Fire and the flood

Fire and water, powerful symbols of purity harnessed all too often to bring destruction.

War in the East

Sarangrave has been freed from the Druj. For the first time in centuries it is not under the oppressive boot-heel of the Buruk Tepel and their Het proxies. In theory at least, it is now Imperial; the Senate has declared the wetlands are now part of Urizen. Yet as Autumn lengthens into Winter there is little sign of Urizen settlers establishing spires here. Hardly a surprise given it is still a battlefield, torn between multiple factions.

Most of the Druj septs that once ruled here are scattered, their dominion shattered, but they have by no means quit the Sarangrave. The orcs of the Mallum have shown the Empire time and time again how effectively they stay behind, to hide, to skulk, to strike when their enemies least expect it and exploit their vulnerabilities. So it is here - from Turan Flats to Bloodwater Marsh, there are bands of Druj gone to ground and ready to rise up whenever the Empire might show weakness. Then there is Thornfen where the Marshlizard sept still defiantly holds sway from the great fortress known as the Tower of the Skink. It will be a challenge to dislodge the Druj from the Tower, and while they remain the Imperial claim to Sarangrave cannot help but be a fragile thing.

For its part, the Empire barely controls Sarangrave. There is a vallorn at its heart, a lost Terunael city wrapped in the fecundity and chaos of Spring corruption that waits like a coiled spring. Contained only by an ancient ring of warding stones, and the desperate ingenuity of the last Terunael, any crack in that defensive perimeter could see the thing explode across Sarangrave with a ferocity that will utterly eclipse the situation in Therunin. There are rebels here as well, both former orc slaves who have risen up against their masters and smaller septs who have seized the opportunity to be free of Druj shackles. With the support of the Prince with a thousand foes they have taken the Nesustak Forest and lay claim to the rest of the territory as well. They will not bow to the Empire; they do not care what the Senate has said about Sarangrave. With the Druj still holding the Tower of the Skink, the loss of a single region would collapse the Imperial grasp on the marshes and the forests.

Thornfen, then. That immense citadel, that dreadful Tower; it dominates the vital pass into Axos, looms over the spiralling town of Sepals, and casts its shadow over the Empire's ambitions here in the east. The fortress is old, older perhaps than the Empire itself. The Towers of the Dusk - the fort that once squatted at the eastern end of the Barrens - was but a pale shadow of this redoubt. It spreads like a stone-and-weirwood blight across the foothills of the southern mountains. Taken all together, it is mightier than the Castle of Thorns itself; only the Walls of Holberg could claim to surpass it. Capturing the Thornfen while the Tower still stands, while it is still in the hands of the Marshlizard sept, will be challenging indeed. More so because the battered armies of the Mallum have fled their disastrous attempt to invade Zenith to take refuge at the Tower. Under shrouds of Night magic they have slipped through Imperial lines and made it to the uncertain safety of the Tower. They will fight any and all comers, prepared to lose everything rather than accept defeat. For many of these orcs, this is their land, and they will do whatever it takes to prevent their enemies from claiming it.

Whatever it takes.

Hear me, cousins of Iron. The storm continues but the Hasta remains unbroken. Through frost and flame, we fight alongside our Axou allies to claim the Tower of the Skink. We fight for coin, but the coin buys bread for our children, warmth for our hearths, strength for the nation. Remove all arms from our enemies, be they weapons to strike us, or limbs to lift their wounded. The septs rising to assist us should be left unharmed. Let our species go in virtue. Let our spears be the point on where sun rises.

Serafina Semenov, General of the Boyar's Hasta

Axe, you were the vanguard into Sarangrave, and you have followed me throughout the whole campaign. I ask you now to once more assault the Druj positions. We march with our allies, the crimson Schlacta, and new allies to this struggle in the Axou. We march to aid the Axou in their claim to that land. We are taking the walls of the tower of the skink and with its falling our conquest of Sarangrave will be complete. We step forward with courage in our heart and pride in our voices! Let us add another victory to our roll of honour, and together we will crush these vermin!

Vojsuli Cherenkov, General of the Golden Axe

We seized the Sarangrave in battle, now we finish it. The Tower of the Skink is the heart of Druj power here, their rites and rule gathered within its walls. With our steady conquest, we will take that tower, shatter their heresy, destroy their sources of poison, and free every soul they have bound. To those suffer under the Druj youke - take heart, we are coming. To the Druj hear this and tremble, we are coming. My soldiers, move with Courage, fight with Wisdom, hold with Loyalty, Be Vigilant in the hunt, Proud is the virtuous strike, Ambitious in victory and ensure prosperity, follow the liberated. We are inevitable. Advance, for Highguard, for the Empire, for Salvation!

Sychar of Ebon's Hall, General of the Granite Pillar

My Lions, Sarangrave is ours. But as our allies and armies remain, so do we to take that front line. Take that final push and plant hope in what was once the heart of the Mallum. To those still under the pain, hatred and boot of the Druj in the rest of the Mallum, hear me too. We are coming to save and protect those that needs us. We will be there.

Dame Katelyn Quinnell De Cordraco, General of the Lions of Adelmar

Legionnaires, we have focussed our attention on the Druj. It is time to use our training to its fullest extent. We cur down the Druj overseers and slave makers in Thornfen. Let the slaves make their own wat to Nesustak Forest and safety with their kin. Use wisdom to know when and where to strike but do not let the overseers escape. Leave the Axou to their task, they want the land. That is not what we are after.

