The Curse of the Black General

The old land of Inglaand was that of peace and prosperity. All was hopeful - sickness was scarce and the crops were plenty. Then the Khufuan's came.
An army of darkness with hundreds of beast-men chained to leashes, the Khufuans began overpowering the Southern Lands. Women and children were brutally murdered and fed to their beasts. The Knights of Inglaand came to her defense, but alas, it was of little use.
The secret weapon of the Khufuans was their pets, their demonic warriors of terrible destruction; Men that had the power of the gods slaughtered the knights whenever they were found - no matter the number or strategy. Refugees littered the countryside, orphanages filled to the brim. The beasts were so powerful and deadly no one could stop them.
Then, as the people of Inglaand cried as one, the Black General appeared. Sent by the gods, the Black General was as ruthless as the Khufuans - with the power to turn 10 men into 1000 and to drain the very life from those whom he touched. He protected the lands for years, eventually rising to be the most feared man in Inglaand. His strategy and skill made the invaders no match for him.
After years of successfully defending the remaining lands owned by Inglaand and rescuing hundreds of prisoners from Khufuan slave camps, The Black General demanded payment for his services - the hand of the King's only daughter. The good King pleaded with the Black General, offering him half of the kingdom instead of his daughter. The Black General would not change his demands and to refuse meant certain doom.
The King, in the name of his love for his daughter, refused the Black General and ordered his men to capture him. The Black General escaped and formed his own regiment of soldiers called the "Grim Fist" and began plundering Khufuan and Inglish lands alike. The King chased the General through his lands and into the Southern Lands where the Khufuan King and he made a pact and captured the Black General.
Upon this betrayal, the Black General cursed both Kings and with a mighty outcry, he turned his powers of darkness upon Kaldra herself and siphoned the very life out to the Southern Lands, creating a desolate wasteland that no one in their right mind would want, but empowered him with the life of all that he took. With this new power, he called upon the great fire goddess herself Deslolas to wipe both Kings and their Armies from the land. She spewed her anger down on the Kings, killing them, their armies, and every living thing in the Southern Lands.
Some say the Black General isn't really dead; that in his cunning, he tricked both Kings and lived out his days in the now-tainted Southern Lands.
Others claim the Black General was destined to die for the sake of the People of Inglaand. That the gods sent him for that very reason.
Still others claim that he barely escaped with his life, severely wounded, back to the land which he protected... only to be locked away by the nobility for fear he would turn his dark powers upon them...
Either way, the curse of the Black General holds today - the Dark Forest, Death's Door, and Mount Deslolas are easily spotted from Lond'la ridge as a warning to all against greed and betrayal...

Historical Basis

The Black General and his army rode in the defense of Inglaand during the war that would be named the "Black War" or the "Shadow War". His army, also known as the "Grim Fist", triumphed over the Khufuan Invaders. The battle that ended the Shadow War left the south-western lands of the Northern Continent a desolate wasteland, though no one knows how.
The Black General convinced the King to allow him nobility after he successfully defended several villages from the Kufuan Invaders. He then went on to create his own regiment and train them in a very strange art of war; using what most of his contemporaries called "dishonorable" methods of what he would call "Gorilla warfare". His "Grim Fist" as they would come to be known were very successful in defending Inglaand's strongholds and castles, but it wasn't until about 30 years after the war started that he and his men successfully routed the invaders.
In the aftermath, about a third of the territory controlled by vassals of Inglaand was turned to ash. The actual account of what happened was never reported by anyone, so the poets and bards are as close as anyone when guessing how the army was defeated. Most Scholars, however, agree that it was the eruption that caused the end of the Black General, his Grim Fist, and the Khufuan Invaders all at once and any sort of "magic power" had nothing to do with it.

Spread

some people; grandparents; the elderly, know it as a bedtime story. Since it wasn't that far in the past, most people believe the legend is real.

Variations & Mutation

The most popular variation twists the hero and villain, making the Black General a god-sent hero who defied the wicked King. In this variation, The Black General fell in love with the King's daughter and pleaded with the king to allow him to marry her and leave the service of the army, but the wicked and selfish king wanted more - he forced the Black General to train a group of men as good as he and lead an offensive back into the Southern Lands to reclaim them. It was then that the General created his "Grim Fist" and rode with them along with the King and His Knights to the Southern Lands to drive out the Khufuans once and for all.
During the battle however, the Black General was betrayed by the King who agreed to trade the General's life in exchange for peace with Khufu. Upon being faced with the betrayal and his death, the Black General cursed the king and declared "Your greed, deceit, and lust will turn honey to ash and crops to dust!". He turned his powers of darkness upon the land and cursed the ground with his dying breath, vowing that both Kings would die there that day.

Cultural Reception

Most people pay little attention to the story or they live in fear of the return of the Black General. Mothers use the story to keep their young in check and little else is gained from the story.
There are some, however, that believe the legend to be a twisted account of real events.

Date of First Recording

800 AF

Date of Setting

771 AF - 800 AF