The Summit at Vallerfjord

Premise

The Summit at Vallerfjord is an event that took place in 264, right at the end of the Staldor-Spellbreaker War. It occurred not long after the destruction of the Lesser Golem, Nedorrah, after a protracted siege on Kingstown. Though The Chantry began fielding a Greater Golem in response, they were unable to push The Staldor people back and, in the interest of preserving time, lives, and the assets that are the Petricite Golems, Divine Justinia II proposed an armistice with King Hagan Staldor. Below is an account of the event from scribes present.

Event

Hagan stood on a small hill, flanked by the chieftains of the tribes that composited the Staldor people. As he looked out into the distance, he could see the procession of Spell-Breakers approaching. The Divine was no fool - for whilst she already had a considerable entourage, she had also brought a Greater Golem in tow as a solidification of her power. No matter, Hagan thought. It is an empty gesture. Else we would not be at this Fjord in the first place. Hagan was, nonetheless, anxious. His people had fought long and hard. It had taken no small amount of Frostbears and Mistari to put an end to but one Lesser Golem. Should The Divine feel total annihilation is her only recourse, he had no doubt a mere two lesser golems bolstered by this one Greater Golem would be sufficient to end his people. He also knew that his people would likely throw themselves at the Greater Golem until it at least cracked to pieces and fell apart under the sheer weight of their bodies, and that was a loss he hoped the Chantry were not prepared to shoulder.
Justinia II, heir to the Divine title, considered a living saint by the majority of the continent, rode with a false smile on her face and real anger in her heart. These upstarts had destroyed one of the sacred Lesser Golems that helped keep the Chantry's influence over the mages of the land secure. They had sent a message, potentially, to other dissidents that such a feat was possible. This Hagan was nothing more than a barbarian king. And yet...he had rallied the tribes of The Reach. He had earned his title by his own people's reckoning, and his position here now, speaking, as if on equal terms, with the single most important individual in Eidos. She had considered ambushing him, but such underhanded tactics were beneath her. Other Divines might one day practice more stealthy means of obtaining results. She, however, did not fear to have a light shone upon every action she has ever taken. She could justify each and every one. That is why she knew an armistice was in order - for if by Hagan's warmongering and her stubbornness a Greater Golem were somehow destroyed, she would never, ever, be able to justify that.
As she approached Hagan's party from the valley opposite, she dismounted, and strode forward alongside a man in gleaming golden armour whose worn face and calloused skin indicated a military career of decades fought against some of the greatest threats imaginable. Beside her also walked a man whose beard looked as long as his life had been; a truly sagely look in his eyes belied a fear in his heart for the freeborn Mistari mages that stood openly beside Hagan, almost as if brandishing their magickry in defiance of the order he maintained. These were Markan Gowager, amongst the most decorated of the Chantry's Generals, and Kellan Astralis, First Enchanter of the College, and amongst the most practised spellcasters in the land.
To meet them, Hagan walked forwards alongside each and every chieftain - not as a point of power or intimidation, but as a point of unity. He equally considered and valued their own sacrifices to the Staldor cause. It was only right they, too, should bear direct witness to their enemy, and the armistice that may be signed this day.
The two groups stopped, within talking distance. Still, Justinia II's voice boomed, as if empowered in some capacity. "Hagan Staldor. They call you Rally of the East. Yet I see two tribes of your people haven't attended this day. Perhaps this title is in error?"
Hagan met her gaze with steely conviction. "Not all titles are what they appear, 'Divine'. They are not obligated to follow in my beliefs if they do not belive in them themselves."
Some of Hagan's men bristled behind him at the insult to their king, but his forward-gaze assured them of his confidence. Still, Justinia II pressed on. "You've made quite a name for yourself, at any rate. Quite separate, your people, from their Zarvossti origins...quite stubborn, too. That seems to grow in the Reach in ample supply."
"We are what the world made of us," Hagan responded, "And we embrace this challenge with valour." He gestured round to the Fjord. "As was this place named, for the victory that took place here, and the sacrifice we were willing to shoulder. I have no patience for these idle remarks. And I find your openness lacking."
Justinia II looked to her left, into the stream. Though her people had salvaged some of the wreckage, elements of the Lesser Golem's remained stuck in the water, too heavy to carry, too light to sink away forever. It was a reminder to her of the price paid in war - and the stakes of continuing such conflict. She resolutely turned her face back to Hagan, narrowing her eyes. "You may call me Justinia, if you wish." Markan stood still, ever the watcher over threats to the Chantry's reign, but Kellan's brow began to sweat as it became apparent the usual comfort felt by Spellbreaker dominion was not present here.
"Well then, Justinia - you seek peace. I seek recognition. My people have laboured upon the anvil long enough. We have been forged into iron and steel. Our hearts have been battered by the flames of conflict. But we will embrace - and endure - such battle still if that is what is needed. What do you propose to quell the flame that rages in every Staldor stomach?"
Justinia took a breath. "Recognition. Within limits."
"Such as?"
Justinia produced a map, which she unfurled. Upon it was a dotted red line, drawn not far above the Fjord they now stood at - ending just beyond Wellspring, a city hotly contested but not yet fully controlled by Staldor forces. "Your people will advance no further than this, and will tread upon no more Chantry land. The territories beyond this line will not be trifled with. Otherwise, we will respond in kind, to whoever's detriment that may be."
