Cecilia

Cimmerian Timeline Part 49

Mister Ed Classics, Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 48

656BCE: Noga’anyo, the descendant of Queen Stanasha, led a rebellion against King Lygdamis. Jeutontic and Cecilia declared independence from the Xorian Kingdom.

655BCE: King Lygdamis besieged Cecilia. Tired of the city’s history for betrayal, he assaulted the walls rather than accept a peaceful surrender of the city. Upon gaining entry, Lygdamis pillaged the town before reinstating Xorian control.

654BCE: Noga’anyo moved with the aerial cavalry against Petar, but fell into a trap set by King Lygdamis. The cavalry suffered heavy losses to ballistae hidden around Petar’s rooftops.

651BCE: After five years of grinding war, King Lygdamis besieged Jeutontic. Seeing the end, Noga’anyo ordered her followers to surrender before she committed suicide. Lygdamis felt pity at the sight of her body and her sacrifice for her people. He ordered that she be given a hero’s burial, but outside the Kingdom of Xoria. Noga’anyo’s tomb was made along the southern shore of the Don River to the north of the Xorian Kingdom.

644BCE: The Amazons of Dradelden levied a large tax on the Xorians. To afford the tribute, King Lygdamis invaded Lydia. The Xorians sacked Lydia’s capital of Sardis and killed King Gyges. The treasure was delivered to the Amazons and used to fund their own invasion of Palestine and Egypt.

640BCE: King Lygdamis led an invasion against the Assyrians in Anatolia, hoping they were weak after a series of revolts within the Assyrian Empire. Unfortunately, Lygdamis was killed in one of the initial battles of the campaign. His son, Sandakhshatra succeeded him.

637BCE: King Ardys of Lydia declared war on the Xorians. He used the new Lydian weapon of war dogs to great effect in the battles of the war. Additionally, Ardys gained aid from the Assyrians in his war.

626BCE: The war between Lydia and Xoria concluded. King Ardys now had firm control over Anatolia and Sandakhshatra vowed to not invade or raid into the peninsula for a hundred years.

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 50

Cimmerian Timeline Part 48

Mister Ed Classics, Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 47

Before I can continue the Xorian story I have to add some stuff about the Amazons and the foundation of Dradelden to the timeline. I wrote about the initial Amazon invasion back in my Kingdoms Sprouting Up Part 5 post, but I never committed those events to a particular date. My notes say about 800BCE, so lets get going with that!

799BCE: Amazon Queen Saikolok invaded Western Cimmeria. Her warriors tore through the outlying settlements of Colchis, Nox, Jeutontic, Cecilia, and Makotako. The barbaric warriors were unable to pillage the walled cities themselves. Queen Saikolok concluded peace settlements with each of the city-states in exchange for tribute. She established a colony named Dradelden to be the Amazon power in the area. Saikolok returned to Scythia and left a subordinate in charge.

692BCE: Queen Jakontago felt the power of the Xorian Kingdom was strong enough to end the tribute paid to the Amazons. She ended the payment and immediately the Amazons raided villages within Xoria.

691BCE: Queen Jakontago attacked Dradelden and put the city under siege. Queen Ishpaka of the Amazons brought the main force in from Scythia to relieve Dradelden. A battle ensued outside of the city and Jakontago perished in the fighting. Her brother, Teushpa, succeeded her to the throne. His first act was to reinstate the tribute paid to the Amazons.

679BCE: With the Xorian army recovered King Teushpa led them in an invasion of Assyria.

678BCE: King Esarhaddon of the Assyrians defeated the Xorians. As part of the peace terms, King Teushpa would have to provide one thousand Xorian soldiers for the Assyrian army.

675BCE: To recoup losses from the Assyrian invasion, King Teushpa led the Xorians in a raid through Anatolia. These raids continued every few years throughout Teushpa’s reign.

669BCE: King Teushpa started a war with King Gyges of Lydia, a rising power in Anatolia.

660BCE: King Teushpa died of old age. His son, Lygdamis, was even more aggressive in his attacks against Lydia. King Gyges asked for Assyrian aid.

657BCE: With the help of Assyria, King Gyges defeated Xoria. As part of the peace terms, King Lygdamis relinquished Xorian control over Urartu.

