Esinie
Junior Member
The master sword
Posts: 78
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Post by Esinie on Apr 25, 2007 2:57:22 GMT -5
"Okay then try your best." Esinie said.
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Post by Gamemaster on May 22, 2007 5:10:58 GMT -5
Herigahaven Fortress City of Herigahaven (formerly Kast Foramyva) Free Nation of Helmarie
8th day, 1st month, 2nd Year of Independence (8/1/41 Cledman VI)
In the far north, hunting eagles drifted across the skies. The great northern forests stood in unbroken ranks all the way from the Grey Mountains to the Blue Mountains. Millions of dark green trees stood like giants in a land called by some the land of the giants. It was called that because of the people who lived there, the Tronds they were called. The word Trond means giant and they were known for being surprisingly tall and much larger and stronger than the people of any other nation in the known world.
Long had the Tronds been subdued. Long had Imperial roads been cut through the northlands bringing not only Imperial Army garrisons, but bureaucrats, Ulors and tax collectors. It brought all the things that were common in the Empire but had been unknown in the North. It brought Verronese merchants and scribes and laws. It brought Imperial decrees and public executions. It brought Slythian settlers who were given Trond lands by a government that did not own those lands. It brought arrogant foreign magistrates who killed some men and called it justice, but freed others and pocketed bribes.
For nearly half a century, all this had transpired uninterrupted at the bare spot where the forests had been cut down around the Imperial fortress called Kast Foramyva. The town that had grown up around the fortress was also called Kast Foramyva.
Deep in the dark northern forests, the Trond hunters still hunted in the wilds. Trond maidens still fell in love with their tall hunters and raised their children. Somewhere in those woods were the Trond chieftains, brooding before their fireplaces in their halls made of logs while bards sang sad songs of the day of sorrow at Riverside.
Only one thing had interrupted the quiet. One Ulor after another had been shot full of arrows, poisoned, or had their throats cut in their sleep until hardly anyone dared accept appointment as Ulor of Helmarie. So the Empire had appointed Esinie. He had no qualifications except that he was willing to take the job despite the risk of assassination. He had one other qualification. Unlike the other Ulors, he was a Trond.
Almost predictably, Esinie had declared independence from the Empire. But it seemed to be mere words. This was a declaration by an Imperial official. It was not an uprising by the people. It was not endorsed by the Trond chieftains. What sort of independence comes by decree? Esinie still called himself Ulor and collected the same taxes as under the Empire and still ruled only a small area around the capital. He ruled by the power of the Imperial Army garrison there, but now it was not called the Imperial Army. The town had also been renamed. The Ulor and his henchmen now called it "Herigahaven" a Trondan name, but everyone else still called it Kast Foramyva.
Many people from the forests of Helmarie all the way to the Imperial Palace at Zekran had laughed at an Imperial official who claimed to be independent from the Empire, at a revolution by decree, at trying to make Helmarie an independent nation by renaming things. It seemed to many like a pretend revolution.
This morning, the 8th day of the 1st month, a day of no particular significance, the gates of the garrison fortress creaked open.
A tall Trond man named Andien rode out on a horse. He was called Ekanor Falan Andien even though he was not in the Imperial Army. Behind him rode two other officers, also Tronds.
Behind them somewhere a drum began to beat and a line of armed men began to pour out of the gates, four abreast, wearing Imperial Army armour and carrying spears, shields and swords.
Before Esinie's time, the Helmarie garrison had been spread widely across the province with most of the troops deployed along a line of forts along the northern frontier and only one or two kantoro in the capital. As part of Esinie's political manuevering to gain control of the garrison, he had brought them all into the capital and even increased their numbers slightly.
The fortress at Herigahaven was not built to house so many troops and they had been sleeping on the floors and even in the stables for many weeks due to overcrowding.
Now, the gates were thrown open and the soldiers marched forth by the thousands. Not all of them were Tronds, but a much higher proportion of the garrison were Tronds than had been the case before Esinie became Ulor. None of them were Zekresh or Frayeth, those had been driven out after independence was declared. More importantly, all the officers were Tronds. Not only were they Tronds, some of them were men who only last year had been hunted by the Imperial authorities as dangerous outlaw separatists. Now they were officers in this army that was no longer part of the Imperial Army.
This army still wore helms that had been forged by blacksmiths employed by the Imperial Army at Verronia and wore leather armor that had been stitched together in Trayavix and delivered to the Imperial Army Regional Headquarters for distribution by the quartermaster there. The officers were still called by Imperial ranks of Gurikan and Ekanor in the Zekresh language. The language of command in the army was still Zekresh, but the language of ordinary conversation was Trondan now.
Some of the newer soldiers didn't have iron helms or leather armour or anything else from the Empire. Some of them were dressed in furs like Trond hunters and carried the weapons of Trond warriors, the spear and the war hammer. As the line of marching men proceeded through the town and down the road heading south, the end of the column left Herigahaven fortress. The next to last men to leave the fortress were a new addition, the drummers. War drums were a Trond tradition, not a Zekresh one. The very last men in the line leaving the fortress were the newest recruits. They were new to the army, but not new to the ways of weapons. They were three dozen Trond hunters who carried as weapons the bows and arrows they had used to earn their living for their entire adult lives. They were not part of any kantora, they were the Helmarie Archers.
After the archers passed by, other men who were not in the army at all, but who had heard that the army would march today came out of houses and improvised campsites. There were only about a hundred of them, but they were Trond volunteers, coming with the army to join the fight of their own accord. Andien knew they were there and had agreed that they could accompany the army as unpaid auxilliaries.
