Volume II, Chapter VI: One Can Only See So Much in a Lifetime
An Excerpt from
The Rise of Kvatch: A Second Era Story by Imperial Chronicler Mercutio
The new peace was lethargic. Ioannes II was a changed man. Some things never changed though, like the clergy of Woodroot insisting on Dru being put forth as the rightful King. Ioannes was more cynical now, and did not hesitate to to reauthorize the use of secretive agents to take care of the problem. Indeed, by the end of the year, the High Priestess was dead in an apparent robbery. It was only a deathbed confession that implicated Kvatch this time. Though still pragmatic and oddly willing to continue to press hard despite his depressive state, these sorts of things were starting to weigh heavy on Ioannes. He had Woodroot's noble court well in pocketbook by this point, so decided that now he would shift to a new plan. Strengthen the nobles to strongarm the clergy, and even though more than half of Kvatch's plots had not been detected, maybe the junior members that were now suddenly in charge would get the picture. As yet another secondary strategy, Ioannes also instructed, or asked rather, the local clergy in Kvatch proper to begin more outreach campaigns to involve the public. With a little luck, Kvatch could strengthen it's own religious image and maybe start to compete for regional followers like Woodroot, Trumble, and the Mothists were, especially with the succession of dubious spiritual leaders in the Imperial City.
Saying the peace lasted long would technically be even more untrue here than if the claim had been made after the Chaos. Barely a month had passed since his son's death when Ioannes recieved an urgent letter from Skingrad. The Mane was making a counter attack! Urgent support was requested. Once eager for expansion, protectorism, and glory, Ioannes II now stiffened. He pledged to aid his ally, of course, but could not commit his battered army at this time. Skingrad could make an excellent go of the situation themselves. Their army was still in tip top shape. It might get a bit hairy for awhile though, if you pardon the reference to Khajit anatomy. In the grand scheme of things, Kvatch might actually be helped if Skingrad faced a few more setbacks, as cold as it might sound, and as disreputable as it might be to avoid giving one's utmost to support in-laws. As that war was going on, Ioannes granted another reuqest the next year, from the Heartlands with which Kvatch still had some ties. It was one of the many times the broken Republic tried to make a resurgence, attacking an independent Northern Duchy for more de facto control of their de jure lands. Ioannes promised material and financial support, but once again, no troops. The end result of this conflict is lost to history, as the area around the Imperial City was so unstable, and only increasingly so at this time. Skingrad, meanwhile, would eventually rebuff the Khajits in mid 2E 517.
(Area of Khajit Counterattack)
The Atticus family fell on some relatively hard times too, though relatively is really the key word. Most of their troubles seemed to revolve around the marriages of Allian's younger brothers, the twins Mercator and Denel. There was real concern now as to ensuring these two would be in a good place of power should anything happen to the main line. Ioannes' previous meddling with his family's marriages in such a public and calculating way was coming back to haunt him, though. Other noble families were now slightly wary of any arrangements he proposed due to a slight lack of trust.
The slightly older twin, arriving one minute before his brother, was Mercator. He studied the art of subterfuge in an attempt to help with the glaring gap in Kvatch's intrigue. He was a good study, and knew a lot of the theory that had been said on the subject, but when it came to practice he simply wasn't cut out for any such job. He was passable at diplomacy, but he would not make a very good ruler. He knew it too, and thankfully was not resentful. Mercator much preferred to live the life, rather than walk the walk. He was eventually able to find a bride in Oriella Black-Briar, a Nord noble a few years his senior and likewise lacking talent for most things. She could manage finances, but only on paper, because otherwise she was almost crippled by social anxiety. Furthermore, she liked to retreat into fantasy almost to the point of unhealthiness. She was very much a Nord supremacist, and enjoyed pretending to be one of the famous warriors from the First Era, but lacked any military talent of her own whatsoever.
The more talented of the pair was Denel, but only slightly. He was at least minimally able in all areas a ruler might need to be, though excelled in none, nor was even average in ability. His redeeming feature, though, was that he was quite the charmer, especially among young ladies. Therefore, it was quite a shock when he was rejected by the King of the Heartlands to marry one of his daughters, especially as the one Denel had taken a liking too was last in succession. Only speculation exists, but one common theory is that the King was a bit disgruntled that Kvatch never sent troops to assist in his various small wars.
As luck would have it, when Denel set out looking for a small adventure to clear his mind one of his first stops was Valtgard, in Skyrim. He was there to witness a new Thane arise, a girl of only 17 years of age and replacing her recently deceased father. Accounts of Thane Rigmor describe her looks as quite stunning, with a quick wit to go along as well. Denel was instantly taken with her. Rigmor seemed to appreciate Denel's humor, even if she could see right through his attempts to appear a competent adviser. In short order they had arranged a marriage. Denel would stay in Valtgard, and though without a landed title of his own, Valtgard would be in the Atticus name for the next generation.
