What happened in Magnamund when Lone Wolf was in Daziarn?

[egel]

Is there a source that goes into more detail about what happened in Magnamund when Lone Wolf was in Daziarn (book 11)? For example, which countries did the army of darkness conquer? What happened to Vassagonia (we read in book 10 that there was a coup d'état there, but in book 10 the Vassagonian soldiers are servants of the dark lord Kraagenskul)? Where exactly were the other dark lords who were not in The Darkland (and died after the transfusor was destroyed)? Thank you.

[zorkraan]

Before his passing, Joe Dever and I (Vincent Lazzari) established the chronology of the Darklands War, with the aim of producing a new gamebook series set during this period, with other heroes (already known or brand new) who would have to resist the tide of Darkness while Lone Wolf is not here to defend Magnamund. Sadly he passed before we completed this work, but a prequel of this saga was at least released in Sweden, namely The Slavers of Xanar (released as another bonus adventure for LW8) which depicts the conflict between Talestria and Ogia from the point of view of the Dwarves of Bor.

Joe also had the time to release on his Facebook page maps of Northern Magnamund showing the state of the conflict between MS 5062 (when Lone Wolf fell into the Daziarn) and MS 5070 (when he returns). In the meantime, the Darklords indeed conquered a frightening number of Freelands, as said in LW12. I copy these maps here below for your info. They show the conquered countries, the position of each Darklord, the main battles and the freelands and their allies.

Hopefully we'll manage to produce this series in the future too. In the meantime, we disseminate information about the conflict in the most recent books. Besides the Grand Master and New Order series, check the bonus adventures of LW20, LW24 and LW29 (the latter cowritten with Joe), Autumn Snow 2, and the main adventure of LW30 (Dead in the Deep) and LW31 (Dusk of the Eternal Night) in this regard, minor details can be found.

Magnamund in MS 5062, when Lone Wolf is sent to the Daziarn.

Magnamund in MS 5063, after the creation of the Tanoz Tukor allowing the Darklords to lead their armies in battle beyond the borders of the Darklands... (If you look well, sadly there might be asymetrical rematches at Tahou and Cetza...)

Magnamund in MS 5065...

[zorkraan]

Magnamund in MS 5066...

And Magnamund in MS 5070, when Lone Wolf returns from the Daziarn. With Northern Magnamund about to fall, and the Darklords starting to conquer Southern Magnamund...

[kraanlord]

That's great news - thanks for clarify this zorkraan. Exactly these info will increase the benefit of this board. Many thanks...

[Black Cat]

Strange to see Ruel as a neutral country during the whole war...

Can you clarify what are "the Feelands"? I've always assumed that it was a generic name for all the countries that were not aligned with Evil (Sommerlund, Lyris, Dessi, etc.). Now I see on these maps "allies of the Freelands" (Eru, Lunarlia, Kasland...). Are the Freelands like an official alliance, like NATO, and the "allies" are allied with them without being part of the official organization?

[Ixia]

I had no ideas these infos existed, let alone the maps. Thanks for sharing! I was also under the impression that the Darklords never made it to the Tentarias, except in Lencia. I now know better.

Not surprised that Ruel was considered a neutral country during the Darklands War. In LS13, we learn that many Drakkarim, Acolytes of Vashna and others ran to Mogaruith after the war, which makes me think Ruel was clearly aligned with Evil, but wasn't an active belligerant at that time. There is no indication that the Freelands armies tried to invade Ruel until the plague threat surfaced.

As for the Freelands, I think it's been established that it is a geopolitical and military alliance (although probably in a less structured way than NATO) that took form out of necessity during the Darklands War.

[kraanlord]

Yes your are absokute right, Ixia.
I found a comment from the Magnamund maps;
These Drakkarim were allowed by the Archlord to have a territory on their own, but soon they waged war against each other for the control of the forest. Now the forces of Throonmahr are locked in a continual fight with the rebels controlling the ancient Cener temple of Luurta

It seems that Cener druids are not the best buddies of the Drakkarim.

