Chapter III-VII The First Flames
As Aran Idonea looked down from her reclaimed throne, the first of the Ayleids to control any significant portion of Cyrodiil since the early First Era, she realized just how difficult it would be to achieve her dream. In all of Cyrodiil, Idonea herself was the only Ayleid not living a savage life far from the civilization they themselves groomed and raised. Since the dreadful rise of man, all Ayleids had been forced into exile or into hiding somewhere deep in the wilderness[1]. On top of being the only civilized Ayleid in the realm, the only others who could even speak Ayleidoon or knew anything about their culture and customs were wealthy scholars and archaeologists. Outside of the realm, the communities of Ayleids in Valenwood had made their presence much more pronounced, with an Ayleid even rising to become the Aran of Haven, but they could not be counted on to help Idonea. When Ayleids first arrived in Valenwood after their Empire’s destruction, they had done one of two things- convert to the local Bosmeri Gods or stick with their own Ayleid Gods. Unfortunately for Idonea, those Ayleid Gods were, though also Aedric[2], vastly different to the Eight Divines of Man. The Valenwood Ayleids refused to help an infidel such as Idonea, and the fact she wasn’t, in their eyes at least, a real Ayleid didn’t help the matter either. Though Idonea held no real devotion to any god, her hands were tied when it came to changing the state religion. The people already viewed her with suspicion at best and hatred at worst, and enforcing a different religion on her subjects would rather quickly end her rule. The inevitable revolution wouldn’t even be the greatest of her worries if she denounced the Divines, the Church, seated just a stone’s throw away from the realm in the Imperial City, would surely be ready for a holy war if such a large region of Cyrodiil was taken from them. Although her subjects and the Church would be up for a fight at the soonest perception of oppression, Idonea’s vassals were much more positive about the situation. They expected Idonea to be the same disinterested pushover she was before, and regarded her dream of Ayleid revival as just the fantasy of some old wizard whose mind had rotted long ago. At least for now, most continued to support the realm, but Idonea needed to find someway to ensure the survival of her beyond the point her vassals realized she was serious in her ambitions and then beyond her death.
An Ayleid Crown. Aran Idonea would soon have one minted in a similar manner.
After countless hours of planning, she realized a way to achieve this. First, Ayleid ruins would be opened up for excavations. This would open up the realm to more contact with ancient Ayleid culture, as first men would have to be hired to excavate the ruins, then transport artifacts across the realm, then after that when they were safely in Idonea’s hands studies would be conducted on the artifacts. This would get the knowledge out to, at the very least, those involved in the process and those wealthier citizens with a taste for history or magick. It also had another, more important use in collecting Ayleid hearts for which Idonea could later use to transform citizens into Ayleids. As excavations of Ayleids ruins were opened, Idonea planned conquests of Kvatch’s two Bosmer neighbors, the Greater Barony of Thormar and the Principality of Arenthia. Both of these realms contained regions with a majority Ayleid population, and if these communities could be conquered they could further facilitate the reintroduction of Ayleid culture and language. Lastly, at current if Idonea were to die the Crown would once again fall upon the head of a human and the realm would regress back to a Colovian, human state. Before her transformation, Idonea had passed childbearing age many years ago. Now though, at 55, she was still within Elven childbearing age. In general, an interracial child tends to take the race of its mother. Idonea could, at one time, ensure she was succeeded by an Ayleid and add a human element back to the monarchy by marrying a man. With her plans set, as the year 564 began Idonea ordered excavation work to begin in the Barony of Nenyond[3] where the ruins of moderately sized Ayleid city were located. Things were proceeding smoothly as the year went on, Idonea both searching for a possible husband and trying to make herself seem as harmless as possible to her vassals. That is until the 5th of Second Seed(5), when a declaration of war was received from the Redguard Kingdom of Elinhir. Their King, Armand the Righteous, was a warrior, a conqueror, and a dreamer. His dream was a unified Hammerfell, and his conquest was to be the Barony of Hafar, nominally considered a part of Hammerfell but taken and assimilated by Kvatch years prior. Hoping that Idonea’s recent return as an Ayleid had destabilized the realm, Armand believed be would be greeted by the sight of Miscarcan commanders retreating after the slightest casualties to avoid helping the Ayleids win. He would be proven wrong in this.
