Interlude

Events in Alair between February - April 1602

[The players having decided that they wanted their characters to pursue a few ideas on a solo basis, the group agreed to split up and meet again in the Spring of 1602, giving each three months to resolve their plans in downtime with the DM. The more visible of their activities, plus the other things that happened in the world during this time, are described below]

Dalaghendor

The enlightened land continues to secure its' borders rather than expanding, firmly keeping the bandits of Orwin and the wild lizards of the deep Trakar at bay. Behind the well-guarded marches, the best of what remains of Northman culture is gathering, and being blended with the different outlook of the more civilized of lizardmen. It's ironic that this cultural leg-up is Varkar's legacy to the lizardman race, something done purely to empower his war machine but likely in the end to be one of his most lasting marks on the world.

Late in March, a vampire assassin attempts to kill Sang'ram, lizardman King of Dalaghendor. The attempt fails, but triggers a nationwide pogrom against vampires and other undead, with bounties being offered. Undead hunters flock to Dalaghendor to get a piece of the action, which rather backfires in that it removes their protection from other, perhaps more needy, regions. The Renders of the Dark are seriously weakened almost everywhere.

Tarlanor

With the completion (at unbelievable speed) of the rebuilding and refortifying of Vorsand, Skufruss is now one of the four major powers in the North of the world. A large percentage of his army has returned to the land, preparing the farms and garths for the spring. Tarlanor is not very fertile, however, and many speculate that its' economy cannot sustain itself without either trade or conquest.

Expansion into the wilderness that surrounds the claimed land continues, however, bringing ever-greater tracts of what were once Sinval, Duceor and Antrol under the Dark Lord's hand.

The Dark Tower rapidly acquires a strong reputation as a nest of darkness and evil, but also as the best academy of the arcane arts in the north of the world. Students travel there increasingly, some openly, most surreptitiously. Most are turned away, some disappear. A few are accepted and begin their studies.

The Kordasa

The theocratic empire of the New Faithful continues its' juggernaught progress, expanding into the ruins of eastern Trialt. Further expansion south is blocked by Enning, and west and north by the mountains and the Tainted Forest. Regions annexed by the Church of Kord Triumphant are generally happy about it, because of the peace and security it brings. However, the continuing land grab brings inexorably closer the day the borders of Tarlanor and the Kordasa touch, and the almost inevitable trouble that will result.

No sooner has the word of a holy crusade against the undead monsters in the Stryran marshes arrived, it seems, than it is superseded by news that the threat is averted. Many brave and good knights feel slighted or disappointed, as if they've "missed the party". The prospect of founding a satellite order on the edge of the Desolation and sallying forth against its' evils consoles many, but not all.

Word of the "vampire plague" and the bounty for undead in Dalaghendor hits these feelings of disappointment like a fireball. Large numbers of knights of the Kordasa set off to quest for the Sons of Cain in the western realm, leaving the forces of the Kordasa significantly reduced, though not by a dangerous amount. Not unless Tarlanor should attack....

Jasselan begins a program of temple building throughout the country. Manton Vanechka quietly recruits small numbers of valiant knights for a secret project, and sends them somewhere, although where isn't immediately apparent.

Gloiran

King Dorain consults the Goldeneye for advice more and more as the chaos outside (to the dwarf mind) intensifies. The oracle advises him to strengthen his city's defences and prepare against the possibility of a recurrence of the Troubled Years, the period in the 800s when the survivors of the displaced Orc nation passed through the Erean Mountains seeking a new home and tried to break into the dwarf cities. Dorain responds to this by sealing Gloiran; the gates are closed, and the dwarves retreat into the depths, lining the way with traps, deadfalls, magical barriers and armed warriors. Even other dwarves are turned away at the gates, usually by simple silence and closed doors.

