The Fairy Tale of the Collective

Le Sage

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The Fairy Tale of the Collective

OK. Time to do a testgame and write a story to show my mod off once again. I play on Warlord, standard size Planet Generator map with one continent. I play as the Prince Heir of the Collective.

The Mythical beginnings of the Collective.

The Collective is probably the easiest kingdom in Fairy Tale to start off with. They get some good buildings from the start and can also relatively early mobilize some of the best units in the game. This makes them a respectable opponent in any game, but also a lot of fun to play. (pic1&2)

After having settled our first town, Angleeye, our explorers venture far and wide to find the opposition and explore the world we have arrived in. During the 30's and 40's the nation's border areas are hit hard by invading skeleton barbarians, but these incursions are defeated one after the other by our Troll Squadrons who do a respectable job. At one battle, hordes of barbarians storm over the Angleeye river and are met by the Collective King's army who sweeps the ground with them. (pic4)

The Monarchy stands strong led by the King of the Collective who also leads the first major army. Due to the strong early game units for the Collective, he is able to lead a rather respectable force and fights off numerous barbarian incursions such as the one at Angleeye River.

Having built the Great Hive, we are able to pump out troops at a frighteningly effective pace. Our army takes the lead as the strongest in the known world. Our neighbours are also explored. We have The Black Banner to the west, and that nation is probably going to be our arch enemy in this game. The Dwarves are to the south and Zuur is in the far East, but not posing a threat. (pic3)

In the year 49, our fast-expanding rival neighbour in the west, The Black Banner, builds its city of Fredericksville in territory that has been considered ours, and too near to our capital for our comfort. This is reason enough to go to war and the army of the Collective is set on the march west. Our troops are superior, although we have no artillery yet, and we aim to do a quick campaign to rid the area of Black Banner presence. (pic5)



The Fredericksville Campaign 50-51

The king moves swiftly, crossing the border into Black Banner territory with a massive army for the time. Fredericksville becomes easy prey and is razed after symbolic resistance. The king then holds council in the ruins of the razed city and decides to continue the attack into Black Banner areas. This is done in an attempt to delay Black Banner expansion East and to protect the new city that is being built on the ruins of Fredericksville. (pic1)

The king gathers his lines of Troll Squadrons and swoop down on Amber from the mountains. The city puts up some resistance but cannot hold. Amber is razed and peace then signed. In the meantime, the Collective has founded the new city of Greater Krey on what was once Fredericksville. (The Ruins of Amber pic2)



The Age of Peace

Having won an impressive military campaign that shot the Black Banner way down on the points list, the Collective is content to settle and build the Empire in peace and prosperity. The neigbour to the south, the Dwarven nation, is steadily expanding and the neighbour of Arcana in the far west, is now second on the points list. The Angvina nation is sending constant threats and it is only a matter of time before they declare war. The Black Banners does well during the peacetime though and expands again, but has a serious technological disadvantage.

In the Year 57 the Collective converts to The Tree which is also the national religion of Thorshammir, the Dwarven civ. The introduction of the religion is needed since the Collective population is hard to control and often fall into unhappiness which hinders growth. The whole 50's is spent controlling unhappiness within the cities. Some territorial expansion is also done. In 58 a Great Prophet is born and she starts a Golden Age which takes the kingdom into the 60's.

 
The Wars in the Sixties

The 60's aren't especially peaceful and tranquil in Fairy Tale. Angvina declares a useless war already in the year 61 but there isn't any real fighting. We don't even know where in the world Angvina lives and we have absolutely no means of retaliating, meaning the fighting is done mainly between explorers and roaming units in the wilderness. Not too exciting and really pointless, but that is what Angvina is known for - declaring useless wars.

War is the way of the Collective and the civililzation finctions best in wartime. The peaceful expansion of the 50's leads to nothing much and our army suffers and becomes the weakest in the world, in fact. For the Collective population that must be something of a humiliation and rearmament is immediately started. Troll Squadrons and Catapults are produced quickly and are soon heading west towards the border areas.

Two major forces are set up. The first one, The King's Army, stands at Greater Krey and the second one, The Second Army, stands further south. The King argues for immediate military action against the Black Banner in the West. His argument is good. The Black Banner is severely weakened and don't even have access to horses. They will become an easy prey.

In the Spring of 65, the Second Army crosses the border in the south and sets its march on the new Black Banner cities in the area. The King marches his army into the Black Banner central lands and goes forwar to the city of St. Wlema. In the north, smaller units cross the border just for support.

The Western War of Conquest (65-68)

In the south, the Collective Second Army quickly take the new Black Banner towns of Rose Forest and Boor and then march on west. The King conquers the city of St. Wlema, built on a hilltop where he during the first war against the same enemy, took another Black Banner city.

