UPDATE ELEVEN
Darkness strikes.
Boeuf men and minotaur keep mourning their God and addressing prayers to Him so He can come back and lead them again. Taurus' worshippers in Boserein no longer pray for him, however, as Walaruna of
Heldenthal visits the city and spreads her influence over all. Dissenters, people who would rebel, gradually lose their will to fight, and the followers of Taurus quickly switch faith, enthralled by Walaruna's charm and magic.
King Alrich doesn't rely on charm to spread the faith of the crone. He leads his army to the city of Deerholm, which First-Son intends to defend to the last man.
Heldenthal Knights fight minotaurs.
The minotaurs attack boldly when faced with the arrow rain from Heldenthal longbows. They slaughter the enemy infantry and, overzealous with their easy victory over the humans, they charge and run into heavily armoured Heldenthal knights who prove to be a much harder opponent. Minotaurs are killed once again, and Deerholm has to be abandoned.
King Hector of
Falaxan builds a shrine in honour of Ezio in Milsford. He sends scouts to the north and they come back with tales of barren lands. Mountains in the west, desert in the east and nothing of interest worth reporting. King Hector also orders the building of roads to the southern cities of Travaltar and Hillden. He also orders to improve the river banks, thereby facilitating travel upriver through the use of oxen which can haul boats from the shores.
In
Mallitain, roads between Jassar, Ulanbar and Vanas are improved. In particular, the pass over the mountain range is made easier to travel through, several trading posts are built along the way, with inns and relays to help merchants get across faster.
In Avallon, the tomb of an ancient king was discovered by a young scolar. Ignoring the glyphs of warning, he entered the tomb and claimed an artifact of old. Unfortunately, he also released the guardians of the tomb who attacked the province. Jack was still in the planning phase of an expedition, so he could muster his men and send them against the undead guardians. Arrows dispatched the undead leader, and the claymores of Jack's soldiers made short work of the remaining animated skeletons.
Jack's merrimen against the undead.
After taking care of this matter, Jack moves into the forest north of
Marverni, where he and his bards convince the locals to join the realm of Mallitain.
In southern Marverni, in particular in the city of Lugduni, people speak of Cassiopeia's teachings, but there are also those who speak of love and war. Many a widow of soldiers dead during the conflict against Ermor speaks of her mourning. Some men, who married these widows, are becoming extremely violent. During the morning, they tend to pick up fights and brawl and cause trouble. They speak of how they let Ermor "get away with it" while they should have been helping Arcoscephale and how it's better to fight than to hide in a city to just bake bricks or tiles.
The Argyraspides mercenaries who visited Marverni last year now moved to Mallitain and propose their services. Noone answers them and, angry at such obvious scorn, they decide to prove their worth by marching upon Avallon. Some of them enter the city peacefully, then slit the throats of guardsmen and open the gates for the rest of their troops. The soldiers attack the city, burn down houses, plunder and rape. They take a few slaves and a lot of gold with them and leave southward, probably to join Arcoscephale.
The Red, prophet of the Lady of
Taernsvwyn, has reformed Her army's knights. The cavalry is now made of vanir, who are able to project images of themselves and use their glamour and illusions to help defend themselves in combat. The Lady also has watchtowers erected on the borders, to ward off any further intrusion from chaotic realms such as the
Darkswamp.
In Serpentburg, a northern Darkswamp town, a group of religious fanatics decide to preach and hunt down heretics. They say those who don't show proper respect to the Bog Serpent must learn the meaning of the word worship at any cost. This resulted in a local increase of faith at the cost of a few lives. The fanatics were soon put to good use by Sakarlisk, who sent them north to explore along the coasts of the Peat Sea, and to convert whatever villagers or fishermen they would find on their way.
In Upper
Ermor, loud knocks have been heard in a graveyard. The population is afraid, until one day a grave is broken and a longdead Ermorian general emerges from it. He moves to the nearby battlefield where he lost his last battle and raises his dead troops. There, he uses some kind of magic to call back from the dead the enemy host, and they reenact the old battle, skeletons in ancient rotten armor fighting skeletons with ancient, rusty weapons. They fight all the night until the battle is over and the bones of the warriors sink into the earth to rest again. One month later, the same thing happens again. Peasants have long since abandoned this barren land, but the population is terrified by the ceaseless struggle. This disrupts caravans bringing food to the fort in Upper Ermor, as people don't want to go near that haunted place. The supplies stored in the city have to be used by the troops to feed themselves and can no longer be used to feed the army.
