Murdu, Lord of the Sword

NSFW - non explicit homosexuality

The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.

— Murdu of the Sword*

Destined for Warfare

General Murdu Choinnich was the third born son of Prince Drosten and Princess Moedrynn of the noble house of Gadrain, and commander of the army of House Gadrain. He made his headquarters in the Bornesher Fortress on the south end of the Spiral Mountain Range near the Inland Sea. At that time, it was typical for the noble houses of the elves to place their third male offspring into the military to avoid dynastic wars under the premise that idle princlings were more likely to foment rebellion than constructively occupied individuals. Governance of the large noble houses required discipline in a multitude of areas including agriculture, land management, animal husbandry, trades, banking, building, education, magic, commerce, justice, and the military necessary to preserve and secure these. Families who perceived this as a familial responsibility and cultivated a cooperative collaborative house were invariably stronger, healthier, and wealthier than lands where single individuals held sway, or dynastic wars were fought. Gadrain was one of these well run prosperous houses, and Murdu was one of the strong leaders who determined the house fortunes, specifically in the area of military leadership. In fact, House Gadrain had a reputation among the noble houses for their extremely competent and well run army. Murdu was an accomplished soldier, with skills both as a fighter, and as a leader of soldiers, and he was strong as a tactical and strategic commander. It was Murdu's excellent military skills and ability to motivate and inspire his men that eventually brought him to the attention of Saimon and led to his inclusion in the Six.

The Balance of Power in Fellalond's Halls

Within three hundred years after Hyadilith was made a royal consort, Saimon found that Hyadilith overmatched him in span of control across the functions of the new elven nation he had worked so hard to establish. It rapidly became apparent that the idea to cement the noble houses to the court of Lameravis had brought with it the double edged sword of the benefits of competent ability and resources, and the negatives of pre-existing loyalties and power structures. All the critical skills and resources were in the hands of the nobility - and therefore under Hyadilith's control. Since she was not adversarial to Saimon and his objectves, in general this was no problem.

by Terry Cassis using Inkarnate

Then, in BCE 8033, the orcs invaded through Tolna Pass and overran East Tirruc on the eastern border of Dryadae.
Saimon, from his experience with the orcs, believed that the incursion could not be allowed to stand. The area that had been overrun was pasture for livestock and important as a self sustaining food supply for the budding elven nation. The location of the incursion was also pressuring the geographic center of the areas under Lameravis's control. Following the Dragon War, the elves had withdrawn from the northeast into the central and southern region of the Echovad Forrest and the Spiral Mountain Range. The northeastern region of Lameravis's land was abandoned as it had turned into the Shattered Isles, and was separated from the rest of the land by the Ur Hilgarria.

I'm not sending my soldiers out to the middle of nowhere to protect some blasted sheep and cows that don't even belong to us!

— Prince Castien Brylynn

The orcs were likely to make travel dangerous and harry the elves, obliterating the strides that Saimon had made towards uniting them into one people. Even worse, Saimon had first-hand experience with the relentless warrior race. He knew that until repelled, they would continue their advances eventually cutting Dryadae in two if not overrunning it entirely and killing his people. Unfortunately, the elven noble houses did not percieve the problem, and were unenthusiastic about sending troops from their fortresses and more densely populated areas to the countryside. The noble houses either refused or sent token forces when Saimon and Hyadilith called for their support. It became apparent to Saimon, that relying on the noble houses for the military needs of the country as a whole was a broken strategy. Solving the long term problem though would just have to wait until he could figure out a way to fend off the immediate problem posed by the orcs.

The Battle of Windsong Gorge

Fortunately, one of the token forces sent to assist with the action was from House Gadrain, and led by Gen Murdu himself. In truth, though he was extremely good at it, Murdu was frequently bored with the need to be responsible and maintain his military when what he desired was a challenge and to get out of the family lands and see more of the world. The opportunity to support Hyadilith's call to arms in central Dryadale gave him a reason to leave Bornesher Fortress. Saimon immediately liked the commander of the Gadrain forces and cultivated a friendship with him based in part on a common professional interest and military training.
The business of defending his new nation was important to Saimon, and he expressed his concern to Murdu over the probability that the nation would be divided because of the orcs. Murdu, though he had come with his troops almost on a lark, was a fine military strategist, and was quick to understand Saimon's concerns. He had, in fact, already considered the problem posed by the orcs, and had argued with his father to send the force from House Gadrain for exactly that reason. He believed that a divided elven homeland would inevitably fall, one side or the other, to an outside nations as it would be difficult to impossible for an elven army to cross an orcish controlled territory to address any threats. Saimon explained his vision for a united people, and Murdu bought into it. Saimon made him General of the multi-house forces for this campaign, and Murdu demonstrated his leadership skills bringing together the almost random forces sent by the noble houses with their various commanders, and drilling and practicing them until they were able to work together in the battlefield. Saimon was impatient with the process. The orcs were not waiting for the elven forces to assemble, but Murdu insisted that the troops were not adequately prepared and must be trained before taking the field against the orcs.
While the troops prepared, Murdu sent scouts out to the regions known to have been overrun with orcs. Because of the preferential breeding decisions of elven females to favor elven males wih magical skills these scouts were able to use messaging spells to communicate back to their leaders. Information assembly officers constructed a reasonably accurate picture of the orcish army and the situation in the region. The Orcish chieftains had killed most of the adult elves from the region, driven off the children, then taken wagons from depopulated farms and stolen most of the goods of value. They had created a typical orcish tent town in a farmers's field outside Rostrata and appeared to scouts to be preparing, not for battle, but for settlement. Murdu moved his archers and sorcerers to surround a nearby river gorge that gated the area and established a battery of archers hidden among the old growth trees within bowshot of the river banks down its length. The archers climbed the trees to give themselves an advantageous vantage point and waited. Murdu then divided his foot soldiers into four groups and his mounted troops into two. He maintained one group of mounted men and two groups of infantry in reserve, and hid one of the infantry among the shrubs near the river. He positioned the other in plain sight camped in a field on the other side of the river gorge in plain site. He then drew attention to the company, using them as bait, by using his calvary to set fields on fire behind them. This immediately drew orcish scouts who reported the presence of elven troops to their commanders who rode out to meet the enemy through the river gorge falling into Murdu's ambush. The rest is history.
After the defeat of the orcs at the Battle of Windsong Gorge, Saimon shared his concerns over the difficulty of raising the necessary forces to defend the kingdom with Murdu. He asked Murdue to return to Fellalond for a time and assist him with assembling and training an independent military force that answered to Lameravis (in theory) and Saimon (in reality) first. The strategy was to use the military resources of the nation and nobility against large threats from a common foe, but national threats would be countered by the national force first, and escalated to the elven nobility if the threat grew in scope and size.

