Devil's Rock

## Devil's RockTeufelrocken

> "The House of the Rock is nothing more than the Despotate's policeman in Astavara. It has no significance to our Most Holy Faith; the Allethaes would not notice if it was reclaimed by the earth[...] It is hated and feared in equal measure by the locals[...] It is recommended you avoid this unholy place."
> — Airolian pamphlet distributed to Liamist pilgrims in Helinska
>
>

**Devil's Rock** (Kanorian: *Teufelrocken*, pre-Airolic Kanorian: *Duvelsroten*) was an ancient castle in northern Kanoria constructed during the 12th century. It was the home of the House of Teufel-Meyer, who were at times evicted from the premises. Devil's Rock had a resurgence in fame during the Kanorian Empire, becoming the *de facto* headquarters of the Kanorian Perpetual Crusade in the 21st century.

## History

### Early history (12th-16th century)

The Fourth Sundering of 1128-34 weakened the multiethnic Despotate of Ionia. In particular, the Astavaran Principalities still under Ionian control were fickle and strongly desired unification with the nearby Kingdom of Astavara. To combat this restlessness, the Ionian Despot ordered the construction of a fortress in Olemnitz, the westernmost vestige of Kanorian culture in the Despotate before you hit ethnically Astavaran properties. Its hilltop position gave it a wide view of the largely flat Astavaran countryside and projected despotic authority in an otherwise restless land.

The new castle nedeed a liege lord. A man named Hearre of Grnitz, a *landsteward* in the local prince's court, was the obvious choice for this honor. He had commanded a small army of loyalist forces during the Fourth Sundering, winning a victory against Astavaran rebels at the Battle of Free Plains but gruesomely scarring himself in the process. For this reason, he was nicknamed "Hearre of the Devilish Visage" or "Hearre of the Evil Face", a name he developed an affection for. The Despot formally granted him the castle in 1165. This began the trend of the Ionian Despots using Kanorian lords to dominate their Astavaran subjects. Hearre named the castle Devil's Rock, or *Duvelsroten* in pre-Airolic Kanorian.

His descendants ruled the fortress for generations, ensuring Kanorian domination over the northern Astavaran principalities in Ionia. The House of Duvelsroten regularly rounded up Astavaran lords, gentry, and peasants in what they called "Devils' Hunts" – ostensibly to root out traitors and rebels. The targets of these so-called "hunts" were brought back to Devil's Rock, where they were faced with farcical show trials, interrogation, and (almost always) stomach-churning execution. Indeed, Astavaran remains were strung from the ramparts of Devil's Rock on a monthly basis. The practice of "Devils' Hunts", along with other acts of oppression and abuse by the House of the Rock, was technically unsanctioned, but was secretly condoned by the Despotate as a necessary means of keeping its Astavaran populace in line.

The House of the Rock begrudgingly accepted the Conversion of Kanoria. taking the name *Teufel-Meyer*. They were often accused of heretical practices by their Liamist neighbors.

This oppression of the Rock continued until the Astavarans in Ionia rebelled in the 1330s, an act of defiance that started the Great Sundering. The House of Teufel-Meyer initially remained loyal to crowned despot Ioannis Chrysoskiros, purely out of self-preservation, because they feared overwhelming Astavaran retribution for the Rock's long history of abuse. In reiterating their loyalty to the Despot, they hoped that his Western Army could protect them from the Astavaran forces massing in Frieschepalen. The Rock's loyalty to Despot Ioannis became a threat, however, when most of their Kanorian neighbors rallied around a rival claimant to the throne: Daniil Onatis, an avowed pro-Liamist champion from the Lasir Hollow.

At first, the House of Teufel-Meyer rejected offers to join "False Despot" Daniil's army. They still believed that their crowned overlord, the Despot Ioannis, was the better strategic option. In response, Duke August Archos of Amaldorf mustered an army of Kanorian levies loyal to Daniil, and marched on the Rock. The Teufel-Meyers raised their own force and collided with Duke August's army at Werthendorf. However, no blood was spilled, and the two sides spent the day negotiating. In the end, the House of Teufel-Meyer became a hesitant supporter of False Despot Daniil Onatis, merging their army with that of the rebel Duke August.

