together can be found in any ocean, and some lakes and rivers. Many sub races are female only. Appearance, culture, and magic varies greatly between sub races. - Satyr and fauns: Lazy, party loving fey with little appreciation for other people's boundaries. Found in small bands in temperate forests all over Rinolsol, Autia, and Tismo. Some tribes are fairly harmless, but many other tribes have gained a reputation for banditry, rape, and slavery. Many tribes in Tismo are Deadicorn worshippers. Some are known to be skilled at enchantment and divination magic. Definitions of "satyr" and "faun" vary by area. - Snake People: Human upper half and snake lower half. Like dryads they sometimes declare themselves guardians of large sections of forest, particularly the warm, dry forests along the border of the dry grasslands of central Autia. Sometimes giant, many armed versions have been encountered in the deepest forests. '''--- Shape Shifters ---''' - Dryads: Forest dwelling fey that have the ability to transform between an elf-like shape, a tree, and a hybrid shape. They spend most of their time in their home dimension, but will sometimes declare a section of forest under their protection. Unpopular with hunters and tree cutters for this reason. Skilled at life magic and animal control. - Lycanthrope: Technically cursed humans, but usually encountered in areas of strong fey magic. Lycanthropes usually possess an animal form and a hybrid form, along with their original form. Despite popular belief, it is actually fairly difficult for a lycanthrope to transfer their curse onto another, which typically involves powerful rituals. Several types exist, though werewolves are the most common and famous. Their strong urge to feast on the flesh of humans means they are unpopular, and are frequently targeted by bounties. - Hags: Cruel and spiteful race obsessed with acquiring magical knowledge. Some can function within mainstream human societies despite their love of acts of petty cruelty, but others are as insane as the worse Unravellers or demon worshippers, and can only operate in remote areas like Fluffwood or Hagarta. Several sub races exist specializing in different environments like subarctic forests, deserts, swamps, hills, or deep forest. Usually resemble monstrous old women, but sometimes will shift to a more attractive form when needed. - Spirit Animals: A magically powerful people who always have one humanoid form, and one animal-ish form. Found mostly in Napan. Fey dragons are a subcategory of this race, but are usually treated as a separate race in Napan due to their immense power even compared to other Spirit Animals. '''--- Wee Folk ---''' Catch-all category for fey that resemble humans, but are smaller. - Gnomes: Resembling small humans, often seemingly old, but still with boundless energy. Gnomes once conquered most of Tismo, and occasionally invaded even Autia. Like their close cousins (and hated enemies) the leprechauns, they have powerful magic which they like to use for tricks. Not particularly evil, but frequently possessing of a strange, sometimes perverted mindset. Still possess fairly strong ties to the fey worlds despite the large civilizations they have established in the past on Tismo and Autia. - Monkeymen: A strange type of fey that looks like a cross between a human and a spider money. They are usually found in the Emerald Isles, but sometimes show up on other continents, with known populations in Afrozil, Napan, and Lindgrub. In Autia and Lapus they are usually seen as harmless, attention seeking jokers, but in the Emerald Isles many have fallen under the influence of cruel demons and have become twisted and foul. Like other wee folk, they use their magic mostly for tricks. - Leprechauns (Lepre Khans): Visually somewhat similar to gnomes, though easily distinguished by their bright orange hair and strange accents. Leprechauns have strange and powerful magic which they use for trickery that ranges from harmless to cruel. Mostly found in central Lapus, but do occasionally appear in other forests, hills, and mountains where portals to the fey worlds exist. - Red caps: A small but cruel race, they resemble a mix of gnomes, leprechauns, and goblins depending on the subrace, usually a mix of all three. Skilled at life magic, they are fond of binding victims in magical thorned vines, or using life magic to temporarily enhance their own strength. They boast their magic by collecting the blood of those in pain. Usually found in the darker parts of Fairy Land and the Bloodsap Forest, particularly in area where hags are found. ==='''The Belkan Invasion of the Ercaenmedian Union'''=== '''Western Pact''' ''Belkan Strength'' Army Group Center, Army Group West, Army Group East High Field Marshal V Class George Kessel,High Field Marshal IV Class Albert Irons, High Field Marshal IV Robertio Enchadorian Functs 1,250,000 men 7,000 cannons 100 Lundwurm Heavy Tanks 300 Lunddraken Light Tanks 10 Iron Colossi 17 Air Battleships 30 Air Cruisers 60 Zeppelins 1000 Eagles 300 Aero-Maschinen ''Soukon Strength'' Marshal Alexandrios of the Silver Host 30,000 men 100 Dragon Slayer Ballista 30 Neo-Triremes Republic of Free Men Detachment, Voluntas Pact Detachment '''Northern Autian Treaty Organization''' ''Ercaenmedian Strength'' Host of Greater Glory, Host of the Homeland, Host of Eternal Victory Supreme Commander Hugo Lee, SC Alexisy Song, SC Alexander Roskov 850,000 men 3,500 Cannons 100 Mobile Skycannons 500 Wyverns 14 Little David Super Heavy Tanks Aerofortress Glory to Greater Ercaenmedia 50 Fortresses 20 Ancient Wyvern Superheavy Flyers ''Alkorian Force in Ercaenmedia'' Lord General Rupert McKinney 100,000 men 300 Tanks 500 Cannons Afrozilian, Aesnarian, Eritroan and Westphallican Detachments The Belkan Invasion of the Ercaenmedian Union would be the moment the world was pushed from the brink into full scale warfare. Following the invasion of Belkan Arktikos, Lord Chancellor Erich Von-Valzheim of the Grand Assembly notified the Belkan Generals Staff to mobilize the Army and prepare for war while outwardly making pleas for peace with the Alkorians and Ercaenmedians for the ceasing of hostilities. This caused the Alkorian forces to demobilize, wanting to appease Belkan to focus on the War in Harlbourg, but the Ercaenmedians were not fooled and reinforced their positions on the Fulta, Deemz and Olter Gaps, the main invasion routes the Belkans had used in the past centuries. These defenses would be tested as on the night of the Piscean 17th in the year 3021 the great Watchtowers fell and 750,000 Belkans broke through. '''The War for Ercaenmedias Heart''' The Belkan Army Group Center would be tasked with taking the three main passes through the mountains as well as the most populous parts of Ercaenmedian territory, consequently it would also be the largest and most well equipped of the Belkan Invasion forces. Field Marshal Kessel directed five Corps to the assault on the Falta Gap, the most heavily defended and also widest of the three passes, with three Corps each allocated to the assault on Deems and Olter. His assault on the Falta Gap would be heavily contested, III rd Corp would be left at half strength after it's assault on the Hells Guard fortress with two reserve Corps being brought up to replace casualties, but the area surrounding the mountain pass would be secured a week later as his forces defeated the defending Ercaenmedian armies in the battle of Plizen. With the Falta Gap secure Army Group Center was free to push fresh troops through it, with the Army of Greater Belkan arriving in full strength in Ercaenmedia just weeks after Plizen's capture, with these fresh reinforcements the Belkans were able to outflank the Ercaenmedian armies defending the other two passes, finally securing them three weeks after the initial invasion. Even with the successes brought by the taking of the passes and the destruction of the Ercaenmedian border Watchtower network Belkan troops were still under heavy pressure, Ercaenmedian counterattacks along the front resulting in heavy casualties for both attacker and defender with the invaders soon learning why their ancestors feared the fierce southerners. The Ercaenmedian counterattack , fierce as they might have been, were a move of desperation to buy time for reserves and levies to be mobilized with much of the standing army being wiped out in climactic battles like the defense of Tover, the war for city Ersatzakan and the battle of Pinzk. By the second month of the invasion a third of the country was under Belkan control with much of the civilian population fleeing south into Westphallica and the Republic of Free Men. The Second Battle of Shurwood and the Siege of the Three Sisters had seen the Belkan IIIrd and Vth Corp take positions only thirty miles away from the capital of Etalithar before being pushed back, with the Belkans falling back to defensive lines centered around the city of Hurtz. Hurtz was an old city, built up around the ancient castle of an Order of Brass Knights in times long past, but still a formidable one to take with the Belkans only able to take it due to the efforts of sappers in the night who destroyed the two Little David's standing guard over the city. Once the City fell it was used as a staging area and supply dump to supply front line Belkan troops. It was also the spot that Hugo Lee and Lord General McKinsey chose to direct their forces at, in an attempt to break the thin frontline of Center Force with the majority of the Alkorian army as well as the Aero Fortress Glory to Greater Ercaenmedia spearheading the assault. '''The Battle of Hurtz and the Diomedan Offensive''' The Battle of Hurtz would be just one part of a far greater offensive as the Allied Armies launched their assault on the so-called Diomedan Salient. The Amazons of Afrozil under Queen Presidente Sola Solata assaulted the IVI and II Corps under Field Marshal Eddo with a Host of Ercaenmedian levy infantry breaking the western part of the Belkan line at the Battle of Novamudias, the tactic of sending wave after wave of Ercaenmedian soldiers proving to be costly if effective, the Amazons and their army managing to push the Belkan line back five miles. On the eastern part of the salient the Alkorian Expeditionary force found themselves battering away Belkan trenchlines, losing 30,000 dead in the first day of the battle but managing to evict the XX Corp for a gain of ten miles. In the center the Alkorian 1st and 3rd Tank Divisions with the Army of the Blistering Rose began their assault on Hurtz. The Allies deployed their assets conservatively, not willing to deploy the Aero-Fortress until the Belkan army could be brought to the field, they entrenched around the city and began bombarding it with artillery fire. The Belkan defenders under General Marshall would not leave the city to do battle with the Ercaenmedians even as the outer districts of the city were bombarded to rubble. He spread his forces throughout the city, emplacing his cannons on the commanding heights of Castle Hurtz's walls, with the majority of his Corp defending the interior of the city. The General and his Corp were not even supposed to be in the city, they were just on their way to another part of the line and resupplying there, a fact left out of Ercaenmedian intelligence reports. Shaman General Meow, the overall commander of the Allied attack on Hurtz, decided to probe the defenses of the city after bringing down it's walls dispatching a Regiment of Westphallican mercenary spider Cavalry in through breaches in the old city wall. With her scouts reporting light defenses the Ercaenmedian General decided to deploy only half of her army to attack the city with the other half advancing further into Belkan controlled territory. This would prove to be a blunder as the newly formed Army of Greater Judgement, A 50,000 strong force, found itself engaged within the city against a similarly sized Belkan force with the benefits of entrenchments and heavy fortifications. General Meow and her force, having destroyed the 5th Division at the battle of Blatz, were forced to leave behind their hard fought positions and march back to Hurtz, encircling the Belkans in the city but being counter-encircled in turn by two fresh reserve Corps. The battle would rapidly turn into a war of attrition between the Belkans and Allies, as more and more forces were committed to the fight the city gained an importantce that it was originally lacking. Airships of the Solstfielian Free Armada and Imperial Aero-Navy would duel in the skies of the city, to great enjoyment by both forces who were happy to have found worthy adversaries, and Alkorian armored forces were tested and found wanting on the fields and valleys surrounding the city as both sides adapted to tank warfare. At the end of the Diomedan Offensive the Belkans had been pushed back slightly from their original positions with Ercaenmedian forces controlling much of the city of Hurtz but the Belkan's owning most of the land surrounding the city leaving the Allies with only a thin supply line. Overall the Offensive was a success offering Alkor and Ercaenmedia a little more room to mobilize their forces, if at the cost of hundred of thousands of lives , and fortify stronger defenses to bleed the Belkans on their way to Esthaliar but as the war entered it's next phase Ercaenmedias fare was still undecided. The War for Ercaenmedias Heart would eclipse the Belkan Campaigns on the coast in both size and scope but the country would remain cut off from the sea. '''The Coastal Campaigns of the Ercaenmedian Front:''' Field Marshals Irons and Functs were tasked with taking the western and eastern coasts of Ercaenmedia respectively with Marshal Alexandrios of the Soukon Contingent to make landfall on the western coast as well. The strategy behind the campaign would be to capture Ercaenmedia's port cities to deprive it from foreign and colonial aid as well as enabling Belkan and Soukon forces to be resupplied by sea. Where the Center front would be concentrated on taking as much territory as possible on the way to the capital as well as defeating the main body of the Allied Armies the Coastal Campaigns would be much more restrained and focused, each pincer would only have around nine Corps worth of troops to use and certain cities designated as primary objectives. On the Western coast the first objective was the port city of Melvin which was taken by storm three days after it's initial besiegement. With the city taken the Soukon Contingent was able to join forces with his own while still leaving a significant marine force embarked aboard their ships. Fifty miles down the coast was the next objective, Duangjon, a much larger and well defended port city and home to several Ercaenmedian dreadships. The Field Marshal raided down the coast burning through minor towns and villages on his way to city reaching it a week later. Knowing that the port could be used to base raiders who could assault his supply lines from the sea he appointed three Corps to make siege to the city and begin bombarding it, a squadron of Cruisers and Frigates of the Belkan Navy would remain offshore and out of range of the city's guns to keep any new supplies from reaching the city. While the city was under siege he ordered the rest of his forces under Marshal Alexandrios to march south and take the cities of Tavenna and Wutland, with the Soukon naval forces raiding up and down the coastline and causing great confusion among the defenders. After three weeks of bombardment Belkan Tercions and repeating riflemen entered the city. They faced strong resistance from the crews of the Dreadships who had joined the garrison as naval infantry equipped with a variety of close ranged weapons as well as the Idol trio BLACKpunk. The magic and blades of the Ercaenmedians was not enough against the might of the Belkan hordes who captured the city after a day of hard fighting, but the port facilities were heavily damaged in the process. This meant that the Belkan and Soukon navies would be unable to use the port as a base till it was repaired with only the extremely large city of Wunderwahl also having the facilities to maintain large, armored warships. Marshal Alexandrios advanced quickly on Tavenna taking the city before it's defenses could be raised. Wurtbad would manage to ready it's defenses in time after fighting off a vanguard force of Belkan and Soukon Cavalry and prove to be a much hardier target as the combined force made to siege it. The commander of the city's garrison General Ljuda Rostok, who coincidentally had been a veteran of thirteen Belkan wars, had prepared physical and magical defenses at the sight of the enemy armies with barricades dotting the streets and holy water protection circles being drawn around it's limits. The Ercaenmedians had hoped that they would be able to hold for reinforcements from the army at Wunderwahl, initially