The Fall and Rise of Byrne A recent history of Byrne, by Lord Governor Mithreas Elendaril.
History, the saying goes, is written by the victors. And indeed, I am writing this as the Governor of Byrne, after myself and others evicted the lich Daithi from power and unlife. And yet, while many would write of such events with joy, telling of the good that was done here, and the evil vanquished, I am too close to events to really feel triumphant. I do not regret what was done, for there is no question that Daithi had to be defeated. I will not, however, pretend that his fall was the same glorious event to those closely involved, as it was to those who were simply observers.
Before I tell this story, I will introduce the people involved, for this is where the tragedy of war is made apparant; at the personal level. Glorious victories are for nations, not individuals. The cast of this play, this history of our time, is as follows. The lich baron, Daithi Byrne, should be known to most of you by reputation. A powerful wizard who sought and found lichdom, he had seized unquestioned power in the Barony. His wife, Monia Byrne, followed Daithi from another world. She of all people could still see the man she loved within the shell of the lich, and never truly gave up hope on him, though despairing at what he had become. Their son, Nicholas, served as Commander of the Byrne Guard. Closer to his father - and what his father had become - than to his mother, Nicholas was a skilled warrior whose skills were augmented by his father's magic. Nicholas was also married, and his young son Nick, eight when events began, was a happy, playful child with innate talent for the ways of magic. His spirit had none of the darkness of his father's or grandfather's.
Members of the second family of Byrne, the Belus family, are also key to the story. Dyneth, the elderly matriarch of the Belus family, was a member of the Council of Byrne that Daithi had overcome to take power. She lived quietly, accepting the burdens she was forced to bear by Daithi, but never forgot what Byrne had been and should be. Lacking the power to overthrow Daithi, she nonetheless showed great personal strength to weather his rule without losing her principles. Dyneth had a daughter and heir, Dyna, whose marriage to Nicholas was arranged before darkness fell over the Byrnes. Dyna, like her mother and Monia, did her duty yet retained her dignity. She loved her son, and taught him much of kindness and love. It is said that the richest rose is the one that grows in manure: Byrne, even in a time of darkness, produced many of the finest people I have ever met, forged in the fire of hardship.
The other two whose story this is were not of Byrne. I served as Royal Bard and Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Royal Court of Glorwing, and as Lord Chaplain to the Royal Victorian Order of Peace Guards. Aware of the rule of Daithi in neighbouring Byrne, I was yet unaware of the many who suffered under Daithi's rule. And Celorfiriel Amastacia served as Commander of the Praetorians, headqartered in Port Sunrise.
The tale begins a month or so after Queen Victoria left the Castle of the Sun to embark upon her quest for Mysilvia. I was returning to the castle from Darkwoods, late at night as was my wont. This was somewhat unfortunate for the cloaked man creeping along the corridor of one of the bedroom wings, who found himself immobilised by magic. To my considerable surprise, however, he died before I could question him... his soul sucked from his very body by an amulet he wore. Searching him, and studying the amulet, I determined that he had come from Byrne... but could only guess why. A week later, however, I found out.
An elderly woman came looking for me. She found friends of mine, and I was called over. She refused to speak to any but me and my wife, and when we met with her in the mountains I determined why. She introduced herself as Dyneth, describing herself as one of those bound to the service of Daithi. She came to warn us that Daithi was building an army to attack Glorwing, intending to take advantage of the absence of the Queen to seize Port Sunrise and proclaim himself King. Her words rang true, and her demeanour impressed me; she had risked much to travel to the Misty Mountains to warn us. We offered her safety in the Kingdom, but she refused, telling us she belonged in Byrne, and left us. Returning towards Port Sunrise, we encountered a spirit near the gates. It taunted us, and spoke of Dyneth's demise. I did not let it finish; I was already running back towards the mountains and Byrne, my wife Heather at my side. In the Fields of the Fallen we spoke to the farmers; they had not seen Dyneth return, but they -had- seen the Commander, returning from the east with a bloodied sword. Fearing the worst we sought and found her, and were going to take her body to the Temple of the Sun back in Port Sunrise. But a man in rags, claiming to be her son, approached us and asked that he be given care of the body, for it not to be raised. We did not know Dyneth well, and were unwilling to go against the wishes of her family. But I have discovered since that Dyneth had no son. I do not know who took her body, but their deed has surely damned them in the eyes of the gods.
Back in Glorwing, we began to make preparations. Regent and Lord Commander Torren Han-Lyle and General of the Sun Guard Brethik Aeluen, assisted by Lord Excelsus Kaveros Sennald, planned for the defense of the capital. Lord Kaveros set the Peace Guard to roving duties in the mountains, to disrupt patrols and gather information. And I and those I trust set about answering the question: how could we defeat Daithi once and for all? There was nothing to be gained in attacking Byrne in force. Daithi would simply return, unless and until we could find and destroy his phylactery. I also began to make other plans, for the peace. It would not be enough simply to remove Daithi, for without his control we feared for what his lieutenants could do. I approached the Praetorians, and asked them if they would be willing to offer to take on peacekeeping duties once Daithi was removed. At a meeting with Celorfiriel and Candor Thorne, it was agreed.
