The Bardbarians

Note that the following article is not necessarily accurate due to this group's status as a player-run organization. Because these types of articles are maintained by players about players, there is always the risk of alteration due to malice or desire for anonymity. This page will be monitored by the staff; please do not allow it to become a battleground. -The Elanthipedia Moderators

Background and Information

The Bardbarians are an organization of Cause-driven players that engage in a variety of RP and PvP activities. They call no single area home, but often base themselves for days or weeks at a time in various Provinces based on the currently active Cause.

History

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Crest

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Known Members

Name	Nickname
Byd
Chuno
Dantia
Golameth	VP - Media Relations
Kaldean	Moonbarian
Kalinandra
Madigan	Naphtha Magnet
Mevilan	MIA
Natarian	THE Bardbarian
Rakkor	The Artillery
Vladmirr

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The Ravensblood War

Day 1 (1/4/2022)

Last night marked the opening of the Ravensblood War. For weeks, the Bardbarians and Ravens had been jockeying for control of the Bin. Both sides had resorted to laying down personal claim markers declaring their side to be the true owners of the far north territory. This engagement didn't happen in the land where progress forgot, though. No...it occured smack dab in the middle of The Crossing.

Golameth, a founding member of the Bardbarians, patrolled the streets by the Empath's Guild when he spotted them. Four Ravens: Atuen, Psaero, Jondong, and Tweedum. What you need to know about Golameth is that any one of those targets is a piece of cake. Two even, they'd certainly fall at his mighty Bardbarian hand. But four? He was on paths too dark to trod on his lonesome.

Golameth: Feel like a fight?
Me: I'm patrolling the Bin. You have one brewing?
Golameth: Yeah, Crossing
Me: Give me 5.

I quickly made my way to the area outside the Empath Guild. There indeed stood the targets, and one more hidden to boot. But are Bardbarians afraid of being outnumbered? Never.

Atuen fell first, his Halo insufficient to push attackers away. He died to the Bardbarian's signature move...the Bombo, executed by a Moon Mage.

The Ravens were quick to make use of their superior numbers, though. Just minutes later, they found an isolated Golameth and exacted their revenge against the lone Bardbarian. * Golameth was just struck down!

More Ravens flocked (tee hee) to the cause with Raikage reinforcing their numbers. It was now six Ravens against two Bardbarians. Long odds. Scary odds. The Bardbarians reached out to one of their other founding members for assistance.

Me: Hey Nat, you awake?
Natarian: bagpipesnorebagpipe
Me: Big fight. Much killing. Bardbarians vs. Ravens
Natarian: On my way.

Bagpipes-a-tooting, Natarian's presence steeled the resolve of the Bardbarians. Three against six? Even odds.

Raikage fell to the Moon Mage Bombo. Tylevyn died to the Barbarian Stomp. Jondong met Crossing Bank pavement at the hands of The Bard(barian).

Madigan and Dantia joined the engagement. While not Bardbarians, they are Top Notch (😉) friends who are always on the lookout to defend the innocent against the depredations of the Ravens. They joined. Fought. Participated.

And then, a dramatic pause. A Banner descended on the room. Confusion erupted. Neither side could have cast that Banner with the steely-minded Bardbarians present. We threw weightless verbal barbs at each other, mostly in jest. Without warning, the Banner departed as quickly as it arrived. The battle rejoined.

Golameth tallied his second kill with Nideaya, and Tweedum marking his third. Not to be outdone, The Moon Mage kept pace with another kill against Psaero. The Ravens withdrew once more to recoup, re-buff, and re-organize. Dantia healed all of The Bardbarians and friends.

The lull in the combat lasted nearly twenty minutes. We began drafting a Declaration of Victory, honoring the bravery of the Ravens while simultaneously claiming the Bank as Sovereign Bardbarian Territory. Natarian was three refrains into an epic bagpipe ballad when the enemy returned.

The Moon Mage executed precision surgery on Atuen's head, removing that unnecessary body part. Madigan got on the board with his first kill against Tylevyn, nearly exploding the warrior mage's chest. But the enemy had learned from the prior two chaotic battles. More and more, Ravens on the verge of dropping were drug away from the room by invisible hands. Something was needed to keep that from happening. The Bardbarians called in The Artillery.

