The Varatosh Expedition

Prelude

During the First Dark Age, the Snow Elves set up a trade company and set up routes over to Voronda. They had set up an amazing trade route up and had fought several conflicts to maintain them. They would sail south to Leralethron, get Leonin and Minotaur good, bring them to Ardamire and then sail onto the Humans in Voronda.

The Snow Elves found that the coastal city of Aquila was the most open to trade and would welcome their merchants with open arms. After a few years the decision to gain a permeant hold in Voronda was made and so Aquila gladly allowed them to open an embassy within the city, as this allowed the city to expand from the large increase in the flow of trade through the city. The Varatosh Trading Company even contributed financially to the cities expansion, even helping build the Chioni district.

The Varatosh Expedition

Taxation into Rebellion.

The Snow Elves however would overstay their welcome and the king of Aquila decided that to try and thin out the number of Snow Elves in his city, he would introduce several taxes that would only apply to non Humans within his city. This worked for a short while, until the Varatosh Trading Company begun to increase its prices against the Humans specifically and then begun to fire non Elven members of its staff.

By the 12th year of the first era, this had resulted in a harsh and all encompassing recession, however the Snow Elves of Aquila, were mostly unaffected as they had managed to open trade with Bellator. But fed up of the huge taxes being imposed on their workers and the growing threats of violence meant that The Varatosh would mount their first expedition since landing in Voronda.

During the spring thaw, they would send a fleet of settlers further south, to the eastern coast of Bellators lands, where sprawling plains seemed to be uninhabited. This was part funded by the Vanos family. A small merchant family who lived in Nesamir, who had gambled much of their wealth on the Varatosh Trading Company. Eventually the settlers would found a city on the grounds of the modern city state, Rhodara.

The benefits of this allowed the Varatosh to begin trading throughout the continent, even being able to open an embassy in the city of Arminius.

Tempered Peace:

Aquila would eventually repeal the taxes as it watched the trade of all the other city states boom and grow. While the Humans of Voronda would engage in yearly conflicts against each other, the one thing they all respected was the independence and importance of the Varatosh Trading Company.

Eventually the Humans became more and more reliant on the Varatosh, with constant wars, the only way to ensure your city didn't starve was by buying from them. Anyone foolish enough to attack their caravans were met by legions of warriors, sent to protect the company by the Carnens. Soon they begun to tame more and more of the wilderness of Voronda, building roads and taverns across the continent, as they improved the infrastructure, they also ensured its security. Eventually Varatosh towns and villages begun to pop up and if you were in one of them, you were under the protection of the Varatosh, not the local Human city state.

This begun to frustrate the kings of Bellator. As local towns begun to look to the Varatosh for protection not them. In retaliation they removed the Embassy from the city and bared all Varatosh officials from Bellator. They could trade outside of the city, however they knew they would be subject to large taxes and violence from the soldiers of Bellator who all begun to harbour a harsh grudge against the Varatosh.

After around 40 years, the Varatosh had managed to gain embassies in a majority of the city states of Voronda, including but not limited to: Aquila, Arminius and Montauban. Both Bellator and Hanow had refused to allow them access to their cities and refused them the right of trade. Hanow would escalate this much further.

Redwood Invasion:

For further details on the conflict please see Redwood Invasion.
Bellator still allowed the Varatosh to travel their lands and would, begrudgingly, allow them safe passage. Hanow however, refused to allow them safe entry into the Redwood. They continuously attacked towns they set up in the Redwood, tore apart the cobblestone roads and would even attack and burn caravans that entered their woods.

This conflict set the stage for the occupations of Voronda by the Varatosh company.

Arminius Subjugated:

Arminius had gone through a particularly devastating year before the Redwood invasion. Several earthquakes had rocked the city, leaving parts of the city to stay in ruin for several years. The city also was in the middle of a recession when the Varatosh pulled out of the city to focus on Hanow and was also in the middle of an uptick in violent crime and organised crime.

The Varatosh had reluctantly left the city, as they saw the opportunities this city presented but, the location was too dangerous to continue with trade. As in order to reach Arminius, they had to pass through the Redwood forest. So for that reason and the fact they needed every soldier for the invasion, the Varatosh left the city to it's own demise.

When the war ended Gilador Saari, the head of the Varatosh, was shocked to receive a letter from the kings of Arminius. They stated the city had fallen completely, there had been a massive flood that resulted in a large number of dead and ever since, the gangs had taken control. The kings begged for help in putting down the revolts and bandits that had formed. Gilador happily agreed and even managed to get more troops from the Carnens in order to properly quash these rebels. The price however was the Varatosh Trading Company would gain a majority stake in the city, in one swoop, they would gain control over an entire city. While the kings tried to refuse, the council fed up with their complacency agreed. This infuriated the Bellatorians however their two kings could not agree on action and so instead, Bellator refused to trade with the Varatosh or Arminius, completely isolating itself.

