the death of a duke

8/8/2019 The Death Of A Duke

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The Death Of A Duke

Silvanus S-gar Prince

Kenora 2010


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The Death Of A Duke 1

Forward 3

Summery Of The Journey Of The Geoneblise 3

Ayrtesi Naval Tactics Overview 4

Summery Of The Ayrtesi Attack On The Geoneblise 6

Immediate Aftermath Of The Ayrtesi Attack 9

The Political Ramifications Of The Ayrtesi Attack 9

Final Summery 12


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Phasniung is the name of the sixth month in the Imperial Erupuan Calandar1

The Munammeren Treaty was signed in 3124 F.I.A. between King Munammeren2

of Ravenstone & Emperor Egegyish of the Erupuan Empire. The treaty describes the

exact relationship now shared between the Grand Duchy & the Empire.

pniung is the name of the seventh month. It has a total of 46 days.3

Forward

What follows is a general outline of the commencement of the journey of his Grace,

Grand Duke Ethithung Geongechuth of Ravenstone, to the Imperial Capital of Eruplong

as filled by Admiral Ethezith Plashane of the Ducal Navy which was submitted to her

Grace, Grand Duchess Ecarana Geongechuth of Ravenstone on the fourth day of

Phasniung , in the two thousandth seven hundred and forty sixth year of the Second1

Imperial Age. Attached to this summery, one should find an analysis of this woeful

episode as well as an analysis of some of the political situations that the assassination of theGrand Duke has spawned.

Summery Of The Journey Of The Geoneblise

As per the terms of the Munammeren Treaty , the Grand Duke or Duchess of2

Ravenstone, escorted by the Grand Ducal Guardsmen, is required to travel to the Imperial

Capital of Eruplong once a year to give a formal report to his Imperial Majesty, the

Emperor of the Erupuan Empire. Traditionally, this state visit is scheduled for the

anniversary of the signing of the Munammeren Treaty - pniung30 . In order to fulfill3

the requirement of the Treaty, his Grace, Grand Duke Ethithung Geongechuth departed

Castle Ravenstone aboard the Grand Ducal Flagship Geoneblise on Ashoniung 23, 2746


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Ashoniung is the name of the sixth month. It has a total of 45 days. The year4

(2746 S.I.A.) refers to the Erupluan Imperial calendar namely, that this is the 2746 yearth

of the Second Imperial Age.

S.I.A.4

According to ships logs, the Geoneblise departed Castle Ravenstone under fair

weather, though with a light breeze from the north east. This forced the ship to sail into

the wind and by the end of the day, according to current Imperial Naval procedures, the

ships Captain, Erenablash Coothgoite, authorized the Yeoman, Eblonichi Etheguen, to use

his spell casting abilities to alter the direction of the wind. As such, the Geoneblise only

travelled twelve nautical miles on her first day.

After magically altering the direction of the wind, the ships progress was much

improved. She was able to land port at Oakhill Castle at the end of the fourth day from

Ravenstone. The ships log records that his Grace and the executive officers of the

Geoneblise enjoyed the hospitality of the Count of Oakhill on that night. At day break, they

continued their voyage, now charting eastward out into the north west sea. The weather

at this point had turned from fair to a slight drizzle of rain.

As the voyage progressed, the weather began to worsen. The foreboding conditions

reached their climax upon the eighth day from Castle Ravenstone when a storm rolled infrom the north. By ten bells, the storm surged against the hull of the Geoneblise causing all

hands to put all of their training and experience to work. For the next thirty six hours, the

Geoneblise rode out the storm taking on massive amounts of water and straying from her

course. When the storm finally calmed to a more acceptable degree, Yeoman Etheguen was

able to guide the ship back on course. The next four watches aboard the ship repaired the

damage suffered from the brunt of the storm while the course of the ship regained some

of its lost ground.

The following two days of the voyage continued uneventfully, save for the passage

of the ship beyond the waters of the Grand Duchy on the night that the storm subsided. Theweather continued to get better, even having the sun come out and the rain stop on the

eleventh day of the voyage. However, this turn of good weather masked the danger that

was to pounce upon the Geoneblise that night.