Kobur

Berrin Ironfist continues to tighten his grip on the second city of the dwarves. An attempt to organize an opposition is crushed before it can even earn the title of rebellion. After the humiliations of a king murdered within the city and the gates being broken by the invading Dragonarmy, Berrin ramps up the already formidable dwarvish military. He puts considerable pressure on Clan Bogadun to reveal the secrets of forging the starsteel. The stubborn Ivhold Crusher refuses to reveal the secrets (or their origin!) but does agree to start forging adamantine armour and weapons for the city's military. Starting at the top. Berrin Ironfist is soon outfitted in glittering black plate armour. Expeditions are sent far and wide looking for deposits of the unique metal, but without success; only in certain rare meteorite craters is the black metal to be found. The idea of asking the elves where they used to get their stocks isn't even entertained.

Clan Bogadun is well on the way to being the richest dwarven clan in Alair.

Nisur

The third dwarf city falls quiet at the end of February, with trade ceasing for some unknown reason. No news is received but it appears that something has happened there.

Orc-land

Absolute chaos has ensued from the slaying of Garkaur Kulataur. The most powerful of Garkaur's warlords instantly began vying for control, trying to sieze control of the kingdom Garkaur had built, but lacking his half-blood genius, elf-spawned lifespan and drive, only manage to shatter the region into a civil war as savage as only orcs can be.

Three factions emerge:

Maurend the Uncanny, clan-lord Gh khoz, Thend the Wizard, Ramphag Thunderslayer and Shumash Death Tongue travel north, with nearly half the surviving orc armies, intending to cross the mountains and reclaim the ancient fortresses in the northern Erean from which the Dragon evicted them nearly a thousand years before.
Lorgloth Blue Knife, clan-lord Ragorka, siezes control of Dun Tolk, and although having fewer warriors than Headbreaker, manages to hold his foe to a stalemate. He declares himself King of the Orcs on the grounds that he controls the capital, but in fact his writ runs no more than a few miles out from the earthworks.
Amraz Headbreaker, clan-lord Grakhyol, controlling the larger share of the orcs that did not follow Maurend and the others, is encamped in some pre-Orcland Imperial ruins for the winter, plotting how to prise Blue Knife out of Dun Tolk.

A sizable number of orcs cross the border south and present themselves within the Empire, demanding to be allowed to stay. These are - for orcs of Orc-land - the most peaceable and "civilized", and the Empire accepts most, swearing them to fealty and spreading them thin to prevent them getting ideas. They are not granted citizenship however.

Late in March, Blue Knife and Headbreaker unnacountably disapear, leaving the former rebels in apparent control of the region and the survivors of the orcish people - around half the original population.

Towards mid-April, however, something remarkable happens - almost every orc in Orc-land simply disappears. Cautious exploration by scouts from Enning, Belamir and the Empire, independently of each other, establish the stunning fact that the vast majority of the Orcish people have simply disapeared.

Enning

Thelvian Tyrkor's prescience, normally so useful in guiding his rulership, is of less use than it ever has been in these days of heroes and villans. Many of the pivotal individuals in the lands around him are Fateless, and their motives and future paths are no clearer to him than to anyone else..

One of his best moves of recent times, however, has been to accept the offered alliance with the New Tellarans. Trade between the two nations is increasing all the time - aided by their close proximity and the absence of natural barriers like mountains between them. The military exchanges are a big part of these benefits; Enning can feed the loaned soldiers rather more easily than New Tellare, and Tyrkor is well aware that he may face an Orc horde rolling past along his eastern border. The stronger he can be the better.

Relations with the Kordasa remain a bit ambivalent. Short of the Red Dust, Enning is the best source of quality horses for the armoured knights of the Church of Kord Triumphant. However, it is ruled by a Kin, and what was Trialt does not have cause to recall the Kin with any fondness. Moreover, Enning is in one regard the anathema of the Kordasa - a secular realm whose ruler permits no temples or religious services within his lands. Hostilities would not serve either side well, though - each has far more pressing problems. Pragmatism and trade appears likely to win the day.

Enning's borders remain static, partly because Tyrkor has no wish to expand, and partly because his land is surrounded by claimed territorty rather than the wreckage of he vanished Northern nations which is providing the others with new lands. He could expand south into the Desolation, but feels - rightly - that cavalry are not the best tool to fight the Curst with on their home ground, and that he's better waiting until he has sufficient infantry.