Rakkor arrived quickly, Cleric magics in tow. And while he was almost killed upon arrival when beset by four of the Ravens, he anchored targets in place and began to rain down fire from the Heavens. Raikage died to the holy flames, as did Jondong. In between, Madigan notched his second kill by dropping Jeffe.

A quiet settled in at the bank. The enemy had retreated once more. Perhaps to regroup? Maybe calling it a night? The Bardbarians (and friends) stood victorious. We patted Golameth on the back for being the lone Bardbarian death of the night and consoled him that many fights lay ahead where he might enact his revenge.

Thus marked the opening engagement of the Ravensblood War.

Day 2 (1/5/2022)

The second day of the Ravensblood War started off quiet. Too quiet. Recognizing the Ravens had moved Sir Caw from the Bin to the Crossing Bank, The Bardbarians followed suit. The Moonbarian's likeness was relocated, staking claim to the Bank.

But The Moonbarian's likeness was not content to sit idly by. No. It desired its own piece of the action. It turned its mechanical attention to Sir Caw, casting its own miniaturized version of Burn. Sir Caw didn't stand a chance. The windsteel moon mage focuses a beam of light on the guard figurine, which sears it in a precise line! Without any preamble, the Grey Raven guard figurine tips over with a clank and stops moving. Roundtime: 5 sec.

No good deed goes unpunished, however. The Ravens would be quick to seek revenge. Thus a guard was stationed outside the Bank. Meradyce. A small, tiny Trader of no renown. Barely past her first circles. A novice, really. She bravely volunteered for the duty nonetheless, undeterred by the danger.

...she died quickly.

Raikage and Rifkinn, in a dramatic tag team of R-letters, cut Meradyce down. The Moonbarian's rescue arrived too late. One to zero, Ravens.

With most of The Bardbarians occupied elsewhere, The Moonbarian led a valiant defense against the Ravens. Time and time again, Rifkinn and Raikage attacked. Repeatedly they were thrown back. But try as he might, The Moonbarian could not drop the aggressors.

Madigan and Dantia, friends of The Bardbarians, arrived on the scene to assist. Dantia healed and Madigan defended. Twin pillars of protection for their beleaguered ally. Their stalwart action granted The Moonbarian a reprieve. He rested, grateful for the break to recharge his magics and renew his spells. The Ravens seemed to avail themselves of the same. (edited)

When friends departed, the Ravens redoubled their efforts. This time, though, things played out differently. The Moonbarian, alone again, leaned more upon his Magics rather than his Weapons. Rifkinn fell first, a victim of Xibar and Yavash's presence in the daytime sky.

You gesture at Rifkinn.
Three black-core beams descend from the sky and shrink into a tiny point centered on Rifkinn.
A billowing aura reinforces the spell.
The beams completely incinerate the head!
 * Rifkinn is slain before your eyes!
Roundtime: 1 sec.

One to one, a draw.

Raikage, alone now, continued his hit-and-run tactics. Again and again he attacked before fading away. Finally, though, he was caught in the open. Exposed. Vulnerable. The Moonbarian lept at the opportunity. Dazzle. Burn. Burn. Dead.

>cast raikage
You gesture at Raikage.
Three black-core beams descend from the sky and shrink into a tiny point centered on Raikage.
A billowing aura reinforces the spell.
The air around Raikage solidifies into a blinding yellow luminescence, collapsing under the force of the attack in a silent cascade of glassy fragments that vanish before reaching the ground.
The beams completely incinerate the right arm!
Raikage is dealt a vicious stun!
Raikage's telothian parazonium falls to his feet.
Roundtime: 1 sec.
R>
Raikage falls down!
Raikage's in shock and dying!

And with that, the war died down until the morrow. Two to one, Bardbarians. The Moonbarian's likeness remains at the Bank. Sir Caw remains damaged. A successful evening all around.

Day 3 (1/6/2022)

A lull in the action presented itself on Day 3 of the Ravensblood War. Both sides seemed to be settling in, getting some training done, and gearing up for a (hopefully) bloody weekend.

The Bardbarians made their rounds, checking the status of things. Sir Caw remained missing from the Bank and the Bin. It wasn’t until much later that we found him just one room southwest of the Crossing Bank. Clever, Ravens. The Moonbarian’s likeness stood upright and functional at the Bank, and The Bardbarian’s mini-me was still present at the Bin.

