Appendix: Sage Scrivenings

Legend of the Brethic Royal Dagger

The following passage has been taken from the book that is commonly known as The Betrayal of the Bards. It is so named because it contravenes the Bardic Code which states that Bardic lore can only be transmitted orally.

Some of its content is considered apocryphal, such as the alleged origins of the Halflings (which is vehemently disputed by Halflings themselves). Other aspects of the tale, however, are considered historically accurate, such as the foundation of the Bardic tradition.

The Bards are particularly vexed by the inclusion of this tale in The Betrayal of the Bards because it reveals that they are far more than just the troubadours they seem to be.

The legend itself is important to many cultures but scholars also find it interesting for the hints it gives of everyday life in a long-gone era. It is because of this tale for instance that the practice of 'wheel weddings' between charioteers and partnered archers is known to be ancient.

The Tale of Brennan

In the last days of the Age of Glory a young Brethic nobleman by the name of Brennan left the home of his ancestors to seek adventure in the wider Lands beyond the Brethic Hills. Then as now his homeland were a cluster of independent estates ruled by many petty warrior lords and ladies. Brennan was to inherit the rule of one such estate but while in his youth wished to see if the tales of massive empires beyond his homeland were true.

Indeed they were true. Brennan discovered that his homeland was surrounded by empires so huge that they extended beyond the horizon! There was an Elven Empire and a Dwarven Empire. But of most interest to Brennan was the human empire of Grand Erimania. The Eriman were similar to the Brethic in most respects and as a brave and well-spoken warrior Brennan soon found himself in the court of the last Emperor Udolfo. The two became fast friends and Udolfo asked Brennan to become one of his adventuring companions, an offer which Brennan accepted with much joy born of honour and glory. Soon Brennan was as renowned a follower of Udolfo as his bodyguard Tilda The Tremendous (one of the original Giants). They all got on well but Udolfo and Brennan were as close as an archer and charioteer.

Udolfo of Grand Erimania was an adventuring emperor who had done much to expand his territory at the expense of other human nations. While away on military campaigns Udolfo left domestic rule in the hands of his three paramount advisors - the Mons Council. The arch-mage Tara was its presiding member. Mons Tara knew better than Udolfo that Grand Erimania was a fractured empire held together by a complex web of corruption that forebode its demise. Mons Tara despised this state-of-play and secretly coveted the ultimate power only the Emperor had to reform the rotten institutions of the Empire. To this end she formed a secret alliance of followers who – at the right time – would effect an overthrow of Udolfo and his closest supporters (who Tara discovered were relatively few). Thus while Udolfo was away campaigning Tara succeeded in taking command of the ancient capital of Rinuglarin (now the legendary Ruins of Ringin).

On receiving tidings of the rebellion, Udolfo returned home to lay siege to his own royal city. Udolfo had a much bigger and better army than Tara the Usurper. Tara however had a magnificent city with its own fresh water springs. Also she and her apprentice Hakon produced a host of mongrel minions born of the magic-induced blending of different forms (these warriors of Mons Tara were given the nickname ‘Monsters’).

The siege lasted 12 months and all the while the empire began crumbling as the border provinces took the chance to declare independence. In the end it was Brennan who conceived of a daring small-party foray into the City with the aim of locating and killing Tara herself. Udolfo lead the foray and came face to face with his Usurper. Tara challenged Udolfo to one-on-one combat, which naturally the Emperor accepted. Tara had powerful spells at her disposal, but Udolfo had the Sword of Conquest she had made for him, which bestowed on him many talents both in combat and in the domination of others. The melee was fierce. Udolfo was the most brilliant swordsman to walk The Lands. Tara was terrifying as she shape-shifted from form-to-form. Eventually Udolfo got in a killing blow at Mons Tara. Some magic in her body shattered the sword into three shards and the smallest of those three shards was blasted into the heart of Udolfo. Brennan was with his beloved Udolfo at his last living moment. Sages declare the deaths of both Udolfo and Tara to be the moment at which the Age of Glory gave way to the Age of Tumult.

Brennan had hoped that the death of the Usurper would allow for a return to the rule of the Emperor. But the death of Udolfo was the final death-blow to the Empire of Erimania. Tara had been right in understanding just how fragile the Empire was. Udolfo lacked living children or siblings and several members of his extended household from cousins to concubines made claims to the throne. Thus war was waged in the capital as in the border provinces. Within weeks the millennia-old Empire was utterly shattered in a war of all against all.

