The Black Iron Pact
In the days following Ajax's successful conquest of Andrim, he allowed the people of the Kingdom eight days of rest. On the ninth day, Gloomstalkers flew to all corners of Andrim sending Mortimer and his other associates out to gather the leaders of the various communities within the Kingdom. The four duke's King Ormund appointed during his reign, as well as the Dwarven King Selos and Eleven Viceroy Nel' Ashur and her father Viceroy Nel'Aka Ichroan The Molten King as well as Beskara the Reigning Tharazud of the Blue Dragon clan were also invited but elected to reject Ajax's invitation in defiance of the Invincible Overlord. It is rumored that Ajax hunted down both of these Dragon Rulers and punished them, but the truth of the matter is unknown as neither dragon has been sighted since.
The guest once gathered in the gardens of Tor's Colossal Keep were flown up to Outer Heaven Fortress, which still lingered above the keep as it did during the attacks. The wizard and chief adviser of Ajax, Mortimer escorted the guest to be seated at a great, diamond shaped table forged of black iron. Ajax entered and began the meeting shortly after, delivering a series of decrees unto the guest of his Will for his new Kingdom. This, was an agreement known as The Black Iron Pact.
The first Decree of Ajax was issued towards all the people of Andrim, in exchange for the safety and sovereignty the Overlord would provide his people; the would in exchange forfeit all ties to religion and worship of all deities. In the coming years, Ajax would initiate a cleansing in which all churches, temples, monasteries, shrines and monuments would be razed and all religious text would be burned. Anyone found practicing religion or recruiting for a private church would be subjected to imprisonment, enslavement or death. "For it is the will of Ajax that mankind be freed from the tyranny and scheming of the gods"
The second decree of Ajax was directed towards the Duke's of King Ormund's kingdom. He announced he would be christening all of them "Barons" over their perspective lands, the Barons would have much more independence and freedom to operate their taxing and other aspects of their baronies at their discretion. In exchange for this, Ajax would institute and legalize slavery within Andrim; stating he would be needing many capable laborers for his machinations and plans for his kingdom; offering an alternative for baronies jailing problematic or violent criminals. "For it is the will of Ajax that man thrive in his new kingdom"
The third decree of Ajax was directed toward the dwarves of the Kraggspire mountains and the Greypoint peaks; in addition to giving up their region and the old dwarven gods they would be tasked with using their deep mining roads below the mountains of Andrim to maneuver slaves and supplies on behalf of the legion; this would effectively cripple the dwarves abilities to mine the gems and minerals of the earth as they were also taxed heavily in that regard by The Invincible Overlord. In exchange for this, they would be permitted to maintain their mountain kingdoms which have since essentially become hubs of slavery within the Kingdom of Andrim. "For it is the will of Ajax that the Dwarven people know their place, firmly below the heights of wonder achievable by Man"
The fourth decree of Ajax was directed to the Elven people of Andrim, of The lands of the Rastaire Forest and The Grey lands alike; and it was perhaps the most brutal. The elves were to barred from holding property within Andrim, as well as any elves that held titles amongst their people, like the viceroys; were not to be recognized by any such titles by the Barons of Andrim. Additionally stripping the protections King Ormund placed upon their lands from being claimed by the baronies. In exchange for this, the Elven people would be spared from absolute genocide by the hand of the Black Iron Legion. The Viceroy Nel'Ashur objected to this, stating elves would be made into slaves if they agreed to the terms as they had been initially laid out in an instance, Ajax executed her instead of opting for a debate on the matter. He then forced her father, the Viceroy Nel'Aka to kneel and agree to sign the treaty while he wept for his daughters life. "For it is the will of Ajax that elves be placed under the boot of man and used as a stepping stone towards the dawn of The Age of Man"
The fifth decree of Ajax noted the "freedom and independence" offered to the baronies in this new restructuring and also stated he had many plans beyond the borders of Andrim and would be absent and unavailable to council barons on matters of running their lands; therefore, to ensure the will of Ajax was kept, honored and followed by his subjects, a secret police force of sorts would be instituted; embedding Ajax's spies deep within the city streets, markets, businesses, inns and taverns as well as the Baron's courts across Andrim. This was the christening of The Invisible Legion. "For it is the will of Ajax that his baron's and their people honor and respect the gift of independence Ajax has so graciously bestowed upon them, and that his Lord's Invisible Legion enforce that will with a black iron clad hand"
The sixth decree of Ajax would be the banning and dissolving of any standing armies of the baronies, stating that The Overlord would protect the baronies. This instituted a new age of adventure within the kingdom as many of the armies of king Ormund were dissolved and many skilled people were out of work; this would lead to the creation of the free lancer profession, the Advent Guild, and even the idea of "rat catchers" a popular term for low level free lancers within Andrim. For it is the will of Ajax that men raise their swords in service of themselves, not their kingdoms or their baronies"
Type
Treaty, Diplomatic
Medium
Oral Tradition / Word of Mouth
Location
Authors
Signatories (Characters)
Signatories (Organizations)
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