Chronological History Part 2, 1000 until the Fall of Caldonacia in 1217
1026 The grip of the empire over the kingdoms of the north-west was becoming out of hand. There was not enough unity to co-ordinate their resistance efforts, and the succession of a Emperor Marcus Amastus in 1017 had made matters much worse. This new ruler had begun to insist that it was his empires right to govern the north. He had use of both military and economic pressure to keep the region as weak as he could; he controlled the majority of the food supply and manipulated taxes to maintain his control.
By this point, four of the north-western kingdoms were close to economic collapse. The situation was dire, but somehow in secret, the thirteen nations of the north managed to muster an army. They kept the units in small groups and out of sight of the empire, and then in one series of assaults they attacked several of the empire’s strategic strongholds throughout the north-west. Taken completely by surprise the empire’s troops were beaten back a considerable way before any help could arrive. The regions of the north-west rallied quickly behind their liberating army, and managed to form an effective defence. The empires troops had not been tested in battle for 45 years, and their training did not seem enough to cope with the freedom fighters of the north. By using a combination of guerilla tactics to cut off supplies to the troops and surprise attacks on the empires installations, the liberators managed to push the occupiers out of the region entirely over a period of two months. After this, a prolonged and bitter campaign of assault began by the south.
1029 The fighting in the north was having an impact on both the regions of the north-east and north-west. The food supplies of the south had been cut off, and the realities of economic hardship had landed on the kingdoms of the north-west. The north-east had also been using the food supplies of the south, and they had suffered threats from the south for years that they would be turned into another arm of the empire. They began sending troops to aid the defence of the north-west, and helped with some food supplies of their own, although these were limited.
1032 The war had dragged on; the empire seemed to be getting the upper hand. There were now just eleven kingdoms of the north-west, two had succumbed to economic hardship, one was the southernmost of the kingdoms, and its territory had been the battleground for much of the fighting which had taken place over the previous five years. At this point, the remaining kings of the north came together and signed a treaty forming a council of the monarchs. Their aim was to work as closely as possible to defend against attacks of the empire, but the end product was to form a single nation from the eleven kingdoms. The traders of the south were unknowingly assisting the war effort in the north too. Food was once again being exported to the north-east, despite the decrees of Emperor Marcus, and much of this was finding its way to the north-western kingdoms, this strengthened the north, and made a much tougher opponent for the empire.
1040 It soon became known that precious gems had been found in the mountains of the north-west, and that mining had begun. The warring between the north and the south had become less, and while occasionally flaring up, much of the fighting had been replaced with military posturing. With no quick success, the empire did not seem to have the desire to commit the troops needed to conquer the north, and with missing mineral imports such as metal ores and oil, they were struggling to equip fresh recruits to their army.
1041 The Emperor Victor Amastus' position became almost untenable, and he began to lose control of his own empire. He had followed the policy of his father, Emperor Marcus, and given strict instructions that no trade whatsoever was to take place with the north-west kingdoms. The edict was intended to support the war effort, but caused resentment among the traders and nobles with large trading interests. The loss of profits resulting from the embargo had been bearable for many long years, and the traders were willing to bear that in the hope that a victory in war with the north would open new and exciting markets. And it was possible to survive in business using the higher priced and lower quality raw materials from the empires own mines. But that changed once the precious gem markets were denied to them by their own ruler. Now the empires traders went directly against their emperor’s proclamations; giving up a small profit to aid the war effort was bearable, but giving up huge profits was just never on the agenda for the rich businessmen. The authorities in the empire tried to enforce the trade ban, but the effort was futile. The emperor was forced to back-track over his war plans and over his trade embargo. The real power-base in the empire had moved from the emperors shoulders to the free-trade world.
Emperor Victus never recovered politically from this defeat to his own politicians. He spent the rest of his reign playing political games to re-establish his power, but this was very inward looking. By the time he died in 1059, the kingdoms of the north-west had risen considerably in power.
1050 Ten years of diamond mining by the north had turned them from a down trodden colony of the south to a rich and powerful land. The ruling council in the north-west nation signed a final set of treaties, and declared its lands as a single nation. They were to continue to be ruled in the same manner they had for twenty years; by a council made up of the kings of the eleven realms that were coming together. The name they chose from legend: Ticetia, which was reputedly a mighty nation, and a powerful empire before the disaster. The choice of name was intended to be of concern to the empire of the south it was selected to show grand ideas about the size and reach of this new nation.
