The Fireborn Invasion

The Fireborn Invasion is the first chronicle is the legend of The Heroes of Borlun.

Summary

The Fireborn Invasion began with the sacking of Borlun and several other Eivurni settlements on the border of Solstein by fur clad warriors. The settlements were sacked and ruined forcing refugees to flee to the protection of the capitol Csorvan. It was amidst this that The Heroes of Borlun came together and sought to defend their home. They managed to rally the militia commander Hans Fritz from his melancholy stupor and saved the blacksmith Heinrich Hitler and the alchemist Agartha before fleeing atop a wagon filled with the farming communities grain supplies. Pausing briefly to ensure Raz Palatine's parents were safe the group searched the nearby woodlands for Gerard Palatine. They found Raz's father wounded but protected and joined him in their rest under the watchful gaze of the elder treant Longroot.
Eventually the heroes arrived at the capitol and negotiated their way inside. Unfortunately the Count Markos Zarovich was away hunting and unaware of the crisis. Instead they were granted an audience with Commander Osman who served as the Marshall of @Eiv. Commander Osman identified the Solsteiners with the assistance of the heroes as the culprits of the attack and sent them forth to find the Count who was aside Yrna fighting off a small group of bandits. The party met the count in the fray of battle and agreed to go on to deal with the bandits while he travelled back to the capitol.
It was here that The Heroes of Borlun defeated Captain Lezhalitz and his bandits who had occupied a nearby forest fort. Using the nature to their advantage Kanuna and Merric Brownlock assaulted from the front whilst Raz Palatine used the wilds to distract many of the guards and called on beasts to assault them. Among the crew was also the bandit Ojek though he would not be recruited until later.
occurred
The journey was a slow and eventful one. First in the passing of the heroes home of Borlun whose remains were being occupied by survivors of Captain Lezhalitz's bandit company under the new command of Ojek. After speaking with the party the bandit was taken into their service and organised his own bandits into a household guard to protect the heroes. This guard would further expand in size following the identification of the half-orc quack Saddam as a fellow Borlun survivor.
At the arrival at the base of the Calgurn Pass the party met with representatives of Solstein in attempted peace talks. Joined by the lead negotiator Lord Caesar Merkstein the talks ultimately failed when forces sent by Clan Orkan assaulted the talks and butchered the Clan Vaekst representatives who joined them. A chase ensued but none of the Orkan were able to escape yet still it seemed that the peace talks were over.
The next obstacle came in an opening of the pass identified by the spymaster assigned to the heroes Runar. The trio split their forces to take out the three watchtowers in the opening before they could alert Solstein of details of their advance and then rested in the northernmost tower while their forces caught up to them. It was here that Caesar Merkstein first made contact with The Watcher in the Woods through a sending stone left in a tower occupied by Clan Forsker. The party was also then assigned, by Commander Osman, the Fireborn mercenary Malice to join them in their adventures. At this point tensions had also begun to grow between the militia and the mercenary forces that Kanuna did his best to mitigate alongside the Volkeskapitan Strazen. Unfortunately following a duel between a militia hero and Albert Schultz 'The Wall' led to the former's death and a drop in morale. The party then eased the militia's falling morale by holding a grand celebration with halfling ale fostering a deep joy amidst their number.
The heroes travelled forth to another opening in the valley where a second henge sat beneath a gigantic skeletal carcass of a giant resting atop the mountain. Exploring this place and resting briefly the heroes chose to travel to the allegedly cursed Dal Hold where they met Yurlek the Builder after defeating his giant bear that believed them to be trespassers. Convincing the half-giant that they should ally the heroes rested briefly in the hold exploring a lost cavern wherein Merric Brownlock and Raz Palatine were rendered unconscious by a ghostly court only to be saved by Caesar Merkstein.
Wishing to catch up with their army the heroes then cut through the Endelskörd Cavern which had become infested with goblins. After their first night of travel they rested in an old Dwarven outpost that showed signs of battle. During their rest an ambush by goblins occurred that the heroes repelled at great cost to their own household guard. Kanuna's squire Aranck was nearly slain in the battle but survived with aid from Saddam. In praise of their ability the goblin King Gomag VI summoned them before him where the party negotiated their passage through his lands in exchange for the acquisition of a special weapon that Commander Osman would later identify as Yurlek the Builder's hammer and return to the Goblin King.
As they reunited with the army tensions ran high between The Fireborn and the militia. Yet the presence of the heroes once more heralded cause for celebration and a softened fear readying their hearts for the siege ahead. After this the party sought out their gathered friends and allies as a final chance to speak and ready themselves. Yet it was also the moment a Faceless Man of Clan Ansigtsløse appeared before Merric Brownlock who was hailed as the Herald of the Whisperer and thus the leader of the clan.

