[Location] ~ Narim Castellum ~

[Gauls]

As of...The Month of Imperos,
in the Season of Autumn, Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum
(post Narim War)

The sun beat down on the broken tops of the stone walls as they clawed against the sky, rising from the silted, slimy water of the stagnant moat. Though the scene appeared deserted, it was a battleground for the elements and even now the sun was only just winning against the icy wind that dropped down from the mountain peaks behind it, the cold air sliding down the road from the high pass that led in these days to Vers but once led into the Duchy of Phondra.

One entrance only was there into this fortress; a gateway that gaped high up in the wall, reached by a strong wooden bridge that finished with a drawbridge whose chains had long since rusted away. The bridge itself had seen a strong fire at one point that burnt away the lower left hand corner and just added to the decrepitude of the scene.

The fortress was quiet, only the swoop of birds ever broke its solitude; certainly none of the locals ever came near for it had an evil reputation. None could describe what it was like inside and whether anything of value was there, though it seemed unlikely as surely looters would have emptied it long patterns ago.

There was, so it happened a practical reason for the continued rumours of evil for the fortress had become the home of a small clan of orcs. These orcs were only active during the darkening, staying secure in their home during the daylight. At night they ravaged the countryside, but during the day the only way to see them was to enter the fort. Oddly enough, those who did, disturbing the sleep of the orcs were rarely seen again. This assisted the reputation of the fort as the home of evil, even as it helped to ensure that the larder of the orcs was kept stocked.

Secrets : Historical Note The Duchy of Phondra had once occupied the north eastern part of what was now Sheria. map link. Down at the south western edge of the Duchy it had established a fortress to protect against the Orckish Assembly (OA) which might otherwise have quietly annexed that part of the Duchy since it stuck out into OA territory like a foot awaiting amputation. The building of the fortress was lost in the distant past, the knowledge of its building disappearing into the ruins of the Duchy when it fell and was absorbed by the Aelyrian Empire. Its building was either effective or in vain for it was never seriously tested by the OA, probably because of strong trading links between the OA and the Phondrans. Supply from Phondra was difficult because of the mountain range, so it was natural for the fortress to tap deeper into the local supply chains of the OA more and more as time went by. When the duchy fell, not a great deal changed for the fortress, though most of the soldiers departed, but those who had come to establish or join the villages in the area remained on the whole, and indeed that area as a result had a much higher proportion of humans than did most of the rest of the OA. It was not surprising then that when the Caperios departed from Taralon looking for a new life on the west coast of the province that the fortress would play a key part in their plans. They took over a quiet village on the coast and also placed a garrison into the fortress, but in a quirk of fate now the fortress was as much to protect against the east, against those who had built it as it was against the orcs who remained oblivious it seemed to the strangers in their midst. As time passed and the new city of Narim was built and fortified, the garrison was moved back to the city to a new fortress built there on land donated by the Honor House, leaving the original fortress empty. Some use was made of it still by the patrols that searched for encroaching orcs but more time passed and the fortress was abandoned for the second time in its history, for it was far from the city and the repairs now due were deemed more expensive than it was worth. The fortress dropped out of the ken of the average Narimite, only briefly resurfacing when it was used by a necromancer who organized an attack on the city. The necromancer had cast a spell which hid the fort from view and this persisted for a short while after his death, ensuring that once more the fortress dropped back into the obscurity of the history books. Forgotten it might be by the Narimites, but the walls were still strong and the truth was that it had been occupied long before the necromancer by a small clan of orcs who appreciated its security. Enslaved by the necromancer who stole their home, his death freed them and gave them back the unwanted fort. The Tem Zog clan was descended from the older Stone Rot clan of orcs who hated the sunlight, and these smaller dark brown orcs had been pushed away from their original mountain home by the newer clans of more powerful orcs, who with their ogrish blood could be active by day as well as by night. Though they slept during the day, a watch they kept on the road through the pass and preyed on all who attempted its use. OOC: Castellum description by GM Adder

[Gauls]

The Month of Imperos,
in the Season of Autumn, Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

It was now going on into the third season since the fall of Narim and still there were the drumbeats of war looming off in the distance. It would not be long before the orcs were on the move again. To ensure the constant flow of replacement troops to the Horde and other garrisons, it was necessary to establish a permanent training camp away from the city of Orckon (Ire) where the new recruits that were pouring into the provence could train without interruption.