by Fotokvadrat

A Soldier in Halls of Power

Murdu had a brother who was trained and ready to step into his shoes in House Gadrain. He accepted Saimon's offer, sent word to his family, and returned with Saimon to Fellalond to take control and responsibility of the assembly, training, and command of the new elven military. Once there, he found himself at odds with Hyadilith who objected to Saimon's plans to create an army outside of her span of control. However, Hyadilith found herself unable to argue with the demonstrated need for some additional forces, and answerable to their court to address matters that the nobility was reluctant to support. She saw the value in the move, and reluctantly agreed to it.
Murdu wasted no time and soon had a small, well trained and equipped force that could respond quickly to needs on the borders of the elven lands. He persisted in making his case with Hyladilith and Saimon for additional troops and garrisons well positioned within each are of the country to protect and respond to regional threats, supporting the noble houses when they were attacked by outside threats.
In the mean time, Saimon taught him to call the elves in song and direct the magic so raised to do his bidding. Murdue had a deep bass voice and could capture attention and focus of men immediately, probably due to his history commanding men on the battlefield. He became quite proficient at the skill, and used it to cut a wide swath amongst the ladies of Lameravis's court including Hyadilith herself.

A God's Pursuit

About thirty years after Murdu joined the court in Fellalond, Lameravis returned from his travels and discovered Murdu at the pleasure parties at court where he was a frequent fixture. Murdu was not naturally inclined to sexual interest in other males. Lameravis was a god and understandably extremely persuasive, but Murdu remained stubbornly and irritatingly unpersuaded. Finally, Lameravis decided to offer Murdu a permanent position in his household as his third consort and a demi-god which appeared to open the negotiations. After a ten year courtship, Murdu finally agreed to the proposal and ended up in the ancient god's bed. Lameravis stayed on in Fellalond for an extended period after that lasting well over seventy years before setting out on another pleasure seeking journey.
Murdu was the third consort taken by Lameravis ostensibly for military and strategic reasons, though a strong friendship existed between the two apart from their sexual adventures. Murdu was a consistant companion of the god when he was not traveling, and when political tensions were not high he would often travel with the god. The attraction of Lameravis to Murdu suited Saimon also, as Lameravis stayed in Fellalond longer, and spent more time in Saimon's bed for a period supassing any time since Saimon himself was first joined as consort to Lameravis.
Aside from numerous battles and two regional conflicts that Murdu quelled, legends speak most eloquently of Murdu on two notable occasions, first when he and Lameravis (and most legends say Saimon also) stole a branch of Elysium from under the nose of Yulasta and Jiisho to create the Echovad Forrest. The second was during the Demon War when the Gods united to oppose the demonic forces under the command of the Demon Lord Sokkarl. Murdu and Saynleh joined forces to fight Sokkarl. Murdu separated the demon lord from his armies in the heavens and hurled him into the lands of the Southern Wastes. Saynleh immobilized the monsterous demon while Murdu delivered the killing blows. Murdu created the cursed weapon Sokkarl's Maw from the bones of the defeated demon lord, a sentient weapon whose destructive power is infamous.

Destined for Death

Of all of the Six, the circumstances surrounding the death of Murdu are simultaneously the most gruesome and the most telling. Unlike Hyadilith, whose death happened well before that of Lameravis, Murdu's death occurred in close proximity to Lameravis's, though not as one might expect defending the god against an attacker, but as an obvious act of treachery, killed by someone with whom he was clearly familiar. Murdu was an accomplished warrior with the powers of a demi-god. Had he been attacked directly, none would have been able to stand against him. Instead, Murdu was found mangled in his bed, his body severed in half, his neck severed almost through his spine, and a stilleto through his right eye into his brain. Clearly, he was killed in his sleep, almost certainly by a lover, most probably by Larisa, and almost certainly under the power of a sleeping spell. His notorious weapon Sokkarl's Maw was missing, and there is every reason to believe that it participated joyfully in the murder of the elven demi-god. The weapon disappearded for several centuries before emerging from obscurity among the orcs.

* quote irl is from Minot J. Savage