Battle of the Bloody Bricks
The Pavilion ran red with blood...
The final decisive engagement of the City Strife between the followers of the vulgar warlord Yapign and the faithful citizens who worshipped the Four Queens. The wicked warlords, drunk on power, desired not only to live their hedonistic lives free from divine scrutiny, but impose their repulsive ideals upon the citizens who wished to worship the benevolent Four Queens. Roth could have easily slain the offenders, popped their bodies apart like so many burst balloons, but urged restraint amongst her fellow goddesses. The Queens strode forth alongside the citizenry, ready to stain Bainshaebo's desolate marketplace with the blood of sinners. The battle would end not only through the determination of the faithful, but an unexpected arrival from the Vault of Stars.
The Conflict
Prelude
The City Strife had raged for five cycles, or nearly ten years Earth-time, prior to this point. Even though Deres had slain their leader Yapign with the aid of Eyurodin, Lady of Flames, his sons and minions continued their irrational rampage against the stewardship of the Queens, who had guided the Thangien people for millennia. The warlords had seized control of the Archives of Raaezen and the Traedeskaton, not only imperiling centuries of accumulated lore and artwork, but denying the citizens access to medical care. The warlords had long since sacked and burned the plantations and farmsteads of Kundain closest to the city walls. However, the warlords would not dare approach Peirolyth, seat of the Goddess of the Forge, and they feared Unor and his children, the mighty pegacorns. Eyurodin provided the citizenry with a continuing supply of dererium weaponry while Ritho, Goddess of the Home and Hearth, helped convert Mazzan into a field hospital to assist the wounded. Xiar, the God-Hound, maintained vigil over the gardens of Tirmutua, allowing the faithful to access precious food while denying the warlords any ill-gotten spoils. Eyurodin, having just forged her covenant with Deres, hatched a clever plan to allow weapons to fall into the hands of the wicked warlords while placing artisans on the front lines. Using this loophole, she had free reign to enforce her covenant by personally smiting any warlords who raised weapons against the artisans who crafted them. Instead of using finely honed dererium swords against the faithful, the warlords were forced to resort to their ramshackle clubs and polearms, while of inferior craft, proved no less brutal.
Deployment
The warlords had nearly full control of the upper half of the city, with their base of operations between Raaezen and the Traedeskaton. Only Tirmutua remained out of their grasp.
The Faithful remained centered on Peirolyth with wounded and non-combatants entrenched in Mazzan under the care of Ritho, Unor, and the pegacorns Deres helped breed.
Battlefield
Once the commercial and social hub of the Thangien people, vendors had long since abandoned their stalls, fleeing to their residences with whatever goods they could rescue before the warlords pillaged the market.
Conditions
The Pavilion, an entirely flat expanse of clay brick, offered very little by way of cover aside from abandoned wagons, tents, stalls, and planting troughs.
The Engagement
Roth, Eyurodin, Witheren, and Ritho join the battle, their aid conditional on the Faithful fighting with all of their fury. Deres, the Father of Metal, finds himself in the unusual position of being a general to the civilian forces.
Yapign's sons, the twins Yablign and Yaplign, and Yanwes, lead the vulgar warlords in their last-ditch effort to slay the Faithful and wrest control of Thanged from the Four Queens.
"Muriab could be very flattering in his designs, but these were not well-trained soldiers clad in divine armor. These were seamstresses, milk-maids, stable-boys, farmers, artisans and merchants, all fighting desperately against a ruthless, wicked foe."
Outcome
Although victorious with relatively limited losses, Deres and Roth have little time to celebrate as the first Thunthen explorers land outside the city, eager to examine the human settlement of Bainshaebo.
Aftermath
The system of laws and punishments established by Roth and Witheren is codified amongst the Thangien people, by which criminals, sinners, and blasphemers are swiftly punished. Although Deres had slain Yapign himself years prior, not until much later would his granddaughter Vthia devise the perfect form of punishment for the wicked...
"To the Faithful, sin is the door through which all other woes enter, and so the people decided simply to punish all sin. Now, this had the effect of not only discouraging further rebellion, but driving followers of the Goddess of Wickedness into secret cults."The names of Yapign and his sons would forever become synonymous with cowardice, sin, hedonism, and blasphemy among the Thangien language, with Deres describing and depicting Yapign in the most unflattering terms imaginable.
Historical Significance
Long in the making since the founding of Bainshaebo, the City Strife began initially as a protest against the strict mandates issued by Roth and Witheren before erupting into full-on revolt. Spearheaded by Yapign, the Vulgar Warlord, the tyrants imprisoned civilians and seized precious supplies and food, going from house to house in their mad quest for plunder. Reluctant to repeat Ritho's Smiting against Thangiens, Roth and the other Queens held back on using their full powers, stirring the populace to oppose the wicked. The Queens urged the people to take the battle into their own hands lest they become complacent and overly-reliant upon the goddesses."For Yapign and his followers, simply killing the Faithful would not be enough. They had to kill the gods themselves, scouring all memory of them from the hearts of the Thangien people."After nearly a decade of bitter combat, the City Strife culminated in the Bloody Bricks with the blasphemous warlords bent on slaying not just the Faithful, but the Queens themselves. Instead of blaming the Queens for their misery, the Faithful vented years of pent-up frustration and rage at the sinful warlords, who had pillaged their homes and lived in luxury while the Faithful had to cower near the havens of Mazzan and Peirolyth. Roth ensured that the Bloody Bricks would be remembered as a victory for the people by the people, rather than an act of divine retribution. The warlords realized they could not truly harm the Four Queens. Even with restraining their powers, their physical might proved too much to tackle, so the warlords decided to leave the Pavilion a graveyard with no one left to worship the goddesses. Before they could make good on their threat, the sight of a Thunthen craft entering the atmosphere startled them. Deres capitalized on the slip in attention and the Faithful surged forward, reaping bloody vengeance against the vulgar tyrants. Roth surveyed the battlefield, and while heartened that the people retained their fighting spirit and passion, felt saddened by the loss of so much life for such worthless ideals as the warlords espoused. Seeing the people celebrating their victory and praising the Queens and the rapport struck between Deres and the Thunthen explorers gave Roth hope for the future. The people would continue to revere the Four Queens for another five thousand years.