Teufel-Meyer forces were involved in the Battle of Gordac, between Daniil Onatis and the Caesaropapist army of Cocus I. The battle was a catastrophic failure. What remained of the Teufel-Meyer army followed the Duke of Amaldorf southward. Meanwhile, Devil's Rock had been placed under siege by Astavaran troops personally led by Jan-Pieter I. The Teufel-Meyers lobbied the Duke of Amaldorf to relieve the siege, but he did not strongly value their opinions and allowed the castle to be taken in early 1338. Devil's Rock was sacked and the Teufel-Meyers there were put to the sword.

The Teufel-Meyers under their liege lord Alaric Teufel-Meyer accompanied the Duke of Amaldorf for the rest of the war. They threatened to mutiny when False Despot Daniil brokered an alliance with the Astavarans who were occupying Devil's Rock. Ultimately, however, these threats did not materialize into actions, because the False Despot promised that Devil's Rock would be returned to its rightful owners after the war.

In the end, False Despot Daniil was killed at the Battle of Fenbach, causing the Duke of Amaldorf and the House of Teufel-Meyer to defect to Despot Ioannis's cause. The war eventually came to an end and Ioannis was confirmed as the Despot of Ionia, albeit with significant religious concessions to the northern Liamist Kanorians (and their foreign protector, the Lemetiate of Airolia). He gave the Teufel-Meyers their castle back.

The practice of "Devils' Hunts" was formally abolished after the Great Sundering, though the tradition was revived after Albrecht von Este's death. Without Prince Albrecht, there was no single protector of Astavaran interests in the Despotate. Naturally, the Teufel-Meyers preferred it that way.

### 16th-19th century

When the Sixth Sundering broke out in the 16th century, the reigning Despot of the Chrysoskiros dynasty managed to keep the loyalty of his Kanorian subjects. He helped them fight territorial conflicts against ethnic Katavians in the eastern portion of the Despotate. Fearing this growth of central power, and continuing to chafe under the brutality of the Rock, the Astavaran Principalities rebelled for the first time in two hundred years. They attacked Devil's Rock and laid siege to it, forcing the Teufel-Meyers to flee. Unable to quickly divert his forces to the Rock, and facing the prospect of a larger civil war, Despot was forced to take desperate measures to restore order. He agreed to a peace treaty recognizing the independence of most Katavian states in the eastern fringes of the Despotate, rapidly quelling the conflict. A large Kanorian and Ionian army later returned and crushed the nascent Astavaran rebellion, though at the cost of two dead men for every fallen rebel. To prevent further large-scale Astavaran uprisings, the Despot sent several representatives to the Rock and ensured that the Teufel-Meyers stopped conducting their notorious "Devils' Hunts," which had by this point largely degenerated into a wild bacchanal of human sacrifice.

When the Chrysoskiros Despot stepped in to stop the Devils' Hunts, his support amongst the Teufel-Meyers evaporated. This grudge festered for generations. It boiled over with the Seventh Sundering, when the longstanding grudge caused the Rock to support a rival claimant for the throne, from the Athanoulis dynasty. They were regarded as a critical ally that prevented the Astavarans from achieving independence during the chaos of the war.

The new royals from the Athanoulis family invested their Teufel-Meyer vassals with heightened police powers, not just in the Astavaran lands, but in the neighboring Kanorian states as well. They also permitted some so-called "hunts" on a limited scale. This state of affairs pleased the Teufel-Meyers.

### 19th century

The lords of the Rock were outraged by the fall of the Athanoulis, which happened to coincide with the reign of their greatest leader in history: Lothar Teufel-Meyer. He was a shrewd politician and prolific accumulator of wealth - the walls of Devil's Rock were strengthened and modernized under his reign, for the first time since the 14th century. He built blockhouses and tunnels around the fort and expanded the road network around the premises.