Irontide Skorr, General of the Summer Storm

Of Virtue and Trust

Five Imperial armies remain in Sarangrave to challenge the Tower of the Skink and claim Thornfen. The Boyar's Hasta and the Golden Axe of Varushka fight alongside the Granite Pillar of Highguard, the Lions of Adelmar from Dawn, and the Unshackled orcs of the Summer Storm. They must continue to battle under the hateful Druj miasma that hangs so heavy in the air, like a choking fog that captures every little glimmer of doubt or uncertainty and transforms it into fear and dread. Unlike the barely-established miasma the Empire faced in places like Zenith, it has been here for centuries. It has sunk into the soil here, into the trees, perhaps into the people themselves. It is a constant battle for every soldier, to push through the dark feelings that cluster around them seeking to sap their will, whispering that they cannot win here, that they should flee or submit to the Druj.

Yet this hopeless magic is not the only power at work here in the Sarangrave as Autumn fades. Every drop of water in the marshes, in the rivers and the lakes, in the waterskins of the soldiers, in the dew that comes with the morning, every drop shivers with the magic of Spring. The Rivers of Life have been roused in Sarangrave and grant their potent healing energies to all who are injured in the fighting. Everyone, orc and human, Imperial and rebel and Druj alike.

(And if this magic tightens the spring of the vallorn another notch, it will barely make a difference. Sarangrave has been under the Rivers of Life and Death so many times, what can one more season matter?)

The infused waters mean that any injury short of a mortal blow will heal (although it will still leave scars). The Imperial strategy, for the most part, seems intended to take advantage of the Rivers. There are no furious frontal assaults here to try and overwhelm the defenders with numbers. Varushka measures risk and reward carefully as it moves through the Sarangrave, sacrificing speed for surety. Highguard looks first and foremost to ensure that no Highborn lives are thrown away needlessly. The Granite Pillar measures carefully the cost of each engagement, weighing out each drop of blood against the ultimate goal - to break the hold of the Druj, to free those under its iron yoke. To bring down the Tower of the Skink.

The Summer Storm are an exception to the general tenor of the Imperial strategy. They eschew care, and throw themselves against the defenders of the Mallum, seeming to relish every opportunity to cut them down. Their tactics are less concerned with claiming the Thornfen than they are with slaughtering as many Druj as they can. They make sure that fallen enemies do not live to benefit from the healing waters, cutting a bloody wound through their foes. They pay a price in their own blood, of course, but most pay it willingly. In the end, though, the butcher's bill falls short of what it might have been even with the Spring magic. Beside the orcs fight the guardian knights of the Lions of Adelmar. Proud, resplendent despite the mud and the weariness that comes with battling beneath the miasma, they stand ready to serve as glorious shields between their allies and harm. Even as they advance, they place a barrier between the Druj and the other Imperial armies that turns back barbed spear and arrows alike. Together with the Summer Storm, the Dawnish incur the particular hatred of the Marshlizard sept, a symbol of Imperial temerity in coming to their place to take their lands.

Echoes of Magic

Three of the armies are enchanted with the Clarity of the Master Strategist, using Day magic to coordinate their movements and identify weaknesses in the enemy defences. The Summer Storm and the Golden Axe, however, are instead accompanied by cohorts of the Knights of Glory drawn from the Summer realm. The warriors of Eleonaris embrace the fight against the Druj. As far as the sovereigns of the Summer realm are concerned, the Mallum is a den of vermin. Indeed, the Lady of Pennants has sent two of her favoured captains to fight in Thornfen, and they bring their households with them.

To the Summer Storm comes Murmastis, whose deeds are legend in the Summer realm and so she requires no courtly honorific. Stag-horned, taller than the tallest orc, this spearmaster is as relentless as those she fights alongside. She and her spear-dancers offer a stark contrast to the Unshackled soldiers, clad as they are in emerald and ruby scale armour. They urge the Imperial Orcs to strike mercilessly against their foe, inspiring them to greater and greater deeds of martial prowess against the loathsome Druj, singing unfamiliar songs of the thrill of pounding blood and the defeat of the unworthy. For some orcs, the experience of battling with Murmastis' warband rouses memories not their own, memories of distant ancestors who fought with the spear-dancers in the past.

Vojsuli Cherenkov, General of the Golden Axe

Sychar of Ebon's Hall, General of the Granite Pillar

Dame Katelyn Quinnell De Cordraco, General of the Lions of Adelmar

Meanwhile Ser Gaspare leads the proud schlacta of their domain to fight alongside the Golden Axe. In crimson plate, wrapped in a cloak made from the head and skin of an immense white bear, Gaspare has an undeniable presence and a very different attitude to many of the other more elfin knights the Varushkans have fought beside in the past. With their unbreakable adamant shields and their mighty axes, the warriors of Gaspare are less concerned with glory and splendour than they are with victory. The captain does not try to conceal their disappointment at the tactics the Golden Axe have chosen; they fight as enthusiastically but at night around the fires they share stories of triumph and the joy of conquest, of the Vard and their iron spirits who tamed the wild forests, whose legacy remains the greatest nation of the Empire. Gaspare themselves clearly speaks from personal experience, and their words catch on something in the hearts of the audience that lingers.

These words linger not only in the hearts of the Golden Axe themselves; a great host of Imperial captains has gathered under the banners of the Golden Axe, fighting and marching with them. A matching host has come together to fight with the Summer Storm. They too hear the stories of Ser Gaspare and the songs of Murmastis and as the Imperial advance grinds forward, soldiers of every stripe chafe at the bit, eager to engage with the orcs of Thornfen.

Shadow of the Tower

On the other side, the garrison of the Tower of the Skink, warriors of the Marshlizard sept, are cautious indeed. They have underestimated the Empire before, seen them sweep inexorably across Sarangrave breaking sept and shackle with equal ease. They focus their attention on Thornfen alone, leaving the rest of the Sarangrave to fend for itself. There is a kind of discipline in these defenders rarely observed among the Druj, but wedded to an almost overwhelming arrogance. Even when retreating they do nothing to hide their sneering contempt of the Varushkans and the Highborn, for the knights of Dawn, and most of all for the Imperial Orcs who they take pleasure in naming slaves of the Empire. They mock, they taunt, they needle. They attack the Pride of their foes with cutting words even as they assail their bodies with slicing steel. Like all Druj they are happiest striking quickly from surprise, inflicting as many wounds as possible, and then retreating. This has rarely been a particularly efficacious strategy under the Rivers of Life, where leaving anyone alive means they will most likely recover. But if anyone can make it work it is the orcs of the east, and the Marshlizards seem especially versed in inflicting as much pain as possible, or leaving their foes broken beyond salvation rather than simply killing them.

