Thorn and bone
Of Sword and Shield
Five Imperial armies are in Sarangrave this season. The Black Thorns, Boyar's Hasta, and Granite Pillar stand ready to face the vallorn as it comes pouring out of Bendol into the Nesustak Forest. The Citadel Guard and the Golden Axe focus their efforts on the reamining threat of the Druj, whose desperation becomes more and more pronounced as each season passes. There is also the Axos army of Ipotavo, but they are concerned with claiming the Thornfen and protecting it from any errant vallornspawn.
Likewise, the limited military forces of the Nesustak rebels - the warriors of the Marsh Striders and the Bloodwater Spears and the other former slaves of the Mallum - are focused entirely on protecting their homes from the vallorn, fighting alongside the Empire's armies. Also fighting with the Imperial armies warbands led by Imperial captains, easily another two whole armies worth of heroes and champions. Most fight alongside the Black Thorns, with a healthy contingent standing with the Boyar's Hasta, but there are warriors from across the Empire fighting in Sarangrave this season and every army has its supporters.
There is also something in the air; Autumn magic floods the territory bringing with it an intuitive sense of the presence of danger that allows folk to avoid nearby enemies and hazards. Those affected by this power find themselves drawn by chance to safe locations, and possessed of an uncanny awareness of the paths to take to help them avoid capture or death. While its usefulness to those fighting the vallorn is obvious, it also provides a measure of protection to the armies fighting in Sarangrave this season.
Few words are needed for me to explain what is about to fall upon Nesustak Forest and the spets of the Mallum that live within it. The Greentide of the Vallorn will descend across the land, but we will be there to meet them. Let us show the Empire why we are the first line of defence against this foe. We will deploy a solid defence to buy time for the soldiers of the Granite Pillar to protect the spts. We will show these septs the light of virtue and the strength it provides. Leave the word of the desparate Druj to our siblings the Citadel Guard and Golden Axe.
Cadwell Waystone, General of the Black ThornsMy Hasta! You make our quartermaster weep. A family of raiders, sapscallions, you are loud, opinionated and at least two of you owe me money. But to the Druj? To our foes? Yiu are the ghost in the wind. The nightmare at the edges of their Tunnel vision. But the job is not finished. The hand does not leave the door while the dark is moving. The Vallorn made the mistake of waking up while we're here. Make it a rude one. Hold the Vallornguard's wisdom in one hand and the emperors steel in another. Our eyes saved the Sarangrave, now let our spears defend those who cannot defend themselves.
Serafina Semenov, General of the Boyar's HastaWe love the sword not for its sharpness, but for what it protects. We are soldiers; we are trained to fight, because if we do not, there are those who will tear virtue down. And so, alongside our allies in Varushka, Urizen and Navarr, we shall engage the Vallorn and in doing so protect the septs with a Solid Defence. We come as liberators, not conquorers, to bring the light of the Way. Where we go, virues follow! You are the light in the darkness, and I could not be prouder of you my beloved siblings.
Sychar of Ebon's Hall, general of the Granite PillarThe Doom of Béantal Dol
The last act of the Tainted Basilisk was to rouse the vallorn of Béantal Dol to devour Sarangrave, just as they raised the vallorn of Tharunind to lay waste to Therunin. Using the Sentinel Gate, Imperial heroes managed to stem the tide of the vallorn in Bloodwater Marsh, and in the process shatter the corrupt army of the Tainted Basilisk once and for all. Nothing can save the warding stones that once kept the vallorn contained in Bendol, but thanks in part to the vigilance of the Boyar's Hasta, the worst of the damage has been contained...
All except for the Nesustak Forest. The Tainted Basilisk directed their malice against the Forest and the Marshes, against the rebels and the Empire. Even as heroes are fighting in the Bloodwater Marsh, the vallorn is beginning to surge forth across the woodlands claimed by the former slaves of the Sarangrave Druj.
