The Free South Times/Issue:3

The Free South Times
Cost: We're a low budget paper, so we must charge 1 gold per issue.	Editors-in-Command: Amekal and Hireshmont Vellosspace	Volume: 3
The Only Newspaper in the Southlands!

• THE newspaper for the most recent updates on the south!
• Disclaimer: This paper DOES NOT represent the official opinions of the Irombrozian government, merely a general accounting for the public, or just of the editors.

Reform and Reconstruction

September 30, 1006- For the past few days, we have been re-establishing correct government procedure. During the Sack of Irombro, absolute power became more and more consolidated into myself, Grand Duke Torrero, and King Marc(May He Live Forever). I functioned as General, Banker, and Judge. Torrero was Marshall, Duke, and Vice General, while Marc wielded whatever power he wanted to. It worked well, but it was merely an emergency operation. As such, we have been restructuring. A countess has been appointed for Bolkenia, Gwinevere! A new banker has been appointed (Palance vanished), may Kazm keep us well supplied! Lastly, a general has been selected, and will soon be appointed! Congradulations Ascensia! As our army rebuilds, repairs are enacted, and the government rebuilt, things are looking up.

Liberation

September 24, 1006- Riombaran forces have liberated Ardmore from the vile clutches of Luz de Bian oppressors! In a boring and flavorless article, the Luz de Bian Chronicles reported this event, as well as saying they'll be back to crush us Irombrozians again. Well, so be it. We shall fight the good fight. HAIL IROMBROZIA!

Celebration in the Streets

September 23, 1006- There is open celebration and rejoicing in the streets of Irombro. Flags are being waved in the open again, and blissful reunions between mothers and children can be seen at every street corner. After much blood, sweat, and tears, the Luzian forces have withdrawn from Irombro almost completely. A small rearguard remains, which continues to fight but, for the most part, Luz has been ousted. The valiant fighters of the IRF and the RIM gradually weakened the Luzian forces, a bit here, a bit there. We lost the battles, and are winning the campaign. In all of this, many people, both noble and peasent alike, have been heard to shout praises of Riombara and Fronen for their brave and courageous assault on Ardmore, which all know is the true force which pulled Luz out of Irombro. We may have weakened the Luzers and hung in there, distracting forces from Ardmore, but they are the ones who fought the battle. This is a happy day for Irombrozia. The Second Irombro Campaign is ending.

The Push for Liberation

September 22, 1006- Just a few hours ago, a battle was fought in the streets of Irombrozia. Not between outraged peasents and Luz de Bian death squads, but between the Royal Irombrozian Military (RIM), and the Luz de Bian Occupation and Suppression Force. The RIM forces totalled almost 2.5k, impressive considering many of our TLs failed to recruit, and we've been mustering in an occupied city. The Luz forces had over 5k to right us, doubling our combat strength and, I believe, over doubling our troop numbers. In the battle that ensued, the RIM suffered a defeat, but succeeded in inflicting continued losses on Luz, making this campaign still more expsneive, and still more time consuming for them. Meanwhile, things seem quiet in Ardmore while Riombaran forces run a TO, and Luz musters in Grehk.

A Good Day for Irombrozia and the World

September 19, 1006- Several good things happenned today, and in the past day or two! I shall merely list them:

1. Riombara ended the Civil War, for now at least! With their proclamation of neutrality towards us, we have gained official claim on Bolkenia, and it seems we may be on the path to rebuilding friendships with our northern brethren. With official claim on Bolkenia, we can begin rebuilding infrastructure, appointing a lord, and just overrall making our nation more effective! On the topic of Riombara, we at the Free South Times would like to congradulate Delvin on his election. Even if, personally, we do not get along all TOO well with him, it seems his election is a good omen, times are looking up again!

2. Strange deeds are afoot in Bolkenia. As a monster horde from Cagamir moved into Bolkenia, the funniest thing happenned. A RIM (Royal Irombrozian Military) force dispatched to Bolkenia met up alongside a small Luz de Bian force (stragglers from their vacation to Eno), and, together, we eradicated the monsters. Perhaps the Luz de Bians have some use after all.

