384YE Autumn Equinox winds of war

The strength of the armies lie in the arms of the soldiers.

Overview

Over the last three months, Imperial forces are engaged in military campaigns against barbarian forces. Sometimes those engagements have been wide ranging and dramatic, other times they have been more sedate. Building on what we did in summer and in spring this year, we're presenting a summary of the campaign on this page. Where there's more dramatic action, or where there are opportunities, we've given a wind of war its own page. We're also continuing to provide information about the battle opportunities, listed in the theatres that they concern.

As always, how much or how little of this information you choose to know in character is up to you. Part of the purpose of Winds of War and the Winds of Fortune is to maintain the illusion of the Empire as a living, breathing place where things happen - and to make players aware of things their characters 'should' know based on what their roleplaying says they have been doing for the past three months.

Also, it should go without saying that we ask everyone to abide by the rules about online roleplaying with regard to the military campaign. It's important that the key in-character activity of the Empire world takes place at events. The game is busier and better if everything that can happen in the field, does happen in the field. Military planning and political discussions should happen at events. For this reason we generally discourage too much downtime roleplaying between events and put strict limits on what can be done online particularly using our forums and Facebook groups.

With that in mind, we now present a summary of the key military activity in the Empire - both with links to the expanded Wind of War pages and notes about other important things that have happened that didn't need a full battle campaign.

Where the Sun Sets

In the west, the Jotun have invaded three territories: Kahraman, Bregasland, and Sermersuaq. As magical storms begin to sweep across the Empire, Imperial and barbarian armies clash and blood mingles with the rain and the mud. Nowhere is there as much mud as Bregasland. Conquered before the height of Summer, the marshes labour under the furnace of the great drought, no rains to grant any relief from the crushing heat. Mathilda Fisher, self-styled Steward of Bregas, "leads" her orc allies to total domination of the marshes, seizing the Rushes and Graven March. Yet while she may appear unopposed, there are brave Marches in Bregasland who will not accept her rule and will do whatever it takes to bring her down. You can read about the situation in Bregasland in the Summer tree Wind of War.

South of the Marches lie the warm lands of the Brass Coast. The Lasambrian Jotun - former bandits and thieves now inspired by the virtues with the zealous fervor of the convert - seek to bring the Cinnabar Hills of Kahraman under their sway. For six months they have been opposed only by the increasingly exhausted garrison of Fort Braydon but now the armies of the Empire come to drive them back into their arid hills. The Lasambrian invaders are forced to retreat, falling back in the face of the bloodthirsty armies of Navarr. You can read about the campaign in Kahraman in the Of earth and sky Wind of War.

Finally - in the west at least - let our eyes fall on Sermersuaq. The Jotun conquered the territory years ago, and for a time their rule was barely contested. Now an alliance of Empire and Otkodov has broken their hold, and driven their armies inexorably westward. As thunder rolls through the Silver Peaks, and lightning splits the louring skies, the alliance faces their greatest challenge yet - the grim castles of Olgafsdottirshal and the Fortress of Kalant. By the time Summer turns to Autumn, and the supernatural storms have spent their fury, the alliance will be victorious - but at what cost? You can read about the final liberation of Sermersuaq in the A wandering fire Wind of War.

Far from Here

The sun has set - lost behind the mountains of the west. Let us pause for a moment to look elsewhere. While armies clash and bleed, Imperial champions fight elsewhere far from crushing sun or raging tempest. To struggle outside the borders of the Empire - although in the case of one at least those borders are technical rather than real. Deep beneath the earth, in the bowels of Lorenzo's Deep Pockets, heroes delve into darkness. Escorting the koboldi of Adamant who carry the red iron door that will seal away the teeming hordes of the trogoni, adventurous heroes explore flooding tunnels and ancient dungeons. So great has been the response to the Master of the Koboldi's call for aid that the expedition reaches the very nadir of the delvings hidden beneath the sinkhole, closing and warding the great shaft up which the trogoni poured to infest the lower levels. You can learn all about the expedition to the depths special action in the Brightness long ago Wind of War.

From the sinkhole, let us fly north and west. While the armies of human and orc clash beneath the stormclouds of Sermersuaq, and the withering gaze of the Bregasland sun, boats cross the Gullet from Westerhal and Odd's End carrying raiders to the shores of Jotun Skallahn. While warbands ravage the heartlands of the Jarl of Kierheim, destroying and pillaging and breaking the Jotun capacity to make war on the Empire, the captains of the ships and boats reave the southern shores of Kalsea at will. You can learn about the triumph that is the second Skallahn raid in the Under heaven Wind of War.

