Crisis Cycles

The war for Koon was ardous, and full of surprises. The Koonites tried to block their new tunnel, but the shaven dwarves of the Tuvarii aided them in thundering through. While Koon prepared for a bloody battle in the hold, where they had the advantage, Tuvarii had different plans: build a fort around the entrance, guarded mainly by orcs, and build tunnels around the hold, to make sure no one could escape unnoticed. While making these tunnels, they managed to find a tunnel heading north, to the land of the Federated Tribes, along with a procession of civilians. They were captured as prisoners of war, their ghost mosquitoes confiscated.

The orcs used wandering listener magic on them to find out where the rest of the civilians were heading: north of the Gad river. A quick word to the northern police forces rounded up almost all of them, as they were passing through, along with most of the self proclaimed resistance.

The orcs infused their MistBats with the Ghost Mosquitoes, creating comBats, and harassed the Koonites by playing loud sports on the surface. They also played golf, with explosive balls. As the earth shook under the orcs, the Koonites were trying to capture the Tuvarii miners. However they have slowed down, deploying traps and alarms, and were repelled. On the other hand, the slower process of mining meant Koon head time to dig labyrinthine distraction tunnels, and in desperation, dug straight down, where they have found a strange cave, full of plants glowing blood red. The civilians all escaped, as the guards, high on Madness Magic, slaughtered a miner party who happened upon them in circumventillation.


The majority of Koon was captured. A few escaped, to the horrifying depths below. Will they survive? Could this place by tied to the terrible earthquakes that wrecked the Shamir lands so many years ago?

King Dagram III has gone down in history as Disaster King Dagram. He tried to backstab Koon, by telling them that he will get military help from Enkre Hold, to help defend Koon. He also claimed he will help liberate the Ex-federated tribes lands. But only if Koon hands over  their hold. Eventually he dropped the liberation part, and when the Enkre Troops arrived, lugging their terrible Dwarven Fire engines with themselves, he stationed them on the borders, and did not give any to Koon, despite promising they will join in military efforts.

During the war, he tried to coax the remaining Koon civilians to escape through the dwarven lands, planning to capture them, but the Koonite spies saw through him. He then tried to make a deal with the Tuvarii: he will help take over Koon if he gets it back. He however, denied the counteroffer: he refused to become a Praetoriate. The people of the farm holds rebelled, having enough of this wishy washy, backstabber. Declaring themselves Rotpah Holds (Plow And Sports), they pushed out the decadent Enkre Hold troops via protests and throwing tomatoes. The Enkre hold troops tried to intimidate them by using Dwarven Fire (which in peace times is mainly used to burn away rock), but burning down their houses just further incensed the mob.

In the end, Gildrak hold still has an amount of mountain holds, but they are now at the risk of starving, and they are in no position to get food via force. Enkre Hold broke connection with them, blaming Gidrak's leadership for their people becoming such undwarflike. Dagram III gave in to the demands. Meanwhile, Druzhul Peak, likewise disgusted with their leadership, declared themself to become a tributary to the Bastion of the moon people, which surprised everyone, especially the moon people. Not like they didn't have plans for this, but they were surprised by the speed of which happened.

The Windrose Praetoriate became a great ally, and henchorc, to the Tuvarii republic, loyally following orders in battles, and helping with the survelliance of the nation, starting the Orcquisition on their path to root out any dissent, particularly amoung ex-Koonites. They also formalized the Orclympics: it consists of Gladiatoral Combat (not to the death), modernized Wrestleball, Athletic Performance, Obstacle Courses (in ridicolous costumes; this made it truly a game without borders), along with many more lesser sports. The rules were surprisingly quickly finalized, with the aid of the Tuvarii elves of course, and became a standard for the centuries. Its effectiveness? We will look at that later...

The combined power of the Orclympics, Tuvarii building stadiums, and the Giant Orc Museum Of Sports, orc culture is spreading. In many place, inside and outside the republic, people who are not orcs are slowly starting to refer to themselves as orc, wearing orc clothes, doing orc things. Also the Herder Orc Clans are petitioning to be part of Windrose, or at least, part of the republic. The Republic favours the second option, and soon, the Herder Clan Autonomous Region is born.

The Tuvarii didn't only expand on the rules of sport: they also expanded further in the coming years, snatching up empty lands of the plateau, and even made further forays into the jungle. They gave most of the land to veterans, especially to veterans native to those lands, such as Esklin in the jungle, Orcs near Windrose, and Tribesfolk in the north. They were also giving lands to citizens who were succesful at sports.