1052 The north had grown considerably in power; the gem trade had made them wealthier than at any point in their history, and with wealth came power. The north suggested first a formal ceasefire in the long running war (in which there had been no fighting for over ten years) and then a formal peace. In the empire, the war had been largely forgotten. The empire was ruled now by a puppet now, his court filled with the rich who controlled the real power of the crown. It was in the interests of business for the war to be ended, so that was what happened, the opinion of the once-mighty emperor counted for nothing.
1059 The empire entered a period of upheaval. The Emperor Victus died early in the year he had been suffering with an illness and succumbed over the winter. His place was taken by his wealthiest son, Gravus Amastus, who was both a noble and the ruler of a business dynasty which made him wealthy. He was unsuccessful in seizing control of the empire from the rich, despite his attempts to use military force. He finally fell victim to the power-mad court circles, and died from the effects of a poison dose in 1060. He had no natural heir, and had yet to follow Imperial convention and name his heir. The empire’s rich traders began to squabble about the succession.
1063 The empire finally settled on a new leader. Having had eight new emperors over three years, each dying in different shady circumstances, the military finally seized control in a coup. Taking the imperial court by surprise, the royal guard surrounded the court and killed all the nobles inside. The man who had been chief-of-staff to both Victus and Gravus, General Cassius Dumus, assumed command of the empire, and imposed martial law. A search was commenced for heirs of the house of Amastus, and the imperial monarch’s line was restored in 1065 when Dominus Amastus, cousin to Gravus, was crowned Emperor Dominus II. Some persuading by the chief-of-staff was needed before Dominus would accept the responsibility, but a promise of military protection was enough to get the position filled.
1078-1122 This period saw one of the greatest upheavals since the Great Disaster. A plague started somewhere in Ticetia and slowly spread throughout the north. It killed all indiscriminately, and could not be cured by clerical powers. The most the clerics could do was lessen the effects, and provide a little comfort for the sufferers. It claimed the lives of tens of thousands before it spread into the southern empire, around 1100. Its effect in the south was greater, as it caught hold in the emperors own household in 1119, killing Emperor Victus II and most of his family. The only surviving heir to the crown was a two year old baby girl, Eliciana Amastus, the previous emperor’s niece. This youngster was named Empress, but her coronation was put off until she was 21 years of age. Power was assumed in the meantime by the senior politicians at court, who were led by the former Emperor's closest advisor, who somehow managed to avoid the plagues effects.
1098 An army of orcs and bugbears attacked from the mountains of northern Ticetia, the area they attacked was ravaged by the plague, and there were too few men to defend the towns. As a result, the invaders captured many towns, and despoiled much in the southern marches of North Ticetia. They held the area for nearly a year before they were finally beaten back by a compliment of troops from South Ticetia.
1127 In this year a successful assassination on Empress Eliciana and her steward headed a takeover of power in the empire by Hastus Cuellet, a rich merchant. He took the throne by force, and used his funds to buy any further support he needed from established nobles. The succession into power by this man was ruinous to the empire. His trade dealings as Emperor were not carried out for the Empire's benefit; he sought only to line his own pocket. Then he squandered taxation income on more and more outlandish ideas. He ensured, for instance, that every room in his huge castle was lit by magical light, and that all windows were framed with gold, silver or platinum depending on which wing they looked out from. Some of the magic sects became very wealthy from this, as did the dealers in precious metals, but the empire was bled dry.
1135 The now well established north-eastern kingdoms followed the successful principle of the north-west. The kings of the land had no real power in their international community the empires weakening caused little impact here, it was Ticetia that was the big power in the lands, and everything these small kingdoms did took them into account. The assumed that, to become a power in the lands, they would have to band together, yet they did not have the natural resources that Ticetia enjoyed, but they were still willing to try. The four kings signed a treaty of co-operation, and declared themselves as a single nation, ruling jointly using their four royal houses in council. Just as Ticetia had done, they selected a memorable nation name from before the Disaster, calling themselves Caldonacia.
