The Wrath of The Concord
The Broken Year: a time of malady across The Concord and increased predations by foes was brought to its zenith under the cruel summer sun in the East. Across the scrubby Lenscaster Hills, under the eaves of the Wolfden Woods, and in the outer homesteads of Carningsfield, the future of Bordevar and The Concord was placed into the forge - tested against the blades, magic, and foul temperament of The Onyx Aristocracy.
The Concord was not found wanting.
Over the year, The Concordian heroes took to the field of battle eight times through the magic of the Realmweave and the Waystones. Through victory and defeat they brought the fight to the undead, repulsing forces of The Marble Gauntlet on the field, clashing with raiding ghouls and subversive necromancers. Heroes gave their lives through Winter and Summer but their loss is not in vain.
The Concord has stood firm in Weiland and the battles therein have been won. The host of Radomir the Veil, would-be Chancellor of the Southern Reach, has been repulsed and the armies of The Onyx are wounded. But all things are not without cost.
Consume the Harshest Truth - The Battle in Everguarde
From Lake Ladure to the Lenscaster Hills sits Duchy Everguarde; a place of industry, of comfortable bucolic climbs, and a quiet dignified life on the shores of Lake Ladure. All of this was built around the township of Carningsfield and the great works of The Lake Ladure Quarry, responsible for The Concord’s supply of Arcstone.
These idyllic vistas were disrupted by the emergence of a most cancerous force from beneath the eaves of the plagued Barony of Vassertal: a horde of Risen Bordevarians and Zekartaal, empowered by arcane necromancers and infused with the strange alchemy of the Wraith of Port Gargant. These creatures carried the plague of Blasserstreit and swarmed southwards, attempting to gorge themselves on the people of Carningsfield - to force the Concordians’ beating hearts into their ravenous maws. Half-dead Huntsmen sniped at important figures of The Concord, their pestilence arrows promising death for those who would suffer their bite. Among them, impossible to restrain and ever present was the Plague Baron of Vassertal, the Wraith of Port Gargant and the Master of the First Seal: Danakka Rimortis, a creature of smoke and beaten hatred.
Opposing Rimortis was a single Concordian army - The Legion of the Blackheart Bear marched down the Crusaders Road and took up positions all across Everguarde, with Greenwealder soldiers holding Rickons Tier alongside Carningsfield Militia in the west. Ritters commanded the defense of the near-completed Keep of the Horned Count and Peregrine’s Roost in the East, while the vast bulk of the force emplaced in Carningsfield under the command of one of the Weald’s most well known heroes, Ritter Valrick Thanshaw, Twice Champion of the Weald and a monster slayer to rival any living Houndspriest.
Still, the war against the Wraith was a chaotic one. The vast horde of Rimortis had little command or control; rather it surged against the barriers of The Legion and the people of Everguarde, a pestilent wave that knew no mercy. But The Legion was well supported: supplies from the Passage Field Hospital were brought to the armies Krow Doktors who treated the Blasserstreit and other illnesses of war with cold calculation. At two points during the conflict the Bloodplague threatened to sweep through the army, and at one point even took a tentative hold of Carningsfield, but each time it was treated and quarantined through the skilled action of Krow Doktors, supplies from the Field Hospital and the careful intervention of the Everguarde Medical Council.
The conflict in the north came to a head during the Battle of Gulliver’s Mill. A tall brick and timber structure that overlooks Carningsfield township from a hill in the North East, Gulliver’s Mill was a natural place to anchor The Legion’s defence. In the eve of dusk on the twenty-fifth of January, the Wraith attacked en-mass, beginning with the creature itself appearing within the headquarters in the Mill’s barn, hoping to bring its scythe through the form of the General Thanshaw. When it did so, it arrived in an empty room, for the General was elsewhere; having been called back into the Weald to aid the Champion of The Spheres, Sir Escanor Lionheart of House Avalon. Regardless, the Wraith slew those it found and a horde of undead greater than had been seen in Everguarde surged towards the positions of The Legion, who readied their great blades and steeled themselves against the assault.
The Legion was alone on the northern front; the Wealders knowledge of the woods was hoped to be enough to hold the undead at bay here while most of The Concord’s forces were clashing with others in the south. As every soldier was pushed to the front, the line threatened to break and release hundreds of slavering ghouls into Carningsfield proper. Atop the hill of Gullvier’s Mill, Ritter-Captains of the Legion battled the Wraith and its prowling Plague Huntsmen, giving their lives to secure the key defensive position.
