UPDATE ONE
Pretenders arise
Map:
In
Alifat, the king orders completion of a temple to the god of love.
On the southern border of the kingdom, a terrible storm erupts in the lands of chaos, destroying a small village and killing a huge spider which was considered sacred by many people in Alifat. Her death will be mourned by many. (-prophet)
In the southern realm of
C'tis, Skenaton the lizard mummy orders the construction of a vast temple complex on the riverbanks near the capital. The complex is not finished yet, but it is already the biggest monument of faith in the world.
King Ssussaapi organises the army and leads a small troop of javelineers southwards into the lands of
Myrde, trying to check what's happening there. Unfortunately the timing is poor, as, soon after they reach a town and try to investigate the situation, the soil starts trembling and rumbling, the earth rises just outside the town and lava starts flowing out of a newly born volcano. Ssussaapi manages to lead some of his lizardmen out of the place before the eruption becomes catastrophic, but many soldiers get lost. Those who don't die in the eruption eventually either die to the hands of local lunatics or join them in their madness. Ssussaapi comes back home unscathed but his mood is terrible. (-1 LI)
The volcano eruption in northern Myrde has lots of implications not only for the locals and C'tis, but also for
Boeuf.
The eruption in Myrde
First, it kills or scatters many of the madmen who were moving northwards into the minotaurs lands. Second, it chases many sane people into this same land. In, fact, Taurus had sent runners from Boeuf to the surrounding lands, with messages of the mighty minotaur's benevolence. Those messengers sent to Myrde meet various fates. Some of them get slaughtered by the locals. Others become mad, and lost. Many of the messengers, however, meet people who flee their land, disrupted by the eruption of an unexpected volcano. These refugees from Myrde are offered a chance to rebuild in Boeuf, and soon the town of Myrvo is founded in southeastern Boeuf. Under the supervision of an 'oversight committee' of Bovoj (minotaurs), the humans in this city hope for a new life.
Boeuf messengers sent east into C'tis are less successful. They have been arrested by the local authorities and denounced as madmen. While C'tis lizardmen prosper under Skenaton's new rule, the envoys from Boeuf soon start to show signs of disease, and die before their trial can even begin. This is seen by the lizardmen as a sign of the weakness of Taurus, since his people seem unable to resist the healthy swampy climate of C'tis. On the other hand, lizardmen believe Skenaton has blessed them that they are now sturdier than bull-men, and faith in the mummified lizardman has increased.
There is still much to be said about the events in
Myrde in this chaotic year.
In the town of Myrde proper and in the surrounding fields, a breeeding frenzy seems to have struck everyone. Not only people are busy fornicating like there's no tomorrow, but sheep, cattle and rabbits (but for the latter it's normal) do the same. The harvests are also exceptionally good, despite a lack of care by the busy inhabitants.
The strangest event was probably the time warp in Urthrarthe: People there have seen time fly way faster than anyone outside the city. They aged ten years when one year only passed in the orderly world. Babies born in january are now ten-year old. During this time, it happened that a band of frenzied madmen invaded the Mindblossoms' refuge, intent on eating the wise men who try to keep some kind of control over the country. Catastrophe was only averted by pure chance when a young apprentice Mindblossom called Fatrasie cast a spell at the invaders. Her spell backfired horribly. When interrogated about her intent later, Fatrasie would only be able to say "Baeehhh?", so it's likely noone will ever know the intended effect of her magic. Anyway, the spell, instead of affecting the madmen, affected the whole group of Mindblossoms, and turned them into sheep for an unquantified period of time. The madcrowd, seeing their prospective food turned into unattractive quadrupeds, turned against themselves and left the Mindblossoms alone. (Myrde gains new Hero: Fatrasie, wizard, can turn people into sheep - also, the economy actually produced ten times as much in one year in this part of the land, for a lot of extra gold -72- which was spent on a project).