1140-1142 Thirteen years of mismanagement had brought the Southern Empire to a state of virtual collapse. The effects were felt far and wide across the realms. Ticetia was suffering badly; it was still relying on food imports from the Empire to be certain that there was enough food for their entire population. By 1140, it had decided that a change of Emperor was needed, and was planning its campaign when it was contacted in secret by the legions of the Empire. The military generals were usually wholly loyal to their Emperor, but matters had gone too far. Riots were breaking out across the Empire, and it was these legions that were relied upon to quell the disturbances, often brutally. The generals were now planning to overthrow their own monarch, their justification being his illegitimate claim to the throne. But they needed help, they couldn’t guarantee the loyalty of all their own troops, and formed a pact with the Ticetians. When the war started in late 1141, it was very short lived. The Emperor was killed by his own legions when he entered the battlefield. The ruler of the Empire fell to the legions, and in spring 1142 the generals of this vast army neatly divided the Empire amongst themselves, to rule as kings, supported by their own military units. It took seven more years to restore the food export levels that matched the old Empire at its peak.
1152 Corruption at the highest levels in Caldonacia brought down this young nation. The popularity of the council had been tested two years previously when the popular hero Grenville D’Achier was jailed. Grenville gained fame and fortune, it was claimed, by defeating a whole mountainside of giants, and prevented a giant-kind invasion of the outlying areas of Caldonacia. He was accused of starting a bar-room brawl where four people had died, the chief prosecution evidence being the account of the bar owner. The council wanted to hang him at first, but they feared a backlash and rioting from the peasants, and so imprisoned him, they seemed unwilling to take difficult decisions.
One of Caldonacias less scrupulous merchants, Bruan Havers, saw an opportunity and rallied a support for Grenville; he quickly became an outspoken critic of the council. He rode from town to town and city to city drumming up the peasant; he even hired a small team of Bards to help him pass on his message. He managed to falsify enough stories of the council’s activities that the peasants soon fell into line behind him. He was well supported politically when in Siphus (the fourth month) of this year; he took fifty armed men and burst into the council chambers. He killed all the councillors in cold blood, and spread more stories of council corruption and of a just end to their regime. There was no political opposition when Havers declared himself King Bruan of Caldonacia that same afternoon. The change in Caldonacia was immediate; the first step was the use of the military to quell any uprisings and opposition before it got out of hand, this Bruan did well. From their his ability as a leader meant he soon became a powerful dictator. Over the next thirty years, he proved himself to be a very capable and competent ruler. He used his ruthless soldiers to enforce order, and turned his lands into smallholding and forcing farmers and peasants to work the land. The effects of the Great Disaster seemed to have been falling away from the land, and a fresh approach to farming had meant that food production was now more than adequate for the population of the new country. Bruan's Caldonacia could now rival the south with in exports of cheap food to Ticetia.
1159 The price of grain had plummeted in Ticetia, following Caldonacias export policy. The Southern Kingdoms called for a meeting with the King of Caldonacia, but Bruan refused. In response, he demanded that the south get their exports out of HIS market. His hand had been played he clearly wanted the trade with Ticetia for himself, and the way his farming policy was handled meant he could keep up supplies of very cheap grain for a long, long time.
1161 Within two years of the demands made by Bruan, the south had lost all ability to compete with him for Ticetias food market. In fact, the change was so whole that the south had just stopped producing huge quantities of food, the people had moved out of food and into new markets. Wizardry became popular in the south once again, all out of sight of the peasantry, of course, and the kingdoms explored new ways of generating revenue. Because of this fundamental change in the south, the price of grain in Ticetias markets rocketed. Only Caldonacia was now capable of supplying the food that the Ticetians had become used to enjoying, and they manipulated the price. Even Ticetia’s home-produced grain became very expensive. They had still not managed to produce enough food for their own people, and the situation was about to become critical.
1163 Famine started to take its toll in Ticetia, there was not enough money to buy Caldonacias food at the prices they were demanding, and Ticetians were beginning to starve. King Bruans response to Ticetia was to lay the blame his own traders, yet he defended them by saying they were only trying to make an honest living. At the same time he stepped in with gifts of food directly to the Ticetian ruling council to distribute as they wished. He now had what he was after all along control of both Caldonacia and Ticetia.
