Vallorn

Latest revision as of 18:52, 6 February 2026

A vallorn seems to be a malignant hostile magical ecosystem.

Overview

The vallorn appeared as the result of the disaster that overthrew the cities of the nation known as 'Terunael' by the Navarr. Much of the land which is now Empire was part of Terunael, but the nation was concentrated in a number of large cities. From the hearts of those cities spread supernaturally abundant greenery, a sick, infectious wave of life that cracked and crumbled stone, shot great trees up through streets and buildings, and warped, twisted and destroyed most of the inhabitants of those cities. The survivors scattered to the wind.

As the refugees attempted to claim back their lands, they discovered that around the core of each city, areas of superabundant, warped life had appeared, resistant to all efforts to destroy them. These were named vallorn.

A vallorn seems to be a malignant hostile magical ecosystem - areas of forest where even the Navarr fear to tread. Inside these areas are monstrous plants, the spores of which seem to change living creatures that are exposed over many months. Even the air is different within the vallorn, weakening those who enter as if they were breathing mild poison. The plants that grow there often have supernatural capabilities; chaos fruit are an example of vegetation that has been infused both with vallorn essence and powerful Spring magic but there are many others. Some of the plants are predators in their own right.

The vallorn... nothing less than the vile offspring spewed out from the mating of a Great White Shark and a rampant fungal infection.

Zietel van Temeschwar, Mountebank

There is no clear guiding intelligence behind the vallorn - they are not believed to be self-aware. However, they will strike back if damaged or hurt, much as a beehive or ant's nest will use its foot soldiers to drive off the invader. There seems to be one vallorn around each of the fallen cities of Terunael. Sometimes, however, vallornspawn and even vallorn plants show up in locations with no clear connection to Terunael; there is no clear explanation for how this happens.

We welcomed the night; in the darkness we could not bear witness to the vallorn’s appetite. By day… by day all Its wants, Its passions, Its yearnings were laid out in their visceral horrors. Synod forgive me, for I know the Law cannot; but when darling Arturo came back to me – mud in his veins and thorns in his mouth – and he gestured me to embrace him… I ran, and I ran, and I ran.

Cai, Thorn of the Conclave, after the reconquest of Miaren prior to his execution for desertion

As far as it is known, the vallorn have not spread far after the initial rush of growth in the fall of the ancient cities. This is at least in part due to the watchfulness of the folk of the Navarr steadings, who work to ensure vallorn areas are not disturbed and the vallorn roused. The forests of the vallorn are sick with life, greenery regenerating so fast that axe or fire only serves to enrage them. Attempts to cull these areas have been made time and time again, using both magical and mundane means, and have always met with failure.

No complete catalogue has ever been made of the strange monstrosities within the vallorn's domain - some appear simply to be diseased, misshapen forest creatures, or mutated humans and orcs. Some seem to be plants, sporting a mass of tangled thorns or possessing abilities that make them dangerous to travellers. A common threat to those who venture into those areas where the vallorn is strong are the vallornspawn husks. Some threats extend beyond the infested forests, however; from time to time, the monstrous insect horrors dubbed ettercaps that prosper in the miasma swarm out of the woods and voraciously destroy crops and communities that lie in their path.

In early 384YE, the Navarr undertook a bold project to expand the Great Library of Hacynian, to bring together all the information about the vallorn extant within the Empire. Supported by their fellow Imperial nations, and with additional lore provided by the Thule of Otkodov, the project was a resounding success. Many of the suppositions and myths about the vallorn were proved or disproved, and in the end a final, certain way to defeat the vallorn was determined. Since then several Imperial nations have been slowly mobilising forces toward a goal that might have appeared unthinkable a few years previously - the destruction of the vallorn.

The miasma is a threat to anyone who lives too near a vallorn.

The miasma is often visible in the air, often as a green mist.

Vallorn Miasma

The deeper one travels into an area claimed by the vallorn, the more likely one is to encounter the "vallorn miasma." It is as if the air itself is infected with dangerous toxins or spores, or perhaps an aura given off by the slumbering vallorn itself. The miasma seeps into the lungs and through the skin. It is sometimes visible in the air as tendrils of mist, often tinged green or yellow. It is impossible to avoid the miasma, and while some travellers claim that exposure can be avoided by tying wet cloth over the mouth there is little evidence that this tactic actually works.

