A History of the Covenant Lands [IC Posts]

The Release of the Traders:The province, now known as the North Trade Road, will continue its development.

The Food Shortage:

During this period, the food supply is noticeable getting lesser. This concern is brought up to leaders of the nation, and so the topic is brought up in their fortnightly meetings.

"You should know that we are doing our best in The Hunting Lands to hunt for game." The Elder of Books says. "I visited the place myself, and just as Librarian Hoonona told me, they are not reproducing fast enough to replace the ones that we caught. From my wisdom, I instructed them to hunt less for the beast population to recover, so our source of food must come from elsewhere."

"We have also efficiently hunted the rodents in the region west of La’eka Warued." The Elder of Flesh mentioned. "I don’t know if they are getting scarcer or not, but I do know that they are not filling enough for the effort of catching them. I propose that we use the slave population and make them as one of our food sources. Especially the dwarves. These cousins of the wretched Duergar would make good meat due to their dense muscles."

"I think we should not eat our slaves." Argued The Elder of Thoughts. "They will be even more upset. Our slavers are already busy as it is to keep them in line. Especially with that little uprising incident a while back. I won’t get into detail too much, but they did manage to kill a few of us before we bring them down in time. I say we focus on building more farms and fisheries. We can have the Western grasslands to start forming more irrigation to make more land capable of farming. And we should also set the slaves to fish for us in the forest rivers. We can trust our slavers to do the job well."

"That is a good idea, we could also have our traders buy more food as well. I'll let my assistants know to go and focus on buying plenty of supplies on their next trip to Malgeri." The Elder of Metals said.

Hra’an agrees to the suggestion of The Elder of Thoughts.

"Alright, I’ll set my assistants to reorganise the work of the slaves." The Elder of Ropes says. "My children will make sure that the slaves will do the best of their old talents, fishing and farming."

With that, the army of 99 slavers got to work to corral the slaves into the new projects. This meant that the grassland is developed to allow for more farmlands.

The Rise of Two Cities:

As the invasion of the Duergar City is over, two cities quickly sprang within a short period of time. The invaded city is renamed to Du'nugia, which translates to "Country of the dead Duergar." For the Zaangors that are stationed to establish order within the new territory, it feels to them like they are in another world. The idea of having a city underground is very fantastical to them, that they can't help but marvel at the environment when they have the time.

The slaves are made to clear away the bodies and fallen debris. Then, they are made to construct more housings and chambers within the mountain city. A giant statue commemorating the battle victory for the Zaangors is being under construction.

As for the second created city, its name is Tirait Taw, which is the Zaangor's pronunciation of "Trade Toll". It is located at the first province of the trade route that comes down from The Malgeri Directive. It has quickly developed into a trading hub. Colourful banners are hung everywhere and stalls made from wood is set up all over the place. The Elder of Thoughts have now upgraded his home into a stone Palace, mimicking the stone fortress in the capital that has become the home of Hra'an and the meeting place for the Council.

At that city, a ring of wood spikes mark the border, with plenty of guards keeping watch. Some of the slaves, in exchange for being treated better, are made to be the watch guard instead of a Zaangor. There is a large centre area dedicated to the selling of slaves. If anyone is interested to buy slaves, the Zaangors are happy to sell them off. The sale of the fish, known as Sad Fins by the Zaangors, or "Sadafeens", are reserved only for outside buyers. Those who disobeyed and consume the fish are given public floggings. Also, as promised from the meetings with the Malgeri representatives, harming or stealing from the visitors are forbidden. Due to this, each visitor will have to pay a fee be allowed entry into the nation.

And so, Tirait Taw continues to develop speedily.

The Conquest of The Forge:

As everyone was busy with organising the conquered city, there is still the matter of the other passages that lead deeper into the mountain. The decision, as made by the Elder of Tongues, was to regroup and send down an army to take over the passages that lead to the South.

The military organisation of New Zaangoria has a do over. A unit of Zaangors and slave pages, who are the slaves who are trusted to become a soldier, are called a Mob. A Horde, which is collection of Mobs that have a specific invasion target region. A Horde must be lead by atleast one Elder or by the Great Leader Hra'an himself. Each Mob in turn are divided by 81 smaller units, called Nanos.

