The
Shackles of Conquest
War Herald Chronicle
by J and Waylander
Representing Shadowbane Warcry
Chronicle Archived by Aerynthian College
-
Archived August 2, 2002 - Shadowbane Closed Beta
Reporting
Period Covered:
July 15 through July 25, 2002
Cities/Guilds Involved:
The City
of Zion
City Leader: Bone Dancer
Lead Guild: Burning Legion
Population: (post-siege) 69
A Scenario
Overview
When we last left off, the city
of Semujin was defeated and given terms of surrender by Bone
Dancer, leader of the Burning Legion.
The leaders of Semujin ended up accepting those terms of surrender,
and the flag of Zion was flown over the conquered remains of the
city. Several members of the Semujin leadership were not happy with the
surrender, and they struck out on their own to lead rebel bands intent on
continuing the fight and gaining support from others neutral factions. Those
who remained in Semujin tried to get on with their lives under the new rulership,
and they began to rebuild.
At some point after the conquest
of Semujin, one of the former ruling factions violated the terms
of surrender by building a siege tent. This produced an immediate response
from Bone Dancer -- "YOU ARE IN VIOLATION."
The situation was not resolved, and as punishment Zion forces returned to
Semujin and burned it and its Tree of Life to the ground permanently.
With the destruction of Semujin
many people no longer had a free city to join, and they were forced to be
outcasts with no access to trainers, equipment, and essential city services
that are so important to veteran adventurers. Many homeless adventurers
placed the blame on the leadership of Semujin for failing to defend
the city, allowing them to be conquered, and for failing to enforce the
terms of surrender which lead them to become homeless nomads cut off from
essential services. The leaders of Semujin denied these accusations
as the basis for why their city fell, but it did appear that their ruling
council took too long to make decisions, member factions weren't
equally informed, and the city's military preparations were not adequately
planned before they went on the offensive.
After the fall of Semujin,
the allied guilds tried to coordinate a combined effort to rebuild their
city and continue to wage war against Zion. However the rapid destruction
of Semujin and the appearance of an ineffective bureaucratic leadership
caused some people to strike out on their own or defect to the enemy. One
such defector was Kirel Redhand,
the leader of Redemption. While leaders who chose to strike
out on their own rather than reforming the Covenant of Swords
were accepted with civility, any leader who openly considered allying with
the enemy was reviled.
But instead of keeping Redemption
within the Covenant’s fold, Kirel had accepted Bone Dancer’s
offer to take over Almecka, the outpost city the Burning Legion
had set up across a small lake from Semujin. Since Kirel had established
himself as a competent leader over the course of several months, he was
promptly rewarded with the responsibility of overseeing what would remain
a key regional center for the purpose of Burning Legion controlling
a large land block of the mainland.
While the Covenant’s town
still stood, harsh words were thrown around once it became known that
Kirel had joined under the banner of Zion. Gradishar,
the spokesman of Semujin, had the following comments over Kirel’s
defection.
"Those who have
followed this turncloak...Aloran, Asir, Meram, Ransom, must now decide the
road you wish to follow. You may follow Kirel's path of treason and chaos...alligning
yourself with Bone and his egomaniacal quest for power [remind you of anyone
guys?] or reject his villany and pledge your swords to our righteous cause.
What
shall it be one-time friends? Are you again voluntarily placing the yoke
of tyranny about your necks? Have you escaped from Patron only to find yourselves
under the thumb of Bone? I had higher hopes for Kirel and Redemption. I
had hoped their integrity was not so cheaply sold.
I
await your decisions. You may still hold onto our crest as a sign of your
honor. Give it up, however, and you shall doom yourself just as Kirel has
done."
~Gradishar
Tregaron~
Kirel responded to his
critics, but not before the Burning Legion had razed Semujin to the
ground:
"Playing
the political game.
Some folks just
don't seem to understand that Shadowbane isn't just about military might,
it is also about economic might and political might.
I grow weary of
people constantly slamming me for playing the political game. Which other
ex-Council of Swords guild has a city owned in totality by them? C'mon,
name one? You see, I only have 8 solid members from my guild, Redemption.