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 49

Cimmerian Timeline Part 17

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 16

882BCE: Gorwinua’s wild nature made her unsuited for helping to construct the Orbs’ defenses. She began writing an epic poem that detailed the Heroes’ exploits during the Dragon War.
As work on the defenses for the Dragon Orbs continued, Tentineh and realized that no matter how well-constructed their protections were, they would eventually be breached. Tentineh suggested a solution. Each of the Heroes of the Dragon War would bind his or her soul to one of the Orbs. When the Orb was broken, that Hero would be returned to life, ready to fight the dragons once again. The other Heroes approved of the idea and Tentineh began designing the complicated spell that would put each of the Heroes in stasis when they were ready to “die.” In this stasis each would await the breaking of the Orb their soul protected.

Continue reading →

After the Dragon War: Gorwinua, Tracy, and Cecilia

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gorwinua was 44 at the end of the Dragon War which would make her solidly middle-aged for a human. For a full-blooded orc she was practically frail. Gorwinua spent a few years writing an epic poem about the Dragon War. She hoped the poem would provide guidance for the orcs and the other races to live in harmony. After completing the poem she went into hibernation at the age of 50.

Tracy was 119 at the end of the Dragon War. The Dragon War had occurred when she was already in her twilight years. She was the first to enter hibernation when she was 121.

Cecilia was 55 at the end of the Dragon War. She returned to her hometown, now a thriving city. The place felt alien to her. Everything was unfamiliar and strange. The few old neighborhoods and shops from before the war brought back painful memories. Cecilia was trapped between neophobia and reminders of the evil acts she committed while under Warlock Hargath’s spell. Additionally, she disliked the predictability of retirement compared to the excitement of adventuring. Tentineh’s hibernation idea appealed to her and she accepted soon after Tracy, entering hibernation at the age of 57.

Cimmerian Timeline Part 12

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 11

911BCE: Danar ruled justly for a decade. Rilopenaril and Langudina both advised him, but Danar always followed the advice of the bronze dragon brother. Langudina took to sulking within Apollo’s Hill as Rilopenaril had before her. After ruling as a good king for a time, Rilopenaril informed his descendant of the plan he had concocted with Shratalanda to end draconic tyranny over the land forever. Danar embraced the idea and began training the people of Sheerzen so that they would be ready for the coming war.

900BCE: The mortal led armies of Gorwinua, Amalgami, Toffoun, and Tentineh operated in the open, taking actions to counter the rule of the dragons. Tentineh called the heroes of the land together to organize the overthrow of the dragon hegemony. Gorwinua, Amalgami, Toffoun, and Tentineh gathered in Greshendale along with Danar, Jovy, Cecilia, Shratalanda, Tracy, and Bigby.
Shratalanda revealed the plan she had begun enacting nearly a century before. The dragons were divine creatures and could thus never be truly killed, but they could be imprisoned. What could bind a beast as powerful as a dragon though? Shratalanda suggested using the dragon’s magical powers against each other. Since the dragons ruled in pairs, the power of each could be turned against the other.
The group of heroes even had an ally among the dragons. Rilopenaril hated the evil rule his relatives had imposed upon the mortals of Cimmeria. He had been working with Shratalanda to steer events towards the Dragon War which now began. The ten heroes vowed to combine their forces and exploit the disunity of the dragons. Each of the pairs could be brought down and imprisoned one by one.

899BCE: The ten heroes struck quickly, imprisoning three pairs of dragon monarchs, white, black, and brass. Three powerful orbs were constructed to contain the dragons. One of each pair was locked within the orb while the other was bound to protect it from all who would seek to misuse or destroy it. Tikanile was imprisoned within the White Orb with Shivara set as his guard. Pithwatolzar was imprisoned within the Black Orb with Kovan’rorshac set as his guard. Hazorshrakan was imprisoned within the Brass Orb with Forsoman set as her guard. These orbs were dubbed the Orbs of Dragonkind.

898BCE: The dragons organized their defenses against the heroes and their armies. Mortals loyal to the dragons rose up to defend their masters. The flames of the Dragon War grew hot as battles raged all across Cimmeria.

