This little light of mine

Where there is darkness...

A Flickering Light

A little over three years ago the Druj swept out of the forests of Lustri to begin the conquest of Zenith. Out of the Sarangrave they came, and one by one the spires went dark. The Highborn armies held them at Proceris for six months, but then the disastrous destruction of the Golden Cascade saw the tide turn and the last Imperial soldiers forced to abandon the territory. Three long years of darkness and despair ensued - but even that darkness was not absolute. There were moments of light and hope. The Urizen know that no matter how bleak the shadows may seem, they will always ultimately fall before the light.

Sometimes it is easier to curse the darkness that to light that light, however. After an abortive first attempt, the Empire has managed to establish a precarious presence in Zenith, but that might change at any moment. The Druj seem absolutely set on ensuring that Zenith remains their twisted playground. In the months leading to the Spring Equinox, they held their ground, preventing the Empire from liberating Clypion. Imperial heroes won a significant victory during the Equinox, venturing through the Sentinel Gate to prevent the orcs poisoning the ruined marshes at the heart of the territory. Now the Imperial armies need to try and capitalise on what the heroes have achieved. And try they do.

Citadel Guard, we have pushed our way into Zenith, we are here and we are not leaving until Zenith is ours once again. We will use our wisdom to avoid the Druj traps. We will show our loyalty to our fellow citizens that are suffering and we will take pride in reclaiming our land.

Nicassia Avicia of Phoenix Reach, General of the Citadel Guard

While the Valiant Pegasus, the Wolves of War, and the Iron Helms are needed elsewhere, they are replaced by the Towerjacks and by the Fist of the Mountain. The latter marches across the entire breadth of the Empire from Kallavesa, empowered by Autumn magic to find the best path to bring them to Zenith in time to join the attack. With the arrival of the warriors of Wintermark, there are nearly forty-thousand Imperial soldiers in Zenith, including nearly ten thousand warriors from units fighting under the spired banner of the Citadel Guard. These warbands are effortlessly folded into the strategy of the sentinels alongside whom they fight - Autumn magic ensures that they are bound together into a seamless whole greater than the sum of the parts. The Granite Pillar, the Towerjacks, and the Seventh Wave are also supported by valuable Imperial magic. The soldiers of all three armies fight with the Clarity of the Master Strategist, allowing them to make and execute strategic and tactical plans more effectively whether individually or in unison with their fellows.

The People of Urizen need YOU, Eastern Sky. Let us prove to them that Dawn has not abandoned them and that our loyalty to them as fellow Imperials runs deep. I, your new General, will be marching by your side from now until my final day. Death to the Druj!

Dame Aurum De Castellan, General of the Eastern Sky

It's not the only thing that binds the Imperial forces together. There is an almost subtle aura of grim camaraderie between the soldiers of the five nations who fight in Zenith this season. Perhaps it is the influence of these enchantments; perhaps it is the orders of the generals that remind their soldiers of the bonds that tie them to their fellow Imperials; perhaps it is the unwavering gaze of the Three Watchers; perhaps it is the inspirational virtue of the Granite Pillar and the Seventh Wave; perhaps it is a reaction to the painful anniversary of the Druj invasion. Perhaps it is some combination of these things. Whatever it is, for the first time in several years, there is something new stirring in Zenith despite the smothering despair. A spark kindles in the darkness; a fragile hope blossoms in the barren soil among the mountains of Zenith. Fragile indeed, in the face of the relentless hatred of the Druj and their foul miasma.

Smothering Darkness

There may be forty thousand Imperial soldiers fighting to free Zenith, but there are an equal number of orc warriors here. Bound by the magic of the Citadel Guard, the Druj have chosen to fight rather than retreat into the Sarangrave. Those who were trapped here are joined by further orc troops, marching out of the dark forests of the north-east. They seem to want nothing less than the absolute destruction of the Imperial armies, and to rout of all those they cannot slaughter back into Morrow.

We are one Empire. Our siblings in Urizen bleed and suffer. We march to stand at their side, as virtue guides us. March in Pride as the Eastern Sky before us. Shields to the front, step to contact.

Kindra Edasdottir, General of the Fist of the Mountains

The Rivers of Life flow through Zenith - any wound that is not fatal will be healed overnight - but that does nothing to quell the reckless fury of the Druj. At the forefront of the Druj counterattack are those under the banner of the Poison Crane, whose warriors take every opportunity to engage in wanton bloodshed. They leave the matter of actually driving the Empire out of Clypion to others; such considerations are secondary to their goal of murdering as many Imperial soldiers as possible.