In the Battle of Calgurn the heroes led the advance by crossing the chasm between Calgurn and the camp. The heroes used new siege weapons designed by gnomes for The Fireborn they crossed the chasm and entered Calgurn through the holes designed for the defenders to shoot ballista from. Raz Palatine and Merric Brownlock managed to secretively reach the top of the walls and lower the drawbridge whilst damaging the gear enough to prevent its re-raising whilst Kanuna and his forces distracted the guards to their position. As the siege ensued the heroes led their forces into the capture of its various districts including the slaves district in which Marie de Maisondeux was freed from captivity and Iargo was released into Solstein.
In the final battle Yurlek the Builder opened the gate to the inner sanctum allowing the heroes to duel the Warchief Skade of Clan Skov who took her own life when she was unable to keep fighting to prevent her being taken captive and ensure her passage into Fields of Eternia. Following this the party were tasked with taking the second major hold: the fortress of Gron and began readying themselves. First however they had prisoners to investigate where the party met with Jen Sellick and Kalf ultimately releasing the former back into the lowlands and the latter being handed over to Commander Osman for interrogation.
Before arriving at Gron the heroes decided to meet some of the local clans to potentially make allies and learn more of the conflict. First they met with Clan Forsker who refused them access to Arkiv but allowed them to speak to The Watcher in the Woods. The Watcher revealed glimpses of their future and past whilst also revealing some elements of the valley and its own journey. He also promised they would be allowed into Arkiv when next they visited sending off the heroes with hope.
Next the heroes travelled to Clan Ansigtsløse where the worshipers of Gruumsh reavowed their allegiance to Merric Brownlock. Yet Skjult was not as simple as it seemed and on the arrival of the party initially took the form of Borlun with The Speaker initially appearing as Merric's father. Kanuna also spoke to a figure appearing as his former Master Bherdad Jushar that discussed the journey the tortle had travelled in arriving at Solstein and heralding a series of deep reflections on his greatest errors.
Along the journey the heroes would face their first attack from Kalf the nephew of Warchief Skade of Clan Skov who had pledged to avenge his aunt.
It was Clan Brænde that was visited then whereupon the road the heroes met with Valbrand training against a straw dummy of Jarl Lagertha. Speaking wearily the child directed them towards his clan but showed little affection of admiration for his Jarl. This fascination continued as they arrived at the hold itself where they were escorted forth to meet with the mad jarl who agreed to join them in the burning down of Gron sending forth riders to every other clan to herald the rise of Clan Brænde to dominance of the valley. Opposing the praise that Raz Palatine bestowed on the mad Jarl Kanuna returned to Valbrand at the outskirts of Ild and took him on as his Squire.
Clan Varcheg, the rivals of the Braende, were the next target of the party who rode south on the heals of Lagertha's messengers. Arriving they earned passage into Ære and experienced a tense meeting with Jarl Gothram before they each parted onto separate tasks. Kanuna began searching his past, Merric Brownlock partook in local drinking and Raz Palatine destroyed an ancient amber obelisk only to be heralded as a deity by Ulf, a local champion, who escorted her to Jarl Gothram. It was here the heroes met the Baba Lysaga who took on the name Freya or the common title in the valley of the Shadow Witch. Showing an unclear allegiance Freya challenged and aided the heroes in equal sense until they decided to depart to their final hold. That of Clan Død.
Kirkegård was a welcome place for the heroes who found themselves welcomed into the semi-abandoned hold by their strange leader Jarl Vikar. The necromancer consulted amidst his skulls and spoke warmly to the heroes pledging his undead thralls in exchange for the governance of Solstein after the war ended. The heroes agreed and marched on to Gron ready for the final siege.
