"The truth will out; not in a shower, but in a cascade."
(RONOBE to SARAN, before His visit to Dwarf Hold: from The Annals of Gabilkhazâd-Dûm)
"Previous truths can be rendered redundant by the cascade of new ideas."
(Anon. to WACON: from The Collected Wisdom of Others, a Book of the Creed of WACON)
The dice have been cast, and the Fortunes of War determined. A New Order asserts itself, as the winners count Their spoils and the losers turn to new games. The Champions of Anarea have been tested, but nobody has yet passed judgement but themselves.
War broke out first in the Kingdom of the North on 15 Weven, when King Bjørn XVI was assassinated, and his head and the Axe of the Kings taken to Bjarmigen, where Harrek the Berserk, Dragonhelm and New Messiah, used them to foment the rebellion of the followers of ESCUS against the secular rule of the House of Bjørn. The Rebels took Bjarmigen in a day, and laid siege to the Castle. They were aided by a fleet from their island strongholds (now including the largest island of Kolm), which had seized Castle Reakh to gain entry to Bjarmigen Fjord. But later that day a second Rebel fleet was decisively defeated by the Grand Duke of Kôrin and Trarn in the naval Battle of Darl.
On the 16th the Rebel forces holding Karn, to the East of Bjarmigen, were assaulted by the Royal forces from the nearby towns of Hadal, Karad and Sitael, led by Varel of Normeikl (husband of Princess Roswitha, eldest child of the late King). The defenders withstood the siege, and even made several sorties, Varel retiring to Hadal under cover of night.
On the 17th the Rebels under Harrek, now self-styled Lord Protector of the North, ambushed and routed the Duke of Benth's army on Bjarmigen Heights, capturing the Duke. Away to the East, Hât-Hural opened its gates to the Rebels.
Bad weather prevented most movement or hostilities on the 18th, though Libenth rebelled against Rolf, uncle of the captured Duke, and at Mern to the West opposing armies stood each other off across a bridge.
Meanwhile King Bjørn XVII had been negotiating with the Church of ESCUS, through the auspices of the Church of FIDAR, and on the night of the 18th the Treaty of Bjarmigen was signed.
The Treaty of Bjarmigen gives the Church of ESCUS its own fiefs in the Kingdom of the North and provides for power sharing between King and Church. It formally recognises the Lord Protector as head of the Legions of ESCUS - the legitimised Rebel army. The Temple of Heaven on Earth is also recognised, and formally invited to Bjarmigen. But of most immediate importance was the cessation of hostilities and pardon for most rebels, which allowed the subsequent mobilisation of the North by Harrek and Bjørn to meet the Evil threat together.
This bore fruit at Grinen, which was assaulted by the Forces of Evil (including many Balrogs and Nazgûl) on the night of the 19th. The fighting continued, in four main phases, until the night of the 23rd, when the last of the Evils were finally routed by Bjørn and Harrek, who had been considerably assisted by the arrival of Prince Zorgar and his Kyrian army and of Prince Kostof and his Temple of Heaven on Earth adventurer volunteers. Harrek fell in the first night's fighting, but was miraculously raised from the dead (it is said by the power of ESCUS, to show him to be the true New Messiah, Lord to the White Lady, as was foretold by the Prophets). Many of his comrades did not return, however.
Meanwhile the Temple of Heaven on Earth, through prodigious and hazardous long-range Magical scouting, had found itself to be pursued from both sides by further Evil armies. On the 19th it was discovered that Hotif had fallen, and with it the bridge over the River Garf. The weather worsened, and the Forces of Evil hid in sinister Black Clouds. The Temple played cat-and-mouse with the pursuing army, and they brought each other to battle at First Garf Lea on the night of the 21st. The fight was bloody, especially in the air (where hundreds of Wind Walkers fought the Balrogs and Demons of Fire, Cold and Lightning), but it resulted in Kostof's forces annihilating the Evil troops.
The Temple then moved South East to cross the Garf below Fobren and join with the Northern fleet. But on the night of the 23rd it was halted by the worst snowstorm in living memory, and two hours before Dawn the remaining Evil army came upon it, and Second Garf Lea was fought. This was the most decisive battle yet in the history of Anarea, though it is argued that the decisions really took place in the Battle of Heaven, which joined in the struggle on Earth with a cataclysmic flash and bang at daybreak of the 24th.
