Hi there, sorry for the long wait. Was working on 3 projects at the same time. Hope you enjoy it!

Just a Crazy-man: Nice.

A: Thanks, I guess XD

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Uberstoryteller: Awesome story. Could use a little more detail on certain parts but still fun.

A: Thx! I will try to add more details now that the main focus, the Saderans, are in the picture.

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Guest: Interesting.

A: I sure hope it is :)

IC -1137

All Qin forces still in New Rome territory were ordered to retreat due to a lack of grains to fund the war effort, saving the Romans from annihilation.

IC -1135

Qin, whose capital is located near the Eastern seas, was not affected severely but the harsh weather. However, the tribesmen living up North had it much worse. The freezing cold killed the grass, killed the livestock, and killed the people. With no choice, they migrated en masse to the relatively warmer Southern region, but the Great wall constructed centuries ago thwarted their attempts.

When they requested for their women and children to be allowed safe passage to the other side, the defenders of the wall dismissed them, fearing that the unruly tribesmen would ransack the area beyond. Seeing the blatant disregard for their lives, the tribesmen attacked, swarming the wall in numerous locations in an attempt to break through the blockage. However, the tribesmen then had not the skills of siegecraft, preferring rather to fight each other on horseback.

The attacks failed, and the nomadic horsemen were beaten back and forced to retreat back to their homeland, where their food soon ran out. Forced to substitute on tree bark, leather, and even man meat, the population of the horsemen dropped so much that it would take 800 years for their numbers to fully recover.

It was then that the idea of capturing warrior bunnies for food was born. Fast-growing, quick to reproduce, numerous, the warrior bunnies quickly became the staple diet on the horsemen, a tradition that remained deeply engraved in Northern cultures.

IC -1128

The minor Ice Age ends. Millions had perished from the calamity, and the balance of power shifted once more as the survivors rise from the ravished lands.

In the North, the roaming horde had been reduced to a few thousand starved refugees.

In the East, the once-great Qin empire had been reduced to a shell of its former glory. Decades of internal disputes, wars, and food shortages had taken its toll and pushed the empire to its limits.

In the South, the Mesogians enjoyed being the only area in the continent still capable of producing abundant foodstuff due to their geographical advantage. Using this as a lever, they pushed for Qin to recognize them as a semi-autonomous region, partially satisfying their long wish to be independent.

In the West, New Rome stood firm against the cold, in part due to the stalwart nature of Romans, and in part due to the discovery of a fertile peninsular jutting out into the warm Southern Seas beyond their western borders. After driving out the various dark races that were living there, numerous colonists settled down there, tilling the land and sending much-needed foodstuff back towards the Alnus region.

As the explorers move further south, they began to discover various long-abandoned settlements deep within the forests. Treehouses, beautiful temples, longhouses, all told them that an intelligent species had once lived here. Indeed, they were passing through the ancient realm of the High Elves, who had by now degraded into either wood elves, dark elves, or sea elves.

Although much the culture and secrets of the elves were lost, enough remained to tell the Romans of what happened. Learning from the mistakes of the elves, the Romans resolved not to follow the same path as they once did. Another thing they took away was something that they had never seen before. Magic. Through studying inscriptions left behind by the elves, reverse engineering ancient artifacts, as well as trial and error, they managed to grasp the basics of the arts of wizardry. It's but no means on the same level as the power of the elves, who had a natural affinity for things like this, but it's something.

IC -1125s

Conflict resumes between Qin and New Rome. Despite the counsel of his advisors, the Qin Emperor personally led 45,00 men west in search of a decisive battle with his long time adversaries. Some say that it was to cement his shaky rule over the empire, others think that he was so blinded by hatred for the small nation that defied him that he sought to crush them while they are still recovering from the minor Ice Age.

Whatever the reason, it proved to be his last blunder and the bane of his country.

IC -1123

The Emperor and the vanguard of his army sneak through the unmanned Skirling Pass ahead of the rest of his force and moves on to besiege Italicia, a trade town that is part of the lifeline of New Rome. This move had caught the Romans by surprise, partly due to how stupid it was, and partly because of the speed of the attack. Sources differ on whether the Haryo tribe had discovered the attack. Some say that even the half-blooded did not anticipate the Qin Emperor to really do it, but others say that it was an intricate plot to decisively destroy the Qins.

