On The Regaining of Thurazor
Being A True And Accurate History Of The Recent Events In The Ruideside Region
Of The Kingdom Of Thurazor.
Recounted By
Matilda Lilja
Minstrel and teller of tales in the household of Otmar Messer,
Lord Commander and Governor-General of the Realm Regained in Thurazor.
Gentle reader, before we begin this tale, I do swear and aver to you that the following account of the conquest of the Ruideside written by one who was witness with her own eyes to many of the events herein described, is to the best of my knowledge and my ability to confirm, an accurate portrayal of the events as they truly happened.
To begin my tale, I will relate somewhat of what transpired prior to the commencement of the Great and Holy Endeavour.
While the realm of Thurazor under King Graecher was undoubtedly the most civilised and reasonable of the goblin realms in Cerilia, it was still a plague upon its neighbours. Upon King Graecher’s death at the hands of the Mabd, one Kral Two-Toes, a priest of the cult of the demon Kartathok common among goblinkind, seized control of the Kingdom and began to and drive out the humans who had long traded peacefully under the old King and to hunt out and eliminate the few followers of the True Gods that there were in that benighted land. The Great and Mighty Haelyn, Lord of the Righteous and King of Kings, heard the prayers of His faithful and in His great mercy, He reached into the heart of His most loyal and true son, His Imminence James Ardent, Master of the Holy Church of the Bastion of Truth and called upon him to rescue them and to punish the demon-worshippers for their crimes. So inspired, Master Ardent called upon Lord Doneim Boer, that great and famous hero and defender of the True Church, to gather an army to liberate Thurazor from the darkness and bring it into the light.
Lord Boer then called upon the most skilled and famesome sellswords in the Taelshore to join him in Haelyn’s Great Endeavour. And in answer to his call they came from all corners of the land. The Red Queen Sarissa Taren, Commandant of the well renowned Red Brigade sailed out of the west on the crimson sailed ships of the Red Fleet. Otmar Messer, Captain-General of the far-feared Brethren of the Black Flag marched down from the eastern mountains. Brave Moergan Donalls, Grand Master of the Knights of Justice rode up from the far south. And the fearless Sigurd Skarlsmann, Lion of the Hogunmark and First of the Sworn Brothers strode down from the wintery lands he calls home. And others as well, Dana Rood with her wild and bloodthirsty Roodsmen, and bold Sir Aaron Lamier with his famed Great Endier Route Company known as the Ironborn, and too came fair Bjorn Ulrichson at the head of his Black and Tans, the great and heroic Free Helskaarmen from distant Hjolvar. And others too came. And together they gathered with Master Ardent before the High Altar in the Temple of Haelyn’s Bastion of Truth in Nolien and swore fearsome and mighty oaths and put their seals on the Great Charter that created the alliance known as the Federated Free Companies, and they chose brave Lord Boer as their Lord Commander to lead them in their sacred mission.
Then did the great Captains gather in a council of war and after much deliberation it was decided to attack the foe in both the north and the south at the same time; by sea into Storm’s Release, and across the Ruide River into Mergarotte, with the intention that each army would advance towards the other and thus clear the Ruideside of the enemy.