by Ari Marmell
The Dragonfather has dominated his territory for sixteen centuries, and his privateers terrorize the western coasts of Cygnar and Ord by preying on shipping routes and pillaging lightly defended villages for their resources and inhabitants alike. Entire communities have vanished after Cryxian raids, the inhabitants seized and presumably added to the undead armies. Although Toruk seems content to rule his remote island realm, the mainland nations fear the day he decides to expand his borders, and it seems likely this day has come to pass. Those at the higher echelons of other nations have discovered that Cryxian bases exist hidden within their own borders, underground or amid the trackless wilds, and from these places of power Toruk is starting to extend his reach. The true goals of these forces are still not well understood, and the movements of Cryxian military units often defy ordinary notions of strategy and tactics.
Llael’s primary geographical advantage turned out to be its greatest weakness: sharing its borders with four kingdoms with few natural barriers to inhibit trade—or the movement of armies. This served to line the pockets of certain entrepreneurial nobles and merchants, who exploited the shipping along the Black River flowing from Rhul to the Gulf of Cygnar. Llael’s merchants were centrally located to serve as middlemen for a variety of lucrative mercantile organizations, while its gentle valleys and lush farmlands offered few barriers to slow the advance of the soldiers who marched to seize them starting at the end of 604 AR.
It may be an overreliance on Cygnaran soldiers and mercenaries led to a certain denial among the Llaelese people about their vulnerability. Llael earned its early fame during the Rebellion against the Orgoth for being the birthplace of blasting powder, and long boasted many of the finest pistoleers and alchemists in western Immoren. Unfortunately, these talents were directed more to commercial gain and less to bolstering the kingdom’s rotting defenses and inadequate military. Instead, its people spent their time in appreciation of the finer things in life, from expensive locally produced wines to great books written in their native tongue, works of art, music, and architecture, all sponsored by bickering nobles competing to control the trade that was the nation’s lifeblood.
Corruption from within hastened the Khadoran invasion and occupation of the small country. Llael’s last king died decades before, and his heirs all fell prey to murderous conspiracies by those seeking to exploit the chaos. The nobles who came after allowed Llael’s small army to languish, relying increasingly on foreign aid and unreliable sell-swords. The nation’s renowned pistoleers became duelists and assassins for hire rather than protectors of its borders. The Llaelese people now suffer the consequences of this neglect, as they’re forced to contend with the fallout of full-scale military invasion.
The western kingdom of Ord is a land with deep history and its own rich culture, but one that lacks the natural resources of most truly great kingdoms, being a moody realm of foggy bogs, wet marshes, and backbreaking hilly farmland. Land-owning castellans maintain themselves on herds of cattle and horses, aloof from the masses struggling to put food on the table. The Ordic people are tough and not easily discomfited, though. They find diversion in song, gambling, and ale rather than dwelling on life’s inequities.
Most of Ord’s people descend from the old kingdom of Tordor, famed for its powerful warships, and the lure of the sea is still strong among those who dwell here. Ord’s coastal cities are a sailor’s paradise, and the nation boasts the best human mariners ever to live; the Ordic Royal Navy is counted a peer among those of western Immoren’s greater powers. The Ordic army is also highly respected despite its smaller size and outmoded weaponry as compared to the northern and southern powers. Its soldiers are deemed as tough as trollkin and have courage to spare, but the poverty of Ord is reflected in its reliance on simpler gear and its heavy use of defensive tactics, such as fixed cannon emplacements and using knowledge of the difficult local terrain against any aggressors. Ord’s clever sovereign, King Baird II, has taken measures to improve Ord’s lot and spent the nation’s meager treasury to bolster both navy and army with certain advances, but remaining neutral in the larger wars is still deemed vital to the nation’s survival.
Staying neutral has other advantages, as Ord’s merchant houses benefit considerably from trade brought through the region between parties who might not otherwise be willing to interact. Certain Ordic towns and hamlets have become favored haunts of mercenaries and sell-swords of all varieties. Similarly, refugees from war-torn lands often flee to Ord, bringing with them their talents and knowledge. For a nation lacking in natural wealth, the exchange of information has become an industry unto itself.
Compared to the dynamic kingdoms of men, the dwarven Rhulfolk are a bastion of order and reason. Their society has persisted without major upheaval for over a thousand years, and the history of Rhul traces back longer than any other established civilization in the known world. Even their armed disputes are more like duels than wars, being organized and adjudicated by the dwarven parliament, known among their own kind as the Moot. The traditional leaders of the Moot are the Stone Lords, aged and respected dwarves who can trace their bloodline all the way back to the thirteen Great Fathers—divine progenitors of the dwarven race. The other members of the Moot are representatives from the Hundred Houses, the most powerful of the landed clans. It is this group that is responsible for forging the laws of dwarven society, using an incredibly lengthy set of procedural rules dwarves call the Codex.
Across all the known lands Rhulfolk are renowned for their fine craftsmanship and their prowess as engineers and builders. Any child knows the quality of dwarven metalwork and stonecraft, and the stout folk’s skill at mining and love of building is matched only by their ingenuity in mechanikal engineering. Yet equally prized by non-dwarves is the famed Rhulic skill in battle. While their society is eminently stable, mastery at arms and warfare is a craft undertaken with the same serious attention as any other. Every dwarf clan boasts its own great warriors, and many of these seek to earn distinction, profit, and a sharpening of their skills in the (many) wars that take place outside their borders.
To wit, entire dwarven conclaves beholden to Rhulic law exist in several of the human kingdoms, and these communities are deemed invaluable sources of skilled labor, quality crafted goods, and reliable sell-swords. It is widely understood that these mercenaries are ultimately still devoted and loyal to Rhul, and that they would immediately return to their homeland should it ever need defended from outsider aggression.
Dwarven astronomers developed the first known calendar, based on their observation of the relative interplay between the planet (Caen), its three moons, and the stars in the sky. The race of men adopted it after the rise of the Morrowan faith, but installed their own naming convention. The calendar consists of 13 months of 28 days each, with seven days to each week, and one intercalated day—called “the Longest Night”— every three years.
Month #
Morrowan Name
Rhulic Name
Equatorial Period
1
Glaceus
Dovern
Early/mid-winter
2
Casteus
Uldern
Mid-winter
3
Trineus
Dolern
Mid-/late winter
4
Tempen
Ormul
Late winter/early spring
5
Cinten
Odul
Mid-spring
6
Rowen
Gordul
Mid-/late spring
7
Solesh
Lodar
Late spring/early summer
8
Octesh
Durgar
Mid-summer
9
Katesh
Odomar
Mid-summer
10
Goloven
Godesh
Late summer/early autumn
11
Doloven
Sigmon
Mid-autumn
12
Khadoven
Rordon
Mid-autumn
13
Ashtoven
Jhoron
Late autumn/early winter
ARI MARMELL would love to tell you all about the various esoteric jobs he held and the wacky adventures he had on the way to becoming an author, since that’s what other authors seem to do in these sections. Unfortunately, he doesn’t actually have any, as the most exciting thing about his professional life, besides his novel writing, is the work he’s done for Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games. His published fiction includes the Widdershins Adventures YA fantasy series, along with The Goblin Corps, from Pyr Books; as well as multiple books from other major publishers, including the Corvis Rebaine duology and the official computer game tie-in novel Darksiders: The Abomination Vault.
Ari currently lives in an apartment that’s almost as cluttered as his subconscious, which he shares (the apartment, not the subconscious, though sometimes it seems like it) with George—his wife—and two cats who really need some form of volume control installed. You can find Ari online at http://www.mouseferatu.com and on Twitter @mouseferatu.