Olympus RPG Blog

“You ask why I was delayed, my lord? I rode from Teridar with three hundred men-at-arms, veterans all. To reach Kethalos in time we chose a shorter route and found upon it a single bridge. And upon that bridge stood one man with no mail or shield and only a single sword. I saw upon his arms the dragon-mark naming him Gaidin, and he refused to stand aside. So I chose another path that would not lead these men to ruin.” 

-First Consul Aloysius of Terand, when asked of a peer why his war-band did not reach Kethalos to aid against a massive Northern raid.

Called Gaidin by many though no one has ever identified the origin of this word or more frequently ‘dragon-marked,’ the blademasters of Megalos are professional swordsman trained to a level of skill unseen in most students of the sword. Their origin remains shrouded in mystery – the first recorded instance of a dragon-marked blademaster predates Megalos itself. In 980, two such men were said to have dueled with over a hundred local tribesmen near the area that would become Craine and Emperor Menelaus was said to have been so impressed by their abilities with a sword that he enlisted nearly twenty of them to act as his personal guard. It was Menelaus himself who first suggested the adoption of a stylized dragon tattoo upon a blademaster’s forearm to identify his proficiency.

The number of active blademasters have never been especially high, reaching their high point during Megalos’ own apex, and experiencing a corresponding dwindling in gravitas as the empire itself began to collapse. As a purely Megalos institution, there are no equivalents to this curious institution in other lands, although some, such as the elven blade dancers, come close and are believed by many to have been the inspiration for the first human blademasters. No organized training regimen exists – a prospective student might study under only a single master or half a dozen, and in very rare instances, might attain the level of master without ever studying until an acknowledged dragon-mark himself.

Blademasters are formally recognized as such in Megalos when one of two things occurs: either they defeat a known blademaster in single combat with appropriate witnesses, or they are judged by five blademasters, via unanimous vote, to have demonstrated sufficient skill. Upon being acknowledged as such, this new master is awarded his ‘dragon-mark’ in the form of a stylized tattoo. Depending upon the wealth of the blademaster, the wealth of the region, or his personal tradition, this tattoo can be extraordinarily elaborate, with differing inks or even mild magical enhancements, or the tattoo may be a much simpler affair. In nearly all cases, the dragon’s head begins upon the back of the blademaster’s hand with the tail reaching close to the elbow. 

“You may be stripped of everything in this life, but will always have the dragon-mark. To strip a Gaidin of this mark, to sever his arm at the elbow, is dishonor beyond what can be swallowed for you take not only their mark but their craft as well.”

– Gaidin Jearom, considered the greatest swordsman to ever live. It is said he fought over 10,000 times in battle and single combat. He only lost once to a farmer with a quarterstaff.

Below is a representation of the most frequently used dragon-mark throughout the so-called “Age of Steel.”

Excerpt from Caemlyn Illustrated Atlas of Warfare : The Age of Steel

Despite the size of the available military force situated in Simonton at the end of July, the city itself was ill prepared for the violence looming before it. In addition to the lack of any unified leadership, the tactics being utilized were obsolete, geared more for a traditional siege from a Caithness army than the vasar host. The two principal personalities – Field Marshal Corvyn, the war captain who answered to Chancellor Dorlyn, Lord of Mershall, and Malcolm, Lord Wallace – did not like each other and Wallace’s unheard of action to appoint a lowborn soldier to captain his own forces only intensified this dislike. That this common man was more capable and experienced in waging war against the vasar was inexplicably perceived by Corvyn as yet another insult to his honor.

The uncovering of vasar controllers within the king’s men by Wallace’s retainers resulted in a brief alliance between the two factions. Three nobles were shackled: Baethyn, a minor noble who would miraculously survive and later become one of Wallace’s most fervent loyalists, and two landed knights of whom only their names are known – Cannick and Lorbrin. The former was freed by Wallace’s retainers and the controller, according to numerous eyewitnesses, was thrown at the feet of the skeptical Sir Corvyn. Some, like the Simonton knight, Sir Tomas of House Wayn, would later write of this incident in the twilight of their lives.

Never have I looked upon a creature so foul. In that moment I fear I was unmanned with terror at the thought of facing these creatures and looked upon Wallace’s men as gods. They had faced these beasts and won free. They alone knew how to slay the beasts. I was not alone in pledgin[g] to obey them as I did my lord. 

The two knights fled the camp through a vasar portal, though Wallace’s retainers were said to have slain the creatures shackling them. Of these two men, nothing else is known and it is strongly suspected that they died, either with the controllers or shortly after.

Armed with the superior knowledge about fighting the invaders brought by the men who accompanied Lord Wallace through the rift, Simonton settled in for an extended siege. This marked the first instance of utilizing the deflective anti-teleport field weaved into place by the Huallapan, Pachacuti, for protection; in later decades, this barrier would become common-place over the great cities of Yrth as the skill of spellweaving spread, but for July, 2005, it was a first.