They are supported in their crimson endeavour by the skirmishers of the Hidden Widow and the Deadly Blade, who take every opportunity to set up ambushes, feints, and traps that lure Imperial soldiers into deadly situations. They are encountered everywhere, distributing poisoned weapons to their allies and employing spears doused in Serpenttooth blade venom to deadly effect. The wounds these warriors inflict rapidly turn sour and septic in spite of the wellspring of healing power that infuses the territory. After the first few engagements, the seers of Urizen report that it seems these two Druj armies are under the effect of a Spring magic enchantment that empowers them to spread pestilence and suffering. The waters may burgeon with life, but that only serves to blunt the effectiveness of their magic; the Empire is lucky they are not facing these armies under more normal circumstances - or worse trying to fight them while the Rivers Run Red.

Towerjacks, once again we try to drive the Druj from Imperial territory. Guided by the Clarity of the master strategist we will steadily move into Clypion and if possible Iteri. Show the people of Zenith we stand with them against the Druj. Steel guard our bodies, virtue guard our souls.

Natalia 'The Falcon' Barossa, General of the Towerjacks

The rest of the Druj forces are a little more cautious, although they also possess deadly allies. As well as the Druj themselves, there are the tormented souls of former Imperial heroes now trapped in undying bondage by the malice of the buruk tepel. They sow a particular terror among even the bravest - everyone who encounters them cannot help but fear that the same unspeakable fate might befall them.

The Druj have woven their dark magic in western Zenith, raising their enchanted fortifications over Lustri and Proceris. Scouts report that the former at least is familiar; the woods are dark and deep and rich with Spring magic that seeks to devour the enemies of the Druj. The enchantment in Proceris, however, is something else. The Imperial heroes stopped the main thrust of the Druj plan, but they have woven malign magic into the marshes, and the enchanted fortification they have raised there is a terror indeed. In the days after the Spring Equinox, a great creaking labyrinth of sigil-studded rotting wood and mud and coiling mist rose around the dripping ruins of the Golden Cascade. The scouts speak fearfully of the things that dwell there - wide-eyed orc-like creatures cloaked in living shadow, able to move unseen through the fog, and whose touch sears like a blazing brand; venomous octopuses the size of small dogs that seem equally at home in water and air and seem to have an insatiable lust for warm flesh; and worse things in the heart of the labyrinth.

Sisters, brothers, siblings, take Pride! Your courage and Loyalty in standing by the citadel guard to protect the people and souls of Urizen has been recognised. The Urizen and Loyalty Assemblies call for other to join in this Virtuous Crusade for the salvation of Zenith. The Druj are many, rattled and angry. The will make us bleed. Our example will echo long after our deaths. Look to the West and see proof of your inspiration. Wintermark comes from across the Empire to join us. Urizen does not stand alone and neither do we. For Virtue! For Urizen! For the Empire!

Asenath, General of the Granite Pillar

The Mountains Run Red

Two nearly equally matched forces, with magic on both sides, both fighting for control of Clypion. The irresistible force of the Eastern Sky at the fore, the thunderous flame of the Highborn armies flanking them, the Empire throws itself into battle. Time and again the Empire and the Druj clash. The lines shift to and fro across the foothills of Clypion. At first the Druj have the advantage, but then the Fist of the Mountain join the fray and the Empire pushes the orcs back. Then the Druj reinforcements arrive from deeper into the Mallum, and the tide shifts the other way and Imperial troops lose the ground they have taken. In the end, though, despite all their malign sorcery and all their hate, the Druj are pushed back. The Empire - only just, only by the slightest margin - gains the upper hand. The Druj are pushed east, and the Empire is able to hold the ruined and battered spires it liberates.

There are few people left in Clypion, in this high battlefield, but those people who do remain, who have survived the tender mercies of the Druj domination, finally come out of hiding. Inspired by the virtuous auras created by Aurum of the Nightingale Temple and buoyed up by the Imperial victory they take up arms and flock to join the Citadel Guard. They are joined by many former refugees, eater to return to Zenith to fight alongside the Citadel Guard to free their homes. The light spreads, the embers quicken in more hearths. The darkness is driven back...

Seventh Wave will bring Virtuous Crusade alongside our siblings from the other Imperial Nations. May we bring swift death to the Druj.

Cuth, General of the Seventh Wave

But only a little. For all their conviction, the Imperial armies are unable to complete the liberation of Clypion. The eastern hills, the last handful of spires - the pillars that anchor the will-sapping miasma of fear - these remain in the hands of the Druj as the Summer Solstice approaches. The Druj are more interested in murder than protecting ground but the effect is similar. The Empire is able to consolidate their position but they still do not have the beach head in Zenith. There is a very real possibility that the Druj might still rally, and drive them back again into Morrow.

It is a galling thought, but what victory the Empire has secured was in part ceded to them by the Druj strategy. If the orcs had been less focused on slaughter, and had instead fought to defend the territory - or worse yet had adopted tactics specifically designed to drive the Imperial armies out of Clypion - then the heroes of the Empire might have been denied the progress they did manage to make. A progress that has been dearly bought. The Rivers of Life have greatly reduced the number of humans and orcs slain, but more than two-and-a-half thousand Imperial soldiers have still laid down their lives in Zenith this season fighting the Druj. The orcs themselves have lost far fewer of their own warriors - but only because the Empire's focus was on defeating rather than slaughtering them.