The Black Banner mounts a counteroffensive that for a time threatens the Collective line and war effort. At Rose Forest, they counterattack but are defeated in a skirmish, and at St. Wlema they come on with a larger army which is annihilated at the Massacre of Wlema Village. The Second Army goes on unhindered in the south though and conquers large areas of Black Banner land.



The Battle of Devil's Mine

The Kings Army is operating in the Engelville forests and are met by enemy forces superior in number, but very much inferior in quality. Also, the enemy keeps the bulk of his troops inside the city walls of the nearby cities.

In the summer of 68, a large enemy army is going south, perhaps to again attack St. Welma or to relieve the areas in the south that are under our attack. This army is met by the King's army in the Engelville forest and while trying to retreat, the Collective army hits them in the rear at a place that is later called The Devil's Mine. The ensuing battle doesn't lead to much casualties for the Collective army, but the enemy is totally annihilated. Thousands of dead lay, still in formation, having died valiantly for king and country without being able to do any sort of resistance.

It was said in the world that Devil's Mine was more a massacre than a regular battle, but nonetheless, the victory is celebrated in the Collective lands and also signals the end of the war as the southern Army has conquered the final Black Banner city in the south. Peace is signed in 68, ending the war.



The Unsustainable Empire

In the beginning of the 70's the Collective researches School of Destruction, leading to the addition of magicians to the army arsenal. The drawback is that we need the resource Crystal to build magicians in our cities and no Crystal is found within our territory. A plan is immediatley drafted, where the King will once again lead a mighty army into Black Banner territory to take their Crystal. For the plan to work, we would need to take at least two of their cities including their capital. A new army is built - the greatest in World History.

As of a strike of fate, in the year of 73, the Crystal resource is discovered on our territory. This might have saved the Black Banner kingdom from destruction, but the Collective is left with the massive, unused army that was intended for the campaign to conquer the resource. The army is expensive and the Collective treasury coffers are dwindling due to the maintenance costs of the Great Army. A new plan needs to be put in place. What the Collective needs at this time is a great, bloody and total war where its army can be put to use, because under the weight of the army costs, the Collective empire is actually slowly going bankrupt.

 
The Creation of The Great Host of 75

The next period is invested in creating a mighty army in the south. The obvious war target is the Dwarven Kingdom, probably the largest kingdom in the world and a fearsome rival in the South.

The King commissions three main armies. The King's Army stands farthest south with all the veterans and crack units that fought in the Black Banner Wars. Further to the North East, stands the newly raised Matriarch's Army with some newly drafted troops and all the siege equipment and magicians as well. On the road to the central Collective lands, the Reserve Army is raised from the most low-quality troops in the Collective; poor quality, but still respectable troops made for occupation and filling in gaps. On both flanks, the National Collective Hero, the Hellbeast as well as the fearsome Black Dragon will be operating in support of city garrisons and defensive troops.

The goal is to strike a dangerous blow straight into Dwarven central lands. The initial troop numbers will not be enough, but the Collective Hives pump out replacements in good speed. The tactical planning will concern the Three Major Armies entering Dwarven territory, and while the Matriarch's Army shall take care of the siege, The King's Army will operate in support and defeat all oncoming reinforcements and relief armies and possibly also do some more daring raids on enemy interests.

In the Year of 75, the Grand Host attacks south. It feels like Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, but hopefully the outcome won't be as dramatically sad.



The Southern War 75-79

The Great Host marches on into Dwarven lands in good order, spearheaded by the King's Elite Army. The Matriarch lays takes and occupies the Dwarven border city of Jormunargandr, while the Collective Hero lays waste to the newly built enemy city at Thrudheim; after that, the army turns west and falls on Fenrirgard. All this is done without meeting any substantial opposition; the surprise attack is a total success.

In the meantime, operations are also begun in the far east where the Dwarves hold an enclave city at Odingard. This secondary campaign is led by the Collective Dragon and sees enemy troops stand on our soil for the only time in the war; all enemy incursions are defeated though and by the Year 79, the Black Dragon and its army take Odingard and incorporate it into the Empire.

In Fall of 77 the two sides fight a pitched battle outside and around Fenrirgard. The Matriarch does well, blocks the city in getting reinforcements and finally storms it and takes it. The King's army is largely unused during all this time.



The Guerilla at Hellbeast's Hill.

The Collective Hero is supplied with a force of three Troll Squadrons and attacks boldly south, cutting the road that supplied the eastern parts of the Dwarven Empire and does a lot of damage in the area around the great city of Vallahallr. The Hellbeast's guerilla war is legendary and the enemy sends out a grand army to defeat him; however, they do annihilate his auxiliary troops, but he bites on to Hellbeast Hill and continues to deal damage, defeating a great number of their regiments.

