Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Consider this a prequel to another essay I'm brewing up.
Aniel, the Scholar Disciple, and one of the "Main Six" of the ten. She owns and maintains their museum, which she says contains all of lambkind's history and culture. She's very devastated to have lost it, naturally. Based on her gravestone, she really values being remembered. (At the very least, it's the opinion Baraq has of her; he made the graves)
There's a few knick-knacks on the shelves against the wall, but it's clear the most important part of this museum is the Flockade board front and center. They honor their history and their ancestors through this game of parry, slash, (paper).
Flockade, in hindsight, is a pretty blatant sign that the lambs are a militarized society. Likely pulling from Sparta for inspiration. The centerpiece of their history is a battle-strategy game with pieces that only ever reference war or battle of some kind. Their "normal" soldiers are referred to as meat shields. That is not a kind term, to say the least.
The only exception to this being the Shepherds, the pieces that literally can't fight and will lose to everything but another Shepherd. Hint hint, nudge nudge.
Aniel herself is a strategist. This is implied in her final chronicles about herself, where she blames herself for being unable to save more of their people in the Burning of Woolhaven. And then again by her own Flockade piece, the Fallen Scribe. If she were a fighter, she wouldn't have been hiding in the first place, tbh.
The swords are their warriors, the shields are their support, and the scribes are their generals. The Shepherds are their fucking cheat codes.
Flockade paints a very clear picture of a history of conquest and war.
Ewefall. Last Hoof. The Grasslands. These are the given locations where conflict happened. If Ewefall is the place they've claimed as "theirs", what business did they have in these other places? Just something to consider.
How they've chosen to honor their history speaks volumes, but what's been recorded makes it very clear that not all of these were battles fought in self-defense. I would argue most of them weren't. Not if they were eagerly documenting what they "won" from the conflict. People who were forced to fight by a power pressuring them wouldn't glorify war. Reduce it to a collectible game.
That's all war is to them. A game.
If you think that's not a fair observation, consider: there's no mention of the lamb slaughter anywhere. No mention of their last stand before Woolhaven was burned down. And yet... there's a Rotted Shepherd piece. No one from the culling was worth documenting? Not even just the fact that it happened?
The lambs we're dealing with seem to have been a group that went by the name of "Ramhorn". Or maybe that's the name of their actual place of origin. They were clearly ruthless based on their usage of an iron maiden. There's literally no good excuse for them to have that. It's for forcing compliance using pain and fear.
Their most prominent piece of history is their battle against Tooth and Claw, what can only be a two-headed beast. Harriath was injured by Tooth and Claw separately, but Angoel was swallowed down into one, shared belly. Multiple lambs are listed as being apart of this fight.
You can sort of piece together that the lambs in this conflict were at a disadvantage. Maybe they'd already lost once, or maybe just the idea of fighting a literal monster was a little intimidating. But the lambs ultimately won that conflict; Lornileth is honored for dealing the killing blow.
I went ahead and put all these on the cotl wiki if you're interested, but here are some highlights:
-Jorpiel, the Fallen Sword, honored for killing themselves rather than surrendering.
-Kelson, the Fallen Shield, honored for dying in battle despite managing to snag the W.
-The entire category dedicated to people who were won as "prizes".
And my favorite:
Usiu, the Just Sword, honored for winning the Ewefall skirmish :3
The use of "skirmish" here is so very important. A skirmish is a smaller, unplanned fight that's apart of a greater conflict. Which means that before the big Culling, they were already having ongoing problems with someone else in the area.
In my post about what seem to be the former Bishops of these realms, I pointed out that Ewefall is riddled with signs of battle. It looks like the Bishop who was there was either forced out, or failed to take it over in the first place.
And yet, there's little sign of the lambs having a presence in Ewefall. Yngya? Yes. But the lambs? No. Just because she's the Lamb God now, doesn't mean she always was. There's been like three other Gods of Death besides Lamb.
Woolhaven has a very clear aesthetic to it. There are crooks with bells hung off of them as decorations. Their monuments have the asterisk and the spiral carved into them. Their statues depict bells more than their idol. Dark wood, stone paths, and an odd green hue to their things... even the water in the fountain.
There are these rooms, but they're not totally apart of the "natural" ecosystem. The entrance and exit rooms are ours. This applies to the Bishop's realms too.
The only hint there were ever lambs here are the spirals on the Faithless Statues (which incriminates the lambs a bit), the Fallen Temple, and the wool rooms. But this isn't woolhaven.
Woolhaven was burned, for one. These buildings aren't. For two, peep the eye symbol on the building. That's the Red Crown's symbol. Lamb's symbol. The same one on our temple door. This (clearly failed) colony belongs to Death, more than anyone.
This may be the place of origin for some Lambs... but not all of them. Not these ones. The Woolhaven lambs either conquered, eradicated, or displaced another group to be where they are now. With that, it's time to talk about Yewbark.
The Cursed Yewbark. A pale, cursed tree that grows deep within the Rot according to Baraq. But that's actually impossible.
"Once grew tall, 'til sunlight withdrew."
Yewbark needs sunlight to grow. We're reminded multiple times about the complete absence of sunlight inside Rot. This means that Yewbark doesn't originate from the Rot, despite it's fleshy appearance. Yewbark, and the cursed spirit within it, came from the surface. We can even see similar, pale trees in Ewefall, just without all the flesh(the curse, presumably).
This would back the idea of not just Woolhaven, but Yngya also displacing the community(s) that was here before them. As the need for sunlight would mean these trees would suffer in the Winter.
Pure Yewbark: "The promise of summer sleeps within."