Ayrtesi Naval Tactics Overview

As your Graces familiarity with Ayrtesi naval strategy and tactics is probably not

as detailed as was your fathers knowledge in this area, one will attempt a brief summery

of the general operating strategy of Ayrtesi naval raids. The principal goal of all Ayrtesi

pirate activity is the capture of slaves to be taken back to Ayrtthagiqus, the AyrtesiMatrondom, where slaves are made to suffer beyond human imagination. As such, the


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It has been theorized by Imperial Intelligence that this large flagship was5

actually an Iperatesi Warship that the Ayrtesi have captured.

Ayrtesi pirates use vessels that are designed for speed, agility and a large crew capacity.

Generally, Ayrtesi raiding ships are propelled both by sails as well as oars - which are

manned by slaves.

As the Ayrtesi are magically adept like all the elvan kindreds, the weapons aboard

an Ayrtesi raider are magical in nature. Whilst our Imperial & Ducal navies generally arm

vessels with catapults and trebuchets, the Ayrtesi have devised a large number of magical

naval weapons designed to capture ships and their crews as quick and effortlessly as

possible. Also, every Ayrtesi sailor aboard ship is a magic user of some class and power.

They use their magic in all facets of their naval voyages - from guiding the ship to attacking

and defending.

But what makes Ayrtesi raiders especially troublesome to our Navy is the fact that

they always travel in small, well co-ordinated flotillas. These small raiding squadrons

often number three vessels - tho the largest fleet ever encountered by any Imperial Vessel

was a fleet of fifteen raiders commanded by a large galleon similar in design to those of the

Iperatesi . It is the fact that the Ayrtesi have such quick and agile ships which are able to5co-ordinate their attacks masterfully that their true potency and effectiveness is seen.

Again, the primary goal of most Ayrtesi raids is the capture of slaves. Generally

speaking, defeated ships are set adrift with curses and magical wards placed upon them so

that those who might try to salvage their drifting hulks will feel the power of the Ayrtesi

Pirates long after these same have returned to their home ports. But how does a small

flotilla of three speedy and agile vessels overcome a targeted ship?

Firstly, only lone vessels have ever been known to have been targeted by Ayrtesi

raiders. Secondly, the co-ordination between the attacking vessels is so fine tuned that their

attacks are designed to inflict the maximum amount of damage to the targeted ships sails

(since destroying the enemy vessel is not the goal of these assaults) in the quickest possible

manner.

Generally speaking, the following is the standard raid tactic used by a three ship

flotilla of Ayrtesi raiders. Once a target is spotted, the Ayrtesi wait for nightfall to attack -

usually trailing the targeted vessel for quite some distance. Again, due to their extensive

use of magic in all endeavours, the Ayrtesi are able to track targeted vessels thru the use of

their magic from a distance greater then the normal sighting distances of most ships.

However, from the moment a target is chosen, one of the three ships then leaves the flotilla

in search of an ideal ambush location. As one can imagine, a great number of factors are

involved in choosing an ambush location at sea. The captain of this scout raider must thenbe the most qualified navigator in the flotilla on account of needing to determine the speed

and heading of the targeted vessel - as well as other navigational factors that will determine


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Erupuan: Eye Of The Sea - Red Sail6

There are twenty seven hours in each day.7

the best ambush location.

Once an ambush location is chosen, the Ayrtesi raiders bide their time waiting for

the target to enter their trap. The scout vessel will wait at the chosen location while the two

trailing vessels will follow in the targets wake - again out of the visual sight of the target.

Once the target vessel has entered the ambush location, the three Ayrtesi raiders will begin

a co-ordinated assault on the target ship. Generally, the first attack will come from the

scout ship that has been laying in wait for the target at the ambush site. The second attack

will come from the rear care of the second ship. The third attack will come from the lead

ship of the Ayrtesi Flotilla. The attacks will then cycle in this order until the target ship is

subdued, in other words the Ayrtesi Raiders will continue to assault the target ship until

its ability to maneuver has been stopped.