When the Roman Consul caught word of the invasion, he immediately gathered the 2 legions under him and marched North to reinforce the trade town. However, he was too late as Italicia, with just a few understrength centuries, had been defeated quickly. The Emperor entered the town at the head of 5000 elite troops, sacked the city, and begun methodically torturing its inhabitants. Relishing in the suffering of the people that opposed him for so long, he stayed in the city for weeks, committing numerous atrocities.

A lone record states that he was influenced by the word of his concubine, whom the emperor had brought along, who supplied him with various previously unheard of tortures to inflict upon the town folks. It was said that the streets were turned into canals of blood as the Qin soldiers barged into homes, raped women, quartered the men, and impaled the elderly, the emperor laughing maniacally at the innocent residents' pleas for mercy watching the slaughter with his concubine.

While it is debated if the Qins were such bloodthirsty monsters, records have shown them to be a warlike, brutal race. It is thus not entirely possible for the sack of Italicia to be a baseless rumor.

Meanwhile, the Romans Consul led his men on a forced march pass Italicia and towards the Skirling Pass. There, the Romans surprised the Qin forces slowly treading their way through the mountains and destroyed their forward base, cutting off their Emperor from the rest of his men. Leaving a sizable garrison behind, the Romans then went back South and erected a palisade around Italicia, surrounding the Emperor, whose sadism brought his own downfall.

With no supplies and reinforcement, the fearsome Qin Tiger Army quickly lost morale. In a last-ditch attempt to break through the Roman encirclement, the starved soldiers swarmed out of the broken walls and attempted a feeble assault on the Roman position which was easily repelled by the wooden ramparts, Scorpios and well-disciplined legionaries.

Finally, after 3 months, the last remaining bodyguards of the Emperor killed him in his sleep and presented his head to the Romans, perhaps hoping for amnesty. Instead, they were taken back to Alnus Town and crucified before the Senate building as a reminder of what happens to those who defy the Romans. Strangely, there were no records of what happened to the Emperor's concubine, although meager evidence suggests that she had been passed among the legionaries, who were more than eager to avenge the Itaicians. It was also noted that the Haryo tribe had a fallout with the Romans around the same time of the siege, due to unmentioned reasons.

After giving the deceased of Italicia a mass burial, the Romans then marched back to the North to confront the rest of the Qin forces.

Concurrently, the Skirling Pass was subjected to numerous bloody battles as the Qin generals launched countless attacks against the Roman garrison, hoping to break through their lines and rescue their emperor. Despite the harsh winters and long conflicts, the Qin army was still formidable in its own rights, and those who marched west were the cream of the empire. On several occasions, they nearly broke through the enemy lines, only to be thrown back by the Roman mages, who deployed rudimentary spells once used by elven wizards to hurl fireballs, avalanches, and icicles at the attackers. The deeply superstitious Qin soldiers were horrified by the inhuman powers of the mages, who resembled deities in their eyes. To them, it was as if their own gods were fighting for their foes.

The last straw came when the Romans who besieged Italicia arrived and threw the head of their revered Emperor back to them. The elements had abandoned them, their gods had joined their enemy, and now the Emperor was dead as well.

Heedless to the calls of their generals, thousands threw down their weapons and fled the battlefield. Within days, half of the Qin army had dispersed, fleeing back the way they came. The rest hid in their camps, debating whether to make a heroic last stand, surrender to the Romans, or go home. Eventually, the decision to ask for a truce was made.

The terms of the Romans were simple. Unconditional surrender. Hearing this, the Qin emissaries protested bitterly, claiming that it was too harsh and that they cannot accept it. In reply, the Roman consul drew his sword, threw it before the Qins, and loudly proclaimed, "Vae victis!"

Woe to the vanquished.

The remaining Qin generals, not wanting to become slaves, hurriedly gathered what calvary they had left and retreated the way they had come, hoping to reach Proptor and escape by sea. The Romans did not have the extra manpower to pursue them and thus let them escape, instead focusing on the bulk of infantries left behind. Thus, nearly 20,000 Qin soldiers were taken captives by the Romans, with only 1000 horsemen managing to reach Proptor alive, of which only 300 survived the journey back to their capital. From then on, the term 'Skirling Pass' had become the epitome of an impenetrable fortification, and a nightmare for any army attempting an assault upon Roman territory.

*For those who didn't get it, the concubine of the Qin Emperor was a dar in disguise. The Haryo's purposely let the Emperor through the Skirling pass to trap him at Italicia and end the war in one stroke. The Romans did not know this and killed the dar when retaking Italicia, which caused a minor rift among both sides.