1173 This year saw a serious attempt on King Bruans life. His ruthless style of leadership, whilst proving difficult but popular with the peasants in his own country, did not keep his neighbours happy. He had a stranglehold over Ticetia; his military might was far greater, and he held control of their food supply. The Southern Kingdoms were too disunited to form any effective opponent, either in commerce or open war, and so they took the only other remaining course of action that they could see. They hired the services of Ticetias assassins, who had picked up a reputation in the underworld for being efficient and successful. The attempt on Bruans life was well planned and well executed, but it failed at the last hurdle. The King was to be murdered in his bed while asleep, but on the night in question, there was a fire at the palace in a completely unconnected incident, and the murderer was interrupted as he moved across Bruans bedchamber. He was involved in a fight with Bruans personal bodyguard, who had come to rouse the King and move him to safety. There was a short fight, and the assassin was killed without completing his task.
1174 In his wrath, King Bruan began an offensive against Ticetia. He had traced his assassin, and following a short series of diplomatic messages, which eventually ended with Ticetia being forced to accept responsibility for the assassination attempt. Caldonacia halved their free grain support to Ticetia to try and squeeze the nation and keep them weak. The Southern Kingdoms tried to intervene with grain from their own fields, but they struggled to increase their production, and Caldonacia successfully used its military might to close down trade routes between the south and the north. The next twenty years saw the worst of conditions in Ticetia for 150 years as the population slowly starved.
1191 King Bruan died, and his throne was assumed by his son Bruan II. Bruan II had a slightly different outlook to his father; he was not an accomplished economist or a merchant, but he was an expert tactician, and delighted in military accomplishment. He overhauled the countries military structures, and left the economies of his country in the hands of the men his father had trained.
1193 The mining operations in Ticetia uncovered a buried castle and part of an old settlement. The ruins were pre-disaster, and were unusual because of the size of the surviving structures. Many similar finds had been made, but this was larger than any to date. When the miners investigated the site, it became clear that the spirits of the former occupants were still hanging around, and several miners were killed. As the Ticetians were in the grip of famine, they were unable to investigate it at the time. The place was sealed up, and the dead left alone.
1200 Caldonacia tested their military might by invading the Northern Isle. This outpost of the north had been first colonised at the same time as Caldonacia, but poor farming conditions had kept the population there low. It was not until the effects of the Great Disaster had receded enough for the farms to produce enough food that their population had begun to grow. Between the years 1130 and 1200, the number of people living on the isle had risen dramatically, and it was now very populous.
1206 The first prominent contact between the elves of the western forest and the Ticetians is recorded against this year. The elves began helping the human population overcome their farming difficulties by helping improve farming methods and helping improve tools. The elves also provided a safe trade route between Ticetia and the Southern Kingdoms through this difficult time. The Southern Kings did not trust the elves, however, and relations were never good between them.
Caldonacia focussed more of its attention on the south now, thinking that they held power over Ticetia by controlling their food supply and kept in a continual state of weakness. They were also preoccupied by talks between the southern Kings, who were already preparing for a war from the north.
1207 A squad of Imperial troops were training in the mountains of the northern stretches of the Empire, when they stumbled over a part of the ancient realm now buried by the mountains. The remains included a small part of a town or city and the frontage to an ancient castle, the whole thing looked like it had recently been uncovered by an earthquake. The castle front was sealed with stonework and with warding magic, so the troops thought it best to investigate. The soldiers soon discovered who the owner was from the artefacts they found inside; it was the legenary Lich-King Petorus. His legend dates to before the disaster, and numerous versions of his chilling story exist. He was known to have enslaved his people with magic, and did deals with mighty dragons to satisfy his craving for more power, before he was finally confronted and dealt with by a brave group of Knights. No one knew the final end of the story, until now, when his castle was found, still sealed off. Having broken the seal on the castle and dug their way inside, the troops struggled to get out alive. It seems a presence still lurked in the (now) underground castle, and it had made short work of highly trained Imperial troops. The few survivors returned and warned the authorities of the problem, and dwarves were hired to seal off the underground area once more.