When all seemed lost, mere moments before the retreat could be called, the air grew thick with arcane energy. Mages of the Legion and local healers buckled over in pain as the Leylines surged, augmented by the distant power of the Shardcircle and guided by the Realmweave. As the bulk of the forces of the Wraith made a final push the ground was torn asunder. A chasm more than two thousand paces long split the fields, roads and gullies north of Carningsfield apart, swallowing the Ghouls, Risen and worse of Rimortis’ army.
The chasm roared with the splitting of stone and the shattering of bodies as earth, stone and root were split. The earthwound grew, widening and exploding with magical power. In a cacophony of light and arcane fury, colossal teeth of crystal shattered from the sides of the now mighty chasm. Some as large as a wagon knocked aside and crushed the falling undead, while smaller spears of glowing quartz impaled the Concord’s foes. Hundreds of the horde fell into The Crystal Maw, an arcane projection of untold power forced into the world by the Shardcircle’s combined magicks. With one final shudder, the western edge of The Maw split the banks of Lake Ladure, causing a torrent of water to flood downwards into the glowing depths that had consumed the cannibals of The Onyx Aristocracy.
The Crystal Maw broke the back of the Wraith’s assault and The Legion rallied about it. When the General returned, he was not alone. Five hundred Lerona Mere Bravos, revolutionaries and militia followed him down the Crusaders Road to reinforce the beleaguered northern front, holding the flapping banner of the Madre Campo and The Villa Estate of a darkly dressed woman with a wide, veiled hat.
Over the remaining months, The Legion pushed the remnant forces of Rimortis’ horde back to the eaves of Vassertal. The heavy blades of the Greenwealders had held firm, augmented by the might of the Shardcircle and reinforced by unexpected allies. In doing so The Legion had repaid a debt from a year prior, when unsupported Bordevarians had secured the defence of the Resinderholz township of Eisen. As the bone-tired warriors of the Legion prepared to depart, the people of Carningsfield came out to greet them like the people of Eisen had done, they presented their defenders with woven wreaths, but this time of lake-reeds rather than willow. And where the dour people of Eisen had sent off their Bordevarian protectors with solemn prayer and thanks, the people of Carningsfield did it in the traditional Bordevarian manner of beer and banners.
The battle in the north was won. But the damage is impossible to ignore. The great Crystal Maw, a wound in the earth more than two thousand paces long and a hundred paces wide lies to the north of Carningsfield. Its razor sharp crystalline teeth glitter glow a rainbow of colours beneath the cold water that has flooded it. Deep within the chasm, the corpses of the horde remain and we can only hope that they remain unmoving.
Game Information
There will be decisions and information in regards to the Battle in the North and The Crystal Maw for the Senator of Weiland, the Ducal Council, The Champion of the King, the Archmage of the Shardcircle and the Groundskeeper of Rickons Tier.
The fighting in the north is heavy and filled with the constant risk of the Blasserstreit and the Wraith. Characters who want to roleplay having been a part of the fighting in the North can tell stories of hordes of plagued Risen, night assaults by particularly feral Ghouls and the cold gaze of the Krow Doktors masks.
Everguarde Duchy lacks a duke at present, as the Wise Council has not yet released the title back to the nobility of Bordevar. This is unlikely to happen this year as the Duchy of Starscar was only released last year. The only thing that would increase the likelihood of this is a great increase in the number of Bordevarian heroes present at the Summit. Because Everguarde lacks a duke, many of its concerns will be given to the Senator of Weiland and the Ducal Council, while opportunities will likely go by the wayside.
The defence of Everguarde duchy is completed but significant damage has been done, particularly to the fields in the northern parts of the region. Any Herb Gardens, Farms or Wildernesses in Everguarde will find that they have produced as if they were one tier lower this past season (or half if they are tier 1).
Alright, who’s not dead? Sound off - The Battle in the South
The Vaulderin Armoury is a staunch bastion. While not a part of the line of Keeps that form the new barrier of Weiland, the abode of the Duke of Starscar very nearly could have been. A squat and fortified structure, the Armoury stands as a redoubt for the people of Arbington and as a supply of arms and armour. But over the summer the Armoury became the home of many more: the command staff of two armies and the temporary home of mercenary commanders, messengers and criminals, all housed by the good graces of Duke Sigismund and his staff.
This southern front was a dangerous one. Radomir the Veil, would-be Chancellor of the Southern Reach had brought a fresh army of The Aristocracy to the fore, along with strange reinforcements enticed from the distant north - undead warriors of ‘The Old Guard’ clad in plate armour wielding glaives and hammers, wailing skeletons that bleed clotted blood from behind massive shields, and heavyset carcassasses of oxen that contain an undead flame within them. The army of Radomir was not an army of Bordevar risen to fight their country folk, but of The Onyx Aristocracy.
