= Celisian History =
The people of Celis are considered to be hard working and very loyal to their leaders. They will question these authorities when wrong decisions are being made, but follow orders without question in times of need. The Celisians are the descendants of pilgrims belonging to another nation, although since this nation has never re-established contact, this topic is often debated. At the age of fifteen, Celisian boys begin their military training, and this basic training stops at age eighteen when they become active regulars in the army. They can continue more advanced training after this point, and are then applicable for positions as officers. The Triumvirate of Celis in itself began very peacefully in the first year of inhabitation, growing crops in the fertile valley in which they landed. This valley was called "Novus," and was also inhabited by several other small groups of peoples. At first, the people of Celis considered these "people" to be equals, but things changed quickly.
On the second night of the year 22 Yoi, the largest Celisian village came under attack by some of their more primitive neighbors. Many Celisian men and women unaccustomed to such a conflict and were killed, their carcasses left in the open streets. Their children were torn from their homes, and the victors ate their flesh. Out of five hundred villagers only two hundred survived to escape up into the mountains, where they overcame the cold and hunger by killing the large beasts that lived there. The primitive people who had attacked and ransacked the Celisian village then reaped the benefits of controlling most of the valley. The savages killed off several other groups of primitives and thought highly of themselves, although they remained unaware that Celisians were preparing for war.
Using the knowledge bestowed upon them by their ancestors, which they had not used until now, the Celisians made many weapons, including bows and swords that the primitive tribe the Celisians had dubbed "Novustals" knew nothing of. Using these weapons, the Celisians launched a full-force attack on their enemy and wiped them out, killing every living soul in their encampment. They immediately set out building a large fort farther up the valley next to the river Enendris, and named this fort Novus after the valley they inhabited. In the years 22-257 Yoi, the Celisians stopped being a republic and become a proper monarchy. The first King was named Sirius Marvalre and his line lasted until 426 Yoi. During this time period, the minor fort expanded, taking on the characteristics of a proper city, and they built an aqueduct from the river, leading into the fort. They even constructed a series of sewers. Their population grew from a few hundred to almost a thousand in these years.
After 257 Yoi, something happened the Celisians had never expected. A group of humanoid peoples began to migrate into the valley from the north. This period of time would later become known as the Great Migration. These people were tall and fine-featured, seeming slightly weaker than a normal person, although they were much more agile. At first, the Celisians responded with a call to arms, and then sent a few companies of soldiers out to contact this new group. At first, the two peoples couldn't understand each other, since they had different languages, communication became a problem. This was made apparent when skirmishes broke out in 258. The King of Celis at that time was Ferris Marvalre the Philosopher, and he ordered his soldiers to cease their attacks. He then established a group of the smartest people in his city to learn how to speak this strange peoples’ language. The other people sent a few representatives to meet the Celisians and help them piece it together. After many months of studying each other's behaviors and pointing at things while speaking, they cracked the barriers of language.
The Celisians learned from these people that called themselves the Kracians and were from a kingdom far to the north. The Kracians had come under attack by a large group of barbarians that the Celisians later found through descriptions were actually another band of Novustals. Cries of outrage were common during this time and the Celisians and Kracians formed a brotherhood of sorts. It didn't take long befor the Kracians moved into Novus, and interbreeding became a common aspect of life. Even the King took a beautiful Kracian woman as his bride. The two cultures melded together quite easily, and the Kracians became part of the Celisian army. The population increased from just over a thousand to almost twelve thousand in the first two years of unity.
In the year 264, the Celisians had to expand their kingdom, setting up several small villages over the country side. These villages were under the protection of the royal banner and were extensions of the main city. They were also close enough to Novus that if an attack did happen, the King would be able to protect his people. During this year, King Ferris Mavalre died from old age and his son, who would later become known as King Deltrae Marvalre the Defender, took the throne. Stray Kracians continued to come down from the north, although their numbers dwindled in size as years went on. Reports of destruction and death were rampant on the mouths of these travelers. They told of nothing but misgivings for the remaining Kracians in the north.
