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Winding Through the Wood

Up through the shadowed forests of Lustri march four Imperial armies. They march to the Sarangrave, following the same route the Druj took to invade Zenith not so many years ago. The same paths through the deep woods, down toward the marshes of the Mallum. Their rough path runs through the lowland valleys, between the foothills of the towering peaks to the east and the west. Past the ruins of the Spire of Twisting Shadows, under the vigilant eyes of the Stork's Gaze, toward the Bloodwater Marsh.

As the armies march north the ground becomes increasingly boggy; since the magical storms that swept the Empire three years ago the ground here has never quite dried out. It is a foreshadowing of what is to come, perhaps. Or a warning that the Sarangrave has followed after the Druj, reaching out seeping tendrils to change the land the way the invasion of the Mallum changed the people of Urizen.

Many of the soldiers who pass through the forest report odd dreams, and odd glimpses of half-seen shadowy figures beneath the trees that disappear as soon as they are looked at directly. They do not pose any threat, it seems. Simply peculiar little spirits of mystery and secrets, curious about the great force of soldiers marching through the woodlands.

Here and there are markers that commemorate one engagement or another in the fight against the orcs of the Mallum. The forest presses close around them - in another few years they will be lost entirely to the grasping roots, and the dark beneath the boughs, and the short memories of mortal folk.

Into the Sarangrave

The Sarangrave is first scented rather than seen. The wind from the north brings with it the faint odour of rot and stagnant water, reminiscent of the Proceris marshes yet altogether stronger, more woody. The trees undergo a marked change, giving way to willow, aspen, and poplar. Only the beggarwood remains constant as the Imperial armies approach the border with the Mallum. Yellow marigolds and pale pink marsh orchids bloom among the roots, along the ponds and streams. Footlong iridescent dragonflies flit hither and yon, and curious fist-sized black beetles become a minor menace, fascinated by the boots and sleeping rolls of Imperial soldiers when they camp for the night.

Then, halfway through the last morning before the armies leave the Empire for the lands of the Druj, the trees suddenly fall away and the Sarangrave stretches before them. Some of the newer recruits to the Citadel Guard find it particularly unsettling - this immense expanse of flat openness beneath a flat open sky. Mist still clings here and there drifting over the surface of the shallow lakes, or wrapped like cotton wool of cuckoospit around the boles of the bowed beggarwood trees.

Perhaps the strangest element is the beauty of the place. This is the Mallum, the fastness of the Druj. To some it seems particularly jarring, the way the deep umber, the ochre, the olive tones of the marshes are scattered with swathes of colour as the early spring flowers reach toward the sun. It is notably warmer here, in the Bloodwater Marshes, than it was in the shaded forests of Lustri. And the beasts! Birds of all sizes and colours swooping down to skim the waterways hungry for insects. Some are large enough to hunt fish, dipping beneath the surface to emerge triumphant with their shimmering prize caught between their talons. Voles and water mice, scampering away from the tramping boots of the soldiers. Otters and beavers, their fur slick with oils, disappearing with nary a ripple, panicked by the presence of so many humans and orcs all at once.

The sun is bright this morning, but as the armies begin to push forward, they encounter an undeniable reminder that this beautiful place is the domain of the Druj. The first tendrils of that malign miasma that infests those lands claimed by the orcs of the Mallum gently touch the hearts and minds of the Imperial soldiers, as if testing them. It is as if a stormcloud crosses over the sun as the armies push northward into the marsh. The marching songs and soldier's banter falter and fall quiet as the creeping dread assails the marching soldiers. That subtle, awful feeling that you are in danger, that something is watching you, that you are not alone, that you are making a mistake, that you should not be here, spreads through the armies. It is all-too familiar to those who fought in Zenith, in Ossium, in the Salt Flats of Sanath, in Reikos back in the day. Yet here it seems stronger, more insistent, more immanent. The Druj have ruled here for a very long time, the taint of their tyranny has worn deep grooves in the marshes of the Sarangrave.