Personality conflicts between Wallace’s war captain, Dane Sardock, and Sir Corvyn continued throughout the week following the first strategical meeting. As a lowborn soldier, Sardock had no talent for handling the expectations of nobility and he gained few allies with his blunt assessments and orders, though based on the few surviving writings of Sir Corvyn, it is clear that distrust of Sardock’s master, Lord Wallace, was the primary reason for the conflict.

Would that this lowborn boy been born to even the lowest of knights. For a score of years I have led me to war and this boy seems to know better how to wield my men as a sword than even I. Would that he were not of Wallace and I would march into battle wit[h] him.

By the first of August, the vasar marching from the Great Desert reached the outskirts of Simonton (see sidebar map: The Battle of Simonton.) Gabriel Auditore, who would later become known as the legendary Hooded Man, was an eyewitness and recorded his thoughts in one of the numerous journals he penned.

The very hills were black with the vasar. They had numbers I could scarcely fathom and our scouts feared we were facing five warriors to each one of our men. I know not whether we can hold Simonton – here where so many eye each other with acrimony and distrust. By God would that the king’s men been led by a man less prideful. He and his master tremble and I fear they will break.

It would turn out to be a prophecy. On 3 August 2005, Sir Corvyn and his master, Chancellor Dorlyn, abandoned Simonton and marched away, taking with them over half of the swords available to defend the border city. This treachery would have much greater ramifications for King Conall IV’s reign than he could have anticipated.

Excerpt from Caithness, 1840-2040: The Age of Steel (2290)

With the return of Malcolm, Lord Wallace, from his unexpected exile, the fortunes of Caithness began to shift. Where before Conall VI faced constant internecine warfare between his newly unified barons, he had also had no one to actively unite the factions who opposed him. Malcolm would change this. Newly returned from the Huallapan world where he had seen the Vasar threat firsthand and knew what the fate of Yrth was to be if the senseless rivalries continued, Malcolm was unexpectedly fearless in his endeavours, whether it was facing the invaders or his own allies who wished to unseat Conall.

Malcolm was helped in this due to the constant advise he received from of the most memorable characters in all of Caithness history, the flamboyant herald-mage known even today only by the name given to him by his fans. Magnifico (birth and death dates unknown) was accused by Wallace’s rivals as manipulating the young lord with both chicanery and magery, though these accusations could never be proven. Documents from this time frequently referenced the man’s contributions, even if they were slanted according to the composer. One of Conall’s chief advisers, Lord Berd of Fordham, had the following to say of Magnifico:

“He [Wallace] entered the camp with a small group of retainers but it was his fool who drew the most eyes. I witnessed firsthand how this man dressed in motley colors dazzled the mind with words and twisted one’s intent. Though I urged His Majesty to have the fool slain it was to the kingdom’s regret that I was ignored.” ¹

Wallace himself was once asked of his trust of the fool in the presence of a Church scribe and had the following to say:

“Magnifico makes me laugh when I would weep, sob when I would laugh, and reminds me that all men must face their Maker when He wills it. A man could have worse advisers in this world.” ²

Whether it was due to Magnifico’s recommendations that led to the all too brief unification of Caithness under a single banner remains a mystery. Some, including Gabriel Auditore, a free sword and master of the blade better known for his connection to the various legends of the Hooded Man (see sidebar: The Hooded Man), believed that to be the case:

“After seeing what this king’s men do in his name, I would have told Wallace to spit in the man’s face or offer to face him in single combat, but instead, the man chose to ally with the crown. I expect Magnifico to be behind this or perhaps Mendel.” ³

Very few of Wallace’s contemporaries could have predicted what would happen next.

—

¹ Collected Writings of Berd, Lord Fordham (Caithness Royal Library)

² Wallace: Thunder in the Mountains (2195, Caemlyn Press.) Modern historians now question the legitimacy of this quote which has been attributed to a half dozen other close advisers to Malcolm, Lord Wallace, during his life, including Abbot Mendel (believed to have died in 2026, although inconsistencies within Church records indicate that there might have been two men of this name during this era.)

³ From The Collected Writings of Gabriel Auditore, Revised Edition published by Caemlyn University. The incident Auditore references in this excerpt is unclear but most historians expect he is referring to the various atrocities so common in this era.

