Battle of a Thousand Crests

The **Battle of a Thousand Crests** was a large-scale battle and struggle for power over the Northern Territories between the D'lanastion family's separated boodlines. It is notable for being the war which eventually brought about the formation of the coalition of each line beneath the singular banner which is today known as the D'lanastion Monarchy.

Recognied as the turning point for the government in the Northern Territories, the battle is often referenced as one of the major historical events to ever be seen as a sort of "civil war".

## Prelude

In the several centuries following the establishment of the five D'lanastion bloodlines, law and order was maintained with a keen eye and close emphasis on traditional rule. Following the death of Tacitus I and the succession of the formal line - also named the House of the Dominus - by his son and heir, Tacitus II, the northernmost province of Sinn'mearnu had its rule transferred to him, placing him in the position of receiving the rank of Head Magistrate and Governor. His five brothers, since they were grown and had lines of their own by that point in time, went on to move to the different provinces around the Northern Territories, establishing themselves as either low-ranking Tribunes, Consuls, or even Judges.

Britannicus II settled for the province of Praevalita, taking his position as Consul in 1515 A.F. He took control of the city of Gowen, a small metropolis-in-the-making which allowed him a sense of security and newfound purpose, as well as the ability to further explore his work with in the academic fields.

Derien II went on to southern Praevalita, where he became the chief Tribune of the People for the coastal city of Elysium.

Julius II ventured far south into the region known as The Blackwald, where he was able to be in an area more-accessible to the regions where the neighbouring Humans passed through. He became Consul of Constantinian in 1518 A.F.

Forte II traveled to the province of Augustaminca. He settled in the city of Caesar, where he began his political career as a Tribune of the People before moving onto a a civil lawyer in 1516 A.F. From thereon, he served as both a Judge and Head Magistrate, finally obtaining the rank of Consul in 1520 A.F.

The five brothers and their lines lived in relatively widespread peace and prosperity. Their cities were quiet and kept to themselves mostly, only extending olive branches to the towns nearest them when it came to interacting. With how successful they were in their reigns, many of the cities which they led could have qualified to become city-states, yet were never fully recognised by the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas due to the impossibility of a new form of governance being able to be installed while the Sunstrider Dynasty held absolute power.

## Rising Tension

The period of peace in which the provinces lived was a happy one, especially considering that the death of Tacitus I in the North had left many mourners and a widely heartbroken populace. Cities were established and few military fortresses built; ports were opened in the provinces of Valentinus and Praevalita, resulting in a new age of economic strife for many of the areas surrounding them. Life passed by without so much as an ounce of friction up until 1587 A.F, when tensions began to erupt to the eastern area of Sinn'mearnu.

The House of Britannicus had been established in the years shortly following the foundation of the House of D'lanastion, and Britannicus was more than happy to take the reins of responsibility for it in order to prove his worth as a member of the newly-formed Kingdom of Quel'Thalas. Acting as daul-Consul for the cities of Gowen and Orion in 1587 A.F, he began to extend the reaches of the areas he controlled to the west in order to mine for iron and gold, where he was met by opposition by the villagers of the small towns on the very borders of Sinn'mearnu: Wulfe and Tacitan.

Convinced that the ores which he sought so desperately were required to further his research, Britannicus demanded that the guard of both Gowen and Orion be sent to deal with the "rebellion" - as he saw it - of the two cities. Unphased by the fact that the two towns were contained past the border of the lands which he had been allotted, he allowed his men into the city and unleashed hell. Wulfe was razed on November 14th; Tacitcan followed, besieged on November 20th. Many suspect that Britannicus was so determined in his effort to obtain the areas for mining due to the fact that, at the time, gold was becoming a relatively pricey item; others state that the ores were required to fuel project he had been building at the time. No rumours have ever been confirmed or denied, and allegations and claims of what his reasoning may have been float around to this day.

### The Siege of Wulfe

Wulfe was taken on November 14th in siege which lasted approximately 5 days. The causalities in the city were massive, totaling to almost 9,500 - roughly 70% of the population. The siege was led by the Magister known as Eriton Blazeboulder, who commanded troops from Gowen into the town to destroy the central Forum and base of operations of the opposing civilins.

### The Siege of Tacitan

Tacitan was taken on November 23rd after a 3-day-long battle which ended in causalities totaling 50% of the city's population. The offensive was led by the Magister known as Helios Blackgarde, who commanded troops in a series of small skirmishes across the city, each of which were from the city of Orion. The siege is notable for the devastating effect it had on the populace in the social and moral sense.