Axe and Word and Ward

The Imperial commanders have anticipated this, prepared their soldiers as best they can, and allow little delay before the full-fledged invasion of the Sarangrave begins. The Golden Axe set the pace - eager to take the land of the Druj. With steel in their fists and in their spirits,they are the legacy of the Vard made manifest. Here to conquer what can be conquered, to bar their door against what cannot be defeated, and to endure what must be endured without flinching. An irresistible advance across the land they have marked as their own, driving their enemies before them.

The traditional problems caused by having to maintain supply lines do not apply to the Varushkan 'Axe. What they do not carry with them they take from the land they conquer, and this is a rich land, very different to Ossium in the north. The Bloodwater Marsh will provide well for them, burgeoning as it is with game and fish and other provender.

Alongside them march the Crimson Schlacta; a cohort of warriors drawn from the Fields of Glory, their heavy helms forged in the fearsome visage of wolf, or bear, or snarling lion. The miasma does nothing to quell their eagerness for battle, for the chance to one again meet the Druj in battle, testing their bloodgold swords against the spite of the Mallum. Their presence bolsters the spirit of the Varushkans they march beside, with mortal and herald urging each other to greater feats of strength, endurance, and military prowess.

As the general has said “Everything behind us is Imperial, Everything in front is barbarian.”

The Winter Sun and the Towerjacks employ a more careful strategy designed to limit Imperial losses. Their battlefield physicks, their doctors and bonesetters, their warcasters and magicians well-versed in the arts of healing and purification, are deployed expertly in support of the soldiery. Risky tactics are eschewed, the lures and tricks of the Druj and their manipulative magic ignored or turned back against their originators. The Winter Sun in particular are alert to the deceptions of the Mallum, the soldiers able to see through their machinations with supernatural clarity.

The more careful approach of these two armies is not solely about avoiding foolhardy action. Both the Towerjacks and the Winter Sun seek to reach out to the septs of the Sarangrave, to those crushed under the Druj yoke. There is a hope that allies might be found here, perhaps even an opportunity to make contact with the Bloodwater Spears who dwell along the shores of the Feverwater. An optimistic hope, perhaps.

Finally, there are the sentinels of the Citadel Guard. There is a quiet grimness about the forces of Urizen as they travel through Lustri into the marshes of the Mallum. Before setting off, the masters of magic set in motion the Technique of the Bond of Tears, a consumate working of Winter magic that grants the entire army the ward of Winter's Mantle. Until the Spring Equinox, not one of those soldiers who march beneath the banners of phoenix and star can be harmed - at least not in body. With the twin resonances of survival and preservation they are guarded from injury, from venom, from the barbed arrows and wicked spears of the Druj and the talons and fangs of the marsh beasts alike. This protection comes at a price - for does not all Winter magic come at a price? The hurt they avoid is visited upon their fellow Imperial soldiers. Whatever else happens, no matter how badly this invasion of the Sarangrave might go, the Citadel Guard at least will avoid the fate of the Iron Helms and Isaella's Dance.

The heroes of the other armies know the price, and bear it willingly. And so the armies of the Empire enter the Mallum, and battle is joined.

Tricks and Towers

If the Imperial armies sought to enter the Bloodwater Marshes unobserved, they are not successful. There are scattered watchposts along the southern borders of the Sarangave - set in haphazardly built towers, or concealed among the spreading branches of the older mangrove trees. Nobody tries to fight - they immediately flee north and east to sound the alarm. Attempts to intercept these spies are rarely effective - their ability to avoid the Imperial scouts is nothing short of supernatural.

The source of that supernatural evasion is soon apparent. The Bloodwater Marshes themselves are warded with Night magic, woven by the Druj Ghulai with the aid of an unknown eternal. The waterways shift and twist, and the further the Imperial armies push into the territory the thicker the fog that rises each morning and evening becomes. It is easy to get lost here, unnaturally so. Orders quickly pass down through the ranks that nobody goes anywhere by themselves - too many soldiers step away for a private moment never to return. Some of the wildlife is possessed of a malign cunning and desire to inflict pain, shorn of their fear of humans and orcs. The deathstingers, the favoured symbol of the Druj Hupul, are a particular menace. Soldiers quickly come to fear the angry low-pitched drone of their wings, with the flash of red-and-black between the trees or flitting through the reeds providing scant warning before a swarm of a dozen or more of the bird-sized wasps attack.

