Kingdom of Epixus
The Kingdom of Epixus lasted for 563 years, from the Age of Gods well into the Age of Heroes. It was lucky to get a long string of well educated and well regarded rulers until the 3rd century AH began its decline. It is best known for fighting the Sunset War against the invading Valdoreians. It is also the birthplace of Hralldan Dawncaller and his companions. Its government was a Feudal system, with much of its land and towns being owned and organized by nobles. It was these nobles that caused its eventual decline, to be ultimately replaced by the Empire of Carladia in 359 AH upon the final defeat of the Epixian Loyalists by a coalition of Imperial troops led by Emperor Zranda Evencrest and Valdoreian troops led by King Siluss Feyel.
Founding
Birth of a Kingdom
Unrest
The region of the western coast of Veland was owned by wealthy barons for most of the Age of Gods. The barons overtaxed their peasants and there were constant peasant revolts against them. These revolts were often brutally put down by the knights in the barons' service, but some were successful. Ruthless Barons would be supplanted by upjumped peasants, who were far more sympathetic to the plights of their fellow people. Eventually, many of the "nobles" that ruled their individual regions descended from peasants who led successful revolts, leading to very divisive dynastic quarrels between older Baron families and the newer Low-Born families.
A King is Born
Gerould Bretol, patriarch of the Bretol dynasty and Lord of Andsall, was born in the year 233 AG in the (then) town of Andsall. He was raised and tutored by his father, Garrett, who was Low-Born but had overthrown the previous Baron, Amfrid Okis, for raising taxes on all goods trading, which was harming the wealth of the productive merchant town, as it was located on a busy crossroads.
His father also tutored the heir to a friendly Noble family that also came from Low-Born upbringing. This heir, Rob Eddrald, grew very close with Gerould, and they became best friends. Upon their maturation to adulthood, Rob went back to his family but the two remained close.
Gerould's father passed away suddenly at his 19th birthday celebration. It was deemed natural causes, but Gerould suspected foul play. He had heard that Amfrid was being harbored by a rival family led by Othenn Hellscream, one of the oldest families in the region. He suspected that Amfrid wanted revenge against his father, and Othenn assisted in his plan. The Hellscream family was well known to despise the newer Low-Born families that were appearing across the region due to the unrest.
The birthday celebration was turned into a funeral the following day. Rob was in attendence for the celebration, and also the funeral. Gerould shared his suspicions of foul play, and the two began hatching a plot. Gerould was now the head of his family and also one of the wealthiest territories in the entire region, with friends in other powerful positions and was well-liked by his people. He was perfectly positioned to strike at the other Baron families to exact his revenge for his father's alleged murder.
Alliances
Gerould and Rob traveled to as many families as they could, promising marriages, proposals, payments, anything they could to form alliances with other powerful families, Low-Born or otherwise. Many families accepted, even some High-Born families who simply respected the wealth and power that was being accumulated to Gerould's side.
Rumors of this expanding alliance spread to Othenn, and he began doing much of the same. Any other families, even some Low-Born families, who didn't like the power-hungry war-mongering from Gerould, joined with him. Soon enough, every family in the Epixian region had picked a side, and the pieces were in place. The tinder box was smoldering and ready to explode.
War of Unification
Attack on Deathfall
The War of Unification, also called the Great War of Epixus, began with a thunderous explosion. Gerould, his full collective army, along with many divine spell casters, marched directly to the town of Deathfall, home of the Hellscream dynasty. This was bolder than Othenn ever imagined, and he was unprepared.
Gerould demanded that Othenn release Amfrid, so he could face justice for the murder of his father. Othenn declined, citing the lack of evidence against him. In response, Gerould ordered the spellcasters to destroy the home. They cast Storm of Vengence, focusing all lightning directly into the ancestral home of the Hellscreams. The power of the spells combined, detonating the house into thousands of burnt shards of wood and stone, killing almost all inhabitants instantly. Othenn and Amfrid survived due to a Mass Sanctuary spell Othenn's butler, an aged but famous aasimar cleric named Nekrain Rurlume, cast mere seconds before the house was destroyed. All of the Hellscream family was killed.
The three survivors attempted to escape, but Gerould used his army to surround them, and ordered that Nekrain drop the Sanctuary spell and release Amfrid. Othenn looked around at the carnage of his home and his family, and the lightning from the storm that raged overhead that continued to strike all around the Sanctuary. He pushed Amfrid out of the Sanctuary to buy him and Nekrain a few moments, and ordered him to open a Gate, which they used to escape.
