382YE Summer Solstice winds of war

Overview

(This is where the overview goes).

Life is short; let it never be dull!

Devil Take the Hindmost (Brass Coast)

The Drakes are in Madruga, fighting the remaining Grendel for control of the islands around Atalaya. They are supported by Freeborn corsairs and fisherfolk alike, ferried across the hungry sea in boats and ships pressed into service as troop transports. There is significant grumbling on both sides - the Marchers do not enjoy the boats and the Freeborn do not enjoy having to turn aside from their business to deliver soldiers to their destinations. Both groups enjoy having Grendel on Imperial soil even less, however, and so the matter is dealt with expeditiously - so the Drakes can get back to dry land and the Freeborn sailors get back to work.

Thanks to the efforts of Imperial heroes who struck at key targets during the Spring Equinox, there is little fight left in the orcs. Those who remain on the Brass Coast are mainly chancers, risking everything for a chance to make a profit or build a name for themselves. They are no match for the disciplined Marcher army. The situation is slightly different on the island of Atalaya - there is a solid core of Grendel troops here who do their best to to resist the army of Tom Drake - but they are outmatched, outnumbered, and outclassed.

My merry lads and lasses, those cheeky Grendel so-and-so's have been baring their arse cheeks and giving us for the last month. Their time si up. We're going to board the skiffs of our Freeborn allies and sweep the arrogant bastards from Atalaya. Slow and steady though, we don't know what traps they've laid so make sure we preserve marches lives in this steady conquest. Let them slee across the Bay if they wish, there are Corsairs in these waters no doubt, hungry for payback. Once we're done, time for foot the ball on the beach. Mitwold town Forever!

Will Talbot, General of the Drakes

When it becomes clear they will fail to hold the Freeborn town, the Grendel garrison simply surrenders - to the surprise of many. By this point there are perhaps fifty Grendel left; their commander opens the gates of the town, and offers her spear to the first Marcher captain she sees. The orcs are currently corralled in a makeshift pen on the small island of Mariposa - the Freeborn will not suffer them to remain on Atalaya, not after all they have done and the Drakes are somewhat at a loss to know what to do with them. The captain - Innevia, daughter of Moorvain - is quite up-front about her orders, seeing no reason to conceal them. They expected the armada to return, she says. They were to hold Atalaya and Free Landing as a beachhead against a more sizeable Grendel force returning. No such force has arrived. Presumably something happened to change the plans of the Salt Lords.

Madruga, then, is once more in the hands of the Empire in its entirety.

This is not the only military activity in south-west this season, however.

On the other side of the Brass Coast, as far away from Free Landing as it is possible to get but still be in Freeborn territory, an army emerges from the hills of Reinos. Three weeks after the Spring Equinox over fifteen thousand orcs cross the border into Kahraman. For the most part, they seem to be Jotun, but many wear hoods or sashes of a bright orange hue over their armour. These orcs march beneath the banner of the firebird - a great eagle wreathed in orange flames. This design was first seen in the months leading up to the Winter Solstice last year, and is now recognisably the device of the orcs of the Lasambrian hills. Others march under more traditional Jotun standards, red banners topped with the skulls of great bears.

The Jotun under the banner of the bear take the lead; they push straight toward the town of Damata, a lightning advance that seeks to crush the defenders before they can be sure what is happening. The border watch is quickly overwhelmed, and it is pure chance their strategy is unsuccessful. A patrol from Fort Braydon catches sight of the smoke from their campfires, and sends three runners to warn the Freeborn that the Jotun have come back. As the bear army pushes forward, the orcs of the Hierro clan- and their new banners - follow in their wake. The Lasambrians are more cautious, dfensive, prepared for a trap. They secure the territory the army of the bear has claimed rather than pushing to the heart of the territory. A combination of the two strategies proves very effective - without the Imperial soldiers from the fort it is likely that the whole of Serra Damata would have fallen to them in short order.

