History of Man -- Book 1: Westrun Part 12

Until the Paper War (sometimes called the War of the Scrolls) of 3622ey the Tren people of the former Ald Morin were among the best educated and most civilized humans in Westrun. When their libraries were pillaged as a condition of lifting a seige of Elves, much of their learning was lost. That learning was, in part, restored by the knowledge of the Meni from the Principalities. What the Meni did not bring in books, they brought in experiential knowledge and fresh memories. In due course, much of what the Tren had lost was restored to them. For a time, Westrun was on track to recover the arts, sciences and architecture of a former, more glorious age. 

During the Lost Centuries, under the conflicts of the Decadon, the idea that man would someday achieve what the Vyrum had, was temporarily put aside. The sons and daughters of Heimos had little concern for libraries and academies. That disregard for learning relegated all former knowledge to decaying tomes on dusty shelves. But as destructive as the Lost Centuries were to the dream of human advancement, the signature event of the 43rd century ended that dream altogether. 

The Scouring was a mega tsunami that accomplished a level of destruction that neither war, dearth nor disease could match. In a span of single afternoon, an entire generation of the brightest minds was lost to Westrun. Both of the two centers of Vyrum language and learning (Treft and Watersedge) were all but destroyed. While those cities were swiftly repopulated in true human fashion by those of Tren and Meni descent, it was with stock that had long ago vacated the cities for life among the Fahr and Nandi -- people for whom learning did not have the same value.

Thus began the Years of Darkness.

From the 44th until the 48th century, learning among man was wholly vested in two rival groups: the Priests of the Grand Temple and the Magisters of the Dweomersecte. Each was loathe to share knowledge and each had a vested interest in promoting their own esoteric rites above the cause of greater humanity.

Unknown to most anyone, the library in Peakshadow had been built on the recovered pictographic tablets of Lyosha and was placed in the charge of the gray-bearded Fingermen who took vows to keep their knowledge secret. For more than four hundred years the High Kings of Westrun were sitting on a repository of information that was assumed to be little more than a record of deeds, titles, and patents of nobility.

Wald the Jurist was High King for three decades. His record of accomplishment nearly speaks for itself. He did prosecute Danforth's War which remains controversial. Judgment is divided as to whether the High Priest-motivated invasion of the Goblin Kingdoms pruned the goblin horde which later counter-invaded Westrun or, if it instigated the waves of attacks over the next decade. The answer is complicated and might not have a definitive answer.

In 4426 Fredirk of Bolden took the High Throne. His time on the High Throne is marked by the resurgence of the Fraternity led by Marin the Martyr -- who died in the first sortee after the Rangers were reconstituted.

Fredrik was followed in 4438 by Goren of Rath and he is credited as being the first of the High Kings in the Years of Darkness. He was followed in 4443 by Damon of Saklan.

Despite being seen as a hedge against the power of the High Priest, Damon's sentence was a disappointment to many. He was widely viewed as a puppet of the Grand Temple. It was often said that none could tell where the High Priesthood ended and the High King began. There are works of forbidden art that date from that period which show Damon with his lips uncomfortably close to the buttocks of one priest or another.

In 4528 Wallace VIII of Menea was sentenced to the High Throne. He was followed in 4540 by Gareth of Talir, in 4563 by Norfur of Bolden, and in 4581 by Larec of Rath.

In 4597 Norfur II, called the Heretic, imprisoned Kiran the High Priest of the Grand Temple and was excommunicated in return. The so-called war between the High King and the High Priest even saw the temple swept out and turned into an elaborate stables.

Peace was struck between Throne and Temple in 4610 by the election of Liam of Treft. Liam released Kiran in return for the concession that the High Throne would thereafter chose the High Priest from among those selected by the Priests Prime. Thus began the period known as the Captivity by the Grand Temple of Westrun.

In 4620 Liam was succeeded by Henrik of Menea, in 4641 by Vincent of Saklan, in 4650 Dominick of Collonia, in 4662 by Saren of Talir, in 4671 by Eldel of Menea.

Damon II the Everking was sentenced in 4691. Born with elvish blood in his veins, he reigned for nearly 100 years on the throne of the High King. He outlived five wives and used each to cement loyalty from his vassal kings. He was immensely popular with lords and common people alike. It was his vision to build a wall between the Greymantle Mountains and the Inner Sea -- a vision which was not realized until his successor.

