Chronological History Part Three, The Fall of Caldonacia to the Present
1224-1226 ["The Northern Isle"] rebelled against the rule of its new King, and began a civil war for its independence. After two years of fighting they eventually threw their unwelcome rulers from the Isle.
1236 The help of [:The Elves:the elves] finally paid off in this year. ["Ticetia"] made its first export of grain, they were now fully self sufficient.
1242-1255 The second great plague began, this time in ["The Carrodian Empire"]. Again it was incurable, and it wiped out many healthy people in the Empire. From there it spread northwards into Caldonacia, where it also wreaked havoc on the population. By the time it arrived in Ticetia, they had partially prepared and were able to contain the disease better than their neighbours, although they were still badly hit. The effects of this plague were worse than the one before it, as even more people were killed.
1261 The lost tomb of ["Charles Derren"] was discovered in this year, in the Caldonacian Mountains. Before the tomb was found, Derren was a pre-disaster folk tale character, although his reputation as a powerful wizard seemed to have survived. The tale recounted how he searched for the secret of immortal life, but found it in a way he did not expect. He arose as a vampire, so the tale tells, and in his homeland he terrorised the community. The folk tale also tells of how he was killed by a brave band of adventurers, who dealt with all his deceptions and his magic, before finally dealing with him. His tomb was reputed to have been sealed, still containing huge treasures. But legend tells of how ill luck would befall the one who found the tomb and removed any of the treasure. The spirit of the evil wizard was supposedly released when the tomb was opened; the lowest levels took digging to reach, but had survived the Great Disaster and the long years since.
1272 Gold was found by men in the eastern stretch of the mountains between ["Ticetia"] and ["The Carrodian Empire"]. A gold rush started, but was quickly stopped by the intervention of Ticetias council and the Emperor. They both decreed that the gold was not to be mined until the rights had been established, and the miners stuck to this pretty well.
1275 The discussions over mining rights came to the brink of all out war between [:The Carrodian Empire:the Empire] and ["Ticetia"]. The Empire accused Ticetia of secretly mining gold during the talks when they had agreed to wait. These claims were exaggerated, and later proved to be largely groundless, but relations between the north and the south deteriorated. Neither side could really afford to go to war again; their numbers were still low following the recent plague. In a last attempt to cool things off, Caldonacia managed to talk with both sides and kept the threat of immediate hostilities low.
1277 ["King Garahan"] of ["Caldonacia"] was forced to act against the tomb of ["Charles Derren"], the wizard had been attacking an area of his southern Kingdom. A group of adventurers were hired to go and deal with the problem, but they did not return.
1278 A second band of adventurers was sent to [:Charles Derren:Derren]’s tomb, partly to rescue the first party that had been sent, and partly to deal with the problem. They succeeded in handling the vampire problem, but did not rescue any of the first party who had been sent in a few months before.
1280 ["Ticetia"] and [:The Carrodian Empire:the Empire] were no closer to solving their arguments over gold, but their gold mines were penetrated by a group of mining [:The Dwarves:dwarves]. They encountered the guards that both sides had put in place. They got on well with both sides. Strangely they were accepted as mediators by both human parties, even though they had a claim to the gold themselves.
1282 The mining agreement between ["Ticetia"], ["The Carrodian Empire"], and the [:The Dwarves:dwarves] was signed in this year. It created territorial ownership of different parts of the mines, and allowed each party to mine from their own territory.
1285 The dwarfish miners announced that they had discovered what was believed to be the northernmost part of the might dwarf realm from before the Great Disaster. The digging they had been doing around the gold mines had uncovered a damaged entrance tunnel to an underground dwelling. When they went inside they were amazed to find that it was the mighty dwarf realm of ["Kimid-Izila"]. This section did not stretch very far, and it was filled with the remains of thousand-year-dead dwarves they will have died as the disaster struck. This stretch of tunnels did not reach as far as the fabled throne room, due to the collapsed stonework. The dwarves were unwilling to investigate further, this was a tomb of their forefathers, but they were keen to find the fabled throne room, where they may find the throne and trappings of the mightiest dwarf kings ever; of particular interest were the fabled crowns.