At the same time, the Corazón range far and wide across the territory. They are clearly more interested in causing as much disruption as possible than on engaging with the scattered Freeborn defenders. The are not shy about fighting - and those who try to resist are dealt with without pause - but they do not go out of their way to kill anyone who does put up a fight. Instead they raid caravans and farms, rob paradours and mines, and even take the time to carry away crystal mana from any mana site they encounter. Anything that might be useful to the defenders of Karhaman appears to be fair game. Nowhere is safe - bands of Corazón orcs are seen as far east as Nestor's Bounty. Both the Great Mine of Briante and the Damation Cliffs are targetted by these fast-moving orcs, who raid caravans transporting valuable mithril and white granite carrying away some of the bounty of the two Bourse seats.

When the Jotun retreated from Kahraman in the Winter of 380YE, they left a message on the walls of Damata saying they would return. It seems it is a promise they are intent on keeping.

Game Information : Madruga and Kahraman

Madruga is entirely in Imperial control once more. There are fifty Grendel prisoners in a makeshift pen on the island of Mariposa in Free Landing, including their commander Innevia, daughter of Moorvain. A decision will need to be made about what to do with them. The Imperial Military Council will most likely be called upon to make this decision. There seem to be three likely outcomes. The orcs could simply be executed - they are barbarians after all. They could be released, given a boat and told them to go home. Or someone could try and negotiate with the Grendel somehow for a suitable ransom. Regardless of what is done, if they are still prisoners by the end of the Summer Solstice, they will need to be fed and watered and Freeborn guards employed to keep an eye on them. This will be paid for out of the Imperial treasury, and is estimated to cost 2 Thrones each season until the prisoners are dealt with.

In Kahraman, Jotun conquerors have have claimed everything of note in Serra Damata with the exception of Damata itself, and the Damatian Cliffs that overlook it. Without the garrison at Fort Braydon, they would have taken the entire region and likely have made some headway into Gambit or (more likely, judging on past campaigns) Serra Briante. At the same time the Hierro and the army beneath the bear banner have been doing theri best to conquer Serra Damata, the Corazón have been extensively raiding all across the Freeborn territory.

The first result of this action is that the production of both the Great Mine of Briante and the Damatian Cliffs will be reduced next season as a consequence (four fewer wains of white granite for the Damatian Cliffs, two fewer wains of mithril for the Great Mine of Birante). If the Corazón continue to raid the territory, then the production may be impacted again. Worse, if their raids continue then every personal resource with the exception of a military unit or fleet in the territory will lose a fifth of its production next season.

The Empire is our destiny.

In Flagrante (Spiral)

Moving through Apstrus, Ateri then Apulus using merciless onslaught. We have grought the Grendel Terror, now we destroy those that remain for the crimes they have committed.

General of the Iron Helms

After the Battle of Solen's Doubt, the Citadel Guard, the Red Wind Corsairs, and the Winter Sun withdraw westwards leaving the Varushkan Iron Helms and Northern Eagle, the Summer Storm, and the two League armies to finish the task of liberating Spiral. Six thousand soldiers under the banners of independent captains fight alongside the Wolves of War; a handful of other captains fight with the Summer Storm. For the most part, the Imperial armies engage in a slow and steady progression into the remaining regions of the south-east, engaging the orcs carefully and making great use of physicks, magical healers, and the priests whose ceremonial skills help to reduce the impact of the horror that lurks at the heart of Screed.

The Iron Helms and the handful of captains who march with their banner eschew such careful tactics and instead engage in a campaign of wholesale terror and slaughter against every orc they can find. Without the supernatural terror unleashed by their magicians during the previous season, they are forced to rely on more mundane tools of torture and execution - but they prove equally adept at wielding the sharpened stake, the hound, the chain, and the rope as they were the abyssal terror and howling gyre during the advance on Solen's Doubt. There are few enough orcs left in the territory - the Grendel appear to have made a full retreat - but some still fall into the hands of the Varushkan soldiers of the Iron Helms and suffer for it.

Steady Conquest into Apstrus, followed by Ateri and into Appulus, under the shadow of the Plateau, Sprial, to crush the Grendel.