For all their cunning and cruelty, though, they are outmatched by the great host of Imperials. If it were just the garrison, just the people of the Marshlizard clan, and the refugees from the Thornwasp and the Banded Snake who have sought refuge in the fens, then the Tower of the Skink and the sprawling town of sepals would swiftly be overrun by the Imperial armies. The Empire knew that the Poison Crane and the Hidden Snake - the warriors of the Marshlizard and the Banded Snake - had taken up positions in Thornfen, in the Tower. Their presence makes the advance more difficult, but still it is likely the Empire would easily press them back. Unfortunately, there are another six armies of the Mallum in Thornfen this season that the Imperial strategy does not entirely account for.

Earlier in the year, the armies that had conquered Therunin moved south, making a foray into northern Zenith. They cast down the Stork's Gaze but were in their turn cast down by an Imperial counterattack. Caught between the armies in Zenith and those in Bloodwater Marsh, their situation looked desperate. Unfortunately, the Tainted Basilisk were among them, an army led by ghulai trained at the Palace of the Sleepers. Twisted masters of Night magic, as well as the magic of Spring, they have saved the Druj armies from Zenith once before. Using an enchantment similar to that practiced by certain secretive Varushkan cabalists, they wrapped themselves and the other armies in a veil of shadows that allowed them to pass through the Imperial forces in eastern and southern Sarangrave and make it to the Tower of the Skink without losses.

They are battered, weakened, but not broken - not yet. Some have no choice but to be here; their septs are in Sarangrave and if they abandon their ancestral lands to the Empire they will wither and die. No Buruk Tepel, no Het, will countenance such a fate. Better to die with your teeth in the throat of your enemy than to go quietly into the night! The other armies have no choice but to be here, forced to choose between destruction in Zenith or a desperate fight in Sarangrave, in some ways they have exchanged one prison for another. At least they have a fighting chance here. Or at least a chance of persuading the Tainted Basilisk to weave their enchantment again so that they may escape to safety in the Salt Flats to the north

The Poison Crane command the defenders, although it is likely their position is fragile at best. The septs never stop manoeuvring for power. It is likely that within the Tower of the Skink there are plots afoot already; even in the face of extinction the Druj will jockey for position. It is important never to forget that the orcs of the Mallum are only unified from the point of view from outsiders; loyalty between septs is utterly alien to their way of life, their way of seeing the world. The Tainted Basilisk in particular look to be chafing under the command of the Crane - none of their magicians are seen on the battlefield at all. They have chosen to remain sequestered within the walls of the Tower of the Skink. They may give the Crane cause for alarm, but there are those among the Imperials who wonder what exactly the ghulai of the Basilisk might be up to...

Politics aside, they fight. They have no choice. The Empire is coming and there will be little mercy for the Druj. They fight, and there is little subtlety to their strategy. They focus entirely on defence, on keeping the Empire from claiming the town of Sepals, from advancing on the Tower itself. There is a noticeable desperation to their tactics; hide, strike, flee, hide again. Their mobile, skirmishing approach can only go so far of course. The Empire sets the tempo here, and in the end the Druj must face the reality of the invasion and actually fight. Their knowledge of Marshlizard land helps them here; they are able to force engagements that favour their position more than the Empire's, at least some of the time. They're also not above mobilizing the people of Sepals in their service - barely armoured poorly armed orcs who are little better than slaves, pushed into position as distractions or literal walls of flesh and bone in the service of some cunning stratagem or the other. There is little heroic about slaughtering such hopeless folk, but the Druj know this and lie in wait to exploit any moment of "weakness" or "compassion."

In the Tower of the Skink, the Druj defenders are utterly demoralised, scrabbling to try and keep their foothold. They have nowhere to go, and while that makes them fight more viciously, it cannot help but eat away at their resolve. The Empire begins to make headway in the conquest of Thornfen, even in the face of the Druj forces arrayed against them. They push toward Sepals, and the warehouses that store the rice and dried meat taken from the farms of Thornfen. If they can reach the town before the last supplies are moved into the fortress, they will make it that much harder for the armies pressed together within its walls to survive the winter, to endure a siege. Once Sepals falls, there will be nothing between the Imperials and the walls of the Tower. After initial pessimism, it begins to look as if the Imperials will at least claim Sepals by the Winter Solstice, and begin to bring down the defences of the Marshlizard sept.

Unfortunately, the battle for the Tower of the Skink is only half the story.

Out of the North

The main thrust of the Empire's strategy is to the south. There are troops stationed in the north to keep an eye over the borders, but surely given the punishing defeat inflicted on the Druj last season, they will be licking their wounds and trying to regroup? Surely.

Sadly not. Even as the Empire advances on Sepals, a ragged host of Druj push back into Kroll and the southern Turan Flats. Five more armies, with the Black Wind in the vanguard. They might have quickly overwhelmed the vigilant watchers on the border had it not been for unlooked for aid. Warbands of former slaves and Bloodspears, out of the Nesustak Forest, appear seemingly out of nowhere to battle the invading orcs. They have no actual chance of holding the armies at bay, nowhere near the numbers, the prowess, or the organisation. Nothing like an army of their own - a handful of outlaw bands filled to the brim with the violent magic of Spring - they are in the midst of launching their own raids against Druj holdouts in the north when the Black Wind bring their vengeful forces across into Sarangrave.

