0AJD, Month of Whest

Whilst the Rangers achieved some important successes during the month of Whitestar, the fighting on the ground was not going so well.  Even reinforced with survivors from Lorenthia, the Alladorans were consistently outnumbered three or four to one, and constantly facing new threats spilling forth from the Jungle Deep.

The King of Alladore also decided to found the kingdom of "New Lorenthia".  This was not only a symbolic act, providing a homeland for the twenty to thirty thousand Lorenthians who were outside of their kingdom when it fell - artisans, merchants, travellers, diplomats, tradesman, and a boon in present days, a large infantry unit and a company of Lorenthian Rangers training with their Alladorean counterparts.  It was not only a rallying point for the occasional group of Lorenthians that staggered out of the Jungle Deep after a harrowing journey through the darkness, or whom were rescued by Rangers.  It was not only a throne for Count Gelleck, fourth son to the defunct Lorenthian king and, until recently, believed to be the only survivor of the royal family.  It is also the foundation for a Lorenthian renaissance, and Arethic has promised engineers and resources to build a town in what is a nearly empty land of gently rolling hills, with soil good enough for crops and livestock.  It is perhaps, also, a means to protect Portrerik, Alladore's only sea port, in these troubled times.

 

The north-eastern front was quickly overrun, but the treacherous foothills to their south-west, easily defended, and the dangerous desert to their west will prevent the enemy from spilling into the heart of the Alladore.  At least, so it is hoped, as it is during the Month of Whest that the first "holes" are discovered, great underground tunnels carved out by some strange magic or creature, generally two to five miles long, but sometimes spanning more impressive distances, and often with near-vertical entry and exit points.  Some hardy Rangers have managed to explore them, and their far point is always behind the front line, in territory that the Jungle Deep has already taken a hold in.  Sometimes elaborate, even ornate, they are apparently abandoned once the line of battle moves on.  What they are used to transport, or perhaps hide, none yet know.  They do prove occasionally useful, as routes into the Jungle Deep, beneath the very feet of the enemy, but it requires nerves of steel to walk such roads.

 

The resistance in the east, around and beyond Tor Varden eventually crumbled, but bought the King enough time to organise a new army, that he placed under the command of his cousin, Lord Arklin.

Arklin anchored his army on the Scree, attempting to create a bulwark on which the tide of the enemy would exhaust their strength, allowing a massive counter-attack.  Arklin was well supported by the Rangers of Alladore, who had also received an influx of new recruits, including many experienced Lorenthian warriors.

The first encounter did not, however, go as planned.  A new enemy, quickly nicknamed "Pink Horrors", allowed the Jungle Deep to go beyond the usual mass frontal charge by fanatical Hu-Mans, and instead seek out weak points on the flanks and rear of the defensive line. Heaps of Hu-Man dead littered the battlefield, but the Pink Horrors broke the northern wing of the Alladoran army.  Desperate delaying actions by Ranger companies did, however, allow most of the fleeing soldiers to reach safety.  Other Rangers operating behind enemy lines were able, thanks to some good luck, to discover the meaning of this new threat, a huge monolith pulsing pink light, that the Alladorans named the "Demon Stone".

The very same Rangers, The Twins and Szarzeesi were sent with their companions to destroy this artefact, which, having provided a successful distraction, they managed to do.  This gave Lord Arklin time to rally his shattered army, and stabilize the front around the Scree. He hasn’t the manpower available to push all of the forces of the Jungle Deep back, but he can, at least for the moment, hold them at bay.