A History of the Drynnian War
What follows is an excerpt from a multi-volume history penned by Baldwin of Blakehaven. Anyone who's gone to school would be familiar with at least the basics of the story recounted below.
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Southern Structure
Everyone knows about the traditional structure of the Dominion: a governing Tyrant backed by a powerful standing army, an impressive navy, and a close relationship with the Church of Kazul. A savage land where might makes right -- where justice is blind, and its enforcers corrupt.
But a new chapter began before my very eyes on an unassuming summer night nearly one hundred years ago. A chapter marked by progress and regression, torment and hope, and grim determination.
Shades of Gray
It all started with the coronation of promising young man as Tyrant: Morachiga Choso.
To his supporters, he is called Choso the Great. Detractors sneer at his idealism, calling him the Glass Tyrant, the Squatter, or, simply, "traitor". Here in the Empire, we have another name for him: The Reformer.
It's an enviable title, one he earned by spearheading a civil rights movement throughout the dark city streets, the murky swamps, and the steaming jungles of Drynn. Before Morachiga's reign, freedoms you take for granted here -- freedom to carry weapons, to petition a court of law for the redress of wrongs, to own properly -- were summarily denied to most Southern residents.
Needless to say, the Tyrant made increasingly powerful enemies as he aided the disenfranchised at the expense of the rich and the powerful. The most dangerous of these was the Church of Kazul, patron of wealth, power, and ambition and traditionally equal in power to the ruling Tyrant.
The Onyx Edict
Things came to a head when Morachiga publicly dismissed the church's High Priest from the ranks of the Dominion for persistent insubordination and for confusing the public, troops, and officials by issuing countless countermanding orders. Embarrassed and infuriated, the priest fled to his cathedral and released what became know as the Onyx Edict.
The Edict is perhaps the most influential document in Southern politics, a diatribe that disavows the authority of the government in general and the Tyrant in particular. It ended by ordering the standing military forces to assist in the will of the gods: a coup d'état.
Civil War
I say with no small sadness that I was among those overjoyed when news reached my ears that Drynn had erupted into war. Certainly, there was much fanfare along the streets of Tris, Hae'driel, and Telsid-Fas. We felt confident that the South would eradicate itself, leaving it weak enough for a purifying force to rip through it once the chaos came to an end.
How were we to know that the scattered factions bound together by the Dominion would rally so cohesively to the Church's cause instead of fragmenting into a dozen squabbling pieces?
As the Church's grip grew tighter, we soon realized that a government founded on the principles of that vile religion and unfettered by any semblance of separation of powers would plunge the world into a state of endless war. Yet, the Empire could not openly interfere for fear of unifying the warring factions against a common foe.
But that didn't mean we couldn't dispatch an elite team of heroes to shore up the Tyrant's defenses -- and, perhaps, destroy the Church's high priest in the process.
The Fall of Imbraer
The Tyrant's forces were routed in battle after battle, culminating in a final siege at the coastal fortress of Imbraer. While the army supported the Church over the Tyrant 10:1, the naval forces -- which were managed by officers more likely than not to worship more nautical deities -- had remained largely loyal to their traditional commander. A half-circle of warships defended the fortress as best they could from the harbor, but eventually they succumbed to a lack of supplies, bribery, or both.
Either way, the Church's army breached the fortress just hours after the cannons fell silent. Battered in both body and spirit, the Tyrant's remaining allies threw down their arms in the wake of the advancing honor guard which marked the high priest's personal entourage.
He stood before the Tyrant, surrounded by trusted lieutenants, and demanded Morachiga submit to immediate arrest for his treasonous crimes against Church and State. Thinking quickly, the Tyrant accepted - but only on the condition that the priest could defeat him in a one-on-one duel.
The Sundering
More politician than warrior, Morachiga had no chance of besting a being who considered himself the living avatar of Power. The priest accepted with a wicked grin, and decreed the challenge would be carried out immediately.
What he didn't know was that, among the Tyrant's scant defenders still looking on, were six heroes of might and magic -- myself among them.
Before the duel could be joined, we exploded into plain sight, shedding our disguises and drawing our weapons. We expected the battle to be brutal, swift, and lethal, and we were not disappointed.
At least, not in those aspects.
The results were not encouraging. I'm hazy on what truly transpired, but I recall blood and screams were ringing out everywhere. And billowing clouds of smoke. I heard our leader yelling to me, his armor red-hot as it seared through his flesh.
"GET HIM OUT OF HERE," he managed, pointing a charred, broken sword in the direction of the Tyrant. "GO!"
And so, I am ashamed to say, I fled. I rushed to the protesting Tyrant, grabbed him, wrapped him in my cloak, and threw both of us out the window, where we crashed into the churning sea hundreds of feet below.
A New Beginning
You may think that body of water is called the Sea of Tears because it's meant to evoke sorrow, but this is not the case. We pronounce it wrong, you see. It's called the Sea of Tears because of how the great waves and remorseless currents near the shoreline drag objects and people along the jagged rocks of the cliff wall, tearing them to bits.
It took every ounce of my strength to bring the Tyrant to one of the vessels that had been helping us earlier. The captain understood the situation immediately, and had us sailing northward in short order behind a flotilla of dozens of other ships.
They were packed with civilians, warriors, supplies, and more -- clearly, the thought of leaving Imbrear behind had crossed Morachiga's mind before we forced the issue.
These refugees settled on the Western Continent among the ruins of Loe'driel, building strong walls and quickly transforming the cursed wreckage of that land into the third-largest city in the West.
The Emerald Flame was, as you might imagine, far from pleased, but the Empire felt its resources were best spent preparing for the inevitable war the Church would wage once it consolidated its power base. The South's naval forces were heavily depleted with the "defection" of the Tyrant, and -- in the Empire's defense -- their blockade has been quite successful thus far.
Here and Now
Today, Loe'driel stands as the capital of Drynn's government-in-exile, and is operated with a harsh but fair legal system that is only slightly more murderous than the Empire's own codes of law. Some are of the opinion it should be allowed to join the Empire formally, though others argue the Tyrant would never submit to the Empress's will.
The Emerald Flame, having lost two sieges of the city, has come to grudgingly permit its presence "until a better solution can be found" for returning its people to their true homes.
For my part, once we reached land, I parted ways with the group, confident that I had fulfilled my duty by keeping the man I view as the South's only hope for peace alive and well.
And, as for Drynn? Little has been heard in any official capacity, though I suspect the Church may be having more trouble bringing the dark elven kingdoms into line than it was anticipating...
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This message was last edited by the player at 16:50, Wed 18 Sept 2013.
