Last Stand of House Mira

The Call Goes Out

Aenon of the Caerseat
Cursed thrice, then thrice that,
And shouted that the Rhetors
Ought prepare for the attack.
"This is treason," quoth he,
As he pounded on the door.
"An army I shall gather,
You shall rule here nevermore!"
High atop Meridia,
The ancient Bellows sound.
Calls went out to every town
From Æthport to the Downs.
"Stand fast, stand fast, you men-at-arms
Your lords summon thee.
Come from field and castle,
From forest and the sea!"
In the proud towers of Cærpina
Lord Ægis heard the call
All the Westmarch trembled,
As their lord refused to stall
"Drop your tools, you scoundrels
You knights, grab your blades!
The capital is calling,
Her honour we must save!"
To Meridia rode Lord Ægis,
Never one to wait,
And as he flew northward,
He passed Sarnia's proud gate.
"Stand tall Lord Osage!
Shall you refuse the call?
Aenon cries for aid,
Lest the capital shall fall!"
A roar heard Ægis, as Osage rose
Taller than a tree.
"No battle shall be won
Without the strength of me!"
And out came the Lord of Oak,
Thundering down the road.
"House Mira shall be broken,
Under my hammer's mighty load!"
With the West under arms,
The East's turn now 'twas.
In the fertile Vestral Downs
The Lords were all abuzz.
"Hear that?" quoth they,
As their bickering subsided.
"A call, a call, upon the winds
To arms, it is decided!"
House Etan first, with their vassals rose
Worried not of defeat.
For who could stand to hold any land
When faced with their vast fleet?
"Every man" cried Etan,
"To the capital shall ride!"
"Follow behind me, if you can
Try to match my stride!"
Oeis to their the south,
Under Nyara's Peaks they lived.
An ancient house, and proud,
With many fights to give.
"Sound the trumpets, men!" cried Oeis
And with a vengeful cry
That ancient lord, of song and sword,
To the capital doth ride.
Farther East and farther,
Aenon's call was heard.
In the land of wine and honey
And by the lone shepherd.
"A sorry noise, and a sad one"
Lord Salis doth spake.
"Old friends, and strong, are Mira,
Poor enemies they make."
But nonetheless he stood,
That noble Lord of Vine.
"Unsheathe the Sword of Brambles,
And fetch that destrier of mine!"
To the Coquet Heights, undaunted,
Came that maker of fine wine.
"For Vestria and for order,
Comes Mira's death this time."
In the capital is Lord Caersea,
Thus one more house remains.
Thewisy of the Crimson Quill,
Heard on the winds his name.
In his seat at ancient Somae,
The great lord rose with a sigh
"Bring me my sword of heavens,
My shield of Meda's Eye"
To the capital rode Lord Thewisy,
The last to come from East,
But on his way to the Heights,
He discovered a cowardly beast.
"Oh mount up, Prominere
Lord of fish and foam.
The Rhetorlord, he needs you,
Leave your plankéd home." With Prominere in the company,
As hesitant as he is,
Eight warriors this makes,
Arrayed 'gainst Mira and his.
Upon marble steps they met,
Those eight fierce men of yore,
Facing the young Kedius,
And his eight knights more.

The Eight Arrive

The company of Lords was storied
So a scene they had made,
And as they thundered down the steps
The crowds followed their rapid gait.
"Back you men, stand easy!"
The Rhetorlord dost cried
"There need not be another man
Who on this day shall die."
The sun shown down brightly,
And off their mail it gleamed,
Off shield and off halberd,
Off warhammer and brigandine.
"You stand no chance," pled Thewisy
"Throw down your arms, and yield.
For your father we have come,
He shall not leave this field."
"I fear not," cried the young heir
For Kedius still stood bold.
"My father is my liege,
And his city I shall hold!
His crimes, they may be plenty,
And his rule, more brutal still,
But to defend him, I have sworn,
And I shall, with all my will."
"Well spoken," said Lord Ægis,
As Peaksplitter he gripped
"And a good lord you would have made,
If into war we had not slipped."
"You could still rule," agreed Etan
That giant of a man,
"Turn your father over,
Take his scepter in your hand."
"Enough!" shouted Aenon,
"The boy, he shall not yield,
A shame it is, but many
Have today bled upon this field."
Thunder boomed as Shipbreaker
Came leaping from his scabbard,
Mist fell heavy upon the knights
And closer the throngs gathered.
At the base of the Deluge Stair
Nine knights gathered 'round
Clustered close to Kedius,
Trying not to drown.
The water pushed up closer,
The Miralac began to swell
And upon his ship Lord Mira
Was ringing the stern bell.
"Row hard, row fast my heir,
Into a boat you must leap!
These knights are grand and storied
They shall force you into the deep!"
"Send a boat for my men," cried Kedius
"But flee I shall not.
I will stand alone if needed
You shall not be caught!"
Off the spires did echo
The ringing of his blade
As Kedius prepared for battle
And was joined by his small brigade.
Those Lords of yore stood ready,
Holding their ancestral tools,
Their armor glistened as the spray,
Bounced off their many jewels.

