The Winter War: Final Outcome

Spectres, wraiths, and giant bats stream over the battlefield, torturing the living and preying upon the dying. As the last of the Men of Hambley run, screaming from the walls of Oraving, Trazynel the Vampire Lord looks out upon his new domain. Today, he has triumphed. To his west, the White City of Hriving stands, last bastion of the Principality of Oraving. To his east, the elves of Arbelladon remain, dwindled but defiant, their realm now protected by the power of the Scepter of Vassuryn. In time, the elves would fall. But first, he would squash Hriving like...

...like a bug, Beloved?

Aemelia? How?

Did you think I would not know it the moment you escaped your prison, Beloved? My thoughts are always upon you.

I will never... Never... Never bow the knee to you. Not then, not now.

It's so charming that you think you have a choice. The Unquiet Night is falling.

Hesper--

Hesper is defeated. His temples are defiled and his crusaders destroyed. Thank you for helping with that, by the way.

I will find a way to defeat you.

Promises, promises, Beloved. I will see you soon.

---

The next day, something strange happens: with the coming of Spring, most of the Undead Legions slink away from Oraving, returning to the Necropolis, as Trazynel begins to prepare himself for the coming conflict with the Lady Amelia. A heavy mist descends permanently over the middle of the Vale, and crossing even via the Lake becomes extremely dangerous.

In the south, the Red City of Oraving becomes known as the City of the Damned, as horrible vermin, zombies, skeletons, and worse roam its streets aimlessly. The White City of Hriving becomes the last bastion of human civilization in the region, desperate for heroes to champion its cause and reclaim the lands which once belonged to the Principality. The elves of Arbelladon slowly regrow their power, with the new Elvenking vowing revenge upon his enemies, and to avoid repeating the mistakes of his predecessor...

In the North, the Men of Hambley fall under the shadow of Nora-To, the Wise Man of the Wood, and are plunged into darkness, enslaved by the strange sacrificial rites beneath the trees. The former Abbey of Igolb becomes a place of darkness, evil, and murder, filled with the cries of the innocent.

Roving bands of Beastmen still plague the mountain passes, but the loss of its main sources of slaves and loot make the Vale far less interesting to the Underlords Below, and the Ironburg is abandoned, and becomes the abode of other things, far older than Beastmen, that crawl among the roots of the mountains.

---

Outcome: Qualified Lawful victory (Principality of Oraving). Trazynel failed to seize the Teeth of Vassuryn and/or destroy Arbelladon in time to seize victory, and chooses to return to the Necropolis to attempt to find a means of victory over his former lover, the Lady Aemelia.