The Horde that is directed by The Master Linguist will contain 2 Mobs. They gathered at the city before marching down the tunnels. They try their best to travel softly if possible, while keeping an eye out for traps. Soon, they are met with a small ambush set up by the Duergar escapees of the invasion. The ambush is easily crushed, and the remainders flee further into the south.

The Horde soon come into another huge chamber. This one has clear signs of intense mining efforts. This section of the mountain has been quickly secured down by the many Nano teams splitting off whenever a branch in the tunnels is found.

At the end of each dead ends, the Nonas are able to find strange yellow crystal formations. Also, document scrolls written by the Duergar are presented to The Linguist and his assistants to study. It was discovered that the crystals are the Sleeping Stones that the Duergar were busy looking for. A better translation is Dream Stones, due to the magical properties of these crystals. When The Linguist casts a spell holding a crystal, it gets used up and becomes clear, and the caster does not feel any drain of his mana.

With the discovery of this new resource, the city of Du'nugia is devoted to the mining of Dream Stones.

News of Light and Lust:

Concern about the light coming from the southwestern horizon grows more and more as it seems to keep continue being alight for several nights now. It had appeared suddenly days ago, but it was merely treated as an odd spectacle by the public. But now, there is worry that this is another dangerous issue, especially with having witnessed the unnatural earthquakes created by the Duergar civilisation. There are rumours of another hostile nation to the Southwest that possesses a superweapon that causes the unending bright light.

This issue is dealt with the sending of Spies to investigate. Two Spies are sent over, and they are accompanied with 9 Scouts each.

As the results are awaited, there is another issue of the Elders being too power indulgent, specifically the Elder of Thoughts, who has earned the nickname of Lord of Lust. The Lord has created a haram for himself. It consists of both his Fawner assistants and human and Elven consorts. His sex slaves have been seen to be paraded naked throughout the city each day. His home is named the Love Palace, and it became a controversial symbol of admiration and degeneracy.

This behaviour would have been a mere embarrassment if it weren't for the fact that The Lord have been found intentionally withholding the redistribution of food his traders have bought to the rest of the Zaangorian Empire. The final straw was when he sent a Fawner to represent him during a recent Council meeting.

When the threat of having his position replaced being backed by Hra'an, The Bardic Lord have finally accepted the agreement of having his leadership of Tirait Taw being split between two other Inspectors, the close assistants of The Linguist. The three of them will be main authorities, and the Inspectors will each report back all recent developments that happened in the city.

Post 0: The Outcast

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Post 1: The seamen

(Count of Riev)
The diplomatic mission arrived to Vodspitz, by boat of course. They were welcomed at the port mostly with curiosity as many in Rivellesk have never actually seen an elf. The Emperor left too long ago, many weren’t even alive yet! After the proper introductions, side eyeing and suspicions, they were lead to Seaspire to meet the Count of Riev.

"As you may have heard, the Confederacy of the Eleven Marches has recently emerged as a central power from the recent civil war" The emissary starts, as the locals find all the mentions to the empire, covenant and the courtly intrigues slightly amusing. For sure they also noticed the Covenant died ages ago, even in the Old Lands no? These elves were sent to find and secure a food source through trade. Even through Rivellesk was hit by a giant wave, it’s sea resources were plenty and proved an attractive place for food, since something called the Western Glow and a Dark Plague started ruining the land dweller’s crops.

There was also that issue with the clones… some sort of old imperial plot that the elves didn’t seem aware of. Maybe sending some ambassadors to infiltrate the Old Lands could be useful in cracking the strange case of the "Cliognier's omnipresence". But could they be trusted? "We have noticed that you have recently experienced some land shortages…" Now, these bloody people from the old lands were as sharp as ever weren’t they? They even mention the growing tension in the Scorching Sea and how a military campaign against some backstabbing noble or whatnot may provide new lands for the Rivellesk people to relocate to. Such an alliance could easily control all the seas of the north (and maybe beyond) and this could be an opportunity to end Rivellesk’s isolation…

He had to think about this interesting proposal "I’ll consult the Barons of the Sea and get back to you. In the meantime, make yourselves at home"

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Post 2: Ash copied
Event: Hearing rumors from Rivellesk about doppelgangers, some feel it would be prudent to find out if the same is happening at home. What do you discover?

