1174 Proud Machyal Sarevir-Machyal, C.

## Children

### Sons

by Anylyal Panth Galvens & Nusal's Donimy Juctor:* Lucky Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Panth
(-21 to ...)
* Lumosural Sarevir-Machyal Panth
(-20 to ...)

by Nusal's Donimy Juctor:

* Nusal Sarevir-Machyal
(-19 to ...)

### Half-Sons

by Anylyal Panth Galvens & Nusal's Donimy Juctor:* Qual Panth Sarevir
(-21 to -20)

### Sons-in-Law

through Lucky Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Panth:* Cuinsal Pagnucy, C.
(-59 to ...; m. -3 to ...)

through Nusal Sarevir-Machyal:

* Hessal Varagy, C.
(-45 to ...; m. -1 to ...)

### Half-Daughters

by Pagnal Candoam Juctor & Scruvas Anyly:* Haity Candoam
(-13 to ...)

## Grandchildren

### Grandchildren

by Lucky Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Panth, Cuinsal Pagnucy & Quas Anyly:* Hessal Sarevir-Machyal Pagnucy
(-3 to ...)

by Nusal Sarevir-Machyal, Hessal Varagy & Sepredas Candoam:

* Racitas Sarevir
(-1 to ...)

**Proud Machyal Sarevir-Machyal** (born -45) is the current Governor of Crylalt, and the son of the tyrant Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel. He fought alongside his father in the Crylaltian War and both the First Civil War and the Second Civil War, but distanced himself from his father's tyranny and oversaw the return of the Roaman Republic to democracy after his father's death.

Proud Machyal feels a particular affinity with Crylalt, and has attempted to pacify the vast province for a number of years, pursuing magisterial offices in Roam to help him in this regard. His political alliances with Scruval Qualens and Curly Coltal Candoam Juctor are in a large part influenced by his aims for the continent.

He is a proven general, popular with the people and particularly military veterans for his brilliant wars against the pirates of the Issycrian Sound and the Inner Sea, and for his (disputed) victory over the rebellious gladiator Trucidal in the Home War. He is, however, an uneasy politician, and has taken to relying on deputies such as the current Consul Hessal Varagy.

## Ancestors

Machyal is of the second generation of the Sarevir-Machyal branch, but has an impressive pedigree stretching back for generations.

### Great-Grandparents

Nine of Machyal's eleven great-grandparents were Consuls, and all of his great-grandmothers were the daughter of at least one Consul. Three were Conduits and two were Patriarchs.

Old Tavengal Oscumy served as Consul during the Neluntian War, defeating a force who had recaptured the Neluntian Well. He and Pillager Otibryal Voriel-Otibryal Qualens served as Consuls during the Straequian War. Pillager Otibryal, who was also the Conduit of Voriel, won a Triumph at the conclusion of that conflict, founding the Voriel-Otibryal branch.

Falsal Qualens died young just before the outbreak of the Second Fuscrite War, in which the remainder of Machyal's great-grandfathers all served. Early in the war, Young Tavengal Voriel-Otibryal Qualens (grandson to Pillager Otibryal) and Old Scruval Sarevir Juctor served alongside one another as Consuls, during which time Old Scruval forced the Fuscrites into a pitched battle around the Tividian Well and routed them. Old Scruval would go on to serve as Consul five times, and become both Conduit and Patriarch of Sarevir. Later in the Second Fuscrite War he would fight alongside a young Hyberital Barbar Adesican against the Scrutans and Straequians, and survived long enough to serve as Consul during the Inachironic War.

Rash Parytal Juctor Sarevir died at just twenty-six as part of the legions of Tersal Juctor-Amussal Fural and Tight Pronimal Qualens Ossopy (neither an ancestor of Machyal's) which were ambushed by the Fuscrites and annihilated. Following the death of those Consuls, Dry Parytal Candoam Adesican was one of the Relief Consuls tasked with defending Roam. Hyberital Qualens served as Consul during one of the years of doubt following that disaster, while Erinvyal Qualens, Conduit of Qualens, served as Relief Consul following the death of the Dictator Old Otibryal Juctor Ossopy (no relation to Machyal). Lanky Amussal Juctor-Amussal Voriel served during one of the war's quieter years, whereas Brooding Gigal Juctor, Patriarch of Juctor, was granted a Triumph for the final defeat of the Fuscrites at the conclusion of the war, despite he and his fellow Consul Nusal Candoam (no relation) almost losing the battle while Roam-Beast felled Fuscry-Beast.

### Grandparents

Machyal's father's half-father Hessal Voriel-Otibryal Oscumy also served as Consul during the Second Fuscrite War, famously holding back the advancing Straequian and Scrutan forces which outnumbered his legions on the northern front at the Intrearian Well. His father's father Young Scruval Sarevir Qualens was elected as Relief Consul during the riots about the proposed reforms of Tantol Oscumy which cost the life of the Consul Ambyal Adesican Voriel. He put down the riots brutally, then served as Captain of the Felegrin Well and the Governor of Oscumy.

Machyal's mother's father Tavengal Voriel-Otibryal Candoam was a great-grandson of Pillager Otibryal, and served as Captain of the Tividian and Ruetian Wells. His mother's half-father Vain Lumosural Qualens was a minor political figure who never rose higher than the rank of Administrator. All of Machyal's grandfathers died years before he was born, and both of his grandmothers were dead by his fifth birthday.

## Early Years (-45)

Machyal was born four years after the end of the Inachironic War to Machyal Sarevir Voriel and his wife Tavengal's Amby Voriel. His father was the younger brother of the Patriarch of Sarevir Shy Erinvyal Sarevir Voriel by seven years, and both had fought ably in the war in several capacities. Shy Erinvyal was uninterested in politics, however, and made little effort to build political support for himself or the family, unlike his brother Machyal, whose open ambition was often off-putting.

Machyal spent his childhood in the Sarevir Palace in Roam, playing with his siblings and cousins. He was fascinated by the armour trophies that adorned the gates to the palace, and would listen for hours to the stories of the family's elders such as Parytal Sarevir Candoam and Vulgar Erinvyal Sarevir Qualens, who would take him riding around the battlefields and fallen World-Beasts of the Scalifian countryside as Roam passed through. His uncle Shy Erinvyal Sarevir Voriel and older cousin Vulgar Renyal Sarevir Juctor nurtured his natural talents with a horse, and he became a prodigious charioteer before his tenth birthday.

By the outbreak of the Crylaltian War, Machyal had three sisters — Amby, Glumas and Caiacas — and a younger brother Hessal. When Machyal was seven, his elder sister Amby married Devisal Qualens-Donimal Barbar, son of the Triumphant hero of the Inachironic War Toothless Donimal Qualens-Donimal Sarevir and the Consul (and elder brother of Hyberital Barbar Adesican) Hessal Barbar Adesican, and Varbal Qualens Candoam, son of the Consuls Sepsidal Qualens Juctor and Droning Ormanal Candoam Voriel.

### Crylalt (-35)

*Main Article: Crylaltian War*
Machyal's father travelled to Crylalt to aid in the siege of Oepheram in the third year of the war, and in Sarevir military tradition took his sons Machyal, ten years old, and Hessal, just five, with him to learn the ways of war. The soldiers besieging the city took a shine to young Machyal, and dressed him up as one of their own as a mascot. Sometimes they even took him with them on foraging missions into the countryside without his father's knowledge, confident that he would be able to ride away from any danger with little trouble.

The second year of the siege, Machyal's father was elected Consul alongside the famous Hyberital Barbar Adesican, and made sure that he would not be eclipsed by the heroic Companion general, who had fought as a young man in the Second Fuscrite War alongside his grandfather Old Scruval Sarevir Juctor. When news arrived of a Naechisian relief force, led by Mizrem Hoof, massing to break the siege, Machyal and Hyberital constructed a line of contravallation to prevent the incoming forces from reaching the city. Hoof, frustrated by being unable to join his forces to the garrison, attempted to destroy the supply dump in nearby Aedam, but was stymied by a cavalry force detached from the siege by Machyal. When the garrison, seeing the numbers besieging them had decreased, attempted to break out of Oepheram, they were beaten badly by Hyberital, although some troops escaped to join Hoof's army. Hoof met the combined forces of Machyal and Hyberital in a pitched battle, and was roundly defeated. Young Machyal watched the battle from the camp on a nearby hilltop, appreciating the flanking manoeuvres of his father's cavalry and the dramatic morale effects of Hyberital Barbar Adesican's style of command.

Its garrison defeated and the relief force annihilated, Oepheram fell soon afterwards. The Roaman forces lost their discipline and sacked the city. This was when Machyal first learned of the reality of war, seeing the streets run with blood, children thrown from rooftops and defenceless women cowering while drunken soldiers fought over who would rape them next. It seemed a long way from the dusty glory of the battle as seen from a distant hilltop. He was just eleven years old.

At the year's end, Machyal's father was granted a triumph alongside Hyberital Barbar Adesican, and granted the cadet branch of Sarevir-Machyal renaming both young Machyal and Hessal. Young Machyal, who was held aloft by the soldiers who adored him, found it hard to reconcile the cheering crowds of Roam with the despicable acts of the legions in Oepheram. Indeed, the vicious depravity of the Roamans in their first great victory in Crylalt, although cathartic after a long and arduous siege, only served to harden the Crylaltians against them, which would prolong future sieges and grind much of the Crylaltian campaign to a frustrating halt.

### Felegrin Well (-33)

Following his Triumph, Machyal's father was assigned to the Felegrin Well in the Roaman Province administered by the Senate. Although intended as a reward, the elder Machyal felt that the post was an attempt by supporters of Hyberital Barbar Adesican to remove him from the Crylaltian theatre, where the ageing general was in danger of being outshone. It was during this time that Machyal's father earned the moniker "*Moody*", partially to differentiate him from Machyal himself, whose popularity amongst the soldiery and burgeoning talents at riding and military strategy earned him the moniker "*Proud*", largely from jealous onlookers.

Proud Machyal enjoyed life around Felegram, riding in the hills with his brother Hessal and discussing how they would attack an enemy from each position, or where they would place their camp so as to be both defensively sound and supplied with fresh water. He sat amongst the garrison troops at the Felegrin Well around the camp fires and shared in their hunts and their meals, listening to their war stories and tales of home. He would also sit in on his father's meetings, listening to his gripes about the state of Roaman politics and how things should change.

When Roam-Beast came through the province, Proud Machyal and many of his fellows would flood to the city. Most came to watch the gladiators or the chariot races, but at just fourteen years old, Proud Machyal insisted on being allowed to enter the funeral races in the Stadium for the Consul Parytal Sarevir Candoam who had once taught him about his family's history. Against his father's advice, Proud Machyal raced with four horses rather than two, and nearly vindicated his father's fears when he attempted to overtake for the win by cutting across the inside of Parytal's grandson Nasal Coltal Juctor Candoam on the final turn. Proud Machyal lost control of his horses and was thrown from his chariot and dragged across the finish line. He was eventually cut free and carried to safety by his cousin Vulgar Renyal Sarevir Juctor, who had been following the two frontrunners somewhat more cautiously. Proud Machyal was miraculously not seriously hurt, although he still has scars on his wrists and knees from the incident. While he was recovering at the Sarevir Palace, he learned of the outbreak of rebellion in the Provinces amongst the disenfranchised known as the Provincial War.

## Provincial War (-30)

*Main Article: Provincial War*
Much of Roam's military might was across the sea in Crylalt when rebellion broke out across Scalify. Moody Machyal recognised the danger faster than many, and immediately set about recruiting an army drawn largely from the loyal Roaman Province without consulting the Senate, paid for from the Sarevir coffers and private donations from others who appreciated his initiative. Recognising that the Scalifian countryside was a dangerous place for his inexperienced army to march into while the Provincials had superior local knowledge, he kept his army marching in the shadow of Roam-Beast, whipping his eager legions into fighting shape. As he recovered from his charioteering wounds, Proud Machyal would venture out to the walls of the city to watch his father's army mechanically strike camp in the morning, march in front of Roam-Beast in formation and set up camp again in a defensible location near where the logisticians and diviners determined Roam-Beast would reach by the next morning.

