Battle for the Crop Terraces

**The Battle for the Crop Terraces** is sometimes also called Battle at the Terraces, Battle for the Terraces, Battle of the Crop Terraces‎. It was a long and bloody battle, between the humans and the scars at the Crop Terraces. The humans were victorious, but with severe casualties, including thwarting of plans to expand Fort Tarsis until the first refuge.

## Collection Details

A total of **12** cortex entries make reference to the Battle for the Crop Terraces.

These include pieces of historic mentions, origin stories of javelin equipment, stored information in archives, and other documentation traditions such as notes left by Freelancers on overlooks and stolen intel from enemies of Bastion.

## Scar Intel Archive (5)

*See Cortex Entry: Scar Intel Archive (5) for More Details*

The Scars have taken Lakeshore. Their buildup has become too great, and any chance of squashing this swarm was lost long ago. I suspect Escari. We have requested a squadron from Antium, and I have personally contacted the Freelancers to join in our fight. I know things look desperate, but I urge you not to fall into despair. We survived the Battle at the Terraces. We'll get through this.

— Commander Vule. Transcript, Sentinel files.

## Howel's Tower

*See Cortex Entry: Howel's Tower for More Details*

Central lookout tower for the dam area, named after Commander Yarrick Howel. Commander Howel arrived from Antium upon the commencement of building the Honor Valley Dam, and was particularly diligent in his care of the workers in the area. “He was tough,” recounts Sentinel Fatima Lan, “but that's because he cared. He wasn’t going to lose anyone on his watch. And until the Scars… he didn’t.” Howel died defending workers during the **Scar attack**.

— From *History of Scars* by Hanni Blythe

## The Crop Terraces (District)

*See Cortex Entry: The Crop Terraces (District) for More Details*

The **Battle for the Crop Terraces** is the most significant Scar skirmish to date, in which Scars mounted their first organized attack against a human settlement. It was a long and bloody battle, resulting in the total decimation of the fort's crops. Antium sent supplies and troops north, but had difficulty crossing enemy lines, causing extra hardship to those in Fort Tarsis. After the hard-won victory, it was decreed that the Scar population must never be allowed to grow that large again, and so “bug-hunts” became a necessary and dangerous practice for lancers in the area. The Terraces haven’t been cultivated since.

— From *History of Scars* by Hanni Blythe

## Escari

*See Cortex Entry: Escari for More Details*

A sentient manifestation of a Scar swarm. Once a swarm has reached a critical mass through consumption, it can spawn an Escari, an advanced Scar capable of speech and intelligent thought. Compared to regular Scars, Escari are individuals with unique thoughts and ambitions that are thought to lead to Scar power struggles. These disputes make Escari eager to augment and improve themselves as they see fit.

The first Escari was discovered at the Battle for the Terraces leading a coordinated attack on farmers, burning the fields below Fort Tarsis.

— From History of Scars

## Valley of Tarsis

*See Cortex Entry: Valley of Tarsis for More Details*

This valley is the location of the pre-Legion era "Haven," as well as the strider path and lock to Antium. The valley was home to the great agricultural project of the late 300s, the Honor Valley Dam, but with the coming of the Scars, farming became more dangerous and the project was abandoned. Scar skirmishes culminated in the Battle for the Terraces, destroying Fort Tarsis' local food source and leaving the fort completely reliant on imports from Antium for survival.

## Shaper Relics (2)

*See Cortex Entry: Shaper Relics (2) for More Details*

While Cataclysms have been a constant in our world, we have chosen not to experiment with the Anthem of Creation. Scars have no such reservations. They seek out Shaper relics for their own purposes. The Scar Luminary who led the attack on the terraces used a relic to charge its weapons with extra firepower. In a separate attack, Junkhead sought to use a relic to make itself physically stronger. While a tempting experiment, Antium has declared that relics are simply too unstable to be safely manipulated by humans. As always, every effort should be made to keep Scars from accessing relics.

— From *Cataclysms and their Effects*, 41st Edition

## Cycle of Pain (Weapon)

*See Cortex Entry: Cycle of Pain (Weapon) for More Details*

Cycle of Pain has become a favorite of Freelancers who believe the best offence is a good defense. Warrel Pender had an early model of this LMG in his hands when he rallied lancers during the Scar attack on the terraces of Fort Tarsis. His repeated counterattacks decimated swarming groups of Scars and inspired the other lancers. Now it's considered good luck to bear this weapon when launching a counterattack.

## Sentinel's Vengeance (Weapon)

*See Cortex Entry: Sentinel's Vengeance (Weapon) for More Details*

This sticky, timed grenade was instrumental in the Battle of the Terraces when Fort Tarsis was nearly overrun by the Scars. Sentinels deployed these grenades to great effect while retreating from the terraces. The explosive and acid effects slowed the Scars advance and allowed the defenders of Fort Tarsis to regroup and hold the walls.

## Scar Intel Archive (3)

*See Cortex Entry: Scar Intel Archive (3) for More Details*

Scars have a pecking order, you see. Regular bugs, smart ones who speak, and smart ones who get big ideas. Junkhead had ideas. We followed him into the basin, and he was firing the machine gun on his forehead while shooting the cannon on his back at Bean and Derks. Bean rocketed up to get a better shot at the smaller Scars, but Junkhead slapped him down. The regular Scars swarmed Bean and Junkhead just wiped out the whole pile. Killed Bean. Killed those Scars, too. Eventually, we put Junkhead down. The rest of those Scars scattered… didn't know what to do when the most dominant is gone. Fight it out to determine who's boss, I suppose...

— Freelancer interview. Arcanist archives.

## Convector Henge

*See Cortex Entry: Convector Henge for More Details*

This now dormant Shaper relic juts out of the earth like walls arranged in a large circular pattern. It became active around 250 L.V. and is thought to be connected to water boiling in the nearby water source, The Bowl. The Scar Luminary known as Junkhead undertook efforts to unearth this relic, but was defeated. Freelancers silenced the relic and it has not been active since.

## Junkhead Basin (District)

*See Cortex Entry: Junkhead Basin (District) for More Details*

After the terraces were destroyed, Fort Tarsis decided to be more proactive managing Scar swarms. a combined force of Sentinels and Freelancers assembled to destroy the construct in the Basin. Upon arrival, they were met with a new discovery: an intelligent Scar with technology built into its skull, earning in the name “Junkhead.” Junkhead is considered the first official Scar Luminary.

— From *History of Scars* by Hanni Blythe

## Scar Luminary

*See Cortex Entry: Scar Luminary for More Details*

A Scar Luminary is a particularly long-lived Escari that uses its intelligence and experience to lead a Scar swarm. In the past Luminaries have been ambitious, strategic, and brutal.

Most Luminaries encountered by Freelancers have attempted to mimic javelins by fusing weaponry to their bodies through exposure to Shaper relics. Junkhead mounted numerous guns and cannons on his head. Gearfoot fused strider legs to his lower half and stomped the Freelancers trying to stop him from passing through the Antium Lock. For this reason alone the Scar population must be kept in check. If more scars become Luminaries, the result would be unspeakable.

—From *History of Scars*