Mythic Vistas: SpirosBlaak - Property Is Theft!

Monks of Eskelyn, managed to rally the cities’ combined citizenry
into a workable defense. Rumors still abound that both Sri Senn
Sindh, the divine red dragon, and Tennefron, the Howling Wolf of
the Horde, also caused their own havoc to Shivanos’ forces behind
his lines. Hearing of the aack on their homes, the Kirvos crusaders
rushed home, with most arriving just in time to turn the bale in the
defending cities’ favor. The returning crusaders broke Shivanos’ army,
and the defeated god fled back across the Roaming Plains, leaving his
followers to die on the field of bale.
Several decades passed in relative peace, and it seemed the Era of
Blood had finally ended. But with brutal speed, Shivanos returned
at the head of a new army to simultaneously strike at Vas, Askalan,
Meleatan, Dreij, Nonum, and Hiltaenos, using a flight of ensorcelled
dragons to spearhead his assaults, perhaps to gain some manner of
revenge against Sri Senn Sindh. The invaders claimed victories at
Nonum and Taervas, razing them with fire and sword, but before the
host could destroy the rest, dwarven engineers and warriors, lavayne
skyships from across the Roaming Plains, and Sentinels and militia
from the north arrived. Luckily, this help arrived in time to prevent
Askalan from falling to orcs that breached the city’s walls, culminating
in an epic bale upon the steps of the Grand Library of Zoetha.
In Vas, the target of the Haed Doom’s hate, the timely and
legendary heroics of a young Sentinel named Leodus of Hiltaenos
saved the city. Wielding the mighty sword Pious, one of the five great
swords of Forgemaster Drynne, led the defenders, destroying the
horde who would sack the city. These first acts of courage set Leodus,
who was believed to be a descendant of Spiros, onto the path of
sainthood, and aer his death, the people entombed his body within
Vas. The sword Pious, like the other fabled five, disappeared aer its
master’s demise.
Infuriated by yet another defeat, Shivanos sent the remainder of
his charmed dragons north to destroy Kannis and its great citadel,
one of mankind’s great bastions and symbols of strength. The lavayne
skyships pursued the wyrms, and a great bale took place above the
northern fortress. The lavayne’s sky vessels finally won the day, but it
proved a pyrrhic victory.
Kannis, despite having just been saved from a certain doom,
shamelessly demanded that the lavayne recompense all their damages
and loss of life by turning over the secrets of their skyships. The
lavayne refused and withdrew into their mountains, ever aer. Since
their withdrawal, the lavayne have been seen so rarely many believe
the race a mere myth.
Shiftblight (399 BF to 364 BF)
Although Shivanos vanished into the vast Roaming Plains, the trials
of the lands would not be over yet, for new suffering appeared,
ending all hope of a much-needed peace. First reported in Navodys,
a disease of obvious magical nature tore through the north, carried
by merchants and pilgrims to south. Sightings of kavraen bearing
symbols of Jestale in areas hit by the plague gave credence to the
theory that the Splintered God created the disease.
Appropriately named “shiblight,” this airborne, highly
communicable disease infected its victims with the curse of
With this latest defeat of Shivanos, a time of tentative peace finally
seled on the Wildlands. Even the quarrelsome kav and orcs seemed
to have had their fill of bloodshed, and they withdrew to their own
lands to lick their wounds and to rebuild their strength. The Sentinels
were especially desperate to replenish their ranks aer being nearly
Chapter Two: The Archduchy’s History 11
lycanthropy. Thanks to the plague,
the kavraen population, formerly
depleted to near extinction by
centuries of conflict, exploded.
The chaos following overwhelmed
the region’s military and
peacekeepers, escalating tensions
and giving rise to the hate-filled
Dark Riders of Nonum, a secret
society of humans holding to the
necessity of kav genocide.
Decades of fear-driven genocidal
war followed, as cities of man
fought the contagion and its
carriers. Although thousands of
innocent kavbroed and kavraen
died, few people cared. Inevitably,
the kav rose once more to defend
against these massacres.