1296-1320 ["Caldonacia"] and [:The Carrodian Empire:the Empire] suffered raids along their east coast during this time. The marauders had come overseas by ship. At first there were only a few, but soon, as news of the wealth of the realms spread, the raids became more and more frequent. The main objective was theft, but violence seemed to have played a large role. The raids seemed to cease overnight.
1307-1320 In ["Ticetia"], a bid for power was made by one of the large merchants. [:King Hugo:Hugo Kennedy] plotted to take control by using the nation’s political structures against itself. He recruited the eldest sons of four of the eleven Royal Council members to his cause, offering them glory and wealth. He bought his way directly into two other seats, capitalising on the debts of two of the council members (debts he was largely responsible for encouraging). This took time, as he took over the debts from their original debtors and it took several years of effort to make the councillors financial situation as tough as possible. In 1320, he arranged for an “unfortunate accident”, where four of the councillors were killed when the building they were holding a social gathering in mysteriously caught fire, and burned to the ground. The four heirs Hugo controlled assumed the places of their parents on the council. He now had six votes on the council and enough influence to hold the strings of power.
1311 [:The Dwarves:The dwarves] found another northern section of the ["Kimid-Izila"] this year. It had become an abode of goblins, and the dwarves took great pleasure in removing them from their ancestral home. They also found here a sealed-off entrance into ["The Underdark"], but this showed little sign of recent use, and it had been sealed off from the other side. The tunnels beyond had clearly been abandoned for over a hundred years, and digging would be required to find where they once led. [:The Dwarves:The dwarves] were not willing to undertake that task at this time.
1321 ["Ticetia"]s council decided it was time to appoint a single King to the land, someone who was fair and just, who could respond faster to the needs of his people than the council ever could, and who could act as a figurehead and guide to their depressed nation. There were fifteen or so possible nobles or members of the gentry who could fulfil this new role they were creating, and the council summoned them all to be interviewed. After careful deliberation, they decided that [:King Hugo:Hugo Kennedy] was the most capable applicant and appointed him. ["King Hugo"] was crowned late in the year, with a crown was made especially for him.
1324 The King of Caldonacia was mysteriously kidnapped in this year, and was held hostage for two months before being freed. The group which held him were working for the King of Ticetia, although this was not discovered at the time. The purpose of holding Caldonacias King is unclear, but they used the time to asses Caldonacia’s military might, and to measure how important the King was to the population at large. ["King Hugo"] discovered much before allowing the King of Caldonacia to be ‘rescued’. The identities of the kidnappers were never discovered, and they were never brought to justice.
1325 [:King Hugo:Hugo Kennedy] gained the mandate he needed this year. It was proposed before the council that the King of Ticetia be given the right to rule over the people in fullness of his position of monarch, ruling as he saw fit and to act as protector of his people. The council were not to be dissolved, though; they had an important role to play in governance, and were to act as the Kings advisors, although not with the freedom granted to debate that was enjoyed in [:The Carrodian Empire:the Empire]. The motion was carried by the council with a majority of six to five. By the end of this year, five of the councillors had been found guilty of crimes of treason, three more had disappeared in mysterious circumstances, and the remaining three had most of their power as advisers removed. ["Ticetia"] began preparation for its assault on the Kingdom of ["Caldonacia"].
1329 ["Ticetia"] began its invasion of ["Caldonacia"], attacking and overwhelming their unprepared strongholds. ["King Hugo"] had managed to keep his armies movements quiet for three years, even feigning friendship with his neighbours, until late 1328, when his plans of attack were finalised. Caldonacia heard of Hugo’s plans far too late to be able to form an effective defence. The raids from overseas had left his country in poor shape, and the morale of the peasants had still not picked up.
1330 Ticetian forces finally forced it way though to the capital of ["Caldonacia"], ["Carlow"], and stormed the city; even the help sent by the Empire could not aid the falling country. ["King Pelarus"] of Caldonacia was captured and killed in cold blood by [:King Hugo:Hugo]’s guards. Hugo’s men stayed on the streets while all the fit and able young Caldonacians were drafted into Ticetias army to fight against [:The Carrodian Empire:the Empire].
