Eclipse
What Has Gone Before
The scions of Cold Sun continue their assault against the Empire. They began with attacks against a handful of targets by bands of heralds; after an Imperial enchantment that threw open the gates to the Day realm, hundreds of oblivion's footsoldiers poured out to assail every nation of the Empire. Dawn weathered the storm best with the aid of the eternals of Summer, and along with the Navarr, and the priests of Vigilance, helped reduce the number of deaths. But deaths there were aplenty, and destruction to make folk weep. As the Autumn Equinox neared, the Imperial enchantment waned, but before the regio closed entirely, whole armies of Cold Sun's scions marched through into the mortal world. They would make the destruction that had gone before pale almost to insignificance as they strove to end all life everywhere.
War raged from Varushka to the Brass Coast, from Wintermark to Highguard. Victories and defeats, as the armies of Cold Sun warped and changed the world around them, killed everyone they could get their hands on, and burned everything that fell within their sight. Imperial heroes did their best to intervene during the Winter Solstice, with the power of the Sentinel Gate. They prevented raiders from the Silence Arc burning the town of New Dunhall; they prevented a raid against the white granite quarries of Upwold; they preserved the gardens at the Castle of Thorns, and the Dawnish Pride they represent; denied the Exigent Span their goal of burning Hufi's Garden; and averted the terrible destruction the scions sought to visit on Miaren. They were unable to prevent the grand archon of the Winnowers turning the precious shield Oath-heart into some terrible weapon, despite the most valiant effort of the Champion of Loyalty and those who fought alongside them, but the courageous attempt still stands as inspiration to those who fight Cold Sun in Bastion.
Following the Solstice, it falls to the armies of the Empire, and those champions who commit their warbands to the battle against oblivion, to face the armies that seek to end not only the Empire, but all else.
Silence Arc
The Silence Arc sought the destruction of Valshal but were driven back by the heroes of Wintermark and their allies from the Summer realm. Their defeat before the Winter Solstice saw them retreat from the hills of Valasmark into the flatlands of Kronemark. The invaders from the Day realm had suffered some losses in their attempt to assail the well-defended hall of champions, but they are very far from defeated. They rally, regroup, and refocus on their mission - to kill every living person in Hahnmark if they can.
Imperial magicians have again drawn on the power of the Queen of Ice and Darkness, calling forth her cyclopean fortifications in the hills of Kalpamark and Valasmark. Valashal and Kalpaheim are well defended, with walls of frost and basalt overlaying the existing defences there. A barrier stretches across the centre of Hahnmark, forcing the invaders to overcome these powerful wards if they wish to threaten Southridge or Woodheath - but they can offer little protection to Kronemark, Bruckland, or North Spires. Small numbers of more mobile warriors of the Summer Realm range eastward to offer aid to the defenders of Hahnmark where they can but it once again lies to the heroes of Wintermark to hold Cold Sun to account.
The flattest part of Hahnmark, the downs of Kronemark are a patchwork of fishing villages and farms. The largest settlements sprawl around the shore of the icy lake Kronevann, or along the many streams that connect it to its sister lakes in the north, Bruckland by contrast is sparsely settled, scattered with low, artificial hills atop which lie stone beacons and desolate watchtowers. North Spires is wealthy, and there is some fear they might attack the Runegrott or Stormspire... but it's not clear the scions of Cold Sun know that these places exist. Instead they concentrate on trying to slaughter as many people in Kronemark as they possibly can.
It seems likely that the Kronehal is their ultimate destination, they seem to be in no rush to get there. Rather, they range across the plains of Kronemark assaulting as many halls and villages as they can find. Heavy snow begins to fall shortly after the Winter Solstice, and barely lets up for two solid months. The scions at first struggle to deal with the cold - it does not seem to harm them but the curtains of snow make it difficult for them to find their quarry who in many cases are much more use to such frigid conditions. Unfortunately, once they begin to adapt to the conditions in Hahnmark they become even more dangerous. An army that moves in almost complete silence quickly learns to take advantage of the obscuring effects of a heavy snowfall. Despite the best efforts of the Wintermark assembly, several isolated halls are attacked and overwhelmed before they can escape the imminent threat of the Silence Arc.
Wherever possible, the halls of Hahnmark pull together to protect each other against the scions. This often means helping those threatened by the heralds to get to safety with as many of their possessions as possible. Several larger halls - those with the strongest defences - invite their neighbours to take up residence for the Winter, pooling their warriors and supplies to ensure that if the scions attack they can be held off long enough for the heroes of the 'Mark to reinforce them. The beacons play a large part in this strategy; they are no match for the Heliopticon of distant Urizen but they can be used to communicate simple messages. When a force of scions is spotted, warnings are sent out to everyone nearby. More often than not, that is enough to save lives.