only having to fight a few Divisions the defenders would be shocked to find 60,000 Belkans had encircled their city. While Marshal Alexandrios had left behind two Corps to besiege Wurtbad under Marshal Julian his own force of four Corps would advance to Wunderwahl and begin maneuvering to entice the Ercaenmedians into a battle. This would culminate In the Battle of Pinz-On-The-Sea which would see half of the Allied force routed but victorious with the fire support of several Neo-Triremes. With the defeat of the main Ercaenmedian field army on the coast Alexandrios began a wide encirclement of the city while awaiting Field Marshall Irons and his two fresh Corps. The Belkan and Soukon force would attempt to cut the city off from all resupply and reinforcements but crucially it was still able to maintain a link to fresh food via the sea. Three weeks of siege had left Wurtbad burning and in ruins but still standing, the city had endured a full scale assault on the walls just a week before with a force lead by elite Shock-Halberdiers and Freemen Champions barely beaten back, but in the third week it would come under an aerial assault. While all Belkan forces brought with them a few squadrons of Eagle Fighters (unless they were fighting farther south where Smelter's disease was much more common) they were no match for the powerful Wyvern riders of the Ercaenmedian military. So when the Belkan Air Force committed squadrons of Aero-Maschinen and Griffins to the assault on Wurtbad air superiority was finally able to be won, with Belkan Zeppelins and Aero-Cruisers beginning to bomb the formidable city. The city would finally be taken when regiments of the "High-Jumpers" Shock-Halberdiers parachuted into the city and opened it's gates to the waiting Belkan army, very few inside were spared by the vengeful besiegers. Concurrently with the capture of Wurtbad the Belkan and Soukon Navies would win the Battle of Toulon Gulf, forcing much of the Ercaenmedian Ignan Fleet to flee north to Rhinosol or Belkor or be destroyed by the overwhelming firepower of the Allied Fleet. This would exhaust the last of the ammunition of the Belkan-Soukon Armada so when they made steam to blockade Wunderwahl it was hoped that their presence alone would dissuade all shipping. '''The Siege of Wunderwahl and the End of the Campaign:''' With Marshal Julian marching the remnants of his forces to Wunderwahl the Belkans began their bombardment of what was once one of the largest cities in Western Autia, Zeppelin raids were proposed at first but it's Sky-Cannon defenses were much too heavy resulting in the losses of several of the precious machines. Entrenched howitzers and superheavy mortars would make a ruin of the once proud city as field artillery would pound away at it's massive walls. But the assault was taking far too long for Marshal Irons liking so he proposed a plan, having his finest Lancers round up several Necromancers from among the population and bring them to him. He informed the Necromancers that with the amount of dead produced by the city their would be many suitable hosts that they could rise to open the gates and let this army in, while he could just ignore the city and head farther south it's garrison was much too big and capable of wrecking his supply lines. The Necromancers were given a chance between this mission or death, with all but one closing death rather than betraying their country, the only one who would agree would be the Coward Legrand who began preparations for this great feat of necromancy. After two further weeks of bombardment and preparation the ritual that would damn Legrand forever in the eyes of the Ercaenmedian people was enacted and a horde of shambling Undead arose in Wunderwahl as Belkan and Soukon shock troopers with ladders approached the walls, a force of Cockatrice Knights rushed towards the city gates as well. What the Belkans did not know was that zombies are quite incapable of feats of dexterity such as opening gates, leading the Belkan Knights being butchered by Steam-powered gatling guns, but their appearance allowed the Allied Shock Corp to take the walls after an extremely deadly battle. The Allied shock troops on the walls fired signal rockets calling for the rest of the army to begin a full attack on the city as they rushed to open the main gates to the city. Soukon Hoplites with Fire-Sarrissas and Belkan Halberdiers would hold their positions at the Gates for hours as the rest of the army raced towards the city, holding against an overwhelming wave of Ercaenmedian Hussars and Pikemen, with the last of them falling as the first Belkan Tercion entered the gates. The city's garrison mobilized to seal the breach in the city's walls with Silver Guard Riflemen blasting away at Belkan Musketeers and the lines met, with the overwhelming numbers on the Belkan side allowing them to push back the defenders and deeper into the city though they would pay a heavy price. After two hours of melee at the Gates the Belkans finally were able to bring the bulk of their army inside the city, adopting loose formation to fight among the rubble of the ruined urban area, leaving behind pikes for Swords and Warhammers. With the Gates taken it was just a manner of time till the city fell, first the Merchant Quarter, then the Port Quarter leaving on the Government Quarter and Fort Trumter still in Ercaenmedian control. Dug in Volley Guns made a mockery of the breastplates and armor of the Belkan Infantry, lone wizards picking off commanders from apartment roofs and crude undead monstrosities would be summoned to fight waves of Halberdiers leading to multiple city blocks being leveled by field and heavy artillery. After three days of fighting Fort Trumter fell to the Belkan army leaving the Civil District as the only part of the city still in Ercaenmedian hands, Governor Paolo Chung vowed to never surrender to the invaders and had the rest of the Militia gather around the Governor's Palace. The city would surrender two days later. With Wunderwahl under Belkan control Ercaenmedian resistance along the rest of the coastline would collapse with the Belkans fortifying the cities under their control, allowing for fresh reinforcements to be brought from Belkan proper as well as Soukos. On the other coastline the campaign would go even better with the Belkans driving as far south as the Westphallican border, cutting off Ercaenmedia from Alkor with the successful battle for Arnodts Warf. ==='''The Dimension Hopping Ship'''=== A storm descends upon the Dead Man's Sea. Inconvenient for those used to sailing the open seas, but far from devastating. On the deck of one Alkorian patrol vessel, a pair of watchmen stand resolute. The majority of the crew has gone below to play some weird Union card game that's been going around recently. The thick mist sets in around them and they stare ahead, bored yet determined not to fail in their service. Suddenly, a flash of blinding light. Off the starboard side, the mist suddenly clears, and the two watchmen are greeted with the sight of pic related, belching steam and abuzz with panicking, warmly-dressed northerners. Along her proud and scarred bow reads a variety of symbols, completely foreign to the Alkorian sailors. The two watchmen, too stunned to move, make eye contact with one of the wide-eyed northerners. Despite his obvious distress, he waves in an almost apologetic manner. Moments later the mysterious ship vanishes with a thunderous crack, leaving nothing but the storm, the Alkorian vessel and a pair of particularly stupefied seamen behind. The two sit in silence for but a moment, before the leftmost sailor suddenly turns towards his companion: "...Well Tom, old chap, I don't imagine anyone's going to believe this one." ''Somebody recently came up with a ship in the Steampunk setting that basically gets thrown haphazardly across a variety of /tg/ worlds. Just a little writefaggotry on one of its visits, doesn't actually affect anything. Carry on.'' ==='''The Malorite War'''=== History: Although generally not considered a trading nation, the Kingdom of Yr does sometimes trade gold for rare strategic resources that will help it in its never-ending war with Nantes. About a hundred years ago, the Union conquered the Malsolia Coast, and began exporting large quantities of Malorite Ore. Yr quickly found several arcane uses for Malorite and became one of the main purchasers of the ore. However, about fifty years later, the Imperium of Dright, using a mix of lucrative trade deals and the threat of invasion, managed to acquire a monopoly on all Malorite exported from Malsolia. Angered by this perceived slight, Yr unleashed its best succubi, demagogues, and demonbinders against both Dright and the Union to stir up rebellions, summon demons, and forge strange and new creations from captured vehicles and equipment. Sensing weakness, Alkor, Belkan, and Harlbourg took the opportunity to conquer several colonies belonging to the Union and Dwight, and even some belonging to the Shahdom (allied to The Union at the time). By the time the dust settled, the alliance of Alkor, Belkan, and Harlbourg had acquired several small colonies, but more importantly, Malsolia gained its independence from The Union, and agents of Yr continue to cause havoc against the Dright to this day. Present Situation: Arguably the Malorite War never really ended, it just entered a slower moving phase. Malsolia signed trade deals with Dwight, which also provides it with a certain amount of protection against the Union, though everyone knows eventually the Union will try to retake Malsolia. Secret deals have been signed between Yr and the Union to split Malsolia between them, and the increased cooperation between these two old enemies is becoming increasingly apparent to everyone else. Meanwhile, Utopian privateers harass nearly everyone except Malsolia and the Freedom Coalition, the Freedom Coalition sabotages the remaining Union colonies, the Shahdom tries to regain relevance on the continent by assisting Malsolia, Malsolia seeks to start a war between The Union and the Maritime Khurultai, and Alkor and the Lapus Elves wait to see what opportunities the next phase of this war will bring. Factions: The Union - The loss of Malsolia and several other minor colonies was a significant humiliation for The Union, and they have invested significantly modernizing a portion of their air force and navy, and fortifying their remaining colonies since then. Up until recently, their efforts were almost constantly thwarted by Yrian sabotage, but the recent alliance with Yr means their main rivals are now the Freedom Coalition, Utopia, and Dright, none of whom have proven nearly as adept at subterfuge as Yr. For the past several years they have slowly been building up a substantial sized force among the island chains west of Lapus, and it is only a matter of time before they assault Malsolia directly. Unlike their infamously poorly equipped militias back home, the Union military units in the Lapus region have fairly modern equipment, though their lack of magic users (officially) remains a weakness. Imperium of Dright - Dright was also harmed by the events of fifty years ago, but not as badly. By backstabbing the Union at the height of the previous war, they were allowed to establish many trade concessions in Malsolia, while several other mines gave Dright favorable terms in Malorite exports. However, Dright has many enemies in this region. Their vessels and trade concessions are raided by both The Union and Yr, while back in the core Dright nation, Yrian agents continue to sponsor rebellions, summon demons, and create strange, new "Iron Beasts". Due to their inability to breath normal air, as well as the general selfishness of the Dright race, the Dreeght themselves make up only a relatively small portion of the Dright Imperium's oversea forces. Instead they rely heavily on foreign mercenaries like Balorians, Lindgrubians, evil minded fey, Afzen Amazons, Union renegades, Arctic Elves, Darhuns, Harbourgians, and orcs. On their home turf, they continue to rely heavily on mercenaries, though lower class Dreeght also quite common among security forces and slave handlers. Since humans and most other races require expensive specialized masks to operate safely in the core areas of Dright, relying completely on mercenaries simply isn't an option. Mercenary work for Dright pays very well, and comes with high end loaned equipment and other side benefits, but thanks to Drights sinister reputation, only the most amoral mercenaries will work for them, many of whom have no qualms about turning against their employer if the odds are against them. Kingdom of Yr - Never a strong nation to begin with, the centuries old war with Nantes has sapped much of their people and economy even before the coup by demon worshippers and their creations. Since then, there has been massive emigration, as well as the sacrifice and/or enslavement of much of the remaining population. Therefore, particularly with the war with Nantes ongoing, the Yrians have become masters of using demonbinding and demonic magic in ways even other demon worshippers find reckless. Conventional forces are reserved mostly for defensive duties, while summon demons and demon infused constructs are used for most offensive fighting. In the Lapus Theatre, Yr's small navy is mostly used to ship Malorite from their concessions and small colonies back to Yr. Likewise, soldiers mostly guard the concessions and colonies rather than be used offensively. Instead, shapeshifting succubi and Yrian warlocks cause havoc behind enemy lines with assassinations, enchantments, sabotage of key equipment, unleashing summoned demons to wreck havoc, and creating Iron Beasts and other constructs to attack, spy, or sabotage. Yr is hated for their demon worshipping ways, and is attacked by nearly everyone in the region, likewise, they freely attack anyone in the region when the mood strikes them, though Dright remains their favorite target, where desperate slaves are easily converted to demon worship. However, foreign intelligence groups have noted the Union and Yr are working increasingly in lockstep. Malsolia - Malsolia has been preparing for the inevitable Union retaliation for ages. Malsolia has a reasonable sized stockpile of military equipment captured from the Union, including many ships. On top of this, they are sometimes able to infuse particularly reckless individuals with magic via primitive experiments with Malorite. However, the general consensus is they can't handle the Union by themselves, particularly now that the Yrians are involved. Malsolia receives some support from Dright, the Shahdom, the Freedom Coalition, and Utopia, but Alkor has thus far refused to help out as long as trade treaties favor Dright. Utopia - The fighters of Utopia consist mostly of recruits from the Nantic States, aided by members of the Silver Goddesses Amazon tribe. They possess several highly fortified island bases, and a range of captured ships used for privateering. Highly idealistic, they raid pretty much anyone, including the Union, Yr, and Afrolia, who they see as evil, as well as any Alkorian or Harbourgian vessel suspected of being involved in slavery. They are allied with Malsolia, and as a result, grudgingly leave Dright vessels alone, though refuse to leave Afrolia vessels alone, a frequent source of tension between Malsolia, Dright, and Utopia. Utopia is also allied with the Freedom Coalition for raids against the Union, and with Aquatica for raids against pretty much anyone except Afrolian and Alkor. Afrolia - The main supplier of slaves to Dright, Afrolia is seen as essential to keeping the Imperium's economy running, due to their tendency to give low quality gas masks to slaves. Afrolia ships are frequently targeted by the Union, Yr, and Utopia. Alkor grudgingly protects Afrolia ships due to an ancient treaty, but due to their hatred of Dwight, Alkor is slow to aid Afrolia compared to in other regions of the world. A notable exception to this are the Narrowstead Guards, a quasi-government mercenary force of Alkorian vessels paid hansomely to guard Afrozil assets regardless of the morality involved. Alkor - Alkor remains a major player in this region, but for now tries to preserve its forces until others have weakened each other first. The general consensus is that they will likely protect their existing assets while letting the Union, Yr, and Dright wear each other down, before offering Malsolia their protection in return for favorable trade terms. They occasionally skirmish with Yr and Utopia, but for now neither Alkor nor the Union is keen on fighting each other in this region. ==='''Account of Karle Montineuo, survivor of the Long Dawn shipwreck on the coast of Dead Man's Hand.'''