The Orckon leadership knew that the city of Orckon itself would be a major strategic objective and so a site was required that would not be too far from the city and be in a central location to funnel new troops to the locations that needed them the most. For this reason the Narim Castellum was chosen. It was already known that the fort was abandoned for a long time by the Imperial and Sherian forces and that an orc clan had taken up refuge there as a permanent garrison. This made the choice of the Castellum that much easier. Nothing had to be taken and if the camp was ever attacked, it stood a good chance of holding out even though the new recruits were not battle experienced.

With a little preparation and provisioning, the orcs that were training at Orckon itself were geared up in the city but then sent to the Castellum to be trained. In its first week of operation, the grounds surrounding the fort have been transformed into a full training facility. A typical human training facility can produce 3500 basic trained soldiers in a 3 month period however, due to the orc warlike nature and ease of learning the use of weapons and tactics, this orc training camp is churning out around 3500 new recruits (basic trained) every cycle. A fully trained horde can be produced within a month.

The graduating orcs train to be a horde unto themselves and are grouped and sent to their new duty stations in the same horde that they were trained in. This makes the mini hordes of orcs associate with one another as if they were all from the same orc mob. This familiarity of organization enables the hordes to act and fight as a naturally cohesive unit. The strongest orc of the mini horde leads while the others act as a single orc. The leader makes a single command and the whole horde acts upon that order together. The mini horde is the perfect counter-balance to the orc's natural temptation to charge ahead in battle for glory and honor. This way, all orcs share in the glory and honor as well as the shame of defeat.

[Gauls]

Cycle 1 the Month of Imperos,
in the Season of Autumn, Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

It was the first mini horde to train at the new facility established at the Narim Castellum. They were orcs that volunteered to join the forces of Orckon and thus they were more eager to train and learn everything that was being fed to them. Some training programs would run a little longer for those forces that were being pressed into service however the first mini horde would be the training guage for many hordes to come.

3500 orcs now stood upon the grounds around the Castellum. The whole area was surrounded by a 10ft tall wood fence that wasn't really sturdy enough to keep out a stray cow but it did serve a purpose in that the wood planks were turned to form a semi-solid wall to block the view of enemies from afar. No doubt the longer the camp is operating this fence will be turned into stone but in the mean time, the orcs have to make due. Within these confines the training program began in earnest. The first lesson to be taught to this Mini Horde would be the Shati (spear) .

The training the 1st mini horde has started/completed thus far:

(Completed (pc practicing for xp)- Click to view->) : Basic Shati (spear) [cycle 1] Imperos
(Completed ->): Basic Shield as a Weapon [cycle 2] Imperos
(Completed ->): Basic dagger [cycle 3] Imperos
Graduated: [Cycle 4] Imperos. Raised as the 18th Shatauz of the 6th Ushtar of the Great Horde.

Secrets : OOC: When pc's are available, the actual training lessons are taught in seperate threads labeled "[Castellum] Name of Lesson (# of mini horde)"

[Gauls]

Cycle 2 the Month of Imperos,
in the Season of Autumn, Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

A new field was being cleared on the left side of the Castellum. This field was slightly larger than the first one which was being used for spear training. This new field was going to be used for axe training. Large enough for 3500 orcs at once all swinging axes around required more room to move.

The added feature to this field was the inclusion of rows of tree trunks that were about six feet in height and spaced at regular intervals to allow the recruits to hack upon. Slaves were scurrying here and there trying to put the finishing touches to the field as the first recruits from Orckon arrived. The fence was still being erected around the field as the sea of tree trunks mingled with the crowds of new lughorns milled about waiting for their instructor. This was only the second class ever to be held here and the first axe class but the trainer was no newbie to warfare as this, the 2nd Mini Horde were about to find out.


The training the 2nd mini horde has started/completed thus far:
(Completed- Click to view->) : Basic Sapat (axe) [cycle 2] Imperos
(Completed->) : Basic Shield-as-a-weapon [cycle 3] Imperos
(Completed->) : Basic dagger [cycle 4] Imperos
Graduated: [Cycle 5] Imperos. Raised as the 19th Shatauz of the 6th Ushtar of the Great Horde

[Gauls]

Cycle 3 in the Month of Imperos,
in the Season of Autumn, Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

The third field to be cleared around the Castellum was to be used as a firing range for archery. At one end of the field was built up a burm. Life sized straw men were hung from posts that ran paralell with the berm itself evenly spaced from one side of the field's width to the other. A covered pavillion was at the end of the field opposite the berm where classroom teaching would be conducted. Firing lines were set up every 50 yards along the length of the field up to a total field length of 500 yards.

