Difference between revisions of "House Chryxanthus"

Latest revision as of 08:48, 25 June 2018

House Chryxanthus-at-Eskolane was a clan of vavasours of comital rank who flourished in the vineyards and pastures around Eskolane and Lake Sutovria, east of Ulswia, in the Calipernesas of northwestern Encyclon, in the late 8th and well into the 9th century AM. Made up of a number of different clans whose estates dotted the rolling countryside, House Chryxanthus was in origins a cadet branch of the Chryxanthine count-electors of Astoxis, in the High North, southwest of Abbadon, who were liquidated by Prince-Emperor Alasial the Grand in 782 for supporting the imperial candidacy of the Count of Ethelos.

In 883, an imperial prefect (λογοθέτης) of the triumphant Encyclonian Emperor Thezorus Kamanshar was sent to the Calipernesus. The logothetes was a powerful necromancer, and came to bring death to the Chryxanthine families along the lake, for in their blood they might have claimed the inheritance of Avandran, one of the palatine-electors created by the ancient St. Athlos, King of Abbadon and Emperor of Mandadoria. The prefect summoned a force of barbarous vampires, who connived their way into the families, creating more vampires, and thus destroyed the electoral claim for his jealous emperor. The House of Chryxanthus was destroyed.

Only seven members of Chryxanthus-at-Eskolane, all children, are known to have survived the massacre. Three were the children of Phorenus, a knight of the family, Priscian, Diocletius and Zathara.

The map above depicts the various lands in Encyclon surrounding the 9th century home of the inheritors of the House of Xanthus, one of the nine houses selected by Emperor Athlos to be palatine-electors. They lived in the Calipernesas, along the western bank of Lake Sutovria, a great fresh water lake of the legion.

History of the House

House Xanthos (Ξάνθος), The Auburn House

The Foundation of House Xanthos

The Auburn House had its beginnings with the Encish warrior Gandran, a powerful hunter and warrior and the son of an Encish chieftain. When Athian was chased out of Abbadonia by his great uncle Axos and other enemies, Athian fled into the Enc with a small clique of followers. Nearly dying from exposure, Gandran discovered them at his hunting lodge, and took them in. Gandran did not convert to Mandadorianism at this occasion.

Gandran offered Athian refuge in his father’s tribe, and Athian helped them win victories against their enemies. He also preached the faith of Mandador, but was expelled from the tribe when Mandadorianism was growing too strong. Although still not having converted, Gandran spoke against this expulsion.

The Orthodox Mandadorian Trefoil of the Abbadonian Rite.

When Athian fled to the Nikerost and set up his camp there, he was soon harassed and at last attacked en masse by the orcs of the mountains, who were aroused by Axos and the other great lords who were against Athian. Gandran came with a small force of converted Encs to the Nikerost and helped save Athian and his loyal knights, slaying many orcs. After the battle, Gandran converted to Mandadorianism and gave to Athian an immense amount of gold to further the Mandadorian cause. Due to his shared wealth and his unusual shining yellow hair, he was baptized "Chryses" or the Golden.

Gandran stayed for a time with Athian and shared in many of Athian's adventures. Eventually however Gandran returned to his people, and brought with him the word of Mandador. Eventually he succeeded his father, and became a powerful chief.

When years passed and Athian found himself once again betrayed by powerful Abbadonian lords, a great battle thereafter ensued, with Athian and his loyal knights and soldiers on one side and Axios the son of Axos leading much of the strength of Abbadon on the other. The battle was the greatest Athian had ever fought in, and many heroes died that day. Encs on either side joined the battle, and many chiefs came to Athian's side, and many to the side of Axios. Gandran once again came to Athian's aid when he was in great danger. The cloud giants descended from the mountains to fight on the side of Axios, but Gandran slew many with his warriors, and slew their chief. At the end of the great battle, Gandran was covered in blood, and so his golden hair turned dark. For this he was once again renamed, now Xanthos, the Auburn One.

Gandran became a great chief after the battle, and was made a king of his people. After Athian returned from his quest on the highest mountains to speak with the Voice, he was assassinated by a near cousin, Athastion, who had been convinced by Axios that he was the rightful heir to the throne.

When the loyal lords came together in congress to decide what course they would take, Gandran once again appeared with the loyal Encish chiefs, and spoke in favor of the younger son of Athian, named Athlos, who was a true Mandadorian, and not the elder son, Athlan, who wished to return the "rebels" to Abbadonia and request a healing of the breach and an end to the Mandadorian cult.

Gandran and the other loyal Enc chiefs took the young son of Athian, Athlos, to the deep woods of the Enc, hiding him from his elder brother Athlan, as well as Axios and the other great lords of Abbadonia. There Gandran and the other heroes trained Athlos, and made him a knight of virtue and strength.

Athlos made allies with many, and courted many great lords amongst the Abbadonians. When at last Athlos was challenged by his brother Athlan in a great battle, Gandran once again was one of the many heroes that fought at his side. Gandran was pierced by many arrows of the gray elves loyal to Athlan, but he did not die, and was healed by St. Soravian, the Legate of the North, now escaped from the bonds of the evil Abbadonian lords.

After the battle, young Athlos hailed Gandran with many other heroes. Three times had Gandran come to the battle aid of the House of Athian, and in reward Athlos gave to Gandran a cousin to his house, Avona, to wed.

At the final battle against Axios and Athlan, Gandran fought once more, although now an older man. Upon the coronation of Athlos, the son of Gandran and Avona, young Avandran, was selected as one of the new Nine Electors. Knighted by Athlos and blessed by St. Soravian, this was the highest honor Gandran could have received, for he knew that as an Enc, it was impossible for Athlos to make Gandran himself a Palatine-Elector.

The House of Avandran (Αύανδρανοι)

Blessed by St. Soravian, Avandran, like the rest of the nine Electors, was granted divine grace, and was a pure knight of the palace, a paladin, sworn to protect the king and the sacred empire.

The legends of Athlos and the original nine Electors are not told here. Avandran had one son, Avandrian, another paladin. Avandrian himself had three sons, but only the eldest, Avanthran proved a paladin, while the younger two, Avandros and Astander were a warrior and a priest, respectively. Avandros was stronger than his elder, and became a Companion to the great King St. Anathalus himself in his own right. Avandros proved a great general, and settled far to the southwest at Stadion. He began his own branch of the family there, who became known as the Avandranoi, while the eldest brother Avanthran continued the first line of House Xanthus in Abbadonia. Astander, the middle brother, joined the youngest at Stadion.

Avandros was among those killed by the flight of gold dragons who protected the Appadosians of the extreme south when the great overlords of King Anathalus invaded the far south on their own initiative and without the emperor's approval. The line of Avandros continued on, however, at Stadion, but now with Astander as the familial patriarch.

In 212, the great King Anathalus died, and the Palatine Electors were called to confirm the succession of Tarthalus, the son of Anathalus. The great overlords, now including Astander, did not favor Tarthalus, for he was a paladin who himself mistrusted the overlords. The overlords said that Tarthalus was too old to succeed (in truth he was too religious and pure of heart), and favored a scion of a cadet branch of the imperial family, Akostas. Astander favored Akostas, but Avanthran in Abbadonia favored the emperor's son. The overlords exerted pressure on certain of the Electoral families, and so therefore an election occurred and was quite close in the counting. The mighty Astander claimed to hold the Electoral right, but Avanthran in Abbadonia did not devolve this to his younger brother. Nonetheless, the overlords wished to favor Astander's vote. Avanthran appealed to the Patriarch of Nova Abbadonia, who ruled in favor of the elder over the junior brother. This dispute caused a great rift in the House of Xanthos.

St. Tarthalus became increasingly isolated by the powerful overlords, and his power became practically limited to Abbadon and the more immediate surrounding regions. Avanthran was killed in a crusade to the extreme northeast, and so the electorship came to his son Atheros, another future paladin, guarded by his two aunts.

Atheros came to maturity in the midst of the reign of emperor Tarthalus. He quickly became famous for his purity and selfless bravery. In a crusade to the northeast, beyond the Renterkon, he converted many elves of the high north, and dispelled an elven avatar. Atheros accomplished this via a brief return of the lost Sword of Summer, the blade of the first emperor, which he had uncovered from a cloud giant lord's lair in high mountains. Young Atheros marched back towards Nova Abbadonia to give the blade to the emperor, but they were beset by a rebel army covetous of the sword. Atheros was nearly killed by a barbarian Enc during the battle. When he awoke, the blade had disappeared, and neither army had claim to it.

For having wielded the lost blade once more, Atheros was given great praise. He led a band of knights of the Sacred Palatine Order of the Imperial Reliquary to retrieve the sword, including several counts-elector. Atheros crossed the great northern mountains to the Highest North, beyond the knowledge of men. He vanished for many years, and so power over the family went to his aunts and their sons.

In 234, St. Tarthalus died of natural causes, and so the empire went to his son Hedron the Blessed. The emperor however had increasingly little power. Many rested hope in that the Sword of Summer would be returned to the emperor.