1331 The Carrodian Emperor, [:Emperor Junus:Junus], died peacefully in this year. He was succeeded by his son [:King Thomas:Thomas], who became Emperor Thomas II. Junus had been under no illusions about the military abilities of the Ticetians Kings; he had made sure his son was well trained in warfare and the tactics of the time.
1333 ["Ticetia"] moved its army south this year, confronting [:The Carrodian Empire:the Empire] with greater numbers of troops. ["The Carrodian Empire"] had more warning of the imminent assault than Caldonacia had, and so their defences were better prepared. The war promised to be very long indeed.
1337 In four years of fighting ["Ticetia"] had made slow progress through [:The Carrodian Empire:the Empire]’s lands. They had won a series of small battles during the beginning of this year, and threatened the Empires capital. Unfortunately for Ticetia, [:King Hugo:Hugo Kennedy] fell ill and left the leadership of his army in the hands of his eldest son, [:King William:William], who vowed never to end the assault until Hugo’s dream had been achieved.
1339 As the war still raged, ["King Hugo"] died of his illnesses, most of which were down to old age. He never saw his ambition of power come to pass, and [:King William:William] did not have the leadership ability to succeed. The war turned against his forces, they were bogged down, fighting many miles from home, and his supply lines to his front ranks in the northern [:The Carrodian Empire:Empire] became a major target for the Empire’s forces. There were just not enough men to keep the campaign going. Unfortunately most of the front line was made up from Caldonacian conscripts with no will to fight and die for their oppressive rulers. William foolishly pushed these men forward, as he was happier seeing Caldonacians die than Ticetians. He did not take into account their fighting abilities, though. As the Empire captured many of the forces of Ticetia, they soon discovered the Caldonacians willingness to fight against their former commanders, and so they were put to good use.
1340 [:King William:William] was slain in the battles in [:The Carrodian Empire:the Empire], he had no heir of his own. The Ticetian forces were left leaderless, and morale, already low, plummeted to new depths. The war quickly turned against ["Ticetia"], as their generals had two wars to fight one with the Empire and one with each other. With no cohesion at the top, the Ticetian lines were overrun. The army was spent, and the Empire began a march on ["Ticetia"], and liberated ["Caldonacia"]. The Emperor, [:King Thomas:Thomas II], was no fool. ["Caldonacia"] had no King, so while his forces were marching on Ticetia, he went to Caldonacia with his personal guard, and took the crown of Caldonacia early in 1341, and faced no resistance. When Ticetia finally fell, later that year, he was there to seize that crown too.
1342 [:King Thomas:Emperor Thomas II] crowned himself King of all the lands. He called his new country ["Arthea"], a name he took from his wife’s noble family house. The Caldonacians and those in the Empire were happy with the arrangements, unlike the nobles of Ticetia who disliked the way Artheas rule was imposed upon them.
1344 [:The Dwarves:Dwarves], mining copper ore in the northern part of the Ticetia stumbled on an unusual pre-disaster find. They discovered the top of a tower, buried deep inside the earth, and partially crushed in some kind of land movement which probably took place during ["The Great Disaster"]. Deep beneath the site there are probably the remains of some city or town, but the dwarves could not get very deep into the tower because of all the damage to the lower levels. Only the top room of the structure survived intact, and this seemed to have been sealed magically a long time ago. While the dwarves were keen to discover what treasures awaited them inside, they did not want to risk opening the chambers, so they called in human mages who could properly unlock the magic which was binding the rooms shut, and properly examine the contents.
Time had taken its toll on the building, and even the magic sealing these rooms had mostly dissipated. The magic had helped to preserve the contents, though, as inside was a pre-[:The Great Disaster:Disaster] treasure trove. There were no items of monetary value only a few pieces of jewellery which the dwarves took. The real value was in the magical artefacts that had clearly been sealed away. There were three pieces, a light helmet-like hat, a metal staff, and a dark metal ring. The items were stored in a cabinet which was clearly intended to show them off, but whatever magic they once held had long since dissipated, only a faint trace of their former power could now be discerned.