Of the three shards of the Sword of Conquest, the two larger ones would fall into the hands of what became the two most powerful of the factions warring for control of the lost Empire. The third and smallest shard however went missing along with Brennan of the Brethic Hills.

Brennan had been feted by all key factions at the start of civil war. Offers were made to become a mighty general or even a partner in rule but Brennan refused all enticements in disgust at what had become of the once powerful Eriman. Brennan returned quietly to his homeland and with him he took in secret the smallest shard of the Sword of Conquest – the shard that had killed his chosen lord and master.

Brennan secreted the shard in his fortress home, which was now his to rule. The war that affected the former provinces of Grand Erimania was spilling into the Brethic Hills and Brennan was instrumental in forging an alliance of Brethic estates so as to repel all foreign incursions. In such wars of defence Brennan became something of an overlord to the Brethic and all other gentry turned to him in times of need. But in times of peace Brennan never coveted rule of the Brethic Hills but allowed all the others to do as they always had done. Thus Brennan lived a long life away from the madness of the wider Lands beyond his home.

The Tale of Fenella

Fenella was the eldest child of Brennan. She loved her father but never understood his reluctance to become permanent overlord in both times of war and peace. For her the Brethic kin could only be safe if they were united under one throne. On his death, Fenella took over the family estate and that very night opened a locked chest in his chambers. In it she found the blade shard. Brennan had never told her about his possession of this third shard of the Sword of Conquest, but Fenella was well-versed in the history of The Lands and guessed correctly at what she now held. Fenella made the shard into a talisman worn round her neck in place of the traditional Brethic torc.

At this time the Brethic Hills were once more subject to incursions from warring Eriman factions and Fenella – a fearless warrior and superb charioteer – united the estates to repel the trespassers. But once that had been accomplished Fenella demanded that all Brethic estates bow to her rule. Some agreed but many others resisted. Fenella thus waged war on her own kin in battles that turned the green hills red.

The troops of Fenella were more numerous than those of the ‘rebels’ but dissenters entrenched in hilltop keeps can be very difficult to remove. Some sieges lasted months and looked like lasting forever. At this time however some of the powers of the Sword of Conquest seemed to manifest in the Talisman-Shard. Legend tells that Fenella would make defamatory speeches outside the walls of her rivals and her belittling words would become horrific fact as her victims in the keeps shrunk to the size of children. Her shrunken victims would flee the Brethic Hills for Eriman lands in which they became servants and slaves for a time. It is commonly held that this is how the Halflings were formed (which they say is why the Hinnic have so much in common with the Brethic).

It was by a combination of military prowess and fell curses that Fenella thus became overlady of all the Brethic Hills. With peace established Fenella then began making changes to the way in which her subjects lived. Dirt tracks became cobblestone roads. Mud hovels became stone houses. Iron replaced copper as the preferred metal of smiths. Fenella also contributed to a growth in art and literature in her realm that elevated Brethic culture over all others at the time. Singers and storytellers flocked to her court and it was there that the original Bardic College was established under the sponsorship of Fenella. This group drew its members from lands far from the Brethic Hills (which is why the present day bards are a movement which transcends nations yet still keeps the trappings of Brethic dress and manners).

Fenella also looked to religion to help unite her realm. The growing trend among the Eriman at that time was towards having many distinct churches dedicated to separate gods or goddesses. Among the Brethic however there was still a sense of one Divine family and this was something that Fenella wished to cultivate for her ‘nation-as-family’. It was to this end that Fenella invited the Grand Druid Conroy to shift his home from the Deben Wood to her court in the Brethic Hills and help him establish the Druids as the national clergy. Conroy was advised by his three closest followers to decline the invitation as they felt the power of the Druids was better served by independence from all nations. Conroy however was tempted by the prospect of having an entire nation served exclusively by Druidic religion. Thus the most important Druid between sunrise and sunset came to the court of Fenella and became her most trusted advisor.

Fenella, assisted by wise advisors like Conroy, made the Brethic Hills a nation to be reckoned with. For the rest of her long life her nation was at peace while wars raged here-and-there in The Lands beyond.