With their aid, many of the soldiers stationed at the watchposts, busy securing Turan Flats and Kroll, are able to get to safety. They report that the rebels aren't precisely friendly, but it seems they hate the Druj much, much more than they distrust the Empire. It also appears that there are grim mortal followers and swift heralds of the Prince with a Thousand Foes fighting with them. Indeed it's likely that without that additional aid, they might not have been able to help the Imperial soldiers quite so effectively.

Thanks in part to their support, messengers are able to deliver the news of the Druj return to the armies in the south. There is an emergency council and the commanders agree that they have no alternative but to split their attention. With the northern contingent drawing closer by the hour, the Imperial forces cannot risk losing Turan Flats or Kroll; being squeezed between the anvil of Thornfen and the hammer striking out of the Salt Flats will spell disaster. At least the armies from the north show the signs of a year or more of constant warfare in Therunin and the Mallum; only the White Lion is anywhere near its full strength. Like bullies everywhere, the Druj are cocky and cruel when they have the advantage, but retreat almost immediately in the face of a concerted defence.

The Granite Pillar turn their attention to the north with commendable Highborn discipline. The Lions of Adelmar and the Summer Storm split their attention between the Pillar and the armies in the south. Indeed, the Storm will find it much easier to find Druj to kill in the northern marshes than they will the heavily fortified Thornfen. The rest of the Imperial advance presses the Tower of the Skink and the armies sequestered there.

There are clear signs of dissension in their ranks of the barbarians that emerge from the Salt Flats. While the Black Wind and the White Lion push forward to engage the Imperials, the Hidden Widow and Deadly Blade seem more focused on raiding the farms and villages and "making an example" of their former slaves. The Red Lizard meanwhile seem more concerned with recapturing Turan, at the urging of the widely reviled Het Traaka. The Shadow Krait sept, whose warriors make up the Red Lizard, clearly owe favours to the Banded Snake among whom Traaka enjoyed great prestige. How far they are prepared to go, however, depends on just how seriously they take those favours.

As the Imperial forces try to intercept the Red Lizard at Turan, that attracts the Black Wind and the White Lion, and a two-way battle erupts around the settlement. Days of vicious fighting see part of the town burn, but in the end the Empire is victorious and manages to push Traaka's allies back. There is little time for celebration however; every time one fire is stamped out another erupts somewhere else along the frontier.

It also helps that the Druj armies are clearly not sure what is waiting for them, and they come cautiously, carefully. Even the Black Wind, usually so keen to terrorize their foes, keep their darker urges in check. Even in the face of the Varushkan and Dawnish soldiers they despise more than any others, they remain cautious. For all their caution, these armies are no less prepared to fight than those in the south, no less eager to kill Imperial soldiers. It may be the presence of the Rivers of Life that make them bold; it is surely the loss of the Sarangrave that makes them desperate however.

Jarangir's Levy

Inevitably the need to address the armies out of the Salt Flats causes the Imperial advance in Thornfen to slow. Worse, it creates openings that allow the Marshlizard and the armies at the Tower to push back. The invasion falters, and it looks in the end as if the Imperial armies will make no headway this season at all. Through the seemingly random movements of troops back and forth, a great battle erupts around the crossroad where Jarangir's Levy meets the Path of the Tail that runs down towards Sepals and the Tower. The Druj defenders push mercilessly forward, committing their entire strength to the task of breaking the Imperial advance; of routing the virtuous forces.

With what might be the entire armed force of the Marshlizard sept fighting alongside the Poison Crane, even the Tainted Basilisk have dispatched a coven of war-sorcerer vikari in support. The engagement is brutal; the Summer Storm take the brunt of the casualties, but no army escapes unharmed. It is a testament to the discipline, to the commitment, of the Imperial armies that they are able to face the barbarian strike and not buckle under the pressure. The Boyar's Hasta in particular distinguish themselves, trading blows and vicious taunts with the Druj with equal facility, goading their enemies into overcommitting themselves, luring them into position where they can be cut off from their allies.

It's not clear who breaks the levy, swollen as it is with the heavy rains of winter. Some say it was a band of the Summer Storm, seeing the opportunity to wash away the Druj and win the day. Others say it was the warriors of the Flame Beetle, bringing their siege expertise to bear on the task of defeating the Empire. But breached it is, and what starts as a trickle of water swiftly turns into a deluge. Again, though, the discipline of the Empire sets them in better stead as the floodwaters cascade into the lowlands. The Lions of Adelmar in particular are responsible for saving dozens of lives, unconcerned whether those they aid are Dawnish, Unshackled, or from any other background. The Druj, though, deploy the age-old tactic of "everyone for themselves" and they suffer for it.

But the damage is done. The Imperial forces are scattered, their lines fractured by the need to avoid the waters, and the Druj are much more experienced fighting in these marshy conditions. It looks bleak for the Empire. Very bleak.

Then half the Druj forces, the Marshlizard garrison, the Poison Crane and the Tainted Basilisk, the Flame Beetle and the Jagged Claws suddenly break off. Rather than push their advantage, they take the Path of the Tail southwards at speed. The remaining forces - Hidden Snake, Hunting Scorpion, and red-painted Thorn Born - do their best to take advantage of the Empire's disarray but before they can do so the Imperial soldiers have regrouped and present an impenetrable forest of spears and swords and shields.

It is at this time that a figure appears in the Imperial command tent; a translucent shade of indeterminate gender, face hidden by a deep cowl, brazen chains for a belt, the only part of their body visible being hands that are more bone than flesh. It leaves no tracks on the sodden ground, as it delivers a message in a whispering voice that nonetheless is heard by everyone in the vicinity.

General Vasiliki Terricos sends her regards and anticipates the northern approach goes well. The Shield of Ipotavo has commenced its assault against the Tower of the Skink, and the General hopes to meet with the western armies soon.