The items were only of historical value, as were much of the notes and the furniture found in the room too. The Ticetian authorities removed these items and the remaining contents of the room, and transported them to ["Cellam"] where they were eventually placed on display for all people to view (for a small price).
The helmet appears to have been made from Mithral, inset with gold and silver designs. It is extremely well crafted, but the metal has been beaten very thin so could not have been used for protection, it would be far too weak to withstand any blows. The metal staff raised the most eyebrows. It is smooth and cold and it had been highly polished but was very light to carry. Set into the end is a piece of polished quarz not particularly valuable, but cut and polished with considerable skill. The ring is made of a dark metal, darker than iron, but very strong. Of the three, this held the most of its former magic, but no use could be made of it. The purpose of each of the items remains a mystery, and no one knows what their former powers were, or if they still have some sleeping power within them waiting for a trigger to bring them to life.
1346 ["King Thomas"] laid down constitutional terms for his new country. He was concerned about uprisings in some parts of his realms, wanted to remove doubts about the future, but, mainly in ["Ticetia"], he seemed to make things worse. Many Ticetian nobles were unhappy with their restriction placed on their power. The biggest change for the peasantry was the removal of the right of nobles to kill peasants without reason or cause. In all these dealings, Thomas underestimated the financial backbone of Ticetias landowners, and the effectiveness of their assassins.
1358 The troubles in Arthea continued. Ticetia has seen several popular uprisings over the previous ten years, and many of the kings most trusted and valuable councillors had been assassinated, leaving the job the King much harder to perform. In Dusemot 1358 (the height of summer) [:King Thomas:Thomas] himself died, his health had worsened. Thomas’s son, [:King Marcus:Marcus], took over the Kingdom, but was left with an immense task. [:King Marcus:Marcus] called for the assistance of [:The Elves:the elves], but they were unwilling to help; they had assisted the humans to be able to handle their food supply problems, and were reluctant to get involved in political problems between human realms.
1362 The raids from the east began again in this year. [:King Marcus:Marcus] was powerless to prevent the invaders terrorising his shores. Even the movement of troops into the eastern regions did little ho help the people. They did not know where the next raid would strike, and by the time the troops had arrived at the scene of an attack, they were usually too late.
1363 ["King Marcus"]’s response to the raids from the east was to begin a series of fortifications of the towns along the coastline from northern Caldonacia as far as the Empire. These were expensive public works, and involved the building of walls around many of the smaller towns which had not been defended this way before. The work was expensive, and to cover the cost he raised taxation from across the lands. This did not go down well in Ticetia where the nobles already mistrusted their King.
1375 Rebellion had increased alarmingly in ["Ticetia"]; they were verging on all-out civil war by now. Many nobles stood openly against the King, and many withheld their tax income in protest. The assassins of Ticetia had become very wealthy from this time. King Marcus had failed to stop, or even defend most of the raids from the east, and many in the Northwest believed he should step down in favour of a Ticetian of royal blood. The nobles of Ticetia had done a good job. They had changed their demand for a separate country into a demand for rule of the whole land. The people of the northeast and the south, though, had many bitter memories of the last kings of Ticetia.
1377 The first blows of civil war were struck in this year. Fighting in the streets of Ticetia and Western Caldonacia became common, as ["King Marcus"]’s grip on power slipped away from him. He could not afford the manpower to defend his eastern coastline as well as fight an internal uprising in the northwest. What made it worse was that some Caldonacian Lords were joining the war on the side of the Ticetians, and many others were unwilling to commit to either side, the chance to back the winning side later was too appealing. Marcus had also not realised that there was still a feeling in much of his realm that the Kings house was an Imperial house, and did not reflect the diversity of the nation. Some lords had begun to question [:King Marcus:Marcus]’s claim to the crown of Caldonacia.
1384 An end to the war came in this year with success for the uprising. As the Ticetians had raised their army, they had also found that much of the lands were unhappy with [:King Marcus:Marcus], and had pulled together looking for some kind of alternative. Only in the former Empire in the south was there any real support for him, and even there it was possible to raise support for the uprising, with the promise of strong leadership and a powerful nation.