The ruined entrance way to Nenyond's great tombs.
Immediately after the declaration of war was received, Miscarcand began to raise its levies and marched to Hafar. There, soon joined by Rihadese forces, they would prepare defenses in preparation of the Elinhir attack. As 565 began, Miscarcan and Rihadese forces had all reached Hafar, numbering 3,600 soldiers in total. Just to the north, in the single Barony that connected Miscarcand and Elinhir, King Armand’s forces stood, 3,800 strong, unmoving. Though they outnumbered Miscarcand’s forces, the natural terrain of Hafar combined with the defenses that had been prepared by Miscarcand were to be a formidable challenge. If an assault was launched, it would likely be a failure. And so, for the next two years, a stalemate persisted. During these two years, the command structure of Kvatch changed greatly. For one, Lord Mayor Ottius, the Lord of Hafar and the neighboring Barony of Nonungalo, was appointed a commander, Marshal Tatia having noticed his skill while observing a training exercise he led with his soldiers. On top of that, an event telling of the future of the realm soon occurred. A band of Ayleids, having lived deep inside the Colovian Highlands, arrived in El-Miscarcand led by a man named Hadhuul. He said they had begun to starve, and decided certain death high in the mountains was a worse option than at least trying their chance with the human enemy. Hadhuul said he planned to offer his services as a warrior and all of his people’s valuables to the King of whatever realm he found himself in in exchange for his people being kept safe. He was just as surprised as anyone would expect when he found a reforged Ayleid Empire, and upon meeting with Aran Idonea she immediately granted his request. His people would be allowed to settle in El-Miscarcand, and Hadhuul would become a commander. Less important to the war but still important, Spymaster Eloisa died during this two year period, being replaced by a courtier named Lavinia. After those two years ended and 567 begun, movement finally arrived in this war.
Hadhuul, the first recorded instance of a Cyrodilic Ayleid leaving tribal life for civilization in centuries.
Just a month apart from each other, Elinhir withdrew its forces from Stonemoor and the Colovian Estates joined the war on the side of Miscarcand. The Colovian Estates had recently suffered a revolt sponsored by Elinhir in their Redguard provinces, and saw this war as a perfect opportunity to enact revenge. This served to legitimize the infant Miscarcand, one the most powerful realms in Tamriel officially recognizing it as the successor of Kvatch and allying with it. In Elinhir, a large portion of the army was made up of mercenaries, and the payments they required were rather high. Combined with the costs of the King’s own army, the realm was near bankruptcy. Though the area that Elinhir controlled was vast, it lacked many desirable resources for trade, had no coastline, and was neighbored by mountains, the Alik’r desert, and hostile realms. The Kingdom simply had no way to scrounge up enough gold to pay for its armies anymore, and the army withdrew from the border before funds were completely gone to prevent the mercenaries from joining with Miscarcand. Miscarcand matched north as soon as the Elinhirs were out of Stonemoor, and began to occupy the Barony. It was an easy siege with very few loses for the Miscarcand. Shortly after the siege of Stonemoor, the Elinhir army was spotted, though now about 900 men smaller and with much worse morale. Attempting to sneak past the Miscarcan forces by going through the Greater Barony of Hare’s Cross, the Baron had reported this to Aran Idonea, hoping to avoid angering the clearly much more powerful realm, and Miscarcand began redeploying troops to prevent the Elinhir forces from leaving Hare’s Cross without a battle. Idonea was hoping to conserve as many soldiers as possible for her planned invasions of Valenwood, and the current situation worked swimmingly well for this goal. The army of Elinhir was left to slowly starve in Hare's Cross, King Armand would have to recognize Miscarcian victory sooner or later, and the army would be left near full strength for their deployment in Valenwood.
The Colovian Estates would join with Miscarcand in the war with Elinhir.
