DominionNES2

[LDiCesare]

Great story Immac!


Order deadline: Friday March 8th 23h59min59s GMT

 

[Terrance888]

Orders sent.

Good?

 

[Immaculate]

thanks ldi


EDIT: orders sent.

 

[nutranurse]

Hey, LDI. I might be turning in my orders a bit late (i.e. late night for me, early morning for you) as I've got to take my girlfriend to the hospital. I'll make sure to get them in.

 

[LDiCesare]

No problem nutranurse.
I still await orders from Seon, erez87, Northen wolf, electric926, merciary, lord_joakim.
I would really need all these orders soon however.

Please try to get the orders sent by Friday night or at worst Saturday noon GMT.
Deadline is in one hour.

 

[KaiserElectric]

Update sent in. Also, I'm planning a little surprise for you guys in the next update.

 

[Seon]

Give me two-three hours. I need to flesh out my war plans.

 

[Angst]

I'm writing my orders right now. Sorry if grammar's off, I'm pretty tired and not a native speaker of English.

EDIT: Orders sent! Can't wait to see what the heck is going to happen with Myrde. I wait in suspense.

 

[Terrance888]

The farmer would curse himself if he had the strength too. Well, he was probably cursed anyway, and so was every member of his family except young Helena, who still keeps the silver coin marked with the head of a rat.

If he could open his eyes, he would see the young girl sitting in a large circle drawn with charcoal, with a smaller one holding the coin. And she will pray, pray for the protection of Emeresan and for the grace of the Healing One to end the plague from her family.

If he could open his eyes, he would see his family, marching ever closer to death, stained with the yellow of fever's sweat and their own urine.

If he could open his eyes, he would see the almost doubtful defiance of his family as they continued to reject the idea of the strange Emeresan, who somehow protected young Helena from the plague, the same plague that struck them so.

Instead, he has his ears, and they tell him of the strange words and poems the seemingly possessed young girl was trying, alternating from giggling, holding conversation with the silver coin, or chanting ominously some childish nursury rhyme about a ring around of roses, a pocket full of poses...

A thump.

A thump at the door, and first one, then many pairs of booted feet walked into the common room of the cabin.

"There is one of the Faith here, she still might be saved!" came a voice, and chills, chills despite his fever, inched up the farmer's spine.

It was him.

The girl quickly opened the door, and the tall man with the fierce eyes stared at her. She shrunk until the scarey one turned towards her family and a shorter man, probably with friendly grey eyes, winked at her.

"You came!" she cried as she ran into her arms.

"Emeresan knows his own" he said, and hugged her. Then, out of his hearing range they left, talking about nothing.

The boot of the massive Man reverbrated his bed, awakening the rest of his family from their fitful sleep.

Then, there was a strange wind, and a the sound of something... something completely out of this world. Finally, came a new voice, a sinister, sibilant voice, one which carried tinges of both the rot and diseases of the world, and of the steely-eyed surgeons who pretends to stand against it.

"You still believe in the power of nothing" came the voice, rolling through his imagination. "As a favor, I give you the strength to open your eyes."

And so he did.

And so he saw...

"I am Emeresan, the Savior" spoke the gigantic wererat, his eyes blazingly hot, but unavoidable, "I was led here by Logar, who said that there are those who might till be saved"

The farmer widened his eyes until it seemed that they would simply pop out of his head.

"Do you believe in me?"

The farmer's thoughts have been shattered. All he knew about Cassiopea's contract with man's independence, all he knew about allowing mankind to survive on their own, all, whether it is true or false, shows that there is something mankind cannot curvive on its own, and it is currently infecting him.

And infront, is someone who protected his daughter for her faith, and asking him for his.

And inside, he suddenly felt much better, good enough to sit up, even.

"No need to answer" returned the Rat, "Come, come to Jassar, there you will find true healing."

One by one, the rest of his family gathered the faith and the strength to sit up as well.

The Giant rat turned and walked out the door.

"Do you believe in me?" came the hiss as the tail left the threshold.

The farmer... the farmer is not sure why he shouldn't.