[Black Cat]

May 16, 2023 8:30:36 GMT kraanlord said:

These Drakkarim were allowed by the Archlord to have a territory on their own, but soon they waged war against each other for the control of the forest. Now the forces of Throonmahr are locked in a continual fight with the rebels controlling the ancient Cener temple of Luurta

It seems that Cener druids are not the best buddies of the Drakkarim.

Not necessarily: they are "rebels", which are "persons who rise in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or ruler". There could be Drakkarim that are helping the druids in that temple (in book 13, we see some Drakkarim taking part in a ceremony dedicated to Xuzargha, the Cenerese God of pestilence). It's probably just a fight for power, not a resistance against an invader. There seems to be a lot of battles for power between different factions in the lands controlled by Evil (the internal strife between Darklords in book 12, the factions fighting to control Kaag in book 14...).

[kraanlord]

Yes, exactly. there are a lot of evil factions that also fight against each other or try to subdue others. This is exactly the reason why the Darklords are trying to unite and lead these factions directly. The success of lone wolf leads to the downfall later when the Darklords perish outside of their country. Leadership is absent and the armies are retreating in confusion.
In my opinion, the Cener Druids are playing their own game. They are the traitors within the wicked.
Other evil factions are also neutral in the conflict e.g. hellswamp creatures and Danarg
If I'm not wrong the original creation of the virus (which will be destroyed in book 13) should hit all factions. It's not clear but I believe the first ideas or experiments about the virus had started when Darklords were alive. I don't think that the Darklords were aware of this threat. Otherwise they had overrun Ruel. This was of course a big threat that would destroy all plans of Darklords and wipe out their armies.

What supports this thesis is the success of the Darkland armies during Lone Wolf's absence. If Ruel had been allied, further development of such a virus wouldn't have made any sense. Bautar is almost lost, Dessi at the brink of a defeat

But it could also be possible that this virus was developed in the 5 years after the darklord demise. It would be a small timeline in reality for such a huge project (e.g.setup of laboratories, experiments, antidotes)

[zorkraan]

Black Cat : As said by ixia , the Freelands Alliance are indeed a kind of primitive NATO organization for Magnamund. It was stated in the LWAG sourcebook The Realm of Sommerlund that it was founded after the Great Battle of Maakengorge. All members of the Freelands are pledged by treaty to resist the Forces of Darkness on Magnamund (comprising principally the Darklands and the Drakkarim Nations, but also the Shadakine Empire, the Dark Realm of Ruel, the Agarashi of Naaros and the Empire of Bhanar). Sommerlund and Durenor were the first members, but they were later joined by many other countries, including Talestria, Dessi, Bor, Bautar, and even Siyen and Chai (revealed to be "allies of Sommerlund" in the New Order Series"). Not all the non-evil countries of Magnamund (dubbed "Free Kingdoms") are members of the Freelands. Kasland and Lunarlia, for instance, are not part of this organization. Vassagonia too, even if they've not been always aligned with Evil. A comprehensive map of the Freelands Alliance has been published in The Realm of Sommerlund.

Ruel: I don't want to spoil anything but... perhaps something happened that prevent Ruel from joining the war. As said above, the forces of Evil are constantly infighting. The Cenerese seeing themselves as the ultimate power in all the universes, they won't ally themselves with the Darklords unless they have something to gain, or are really forced too, as kraanlord said. Gnaag may have intented to convince Cadak to enter the fray. And maybe he failed. I really hope to show you what happened one day.

ixia : Yes the Darklords reached the Tentarias during this war... In fact, it was already a miracle they did not conquer more lands during this period! You have to consider that at that time, no less than 12 Darklords were free to lead their armies in battle. Twelve "Sauron-like" entities that the Freelands had no way to kill, and who could single-handedly destroy a battalion... During 8 years. The "Darklands War" series we were preparing with Joe intended to show the desperate feats other (more minor) heroes of the Freelands did to slow down the Darklords in their conquest. Perhaps those heroes did something in Ruel ^^.

[dywypi]

I was having a similar discussion with Simon Osborne (Outspaced), this January. Regarding the Gamebooks; and how come it took so long for Gnaag to make substantial progress after Lone Wolf's absence in the Dazhiarn, as per The Prisoners of Time.

