Eclipse

The Cold Sun seeks to purify existence by removing all uncertainty, all change, all creatures, all hope.

What Has Gone Before

The scions of Cold Sun continue their assault against the Empire. They began with attacks against a handful of targets by bands of heralds; after an Imperial enchantment that threw open the gates to the Day realm, hundreds of oblivion's footsoldiers poured out to assail every nation of the Empire. Dawn weathered the storm best with the aid of the eternals of Summer, and along with the Navarr, and the priests of Vigilance, helped reduce the number of deaths. But deaths there were aplenty, and destruction to make folk weep. As the Autumn Equinox neared, the Imperial enchantment waned, but before the regio closed entirely, whole armies of Cold Sun's scions marched through into the mortal world. They would make the destruction that had gone before pale almost to insignificance as they strove to end all life everywhere.

War raged from Varushka to the Brass Coast, from Wintermark to Highguard. Victories and defeats, as the armies of Cold Sun warped and changed the world around them, killed everyone they could get their hands on, and burned everything that fell within their sight. Imperial heroes did their best to intervene during the Winter Solstice, with the power of the Sentinel Gate. They prevented raiders from the Silence Arc burning the town of New Dunhall; they prevented a raid against the white granite quarries of Upwold; they preserved the gardens at the Castle of Thorns, and the Dawnish Pride they represent; denied the Exigent Span their goal of burning Hufi's Garden; and averted the terrible destruction the scions sought to visit on Miaren. They were unable to prevent the grand archon of the Winnowers turning the precious shield Oath-heart into some terrible weapon, despite the most valiant effort of the Champion of Loyalty and those who fought alongside them, but the courageous attempt still stands as inspiration to those who fight Cold Sun in Bastion.

Following the Solstice, it falls to the armies of the Empire, and those champions who commit their warbands to the battle against oblivion, to face the armies that seek to end not only the Empire, but all else.

Silence Arc

The Silence Arc sought the destruction of Valshal but were driven back by the heroes of Wintermark and their allies from the Summer realm. Their defeat before the Winter Solstice saw them retreat from the hills of Valasmark into the flatlands of Kronemark. The invaders from the Day realm had suffered some losses in their attempt to assail the well-defended hall of champions, but they are very far from defeated. They rally, regroup, and refocus on their mission - to kill every living person in Hahnmark if they can.

Imperial magicians have again drawn on the power of the Queen of Ice and Darkness, calling forth her cyclopean fortifications in the hills of Kalpamark and Valasmark. Valashal and Kalpaheim are well defended, with walls of frost and basalt overlaying the existing defences there. A barrier stretches across the centre of Hahnmark, forcing the invaders to overcome these powerful wards if they wish to threaten Southridge or Woodheath - but they can offer little protection to Kronemark, Bruckland, or North Spires. Small numbers of more mobile warriors of the Summer Realm range eastward to offer aid to the defenders of Hahnmark where they can but it once again lies to the heroes of Wintermark to hold Cold Sun to account.

The flattest part of Hahnmark, the downs of Kronemark are a patchwork of fishing villages and farms. The largest settlements sprawl around the shore of the icy lake Kronevann, or along the many streams that connect it to its sister lakes in the north, Bruckland by contrast is sparsely settled, scattered with low, artificial hills atop which lie stone beacons and desolate watchtowers. North Spires is wealthy, and there is some fear they might attack the Runegrott or Stormspire... but it's not clear the scions of Cold Sun know that these places exist. Instead they concentrate on trying to slaughter as many people in Kronemark as they possibly can.

It seems likely that the Kronehal is their ultimate destination, they seem to be in no rush to get there. Rather, they range across the plains of Kronemark assaulting as many halls and villages as they can find. Heavy snow begins to fall shortly after the Winter Solstice, and barely lets up for two solid months. The scions at first struggle to deal with the cold - it does not seem to harm them but the curtains of snow make it difficult for them to find their quarry who in many cases are much more use to such frigid conditions. Unfortunately, once they begin to adapt to the conditions in Hahnmark they become even more dangerous. An army that moves in almost complete silence quickly learns to take advantage of the obscuring effects of a heavy snowfall. Despite the best efforts of the Wintermark assembly, several isolated halls are attacked and overwhelmed before they can escape the imminent threat of the Silence Arc.

Wherever possible, the halls of Hahnmark pull together to protect each other against the scions. This often means helping those threatened by the heralds to get to safety with as many of their possessions as possible. Several larger halls - those with the strongest defences - invite their neighbours to take up residence for the Winter, pooling their warriors and supplies to ensure that if the scions attack they can be held off long enough for the heroes of the 'Mark to reinforce them. The beacons play a large part in this strategy; they are no match for the Heliopticon of distant Urizen but they can be used to communicate simple messages. When a force of scions is spotted, warnings are sent out to everyone nearby. More often than not, that is enough to save lives.

More than three thousand warriors, the warbands of Imperial champions, come to Hahnmark to fight Cold Sun. The lion's share are children of Wintermark, but there are captains from as far afield as Urizen, Highguard, and the Brass Coast among their number. Some struggle with the challenges of a harsh Hahnmark winter, but they do not let mere weather quell their desire to fight the scions of the Day realm.

Unlike the previous season, there is no single defining battle that marks resistance to Cold Sun. There is no attack launched against Kronehal, only a dozen or more assaults against halls and villages. A few attacks against the beacons themselves are handily defended, and while many Imperial warriors are injured there are no appreciable casualties. Late at night, huddled close around campfires, the defenders of Hahnmark debate what the ultimate plan of the Silence Arc may be. Every other engagement with the scions across the Empire for the better part of a year, the heralds have had a clear goal in mind. Here, they seem to be content simply to destroy halls and kill people and fight the champions of Wintermark. It seems to make little sense. Unless... there is something else going on?

Three weeks before the Spring Equinox, the scions suddenly quit Kronemark. It's been noted that they have been slowly making their way northward, and everyone assumed that meant that an attack on Kronehal was imminent. But rather than attack the largest settlement in the region they bypass it entirely racing north and east around the Kronevan into Bruckland. Not to attack Turelva as people initially fear, but to seize an isolated watchtower between the two lakes a week's journey north of the town.

It makes no sense... until a skop manages to get news to the beacon defenders. The Silence Arc are massing around an old ruin called the Tower of the Eagle. A crumbled sentinel atop an old hill that was once a beacon. A tower that also marks the location of a powerful regio aligned to the Day realm. This cannot be coincidence. Denied access to the Lantern Gate when they were driven from Valasmark, have the SIlence Arc spent the last three months trying to find another regio of the Day realm, one that suits some unknown criteria of their own? And if so, what does it portend now they have found it, now that a little shy of three thousand scions make camp around the well-defended approach to the old, tumbledown tower?

Game Information: The Silence Arc

Between them, the champions supporting the Beacons of Wintermark and the Frozen Citadels raised in the central peaks have prevented the scions claiming any territory. Unfortunately, neither of these fortifications has inflicted any casualties on the Silence Arc. They are now in northern Hahnmark, gathered around the old ruin known as the Tower of the Eagle and while they are assuredly up to something it is by no means clear what their plan is.

The defenders, and the words of the Wintermark assembly (which were also supported by the Loyalty assembly) have meant that there has been minimal loss of life despite the presence of the scions and the harsh winter. A lot of buildings will need to rebuilt or repaired - and people are cautious about doing so while the Silence Arc is still in the territory - but the halls themselves survive.