Almost since the moment it was first unleashed, since it brought about the ruin of Béantal Dol, the vallorn in Bendol has been contained. That last desperate act of the Terunael magicians meant that a thousand years of growth, of the fecund magic of the Spring realm pouring into the mortal world, had nowhere to go. The warnings were plentiful; if the warding stones were removed the vallorn would explode outwards like a mechanism under tension that has finally been released. And explode it does. An eruption of greenery that spreads in all directions. It is weakened in Turan Flats, in Thornfen, and in Whisperwood. It has been held back in Bloodwater Marsh. Now it seeks to overwhelm Nesustak and the people who live there, a terrible tendril of destruction whipping out from the dark heart of Bendol.
The people of Nesustak Forest will fight - but they stand no chance against the unleashed vallorn. Even the aid of the Prince with a Thousand Fores won't be enough to save them. The heralds and mortal "friends" of the Spring eternal will do their best but this is not a corrupt overseer, a tyrant, an oppressive conqueror that they can face down, nor is it a force that they can rally the oppressed to rise up against. It is a force of nature, utterly wild and completely savage, incapable of fear, remorse, or pity. A sea of life that will consume everything in its path, transforming everything over which it washes into part of itself.
So it falls to the Imperial armies to face the vallorn of Bendol, to stand against the tide, to turn back the sea. There are degrees of victory, of course, but anything short of total triumph will see Nesustak Forest tainted, wounded by the vallorn in a way that cannot be healed until that day where mortals finally face the wrath of the vallorn united, and achieve its destruction. Just as with East Ashes, where the Pilgrim's Defiance fought bravely against Tharunind, if any part of the vallorn makes it through the defenders the land will be infested with the power of chaos.
A tall order.
All three armies are enchanted with the Clarity of the Master Strategist. This is not a struggle to kill the opponent - right now there is no way to kill the vallorn in any way that matters - but to face its wrath and endure it. In the wild woods of Nesustak, the preternatural strategic awareness granted by Day magic will prove invaluable, allowing for soldiers spread across the region to coordinate their efforts toward the shared goal. The Black Thorns take the lead, appropriately enough, forming the first line of defence against the horror boiling out of Bendol. The Granite Pillar see to the defence of the septs of the Mallum, to those newly established settlements across Nesustak that house those who broke free of Druj dominance. The Boyar's Hasta stand between the two, ready to turn their spears to the defence of the former slaves or to plunge them into the heart of the vallornspawn, whichever is most needed.
The rebels of Nesustak are not defenceless; all those who can fight prepare to do so. The heralds of Unshackled are everywhere, offering counsel and support. There is no hiding from the vallorn; it devours all hiding places. There is no yielding; it is incapable of mercy. There is only flight, or fight. Those who cannot fight flee westward, under the protection of Highguard. Those who can fight take up spear and bow and ready themselves to battle the End of the World alongside Imperial soldiers. There is some suspicion, of course, but the example of the Gryphon's Pride, and the clear commitment of the Empire to defend them, mean that it is put, for the moment at least. Even the children of the Ward of the Young urge the people of Nesustak to take the aid of Imperial armies at face value, at least for now. There may be a time when the septs of the Mallum and the Empire must fight one another, but for now they are united in a single cause.
There is barely enough time to prepare, though, before the first tendrils of the vallorn stretch out from the heart of Sarangrave into the forest, and chaos flows in their wake.
Terror of a Thousand Years
The vallorn rises, writhing out across Nesustak Forest. The first sign of its coming is that the vegetation all along the river begins the thicken, to grow with supernatural speed and fecundity, forcing the waters that flow down toward the lake to slow to a snails pace. Across this surface sprout the roots of the Bendol trees, the body of the vallorn itself, creating a bridge across which the creatures of the deep woods can pour unchecked into Nesustak (and an observer might see this and shudder as to what this same process might have done in Bloodwater Marsh had it been free to spread there as well).
There is a mercy; the vallorn is expanding so swiftly that the miasma that hangs heavy over the places it claims is left behind. Not so the vallornspawn, the aberrant creatures that dwell within the heart of darkness, trapped in an eternal cycle of life and death, hunting and hunted in turn, warped by exposure to the chaos of Spring, compounded by the folly of Terunael.