More than three thousand warriors, the warbands of Imperial champions, come to Hahnmark to fight Cold Sun. The lion's share are children of Wintermark, but there are captains from as far afield as Urizen, Highguard, and the Brass Coast among their number. Some struggle with the challenges of a harsh Hahnmark winter, but they do not let mere weather quell their desire to fight the scions of the Day realm.
Unlike the previous season, there is no single defining battle that marks resistance to Cold Sun. There is no attack launched against Kronehal, only a dozen or more assaults against halls and villages. A few attacks against the beacons themselves are handily defended, and while many Imperial warriors are injured there are no appreciable casualties. Late at night, huddled close around campfires, the defenders of Hahnmark debate what the ultimate plan of the Silence Arc may be. Every other engagement with the scions across the Empire for the better part of a year, the heralds have had a clear goal in mind. Here, they seem to be content simply to destroy halls and kill people and fight the champions of Wintermark. It seems to make little sense. Unless... there is something else going on?
Three weeks before the Spring Equinox, the scions suddenly quit Kronemark. It's been noted that they have been slowly making their way northward, and everyone assumed that meant that an attack on Kronehal was imminent. But rather than attack the largest settlement in the region they bypass it entirely racing north and east around the Kronevann into Bruckland. Not to attack Turelva as people initially fear, but to seize an isolated watchtower between the two lakes a week's journey north of the town.
It makes no sense... until a skop manages to get news to the beacon defenders. The Silence Arc are massing around an old ruin called the Tower of the Eagle. A crumbled sentinel atop an old hill that was once a beacon. A tower that also marks the location of a powerful regio aligned to the Day realm. This cannot be coincidence. Denied access to the Lantern Gate when they were driven from Valasmark, have the SIlence Arc spent the last three months trying to find another regio of the Day realm, one that suits some unknown criteria of their own? And if so, what does it portend now they have found it, now that a little shy of three thousand scions make camp around the well-defended approach to the old, tumbledown tower?
Game Information: Silence Arc
Between them, the champions supporting the Beacons of Wintermark and the Frozen Citadels raised in the central peaks have prevented the scions claiming any territory. Unfortunately, neither of these fortifications has inflicted any casualties on the Silence Arc. They are now in northern Hahnmark, gathered around the old ruin known as the Tower of the Eagle and while they are assuredly up to something it is by no means clear what their plan is.
The defenders, and the words of the Wintermark assembly (which were also supported by the Loyalty assembly) have meant that there has been minimal loss of life despite the presence of the scions and the harsh winter. A lot of buildings will need to be rebuilt or repaired - and people are cautious about doing so while the Silence Arc is still in the territory - but the halls themselves survive.
Blade of Skies
The Blade of Skies closes on Delev – the wealthy heart of the Duzekani vales, and arguably one of the most important settlements in Karov. It is where the Bargainer of the Iron Tower and the Overseer of the Westward Road both do business. It is where nearly five hundred people, fleeing before the destructive power of the scions of Cold Sun, have taken refuge.
The presence of so many desperate people, stretching the facilities of Delev to breaking point, is no accident. The Blade of Skies have encouraged people to flee to here, allowing Varushkans to gather at the dubious sanctuary of Delev with cruel intent. All that remains of Olvanshka – the second largest settlement in Duzekani - is a cursed circle of seared black glass. It seems clear that the Blade of Skies intend a similar fate for Delev and its hundreds of refugees.
As the first snows of Winter fall, the scions reach the burgeoning town that some believe might some day rival – or even eclipse – Temeschwar itself. Thanks to the work of Henry Ward, Delev is the best-defended vale in southern Varushka. Now, though, three thousand harbingers of oblivion advance on pallisades and the partial walls intended to protect against the threat of a few hundred bandits or orc raiders. There is no chance they will hold, no chance that the gathered bands of schlacta, wagon raiders, and sell-swords will be able to turn back the scions even with the support of a few dozen Dawnish knights and Navarr thorns. There is little opportunity for the exhausted folk taking refuge there to flee; the scions split their forces attacking from the south-west and the north-east simultaneously to out off any avenue of escape. A massacre of unparalleled proportions seems imminent.
At the last moment, as the sun rises over the mournful forests, as the defenders prepare themselves to sell their lives dearly, salvation arrives. Marching north from the Barrens come three Imperial armies, supported by more than five thousand warriors from independent warbands. Grim faced and ready to battle the scions, they will bring an end to the tyranny of the Cold Sun.
