History of the Tondene Empire

Gishi Tondene, later King Tondene of Araterre, is the person responsible for founding the Empire.

Wanting a stronger country, and having a tendency to think in the long term, King Tondene starts a military R&D program.

The steel making process makes steel a lot cheaper and easier to make, giving the Araterre military an significant advantage in armor and weaponry. Blacksmiths are trained to use the new material, and given funding to produce large amounts of war materiel.

Utilizing the two iron mines stolen from the neighboring Dwarven nation, King Tondene begins a massive buildup of war materiel, primarily weapons and armor. Which is good, because the angry Dwarves try, unsuccessfully, to take back their mines, since they had been mining there for generations.

The Orc "nation" had been comprised of several small tribes, loosely allied as a federation. King Tondene's army took it piecemeal, without much difficulty. They attacked the tribes during the day, when Orcs are weaker, and fortified themselves at night, when the Orcs were stronger.   These Orc tribes lived in what is now Hearavgizan, Kresh, Dhogash, and Port Karn (once called Pias Ukaduikm, then later Port Kharneth, which was then shortened to Port Karn). There were other tribes, now lost, their cities swallowed up by centuries of jungle growth. Those cities were Pulgozurana, Gijak Balorat, Gultur Votar, and Ukavrong Krah.

The guerilla warfare (which the Elves were really good at) went on for two years, and did significant damage to the Imperial forces. It was stopped by a combination of attrition and diplomacy. Elven losses became too much to sustain hostilities. The Elves got the same deal as the Dwarves and Orcs: "Join us, or continue fighting, and at some point you will lose." Despite the concessions they eventually had to make to end the fighting, the Elves relented and reluctantly joined the Empire, albeit not without some major squabbles amongst their people.

Shortly after declaring the existence of the Tondene Empire, plans were made to expand. Striking southwest towards some volcanic mountains, the Tondene forces engaged with the small nation of Chakkad, situated in the foothills. The fighting was brief; the Imperial Army overwhelmed the unprepared defenders, taking thousands of prisoners when they surrendered. The Tondene generals had specific orders to be as generous in their surrender terms as was deemed reasonable. Emperor Gishi Tondene knew that his empire would only hold together if he didn't have civil wars and unrest undermining it, so he made sure that the conquered foes had minimal reason for hatred. By offering generous terms, he was able to generate enough goodwill to make the transition to being part of the empire a little more palatable.

Expansionist warfare pauses. Consolidation of “spoils” and “nation building” takes precedence, as does rebuilding the army. Towards the end of 7 AFE, the Empire attacks a second Dwarven nation.

Reeling from the casualties of the conqest of the Mêlekurad Dwarves, and needing to rebuild te military forces, the Emperor sent his diplomats to the Tiikili Confederacy, a nation of Goblins. After months of negotiation, the Goblins agree to join the Empire, and Goblins are officially given full citizenship rights.   The Tondene Empire is now comprised of all of the major races: Humans, Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Goblins.

Emperor Tondene had two children, a girl and a boy. Being the eldest, Ayrlyn was raised and expected to be Empress one day. She had been taught how to fight with various weapons alongside her younger brother, statecraft, diplomacy, and the various strategems used by the royal houses. Gishi had done everything he could to make sure Ayrlyn was ready for the role once he was gone. She had been an apt pupil, despite originally not wanting anything to do with the "yucky mind games" of the nobility, which, unfortunately for her, were all too common.

The surrender terms were not favorable to the Monarchy; they were made into an example. The Empress had to make it clear that she was a strong ruler and that the loss of her father did not mean the loss of the Empire and it's goals.   Most of the military leaders of the Monarchy were put to death, both as an example and as a way to prevent any former citizen of the Monarchy from forming a competent rebellious fighting force. Thousands died, and the city plazas ran red with the blood of the Barrow Monarchy's finest soldiers.