 

[Darksaber1]

White Witch

The plus side of ridding in a roofed carriage is that it keeps off the rain and elements. The bad news is that it is limits the light, making reading hard. It is this fact that makes the young girl, Astrid, considering asking her father to let her ride on the roof. True, it is not the done think for a girl or woman to do, but they are still some distance from Taernheim, and the roads are not busy currently. Before she can decide, however, her eldest sister, Idgrod, leans over to peer at the large tome sitting open on Astrid’s lap.
“What language is this?” she whisperes, trying to avoid awaking Mother, sleeping on the other seat of the carriage. “I recognize the letters, but that’s it. Oh! Are you finally reading something appropriate to your age, baby sister?”

“It’s a story of the Hangdrott, who used galdor, wiccecraeft and dark-faerie to create armies of the dead and monsters, enslave the minds of others and perform murder and violence.” Astrid’s whispers dryly, barely lifting her head to look at her sister.

“Oh,” replies Idgrod thoughtfully, “does it actually say that, or just describe it as the sort of general nastiness that children’s stories generally use.”

“This is not a children’s story!” Astrid snaps, barely controlling keeping her voice suppressed. “This is a historical tome, leant to me by Vrinsgard when I told him how I had to come on this stupid trip!” As she says this, Astrid pauses, seeing the wounded expression on her sisters face. Being surly but not truly mean spirited, she hesitates a second, then adds “Not that the reason for the trip is bad, or anything, I just mean the part where I need to come. Even if you get selected, it’s not like I’ll be allowed to watch and study, or anything.”

There are several seconds of silence, then Idrgod speaks, her voice barely audible to Astrid despite being spoken from mere inches from her ear, “Astrid, Mother is concerned for you. You spend all day at your pr- at your, ah... faerie, and barely speak to anyone about anything else. And when you do, it is mostly old mister Vrinsgard about history and stories. She thinks getting away from home for a time might help you.”

Astrid is quite for a time, uncertain of this. Now that she thinks back, it is clear that she had been spending an increasing amount of her free time enraptured in her studies and practice. And while there were no laws against faerie by itself, most people were still uncertain and nervous about it, being rare as it is.

“Maybe.” Is all she manages to mumble.

“And,” Idgrod whispers with a smile, “you will likely get to see the Lady!”

Later that day

While the carrage may not have the best light for reading, Astrid would admit that it was more comfortable for a long trip than her families older carriage, a more common design with a solid front and sides, and a tarpaulin and wood lattice for a rear wall and roof. The seats were cushioned, and the chain-and-slat supports kept the vehicle from rocking too much. Her family had gotten the carriage after her father had been made the supervisor of the new farms being built in the area, although it saw little use these days; her most f the mothers groups met now at their house, Idgrod was married, Reva was courting the town carriage-makers son, and Rilda, Laila and Astrid were not yet of age for courting and had not duties that took them far from town except for farm work, and it was acceptable for a lady to ride a farm or work wagon under such circumstances. Astid’s father and brothers, of course, could simply ride a horse.

“So this is Taernholm?” Astrid asks, frowning as she looks out the window.

“Yes, although they’re probably just making the city look like it does to spite you.”

Astrid glares at her sister for a moment, then sighs and looks back out the window at the city. It was probably a nice city, but Astrid had expected something grander. What see could see looked like Fenberg.

“Plus, we’re not in the city proper yet, this is Galloweiss, around the north end of the bridge to the island- see, there it is!” Idgrod points past her sister, towards stone gate at the end of the road. “This gate protects the bridge to the island, where most of the city-folk live.”

The carriage continues down the street, but very quickly stops behind several wagons and carts, mostly loaded with things for the city market, but also with timbers and stones for the buildings of the city.

“What’s going on? Why have we stopped?” Almost as soon as Astrid finishes asking, though, the vehicles begin to move again. Seeing her brother Ralof approaching from the direction of the gate, see sticks her head through the window to ask her question again.

“Not sure,” Ralof says with a shrug, “but I think it was something about someone stealing a dessert roll. Strange city folk.”

