A Brief History of Chrymissra

The City of Chrymissra is an ancient one whose roots lay in the fog shrouded past when the Elves held sway.

The site on which the City now stands was once verdant forest inhabited by the Elves. They called this forest Ca-ry-Myssira, which means “Bountiful Homeland.” No one knows for how long the Elves prospered here before the coming of man.

When men did arrive on the scene the Elves were kind to them and taught them the ways of Elven life. For hundreds of years the Elves and the Ancient Ones, as these men are now called, lived in harmony until the coming of the Artemannii. The Artemannii was a nation of humans from the north, dislodged from their homeland by Orc Hordes. The Artemannii came with two things that had never been seen in Ca-ry-Myssira before; Bronze and war.

The Atremannii began to settle the outskirts of the forest and began logging to build their towns. Naturally the Elves sent emissaries to greet the newcomers, who slaughtered them. The Artemannii having recently been forced from their homes after generations of war with the Orcs, hated and feared other races. Out of the mould and into the coals as their saying went. The Artemannii called the Elves “Blan-Ork,” which in their language meant white Orc.

What began as border clashes soon grew to full-scale invasion of the forest by the Artemannii. Elven flint-tipped arrows and the stone axes of their human allies were no match for bronze armoured soldiers wielding bronze swords and shields.

The Artemannii eventually pushed the Elves and humans into the deep forest, where they dared not follow. The Elves retreated and licked their wounds while the Artemannii continued to fell trees for their palisades. They always kept a wary eye to the north lest the Orcs return.

Time passed and other than the occasional ambush of those foolish enough to venture deep into the forest the Artemannii saw no Elves. The Orcs did not attack either and the various clans began to war with one another, as is the nature of humans. 200 years passed in this way.

A new group of humans came into the area from the south of the forest: the Jorun. The Jorun settled in the fields south of Ca-ry-Myssira and had first met resistance from the Elves whenever contact between the two peoples took place. Peace however was soon made when it was made clear that the newcomers had little interest in the forest save to hunt. The Jorun gladly accepted the council of the Elves and prospered for it.

A faction of humans who lived with the Elves in Ca-ry-Myssira, who called themselves the Ti-carid, moved out of the forest and came to dwell among the Jorun. As guests of the people the Jorun showed the Ti-carid great respect, who eventually convinced them to wage war on the Artemannii. Soon, Artemannii settlements began to fall before the Jorun who possesed that which their enemies did not: Iron and Mages.

The Artemannii clans put aside all differences and rallied together. Their armies marched against the Jorun who they outnumbered. Great battles were fought and fields lay littered with the dead but neither side could gain the advantage. The Ti-carid sent emissaries to the Elves to urge them to enter the war alongside the Jorun and exact vengeance upon the Artemannii. The Elven Elders refused to have their people involved in more war with the fast breeding humans, though a great many of the “younger” Elves, who were young when their families were slaughtered by the Artemannii, went to lend their aid. Likewise a number of the Ancient Ones marched to war.

Bolstered by these allies, a Jorun Elderman named Garrus had his family soldiers led through the forest to attack the lightly defended Artemannii strongholds in their rear. Garrus’ army raided homesteads and sacked four walled towns before Artemannii armies began to arrive and push them back into the forest.

Garrus and his forces continued to fight utilizing ambushes and traps to whittle away at the enemy. To the south the main Jorun army began to gain ground against the Artemannii who found their numbers dwindling as clans began to withdraw to defend their homes against Garrus. Being pressed on two flanks the Artemannii derived an evil plan to return the balance in their favour. They brought fire to Ca-ry-Myssira.

Garrus had no choice but to withdraw from the face of an enemy he could not fight. Many of the Elves returned to the deep forest to warn their kin of the Artemannii assault. Garrus led the remnants of his forces to link up with the main Jorun army and continue the fight on that front.

The Elven nation quickly mobilized and moved out to fight their two greatest enemies. The Elven warriors tore into the Artemannii ranks but were unable to stop them from burning the forest. Indeed now that the full weight of the Elves were upon them they increased their arsonist activities. Day by day the forest shrank. For leagues around everything was covered in ash. The rain came thick and gray.

The Jorun launched a massive assault from the east while the Elves attacked in force from the south. The Artimannii could not withstand the combined might of both nations and after fortnights of savage fighting they were crushed. What remained of the Artemannii people were enslaved by the Jorun.