There are also more overtly supernatual threats - massive crocodilian hunters with sparkling scales and eight legs, literally invisible when submerged in water, who erupt with terrible speed to drag soldiers to their doom. Flitting spirits that take the shape of loved ones left behind in the Empire that emerge at night to lure sentries into the darkness from which they never emerge. Jade and ebony serpents whose hypnotic swaying dance, sibilant song, and glittering scales entrance and beguile, and leave their prey paralysed even as the snake draws closer and closer. Lanky, faceless figures with reed-thin limbs ending in terrible rending claws that unfold from the shadows to rip and terrorize before disappearing as if they were never there leaving only bleeding bodies in their wake.

Perhaps as many as three hundred Imperial soldiers fall prey to these threats - lost, killed, or maimed by the supernatural defences the Druj magicians have woven around the Bloodwater Marshes. Yet the enticing, obfuscating magic is by no means the greatest threat facing the invaders. It serves more to delay the advance of the Empire, to complicate their conquest, and to allow the real defenders of the Sarangrave to get into position.

The Druj Are Coming

Imperial strategists expect some resistance to their attack on the Sarangrave. To the west, on the far side of the Whisperwood, stands the Tower of the Skink. This massive fortification guards the Path of the Eye into Axos, and broods over the sprawling Druj town of Sephals. It also keeps a keen eye out for potential threats, and the armies of the Empire certainly count.

The first Druj soldiers prove the Empires' defences, cloaking themselves in the protection of the magical wards on the marshes. As the days tick by they become bolder, engaging more directly with Imperial soldiers. They are skirmishers first and foremost, striking from ambush and retreating swiftly before their foes can rally against them. They avoid pitched battles, sniping and pricking at the flanks of the armies, trying to provoke them into a pursuit that inevitably ends in another ambush or a terrible death sinking into a quagmire or caught in a cruel deadfall.

It's pretty clear however that there are more defenders than just the garrison of the Tower of the Skink. A few weeks after the invasion of the Bloodwater Marshes begin in earnest, the scouts of the Druj armies begin to appear in the north-east of the region. Here the Empire encounters serious resistance. From the serpent-and-sword banners of the Deadly Blade, their weapons dripping with venom; from the empty standards of the Hidden Snake, who are adept as using the marshes and their magical wards to outmaneuver the Imperial soldiers; and the predatory marsh bird standards of the Poison Crane, who fight relentlessly to drive the Empire back.

The scouts of the Towerjacks and the Winter Sun report that it appears these armies were on furlough in the north, seeking to recover from losses suffered in their recent campaigns against the Empire. Indeed, the seers of the Citadel Guard report that the armies bear potent enchantments of Spring magic designed not to empower their savagery, but to renew their vitality. The Imperial attack has taken them by surprise, forcing the weakened armies to fight, to defend the marshes, instead.

Fight they do. Between the garrison of the Tower of the Skink and the warriors of the three armies, there are clearly more Druj here than Imperials (even with their magical allies). The Empire's armies move north through the Bloodwater, towards the shores of the great lake, and the Druj use every trick in their vicious book to try and turn them aside. The orcs try to contain the invaders; the Empire refuses to be contained.

The Battle of Tabun

As the year draws to a close and the Spring Equinox nears, the masters of the Mallum are forced to finally confront the invaders. Outside the central village of Tabun, a shambolic nowhere on the banks of a slow-moving river, things come to a head. The banners of the Thornwasp hang limp from the uneven stone wall, the drone of the marsh insects grinds on and on in an almost maddening whine, the air thick and heavy like clear amber, the massed forces of Empire and Druj come together at last. Four Imperial armies with the proud standards of Varushka at the fore, against three battered armies of the Druj supported by the teeming barrison of the Tower of the Skink.

