10 - Gochanrall & Burn

In TY 1139, Falran Steeleye became the ruler of Koledariel, following the death of his brother Kole. Karthran had died 10 years earlier, and Kole had continued to raise Koledariel's prestige around the world. Upon ascending to the throne, Kole had appointed his younger brother as his seneschal (apparently against Falran's protestations that he would be unable to adequately fill the role). Ulfscar, a surprisingly spry 76 at this point, continued in his role as advisor and envoy at the Koledarian court. Falran had spent the intervening years training and building the Koledarian military although it had never been clear who it was designed to attack or defend against. To many, Falran's position as leader of the military had simply been an appeasement gesture by Karthran to his youngest brother following their rivalry in the years immediately following their father's death.

There is, however, another suggestion that is usually dismissed among all but the most dedicated of Quilters: someone knew a war was coming. I hesitate to delve into conspiracy theories, but this particular theory has intrigued me for a number of years. Shortly after Karthran's ascension to Koledariel's throne, and before any announcements had been made regarding his siblings, the newly crowned King Karthran was supposedly visited by a person or persons unknown. Some suggest that this may have been the same envoy who spoke to Ulfscar and Drakscar, but the identities of all the envoys in question, indeed the very records of these meetings, are nowhere to be found in the archives that remain from the period. In any case, there has been tangential evidence that Karthran had planned to exile Uthreya (who went into an almost voluntary exile in any case) and was going to place his brothers in out of the way posts in order to avoid treachery.

The theory goes that Karthran was warned that he had to keep his brothers close if he wanted any remnant of his family's power to continue. It is further suggested that Falran was also visited by the same emissary and that the idea of a standing military was given to him at this meeting. Considering that there were no direct external threats to Koledariel, the concept of a standing military was unusual. One must remember that, at the time, Koledariel's closest neighbors were the avowedly peace-loving Zekalah to the South, the avowedly peace-loving (but obsessively kelptomaniacal) Kender to the Southwest, and the unorganized groups of Kafre'en to the Northwest. None of these groups posed a threat to the new nation, which had historically been a source of military might, rather than a place fearing it. The supposed fear of Drakscar returning in force also seemed odd in light of his having left with a mere 300 men.

In any case, and for whatever reason it was formed, Koledariel's standing military is the only reason the entire nation did not get decimated in TY 1146. Falran was now 71 years old, Ulfscar was an impressive 93, and the heir to the throne, Falran's eldest son Falscar, was already 50. The attack came from within the nation, and to say it was unexpected is an understatement.

Prior to the uprising, there had been no large occurrences of civil unrest since the second year of Karthran's reign in TY 1113. Both Kole and Falran made use of Ulfscar's diplomatic standing among the non-human races to great effect, and Ulfscar only seemed to gain respect as he grew older. Indeed, there are no less than three reports of Ulfscar traveling personally to deal with minor squabbles in the months prior to the uprising.

Of course, calling the war that began in TY 1146 an 'uprising' is really a misnomer. While the source was initially unknown, events revealed that the infiltration/invasion was orchestrated by the creature known as Jälestus. Calling these events anything other than an invasion does not do justice to the loyal people of Koledariel. Evidence indicates that the various groups of Koledariel had mostly come to feel pride in their nation, pride that they were gaining power on the international stage, and proud that they belonged to the legacy of Uthran Steeleye.

Regardless, there were some among the populace, particularly among certain orcish and goblinoid tribes, who had never fully adjusted to the new regime. These groups seem to have been chosen out by Jälestus as the first agitators. When the chaos began, it began near these tribes. Initially, it was thought that the trouble that started was simply interclan rivalry, but it soon became apparent that the troubles would have much further reaching effects on Koledariel.

Based on the size of these riots, Falran did the logical thing, committing his military to quell the uprising before it could spread. Unfortunately, this left much of the border unsecured, and that was where the true opponent struck.

Jälestus knew that if he could arrange for Koledariel's loyal troops to leave their most secured positions, they would be both less threatening when he moved his troops in and they would be more vulnerable out of their fortified bases. This worked well, particularly in light of the undead army he had somehow snuck into the Asurisian Waste, where they could attack from the relatively undefended South of Koledariel.

This worked well, but it would seem Jälestus underestimated his opponents. The Koledarian military was strong, well-trained, and sizeable, leading to many more instances of the invading army being held back than seems to have been anticipated. Instead of conquering the entire nation, Jälestus was only able to capture a part of the country after about two years of campaigning. it was a large part, but only a part nonetheless. This would, of course, formally become Gochanrall in 1148 TY (Full details about the campaign from Koledariel's side are in Dandrick Lone's masterful analysis of the conflict, "The Gochanrall Offensive".).

Oddly, the creation of Gochanrall led to a period of renewed national pride in Koledariel, which officially became Dofmariel in 1149 TY. The same country under a new name has thrived in the intervening centuries despite the isolationist and reliably cruel Gochanrall beside it.

Helping Dofmariel's fortunes were the Kafre'en city-states, which were more than happy to buy the foodstuffs and ores shipped out of the new country. For Salinar and Lawesee, this was a chance to diversify their sourcing for grains and other foods, forcing the more fertile Marken to lower costs on the food they had been providing their neighbours (Salinar has since become largely independent from a food perspective thanks to the rise of farming in that area.).

The Eastern Kafre'en states have prospered in the years since, as has Dofmariel, but that brings us to Western Kafre'en, and the founding of Burn and Atrenes. Of course, one cannot speak of one without the other.

Burn came first, seemingly out of nowhere. The rise of the infamous Marwolaeth was swift and brutal, leaving the communities of Western Kafre'en pillaged and burning in his wake. With his own undead army and knightly orders behind him, Marwolaeth was able to quickly conquer the tribes and villages in the Western part of Kafre'en before settling into a stronghold at the head of the Bay of Tears.

This stronghold came to be known as Burn in 1247 TY, and a miserable place it is with slavery rampant and hatred the watchword of the government. Burn is barely recognized on the world stage, but Marwolaeth doesn't seem to care, interacting with few and entertaining fewer at his court.

That leaves us with Atrenes, which has been called "the City of Refugees". While there had long been small towns and villages on the small Dagger Peninsula, the area became vastly more populated as those able to flee Marwolaeth's forces converged on the area. While those who could afford it booked passage on ships for Marken and abroad, the vast majority of the citizenry of Western Kafre'en settled in and around the Dagger Peninsula, with Atrenes becoming the official "city" of the area in 1252 TY.

What's strange about Atrenes, and raises questions that no one can seem to answer, is how the city was paid for once building became the choice for those in the area. The monied few from the area had long since fled, but somehow the citizens of Atrenes were able to afford stone and other building materials along with foodstuffs from abroad after it became clear Marwolaeth's forces would not be pursuing them further East. Atrenes is far from a wealthy city, but its leadership is funded by someone with deep pockets (See the rather conspiracy-minded but intriguing text "Atrenes: Funding the Unfundable" by Laster Maddock for more details.).

NEXT: 11 - Llafwanwyr