Inspired and uplifted by the priests of Varushka, the Northern Eagle take the lead. They charge, straight against the largest concentration of the scions, axes and swords ready to cut the heralds to pieces without thought of quarter or restraint. All other considerations – including their own safety - become secondary to the grim business of destroying as many heralds as possible. It is Varushka unleashed, the iron of the Vard and the cunning of the Ushka united toward a single intent. It is not so much the thought of victory that drives them, but an utter commitment to ensuring the defeat of their foes whatever the cost. The Iron Helms follow close behind, dogs howling, the wings of a thousand crows beating up a wind that sets the black banners dancing. Faces painted bone-white, the war-wizards of Karsk lead the way, staffs crackling with fell magic, ready to shatter the scions battle lines. They fight on the dark soil of Varushka, and as they advance a thin grey fog rises among them, roused by the thudding drum-beat of marching boots. It comes unbidden, and blinds the supernatural senses of the heralds, muddying their ability to speak to one another without words, causing them to know the cold prickle of fear for the first time in their existance.
From the north, the Quiet Step erupt from the trees, taking the second force of scions by surprise. The Navarr will do whatever it takes to put an end to the army of Cold Sun, and as the main body of their force engages the scions, bands of skirmishers harry and nip at the flanks of the other force, creating openings and weak points for their Varushkan allies to exploit.
Raise the eagle banner high, soldiers of Varushka, and march to ward with steel. Scions threaten our homes, but they shall take no more. We go to Delev with the Helms the Navarr and all others who may come, guarding our own and striving forth to show the virtue of our shared Empire. Be Vigilant against peril, loyal to our kin, and courageous against death. End this in our people's name.
Jaromir Ostrovyn Kostka, General of the Northern EagleCousins. We stand face to face with extinction incarnate - for Cold Sun threatens our homes, laps at our walls and dims our hearths. No more! Fight as the boar does - with great force and even deadlier aim. We send Kalina Jadwigowna Piosnkowa Prochnost with 50 doses of liao to bolster the fighting spirit of the Nation. They have entered our Homes, crossed upon our thresholds. - now show them what it means to grant an enemy Sack and Sword!
Mandate, Varushkan National AssemblyThe Hearths of Varushka are being extinguished. Our people call for aid and we shall answer. We march to Duzekani to eradicate the Cold Sun. Our enemies lack fortitude, they are brittle and will break before our merciless onslaught. Show Karov the strength of our loyalty. Warriors in arms, family in hearts
Alderei the Fair, General of the Iron HelmsThorns of the quiet step we march to Karov to destroy our newest enemies the Cold Sun. We fight alongside the armies of Varushka, show them the efficiacy of our blades and spears. The Empire fights it's threats together. The cold sun scions must be dealt with, whatever it takes!
Farenthar Shattersong, General of the Quiet StepFor the first time, the Blade of Skies faces true opposition. For the first time, they fight trained soldiers rather than desperate defenders of vale and village. For the first time, their lines falter. The two forces retreat toward one another, but it is clear that the dreadful discipline that unites them fractures and frays in the face of Varushka and Navarr. They breach the eastern gate of Delev – the Weirwater Gate – taking the watchtowers and starting to spill into the town itself. The Imperial soldiers give them little chance to kill the folk sheltering within, however. Unrelenting hammer blows rain down on the scions. Navarr skrimishers and Varushkan hunters quickly gain access to the town through the northern and south-western gates, and the fighting spreads through the streets of Delev as they drive the invading heralds back towards the main Imperial force.
At the last, with little chance to escape, the grand archon gathers its lieutenants around it, in the very mouth of the Weirwater Gate. Sensing, perhaps, that the end is inevitable, it begins to invoke the full fury of the Cold Sun. A hail of missiles, black-feathered Varushkan shafts and barbed Navarr arrows, rains down on the gate but for a moment it seems the rain of death will not be sufficient.
A second sun rises over eastern Delev, a sphere of blinding blue-white light that begins to ascend towards the heavens, bleaching everything to monochromatic shades... and then it ruptures, bursts apart in a crushing wave of force that throws everyone within a hundred yards to the ground, stunned, deafened, blinded, heads ringing, unclear what horror they might see when they open their eyes.
If the grand archon had been able to complete its invocation, then it might have scythed through half of Delev, leaving nothing but ruins and ash. Without the Imperial soldiers, it's likely the entire town would have simpy been erased from the map, like Olvanshka and Bugakov before it. But the armies of Varushka and Navarr came, and they broke the scions, and Delev still stands.