It would take too long to enumerate the abhorrent things that pour out of Bendol. There are the vallornspawn husks of course. Although it is rare to encounter them outside the mists of the miasma, this season at least they are on the move into Nesustak. Perhaps it is a consequence of the great tide of power flowing out of the vallorn that drives them before it, heralds of its coming. The first husks are perhaps the most tragic; they are former human folk, many with the briar lineage. Most look so fresh they might be mistaken for living beings were it not for the way they move. These are the Grynbor, that sept of human slaves that lived on the very edge of the Nesustak Forest across the river from the vallorn. The children of Irra Harah grimly recount their attempts to get them to flee the advance of the vallorn, and how they refused to leave. As Béantal Dol began to rise they bedecked themselves in their finery, adorned themselves in flowers, and crossed the river en masse to join with their ancestors.
The heralds were barely able to save a handful of children from this madness. For the rest, they really did join their ancestors - as creatures of the vallorn caught perpetually between life and death. Unfortunately, a disproportionate number of the former Grynbor seem to have made particularly strong hosts, even those without briar lineage. Many of them exhibit the powers of the so-called dryads, husks that channel Spring magic directly to empower and support the other husks around them and can by themselves keep a mob moving forward even in the face of concerted resistance.
There are also orc bodies moving at the forefront of the husks, but they are significantly less tragic. Many are magicians of the Tainted Basilisk, those overwhelmed by the vallorn when they broke the warding stones. Their living-death has washed away their magic, their spite and bitterness, leaving them no more potent than any other vallornspawn. Some do still wear remnants of the mage armour that protected them in life, and some magic still clings to it, but it is fading fast. The Tainted Basilisk have reaped their reward for their wickedness, and paid the price for their attempt at retribution.
The husks are only part of it, though, and alongside them come all the twisted abominations of the vallorn. The scouts who pressed into the depths of the vallorn spoke of monstrous hunting lizards whose jaws split open like flowers revealing hundreds of hooked teeth, and of serpentine creatures with spider-like legs that skittered through the trees, leaping at their prey and tearing them apart with their barbed claws before swallowing them whole. These are but the tip of the iceberg, however. Bear-like horrors with living vines growing in their hide that snap out and entangle enemies. Trees that shamble and stumble, shrieking with human voices and gushing red blood rather than sap when they are injured. Orbs of plant matter that drift unnaturally against the wind and explode with venomous spores when they take the slightest damage. Awful humanoid things, part flesh and part plant, each one twice the size of orc or human, lumpen and misshapen as the half-sculpted mockery of thinking beings that they are. There is at least one sighting of an infested marshwalker, a natural creature twisted into a being of rampant destruction that moans and howls in constant agony. A creature that looks like nothing so much as a great ball of humanoid arms, rolling and dragging itself through the trees, before opening dozens of dripping maws in the palms of its "hands" with which it can suck all the blood from an unfortunate victim in a matter of moments. This and more, creatures from nightmare, all driven forward by the instinct of the vallorn, to devour, to consume, to contain.
Of all the spawn of the vallorn, only the ettercaps are absent. As the scouts revealed, there seem to be none in Bendol. If there is a reason for this conspicuous absence, it is not any more apparent than it was when the Navarr first slipped into the ruins of Béantal Dol.
They come, and the Empire holds against them, and then things begin to go wrong.
The Wooden Fastness
Shortly after the Spring equinox, a magical ward settles over the Nesustak Forest. The wooden fastness, forged from the power of Irra Harrah himself. Thickets of thorn and briar form; masses of branch and root mesh together to create veritable walls of living vegetation to help hold back the surging vallorn. The marsh forest itself acts to hinder enemies, while parting to allow the swift passage of allies. Even some of the beasts of Nesustak themselves fight the vallorn, in keeping with their natures, although this rarely ends well for them. And, while the region belongs to the rebels, the magic treats the Imperial defenders as allies and offers them safety in the wild places of the woodlands.