(Ilphas-el, Archdruid of the Land and The Overseer of the Road)
The mission to the northern seas was the first time the Confederacy looked away from the old lands. Little choice did they have, caught between the superpower of Cloudspire and the magic power of Unilith. Turned out that there was much to learn away from these lands, including much about what was going on in the Old Lands. The Appraiser of the Arts had done a good job as the Mouth of the Land recovered from his incarceration. The dwarf new were to strike gold! At first, it seemed a minor curiosity, a small detail from a long time ago. However, those last words of the Guardian of the Library, the self styled One Councillor, haunted his sleep. "What happened to the centennial ram?" a strange question to ask as one crumbled to ash for sure... Then the rumours from Rivellesk, the research notes and the old imperial documents that they have found in the Guardian's possession. There was a pattern, an old ritual that pointed to the attempt to create something. Spells developed by the mages of old that were refined by the mages of Unilith. The same spells that lead to the fall of the Council Lands. Was there a connection between the risen Ash King, the Stasis Barrier and the Immortal ram? And what was it? It all pointed to this mockery of the creation himself, being tested on Cloudspire!

(Alea'ana, Archdruid of Moon and The Lady of the Eleven)
It would take time to find out all the details but it was clear that the isolation of Cloudspire was dangerous. In that restricted area, an experiment of some kind was going on. But what could it be? It wasn’t like those simulacra the seamen rumoured about in the north. And it wasn’t an ash copy as the Guardian was... it was something more real, a shadow over the new heir. She had been right from the start! But the treason of the Captain of the Guard, prevented only by the spirit's intervention as they shook the earth, had prevented her from searching deeper. She had stood at the border of Unilith's lands, betrayed. The new heir came out of nowhere and took over most of the Old Covenant, just like that, almost unchallenged! As she looked at the inquisitors, the new human task force under the Lord of House Greenvale, she knew things were about to change. Even the highest levels of human nobility had been infiltrated and the proof was those two ash copies crumbling in front of her... At least the Confederacy was working as one now, united under the shadow of what was to come...

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Post 3: Dark sun
Event: Travellers from the desert describe a new sun standing on the low plain.

(Zamath, The Mouth of the Land)
With all the new discoveries, it was clear that Unilith was up to something, something probably worse that anyone could even imagined. As far as he could tell, they could be trying to weaken the Stasis Barrier! Who would be crazy to even think such a thing? He hoped he was wrong, but something in his gut told him he should prepare for the worse... The same thing that told him something was wrong with the Guardian of the Library.

Of course, the elven spy network was masterfully set in place by the late Guardian. His expertise paid very well when the Ab Tajir, the Trader of Soul, set foot in the Old Lands. A scoundrel of the worst kind that one! Exiled from the Old Covenant, he must have thought the civil war would exonerate him from his crimes! However, his new evil magics were of interest to the Archmage of the leaning tower in Unilith and his newfound position was of interest to the Confederacy. With him on the inside, it was a matter of time before they found out what was going, but so far they only had a glimpse of the nature of the unsetting sun... a giant ball of fire floating above the low plains of the red waste beyond the iron mountains, and the strange prophet called the Shadow King that destroys purity and creates corruption. Could he be behind the those old events from Teloch?

Dark forces were in the rise on the far west, The weaken Stasis Barrier, The Unsetting Sun, the Undead Marching over Teloch's lands and now, this Shadow King. But it was just on the other side of the sea that the danger was to come first. The growing tension with Terminus reached its limits and they made a move. Their reason nothing more than petty complaints about the elven supremacy, but their men fought like madmen as if possessed by some crazed magic. The attack was held back, but driving those armies back proved to be a long task. As it turned out, Terminus had sent an army of ash, each man slain blowing into tiny hot embers and then reforming and rising as undead once again. Thankfully, the spirits of the land were helpful, their wind blowing them and their waters cleaning them... This was a war that would take its time...