The people of the Bastion, also turned to earthly matters: sports. They kept probing at the edges of what is legal according to the rules. Despite the Tuvarii catchign on, and patching up the leaks, the Bastion tried again and again, under the guise of expanding the horizon of SPORTS. Their new dwarven friends helped them a lot in this quest, especially in creating the serums and Carving based equipment, that trained a group of SUPER ATHLETES. Sadly the enhanced athletes gained a large dose of bloodlost, so they were better at full contact sports, but it helped spread an image of the power of moon-druzhul science. There was also a showing of pure moon science: when it was the turn of the selenian team to show off during the opening ceremony, they were using some of their new batteries to fly in the stadium using their flight packs (the act was meticolously planned, to enable the team to do as many flight stunts as they could before landing). They also held a miniature science expo. In the future years, the moon people were seen as very powerful and terrifying folk, which made some people look to the sky with fear, as many more astronomers started to notice the war in heaven...

The half-men continued their business of spreading their culture of drugs and wild art. Disbarred from conventionel trade, they can only do it through the guise of diplomacy, via their ambassadors. They manage to spread their message even in lands such as Sunrise Shield, the Holy City Of Protection, which is no small feat, especially since orcishm customs officers started to pop up. Their message and art (mixed with frog people art) spreads, mainly among the higher ranks of the new jungle towns...

They also trained their athletes via extremely harsh regimen, which includes fighting, fruits and drugs. They scored rather well, and even when the orclympics rules clamped down on their drug use, they keeped up the habit of Furious Training. Soon, every morning the city of Karkosa was loud with the yells of the athletes doing their morning training routines...

They also made an attempt at creating a new caste: the explorer caste. By exploring the world, they broad their horizons, and explore themselves too. Soon, the Knocnoriens explored the rest of the western jungle, and all of its borders. They even found a hitherto unknown tribe of lizardmen, who looked similar to the Gadesu. Sadly, unlike halfism, this lifestyle didn't really catch on among outsider. However, they can say about many things, that they were the first to see them. Some are even planning to sail away to distant lands, hearing rumors about several sunken ancient seafaring boats in the great lake of the jungle. Will their plans succeed?



Enkre hold has retreated, and chalked up Gildrak Hold as a lost hold, stopping their caravans. Instead, they focused on the other two descendant holds, in the rolling meadows of the distant north and the redwood lands of the east, and pretended the Plateau and its mountains does not exist. They carried on their formal parties.

Worm Intelligence Network (WIN), an espionage arm of the Shamir worm knights have mixed feelings about the success of their operations. When they tampered with the votes of the VOTE circle of Enkre Hold elders, they were hoping the addition of Dwarven Fire would help their friends. At least, they still managed to steal its secrets of the substance, even if they couldn't replicate the delivery mechanism. They are also happy that Enkre hold cut ties with Gildrak.

Litte did everyone else know, that during the war, the Shamirs offered a deal of friendship and alliance to Druzhul Peak. Druzhul Peak accepted in secret, and got a large amount of builder worms in return. This was one of the sparks that helped them declare their independence, or rather, swapping of alliegences. Of course, they did not tell their new selenian suzerains about their worm connection, and they have helped the Shamir perfect and improve their concotions. The Shamir Fire, a new kind of alchemical fire that is combined with Carving magic, has been born...

The worm knights who were sent to infiltrate the orclympics stuck around, and called themselves The Shamorcs, working as mercenaries, and training their wiggly muscles. They have became pretty popular.

WIN meanwhile, infiltrated the northern tribe lands, with the intent of replacing their psychadelic drug culture with the usage of performance increasing drugs. This has worked well during the orclympics, and many of the winners were secretly drug users, and gained control of the new territories north of the Gad river. The orcs have caught wind of this eventually, and are on the look out. Still, the Shamir peddle their wares in the name of freedom.

Not only the Shamir peddle performance enhancing drugs: there is a rival carter of ex-Koon resistance members and spies, who managed to slip through the cracks, aided in secret by the half-men alchemists. They also makes sure the scattered koonite civilians keep an interest in gladiator combats, and keep sharp, just in case the great leaders of madness return from down, down below, from the blood red caves...

Oh, and the result of the Orclympics:

Assortment of less popular sports:

• Gold : Windrose
  
• Silver: Rotpah
  
• Bronze: Shamir
  

Atheletic performance:

• Gold: Tribes
  
• Silver: Bastion
  
• Bronze: The Herder Orc Clans
  

Wrestleball tournament:

• Gold: Bastion
  
• Silver: Tribes
  
• Bronze: Knocnoriens
  

Obstacle course in really stupid costumes:

• Gold: Shamir
  
• Silver: Windrose
  
• Bronze: Tuvarii
  

Safe-ish Gladiatorial Combat:

• Gold: Knocnoriens
  
• Silver: Independent Athletes Formely From Koon
  
• Bronze: The Herder Orc Clans
  

The person who won the bronze in Obstacle Course In Really Stupid Costumes? Micans.

And thus ends the second era.

200 years pass...

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