Part of Winds of the World - Winter 223
During the Summer Summit, Concordian heroes ran themselves ragged pursuing Brother Ash’s warbeasts. These creatures were destined to rampage through the streets of Eisen sating their primal rage with slaughter and savagery. With skill and endurance, the beasts were driven off and Eisen was saved. As Winter turned to Spring, The Concord prepared for a long season of conflict as the Beastmage would not be so easily turned aside.
To answer Ash, two armies of The Concord stood to arms. Eisen overflowed with Bordevarian soldiers and scouts as The Bordevarian Ironhides anchored the Concordian defence in the east. For the Bordevarians, the campaign would be one of strange contrasts; the days would be spent at rest in the township of Eisen, enjoying taverns and training with the effective iron will of the Ritters at the Eisen College of War, but the night was full of darkened dread as long lines of Billmongers and Rangers make their way out into the woods, taking up defensive positions to hold the line against Zekartaal hunters, crawling warbeasts, and the forest itself. Not all return to Eisen alive, but dawn does promise relief, a warm bed, and a temporary home.
It is Bordevarian sorties that were responsible for one of the strangest discoveries of the war. During a battle in the full moon of march a line of Billmongers led by Ser Galad Gray clashed with a raiding group of Zekartaal hunters in an open glade of squat standing stones. When the battle was done they found that they were not among standing stones, but graves. Hundreds of simple, eroded and nearly identical graves, spreading out from this glade to the next. While it is not uncommon for failed hamlets to be swallowed up by the Weald and lost, a graveyard of this size with no abbey or town hall in sight is an oddity to say the least. Ser Galad’s report is a haunted one, speaking of simple carvings and Drummondite names more than two hundred years old, as well as something darker in the Graven Glade.
Leyfolk Bordevarians were often far too direct and jovial for the standoffish Wealders, while the people of Eisen were shut-off and cold to the prideful Ironhides. This did not shift overmuch throughout the whole campaign, with regular disagreements in the taverns of Eisen. However as the first Winter rains fell on Eisen and The Ironhides prepared to march to their next warfront, the people of Eisen emerged in droves. They handed the departing soldiers circles of willow wood, woven by the children of Eisen. A simple adornment that spoke volumes; again, Bordevar had marched north into the woods they feared to assist the Baronies, and while their people are very different, both can appreciate sacrifice and courage. The common soldiers of Bordevar marched away knowing that they may not have made friends, but they had certainly made comrades.
Far in the west, The Legion of the Blackheart Bear claimed the hamlet of Krezenburg deep in the Ravensreach Wilds. Cut off from supplies, surrounded by the Zekartaal, and defending their homeland drew heroism from the Legion. Krezenburg was reinforced with palisades, stores of arms and alchemy and hidden hunters’ hides. From Krezenburg The Blackhearts struck out at Brother Ash, disrupting forward camps and his Harbringer Stands, massive trees adorned with arcane trophies and heretical signs.
The fight against Ash was a paranoid one; both the Concordian forces and the Zekartaal were loath to commit the bulk of their strength and the fight often fell to small bands of fighters. Ambush turned to skirmish, turned to rout through the darkened woods of the Ravensreach Wilds. Both sides struggled to keep the predations of the Ravensreach’s denizens at bay; The Concord by sheltering in the walls of Krezenburg, and the Zekartaal through bewitchment.
Among all of this, General Lavinia Fischer lead The Legion from her headquarters in Krezenburg. The hamlet-turned-borderfort anchored the centre and west of the Concordian line and did so remarkably well. Like their Bordevarian allies in the East, the Legion maintained a balanced defence, with assaults a carefully weighed choice. Many long nights in the Krezenberg town hall were spent with General Fischer and her officers making hard choices with little information.
With the Summit looming and Resinderholz returning to a sodden woodland, the Zekartaal withdrew. Silently and swiftly they were gone and so were the Legion, returning to rest in Wolstad.
But in Wolstad they found no peace. Many of those that fled their homes were welcomed in Wolstad, and with news of Brother Ash’s defeat on the winds, the camps were full of plans for setting new harvests and rebuilding lost homes. There was even rumour that there were Concordian funds on the way. But the Ritters of The Legion had other plans. Refugees from Wolstad were taken, sometimes willingly but often not, to The Legion Camp. The fit were told that they will not be returning home; that they will be marched north and taken into the service of The Greenweald as soldiers. They were told that resisting is a crime. The people of Wolstad watched in awe as the most vulnerable among them were taken away on a day of victory, the sigil of The Blackheart Bear whipping in the autumn breeze.
Game Information
The defence of Resinderholz against Brother Ash went well for The Concord, with low casualties for both The Bordevarian Ironhides and The Legion of the Blackheart Bear. Brother Ash, on the other hand, was firmly defeated. The forces of The Zekartaal routed north, crossing the border into Verlorenherz and hold firm for the coming Winter.
Characters who elected to have participated in the campaign could have very varied experiences. Those who defended Eisen would have the mixed experience of deadly conflict and homely surroundings. Those who defended Krezenburg would have tales of a camp under siege, destroying Harbringer Stands, ambushing, and being ambushed. Bordevarian characters (particularly Yeofolk) could represent their attendance with woven circles of thin branches.
Local conscription in The Greenweald allowed the Legion of The Blackheart Bear to recoup some of its losses but produced significant anti-military sentiment in Wolstad. If your character lives in Wolstad it is likely that they witnessed The Legion’s roundup or perhaps knows someone who did. While the concept of Erfordolich drives Wealders to trust in times of need, it was a difficult sell during a day of victory.
Any Greenwealder Investment may take the special downtime action “Wander the Graven Glade” in the coming season. Doing so reflects a personal pilgrimage to uncover the secrets of the Graveyard present there. Perhaps seeking the name of known families in the stones, perhaps the mysteries of the past. Regardless, characters who take this downtime action will receive additional information and be counted as pursuing their standard downtime income action (Independent Action / Petition etc). It is likely that the more characters who wander the Graven Glade, the greater mysteries will be revealed.