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Post 4: Making of a Lady

(The Lady of the Eleven)
Of course, the ancient ritual didn’t work as she saw it in her delusional visions. A young untrained elf stood no chance to complete the mixing of bloods and in her state, she could barely tell what was her mind’s creation and what she was actually experiencing. The words from the ancient tomes she was reading flew out to become images and signs, dancing lights and fading realities. All the while, the three wolves stood still, studying her. A stupid child they though obviously, as wondered what her idea was. To their surprise, she showed a truly deep connection to the spirits of the land.

She woke up in a dark cave, alone. She had very vague and confusing memories, the Rite of Passage, the moon, howling in the distance, distorted images and scripts. She couldn’t tell where she was or how she got there. A chill ran down her spine. She felt the physiological reaction, but her mind was unshaken. No fear, no feelings. The cave felt cold and she quickly stood up, and surge to find a heat source taking over her. She felt agile, quick and more perceptive. But there was something wrong. Her skin felt tougher, her legs moved differently and her eyes saw much more. She ran through the one tunnel in the cave and quickly found the heat source she was looking for, a small fire light at the centre of the larger cave. The little heat she could feel at the distance felt like water after a day under the desert’s scorching sun. She never felt like that before. "So you survived? Come, join me" a voice echoed on the cold stones from the immobile bulk of a man standing by the fireplace. She walked carefully, distrustfully, with movements far too calculating. And then she saw it. In the dark, she hadn’t noticed, but with the weak light from the fire shining on her, she was terrified. She was shedding her skin, under it only scales remained...

Blocked Roads and Spreading Faith:

The two Inspectors sent to maintain order in Tirait Taw have made it such that nobody is allowed to be naked in public, including the slaves on sale. However, the orgies in his Palace is tolerated, as well as the use of Consorts to modestly accompany visitors. As things calmed down a little, bad news come soon after. There has been reports of the trading route, also known as The Imperial Road by the locals, has experienced multiple blockages from landslides. There are many given reasons for it, from heavy rain the other day, to the earthquakes the Duergar had made that loosen the soil a lot. Whatever the cause is, the Zaangor empire now has to deal with this turn of events.

Teams of slaves and slavers are sent to clear out the rubble, but it would take several days. This is due to the limited workers that are allowed, as many slaves work in resource gathering and construction. This is likely an excuse, as the Imperial Road is not of high importance to the nation, only as a benefit of getting supplies that are needed incase of future food shortages. This, is also a subtle manner to punish the Lust Lord for his slovenly attitude.

In other news, the Church of Ashen-Zaang is gaining more and more popularity. What was once a collapsed home, is now rebuilt into a stone building that is almost as impressive as the Stone Temple Complex that is dedicated to the original faith. The Church is still lead by The Daring Prophet, whose teachings has enamoured the Elders of Cloaks and Metal.

The Spy Master is only able to subtly spread his belief through his followers, who in turn spread it through the use of their coded language, with lots of mentions of "ash", "sleeping" "awakening", and "rebelling" in their Thieves' Cant. As for the Master Smith, he has made lots of trinkets with symbolism of Ashen-Zaang, and sold them to his people and the Visitors.

All in all, the capital city continues its development.

The Crown of Fire:

The discovery of the Dream Stones is a significant development for the nation. It has become highly valuable, and it is well guarded to keep from being stolen. Knowledge of its existence so far was only spread as rumour amongst the populace, where it might as well be myth.

The use of the Dream Stones is quickly being tested and experimented with. It is in limited quantity, and so focus is mainly on inventing a way for the crystals to be efficiently carried and used in combat by spell casters. And thus, the Spell Staves were invented. The steps to construct them was thus as follows:
1) Crush the Spell Stones into powder.
2) Place the powder into a casting mold with the shape of a rod.
3) Pour molten iron into the mold.
4) Retrieve the created Dream Steel.
5) Add a Dream Stone cluster on one end and weld it.
6) You have created a Spell Staff.
The way it works is that the user's contact on the Dream Steel body creates a connection throughout the weapon. When they recite a spell, the Staff will be the source of power and channeler for them. And so it makes the spell casters in an army to be more powerful as they have improved magic stamina. However, the Staves have a limit, and after battle it is unlikely to be useable.