The Temple of Heaven on Earth was halted in a defensive laager, ringed all round with its escorting troops. Its Weather Control produced a hemisphere of relative calm extending only to the front line of troops. Beyond this there was a complete white-out. With the Temples and in reserve were the Adventurers, including Wind Walk / Astral scouts directed by Arril of Tarm.
Astral Scouts first Located Evil some 5 miles to the North, and a running Astral skirmish broke out with Balrogs, forcing the scouts to falll back to within a mile of the Temple.
The Evil army approached through the blizzard and fallen snow, and gradually its raucous chanting became audible to the defenders. Meanwhile Planist Messages were sent out to summon notable adventurers to the defence from elsewhere, especially Grinen, whence came Harrek, King Bjørn XVII and others who had fought to save that city earlier the same night.
Then nine Nazgûl in tight formation flew low and very fast straight over the Temple, dropping powerful Fire Bombs. Spells were thrown at them, but only one was brought down. Next ten Balrogs were spotted coming in on the Ethereal. Adventurers congregated on that Plane to deal with them, and there was a swift but inconclusive fight. On the Ethereal there were no casualties, but there were some on the Real caused by more fire dropped by the Balrogs.
On the Northern perimeter the Valdrean elite reported that the chanting was growing louder, smoke and steam wafting towards them and billowing upwards in their faces, and they could smell the Evils. Astral scouts reported a huge Evil army in column, guarded by Astral Balrogs. The Temple moved up reserves, and Prince Kostof II, Supreme Commander of the Valdrean Expeditionary Force, went up to the front line. Other heroes followed, including Harrek and Bjørn.
The Evils were almost upon them. In response to the chanting Kostof started up Lawful battlecries amongst the men of the V.E.F. Then the Demonic screeching started, soon augmented by the screams of the defenders as the Evil column hit them. Pointed by a wedge of fifty Balrogs it drove into the Temple formation. Amidst the Balrogs was the six-armed Lightning Demon. Behind them came Trolls, then the fighting Uruk-Hai, then Men of Hell and Hobgoblins, then countless Orcs.
Driven berserk by the keening of the Balrogs, Harrek led the adventurers against them. But they deflected his headlong charge into the mass of troops behind them, where he fought on alone.
The Evil column pressed remorselessly on, brushing aside the second line of V.E.F. reserves and expanding on its flanks. The Temple's Generals threw in the Dwarves to halt its advance towards the Temples themselves, but the Balrog wedge smashed through them too. Adventurers had become scattered; those who had first gone in against the Balrogs were now fighting lesser Evils with the original front line. Here Kostof attempted to pincer the Evil column from both sides. Shouting the name of SARAN, he enthusiastically led a charge into the Orcs. But his pincer was itself pincered, and he found himself with a small pocket of men inside the Evil horde. Elsewhere this pattern was repeated, as the cohesion of both sides broke up and it became much more of a man to man contest.
Near the Temples it was a different story. The Evil elite had not broken up, and the Lightning Demon was going for the ESCUS Temple. It struck the Statue with a Bolt, but was driven off by Wind Walkers. The Balrogs then led an assault on the KOROS Temple, but its defenders drove them back.
Dawn was approaching. A chant of "Twenty-Four Weven, TWENTY-FOUR WEVEN!" was started up by Prince Kostof, and the Valdreans echoed it with "Empire Day, EMPIRE DAY!" Still they fought on, and the outcome hung in the balance as the 24th broke.
It did so with a blinding flash and a deafening bang from Heaven, which momentarily eclipsed the fighting on Earth. Confused screams went up at this, but neither side's morale broke - rather it increased, Temple and Evil both, and they laid into each other with renewed ferocity. The Godstorm continued on the Mountain, and the earth shook.
Now the Balrogs and Lightning Demon assaulted the SARAN Temple. A counterattack was shredded, and they took the Temple. The Statue survived the Lightning, but was toppled to the ground in a swarm of Demons.
