Morgenstern
First Post
This has been a great read, and I agree the current war is winding down. I'd like to see a few addendums to the course of events following the Battle of Mists.
On the mainland: The Cressians got hammered by fire. They have time and time again. So while the introduction of mist and rain inducing magics is the logical developement of the Field Father druid, the time has come to put the Fire Cult into play - a small group druids who abandon the proscription against the use of fire. They've been around for years, but as scattered individuals. The Battle of Mists brings them together and reaffirms their belief that bronze and flame are truely fit weapons for the gods. This group would be eager to snatch up the fallen Jonga weapons, and possibly make contact with the enemy.
Meanwhile, the Cressians won - proof positive of the superiority of the culture, and it's taboos. I think we should see a hardening of religious stricture. Undoubtedly the druid class are the saviors of all the Cressian people. They should firm up their political power, while rejecting many of the Jonga's inventions ("didn't save them, what do we need them for?"). Lessons learned from the war will shape the design of Cressian villages, and I think that the use of agressive plants will help fortify them with active sentries. The tree forts also seemed wildly successful and their use will be expanded, possibly leading to the development of larger, multi-tree fortresses. Plant-based poisons (derived initially from roses and nettles) are develped by the Field Father's servants, and offered to the Wolf Mother's creatures to help cement their common unity. These (weak) poisons come into use to bolster the elite lycanthrope warriors, making the Wolf Mother and her servants the policing arm of the society, possibly enforcing the dictates of the druids (and hounding the Fire Cult). The Wolf Mother's druids expand on the concept of using animal for mobility (learned from the whale-ships) and begin to field riding animal (I'm in favor of really big dear, but that's just the memories of Mononoke Hime talking
). Again, this is shared with the Field Father clergy, possibly with each group developing a limited number of mounted troops (FF use dear riders as messengers, WM using wolves as individual raider/champions).
The Cressians, flush with victory, launch a (hasty) attack on the invaders... Only to have it anihilated utterly.
Off shore: The Jonga's current leadership is in disarray. Their gamble to crush the mainlanders in a single blow has failed and now they are desparate. The continued power of divne magic of the primitives has bent or broken everything the Jonga have come up with.
Now is when the Clerics of the Rival Brothers come forward. The Flame Brother has always been respected, if not loved, as he who gave the Jonga crafts, like metal working and tactics like the Singers. Less respected by Jonga's warrior elite, the Ocean Brother was always the champion of the harvest, the controler of weather and the feeder of men. The tension between these two beliefs is what has spurred the Jongans on to battle so often with their neighbors. The long dominace of the Flame Brother comes to an end with the destruction of the army. When the retalitory fleet of the Cressians arives, the Ocean Brother gives his faithful a miracle, and the (small) fleet is destroyed, abruptly and decisively.
New leadership is installed (new generals, posibly a new royalty). The Jongans make their island a forbiden place, killing anything that even comes near it, but also forgoing their agression. Wizards and bards continue to work on fire spells, but the most important thing is dominating the sea surrounding the island. The Jongans will rise again, but in a new form...
...And the handful of Flame Priests and Flame worshiping wizards and singers among the old order's upper echlons? Driven out of course. Sent to the cursed mainland to die among the savages the stirred up.
So when Flame Priest and Fire Cult meet... Boom. An new faction that hates both sides, but has some of the most important secrets of each at their disposal. Now if they could just find some hill folk to enslave...
On the mainland: The Cressians got hammered by fire. They have time and time again. So while the introduction of mist and rain inducing magics is the logical developement of the Field Father druid, the time has come to put the Fire Cult into play - a small group druids who abandon the proscription against the use of fire. They've been around for years, but as scattered individuals. The Battle of Mists brings them together and reaffirms their belief that bronze and flame are truely fit weapons for the gods. This group would be eager to snatch up the fallen Jonga weapons, and possibly make contact with the enemy.
Meanwhile, the Cressians won - proof positive of the superiority of the culture, and it's taboos. I think we should see a hardening of religious stricture. Undoubtedly the druid class are the saviors of all the Cressian people. They should firm up their political power, while rejecting many of the Jonga's inventions ("didn't save them, what do we need them for?"). Lessons learned from the war will shape the design of Cressian villages, and I think that the use of agressive plants will help fortify them with active sentries. The tree forts also seemed wildly successful and their use will be expanded, possibly leading to the development of larger, multi-tree fortresses. Plant-based poisons (derived initially from roses and nettles) are develped by the Field Father's servants, and offered to the Wolf Mother's creatures to help cement their common unity. These (weak) poisons come into use to bolster the elite lycanthrope warriors, making the Wolf Mother and her servants the policing arm of the society, possibly enforcing the dictates of the druids (and hounding the Fire Cult). The Wolf Mother's druids expand on the concept of using animal for mobility (learned from the whale-ships) and begin to field riding animal (I'm in favor of really big dear, but that's just the memories of Mononoke Hime talking
). Again, this is shared with the Field Father clergy, possibly with each group developing a limited number of mounted troops (FF use dear riders as messengers, WM using wolves as individual raider/champions).The Cressians, flush with victory, launch a (hasty) attack on the invaders... Only to have it anihilated utterly.
Off shore: The Jonga's current leadership is in disarray. Their gamble to crush the mainlanders in a single blow has failed and now they are desparate. The continued power of divne magic of the primitives has bent or broken everything the Jonga have come up with.
Now is when the Clerics of the Rival Brothers come forward. The Flame Brother has always been respected, if not loved, as he who gave the Jonga crafts, like metal working and tactics like the Singers. Less respected by Jonga's warrior elite, the Ocean Brother was always the champion of the harvest, the controler of weather and the feeder of men. The tension between these two beliefs is what has spurred the Jongans on to battle so often with their neighbors. The long dominace of the Flame Brother comes to an end with the destruction of the army. When the retalitory fleet of the Cressians arives, the Ocean Brother gives his faithful a miracle, and the (small) fleet is destroyed, abruptly and decisively.
New leadership is installed (new generals, posibly a new royalty). The Jongans make their island a forbiden place, killing anything that even comes near it, but also forgoing their agression. Wizards and bards continue to work on fire spells, but the most important thing is dominating the sea surrounding the island. The Jongans will rise again, but in a new form...
...And the handful of Flame Priests and Flame worshiping wizards and singers among the old order's upper echlons? Driven out of course. Sent to the cursed mainland to die among the savages the stirred up.
So when Flame Priest and Fire Cult meet... Boom. An new faction that hates both sides, but has some of the most important secrets of each at their disposal. Now if they could just find some hill folk to enslave...