Finally, far away from drought and storm, there is the raid on Chalonsio. Led by the Sumaah Republic, the forces of the Liberty Pact - Empire, Republic, and Commonwealth - put into operation a daring scheme to break the slave trade in the west. A great armada of Imperial vessels, carrying thousands of warriors, join their allies and attack the slavers' city. The markets are broken, the priesthood of the God of Chains decapitated, and the fortified palace of the Ceruleo family put to the torch. A powerful message is sent, and the column of smoke that rises from the city of corruption can be seen across the entire Asavean Archipelago. You can read about the sack of Chalonsio in the Mosaic Wind of War.

Where the Sun Rises

But let us look back to the Empire, for the sun is rising at last. Over the marshes and forests of the Mallum it rises. A staring eye that witnesses every horror of the Druj and cannot look away. It sees the Druj in Ossium, fading back into the Forest of Ulnak, leaving ruins behind. The Druj have gone from the Varushkan territory, but for how long? You can read about the situation in Ossium in the Beyond this dark house Wind of War.

South of Ossium, the Barrens. Last season Imperial armies carved a Steel Causeway through the heart of the territory but this season everything is eerily quiet. The Causeway remains - the Druj have not attacked it - yet at the same time the heroes of the Empire are busy elsewhere. There is a terrible anticipation in the air, and the storm that rages elsewhere has yet to break above the Barrens.

Needed elsewhere... in this case in Zenith, where the forces of the Empire at last score a decisive victory over the invading Druj. A hammer and an anvil, the Empire splits its strength into two and catches the Druj unaware. As the sun rises over Zenith, it is once again in Imperial hands. The armies of the Mallum are trapped in the south, cut off from any avenue of escape that will not see them suffer withering casualties. The Druj are cornered and desperate, and the future of the campaign in Zenith rests on a knife's edge. You can read about the campaign to liberate Zenith in the The darkest road Wind of War.

Battle Opportunities

Imperial prognosticators have identified three possible major conjunctions of the Sentinel Gate at the coming summit. The Friday night muster will see the generals debate these options and select two of them to be taken up by Imperial heroes eager to influence the direction of the Empire's military campaigns. All battle opportunities are Combat Highly Likely environments.

Location	Opportunity	Opposition	Day	Learn More
Kahraman	Prevent the Jotun Lasambrians recovering a large number of casualties	Jotun Yegarra	Saturday	link
Sermersuaq	Stymie an attempt by Jotun champions to unleash vengeance against the Thule	Jotun Yegarra	Saturday	link
Zenith	Deal with the gathering of Druj generals in Occursion	Druj	Sunday	link

There will also be skirmishes throughout the weekend that allow Imperial heroes to engage the barbarian enemies of the Empire; some will be detailed in the Winds of War, others in the Winds of Fortune.

Nation	Force Weight
Brass Coast	15
Dawn	40
Highguard	18
Imperial Orcs	7
League	18
Marches	23
Navarr	40
Urizen	13
Varushka	11
Wintermark	51

The sides for the battles will be chosen by the generals in the Muster of the Imperial Military Council on Friday night. Each of the two battles must have at least 113 and at most 123 force weight sent on it.

Request for Volunteers

• We are seeking a group of volunteers for the Saturday battle
• Volunteers should not normally participate in playing and monstering battles
• This is a battle environment and not suitable for those who must avoid combat

The Battle Team are seeking to enlist a small group of volunteers to join either of the Saturday battles as a dedicated group of NPCs. Depending on the battle chosen by the Military Council you will either be portraying injured yegarra humans or Thule warlocks. You will need to wear some basic kit of your own, but will be provided with anything else the role needs. You must be able to wear an orc mask if portraying a Thule warlock.

These roles are not available to players who would normally monster as low-combat healers, mages, artisans or other support forces. If you do this already, please continue to do so!

These roles will need you to be comfortable with being present in the battle. This opportunity is for people who would like to play a role on the battlefield but don't normally attend. None of these characters will initiate combat but we can't guarantee that you will not be struck so this role is not suitable if it is important for your safety to be able to use the “non-contact” gesture successfully.