Humans and orcs exposed to the miasma rapidly develop symptoms of nausea or mild feverishness. A critically injured individual is quickly - and fatally - overwhelmed by the miasma. Explorers in an area of miasma are advised to employ precautions such as the Vitality of Rushing Water ritual, or the use of an Abraxus Stone; to ensure they are accompanied by competent healers and well-prepared physicks; and to avoid violent confrontation wherever possible ... although this latter rarely proves practical. Even if they have avoided being injured, explorers who spend any period of time in an area of vallorn miasma will need medical attention when they return to remove its lingering effects - rituals such as Ascetic Star of Atun are ideal for this purpose. Extended periods of time exposed to the miasma - even in its most dilute form - is also known to cause the sickness known by the Navarr as green lung. While a wet cloth is of little use against the miasma itself, there is some evidence that a wet cloth over the nose and mouth will reduce the likelihood of contracting this sickness, at least in the short term.

The miasma is somewhat inimical to unliving material - corpses exposed to the miasma quickly rot away to mulch. The miasma speeds the process of decay in most unliving material - which has made the recovery of fragile artefacts from Terunael ruins especially challenging.

The strength of the miasma can only be permanently reduced in an area by reducing the power of the vallorn that spawns it. Miasma powerful enough to harm a mortal may be found in small "pools" outside the immediate area of vallorn infestation, especially if there are vallornspawn plants in the area. It is much more common to find it across large expanses of vallorn claimed regions like a toxic sea (OOC Note: regions with the Vallorn keyword are likely to be heavily invested with vallorn miasma.) Exotic, alien and unique plants prosper in areas thick with miasma, and the monstrous insects associated with the vallorn thrive in these areas.

The miasma itself is not restricted to areas of vallorn infestation. Like a cloud of smoke, strong winds can blow the miasma into nearby areas. Without the support of an active vallorn, however, the miasma dissipates quite quickly. For the hours or (rarely) days it remains, however, it supports the presence of vallornspawn husks or ettercaps in unexpected areas.

OOC Note: Unless protected by a specific effect, any human or orc exposed to vallorn miasma is immediately subject to VENOM. This condition cannot be removed as long as they remain in the miasma. It persists once they leave the area, exactly as if they had been struck by the VENOM call.

Draining the Vallorn

Regions with the vallorn keyword are invulnerable to attack by Imperial armies
From time to time the impact of the trods is sufficient to make a single vallorn region briefly vulnerable

Attacking the vallorn is generally fruitless - the effulgent Spring energies that roil through infected lands sustains the vegetation and the creatures that live there. Most things regenerate with ferocious speed, but even when trees are felled and creatures slain, they are replaced impossibly quickly. Attacking a region dominated by the vallorn (OOC Note: with the vallorn quality) directly while it remains sustained by Spring magic is a recipe for disaster. These regions are effectively immune to the military force the Empire can bring against them, due to the speed of regeneration of the vallorn's forces and the impossibility of controlling the territory it has claimed.

For centuries, the Navarr have used the magic of the trods, to drain the Spring energy from the vallorn, tapping the life of the trees and plants and allowing the Navarr to carry that energy away as they travel. This is a painfully slow and deeply unpredictable process, but it works. After decades of patience, a region may become sufficiently drained that there is no longer enough Spring magic to allow the vallorn to regenerate. At that point, it is possible to attack and defeat the vallorn, if the Empire has sufficient armies to defeat the abominations that dwell within. The last time this happened was in 383YE when a region in Brocéliande became vulnerable. The next opportunity of this kind is unlikely to appear until at least a decade has passed. Disruptions in the network of trods that criss-cross the Empire make it next to impossible to predict exactly how long this will take; a vallorn recovers its strength very swiftly when it is no longer connected to the web of magical paths.

Containing the Vallorn

Spring magic can rouse the vallorn causing it to try to expand
A roused vallorn is represented by an army of vallorn creatures of fixed size attacking neighbouring regions
This force cannot be diminished, it can only be contained until it stops attacking
The vallorn will stop expanding in this way after a year unless it is further roused
The vallorn will attempt to take one region each season
If the vallorn is successful the region will gain the vallorn quality and the attacking strength will reduce by five thousand
Vallorn forces attacking a territory will usually target a fortification if the bastion is adjacent to a vallorn heart

Sometimes the vallorn will be roused from its slumber, and it will seek to expand. This is usually the result of powerful Spring magic, either a ritual deliberately designed to provoke the vallorn or the side-effects of a very powerful Spring ritual affecting the territory and beyond. If roused, armies of ettercaps and other vallornspawn will boil forth, looking to spread the infestation of the vallorn to a new region.