At the same time, the servants of Irra Harah slip into the woodlands in numbers hitherto unseen. Their primary focus is to protect the rebels, but they are prepared to cooperate with the Empire toward their shared goal. Bright-eyed heralds appear from nowhere to warn a cohort of the Granite Pillar of the approach of vallornspawn that might otherwise have caught them in a pincer. Quick rabbit-like creatures the size of a great dane lead a lost patrol of the Boyar's Hasta to safety at a rebel village, echoing the stories of magical beasts familiar to all Varushkans (it is just as well, perhaps, that it is this army that is in Sarangrave for Irra Harah has little love for certain other Varushkan armies). The whispered words of the Golden Hare himself are brought on the wind to the Black Thorns, offering guidance as to where their strength might be best employed.
The friends of Irra Harah - the mortals who aid the eternal and have come to Nesustak to work with the rebels - say that in part this response from the eternal is due to the petition of the Archmage of Spring who has entreated Shacklebreaker for aid in Nesustak. The aid is for the most part subtle, but it is aid nonetheless. Many who would have died survive their encounters with the vallorn, and those who might have been overwhelmed are brought succour when it is most needful.
However... this very ward that protects so many proves to be a two-edged sword. The vallorn is drawn to Spring magic, and the Wooden Fastness is a powerful expression of that realm's arts. At first the ward is only beneficial, helping the defenders hold back the vallorn. Unfortunately, the further the vallornspawn press, the deeper its tendrils penetrate, the wilder they become. The mechanism is unclear but they glut themselves somehow on the magic flowing around them. The vallorn itself seems to batten onto the magic, feeding on it, drawing strength from it. The husks drive forward, pressing further ahead of the tendrils of the vallorn itself. The abominations often seem driven into a frenzy when they come into contact with elements of the ward, attacking with berserk fury. Worse, the power of the ward serves to invigorate and revitalise the vallornspawn; where the ward is most potent they seem to heal almost immediately from all save the most terrible wounds. While they cannot endure venom, the vallornspawn husks seem almost impossible to destroy except by literally rending them limb from limb.
While the ward slows the attackers, while it protects the weak and the strong, it does so by making the vallornspawn more vicious, and blood begins to flow in rivers through the forests of Nesustak.
It is of course at this exact moment that the Druj choose to return to Sarangrave.
Fang and Feather
The Tainted Basilisk are no more, but there are two other armies that still call Sarangrave home. The Poison Crane are the warriors of the Marshlizard who once dominated Thornfen and Kroll. Likewise, the Hidden Snake are drawn from the Banded Snake sept who ruled over Nesustak Forest and the Turan Flats. Their homelands have been conquered by the Empire. Those Druj who ruled the septs have been forced to flee, either north into the Salt Flats of Sanath or into the wild places of Sarangrave. Either way they are in no position to support their warriors any more. It comes as no surprise then that a couple of weeks after the Spring Equinox, these two armies launch an attack against Sarangrave. It is perhaps more of a surprise that there are no other Druj armies with them. They do not come alone, however, when they pour across the border from Lower Saarnath into Turan Flats.
It is common for Druj armies to bear potent enchantments but usually they draw on the lore of Spring magic. Sometimes, though, it can be easy to forget that the wicked magicians of the Druj are versed in other realms as well. It has been a long time since the Empire has seen the warriors of the Mallum fighting alongside the dead but when the two battered armies come into the Sarangrave, thousands of shambling horrors come with them. If they were Imperial armies, the Unfettered Mind would say they are subject to Quickening Cold Meat but this is not any dubious gift of Wise Rangara - it is something altogether worse.
The dead - predominantly but not solely orcs - are absolutely consumed with hunger for living blood and meat. The spirits inside them are not quite the same as those drawn by the Imperial enchantment; they are as cunning as they are savage. While they cannot speak, they display the ability to work together in a way Winter husks rarely evidence. They move quickly, lean and athirst, hunting ahead of the Druj armies in packs that hurl themselves at any who try to fight, and relentlessly chase down anyone who tries to flee like wild dogs. A few seem to be possessed of more potent spirits, that unleash occasional howls of terrifying intensity that can drive the strength from a warrior and make them easy prey for the pack.
