Aloria Story Progression Poorly Promised Profits

House d’Ortonnais starts the opening moves in the Archipelago with a charm offensive in numerous directions. Their first attempt to approach house Kade-Schwarz to admit a Merchant’s Guild trade post fails. The house Kade-Schwarz strongly defers its economic activity to the Kade House of Trade, which in itself wishes to maintain its monopoly on the mercantilistic wheat trade, even under current events. As such, this venture fails. Her attempts to convince one of the Hivres of Ithania equally fails, largely due to the long list of diplomatic ventures attempted in Ithania, making the local royals feel like Regalians are just treating Ithania like a little gold mine with little to no return value. Her attempts in Ithania result in a lacklustre response from the Sovereign, so all business is diverted to espionage. No clear results are made, beyond the discovery that the Avanthar are very unlikely to cross the l’Elvellen wilderness. The Hortutor hordes preferring to stay in loose forested areas or grasslands, would likely not invade through the thick forests and cliffsides forming a natural barrier in southern Ithania. House Black attempts roughly the same as House d’Ortonnais, sending emissaries to various states, though they receive negative responses from practically all of them. They all unanimously cite that the Merchant’s Guild has a reputation to prove, in that it was previously established and then collapsed without making any meaningful impact on Regalian politics. The local rulers refuse to see any tangible benefit from supporting the growth of the Merchant Guild, citing that trade in itself is not a value and in fact risks the stability of local production from cheaper outsourced Regalian products. House Harhold’s attempts at espionage fail, especially given the Elves’ mentality that amnesty is pointless given the mass murdering of the Elven race by Regalians prior.

They do however provide them with an essential overview of import goods, and all states respond roughly the same. They wish to import weapons and food wares, and nothing else.

Attempts from Wodenstaff’s Regalian Safeguard Society to aid in the Anglian floods largely ends in a rebuttal. Even though the Safeguard has the relevant legal documents, local Anglian aldermen and Kade loyalists hamper the Safeguard’s attempts to assist, sabotage that takes forms from theft and highway manship to downright death threats. The highly independently minded Anglians refuse to be helped by what they consider the charity of the less patriotic southerners and urban elite, especially with the absence of a Kade response to the presence of foreigners in their almost uniquely homogenous Anglian lands.

Olivia Ombre dedicates her own troops to support gathering in southern Ithania, which while entertaining to the local nobles, does not substantially improve her local support base. If anything, the locals become complacent, believing that Ombre adequately protects them, resulting in even less sign-ups to any armed forces, though granting her the relatively menial and mock title of Protectress of Ithania, which while sounding nice, is effectively hollow.

General Hamelin d’Vaud attempts to invade Fort Al on the Precaëlle shoreline with Black Armada support, but no orders were ever issued by the Black Armada. As such, with the encroaching danger of the second state armies approaching, the officer staff of Hamelin d’Vaud vetoed the move and prevents the army from leaving Ilaë without naval support.

General Vladislav Marknid and Kolton Typhonus reinforce Fort Mal, a fort that has seen the vast majority of the battles in the Elven war against the oncoming army of the southern Elven Principalities. When it finally does arrive, the 50,000 Elves immediately assault the Fortress. According to Marknid, Regalian reinforcements would arrive, giving the Regalians hops as tens of thousands of Elves assaulted the walls, though reinforcements failed to come throughout the entire battle. In the early skirmish battle, the Regalians inflicted heavy casualties on the Elven troops. By the shock phase on the walls, the Elves were able to inflict casualties back, and the Regalians only just barely defeated the assault. Finally however, in their attempt to sally and beat down the retreating foe, the Regalians were soundly destroyed in the field by Elven cavalry. All in all, the battle was won by the Regalians, though the lack of reinforcements made them lose up to 5,000 troops in casualties while inflicting four times that amount on the Elven army, which retreated to Väll.

Back in Regalia, supernatural events appear at an all-time low, despite the ongoing rainfall in Anglia and the Hinterlandic Ravens that all mass-migrated to Regalia. Somewhere in the north of Drixagh however, a small town by the name of Helegen is found completely burned to the ground. No clear indicator is given as to what happened with the town, as all the locals appeared to be missing, and most if not all of the buildings were burned down with such vertical force that it appeared as if something extremely heavy and large crashed down on them in a fiery blaze, the only thing surviving the destruction a series of juniper berry bushes on the outskirts of the town.