A History of the Fallen Empires
This content was originally included in an issue of Duelist magazine. The original article can be accessed via Internet Archive here.
Main Magazine Page: The Duelist #3
By Kathy Ice
Fallen Empires
We at the Historical Institute are indebted to Lady Oruder’s generosity for allowing us to examining and translate these papers, part of her personal collection. Without her kind patronage and support, this project would not have been possible The following letters chronicle a four-month period during the fall of the ancient Sarpadian civilizations. There were five civilizations in decline at that time: undersea Vodalia, mighty Icatia, the sinister Order of the Ebon Hand, the Elven villages of Havenwood, and the Dwarven cities of the Crimson Peaks. At the time these letters were written, all were beginning to feel the pinch of a cooling climate and poor harvests. The selected letters trace the fall of the Dwarven empire, the full history of which still eludes modern scholars.
The Crimson Peaks
Second Day of the Moon of Snow’s EndTo Kolevi of Havenwood, Elder Druid
Your Eminence,
I pray you will forgive my presumption in addressing you personally. Be assured I mean no disrespect. My late commander, General Danhelm, always spoke highly of you and valued the support you and your people have so generously given us.
I must now beg you to extend us further assistance, for the situation here is desperate. Gurn Keep has fallen, as have its neighboring cities. General Danhelm is dead, killed by an Orcish spear, and his staff are all dead or captured. I have led what remains of the General’s army to an abandoned mine, which we will attempt to hold until reinforcements can be sent.
We cannot hold out for long. Even now, the Orcs and Goblins are mustering nearby, preparing for an assault. Our food supplies are limited; we have no medical supplies whatsoever. I entreat Your Eminence to remember the friendship that has always existed between your people and Dwarves of the Crimson Peaks, and to send us what aid you can.
Respectfully,
Captain Sarya Haasendel
Havenwood
Flowerfeast EveTo Lady Margaret Ellsworth, Prime Minister, representing King Henry Joseph I
Lady Ellsworth,
I send greetings from the Elves of Havenwood and trust that both you and His Majesty enjoy the best of health.
Bearing in mind the friendship that has always existed between our peoples, we wish to request your assistance in a matter of some urgency. The enclosed communication reached us only a few days ago. As you can see, it is from a Dwarven commander who begs our help in relieving her and her beleaguered troops.
Unfortunately, our own military commanders cannot spare the necessary troops and supplies to go to her aid. We ourselves are battling the Thallids which threaten to overwhelm our villages. It is ironic, is it not, that the beings we bred to end our food crisis have caused a new crisis all their own?
In the name of our friendship, I urge you to send what aid you can to Captain Haasendel. I realize that your people and the Dwarves have had differences in the past, but I think you will agree that it is better to support them to allow the Orcs and Goblins to raid unchecked. The thoughts of the Elvish people are with you.
Yours in Serenity,
Kolevi of Havenwood, Elder Druid
Vodalia
Twelfth Tide of the Fifth MoonTo Lady Margaret Ellsworth, Prime Minister representing King Henry Joseph I
Lady Ellsworth,
On behalf of the Vodalian Merfolk, I wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude for the shipment of armor and weapons that just arrived from Icatia. Your people have done ours a great service, one we are not likely to forget. We are confident that, with courage and determination, we can defeat the Homarids and drive them back to the accursed depths from which they came. Your assistance is vital in helping us accomplish this most necessary task.
It is with regret, therefore, that I must tell you that the medical supplies we can usually give you in abundance have dwindled to the point where we can spare no more. Thanks to a tremendous effort on the part of my staff, I am able to send you a small supply with this missive, but, regretfully, it must be our last. Our battle with the Homarids has disrupted our normal trade routes, and incoming goods have slowed to a trickle. Until the Homarids are driven from our homeland, we must reserve our supplies for our valiant army.
I realize that Icatia, too, is not without her difficulties, so please excuse my impertinence as I make one final request. Like Icatia, Vodalia has suffered from the cold weather of the past several years, and our harvests have been poor. Unlike Icatia, though, we Vodalians did not have the foresight to store grain and preserved foods for a shortage. Almost all of our available food stores are now being used to sustain the army, for weakened soldiers cannot fight. This leaves the sick, the crippled, and the young of Vodalia with almost nothing. We pray that you might find the means to send us some portion of the foodstuffs you have in reserve.
May Svyelun bless you for your generosity.
Marshall Karel Volnikov
Widenby, Icatia
Fifth Day of GothwinstideTo Kolevi of Havenwood, Elder Druid
Your Eminence,
His Majesty and I were relieved to hear that you and your people continue to stand fast against the Thallids, Be assured that we will be more than happy to lend the Elves what assistance we can.
We are also providing assistance to the merfolk of Vodalia in their struggle against the Homarids. This support has strained our meager reserves, but we must help them stand against the barbarous tide that threatens to overwhelm them.
We wish that we could do the same for your valiant Dwarven captain, but we simply do not have the resources. His Majesty, therefore, as no choice but to regretfully refuse your request for assistance.
With his usual sagacity, however, His Majesty came upon an alternative plane, which I hope will meet with your approval. We will send Captain Haasendel’s letter to the Citadel of the Ebon Hand and request assistance from the followers of Tourach. We realize that the Ebon Hand has never been particularly friendly to either your people or ours. In the past, however, they have showed an interest in the Dwarves. We hope that they can be persuaded to lend assistance.