We are not a large group, we are not a strong group, but we are a good group.
As the guild leader
of Redemption I had a choice to make when entering this land:
Leave my guild
behind and join Burning Legion (pre-existing offer)
Stay with my guild and become our own power
Find the best method of insuring the survival of my guild
And knowing the
traditional values of my membership, I chose to side with the less focused,
more casual strategy. I knew that joining my cause to the Burning Legion
would be a fracturing of our personas. I had good relations with House Tregaron
and a fairly good reputation for fairness. Therefore I chose to enter an
alliance with House Tregaron. Unfortunately for us all, the leadership of
House Tregaron was away during the first few days of our start. We all saw
the need to band together, but none were willing to subsume their own identities
to do so. Therefore, I embraced a plan to pull everybody who was not part
of the Burning Legion together under a pure alliance guild, the Council
of Swords. That plan was successful, Redemption joined CoS, and all was good.
Soon however it
became clear that the inner leadership of the Council was made up of fools.
Perhaps "fools" is too strong of a word. The truth here is that many of
those in the leadership portions of the council refused to hear or in some
cases even listen to plain truth about simple things like tree and guardhouse
management.
The Burning Legion
placed a forward staging area, called that new city Almecka and instead
of immediately destroying the council of swords city, they offered terms.
Terms you ask?
Yes... Terms. Bone Dancer contacted me (for his own reasons)
and offered us terms to allow us to level, yet put him and his people in
control of the city. I immediately launched a plan to the council membership,
suggesting that we embrace this occupation, use it as a basis for revolt
later on. I have experienced being on the losing side of a conflict in Aerynth
and would readily do what I could, up to and even including tarnishing my
own name in order to help my people. Remember, the survival of my guild
is my driving force.
Inside the council
chambers, Gradishar, Zorak, Amexsos, Shaar, and many others threw verbal
stones, keeping me out of their inner council because I wanted to use subterfuge
and deception to win. In any event, I was not able to convince them so I
re-evaluated my goals and my options.
I spoke with Bone
Dancer, He offered me and my entire guild a place within his erstwhile nation.
Hating the betrayal of my allies but weighing that against the survival
of my own people, I did the unthinkable. I joined the Nation of Zion.
What I found amazed
me to no extent. I found a group a people who were willing to literally
give me gold, items, take me to hunting spots, and help me level. I had
access to the greatest of Teachers within the Temple. I found that I could
walk into a forge, speak with its master and soon, the sound of hammers
would ring out, crafting superior armor for me. This was the land of milk
and honey! This was what Saint Malorn was speaking of when he gave us instructions
to rid the world of sin. The city of Zion was the birthplace of the new
kingdom.
I can only surmise
that my skill in running a city prompted Lord Angus and Lord Bone to grant
control and eventual ownership of Almecka to me. Perhaps they knew of my
attempts to save Semujin. Perhaps they did not care. But I accomplished
what no other had. I had gained control of a city without a single drop
of blood being shed.
I played the game
of Politics."
~Confessor
Kirel Redhand~
Seeing this announcement, Zorak,
former leader of Semujin, had the following response.
"Well,
well.... The Traitor has finally gained enough confidence to speak. Too
bad he doesn't even know the name of the alliance that trusted him. It matters
not. We know our identity, and we are a proud and free people. You have a
pathetic little village that you only think you own. We still have our dignity.
You can destroy our city, you can take away our forges, you can banish us
from every town in Aerynth, but you can never have our soul, damage our
character, or tarnish our honor. So go ahead and play your game of "politics."
I call it a game of lies and deceit.
The Covenant of Swords
will never bow down to the Foul Bone Dancer. The Dark Tormentor will never
rule us. If necessary, we will wander the land of Aerynth without a home
for generations. Unlike the Traitor, we value freedom over comfort; our
soul is not for sale.
