The Unified Kingdom, and account of Arthean History following Unification
This book is compiled by Vitus Antonus, Senior Scribe of History at the Imperial Library in Mercunum, from the writings of himself and Bartol Dusept of the Imperial Library in Nareth. It describes the earliest days of Arthea following the unification and times leading up to the end of the first Ticetian King.
Introduction
The history recorded here is an account of the earliest days of Arthea from the crowning of Thomas Usindus as King Thomas through to the end of he house of Usindus and the imposition of an unpopular Ticetian monarch, Robert Lannenhart. This was a period of upheaval and change for all the kingdoms, but was also the time when trade rather than warfare became the way to wealth and glory. Robert is a much maligned king, but some of his small achievements have proved of huge benefit to our nations as we have grown.
We begin our account as King William of both Ticetia and Caldonacia is defeated in battle by Emperor Thomas II who took both the vacant crowns for himself. This had never been part of the original war plans, but was, from his perspective, an helpful and opportune happening. The Empire had entered into the war in the first place to quell the power of the Ticetians, and here they had done it fighting alongside the Caldonacians. William died in 1340, and the Imperial army marched through and conquered Caldonacia and Ticetia by the end of 1341.
Three Crowns become One Crown
To the Imperials, this was had always seemed unusual; in both the course it took and the opponent faced, it was different to the fighting that had taken place through history. Caldonacia was an occupied nation, it had been cut to pieces by the Ticetians, who had, during the build up to that war, conscripted thousands of men from that land. As the Empire had marched northwards, they had been met in battle by units of Ticetian army who were ill prepared and unenthusiastic for the fight. The also ran into small groups of deserters willing to switch sides and fight alongside the Imperials. Even prisoners of war captured from the real battles would openly turn the tables and fight on behalf of their former enemies.
When the victory was assured, Thomas was keen to see that these people were treated fairly. But at the same time there was no open heir to the throne of either Caldonacia or the defeated Ticetia. Even at the point of victory, Thomas had not considered that this situation could have arisen. He had political issues with expanding the Empire - his own nobles baulked at the idea as the size of these two northern kingdoms, especially Ticetia, would create an imbalance of power among the nations of the south. Ticetia was at least as big, in terms of population, as any two of the imperial nations. And while Caldonacia was smaller, it was not hugely so.
Another solution was needed, and one that didn't involve months of searching for the rightful heirs who could then turn out to be enemies of the Empire too. Appointing a new King for each nation, outside the normal line of succession was an option considered. The proposed solution, however, appealed to Thomas' ego, and a new kingdom was created. The only hurdle in the way was one of administration, especially in Ticetia where the nobles were past masters in political inaction and knew just how to prevent a kingdom from functioning. They had no way to raise an army of their own, but from the earliest days of the Unified nation, they established barrier after barrier to the reforms that Thomas wanted to make.
Gaining Political Control
The first attempt to bring those Ticetian nobles to Thomas' court was through a Senate, which was a simple copy of the political structure in the Empire. He established one each at Cellam and at Callow, and called upon the nobles from Count and Earl upwards to send a representative each, or to attend themselves. This chamber had a margin of success in Caldonacia, but in Ticetia the thing became a place of argument and brawl as debaters disagreed with each other, it seemed that Ticetians had an eye for sending a debater with physical attributes rather than skills as a politician. Eventually, by late 1343, the Senates were relegated back to status of the traditional Feudal courts in the manner that has existed for centuries. Nobles became courtiers, and appeared when they were needed, and the business of the King carried by a leader in his absence, or by the King himself whenever he could.
All through this process, Thomas was slowly trying to change the political balance in Ticetia by picking out and removing nobles and replacing them with his own trusted men. It had become difficult to identify who the worst troublemakers were. The nobles were crafty and subtle, and when plots were exposed they closed ranks and would not openly give each other away. And during inquisitions each Ticetian noble seemed eager to please and keen to help the new King. They would remain helpful and subservient until real information was demanded, or real deeds needed to be done.