The seasonal cycle in the Woolhaven DLC swaps only between Summer and Winter. Yngya brings about Winter, but nothing is said about her bringing Summer. (In fact, the only other season she mentions is spring.) It had to have been a different deity. One that is no longer present in this area based on the eternal snow.
Yngya's memories of flowers, combined with the "misc" decorations that are all flowery and Summer themed also supports that Ewefall isn't supposed to be snowy all the time. If ever.
The rot is a manifestation of the lamb's suffering. But who's suffering is manifesting within the yew trees? :eyesemoji:
Final thoughts:
-girl lamb (Ewefall) and boy lamb (Ramhorn) were most certainly at odds with each other. Shot in the dark, it's something like Eve's ancestors vs. Adam's ancestors. Fire vs. Ice.
-The Woolhaven lambs were nomadic warmongers lol but also potentially responsible for the suffering of their own kind. Lamb on lamb violence. I wonder what made them settle down with Yngya.
Whenever I challenge him at flockade, he always just so ~happens~ to have the exact piece needed to fuck up all of my intricate planning. And every time I'm about to win or tie in the last move, I just so ~happen~ to ONLY draw losing pieces!!!
HE'S CHEATING, HE'S A CHEATER AND I BET HE CHEATED ON HIS WIFE TOO—
Ahem.
This (Cold)Motherfucker is the ONLY one I've been savescumming flockade with because if he gets to cheat, I do too!!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Shamura, as the God of War, you must have at least some passing knowledge of the warriors recorded in Lambkind's history through Flockade, correct? Assuming their battles took place before Narinder's Schism, did you provide your blessings to any of them?
This is my third time trying to post this im gonna fucking GET YOU TUMBLR
Home-made Flockade Pieces!
If you're weird and made Flockade in real life like me, you can add these to your collection of pieces.
Chaotic Shepherd
When a duel phase starts, this piece switches places with a random piece on the same side of the board.
Famished Shepherd
In a duel, this piece will win against any rotten piece, and recieve double points.
Pestilent Shepherd
When played, for the rest of the round, the opponent can no longer play any rotten pieces. However, this piece will lose any duel, even against other Shepherds.
Mighty Shepherd
When played, for the rest of the round, the opponent can no longer use scout pieces, and any trickster pieces will only turn unto their regular variant at the start of a duel phase. This piece gives double points when defeated.
Waiting Shepherd
At the start of a duel phase, all pieces on the opposite row are locked in place - risen, fallen, and mercenary pieces have no effect on them.
Does the fact that the Rot solely affects creatures the sheep hate not imply that it is sapient?
Yngya tells Lamb that they are immune to the Rot (implied when she tells them not to fear it).
Hagar is only Rotten during her boss fight, it powers her, but she is freed once she's defeated. The Woolhaven flock despising Hagar doesn't negate the fact she dedicated her remaining life to tending to the sheep graves, punishing herself, and later serving Lamb. The Woolhaven flock do not speak for all sheep and their opinions of Hagar.
Fox can eat Rotten followers without getting sick. Helob says the Rot followers aren't good for eating which implies that he too has tried one before.
Gofernon doesn't get sick despite frequenting Ewefall AND the Rot via tunneling.
But Thoas and Gorgo stay Rotted as followers and aren't eligible to be cured? The wolfdog brothers immediately swear themselves to Lamb and are completely unRotten after indoctrination.
Yet, Thistle is diseased and murdered. Marchosias is diseased, alongside the majority of her Pack. I don't know what animal Thistle is, but if it's true that despite looking like dogs all the minibosses are wolves? That means the Rot especially targets wolves and fucking kills them. How can you explain away the inconsistencies of this disease? It spreads through bodily fluids (confirmed through the mating tent aspect of one Rotten follower and one normal follower resulting in two Rotten followers and a Rotten egg). So?
Also applies to Ophans and Eleleth, two sheep. Eleleth maintains a red/Rotten face even after being cured. Ophans has a red/Rotten body with matching wool. In the Rot, Eleleth is characterized as wearing a two-faced sheep mask, hiding their body with a cloak, and carries a knife behind their back. Their corresponding Flockade piece is named Lornlileth, Rotten Sword, and they're heralded as the one who murdered Tooth and Claw.
In the Rot, Ophans has a chained face, an Old Faith robe, a Crown of Thorns like headpiece, and wears a cage full of Rotten creatures on his back. Ophans's design implies that while alive, she was a follower of the Bishops who most likely aided them in capturing and killing other sheep. The minor enemies that resemble him use the same chained scythe weapon, except theirs has a Rotten sheep attached. Ophans's corresponding Flockade piece is named Antons, Rotten Scribe, and is said to have been a decipherer of ancient scrolls and tombs.
These two (alongside Poyel but I am still working on a theory for their betrayal and demise) are visually marked by the signs of a traitor. Two-faced, dagger, cage of fellow sheep, and the garb of those who ordered the genocide of all sheep to begin with are all indications for what their roles are meant to be.
Poyel can also be mentioned, as he also has a Flockade piece named after himself. Elyon, Rotten Shield, known as the Hero of the Grasslands. Their Rotten form walks on six legs, has no face, and is riddled with holes. Being cured leaves Poyel without horns, ears, wool, and with several holes still gouged into his head. The Rot being full of sheep themed iron maidens, alongside the decor piece titled Iron Maiden of Ram Horn (description: even the peaceful may be pushed), has led me to believe that Poyel was murdered by other sheep for a perceived or real betrayal. I think multiple weapons were used but the canon one was most likely the iron maiden.