With that dolorous blow, the Blade of Skies falls apart. The grand archon is no more, and those who might have followed it in holding the forces of Cold Sun together were destroyed along with it. The remaining scions scatter, breaking down into smaller groups. Many are easy prey for the Iron Helms and the Quiet Step, and over the next few months they are hunted through southern Karov and ended by the Navarr, and the Varushkans, and the heroes who fought alongside them. A few remain, however. They are not sufficient to offer a threat to armies, and most of the best-defended vales will be able to hold their own against them, but they are still a threat.
There is however no sign of the bees returning to Duzekani. As the first Spring flowers start to open, as the heralds of Prosperity emerge in Skoremujac and Kamienczka, and across the rest of Varushka, the meadows and woodlands of Duzekani remain ominously silent. The real fear is that the remaining scions might locate and conquer a powerful regio aligned to the Day realm, and the whole cycle of destruction begin again... but Varushka is no stranger to fear, or to unnatural threats that gather in the dark woods and the haunted hills.
Game Information : Blade of Skies
Duzekani has gained the sun burned quality. The destruction of Olvanshka, Bulgakov, and a dozen other vales and villages, has permanently scarred the land with circles of fused black glass. These areas are dangerous to approach, potentially inflicting a slow and painful death on anyone who approaches them. It might be possible to remove these scars, but at the moment it's not clear how – sending labourers to clear them seems most likely to simply kill the labourers rather than achieve anything meaningful. It is worth noting however that this glass is apparently formed from supernatural forces brought to bear on the dark soil of Varushka - apart from its mirror sheen and regular shape it bears some similiarity to fulgurite - and is nothing like the volcanic material that forms the Black Plateau in Spiral.
The Battle of the Weirwater Gate has ended the threat to Delev, which is good news for the Northern trade network. All ministries, including that of the Bargainer of the Iron Tower, have been restored to their normal states.
Participation : Blade of Skies
If your military unit was assigned to support one of the three Imperial armies fighting in Karov this season (Northern Eagle, Iron Helms, Quiet Step), you may have been present at the Battle of the Weirwater Gate. When the grand archon of the Blade of Skies was destroyed, the energies unleashed hammered everyone nearby. If you wish you may email plot with your CID before the 30th of May and ask for a lingering traumatic wound to be included in your pack. This will represent either lasting damage to sight or hearing, or injuries inflicted by the unravelling Day magic. While they will be treatable, if they are not healed by the end of the event the effects of some of these injuries might prove fatal.
Still Walkers
The first anyone knows that the heralds of Cold Sun are in Skarsind is when they destroy the newly established Illarawm village at Westgarden in Southpine. Two hundred orcs, survivors of the Druj, people who thought themselves safe at last, snuffed out by merciless emissaries of destruction emerging without warning from the woods north of Torfast. The Illarawm fight valiantly, desperately, but they cannot hold back the scions of Cold Sun. Westgarden burns to ash, its people with it. There are survivors, messengers who reach the nearby farmsteads and villages, spreading word that the forces of oblivion are loose in Skarsind.
There's no doubt these are the Still Walkers; the scions are battered, but not beaten. They disappeared from Hercynia, and apparently reappeared in the isolated woodlands of Southpine where they regrouped and replenished their strength before returning to their wicked crusade against all living things. While they may have been forced to flee, their rout at the hands of the Black Thorns has done nothing to weaken their crazed zeal, to dampen their desire to destroy in the name of their dreadful master.
Even before the Illarawm settled here, Southpine was one of the most populous regions of Skarsind. Both the Winterfolk and the Imperial Orcs were drawn to the open farmland here. The town of Torfast has long been a major settlement in the alpine wildlands, and now stands as a lynchpin in the northern trade network, bringing greater prosperity to the region, the territory, and the Imperial Orcs as a whole. It represents a rich hunting ground for the scions.
The orcs do not submit easily. As soon as the threat in their midst is recognised, they begin to fight. Nearby settlements join together to take up arms against the invaders. There's never any question as to whether a fellow orc will find sanctuary when they flee the Cold Sun; when enough refugees come together in one place they stop running and turn on the scions matching their lust for destruction with the fury of the orcs. Many begin to gather at the Ossuary Temple of the Illarawm; this is where the soldiers marching from the Will establish their base-camp as well, before spreading out through the region to reinforce the threatened villages. Others make their way to Torfast, where merchants, mercenaries, and adventurers from across the north have begun to erect makeshift defences against the inevitable attack of the scions.
At first it seems the defenders and the unnatural invaders are reasonably evenly matched. But while the Still Walkers are weakened, the orcs are on the back foot from the start. People die, farms burn, and while their advance is by no means swift, it seems inevitable that the Cold Sun will eventually breach the defences of the ossuary or of Torfast and inflict punishing losses on the orcs.