Added care was given to the construction of this field due to the major users of this field would be kaugzi, non-orc types that tend to give more respect to a training facility than an orc would. Though orcs would use this field in time, the kaugzi being the cleanup crew of Orckon, would be there to repair any damage the orcs may cause. Besides, it was going to be the 1st Kaugzi Horde that gets to take the field first and break in the new archery training facility.

The training the 2nd mini horde has started/completed thus far:
(Completed- Click to view->) : Basic shortbow [cycle 3] Imperos
(Completed->) : Basic Dagger [cycle 1] Junctior
Graduated: [Cycle 2] Junctior. Raised as the 20th Shatauz of the 6th Ushtar of the Great Horde.

[Gauls]

Cycle 1, in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

There was delivered from Ire a new but hesitant group of Kaugzi to be added to the Horde. They were made entirely of vysstichi and were even given one of their own as a class trainer, Vaelh'ol. It was belived that Vael'hol could handle the pompous dark elves and get them the training needed for the next unit to add to the Horde.

This group was going to be learning the longbow. Not the elven kind but then again not many things "elven" ever do make it through the gates of Ire. The Kaugzi actually marched into the training facility with their logbows on their shoulders. The training coordinator did not see that the longbow was going to be a common weapon issued to the new recruits thus asked Ire to furnish them instead of the training facility.

Vael'hol stood upon the archery range pavillion next to the platform in the center waiting for the vysstichi to enter and have a seat so they may begin the basics.

The training the 2nd Kaugzi Horde has started/completed thus far:
(Completed-->) : Basic LongBow [cycle 1] Junctior.
(Completed-->) : Basic Dagger [cycle 2] Junctior.
Graduated: [Cycle 3] Junctior. raised as the 21st Shatauz of the 7th Ushtar of the Great Horde.

[Gauls]

Cycle 1, in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

The previous cycles of recruits here at the new training facility at the Narim Castellum had been getting their supply and armaments from loot taken from Narim and other areas now occupied by the orcs from Orckon. After the first "easy" month of the Autumn season, the training facility commander started getting low on supplies. Already thousands of orcs had entered the facility and it was putting a strain on basic resources and armaments for the classes to use.

The cries from the Castellum commander were answered by the Orckon leadership with messages from Grogan Thrag himself ordering all available armaments and supply that were not being used by the current forces to be directed to the Castellum for use in raising new recruits. Finally the wagons began to roll in. As they arrived, they were immediately stripped and distributed to the new recruits. The wagons would then turn and leave to get the next load. A constant supply line from Orckon was now established and basic food stuffs were brought in from other supply sources as well.

As a result of the influx of supplies, a new supply depot was built. It was a basic wood warehouse within the training facility fence. Here, snaga unloaded the wagons into the cavernous hold and distributed items like food out of a chow line window on one side and another window on the other where individual weapons could be picked up or returned. A crude oven and iron stove were installed at the rear of the warehouse outside of course, where raw meat was cooked to serve to the voracious orcs.

The supply bolg was standing at the front of the large warehouse doors keeping track of all that went in and out. His parchment had various scratchings upon it of all receipts:

Supply Receipt Log:

Secrets : Cycle 1, in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn, Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum The very first shipment was received just as the warehouse was coming online. It was enough to keep the recruits fed for 1 cycle hence Source: Narim coast Supply: Food / Water (1 cycle)

Secrets : Cycle 2, in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn, Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum Shipment was received from the coast. It was enough to keep the recruits fed for 1 cycle hence Source: Narim coast Supply: Food / Water (1 cycle)

Armaments Receipt Log:

Secrets : Cycle 1, in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn, Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum These armaments were sent two days ago from Ire upon receipt of orders from Gothmog Kitot to increase shipments. It was enough equip 1 mini-horde this cycle. Source: Ire Gear: Leather armor, ringmail, shortswords, copper helmets (1 cycle)

Secrets : Cycle 2, in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn, Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum These armaments were sent from Ire by orders from Gothmog Kitot. It was enough equip 1 mini-horde this cycle. Source: Ire Gear: Leather armor, ringmail, shortswords, copper helmets (1 cycle)

[Gauls]

Cycle 2, in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

The first shatauz to train here at the Narim Castellum had finally graduated. The Horde Master himself came over to review the new horde and to formally raise it as the 6th Ushtar of the Orckon Murtag. The proud orcs of the 1st, 2nd, mini-hordes along with the 1st Kaugzi Horde were mustered into the new 6th Ushtar.