With little else to do, The Bardbarians settled in for a game of chess.

>observe board
You take a moment to observe the board's layout:
8  r n b q k b n r
7  p p p p p p p p
6  . . . . . . . .
5  . . . . . . . .
4  . . . . . . . .
3  . . . . . . . .
2  P P P P P P P P
1  R N B Q K B N R
   a b c d e f g h
Uppercase pieces are white.  Lowercase pieces are black.

Natarian chose to go second, accepting Black as his color. White fit the virtuous nature of Kaldean. The opening stages of the game saw both players vie to control the center of the board. Natarian struck deep into enemy territory, and Kaldean countered with sweeping advances up the sides. Too late, Kaldean recognized the trap he had fallen into. His backline lay in peril. His King threatened, he mounted a last ditch defense. Alas.

Natarian moves a katambite bishop, capturing a grazhite king!

(Seriously, the chess set is amazing rednames. Way to go, whichever team put this together!)

With no other opposition to be found, The Bardbarians stood down for the night.Ravens, we’ll see you soon.

Day 4 (1/7/2022)

No action.

Day 5 (1/8/2022)

After two days with no action, things picked back up on Day 5 of the Ravensblood War. Nideaya, an infamous Raven of renown, was ill content to wait for her foes to assemble on the field of battle. Instead, she hunted them while they trained. Dastardly. Despicable. Craven. Among her targets were the tiny, barely-out-of-novice-training Meradyce, and the herculean juggernaut Golameth. While Meradyce bravely ran away, Golameth stood his ground in the midst of giants and slowly succumbed to one backstab after another…his barbarian resilience eventually failing.

Driving in with exacting precision, Nideaya thrusts a scarlet glaes pasabas inlaid with Eth'ral'khh symbols at you. 
You fail to evade, stepping partially into the shot. The pasabas lands a heavy strike (7/23) that pierces clean through from one side of the neck to the other (Looks like a party gag, except for being quite dead). 
* Golameth was just struck down!

Revenge.

The Bardbarians are fighters. Every last one of us. And aggression against one of us is aggression against all of us. Rakkor, a Bardbarian Paragon of Justice, signed up to avenge the novice Trader’s plight. He found Nideaya honing her skills for upcoming battles and rained fiery destruction down upon her.

Nideaya is revealed from concealment.
A billowing aura reinforces the spell.
A bolt of holy fire strikes Nideaya's small shield and slams into her abdomen, utterly immolating surrounding flesh and bone in a conflagration of roaring silver flame!
 * Nideaya is slain before your eyes!

A calm before the storm set in. The Bardbarians eyed the northern horizon. The miniature Bardbarian had been placed at the Bin nearly a week prior. Rumbles, heard faintly on the wind but with growing certainty, pointed to this night being the night of shed blood. That eve, The Bardbarians Natarian, Golameth, Kalinandra, and Waydren gathered at the Bin, checking on the status of their miniature comrade.

But what began as a small defense quickly ballooned into the biggest gathering in Therengia. Tankata, Dantia, Madigan, Remyngton, Tichond, and more (henceforth denoted as Not-Bardbarians) saw that friends and acquaintances were staged to do what the Theren Guard and Order of the Dragon Shield had never been able to do, hold their claimed land and repulse the enemy from it. The objectives: defend the miniature Bardbarian against all encroachment, kill the enemy, remain in control of the territory, win the day.

It was a pyrrhic victory.

The Bardbarian placed his Bardic magics at the Bin, negating the Raven’s primary advantage of stealth. The minutes drug on. First one, then ten, fifteen, twenty. The Ravens refused to engage where fading away into the blackness of night was impossible.

Raikage says, "Unfair."

Having secured the bin, members of The Bardbarians took up patrolling the streets of Langenfirth. This is when the Ravens struck, catching Golameth unaware. Before help could arrive, the Ravens were already up one to none, Rifkinn seizing the kill.

The Not-Bardbarians began patrols of their own, meeting with some initial success. Tankata struck down Jondong not once, but twice, as the Raven’s barbarian re-engaged in the fight. These would be the first of many dirt naps that Jondong experienced over the course of the evening.