The Tale of Galvin

Conroy was with Fenella at her death-bed. She asked him to pass on the Talisman-Shard to her eldest child Galvin as his mark of rulership. Conroy took the artefact and sensed in it awesome powers that directed its owner towards acts of conquest and domination over others. He surmised that its will was lesser than that of Fenella but greater than that of the youthful Galvin. Thus the Grand Druid was torn between keeping his promise to pass on the heirloom and hiding it from the young Galvin. He decided on a compromise and got his Druids to work on fashioning a hilt and scabbard for the blade-shard that would make it into a ceremonial dagger. The hilt was charmed by Conroy to inhibit the powers of the blade. The two portions and the magic in them were fitted together by Conroy himself. It was this new Royal Dagger that Conroy intended to give unto Galvin.

Galvin had been on a three-day hunting tour at the time of his mother’s death and on his return he discovered of her death and whispers around court that she had given something to Conroy. Galvin always regarded Conroy as meddlesome. The quick-tempered Galvin rushed to the chambers of the Grand Druid intent on demanding what he guessed was the Talisman-Shard. On seeing the rage in Galvin, Conroy hesitated at handing over the Royal Dagger and asked for calm. This only outraged Galvin further and he forcibly grasped the Royal Dagger from Conroy. On seeing that his mother’s prized possession had been tampered with by the scheming Druids, Galvin flew into a wild rage and stabbed Conroy in the gut. In an instant however he came to his senses and was struck with horror at his violent act. He was also filled with fear at what others may think and do if he was discovered. They were alone at the time and Galvin locked the doors to prevent any witnesses from coming upon them. All the while Conroy lay on the floor slowly losing his life with the dagger in his gut. His last hazy thought was to wonder at why there was no blood pooling around him. In his panicked state Galvin overlooked this mystery entirely but once Conroy was dead he took the Royal Dagger and fit it into his belt. That night Galvin and some trusted friends disposed of the body by throwing it down a pothole into flooded caverns known to be inhabited by Trolls. They also fabricated a story that the Grand Druid had been so attached to Fenella that with her gone he had decided to return to his home in the Deben Wood.

At the funeral of Fenella, Galvin was seen to wear a new dagger with a marvellous brass hilt. Then at his own coronation as overlord Galvin held it aloft for all to see its glittering steel blade and declared that it was the new standard of his household and the proof of his right to rule. All who saw him that day were filled with one of two feelings. Most members of court were struck with how wonderful the new ruler was. Some however felt a nagging sense of foreboding.

The Druids were the first to become suspicious of Galvin because they never succeeded in confirming his flimsy story of the return of Conroy to the Deben Wood. They declared him missing and a new Grand Druid was selected till such time as Conroy may return.

The Bards at court were also suspicious of Galvin as they can tell better than anyone the difference between a story that rings true and one that stinks of fabrication. They began carefully disseminating among all bards the possibility that something was amiss but for now this stayed within Bardic ranks only.

Galvin marked his assent to the throne with a tournament of arms to which he invited the rulers of neighbouring Eriman lands. At this contest Galvin discovered that he was a better warrior than all his neighbours. One such guest was killed by Galvin in a joust and in the furore that resulted Galvin made the rash decision to hold all of his other guests hostage. He then made a stirring speech to his fellow Brethic gentry to say that all neighbouring nations and estates were pathetic weaklings compared to the glory of the Brethic Nation and that it was time to bring Brethic civilisation to the wider Lands.

Preparation was made for war and very quickly the Deben Wood was annexed. The scattered villages of the Deben Woods succumbed quickly to the rule of Galvin and did so happily since they were of Brethic kinship themselves. The Druids however resented this act as they were traditional custodians of the Deben Woods. They protested this and other expansion and in response Galvin dismissed all Druids from court. An edict was issued stating that Druids would be banished if they dared comment on matters of state. Many a village was deprived of its resident Druid as a result. This was hardly noticed however as the population of all villages reduced somewhat, for the young flocked to the army of Galvin, intent on conquest and booty.

The army of Galvin took neighbouring realms by surprise. The Eriman were still regularly at war with one another and many an independent province would change hands between the two dominant warring factions from year to year. Galvin added a third force into this state of play. Some welcomed the new force as better than those they had suffered under till then. But many others resisted and the resulting battles were bloody.

