Han’s first siege against House Stark capital Winterfell has been broken. The siege break comes less than a day after it was initiated as part of the first round of a fresh war in the Broken Lands region of Almenly.
This morning server time, the Times noted that the siege listing for Winterfell was dropped from the Herald. However, a review of the House Stark profile page revealed that the city was still intact and had not appeared to have lost any significant population, suggesting that the siege may have been broken prior to the beginning of bombardment.
The blockade on the city still appeared to be functional.
Meanwhile, over at the Stark siege of EvilBanking7’s city of M3, correspondents noted that the siege was still active and by this point was likely firing. However, in light of the fact that Stark has yet to establish a blockade at the siege site, the city appeared to be largely intact as well.
These two sieges are the first two in a war that flamed up yesterday between Han and Stark, with Han citing a broad spectrum of justifications, including Phoenixfire’s exit from the Stomps/claimers war, his dissolution of the Stark land claim, and an inherent rivalry between the two small BL alliances who are seeking to dominate Almenly.
[UPDATED 17:45 ST — According to a battle report sent to the Times, Phoenixfire broke the Han siege with a small attacking force. It appears that the siege army arrives ahead of reinforcements.]
The Times needs information on who broke the siege at Winterfell to update the war score card. Please send the battle report to us so that we can update!
Cities involved in the Han/Stark war. Han is depicted in green, while Stark is in blue.
A third war theatre has opened up in the Broken Lands, this time between Almenly neighbors Shu-Han [Han] and House Stark [Stark]. In what appeared to be a loosely-structured war declaration posted in the diplomacy section of the BL Illyriad forums, Han’s alliance account laid out a rambling casus belli that was at times difficult to follow. However, what is clear is that at the center of Han’s war declaration is a longstanding grudge with Stark leader Phoenixfire and his recent controversial moves to downgrade his alliance’s land claim and make unilateral peace with Stomps without consultation of claimer alliance.
In the post, entitled “Phoenixfire The Traitor,” the Han press office reels off a visceral attack on PF, questioning his loyalty as an ally:
How much can you trust Phoenix? When will he flip again? Whose side is he really on? He is no ally to the LC coalition, and he is not abiding by his oath to Stomps. He is a liar. He is a manipulator. He is a coward and a traitor that will brought justice by Shu. If he wanted to get out of the war there was better ways of doing it. For example at the very least let the coalition know. It would have been a lot better if he had told anyone from the coalitions he was flipping instead of not saying anything. So this is my question to House Stark’s allies. Would you want to be an ally to someone who might just tuck his tail and run then leave you in the wind?
Hours after negotiating peace with Stomps and dropping his LC, Phoenixfire stated “we will think about reinstating our original claim once we have fully settled our homeland. Once that has been done no one will be able to challenge our claim by settling.”. How can someone trust one who lies so blatantly? He has no honor to stick for even a day to his peace deal. Instead he instantly began conspiring against his oath to Stomps. . . Despite his attempts of breaking LC solidarity, PhoenixFire promised “Stark won’t be making peace until everyone else has.” Shortly after this promise, PhoenixFire backed out of the war with Stomps and dropped his land claim. After LC alliances demanding answers, Phoenixfire simply replied “people were abusing land claims and we weren’t having fun anymore.”
“Hello, neighbor:” Han and Stark’s claim-free zones buttress right up against one another. Photo Credit: BL Land Claim Map
Han’s new military campaign to bring PF to what the alliance considers to be “justice” appears to have been persuasive enough to have elicited the sympathies of some in Trivium [TVM], as well as support from Broken Blades [B!B], who co-declared war, ostensibly more in solidarity with Han than as an apparent combatant, since B!B has not issued a statement as of yet.
Lord Moonpie, Praetor Diplomaticus of Trivium, elaborated on some previous dealings with Stark in support of Han’s accusations: “Stark previously declared war on Han and demanded that they leave Almenly. The matter was resolved diplomatically with the help of TVM and RE.” He also went on to outline a similar argument as Han in PF’s mishandling of Stark’s role in the current Stomps/claimers war: “Some people in the Land Claim movement are upset by this and feel betrayed by his actions.”