Yegarra Battles

• The Saturday battle opportunities will involve large numbers of Jotun Yegarra as the main opponents

Whichever opportunity the Military Council decides on for Saturday, we will ask the majority of player volunteers to take on the roles of human warriors fighting for the Jotun. If you have your own orc mask however, we ask that you bring it along as we're keen to ensure we can field enough Jotun orcs to support the narrative of the battles.

In the Kahraman battle, the Empire will be facing human warriors formerly of Mournwold in the Marches. You can help make this battle even better by bringing along any Marcher or Wintermark-style kit or armour you have, as well as any iconic Marcher weaponry particularly a bill, spear or other pole-arm; along with any appropriate shield or buckler. This will help us create a dramatic battle opportunity where the Empire must face down a predominantly human opponent. You can find out more about iconic Marcher look here.

In the Sermersuaq battle, you can help by bringing along any Jotun-style kit or armour you have, as well as any iconic Jotun weaponry particularly axes, maces, and circular shields. Javelins are ideal if you have them. You can find out more about the iconic Jotun look here but the key element for portraying these northern Yegarra is plenty of leather and fur, over mail as their iconic look.

We understand the difficulty of getting to an event with additional kit at the best of times, especially as it will not be possible to tell before Friday night whether the military council will elect to take this battle, but if you are able to bring such kit along it will improve the experience as well as that of the players you are fighting against,

If you are already part of an elite monster unit that monsters as a Jotun warband, then please come to battle prep as you normally would for these battles. If you are part of such a unit but do not have your own orc mask then we hope that we will be able to supply an orc mask for you, but cannot guarantee one. If we do run out of orc masks for EMU on the Sunday battle then the Battle Team will make alternative arrangements at the time.

IMPORTANT - we will NOT be issuing any orc masks to players for these battle opportunities. Our orc masks will only be used once this event and then washed ready for the next event. We are continuing the provision of battle opportunities with non-orc enemies as part of our plan to reduce coronavirus risks until such a time as we have sufficient masks to run two fully orc masked battles.

In addition to battles, there are also opportunities for Imperial heroes to venture through the Sentinel Gate and engage in skirmishes and quests across the Empire and occasionally beyond.

Conjunctions

The Sentinel Gate also allows smaller groups of Imperial citizens to reach locations all over the Empire where their intervention might change the course of events. Many of these conjunctions involve fighting, but there are also a variety of other opportunities presented by the magic of the Gate.

For most conjunctions we've suggested Imperial titles that might be most fitting to take overall responsibility for ensuring that an opportunity is organised. Whilst the named individual has been deemed the most appropriate by the Civil Service, there is no legal requirement for them to coordinate a response or travel on the conjunction. They may delegate oversight to another individual of their choosing. As always, Imperial war scouts will be on hand at the muster point by the Sentinel Gate to provide further information to any citizens wanting to know more. Further information relating to the nature of the large conjunctions might be available from the war scouts on duty at the Sentinel Gate. They can provide updates on barbarian movements, guidance on how to engage enemy troops or advice on how to avoid casualties and return back to Anvil in safety.

Sometimes it is necessary to make small adjustments to the timing or size of skirmishes, owing to delays or availability of crew that arise between the time of publication and when an encounter runs at the event. Details will be finalised on Friday afternoon of the event before time-in. Please do check the details of a conjunction you are interested in before using the gate to ensure that you have the full and up-to-date information. You can check a conjunction by casting Detect Magic (Discover Conjunction) on the Sentinel Gate in the presence of a ref.

It's very important to pay attention to the Accessibility note for each conjunction, which covers the likelihood of combat. Further details about the accessibility of a conjunction are available both before and during the event. You can learn more about this on the accessibility page.

Friday

Time	People	Duration	Combat	Location	Responsibility	Overview/Link
18:30	60	20 mins	Highly Likely	Kahraman, Gambit, Talaeiros	Dhomiro of the Cinnabar Hills	Rescue the Damation Cliffs forewoman
19:00	60	20 mins	Highly Likely	Sermersuaq, Stark, Avointaivas	Champion of Wintermark	Recover the relic Tuuli's Eye
20:00	60	20 mins	Highly Likely	Zenith, Occursion, Tower of the Fall	Medical Officer of the Pegasus Respite	Intercept Druj supplies, exorcise tortured souls
20:30	6	50 minutes	Unlikely	Karsk, Lestazny, Pyotr's Square	Burgher of Ketsov	Investigate why the Ketsov of the Mir Mozga are acting a little strange
20:30	50	20 mins	Highly Likely	Zenith, Iteri, Pallasian Steps	Captain of the Sea Wolves	Destroy miasma pillars, exorcise tortured souls
21:00	50	20 mins	Highly Likely	Zenith, Lustri, Rift in the Veil	Knight Protector of Winter	Slay the Endless Stalker, exorcise tortured souls
23:00	50	30 minutes	Unlikely	Madruga, Calvos Sound, Calvos	Freeborn Sutannir	Lift spirits and investigate

