POW Protests Rock Sharn Towers
SHARN — An estimated 1,000 protesters marched through Sharn's Bazaar and Hareth's Folly districts on Mol, blocking key intersections and clashing with city guards throughout the late afternoon and evening. City Watch troopers were dispatched from the Daggerwatch Garrison at 6 p.m. to deal with the disturbances. By 10 p.m., nearby precincts surveyed by the Breland Ledger reported more than 150 arrests.
Blood of the Disappeared, a group founded by the parents and spouses of missing Brelish soldiers, organized the rally to protest what they called "foot-dragging" on the part of Breland's War Ministry and diplomatic corps.
"We've been at peace for two years now, everyone says. But for us, there is no peace," said Blood Councilor Maruena Tokaunt in a speech to a crowd at Markenny Plaza. "Our government, from the crown on down, needs to take responsibility for negotiating an exchange of soldier remains and any living prisoners. Furthermore, the national armies must open their records so we can find out what happened to the thousands of missing and captured troops."
Most of the arrests were for disturbing order or property destruction, according to Watch Captain Zell Garrithall. Property damage was limited to street signs, some storefronts, and several tavern interiors. Assistant War Minister Arneth ir'Challis said that while the crown welcomes "open discussion about the fate of those who gave their all for Breland," negotiating such agreements is a time-consuming, difficult process. Older missing-in-action cases tend to be delayed because of a simple lack of information, ir'Challis explained. "After nearly a century of war and upheaval, detailed records on every military engagement just don't exist anymore," he affirmed. "Sadly, we'll never know exactly where and under what circumstances each hero of Breland fell."
Adding to the frustration of investigators is the fact that more recent cases are sometimes cloaked by the demands of military secrecy. "When we inquire about missing and captured soldiers from the last year or two of the war, we get stonewalled," ir'Challis said. "Other nations don't want to divulge the details of recent battles because doing so means giving away intelligence."
Ir'Challis also emphasized that to the War Ministry's knowledge, Breland is holding no living prisoners from the Last War. He called on other governments to make the same pledge. Tokaunt echoed that call. "The war is over — doesn't everyone realize that? What possible reason could a nation have for continued imprisonment of enemy soldiers?"
Droaam Hordes Press Graywall Defenders
ARDEV — A horde of minotaurs, ogres, gnolls and other monsters from Droaam clashed on Mol with Breland Army units guarding the Graywall passes. More than 2,000 Droaam warriors, with gnolls and ogres dominating the raiding parties, attacked at dusk in a series of incursions covering some two-thirds of the Graywall theater.
Early situation reports indicate that the hordes are directed by the Daughters of Sora Kell, who seized power in the region after Brelish forces withdrew in 987. The current assault represents the most significant push this year by that organization.
Junior officers retreating from advance posts in the Graywalls reported the capture of at least three mountain citadels: Mt. Anglio, Virtue Soars, and Blackwood Cleft. The disposition of those citadels and others in the Graywalls could not be confirmed with the Breland Army high command. These three fortifications were among the thirteen built in 990 after passage of the controversial Graywall Levy.
Retreating soldiers reported typical tactics on the part of the Droaam hordes, whose members gave no quarter and took few prisoners. Several retreating squads were turned to stone by medusas in the Daughters' pay, then smashed into rubble by the ogres and trolls in the advancing hordes.
Breland's 7th Army, still in winter quarters in Galethspyre, immediately began preparations for a forced march to bolster the Graywall defenders, Brelish Army officials said on Zol. Rumors that Borumel's War Council would redeploy the Argonth floating fortress to the Droaam border could not be confirmed at press time. Argonth last appeared in the Graywalls in 991 to stem a rising tide of gnoll incursions.
Critics of the crown's Droaam policy decried the Graywall defense plans even as they expressed support for the Brelish soldiers holding the remaining citadels against the monstrous assault. "When the king withdrew from western Breland eleven years ago, we all worried that a situation such as this one might be the consequence," said Baroness Avarulao, one of the Brelish citizens resettled in 987, now serving as Adjunct Minister for the Dispossessed of Western Breland. "What was once our beautiful homeland is now a breeding ground for endless waves of horrible monsters."
In a strongly worded speech before Parliament, Avarulao advocated the launching of a "cleansing crusade" to wipe out the Daughters of Sora Kell and reclaim western Breland. Provisions of the Unity Act of 988 prevent the Breland Ledger from reprinting her statement in detail.
