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Readying, 593 CY
The Council of Lords has begun discussion on disposition of the
lands and titles formerly belonging to the Gensal noble family. All
members of the Gensal family were killed during the Old Ones
invasion of the Shield Lands and their seat on the Council of Lords
has sat empty since. The recovery of the town of Gensal in late 591
CY began months of speculation about who would be awarded
control. The two most popular (and most likely) possibilities
include the potential division of the lands between surviving lords
controlling nearby holdings or the addition of an entirely new noble
family to the Council of Lords. Awarding the Gensal titles and
lands to a new noble family would be the first step in filling the six
empty seats and returning the council to its original twenty-four
noble houses, whereas dividing the lands would consolidate power
in the hands of fewer noble families.
Obviously this topic is of great concern to all members of the
Council of Lords as well as the common folk and vassals of the
extinct Gensal line. Disposition of the Gensal lands is of particular
importance to at least seven noble families whos own lands share a
common border with the unclaimed holdings. Count Janek Lardon,
the most vocal of the seven families, has also expressed interest in
the disposition of the lands and titles formerly belonging to the
traitor, former Lord Burryne Arbas of South Keep. It is well known
that Count Lardon seeks to expand his family holdings, but until
the fall of the Gensal and Arbas lines, was trapped at the center of
lands held by six larger and wealthier families. A division of either
fallen families lands would allow Count Lardon the opportunity he
has coveted since replacing his father on the Council.
After an extended cold spell full of snow and wind, the Shield Lands
are beginning to return to more typical weather. This comes as
welcome relief to the soldiers of the border forts and the goodfolk
of Tent Town who live under harsh conditions during the best of
times. Sadly, the below freezing temperatures have been replaced
by early spring rains. With much of the ground still frozen, the
resulting runoff has in many places nowhere to go and is creating
large flooded areas where none existed before. Many fear that as
the ground thaws, the water will wash out roads and fields as it
finally is able to move towards the streams and rivers. This, of
course, would be followed by serious flooding in the southern parts
of the nation. Clerics from the Church of All Winds , notably those
Fireseek, 593 CY
The New Year brings with it unusually cold and snow-filled weather,
as temperatures drop well below freezing and snow accumulates
across the Holy Realm. Gusty winds help clear the main streets of
Critwall within a few hours, but side streets and alleys are often
clogged with deep drifts for days. Reports from the outposts along
the northern border tell of even colder temperatures and deeper
snow, and describe that what were muddy roads only a few weeks
ago have now become treacherous, snow-covered frozen ruts that
threaten to twist and break the legs of man and beast alike.
The harsh weather has taken a particular toll on the poor folk of
Tent Town. The Tentfolk suffer during a typical winter and seem to be
far worse off this year after the recent fires that ravaged portions
of the ramshackle village out side Critwalls protective walls.
Thieves, many of whom suffer themselves from lack of adequate
housing and food, plague the Tentfolk daily.
All is not bleak in Tent Town as both the Open Sprit and many of
the local temples do what they can to help the unfortunate Shield
Landers until more of them can return to working manors in the
spring. An odd, but increasingly welcome addition to Tent Town is
a massive half-orc named Mangram. The half breed warrior settled
into his current home by entering the tent of a known thug,
grabbing him by the head and tossing him into the frigid night
without a word. Though many feared the worst at first, the half-orc
has become the unofficial protector of Tent Town and is well liked
by the decent folk and greatly feared by those who would take
advantage of the innocent.
Luckily last years harvest was the largest since Critwall and Bright
Sentry were reclaimed during the Great Northern Crusade.
Despite rumors of plague-ridden grain and repeated raids by the
Old Ones minions seeking to burn and wither crops under the
cover of darkness, the Shield Lands managed to store a surprising
surplus of the 592 CY harvest. With the reoccupation of many
abandoned manors planned for the spring, the Shield Lands may
once again be able to reduce the amount of foodstuffs imported
from nearby nations. With less gold being spent on imported
goods, projects such as recovering abandoned manors and villages,
rebuilding the once-great roads of the Shield Lands and fueling the
gold hungry war-machine of the War of Reclamation can receive
increased funding.