King Deltrae Marvalre in the year 269 ordered the construction of a wooden wall and fort in the pass to the north that the Enendris River passed through. This pass was named Aevis Run after the bird that was common in the mountains above it, and was a strategic position that forced enemies to pass through if they wanted access to the valley. The fort took two years to complete and was named Fort Aevum. Its completion was just in the nick of time, because the Novustrals had sent a large army south. The King started getting reports from scouting parties that a force of over five thousand Novustrals was on its way towards Aevis Run. Thinking quickly, he ordered the dispatch of the two thousand regulars in the King Army to Fort Aevum. Arriving promptly, they took up defenses of the walls with the garrison of two hundred which already occupied the fort.
When the Novustrals arrived, they seemed unsure as to what the fort actually was. They tried sending several small groups to its walls, and these groups were immediately cut down by Celisian and Kracian arrows. The Novustrals finally stopped sending groups to wall, seeming to realize after so many deaths that it was hostile. After two days the attitude of the enemy army seemed to change, and on the third day, they made a suicide attack, rushing the walls. A large group of the enemy force was killed in the charge, and many more were wounded, but they continued to rush in a sort of berserker rage. Surprisingly the Novustals were capable of lodging their spears into the wall itself, using this strategy to the climb them, and they were soon upon the Celisian Regulars.
Although only five hundred of the Novustrals actually made it up onto the wall, they quickly started laying waste to the Celisian Army. The enemy had superior strength and although the Celisians were outfitted in armor. The Novustrals easily thrust their spears clean through it, and this skirmish ended in a route of the Celisian forces backed into the fort itself, where they quickly took up defenses using boiling pitch to kill the Novustrals attacking the wall. This time fewer than twenty of the attacking force actually made it to the walls, and the Celisian Regulars made quick work of them with arrows and controlled retreats. This Battle was later to become known as the First Battle of Aevis Run and the First Novustrial War.
Over the next hundred years, Novustrals continued their onslaught from the North. The Fort of Aevum was later built into a large stone wall and a huge circular keep/tower. Two more of these Towers were built in the other passes to protect the valley. These Towers were named the High Towers of Novus by King Kraevn Marvalre the Protector. During the beginning of the fourth century Yoi, the population was booming and revolutionary thinkers were starting to challenge the crown. This eventually led to a coupe in 426, overthrowing the Kings of Celis and establishing a new Republic. The Royal family went into hiding and changed its name. Attacks from the north trickled to a stop by the year 432, giving the Celisians time to focus their eyes on arts and other things besides war.
In 527, almost one hundred years after the attacks from the North stopped, Celis once more fell under attack. A huge army from the Northern lands approached the Valley of Novus, and the unprepared nation was blind to the forthcoming attackers since it lacked sufficient military protection. The High Tower of Aevum was overrun and many villages were destroyed. The republic was sent into a frenzy, and the senate hadn’t the slightest idea of what to do. Three men from the small standing army the Celisians did have, gave the senate an offer which they accepted. In the year 527 the Triumvirate of Celis was established, giving only three men in the entire Kingdom complete control over national security in times of war.
This War is referred to by Celisian historians as the Second Novustrial War, or the Great War. The small army the Celisians had at the beginning of the war was given the task of slowing the approaching army down. They burned villages so that they could not be captured, and ambushed the enemy whenever they could. The small army used guerrilla warfare to their advantage, but within three months, the enemy was almost to the Capital Novus. The countryside lay in waste, but the Triumvirate had been able to raise over fifty thousand soldiers in defense of the city. The battle lasted almost three years and people in the city were starving by the time the Novustrals were defeated.
The High Tower of Aevum was retaken, and the countryside, along with the outward villages, was put into repair. Repair continued and the Triumvirate took complete control of the country. They changed the Senate to the House of Aristocracy, a body of people whose only purpose was to advise the Triumvirs. By the year 532, three new Triumvirs had taken their places as sole leaders of the country. A new age was about to dawn, and the world of Altarra hung in the balance...