It is at this point that the scout and secondary ships will form up beside the target

vessel and board her intent on capturing the crew alive. Depending on the ability of the

target ships crew as well as their number, this melee might last longer then the Ayrtesi

might desire. But if all goes according to the Ayrtesi plan, the target crew will be capturedand transferred to the Ayrtesi Raiders as slaves. It is at this point that the curses and wards

will be cast upon the hulk of the target ship and she will be set adrift as testament to the

power of the Ayrtesi Pirates.

This is the general operating strategy of the Ayrtesi Pirates and variations do exist.

But one believes if your Grace understands this general outline of Ayrtesi naval tactics, your

Grace should then be able to quickly discern the strategic oddities that crop up in the

Ayrtesi attack on the Geoneblise.

Summery Of The Ayrtesi Attack On The Geoneblise

As has been explained above in the section regarding Ayrtesi naval tactics, the exact

moment the Ayrtesi Raiders spotted the Geoneblise is unknown. However, first sighting of

the Ayrtesi by the Geoneblise is recorded in the ships log by Bosun Enoethesh Amcooth -6

the navigator on duty at the time of the sighting - at fourteen minutes after the twenty sixth

hour of Ashoniung 32, 2746 S.I.A.. However, the first sighting was not what one normally7

expects when encountering Ayrtesi Raiders. The first sighting was not of an Ayrtesi Raider,

but of a large blue sea drake making its way at a high rate of speed towards the port side

of the Geoneblise. At the very moment of this sighting, the ships alarm was rung and all

hands began their sea drake fighting procedures. According to the ships log, his Grace -your Father - was alerted to the attack along with the executive officers of the ship. His

Grace, as was his custom, took up arms and joined the rest of the sailors on deck along with


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his retinue of personal guards.

The Geoneblise set full sail attempting to reach a small strait between the mainland

and a small island hoping that the shallower water in this area would limit the sea drakes

movements. But as the ship neared the entrance of the strait, the dark blue sea drake

caught up to the Geoneblise and almost immediately the effects of dragon fear began to

sweep through the crew.

Suddenly, as the crew cowered under the onslaught of the dragon fear, the great

drake leapt out of the water hurdling over the main mast and tearing parts of the sails with

its massive and powerful claws. As the drake dove back down into the water on the port

side of the ship, its massive tail bashed into the main mast doing even more damage to the

rigging. It was at this fearful point that his Grace rallied the crew by shouting his battle cry

and firing off an arrow from his long bow hitting the drake as she re-entered the water. A

great cheer arose from the crew at his Graces courage and marksmanship as the crew

rushed back to their battle stations awaiting the next assault.

The speed of the Geoneblise had slowed due to the damage to her sails, but she wasable to maneuver closer to the shore of the island. However, unbeknownst to her Captain,

three Ayrtesi raiders were lying in wait on the far side of the island. As the Geoneblise came

around the south-east point of the island, she was rammed amidships by the lead Ayrtesi

raider. The hull of the Geoneblise took minor damage, but the true impact of the ramming

maneuver by the Ayrtesi ship was soon to be felt. As the crew of the Ducal Flagship

recovered from the impact, long grappling lines shot forth from the fore deck of the lead

Ayrtesi raider. The second Arytesi raider managed to maneuver itself along the starboard

side of the Geoneblise & began to grapple the Ducal Flagship from this side. Immediately

the Ducal Sailors and Marines began ungrappling attempts but they were not effectiveenough to cut themselves loose from the Ayrtesi grapples.

As quick as the winds which brought the Drow pirates to her gunnels, armoured

dark elevan warriors and mages began to board the Geoneblise. When these privateers

stepped upon the deck, the valiant ducal marines engaged their foes, determined to defend

their proud vessel from Ayrtesi capture. At the onset of the melee, great elemental bolts

of lightning shot forth from the palms of those Ayrtesi mages who had boarded the ducal

flagship. These searing cascades of elemental energy decimated one of the units of valiant

ducal marines, but their comrades were not deterred by the magical power of the drow.