Hedron eventually openly warred against the errant overlords who had long insulted imperial rule, but with mixed results. Towards the end of Hedron's first reign, Atheros returned with very few of the knights he had brought with him, and without the Sword of Summer. Atheros however had seen many things, and counseled a return to deep religion and faith. Hedron did not heed this advice, and ventured into more war with the resistant overlords and other rival princes. Hedron however left Atheros as Sebastokrator, or regent, in Abbadon before the departure of the emperor.

Hedron was killed in battle in the sixth year of his reign by Markana, Overlord of the East. His death was a great disaster for the empire. The empire was split into pieces for a time, but Hedron was quickly resurrected by overzealous priests. He continued to wage war against the rebels. The war became increasingly bitter, and saw the sacking of Nova Abbadonia and much other destruction. In 298, fleeing into the heart of the great Enc, Hedron died a very old and defeated man, hiding amongst Encish allies bought by gold. No sons were known to have survived, and so the empire collapsed with his death.

St. Atheros of House Xanthos, son of Avanthran, Knight of the Sacred Palatine Order of the Imperial Reliquary, Sebastokrator of the Holy Encyclonian Empire, as depicted in the ruins of the Cathedral of Nova Abbadonia. St. Atheros is considered the greatest knight-paladin of House Xanthos.

Atheros, himself very old by this point, had retired to the Nikerost, where he erected a high castle. He allied himself to the Prince of Athianost, the capital of that region, and founded the line of the count-palatines of the Nikerost at Atherosia. Atheros himself had no children, but great-grandsons of the sisters of Avanthran still lived, and inherited the title. Atheros was canonized by the Metropolitan of Atherosia shortly after his death.

The Counts-Palatine of Atherosia

The Nikerost held itself in alliance with several other loyalist realms against the power of the overlords and other agents of the empire's fall for over a century. The various and widespread Electoral houses voted up various figurehead "Kings of Abbadon" who warred with one another, but no true emperor arose for one hundred years.

In the early fifth century, Atherosia was one of the many cities destroyed by Senek and his powerful army. The main Xanthian family was destroyed and otherwise scattered and lost, but a cadet house, the Viscounts of Niscandros, inherited the right of Elector, and under threat of destruction, confirmed Senek and his family "King of Abbadon" and Emperor of Encyclon.

In 415, a flight of chromatic dragons ravaged central Encyclon, and a quintet of priestly liches confirmed an unholy anti-emperor in Abbadon. The Senek dynasty lost power in 417, and a for a time the liches ruled through their puppet undead emperor, but the House of Senek confirmed a new emperor in the south and challenged the undead cabal. The dark power in Abbadon was defeated and the empire restored in 423, but the emperor was too weak to reconsolidate his empire. The emperor was murdered in the south in 425 by rival family members, and so the Encyclonian Empire collapsed. Thus began in earnest the Dark Ages of Encyclon.

The House of Xanthus in the Dark Age

The Viscounts of Niscandros disappeared into obscurity sometime in the mid fifth century, but some young sons of the family rejoined the now largely underground Sacred Order of the Imperial Reliquary. They appeared to the old branch of the family at Stadion for succor, who were now Margraves there. The Margrave, Nauldrin, treated them kindly, for his family no longer had any interest in (and hardly any knowledge of) the Electorate. Nauldrin married a cousin to the eldest of the brothers, named Apherost, and thus sealed the breach between the two houses. The knightly brothers rode north with new equipment and faith in their cause. Their Order, among whom were a bevy of descendents of Electors, hailed a claimant of the old imperial line, who was a young petty lord and member of the Order himself at Astoxis. This young prince, named Itharos, was hailed "King of Abbadon". The Order was strong enough to forge for themselves a small kingdom in Aethelost, a realm belonging to the Aethelic Encs who were still very loyal to the concept of the holy emperor.

This kingdom, called the Kingdom of Abbadon in Aethelost, lasted from 443 until 523. Apherost had been killed in war, but his wife married his brother, Marakos. As the Order was very interested in the right of succession, although lowly Marakos kept the title of imperial elector as "knight-palatine elector" of the king. Itharos was killed in a battle of hobgoblins. Itharos had no sons, and so an election was had again, with the lowly elector knights choosing one of their own number with distant royal blood. He was Daethos Chrysonaytheon, inheritor of Electorship of House Ambados at the beginning of the empire. Daethos served well as king, but his claim of imperial authority had no value outside his small domain. Marakos' son was Gaunthon, but Gaunthon's son Saelist proved a most capable captain. He was named by the Order Keeper of the Sacred Key, and after a victory over hobgoblins and a green dragon was named a lord of the realm. Later in life, Saelist conquered a gray elven citadel called Alberost by men. In respect of this victory, the son of King Daethos, King Mathonar, gave his second-born daughter Brenice to Saelist in marriage, and ennobled Saelist the Count of Alberost, and rechristened his family name Chryxanthus, merging the royal name with his own, and at the same time invoking the first given name of ancient Gandran the Golden.

In 493, a massive alliance of Encs sacked the New Kingdom of Abbadon in Aethelost. At Alberost, House Chryxanthus largely avoided the disaster. The kingdom began to wither after this, and monsters flooded the land. In 523, the kingdom was sacked once again, this time by a great red dragon. Goblins spread, and the monsters took Alberost in 543.

The descendents of Saelist Chryxanthine fought on however. Saelist's grandson Kanandros, now leading the clan and their small force, found refuge at Altrok, their fortress on the west side of the Hornramosian Mountains, named after the hill giant chief they had slain there. Kanandros offered protection to Encyclonians there, and became a powerful lord amidst the wilderness.

In 559, Lord Kanandros heard of the new Exarch from Abbadon, Berekasistilian Hephaethius, and that he had been sent from the King of Abbadon to rule Encyclon. Kanandros, although old, rode to Ersinoros just west of the Somterfeld in the far eastern part of the empire, where the Exarch then dwelt. Kanandros gave the Exarch his allegiance, announcing to the Exarch that his family had long wished for the return of rightful royal and imperial rule. Kanandros was confirmed as count-palatine, and told to retake Astoxis in the northwest.

Kanandros returned to Altrok (at a great distance away). He died in 571 without having taken Astoxis, which was at that time a great city under its own king. The sons of Kanandros rallied Aethelic Encs to their cause. For decades they harassed Astoxis, but eventually they allied themselves with gray elves who wanted the lands of Astoxis back. House Chryxanthos agreed. In 603, the Chryxanthine and gray elven army took Astoxis with magic and stratagem, and the patriarch of the house, Amanthine, became the first Chryxanthine count-palatine of Astoxis. The gray elves were offered two countships within the realm, and a certain autonomy in exchange for military service. The captured king was taken to the Exarchate for justice, and his family was allowed to live within the confines of a monastery.

The gray elves under their royal lord Ilorian III submitted to Amanthine, eldest and greatest of the son of Kanandros. For their loyalty and conversion to Mandadorianism, Amanthine gave to them Kiandros, an ancient fortress from the early empire. Ilorian III ruled there as Count of the Kiandros under the Counts-Paltine of Astoxis for almost two hundred years. In 782, during the fall of Astoxis, Ilorian III and his son Ilorian IV, along with all their soldiers and families, were slain by the red dragon Abrergoth, burned alive within the confines of the fortress. The dragon lives there still, and is master of the orcs and goblins that haunt the forests of the surrounding lands.

Counts-Palatine of Astoxis

The lands near Astoxis, seat the Chryxanthine Counts-Palatine of Astoxis.

Amanthine inherited a strong and rich kingdom, and ruled it well as count-palatine. Although loyal to the Exarchate, that institution was becoming increasingly weak and beset by internal divisions. Amanthine continued his wars, and expanded the palatine territory of Astoxis considerably. He forged his Encish allies into more traditional Encyclonian soldiery, and many lands became much more civilized within his domain.

Count-Palatine Amanthine died in 624, and left the countship to his second, surviving son, named Althect. Althect was a ranger and a fair ruler, and worked with other great lords of the northern imperialities to support stability and the Exarchate's right to rule. Althect made even great inroads at conversion amongst the Encs and even the gray elves, and many became Mandadorians within his lifetime. Althect married the daughter of a powerful chieftain of the Lekht Encs who had conquered for himself Arkanasos, north of Lake Sutovria. He named the Enc a count and incorporated many of the lands surrounding Arkanasos.

In his later years, Althect witnessed the final collapse of the Exarchate and the rise of the "Encyclonian Empire" by the hand of the king of Thousiers to the south. In response, Althect helped other great lords in the foundation of a national congress or house of high lords in Prioma, in the southwest, where they would meet to settle matters that affected all the great lords of the old empire. Althect sent his sons there, but especially his second oldest, Niamados, for he was wise, and a former monk who knew divination magic. At Prioma the Encyclonians built the Sandava, their great circular meeting hall of wood.

In 654 at Prioma, Niamados and the legations from many other great lords challenged the imperial right of Thousiers by electing a Prince of Encyclon, who would act as a sort of First Lord amongst the imperialities who could lead them in war and affairs with foreign states, but who would not rule them. They elected a minor inheritor of the Exarchate, Duke Adrian Hephaethius of Seltzvar. He was the son of the Count of Hollapse, and his mother was the ambitious archmagess Adriana the Proud, who was Duchess of the Solorochos in her own right. Although a southerner, Duke Adrian was of a pure and noble heart, and an ardent champion of the Abbadonian Rite Church and the Encyclonian claim to the Mandadorian Empire.