FourQueensMuralConcept2.jpg
The Four Queens Mural
by
Mardrena
Rough pencil and ink sketch
Legacy
Roth1a.gif
Roth's Window Concept
by
Mardrena
Pencil drawing
In his designs for Thananagreia, the citadel-chapel, the architect Muriab would commemorate the events of the City Strife in not just the immense mural on the right-hand wall of the interior, but Roth's window in the left-hand wall.
The vulgar warlords are depicted in ominous black armor with wicked spikes and serrated helms, while the Faithful are shown shrouded in gleaming white armor and shields blazoned with lightning bolts. The desiccated trees on the side of the warlords represented the ruined farmsteads, while the bountiful trees on the Faithful's side represented the blessed gardens of Tirmutua.
"Full-body armor such as this would not actually exist until thousands of years later, when King Wuelro and Eyurodin used these designs as inspiration for the armor worn by the Wardens during the Genesis Plague."
In Literature
The Warrior's Anthem would serve not only as a rallying chant for future defenders, but a reminder of what Thangiens endured during the City Strife. Deres made sure to cement his revenge against Yapign for his unjust captivity by associating obesity, sloth, gluttony, greed, and all manner of colorful metaphors with the vulgar warlord.
Recitation
The Warrior's Anthem as sung during the Cataclysm War“Rhuin eurar guhar pesuous uvar, ourin struca eviaage pentotimoic, ourin hemmar ihlheiricha uvar cebra emcheaial rigigarsha ourin Taunsar’s surachan,” Bak Thraplek purred richly. “Leis udura ain durmn ui eidura nugo, Il ehfusta domas futayn. Il themas arbas belas rir persan, Il burain thar huiruican,” Ru Ru Tiki, Aurora intoned. Beastlord wrinkled his muzzle in confusion. “My hands are bound because my captor fears the strength he does not see, but my heart is free and spirit unbroken, so defiant I shall be,” Ryo said. “I do not bow to your petty whims, nor buckle to your demands. You turn your back, but be forewarned, you’ll fall by my own hands,” Rowen added. “You’ll never keep me as your slave, my sword is keen and spirit brave. While fear and doubt may conquer some, I always march to my own drum,” Cye continued. “I wield this sword not for sake of blood but sake of purest right. With aid of friends and righteous cause, I will win this fight,” Sage declared. “The flesh I’ve worn, that flesh is torn, you’ve scarred with misery. The body is weak but spirit strong, then yet defiant I shall be!” Kento shouted. Beastlord growled in frustration and opened his mouth to speak but the Ronin continued speaking. “Sentiments change, loyalties sway, darkness falls over some. Such pitiful fools, lacking heart and insight, they fear the doom to come,” Anubis sneered. “The sands of time have blinded me, I am weary and lose my sight, but in my heart I persevere and take up the sword to fight!” Dais recited. “Return harm unto the harmer, slay the snake that charms the charmer. False promises do not interest me, so still defiant I shall be!” Sehkmet proclaimed. “Shadows come and shadows go, light and dark ebb and flow. Though weary warriors, we battle on, fear and fatigue we’ll never show,” Cale intoned. “My mouth has been crippled with silence, eyes welded shut by tears. Though broken, torn, my flesh may be, still defiant I shall be!” Tanya screamed. Beastlord glanced at each of them, bewildered. He opened his mouth to speak again, but the voices reverberated through the air. “You will never conquer me, to you I show no fear, through strength and unseen unity, you have no dominion here!” All of the Ronin and their allies began speaking, screaming in unison. Beastlord tried whispering but the cries deafened his voice and drowned out his power. “We soldiers fight with broken blades, and battle draws out the day, the spirit unbroken and mind still sharp: never stray from the Warrior’s Way! Though strength may wane and hope seem dim, I do not stand in vain. I will not lose faith or resolve, I’ll face the hurricane!” The anthem began repeating, and as long as the Ronin and their allies spoke, Beastlord couldn’t utter a single word to challenge them. His eyes widened in indignant fear and he clenched his fists. The Warrior’s Anthem came to a pause as a piercing metallic groan echoed from high above the clouds. All eyes in the Pit turned skyward as golden light shone through the overcast from several points. Ryo tilted his head up, shadows covering his eyes. “It’s here.”
Technological Advancement
Sadly, the battle would see the first use of dererium blades against fellow Thangiens, since the newly-arrived Thunthen were but spectators to the aftermath, and their lust for the planet would not bloom until millennia later.
Pavilion1.jpg
Dinner and a Llaudaun
by
Mardrena
Made with Flowscape and Paint.net
"In modern times, the Pavilion is known as a bustling market full of merchants and llaudaind. But the seams of the gleaming brick hide a bloody history in which civil war nearly tore this idyllic city apart..."
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
3000 B.C. (5000 years Earth-time)
Conflict Result
Total victory for the Faithful and the Four Queens
Location
Tirmutua1.jpg
Gardens of Tirmutua
by
Mardrena
Made with Flowscape and Paint.net
"In one of his last recorded sightings, Xiar the God-Hound is stated to have kept watch at the entryways to Tirmutua. The Faithful would greet him to gain passage, while the warlords were mauled or devoured for their duplicity."
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