Hagan furrowed his brow. On the one hand, the land provided would likely sustain his people for a few decades of growth - but a time would come again, in such small lodgings of land, that they would need to expand. He frowned. "And what of this border? Maintained by Spellbreakers alone and the Staldor people kept as if animals in a cage?"
"No. A joint border, held with a brief partition between either facing outpost. Future diplomacy - summits, and the like - would take place there. As a gesture of good faith, we place the Staldor side just shy of the mountain pass' beginning, with Spellbreaker fortifications holding more open land." She paused. "There is an...alternative arrangement, which could be agreed."
Hagan's furrowed brow could not furrow further, but still it tried. "Alternative arrangement?"
Justinia put away the map. "The Staldor people could act as vassals instead. Your bravery is commendable - and believe me, Hagan, there are darker things than you can imagine lying beyond the Reach. In realms outside our grasp, in lands beyond Eidos, there remain dark threats to all races. It is our solemn goal to vanquish them all. Your people could be a boon - an essential part of this process, even - and with such investment, there would come reward. Your people would be permitted some internment elsewhere within the Chantry; your mages could be properly tutored, controlled, and then distributed throughout the land; and the spiritual tendencies with which your people are uniquely attuned could become a new arm of the Chantry itself. We might create a fourth position for a General in the Reach - yourself, to govern it and protect the Chantry's word. There is an opportunity here, Hagan, to seek greater unity beyond that you already have managed here. Do not squander it."
Hagan looked to the side. Some of his aides looked outraged; a few, bewildered that their enemy was offering such a position; and one or two looked even receptive. But behind them, the tension was palpable. Here was a foreigner to their lands, decreeing they bend the knee to ideologies they barely understood let alone agreed with. This was a delicate situation to be sure, and as such, Hagan turned to his aides.
Immediately after he turned and broke the silence, Hagan's ears were assaulted by rapid discussion amongst the chieftains. "Our ancestry is what gives us strength," spoke the chieftain of the Frostbears, "and we will not see our spiritual ties militarized for the oppression of free people."
Nodding came from chieftain of the Northwalkers. "We seek to preserve what remains of our old culture from the North. Giving in to the Chantry would see those efforts quelled. The very individualism you sought to preserve, Hagan, would melt away."
"We cannot abide such conditions." Now was the time for chieftain of the Mistaari to speak. Quiet as he often was and small as his tribe was, their unique birthright earned his cadence special respect. "They would make us cattle, Hagan. They would make of my people thralls and exiles. They would impose the same draconian ideologies that take root over all of Eidos already. Our lands are a free land for mages that are in touch with themselves."
The dark-skinned chieftain of the Iron Lords held a doubtful look upon his face. "Perhaps regimentation would not entirely be for ill purpose. Our martial might is significant. Properly rallied, we might one day turn the Chantry to our own devices, anyway. With Staldors at every level of governance and military leadership, Mistaari at every echelon of their College, the time might come that the Chantry is more Staldor than not."
The lean and athletic chieftain of the Stonehooves nodded his agreement. "Access to these materials would soon carry dividends for all of Staldor. Our steeds would feed better, train better, fight better. Our people would be strong enough to maintain their unity whilst taking the resources in turn. It is a worthwhile gamble."
As these two finished speaking, once again frenzied discussion began save for a few like the Frost-bears who attempted to quell the spirits. "You would see our earth bound in chains for your love of conquest!", roared the chieftain of the Rootborn with bestial fury, as he spoke directly to the Iron Lord himself. Hagan considered their respective counsel and, with but a gesture, had silenced them out of respect. He looked to the chieftains of the Iron Lords and Stonehooves, not with disdain or anger as the others now did, but with the understanding that came from friendship and camaraderie. "Brothers. I know your reasons. I have thought them myself. And perhaps we might preserve our Unity - perhaps we might turn the Chantry to our own ends, one day. But the interregnum would see our peoples diminished, and they would lose their identities. Whether we wished it or not, they would begin to acclimatise to the Chantry way - and in doing so, lose their own. Our strength comes not from resources, or land, or divine mandate. It comes from one another," he said, taking their shoulders in his hands, "and the bond we share as a people. Our story is not yet written. The ink is still wet and ripe for use. This page in our history will be written by us, for us, as has always been the case." The chieftains nodded, their resolve bolstered. Hagan turned, and shook his head. "A border at Wellspring it is."

Legacy

Not long after the summit, the Boneplague cropped up, ravaging the Reach and making its way further North. Though stopped at Klaarta Dunn, the truth as to its origins put tensions between the Staldor people and Spellbreakers extremely high. Hagan would consider militant action until ultimately information made its way to him that made him reconsider this course. His successor, however, was not so lucky - his wife ostensibly murdered by the Chantry, he would begin a bloody warpath that would see the Staldor people rush Northwards, now bolstered by increased numbers, better craftsmanship, and even some especially nomadic or adventurous members of the Orcish Horde. What was to be an armistice of powers would not hold and war would once more rage in Eidos between authority and free-spirit.

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