This update covers the most part of year 141, and can be read as the first part of the epilogue. Hopefully, when the fort closes, all the little arcs will have their conclusion ! Okay let's go :
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When we had recovered from the party, which by itself caused more damage than the fight with Odlug, it was time for us to resume the construction of the outer wall. Everyone got back to their works. The consumption of wood and copper was so high we couldn't really forge new heavy armors for the newly formed Skirmisher squad under Zefer's command, so we decided to equip them with what we had of leather, add a mail undercloth to it, and keep the squad in the rearguard in the incoming conflict.
The main tactic of the Riverguard should remain more or less unaltered. Unlike the old bow squad, the skirmisher squad was to follow the main force, use softening fire while flanking the enemy, then joining the main corp once the melee has been engaged and the enemy line broken. We need to try this strategy - hopefully it will go well.
The promotion of Zefer would have some other minor effect on how the Riverguard works on the non-military side.
Jalew's clan is undeniably the strongest in Watershield when it comes to numbers : he has nine children alive to this day. Apba, his first daughter - Ino has her soul, as she met her untimely death from wildlife last year - was married to Asin and gave birth to eight children of her own, of which six survived.
Two of them, Idem and Dengusa, were to acquire considerable fame in their respective fields.
In total, Jalew's clan counts 17 members, more than a tenth of the fort. Despite their achievments and their numbers however, they always remained a second class clan, with limited access to local power. The promotion of Zefer into nobility, and his upcoming wedding with Zothoabo's daughter, is undeniably the promotion Jalew was hoping for, increasing considerably his personal and familial standing.
On the topic of merchants - Lemann has been quiet in most of our meetings, but we discovered today he has been far from inactive. Each summer was, apparently, the occasion for him to build a network with the traders of the kingdom. He shaked hands, greasing them on occasion, and thanks to the high quality of the textile goods he was trading for metals every years, became renowed outside of Watershield, especially among the bourgeois of the kingdom. The result of his work was to be seen today : his niece, Uquur, has been chosen to represent the traders guild from now on, and until her death.
Uquur is one of the fiercest warriors of Watershield, and it was thanks to her we could train our army so effectively and so rapidly in our first years. Acting as a Guild Representative would have her travel a lot and meet a lot of danger, but among all the good people of the kingdom, she's undeniably the fittest for the job. Having her niece being promoted to what is technically the number three of the kingdom's royal council, behind only the queen and the general, is a very precious gift for Lemann's little clan, and for Watershield as a whole.
This is not all. Ener, Zothoabo's sister, has been now promoted general, and has moved to Hazelslide to take her office.
Before I go on, maybe I should tell some words about Kostupu, Steppdresses, which is the western village their family comes from.
Earlier, I already mentionned the infamous battle of Kostupu. In 116, the armies of Mong Kima and the elven armies of Fiÿopi Iferi met on the field, for reasons today forgotten. The royal armies were led by a battle tested general, the famous Lubbe Finbrushes, and were attempting to protect the western villages against elven incursions.
Lemann, among others, was part of this army.
However, the army of the kingdom was still recovering for other defensive wars against the elves, while the army of Fiÿopi Iferi were fresh and had the numbers on their sides. Fighting ten on one, Mong Kima lost the initial clash. Lemann was wounded and evacuated, and Commander Lubbe was slain in battle. She would be later entombed in Sinsugar, the kingdom's vault for great heroes.
The army attempted to regroup in Kostupu to reorganize and fight further - it only enraged the elves who followed them there. A second battle took place in the village, the army completely obliterated and Kostupu pillaged.
The peace was signed soon after, but to this day, the wound remains fresh in our collective memory.
Zothoabo and his family are survivors from Kostupu's slaughter. The doctor only parted from his remaining siblings ten years later, in 126, to work to the fort of Brokenbronze, starting a travel that would lead him, in 131, to become a member of the Riverguard.
It is the first time in 15 years he heard the name of his sister again - apparently, Ener had some success of her own. What has been a survivor of the Kostupu massacre is now our General.
Osme Stobûb is not limiting itself to attacking Watershield. After Lomoth's campaign in the north that left the nothern goblins a shadow of their former self, they are now sending army over army to expend in the south. In the span of one year, they conducted a great number of attacks against the dwarven kingdom of Lålrigòth, and against our ally, the men of Egapesor.
The dwarves didn't put put a fight, and were slaughtered easily. The fortresses of Urnverse and Blushchambers fell and are now into Lomoth's clawed hands. The village of Shakenflames, of Egapesor kingdom, resisted a bit more and managed to repel Osme's armies a couple times, but it eventually fell.
Lomoth's plan becomes clearer and clearer as we see the events unfold. They are trying for regional hegemony, conquering the subcontinent and subduing every rival nation they can. So far, Mong Kima and Watershield in particular is the only one who organized a credible resistance to their conquest, and if this goes on, we'll soon be completely encircled by the north, south and east.
Dark clouds are now covering the sky. Ino help us.
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Topic: Mong Kima - The Nation of Pearls (DF 0.47.05) (Read 235219 times)