The people of Celis are considered to be hard working and very loyal to their leaders. They will question these authorities when wrong decisions are being made, but follow orders without question in times of need. The Celisians are the descendants of pilgrims belonging to another nation, although since this nation has never re-established contact, this topic is often debated. At the age of fifteen, Celisian boys begin their military training, and this basic training stops at age eighteen when they become active regulars in the army. They can continue more advanced training after this point, and are then applicable for positions as officers. The Triumvirate of Celis in itself began very peacefully in the first year of inhabitation, growing crops in the fertile valley in which they landed. This valley was called "Novus," and was also inhabited by several other small groups of peoples. At first, the people of Celis considered these "people" to be equals, but things changed quickly.
On the second night of the year 22 Yoi, the largest Celisian village came under attack by some of their more primitive neighbors. Many Celisian men and women unaccustomed to such a conflict and were killed, their carcasses left in the open streets. Their children were torn from their homes, and the victors ate their flesh. Out of five hundred villagers only two hundred survived to escape up into the mountains, where they overcame the cold and hunger by killing the large beasts that lived there. The primitive people who had attacked and ransacked the Celisian village then reaped the benefits of controlling most of the valley. The savages killed off several other groups of primitives and thought highly of themselves, although they remained unaware that Celisians were preparing for war.
Using the knowledge bestowed upon them by their ancestors, which they had not used until now, the Celisians made many weapons, including bows and swords that the primitive tribe the Celisians had dubbed "Novustals" knew nothing of. Using these weapons, the Celisians launched a full-force attack on their enemy and wiped them out, killing every living soul in their encampment. They immediately set out building a large fort farther up the valley next to the river Enendris, and named this fort Novus after the valley they inhabited. In the years 22-257 Yoi, the Celisians stopped being a republic and become a proper monarchy. The first King was named Sirius Marvalre and his line lasted until 426 Yoi. During this time period, the minor fort expanded, taking on the characteristics of a proper city, and they built an aqueduct from the river, leading into the fort. They even constructed a series of sewers. Their population grew from a few hundred to almost a thousand in these years.
After 257 Yoi, something happened the Celisians had never expected. A group of humanoid peoples began to migrate into the valley from the north. This period of time would later become known as the Great Migration. These people were tall and fine-featured, seeming slightly weaker than a normal person, although they were much more agile. At first, the Celisians responded with a call to arms, and then sent a few companies of soldiers out to contact this new group. At first, the two peoples couldn't understand each other, since they had different languages, communication became a problem. This was made apparent when skirmishes broke out in 258. The King of Celis at that time was Ferris Marvalre the Philosopher, and he ordered his soldiers to cease their attacks. He then established a group of the smartest people in his city to learn how to speak this strange peoples’ language. The other people sent a few representatives to meet the Celisians and help them piece it together. After many months of studying each other's behaviors and pointing at things while speaking, they cracked the barriers of language.
The Celisians learned from these people that called themselves the Kracians and were from a kingdom far to the north. The Kracians had come under attack by a large group of barbarians that the Celisians later found through descriptions were actually another band of Novustals. Cries of outrage were common during this time and the Celisians and Kracians formed a brotherhood of sorts. It didn't take long befor the Kracians moved into Novus, and interbreeding became a common aspect of life. Even the King took a beautiful Kracian woman as his bride. The two cultures melded together quite easily, and the Kracians became part of the Celisian army. The population increased from just over a thousand to almost twelve thousand in the first two years of unity.
In the year 264, the Celisians had to expand their kingdom, setting up several small villages over the country side. These villages were under the protection of the royal banner and were extensions of the main city. They were also close enough to Novus that if an attack did happen, the King would be able to protect his people. During this year, King Ferris Mavalre died from old age and his son, who would later become known as King Deltrae Marvalre the Defender, took the throne. Stray Kracians continued to come down from the north, although their numbers dwindled in size as years went on. Reports of destruction and death were rampant on the mouths of these travelers. They told of nothing but misgivings for the remaining Kracians in the north.