Noticeably absent from the war banter in the Illyriad forums has been Phoenixfire himself, who has yet to answer these accusations levied publicly by Han. However, in comments left on the Times, PF in part addressed his issues with Han. In an effort to explain his abrupt policy changes that went from stating “we will think about reinstating our original claim once we have fully settled our homeland — Once that has been done no one will be able to challenge our claim by settling” to his refutation of land claims altogether in the wake of negotiating for peace with Stomps, he admitted: “Yes I have said both of those. The first was said when we actually had a part in the war, and the second was said when i thought we would still have to fight Stomps in order to keep our DoH. When we realized the DoH was doing its job of helping us avoid conflict we realized it is doing what we wanted the land claim to.”
While the motivations for the Han/Stark war remain convoluted at best, the prospect of two relatively similarly-sized military alliances next to one another in Almenly may make for balanced albeit lightweight war in the Broken Lands. And both alliances have been quick out of the gate to put military might behind their rhetoric. Phoenixfire initiated the first siege of the war, against EvilBanking7’s city of M3:
Player Being Sieged: EvilBanking7 [Han] City: M3 [-276|-2691] in Almenly Sieger: Phoenixfire [Stark] Date/Time: Mon 20 Jul 08:19
That siege was quickly answered by EvilBanking7, who set up a siege on PF’s city of Winterfell, the House Stark capital that also happens to be behind enemy lines in Han’s land claim:
Player Under Siege: Phoenixfire [Stark] City: 1. Winterfell [-279|-2655] in Almenly Sieger: EvilBanking7 [Han] Date/Time: Mon 20 Jul 19:0
As this is a new war, little is known about the composition of the armies or where the intense bitterness between Han and Stark will lead. The Times will continue to update the story as more information becomes available.
[UPDATED 7:42am, ST: The war declaration thread for this war appears to have been deleted on the Illyriad forum. For reference, we are reprinting Han’s entire declaration below.’
You all have seen this name. PhoenixFire, a proclaimed hero of the Land Claiming (LC) Coalition. A figure cheered on by BL alliances and Elgeans alike as he resisted Stomps. A symbol of resistance that rivals that of Che, but like Che, our Phoenix is not pure of heart. Within this week Phoenixfire has made some movements. I’m sure everyone in the forums is aware of him flipping sides and leaving the LC coalition. The reason he flipped is because a DoH fits House Starks ideal rules for claiming a piece of land or so he says. I believe differently as Phoenixfire has stated before he wants House Stark to get stronger before they make a Land Claim. The reason I believe is he went to a DoH is because STOMP took a city from him and he knew he was a weaker link in the coalition. This brings the question of honor to the table. How much can you trust Phoenix? When will he flip again? Whose side is he really on? He is no ally to the LC coalition, and he is not abiding by his oath to Stomps. He is a liar. He is a manipulator. He is a coward and a traitor that will brought justice by Shu. If he wanted to get out of the war there was better ways of doing it. For example at the very least let the coalition know. It would have been a lot better if he had told anyone from the coalitions he was flipping instead of not saying anything. So this is my question to House Stark’s allies. Would you want to be an ally to someone who might just tuck his tail and run then leave you in the wind? I would think not. To House Starks allies I recommend you think about your relationship with him. In war your honor is what counts. There is also ways to get out of war without turning your back on your allies. Would you really want to side with him? Another thing to think about is He cannot be trusted to stick to his deals. Hours after negotiating peace with Stomps and dropping his LC, Phoenixfire stated “we will think about reinstating our original claim once we have fully settled our homeland. Once that has been done no one will be able to challenge our claim by settling.”. How can someone trust one who lies so blatantly? He has no honor to stick for even a day to his peace deal. Instead he instantly began conspiring against his oath to Stomps. We know PhoenixFire attacked BL alliances that did not rashly enter the war against Stomps. He declared himself a leader of a “true military alliance” as he gave Stomps their only raze due to his spread-out and unsupportable cities. He continued to persecute alliances that were prioritizing centralization while throwing himself into a war where most of his power lay on the complete other side of the world, the side that Stomps had control. Despite his attempts of breaking LC solidarity, PhoenixFire promised “Stark won’t be making peace until everyone else has.” Shortly after this promise, PhoenixFire backed out of the war with Stomps and dropped his land claim. After LC alliances demanding answers, Phoenixfire simply replied “people were abusing land claims and we weren’t having fun anymore”. Perhaps a fair sentiment…if we skip over that House Stark under PhoenixFire’s direction forcibly removed a newb from his territory while he happily operated under his LC. A shining example of PhoenixFire clinging to moral superiority when he has none. We’ve stated many things against Phoenixfire and this hopefully shows what type of player he really is. We have stated what he plans to do after the war is over. We hope this brings insight into why the Shu is doing what we are doing. We feel this was cowardly on Phoenix’s part and he should face justice. The overall part of this is Phoenix doesn’t want to fight for a Land Claim but he wants one. He wants to be able to force people out of his land without fighting for it. He is using everyone hoping STOMP/LCers finish each other off then post up a LC after all of it is said and done as stated above. Hopefully this shows his true colors.
