The Eclipse Sisterhood
The members of the Eclipse Sisterhood are in rebellion against the patriarchal Traazorite Empire. Women cannot hold political office, run a business or serve in the military. The time has come for that to change!
Across the Empire a clandestine rebellion has formed of women who oppose the Empire of the Sun’s treatment of them. Naturally, they have taken the Eclipse as their symbol and inspiration. From a small core of disaffected noblewomen living in the great city of Shanadad, the Eclipse has spread like a plains wildfire across the Empire. Cells exist in virtually every city or town of any size. There are places where Traazorite merchants, nobles, officials and officers cannot move about in less than a large armed group without fearing for their lives.
The cells themselves are highly compartmented. In the rare instance a sister is caught alone and has her back to the wall, she fights to the death. In the even rarer instance of capture, none has ever revealed the details of even her own cell, let alone another. The central authority of the Eclipse is a mysterious figure known only as the Blademother. Possibly no secret in all of Faelon is so well kept as her identity and location. She is a rumor swathed in ambiguity. Does she exist? Who knows who she is or where? Does she move about? Is that Secret Sister in the local cell actually commanding the entire rebellion?
The Eclipse does not advocate for the death of all men, although some members might not find that such a bad idea. Instead, they call for equality on the model of places like Koronna and Falkaar. And while some Traazorite men, especially some out in the provinces, may not be adamantly opposed to some change along that line, the Emperor, the Senate and the Legions resist any such change with their full might. Many observers outside the Empire believe it is only a matter of time until the Eclipse Sisterhood succeeds. They also believe that the final battle in the rebellion will be the one for the souls of the Empire’s female Chosen. It is not lost to those who think about such things that everywhere else in the world, those with the gift of magic are equally represented among both boys and girls. Where then are all of the Empire’s female Casters who have not joined the rebellion? Few doubt the Eclipse seek to answer that question once and for all.
THE REBELLION TODAY
Outsiders do not know with precision the birth date of the Eclipse Rebellion. Most estimates agree on something between one and two hundred years ago. To the imperial elite, it is a cancer that has done nothing but spread. Over the years the Empire has inflicted various setbacks on the Sisterhood, such as the Kythihr Massacre of 925. Taken as a whole, however, the rebellion has done nothing but grow.
Spies from Mershael and Koronna, those realms working most closely with the Sisterhood, have puzzled out their basic agenda.
First, eliminate the most reactionary leaders opposed to increasing the role of women in the Empire.
Second, work with allies inside the governmental structure to bring about change.
Third, find and liberate the female casters the Sisterhood believes the Empire is keeping enslaved in one or more secret locations.
Fourth, disrupt the Emperor’s schemes enough to keep him too busy to focus solely on the Sisterhood. Rumblings inside the Empire’s inner circles lead some allied spies to believe that a new grand plan exists to find and eliminate the Sisterhood once and for all. Their meetings with their Secret Sister contacts have become more urgent and abbreviated. All that is known now is that the Emperor is up to something very large, and it seems that time is running low to discover its nature and purpose.
First, eliminate the most reactionary leaders opposed to increasing the role of women in the Empire.
Second, work with allies inside the governmental structure to bring about change.
Third, find and liberate the female casters the Sisterhood believes the Empire is keeping enslaved in one or more secret locations.
Fourth, disrupt the Emperor’s schemes enough to keep him too busy to focus solely on the Sisterhood. Rumblings inside the Empire’s inner circles lead some allied spies to believe that a new grand plan exists to find and eliminate the Sisterhood once and for all. Their meetings with their Secret Sister contacts have become more urgent and abbreviated. All that is known now is that the Emperor is up to something very large, and it seems that time is running low to discover its nature and purpose.