Adrian Hephaethius, Prince of Encyclon

Prince Adrian Hephaethius led the struggle against Thousiersian, Pompiersian and Danian Church influence at the Sandava for decades, and he helped cement a sense of unity throughout Encyclon once again.

In 669, Adrian's powerful mother compelled her son via her magic to prepare for his proclamation as emperor. Notified by the wisdom of Niamados, heroes destroyed the old woman, who had in fact become a lich. When he awoke from his mother's spell, Prince Adrian led armies to crush the noble supporters of her mother.

In 672, Prince Adrian married the daughter of the powerful Grand Duke of the Savenfannetsen. They had a son, named Alrecht, but the son stayed with his mother in Savenfannetsen. The mother died shortly after of natural causes.

Prince Adrian reconciled with his undead mother, who had in fact survived the heroes who had destroyed her physical body. She used her magic to preserve and prolong her son's life, and she served him secretly, converting in earnest to Mandadorianism. Adriana chose a new wife for her son, the Princess Elestra of Tresia. Although a Danian kingdom, Tresia was also being challenged by the power of Thousiers, and so the king gave his daughter in the hopes of protecting his kingdom from further Thousiersian encroachment.

Prince Adrian continued to work against Danian influence at the Sandava, and had many successes. He began to curtail the power of the Viceroy of Thousiers. Adrian also organized the defense against a massive uprising by the Encs of the East, who threatened the Core Lands and the southwest. Adrian however chose to defend the South more so than the North. Their realms of the northern high lords suffered, and some fell, and there developed a more serious splint within the Princely faction of the Sandava.

In 692, at the command of Maethos, the new count-palatine of Astoxis, the elderly Niamados was ordered by his nephew to discover the cause of Prince Adrian's very long and hale life, for the Prince appeared to have hardly aged during his many decades of rule. Niamados did as he was bidden, the revealed to heroes at Prioma that Adrian's mother still existed, and was supplying him with an unnaturally long life. This was against Church law. Despite the protests of the prince, his goodly lich mother, who had done much to assist the empire in the last several decades, was now truly destroyed. Bereft of the magic that sustained him, Prince Adrian died shortly thereafter, in 693.

With the northern imperialities devastated by Encish invasions and raids, the Sandava was now largely composed by legations from the southern lords. With Adrian's death, in 695 the Sandava elected as Prince the young Avrios, the son of Adrian and Elestra, and not Alrecht, the elder half-brother.

In the North, Maethos, the Chryxanthine count-palatine of Astoxis, watched events gravely. The realm of Astoxis had survived the Encish invasions only at great cost.

In 703, Avrios (guided by his mother), attempted to seal the breach with the North by marrying the daughter of the powerful Count of Ethel of the Kamanshar. When Avrios married Kamanshar-Ethel princess, many northern lords rejoiced that the Prince of Encyclon had not completely forgotten them.

With northern support, in 704 Prince Avrios expelled certain Thousiersian garrisons out of the key cities throughout the empire. In 705, the Viceroy of Thousiers brought an army into Encyclon proper and too Prioma and the Sandava. Outraged, the Encyclonian high lords gave to Avrios the supreme command, and a great war erupted between Encyclon and Thousiers.

As the war raged on, principally in the South, the northern lords, including Count Maethos, speculated Avrios and his Tresian mother had provoked the war in the first place so as to gain more power, and so as to perhaps be elected emperor. After a dozen years of war, the Count Maethos and several other high lords of the north began to extract themselves from the war, and essentially cut off the flow of troops and supplies.

In 721, Avrios was killed in battle, his body disintegrated by a powerful mage. Avrios' son Alasiel was declared Prince of Enyclon by his warrior mother Elnossa Kamanshar. Although very young, Alasiel proved himself a brilliant commander. Prince Alasiel had many victories, and in 724 invaded Thousiers itself at the head of a great army. He captured the King of Thousiers who claimed to be the "Emperor of the Encyclon". Influenced by his grandmother Elestra, who helped arrange the matter, Prince Alasiel sailed to Dania to request that the Holy Father decide the matter of who possesses the Imperial Crown of Encyclon. In 725, Prince Alasiel caused the First General Council of Alinopholis (the capital of Thousiers), where he wished the bishops to resolve many of the disputes between the Danian and Abbadonian Rite. The Holy Father was pleased, and after raising the Metropolitan of Alinopholis to the dignity of Patriarch, the Holy Father ordered the Patriarch of Alinopholis to crown Alasiel the King of Thousiers and the Emperor of Encyclon.

The Empire Restored: Emperor Alisel the Grand

The first true emperor after several centuries, Alasiel demanded the allegiance of the great lords of greater Encyclon. He punished and invaded those who disobeyed.

Prince-Emperor Alasiel was to rule for many decades. As far as the North was concerned, the great lords there in general distrusted the emperor. Alasiel appeared to not espouse proper Abbadonian beliefs, and they mistrusted his decision to be crowned at the behest of Dania. They believed that only the Orthodox Patriarch of Abbadonia properly possesses the right to crown the Holy Abbadonian Emperor, and thus perceived Alasiel as a kind of lesser emperor. Many saw him as only a secular ruler without the grace or approval of Mandador.

Alexros succeeded Maethos in 717 as count-palatine, but Anestos succeeded Alexros in 739. Anestos was proud, and ceased all allegiance to Emperor Alasiel. Count Anestos concluded that Alasiel was hopelessly mired in war and conflict with the south, and that the emperor would never be able to extend his power all the way up to Astoxis in the High North.

In 754, the political and religious machinations of Pompiers and Dania took from the emperor powerful southern imperialities, including Thousiers, and in general gave them unique sovereignty but with Pompiersian military backing. In 775, Emperor Alasiel fought this with all his might, and a series of new and devastating wars wracked southern Encyclon. Alasiel succeeded in reconstituting most of the imperialities back to Encyclon, but it drained his resources, and made him hated as a tyrant and oppressor throughout much of Encyclon, for he had to tax and conscript heavily to conduct for his wars.

In 780, a collection of the northwestern high lords of Encyclon decided that they had had enough of Emperor Alasiel. Included in this group was Alarak, the son of Anestos and the Chryxanthine count-palatine of Astoxis. The Counts of Ethel, the greatest of the high noble houses in that region and possessing a tenuous claim to the old holy imperial family, appealed to far removed Abbadon for confirmation of their imperial right. The distant Abbadonians did not respond to the House of Ethel's request, but Alasiel heard of this, and the old emperor was not about to accept a rival.

That very year, Emperor Alasiel took a small army and personally marched on the north. The terror and august majesty of his name preceded him, and many lords and counts that he passed along the road returned their loyalty to him. Alasiel's army and alliances grew once more. The North however had become quite powerful, and in response to Alasiel's march on their position, the counts and counts-palatine of the North declared the Count of Ethel the true and Holy Abbadonian Emperor of Encyclon. The war erupted in earnest in the summer of 781. In the late spring of 782, the two imperial armies met at their greatest battle of the war, in the fields before the city of Reon in Entroria. Alasiel brought monsters and dragons and a horde of orcs, and crushed the rival Imperial Army of the North. Anethasus son Alarak, the new count-palatine of Astoxis, died in the battle, along with many of his extended family. The Count of Ethel himself, the so-called Holy Abbadonian Emperor of Encyclon, died in the battle.

The Kamanshar, a barbarian people of unknown ancestry and speaking their own language, were once great allies of the House of Ethel. In the Battle of the Two Emperors, the Kamanshar chiefs betrayed their patron, the Count of Ethel and Holy Abbadonian Emperor. The Kamanshar chiefs accepted gold and baronies from Emperor Alasiel the Grand, and so the Holy Abbadonian Empire once again fell before it was ever truly resurrected. The Kamanshar used crude red flags as their standards, painted as often as possible in the fresh blood of their enemies. The Kamanshar helped Alasiel, a grandson of their race, win the field that day.

Being directly related to them, Emperor Alasiel spared the Counts of Ethel of the Kamanshar, and married his youngest son Annaros to the Ethel princess named Ethertal. He also spared many of the other comital families that assisted in the rebellion. The emperor however would not spare the counts-palatine, for they had lent legitimacy to the rebellion and claimed authority from the very dawn of the Mandadorian Imperium.

The Fall of the House of Chryxanthus-at-Astoxis

Alasiel's lieutenant took to the counts-palatine of House Palathros, the nearest to Abbadon, for they were the weakest of the two palatine houses that supported the usurper. The Palatine County of Astoxis was far more powerful, and so Alasiel marched on their capital, Astoxis, personally.

After reducing the outlying cities and fortresses, the last count-palatine of House Chryxanthus sealed his great castle and palace. The emperor prepared for a siege, but the count-palatine, Aphestion son of Anethasus, sent his young brother Aethes and many knights to sally forth in a surprise gesture. They nearly broke the emperor's army, and for a time lifted the siege. The emperor regathered his forces, and commanded the soldiers of Ethel and other nearby counties to support the last lord of their broken rebellion. The emperor also summoned pagan gray elves, monsters, drow and even liches to break the palatine walls. The castle soon fell. The emperor gave the lands to his evil allies, and came in with his own troops to review the palatine family, which lay prostrate at his feet.