Where such difficult nobles were replaced, the result was often less successful than would have been hoped. The feudal chain requires the obedience of those in office in the next rank down, and in Ticetia this was seldom forthcoming. As the King himself had experienced, the nobles found they could too easily be thwarted by a consistent failure to comply from all the nobles beneath. While this mess continued, the King began discussions with his Imperial friends and with the Caldonacians about the terms of a new constitution that would lay out the powers afforded to each of these nobles in this new kingdom.
A Land of Discovery
While King Thomas was pushing through his senate reforms, other discoveries were taking place in Arthea. There have been many towers, for example, discovered across Arthea that were buried by land movements or volcanic activity during The Great Disaster, and many have similar traits or had architecture that made them difficult to excavate. One such discovery was made by Dwarfish miners in 1344.
The dwarfs had spent the previous seventy five years constructing a new delve at a place they named Garezkh, which is in the south-eastern spur of the mountain range north of The Bemiris Khinat Delve, and south of the Elfish land of Segellian. The new delve was founded by dwarfs from Bemiris following surveys of the area which showed that the region was rich with natural minerals, especially copper ore and some nickel. During the digging to expose these ores they stumbled across a pre-disaster tower. They knew that the tower probably sat above a site of archaeological interest, probably a town or other pre-disaster settlement because they had encountered similar constructions before. What set this apart, however, was the damage to the lower sections of the tower, making excavation impossible without destroying the exposed upper sections.
What made the discovery more interesting than other similar pre-disaster towers is that this exposed top chamber still carried a faint aura of magic, and its magical seals were still in place. It was probably this magic, the Dwarfs surmised, that had held the top of the tower together over the long years since the disaster occurred. Unusually for dwarfs, they decided that they didn't have enough skill to deal with this tower efficiently. They were very keen to find any treasures that lay hidden inside, but the weak strength of the magic gave the site a special status. They wanted to be sure they could recover treasure rather than destroy it all. They looked further afield, and called upon their human trade partners in Ticetia to help.
When King Thomas received the request, he considered it as a formal diplomatic request, Ticetia had experienced good trade relations with the Bemiris Khinat Delve since the earliest days of human settlement of Ticetia, and they had remained good friends to both the Empire and Ticetia during the recent conflict. He dispatched scribes and historians from The Pale Flame immediately to help. With the correct anti-magic protections set up, the Ticetians soon had the tower opened.
The full details of what was inside were not fully recorded, but reports at the time suggested that some kind of monsters dwelt within, and the dwarfs struggled in their attempt to secure the building. They eventually achieved it, and the mysteries of the towers contents were exposed. There were many small items, especially small trinkets and jewellery, which interested the dwarfs immensely. There was also a set of trinkets that had significance to the human historians working here. A fee was agreed that allowed for the items to be owned by Ticetia, along with some of the surviving furniture (including a cabinet intended to display the artefacts that were recovered) and even some notes that had been found among the treasures in the tower chambers. All the items were eventually put on display in Cellam, where stories about the items were soon invented.
There are three interesting artefacts in the collection. These, as far as we are aware, can still be viewed in Cellam, although the museum is not often opened to the public. The items are a helmet, a ring and a metal staff.
The helmet is made of mithral, and is inset with gold and silver designs. The dwarfs, it seemed, did not find the style of the inlaid metalwork appealing, which is odd considering that the inlays are partly gold. The metal of the helm is unusual in that it is beaten to be very thin, so thin that it could not have been used to provide a protection against weapon blows. It would be far too weak.
The ring is a simple band made of a dark metal. It is darker than iron, but the dwarfs reported that it was very strong. The ring held the faintest trace of a magic it once held, but which has dissipated and the nature of that magic could not be discerned.
It was the metal staff that raised the most eyebrows in the discovery. It is smooth and highly polished with no mark or scratch upon it. According to the reports of those that carried it back to Ticetia, it is very lightweight and feels unusually cold to the touch. Like the ring it is made of a dark metal, but is a little lighter in colour. Set into the end of the staff is piece of polished quartz, too small to be valuable (it is little more than the size of a man's thumb) but cut and cleaned in an interesting shape.