In mid 2E 518 Ioannes arranged the formal transfer and legal integration of the Duchy of Arenthia into the Kingdom proper. This expanded on the powers he had taken as protector of the county, gave him legitimate avenues to persue into surrounding Valenwood, and, most importantly, immediately upgraded Arenthia's status from protectorate to near-full realm asset. On paper there were still quite a few differences, but they were mostly ceremonial or relating to titles and protocol. There were no illusions that Kvatch wanted to take the Mer into equal partnership, but at the same time, they were willing to make their protectorates into integral regions of the Kingdom, and at least try to accommodate the Mer if possible. Further expansion was on hold indefinitely, though, as the army needed a rest. Anvil was having severe trouble governing their colonies as well, which made support for any more moves hit an all time low.
The weight of being King was dragging Ioannes down, but for 5 more years he ruled effectively, if cynically. Then, in Rain's Hand of 2E 519 a crisis struck that would prove to be the final straw. The army was recovering slower than expected. It weighed particularly heavy on Ioannes' mind, but he was not the only one who was thinking about it. For some time the Westerners had been silent, recovering from their own troubles. Then, without warning, the ruler of Rihad declared war and stormed the border. Skingrad would be called as had become standard, but the speed of the attack stunned all of Kvatch. The local garrison fled back to Linchal, where an army was being raised, but was still severely beaten.
The situation was only made worse by a rapid series of family drama and tragedy. First, just as Linchal was gearing up to be a mustering ground for the army, some sub-branches of that side of the Atticus line moved against other branches. Dan, a known vampire, was arrested and imprisoned for the rest of his (un)natural life. Vampirism was not permitted, of course, but was very narrowly tolerated since some nobles had been outed, so long as they kept a very, very low profile. Dan was not arrested for that, however, but because he had started to dabble in necromancy. He didn't so much cross the line as take a sprinting leap across it. He was the current heir to the Duchy, which meant there would most definitely be trouble and instability in the future. There was little Ioannes could do about the situation at the moment though, and probably very little that would have worked fast even if there was not a war on.
A few days later, Queen Gianna died suddenly. She was 64, and as far as anyone could tell, it was simply her time to depart. That did not stop the event from driving into the Atticus family like a warhammer. Ioannes locked himself in his chambers for close to two full days without nary a trace of food or drink, only finally emerging because the Queen Mother, his mother, had entered into a period of dementia, brought on by infection and highly advanced age. This was troublesome because she was still the sitting marshal after all these years, but Ioannes could not care less about the war by this point. It was purely personal. Despite the best efforts of healers, though, Vittoria left Mundas a few weeks later. In her last days Ioannes insisted on waiting on her hand and foot, despite Vittoria not even recognizing him by the end of her days.
For a few months it looked as if Ioannes was going to be unable to continue. He did not lock himself away again, but was unfocused, most of the time not even responding when his advisers asked for direction. He was slowly coaxed out of his depression by a woman named Marthe, originally an agent from the Heartlands, she was in Kvatch on friendly terms. Eventually, liking the city so much, she decided to make it her permanent court. She had never taken a very active role before, enjoying being along for the ride well enough, but now when everyone seemed so directionless she stepped forward. In his time of need, Marthe became a close friend and confident of Ioannes', despite being a few decades his junior. It is believed the relationship was strictly platonic, Ioannes' womanzing ways having been forcefully expunged over the past 5 years, but that didn't stop people from calling Marthe the unofficial Queen of Kvatch, for all her assistance. It was a favorable nick-name, not malicious at all. Without her, Kvatch's ruling caste could have faced serious collapse.
Some time would be needed to recover from so many blows before the battles even began. Once mustered the sum of Kvatch's forces were less than what scouts reported Rihad had in the field. This was most definitely not good. One positive was that the tresury was full, though. Ioannes had been in the process of stockpiling gold, ironically in preparation for building more fortifications against Kvatch. Sacrificing that long term goal, in the short term a few thousand mercenaries could be hired to help equalize the balance. Still, it would be mid 2E 520 before the army would be ready to march now. Skingrad's army would arrive in the area first. While letting them do all the work might releave some strain, it was hardly good for Kvatch's reputation either in terms of honor, or in terms of how foreign powers saw their strength. The army would therefore have to march, no matter what outcome Skingrad obtained in battle, but the wait would be agonizingly long.
One bright spot in the darkness was that Vinicia Tor, Ioannes' bastard daughter, came of age that winter. Though at birth he denounced her, now he wanted to make amends. She had been apprenticing under an extremely powerful mage, and at the ceremony to release her from her master it was said Ioannes' tearfully embraced her, promising as soon as he was back from campaign he would 'make things right', heavily implying that he would finally legitimize her. For her part, Vinicia was fully forgiving, and eager to join the court. Her powers would have made an awesome difference on the battlefield, but early in her training she had also foresworn violence of any sort. It was a decision well respected, despite the circumstances. It was also comforting to know that despite great power, the power did not corrupt all mages.
