Sunday, July 19, 2020

Father Hal Tawndry's Guide to Ledonia Part III: The Long War

A terse lesson on the history, religion and current structure of the kingdom of Ledonia for the foreign wanderer who finds himself in this bountiful and varied realm by Father Hal Tawndry, High Priest of Wic, Keeper of Knowledge, and written in the first glorious year of the reign of His Grace, King Esmond Seyerling.


In order to enlighten persons new to this great kingdom, I, Father Hal Tawndry, High Priest of Wic and Keeper of His Knowledge, have been tasked with committing to writing certain pertinent facts which would aid in the foreigner’s understanding of this kingdom, in order that he should not perpetrate any act of unscrupulous affront to any lords, ladies or immortals forbid, the King. In this way, harmony will be kept and there shall be no need for the foreigner to claim ignorance should he insult his host and instead shall be rooted out as the arrogant outsider most foreigners seem to be.


Gods be with you,

Father Hal Tawndry
High Priest of Wic
Keeper of His Knowledge


The Long War began in the reign of Randal Seyerling. The Delphisian king, Rolf, sent a scouting party into the Ruromanni lands, intending to absorb them into the empire he dreamed of. The Ruromanni decided not to appeal to the Ledonian king, instead the treacherous allies opted to pay tribute of gold to the Delphisian king in order to keep the peace. They should have known that would have only forestalled the inevitable. King Rolf invaded Ledonia a few years later, intending to enslave our kingdom to his greedy whims. The Ruromanni, in their decision to pay tribute to Delphis, instead funded the campaign to take over the continent.

The Ruromanni paid dearly for this mistake. They refused to aid in the invasion of our kingdom, but in doing so, their easternmost village, Igia, was utterly destroyed and razed to the ground, most of its inhabitants slaughtered mercilessly.

King Randal knew he could not defeat the Delphisians on his own so he sent his son, Prince Wolfred, to recruit the Ruromanni in the fight against their common enemy, offering them forgiveness for their earlier breach of conduct. However, the silly council of matrons, a council of old women which rules the savages to the north, refused to enter into the war they helped to start. The prince succeeded only in recruiting a few young, angry warriors from the Ruromanni, a troop of which would fight faithfully at his side throughout the war.

Meanwhile, Randal feared the Valderonans would mire themselves in the war and against Ledonia. To stop this from happening, he accepted an offer of marriage for his son to a princess of Valderon. The princess Rohese and the prince Wolfred were married in a spartan manner in between battles. It was said Wolfred was initially angry his father had set this up, but that when he laid eyes upon the princess he was smitten and therefore bolstered in battle.

A year after the marriage, King Randal was killed in battle with the Delphisians. Prince Wolfred accepted the crown in a tent filled with his supporters. Immediately after, he rode into battle with his Ruromanni auxiliaries and avenged the death of his father in a precise and deadly manner. Many soldiers swore they witnessed in him the hands of Fulke, for how else could he have wrought so much carnage.

Two years later, King Wolfred led his entire army into battle against Delphis amidst the fertile plains, hoping to push them out of his kingdom once and for all. He succeeded, but at great cost to both armies. King Rolf declared a truce after the indecisive battle. A peace treaty was negotiated. Ledonia ceded coin to Delphis and Delphis agreed to withdraw from the continent completely. Both kings were hailed as heroes. The treaty has held for over a decade now and diplomatic relations, however shaky, continue between the two kingdoms.

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