Gameworld News

1004 A.I.
April 12, 1004
August 27, 1004
December 31, 1004

December 31, 1004:

Bilgosh:
    While Zdunarovan troops continued to besiege the Bilgosh capital of
Dezdovo, some of the Imperial units began to detach from the siege and
head north into the southern and southeastern section of the Empire, to
contend with rebellions in the Steinlands duchies of Silbermark,
Launenburg and Elsitz.  Lord Wladyslaw of Kaloszyn, now commanding the
siege of Dezdovo, said that it would not take the full Imperial army to
effectively surround that city, and that "such other troops as are
available may address other fronts as the Czarina sees fit".
    Apparently addressing concerns among some of the troops at having
an ethnic Lutenian in command (instead of an ethnic Zdunarovan, from the
capital region), many of the troops shifted northward were Lutenians,
thus reducing the overall number of Lutenians at the siege.


Ragnorack:
    A new settlement in Ragnorack's north was besieged in early October
by a grum horde bearing cavalry mounted on huge wolves.  The horde,
consisting of hundreds of armed grum, apparently intended to pillage the
town of Dmitria, using their unique mounts to catch the king's knights
by surprise and thus overrun them.  However, the horde was unaware of
the new settlement of Marilyna, which lay between their tribal grounds
and Dmitria.  Under the command of Sir Wesley MacGerrie, the small
contingent at Marilyna were able to dupe the grum into thinking human
numbers were stronger, while destroying the horde's supply of grumweed
and playing upon grum superstitions.  These tactics apparently caused
much of the horde to lose morale and defect, leaving only a core
contingent.  The Ragnorackans then rallied, slaying the horde's
remaining leaders and scattering the mob into smaller bands, who were
then mopped up by Dmitria's forces.
    The wolves, which the Ragnorackans called "Thurga wolves" for some
reason, stood five feet high at the shoulder.  It is not known where the
grum acquired such creatures, nor how they tamed them.  However, between
the troops at Marilyna and at Dmitria, all the Thurga wolves are now
believed slain.


Toldavia, Zdunarova:
    Riots erupted across this Steinlands duchy in October after reports
spread of a popular uprising in the village of Palatinsk.  Imperial
officials had reportedly beaten and mistreated members of the local
peasantry who they had come to levy; the peasants attacked and defeated
their commanders, then spread the word of their uprising to neighboring
towns.  Within the week, most of Toldavia was up in arms against anyone
wearing the Imperial red.  Duke Mikhail of Toldavia, perhaps sensing
which way the wind was now blowing, sided with his people and announced
his solidarity with the three rebel duchies.
    By mid-November, eight of the empire's eastern duchies,
compromising most of the region known as the Steinlands, had sent their
knights and troops into action, repelling or expelling any Imperial
troops.


Zdunarosk, Zdunarova:
    On December 4, Czarina Aleksandra formally declared the eight
rebellious dukes and duchesses to be in violation of their oath of
fealty, and therefore they had forfeited their right to rule their
duchies.  The dukes, in turn, proclaimed they had "long suffered" under
oppressive treatment from the Czarina and that she had, thus, violated
her end of the feudal contract.  Fighting spread across the Steinlands
region, and the rebel dukes reportedly met to consider what strategies
to take once the spring thaw makes large-scale fighting again feasible.

August 27, 1004:

Zdunarova:
    Eight dukes in the eastern part of the empire, in the Steinlands 
region, called their knights and soldiers to arms in early April as 
imperial tax collectors and officials were chased out by an 
increasingly hostile populace.  The Steinland dukes and duchesses 
all echoed the concerns of Duchess Wilhelmina of Silbermark that the 
Czarina's claims on Bilgosh were not justified, and that they had no 
cause for arms against the Bilgoshmen.


Dezdovo, Bilgosh:
    After successfully leading the Zdunarovan charge into Bilgosh and 
captaining the siege of its capital, Lord Yarakov was called back to 
the capital on April 19.  The Czarina praised Lord Yarakov's "courage 
and vision" and said that his services were now vital at Zdunarosk, 
where she sought his counsel on military affairs.
    Many courtiers, however, suspect that the Czarina recalled Yarakov 
because of his rising popularity amongst the troops, and that she was 
concerned that further successes in his name would make him difficult 
to control.


Dezdovo, Bilgosh:
    Having recalled Yarakov, the Czarina appointed Lord Wladyslaw of 
Kaloszyn to lead the Imperial siege of the Bilgosh capital.  Lord 
Wladyslaw arrived at Dezdovo on May 2, immediately setting his own 
mages to task in breaking the Bilgosh walls.
    There was scattered squabbling amongst the troops over the next 
few days, with some ethnic Zdunarovans apparently unhappy with now 
having an ethnic Lutenian in command.  Many of the military mages, 
schooled at the imperial academies in capital of Zdunarosk, were 
resentful of the arriving Lutenian mages.  "We've been invoking 
spells at the walls for two months," remarked one.  "We've been 
countering their defenses.  Now these [deleted] hicks show up and 
think they own the place?"