Standing against them were some of The Concord’s finest. The Iron Brawlers, the Kingdom’s common-borne sons and daughters, bring to bear bills, bows and brute strength. The townships of Arbington, Weiland and Carningsfield were their homes, and if not the homes of their families, at least the homes of their favourite pubs. The Brawlers knew that there was no retreat; blood would water the fields and make the barley grow. At their head was the armoured form of Brigadier Galad Gray, a minor celebrity in his own right, well-known for his constantly stressed demeanour, and his reputation for courage and a fair heart. The soon-to-be father had every reason to get his people home and ensure there is a home to go to.
Amidst The Iron Brawlers were odd comrades; criminals of Starscar given the option to fight until they die or The Concord still stands, rather than other punishment. While none were pressed into service - the option for other punishment is always present - these were a desperate lot, giving The Iron Brawlers an extra edge to its iron-clad strength.
Offsetting the intense Brigadier was the effervescent Arimir El’Obregon and The Andashi Desert Whisperers. The moustachioed commander led his army with an easy confidence, born of many years as a master Janissary, bargaining with life and coin for glory. The Desert Whisperers complemented The Iron Brawlers, granting them heavy skirmishers in the form of Andashi Janissaries, and adding nomad scouts to the groups of Bordevarian rangers. Together the generals made quite the odd couple, while their armies were forged into a keen blade.
More so than any of the other fronts, the battle in the south was one of manoeuvre. Radomir and his officers were students of war and the battlefield presents numerous opportunities to achieve victory through skilled use of terrain and the application of force. The scrubby Lenscaster Hills, the flatlands on the far side and the dense Wolfden Woods each provided their own challenges. Despite the monstrous form of the army arrayed, the forces of The Aristocracy move like a mundane one, deploying in good order and attempting to lure The Concord into a pitched field battle.
After months of manoeuvre, skirmish and retreat, the two circling duelists of Concord and Onyx finally did battle in the northern reaches of the Duchy. Striking far from the headquarters of opposition at Vaulderin Armoury, the figure known only as ‘The General’ led the bulk of the army across the Lenscaster Hills, unopposed and prepared to sweep west into Weiland proper before both Concordian armies could be arrayed against them.
Early in the morning on the second of January, as the enemy was already well within Concordian territory, the forces of the Iron Brawlers and Desert Whisperers were forced to push back against this hostile Vanguard, rather than act in the defensive manner that favoured them. The Iron Brawlers attempted to pin the enemy in place while the Andashi swept east through the Lenscaster Hills to isolate the undead from retreat.
The battle raged throughout the day and into the dark of the next morning.
The General herself clashed with Brigadier but neither was able to score a killing blow against the other, although the Brigadier still carried the wound with him months later. The billmongers of the Brawlers looked on the battle with haunted eyes. Nearly twenty hours of fighting against a
foe that does not retreat, that feels no pain and carries alien sigils. In the darkness of that late night, the sons and daughters of Bordevar were brought face to face with a death clad in dark iron. But they did not break - they didn’t even blink.
The victory for the battle comes in the form of Andashi blades. The eastward sweep of General Arimir and his troops forced the ‘The General’ to retreat slowly and the last hours of the battle were fittingly fought among The Stand, the vast semi-permanent encampment that acted as the main point of rest for soldiers fighting on the front for the past five years. The Onyx army retreated through the camp, sewing chaos as they laid into non-combatants and burned structures to disrupt those that would follow them. Those Andashi of The Desert Whisperers walked for leagues through the harsh scrub of the Lenscasters Hills during the day and were expected to fight like demons afterwards. But they still did their duty - they were the blades of the wind in the night.
Following the Battle of the Vanguard, the campaign in the south largely ended. Brigadier Galad handed over command to General Arimir when he was called away to Resinderholz and the campaign returned to complex manoeuvre and skirmish. The forces of The Desert Whispers would once again clash with the army of Radomir and his ‘General’ in the Battle of Blackvale, where Andashi scouts drew a large formation of The Onyx into a battle under the eaves of the Wolfden Woods. While not as decisive of a victory as the Battle of the Vanguard, it signalled an end to the campaign in the south. After one final night at the hospitality of Duke Sigismund, the forces of The Desert Whisperers and many Concordian mercenaries began the long march home, firm in the knowledge that they had fought well.
