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Nobody is quite sure who first settled Analubia or when that happened. The first recorded mention of the island is in the year -1215 of the Imperial Calendar. In that year, the records of the fledgling Kingdom of Khemet record a great earthquake shattering the land and point to the as yet unnamed island as the center of the disaster. Piecing together the sketchy records that remain paints a picture of an island of simple peasant folk utterly devastated by the disaster. The quake itself destroyed countless buildings and caused great loss of life and property. Disease and famine followed closely on the heels of the initial disaster, causing more death and suffering. Some reports even hint that the quake opened fissures in places that released vast clouds of poisonous air and hoards of unnatural beasts causing further devastation. The end result was an island devastated and depopulated. The coming of the Deep Ones
This disaster was followed in the next few years by a second. The peoples of the island had barely begun to recover when the countryside was almost overrun by beings of many descriptions that eventually came to be known collectively as the "deep ones". They invaded from the hill and mountains that everyone though empty and struck with utter surprise. The reeling population fought back and just barely managed to throw them back to the hills, but their problems were far from over. They returned the next year and tried again, and again. Thus began a war that would last almost a thousand years. Over the course of the war, the Analubians gradually learned more and more about the nature of their enemy. First, they identified many different kinds of "deep one". Most common and far too familiar were the humanoids. Orcs, goblins and their ilk had all issued forth as part of the deep armies, but seemed to be little more than foot soldiers serving darker masters. Other beings appeared as well, though in fewer numbers. Some were simple spear fodder while others seemed to serve as officers of varying ranks. Of those fortunate few to catch a glimpse of the ultimate masters of these armies and survive, few could agree on the exact nature of what they saw. Some said they saw beings that appeared to be bizarre mixtures of man and sea beast leading vast armies. Others say they have no resemblance to men at all. Still others claimed ancient and evil dragons commanded them. All agreed, however, that they wielded great power. As their knowledge of their enemy became clearer and more complete, the Analubians learned that their opponents came from below the earth, which is how they came to be known as the "deep ones". Some speculated that their homeland was an underground world composed of caverns and tunnels lying under the island and the surrounding sea. Their theory was that the great earthquake had devastated this underground world just as it had the surface world and opened tunnels to the surface, which being far richer than their underground world, they raided to take that wealth for themselves. Others thought they came from elsewhere and came to the caverns under Analubia by means of magic and issued forth from there. Either way, they were an implacable and ruthless enemy with whom no negotiation or peace seemed possible. Analubia endured almost five centuries of war with the deep ones. In that time, they came to be a hardened people with a society geared toward war. The petty kings and chieftains of the island quickly formed a loose league dedicated to the common defense against the deep ones. This pact, called the Kara Pact after the city in which it was signed, allowed them to survive and to protect their homes and farms though at a steep cost. Over the years and decades that followed, it eventually evolved into a single Analubian Kingdom under the rule of the Salamis Dynasty. Despite their newfound unity, the Analubians were unable to permanently end their war with the deep ones until Sastanira the Great made her mighty pact. Sastanira the Great
Sastanira was born to humble parents in a remote village. A retired military officer who lived in her village recognized her potential for power early and contacted a friend in the capitol. He agreed that she had vast potential and made arrangements for Sastanira to become an apprentice wizard as soon as she turned 13. Her master was to be no less of a personage than Arbalo, the current commander of the king's magical forces. Magic was a dangerous game in those days. This was long before the Achaeans had made the study of magic a science and most knowledge was gained by dangerous bargains with various extraplanar beings. Sastanira demonstrated a rare talent for dealing with extraplanar beings without becoming warped by them. With this talent and healthy dose of hard work, she flourished under Arbalo's tutelage and surpassed him by the time she was in her 20s. Over the course of the next three decades, she helped win many battles against the deep ones and created her famous trio of artifacts, the scepter, crown, and throne of Sastanira. In that time she still found time to marry and have children. As Sastanira entered her golden years, she was already a well-respected archmage and something of a legend in her own time. However, despite all of her efforts, the deep ones were just as much of a threat in her old age as they were in her childhood. She was contemplating this very fact, according to legend, when she was struck by inspiration while watching her grandchildren play in the sand at her seaside villa. One little girl had built an elaborate sandcastle with great care. Suddenly, the child's brother snuck up and poured a bucket of water over it, destroying her work in a matter of moments. As parents and nursemaids dealt with the squabbling children, Sastanira stared at the ruined sandcastle. It has given her the seed of an idea. At first, she wondered if it wouldn't be possible to somehow cause great avalanches to seal the caves the deep ones issued from just as the elaborate decorations on the castle had been wiped out by the cascading water and sand from above. Then she contemplated a great elemental spell that would flood the tunnels, but dismissed that as temporary at best. Over the following weeks, she kept returning to the idea of using some great spell to cut the deep ones off at the source. Finally, she had devised a plan she felt was feasible, if difficult, to carry out and set to work. Sastanira spent the next decade preparing for her greatest feat. In order to obtain the necessary assistance, she spent months bargaining with elemental lords and making pacts with them. Not only did she have to convince them to work with her, but with each other. That was no easy task, but one she nevertheless accomplished in the end. Once the bargains were in place, she spent years working to fulfill the terms of each pact in order to give those lords no excuse to back out when the critical moment was at hand. Finally, she prepared a mighty spell that would open the appropriate gates for the appropriate beings and set everything in motion. Finally, in -731, all was in readiness. She cast her spell and set events in motion. First, earth elementals set forth under the land with instructions to find the best locations to seal the tunnels to the surface, and the tunnels closest to the sea. Once these locations were found, they called upon the lords of fire to open great portals and flood the surface tunnels with magma. At the same time, the lords of earth opened new tunnels to the sea, flooding much of the world below. As the world below drowned, the magma cooled and hardened into vast plugs forever closing the tunnels to the surface. Sastanira had no way of knowing, but she suspected the flooding wouldn't be complete and that some inhabitants of the world below would survive, but she was certain it would have devastated their civilization and that they would be in no position to wage war on Analubia thanks to the plugs. Once it was known what she had done, Sastanira became a national hero and people began to call her Sastanira the Great, Sastanira the Peacemaker and Sastanira the Savior. She lived to see the first few years of the new peace she had brought to the island, despite her age and the stresses of her magic. In -725, she died in her bed surrounded by three generations of her descendants, a most unusual death for a magician of any sort in those days. The entire population mourned and countless memorials were held across the island. The King built a massive and ornate tomb as her final resting place and gave her a state funeral in honor of her deeds. Her former apprentices, with royal backing, established a library in her honor. Some priests even began to speak of her as having ascended as a protector goddess for Analubia. Others prophesied that she would return to do battle if the old ones ever returned. The Analubian Empire Peace presented a problem for the Salamis Dynasty. They ruled a nation geared for constant warfare and populated by a fierce and militaristic people who suddenly had no foe. Furthermore, most of their mainland neighbors were simply too powerful to think of attacking. The current King, Hostiran XVIII, was worried that his kingdom would dissolve into disorder as a result. Like all of the kings of Analubia, he had been raised to war, but he also had an adventurous spirit. It was this spirit that gave his kingdom a new direction and averted potential chaos. Hostiran ordered