Farther up the Altasirya River was an Orc nation by the name of Grummsh Elaka. LIke most Orcs, they valued strength, and had been raiding the frontier edges of the Empire for two decades, once the Elves further south had been assimilated. The Elakans looked at attacking the "Great Empire" as picking a fight with the biggest guy in the schoolyard, and proving their mettle by fighting him. For over twenty years, while the Empire was busy gaining territory elsewhere, quelling internal conflicts, or consolidating, the Orcs of Grummsh Elaka nibbled at the edges of the Empire by raiding border settlements. And during this time, the Empire couldn't really fight back, because they had more important things to do.   But Empress Ayrlyn didn't ignore the messages coming in from the north. When she had the chance, she made that Orcish nation her next target, and she led with the First Cohort. It was their first use on the battlefield. These highly trained, elite Orcish shock troops first attacked in the late afternoon, when many Orcs are asleep and before they are really active. They slaughtered the relatively untrained warriors of Grummsh Elaka, and demonstrated the difference between soldiers and warriors. The warriors of Grummsh Elaka were fearsome fighters, but they fought primarily as individuals. The soldiers of the First Cohort, on the other hand, worked as a unified team. They destroyed and routed the Elakans, and made them look like amateurs.   In village after village, the Imperial forces crushed the defenders, overwhelming them in both numbers and skill. The Empress was not playing around. The campaign lasted only four months before the Grummsh Elakans surrendered. The elite Cohort was the primary reason the Empire won; it was as much a propaganda victory as it was a strategic one. The elite corps not only were victorious militarily, they managed to convince their foes that surrender was in their best interests, thus preventing tens of thousands of more deaths.

Malasul'abbad, a Dwarven nation beneath the volcanic Malasul'abbad Mountains, decides to join the Tondene Empire. The political leaders, seeing what the Empire had been doing, and feeling it was only a matter of time before they were attacked by them, decided to save a lot of lives and become peacefully annexed by the Empire.   This wasn't without a great deal of debate, however. It was a decision that the Dwarves kept secret for three years as they debated the pros and cons of losing their national identity and becoming citizens of the Empire. Eventually, they chose the latter, but not without quite a few Dwarves vehemently rejecting the decision.   Those rebellious Dwarves would spend the next few years causing all kinds of trouble for the new Dwarven Imperial citizens. Mostly nuisance attacks, raids, theft of supplies, and a general rise in various kinds of criminal activity. While the local Dwarves were mostly able to contain the problem, Imperial forces from outside the Dwarven undercities were sent in to help quell the discord. Mostly this was in the form of Imperial Dwarves from other parts of the Empire, but it also included several companies of Imperial troops, made up of various races.

The first major naval battle the Tondene Imperial Navy fought was off the coast near the city of Kelarith, capital of the republic of the same name. It happened at dawn, almost by accident, as there was a heavy fog tha limited visibility to less than a hundred feet. Galleys collided, rather than rammed, and troops swarmed across the bulwarks to fight their opponents hand to hand. The Kelarithian forces withdrew, escaping in the fog.   Days later, the two forces would clash again, this time with better visibility. The ships maneuvered around each other, attempting to ram, while archers on both sides lofted shafts to strike the enemy. Both sides took heavy losses, but the Tondene Imperial Navy won.   This cleared the seas around Kelarith, allowing Tondene forces to attack via the sea while the army attacked overland, from the west. But they were too far north, and actually entered the Goblin Tribal Hegemony of Kopeki, instead of lands held by the Kelarithians. Now the Imperium had two enemies to fight.

Empress Ayrlyn was a hard woman, who could be ruthless when she needed to be, and often seen as cruel and powerhungry by her detractors. While some of that is true, she was also thoughtful, forward thinking, and a brilliant strategist. Overall, her subjects thought she was a decent ruler.   One night, an assassin managed to get past all of the guards (some suspect that it was one of her guards) with a poisoned knife and stabbed her in her bedchambers. The assassin was never caught. The identity of the killer is still considered one of the biggest mysteries in the history of the Empire.