=== "What? Oh. I see. Very well. I will relay what I can, as best I can. Are you ready? Alright." "The weather had been rather poor for several days you see, as is often the case in dead man sea. Cold water, it beats around often. So we had been hunkered largely below deck, occupying ourselves with stories and cards as usual. It was a few days in when the ship took on water. What? No. As I said I was below deck, I don't know what exactly caused us to break apart. A loud crack, that is what I heard. Anyways, everything went south very rapidly. I hardly had time to get the boots on my feet before I was knee deep in icey water. We were quite far north. Running supplies to the northern colonies for our contract. Storms blew us off course I suppose. I didn't make it to a life boat, I don't think many did. I was fortunate not to stuck inside the ship or I would have surely drowned. Lucky I didn't in the churn either, but I grabbed a barrel of rations that stayed afloat. That's it. All I remember of the ship breaking up. Got a smoke? I would like one before I continue. Thank you." "Anyways, when I came to, I was on a beach. Not a nice beach, mind you. Coarse sand and lots of rocks. My head was spinning and I think I swallowed some sea water. There wasn't much noise about, not at first. I hadn't gotten to my feet yet when I noticed there was a great big thing standing over me. What? Ogre? Sure that's what some call them. Northern breed. I had seen them before, in the colonies, they use them as slaves down there. Subjugated some of them. These ones weren't slaves. It seemed to notice I was awake and was leering at me. Didn't like my look I suppose. Before I could so much as shout it hoisted me right off the ground and tossed me a good ways. That's when I saw the real situation. Long Dawn had broken up and good bits had washed ashore. I had been hurled next to a small pile of others from the ship. Seamus. Captain Freely. I think Winslow. Burt was there. A younger fella, I didn't know his name he was new to the crew. Anyways, we were all lying about in a sorry state. Burt was bleeding from his side, below the ribs. He didn't look so good. The kid was sobbing. I can't blame him, poor kid. Two of the big bastards were near by to watch us I think. There were about ten more moving up and down the beach, pilfering our wreckage. Killing other survivors. I don't know why they hadn't killed us but ended them. A lot of our supplies didn't seem to interest them much really, they kept the dried meat though. Seamus chanced a question to see to me. He told me that he thought they were being real particular about the stuff they took, said they were pulling out the rifles they managed to find. I saw them do it too. One of the brutes took a long gun and snapped it in half with his hands. That's when they found it. What I think they'd been looking for. A cannon. It was one from the ship. We only had about half a dozen onboard and one made it ashore with us and the rest of the wreckage, it seems." "When they found the thing, the cannon, a great cry was let out and they all began to move back to where they had us on the beach. The one that found it tossed it onto his shoulder and carried it over with him. They made a big fuss about it. Quite satisfied with their find, I think." "Another smoke, please. Thanks again. I'm gunna need it." "So that's when they turned their attention back on us. What? How many of us? Well everyone I told you about. One more man had been brought over, Javi, the cook. He was hurt real bad. Well it was about this time they started talking all around us. Rough speak. Harsh language. Ugly. Wasn't long before they were arguing amongst themselves. Seemed clear to me most of them wanted to kill us. The rest didn't, but I wasn't sure why. Not yet. Eventually they quit bickering and two of them stepped aside, dropped their weapons, and starting beating each other. The biggest ones from either group. They fought for what felt like an hour until one threw it in and quit. Apparently that settled the matter and they weren't going to kill us. Not all of us." >"They started with Captain Freely. You see, the captain was a noble man. No. I don't mean high birth. He was strong. Good head and good bearings. They took him aside and began to, well, I guess interrogate him. Lots of growling and yelling. Lots of arm waving an pointing at the cannon. Old Freely never blinked. The stones on him. He fought in some of Alkors wars when he was younger. Nothing cracked that man. Even when they brought the axe over, he didn't so much as look at them. They threatened him, waving it around all menacing. He looked at us, smiled, winked, and looked straight ahead. They were getting mad now. The Captain, bless him, sat up on his knees. Head high and straight. Looking at the ocean. They cut him in two, shoulder to waist. He never even flinched, I swear it." "Sorry, a moment. These are the hard parts." "When they killed the captain, the poor kid lost it. Started wailing and sobbing. They killed him next. I will hear that boy for the rest of my life. Squealing and crying. Poor kid. After that they killed Javi, and my good friend Seamus. Winslow too. They took me and Burt. I didn't think Burt was gunna make up, but the fella was tough. Real tough. They walked us for nearly a day. Real impateint with us. Too slow. They took more care for that damned cannon than Burt." "Eventually they got us to where they wanted us. A great big castle. Fortress. City. I don't know. It was huge. I had seen something of their make before, in the colonies, but never one the bastards were actually using. One they were maintaining. When we got to it, I couldn't see the top. It was on a high ledge, you seex and they topmost part of the walls were in the low clouds. It looked like a buf castle, but it was nearly a city of the ogres inside. The gate was the biggest I have ever seen. The walls could have been part of a mountain they were so thick. They took us through the complex, a really maze. Took us to a sort of throne room. A whole mass of them were in there. Drinking, yelling, eating, fighting. Everything stopped as we were moved through the room. They all glared at us. Spit at us. They might have ripped us apart given the chance. That's the thing. They aren't savages, not really. They are strict. They took us right to the center, tossed us both on the floor in front of the biggest damn chair I've ever seen, right at the feet of the meanest one there." "Ya, the general. That's what I came to know him as. Big bastard. Old too. Only had one eye. What? General. They had a term of their own. Not quite a king, as I understand it. No, I never understood a word of their language. That was the interpreter. They had a fella from Skyr-nada. I never learned how he got there. Torren was his name. He apparently has been a captive of theirs for years. Thing and scarred. Somehow he had learned their tongue, part of it at least. I guess that is why he was still alive. They used to talk to us. They big one spoke, he translated. We spoke, Torren translated. I owe Torren my life." "They wanted to know how to use the cannon. They never made any of their own, you see. They didn't think much of our rifles but they were impressed by the cannon. I think it was the powder that escaped them. They wanted our secrets, they said. Wanted a demonstration. We refused, naturally. If you ever make it north you'll learn that their lack of gunpowder is the main edge we humans have against the brutes. We knew better. They pressed and pressed us. Got angry. Ol' Burt spit blood at them. Started cussing and yelling. They threw him on the fire. I knew my place at that point. Torren told me they would do it to me as well. Torren insisted that I'd die if I didn't help them. I was ready to die. All my friends had died. I didn't care. Torren convinced them to leave me be. Put me in the dungeon with him. I guess some suffering would loosen my lips." "Kro.. Kro.. Krol... Krolgar! That was it. Krolgar. That's what they called the big one. Ha! I remembered. No that wasn't his name. That was what they called him. Torren called him the general." "Where was I? Oh right, thank you. The Krolgar decided to keep me hostage like they had done with Torren. They took us down to a dark part of the fortress. Deep. Underground I think. Tossed me right in with him. The room was big enough for 30 men, but we were the only two in there. Torren had to just leave his waste on the floor. He had the sense to do it in one corner. I took another. I can't say how long they kept me. They came regularly though. Always took me to the cannon. Had Torren tell me to use it, I would refuse, and back in the dark we went. This went on for a long time. Torren and I spoke a lot. It was all we had to do to pass the time. He never told me about how he got captured though. I don't think it was a story he liked, which is saying something because Torren liked to talk. I learned a bit about the Ogres from him. Orgrillon, he called them. Said they were bright, all told. I knew something of them already from my traveling on the Long Dawn, but he lived with them. Said they despised us humans. Hate elves more apparently. Not sure why. Said there were a number of Krolgar. Generals. They each have a fortress and some land. Some want us wiped out. Torren told me that the general we were captured by didn't care about humans so much. He said that this one was looking north. I didn't know what that meant at first, I found out soon enough though. Torren said the general wanted our cannons to use them against some enemy, but apparently it wasn't the colonies he cared about." "Right. So the enemy. I guess enemies is more correct. Elves? No I never saw any elves. I'll try to explain. Torren told me something about the ogres sending their warriors north from the fortress regularly. Always a great commotion. Always less coming back than left. I said it must be other ogres. He said they don't fight each other. I said giants. He said I was half right. Eventually I heard it. They had us outside, trying to get me to use the cannon again. I wasn't budging. Not at all. Then it happened. A roar. A shriek, maybe. Some great cry like an enraged crocuban or a tiger or some other kind of beast. It shook the fortress. It shook THEIR fortress. Before long every ogre in sight was running this way and that. Scurrying and yelling. The general was with us, hoping for a cannin demonstration. He smirked, believe it or not. I didn't know they even could. Grunted something to Torren, and Torren said I would see what they wanted our cannon for." "They made us climb up. Real high. Took Torren and me to the top of their wall. The air was thin. Unpleasant. Birds were circling below us. They made us watch as the massive gates opened and a column of the ogres matched our and turned north. From how high we were they actually looked small. They took some great big ballistas with them, biggest I've seen. Before long we lost sight of the army, but eventually we heard the battle. Great screeches and roars. Tremors that shook...everything. When the column came back, it was had lost half of its fighters. The survivors dragged a massive thing behind them. The head of some beast. Bigger than a ship. The general pointed at the head. Pointed at me. Pointed at the cannon. He wanted the cannons to kill whatever the hell that thing was. I refused. Again. The brute nearly threw me from the wall. Torren saved me. Torren told him that I would show them how to use the cannon, but they had to free me. I never agreed to this, but freedom was tantalizing." "Sorry, I'll continue shortly. I need one more smoke." "So that is how we made a deal. Torren did all the work, I'll admit. In exchange for not throwing me from the wall, I would show them how to use a cannon and at the same time earn my freedom. What? What would you have done? How long can you eat rotten meat? No. Doomed? No. Those colonies haven't suffered yet. I doubt they have made that many cannons themselves. Do you want me to finish or not? Right." "Anyways. The ogres had managed to grab some powder with what they took from the ship's wreck, but they didn't know what it was for. So I took what they had, a hard stone, and loaded the cannon. Fired it right at one of their big walls they were so proud of. Didn't make a dent, but they were very pleased. They had already recreated a few cannons, they were good with metal. The only powder they had was the small keg they took from the ship though and I couldn't tell them how to get more. I don't even know how to make it. Still, they were satisfied. They gave me fresh meat. Torren got some to. When they turned me loose I tried to bring him but they refused. He and I said our goodbyes and I left. They walked me to the beach where we had washed ashore, pointed me south, and left me there. Walked all the way to Arktikos. It took me longer than I would have liked. If it had been winter I never would have made it. Went to Skyr-nada to try and find Torren's family but I had no luck. Regrets? Yes. I lost my friends and left one behind. No, I'm not concerned about them building a few cannons. Why would I be? They seemed busy with those monsters. Besides, I won't be going to the north again. I'll stay here in Fox Bridge, where I'm comfortable." "Anything else? No? Alright then, off with you." ==='''The Ercaenepolis Incursion'''=== Ercaenepolis is considered to be without a doubt the most important colony belonging to Ercaenmedi. It has a relatively high population ready for enlistment, serves as their main source of wyverns and mages and is very well defended from any attackers due to two series of mountains on both sides of Rinolsol helping create a terrain advantage should it ever be attacked from land. This had led to the region becoming a vital point in the ongoing Autian conflict due to its ability to send a new wave of reinforcements, one that would surely be enough to ensure victory for the EU through sheer outnumbering of their enemies. In fact this shipping of reinforcements was going to happen from what intelligence reports sent to generals in the army of the Soukos Republic in a weeks time. Grave news indeed for the Soukans as the allied military of the Western Pact was currently attempting to break through the stalemate that the conflict had boiled into with the Ercaenmedians furiously defending the center of their homeland from the intruders. Action had to be taken and as such, a plan was swiftly made to stop the reinforcements before they could reach Ercaenmedi known as "Operation Swift Wind" to outsiders. The initial steps as suggested by Marshal First Class Phausius Bella would be to lure out the leaders of Ercaenepolis through holding Ercaenmedian mages-in-training visiting Delphus as part of the exchange program between the nations hostage. Under the pretense of negotiation over the lives of these bright students the chief general from both parties would meet in between the borders of their nations to negotiate their release. This would lead into a deadly trap however as an elite cell would be dispatched to intercept and assassinate the leading general of Ercaenepolis as they were travelling to meet the Soukan leaders. And so it was that as the Ercaenepolis general Pak Sun-Young travelled, a "natural" avalanche from the nearby mountain would isolate him from his men. This occurrence was caused through clever manipulation of the earth by a Soukan mage hidden in a nearby cave and as the general was momentarily isolated from aid a group of Amazon and Satyr skirmishers dashed out from hidden crevices and made quick work of the poor man. The Amazons and Satyrs then fled deep into the mountain passes as the wyverns and honor guard accompanying the general gave chase. Their chase however would lead them into the open fangs of the 84th Field Artillery regiment "Zeupiter's Thunderers" as their dragon killer ballista which were stationed in waiting fired off a salvo into the hearts of the wyverns striking them down and the cannon crew shot up the furious guard in a firefight between the two. The assassination had been a success and the Seventh Host of Ten Thousand Spears captained by Senior Field Marshal Paios Flavius was awaiting orders to send the 21st Aerial Squadron and the 14th Hoplite Company through the pass alongside his personal force of Bronze Boar riders, one of which he was riding himself as a remnant of his days as a Sparathan mounted captain. The orders would have to wait however as back home a turbulent situation was unfolding among the Grand Senate House in Athiens where a war council with representatives from each city-state had been called. The city of Delphus was refusing to send any of its mages to assist in the incursion out of anger for the captured mages who were under their jurisdiction being held captive without any prior warning. They even refused to heed the warnings of Dimitar threatening a revolt against the other city-states if they were made to send their forces to assist in the assault. Infighting at