Following a harsh winter, the rebels in the north had organised themselves into a combined force termed by the Roamans as the Northern Provincial Army, while the rebels to the south and west were still agglomerating into the Southern Provincial Army. Although Moody Machyal would have preferred to march against the disorganised Southerners, he could not afford to leave Roam-Beast undefended as it marched north towards the Northern force. After several days of manoeuvring and brinkmanship, Moody Machyal's force met the Northern Provincial Army near the Intrearian Well. Proud Machyal, sixteen years old, served as a light cavalryman in the battle, and led an attack into the flanks of the Straequian rebels which had overstretched their lines. Although he lost his horse, he emerged from the melee unharmed — though at first his father thought he had been wounded from the amount of blood that covered him. The Officer Droning Varbal Qualens Candoam, the husband of Proud Machyal's older sister Amby, had fallen in the battle, but the Northern Provincial Army had been no match for the superior training and discipline of the Roamans.

The good news was quickly overshadowed by reports that the legion of the Consul Amussal Voriel-Otibryal Juctor had been defeated at the Tividian Well by the Southern Provincial Army, and that Hyberital Barbar Adesican had left his campaign in Pricia and landed in Scalify. Moody Machyal was furious that the old man had abandoned the war abroad to come home and overshadow him at home, especially when the Senate ordered him to turn his army over to be commanded by Barbar. When Proud Machyal suggested to his father in front of his senior officers that they should do whatever was best for the Republic, he received a blow across the face so hard that it drew blood. He learned not to speak when his father descended into his rages, such as when the Senate was informed that the Consul Gibral Anyly Adesican and the Patriarch and Conduit of Candoam Craven Coltal Candoam had been captured in a disastrous defeat in Pricia which completely upended the momentum of the war in Crylalt. Moody Machyal camped his army at the Felegrin Well and stayed put for the winter, forcing Barbar to levy fresh forces and recall veterans to escort Roam-Beast.

The following year, Proud Machyal's older sister was married to Amal Voriel-Cuinsal Sarevir, son of the Consuls Otibryal Voriel-Cuinsal Adesican and Amal Sarevir Candoam. The Consul Hyberital Sarevir was sent by the Senate to negotiate with Moody Machyal, who had been elected as Marshal despite not standing in an attempt to placate him and free up his army. On occasions when the Consul was not able to find or reason with Moody Machyal, he would talk instead with Proud Machyal, who he found to be a more amenable character. The other Consul Chinless Latavyal Juctor Candoam marched south to pin down the Southern Provincial Army while Hyberital Barbar Adesican, as Marshal, escorted Roam-Beast. Chinless Latavyal was unable to defeat the rebels convincingly, and a series of stalemates ate up most of the campaigning season. The Naechisians under Osa Tusk and Inachiron had defeated the Kyraspans defending the Kyraspan Strait, and were rolling back hard-won Roaman gains in Crylalt while the focus of Roam was in Scalify.

Moody Machyal began to march his army south to find the Southern Provincial Army when Hyberital Barbar Adesican unilaterally offered the Provincials a peace deal which gave all citizens (including Inachrians) the vote, in order that the war could end as quickly as possible. Moody Machyal and many Familials and Eminents were outraged at this unconstitutional and presumptuous behaviour. Moody Machyal began to march his army towards Roam itself in order to prevent the election of Barbar as Consul to ratify the peace terms. The threat of civil war caused fist-fighting to break out in the Senate between Eminents, who favoured aristocratic Senatorial oversight and backed Moody Machyal, and Reformists, who preferred transferring greater powers to democratically elected magistrates such as Barbar.

## First Civil War (-27)

*Main Article: First Civil War*
Proud Machyal wintered with his father's army on the border of Nelunty and Fuscry. His father failed to convince the local Governors Edgy Pronimal Juctor Qualens and Lecarol Voriel-Lecarol Juctor to support his cause and supply his army, but he could not afford to raid the local Scalifian countryside and souring public opinion against him. As a result, Moody Machyal's army suffered a bitter and hungry winter in the windswept hills. Proud Machyal made sure to expose himself to the same hardships as his father's men, and they loved him for it. He learned more than ever that morale was hugely important in rough times, and that his father's rash actions and lack of diplomatic outreach trickled down into real hardship for his men.

During the winter, when Proud Machyal came of age, he was married to Anylyal Panth Galvens through Nusal's Donimy Juctor, daughter of Eager Nusal Juctor Sarevir. Although not a successful political figure, Anylyal was a dependable man and who had served Moody Machyal well as a soldier, adviser and friend for nearly thirty years, whereas Donimy's father was a former Marshal who had served under Moody Machyal against the Northern Provincial Army who was now a Bursar in Roam. The hope that the marriage might procure some grain for the hungry army was not fulfilled, however. Proud Machyal, though he had hoped for a more politically ambitious marriage, appreciated that the needs of his family came first. Anylyal had been like an uncle to him during his childhood, and he grew to love Donimy, who was a compassionate and devout woman. His younger sister Glumas was married to Young Paginal Qualens, son of the former Consul Old Paginal Qualens Sarevir, who was serving as Governor of Scrutany, and the Scrutan businessman Bastal Hebal. Though Moody Machyal attempted to use this marriage to arrange a caravan of supplies (and payment for his restless army) from Scrutany, the plot somehow leaked to Hyberital Barbar Adesican and was foiled.

When the winter had passed, Moody Machyal's army came down from the hills to meet Roam-Beast. Hyberital Barbar Adesican had already been elected as Consul, and the peace terms with the Provincials passed into law, but Moody Machyal had no intention of letting the matter go. Though Barbar's army protecting Roam was an untested and incoherent mixture of veterans and inexperienced recruits, Machyal's own army, though well trained and experienced, was depleted and not in fighting shape following the harsh winter. Both commanders knew each other well from their campaign in Crylalt, and would not underestimate the other's talents. As such, the two armies trailed Roam-Beast at a safe distance from one another for months. On several occasions the two generals determined that the terrain suited a battle, but when the battle lines were drawn up neither fancied their chances. Soldiers would joke that they recognised their opposite number in the ranks drawn up against them. Proud Machyal took part in the scouting expeditions that would search for locations to make camp each day, and they grew to know the scouts of the enemy who would be searching for the same thing. The scouts would often chase each other away from prime locations, but they very rarely actually came to violence. The total numbers of casualties across the whole summer were very low, and all from minor skirmishes.

Machyal recognised that, though his army became healthier over the summer, Barbar had the advantage in provisions and was also able to train up his men to a reasonable standard. Every day shifted the balance of power away from him and towards Barbar, but he could not afford to fight a battle he did not think he had a chance of winning, and he could not back down. More than anything, he could not afford another winter of starvation and discontent. His head was turned by Inachria, a rich, soft target untouched by the Provincial War. As the weather turned cold, he marched his men south to raid the lands of the blameless Inachrians, never having fought a battle against his nemesis Hyberital Barbar Adesican.

The Reaving of Inachria, as it became known, was a political disaster for Moody Machyal. Proud Machyal said what he could to his father, fully aware of the repercussions that had Roam had suffered in Crylalt for the sack of Oepheram, but Moody Machyal had lost control over much of his army. Hyberital Barbar Adesican could not afford to take advantage of Machyal's mistake, however, as he needed to divert forces back to Crylalt to counter the moves of Osa Tusk and Inachiron, who had begun to unite the tribes of the Crylaltian Interior against the Roaman-held coasts. Vulgar Renyal Sarevir Juctor, who had served as Marshal in the Provincial War under Moody Machyal and saved Proud Machyal's life in the Stadium, acted as a neutral party between the Consul and the rebellious general, on the advice of the Eminent Sentinel Young Sural Pavinny Ops, who had served ably as a commander in Machyal's army during the Provincial War. Eventually the three met under a truce on Semural's Spine near the Hercudean Well. Moody Machyal, believing that Vulgar Renyal was a known quantity, acquiesced to his suggestion that Renyal be installed as Consul alongside Barbar until the end of the war, with the two acting to heal Scalify following the Provincial War. Moody Machyal, who needed to leave Scalify in order to allow tempers to cool, would take up the ageing Barbar's campaigns in Crylalt and then Pricia to end the war as a permanent Marshal until the war was finished.

The Sentinel Young Sural, who was an indefatigable advocate of the constitution of the Republic, attempted to block the deal being approved by the Senate, but was outmanoeuvred by political skulduggery, and the new arrangement was made law. As an added bonus, the Senate approved the appointment of Proud Machyal as an Officer in his father's army for the coming campaigns.

## Campaigns in Crylalt and Pricia (-26)

Proud Machyal travelled to Kyraspa with his father to prepare the legions for the campaign against Osa Tusk and Inachiron, with an eventual view to invading Pricia. During the winter, his youngest sister Caiacas was married to Rash Ormanal Candoam, son of the late Marshal Semural Candoam Voriel, and Brillal Candoam Adesican, whose half-father Renyal Adesican had been Sentinel twice and had preceded Moody Machyal as Captain of the Felegrin Well.

During the first campaigning season in Crylalt, Moody Machyal's forces made gains retaking cities and towns along the coastlines of the continent, but could not draw Osa Tusk and Inachiron out of the more barren interior, where they had skilfully unified a confederation of fiercely independent tribes against the Roaman occupation. Proud Machyal shared in his father's frustration, and learned to respect the tribal riders who struck out of the interior at overextended points in the Roaman lines and then melted away. To attempt to stymie the free movement of these attacks, Moody Machyal began to construct a series of walls and forts around the hem of the interior, with spokes radiating outwards to partition each city into its own theatre. Proud Machyal's husband Anylyal was placed in charge of the project, which was aided by the input of the great Kyraspan inventor Spydoron, inevitably earning the wall the name of the Spydoron Web.

Moody Machyal's campaigning season was interrupted by news of the sudden death of Hyberital Barbar Adesican in Roam. Afraid of what might arise from the political vacuum given the fledgeling political alliance with Vulgar Renyal Sarevir Juctor and Barbar's allies in the Senate, Moody Machyal returned to Roam to seek appointment as the Relief Consul. Proud Machyal remained in Crylalt, where Moody Machyal's lieutenants fell into petty squabbling. Proud Machyal and his husband Anylyal advised caution and consolidation behind the new walls until Moody Machyal returned, as did Young Sural Pavinny Ops, who had been an irritant in the camp since the end of his term as Sentinel. The Marshals Tantal Voriel-Cuinsal Juctor and Trassidyal Juctor Qualens, who believed that Osa Tusk had overreached himself in an attempt to take advantage of Moody Macyhal's absence, led a legion into the Crylaltian Interior to cut off Tusk's forces. The jaws of Tusk and Inachiron's trap snapped shut, and the legion was scattered across the wastes and mountains to be picked off one by one by the barbaric natives.

Moody Machyal, upon his return from Roam, was furious at the loss of the men he had hardened into a fighting force, and the sloppy leadership of Tantal and Trassidyal which had cost them their lives. When Vulgar Renyal suggested that Tantal be appointed as Consul for the second year of their arrangement, Moody Machyal rashly agreed so that the man would be out of his sight. He softened towards Young Sural, offering the man command of an army, in which Proud Machyal served as second-in-command. Hoping again to draw Tusk into battle or foment strife amongst the confederated tribes, Moody Machyal embarked on a multi-pronged series of brutal raiding incursions from behind the walls of the Spydoron Web into the interior. Young Sural and Proud Machyal oversaw the burning of what meagre fields and villages existed in those lands. Proud Machyal shared Sural's insistence on sleeping rough with his men and sharing in their hardships, and grew to respect the older man and his deeply held principles. When Tantal Voriel-Cuinsal Juctor died whilst blockading the Naechisian fleet at Naechym and for a second consecutive year Moody Machyal had to return to secure confirmation as Relief Consul, Proud Machyal helped to shore up support for Young Sural as chief commander of the legions in his absence.

### Invasion of Pricia (-23)

Osa Tusk was not drawn to battle, nor did the tribes of the interior abandon him, but Inachiron was lynched by jealous councillors in Naechis whilst attempting to secure support for Tusk's forces and co-ordination with their potential Issycrian allies. Confident that Tusk's army could not effectively break past the Spydoron Web, yet unable to commit to a long-term incursion into the unforgiving interior, Moody Machyal instead turned his attention to Pricia itself, emboldened by the infighting evident in Naechis. With the Naechisian fleet still trapped in harbour, the Roaman legions crossed the Kyraspan Strait with relative ease. The forces defending Naechis-Beast rushed to meet the invasion force, hoping to catch it off-guard, but were composed of unseasoned troops and vain Naechisian nobles rather than Machyal's troops which had been hardened in Crylalt. Moody Machyal pivoted his army to catch the Naechisians in a vulnerable position at Koumys, and roundly defeated them. Proud Machyal and Young Sural each led a flank of the army, with Moody Machyal holding the centre. It was Proud Machyal's first true command in a battle, and he inspired and organised his troops impressively.