Lothar had a strong political presence in Granfel. He was saddened by the fall of the Athanoulis, but also saw it as an opportunity. He helped the Georgeas dynasty rise to power, and was a major voice in support of the Ionian Centralization. He hoped to win more territory and police powers for his family through the Centralization, and this did occur, at first. However, things began to go wrong soon after he died. Backlash mounted and rebellions sprung up around the country. The so-called Ionian Revolution was supported by most nobles because they feared encroachment on their historic privileges, and by most unlanded peasants because their constitutional rights were being violated. It was an overwhelming outpouring of violence. The House of the Rock had no choice but to side with the Revolution.

This did not prevent their fate, however. Under the Ionian Rebel Alliance, they were one of several noble families to whom the revolutionary confederation did not show mercy. The Rock was confiscated from the Teufel-Meyers. This was the condition laid out by the Astavaran revolutionaries, who insisted on it, saying they would secede from Ionia if the Rock was not decommissioned.

### 20th century

The conquest of Ionia in 1905 saw Devil's Rock fall under the control of the Holy Monarchy of the First Son. It was considered a "sinful place" even by the Caesaropapists, who cleansed it through a series of rituals, before using it as a garrison post.

The Cataclysm forced the HMOFS to withdraw from Devil's Rock, and it was reclaimed by Kanorian soldiers from Olemnitz in 1908. It was utilized as a border fortress by the Tarnist Republic of Kanoria, despite its age and poor quality.

On occasion, Tarnist soldiers from Kanoria would chase bandits across the border into Astavaran territory, claiming that the Astavaran security situation was insufficient to handle the rampant crime brought on by the Cataclysm. However, these police actions isolated Kanoria diplomatically, and also sparked intense protests from the royal Astavaran government, which likened them to the old "Devil's Hunts." The Kanorians took great offense to this characterization; despite their religious fundamentalism, they were republican anti-monarchists who despised the legacy of the Teufel-Meyers. This caused the diplomatic standoff between Kanorians and Astavarans to escalate as the aftershocks of the Cataclysm continued to wreak havoc across Central Helinska. Notably, a confrontation between Kanorian Tarnist diplomats and royal Astavaran envoys degenerated into a shootout in 1910, which humiliated both countries, inflamed tensions, and gave rise to the term "Cataclysm diplomacy". There was much anxiety of yet another devastating humanitarian crisis in the region.

Incidentally, the Teufel-Meyers had managed to escape the Cult of Tarn in 1909, and continued to advocate Kanorian royalist causes from their estate in Seden, a major city in Karostainian Laronia. They were given minor government support by the Karostain Empire's local authorities.

Historian Cyran Virwenys alleges in his histories of Helinska that the Karostainians mulled the possibility of intervention in Kanoria that would have resulted in its division into three sectors

* A northeastern portion that would be directly annexed by Karostain
* A southern portion ceded to either Astavara or Novo Gavia
* A nominally independent western portion under a Teufel-Meyer monarchy.

However, this plan, like many others devised by the Karostainian colonial administration, was "far-fetched, hypothetical, inconsiderate of the facts on the ground, and never given serious investment."

After Karostain's colonial presence in Helinska disintegrated, the House of Teufel-Meyer cut a deal with BISDA that allowed them to continue staying in Seden. They positioned themselves as the foreign voice of Kanorian monarchism, though more prominent figures such as the Airolophile Duke of Dwelensdorf offered better publicity.

During the anti-Tarnist Kanorian Revolution of 1938, a number of nobles (and their families) who had renounced their titles in 1908 opportunistically turned against the cult government and reasserted their rights to various lands in Kanoria. The Teufel-Meyers returned to the country during this time, recapturing Devil's Rock without a fight. Their fortress was used to demarcate the southern border of the royalist Kanorian Confederation. Their lands were expanded, enriched, and developed from 1938 to 1955. However, the greatest boon to the Teufel-Meyers was the formation of the massive state of Greater Kanoria, which was quickly reorganized into the Kanorian Empire under the House of Zana.