Military
A Traazorite intelligence report on the Eclipse Sisterhood... My Lords, You have asked for an analysis of rebel attacks against our forces to make a better decision in how to combat them. What follows is my breakdown of Eclipse tactics in rural areas, urban centers, and in the far-flung frontier regions of Runah’s great empire. After the analysis of tactics, I offer my humble suggestions for combating them and which Legions I believe would be best suited to defeating them in those regions. I have traveled the width and breadth of the Empire, my Lords, interviewing local officials and Legion officers as to their dealings with these wretched women. Though there are some similarities in their reports, geographic region, people group, and local geography all play a part in the tactics employed by these rebels. Of the things the Eclipse have in common one is their ability to mobilize out of nowhere. Before a major attack or even a small one you would expect to have reports of troop movements or suspicious activity in the area of the attack. This is never the case in an Eclipse attack. They are a complete surprise and never foreshadowed in any way. Their scouting is completely covert and their information seems to be impeccable. Those who have tried to draw them out with “easy” targets are often met with disappointment. Those who find their traps work are often sorry they were right. Another thing the Eclipse attacks seem to have in common is their ferocity. Every person I’ve talked to about Eclipse attacks indicates a fanatic disposition. Attacks are merciless and swift, usually over before a counterattack can be made. We have yet to capture many Eclipse fighters, and those that we do refuse to talk even with the strongest inducements. The last thing I have noticed that Eclipse attacks seem to have in common is their small scale. To date, I know of not a single large scale battle that the Eclipse have engaged in with our forces. And so with their commonalities out of the way, please allow me to break down where their tactics differ. The Eclipse rebellion seems to take on the characteristics of the local people’s, politics, and economy of the locale in which it takes place. This is likely true because it is most likely these very locals that are part of the rebellion. In rural areas, the rebellion takes the form of disruption to military supplies and attacks on local patrols. Sadly, the safest place for a legionnaire to be right now is in the more rural parts of the empire. It is here that we find the least Eclipse aggression. Military supplies traveling through these areas seem to be the targets of choice for those rebels in rural areas. It is strange, as these supplies are often destroyed on the spot of the attack, suggesting the rebels have no need for supplies and are likely to be supported by the local economy and populace rather than feed their rebellion on our supplies as we are so often find in other rebellions that we have vanquished. Attacks in rural areas are often on a small scale. The Eclipse seem loathe to risk open battle here where they can be easily seen and just as quickly brought to battle. Instead they loose arrows from wooded areas, quickly retreating before we can deploy a response or, like the heathens they are, use the night to steal supplies and make small attacks against patrols or individual soldiers who have foolishly decided to wander alone. Their archers employed in the rural areas are deadly; both accurate close and at very long range. During some attacks it is hard to tell just where the arrows are coming from. I fear, to control the rural areas, we must first tighten our grip on them. I don’t believe it will be enough to maintain garrisons in rural centers; every village will need some legion presence in order to stymie the sympathy that the rebels seem to garner here naturally. We must also make sure that our priests in these villages are instructed in how to root out the heresy that spreads such rebellion. They are the best placed asset we have to identify potential rebels and malcontents in the rural portions of our empire. We must also take care to protect our government officials that are assigned to these rural areas. Of late, our governors and their advisors have been the subject of assassination attempts, most of which have been successful. A strong military escort is highly suggested for whenever an official of the Empire moves outside of his compound. Urban areas present special challenges for insurgents and expose certain weaknesses in our attempts to put down this heretical rebellion. The Eclipse are especially active in our cities and despite the massive troop concentrations there we cannot seem to root them out. Disinformation and heretical lies are a vicious weapon wielded by the Eclipse in our cities. From small written statements of their beliefs, to outright lies about the Emperor, the Eclipse have made good use of the quill and parchment. They also paint their slogans on highly visible walls and buildings throughout are city. I don’t need to explain to you, my Lords, how much fear and uncertainty these acts generate in the public. The Eclipse in the cities are also actively violent. Assassination is a favorite tool, and I hope by now that none of our officials or soldiers are moving about a city alone. The assassination are highly public, though usually carried out by cowards with an arrow rather than up close where we might thwart them, or better still, catch them. I have also been given reports of entire patrols going missing in the night. These hapless legionaries, no doubt bewitched while Runah sleeps, are found days later if at all, brutally murdered for the crime of trying to keep the Empire safe. Supply wagons leaving or entering these cities are not safe either. Many are pilfered or set aflame before they reach the city gates. Drivers should be reminded never to travel at night and to find a safe, open space to rest during that time. As with rural areas, large skirmishes with the Eclipse are non-existent. Like the cowards they are, they refuse to go to battle to settle their grievances with might. Few of our soldiers have ever