became common sights in the streets of Tol Honeth. They also began
to appear in Vo Mimbre, Camaar and Sendar.
This healthy expansion of east-west contact by way of the South
Caravan Route offset the decline in commerce resulting from the
turmoil in the Alorn Kingdoms.
The outstanding diplomatic achievement of the SECOND HORBITE
DYNASTY was the mission to Ulgoland and the ultimate
concluding of the Treaty of Prolgu – although, to be candid, there has been
only small commercial advantage in the severely limited trade with
the Ulgos. The achievement can be measured more in terms of
increased knowledge than in profit.
It was, incidentally, the opening of contact with the mysterious
Ulgos that sparked the theological debate which has raged
throughout the west for centuries. (See the History of the Ulgos for further
discussion.)
THE SECOND RANITE DYNASTY 4483-4742
(259 years, 17 Emperors)
The SECOND DYNASTY of the short-lived RANITES saw
enormous increases in trade between Tolnedra and Cthol Murgos.
indeed, one merchant observed sourly, ‘You can’t look anywhere
anymore without seeing a Murgo.’ this is perhaps an
exaggeration, it is certainly true that Murgo merchants were to be seen on
virtually all roads in the Empire, and it was not uncommon to
encounter them in Arendia and even the remotest village in
Sendaria. One curious fact was that no Murgo, insofar as we can tell,
ever visited an Alorn Kingdom and that none even attempted to
penetrate Ulgoland.
Gradually the situation to the north began to stabilize, and
commerce once again proceeded normally.
These perhaps were the golden days of the west. With the
exception of the bickering of the Arends in the north of their country,
conflict was almost non-existent. Trade flowed smoothly east and
west along both the North and South Caravan Routes, and Tolnedra
profited in almost every transaction. The Ranite Emperors were too
preoccupied with their own health problems to engage in any
Imperial adventures, and an able and conscientious bureaucracy
developed to maintain roads and ports, standardize fees and bribes
and generally see to the day-to-day ordering of the thousand details
upon which the stability of the Empire rests.
THE THIRD BORUNE DYNASTY 4742 to date
(626 years, 23 Emperors)
When the last Ranite Emperor died, Tolnedra turned once again to
the Borunes. One can only conclude that, while in some of His
choices for Emperor, Nedra may have drowsed, in His choice of the
Borunes to guide the Empire through the troubled times of the last
years of the fifth millennium our God was surely with us.
Through the reigns of the first three Borune Emperors, the world
proceeded normally, much as it had during the Ranite period. Ran
Borune IV was crowned, and for ten years all seemed well. Then,
quite suddenly in 4864, without explanation, the Murgos closed the
South Caravan Route and the Nadraks severely kirtailed eastward
movement along the North Route. The following year the reasons
became painfully obvious.
In the spring of 4865 the Angaraks invaded Drasnia. In the
forefront of their assault were Nadraks, Thulls and Murgos, and behind
them in a human sea that stretched from horizon to horizon came
the hordes of the Malloreans. In the center of the host, borne upon
the shoulders of literally thousands, was the huge black iron
pavilion in which rode the dreaded Kal-Torak himself.
History is unclear concerning the precise relationship between
Kal-Torak and other Angarak Kings, but there can be no question
that Kal-Torak of Mallorea ruled over them with almost god-like
authority.
The civilized world stood aghast at the destruction of Drasnia.
Though the other Alorn nations attempted to aid their cousins, their
efforts were fruitless. It quickly became evident that Kal-Torak came,
not as a conqueror, but as a destroyer. The cities of Boktor and Kotu
were literally pulled down, and the smaller Drasnian towns and
villages were put to the torch. Worse still, the population of this
nation was systematically exterminated, and
what few captives were taken were turned over to the dark-robed,
steel-masked Grolim Priests for the unspeakable human sacrifices
which are such an integral part of the Angarak religion.