The Last Stand

The first to strike was Osage,
Treebreaker in his hand,
He leaped down three steps and crushed
A loyal Miran man.
His weapon was one of legend,
Half hammer and half axe,
And that day Lord Osage swore
That no knight by him shall pass.
The men of Kedius struck back
But off him their attacks did bounce.
His skin was like an ironwood
His armour, none could trounce.
His strikes were wide and slow,
The weapon, heavy in hand,
But nonethless the Lord of Oak
Forced them from the land.
The lake at their back did roil,
As if at Prominere's command.
The Whaler Lord gave a shout,
And raised his trident in his hand.
The Miralac swelled and spilled,
Rocking Maialis's ship,
And water from the many falls
Off gleaming weapons did drip.
Kedius would no longer wait,
And at Lord Thewisy he struck.
The ancient lord deflected the blow
With naught but his divine luck.
Thewisy struck back undaunted,
And every star seemed to blink
As his Sword of Heavens slashed,
Forcing a Miran knight into the drink.
The Rhetorlord, in all his rage,
Took his enemies' bait.
He slipped upon the marble steps
And their swords pierced past his plate.
Lord Oeis lept forth slashing,
His twin swords, at the enemy they struck,
As Aenon laid there bleeding
Face-down upon the muck.
"You have laid low the Rhetorlord," said Salis
"This great land he did so nobly lead.
Throw down your swords and surrender,
But you shall leave by neither boat nor steed."
"I shall never yield," retorted Kedius
"But lo! A rowboat appears.
Take to the waters and flee men,
I shall hold these lords here."
Four Miran knights survived,
And they fled fast towards the ship.
"Row hard and quick across the lake,
Do not get lost in the mist."
Kedius girt up his shield,
His sword, he raised up high,
As at the seven lords he raced,
So from the field his knights could fly.
Etan thrust at him from the side,
Oeis swiped at his feet,
And Salis brought his sword down,
But death young Kedius did cheat.
Osage thundered 'round his flank,
and Thewisy brought up the rear,
Prominere threw his trident wide,
and Ægis stabbed with his spear.
The young heir spied a noble lord
From every corner of his eye.
He faced sword, and spear, and battle-axe,
But still refused to die!
Kedius traded blow for blow,
As the crowd could not help but cheer
And as their strikes finally found home,
Each lord shed a single tear.
Kedius fell unto the ground,
Laid low by numbers sheer,
His crimson cloak crumpled o'er him,
His sword still clutchéd dear.
"The boy died a noble death,"
Said Lord Thewisy to the crowd.
"The sins of the father, he ought not bear,
We shall give him unto to the clouds."
Four lords did his body lift,
Three more carried his gear,
As up the Deluge Stair they went,
Scaling Meridia's tiers.
To the district of the Gusts,
Where only the most noble tread,
And the most famed servants of the state
Join Vestria's honoured dead.
In robes of white and blue, tied tight,
The High Priestess joined them there,
Mist hung about her mourning sash
As she led them all in prayer.
Upon the sacred pyre was placed
The Rhetorlord and the heir,
And a crown of flame did lick up
Around his bright blond hair.
"Oh Vestria!" Cried the High Priestess
"Their oaths they did fulfill,
Fault them not we beg you,
For they are noble still."
And as she spoke, around her
A rainbow did appear,
The sacred sign that the goddess,
The men, she did hold dear.
The ashes were scattered to the skies,
The Lords stood with heads bow'd deep.
A wind forever they would be,
For their oaths, they did keep.
Stand true and noble, all Anharans,
Be you poor or highest bred,
And with Kedius and Vestria you will be
Long after all others are dead.

