300-400 A.E. (Reckoned from the Broken-stone War)
Undermountain II "the Great", and the Suga Rebellion
The spring of 300 A.E. was unnaturally cold in the high mountains; while the Aybari lowlands sweltered and were bathed in warm spring rains, the northern Dyarvikim tribes shook off their winter slumber to find their fortresses still blanketed in snow. Even in Four Stones, in the modest citadel of High Chieftain Silvereyes, a chill seemed to settle on everything. Two strange comets were seen lingering in the skies over Five Stones for many weeks. The sages of his Longstrider clan read the skies, and came back with grim predictions of strife and death. The High Council was much troubled; was there some threat, as-of-yet unforeseen, which could threaten the mighty stone-trolls? True, in the days of savagery, before the clans, before Promethea and enslavement, weak or aged trolls had often been long-hunted by packs of wolves and humans, or stalked by big cats. Yet even an adolescent troll was at least 12-14 feet high, and their hides only grew thicker and their size only greater with age. Some sleeping ancients were as large as 30-40 feet!
Silvereyes, a troll of 120 who had replaced Undermountain I only recently, was an orthodox baumbesukeh; doctrine dictated a troll should fear nothing, but unease settled deep in her soul. This was not helped by the sudden appearance of short, stolid human-like creatures in the mountains to the southwest. Soon after, in 310, small, scaly reptilians joined them. Together, they became a constant nuisance about the borders of Five Stones, dragging small trade caravans, making small settlements in the mountains, digging deep holes in the ground. These new peoples were termed beshtekar by the barumbesukeh, meaning “[gets] underfoot”. The first dwarf to peer over a ridge at the holy valleys was unceremoniously crushed by a passing Longstrider clansman. Soon, trollspawn riders were launching profitable raids each summer into Scalethein, once even within twenty leages of Uthien. They returned with new weapons, precious metals, fabrics and new animals for their herds. Appeals by Scalethein authorities went unanswered by the trolls – who did not feel they should dignify these with a response.
Small border skirmishes continued throughout the next decade, finally ending in 323 with the Battle of Bagrumrod. A dwarven force lured a much larger trollspawn force into a pitched battle, then surrounded them on all sides from hidden tunnels. Superior Dwarven armor and tactics carried the day; 300 trollspawn and 5 young trolls were brought down. While a few survivors were kept as prisoners for questioning, they revealed little of their homeland. Still, the defeat discouraged the raiders for the next few years, and eventually raiding was officially limited at the assembly in 326 A.E.. New reports of strange new weapons and large formations of thousands of beshtekar marching in the mountains worried the Assembly of Voices, who elected a young Undermountain II High Chieftain to replace Silvereyes. Undermountain and the High Council promised to close the borders to outsiders to protect against the dangers prophesied by Winterpine in 210 A.E..
Undermountain did one thing more; in 328 A.E. he began construction of a truly gargantuan fortress. This castle was designed not only to store immense amounts of soil, food, and water, and house thousands of trolls if needed, but by strong enough to defend against not only beshtekar and humans, but other trolls. This fortress covered the entire east and north face of Bluepeak, the tallest mountain in Five Valleys, had at its top a giant octagonal tower with a massive beacon visible from almost all directions. It would require a truly immense amount of labor, for which Undermountain drafted his subject suga trolls and trollspawn. Construction had barely begun when a rockslide crushed ten workers, and two Longstrider clansmen were killed by an angry band of workers. This insurrection spun into open rebellion, and all through the summer of 329 A.E. Stoneguard and rebels hunted each other in a guerilla war. Rebels took refuge in the surrounding wilderness, launching raids at food stores and patrols. Yet by winter, the rebellion had dwindled away; hungry and weakened, rebels either submitted to Undermountain's justice, or fled northward. Undermountain punished the remaining clans; prompting another failed rebellion, this time with help from the north, in 332.