Skirmishes continued. Our scouts located the body of Daithi's troops, mercenaries and undead for the most part, with an elite core of highly trained and well-equipped Byrne guards. Daithi raided the town of Delta, but his forces were beaten off by guards and adventurers. And a young boy called Nick started making appearances in the Kingdom, generally around the Standing Stones and portals in towns. He charmed everyone who met him, and it was not for a while that we realised who he was, at a time when attempts to reach peace by diplomatic means had ended with Commander Nicholas striking at me as I stood unarmed to speak with him.
We learned that Nicholas held his father's phylactery. This explained his apparent authority (for it had been he who had spoken for Byrne during the attempted negotiations). I offered young Nick the chance to stay with us, and offered to teach him to better control the talent for magic he had shown. I had several reasons for doing this. Not only did I enjoy the boy's company, and wish to see his innate potential realised, but I did not wish to see him learn at the feet of his grandfather. And the other motive, the one that still draws criticism from some quarters even today, is that I wished to use Nick to end the conflict. With Nick in Glorwing, we would have had a powerful lever over Nicholas and hence his father as well, and by protecting Nick from the influence of his father and grandfather we would have given Byrne a future. There are those who believe that it is always wrong to use a child in this way: I believed then and believe now that many died who did not have do, because this plan was never used. Including Nick himself, but that belongs much later in the tale.
So the skirmishes continued. Scouts into Byrne recovered an attack plan targetting the Western gate of Port Sunrise, and delivered it to the Regent to inform the defense. Skirmishes continued on the fields. And young Nick became smitten by Celorfiriel, talking to anyone who would listen, in Glorwing or Byrne, of his "princess". Then one day, he brought her a gift; a gemstone, glowing with power, that he had taken from his parents' home. She guessed what it was immediately, and brought it to me. Daithi's phylactery.
Another saying for you all; you're probably sick of them by now. "Politics is no place for a moral man". What were we to do? To use Nick's innocent, loving gift to defeat his father and grandfather? Or not to use it, and to allow the war to continue? Was I to betray Nick, or to betray Byrne, and those like Dyneth who had died because they believed in a Byrne that was not ruled by a lich, that was free? Gaining the phylactery should have been a moment of triumph, but it was ash in our mouths.
We struck, a small, hand-picked team of a dozen to minimise casualties. We confronted Daithi, destroyed the phylactery, and after it, the lich. Nicholas charged us immediately after, intent on fighting to the death. I watched as the finest warriors of Glorwing gave him the death he demanded. But we were not fast enough. Those I had sent to ensure Monia's safety found only her blood covering the walls and floor of her room. Others celebrated the victory, but those few of us closest to events felt no triumph. And when Nick emerged from hiding, from where he had seen everything, he called me out, cursing my name. Some tried to silence him, but I silenced them. I had made my decision before we had left Glorwing, and I had betrayed his trust for what I believed to be the good of Byrne. I offered him my life, his vengeance, for what I had done to him. I do not know if he even heard my words through his pain. He left his ring for Cel, and ran off. I let him go.
We returned to Daithi's throneroom, for we had to ensure that our actions did not destroy Byrne itself. Cel started organising those with us into a temporary guard, to keep the streets safe, and I bid them carry a message to the leaders among the people: come to the keep, and determine how you shall be ruled. Three answered our call: I know them now as Dyna Belus, Selah Hora and Belil Gars, the leaders of the three other families. Dyna spoke for them, and bid me serve as Governor. I refused: I could not tell whether the decision was made from fear, and knew that much had transpired that day that might cause Byrne to wish me gone. I accepted instead the post of Interim Governor, stating my task as being that of returning Byrne to stability and health, whereupon I would ask the Families to choose whether or not they wished me to continue.
Stability was brought, and Dyna and the others chose to confim my position. Nick went missing for months, and returned a grown man, fully in command of his powers and with a man's experience from another world. He claimed to bear no grudge against me, and resumed his rightful place on the Council. An assassin, thought to be loyal to the old regime, stalked myself, my wife Heather, and Cel. Members of the Old Guard based themselves in the caves Daithi had gathered his army in, or fled to Liana to offer their skills and training in exchange for respect and employment. And we restored Byrne's strength, as quickly as we could, the Praetorians taking a hand in training and bolstering the new Byrne guard until it became strong enough to see off the threats of Liana, the Old Guard, and the endemic undead.
There is one final event that in itself completes both the triumph and the tragedy of the tale. The assassin, so skilled that none had proven able to touch him, was eventually slain - by Nick. And yet, Nick himself perished in the battle. His loss is deeply felt by all who knew him, myself included. He was an fine young man, and deserved a better life than he got. With his passing, Celorfiriel sits as his chosen heir on the Council of Byrne.
_________________ The great thing about D&D is that stupidity is punishable by death. ~ Unknown
That which is eternal can never die. === Ex admin-type Mithreas - Elven sage, wandering bard
Last edited by Mithreas on Tue Jan 03, 2006 4:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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