Both the Elves and the Jorun used all their powers, both magical and mundane, to fight the fires but did so in vain. The fire had reached the ancient heart of the forest and raged hotter than ever. The ash continued to fall and smothered even more of the forest. Animals died and crops failed. The fire burned for a generation and consumed the entire Ca-ry-Myssira.

The family Eldermen of the Jorun decided to build a great city on the smoldering ashes of the heart of Ca-ry-Myssira. Together with the Elves construction began. Sadly, no Elves lived to see the completion of the city, for with their beloved forest gone and the energies it produced which sustained them, they faded from the earth.

The city was completed 1205 years ago and was named Chrymissra. Garrus, though much advanced in years, was proclaimed its first governor. The remainder of the lands of the old forest, as well as the old Artemannii holdings, were assessed and divided equally according to its worth. It was discovered that this produced twelve paces, which were appointed to the twelve most powerful families. The Eldermen of these families became Governor Garrus’ councilors. It was in this way that the Jorun were united into one nation.

The Chrymissrans, as they came to be known, grew and prospered. They expanded their borders and met new peoples and races. Trade relations were established and Chrymissra City became a center of wealth. The great families vied with one another in public works projects, each building more elaborate palaces, temples and other amenities. The city grew and was beautiful.

In 1654 the council became divided. Caliptus, then Governor of Chrymissra City, made a bid for power. He elevated a number of lesser households to the council for support. The other Eldermen hurried to make alliances with each other and the remaining lesser houses. Before long skirmishes between the household soldiers of the various factions began to take place all around the countryside.

In 1661 open warfare erupted when Elderman Malik was found murdered in his bed. Being the most vocal of Malik’s opponents, Governor Caliptus was considered to be the author of his demise. Though Caliptus denied involvement in the murder soldiers from house Corrinado and their allies marched on Chrymissra City.

Although outnumbered the soldiers of Governor Caliptus repulsed the assault by house Corrinado. Kalindor, Malik’s son, returned to his holdings and attempted to gather more allies. He was unsuccessful. Indeed soon after his defeat at the gates of Chrymissra City allies of house Corrinado began to abandon him as a large force marched out of the City towards his lands.

Governor Caliptus had incited the populace of Chrymissra City to raise arms against house Corrinado for daring to attack their beloved City. His army’s ranks swelled with volunteers including many of Kalindor’s former allies. House Corrinado was devastated and Kalindor fell in battle. Only a few members of his family survived.

Those of house Corrinado who yet lived fled to the holdings of house Arictus, another of the great houses in opposition to Caliptus. Only a few weeks later Gildan, Kalindor’s 14-year-old nephew and the last male descendant left of the house, mysteriously fell from his bedchamber window to his death.

Once again Governor Caliptus was blamed and protested his innocence. Alliances were reforged and armies began to prepare for further conflict. Early in 1665 both Caliptus and his son, Honorious, were found murdered in the Governor’s Palace. Forbert, Caliptus’ cousin and scion of house Ridalia, proclamed himself Governor of Chrymissra City and began to march towards it.

At the same time Turnor of house Arictus and Calimor of house Burnd began moving their troops towards the City, both men also claiming governorship. The people of Chrymissra City closed its gates and refused entry to any of the three contesting armies. The people proclaimed Bachrimor, Captain of the City Guard, Governor. He proposed to the other Eldermen of the council that all could be returned to the way things had been if the armies would go home and the heads of the families entered the city with only a small guard. The councilors of the smaller houses that were elevated by Caliptus were thrown out of the city as a gesture of good will.

In a bid to strengthen his position Forbert took the ex-coucillors into his fold and promised to reinstate them in exchange for their support to his claim as Governor. They readily agreed. Calinor then suggested to Turnor a temporary alliance to offset Forbert’s growing strength. Turnor agreed and their armies marched on and destroyed house Ridalia. Once again Bachrimor pleaded with the Eldermen of both houses to end the bloodshed and bring peace back to the people of Chrymissra.

Both Eldermen led their troops back to their holdings, not because of Bachrimor’s pleadings, but for the fact that winter was approaching. In Chrymissra City there was a coup. The Ti-carid, after centuries of obscurity, chose this moment to make their presence felt.

The Ti-carid had endeavored to keep the old Elven bloodlines alive and after centuries of carefully arranged marriages now consisted of all Half-Elves. There had always been a Half-Elven quarter in Chrymissra City, but no one suspected that they were the descendants of the Ti-carid. On Midwinter night they posted their own soldiers at all crucial government establishments of the City and by morning had complete control. Not a drop of blood was spilled.