The Master Linguist have created a top secret project known simply as The Fire. The Council, Hra'an, and a trusted few know of its existence. The Fire is about the creation of a magical artifact that could be wielded as a powerful weapon for war, and a symbol of pride for all of Zaangor-kind.

This project was led by the Elders of Metals, Books and Tongues. They each contribute in their own way to the design of the artifact known as The Crown of Fire. It is a special headwear that can only be comfortably worn by a Zaangor due to the horns on their heads. This Crown has many Dream Stones attached to it, giving the appearance of a crystal fire. The wearer would be able to cast spells as if they are a sorcerer, even though they originally don't have the ability to use magic in the first place.

The intended user was the Ruler over New Zaangoria. Hra'an would wear this on the day he would have to engage in battle once more. And it's a fitting appearance for a mighty Emperor-to-be.

Meanwhile, The Elder of Books have fashioned himself as the Arch-Librarian. His castle is the library that is built into the tree known as The Huntress. His kingdom is the Hunting Grounds, and he develops it into a preserve to recover the animal population for the sake of future hunting.

The Stolen Crown:

The Crown of Fire is placed in an isolated chamber that is heavily guarded by Zaangor soldiers. This artifact is highly important and costly. If too many people know of it, there is a very high risk of theft. As for the functionality of the Crown, it is tested well enough by both expendable Zaangors and slaves. The Zaangors that was unable to cast spells with Dream Stone normally are able to do so with the Crown as if they are a formidable sorcerer all along. The slaves are able to have some success, but due to the shape of the Crown, there are connection problems, and so weak spells are at most able to be performed by them. This is as intended.

One day, when the Crown was to be retrieved again for more experiments, it was discovered to have disappeared from its pedestal. The entire region was immediately placed under high alert, and 4 Inspectors, along with their master, are dispatched to investigate.

As Du'nugia and the Mines was placed under lock down, The Linguist did his job to figure out what happened. There is a new small tunnel that was in the chamber that was not there before. As he travelled along it, it leads into the other tunnels. The tunnel lead back to the main chambers of the Mines on one end, and the other end seem to lead to a blocked up cave in. The Linguist ordered for the blockage to be cleared, and the rest of the tunnel surprisingly led outside on the other end of the mountain. He theorised that the thief must have sneaked in and out through this way.

The other bizarre evidence found was that there is a trail of ash left behind upon closer inspection. It is believed to be from the torch the thief carries. One Inspector suggested that he heard rumours of clones made from ash amongst the Visitors, but this is rejected as being too outlandish.

The final verdict was that the escaped Duergar were somehow knowledgeable of the Project, and was able to dig a tunnel to steal The Crown. The Project is to be put on hold indefinitely.

The Mines continue to be fully mapped and additional chambers are being constructed as part of ongoing developments.

Post 1: Making of a Lady

(Alea'ana, Archdruiddess of Moon and The Lady of the Eleven)
"You have woken!" the echoing voice of the man by the fire booms through the cave. "Do not fear your new self". Even though the memories of how she got here are still a bit hazy to this day, a mixture of what she felt and saw and what she was told happened, she remembers the moment she sat down with this man very clearly. It was the moment she became a druid. That man was none the other than the Archdruid of the Sun, the great Zet’arin himself. With him were two reptiles who turned out to be the druid of the tribe of the snake and the mercenary commander of the late Wind’s Fangs company. They had seen her through her ordeal and, curious about her attunement with the land, decided to intervene and control the wild and ancient magics she was summoning in her delusional state. The outcome, they left for the spirits to decide. She had just undergone the mystical ritual of the mixing of the blood, when one joins with the land by taking a facet of its strength and form. It wasn’t uncommon amongst the druidic elves, but it required long training and preparation as it was very dangerous and… lethal. But she survived, the spirits spared her for some reason and now, daughter of the mistletoe, she mixed with the serpent: a leaf bathed in venom. She was taken by the tribe of the snake tribe and trained under their druid and served under their commander in faraway courts, as an elven mercenary for the nobles of the Covenant and the Empire. But then, she had to return. The Covenant was in danger and she was deployed to the far western shores and deserts to fight the frightful enemy. The elves fought well, as everybody else, but it was a pointless war and many died. During the retreat, she proved her skill by regrouping the demoralized mercenaries and bringing them safe back home, away from the emperor’s ultimate plan… The fall of the Covenant would prove to be a tough time for her people, but her actions and that one time she met with Zet’arin would change everything for her…