It was at this time that some adventurers discovered the bones and identifying possessions of Conroy after hunting and slaying a troll. This was only twelve months after the disappearance. Among the adventurers was a bard who naturally informed other bards of the discovery. The Bards immediately began telling throngs gathered in taverns new tales of a ruler whose reign was begun with the murder of a trusted mentor. In these tales the Bards warned that a rule born in the bloodshed of one was destined to end in the bloodshed of entire nations. They never named names but those who could think for themselves filled in the gaps and pondered this cautionary tale.

Next, the new Grand Druid returned to the Deben Wood and there began forming an open armed resistance to secede from the Brethic Hills. She swore that never would the Druids attach themselves to a nation as Conroy had done.

Galvin became aware of the damaging tales of the Bards and declared the whole Bardic movement a network of spies working for Eriman foreigners. Many Bards were put to death. Many others however escaped and wandered the disparate fractured Eriman estates. Yet others stayed in secret and perfected skills of deception and concealment.

The tales of the Bards had done damage to Galvin by opening the minds of many to the truth of his bloody ways. Over weeks and months a secret resistance formed united by a web of whispered conversations. This resistance included lords and ladies whose estates were deprived of farmers to till the rich valley soil, Druids restricted to only speaking on religious topics, subjects who were losing loved ones to war in foreign lands.

Galvin returned from several months of campaigning with much booty and many important prisoners. He invited all the gentry of his realm to a ceremony at which a new Brethic Empire would be declared with him as Emperor. The ceremony was to culminate in the execution of all political prisoners – the sons and daughters of the rulers of Eriman provinces still resisting his rule. The Brethic gentry present were shocked by both the bloodiness of this proposed act and by what may happen to the mood of their many neighbours if their future rulers were murdered.

Among those assembled were several members of the resistance and they acted then with one purpose and rushed at Galvin with swords drawn. Others till that moment loyal to Galvin were torn between defending or attacking him. Some rushed to help him while others decided to help kill him. Yet others fled the chamber or looked on in horror. Galvin killed many but was finally killed himself. The skirmish ended with the resistance holding the field but they soon fell to arguing over everything. Who should become the new overlord? Should there be any overlord at all? Should the war of expansion continue or come to an end? Nothing was decided for sure. Most present left to secure their own estates in the face of what may happen to the Brethic Hills.

A handful of the resistance members took the body of Galvin and the Royal Dagger under the keep to the barrows in which his ancestors (including Fenella and Brennan) were interred and conducted a funeral there with the help of a hastily acquired Druid. Galvin had never had children and his siblings were still fighting in bordering provinces. The rebels forced the evacuation of the ancestral estate of Galvin. They filled his keep with lethal traps and set guard upon the borders of his estate so that in time it became wild and overgrown. They hoped to never let anyone follow in his footsteps or take possession of the Royal Dagger which they felt sure had driven him mad.

The Fate of the Brethic Royal Dagger

The Age of Tumult lasted five hundred years. The first hundred years were the time of Brennan, Fenella, and Galvin, a time in which the Brethic Nation was an island of unity in a sea of war. But at the end of that century the Brethic Hills were swept with the same war and division as affected surrounding Eriman lands.

In the following four hundred years the many tiny Eriman estates and factions resolved themselves into two distinct and powerful forces (both of which held a shard of the Sword of Conquest). Many of the Brethic were drawn into the war between these two foreign forces but most Brethic lords and ladies did all they could just to keep their estates intact. However they never found anyone with the presence of will to become another national ruler. If the siblings of Galvin survived it was only by marrying into other estates. And the location of his barrow was quickly lost to history and remembered only in Bardic whispers.

The Age of Tumult came to an end in very peculiar circumstances. Two legions of the rival Blood and Bile factions met on a mist-shrouded field set for one last battle. Each side had something like 2000 infantry and 500 chariots each carrying one driver and one archer for a total of 3000 combatants per legion. They furthermore had servants and camp followers and some of these may have stayed behind to tell the tale of what befell those forces. They say that the two legions literally disappeared as if they had never existed without the firing of even one arrow. There were Brethic warriors in the ranks of both those forces and some say that the only surviving descendants of the siblings of Gavin disappeared with those two legions. Many also say that the two larger shards of the Sword of Conquest left the world at that moment.

This singular event happened over 1300 years ago. Much has changed since then. New nations (never empires) have formed and different human kin have migrated into the former lands of Grand Erimania. But the Brethic still live as they always did in small rival estates in the hills and woods of their ancestors. And none now know the location of the Royal Dagger – the only surviving fragment of the Sword of Conquest to be located in The Lands.