Varica: Children of the Sky

IC:
To: His Imperial Majesty, Hroth V of Varica
From: Naxis, King of Validira


To your Most Esteemed Majesty, we would like to once more affirm the ancient trade routes between the Kingdom of Validira to the Capital of Varica.

To: Our Mighty Friend, King Vigvitr of the Hrafn
From: Naxis, King of Validira


You are undoubtedly your father's son. Your wisdom is beyond your age and speaks highly of the care and attention given upon your young shoulders. We weep that Adalbrandr himself was not here to see his young son's ascending star. Our cities and ports are open to your merchants. We welcome all.

To: His Royal Highnesses, King Haecadem II of Werar, Lord Thomas of Gibral, King Radu of Dolu, King Goros of the Romadi, and Lord Damarkes of the Darian March
From: Naxis, King of Validira


Blessed are the Lords who promote industry and peaceful trade so that his people may prosper and benefit from the joys of peace. On the behalf of our people, we ask that we engage in mutual and open trade without tariffs.
 
Sorry about the need to diplo-trade spam. I've done what I can to minimize it by doing up a list of trade routes I would assume already exist. Those that involve player nations are listed below, including those created by Strategos' and Alex's diplomacy (which was accepted by all NPCs). If either party decides that the trade routes I created are not acceptable, I will remove them.

Oerdan to Tessilki - 10
Validira to Tessilki - 5, will grow each turn
Validira to Varica - 8
Validira to Rheni - 8
Validira to Four Claw - 5
Validira to Gibral - 5
Validira to Romad - 10
Four Claw to Nakar - 5
Werhold, Romadi, Gibral, Assfell all to each other - 5 for each of the 3 routes for a total of 15. Werhold will earn extra due to its guilds and Assfell will earn extra with the Romadi due to their treaty
Assfell to Validira - 10
Huroto to the South - 15, potential for growth, extra income at random
Teral to the south - 8, potential for growth, extra income at random
Teral to Nimosa - 8
Rheni to Nimosa - 8
Anybody to Varica: Let me know and I'll give you a worth for your trade route, they'll accept one with anybody.
 
It'd be quite a bit easier for me if you moved the deadline to the 9th, though I suppose I'll manage if no-one else needs it.

---

From: Haecadem, King of the Werar
To: Vigvitr, King of the Hrafn

Truly, you need not ask - I and my people ever have and shall from now on gladly assist the traders of the Hrafn as if they were our own, as long as they obey the laws of Werhold and pay the rightful tolls.

---

EDIT: Thus also to the Validirans.
 
The stink of war hung over the Huroto siege camps. It was as if the ground itself reeked of blood and rot. This was despite Rutor's best efforts to keep everything clean. Most Haecomus knew that the fever spirits congregated where things were unclean and took painstaking measures to avoid their wrath. Still the smells persisted to the point where most didn't notice them anymore.

Thane Rutor Lassa looked over the assembled Huroto army and sighed. Victory had been bittersweet and the war still continued. The Sunta were determined to fight to the last and he couldn't blame them. King Funkard had sworn to destroy them all, his hatred of the Sunta making him stubborn. The Sunta would fight to the last and cost the Huroto many warriors to finish it. Rutor was extremely loyal to Cul. He loved his king and would die for him but he also loved his people. If they weakened themselves destroying the Sunta then the Huroto would be meat to the next ambitious kingdom to call. The thane couldn't allow it to happen like that but time was running short. Cul was recovered from his injuries and would soon arrive to take control of the campaign again.

Rutor adjusted his sword belt into a more comfortable position before calling out for a messenger. It was time to see what was more important to the Sunta, their people or their pride.


To: Duren, King of the Sunta
From: Rutor Lassa, Thane of the Huroto, commander of the Armies of King Funkard

I bid you greetings from one warrior to another. I understand if you look upon my words with disdain but realize that I have the utmost respect for your people. You have fought admirably against great odds and this shows you have honour in abundance. However the situation is grim. Your people grow hungry Duren. Look at your people and tell me honestly how much time they have left before they starve. We're both commanders; we both know that no matter how much belt tightening and speechs about glory we do, hunger will win out in the end.

My King has ordered the destruction of all Sunta. His hatred has filled his mind, all he sees is blood. I do not agree with this policy but I am a loyal man. However, should there be no Sunta in the towns and villages, then I can't possibly fulfill those orders.

Now I understand pride. If our positions were reversed I would be prepared to fight to the last just to kill as many of my enemy as I could. But let us put aside pride. It is true that the Sunta will cost the Huroto greatly before the Sunta are brought down, but Sunta will still fall. Your people will still be dead. So what if Huroto falls after your people fall? There won't be any Sunta left to savour their revenge. History won't remember Sunta. When a thousand years have past and people look back, they won't remember the great warrior tribe Sunta. They won't remember the battles it fought, the glories it won, nor the strength of it's people. If the name is remembered at all, then it would only be a footnote in history that stated, "And the Huroto destroyed them."

And having put aside pride, look at your people once more. The Sunta are diminished, but not spent. The future can still hold for them glory, something to be proud of, something to be remembered. But it can't happen here. King Cul is coming, and word has reached me that he has summoned allies to his cause. Will the Sunta wait behind their pallisades while the land fills around them with warriors?

I offer you the chance to lead your people into a new day. Take your people and everything that can be carried and head south over the mountains. I promise that no Huroto will attack or otherwise harm the Sunta. All that I ask in return is that the slaves from the Teral and Angaladan be released from their bondage.

Look to your people Duren. You have the power right now to save them all. Is death really glorious when no one will remember it? Lead your people away from here Duren. Lead them to new glory.
 
Outlines have been sent... with luck I might be able to send more complete details shortly.
 
Oh Tomb

Oh Tomb are you famished?
The famine is now over.
Oh Grave are you empty?
Now you overflow your bounds.
Where Raven is your meal?
Eat, eat, and hunger no more.
For the Ravenborne march,
And beside them marches Death.



My Child

My child, oh my child,
Hear the trumpets sound for war?
Gather your sword and spear,
The Raven banner calls.
Calling to war and strife,
To honor and glory.
Now kiss your wife goodbye,
Your lover now is Death.



With Our Own Blood

With our own blood we swear we will avenge our great dead:
Vengence shall come as a mighty river,
Revenge shall come as certain as the dawn.
With corpse a way to Haeka will be made,
On which King Adalbrandr will ascend,
Exchanging the Raven Throne for a Throne of Skulls.



Anybody to Varica: Let me know and I'll give you a worth for your trade route, they'll accept one with anybody.

I'll take one please.
 
Orders are due in 16 hours. That's when I wake up tomorrow morning to send out defensive warnings. Please have your orders in by then.
 
A Test of Faith

“Matteo, King of Validira:

For neigh over twenty years, the Kingdom of Validira has protected and defended the Church. From the court of Hroth IV to the Kings of the North, you have spoken out for toleration. I ask that you do so no more for you are tied to me as we were brothers in a past life. Great nobles my family was of the Xanfa. You must not forget your Kingly duty. With this letter and last testimony, you shall naught lay eyes upon me again. I leave to your Miaeus and my daughter Cassandra my earthly possessions.

Cast aside your fears of the afterworld and your sense of honor. Long have you desired to earn the glory and acclaim akin to those of Hroth and now that of Adalbrandr. You layeth that aside for the good of a Kingdom. Haeka does not alone shine upon warriors, but learned and wise men also.

I bid a final farewell, as a friend to another and as a vassal, oh King of Validira.”

Phridia of the Church”

Thus wrote Phridia, and with that, Phridia of Validira was no more.

The keys and titles to the estates were presented to his daughter by some of his trusted servants before they too left or so I have been told.

Phridia of Validira. Has Haeka ever seen a man such as he?

I knew him, before the days of Hroth IV. That man became known to personify the will of Matteo of the Xanfa. When Hroth declared himself, Phridia was among the first representatives of the provincial Kings to rush to Varica. And when Hronu of the Raeka rose up against Hroth IV with the civil magistrate, it was Phridia who gave his blessing to this imposter. This man was a diplomat of the highest order with a tongue matched by few.

