Created: 2007-07-22 18:18:27
Game: unity
Faith: Barnabas
The founding of the city of Hirudo is shrouded in myth, but the most popular tale of it's creation goes as follows:
King Numitan of Avon Mora (believed to have sat in the centre of the plains just east to where Hirudo now lies) was slain and replaced by his younger brother Acrulius. To do away with any further possible pretenders to his usurped throne, Acrulius murdered Numitan's sons and forced Numitan's daughter, Rhorusia, to become a Priestess in a Temple devoted to the Elder Gods of Tonan. The priestesses of this ancient deity were expected to guard their virginity in the goddess' honour.... on pain of death. However another of the Elder gods, their names now shrouded in mystery and myth, a god of both care and terror, became enchanted by Rhorusia's beauty and impregnated the princess while she slept.
As a result of this Rhorusia bore twins, Horodus and Hirudus.
Upon hearing of the birth of these twins and heirs, an enraged Acrulius had Rhorusia taken to the peak of the highest mountain to the south east of Avon Mora (believed to be the same mighty peak that towers above the range of mountains to this very day - the great Carandhras), and thrown off.
It is said that when Rhorusia landed on the mountains beneath her, the entire range split itself in two in grief, thus creating the massive mountain pass which would become the gate to the border regions encircled by the mountains, and future site of the city of Hirudo.
The twins, their mother disposed of, were taken out into the mountains and left for dead.
However, the will of Acrulius was no match for the divine fates laid out by gods. It was there, somewhere up in the mountains, that the babes were found by the Great Crimson Dragon - Caedes - who provided for the boys until puberty, when he gave them into the care of a local sage and wizard who lived in the mountains south of Avon Mora.
Once the two boys reached manhood they were told of their true origins, and the Wizard aided the two brothers in leading a rising against Acrulius.
There commenced a bitter struggle between the brothers and their uncle for while Acrulius was a cruel and unfair ruler hated by his people, many feared him and would not rise up and face his wrath.
The violent conflict tore the lands around Avon Mora apart, but Acrulius was eventually slain in battle pierced by the triumphant spears of both twins... His Tyranny was at an end, but Avon Mora had paid the price, and little of its former glory survived the carnage of war.
There was little choice for the survivors but to find new lands to settle.
As rulers of a people now without a home, the twins decided to found a new settlement, at the site of their mothers death.
Their old teacher and adopted father the sage read the omens of Acrulius' blood and foretold that they should build their city at the south-eastern end of the mountain pass made by their mother's fall and that Hirudus, the 'elder' of the twins, should be -not king- (for as proven by their uncle king's could not be trusted) but Prince of the new city - Hirudo.
As Hirudus led the people in the creation of a new homeland, at first Horodus helped willingly...
...but then it is said that another of the Elder Gods, a rival of the one whom had impregnated Rhorusia, spoke to Horodus in his sleep. This god had also been entranced by the twins' mother's beauty - and enacted his jealous vengeance by persuading Horodus to kill his brother and sieze the city.
At the foot of great Carandhras (where the Citadel of Cruentus was later constructed) Horodus attacked Hirudus and came near to slaying his brother, smashing his kinsman against the foot of the mountain... but the Great Dragon Caedes appeared out of the mountains and his crimson flame engulfed Horodus before his final blow could fall.
Though distraught at the loss of his twin, Hirudus has no choice but to continue the building of the new 'city', though in truth it was little more than a small settlement.
The first great problem was that there was very little arable land within the mountain pass, and the near lands to the east, once their home Avon Mora, were still barren and scarred. As such Hirudus was forced the creat a second settlement within the fertile and mountain-sheltered plains at the western end of the mountain pass. This settlement he named after his dragon-father - Caedes.
It was while Caedes was being built, a small tribe of Dark Elves migrated to the area. Despite Hirudus' attempts to befriend the new arrivals, they would hear none of it and relations were tense. With Caedes nearing completion, the majority of Hirudo's men and boys were required to complete the work, and upon learning that the men, including most of the Hirudan warriors were away building Caedes the Dark Elves (known as the Sabini) attacked Hirudo. They looted much of the settlement and killed every woman and child they found.
When the Hirudans returned and found all their womenfolk dead, they were incensed with anger and loss. The Sage, now old and dying, gave Hirudus one last gift, using the last of his magic - and his life- locating the Elves hidden camp in the mountains.
The Hirudans struck back at the Elvesand their wrath was truly terrible, massacreing every male elf that stood against them - and then even those that surrendered. All that was left were the she-elves and elflings, undefended and defenceless.
The story goes, the Hirudans approached them prepared to slay them all too... but the elves begged for their lives and Hirudus and his men found that not one of them had the heart to cut down a single defenceless woman or child. Instead, they took the elves captive and took them back to Hirudo with them - using the she-elves to replace the lost Hirudan womenfolk... in every way.
In some cases bonds of love and friendship were forged between the Sabini and the Hirudans - Hirudus himself fell deeply in love with the Sabini chief's daughter.... but in most cases the Hirudans simple took out their vengeance for the loss of their womenfolk upon the Sabini by using them as slaves and mistresses.
The Sabini -tainted by the Hirudan's seed- began to give birth to the next generation of Hirudo - half Hirudan half Sabini, half man half elf - The Hirudan Race as it is today.
From then on, the Hirudan people and their city began to grow - the neighbouring lands falling beneath the Hirudan's military might and the City State emerging as the dominant -local- power.