such a vital point in time was clearly going to be the undoing of this whole venture meaning the point was grudgingly conceded. By this point the city-states could spare no time arguing amongst themselves as precious time was being lost every minute and all city-states who were not opposed to the war dispatched large chunks of their own armies to the border marking the beginning of the incursion. By now the colonial government of Ercaenepolis had received notice of the assassination via messenger monkey and had gone into full alert to prevent this invasion. The mountain passes had been heavily fortified with the 245th Reinforced Gunners, the largest force available to the Ercaenmedians standing guard over the mountain passes confident that none of the outdated hoplites would ever get past their firing line. They were further backed up with the aid of four moving skycannons, the Ercaenepolis levy and the remnants of the 127th Wyvern Riders alongside several more regiments and led by newly promoted general Li Bao taking the place of their deceased general. The Soukans had learned from what little their surviving Satyr scouts who hid in the mountains could view of the enemy army that the Ercaenmedians were using a massive entrenched line of gunners covering every possible mountain pass as their primary strategy alongside wyverns surveying the peaks. They had already intercepted several attempted skirmishes by necromancers and battle mages sent by the Ercaenepolis Mage Academy using a firing line of their own, the renowned Fonias-Pattern Repeater Crossbowmen sent from Athiens meaning that their enemy was anticipating an attempted mountain crossing. Such a thought process would be only natural for the Ercaenmedians, however they didn't know Rinolsol like the Soukans did. This island was their homeland and they knew of a secondary method of traversing the mountains, albeit a far riskier one that would be difficult to pull off even if the crossing was successful. The Labyrinths. If one was to successfully traverse that eldritch maze they would find themselves right behind the open lines of the gunners and with a bit of luck cut a wound through the line before getting cut down by the melee infantry. Enough of a wound that the main hoplite force would get enough time to head through the passes and destroy the remnants of the firing line with their enchanted weapons and far superior skill. As such the legendary Craetan beastmaster Lynceus Baros was chosen and given this quest. To cross the maze and break the line even if she'd almost certainly perish in the endeavor, either in the labyrinth or against the Ercaenmedians. A great military parade was held in honor of her sacrifice around the nearest entrance into the labyrinth as the warriors of Soukos watched with bated breath as she, alongside her battle hydra and enslaved medusa descended into the maze. Her exact fate is unknown from that point onwards but from what can be gathered, she travelled across the convoluted paths that are the labyrinths and encountered a series of trials, perhaps tests by the Soukan gods to prove her worth and whether their children were might enough to deserve their favor in this engagement? Whatever the result is, from what the prisoners of war taken from the Ercaenepolis militia answered when questioned on what happened in the tense period of waiting that occurred as the beastmaster travelled the labyrinths state is that from seemingly out of nowhere a haggard looking yet furious warrior emerged victorious as a hydra suddenly charged into the lines of the reinforced gunners tearing through the poor souls. The firing lines were devastated by this surprise attack as any wyverns who tried to swoop down and help were turned into stone statues by the baleful gaze of a medusa. he hydra had wrought a deadly toll upon the Ercaenmedians that day with its multiple heads each chewing on a different soldier and charging body knocking them to the ground as they were trampled but eventually it was overwhelmed by the far greater numbers its enemies had with them. As the hydra fell both the beastmaster and the remaining medusa fought till the end as they were surrounded and eventually slain with the medusa in particular closing the distance between the Ercaenmedians skycannons with horrific speed before they could turn and fire slicing them and their crew apart with its bloodthirsty halberd. The Soukan forces on the other side of the pass were quickly notified of these events through their scouts hidden across the mountains and believing that in these actions their gods were with them charged forwards through the pass as the shields of their hoplites blocked the remaining bullets from the gunners. The Ercaenmedians didn't cede this position easily though as many boulders were rolled down into groups of hoplites crushing them and mages fired down with magic spells riding wyverns above that in turn would be shot down. The forces of the republic did not turn back nor fear in the end as they managed to pour through the pass and engaged the remaining warriors in melee combat as the tide was slowly turning in their favor. During the madness of the battle general Li Bao was said to have died in a duel against Soukan general Onamakritos the sky-master, destroyed under the treads of the pegasus chariot the general gained his title for. By this point Blackadder pass and the surrounding mountain passes had been seized by the Soukos Republic with the remaining militia resorting to guerilla tactics and skirmishes as they waited for reinforcements to arrive. No matter their numbers, the main advantage the Ercaenmedians had throughout this battle of having fortified the mountains had been lost and every minute new Soukan troops were coming through. By this point the city-states had chose to send in their main armies now that the most challenging aspect of the invasion was over and the main Ercaenmedian force shattered. A few monster tribes had been sent as auxiliaries to stop the Soukans on their way to the capital but by this point the Ercaenmedians had gone into full damage control. Knowing that their main army and strategy had been bested they instead chose to go on with their original goal and evacuated their civilians and important leaders alongside their remaining soldiers/mages to serve as Ercaenmedian reinforcements in the war back in Autia. They might have lost the colony today but their remaining forces, of which a respectable amount of mages had survived would surely turn the tide in the war. The Soukans arrived at the gates of their former cities colonized by the Ercaenmedians but found that the remaining population had fled. Extremely confused, they set to making a garrison inside the cities which would soon be restored as city-states as part of these lands now belonging to Soukos alone. The Ercaenmedian fleet dispatched from Ercaenepolis met quite an unfortunate fate while sailing to their homeland as they had encountered the Soukan reinforcements who had also been sent at around the same time (this isn't out of nowhere, I checked and apparently Soukan reinforcements are coming and I thought I'd have the two meet) as the two immediately tried to get an estimate on the size of each other's fleets. Both had similar numbers of men and ships with the Ercaenmedians sending 200 war junks and 50 ironclads while the Soukans had 150 neo-triremes and 5 sea-forts. The two sides have currently engaged in naval combat with the outcome being unclear. ==='''The War of Ice and Wrath'''=== ''Niscenorean Strength'' King Terucca Heru "Stone Heart" Mage Priest Talar Holacca Lords Maya Forthencos, Erasma Tomadoya, Selvar Echantria, Tochla Motachla of their Respective Noble Houses Sea Lord Magister of the Southern Seas Dendratha Maltia Urraca The Seven Unnamed Masters of the Style of the Forbidden Golden Moon 750,000 Elven Militia 300,000 Elven Warriors 250,000 Ice Constructs 1,000 Ice Giants 3,000 Siege Mechanisms (Primarily Ballistas but some cannons and trebuchets as well) 100 Dragons 3,000 Drake-Knights The Entire Niscenorean Royal Fleet ''Sartyrian Strength'' King Blessed Sacrement of the Freshly Formed Blade Royal Champion Elfslayer, Destroyer of the Strong Lords Masterwork Blade, Fair in Rule The Noblest of Nobles, A Kiss for the Departed Soul 300,000 Sartyrian Warriors 100,000 Militia 1,000,000+ Fire Constructs 100 Ancient World Dragons 1,000 Dragon-Spawn Numerous Castles and their Defenses The Niscenorean Fleet blew through the Sartyrian Armada on their way to Ignis. And it would be with good reason , while the Arks of the Niscenoreans were massive and powerful it was clear the Sartyrians wanted them to come. The beaches near the city of Omartha would become the landing ground for the invasion force. The Niscenoreans would break down into several independent forces for easier control by their respective commanders each with their own integrated Drake units, while the force of Dragon-Riders would come under control of the King himself to act as a mobile reserve to plug gaps in the line. The Niscenoreans would first come in contact with Sartyrian ground forces of the City Lord Blinded Judgement of the city of Omartha, he would meet the vanguard of 50,000 Niscenorean Warriors outside the gates of the port with his own warriors and at least a hundred thousand fire-imps. He positioned his elite Sword Lords and Spear Wardens on the flanks of his army with his constructs in the center to absorb the blows of the Niscenorean Warriors with a mass of bodies and flames. In response to this move Lord Tochla Motachla positioned his Archers on the flanks to skirmish away at the most elite Sartyrian Infantry as well as his heavy Cavalry, his own Infantry would be used to hold the line long enough for reinforcements to arrive and for the elite but outnumbered Niscenorean Cavalry to defeat the Brazen Fire Cutters of the Sartyrian host. Stag Knights and some elite Demi-Leopard Seal riders crashed into the Sartyrian lines after the Archer Corp had used up all of it's ammunition, the bulk of their mounts and their Spears breaking the Sartyrian formations but being far less devastating than was hoped. While the initial line of Sword Lords, including a Regiment of the dual greatsword wielding Order of the Cutting Arc, were pushed down by the mass of the charge many if the warriors soon returned to their feet, with the Spear Wardens behind them breaking their Shield wall and charging into the melee. Ice-enchanted blades met fire-blessed steel as the Knightly warriors tried to escape the melee, but by the time they managed to flee both sides had lost almost half their numbers. The Niscenorean Cavalry were pursued away from the battlefield by hounds with fire in their eyes leading the Polar Elves at a significant disadvantage, it was far too late for them to run as the infantry engagement began. A wild, ferocious mass of fire-men began pushing against the Niscenorean Shield Wall, belching fire into faces and setting elves alight. But the Niscenoreans didn't break, the Cavalry battle had significantly delayed the Sartyrian advance on the flanks allowing their formation to focus their fury on the constructs alone, with the Elven Spear and Halberds tearing them apart at a ferocious rate. But it was not enough, there were far too many, and the first of the Sartyrian Warriors began the crush into the flanks and rears of the engaged Niscenoreans, cutting a swathe through their ormations as the back ranks of Niscenoreans turned to engage them, fury and millennia of practice met discipline and hardened hearts as the Ice Sworn held their ground. Because their minds were clear, senses sharpened and they could hear the sounds of great wings flapping at speed towards them. King Stone Heart was originally weary about committing his precious Dragons to the assault on Omartha, the city's defenses were strong and while his beasts were mighty mass ballista fire still could slay them, but he heeded Lord Motachla's request to keep several of his fastest Dragons nearby incase he required aid. And it looked like his forethought paid off as a score of the great Wyrms crashed into the host of Sartyr. While the Black Elves were supernaturally quick and easily avoided the charge of the beasts their Constructs were not so lucky as thousands were flattened under their massive bulk. Archers and halberdiers in their howdahs attop the massive beasts would also begin wracking up a mighty tally as the Dragons were committed to the center of the the Niscenorean lines. Seeing the appearance of the beasts, and rapidly losing control over their Constructs as Pyromancers became pin cushions for arrows the Sartyrians began to throw themselves even harder at the Niscenorean lines, scores of Elven dead began to litter the ground with most of them wearing the noble livery of Niscenorea. After several hours of melee the last Sartyrian fell and the battle was over at an immensely high price, seven out of every ten of Lord Motachla's warriors had fallen and the great Dragons Erranad and Osteo were both beheaded in battle. With the majority of the garrison defeated Omartha fell easily, the city's inhabitants having already fled, and Arks and other much smaller vessels began to unload their cargoes of warriors and supplies there as the Niscenoreans prepared a much larger offensive. When Omartha fell the Niscenorean host began it's invasion of Ignis in full force, grim faced Merchant captains began unloading supplies at the captured port as regiment upon regiment of elves began to assemble in formations at the nearby Tamrian plains. The invasion of Ignis would follow a simple strategy, take control of the Southern ports, land the majority of the army and then taken Hakan by land and sea. Omartha was just the southernmost city along the Emerald Coast, an ancient city and one of the finest ones ever constructed by the race of elves, the nearest city was Terantha on the southwestern edge of the continent and past that was Eddo and the Eye, the Fortress of the King's Champion. Niscenorean forces would have to march quickly to take the two cities before they could be reinforced by troops from the Eye if not they would be trapped in Omartha and the fleet would have to make a suicidal mad dash to Hakan without the support of land forces. The majority of the Niscenorean host under direct command of the King marched to Terantha leaving behind only a token force to hold their newly taken port. He arrived there before the rest of his army, taken his Dragons ahead of the main body and began negotiating with the City Lord a Sartyrian known as No Need for Sight to See. Terantha had always been a rebellious city, even after the Fire Curse, and long had the Lords of the city chafed under authority for the opportunity to interact with the world a new and leave their exile. So when King Stone Heart offered the city Lord an alliance to overthrow the current keeper of the First Throne he was only too happy to oblige him. Terantha opened it gates and ports to the Niscenoreans, just in time as well as the King's Champion had brought her host marching double hard from the Eye and intended to bring the Southerners to battle. At the Gates of Terantha the King met the host of the Slayer of Elves and Kings in a hard pressed victory only won by the quick intervention. Sailors and Marines drawn from the Magister of the Seas, who had rightfully kept his fleet in harbor in preparation of an enemy march. It would be known as the Battle of Shadow, as it was fought under the shadow of the Zahra Mountains, would see the Sartyrians routed back to Eddo but King Terucca Heru slain in battle with the Royal Champion. The Niscenoreans would mourn their King greatly but would press forward to Eddo soon after with Prince Nova Novaratsu taking control of the King's Royal Guards. Eddo had always been a jewel in the Sartyrian Crown and the shining Sword in it's Scabbard and it would not give in as easily as Terantha. It's military academies and Warrior orders had produced legends known all to all of the Elven race, and since the Curse and the shuttering of Ignis it's people had been training for centuries in the pursuit of warmaking. Eddo's walls were well guarded by regiments of Warrior Born with emplacement of fire throwers and ballistas well entrenched along the outskirts of the city. The first Niscenorean assault on the walls would be repulsed fairly easily, even with Dragons they could not storm the defenses and get enough soldiers up on the walls to hold them, and the Elves would have to fall back to lay siege to it. The Niscenoreans did have a trumpcard that reached Eddo a week after the city was put to siege, two regiments of Colonel Stazis' Besiegers , equipped with some of the largest cannons in the Belkan arsenal the mercenary soldiers were well practiced in the shattering of fortifications and had been paid handsomely to come to the cursed continent of Ignis. Even