Bilgosh:
    The Company of the Green Hawks, a mercenary company in Zdunarovan 
service, packed up their gear and departed Bilgosh on May 27, 
claiming they were not paid according to their original agreement.  
"We do not fight out of charity," announced their captain, Eileen 
Kilpatrick of Mwyln.  "They don't pay, we don't fight."


Steinlands, Zdunarova:
    On June 19, Zdunarova moved the Army of Telograd into the duchy 
of Elsitz, an eastern province whose duke had stated his opposition 
to the war in Bilgosh.  Imperial officials stated that this was a 
"peaceful movement of troops to guard the Empire's borders," but the 
knights and soldiers of Elsitz viewed it as a hostile move, and 
violence broke out between the two armies.  Fighting on their home 
ground, the Elsitz troops routed the Imperial army, sending it 
scattering.


Elsitz, Zdunarova:
    Bearing a decree from the Czarina that Duke Karl of Elsitz and 
his vassals must "stand down and acknowledge the authority of the 
throne", three Zdunarovan armies entered the duchy of Elsitz on 
July 10.  Elsitz met the armies instead with arms, and battles 
spread across the countryside.  The Imperial troops drove back the 
outnumbered Duke until July 12, when knights from the Steinlands 
duchies of Silbermark and Launenburg came to Elsitz's defense. 
Duchess Wilhelmina of Silbermark, leading her knights, said that she 
and her people "must be guided by their hearts" and that they would 
not "submit to tyranny" without a fight.
    While there is widespread speculation that the other neighboring 
duchies in the Steinlands are sympathetic to Elsitz’s cause, none 
have yet joined the fray.


Bilgosh:
    Locals report that Zdunarovan troops are on the march -- 
northward.   It appears that several units that had been heading 
southward to aid in the siege of the Bilgosh capital have been 
redirected north and east, presumably towards the rebellious 
Steinlands duchies.

April 12, 1004:

Bilgosh:
  Zdunarovan troops, under the command of Lord Yarakov, advanced down
the Bilgosh coast in Feburary towards the capital at Dezdovo.  Having
already secured Crazau late last year, Yarakov's army resupplied in that
Bilgosh barony and followed the retreating Bilgosh forces.  While the
Bilgoshmen had December and January to burn bridges and block roads,
morale among Yarakov's troops was high, and the Zdunarovans surmounted
the obstacles in their path with minimal effort.  The Zdunarovans gave
particular credit to their mages, who took advantage of Crazau's large
stocks of quicksilver and hartshorn to power earthshaking spells,
breaching the walls of the castle at Timisar and enabling its easy capture.


Silbermark, Zdunarova:
  Duchess Wilhelmina of the Steinlands duchy of Silbermark called her
knights and vassals to her service on February 22.  Wilhelmina had been
objecting to the Czarina's levies of taxes and troops for several
months, and had failed to collect any more funds for the war.  That she
has called her vassals to *her* service, without any announcement
about heading them to the war front, leads many to suspect she fears
reprisal from the Czarina and is bolstering her defenses.


Dezdovo, Bilgosh:
  Lord Yarakov's army dashed Bilgosh forces north of Dezdovo on March
9, and surrounded their capital two days later, laying siege.  The
Zdunarovan forces began constructing siege engines, and set their mages
to work devising fire and earth spells to hurl at the city walls.  Grand
Duke Milos had long since gathered food, water and firewood in the city,
but the Bilgoshmen are concerned that they may lack enough reagents to
stave off prolonged magical attacks from Yarakov's wizards.


Silbermark, Zdunarova:
  Travelers on the roads in Silbermark and eastern Zdunarova report
increasing clashes between Imperial officials and Silbermark locals.
While few peasants are warm to tax collectors regardless, Silbermarkers
have shown increasing hostility to the Czarina's collectors since
Duchess Wilhelmina told the Czarina she would not levy war funds
herself.  In addition, an Imperial patrol passing through Silbermark en
route to Bilgosh claimed that "unknown rabble" hurled stones at them
from a hilltop, and the patrol found deep gouges cut into the road,
impeding the progress of their wagons.


Eastern Zdunarova:
  A half-dozen dukes and duchesses in the Steinlands echoed the
objections of Duchess Wilhelmina of Silbermark in early March.  On March
22, the Duke of Elsitz stated that he, too, "could not find cause to
raise arms against the Bilgoshmen" -- whereupon the Duchess of
Launenburg stated that she "has seen nothing to verify the claims of
Duke Nikolai" which were the Czarina's justification for the war. Within
two weeks, Silbermark's other neighbors in the eastern part of the
Empire had all openly defied the Czarina's calls for further taxes and
troops, and the Duke of Elsitz went so far as to call home the knights
he had already sent to the front.