The Fall of Morninglight

(( The following is written upon loose parchment in Aurora’s curious flowing script, rather than the usual bound tome and precise lettering of the permanent journals. ))

The town of Morninglight and Morgan Castle Overrun

It has been two months since the signing of the Changeling Accords, the accords that granted the Changelings access to Roanoak, the accords that appear to have been our downfall.

I do not believe that even their Queen, Relic Silvermane, realized the sheer numbers of her kin that would be called to the hive beneath Morgan Castle when she brokered her peace…

Within a fortnight Morninglight was overrun by the Changelings as the various hives that had squabbled amongst each other for limited sustenance suddenly found reason to flock to the region; the draw of a food source without the threat of retaliation spurred an invasion… It was a mostly passive invasion, but an invasion nonetheless.

Looking back upon it, it was a perfect storm – a confluence of timings that culminated in sending the Empire reeling. With Captain Imperious’ departure the Imperial Guard was turned over to a leadership with intrinsic ties to the Changelings. And even though this was not a direct issue, the mistrust this sowed amongst the Guard began an almost instant decay of the command structure. And within the vacuum of Imperious’ departure, recovery currently seems impossible.

The leadership of the mighty Imperial Guard was compromised so very quickly, and not by Changeling infiltration, but by internal mistrust and a lack of confidence.

Currently, the Imperial Guard is divided and there are several factions within it… The three major factions are the Changeling guards and those who have sided with them, those who feel the Changelings are a threat to the established order and seek to reform the Guard without Changeling influence, and the Argent Factionnaire – my personal Guard – ponies beyond such politics who are hoof-picked by Imperious to see to my safety.

And so the most powerful, well trained, and well-armed force in the land is currently at odds with itself – and emotions are running high... Of course Changelings feed on emotions, and without the threat of reprisal they seem to be drawn to the conflict like moths to a flame.

As the Guard turns on itself, the local citizenry are taking notice… And with this turmoil in the Guard and the increased Changeling presence, fear – fear the Changelings are also drawn to – has begun to run rampant. This has left Morninglight, the town closest to Morgan and therefore the Silvermane hive, virtually deserted. To the south, various town militias are on high alert – and for the first time in Roanoak’s history towns are barricading the roads leading into population centers. These militias are currently performing Changeling Checks at the points of entry in an attempt to separate refugees from infiltrators – to keep the invaders in the Morninglight region.

The Changelings present a difficult faction to counteract, for even my vast power is useless against a force I cannot recognize or separate from the innocent… Unlike the Dragon conflicts, where the enemy was an external, easily identified force moving against targets of tactical significance; the Changelings were already here – and typically look just like everypony else. All I can do is try to ease the escape of the citizenry from Morninglight, aid in the screening to separate Ponies from Changelings, and eventually cordon off the region.

Yes, I must fall back... With the Imperial Guard so fractured and without leadership, I have no force with which to retake the Morninglight region, for the Changelings are simply too numerous to face head on in our current state. Fortunately they too are fractured and disorganized, for their queen, Relic Silvermane, seems to have vanished a fortnight ago.  And with her guiding presence missing, the various hives are once again fighting amongst each other… But it would not take much to give them a common enemy in the ponies of Roanoak.

In this regard, soon I shall place a series of powerful wards along the Nisean River and the bridge the main road uses. Morgan castle, the town of Morninglight, and the area around them from the Nisean River north to the Leylands, will become Changeling territory.

The Nisean River will then become a proverbial line in the sand until such time as Roanoak has recovered and I can logistically support an extended campaign to retake Morninglight.

Though my wards are quite powerful, they are by no means impenetrable. And whilst they will halt anypony, or any Changeling, from flying over the river, they can only slow their crossing on land… Therefore various members of the nearby militias are being conscripted to operate patrols along the river.

It is an imperfect solution and the determined will get through, but it should keep the vast majority of the Changelings separate and away from the citizenry and control the immediate threat.

And this is the most concerning for me, as there are a number of the citizenry who have sided with the invaders, who are not escaping to the south, and who will be walled off with the Changelings. I have no way to know what lies ahead for them, but I am assured they have been given every option.

Of note, I do not hold Queen Silvermane accountable for what has transpired here, as it was not her desire to sack Roanoak. While I do believe she had the best interests of her people at heart, in the raging torrent of circumstance the numbers of her own people overwhelmed her and she lost control of the situation. It seems, from what I observed, that Changeling drones will congregate to the nearest Queen, even if she is not of their hive. So in a matter of a fortnight the Silvermane Hive went from a few dozen to an almost uncountable number of Changelings.

I, unfortunately, was not in a position to aid her in regaining control as the Imperial Guard failed with the same speed the Changelings presented a threat, leaving the Morninglight region open for conquest by the famished hordes of invaders.

I also do not hold Lieutenant Diomades accountable for this outcome, as his actions were also in the best interest of others. His drive was a desire to try and bridge the two populations into a harmonious whole, and that caused him to seek Queen Silvermane and accept her offer to bring him into her number. This did drive the final wedge into the Guard though, and the division it caused ran all the way to its core.

For my part, my error was in believing the guard to be on sound footing and able to take this blow without falling… I was wrong.

This morning the Argent Factionnaire came with a request to relocate the crown to the port city of Ardennes in the south of Roanoak. I keep a summer home there, the castle Astur, in the western hills above the town, and they tell me the advance guard has made the location safe for my occupation.

I do not desire to quit the field here in the Morninglight region, but I am assured that, due to Roanoak’s current inability to wage a full-scale conflict, the best course of action is to fall back and regroup…

I am told that the advance guard and the local forces need another week to ensure all have escaped and that our position in Ardennes is secure. As soon as I am given the word all is as prepared as can be, I shall seal Morninglight off from the rest of Roanoak until such time as I can return – and reclaim my land from these invaders…