For the first time, Teufel-Meyer lords controlled lands in the Astavaran border states they had guarded for generations. They were entrusted with lordship of the Dwelensdorf-Estevara-Southern Province nexus by Emperor Osea I and subsequently became a vocal supporter of his government. They remained loyal during the *Prinzkrieg*, a 1955 aristocratic rebellion against the Empire. After their loyalty was proven in this conflict, they were given advantageous positions in the Vicarate, a dictatorial regime that extended across Dwelensdorf Province and other lands. At the Emperor's encouragement, several Kanorian lords deconverted from Liamism during this time, including the Teufel-Meyers. They claimed adherence to the Faith of Iron and Rock, an esoteric Kanorian religion that predated the arrival of Liamism in Helinska and was the source material for the Cult of Tarn.

Devil's Rock was used as a garrison for imperial forces during the Fulcrum invasion of Kanoria. It was part of the long frontline between the Empire's army and that of the Fulcrum-Republic of Ghraili. This would be the last time Devil's Rock was used for military purposes.

The Teufel-Meyers also donated much of their family fortune to support the Emperor during the war against the Fulcrum. Several of their youngest sons enlisted in the Imperial Kanorian Army.

Disgusted by the opportunistic pro-Fulcrum rebellion in Felrin, the Teufel-Meyers vigorously supported the Imperial government during the ensuing Kanorian Fraternal War. Devil's Rock was the subject of several bombing conspiracies during the war, mostly by Astavaran nationalists seeking to strike a symbolic blow against the Empire, but all of these attempts were thwarted and the plotters executed.

The Teufel-Meyers settled into a period of prosperity and modest repute following the War of the End-Times, serving as mid-level bureaucrats under the Old Empire of Osea I. They supported Karl Josef Nachtegaal's conservative proposals at the Imperial Conference of 1972, which successfully kept several Astavaran territories under imperial control after Osea I's death.

### 21st century

The Teufel-Meyers made several tries for the (now largely ceremonial) ducal throne of Dwelensdorf from 1985 to 2057, but were unsuccessful each time. They nonetheless retained considerable influence in the region of western Kanoria, with many members of the family taking police roles. This culminated in the selection of a Teufel-Meyer as Grandmaster of the Perpetual Crusade, Kanoria's most prestigious police role. The post gradually turned into a hereditary one, and became a reliable family title by the year 2103. The functions of the Perpetual Crusade were centralized in Devil's Rock over time. The castle was expanded and modernized at the request of the imperial government. Prisoners were stored there and interrogations were conducted in its crypts. "Getting sent to Devil's Rock" became a euphemism for being "disappeared" by the Kanorian government.

### 22nd century

When the Kanorian Crisis of 2196 broke out, Adelhard Teufel-Meyer was serving as Grandmaster of the Perpetual Crusade. He weas locked in a power struggle with Imperial Minister of War Inglebert von Bosch. He ultimately lost this struggle, was ousted from his post, and was later found dead. The Perpetual Crusade was "pacified" throughout the Empire by agents loyal to Bosch, but the purge was a messy affair. It culminated in a violent struggle at Devil's Rock, during which dozens of political prisoners managed to escape. This incident was blamed on the Teufel-Meyers, and they lost the favor of Emperor Jeremios I. The Perpetual Crusade's headquarters was relocated to the imperial capital of New Lenya and placed firmly under the thumb of Minister Bosch, who additionally ennobled himself as Arch-Chancellor of the Empire. The whole affair was ruinous for the Teufel-Meyers, who lost most of their political influence and, as it happened, source of income. Most of the family went into hiding after Bosch's consolidation of power, with their whereabouts unknown as of 2196. Devil's Rock was occupied by newly mobilized Imperial Kanorian Army troops for the first time in two hundred years, this time to keep an eye on the Estevara Province (where ethnonationalism spurred by West Astavara was reportedly on the rise).

## References

1. ↑ Corruption was rampant throughout the security services of the Kanorian Empire, even in the Perpetual Crusade, which ostensibly served as an anti-corruption force.