Those who had not felt the painful sting of the mages energy rushed forth, engaging their

foes with the courage that exemplifies the Ducal Marine Corps as well as all of your Gracesarmed forces.

The battle pitched upon the main deck of the Geoneblise as your father, his Grace,

ordered his personal guard to follow him down from off the quarterdeck into the tumult

on the deck below. And crying out their war cry, the Ducal Guards followed their Lord

down onto the main deck. It was at this juncture in the drow assault that the true nature

of the attack became clear to those in command of the ducal forces who were fighting so


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bravely on that sad day. For like the shadow of a demon, a long figure stepped out before

the charging Duke and his loyal guard, a lone Ayrtesi assassin - the member of the dread

drow assassins clan, the Itisnun. What immediately caught everyones attention is that this

vile drow assassins feet did not touch the ground, for he seemed to float effortlessly upon

the air. And just as suddenly as he had appeared before them, a gleaming elvan longsword

seemed to materialized in his right hand which he immediately swung at his Grace. The

warrior instincts of your Father, his Grace, however were able to take over and his Grace

was able to parry the blow with the great Crimson Sword. Amazingly in the same attack

motion, the Itisnun assassin also struck your Fathers Guard Captain, the valiant Captain

Efoguen Apluploish, with his left fist stunning the surprised soldier & forcing him to drop

his gleaming broadsword. And as fast as he had appeared, the elusive dark elf floated

upwards into the winds, out of the reach of the weapons of the Ducal Guards. Your Father,

his Grace, was not to be taunted by a drow and set about climbing the rigging of the ship

in order to attack the dark elf. With a roar, his Grace swung the Crimson Sword - which

became engulfed in magical flames as it always does when used in battle - but the swiftmoving drow simply stepped out of the way of the attack.

The Itisnun assassin simply continued his movement thru the air and maneuvered

himself around the back of your Father. In a sudden motion, a long dagger appeared in the

assassins left hand, which he quickly thrust into his Graces back. The blow was so swift

and so expertly placed that his Grace suffered its ill effects immediately by tumbling down

onto the deck below. Stunned, bleeding and slowly dying from this vile wound, there was

nothing more your Father, his Grace, could do for his men. But they did not lose heart

when he fell - for one of the officers of his Guard, Sargent Inniesa Wheychezo, commanded

the Ducal Guardsman to draw their bows & shoot down the Ayrtesi assassin. The aim of

his Graces proudest warriors was as true as any human bowman could have been, but the

foul magics of the drow allowed the assassin to live despite the numerous arrow shafts

protruding from his body.

In one final monstrous feat of magically enhanced agility, the vile Ayrtesi assassin

leapt down upon the fallen body of your Father, impaling his long elvan sword into the

very same wound he had caused with his vile dagger severing your Fathers spine and

killing him. And with a shout of triumph, the Ayrtesi assassin disappeared leaving the

Ducal Guardsmen stunned and distraught.

And it would seem that this shout emitted by the Itisnun assassin was the signal for

the other drow warriors to disengage. For as soon as this victory cry was heard, all of theAyrtesi warriors and mages magically teleported themselves back to their ships which

immediately disengaged from the Geoneblise and set sail for their evil homeland, leaving the

Ducal Flagship damaged and demoralized from this terrifying and swift assault.


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Immediate Aftermath Of The Ayrtesi Attack

The danger to the Geoneblise, however, did not dissipate with the retreat of the three

dark elvan raiders and their vile crew. It would seem that one final act of evil magic was

to be cast upon the damaged and demoralized ship. A large elemental fire storm had

begun to form in the final throws of the battle - a storm which became fully developed as

the Ayrtesi raiders began to disappear over the horizon. Howling elemental winds blasted

the Geoneblise and elemental fire bolts started blasting the sails, rigging and what remained

of the crew of the Ducal Flagship. As a result, fires began to break out all over the ship and

the sailors and marines - as well as the officers - now released from the melee which had

so recently consumed them, started fighting the fires which ravaged the entire ship.