### The Dominus' Response

When word reached Tacitus II in his palace at the base of the mountain ranges of Sinn'mearnu, he was outraged. A sense of betrayal quickly overcame any attempts to rationalise the situation, and almost immediately, he was up-in-arms and out for blood. With a sense of vindictiveness, he sent a courier to the south to enter the province of Augustaminca to speak to his brother, Forte. After a long journey of almost three months, the courier arrived with news of the attack on the border.

In 1588 A.F, Forte responded to the plea for help. He collected a total of ten-thousand troops from the city which he still presided over as Consul and sent them north to Sinn'mearnu, all along with a caravan in order to rebuild the Dominus' losses. As the troops marched into Sinn'mearnu, Tacitus welcomed them with arms wide-open, sending them east immediately where they stumbled upon the aftermath of the sieges. Both Wulfe and Tacitan were in ruins; the cities themselves had been turned into a series of holes and mines dug into the earth, leaving the earth bare and desolate in the wake of it all. The air was thick with pollution and the remnants of magic floated heavily around. One soldier was quoted stating:

*"I could barely breathe when we got there. It was like someone had taken a crayon and coloured in the sky; everything was orange and chalky, and you could still see the parts where the clouds were trying to squeeze through all the shit that was in the air. I wasn't sure if I was still in a Quel'Thalas that hadn't yet been touched by the Eredar."*

 Over the course of two years, both cities were fortified to a point of excellence. Huge battlements and watchtowers were installed in the places were formal government buildings had once stood, and the land itself was transformed into a black-and-white militant setting fit more as garrisons than towns. Civilians were immediately enlisted into the forces which had taken the area into a new light once more; children were taught the art of the sword from a young age as part of their mandatory schooling.

## Mistrust and Accusations

By the time that both Wulfe and Tacitan had been not only restored, but bettered, in 1590 A.F, Britannicus had already taken note. Having returned to Orion and Gowen with a full army and an ample supply of ore, the lord had gone back to his quiet and introverted nature, refusing to comment on the sieges which had taken place in the name of obtaining the spoils which many of his soldiers each had a hand in taking from the rich lands to the west. In the summer of that same year, he began to grow both anxious and angered by the fact that the cities which his own had seemingly claimed as their own for resources were being restored back to what they once were. Not only that, but the apparent alliance which had formed between the House of the Imperator and the House of Dominus set the nobleman on-edge; it made him sick with worry and paranoia that an attack could be launched at any moment.

Finally, Britannicus reached his boiling point in the fall of 1590 A.F, when soldiers which were part of a standard scouting party between the garrisons accidentally entered Praevalita just a few miles from the border which they were meant to be trailing. When news of this intrusion reached his ears, Britannicus was quick to respond, sending a cohort of 500 men out towards the border, where they encountered that same party. The scouting party was slaughtered with the exception of two men who were sent back as a warning to Tacitus from Britannicus to - ironically - never intrude on land which did not belong to him. Convinced that Tacitus was attempting to take the territory which Britannicus believed to rightfully belong to him, the lord of Praevalita went back to Gowen to begin rallying his forces.

Upon receiving the word of the two men who were meant to deliver Britannicus' message to him, Tacitus went into yet another rage. He sent another courier to Forte to explain the situation, yet would act much, much sooner than that.

On October 3rd, 1590 A.F, Tacitus commanded that a legion of 1,000 soldiers be sent to Gowens as a demonstration of power. His will was carried out at once, though before the forces could arrive, they were intercepted at the border by what Britannicus had intended as a surprise attack. The two powers collided 100km southeast of Tacitcan in a small-scale battle known as the Splinter Battle, fighting one another for a total of two weeks. In the end, the forces of Britannicus emerged victorious: the Magi contained in the army were far too powerful to be countered by Forte's forces alone.

When word finally reached Forte of what was happening then had had happened, he amassed the entirety of his army - 15,000 men - and marched north with them to Sinn'mearnu, leaving his post as Consul to his associate, Daxos of Volencia. On November 27th, he arrived at Wulfe and began to fortify his defenses to welcome both the retreating forces which had been at the Splinter Battle and the huge army of Britannicus. The day after, the Tacitus II formally declared war.