When that happens, the threat of the vallorn is represented by a military force of a fixed size, which will attempt to seize one or more adjacent regions. This force cannot be cut down by armies inflicting casualties, but Imperial armies can prevent it from capturing new territory, just as if it were a barbarian threat of a similar size. Provided the Empire brings sufficient force to bear, the vallorn can be contained in the regions it controls.

If the vallorn is not contained, then it will try to claim a single region. If it captures an entire region then it will swiftly put down roots that make it impossible to remove. That region will gain the vallorn quality. Transforming the region in this way saps the strength of the vallorn - reducing the attacking strength of the vallorn by five thousand.

In either case, the vallorn will become quiescent again after a few seasons of such efforts. It will take anywhere between two and four seasons for this to happen, depending on how strong the vallorn heart is, how it was roused, and whether further action is taken to keep it active. Following observations in Therunin, Imperial prognosticators are confident they can now identify how long a vallorn will be active when it is roused.

Vallorn forces that are attacking a territory will target a physical fortification, if the bastion is in a region adjacent to the vallorn heart, unless called out as part of an opportunity. Enchantments, such as those created by Basalt Citadel or Forge the Wooden Fastness, do not have this effect.

Before the vallorn can be destroyed it must be roused to full wakefulness - a risky move indeed.

Destroying the Vallorn

If the trods are connected, each vallorn heart will begin to attack adjacent regions with a set military strength
Imperial armies will need to inflict sufficient casualties to completely destroy a vallorn force to defeat it
It is not possible to reclaim a region with the vallorn quality until the entire force associated with that vallorn heart is destroyed

If the vallornhearts are connected, however, the situation changes dramatically. Once the trods are connected the vallorn will become especially dangerous. It will still be drawn to attack a bastion or any similar structure in the territory it is attacking if it is adjacent to a vallornheart, but it will not lose strength for each region it claims. At that point the only way to stop it spreading will be to utterly destroy it.

In 385YE, the Empire expanded the Great Library of Hacynian, so that it could contain copies of all documents and records on the vallorn scattered through every striding and steading in the Empire, as well as those in personal libraries all across the Empire. contributions from allies, familiar and unexpected. After the work was complete, it revealed a quicker way to defeat the vallorn, albeit one that required immense Courage. If all the remaining vallorn hearts could be connected with trods then it would rouse the vallorn to attack - but it would also make it vulnerable. It would be possible to defeat it everywhere - not in the distant future - but now.

Rather than containment, the Imperial strategy will need to shift to destruction. The vallorn will still be drawn to attack fortifications, but its strength will operate differently, it will not be reduced when it claims regions, and it will not become quiescent over time. After careful assessment, the Civil Service has been able to identify the nature and the scale of the threat if the vallorn hearts are linked by trods. In that situation, the vallorn will boil forth from each of the hearts - in the Empire that means Hercynia, Liathaven, Brocéliande Sarangrave and Therunin. At present, only Hercynia and Sarangrave are controlled by the Empire, but all five would create huge problems that would require significant military force to defeat. In addition, there are two other vallorn hearts, one in Thule lands in Emrys in Sküld, and one in Axos lands in Visokuma.

The larger and denser the vallorn is, the greater the resulting military strength of the threat associated with it. Larger means the more regions in a territory that are claimed by the vallorn (OOC Note: that have the vallorn quality). The vallorn hearts in territories associated with the Navarr are all equally dense - these hearts have been cut back for centuries by the action of trods. The Druj used powerful wards to contain the vallorn heart in the Sarangrave rather than cutting it back, so vates theorise that the vallorn here will be much denser, much more fecund in these territories as a result. The territory of Visokuma was abandoned to the vallorn by the Axos, so its heart is likely to be even more potent.

Once the vallorn hearts are awakened, the final war with the vallorn will begin. Each heart will unleash its full strength into neighbouring regions. Each heart will have a set military strength, which the Empire will need to defeat. When fighting to defend against the vallorn's advance, the Empire will need to bring greater force to bear to stop the advance or to push the vallorn back. Such force won't be sufficient to retake regions dominated by the vallorn however - those will remain impregnable for as long as the vallorn heart they are associated with remains active.