with the city's defenders rapidly plugging the holes caused by the bombardment, often stealing bricks and stone from other structures in Eddo, the outer defenses would be taken in heavy fighting. For the first time in millennia Niscenorean warriors would be able to pay homage to the great city that many of their ancestors had been patrons of, with their assault focusing on the Academy of the Four Sages lying in the center of the city. After two weeks of fighting the city fell, with the Academy tragically being lit aflame in the chaos spelling the end of six thousand years of Elven wisdom. A garrison was left behind to hold the city and to mobilize If any activity was detected from the Eye as the main body of the army marched north to Hakan. In the Southeastern part of the continent Mage Priest Holacca as well as Lords Forthencos and Tomadoya would lead the other half of the Niscenorean host in the capture of the eastern ports. The main targets of the campaign would be the ports of Sheldrana, Tacchi and Empiogas with the cities being known as the Three Pillars, as each one of them focused on a different aspect of the flame magic Ignis is known for. The Three Pillars of Elven fire magic deal with fire creation, fire animation and the manifestation of plasma: an extremely deadly and powerful form of concentrated flame that is known to be extremely deadly to the user. The Mage Priest however was skilled in the Art of the Golden Moon and had practiced for decades on the Art's primary draw:the extinguishment of flame, and his order would put their skills to use immediately in the campaign putting out Sheldranad flame before the master of it's School could lay waste to the Elven army. Sheldrana was taken by storm fairly easily as the Order of the Golden Moon was able to neutralize most of it's magical assaults but the Lords of the Life Flame in the city of Tacchi would prove to be a far greater threat. Tacchi was at first attacked by storm, with ladders and towers being brought up to it's mighty walls with Monks of the Golden Moon supporting the mass of Elven citizen-soldiers. But the assault on the walls was beaten back by a joint attack of City Guards and fire golems, the Monks targeted by Sartyrian warriors before they could quell the Living Flames and the Niscenorean foot-soldiers overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of constructs summoned to face them. The attackers soon settled down for a siege as they determined their options, messengers were dispatched to Prince Novaratsu to dispatch Dragons to aid in their conquering of the city as ballistas, trebuchets and cannons were entrenched to begin a bombardment of the city walls. Slowly but surely the walls began to be chipped away by the Niscenorean bombardment even as strong forces of dark-aether were detected gathering inside the city and on the third day the walls fell...and a nightmare emerged from them. A Demon is what they called it, but it was far greater than a simple Imp or Devil, no this was a being of pure Wrath, the embodiment of the World Flame given physical form and it began to reap a toll in the thousands on the Elven army. As much as the Order of Dark Moon could channel aether to disrupt flame the bindings of the Demon had been ritually enhanced, even as they tried to strip it of fire the flames would continue to surge back into life. Luck was for the Niscenoreans because like all creations made of flames the Demon was not just fire, it had a physical body as well that was rapidly being chipped away by Elven artillery, forcing the beast back into the city. With the Demon forced back into the city to regenerate it's power the host of Niscenorean Warriors surged through gaps in the walls to disrupt the ritual circles that were keeping aether bound to its body. With the loss of fresh aether the Demon rapidly "starved", with no magic to sustain it's presence in the world leaving behind it's physical body which stood like a statue almost as tall as the city walls themselves. The assaulting Niscenoreans let out a mighty cheer at the Demons defeat and poured into Tacchi through the gaps in it's walls. While the defenders were disheartened by the loss of what many thought was a walking arbiter of the World Flame it's defenses were still manned by several regiments of the Guards of the Consuming Breath, an elite force of Sartyrian warriors dedicated to the defense of the city and its school of magic, which met the Southern Elves in the streets and gardens of the city where chokepoints would be of most use to the defenders. The Tyraia Home Guard regiments would bear the brunt of the fighting in Tacchi, it's inexperienced Spear-Elves learning their craft among the ash blasted towers and castles of the city, with Duke Ontos Mar'Ontos of Tyraia protesting the highly aggressive Niscenorean advance which saw her troops thrown against prepared positions with little to no support. The Mage-Priest gave no reason to the city Lords for this bloodyminded assault, fearful to tell them how easy it would be for the City's Pyroclasts to summon another Demon of similar size and strength if given time to recover, only a quick advance could keep them on the backfoot. The Monastery of the Second Pillar fell the next day with it's Flame Masters and all of their acolytes put to the sword by the Niscenoreans for their dogged defense of the city's interior. Even with the Demon destroyed lone mages were able to ambush columns of Snow Elves with Fire Golems and similar creations before slipping away into the urban sprawl, the Niscenoreans were on edge from constant attacks and demanded the city to bleed, with no thought being made to the importance of the city to the campaign. The Tyraians abandoned the campaign following Tacchi's capture, claiming their oaths were made only to King Heru and with his death they were free from them, leaving the ==='''Alkorian Intervention in Harlbourg'''=== >Location: Fighting between political factions occurred throughout Harlbourg, but fighting between Alkor and Harlbourg was primarily limited to the northern border and the coast. >Background: Following the stalemate at Namath Crater against the Aesanaerians, political intrigue in Harlbourg escalated: - Pro-war factions were quick to point out that Alkor was the one that incited the invasion of Harlbourg by Aesanaerian tribes, and were keen to take advantage of Alkor's distraction with fighting in Ercaenmedi and elsewhere. Although many Harlbourgians wanted revenge for the Battle of Namath Crater, the popularity of pro-war factions were hampered by the fact many were dominated by United Harlbourg nationalists and groups seeking to advance the interests of Belkan-Harlbourgians. - Anti-war and isolationist factions were worried that Harlbourg had under performed against the Aesanaerians, and had only won thanks to an unlikely series of events. Also some such individuals saw expansionism and imperialism as evil, and had little desire to go on the offence. - Pan-Nantic factions were reluctant to ally themselves with an alliance that included non-Nantics like Soukos. Although many such individuals weren't sympathetic of the plight of Ercaenmedia either, they feared the war would eventually rip through the western Nantic heartland nations of Falconhead, Westphallica, and Gabaet. - Libertarian factions weren't keen on taxes or the risk of the city states merging into one nation, but were okay with selling weapons to various wars occurring elsewhere. In the end, Harlbourg's Congress refused to approve of an invasion of Alkor, though some diehard partisans formed volunteer regiments to participate in the fighting in Belkan Arktikos. Meanwhile, back in Harlbourg, skirmishes between pro and anti-war factions became common, and a large, if poorly organized army remained on the border with Alkor. The most prominent pro-war factions are United Harlbourg, based in White Eagle, and the New Patriots and New Belkan, whose main branches were in White Eagle and Yorkburg. Alkor believed that if these factions could be dismantled, the threat of conflict with Harlbourg at an inopportune time could be greatly reduced. However, an unprovoked invasion could lead to the pro-war factions gaining widespread public sympathy, so instead Alkor waited for justification for a limited but targeted incursion against key city states, knowing that the city states of Harlbourg lacked a mutual defense treaty. It didn't take long for them to get the justification they needed. Several coastal city states managed to get backing within Congress for a law banning Alkorian vessels from travelling within Harlbourg's newly defined "Maritime Territory". This law was ignored by Alkor, since it disrupted key routes to their holdings in Nantes and East Alkor. For several weeks, Harlbourg's weak navy made little attempt to enforce the law, but then an overzealous Harlbourgian frigate captain from a prominent White Eagle family sunk an Alkorian passenger liner that refused to leave Harlbourgian newly claimed waters. This led to massive outcry in Alkor, and even more political discontent in Harlbourg. Many felt this was a United Harlbourg plot to deliberately start a war with Alkor, and some city states even recalled their soldiers from the National Army. Taking advantage of the situation, Alkor launched Operation Piercing Talon, which called for the invasion and occupation of White Eagle and Yorkburg. >Battle of White Eagle: A large Alkorian flotilla struck White Eagle in the early hours of the morning. Perhaps just by luck, or perhaps due to some magic, or the blessing of the Sea God, for much of the day there was an unusually heavy rainfall, which both dampened the patriotic zeal of the defenders, as well as reduced the visibility of White Eagle’s massive coastal defense cannons. Using detailed maps and pinpoint geometry, the Alkorian vessels always knew roughly where to fire their guns, while the Harlbourgian vessels often found themselves making wild guesses where the Alkorian vessels were located, made more difficult by the fact they often relocated. Attempts by White Eagle’s famed eagle riders to locate the Alkorian vessels were thwarted by the presence of several mercenary dragons. Throughout the day, flaming eagle carcasses falling from the sky was a common sight. By the time the Alkorian bombardment stopped, the harbor defenses were in ruins, and the civilian population fleeing or in hiding. However, large numbers of soldiers and members of nationalist militias had gathered to repel invaders. Against the advice of his advisors, Alkorian Admiral Gregory Hawke was slow to deploy his invasion force. He believed that standing in the heavy rain for several hours would demoralize the defenders enough to offset the advantages they would gain by having time to dig into makeshift defenses. There is some evidence suggesting his approach was correct. Many hot headed militiamen and volunteers drifted away from the harbor area as the wait dragged on, either having second thoughts about whether fighting was worth it, or mistakenly believing that no land invasion would occur. For those that stayed, more than a few found their gunpowder had dampened to the point of uselessness during the long wait. When the land invasion finally came, it was spearheaded by the elite I Marine Corps (assault), supported by the less experienced VIII Marine Corps (light infantry). The I Corps excelled in the dense streets and low visibility of the battlefield thanks to their emphasis on close range destruction. Large, magically altered knights in thick armor and wielding heavy glaives smashed their way through makeshift barricades and fortified buildings. In support were brutal men of the I Corps, armored in half plate, and wielding magically augmented blunderbuss, grenades, and spiked maces. Known for their stringent standards regarding physical strength and aptitude for brawling, more than a few members are half-orcs and half-ogres. In contrast, the VIII Corps were made up mostly of recent volunteers and conscripts, recruited primarily from coastal and river communities since being a strong swimmer is the only real requirement aside from a moderate aptitude for marksmanship. Luckily the VIII saw little real fighting and were mostly there to round up civilians. White Eagle wasn’t without skilled fighters either. The nationalist minded New Dawn Knightly Order fought well, as did the well equipped and professional City Watch. The regular soldiers from the National Army units in the city were perhaps a bit less motivated to fight as many were from regions that did not support White Eagle’s ambitions, though they fought well until it was honorable to surrender. The biggest wildcards were the partisan militias and volunteers, who ranged from units made up of wealthy members of elite secret societies equipped with the best magitech available, to angry mobs who wanted to throw some bricks to express their displeasure, but had no stomach for a real fight. However, after much bloodshed, the Alkorian formations broke free from the harbor district, and spread into the adjacent neighborhoods, where fleeing Harlbourgian units were rounded up, and any resistance brutally put down. Detachments from Alkorian Intelligence directed marines to the homes of key members of the pro-war/united Harlbourg political movements, who were promptly arrested. A few hours after the invasion was launched, the last major skirmish occurred within the gilded halls of the Republican Palace. A sprawling complex leftover from the glory days of the Nantic Empire, few buildings in the north outside of Westphallica, Alkor, or Nantes can rival its sheer decadence. The cost of upkeeping its 2000+ rooms, multiple gardens, pools, bathhouses, ballrooms, and massive art collection including over 200 gold plated nymph statues were the source of frequent criticism by certain political factions in White Eagle, though it is well known that the leaders of White Eagle were maintaining it in hopes it would one day serve as the home to the leader of a United Harlbourg. The maze of secret passages and the presence of many elite magic users and magitech equipped elites meant that it took nearly three hours before this building was declared clear, and isolated attacks continued for nearly a week. However, rumors of its loss broke the back of the remaining defenders, and many either surrendered or fled the city. More marines and regular infantry were brought in to occupy the city and surrounding communities, while the elite I Corps reboarded their ships for the next phase of the operation. Sporadic raids and sabotage by partisans who went to ground are expected to last the duration of the occupation, but the invasion succeeded in its main goal, which was to humiliate the presumptive ruler of United Harlbourg, and arrest many of the most skilled politicians of the pro-war and United Harlbourg factions. Many such individuals were sent to the infamous Sallet Asylum for the Insane, a notoriously haunted facility on the outskirts of White Eagle, where regular paranormal occurrences and experimental medical treatments drive anyone insane who wasn’t already. Many saw this as a bit of karma since more than a few of the more outspoken opponents of the United Harlbourg movement brave enough to operate in White Eagle found themselves locked up here under questionable circumstances. >Battle of Yorkburg: Compared to the brutal fighting that occurred at White Eagle, the Yorkburg crumbled rather easily, despite being a much larger city than White Eagle. Although many congressmen from Yorkburg supported the creation of the "Maritime Territory" which sparked the hostilities, some did so for economic rather than political reasons, and despite the presence of many pro-war factions among the general population and political elite, a large proportion of Yorkburg was generally opposed to the United Harlbourg concept, and apparently saw themselves as neutral in the conflict with Alkor. However, the symbolism of humbling Harlbourg’s main economic powerhouse was too good to be overlooked, and Alkor used Yorkburg’s key support of the "Maritime Territory" plus the presence of many key pro-war supporters in the city to justify a large raid. Unlike during the Battle of White Eagle, no attempt was made at stealth as the large Alkorian flotilla approached the city. The outdated harbor defenses were nearly useless as buildings and warehouses had often been subsequently built with little regard for their line of sight, and the small Harlbourgian naval squadron defending the city surrendered without a fight. Within 30 minutes, the Alkorians had established a foothold at the old fort on Mermaid Island, in the shadow of the massive “Queen of the Seas” statue. Although there were a large number of law enforcement, National Army, militia, and private regiments within Yorkburg, the defence of the city was hampered by political intrigue