During the time the Elinhir army was trapped in Hare’s Cross, a revolt broke out in the Colovian Estates. Led by a lich, over 2,000 undead soldiers of all kinds marched under his command. The Estates would eventually defeat the revolt at the Battle of Pale Pass, but it distracted them long enough that aid would never come to Miscarcand in the war with Elinhir. After multiple months of waiting, the forces of Elinhir had lost hundreds of its men either to starvation or desertion. They could not stay in Hare's Cross anymore, even if the chance was a slight one they at least had a chance of surviving the war if they left. Delivering a large bribe to the Baron of Hare’s Cross, which only put the realm further in debt, the army was allowed to use boats in the city to cross the Brena River into Miscarcand. After realizing what had happened, the Miscarcan army quickly began marching south. The Elinhirs attempted to flee, but weakened from months of starvation and no pay this attempt ended in failure. On the 5th of Rain's Hand(4), 568, they were assaulted by Miscarcand in the Barony of Niryastare. The battle was a hard one, much harder than anyone had expected. At the very start of the battle, the Rihadese Marshal and leader of the combined army's center was killed by a mutiny in his ranks. The soldiers that mutinied could not understand why Rihad was shedding blood to protect their Ayleid Suzerain from a Redguard state taking Redguard land. If Elinhir won the war, that could be the first step to liberating Rihad. The mutiny was eventually put down with help from Miscarcan soldiers, but the damage had already been done. Despite it though, Miscarcand still had higher manpower and, in general, better morale. The battle was bloody, but in the end Elinhir was forced from the field. After it was reported to King Armand that loses were practically even on both sides, he became confident that the war could still be won. Preparing his forces as soon as they crossed back into his territory, he refused any and all calls for peace. The Miscarcan marched northward to where the Elinhirs were regrouping, just north of the border in the Barony of Stonedale. Charging into the lines of Elinhir, it was here that King Armand's belief in eventual victory was proved a delusion. The day after the end of the battle, the 11th of Frostfall(10), King Armand sent a letter of surrender. The Treasury was expanded greatly, Elinhir humbled and bankrupt, and Miscarcand legitimized in Cyrodilic politics. Idonea could not have hoped for a better end to the war, and the populace began to warm up to her. Just months later however, peace left the realm. The Kingdom of Dragonstar declared war, looking to claim Hafar as Elinhir did, though their declaration was not taken very seriously. Dragonstar was located in the northern section of Hammerfell. If they even actually sent an army it could easily be cut off and defeated. With stability in the realm again, Aran Idonea focused her eyes on El-Miscarcand.
The two battles of Elinhir's invasion of Miscarcand.
With a great victory behind her, many people looked past her race and saw her as their rightful monarch. Many more people however, though not as distrustful as before, still viewed her as a usurper not fit to rule a Kingdom of Men. A human element had to be added to the monarchy, and Idonea had finally thought of the perfect candidate in the Chancellor of the realm, Varian Canin. On top of the previously mentioned and direly needed human face in the monarchy, this would, hopefully at least, give Idonea greater influence in the council. Then, if the marriage didn't give Idonea the Ayleid daughter she needed, she would still be in childbearing age long after Varian had passed into the next life. Varian readily agreed when approached by Idonea, surely tempted by the influence being King of the realm would bring. With more of the populace viewing Idonea favorable now, she figured it would be a great time to rectify the problem of having a nearly homogeneus population of men. After years of introducing Ayleid culture and language, and collecting Ayleid hearts, Idonea had an idea that could finally put them to use. An expensive idea, no doubt, but she was convinced it would work. In El-Miscarcand, the economy had been prospering for years. In recent weeks, the woodworking industry in particular had experienced a large increase in workers, and Idonea had an idea. Workers would receive a pay raise if they could speak Ayleidoon, even more if they were Ayleids. On top of this, the government decided to give an extra incentive in that they would pay citizens to receive the ritual transforming them into an Ayleid. Using hearts taken from the excavations at Nenyond, the Aran kept herself busy performing transformations and teaching others how to do them. As time went on, the pay raises were expanded to every occupation in El-Miscarcand. During this however, Idonea received news that an invasion force from Dragonstar star had actually landed in Hafar. Immediately the levies were raised, and began rushing to El-Miscarcand to gather and prepare for war.