The Sorcerer-Queen Ipotavo used to say: know your heart and what commands its devotion above all else. Listen. Do you hear the whispers of the spirits? Hear their words and know your heart and keep your oaths. We march in the name of the survivors of the siege. We march in the name of faithfulness to those that helped deliver us from the scorpion. Do not listen to gossiping snakes and traitors. They have forgotten the faces of the dead.

Vasiliki Terricos, General of the Shield of Ipotavo

Shield of Our Ancestors

Up the Path of the Eye they march, soldiers clad in dark greens and purples. They have siege engines, and they approach the southern gates of the Tower of the Skink with grim resolve. This is the Shield of Ipotavo, the soldiers who watch the Gates of Axos. They have been waiting for this opportunity for quite some time and plan to make the most of it.

Many years ago Imperial mercenaries helped the Shield of Ipotavo drive the Druj out of Axos, back to the Tower of the Skink. They helped break a siege no less terrible, it is said, than the one Holberg once endured. This past aid has not been forgotten, and now the Axou come as allies in this battle against their old foe. This is not an army that is battle-weary as the Imperial armies are, and they are veterans at facing the incursions of the Mallum. Perhaps unique among the folk of Axos, the people of Ipotavo know what the Druj are, and the threat they represent.

Most of the soldiers are of the Agema class: they are dressed in dark neatly-cut leathers, almost all equipped with the crescent shield and the long, thin sword favoured by these heavy skirmishers. In their vanguard, they deploy a battalion of the undying Tavos Ageli, masked in porcelain, silent, almost impossible to harm much less kill. The body of the army is supported by sable-robed necromantia some of whom are said to come not from Ipotavo but scholarly Maykop, their services purchased for some unknown price. Not that Ipotavo is without magicians of its own, but among the citadels, the practitioners of Maykop are recognised as true masters of the arts of death and the spirit.

The Tavos Ageli are not the only undying allies the Axou have brought. At dusk and dawn, other figures wander amongst the living. Wispy shapes, translucent in the first and last rays of the sun, in burial shroud and tattered robe and ceremonial armour. They offer advice and guidance to the soldiers and officers of the Shield. When a few scouts are able to make it through the southern mountains to liaise with the commanders of the Axos force, the commanders insist on discussing strategy only in the fading twilight where the ghostly figures offer wisdom only the Axou seem to hear. These spirits are apparently veterans themselves, soldiers and officers from every major engagement with the Druj going back centuries. In the end, one Axou captain remarks, there are only so many trials that the Creator can set before you. There are few battles that have never been fought before.

The ghostly figures also bear messages throughout the ranks of the Shield: they are a membrane of spectral intellect, that helps to reinforce in every soldier an intimate awareness of their role within the army, and the needs of the army as a whole. These phantoms are the bonds of understanding that bind the parts to the whole. While they approach the Tower from the other side to their Imperial counterparts, with the aid of the symphony of the wraith's guidance they match the balanced approach of the Empire's forces.

According to the scouts who get a good look at the Shield of Ipotavo, the army practically fills the southern pass. They have established camps, erected palisades, from which they press the southern approach to the Tower. The gates and the walls are strong, but they have not been tested in a hundred years or more.

Not that the captains of the Granite Pillar and the Boyar's Hasta always appreciate the spectres of the dead appearing in their chambers at sunrise or sunset to deliver messages and take them back to their descendants to the south. Many bear the marks of the wounds that slew them, and they bring with them an unmistakable, discomfiting chill aura of the grave. The magisters and Varushkan wizards who are in a position to examine these translucent messengers say that they are in some fashion bound by the magic that enchants the army.

Without examining the Shield of Ipotavo directly they can only speculate but it is a matter of some debate as to what exactly these ghostly advisors are and whether they serve willingly or as slaves. They are chained with Autumn magic that binds them to serve the captains of the Shield of Ipotavo. Arcane theory suggests strongly that whatever this enchantment is, however it works precisely, it has been crafted not just through Axou necromantia but with the aid of an eternal of the Iron Labyrinth. They cannot venture a guess at who might have offered their aid here, to bind such shadows on such a scale. If they are truly ghosts as the Axou claim perhaps they would have chosen to travel with the armies when they were alive; but in death there is not even the shadow of that choice.

Seasons End

With the Tower of the Skink squeezed in a vice between Axos and Empire, the fighting in Sarangrave shifts again. The battle at Jarangir's Levy is indecisive, and marks the high-water line of where the Empire's advance stops. At the same time, it marks a splintering of the Druj defences that means they cannot push the invading armies back further. In the north, the Empire's soldiers and their allies face the attack out of the Salt Flats, absorb it, turn it back. After the fight at Turan, the Druj are forced back again and again and eventually have no choice but to retreat out of Sarangrave once more.

In the end, the Empire proves victorious. The deciding factor is less strength of numbers - although that plays a part - but a triumph of discipline, virtue, and trust. Even in the face of the miasma, even fighting everything the Mallum can throw at them, the Empire stands stalwart. Every nation is represented, if not in the form of armies then in the legions of soldiers that have come to fight with them. They have fought, and fought hard; they are tired, muddied, and bloodied. Yet they fight with something akin to righteousness against the scourge of the Druj. There are few grey areas here; the question of liberation and conquest is one that can wait for another day. The rulers of the Mallum have shown time and again that they are possessed of monstrous cruelty, of an urge to dominate unmatched anywhere else. They are the closest thing the Empire has ever faced to true wickedness, the antithesis of virtue.

The Imperial fighters know that their people are behind them, at least for the time being. Perhaps even more importantly they know they are united in their goals. The orcs of the Mallum by contrast know only fear - a powerful weapon when it is your own hand on the hilt but all too easily does it twist and slip and end up cutting your own flesh. The Druj cannot trust one another even in this extremis; they cannot conceive of mercy; as the Empire continues to fight, the choices for the barbarians of the east are becoming narrower and narrower.