## First Clash

The first formal assault of Wulfe began on November 29th, 1590 A.F, when the forces of Britannicus marched all the way to the military city in an attempt to dismantle that base before moving onto Tacitan. Forte had arrived just a few days before with his huge, full army, and crushed almost all of the Britannian forces immediately. The small

skirmish there lasted only a week before Britannicus' forces retreated back into one of the few outposts near the border where they awaited reinforcements from Orion and Gowen before proceeding to make their next attempt on the far-less fortified city of Tacitan.

After a recovery period of three weeks, Britannicus' army moved north once more, this time headed by their lord who had graced them from his post in Gowen. The army went to Tacitan and attacked on December 20th, clashing with the minor forces of Forte's army in a huge battle which would last a total of two and a half months. During this battle, as savage as it was, one of Britannicus' Magi was sent south into what is today Praevalita Inferior to seek out who Britannicus sought to make his newest ally in this war: Derien.

## Reinforcements From the Southeast

Couriers delivered the message of war to Derien in Elysium on January 14th, 1591 A.F. Derien, an infamously neutral party throughout most political affairs, was moved by the persuasiveness of Britannicus' letter to him, so much so that the effect was immediate and intense. Gathering a party of 750 trained rogues and pathstalkers, Derien rushed his aid to Britannicus' forces in Tacitan, resulting in an victory shortly thereafter. As Derien and Britannicus reunited with one another, Tacitus' forces' reinforcements from Wulfe - along with Forte himself - were barely beginning to arrive. Not willing to risk any more soldiers now that Britannicus had had time to regroup and rethink a new plan of invasion involving Derien, Forte drew all of his men back and convinced Tacitus that the best war would be fought uphill. Thus, Tacitus ordered all of the troops back from Wulfe to his palace in Sinn'mearnu, where they would either await for Britannicus to attack or send their own exclusive assaults.

### Plea to Julius

Shortly after the retreat of his forces from both Wulfe and Tacitan, Forte ordered that a courier be sent south in other to request reinforcements from Julius in The Blackwald, help which he knew would not arrive for several months, if at all. Riddled with doubt on the matter simply because of Julius' predisposed nature, Forte included a religious context to his plea, stating that the House of Britannicus would do nothing but attempt to defile the teachings of the Sun with their romanticism of the stars and Astrology. From there, all that was left to do was wait.

Months passed before Forte would hear back word from Julius; when he did, it was sigh of relief to all those involved. Two months following his initial request, Julius had sent an entire cavalry force in order to deal with what he named as a "heretics' rebellion, something to be disposed of and to relieve the North of as soon as humanely possible".

#### Brief Pause

The war came to a pause in 1592 A.F following the arrival of reinforcements from Julius. The House of Britannicus had all but ceased its movement, instead focusing its attention on re-fortifying the defenses in both Tacitan and Wulfe which it had destroyed prior-to the arrangement. For several years, the D'lanastions would find themselves locked in the tension of who might attack one another first. Forte and Tacitus and Julius locked themselves into their palace at Sinn'mearnu's mountain range, all whilst Derien and Britannicus occupied Wulfe and Tacitan. This period of peace would remain as one of the defining hallmarks of war, primarily in the moral sense, since it explicitly stated that the family need not even be at war in the first palace.

## The Appian Way

In 1595 A.F, conflict arose once again. After a span of three years of tentative peace, Derien's men - all of which were restless to return home - launched their own assault on one of the outpost which had been located to the north of the famous trail which led from Praevalita to Sinn'mearnu: the Appian Way.

Leading a small contingent of pathstalkers from Wulfe, the Spymaster known as Xaevier Floodwater set his eyes on the military outpost of Forte's soldiers in an attempt to further their retreat to the palace, therefore making the land more-accessible to Britannicus' forces for invasion.

The group was met with immediate resistance at the military outpost known as the Fjord Fortress, north of the Appian Trail and due southeast of Sinn'mearnu. 5,000 troops from Forte and Tacitus' forces met with 500 pathstalkers and brawled until the remaining 409 after the attack were forced to either retreat or die. Seeing the work of Floodwater as an open proclamation of aggression, Tacitus left the very evening of retreat to meet with Julius' forces, who doubled as clergymen at the time. Blessing his motive and deeming his cause righteous, they allowed him to command them into the east to retake the city of Wulfe.

