Barbarossa

Portrait of Clovis II in the Bellhaven Mural, painted by Angolorian

**Clovis II**, known by his epithet **Barbarossa**, was the chieftain of the Rones, and is most often patronized by those that settled in Tyrrhos. He is remembered for his uniting of the Iselli and Rones and forming the counties of Bellhaven, as well as helping the northern Rones of *Sardonia* settle inland in Prace.

Barbarossa ("red beard") implemented a combination of Dinamid legal codes and Auber imperial power to lay the groundwork needed to transition Tyrrhos from an undeveloped island colony into a modern nation. His building of Kenin is also held as one of the great feats of Tyrrhos as an independent country.

Barbarossa also wielded the legendary blade Whitehilt. The weapon is one of the Thirteen Lost Treasures of Tyrrhos, and is one of the many reasons the general and ruler was feared in battle.

The warrior and proclaimed emperor of Bellhaven, *Aramea*, and all of the Rones died while fighting a Goodfellow legion in *Tiberia*.

## Biography

### Journey from Gravenfar

The Rone homeland "Gravenfar" was only described by Barbarossa as being "gobshite, even by standards fit for the Ronish people." He described in correspondence between himself and the High Pontiff that his homeland was "mounds upon mounds of gravel, you could hardly till moss in that wretched place [...] it laid in a sea of salt and giants would awaken at dusk to rummage about, foraging for livestock and a Rone, if they weren't quick enough." Barbarossa also describes Cagots living in Gravenfar, which is corroborated by the fact that both the Rones and Cagots both adhere to the Cult of Gogmagog. The Rones referred to Cagots by their endonym "*kashok*," and they shared a common language, indicating that the Rones and goblins possibly had been conquered at some point by Gaius Olivius.

The Rones were at war with one another, forming complex tribal states in Gravenfar, but the threat of giants and goblins pushing on what little territory they had led to their reconciling of old wounds. Barbarossa, who was at this time Clovis II, was heir to the chieftain of the most powerful tribe Clovis I. The Rones agreed to follow Clovis I across the sea to find new lands.

Their true method of transportation is a mystery that persists to this day. The Rones claimed to have simply walked across the "Shallow Sea," the element of the Tomyrian Sea off the coast of northern Tyrrhos. While it is indeed true parts of this sea are indeed shallow enough to walk across, most of it is unfathomable, meaning that either something magical is involved, or the Rones were deceptive about their passage for an unknown reason.

### Hurdles in Tyrrhos

Upon arriving in *Argentia* in CE 539, Clovis I was killed by a Goodfellow enclave along the northern coast. Most of the Rones escaped, but the immediate slaughter upon their first steps on land led to many Rones wanting to settle elsewhere. Clovis II, the apparent leader of the Rones and who had lost his wife Tillian in the attack as well as his father, suggested heading south and finding somewhere along the coast not inhabited by hostile forces.

A majority however did not like what this omen bode for them. These Rones headed west to find a township and trade their valuables for passage elsewhere. The nearest settlement, an Auber township of an unknown name, enslaved the Rones who separated from Clovis II and sold them to Auber in Cascadia. From here, they were sold to the House of Darcedon and made to mine silver in *Sardonia*.

Clovis II continued south along *Tiberia,* deeming the land unfit to live in, until they arrived on the peninsula of *Aramea*. Though primarily wetland and heaths, the Rones with Clovis II recognized how to utilize the land based on their own methods from Gravenfar to cultivate the land. The marshes were an early source of iron for the Rones, and careful irrigation made much of the land tillable and useful.

### Founding of Bellhaven

#### Conflict with the Iselli

Clovis II was nicknamed Barbarossa by the nearby Iselli, who were cooperative with the neighboring Rones. The Iselli were divided into individual townships that relied on trade with the Auber to the north to sustain themselves, so at first the Rones were welcome as they were making good of the nearby land and making agricultural goods more readily available. In return, the Iselli traded fish and lumber they produced. The Iselli settlements, four towns along the southern Aramean coast, formed a mercantile block over the next decade thanks in part to this arrangement.

The Ronish territory formed a barrier between both Goodfellow and Auber intentions, which over time diminished the Rones' numbers and became a demanding task to secure their dominion. The Rones began to demand tribute from the Iselli as compensation for their efforts. However, the Iselli were not keen to pay tribute, having not asked the Rones to settle there nor wishing to become an effective client-state of the Rones. This tension resulted in numerous violent outbursts, most on part of the Rones robbing caravans moving through their lands. The Iselli planned an ambush for the Rones, and in CE 547, between ten and fifty Rones were slaughtered in the trap laid for the robbers.

#### Meeting Enyen

Barbarossa took action, with the violence showing no signs of slowing down. On his own and in hostile territory, Barbarossa called for the wealthiest of the Iselli, Enyen, to come and discuss the issues of their people together. When Enyen invited him to his estate, he explained to Barbarossa that they had no reason to pay tribute and their hostilities with their caravans was unwarranted.

Barbarossa replied that the Iselli were vastly better off leaving combat to the Rones, as the Iselli were able to pursue their mercantile interests; the Rones only asked to share in the success. Enyen told Barbarossa that the Iselli could do just fine without the Rones, and they had not asked for their arrival.

Here, as Barbarossa would be often known to do, he drew out his father's sword Whitehilt, and it engulfed in flames. Enyen and his retainer were surprised but made no sudden moves, and Barbarossa flipped the sword to hold on its searing blade, unburnt. He then asked if Enyen was worthy to hold the burning sword.

Enyen, understanding the metaphor and impressed by the display, agreed to negotiate terms with the Rones for forming a cohesive polity. The terms were as such:

* The Rones and Iselli would unite under Barbarossa's rule, and Enyen acting as *gildhed* (or tribune) for the Iselli;
* The Rones would be solely responsible for defending the united territories;
* Both races would contribute taxes to the defense of their borders, with Iselli paying outsized taxes;
* And the alliance would be sealed with marriage and estate, with Barbarossa marrying Enyen's eldest daughter and moving to an estate prepared in Iselli territory; Enyen too would marry Barbarossa's eldest daughter.

### Expansion of Bellhaven

#### Name

Bellhaven is a construction that combines both the Iselli preference for Ascani Common with the Ronish emphasis on Austere Goblinoid. Such was it that the Goblinoid term *haven*, or harbor, was constructed with the Dwarvish *bellum*, or war. The phrase referred to the two parts of the Rones and Iselli that now functioned as a single entity of both war (the Rones) and a harbor (the Iselli).