Legionairres of the Summer Storm! Heralds! We have fought in Skallahn and found a new Ancestor. Now the Cold Sun have arrived in Skarsind. We will Cut them Down! Showing loyalty to our kin and being wise, courageous and Vigilant in your fighing. They shall not win. We will prevail!
Irontide Skorr, General of the Summer StormThen the Summer Storm arrive, erupting from the woods of Summersend like a comet. The army has had a long march from Skallahn, the destruction of Pakaanan's Pass forcing them to march through the woods of Hercynia. They smash into the invading heralds, a barrage of focused and sustained attacks against their enemies, giving them little time to recover from the surprise of encountering an entire Imperial Orcs army. Many of the warriors have the voice of the unknown ancestor echoing furiously in their ears, driving them to protect their family, to bring down unrelenting vengeance on anyone who threatens them. They are accompanied by some six thousand soldiers of independent warbands representing every nation save the Brass Coast (who have troubles of their own), and by an entire cohort of scarlet armoured knights. The emissaries of the Fields of Glory are powerfully built, leonine figures with manes of blazing gold and mighty two-handed swords who almost match the Imperial Orcs' fury at the scions of Cold Sun.
After the first few engagements, the scions begin to rally. They possess a supernatural ability to coordinate over distance, to spot openings in their enemies' strategies. Yet for all their insight they struggle to exploit the flaws in the orcs' battle plan; there are only so many ways to respond to an unrelenting assault striking from all directions at once. The scions are driven back eastward toward Varushka step by step. Then, when it seems that victory is assured, the Still Walkers attempt to flee once again.
Bowing before the unwavering pressure of the Summer Storm, the soldiers of oblivion gather in the woods north-east of Torfast. As the sun falls behind the western mountains, the unnatural glow begins amid the trees, as the heralds begin whatever ceremony it is that allows them to travel as light. When they faced the Black Thorns, when they quit Hercynia, they still had perhaps two thirds of their strength remaining. Even then they were only just able to enact their escape, and lost many of their number trying to delay the Navarr. After a further season of fighting against a much larger force, they are weakened to the point that they cannot hope to hold their perimeter against the orcs and their allies.
As night gathers in, the glow gets brighter and brighter and then... at the last moment the orcs breach the defences. The grand archon is brought down by a mighty blow, and the energy the scions have been gathering unravels and bursts outward with a thunderous CRACK that bleaches all colour from the trees, and inflicts terrible injuries on those still fighting the soldiers of Cold Sun. Every warrior is hurled off their feet, but in the wake of that devastating dolorous blow comes a terrible rising cry from hundreds of throats. The last scions of Cold Sun are being torn apart, bursting into streamers of glowing light that fragment and fall to pieces.
Many of those present at the last battle against the Still Walkers are still marked by their explosive end. Most will recover - even egregiously broken limbs and the terrible burns inflicted at the climax of the scions failed escape can be treated by the physick or the healer after all. Those who fought to defend Skarsind will find no lack of grateful orcs prepared to help them recover from their injuries. A small number, however, have been more seriously injured by the unravelling magic of the Day realm, permanently deafened, their vision burned out, their bodies blasted and broken.
But this time, the Still Walkers have not escaped, and the threat of Cold Sun has been ended here - for the moment at least.
Game Information : Still Walkers
The Still Walkers inflicted some damage in Southpine, with a number of farmsteads and smaller villages destroyed. fortunately, due to the swift and unrelenting response of the Summer Storm, the death toll has amounted to barely two hundred orcs lost.
The woods where the final battle took place have been permanently marked by the destruction of the Still Walkers; the trees have all been killed but in the process have been transmuted into something resembling bleached stone that glows with an unsettling illumination at night. Already dubbed the White Wood by the people of Torfast, the orcs of Southpine have surrounded the area with boundary markers that both warn the curious away, and remember those warriors - both orc and human - who fell fighting the Still Walkers.
Participation : Still Walkers
If your military unit was assigned to support the Summer Storm in Skarsind this season, you may have been present at the final fight against the grand archon of the Still Walkers. If you wish you may email plot before the 27th of May and ask for a lingering traumatic wound to be included in your pack. This will represent either lingering damage to sight or hearing, or injuries inflicted by the unravelling Day magic. While they will be treatable, if they are not healed by the end of the event the effects of some of these injuries might prove fatal.
Anyone who fought in Skarsind this season is free to phys-rep burns from the unravelling Day magic, even if their military unit did not accompany the Summer Storm. Such wounds can be healed normally with time, or the attention of a physick.