Amfrid sat on his knees while he begged Gerould for his life. Gerould simply cast Massacre, ripping Amfrid's soul screaming from his body.
It was this imagery that is depicted in the famous painting, The Dark Side of a King, which depicts the storm raging around Gerould's army, with the charred ruins of the home of the Hellscreams in the background, while Gerould and Rob stand in the foreground over a kneeling Amfrid, his visible soul pulled from his body, its mouth open in a sure scream.
This unprompted attack and massacre of the Hellscream family and brutal execution of Amfrid created a rallying cry for Othenn going forward, complicating the war in many ways for Gerould.
Near the end of his life, he wrote of this day in his journal, saying:
As all do, I am not exempt of a life with regret. The [Hellscream] children's deaths are ever near the forefront my mind; the screams have never escaped my memory, and are most certainly the cause of the sleepless nights of which I am afflicted. I have found reliance on the lullaby that puts my mind at rest again: Amfrid's suffering. However, that memory too, comes with regrets. I regret that it did not last longer.
Battle of the Eternal Day
The Battle of the Eternal Day was the last battle fought of the war. Othenn had used his rallying cry of the massacre of his familiy and the execution of Amfrid to turn many of the High-Born nobles against Gerould from inside his camp, losing him the advantage. The war raged for 10 years, with the fate of the war turning back and forth between the two sides many times.
The final battle came when Rob was finally tired of living in Gerould's shadow and was concerned about the way he handled the Hellscreams and whether he would be fit to be a King. Rob abandoned Gerould's cause after fighting beside one another since childhood, and joined with Othenn for one final battle.
This betrayal fueled Gerould into a rage. He accepted the challenge for one final battle, and met the enemy beneath the walls of Andsall castle. He was terribly outnumbered, but his divine casters made up for any numbers disadvantage that he held when the battle first began.
The war raged for hours, neither side willing to give up. When the sun began to set, he prayed to his god, Barlan, God of Trade, to extend the day so that the war might be ended with his victory. Barlan, or perhaps another God who heard his prayer, took pity on him and the people of Epixus, and the sun moved East back across the sky until it lay directly overhead. The day continued for another half a day, and in the 33rd hour, Gerould and Rob met in the field. They battled, but Gerould had always been the better fighter. He struck down Rob after several clashes of their swords. His rage turned to sadness, and he collapsed, holding his dying friend while he wept. Othenn surrendered after three more hours of fighting, and he was promptly placed in the dungeons of Andsall castle. The moment the battle ended, the sun disappeared to the west and the evening became midnight in mere moments.
Crowning of a King
Coronation
In the aftermath of the war, Gerould and the remaining Nobles who fought under his banner gathered for his coronation. In 204 AG, he was crowned with a crown of silver and gemstones, and proclaimed King of Epixus. The feast following was a joyous affair, however Gerould was melancholic and disappeared to his quarters. He would often be seen over the next few days looking up at the stars from the battlements, but no one dared ask what he was looking at or for.
Unification of Epixus
Epixus still lay in a perilous situation. The Nobles who fought against Gerould had been captured with Othenn or killed during the final battle, and much of their territories lay unguarded and without leadership. He offered a choice to those in his care: Swear fealty to him, or be killed for treason. Most chose fealty, however some, Othenn included, swore to never follow his illegitimate rule, and were hung from gallows. Their lands were passed to loyal followers who formed their own dynastic houses, and thus the beginnings of the Noble houses of Epixus were formed.
Golden Age
Epixus in the Age of Gods
Gerould Bretol
Gerould's rule continued for the five decades following the War of Unification. By the end of the war, he had turned 29, and was a very different man than the one that had begun it. He ruled fairly, and with compassion for his subjects, Low and High-Born alike. The Nobles who fought against him eventually grew used to the safety that came with unification, and some even grew to respect Gerould as a leader and ruler.
He followed through with his engagement made prior to the war, and married Adelize Proudhair. They had seven children, and upon his passing he was succeeded by his eldest, Damlen.
Sunset War
The Bretol dynasty continued for nearly 200 years in relative peace. There were minor Noble squabbles, and small uprisings here and there, but most were resolved quickly and without much lingering resentment or conflict. Until the year 14 AG, when hundreds of White Wood ships with foreign triangular sails appeared on the Western horizon.