Seshmek weaves enchantments in Eldergate, making it so that visitors of the Crypts can hear the murmur of their ancestors.
Byzantia opens its gates to Samael's army. The Ermor legions enter the city, and soon put up shrines in honour of Samael, under the leadership of the undead Pontifex. A group of soldiers is left to guard the city after the army moves on to chase the
Arcoscephale army. Ermorian slaves are freed and the population is generally treated well, but some Byzantian slave-owners are found dead, and some of those deaths are particularly gruesome, with heads cut off and blood splattered along the walls.
Samael leads her troops to the west, where scouts report the arcoscephale army has been moving. They ignore false trails leading them south towards Thebai and instead move to the city of Gymnaios. Pursuing the army directly on the south bank of the river provides opportunity to catch them in the field, but if they reach the city, the river would prove an obstacle for the siege and crossing it would be difficult. Crossing the river directly at Byzantia would offer an easier access to the city. The Ermorian generals don't want to be fooled however, as the enemy could change direction while they would be stranded on the other bank of the river, so they decide to follow on the south bank. The travel proves difficult for both Arcoscephale and Ermor armies. Arcoscephale scrupulously waste each well they go through. Although they are themselves hindered by diseases and incidents along the way, the legions are even more troubled and have to wait at times for food to be brought from Byzantia as the country doesn't offer much after the passing of Pergos's soldiers. Eventually, the legions reach Gymnaios, and find the bridge leading to it destroyed. They have to move away a bit and build another bridge in a safe location in order to cross the river and lay siege to the city.
Ermor legions build catapults and send projectiles coated in burning oil at the city. Arcoscephale soldiers put out the fires thanks to the river water, and Ermor legions then concentrate on the walls.
After a few days, the gates open and several elephants are sent out of the city, rushing toward the legions. They trample a few legionaires, but Samael orders the soldiers to avoid the monsters, who are more than happy to simply run away.
Weeks later, a wall is finally breached, but, instead of Ermor advancing with soldiers, more burning oil is sent through the breach. This gives Arcoscephale enough time to build a second palissade behind the breach. The legions keep sending fire pots until they no longer have any burning oil, and Arcoscephale soldiers still refuse to either surrender or go out to fight. The makeshift palissade is strengthened. Although many people die inside the city and people are having a hard time because of the fall of boulders, the city holds on due to Ermor generals waiting for the enemy to come out and fight.
Skenaton, mummified god of
C'tis, is rumoured to have increased his mastery of magic while maintaining his realm from the changing influence of chaos. He ordered the construction of yet another vast temple complex in Tlanetzutl, and keeps performing his transformation of ill humans into lizardmen. His scouts have reported that they have mapped most of the coasts south of C'tis, and found that the sea extends westward south of
Dvalan, where the city of Khazarim is attacked by a band of giants emerging from the snowy earth.
Giants emerge from the earth to attack dwarves.
The dwarves manage to drive away the monsters thanks to their superior numbers.
Whether it is due the relative safety of the World where such unfortunate events don't happen very often or for other reasons, several hundreds young dwarves immigrate to Veau from their chaos lands.
While leaving Ayroot, the king of
Alifat stumbles upon a seemingly abandoned shrine. He orders it opened, so it can be reused for the glory of the God of Love. Inside the shrine, on a broken altar, lies a bow that crackles with lightning when it is strung. The king takes the bow and orders the srhine to be dedicated to his god. He also orders grand feasts to be held all over Alifat in order to celebrate the victory of Alifat over the mechanical soldiers of Ayroot. A miracle of the god of love is also seen in the city. All the children conceived durring the unnatural darkness that occurred when Alifat conquered the city grow up extremely fast. After only one year, they look like they are already 6 year old.
In Alhemia, an
Ulm worshipper of the anvil has roused the population and raised a small group of militia to serve his deity. The man is called Ulfhod, and keeps rambling about the greatness of Ulm and the Anvil. Ulm scouts run to the northwest, exploring the plains north of
Erynini, and find them to be mostly barren.
Erynini and
Firland lands are the scene of several skirmishes. Firland peasants report to Harnost and Bombasitum auhtorities that Erynini soldiers have attacked their fields, and Firland soldiers have been sent to retaliate. There hasn't been any large scale battle. In fact, soldiers have been patrolling most of the time only to find out raiders from either side had already run away, but the tension between the countries is strong, and population on each side of the boder is feeling more and more hatred for their neighbours as their workshops and fields are burnt and pillaged.