Taking a cue from Inachiron and provided with crylaltpetre by Spydoron, Moody Machyal, Proud Machyal and Young Sural set fire to the wells of Naechis-Beast in a three-pronged attack of tremendous brutality. Proud Machyal, who had once been so scarred by the sack of Oepheram, had learned from the tribes of Crylalt and Young Sural, who advised that all captives be executed, that savagery could be a powerful tool if harnessed correctly, especially when the legions lacked reliable supply lines in enemy territory and the persecuted Pricians would demand protection from their Naechisian overlords.

The raiding of Pricia continued for over a year. In Crylalt, Osa Tusk broke through the Spydoron Web and attempted an assault of Kyraspa, which would have threatened to cut off Moody Machyal's expedition force, but luckily Spydoron's incredible machines helped defend the great city. When Trassidyal Juctor Qualens attempted to catch Tusk's forces before they could escape Kyraspan lands, he was captured. Vulgar Renyal offered safe passage for Osa Tusk back to Naechis as part of the negotiations for the ransom of Trassidyal, but the Naechisian general refused. The Naechisian fleet attempted to break out of the harbour at Naechym to relieve Pricia from the depredations of Moody Machyal, but failed abysmally, being almost completely destroyed by the Consul Pampal Barbar Qualens, nephew of the late Hyberital Barbar Adesican. During this period of raiding in Pricia, news reached Proud Machyal that his younger sister Glumas had died in childbirth with a daughter named Scruvas Hebal. His brother Hessal Sarevir-Machyal, serving in Pricia alongside him, was married to Tantol Sarevir, son of Gigal Sarevir Qualens, Captain of the Adesican Well, through Pronimal's Otibry Juctor, daughter of Jumpy Pronimal Juctor Candoam, Captain of the Moverean Well.

Starved, without a fleet or an army able to defend it, and facing insurrection from its Prician vassals, Naechis began surrender talks with Moody Machyal. Young Sural, who had more political experience than Moody Machyal from his time as Sentinel, took a leading role in negotiating the surrender terms of the city, insisting that anything short of crippling their enemy would result in repercussions within a generation. He even suggested in private that the Roaman army should disregard diplomatic convention and notions of decency and burn the city of Naechis to the ground while it had the chance, which upset Proud Machyal. Sural was recalled by the Senate to take up a posting as the Captain of the Aeran Well in Fuscry, and had to sail back from Pricia before the peace negotiations were concluded.

Shortly before the conclusion of the peace negotiations, Nusal's Donimy Juctor, the wife of Proud Machyal and Anylyal Panth Galvens, gave birth to god-twins: Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Panth and Qual Panth Sarevir. Their birth was celebrated as a good omen, though Qual was sickly and would die within the year. Anylyal was sent by Moody Machyal to Roam to present the terms of the treaty to the Senate, along with news of the good omen which accompanied it.

Moody Machyal was accused of hurrying the negotiations in order that he would be declared the conqueror of Naechis before elections could be held in Roam to allow a challenger to swoop in for his glory, but the peace deal was still perceived by the Naechisians to be a humiliating and undeserved admission of total defeat, particularly while Osa Tusk still commanded an undefeated army in Crylalt. Regardless of the deal struck, Vulgar Renyal Sarevir Juctor vetoed the proposed terms of surrender in Roam, declaring his cousin Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel to be a coward and a traitor. The Second Civil War of Roam broke out immediately, and Proud Machyal was firmly by his father's side, determined to do what was best for the Republic and remove the tyrant Vulgar Renyal, who had once saved his life, from office.

## Second Civil War (-20)

*Main Article: Second Civil War*
At the outbreak of the Second Civil War, Proud Machyal's husband Anylyal Panth Galvens was in Roam presenting the negotiated settlement between Moody Machyal and Naechis to the Senate. When Vulgar Renyal Sarevir Juctor and Aloof Prellal Juctor declared the treaty an act of treason and Moody Machyal an enemy of the state, they also moved to appoint Anylyal as Captain of the Sproletan Well in an attempt to keep him from returning to Moody Machyal's side as one of his commanders. The Senate approved the appointment, despite the protests of Anylyal. Anylyal openly defied the appointment and left Roam for the port at Gaegny. He was intercepted by a detachment of Juctor men and cut down as a traitor to Roam. News of his death reached Proud Machyal and his father in Naechis along with the news of Vulgar Renyal's pronouncements. A few days later, Proud Machyal's half-son Qual died. When his wife Donimy again gave birth later in the year, Proud Machyal ensured that the son was named Lumosural Sarevir-Machyal Panth despite Anylyal almost certainly having no involvement in his conception.

Moody Machyal acquired assurances from Naechis and Osa Tusk that the treaty would stand by overseeing the transport of Tusk's army back to Pricia as a show of good faith. The army was not asked to surrender, but afforded the honours due to its status as an undefeated force, though Osa Tusk himself was taken prisoner by Moody Machyal in exchange. Proud Machyal dined with Tusk fairly often during the war, eager to learn from an undisputed military mind, and grew to like the man, hoping that the gods would spare him from being trampled by Roam-Beast. Moody Machyal then left Pricia for Crylalt, though not without hiring a force of Mughannean horsemen who had proven themselves equal if not superior in their abilities and courage to those of the best Sarevirs.

### Crylalt and Delebram (-20)

The Roaman army opposing Moody Machyal in Crylalt was led by Vain Prellal Qualens Juctor and his son Vain Varbal Qualens Juctor. Vulgar Renyal and Amussal Barbar Gibruny, the son of Hyberital Barbar Adesican who had been installed as Consul to bolster the legitimacy of Renyal's faction, were raising legions in Scalify and particularly Inachria, where resentment for the Reaving by Moody Machyal seven years before was a powerful boon to recruitment. Moody Machyal, Proud Machyal and their captive commander Osa Tusk, who enjoyed discussing strategy with them over dinner, agreed that their forces needed to act decisively or else risk becoming outnumbered. Moody Machyal gambled that the Roaman forces defending the Spydoron Web would not oppose him, and that King Eurephon of Kyraspa would not move against him after years of cooperation, and was proved right on both counts. The hardened army which had invaded Pricia marched around Crylalt at an astonishing pace, fuelled by indignation at being declared traitors, and were at the walls of Delebram well before Vain Prellal expected them. Had Vain Prellal stayed behind the walls of the city, Moody Machyal might well have faltered, as a siege would have robbed his campaign of the momentum it required, but his nickname proved true and he arrayed his forces outside the walls of Delebram.

Proud Machyal took control of the entire cavalry for the Battle of Delebram, with Vain Varbal his opposing number. Their numbers were fairly evenly matched, but Proud Machyal's men had superior discipline and cohesion and were bolstered by the Mughanneans whose whooping unnerved their opponents and whose speed allowed them to harass the cavalry and infantry alike. After a bloody melee which marked the first true bloodshed of Roaman against fellow Roaman in battle in history, Proud Machyal drove Vain Varbal's cavalry from the field. Proud Machyal sent the Mughanneans to capture Varbal himself, then led his forces behind the lines of Vain Prellal, which had not engaged with Moody Machyal's infantry decisively. Proud Machyal's manoeuvre spread panic amongst Vain Prellal's men, who began to waver and break rather than engage with their fellow Roaman with unprotected flanks. Though there was fierce fighting in the centre, the flanks and reserves of Vain Prellal's army dissolved. Proud Machyal instructed his cavalry to apprehend the enemy rather than cut them down, and offer them employment against Vulgar Renyal, who had turned brother against brother for political causes in which they had little stake. Vain Prellal was captured, and though some of his most loyal men fought to the death, much of his force switched sides, swelling the ranks of Moody Machyal's army.

The victorious army wintered in Delebram, drilling, partaking in its stockpiles, and preparing to cross the narrow sea to their home country. News of their victory spread across Scalify, causing hesitation amongst those who might otherwise have been pressured into supporting Vulgar Renyal more wholeheartedly. Young Sural Pavinny Ops, who had been appointed as Captain of the Aeran Well in Fuscry to separate him from Moody Machyal, had convinced his fellow Fuscrite well captains to oppose Vulgar Renyal and had mustered an army of sympathisers in Fuscry, as well as many Senators who had fled Roam. During the winter, contact was established between the two armies and other forces in Scalify, and it was agreed that Young Sural's force would screen the landing of Moody Machyal's forces, and the combined force would then march on Roam-Beast in the Roaman Province before Vulgar Renyal's largely Inachrian forces could march to oppose them.

### Battle of Roam (-19)

Moody Machyal crossed from Delebram to Felegram early in the year, coordinating his arrival with that of Young Sural's army. The Felegrin Well was captained by Cortisal Qualens Candoam, who had marched his army to Roam-Beast to protect the Consul Amussal Barbar Gibruny. The port of Felegram was easily secured by the Fuscrite forces, and Moody Machyal's army returned to Scalify for the first time in over five years. Proud Machyal left his wife in Delebram in labour with what would be his third son, Nusal Sarevir-Machyal. Roam-Beast turned east unexpectedly at the Vaeran Well, travelling towards the Roaman Well for the first time in a decade. This was taken as a sign on both sides that a great battle would be fought, with the gods favouring heroic actions. Moody Machyal was happy to encourage this view, as it would encourage rash action on the part of the young Barbar, who would be far better served hiding behind the walls of Roam-Beast at least until he could unite his forces with those of Vulgar Renyal in Inachria later in the year.

Moody Machyal's army marched along the Felegrin spoke of Semural's Spine and stood in wait at the Roaman Well. The local Captain was Fussy Ormanal Candoam, a pious man in his early sixties with limited military experience, who saw his role as a religious duty and did not offer any opposition to the army camped on his doorstep, particularly when presented with the omens of a decisive battle to be fought. As Roam-Beast approached its home well, Moody Machyal was overjoyed to see Barbar's army marching before it and drew up his own lines. Although Barbar's army was outnumbered, it closed for battle.

Proud Machyal again led the cavalry on the flanks, opposing the Marshal Aloof Prellal Juctor who had declared his father a traitor as Consul along with Vulgar Renyal. Trusting the superiority of his own cavalry, he approached the enemy on the right flank with inferior numbers of Mughannean cavalry, sending the majority of his Roaman cavalry behind his father's lines to the left. Feigning a retreat in the face of a superior force, he withdrew right across the front lines between the two closing armies, drawing Aloof Prellal's cavalry out in front of their own men as they eagerly chased Proud Machyal down. The combined Roaman cavalry then counter-charged the disordered horses pursuing Proud Machyal, slaughtering them almost to a man in front of their infantry. Although the manoeuvre had been risky and ostentatious, it had the desired effect: morale amongst Moody Machyal's infantry soared while that of Barbar's men plummeted.

Moody Machyal, confident that his flanks were secure, used his reserves to extend his line so that it completely enveloped that of Barbar's, while Proud Machyal's cavalry positioned themselves behind the enemy lines to pick off any units that tried to escape the encirclement. Amussal Barbar attempted to break out by charging forward at Moody Machyal himself, but was cut down easily. Barbar's army, surrounded and despondent, was nonetheless Roaman, and Moody Machyal offered them a similar offer as had been given to those at Delebram. Thanks to Proud Machyal's dramatic flair and Barbar's foolish heroics, almost the entirety of Barbar's army defected to the Machyals' cause.

The Senators that remained in Roam attempted to organise the election of a new Consul or appoint a Dictator, but Moody Machyal was not of a mind to allow further political complications to interfere with his intentions. After a night's rest he ordered his army to scale Roam-Beast and seize the city. The Roamans defending the walls, though they could doubtless have frustrated Moody Machyal and killed many of their brethren, lay down their arms, and the city was taken with little bloodshed. Proud Machyal remained in camp at the feet of Roam-Beast while his father travelled to the Senate House to confirm that he had in fact seized Roam, and that it was Vulgar Renyal who was the enemy of the people. His wife Donimy found him there, and presented him with his newborn son Nusal.