I have had the chance to acquire a rare copy of his sole work, a piece regarding the economic and political future of the various provinces. Alas, I had only finished reading Validira when fate intervened. The manuscript was thrown overboard when my vessel collided with another. I do not think another writer shall comment on his work.

Yet it is not odd that Validira has become what Phridia has envisioned. A nation strong off trade and industry; its people are renowned amongst all Varicans to be base bargainers and seekers of opportunity. Their passion does not lie in war, but in the arts of commerce and industry. The finest ships within the Empire are often of Validiran construct.

It is unlikely that my writing shall be kept yet it is dawning upon many that this is progress. I have been to the Thune cities. I have seen the collected knowledge of Karski. I have gazed upon the harbor at Risano. That is the future we must embrace. That is the fundamental problem facing all Varicans. If we cannot reconcile our warrior heritage with that of progress, we shall be left aside.

Yet that is inconsequential. The funeral rite of Adalbrandr is the time for the great Kings of Varica to come into one grand council to discuss the issues facing our times. The tales of the Northmen, the Manische have filtered down into even Telius. On fearsome Yomba they ride to war, led by men with the weapons of the daemons. The Nakar and their Fulanti allies lie in the northeast, waiting for their time to strike even as ships from Telius sail to their lands. The Thunes to the east, from the Cirici to Tessel to Tarnee stand at arms; war will begin once more.

For it is obvious to all that two decades of peace is not enough to satiate the bloodlust of men.

**********************************************

He read the letter and placed it aside. Closing his eyes, he offered a silent prayer to Haeka. Had he indeed lived too long? Outliving his usefulness?

“My lord and father? You summoned me to your presence?”

His thoughts interrupted, he turned to see his eldest son at the door. He had forgotten that he had summoned Miaeus to discuss the potential military stand off with Huroto. But now…

“Yes my Miaeus. For only you, and you alone can do this for me. I desire you to come with me to fight with the Werar.”

This would be the moment of truth.

“Yes father, I will go with you to the Werar. We will take the Raeka I presume?”

He was surprised. That had been said without a hint of hesitation.

“And as we cannot leave the Kingdom without a Ki-“

“Yes, younger brother should be declared King as soon as possible. We must not allow Validira to follow the path of dear Callista in Varica or Jyanna in Assfell.”

“You do not care for the throne?”

“I realized it many years ago. By some odd design of Haeka, we Validirans lack that sheer passion that seems to be imbibed in all Varicans. Others may win the war, but we win the peace. Our loyalties lie with whomever can provide that peace. I was naught but a sapling of 20 summers when Hroth IV cemented his might. I have fought against the Sargothi on and off for the last twenty years. War is my sole calling and I go where I can best serve my country.”

“Then we shall go my son. You and I, shall fight the Manische and pray that one day our names shall be likened to those of Adalbrandr and Hroth.”

*********************************

You had to be extremely careful these days.

Varica was not a safe place, especially if you were a nobleman.

It was even more dangerous if you were a diplomat.

It was ironic. People would not expect it, but my position is perhaps the most precarious of them all.

I am Validira’s ambassador to His Imperial Majesty Hroth V. I am a vassal of His Royal Highness, King Naxis of Validira. I was once the secretary to Lord Phridia over twenty years ago. It was I who carried out his orders in those fateful times. After Phridia’s incapacitation, I was assigned to escort King Matteo and His Majesty Hroth IV to the battlefield against Darium. There I served faithfully and competently. At the end of that assignment, I was ennobled and dispatched to Varica. Ever since, I have served in the Validiran delegation.

With the retirement of the previous ambassador five years ago, I was promoted to take his place. I do not say this lightly, but Varica itself has changed significantly. Not the city, but the city’s charm. The city has never been more prosperous in living memory but that sense of anxiety is ever-present. Fear can kill.

As the representative of Validira, the native Kingdom of the Imperial Mother, one would assume my position would be an easy one. That is far from it. Court has become a nest of snakes. It is only through reading Phridia’s memoirs of the early years of Hroth IV that there has been a similar situation. Validira is not a militarily strong state; far from it, we are one of the weakest Kingdoms. It is in trade and industry that we derive our influence.

It is only through my position as Validiran ambassador that I have reached such social heights. Yet that concerns me; rarely does a day past where a prominent merchant or scholar asks about the conditions in Validira. While Validira and Telius would surely profit from their skills, it is Varica that concerns me.

This atmosphere cannot last. Lady Callista will be the doom of us all, if some force does not choose to remove her. I hope dearly that the Queen Mother shall be able to speak sweet reason…
 
OOC: sorry i missed deadline, lifes just gotten really hectic with Uni, doesnt look like i can commit as much time to this as it deserves, sorry Fulton.
 
OOC: sorry i missed deadline, lifes just gotten really hectic with Uni, doesnt look like i can commit as much time to this as it deserves, sorry Fulton.

Can you send me anything? If you need extra time in the future just let me know in advance.

I've only recieved orders from alex994, HunterG24, The_Strategos, das, Tree151, and Lord_Iggy. That means Vert, Shadowbound, Last Praetoria, Sheep, and Fuschia owe me orders. Fuschia is hereby removed from the game for missing twice in a row. Vert might be too, but at least he responded last time, so he still have a chance. That's half the players who have given me nothing.

I declare that for this turn, you will still be able to send in orders, as long as they arrive soon, but you will suffer penalties to things you try to achieve this turn. It will still be better than not handing in orders however.

C'mon people, let's do this!

Also, I lost my internet for the entire day. My computer also restarted so I lost all the windows with orders that were open at the time, so I haven't been able to do modding today. I just got my internet back and it's late tonight. I wrote stories and happenings that don't involve players, but the bulk of the moderation obviously involves what players have done, so most of my work is yet to be completed.
 
Lord Eijion has asked King Haecadem about the history and customs of the Varicans and the Werar. As Lord Eijion, the King's guest, has told King Haecadem many curious things about the history and customs of the Manische, King Haecadem felt obliged by the rule of reciprocality to reply. Being a noble king, he sought to make sure that his gift was befitting his superior station, and therefore he comissioned to his scribes the work on this Brief History of the Werar, first written in Varican and then translated to Manische with the help of Thune translators.

It is known that History begins with Haeka, who comes and goes and yet is always with us, whose rotations are like the cycle of seasons and of men's lives and of sovereigns' rules, and whose light creates order from chaos and reveals the truth among lies. Haeka was also the Life-Giver, for it is known that he is the father of Ptolos, Thea and Sara. Ptolos was the mother of the Sargothi, Thea was the mother of the Haecomus and Sara was the mother of the Thune. The Sargothi lived too high, wanted too much and were too proud; the Thune, meanwhile, were too cowardly and lowly; the Sargothi sought to live in palaces in the sky with no restrictions whatsoever - the Thune, meanwhile, confined themselves in anthill cities and burdened themselves with many bad laws. As for the Haecomus, they were inclined towards the golden middle, seeking to live in freedom, but on the ground, and with but a few good laws. Therefore the Sargothi are now as good as gone except on inauspicious nights, whereas the Thune are dying out now from their inhuman wars and poor governance - while the Haecomus are we and we have been gaining in power since the ascension of Hroth I, taking the lands from those dying peoples and fighting the demons that roamed them until now.