The harvests in the
Bhumi city of Ilfundune have been exceptionally bad this year. Food is scarce, and people starve. Soon, diseases strike and decimate the population. The epidemics spread up to Machaka, where the reaper take its toll too. Several people leave Ilfundune and Machaka in search of better places to live, namely the west, along the river that links Logapur to Bagha Panja and Jijavna. They settle along the coasts, despite the dangerous land, thanks to grants provided by their government. The ministers who bring food and supplies never forget to explain how this expansion fits the way of perfection and they keep enlightening people all around the country about the Faith.
Avaza meets with Ravana and the rakshasas, bringing gold and increased trade between Bhumi and the city of Rakshi. He also explains that the actions of the Pavitra Bacce will help protect chaos from those who would destroy it, like the king of Alifat. Ravana only laughs at that:
"Chaos doesn't need you to protect it, but I certainly appreciate your actions."
While Ravana laughs, the people of Alifat certainly don't laugh or rejoice for long, as the mighty armies of Bhumi march upon their lands. Visvasa the One-eyed Bhuta leads troops to the city of Tooth, which he conquers easily as there is little, if any, resistance. Lofar brings in soldiers from far-away Jijavna and marches them too the capital of Naoot, where he faces some opposition. Madhavali leads more troops southwards to the city of Tooth, intent on taking it over. The Pavitra Bacce himself flies southward, using his winged shoes to march ahead and atop of men and nagas, seeking the armies of Alifat near Ayroot in the hope of defeating them before they can reach the northern cities. What he finds, however, is Darkness. It looks like it's always dusk in this forlorn country and, as he flies toward the King's army, a cloud of darkness falls upon the god of Bhumi. He hears wings flapping and shrieks, but sees only blackness. Suddenly, he feels threatened, and a strange force attacks his mind. At this moment, the first claws strike. The divine child dives to the soil, where he can better fight. Two of his arms wield shields to protect him, while the other two wield swords, one of which burns like a torch, but the darkness is strong and he can't see much. The attackers seem to be made of darkness itself, only their claws gleaming in the fire of the magic sword, and they meld with the darkness that surrounds him. The Pavitra Bacce strikes, but he is surrounded and a voice whispers in his mind, telling him it is hopeless, he can't fight, he is not up to it.
"Who do you think you are, Divine Child? You think you can come here, in the land of Ammon, lord of the Dark, whom men worship as god of love or god of war, and destroy my worshippers without my interfering? This is the land of Darkness, where I am strongest. You are nothing here. You will never get out. Men worship Me because they believe Me to be the incarnation of their strongest drives. Do you really think you are stronger than night, love and war?"
Demons claw lash out of darkness
The Pavitra Bacce fights, but claws come out of the darkness and pierce his armor while the voice keeps distracting him, holding him, hurting him. His blood pours down his wounds. He flies to try to escape, but the demons that attack him fly too, they can see where he cannot, and they keep lashing at him.
When the Pavitra Bacce lands again, it is not of his own will, but because his lifeless body falls to the soil, torn by demonic claws and fangs.
Unaware of the fight that saved his army, the King of Alifat marches north to the city of Tooth, where he learns of he invasion that begun. Nooth has fallen already, and Naoot is besieged. Madhavali, having learnt the Alifat army is marching north, is preparing to strike Tooth. The King has his men man the walls and prepare themselves for a fight and indeed, Madhavali's legion of golden serpents soon arrives and giant spiders attack the city, trying to scale the walls which the Alifat soldiers defend by pouring down burning oil at them. Nevertheless, the spiders are too powerful for the fighters, and Madhavali sends poison clouds which slowly kill the defenders. The wailing song of Madhavali's sword sends despair through the enemy ranks and Tooth falls quickly. The remnants of the army flee to the south, and an unnatural darkness shields them from would-be pursuers.
Madhavali's troops take Tooth.
Lofar also faces some opposition in Naoot, but the knights who defend the city are far too few in numbers to stand a chance against the legions of Bhumi and the storm demons that accompany them, and the capital falls with hardly a fight.
Most of Alifat is now under the control of Bhumi troops, but their deity lies dead in the southern reaches of this realm.