Roam-Beast continued to travel along Semural's Spine, which would eventually lead it to Inachria where Vulgar Renyal's army would still offer resistance. While Moody Machyal made the arrangements to secure himself as a Dictator, Proud Machyal was left in charge of the army: striking camp, marching forward and pitching camp like he had seen his father do during the Provincial War, whilst convalescing from his Stadium accident. The threat of Vulgar Renyal's army dissolved with his murder, apparently at the hands of mutineers who wished to see the end of the war. Militarily unopposed, Moody Machyal took steps to remove any remaining political opposition in his role as Dictator as Roam elided from civil war into tyranny.

## Machyal's Tyranny (-18)

*Main Article: Machyal's Tyranny*
Proud Machyal had fought the war to return democracy to Roam, and was dismayed at the sweeping political changes instituted by his father. He let it be known that he had no intention of profiting from his father's tyranny, and was urged by Young Sural Pavinny Ops, who was serving as Bursar to aid Moody Machyal, to leave Roam lest his dissent raise the ire of his father, whose mood had darkened and whose heart had hardened. Proud Machyal made plans to travel to Crylalt with its new Governor Rash Donimal Sarevir, hoping to aid in its transformation into a Roaman province. Rash Donimal had been married to Craven Coltal Candoam through Semural's Tersas Juctor as part of Moody Machyal's new political web of alliances.

Before he left, Proud Machyal watched with a heavy heart as Osa Tusk was crushed beneath the feet of Roam-Beast, lamenting the pointless loss of a keen military mind who might have been able to help Roam in its pacification of Crylalt. The Senate ratified the peace treaty with Naechis, although Naechis itself had fallen into bitter political infighting in the wake of their defeat which — along with the delay between the negotiations and the ratification — undermined the legitimacy of the peace.

### Crylalt and Kyraspa (-18)

Proud Machyal, at twenty-seven, had begun to feel more at home in Crylalt than in Scalify. The Second Civil War had drained the continent of its garrison and attention from Roam, and Roaman control, though nominally over the entire continent according to the peace treaty with Naechis, was limited to the more culturally Roaman cities in the north-east of the continent and those within the sphere of influence of Roam's longstanding allies in Kyraspa. Rash Donimal simply did not have the men to garrison the Spydoron Web, and lacked the political mind necessary to unite the coastal cities of the continent into providing him with more than notional support. Proud Machyal beseeched Young Sural and his other political allies in Roam to provide additional provisions and men to secure Crylalt, but the recriminations in Roam were becoming so severe that there was little opportunity for the politicians to acknowledge the difficulties of Roam's first overseas province.

Frustrated, Proud Machyal travelled to Kyraspa to renew his friendship with the venerable King Eurephon, who had been Roam's staunch ally since the beginning of the Crylaltian War (diplomatically ignoring that he had led an invasion of Scalify in league with Inachiron forty years before as a newly crowned king). Proud Machyal attempted to bargain with the enigmatic inventor Spydoron so that he might aid Roam in repairing and refortifying his Web that the tribes of the interior might again fear it. Spydoron, who had little interest in returning to a project he had already completed, was only swayed by promises from Proud Machyal that he might be rewarded with curiosities from around the known world so that he might pursue his multi-disciplined endeavours. The difficulties in obtaining these treasures, books, artifacts and alchemical ingredients for Spydoron in the face of emboldened pirate activity in the Inner Sea (and the Issycrian Sound) following the defeat of Naechis and its fleet would in part lead to Proud Machyal's campaigns against piracy.

Although Spydoron and Eurephon did their part in consolidating Roam's hold on Crylalt, Proud Machyal knew that the province would need much more attention in terms of men and provisions from Roam in order to establish control over the southern and western coasts, let alone the Interior beyond Spydoron's walls where the tribes still answered only to themselves. He decided to run as Bursar for the following year, so that Crylalt might have at least one voice in Roam.

### Bursar (-17)

Proud Machyal made a point of running for Bursar in a modest campaign without recourse to his father's considerable and increasing wealth or the Sarevir treasury. He received a healthy donation from Dim Hyberital Candoam Juctor, who had served as Marshal on the opposite side of the civil war from Proud Machyal, but who admired Proud Machyal's independence from his father and concern for the state of Crylalt. In return for the donation, Proud Machyal agreed to marry Dim Hyberital's young son Pagnal Candoam Juctor, who greatly admired Proud Machyal's for his acts of heroism. Moody Machyal argued that Proud Machyal could make a much better match, but was convinced that Proud Machyal's lack of ambition in this regard helped to reinforce perception of Moody Machyal as a political reformer rather than an aspiring hereditary king.

Moody Machyal was disappointed that his son did not wish to be associated with him, but allowed Proud Machyal to stand and be elected convincingly as one of the Bursars for the second year of the tyranny, with Moody Machyal propped up by the Patriarch of Voriel Ambyal Voriel Candoam as his second Consul. Young Sural was elected as Marshal, and made attempts to row back from the excesses of the previous year's tyranny as those persecuted by the state rippled out from political to personal rivals of Moody Machyal's allies. Proud Machyal made admirable progress in earmarking more grain shipments to Crylalt, but the political will to levy more men to garrison the continent to the necessary level was simply not there after a generation of warfare — and nobody dared to provide any rivals to Moody Machyal with any force that could be construed as an army.

During Proud Machyal's time as Bursar in Roam, his mother Amby Voriel died, aged fifty-nine. His father took the loss hard, going into grief seclusion at the Sarevir Palace. Proud Machyal, his brother Hessal, their living sisters Amby and Caiacas, and Proud Machyal's living siblings Shy Erinvyal Sarevir Voriel, the Patriarch of Sarevir, Donimy Sarevir and Lecarol's Paryty Juctor, Moody Machyal's half-sister, sequestered themselves with the tyrant in his grief for an extended period. Proud Machyal saw that his father was in fact terrified by the changes he had wrought upon Roam, and that his achievements as a general would be forever blighted by his actions as a tyrant. More than anything, he saw his father's fear of death, and how he could not relinquish his hold upon Roam lest punishment be meted out upon him by those he had wronged. Though he paid his father respect, he reaffirmed his desire to be a different and better man from him.

### Moody Machyal Deteriorates (-16)

The third year of Moody Machyal's tyranny saw him emerge from seclusion when he was forced into standing for election (rather than being appointed) as Consul by Young Sural, who was continuing his political journey back towards constitutionalism. He was elected alongside Devisal Qualens-Pagnal Juctor in a landslide, but was an embittered man since the death of his wife. Two of his sons-in-law — Amal Voriel-Cuinsal Sarevir, husband to Machyal's Amby Sarevir, and Rash Ormanal Candoam, husband to Caiacas Sarevir — turned up dead in Roam, likely because they were not seen to have shared adequately in Moody Machyal's grief over the death of his wife. Moody Machyal married Dry Pagnal Juctor Anyly, son of the Marshal Trassidyal Juctor Qualens and the Consul Old Gibral Anyly Adesican, both of whom had died during the Tyranny or the Civil War, through Cacy Qualens, daughter of Vain Prellal Qualens Juctor, who Moody Machyal had defeated and captured at the Battle of Delebram.

Though it was a wise move to bring Vain Prellal further onside by marrying his daughter, Dry Pagnal was a bizarre choice of a husband for the de facto ruler of Roam, and rumours of all kinds began to spread — not least that Moody Machyal had lost his mind. Moody Machyal did little to dispel these rumours by ruling from seclusion in the Sarevir Palace. Contradictory edicts would come forth from the palace, with no way to discern which were the genuine wishes of the tyrant and which were political attacks of opportunity by those around him. The other Consul, Devisal Qualens-Pagnal Juctor, had been selected as a sop to the Qualens family and lacked the wherewithal to manage the situation.

Proud Machyal, despairing of the state of affairs and unwilling to risk becoming a target of his father's increasingly murderous ire, planned to leave Roam, but was reasoned out of it by Young Sural, who was serving a dramatic term as Sentinel. Young Sural, who had been one of Moody Machyal's staunchest allies during the early days of the tyranny, had emerged as his greatest and most public critic, and convinced Proud Machyal to remain in Roam at his house, where he could mix with others who dared to oppose his father, and in turn the Sentinel would try and obtain more support for the Rash Donimal in Crylalt. Whether it was because Young Sural was too prominent a figure to remove, because the orders from Moody Machyal were garbled by his seclusion, or because the tyrant's health had deteriorated more than anyone understood, the outspoken Sentinel survived the year unharmed (although he could not convince the Senate to assign more soldiers to Crylalt as he had promised).

In the days before the elections for the following year, Moody Machyal died suddenly. Proud Machyal, twenty-nine years old, attended his father's funeral in Roam surrounded by cowed Senators, political tension and suspicion. In the uncertainty of the power vacuum, Young Sural implored Proud Machyal to oversee the election of new magistrates and leave Roam for Crylalt so that the Republic could be restored to democracy and the Constitution could once again be the supreme authority in Roam. Proud Machyal agreed, and monitored the elections like a Consul alongside Devisal Qualens-Pagnal Juctor, who had gladly stepped back from the front line following Moody Machyal's death. Crooked Nusal Candoam and Tavengal Juctor-Glumal Voriel were returned as Consuls, and Proud Machyal was rewarded with a humble Officer's position (his sixth in total), as were his brother Hessal and his husband Pagnal. Proud Machyal organised the remarriage of his sister Caiacas to Greasy Gibral Colty Galvens, a promising young charioteer in whom Proud Machyal saw much of himself. Greasy Gibral accompanied Proud Machyal, his husband Pagnal, Hessal and his husband Tantol, when they left Roam and sailed for Crylalt to aid Rash Donimal. Roam was granted a respite from Sarevir-Machyals; Proud Machyal had grown tired of politics, in which he often felt powerless and ordinary, and yearned for the simplicity of warfare.

## Personal Campaigns (-15)

Proud Machyal invited many veterans of his father's army to join his private army in Crylalt, promising them gainful employment (drawing from his inheritance from his father) and the greatness and clarity of the old days. Many of the men had returned to Scalify to find it a much different place to when they had left it, their farms and homes worthless or destroyed. Some had lost themselves in the seedy Underbelly of Roam-Beast, while others had found unedifying employment as heavies for Moody Machyal's allies or even his enemies, protecting terrified Senators during the tyranny while they scurried around the back-streets of Roam. Though Rash Donimal Sarevir was the Governor of Crylalt, he willingly ceded control of military matters on the continent to Proud Machyal and his family. Provisioning of Proud Machyal's growing army was frustrated by pirate activity from nearly every quarter of the Inner Sea, but he lacked a fleet to pin the pirates based in Crylalt in place, so they could easily evade his army.

Proud Machyal knew that his private army would not stand for a lack of ambition in his command, though he would have gladly deployed unglamorously them as a garrison to the Spydoron Web had he been able to. Instead he marched the army along the northern coast of Crylalt, visiting the cities such as Oepheram that had featured during the war as a show of force. Camped outside each city in a simulacrum of a siege, he would treat with the leaders of each city and reaffirm their loyalty to Rash Donimal and Roam. By the time the army reached the north-eastern corner of Crylalt, it became evident some parts of the continent were almost completely unaware that they owed their loyalty and tribute to Roam — indeed, some were still paying tribute to the much nearer Naechis. Proud Machyal made sure to keep his troops well paid to avoid any misbehaviour, but allowed them to engage in some minor harassment of these disloyal settlements and their surrounding lands to prove that Naechis would not protect them and that Roam was the dominant power on the continent. Rash Donimal confirmed that tax revenues steadily rose during Machyal's expedition, allowing the Governor to better administrate the province.

As Proud Machyal proceeded down the western coast of Crylalt by the Dedissan Sea, tribal raiders from the Crylaltian Interior rode out from their homes to harry his long supply lines. Having asserted his authority through military might, Machyal could not afford to be seen as weak, and wheeled his army around to intercept the raiders, sending his brother Hessal and his husband Tantol forward with the bulk of the cavalry to guard the supply lines. As he feared, the tribesmen melted back into the interior, leaving Machyal frustrated and humiliated. To establish control of the Interior, he would need naval superiority so that supplies might be transported by sea out of the reach of the tribesmen, and so that his legions might be more mobile in the face of emergent threats. He also required naval superiority if he was to coordinate the far greater numbers of men that would be required to lead an invasion of the Interior with any hope of forcing the tribesmen into a meaningful confrontation.