The emperor personally beheaded the count-palatine, and his soldiers severed the heads of the entire extended family and associated clans.

The palatine-castle of Astoxis was awarded to Malaxos, a powerful lich lord, and his various monstrous allies.

The Fate of the House of Xanthos at Stadion

The Margraves of Stadion were the descendants of Avandros and Astander, and ruled there for centuries. The descendants of Astander even made for themselves the frequent Patriarchs of Stadion, one of the senior most positions in the Abbadonian Church.

In 551, the Margraves and the army of Stadion were overwhelmed by a massive army of hobgoblins, and Stadion became a place of monsters and ruins.

In 564, the invading armies of the Thousiersians retook the great city from the monster. The descendants of the Magraves were pitied by Thousiers, and were created Knight Protectors of the Sacred Order of the Holy Encyclonian Emperor in the early 7th century.

This branch of the family existed as Knight-Protectors for centuries, and were loyalists to the Kamanshar claim to empire, but they turned their loyalty away after Anaraton Kamanshar's suicide in 859. The Knights of the Holy Emperor of Encyclon favored many imperial candidates in the War of the Prince in the late 9th century, but this branch of the Auburn House supported Grand Duke Maanshesfaan of the Savenfannetsen, on the southeastern side of the empire. They were defeated in battle, captured and sacrificed to pagan gods in the midst of the War of the Princes by the Zaamanthuessen Encs. Surviving family members near Stadion were all killed with Emperor Kamanshar's purge of the House of Xanthos in 883.

House Chryxanthus-at-Eskolane

Alexros then Anestos

When Alexros succeeded to the comital throne in 717, he had two surviving sons, the eldest Anestos and the youngest Avarian. Knowing that he would not inherit the palatine throne of his father, Avarian looked to make his own fortune.

He asked for and received the command at the fortress of Altrok for a time, and achieved success in patrolling against the orcs in the Hornram Mountains. He tired of this however, and rode to the south with companions, and fought in the various conflicts between Encyclon and Thousiers. After many years, he returned a baron of Thousiers, and with considerable wealth and magic. After hailing his brother, he turned to Ulswia, and offered the duke there his services. The duke said that he had no need of more warriors, but that he had need of a vavasour, a local lord and advocate, for his nearby monasteries at Lake Sutovria in a small and picturesque area called Eskolane. Avarian agreed. He married a second-cousin from Astoxis, and with her had many children: 11 sons and 12 daughters.

A total of fifteen monasteries, churches and other holy places were placed under Avarian's keeping. Upon his death, he divided the holy places between his eldest three sons, which became the foundation for the three clans of House Chryxanthus-at-Eskolane.

Priscian

Family

Father: Phorenus Chryxanthus-at-Eskolane, Equestrian rank, sworn knight under the Knight-Banneret Macron of the Lomnian Chryxanthines

Paternal Uncle: Macron, elder brother of Priscian's father Phorenus, Knight-Banneret of the Lomnian Monastery and Churches at Eskolane

Clan: the Lomnian Chryxanthines-at-Eskolane (the Lomnians); the Avarianoi

Last Patriarch of the Chryxanthines-at-Eskolane: Dioclatius, Lord Advocate and Vavassor of the Eskolane, killed in 883

Family Tree

Priscian, born 870~, the son of

Phorenus, knight, second son of

Amnios, Knight-Banneret of the Lomnian Chryxanthines, the son of

Prastos, Knight-Banneret of the Lomnian Chryxanthines, the son of

Thamanos, First Knight-Banneret of the Lomnian Chryxanthines, the son of

Althers, the son of

Manthius, the son of

Orthemons, the son of

Mantrave, Protector of the Lomnian Monastery and Churches on the Eskolane, Patriarch of the Lomnian Chryxanthines, the son of

Avarian, a baron of Thousiers and second-son of the Chryxanthine Counts-Palatine of Astoxis, the son of

Alexros Chryxanthus, Count-Palatine of Astoxis

Eskolane

Eskolane is a picturesque community to the west of the great Lake Sutovria. Due to the great size of the lake, the weather of the Eskolane is warmer than the great surrounding forests.

The farmers of the Eskolane, almost half of which are descendents of Lord Avarian (the Avarianoi), tend to an area of orchards, vineyards and sprawling wheat fields. Small copses of trees abound near the lake shore, where various monasteries, churches and saintly cult sites can be found. The farms and vineyards are all owned by the monasteries, and were protected by the Advocate of House Chryxanthus, who was the patriarch of the entire extended family.

The Lomnian Chryxanthines were at the southern end of the Eskolane, and maintained several estates surrounding the village of Gaaderstandt and the nearby Lomnian Monastery.

Phorenus, the Father of Priscian

Phorenus was born the second son of Amnios, the Knight-Banneret of the southern lands of the Eskolane. As the second son, Phorenus knew that he would not inherit the estate and landed-income that his elder brother Macron was to inherit.

Knowing that other lesser houses of the Chryxanthine family were tenants of the church land of the southern Eskolane, and not wishing to lower himself into becoming one of their field-hands, Phorenus dreamed of becoming a soldier or a knight. By custom, for he was the second son, he was supposed to join the Lomnian Monastery as a monk, but with his father's approval, Phorenus ventured to Ulswia, which was then ruled by the Eparch of Ulswia, who in turn served Muelester, a great general and overlord of much of Encyclon.

Phorenus was granted service as a guardsman in the Eparch's personal guard. He served well, and became a cavalry guard under the Eparch's son when the son was called to Muelester's armies in the War of the Princes, the great war between imperial claimants in the mid-later half of the 9th century. Before he left he married Maethelia, a common Encyclonian woman of good family in Ulswia, and by her had three children.

Phorenus returned early from the wars, badly injured from a wizard's spell, and with the rank of a senior enlisted man from one of Muelester's armies. He also returned with wealth, and purchased the estate of one of his innumerable distant cousins in the southern Eskolane, near the manor of his elder brother Macron. For a time, he became a lay monk at the Lomnian Monastery. At length he was called by his brother Macron, and helped fight against lake trolls that were harassing monastic lands. For his heroism, he was knighted by the Lord Advocate of Eskolane, Dioclatius.

Towards the end of the War of the Princes, the Vavassor and Lord Advocate Dioclatius avoided the mass conscription demanded by Muelester, supplying food and healing clerics to the front instead. The Great War was otherwise largely evaded by the Eskolane.

By 883, almost all the imperialities of Encyclon had been conquered by Thezorus Kamanshar, the triumphant imperial candidate. An imperial military count was installed at Ulswia, and the Advocacy of the Eskolane was put into question.

The Childhood of Priscian

Priscian enjoyed a largely happy childhood in the southern Eskolane. His father purchased their knightly estate when Priscian was quite young, and Priscian's first memories would recall the life of relative privilege he lived. Lesser members of the extended Chyrxanthine families served as farm hands and domestics in their large house of wood and stone.

Himself a second son, Priscian was expected to eventually become a monk in the Lomnian monastery. The Lomnian monks were virtuous but their ethic was not as extreme as that of other orders, and so Priscian would have fond memories of learning legends, religion and reading and writing from the monks there.

For much of his days, Priscian and his three siblings would play in the outdoors amidst the vineyards and orchards. In the summer, they would go sailing on the sloops of the great Sutovrian Lake, and would visit Castle Karonoan and its lord, the Exarch of the Lake, Thomios the Wise, a former monk and now powerful lord.

882-883, the Kamansharian Conquest

In 882, the Eparchy of Ulswia was abolished by the new emperor, and a military count was installed over the area. Thomios the Wise was commanded to report to the Imperial Presence, where he was beheaded. Late in 882, a detachment of the Crypteia (Secret Political Police) of the Imperial Guard came to Lake Sutovria, and began executing certain monks and their abbots. Many of the monasteries throughout the lake were raided for their wealth, and several great libraries were burned.

The knights of the Eskolane were called by Diocletius, and made an attempt to intercept the Crypteia who were coming for their own monasteries. The attempt was successful, and the imperial soldiers were killed at the docks of Enieverlane, one of the lake villages in the area. The bodies were buried in secret, and no further soldiers of the new emperor bothered them for many months.

The Fall of House Chryxanthus-at-Eskolane

Priscian would remember dark rumors of things in the summer of 883. A foreboding feeling ran through the land. Phorenus rode with his eldest son Kanthorian to the manor of Diocletius, called there and alarmed by rumors in the land. He commanded his family to stay in-doors, and to admit no strangers.

One night, a serving woman of his household, Lethra, disappeared, as many were disappearing in those days. Three days later, Lethra reappeared. Asking permission to come in the house, Priscian's maternal aunt Molana let her in. Lethra and Molana did not wake the next morning, and would not come out of their rooms, which had been sealed shut. Lethra alone answered through the door with her voice, telling Priscian's mother the she and Molana were very ill, and that the family best stay away. This went on for two days. Zathara, Priscian's sister, claimed she snuck into the servant's room on the second day through the floorboards and beheld that Zathara slept unmoving in the wardrobe, which was sealed shut with mud from underneath the house. Her siblings generally did not believer her.