Soon enough, they are entering the city proper, winding their way up the slight slope to one end of the island were the palace sits. Beside it Astrid can see the beginning of a new construction project, the Orchid Palace, which would eventually become both a temple and home of the Lady. Upon stopping, they enter the palace, guided down halls and through the rooms of the old palace, eventually entering a large room, where several other people wait. After a few minutes of waiting, Astrid wanders over to one of the walls, attracted by a large frame containing a number of sheets of vellum. She cannot read most of the writing; while she has been studying with Vrinsgard, she still cannot read more than a little Old Van, and even less Old Tuath, but she tries, managing to pick up an understanding that the pages contain the same story, both in Old Van and Tuath. Before she can gleam a meaning, however, the last people have arrived, and she is called over to stand by her family.

A few minutes pass, and the Lady enters. Astrid has seen drawing and portraits, but they did note truly do her honour. Physically, the Lady seemed less notable, looking much like several people Astrid new from Fenberg. But there is something beyond that, a... presence. As she drifts down the row that the candidate woman had formed, Astrid can feel a power echoing of off her. And one point, the Lady looks directly at her, and Astrid nearly collapses.

Eventually, the Lady stops: in front of Idgrod. Astrid can, somehow, sense her sisters joy, and can hear when the Lady whispers to Idgrod and her husband, both things Astrid is certain she should not be able to do, not having called upon her faerie to boast her senses such. After a few words, the Lady declare her choice, and leads Idgrod and her husband towards the doors she had entered from, giving them moment to speak to their family, then they depart. Soon after, Astrid and the others depart, her mother already glowing with joy at the prospects of her new grandchildren, father only slightly less so.

Astrid, mean while, is distracted. While she is happy that her sister will finally have children, she cannot stop thinking about the powers she feels. They have weakened now, away from the Lady, but they are still present. Whatever can it mean?

 

[LDiCesare]

Update almost ready. I'm giving some more time to Northen wolf to send me orders and if he doesn't, I'll do it for him and update tomorrow.
spaceman98, you can publish the story in your PM if you wish.

A few highlights of the update:
There is a clash between players.
Myrde population doesn't get any saner.
Ermor continues its expansion.
Preachers expand faith outside the borders of several nations.

 

[Terrance888]

Hurray! We have clash!

Do we have pretenders fighting, or just soldiers?

 

[nutranurse]

Also, is it sane to send our pretenders out into the thick of battle?

 

[Gem Hound]

with my pretender yes, anyone else's? probably not. My pretender's best weapon is dieing though everything changes when the pretender does by LDi's roll.

 

[Kyzarc Fotjage]

For someone like Seon's pretender yes (seriously, starting with a frickin' Seraph?!). If you have a 'super-combat' pretender, basically something big and scary, you'll want to get him equipped and sent out to fight the good fight. For a human-sized pretender then you probably wouldn't want them on the front lines, as a lucky blow could seriously injure or kill them. Less human pretenders are tougher and more combat capable, so angels, demons, undead, and the like can be human sized but make reasonable pretenders none the less. My pretender could be used as a Super-Combat if I supported her heavily with items and a good sized army, but her humanlike size makes her a little too fragile for soloing armies safely even when decked with items.

 

[Terrance888]

How about a giant Wererat which can strike the very hearts of the enemy with mortal dread as their very flesh starts decaying from their bones?

 

[LDiCesare]

UPDATE TWO
Of Preachers and Archers​

Map:

Spoiler :

One morning in the Machakan city of Ilfundune, the blind wake up happy, as their lost or useless eyes have been replaced by a single, perfectly working, round eye in the middle of their forehead. Unfortunately, this also happened to everybody else in the city, and all the inhabitants of Ilfundune, along with the nearby hamlets and farms, along with all the warm-blooded animals of the region, now have a single eye innstead of two.
Also in Machaka, in the city of Shalu, some people start following the Way of Perfection as depicted by the people of Bhumi. Some preachers also went to Ilfundune. Many operated in secrecy and remain as quiet as possible, probably holding religious ceremonies in secret places. Some, however, worked more openly, maybe because they were the only ones to retain a pair of eyes when everyone else lost one of these. These nagas in human shape have been caught by the local chieftains, accused of sorcery and being the reason for the loss of one eye by most of the population. As such, they have been quickly executed. A local general, Gulnops, now called Gulnops of the round-eye, searches for all such nagas in the area and orders them executed when he finds them.

