The Legend of Longlance Karew

This is one of many legendary stories about the paladin of Scallen, Longlance Karew, and his sidekick the fighter/rogue known simply as The Bluejay.  It is an old tale, as most legends are, taking place deep in the south of the Rising Land region, and concerning the founding of the barony of Kof Karn.

Approximately two centuries following the first migrations of Westroners out of the Olmert Empire and into the Valley, a pilgrimage led by the mystic (Efeck the Jade, formerly of the Azure Court) made it's way far to the south, where the winds howl north out of the Holabria Mountains, into the neck of land between the Two Moons river and the Tandalorn River.  There is a rift there, which became known as The Cradle, and it was there that Efeck the Jade told his followers that the stars had decreed they should settle.

The problem with the location, although this did not seem to trouble either the stars nor Efeck the Jade, was that the area was overrun by a tribe of Sun King barbarians.  This particular tribe was under control of a vile creature of chaos, The Walking Man, and his vile army of followers.  The Walking Man himself was a giant of a man, with six fingers on each hand, and instead of a head, featured a bright red octopus instead.  When he spoke, it was the sound of a dead body being dragged through gravel.  When he went into battle, it was a blur of deadly steel, as he wielded two great curved khopesh blades in his human hands, and another eight axes with his eight tentacles.  As horrible as the Walking Man himself was (and still is, he is still alive, even though it has been 1300 years since this story) his army of Sun King worshipers was even more horrible.  In addition to the usual mobs of flesh-reavers (the near-animal crazed worshippers of the Sun King, who would move around in frenzied mobs, looking for humans - and demi-humans such as elves and dwarves - to tear into pieces, and then consume), the army of the Walking Man also included dozens and dozens of the headless, as well as Nyagam Worm-Smokers, Illithids, and a whole menagerie of nightmare chaos creatures.

In the face of this wretched army that followed the Walking Man, and inhabited The Cradle, the mystic Efeck the Jade had convinced his followers (who were unused to such horrors, back in the civilized lands of the Olmert Empire) that this was where the stars had decreed that they should settle and make a new life.  It was the recipe for disaster.

Illithids in the service of the Walking Man

In the year 214, after the beginning of the Migrations, the followers of Efeck the Jade were following his advice, and the advice of the leader of the main body of Pilgrims - Kof Karn - in building shelf farms (as they would become to be called), on the terraces of the side of the Cradle.  Down in the heart of the cradle, the site that would eventually become the "City in the Cradle" (later renamed Kof Karn in honor of the "first pilgrim" as he is remembered) was being surveyed, but it would be five years still before it would be settled.

With the first shelf farms being constructed, terraces were marked off, crops were planted, and the business of settling the thousands of settlers was well under way.  When the army of The Walking Man descended on the hapless pilgrims.  A sort of a defense was put up, with Kof Karn forming a make-shift militia, and several of the pilgrims having had experience as men-at-arms while back in Olmert, however it had been years now since they left, and these were few were old and tired.  Efeck the Jade, and his acolytes, were trained as warrior monks, and they helped to stiffen the defenses, but it wasn't enough.  The raids became a disaster, and all looked lost, as farm after farm fell to the raiding cannibals, their sorcerer-masters, and horrid monsters of chaos.

Then, out of the north, came help unsought for, and unexpected.  A column of crusading wing-knights, from the City of Birds (Scallen), came riding down into the Cradle, having crossed the Two-Moons River the night before, and riding steadily to the aid of the Westroner pilgrims.  The column of wing-knights was magnificent - the wind blowing through the wings and bells at the backs of the knights; the men at arms all bedecked in the silks and colors of the knights they served, and the bards of Scallen playing the mighty warpipes! The column was led by a paladin lord named Longlance Karew, from the City of Birds, and he had intelligences of the onslaught planned by the Walking Man.

