Two dispatches from our capital
ABYSIA, THE SMOULDERCONE - The war is about to begin. The citizens of Abysia who appointed Joe their leader hoped never to see this day. They thought that maybe, this time, they could live in fiery peace. But Joe, in his wisdom, has lead the Abysians to war with their former friends, the lizard people of C'tis. Insiders have suggested that this is a foolish war, that any of Abysia's other neighbors would have been a more sensible first foe. But Joe has been insistent - it is C'tis (and their bountiful supply of death gem dust) or no one.
The war promises to be a classic clash of quantity versus quality. No nation can match C'tis in sheer number of troops on the field, no nation can match Abysia in quality of armor and arms.
But that's not to say that C'tis is a nation of weaklings. The lizards are tough, resilient, difficult to kill in their own right. And, what's more, they will have some natural resistance to the chief of Abysia's weapons: heat. The Abysians - unaccustomed to and undesirous of war (in spite of their reputation to the contrary) - are scared. Their leaders, wary. But Joe, above all, with his prophet and sometime lover Jake, is confident of victory. Will that confidence prove foolish? The axes of Abysia will meet the spears of C'tis this month, and we will start to find out. This war will not be won in its opening months, but it could be lost.
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ABYSIA, THE SMOULDERCONE - "How do they do it," that's the question that has been plaguing Abysia's enemies. They, in this case, are the Abysian assassin corps. For a nation of giant, fiery, highly conspicuous people, the Abysian assassins are surprisingly effective.
The answer, of course, is that our best and finest assassins are not the fiery lava-born that make up the bulk of our armies and population, but rather the winged demonbred, the brain children of Warlock experimentation. No one knows for sure how the demons are bred, exactly, but speculation is rife both within and beyond Abysia that it might have something to do with death gems, blood slaves, and, well, good old fashioned romance.
In a recent interview, noted Warlock Malphas had this to say: "Oh, yes, demonbred. They're wonderful aren't they. As to how we make them," he grinned wryly, "That's for me to know and you to find out." The notes of the correspondent assigned to the interview end there, though the most recent of the demonbred bear a distinct resemblance to said reporter, and have shown a remarkable capability for investigative journalism.
(Oh, and as a gameplay note, we haven't sent our assassins against anyone but Marverni... So far)