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Post 2: The little statue
Event: Your nation's most valuable artifact has been stolen. There are either signs that it may have been perpetrated by clones, or that an extensive series of tunnels was used. Or both.

(Zamath, The Mouth of the Land)
Even though the elves had turned away from Avencia (or maybe was she that left them?), they hadn’t completely abandoned her. Most had forgotten it, but, through tradition and rituals, the elven tribes of the Eleven Marches had kept the last vestiges of the legendary elven homeland hidden and secured. This was a statue of Avencia herself, a small keepsake from the times before the End of Ages. Under the constant protection by the eleven archdruids, this small piece of ancient art was made undetectable and unreachable by powerful ancient rites and spells. However, as it would turn out, Zet’arin’s quest to control the Marches lead to the sudden dead of almost half of the archdruids, including himself, the Archdruid of the Sun. This was unprecedented and would prove a great blow to the elves down the line. Losing one or two Archdruids would have no effect, the Seal was kept secure with redundant magic. However, the slaughter that occurred, weakened it to the point that others could divine the location the small statue. And so it was that it was stolen…

It was now down to him, who had inherited the entire spy network from that cursed Zet’arin, the previous Guardian of the Library, to find out what happened. It didn’t take long, relatively speaking, as humans had little knowledge of these elven secrets, to find that a number of tunnel exits had been opened close to the Sacred Tree of Life, which held the statue of Avencia within itself in a space that used to be outside space. This was one of those weird elven legends where the spirits of the land did some magics and a tree grew out of it, but it was too esoteric for him to have a full grasp of what they were talking about. Importantly, the tress was supposed to have held the World together after the devastation of the End of Ages through the lost Goddess’ powers and somehow healed the land back to its former state.

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Post 3: Roads of rumble
Event: A series of landslides has rendered the Imperial Road impassable in several places.

(Alea'ana, Archdruiddess of Moon and The Lady of the Eleven)
This was a nightmare! After all the Confederation had been through, the civil war, the One Councillor’s scheming and the Ash Armies of Terminus, this happens! It was as if all the spirits of the land were angry and violently turning against the elves. Maybe they were… Didn’t someone just cut the Sacred Tree of Live and stole the essence of Avencia? Most elves believed that the Goddess had abandoned them, but, as far as she was concerned, she preferred the old tales of the Goddess sacrifice to heal the world and the spirits arising from her leaked powers and will.

She had always respected that human, Zamath. He was a good one and he was fully committed to finding whoever took the statue. The thief failed to realise that the archdruids were connect to the Sacred Tree and their abhorrent act was immediately noticed. Zamath’s spies were dispatched so quickly that they almost got them in the tunnels beneath the earth. To their horror, all five of them looked like Zet’arin, the late Guardian of the library. How was this possible? Before they got any further, the tunnels collapse, only a few managed to get out in time…

This desperate tactic started a chain reaction, revealing the horrifying extend of the underground tunnel network as the land twisted and waved due to tunnels’ caving in. Scars spread throughout the Old lands and beyond, leaving roads of rumble across the land. Worse even, these land movements triggered landslides from the mountains, cutting off a great extension of the Imperial road.