In the end, despite the Rivers of Life, and the valiant actions of the Lions of Adelmar, the Empire and their allies lose some two and a half thousand troops in Sarangrave. The Druj likely lose around the same, between their armies and the garrison of the Tower of the Skink. The fortification is weakened, but it still stands strong. The Empire has made inroads into Thornfen, but further progress is likely to be challenging in the face of the Druj defenders, especially given they have nowhere to go.

After all, the only thing crueller than a Druj warrior is a Druj warrior with nowhere left to hide.

Game Information

• The Empire is three-tenths of the way toward capturing Thornfen
• The Druj armies attacking from the north have been forced back into the Salt Flats of Sanath
• The Shield of Ipotavo support the Empire from the southern side of the Tower of the Skink
• The independent rebels, the former slaves and free septs, continue to harry the Druj

Imperial forces have achieved a dual victory; they have pushed forward into Thornfen and are three-tenths of the way toward claiming the region. They have also managed to prevent the attacking Druj force from out of the Salt Flats re-establishing any control over the northern Sarangrave. The northern armies have been pushed back into the Salt Flats, but a major force of Druj remains trapped in Thornfen, defending the region alongside the Tower of the Skink fortification.

The Shield of Ipotavo out of Axos support the Empire's attack, focusing their efforts on the Tower and its garrison. The magic employed by both sides has allowed them to effectively coordinate their strategies against the Druj.

The rebellious orcs of the Nesustak Forest offer some assistance to the Imperial forces, but mostly in terms of offering warnings and helping individual groups avoid the northern Druj. They have committed themselves to hunting and killing the left-behind barbarians. They protect their own borders, and beyond a mutual interest in resisting the attack out of the Salt Flats, have not reached out to any Imperial armies. An assessment of their strength suggests it is in the order of a half dozen or so military units, nothing approaching an army, but they have the support of Irra Harah (himself barely a friend of the Empire), and aid from Imperial citizens who support their cause.

The new fortification rules come into effect at the start of the Winter Solstice, which have implications for further fighting in Thornfen. This season has seen the bastion take some damage, and the garrison be somewhat depleted, but the presence of so many armies in Sarangrave has meant that the impact on the Tower of the Skink has been comparatively minor. Our rules team is currently putting together a short update as to how the transition to the new fortification rules will affect existing campaigns, which we anticipate being presented shortly. We're asking people to hold off on queries until this goes up.

While the territory has been granted to Urizen by the Senate, it is still an active warzone. At the moment, only a handful of prominent Urizen citizens have set up new spires in the lowland marshes and forests. The civil service has also struggled to do more than make a surface assessment of the territory, thanks to the ongoing fighting and the fact that there are still miasma pillars and Druj guerrillas even in areas the Empire nominally controls. More information about the situation in the Sarangrave, with reference to the rebels, and its role as a new Urizen territory, will be included in the winds of fortune nearer the event.

Participation: Murmastis and the Storm Song

• Soldiers who fought alongside the Summer Storm may experience a magical boon

Murmastis is one of the champions of Eleonaris, and she and her spear-dancers have fought alongside the Summer Storm. This season, the Storm has committed itself to hunting down the Druj and cutting them down. While many of the knights of Eleonaris' court are interested in glorious pageantry, Murmastis is a very old herald who more exemplifies the resonance of wroth. She does not encourage thoughtless bloodthirst, but rather that fierce joy that comes from triumphing over a foe by might of arms and cleverness.

Any character whose military unit supported the Summer Storm this season may choose to have embraced the experience of battling alongside Murmastis and her warband. If they do, they receive a particular boon.

• If you possess the hero skill, you may choose to increase your number of hero points by one until the end of the Winter Solstice.
• If you do not have the hero skill, you gain an additional temporary hero point which, once spent, is permanently gone. It will have faded entirely by the end of the Winter Solstice, regardless.

Anyone who chooses to gain this benefit also experiences a roleplaying effect that lasts until the end of the Winter Solstice: You feel the urge to seek out challenging confrontations, especially those that involve fighting, strategy, or tactics. You take particular pleasure in defeating others, whether enemies or friends, in such challenges. You feel the urge to do things that demonstrate your prowess as a powerful warrior. Being overlooked or dismissed may cause you to lose your temper. The effect lasts until the end of the Winter Solstice 387YE. The Summer Storm have benefitted from a number of different enchantments over the last few years, and so far at least the presence of the Knights of Glory have not begun to influence the army to the degree it has impacted other armies fighting in the Mallum.

Participation: Gaspare and the Axe of Victory

• Soldiers in the Golden Axe are becoming more attuned to the Summer realm
• The Golden Axe continue to be unable to use the Give Ground or Cautious Advance orders
• There is an opportunity for the General of the Golden Axe to change the quality of their army with the aid of Eleonaris' knights

This season Eleonaris dispatched the stoic Ser Gaspare to lead their heavily armoured forces into battle alongside the Golden Axe. While there have been a great many military captains fighting alongside the Golden Axe, the strategies they chose to employ this season have not resonated especially well with the knights of glory. They have told tales around the fire, and fought as they always do, but there has been less passionate fervour for them to inspire. Indeed, it does not seem entirely in the character of Ser Gaspare or his Summer schlacta to inspire individual soldiers in battle in the way some of the other knights of Eleonaris do. Rather, the herald and their soldiers have focused on the Golden Axe army itself.

Last season the increased impact of the Knights of Glory enchantment was made apparent. As happened in the reign of Empress Brannan, repeated exposure to the glorious knights of the Summer realm is having an unlooked-for effect on Imperial soldiers. The excitement of fighting in the Mallum is starting to affect the Empire’s loyal warriors - possibly because of the oppressive aura of fear coupled with the feeling of pride and strength exposure to the heralds of the Fields of Glory brings. But also because the Knights of Glory are so effective at inspiring those who fight alongside them to pursue glory and heroism over mere victory or survival.