-GoCorral

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 13

Characters of Cimmeria: Shratalanda

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

shratalanda

Shratalanda was a masterful elvish psion and the hidden guide of the Dragon War’s heroes. She foresaw the injustices the dragons’ law would create and set in motion events leading to the Dragon War. Many of the heroes of the Dragon War were unknowingly touched by Shratalanda at some point in their lives. For her own part in the Dragon War, Shratalanda favored magically transforming her body into a weapon in its own right and going toe to toe with her opponent.

Continue reading →

Cimmerian Timeline Part 6

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 5

Continuing to include more events from the Characters of Cimmeria in the timeline. In this post I’ll be adding dates detailing the events in the lives of Delain, Amalgami the Hero, Toffoun, and new events in Cecilia’s life. A few events from previous timeline posts are included here as well to provide context for the new material.

989BCE: Delain was born to a young milk maid. She claimed his father was Ares the Battle Rager.

966BCE: Baelund’s Wolf attacked the outskirts of Phoenix, sending the city into chaos for years.

964BCE: Delain killed Baelund’s Wolf. He was proclaimed King of Phoenix as reward for this deed.

963BCE: King Delain set about fixing the civic problems of Phoenix and reforming the city’s legal code to recognize the power of the guilds. Delain ruled well for many years.

961BCE: King Delain took the halfling, Stofara, as his mistress.

960BCE: Toffoun was born as the fourth son of the Firebeard family.

933BCE: Zeus mated with and impregnated Brina, a priestess of Hera. The Queen of the Gods cursed Brina, stating that she would not give birth on dry land.

932BCE: Brina wandered the land unable to give birth like Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. She entered labor but could not deliver. Traveling from place to place she collapsed in the Jenarild River. The river’s god allowed her to give birth for the riverbed was not “dry land.” The child was named Amalgami. Jenarild married Brina and raised Amalgami as his adopted son.

930BCE: Toffoun took his vows as a priest of the Olympic Pantheon, swearing to serve all the gods as a holy man. He left his family to live in a temple with the other priests.

925BCE: Toffoun became enamored with the rites and rituals of Ares. He devoted more and more time to practicing with weapons and armor. He began to challenge every armed visitor to the temple, wishing to practice his skills in duels.

920BCE: Pressure was put upon old King Delain to produce an heir. He married Stasia, the daughter of the Fighter’s Guildmaster. His new wife was ignored as Delain continued to spend most of his time with Stofara.

914BCE: Amalgami turned eighteen and left home to travel the world and gain fame as a hero. He went downriver, slaying gnolls and bandits on the way. He stopped in Phoenix, where he fell in love with King Delain’s wife, Queen Stasia. Amalgami and Stasia fell in love and the son of Zeus stayed a long time in the city.

913BCE: Jovy and Cecilia began their voyage on the Mira Miro. They sailed the ship into the Caspian Sea where they slew many sea monsters.
Amalgami impregnated Queen Stasia of Phoenix and fled the city towards the south.

912BCE: Amalgami joined up with Jovy and Cecilia, serving on the Mira Miro and slaying the occasional monster alongside the captain and the first mate.

910BCE: After having his fill of the inner sea, Amalgami left the Mira Miro. He consulted an oracle who told him to climb Doom Peak. He fought and killed a handful of white dragons as he ascended the mountain. At the top he was struck by lightning and blacked out. He awoke with the power to fly and summon lightning.
Delain grew too old and unfit to rule Phoenix. Power transitioned into the hands of the Guildmasters.

909BCE: Amalgami traveled east to visit his family. While stopped at Greshendale, the city was attacked by a modest band of trolls. Amalgami fought them using his electric powers alongside the wizard, Tentineh. The two became friends before Amalgami left town to continue into the east.

908BCE: Jovy and Cecilia removed the greatest threats to sailors on the Caspian. Cecilia retired to her hometown, now named after her.
Greshendale is attacked by trolls. Tentineh summoned the inferno slaad to kill them, but lost control of the demon. Tentineh spent months researching a way to contain the slaad.
Delain died. The parentage of his heir uncertain. The guilds of Phoenix ruled on.

