The Sack of the Widu

The Sack of the Widu was a punitive expedition by the Deutschmeister empire into the Widu. It was sparked by the killing of a group of Germans in the halls of the Cempa Cyng in Apowidu by a group of Widu inhabitants and resulted in a royal marriage between the Deutschmeister and the Cempa Cyng's daughter.

## Background

The Widu is a forest on the western side of the north-eastern lake (Lapu Lake). It is the ancestral home of the Apowidu who left the forest long ago when the Cempa Cyng united the tribes and moved southwards to drive off the colonizing invaders. However, a small group of natives remained in the woods where they remained ever since. The Poplos Apowiduz and the Poplos Widuz are different but they share a plethora of cultural similarities, especially the religion is nearly identical. The Deutschmeister empire has taken interest in the area and German settlers and travelers had been increasing in number over the course of a few months. The German people are very proud and consider their culture superior to others. This combined with the warlike religion of the Poplos Widuz has led to many cultural clashes eventually triggering the sack of the Widu.

The inhabitants of the Widu have many sacred animals associated with their gods. One such animal was a white stag associated with the Fire God, who is also the god of beauty. German travelers saw the stag and saw it as a prestigious kill, but the death of the stag resulted in the Germans being captured by the Poplos Widuz. Once having captured the hunters the Poplos Widuz asked themselves what to do with their prisoners and a debate ensued in their ranks. Some wished to kill the Germans, others wished to imprison them for life; the leader of the tribe however feared reprisals from the Deutschmeister and preferred the Germans be let go as a token of good will. The argument became heated and the tribe elder came with the idea to ask the Cempa Cyng of the Poplos Apowiduz to their south for advice. The tribe accepted and a small envoy together with the captives travelled to the court of the Cempa Cyng, Ælfric I. The leader of Apowidu listened to all arguments and then responded: *"We, the Poplos Apowidu are the descendants of the forest. Yet, we are enlightened unlike you, darkened peoples of the great Widu. Your problems are not ours."* The Poplos Widuz were furious and humiliated and in their rage they killed the Germans in Ælfric's court. The ambassador for the Deutschmeister was present and urged his master to take revenge upon these horrid creatures that had just spilled pure German blood.

## The Sack

When Deutschmeister Ariald received the news from his ambassador he became furious and ordered a punitive expedition led by one his generals called Friedrich von Bock. 10.000 German troops poured into the Widu and killed all they could find. Some small scale guerilla attacks disturbed the expedition but there was little they could do against the military might of the Deutschmeister. Men got slain, women raped and children enslaved. All that was valuable was taken back home and many trees were burned. Friedrich von Bock rewarded his troops by letting them raid and small scale intrusions in the Widu would continue for a long time.

## Aftermath

When Ælfric I heard the news of the Sack he remained calm, by killing the troops in his hall the Poplos Widuz had insulted his trust and reputation and thus he saw the expedition as justified. Ariald I, on the other hand, had proclaimed that the Cempa Cyng had failed to protect his citizens and as such recalled his ambassador and declared any friendship with Apowidu forbidden. This proclamation started a letter correspondence and negotiations that would eventually result in relations between the two powers being restored. Ariald I reinstalled his ambassador and the declaration was nullified. To conclude this normalization of relations a royal marriage was held between Ariald and Ælfflæd, the daughter of Ælfric. This event and the gifts Ariald had given to the Cempa Cyng kickstarted Apowidu cloth industry.