They are similar to the traditional spirits called by Imperial magic in one particular way, however. When they are defeated - when their stolen bodies can no longer house the creature of the Winter realm housed within - they move swiftly to find another body and rouse it to wakefulness ready to enact the same horrible dance of hunt, murder, and feasting all over again. As the season draws on, then, there are more former humans among their number than orcs, making them all the more horrible.
As well as Winter spirits, the Hidden Snake is accompanied by a cohort of the creatures known as tortured souls. Former Imperial heroes and champions, captured by the Druj and transformed through torment and vile ceremonies into relentless warriors of death who harbour an unending hatred for those they see as having abandoned them. The general of the Hidden Snake, Het Trakaa, is known to have an obsession with creating these things and it seems he has brought his entire "collection" with him in this last-ditch, desperate attack.
Perhaps they believe that the Empire's attention is focused elsewhere, fighting the vallorn, and they will have the opportunity to claim the Turan Flats. Perhaps they are just desperate. Either way, the two armies erupt across the border, launching an overwhelming assault against what were once the holdings of the Banded Snakes in Turaan. They must be hoping to claim the region before the Empire realises they are there, and seize another season from the jaws of death.
Sentinels, Consider the Drowned Man. There were three Druj armies that Tyranised the people of the Sarangrave. As I write this, there are two. Under my command, the Basilisk was Broken by the Heroes of Anvil. Now the Snake and Crane will break on your discipline. We are their end.
Andronikos of the Lighthouse-That-Was, General of the Citadel GuardAxe, we have fought to take Sarangrave. Now we fight to hold it. The Druj seek to take what we have claimed and in vigilance we shall deny them in this. We shall be a shield for our comrades fighting the Vallorn. We shall break the Druj with our axes. We deny them this day and for all days to come. Their empire shall fall, their armies shall break. Axe, with me, we Stand!
Vojsuli Cherenkov, General of the Golden AxeBattle of the Flats
Fortunately, the Empire is entirely prepared for the attack from the north. The Citadel Guard and the Golden Axe are already in position to meet the onslaught from the Salt Flats, and when the Hidden Snake and the Poison Crane launch their attack they break themselves against a solid wall of Imperial soldiers.
If it were possible to feel pity for the Druj, now might be the time. Even with Winter husks fighting with them they are outnumbered nearly three to one by the Urizen and Varushkan troops. There is no subtlety here, no skirmish and retreat, no traps to lure the unsuspecting into, no opportunities to terrorise the weak. There is only a face-to-face fight between two Druj armies that are on the verge of exhausted collapse, and two fresh, well-rested Imperial armies. Druj desperation is no match for the resolve of those that stand against them.
The Snake and the Crane are bent on reaching Turan but they do not come close. The battle of Turan Flats takes place miles from Trakaa's capital, from the Banded Snake's old centre of power. Indeed, the Druj have barely crossed the border before the Citadel Guard and the Golden Axe are upon them. At first, the armies fall back a little, giving the impression perhaps that they are overwhelmed and ready to give ground. But they are merely testing the forces that have come against them, wisely waiting to see if this is just the advance guard and if a more potent force follows behind. As soon as it becomes clear that the two armies are by themselves, the trap snaps shut around them.
Thrusting forward towards Turan means that they are far enough from the border for the plentiful forces of the Golden Axe to flank them on either side while the Citadel Guard plant their standards in the soft marsh soil and simply refuse to fall back any further. The fighting is vicious, bloody, savage as only a war against the Druj can be. Stripped of their tricks they have only their martial force to rely on, and even with their unliving auxiliaries it is just... not enough.
Oh, the Empire does not emerge unscathed. Some five hundred Imperial soldiers fall to the Druj, to their howling Winter war-dogs, to the tortured spirits of champions taken by the enemy and twisted into something unspeakable. At the same time, however, the Druj lose nearly twice that many of their own troops - losses they cannot hope to recover from while the Empire holds Sarangrave and their septs are broken and scattered.
