The Warlord of the Bloody Reaches
From Cam-Wiki
"War is the sport of the worthy, the noble, the great. Is it not dashing to see men fight against each other? Is it not thrilling to pit your skill against another general that you may never even see? Is it not the king of pursuits to hone your men in the machine of war?"
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Behaviour
The Warlord of the Bloody Reaches (referred to as The Warlord, or Sir) is a creature of tactics, strategy, the majesty and command of battle, and uncaring bloodymindedness. It enjoys nothing better than playing out countless war scenarios with its things, only to set them all up again and start a new war, ramming the two sides into one another or a large external threat with only a possessor's care for the lives of his soldiers- it took time to find good Generals, and to train the veteran units.
Frequently, the Warlord would invite other Fae of a similar mindset to enjoy his games. They were welcome to bring along their own favourite toys, to take part or to duel the Warlord's champions as they desired. It would often make battles that it thought might entertain its guests- an arctic campaign for a Snow Queen, or a forest campaign for a Hunter Lord.
The Warlord takes time with each of its changelings, removing anything that it views 'unneccesary' (like the light of something it wants to build a 'more shadowed defence' in, or the social grace of someone it wants to make into a foot soldier), but values its command figures more than any other. Each of the two sides has several Generals (called Commanders). Each of those Generals organises his or her regiment as they see fit. Amongst the Changelings of the Bloody Reaches there are rumours regarding the High Commander of each side- the reports it receives have to come from somewhere, but no one recalls seeing the High Commander, just receiving orders from them.
Occasionally, the Warlord would reassign troops to the other side. This happened rarely, but when it did, it expected the same loyalty given through out each of the changeling's 'careers'. The only exception to this was the Medic team- there was only one, so therefore it had to be shared, and was sacrosanct amongst the men.
Some of the more experienced men remember that the Warlord used to be male, and wonder what the sudden shift from 'he' to 'it' means.
Appearance
The Warlord of the Bloody Reaches calls nothing to mind so much as a statue of a soldier. It seems to be carved out of white marble, or alabaster, and shines with a sheen like mother of pearl. Its armour is ornate and appears to be largely decorative, with great whorls and scalloping throughout, and a helmet with a large black plume. It also wears a red mantle, and carries a sword by its side. No changeling can recall seeing it draw its blade, though- the few times it has ridden across the silent, bloody battlefield, it has wielded something entirely different.
The Warlord is rarely seen without its helmet. Most Changelings only recall seeing its face once, if at all, and those that do only serve to strengthen the likeness to a statue- its eyes are without pupils, and everything, down to the hair, is the same white shade as its armour. No matter where it rides or walks, blood never seems to stain that perfect white surface, even for a moment.
Several changelings recall different things about it, though, such as the ability to sprout multiple arms, and fingers that end in scalpel-like blades.
In terms of presence, the Warlord is awful in the literal sense- when it sweeps into a room or a camp, men fall silent and come to attention, for fear of what will happen if they do not. It stands easily a head above even the biggest of its Ogres, and uses this physical dominance to the greatest effect. Some of the smarter tacticians hypothesise that part of this is caused by his view that his Changelings aren't actually lives or people that are being thrown away, but things to be used for his entertainment, that can easily be replaced if they get too damaged to fight.
The Rules of the Game
1) You fight the Enemy. Even if you used to be on the Enemy's side. You fight absolutely, without mercy or hesitation
2) You NEVER harm a medic. A glancing blow in reaction to the pain of treatment is understandble and forgivable, but concerted or lasting damage is never acceptable.
3) You do all that you can to survive. If you throw yourself onto a sword, or under the wheels of a chariot, if you do not survive, it is your regiment mates who will suffer.
4) You do all that you can to provide entertainment for the Warlord. If a surrender in the face of superior forces can be made believable, then this is acceptable.
5) In appropriate circumstances, all True Warriors of the Warlord may be called to fight together. This may not be used as a trick, diversion, ceasefire or in any other inappropriate way. Misusing this call will not be tolerated.
Typical Changelings
The Warlord likes to experiment with his units. While the more physically and martially capable seemings and kiths (such as Soldiers, Hunterhearts, Stonebones, and Draconics) are par for the course, there is very little it has not dabbled in. A Gravewight might make a commander of an undead regiment, a Gameplayer might make a good tactical officer, a Di-Cang might make an alternative to a Chirurgeon as a medic, or a Render might make a good living siege weapon.
It didn't just like soldiers, either. While it has limited capacity to understand the logistical needs of an army, let alone two, it is aware that units like Woodwalkers are good for scavenging and maintaining supply lines, Smiths are neccesary for the repairs of what weapons the soldiers have, Skitterskulks and Whisperwisps make good 'spy' units, and Runnerswifts are useful for carrying messages. Medics, while important, were largely unheeded in the Warlord's plans, however, through some strange piece of logic.
All of the Warlord's changelings are extremely physically capable, although the physical category this takes varies from unit to unit. Many also have Quick Healing out of neccesity and a (or possibly several) Fighting Style(s).
Escapees
In recent history, there was a mass escape by several units of men. These Changelings have been emerging from the Hedge all over the place, at all manner of different times.
- Commander Tilda Bloodymane, of the Grim Raven Regiment
- Commander Aliera Blazeblade, of the Flame Dancer Regiment
- Dear John
- Spencer
- Medic Daniel Needlefingers
Thoughts and Quotes about the Warlord
"It liked the words it heard when it came to find more men. From books and pieces of paper, from the cries of players and sighs of lovers. It doesn't understand them. It doesn't understand anything about us. It just uses those words as names for his toys. Most of the time, Fate is cruel enough to make them mean something." - Tilda
"I think I remember war. Yes, I was in a place that was at war, and I was told what to do by one who was not of the mountains. And I had to fight others, ones who did not look like me, who did not wear the red crystal armour. But he told me I had to make them fear me, hate me. He told me to do bad things to them, so they would find it harder to fight me because they were afraid of what I would do to them. He wanted to see if that worked. I am still here, so I guess it worked. I wonder if one day I will meet someone from the other side, and what they will say if they remember me." - Erich Bloodymaw, the Diamond Monolith
"We couldn't hope to live, or to know peace- most of us had forgotten that peace could go for longer than moments. We could only hope to die suddenly, cleanly or with meaning- the alternative was to die stupidly, messily, or over the course of days. Then again, maybe that much suffering would make the release that much sweeter. Who knows? I pray no one else ever has to. That's why I'm going back. I made a promise to those fuckers back there, and I mean a real promise, like the one your body makes, that every time it breathes in, it will breathe out, and the one your heart makes, that it will give absolutely everything it can before it stutters and dies. I'm not leaving them there. We can't. Otherwise what good would we be?" - Tilda
Links and Contact Information
We are currently looking not only for people who had a martial Durance, but for other Gentry who may have brought their 'favoured things' to play with the Warlord, or who may have had their servants accompany them while they watched the Warlord's battles. If you are all interested at forming a tie, please feel free to contact Katie Harwood