He focused first on internal infrastructure: administration, bureaucracy, roads, and taxes. Then on roads, bridges, water and sewer systems. Fortunately, his late mother had set up good advisors to whom to delegate tasks. Agriculture, manufacturing, and trade all improve, if slowly and in fits and starts. Being young, Jerick is naive as to how politics and governments work, so he is repeatedly faced with systemic inefficiencies, so he asks a lot of questions that no one had bothered to ask before. Many systems are upended as their procedures are questioned and modified.   He is also something of an idealist, and during this period of time sets up systems to crack down on corruption, which had become rife in the Empire due to so much attention on expanding the borders. Internal policies had become neglected; and bribery, regulatory capture, and graft had become all too common. The new emperor focuses on these things in order to root them out.

It was a marriage of convenience. And while the couple respected each other, it would be dishonest to say that they loved each other.

His revenge upon the assassins' guilds for the death of his mother complete, Emperor Jerick authorizes a sanctioned, government-run group of assassins. He calls them the Fist of the Emperor, and he intended them for use primarily within the borders of the Imperium. Much like his mother, he had an aversion to using assassins as a foreign policy tool, preferring more standard military actions.   While open to all citizens (in theory), the Fist of the Emperor is comprised mainly of Orcs, Humans, and Goblins. Hobbits, Dwarves, and Elves didn't seem all that interested in becoming hired killers of this sort.

In any government body, corruption is inevitable. The Empire was no exception. Emperor Jerick knew this, and had been watching it happen his whole life, both before and after he became emperor. But he didn't have to like it. The Fist of the Emperor was one of his methods of controlling that corruption.   Some of the nobility were more corrupt than others. He made examples of them by having them assassinated: some quite publicly, others apparently died of "natural causes". But it was a purge, nonetheless, and many nobles and powerful merchants died. Some of his victims were actually corrupt, some were just “no longer necessary”. And some he was forced to leave alone, because taking them out would have been overly disruptive to the workings of the Empire. Those nobles were still punished, but in less public ways.

Emperor Jerick and his advisors reorganize the military to better take advantage of the multitude of races that are in the Empire. Elves, for example, tend to end up as scouts, snipers, and archers. Orcs make good shock troops, heavy infantry, and night fighters. Goblins make good scouts and infiltration crews. Dwarves make good combat engineers, infantry, and defensive fighters. Humans make good all-around soldiers, administrators, and cavalry. Hobbits, make good scouts, missile troops, and mounted archers (and camp cooks).   Of course, there are always individual strengths and weaknesses, but the generals had been wanting to really take a look at the way the military had been organized for a while. They had seen what the First Battalion had been capable of, and wanted the military in general to take some lessons from that.   One thing they do not do is to enshrine any kind of discrimination as to race versus ability. They don't want to limit their military, and if an Orc is skilled in archery, he can be an archer. The one exception, due primarily to tradition, is the First Battalion, which remains Orc-only. That doesn't mean that discrimination didn't exist; People are people, and hate is hate. And some hate takes a long time to die. It's just not military policy.

A series of wars with neighboring nation states, with mixed results; three more nations fall, but four others join into an alliance to fight off the Tondene Empire.   The Werecelusindi River Valley was a collection of small nations. As the Imperial Armies poured through the valley between the Zirinibâr Mountains and the Malasul'abbad Mountains, they found themselves in the midst of a large number of small nation-states. Most had mutual protection pacts, as not all of them were always friendly to each other, and constant, low level conflicts were common.   Things changed when the Tondene Imperial forces came knocking, however, and local disputes were put aside to fight the much greater threat that the Empire represented. Thus began the War of Seven Nations, which had as their populations all of the major races.   The end result was the assimilation of three of the nations, and the remaining four nations forming an alliance that was to provide quite a bit of trouble for the Empire.

