Stymphalian Swamps

The **Stymphalian Swamps** are the home of the notorious Stymphalian birds, monstrous birds that devour humans and have beaks of bronze. The feathers are sharp and metallic while their dung is poisonous. In the swamps these dangerous birds reproduce quickly and destroy nearby farmlands and countryside.

## History

The region of Stymphalia was claimed by the Azan Empire more than a thousand years ago, being one of the last regions that were incorporated into the Empire before reaching its peak. Several outposts were built and the region served its purpose as a march between the Empire and the city-state of Daligrad.

The stationed Azaneese soldiers did not really bother with the local swamp people, and new farms or settlements did not really spring up as the region was mostly covered in swamps and the soil was considered poor. Most of the outposts were abandoned following Azan's expansion eastwards and northwards, as they served no purpose anymore.

Following Azan's decline, many of its northeastern provinces were subsequently abandoned. Stymphalia, in particular, was in the plans of many Azaneese Emperors of the time, who wanted the swamps drained and the region turned into a lush fertile land. The loss of manpower and money, however, changed those plans, and the officials of Azan thought that the little tax they collected from the locals was not worth the cost of maintaining the province. Therefore, Stymphalia remained a province of Azan only in name.

In the recent centuries, Azan began reclaiming their lost provinces around Daligrad and Hasteria, in part thanks to the rising threat of the Witch Elves to the east. The Emperor was not keen into turning Stymphalia into a farmland (as his predecessors were), instead planning into rebuilding the outposts and forts that were erected there when the region was originally claimed. His idea was that the unstable, swampy terrain of Stymphalia together with the addition of expertly trained soldiers would make these lands totally impassable for any Witchelven army.

This was approved by the Emperor's advisors and an expedition was sent out, but fate had other plans. Upon arriving in Stymphalia, the Azaneese were hoping to be greeted by the local townsfolk and begin their construction work at once. Instead, all they found was abandoned villages and farmsteads with no traces of cattle. The Azaneese thought that the swamp folk of Stymphalia had left them nothing behind in purpose, but the truth was even grimer than that.

As they were traversing the swamps, the Azaneese expeditionaries found themselves in a dark cave, waiting for a storm to pass. There, they were met by a tribe of swampfolk, and with the help of a translator they learned their side of the story. One day almost a hundred years ago, a flock of strange birds with a metallic appearance appeared out of the east and began attacking the populace. Even though many of these birds -appropriately named the Stymphalian Birds- were killed and shot down by the locals, many more appeared. Most of the swampfolk fell victim to their ferocious attacks, and those that hid in their homes soon found out that the dung of these birds was poisonous, so much that their crops and livestock started dropping like flies.

Being unable to efficiently hunt these birds down and facing extinction, the locals fled deep into the swamps, living inside caves and gathering what little they could from the land, with the Stymphalian birds still roaming the region. In their hubris, the Azaneese thought that they could finish what these uncivilized swamp dellers could not, and sought out to face the deadly birds.

It's safe to say that the Azaneese expedition met its demise, with only a handful of soldiers returning home in one piece. The survivors did not think of the Stymphalian birds as natural and blamed this plague on the Witch Elves or even the Wizard of Kalydon; Archarom. Finding themselves in Azan, the surviving expeditionaries pleaded with the royal court that they could eliminate the Stymphalian Birds with a larger force and perhaps the aid of a sorcerer, but the court did not want to hear anything of it, not wanting to spend even more manpower dealing with birds when the Witch Elves were at their doorstep.

Instead, only a small group of a few dozen volunteers was allowed to venture in Stymphalia, with the goal of acting as a guerilla force in case the Witch Elves invaded Azan through Stymphalia. These warriors, nicknamed the "Crimson Commandos" and their descendants can still be found in Stymphalia today, living with the locals and aiding them in killing Stymphalian Birds and other monsters found roaming in the swamps, as well as drilling them for combat in the case of a Witch Elven incursion.