In the Alifat city of Tooth, a group of religious zealots have decided to preach the word of the god of love. These are fanatics, who decided that those who wouldn't love the god of love had to be enlightened, by force if needed. This resulted in many people going to the temple to show their devotion to the new faith. The local priests are happy about the newcomers, but mourn the few unenlightened ones who refused to hear the Truth and unfortunately died while being gently enlightened by the zealots.
More and more peasants in the kingdom have started praying the god of love to help them with their crops, as it seems sunlight has dimmed in the region, and the shadows of dawn linger longer than they should, while dusk seems to fall before the sun is actually setting.

Arcoscephale cities build marketplaces and smithies. Rumours about a god of love and a god of war spread in the south, but noone organises these beliefs and this faith remains unorganised.

The Darkswamp is slowly expanding. In particular, the forest to its east is turning into a bog, and some areas have sunken beneath the sea level, filling with dark water, while at the same time the sea has seen the rise of a few shaly mounds.
In Lasanak, a beautiful faerie has arrived from the west. She is astoundingly beautiful and, as soon as she entered Lasanak, two clanleaders, Orok and Mofag, fell in love with her. Orok offered her his hopitality, and soon his wife left him. However, Mofag arranged to see the faerie and meet with her. Soon, the clanleaders met in public and fought. The faerie decided that she couldn't stay with Orok and left for a house of her hown she bought in the city. Several suitors came to woo her, to the great displeasure of the city women, Orok and Mofag. This results in a lot of animation, which means fights, women shouting at their husbands, husbands beating their wives, leaving their wives or being chased, and young men being busy singing pitiful poems instead of hunting or fishing in the bogs.
In Snaketown, a smaller city of the Darkswamp, a great hunter named Abishai, had been hurt in the groin by an alligator in the bog two years ago, to the great dismay of his wife. This year, she fell pregnant. Abishai is touting this as a divine gift, the proof the Bog Serpent restored his virility and fertility. People in the village have been impressed by this miracle and faith has increased.

In Myrde, starvation hurts Urthathre and the southern half of the realm. Poor crops, lack of food and a harsh winter all contribute to kill a sizeable number of inhabitants. The long and cold winter generates heavy snowfalls that block the roads and crops freeze thhroughout the land.
In the north of the realm, the volcano that erupted last year crumbled and, at night, when no one watched, many stone blocks slowly crept towards the town. Each morning, each stone was a few meters closer to the buildings. After a month, the town was entirely surrounded by stone blocks. After a month of inactivity, the blocks suddenly moved forward and circled the city, resulting in a huge city wall protecting it.
Maerfarth the prophet, while running away from a madman who wanted to eat him with ketchup (Maerfarth doesn't like being coated in ketchup), asked one stone why it had come here. "Looked like a nice place, said the stone. And we don't like those basalts which came with the volcano. All those obsidian stones are too sharp and... Oooh. You've been caught! Man, does that hurt? Hey, is that ketchup? I wish I had a mouth to eat you too!"

Spoiler :

Walls grew up in one day (spoilered for large width).