and widespread rioting. A number of regiments that were supposed to be defending the harbor were reassigned to put down riots, ordered out of the city, or simply demobilized under mysterious circumstances. Several previously pro-war congressmen and city councilors suddenly switched sides and in some cases began actively supporting the Alkorians, while others were mysteriously absent from the city on that day. After moderate fighting in the harbor, several Alkorian regiments surrounded the core government district and demanded the surrender of the city. Realizing they had been either outmaneuvered or sold out by their rivals, many pro-war politicians tried to flee the area, only to be identified and arrested by Alkorian Intelligence units. The remaining politicians agreed to order the soldiers under their command to stand down, though partisan militias continued to fight back for hours. Not trusting the locals, the Alkorian commanders made their base on Mermaid Island, in the shadow of the massive brass monument for which Yorkburg is famous. For several weeks, Alkorian marines and intelligence officers “aided in the restoration of order within the city” which mostly meant arresting key figures in the New Patriots and New Belkan movements. Rioters lead by Code Libertas, Utopians, Swabonze, and various ethnic criminal gangs were allowed to rampage unopposed for days as long as they avoided the homes and property of the truly wealthy and well connected. Eventually, the Alkorians left after the remaining politicians in Yorkburg agreed to renounce the "Maritime Territory" and sign a series of unequal treaties with Alkor. >Battle of Ren's Gate: Needless to say, the occupations of White Eagle and Yorkburg caused major uproar in Harlbourg, and many believed that a formal declaration of war with Alkor was imminent. However, due to a political stalemate back during the time of the Revolution, there is actually no clear mechanism by which an attack on one state would lead to the involvement of all the city states. In fact, on several occasions in Harlbourg’s history, city states have fought wars with neighboring nations, and occasionally even each other without other city states getting involved. Congress had several emergency sessions to discuss the situation, but with some of the strongest pro-war voices absent, no clear decision was made, and several brawls, duels, and assassinations led many Congressmen to leave the City of Harlbourg in disgust. In the end, the majority of Congress decided to postpone any major decisions until a diplomatic envoy from Alkor arrived to speak. In the meantime, some pro-war politicians and officials resolved to take matters into their own hands. One such individual was General Icarus Brockton, who commanded one of several field armies stationed along the border with Alkor. Believing it was only a matter of time before war was declared, and likely trying to accelerate it, Brockton managed to convince the National Army units under his command to advance through the wide swath of abandoned farmland between his headquarters at the town of Ren’s Gate, and the nearest Alkorian fort on the other side of the border, commanded by his long time rival General Alice Rose. However, Alkorian spies and sentries picked up on his movements almost immediately, and a large army was gathered from Alkorian units posted along the border to meet his force. The two armies drew close in a nameless stretch of abandoned farmland near the border, and spent much of the hot summer day maneuvering through dried fields, overgrown raspberry thickets, and muddy wetlands, much to the dismay of the young recruits that made up large chunks of the armies of both sides. Although elite skirmishers were dispatched by both sides to harass regular infantry, large scale engagement did not occur as both sides tried to position themselves as best as possible. By the evening, both sides had gathered a great deal of information on each other, and Brockton was forced to admit his forces were lacking in both numbers and quality. He ordered his soldiers to retreat back to Ren’s Gate, no doubt assuming that the Alkorians would not advance while they were still engaged in diplomacy. Unfortunately for him, General Rose was an ambitious glory seeker, who convinced her forces that Brockton’s provocation could not go unaddressed, thus beginning the largest and most senseless of the battles of the Alkorian Intervention. Always convinced that Alkor would one day invade, Brockton had surrounded much of Ren’s Gate with an elaborate system of trenches and gun emplacements, based on the latest military strategies. However, as the bulk of his forces had only arrived at their defences less than an hour ahead of the Alkorian army, his forces were disorganized and unable to man the defences properly. The Alkorians meanwhile were in high spirits. Although some senior officers fretted about the possibility of a court martial, the rank and file soldiers boisterously spoke of marching all the way to Yorkburg. The next three days were marked by brutal clashes between the two armies. The Alkorian army was able to deploy large numbers of cannons and mortars while the Harlbourgian army was still digging in, preventing either side from having an advantage in terms of entrenched firepower. In the weeks leading up to the Alkorian Intervention, General Rose had been able to get a number of elite units assigned to her forces, and the Harlbourgians soon found themselves fending off companies of grenadiers, close assault squads, experimental tanks, and members of several knightly orders. The Harlbourg units were mostly regular infantry, but a few auxiliary formations of ogres and goblins from the south were present, as were Brockton’s magitech equipped bodyguard company, the fanatical Order of the Raven, and several veteran Highlander regiments from Ironside. The larger Alkorian force soon completely encircled Ren’s Gate, but several surrender demands were ignored by Brockton, who had apparently come to believe fighting to the death would make him a martyr for the pro-war cause. Annoyed by her opponent’s stubbornness, General Rose sent several regiments of light infantry through the massive cemetery / shrine to Liik located to the north of Ren’s Gate, which represented a major weak point in the Harlbourgian lines. However, these forces were held up by the fighting skill and strange magics of the Order of the Raven, who viewed the cemetery as a holy space. Attempts to move soldiers through the cemetery finally ceased when one of the leaders of the Order of the Raven summons a massive Unkindness which mauled, blinded, and in some cases killed hundreds of Alkorian soldiers. By the third day, the Harlbourgian forces had been thoroughly worn down by the Alkorians. Much of the trench network, fortifications, and barracks was now in Alkorian hands, leaving the Harlbourg army packed into the town of Ren’s Gate itself. Nearby field armies of both Harlbourg and Alkor refused to intervene since both armies had essentially done rogue. Brockton continued to ignore instructions to surrender from both his superiors and subordinate officers, and there was talk of a mutiny despite his previous popularity with his men. Rose’s political situation was much stronger since she had finally pulled back her forces a bit after several previous orders to do so were “lost”. On the verge of losing control of his forces, and still seeking his martyrdom, Brockton rallied his most loyal forces and made a reckless sally into the heart of the Alkorian force. Casualties were high on both sides, but Brockton finally achieved his martyrdom when he and a small section of his bodyguard company were cut off and overrun by a much larger unit of grenadiers. With Brockton out of the picture, his officers finally surrendered and were arrested by the Alkorians in order to be put on trial for insubordination and treason by the Harlbourgian military judicial system for attempting to start a war with Alkor, though most received relatively minor sentences to avoid creating any more martyrs. General Rose and several of her key backers were likewise put on trial in Alkor for following Brockton’s forces into Harlbourg. They were stripped of their duties and imprisoned, but were quietly released and reinstated a few months later once treaties had been signed between Alkor and Harlbourg. >Aftermath: Having been humbled at three different battles, and with many of the most pro-war politicians in White Eagle and Yorkburg under arrest, the conditions were right for the anti-war faction of the Congress of the Free Cities to implement several laws that benefitted Alkor. A peace treaty was signed between Princess Janice Ledieu representing Alkor, and War Secretary Wilbur Williams representing Harlbourg, which led to the demobilization of the remaining National Army units deployed along the border. The "Maritime Territory" was scrapped, though officially this was done to appease local merfolk and whalefolk tribes, who had begun sinking Harlbourg ships for ignoring their own claims to the region. And the (often ignored) law against Harlbourg manufacturers selling military supplies to Alkor was lifted. The Battle of Ren’s Gate was blamed on miscommunication, and much of the rest of the war was deemed by anti-war and libertarian Harlbourgian politicians media to be a suitable retaliation for the loss of the passenger liner and the (alleged) attempt by United Harlbourg factions in White Eagle to deliberately start a war to advance their own interests. However, many pro-war supporters were not convinced, and riots occurred in many Harlbourg cities for months. Overall the operation was seen as a success for Alkor, though the risk of pro-war factions seizing control of Harlbourg is still seen as uncomfortably high. Large numbers of Alkorian soldiers remain posted along the border, as well as in White Eagle (at the invitation of the new puppet government of White Eagle). However, many Alkorian soldiers were freed up to move to the western coast, or to Ercaenmedi to fight in the ongoing war. Meanwhile, factions that are either secretly or openly pro-Alkor or at least pro-Nantic were able to strengthen themselves greatly at the expense of pro-war factions. This in turn strengthened the position of factions back in Alkor who believe that Harlbourg can be brought back into Alkor’s influence via diplomacy and economics rather than invasion. ==='''Excerpts From “Concerning Demons” – By the Alkor Demonology Museum, Internal Use Only'''=== ...The study of demons is highly frowned upon in most civilized societies, but even here in Alkor, we acknowledge the need for general society to possess a basic knowledge of demons... ...Demons hail from other dimensions that are connected to ours, but follow different rules, not unlike the dimensions of the fey and the undead. Indeed, some scholarly traditions, like those of the Napanese state there is no real difference between different types of spirit, and the distinctions between fey, undead, and demon are arbitrary. It is said that each Demon Lord’s realm is subject to the whims of its ruler, but that demon lords cannot truly create new sentient beings, only twist and corrupt. Some insane individuals even believe that the demon lords once played a major role in creating our world, though they have little evidence of this other than some archaeology pointing to the fact that demons were once more common in this world than they are now. The known Demon Lord and their primary agents are a highly diverse set of entities, but most seem to share an overwhelming need to torment and corrupt others. As much as they like to crush and torture the helpless, they seem to prefer manipulating mortals with promises of power or by misrepresenting themselves as something else, like posing as a powerful mage, or an agent of the Gods. It is believed that most demons are the souls of those who either dedicated themselves to a particular Demon Lord, or who were sacrificed in a certain manner. Contrary to the teachings of many organized religions, it seems like many demon lords genuinely value their most skilled servants, and many powerful demons are in fact reincarnations of such individuals, who therefore often retain their past memories and grudges. However, some Demon Lords are extremely fickle, while others are easily angered by failures by their servants... ...There is no evidence that it is possible to kill a demon outside very specific circumstances, they simply re-materialize on their home plan. However, it is possible to bind or trap them. Another major weakness they have is that they cannot stay for long on our world in their pure form, however, they can be bound to a mortal or an object. Demons bound to a mortal are known as bound demons, though few who encounter them make the distinction since they typically take a shape similar to their demon shape. Some bound demons can reproduce with mortals, creating races of half-demons. Such creatures tend to resemble their demon lineage, though are generally weaker... ...The major known Demon Lords and their most iconic servant demons are listed below: >Deadicorn – The Harbinger of the Rainbow Apocalypse --Mythology-- One of the strangest, yet widely worshipped of the Demon Lords, Deadicorn has many seemingly contradictory traits, which lends credibility to the stories that he was created by merging several powerful entities together. Deadicorn is associated with destruction, magic, warfare, light, darkness, rainbows, rape, evil fey (particularly unicorns, and by extension, even horses and sheep in many societies), undeath, necromancy, sadism, flesh-shaping, and the apocalypse. According to legends, Deadicorn was created in ancient times when several demon lords and fey beings gifted significant portions of their essence and power to a powerful fey known as the Midnight Trickster in order to prevent the demon lord Althazar from taking over several worlds. It is said that Bobicus the Unicorn King, Beckirania the Shape Maker, and Chadian the Progenitor of Warriors were merged into him completely, while parts of Gogotha and Lykian were also absorbed. Later, during his titanic battle with Althazar, Deadicorn also absorbed much of his essence and became associated with the apocalypse. Deadicorn’s Realm is said to be a land of gently rolling hills, soft grass, and rainbows, but also unending suffering and strange and unusual torments. --Worshippers-- Pockets of his worshippers can be found anywhere, but he does particularly well among some covens in Hagarta and Unkor, the Unravellers, Skvoenbard, Ar-Haugthra, certain Fantal Island tribes (as the Dead One), in some parts of Napan (as Reinboyunikon, a relatively benevolent version of him), certain dark fey in The Fairy Lands, the Dalavchtai Khanate (as Khar Mori), some nomads in Miqdaadite, and certain harpy, centaur, satyr, faun, kelpie, minotaur clans on most continents. The Lepre-Khans are also believed to have some sort of tie to him, his demons sometimes impersonate servants of Nepseidon in Soukas, and he features heavily in the history of Sneed as the dreaded Ivory Horse. Followers of the “orthodox” version of Deadicorn’s faith tend to be insane in an extravagantly extroverted manner due to their belief that civilization is a lie, and the strong should be free to act upon every errant impulse. Deadicorn and his senior demons are fickle and callous with the lives of their followers, but are also very generous in the gifts they grant individuals that catch their fancy. However, in Tismo, the followers of Deadicorn and his alter egos tend to be more serious and focused, particularly followers of Khar Mori. In Napan, followers downplay his evil aspects, and focus on his power and unpredictability. --Associated Demons-- As Demon Lord of fleshshapers, Deadicorn’s servants come in all sorts of unusual shapes, though ungulates, undeath, and masculinity are reoccurring themes: - Centaurs and other taurs – Said to be created to mock true centaurs (a fey race), they are more common than fey centaurs these days, but less common than the magical creations of the Eldrian Empire. Typically used as cavalry and mounts. - Conglomerates – Weird mixes of humans and horses fused together. No two look the same. Generally made from those unlucky enough to attract the attention of Deadicorn or one of his more powerful servants on a day they were feeling “creative”. - Giant Rotting Beasts – A large and powerful demon usually used as a living siege weapon. Their size, strength, and durability is legendary, but luckily they are quite rare. - Horsemen – A fairly minor demon used as foot soldiers, slaves, and fodder. Despite being one of the weaker of the demons associated with Deadicorn, they are still monstrously strong and durable. Powerful followers of Deadicorn are fond of transforming skilled enemies into Horsemen, and turning them