Julius' forces would immortalise themselves in the next sprawling skirmish to take Wulfe. Of the Cavalry, 4 groups were divided and set into motion, attacking the garrison from each side and infiltrating the weakest points by means of guerrilla warfare. Dressed in black, they rode black horses decked out in dogs' heads; these men were ruthless, the five-hundred cruelest criminals of The Blackwald who were hand-picked by Julius himself. With terrible irony, they came from a place in Constantinian which the then-lord had named a Monastery. Leading the four groups were Julius' esteemed Generals, each former Magistrates of Constantinian elected by the people as figures of the religious movement which had been deciphered from the teachings of the Church of the Holy Light which had its bases rooted in Arathor. They were Callixtus, Pelagius, Theodorius, and Hadrianus. These four men would later be remembered as the Four Horsemen for their immeasurable reputation as the deliverers of death and divinity all the same.

The siege of Wulfe lasted a total of 5 months, earning its place as the second-longest event throughout the battle. Trailing into 1596 A.F, it ended with a victory to Julius' forces and the death of thousands of Britannicus' magi. Devastated by the losses, Britannicus ordered an immediate retreat to Tacitan. Derien, though, seeing the inevitably of defeat, began to work in secret against Britannicus, spreading the message that all of the men were to report immediately to the outsides of the ruins of what was now Wulfe and prepare for an attack on the smaller fortresses of the Appian Way.

In the spring of 1596 A.F, with 3/4 of Britannicus' army, Derien marched the men to the Fjord Fortress once more for a second assault on it. Britannicus, with no where left to turn, remained with his small force of men at Tacitan. Half of Julius' cavalry remained in Wulfe with the other half, tipped off by Forte's forces, began to close in on that northern garrison.

The Siege of the Appian Way took place on the 7th of September in 1596 A.F. Derien, leading the forces of Britannicus, clashed immediately with the main infantry of Tacitus' army and the remnants of Forte's. The battle was a hard-fought endeavour; Britannicus' men proved to be worthy combatants, wiping out almost all of the remaining forces of Tacitus, or otherwise decimating through the areas which the several skirmishes were staged over. The battle ended 3 months later in December on the 20th with a victory claimed in the name of the Dominus. Derien surrendered after his best Spymaster, Felthian, had betrayed him by running along the main road of the Appian Way, delivering the plans of a major assault to Tacitus. The Appian Way would today be known by its lesser-known name: Felthian's Trail.

Throughout the duration of the fighting at the Appian Way, the forces in Wulfe were battling on a much larger scale. With half of Julius' cavalry still stationed in Wulfe to keep it safeguarded from any reinforcements that Britannicus might have ordered, the remaining equestrians moved alongside Forte's forces. Their battle had begun on the 4th of July and lasted 6 months, claiming its spot as the longest siege of the entire BoTC.

## Surrender

On January 2nd of 1597 A.F, Britannicus' forces in Tacitan surrendered to Tacitus' allied forces. The lord was taken into custody and forced into a summit with Derien, who had also been captured at the Appian Way. Both were charged with petty treason against their own blood, receiving a sentence which was to be carried out in the form of an official treaty.

### The Treaty of True Blood's Treason

In order to ensure that a battle such as that would never happen again, Tacitus convinced all of the lords of the D'lanastion's separate lines to come together in a summit to decide the fate of the remnants of the blood as it stood then. Three months following Britannicus' surrender at Tacitan, Tacitus gathered all of the leaders of the war at the mountain fortress of Sinn'mearnu, where they began to negotiate both the new terms which were to be installed and the state of the North as it would be now with the transformation. He sent a missive to Julius asking him to attend; the southern lord would only respond several months later, arriving on November 3rd. Until that time, Britannicus and Derien were held as prisoners of war whilst Forte and Tacitus began to draft the terms of agreement.

The Treaty of True Blood's Treason was created and signed upon Julius' arrival on December 1st, 1597 A.F. After agreeing throughout the lines that it would be the Tacitus who would lead the family, the House of the Dominus was officially established as the ruling party of the D'lanastions. With the terms of agreement and surrender, each line was granted new territory to govern and thus the brothers were granted an equal amount of power. Forte would receive the province of Praevalita (superior); Britannicus would have his territory minimalised to Augustaminca, though eventually would rebuild a huge portion of his control on it at a later time. Derien remained governor of Praevalita Inferior, Julius received an expand of land north of The Blackwald, and the new Dominus expanded his control over all of the provinces universally.

The war officially ended on July 2nd, 1599 A.F.