907BCE: Tentineh bound the slaad in a prison. Fearing a similar attack by trolls or some other threat in the future, Tentineh decided to secretly break the dragon’s edict prohibiting humanoid armies. He began teaching the people of Greshendale how to use magic in tactical formations.
Amalgami arrived at the temple where Toffoun served as a priest. The two dueled to a stand-still and Toffoun agreed to adventure with Amalgami. The pair traveled around the Aral Sea, defeating monsters and bandits as they went.

905BCE: Hargath the orc warlock attacked the town of Cecilia. Cecilia the Salt Champion defended her eponymous birthplace along with her childhood friends. The warlock was defeated, but his sorcerous eye forced Cecilia’s friends to attack her. Left with no choice she slew them. Cecilia fell into a state of severe depression.

903BCE: Rounding the southeastern edge of the Aral Sea, Amalgami and Toffoun saw a massive goblin army led by a monstrous half-dragon. The army was moving towards the peaceful villages in Zeus’s Canvas. The Lightning Knight and his dwarf friend led the people of the Canvas to the Dirt Plateau. At this defensive location they defeated the army and slew it’s half-dragon leader. Knowing a counterattack from the dragons was coming, Amalgami left to get help from Tentineh.

901BCE: A horde of giants attacked Greshendale as Amalgami arrived. Left with no other choice, Tentineh revealed his army in open violation of the dragons’ laws. The giants were defeated, but greater dangers would come as a result.

900BCE: Tentineh called the heroes of the land together and the Dragon War began.

-GoCorral

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 7

Characters of Cimmeria: Amalgami the Hero

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post needs a little bit of clarification. As much as possible I try to avoid two characters having the same name in my campaign world. It happens often enough in real life and in real history, but it easily confuses people (Just try and explain the Norman Conquest of England to someone). Unfortunately, I couldn’t avoid having two people with the same name in this case because one of my players wanted to name their character after an imagined hero of the past. I’m getting around to filling the gaps and now that hero of the past has his own story below. This post details Amalgami the Hero of Old, not Amalgami the Betrayer.

amalgami-the-heroAmalgami the Hero was known as the Lightning Knight. He joined the other heroes of the Dragon War in casting down their draconic oppressors.  He was a son of Zeus and his father gifted him with power over lightning and storms. Amalgami made friendships easily and if it weren’t for him the heroes of the Dragon War may never have worked together to accomplish their great deeds. At the conclusion of the war he slumbered along with the other heroes to return when the world needed him again.

Zeus found himself attracted to Brina, a priestess of his wife, Hera. Zeus will be Zeus, so he had his way with Brina and then left her to the anger of his wife. Infuriated that one of her own clergy would betray her (regardless of Brina’s own wishes in the encounter), Hera decreed a similar punishment that was given to Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. Brina would never deliver her child on dry land.

Continue reading →

Characters of Cimmeria: Korm

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Some of the Cimmeria posts I make will be about two characters. Smaller characters have smaller posts but I don’t want to deprive you all of a decently sized blog post on Cimmeria every week. The information for this week’s two characters is pulled from a forgotten note I wrote a few years ago on how magic items can possess people in D&D. So let’s get started with our two characters of the week, Cecilia (again) and the magic talking dagger, Korm!

Cecilia

Cecilia returned home after traveling with Jovy and spent many years there before the Dragon War erupted. What happened during those years? Continue reading →

Cimmerian Timeline Part 5

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 4

I’m taking a swing at finishing more of the Cimmerian Timeline, but this entry is not chronologically synced with the others. Instead, this post will be about what I’ve written for the first five heroes of the Dragon War. Where do their exploits stand in time prior to the events leading directly to the Dragon War? What year did Tracy steal all those weapons? How long did Jovy and Cecilia travel for? Now’s as good a time as any to input that information into the Timeline. Some of those events are still dependent on other factors though before I decide the specific year in the Timeline. Because of that, I’m only putting in Tentineh, Jovy, and Cecilia’s backgrounds.

954BCE: Hymniara was born along the western Caspian coast.

945BCE: Tentineh was born to a merchant couple in Greshen Valley. His mother had been stung by a wyvern in her youth. The wyvern’s poison still festered in her body and it transferred into Tentineh, giving him great physical and magical strength.

941BCE: Hymniara began running with the followers of Artemis and considered joining their band permanently.