Now it is known why the Three Sisters now reside in the world of the dead: for this the all-desiring pleonexy of the debauched Sargothi is to blame. Unsatisfied with the gifts the Three Sisters bestowed upon all their children, the spoiled Sargothi sought to take more and more, and so whenever they saw that Haeka was asleep they drew the power from the unprotected Sisters with the many fiendish things they made for the sake of stealing, and the Thune, being timid by nature, dared not do anything against them, while the Haecomus could not, for they were not numerous and also were like small children, unschooled in ways of war. So instead they cried out and woke up Haeka, but by the time he woke up it was too late - the Sisters were dead and their other children were enslaved by the Sargothi who grew seemingly powerful and employed their horrible demon-hounds the Fulanti to fight for them. Then in his rage the Unsurpassable Warrior went up into the sky and unravelled their power, destroyed their might and scoured them from corner to corner, chased the Sargothi away into the shadowy crags of the world where his gaze could not reach and banished Jagrokan their injust king into the outer darkness, never to return again. And as for the Fulanti, they too were guilty in the eyes of the Most Superior Judge, but he also saw that they were not as guilty as their masters. Therefore, he said: "You have hunted; now you shall be hunted. You shall be expelled into jungles and never be allowed to settle down; you will flee and hide from the remaining children of my daughters, and they will slay you on sight." And the Fulanti screamed in fear and slinked away. And as for the Thune, he said this: "You have been gifted with many wondrous things, with tools and with knowledge by my daughters, and have once been their most beloved creation; but in this moment of my sadness you did not stand up for her, and doomed her by inaction. So in the memory of their love of you I shall allow you to keep all that you have created and all that you rule, for now. But you will never surpass that which you have achieved to this day and your realm, now extensive, will be diminished with time, until you all become the servants of the Haecomus." And the Thune cried, but accepted their fate. Then he turned to the Haecomus and said: "When my daughters were attacked you cried - and did nothing else. When the Sargothi attacked you for crying, you ran - and did nothing else. You have recognised injustice and called it such openly, but did nothing about it. How, then, should I judge you?" The Haecomus replied: "We cried and ran because we could do nothing else; how could we, who are so weak, strive against those who have acquired so much power?" "You have failed," - said then Haeka - "But you could redeem yourselves, and you shall if you wish to survive. For I shall not give you any punishment or reward now, but only this oath for you to adhere to: that you will learn to fight against chaos, and lies, and the darkness, and the beings I have banished there and those among you who strayed from their righteous path, and that to this end you will learn to become warriors and to fight in my name to avenge my daughters." And the Haecomus swore so. And Haeka went to mourn his daughters, and built bright barrows for them in the sky, and since then the peoples of the world under the sky lived under the watchful gaze of Haeka, who chases away the darkness to observe all the noble and ignoble deeds of his grandchildren.

Now life for the Haecomus was difficult in those first centuries, for indeed they had to confront Fulanti beasts, and Sargothi spirits, and traitors, and nature that has gone wild and hostile after the death of the Three Sisters and the reign of the Sargothi. Still, generation after generation they learned to be warriors, and among the foremost warrior tribes in the Homelands were the Wer of the hero Haephric. This Haephric commanded that all the men of his tribe be warriors, and that all the women be mothers of warriors and defenders of the households while the men were away at war - for in Haephric's time there was much war, as Thune, Fulanti and other Haecomus alike threatened the tribes, and many fled to other lands, but the Wer remained, for they were righteously stubborn and fought their enemies wherever they could. Many were the feats of Haephric and his sons, but though they defeated all the foreigners that attacked them then most of them were slain in another, injust war against a fellow tribe of the Homelands. This injust war came about in this way: the king of a small tribe was staying at the household of Haephric with his three sons and his daughter, as well as some retainers. Now it so happened that one of those retainers, Scorli by name, was in love with his king's daughter, but it was arranged between Haephric and the king that the daughter should go to Haephric's youngest and most favourite son, Riberth. Scorli in his bitterness decided to betray his king and made a deal with Sargothi spirits that hid under a nearby mound, putting their poison into the fine foreign mead that was brought by Haephric's guests to be shared with the hero of the Wer. But to Scorli's dismay, Haephric accepted the gift eagerly, for he was fond of mead and held caution out of battle in contempt, and drank fully and drank first, and was followed by his first three sons; and all four promptly dropped dead, their lips blue with poison. Riberth was the fourth son; when he saw his father and brothers die from poison, his mind was overtaken by blind rage at what he thought was betrayal, so he cut the king down where he stood, although he was a guest, and also killed his bride-to-be; the other guests, as confused and enraged as he, managed to fight their way out of the Wer settlement in the confusion, and even though they later discovered what had happened and killed Scorli, too much blood has been spilled by then to make peace. Moreover, as the word of Riberth (who now led the Wer) killing his father's guests spread, all the other tribes of the Homelands, even those once allied with the Wer, recoiled in horror, and made a pact to hunt the Wer down like mad demons. Against all the other Haecomus tribes the Wer strove mightily and bravely, but all in vain, for their cause was injust; and so Riberth was slain and most of his people were slain also, with only a few men escaping into the depths of the jungles and moving to what was then the eastern edge of the Homelands; those men later took brides from a defenseless tribe of easterners that was being attacked by the Fulanti, and the descendants of this coupling would become the Werar.

As for that tribe with which this unfortunate incident occured, it would come to be named for its most famous king, who became more than a king. For even this injust war had the good consequence of putting this lineage in good favour with Haeka and the Haecomus tribes for its worthy conduct, and time after time the tribe gained more cattle and honour from those around it, and its kings would be called to resolve the disputes of their neighborus. Generations passed, and the king of that tribe was a young man named Hroth. At that time the Fulanti again grew impudent due to their numbers, and took to roaming all over the Homelands and attacking even the larger tribes. The Haecomus would fight back, but they were as pebbles amidst a wave; even when they could defend themselves they could not stop the Fulanti from destroying the crops, slaughtering the cattle, eating all who strayed far frm the camps and taking the hunting grounds for their own. Even when some of the tribes tried to chase the Fulanti away, it came to no avail - as any victory could only be temporary. Hroth grew dismayed at this, and so he went to a distant shrine at the confluence of the Two Greatest Rivers and fasted there for three days, stopping in his prayer to Haeka only to fight off the oncoming Fulanti. Upon seeing this dedication, Haeka shined upon him brightly and anointed him with his light as Emperor - he-who-carries-out-the-will-of-Haeka-under-the-sky, and revealed to him what must be done. Hroth went back to his people, who were amazed to see how much more bright he has become and named themselves the Hrothnani from this time on; and the Hrothnani then did thusly: they moved in all their numbers towards the confluence shrine and built a city the likes of which have never been seen before and which shall never be surpassed, as it is the city where Haeka shines most brightly - that was the city of Varica. And when men form the neighbouring tribes came to marvel at this strange and new thing, they were invited to come join the Hrothnani there, and many did, for the city's walls were blessed and the Fulanti could not enter it, so the warriors of Hroth could now sally forth against the demons knowing that their families were safe. From this city Hroth began the great war on Fulanti, and on all other evil and injustice, and as word of his victories spread many great and famous warriors came to join his ranks; but even before the rest of them was a warrior of the Werar named Haepherth.

Now Haepherth was the son of the king of the Werar tribe, which then lived in comparative peace after earlier victories; he grew bored with this peace, however, and so left to seek further adventure, concealing his descent to join Hroth's retinue, where he quickly earned much honour through valour in battle with the Fulanti, whom he abhorred. Now, not all the Hrothnani nobles were happy with the new things Hroth introduced in Haeka's name, and some of them thought in their darkness that in letting warriors of all tribes join his retinue he was planning to overthrow them. When they found out that one of his foremost champions was a descendant of the infamy-sullied Wer, they decided to declare this to the people on the next morning and force Hroth to disband his retinue. But one betrayal breeds another, and a desperate man among their number, one Briulu, who was a powerful and wealthy man, decided that his accomplices were thinking to trick him into challenging the Emperor so that they could decry him, kill him and divide his goods among themselves. So he sent his own household retainers and honourless Thune mercenaries to kill the Emperor during the night. It so happened that Hroth went to pray to Thea for guidance on a matter of court, and was accompanied only by Haepherth, who was to make sure that the Emperor was not interrupted during his prayer. So the assassins came at Hroth at the shrine, but Haepherth hid within the temple as in a jungle, tracked the assailers as he had tracked dangerous prey and killed them all before they could land a blow. And when Hroth was finished with his prayer, he told Haepherth, who was panting after the difficult fight: "I was told that tommorow morning the lords of Varica will come to me and tell me that you are a descendant of the Wer, whom my lineage has always abhorred for their crimes, and that they would tell me to disband the retinue; I bear you no ill will, for I have been enlightened by Haeka and know that we all have a common goal, but lest I spite tradition I shall have to do as they say, and then I will be Emperor no more, for if I do not look beyond the Hrothnani and do not command men of the many Haecomus tribes, then how am I different from a king? And then perhaps the Hrothnani will continue to live well, but this city will crumble, and the rest of the Homelands will never be conquered for the Haecomus." Hearing this, Haepherth dropped to his knees and said: "It is true that I am of the Werar, but I wish for your cause to succeed, for it is a just and noble one and blessed by Haeka. Therefore, for the sake of our victory, I ask you, o Emperor, to behead me here and there for my descent, so that the lords will have nothing to attack you with." At this Hroth smiled and said: "If this is what you say, then you are of more use to Haeka's cause alive than dead", and went back to his palace.

