Welcome. As DF spawned this story, I melded the dwarves of DF with my own setting, calling them the Talon-Sel. In thier language within the setting, this simply translates to Mountain Man. Fitting, as they live almost exclusivly in the Talosian mountains, a great range that splits the southern and northern hemispheres of Yukaris, a war ravaged world.
I recalled the name Kippling somewhere and used it for the name of a warrior priest of the Sagon-Hai, a techno-theocracy. Preists and Preistesses are the military's higher officers, equivalent to a Captain or above inmost real world militaries. Kippling heads the 384th Infantry Birgade (I know I'm off but for them a birgade is 1000 soldiers) to reinforce the 451st Infantry Birgade under Priestess Sena, Who were trapped in the only Sagon-Hai foothold in dwarven territory, a fortress called Hydrakania. Kippling's force is being sent due to reports that the 451st is suffering terrible attrition and needs aid.
If you guys would like to start a game based on this, I'll be happy to oblige. This thread will serve as the planning stage in the event of that.
Kippling's arrival and unseen death are recorded in a few journal entries he sporadically kept over the cours of 4 and half years. The entries are undated, as the setting tracks time by global catastrophic events and he felt another was approaching, leaving the date aside because of this.
I give to you his journal.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I can finally see the peaks of the mountain ahead but the journey has been harder than I ever imagined. This place is... bleak. The stench of sulphur fills the air and the treeless landscape is battered by harsh winds. I have the terrible feeling I am being watched, so I have prayed for the Seren's divine protection. As soon as I have composed myself I will set off for the final stretch of the trek. When I arrive I must find the strength to bring the light of the Seren here. I hope I have not arrived too late."
- Brother Kippling, Warrior-Priest of the 348th Infantry Birgade near the Hydrakania fortress, Talon-Sel territory.
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"An old abandoned fortress the 451st Had claimed prior to our arrival truly is the only light in this wasteland. Fearsome mountain beasts, Humidai tribes, and even the undead stalk the valleys outside, and regular tunnel assaults by the Talon-Sel did not help. But I must be strong. The 451st had been cut off from Sagos for many decades, and have long been away from the teachings of Seren so I must show them back to the light."
Last week some of our scouts found a truly legendary piece looking peice of.... craftsdwarfship I guess, a crown worth quite pretty sennec back home. However I am unnerved by it. Upon it is an image of a wave that has appeared in my dreams, along with my own death."
- Brother Kippling, Warrior Priest, 384th Infantry Birgade.
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Seren preserve us, we have been attacked once again. Sgt. Daleon, our sniper, was taken by suprise by Talon-Sel intruders. He fell through an assault tunnle in the mess hall and received a sword to the heart before having his legs choped off. How he survived this at all, I know not but he was found to have bled to death alone in the opening. It was a terrible thing to see when we had faught off the resultant attack. In the rush to retrieve his body before it could be defiled almost his entire platoon ran to get him before more raiders arrived. Three others were injured greviously and I do not expect them to survive the next season. Sgt. Arven Sertior took an axe to his midsection, a Pvt. Alius Holvom of the 451st had an arm and leg mangled, and a trooper who went only by the name 'Skaw' (he refused to tell me his name and rank) received a chest wound courtesy of a large steel dagger. When the rest of the birgade had arrived, Sgt. Arious and Pvt. Garnew were frenzied like true holy warriors. They ripped apart the invaders, splitting them into chunks and burnt flesh with sword and holy plasma fire. The carnage they created was unlike any other I have been forced to see, chunks of Talon-Sel strewn about the hall, floating in vast pools of blood soaked equipment. A long track of blood and vomit created a slippery path between the doors and the battlefield before the charred and mangled corpses left most of the troopers sickened. Even now bits of dwarf and general wreckage from the attack are being dumped down into the opening of a breached magma pipe in the northeast wing of our charge on a sheet of half digested rations and gore.