Over the next 36 years the Varatosh would work to control and influence the city states of Voronda. However, although they managed to gain influence over Montauban and the newly founded city of Iceni, this would also seal their doom.

There were two events that would lead to their downfall, these events would occur almost simultaneously, only three weeks between them both. These events did not occur together by design, but instead by terrible luck. They would manage to claim to cities however both were handled poorly, bringing focus over to the fact the Varatosh had claimed the cities and not simply become powerful traders within the cities, as they had presented to Voronda previously. Most importantly, they began to encroach on the Bellatorian sphere of influence, this woke a sleeping giant.

At the Gates of Iceni:

After years of subjugation, many Humans begun to flee Arminius. The Varatosh started to become more and more dictatorial, using the guards to enforce crueller and crueller laws upon the inhabitants of the city. Those that fled would found the city of Iceni.

The city of Iceni tried to desperately avoid conflict the Varatosh, however their growth meant this was almost impossible and when the city tried to open trade with them without giving them an embassy. The Varatosh attacked, sacked the city and claimed victory.

The war begun with a raid on a small village, loyal to Arminius. The city of Iceni claim it wasn't them. However, the Varatosh insisted that the Iceni had attacked them. They declared a war of defence, stating their trade empire was at risk. By the time they took the city of Iceni their soldiers were almost untethered in their rage and the city would be sacked for three days. The news of this sacking would spread far and wide and opened the eyes of the humans of Voronda to the damage that the Varatosh was causing.

Knives at Aquila:

The second event was a coup at Aquila. For several years the Varatosh had tried to get their embassy within Aquila to be reinstated, but the king of Aquila had always refused. What they didn't know was the kings sister had married one of the Kings of Bellator and so when he requested they keep the Varartosh at arms length. He gladly followed the Bellatorians requests.

The Varatosh however did not intend to wait for the king to die for their chance to regain prominence within the city. The directors of the Varatosh Trading Company decided to begin bribing members of the kings Council, paying for them to support the captain of his guard to rise in a coup. This however was revealed and the Varatosh were forced to abandon the plan and the guard captain was executed.

The Varatosh Wars

The knives at Aquila and the sack of Iceni would be the two triggers that caused the Varatosh Wars and ultimately the expulsion of the company from Voronda. These actions spurred the Bellatorians into action, as it became clear the Varatosh had morphed into a foreign occupying army, instead of the trading company it had begun as. In the eyes of the Bellatorians Iceni had shown the Varatosh weren't above the brutality expected from a fellow city state and the second had shown that Bellator itself would be a target of the Varatosh board.

Serpents Crusade:

For further details on the conflict please see the Serpents Crusade.
One of the reasons for the Varatoshs defeat, was the lack of support from Heleg Parath. For many decades, they had enjoyed privileged support from the Glaciers. However when the Serpents Crusade begun back on Heleg Parath, the kingdom had to focus on self defence, the Carnens would even recall their soldiers who were officially mercenaries, in the defence of the home land.

This was vital in the defeat of the Varatosh as they were unable to hold out until the end of the Serpents crusade.

The Hillside:

For further details on the conflict please see the Hillside.
The Varatosh had spent a decade suffering defeats, Rhodara had even been breached in a raid that almost caused the city to be lost. It was only thanks to the quick thinking of General Vuduin Carnen, that the city wasn't lost.

The Hillside was a battle following the sack of Rhodara, forces near the city of Arminius were ordered to take the city as an act of revenge, they however never reached the city. They were attacked on the hillsides of Arminius by a large force from the city. Completely unaware of the trap they were marching into, the Varatosh force were quickly defeated, setting the stage for Redhill the following year.

Red Hill:

For further details on the conflict please see the article on Redhill.
The battle of Red Hill was the final conflict in the Varatosh wars. A complete loss for the Varatosh, with their armies depleted and allies fleeing, they were unable to even mount a proper defence and within two hours, the battle was over.

As a result, the Varatosh would leave the continent and return to Heleg Parath.

Timeframe

First Dark Age - 1E 106y. 08, 16.

Belligerents

Varatosh Trading Company:

Glaciers

Carnens

Alliance of Free Humans:

Commanders

Varatsh Trading Company:

Gilador Saari
Vuduin Carnen

Alliance of Free Humans:

Demaratus Rhomei

This is part of the First Era Complete Timeline

The Varatosh Expedition

Prelude