the building of a massive fleet of ships suitable for long journeys. He then crewed these ships with a mixture of experienced sailors and soldiers and loaded them with supplies for long journeys. Finally, he divided them into squadrons and sent them to explore the far reaches of the sea. At first, this exploratory program had little success. His ships rarely got very far before the inexperience of his soldiers caused them to be sunk or damaged in such a way that they had to turn back. Still, his crews gradually gained experience and were soon ranging far and wide. By the end of Hostiran's reign, his ships had traveled to the far reaches of the Mare Nostrum and the king himself had become known as Hostiran the Navigator. Hostiran's successors were not so enamored of his exploratory program and scaled it back somewhat, but it had served its first purpose of easing the transition away from constant war. It also served a secondary purpose. Analubian ships soon came to dominate the sea trade and Analubia became a rich trading nation instead of a war-torn backwater. Analubian traders are believed to have gone as far north as Thule and as far south as the southern cities of the Gold Coast. Some records even mention scouting expeditions along the wild coast that reached further than any current explorers have traveled. Over the centuries, Analubia established colonies as far away as the Gold Coast, to secure this trade empire. The most famous of these is Brigantium in Aquitania. Analubia reached its height in -676 when the Khemite Pharaoh and the combined cities of the Fertile Basin (the modern Gilded League) sent a massive tribute to King Sirom IX to avert what would have been a crippling trade embargo. From then on, Analubian power was to begin an initially imperceptible decline. Other trading powers were on the rise and would eventually become major competitors. Even Analubia's own colonies were feeling less and less part of the kingdom and acting more and more independently. Over the next few centuries, this increased competition weakened, and finally destroyed, Analubian trade dominance. Sulannon
It was during this period of Analubian ascendancy that one of the islands most infamous residents lived. The wizard Sulannon rose from the ranks of a merchant family to become one of the most recognized names in magic, both in his own day and in the present. Little is known about his early life, which seems to have been unremarkable. He enters the world scene in -520 when he went exploring in the central mountains and discovered a previously unclaimed nexus of great power. He went to great lengths to keep its location secret including, according to legend, slaying the adventurers who were with him when he found it. After several incursions by rivals who sought to take the nexus from him, he is said to have devised a dark but powerful ritual spell which would mask its signature and prevent discovery by the spells and devices commonly used when looking for nexii. Rumor and speculation aside, Sulannon is known to have created one item worthy of being called an artifact in his lifetime. He was commissioned to craft a powerful magical mace for the Khemite Pharaoh Atunis III, an act which would eventually come back to haunt Analubia. According to the scarce details his few apprentices let slip, he spent most of the rest of his life in his secret lair engaged in summoning demons, which was the primary source of magical knowledge in those days, experimenting and studying. Due to his reclusive nature, nobody is certain when, or if, he died. Some say he found the secret to immortality and lives today. Others believe he passed into lichdom and exists as one of the oldest and most powerful liches on the planet. Sulannon's true legacy is the collection of magical knowledge he left behind. He was able to use the power of his nexus to summon and control beings far beyond what mortal wizards are normally able to control and the books in which he recorded the secrets he was able to wrest from them contain astounding magical knowledge unavailable elsewhere. No originals have ever been found, but a number of first copies made by his infrequent apprentices exist. Some are stored in various libraries and others exist in private collections. They have great value despite their age. Some say that copies of some of his works are what enabled the Achaean philosopher-mages to codify magic in the first place. Others find his spells and insights useful for magical research of all kinds. Treasure hunters and adventurers often consult known volumes hoping for hitherto undiscovered hints to treasures or even Sulannon's lair. On a more sinister note, Sulannon seems to have been concerned only with knowledge and not with morals. His books discuss the forbidden lore of necromancy, demonology and human sacrifice with the same depth and neutrality with which he discusses the most innocuous magic. This makes his books especially desired by those seeking to practice those forbidden dark arts and subject to censorship by governments and many temples. Indeed, Sulannon's lack of discretion in his magical writings gave rise to a secret society known as the Disciples of Sulannon. The disciples are a group of wizards who share Sulannon's amoral stance on normally forbidden magical knowledge and techniques. While all have different goals and purposes to which they intend to put their knowledge, what they share is a desire to use Sulannon's extensive knowledge and highly successful techniques for their own purposes. They see themselves as carrying on his work, thus the title of disciples. To this end, they associate for the purpose of assembling a complete set of Sulannon's works and to share new discoveries. The Disciples of Sulannon resemble nothing so much as a odd sort of evil magicians guild with a common library, occasional meetings to exchange notes and, of course, the usual plotting and intrigue. The Khemite Years
Analubian power had been declining for centuries by -331. Numerous new trading powers had destroyed the virtual monopoly that once brought such immense wealth to the island. A series of weak kings had allowed some of the more distant colonies to quietly slip away and become competitors. Now, Analubia had a new king. King Hiram Hosdralani XIII was an energetic man and a powerful warrior who promised to return Analubia to its former glory. At the same time, Khemet also had a new King, Pharaoh Atunis VII of the XIX Dynasty of Khemet. Atunis had inherited a land in rebellion and had just finished crushing the last of the rebels. Now, flush with victory, he launched a campaign of conquest to expand his empire. Atunis' first target was Analubia, which was still a rich nation by any standards and which occupied a strategic position near the mouth of the Yor river that allowed them to impose a crippling trade embargo on Khemet at will. The only real obstacle he faced was the Analubian fleet. Khemet had never had a powerful navy and was relying on riverboats to cross the narrow Saren Straits. Analubia was one of the premier naval powers of the age and had a large fleet composed of fast and sleek galleys that could dun circles around anything Khemet could put in the water. Atunis had the full support of the Khemite priesthoods and asked them to use weather magic against the Analubian fleet. He simply gathered the boats on the shore near the straits and waited. Soon, the Analubian fleet showed up to patrol the waters and make a crossing suicide. The priests then began casting powerful spells. They summoned up a great storm to drive the fleet ashore and also summoned water elementals to wreak havoc among the ships that survived the storm. Soon, the Pharaoh had a great victory that was nearly bloodless for his side. Unopposed, he brought his massive army across the straits and sailed along the edge of the swamp until he reached a suitable landing spot near the village of Bela. There, he regrouped his army and marched on the capitol. He didn't get very far before he met the Analubian army led by King Hiram himself. They Met and joined battle at a hill that came to be known as Hiram's Hill. The king was a mighty warrior who wielded the legendary Axe of the Gods and believed in leading from the front. Once the battle was joined, Hiram waded into the fray, leading from the front and inspiring his men. He fought fiercely and slaughtered hundreds of enemies, but could not turn the tide of battle single handedly despite exhausting much of the power of the Scepter of Analubia. The Khemite army was both much larger and much more experienced than the Analubians and they were pushed back under its onslaught and were eventually surrounded on what came to be known as Hiram's hill. King Hiram decided his only hope of turning the tide of battle and winning against the numerically superior Khemite army would be to slay Atunis in single combat. Meanwhile, Atunis was desperate to stop Hiram. He had used the powers of the Scepter to wreak devastation on the Khemite army and had slain hundreds more with the Axe of the Gods. Despite their losses, his troops knew no panic thanks to the powers of the Crown of Analubia. He knew he would have to bring Hiram down to end this stubborn resistance. When the two rulers met, it was a titanic battle of skill and magic. Both men were powerful and experienced warriors and both had magical armaments of great power. Pharaoh Atunis was armed with the Mace of Atunis, which had been made for his ancestor centuries before by Sulannon and King Hiram still bore the Axe of the Gods. The duel was long and evenly matched, but Atunis eventually won by crushing Hiram's skull with his mace. None can say whether he won through luck, superior skill or a superior weapon. Hiram's troops lost all cohesion when they saw him fall and many surrendered on the spot. Others retreated into the cave complex that lay under the hill where it took Khemite troops days to root them out in savage fighting. With the Royal Army crushed by Khemet, there was no force to stand in the way of the Pharaoh. Analubia had fallen to Khemet. Atunis wanted tax paying subjects and ones who would assimilate to become Khemite as a loyal sepat rather than Analubians, so he treated the conquered populace well. This was not an unreasonable expectation. Analubia was just across a narrow strait from Khemet and the people were of similar racial stock. Atunis even honored them by moving the burial place of the XIX Dynasty to Analubia that he might live among them in the afterlife, taking the Mace of Atunis and the Scepter and Crown of Analubia with him according to some legends. Despite this, Analubia never really assimilated into the Khemite Empire. The Analubians were not rebellious, but always looked upon themselves as a conquered people. The Satrapy of Analubia