Inside Critwall Keep, the Council of Lords has convened the first
Council session for the New Year. As always since its inception, the
council voted unanimously to uphold the Proclamation of Service.
The Proclamation of Service was first begun in Coldeven, 590 CY as
a way to ensure that all Shield Landers participated productively in
the War of Reclamation. In its simplest terms, the Proclamation of
Old One has ordered an end to the petty bickering. Some suspect
that Iuz has tired of Vaynes repeated failures and has sent an
assassin to murder Vayne and give his place on the Lesser
Boneheart to Waquonis. If true, this would make Vayne extremely
dangerous and unpredictable as he attempts to regain the Old
Ones favor. With little to loose and powerful new mercenary allies,
Vayne could lash out viciously at his enemies. The two most
obvious targets for his wrath are Torkeep and Gensal.
We here in the Shield Lands also have a very good excuse. The very Shield Lands had an interactive in
Year One, that was a huge battle. We've been able to whip out battle interactives every now and then
when another County capital is being liberated. Through interactives, three more county capitals have
been liberated, bringing the Shield Lands' freed capitals to include Critwall, Bright Sentry, Torkeep,
Gensal and Southkeep (psst, and Ringland, though knowledge of it is a state secret that only the highest
ranking officials are aware of). There are eighteen capitals left.
That said, here is a little bit of what has happened in the Shield Lands in 591 and 592 (With 593 and
594 mods still available for play, I won't give out any spoilers until later). In 591, only Critwall and
Bright Sentry were freed. Torkeep was just beyond the frontlines by a few miles. Earl Torkeep, not one
to sit around for a committee to decide how to run a war, with help from adventurers, his retainers, and
loyal troops took Torkeep castle. Iuzian forces set about beseiging Torkeep. This was a massive battle
interactive, and I could go into stories about what happened. It was amazing. Suffice it to say, the
Shield Lands won the day, and Torkeep remained freed.
Also in 591, a lengthy plotarc over several mods revealed that Waquonis was scheming to unseat Vayne
in Admundfort. By the end of 591, the blockade of Walworth Isle was broken when an artifact of the
Nyr Dyv unleashed lake-monsters upon the ships, Furyondy brought their ships home, and Waquonis
and his forces slipped across the lake from Axeport to Walworth Isle. The details are not clear, but
Vayne fled Admundfort, leaving Waquonis to rule the island. Vayne setup his new HQ in Laws' Forge.
Vayne kept his position as titular head of Iuz's occupation of the Shield Lands, but further reduced in
the eyes of his superiors. This chaos allowed the SL to further consolidate the gains at Torkeep and also
push nearer to South Keep and Gensal, laying the groundwork to free those capitals later.
Lastly, the Free Reavers were being given the freedom by Vayne to roam around the Shield Lands,
terrorizing where they went, but seemingly involved in some thought-out scheme.
In 592, Ringland re-established contact with the rest of the Shield Lands. Only those with a need-toknow are made aware of this fact. The Shield Lands use Ringland's unique defenses to operate scouting
missions deep behind enemy lines to great effectiveness. Gensal is freed this year. As the family that
ruled Gensal is extinct (no
surivors from the Greyhawk Wars), the Council of Lords begins deliberations on what to do now that
the place is liberated. People need their rulers! Never before had a whole family become extinct, and all
families are descended from Aerdi-era appointments.
Also, during 592, a collection of bizarre obelisks jut from the ground across the Shield Lands. No one
was able to divine just what caused them, but research revealed those obelisks had laid buried for
centuries, or longer. One appeared in Ringland (strangely in the middle if the "ring" of Ringland, and
another in Critwall (others were scattered in the Occupied lands). If anyone had Return to White Plume
Mountain, you would recognize the obelisks. These obelisks seem to have been anticipated by some
secretive group of dark robed ones... as
they were in the vicinity when the first jutted out of the ground... the mystery deepened into the next
few years...
In Critwall, at the beginning of the year, a charity organization devoted to ministering to returning
refugees who were homeless and destitute was revealed to be the creation of a person with possible ties
to Iuz and (he claimed) Dragotha. The charity was left alone, but the founder was exiled by decree of
the Council of Lords.
Many 592 mods actually deal with PCs handling escorting returning refugees, or investigating