Snippet #1719606

Bellegar was prepairing for war, full out war it seemed. His preperations though did not match those of his fiery brother, who massed up soilders of a savage race and trained armies. Bellegar's preperations were those of a defender, he dug in his posistion and his people became set on not leaving it. With an army holding nearly every mountain, the Meridian's insect men combined with Fort Ordo becomming a bastion of strenght and power. All manner of defenses added and equipped to it, ranged weapons also. His people were still not fine archers but a crossbow was a differant matter. Its point and aim, simpler style was more natural to the people and they respected the power of the thing. Still it was deemed a weapon for the weak and those of low skill and build. The warriors of Agron mainly refused to use them but the artisans of Highcliff took to them quickly, often customising and carving patterns into the stock of their weapons.

New divine commands too, not just work but also how to treat the enemy. Surprisingly his people had no quarrel with treating the Suo-ata as beasts for they were not far above them, hunting and eating them seemed relatively natural to most. Not to mention they were seen as a blight, their rappid expansion and unnatural. That combined with the new life Bellegar added to the mountains, the grubs and the Nugs ment that food was now plentiful and ample to supply the area.

Work was hardest, the ants were in a constant battle in some areas to fend off the disorganised but aggressive rabble that was the lizardmen. Carving the mountain sides was slow work because of it, many a time it being abandoned due to assaults by the hostile forces. It was done to a degree though, the access to the mountains limited so that it could be assaulted at all sides but rather specific walkways and rumbled routes. Fighting on these was too feirce for any proper work although it did protect the mountains reverse sides.

It seemed though that Bellegar wanted to try his hand at deception and abusing the systems Chath had set in place for his lizardmen Suo-ata. The trick worked, to some degree at least. Only one Templar was killed, by surprise. Which then errupted into a full blown tribal war, two tribes of lizardmen carving each other apart in the confusion before the real Templars could instil order back into the unruly creatures. A quick display of fire quelled them enough to talk reason into them along with safe words for the Templars to stop such a repeat occurance. The Suo-ata were not bright but it did not mean precautions could not be taken. Especially to stop the same trick happening twice.

Though it seemed Bellegar had come up with several plans, his Thralls upon the mountain working furiously to redirect the river. A somewhat cruel but also clever way to deprive his enemy of a vital resource, however it remained to be seen if the water god would allow such an afford to her rivers and waterways. She too profited from them and the respect that she gained from followers like Chath's. What was clear though was that the river started in the mountains and after a spiral path was cut it had been successfully redirected and a shrine emplaced around it. The river to Obsidia had not run completely dry though but its flow was now a shallow muddy track compaired to its normal body of water, hitting a foul blow. A charade of peace was gone and Bellegar's plans had become offensive in a sinister way.

His deal with Arianrhod was fully underway though, a pact forged to buid a fortress between the two mountain ranges to house both their people. They began building immedietly but it would not be completely for some time, a journey was included after all. However the hive was moved and a border mountain established between the two factions, giving the harpies the space they had prayed for and earning Arianrhod more joy from her followers. The new proving was set up in Highcliff, their preferance for crossbows made it a natural choice but dispite Bellegars efforts the bow was just not a weapon they enjoyed. They far prefered the mechanical like mechanisms of the crossbow, happy to leave bows to the nomands of wind.

The provings took place as usual and a new warchief was ellected, this time a Thorrin. The silent and stoic leader who barely spoke, more often rellying on a giant stone sword he had taken to using to do his talking. The people were set for war and like their new leader they had a resolve as strong as the earth itself.

(Bellegar power 6, Ariarhod 7, Morganna 3. Chath 4)