In 29, the Khemite Empire itself fell. The Isin family of Shiraz had united the traditionally fractious cities around the inland seas to the south into the Isinian Empire. One of its' goals was to expanding its trade network to the north. To that end, one of their first moves was to conquer Marush and Khemet in order to gain ports on the Mare Nostrum and Analubia was seized along with the rest of the Khemite Empire. The transfer of power was peaceful on Analubia itself. Instead of a Khemite sepat, Analubia became an Imperial Satrapy. Along with the Imperial Satrap came immigrants and new gods. Over the next few centuries, the two cultures would blend and form a unique new culture. The Isinian Expulsion (286-304)
For centuries, the people of Achaea had been slowly building a civilization and spreading across the northeast Mare Nostrum. This brought them into competition with the Isinian Empire economically, politically, and militarily. By the late 3rd century, the situation had reached a point where war was inevitable. The Achaean city-states, led by the city of Thelios, formed the Thelian League with the intent of breaking Imperial power in the region once and for all. Several years of warfare passed inconclusively before the Thelian cities assembled a massive fleet and placed it under the command of Kyros, a wily and experienced Thelian admiral. Admiral Kyros met Admiral Smarnish a fleet of Analubian ships on June 24, 292 in the Saren Straits. The Analubian ships were the same small and maneuverable ships Analubia had been famous for since the days of Hiram the Navigator, but Kyros had chosen his waters well and the constricted waters negated the maneuverability of the Analubian ships. The Royal fleet was soundly defeated and the way was clear for Achaean landings on Analubia. Satrap Narasenes himself led the Empire's Analubian garrison. His forces were well equipped and well trained, but few in numbers and defending a land far from home. The campaign got off to a bad start when Narasenes failed to anticipate where the Achaean army was going to land, thus losing the chance to destroy them before they could get themselves organized. What followed were months of marches as the two armies maneuvered for position. Narasenes was a capable, if unexceptional, military commander and knew the importance of selecting the right ground to make the best use of his small force. At the same time, he needed to prevent the Achaean's from doing too much damage to his Satrapy. He balanced the two priorities for months as he and Pylosian General Ariston tried to outmaneuver each other. Finally, he was forced to give battle in order to protect the city of Ayzidas. Narasenes may have been a competent general, but the General Ariston was a great general and, as the battle raged, he outmaneuvered Narasenes' force little by little. Finally, his Phalanxes were closing on Narasenes on three sides and destruction seemed imminent. Faced with a disastrous defeat, he took the risk of ordering a fighting retreat. It is a tribute to him that he held his force together and to his men that they stayed together long enough for the remnants of the League garrison to reach Ayzidas, which was prepared for a decades long siege. Narasenes would now place his hopes on relief from the homeland. The armies of the Thelian League besieged Ayzidas and spread out across the countryside suppressing all resistance and foraging for supplies. They were to stay for a dozen years looking at the formidable walls of Ayzidas and trying to find a way in. They finally found it in 304. As a ruse, they disguised a part of their army as the relief fleet Narasenes had been looking for, put them on captured ships and had them sail into Ayzidas' harbor posing as a relief force from the homeland. The imperial forces were fooled by this ruse only long enough for the ships to get into the harbor, where the deception was immediately discovered. Nevertheless, the ruse had done its job by forcing them to split their forces between repelling an assault on the walls and fighting the troops they had let into the harbor. This proved enough to allow the League to take the city. Satrap Narasenes died on the docks trying to repel the infiltrators. He had been a wealthy man with fabulous artwork, a sumptuous harem and a great deal of magic. Much of his wealth and many of his magical possessions, including a powerful sword, were never found. Some speculated most of it was spent paying his troops for a dozen years while others speculate he had a hidden cache waiting in the event he had to flee the city. Treasure hunters seek the Hoard of Narasenes to this day. The Reborn Kingdom of Analubia
The original plan had been for the Thelian League to break the Imperial as a power in the north and go home and they succeeded beyond their wildest expectations. Between the naval victory at the Saren Straits and an even more impressive land victory several years later, imperial power was completely destroyed in the north. The besieged city of Ayzidas had been the last stronghold of Imperial power in the north. With the destruction of the military strength keeping them in power, the government and the upper classes fled for home. That left both a political power vacuum and an economic one, as the Isinians tolerated few non-imperial merchants of any stature in their subject territories. Many of the Achaean soldiers liked the warm southern climate and preferred it to the colder climes of their homeland. Furthermore, they saw far more opportunity in taking over Imperial businesses than in going home to rocky farms and relatively tiny cities in Achaea. Quite by accident, the Achaean colonization of Analubia and the Mare Nostrum had begun. Many Achaean soldiers settled in Analubia and more men came from Achaea to seek their fortunes. Many women came seeking rich husbands among the new elite. Achaean merchants and merchants from some of the newly independent Analubian colonies took over many of the trade routes formerly dominated by the Isinian Empire. Freed from the threat of Imperial fleets, Achaean merchants and explorers began to spread across the seas looking for new trading partners, establishing new colonies and creating an Achaean trade empire. Analubia underwent fundamental change. The massive influx of Achaeans changed the makeup of the population. No longer was Analubia a distinctly southern nation. Now, it was a southern/Achaean admixture. Despite their own traditions of democratic government, the Achaeans kept the kingdom intact. They knew they were invaders in a land not their own and that they would need a strong centralized state to keep control of the native population. General Ariston was crowned King Ariston I of Analubia. He, in turn, appointed Achaeans to all of the important offices in his government. Their concession to the democratic traditions of their homeland was to establish an Assembly that could override the king with a majority vote. Every man who served in the Thelian League army was given a vote, though things quickly evolved to the point where powerful men voted for large blocks of their followers by proxy. Some believe this was the inspiration for the Tarantine Senate and Patronage system. The next two centuries were to be quiet ones. Long accustomed to foreign rule, the native population enjoyed being a kingdom again even if it was under a foreign king. As time passed, the Analubian and Achaean populations gradually assimilated each other to form a population and culture that was unique to the island. Analubia became once again a land of riches with its natural resources and a modest foreign trade. It was strong enough to defend itself, but lacked the strength to threaten its neighbors and avoided war. The island kingdom enjoyed two centuries of peace and increasing prosperity. The defeat shattered the Isinian Empire. Seeing the imperial armies weakened by the war, several cities took the opportunity to rebel. The King of Kings died on the field of battle and a succession of puppets followed him for the next five years before the alliance led by the city of Ashkelon won over its rivals. It crowned a new emperor and formed the Ashkelonian Empire.
