The Garrison Chapter 28 was part of the Ferdrskjisle Spiritual Group (666 - 633 b. OW), an expeditionary force of the goblinoid Trensandor Empire's Human Auxiliary spiritual-military force. The purpose of the larger Group, deployed mostly by Mirkarr initiative, was to establish garrisons on the Ferdrskjisle's fringe (where there was no strong, official Andan presence) and make use of their autonomous but potent units to maintain order and control there. One of the smallest garrisons was Chapter 28, appointed to garrison the frontier trade town of Trebkernstad.

Peacetime Garrisoning

Chapter 28 was given lodgings in a former chapel devoted to the spirit of Gaia, on a small hill next to the local chief's castle outside the main town. The chapter's mission, of course, was not spiritual; it was mostly there to keep an eye on local goings-on and be available to intervene if needed. (This was especially intended to deal with potential goblinoid deserters, or for criminals seeking refuge.)

The ygumenkka-ik had a team of thirteen sisters under her command. Most of the time, they did not leave their quarters; they did not need to interfere much in the chief's affairs, and they were not supposed to mix with the local population. She occasionally sent them out to patrol the countryside, more to keep them in shape than to find any bandits. Aside from some rare interventions into town by orders from above, the sisters almost never dealt with town business (they did, of course, purchase supplies in town, and occasionally attended service in the stave church); they even stood down during an internal rebellion which culminated in the storming of the castle in 655.

The sisters most of all appreciated their patrols and special missions out into the countryside, which was by far their most common active task. They often went in small groups of two or four, travelling along roads and footpaths on outings ranging anywhere from three days to several weeks. Often, these were patrols for the sake of it, though they were sometimes sent to check on settlements or investigate reports, usually in escort of Ferdskjonner officials. For instance, in 659 a very deadly magical beast was roaming the forests and low hills to the northwest, and a large part of the chapter was mobilized to walk the roads in groups of two, usually following locals, to find it. Sister Gelinn and Sister Diulia managed to kill it, though Gelinn suffered a serious stomach wound - one of the only two sisters to be wounded before Trensenda's Offensive^[1].

Trensenda's Offensive and the Captives Scandal

The northern coast of Mjnfar was home to orcish settlements quite similar to those of the Ferdskjonner on the south. For years now, there had been problems with the newly-founded Tribe Treesnatch, which was encroaching on human territory by settling, and there were occasional local bouts of violence. This tribe was also a client of Drubark, an enemy of Trensandor.

To deal with these border problems, Garrison Chapter 28 was reinforced in 648 by 20 additional sisters and put under the command of Ygumenkka Trensenda. She chose to go on an offensive: to "project power and intimidate the enemy", she marched up to a tiny Ferdskjonner town northeast of Trebkernstad, in central Mjnfar, and used this as an operating base for "aggressive patrolling". The sisters patrolled near the borders and intervened rapidly when there were any transgressions, not shying from open fighting; with their elite training and magical abilities, they could rival the entire might of Tribe Treesnatch head-on, and the small troublemaker groups were no problem at all.

When winter came, Trensenda chose to continue her offensive and "not cede a tree of territory"; by pushing on hard for a while longer, all orcish bravado would be dispelled. In an unpopular move, she also decided to patrol and fight "the traditional way", meaning the sisters wore war-paints and minimal leather clothing, relying on magic to protect them from the elements. This had been customary a century earlier and was still used largely ceremonially on Kyrdan, but appreciation for this tradition was going down in equal step with growing human emancipation, and many sisters - most of all the original Chapter 28's - were not used to this and found it quite taxing, despite only going out for 1-3 days at a time.

Catastrophically, one patrol group encountered an armed enemy force and was captured alive in the fight. The Auxiliaries only discovered this days later, and were much too late to save their sisters. The captives were brought first to the Everflow, then north. Meanwhile, the response within the Auxiliary when the Mirkarr did not allow any large-scale operation to find and free the captives, and soon after in the Andan human population, was strongly negative. One captive, Tryss, managed to escape by fleeing over an entire mountain range and to Dwarven cities on the Moonsea coast, and her return to Trensandor enflamed the popular awareness and brought about much greater search efforts. Around 150 Auxiliaries were deployed on Mjnfar and the Continent to pursue any leads, while some brave ships even sneaked past Drubark in the Moonsea. But Sister Mylinna was never found, and died (unbeknownst to Trensandor) in Gezznyr captivity in 636.

Withdrawal

The Offensive was considered a major defeat because of the Captives Scandal, and - following Sister Tryss's testimony that wearing improper gear had limited her patrol's ability to move and fight - the use of "traditional" methods was banned.

Garrison Chapter 28 returned to its usual size, under the command of the old Ygumenkka-ik Diulia (who had been one of the major advocates of launching rescue efforts for the captives sooner), but the atmosphere was much more gloomy: the sisters were saddened by the loss of one of their youngest colleague, and orcish problems in the north were becoming much more severe (though now large Ferdskjonner militias were also involved, leaving the Auxiliary to mostly scouting roles).

Diulia became too old and was recalled to a monastery on Kyrdan, to take on a sedentary role there. The rest of the chapter left with her, leaving Trebkernstad behind. The town was no longer considered sufficiently interesting or valuable to Trensandor. The Andan presence in the isles had been growing smaller for years anyway; and, five years later, the entire Ferdrskjisle Spiritual Group was pulled out entirely except for a small presence in strategically essential locations.