939BCE: Hymniara’s dreams were cut short when she encountered Zeus in the form of a trout. The pair enjoyed carnal relations. Hymniara declared the loss of her innocence to Artemis. She left the band on good terms with a gift of fish scale armor.

938BCE: Hymniara gave birth to Cecilia. Tentineh began his apprenticeship to a wizard and descendant of Sadroston.

937BCE: While still a babe, jealous Hera sent scorpions to poison and kill Cecilia. Instead of dying, Cecilia slew the scorpions and ate them!

933BCE: Jovy was born to a farmer couple in Zeus’s Canvas.

930BCE: Tentineh completed his apprenticeship two years early, already having surpassed his master. He started traveling to learn more about the four elements and how to channel their energy.

926BCE: Cecilia grew into beauty and womanhood. Men approached her and her mother asking for her hand in marriage. Cecilia challenged them to contests of skill and might. If she lost she would marry them. If she won, the men owed her their shield and armor. Many men lost their panoplies and Cecilia stayed a maid.

921BCE: Cecilia left home to travel the world and do great deeds in honor of her patron gods, Artemis and Zeus.

920BCE: Tentineh completed his travels. He built himself a tower in Greshendale and studied summoning magic within his warded home.
Cecilia settled with the elves of Bigby’s Forest for a time and learned much from then. She mastered wrestling, swordplay, and the basics of magic. While staying with the elves Cecilia defeated many wolves, bears, basilisks, and orcs.

915BCE: Jovy had grown to be an unruly teenager. He avoided his responsibilities as often as he could, electing to swim, play, and steal rather than complete his farmyard chores. Jovy’s father arranged an early marriage in the hopes that it would force his son to settle down. Jovy took off in the night and never returned home. He journeyed westward, stealing valuables and girls’ hearts along the way.

914BCE: Cecilia learned everything she could and her time with the elves came to an end. She traveled to the Caspian Sea and followed the coast eastward.
Jovy’s journey took him southward along the Caspian shore.

913BCE: Jovy reached the Aractrash River where Hermes spoke to him. The Olympian told Jovy to build a giant bowl and push it into the River. Jovy built the wooden bowl, but he lacked the strength to push it into the river. At this time Cecilia arrived on her journey. She easily pushed the bowl into the river. As she did so the bowl turned into a double-masted ship with a crew of phantom sailors. Jovy and Cecilia sailed the ship, named Mira Miro, into the Caspian Sea where they slew many sea monsters.

910BCE: Satisfied with all he discovered about of summoning magic, Tentineh finally decided to get married. A ceremony wedded him to his long-time maid and assistant, Fafarella. Fafarella was soon pregnant and the line of Tentineh continued.

908BCE: A troll army attacked Greshendale. Tentineh was unable to defeat the army solely with his command over elemental fire. Forced into a corner, the great wizard summoned a beast from the fiery pit, a great fire slaad. The monster slew the trolls and rested afterwards to regain its strength. Fearful that the people of Greshendale might be the next to feel the slaad’s evil heat, Tentineh poured over old scripts and tomes for a method to seal the slaad away.
Jovy and Cecilia defeated the majority of the sea monsters in the Caspian, freeing the sea for the people of Cimmeria to sail and fish upon. Cecilia returned to her home and protected the growing coastal town from the prevalent monster threats of the time. Jovy stayed upon the Caspian Sea to survey Those Blasted Islands in the sea.

907BCE: Tentineh’s search proved successful. He found a ritual to bind the slaad into an eternal prison. The beast was contained. not wanting to resort to such magic again, Tentineh began training the people of Greshendale to fight and cast magic despite the rule of the dragons that forbade such practices.

906BCE: Jovy completed his survey of Those Blasted Islands. He began transporting people from the Caspian coast to the islands to colonize them. Jovy proclaimed himself King of the Caspian and he began taxing/extorting valuables and commodities from his citizens.

901BCE: A horde of giants attacked Greshendale. Left with no other choice, Tentineh revealed his army in open violation of the dragons’ laws. The giants were defeated, but greater dangers might come as a result.
Jovy took some time off as King of the Caspian to visit the dwarves in Jord. He fit in like fingers in a glove and became a minor celebrity to the Hill Dwarves.

900BCE: Tentineh called the heroes of the land together and the Dragon War began.

-GoCorral

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 6