The Ashkelonian War (538-541)
The peace Analubia had enjoyed for so long was shattered in 538 when the Ashkelonian Empire invaded. Ashkelonia was formed to regain the prestige enjoyed under the old Isinian Empire and one of their primary goals was to regain their former possessions in the north. To that end, they launched an invasion that set off two centuries of intermittent warfare with the Thelian League before the young and vigorous Tarantine Empire supplanted both powers as the premier power in the region. Analubia was, at that time, one of the Achaean states at the forefront of the conflict due to its southern position. Only Achaean Khemet was to be attacked before Analubia and this prompted the Thelian League to be revived. The Thelian nations knew the Empire would eventually strike against all of them. They acted quickly to raise both an army and a fleet. Analubia was ideally positioned to deny Imperial ships based at the mouth of the Yor River access to the open sea. The invasion of Analubia was intended to take the island and prevent that from happening. A massive imperial army landed unopposed near the eastern tip of the island and began marching westward. The Analubian army met them and fought a brilliant series of delaying actions as they waited for their Thelian allies. The Imperial armies had nearly reached the capitol when they finally arrived. Once again, the Achaeans found itself fighting a naval action off Analubia, but this time they passed the Saren Straits uneventfully and fell upon the Empire's supply ships without warning. The destruction of this fleet forced the imperial army in Analubia to surrender, as they had no source of supply and no way to withdraw to the mainland. The Achaeans, bolstered by their Analubian allies, launched an invasion of Khemet to drive the Empire out and restore its Achaean ruling class to power. After a three-year campaign, they drove the Empire out of Khemet and back to its last port on the southern shore of the Mare Nostrum. The Empire agreed to peace and a great tribute to be paid to the Thelian League states in exchange for not taking the last of their ports on the Mare Nostrum. The fall of Analubia and the rise of Tarantium
Flush with their success, the people of Analubia became less and less interested in the hard work that generated their wealth and more interested in enjoying the fruits of it. As the decades passed, they slowly sunk into decadence. By the 7th century, Analubia was a land of decadence. Malos I, the 6th King of the Kondrostina Dynasty was a man of his times when ascended the throne in 600. He promptly ignored all matters of state and dedicated his life to decadence and debauchery. It is a tribute to the efficiency and dedication of the Royal bureaucracy that they managed to keep things running stably for the next 71 years. In 668, Malos II, a spoiled young man of 16, ascended to the throne and became the 8th and last king of the Kondrostina Dynasty. Like his father and grandfather before him, he spent all of his time in the pursuit of pleasure. Malos wanted desperately to be liked and took great pains to ensure that everyone around him was happy and would think of him as a fine fellow. This would be no great fault if it ended there, but there was a darker side to his personality. Malos was also very insecure. Should he decide someone did not like him in spite of all his efforts, he took it as a personal affront and lashed out viciously. Older men were mostly exempt from Malos' merrymaking largely because he thought they were all uptight fools incapable of having fun. His contemporaries soon learned to step lightly around Malos and go along with what he said or risk facing grim consequences. This aspect of his personality was to cost himself and his people dearly one day. One of young Malos' favorite pastimes was to go slumming. For Malos, this involved prowling his capital in the dark of the night surrounded by his palace favorites seeking pleasure wherever and with whomever he found it. He made it his practice to sweep up as whomever he found in the streets for a night of debauchery and he cared not for social status inviting noble and slave alike to share in his merriment and would brook no excuse if someone tried to beg off. Anyone who resisted too strenuously would arouse Malos' insecurities and the young king would lash out at him. In such cases, the unwitting offender was lucky if he got off with a vicious beating by the King and his cronies. More than one such unfortunate had awakened chained to a galley oar or simply turned up dead. The locals had learned to simply join the party should they happen to encounter Malos and his cronies. The phrase "Slumming with Malos" even entered the local language as a way of describing an inescapable delay. Malos' luck ran out one cold February night in 671. He was slumming as usual when he and his cronies encountered a young Tarantine wizard making his way home. As was their usual practice, they tried to sweep him into their party, but he repeatedly refused. True to form, Malos' insecurity manifested itself and he lashed out at the young man. At first, he and his cronies were going to give him a good beating and let him spend the night on the cobbles to learn his lesson, but he defended himself skillfully both physically and with non-lethal spells. Were it not for the platoon of elite guards that always followed at a discrete distance to bail the young king out of trouble, the youth would have simply walked away leaving the king and his cronies stewing in their helplessness. Instead, the wizard was overwhelmed by the Royal Guards and captured. The furious king had him bound, gagged and thrown in the dungeon. Before the night was out, he was beheaded for magical assault on the Royal Person without being allowed to say a single word in his defense. Not long after dawn, the upper levels of Analubian government flew into a panic as Malos slept off the effects of the night's debauchery. It hadn't taken long for one of the royal advisors to recognize the severed head of the young mage as that of Marcus Terentius Caesar, the youngest son of the Tarantine Emperor Lucius Terentius Caesar, who had been in the country to study some of the magical writings stored at the Grand Library of Sastanira. It was bad enough that the head of a supposedly friendly state had killed him, but for the King to put his head on a pike in the city square like a common criminal was adding insult on top of injury. Though they acted swiftly to try to cover up what they could and smooth over what they couldn't, they were too late. Before the palace advisors had even formed a plan of action, the local contingent of Tarantine merchants had sent their fastest ship to speed home with news of the outrage. The rest was inevitable. Tarantium demanded vengeance and it was going to get it. Though the Analubian army was large and well equipped, it had not seen anything beyond skirmishes with humanoid raiders in generations and was more suited for parades than battle. The same went for the fleet, which had not faced worse than pirates for generations. The Analubian soldiers and sailors knew they were no match for the battle-hardened veterans of the Tarantine Legions and morale hit rock bottom. In May, Marcus's eldest brother, the future Emperor Lucius Terentius Caesar II, arrived looking for blood. He brought with him the crack 7th Legion "Felix" as his spearhead along with the 1st Legion "Ausonia Invictus", the 19th Legion "Aquitania Triumphus", the 31st Legion "Teutonica Pertinax" and a contingent of 4,000 Teuton Cavalry. The Analubian fleet didn't put up more than a token resistance before scattering and fleeing for their lives. The legions landed on the north shore and immediately sought battle. When the Analubian army met the battle-hardened veterans of the legions, they broke almost immediately. So quick and total was the rout that Analubia was conquered almost without bloodshed. Malos Kondrostina II was captured by the troops of the 1st legion under the command of Legate Gaius Sempronius Lepidus while trying to flee the country in the veiled costume of a high lady of the Ashkelonian Empire. The Kondrostina dynasty was almost extinct before Tarantium arrived. Only Malos and his even more debauched younger brother Dolos were the only remaining members. Tarantium's vengeance began when Malos was made to sit through Dolos' execution, for he had been a primary participant in the events of that night and Lucius Terentius thought a brother for a brother was only fair. He was also forced to watch the executions of the advisors who had ignored his habits and allowed such outrages to be perpetrated not only on young Marcus, but also on the populace at large. Then, he was taken in chains to Tarantium to be paraded before the population in the future Emperor's triumph. Afterward, Malos was enslaved and put to work in the imperial palace at the most disagreeable jobs that could be found. Lest anyone think the empire is soft, it is whispered even today that there still exists a Kondrostina dynasty kept in slavery in the Imperial Palace in Tarantium. The Emperors, the rumors say, keep careful records of each generation and make sure there is always an eldest heir to do the most unpleasant tasks in the palace as a sign of the eternal vengeance of the Empire. The Province of Analubia