Without naval superiority, Roam could do nothing to control Crylalt beyond the northern coast, and the vast network of pirates that had sprung in the vacuum following the destruction of the fleets of Naechis threatened both Roam's military and commercial interests. Furthermore, the blatant flaunting of Roam's lack of protection of both its own trade routes and those of its neighbours around the Inner Sea damaged the diplomatic standing of Roam when compared to the assured security that Naechis had offered all naval trade since time immemorial before Roam had defeated its rival without the foresight to assume the same role. Though he had never led a naval campaign, Proud Machyal knew that he had no choice but to do so.

### Campaign Against Pirates of Issycrian Sound (-14)

*Main Article: Suppression of the Pirates of the Issycrian Sound*
While Proud Machyal was in Crylalt, the twenty-four year old Officer Salty Semural Voriel-Cuinsal Candoam had died in the Issycrian Sound when Treacian pirates boarded his ship and attempted to take him hostage. The Voriel-Cuinsal family demanded vengeance against the pirates, and kings of both Black and White Treacia who had allowed them to thrive. Rumours spread that Naechis was in league with the Treacians to undermine Roaman authority, which was conveniently backed up by a hoard of Naechisian coins found on board a supposedly captured pirate ship at the time. The Senate decided to appoint a special Marshal for the job of suppressing the pirates of the Issycrian Sound. Young Sural, who had been in contact with Proud Machyal, suggested that it would be an appropriate arena for him to learn the principles of naval combat that he would require for his wider campaign. Proud Machyal agreed, and stood as Marshal.

The campaign to become Marshal was not an easy one. Proud Machyal was only thirty-one, five years younger than the requirement enshrined in law by his own father. The candidacy showed ambition which disturbed those who saw echoes of Moody Machyal in his son and riled up those who desired to be Marshal by more legitimate means and those who wished to lead the campaign in the Sound, such as Uvinal Voriel-Cuinsal Sarevir, who thought that his (actually fairly distant) family connection to Salty Semural would lend him sympathy. Young Sural advocated for Proud Machyal vociferously, however, recalling heroes of Roam in the past who had stepped forward to do their duty to the Republic and pointing out that if Proud Machyal had wished to seize power, he would have done so when his father had died, but had stepped away from tyranny and returned Roam to democracy. The Senate were convinced to allow him to stand, and the people duly rewarded Proud Machyal with their votes.

Young Sural worked with the Consul Young Semural Voriel Juctor to pass a law through the Senate granting Proud Machyal fresh legions, ships and oarsmen, and jurisdiction over the Issycrian Sound as well as any land up to fifty miles from its shores. Missives were sent to Roam's neighbours around the Sound. The Issycrian states were outraged, as Roam had no dominion over their lands, but they lacked the military power to act on their outrage and had sent repeated requests to Roam to help police the Sound since the end of war. King Keches of White Treacia fortified his coastal towns in preparation for what he considered an invasion, while King Pomander of Black Treacia did not deign to respond to what he considered a ridiculous proposal. The Scrutans to the north, who had been a reliable ally of Roam's since the end of the Inachironic War, cautiously welcomed Roaman intervention.

Proud Machyal assigned half of his fleet throughout the campaign to his brother Hessal, who continued as an Officer. The pirates of the Sound, particularly in Treacia, had begun to become complacent and winter further inland, either seizing towns or paying their magistrates to ignore the imposition. Proud Machyal used intelligence from local traders and the Voriel-Cuinsals, who had established a successful slave trading post with the Feors on the Kashtaran land bridge at the far north of the Sound, to identify a particular pirate stronghold at Audrym on the border between the White and Black Treacian kingdoms which had not yet launched its fleet for the summer. He landed an invasion force before the pirates could have time to evacuate and stormed the town, burning it to the ground without discrimination between pirate and Treacian subject. Both Treacian Kings were outraged at the operation on foreign soil, and King Pomander began to muster his own forces. Voices in the Senate also decried Proud Machyal for disregarding diplomacy in favour of his own glory, but the people of Roam were ecstatic as the price of goods traded from overseas fell in the marketplace in anticipation of further retributive acts.

The action at Audrym drove other pirates of the Sound from their winter quarters to the sea, where they correctly judged that they would have a better chance outrunning the Roaman fleets than fighting them on land. Proud Machyal and Hessal grew frustrated at the better seamanship of the pirates and began to promote Voriel tradesmen to train the officers and hire superior Inachrian sailors in greater and greater numbers. The Inachrians resented the Sarevir-Machyals for the Reaving of Inachria during the First Civil War, so would only work for Proud Machyal and his brother at an exorbitant premium, which was paid out of the riches that their father had accrued during the Tyranny.

Soon, the Roamans began to make headway. Gaining in competence and confidence, Proud Machyal and Hessal sailed their fleets separately yet communicated effectively enough to bring impressive concentrations of force onto the pirate squadrons operating in the Sound. Piracy ceased to be profitable employment, and captured ships began to surrender rather than fight. Proud Machyal took a note from the lessons of his youth and showed the majority of the surrendering pirates mercy, relocating them in Crylalt under the supervision of Rash Donimal. The ringleaders he sent back to the Senate for execution, which was interpreted as bragging or humility in different quarters.

King Pomander's army gathered on the shores of Black Treacia, surrounding and threatening the Voriel-Cuinsal slave trading post on Kashtaran Bridge in response for the Roaman incursion onto his sovereign lands. Proud Machyal recognised that the situation could escalate terribly and urged Roam to find a diplomatic solution. The Consul Young Semural Voriel Juctor and the Relief Sentinel Loud Gibral Oscumy Osty, who had succeeded Didissal Ossopy, sailed to treat with Pomander, and managed to soothe his bruised ego.

Proud Machyal continued his operation well into the stormy winter despite the drastic reduction in the number of pirates remaining in the Sound. He hoped to test his men further, whipping them into the hardened sailors which would be required to build on the successes of the year's campaign for his intended successor campaign to clear the entire Inner Sea of the pirate menace.

### Campaigns Against Pirates of Crylalt (-13)

*Main Article: Suppression of the Crylaltian Pirates*
Proud Machyal had every intention of remaining with the fleet and legions that he had been granted to continue his campaign the succeeding year. However, his intentions were at odds with the principles of the Roaman Republic and with his fellow Roamans in the Senate, who had only barely approved his campaign in the Issycrian Sound. The law that Sural had passed had not specified a time limit on the provided legions and jurisdiction, but had been tied to an office which Proud Machyal now did not hold. There were no lower magistracies for which he could stand which would grant him the requisite command to continue as he needed to, and he could not attempt to stand as Marshal without seeming a tyrant like his father, nor could he stand as Consul without exhibiting ridiculous ambition and disdain for the law which would only serve to harm him in the longer term.

What Proud Machyal needed was a surrogate, and he found one in Old Degnal Voriel-Otibryal, who had made enquiries about possible magistracies whilst finishing a posting (assigned by Proud Machyal's father) at the Prerentian Well in Nelunty. Old Degnal had served admirably in the Roaman fleet throughout the Crylaltian War, and was a popular hero of both the Battle off Gelebram Point and the Battle of the Sycadine Stacks. He was also fairly apolitical, which suited Proud Machyal both personally and politically, and a cousin of Machyal's by his father's half-father. Proud Machyal endorsed Old Degnal enthusiastically, proposing him as the Marshal to rid the Inner Sea of piracy with Machyal by his side. Degnal himself was not hugely enthused at the prospect of a military campaign away from Roam, but bowed to popular pressure and was elected convincingly.

Old Degnal and Proud Machyal constructed a comprehensive strategy for the Inner Sea which became known as Degnal's Net, although Degnal consistently despised the name. The fleet was divided into several smaller forces which would patrol a manageable portion of the vast coastline which fell under Machyal's remit, with several other forces given the right to roam between the fixed zones. Each force was given the freedom to engage any pirates they encountered, whilst also under orders to send a ship to alert the force in the adjacent zones as quickly as possible. The tactic was devastatingly effective, concentrating forces quickly into areas to surround and overwhelm the pirates. Proud Machyal made a point of showing mercy to the majority of captured pirates, resettling many of them in Crylalt with a plot of land with the intention of giving them a stake in the Republic and softening them away from their violent ways. The strategy proved effective, as many pirates began to surrender when faced with Roaman fleets rather than engage in battle.

Faced with such a mounting existential threat, the pirates who were not inclined to surrender to Roam took a gamble and gathered their forces into one great fleet on the Mughannean coast near Azamara. This managed to capture and defeat several of the smaller forces that they encountered as they swept along the Paeninadean coast, but each force had sent off the ship to its neighbours in the net, and soon nearly the entire Roaman fleet, including the roaming forces under Proud Machyal and Old Degnal arrived to meet the pirate fleet amongst the islands of the Muan Tears off the north-western coast of Rake. The pirates were hopelessly outmatched, and nearly all of their hundred ships were encircled and captured. The remaining pirates largely took to hiding in their disparate winter quarters, but Proud Machyal and Old Degnal had been granted command of Proud Machyal's legion of veterans from Crylalt in addition to those from Proud Machyal's previous campaign, who stormed most of these hideouts with little trouble.

It had taken less than six months for Proud Machyal to rid the Inner Sea of its piracy problem. Prices of basic goods tumbled across the Republic as trade routes across the Inner Sea returned to how they had been in previous peacetimes. Proud Machyal again resettled many of the captured pirates in the cities and countryside of Crylalt, who by and large showed him gratitude when he returned to the continent as Governor several years later.

There were those in Roam who proposed that Proud Machyal and Old Degnal should be granted a triumph for their actions. Young Sural, who had been one of those pushing for Proud Machyal's assignment in the first place, opposed the motion vociferously, as setting a dangerous precedent of rewarding men who had achieved military success without a constitutional mandate from the people. Old Degnal agreed with Young Sural, and the great many Senators who were afraid of Proud Machyal following in his father's footsteps to tyranny, and the suggestion was never enacted.

## Administrator (-12)

Proud Machyal learned that Rash Donimal had made little headway in the pacification of Crylalt, and had let diplomatic ties with Kyraspa wane during Machyal's two years away. He fully intended to return to Crylalt to rectify the situation when his uncle Shy Erinvyal Sarevir Voriel, the Patriarch of Sarevir, died aged sixty-nine. The mantle of Patriarch of Sarevir fell to the sixteen year old, and aptly nicknamed, Mouthy Erinvyal Sarevir Voriel. The Conduit of Sarevir, Hyberital Sarevir, a seventy-one year old man who grown to know Proud Machyal when he had been sent as Consul by the Senate to reason with his sulking father during the Provincial War sixteen years before, implored Proud Machyal to return to Roam and take the new Patriarch under his wing. Hyberital guaranteed Proud Machyal the full support of the Sarevir family in standing (constitutionally, no less) as Administrator, and his brother Hessal in standing as Bursar. Proud Machyal agreed once he was guaranteed that his legion of veterans would be transported to Crylalt, and that he would be allowed to return to Crylalt and command them the following year. Both he and his brother were elected safely.

Proud Machyal returned to Roam to find that his wife Donimy had given birth to his half-daughter Haity Candoam. One of those who visited the Sarevir Palace to congratulate him was a young Officer named Curly Coltal Candoam Juctor, who was the son of the disgraced Patriarch of Candoam Craven Coltal. Curly Coltal knew Machyal's husband Pagnal as they had trained as Officers together, although they had never actually served together. With Craven Coltal in almost total seclusion from public life, Curly Coltal had shouldered some of his political burdens, and had earned some of his political sway, particularly amongst Candoams. Curly Coltal had supported Proud Machyal's campaign to become Marshal and had spoken in the Senate supporting an extension of his term with an admirable if doomed appeal to historical precedent, and Proud Machyal appreciated the contributions that the young, ambitious man had made to his own achievements. He was less enamoured by Curly Coltal's reputation as a gambler, philanderer and hedonist, however, and was unsurprised to hear that he had worked himself into not inconsiderable debt after being cut off by his disapproving father. Curly Coltal was one of the few people that Mouthy Erinvyal seemed to listen to, however, so Proud Machyal knew that befriending the man would be beneficial for his standing as a Sarevir.