The fight raged on, the adventurers halting the Balrogs before the BUDIF Temple. But nearby an astonishing thing was happening: the Statue of FIDAR had come to life, and was speaking the Word of Peace. At first all were too caught up in the heat of battle to pay it any heed, but gradually it got through, and both sides began to cease fighting, lay down their weapons, and listen to FIDAR.
Peace spread outwards from where FIDAR walked, but not all gave in to it at first. The most battle-hardened adventurers, most Balrogs and the Lightning Demon seemed immune, for they fought on regardless, moving away from FIDAR. All that is except for the Lightning Demon. Escorted by Balrogs, it hurled itself against Her, scattering Wind Walkers, who were trying to oppose it but were falling under the influence of Peace. Straight into hand to hand combat with the Goddess of Peace it went, but as soon as it touched Her, its arms started to drop off, and it disappeared with a blood-clotting howl.
This was effectively the end of the Second Batle of Garf Lea, though skirmishing continued for some time on the fringes, notably against the Hobgoblins and Trolls. Unpeaceful Balrogs disappeared to wherever such creatues go. And still the Battle of Heaven raged on.
A mind-wrenching explosion from Heaven was followed so swiftly by the flying into pieces of the Statue of BUDIF that one was not aware of the latter until one had recovered from the former. "BUDIF is dead", the word went round.
It was only after another hour (or what seemed like an hour) of fighting in Heaven that KOROS, SHELDA and PAREL appeared at the devastated Temple of Heaven on Earth. With Them came many lesser Powers: Demigods, Demons and Spirits from Heaven. BUDIF was indeed dead, announced KOROS, and ESCUS, SARAN and SOROK had fallen too (though They were not exactly dead). The Gods of Hell had taken Heaven.
Notable casualties in Second Garf Lea were Kargax, King of Kyr, who is succeeded by his son Zorgar, and the King of All the Dwarves, who was carried off alive by the Balrogs.
Thus the Temple of Heaven on Earth withstood the Forces of Evil, but what it stood for fell in saving it.
| Good Law
The New Triumdeate FIDAR PAREL WACON |
Good
(ESCUS) SHELDA |
Good Chaos
ORIL |
| Law
(SARAN) CAERULAS CASPIS THE CONTROLLER OF THE PLANES |
Neutrality
RAYLIT KOROS The Elemental Gods The Gods of Nature |
Chaos
DALA MIRIMI |
| Evil Law
HALKI (SOROK) WAGREN |
Evil
HAERIM ALTIS |
Evil Chaos
ZAKEL TERRIK |
New God: WACON (m) G/L, God of Harmony, Clerical
( ) Brackets indicate that the God is weakened, but claims to be recovering.
SOROK claims to be Undead, and is no longer Clerical.
SHELDA is now Principal God of Good, FIDAR of Good Law.
CAERULAS is declared Clerical by His priest Iccy, at the Temple of Peace on Earth.
The New Triumdeate: FIDAR, PAREL, WACON
The Gods of Peace on Earth: The New Triumdeate (as above), SHELDA, (ESCUS), ORIL, RAYLIT, MIRIMI, KOROS, CAERULAS
The Gods of Heaven and Hell: ALTIS, HAERIM, WAGREN, HALKI, TERRIK, ZAKEL, KOROS
BUDIF is dead, SOROK undead. ESCUS and SARAN fell, and have gone into hiding.
Out of the ashes of the Temple of Heaven on Earth arises the Temple of Peace on Earth, 24 Weven.
Emperor Kostof I of Normeikl proclaims the Third Empire of SARAN in Valdran on 24 Weven, the traditional Empire Day.
By the Treaty of Bjarmigen, signed 18 Weven, the Kingdom of the North was radically reformed. On 24 Weven FIDAR seeks, and obtains, the permission of King Bjørn XVII and the Archbishop of Bjarmigen to bring the Temple of Peace on Earth to Bjarmigen, capital of the North.
WACON announces that "friendly" Balrogs have revealed that a further Evil army is on its way to attack Castle Aptal, in the West March of the Kingdom of the North. A smaller Evil force is to secure the Mern Gap.
Your orders are requested for the period 25 Weven to 26 Iarom 2500.
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