Roderick's War

Roderick was a powerful vampire that came from the Eastern region of Arlec. Over time he gained more influence and power before seeking a way to capitalise on his strength. This came in the form of an invasion, taking the free city of Tarsalk and marching on the Nirvan Republic.

## Background

In **590PR** a vampire named Roderick Adrastos was beginning to gather a following within the underground magical community in both South-East and East Arlec. Despite being discredited and labeled a dangerous and unstable person by both Caesar College and Roufort University, Roderick’s charisma and success continued to attract people.

In **601PR** an official named Armenius Zonaras from the free city of Tarsalk was killed, allowing Roderick to assume his place on the council and slowly gather more influence. Behind the scenes many elected officials suspected Roderick’s cult of the assassination and hired the Aliquam Guild to investigate.

Unaware of the ongoing investigation, Roderick’s cult was infiltrated by a guild member, revealing that in the underground of the city he was slowly building up an undead following and teaching other Awakened how to become Necromancers.

A clash between the two forces occurred in **602PR** leading to Roderick’s defeat and exile from the city. Furious, Roderick and his cult went into hiding, isolating themselves from the world, stopping any potential spies or leaks of information.

In **615PR** a group from the Vulun Guild discovered a large undead presence in the Radiant Wilds. In response, the guild sent out three groups of B-Rank adventurers to deal with the undead, successfully completing their task but leaving Roderick and his cult undetected.

In **616PR** the Viper’s Fang Guild was employed in the North regions of the Nirvan Republic to investigate the disappearance of individuals from various villages and towns. The adventuring party’s investigation ended up leading to a small group of Drow collecting slaves for the Underdark.

In reality, Roderick had been the one stealing the citizens and using them either as corpses for his undead or other experiments. The Drow were simply a welcome distraction.

## Course

Roderick finally made his move in **622PR**, revealing his hidden army in the Radiant Wilds and besieging the city of Tarsalk. With the city attacked by surprise, they were unable to mount a proper defence, instead overwhelmed by Roderick’s forces using their knowledge of the city to their advantage.

In the aftermath of the city's capture, Roderick made sure to get revenge on his former co-councilors through execution or exile. Around 2,000 people were killed in the capture, each being reanimated and brought back into the fold of Roderick’s forces.

After the successful takeover of Tarsalk, Roderick had everything he wanted; power, respect and fear. But rather than remain content with his holdings, he changed his ideals, now wanting revenge against the people who judged him, such as the Nirvan Republic.

Already fearing repercussions from the events of past, the Nirvan Republic strengthened their Northern Border and hired adventuring parties from both the Viper’s Fang and Lucent guilds to scout the armies strength.

In **623PR** a Nirvan consul named Servius Hilaris decided to reach out for a temporary military alliance to deal with the Roderick threat. He argued to both the Senate and potential allies that Roderick was a danger to the region and if left unchecked could take them all down, especially since he had no loyalty to a nation or group that could be targeted.

Despite initial hostilities from the Nirvan Senate, he was able to convince senators from both the Reformer and Calenus Faction to vote in his favour. Following the vote he announced a defensive alliance with Gonarundu, led by current King Markel Fidalgo. Tamwull also announced their support, using the opportunity to get more experienced soldiers and commanders.

By the time the news reached Roderick it was too late, his spies unable to impede the progress any further, with allied troops already reaching Nirvan lands.

By the end of **623PR** Roderick marched on the Nirvan Republic, destroying or seizing many of the tribal towns and villages that stood between Tarsalk and the Nirvan border. While he met some difficulties along the way, he was able to still reinforce his army with new undead and followers.

In **624PR** both sides were prepared for war, marching out to meet one another just ahead of the Nirvan border. This became known as the Battle of the Undead.

After the Battle of the Undead, Roderick and his forces fled back towards Tarsalk, only to find that the city had rebelled in his absence and hired adventurers to protect them for the meantime. Losing his home base, Roderick and the scattered remains of his followers made their way to the Radiant Wilds, intending to recuperate and start again. Instead, he was beaten to the mark by members of the Viper’s Fang and Nirvan soldiers, leading to the Battle of Roderick.

After the Battle of Roderick the remnants of Roderick’s followers were either captured, killed or scattered, ending the war.

## Aftermath

While the war was a decisive victory for the allied forces, the damage done to Tarsalk was significant, the city spending many decades returning to a normal population state since before Roderick. One benefit for the city was through trade however, now able to create an agreement with the Nirvan Republic.

The lack of detail concerning Roderick’s actual death has led many to believe he survived the war. In later years cults of Roderick have appeared from time to time, forcing nations and guilds to deal with them in a suitable manner, unable to completely wipe them out.

Roderick himself has also become a bit of folklore for the people in East and South-East Arlec, believing that he comes and kidnaps them if they have committed bad deeds or they can call out to him if they believe they were unjustly punished by the system. Some parents use Roderick as a fear tactic to get obedience from their children, especially when trying to get them to sleep.