“Ware your soldiers, General… for even the rudest wields a spear.”
– The sage Aldoon to Ellian Hard-Heart, field commander of the first Ril Dyaran invasion of Leikonsir. Three months into the campaign, the General was betrayed by his troops to the Leikons, who executed him for war crimes committed at the fall of Bursann.
The original World in Sunder story
The land of Ril Dyara lies divided. After decades of wanton, imperialist kings and ill-starred wars with the peaceable realms of the south, the once-prosperous kingdom shudders under the iron march of two opposing forces: the royalist Halberds, loyal to the recently vacated throne, and the rebel Pikestaffs, seeking the overthrow of the war-mongering monarchy.
It is the onset of a tumultuous time, never before seen from the time-lost days of the Dawning. A time of distrust and danger, flags and foemen, when it is all too easy for bonds of blood and water to be tested – and sometimes broken.
Across Ril Dyara, men and women have flocked to answer the calls to arms, in accordance with their interests and beliefs. Some are idealists, dreaming of a land at peace. Others are opportunists, grubbing for gold and glory in the chaos. Still others hold to bosom reasons of their own: promises made, desires unmet, death wishes even.
But no matter their nature, all will do their bit for the destiny of their nation.
So will a small band of would-be Pikestaff recruits who find themselves on the Great Eastern Road to Clath Slye, fortress city and seat of the rebel government. They hail from many a walk of life, and aspire to many a reward for their oath, and have come together for protection against the brigands and Halberd press-gangs that rove the land in the wake of the civil war.
Only these volunteers are about to get swept up in the battle for Ril Dyara far sooner, and far deeper, than any of them could have imagined…
…and just as in any battle, the choices of a few may well decide the fates of many.
Hosted and narrated by:
Syrmaticus
Completed 11/01/16.
Scenes played: 10
License: Community License