Saturday

Time	People	Duration	Combat	Location	Responsibility	Overview/Link
11:00	-	90 mins	Highly Likely	Kahraman, Gambit, Rojota Vantage	Military Council	Stop the Lasambrians recovering their casualties
11:00	-	90 mins	Highly Likely	Sermersuaq, Tanikipari, Jaelwif's Mound	Military Council	Stop the Jotun taking revenge on the Thule
15:00	70	20 mins	Highly Likely	Ossium, Drownbark Forest, Petka's Path	General of the Northern Eagle	Protect vital roads and bridges in Ossium
15:30	70	20 mins	Highly Likely	The Barrens, Dawnguard, Aurelius Estates	Member of House Aurelius	Summon Sorin's hungry wolves to the Barrens
16:30	70	20 mins	Highly Likely	Zenith, Lustri, Spire of Twisting Shadow	Raewyn Eternal	Destroy miasma pillars
17:00	80	20 mins	Highly Likely	Zenith, Proceris, Plantation of Tall Ferns	Aurum of Nightingale Temple	Destroy miasma pillars, intercept marshlings
17:30	70	20 mins	Highly Likely	Sarangrave, Whisperwood, Karliss	Dredgemaster of Feverwater	Rescue Navarri vates from Sarangrave
17:45	30	20 mins	Highly Likely	Spiral, Screed, Kephalos' Delve	Archmage of Night	Ash and Dust
18:00	70	20 mins	Highly Likely	Zenith, Ocursion, Field of Celestial Mist	Warmage	Destroy miasma pillar, stop weapons reaching the battle
20:00	70	20 mins	Highly Likely	Bregasland, Grey Fens, Jayne's Top Copse	General of the Strong Reeds	Eliminate a Jotun outpost in Bregasland
20:30	70	20 mins	Highly Likely	Sermersuaq, Stark, Flat Hills	Senator for Sermersuaq	Rescue Yanti the Storm Runner
20:45	20	40 mins	Highly Likely	Volodmartz, Brez, Urodli's Fall	Vladimir Sasha Volkov	All is Fair, All is Permitted
21:00	70	20 mins	Highly Likely	Sermersuaq, Tanikipari, Kilpailuala Bay	General of the Bloodcloaks	Send Jarl Snekmar to the Howling Abyss

Military Considerations

The following considerations should be borne in mind when discussing military strategies during the Autumn Equinox.

• Adamant Gate: The Adamant Gate in Semmerholm cannot be reduced below 1,000 military strength. Link
• Barrens: Any Imperial army fighting in the Barrens except those from Varushka and Urizen suffers a one-fifth penalty to territory conquered until the start of the Summer Solstice 385Y. Link
• Billeting: Any Imperial army can take the Billet order in Upwold or Mitwold. Link
• Dawn: Dawnish armies cannot take the Cautious Advance order or the Give Ground order. Link
• Highguard: Highborn armies can issue the Crusading Storm order. Link
• The Marches: Marcher armies cannot take the Give Ground order. Link
• Urizen: The Citadel Guard will begin to deteriorate again after the Summer Solstice. Link
• Varushka: Varushkan armies involved in the same campaign as an army from the Brass Coast or Wintermark generate 10% fewer victory points. If armies from both nations are present, the reduction is increased to 20%. Link.
• Wintermark: Wintermark armies can take the Fight with Honour order. Link
• Wintermark: Wintermark armies fighting against the Jotun will gain 10% more victory points but inflict 20% less casualties. Link
• Zenith: Any Highborn or Urizen army attacking into Zenith from Morrow gains a 20% bonus to any territory captured and suffers a 10% reduction in casualties inflicted. Link
• Morrow: Any Highborn or Urizen army that defends in Morrow against an army attacking from Zenith gains a 20% bonus to defend territory and suffers a 10% reduction in casualties inflicted. Link