3. The Luz de Bian chronicles continue to be laughable. They say they have been stockpiling food in Cagamir. Would that happen to be the same food that the Undead Horde has been pillaging for the last three days, and that Undead corpses have been poisoning? Yes, thats right, you heard me! The luz de Bians planned to bring POISONED FOOD into Irombro, and distribute it among the people, so as to continue eradicating the peasent population; which continues to firmly resist them.

4. VICTORY IN ARDMORE! We would like to congradulate our friends in Riombara and Fronen, who have shown great steadfastness towards us. The Riombarans have launched repeated assaults, in the face of great odds, to try and limit Luz de Bian support to Irombro. While the success of those assaults might be called "limited", this current one is an undoubtable victory! A vast Luz de Bian host was smashed in a battle of epic proportions! With the Luzian forces in Irombrozia cut off for now, one wonders what the next stage in this campaign will be...

Continuing to Lay Low the Lies of Luz de Bian Larcenious Losers

September 18, 1006- Beware my mighty alliteration abilities. Admittedly, "loser" is a weak word... but I'm short of time. Running the IRF keeps me busy, I dont have time to put any kind of serious thought into this paper. Anyways, to the point. Luz de Bia continues to print foolish nonsense anyone with any kind of evidence or sense down here on the frontlines can see through. Luz de Bia ARE the imperialists. We, yes, declared war. Why? Well, the many insults of course (which most likely they sent out in order to provoke us to seek a war), also there's the whole attacking our troops in Bolkenia thing (the battle in which their general Harim died), then there's also the whole thing where they just sat in Bolkenia for a long time, violating our soverignty. Then came the kidnapping attempt... so we declared war. It was already practically a de facto state of war, we just made official what was already existing. ALso, you'll note we and Riombara are at war. At the time we declared war on you, we feared that Riombara would be seeking our destruction. We wanted to ally, for protection, with Luz de Bia, but you wouldnt hear of it, your diplomatic processes were constantly delayed. Then there was the decision made by your government to wage war with us. We decalred war first, so as to get a pre-emptive strike. But your government had already made the decision to wage war. Also, our FIRST campaign in Cagamir had no looting at all. In fact, it was a FRIENDLY TO. When we looted, we did not rape or kill. In fact, orders were sent out specifically banning such action. Two TLs who disobeyed that were fined. Naturally, a few Luz de Bian insurgent forces posing as peasents, and possibly some peasents, were accidentally killed in the clashes. A total of 250 civilian casualties have been infilicted by Irombrozian forces. A total of 12,000 civilian casualties have been inflicted by Luz de Bian forces. A LITTLE bit of a difference, wouldnt you say? Also, we claim Ruefillo, Rii, and Ardmore, and all of the southern area formerly in the Duchy of Irombro, because that is our rightful territory. Ruefillo, Rii, and Ardmore are the ancestral rural hinterland of the nation of Irombro, and Bolkenia and Cagamir were parts of the Duchy of Irombro. As such, we claim them. Yes, technically, the claim is Riombaran. But the true claim is ours, for a long time the Nation of Irombro was joined, by the Charter of Union, to the Rines Republic. The Riombaran claim is, essentially, ours. The militia WERE old men and boys. In fact, the Prophet Amekal witnessed the battle. It was a peasent militia, NOT trained troops. Your lies are obvious, and continue to display your nation's utter lack of moral quality.

LEARN TO WRITE BETTER

September 17, 1006- The Luz de Bians have started aa newspaper. The funny part is that they dont even know how to write a good propaganda article! We shall now demolish there reporting:

1. They say over 250 men stood in their way. I may be wrong, but I believe thats actually UNDER 250 men were there, and, whats this? They were using pitchforks and sticks. They were peasents. You slaughtered MORE PEASENTS! YAY FOR YOU! YOU CAN KILL OLD MEN AND CHILDREN! YOU'RE SUCH BRAVE WARRIORS!

2. You say you're brave... because you can fight a realm that has 2 regions when yours has many multiples of that. You say you're brave, because your soldiers rape young girls and steal food from old ladies. You say you're brave, because you can burn down honest shopkeeper's stores. You say you're brave... no, we're brave. We're brave, maybe stupid, but surely brave, for we stand and defy you and your imperialist goals. You are cowards and weaklings. You're just lots and lots of rich and well fed cowards and weaklings.

