Crusade 2

“Yesterday, the sun was shining, the animals spoke and the world was right.  Today, the sun is gone, the animals are in hiding and nothing is right.”

-Agi-Tume, Illietheril Runner

“I was watching Laakasa in the night sky, when she disappeared.  Why Tak’gaar, has Laakasa disappeared from the sky?”

-Chakk, Korogin gha’tok initiate

“As we moved into our positions above the Om’rhak hamgar, the mountains roared and the hills shook and the night sky disappeared.”

-Mutaag, Herg warrior

“I thought something was different when I got up and the sky was gray and thick clouds hung in the air as far as I could see.  I knew something was wrong when I arrived at the gates of Nairn-vel-toth and nothing remained, but a giant hole in the ground.”

-Burke, Merchant

For centuries on end the wise and generous Mairhzba governed the land and peace reigned over it.  All across the Empire the people lived in harmony with one another.  The Mairhzba and its vassals traded freely with distant lands and there little was needed by anyone.  Markets throuought the land boasted all manner of trade goods and brought in visitors from across the continent.

Artists and scholars thrived and literacy was common among even the poor.  The works of great philosophers such as Suh’tan were available to all and formed the basis for many of the laws of the land.  Doing good to one another was considered to be the paramount law and respect for each other stemmed from the need to follow age old dictates of politeness and decorum.  In all life was good for the people of the Empire. 

Then it was gone.

With the disappearance of the great cities of the Empire the infrastructure of the nation was brought to a screeching halt.  Trade routes lay empty and fields were left to go to seed.  No one knew what to make of the disappearance of the Mairhzba and the attacks by all manner of raiders and marauders left much of the nation in shambles. 

Here and there small enclaves arose that were able to return their protected areas to a semblance of the lost civilization.  The age old mantra of Might-Makes-Right has returned to the forefront and these self-proclaimed leaders of the people prove that every day.  While it is true that most of the new settlements are led by honest men there are a growing number of stories detailing the atrocities and evils perpetrated not only by raiders, but also by those the populace looks to for protection.

The forces of the herg and korogin have taken great advantage of the disappearance of the Mairhzba and their armies and are raiding deeper into what’s left of the Empire every day.  Even age old allies such as the cymean and nemtsa are sorely tested by the loss of the Mairzba and both of these nations have done their best to withdraw from the Empire.  This withdrawal is not done out of spite rather it is from the fear that aiding the people of the Empire will draw the attention of the many raiders that are tearing at the remnants of what the Mairhzba had built.

Already the cymean city of Kar-met-Istan is under siege by a large contingent of barbarians from the north and it is feared that it is only a matter of time before herg mercenaries are brought in by the north-men to assist in the breaking of the city.  If Kar-met-Istan falls it is feared that there is nothing that can be done to stop the barbaric tribes from over-running the entire region.

All of these events have taken place in a year’s time and to say the future is uncertain is as great an understatement as one can make…

Crusade

After taking several months off any serious writing or creating I am back.  I am working on a fantasy story now and am really enjoying myself.  Here is part of it...

Times Before

The great Mairhzba city of Nuan-il-Travir was alive with activity, the five roads leading to it congested with travelers and citizens going about their business.  From the quintet of wide cobblestone paths branched out fifteen bridges that led to the greatest market anywhere in the Empire.  A thousand peddlers hawked goods from across the Empire and beyond from small rickety stalls to sprawling pavilions replete in all manner of finery.  All manner of goods from highly prized spices and incense to hand-made trinkets of questionable value could be found and the deeper one went into the market the more one could find.

Despite the almost chaotic nature of the market the city itself was a marvel of engineering and control.  Large parks full of delicate flowers filled the air with a pleasant smell and the granite statues that dotted the city stood in silent respect to the greatness of the Mairhzba and their Empire.  The city of Nuan-il-Travir, and indeed all Mairhzba cities across the realm were clean and well taken care of.  Extensive sewer systems kept waste from the streets, enchanted crystals glowed at night to keep the streets safe, and members of each cities Guard watched over the people.

Everywhere one looked there was proof of the greatness and majesty of the Mairhzba.  Peace across the region was the rule and even those living on the edge of the Empire felt protected and safe.  It was only as one traveled into the wilds of the frontier that one became threatened by the marauding hordes of the herg and the wandering korogin tribesmen.  Barbarians of all kind dwelled deep in the frontiers many mountain chains and the price of a man’s soul was determined by their skill with a blade. 

Within the empire though, the light of civilization shone brightly and the threats of the wild were used to keep children in line and as fodder for the bards who regaled people with stories of horror and daring-do.  All in all the people were content and compassionate toward one another and even the poorest had enough to get by.  By and large the people of the Empire were fat, lazy, and sated. 

Then in an instant it was gone.

A low rumble deep within the earth and a sudden windstorm were the only warnings.  In one terrible moment every one of the Mairhzba cities vanished, leaving nothing behind but massive craters and scattered ruins here and there.  In the blink of an eye untold millions disappeared and civilization was shattered.  Dark and ominous clouds hung unmoving over the width and breadth of the land and the even the light of the noon-day sun was barely able to pierce the gloom.

For weeks nothing happened.  Farms were left untended, smithies lay quiet, and the people were shaken and stunned by what had occurred.  The Mairzhba were gone.  Their guiding hand no longer led the people or protected them from harm.  Those members of the Guard that remained worked frantically to hold back the tide of fear that quickly overtook the populace. 

The first raiders came from the mountains to the north, great bands of half-naked men covered in sigils and painted in blue.  They quickly laid waste to several settlements across the edge of the frontier before moving east toward what was left of the cymean lands.  Korogin tribes brazenly moved into the fertile hills and terraces to the west and herg platoons overran the meager defenses across the frontier.  Even as the age old enemies of the Empire began to lay waste to the order that stood before and creatures unseen in generations again rose up to terrorize the people.

---

One year, one stinking year since they left us.  One year of chaos and fear, of blood and death.  Personally I don’t get it.  Sure, the cities were gone and the Mairhzba had vanished, but had we entirely forgotten what it was like to take care of ourselves?  It seems to me that our generations under their rule left us far too complacent for such a dangerous world.  Just look at how short a time it took before we were at each other’s throats.

We are fickle creatures unsuited to taking care of ourselves.  I am not at all surprised at the atrocities I have seen in the year since the Empire was destroyed but one cannot blame me for hoping otherwise.  Of course the irony of the fact that I have used my own strength and the strength of those I command to create a somewhat stable region is not lost on me.

Perhaps it’s a good thing that we were abandoned

~From the journal of General Issaks Terellius