Meanwhile in Myrde itself, the Smiling Tower is being built: The structure of the tower mostly resembles the one of a drill, really. It's a tower with a small base, but with a larger floor on top of it. And yet a larger one on the level above. And so on. And then there are the stairs. And the passageways where one would put stairs if one was sane, and those where one wouldn't, but where stairs are put anyway. Why do the mindblossoms build it? One isn't to really reason with it. Their blind faith and madness states they must build it. In a central room at the base of the tower, a huge machine is being built, with lots of sharp metal parts. Some people regularly cut themselves upon these parts, and the dead are left there rotting. A few hardly sane people believe that the builders build upwards in order to escape the stench down there. But then, why are they building all these slippery slopes that lead the unwary to the room of the machine? Most of the building materials came from Urthrarthe, where craftsmen were able to build them so much faster than anywhere else.
Unfortunately, this was not the last of the strange events occuring in the maddening place: A dragon has been sighted over the southern edge of the realm. It arrived, breathed fire upon a few peasants, burnt some houses, swallowed some cows and maidens, and demanded that the citizen bring him some treasure, hoping to have impressed them and filled them with awe and terror. Indeed, the locals who didn't flee were so impressed that they offered him flowers, pots of dung, baked babies and a book with seventy two turnip recipes, thirteen of which were identical. After repeated attempts at convincing the humans that these gifts weren't what he expected, the dragon sighed a huge and fiery sigh, burnt the place some more, and left for less crazy places somewhere to the south. The area has been quite devastated as a result of the monster's actions.
One day in
Ermor, a lizardman knocks at the gates of the temple of Eldergate. His name is Seshmek, and he asks for political asylum in Ermor. He explains he fled his homeland of C'tis because Skenaton, the newly risen god, happens to have been murdered in his first life by one of Seshmek's ancestors. Seshmek fears the lizard mummy might want to avenge himself against the last heir of his murderer. Therefore he asks to be accepted in Ermor and protected from the lizardmen. He hopes his plea will be accepted, and offers to serve the leaders and new goddess of Ermor. He is, in fact, a skilled necromancer, having spent his youth in chaos lands, where he learnt to harness the power of chaos and to tame both dead and undead.
The temple he knocked at the gate of is a new one. It is a huge crypt being built in Eldergate. The dead are buried there and, at the same time, religious ceremonies are held. In this big complex, Pontifex and his priests, preach that the Pantocrator has sacrificed herself for the glory of mankind, and for it to be preserved just the way it is, and for all decay and change for the worse to stop. Therefore, Death itself must be worshipped and made God, for then She shall be able to fully open up the Gates of the Underword and reunite the Dead with the Living.
As for Samael, she raises a big army of living and, seemingly unhappy with their already large numbers, raises some dead warriors too to complete the figures. She then moves northwards, crossing the river to lay siege to the city of Truscanior. There, the angel of Death flies alone to the city, demanding to speak to its leaders. She informs them that the Pantocrator has sacrificed herself for the Good of Mankind, and demands they stop praying unceasingly towards her. According to Samael, this would only result in her Sacrifice for the betterment of mankind to become corrupted by Man's weakness. The city elders are quite confused, but one of them finally decrees that Samael is simply here to coerce them into submission to Ermor, which they refuse. They send her away, and as the angel gets angry, they order archers to shoot at her. Samael flies away before her wounds become too serious. She then organises the siege of the city. Truscanior fear the might of Ermor, but their soldiers are many and their walls strong. They send runners to go at night out of the gates and try to find some support from nearby cities, but the runners don't come back, or not in time. Ermor siege engineers cut trees and build rams and catapults, which hurl boulders at the city walls until they are breached. The Ermorian legions, led by a small group of undead legionaires, force their way into the city. Under a rain of arrows, they make way, and their tower shields protect them from the missiles. When they finally close, Truscanior defenders soon get overwhelmed and the city is conquered. (1 light infantry, 1 skeleton unit lost)
Ermor legionaires conquer Truscanior.
In
Ulm, a clan leader has devised some rules in order to better administrate the capital. He managed to convince several clansmen that it would be in their interest to coordinate their schedules, to hold one big market on the same day instead of one small market for each clan on different days. The resulting market attracted many more people and the economy boomed.