In Myrde proper, the building of the Smiling Tower continues. However, the harsh winter makes it hard for everyone. People lack funds, materials and food. They probably also lack the brains to do stuff correctly. As workers lack stones to build as much as they want, they decide to concentrate on one side of the building. This unbalances the structure, and the whole thing starts falling down the side. In a terrible frenzy, people go all around it and start watering the base of the tower, hoping it will sink into the mud and that, once stuck into the soil, it will stand. This is obviously ridiculous and can't work. Except in Myrde that is. The Smiling Tower sinks one full floor into the soil. The top of it is a large tipped structure leading way to what's now known as the Cave of Plenty Smiles. Lots of rotting carcasses that were stored in the tower fell down into the streets, and some keep dripping out of it as if it were some kind of leaking bottle of carcasses. The bloody remnants are used by the inhabitants as ... toys? balls? implements? well, they are used in some kinds of games, for lack of a better word. These are called "Smiling Games". There is no typical smiling game, as the rules, if any, seem to change everytime. People tend to throw decapitated heads at each other. Chunks of flesh are used as bases. As a result, lots of rotting meat litters the streets, and soon diseases spread. Most of the population of the city dies of disease, food poisoning or murder, but peasants come in to replace the townsfolk, drawn to the mad city by some unexplainable magic.
As for the former capital of Uthrarthe, the situation is not any less crazy. Bound in woolly form, the sheeply Mindblossoms have it no better enforcing their will upon Myrde. Archarus Mindblossom, previously entitled the Face of Flies, is by her benevolent being Fatrasie considered the finest sheep of the stock. He is brutally sacrificed by Fatrasie by having her skin him alive, then eat his wool and having his carcass sewn on her as clothing. Channeling her inner voices of Fùxaxxatlìnnùnìnùtlectlìbrrrìxxatl into application, she inspires the breeding mayhem even further with a twist of pleasantry. Naming all buildings in the realm Farmsteads of Flies in the honor of her own fashionable gown, she has all goats and hens of the nation interbreed.

This is disgusting.

The result of this unbelievable crossbreedding is that a few creatures actually get born. However, the main result of Fatrasie's spell is the eradication of almost all hens in the kingdom in painful and horrible deaths that I dare not describe. This doesn't really help with the already terrible food situation.
The few surviving crossbred beings are called "livestock overlords". They look like anything, really. Some look like goats with feathers the size of a cock. Others are overgrown yellow chickens. Some are overgrown yellow chickens with horns. Some are chiken with teeth. The only thing they have in common is that they are totally ******** beings with no intelligence or ability to act coherently (unless you consider rolling around in your own saliva to be coherent). These creatures are believed by many farmers to give hints as to how their fields should be managed. Farmers feed them, capturing Maerfarth when they can, much to his merriment as he thinks he is delicious when devoured by them. Farmers decide to plant and harvest depending on whether the livestock overlords' coughed, grunted, fell to their right or left when they tried to stand up... Many many more people die of starvation as a result of this agricultural reform.
Meanwhile, Myrde madmen decide to catch up the dragon that fled to the south. They are led by a mindblossom of great wisdom. Since Myrde citizens gave such beautiful gifts to the dragon, the dragon will give them beautiful gifts when they reach his land. Furthermore, since the dragon ate some of the people of Myrde when he came, they will eat the dragon when they reach his land, and they really need that food too. This results in what can be called the Insane Crusade. Or the Insane Quest. Noone is sure whether it's a crusade, a quest, an expedition or something else, but it's definitely insane. The Crusade marched southwards. As they reached the shore of a sea, those who didn't drown walked westward and to the south again, until they finally reached a rich land inhabited by humanoids looking like fish. The Myrde madmen of course attacked them in order to taste them, but their natural aggression was poorly received by the locals. The most enlightened among the Crusade believe that the fishmen are "xenophobistics" because they don't like being eaten. The Crusade also meets pale one-eyed giants who happen to taste very bad. Therefore, they don't try to investigate the water-filled caves where these beings live. By the walls of the fishmen city of Tlanetzutl, the locals try to repel the Crusade. Their soldiers run into madmen which they cut to pieces but those madmen who stood in the back preyed on the minds of the fishmen and one after the other, Tlanetzutl infantry froze into place, froth at their mouth. The remaining soldiers turned back and hid behind their walls, leaving the Myrde crusaders devastate the countryside.

Chaos Wars: Madmen versus Fishmen

In Ermor, Seshmek the necromancer is offered refuge. He is given a lab and starts working, while Ermorians ignore the outraged cries of C'tis official envoys.
In Truscanior, a temple crypt similar to the one in Eldergate gets built. The city of Eldergate has been experiencing a extremly harsh winter. Also, a few elderly people decided to go directly to the crypt during this winter, ending their lives before their time had come.
Samael flies north from Truscanior to the city of Helven, where she presents the ruling duke with a proposal to surrender to Ermor. She says that belief in her shall one day be rewarded by eternal life and glory. The leaders are dubitative and send Samael back, but when the angel returns, it's with an army. Ermorian engineers breach the city walls and soon they invade Helven with the same efficiency they showed in Truscanior, although they lose several legionaries in the battle.