Tarantium did not exact vengeance on the common people. They were not to blame for their leaders actions and the emperor would not punish them for his mistakes. As a result, life changed little for the average Analubian. There was now an imperial governor instead of a king. Some of the laws were different. The currency was different. There were legionnaires patrolling the land now instead of the royal army. The capital now had a large statue of Marcus Terentius Caesar in its main square. These things were different, but changed little in most people's lives. Indeed, life was better for many of the common people. Lucius Terentius Caesar II was appointed the first Governor of Analubia. He did an able job of turning the old kingdom into an imperial province. Tarantine Engineers spread across the country building solid roads to bring goods to market, irrigation networks to allow even land far from rivers to more reliably grow crops and aqueducts to bring fresh water to even the poorest resident of the cities. The old system of law that had one code and the system that judged for Achaean nobles under one set of laws and everyone else under another was abolished, as was the law restricting natives Analubians from holding public office. The imperial tax collectors conducted a proper census and applied the Empires much fairer tax codes to all. The only people worse off under Tarantine rule were the old Achaean families who had lost power and privileges when Tarantium took over. In addition to his program of public works and government reforms, Lucius Terentius did all he could to honor his dead brother. Knowing young Marcus had been here studying magic among the disparate libraries and wizards of the kingdom, he organized a branch of the Imperial Academy of Magic in Analubia to formalize, organize and advance the study of magic in his honor. The Analubian Revolt
In 737, the Ashkelonian Empire launched an invasion of the Tarantine Empire. In a move long planned and prepared for and carefully timed to coincide with the invasion, the old Analubian noble families rose in rebellion and incited the people to revolt as well. Many had lost prominent members when the Caesars executed Malos' council and advisors. All of them had lost influence. They hoped their carefully timed revolt would allow them to throw off their new master's yoke while he was busy with Ashkelonia. The Ashkelonians had even supplied weapons and supplies in hopes the rebellion would cripple the imperial response by denying the empire the secure naval and supply bases the island had become important for. On April 15, they rose and slaughtered thousands of Tarantine citizens, including the governor and drove the 3rd Legion, which had been assigned as a garrison, from its fortresses and into the central highlands where they operated as guerrillas. The Emperor dispatched a ragtag force immediately upon receiving the horrific news of the slaughter. He assembled a mismatched force by stripping the Ausonian peninsula. At the core of his force, he had most of the Praetorian Guard -- an entire legion in strength. To this, he added a legion of the Urban Cohorts that garrisoned Tarantium itself, and the 1st Legion "Ausonia Invictus", which had been passing through on its way to the war at the time. He bolstered this force with four legions of Provincial militia from Ausonia, Teutonica, and Mesembria. He capped it all with a mixed legion of barbarians. The barbarian force included a cohort of Gaelish cavalry, a cohort of Teuton cavalry and two cohorts of mixed infantry that were intended to go join a legion as auxiliaries, a mixed cohort of hobgoblin warriors, a cohort of halfling slingers recruited from their southern homeland and a provisional cohort of Varangians made up mostly of Teutons and Thulians. To form the provisional Varangian cohort, the emperor offered every Barbarian in the city who had come seeking a place in the Varangians a place in that crack unit if they survived the campaign. To command this force, he appointed his son and heir, Gaius Terentius Caesar. Gaius Terentius was the grandson of the man who led the last invasion of Analubia. It took two years to subdue Analubia. The Analubians were eager to give battle at first and there were a several bloody battles. They had never faced Imperial Battle Mages before. The Analubians had their own wizards, but they were mostly Achaean Philosopher-Mages who had a scientific and mostly theoretical approach to battle magic that proved no match for the practical efficiency and experience of the Tarantine Battle Mages. In battle after battle, the Analubians found themselves routed. Even those battles where the Battle Mages were not present did not go well for Analubia. After the main Analubian field army was destroyed, Gaius Terentius detached the Teutons and Thulians as a separate force charged with seeking out any remaining forces in the field and root out guerrillas while he took the siege-trained Tarantine forces to start reducing fortresses and cities. One Analubian General with 20,000 men sought to destroy the 5,500 Northmen while no Battle Mages were around. His force quickly surrounded the much smaller army and began to move in for the kill, but was shocked when the Northmen worked themselves into a fury and charged the Analubian force lead by a chieftain named Thorvald. By the end of the day, 5000 Analubians had been killed and the rest were routed. This sort of suicidal bravery turned the tide of battle several times when it broke an enemy formation or finally gained the top of a wall. By the fall, all resistance outside the cities was eliminated or reduced to guerrilla actions. . The 3rd emerged from hiding and joined the army providing sorely needed manpower as the provincial legions were sent home again. The Thulians and Teutons were sent out once again to root out guerrillas in a winter that seemed nothing but a mild cold snap to them. By spring, they had destroyed most organized resistance in the countryside. Siege works had been built and, one by one, the rebel cities were stormed. Finally, in 739, the last rebel stronghold had been reduced Imperial vengeance came. To start with, those noble families who had incited the rebellion were destroyed. Their principle members were executed and the rest enslaved and sold abroad. If the imperial hand had fallen lightly on the common folk before, it was because they bore no blame. By rising in rebellion, they had brought the full wrath of the Emperor down upon themselves. The surviving rebels were enslaved and sold far from home. Many more of the common folk lost their freedom when they couldn't pay their taxes because a father, brother or son ran off to join the rebellion and was subsequently killed or enslaved. Others died when two years of war brought famine and disease. When confronted by those who complained that such treatment was overly harsh, the emperor responded by reminding them of the slaughter of Tarantine citizens, including children, at the beginning of the rebellion and said that the populace of Analubia should be grateful he didn't have the entire island enslaved for such a deed. Analubia once again underwent a process of change. The rebellion had left the island under populated. As the war began to wind down to a stalemate, the emperor began to settle retiring legionnaires on vacant land to ensure a loyal populace in the future. Tarantine merchants moved in to take over markets recently vacated by the rebellion. Senators and other prominent nobles bought up forfeited noble estates and became absentee landlords who, perhaps, visited