Aris Cretu's Journal

Eighteenth of December, Seven Hundred and Sixty Ninth year since the Seminal War

…Legends never die / They're written down in eternity / But you'll never see the price it costs / the scars collected all their lives…[6]

And I am blessed and cursed to be one to contribute to the writing of those legends in the Logs of Vian. In large part because Old Leon needs to rest and eat, but Chronicler Vian has naught to do but sit about all day and dictate. He'd do the writing himself, if he could, but with his right hand in a cast that’s just a tad bit difficult to do. It will be a few years yet before I make the transition to writing a Log of my own, though I suppose this diary is practice for doing exactly that.

Sgt. Gork turned down a promotion to Lieutenant, as it would take him out of the ranks of the Ur-handers. I think it's more because he feels more comfortable in the thick of a fight with blood on his face then sitting back and commanding others to die in his place. He had a taste of independent command out on the goat trails, and we could all see that he was grateful to have a shaman around to aid him. He got another taste of command at the southern breach, and found it much too weighty for his liking. Or so he told me, when we were both deep in our cups trying to drown the night terrors.

Tam did get the position of Standard Bearer, which suits her nicely. A bit of a backhanded compliment as well, as it was her running a flag up the pole in the outpost that damn near got us all killed the first time. She isn't exactly comfortable with that, but that fight and the one that followed it was coming on anyway. All she did was pick the place and bring it on a bit sooner. And while I could wish for fewer casualties, that was only ever going to be a fever dream, a fragment of delirium. If the Army of the Jeweled Cities didn't come out and attack us, then we would have to go and dig them out of Fort Westmarch. That would have been just as costly, if not more so.

I had a long talk with Shaman Mul last night. We spoke at great length, but I recall little of it. I know we were speaking in the Old Tongue for a good part of it, speaking of places long forgotten, of the thorns of a twisted kingdom, and a place I was wandering too close to entering. I still look back on the actions of the last few days, but some parts of them, the worst of the killing and the bleeding, are… hazy. I can recall them in perfect, excruciating detail if I try. And yet it is as if I am preventing myself from looking to closely at those hours in order to stay, well, me. This is more than a little disturbing on some levels, but I think it is a part of human nature. We see our rewards and our glories all to clearly, but not our failures, our pains and agonies. When I write my logs, I will make sure that all such events are included, the good and the ill. Chronicler Vian is already doing exactly that, and I can now see why such details are needed. They are not pleasant, but without them the Ironbark Mercenary Company would keep making the same mistakes over again.

Editor's Note:

It is clear to me (as a practitioner of magic) that Mul the Silent definitely used some sort of magical mental manipulation on Aris, but it appears to be quite minor as Aris can still recall all of the memories in question. I am actively attempting to locate Aris again to confirm this, as I was only able to speak with him briefly before Ironbark took a contract further south. Chedal I believe the town was called. I am also looking for Mul the Silent, to ask her exactly what she did and how she did it. Having a means to stave off depression and / or post-traumatic stress would be quite handy, but only if it is safe for the patient and stable in the long term. Otherwise it would only end up doing more harm than good. And as any magic practitioner knows, messing with a living mind is among the most dangerous things that one can do. The fact that Mul the Silent managed to do it untrained, unassisted, and without the subject being actively aware of it (at least after the fact) is quite impressive. If her method is safe and effective, then I would very much like to applaud her. If not, then she had best hope that I never find her.

Shaman's Records

Eighteenth of December, Seven Hundred and Sixty Ninth year since the Seminal War

Shaman Koroc the Singer of Clan Glacierheart recording

A courier arrived today under a white flag of truce. He bore a message from Lord General Ochen Shagari, Commander of the Army of the Jeweled Cities, asking for terms of surrender. That this war might end in peace is something of a minor miracle to me, but Captain Rivoril Syllynn of the Ironbark Company was less surprised. He did send the runner back with a letter that the Elders were discussing those terms, and that he should expect a messenger with details, also under flag of truce, within a day or two.

What followed was a ferocious debate among the Elders. Not over whether or not to offer terms, but what those terms should be. Warlord Elder Otab the Old wanted to hold out for quite punitive terms, great sums of gold and weapons to be paid to Westmarch and Glacierheart both. Mayor Bilal Muhktar responded by pointing out that this Lord General Ochen would have to get any terms approved by his elders, the Serene Dominas, and that any set of demands that punishing would likely be discarded out of hand.

In the end, it was Shaman Elder Wolfbite Glacierheart that came up with the terms that all could agree on. Not because they were particularly punishing in terms of coin or iron, but because they would cost the Jeweled Cities in general and Sapphire, Ruby, and Opal in particular, something far more precious: legitimacy. The terms are as follows:

As soon as the weather would permit, the Army of the Jeweled Cities would withdraw from Westmarch. Until such time, an armistice in place would be in force. Food and medical aid would be made available by both sides as the other could reasonably request. Lord General Ochen Sagarhi, acting as the representative of The Council of the Jeweled Cities, would formally acknowledge the existence and sovereignty of the Westmarch Republic and the Glacierheart Republic, with all of the binding legal implications attached to such status. A binding truce would begin as soon as the withdrawal of the Army of the Jeweled Cities was completed. It would last five years and one day, and be registered with the Guild as a neutral party. The first faction (Westmarch, Glacierheart, Jeweled City, or Ironbark) to break it would lose all standing and be Blacklisted by the Guild in all future endeavors for the next nine hundred and ninety-nine years.

The real kicker is that Lord General Ochen probably already has the authority to make terms for the Council of the Jeweled Cities, in order to allow him to issue terms of surrender to defeated foes more quickly. Any bargain he signed in such a capacity would be binding to all of the Jeweled Cities, and neatly outrank anyone short of the Council itself. From there, we could count on Emerald and Ebony to agree to the terms, at minimum, and they would have the whip hand to enforce that agreement when it came to standing military forces among the Jeweled Cities, now that the armies of Sapphire, Ruby, and Opal have been crushed in the field. And once the two new Republics of Westmarch and Glacierheart are on record as sovereign Republics with the Guild, unmaking that status would be all but impossible.

It is a truce that neatly grants every party in this valley as much of what they want as possible. Would Glacierheart like more reparations in coin? Of course they would, and so would Westmarch for that matter. Instead, they get near-instant and complete legitimacy as independent states, co-signed by the largest collective nation in the region. The Jeweled Cities get what is left of their forces back in as healthy a state as is possible under the conditions, plus allow those men get to return home unmolested and in good order. It is a treaty that no reasonable defeated commander can decline, and it is close enough to a white peace that the Jeweled Cities won't feel like they are giving up too much without good reason.

The truce would also give all sides time to regain their strength. It may lead to future conflicts, but I think that is unlikely. Westmarch knows it has a staunch ally in Glacierheart, and both are interested in fortifying the Westmarch valley against future incursion from the south. The truce will also allow time for profitable trade, the lifeblood of healthy Republics, to begin to flow once more. Over time, that flow will become a steady river of mutually beneficial agreements and profit for all involved. It will take longer for Glacierheart to be accepted then Westmarch, owing to the natural prejudice of the world against orcs, but it will not take forever. And with any luck, Westmarch and Glacierheart will be here to see it happen together.