Towards the end of the War of Seven Nations, in 87 AFE, the Emperor made a personal visit to the front lines. It was a mistake, and one that he readily acknowledged. The enemy chose that time to attack, no doubt in an attempt to maybe kill the Tondene Emperor, since he so conveniently made himself available. They came close to doing just that, and managed to wound him in the leg with an arrow. It was a major, but not fatal, wound, which caused him to limp. The arrowhead must have nicked a nerve, because the emperor complained of numbness in the leg.   It wasn't until about six months later that the damage to his leg became a fatal flaw. He was walking down some stairs when his foot, mostly numb, didn't get placed properly on the stair tread, and he fell, cracking his head on the cobblestones below. He died of head trauma shortly afterward, at the age of 54.

Roads are built, buildings and bridges are rebuilt, and social programs get a big funding boost. Infrastructure becomes much, much better (cynics say this was solely for the purpose of setting up supply line logistics). And, over the long term, they aren't wrong. But that is oversimplifying things. Emperor Kevyn wasn't an idiot; he saw what more than two decades of constant fighting did to his empire. It was in shambles: the towns and cities had been neglected, the economy was a mess, supply lines disrupted, and merchants were looking not only for goods to sell, but markets to sell them to. Those markets didn't really exist because so much effort was put towards the wars that everything else went by the wayside.   Emperor Kevyn realized all this, and made it a point to remedy the situation as best as he could by redirecting tax monies away from warfighting and towards infrastructure. He opened schools, and built housing for the disabled veterans of the War of Seven Nations and the Ten Years War. He made it a point to take care of the veterans who had sacrificed so much for the Empire. In many cases, he hired the disabled vets to do other work, such as road and bridge building, food production, or even desk jobs, if that was all they could manage. Emperor Kevyn is called "The Soldier's Emperor" for this reason.

Rebels raid an armory, and the weapons and armor there stolen to arm the rebels. The perpetrators are not immediately found. The defenders were taken completely by surprise; Mokk and his advisors had kept a very low profile indeed.

Wanting to make a big impression, Mokk arranges to attack a military convoy carrying monies earmarked for the payment of Imperial soldiers in the northern areas. Unfortunately for Mokk and his erstwhile rebel soldiers, it was a trap: one of the “active converts” was a spy, so the Empire’s generals knew all about it, and were ready for the ambush. The attack is thwarted, and the rebels withdraw, but not before taking 15% casualties. Mokk begins rooting out spies out of his organization, with some success.   Four months later, he tries again, and this time he succeeds, netting a pretty large amount of loot to fund his campaign. This victory also gains him notoriety and converts to his cause.

Needing war materiel, Mokk and his rebels attack a military warehouse. Unfortunately for Mokk, he is killed in action.   Command of the Rebellion goes to Goshen Felde, a human from Windkindle and previously Mokk’s First Advisor. Felde immediately attacks four targets at once, all over the Imperium in an attempt to throw the Imperium into chaos. It works, to an extent. The Emperor, who had thought little of the rebellion, wakes up to the idea that it might be bigger and more threatening than he thought. He beefs up the defenses on military targets. Felde responds by raiding tax caravans and redistributing the money back to the people. This hurts the Imperium (marginally; the amount of money he stole was a drop in the bucket) and gains the rebellion support.

This was the first set-piece battle of the Rebellion. After several companies of Imperial soldiers defect to the Rebel side, they clash with Loyalist forces on the plains outside of the city of Shiik'tavi. The rebels lose over a third of their forces, and they fall back to Yahajilik, where they regroup.   The Siege of Yahajilik commences, with Loyalist troops investing themselves around Yahajilik. It lasts about a month before the rebels send out a small suicide force, distracting the Loyalist Imperials and allowing the bulk of the Rebels to escape to the river via hidden tunnels.