3. You call the fighting in Irombro INTENSE? For us, yes. For you, who have, at times, SEVEN TIMES OUR MILITARY POWER!? Thats INTENSE to you? By all thats holy, you need to rethink your priorities if stabbing children is a physically difficult and martially arduous task... I can understand if its psychologically straining on your conscience but, oh, wait, you're Luz de Bian, you dont have a conscience.

4. You're loyal? Okay, I guess thats the truth. You are at least loyal. But loyalty to evil is not a virtue...

Conclusion: Like I said, they cant even write propaganda correctly. On any kind of even footing, we in Irombrozia will smash them to bits. They only win because they have so much more resources than us.

The Good and the Bad

September 16, 1006- We have a mixture of good news... and bad news. The good news is that we have now fielded 2k for 3 turns in a row, and the Luz de Bian garrison is being consistently weakened! Not by leaps and bounds, but slightly! Maybe we can hang in here for a bit longer, also, the peasents continue to show devout and loyal support. Spirits are still high, considering the situation, and loyalty is unshaken. This fervent patriotism has lead to some 7,000 peasents, at last count, freely taking up arms, against the advice of the nobility, and assaulting the Luz de Bians, in waves of about 850. While this has served to weaken the Luz de Bians (who continue to rape, kill, and plunder, while the people die of disease and starvation), the city has only 16,800 left in it. We had 28,000 before this war broke out. We have lost... 11,200 citizens. Roughly 8,100 as direct military casualties (peasent levy one time, and thousands of the aforementioned volunteers and partisans), and 3,100 dead from starvation or Luz de Bian death raids. It seems their strategy of choice is to get about 100 soldiers together, surround a neighborhood and... commit vile acts, and then eliminate the population, confiscating all material goods and sabatoging all production capacities. 3,100 peasents murdered, 8,100 killed unjustly by an imperialist nation of greedy expansionism. Thats not counting the several hundred trained troops who have died for Irombrozia. These are dark times for us. Pray for us, please, help us. If only for the sake of the people who, even if we desired it, staunchly refuse surrender of any kind.

Organized Resistance

September 15, 1006- For the first time in quite a while, we have actually attempted to truly hit back. For a while, our forces had been preparing to make a push to oust the Luzians. Unfortunately, when we tried today, we came up tragically short handed. We had anticipated about 2,000 CS of peasent support, and got a few hundred CS. We had anticipated 2-3k CS of noble-led forces.... and had about 1.5k CS. Well, better luck next time perhaps. Lets hope we can hang in there so there will be a next time....

The Morals of Our Foes

September 12, 1006- Now they show their true colors! Over a dozen reports of killing, raping, stealing, and general pillaging have been logged at the Bunker, the secret stronghold of the Irombrozian Resistance Front (IRF). In response to this, the people (who remain unwaveringly loyal, every one of them, and still with high moral) rose up against the Luz de Bians! Over 850 peasents have risen to combat the cruel invaders! Please, nations of the world, heed the cries of the slaughtered and mutilated corpses of children in the streets of Irombrozia, heed the cries of the mothers who give their last breadcrumbs to feed their children, heed the screams of Irombro's daughters as they are violated, follow the example of our steadfast northern allies in Fronen, and our friends in Riombara, follow the lead of Plergoth and Ashborn, signing treaties with us. Even a gesture of support is appreciated, everything is a help. Can you spare us 50 gold? Can you spare us 2 TLs with units? Can you spare us an infiltrator? Please, unify alongside us. We are a small realm, a realm fighting for its very survival. For now, we remain steadfast. But we cannot hold on forever! Please, send aid! Nobles of Belluaterra: if you have the slightest conscience, if you have the slightest pangs of compassion for the lives of the people of Irombro, if you have the slighest sympathies with our beliefs in freedom, the right to liberties and religious freedom, if you have ever for a single moment felt that Luz de Bia's behavior was wrong, speak out! Your voices are wanted! Send letters to your rulers, rulers of realms neighboring Luz de Bia, Nhoc himself, your judges, your generals, your leaders and region lords. Send messages to your guild leaders and priests! If you have the slightest pity on us, use your greatest weapon: the voice and written word! If you cannot give us your swordarm, give us at least one letter in your handwriting, one interview with your mouth! Speak to those in power, practice advocacy in the name of humanitarianism! Perhaps your religion disagrees with the primary religion in the southlands, Qyrvaggism, but surely you can at least pity the people! Surely you can see the value of humanitarian aid! Have you food to spare? Come, replenish the stores which the Luz de Bians have torched or robbed! EVen be it the smallest humanitarian aids, we will be in gratitude forever more! And, if we survive this dread conflict, we shall do all within our power to come to your aid, if ever we may. This is my promise, Amekal Vellos, and this is the promise of Irombrozia. We help our friends. We have imtegrity, which our enemies lack. Rah himself has advocated, to expedite the TO of Irombro, mass murder of civilians. He says they will slaughter anyone who does ANYTHING to oppose the TO. Seemingly, the Luz de Bians have no respect for humanitarian goals. When we have fallen, you may be next. How long will Luz de Bia's liust for land and power be satiated by southern conquests? How long before their hosts march north to fight there? Help us now, and you may help yourselves in the long run! LONG LIVE IROMBROZIA THE GOLDEN!