It was during this chaotic upheaval that followed the Dukes death, that his loyal

Guardsmen - who felt as if they had failed in their duty to protect their liege - carried his

body into the great room away from the tumult which predominated the main decks of theGeoneblise. Admiral Ethezith Plashane joined the Ducal Guards in the great room as well as

the ships healer. Command of the vessel was taken by Captain Erenablash Coothgoite

who not only supervised the fire fighting efforts, but also attempted to maneuver the ship

beyond the perimeter of the dark elvan magic.

The crew fought hard to put out the conflagration which enveloped the ship while

the Captain and the Bridge officers used all of their skill to bring the ship to safety. At last,

after quite a number of tense minutes, the Geoneblise exited the radius of the elemental fire

storm and followed a south-easterly course towards the closest shore. Finding a safe

harbour, Captain Coothgoite dropped anchors as the crew began to repair damaged partsof the ship. The ships navigator magically contacted the Ducal Navy headquarters alerting

them to the attack as well as the Geoneblises position so that this information could then be

relayed to the Ducal Court.

The final death toll of the Ayrtesi attack was thirty sailors and marines. Casualties

accounted for a further twenty seven sailors and marines. The Geoneblise suffered hull and

rigging damage from both the direct Ayrtesi attacks and from the elemental firestorm

which followed. However, despite these losses, the ship was far from crippled and after

a short break to repair the biggest damage, the ship set course for home and arrived safely

back at Castle Ravenstone ten days later.

The Political Ramifications Of The Ayrtesi Attack

As your Grace no doubt understands, the political ramifications of the Ayrtesi raid

upon the Geoneblise will certainly put pressure upon the Grand Duchy, especially given your

recent ascension to the Grand Ducal Throne. The latest communications your loyal staff

have received from the Imperial Court is that his Imperial Majesty views the assassination


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lanesel Tyr is the ancient citadel of the Iperatesi elves which has served as the8

seat of their High King since their exodus from the original elvan homeland.

The Blood Oath of Aquishwo was sworn by all Iperatesi before they left on9

their exodus from the original elvan homeland. It binds every Iperatesi and all of their

descendants to enact vengeance upon the Ayrtesi for the innumerable crimes the Drow

have suffered the Iperatesi to bear.

of his Grace, your Father, as a blatant act of war. But as per the terms of the Munammeren

Treaty, his Imperial Majesty will support the Grand Duchy in whatever course of action you

should decide to take. In other words, it is entirely up to you whether or not the Grand

Duchy and our Imperial allies will go to war with the Drow.

Our Iperatesi allies may not be keen to take up the quarrel with their ancient foes.

For the last seven thousand years there has been a relative peace between these two elvan

kindreds. According to analysis from our own staff, the royal court at lanesel Tyr has8

no desire to even contemplate engaging in open hostilities with the Ayrtesi, fearing the

repercussions such a conflict would inflict upon the entire world. The Iperatesi, tho still

bound by the Blood Oath of Aquishwo , will not provoke their most hated enemies and9

will continue with the status quo in their relations with the Drow.

War with the Ayrtesi should not be considered lightly, as the pre-Imperial history

of our people as well as the history of our oldest allies, the Iperatesi, demonstrates all too

well. Human kind suffered great hardship in those ancient times as we fought along side

the noble Iperatesi against the darkness and tyranny of the Ayrtesi. One does not believethat any human or elf wishes to return to the chaos and fear of that ancient war. However,

some form of retribution is necessary in order to maintain our place in the ongoing political

power struggles that run rampant throughout our world. We can not sit idly by after a

foreign power assassinates our Grand Duke and attacks the flagship of our Navy.

The Grand Duchy has always held a position of political, economic and military

power in our region. This status has been necessary in order to maintain control of the

strategically important Crimson Strait. We must not show any signs of weakness, else our

ever plotting neighbours might see opportunities to augment their bids to control the Strait.