Akstis Eigulys, General of the Northern Eagle

The majority of the Imperial forces first push through the wooded rolling hills of Apstrus, capturing Solen's Doubt, and the fallen remains of the central heliopticon tower there. At the same time the Summer Storm drive into the hills of Ateri, securing the ruins of Fort Mezudan and the eastern end of the Onyx Path. Both forces then turn their attention to Apulus, and to the Grendel fort at Apulian.

The fighting on the southern coast is brief, and exceptionally bloody. There is no chance of escape - a supernatural storm roars across the southern coast, and those ships prepared to brace its unrelenting fury have done so weeks before. The garrison does its best to hold back the Imperial tide but they cannot hope to stand. Even tired from the conquest of Apstrus and Ateri, the Empire easily crushes the defenders of Apulian. The soldiers there have suffered their own months of terror since the nightmare at the heart of Spiral was awoken. All told, the siege lasts less than a week - the gates fail and the town is liberated.

Last Summit, we butchered Grendel in droves. Now, we take back what they stole with a Steady Conquest. Will them wherever you find them, don't let them do what they want with Imperial Land any more.

Irontide Skar, General of the Summer Storm

The Iron Helms hang every surviving Grendel soldier; many choose to throw themselves into the waters of the Bay of Catazaar rather than face the fate that awaits them if they fall into the hands of the Varushkans.

A number of slaves are liberated, but there are few Urizeni here however. Those who were enslaved in Apulian are exclusively mundane citizens - farmers and miners without a spark of magical talent. They talk in halting sentences about the magicians - the magi, the stargazers, the seers, and especially the illuminates - who have passed through Apulian in chains both real and metaphorical. Carefully examined by Grendel Wind Lords, the magicians who fell into the hands of the Broken Shore orcs were quickly taken out of Spiral, sent south to the slave markets of Dubhtraig, of Fort Fuil, of Gainmeachdubh, and of Vorlach.

There are also a handful of slaves who were Imperial soldiers, Winterfolk and Varushkans especially. Taken prisoner in battle and pressed into service, they . As with the magicians of Urizen, however, the majority of these men and women have been sent elsewhere. There is a great demand for strong, disciplined warriors both to work in the salt and the mithril mines, and to spill out their blood for the amusement of the Grendel in the arena.

Finally, there are a small number of people among the freed population who speak little Imperial. Once translators can be brought in, they are discovered to be slaves from the Asavean Archipelago. They are not slaves of the Grendel, for the most part. Rather they appear to be the slaves of an Asavean collaborating with the Grendel - a representative of the Tarquinius family of Nemoria. That powerful Plenum family, it seems, has been trading white granite and slaves to the Grendel - importing the valuable building material to a number of places but most especially to Apulian. Asavean quarries provided the stone used to build the fortifcation here - a fortification that was in the process of being enlarged when the Empire tore it apart. Without exception, these freed slaves ask for sanctuary in the Empire.

We make a Steady Conquest through Apstrus, Ateri and finally to Apulus. The Grendel's backs are broken, now we push to drive them to the coast and out of spiral once and for all. It's time to settle sore reckonings, let's to it!

Michelangelo Garcian de Sarvos, General of the Wolves of War

There is a single Asavean ship left in the harbour, and when Imperial troops move to board it a handful of soldiers attempt to stop them. An argument ensues, blades are drawn. Blood is spilled. Their master - Leri Tarquinius - is dragged kicking and screaming from the captain's cabin. The Tarquinius does not seem to appreciate the gravity of his situation - he is arrogant and condescending. He demands to be allowed to leave once the storm has died down, to return to his peoples' embassy in Dubhtraig. He wants to take his slaves, of course, and also his shipment of white granite. A quick inspection discovers that the cargo hold of his vessel is weighted down with fifteen wains of white granite, which he claims quite vociferously are the property of the Tarquinius family for which he has not been paid. He is taken into custody for his own safety, before anything unfortunate can happen to him.