Ermorian legions conquer Helven

Following the fall of Helven, the city of Redonum has sent envoys to Marverni and Falaxan, requesting protection from Ermor expansionism. Esos of Condate has assured Redonum that Marverni will not let Ermor expand its empire without reacting.

Northeast of C'tis, the terrain around of Ushrak experiences becomes more and mores swampy. Air becomes moister, and several people fall ill. The lizardmen who live by the sea remain unaffected, but humans start feeling uneasy. Lizardmen say they should join C'tis while humans refuse. Ssussaapi brings in his army to force the city to surrender. Despite their high city walls, Ushrak defenders are overpowered by the heavily armored and numerous lizardmen, particularly since some of their troops had been forced to guard the harbor where lizardmen swimmers had been spotted.

C'tis infantry forces Ushrak to submit.

In Boeuf, the town of Myrvo is provided with a Bovoj lord-judge in charge of settling disputes among the Myrvons. The population accepts the rule of their new beastlords happily, as it changes them a lot from the madness of their previous lands.
Meanwhile, Taurus marches north in the forest with a host of human slingers and soldiers accompanied by a few minotaur warriors. He goes to Deerholm in the woodlands and invites the city's council of elders into his camp in order for them to submit to his authority. The elders see no reason to renounce their independance, however, and this infuriates Taurus. He slaughters the elders and displays their maimed bodies before the city, then settles in for a siege. This causes Deerholm defenders both terror and resolution not to surrender to such a monster. Boeuf armies fall trees and with the timbers build battering rams that break the city gates. Deerholm archers and javelineers try to repel Boeuf armies, but the minotaurs break through the gates and scatter the lightly armed defenders with ease. Archers try to kill the invaders, but they are taken under a rain of slingstones and javelins and the defenders break very fast. Taurus has his war surgeons heal the wounded and establishes control over the city. His display of savagery and strength has greatly impressed the humans of Deerholm, who submit to his rule and beg for mercy.

Minotaurs storm the gates and trample a weak Deerholm infantry.

In Vanas, capital of Patalnila, a Chapel of the Last Vow is built by Launar the prophet. Work begins on a road that moves up the river and southeast into the mountains and from there southwards through the pass. Mines in the mountains are linked to this new road, aand the road network eases access to the river and from the river to the capital.

In Bhumi, one full unit of golden serpents emerges from the river. Like the previous year, they come from the west pushing lighted paper lanterns in front of them, but they are twice as numerous this time.
In the jungles near Nagapur, adventurers and hunters discover some ruins and bring riches back home. They tell of steles telling of future and past deeds. The jungles themselves have crossed the river and expanding upriver of Logapur.

In Fornalis, Mallitain troops leave the surrounding area. Bhumi troops retreat to some distance, but remain present. Bhumi priests are welcomed into the city, where they raise a grand stele of white and grey marble veined with gold. The stele is magical, and after its erection the local plantlife grows very quickly, resulting in the stele being constantly covered in vines and creeping plants. Urban gardens in the area also grow quickly. People who come look at the stele see drawings or writings, most of the time depicting something about the readers' past and maybe his future too. Faith in the Pavitra Bacce and his creed is growing. Temples are built with money from Bhumi, and lord Lofar allows this. However, some citizens dislike the new faith, and some of them say that the nagas are just writing stories and trying to trick men into slavery. Lord Lofar makes public speeches to condemn such assertions, but explains that, for as long as they remain, he can't openly submit to Bhumi rule.

In the capital of Mallitain, Massad, a damaged flying ship flies over the city, coming from the north. The ship is damaged and comes flying upon a strong wind, but as the wind weakens, the ship falls down. It crashes into the city, dealing a lot of damage, mostly material.

