April – June 2020
Calls spread across Mardrun to request aid from any willing warriors and supporters to come to the string of outposts that make up the famous Shield of Mardrun. People of all stripes flocked to the north to lend their weapons and expertise to the call, but none were truly ready for what was in store. The Mordok came south with surprising and unusual levels of organization and unit tactics. Though they still fought with reckless bloodlust, they also moved almost as rehearsed units. There was a strong feeling that there was a tactical mind behind their attacks.
Fortunately the warriors and supporters on the shield were well equipped to handle the onslaught. Parties were sent out to guard the spaces between the outposts and for the most part the Mordok were held at bay, but there were a few weak points in the line that were exposed and capitalized upon. A few bands of Mordok were able to spill past the lines and make their way into the inhabited lands south of the shield. Some villages were razed, but before long a retinue of warriors caught up to the interlopers and cut them down in their path. Most of The Mordok died, but a great deal of them escaped and slipped away, remaining south of The Shield. In the end the Mordok forces were soundly beaten back or defeated.
The next month saw the Mordok threat wane. They did not return for any additional large scale assaults. In this time of relative peace the wounded and battered warriors were welcomed to a Whiteoak Village that had been saved from the onslaught and wished to repay the fighters. The small village of Ti’Volar opened it’s town center to all. Warriors saw to their wounds and equipment while merchants and tradespeople had plenty of opportunity to practice their crafts and earn coin. Throughout the town one could hear the loud boasting of warriors telling tales of their daring fight against the Mordok.
In June calls went out from The Shield for skilled craftspeople to aid in reconstruction and fortification of some of the outposts that were damaged in the April attacks. A great deal of support spilled north from the other parts of the continent and a great deal of work was able to be done. In the meantime a number of hunting parties were put together to hunt down any Mordok that still remained south of the shield. Through cunning tracking and determination the warriors were able to track down all of the interloping Mordok, though they did so at great cost to themselves. Some warriors fell in these frantic skirmishes and many more came back bearing wounds that would scar them for life.
July 2020
As the colonial lands of Mardrun mulled the prospects of hosting the annual market faire they were undercut by an announcement from the heralds of Aylin’s Reach. Prince Aylin himself had declared that the annual faire would be held in his city. People poured in from all over Mardrun to hock wares and spend their coin. A large gambling house was set front and center at the faire and a great deal of coin found itself changing hands under the whims of fortune.
All things considered it seemed as though it would be a wonderful, if not wholly average, Market Faire, but anyone who thought as much had clearly never interacted with The Prince. People flocked to the temporary seating and bleachers around the combat arena to watch the warriors of Mardrun battled for glory. Before the fights could commence though a surprise appearance shook the audience. Two men on large, armored horses burst into the arena. The colonists in the audience immediately burst in to cheers while the Ulven sat back in confused apprehension. What followed was a spectacle that only Aylin with his unique stable of horses would be able to furnish; a true and proper Faedrun joust. By the end most of the Ulven had come around. Though they still questioned the mentality that would put a person atop a horse in the first place, no one could question the skill and mastery with which the riders controlled their steeds. Talk of Aylin’s joust overtook all other conversations for the rest of the fair.
August – October 2020
Back in January a deadly earthquake shook the lands of Clan Ironmound and though some allies, most notably The Broken Blade Company, had come to their aid to help reconstruct the damaged villages and reopen the collapsed mines, it wasn’t until August that the continent at large took notice. This new interest may have also been spurred by the discovery of a what was assumed to be another Lorespeaker Cache. Regardless a great deal of support spilled into the Clan’s lands to help rebuild their damaged homes. A group of people attempted to secure the rights to see the cache, but were rebuked as the area’s leaders cared more about rebuilding their homes.
The support continued through the next two months in a manner that far exceeded any expectations. In an outpouring of altruism the people of Mardrun came together and helped to rebuild the homes and mines of Clan Ironmound. Throughout the month of September a large bandit presence started to pick at supply lines moving into Ironmound through the Great Wolf’s Hackles and a team of warriors came together. The divvied up their roles and one group stayed behind to defend against additional bandit attacks while another took the fight into the heart of the wild lands to try to crush the bandits at their camps. In the end the defenders were hit hard by an ambush, but the assault team managed to cut down or rout a great deal of bandits. The rest of the time spend on the reconstruction efforts were quiet.
In the end the work was completed far faster than anyone had expected and the Chieftains of the area called for a respite and a time of great feasting and thanks. The battered warriors took time to recover from the assaults and people spent their time around fires exchanging stories and rumors. In thanks for the work done the chieftains agreed to lead the interested parties to the location of the Lorespeaker Cache. The travel was largely uneventful, though there were occasional scuffles with unknown assailants who wished to see the contents of the cache remain buried, but they proved to be no true hurdle. In the end the cache was uncovered and it’s contents translated and copied. An Ulven from Clan Nightriver returned to his clan’s territory and met with Clan Leader Branthur Nightriver to share the findings and request that they be copied and spread across the continent. They can be read here: Lore Cache Contents; October 269
December – February 2020/21
As winter gripped Mardrun a few interesting calls to action began to roll over the landscape. Reports came from The Shield that the Mordok may be prepping for another assault and in return many warriors and supporters again traveled north to bolster the defending outposts. In the more central Ulven clans rumors began to spread of a traveling preacher of some sorts, an Ulven who claims to have briefly died before being saved by surgeons and now gives sermons on the true nature of the Ulven afterlife. In the South Newhope put forth a call to any and all skilled laborers who were willing to give their time to help in some building and updating economic infrastructure.
The Shield – The first month saw nothing more than small scale skirmishes. The warriors were easily able to keep the Mordok at bay and their spirits high. Overall the month was quiet. The second month, however; brought much more action. The skirmishes became more common and beyond that the Mordok seemed to be employing some type of a terror campaign on the defenders. There were multiple instances where dead warriors were found, near outposts, with signs of poisoning. It started to become more dangerous to patrol the areas around the outposts as devious and deadly Mordok traps started to pop up more and more often. Though the outright assaults remained rare, there was an ever present threat of death from an unseen foe.
In February an Alpha Mordok began to make visits to the outposts along the shield. Eventually people began to understand that he was demanding a duel to decide the fate of the outpost. If a champion was sent to fight him then the outpost would be spared an onslaught regardless of the outcome. At one outpost rumors hold that they drew straws to see who would be granted the honor of facing the Alpha in single combat. A colonist won the draw and ended up toe-to-toe with the menacing monster. The reports of the fight all seem to be pretty sensationalized, but they all tell of how this scrappy colonist was able to deftly out-maneuver his opponent and in the end defeated the Alpha with nearly no damage to himself. Unfortunately without their Alpha to keep them in a few of the other Mordok jumped the colonist. Luckily the outpost defenders were able to drive them off and return their champion to the relative safety of the outpost.
The Great Wolf’s Priest – The Priest traveled through the Ulven lands preaching a story of seeing inside of The Great Wolf’s Maw and realizing that it is not the punishment that the Ulven people had been told it would be. Unfortunately not more than a few people chose to follow this strange man to hear more of his story and so he remains somewhat of a mystery to the continent as a whole. He remains on his journey’s around the lands and will happily tell his tales and his philosophy to any who seek him.
Newhope Economic Support – A great deal of people helped out over the months as Newhope made great efforts to bolster their economic infrastructure. Trails were cut and roads were paved. Trading posts were erected. In the end the people of Newhope and the supporters were able to relax and enjoy the festivities surrounding the annual Political Dinner. Nobles of various rank rubbed elbows and met with commoners and a great deal of coin and contracts changed hands.