In this situation, where all the hearts have been joined by trods, the only way to retake the regions dominated by the adjoining vallorn heart will be to completely eradicate the creatures controlled by that vallorn heart. That means inflicting sufficient casualties to completely destroy the effective strength of the vallorn. Casualties can be inflicted by defending a region the vallorn is attempting to spread to or by attacking any of the regions dominated by the vallorn.

Defeating the Vallorn

Imperial seers estimate that the strength of the biggest Imperial vallorn heart - the one in Brocéliande is likely to be at least 50,000. The others are much smaller. Liathaven and Hercynia will be around 15,000 (Liathaven is expected to be larger than Hercynia). The strength of the Therunin vallorn is harder to estimate given the Druj interference there, but it is cautiously predicted to have a strength perhaps half the size of Brocéliande. If a vallorn were to capture significant additional territory this strength would likely increase.

These vallorn "armies" would replenish slowly over time; if the Empire left a vallorn heart to spread unchecked, it would regain a tenth of its strength each season. There are also dire predictions of what might happen if two vallorn were able to meet one another; that they might "merge", combining their strength and becoming significantly more deadly.

It is important to note that the vallorn does not operate in exactly the same fashion as an Imperial army. Rather than being represented by multiple smaller forces, like the armies of a nation, each vallorn operates as a single force that is effectively spread throughout every region with the vallorn quality attached to the vallornheart. It can be engaged in multiple regions at the same time, all facing the same force that may be both attacking in one area and defending in another. Each of the vallorn is likely to have its own qualities, which may be very different to those possessed by mortal armies.