The Rebels attempt to strike at the heart of the Empire by trying to assassinate Emperor Kevyn. It fails when the assassin is caught in an antechamber by the Imperial Guard. A second assassin is killed an eightday later. Two eightdays after that, an assassin manages to kill two of the Emperor’s advisors. Emperor Kevyn makes it a point to capture, kill, or otherwise eliminate the Rebels. He utilizes the Fist of the Emperor, who start eliminating Rebels left and right. He also authorizes martial law in every city, town, and hamlet. The Rebels, for their part, are keeping a low profile, but that just means that they are never anywhere in strength. Imperial military patrols sweep through cities throughout the Empire, arresting and killing Rebels and dissidents (and a few of the innocent).   Felde is killed by accident: trying to escape a military squad who was raiding the tenement he was staying in, he goes out the window to the ledge, but loses his grip and falls three stories, breaking his neck. With his death, and the constant military raids on civilians in order to root out rebels, the Rebellion disbands. The military sweeps continue for another three months.

Having ended the Rebellion and wanting to expand the borders of the Empire, Emperor Kevyn goes back on the offensive by utilizing propaganda that makes it seem as if they are just being defensive. Meanwhile forces are drawn up in the northern parts of the Empire, primarily in the area around what is now the town of Traeki. From there, they moved into the mountains, taking first the surface agricultural towns, then filtering into the Dwarven tunnels.   As is usual with tunnel fighting, the Dwarves mount a stiff defense, killing about five Imperials for every fallen Dwarf, but the Imperial forces had managed to get intel on where the capitol was, and targeted that first, hoping to cut the head off of the snake. It worked, and the Imperial forces got lucky, capturing the Dwarven queen and her retinue of nobility. They managed to force her to surrender, which she did, tearfully, feeling like she failed her subjects.   The Dwarven nation of Ghazil Dûm falls, but only after dealing heavy losses to the Empire.

After a series of small skirmishes along the border with the Orcs of the Muzgash Autocracy, the Tondene Empire is met by a large force of Orcs in the vicinity of the town of Lorgashbur.   Led by Garzil Bloodthews, the Orc forces number over eight thousand, mostly heavy infantry, but with a large corps of heavy cavalry and several companies of archers.   The Imperial forces number twelve thousand; a battalion of heavy infantry, several of light infantry, several of light cavalry, one of archers, two of slingers, and several companies of skirmishers.   The Orcs charged into combat after dusk, thus reducing the ability of most of their enemy to see well. But the Imperial Army, as part of Jerick's reorganization, had made sure that every company had a few Orcs in it, to provide direction in darkness. These Orcs were well-trained, their jobs specifically to take command at night if their company was attacked. They responded quickly to the Muzgash attack.   The Muzgash charge was lead by their heavy cavalry, followed by the howling mob of heavy infantry. They struck the Imperial lines near, but not at, the center of the Tondene formation on the left flank, digging into the lines of light infantry in the increasing darkness. Despite the valiant efforts of the Imperial Orc captains, and the volleys of arrows and sling bullets ripping into the charging Orcs, the Muzgash forces break through the lines of infantry and into the missile crews. The Imperial heavy infantry wheels to try to contain them, but the Muzgash cavalry cuts through the archers and slingers, outrunning the defending Imperial heavies.   The Muzgash heavy cavalry circles around, and strikes the flanks of the Imperial forces that are trapped between them and the Muzgash heavy infantry, which is now engaged with both the light and heavy Imperial infantry. The Imperial volleys of missile weapons slack off, not wanting to hit their own troops in the melee.   The fighting lasts all night, with the Muzgash Army driving the Tondene Imperial Army into a retreat, with casualties near 25%.

A series of battles that take place in the northern reaches of the Muzgash Autocracy, as the Imperial forces march southeast towards the Orc city of Muzgash, the capitol of the Muzgash Autocracy and seat of the Tribal Council. For the most part, the Imperials win the battles, forcing the Orcs back towards their capitol.   The Battle of Muzgash itself ends in the Siege of Muzgash, which lasts for six months.

After the Fall of Muzgash, the remaining Orcs of the Muzgash Autocracy fled into the scrublands to the west, where they dug in. There were several small battles, skirmishes, and engagements for several months before they finally surrendered.   This surrender only happened after Garzil Bloodthews fell in battle. With her gone, the morale of the remaining partisans dropped, and the resistance soon crumbled.

