No Matter What
"If're we're going to make a camp down here, then I want to know what's going on with the Suranni. Someone should be keeping an eye on them." Steelbane Rosk spat into the dust and pointed at the horizon where the border with the Iron Confederacy began.
"It's difficult. Ideally I guess we'd create some kind of spy network. But most of our people are merchants, not spies. It's dangerous work being a spy if you're not prepared to lie to people.
"They're slavers aren't they? What's wrong with lying to slavers?" demanded Rosk. Ok, they're "serfs" but we all know what that means. What's wrong with lying to serfers?"
"Lying splits your soul in two." explained Estaban. We Freeborn prize honesty above all other Virtues.
Rosk's left eye flickered slightly but he let it pass. "Maybe your soul does." he said. "But I like lying to slavers. Not as much as I like running one through with my spear, but lying 'll do if there's nothing better."
The Sunstorm stopped for a moment to consider something then he grinned. "Maybe there's a way we can work together on that. You do the trading, we'll do the lying, and then when the right moment comes we can take the fight to them together?"
Overview
A year and a half ago, the Imperial Orcs began to seriously address the problems of aridity faced in their new territory of Mareave. Since then, amongst other wonders where once there was desert there is now an oasis in the region of Icarion. This was in large part possible because of expert Freeborn advice. That advice was not dearly, it seems they genuinely wished to aid their fellows. After all, the Imperial Orcs and the Freeborn have a bond forged by the Exemplar Ahraz that is a flame eternal.
However, the Freeborn aid did not go unacknowledged. The Imperial Orc Assembly passed a mandate calling on the Sunstorm sept to go and offer what aid they could to the impoverished territory of Feroz. While it took a couple of seasons for the Qanat to be commissioned and for this effort to begin in earnest, for the last year members of the Sunstorm sept have been visiting Feroz to learn about the problems that beset it. Now, they are finally ready to present their ideas to the people of dust, flame, and glass - their siblings in Courage.
Forged in battle
- The Sunstorm sept could set up a military training camp in Afarjasse
- The region would no longer be abandoned
- It would form a good basis for an appraisal into supplying the Fire of the South out of Feroz.
Of course, the Imperial Orc armies have members of all the septs amongst their number. However, two septs are the foundation of the Imperial Orc's military strength. The Autumn Hammers, who draw the majority of their number from the Ethengraw, and the Summer Storm and Winter Sun, who give their name to the Sunstorm sept that founded them. More than any other sept amongst the Unshackled, the Sunstorm have a history tightly bound with the history of orcs in the Empire and the decades of their history following the Orc Rebellion when they had no home to call their own. During this time, the nation lived in camps across the Empire, such as the small settlement that still exists in Estcastle - and, in fact, in the Brass Coast, whose rolling hills and plains provided an ample place for the nascent legions to hone their skills.
| Ajarjasse Training Camp |
| Commission Type: |
| Location: Afarjasse, Feroz |
| Cost: 16 white granite and 48 crowns in labour |
| Time: 3 months |
Effect:
|
| Availability: Until the end of the Summer Solstice 389YE |
| Drill Sergent of Afarjasse Camp |
| Type: National (Imperial Orcs) |
| Appointment: Imperial Orc generals |
| Powers: Receives 288 rings a season. |
| Responsibilities: To lead Sunstorm training and military readiness for operations in hot, humid terrain |
| Restrictions: If a member of a sept other than the Sunstorm sept is appointed, it will cause significant problems |
These times are fondly remembered by many of the older orcs in the Sunstorm sept - a time of learning to exist alongside humans as friends and allies, after Ahraz's hard-won peace and the subsequent end of centuries of enslavement. The legion camps are mostly gone now - while small settlements and outposts do exist, many members of the Sunstorm settled in Skarsind when it was granted to them by the Senate, and many more are looking to make a home in Mareave.
This has some in the Sunstorm concerned. It is great that the Imperial Orc nation achieved its first Ambition and won its own land, and that many septs have made a home for themselves in the nation. However, what makes the Sunstorm unique is that history of being forged not just in the heat of battle but in the discipline and order of legion life. Obviously the Winter Sun and the Summer Storm benefit from this tradition every time they resupply, but outside the fifteen thousand or so soldiers who make up those armies, there are many more orcs who would once have been part of smaller banners and legions, who do not seek to live the reaving life.
The Sunstorm who have travelled here have noted that Afarjasse is in many ways the region of the territory in the greatest predicament. While the herds of Afar have restored a small measure of prosperity to the struggling region, Afar itself was never large even in its heydey. The issue is that there is simply no reason to come here. Yet, the Sunstorm point out, these languid hills that roll hot and humid in the south would be a perfect place for a training encampment. That's interesting to them because Feroz is not like Mareave, which is hot but also notoriously dry, and it is certainly nothing like Skarsind, of course.
Yet in time, they envisage, the Empire will surely go to conquer the rest of the Broken Shore, and that will mean dealing with hot and humid regions. There are said to be some parts of Claudheel, for instance, that are thick jungle. Feroz doesn't have that, but it is an excellent place for soldiers to learn how to cope with high wet bulb temperatures, for instance. If a Sunstorm training camp was built here, it would mean that the two armies who draw their supply from the Sunstorm would have no issues operating in regions with the humid quality. It's quite likely that Claudheel, at least, has regions which are humid.