However, the rebels were not subdued for long. At least a century had passed since the death of Winterpine, but the suga exiles still cherished his death-recitation. To them, it had become a prophecy: the barumbesukeh usurpers in Five Stones would fall due to their insularity, their use of foreign technology and powers. An influential and radical young member of the Stargazer clan named Seeks-the-dawn proclaimed to the suga assembly that the time for action was near: the construction of this massive fortress was pure hubris, and the suffering of the Five Stones suga was unacceptable. By 335 A.E. Seeks-the-dawn, not acclaimed as Chief Dawnseeker, had assembled a fanatical following of several thousand. When summer arrived, he marshaled his forces, and marched to Five Stones, certain of victory despite his weakness in numbers.
The campaign was an unmitigated disaster. The rebels had some early success, and their cavalry was effective in clearing away Five Stones troll-spawn skirmishers and scouts. But they were entirely outnumbered, and badly beaten twice before being crushed in the Valley of Five Stones. The suga retreated in disarray to the north, where they found little welcome: the northern chiefs were fine with the status quo, and worried the rebels were too volatile, and unpredictable. So, by winter, 2,300 trolls, 8,000 trollspawn, and 100,000 animals found themselves banished into unknown and unwelcome territory in the Scalethien Empire. Faced with several alarmed and heavily armed kobold legions, Dawnseeker saw no other choice. He swore allegiance to the Scalethein Empire, trading his pride for survival. While the locals mistrusted them, still remembering trollspawn raids of earlier decades, they eagerly accepted the troll's knowledge, labour and expertise in husbandry. Yet Dawnseeker's heart, and that of all other suga turned constantly back to Five Stones. They would have revenge.
Dawnwatcher's Great Blasphemy
Despite the strife, the next two and a half decades would prove to be some of the most prosperous in the long memory of the trolls. From Bet Aybar to the northern mountains, peace, trade and prosperity brought a massive baby boom, expansion of agriculture, and several new movements. The most important was a new monastic tradition; with the massive expansion of knowledge, it was decided some trolls should dedicate all their time to the business of science. The Circle-astronomers had already begun to travel less over the last century, inviting students to their great circles and new monasteries. Stone-troll architecture was remarkably practical, focused on durability, defense, and the storage of food and cattle. Ten of these new monasteries sprung up over a wide territory. The largest five were in Five Stones, and really comprised one monastery dedicated to the Five Ancients. These new centers of learning would slowly supersede the authority of the slumbering ancients of the Assembly of Reflection.
In 356, the trolls of the north were shocked to receive royal visitors from Scalethein. The greatest dyarvikim [northern] clans came together in a great Northern Assembly to hear her address and welcome this great beshtekar kobold queen. They were eager to learn from her, and more eager to trade their strength, herds, and plentiful precious stones in return for knowledge and weapons they could use to defend themselves against the Feinar barbarians. The remaining suga were relieved to hear of Dawnwatcher's survival and welcome, but most northern chieftains were much disturbed, fearing Dawnwatcher would stir up some new strife with these intelligent beshtekar.
The Queen moved onto Five Stones, where Undermountain, growing old and proud, welcomed her with caution. She was permitted to speak with a few of the ancient trolls, but the welcome grew cold quickly. She was permitted to remain, under guard, during the bitter winter of 357. When the princess Liika went missing, it was a suga troll named Remembers-the-stars who saved her daughter; not the disinterested barumbesukeh. These events pushed the Queen to favour suga rebels, and word came back to Dawnwatcher that the Empire backed his claim. Undermountain was suspicious, but was satisfied by Lith's promises of peace. The delegation moved on to Bet Aybar, and Undermountain returned his attention to his great fortress. He would perish of a rare disease only two years later.