Damon II was succeeded in 4792 by Jan the Bricklayer of Bolden. His predecessor had drawn plans and laid aside funding for the wall, but died before the work was begun. Jan undertook the project and became known for it during the 19 years of his rule.

When the Eight Kingdoms were remiss in providing men and arms to the High Throne, Jan saw to the establishment of chartered Halls and the reliance on many mercenary companies from far-flung lands. Jan himself founded the Silver Blades of Bolden, a light infantry company charged with some of the most difficult and politically sensitive actions for the High Throne.

Jan was succeeded in 4811 by Rolod of Collonia, and in 4821 by Beram of Menea who was also called the Chivalrous. Beram was followed in 4831 by Jan II of Bolden, in 4838 by Milytus of Menea and then in 4850 by Marten of Collonia.

Marten was also known as the Pauper King for overspending the High King's treasury and for prosecuting multiple simultaneous wars. Despite his profligate ways, Marten was beloved of the people and dedicated to his subjects.

Histories of the High Kings of All Westrun: III - The Years of Darkness

The Years of Darkness

4438 Goren of Rath

4443 Damon I the Puppet (Saklan)

4528 Wallace VIII of Menea

4540 Gareth of Talir

4563 Norfur I the True (Bolden)

4581 Larec of Rath

4597 Norfur II the Heretic (Bolden) 

4610 Liam of Treft

4620 Henrik of Menea

4641 Vincent of Saklan

4650 Dominick of Collonia

4662 Seraphina of Talir

4671 Eldel of Menea

4691 Damon II Everking (Saklan)

4792 Jan II the Bricklayer (Bolden)

The Books of the Archflames of the Infernari vol. 6

• 4511 Garamond was known for his skill at diplomacy and briefly opened talks with the Dweomersecte but failed to gain the trust of the Dweomersecte and those of his own order.

• 4534 Jonathas has little written of him. The history of his name and deeds have been removed from the Book of the Archflames of the Infernari. 
  
  
• 4572 Atalias IV a brief unification was made between Dweomersecte and Infernari under Atalias IV the so-called Imp. He simultaneously held the position of Archmage and Archflame and during this time great strides were made in reconciling the two orders but the comity faltered when Cristoler succeeded him and the Infernari selected Simmon as their Archflame.

• 4581 Simmon was a stalwart defender of the order’s independence. He rejected Dweomersecte overtures and declared the Infernari free of its influences... under pain of death.

Roll 006

4520    Biorn

Then came Biorn

4556    Sarik

Then came Sarik.

The Tandis Lists: List XIV

The Tandis Lists are the compiled lists of all of the Old Bears since the First Gathering of Rangers in 3278ey. They are kept by Tandis of Peakshadow -- a well-respected historian of the Fraternity.

In the 39th century there was:

4508 Lasanthir Elf-friend who was Old Bear of two Gatherings and carried an elven name despite being a human.  

4528 Druindar the King who had been squired of Lasanthir in his master’s youth and made perpetual peace between the Elven Ranes and the Fraternity. 

Rigel's Official Confession

With the aid of Havenar of Wanderhalt I write this confession. For I am moved to great sorrow and have not the strength of hand or clarity of eyes to write.

Let all who read it see my guilt. I ride forth today to make right whom I have wronged. I ride forth to judgment. Twenty-one years have I reigned and I at last have an heir to succeed me.

In 4519 as the Elves reckon time, I rose to the throne of my fathers and was given the crown and sword which bound my fate to that of my kingdom. I received also my spouse that day, and was married before God and my subjects.

Fairest was Lydia, my queen, and ever did she her duty by me. Tirelessly she worked to produce an heir, but the curse of thin blood was upon me. After five years and five still-births, she could not deliver an heir that lived unto the second day. As my fathers before me, my seed was weak and would not take strong root within her.

Many battles fought I with the Stream of Anguish, sword of the Kings of Collonia from the dawn of time. Many foes I defeated and rivals aplenty. Men I slew and monsters, also -- even the hordes quailed at my hand. For I greatly wounded the King of the Pomarj, leaving him at the very gates of death. Nevertheless, for all my strength and achievements I could not produce an heir.

Once upon a moonless night I saw a woman lovely to behold with her head covered in a veil as though a bride, but as for other clothing, she had none. Her form was flawless and as though it were sculpted by the masters themselves. It caught my breath and held it.

So passion rose within me and I went unto her, but she hid among the trees and asked what I sought.