Early in the morning the lords of Varica came to hold council with the Emperor and stated their grievance. To this Hroth replied: "Last night a terrible injustice has occured, for Hrothnani men, my own kin, attacked me in the darkness alongside Thune foreigners, and tried to kill me while I prayed to the Mother. Who is responsible for this?" None replied; but through the window of the palace a beam of sunlight fell upon Briulu, whose treachery exceeded that of the others. "This man," - proclaimed Hroth in outrage - "has sought to kill me while I prayed - and he would have succeeded, if not for the one whom you now accuse! So what if he descends from the once-treacherous Wer, if pure-blooded Hrothnani betray and fight against me now, while a Werar man remains loyal and fights for me and for the cause for which I have built the city we are now in? This cause I speak of is the cause of justice, for which only noble men may fight; and this Werar man is as surely noble as Briulu the noble is surely ignoble, and shall be killed, and have his possessions divided up among his fellows, for he shall serve this cause better dead than alive." To this the nobles could say nothing, for they did covet Briulu's wealth; so they agreed and all happened as Hroth said, and Haepherth became his chief champion.

As Hroth won victory after victory, the Fulanti fled farther and farther into the jungles; then one day Hroth decreed that it is no longer enough to chase the enemy into the dark nethers of the world, for the redemption of the Haecomus who had failed to protect the Three Sisters was in chasing the enemy into the dim lands and destroying him in every turn. Therefore the tribes under his command groupped together to do what they could not do alone and without an Emperor's order, and cleared the jungles, and established new towns, settlements and forts from where to strike further still at the Fulanti, and so had tamed nature, brought light into darkness and greatly reduced the menace of the Fulanti, pleasing Haeka greatly. So when a host of Fulanti gathered in great numbers to try and destroy the army headed by Hroth himself and slay the great Lightbringer in the dimmer woodlands of the east, Haeka sent down his ravens to turn into warriors, who turned back the Fulanti tide. From that day on those raven-men were known as Hrafn, and their kin were considered holy birds of Haeka in the eastern lands.

The Werar, too, came to serve Hroth in those years, as Haepherth became their king; it was not in happy circumstances that he took up bronze sword of Haephric, however, as the Fulanti, driven from other lands, overran the Werar stronghold and sent them into wandering again, following Hroth's armies as they campaigned in the east. When finally the last great Fulanti host there was scattered, Hroth called aside Haepherth and said: "You have fought bravely for me in three hundred battles for thirty years, and have known great joy in our victories while being unshaken by the defeats. But now at last this war against the Fulanti has grown old, and so have you. There will be other wars later, but those shall be left to later generations; now it is the time for peace, for the Haecomus to spread in the lands we have conquered from darkness and monsters. Therefore I shall allow you to retire, for even the life of a warrior must one day end, and it will be better this way; but as you retire, you may ask me for a boon, for I have now come to be the most powerful ruler under the sky." And to this Haepherth replied: "I would like to keep fighting to the end of my days if I could, but I know that every man grows old and perhaps it is time for me to retire. But I shall still serve you, my Emperor, though in a differen way; for what is the calling of the old if not to raise and instruct younger warriors? Therefore I shall ask you to grant me a land, where I shall settle with my people and rear them for the next war." And this was granted.

The land Haepherth picked was fertile and also well-defended, but nevertheless other tribes avoided it, for there was a large Sargothi mound there. Haepherth and the Werar were all too happy to settle right at that mound, however, for they were warriors first and foremost, and therefore valued arms and armour more than anything else, which caused them to eagerly seek out Sargothi metals, which, although tainted by evil, could nevertheless be purified in a furnance by a Werar blacksmith true to his family's lore. The native tribes that lived around this region earlier distrusted the Werar, however, and claimed that they were as good as Sargothi for fighting with their weapons and living at their home; upon learning of this, Haepherth gathered his warriors and went between the camps of all the eleven nearby tribes that spread those rumours; at each camp the Werar gathered in plain sight and challenged the defenders, mocking them until they came out to fight and were promptly defeated, after which they were forced to become Werar vassals; and so he did at the home of every tribe, fighting at the front desptie his old age. The warriors of the eleventh tribe were desperate, and wished to avoid a battle; when eventually the nagging of their women forced them to come out and fight, they still could not bring themselves to do it honestly, and so they used poison-tipped spears and arrows. They were defeated like the rest, but not before wounding Haepherth; and so upon returning to the capital of his kingship, which he called Werhold, he promptly died.

From Haepherth the kingship passed to Beherath, and from Beherath to Cuphric, and from Cuphric to Haecadem, and from Haecadem to Haecadem, who rules to this day.

During the kingship of Beherath the Werar mourned the death of Hroth and attended the acclamation of his son. At the time there were some among the tribes who thought that Hroth's empire will not outlive its first ruler, and also some who thought that its demise should be hastened whether or not it was inevitable. The Werar, however, stood firm with Emperor Hroth II and his allies, and helped him defeat those who conspired against the empire. While the conspirators among the Hrothnani themselves were punished direly for their double infraction against their king and Emperor, the rebel tribes of the west were mercifully spared from any fatal punishments at the time, and granted a second chance they later used to doom themselves. The Emperor's reign was secure, however; at this time, cities, including Werhold, grew throughout the empire, but none surpassed Varica, to the superior greatness of which Haeka himself was commited and which he ensured by making it the center of commerce and learning, as the Emperor's scribes devised a holy script with which to fortify and make permanent all that is good and truthful. Many roads were built during this time; all the roads led to Varica, and the beneficient effects of the Emperor's justice spread outwards to the edges of the empire. The Werar, aside from the wars of this time, have also partaken in this beneficient age, as Werhold became one of the empire's greatest cities and as scribes, merchants and craftsmen first gathered at Beherath's court. Nevertheless Beherath was also a warleader, who firmly established his dominance over the vassal tribes and introduced good laws to make sure that the Werar do not grow soft in the time of prosperity. He died peacefully at a ripe old age, having been fighting alongside his father since he was king.

During the kingship of Cuphric, the traitor-kings moved once again against the dying Hroth II, making an alliance with some of the south-eastern Thune and even the resurgent Fulanti, and in addition to this treacherous former vassals; and this time it was a bigger war like that in the days of Hroth I. Nevertheless Haeka's favour and the loyalty of noble warriors had carried Varica through this test as well. Cuphric had dedicated himself wholly to war; whenever he was not campaigning against the Emperor's enemies in all directions, he was seeking new ways to make the Werar into even better warriors, and taught them to fight with both bravery and discipline and to conduct themselves with both honour and wisdom, and in this wise scored so many victories as to go even further to the east and the south than the First Emperor's armies ever did, washing his bloodied sword in the southern sea as some say. It was with Cuphric also that the Werar first began to go further and deeper into Sargotbak, for to them there was no darkness great enough to be feared and to keep them from spreading Haeka's light, and also because the Werar had greatly multiplied by this time, and needed more and better weapons.

