Monday, February 15, 2016

News from Arunia: The Year 510

I'm starting up a new 10th Age game this week. In general, I like to keep advancing the timeline, particularly when games go fallow. Being more or less in line with the passage of time since the creation of the setting sits well with me, and it means that people who have retired characters can watch them grow, change, and influence the setting in real time.

So what changes are brewing in the year 510?

Rebellion in the Empire. News from Miles is conflicting and confused, but it is known that as of last summer, Duke Theolus Amvor has raised his flag in rebellion against the throne. He was joined by Duke Leontus and Duchess Elena of Paix. Prince Balduen remains neutral, refusing to answer the calls of his uncle, the Emperor. However, the Dukes of Auruxol and Dirkshire, as well as the Order of the Sword Militant and the Ironbreakers Company have all renewed their pledges of fealty to the Emperor.

Battles have been raging in the imperial heartland all summer and well into the autumn. With the first snows, the armies have retreated into their cities and the war has abated. However, the Empire sits upon a razor's edge; Meirenia has dispatched a small group of knights to aid the emperor as tribute, but rumor persists that Meirenia's old noble families will revolt when they can.

The Victories of the Rex Exactor. In 507 the Exactor of Essad finally defeated the endemic slave revolts of the Agricon and, in late 508, reduced the outermost regions of Soloth to a tributary state. Swinging southwards, by early 509, the Exactor had conquered a swathe of Teral and driven the Dorls back into the Mountains of Llun where Reynarius di Llun has been made a general to fight back against the advance of the Iron Guard.

Vast slave assets have been flowing into Essad, and many are being transformed into new branches of an Essadi army large enough to control portions of Teral and Soloth without fear.

The Wakening of Kalghoz. The ancient dragon Kalghoz of Synd has been stirring in his sleep. In 507, he woke long enough to decimate portions of the Syndic countryside and in 509 a cult began to worship the dragon. He may be awake enough to guide his penitents. If so, the regions near Synd have great reason to fear.

The Withdrawal of the Sword Militant. The Sword Militant has abandoned their castle in Redhorne in the Vales, as of the year 508. All over the North, the Sword has been closing chapters and leaving behind their fortresses in order to bolster their numbers in the imperial heartland.

The Council of Silversong. The Hounds of Aros have begun overseeing the election of a new king in Silversong. Anundarien Towerborn is dead, but Silversong remains unified. The great houses even now convene in Tyrma to choose the first elected elven king in millennia.

The Halls of the Goblin King. Overking Thymrik has made alliance with Essad, as well as with the mudfolk of the other nearby kingdoms and lands. His position is much stronger than it has been in many years, even with the renegade wizard Aurelien Greemantle rampaging through his territory and destroying fortresses and strongholds over the past few years.

Vagrysj's Defeat. Vagrysj the Lion has been driven from the Moon Kingdoms. The Holy Army has captured his camps in the Brass Mountains and he himself has taken the ragged remnants of his troops further south into the lands beyond Atva-Arunia. The Holy Army has also founded a number of Akemite monasteries and Galosian temples throughout the goblin lands. Though non-goblins are still greatly mistrusted in the East, there are now considerable minorities of Men, Elves, Dwarves, and all the Arunian races scattered throughout the Goblin Cities.

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