Unlike barbarian armies the vallorn cannot become overextended and does not fear losing control of supply lines. Vates warn that Spring enchantments or curses such as Rivers Run Red or Thunderous Tread of the Trees will not harm the vallorn. They may even make it worse - the vallorn thrives on the energies of Spring and any use of large-scale Spring magic rituals runs the risk of making it stronger.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Category:Vallorn]][[Category:Navarr]][[Category:Highguard]]
 {{CaptionedImage|file=Blood for Poppies.jpg|caption=A vallorn seems to be a malignant hostile magical ecosystem.|align=left|width=600}}
 ==Overview==
-The vallorn appeared as part of the disaster that overthrew the cities of a nation named as 'Terunael' in Navarr legends, which may have covered much of the land which is now Empire. From the hearts of those cities, abundant greenery spread, a sick, infectious wave of life that cracked and crumbled stone, shot great trees up through streets and buildings, and warped, twisted and destroyed most of the inhabitants of those cities, scattering the others to the wind.
+The vallorn appeared as the result of the disaster that overthrew the cities of the nation known as 'Terunael' by the [[Navarr]]. Much of the land which is now Empire was part of Terunael, but the nation was concentrated in a number of large cities. From the hearts of those cities spread supernaturally abundant greenery, a sick, infectious wave of life that cracked and crumbled stone, shot great trees up through streets and buildings, and warped, twisted and destroyed most of the inhabitants of those cities. The survivors scattered to the wind.
-As the refugees attempted to claim back their lands, they discovered that around the core of each city, areas of superabundant, warped life had appeared, resistant to all efforts to destroy them. These were named vallorn.
+As the refugees attempted to claim back their lands, they discovered that around the core of each city, areas of superabundant, warped life had appeared, resistant to all efforts to destroy them. These were named ''vallorn''.
-A vallorn seems to be a malignant hostile magical ecosystem -- an area deep in the heart of a forest where even the Navarr fear to tread. Inside them are monstrous plants, the spores of which mutate living creatures that are exposed over many months. Even the air is different within the vallorn, weakening those who enter as if they were breathing mild poison.
+A vallorn seems to be a malignant hostile magical ecosystem - areas of forest where even the Navarr fear to tread. Inside these areas are monstrous plants, the spores of which seem to change living creatures that are exposed over many months. Even the air is different within the vallorn, weakening those who enter as if they were breathing mild poison. The plants that grow there often have supernatural capabilities; [[chaos fruit]] are an example of vegetation that has been infused both with vallorn essence and powerful [[Spring magic]] but there are many others. Some of the plants are predators in their own right.
-<div style="float:right; width: 450px; clear: right;"><quote by="Zietel van Temeschwar, Mountebank">The Vallorn... nothing less than the vile offspring spewed out from the mating of a Great White Shark and a rampant fungal infection. </quote></div>
+<div style="float:right; width: 450px; clear: right;"><quote by="Zietel van Temeschwar, Mountebank">The vallorn... nothing less than the vile offspring spewed out from the mating of a Great White Shark and a rampant fungal infection. </quote></div>
-There is no clear guiding intelligence behind the vallorn - they are not believed to be self-aware. However, they will strike back if damaged or hurt, much as a beehive or ant's nest will use its footsoldiers to drive off the invader. It is believed that there is one vallorn around each of the fallen cities of Terunael. Sometimes, however, vallornspawn and even vallorn plants show up in locations with no clear connection to Terunael; there is no clear explanation for how this happens.
+There is no clear guiding intelligence behind the vallorn - they are not believed to be self-aware. However, they will strike back if damaged or hurt, much as a beehive or ant's nest will use its foot soldiers to drive off the invader. There seems to be one vallorn around each of the fallen cities of Terunael. Sometimes, however, vallornspawn and even vallorn plants show up in locations with no clear connection to Terunael; there is no clear explanation for how this happens.
+<div style="float:right; width: 550px; clear: right;"><quote by="Cai, Thorn of the Conclave, after the reconquest of Miaren prior to his execution for desertion">We welcomed the night; in the darkness we could not bear witness to the vallorn’s appetite. By day… by day all Its wants, Its passions, Its yearnings were laid out in their visceral horrors. Synod forgive me, for I know the Law cannot; but when darling Arturo came back to me – mud in his veins and thorns in his mouth – and he gestured me to embrace him… I ran, and I ran, and I ran. </quote></div>
+As far as it is known, the vallorn have not spread far after the initial rush of growth in the fall of the ancient cities. This is at least in part due to the watchfulness of the folk of the Navarr [[steading|steadings]], who work to ensure vallorn areas are not disturbed and the vallorn roused. The forests of the vallorn are sick with life, greenery regenerating so fast that axe or fire only serves to enrage them. Attempts to cull these areas have been made time and time again, using both magical and mundane means, and have always met with failure.
-<div style="float:right; width: 550px; clear: right;"><quote by="Cai, Thorn of the Conclave, after the reconquest of Miaren prior to his execution for desertion">We welcomed the night; in the darkness we could not bear witness to the vallorn’s appetite. By day… by day all Its wants, Its passions, Its yearnings were laid out in their visceral horrors. Synod forgive me for I know the Law cannot; but when darling Arturo came back to me – mud in his veins and thorns in his mouth – and he gestured me to embrace him… I ran, and I ran, and I ran. </quote></div>