And so Apulian falls... but there the advance falters. The constant pressure of the abominable atmosphere, and the desperate tenaciousness of the defenders of Apulus, has meant that the Empire has failed to take the entire territory. Two-fifths of Apulus is not in Imperial hands. It does not entirely appear to be in Grendel hands either, however. Rather, it seems that a large number of ex-soldiers, orcs and humans driven to madness along with what seem to be the tattered remnants of the howling maniacs that once clustered in Screed, have gathered in the south-east. They slaughter and in some cases devour those few Grendel who attempted to flee toward Mareave in the south. They are disorganised, confused, nothing like an army... but there are a lot of them and they effectively control the southern part of the region.

Throughout all this, it must not be forgotten that at the heart of Spiral, the gyre of despair at the heart of Spiral continues to cast its ebony shadow across events. It shows no signs of becoming quiescent - quite the contrary in fact. It seeps into the hearts and minds of humans and orcs alike - spreading despair, breeding violence and unleashing the darkest nature of those who fight under its influence.

Once more we push to drive the Grendel from the Empire. Draw from the power of the Clarity of the Master Strategist to resist the influence of the Plateau. Fight shoulder to shoulder and watch for your comrades to protect each other. Push through Apstrus and Ateri and drive them back to the coast.

Natalia Barossa, General of the Towerjacks

All told, a little over three hundred Imperial troops are lost fighting the Grendel, primarily during the assault on Apulian. A further one and a quarter thousand are lost to the malign influence, to the nightmares. Some die, or are killed, or kill themselves but many more survive long enough to desert, even though they are driven to howling madness and bloodthirsty violence. The orcs of the Summer Storm are a little more able to endure its influence than their human companions, able to resist any urging to turn on their fellows... but this simply means that when they do lose control they do it in groups.

It seems impossible to judge, but far from abating the storm of madness that swirls around the plateau has gained strength. There is nothing like the horror that swept over Solen's Doubt, but rather a slow intensification of malice and dread that hangs like a thick fog over everything. With each execution, with each crucifixion, with each mass-hanging or impalement by the Iron Helms, the shadow of the Black Plateau deepens, seeping into everything... including the spirits of those who fight in the territory.

Game Information - Spiral

The Empire controls Ateri and Apstrus, but is only three-fifths of the way toward conquering Apulus. This success means that the Citadel Guard are no longer in danger of disbanding.

The Black Plateau continues to influence the territory, and that influence has become even more powerful as the season has worn on. Next season, every Imperial or Grendel campaign army fighting in the territory will suffer 30% additional casualties, and will lose 10% of its maximum strength over the course of the season even if it is not engaged.

Finally, Imperial forces have captured an Asavean dignitary and 15 wains of white granite that apparently belong to the powerful Tarquinius family. Leri Tarquinius is in custody for his own safety, but is quite adamant that while the white granite was to be sold to the Grendel, they have not actually paid for it and so it remains the property of his family. He is demanding to be released and allowed to return to Nemoria with all fifteen wains.

With the liberation of Apstrus, we have updated the strategic information on the Spiral page. The mountains here contain no passes through to the Grendel territory of Mareave that are suitable for use by an Imperial army. Without an opportunity it is only possible to enter Mareave through Apulus. It is possible to commission a spy network in Mareave however - the high mountain passes can be traversed by small groups of adept soldiers even though they are closed to the armies themselves.

Participation - Spiral

As with last season, anyone who wishes to roleplay there were present during the recent campaign is free to create their own horror stories of things they have encountered, based around themes of creeping fear, haunting phantasms, eerie dreams, gnawing suspicion, and outbursts of uncontrolled anger. As the campaign escalates, these experiences become more visceral, and more horrific - although any player character is assumed to have sufficient mental fortitude to have resisted the worst excesses caused by the malignant force of the Black Plateau.

Every player whose military unit supported an army in Spiral this season, and the generals of those armies, will receive a curse card in their packs at the event representing the oppression of the Black Plateau.

Major Conjunctions

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