The Golden Axe was one of the armies already affected by this growing attunement with aspects of the Summer realm. They continue to be unable to take the Cautious Advance or Give Ground orders. If the general issues such an order it will default to Balanced Attack or Solid Defence instead. This effect will persist until the army has spent an entire year without experiencing the Knights of Glory enchantment (each of the affected armies tracks this separately). It may be possible to ameliorate this effect by other means, but it is not clear quite how this might be done. The national or virtue assemblies of the Imperial Synod may be able to assist in this matter, perhaps with a suitably worded statement of principle.

The situation has not gotten any worse due to another season under the influence of the Knights of Glory. If anything, it has opened up a possible opportunity. The magical knights of Eleonaris encourage the soldiers of Varushka to conquer their enemies - something that is very much in keeping with their goals and ambitions. If the army is again enchanted with Knights of Glory at the Winter Solstice, and the general issues an Overwhelming Assault, Heroic Stand, Grinding Advance, or Take Their Land order against the Druj in the Mallum the knights will help enthuse the Varushkans even more. The final component required will be 12 wains of mithril, which should be in the inventory of the general of the Golden Axe and used to create a set of standards in the old Vardish style, incorporating the virtuous animals, and serving as symbols of their commitment to victory and triumph.

The army quality of the Golden Axe will become Victorious. They will keep the Take Their Land order and replace Grinding Advance with the Implacable Conquest order. However, they will permanently lose the ability to take the Cautious Advance or Give Ground orders.

Implacable Conquest

• Casualties suffered by this army are reduced by a fifth
• Casualties inflicted by this army are reduced by a fifth
• The ability of this army to conquer territory is increased by a fifth

The army advances relentlessly, targeting key strategic points with their attacks. They do not shy away from direct engagements, harrying defenders until they force them to retreat. Securing their goal, they consolidate their gains and then select another landmark to move towards. In the end, it is the conquest that matters; the iron spirit of the Vard will be satisfied by nothing less than absolute, uncontested victory.

Battle Opportunity: The Dead Whisper

The orcs of the Mallum are beset by the armies of the Empire who press towards their last stronghold, the Tower of the Skink, and repulse their attempts to establish a foothold back in the Turan Flats. The situation only worsens when the Citadel of Ipotavo, who have decided the time is right to join the campaign, lauch a surprise attack from the South. In Thornfen, tens of thousands of Druj fighters cower with their backs to the walls, cornered like rats. Caught between the two forces, the Druj face a threat unlike any they have ever known.

Yet, these are still Druj... corner them and they turn to fight. Even the heavy ranks of knights, cataphractii, and schlacta are hard pressed to fully contain the enemy. Warbands of elite arkad fighters are able to slip the closing ring that tightens around them. These disparate forces are under the command of the het named Rethan "Fangsnapper" and the cicatrix ritualist Vekore Amberlure. Rethan's forces are moving to strike the baggage trains of the Sheild of Ipatavo, looking to cut their supplies, weakening the army and dismaying the soldiers.

Cicatrix Vekor Amberlure has plans of her own to punish the Axou for their arrogance. One of the wardens of Cassad Ûln, the massive mountain fortress that stands sentinel in the mountains of the Forest of Ulnak, they are one of the few Druj practitioners of Autumn magic. Drawing on every resource they have, the Druj have paid for a detachment of Estavus' Crucible Guard and Forge Wardens, as well as a lumbering Bronze Titan, to protect the Cicatrix - a sign of just how important this plan is.

Vekor plans to use the power of the Autumn realm to seal the Pass of the Eye that leads from Thornfen out of the Sarangrave and into the Axou territory of Kabanja. This broad pass rises up from the marshes to cross the shoulder between two great peaks. Whilst wide enough for an army to easily move through, the towering flanks make it potentially vulnerable. As has been demonstrated before in Spiral, Sermersuaq, and Kahraman, narrow mountain passes are ripe targets for sabotage or powerful destructive magics to block them.

Objective: Confront Fangsnapper's forces

• Het Rethan leads forces to strike the Shield of Ipatavo's encampments
• Engage the Druj and prevent them attacking the Axou baggage trains
• Every minute the Empire engage the Druj will save Axou lives
• Engaging the Druj for an hour or more will achieve a notable diplomatic win for the Empire
• If the Empire engage the enemy for less than forty minutes, the Ipotavans will use cautious advance next season

The "Fangsnapper" is a ruthless and savage leader of elite Druj fighters. He has snuck out from the Tower of the Skink and is aiming for the weak underbelly of the Ipotavo army. With bow and spear and poisoned blade, these fighters are moving to ransack the baggage trains, cutting down any Axou guards foolish enough to get in their way, as well as destroying the specialised siege equipment that the Shield of Ipotavo are bringing up to deply against the Tower of the Skink. With typical Druj cunning, Rethan is striking where it will hurt the Axou the most.

If the Empire move to decisively engage Fangsnapper they can draw his forces away from the Axou. Every minute they fight the Druj they will save lives. If they can endure for forty-five minutes or more that will be enough to allow the Shield of Ipotavo to continue a balanced attack against the Druj this coming season. Otherwise, the casualties the Axou suffer will force them to take a cautious advance next season, which could slow the progress of the war.

If they fight the barbarians for an hour or more, then they will save many, many Ipotavan lives, and the engagement will be considered a diplomatic triumph for the Military Council. The Empire have worked tirelessly for years to overcome the bad feelings resulting from the failed raid on Tsark, but this is first serious attempt at military cooperation since then debacle. The Ipotavans will know that the Empire proactively moved to shield their allies from the worst of this - and that will pay dividends. Every minute counts - the longer the Empire can fight for, the stronger the Shield of Ipatavo army will be in the coming season.

How the Empire seeks to engage the Druj on the fields around Camp Askoun Orama is up to the Field Marshall and the generals of the military council. They could favour a static stance, using the defences of the camp in their favour, or adopt a more dynamic deployment that would enable them to move and counter barbarian troops as they arrive in the area.