Struggle in the Streets

September 11, 1006- We in Irombrozia are running short of resources. Loyalty and morale among the people remain high, but the Luz de Bians just arent leaving. They have about 6.5k in place in the city, no TO running yet, just.... sitting there. The rest, presumably, are getting reinforcementd. HELP US PLEASE!?

Steady Defense!

September 9, 1006- Even with absolutely minimal governmental forces available to fight against Luz de Bia, the people remain strong, and have thrown off another TO attempt! Loyalty remains entirely unshaken, and morale is high! How long will this go on before other nations see the blatant expansionistic policies of Luz de Bia and come to our aid?

The Sturdy Peasentry!

September 8, 1006- The Luz de Bian TO has been broken by the strong wills and arms of Irombro's peasentry! The city stands strong, not capitulating to the brutal expansionist goals of Luz de Bia in the slightest! Morale remains high, and the people's loyalty is unshaken in the slightest! HAIL IROMBROZIA! Though our entire council is either in prison, or wounded, we remain faithful! This is written from behind enemy lines, they have surrounded the Grand Temple of Qyrvagg. Thus far, it has not bee violated, but I remain ever vigilant at the gates. As the Prophet of Qyrvagg, I calm the minds and hearts of my flock, who hold hourly vigils by the gates of the temple, to pray for the souls of those who have fallen, to pray for courage and the strength to grow through these hard times, and to pray for the well-being of the Church, no matter the outcome of this war.

The Battle of Irombro

September 6, 1006- It has happenned. As I write this, please keep in mind, it is written from a Luz de Bian(or is it Avalonian?) prison cell. About 18k of Luz de Bian and Avalonian forces attacked our roughly 7k defending troops in Irombro. In the initial battle, we were crushed, and many TLs were captured or wounded. In the ensuing conflict, myself, Marc, Baiko, Torrero, and numerous others have been knocked out of action. Peasent militias were called up, but to no avail. Not only this, but a Luz de Bian, or maybe Avalonian, assassin assaulted Amekal, on the streets of Irombro, as he CALMED THE FEARS OF THE PEOPLE. He did nothing but calm them, merely encourage them to not be afraid. In response, the members of the Axis of Evil saw fit to assassinate him. What bloody nice chaps. Now, to my most recent bit of propaganda. Avalon! Avalon.... can someone PLEASE finish the job Fronen started? Sure, Irombrozia wasnt an ally of Fronen, technically. TECHNICALLY. But when we fight alongside each other, in strategic coordination and tandem, to rid the world of the Luz de Bian threat.... what may not be an alliance in paper is surely an alliance of spirit. Do the members of the Axis of Evil have so little respect for such matters? It seems the only law they respect is that which is spelled out in small print....

The Axis of Evil

September 4, 1006- As Irombrozian forces rally, recruit, and get prepared in Irombro, 14000 CS of Luz de Bian and, whats this? AVALONIAN troops have gathered in Ruefillo. It seems Fronen and Avalon are determined to continue their conflict.... by proxy! Yet we must ask, why is Avalon truly here? To bug Fronen? Perhaps. But shouldnt they aid their federation member Enweil and smash Plergoth? There must be an ulterior motive to their contribtion to the Horde of the Immoral Fiends.... ah! I have it! Religion! It was well known that, since their first encounters, the Order of the Druids has instructed their followers to attack and kill Qyrvaggians and Qyrvaggian priests, which is why Qyrvaggism never spread much into Avalon. Perhaps Avalon feels a religious need to assault Irombrozia because Qyrvaggism is based here? So one of our foes is bent on religious fanatacism and destruction of a rival theology, and the other is infested by immorality. Yep, its a party.