At that time, the enemy decides to counterattack to try and retake lost territory; The Hellbeast stands as a statue at Hellbeast Hill, attacking the rear of the enemy army, while the King's Elite Army is dispatched to support the lonely hero who fights alone on that hill. At Blacktree (a small jungle area), the King's army meets the advance guards of the enemy counterattacking army and annihilates them in a bloody battle; large casualties are given and taken in this fierce jungle battle, and as the King stands victorious, the enemy breaks his counterattack and pull back all forces further south. The remains of a great number of Dwarven troops lie in the jungle and even their dragon is left lying there dead. The ghosts of the fallen haunt the area for years to come, and only a few dare venture into that jungle. At that time, the Dwarves are saved by the Yatengi, in fact.

In Fall of 79, Yatenga sends a large army into Collective lands in the East, effectively starting the Eastern War. The war against the Dwarves is ended in hasty negotiations where they pay 510 gold to sign the peacetreaty. The Colelctive armies are then marched East instead to face the new enemy.

 
The Eastern War 79-86

The Collective main army is quickly marched east, while the border troops try to keep the Yatenga at bay. This is an impossible task though, as they are vastly superior in numbers. The first reinforcements to arrive on the battle scene are too weak and cannot do any other role than purely defensive. The border city of Demon Hell is fortified with the bilk of the eastern border forces, but the high command knows that it is only a question of time before the city is taken by the superior enemy. The siege of Demon Hell rages in the years 80 and 81 and the gerrison within sell their lives so expensively that they actually take the energy out of the Yatenga attack.

The Yatenga raze the conquered city as Collective reinforcements arrive and the main army is starting to get through to the battlefield. The Collective hero defeats a minor enemy detachment at the ruins of the razed city and occupies them. The king later arrives at the ruins and take his residence there, enraged by the injustice perpetrated upon his land by the Yatenga, he swears to rebuild the city.

The Collective army is now starting to gather and form. At the Battle of Grove in the summer of 81, the Yatenga win another expensive victory. Their tactical victories on Collective soil have only led to strategic disaster though, as losses are severe and heavy. The remnants of the Yatenga army retreat back east to regroup along with fresh troops marching up from the Yatenga homeland. At that time, the major part of the Collective army stands gathered at the ruins of Demon Hell and the Matriarch is issued orders to attack Yatenga and raze their cities as revenge for Demon Hell.



The Black Banner enters the War

The Matriarch marches her impressive army carefully and slowly east. In the years 82 and 83 she destroys two major Yatenga armies at the two major battles at Eastplain. These victories open the door to Yatenga and by fall of 83, she is leading a massive army onto Yatenga soil. In 84 she takes and razes Lengonway, a moderate Yatenga city and goes on to lay siege to Wan's Tomb further east as well. Wan's Tomb falls in 85 and is also razed. This should do it for revenge; the Yatenga have been pressed back and revenge for Demon Hell has been taken. In the meantime, and while the main Collective army is fighting in the east, The Black Banner joins the war on Yatenga's side and attacks in the west. A two-front war is a fact.

The border troops in the west do good against the Black Banner though and keep them at bay although a major Black Banner force penetrates deep into Collective territory near Heartland Lock. That army is surrounded by weaker Collective forces and when reinforcements from the east arrive in 85, the enemy can be soundly beaten. In the meantime, Yatenga has signed a peacetreaty and the war in the east has ended, meaning that the main parts of the Collective battle-hardened army from the east, are now thrown into the battle against the Black Banner.

War-weariness is rampant in the Collective Empire. The war has to be ended quickly and status quo has to be reestablished. In a swift operation, the Collective forces attack and take the city of St Wlema, which is also razed to the ground. In the year of 86 the Black Banner surrenders and signs a peacetreaty, ending this bloody war. Soon after, the Angvina are persuaded to sign peace as well, meaning that the Collective now has its first total peace in 20 years. The time has come to regroup and rebuild, to research and explore. The swords are hidden away to a later date.

 




Above: The deployment of the Army during the peacetime.



Above: The western and the eastern political situations in the Year 90.​
 
Happiness and Prosperity in the Late 80's

After the Great Wars, the Collective settles down and tries to build the kingdom in peace. All the civil unrest situations that have been infesting so many cities due to war weariness are dealt with one after the other and happiness is priority one for the leadership at the Fairy Tale Castle at Angleeye.