The knights put the flesh-reavers to flight, and pursued them as far as their mighty warhorses would permit, attempting to kill as many of the abominations as possible.  The men-at-arms defended the farms and pilgrims, and the paladins with Longlance Karew pursued the Nyagam Worm-Smokers, who were shifting reality as they fled, and also the Illithids, and the monsters of chaos.  Longlance Karew, and his companion the Bluejay (a dextrous swordsman, who was rescued from a life of crime as a rogue by Longlance), pursued the Walking Man himself.  Long they rode in pursuit of this terrible evil, south, and further south, into the Holabrian mountains.  Pursuit through the mountains continued, even while the noble horses of Longlance and the Bluejay perished (legendary animals known as Black Dragon, and Trotter), they continued in pursuit, far south, untill they reached the Fircarran Peaks, and the lake at the source of the Two-Moons River.  Here, the Walking Man descended deep into the earth, into the ancient Old One dungeons of Spirran Deep.  Relying on the might of Longlance's magic sword Virtuos, and the marvelous magical flute of the Bluejay known simply as the Feather Flute, they were able to bring down part of the mountain on the entrance to Spirran Deep, trapping the Walking Man underground.  As far as the Archivists at Parn Tandalorn are concerned, that is where he remains until this day.

The tradition of the Wing-knights fighting against the Sun King barbarians in the south was not just a one time event, under the leadership of Longlance Karew.  Following this crusade, a number of knights out of Scallen, and some of the other Baronies, formed a loose association known as the Sunguard.  As it grew over the years, it became less a military order of knights, and more of an information and intelligence sharing association of Rangers.

Eagles of Jazzan - Order of Rangers in the Central Valley

The Eagles of Jazzan are an order of Rangers that patrol the regions all around the Jazzan Mountains, but also out as far as the Harp Woods to the northeast, and the Two-Moons River to the southwest.

Hundreds of years ago, before the Barony of Ungams was established, and the cathedral (The Stone of Life) of St. Horace was built there, there was a monastery established to St. Horace in the Jazzan Mountains.  This monastery, known as the Hermitage of Understanding, was located high up on the peak of Mount Soluto.  It was dedicated to an understanding of the natural world, gained through meditation and communing with peaceful animals.  It was founded by Sir Horace Avento of Macester, who renounced his knighthood, his family lands, and all claims to wealth and worldly prestige.

Sir Horace Avento of Macester, choosing the path of the Monastic, and giving up Majestia

The brothers of the Hermitage engaged with a group of knights and men-at-arms in the War of Establishment, against the demon hordes from the Two-Moon River, attacking the newly established city of Henn.  All of the brothers of the Hermitage, who mostly fought in the form of giant bears, were slain except for Horace.  During the fight, Horace, in the form of a giant bear wielding the magic sword Majestia was responsible for slaying a demonic creature, he later found out was a polymorphed innocent, mind controlled into joining the fray.  After the battle, he was totally stricken by grief, and would have died of a broken heart, if he had not been visited by a seraph of the goddess Nadene.  The seraph, one of Nadene's cupid-like angelic messengers, saw in Horace a very good man, and an selfless and peaceful soul, other than his grief over the loss of the brothers in the fight against Noxecatt's demons.  Because of this compassion by the seraph, and the understanding of Nadene for Horace's connection with nature, and especially animals, he was made into an immortal.  In fact, he was made the patron saint of Animals.

The Hermitage at Mt. Soluto

A band of men-at-arms who were impressed with the sacrifice of the Brothers of the Hermitage, decided to forsake arms, and take up a communal life themselves.  However, at this Horace saw the need for humans to not only understand the world - including those aspects of plants and animals that humans are capable of understanding - but also to participate in its defense.  So, he convinced the men-at-arms to become the Rangers of the Hermitage.  They were trained in the skills of tracking and dealing with natural magic and animals of all sorts.  These became the first line of defense, now, against the horrors that occasionally emerge from the Two-Moons River.

Since this first band was formed, there have been Ranger Hermitages set up in a number of wild places, sometimes preceding the migration to the east of the Westroners, and sometimes following it.  Eventually, a group of such hermitages came together to form the Northguard in the year 656.  The Northguard, because they work so closely (at times) with Storm King Barbarians, have dropped the connection to the order of St. Horace, however.

