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Tales of the Ten Years War, Part 2:
https://mmh7.ubi.com/en/blog/post/view/tales-of-the-ten-years-war-part-2
Approximate translation:
With Jezebeth’s death, the fourth Blight finally came to an end. But in the Empire, the problems were only just beginning...
Tales of the Ten Years War
844 – The Conclave of the New Dawn.
Miv’s death was avenged. As the Falcon’s Nest was reduced to a pile of smoldering ruins, the fallen Empress’s body was brought to the Imperial Summer Palace, near Whitecliff in the Duchy of the Hound. There, she was given a funeral befitting her rank: her body was cremated, allowing her essence, according to custom, to rise to meet the sun in Elrath.
No one could ignore the rising tension during the ceremony. All the Dukes and Duchesses were present.
Ivan Gryphon, the avenger of Miv.
Sheamus Deer.
Amilcar Bull.
Rowena Unicorn.
Engerrand Hound.
Stefan Wolf.
If Miv’s son, Brendan, was truly dead, then one of them would soon become Emperor or Empress. Shortly after Miv’s funeral, the Church of Light announced the creation of the Conclave of the New Dawn in the holy city of Flammschrein. This assembly of angels, priests, and scholars, led by the beloved archangel and war hero Sandalphon, was to decide who would inherit the crown. Of course, centuries after the infamous Deception of Uriel, many citizens of the Empire still remained wary of the Church’s impartiality, suspecting that the priests and angels would simply choose the candidate who would best serve their own interests.
To allay these suspicions, Sandalphon decided to invite an angel named Murazel to sit on the conclave. “Guardian of Hammerfall, brave heart of purest Light, I trust you. I trust you to help us choose the best possible emperor for this great people. I trust you to keep us honest and true. Will you join the Conclave of the New Dawn, and sit with me once more through these times of trial?”
It was a brilliant move: Murazel was a legendary figure, known for preferring humans to her fellow angels. She had repeatedly aided the Free Cities of the East, sometimes even against the Empire, and her own kind considered her a renegade. If there was an angel who would never risk her moral principles for personal gain or politics, it was Murazel.
Murazel accepted Sandalphon’s offer and set out from Hammerfall to Flammschrein, ending six centuries of exile.
A Falcon by Any Other Name...
Of course, as soon as the Conclave was established, many young men arrived in Flammschrein, claiming to be Miv’s son, Brendan. The Conclave questioned them, and eventually rejected them all. Some members of the conclave insisted that the impostors should be tortured or executed publicly to set an example. True to form, Murazel spoke out vehemently against this decision, and instead proposed that they be imprisoned for a year for “reflection” on their life choices. The wise Sandalphon approved Murazel’s proposal. It had a sufficient deterrent effect.
Several weeks passed, and the Conclave was still debating or investigating the possibility of Brendan’s survival. Tension was growing within the Empire. Everyone had an opinion on who should sit on the throne. All the Dukes and Duchesses had at least one Falcon ancestor in their lineage, and they were all building their arguments, gathering genealogical documents and other evidence of their inheritance.
The most obvious candidate was Sheamus Deer. The Deer House was related to the Falcons, and these strong family ties seemed undeniable. However, some scholars noted that Sheamus was descended not from the main bloodline of the Deer, which had died out around the time of the Second Blight, but from a collateral branch, related by marriage. He had Falcon blood, but not as much as he would like to believe.
These same scholars had their sights set on a stronger candidate: Ivan Gryphon. It was discovered that Ivan was descended from both the main bloodlines of the Falcon and the Deer. The great hero of the Second Blight, Duke Anton, who later married Empress Gwendolyn, had three children with her, the second of whom then inherited the Duchy of Gryphon. But Anton’s mother was Kate Deer, the only member of her house to have children. Needless to say, Sheamus was not pleased with the work of these scholars.
A War of Words
Accusatory rumors began to spread in taverns throughout the Empire. These rumors claimed that Ivan was the one who let the demons into the Falcon’s Nest, hoping to inherit the throne after Miv’s death. If Ivan was innocent, then how did he know where Jezebeth was hiding? Did he really try to avenge Miv... or was he just trying to make sure the succubus remained silent?