This action on our part is not without its dangers. There is a growing feeling among our own people that the Ebon Hand is at the root of our problems. Many believe His Majesty’s government has shown the followers of Tourach too much lenience. Oliver Farrel, a former priest, has been particularly vocal and seems to be gaining a large following. Nevertheless, we are willing to risk this action on the behalf of civilized people everywhere.
Your Obedient Servant,
Lady Margaret Ellsworth, Prime Minister on behalf of His Majesty
Widenby, Icatia
Seventh Day of GothwinstideTo Thurzen Klathe, Lord High Priest of the order of the Ebon Hand
Your Excellency,
I bring you greetings from His Majesty Henry Joseph I and from Kolevi of Havenwood, Elder Druid of the Elvish people. I also have the honor of forwarding you a message of no small urgency.
Although the people of Icatia and the followers of the Ebon Hand have had their differences in the past, I beg you to set past disagreements aside and consider the plight of the Dwarves to the south. Sadly, we ourselves are unable to come to the aid of Captain Haasendel, but we hope and pray that your people can spare the troops to assist her in her valiant struggle.
If you will undertake to come to the aid of the Dwarves, His Majesty is prepared to give you his solemn oath that the army of Icatia will make no move against you in the absence of your troops. Indeed, His Majesty and I are both eager to see an end at last to the lifetimes of hostilities that has so plagued our people.
Your Obedient Servant,
Lady Margaret Ellsworth, Prime Minister, on behalf of His Majesty Henry Joseph I
Achtep Keep
Time of the Seventh SacrificeCaptain Haasendel,
We have heard, with great sorrow and concern, of your army’s plight. Such valor and courage as you have shown deserve the highest praise.
My priests and I have agreed that your struggle deserves the best assistance we can offer. I have therefore dispatched a troop of mercenaries under the command of Ivra Jursdotter to come to your aid. Captain Jursdotter has served with the Ebon Hand for a number of years, and although she is a mercenary, I give you my personal assurance that she is most honorable and reliable.
Accompanying Captain Jursdotter will be a small group of my own priests who have expressed an interest in ministering to our Dwarven cousins to the south. I trust that the Dwarves, remembering that it was the Followers of Tourach who came to their aid, will allow the Word of Tourach to be spoken freely among them. I might also suggest that the best and fullest expression of the Dwarves’ gratitude would be complete conversion to the Order of the Ebon Hand. But I leave that to your discretion, good Captain.
In Darkness,
Thurzen Klathe, Lord High Priest
Order of the Ebon Hand
Widenby, Icatia
Two days past AllfestTo Marshall Karel Volnikov, representing Empress Galina III
Marshall Volnikov,
I received with no small degree of concern your letter informing us of the shortage of medical supplies. Be assured that His Majesty and I share your desire to drive the Homarids out of Vodalia, and applaud the valiant efforts of your army.
However, Icatia is also beset with difficulties. To the east, the Elves of the Havenwood are engaged with a struggle with the Thallids, creatures of their own creation grown out of control. To the west, we have heard reports that the Order of the Ebon Hand is locked in a similar struggle with the Thralls, hideous creatures bred by the Order for its ghastly rituals. To the south, the Dwarves have been all but annihilated by Orc and Goblin hordes. His Majesty and I view all of these events with concern. Icatia appears to be surrounded by kingdoms struggling with the forces of chaos, and we fear it is only a matter of time before these forces are unleashed against Icatia.
We must therefore sorrowfully refuse your request for additional stores of food. As you so astutely surmised in your letter, the cold summers and brutal winters have affected our harvests as well. Sarpadia shows no signs of returning to the warm and prosperous land it was during the time of our forebears. Our stores are all but depleted, and the coming harvest promises to be the leanest yet. With no relief in sight, His Majesty must look to the needs of his own people first.
I am pained to have to refuse your request, and I trust that this will in no way dampen the cordial relationship our peoples now enjoy.
Your Obedient Servant,
Lady Margaret of Ellsworth, Prime Minister, on behalf of His Majesty Henry Joseph I
The Crimson Peaks
Fourteenth Day of the Moon of Cloudless SkiesTo Kolevi of Havenwood, Elder Druid
Your Eminence,
I trust you will forgive my temerity in addressing you one more time. I do not expect a reply to this letter, or rather, I do not expect to live long enough to receive one. I can only hope that this letter will reach you so that the deeds of our final days may be recorded somewhere.
The situation is desperate. Orcs and Goblins raid ceaselessly now, and my few remaining troops are weary and heartsore. We are out of food, and the medical supplies ran out some weeks ago. Yet still we fight, determined to hold out to the last Dwarf.
Lord Klathe of the Order of the Ebon Hand had promised us reinforcements, but that have not arrived. My meager intelligence reports indicate that the mercenary captain he sent has instead joined the Orcs and Goblins, but I cannot confirm this.
Even if reinforcements arrived today, they could no save us. All I can ask of Your Eminence now is to remember us as we prepare to make our final stand, and, perhaps, to include our valiant fight in some small corner of the history of your people.
Respectfully,
Captain Sarya Haasendel