Trade caravans were organised between Ulm, Argad, Urgad and the various towns and villages in the country. The travelling merchants are protected by guards to help fend off the occasional undead or goblin arisen from chaos.
In Argad, several persons arrived from some unknown place to be accepted as part of the population. They seem to be of pure Ulm stock, but noone knows where they come from and they won't speak about it. The town is slowly growing.
The Hammerer travels through the country, spreading the word of the Anvil. When he tells a tale of Ancient Ulmers or Anvil by a campfire or near a forge, the smoke recreates these tales visually. This impresses people greatly. What impresses them even more is that when anyone tells a tale of the Anvil and ancient Ulm near the hearths thus used, the smoke would shape itself to accompany the story even after the leaving of the Hammerer.
In
Taernsvwynn, the Red, prophet of the Lady, investigates the loss of funds in Vanholm. He recruits soldiers in the city to protect and help him. The soldiers are not of much help in his investigations however, as there's no enemy to fight. It appears that some officials have stolen some money or diverted it, sometimes for their own good, sometimes to be passed to others, who couldn't be found as they had left the city when soldiers came to search their house. There was obviously a complex organisation in place, siphoning money from the official taxes. It has been at least partly disbanded, but it is unknown whether all have been arrested or some are hiding or have fled somewhere else.
Many farms are constructed around Taernheim. The fields are lush and famine is never to be feared as the abundance of food has led prices to plummet and even the poorest can buy themselves good meals.
To the west of Taernsvwyn stretches the
Darkswamp. There, a great Serpent is worshipped by tribesmen.
There, a renegade clan has been caught by true followers of the faith. The miscreants have been drowned one after the other, and all their goods and lands confiscated. (+10 gold)
In the north of
Machaka, news of a new faith, the Purnata ke li'e rasta(Way of Perfection) are spreading. This belief comes from the lands of Bhumi. King Ungulungo has not yet reacted officially. He is rumoured to have said in private that supersitions were to be expected to arise with the death of the Pantocrator, but real Machakans shouldn't fall prey to would-be godlings. Rather than worrying about these religious issues, Ungulungo orders many workshops to be built, and favors craftsmen. New shops are built daily in Machaka, including weaponsmithies.
In
Patalnila, under the direction of Launar, the country tries to rebuild from the plague outbreak. Farms and granaries are built to help fight food shortages, and mines are dug in the hills. However, although people work hard at rebuilding and sanitation gets better, the plague still roams the country, claiming the lives of thousands, mostly weaklings and old persons. Launar, having overseen the rebuilding of the city and organised mining activities, takes some of Vanas Guardsmen with him and sails down the river until they reach its mouth. He cures those he can along the way, and incites local fishermen to join Patalnila. There are very few people out there, but they welcome him, his strange faith and his healing powers.
Roads are built to join the various cities of
Erynini.
The Burned Man leads an army to the south, preaching along the way, performing minor miracles to convert the pagans, who are impressed at the sight of the everburning flame he carries with him, and which burns upright even in the strongest wind. When he reaches the river and the walls of a city, his miracles impress the population, and several people convert to the faith of the Eternal Pyre. However, this city, Marignon, is home of an order of monks, the Order of the Demiurge. These remain silent to the preaching of the Burned Man and bear a lot of influence in the city council. As a result, Marignon accepts not to ban the faith, but refuses to let the Burned Man enter the walls, explaining that he wouldn't have brought such a large army if his intent was peaceful.
This degenerates into a show of force and a battle that turns in favor of Marignon's crossbowmen, whose bolts pierce Erynini armors and shields. The Burned Man has to retreat, his army almost obliterated (-1 HI, -1 LI, -1 HC).
Marignon crossbowmen repel Erynini soldiers.
In
Heldenthal, acts of sabotage have been reported in the city of Niederschwertenau. Barons are getting nervous and some minor skirmishes beetween their retainers have already occurred.
A harvestfest along with a joust and a singercontest was held in Oberklingenbach. This resulted in appeasement and much merriment. The poet who mocked the Lady has been shown to be an average bard at best, but on seeing Walaruna, he was inspired and reneged all his former satires, made public excuses in the form of a glorious love song to the Lady, who accepted to pardon him for his evil songs.