It was on the outskirts of Gron that Aranck, the loyal squire of Kanuna, was knighted and bestowed the title of Ser Aranck the Brave for at last standing up to his master and claiming himself ready to lead the militia forces who marched forth to Gron.
It was on the following morn that the Battle of Gron took place where the party each took on a major role. Merric Brownlock led the household guard into Gron and defeated its commander convincing those that survived to flee. Kanuna led his squires against the Clan Brænde force slaying Jarl Lagertha and forcing the retreat of a broken army. Raz Palatine infiltrated the Clan Varcheg host and with the aid of the Clan Ansigtsløse caused the mass execution of their army.
United the hold of Gron was taken yet the victory was short lived and in the wake of their efforts Archmage Pyros who had led their Fireborn allies showed the true battle plan of the mercenaries and burned the winter grain stores. Intending to cause starvation in the valley The Fireborn believed that a weakened and hungry valley would willingly offer allegiance and thraldom to the new regime. Yet the heroes would only discover the full plan later when they returned to Calgurn.
In Calgurn the heroes were taken to Commander Osman who revealed his grand plan to take control of the nearby region under his control and revealed that the war in Solstein was only one of many battles. Using a powerful magical item Commander Osman attempted to take control of Raz Palatine to be used in his plans but was unable to do so leading to a heated battle amongst the members until his forces captured and threatened to execute Merric Brownlock unless they surrendered.
Imprisoned beneath the hold the party were able to escape with the aid of Malice freeing their assorted allies along the way before fleeing through the northern gate. During the escape they found Aranck heavily tortured and wounded by the fireborn torturer Harwin Bowers who Kanuna promptly executed despite the mercenaries attempt to save his life by slaying his allies and disarming himself.
Fearing for Aranck the heroes escorted their wounded friend to Clan Vaekst whose healers tended to him. Fears of a Clan Orkan attack or Fireborn reprieve forced the clan to flee towards the safe haven of Arkiv and Clan Forsker. Before leaving they were once again met by the Baba Lysaga who agreed to aid them in reclaiming Calgurn in exchange for their support in defeating an evil beneath the hold.
At Arkiv the heroes were told that a ting was to be held for the clans to elect a new warchief to lead them. They were told by Jarl Signy to keep their distance but largely ignored the command and as the various clans approached began learning of their options. Yet the peace of the summit was broken as Clan Orkan joined with Fireborn forces in launching an attack in hopes of killing the leadership of the valley. Able to overpower them the gathered electors appointed Jarl Ubbe of Clan Måne to become the new Warchief of Solstein.
In his first act Warchief Ubba ordered an attack on Calgurn to be led by Jarl Leif whilst he led his own clan to finish off Clan Orkan.
In the ensuing Second Battle of Calgurn the heroes entered through a secret tunnel beside Calgurn entering through the under levels and aiding the Baba Lysaga before fighting Commander Osman in the upper level of his hold.
Lowland forces led by Caesar Merkstein revealed that the siege of Csorvan had been lifted and that The Fireborn had launched attacks on four other neighbouring states that were fighting back. The heroes returned south and were met by Count Markos Zarovich fresh from having aided the northern counties against the Fireborn.
As thanks for their efforts Merric Brownlock was named as Sheriff of the Westengrenze, Kanuna was granted the lands of the Isfald Temple on which to build a temple to teach future generations and Raz Palatine was named as a Reis of Eivurn.

Date of First Recording

26/9/1902

Date of Setting

10/5/1902 - 26/9/1902