UPDATE: Changes inbound!

Hi all so this post is slightly different than some of my previous ones. I have been thinking quite a bit about Oronegro and this project I have been working on for many years now. In short looking back there are some things I would like to change, others I want to keep. Some elements of the story line, particularly the 21st Civil War are going to be changed fundamentally if not scrapped entirely.

No models today so here's a cat.

I am looking at changing the story up. New (and some ever present but inactive) factions are going to make an appearance. The map of the land, indeed the world, is going to change. I will start posting different types of stories. All that and much more. Oronegro has been and always will be a land of mystery, danger and adventure. 

That's one happy face. Ignore the mess in the background. That's not my room so not my responsibility haha

Don't worry I am not going to fundamentally change what Oronegro is. Rather I want to change the story to better fit those characteristics that make Oronegro what it is. Some of the other things I want to change relate to creating a more believable history. I will keep some elements of utopianism to early Oronegro, I will also keep the fantasy elements. Rather I am looking at how I can take those elements but have them exist in a world where the human interactions, motivations and attitudes are just as reasonable as if this were an attempt at historical fiction. In addition I am going to use images differently. Many of those I linked were later removed so posts ended up full of broken images. I am looking at avoiding this occurring in future.

The perfect cat trap has been devised! This one is my room so critiquing the state of it is allowed.

As you could imagine given that a substantial rewrite is in progress I am interested in your suggestions and ideas. Although Oronegro is very much my own project I never wanted it to be mine alone, where I the sole master and creator ruled over it all. Rather I had always hoped others would have their own piece of the world and took up threads of story and ran with them. I look forward to hearing from you all. (Except the spam comments which I finally dealt with, tougher measures in place to stop them now)
Oh and as I haven't done this in a while I give thanks to my new followers Aidan, Baconfat, Maj. Guiscard and Sam Wise. I know some of you have been following for quite some time but better late than never as they say. ;-D

General Atena Minervista

Last time we discussed the illustrious Las Minervas the famed women of La Tierra del Diablo who, though not numerous made a significant mark on the military history of Oronegro. Today we shall look at one of Minerva's most famed daughters, Atena Minervista, who although she came from obscure origins was to rise to the highest ranks of the Oronegrean military.

Atena was one of the few women to gain the rank of general within the Oronegrean military

Atena was born into a poor artisan family, who, unable to support her gave her over to the priestesses of the goddess Minerva. Under the tutelage of the priestesses Atena demonstrated a particular propensity for classical history and excelled in all her areas of study. Upon her coming of age she, as with all girls presented to the temple, was submitted with the choice on how she would dedicate herself to Minerva henceforth. Much to the horror of the priestesses, who had expected her to take up a clerical role, Atena instead chose to take up the spear and join Las Minervistas. Although at first Atena struggled with the rigours of martial discipline, it was not long before she would demonstrate her skill.

Sgt. Atena directs the Samurai as they prepare to leave his castle.

It was on a mission to Japan, to secure the safe passage to Oronegro of a disgraced Samurai and his family that her tactical genius became apparent. The family and their attendants, escorted by Las Minervas were making their way down to the coast when they were ambushed by assassins. Atena, at the time a sergeant, noticed one of the mules head between two rocky outcrops and with quick thinking directed the party into the path. The winding track took them down to the shore where the boats awaited them. With only the loss of a few guards they were able to make their getaway.

It was at this point that their translator Jorge Zanja y Corriente revealed that he was not in fact a humble staff officer but in truth the head of Oronegro's refugee underground lifeline programme. Impressed Sgt. Atena's efforts he swore he would secure her a commission upon their safe return. So it was that at the age of 20 Atena became the Lt. Col. of the 1st cohort of the 21st regiment of foot Los Lobos (the wolves). It was with this unit that she had her first experience of large scale warfare while they served as mercenaries in Europe. During a siege she noticed some bandits harassing a mother with her children. Despite orders to remain in position she and a couple picked men rushed to the aid of the family chasing the bandits away and getting them to safety inside the town itself despite of risk of being attacked by the defenders. The town would surrender shortly after, with Lt. Col. Atena and the 21st Los Lobos ensuring that there was no looking or damage of civilian property.

Lt. Col. Atena personally intervenes to save the family even in the midst of battle.

 After service in Europe she would return to Oronegro, now with the rank of Colonel. More important was her reputation, not only for her skill in command but also her personal bravery as well as the concern she showed not only to her own troops but all those she came across. 

It was at this time that one of the native tribes allied to Oronegro was threatened by a large war host who were encroaching on their territory from the North. Colonel Atena's 21st Los Lobos, along with the 28th grenadiers San Francisco, and the 8th Las Minervas were dispached to assist the tribe. During the march through the jungle the army was ambushed, which lead to Col. Atena and one cohort being separated from the rest of the army. Extremely vulnerable to attack and with night spreading through the valley Col. Atena, with only the moon shining through the canopy to guide her was able to lead her soldiers back to the camp. The next day the army was to withdrawal to safer territory ceding ground to the warhost while reinforcements were brought in from La Ley.

The night march of the lost 200, was one of the defining moments of her career.