every few years for a vacation in the sun. So it was that Tarantium put its stamp on Analubia. Meanwhile the war proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back. The Tarantine army met the Ashkelonian army in a titanic battle of emperors in 742, the Ashkelonians were soundly defeated and Emperor Nezamhar IV was killed on the battlefield. His sons spent the next two decades fighting over the remnants of his empire as it fragmented bit by bit. By the end of the 8th century, all that was left of the Ashkelonian Empire was a scattering of warring city-states and petty nations. Analubia began to flourish again as the influx of settlers set about making their homes and fortunes, but its true return to the prosperity of old was to come 60 years later in the year 797. In that year, a trade delegation from the Dwarven Court visited the island and negotiated a series of trade contracts with local merchants and landowners. Their lands were landlocked and they greatly desired the products of the sea that Analubia could provide, particularly the exquisite pearls and the porphyry dye the island was known for. The supply of these goods had been erratic in the past few troubled centuries and the dwarves were anxious to secure a reliable source. In exchange for these goods, they offered fine metalwork and Serican silk and oriental spices. This arrangement brought great prosperity as the islanders became middlemen for these coveted goods. It also marked the first export license for Porphyry granted by the emperor. The Analubian Racehorse In 883, Analubia entered the spotlight in a different arena, the hippodrome. A young upstart chariot racer of mixed Achaean and native blood began racing on the provincial circuit. He billed himself 'Celes' (Racehorse) and shot to the top of the provincial circuit shattering records left and right. He was a household name across the empire after only one year of racing and without ever having set foot in Tarantium's Circus Maximus. For his second year of racing, he went to Tarantium and joined the Blues team racing as the "Analubian Racehorse". He promptly shattered more records; won every race he participated in and brought the Blues the 884 trophy. His spectacular career was to continue for a dozen more years before he retired. He returned to Analubia a famous and wealthy man. He bought a large plot of land in northern Analubia, built a luxurious villa and began breeding racehorses. Soon, Analubia had a flourishing industry raising and training racehorse and charioteers. Within a century, Analubia had a reputation for providing some of the finest horses in the empire. The Coming of Orus
The year 934 saw the return of Orus. His legendary battle with the gods took place far to the north, but Analubia felt the effects as a tidal wave reached the north shore and the skies filled with ash for months. The clergy of the Achaean gods, who had largely supplanted the Khemite and Ashkelonian pantheons, felt that something was wrong. They soon found their power diminished to one degree or another and even gone in some cases. As the months passed, travelers brought word of the new god and his church. The local priests faced an impending disaster as they tried to deal with the effects of the tidal wave and with the impending famine from the eternally cloudy skies. Worse yet, their gods refused to answer their pleas for miracles, though they still granted spells and even spoke to their highest priests. Something was wrong and nobody could say what it was. The people were losing faith and the priests were worried. Just as hope and disaster loomed large, Rufus Tarpeius Analubius, a merchant and a native of the island returned from abroad miraculously cured of his near blindness. He proclaimed himself a prophet of the new deity and began to prove it with miracles far beyond anything the local clergy were capable of. He taught about the nature of the false gods and their priesthoods. He trained new clergy and had many copies of the Sanctus Exemplar made. He relieved the suffering and averted the famine with the power Orus granted him. The people responded by converting in droves. The priests of the established religions first sought to shout him down and, when that failed, they tried to kill him but failed. Soon, the temples were empty or converted to Churches of Orus and, save for a few stubborn holdouts, the old faiths were gone from the island within a generation. In the same year, Rufus funded and laid down the foundation for a great church complex in the provincial capitol to provide work for the refugees of the tidal wave. When he died some twenty years later, he would be buried there. This church would eventually be completed as the Cathedral of St. Rufus the Prophet and serves as the headquarters of the Archbishop of Analubia. The Cult of Sastanira
Through all of the upheavals of the past two thousand years, the people of the island had revered the Temple of Sastanira for her work to save the island from the deep ones and the belief that she would once again be called upon to do so. She was also popular as a purely Analubian figure and persevered beyond other gods for that reason. Even when the people abandoned worship of other pagan deities in droves, they continued to revere Sastanira. This presented a problem for the Church of Orus. Church doctrine holds that there is only one god, Orus. As Sastanira was once a mortal woman, she could not be a caretaker pretending godhood. Therefore, if she had any standing at all and was not simply a dead woman, she could only be a saint devoted to protecting the island and its people. The church was willing to accept her on such grounds despite her pre-Orusian origins. Most of Sastanira's clergy was not willing to agree. They continued to insist she was a god and an older god than Orus at that. In the face of such defiance, the church felt its only choice was to act against the cult. In September of 956, church authorities fanned out across the island with imperial troops at their side to close the temples and arrest the clergy of Sastanira. In some places they met resistance from the clergy and even the people themselves. In others, the clergy went quietly or was missing when the authorities arrived. The last remnants of the overt worship of Sastanira were purged that year, though there is considerable debate about the ultimate fate of the cult. Some believe it is gone entirely, while others believe it still has secret followers and even secret temples in hiding. As a gesture toward the people of Analubia, the Pontifex Maximus made Sastanira a Saint and invited the former clergy of her church to convert and joint the Order of Saint Sastanira. Some few did and there are shrines, nunneries and monasteries to St. Sastanira on Analubia to this day, though some whisper they are not as devout in their devotion to Orus as they might seem. The Cult of Mysteries
Ever since the return of Orus, the Church of Orus has had to deal with the Cult of Mysteries. The founders of the cult were priests of Nesubis, an ancient Khemite deity said to be the keeper of a set of books in which the sum of all knowledge was recorded. According to his followers, he found the knowledge that Orus would return and throw down the other gods written in one of his books and went into hiding. His priesthood also went into hiding and formed the Cult of Mysteries. The Cult of Mysteries was made up of followers and priests of Nesubis, one of the few surviving Khemite deities. The purpose of the cult is to find a way to destroy Orus and his "cult". Its members believe that this is the only way to protect their deities and return them to their former dominance. They spend most of their time gathering information about both Orus and his church and pursuing various avenues of research that might advance their goals. As a result, they have accumulated a significant body of knowledge of various types over the centuries. They are willing to use this information to help anyone who seeks to do harm to Orus or his church. In the 11th century, the cult discovered what it considered to be the ultimate information-gathering tool. It was a method of sacrificing a sentient being that opened up the subjects mind for the cult to comb through at their leisure. The cult began to make use of the method to expand their knowledge and advance their goals. In 1049, an Orusian priestess named Messalina Septimus Flavinus was kidnapped from her rural Analubian chapel by the cult for interrogation and eventual sacrifice, which proved their undoing. At first, adventurers were sent to try to rescue her. One band succeeded in locating her, but was captured. This gave Messalina the opportunity to take matters into her own hands. She escaped from her cell, freed the adventurers, and killed many of the cultists before escaping with enough information to drag down several other hidden bands of cultists. In the process of destroying these other bands of cultists, all of the priests capable of the heinous form of sacrifice intended for her were killed or captured and the knowledge was lost. Messalina Septimus later went on to become Archbishop of Analubia. The cult was crippled for decades, but eventually regained its strength and still prowls Analubia in search of ancient knowledge. It is said to be one of the leading factions in the search for Sulannon's Lair. The Rise of the Gilded League