After several years of not getting very far, the Tondene Empire withdraws from the Northern Expanse.   The landscape is harsh, cold, and unforgiving. Moving military equipment through them difficult and tiring. Altitude sickness degraded the fighting ability of the army, and trying to fight a foe that can fly an exercise in futility. Needless to say, it was not a successful campaign, despite all of the efforts by the generals, who were actually quite skilled.   The few engagements that they were able to force upon the Aarakocra were marginal wins at best. While the Aarakocra were, individually, fairly fragile, their ability to stay far above any return fire tipped the battles in their favor. Only by surprising them while hunting left the Imperials with any wins at all, and those were minor.   They did find out a few more things about the skyfolk, however; mainly that their society was made up of a mostly-autonomous set of small tribes, usually numbering in the few dozen.   They also found out about two other types of creature who live in the mountains: whistlers and roarers. The whistlers were small, pterodactyl-lilke animals that used fire for propulsion. They ate insects and carrion. The roarers were large, loud beasts with ravenous appetites and jet propulsion. They are also the source for the odd, string-like cloud formations above the mountains that were occasionally visible.

Finally realizing that the Sky Folk are serious, the Aarakocra become citizens of the Empire.   The Sky Folk realized that the only reason the invasion of their lands failed was due to the Imperial forces A) attacking before they were fully prepared; and B) having a failure of proper logistics. The Aarakocra were not prepared for any kind of war; their numbers were too few, and they lacked the training to be proper soldiers, despite many being able to fight. If the Empire attacked again, properly prepared and supplied, they would win. The only thing the Aarakocra could do would be to give ground and retreat, losing what few numbers they had and having their nestings and rookeries destroyed.   So they opted for a diplomatic solution. And despite the Empire's initial reluctance to believe the Sky Folk were serious, they persevered, and eventually convinced their expansionistic neighbor that they were indeed serious.

Grim grew up in the palace, at the feet of the Emperor, his adopted father. He was smart, had excellent tutors, and learned quite a bit of statecraft. On the whole, he was well-liked by the people in the palace, despite being hot-tempered and strong-willed. While his tendencies would get him into trouble, he accepted the discipline his mother and the Emperor showed him. He even understood the reasons behind it. It was just that sometimes he couldn't help himself.   By the time he was an adult, most of those stubborn tendencies were under control.

His advisors urge Emperor Grim to go to war against the three remaining nations on their portion of the continent. He does so, capturing two of the three before taking several arrows to the face, chest, arms, and legs.   Emperor Grim, leading the western army himself (suggested by his advisors as a way to both increase morale and to show how good a leader he was), attacked from three directions: in the west, he attacked the Elven Nation centered on Eccalithui via the desert; he attacked the Human nation on the northeastern coast via land and sea, and sent the third part of the army through the mountains, utilizing the Dwarven tunnels cutting through the cities of Ghazil Dûm.   The humans were overwhelmed quickly, their small army no match for the Imperial hammer blow of overwhelming force.   The Elves, masters at camouflage and archery, were more difficult, despite the ambushes and surprise attacks via the mountain tunnels. Fighting was fierce, and the Imperial forces lost a great number of soldiers to the arrows and blades of the Elves. This was also the first time a great many Elven Wardancers were fielded at once, and despite their individualistic ways, fought together quite well, cutting through the Imperial forces like a hot knife through butter on a hot day. But the relatively low Elven population was their primary disadvantage, and despite heavy losses to the Imperial forces, were forced to surrender. It is during the latter parts of the Elven campaign that Emperor Grim Darkaxe takes the mortal wounds that result in his death.   By the time the Elves and Humans were conquered, the Orc nation north of the Elves was too strong to fall to what was left of the Imperial Army.   Patting themselves on the back, the advisors make Kevyn’s nephew, Alystan Lambent emperor, beginning the Lambent line of emperors.