On the other hand, the Druj have been driven closer to losing their stranglehold on Clypion. The Empire has beaten them, stopped them reclaiming the mountains, and pushed them back. That has not gone unnoticed. Not by the soldiers of the Empire, not by those flocking to the banner of the Citadel Guard, and not by the remaining Urizen left under the heel of the Druj.

The Trods of Zenith
Shortly after the Spring Equinox, the tattered trods of Zenith finally collapse. While it has been extremely difficult for stridings to get into the Druj-dominated territory to walk them, they should have held together for at least another few years. It seems likely that someone or something associated with the Druj has taken action to tear them down. Some vates speculate that it might be a side-effect of whatever magic the ghulai used in Proceris to reinforce their magical fortifications; others wonder if the Twisted Basilisk's ravaging of mana sites and regio in the lead up to the Spring Equinox might be to blame; while a few mutter darkly about the twisted magicians from the Palace of the Sleepers rumoured to be in Zenith. A few point to Kavor Eyepeel, the wicked buruk tepel responsible for the creation of the tormented souls, and opine that this is all a part of their sinister master plan... whatever that might turn out to be.

Regardless, the fact remains that the trods have unravelled and the Dance of Navarr and Thorn will need to be performed once more. The presence of the Citadel Guard means it might be possible to restore the trods from Anvil during the coming summit. Some vates are not convinced this is the wisest course of action - if the loss of the trods is due to enemy action, what is to stop them tearing them down as soon as the Navarr replace them? Or anyone else of course - one consequence of the Dance of Navarr and Thorn being part of Imperial Lore is that anyone can use the ritual to create trods, not just the Navarr vates, so the decision might theoretically be taken out of their hands.

Game Information

The Empire has made a small amount of headway in Zenith; they are now nine-tenths of the way toward capturing Clypion. If they are able to take the region, Iteri will be isolated from the rest of the territory and it will be harder for the Druj to defend it.

Over the course of the last few months the Citadel Guard received significant reinforcements thanks to the mandate upheld by the Urizen Assembly. Their numbers have been bolstered by 1,000 additional troops. If the Citadel Guard remain on campaign here until Zenith is retaken and no more land in the territory is under the control of the Druj, then the new recruits will gladly serve. If the Citadel Guard leaves Zenith to fight elsewhere, or if the attack falters and is repulsed, then those Urizeni recruits will desert. The new troops would abandon their positions and the Citadel Guard would immediately lose a thousand points of effective strength. If that reduction took the remaining army strength below a thousand, then the army would break. You can read more about this opportunity in a little thing done perfectly.

There is a Druj miasma covering Zenith that weakens the Imperial ability to claim territory. In addition to that, Zenith still has the Terrorized quality; the tormented spirits that the Druj have created from Urizen and Highborn captives continue to use their supernatural strength to slaughter the weak and exploit every vulnerability they can identify. As a consequence any Imperial army in Zenith that drops to 1,500 strength (or 2,250 if Large) will disband. The only way to permanently remove this quality would be to deal with the threat presented by the tormented souls, which will require an opportunity - most likely a battle. Finally, as a consequence of Druj magic wielded in Zenith during the Spring Equinox, the region of Proceris has now permanently gained the Nightwoven quality; any Dripping Echoes of the Fen enchantment that targets that region is significantly enhanced in strength as long as the quality remains.

During the Spring Equinox there were two opportunities for Imperial heroes to deal with the hungry dead lose in the territory. At Lutum Descent the Empire were successful in destroying the temporary regio and preventing the winter spirits from threatening Imperial forces. Unfortunately, they were less successful at Kyrinian Spring, meaning that the Druj were able to deal with the threat of winter spirits attacking their own troops and leaving a dark pit of hungry dead in the depths of Clypion. Between the Rivers of Life, the vigilance of the Imperial armies, and the cunning of the Tainted Basilisk's magicians, this means that while there were certainly unliving horrors in Zenith during the last few seasons, the problem has largely been dealt with - apart of course from those clustered at the Kyrinian Spring.

Let It Shine (Battle)

• A major conjunction has been identified in Zenith
• Further details of this opportunity will be added to this Wind of War as soon as they are available

The Imperial prognosticators have identified a major conjunction that will reach Clypion during the Summer Solstice. They believe it offers an opportunity to claim the beach head in Zenith, as well as a chance to capitalise on the renewed hope of the Urizeni people - inspiring the spires of Redoubt and Morrow. Along with former Zenith refugees, a clear victory over the Druj might create an opening for those citizens to offer significant assistance in driving the remaining Druj out of Iteri - potentially leaving Imperial forces free to address the daunting challenge of conquering ruined Proceris.