20 Years Later...

Scarn has changed in 20 years. Mullis town has become a booming metropolis. The Cordrada corridor is a safe place to travel from Mullis Town to Mithril. King Jared of Mullis Town and Queen Hannatha of Bridged City have three sons and two daughters, and Jared II will inherit the throne of Bridged City.

A great dam at the mouth of the Hornswythe river now blocks the blood Tides (no Blood Tide has passed the dam in twelve years) and the lands to either side of the river have prospered. The Blood Basin (far upstream) has also blossomed, and the settlements of the Kelder Steppes and also the city of Mansk have prospered well.

The Orcs of the Plains of Lede have become civilized in the past twenty years. There are now many agrarian settlements where howling wasteland once existed. The Orcs are effectively a buffer between the civilized lands of the South and the creatures of the Plains of Lede - the Proud and the Vengaurak.

The mighty Dwarven underground citadel of Burok Torn fell to Calastia and the Dark Elves of Dier Drendal about ten years ago. The citadel is now rumored to be the new home of the Dark Elves, who have yet to find a cure for their ailing God, Naphtalos. They had hoped that vanquishing their enemy, the Dwarven God Goran, would provide divine healing to Naphtalos, but no such cure has been forthcoming.

King Virduk of Calastia and his advisor the Battlemage Anteas went missing ten years ago during a review of the newly captured Burok Torn; thus, it was with a heavy heart that Queen Geleeda succeeded him to the throne. Her reign has been enlightened, and the people of Calastia love her well. A pogrom quickly cleared the military of all of Virduk's cronies and toadies - the only old power remaining is Traviak, the Iron Duke. However, despite her seeming benevolence, she has not freed any of the lands previously conquered by her late husband - in fact, there are indications that Calastia is gearing up for a major advance… but where? Interestingly, the lands previously conquered would probably not want to leave Calastia now in any event, so well loved is she.

Calastia has made overtures to Hedrada, the Lawful Neutral God of Justice and Law, and all of Ghelspad was shocked when the Arch Inquisitor of Hedrada, resising in Hedrad, announced an official alliance between The Cult of Hedrada and the Legions of Chardun, the Lawful Evil god of Tyranny. Simultaneously, an aloofness has arisen between representatives of Hedrada and Corean, the Lawful Good God of Justice, Smithing and Vengeance.

Snakes have been on the rise everywhere in the Scarred Lands. Where once snakes were just one of many types of reptiles to be encountered, and where poisonous snakes were rare or non-existent, they now number among the main pests and nuisance to be encountered by farmers, herders and adventurers.

Likewise, Hags are openly living in old settlements where they were once destroyed and put to the torch - a town of Hags has been established North-East of Mithril, where a great massacre of Hags by the Paladins of Mithril over 100 years ago signaled the end of the divine War. Maybe that place needs to be cleansed once again.

There have been disquieting reports from the Haggard hills, a 100 mile wide strip of land separating the Old Ganjus from the Hornsaw Forest. The mighty defenses of the Ganjus (the rumored resting place of Denev, Earth Mother, and home of the Elves of Vera-Tre) have recently failed to prevent raids by High Gorgons and Hornsaw Unicorns into Elf settlements just inside the Ganjus. No news has come from Vera-Tre; the elves of that mighty nation still remain aloof from the rest of Ghelspad; but Vigils patrolling the Haggard Hills have noted the successful comings and goings of the evildoers.

The folk of Albadia have spent the past ten years fighting off increasingly deadly raids from the Perforated Plains composed of many different types of creatures somehow related to the Titan Gaurak the Glutton. Is The Hungry One trying to make a comeback? Have the Fatlings decided that Albadia is the key to returning the Great Hunger to the world?

King Jared's son has made his bid to purchase the throne of Mullis Town. A rival bid, from a man known only as Spawn of Ashuras, is higher. Quite a bit higher. The amount would beggar even Jared's family. Who is this man, and is his claim legitimate?

The town of Dammed City, on the New Lake just North of where the Hornswythe empties into the Blood Sea, is the site for the 10th anniversary of the great dam's completion, and seers predict a great uprising of Kadum's Blood Sea followers; they wish to tear down the dam and bring back the bad old days of Blood Tides up the Hornswythe - but why?

Dammed City is on the coast, at the juncture of Vesh; the lands controlled by Hedrad; and the Mourning Marshes. Recent raids from the Mourning Marshes have put local Vigils on alert: Hags and Ratmen have been seen in greater numbers than usual these past few months.

Dammed City is a town ruled by a council of 6 Wise Engineers, who stay for a term of 6 years. The dam, a marvel of engineering and magic, keeps the blood tides from rushing upstream, and many nations prosper as a result. The defense of the dam is kept by troops provided by grateful nations and towns upstream. The current force, in for a one year term, is a detachment of Orcs and Half-Orcs from The Blood Basin, mostly Scorchskulls and their wolves. Their version of law-keeping is brutal but effective.

Periodic raids by folk from the blood Sea have tested the security forces' defenses in past years, but rumor has it that this year will be the biggest attack ever - the dam's 10th year anniversary coincides with a Holy Day of Kadum and 2 simultaneous new moons - this means Belsameth, who tore out Kadum's heart, will not lend her hand to stop his power from seeping from the deeps.