[:King Marcus:Marcus]’s throne was taken by one of the powerful landowners from the Northwest, [:King Reuben:Reuben Lannenhart]. He claimed to have royal blood, being connected with the royal council which held Ticetia together for many years, and also managed to trace his lineage (however obscurely) to the earlier Kings of ["Caldonacia"]. [:King Reuben:Reuben] had been one of Ticetias most outspoken critics of the former King, and had spent more money than any of the others to secure his place. [:King Marcus:Marcus] himself was executed for his crimes.
What Arthea needed now was firm leadership and direction. [:King Reuben:Reuben] provided this. His personal guards wore red breastplates and carried longswords, but they were largely symbolic while he was fighting his part in the civil war; now he gave them a fuller role and he expanded their numbers to handle much of the policing of the realm. At first, they laid down the law strictly, but as the rule of order spread, the need for harsh policing became less. The training these guards received was a tough military training, and they proved good at their job. As a military force and a peacekeeping element they proved their value many times over. At first they also worked under strict orders to persecute those who had stood against the uprising as it happened. Most of [:King Marcus:Marcus]’s supporters were stripped of their wealth and position before the end of 1386. The guards helped contain the problems of the east, where the invasions continued. They were partly successful, and it is here where their skills were finally polished. Some units had been equipped with fast horses, and used this mobility to hunt down the raiders. They also upgraded the docklands at certain ports in the southern empire, and started to produce fighting ships here too.
1392 Infighting amongst the powerful was demonstrated during this year, as in Abanacon (the 5th month) ["King Reuben"] was successfully overthrown by [:King Siegfried:Siegfried Mallart], another of Ticetia’s Nobles. The coup entailed a storming of the Royal Palace in ["Cellam"]. [:King Siegfried:Siegfried]’s first action was to gain the support of the Guards by rewriting Arthea’s constitution giving them wide powers over the people. Life was made increasingly difficult in Arthea as Siegfried imposed his will on the people.
1398 Attacks along the east had increased again during the year, but improved ships now available in the south had managed to engage some of the raider’s vessels. Shipbuilding in ["Arthea"] was still not an advanced technology, but they did manage to assault and sink one of the raider’s ships in shallow waters near the coastline in the south. The vessel was salvaged and brought into the docks of ["The Carrodian Empire"]. Arthea did not have vessels that could move out of sight of land, and this represented a major coup.
1402 ["King Siegfried"] died quietly in his sleep this year, and was succeeded by his son [:King James:James]. The circumstances surrounding his death were somewhat mysterious. Evidence supporting the claims that he was poisoned was thought to have been discovered at the time, but nothing decisive can now be found. The guards did not have the power to act against James legally, as he was now King, and Siegfried had wisely written this into the constitution. Many of the guards leaders were pleased to be rid of Siegfried, too, and this may also explain the lack of attention at the time to subject of justice.
1403 ["King James"] increased the activity of his guards in the east. They fought valiantly and well, and over the next five years managed to discourage most of the raiders. This was their greatest achievement and was final proof of their power and ability. ["King James"] rewarded the Guard with a host of new powers.
1406 The newly acquired ship technology meant a new range of vessels were now becoming available to traders, explorers and the defence forces. The first ships produced were allocated to the military, and were used to help deter any further raids by patrolling the seas to the east of ["Arthea"].
1408 Seafaring was becoming big business, as explorers discovered a small island range overseas to the west, rich with precious minerals, and most importantly for Arthean nobles, gold, silver and gemstones. The civilisation of this land are no less advanced than the Artheans, and are very happy to trade; they seemed to suffer many of the food production problems suffered by ["Ticetia"] two hundred and fifty years ago.
1411 The imposition of tighter controls over the lives of peasants in ["Arthea"] was introduced in this year. Nobles were virtually given a mandate to treat peasants as they pleased, and to receive the backup of the Guards in their actions. ["King James"] clearly was not willing to consider another uprising or civil war, and wanted to give complete security to his position of power.
1412 Campaign Starts.
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