against their former allies. - Manmen – Resembling a smaller, weaker Sch'long-Hoof, being transformed into a manman is considered to be a particularly humiliating fate. - Sch'long-Hoofs: These massive phallic creatures are essentially mobile artillery, blasting entire formations of men from existence with streams of clinging fire, and blasts of rainbow energy. Very rare, and usually associated with a Sparkle Kin known as Glitter-Shaft. - Sparkle Kin – Resembling a massive Horseman with unicorn traits, the Sparkle Kin are senior servants of Deadicorn, possessing great martial ability, and arcane and mystical power. - Tri'coofs – These solitary demons resemble three eyed deer. They have powerful telekinetic powers with which to torment any unfortunate enough to make eye contact. - Unicorns – It is said unicorns were once “good” fey, prior to their demigod being absorbed into Deadicorn during his creation. These days, unicorns are usually used as mounts by the chosen of Deadicorn. Aside from their unnatural strength and toughness, they breath fire, shoot rainbow death rays from their genitals, and their massive horn can stuck the soul out of any unfortunate to be impaled upon it. >Grumm/Okamiokami – The Predator --Mythology-- A controversial figure who seems to bridge the gap between God, fey, undead, and demon. He is associated with masculinity, strength, warfare, hunters, and necessary evils. As Grumm he is depicted as a werewolf or a massive wolf made of fire and iron, while as Okamiokami, he is a shadowy wolf or wolfman. Although rare these days, he is still occasionally worshipped as The Jackal in the deserts of the south, and The Beast in the southern jungles. Grumm/Okamiokami lacks much of the flamboyant cruelty associated with other Demon Lords, but a number of dark practices remain associated with him, including cannibalism and ritual murder among the more extreme sects. Grumm and his alternate forms seem to genuinely care about their followers, but can be very brutal towards their enemies. He often picks favorites among mortal cultures, and is surprisingly loyal to said favorites. Due to his uncharacteristically generous behavior, many scholars debate whether he should be labelled as a Demon Lord, and several cultures consider him a God or a powerful fey or other spirit being. In most variations of Nantic Faith, he is said to be a Demon Lord who sided with the gods in an ancient war against demons, and ascended to Godhood. Grumm’s realm is said to be similar to ours, except it exists in perpetual twilight, and has no civilization, just endless hunting grounds --Worshippers-- As Grumm he was once the War God of the Nantic Empire, but these days only small pockets of diehard nationalists and violence loving men worship him in Belkan, Alkor, Harlbourg, Nantes, and the Republic of Free Men. As Grumm he is also worshipped by the Wolf-Kin Bands of The Fairy Lands, Unkor, and the Northern Wastes, some shock troops in Yr, and certain witch covens and fey tribes in Hagarta and The Fairy Lands. His worship is now banned in Gabaet, Falconhead, and parts of Harlbourg where he is considered a demon associated with werewolves. The men of Sky-Nada and Darhun Coast worship primitive versions of him, as do certain isolated tribes of fey and men on all continents. In Napan and Ercaenmedi he is instead worshipped as Okamiokami, who relies more on trickery and suave than the brute force and hunting prowness of Grumm. Other, rarer forms this entity are worshipped in the southern hemisphere. Grumm and his variants are popular with hunters, necromancers, lycanthropes, and soldiers, warriors, and spellcasters in areas where he fills the role of war god. His followers are often granted enhanced stealth, senses, martial ability, and if applicable, magical ability and control of their lycanthrope form. --Associated Demons-- Demons of Grumm tend to be canine in appearance, and often appear more like fey or undead spirits than demons. - Hunter Spirits – Created from the souls of Grumm’s most devote and skilled hunters and warriors, they are essentially unusually large and powerful lycanthropes, often topping 12 feet in height even in their human forms. Aside from their fearsome martial abilities, most also have spell casting ability. - Lycanthropes – Vicious shapeshifters often, but not always associated with Grumm/Okamiokami. They are generally considered fey, but many worship Grumm, and it is possible to create a werewolf like being by binding a spirit wolf to a mortal. - Prey Spirits – Made from the soul of an individual sacrificed to Grumm/Okamiokami in a particular way, which often includes some form of ritual cannibalism. Prey spirits sometimes resemble ghostly versions of their past selves, but other times resemble some sort of prey animal. They are often used as spies, or occasionally to possess enemies. In Grumm’s realm it is said they spend eternity serving those who created them. - Spirit Wolves – Ghostly wolves that seem more like undead than demons. Some have bare skulls, while others could pass as normal wolves. Occasionally resemble foxes, jackals, or vaguely canine jungle predators rather than wolves. Have the ability to transform into a canine headed, furred serpent like creature capable of flight. Often bound to mortals to create werewolves and other canine lycanthropes, or to iron constructs to make powerful war beasts and siege engines. They have the ability to become invisible, which also makes them useful spies. >Althazar – The Eternal Dragon --Mythology-- An ancient being associated with magic, fire, storms, raw elemental power, strength, trickery, and the apocalypse. It is said he once tried to conquer (or reconquer depending on who you ask) our world with an army of giants, dragons, and demons, but was defeated by the creation of Deadicorn, who stole much of his power, and parts of his identity. These days, it is said Althazar no longer takes heavy interest in this world, but has regained much of his old power, and perhaps even more thanks to conquests on other worlds. It may be only a matter of time before someone finds a way to draw his interest back to this world. Although Althazar may have turned his back on this world, several of his senior lieutenants, known as Titans, are said to be still quite active. Their identities are the source of much speculation, but Old Winter and Zephyr are seen as particularly likely suspects. Some suspect the World Flame is also somehow associated with him, though the linkage is unclear. Althazar’s realm is said to be a chaotic place, where deadly jungles, scorching deserts, frigid ice plains, stormy oceans, and flows of raw magma are mixed together without rhyme or reason. --Worshippers-- Althazar has few worshippers himself in modern times, outside of Yr, where many attempts have been made to ally with him and have him take the place of Ace/Alcar in their twisted parody of the Nantic Pantheon. Although some powerful spellcasters have formed pacts with him, he is very exclusive in terms of who he deals with. Aside from Yr, a few dragons are still believed to worship him. The followers of Althazar’s Titans are more widespread, and potentially include the followers of Old Winter (frost giants, and some northern humans and fey), and Zephyr (some harpy and other fey clans, plus a few misled cults of Ace and Zeupiter), as well as the followers of a number of other Titans now worshipped as Gods. --Associated Demons-- Althazar’s has many different types of demons, each of which also has several subtypes associated with destructive elements like fire, wind, lightning, or raw aether. - Dragon Demons – Said to be made from the souls of dragons who once served Althazar in life, they are even more destructive and powerful now, though thankfully extremely difficult to summon. - Furies – Raw elemental beings that appear only vaguely humanoid or quadrupedal in their natural state, but are frequently bound to inanimate suits and statues to tie them to this world. Sometimes called elementals. - Giant Demons – Much like Dragon Demons, these are followers of Althazar rewarded with immortality in an elemental version of their previous form. - Titans – Incredibly powerful beings that are sometimes worshipped directly. Diverse in appearance, though they and their servants are generally restricted to just type of destructive element. >Gogotha – She of the Barbed Whips --Mythology-- One of the more well known of the Demon Lords, Gogotha has long been associated with beauty, seduction, betrayal, ambition, vice, and decadence. Throughout history, she has been popular in a number of advanced civilizations including the Alateans, Khimerians, Imperial Jinsan, Imperial Afzen, several gnomish and mole-men cultures, the Bastmen of the Copper Plains, and the Lily Elves of Southern Autia, though it has been several centuries since her followers have dominated a major nation. Although her portrayal varies by culture, she is generally depicted as impossibly beautiful, but also somewhat cruel (or extremely cruel areas where she doesn’t seem to care about her popularity). She is currently known as Gogotha in northern Autia and Rinolsol, Golga in Flickfowl, and Hoippuredi in Napan. Gogotha and her senior demons are incredibly fickle, turning on favorites, newcomers, and failures alike without warning. However, they have a strange sense of karma, and seem to operate under the assumption that many of their followers are getting what they deserve for attracting their attention in the first place. Gogotha’s Realm is said to be a tropical paradise on the surface, but underneath is a hellscape of underground caverns filled with pleasure palaces, torture chambers, and flows of raw lava. --Worshippers-- Gogotha has small pockets of worshippers everywhere, though at the moment she is only tolerated in Yr (where her succubi form the backbone of Yr’s powerful, if unreliable intelligence network). In Napan her Hoippuredi aspect is fairly popular, but also significantly less cruel and fickle. In Flickfowl, Southern Autia and the Emerald Isles, her Golga aspect is moderately cruel, yet still enjoys popularity in some circles where she is associated with the decadence and superiority of one of several now vanished empires that once existed here. Much like Deadicorn, the ease in which envoys of Gogotha can be summoned makes her a popular Demon Lord to seek assistance from despite the high risks. She is popular with both the power hungry, those seeking new sensations, and the followers of said individuals, particularly those that are easily addicted to a particular sensation. --Associated Demons-- Gogotha has many demons associated with her, generally taking a form that Gogotha deems appropriate for their sins and service to her in life. They have a tendency to have horns, hooves, sometimes wings, and red, brown, or pale skin. - Blood Knights – In their natural state they resemble suits of armor that glow from within with red light, but demon binders can bind them to many forms in our world. - Cenobites – Sadistic demons that oversee the torment of Pain Thralls. They come in many shapes. Occasionally they are summoned to this world to oversee torture chambers and such. - Dukes of Hell – Massive demons made from the souls of Gogotha’s favorite followers. Come in many different forms (thanks to their shape shifting ability), but are generally extremely powerful in terms of both martial and magical talent. - Gluttony Demons – Odd, misshapen demons that resemble twisted versions of their past selves. They have been driven insane by amplified versions of the urges and quirks that corrupted them in life like gluttony, greed, sloth, and lust. Like imps, they can last an unusually long time in our world without being bound to something, and often cause much havoc when they find a way to slip into our world. Imps (known as Kalikantzaroi in Rinolsol and western Autia) are essentially a smaller, more benign version of this demon. - Pain Thralls – A diverse set of demons made from the souls of those who disrespected a senior demon of Gogotha in some way. Rarely summoned to this world unless someone needs reminding of the price of failure or disobedience, though Gogotha’s realm is said to be full of them. - Succubi – The most iconic of Gogotha’s demons, they are shape shifters and masters of manipulation (the fact they are often talented in illusion and enchantment magic aids in this). Sometimes called Incubi when they appear male, though the distinction is essentially meaningless. >Wyrna – The Hag Queen -- Mythology -- Often considered both a Demon Lord, and a fey, since she has the characteristics of each, Wyrna is mostly worshipped by evil fey, though some hunters and serial killers worship her as well. Her worship is strongest in the Fairy Lands and Lapus, though she is also a part of the perverse Yr Pantheon (though a very unreliable ally to that cause), where she fills the role of Weir/Neir (albeit, the wrong gender). Some cruel nature spirits worshipped in more primitive parts of the world are believed to be her in disguise. Wyrna and her servants don’t seem to have any goals other than cruelty for its own sake. Like Gogotha, she has a strange sense of karma that most of her followers share, and they delight in signing pacts and bargains with mortals that end in the worst possible way. Despite Wyrna’s cruelty and fickleness, it is almost unheard of for her or her demons to turn on someone who they see as embodying the values of Wyrna (sadism and enjoying the hunt / tricking and trapping others). Wyrna’s realm is said to be an insane realm where massive trees, hundreds of miles tall, tower over endless swamp. Many of the trees are large enough to have swamps, forests, and rocky hills embedded in their branches. -- Worshippers -- Wyrna is worshipped anywhere where evil fey like hags, fairy elves, and blood caps gather, particularly the Fairy Lands and Lapus. Some sadistic humans worship her as well. Many of her worshippers are naturally drawn to her, and require no rewards, though many spell casters benefit greatly from the knowledge her demons can provide. Like Deadicorn and Gogotha, her demons are easily summoned, but often break free of bindings, or trick the desperate into performing rituals that backfire on them. --Associated Demons-- It is difficult to tell the difference between demons and fey in the service of Wyrna. Many “demons” are simply reincarnated versions of fey, or sometimes even humans that follow Wyrna. A few however do have more demon-like traits: - Chomper Imps – Similar to the imps of Gogotha, but hungry instead of mischievous. Often bound to plants and animals to make strange and new predatory species. - Dupes – Mortals who signed bad pacts with Wyrna’s servants. Similar to pain thralls of Gogotha, but with shapes that emphasize humiliation rather than pain. - Fairy Demons – Essentially just Wyrna’s version of succubi, some see their existence as proof that Wyrna is just a disguise of Gogotha. - Fungi demons – The main foot soldiers of Wyrna and her servants on the rare occasions muscle is needed. In their pure form they resemble mushroom men, but when summoned to this world, they are typically bound to a corpse or dead tree, which they then animate. Also often bound to living beings, which then curses them to ages of agony as fungi slowly dissolve and corrupt their bodies. >Iron Gyyn - The Mother of Monsters -- Mythology -- Said to be one of the more powerful of the Demon Lords, and the one most interested in military conquest, Iron Gyyn and her alternate forms are a popular choice with demon binders, necromancers, and those desperate for military victory. She has taken many forms throughout history, but is currently most popular in Yr as Iron Gyyn, and Aesanaeria as the Brass Lord. It is believed she has never given our world her full attention, but it is said she has conquered several others. Iron Gyyn and her followers have a strong interest in conquest, and have often worked with like-minded Demon Lords and their followers like Althazar and Pelultima. Her demons tend to be far more pragmatic then the whimsically insane demons of Deadicorn, Wyrna, and Gogotha, but still greatly enjoy the pain and fear of mortals. Iron Gyyn’s realm is said to be covered in hellish industry, torture chambers, and brooding pits as far as the eye can see. --Worshippers-- Iron Gyyn and her servants rarely waste their time answering the summons of foolish or weak individuals, and instead focus their efforts on swaying whole organizations and nations. She is arguably the dominant Demon Lord in Yr, and is also quite popular in Aesanaeria as the Brass Lord. Iron Gyyn’s favored servants tend to lead from the rear, focusing on raising swarms of undead, summoning and binding new demons, or twisting the minds of population with enchantments. She is extremely generous in the gifts she grants her most valuable servants, but