Alystan works very hard at combining the cultures conquered by the Empire into a single whole. Slavery is abolished, not that it was all that widespread at this time. Infrastructure is developed and constructed, mostly on the theme of “One People, One Empire”.

Emperor Alystan dies when his carriage horses get spooked, run off with the carriage careening behind them, and fail to make a turn, tumbling down a slope. They were spooked by a mage, who cast the Panic spell on them. While the Rooks and Royal Guard suspect foul play, they come up with nothing but rumors. Whomever had done the deed had hid their tracks very well indeed.

An attempt to take over the Firelands fails, miserably. The Firelands are a Dwarven nation south of the Tondene Empire, in a very geologically active and volcanic mountain range.   The Fireland Dwarves are known for their clever machines, and have pioneered inventions in ventilation, plumbing, and seigecraft. They also had another trick up their collective sleeve.   The Dwarves had developed the crossbow, which they called "hand ballista" or "miniballista", unbeknownst to the rest of the world. This, along with the choke points that tunnel fighting makes inevitable, meant that they could focus their fire. And they had some pretty heavy crossbows, and teams of people to load them for each crossbowman. The lead crossbowmen were getting off a shot every three seconds, grabbing a fresh crossbow, aiming, loosing, and handing it to a loader and grabbing the next one.   The Tondene Imperial Army retreated, having lost about 10% of their forces.

Due to the massive damage to the capitol city (where Port Bormand is now), the Empress chooses to relocate her court to Adayn, a city on the northern coast of the continent. The weather is much cooler and more temperate, with occasional snow in the deepest of winter. The Empress had been complaining for years about the heat, so the massive damage done due to the storm was a perfect reason to finally pack up and leave.   Moving the court takes a fleet of boats, and several years to complete. Many nobles are unhappy with the decision, as many are forced to leave their ancestral lands. But the Empress lets them know that moving is "completely voluntary", and that if they don't want to come, they don't have to. Of couse, that isn't a choice at all, since they were there to run the government, and they wouldn't be able to do it effectively from the other side of the Empire.

This time it is started by disgruntled Elves living in the forest along the Kikraadi River. Complaining mainly about perceived racial inequalities (and actual damage to their environment in the form of clearcutting to make crop and pasture land), they mount a very effective offensive against settlements along the lower Kikraadi River. Hildon, Allenglade, and Wash take the brunt of the attacks. They attack at night, with longbows, and rarely stuck around to fight it out with Imperial troops. Guerrilla warfare was their go-to tactic, and it worked, for a time.   While there was a bit of racial inequities (mostly social, along the lines of "oh those are just a bunch of rural rubes"), the primary complaint was about the damage to the natural world. For the Elves, this was religion, and their shrines were being desecrated. They could also extrapolate, and the pace of clear-cutting to support the ever-increasing population of the various races disturbed them greatly. Especially with respect to the Empire, which, unlike any other nation, was multi-racial, geographically huge, and relatively stable politically. All of which pointed to environmental problems in the future. This sense of the future that the Elves had was exacerbated by their sense of time; to them, entire forests were being clearcut in the blink of an eye. It didn't take much imagination to see the pattern, and the inevitable results.

Second Rebellion ends when Emperor Halleck Lambent burns several Elven villages (and the surrounding forest) to the ground, killing thousands of Elves. The resulting wildfire burned 150,000 acres (234 square miles).   The Elves reconsidered their lifestyle within the Empire, and found that it wasn’t all that bad…and certainly better than charred wood and ashes. The Emperor had, in effect, held the forest, which the Elves revered, for ransom. Once the Elves had capitulated, he showed mercy, letting them all go home (if their home wasn’t ashes), and giving some concessions regarding what had caused them to rebel in the first place. New laws were put in place to protect the lands from wanton destruction and development.   Emperor Halleck was ruthless, but practical, a trait common in the Imperium’s rulers.