Again, Shivanos stirred in
the Crypt Hills, where he had
discovered an ancient artifact.
Dubbed “the Behemoth,” this
colossal relic, a union of magic and
technology, allowed the Haed
Doom and his warriors to leave a
devastating swath of death behind
them in their trek across the plains
and grasslands to SpirosBlaak.
With this immense construct at
his command, Shivanos cracked
the SpirosBlaak’s outer walls in less
than a week, forcing the citizenry
to flee through rampaging orc
and goblinoid lines. The invaders
butchered half the city’s population
during the siege and the defenders’
subsequent aempt to retake the
city. Two months passed before
a combined force of Rilgoth
mercenaries, Sentinels, crusaders
from Vas, and unexpected aid from
Kirvos arrived to retake the city
and destroy the Behemoth.
Before the city’s liberation,
Shivanos fled to the sea.
Documents uncovered in
SpirosBlaak’s citadel, Shivanos’
home during the occupation,
indicated more dread weapons
like the Behemoth lay hidden in
abandoned ruins throughout the
land, just waiting to be discovered.
The Calm of Whispers
(340 BF to 5 BF)
505-340 BF, Era of Blood
● 505: Kavraen raids kill hundreds of humans,
increasing levies to most ducal legions.
Construction begins on the Grand Library of
Zoetha.
● 503: Founding of Nolmedron. The Sentinels
gain the Church of Spiros’ patronage.
● 500: Shivanos appears with an army, and he
kills those refusing to side with him.
● 499: The Treaty of Silver Swords is signed.
Forgemaster Drynne begins his greatest
works.
● 494: The Sacred Kith of Witchfinders is
established.
● 491: Taervas founded. Goblins destroy the
fortress at Pleardys.
● 482: Forgemaster Drynne finishes craing
the Blades of Righteousness. The Axe of
Defiant Thunder is discovered. Tellian the
Tormentor crowns himself the sovereign
ruler of the Wildlands.
● 418: The Bale of Whispering Crevice. Kav
forces fall before the guns of a surprising
alliance between the Witch Hill goblins and
the dwarves of Nolmedron.
● 341: Halicsvol is abandoned. Kirvos falls
to Tellian’s forces. The Pontiff of Spiros
declares a crusade to liberate the city.
● 339: SpirosBlaak’s duke signs an alliance
with the iguanalon of the Swamp of Woe,
trading intelligence on undead activities for
steel weapons.
● 332: Massive silver deposits found near
Hiltaenos.
● 330: The Pontiff of Spiros excommunicates
the duke of SpirosBlaak.
● 329: Shivanos aacks Vas and Askalan.
● 328: The crusade against Kirvos ends when
the holy warriors rush back to save their
homes.
● 319: Leodus of Hiltaenos is born.
● 305: The Grand Library of Zoetha is
completed.
● 300: Shivanos aacks Vas but is once more
turned away by an alliance lead by Leodus
of Hiltaenos. Askalan is sacked. Taervas
and Nonum are destroyed. Kannis suffers
terrible losses.
● 399: Shiblight strikes the Wildlands.
● 397: First appearance of the Dark Riders of
Nonum.
● 395: Shivanos uncovers the Behemoth.
● 394: SpirosBlaak falls to Shivanos but is soon
retaken.
● 382: The Sentinels engage the Rilgoth
barbarians in a series of border wars. The
northmen remain in their own lands for
many years following their defeat.
● 376: Occupation of Monvas is undertaken by
Nolmedron and Hiltaenos.
● 364: The shiblight plague effectively
disappears, manifesting only intermiently
hereaer.
● 341: SpirosBlaak disperses its kav legions.
wiped out by northmen who sought to subjugate the weakened
SpirosBlaak aer its ordeal with the Haed Doom
The calm allowed time for the various selements to reinforce their
defenses and to increase their militaries. For the kav and orcs, “peace”
meant renewed warring over territorial boundaries, as they became