The true nature of these items remains unknown. Any magic they held is long since departed, and none can say if they have any sleeping power wrapped within them. The Pale Flame are responsible for looking after these items and for keeping them secure. King Thomas, it is said, found them all quite fascinating, but had no interest in them beyond their curiosity.
Constitutional Changes
None of the Arthean nations had previously had their constitution written down. The closest that existed was a set of decrees in the Empire that had defined the work of the Senate. And those decrees had taken decades to be right. Ticetian and Caldonacian constitution was at best ad-hoc, and the contract between the King and his nobles, and between nobles and their subordinates, was declared by a promise of loyalty and fealty. This system continued to work in Caldonacia, where the nobles were keen to ensure their nation continued and worked successfully. But, as has been described, the Ticetian nobility would swear allegiance in one breath and be muttering deceit in the next.
By 1345 the King had agreed a way with his trusted senior dukes and princes about how best to deliver control across this huge and wide spread new nation. Unfortunately such an agreement needed teeth too, there was no other way to bring the Ticetians into line, a necessity that would lead to problems later on. In addition to struggles to control the nobles in Ticetia, it was also clear that the peasantry, too, were very close to out and out rebellion, and not just in Ticetia; this was happening across Caldonacia and in pockets around the Imperial kingdoms. Whatever the King did, it also needed to curtail the peasants.
The task of looking at the constitutional arrangements was handed to Leonus Antaurus, the Prince of Antaurus who was well versed in legal matters. He brought together all the fears that Thomas had, and all the pressure felt by the south by the belligerence of the Ticetian nobles, and wrapped it into a series of decrees. These documents became Royal Decrees, signed by the Kings hand and delivered at the court of Antaurus in Mercunum where the seat of the Empire had been for centuries, and where the new King had set his throne. The decrees were immediately prepared for delivery to each of the kingdoms. Once the decrees were made, Thomas headed north to Cellam, where he was prepared to face the Ticetian nobles directly.
The detail of the new constitutional changes were not all that thrilling when looked back upon, although the nobles of Ticetia certainly felt uncomfortable under their new stricter constraints. The peasantry, of course, felt the changes immediately.
To address the threat of uprisings, powers of the local Barons and Viscounts was extended. Not only were they empowered to impose a strict rule of law, it was demanded of them. Imperial citizens could have been hardest hit, they had not been subjected to this kind of tyranny since the days of Emperor Dominus. There were additional short term doctrines imposed about limiting mass gatherings and banning secret societies. The only peasant organisations allowed during the whole of 1346 and the spring and summer of 1347 were professional trade organisations. Military training was also brought in, peasants were given military instruction in the use of pike and spear as a way of indoctrinating their thinking and soaking up their time outside of their working lives.
Despite giving the Barons extra powers, a close eye needed to be kept on the Barons. The roles of the Earl and Count was reviewed and they were given more control over who ran which barony and viscountcy, and control over where barony borders could be drawn. As long as the tax take could support it, they could have as many viscounts and barons as they liked, and they were free create baronies wherever and however they saw fit.
Prior to the decrees, there had been no constitutional powers granted to the monarch of any of the nations - it was assumed that they held absolute power, but there were traditions and responsibilities across all kingdoms that means that this didn't line up. This was now made utterly clear - the decrees ensured that the King's power was without question. And he alone was granted the power to appoint all Dukes and Princes, allowing him full control over who was to join his court and who was not. Prior to the change the feudal Princes often ran the show in their Imperial nations, and now for the first time we saw princes assigned to control Ticetia and Caldonacia, just as had been done in the Imperial Kingdoms for many years. To emphasise his control, the King took the Ticetian seat for himself, hoping it could be used to control his wayward new principality.
As the changes bit deep, the political landscape changed. Political patronage became the order of the day. If a Baron did not provide the necessary bond, then his Earl or Count would simply drop him from office. Being a Baron became very tough. They needed to control their peasantry and get them producing income, without which they would lose their barony, and there could be a lottery over who would come in and take over. This was exactly the effect that the Prince of Antaurus had intended when the decrees were drafted, getting the Barons and Earls working hard to maintain control was a solution to the lack of influence. A new profession turned up too - a ruthless Baron that would take over a barony for a year or two, force more and more output from the peasants, squeezing their income to produce the baron's bond, then finally leaving - resigning or withholding any bond long enough to be relieved of duty. They became the leeches of society.