The festival has been very successful, and some foresters to the southern border formally accepted the protection of the lords of Oberklingenbach, slightly extending the realm's borders.
While a modest series of forges and mines were being built in
Firland, the Phoenix led an army of fire elves, fire dwarves and a few giants to the city of Nijlarmund, west by the river. There, he demanded that the city join his realm. With no reason to accept except the fear of incoming armies, the citizens refused. They believed their walls would hold the enemy at bay and their archers would be able to pick them up from a distance. Unfortunately, the fire giants threw boulders at the city gates and managed to crack them open. Niljarmund archers managed to kill the giants, but it was too late. Firland's heavy infantry entered the city. Elves and dwarves fought together against the human defenders, and they could maybe have been defeated, but the Phoenix first summoned some magma children to swell the ranks, and then hurled fireballs against enemy archers. The city was finally taken, but it has been severely damaged by fires caused in the battle. Furthermore, the giants and half of Firland army didn't survive the battle (-1 E, -1 HI). As a result, the occupation army is very small and unable to control the neighborhood. Many peasants refuse to go sell their wares to the city and prefer to live in autarcy or travel to farther markets. If the situation isn't remedied soon, there will soon be starvation in Niljarmund.
Firland infantry enters the destroyed gates of Niljarmund.
Near Nagapur, a pilgrim has found some gold in a stream. Walking upwards, he found a grotto where a large gold lode was seemingly waiting for him. He reported his find to the nagas, who got the gold mined and added to
Bhumi's treasury. (+20 gold)
In Nagapur itself, on the holy Day of Perfection (Purnata ke dina), a small fleet of lit paper lanterns folded and cut to appear as a lotus floats upward the current.At the shore nearest to the grand temple, one by one, naga warriors, armed and armored, emerge from the river holding the lanterns. In solemn procession, they slither to the temple gardens and lay their lanterns in the pool there before lining up and singing hymns with the priests, in dedication to thePurnata ke dina. These naga warriors come to be known as the Legion of the Golden Serpents.
A Bardic College is being built in the capital of
Mallitain, Massad. This college trains prospective bards in the ways of music, oratory, trade, along with Cassiopeias teachings of freedom and independence.
In the north of the country, the plague from Patalnila seems to have crossed the river and moved into the woods. It is not yet much of a concern, as it reached only the northern fringes of the land, but several hunters have caught it and spread it to their village.
Jack Churchill the Giantslayer gathers an army of infantry and cavalry to explore the cities on Mallitain's western borders. After some scouting, the Mallitain army decides to attack the city of Fornalis, which is safe from chaos influence. Jack's cavalry makes some raids but soon Fornalis hides behind their walls. They send an envoy trying to understand who's attacking them and why, but the man comes back with a request to capitulate and surrender to Mallitain. As an answer, Fornalis soldiers ready their weapons, and hide behind their walls. The Mallitain army sends a force of heavy infantry in the nearby woods to cut down trees and build battering rams. When the siege weapons are ready, the soldiers come back and join the archers and cavalry who are all around Fornalis. However, before they attack the city gates, some cavalrymen report ominous news.
A large army is approaching Fornalis from the west. Jack must decide what to do. If these are reinforcements, then he may be caught between the hammer and the anvil. He ponders. Should he attack the incoming army, maybe ambush them, before they can join the city? This would prove dangerous, as Fornalis could then strike at his rear. Does he let them join the city and attack them in the open, hoping Fornalis will get out of their walls? The combined forces look too big for his forces. Ultimately, it seems retreat is the only reasonable option. He sends all his infantry back to the east, while some cavalrymen remain to scout and check what's happening.