1211 Ten years of arguing, posturing and negotiation ended this year with a preparation for war from the southern Kingdoms. Caldonacia were clearly happy to continue intimidating the south by amassing forces in the wilderness between the two nations, and along their borders. The threat of invasion was much greater this year, as Caldonacia slowly advanced its front line southwards. The southern Kings were in a real fix. They had no choice; without a mutual defence they were doomed, so they took a huge step, and re-formed the Empire that had been dissolved some seventy years earlier. They appointed an Emperor who was little more than a puppet of the national Kings, who still held the real power, but at least now they were working towards a single goal, and now they had an Emperor who acted as an arbiter in their (many) disputes. They named their Empire the Carrodian Empire, after this first Emperor, Lucian Carrod.
1213 The Empire had spent two years mustering and training its forces, and started using them in fast raids against Caldonacias front line positions. Caldonacia were reluctant to respond immediately; King Bruan II had spent a long time bringing his army together, and had decided to wait until Ticetia was at its weakest before making his strike against the south. Unfortunately the conditions for his attack never arose; Ticetia, with the help of the elves, was beginning to recover from the stranglehold which Caldonacia held over them. Bruan had begun to fret, war was looking inevitable, that he could not immobilise his troops as the south would invade, and he realised that he had delayed too long to keep the war short. He still had military superiority over the south, however, and finally decided the attack should begin while he still had the capacity to win. The war began in midsummer.
1214 and the war Mustering his army in eastern Caldonacia, Bruan intended to move southwards down the coast and into the territory controlled by the Empire. The Imperial troops, however, always knew they were going to be outnumbered, and tried to avoid big pitched battles with the advancing troops. Their tactic was to use small light units to attack the supply convoys of the invader, and this policy proved successful. The majority of the Imperial army was camped around Arbenfort, and patrolled a wide expanse of countryside north of the Arben Mountains. Unlike the Caldonacians, the Empire supplied its troops partly by sea; there was no Caldonacian navy to speak of, and the Empire used small sea trading vessels to run food supplies and reinforcements along the coast. There was no way the northern army could compete with this. After the first year of the war, the Empire had started to produce some larger ships, and began using them to transport mounted troop units north of the main Caldonacian army, up the coastline to harass the supplies lines. This really hampered the progress of the invasion. The southern marches of Caldonacia were one hundred and thirty miles north of Arbenfort at this time. The Empire had once stretched north over much of this distance, but the troubles it had experienced over the previous two hundred years had left part of these lands abandoned and falling into to ruin.
1217 The war had dragged on and on, Caldonacias mighty army had pushed a long way into the Empires territory, but had slowed to a crawl in the last couple of years. It still suffered supply problems and was still suffering from the Empire using ships to move around. Caldonacia had started building ships of her own in an attempt to challenge this might, but had no experienced boat builders or sailors. For the first time in over 1200 years magic was used on the battlefield, as Lucian Carrod fought to defend his homelands. This magic used by his army was mostly defensive, and little of it was used in a blatant or visible manner. It had taken five years for Ticetia, working with the elves, to muster support for the Empire, but they marched troops to the conflict in the south late on in this year. Caldonacia had paid very little attention to events in Ticetia during this war, and the reinforcements took them by surprise. Half of Ticetias force was made up of elf warriors, most of whom wielded at least a little magic, and it was this power which tore through Caldonacias forces. On Escuada 19th 1217 the Ticetian force entered the war at the Battle of Shamrock Hill. The battle raged on for three days, the elf magic cutting off Caldonacias support for its front line. The conflict ended on 22nd Escuada with Caldonacia suing for peace. The elf magic had turned the war, and the front lines of both sides had surrendered to their power. It was when the elves turned and threatened to take the whole of Caldonacia that the surrender was made. The elves, who were now feared by all sides in the war, laid down guidelines for the takeover of Caldonacia by its enemies. They allowed Ticetia and the Empire to come to some arrangement over rule of the country, but they insisted that it remain an independent nation; they did not want Ticetia and the Empire starting a new war over who was to rule which part of this land. A new King was selected for Caldonacia, someone who was acceptable to both parties, and who was loyal to both; they chose Habrig Venet, who had been leading a successful resistance movement in Caldonacia for several years. From this point the elves had gained a reputation in the south of being warlike and dangerous, while in the north they were feared for the power they wielded, but were seen as just and fair. Contact between Ticetia and the elves fell off again after this small event, the elves quickly became bored of humans and their grim lifestyles.
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