Lethra emerged on the second night, and spoke to the family. Priscian would remember feeling very alarmed at her appearance and at the very strange things occuring throughout the house. Late that night Zathara, Priscian's sister and youngest sibling, would have awoken Priscian and his younger brother Diocletius. She and he crawled under the house, and beheld that their aunt Molana had been buried under the house, underneath broken floorboards. From beneath the house, they saw Lethra outside, slaying their workhands. They went to wake their mother, but Lethra soon re-entered the house. Lethra used her power and drew their mother to her, and drained her blood. The children fled into their father's room, and locked the door, and moved through the back halls to their own room, where they ran back under the house. Lethra appeared before them, but they fled deep into their father's fields. Clouds of death drifted throughout the land that night, and as they passed nothing living survived. The children eventually made it to the woods near the lake, and hid there amongst the trees.

The next day the children remained in the woods, and met a gathering of two dozen or so other children who were likewise hiding. They learned that everyone in the nearby village of Gaaderstandt had died from a strange mist the previous night. Early the next evening they saw more fires in the distance, and so they hid in an old abandoned church. Later in the evening, amidst the wide-ranging fires, their elder brother Kanthorian found them, for he had played with them in the church when he was younger, and had thought to look for them there. Kanthorian said that their father had been fighting the monstrous creatures that had become many of their relatives, and that he had gone to Ulswia with others of the surviving knights to call on the new count for help.

On the next day, Kanthorian led the band of children to the docks at Gaaderstandt, but found that the local survivors had taken the remaining ships and barges. One ship remained, but when Kanthorian attempted to lead them aboard, the nearby adults who were preparing to load the ship with seized goods beat back the children and almost killed Kanthorian. The band of children fled back to the church in the forest.

That night, all signs of the rest of humanity fell away. They kept in refuge at the church, for many of the children had been badly beaten by the adults at the dock. No more fires appeared that evening, and a deathly silence fell over all the land. In the depth of night creatures approached, creeping through the forest and towards their church. A horrid voice, that of Lethra, was among them, and bade the children invite her into the old church, for they said they had survived the massacre of the necromancer who had terrorized their land, and that they sought shelter and the protection of Mandador. Even the voices of other children began appealing to them behind the doors. Priscian's young sister Zathara told the other children not to listen, and said that those outside were the cursed dead. Kanthorian, at 17, was the eldest of them all, and brandishing his sword, he threatened the shadowy and creeping figures outside, yelling that they would not dare enter the holy grounds of the church. One child came to the voice of his mother, leaving the church grounds for her arms. The young boy screamed in the distance. More voices beckoned them, but young Zathara closed all the doors and windows, and built a fire in the fireplace that roared so greatly that they could no longer easily hear the voices from without. The children then prayed to shut out the dark whispers that still came for them, and continued to do so throughout the night.

The next morning, Kanthorian led the children through the forest and further south, towards the village of Norlok. When they arrived at the outskirts of Norlok that afternoon, they saw that Norlok had also been ruined by magic, and that the bodies of the dead, slain by magical clouds of death, lay putrefying throughout the streets and homes. They saw no ships that had not been burned save for a small sailing ship that lay off the coast, but there were men aboard it, and some of their party were raiding the ruins of the village. The children stayed at the nearby church, and this time locked it up tightly.

That night, the lurking creatures came again. The children once again built a great fire and once again prayed. The creatures seemed to back away. Hours passed, and they heard a knock at the door. It was the voice of Phorenus, Priscian's father. Phorenus said that he had driven the cursed dead away, and called for his eldest son, Kanthorian. Indeed, upon approaching the door, Kanthorian no longer heard the voices calling to them from without. Zathara told her eldest brother not to listen, but Kanthorian disregarded her. She fled to the priestly chambers, and forcing Priscian to assist her, she poured molten candle wax into her ears, so that she could no longer hear. She struck Priscian with a candlestick, and when he was unconscious, she poured molten wax into her younger brother's ears as well.

Kanthorian opened the door to the church for his father, but Phorenus was a man no longer, and he pulled his son Kanthorian to his knees, and drained the young man's life with but a grip to the neck. Zathara, knowing what was soon to come, ran forth and threw holy water into her father's face, which burned him. Taking Priscian's hand, she ran out and towards the great lake. Many children followed, but Phorenus transformed into a great wolf, and tore the slowest to pieces. A vampiress came from the shadows to attack Zathara, but she threw her last flask of holy water into the creature's haggard face, then slammed a sharpened wooden Mandadorian trefoil into the monster's heart. It fell away, and they ran onward.

Only half or so of the band of children made it to the lake. Zathara called for them to follow her, and those who could swam into the lake, and swam towards the boat in the distance which had a cooking fire upon it. Zathara left their youngest brother, Diocletius, behind. The children swam long and hard for their lives, and several drowned, and several were too afraid or too weak to take to the waters. Their fate was sealed by the evil that pursued them.

Priscian was the first to climb up the anchor rope and onto the deck of the ship, for as the oldest he alone seemed strong enough to do so. Priscian saw no men aboard the ship, so he threw down a rope ladder and helped the other children climb up. They searched the small ship, but saw no one else on board.

Only Priscian had any experience with sailing, but he was not strong or skilled enough as yet to properly work the sails of the vessel. The other children ambled about the ship, in despair at all they had seen, and although Priscian had strength of heart enough to motivate a few to help him, even together they were all simply too weak to properly man the ship. Melancholia began to overwhelm the children. Amidst the tears, Priscian spied a strange and fast moving cloud crossing the lake of early morning. Fearful of what it might be, Priscian led the children into the ship's single cabin. They were soon assaulted by a dozen or more bats, but were protected by the closed door and shutters of the cabin. Priscian took forth the silver trefoil necklace his father had given him, and prayed in the center of the children. Soon many of the bats transformed into the vampires that they were.

The door to the cabin was smashed open by Loros, a former peasant and field hand for Priscian's father. The children screamed, but Priscian stood, and presenting his trefoil, he recited holy scripture and commanded the vampires to stand at bay. To Priscian's amazement, the vampires standing before him obeyed, and look away at him in fear and displeasure. Just at this time however the sun's light began to be seen from over the east, and so the monsters transformed once more and fled back to the village.

Priscian was hailed a leader by the terrified children, and they thought him holy because like a priest from legend he had warded them from evil, even though he was only a boy. Zathara came to her brother and told him that they must flee before the next night, or they would all be killed.

Possessed of desperation, the children managed to raise one sail, if only half way, and a slight morning wind came up and led them deeper into the great lake.

The Children Escape to the Isle of St. Hathia

Providence and a friendly wind guided the children to a harsh landing upon the the coastal island of St. Hathia, nearly three miles from the lake coast. The island was thickly forested and some two miles long, with several smaller islands as satellites around it. The children felt relieved and after eating what was to be had on board the ship, collapsed on the coast.

Priscian gathered his two siblings. Diocletius, the youngest sibling, had indeed survived, even if he was very weak, but the young Zathara was still ablaze with passion, and advocated they search for food in the forest, and see if there were any adults in the woods who could help them. Priscian knew that there were none to be found, but he knew the island was once inhabited, and thought that a church might be there to serve as their shelter. The exhausted and traumatized children followed Priscian. They found empty stone ruins, long since fallen, and not far off were berries, of which they ate their fill. At length, the children once again fell asleep.

In the depths of night, Zathara awoke Priscian, and announced that she spied a light approaching. Priscian beheld in the distance the same light, an orange glow, and decided that he would approach to see what it was. Priscian, Zathara and a fancy of Priscian's named Theolania, approached the light through the shadows in the forest.

The Isle of St. Hathia on Lake Sutovria. St. Hathia, now more frequently called the Isle of the Innocents, was the site where, in 883, over a dozen of the children of the greater House Chryxanthus-at-Eskolane were killed by the undead. Three years later, shortly before the return of the evil Sir Phorenus to his children, Eutosthenes the treisphoros of the Alskalian Monastery traveled to St. Hathia to investigate the vampiric attacks told to him by Priscian and his brother Diocletius. Eutosthenes found the dark cult site of some of the monsters and exhumed them in the light of day. He also discovered and retrieved the mysterious metallic lamp which Priscian had described. A short time later, Count Nathos sent an expedition of his comital guard to investigate the island. The patrol did not return, and since then the archimandrite of the Alskalians and the count himself declared the island not of Mandador and forbidden to all.

At length, the children beheld a small patrol of ragged humanoid monstrosities, all covered in dirt, save for their leader, who held an ornate lantern made of some strange antique black metal, wherein a ghastly orange flame was lit. The leader was a decrepit an old looking woman with a deathly white face, and whom Priscian did not recognize in the slightest. She was dressed in a decayed black dress which was soiled with dirt and worse. Priscian saw that the monstrous patrol was walking slowly, and that the island coast was not far off. He also saw that the shadows cast by the lantern seemed alive, and that demons lurked amongst them.

The witch seemed to see Priscian and his friends instantly, and turned her head to gaze upon him. She bade him come to him, and her spell, being more powerful than the others, fell over Priscian instantly. As if in a trance, Priscian came forth and walked towards the leader with the lantern.