I told her I seek but an heir to succeed me.

Just one, asked she.

I agreed it was so.

Are you bereft of sword, she asked.

I agreed that I was. Save only the sword of my passion.

Disrobe said she, and come unto me.

And I did.

So passion rose within us and I went unto her and mounted her and filled her with my seed until the coming of dawn. Whereupon she said that the act was complete and I must leave before the light of day.

When I was dismounted she said, "Return hither in nine months and collect what is yours."

So I made haste to my keep under cover of darkness and in shame, but for nine months I waited and could not bear the waiting. Neither could I go unto Lydia my wife, for my ears ever heard the hissing of snakes. But my wise men counseled that such was the weight of guilt upon my mind and to heed it not. As for Lydia, she grieved at the drought of my affections, but said naught, thinking herself to blame.

Finally, after nine months, I rose again on a moonless night to steal unto the glade. This time, I did not go swordless, for along the way I thought that I might take my own life because of the weight of shame. Though I wanted an heir, I was tempted moment by moment to fall headlong upon the Stream of Anguish, sword of my fathers and the Kings of Collonia from the dawn of time.

When at last, I came to the appointed place, I saw there the same beauty whom I had known and whom I had filled with my seed. And there crying, was she for my seed had not taken root.

Betrayal, laughed she.

So eyes closed, I drew the Stream of Anguish from my scabbard and smote her upon the neck and killed her dead with the strength of one blow.

When I came again unto my keep, Lydia, my faithful and beautiful bride was waiting. There I went unto her for comfort and for the drought I had previously offered her, she stood ready to receive me. There and then we conceived a son, my heir, who is more precious to me than my own life's blood.

When the morning had come, upon the bed of our passion I confessed my failure to her.

Then Lydia grew pale and smiled not again from that day forward. She was disconsolate and walked long walks alone upon the parapets of my keep. Her hands ever upon her belly. She would not take meals with me, nor be entertained by song, and she slept only fitfully for she swore she heard the sound of many snakes.

When her time was fully come, she gave birth with the best midwives attending and my heir was born. But Lydia was not comforted at the sight of him and called him the Son of her Betrayal. After she had nursed him and handed him to the ladies attending, she flew to the solace of her walks. That night she flung herself from the parapets and took her life. Many called it an accident of wet stone, but I know she grieved too much to live, just as I greive this very day.

I have seen now the passing of ten years without a wife in my arms or a smile upon my lips. My son is hale and Lydia bore him well into the world. Having done all I go now with a weight of shame I cannot bear. I go meet my enemy. For his horde has grown strong and he has sent me many signs of his desire to kill me and to sack Wanderhalt.

I fear for my son and for this Kingdom. Under a flag of truce I go to him. I shall offer my life and the Goblinsilver in perpetuity in atonement for my deeds.

The Books of the Archmagi of the Dweomersecte vol. 10

• 4513 Hashayara the Sojourner was an itinerant scholar from the fractured city-kingdoms of the East, Hashayara arrived at the Dweomersecte already aged and deeply learned in foreign magical traditions. She bore scrolls inked with star-letters and spoke of towers that drank moonlight. Elected Archmage after a bitter debate over succession, her tenure was marked by long absences and sudden insights. She wandered often, claiming her spells matured best under sky and wind. Though criticized for neglecting governance, she introduced the Celestial Codex into Dweomersecte study and was the first to classify lunar magic as a legitimate school. She vanished during the Nightfall Conjunction of 4539 and was never seen again.

• 4540 Aredeshier the Brilliant rose to the pinnacle of the Dweomersecte and was known for his towering intellect and merciless wit. He reorganized the internal structure of the order. Under his leadership, the Dweomersecte expanded across the Four Lands. Though he was beloved by many, detractors whispered that his ambition had begun to twist toward tyranny—a shift cut short by his sudden death during a demonstration of his chain lightning spell.
  
  
• 4567 Atalias IV the Imp held the position of Archmage and was considered the Archflame of the Infernari at the same time. For almost a decade the two orders were united, sharing learning and resources.
  
  
• 4581 Cristoler the Immaculate had been High Priest of Sagus in the Grand Temple, but was relegated to ever diminishing status under the influence of the Decadon. When he left the Temple and joined the Dweomersecte, he rose quickly through the ranks, but also brought a converts zeal to the position. Tensions among the Pyromancers grew until the two orders were split once again.