But, thinking a bit better, maybe the spirits were not angry, but helping in subtle ways... As it turned out, all the new roads of ruins seem to be lead to Cloudspire. The diplomatic mission sent to the emerging realm of Valseria were forced back and re-routed by sea. It was now of utmost importance to get the emerging power on their side, as she felt the shadow of the Cloudspire’s mountains stretching out to reach her…

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Post 4: Port Terminus

(Durwar, The Appraiser of arts)
He was but a simple merchant who happened to be responsible for evaluating the goods moving through the capital’s markets. Being sent north to Willowvale changed that. Having overseen the development of shipbuilding industry, he was sent to the Northlands, almost as a representative of the Confederation overseeing the colonization. And he was happy with that. What he wasn’t happy with was having his axe slashing thought ash and good men, elves and dwarves dying against the unstoppable tide of Terminus’ armies. They managed to just hold them back, but pursuing the leave over bands of enemies while preventing new attacks was an impossible task.

As such, he had never been happier than the moment the Overseer of the Roads, Ilphas-el, showed up. The presence of someone with such a stellar military reputation was enough to boost the men’s morale and re-double the war effort. When he saw that the Overseer brought some newly developed technology with him, he even forgot about the strangeness of the ash warriors and their constant coming back to life. The Ilphas-el took two of the best mercenary companies, The Moon's Grace and the Sun’s Blade and equipped the reformed The Winter's Ballad with those marvellous guns! He felt like the Confederacy would stand against everything, and indestructible might with no equal. The magic and the engineering those elves were capable of was truly astonishing.

Unfortunately, he was not a dwarf made for war, but a dwarf of trade, so he had to stay behind as The Overseer of the Roads lead the great army of the Eleven Marches against one of the most important provinces of Terminus, their port city. The dwarf knew that nothing would stop a force like that under a leadership like that! Anyway, after all that excitement, he was back to his regular routine: track down any remains of Terminus forces still in the Northlands

Crusades and Rising Cities:

The issue of the stolen Crown of Fire is still not fully resolved. It is decided that the best way to vent frustration at the loss of such an important artifact is to seek out and punish the surviving Duergar that are still hiding deeper within the mountain.

The Linguist mustered his forces once again, and with the blessings of Hra'an, to continue the Crusade of the Forge. The Forge of which is the name given by both the slaves and the Duergar to the mountain range.

He gathered 4 Mobs in his Horde this time, and sounded the war horn to advance deeper into the southern passages. The Slave Soldiers also somberly joined in the cheer. The Spell Staves, the newly developed weapons, will not be used. Hra'an encouraged saving up stock in case of future battles. Specifically, with any neighbours that may have unpleasant surprises.

The march goes smoothly, until they encounter a series of tunnels that are oddly sticky. Eventually, the path is blocked by walls of webbing, which are easily cut down. This is not a good sign, and soon the ones that are responsible for the webs ambushed the Horde as they enter into a huge cavern. Giant spiders rained upon their ranks in large numbers. Once the waves of giant spiders are slain, the Horde quickly spread out to destroy any nests and eggs they find.

In time, they have secured another large region of the mountain's underground network. Everyone went to work to set up a small military base, with the help of the construction slaves.

Meanwhile, a new city sprang up to the far South. It is called Tiki-Luet, or Sandy Grass in Common. It is ruled over by the Spy Master's proxy, otherwise known as the Unseen King. This settlement have grown into a city of its own due to its ability to fish from the giant lake they call The Fiery Sea. It's also their culture which marks them as being unique. The King recognises that Ashen-Zaang is their god, and have made a banner depicting a bird skull that rains ash. So far, this city manages to be dutiful to the Capital.

A day in Tiki-Luet:

White birds squawk as they dive around over the giant lake that beats against the sandy shore in soft rhythms. They twirled around each other in either courtship or fighting over food. The fishermen stare out at the inland sea. They take this brief moment to relax as their nets are cast over their small boats. A human and dwarf can be heard making small talk amongst the dozen boats floating aimlessly. These folks appreciate the little freedoms that they have under their feathered tyrants.

"How is your daughter? Is she still healthy?" asks a human man.

"She is doing fine. It's good that we can feed ourselves decently this month. As for my brother, he is still going on a hunger strike. I worry that he will get in bad trouble…" the dwarven woman replied.

In the distance, the raucous laughter of Zaangors can be heard. They are having a boat race with each other. Apparently, attacking each other with oars is an accepted rule.

On the shoreline, the other friends of the racers cheered on. Insults in their language gets thrown around in creative fashions. They eventually ended up brawling each other when an insult gets too sharp.