To our great joy and celebration, The Bardbarian Kalinandra’s fearsome presence made itself felt on the field of battle. For too long, Kalinandra was afraid of what world-shaking consequences would occur should she unleash her Empathic magics on others. Would the Guardians step in to quell her in the same manner that they dealt with the Wind Clan? Overcoming that fear with righteous fury and an almost offhanded gesture, Kalinandra’s withering magic turned Jondong’s chest into little more than a dusty ruin.

Kalinandra's hands tremble.
Kalinandra leans forward, her arm outstretched at Jondong for a touch.
Kalinandra reaches past his ka'hurst shield.
A shockwave of transformation ripples throughout Jondong's chest, molding a pillar of dust amid withering, screaming ruin.
* Jondong was just struck down!

The score sat even between Bardbarians and Ravens at one each. But then, the turn.

The Bardbarians are not meant to hold territory. They are conquerors. Removers of claim. An offensive force instead of a defensive bastion. Out of their element when protecting a static position. And it showed. Two more Bardbarians dropped in quick succession, Golameth dying far from the Bin upon the withering blade of Cined, while The Barbarian himself experiencing the tag-team-triple-threat of Rifkinn, Cined, and Nideaya. Even one approaching heights mere mortals can scarcely dream of is brought low when outnumbered three-to-one.

Score: the Ravens three, the Bardbarians one.

Meanwhile, the consistent lack of organization in the defenders of the Bin proved to be their undoing. The Ravens capitalized on this confusion. The sharp staccato of silent slipping blades felled Remyngton, Tankata, Sothios, Darkgaze, and Kenamer, each in rapid succession, before their bearers vanished without a trace. Hit, kill, run. Repeat. Hit, kill, run.

The Raven’s proved their point with the drip, drip, drip of crimson tears upon the streets of Langenfirth.

The Bardbarians had one last answer to the onslaught. The Moonbarian, not present for the first half of the events, singled out a single Raven as the rest of her companions withdrew. Focused moonlight shone down upon his victim, reducing Nideaya to a smoldering heap.

You gesture at Nideaya.
A brilliant beam descends from the sky and shrinks into a tiny point centered on Nideaya.
A billowing aura reinforces the spell.
The beam completely incinerates the right arm!
* Nideaya is slain before your eyes!

As stated, a pyrrhic victory. The official tally of three-to-two, Ravens marked the first engagement in the Ravensblood War where the Bardbarians the Ravens caused more damage than they received. A quiet moment of review on the objectives was needed:

Defend the miniature Bardbarian against all encroachment, check. The Barbarian miniature remains present and undamaged at the Bin.

Kill the enemy, check. Many people died on the enemy side, many more than the final Bardbarian tally can claim.

Remain in control of the territory, check. The Ravens withdrew from the Bin, leaving the Bardbarians to claim the field.

Win the day…a single failure in the midst of four goals. Not only did the final tally fall against us, many of our friends fell as well. A high cost for defending the Bin.

A pyrrhic victory indeed. Well done, Ravens. Until we meet again.

Day 6 (1/9/2022)

With our normal scribes not in attendance last night, the last founding member of The Bardbarians offered to write up the summary of events.

Ravens kill people
Hot rage from Chuno stirring
Bardbarian go

Empath Guild battle
Cold steel leaves Ravens running
Bardbarian fight

Red hot scars fading
Touch like mountain river cold
An Empath heals hurts

Bardbarian win
Victory like Summer wine
Sweet end to fighting

We’re still waiting on additional non-haiku details for the rest of the reporting.

Day 7 (1/10/2022)

As seems to be the natural course in conflict, a day of heavy activity or late night action is followed by one of rest and celebration.

The Bardbarians gathered in front of the Empath Guild and held a bagpipe concert while officially welcoming in their two newest recruits. Madigan and Dantia (collectively, House De’Mascus) have proven stalwart allies, fast friends, and capable fighters over the past few months as The Bardbarians slowly coalesced into a formal organization. Always spoiling for a fight, we are happy to count them among our ranks.

With no Ravens Flocking, alternative competition needed to be found. The Bardbarian himself challenged Chuno to a drinking game. Despite high hopes and much boasting, though, unconsciousness quickly took the Bard. Victory, Chuno.

Afterward, The Bardbarians settled in for spars at the cemetery. Before leaving the Empath Guild, however, they placed a Barbarian miniature to stake their territorial claim. It now stands vigil at the site where enemy forces were routed on the prior eve.

(16-6)

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