Supposedly, it was "eight years" LW was AWOL from Magnamund... Gnaag did have an air force and some form of uneasy alliance with the other Darklords. Surely he could have pretty much completely ruined most of Sommerlund at the least by that stage – much longer than WWII in duration. People would have starved, crops abandoned, animals slaughtered, heavy casualties, outside resources and aid cut-off, famine, disease, etc. Zagarna nearly succeeded in his siege of Holmgard within 40 days... the actual capital city Sommerland.

May 17, 2023 9:08:31 GMT zorkraan said:

In fact, it was already a miracle they did not conquer more lands during this period! You have to consider that at that time, no less than 12 Darklords were free to lead their armies in battle. Twelve "Sauron-like" entities that the Freelands had no way to kill, and who could single-handedly destroy a battalion... During 8 years.

Yes, "miracle" seems like an a understatement; or perhaps there was a miracle, this thread seems to have answered some of those questions.

[Ixia]

Let’s not forget that at the beginning of the Darklands War, Gnaag launched «a sweeping invasion that was to catch the Freelands unprepared. Many countries were completely overrun by Darkland armies; others surrendered without fighting» (LW 11 Story So Far).

Lone Wolf turned the tide of the war at Tahou. The Darklords took back the initiative after Torgar. However, at that point, they were facing fully mobilized and militarized countries. No more were they unprepared or ready to be overrun. It was a war of survival.

Plus, the Darklords armies were waging war on multiple fronts all over the continent, with thousands of Giaks and Drakkarim necessary for the sieges of big fortified cities like Varetta and Tahou, to hold the frontline in southern Sommerlund, to push back the Lencia army and its allies in the west, to keep control of the new conquered territories, etc. And this time, without the help of Vassagonia. For exemple, you can follow on the maps Xog’s push thru Lyris to Durenor, but leaving behind a yellow dot (meaning Xog would have to use precious troops for the siege of Varetta that would therefore not be avaiblable for the conquest of Durenor).

So, yeah, it’s not a stretch to think the Freelands armies resisted that long against the Darklands armies, even with the Darklords themselves on the battlefield and, even if defeat was inevitable (until Lone Wolf’s return). I really hope we’ll see one day that Darklands War series. :-)

P.S. - Dever was a genius with his 20 Darklords united in Evil but fighting each other. Most of the time in these kind of stories, you have one evil emperor, sorcerer or «Sauron-like entity» That was another aspect where Lone Wolf was so different from other books.

[Rusty Radiator]

May 15, 2023 18:15:51 GMT Ixia said:

I had no ideas these infos existed, let alone the maps. Thanks for sharing! I was also under the impression that the Darklords never made it to the Tentarias, except in Lencia. I now know better.

Not surprised that Ruel was considered a neutral country during the Darklands War. In LS13, we learn that many Drakkarim, Acolytes of Vashna and others ran to Mogaruith after the war, which makes me think Ruel was clearly aligned with Evil, but wasn't an active belligerant at that time. There is no indication that the Freelands armies tried to invade Ruel until the plague threat surfaced.

As for the Freelands, I think it's been established that it is a geopolitical and military alliance (although probably in a less structured way than NATO) that took form out of necessity during the Darklands War.

I imagine Ruel to be like Spain in WW2- Similar evil regime to the Axis Powers, but not taking part in their conflict, as they more concerned with protecting their own borders.

Also, Cadak may have resented the Darklords taking over Northern Magnamund and may have released a Plague anyway, even if the Darklords won, just to rein in the populations of Drakkarim and giaks and further their own ambitions.

[egel]

Hi, thanks a lot for your reply Vincent, I really appreciate it. It is great to have this new information. Regarding what Vincent revealed on the maps, I have two more questions:
1) Where was the dark lord NHORG at the time the transfusor was destroyed? Or what was his fate? He is not located anywhere on the map.
2) The Shadaki empire is presented as a hostile country on the political map in The Realm of Sommerlund. But in Vincent's map it is drawn as an ally of Sommerlund. What has changed?
Thanks a lot for any answers.
I wish Vincent lots of enthusiasm and strength for his great work in the world of Lone Wolf.

[askhati]

I think point 2 is about "Shadakine before Grey Star" vs "Shadakine after Grey Star". Once GS got rid of the Big Bad over there, their allegiance would have switched accordingly.