Game Information
There will be decisions and information regarding the Campaign in the South for the Champion of the King, the Duke of Starscar, the Sheriff of Arbington, the Brigadier of the Iron Brawlers, and the General of the Desert Whisperers.
Characters who want to roleplay as having been a part of the Southern Campaign can tell tales full of plenty of marching, a lot of standing and the horrifying combat that was the Battle of the Vanguard. They can tell tales of Andashi and Bordevarian troops working in synergy and dangerous patrols against a foreign enemy.
The position of the Vaulderin Armoury made it a natural meeting point for many of the Concordian characters present during the campaign and while the martial surroundings of the Armoury make it not the most comfortable location, the Dukes staff put out a decent feast and ensure that the commanders and captains of the conflict have a place to rest. The following characters likely spent at least some time at the Armoury over the campaign and would have reason to have forged a closer bond:
- Brigadier Galad Gray
- General Arimir El’Obregon
- Darcy Oakenwynters, Sheriff of Arbington
- William Roderick
- Griff Baker
- Benjamin Roderick
- Nicholas Cutter, Champion of the King
- Carmello El’Boon
- Wulffwaro
- Gilmore Thorneward
- Sir Dindraine the Just
- Morgan Thatcher
And of course,
- Duke Sigismund of Starscar
The fighting in the South was acutely violent during some stages. The following Military investments have been damaged during their time there:
- Darcy Oakenwynters
- William Roderick
- Morgan Thatcher
- Carmello El Boon
The following characters will find a traumatic wound in the character pack:
- Brigadier Galad Gray
We Have No Knowledge of Defeat - The Battle in the East
Flanked by war on both sides, the core of the battle in Weiland could be found north of The Stand. It was here that the heavy metal of plate armour would clash as the hammer blow of Ser Thordis Ravette, and The Marble Gauntlet would attempt to turn aside The Concord’s final defenders; The Valley’s Own and The First Banner of Bordevar.
Thordis Ravette, once of House Avalon, led an army of undead knights against his erstwhile brother, Ser Louisoux of House Avalon. But if there was once love between the companions it appeared that it had not survived the grave, as the predations of the Marble Gauntlet bore an edge previously dulled with age. Something had changed within this order of Knights that were once Bordevarian: gone was the strange maniacal pageantry, gone were the oldest heraldic signs and gone was any hope of a peaceful resolution. In their place was a deadly determination to cast aside The Concord, march to The Manor and retrieve the ultimate prize - the body of King Artourious Bordevar.
The forces of The Marble Gauntlet attempted to break into the Weiland in skilled but small cohorts. Dozens of forces, some barely fifty soldiers, other hundreds strong, probed the Lenscaster Hills. If just one force had made their way through, they could have carved a bloody wound across Weiland, one that left the stuttering Kingdom dying upon the fields it had been reduced to.
But Bordevar came to The Concord in search of allies. In search of other nations with valour in their hearts and virtue in their souls. Bordevarian Knights, clad in full harness, their shields blessed by Priests and their blades grasped with bloodied hands were joined by furious Huscarls and their banner cloaks, high mountain mercenaries and the arcane Farseers. What was unthinkable fifty years ago transpired as The Valley’s Own stood, and died, side by side with the heroes of the Kingless Kingdom. At their head was Godric Ericsson, a cunning mage and priest who stood in the bloodied shoes of those The Valley had already lost. Together, the twin Concordian mage-generals knew that they must be the iron and steel that would not shatter.
Every battle against The Marble Gauntlet was life or death; there was no manoeuvre like in the south, nor thoughtless hordes like in the north. Every band of interlopers was fervent, skilled, and furious at the very existence of Bordevar. The battles were many, too many to count, carrying names such as ‘The Sacrifice of Ser Delmere’ ‘The Steelgrey Night’ and ‘Osrin of Brakkenloh Cannot Die’. The forces of The Concord were divided across the region, fanning out in bands chasing the forces of The Marble Gauntlet down, each time clashing with them in the Lenscaster Hills, a scrubby badland home to little but goats and weeds.
But over time the conflict became untenable. The Concord could not be everywhere at once and the simple nature of reaction always had them on the back foot. Sooner or later they would make a misstep, or be too slow in rallying a response. As Ser Louisouix and Godric feared that they were doomed to fail in their task. The solution came from the Duke of Starscar, bearing the writ of The Ducal Council.