By the middle of the 12th century, the empire had been in a state of decline for almost two centuries. Barbarians were raiding along the borders with increasing frequency and the army was proving increasingly ineffective at handling them. Inside the empire, crime was rampant. City streets were no longer safe at night, brigands infested the countryside and pirates sailed the Mare Nostrum for the first time in centuries. Many thought the empire was in its final days. Meanwhile, fractious cities of the old Ashkelonian Empire had finally reunited. With no one city or alliance of cities able to gain the upper hand, they finally agreed to form a confederation instead of an empire. This confederation came to be known as the Gilded League after the fabled wealth of its member cities. Its capital was to be old Isin and it was to be governed by a council with one representative each city, usually its Shah. These councilors, in turn, would elect one of their number "Padishah" (Supreme Shah). With the weakness of the empire apparent, the League believed their golden opportunity had arrived. In 1149, the Gilded League launched a massive invasion designed at delivering the deathblow to the empire. Their armies conquered vast swathes of land in the southeastern part of the empire, reaching the shores of the Mare Nostrum itself. At the peak of the war, a League army defeated a Tarantine army where it was staging near the mouth of the Yor River. The defeat was devastating with 9 legions destroyed or routed and Emperor Gnaeus Caecilus Caesar captured and taken back to Nishtophon. This left the League looking across the straits at Analubia with only the Imperial Fleet holding them at bay. For the first time in centuries, Analubia faced the real prospect of foreign invasion and was fortified to be a secure bastion in the southwest to guard against further League incursions. Fortunately, despite several bloody sea battles, the imperial fleet was able to hold them at bay and Analubia was never invaded. When the war ended 12 years later, the League held significant gains. The most important of which were Khemet and the Silk Route to the mountains of the Dwarven Court. The stiff tariffs the League placed on this trade took much of the profit out of the dwarven trade. Fortunately, the dwarves did not draw out of the trade and Analubia continued to benefit from the dwarven trade. The war also provided Analubia with a new source of prosperity. For millennia, Khemet had been the premier banking center for the Mare Nostrum. With its capture by the League, many of its bankers fled to nearby Analubia with their assets and reestablished their business, making Analubia the new center for banking in the empire and bringing a new source of prosperity to the island. The Legacy of Sulannon
In 1242, a group of church inquisitors made a startling discovery in the Analubian highlands. They had been on the trail of what they thought was a cell of the Cult of Mysteries that was summoning demons and wreaking havoc on outlying settlements. What they discovered instead was a lone wizard in an ancient underground complex. It was he who was behind the demon summonings and the damage they caused. The inquisitors, led by a paladin named Gaius Cornelius Pertinax, were able to destroy the demons and other fell beings occupying the complex and slay the wizard. Further investigation revealed that the complex was some two thousand years old and dated to the period before Achaean philosopher mages codified magic into a science. The original owner appeared to have been one of Sulannon's apprentices and had stored much forgotten lore here. Finally, there were hints that this was hardly the only such complex hidden away in the remote parts of the province. When this information got out, it touched off a massive treasure hunt that never really ended. Over the years, the province has attracted thousands of ambitious wizards and fortune seekers who comb the hinterlands hoping to find another such lair stocked with forgotten lore and ancient magic. Some have made minor discoveries and retired rich men even from those. That has been enough to encourage the treasure hunters to keep coming and has resulted in a thriving adventuring trade in the province. Plague, War and Famine
The year 1330 represented the lowest point of the Empires decline and the start of its resurgence. The Red Death swept the empire laying low entire populations. At first, it appeared that a quarantine imposed by the governor would keep even the plague from reaching the island, but this was not to be. Too many people, both noble and common, sought refuge from war and plague on the island bypassing the quarantine by stealth or magic. Soon, the Red Death was sweeping the island. Both religious and secular authorities were overwhelmed by the sheer number of sick and couldn't check the progress of the plague. When it finally subsided, hundreds of thousands were dead and the province was crippled. On the northern border, the already weak garrisons were gutted by the plague. The Teutons chose that moment to descend on the empire in record numbers. They quickly overwhelmed the border garrisons and swept south looting and plundering. The miles of water that lay between the mainland and the island city of Tarantium were the only thing that stopped their advance. They looted the suburbs on the mainland around the great bay and then settled in looking for a way across the water to the formidably fortified city. Meanwhile, a group of noblemen saw this as their chance to seize power for themselves. Abandoning the capital, they fled to Aquitania where they each held great estates. It was here that they established their power base, hoping to force the emperor to step down by cutting off the grain supply that fed Tarantium's people in the midst of a siege. The Emperor's desperate solution was to forge a deal with the Teuton King. They and their noblemen would receive titles and lands in the empire along with smaller grants for their men. The Emperor's daughter would marry the son of the Teuton King and their son would be the next emperor. In exchange, they would help the Emperor retake his empire. Analubia itself was mostly unaffected by the major upheavals that took place in the rest of the empire. The rebellion was largely confined to Aquitania and the barbarian invasions were mostly confined to Ausonia and the Teutonic frontier. The League made gains in the southeast again, but could not threaten Analubia itself as it had its own problems with the plague. The aftermath of the plague brought a number of changes. Hardest hit had been the slaves, especially those kept on the huge agricultural estates that had gradually replaced the family farm during the years of imperial rule. Before their owners could even begin to replace them, a new law came from the capital. The emperor decreed new taxes for anyone operating such a farm and instead encouraged landowners to sell or rent their land to allow the common folk to establish farmsteads of their own. Most landowners, eager to avoid additional taxation and appalled by the replacement cost of their slaves, complied. This turned Analubia back into a nation of farmsteads. The aftermath also brought the Teutons. Teutonic warriors crushed the rebellion in Aquitania and most received their lands from the forfeited estates of the rebels. Some, however, came east to Analubia to claim other emptied estates handed out by the emperor. The new Teutonic noblemen shocked the social scene when they arrived, but were a minor problem when compared to recovering from the plague and soon assimilated. The Return of the Humanoids