"Do not fear, my child," the woman said coldly. "I will not harm you."

Priscian drew very close to them, and the other lesser vampires began to visibly yearn for his life.

The witch bade the other children come, and so Theolania also came forward. Zathara's will however was strong, despite her great youth, and she resisted.

"Where are your young friends, my young boy? Tell me where they are."

Priscian pointed in the direction of the ruins where the children slept.

"Now come to me boy. Come to my embrace."

Priscian obeyed, and the witch indicated to her minions to take Theolania as well as Zathara, who still hid in the distance.

Zathara called out in alarm and began throwing rocks at the witch. The first few missed, but even as a trio of vampires moved on Zathara's position, her last rock hit its mark, and crashed into the lantern. The lantern fell to the forest floor with a crash, and a great dark orange flame erupted. The witch's dress caught on fire, and soon she herself began to blaze.

Priscian awoke from his stupor, and was immediately met with Zathara's call to run forward and towards the flame. Zathara's immediate assailants were stunned by the sudden blaze, and she passed them and caught up to her brother. Theolania was brought low by the vampires. The siblings ran hard and to the water of the lake, and although the vampires followed, they would not follow the children into the water.

The siblings beheld in the water a large sailing ship, and on the coast a longboat which had no doubt brought the party of vampires to the coast. Although Zathara counseled immediate escape on the longboat, Priscian would not leave the other children. For the next hour or more, they swam through the island's coastal waters, and came ashore on a beach close to where the children were. By this time, the flames had grown higher and higher and was consuming much of the island forest.

Priscian found his way back to the ruins, but only beheld the horror of many dead children and the eyes of one of the fiends that hunted them. The monster leaped after him, but Priscian fled into the forest fires. The flames did not touch him, but the heat was great and burned his sides and back. His hunter, having transformed into a wolf, nearly had Priscian, but providence once again intervene, and a falling tree all aflame came crashing down and crushed the monster into the burning earth.

Priscian could hear other monsters about, and despaired, but at the last he found his meek brother Diocletius and two other children. They fled through the flames. Two vampires chased them, but once again the children made it the lake waters before they could be had. The children were called back by the vampires' voices, but in the distance, another fire, this time upon the lake, erupted. Zathara had swum back and thrown a burning bramble across the water and onto the vampire's ship. The monsters screeched, then transformed into bats to go and attempt to put out the flames to their ship.

Priscian led the children back to the longboat, and found his sister attempting to push the boat from off the beach and into the water. Although utterly exhausted, with Zathara's guidance, the children maneuvered a long tree branch, and utilizing a nearby boulder, used the makeshift pole to lever the longboat out of the pebble shore and into the water. They at last succeeded, and began to row away from the burning island and the burning sailing ship upon which the vampires had come.

Priscian remembers having seen eyes within the flames, watching their escape.

Monastic Sanctuary

After two full days of drifting on the lake, and padding with what strength remained to them, the children landed on Isle of St. Alskalia, and were there rescued by the monks of the stern monastery there.

Of the 26 children who began with Priscian and his elder brother Kanthorian, only five survived:

Priscian, son of Phorenus

Zathara, daughter of Phorenus

Diocletius, son of Phorenus

Austos, son of Mnanthor

Othelia, daughter of Gauthox

They were discovered by the monks, and taken before the hegumen or abbot of the monastery. The grave and ancient man split the children up, and sent the girls to the Sisters of St. Atholika on an island further north in Lake Sutovria, while Diocletius and Austos were sent to the chapterhouse monastery of St. Alskalia on the island of Karonoa, the largest island of the lake. Priscian alone stayed on the Isle of St. Alskalia, the most severe and conservative of the Alskalian monasteries on the lake.

At the island monastery, Priscian fell to become one of the cenobitic monks. His past seemed to be deliberately discouraged, and although words were very rare in the monastery, he was befriended by the junior monk Mnaeos. Priscian became a novice monk, learned Abbadonian, and became a monk of the Hours, whose every day was regulated by the rule of the monastery and its grave abbot. Priscian would have become surrounded by veneration of the saints and worship of Mandador, and would have been inundated with the dreams of those around him to become a perfect saint.

This proceeded for four years, during which time he heard very little about his siblings or the other two children, save for that they were safe in different monasteries.

Phorenus Returns

The nightmares of Priscian were reawakened in 887, just before he was being considered to rise out of the status of novice and become a true monk of the monastery. Word was brought to Priscian that his equestrian father, Sir Phorenus, had arrived on the main island of Karonoa, and had demanded of the Archimandrite of the Alskalian chapterhouse there the monks surrender his son to him. Priscian wildly protested, and once again brought up the horrible stories of three years prior. The abbot however seemed to ignore Priscian's pleas and warnings, and simply asked Priscian if he had faith in Mandador and if he was obedient to his fathers in the Church. Priscian obeyed.

Several nights passed, but Priscian was at last taken at night to the rocky coast of Alskalia, and told to wait at the end of a stone promontory. A comital official, dressed in armor, awaited there with him. A ship appeared in the distance in the night, and slowly sailed to the dock, where there appeared a knight in black armor, with flags near him bearing the crest of House Chryxanthus-at-Eskolane. Priscian became very fearful, but nearby Mnaeos whispered prayers which calmed his soul, and unbeknownst to him, shielded his mind.

His undead father came immediately before him, and soberly requested the return of his son. The comital official gave a signal, and a spell was loosed, causing an enormous boulder from the clefts above to descend and crush the vampiric parent. The mist of the vampire rose up menacingly, then began to return to its ship. The officer then commanded comital guardsmen to appear from a secret door in the cliff and throw oil upon then vampire's ship, and burn it. The vampire's spirit then rose up and traveled over the lake for over a mile to the main island of Karanoa. The officer moved quickly and followed the monster on a separate ship. That next morning, the same officer and his men uprooted the secret grave of Phorenus, and with an attendant priest, he permanently destroyed the father of Priscian.

Aemilianus, Count Nathos, and the Return of the Sacred Order of the Imperial Reliquary

Priscian was summoned by the Count of the Lake. He was taken to the great Karanoan Castle, where he had played as a child, and was taken to the private quarters of the count himself. Two men alone were there, being the count himself and the officer who had saved him, who was the comital spatharios or "sword-bearer" named Aemilianus, a senior officer of the comital government.

They declared to the young man that they knew all about him, and had known for some time. They had watched the three male survivors of the massacre of House Chryxanthus, and that they knew of no other members of that family in all the world. The count said that he had wished to see, over the last several years, if any of the three were strong and good, men of principle and faith. They said they saw promise in Priscian, and speculated that he was among the very last heirs of the Electorship of Avandron.

They said that although they were members of the cruel military government of Thezorus Kamanshar, they did not accept the Kamanshar prince as the lawful Emperor of Encyclon, or much less as the heir to the Crown of Abbadon and the Holy Mandadorian Empire. They said that they were avowed to the overthrow of Kamanshar in favor of a rightfully elected emperor, and they hoped that Priscian would one day help them in just such an election. They also warned that they were engaged in high treason to the emperor, and that even a hint of such plans to the emperor could mean much more than death for them all.

They said that Priscian had to make a decision with what he wished for his life.

Priscian made that decision.

Aemilianus Takes Priscian to Thousiers

Priscian spent precious little time at the island of Karanoa. He received a precious few meetings with the count, who said that Priscian was now in danger from the emperor's servants. He also told Priscian of the reinstated Sacred Palatine Order of the Imperial Reliquary, of which the count was secretly a senior member, and that when the time came, Priscian might become a knight of this order, even if only in secret. The count told the young Priscian that he hoped Priscian would strive to become such a knight and work to overthrow the emperor, and that one day he would be strong enough to grant his support to a suitable imperial candidate. When Prescian asked who might be such a candidate, Count Nathos suggested that the kings of Abbadon might one day lend their support to a new prince, or failing that, either an obscure line of the original imperial family might be found to succeed to the throne or perhaps one of the inheritors of the remaining palatine-elector titles might be supported.

In this, Priscian realized that the Sacred Palatine Order considered that he himself might just one day be a candidate for the imperial throne. Soon after this realization, Priscian was taken away from Karanoa by Aemilianus.

Priscian said goodbye to his brother who was at the chapterhouse of their monastic order at Karanoa, and said that he was going to be taken to a monastery far to the south by the comital authorities. Priscian soon discovered that his sister had recently escaped her convent, and fled to the south. Although having resigned the tonsure in favor of a new life, Priscian assumed the habit of a full monk and traveled with Aemilianus far to the south, and through the imperial core lands and across the border to Thousiers.

Along the way, Aemilianus taught Priscian much about the wider world, and of the ancient Order to which Priscian's extended family had once belonged. Aemilianus also taught Priscian the ways of the sword and shield, and of horsemanship and military battle. The warrior also told Priscian of what he knew of the massacre of the Eskolane, and how a living necromancer in the emperor's service was thought responsible for the clouds of death and plague of vampires. Although the work of the necromancer had been seen before throughout the empire, no one knew who the man actually was, save for that it was said he was not a lich, but a living man.

They traveled for months, and shared in several adventures while they went south by boat, by cart, by horse and by foot, all the while passing imperial security due to the authority of Aemilianus and the authority of the comital passes he bore from Nathos.