The farmers and fishers of Tabun would flee if they could, but the Druj do not allow them that luxury. They are caught between the hammer and the anvil, and while the Towerjacks and the Winter Sun do their best not to harm them, their tyrannical masters know no such mercy, more than happy to hide behind their broken servants as Imperial troops advance. The Tower garrison and the Poisoned Crane have set up catapults on one of the sparse sections of dry land that dot the marshes, using them to launch broken rocks and rusted metal into the advancing Imperials. The Towerjacks quickly peel away to deal with the siege engines, fighting hard to drive the 'Crane back from their defensive position. As the Winter Sun and Golden Axe batter the low walls, engaging in chaotic melee with the Hidden Blade, the Citadel Guard splits its forces to support all three of its allies with mobile groups of sentinels eager to go where the fighting is most fierce, trusting to their protections to ensure their force is applied in the most effective way.

The Winter Sun, possessed as they are of the Clarity of the Master Strategist, note the danger minutes before the trap closes. The guerilla fighters of the Hidden Snake live up to their names; they have scattered across the marshes in cunningly concealed hides, or buried themselves in shallow trenches, or in a few cases slipped into the pools using hollow reeds to breathe. As the Empire moves forward, they erupt from their concealment targeting the Citadel Guard specifically. The Golden Axe and the Winter Sun are caught between the defenders of Tabun and the attackers to the rear, but the Urizen soldiers urge them to press forward while they deal with the ambushing Druj. Discord reigns, but between the discipline of the Citadel Guard and the strategic insight of the Winter Sun the Imperials swiftly rally against the desperate tactics of the barbarians.

There is a price to pay of course; the Winter magic that protects the Citadel Guard leaves their soldiers uninjured but the burden of that displaced injury is bourn by their allies, already bleeding from the spears and arrows of Tabun's defenders. If the Druj sought to break the Empire, to split its forces apart and pick them off, then they are sorely disappointed. A hail of stone and metal falls on Tabun as the Towerjacks seize the Druj catapults and turn them against their masters. A rousing cheer rises in the throats of the Golden Axe and, with the defenders in disarray, they break the walls and storm the village, quickly smashing through the barricades and pallisades the Druj have erected to try and channel them into the killing zone of the village square.

Once the wall falls, the fight goes out of the Druj. They have no stomach for fighting their foes face to face, and in disarray they flee the battlefield. The Imperial forces harry them for a short distance, but no further - they are too wise to fall for the lures of the Mallum orcs, refusing to be drawn away from Tabun and into the unknown marshes to the east. The banners of the Thornwasp are torn down, and replaced with the bright standards of the four Imperial armies.

Between the extensive wards of Night magic that stretch far beyond the Bloodwater Marshes, and the ever-present oppressive atmosphere, progress has been slow, but the Empire is ultimately victorious. Without the hammer of the Golden Axe in the fore, its unclear the Empire would make much headway at all. The battle at Tebun is decisive, but there are still months of gruelling fighting ahead. The Empire knows well that the Druj favour a war of attrition, and they are unlikely to abandon the rich farms of Sarangrave to their enemies.

Tales of Terror

Tabun may have been captured, and the Druj forced to cede much of the Bloodwater March, but the Thornwasp sept still holds sway. The Druj are not the only people in Sarangrave, of course. While there are some subject septs that seek to emulate their wicked ways to curry favour with them, there are also countless numbers of slaves and underclass subjects here, those cowed by the whips and cruelties of their heartless masters. Throughout the campaign the Winter Sun and the Towerjacks seek to reach out to them, but to little avail. In almost every case, the inhabitants of the southern marshes flee in terror as soon as they are aware of the Imperial advance. The armies encounter farms and villages completely abandoned - in some cases with meagre meals still on tables, furniture overturned, doors wide open. They may fear the Druj, but it seems the common folk of Bloodwater Marsh fear the Empire even more.

With the victory at Tabun, some of the slaves have no alternative but to speak to the 'Jacks and the 'Sun. They are barely coherent, silenced by terror, convinced that they are to be slaughtered as soon as they outlive their usefulness as sources of information. Despite everything that has happened at Tabun, It proves difficult to get anyone to believe that the Empire is here to liberate; even the meanest field slave has heard of the murder of the Black Wind, the slaughter of the Vendarri (placed at the door of the Dawnish, it seems), the attack on the Rahvin, the destruction of the Montainians. They have heard of the terrible curses the Citadel Guard unleashed in the Salt Flats of Sanath during their invasion of the Sydathian Fens. These people believe wholeheartedly that they have no choice - between the cruelty of the Druj and the lies of the Empire, they see little alternative but to pick the devil they know. Some of those freed from Tabun actually flee in the night, back toward the welcoming arms of their wicked masters, rather than risk the unknown future of remaining as "prisoners" of the Empire.