Ioannes set off a few days later, in the dead of winter. The trip was relatively long, and the roads were practically non-existent in that region in that time. As luck would happen, he would catch up with Skingrad, because the allied army had been delayed in the Colovian Estates by bandit raids, a sign of a problem for a future date most likely. As they approached Hafar, though, something weird happened. Rihad's army melted away in retreat.
Both armies were confused, but slowly advanced. Soon they saw why Nistacey had withdrawn. Rihad was in Civil War once more, worse than before! Last time could have been described as a large uprising type event, but this time the battlelines were drawn exactly in two, with a few holdings trying to stake it out on their own! The timing could not have been better, but there was one last surprise left in store...
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Desert Camp, on Campaign
1:07 PM, 5 Midyear, 2E 520
"Grandfather, you must eat lunch. The men are nearly done, and we will be continuing on soon. A man of you-"
"A man of my age can eat whenever he wants, Allian. I could eat before everyone rises, after everyone goes to bed. I could even halt this caravan and eat all day long, if I so desired. I am King, after all." Ioannes sarcastically smirked, not even turning around when Allian came up behind him surveying the desert ahead. Sensing Allian's frustration, he sighed and softened. "I'm not hungry, but thank you. Do not worry, I'll be fine." He idly rubbed at his left elbow, an old war wound from a previous war.
"Begging your pardon, grandfather, but there are men who are physically twice as fit as you passing out from the heat, I'm not sure how you can say you are fine." Allian sighed as well, but knew he would not get anywhere on the matter, as was standard.
"Experience, lad. Some day you will see that." That brought a small chuckle, showing Ioannes was at least in half a good mood right now.
Allian grumbled under his breath, shaking his head. "I'm not a boy anymore grandfather."
"Oh? Is that so? Hmmm..." The King digested this as if it was new information, still not turning around. An awkward silence followed, which he eventually broke. "All in good time, Allian. All in good time. I will say, I'm quite happy you are joining us this time, but you have much to learn still."
"I know! But I need to learn these things! But how can I when you're always holding me back!" Allian was rash as a youngster, but not anymore. Occasionally a glimmer shown threw when he was particularly upset, but overall Allian had very good self-control, a skill he had worked tirelessly on since around age 15.
"I'm not holding you back." In momentary anger, Allian had failed to notice Ioannes had left his words to hang for a moment. The King finally turned around, a sad smile on his face. "This isn't how you learn, Allian. Learning only comes as learning sees fit. Some day you'll know what I mean." He shook his head and held a hand to stifle Allian's protest. "I know, I know, it's frustrating. But believe me, what is going to happen is going to happen. You can't fight it, only choose to embrace it or not. You're doing fine, for what it's worth, but you can't force it come faster."
Allian wanted to protest more, but knew it was useless. Furthermore, he wasn't one to repeat himself, and he was at a point where he would only be doing so if he continued. "Are you sure you won't eat? It's a shame to let any food go to waste once it's been prepared."
Ioannes's sad smile slowly became more genuine. "Now THAT, Allian, is how you convince an old man to eat. Let's go see what the cooks have left." He walked closer and wrapped an arm around his grandson, who was now about an inch or so taller than him. He was shrinking in his old age, and the damned strain of old injuries was starting to get to his posture, though not too much as of yet. "That was exactly what I meant, by the way. You have to find the answer on your own, not steal it from someone else. You may not get it the first, or second, or even third time, but you're smart. You get it eventually."
Allian groaned, but was smiling now too, helping his grandfather towards the main camp. "I suppose. I only wish it FELT like progress, rather than failure."
"Believe me, when you get to be my age, you have 'failed' more often than succeeded. Yet here I am, a successful King. As you will be someday."
"Yeah... someday... ugh, let's not think about that now, let's just eat."
"Indeed, let's eat!"
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An Excerpt from
The Rise of Kvatch: A Second Era Story by Imperial Chronicler Mercutio
On the morning of the 6th of Midyear, 2E 520, Ioannes II died. The long winter's journey, followed by the intense desert sun of Midyear were just too much on an aging man, one burdened by physical an emotional scars untold. He was found with a smile on his face. Despite going through intense personal darkness, he knew the time was right.
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List of Kings of Kvatch
1. Ioannes I (the Just), ruled 1 Morning Star, 2E 442- 3 Sun's Dawn, 2E 501
2. Ioannes II (the Exalted), ruled 3 Sun's Dawn, 2E 501-6 Midyear, 2E 520
3. Allian, ruled 6 Midyear, 2E 520-
