The House of Mallart
This book is brought by Vitus Antonus, Senior Scribe of History at the Imperial Library in Mercunum. The work is an account of the earliest days of the glory of the House of Mallart. The work was first completed in 1406, but has been often revised and updated. Contributions to this work have been made by Bartol Dusept of the Imperial Library in Nareth. Dusept works with master historian Thomas Newgent.
Introduction
This is the account of the years of the House of Mallart, not just the accomplishments of the glorious King, but also the passings of the land and the growth of trade and peace between our wonderful nations. The lands that were once at war are now quiet. Ticetia holds the glory, and even the old Empire is content. We shall look at all the aspects of our lives, but most vivid accounts will be granted to the political struggles between those at court in the south and those who attend in the north, especially at Cellam.
Beginnings
The first King of the House of Mallart was Siegfried, who rose to the throne in 1392. Before these years, the land was ruled by the Ticetian usurper, Robert Lannenhart whos accomplishments are limited, yet is accredited with bringing the peace which all now enjoy.
It was following the years of civil uprising then open war that Lannenhart brought peace. His fight brought an end to Marcus Usindus' inglorious reign, but too brutal was the iron fist that he used to end the fighting and maintain order. It was Robert who brought the Kings Guard to our streets, with their polished breastplates and their heavy boots. These were a martial force, an attempt to repress and control rather than protect and support. They were mostly successful, holding the kingdom in check and keeping the prospect of more fighting from boiling over.
And so, with unhappy peasants, and unhappy nobles, the land teetered on the brink of more fighting until decisive action was taken. Siegfried, as Marquis of Camarth had a noble pedegree, but his real strength was his towering will and clear conviction. He had spent six years as one of Robert's own nobles, but had Imperial connections which pulled at his loyalties. His family were appointed to the seat of Camarth in 1354 by King Thomas, just after Unification, as a reward for their work in the fighting, and Siegfried was keen to live up to the standards his parents had set. Unlike Robert's kingdom, Camarth was kept militarily active and silently prepared to resist the King as the folly of his reign unfolded.
Seizing power is not a task that can be carried out lightly. It seems that Siegfried had secret negotiations with his counterparts the Princes of Cerlain and Tholain, and had continued a cordial relationship with his cousin, the Prince of Jorlinum. He needed their support - but as far as can be ascertained, Robert had already worn down any friendships with these nobles, as with the other senior dukes, marquises and princes of Arthea, eroding any support that he might have hoped to muster.
It turned out that Siegfried was not the only noble with aspirations to carry out a coup. The Prince of Caldonacia had opened similar negotiations with the Dukes of Umberland and Essonlow in Ticetia, and had been in long discussions with the Prince of Hebria. It was fortunate for the south, perhaps, that Siegfried was prepared first. It is unclear whether a Caldonacian King would have been acceptable to an Imperial nobility at this time, although perhaps any King would have been preferable to some, rather than continue to allow the Kings men, the Kings Guard to keep trampling over their authority.
The Coup
It was Abanacon 1392 when the decisive action was taken, and forms the beginning of this historical account. We now have access to some of Siegfried's records about the plans that he laid for the coup, and descriptions of the lengths to which he went are astounding. He thought, quite rightly, that the Kings Guard would not quietly accept any change of ruler. The Kings Guard had been drafted from the armies that had stood alongside Robert during the civil war - many were capable and experienced warriors and their numbers had been greatly expanded and trained well. These had to be neutralised, at least until the King was dead.
His plans show how he'd selected a date for the coup where the main body of the Kings Guard out of the city and involved in a major training event. It is not clear if this happened because of tinkering by Siegfried, or whether he'd learned of this training through subterfuge - either way it meant he had a spy in the court who had access to highly secret information. This was a time when the coasts of the east and south were attacked and raided repeatedly. Cellam had avoided all such attacks at this stage, but Robert clearly needed to prepare for a worsening of this situation.