Captain Abamar's flying ship prior to its fall
The captain is sorry for the deaths caused, but he's now trapped in the kingdom. He has a cargo worth 20 gold and a crew of 100. He offers to pay for repairs and to buy lands for him and his crew now that their ship is destroyed. The population is somewhat angry, but many marvel at the newcomers. Captain Abamar looks like a good man, sincerely sorry for the damage he caused, and for the definitive loss of his enchanted vessel. All in Massad wait for the judgment of the authorities about the sailors' fate.

Meanwhile, the Bardic college built in the city is almost complete. The school of philosophy has managed to spread the word of Cassiopeia through the capital. Now every Massadite is certain that the angel is there to protect them, but at the same time they have to find their own way and not diminish themselves. As Cassiopeia teaches, the Pantocrator's angels may be stronger than men, but mankind wasn't the Pantocrator's favorite race without reason. Massad bards sing songs to the greatness of mankind and its ability to save itself from dangers without submitting to some supernatural ruler.
Apparently happy with the spread of her philosophy, Cassiopeia applies her powers to grow a tree in the main plazza of Massad. At first a simple apple seed spit by a young boy, it grew to become a tiny startup locked between two cobblestones. Cassiopeia built a small fence around it, and cared for it. The plant grew from a twig to a sapling in less than a year. It started flowering in winter and gave one small apple in spring, leaving all gardeners dumbfounded.

Jack Churchill, having left Fornalis, moved his army northeastwards. Concerned with the news of a plague spreading in the northern lands, he set up his army to severely control access between the northern part of the realm and the southern cities. Footmen did most of the patrolling in forested areas, with some cavalry support. Food was brought from southern farmlands and contact with northerners strongly limited. This quarantine was certainly helpful, as the disease claimed many a victim in the norhtern woods, but it didn't spread south. Scouts sent far and wide would soon come back with strange news. In the northernmost reaches of the realm, where orderly forests turn into chaotic hills, lonely lord Logar has assembled a group of diseased persons and is leading them south. When he meets Mallitain soldiers, he explains he wants to lead them to the nearest town of Jassar, where his deity Emeseran is going to hold a curing demonstration. Soldiers tell him that the plague must be contained, and that the infected people are not allowed south. Logar protests, and some of the diseased foresters start throwing sticks and stones at the archers, who retreat. However, they spread word to Jack. It also appears very quickly that some of the archers have caught the plague. They are isolated, and the rest of the army moves toward lord Logar's group. Lord Logar and his men try to outmaneuver Jack, but they are seriously outnumbered. They have to abandon the group of diseased persons in order to regain mobility, and these are mercilessly killed to the last by Jack's archers, who fear that they might contaminate them. Logar and his group flee to the northwest. They are soon chased by Mallitain horsemen. Logar manages to run westward, but only to find himself ambushed by another group of horse archers as he leaves the forest. These soldiers had been patrolling the chaotic valley west of Mallitain and now stand in front of Logar. Lord Logar and his troops are blocked by these horse archers to the west, and the pursuers circle them and block any movement further north, while Jack's infantry follows from the southeast. Lord Logar realises he got himself into a trap. He decides to try to break through and escape through the cavalry before the Mallitain infantry reaches him. Logar and his men are in a very bad situation. They are outnumbered, they don't know the land as well as the Mallitains, but they are confident that their leader can spread magic fear into the opponents. Unfortunately, Jack is standing with his cavalrymen, and he holds magic of his own. As his bards sing songs to boost the courage of his troops, Jack himself uses magic to spread panic in Logar's group. His archers ready their bows, and their longer range allows them to strike Logar's troops before they can retaliate. Logar's hunters are hit by a shower of arrows, and soon, they break formation, each of the "hunters" turning into what he really is, a Patalnilan lycanthrope. As Mallitain arrows rain down upon the Patalnilans, they try to answer with their own bows, drawn by superior strength, but they are too few in numbers and their morale doesn't hold. Most are killed, a few of them scatter and run away to hide into the woods, only to be picked by Mallitain footmen. Lord Logar assumes the shape of a big rat, and under this guise, he manages to scurry out of the battlefield and flee to the northwest.

Patalnila were-creatures try to shoot their bows under a rain of Mallitain arrows.