These ships carried the Valdoreians refugees fleeing the Disaster of Unara. They requested to settle in Epixian land, which King Turled denied. The Valdoreians began settling anyway, and occupied a town nearby the coast. Turled sent his knights to clear them out which began the Sunset War.
After 4 years of fighting, the war ended in 10 AG in a white peace. Turled gave the Valdoreians land to settle on and allowed Ila Irdleliem to rule her people as Queen on the reservation.
Epixus in the Age of Heroes
Beginning of an Age
The turn of the Age didn't change much for the Kingdom of Epixus. The Valdoreians remained on their reservations, although new guilds were popping up across the continent. The Dark Guild in particular would end up causing issues, but not for a century at least. Music, art, history, and magic flourished in the new age, and heroes were around every corner looking for riches and glory, which in turn kept the monsters and threats at bay.
After King Turled's passing, it passed to his son Tinro, who was much more timid than his father had been. He was crowned at the age of 25 in the year 32 AH, and while he focused on encouraging the flourishing of the renaissance of culture that was sweeping the continent, he ignored the looming threat in the underworld and the decline of the divine.
Tinro's rule was peaceful, and is regarded fondly by historians who remark upon it, however it also marks the beginning of the end for Epixus, although whether he could have stopped it himself remains up for debate.
Beginning of Decline
The Kings following Tinro were left to deal with the rise in power from the nobles during the peaceful yet timid reign. They then were forced to deal with Zala Kos rebellions, which weakened them further. The rebellions themselves were all squashed, more and more ruthlessly as he continued to lead them, but every one weakened the authority of the King further.
When Zala Kos was finally overthrown in the coup that put Thadu Feyel on the throne, the King began to believe that he could reassert his rule, however in the year 205 AH, King Imbert was assassinated at the age of 31. It was blamed on Lord Ingramus Efsaun, the head of the Efsaun Noble family, who had been maneuvering for power in their territory. They had been squabbling with neighbors, and so the axe fell on them, whether they were behind it or not. Ingramus was executed and his lands were passed onto the Ragemark family, a family that had lost all territories during the War of Unification, but the line had continued through obscurity, dreaming of a return to nobility.
This assassination however, left a void of power, as there were two heirs to the throne. Imbert had selected his primary heir, his son Thim, as he had not wanted to wait until his sons matured and were of age before judging their merit as Kings. Thim and his other son, Thom, were twins, and their births were not recorded properly due to a mistake made by the midwives who delivered them, but Thom was better regarded than Thim. Thom studied swordsmanship and archery, as well as music and poetry, and was considered fair to all who looked upon him. Thim was arrogant, but was broad shouldered and tall, he mastered the use of the flail and was considered one of the strongest men of his time.
Decline and Fall
Decline
War of the Eagles
The War of the Eagles derives its name from the coat of arms of the House of Bretol, a shield, divided into blue and red with a rearing blue head of an eagle emblazened. Each brother desired to be King, and yet some Nobles could not agree with crowning a man such as Thim.
Late at night, several families, Ragemark included, smuggled Thom out of Andsall for fear their discontent had reached the ears of Thim. No reports ever reached him, but this action angered him so much he declared his brother and any who supported him traitors. This declaration rushed the discontent Nobles' plans, and these nobles hurried his coronation, as they needed to legitimize his claim. Within a fortnight there were two Kings of Epixus.
Thom altered his coat of arms from a blue eagle to a red one, and flipped the colors in the background. The two kings came to be referred to as the "Red Eagle" and the "Blue Eagle", for Thom and Thim respectively.
The war was fought between 205-207AH, with only a handful of battles being fought. It was mostly a war of politics, the two Kings gathered as many loyal followers as they could, while the Kingdom inadvertently tore itself apart. Powerful nobles took advantage of the struggle of the Kings to attack their neighbors, looting and expanding their territory. By the time the war had ended, dozens noble families had been wiped out.
Battle of Crehst
The final battle of the war, was also the only battle where both Thom and Thim were present. It was fought near a cliffside that dropped down to the coast, and was nearby the town of Crehst. It was incredibly bloody, with thousands dying on both sides. More would have died, however the battle ended after a duel between Thom and Thim.