The Ti-carid declared that it was now time for all of Chrymissra to hear the wisdom of the Elves, of which they were its eternal guardians. The City Guard was strengthened- Bachrimor was retained as its Captain- and foreign mercenaries were hired to bolster their forces. Houses Arictus and Burnd sent messengers to the Ti-carid but all were turned away. By the spring thaw both Calimor and Turnor had been found dead in their beds, apparently having died in their sleep.

The civil war had ended. Chrymissra lay fractured. Each remaining house gathered what allies it could and pulled back into themselves. A council of seven Ti-carid, who never showed themselves in public, ruled Chrymissra City.

Relative peace ensued for many years. In 1734 house Gurundy and house Burnd put aside their rivalry to repel an Orc Horde. In 1895 the Ti-carid decided that two hundred years of employing mercenary armies was too draining on the City treasury. The mercenaries naturally disagreed.

The foreign soldiers rose in revolt and attacked the City from the inside. For the fist time in its long history the streets of Chrymissra City ran red with blood. The mercenaries slaughtered the City Guard, killed tens of thousands of citizens, and attempted to hunt the Ti-carid out of existance. They then set up a military dictatorship lead by the three most powerful Captains.

The houses of Chrymissra were outraged. They marched on the City intent on punishing the mercenaries. However they lacked the expertise to conduct a proper siege and were bloodily repulsed. Deciding to “fight fire with fire” Sereg, Elderman of house Garrus, hired foreign mercenaries of his own. With the aid of these trained and veteran soldiers the Chrymissrans began the siege anew. It lasted for seven years and much of the northern half of the great City was destroyed.

The war finally ended when all the mercenary Captains in the city were slain on the same night. The rest of the weary and hungry mercenaries surrendered. Some were executed but most were carried off into slavery to work the great house plantations.

But for the war weary citizens of Chrymissra City peace was elusive. The various houses once again fell at each other’s throats in a bid to control all of Chrymissra themselves. For the last one hundred years no one had been able to gain the upper hand.

Recently peace has finally come to the “Bountiful Homeland.” Throughout all the turmoil, Chrymissra City has remained relatively prosperous, yet not so prosperous as it once was. The citizens quickly got over their fear of mercenaries and soon began to employ them for the City’s defense, not ten years after the Mercenary War. It is a mercenary Captain that has finally brought peace and united the nation.

As the wars for control of Chrymissra dragged on and the nation lost its vitality Orc Hordes swarmed in from the north. This time they came in numbers never seen before. Wave after wave poured into Chrymissra and overcame all that stood in their way.

Kalak, a mercenary Captain, rallied all to his side in Chrymissra City. He had mighty war engines built and mounted on the City walls. Food was brought in from all over the countryside. Any man skilled in the smithing arts was put to work forging spear and arrowheads. Smoke from their forges hung above the City and the ring of hammer on anvil was heard both day and night.

All the tailors and dyers in the city, as well as all the common women, were put to work making surcoats in the ancient colors and symbol of the Jorun. Kalak ordered all soldiers within the city to don the colors. Those that refused and wished to retain their house colors were not allowed into the City.

The Orcs came. For three weeks wave after wave of Orcs pounded the City. Kalak had all the house soldiers intermingle with the mercenaries and all followed order from whichever officer was nearest. Wherever the fighting was heaviest Kalak and the remaining Eldermen directed the defense. When the Horde was finally spent the fields around the City was a sea of green corpses.

Kalak was praised as a hero by the citizens of Chrymissra City and elected its new Governor and High Councilor. He took stock of what remained of Chrymissra and divided it among those who were chosen as his Councilors- Bosche Tallwin of house Garrus; Tollum Tug of house Feinte, and Alexander I D’n’Gknow of the Ti-carid. It was also decided that a descendant of the Ancient Ones, those humans who had lived in harmony with the Elves in Ca-ry-Myssira so many eons ago, should also have a seat on the council. Rather reluctantly Madame Holly took the seat her people had elected her to.

This is the state of affairs in Chrymissra today as we send our scouts forth to learn what has become of the rest of the world after the onslaught of the greatest Orc Horde in known history.

8^th Month, 2005

Kalak, High Councilor and

Governor of Chrymissra City