Year of the Return (cont.)
Thorn* (4th month)
1. Seaday
An army of tabaxi and strange humanoids appears out of the Storm Jungle, laying siege to Anthmoor. The cities defenders hold off the attacking army but the tabaxi refuse to surrender or retreat. They camp several miles from the city, raiding the surrounding countryside for supplies and slaves.
2. Windday
Lady Felicia arrives back at Avion City and immediately tells her people of her encounter with Cronn’s Chosen. A new temple project is started, dedicated to the Lord of the North. Her advisors inform her there is still no word from Nasundria. She immediately sends out more riders.
3. Starday
Event: The Kingdom of Navirosov celebrates High-Heart, High King Jacard Winterknight’s birthday.
4 – 9. Moonsday - Starday
This week sees strange occurrences everywhere across the continent of Harqual, as a strange magical fog engulfs the land from the Isles of Ice in the far north to the Isle of Ghosts in Southern Harqual.
10. Moonsday
The magical fog lifts from the land on the 10th, leaving many questions to be answered. Like, what caused it and where did those strange mountains come from south of the Empire of Swords?
11. Earthday
Event: The comet, Ptah’s Star, leaves Kulanspace.
(Note: The World of Kulan and Kulanspace are set in my Farspace Cosmology, which can be read at the official Spelljammer Fan Web Site – Beyond the Moons.)
A small scouting party of phanatons discovers unknown ruins on the northwest shore of Southern Harqual. They scamper back into the Merewood as quickly as possible to tell their chieftain.
A contingent of Sword Imperium soldiers, known as the Blades of the Emperor, heads off to explore the new mountain range to the south of the Empire of Swords.
12. Fireday
Several orc and ogre tribes living within the Storm Jungle agree to help the tabaxi conquer the surrounding lands.
In Onaway, hundreds of the faithful of Cronn ask Taith-El if he knows what the strange fog was and if the tabaxi might have anything to do with it. He is just as puzzled by the event as the rest of them.
“But I am sure the tabaxi are not involved in this… something… else has happened. Something completely unrelated, yet vital to Harqual’s future. We must try to understand the changes that are happening, we must not look upon this event as an evil thing and yet we must be cautious at the same time. All will be revealed to us when it is time. Until then, do not worry and go on with your lives.”
13. Seaday
The phanaton chieftain of the Merewood declares that the ruins discovered two days before are considered off-limits until more is learned of the place.
14. Windday
The combined might of the tabaxi, their strange griffon-like humanoid slaves and their new orc and ogre allies attack on three fronts – Anthmoor, Hutmallia and Tallawan. The army attacking Hutmallia breaks through the city’s defenses, captures the city and it’s residences. Tallawan holds its ground with the help of several powerful adventurers. Anthmoor knocks back the invading army, destroying hundreds of enemy soldiers with powerful magic and the aid of the Majestic Bronze Dragon of Harqual, Nethmalinor. The great dragon warns the attacking army:
“You threaten my home and the Balance, evil ones. Continue your onslaught on this city and I will make you pay… personally!”
The Thallin merchant ship,
Charger, has not returned to Fruen from the north reaches of the Sea of the Sun like it was suppose to. The owner of the vessel fear that it might have been lost at sea due to the strange fog that engulfed the land and seas the previous week. The scout ship,
North Wind, is sent to find the lost vessel.
A strange, unknown city is discovered on the shore of Cursed Bay, in Southern Harqual, by a nomadic tribe of rakasta. The rakasta flee when approached by the strange red-skinned, multi-armed humanoids of this place, heading for Adabrilia.
15. Starday
Early in the morning, barbarians in the Northlands discover a black citadel on the northwestern shore of Northern Harqual. They run in fear of this strange, unknown structure.
Later that same day, dwarven miners, working the eastern hills of the Greystone Mountains, stare in shock at the plains east of the mountains. Dozens of new city-states dot the land, where none should be! A few of them rub their eyes and look again still not believing what they see.
“This cannot be, no one could build cities that fast! By Moradin, the fog… the fog did this!”
The miners scramble for their equipment and head towards Milo to tell the High Thane of this strange occurrence.
16. Moonsday
The tabaxi armies attacking along the coast of the Storm Peninsula pull back into the Storm Jungle, its leaders unwilling to face the epic power of Nethmalinor. The tabaxi occupying Hutmallia refuse to leave, however, entrenching themselves into the city. They watch the sky, praying to Sa, their other god, for protection against the great Majestic Bronze.