One of the original members of the loose coalition of land claiming alliances to challenge Stomps in its quest to end BL land claims has made what appears to be white peace in the war. After announcing the retraction of its own land claim in Almenly a few days ago, House Stark purportedly entered peace discussions with Stomps.
Early Saturday morning, server time, Stomps’ Bimoda made the peace agreement announcement on the Illyriad forums:
Stomp has accepted Stark’s request for peace.
Stark’s change in their stance to a Declaration of Homeland where they will not force other players from settling in their declared area, and their statement to us that they do not agree with the practice of land claim alliances forcibly removing cities from their claims, is evidence to us that there no longer a need for war between our two alliances.
Stomp supports their policy for a DoH and recognizes this as a preferable alternative to the closing off of large sections of the map to other players.
House Stark [Stark] recently announced that it has abandoned its strict land claim policy in Almenly, putting in place a new designation called a “Declaration of Homeland.”
The announcement was officially made in the Illyriad Forums on July 14th, when Stark Leader PhoenixFire noted that the alliance’s land claim in the southeastern quadrant of Almenly, which originally prohibited new settlement of players outside of Stark, was being replaced with the more lenient “DoH.” The first version of the DoH policy mandated a 13-square no-settlement radius around Stark cities — an expansion of the widely-held “10-square rule” that generally governs the game.
However, a litany of negative feedback from other players over the new policy persuaded PF to amend the Stark policy. What appears to be the final policy for the time being was posted in the forums, and reads:
As of July 14th east of x:-100 and south of y: -2625 in Almenly as their Homeland. We will treat it like Trivium’s Zone 2 claim meaning we will not adhere to any land claims within this area.
Edited: We as Stark will adhere to a 13 square rule inside this area and encourage others to do so, however you may still follow the 10sq rule if you wish. Do expect for us to be harvesting and skinning 6 squares away from our cities though.
However we do not suggest settling here as this is where Stark will be settling most of its cities and does not wish to push anyone out just because we may outgrow you.
The new version of the policy appears to only enforce the 10-square rule and prohibition of any other alliance land claim within the alliance’s original land claim borders.
With the abrupt peace agreements between Stomps and BL land claiming alliances T-SC and RE last week, followed by SIN’s cancellation of NAPs with T-SC and T-O, the group in the Broken Lands appeared to be fracturing. However, some of the smaller alliances in the war are continuing to make headlines by breaking and launching audacious sieges as well as forging new diplomatic partnerships.
Earlier this morning server time, House Stark and the Deathmongers entered into a confederation, as reported in the Herald’s diplomacy section and in GC:
[12:20]<System> ** News flash: A Confederation has been agreed between House Stark [Stark] and Deathmongers [Death]
Neither alliance have characterized the new confederation as being directly related to the war effort, but with Death’s recent attempt to siege CleopatraMurk in Pawanallpa (which the Times has learned was broken by Cleo herself after leaving Stomps), the gaming community is wondering if this new confederation is designed to bring Death further into the war.
At present, in addition to the new Stark confederation, Death also has a confederation with Broken Blades, another BL land claim alliance. Death has also extended confed offers to both SIN and HALO, which are still currently pending.