Decent into Civil Unrest
For a while, the clampdown applied in Ticetia kept a lid on the peasant revolts, but there were still political problems in Ticetia. The King was determined not to turn Ticetia into a simple dictatorship - with such a widespread kingdom his time was needed elsewhere, and while there were several potential governors he could appoint in Ticetia, the people he really trusted were all based in the former Empire.
With all the changes that had been applied to the feudal system, and the new constitutional declarations, the King's court at Cellam once again became a political battleground. Throughout 1347 and 1348, the nobles worked to suffocate the work of the court in the running of the kingdom. The campaign, it now emerges years after the event, was run by the dukes of Aberenent and Essonlow, but they were fully supported and assisted in this by the Earls of Camarth, Coupring and Briddger. Their strategy was just to disrupt court activities, to slow any decision process to filibuster and delay proceedings rather than to cause out and out mayhem. Their co-ordinated activities began slowly and gathered pace as they gathered more support.
King Thomas spent far too much time in this troublesome court, attempting to exert his control over the kingdom. He replaced the Duke of Essonlow, and shortly afterwards the dukes of Briddger and Coupring with his own men from the Empire, but it seems this had no effect, he'd taken action too late, and the mutiny continued.
In the spring of 1349, the King made a conscious choice to turn his attention back to his broader Kingdom. He'd spent three years in Ticetia, fighting for control, and the pressure was beginning to take it toll. The royal entourage packed itself together and in mid autumn, the King left for Mercunum, intending to be back in early spring. In reality the coming events ensured that he would not return. He left control of his court to his deputy, the Prince of Ticetia who was drawn from his Imperial ranks, but who had Ticetian noble blood, Edan Barroman. Barroman was a strong character, and had the full authority of the King in his absence, but faced all the same problems. He sympathised a little with the Ticetian cause, too, but even that did not bring him sympathy in the royal court.
Early in 1350 a couple of peasant riots occurred around the Cellam area, which were quashed by local guards, but the Prince was forced to review his security arrangements. The problem was that his security team comprised only Ticetians, save for two Imperial captains. The riots were squashed at the end of springtime, but returned in earnest as the year drew on. When a riot broke out around the prince's dwelling, there was some fighting in the streets, and the Prince's own guards, thin on number, were overrun. With the crowd forcing their way into his home, Barroman fled taking his family and his most trusted guards with him. As the riot continued and the Prince's home was ransacked, the Prince and his entourage fled through the night towards Ostbrook. They stopped at a small village, Byfield, early in the morning where the group collected themselves and decided what to do next.
A review of the remaining guards the Prince had with him showed there were too few people with him to force his way back into Cellam, and a decision was taken to retreat further. Messages were sent to the Empire, while a move to Woodvale was proposed, as the (new) Duke of Essonlow and the (new) Earl of Briddger could provide suitable security to ensure the Prince's protection. They also tried to ensure that the Prince was properly represented at the court in Cellam, but the failure to establish the Kings authority was turning the court into a farce.
Ticetian Clampdown
The retreat of the Prince had placed the King in a difficult position. He'd tried to use politics to gain consensus and to rule the land with a even hand, the way the Empire had been run for centuries. Caldonacia had responded well too, but in Ticetia that plan was in tatters. Reluctantly, the King called the Imperial Army into action once again, and a detachment of 100 troops was sent north to aid the Prince in re-establishing the rule of law. This was not a decision the King took lightly - this was duress at a time when he wanted his kingdom to be prosperous and to grow. It was also a slow turnaround. The troops could not leave until after the winter, and while they rode hard it was still four months after the Prince had been driven out of Cellam that the forces to return him to power arrived.
The ride back to the capital proved to be easier with the troops around - this was not like the invasion a few years before, as there was no resistance and no pitched battles. The Prince's diary, however, shows how unpopular this made him. He felt as though the entire city was watching as he arrived, and he thought he could hear the mutterings of rebellion as he rode in.