Not only do they get their lands back, but they invade the country, destroying its army and burning every naval warship to the waterline. They then withdraw back to their own lands, leaving the ruined country. They leave with a warning to the leaders of Badenland not to ever do that again, or they will burn every village, town, and city to the ground.

The source of the blaze is unknown but presumed to be due to an impromptu street brawl involving mages. Due to lack of evidence, no mages are convicted. Only the keep survived. It has since been rebuilt.

As the pieces of Jypra de-orbited, they fell to Velyri as rains of fire. Many were crystal shards, but most was simply regolith. In any case, the skies were very interesting at night.

Shards appear all over the landscape, most thickly clustered on the shorelines. This is because living creatures that interact with them are "urged" to collect them and bring them to areas of higher shard fragment density. So sea creatures carry them to the shoreline, or swallow them and beach themselves.

“Death” cults, “End of the World” cults, and “We have all sinned” cults seem to be the most common.

It is assumed that the ocean washed them up onto shore. The crystals are collected as items of curiosity. At this point, no one had noticed the odd behavior of sea creatures with regard to the shards.

The “Awakeners” start promulgating the idea that having crystals will “awaken your inner mind” and let you “see the reality behind the reality”. Their numbers increase, slowly at first.

People start noticing that some crystals connect to other crystals. Sometimes, a little bit of magic happens.

Beachcombing becomes common.

The Cult of the Awakening starts hosting Game of Shards events, moving from town to town.

Certain “aware” groups (most notably the Rooks) begin to notice that the Awakeners are a cult with global reach, not just local. It is discovered that the Cult of Awakening has branch offices on all continents and in just about every country.

Some people start noticing a certain set of behaviors connected to the shards of crystal and the game that developed around them. The Cult of the Awakening launches a counter public relations campaign to downplay this (after all, they are making bank on the hosted events).

The Game of Shards starts to become a problem as people begin starting fights over who won. There is also an increase in theft of shards, muggings to steal them, and break-ins.   The Cult of the Awakening try very hard to break up fights and combat crime. They are very public about this, both from PR reasons, and economic ones. But it is sort of a losing battle.

The homeless problem in coastal cities sees a steep rise as housing capacity falls short of the incoming inhabitants.

First “Shard Riot” occurs in Port Bormand as mass brawls erupt in the streets, with people demanding more and more shards. It is quelled only by the rather harsh use of force by the City Guard. Hundreds are left dead, several hundred wounded.

The Cult of Awakening starts holding a different kind of event: this one is more of a “who has the biggest shard” contest, as pieces have been recombining for a while and are getting to be quite large in some cases.

The Rooks step up their efforts to track the larger shards. The pattern of increased criminal activity also hasn’t been overlooked by them. They coordinate with the City Guard in the major cities to crack down on shard-related crimes. They are also paying attention to international shard-related events. They are seeing similar things happening in other countries.   What is missing in the other countries, however, are the stories being told by the Elves (with the exception of the few Elven countries, that is). So the Rooks feel that they at least have an advantage in that sense. Not that it has done them any good thus far....

The Rooks open a second sequestering cavern complex, keeping the shards they collect in different chambers as much as possible. No one is allowed down there alone; even pairs are discouraged. Trios are preferred to avoid stupid mistakes and sabotage.

After a rather slow start, the Museum of the Shard in the city of Penderkith in the Small Kingdoms begins to attract a great many people, many considering it to be similar to a hajj. The Awakeners continue to garner more converts to their religion. Called “Cuivienyarna”, which in Quenya means “Legend of the Awakening”, it stresses having a mind open to new possibilities, helping others open their minds, and being successful in life. Its message has a good response from the people.

Emperor Kenryth begins to think that expanding the borders of the Empire will garner him more shards.

Training the new recruits happens apace. Stockpiles of weaponry and supplies are created. Quite of bit of the government’s money goes into this, including much of the Emperor’s Privy Purse. Diplomats from other countries protest, knowing that the relative peace that has existed is being strained.