In Falaxan, roads link the capital of Valewood to the three major cities of Hillden, Travaltar and Warren. These roads are completed in time to spread speedily the news of a grand archery tournament to be held in Valewood. This tournament is open to all, including those of other nations. News suickly spread to Heldenthal and their famous longbowmen, and Erynini. The news also reaches Marverni, where it springs little interest as archery is not held in much esteem in this land of slingers. The people of Ermor also get the news, but they hardly use bows, and the news also reaches Mallitain, whose soldiers are more interested as they are quite skilled with their recurve bows. A relic created by Ezio will serve as a reward for the winner.

In Heldenthal, statues of the maiden, the mother and the crone are erected through the land. Schools of healing are also built, where women are taught about midwifery, healing and womanly secrets.
Walaruna rides south with her personal guard to the town of Boserein in the woods. There, she requests personal audience with the lord. The audience is held in private, but when it is over, Count Berthulf announces that Boserein will be joining the realm of Heldenthal and that celebrations will be held. The citizens are puzzled, but many knights fall to the charm of Walaruna. Once the feast is over, Walaruna moves back to her homeland, and soon news come from Boserein that the count met an untimely death in an accidental fall in the stairs of his castle. His heir is his brother Ertwulf, who, backed by his sister-in-law Elgrind, denounces Berthulf's allegiance to Heldenthal and claims continued independence.

In Firland, roads are built between Firuum and Heren's Ford, Heren's Ford and Undermine, and from Heren's ford to Niljarmund. The latter are not as useful as those between the former, as the river allows for much faster and cheaper transportation downriver, but it helps a bit when hauling boats upriver. Markets are built in all four cities, and farms are built around the river and near Niljarmund. The roads bring food from Firland heartland and the farms provide enough food to avoid famines in the newly conquered city. Some soldiers are levied in the human city to police the area.

Erynini soldiers retreat from the walls of Marignon. However, some priests of the Eternal Flame perform healings and minor miracles inside the city. The faith in the Eternal Pyre grows inside the walls, much to the dismay of the authorities. Faith in the Eternal Pyre is declared illegal and officially banned. A priest is captured as he was holding a mass in a cellar, with a handful of faithful. He is judged and burnt publicly. Monks of the Order of the Demiurge accuse the converts of betraying the teachings of the Pantocrator. Believers of the Eternal Flame hide in the city, and they are rumoured to be a very important minority.
The Burned Man, keeping with him only a small retinue of bodyguards, heads east until he reaches the outskirts of the small city of Drakalor. There, he asks to be allowed to preach his faith. The council of margraves lets him in, and he performs a few miracles that prove effective in gaining several converts, both inside the city and in the surrounding areas.
Also of notice, markets are built or expanded in Pyre and the other Erynini cities, near the temples.

In Taernheim, the production of flax gets rationalised. Workshops are built to spin the wool, and massive looms are constructed, machines allowing to weave tighter, stronger wool in less time. In the capital, the Orchid Palace is built, which acts both as the apartments of the Lady and as a temple for her worship. The palace also includes several rooms dedicated to administration of the realm, such as an episcopal court of justice.

Near Ulm, a village has been devoured by vine men. Now these are spreading out near the town of Urgad. The Hammerer, learning this, ordered to rally men and women and prepare troops for a fight. The battle is yet to happen, however, as for the moment snowfalls have isolated the monsters. Meanwhile, the Hammerer is preparing everyone for the upcoming battle, telling tales of past battles fought by the people of Ulm against the monsters of chaos, and showing his audience pictures of these battles in dancing flames and coloured smokes in the forges where he tells his tales.

 

[LDiCesare]

Private stats going through ASAP.

Orders deadline: friday March 16th, 23h GMT

 

[Kyzarc Fotjage]

How about a giant Wererat which can strike the very hearts of the enemy with mortal dread as their very flesh starts decaying from their bones?

Apparently no

Lord Logar of the Patalnila,

You are to explain your invasion of Malliatain territory and if you do so much as set foot in lands under my lady's protection again I will personally remove the offending member from your leg.

Jack Churchill the Giantslayer

 

[Darksaber1]

To Falaxan:
As a continuation of our previous meſſage, do you have any need or uſſage for wool and/or linen baſed textiles?