The third and most difficult test came during the kingship of Haecadem I, for it truly was a dark new time, when many good new things introduced by Hroth had turned to evil: scribes learned deceit, kings became treacherous and merchants became greedy. Above all, evil has taken route at the city of Varica itself, as after the death of first Emperor Hroth III and then his Empress Hrothiya chaos ruled there even more than elsewhere, and dreadful crimes were overlooked by unworthy pretenders to the throne, who could not in the end overcome their unworthiness no matter their tricks; but the fall of one viceful claimant only led to the rise of another. This dreadful confusion spread across the land, and for a time it seemed to some that Haeka had turned away from the Haecomus, as the minds of even the nobler kings and peoples became muddled, and old friends and blood-brothers saw each other on the opposite sides of the battlefield. How much worse, then, was the conduct of the lesser tribes, that had taken to changing loyalties every month! Even Haecadem of the Werar had succumbed to this madness, and was punished by Haeka for what he has done then, as several of his vassals were taken away from him by the end of the Twenty Years of Chaos. Nevertheless, the night never lasts forever; and eventually the people of Varica acclaimed a noble warrior who had once fought with success against the traitor-kings of the west to become the one true Hroth IV. At first the other kings, consumed by blood-lust, could not recognise him as the Emperor, though he was chosen by Haeka as well as by the people; and Haecadem himself did not trust Hroth IV early on. But after the Werar marched upon Varica and Haecadem met with Hroth IV personally, he realised the extent of his crimes done and planned, and repented and surrendered to the Emperor, who, however, was understanding and merciful, and permitted Haecadem to return to his land and help restore order.

Though much damage was done prior to this conciliation, a new morning had come to Varica, and this was proved by the next generation, for even as Haecadem I died his son, Haecadem II, peacefully succeeded to the throne, and a dark conspiracy against him was successfully thwarted by his advisor, Haeroph the Thane. Haeroph also led the Werar warriors to fight alongside the other eastern kings, with whom the Werar became close allies; in the wars against the uppity Fulanti, the rebellious tribes that refused to acknowledge the Emperor and those conspirators in Varica itself who had thought to start the Twenty Years of Chaos anew, this alliance proved victorious, and the peace of Varica was trully and properly restored. As Haecadem II came into his own, the boundaries of the empire were once more solidified, the scribes returned to righteousness, the merchants made both safe and honest and the warriors endowed with many acquisitions and much honour from their victories. And it is as true as that morning comes after the night that after this dawn the empire and those loyal to it will grow even stronger as time goes on, while the forces of darkness will be forced to scatter and flee further as the rays of Varica move further outwards. The scribes of today have set it in stone that the golden age of Varica is both behind us and ahead of us, and it is well known that the Werar and their allies will have much to do with the Emperor's newest triumphs.
 
This Secret History was written by Rigvither the Scribe of the King of the Werar, for the needs of his King and the King's men and for the sake of the truth, which is beloved by Haeka whose rays chase away the deceitful darkness of the Sargothi. There are some who say that the King is served better by thoroughly hidden secrets, so that not even his most trusted subjects, kinsmen and retainers, could know his plans and thoughts; but surely it is now known that it is those secrets that lead noble men to disaster...

[...]

It was in the end of the winter that the King and his advisers returned, and this scribe was reunited with his ruler. It immediately became clear to him that the rumours were true, and that something most undue and ill-omened has occurred during the journey to Thanesburch; it was as though an imp has ran between the King and Bedeon, for the pupil now drew distant from his master, and no longer treated him as a father or an uncle, but rather as yet another adviser; and old Bedeon was clearly distraught at this, for he fell ill wit a sudden illness, and on this account avoided seeing the King for a few days, even as Haecadem made judgments on high matters of state, heard out Dalrir the Surtn and received the Emperor's envoys, and also the envoys of Hrafn come to confirm the rumours of King Adalbrandr's tragic demise. This scribe too was upset at this, for even though Bedeon was licentious and conceited, he has been a loyal servant and adviser to the King, and now instead he spoke to the ruler's ill-mannered relatives and impetuous nobles, and complained in his bitterness that he was no longer listened to and that the High Priest has impetuously decided to rebel against his destiny. Truly this was unfortunate, whatever their disagreement was, for although the King seemed as secure in his saddle as ever at his time, his scribes and others in his close circle could see that his flattering enemies were bolder than ever due to the rumours of Imperial disfavour, and thus any disunion among the King's men was to their advantage.

Yet Haecadem did not permit those wolves to tear him apart, for he was mostly a wise ruler, and so divided them with new appointments while pledging his support to Emperor Hroth V and his Regent Taka, a respected and savvy old courtier, in a message that this scribe has had the honour of setting in paper; the King's emulation-worthy wisdom in this case was such as to pledge his battle-starved warriors to the Emperor's cause in the northern lands, and so to receive the Emperor's own order to lead the Varican kings in war against the Manische. In this way Haecadem became a friend of the Emperor and those then in power in Hroth's City, and also made this known to all those who might otherwise have thought to move against him; and moreover he was permitted by the Emperor to do what he - as it turned out - was planning to do in any case, and was accordingly praised by his warriors for finding a noble war for them to fight in. Thus he made it so that none could move openly against him or his plans, and all had to support him in his endeavour lest they become cowards and unworthy leaders.

Also he himself wrote to the Queen of the Hrafn who was then in power, and promised to come to the funereal games of King Adalbrandr with his army, swearing to avenge the death of he whom the King considered his older brother; and as this oath was in his own handwriting it was all the more holy, and his cause all the more favoured when he moved to fulfill it. By the time he did, even Bedeon abandoned his ill-advised ploy and stopped his illness, rejoining the close court. The Emperor's commandment having been proclaimed to the Werar, Haecadem gathered the warriors on the Wer Field outside of the city, as for a war. The King inspected them and carefully picked out the best, most proven and most well-armed warriors, especially the veterans of his western campaign, and set out towards Assfell without further delay with this army as well as with his close court, including this scribe.

[...]

During that stay at Assfell the King spent one half of his day feasting rowdily with foreign kings, nobles and courtiers, accompanied by bards, inbetween attending the funereal games; during those feasts all had consumed much wine and mead and kibal, so as to become drunk in Adalbrandr's honour as is Hrafn custom - but thanks to the secret taught to him by Regent Haeroph the King remained as attentive and clear-minded as if he was sober and used this opportunity to find out the secrets of his fellows; the other half he spent talking with his closest advisers and allies, and especially with the Hrafn Queen and Hronu, the Emperor's General, working on a strategem to defeat the Manische. Throughout all this time he also received reports from the small bands of warriors he sent to scout the grasslands looking for the Manische armies, and occasionally held a narrow council with Boheort the Thane, Bedeon the Blind and a few others.

So it was that in the dusk of the funereal games several scouts returned, accompanied by Thune petitioners who begged for an audience with the King; such was granted quickly. The Thune bowed before Haecadem and declared that they were the Thune of the Sisiric Freeholds, to the northeast, and that aforesaid Freeholds were being attacked by the Manische, who were steadily moving southwards. Haecadem heard them out, then sent them away with hardly any words; on the next day he spoke with Queen Jyanna, Thomas of the Gibraly, Hronu and the Validiran envoy, and solemnly told them that the time had come to honour the pledges that were given earlier in Adalbrandr's name. Few doubted that it was indeed a serious matter to him, as he was known to greatly respect and admire King Adalbrandr, and some among the Werar who remembered the old grudges were even displeased with how obsessed the King seemed with avenging the death of the Hrafn ruler, though most of the warriors did agree that this was rightful vengeance, to participate in which was a great honour. Certainly those with whom Haecadem made his funereal pact to fight against the Manische could not say otherwise, and they hardly would even have thought different; so sure enough they they were quick to send warriors to his command. Satisfied, Haecadem had Boheort gather the Werar army and finish preparing the plentiful supplies for the campaign. Within the week the army was ready and eager toset out; while some complained that in earlier times the ancestors would never need more than half a day to prepare for a raid, this truly was an amazing achievement, for the army at Haecadem's command was larger and made up of more different tribes than was common in those earlier times, and was to march to a far greater distance. The army moved as soon as the next group of scouts returned (which was not much later, but nevertheless was already after Matteo the Validiran's Raeka joined Haecadem), and the close court went with it, being enriched with the other commanders that for this campaign at least had admitted the supremacy of the King of Werhold.