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Now, with the Ascendancy of Prince Karhedron San'Guin, the San'Guin house reportedly direct descendants of Hirudus himself, to the Hirudan Throne the sights of the Empire have been set wide. Having returned from years of travel and adventure throughout Tonan, upon hearing of the death of his father Prince Karhedryll, the new Prince brings with him many ideas and concepts from without the Empire's borders... the foremost of these being the teachings of the mysterious Leto, of whom it appears the newly ascended Prince is an acquaintance and disciple.
As such, for three consecutive consecutive campaigning seasons, the Legions of The Empire marched into the surrounding lands of Tonan to spread the word of Leto.
In doing so however, while the word was spread far and wide, so too did the ever expansive Hirudan people being to hear tell of words and promises of the other great persons, supposedly Gods incarnate, to whoms banners the nations and alliances of the world of Tonan had flocked. Barnabas... Angelique... As the Empire expanded it was unavoidable that followers of these so-called fallen gods would be incorporated within The Hirudan Empire, and indeed such was the growth of TheEmpire, so rapid its expansion sweeping aside the inferior armies of its neighbours, that it was impossible for the Empire's leadership not to develop a fair measure of philosophical tolerance for those who followed the words of the other two great leaders.
Tolerance turned to curiousity, curiousity to acceptance. With more and more diverse lands falling under Imperial rule, so too did the Senate of the Empire, the ruling council of representatives independent of the Church, the Legions and Judiciary and answerable, supposedly, only to the Emperor Prince himself, become more diverse and their cultures and beliefs.
There are some that now claim it is the Senate that holds the true power, with the Prince no more than a figurehead and war leader... but this is neither here nor there. For now, its seems the philosophies of The Hirudan Empire are somewhat in flux, with whichever of the vying factions of the Senate are dominant at the time 'dictating' the direction in which The Hirudan people will spread their civilisation to the lesser peoples of Tonan...
GM: Prince of Hirudo
AGM: Lord of the San'Guin
Squad Leader: Duke/ArchBishop/HighSheri
Full Member: Earl / Bishop / Sheriff
Member: Baron / Friar /ShireReeve
Newbie: Knight / Brother / Reeve
Revived from shadow after a sparkling, if brief, grloy.
Ranking Structure
Most Ranks are split into three, depending upon the path which each individual wishes to follow within TheEmpire's hierarchy. Generally the member's role will either be Military (thus assigned fuedal ranks such as Earl or Baron) or Religious (Assigned Eclesiastical ranks such as Brother/Bishop) or Civil (assigned Judicial Ranks such as High Sheriff or Reeve)
Prince of Hirudo (GM) – Prince of the Hirudan people, ruler of Hirudo. The Prince has the final say in all decisions.
Lord of the San'Guin (AGM) – Senior member of the House of San'Guin, a highly respected individual, primary advisor and heir to the Prince. The title 'Lord of the San'Guin' is bestowed upon the eldest member of the current ruling house of San'Guin, granting him quthority second only to the Prince himself.
Duke/Arch Bishop/High Sheriff – Assisting the Prince in the running of the guild, each member of this rank may have a specific role and area of expertise. Authority only preceded by the Prince of Hirudo or Lord of the San'Guin.
Earl/Bishop/Sheriff – Squadleader, skilled and experienced, leading by example.
Baron/Friar/Shire-Reeve – Trusted members of the guild.
Knight/Brother/Reeve - New members to the guild. The rate at which they ascend the heirarchy relies upon how active he/she is, how well they communicate with fellow members, and their longevity within the guild.
Should the Prince be unable to fulfil his responsibilities the Lord of the San'Guin will take on the Guild Master.
Promotion
Promotion is given by the Prince or Lord of the San'Guin when the individual had proven themselves to be worthy. Recommendations by other respected members of the guild will also be taken into consideration. It is important to realize that an active member with a willingness to learn is prized more then one who may be highly skilled but inactive and contributing little.
GUILD RULES
1. All members must confirm and maintain the following code of conduct:
We fight for the glory of TheEmpire and Leto.
We obey the rules of Unity and Canon in general.
We will aid fellow followers of Leto in any and all ways seen fit by the Prince of Hirudo, regardless of the condemnation of the followers of the 'lesser ones'.
2. Members of TheEmpire are expected to seek approval before carrying out hostile actions against members of other guilds. This is NOT mandatory, but failure to do so may lead to support not being given by the Prince and thus the rest of the Guild. Extreme cases may result in punishment/expulsion.
3.All instances of espionage/warfare on members should be reported to the Prince/Lord of the San'Guin. In addition, during times of war/individual attacks, attacks made by you must also be reported.
4. Members will be active to at least a moderately high degree.
5. Lack of attendance to an announced war chat must be with prior notification.
6. RP between members in TB is highly encouraged but not mandatory.
7. Activity in TB is also highly encouraged, especially in war threads.
8. Members must follow the rules of TB at all times:
No personal threads.
No revealing Voice/Seer alts.
Icon and UBB tests only in the icon thread.
No excessive profanity and sexual inuendo.
No posting of porn links, or adult-rated material.
No posting of bug reports.
No spamming.
No accusations of cheating.
Do not make an ass of yourself on TB.
Application
If you want to join TheEmpire, you must:
1. Send an application to the GM through either ICQ or E-mail that includes the following:
Previous experience of play: Games, Guilds, positions held.
Timezone (country) of residence. Normal times of activity (in game time).
Preferred kingdom expertise (warrior/sorc/scum).
Instant messaging methods you can be contacted with when you are playing the game (ICQ, MSN, IRC)
Any other forms of communication you would like to provide (eg. another e-mail account)