The Druj have been driven back, but the encounter is far from decisive. The invaders are left with no option but to fall back to the Salt Flats, perhaps to make one last attempt on reclaiming their lands next season. The Citadel Guard and the Golden Axe give chase, but they are unable to catch the fleeing Druj. The same Imperial magic that serves to help the folk of Nesustak Forest escape the vallorn proves an unexpected ally to the orcs of the Mallum. The bulk of their two armies easily escape their pursuers back toward the border with Sanath.
An End to Waiting
While the Citadel Guard and the Golden Axe battle the Druj in Turan Flats, the rest of the Imperial forces fight alongside the Nesustak rebels against a seemingly endless tide of vallornspawn empowered and invigorated by that same Spring magic meant to protect the people of the forest. It is a paradox, almost. Those sites where the enchantment is focused are the best place to hold the vallorn, but the savagery of the spawn means it is also where the most blood is spilled.
As the vallorn draws power from Spring magic, the defenders are thrown into disarray and it seems clear the vallornspawn are going to overwhelm them. First one step back, then another. The trees of eastern Nesustak begin to twist, as the tendrils of the vallorn begin to take root, begin to plant the seeds that will begin the final infestation of the forest. A desperate council of war is held; perhaps it is time to accept the inevitable, to save what can be saved and to abandon the rest. The sorrow that hangs over that discussion is palpable; the heralds of Irra Harah prepare to help those rebels and Imperials prepared to flee the woodlands to make their escape if they think the day is lost.
In the end, though, the Black Thorns refuse point blank to accept defeat. "Let us show the Empire why we are the first line of defence against this foe", said the General, and those words resonate like never before. Whatever the other Imperial forces may do, the Black Thorns will not retreat before the vallorn. In the face of such commitment, the Granite Pillar and the Boyar's Hasta will not abandon their allies. The rebels of the Nesustak Forest will not abandon their homes, while there is any chance of holding even a portion of the woodlands.
From there, the push back begins in earnest. The price is grim indeed; the vallornspawn attack in a frenzy but the Imperial forces will not allow them to claim any more land here. They lost Eastring to the malice of the Tainted Basilisk; the Navarr will not allow the Nesustak Forest to share that fate. The vallornspawn are not just held, but they are forced back, back toward the river over which they swarmed, back to the ruins of Béantal Dol. It is slow going at first, and gets harder the closer the vallornspawn get to being driven out of the woodlands. By the time the fighting reaches the banks of the river, the magic of the Wooden Fastness has been so drained the enchantment is beginning to fall apart. Yet it holds long enough to provide a measure of succor to those fighting the vallornspawn, moments of respite in the terrible fighting that create a space to recover from the violence, to rest, to sleep safely.
In the end, as the Summer Solstice approaches, the last of the vallornspawn are cut down. Vates and magisters and cabalists, versed in the lore of Spring and Winter, work quickly to uproot the seeds of the vallorn before they can take root. Without the relentless attacks of the vallorn, it is relatively easy to work the rituals to deal with the contagion left in their wake. While the vallorn still exists the Nesustak Forest will be in danger - but ultimately no more so than Northpines or the Glen of Shadows. Even the vegetative bridge that stretches across the river, that thick matt of plant matter that allowed abominations to pour into the western woods, begins to decay and fall apart as the vallorn of Béantal Dol slips back into uneasy restfulness. An old story; the vallorn rises and the resolve of humans and orcs drives it back. Inspirational, perhaps.
An Old Story
In the north, in the Turan Flats, another old story is unfolding. The Poison Crane and the Hidden Snake have escaped the wrath of the Golden Axe and the Citadel Guard, seeking to flee back over the border into the Salt Flats of Sanath, guided by Autumn magic. Yet, at the last moment, something goes wrong. Perhaps those who remember the Druj retreat from Holberg all those years ago might have guessed what is coming but it seems the armies of the Mallum have short memories.
When they try to leave Turan Flats, the Hidden Snake and the Poison Crane are met with a tempest of arrows. Druj arrows. Warriors from the Witness, the Spires of Rarckan, and the Beacon of Iskrid are arrayed along the border, and will not let the defeated armies cross out of Sarangrave. Those who try are remoreselessly cut down. A few might make it across, but without the protection of the Autumn magic that has protected them thus far they will not escape the patrols for long.