Priscian soon began to realize Nathos was an important man in the secret resistance to Emperor Kamanshar, for Nathos was a count, supposedly one of the Emperor's loyal governors, and yet Nathos was working hard to overthrow the man.

Eventually, the two secretly crossed the imperial borders and descended into the Duchy of Thousiers, now reduced from a kingdom to a client duchy by the Kings of Pompiers.

There, they descended to the small barony of Liege. There, under an assumed name, Priscian met the beautiful Lady Lesperance, the baron's daughter, and beheld her entrance into the regional lists, where she bested the Encyclonian "Horn Knight", and thus won his famous black shield.

Aemilianus however was only waiting at Liege, for after a few weeks there he took Priscian to the neighboring lands of Thelonay, and the castle of Sir Mendolane.

Priscian Arrives at Thelonay and the Home of Aphelion

Priscian saw at Thelonay a beautiful forest vale settled with a small idealistic village surrounded by pleasant hills and streams. The castle at its center was a grand thing, but it was mostly empty. They were greeted there by the steward of the lands, who spoke with an Encyclonian accent and wore the Abbadonian trefoil and yet was called by the Thousiersian name of Thamian.

Aemilianus and Priscian were treated kindly by Thamian, who seemed almost the only keeper of the castle, and they were given rooms and food. Aemilianus bade Priscian be patient, for the master of the castle, Sir Branthon, was a great knight who fought in many tournaments throughout Thousiers.

For weeks Priscian waited for Sir Branthon, but during this time Thamian and Aemilianus questioned Priscian deeply about his family, morals, politics and religion. Priscian realized that Thamian was some kind of Abbadonian priest, and that Aemilianus and he knew each other, and that Thamian seemed to know exactly who Priscian was.

Thamian proved wise and probing, and delved deep into Priscian's soul. He soon realized that "Thamian" likely was not his real name, and that the man was Encyclonian, in hiding in Thousiers, and that he almost certainly was a confirmed member of the secret Order to which Count Nathos and Aemilianus were members.

Eventually Aemilianus took his leave, intending to ride north, for war had just been declared between Pompiers and Encyclon. He gave in his parting wisdom to trust in Thamian, for Thamian had just concluded that he could trust in Priscian. Aemilianus said that in truth Thamian was a former paladin and knight of their Order, but that after years with the sword he had surrendered himself to Mandador and became a priest, and was now an archpriest hiding in exile from the pagan emperor. He said his real name was Philothius.

With Aemilianus' absence, Priscian felt a great loneliness, but Philothamus helped Priscian in prayer, and showed him about Thelonay, acquainting the young Priscian with nature and the villagers.

Aphelion

Not soon after the depature of Aemilianus, the master of the castle Sir Branthon appeared. On a shining steed clad in steel, and arrayed magnificently in glittering full plate, Sir Branthon was a great sight for Priscian to behold. Even in his short time in Thousiers, Priscian had heard much of the Knight of Mendolane and his many victories at the lists. However, Sir Branthon spoke little to Priscian, and for days watched the boy from afar.

One day, Sir Branthon appeared and threw Priscian a sword, ordering the boy to defend himself. Branthon came upon him with great vigor, all the while ordering Priscian in Encyclonian to reveal himself as a servant of the emperor, or an usurper who wanted a reward. Branthon nearly killed Priscian, or so it seemed to the boy. At last Branthon seemed satisfied, and let him be.

Branthon and Philothius soon spoke to Priscian, and once again confirmed his intentions with regards to the Secret Order. Branthon then admitted that he was not the rightful heir to Castle Mendolane and Thelonay, but that rather he was Aphelion, heir to the Count-Palatines of House Athelios, one of the nine original Electoral families from the beginning of the empire. Aphelion had been the son of the Duke of Narmondion in the Encyclonian Core Lands, and had fought with his family on the side of Thezorus Kamanshar in the War of the Princes. Nonetheless, towards the end of the war, the Emperor's lieutenant Hekaron, Commander of the Imperial Guard Armies, executed the whole of the ducal family at Narmandion as well as all their cadet and associated families. Aphelion had been absent from Narmandion at the time, for he then still served in the imperial armies of Kamanshar. Aphelion escaped his assassins with the help of Sir Branthon, a Thousiersian knight who had supported an imperial candidate other than Kamanshar. Branthon had been captured, but Aphelion had been kind to him in the stocks, and had even made it possible to escape, an act which surely saved his life. Branthon had subsequently escaped his captors, and seeing Aphelion in peril during the escape, he decided to slay Aphelion's assailants. The two thus escaped together. Branthon invited Aphelion to stay with him at his castle in Thousiers, should they ever get that far. The two had many adventures together, but eventually imperial troops caught up to Aphelion. In the course of the fight, Branthon received a mortal wound. Dying, Branthon insisted Aphelion wear his black armor and return to his castle, to which he gave Aphelion the deed in his dying will.

Aphelion told Priscian all this, and said that for several years now he had acted as Branthon, and had told only the baron of Liege of his true identity, for the baron had been trusted by the real Branthon, and had told Aphelion that the old baron would respect Branthon's dying will. Not long after, Philothius appeared at Thelonay, after having received divine guidance for the location of the heir of the Dukes of Narmondion. A trusted knight of the Order, Philothius told Aphelion that the Sacred Palatine Order of the Imperial Reliquary still existed, and that now Aphelion was the only survivor of that house.

Aphelion told Priscian all this. In his early 30s, Aphelion was the senior man, and said that he must soon ride to the war against Encyclon, but that he would delay to train Priscian, and see if he was worthy of becoming a true knight of the Order.

Priscian received the training of Aphelion and Philothius, and began at last to shed his monastic training. After tests and ordeals, Priscian was eventually invited to the sacred faerie grotto of Thelonay, which lay secreted in the hills of that country. Finding his way through spiritual obstacles of Philothius' design by the grace of Mandador, Priscian beheld a narrow watered chasm in the hills, and at the end found of glorious spring. There in priestly regalia was Philothius and Aphelion, who blessed and knighted Priscian, and confirmed him a holy paladin of Mandador.

The sacred grotto of Thelonay, in which Priscian completed his vigil, and was knighted by Aphelion.

Sir Branthon of House Mendolane, Master of Thelonay

Sir Branthon was the son of Sir Tharius Mendolane, once a Thousiersian commoner of Pompiersian descent who grew famous as an adventurer in the early half of the 9th century. Tharius and his fellow adventurers became famous for their many exploits, and became the friends of elf lords, human kings and wise priests. The core members were five:

Tharius Mendolane, human Thousiersian fighter

Aethemius, human Encyclonian-born wizard

Marlost the Strong, Thousiersian half-elf fighter/mage

Elomayn, Thousiersian high wood elf fighter/thief

Ergrost the Wise, hill dwarf fighter/cleric

Of their adventures, they were most famous for the slaying of a red dragon that threatened the Thousiersian barony of Amonay. At the beginning of the battle with the dragon, the beast warned his assailants that he was a descendant of the Father of Dragons, who was protected by a powerful curse that would bring doom against anyone who might wound him. The dragon however had killed many innocents, and had even threatened the King, and so at they attacked regardless. Aethemius the wizard cast spells, but the dragon’s power was so great the wizard could do little more than blind him. Ergrost the dwarf crushed the dragon’s tail and foot with his hammer. The sword of Elomayn the Fair could not pierce the dragon’s scales, so she struck him in the mouth. Tharius alone was strong enough to breach the scales, and with his elf-made two-handed sword opened the dragon’s hand and breast. At the end of the battle, Marlost the Strong lanced the dragon through the eye, thus slaying the monster.

As a reward for this crown of their achievements, King Briadon of Thousiers honored them with knighthoods and lordships, but already their victory was marred, for as Aethemius had blinded the dragon, the dragon’s curse had blinded Aethemius, and seemingly no prayer or magic could lift the curse. A year later, Ergrost lost power over one leg, and became lame, retiring to the under-hill halls of his people. Years passed, and in war with Encyclon, Lady Elomayn, now a baroness in her own right, was impaled in the mouth with an Encyclonian sword. Marlost, now a count, has himself not died, but of his four sons, two died in accidents before the War of the Siblings, and his county has been beset with conspiracy against his rule. Every policy Marlost has recommended to the King has met with folly, and he has lost his magical spear, now dubbed “Dragon’s Eye”, a relic of the ancient world and pagan man. In a battle in Encyclon, Marlost pierced the eye of an evil gray elf captain with terrible magical powers, but when he did so the elf’s magic seized the spear with bolts of sorcery, and the spear was flung into the Encyclonian ranks.

Despite this curse, Marlost, Elomayn and Tharius were all three made Knights and Knights Commander of the Order of the Blue Trefoil, a Danian-rite order dedicated to the protection of the King of Thousiers.