A few battered and bloody elements of the superb Drasnian Army
escaped southward into Algaria, and a few others were taken off the
islands at the mouth of the Aldur River by Cherek warships, but the
bulk of the army was simply smothered by the uncounted hordes of
Malloreans who swept across the land. Members of the general
populace who were not slain or captured fled northwest into the
empty reaches of the Drasnian steppes or into the vast marshes at
the mouth of the Mrin River. Some few survivors who fled to the
north eventually made their way across the River Dused in the far
north and thence down the coast to Val Alorn in Cherek. For those
who sought refuge in the fens and marshes, however, there was
scant hope for survival.
once Drasnia had been crushed, the Angaraks turned southward
and struck into Algaria. Here, of course, they met a different foe.
Algar horsemen, the finest cavalry on earth, continually savaged the
flanks of the horde, littering the Algarian grasslands with Angarak
dead. In retaliation – or perhaps as a part of a preconceived plan
the Angaraks slaughtered the Algarian herds, both horses and cattle,
and glutted themselves on the meat. Finally, fed to the point of
satiety’ they simply killed the animals and left them to rot where they
fell. The sky over Algaria grew black with vultures and ravens as the
Angaraks passed.
The occupation of Drasnia was one thing, but the occupation
of Algaria was quite another. With the exception of the reindeer
herders of the far north, the Drasnians live in cities and towns like
other civilized people. The Algars, on the other hand, are nomadic
horsemen. The central Algarian plain is a vast, empty grassland. To
speak of occupying such an expanse is much like speaking of
occupying the ocean. The Algars simply permitted the hordes of
Kal-Torak to pass and then fell upon their rear in the vicious hit and run
attacks which are so famous in Algarian legend and song.
Although the horde suffered hideous casualties in their march
southward, Kal-Torak did not falter. He laid siege to the Stronghold,
the traditional seat of the Algarian King and the closest thing to a
city in all Algaria. The Stronghold of the Algars is one of the most
unassailable land fortresses in the world, not because of any
particular difficulty of the surrounding terrain, but quite simply because of
the unbelievable height and thickness of its walls. Because those
walls reach higher than the tallest tree, scaling ladders cannot be
built to permit assault over the top of them, and because the walls
are thirty feet thick, no siege engine can breach them.
The Angaraks hurled themselves at this man-made mountain for
six months until they realized the futility of their attacks and settled
down for a protracted siege.
That siege was to last for eight years (4867-4875). The
impregnability of the Algarian Stronghold gave the west the time needed to
mobilize.
In the late spring of 4875, disgusted by the futility of his efforts
against the Stronghold, Kal-Torak turned west and began his march
toward the sea. Once again he was pursued by Algar horsemen and
vengeful Drasnian Infantry units. In the mountains he encountered
yet another problem. By night the Ulgos came forth from their
caverns and butchered the sleeping Angaraks by the thousands. It
was a diminished horde that came down upon the plains of Arendia,
but a horde nonetheless. It has been estimated by reliable witnesses
that Kal-Torak mounted his attack upon Vo Mimbre with at least
250,000 men. If the reports from Drasnia during the early days of the
Angarak invasion may be believed, the horde numbered in excess of
a half-million. If these figures are at all accurate, then we may
assume that the campaigns in Drasnia and Algaria and the trek
across Ulgoland cost Kal-Torak nearly half his army. (This of course
does not take into account occupying forces left behind in Drasnia
and the substantial number of Malloreans who were to maintain the
siege of the Algarian Stronghold.)
Thus the stage was set for the titanic and bloody struggle which
men have come to call the Battle of Vo Mimbre.
Stopping only briefly to rest and regroup after the perilous passage
through the mountains of Ulgoland, Kal-Torak proceeded
immediately down the River Arend to the city of Vo Mimbre. It was
immediately apparent that his intention in Arendia was the same as it had
been in Drasnia – the total destruction of the nation and its peoples.
Horrid evidence of this marked his trail down the River Arend.
Atrocities too ghastly to describe here were his common practice.
As the horde drew near the city of Vo Mimbre, the west prepared
to close with the Angaraks in the ultimate battle.
The preparations had been long and difficult and had been