Morning Edition - 4/9/09

The Agon Tribune greets its first morning here on the east coast and finds Agon quiet, for now. In previous weeks the world of Darkfall was gripped by the paroxysms of war--struggles for control on Yssam, Niflheim and Cairn, raiding on Rubaiyat, conquest and consolidation on the mainland--but with much of the world settling into defined power blocs the rapid shifting of territories has slowed. To take advantage of the relative calm, this edition of the Agon Tribune will bring readers up to speed on Agon's recent history and political disposition. The Darkfall Political Map for 4/08/09 can be found at the right of your screen.

• Niflheim: The frozen subcontinent is one of the quietest these days in terms of territorial shifts. The Death Alliance, formed around the Lords of Death and associated guilds, contested with the Savage Alliance and now-defunct North Agon Alliance for control of Niflheim throughout late March, but has held control of the subcontinent for several days now. The only disputant to complete Death control of Niflheim, called Deciet by the LoD in rememberance of their territories in the Shadowbane online game, remains the SB Alliance. SB is a recently consolidated guild formed originally around the holdings of the Undead Lords, now centered in the western islands of Niflheim, but which now includes the Shipwrecked Pirates and Dreadnaughts and their Tribelands holdings. As we will see with the other powers of Agon, the Death Alliance is slowly expanding outward from its core territories.and now has land borders with Hyperion Kingdom, the Dvergheim Alliance, as well as settlements in close proximity to DUSK and Coalition of the Chillin's KGB.
  

• Rubaiyat: Far to the south of the growing Death empire, the desert subcontinent is currently ruled by DUSK Alliance. DUSK was one of the first subcontinental empires to emerge, as the guilds who first staked their claim in Rubaiyat banded together for mutual defense. Despite a rocky start, plagued by raids from small, fast-moving groups which the widly scattered DUSK forces were ill-equipped to defend against, DUSK has expanded to take territories far beyond their desert home, with new member clans scattered across Nagast. Though a compact held between DUSK and the Coalition of the Chillin until very recently, that diplomatic process appears to have broken down--an interesting development, as DUSK's continental holdings abut those of the CotC.

• Cairn: The smallest subcontinent was also the first to unify. Divided between two warring factions in the opening weeks of the game, the Northern and Southern Cairn Alliances, this first, bitter subcontinental conflict was resolved swiftly. The Southern Cairn Alliance took full control of the region, forcing survivors of the NCA out onto the southeastern shores of Agon, where a vestige of the alliance survives in the eXile clan under the Coalition of the Chillin. Since unification Cairn, both the subcontinent and the alliance which now claims that name, have gone quiet. Cairn leaders proclaim a neutral position in conflicts on the continent, but this has not stopped the alliance from broadening its territories. Sovereignty of the Tribelands recently converted to Cairn, and the alliance holds the four island hamlets off Agon's southern coast. Revently, internal events have reached the rest of the world from Cairn: the Coalition of Character Killers, Darkfall branch of online community Lords of the Dead and early member of the Southern Cairn Alliance, was ousted from its city in the early hours of 4/8/09, EST. Cairn and CoCK leaders cited disagreements on the alliance's neutrality policy as the root of this falling out. The Cairn Alliance deployed significant forces and sieged the CoCK from its clan city, forcing the clan north much like the NCA of old. CoCK leader CountValor has declared the clan's intentions to take up a nomadic, PKing life within Hyperion territory. A special report on developments on Cairn may be forthcoming.

• Yssam: The jungle subcontinent to Agon's northeast remains a troubled land, despite weeks of ongoing warfare. Initially Yssam was divided between the Stasis alliance and the Yssam Coalition, but history has not been kind to Stasis. Through weeks of fighting the Yssam Coalition, aided by forces from the Hyperion Kingdom, has forced Stasis from one clanstone after another. Today only one Stasis settlement survives, a hamlet in the center of Yssam's jungles, while the YC dominates the north and Hyperion holds cities across the south. Mahtisoturit, a clan which holds a hamlet on Yssam's southern coast, has joined the Coalition of the Chillin. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Stasis intends to continue fighting on Yssam even if their last hamlet is taken, a move which would begin an insurgent phase in the ongoing Yssam conflict. Leaders from both sides who wish to get their message out are welcomed to contact the Tribune.

• Agon, the Continental Powers: As indicated above, much of Agon proper has been colonized by alliance powers from the subcontinents. Each of the politically unified regions (Niflheim, Cairn, Rubaiyat) has continental holdings, and this week has seen hesitant expansion by the colonial powers throughout Agon. Two powers, however, call the continent their home: the Hyperion Kingdom, Darkfall's elephant in the room which dominates in an arc from dwarven territory to human lands, and the Coalition of the Chillin which stands in the crook between Nagast and Mercia. Hyperion, is Darkfall's largest alliance in both numbers and territory, and used its pre-release media campaign to drum up vast recruiting numbers before Darkfall even went live. Political unity and sheer force of population have allowed the Hyperion Kingdom to expand further and command more influence than any other single body on Agon--but initial skirmishes with other alliances have shown Hyperion to be mighty, but not truly invincible. The esistence of the Coalition of the Chillin, Hyperion's most direct competitor, testifies to this. Headed by Awful Company, Darkfall branch of the Something Awful forum goons, CotC has engaged in low level warfare with Hyperion across their shared border and lived to tell the tale. The goons, infamous for their community's showing in EVE Online, have a potential population pool to give even Hyperion pause, but to date the two alliances have yet to initiate a full-scale confrontation. Like the colonial powers, Agon's two continental empires appear to be biding their time.

• Elsewhere: Beyond the subcontinents and CotC/Hyperion territory, much of the main continent remains fairly disunified. The Forest Republic, which held territory throughout Mirendil, disintegrated recently and no new alliances have fully filled that void yet. Meanwhile, the Tribelands have been colonized by a smattering of Alliances and form the heartland of SB but are not yet fully claimed by any force. The Dvergheim Compact, formerly the Latin Alliance, borders most of the eastern Tribelands with hamlets scattered throughout the mountains and hills between dwarf and mahirim territory. Mirendil and the Tribelands, situated between DUSK, Death and Hyperion, remain wild and dangerous country where forces from each of those alliances are active, and remain home to some of the last independent clans of Agon. Travelers in the region are advised to be cautious, as one can never be too sure of the disposition of groups encountered in these border marches.

This concludes the Morning Edition. Clarifications and corrections from the community are accepted at agon.tribune@gmail.com.

See you in Agon,

Edmund Grain, Ed. in Chief