[...]

Having dealt with the Thune mercenaries in this way the Allied Varican army had entered the Freeholds Proper at the beginning of autumn and set up camp to wait for scout reports before continuing further.

Now it was at this time that it came to the King's attention that there was dissent among his warriors with regards to the Manische light-weapon captured by Dalrir the Surtn, who was then the King's guest. There were some who said that it was a blasphemous, demonic weapon that stole the light from Haeka and used it for the bearer's own selfish purposes, and so ought to be destroyed and certainly never used; and the reason issue caused such sudden dissent was because one of the other scribes, being guided by excessive drink or his own unmediated foolishness or malice, had incautiously revealed the King's investigation of this weapon to one of the Werar nobles, whose name is best left forgotten. This noble-man so-called was then a man of some wealth and power, and had been fearful that the King, now firmly established, will take away both; therefore he foolishly rebelled against his fate, ensuring it thusly: he spread the word of this seeming blasphemy among the warriors and the nobles, and use their momentary and ill-thought-out outrage to lead them to Haecadem to petition him to destroy the weapon, thus seeking to show to the King his power. King Haecadem heard them all out and replied thusly:

"As the High Priest of Haeka I have considered this matter gravely, and consulted the Great Sun through different rituals. And now I will judge thusly: when the Mannische use those weapons they indeed steal from Haeka his smiting lance of light, to use for their unrighteous purposes; but that was the feat of Dalrir the Surtn: he had reclaimed from the uneducated barbarians this weapon, returning it to the service of Haeka's warriors. For are we not now in a holy war, fought against barbarians for justice? In fighting for justice, are we not conduits for the will of Haeka? And as conduits for the will of Haeka, ought we not also make use of this weapon, delivered into our hands by the valour of a noble warrior, to conduct His smiting beam of light to our enemies, cleansing away their dirt in the name of superior justice? Is that not in accordance with the intentions of the Emperor's Sole Sovereign? Now as for the use of such weapons in common wars, fought between those who worship Haeka properly, that surely should not be allowed; but in an Emperor-ordained just war against unrighteous barbarians and king-slayers, this weapon is a gift of Haeka and should not be ignored or turned away in pride, but rather should be used to ensure our triumph against those Sun-robbers, so that we may rectify this and the many other misdeeds of theirs so much more quickly. Thus I speak as the High Priest of Haeka."

This has persuaded many, but not all. As for that noble, he had lost face from this confrontation, and was driven to despair; in his despair, he attempted to kill the King soon after the Battle of Rissik, of which more is told below; but he was promptly discovered and cut down by Boheort the Thane, and his family struck from our records of the oldest lineages of Werhold.

Not long after the above incident news reached Haecadem's camp of Earl Beriar's army having arrived to the Freeholds from the south. The King relayed orders for Beriar to make haste to the Thune market town of Rissik, and prepared to do so himself, for he had heard from his scouts and from the Thune alike that the Manische were meaning to attack it soon. Haeka had smiled upon Haecadem, for his maneuver had against all odds paid off - although the Manische could not be caught in Rissik itself, the forces of the King did unite with Beriar's army there and were able to give chase to the enemy, before too long granting Haecadem and his followers the long-awaited proper battle.

[...]

Later that day the King was informed that Lord Eijion was content with the noble treatment he received, but insisted that the rest of his army be released, for, per the Manische customs, they were not full warriors and not free in their actions; therefore, said Lord Eijion, they should be allowed to go freely and not be taken as slaves or kept as prisoners of war. The King considered those words and replied: "So be it. I shall release those oathsmen as soon as possible, for if I am to rule those people I ought to adhere to their traditions." Now Haecadem was then in the company of his close court of most trusted friends and advisers; nevertheless to many of them this was the first indication of the King's true plan...
 
Sorry Fulton my last post was meant to be interpreted as a resignation post just dont have the time i need to make this work :(
 
I am Haecadem, King of Werhold, High Priest of Haeka, Great Judge of the City of Werhold, Warlord of the Werar, son of Haecadem the King and a woman whose name is forbidden.

When I was a child my mother performed illicit rituals, cut open ravens and tortured their spirits, and then summoned one into me and made me prophesise that I shall one day conquer an empire. When I was a child my father was dying and summoned me to his deathbed, then made me swear to always remain loyal to Emperor Hroth IV and his bloodline. My father died soon after, by himself, leaving his court in disarray, and my mother did not outlive him by too many years: I commanded that she be burned to death after her actions caused a rebellion, so as to destroy her witchcraft once and for all. But the oath and the prophecy remained.

After my mother rebelled I was raised at the household of Haeroph the Thane, who was regent in my minority; his slaves taught me to read, write and count, while he taught me to listen, speak and fight, showing me no quarter despite me being sickly and weak as a child, saying that if he, an old man, can still seem to be a mighty warrior and so defeat far stronger enemies through knowledge, experience and reputation, then so can I; and also he taught me how to conduct myself as a king before courtiers and foreigners, how to speak to warriors as a warleader, to guilders as a judge and to nobles as a priest. He taught me how to speak for Haeka, but not how to listen to him; that I have learned to myself. As for the other relatives and courtiers, they occasionally squabbled for the right to tutor me or have me as their guest, but they could teach me nothing else.

Haeroph taught me how to do whatever I wished as a king, but not what to wish for; so after he died and I truly received the kingship, I only did all that which came naturally to kings, and so set out to overcome rumours of my indecisiveness by acting as a judge at the House of Guilds and of my blasphemous views by acting as a priest at the Sky Temple. I nipped courtly conspiracies in the bud, diminishing or elevating powerful families as I did so. And finally, I set out to test what Haeroph had taught me and to disprove the truthful rumours of my illness and frailty by making war upon the Nakar, old enemies of my people and friends of the Fulanti demons. It did not concern me that my kingship was based in no small part on deception, for I knew no other way, and besides this falsehood has resulted in truthful and beneficent changes in my realm; nor did it concern me much that I had no goal in my reign and did not hear Haeka, for I had never been taught to be concerned otherwise, and proving myself as a king was in my mind a goal in its own right. But one thing did nag at the back of my mind, and that was the contradiction of the oath and the prophecy I had given as a child; it kept me awake at nights: that I was fated to conquer an empire, while being sworn to be loyal to its rulers - for it is well known to all that there is only one true empire in the world, and it is likewise known that oath-breakers never know success.

This became even worse during the western campaign. I sought to fight at the front, for a king is strongest in front of his followers, but in one skirmish it so happened that Nakar archers had ambushed my retinue and though we were able to fight them off, I was wounded; and perhaps the arrow was poisoned, or perhaps it was simply cursed, but it was an instrument of fate, as I was struck by a fever not long after, and all my old weaknesses, even those I had seemed to overcome, had emerged to the surface once again. It just so happened that Boheort the Thane, the commander of my armies, had heard of a blind sage that was traveling in those parts; knowing that such people were specially favoured by Thea, Boheort had some of his men find him and bring him to me; the sage did not even resist but came of his own accord, saying that it would be an honour to save such a well-fated king.

That sage was called Bedeon the Blind, and as he attended to me it became increasingly clear that he was no simple wandering beggar, unlike many other such "sages" that had become numerous in the reign of Hroth IV. Not only did he successfully help me conquer my weaknesses anew, and nursed me back to help with his herbs, but he also showed himself to be a very knowledgeable man in matters of history, destiny and kingly affairs; interested as I was in this, I offered him a permanent place at my court and made him my chief advisor, a place he has eagerly accepted, betraying a man of court for too long kept away from its affairs. Clearly he sought to participate in the politics of the empire, or at least of one of its foremost kingships, and advised me accordingly, directing me to do what I was inclined to do anyway by fortifying and consolidating my power, and steadily diminishing all those who could have stood against me in my kingship. As for myself, however, I sought to use this man to resolve my own dilemma, and to this end made myself his pupil, seeing that he was eager to teach.