Meanwhile, Madhavali, prophet of the Bavitra Bacce, was leading his Legion of the Golden Serpents out of Bhumi. The army was made of a few elite naga warriors accompanied by many levy archers. Madhavali saw several mounted soldiers on his way to Fornalis, but ordered his troops to remain calm. When they come in sight of the city walls, they find the fields have been stampeded, as if a lot of activity had been taking place here recently. Madhavali orders his human troops to remain there, under the direction of one of the Golden Serpents, while he moves to the city gates with his guard of naga warriors. The lord of Fornalis reaches from the top of the walls, and asks what the naga wants.
Madhavali explains that some inhabitants of Fornalis have been enlightened, and have found the Way of the Perfection. He demands that the local government submits to the perfection of creation and step peacefully aside to allow the way of the sacred child to blossom in the hearts of the local people and to further the perfection of creation and its people.
Upon hearing this, the lord of Fornalis bursts with laughter. He tells Madhavali that he will have to lay siege to the city first, but he might have some trouble with that as another army is there with the same intent.
"Come on, naga! Even if your soldiers managed to breach our walls and defeat our army, you would immediately be attacked by Mallitain's Jack Churchill, whose horsemen you certainly spotted on your way here. Do you think you can beat us in a siege and then beat Mallitain immediately afterwards? I certainly don't think so. Or maybe you'll want to defeat them in the open first, and then let us get rid of the survivors by ourselves?"
Madhavali was dumbstruck. Returning to his camp, he sent scouts to verify the allegations of the lord and soon indeed, he heard news of an army not one day march to the east.
To this day, the situation of Fornalis is extremely delicate. Two armies are camping near the city, Bhumi to the west and Mallitain to the east. Fornalis behaves almost as if nothing had happened. They double check the city gates of course, and many scouts patrol the area. Fast runners have been seen going both north and south, but noone from either of the besiegers managed to stop them. The situation seems to be in a dead-end. Both armies forage to find food, but the region is not going to be able to feed everyone for long if things remain as they are.
The fortress of Fornalis between Bhumi and Mallitain armies.
While many
Arcoscephale people prepare for upcoming conflicts, the city of Cephalos builds schools to teach their children. They hope the young arcoscephalites will know the history of the Pantocrator and will be ready to see the truth and the lies in the pretenders' tales.
In the city of Argos near
Aliphat, a young man who had lost his bride offered his youth in sacrifice to the god of love, asking for his love to be brought back to him. He aged and withered, becoming an old man within minutes, and the body of his lover started moving again. She was, unfortunately, unable to speak or move by herself. The woman and her lover were found dead a few days later, the man having killed himself and the woman starved to death.
Although this did little to strengthen the faith in the new god, it gave ideas to other persons. The worst and most pitiful example is that of this would-be warrior who killed his sister as an offering to the god, wishing some unknown prayer to be fulfilled. However this had no effect beyond the death of the girl, and the arrest and execution of the boy. It seems the boy got his idea not only from the unfortunate lovers incident but also from the local garrison. Quite a few soldiers have in fact been behaving strangely of late. One of them has lost one of his eyes but became extremely accurate with the sling and javelin. Another one, previously a quiet and reserved person, started preaching that Arcoscephale should unite its strengths in order to fight Ermor and get rid of them once and for all, for the love of the country. He offered all his possessions except his weapons and armor to the city officials, who didn't really know what to do with that.
The druid Gerek, leader of the Carnutes, has decided to conducts a sacrifice in order to protect
Marverni from evil influences. In secret, he organised with a few conspirators the burning of parts of the sacred forest, and summoned the Sacred Great Boar of the Carnutes. The beast is a mighty creature. A huge boar with rather-sharp tusks, its fur reputedly coated with poison. It appeared in the midst of the burning woods, and charged the assembled druids who had summoned it. Most of them died, but Gerek managed to escape. Since this day, the boar has been roaming the woods, wrecking havok wherever he met humans. However, wherever he goes, plants grow better and larger. But then again, it's mostly boars who profit from it. The people of Marverni are distraught. Gerek has managed to convince everyone that the Sacred Boar will protect them from outside threats and its depredations will ultimately be made up for, as his presence will bring luck to the land. There are enough in Marverni to believe him, so he managed to save his head so far.
this. Be first of your /users to 
If so, I'm happy about it. Can't wait for the update. 