A Regretable Necessity

September 2, 1006- For the past few days, the Royal Military has been stationed in Cagamir, breaking Luz de Bian resistance. We have, unfortunately, been forced to use certain brutal tactics, looting and pillaging. The TO failed to get started, so we decided to make the best of things and simply destroy Luz de Bian assets there and remove the insurgent propaganda-based loyalty the Luz de Bians have inspired there. Just minutes ago, a group of peasents banded together and attacked the Royal Military, and were, regretably, destroyed in a quick and brutal battle. According to initial reports, there may have been Luz de Bian Covert Ops agents involved. It saddens us all that such brutal tactics as looting have become necessary to rid the land of the poison of Luz de Bia.

A Trade in Blood

August 28, 1006- Many events have occurred since our last article. Our TO in Rii was never completed, due to a Luz de Bian assault of some 6k forces against our 4k defending. Our forces were defeated in pitched battle, though we did not truly expect victory in a field battle. Yet the greatest loss was not in terms of troops or money. No, the greatest loss was the loss of High Marshall Slomcha. He bravely stood and fought, yet was slain. A brilliant mind, excellent tactician, devoted patriot, brave warrior, and constant friend, he shall be remembered forever as Slomcha the Bold. We in Irombrozia mourn, and hope to repay this debt. This war has now cost the lives of two generals. Is there no nation which will come to end the scourge of Luz de Bia? Even as we continue the good fight, and try our hardest, to such little avail, we have hope that we may be aided from afar. We win the minor skirmishes, and lose the field battles. Are there none who will aid us?

TO Started and Stopped

August 25, 1006- Two days ago, on the 23rd, Luz began a TO of Bolkenia with their 5k force. Luckily, do to the strong will and devotion of the people there, the TO was broken, and Luz de Bia seems to be withdrawing. As our armies rally and regroup, we look to the typical military genius of High MArshall Slomcha to lead us. What shall be our next target? Rumours spread that Luz de Bia plans on bringing seige engines and launching a full scale attack on Irombro, yet the exact truth of this is unknown. Will we gather in the walls and try to hold out? Will we sally forth and smite our foes? Only time will tell.

Driven to the Walls

August 22, 1006- We have had our first string of defeats. Three in three days. The first was an 8k vs. 4k battle in Rii. Our forces were solidly whooped, though we put up a good fight. The TO was broken. This signals the first defeat of the Royal Military of Irombrozia. Then we pulled back to Irombro, and a Luzian expeditionary force attacked a few of our small units in Bolkenia with 5k, giving a second defeat. Then we rallied our forces to attack Bolkenia, and.... failed because many TLs didnt move. Thus, it is with a grim heart we regroup in Irombro. Times draw darker as Luzian forces are in the process of taking over Bolkenia, though, admittedly, with limited success. Pray for us, and, please, remember our plight and aid us.

Cleansing Campaign

August 20, 1006- Due to a proliferation of Luz de Bian propaganda and insurgents in the Irombrozian Soevereign Territory(which everyone knows we have claim to!) of Rii, it has been decided that the region must be cleansed. Taxes have been removed from the Luz de Bian tax offices, food supplies relocated to Irombrozian loyalist warehouses, and every form of political and military havoc has been wreaked against Luz de Bia. Luckily, no peasents have been harmed in the process.

Looking up!

August 20, 1006- As the TO continues well, our forces muster in Rii. The Luz de Bians gather in Ardmore, poised to strike. But at us, or Riombara? Who knows? Whatever the case, victory shall come in the end; or at least a glorious death. Luz de Bian assassins continue to roam our lands, killing and burning at every chance. Both Slomcha and Hireshmont have been wounded by such assassins, as have several other TLs. But in spite of this, in spite of all our trials and tribulations, we stand strong and defiant still. Even after 10 days, the Luz de Bians have yet to gain any further advantage over us, and have yet to win a major victory. Perhaps their moral corruption and decay continues to their military ability as well? The only advantage our foes have over us is one of numbers and resources. Given anything close to a level playing field and our superior intellect, courage, and strength of will would smash the Luz de Bians. As it is, we watch the borders, worrying even as we win.