An Imperial title would be created: the Drill Sergeant of Afarjasse Camp would take the lead of running the camp, and be paid a fair wage for their troubles. Though, it has to be said, while no restriction can legally be put on Imperial titles by sept, if a member of another sept were appointed it could well cause issues and would certainly be storing up trouble for later.
| Appraise Freeborn Supply |
| Motion Type: Appraise ways to increase the supply of Freeborn armies from Feroz |
| Necessary Details: Vainakoma Dawnstongue named as appraiser |
| Cost: Appraisal (Senate Motion) |
| Availability: One year, until the start of Summer Solstice 389YE |
Moreover, if a Sunstorm training camp was built here, in Afarjasse, then it would immediately create a market that canny Freeborn could surely be encouraged to take advantage of. A training camp needs food, it needs water, it needs entertainment (for nothing is worse for discipline than a bored soldier). If a training camp was built here, it would remove the abandoned quality from Afarjasse. However, it would be possible to go further. After all - the Brass Coast too possesses warriors who always enjoy the chance to stretch themselves.
The Fire of the South draw much of their supply - traditionally at least - from the plans of Segura and Feroz. In recent years, however, they have really been supported primarily by the Iron Qanat alone, and certainly not by the people of underpopulated Feroz. Once the training camp was built, it would be possible to appraise - in the usual manner - the problem of supplying the Fire of the South out of Feroz.
It's hard to say what the outcome of such an appraisal would be, but it would almost certainly address the issue of Feroz's underpopulation. With the expert military insight of the Sunstorm, perhaps the Fire of the South might also be able to advance their own military cunning. The appraiser Vainakoma Dawnstongue could be the best choice for this endeavour, given her military background.
Of course, there could also be the potential for collaboration with the Protectorate of Morajasse, who are also relatively martially-minded and who might well enjoy the opportunity for joint exercises with the Sunstorm. That would be a matter for the Imperial Consul to independently pursue, however.
Break the chains
- A spy network targeting Arbonne could be set up camouflaged as a cattle wrangling market
The Sunstorm are also characterised by a strong and total rejection of the institution of slavery and the need for liberation that goes above and beyond the general antipathy that most Imperial citizens or even most other Imperial Orcs possess. They are joined in this passion, however, by the Freeborn. While other nations of the Empire have a chequered past that necessarily involves some degree of culpability in the institution of slavery, the Freeborn were passionate voices in favour of abolition from long before they joined the Empire.
One group who certainly do not value the freedom of the individual as guaranteed in the Imperial Constitution is the Suranni, who control Arbonne, the territory to the south of Feroz. While the Iron Confederacy claim that they do not keep slaves, every account that exists of the reality of life as a serf is one that strongly resembles slavery, especially because the Suranni believe the importance of bloodlines and inheritance. Once a serf, always a serf, and so true for all your children and children's children.
| Wranglers Market |
| Commission Type: Spy Network |
| Location: Arbonne |
| Cost: 14 weirwood and 42 crowns in labour |
| Time: 3 months |
Effect:
|
| Availability: Until the end of the Summer Solstice 389YE |
| Drill Sergent of Afarjasse Camp |
| Type: Brass Coast |
| Appointment: Tally of the Votes |
| Powers: Can purchase orichalcum and weltsilver |
| Responsibilities: To ensure enough cattle are traded to allow scouts to spy on the Suranni |
| Ministry | |
| Cost | Production |
| 140 Rings | 6 orichalcum and 6 weltsilver |
| 340 Rings | 12 orichalcum and 12 weltsilver |
| 600 Rings | 18 orichalcum and 18 weltsilver |
It's an unpleasant reality. Once, Arbonne - then Kalino - was controlled by the Lasambrian Orcs. Once they were bandits and scoundrels but these days, they have embraced Virtue, if not the Way. Now the Iron Confederacy is on the doorstep of the Freeborn. More than that, the Cazar Straits are in fact now under Suranni control. They have become a daily reminder that the Empire has an uneasy peace with a people whose way of life is inimical to the Freeborn and the values of the Sunstorm.
Now, while the Empire is at peace with the Iron Confederacy... there are ways the Freeborn and the Sunstorm could join forces to, perhaps, test the bounds of that state of affairs. Arbonne is unmapped by the Empire... so a spy network in the territory would be prudent and technically legal.
There is a brutal truth that many Freeborn are not great at spying. They excel at scouting, but the hard work of spying is a problem for people who can't tell a lie. But working together Imperial Orcs and Freeborn might cover each other's strengths. There is the perfect cover right there in Afar, where of course the herds have recently been re-established thanks to the Great Cattle Market of '87. The Sunstorm are familiar with cattle themselves - the Great Herds of Skarsind and Mareave were established under the aegis of members of the sept.
At Bramar, a Wrangler's Market could be set up, and a Chief Wrangler appointed to manage the cattle trade there, working with the Dhomiro of Afar whose interests also lie squarely in this area. This would operate much like any other ministry, trading with the Iron Confederacy in rings (representing the exchange of cattle) in return for orichalcum and weltsilver, which the Iron Confederacy is rich in.
But the suggestion of the Sunstorm is that the Imperial Orcs could use Wrangler's Market as a front to spy on Arbonne. Moreover, as long as the ministry was operated each season, the Suranni would have no way at all to discover the network. Indeed it would be in the interests of corrupt officials - of which the Confederacy most certainly has its fair portion - to not look too closely and even to cover up any evidence of spying that they did discover - because it might disrupt the lucrative trade.
With the Freeborn moving large numbers of cattle through the Wranglers Market, it would be easy for Sunstorm military units to use the trade to spy on Arbonne. They could accompany the herds as they moved south, on the face of it acting like guards and wranglers, whilst actually spying on the slavers.