seen an Eclipse fighter, let alone fought one in battle. Those few who have seen them are mostly killed. Those that aren’t report little more than shadows mercilessly killing everyone and then disappearing again before the might of our Legions can be brought to bear. Destroying the Eclipse is far more difficult than we had at first thought. Our first priority must be to turn the populace against them. A militant rebellion could not survive if the population they hide in turn them out. My humble suggestion is to offer rewards to any citizen who gives information leading to the capture or killing of an Eclipse fighter or sympathizer. Make the reward compelling; greed will turn allegiances even within families. We must also swell our military within the cities. Double the number of soldiers patrolling our streets and even the Eclipse will think twice about attacking or stealing supplies. Lastly, I would like to bring up the frontier areas of our Empire; those areas that are subject to Runah but do not have a large population and are on the far flung borders of the Empire. These places are difficult to administer without a rebellion. Our meager forces there are spread thin with basic Garrison duties and protecting the borders of The Empire, even if no external threats can be seen on the horizon. It is in these areas where the Eclipse rebellion seems to have the most success and is the most bold militarily. Our outposts are regularly attacked, our supply trains ransacked, and our soldiers murdered even in their sleep. It is here and only here, especially in the jungles of Izchak, where the Eclipse turn out in numbers and force battle on our Legions. These border and frontier areas are extremely vulnerable because of existing sentiment against The Empire, especially where religious norms have been outlawed or indigenous peoples have been pressed into military service or hard labor. These grievances are ripened by a well-organized and led Eclipse underground who then turns the otherwise peaceful but grumbling women of the Empire into the murderous monsters of the Eclipse. Ambush is a favorite tactic in these areas, as many of the main roads are not regularly patrolled and our outposts are spaced farther apart and lightly manned. These roads are not roads in the same sense as those that crisscross the civilized areas of The Empire. Comparatively, many of them are little better than animal paths and yet we are forced to use them because we have not committed the resources necessary to bring these backward savages into the Empire. This lack of foresight has created a situation where we, the most powerful army ever to raise their sakhazets in violence, are militarily at a disadvantage and find themselves pent up in the forts while a rebellion controls the countryside and terrorizes our army. Without doubt, we need to reinforce these areas. The senate’s decision to pull troops out of the Karaymeth and to spread our forces more thinly in the Izchak province one hundred years ago has proven to be a decision that gave both of these areas so crucial to The Empire into the waiting hands of a rebellion. Tripling our forces in the border and frontier regions is a good start; quadrupling them would stem the tide of battle that has turned so precipitously against us there. Moving thousands of laborers into these areas to widen the roads and open the areas to either side of the roads is a must if we are to travel safely between our outposts. Also, these outposts must double, halving the distance between them. Manning them properly would allow us to increase patrols and even begin to hunt down and destroy these rebels in their bases. Lastly, as it concerns these frontier areas, I believe it would be wise to stop allowing troops raised in these areas to serve there as well. These provincial troops, raised mostly against their will or at the behest of some political deal making with local leaders does not serve The Empire well. These troops are loathe to chase after those they know to be their sisters and wives. Surely their loyalty can not be squarely with Runah! When we raise these troops, we must carry them as far from their homes as possible so their sympathies will not lie with those same rebels we ask them to treat as enemies. Better yet, long standing historied Legions should be moved into these areas to bolster those already there. The Viper Legion and the Scorpion Legion are capable, disciplined soldiers. If they had but numbers and concentration they would have won this battle for us already. Send others like them into these areas and bring the provincial troops in to take their places where battles are not being fought and their families are not fighting them. The Chelhafa Legion is ready and perfectly capable of transfer immediately as they sit in Garrison wasting away from boredom. The Velozar Legion is always ready to send members of their legion into an embattled area. Let the Eclipse be hunted by our raptors for a change. As I leave this subject my Lords, let me offer one other observation. Almost all of the soldiers that I talked to in my research made comment on the Eclipse ability with the sakhazet. It isn’t just a weapon that they steal. It was obvious to soldiers on the front lines, and especially Bladesworn that the rebellion is being trained in the same blade disciplines as our Bladeschools offer. My original disbelief that a woman could be trained to handle a sakhazet as well as a man was courageously overturned by those bladesworn that I talked with in my endeavor. If this is true, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, I do not need to tell you what a grave threat this poses. These rebel bladeschools must be found and destroyed. The Blademasters who are teaching them must be killed. To do this will be no small feat. however, and I believe that we must involve our Bladeschools in the effort. The more bladesworn that are fighting the Eclipse, either as part of our legions or in small Azema, the better The Empire will be. I pray to Runah that this report has been helpful and that some of my suggestions will help turn the tide of battle against these vicious and heretical rebels.