Historical Background

The Quills would be remiss if the historical analysis was not pointed out, please scroll below for the poetic work itself.

The Shattering

The Shattering of House Mira took place in 3AM, soon after The Crossing Over. Following centuries of harsh control over the capital of Meridia, House Mira faced a rapid uprising by their fellow nobles. Their taxation was too harsh, their methods too crass, and their abuses too public to ignore.

"Brutal combat in the Miran Spire yesterday evening, as House Mira suffered heavy casualties in the latest step in the brutal culling of their line. Few holdouts remain in the upper levels, and the Mirans have been forced into the dregs of the city, amongst their erstwhile victims." - The Whistling Observer

The final straw came when Maialis IV Mira locked the doors of The Rostrum's chambers, preventing the business of government from being done. The Rhetorlord at the time, Aenon II Caersea, gave an impromptu speech at the Rostra, an elevated platform in a public square, decrying publicly the numerous crimes of House Mira. While the poorest of the city were aware of the kidnappings, slavery, and numerous other abuses, this represented the established order casting House Mira out, and a general uprising began. This story takes place during the Week of Steps, the second half of the initial Battle for Meridia. Following the Week of Stains, a brutal period of door-to-door urban warfare, House Mira was forced to retreat towards the docks of the Mist District and head by boat to Mira's Eye. This was the Week of Steps, which ended in one of the greatest rear-guard actions, and tragedies, in Anharan history. Kedius Mira, heir apparent, was much more popular than his father. There is significant evidence pointing towards him overthrowing his father and reigning in House Mira, had the Shattering not interrupted his plans. However, his dedication to his family prevented him from siding against his father once the Shattering began, and his story ended when he laid down his life so Maialis could escape. Honored by his killers, Kedius Mira became an iconic figure, representing honor and the upholding of oaths even when inconvenient.

Significance

Cultural

The poem is part of a major Anharan work, compiled by the Crimson Quills and based on early bardic lais, called Tales of the Early Anharans. The book is commonly featured in the bedrooms of young nobles, and it forms part of the canon for Anharan noble literature. The tales held within the book predate this one, in fact Last Stand is the latest. However, it is held up as the greatest parable within, and represents the ideal young noble, who knows what is right but follows his oaths when he must.

Historical

A number of passages in the work give historical insight into the time period. Last Stand is one of the few works which lists the names of multiple ancestral weapons of the original noble houses together, not only indicating that they do not exist in a void, in the world of individual, house-specific tales, but also probably existed until after The Crossing Over. Beyond the ancestral weapons, the work shines some light on the relationship between the Lords of the original noble houses. While the work takes some liberties, namely that it states the Rhetors are present in the capital, and then shows them coming there from across the nation, there is likely a reason for that. As it is believed that the work was written in the immediate aftermath of the event, as a funerary lament, it is unlikely that this was anything more than an artistic flourish. Therefore, the Crimson Quills believe that the relationships between the Lords is still fundamentally accurate. This assumption is backed up by a few pieces of evidence, both contemporary to the work and otherwise. Lord Prominere is generally seen to have been hesitant to involve himself against his immediate neighbor, and was eventually convinced by Lord Thewisy. While this is seen in the work when Lord Thewisy rides past The Prominade, during the real event it was a conversation in the capital, hinted at in written reports from the time. Furthermore, the jovial, sometimes interpreted as kidding, attitude between the lords is seen to be accurate. The lords of the nine original noble houses, throughout history, often grew up together, spending time at each others' castles, and attending tournaments and festivals annually. Historical evidence throughout the Age of Rule points to this relationship remaining consistent, encouraged by the Patriarchs, even during times of conflict. While this principle does not apply consistently to every Lord of every original house, during every period, it is seen as a generally accepted theme. More insight is gained into the niceties of that relationship through the work, especially as they are backed up by contemporary evidence. Those in geographical proximity to each other often had the closest bonds, more like cousins than friends, such as that between Lord Oeis and Lord Aegis, which is supported throughout historical works. Last Stand also hints at the beginning of the breakdown of this system with the end of the Age of Rule. Setting aside the point of the work itself, which shows how far House Mira drifted from the consensus, Lords Salis and Prominere only side against Mira begrudgingly, and the infighting, now so stereotypical of the houses of the Vestral Downs, is hinted at having already began between Lords Oeis and Etan.

Date of Setting

3AM

Related Locations

Meridia

Related People

Last Stand of House Mira