One day I told him about the prophecy, but not about the oath. He was clearly enthused and agreed that there is only one empire to which the prophecy could be applied. When asked as to how a king could even think of conquering the empire ruled by my rightful sovereign, he replied that Hroth's empire is great, but that it has been led astray by the infighting, and that the way power constantly and persistently, openly and secretly kept slipping away from the line of Hroth IV clearly indicated that it was not favoured by Haeka. The empire had to be conquered by a virtuous king if it was to be saved; and I was a virtuous king, on account of the good new things I introduced under my kingship and of my willingness to listen to wise and knowledgeable advisers (such as, he was quick to add, Haeroph and now Earl Beriar). Understanding that such a conquest could not, at any rate, be done quickly, he agreed that I should focus on improving the affairs of my own kingship for now, until a good opportunity to overthrow Hroth IV appears. So we decided to wait, and I decided to hold back on telling him about the oath.

Truth be told, for a short while I was tempted by what he said; but then I realised that the old problem still applied. If an oathbreaker were to conquer the empire, how could his reign be virtuous and just? Would not Haeka definitely turn away from him, and would not fate disfavour him? Would not all the other kings simply unite their forces against me if I had tried to conquer the empire as my father had attempted with far greater forces? And even if I somehow defeated them all, would not my reign be even more plagued with revolts than that of Hroth IV? I might well have liked to take over the empire, for I did wish to construct an ideal and just state, as I understood it, and it seemed to me that such a state could never be perfect if it did not, in some way, encompass the whole known world; but such a dynasty change could only be feasible later and if the line of Hroth IV were to die out without me in any way applying myself to this. Then the empire will descend into chaos anyway, and I shall have to restore order. This is what I ended up setting my mind upon, and it was helped by rumours of disagreement within the ruling family and fresh undercurrents of dissent and courtly infighting discovered by my spies in Varica itself; but all the same, as time dragged on, I grew impatient and could barely distract myself with the improvement of my granted land. Doubts occured to me as to whether Hroth IV's line would ever die out, or whether it would die out before I would; if it would not, it seemed likely that I would end up carrying out the prophecy anyway and so would become a traitor and ruin the empire anew. That was not my desire.

For a time I remained in indecision, but then a strange new hope appeared. In the dusk of Hroth IV's life, rumours and spy reports began to come from Assfell, capital of the Hrafn, about a strange new force come from the north. A large Haecomus army of no known tribe had appeared, so they said, and from all I have heard about it from men and from Haeka I had come to the conclusion that it could not be the rampaging warband of a mere wild king. Rather, it seemed that there was what perhaps could serve as a way out of the dilemma - an empire that was not Varica, a grand realm that was not ruled by Hroth IV. If I could conquer it, and that would be enough to carry out the prophecy, then it might well be large and diverse and malleable enough for me to make it into a perfect imperial state; and if not... I disliked the thought of it at first, but this new force could be made to serve me, in one way or another, in a bid to seize Varica. It would take planning, deceit, risk and luck, but it could be done; and as goes the latter, the arrival of the first rumours about Adalbrandr's battlefield death that passed in Varica had filled me with equal parts grief and elation; for though he was truly as an older brother to me, and my most trusted ally among the kings, I knew that if my fate was to conquer Varica then I should otherwise have crossed swords with him, and that if it was to conquer those newfangled Manische, then I was now to be the one to lead the armies of the East against them.

But at the same time, as if to water the seeds of doubt in my soul, a report arrived that Hroth IV was dead, though his death was not yet announced; and as soon as we were alone Bedeon the Blind told me that Varica shall now surely fall into disorder and infighting, and that this was a sign that I should prepare to march upon the capital. I heard him out, but did not reply then; instead, on the next day, I announced that I intended to make a quick visit to the city of Thanesburch, to confirm Earl Haeastl in his governorship there and to accept the allegiance of the new foreigner guilds; and I only meant to take a few of my closest advisers and most trusted - and disinterested - retainers with me. The other courtiers accepted it in a stride and smiled knowingly, for they too have heard the rumours about Hroth IV, but not about Adalbrandr; so they thought that I meant to leave before a messenger could arrive to receive my oath of allegiance to the child-emperor, in order to win time to decide how to deal with this situation appropriately - and since I was taking so few people with me I clearly had hidden and unwholesome intentions that I did not wish for them to learn about. Truthfully, that was a part of the matter, but only a small one; far more important to me was to hear out Bedeon's advice one last time, because his opinion still meant a lot to me and because I held him to be the closest I had left to a father; and I wished to settle this issue once and for all, so as to fully free my hands to take advantage of this new opportunity.

In Thanesburch I conducted all the necessary rituals and received the fealty of the new guilds; before leaving, and before a messenger could come from Werhold to inform me of the arrival of the new Emperor's envoy, I "decided" to go on a quick hunting trip, accompanied mostly by my retinue (including Bedeon who followed me like a shadow) and by my cousin Earl Haeastl. After the hunt itself was done and we had made a camp, I mentioned that I had heard of an ancient nearby shrine to Thea, long abandoned, and expressed the desire to make a brief pilgrimage there by myself, as it was not far. After I left, Bedeon had the same idea and followed me there with Thereon, one of my champions who was known for his reticence with regards to secrets. In this company I finished my prayer to Thea and took aside Bedeon to mention the Manische, explaining my belief that there was another empire beyond the lands of the Hrafn, and that, if conquered, it may be more easily transformed into the ideal state. Surprised, he asked me whether this meant that I did not intend to attack Varica; I said yes. He asked why and I told him about the oath, explaining that, binding as it was, the road to victory that involved removing from power the lineage of Hroth IV was closed to me, and that instead the empire should be created through an Emperor-sanctioned just war against those northern barbarians. Bedeon turned away for some time, at loss for words, then mentioned that he did know about the oath, but believed that there would be some way to get around it; and that not only was it a mistake to think that the ideal state could be created in some far-off northern lands not blessed by Haeka, but that there was no more just war than a war against the Hrothnani and the lords of Varica, and from the bitterness in his voice I could see that he was concerned with more than just his project - that my teacher, too, was ultimately guided by selfish private concerns.

This upset me, but not too greatly, for I had already looked into who he was.
 
OOC: I don't like you das. Your epics totally overshadowed my story :(
 
Of he who is named Bedeon the Blind you have inquired, master, and so I will now answer at the end of my investigation in Varica.

Know, my sovereign, that he was not always blind; nor was he always Bedeon. Rather he was once Athomi, a well-born lord in the city of Varica, a close adviser to Emperor Hroth III, and a closer one, some say, to the Empress, then being a young man of much-envied beauty. Regardless of what is vile rumour and what is the truth, this is known: that when the Empress Hrothiya assumed command Athomi was elevated to the height of his power, as no decision was made without consulting him, although he did not receive any higher appointment at the court. His advice was mainly well-intentioned, but often also self-serving, and in any case by the very fact of his power he made all those weaker than him his enemies, and when Hrothiya died those enemies fell upon him like rabid dogs. His power over Varica was destroyed in any case; nevertheless he did, for a time, preserve his life and status by prudently allying with one of the major contenders in the power struggle that had use for his knowledge of the court secrets and did not possess any personal grudges against him that could not suppressed, being less a man of the court and more a leader of Raeka until just then.