His home, placed off to the side of Ticetia square was ruined. It was a prime location, but had been ransacked. Of all the aspects of the retreat from Cellam, this appears to have hurt him the most. It changed him, and refocussed his attention down onto the Ticetian political system. He was now in a position where change was definitely needed. The Prince stayed in an inn overnight, and in the morning, with his entourage of Imperial troops, he arrived at the council chamber in the Ticetian palace. He summoned his Dukes immediately, and any Earls or Marquises that were in the city, he was in no mood to be toyed with, and had the Earl of Lampley publicly flogged when he arrived half an hour late to a council chamber.
The meeting he convened was about the imposition of power and control, and was particularly brutal. Surrounded by the Imperial troops, the court met to discuss their orders of business, how the Kings will was to be achieved and who was going to carry the burden of the costs incurred in restoring the Prince's home. His first decree cut right to the heart of this problem. And there was no debate - no joint decision - the court were instructed to be silent while the kings will was delivered.
The Duke of Aberenent, one of the proponents of the filibuster, and long-suspected ringleader, was singled out to suffer the burden. The decree effectively confiscated his home, very near to the Prince's. The Prince had long wondered how a Duke, that did not need a residence in Cellam should have such a fine home - one that is bigger than that of the Prince himself. Well he did no more, in recompense the decree granted him the ownership of the Prince's old home, and also imposed a small fee on the Duke that would be paid to the Prince that very day. Such a decree would normally need consent from the court - but on this occasion, as the Duke of Aberenent could not convey his feelings (he had, by all reports, turned bright purple with rage), there would be no need. This was the Kings will.
Having been caught unaware by riots in his last attempt to live in the Ticetian capital, the Prince made further decrees. Each was loomed over by the presence of Imperial troops at the back of the chamber, and hence were agreed to by all present. The troops were officially in town in an advisory capacity. They would patrol the streets in the area around the Prince's new home. They would also take over responsibility for security of the city - appointing locals guardsmen and training them up to provide proper police cover. There had been two more riots since the Prince had been absent, and this was something that they were finally attempting to deal with.
The existing militia force were to be reinforced - they were also being placed in control of, and would be held responsible for, any riots that occurred within the boundaries of the city. The prince wanted to go further; he was prepared to appoint several dukes and earls to be overseers of this riot control, and force them to be present too if rioting happened. Despite the duress being applied to the court, he was persuaded that this might not be a useful assistance to the militia. The militia's role was also to be extended out into all the surrounding suburban areas and into the farmlands and villages around the city.
The final step of his decrees of that morning saw the prince also apply a brand new levy on each of the Dukes. This was an extra tax burden to cover the costs of increased security of the Prince, the Prince's home and the Palace. By this point in the proceedings, those nobles present were beginning to find their voices and debate a little more confidently - but the looming guards ensured there was no dissent. The decree was accepted by the court.
After this meeting (before lunchtime) the Prince retired from the court to inspect his new home. At first the Prince considered himself to have achieved a victory against these nobles, but it was short lived. There were to be repercussions as the nobles passed on their extra tax burden and sought to wring even more gold from the peasants at the bottom of the chain. The oppressed masses, who were already prepared to riot, were now even more keen on the task, and the Ticetian nobles began to renew their acquaintances with an old profession - their assassins.
1350s - effect of the clampdown, describe more riots, the assassinations of the Duke of Essonlow and the Earls of Heddonvale and Vegonfletch. 1350s - the imperial troops being stretched, the return of filibuster in court. 1354-58 - the health of the king deteriorating - died in Dusemot 1358. King Marcus takes over 1359 - Marcus makes a call to the elves to ask for help to mediate, they say no. 1362 - raids on the east start 1363 - beginning of the defensive wall building especially for coastal towns and cities commenced - it meant a tax hike for Caldonacia and the Empire. 1366 - Ticetian unrest bubbles up again, they had also been working at Caldonacia, which started to suffer similar problems in the west. Taxation rises also generated sympathy in the Empire, some now thought as the Ticetians did. 1375 - prep for civil war - increases in raids and no action taken, increases in taxes but no protection. 1377 - civil war starts