Traditionally there are four foreign powers who wish to control the Strait. These powers,

as your Grace is keenly aware of, are of course the Jufuovhofin, the Raivarivar, the Zrilan

and the Iggysipli. Each of these human kingdoms and empires pose their own threat to the

Grand Duchy.

While the Empire has held various treaties with the Jufuovhofin as well as the other

Hanoteac kingdoms and clans since ancient times, our relations with these proud clannish

men have varied throughout history. At present, relations between the King of Jufuovhofin

and the Crimson Court are good. This fact exists despite the continued presence of

Jufuovhofin pirates in the North Western Sea who at times harass Imperial merchant ships


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Raivashini: Red Snake Tribe10

Oshini: City-East Eastern City11

traversing this body of water. However, the strategic military and economic importance

of the Crimson Strait has always been of keen interest to the Jufuovhofin monarchs.

Traditionally they have always wanted to control the Strait for the very same reason that

we do - in order to control shipping between the northern and southern hemispheres. In

the past, the Crimson Kings - as well as the Grand Dukes of Ravenstone - have granted the

Jufuovhofin access to the Strait and allowed them to pay lesser tariffs in our ports. These

small economic measures have allowed for our continued good relations with these proud

men of the north.

The semi-nomadic tribes that inhabit the Alraiwelisin deserts to the south west of

the Crimson Straits who are known collectively as the Raivarivar have posed a complex

problem to the Grand Duchy for centuries. The heart of the problem we face concerning

the Raivarivar is that they posses no central governing authority. Each tribe has its own

warlord and council of elders who command each individual tribe separately. Although,

an ambassador from the Ampyasiga tribe does at times attend sessions of the Court of the10

Crimson King, the ambassador only speaks for his tribe and has no influence upon themany other tribes who inhabit the Alraiwelisin deserts. As such, Raivarivar raiding vessels

frequently attack merchants traveling in the Erupuan Sea. These small fleets of fast moving

pirate ships hold allegiance to the various coastal tribes and very few are marauders under

the control of the Ampyasiga. Though traditionally the Ravivarivar have held no claim or

ambitions in the Crimson Strait, given a chance these corsairs would expand their pirate

operation northward.

The Zril Shin Empires claim to the Crimson Strait stems from the fact that their

eastern most border lays upon the western shore of the Strait. In fact, the Zrilan city of

Ash-Fari is located north west of Castle Ravenstone. In the past, the Grand Duchy has had11

military conflicts with the Zrilan over control of the Strait, but relations between our two

empires have become more cordial in the past two hundred years. However, any signs of

weakness might signal to the agents of the Zrilan Emperor that perhaps they might

possibly gain control of the Strait.

Though the Kingdoms of the Iggysipli are located the furthest away from the Grand

Duchy, their merchant ships are often seen in our ports. No official emissaries from any of

the Iggysipli Kingdoms are normally present at the Court of the Crimson King, however

trade relations between the Empire and these thriving southern Kingdoms are at a historical

high. It is highly unlikely that the Iggysipli would have any major claim to the Strait, but

any sign of weakness within the Grand Duchy might allow them to bid for moreadvantageous trade deals with the Empire.


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Final Summery

The final repercussions of the assassination of his Grace, Grand Duke Ethithung

Geongechuth of Ravenstone have yet to come to pass. What the Grand Duchy must do in

order to not only move on from the heinous incident but also continue to hold the place of

power in the region is ultimately in your Graces hands. The political situation at the

moment is probably the most dangerous any of the Grand Dukes have experienced for

generations. Indeed, the fate of the Grand Duchy and the trade which flows through the

Crimson Strait may be determined by our actions.

As always, rest assured that the Command Staff of your loyal Grand Ducal Military

are always at your command and at your disposal in regards to strategic and military

advice. Please do not hesitate to confer with us at any time regarding your thoughts and

any possible plans you may begin to formulate in response to the assassination of his Grace,

your Father.

Your loyal servant,

Admiral Ethezith Plashane

Grand Ducal Navy

the death of a duke

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