Skolpa
Skolpa was a northern warlord, chief of the White Stag clan, whose appearance on the stage of history in 212 AVD stirred the people of Fran. He gathered warriors from many clans under his banner, all eager to fight, and made no secret of his view that the long peace process had "blunted the wolf's tooth".1
Hilda's prophecies
Skolpa kept a seer named Hilda, a young woman whose prophecies he accepted as words sent directly by the gods of the North. Her words directed his warband first against the mountain tribes and then against the island nations, and when the raids inevitably turned towards imperial lands, tension rose sharply.1
Skolpa had brought back the old excitement of the wolf pack. The northerners were monster hunters and raiders, born to it, and that excitement spread through the lands of Fraza like a forest fire.1
The raids
Guided by Hilda's prophecies, Skolpa led his army of northern raiders and the tamed war beasts of the North towards the Great Western Sea, burning and destroying the cities and towns where the Free Folk lived. His host tore through the Western Provinces and raided Neptun, which for a short time became one of its military bases.12
Enriched by loot, fame and glory, Skolpa became a threat to the Empire itself, and he succeeded in cutting the connection between the Archon Academy, the Farr Islands and the Empire. Above all he brought destruction to churches and sacred places, slaying their clergy with his own sword. The Empire could not accept the ruthless destruction of temples, and the High Church demanded retribution.12
Defeat and death
The raids lasted four years. They ended in a bloody and decisive battle on the border of the free ports in the westernmost part of the Westreach province, where the forces of the White Stag met the IV. Legion under Legatus Caelius Compte. The imperial forces crushed the northerners and took no prisoners. Skolpa's body was torn into five parts, and each part was sent to an imperial province as a warning to all aggressors.1
It is believed that Hilda's prophecies led Skolpa into that desperate conflict; others credit the victory to the Imperial Intelligence and its cunning leader, Spymaster Einhart Lorenz. The truth cannot be known. The descendants of many raiders who never returned home still live on the Free Coast.12
Traitor and hero
By every tradition of the North, Skolpa, who rebelled against the Winterwolf clan and the Great Chief's agreement with the Empire, is a traitor. Yet he is also a hero in the northern lands, and those who hear his name raise their beers and call out: "Hear us Skolpa the White Horse, rest proudly in your cold grave!"12
In Mürekkep ve Çelik
In the campaign Mürekkep ve Çelik ("Ink and Steel"), news of Skolpa reaches Castor Onerio in Neptune. An Archon master called White reports that the northerner, preaching that war and plunder are the northern way, has drawn warriors into revolt and sacked the city of Purva; it has been at least five hundred years, he says, since northerners last sacked a great city. Witnesses speak of giants at Skolpa's side, of rhinoceros-like beasts that the giants ride, and of peoples from still further north. His host singles out the priests of the imperial church and burns the coastal towns, and the gangs work with the raiders.3
In Neptune the threat divides the city: some citizens call on the Emperor for help, even at the cost of the city's independence, while others hold out against it. The pirate lords close to the gang that holds the shipyard district will not fight Skolpa and have left the city, and the raiders are said to be a week away or less. The North has declared him a traitor, but that does not stop young warriors from flocking to him.4
Skolpa is judged to avoid striking imperial soil directly, and a legatus with half a legion has been posted to the region. Further north he burns a lighthouse town and has its lighthouse priest's throat cut and his body thrown into the sea. He burns his own longships and marches overland with a growing force that is no longer a band of pirates and gangs but a real army, too strong to be scattered easily.5
Notes
- ↑BookLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide, p. 16
- ↑BookMercenary Compendium, p. 123
- ↑At the tableGizli Görev | Dnd 5e Oynanış #14 (Mürekkep ve Çelik #14), 34:25, 35:08, 38:20
- ↑At the tableGizli Görev | Dnd 5e Oynanış #14 (Mürekkep ve Çelik #14), 37:23, 1:52:14, 1:53:36
- ↑At the tableGizli Görev | Dnd 5e Oynanış #14 (Mürekkep ve Çelik #14), 1:54:43, 2:44:55, 2:45:51
Sources
This article draws on:
Books
Related articles
RegionThe EmpireThe human realm at the heart of the Lands of Exile, an absolute monarchy heavily shaped by faith, ruled from Marble City by the unbroken line of the Red Eagle and divided into five provinces under their Sovereigns.OrganisationWhite StagThe northern clan led by the warlord Skolpa, whose forces fought the IV. Legion in the bloody battle that ended his raids.OrganisationWinterwolfA northern clan named in the story of the warlord Skolpa, who rebelled against it and against the Great Chief's agreement with the Empire.RegionFrazaThe harsh northern realm beyond the Empire's mountain passes, a land of monsters and relentless winter whose clans live free, honour strength and deed above blood, and esteem their seers and witches.RegionGreat Western SeaThe great sea between Caligran and Canarque, home of the Eye of Aquaron, the Farr Islands and the sunken elven city of Athrokaan, along whose shores live the Free Folk.CharacterAzboThe great Azbo of the Zincirsiz campaign, an ancestor revered by orcs who reject their god as a shackle, whose hidden tomb inside a mountain the orcs and the mage Jonathan River sought.CharacterDarkaA half-orc chain warden of the Zincirsiz campaign and friend of the great orc Azbo, whose buried rooms near Azbo's mountain, with their diary, maps and books, were found by the mage Jonathan River.CharacterZolanFounder of the mercenary Followers of Zolan in the Raphael Efsanesi campaign, an undying figure of conflicting legends whose tomb lies in a desert inside a forest, guarded by centaurs and by a winged armoured avatar.CharacterAlcarin NowafinveA Chain Warden of the slayer doctrine, celebrated in the Ballad of the Six as one of the six wardens who stood against the Dark One on Victory Day.CharacterAlexander MoonshieldA Chain Warden remembered among the known followers of the vanguard doctrine, the order's path of protecting allies.