It did not take long before Curly Coltal proposed a political favour on behalf of his chief debtor, Scruval Qualens, who was the Governor of Nearer Inachria since his appointment by Proud Machyal's father as a reward for being a loyal logistician throughout the Crylaltian War, and had become perhaps the wealthiest man in the Republic. Proud Machyal would nominate Crooked Nusal Candoam, who had been elected as Consul in the crisis following Moody Machyal's death, as Governor of Further Inachria in the Senate and earn the appreciation of Scruval, who would donate funds towards the Crylaltian theatre. Proud Machyal knew that he was not a good politician, and that he was probably being manipulated on a level that he could not fully understand by Scruval, but was eager to take whatever help he could muster to resolve the Crylaltian situation, which he had now left unattended on the ground for two years. Crooked Nusal was under investigation by Loud Gibral Oscumy Osty for corruption, but the majority of Senators preferred that the investigation not proceed to far lest it reveal a huge pile of dirty laundry, so Crooked Nusal's appointment to the Augyron Well, away from Loud Gibral's jurisdiction, was approved far more easily than Proud Machyal expected.

Bringing young Mouthy Erinvyal into line was as hard as Hyberital had feared. The boy had grown up with a sense of entitlement that did not befit a Sarevir, and lacked any experience of the battlefield due to his father's shameful fear of losing his only son. Proud Machyal's achievements did nothing to impress his cousin, who saw him only as a babysitter and a mindless soldier. The boy did not appreciate horses nor did he find any appeal in the Stadium, which Proud Machyal's true sons Machyal, Lumosural and Nusal, now seven to nine, had begun to adore as their father did. Proud Machyal found that Mouthy Erinvyal did like the gladiatorial combat in the amphitheatre, and tried to engage with him on the tactical intelligence of the few gladiators that survived bout after bout such as Trucidal and Black Benabba, but only irritated the young Patriarch, whose interest in the games was solely in seeing slaves fighting for their wretched lives. Despairing, Proud Machyal surrendered the fight, explaining to Hyberital that a good general knew when a battle was simply not winnable, and that Mouthy Erinvyal would never be good terrain upon which to educate. Curly Coltal assured Proud Machyal that he would endeavour to make a better man out of the boy when he left Roam.

Proud Machyal and his dependable brother Hessal spent the remainder of the year performing their civic duties to the best of their abilities, shoring up their political support in Roam, reassuring the Senate and the people of Roam that they had no intention of following their father down the road of tyranny. They won concessions through the sitting Consul Spotty Renyal Sarevir to provide greater support to the Crylaltian theatre, and made preparations for the campaign they intended to lead the following year.

## Crylaltian Campaigns (-11)

Proud Machyal left Roam as soon as his tedious term as Administrator was over, again accompanied by his husband, their wife and their children, as well as his brother Hessal and his family. Hessal's husband Tantol Sarevir had served under Rash Donimal Sarevir as an Officer the previous year, and was concerned that despite Proud Machyal's naval gains, the situation on the ground in Crylalt was even less secure than it had been when he had left three years previously. Rash Donimal had contented himself with the substantial lands which he controlled, growing fat and complacent in his gubernatorial palace in Delebram, whilst letting more distant or troublesome cities act more or less as they wished. He had allowed relations with Kyraspa to atrophy, and worst of all had not paid the legions of veterans that Proud Machyal had sent to his aid. The veterans had grown bored, restless and resentful of their corrupt and stingy Governor and seized the city of Oepheram for themselves, allowing the land to go to wrack as they preyed upon the citizens supposedly under their protection.

Proud Machyal was appalled, and astonished that news of the travesty had not reached Roam. He at once demanded that the legions that still answered to Rash Donimal be put under his own command so that he might resolve the situation, and was further appalled at both the depletion and the lack of discipline of the force with which he was provided. Undeterred, he marched his untested army to Oepheram and camped them atop a nearby hill. The city was clouded with grief, as it had been thirty-three years ago when he had before seen it sacked by Roaman legions. He then rode alone towards the city, waiting to be spotted or stopped, riding all the way through the gates and into the forum, where he dismounted and threw his armour to the ground in dismay at what had become of his once mighty legion of veterans.

His gamble paid off, and his men were shamed into forming ranks in the forum before their despondent yet beloved general. He promised them all of the payment that they were owed and more yet still if they would cease their cruelties in that blameless city and march with him once again for Roam and for purpose. His men wept openly at the chiding they received, and filed out of the city immediately. Proud Machyal led them to the camp to mingle with the fresh recruits before returning to Oepheram, seeking to make reparations for the transgressions of his men. The foremost citizens of the city that yet lived were deeply suspicious and antagonistic, but eventually accepted a generous offer from Proud Machyal from his father's treasury to help them rebuild their city and its lands, with aid from incoming colonists from amongst the pirates to whom Machyal had show mercy.

Proud Machyal returned with his men to Delebram so as not to tax the lands of Oepheram any further, and set his brother Hessal to bringing the fitness and discipline of the army back to levels acceptable to a Sarevir. In the meantime, Machyal travelled south to Kyraspa to reacquaint himself with King Eurephon and Spydoron. While the Kyraspans were glad that Machyal had restored trade in the Inner Sea by suppressing the pirates, they were aggrieved that Roam had not adequately protected Kyraspa from incursions into their lands by tribes from the Interior through the walls of the Spydoron Web, which was only as effective as it was well garrisoned. Machyal did what he could to promise that communication, cooperation and garrisoning would improve under his watch, but despite his fondness for their alliance, the King was too experienced to take a Roaman solely at his word. As a gesture of his good intentions, Proud Machyal presented Spydoron with a mechanical bow that his men had found in the cabin of a pirate captain at the Battle of the Muan Tears, which he had been told had come from far to the east beyond Meder and Heber, in the lands of the Empyreal Dragons.

Proud Machyal spent the rest of the year at Delebram drilling the legions, new and old, back into an effective fighting force and feeding reinforcements back to the garrison of the Spydoron Web. He also worked with his officers on coordinating marches with fleet support. He sent envoys to all of the cities of Crylalt warning of repercussions for those who would not show deference to the Governor and pay tax to Delebram. He also sent a diplomatic mission to the tribes of the Crylaltian Interior, hoping to discern the balance of power in that constantly shifting political landscape. As he feared, these diplomats never returned.

### Northern and Western Crylalt (-10)

Proud Machyal marched his legions from Delebram along the north coast of Crylalt as he had done five years before, extracting oaths of fealty from each city in turn and installing local garrisons to discourage backsliding. Wary of the tribal raids that had scuppered his previous campaign, he kept the majority of his supplies with the supporting fleet that accompanied his legions' advance. Cities that had wavered in their commitment to Roam quickly returned to the fold at Machyal's show of force, but he became aware of the increasing influence of a resurgent Naechis and even old Samyrt in the far side of the continent. Some cities, such as Tricadis and Climadram on the east coast, had accepted Naechisian garrisons to protect them from tribal excursions, while the port at New Pesinis was populated almost exclusively by Samyrtian traders and their mercenaries. The presence of these garrisons presented Proud Machyal with a diplomatic obstacle for which he was not entirely prepared, and his advance was bogged down by long negotiations with the citizens of the cities and their garrison commanders while his men camped outside.

When he requested additional diplomatic aid from Roam to help resolve the situation, Proud Machyal learned that Nelunty had erupted into a slave rebellion led by the charismatic gladiator Trucidal, and that the Senate was quite distracted. Unable to convince the cities to accept Roaman garrisons rather than the Naechisians that they trusted, and unwilling to unilaterally open hostilities against foreign forces on Roaman lands while Roam was focused on an internal matters (which had harmed Roaman progress in Crylalt during the Provincial War and the First Civil War), Proud Machyal decided instead to demonstrate that Roam was a reliable protector of these cities whether it garrisoned them or not. He marched his men to the western edge of the harsh expanse known as the Interior and sent out scouts to determine where the strongest tribes were gathered.

### Expedition into the Crylaltian Interior (-10)

Proud Machyal's expedition into the Crylaltian Interior was born more of frustration and a desire to demonstrate Roaman power than any great strategic objective. His legions were too many to survive off the land in a concentrated form, and he could not guarantee a long supply train from the coast, so were split into several smaller parties across a wide front to avoid extreme privations. As they slowly advanced around the mountains and broad, stony plains of the land the tribes melted away in front of them rather than attempting to defend their villages, which the Roamans burned wherever they were found. The tribes used their knowledge of the land to keep out of sight until they could lead cheap flank attacks on the Roaman lines and then flee back into the mountains before the legions could mount a coordinated response. The dilution of the line separated many of the men from Proud Machyal's inspiring presence, and moral began to drop.

Proud Machyal became frustrated, not least because he realised he had made a mistake in launching the expedition. He considered whether it would be worse to continue through the Interior to Kyraspa or Delebram and continue to lose men to the guerilla tactics of the tribes or return to the closer west coast and face humiliation in the face of the cities he had attempted to impress. As he was caught on the horns of this dilemma, his scouts reported to him that his enemy had made a strategic mistake, gathering too many of their old, women and children of a particular tribe, the Appries, at the confluence of two of the meagre rivers that ran from the nearby mountains. If Proud Machyal's line closed in immediately from both wings, they could trap the defenceless tribespeople between their two wings and the river. Reluctantly, Proud Machyal gave the order.

The Roamans had the non-combatant tribespeople surrounded with the river at their back in short order, and Proud Machyal was faced with the decision of what to do with his terrified captives. He could not afford to keep them prisoner and sell them as slaves, as supplies were short, but he did not relish the thought of massacring the defenceless. Apprised of the plight of their kin, the Appry horsemen arrived atop a nearby hill, surveying the dire situation. They were accompanied by allies amongst other tribes, including skirmishing troops such as light infantry and slingers. The legions themselves outnumbered the tribesmen, but were in a less than ideal tactical set-up themselves, downhill with the river to their backs. Proud Machyal made what adjustments he could to the line, but remained unhappy at the prospect of battle. He rode out ahead of the line with his standard bearer and called for a parley with the enemy chiefs.

The negotiations were difficult owing to cultural and language differences, but both sides found common ground on wanting to avoid the slaughter of the civilians (although Proud Machyal made sure not to rule it out so as to maintain some leverage). Proud Machyal insisted that he bore the Appries no ill will, and merely wished to maintain order amongst the coastal cities of the continent, with no plans to colonise the Interior. In what was the first genuine diplomacy between Roaman and Crylaltian tribesman, Proud Machyal offered the Appry tribe protection from Roam if it would turn its attention to subjugating the other tribes of the Interior rather than raiding the cities of the coast. Considering the offer fairly generous considering that Proud Machyal had the means to almost entirely annihilate their tribe, the chiefs accepted. Proud Machyal allowed the tribespeople to reunite in a tactically neutral location, then withdrew his troops in good order, accompanied by Aper, son of the strongest chief Aper, who would be held as a hostage to ensure the compliance of the Appries.

Proud Machyal withdrew unmolested from the Crylaltian Interior under protection from the Appries, and returned with news of his success to the coastal city of Tricadis that had frustrated his efforts to install a Roaman garrison. When the citizens still refused to evict their Naechisian garrison, Proud Machyal had the Appries demonstrate a show of force by appearing on the hilltops surrounding the city, and warned the city that if the tribesmen were better allies than the citizens were, then he would allow them to sack the city and its lands while his troops stood by and watched. The Naechisians, preferring to act as a deterrent than an actual garrison, agreed to leave the city to the Roamans. Proud Machyal installed his garrisons, but the citizens of Tricadis and Climadram resented him for consorting with their ancient enemies.

Proud Machyal learned upon reuniting with his fleet that Prellal Juctor-Amussal, the Marshal assigned to deal with the slave revolt in Nelunty, had been ambushed and his legion annihilated. He sent messages to Old Degnal Voriel-Otibryal, one of the sitting Consuls, asking whether Roam needed his aid, and was assured that the situation would soon be brought under control. Proud Machyal decided to quarter in Tricadis for the rest of the year, restoring his troops to full fitness and morale after the stresses of his expedition. He grew concerned that Roam was not taking decisive action against Trucidal's rebellion, and wavered between continuing his tour around Crylalt in the new year or shipping his experienced legions back to Scalify to deal with the crisis.