Peaceful relations are also built upon with the neighbouring nations. The Hellbeast national hero is sent on a friendly state visit to Arcana; although this also has the secondary goal of scouting the country out. The Hellbeast finds an Arcana in top condition. Its cities surpass ours and its army is scary strong. By the year 88 they also pass us and take the leadership on the scoretable, which is quite a blow to Collective pride. (pic1)

In the Far East, Zuur and Yatenga are locked in a deadly conflict which sees Zuur on the losing side with Yatenga taking one city after the other. The war seriously worries the court at Angleeye which is not too keen on having an even stronger Yatenga as a neighbour in the east. The warmongers gather to a meeting at Angleeye in the summer of 90, and led by the Princess, they put forth a plan of intervention in the war on Zuur's side.

The King is reluctant, but releases the Black Dragon to scout the eastern border areas to see where an attack could easily be placed (pic2). The Princess herself hasn't had much war experience as she arrived just about to take part in the last phase of the recent attack on the Black Banner, but she is keen on making her name shine in history and therefore wants to lead the possible intervention. The Matriarch with the entire Eastern Army also supports the idea.



The Iron Ladies' War 91-95


The Princess and the Matriarch are two bloodthirsty ladies who now unite their armies to attack Yatenga. The King is very displeased as the two Iron Ladies attack and sack the Yatenga city of Nir in the Year 92. The Princess goes in the forefront of the army and personally takes part in the storming and sacking of the city. The army then camps outside the ruins of it and the area is filled with ruins and wreck from earlier battles there. This suits the idea of the Iron Ladies; they are seeking adventure and glorious battle and to make great names for themselves in history. Their army consists of some of the best units in the Collective army.

The decision at the camp at Nir is then whether to go north and unite with their ally Zuur, or continue to strike east into Yatenga lands. Open borders is signed with Zuur and the wavering ally is also supplied with Iron resources so that they can defend themselves. Upon hearing the news that a major Zuur army has been spotted in the far Western parts of the Collective, the Princess and the Matriarch decide that Zuur can be left to their own devices. Their empire is fighting on the knife's edge while they have their major armies wandering the globe in that manner; this is stupidity that doesn't go down well in the Princess' and Matriarch's warcamp and they therefore decide that the next move will be west further into Yatenga instead of going north to Zuur to protect them.

In the meantime, a small force of Yatenga cavalry is annihilated by the Collective hero at Odingard.

 
Great story, can't wait for the continuation... when is this coming as a scenario.
 
Thanks. I will make a scenario of it soon. I need to start all the updates I have planned for the mod; But I'd really like to leave it as a scenario when there's peace in the world.
 
The Iron Ladies' Campaign and its conclusion

The Iron Ladies march on; taking one city after the other and Yatenga has no forces to send against them as the Yatenga army is also involved in the war with Zuur. This means that one Yatenga city falls and is destroyed by the raging valkyries each year of the campaign. The Matriarch and the Princess compete in showing bravery in storming the towns.

The campaign is an utter success, but as it reaches its climax, events in the homeland lead to its conclusion. The Black Banner again crosses the border in the West, beginning another one of these western wars. The Collective homeland armies don't stand unprepared in the least, but they have only inferior troops to meet the Black Banner assault since all the best forces were taken along on the Princess' military adventure.

An absurd situation arises where the best of the best of the Collective army stands in useless fighting in the far east, while the homeland is being invaded by the enemy in the west. The King sends angry messages to his daughter in the field. "The enemy stands at our western gates; your fatherland is being invaded by hordes of Black Banner soldiers; and there you are, far away, seeking glory, while your glorious monument and memory was here outside Angleeye all along!"

The Princess takes Cuurnera in the Summer of 95. She is able to sign a peace treaty with Yatenga which also states that Yatenga will sue for peace with Zuur. The goal of the Princess' adventure has been achieved; Zuur is saved and Yatenga's position as a great power broken. She then hastily turns her army back west, fearful that the threatening situation in the homeland will be over before she gets home.



The Western War of 95


The Black Banner invades on three columns. The Northern is the weakest, the Central Column threatens Darker Frestade (which is defended by The Marshal) and the Southern Column is led by the Black Banner Princess and meets troops from the Southern Army under The Lord.

The Central Column bogs down in bloody warfare against The Marshal's garrison. He committs several mistakes that lead to the battle being one of the bloodiest in Collective history. Although he has magicians and a good number of excellent troops, he storms out and tries to break the Black Banner line, suffering hard casualties. Reinforcements are on the way though.

In the North, some sporadic fighting is done in the deep woods, to the Collective favour, but as the enemy committs fresh troops, the Collective forces withdraw behind city walls.

In the South, The Lord is on his way north to Darker Frestade when he meets upon the third invasion column led by the enemy Princess herself. The Lord is cautious; sends some reinforcements to Darker Frestade and personally takes the rest of his army and goes into position in the town of Mountjoy; there to await help and to delay the oncoming strong enemy if possible.

 
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