As for you, Kirel Redhand,
your name will forever be remembered as The Traitor. The Words of the Covenant
are for those with honor and integrity. You may have saved your people some
temporary hardship, but you have damned them to eternal slavery. You've
traded your honor for gold. That's the difference between you and me. My
character is not for sale, at any price.
I hope you've enjoyed
your little game. You had best keep playing it well, your Master is watching
you."
~Zorak~
Immediately following the sack
of Semujin, when both sides reeling with success and defeat, a lone Aracoix
flew over the walls of Almecka to see what he could see. Having been
sworn to Semujin, Xzean
was now errant. Alighting on the city walls, he spied a war tent inside, with
several pre-made trebuchets ready for use. Finding the siege engineer with
no quarrel, he flew inside the city proper and bought one, then took it up
the slope leading to the parapets and targeted Almecka’s forges.
The stunt was short-lived, as Ranced,
one of the Burning Legion faithful, recovered from the battle in time to drive
off Xzean and his friend before they did much more damage. The mark was made,
however, in the form of a ruined southwest corner wall.
Eventually a band of players, including many
from what was once Semujin, built a city named Blackwood Keep
some distance to the east, and they immediately agreed to Bone Dancer’s
terms in order to avoid a war and give the unwashed masses a town to call
home.
The terms of the agreement, according to both
sides, included that the occupying guild not build any siege tents or even
their own barracks -- the protection for the city would be provided by guards
loyal to the Burning Legion only.
However someone under the Blackwood Keep
banner built a war tent near the city, and Bone Dancer immediately
ordered all the guards at Blackwood Keep to kill those living there
on sight.
Comments
from the Heralds of War
J.
"In
the span of a week, two attempts to defy Zion’s control had been crushed.
At the present time the burning crest of Zion appears in three places
on the world map, and little happens without their notice, if not sanction.
Opposition still lurks in corners, however, waiting for the right opportunity."
Waylander
"The
current situation in the world is that one empire rules over all with
an iron fist. There are many people in the land at the present time,
but compared to those settlers still to come, the current populations
could be considered small. The War Herald Journals to date have demonstrated
that a smaller empire has been the dominant empire, but there
is a reason why the smaller empire has been dominant. To be
successful at empire building, whether you are large or small, you have
to have the following essential elements:
- A clear chain of command.
- A clear method of communication at all times, in this world and in others.
- A clear set of goals that everyone understands and can meet.
- A timeline for accomplishing those goals.
- A smart growth strategy for your city and good city management.
- A sound economic policy and growth model.
- A sound taxation model to build the empire treasury for growth or war.
- An effective military strategy that is tied to timelines and economic growth.
- A carefully planned deployment strategy for troops and war machines.
- Recognized battle leaders and effective battlefield coordination and communication.
- Strike teams carrying out predefined combat roles and knowing rally points.
- Knowing when to subjugate or destroy an enemy city.
- Having the ability to enforce your terms of surrender and maintain peace.
- Creating and following a political agenda to achieve the empire’s goals.
- Maintaining an effective informant network.
- Establishing an effective foreign policy and trade or military alliance.
Large empires,
at least the ones to date, have been ineffective mainly due to the large
task of dealing with many allied guilds with differing agendas, no effective
form of central communication, a cumbersome and lengthy decision making
process, lack of a sound economic and military policy, no real battlefield
cohesion, and the inability to address these issues before their enemies
were on their doorsteps. While the leaders of Semujin are each outstanding
people, thus far the challenge of organizing the various guilds that
make up the Covenant of Swords and turning them into an effective world
power has been too much of a task or has taken too long.
There are
many unknowns in Aerynth at the present time, and future powers will
eventually arise to pose a serious challenge to Zion and its ever-increasing
ranks. It is safe to say though that no power will depose Zion until
it is able to address the critical issues to success that I have mentioned
and can put those things in place fast enough to survive. There are
many people in the land who are not pledged to either town and new inhabitants
entering the world each week, but it will take another organized group
or a large organized group to break the rule of Zion.
Reporting
live from the Shadowbane Beta,
Waylander & J of Shadowbane
Warcry signing off.
"What
is seen shall never be forgotten."
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