That Athomi has served this contender faithfully and well for a time is obvious, and not just because of the outcome of that chaos. With Athomi's help, he who started out as captain of the Raeka survived several changes of power, and gained the allegiance of several key players in the courtly game; for his part, the man sheltered Athomi from all harm, at the price of the latter's fame. It is not easy to judge with certaincy as to what exactly happened then, as most of the participants are now dead or disinclined to talk, while their descendants know too little and use their knowledge too dispassionately; nevertheless, it may be considered a fact that as it became clear that Athomi's patron would soon come to bear the name of Hroth IV, they quarreled: perhaps it was because Athomi waned during the years in the shade and grew bitter, perhaps because he-who-became-Hroth IV was no longer willing to put up with such a disreputable and unreliable ally as he had outlived his usefulness, perhaps it was a compromise with Athomi's old opponents, or perhaps Athomi simply decided that his patron would soon seek to dispose of him for either reason. Regardless, it is known that they had a falling out, and after this Athomi's fate was as good as sealed, for he saw no way out but to try to defect to one of his patron's last rivals, the venerable lord Taka, not knowing that Taka had already made up his mind to reconcile with Hroth IV. Athomi's betrayal simply gave Taka the excuse he needed, and much as planned turning the traitor over to the contender had resulted in his gratitude and an alliance that soon destroyed what opposition there remained, while Athomi awaited his judgment in a cold cell at the palace.

On the day before he finally became Hroth IV, his former patron departed from a celebratory feast with his allies to visit Athomi and recounted to him the events of the Twenty Years, asking: "So is it not the sign of Haeka's favour that I have not only survived but also have come to the brink of victory?" Reputedly, Athomi replied: "Verily, it is; but Haeka does not favour the injust. You would not have been the winner if not for my assistance; but now you have tricked me into betraying you and imprisoned me. Tomorrow you will become Hroth, but over the next years your empire will be plagued by disorder and intrigue, as enemies from all corners would plot and rise up against you, and you will have no reliable allies; your victories will give you little joy, being impermanent, and any defeat will mean complete downfall, turning you into a coward. Even if you rule to the end of your days, your lineage will still be plagued by the same problems; and that is just as well as you deserve no better, but I do weep for the empire, for it will grow weak and fall apart under your injust rule." At first the victor looked like he was going to fly into a rage, but instead he burst out laughing and said: "And I suppose I can correct my destiny by restoring you to a place of honour and having you tell me how to save the empire?" "No," - said Athomi - "You can do nothing. For even if you offered me a place at your side now, I shall refuse, as it is unwise to serve such a doomed and injust ruler." "Ha," - said Hroth-to-be, fuming with rage - "I had thought to get myself an adviser from this cell, but you are clearly no longer a man of the state, but rather an aspiring seer. But how well can you see when your vision is clouded by the passing shapes of today?" So he had Athomi dragged out, blinded and tortured for any information that he had held out on him, and at last left him in the dungeo, ignoring his shameful pleas for a quick death.

On the next day, Hroth IV became Hroth IV, and proclaimed a general amnesty for those within the dungeons of Varica, and the prisoners were led out to the light; broken and harmless, they were allowed to live as beggars in Varica after once being allowed to eat at the Table of Conciliation. As for Athomi, Hroth IV no longer cared about him, and neither did his one-time rivals; but a few months later an ambitious young noble of Validira had heard that the miserable blind wretch was once a powerful courtier, and decided to make him a guest at his household, hoping to get wise advice on how to seize power. Yet Athomi turned out to be useless; he never gave any practical advice, nor did he even reveal the shameful secrets of his old friends and enemies, but rather spoke in riddles and mystical formulae, and even when asked on matters of state he insisted that the only important aspects of governance is nobility of spirit and just deeds. Fed up with this, his new patron chased him out of the house; Athomi was unfazed.

He wandered across the western lands, taking the name of Bedeon the Blind and earning the reputation of a wise man, first among the poor and then among the newly-educated men of local kings; it was said that he could talk to the dead on special days of the week and so acquired much of his wisdom from his conversations with Thea, who also allowed his prayers to reach Haeka; and his prayers were all aimed at assisting the common people. He talked with other wise men in the lands, and none of them could disprove his words. He even deigned to speak to kings and nobles, interceding on the behalf of their subjects; and when invited to the court he had the insolence to accuse courtiers of deceit and corruption, never wrongly, for which he was chased away by the kings and adored by their subjects. In this manner, he became a saint of several kingdoms, or rather he became the semblance of one, for it now seems certain he was acting out of a deliberate plan to attain his two goals. And it was for this reason also that when you, my sovereign, campaigned against the Nakar, he deliberately sought you out and somehow healed you of your disease; for he thought he had found a king that was wise enough to understand his plan and appreciate the reputation he has won, and this much was certainly true. Thus he joined your court and followed you to Werhold, where he was no longer a wandering sage but rather a honoured guest and trusted advisor, also bestowing upon you the fame of a sage-king.

As to the plans of Athomi, it seems that he is guided by two ghosts that he seeks to merge into one; and for this reason he calls them both Justice, refusing to acknowledge that they are anything different; and as you seem to be nearly the perfect instrument for both his ends, he hopes that you will do the irrevocable and allow both of his plans to succeed as one, or rather, one through another. The first of those two ghosts is the phantom of revenge; the second is the spectral empire of his dreams; the first chains him to his past, the second he believes, rightly or not, to be the future of all. Firstly, Bedeon seeks revenge against Hroth IV and his lineage, and wishes to destroy it and remove it from the throne, replacing it with whatever provincial dynasty could pass his test; until recently, ofcourse, he was entirely convinced that that dynasty is yours. Secondly, he believes that Haeka's command has not been adhered to faithfully in the generations since Hroth, while the first Emperor did not have the time to carry out all the changes necessary; and as for Hroth IV, he has derailed the course of the empire entirely. It is necessary, thinks Bedeon, to change the dynasty once more and then to change the very spirit of the empire; to take the innovations of Hroth I to their logical conclusion; to create the ideal state. It is his opinion that in such an ideal state the differences between the tribes must be removed or diminished, so as to (he believes) fortify the unity of the empire, put an end to all open and covert infighting among its members and instead commit all forces to the conquest of the outer world. He means to abolish or make irrelevant all customs and traditions that contradict his vision; to eliminate even the harmless heterodoxies; to subordinate all local affairs to the needs of the empire; to turn all nobles into servants and merge them with scribes as simple instruments of imperial reign - as servants miliary or civil of the Emperor; to turn all commoners into slaves, though he calls it freeing all slaves and making all people equally subordinated to the Emperor; and, finally, to make extinct the lords of Varica and their council. All those changes are to take place after you capture Varica. It is in this empire that he thinks he could live happily, and at the same time he cannot have satisfaction until he has his revenge; therefore while he is trying to ride two mounts at once, up until a certain point in the road they were guiding him with great force in the same direction.

That is the sum of what I have been able to learn about he who calls himself Bedeon the Blind.

Addition: It seems that Bedeon truly is blind, or rather is only half-wise, for while he can see as easily as you or I the flaws of people, tribes and customs, he cannot see the often all too similar flaws of that which he proposes; and likewise, he does not seem to understand that the words he said about Hroth IV would apply to whoever carries out this plan as well. Nevertheless, you are ofcourse correct, my sovereign: his blindness can be useful, as can be his old age, for it is certain that he has no proper way of harming your cause, whereas you can destroy him in a thousand different ways if he should once more outlive his usefulness. Until then, he seems to persevere in trying to use you, despite having learned of the Oath; and therefore you could still use him and his ideas for the creation of the true ideal state.
 
OOC: I don't like you das. Your epics totally overshadowed my story :(

It's hardly all that epic yet, I'm just finally getting around to setting some character motivations for the incoming tragedy. :p For what's it's worth, I do like your latest stories; they are rather more succinct, but no less interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing what certain characters will think of my mad power play when it comes.
 
Ok, so yesterday was the third night in a row my internet failed me leaving me unable to access orders. I'm currently copying and pasting orders into a word file to prevent the same thing from happening tonight. My extra classes are canceled tonight and my gym buddy is sick so I can make some progress.

Also, the level of writing in this game is amazing. Thanks to everyone for adding to it. It might be fun to collect the stories from these games and put together an anthology of short stories to add to the books that I'm already working on. I may be the one planning on publishing, but there are far better authors involved in this world and it would be a shame to leave these stories with such a small audience.

Speaking of which, is there anyone who objects to having their creations appear in a published work? I plan on using them as settings and background, not actually lifting anyone's writing. I'll exclude anyone who doesn't give me explicit permission so as to not step on any toes.
 
Top Bottom