[i]The Rebellion of the Elders[/i]
[b]Elder Chief Ulder Birdwatch Baldug of Baldugtagee and Windbeach (-23 - 44)[/b]
[quote=Fieldcat Neversaw Lurntag, Eldest Shaman and Scribe, 23]It was in that fateful year of 23 when Ulder Birdwatch Baldug came to his nephew's court, eldest at a group of shamans and soldiers. The lands of Baldugtagee Minor had felt the horrific mistreatment of Eaglebeak, cursed be his name, whose rule was cursed and whose blood was said to corrode the ground when wounds were opened in his gaunt form. He had, by the elder's blessing, been given control over "all that the forests touched and the sand saw", none the wiser of his corrupted brain. 

Ulder had been the loudest among them, hollering claims of his nephew's divinity and kind rule even as the ground beneath them was seized and taken behind the palace to have flowers planted within. Ulder's mind finally failed his nephew when the younger man demanded Ulder relinquish control over his own personal domain, at the same time as he made open plans to overthrow the ascended government. 

It was a blessing upon my own eyes that I witnessed the tenfold rage erupting from Ulder's mind as he spoke then, his roars mightier than any I had ever heard. He said unto his nephew thusly: 

"The lands of old, kings buried within, are never to be raped and soiled by your pitiful acquiescences." To that, Chief Eaglebeak grabbed upon Ulder's flesh, and clawed deeply into his arms with a scourge of leather and glass. He spat upon his elder, his uncle, how vile was his temperament and how soiled was his legacy. He sat back upon his throne, a hunched, crone-like youth, madness darting behind his eyes like children darting amongst the wood. His voice was like an arch pulled upon oak, frozen in its brutality and lost in the coldness of his bosom: 

"I am chief in all the oak does see, chosen by those who now hide within the shadow of your foolishness. Scourge him twenty and continue in the same path until the morning." A punishment light for the crime of high treason as had been for years long forgotten.

As he was held upon his flesh by soldiers, rodents all, Ulder's eyes held a flame so immense that I cannot find myself to put it to words. He swore that day in language most uncouth that he would return ever the braver, ever the stronger, and ever the wiser, hefting upon his shoulders a god-gift that would show whose claim was right to the throne as it was sat upon.[/quote]

[quote=Fieldcat Neversaw Lurntag, Eldest Shaman and Scribe, 23]

Ulder was freed within a fortnight, the elders, in their fury, called to the stars above and laid themselves bare to the gods, scourging themselves and pleading to be freed of their inherent violence to become unworthy of scorn for what may be forced upon them by the forces of fate. The gods had agreed, blessings were laid upon their worthy shoulders, so that those who may claim it would take the first blow and be free of any scorn in the eyes of those far beyond mortal comprehension.

These elders took upon themselves the task of burning the minds of the plebeians into a fervor, appealing to their minds in any ways they could gain, prostrating themselves and giving up all worldly possession and granting unto those who would agree gifts not meant for mortal men.

They took to the buildings, burning them as if straw, crying a mighty cry from the roofs of mutilated temples and garrisons. They sent away soldiers and stole their weapons, turning them upon their former possessors with a fury unabated. Ulder found himself freed during this same looting and destruction, taking his place at the head of the column and commanding the elders and youth alike. He marched upon Eaglebeak's castle and met with the chief's servants upon the shores of the Goldsea, whose waters gave silent encouragement and whose surface gleamed as if their namesake had been given unto them by the gods. The charge was soft like a flood and with the fury of a flame, the elders fought like the gods themselves taken mortal form. Spears were hefted and thrown, battle was engaged in a furious melee, the servants wielding shields and taking to a line so straight it was said to reach the Ancient Steppe, while the fervent and righteous rebellion fought like heroes to a man, charging themselves and each whetting their spears on the men's inner workings. 

In the end, it wasn't men in tandem who won the battle, it was men themselves, each empowered by their own righteousness and fury. At the end of the day, the armor that was tossed into the sea was enough to hold a flock of gulls who frolicked on the defeated's possessions like vultures on a corpse. The rebellion hoisted the golden shields upon Ulder's shoulders as he marched into the home of the Chief, and no man's knee remained unbowed. He bellowed out like a furious beast: 

"I have returned as I said I would have, god-gift upon my shoulders and wisdom above my brow, the god's glow about my flesh."

The Chief cried out a hideous sound of agony or rage.

"You have returned a man, where is the god whom was promised to me?" Ulder took the man by his lapels and shook him like a hound.

"You were promised a better man, no god, and I have returned as promised, dare you deny me what has been granted by right?" And the chief was silent as he was hoisted from his throne and tossed to the sea, consumed and never to be seen again.

"I have given of my blood, of my tears, and of my will, all for what has been created here. May my blood again run if ever this does repeat, let my promise only end when the great seas do run dry. Let it be sung from here to the highest mountain peaks, my folk shall never again be slaves!" Ulder gave a speech that brought many to tears, and yet some were unconvinced. Ulder took his crown and hefted it over his head, the cheer in response so great that it rattled the ground and whatever lived within it.[/quote]