The fight gets broken up by a Zaangor guard and his Elven slave assistants. The young adult Zaangors stopped fighting and began making a game with themselves to mock the Elves instead.

Further away from the shoreline, the eyes of a bored Scout watch the scene. He is lying on top of a community shack, taking in the breeze on the hot sunny day. He looks to the fat stone castle that sits amongst the lower buildings. The Unseen Fortress. It is an ironic name as it is clearly visible due to its size and with all the banners draped down its windows.

It is evening again, and as everyone stopped their work for the day, a loud shouting could be heard from amongst the sandy streets of the city. A Zaangor, dressed in a black cloak, stands preaching on a crate. He speaks of The Ashen King, the spirit that Zaang is keeping host of. His message is confusing and grim sounding. Talks of Ash Rains and dark armies. Apparently this is something that he predicted the nation will witness and "become as one" as well. The reactions of all the listeners are very mixed. Eventually, his sermon ends, and everyone went away entertained.

And thus, another day ends in Tiki-Luet.

The Highway Wars part 1:

Everything is seemingly going well. The road is fully cleared. Trade returns to normal for Tirait Taw. However, another hit of bad luck soon happens. There is a recent report of a trade caravan being robbed on the Imperial Road. It happened outside the territory of New Zaangoria, and so the Zaangors able to make the case that it is not their responsibility to handle it.

There are suspicions that the robbery, which resulted in the death of everyone, is orchestrated by the Zaangors. And so Scouts are dispatched to investigate. It turns out that there are no clear signs it was an attack by Zaangors, as there are no clawed footprints. However, the footprints of the attackers are found, and they are large and heavy. The suspects are, troublingly, the Duergar.

The news of Duergar going about and attacking traders is not good for both nations. In particular, the Zaangorian Empire. There is the concern of the remaining Duergar still capable of being a thorn in the nation's side, and so Hra'an's approval of wiping out the Duergar menace is met with cheers by the military residing in the mountain. Of course, the Duergar slaves are told that they will be kept alive as long as they don't make trouble, and that anyone who surrenders will be allowed to be taken in as new slaves.

The Horde is gathered again. This time, they stand ready within the newly set up military base. From the map being drawn up, so as to navigate the mountain's caves, it turns out that the newly claimed region is steered to the Southwest, rather than straight south as expected. But this matters not, as the more land of the Duergar that is conquered, the better. And thus the war horn is sounded again...

The Highway Wars part 2:

Minutes into the march, the passages begin to slope further downwards. Soon, they enter into a large carved tunnel. After a while of deciphering the writings on the walls, it is revealed that this is a highway that the Duergar uses. This discovery is a bad sign, as it can be inferred that the civilisation of the Duergar is bigger than originally thought.

With a moment of explaining to his huge army, the Masters of Language and Smithing both commanded the charge of storming into the direction of the next city.

Half an hour passes as the Horde march along the Highway, and it was then when they see the distant glint of the Duergar's eyes reflecting the light of the torches carried by the slaves. Suddenly there was an explosion and the tunnel caved in. Turns out the Duergar are prepared for the invasion of their city, and explosives were hidden within the Highway's walls.

"Everyone! Don't back down! We are Zaangors! We can conquer all!" The Master Smith yelled as he brandished his custom made warhammer that has a Dreamstone attached. He began hammering away the fallen stone, and soon the others did the same with the pickaxes they brought for an occasion such as this.

Soon, an opening is cleared through the boulders, but on the other side, the furious glares of the Duergar is the first thing that is seen. With a roar of battle, the Duergar attempts to enlarge himself, but he was beaten back with a smiting swing of the Smith's hammer.

The two sides finally clashed, with Zaangors relying on their sheer numbers to overwhelm the giant enemy. The battle line went back and forth, as each side put pressure to achieve their objective of either repelling or advancing into the enemy.

The fight lasted for hours, and soon both sides felt the strain of battle. However, neither wants to back down, for the Zaangors are fueled by hatred, while the Duergar knows that if they fail, another of their city falls to the foreign birdmen.