The 5th Dragonguard, the Trollburners

2 Kuthona 4711


To the Trollburners!!!


The three dragonguard that ventured out to battle the enemies of our nation at the side of our noble Baron and his illustrious comrades, are to be lauded for their bravery against terrible odds, their ferocity in combat against the foulest of beasts, and supreme loyalty to our most righteous Swordlord, Clovis I.


The training of these three dragonguard and their unquenchable dragon spirit salvaged victory from near disaster.  The names of our brethren shall be forever immortalized, heroes in the hearts of the people:


Dragonguard Sarrek, of the Sootscale
Dragonguard Kazzek, of the Sootscale
Dragonguard Kirrik, of the Mossclaw


And to our fallen, may their wings spread wide and catch the air in the halls of the dragonlords.

Sergeant Nettek, of the Sootscale
Dragonguard Likrik, of the Mossclaw
Dragonguard Kennek, of the Sootscale

Following their most humbling service, the 5th Dragonclaw shall henceforth be yclept, The Trollburners!

-Dragon of War, Chief Sootscale

Neutrality and Neutrality

There's something wrong in the ether. I think we should be bolder. It isn't the neutrality of the state, because even that can bring as much satisfaction, roleplaying wise. If we played that like Swiss for instance, or even better, as some financial paradise where all the poor persecuted corrupted of other states come to.

It might be many more things besides that:

- Chaotic evil state of Demons. As Evan predicted.
- Enslaving Lawful Evil state that bows to say Nidal or Cheliax or both. Destroy the legacy of Evan.
- Taken over by pure paladins and clerics of lawful good divinities. Fighting all that is evil inside and outside.
- Surreal Dreamland. Desna and all that. Devoted to threading the tissue of dreams and make the barrier between dreams and reality thinner. (I like this one) Might accomodate priests of Luck, artists in general, and secretive people like spies and so on. All surrounded by mysts and veils.
- The Whispering State. Tyranny of Undeads! (I love this one) Or why not just 'state of undeads'. We've got a start already with the undead that ride in the south of the Greenbelt.
- Magocracy!
- Witches Kingdom. Where people is superstitious and we play hags!

In short, we should be less neutral.

I'm not saying that it's boring if we go on like this, but a little more direction might be fun if we work that out together... (read: it's getting a fucking neutral flavorless boring state if we don't put some new ideas in it).

The downside is that with a project like the ones on the list, we might just end up arguing over how it is done and who's to do what, since we seem to all have pretty clear ideas of what we want and so on. So that'd require a little flexibility.

Or we might even leave it like this and split it among the players, like, a confederation. 'The ministry of Economy comes from Secretive County just met the Baron, which like everyone knows comes from Noble County (read, unstoppable party freaks taldorians)'.
Of course that would require a Federal Constitution, which is per se interesting.
Tell me what you think.
It might have Six Counties.

Actually, this is probably the best option, because it'll leave enough room for new characters concepts. Another option is to be more loose, like with a city that does this and another that does that. Like Tatzelfort can accomodate the three wizs I made and become a sort of City of Mages in the long run, and so on.

The Reluctant King

In the wake of their loss of Evan I and the recent scandals and disasters hitting the Barony, it was only normal that the citizenry turn to their new Baron for guidance, and hope for the future.

However, since his inauguration, Clovis I has been conspicuous by his absence.
Continually pursued by stewards and councillors to deal with dull affairs of state when he would rather be dueling or womanising or exploring the wilderness Clovis plays a game of cat and mouse with them and is passing less and less time at his duties.

The kingdom is suffering for his lack of leadership...

Evan's Speeches: "On Bravery and the Six Rivers"

Another of Evan's speeches, which he had translated to many languages and told by bards to be spread well outside the borders of the Green Belt.