While the sieges on He-Man’s Castle Greyskull and Mankini Mansion appear to be spinning their wheels in western Elgea, Stomps opened up an opportunistic, new siege on a BL land claim alliance city, this time targeting the leader of House Stark. At 16:43, Bimoda, a longtime member of Illyria Fairy Nation [Fairy], planted a fresh siege army in the small forest just south of PhoenixFire‘s Grayditch. At the time of this writing, Illyriad Times correspondents observed at least one additional reinforcing army joining the siege, along with one that arrive prior to the siege army. There is no additional word on troop numbers or troop composition on the siege, nor what resources PF has to stave off the siege, if any.
The arrival of Bimoda marks the first high-profile Fairy member to Stomps, a traditionally Elgean-based alliance that, under the guidance of longtime leader TanyaFairy, has established a foothold in the Broken Lands as well:
Fairy’s Presence in the Broken Lands
Bimoda joined Fairy in January of 2013, and with the exception of a very brief stint in the Fairy Roads Authority, has remained there ever since. Her willing departure to Stomp, combined with Fairy’s presence in the BL, is bound to raise questions as to whether Stomp may try to court Fairy in order to bolster the alliance’s presence in the south.
On 08 Jun 2015 at 14:00 Server Time, Pico, regularly a member of Dark Shade [Shark] leadership, along with his alt account LePue, founded Stomps [Stomp]. The single purpose of the alliance, as stated on its profile page, is to “. . . strike down alliances whom have the audacity to claim parts of a region as their own, which do not represent the ideals of freedom and liberty towards the Illyriad community as a whole.”
The targeting of such alliances was a reaction to the launch of an alliance land claim initiative in the Broken Lands that began two months to the day on April 8th when the Hashashin [SIN] announced their own claim in Northern Fellandire, an idea quickly spread to include 9 other alliances claiming various tracts of land, all of which are visible on an off-site alliance land claim map.
According to the map, on June 8th when Pico founded Stomp, 7 alliances had already officially claimed lands: SIN, The Southern Cross [T-SC], Broken Blades [B!B], The Hanseatic League [Hansa], Blackrock Orcs [Bro], House Stark [Stark], and Deathmongers [Death]. Later on, the Han Dynasty [Han] also made a claim.
The first alliance that Stomps officially declared war on was T-SC, and sent a siege at one of their few Elgean cities, Takeda‘s Oyama Castle in Lan Larosh. In defense of the city, T-SC received defensive support from members of The Order [T-O], who are confederates in the Dark Star Dominion [DSD]. Stomp declared war on T-O as part of this defensive action. The siege was eventually broken, but Pico noted in an llyriad forum post:
One of several pro-land claim badges
“I was able to reduce the pop of the town to meet the requirement of either capture or raze. I knew very well that the town was reinforced and that I would not be able to capture or raze, but I sent it anyways, with the satisfaction that I had accomplish withstanding the 90 plus attacks on my siege. I consider it a win for T-O and T-SC as they were able to defend their town.
At the end of this siege, Stomp began recruiting additional members, including Agalloch, who has two cities in southern Gremont, less than 20 squares from SIN cities and just on the other side of the alliance’s northern land claim border. SIN claims that the escalation of members into Stomp with close proximity to their claim, as well as the claimers’ unwillingness to simply “take a turn” to be declared on, according to SIN Leadership Council member Jejunein an Illyriad forum post, and wait to be attacked by Stomps at a time and date of Pico’s choosing:
“SIN, along with the other claiming alliances, do not feel that all 10 alliances that Stomps vowed to strike down are obliged to “take a turn” and wait to defend themselves according to Pico’s schedule. Pico chose the odds. He chose to engage all of us at the same time first, and we chose to respond at the same time.”
SIN officially declared war at 0:oo ST on June 16th, along with B!B, Hansa, and Stark. The following day, TVM and Roman Empire [RE], the latter of which also announced a land claim simultaneously.
Han’s first siege against House Stark capital Winterfell has been broken. The siege break comes less than a day after it was initiated as part of the first round of a fresh war in the Broken Lands region of Almenly.
The Illyriad Times 