Women and children and old men heard the drumming and came to see what was happening. Some had heard that this would happen. Some had no warning. But this was the first time that Trond war drums had sounded the call to war in this valley for half a century. Some more young men ran up and joined the marching men, even with no weapons, they did not want to be left out.
The column marched swiftly and with a purpose steadily southwards towards the border with the Zekresh Empire.
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Esinie
Junior Member
The master sword
Posts: 78
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Post by Esinie on May 22, 2007 5:39:16 GMT -5
Esinie walked along side the brave men of valor to show his worth as a trond. He would go with his men to battle to rid these lands of the zekresh. He thought while his blade glistened in the sun light. The sword had been loaned to him by Ekanor Falan Andien. It belonged to an officer of the 5th Kantora Helmarie which was remaining behind to guard Herigahaven.
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Post by Gamemaster on Jun 1, 2007 4:19:33 GMT -5
The men could not march far without coming to the banks of a river. Herigahaven was built at the meeting place of two rivers, the North River and the White River, which the Aats called the Rassafram River.
On the other side of the White River lay Aatan, land of the Aats. The troops instead were ferried across the North River a few at a time by a raft operated by a ferryman and by some boats provided by helpful Trond fishermen.
On the other side of the North River, they were still in Helmarie and the road continued south.
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Post by Gamemaster on Jun 1, 2007 4:26:40 GMT -5
Along the North River Free Nation of Helmarie
10th day, 1st month, 2nd Year of Independence (10/1/41 Cledman VI)
On the third day of the march, the army of Helmarie came to the point along the North River where they could see the small town of Ragenfriven on the other side, in Aatanian territory.
They made camp there for the night. Already, food was in short supply.
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Esinie
Junior Member
The master sword
Posts: 78
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Post by Esinie on Jun 1, 2007 23:01:11 GMT -5
Noticing the shortage of food after wandering the camp. Esinie was wondering what he could possibly do to deal with the shortage of food. Since no money had been brought for provisions so buying food from the town nearby was not an option. He walked over to where Commander Andien and said to Andien. "I would like to ask you what would you advise we do over this shortage of food?"
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Post by Gamemaster on Jun 5, 2007 2:36:49 GMT -5
Andien says, "I say we go hungry tonight and by tomorrow we can reach the border of the Empire. Then let us take food from them as they have taken so much from us for so long."
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Esinie
Junior Member
The master sword
Posts: 78
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Post by Esinie on Jun 12, 2007 18:46:54 GMT -5
Esinie said to andien in a tone of agreement, "Yes I think it is about time to get our revenge on the empire."
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Post by Gamemaster on Jun 15, 2007 21:55:31 GMT -5
Along the North River Free Nation of Helmarie
11th day, 1st month, 2nd Year of Independence (11/1/41 Cledman VI)
On the fourth day of the march, the army of Helmarie broke camp without breakfast and marched hungry until they reached a place where two small buildings stood by the road. They were the tariff takers. The nearer building was the tariff takers employed by Helmarie. The other building was occupied by the tariff takers from Glantogran province of the Zekresh Empire.
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Esinie
Junior Member
The master sword
Posts: 78
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Post by Esinie on Jun 15, 2007 23:39:22 GMT -5
"Hmmmm Andien what are those tariff buildings doing here?" Esinie said looking at them with a feeling of scourn for the Zekresh.
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Post by Gamemaster on Jun 16, 2007 19:37:01 GMT -5
Andien replies, "They are the tax men. They collect tariffs on all goods crossing the border. The border between Helmarie and Glantogran runs between those two buildings. The nearer building houses the tariff takers who work for you. The other one is the tariff takers of Glantogran... of the Empire. I suggest that we seize the Imperial tariff takers, confiscate any money they have taken in taxes and destroy the building or turn it into a guard post for our side."
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Esinie
Junior Member
The master sword
Posts: 78
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Post by Esinie on Jul 5, 2007 22:51:36 GMT -5
Esinie looked at andien straight in the eyes as he replied, "I want both tariff buildings taken down, I have decided after thinking for some time that we should not let the zekresh have influenced our ways we should abolish the tax and I have an idea on what we shall replace it with, but yes I agree with your plan andien on the zekresh tariff building."
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Post by Gamemaster on Jul 6, 2007 4:29:47 GMT -5
Andien gives an order and Helmarie troops advance at a run towards the tariff taker buildings. The tariff takers on both sides are turned out of their buildings and all the money is seized by the troops and handed over to Ekanor Falan Andien who turns it over to Ulor Esinie.
The tariff takers from Helmarie are informed that their services are no longer needed and sent home. The tariff takers from the Zekresh side are disarmed, beaten and sent fleeing south. A cheer goes up from the Helmarie troops as they go.
The army of Helmarie follows in the same direction, marching south, down the great North River.
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Post by Gamemaster on Jul 6, 2007 4:31:47 GMT -5
Ekanor Falan Andien notices that the bags of money are mostly filled with a great number of doveko coins and are very heavy. He offers to carry them on his horse or send some men to carry them back to Herigahaven.
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Post by Gamemaster on Jul 16, 2007 2:48:05 GMT -5
Along the North River Glantogran Province, Zekresh Empire
11th day, 1st month, 2nd Year of Independence (11/1/41 Cledman VI)
The Army from the North descended upon peaceful farms in the North River valley like ravenous wolves. No sooner had they crossed the border into the Zekresh Empire than they began to pillage every farm, stealing all food and livestock to feed the army and frequently looting the farms of all valuables. A few farmers resisted and were killed.
As word spread of the approach of the army, farmers packed up their valuables and fled. Even so, not all of them got out in time and the army continued to feed itself mostly from looted food from farms along the way.
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