+No complete catalogue has ever been made of the strange monstrosities within the vallorn's domain - some appear simply to be diseased, misshapen forest creatures, or mutated humans and orcs. Some seem to be plants, sporting a mass of tangled thorns or possessing abilities that make them dangerous to travellers. A common threat to those who venture into those areas where the vallorn is strong are the [[vallornspawn husk|vallornspawn husks]]. Some threats extend beyond the infested forests, however; from time to time, the monstrous insect horrors dubbed [[ettercap|ettercaps]] that prosper in the miasma swarm out of the woods and voraciously destroy crops and communities that lie in their path.
-As far as it is known, the vallorn have not spread far after the initial rush of growth in the fall of the ancient cities. This is at least in part due to the watchfulness of the folk of the steadings, who take great pains to ensure vallorn areas are not disturbed and the vallorn roused. The forests of the vallorn are sick with life, greenery regenerating so fast that axe or fire only serves to enrage them. Attempts to cull these areas have been made time and time again, using both magical and mundane means, and have always met with failure.
+In early 384YE, the Navarr undertook a bold project to expand the [[Great Library of Hacynian]], to bring together all the information about the vallorn extant within the Empire. Supported by their fellow Imperial nations, and with additional lore provided by the [[Thule]] of [[Otkodov]], the project was a resounding success. Many of the suppositions and myths about the vallorn were proved or disproved, and in the end a final, certain way to [[A thousand years of longing|defeat the vallorn]] was determined. Since then several Imperial nations have been slowly mobilising forces toward a goal that might have appeared unthinkable a few years previously - the destruction of the vallorn.
-No complete catalogue has ever been made of the strange monstrosities within the vallorn's domain - some appear simply to be diseased, misshapen forest creatures, or mutated humans and orcs. Some seem to be plants, sporting a mass of tangled thorns or possessing abilities that make them dangerous to travellers. A common threat to those who venture into those areas where the vallorn is strong are the [[vallornspawn husk|vallornspawn husks]]. Some threats extend beyond the infested forests, however; from time to time, the monstrous insect horrors that prosper in the miasma swarm out of the woods and voraciously destroy crops and communities that lie in their path.
-The Navarr have long believed that the Empire is still weak, and any attacks on the vallorn would be disastrous. So they build their strength, and the strength of Empire, and learn what they can of the foe.
-==Attacking The Vallorn==
-Attacking the vallorn is generally fruitless - the effulgent Spring energy that roils through the land infected by the vallorn sustains the vegetation and the creatures that live there. Most things regenerate with ferocious speed, but even when trees are felled and creatures slain they are replaced impossibly quickly. Attacking a vallorn directly while it remains sustained by Spring magic is a recipe for disaster.
-Instead the Navarr use the magic of the trods, to drain the Spring energy from the vallorn, tapping the life of the trees and plants and allowing the Navarr to carry that energy away as they travel. This is a painfully slow process, but eventually a region will be sufficiently drained that there is no longer enough Spring magic to allow the vallorn to regenerate. At that point it is possible to attack and defeat the vallorn, if the Empire has sufficient armies to defeat the abominations that dwell within.
-It is extremely dangerous to scout lands controlled by the vallorn, but it can be done and can provide the Empire with an estimate of the effective army strength of the vallorn in that territory. If a region were to become vulnerable - by years of draining its magic or because of some opportunity arose - then that strength is what the Empire would need to overcome to defeat the vallorn and claim a region. The number would also be relevant if the vallorn suddenly expanded - it shows the size of the potential threat that might boil forth from the vallorn heart and need to be stopped. These numbers are very much a snapshot of the situation at the time they are discovered; the vallorn is nothing if not volatile. For example, a recent assessment of the strength of the Liathaven vallorn looked at a vallorn  under the influence of [[Wither the Seed]] which had recently suffered a major setback (the liberation of [[Liathaven#Westwood|Westwood]]). It is entirely possible for that vallorn to gain greater strength as it recovers from its earlier defeat, or if it is freed from the effect of the Winter curse.
-Attacking the vallorn in this way assumes that the campaign is taking place in a region that is no longer infused with the power of Spring magic. At that point the Empire has a chance to fight the vallorn on an equal footing - before that point there is no chance to defeat the vallorn using armies.
 {{CaptionedImage|file=VallornMiasma.jpg|title=The miasma is a threat to anyone who lives too near a vallorn.|caption=The miasma is often visible in the air, often as a green mist.|align=right|width=300}}
 ==Vallorn Miasma==
@@ Line 39: / Line 28: @@
 '''OOC Note:''' Unless protected by a specific effect, any human or orc exposed to vallorn miasma is immediately subject to [[Calls#VENOM|VENOM]]. This condition cannot be removed as long as they remain in the miasma. It persists once they leave the area, exactly as if they had been struck by the VENOM call.
