02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

238 Iron Kingdoms
108.1.141.197
The sovereignty of Llael ended harshly in the winter
of 604 AR when, in a lightning attack, Khador invaded
and caught its people and their Cygnaran allies off
guard. A few months of fighting later, Llael was an
occupied state. The nation itself is located in a region
of considerable strategic importance. It used to exist
as the sole trade route between Cygnar and Rhul, and
this feature in and of itself put its people in harm’s way
frequently ever since the historic endorsement of the
Corvis Treaties. Until recently, Llael has maintained its
sovereignty through shrewd political maneuvering and
expert diplomacy.
Large numbers of mercenary troops have
traditionally supplemented Llael’s small armies. As
a longtime ally, Cygnar has stationed a token force
of one thousand soldiers on Llael’s western border.
Such scant numbers proved inadequate to stop the
Khadoran assault. The major western cities of Laedry
and Elsinberg fell first; the brave defenders were
crushed so quickly they barely managed to get word
south. By the time Cygnar was able to join the fight
properly, the tide already moved against them. They
slowed the advance in the following months, but the
capture of Llael’s capital city of Merywyn sealed the
occupation near spring’s end in 605 AR. Khador
virtually occupied the entire kingdom, yet the city of
Rhydden and some outlying territories remain free.
A huge number of Khador’s occupying forces
garrison Merywyn. Not only is the city an ideal staging
ground to launch attacks southward, but Merywyn’s
geographic location is also precariously close to the
borders of Ios and the Bloodstone Marches. Citizens
have speculated for generations, in hushed tones of
course, of the terrible things lurking in the wastes of
the Marches. Vinter Raelthorne’s invasion of Corvis at
the head of his mysterious skorne army as few years
ago has lent weight and fuel to such speculation.
These alien threats are no longer a topic of everyday
concern for the folk of Llael, but no one can say for
certain if—or when—such menaces might plague the
region in the future.
The southern territories have also endured
hostilities lately. Troops out of the Protectorate of
Menoth have arrived in Llaelese lands to protect the
steady trickle of Menite pilgrims fleeing the war-torn
kingdom. Battlefields and their unprotected corpses
have lured minions of Cryx as well. Thralls seem to
have occupied hidden dens in the deep forests south
of Merywyn. Indeed, a year of bloody destruction,
supernatural terror, and hardship has wracked the
people of Llael.
Aside from its aforementioned strategic
importance Llael contains a high content of coal, and
the northern mountains, especially around Rynyr,
contain great quantities of red powder. Such resources
enabled the kingdom to stay competitive with its larger
neighbors for centuries. Since the nobility owned the
lands, Llael’s rich got richer using the coal and powder
profits to lead lives of pomp and luxury while the
nation’s poor did all the work. Indeed, the disparity
between the classes appeared more clearly in Llael
than anywhere else in the kingdoms, yet thousands of
workers from all over western Immoren, both resident
and immigrant, arrived daily to work the stony mines.
That is, until the occupation.
Still, much of the coal and powder industries
remain intact even after Khador’s occupation, and
one can argue the lower classes have been disrupted
far less than their “betters.” Khador has diverted much
of the produce of the kingdom for their exclusive use,
but the mines and farms are busier than ever and
most citizens simply try to live their lives as best they
can. Some of them have taken up arms to combat
the invaders, but such groups are brutally suppressed
when discovered. Most citizens prefer to avoid trouble
and look to the safety of their families, cooperating for
the sake of survival even if they despise the occupiers
and those nobles who capitulated to them. Indeed,
many quietly whisper that Prime Minister Glabryn
paved the way for invasion by selling out the kingdom
and the majority of the Council of Nobles.
The total tally of deaths from the invasion remains
unknown, and every day word circulates regarding
those who have been lost. Stories of battles have become
widespread. Tales throughout the kingdoms relate the
burning of Riversmet and other wartime horrors. Piety
among the masses has been renewed with many of the
occupied citizenry praying often for salvation, miracles,
divine intervention, or mercy. Khadoran soldiers in
the streets are mostly avoided, yet icy stares and angry
whispers follow their backs. Few common folk, however,
have the courage to take action against them.
This contrasts sharply with the disposition of
the region before the invasion when Llael was