New Tellare

Expanding rapidly to the west and south, the reborn nation goes from strength to strength. The remaining border castles built by Varkar at the edge of what was then Sildor, are regarrisoned, resupplied and prepared for improvements. With the threat of the Army of the Dead removed, the still very oversized army is redirected into infrastructure improvements, and roads, communication systems, and so on begin to be repaired or built.

The name coined for the expeditionary force - the Sledgehammer - catches on, and the armed forces of New Tellare as a whole begin to refer to themselves as such.

The cavalry cadre loaned by Enning are settled in the newly-claimed border fort at Cyrn Waethelin, and an intense program of horse-breeding and training begins. The infusion of new blood from the superb stock of Enning promises great things for the cavalry of New Tellare in a couple of years.

The majority of the Kordic paladins recruited from the Kordasa are successfully persuaded to occupy the demon-haunted border fortress Cyrn Sharresh. They clear out the remenants of the unpleasantness created by the priest of Demogorgon and establish a satellite order there.

In late March the Wyrmslayer Surya, the last Pureblood Tellaran, reverses his previous decision and accepts the crown; his coronation date is set for May 1st, on which date he also intends to crown Leonora of Rhorien his queen. Invites to the occasion go out to the great and the good of all nations.

The new regions are named Jyresh, Tarasyndra and Coronos; Torvir Evrom rules Jyresh from Cyrn Weithelin, Ingamin of Stryre - newly dismissed from the Royal Guard - takes up control of Tarasyndra. Coronos remains to be assigned a Councillor.

Trakar Swamps

Lizardman incursions into Dalaghendor begin to drop off in the face of rigorous border patrols, although there is a brief upsurge when the (false) rumours of San'gram's assassination circulate.

The Deep Trakar remains as much a mystery as ever. Occasional adventurers foray in, but very few ever come out again.

The Desolation

The mighty desert of ash and torment in the heart of Alair continues to shrink as time passes and people like the elves and the Redeemers chip away at its' evil. The monstrous Curst that live there are squeezed into ever less space, and increasingly turn on each other. This tempers and refines the stock, leaving the tougher ones, and the remaining Desolation actually becomes more dangerous as the process continues.

Belamir

The elves continue to work whatever magic they have brought across the Sea to restore their lost land. Belamir expands considerably as the spring opens. The harsh lesson of the Elf Hammer is learned, though, and now slender but strong towers of stone dot the spreading forests and gardens.

The cyst of power enveloping the Elf Hammer has been assaulted with just about everything the elves can throw at it, without any sign of effect. In an effort to reduce the danger of another rampage, they have surrounded it with Wall of Stone spells, and excavated an enormous pit beneath it with similar magic. The sphere having dropped into the hole, the elven wizards have folded layers of stone over the top, effectively leaving the Hammer buried fifty feet below the ground.

The ruined port city of Belegond, occupied and garrisoned as a staging post for the eleven Return, has - rather surprisingly - been declared a Free Port, open to any and all nations to sail from, trade through, and so on. Assisted by a part of the Sledgehammer, the elves begin restoring the place. Work is hampered by a series of mysterious deaths, and rumour blames a renegade Kin for these.

Stryre

Although palace sources are tight-lipped, rumour continues to leak out that the King has suffered a major embarrasment, and that the Church of Aderra has scored points off him over something. One of the captains in the Royal Guard, Ingamin, leaves abruptly and travels to New Tellare to take service there.

A strong task force from the Blades of Wisdom and Mercy travels south, and disappears into the Fens of Korvux, ostensibly on "manouvres".

Nhased

The Theocracy remains relatively untouched by the events swirling around it. A few adventurous paladins of the One travel to Dalaghendor, mostly to fight undead but also in some cases for the chance of starting some arguments with paladins of other deities.

Erlyid Empire

As the elderly Emperor Heredatus' health declines, his son and heir Crixus begins to take up more and more of the duties of running the Empire. Initial reports seem to show that more is getting done, and that the Empire may be preparing to take a serious interest in the outside world for the first time in many hundred years.

Unconfirmed reports speak of several absutii being readied for deployment to the north in an attempt to bring the chaos in Orcland under control.