On November 23, 1010 GA, the Roquoran monarch Emperor Hubert the Gentle succumbed to illness and passed away. Hubert was responsible for the passage of the Norian Accord in 1007 GA. This landmark treaty finally recognized the Delnorian nation as independent in the eyes of the Empire of Roquore and ended a centuries-long feud between the two powers.

Upon assuming the throne, Hubert’s sister the Empress Cyrana renounced the Norian Accord as treasonous. She promised that all Delnorian nobles and citizens who willingly remitted their lands to Roquoran control would be welcomed back to the empire as heroes, but those that attempted to uphold the terms of the Norian Accord would be punished as traitors to their nation. Powerful Roquoran organizations had been preparing for this moment in secret for years.

Most of their plans centered around the Northern Delnorian Dutchy of Alderwich, which sits on the Noria river that serves as a boundry between the two nations. Ever since local Delnorian authorities were forced to close the lucrative Alderwich mines in 1002 GA because of the nagging rumor that they were cursed, industry abandoned the Dutchy and its Delnorian population steadily dropped. Forces within Roquore realized this scarcity was an opportunity and silently moved Imperial sympathizers across the Noria River to settle in Alderwich. These agents understood that there would come a day when they are called upon to do a service for their government. Many suspect that that is exactly what has led to the present set of circumstances.

The Delnorian citizenry of Alderwich was shocked in the summer of 1011 GA when their formerly beloved Senator, Laurence Sanburne, uncharacteristically advocated for what was considered at the time to be an unpopular referendum. This legislation allowed the citizens to decide if the Norian Accord should be upheld within the Dutchy or if the land should submit to the demands of Empress Cyrana and rejoin the Roquoran Empire.

Claiming that he could not stand in the way of the will of the people in such a monumental decision, the Duke of Alderwich Florent DePaul begrudgingly also approved the order of referendum. Upon the order’s signing, Senator Sanburne immediately abdicated his position. He and his family have not been seen since. The Duke was left to verify the referendum results, which favored a return to Roquore. Rumors immediately began to circulate about the origins of the Senator’s unusual behavior, and the legitimacy of all aspects of the situation have been called into question. The Senator’s support of the order of referendum itself is viewed by Delnorians as dubious at best; it is whispered that the Roquoran forces uncovered some dark secret from Sanborne’s past and used it as leverage for coercion. The referendum results themselves are viewed with equal skepticism, as few that remain within the towns of the troubled Duchy have any love for the Empire. Reports of a massive influx of foreigners with forged citizenship documents were dismissed by the Duke’s election officials as spurious and unfounded, but their dismissal has done nothing to quiet the gossip broadcast by bards in every tavern.

The Empire of Roquore responded to this turn of events with stunning speed. In the days following the referendum, Duke DePaul abandoned his Delnorian title and was dubbed a Roquoran Marquise by Empress Cyrana. The Imperial forces mobilized a transitional government under the total authority of the Marquise and began to impose martial law before news of the secession even reached the halls of the Senate in Delnorith.

Most of the citizenry of Alderwich (including the majority of the Gendarmarie) quickly fled to neighboring Dutchys to sue for asylum, and most of those who could not afford to do so defected to the Empire and submitted to Roquoran control. The Order of the Time-Worn Gad, the knightly order established by DePaul in his tenure as Duke of Alderwich, largely imploded. Only a very few of DePaul’s most loyal knights remained by his side and joined his new order, the Resplendent Rebirth.

This left the unfortunate members of the serf caste to fend largely for themselves. Because their agreements of lease were transferred along with the land itself into the hands of the Roquoran nobility, they were forbidden to leave. Roquoran authorities demanded unbearably high taxes to support their annexation of Alderwich, forced serfs to wear badges identifying them as formerly Delnorian, and instituted a curfew to ensure that none try to steal away under the cover of night. The penalty for an infraction was death.

To make matters worse, the lack of any organized system of law enforcement or land security led to an immediate spike in criminal activity. Any thug with a big enough weapon was essentially free to take whatever they wished from what little remained for the defenseless serfs. These combined factors made the serfs’ already pitiable living conditions squalid and their life expectancy considerably shorter.

The only silver lining to this very dark cloud was that the lack of a strong agency to combat any true resistance allowed an underground movement to obstruct Roquoran occupation to organize. At its helm was a mysterious figure known as the “Shadow Delegate,” supposedly so named for his willingness to allow his actions to speak for the people where the will and words of their elected senator had failed.

In the face of such overwhelming odds, the Shadow Delegate’s exploits took on legendary proportions. He boldly protected serfs from brigands, supported orphaned children, provided financial support for those whose houses had been burned, and frustrated the Roquorans charged with apprehending him with his daring escapes. His calling card was unmistakable; a blood-soaked Delnorian flag displayed defiantly upon a pike, crowned with the head of a Roquoran agent. His retribution was especially harsh upon those knights who defected to the empire along with the Marquise. It is rumored that he promised those within his trusted circle that before the season was over, the head of DePaul himself will adorn a pike displayed outside of the Royal Estates. Though the reward for information leading to his arrest was enough to provide for a family for generations, his identity remained obscured for a considerable amount of time.

The Shadow Delegate’s most audacious act earned him fame beyond the borders of Alderwich, quickly reaching all the way to the ears of the Delnorian Senate. In the early fall of 1011 GA, his agents discovered that Roquore had mustered a much larger force than anticipated to occupy and fortify Alderwich. It became clear that they planned to use the Dutchy as a bulkhead and a staging point for a full-scale invasion. In a desperate gambit to buy time, the Shadow Delegate and his agents managed to detonate stolen mining explosives to bring down the Wyhill Bridge that the Roquorans were enlarging to cross the Noria in force.

While this alone might not have accomplished enough to save the Dutchy, the Roquorans were stalled across the river. Their generals had not prepared for such stagnation, and as sanitation quickly broke down in the camp, it was no surprise that an outbreak of the Pox that has been plaguing Roquore for decades erupted. The Pox spread uncontrollably amongst the soldiers, rapidly decimated the army, and eliminated any hope of a successful invasion. The Roquoran authorities quickly recognized their position, cut their losses, and quarantined the area.

With Roquore held at bay, the mysterious Shadow Delegate finally revealed his true identity: Sir Roger Garreck. A former Knight of the Time-Worn Gad and a native of Alderwich, Sir Roger was living a daring double life as both the commander of Roquore’s foraging efforts and as the leader of the Delnorian resistance. Garreck's first act after announcing his identity was to make good on his promise to behead the Marquise and put what he dubbed the "Treacherous Visage" on display for the people of Alderwich. Garreck led a mob of citizens and serfs to the gates of the Royal Estate expecting to face Roquran resistance, but found the grounds abandoned and the doors unbarred.

Unable to deliver the Marquise to the angry mob behind him, Garreck opened DePaul's pantries and discovered vast stores of produce collected through Roquoran taxation. For a full day and night, the starving residents of Alderwich that joined Garreck in his campaign enjoyed a sumptuous feast unlike anything they had enjoyed in years. Since then and with the blessings of the Delnorian Senate and royal family, he has set about restoring order to Alderwich and preparing for Roquore’s inevitable return.