### Southern Crylalt and Frustrated Crossings to Inachria (-9)

Proud Machyal set out in the spring to the south towards the city of Brandanam. At first the city refused to admit him, but when he bristled and began ordering his men to surround the settlement, it was discovered that there had been a translation error and that the city was closed to visitors for their own protection as the city had quarantined itself following an outbreak of purple fever. Proud Machyal withdrew his forces to a safe distance and considered his options, eventually deciding to wait for the outbreak to pass. He sent his brother Hessal on to Laralis with a small force to get a headstart on diplomatic proceedings there, and camped next to the Long Lagoon, supported by his fleet. During this time he learned of the defeat of the Consul Jumpy Pronimal Juctor Candoam by Trucidal at the Hercudean Well, and began to accelerate his plans. He left a detachment of his legion and several ships with his husband Pagnal Candoam Juctor to garrison Brandanam when it reopened its gates, trusting him as a diplomat and a negotiator, then marched his legions to Laralis to reunite with his brother.

Laralis had resisted Hessal's demands, but was suitably submissive when Proud Machyal arrived with the remainder of the legions. The city in fact demanded closer ties to Roam, and resented the fact that it was outside the walls of the Spydoron Web while its rival Sycadram was protected. Laralis was further inland than Sycadram and naturally defended by its surrounding marshes, but had fallen afoul of increased tribal aggression since the construction of the Web, which made it a more appealing target for horsemen than bypassing the wall systems. Proud Machyal left the city a garrison and assured them that he had made a deal with the Appry tribe to limit excursions from the Interior, and promised to consult Spydoron on constructing an extension to the walls to protect Laralis.

Proud Machyal marched onwards to Sycadram, learning as he passed through the westernmost gate of the Spydoron Web that the other Consul Creepy Semural Qualens Sarevir had also fallen to Trucidal in Inachria. Sycadram had a strong factional divide between citizens loyal to Roam and those who still maintained loyalty to Naechis, although almost all of its inhabitants detested Kyraspa. Proud Machyal camped his army at the foot of the great volcano Furinal and asked his fleet captains to plot a course to Inachria as soon as possible while he attempted to find a compromise between the two parties. There was an unexpected amount of resentment at the city's encapsulation inside the walls of the Spydoron Web, particularly at the hands of the Kyraspans, and Proud Machyal found negotiations immensely frustrating. Meanwhile, news from Kyraspa was that the Peaky Sea, the turbulent part of the the Inner Sea between Crylalt and Inachria, was stubbornly refusing to yield favourable winds.

Proud Machyal granted generous tax concessions to Sycadram to hastily secure its agreement to host a Roaman garrison, then loaded his legions onto his ships with an aim to sailing straight to Inachria, disregarding the advice of his captains. Once the fleet passed through the Kyraspan Strait, however, the winds were as bad as their intelligence had indicated. The fleet rowed valiantly to the end of Laepheron's Peninsula, but crossing the Peaky Sea straight to Inachria was simply impossible. After several days camped at the end of the peninsula, Proud Machyal relented and ordered the fleet to row along the coast up to Kyraspa itself, where it could harbour. In the city, he consulted with Spydoron about extending the Web to cover Laralis, and was disappointed to learn that the engineer was not engaged by the prospect of building walls over marshlands.

While he was frustrated by extended summer storms which kept his fleet from leaving Kyraspa, Proud Machyal learned of the political and marital arrangement being made in Roam between the Governor of Nearer Inachria Scruval Qualens and Old Degnal Voriel-Otibryal to appoint Scruval as Governor of Further Inachria following the recall of the corrupt Crooked Nusal Candoam. He sent his brother Hessal onwards to Roam to seek election as an Administrator, hoping both to advance his brother's political career and to gain a firmer grasp on the political landscape.

As soon as it was safe — if not a little before — he rowed his fleet north to Gelebram, waiting for an opportunity to cross to Gaegny in Nelunty. The dire weather continued, which combined with news of a vicious outbreak of Child's Pox in Roam to cause discontent amongst the superstitious soldiers in his ranks, who suspected that Trucidal had been sent to punish Roam by the gods, and that it would be best not to return to Scalify. Proud Machyal, in a fit of pique which he immediately regretted, ordered that one such a superstitious centurion named Plental who had spoken too freely within his earshot be flogged. After the man was struck the first time, Proud Machyal realised that he had let his temper run away with him and immediately forgave Plental, offering him the services of his personal Issycrian slave physician and dinner together in his tent. For the first time, Proud Machyal became aware of allusions between himself and his father — accusations that he was both *Proud* and in fact *Moody*. Aghast, he reined in his ambitions to cross into Scalify and put on games for his men and the citizens in Gelebram, allowing his army to winter in comfort while the bad omens that had caused them to waver passed.

### The Home War (-8)

*Main Article: Home War*
Proud Machyal crossed from Gelebram to Gaegny at the first opportunity in the new year. His brother Hessal had been elected as Administrator in Roam, and informed him that Trucidal had marched his slave army into Inachria, possibly in the hope of crossing from Augyron to Issycria. Scruval Qualens and Old Degnal Voriel-Otibryal had amassed an alliance of Roaman legions, Inachrians and Issycrian mercenaries at the Augyron Well to put down the revolt. Proud Machyal was not convinced that that Scruval and Old Degnal would prevail over Trucidal, who had already defeated three Roaman armies: Scruval was a logistician with little front-line military experience to his name, while Old Degnal had won nearly all of his victories at sea. He marched his army through the Crestrellian Well to join Semural's Spine at Tividy, then down into Inachria through Chaeledon, Rhethaegon and Medon.

The slave force which Proud Machyal found was disorganised and scattered, and his legions slaughtered them in what could not even be considered a battle. It soon became evident that these slaves were retreating from the battle that they had already fought against Scruval and Old Degnal. Neither Scruval nor Proud Machyal could find the body of Trucidal, however, to claim that they had rid Roam of the slave menace, and began to resent the other for undermining what they saw as their deserved victory. The two descended into a petty feud, neither disbanding or returning their forces. Both men made a show of their superiority by displaying increasingly grotesque executions of their slave captives for the benefit of their rival soldiers. Having been saved from the problem of the slave rebellion, the Republic seemed to be alarmingly close to a new civil war.

Old Degnal acted as a go-between to persuade both commanders of the folly of their actions. He warned Proud Machyal that his actions echoed those of his father, the tyrant Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, which he knew was a fear of Proud Machyal's, whilst also undermining Roaman control of Crylalt by depriving it of its legions. Similarly, he chided Scruval that maintaining a foreign force whilst subverting the constitution so as to remain in power in Inachria made him seem foreign to Roam and ambitious to become a new Inachiron, King of Inachria. The two men, along with their mutual acquaintance Curly Coltal, met at Degnal's tent to hash out a compromise.

The men agreed to dismiss their forces simultaneously so that neither would lose face, and to pool their political resources. They would stand together as Consuls for the following year. Whether any further agreement was made in words, or went unspoken, it appears that Scruval, Machyal and Coltal agreed that they would pursue their goals on different fronts of the Republic, carving up its lands for their respective families. They would support sympathetic candidates running for magisterial offices who would look the other way when any of them ignored the law or the constitution. Scruval held sway over Inachria and much of the Senate through his loans and resources; Proud Machyal had the support of many of his father's political allies and many of the loyal veterans of the Crylaltian War; Curly Coltal was an ambitious and charismatic young man with seemingly unbounded talents and growing popular support, particularly amongst the commoners and the Underbelly who saw him as an anti-establishment figure, who needed to be tamed and directed, and most of all funded. Old Degnal, satisfied that he had solved the crisis with his parley, seems to have been ignorant of the momentous agreement that had been reached that night.

Proud Machyal returned his legion to Gaegny, where he gave all of his men a choice between returning to Crylalt or being discharged honourably. The majority chose to remain with the legion, which Proud Machyal tearfully sent back to Delebram before travelling to Roam to prepare for his election as Consul. He reunited with his brother Hessal and made political alliances in the Senate, hoping that, now thirty-seven years old, he might find more patience as a politician.

## Consul (-7)

Scruval and **Proud Machyal** stood unopposed as Consuls, despite Proud Machyal being only thirty-eight in clear violation of his own father's recently imposed political ladder system. Scruval's election was similarly unconstitutional, as he had only started his ten year post as Governor of Further Inachria the previous year, although he jested that the same people who had complained of the unconstitutionality of that appointment should now be happier. Proud Machyal's husband Pagnal Candoam Juctor, now twenty-eight and eligible, stood successfully for Bursar.

Scruval and Proud Machyal proposed that Curly Coltal Candoam Juctor be appointed as Governor of Scrutany, despite being only thirty-two years old and never having held a magistracy higher than Bursar. Scruval explained that the appointment was inspired by Old Degnal's concerns regarding displaced veterans during the Home War: he would bankroll Coltal's recruitment of a private army from the ranks of the dispossessed and disaffected. The Scrutans to the north, who had been at peace with Roam now for forty-five years and were on good diplomatic terms, had expressed concerns at the encroachment of the Feors into Scalify, and Coltal was an ambitious young man and immensely capable commander. The appointment would alleviate at least some combination of the veteran problem, the Feor problem and the Coltal problem for ten years. Degnal warned his husband Scruval that he was focusing on immediate political gain, and that the appointment would come back to bite him with interest.

The appointment of Scruval's son Machyal Qualens Voriel as Governor of Further Inachria was waved through by the Senate, as was that of Proud Machyal's brother Hessal Sarevir-Machyal in Straecy. At first the appointment of Scruval's son was presented as a regency of sorts while Scruval was serving as Consul, but Young Sural Pavinny Ops had railed against the suggestion in the Senate and the Forums, successfully convincing many that regencies were for kings, and that Scruval's stranglehold on the Senate was tantamount to tyranny. In return, Scruval, his political allies, launched a brutal defamation campaign against Sural, deriding him as an anachronism of a bygone age, and a *Little Roaman* who would stop at nothing to disparage those such as Scruval who had embraced Issycrian culture. Proud Machyal, who had once counted Young Sural amongst his most trusted allies, found that the Senator's obsession with the constitution was inhibiting the Republic from achieving greatness, particularly his plans to pacify Crylalt, and signed off on the defamation campaign.

The momentum of Proud Machyal's year was halted by the death of his wife Donimy, aged thirty-five, whilst delivering a stillborn son. Machyal had loved Donimy, who had been a compassionate wife with a strong moral compass, and he went into grief seclusion at the Sarevir Palace, as his former husband Pagnal did at the Candoam Palace. His brother Hessal had left for the Straequian Well, but he was visited by his sisters Amby and Caiacas, as well as many Sarevirs and other political allies and sycophants hoping to take advantage of his grief. He grew again to hate Roam, a place where he could only ever remember being unhappy or feeling incompetent. The suspicious death of his sister Caiacas's husband Brillal Candoam Adesican, only strengthened his resolve to leave the city, surrounded as it was with rumours of assassination and political unrest with Scruval and Proud Machyal's flaunting of the law. When he was campaigning abroad, the people loved him; when he was a politician in Roam, they despised him.

The wife of the Patriarch and Conduit of Voriel Ambyal Voriel Candoam, Brillas Juctor, had also recently died, ending Ambyal's marriage alliance with Oba Tusk, son of Osa Tusk. Old Degnal Voriel-Otibryal, who was a friend of both Ambyal and Proud Machyal, convinced both — once they emerged from their respective grief seclusions — to marry through Scruvas Anyly, the daughter of the prestigious and ambitious Young Gibral Anyly Voriel. Ambyal, who was desperate to have a son to continue the main Voriel line, eagerly accepted the proposal, while Proud Machyal was less enamoured, and negotiated for the Voriel family to construct a larger fleet to support him when he left to become Governor of Crylalt, which was now his intention for the following year. News from the outgoing Governor Rash Donimal Sarevir was dire, and Proud Machyal forbade it from being disseminated to the Senate: the Appry tribe had sacked Laralis and Brandanam; the garrisons in Sycadram and Tricadis had not been paid and had turned on the populace, and the garrison in Climadram had been overthrown by the citizenry and sold into slavery. Once again, as soon as Proud Machyal had left the continent it had fallen apart, and he spent the last several months of his consulate preparing to once again restore Roaman rule.