In the Far South, a lizard man tribe living on the largest island of the Fachion Isles in Wulman Bay notices strange lights and sounds, during the evening, across the bay near the peninsula of Reef Bay. The superstitious lizard men immediately start moving to the other side of the island.
That same night, a patrol of soldiers, from the Republic of the Thorn, discover strange ruins on the southern shore of Southern Harqual. They camp outside the ruins for the night, planning to explore the place in the morning. A single rider is sent back to the Fortress of Thenin to tell the Consul of the ruins.
17. Earthday
Event: Circlenight – Druids gather at the Hallow Prairie near the northwestern edge of the Great Forest. They are baffled by the changes happening to the lands of Harqual.
18. Fireday
The city of Adabrilia is found ruined, and completely deserted, by the rakasta that discovered the new city located at Cursed Bay. They worry that these newcomers might have destroyed Adabrilia and ride north towards the Lake of the Horde, staying as far away from the new city as possible.
19. Seaday
A mounted patrol, from the Sovereign City of Yuln, discovers a odd, new city, built on stilts, on the eastern coast of Northern Harqual just north of the Great Expanse. They are not allowed into the city, due to the fear of its citizens – strange birdlike humanoids. They do learn its name, Tschaja.
20. Windday
The Xcellian merchant vessel,
Wandering Gift, discovers a new city located on the southwest shore of Southern Harqual. The citizens of this new city are beautiful blue-green skinned sylvan folk. The city’s populace shuns the Xcellian merchants in fear. The Xcellian leave gifts for the newcomers on the shoreline and sail back to their city to tell their Merchant Lord about the strange new city.
21. Starday
In The Kingdom of the Greystones, the miners that saw the strange, new cities in the east arrive in Milo and ask for an audience with the High Thane. Her advisors scoff at the idea of dozens of cities appearing out of nowhere, fog or no fog. They are told to meet with the Thanes of their own clans and provide proof of what they say through proper channels. And only then would the High Thane consider such unfounded rumors.
22. Moonsday
A Yulnian Ambassador, named Henry Oswald, is sent to Tschaja to try and open up negotiations with the Tschajans.
23. Earthday
A huge army of tabaxi and their allies attack the fortifications at Ilasi. The defenders barely hold of the attack hordes. Tabaxi shamans and sorcerers using powerful magic to block the ability to teleport in or out of the city or cast
Sending spells beyond the city’s walls. Governor Willowright has several riders break free from the battle, riding north to try and get reinforcements from Avion.
24. Fireday
The single rider dispatched to the Fortress of Thenin arrives to meet with the Republic’s leader. Consul Yuinii Bazgal takes the matter before the Senate. The Senate debates what should be done into the night.
25. Seaday
Early in the morning of the 25th, the Senate of the Republic of the Thorn declares the ruins found by its soldiers to be the property of the Republic and immediately sends out 200 soldiers to lay claim to the ruins and have it explored. They also send out diplomatic envoys to their allies with documents that legally claim the ruins by Thenin law.
26. Windday
Several tabaxi warships attack the city of Onaway but are sunk by the defending forces. The tabaxi survivors are hung as war criminals by the Onans.
27. Starday
In the Kingdom of Stonn, Sorcerers divine that the strange fog that engulfed Harqual was a one way magical gateway between Kulan and several distant planes. This event has magically altered the land and rumors of new ruins and cities have come from all over Harqual. The reason for this event is not discovered during the divining and the sorcerers name the event
The Transformation.
28. Moonsday
The riders from Ilasi arrive in Avion, exhausted. They beg the queen for more reinforcements for the southern city. Lady Felicia agrees to send reinforcements. Several members of Cronn’s Pride volunteer to go to Ilasi and help break the siege. She now hasn’t a man to spare for Nasundria, if that city turns out to be under siege as well.
29. Earthday
The
Wandering Gift arrives back in Xcellian and its captain informs the Merchant Lord, Anders Carrin, of the new city to the west. Intrigued, Lord Carrin sends his largest trading galleon, the
Gem of the South, with some of his best wares, a wizard/vizier to open a dialogue with the newcomers, and some of his elite soldiers – just in case the newcomers turn out to be hostile.
30. Fireday
The wreckage of the
Charger is found near the Nervia Isles by the
North Wind. The ship’s crew is never found but strange ruins are along a new shoreline that was previously unknown. An elven crewmember on the
North Wind names the ruins Caer Tih'bin or Ruins of the Mist.
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* Thorn was the God of the Forest. He was killed in the early part of the Divinity War, his godsoul devoured by Lord of Darkness himself (Hiisi).
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