With a number of different Hermitages having been established, it has become traditional to name each such "order" by a name including a local animal to the location of the hermitage, as well as the name of the region that it is from.  Because of this, the Rangers of the original Hermitage have become known as the Eagles of Jazzan.

Sword Pommel of a senior Ranger in the Eagles of Jazzan

Eagles all carried a distinctive sword with an Eagle's head on the pommel.  Other than that they have no mark of office.  Other than human Rangers, the order also includes clerics of St. Horace, and also some Wood Elves from the Harp Woods, who join the order for a number of years, before deciding to return to their Arboreal retreats, or back to the Faery realm.  The range of the valley that the Eagles patrols includes the lands east of the Two Moon River, up to the Great River, and across to the Harp Woods. South, it extends to the city of Henn.  Within this area, there is a network of good creatures and human (and other) inhabitants that are friendly to the Eagles, and provide assistance (whether in the form of information or supplies, or more directly, as assistance under arms).

To this day, the Rangers of the order have as a sworn enemy the sorcerer Raebacc Stin, who has become a Lich and has a secret haunt in a location the Rangers have been yet able to find.  Raebacc Stin was the sorcerer, in the service of Noxecatt, who was responsible for the formation of the original body of diabolical forces that killed the original brothers of the Hermitage.  The magic sword Majestia, formerly owned by St. Horace (when he was Sir Horace) has also become lost over the years, and legends talk about it being in the possession of Raebacc Stin.

Fighting Men of the Westron Baronies

The Westron inhabited civilized parts of the Valley of the Old Ones certainly has a lot of opportunities for those who take up the life of the sword.  In game terms there are certainly three broad classes of fighting men.  These are the Paladins (which have already been touched on), the Rangers (an in depth article is coming soon on these wilderness trekking self appointed protectors of the good and innocent) and of course the largest group - fighting men (or fighting women).

Fighting men can come from all social classes.  This means that they can range from lowly peasant warriors (with rude armor, often made of hide or semi-cured leather) up through knights of various feudal orders, with the best of equipment and training.

Depending on the social structure that the player's character comes from, as well as the desire of the player to have his/her character in an organized body, the player can make a number of choices - some of which are detailed here:

• Freebooter - the "typical" adventuring freesword.  This is a fighter who takes up quests, and pursues wealth and glory where he can find it.  Usually by taking on missions, with several companions, of adventure - whether it is exploring some ancient site reputed to have treasure, or the campaign against some outlying bandits or monsters.  The goal is to rely on a strong arm and a sharp sword to earn a living, with little structure or organization.
• Baronial Armsman - fighting men can gain employ in the service of the many Baronies in the Valley in several different capacities.  The most common is as a soldier in the household army of a Baron.  Or, one could be a Knight or squired to a Knight.  There are also body guards, and castle guards.  Some Barons also have small bands of warriors kept in reserve for special missions (protecting traveling dignitaries; questing for treasure or information; special missions against enemies; etc).
• Northguard - this is a border patrol, sometimes affiliated with the Northern Rangers, that patrol the borders of the Westron lands against encroachments and invasions of massed barbarian warriors of the Storm King tribes.
• Sunguard - similar to the Northguard, this is a loose organization that is dedicated to protecting the southern Baronies against the evils of the cannibal warriors of the Sun King's tribes.
• Holy Warriors - many of the religious orders and sects of the Westron Church have armed bodies of soldiery that serve them - whether it is protecting shrines or accompanying traveling clergy
• Mercenaries - usually organized into small companies of from 10 to 100, mercenaries are often commanded by a reasonably experienced Captain, and often specialize in some sort of combat, as a unit (pikemen, archers, horse scouts, etc).  They will be hired out to all the possible employers listed above, and perhaps more (henchmen for an adventuring party, bodyguards for a wizard seeking spell components, carrying out a personal raid of vendetta for a merchant or Baron, etc).

In short, the Valley is a dangerous place, not only from all the possible sites of adventure, but also the wild lands between the sparsely populated baronies.  In such a setting, the possible employment of a fighting man is varied, but always available.