BLCC-24

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BLCC-24

Husn Fulq after CC-24

Set 1

Unbothered

Set 2

Calm & Collected

Set 3

Open Season

# Palms and Palatines

## Lore

*What is the price of ambition?*

*One might imagine that a crown would make life easier, but the burden is often heavy, and what was once guaranteed sometimes slips away without notice. The Southern Empire has been struggling for the past few months without an end in sight. The Fall of Syronea is still an ever-present memory to many of Ethynol’s most devoted legionnaires, and with the Khuzaits clawing back their territories, some have begun to question the legitimacy of their Imperator. Ethynol only holds the title due to his marriage to Ira, the late Arenicos’ daughter. If some mercenary can become an Emperor, why shouldn’t Archons with generations of history serving the Empire not simply usurp him and take his place?*

*Despite the murmurs, Ethynol still holds onto his very crowning achievement… Husn Fulq. Twice he has defeated the Aserai Sultan in the desert in order to maintain his city, and now he knows what must be done in order to solidify his reign. Just as the walls of his conquest are still threatened, so too is the very crown on his helm. Should he lose Husn Fulq, he may as well lose his crown… and Ethynol does not intend to live as anything other than an Imperator.*

*The boldness of Ethynol to march into the Aserai desert is joyfully welcomed by Sultan Unqid, who has laid out a simple plan to use this opportunity to reclaim Husn Fulq. Slaughter some Calradians in the dune, and they shall not be present to defend their precious city.*

*Once more the son of Arenicos marches to war.*

## Post Event Lore

*Husn Fulq was the beginning of the end once before, back when the Imperial Civil War was between loyalists to Emperor and Senate and Garios' western legions. Ethynol's capture of it on behalf of Empress Rhagaea had secured his position as a worthy husband to Arenicos' daughter and heir, Ira, but also soured the Senate to the Empress for approving such a match. It was also the end to the magnificence of Unqid, becoming a dissonant verse in the songs of the Banu Asera as they failed to take back their city. Today, history changed once more at Husn Fulq.*

*Imperator Ethynol's march against the Aserai possessed the boldness worthy of Calradian Emperors, with legionaries and auxiliaries alike eager for the rich spoils of the Aserai. For Sultan Unqid, this was the chance he had been waiting for, and he had spared no effort in gathering mercenaries from west, north, and east as well as training his warriors. At the Nahr-al-Kals River (known to the Imperials as the Calsa), the two hosts met in combat. The Aserai took concealment in the croplands while the Imperial forces used the buildings of the village as cover. A standoff began, but did not last.*

*Unqid had no intention of following the usual foreplay of cavalry and archers while waiting for the legions to crush his infantry. Instead, he moved forward just enough to hurl javelins into the Imperial ranks, then withdrew as the legionaries tried to pursue. Pulled into the croplands, the legionaries fought fiercely but were left exposed as their forces were separated. Those that reached the Aserai first were riddled by javelins, and then the rest were fallen upon by superior numbers. Ethynol rode between cohorts, trying to restore their cohesion, but the Aserai had found their tempo as the Empire's was utterly lost. No stratagem or any amount of courage managed to stabilize the situation, and soon the Imperial field army was scattered across the desert - literally, or simply routed.*

*The assault of Husn Fulq began at sunset, fire raining upon the city the Aserai sought to liberate. Many would die, but it was the only way to take the city back relatively intact - a long siege would just starve the people they sought to save. In this late hour, Ethynol's courageous leadership showed as he stabilized the situation on several breach points, seeming to defy the Aserai as they had him a few months earlier. Victory - or at least a mitigated defeat - seemed to be at the Empire's grasp as they held the inner walls.*

*It was then that he fell - Imperator Ethynol, rallying his men upon one of the bridges to the inner defenses, took an arrow to the head and died. The effect on the Imperial garrison was immediate, the bridge lost and the Aserai finally gaining access to the inner castle. Although stiff resistance was offered, including the Archon of Onira recovering his Imperator's body, in the end it was for naught and Husn Fulq was retaken by the Banu Asera.*

*Lyracon is aflame as Ethynol had been the military guardian of those loyal to Empress Rhagaea - and had no clear successor among the archons. Perhaps one of them will rise, or perhaps Ira will prove that her time as a gladiator was more than youthful rebellion? The future of the Southern Empire remains unclear, no doubt soon to be determined...*

*For the Banu Asera, Sultan Unqid was once more the Magnificent, celebrating his glorious triumph by partaking in the luxuries he had forsworn until the city's liberation. Clever diplomacy and battlefield bravery had brought them the day battle-weary but victorious - what challenges would they overcome next?*

## Aftermath

The Aserai Sultanate took Husn Fulq from the Southern Empire.

## Links

Event post: [1]

Wrapup post: [2]