Attempts to reach out to the Bloodwater Spears prove to be likewise inconclusive. There's little actual evidence the 'Spears are interested in siding with the Empire against the Druj anyway - the Imperial prognosticators simply proposed that they could fight the tyrants of Sarangrave if they were armed and armoured. That appraisal spoke of ways to incite the Septs but is now three years out of date. It may be that the League and Imperial Orcs soldiers will find it significantly harder to find anyone prepared to talk to them, much less ally with them, than they imagined. The presence of the Golden Axe, so enthusiastically committed to killing the barbarians and taking their land, and the cold Urizen with their powerful magics are likely doing little to make the Imperial forces look more approachable.

Paid in Blood

The butcher's bill accounted, it seems that perhaps a thousand Imperial soldiers have been lost in the attack on the Sarangrave. Estimates suggest nearly twice that many Druj have spilled out their lifeblood to slow the Empire's conquest, many during the fight at Tabun. Their bodies are piled high and burned, damp pyres sending pillars of black smoke into the sky to remind the Druj that they are no longer undisputed masters of the Bloodwater Marsh.

As the Spring equinox approaches, as the battle lines inch toward the settlement of Lakhev it becomes clear that the Empire has managed to establish a tenuous toehold in Sarangrave. The Druj armies still fight, the garrison of the Tower of the Skink still fights, but they are in retreat. If nothing changes then cautious estimates suggest that at the current speed, Imperial soldiers will be in a position to capture Lakhev and bring the whole Bloodwater Marsh under their control by the Summer Solstice. If nothing changes...

Game Information

Regarding Sarangrave

The Empire is just over halfway to securing a beachhead in Sarangrave The Tower of the Skink, the presence of a powerful ward, and the Druj miasma all contributed to delaying the Imperial conquest The Golden Axe provided a significant advantage in attacking the Bloodwater Marsh

As the Spring Equinox approaches the Empire is a little over halfway to securing a beachead in Sarangrave. The presence of the Tower of the Skink - a massive fortification in Thornfen, along with three Druj armies, coupled with the difficulties of establishing supply lines and the presence of a Night magic ward all contributed to the difficulty of achieving this outcome. Without the Golden Axe and their powerful order to Take their land it's doubtful the Empire would have been anywhere near as successful as they were.

It's notable that due to the Feverwater in the north, it's only possible for the armies here to retreat south back into Lustri, or to push east into Whisperwood (once they finish their conquest of the Bloodwater Marsh, presumably). They can't attack the far shore of the lake without an opportunity, and the presence of the vallorn in Bendol effectively makes that region impassable.

Participation - Golden Axe

The experience of fighting alongside the Crimson Schlacta can be particularly inspirational, especially if one already bears a trace of Summer magic. Any character whose military unit supported the Golden Axe in their triumphant push to claim the Bloodwater March may choose to begin the next event experiencing a roleplaying effect: You are filled with confidence; nothing is beyond you if you put your mind to it. Now is the time to act, to pursue goals you have been neglecting. Anyone who questions your prowess must be taught a quick lesson about the foolishness of doubting you.

Furthermore, if you are a changeling whose military unit supported the Varushkan army, the roleplaying effect is much more pronounced. In addition, if you have the hero skill you gain an additional hero point for the duration of the event. Such characters may also use their experience of fighting alongside the crimson-and-gold armoured heavy infantry to permanently increase the strength of their lineage.

Please bear in mind that these opportunities are only available to characters whose military unit supported the Golden Sun this downtime. You are free to roleplay you were present, as always, but you do not qualify for the additional hero point or the ability to increase your changeling lineage trappings.

Battle Opportunity

The Imperial prognosticators have detected a major conjunction of the Sentinel Gate that will allow Imperial heroes to visit the Sarangrave during the coming summit. They are still examining the opportunities it presents, but note that it appears to be quite near to the border with the vallorn-infested region of Bendol.