- Brother Kippling, 384th Infantry Birgade
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"A cloud of depression overshadows both birgades. The three injured Troopers are slowly dying of wounds that refuse to heal, despite our medical officers' best efforts. I hope their suffering ends soon.several of the 451st's power cells mysteriously combusted, including an emplaced weapon and several rifles, killing or otherwise harming 34 troopers. The arrival of a supply caravan lifted the spirits of a few, and we even found another legendary artefact said to be worth 600,000 Sennecs, but the daily struggle for survival in this hell hole has taken its toll on morale. Being told we're to remain here sunk our hearts further. My own mind keeps wandering back to the image of a wave carved on that damnable crown. My sleep has been disturbed by the sounds of digging behind the walls. I'm not aware of any new storage space or a chapel being created, so I think I'm going to investigate. I could have sworn I had all the of the drills locked up...
- Brother Kippling, 384th Infantry Birgade
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It seems my guiding light has been correct, though far too late. The Dwarven scum had been digging out an aquaduct in hopes of drowning, or more likely, simply washing us out of thier old fortress. Whilst most of us slept, they had succeeded in finishing thier damned construct and, while we managed to barricade the way to that section of the barracks, they had drowned several troopers and one of our medics in the flash flood. Soon after, Skaw died from his injuries, and I fear that the other two may soon follow suit. But they shall meet Seren in the next world. We are now short nearly 150 troopers not counting the medic and the two slowly dying troopers, as well as thier gear. 147 rifles, 132 swords, well over two hundred power cells and one squad long range vox along with nearly 80 pounds of medical supplies that we had stored in the Medical Officer's room until we had managed to build more storage space for them. In light of the incident in the mess hall and this aquatic assault, I have ordered seismic detectors and motion mines be placed in the most strategically sensitive places, along with additional camera spikes and detectors in our makeshift chapel. I intend to honor my fallen warriors in a manner befitting them as best I can, given my resources available.
- Brother Kippling, 384th Infantry Birgade
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Several of Presitess Sena's Troopers have taken to carving trinkets and amulets in our seemingly endless spare time. Many of them are rather.... Unsetteling. These troopers have truly fallen far from the path and I fear that Sena must have severely neglected the 451st's spiritual needs, though based upon the generally unpleasent atmosphere and the already below strength Birgade, they may possibly be suffering from simple trauma-induced madness. Not dangerous per se, but a problem for the morale of my own Birgade all the same. I believe a sermon and rousing speech may be needed to correct this. I have also interred our fallen troopers in the earth, as we managed to finally drain the flooded barracks enough to be able to recover thier bodies, if nothing else, with simple stone blocks engraved with thier name and a simple eulogy as grave markers. They deserved to die on the field of battle with thier heads held high in rightous fury for Sagos and Seren, not drowned in thier quarters while they slept.... I have managed to organize a respectable schedual now for the 384th, after months of endless attacks upon the fortress. And for some reason one of Sena's officers dropped off an amulet. It depticted a man, wreathed in flame. He sported armor of dark making and seemed to have a horde of featureless beasts behind him. What this means I know not, but it has begun to haunt my dreams, with this man always bringing death to those who have been tasked with holding this miserable patch of dirt and stone.
- Brother Kippling, 384th Infantry Birgade
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Another ambush, this time from above! How these damned Talon-Sel tunneled around our detectors I shall never know, but the resultant mess has left much of us broken or dead. Numerous holes exploded from the caverous fortress cielings, with seemingly endles dwarven agressors rappeling down from above. 30 Troopers were lost in the first few minutes of confusion, and several others died when a stray plasma bolt ruptured an emplaced cannon's power cell, engulfing the area in a blue ball of searing light, though several Talon-Sel were engulfed by the blast as well. Those of us who managed to arm ourselves barely defeated them, though we did kill them to the last. We now stand at 529 Troopers, combined with the survivors of the 451st, whom had sections of thier barracks collapsed on them while they ran for thier arms. So many in the 4 years I have been stationed here.... from nearly 1000 men and women, to less than 375, with the numbers only shored up to the 500's by the ragged remnants of the earlier garrison. We know now we have been doomed, but we are fearless of heart, and sharp of mind. If we are to die, we shall die with honor. We know now why the 451st were originally trapped, but we've made our choice. No retreat, no surrender.
- Final entry of Brother Kippling, 384th Infantry birgade.
This journal was found on the body of a messanger being sent for reinforcements, found 37 miles from the fortress, the messanger having been found felled by a throwing axe to the spine and a spear or sword induced head injury.
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Pardon the typos, and thank you for humoring me.
Rules are here, such as they are. To do list.
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Topic: Hydrakania - Suspended until further notice (Read 21339 times)