Tharius married an Encyclonian woman of noble pedigree, Etholonia, and was given a sizeable sum by her powerful uncle, the Grand Duke of the Savenfannetsen, with which he built Castle Mendolane. He continued to defend King Briadon, and was amongst the notables who helped broker the Treaty of Viernerté, the great peace between Encyclon, Pompiers and Thousiers set down in 862. Tharius also rallied to his wife Etholonia’s extended family, the Grand Dukes of the Savenfannetsen in south eastern Encyclon, where he resided towards his final years. Tharius was a great knight, and became famous at the lists, but he was at last felled at tournament by the fury of the Black Knight, Solonochos IV, whose sword nearly severed Sir Tharius’ hand and split open his chest. Although Tharius survived his wounds, he was never the same man, and died shortly thereafter.

Tharius’ son Branthon witnessed his father’s fall in his minority, and afterwards stayed with his mother Etholonia in the Savenfannetsen. When he came of age however, he was approached by Marlost the Strong, who as his father’s friend wished to protect the boy and train him. Count Marlost supported young Branthon’s return to Castle Mendolane, became his legal guardian, and even eventually adopted him as his godson. He also saw that the boy became knighted into the Order of the Blue Trefoil. Upon achieving knighthood, Marlost and the sons of Marlost presented Branthon with a suit of black full plate made with elven skill, and emblazoned with the Red Dragon of Amonay, with wounded tail, foot, mouth and pierced through the eye with the spear.

With this armor, the Black Knight of Thelonay won repute for himself at the lists, and adventured with the sons of Marlost, defeating the ogres of the marches of Tresia and the sorcerous spiders of the Solorochos in Encyclon. He eventually returned to Thelonay, where he became betrothed to his childhood love Lady Lesperance, the daughter of the Baron of Liege, who was adjacent to his own lands. It was around this time however that the great War of the Princes in Encyclon was reaching its height, and Sir Branthon’s mother called for her son’s aid of the Grand Duke Maanshesfaan of the Savenfannetsen, who claimed a right to the Imperial throne. After receiving the begrudging permission from the royal Duke Briadon (he had been thus reduced from royalty after the Treaty of Viernerté), Sir Branthon rode to that distant land to support the family of his mother.

For several years Sir Branthon and his retainers fought in the War of the Princes, during which he proved himself a most noble knight in both conduct and battle, and established a reputation for mercy and fairness. Sir Branthon however was captured in the last great field battle between Emperor Kamanshar’s forces and the Grand Duke. His life was spared at the request of Aphelion, the son of the Duke of Narmondion, who convinced the imperial duke that knights might be ransomed from the great families. Mercy however was dying with the approaching final victory of Emperor Kamanshar, and it was not long before imperial orders demanded the execution of all the noble prisoners. Aghast, Aphelion hid Sir Branthon’s armor, shield and sword in the forest, along with a suitable steed, and opened the lock of Branthon’s cell, so that he might escape when Aphelion made a diversion.

Deep at night, Branthon indeed escaped, and rode for a day until he was safe. From passing friendly soldiers however he heard that a full Imperial Guard regiment had arrived in the night at the battlefield and was arresting imperial officers and crucifying them. They said that even Lord Aphelion, a famous Encyclonian knight, had been seized along with many other honorable men.

Unable to bear the shame of allowing his savior to be killed by the cruelty of the conquering Emperor, Branthon rode to the Encyclonian camp and discovered Aphelion, who was about to be mounted on the cross. Sword in hand, Branthon hewed down the imperial guardsmen, and slew one of their officers, before taking the weakened Aphelion upon his horse and riding off.

Sir Branthon and Aphelion had many adventures together as they raced back towards Thousiers, where Branthon assured Aphelion they would find sanctuary at his father’s castle. They were however pursued by the Imperial Guard, who summoned magic and monsters to hunt them.

Eventually, they attempted to lose the Imperial Guard in a vast swamp, but became themselves lost and mired in the darkness and sludge. They and the Guard became the prey of a black dragon and his goblins, and the Guard company was slaughtered, almost to a man. Aphelion however slew the monster in the end, and the goblins fled, and Branthon declared Aphelion the greater knight. From the darkness however the Guard commander appeared, a one-eyed gray elf sorcerer-warrior, flying over the mud with magic, and wielding somehow Dragon’s Eye, the lost Spear of Marlost.

Aphelion shrieked as he fought the elf back, and was soon reduced to his knees by the elf’s magic. Sir Branthon however rallied, insisting that the badly wounded Aphelion stay back and let him fight, for his armor was strong, whereas Aphelion only had simple chain mail. The magical spear clanged again and again against the black elf-made armor, but could not pierce it, while meanwhile Branthon struck the hand of the elf and cut open his breast. The elf at last plunged into the mud, wounded and defeated, and Sir Branthon slew him. But in his false triumph, Sir Branthon did not see that the elf’s body was but an illusion, and he was pierced through the eye by the magical and invisible spear of the evil elf. Aphelion saw the elf as he emerged from invisibility, but both were too weak to fight further; when Aphelion slashed at his friend’s killer, the elf vanished with a word.

Before his death, Sir Branthon had insisted that Aphelion wear his black armor, and flee to his castle, should he die and Aphelion live. Aphelion obeyed the final wishes of his friend. Aphelion rode to Thelonay, and to the Barony of Liege, where he presented the last will of Branthon, which Sir Branthon had written in case of just such an event. The Baron of Liege also obeyed the will of his slain son-in-law to be, and vouched for the Encyclonian knight, declaring him as Sir Branthon returned.

The Standard of House Mendolane

The standard is a light blue pennon (triangular flag), as is traditional for a knight, centered by the Red Dragon of Amonay, which sits wounded yet upright on its hind legs, with a vertical black lance piercing it through the eye and skull. In front of the dragon is the great dark sword of Tharius Mendolane, rising upward through the golden helm (a jeweled band of gold). At the corner of the pennon is a small red field, in the center of which is a blue Danian-rite trefoil.

The Black Armor and Shield of Sir Branthon of House Mendolane

Made of unique mythril-steel composite, the armor was forged by the high elves of Thousiers at the bequest of Count Marlost the Strong. The armor is jet black, and possesses a low mirror-like finish. The armor has seen battle, and is nicked by many lance, sword and hammer blows. The armor is generally sleek and supple.

The armor is not the equivalent of true “elven plate”, but as it is elf-made and is of a mythril composite, both armor and shield are half the normal weight

A matching shield accompanies the armor.

Both the shield and the breast plate of the armor possess the standard of the House of Mendolane, sans the blue trefoil and its red field. The Blue Trefoil is embossed in dark blue on a left breast spaulder on the armor. The Red Dragon is richly designed into the armor and shield, and is slightly raised on the armor surface.

The Fall of of Thelonay

Aphelion rode off to war to defend Thousiers against Encyclon as Sir Branthon, but Priscian was thought still too young and inexperienced, so Philothius continued to train the young man in martial combat and the faith of the Church. Unknown to him, the Order had decided that the lives of Aphelion and Priscian should not both be risked in open war.

It was not long before Thousiers fell to the Encyclonian Empire, and although a resistance movement slowed the fall of the individual baronies, they still incredibly fast.

Being bereft of soldiers, there was to be no defense of Castle Mendolane. A squadron of Imperial Guard came on horse to seize the place, a strange thing for they were not the normal imperial soldiery. They came specifically for the castle, for many baronies closer to the border had not yet been taken, and yet the squadron had come directly to Thelonay without warning.

Priscian was shown the black armor of Sir Branthon, and told to escape with his squire Therion. Philothius gave Priscian time by his powerful prayers to Mandador, but the veteran Guards eventually hewed him down. Priscian barely escaped with his squire.

The Escape of Priscian from Thousiers

Priscian had been prepared for escape from Castle Mendolane. Philothius had drafted for Priscian official ducal documents declaring Priscian Sir Branthon of Thelonay, and granting him pass to the great Kingdom of Pompiers. He had also written a letter to the Encyclonian Viscount of Loslolam, Sir Mientar, which explained the identitiy of Priscian and declared him a knight of the Sacred Palatine Order of the Imperial Reliquary. Priscian had been told that with Encyclon under the rule of the emperor, the closest known knight of the Order was Viscount Mientar, who had fled Encyclon many years before, and had settled at the remote eastern realm of Pompiers called Dantareth, in the town of Mirsaki.

Armed with these letters Priscian and his squire rode on horse into Pompiers. The army of Encyclon followed however, and it was not long until the capital city, Pompiers itself, fell to the emperor's might.

Priscian survived on the considerable amount of money that had been prepared for him in case of this situation, but he soon realized that he was being followed by imperial agents. Following the great Northwaters River to the eastern end of the kingdom, Priscian rode long and hard. In western Polydidus, at the edge of the military line between Encyclon and the armies of the Queen of Pompiers, Priscian was staying at an inn along the river when un-uniformed agents of the empire found him. Priscian's squire was killed in the chaotic melee, and Priscian was forced to flee without slaying any of his pursuers. He escaped on barge, but thereafter has not worn the mighty black armor of Sir Brenthan, which made him too easy to follow.

The Fate of Priscian

Priscian has traveled the immense breadth of Pompiers, and in the summer of 888 has at last crossed into the Barony of Dantareth. At the western boundary of that barony lies Fort Amerstice, to which Priscian has arrived. He lodges as the guest of the royal magistrate of that fortress, posing as the Thousiersian knight Sir Branthan. He is very near to Mirsaki, but another week at most away.