The inferno that followed lit the night sky of Weiland from Vassertal to Arbington for eves without end. Kings Rangers burned the Lenscaster Hills in a planned conflagration to rival the flaming revolutions of Lerona Mere. The Duke of Starscar burned a full three quarters of his Duchy to the ground, a hungry blaze that swept out across the hills, consuming scrub forests, goat herds and anyone who had refused to evacuate.
The flames forced out hiding Ghoul scouts like a hound flushes a fox. That web of undead rangers that had been guiding the Marble Gauntlet’s bull-headed graven knights was slain at the hands of a righteous burning, the arrows of King’s Rangers, and the hatchets of Summiters.
In the ashes that followed, all was still.
Weiland is not like the scrublands of Mukarrem in the West, it is a careful ecosystem, brimming with life and old roots. The flames that swept across Lenscaster will leave scars in the soils for decades to come and perhaps consign the economy of Starscar to the grave alongside The Marble Gauntlet it burned.
What followed was a furious and single minded attack on the headquarters of The Concord by The Marble Gauntlet. Ser Thordis Ravette, flanked by knights clad in white and red of the Traitor House carved a path towards the command tents of both The First Banner and The Valley’s Own. Members of The First Banner dropped to their knees before the twin warriors of The Miracle and were slain where they prayed. Valleyfolk warrior-reeves wept as their boroughs were split asunder by the steel of the Knight of Carnage, Thordis Ravette.
But if the war in the east is anything, it is a tale of strange unity. The final lines of The First Banner and The Valley’s Own were not just the troops that Ravette had been slaying this past season. They were Greenweald Ritter mercenaries drawn from Resinderholz, Andashi Jannissaries drawn by the promise of coin, and The Order of the Hallowed Word, those knights of The Manor who had dedicated their lives to protecting a man long since dead. As the two mage-generals of The Concord fought back to back against the coming defeat, that same defeat found the tide turning against it. Their unholy effort expended, their forces burned, The Marble Gauntlet was forced into retreat, back into Royal Bordevar.
The Battle of Weiland was over. A victory not won by The King, not by scattered allies and not by chance. This was a victory earned by the blood of comrades, the blood of unity, and the blood of The Concord.
Game Information
There will be information and decisions to be made about the Battle in the East for the Champion of The King, The General of The Valley’s Own, The Banneret of The First banner, The Duke of Starscar, the Sherifff of Arbington and The Ducal Council.
The Battle in the East is a heroic one. The combat is duels against the mighty warriors of The Marble Gauntlet and their cunning supporters. It is a campaign marked with great sacrifice and any character who wants to roleplay as having been a part of it can personify this by telling the tale of someone else’s fatal but necessary sacrifice.
Thordis Ravette remains the commander of a changed Marble Gauntlet that appears to have regained its teeth. Flanked by what appears to be the Traitors of House Avalon, he remains one of the most dangerous single figures in the East, but perhaps the political power of Radomir the Veil is of greater risk. The Onyx Aristocracy is not beaten, not by far.
The massive damage to Duchy Starscar by the burning of the Lenscaster Hills cannot be overstated. The damage done to save the campaign will be felt for some time. All investments in Duchy Starscar will find that they have produced as if they were one tier lower (or half if they are tier one) until the damage is repaired.
The Aftermath is a Blood-Stained Memory
With the first rains beginning to break in Weiland, people return to some semblance of normalcy. The new line of keeps that dot the charred Lenscaster Hills stand as guardians against the continued attacks by The Onyx Aristocracy that will surely appear in time. But the people of Bordevar know that The Concord will stand by its word and will come to their defence if required. For the once xenophobic and crusading Bordevarians, this is truly a changing moment. For the first time, Concordian symbols appear, however infrequently, across Weiland.
There will be a lot of rebuilding required for Weiland. Between The Crystal Maw, the burning of the Lenscaster Hills and the devastation that The Broken Year has dealt, the people are hurting. It is likely that this next year will be one where Bordevar struggles for funds and deals with the fallout from this conflict. But the fact that their hearts still beat to struggle is a gift all its own.
Can’t kill hope. Can’t grow fear.
Game Information
The Battle of Weiland this past season has been the biggest in Concordian history, with operations in support of it taking place all over the year. Five Concordian armies fielded against an enemy force more than forty thousand strong. Through sacrifices from as far as Mukarrem, the loss of heroes and great monetary cost, The Concord was able to see victory, buying enough time for a new line of forts to be built between Weiland and Royal Bordevar. But the battle was not a forgone conclusion and had The Concord made even three different choices or failed a single Conflux, we might be looking at a very different map. This is a victory that all heroes of The Concord can feel is well-earned.