The Phaegees Tribe (Fay-Gee-s)

INTRODUCTION

The Phaegees are one of the oldest still living nations in Eteanal. Originally founded by a group of half-humans, the Phaegees became a nomadic tribe of ruthless raiders, fiercely defending their homeland for over two thousand years until they were finally conquered by the Tsonlar Federation Expedition in 2904 3p. Many mythic warriors arose over the score of centuries they stood as a thorn in the side of Tsonlar, some of whom still live on today in the culture of the East.

THE BIRTH OF A PEOPLE

The founder of the Phaegee tribe, Bjern Krisoc, was a great man, twice the size of any mortal of the fourth period. Legend says he could pull trees out of the ground with his bare hands. His sword, which still can be seen in the city center of Funnsh, was over ten feet long, and a foot thick. As the world began to be explored following the fall of the titans, Bjern found himself exiled from the rising Empire of Archia.

A PORTRAIT OF LORD BARON BEJERN KRISOC

He took with him a band of fourteen men and women, set to conquer the lands on the east side of the Battlewrath Peaks. Although he found a wild forest rampant with hostile native Chambraids, Bjern held his men firm and conquered the entire Timburst Jungle. They settled at last in 1023 2p, once they were convinced they had driven out the last of the Chambraids. Bjern was given the title 'Lord Baron' and became the head tribesman of the Phaegees. Bjern ruled until his death in 1102 2p, when he was poisoned by son Borjin.

A NEW FOE

Just a century after Bjern's death in 1102, Borjin Krisoc received a fatal poisoning from a tropical fruit he received as a gift from the forest nymph, Orolin. Borjin's son, Borlen, attempted to hunt down the Guardian of the Great Forest, but quickly found himself at odds with entire council of merciful, who at that time, numbered almost thirty. Not wishing to go to war against a score or more of divine warlocks, Borlen led the Phaegees out of the Timburst Jungle, to search for a safer homeland. They found refuge amonst the Valkyrie of the Porlien Trade Kingdom, which was located on the borders of the Timburst Jungle. However, the two different races found themselves at odds with each other, as the valkyrie began to inbreed with the Phaegees. Many of these new offspring of mixed race became the ancestors of the Windpike of Holyfyre Seven. A great war took place in 1295 2p between the pureblood Valkyrie and the Phaegees, and once again the tribe found themselves searching for a new homeland. To the west was Tsonlar, and they had just come from the north, so Borlen had his mind set on going east. However, he died before the peace could be found with Porlien. His son, Jjonij would ultimately find the place where they would settle for more than millennia.

THE FIRST MAGIC WAR

As the second period came to an abrupt close at the end of the thirteenth century, Jjonij's son, Bjorn found himself as the Lord Baron, faced with a difficult decision- join the Alchemy War, and on which side? Three years into the war, Manuel VII of Tsonlar routed the Archian army laying siege to the Deep, and the momentum had shifted. Seeking an oppurtunity to gain land held by the dwarven coalition, Bjorn joined the war on the side of the Alchemists. Tsonlar sent a detachment of soldiers to help Bjorn and his warriors destabilize the Archian allies in Battlewrath, and the combined force completely burned the dwarven cities on the eastern half of the peaks. But in 1299 2p, the most of the dwarven kingdoms finally surrendered, and Bjorn was forced to halt his conquering. However, Manuel VII thanked the Phaegees with a large chest of Ichranum bits from Archia, as well as a thousand battleaxes. With their new conquered land and friendly relations with the superpower of the south, the Phaegees quickly became one of the most feared nations in Eteanal.

FALL FROM RELEVANCE

Following the end of the First Magic War, bringing around the Third Period, The Phaegees Tribe was considered a major military force to decide wars. For 250 years, they were called upon to help a side win a war with another nation. Their perfect record against their enemies in the third period made them a coveted ally. However, in 1578 3p, The Phaegees joined the Battlewrath Conquest, a disastrously planned mission, destined to failure from the start. But Jorlpin Krisll, the grandson of Bjorn, wanted to continue his grandfather's mission to kick the dwarves out of Battlewrath completely. Disaster after disaster befell the Valkyrian mission and eventually they were forced to disband, completely humiliated. This massive defeated became widespread, and Tsonlar finally broke ties with the tribe. Tsonlar was in the midst of a civil war, and now no longer fearing invasion from their ally, both sides focused solely on their own conflict. This sudden severing of allies across the board meant an end to the long peace in their own land in Eastern Eteanal. Within four years, Jorlpin was overthrown by his people and a popular warrior was placed on the throne in his abscense- Baroness Lidicia Silkfjord. The following seven year reign of the warrior queen was bloody and restless, but her rule ultimately saved the tribe from complete annihilation.

THE END

The tribe shrunk in size significantly over the next thousand years, until it held out one single town on the coast of Tsonlar. In 2903, with the expanding borders of the unified Tsondalian Kingdom pushing them out, the rule of the two thousand Phaegees fell to a seventeen year old half Arvenon boy, Kifjord. His mother being Valkyrian from Hofslond, some disputed his right to rule, but this boy managed to unify his people in the last days of his tribe. In the second month of 2904, King Manuel XIX led a force of forty thousand into the tribe's land, and met with the meager civilians in the open plain. All but one hundred Phaegees were killed in the short battle, and the tribe officially was destroyed. Although there are descendants in the Jade Expanse today, the family trees have been completely erased to ensure the once feared tribe of barbarians will never return.

BARONESS LIDICIA SILKFJORD

THE BLOODY REIGN OF LIDICIA SILKFJORD

At the beginning of the decline of the Phaegees Tribe in the early third period, the massively unpopular Baron Jorlpin was removed from his throne by his top commander, Lidicia Silkfjord. Unlike Jorlpin, Lidicia was extremely popular among the lower class peoples of the Jade Expanse. In the months before the Battlewrath Conquest, Lidicia out cried against the king, vowing not to take part in the ill advised mission. As soon as Tsonlar was no longer focused on helping the tribe, the Kingdom of Archia sought to invade the tribe's lands in order to gain a foothold in the south. In preparation for the onslaught, Baroness Slikfjord sent six thousand foot soldiers to the Timburst Jungle, in order to flank any major force coming from Battlewrath. However, they never met with the Archian Army; instead, a large Valkyrian force from Hofslond, twenty thousand strong, invaded from the east. Outnumbered and caught off guard, Silkfjord still did not panic. With only ten thousand of her best warriors, the queen personally led her troop into the teeth of the enemy encampment in the dead of night. With shrieking battle cries and the sound of a thousand horns, Lidicia hoped the leaders of the Valkyrie would suppose there to be a great host at their door and flee, allowing her time to recall her infantry from the jungle. Her plan worked and she managed to gather all her strength together in time to meet the enemy with full strength at Diregate. Although she died in battle at the end of her seven year reign, Lidicia single handidly saved the entire tribe from annhilation from both the Valkyrie to their east and the Archians to the north.