King Deltrae Marvalre in the year 269 ordered the construction of a wooden wall and fort in the pass to the north that the Enendris River passed through. This pass was named Aevis Run after the bird that was common in the mountains above it, and was a strategic position that forced enemies to pass through if they wanted access to the valley. The fort took two years to complete and was named Fort Aevum. Its completion was just in the nick of time, because the Novustrals had sent a large army south. The King started getting reports from scouting parties that a force of over five thousand Novustrals was on its way towards Aevis Run. Thinking quickly, he ordered the dispatch of the two thousand regulars in the King Army to Fort Aevum. Arriving promptly, they took up defenses of the walls with the garrison of two hundred which already occupied the fort.
When the Novustrals arrived, they seemed unsure as to what the fort actually was. They tried sending several small groups to its walls, and these groups were immediately cut down by Celisian and Kracian arrows. The Novustrals finally stopped sending groups to wall, seeming to realize after so many deaths that it was hostile. After two days the attitude of the enemy army seemed to change, and on the third day, they made a suicide attack, rushing the walls. A large group of the enemy force was killed in the charge, and many more were wounded, but they continued to rush in a sort of berserker rage. Surprisingly the Novustals were capable of lodging their spears into the wall itself, using this strategy to the climb them, and they were soon upon the Celisian Regulars.
Although only five hundred of the Novustrals actually made it up onto the wall, they quickly started laying waste to the Celisian Army. The enemy had superior strength and although the Celisians were outfitted in armor. The Novustrals easily thrust their spears clean through it, and this skirmish ended in a route of the Celisian forces backed into the fort itself, where they quickly took up defenses using boiling pitch to kill the Novustrals attacking the wall. This time fewer than twenty of the attacking force actually made it to the walls, and the Celisian Regulars made quick work of them with arrows and controlled retreats. This Battle was later to become known as the First Battle of Aevis Run and the First Novustrial War.
Over the next hundred years, Novustrals continued their onslaught from the North. The Fort of Aevum was later built into a large stone wall and a huge circular keep/tower. Two more of these Towers were built in the other passes to protect the valley. These Towers were named the High Towers of Novus by King Kraevn Marvalre the Protector. During the beginning of the fourth century Yoi, the population was booming and revolutionary thinkers were starting to challenge the crown. This eventually led to a coupe in 426, overthrowing the Kings of Celis and establishing a new Republic. The Royal family went into hiding and changed its name. Attacks from the north trickled to a stop by the year 432, giving the Celisians time to focus their eyes on arts and other things besides war.
In 527, almost one hundred years after the attacks from the North stopped, Celis once more fell under attack. A huge army from the Northern lands approached the Valley of Novus, and the unprepared nation was blind to the forthcoming attackers since it lacked sufficient military protection. The High Tower of Aevum was overrun and many villages were destroyed. The republic was sent into a frenzy, and the senate hadn’t the slightest idea of what to do. Three men from the small standing army the Celisians did have, gave the senate an offer which they accepted. In the year 527 the Triumvirate of Celis was established, giving only three men in the entire Kingdom complete control over national security in times of war.
This War is referred to by Celisian historians as the Second Novustrial War, or the Great War. The small army the Celisians had at the beginning of the war was given the task of slowing the approaching army down. They burned villages so that they could not be captured, and ambushed the enemy whenever they could. The small army used guerrilla warfare to their advantage, but within three months, the enemy was almost to the Capital Novus. The countryside lay in waste, but the Triumvirate had been able to raise over fifty thousand soldiers in defense of the city. The battle lasted almost three years and people in the city were starving by the time the Novustrals were defeated.
The High Tower of Aevum was retaken, and the countryside, along with the outward villages, was put into repair. Repair continued and the Triumvirate took complete control of the country. They changed the Senate to the House of Aristocracy, a body of people whose only purpose was to advise the Triumvirs. By the year 532, three new Triumvirs had taken their places as sole leaders of the country. A new age was about to dawn, and the world of Altarra hung in the balance...