“There is among you some who feel something is there over the horizon, something more you long to. Just like Pazuzu’s High M’Vania city encompasses the whole Abyss and opens on all dimensions in the Multiverse, and the brave and courageous fly to him, so you watch out the window and know that there is something out there that you can’t even imagine yet.
Someone escapes the role that his society had in store for him; someone suspects that there is whole world out there, beyond the ancestral traditions that have shaped his mentality and his behaviour: these things have influenced you, but they can’t pin you to the ground, they can’t quench the desire to know more. These people are called Adventurers, they’re called Individuals.
Some of you know that there is something else. Beyond the next plundering a city with your fellow Goblins, beyond the lofty perfect castles where your ancestor Elves have lived forever in harmony, beyond the darkness of the World Beneath, beyond the walls of the castles where you and your siblings are the new scions of a long Human bloodline.
Some thriving few feel the pull of adventure, feel the lure of discovery, the thirst to find out: some have the will to realise something that is entirely their own creation.
Listen to your Inner Voice! Stoke the flames of Hubris and let them fly you wherever they might lead you. Follow one of the Six Rivers and come to our Blessed City, where fellows do not adapt, but rather bring their bravery and their audacity!”

Demonology 101 - Evan's Speech on the Abyss

When courting disaster, why not going for all kind of strange?
Evan sent out a not so secret invitation, in the form of a speech to be rewritten and transmitted through bards (recounting the deed of the ‘Speech of the Abyss’ or ‘Addressing the Abyssal Forces’), inviting many followers of Abyssal obedience to join the Six Kingdom under a new face of the Demonic.
Some glaring omissions, like that of Lamashtu, are easily understood.

“I have no qualm about proclaiming that Pazuzu is King of the Abyss, and that this does not stand on wanton glory, but on solid ground and the air above it. It will prove True by itself, and I have no fear of those who put their faith in other Abyssal lords.
Rather the contrary, I dare you to step out in the open and join the Six Rivers, bringing your abyssal wisdom and the domains and quirks of your patron with you. The wisdom of Demon Lords such as Abraxas, lord of the Final Incantation, whose tomes inspire strange horrors to the minds of wizards; Jubilex, faceless lord of Sloth and Oozes, whose shapeless bulk is filled with men-sized red eyes that care nothing for what they witness; Kabriri shroud-gnawer, lord of secrets kept by the dead in strange catacomb libraries; Haagenti the Whisper Within, who answers alchemists prayers and shifts the thousand chambers of changing Cerebullim; Nocticula, lord of assassins and lust, first succubus, who has three tails and rune covered wings; her brother, Socothbenoth, he which sates all hunger, breaker of taboos and inspirer of perversions; Zura vampire queen, cannibal most despotic that is both friend and enemy of Urguthoa; Orcus ram-headed, prince of Undeath, whose bleak realm of natural desolation rewards with hideous sights the countless thanatonic giants that dwell in it and revel in endless civil war; Areshkgal, faceless sphinx, whose serpent tail whispers obscure riddles to those who step through portals.

The rules are simple:

- We do not harm the people of the Six Rivers. Your fury shall fall on enemies of the Nation;
- We bring the strange beauty of Abyssal horrors and the weird notions that blow with a thousand hungry winds: we shall not be brush in our ways. We respect and even admire the beauty and light that we are so much removed from, and commune with and even help out the Chaotic gods of Good; the most weird compromise is not alien to us, interbreeding is our bread, and the light does not scare us. The schemes of the Abyss shall be alien even to us and filled with complexity, as the Abyss is complex, and not simplistic.
- We help each other against threats from outside the Realm, especially against devils and their minions”.

Evan I, Dread King - The Werewolf

14 Neth 4711


"Behold! This statue is raised in honor of our fallen King, may his exploits never be forgotten!"

The girl runs to touch the hand. “He’s so pale, is he well?”

“He’s dying,” says the man near the statue.

“Where are they?”

“They’ve gone to bait the foul monster upon themselves. The beast most vile that was killing our people.”

“So they dress as shepherds, and wait in a vale with the shepherd's charges. Hounds amongst the Flock.”

They bide the two soldiers that accompany them to hide, so that the beast can’t harm them.”.

“They wait. Our King is furious: he wants vengeance on this monster that has touched his citizens. He’s so furious that the grass dries out, the shadows skitter away and hide around the corners. Even the Moon hesitates as to whether she should take a step further along her path”.

“Soon enough, the beast arrives. It’s but a shadow in the distancet, and then, all of a sudden, he’s there in front of them, jumping at them, mouth full of blood and teeth!”