Thom had decided to remain with his archers in the back of the fighting, raining volleys onto Thim's knights, limiting their ability to gain momentum to attempt to charge the enemy lines. Thim, out of frustration for his lack of useful cavalry, led a charge on horseback through the enemy's right flank, directly towards Thom's archers. They loosed enough arrows to kill or ground every rider that made it past the forward lines, including Thim. He tumbled from his horse, but continued charging on foot. He made it to Thom, although peppered with arrows sticking out of his plate armor, and swung his flail but it was blocked by Thom's bow, which snapped in two and sent him to the ground. Thom managed to draw his sword, and the two dueled, while the few cavalry-men that survived the charge attempted to assist Thim. Ultimately, Thom's skill with a sword failed him; the chain on the flail wrapped around the sword, and it was flung to the ground. Before he could recover it, the morningstar at the end of the chain caved in the Red Eagle's chest plate. He was thrown onto the ground once again, and Thim continued swinging the flail into his brother's body, until his armor was so dented it would have been impossible to remove, and his face was unrecognizable. His long blonde hair, an unusual trait for the Bretol men to have, although stained with blood, was the only thing left that confirmed it was his corpse.
The civil war ended once word had spread that the Red Eagle was dead, and the nobles all surrendered. Thim ordered them all executed on the spot, leaving half the Kingdom's territories without rulers.
Kinslayer
Thim had ended the War of the Eagles, but his brutality towards the nobles who surrendered, who were used to a bit of leniency, and the murder of his brother, had dissenters whispering "Kinslayer and Kingslayer" behind his back at all times. He grew more and more paranoid that he would be killed like his father, so he began attempting to discover how to contact The Dark Guild. He attempted to spy on his perceived enemies and murder any who his mistrusted, which hastened is own demise. He was found dead one morning, foam protruding from his mouth and his eyes puffy and yellowed.
It was ruled "natural causes" after the coroner who inspected the King mysteriously died as well, and Thim's cousin Ancelm took the throne.
Fall
Cursed Line
It is theorized that the Bretol line of kings was cursed, as none of the Kings after Thim lived to their full life. They all died of accidental, or suspicious circumstances. With every death of a King, the respect that they commanded lessened more and more. The resentment the Kingdom held towards Thim and the consequences of the War of the Eagles reverberated through the following century.
The Evencrest dynasty in the early 4th century was especially resentful of the kings of the Bretol line. They were becoming paranoid, selfish, and greedy, demanding more of their subjects every passing year. Zranda Evencrest, a half-elf whose ancestors had married and grown close with the Valdoreians, fed the fires of resentment towards the king. King Gerould III, a fat and greedy king who enjoyed torturing all of his prisoners before releasing them, died under mysterious circumstances in 356AH. The official history is his balcony railing couldn't support his weight, and broke, sending him crashing to the stones several stories below. Zranda made his move. There was no clear heir to the throne, and it would take awhile for the scholars to work out through the family trees who was next in line, so Zranda gathered his troops, and marched to Andsall, taking the city peacefully but forcefully. He broke into the castle after a short siege, and declared the Kingdom of Epixus to exist no longer. It would be reorganized into the Empire of Carladia, named after the Evencrest family lands.
Loyalists to the crown and the Bretol dynasty rose up in arms against this new Emperor, and those that supported the reorganization of the Kingdom flocked to Evencrest's side, hoping for more power and lands for themselves.
War of Loyalties
The War of Loyalties was fought between the years of 356-359AH, and was the end of the Kingdom of Epixus. Evencrest was popular among the nobles, and had bided his time enough beforehand to gather enough strength to maintain control while the Loyalists, led by Ildar Ragemark, were scattered and fragmented. The Loyalists were soundly defeated at every turn, and in the final battle, with the assistance of Siluss Feyel, King of the Valdoreians, the Imperial forces crushed the remaining Loyalists at the Battle of Staad, which was fought in the shallows of the River Staad.
Evencrest captured Ildar and the other leaders of the Loyalist faction, and offered them the same choice that Gerould Bretol had offered the Barons of his time: Swear fealty, or be killed for treason. Every noble who fought for the Loyalists that survived the Battle of Staad chose to swear fealty to Evencrest, and so the Kingdom of Epixus was ended for good.
Notable Locations
Andsall
To be completed
Carladia
To be completed
Bardpointe
To be completed
Comments