At the time, Ivan was courting Sheamus’s daughter, Nolwenn. As the rumors spread, Sheamus publicly forbade his daughter from seeing Ivan again. “The Gryphon may have blood on his wings,” he declared angrily. Amilcar Bull, who had an old family feud with the Gryphons and had never trusted Ivan, made the accusations himself, much less delicately.
The other Dukes were not as eager to join Sheamus and Amilcar’s accusations, but they demanded that Ivan reveal how he knew where Jezebeth was hiding, in order to put an end to it once and for all. Stubborn and proud, Ivan refused to explain. “I can reveal to you, my shadow advisors, that he learned about Jezebeth from a trusted informant and, being a man of honor, simply could not betray his source. When Amilcar Bull declared that Ivan’s silence was sufficient proof of his duplicity, Ivan challenged Amilcar to a duel.
“There is nothing I need to be ashamed of,” he said. “Let Elrath decide who is telling the truth and who is spreading lies!”
Two weeks before the anniversary of Miv’s death, Ivan and Amilcar met on neutral ground in a small town called Brookshire, within the former province of the Falcon. Declaring himself the champion of Miv, Amilcar drew his sword. A murmur arose among the witnesses as they recognized the Blade of Truth, an ancient sword of the Falcon dynasty, one of the seven “Bastards of Elrath.” Ivan greeted his opponent with the Gryphon’s Blade of Revelation, and the duel began. Ivan was younger, faster, stronger, but Amilcar was more experienced, more skilled, more cunning. Their duel lasted for thirty agonizing minutes, during which they seemed evenly matched. Blades clashed, again and again. And the unthinkable happened: one of Ivan’s blows shattered the Falcon’s Blade into pieces.
Disarmed and shocked, Amilcar acknowledged his defeat. Ivan had proven his innocence in a fair fight, but a sinister feeling descended upon the spectators. Many felt that the broken sword was not an accident: it was an omen, foreshadowing the end of the Falcon Empire.
Three days later, the bells of Flammschrein began to toll, but their song was mournful and sad. It was a funeral knell. Sandalphon was dead; a dark blade had been plunged into his heart. Murazel was nowhere to be found.
https://mmh7.ubi.com/en/blog/post/view/tales-of-the-ten-years-war-part-2
Approximate translation:
With Jezebeth’s death, the fourth Blight finally came to an end. But in the Empire, the problems were only just beginning...
Tales of the Ten Years War
844 – The Conclave of the New Dawn.
Miv’s death was avenged. As the Falcon’s Nest was reduced to a pile of smoldering ruins, the fallen Empress’s body was brought to the Imperial Summer Palace, near Whitecliff in the Duchy of the Hound. There, she was given a funeral befitting her rank: her body was cremated, allowing her essence, according to custom, to rise to meet the sun in Elrath.
No one could ignore the rising tension during the ceremony. All the Dukes and Duchesses were present.
Ivan Gryphon, the avenger of Miv.
Sheamus Deer.
Amilcar Bull.
Rowena Unicorn.
Engerrand Hound.
Stefan Wolf.
If Miv’s son, Brendan, was truly dead, then one of them would soon become Emperor or Empress. Shortly after Miv’s funeral, the Church of Light announced the creation of the Conclave of the New Dawn in the holy city of Flammschrein. This assembly of angels, priests, and scholars, led by the beloved archangel and war hero Sandalphon, was to decide who would inherit the crown. Of course, centuries after the infamous Deception of Uriel, many citizens of the Empire still remained wary of the Church’s impartiality, suspecting that the priests and angels would simply choose the candidate who would best serve their own interests.
To allay these suspicions, Sandalphon decided to invite an angel named Murazel to sit on the conclave. “Guardian of Hammerfall, brave heart of purest Light, I trust you. I trust you to help us choose the best possible emperor for this great people. I trust you to keep us honest and true. Will you join the Conclave of the New Dawn, and sit with me once more through these times of trial?”
It was a brilliant move: Murazel was a legendary figure, known for preferring humans to her fellow angels. She had repeatedly aided the Free Cities of the East, sometimes even against the Empire, and her own kind considered her a renegade. If there was an angel who would never risk her moral principles for personal gain or politics, it was Murazel.