In the winter of 1425, everyone was shocked to discover that unknown parties had sacked several isolated farmsteads and villas near the mountains. Subsequent investigation determined that orcish raiders from the mountains were responsible. This was a huge shock as it was thought the last orc on the island had been killed millennia before. The 3rd Legion sent a cohort to search for their mountain home and destroy them, which was quickly accomplished. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of Analubia's renewed humanoid problems. Over the next few decades, more raids would take place with ever increasing frequency until the 16th century. By that time, there were almost as many years with raids as without and the central highlands were a dangerous and wild place where civilized men rarely dared go. Theories about just what is going on abound. Many of the native population fear that the deep ones survived Sastanira's attack and have finally found a way out of their prison. Some even voice the heretical view that the churches suppression of the cult of Sastanira has left the way open for the return of the Deep Ones. Others point out that there could be many reasons for the appearance of so many monsters on the island. Many favor a plot by the Gilded League as a likely explanation. Another theory is that one of the many explorers seeking caches of ancient magic might have accidentally opened a gate to some monster-infested corner of the world. The Proconsul regularly sends the army to search for the ultimate source of this infestation and end it. At the same time, there is a standing reward for any information that helps explain how these monsters are reaching the island. Unfortunately, all of these efforts have, so far, been fruitless. Whatever the reason, the raids appear to be a fact of life that will not change in the foreseeable future. Recent History
Things have not been quiet in Analubia in recent years. Nobody has ever been able to wipe out the humanoids and monsters that seem to occupy the endless series of caves and valleys in and under the highlands. In 1518, a wave of undead and unnatural beasts came boiling out of the highlands to threaten the civilized inhabitants of the island yet again. The legions and adventurers handled the invasion easily, but it serves to underscore the danger still present on the island. One noteworthy event of the year is the discovery by a group of adventurers of an entrance to a sealed and abandoned dwarf hold. They did not proceed far into the trap-infested complex, nor did they reveal its location. Instead, they returned to collect their head bounty and plan a better equipped return expedition. They were, instead, killed in a fight with another adventuring group that believed they had deliberately sent them into a humanoid trap in order to claim more bounty money for themselves. In 1524, there was another outbreak of raiding by humanoids and monsters. This time, they were better equipped and smarter than the usual raiders. Rather than launching their usual bold raids deep into the province, they simply raided outlying farms and villas for food and supplies. This led to speculation that they were armed and led by someone, but no proof was ever found of this. Whatever the cause, it made them tough to root out. They were finally trapped and destroyed after the Proconsul himself, a wizard named Lucius Sempronius Alabraxus, was able to determine their next targets by scrying. This allowed the legion to stop them and be prepared for a pursuit back to their homes, where they were destroyed, at least for a few more years. Gilded League agents were uncovered in the province in 1529. They had been operating in the highlands inciting trouble among the various beasts, humanoids and outlaws who live there. Those in the civilized portion controlling and funding efforts were captured. Unfortunately, many of their agents were in the field and got word their operation had been compromised before they could be captured. Their revenge took place a year later when they unleashed a massive number of Ankheg they had been breeding in secret caves. Adventurers and legionnaires were able to destroy all of the beasts, but not before extensive damage was caused in the western and northern farmlands. It is believed that some of these agents could still be active more than 20 years after the fact. In 1536, scandal broke when it was discovered that the Proconsul governing the island, one Petronius Gerhard Scaevola, was illegally exporting imperial purple dye to several foreign nations including the Dwarven Empire via the Gilded League. This prompted a major investigation by imperial authorities and not a few arrests. In the same year, Gnaeus Didius Primus was tried for defamation of character. He accused Senator Sergius Valerius Felix of being behind the plot. The senator pressed charges and, when Gnaeus Didius could offer no proof, he was sentenced to a lengthy jail term for his crime. The year of 1542 saw an intense feud erupt between the Drusus Nasica and Faustus Lentulus families. Both are equestrian families involved in the fishing trade. A dispute over fishing grounds erupted into first a price war and then actual armed conflict both at sea and in the streets. Events finally came to a head when the Faustus Lentulus family patriarch Rufus was found to have been plotting to assassinate Gnaeus, the Drusus Nasica family patriarch and replace him with some sort of shape shifter that would then agree to a settlement heavily in the favor of the Faustus Lentulus family. Imperial authorities stepped in and forced a solution in favor of the Drusus Nasica family and fined the Faustus Lentulus family as punishment for the plot. Rufus was branded and exiled for his part and the shape shifter was executed. None are certain where the shape shifter came from. Some speculate it was connected to the deep ones, while others believe it is a result of magical crossbreeding by an unscrupulous wizard said to be operating in the highlands. In 1546, farmers near the central highlands reported a sharp increase in the number of owlbears sighted. A thorough investigation was conducted, but the increase seems to be natural. There are those who believe this to be part of another League plot while others are convinced a wizard has been experimenting with magical breeding, but no source for the increase has ever been found. The authorities placed a bounty on owlbears, which seems to have kept their numbers in check. In 1551, Senator Sergius Valerius Felix accused the Pilatus branch of the patrician Tarpeius family of treason. The Tarpeius Pilatus family had operated a lucrative series of pearl beds in the northeastern part of the province. The Senator presented evidence that the Tarpeius Pilatus family was passing information about naval movements in the Saren Straits to the Gilded League. Supposedly, this was an attempt to play both sides against each other in an effort to retain their lucrative business no matter how the coming war turned out. The family elders who were directly responsible were executed, the rest of the family was enslaved and their property sold at auction with Senator Valerius ending up with much of it. The year 1552 saw resurgence in activity by the cult of Seretep. With the outbreak of war against the Gilded League, the cult has been detected in several areas trying to corrupt legionnaires on leave. The vigilies have taken action against them, but they have proven hard to wipe out. There is talk of involving church inquisitors or the imperial black roses. The eastern military was recently rocked by the revelation that Senior Legate Publius Marius Pertinax was a traitor who had been selling information about imperial troop movements to the enemy. Few wanted to believe the accusation, especially in the army and among his veterans, as Publius Marius was always known as a legionnaires legionnaire and a consummate patriot. Still, the Archbishop of Analubia himself cast the truth detecting spells at his trial and few could argue with the result. Marius gave no reason for his actions, but rumors say he believed that the empire would eventually lose the war despite early successes and that he wanted to be on the winning side. Others suspect financial trouble to be the cause.
Last Updated:
Saturday, 24-Apr-2004 10:31:30 CDT
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