At this time there were around 1200 Kings Guards assigned to Cellam, and this covered a population that was 150,000 people in size. It's even bigger today, but there was significant urban sprawl, which helped immensely with the operation. 1000 of The Kings Guard were amassed three miles outside the city amassing for their training, while the city had less than 100 guards on actual duty. Siegfried had been feeding his troops into the city over the week, mostly disguised as peasants. His force was only 250 strong, but they weren't expected to fight. The order sheet was quite clear - they were to surrender if they couldn't close the city gates before the bulk of the guard turned up.
The plan seemed to go like clockwork - at the chime of noon from the Verdin Bell (high in the Cathedral of Pendaroch), Siegfried's own guards overtook each of the undermanned city gates and closed them, shutting out the bulk of the Kings Guard. At Robert's palace, in court session where Siegfried himself was sitting, fifty of his men appeared together and overwhelmed the dozen or so Kings Guard that were protecting the building, this involved some fighting and men were killed on the polished steps of the chamber. With the court entrances instantly sealed, the fighters marched into the court chamber itself where panic had broken out. Several nobles jumped to the defence of the King, and more fighting ensued. One voice among the swordplay was heard - that of Siegfried, calling for calm. His rhetoric followed that began the new era, he rallied the nobles present, and presented them with the stark truth. The only real resistance came from the Duke of Wessonlow, but he was considered a lover of the grain mash and was not in his senses at the time.
Siegfried argued for peace, for and end to the iron fist of Robert's control, and to be granted the authority of the court before him. He had to speak quickly, the Kings Guard had been notified of the fighting, and had abandoned their training mission, they were headed for the city. They were too late. It took hours for them to penetrate the outer defences - in the end they'd managed to scale a wall and were attempting to march on the palace, when the gates were opened before them. Inside the chamber a vote had been held. The king was tried for crimes against their nation - and convicted of oppressing the nobility. His legal defence had been short, as had been the remains of his life. Justice was swift, and reports have suggested they were met with applause. He was beheaded in the grounds of the palace less than two hours after the palace had been stormed. Siegfried was already elected as his successor, but the fighting could still have gone badly.
It was this sight that met the leader of the Captain of the Kings Guard when the gates were opened (only minutes before the guard could have managed this feat themselves), a long pole with the head of the King atop it which was carried through the gate and set in the ground next to it. The Kings Guard captain was filled with rage, and had calmed only a little when his escort to the palace delivered him into the courtroom of the new King. All Siegfried's planning came to a head at this point. Without support from the Guard, the new King was in trouble. The nations would, no doubt, descend into civil war once more, and the guard would end up fighting one another, serving one lord or another until a winner was found. Siegfried had considered this moment for many long days, it was, perhaps, his greatest achievement of that day. He convinced the Captain that he was worthy of the role he had been given. He promised the guard would keep their powers (he'd figured that the eastern raids meant the guard were desperately needed) he promised to maintain their autonomy from the nobility and he promised them a chance for glory.
At first the Captain did not see the future well, but his lieutenants certainly did. The final convincing was carried out by a young lieutenant who was keen to be involved with real fighting - they'd all grown weary of the need to keep the peasants under heel. This young lieutenant was Edmond Rhys, an influential figure who would rise to the become High Minister for Security just ten years later, heading both the Kings Guard and the Arthean Military. In the meantime, his contribution to the defence of the east was to prove invaluable too.
It is unclear how the nobility accepted the continuing role of the Kings Guard, but it was clear at this stage that the force was to return to a military standing with important work to do - work that the nobility knew of, and approved of. The control of the guard was, of course, slackened off for the benefit of the wealthy for a time too. This façade of change convinced all parties that the future was about to become much better. The Kings Guard were recalled to their barracks - an instant edict had been made to require the Guard to improve their fighting skills and to work more closely as a military unit. There was to be fighting required of them. That edict also called for a voluntary force to be assembled. They were to head to the east to deal with the threat of raids at the earliest opportunity.