Objective: Seize the Druj's Resources

• Mages loyal to Vekor are transporting magical resources in the area
• Capture the ingots and measures to deny the barbarian's schemes
• Seizing 150 resources will prevent the Druj from purchasing sufficient rondures from the House of Fire and Flame
• Otherwise, the Druj will collapse the Pass of the Eye and trap the Shield of Ipatavo in Thornfen

Cicatrix Vekor has agreed to purchase powerful magics from the Autumn realm and then deploy them high in the Pass of the Eye. Her entourage, protected by Het Rethan's forces, are making their way through the Shield of Ipatavo's camps and heading up into the mountains for a rendezvous with heralds from House of Fire and Flame. There they will exchange a cache of magical ingots and measures in return for a supply of the Flasks of Fire and Fury. These are the same destructive rondures deployed several years ago to bring down Redgate Pass in Kahraman.

Fearing treachery from Rethan's forces, as much as attack from the forces of the Empire or Axos, Vekor has ordered the cache split between night pouches and then placed into small chests. These chests are with her most trusted followers who have spread themselves across the barbarian forces in the area. Each mage carrying a chest ensures Vekor knows where they are by lofting a simple green pennant in the air as they move up the pass. War scouts have already managed to recover two chests and discovered different numbers of resources within the night pouches, making the total resources being moved by the Druj uncertain.

Imperial forces will need to hunt down the groups protecting Vekor's mages during the battle and recover the chests from them. Once found, each night pouch will need to be opened by the Day ritual Piercing Light of Revelation to recover the resources inside. If the Empire can recover a further 150 ingots or measures it will deny the Druj sufficient resources to complete their own mission. Otherwise the Druj will exchange the resources with the House of Fire and Flame for enough rondures to bring down the twin peaks into the pass.

Should this happen, the route between Sarangrave and Kabanja will be severed. This will prevent further Axos forces from reaching Thornfen or the Shield of Ipatavo from returning to their own territory. Critically, it will also break the supply route for the Ipotavan army, which will begin to degrade over the coming season.

Objective: Recover an Axou artefact

• Cicatrix Vekor is in possession of a magical artefact of importance to the Axou
• The Axou have asked the Ambassador to make arrangements to return it, if they can

Vekor Amberlure is in possession of a rare citadel mask. Named "The Rebuker of the Unwanted", the mask is a foci that aids the casting of the winter warding rituals: Hold Back the Frozen Hunger, There Is No Welcome Here and Ward of the Black Wastes. Crafted over four centuries ago to combat threats faced by the Axou; the knowledge of its creation was lost when the controversial artisan who fashioned it was executed as a traitor to their citadel. Unremarkable in look and appearance, it was stolen during the invasion of Axos nearly a decade ago - the Axou would very much like it back

The Axou have sent a desperate message for the attention of 'Shacklebreaker' Thanmir Hrafnar, the Ambassador to the Axou asking for help recovering the artefact. If Imperial forces are able to recover the stolen mask - the Axou expect their ambassadorial counterpart to ensure it is returned to its rightful owners. They haven't been so gauche as to put a price on the mask, but clearly the ambassador Thanmir could use the mask as leverage. That would need to be handed carefully to avoid upsetting the notoroiously touchy Axou - the safer option would be to simply ask for a reward for its safe return.

Battlefield opportunity: Rescue the Urizeni captives

• Five Urizeni soldiers are being held captive by the Druj
• Who they are and why they were in the area is unknown
• Locate and free the captives, then return them to Anvil

War scouts have reported a small group of Urizen soldiers currently held prisoner by the Druj. The information passed to the prognosticators has so far been unable to identify the individuals or the spire from which they hail. The Urizeni egregore is also unable to identify them, suggesting that some sort of shrouding is involved, or the miasma that pervades the area is masking them from perception. That the group has not chosen to take the Gift of Kaela suggests that they either have important knowledge pertinent to their predicament and the Empire, or are hoping for rescue.

The opportunity presented here by the civil service is clear; find and free the captives, ensure they are healed and ministered to as best they can be, then return them safely to Anvil.

Battlefield Environment: Miasma of despair

• The entire battlefield is affected by an oppressive Druj miasma
• The miasma causes WEAKNESS to everyone exposed to it unless they have a way to overcome it

The entire area at Camp Askoun Orama, is under the effect of the Druj miasma, a pall of potent fear that blankets the lands the Druj claim dominion over. Anyone entering the area will need to protect themselves from the clawing dread or succumb to a weakening terror that creeps into their mind.

The primary effect of the miasma is that it weakens anyone exposed to it who does not have the ability to overcome it. The easiest method to overcome the miasma is to receive an anointing, but particularly heroic individuals, or those in possession of certain enchantments or magic items may also be able to counteract the effect. In particular, those of the changeling lineage are able to fight the effects of the miasma, by only by becoming extremely angry - which can cause problems all its own.

Battlefield Environment: Whispers of the Dead

• Axou ghosts move across the battlefield and offer tactical insights against the Druj
• Anyone can roleplay that they can hear the ghost's voices at any time
• Once per battle, a character can use five seconds of appropriate roleplaying to be empowered by the ghosts
• An empowered character can make a single heroic call based on the weapon they are using within the next 10 seconds, as if they were the target of the Empower spell

The Axou near Camp Askoun Orama have beseached the ghosts bound to the army to guide and assist their allies in battle. Invisibly passing across the battlefield, the ghosts observe and watch the orcs arrayed against them. If one is careful and concentrates on their sibilant whispers, the can impart keen tactical advice, or point out weaknesses in the defences of a foe. Once per battle, this timely guidance can enable a keen warrior the perfect opportunity to bypass armour, sever an exposed limb, or knock an opponent from their feet after five seconds of appropriate roleplaying.