Continuing Success!

August 19, 1006- After we regrouped our forces, and pondered how next to give Luz de Bia a bloody nose, we decided to strike out for Rii. Well, we did so, and, without even having our whole mobile force, mustered 3k there. It seems our mobile army grows larger with every campaign! In a small skirmish in Rii, a small Luzian detachment was smashed to bits and pieces by the Royal Military, as more reinforcements gathered in Irombro to move into Rii. Thus far, the war seems to be going excellently!

Victory in the First Campaigns!

August 13, 1006- In the first full-fledged battles of this war, 10k CS of Luz de Bian forces assaulted the walls of Irombro, and the fields of Bolkenia. The TO on Cagamir was ended to fight the battle in Cagamir, but, due to infiltrators delaying travel, reinforcements were scattered, and two successive battles(consisting of approcimately 2.5k of Royal Irombrozian Troops and about 4k of Luz de Bian troops, in two different battles) were fought, both resulting in solid Luz de Bian victories. But, there is good news! See, the first battle we were fighting healthy and ready Luzian troops. But the second battle was full of batterred units, though they still had numbers. Why were they batterred? They were fleeing from Irombro where 8k of them(simultaneous with the first battles in Bolkenia, a 2k Luz vs. 1k Irombro battle) assaulted our 6k Royal Defense Force! In a heated battle, the Luzians were hurled off the walls! One Luz TL was captured, and the Duke of Grehk was seriously wounded. Beyond this, some 8 TLs, including Nhoc himself, were otherwise wounded! A brilliant victory on the walls of Irombro! Now if only Riombara would maybe get a spine and fight Luz de Bia? Oh, word has it that RAPE has been attempted on Queen Baiko whilst in prison. Being the fighter she is, the attempt failed. Thats just a rumour, mind you, but who knows with Luz de Bia?

Queen Baiko Kidnapped!

August 12, 1006- When 5000 CS of Luz de Bian forces invaded Bolkenia this morning, they cruelly kidnapped Queen Baiko, and threw her in the Luz de Bian dungeons. This is what Nhoc the Corrupt has to say about that:

Letter from Nhoc (12 minutes ago)

(personal message to Hireshmont)

Yeah, I'm sure you're very jealous it wasn't you.

For the record we'll give her the treatment you folks are used to in your realm, we'll bathe her everyday and apply regular spankings as well.

Your mouth is already watering, isn't it?

Nhoc

Chancellor of Luz de Bia

[reply to sender] | [ignore] | [userdetails]

As we said, he's a sicko.

Bolkenian Skirmishes

August 11, 1006- As the Luz de Bians gather in Ruefillo, the Royal Military gathers its forces at various bases within our area of control. Roughly 500 Luz de Bian troops are stationed in Ruefillo, and several more units are ready to strike at Bolkenia in Eno. Small skirmishes, consisting of less than 2k forces at the largest, have broken out in Bolkenia, resulting, in both occasions, in Irombrozian victories, though one wonders how long this will last as the Luz de Bian Usurpation Brigades muster on our borders to begin a full-scale invasion. Meanwhile, the retributive TO of Cagamir continues. The people flock to our banner, due to our friendly and cordial behavior. We may indeed fail in the TO, due to the efforts of Luz de Bian insurgency forces assassinating various TLs, but the people surely are in our favor. This conflict goes well for our side, as of now.

Friendly Reclamation of Cagamir!

August 10, 1006- Mere moments after Queen Baiko declared war, Hireshmont had set about with his MASSIVE unit in reclaiming Cagamir. A friendly TO has been begun, and is running smoothly. The first peasents and officials are already changing sides. Things are looking up, even with hordes of Luz de Bians on the horizon.

WAR!

August 10, 1006- Due to the many insults given by Luz de Bia, Queen Baiko the Beautiful saw fit to declare war on Luz de Bia! We at the Free South Times applaud her courage! To death and glory! Hail Qyrvagg! Hail Irombrozia! Patriotism is running high, we are ready to fight and, if need be, die! The war has begun in victory with a 3k vs. 1k victory in Cagamir over the kidnapper, Gorian! Now he is in our perverse Arch Priest Hireshmont's dungeons... who knows what goes on there... sometimes I wonder about my half-brother...