Foreign Relations
Ever since the Mershael landed their colony ships on the northeastern coast of Ryshael, they have had an uneasy alliance with the Empire of the Sun. Given land and sovereignty in exchange for their assistance in the rebellion that toppled the Krai Jan and placed the rebellious Runah worshippers in power, the Mershael have come to realize that the Traazorites may never have intended to keep their word of peace and shared prosperity in the first place.
The Traazorites for their part are uneasy about having a sovereign people in the very heart of what the Traazorites believe should be their domain, and have constantly looked for excuses to invade and take back what they claim as rightfully theirs. They have tried time and again to throw the Mershael back into the sea from whence they
came, but a combination of the land’s geography, persistent attacks by the Mershael, and powerful illusory magic has always driven the invaders back into their own land.
Currently the Jaguar legion stands on the border of Mershael. It engages in constant border skirmishes and occasional forays into Mershael itself. Troops from other legions are constantly cycled through these ranks in order to keep all legions battle ready and experienced on the field of combat.
The Mershael are ill-equipped to handle these incursions with their military alone-they are a seaborne race and very at home in the water. Though they have valiant warriors, they are naturally at a disadvantage in land fighting, especially against the hardened legions of the Empire.
Lately The Mershael have taken to more clandestine forms of warfare to keep the Empire at bay. Their naturally shrouded land confuses and disorients an enemy, keeping them off balance and more susceptible to Mershael military strikes. Add to this powerful Casters that call upon the power of illusion and the geography of Mershael becomes as powerful a weapon as any taumari.
Geography alone isn’t enough to keep the Traazorites from their prize, however. As the Eclipse Rebellion gains traction throughout Traazor, the Mershael have been secretly supporting the Sisterhood with supplies and even troops, hoping to throw focus off of the seafaring immigrants and onto matters closer to home. Most of the aid to the Eclipse takes the form of supplies, weapons, and money. Special smiths among the Mershael have given up their normal trade to make weapons identical to Traazorite weapons. Even more make arrows, knives, and spears to equip the forces of the Sisterhood. This aid is smuggled mostly by water in unmarked boats to special hidden coves where waiting
Eclipse agents take the goods inland for use in their rebellion. These smugglers are in constant danger of detection by coastal patrols seeking to dissuade smuggling of all kinds into the Empire.
Those that go to physically fight for the Sisterhood face even more dangers. Men of course can’t fight, as the Eclipse is an all-female rebellion. And so it falls on Mershael women to face those dangers. Women fight in the Mershael army normally and are used to the military life, but they face special challenges while fighting for the Eclipse.
Disguising Mershael, with their blonde hair and pale skin, is no easy feat for those that wish to clandestinely aid the sisters of the Eclipse, but there are those that do lend more than aid to their desperate rebellion.
While all types of soldiers have volunteered to join the Eclipse, Many Menders have answered this call. Their magic has been instrumental in many of the most recent victories that the Eclipse have claimed against the Empire. These Menders, called Alpadwa by the Sisterhood, dye their hair black to better disguise themselves amongst their adopted comrades and use dye from the mudnut to give their skin a dark complexion. This is a permanent dye on the skin.
Menders call on their ancestral rites to aid in the struggle, though to disguise their involvement further they summon the spirits of fallen Eclipse rather than those of their native Mershael. Many times this takes the form of an untamed whose malevolence against the empire for their atrocities lasts far into their next life.
By aiding the Sisterhood against a shared enemy the Mershael hope to keep the Empire busy enough to ignore their Northeast neighbors, if even for a short while. But even now new Traazorite schemes include the Mershael. To what ends, and whether it will result in peace or war for the Mershael is yet to be seen.
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