also has little tolerance for failure. --Associated Demons -- In their natural shape, demons of Iron Wyyn tend to be pale, and clad in iron chains, though their appearance can change depending what they are bound to, and how they are bound. - Chained Ones and Spiked Beasts – Common foot soldier demons of Iron Gyyn. Initially only the chains and spikes are demonic, puppeteering the unfortunate individual they were bound to, though eventually the victim will become corrupted if it lives long enough. - Forgekin – Strange creatures that look halfway between a furnace and a zombie, they are sometimes bound to mortals to make cannon fodder or tireless slaves, but more often are bound to iron constructs to make make iron beasts, golems, and other such creations. - Grasping Mothers – Foul demons resembling large, bloated, multi-limbed women wrapped in chains. They are usually summoned to this world to harvest souls for Iron Gyyn’s hellish forges, but are also intelligent creatures highly knowledgeable of military tactics and the occult. - Siege Beasts – Large, misshapen brutes in their natural state, they are usually summoned to animate iron beasts and other powerful golems. >Ytzhvygclull – The Ancient One --Mythology-- Known by many names in many places, Ytzhvygclull is an ancient evil said to be older than time itself. Along the northern coast of Autia, he is known as Shaleheart, a crusty old sailor who knows all, if the price is right. In the Fantal Islands he is known as Zmugtazu, God of the Hurricane, who wipes away that which should not exist with elemental fury. To many monsters along the coast and beneath the waves he is simply known as The Ancient One, who knows all and sees all. Inland he is known by many names by those who seek forbidden knowledge, or who come from bloodlines tainted by his touch. None know his true motives, or the nature of his realm(s). Areas of interest to him seem to include Nieri'hake-Telai’s operations at Seafoam Crater, the fishfolk of the Wyrd Sea, certain temples in the Fantal Islands, and a mysterious alliance with Yr. He is also believed to have something to do with the Puppet Clans, and the monsters of the Illician Isles. --Worshippers-- Most of his worshippers come from tainted races like the fishfolk or whiskerkin (humans with fishmen blood). A few insane individuals will try to summon his servants, but they rarely respond, more often untainted individuals in key positions are recruited or misled by Envoys. Ytzhvygclull seems to have much more ability than most Demon Lords to dominate the will of his servants directly. --Associated Demons-- The servants of The Ancient One tend to have an aquatic aesthetic to them. It is unclear whether they are demons in the true sense, or merely manifestations of his will. He also has many tainted servants like fishfolk and whiskerkin who are often categorized as half-demons. - Envoys – Shape shifters that appear when The Ancient One needs to recruit or manipulate an untainted individual. They prefer to manipulate others with enchantments and promises of occult knowledge, but will resort to other means if necessary. - Fishthings – It is often difficult to tell the difference between a true demon, and a mutated half-demon in the service of The Ancient One, but there are some reports of horribly mutated things appearing from thing air, suggesting they came from another dimension, though were perhaps just teleported from elsewhere on our world. - Striders – Nickname for the towering creatures sometimes seen from a distance during dark, stormy nights, striding through the ocean. There is no records of them interacting with mortals, and they often disappear without warning, but they have been blamed for many disappearances. >Lykian – She Who Dominates Through Undeath --Mythology-- Said to be the dark echo of Liik, Lykian is a Demon Lord with a strong interest in undeath. Lykian is very select in her worshippers, generally only those who are already powerful spellcasters. She was once very popular with megalomaniac humans in powerful empires like Eld, Jinsa, Khimeria, or the nations of the Copper Plains, but now seems confined to weaker nations like Yr, Unkor, and the Fantal Islands (as Lyki) though hidden cults to her are said to exist elsewhere. Her motives are largely unknown. It is often theorized she enjoys enabling evil spell casters simply for her own amusement. Others think she likes collecting individuals of note by convincing them to be undead. It is said Lykian has no realm of her own, instead she is said to lurk on the fringes of the realms of the dead. --Worshippers-- The few worshippers of Lykian tend to be either liches, vampires, necromancers, or the servants and slaves of such creatures. Although a number of other Demon Lords also can grant necromantic abilities, Lykian is seen as the safest choice for those powerful enough to gain her attention. Many of them belong to long dead nations, and now lurk among the ruins of their former homelands. -- Associated Demons -- Demons of Lykian often fall within a grey area between undead and demon, but some possess more demonic traits than others: - Bat Demons and Vampires – Foul creatures that survive by feeding off the lifeblood of mortals. They are difficult to kill, and like all demons, can potentially be summoned back to this world at a later date. Unlike most demons, they can’t be bound, and instead rely on mortal blood to hold them to this world. – Batlings – Small imp-like creatures used as spies, assassins, and servants. - Rot Demons and Zombie Demons – In their natural state they are just smudges of shadow, but when bound to a corpse, they reanimate it as a stronger form of zombie. If the corpse is relatively fresh, the spirit will sometimes become trapped inside it, allowing memories and abilities to be accessed by the demon. – Three Headed Seers – Strange demons often sent as envoys and advisors to Lykian’s favorites. Highly proficient in many types of magic, particularly rare forms of divination. >Glyce – The Prince of Narcissists --Mythology-- Much like Grumm and Tiki, Glyce is not as unambiguously evil as most Demon Lords, and is considered a God or a powerful fey spirit in many regions. Throughout history, he has picked favorites among the most flamboyant and decadent civilizations and leaders, but also occasionally among the underdogs. His followers seem to get along well enough with those of Gogotha’s, probably thanks to their similar creeds of overindulgence, though Glyce is significantly less cruel than Gogotha. Despite this, their followers co-existed in many ancient kingdoms like Alatea, Khimeria, Imperial Afzen, the Bastmen of the Copper Plains, and the Lily Elves of Southern Autia, but not in others like Jinsan, the gnomes, or the molemen. It is said that Glyce has largely turned his back on this world after many of his favorite kingdoms were destroyed in ancient times, though small pockets of his followers still exist in some areas, including Napan, the Fantal Isles, most areas inhabited by Amazons, and a few tribes of harpies and other fey. Glyce is also worshipped in other forms like the Fat Man in Sky-Nada, Diocchus by some fey and a few humans in Rinolsol, and as Wanilla in Yr. Wanilla is a strange form for him since Wanilla is commonly depicted as female rather than male, and emphasizes suppression of the lower classes rather than overindulgence, narcissism, and self-flattery. It is believed that Wanilla is a largely artificial piece of theology created so that Glyce could fill the role of Vanille in Yr’s parody of the Nantic Pantheon, though his demons have been encountered aiding the self proclaimed followers of Wanilla. Glyce and his senior demons seem to have a strong need to be worshipped and respected by like-minded mortals, and are generally supportive of followers that follow their creed. Though some say he has a darker side, and considers many present day mortals to be the descendants and ideological successors of those who destroyed his most cherished kingdoms on this world. Glyce’s realm is said to be a surreal landscape of floating islands containing massive palaces and phosphorescence flower filled jungles drifting over an endless mirror like ocean, all beneath skies filled with many large suns, moons, countless stars, and colorful clouds. --Worshippers-- Glyce’s followers tend to be artists, party-goers, performers, and courtiers. Although Glyce doesn’t particularly approve of cruelty, he generally has little sympathy towards the common folk whose toil is taxed to support the extravagance of his favored followers. Like most Demon Lords, Glyce, or rather his envoys, can grant much occult knowledge and magic ability to followers. Enchantments and illusions are generally preferred. --Associated Demons-- Demons of Glyce tend to be bright and colorful in their natural form, and even as bound demons or half demons tend to be appearance conscious: - Charismites – Essentially just wingless, less evil versions of succubi, they are still quite ruthless and will stop at nothing to fulfill their duties. Despite being shape shifters, they almost always have pink hair when not undercover. - Guardian Demons – Resemble masked humanoids made from a starry night sky in their normal state, but are frequently bound to animals to create guardian creatures of many types. When several are required to guard a location for an extended period of time (usually an ancient ruined temple or city) they frequently form clans of half-demons. - Shunned – Made from the souls of those who were a particular nuisance to Glyce’s cause, they appear as pallid, limp versions of their former selves, in contrast to the vitality of Glyce’s realm. They do boring, repetitive, or humiliating tasks as their punishment, though Glyce’s followers are a forgiving sort, and often eventually free a Shunned, so they can take part in the endless revelries. >Tiki – The Builder of Worlds Much like Grumm and Glyce, it is a bit debatable whether Tiki is a Demon Lord, fey spirit, or God, though he is often classified as a Demon Lord since many of his servants have demon-like traits. According to his remaining followers, Tiki led the creation of this world (then known as Tzjiltaekuo) with many other individuals of great power, some of whom are theorized to be ancient interpretations of Demon Lords, fey, and Gods who are still worshipped in modern times. It is said, even by his own followers, that Tiki has lost interest in this world due to the interference of interloper Gods and races, though he can still sometimes be roused to aid the few cultures that still remember him, most of whom are located in the Bridge Islands region. However, in ancient times, Tiki was said to once have ruled over a vast civilization centered around Southern Autia, the ruins of which can mostly be found in the Bridge Islands, particularly the massive causeway bridges for which the region is named, but some outlying ruins have been found on almost all continents. His realm is said to be much like this world, but “improved” in unspecified ways, and with certain features he didn’t like removed. --Worshippers-- Tiki is worshipped by many Bridge Tribes, and a few other tribes around the world. Although generally seen as a benevolent God by his followers, outsiders find many of his religions practises to be cruel and unusual. In modern times, many tribes do not worship Tiki directly, but instead do so via a series of powerful totem spirits like Gull, Gecko, Frog, Dolphin, The Woman, The Man, and The Outsider. The nature of the totem spirit worshipped greatly influences the theology and culture of a tribe, but many other traits remain consistent among all cultures that follow Tiki like the reverence of ruins associated with Tiki, the use of voodoo, and the obsessions with wood carving, alchemy, and divination magic. –Associated Demons-- Many of Tiki’s servants are fey or undead, but a few have traits that are unmistakably demonic. - Jungle Imps – Resembling Volcano Demons, but smaller, and with somewhat insectoid features, Jungle Imps are nuisance creatures that harass and torment those who try to travel through forbidden areas. - Totem Demons – In their natural state, Totem Demons resemble large moving wooden statues, though in this world they are often bound to wooden carving that strongly resemble their natural form. This is said to establish the demon more permanently to this world, and such creatures can often sit dormant for centuries or even millennia guarding a site sacred to Tiki. - Volcano Demons – Powerful shape shifting demons that often serve as envoys and enforcers. Despite their name, their appearance is that of a horned humanoid, but when angered they possess powerful fire magic, and can transform into large brutes made of raw magma. >Lolth – The Spider Queen --Mythology-- An interloper Demon Lord that has only recently appeared alongside the waves of drow migrating to this world, Lolth is still primarily worshipped by drow, though she has recruited some human and fey followers among the cruel and primitive. Not much is known about her at this point, but she has a known affinity for spiders, and a tendency to stir up chaos among her followers for the sake of chaos. Her realm is known as the Demonweb Pits, and are said to be a land of rocky chasms and spider webs. --Worshippers-- Lolth’s followers are mostly drow, with women holding nearly all positions of religious authority. Cruelty and chaos for its own sake seem to be religious creeds, and yet most drow cities that worship Lolth actually have fairly rigid hierarchies. --Associated Demons-- Most of Lolth’s demons seem to have a spider motif, though there are some exceptions. Chwidencha – Horrific spider like creatures with far too many legs said to be created from those who have failed Lolth. Spider Demons – A catch-all category for the many strange spider like creatures that Lolth’s followers can create in this world including driders and spiders of various sizes. >Pelultima – The Darkness --Mythology-- A frequently overlooked Demon Lord who is potentially far more significant than her low profile suggests. Also known as Alana in southern Autia, Pelultima is a dark, nihilistic Demon Lord strongly associated with the powerful force known as Dark Aether. She may have caused many of the most catastrophic events in our world’s history including the Fall of the Eldrian Empire nd the creation of the Eldr. Not much is known of Alana’s home realm, but some say it is a twilight realm made of Dark Aether. --Worshippers-- Open worshippers of Pelultima are extremely rare, though the infamous Theocracy of Alana provides some indication of how Pelultima’s followers likely behave (insane and anarchistic, yet sharply focused, and clearly driven by a larger agenda). Followers of Pelultima/Alana tend to believe that all evil Demon Lords and other powerful entities are merely aspects of their Dark Goddess. --Associated Demons-- None known, but followers sometimes create demon like creatures from raw Dark Aether, which they see as tiny pieces of Pelultima herself. Such creatures can possess, corrupt, or drain the life force of others, yet are all but invincible, even to magic that usually works against demons. >Mon-k'e M'e-me – The Destroyer of Civilizations --Mythology-- Mon-k'e M'e-me is a brutish Demon Lord who is fond of destruction for the sake of destruction, but who generally targets the infrastructure built by civilized folk. His followers are mostly found in the Fantal and Crescent Islands, but small pockets of worshippers can be found in the jungles of northern Flickfowl, as well as a few strange orders of monks in Napan and eastern Autia, and a handful of monkeymen tribes on all continents. Like certain other Demon Lords, Mon-k'e M'e-me and his followers have a strange sense of justice that revolves around punishing and tormenting the “bringers of civilization” who they see as arrogant enslavers. His realm is said to be endless jungle and mountains and buildings for he and his followers to smash. --Worshippers-- Mon-k'e M'e-me isn’t too picky on who he recruits as long as they follow his creed. He sometimes even adopts renegade demons associated with other Demon Lords, like the Winged Runt, a former Gluttony Demon recruited by Mon-k'e M'e-me to serve as an envoy, and who is now sometimes worshipped as a Demon Lord in his own right. -- Associated Demons-- Mon-k'e M'e-me’s demons are highly diverse in appearance, but generally resemble animals that rely on brute strength to fight, like elephants, hippos, warthogs, and gorillas. They are usually bound to animals resembling their true form to create powerful bound demons, but sometimes captured “agents of civilization” are bound with weaker demons to create cannon fodder and slaves. Half demons are common among the servants of Mon-k'e M'e-me [[Category:Homebrew Settings]]
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