Excerpt from The First RiftWar: A Primer (2271)

This raid marked the first time that orcs and ogres had trod upon elven lands in over two centuries and their sudden, unexpected presence threw the Ruling Council into chaos. According to their official record:

Fear stripped away our reservations. Fear and anger. Where before the Humans told a tale difficult to believe, here was a threat to our homeland that could not be ignored. To our great surprise the Humans stepped forward and quickly offered their strength of arms to aid in defense. The young Lord, whom we knew, stumbled upon his words but his armsmen – the Northlander, the Blademaster in white, the silent archer, even the ugly one who spoke so well – were stalwart and upright. We accepted this pledge with reservations but hope and they left three of their number – a grandfather, a priest and the blademaster’s apprentice – behind. We thought not to see these Humans again.¹

Military historians often complain that there exists insufficient historical information about this particular skirmish to track how it progressed. The above reference is, in fact, the most complete reference found to this orcish incursion and none of the official Council records from the time even reference Vasar involvement. It was not until the discovery of several Auditore journals nearly two decades ago that historians even realized the battle was linked to the wider engagement. Auditore wrote:

Through a hole in a tree we ventured with elves and met orcs in battle. Blood and fire hung heavy in the night but I danced the forms well. It was not until later when the last of our foes had kissed the earth that we saw the controlling beasts upon some bodies. Afterward the elven Council agreed to lend us aid out of fear though they tried to claim it was simply in respect to our strength of arms. ²

In recent years, students of this era have come to believe that the following stanza from one of the numerous Jak o’Shadows military marching song from Caithness can be traced directly to this battle:

We’ll dance all night until the elves run free,
And smite the orcs until they flee,
And then we’ll back thru the tree,
To dance with Jak o’ the Shadows.

Another reference to this engagement is believed to be referenced in the Master of Blades cycle of songs, which have been strongly linked to Auditore, in the following snippet:

Weapons scattered,
Columns shattered, standing their ground.
Great the havoc,
The Bladesman turned back the Orcish.
He duelled giants,
In the front ranks, in the spear-clash.
He laid beasts low,
Danced with beast, before they died.
Elvish land flamed
But the Master walked clear.

No records exist detailing how great the elven losses were or how significant a deciding force the small band of human warriors turned out to be.

—–

¹ Modern linguistic experts debate the validity of this translation – ‘blademaster’ for example can be more poetically translated to ‘dancer of steel’ and the word ‘ugly’ has no actual Elven equivalent; most insist this should be ‘displeasing to the eye’ – but for ease comprehension, we have used the Low Tongue words.

² From The Collected Writings of Gabriel Auditore, published by Caemlyn University.

Except from Auditore: The Hooded Man (2265)

We spent little time in Ferrier – what we could carry, we did and took horses as well to hurry our travels.¹ Wallace sent one of our comapny [sic] north with a letter for his father and the rest of us went south in pursuit of the Vasar. Of Cometes I found no sign which grieved me heartily. Auqui I attired in the raiment of the baron of Ferrier’s grandson whom we found in his deathbed. ‘Twas easy enough to tell how he died – an arrow to the belly that went foul.

Auqui’s progress with the blade continues apace. He has learned as I did how best to bury his anger and grief into the forms though I oft see him lose a step when sudden memory returns. I have altered the regimen to focus less on bladework and more on Anglish: the lad looks so frustrated when we converse and he knows not what we say that I mean to resolve that.

—

It is nigh on five days since I last put pen to ink. I have spent the entire time afoot as we are a horse short and my stride is curiously longer than any others. Wallace has his mind set to Simonton tho he says not why. I know a little of the place – it is near enough to the elf village I lived in some years back ² that a monthly visit was not unheard of and I recall the markets with some fondness.

Auqui’s excement [sic] over his new arms was as short-lived as I expected. He dons an agreeable enough face when addressing me but Mendel jokes at the lad’s discomfort. Rainald offered to let the boy don his own raiment for a moment and would that I had the talent to capture Auqui’s horror at the very notion. In that I do not disagree for Rainald has the weight of two men when he is under arms, perhaps even three. He believes it necessary to save himself but a single well-placed strike at his exposed face and he would fall like any other.

Wallace continues to hold his own counsel but we all see the fear on his face. Each day carries us farther from his home and we know not if Wallace itself yet stands. 

Upon the morrow we will enter the forest proper and I wonder at the sights before us. Mayhap Wallace’s worry infects me but I cannot help but to question God’s plan for me in this world. Confession is necessary for the soul but Mendel is too dear a friend for me to encumber him with my worries and sins. Would that we could reach a place with a church that I could trust.

Tomorro[w] I mean to test Auqui with Black Pebbles on Snow. His ribs will hurt by noon I fear.

———————————

¹ According to modern scholars, this is not entirely accurate as most agree that the expedition Auditore was a member of looted many valuables from Ferrier and carried them off, not the least of which being the ancestral relic that belonged to the ruling house. It would later reappear in history wielded by Malcolm, Lord Wallace, but vanished shortly before his untimely death.

² Attempts to identify this village have been inconclusive. Auditore never uses the elven names given to their villages and towns (which is entirely to be expected from a man of his time and upbringing) and, indeed, the most modern scholars have been to glean about his onetime elven paramour is that part of her name is Mira. Given the notorious length of elvish private names in their native tongue, she could be any of several thousand different candidates.