Chancellor and Aran Varian of Miscarcand
By the time the Miscarcian forces had fully gathered, Hafar had fallen to Dragonstar, and so that was set as their objective. The liberation was quick and relatively bloodless, and during it they were joined by the Rihadese. After the liberation, Miscarcand turned its army further down the coast, to where the army of Dragonstar had been pillaging. It was believed they were attempting to make it to Anvil, but the Miscarcian forces managed to catch up with them before that. At the Battle of Varus, once again due to insubordination from the Rihadese ranks, the battle was closer than one would want to admit. Casualties were nearly even, but with lower men at arms to begin with Dragonstar sought to withdraw their forces. They still had 1,400 soldiers, which although was about 1,000 less than Miscarcand, if they could meet up with reinforcements the war could be won. Unfortunately, unfamiliar with the terrain of the area, the army took multiple wrong turns, culminating in the battle continuing as they encountered the Miscarcian army. Another 700 Dragonstar men were lost, and the battle turned from a strategic success to a complete blunder. As the remains of the army attempted to retreat back to Dragonstar, part of the army split off after disputes between commanders, and after a small skirmish in the barony of Hare's Cross nearly 600 men were surrendered to Rihad by their disgruntled commander. Three months later, the reinforcements Dragonstar had originally hoped would turn the tide of the war were spotted in Rihad's barony of Matama. This time, cross due to the Kingdom's insistence on her fighting despite the unbeatable numerical advantage, another 600 men were surrendered to Rihad after a small skirmish. It was at this time that in the neighboring Colovian Estates, watching how much of a complete failure Dragonstar's invasion was, declared war to take the kingdom's namesake and capital city. After a full year of holding on to false hopes of somehow beating Miscarcand, on the 1st of Sun's Dusk(11), 572, Dragonstar admitted defeated.
The humiliating defeat of Dragonstar
Having now successfully defended the realm from foreign invaders twice, Idonea's image was now a mostly positive one. Soon enough however, her vassals would be awoken from their slumber, any illusion about Idonea being just an old and harmless idealist shattered. Though they knew about what she was doing in El-Miscarcand, few thought it would go anywhere. That is until the year 573 began, and Idonea announced that a majority of the city's population were Ayleids, an even greater number being able to speak the language. It had taken the full, realm-wide income for multiple years, but it was finally done. To some this was a call to simply be more cautious of Idonea. After all these race transmutations were incredibly expensive to be able to convince people to do them, and it was unlikely any part of their fiefs would become an Ayleid majority area anytime soon. To others it was a call to action. The fact that they had allowed an Ayleid to come to the throne in the first place was a disgrace, but that they could support her even after she turned one of Cyrodiil's greatest city into an Ayleid one was a sin beyond measure. The leader of the opposition to the Crown would be the Malarpen, though she always insisted on being called Duchess, of the West Weald, one Dumania of Agea. Barely even 16 at the time, she was a fiery speaker, a soldier of great skill, a financier to rival the greatest, and the size of her ambitions was enough to rival Reman Cyrodiil himself. The light of the Ayleid world had finally begun to shine again, but only time could tell how quickly its source would be put out.
*Duchess* Dumania of the West Weald
[1]- Because of this, Ayleids would often be referred to as Wild Elves. Idonea would make calling them this a punishable offense.
[2]- Although it differed from city to city, the Ayleid pantheon was usually headed by one of three Gods- Auri-El, the Elven form of Akatosh, Magnus, the God of Magic, or the Daedric Prince Meridia, who they called Merid-Nunda and venerated as the God of Light, the most sacred element to the Ayleids.
[3]- Formerly Blackboot.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Well 20 days is better than a few months at least.[2]- Although it differed from city to city, the Ayleid pantheon was usually headed by one of three Gods- Auri-El, the Elven form of Akatosh, Magnus, the God of Magic, or the Daedric Prince Meridia, who they called Merid-Nunda and venerated as the God of Light, the most sacred element to the Ayleids.
[3]- Formerly Blackboot.
---------------------------------------------------------------