Upon receiving their weapons and armaments delivered to them from the forges of Orckon itself, the 6th was given its assignment. None of the orcs would have believed that they would have been marshaled into battle so quickly but here they were. The morale of the newly trained orcs was high as they reveled in the fact that they didn't have long to wait to put their training that they received here to the test.

Vrassun Tallarak, the Gothmog Ushtar has received word from Orckon that the Imperials had started blockades that were in direct violation of the peace agreement. Orc patrols had already been harassed and attacked. This was the only thing Vrassun need to hear. It was war then. The Horde Master didn't relish the idea of a lasting peace anyway.

The orders to the 6th were given and within candlemarks, they were marching out of the Castellum heading to their first test.

[Gauls]

Cycle 2, in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

As the first ushtar to be trained at the castellum was marching out, a new group of recruits fresh from the province was being ushered into the facility. The tightening of the borders around the orc lands has reduced the flow of recruits that were trying to get into Sheria from the outside. The most that could be mustered so far was one fury of 875 orcs. There was no time to ponder about what to do about this change of events. Kruel still had a full lance plus this new fury to to keep him busy. No doubt he would leave the worry about where the next batch of recruits would come from to the recruiters in Orckon.

Supplies were still coming in and now that the great strain of 10,500 orcs was lifted off his shoulders, the vysstichi commander could focus all his resources on these remaining ones. Meeting the recruits as they milled about on the axe training field, Kruel was ready to start their training.

The training the 3rd Mini Horde has started/completed thus far:

(Completed-->) : Basic Axe [cycle 2] Junctior.
(Completed-->) : Basic dagger [cycle 3] Junctior.
(Completed-->) : Basic Shield-as-a-weapon [cycle 4] Junctior.
Graduated: [Cycle 1] Kalendryas. raised as the 16th LU (Fury) of the 7th Ushtar of the Great Horde

[Gauls]

The 4th Cycle in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

A miracle was performed when the Gothmog Kitot in Orckon made the public announcement for the Horde to suit up. It brought recruits from all nooks and cranny. Most were unfortunates from within Orckon that had nothing else to give but their lives. This was something they were more than happy to do. At least they would die in glory rather than waste away lying upon a trash heap in the city. That was no way for an orc to die. These orcs were going to become Shati. It was ironic that nobody gave them much thought until now. Now they were to get the best training possible and be a step ahead of many of the horde members in status. The 14th LU tarbam was still forming but this extra 875 orcs would be added to the 3rd Mini Horde to fill that shatauz ranks.

The training the 14th LU has started/completed thus far:

(Completed- Click to view->) : Basic Shield-as-a-weapon [cycle 4] Junctior.
(Completed-->) : Basic Shati (spear) [cycle 5] Junctior.
(Completed-->) : Basic war hammer (short) [cycle 1] Kalendryas.
Graduated- [Cycle 1] Kalendryas, raised as the 14th LU Tarbam (Fury) of the 7th Ushtar of the Great Horde

[Gauls]

The 1st cycle in the Month of Kalendryas, in the Season of Winter,
Era I of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XV Post Fractum

The seasons had changed but not the pace of the recruit training. Ire had sent over another fury of lughorns ready to be made into a fighting force. This group of 875 orcs were going to be yet another addition to the 7th Ushtar eventually. This was all assuming that they could hurry and learn their lessons. With the war now upon them, they were eager to get out onto the field. They did not like the idea of having to "learn" while orcs were dying upon the battlefields. The first lesson was going to be basic shield as a weapon.

(In progress- Click to view->) : Basic Shield-as-a-weapon [cycle 1] Kalendryas

[Gauls]

Brgthng 4, Cycle 1, Month of Kalendryas, in the Season of Winter,

Era I of the Celestine Mandate,

Era XV Post Fractum

The fields were busy as usual at the training center with orc furies training to take their places amongst the Great Horde units. Those at the facility were going about their normal routines when suddenly a messenger arrived. The orc was nearly out of breath after traveling as fast as he could atop a horse from Peda.