Murazel accepted Sandalphon’s offer and set out from Hammerfall to Flammschrein, ending six centuries of exile.
A Falcon by Any Other Name...
Of course, as soon as the Conclave was established, many young men arrived in Flammschrein, claiming to be Miv’s son, Brendan. The Conclave questioned them, and eventually rejected them all. Some members of the conclave insisted that the impostors should be tortured or executed publicly to set an example. True to form, Murazel spoke out vehemently against this decision, and instead proposed that they be imprisoned for a year for “reflection” on their life choices. The wise Sandalphon approved Murazel’s proposal. It had a sufficient deterrent effect.
Several weeks passed, and the Conclave was still debating or investigating the possibility of Brendan’s survival. Tension was growing within the Empire. Everyone had an opinion on who should sit on the throne. All the Dukes and Duchesses had at least one Falcon ancestor in their lineage, and they were all building their arguments, gathering genealogical documents and other evidence of their inheritance.
The most obvious candidate was Sheamus Deer. The Deer House was related to the Falcons, and these strong family ties seemed undeniable. However, some scholars noted that Sheamus was descended not from the main bloodline of the Deer, which had died out around the time of the Second Blight, but from a collateral branch, related by marriage. He had Falcon blood, but not as much as he would like to believe.
These same scholars had their sights set on a stronger candidate: Ivan Gryphon. It was discovered that Ivan was descended from both the main bloodlines of the Falcon and the Deer. The great hero of the Second Blight, Duke Anton, who later married Empress Gwendolyn, had three children with her, the second of whom then inherited the Duchy of Gryphon. But Anton’s mother was Kate Deer, the only member of her house to have children. Needless to say, Sheamus was not pleased with the work of these scholars.
A War of Words
Accusatory rumors began to spread in taverns throughout the Empire. These rumors claimed that Ivan was the one who let the demons into the Falcon’s Nest, hoping to inherit the throne after Miv’s death. If Ivan was innocent, then how did he know where Jezebeth was hiding? Did he really try to avenge Miv... or was he just trying to make sure the succubus remained silent?
At the time, Ivan was courting Sheamus’s daughter, Nolwenn. As the rumors spread, Sheamus publicly forbade his daughter from seeing Ivan again. “The Gryphon may have blood on his wings,” he declared angrily. Amilcar Bull, who had an old family feud with the Gryphons and had never trusted Ivan, made the accusations himself, much less delicately.
The other Dukes were not as eager to join Sheamus and Amilcar’s accusations, but they demanded that Ivan reveal how he knew where Jezebeth was hiding, in order to put an end to it once and for all. Stubborn and proud, Ivan refused to explain. “I can reveal to you, my shadow advisors, that he learned about Jezebeth from a trusted informant and, being a man of honor, simply could not betray his source. When Amilcar Bull declared that Ivan’s silence was sufficient proof of his duplicity, Ivan challenged Amilcar to a duel.
“There is nothing I need to be ashamed of,” he said. “Let Elrath decide who is telling the truth and who is spreading lies!”
Two weeks before the anniversary of Miv’s death, Ivan and Amilcar met on neutral ground in a small town called Brookshire, within the former province of the Falcon. Declaring himself the champion of Miv, Amilcar drew his sword. A murmur arose among the witnesses as they recognized the Blade of Truth, an ancient sword of the Falcon dynasty, one of the seven “Bastards of Elrath.” Ivan greeted his opponent with the Gryphon’s Blade of Revelation, and the duel began. Ivan was younger, faster, stronger, but Amilcar was more experienced, more skilled, more cunning. Their duel lasted for thirty agonizing minutes, during which they seemed evenly matched. Blades clashed, again and again. And the unthinkable happened: one of Ivan’s blows shattered the Falcon’s Blade into pieces.
Disarmed and shocked, Amilcar acknowledged his defeat. Ivan had proven his innocence in a fair fight, but a sinister feeling descended upon the spectators. Many felt that the broken sword was not an accident: it was an omen, foreshadowing the end of the Falcon Empire.
Three days later, the bells of Flammschrein began to toll, but their song was mournful and sad. It was a funeral knell. Sandalphon was dead; a dark blade had been plunged into his heart. Murazel was nowhere to be found.