## Governor of Crylalt (-6)

Proud Machyal married Ambyal Voriel Candoam through Scruvas Anyly the same day that the Patriarch of Voriel was elected as Consul for a second term, and was appointed the next day as Governor of Crylalt. He left from Felegram to Delebram, where he was reunited with his veteran legion and several new legions which had been raised to help once again subdue the continent. Rash Donimal Sarevir, the outgoing Governor, returned to Delebram as a newly elected Marshal, sent by the Senate to help Proud Machyal by commanding some of the legions, but Proud Machyal refused the Senate's orders and put him on a ship back to Scalify, convinced that the presence of Rash Donimal, who had been part of the problem, could only hamper attempts to find a solution. This countermanding of the Senate's wishes only added to the accusations that Proud Machyal was becoming a tyrant like his father, but he was convinced that the results would speak for themselves.

Proud Machyal spent the majority of the first year integrating the new legions into those of his veterans and drilling them up to the required standard. He again sent embassies to the major cities of Crylalt and to the tribes of the Interior, and attempted to engage in the civilian politics of the more loyal cities of Delebram, Gelebram and Oepheram to a degree that he had not before. King Eurephon of Kyraspa, who was now a very old man, was pleased to see Proud Machyal installed as Governor, but could not afford to provide any men of his own to help pacify the continent nor garrison the walls of the Spydoron Web, which in places was now completely permeable.

The Appries, with whom Proud Machyal had made an alliance, had claimed vast swathes of the Interior, swelling their own numbers, but had then used their newfound power to launch more vicious raids on the coastal cities than had been seen in generations. Even cities which had stayed loyal to Roam and Kyraspa now suffered attritional losses to raids and desertion that caused distress across the continent. The garrisons in Sycadram and Tricadis had abandoned Roam and carved out their own kingdoms; Sycadram had taken the opportunity to make incursions into Kyraspan lands and settle centuries-old grudges, while those in Tricadis had again sold out to Naechis, which was all but openly funding the traitors as they led amphibious raids on the other coastal cities.

Proud Machyal no longer had the services of his experienced brother Hessal, who was now the Governor of Straecy, nor his former husband Pagnal, who had remained in Scalify, and many of his subordinates lacked experience of Crylalt. Since he had sent away Rash Donimal, his Marshals were his father-in-law Young Gibral Anyly Voriel and the Patriarch of Juctor Coughy Pagnal Juctor. His sons Lucky Machyal, Lumosural and Nusal were fifteen, fourteen and thirteen years old, and more familiar with the continent than many of his officers, particularly Mouthy Erinvyal Sarevir Voriel, the twenty-three year old Patriarch of Sarevir who had decided to travel to Crylalt for the last of his six undistinguished years as an Officer. Mouthy Erinvyal constantly undermined his cousin Proud Machyal in front of his leadership, his soldiery and prominent citizens, which frustrated progress enormously, and demanded palatial quarters. He frequently had to leave Delebram to return to Roam for his religious duties (as did Coughy Pagnal), which damaged continuity in Proud Machyal's army, even if it did provide a welcome relief from his insubordination.

Proud Machyal decided that the first priority should be to crush the treacherous Appry tribe which had so undermined Roaman authority on the continent. Once he had dealt out retribution upon the tribesmen of the Interior, then he could use the victory as proof of Roaman security and power in his dealings with the troublesome cities far from Delebram. He mentally prepared his legions for a difficult campaign in the Interior while they wintered safely behind the Spydoron Web.

## Recent Events (-5 to present)

Proud Machyal's forays into the Crylaltian Interior have not been met with even the limited success of his first expedition five years before. Although he expected to have fewer restrictions when installed as Governor of Crylalt, the office actually helped to distract his military efforts, as endless bureaucratic, political and criminal matters from across the continent require his attention. The Appries gladly ceded territory in the face of Roaman incursions into the Interior, less concerned with the borders of their land on a map than their freedom and power. None of the other tribes, such as the Jydiies or the Leyalies, treated in good faith with the Roamans, either demanding extortionate rewards for their aid or betraying the foreigners when they had taken all that they needed from them.

Without a decisive victory over the tribes to show off to the coastal cities, Proud Machyal was forced to engage in the diplomacy of words that he left Roam to avoid. Cities such as Sycadram were appeased through diplomacy and economic incentives (which displeased Kyraspa), whereas the rebellious garrison of Tricadis was eventually besieged into submission after several years (which displeased its blameless civilians). Laralis and Brandanam were restored and granted larger garrisons and stronger road links to their neighbours, but the tribes still raided their lands with relative impunity while the citizens cowered behind their walls. Climadram, which overthrew the Roaman garrison and sold them into slavery, is still nominally under siege five years later, although its port is unblockaded as Proud Machyal was explicitly banned by the Senate from provoking further conflict with the Naechisians, whose ships regularly resupply its populace.

The attrition rate for the Roaman legions in Crylalt is high, both through desertion and ongoing piecemeal conflict with the tribes, with soldiers regularly suffering from privation and outbreaks of disease during incursions. Proud Machyal has travelled to Roam on many occasions to demand the levying of more men to provide the overwhelming force required to fully fortify and pacify the province, but recognition of the ongoing situation in Crylalt, which Roamans have thought of as "conquered" since the end of the war, is politically difficult, especially for those who regard Roaman ascendancy as destined and unwavering. Proud Machyal suspects that many of the men who would have joined his war have instead gone north with Curly Coltal Candoam Juctor to fight a "new" war against the Feors, and that Scruval Qualens is in fact working in Roam to guarantee that Crylalt does not receive the forces it requires to undermine Proud Machyal and tarnish his reputation as a commander and a politician. Proud Machyal also finds it incredulous that none of his able and willing sons would have been selected as Officers unless there were schemes to undermine his family politically.

Recognition of his weakening position in Roam has driven Proud Machyal to court alliances with politicians in Roam who might be able to fight his political battles better than he could. He married his first son Lucky Machyal to the Sentinel Cuinsal Pagnucy, who served as Consul last year, through Quas Anyly, daughter of Uvinal Anyly Ageral, an Officer who had served him faithfully, and they had a son almost immediately, named Hessal. His second son Lumosural was married to Odd Otibryal Juctor Qualens, the second son of the Patriarch of Juctor Coughy Pagnal Juctor and Young Donimal Qualens-Donimal Juctor, through Relvas Voriel, daughter of Ambyal Voriel Candoam, the Patriarch and Conduit of Voriel, and Oba Tusk. Proud Machyal's third son Nusal was married to the gifted orator and Sentinel Hessal Varagy through Sepredas Candoam, daughter of Lippy Tantanal Candoam Voriel, who had briefly served as Governor of Straecy before dying during the Tyranny. The marriage has produced a daughter named Racitas thus far. Proud Machyal's marriage arrangements and increasing influence in Roaman politics has had great results: this year, the Consuls are Coughy Pagnal Juctor, the father of his son Lumosural's husband Odd Otibryal, and Hessal Varagy, Proud Machyal's son-in-law. Proud Machyal has returned to Roam to seek further support for his struggles in Crylalt.

### *150 Stooped Nusal Candoam, C.*

(Late) **Uncle-In-Law** (blood-brother of half-father 285 Machyal Candoam, C. of husband 871 Ambyal Voriel Candoam, C.)

  • Triumphant hero of Second Fuscrite War.

### *449 Young Scruval Sarevir Qualens, C.*

(Late) **Grandfather** (father of father 778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C.)

  • Killed as Governor of Oscumy in Inachiron's First Incursion (-58)

### *629 Rheumy Renyal Voriel-Otibryal Juctor, C.*

(Late) **Cousin** (son of water-brother 369 Pagnal Voriel-Otibryal Candoam of father 778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C.)

  • Father of the Roaman Fleet.

### *686 Shy Erinvyal Sarevir Voriel, M.*

(Late) **Uncle** (brother of father 778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C.)

### *759 Tavengal's Amby Voriel*

(Late) **Mother**.

  • Five-time Wife of Roam by 778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C. (-34, -25, -24, -18 & -17)

### *766 Anylyal Panth Galvens, W.*

(Late) **Husband**.

  • Murdered at outset of Second Civil War.

### *778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C.*

(Late) **Father**.

  • Tyrant.

### 871 Ambyal Voriel Candoam, C.

**Husband**.
**Co-Father** (father of wife 2025 Relvas Voriel of son 1876 Lumosural Sarevir-Machyal Panth).

  • Patriarch and Conduit of Voriel. Victorious at Battle of the Sycadine Stacks (-27)

### 882 Lecarol's Paryty Juctor

**Aunt** (half-sister of father 778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C.)

  • Twice Wife of Roam by 804 Old Tannal Moverant, C. (-43) and 828 Old Paginal Qualens Sarevir, C. (-33)

### 964 Gibral's Pronimas Voriel

**Sister-In-Law** (sister of husband 871 Ambyal Voriel Candoam, C.)

  • Wife of Roam by 1017 Slaver Pagnal Qualens-Pagnal Candoam, C. (-13)

### 1172 Pronimal's Cortisy Juctor

**Co-Mother** (mother of husband 1899 Odd Otibryal Juctor Qualens of son 1876 Lumosural Sarevir-Machyal Panth)

  • Thrice Wife of Roam by 769 Devisal Candoam, C. (-30), 754 Young Donimal Qualens-Donimal Juctor, C. (-27) and 1254 Coughy Pagnal Juctor, C. (0)

### 1187 Hessal Varagy, C.

**Son-In-Law** (husband of son 1909 Nusal Sarevir-Machyal)

  • Consul.

### 1191 Young Paginal Qualens, M.

**Cousin** (son of half-sister 882 Lecarol's Paryty Juctor of father 778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C.)
**Nephew-In-Law** (husband of daughter 1525 Prinas Qualens of sister 1074 Machyal's Amby Sarevir).

  • Administrator.

### 1237 Ennal Voriel-Otibryal Candoam, M.

**Father-In-Law** (half-father of wife 1892 Scruvas Anyly)

  • Captain of Medon Well.

### 1244 Young Gibral Anyly Voriel, C.

**Father-In-Law** (father of wife 1892 Scruvas Anyly)

### 1254 Coughy Pagnal Juctor, C.

**Co-Father** (father of husband 1899 Odd Otibryal Juctor Qualens of son 1876 Lumosural Sarevir-Machyal Panth)

  • Consul and Patriarch of Juctor.

### *1255 Nusal's Donimy Juctor*

(Late) **Wife**.

  • Wife of Roam by **1174 Proud Machyal Sarevir-Machyal, C.** (-7)

### 1301 Hessal Sarevir-Machyal, G.

**Brother**.

  • Governor of Straecy.

### 1342 Curly Coltal Candoam Juctor, G.

**Cousin** (son of half-sister 993 Demiss Barbar of father 778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C.)

  • Scion of Candoam and Governor of Scrutany.

### 1388 Droning Devisal Qualens-Donimal, A.

**Nephew** (son of sister 1074 Machyal's Amby Sarevir)

  • Bursar.

### 1408 Pagnal Candoam Juctor, W.

**Former Husband**.

  • Captain of Fentran Well.

### 1514 Old Paginal's Paryty Qualens

**Cousin** (daughter of half-sister 882 Lecarol's Paryty Juctor of father 778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C.)

  • Wife of Roam by 1058 Parytal Candoam Qualens, C. (-5)

### 1530 Mouthy Erinvyal Sarevir Voriel, B.

**Cousin** (son of brother 686 Shy Erinvyal Sarevir Voriel, M. of father 778 Moody Machyal Sarevir-Machyal Voriel, C.)

  • Patriarch of Sarevir and Bursar.

### 1586 Cuinsal Pagnucy, C.

**Son-In-Law** (husband of son 1876 Lumosural Sarevir-Machyal Panth)

### 1892 Scruvas Anyly

**Wife**.

  • Wife of Roam by 871 Ambyal Voriel Candoam, C. (-6)

### 2012 Quas Anyly

**Daughter-In-Law** (wife of son 1876 Lumosural Sarevir-Machyal Panth)

  • Wife of Roam by 1586 Cuinsal Pagnucy, C. (-1)