The Sword of Sidona
|
This article or section is a work in progress. The information below may be incomplete, outdated, or subject to change. |
The Sword of Sidona
Part 1: The Conquest of Keltia
In the very early days of Keltia, when the continent was mostly dominated by the Atteran Empire, the northeast was a wild region dominated by warring tribes and no cohesive government. The Atterans had conquered the entirety of central Keltia, from Los Bananos to the Skerries. But they were halted in the west by the Treesians at Lake Tulsa, and could expand no further in that direction. So they turned their attention back east and found their progress checked by the unruly natives and the seafaring raiders of Akerbjorn.
Around the same time, the Kingdom of Delvenus ruled over the Brettish Isles, which was experiencing a period of relative stability as the feudal lords coveted their respective fiefdoms. The Solomirathius of Delvenus, god-king of the country, Fax Celestis, ruled with a benevolent yet iron fist over his country. While Delvenus expressed its complete neutrality, maintaining an otherwise isolationist policy, it was not adverse to making arrangements that would bolster the kingdom's coffers.
Thus in 1379 AN, Ras Makonnen of Attera sent an envoy to Urbia Delvenus beseeching the Solomirathius to loan him an army of mercenaries in exchange for a sizable sum of gold. Unable to resist such a lucrative offer, King Celestis sent out a call for soldiers of fortune to heed the call. The untamed eastern banks of Keltia would be theirs for plundering, and the funds from Attera would be icing on the cake. Many noble knights responded to the call and came forth with their personal armies, hoping that their service would result in a return home with untold riches.
But Celestis didn't stop there. He knew an opportunity when he saw one. The prisons and poor houses were emptied and the men given basic weapons training, some meager clothes and provisions, and kept in line by harsh overlords. Assembling a vast fleet in 1382, the mercenaries set sail for Keltia in two large armadas. Among them was the Lord of Ceptaloria, Baltazar Severus, leading an army of a two-thousand soldiers from the far north of Delvenus.
In the late spring months of 1384, the two armadas landed on the shores of Keltia. The Northern Fleet, led by Prince Halcyon, landed near modern-day West Grinstead. The Southern Fleet, led by Lord Severus, landed near the city of Newhaven. Between the two fleets, over thirty-thousand soldiers landed on the shores of Keltia that spring in what the locals would later call the Tide of Blood.
Pinched between the Atteran armies in the west and the mercenaries in the east, the native population crumbled under the onslaught. Severus' army moved southwest, coming into conflict with Chief Lockgar of Akerbjorn. But Severus, sensing an opportunity, bribed Lockgar into siding with the invaders. By promising to leave Akerbjorn alone and hiring a battalion of berserkers to aid his army, Severus managed to keep Lockgar and his armies at bay. Severus' affinity with the magical arts may also have helped to convince Lockgar, whose dim-witted mind was easily wooed by spectacle.
With his army and berserkers, Severus began the conquest of eastern Keltia in earnest. As Halcyon decimated the north, Severus moved to secure his own territory for plundering. Among his accoutrements, Severus carried with him the fabled Ice Sword, a magical sword from the lords of Ceptaloria that bestowed its owner with near invincible prowess in combat. None dared contest his power so long as he carried the sword, which resulted in a near-fanatical following by his generals.
Severus' plan was simple: divide and conquer. To this end he appointed three of his most-trusted generals to lead his armies. Sir Julian d'Alenjon, Kemal Hazrabizan, and Artur Dorian, were each entrusted with an army while Severus himself led a vanguard with his berserkers.
As the conquest progressed, Severus and Halcyon exchanged messages via courier and both noted their respective victories. It came as a revelation to both that the Solomrathius held little power with the armies so far from home, and that Attera, who had already overextended itself, could not conquer the area either. Thus they both quickly realized the opportunity was ripe to conquer the lands for themselves. Halcyon was the first to rebel against Celestis, and declared the Kingdom of Syrah in the north, occupying most of modern-day Mercury. Severus, on the other hand, marched west and established a stronghold that he called Crestfalia. From here he declared the Kingdom of Sidona during the summer months of 1400.
Severus' generals began to carve out dominions of their own. D'Alenjon, a knight of mixed Brettish and Alexandrian heritage, carved out his own duchy. Dorian, another Brettish knight, established a small mountaintop earldom. Meanwhile, Hazrabizan, a Babkhan mercenary who had been hired by Severus and was well-known for his callousness in battle, carved out the largest amount of territory, surrounding the two smaller dominions. Severus kept the three in line through the sheer brute power of the sword and his berserkers. And so the mercenary kingdoms of Syrah and Sidona were born.