-==Further Reading==
+==Draining the Vallorn==
-* [[Origins of the Vallorn]]
+* '''Regions with the vallorn keyword are invulnerable to attack by Imperial armies'''
-* [[Trods]]
+* '''From time to time the impact of the trods is sufficient to make a single vallorn region briefly vulnerable'''
-* [[Vallornspawn husk]]
+Attacking the vallorn is generally fruitless - the effulgent [[Spring magic|Spring energies]] that roil through infected lands sustains the vegetation and the creatures that live there. Most things regenerate with ferocious speed, but even when trees are felled and creatures slain, they are replaced impossibly quickly. Attacking a region dominated by the vallorn ('''OOC Note:''' with the [[Region_qualities#Vallorn|vallorn quality]]) directly while it remains sustained by Spring magic is a recipe for disaster. These regions are effectively immune to the military force the Empire can bring against them, due to the speed of regeneration of the vallorn's forces and the impossibility of controlling the territory it has claimed.
-* [[Ettercap]]
-* [[The Dance of Navarr and Thorn]]
+For centuries, the Navarr have used the magic of the [[trods]], to drain the Spring energy from the vallorn, tapping the life of the trees and plants and allowing the Navarr to carry that energy away as they travel. This is a painfully slow and deeply unpredictable process, but it works. After decades of patience, a region may become sufficiently drained that there is no longer enough Spring magic to allow the vallorn to regenerate. At that point, it is possible to attack and defeat the vallorn, if the Empire has sufficient armies to defeat the abominations that dwell within. The last time this happened was in 383YE when [[Fall_of_Brocéliande#Clearing_Dark_Ranging|a region in Brocéliande]] became vulnerable. The next opportunity of this kind is unlikely to appear until [[A_thousand_years_of_longing#All_That_Remains|at least a decade has passed]]. Disruptions in the network of trods that criss-cross the Empire make it next to impossible to predict exactly how long this will take; a vallorn recovers its strength very swiftly when it is no longer connected to the web of magical paths.
+==Containing the Vallorn==
+* '''Spring magic can rouse the vallorn causing it to try to expand'''
+* '''A roused vallorn is represented by an army of vallorn creatures of fixed size attacking neighbouring regions'''
+* '''This force cannot be diminished, it can only be contained until it stops attacking'''
+* '''The vallorn will stop expanding in this way after a year unless it is further roused'''
+* '''The vallorn will attempt to take one region each season'''
+* '''If the vallorn is successful the region will gain the vallorn quality and the attacking strength will reduce by five thousand'''
+* '''Vallorn forces attacking a territory will usually target a fortification if the bastion is adjacent to a vallorn heart'''
+Sometimes the vallorn will be roused from its slumber, and it will seek to expand. This is usually the result of powerful Spring magic, either a ritual deliberately designed to provoke the vallorn or the side-effects of a very powerful Spring ritual affecting the territory and beyond. If roused, armies of ettercaps and other vallornspawn will boil forth, looking to spread the infestation of the vallorn to a new region.
+When that happens, the threat of the vallorn is represented by a military force of a fixed size, which will attempt to seize one or more adjacent regions. This force cannot be cut down by armies inflicting casualties, but Imperial armies can prevent it from capturing new territory, just as if it were a barbarian threat of a similar size. Provided the Empire brings sufficient force to bear, the vallorn can be contained in the regions it controls.
+If the vallorn is not contained, then it will try to claim a single region. If it captures an entire region then it will swiftly put down roots that make it impossible to remove. That region will gain the vallorn quality. Transforming the region in this way saps the strength of the vallorn - reducing the attacking strength of the vallorn by five thousand.
+In either case, the vallorn will become quiescent again after a few seasons of such efforts. It will take anywhere between two and four seasons for this to happen, depending on how strong the vallorn heart is, how it was roused, and whether further action is taken to keep it active. Following observations in Therunin, Imperial prognosticators are confident they can now identify how long a vallorn will be active when it is roused.
+Vallorn forces that are attacking a territory will target a physical fortification, if the bastion is in a region adjacent to the vallorn heart, unless called out as part of an [[opportunity]]. Enchantments, such as those created by [[Basalt Citadel]] or [[Forge the Wooden Fastness]], do ''not'' have this effect.
+<div style="float:right; width: 500px; clear: left;">{{CaptionedImage|file=Fire and thorns.jpg|caption=Before the vallorn can be destroyed it must be roused to full wakefulness - a risky move indeed.|align=left|width=500}}</div>
+==Destroying the Vallorn==
+* '''If the trods are connected, each vallorn heart will begin to attack adjacent regions with a set military strength'''
+* '''Imperial armies will need to inflict sufficient casualties to completely destroy a vallorn force to defeat it'''
+* '''It is not possible to reclaim a region with the vallorn quality until the entire force associated with that vallorn heart is destroyed'''
+If the vallornhearts are connected, however, the situation changes dramatically.  Once the trods are connected the vallorn will become especially dangerous. It will still be drawn to attack a bastion or any similar structure in the territory it is attacking if it is adjacent to a vallornheart, but it will not lose strength for each region it claims. At that point the only way to stop it spreading will be to utterly destroy it.
