The Plot

How the plot of Ylisse works

The Ylisse board is subject to an overarching storyline, controlled partially by the mod team and partially by everyone else who is active in the RP. While you're not obligated to participate in it, we ask that you at the very least take note of the events in this thread.

The mod team controls the actions and reactions of the governments of the four major forces: Ylisse, Plegia, Ferox, and Valm. However, all members can exert control over the situation on the continent of Ylisse. By means of a roleplaying thread, any group of members can set events into motion to change the circumstances of a key battle, the relations between two or more nations, or even the safety of a key plot figure.

If you create a roleplaying thread with a plot that the mods think has potential to affect the plot, you will be contacted. Once completed and graded, the thread will be linked in the plot post it helped create. We will attempt to keep plot posts themselves concise and to the point.

The Shepherds Fall
Recently, the royal families of both Ylisse and Plegia have acquired the services of a new retainer. By some trick of fate, they are both white-haired youths with a knack for strategy. Robin, the woman of the pair, has pledged her loyalty to Prince Chrom of Ylisse, while Rufure, the male, has found a home in Plegia as King Gangrel's chief military advisor. Curiously, neither has any knowledge of their past beyond their name.

Their appearance seems to have heralded the beginning of a new conflict. Ylisse has been subjected to a sudden surge of bandit activity, with Plegia suspected of having a hand in it. Although Exalt Emmeryn sought audience with King Gangrel to clear up the matter, the king of Plegia and his new tactician, Rufure, declared war on the Halidom, as penance for the former Exalt’s crimes.

As Ylisse forged an alliance with the northern country of Ferox and readied its army in preparation for an invasion, a masked swordsman warned Prince Chrom that Exalt Emmeryn was in danger. Mere minutes after this encounter, assassins infliltrated the palace in Ylisstol, and it was only with the help of the masked benefactor that the Exalt’s life was spared.

As Prince Chrom left the capital to meet with the khans of Ferox, Plegia broke the borders of Ylisse and took Exalt Emmeryn from the palace. Under the pressure of his sister’s impending public execution, Prince Chrom rushed to Plegia and launched an attack on King Gangrel on the very day of the execution.

While the public execution was interrupted, Prince Chrom and the Shepherds have suffered a devastating defeat against the forces of Plegia. With the Plegian army in disarray as well, Rufure has advised King Gangrel to not pursue the gravely wounded prince of Ylisse, who, at the behest of Robin, has started to retreat to Ylisstol. The fate of the Exalt remains unclear, but the soldiers of both countries have received orders to hold their ground and treat their wounded, creating an uneasy stalemate.

As if all of this isn't bad enough, hordes of living corpses have started to roam the lands of Ylisse and Valm, further threatening the people.

TL;DR?
Ylisse: Prince Chrom has retreated from the battle with King Gangrel, gravely wounded, and is fleeing back to Ylisstol. All forces stationed on the border with Plegia have been given orders to hold their ground but refrain from attacking Plegia. The fate of the Exalt remains unknown.

Plegia: By advice of Rufure, King Gangrel has elected to not pursue the fleeing Prince Chrom and instead has returned to Castle Plegia, where he will lick his own wounds and those of his men. Plegian troops have received orders to leave the Ylissean borders alone and instead hold their own.

Ferox: Alongside their Ylissean allies, the Feroxi warriors dispatched to Plegia have retreated to regroup following Prince Chrom's defeat.

Valm: Rumours have reached the Ylissean continent, spread by merchants and refugees from the neighboring continent of Valm... Rumours of a great war, and of a conqueror who has crushed all who opposed him.

Ylisse undertakes action
The threat of the Risen is growing. Both Ylisse and Plegia have to spread their resources now, both guarding their borders from each other and protecting their citizens from the undead, who are proving both more numerous and more powerful than the average soldier. King Gangrel doesn’t seem to be doing much about the threat; in fact Plegia’s ruler has been oddly silent since Prince Chrom’s retreat. The people of Plegia have taken to hiring mercenaries in order to fend off the Risen. While this has thus far proven effective, their purses can only last for so long.

In Ylisse, on the other hand, the royal family and their vassals are undertaking action. All able lords and ladies of Ylisse were summoned to the capital, where Prince Chrom has taken up the duties of his missing sister. Following the conference, Lords Jacob Temple and Gilbert Raleigh, as well as Lady Beatrix Karina, have taken and dispatched their troops to the areas where the greatest Risen activity has been measured.

In the meanwhile, the remaining two nobles –Lord Lawrence Everett and Lady Serena Calderon- have taken it upon themselves to lead a new, small and specialized force into Plegia, taking advantage of the situation to launch a second attempt at rescuing Exalt Emmeryn.

TL;DR?
Ylisse: Following a conference in Ylisstol involving the lords and ladies of Ylisse, Prince Chrom has sent a small force back into Plegia in an attempt to rescue Exalt Emmeryn. The remaining forces of Ylisse have been put to work cleansing the places where the Risen emerge most frequently.

Plegia: The number of Risen in Plegia keeps increasing, but King Gangrel doesn’t seem to be interested in doing anything about it. The people are hiring mercenaries to keep their homes safe from the undead threat.

Ferox: While the barren land seems to impede the Risen slightly and thus they are not as affected as Ylisse and Plegia are, Ferox, too, has to fight back the undead forces.

Valm: No new messages have reached the mainland. One can only assume that the so-called Conqueror is still steadily subduing the nations of Valm.

Plot-relevant threads:
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Conference in the capital: Prince Chrom summons his vassals to decide on the new courses of action.