During the months that followed a full legion, was amassed to return to fight the warhost. During this time the expeditions commander an elderly man named Fernando died dysentery. Due to unusual circumstances the chain of command was unclear so it was decided that the next commander would be decided by the vote of all 5,500 soldiers present. Much to the surprise the gentlemen officers and to the press Atena Minervista won that election by a significant margin. With her commission endorsed by the head secretary of the army, one Jorge Zanja y Corriente, General Atena Minervista became the second woman to achieve that rank in Oronegrean history.

Here concludes her story, her deeds and achievements after this time will no doubt be recorded elsewhere.

Las Minervas, daughters of the goddess, a history.

"Lágrimas de plomo" - "tears of lead" 

The Motto of Las Minervas

In the history of Oronegro there's one unit who stands out above the rest, indeed they do so quite literally. The 8th regiment of line, Las Minervas, from La Tierra del Diablo was one of the first units to be formalised during the founding of Oronegro's standing army. As with all these early regiments they were recruited from and garrisoned in one of Oronegro's major settlements, in this case La Tierra del Diablo which contests with La Ley the honour of being the first settlement established in Oronegro. La Tierra del Diablo is unlike any other settlement in Oronegro founded by witches, heretics and pagans the settlement is home to a few mysteries and people whisper of unspeakable horrors that stalk the streets on dark and misty nights.

Las Minervas may be unusual in many ways but too often foes have mistaken their apparent novelty for incompetence a mistake they rarely get to make twice.

Such stories and the aversion to the religious beliefs and practises of La Tierra's inhabitants have been the source of much mistrust towards the settlement from Oronegro's other inhabitants. This mistrust is returned as it was known that the inquisition, ostensibly outlawed by the constitution was given free reign in many of Oronegro's cities. In this climate of mutual loathing and suspicion it should come as no surprise that when the time came for the formalisation of Oronegro's armed forces there were few volunteers from the militia of La Tierra del Diablo to establish a regiment. There was one exception however, the followers of Greco-Roman paganism, specifically those devoted to the goddess Minerva. According to the popular account it was an oracle who foretold how it would be the daughters of Minerva who would save the settlement in a time of great calamity. So it was that the daughters of La Tierra stood up and announced themselves as Oronegro's 8th regiment, Las Minervas, the daughters of Minerva.

Las Minervas occupied an odd position withing the Oronegrean military. On paper they were a line regiment, which normally would be composed of 1000 troops divided into two cohorts of 500 infantry, officers and other attached forces. Except Las Minervas never reached that size during their history. At their largest they numbered around 500, the size of a cohort. However, the most usually fielded for combat (in campaign that is, most remained behind to defend La Tierra, as per the prophesy) was around 120-150. Due to their small size they operated more as a century than a regiment. Numbers, however, are not everything and despite their small size in numbers they were exceptional in many ways. The first and immediately notable was their height. At an average height of 194cm or 6'4" they towered over their fellow soldiers. Indeed they were so well known for their height that Frederick William I of Prussia became obsessed with them, trying many times to kidnap the women of the regiment. He was unsuccessful, due to both the strength of the women who repeatedly fought off his hired thugs and by prudent measures put in place to guard the women when they were off duty.

Rosa Alexandra Minervista, the commander of Las Minervas, devoted to her sisters whom she commands and to her goddess. She is highly respected by both her fellow officers and by her foes.

Unwanted attention of Prussian kings were not the only threats the unit faced. Their daring and bravery in battle along with their skill (and the terror they caused amongst their foes) brought the admiration of their fellow soldiers. They were known to stand firm even as the rest of the line crumbled around them. Officers from Las Minervas, all of them women, were known to become some of Oronegro's finest generals, the tales of whom should be familiar to any student of Oronegrean history. One of these women, Rosa Alexandra Minervista (Minervista being the name taken by those who fully devoted their lives to the goddess) would lead Las Minervas to reach the pinnacle of their prestige. Their achievements during her command will be accounted elsewhere. For now we shall conclude this history with a discussion of their final years.

Las Minervas were often paraded before visiting dignitaries. Many of whom were deeply impressed by these tall women. Their enemies were equally impressed by their skill in combat

It can be said that Las Minervas represented the best of Oronegro's pre-independence culture. While the tolerance and acceptance of that society existed more on the pages of the constitution than in practice there were some instances of genuine progressive policy. The approval of the 8th Regiment, Las Minervas, into the ranks of the fledgling Oronegrean army was one of those. Where elsewhere women were being murdered on suspicion of witchcraft or being shunned for pursuing tasks seen as too masculine, these openly pagan women became the pride of a nation! A nation however, that was changing and lamentably was becoming less open to them. 

During the civil war of the 1860s they fought the last of their battles. Taking the side of the Royal/anti-independence forces they stood against the nationalists who wanted to impose a more conservative order on Oronegro. They fought bravely until the end. Refusing to surrender they died defending La Tierra del Diablo. It was during this fight that they managed to kill Don Juan de San Antonio, leader of the nationalist forces who had sworn to wipe the heretical town from the face of the Earth. In so doing it was said that they did indeed fulfill the prophecy, for the new commander a man of a more gentle nature would not allow the civilians of La Tierra to come to harm. The victorious nationalist forces celebrated the rebirth of the nation. However, this new nation was not as welcoming as the old. There was no place in it for women soldiers, nor pagan soldiers. As such Las Minervas was formally disbanded and would not be officially reconstituted until the end of the Second Oronegrean Civil War in the mid 21st century.