Left with no choice, the armies turn on the very edge of Turan Flats and prepare to make their final stand. One way or another, this is the end for the Hidden Snake and the Poison Crane; the end for the Banded Snake and Marshlizard; the end for Het Trakaa and his terrible crimes. Some will escape, no doubt, to join the Druj in hiding throughout the Mallum. The Autumn enchantment will see to that, but their numbers are only a fraction of those warriors who fled the fall of the Tower of the Skink. How dangerous can they be, these last few thousand Druj?
But that is not the only danger here, and this is not just the cruelty of the Druj made manifest. The Citadel Guard have made a close enough study of the magic wrapped around the two armies; it portends something bad that is to come. The bonds of Winter magic that coil around the Hidden Snake and Poison Crane hold hundreds and hundreds of Winter spirits in thrall to the commanders of the army. When those two armies fail - and fail they will - those spirits will be unleashed into the Sarangrave to begin an unliving rampage.
Game Information
Sarangrave
- The vallorn has been beaten back from Nesustak Forest
- It has returned to (relative) quiesence by the start of the Summer Solstice
- The Druj armies that invaded Sarangrave have been defeated but escaped Imperial pursuit
- They have been prevented from leaving the territory by Druj forces in the Salt Flats of Sanath
The vallorn of Bendol has been beaten back from Nesustak Forest. The Forge the Wooden Fastness enchantment both served to protect the region, and imperil its defenders. Its strength both served to increase the defence of the Imperial armies, and inflict casualties on the vallorn (inasmuch as that is irrelevant with an empowered vallorn but it still happened). Unfortunately, in line with warnings given about the danger of Spring magic and the vallorn, the vallornspawn who encountered the enchantment were ultimately empowered by it. They did not gain strength to conquer the region - which would have been counterproductive - but instead the number of casualties they inflicted on the defenders was significantly increased. For now though, the immediate threat of the vallorn is over. It is no longer contained by the warding stones of Terunael - their power has been expended protecting the rest of the territory - and it is still a very powerful example of a vallorn. But it is quiescent, at least for the moment.
The Druj armies that invaded Turan Flats were defeated by the Urizen and Varushkan armies. They are still in the territory, however, trapped between the Salt Flats of Sanath (who will not allow them to enter) and the Empire's soldiers. Their strength is greatly depleted, and they are on the verge of collapse. Following the Summer Solstice, whatever else happens these two armies will disband. They are hanging on by a thread, partially due to the impact of the Autumn magic enchantment laid on the territory.
Thornfen
- Axos has finished claiming the region of Thornfen
Finally, the Axou forces of Ipotavo have finished claiming the region of Thornfen, with the approval of the Senate. The region is now part of Axos. The fortification itself has been assimilated, but has no garrison. At the moment, the Axou forces in Sarangrave are allied to the Empire and Imperial armies can move through the region freely. If that were to change, any Imperial army trying to move through Thornfen would be forced to stop and deal with any Axou forces stationed there.
True to their intent, the Axou consolidation of Thornfen has seen the existing population there exiled to Kroll and Whisperwood. Only those former slaves of the Mallum who can demonstrate a clear connection to the citadels of Axos have been permitted to remain in Thornfen. Further details of the situation in Thornfen will be presented in the Diplomatic winds of fortune.
Escape Path
- The arcane projection used in Sarangrave represents an effect that would no longer be allowed with Autumn magic
This season the Sarangrave was under the effect of Autumn magic that helped reduce casualties suffered by armies, as well as helping people find the best route to safety. This is an old arcane projection, that wouldn't be passed today. Helping people find safety, such as with Hand of the Dhomiro is an entirely appropriate use of Autumn magic, but the ability to reduce all casualties on a territory level isn't something we'd allow today. There are of course plenty of arcane projections from previous years in the game, and there is no problem with making use of them, but the older an arcane projection is the more likely it represents some peculiar aberration of magic.
The in-character explanation is that the arcane projection represents the result of a conjunction at the time it was created. The ongoing magical chaos caused by the stars supported the ritual, but the effect of the ritual could not be duplicated going forward.