“Our King’s fury is such that his eyes regurgitate power; his body glows the dark red of Abyssal might. The sheep’s blood curdles and their wool falls: the animals don’t even notice the werewolf… they fall to the ground and pretend they’re dead. The grass retreats into the ground. A wind raises: the air itself has fled this place. The Baron is ready to make the beast taste the wrath that is its due. But Clovis steps forward and enters a duel with the monster. Reason against pure predatory instinct.”

“What’s a duel?”

“Single combat. He knows that the Lord will not interrupt it. He’ll leave him to fight the beast alone, he’ll respect the wish of his friend to fight. And so, with eyes of live coals, he watches them fight.”

“And why would Clovis do that?”

“Because he wants to tame the beast, with the flat of his sword. He knows that he can tame the monster without killing it. Because he’s merciful. And he wants to bring the monster to the Justice of the Six Rivers. He knows that if the beast meets the fury of the King, it’ll be dead before it can exhale.”

“But the beast is vile, and stupid, and does not recognise his saviour. As it’s killed two of our compatriots, he turns to Clovis with a snarl and attacks in the most vicious way.

Clovis goes to great lengths to only bruise, which proves hard, for the monster is jumping around like a devil. Eventually the animal finds an opening in a gesture of the counsellor, and reaches out to break his arm. The arm twists, Clovis lets go of his sword. The beast slashes at the councillor. Flesh is torn apart, bones are notched, a river of blood fills the ground”

“Like in the statue!” screams the child.

The girl has gone pale: she grips the hand of the statue.

“Indeed! Merciful Clovis lies on the ground, and the Monster has just killed the one who tried to save him from the horror that is the fury of the King”.

“The men come out of the hiding. They are mad with pain, disrupted at the sight of the vileness. They are no more afraid of the Monster. One takes the body of Clovis away from the battlefield. Another even unsheathes his sword and attacks the animal!”

“But the soldier hasn’t even touched his sword, when a worse fate befalls the beast. Our Lord is falling on him, like a thousand demons, like a ton of bricks. Like fate itself running its course. With the first blow, the monster is broken like an egg and blown away: each and every bone of his body cracks with a violent snap; for every citizen he’s killed he feels the pain of a thousand hells. His eyes fly out of their orbits, its teeth explode out of its mouth, its bowels fly over the whole plain behind it. Before it even touches the ground, the monster wishes it was never born.”

The whole crowd cheers.

“The King didn’t kill it though. The monster is on the ground and it’s crawling like a worm, blood and flesh as much laying on the ground around it as attached to its quivering body. It’s trying to escape; the baron has stayed his hand and his fury.”

“Why did he do that?!” screams a man from behind

“To respect the will of his dying friend. He wanted the monster alive, to be brought to Justice. Even from beyond the grave, the hand of merciful Clovis has spared the life of the creature”.

“And so our Baron takes the beast and chains it, and goes to his fallen friend. Clovis knows he’s dying, and what are his last words? “Take care of our Citizens”. He’s resisted death that long to leave that last message to our King. As the words cut his teeth, he passes out”.

The girl is crying now, silently, as she watches the bard.

“But death itself hasn’t taken the fury of our King into account! With but a side glance, our king make the slashes on Clovis’ body run in fear: they slither away like serpents, fall on the grass and hide themselves under the soil, daring not a glance. With a single gesture, the King grabs the spirits of death, already crowding round merciful Clovis, and throws their grasping forms in the Abyss, which eats them whole. The stars have stopped their course and watch the Dread King, trembling. The moon cannot continue on its path out of fear.”

“It’s true! The stars seemed to tremble that night” screams a child. The bard nods.

“Merciful Clovis is alive. He opens his eyes and what are his first words? “Relent, milord, do you want the Moon to be frozen there for the next year? What will the farmers do without her? The fishermen? The miners?”

“That’s what he says.”

“And so the King is appeased by his friend’s quips. The sky returns ever so hesitantly to its nightly path. And the Dread King, Clovis and the men come back to celebrate, with the chained beast as cartload behind.”     

Oleg Leveton steps down

4 Neth 4711

Embarrassed by the adulterous affair between himself and the Bard of Six Rivers, Oleg Leveton announces his withdrawal from the ruling council of Six Rivers and his position as Royal Treasurer. 

Svetlana has made no move to follow her shamed husband into retirement.