+In 385YE, the Empire [[A thousand years of longing|expanded the Great Library of Hacynian]], so that it could contain copies of all documents and records on the vallorn scattered through every [[striding]] and [[steading]] in the Empire, as well as those in personal libraries all across the Empire.
+contributions from allies, familiar and unexpected. After the work was complete, it revealed a quicker way to defeat the vallorn, albeit one that required immense [[Courage]]. If [[A_thousand_years_of_longing#The_Final_Trod|all the remaining vallorn hearts could be connected with trods]] then it would rouse the vallorn to attack - but it would also make it vulnerable. It would be possible to defeat it everywhere - not in the distant future - but now.
+Rather than containment, the Imperial strategy will need to shift to destruction. The vallorn will still be drawn to attack fortifications, but its strength will operate differently, it will not be reduced when it claims regions, and it will not become quiescent over time. After careful assessment, the [[Civil Service]] has been able to identify the nature and the scale of the threat if the vallorn hearts are linked by trods. In that situation, the vallorn will boil forth from each of the hearts - in the Empire that means [[Hercynia]], [[Liathaven]], [[Brocéliande]] [[Sarangrave]] and [[Therunin]]. At present, only Hercynia and Sarangrave are controlled by the Empire, but all five would create huge problems that would require significant military force to defeat. In addition, there are two other vallorn hearts, one in [[Thule]] lands in [[Otkodov#Sküld|Emrys in Sküld]], and one in [[Axos]] lands in [[Axos#Axou_Territories|Visokuma]].
+The larger and denser the vallorn is, the greater the resulting military strength of the threat associated with it. Larger means the more regions in a territory that are claimed by the vallorn ('''OOC Note:''' that have the [[Region_qualities#Vallorn|vallorn]] quality). The vallorn hearts in territories associated with the Navarr are all equally dense - these hearts have been cut back for centuries by the action of trods. The [[Druj]] used powerful wards to contain the vallorn heart in the [[Sarangrave]] rather than cutting it back, so vates theorise that the vallorn here will be much denser, much more fecund in these territories as a result. The territory of Visokuma was abandoned to the vallorn by the [[Axos]], so its heart is likely to be even more potent.
+Once the vallorn hearts are awakened, the final war with the vallorn will begin. Each heart will unleash its full strength into neighbouring regions. Each heart will have a set military strength, which the Empire will need to defeat. When fighting to defend against the vallorn's advance, the Empire will need to bring greater force to bear to stop the advance or to push the vallorn back. Such force won't be sufficient to retake regions dominated by the vallorn however - those will remain impregnable for as long as the vallorn heart they are associated with remains active.
+In this situation, where all the hearts have been joined by trods, the only way to retake the regions dominated by the adjoining vallorn heart will be to completely eradicate the creatures controlled by that vallorn heart. That means inflicting sufficient [[casualties]] to completely destroy the effective strength of the vallorn. Casualties can be inflicted by defending a region the vallorn is attempting to spread to or by attacking any of the regions dominated by the vallorn.
+==Defeating the Vallorn==
+Imperial seers ''estimate'' that the strength of the biggest Imperial vallorn heart - the one in [[Brocéliande]] is likely to be at least 50,000. The others are much smaller. [[Liathaven]] and [[Hercynia]] will be around 15,000 (Liathaven is expected to be larger than Hercynia). The strength of the [[Therunin]] vallorn is harder to estimate given the [[To_hold_death%27s_hand_in_mine#Tainted_Vengeance|Druj interference]] there, but it is cautiously predicted to have a strength perhaps half the size of Brocéliande. If a vallorn were to capture significant additional territory this strength would likely increase.
+These vallorn "armies" would replenish slowly over time; if the Empire left a vallorn heart to spread unchecked, it would regain a tenth of its strength each season. There are also dire predictions of what might happen if two vallorn were able to meet one another; that they might "merge", combining their strength and becoming significantly more deadly.
+It is important to note that the vallorn does not operate in exactly the same fashion as an [[Imperial army]]. Rather than being represented by multiple smaller forces, like the armies of a nation, each vallorn operates as a single force that is effectively spread throughout every region with the vallorn quality attached to the vallornheart. It can be engaged in multiple regions at the same time, all facing the same force that may be both attacking in one area and defending in another. Each of the vallorn is likely to have its own [[Army qualities|qualities]], which may be very different to those possessed by mortal armies.
+Unlike barbarian armies the vallorn cannot become overextended and does not fear losing control of supply lines. Vates warn that Spring [[enchantment|enchantments]] or [[curse|curses]] such as [[Rivers Run Red]] or [[Thunderous Tread of the Trees]] will not harm the vallorn. They may even make it worse - the vallorn thrives on the energies of Spring and any use of large-scale Spring magic rituals runs the risk of making it stronger.
+{{Vallorn links}}
+[[Category:Navarr]][[Category:Highguard]]

Vallorn

Latest revision as of 18:52, 6 February 2026

Contents

Overview

Vallorn Miasma

Draining the Vallorn

Containing the Vallorn

Destroying the Vallorn

Defeating the Vallorn

Further Reading

Profound Decisions[edit | | ]

Community[edit | | ]

Wiki Editors[edit | | ]