Undermountain's death was followed by a power struggle, seeing the return of conservative clans to power. Once again foreigners were banned from Five Stones, raids against border towns resumed, and disloyal trollspawn and suga were officially pronounced to be corrupted versions of true trolls. Monasteries were purged of radical philosophers and dissenting theologians. Many in the valleys began to speak favorably of Dawnwatcher's rebellions; but few imagined the troll, who must surely be ancient by now, would ever return.
To the surprise of all, in the spring of 366, word came to the High Council at Bluepeak Citadel – Dawnwatcher himself had risen, like a revenant of revenge, and unified the clans of the suga behind him. He preached that Winterpine's prophecy actually foretold the suga would re-take Five Stones and banish their enemies with the help of the beshtekar foreigners. All the suga camps, fortresses, and homesteads were emptied and abandoned. Dawnwatcher marched at the head of an army of zealous armored trolls, four thousand strong, with nearly eighteen-thousand trollspawn skirmishers and cavalry. And with them came two full legions of kobold warriors, with two hundred “pults” carried upon the backs of ancient trolls, and hundreds of dwarven miners seeking revenge on the raiders of Five Stones. And another army of fifteen hundred suga trolls marched from the north. This unlikely alliance was disorganized and unwieldy, but it marched with a deadly determination and purpose.
The High Chieftains were horrified, and they were not alone. Both northern dyarvikim and southern getterim were outraged at the thought that beshtekar infidels – lead by trolls, no less! – might violate the holy valley of Five Stones. Clans which had not paid allegiance to Five Stones in three generations armed to fight this blasphemous rebellion: wild trolls from the northern woods, northern clansmen, and armored trolls and spawn legionnaires from Bet Aybar. However, Dawnwatcher had timed his rebellion carefully. The Northern dyarvikim were distracted by a blood-feud with a human tyrant in Yossod, and many clans would not march to Five Stones until he was dead and their Yossodite allies were free. In Bet Aybar, the Emperor Ulisse 'Ali I Panjul saw this war for what it was: a power-grab by the scheming kobold Queen Lith he had unwillingly hosted for the last three years. Scalethein sought to replace the neutral government in Five Stones with a friendly government that would guard the borders with Bet Aybar. In a rage for days, the Emperor had to be dissuaded from killing the queen himself and provoking outright war with Scalethein. Instead, it was made clear the kobold delegation should depart, and they were given a military escort to Promethea.
Despite the horror of the Aybari Imperial Church and of getterim clans, the Empire could offer little support to Five Stones. For the past three decades, it had suffered ever-greater raids from the Grogar barbarians that had ravaged the north and west of the Empire. Even the might of troll warriors could not intimidate a Grogar war-band, and two thirds of the Aybari legions were already committed to the borders. To make matters worse, trollspawn legionnaires and getterim trolls were abandoning their posts to fight the blasphemous suga rebels. It would be a full year before Aybari legions marched forth to aid the barumbesukeh High Council.
The Broken-stone War
Virtually all barumbesukeh clans, civilians and warriors, were levied to fight the blasphemers and rebels. The first major battle was fought in the summer of 366, at Ragoon Pass. A total of three thousand trolls and four thousand allied troll-spawn barred a wide mountain pass against the rebel vanguard. While the rebels took heavy losses, the kobold infantry miraculously held their ground against the trolls, and over five bloody hours, trollspawn outriders and dwarven mountaineers scaled the pass and forced the loyalists to retreat. It was the first battle of a bloody two month campaign which brought the rebels to the foot of Bluepeak and forced most of the loyalists to cede most of the valleys to the rebels. Yet the High Council still held a majority of the mountaintop fortresses, and passed endless messages to one another via smoke beacons. While the rebels used their pult with deadly success against the smaller keeps, Undermountain's building project had succeeded in creating fortresses that were virtually impenetrable for the smaller races. So as winter neared, the battles ended, and a series of long and exhausting sieges began.
While the rebel trolls hibernated in the valleys, kobold, dwarf and trollspawn veterans kept close watch on the fortresses of the trolls and raided freely in the valleys. Many ancient trolls that had slumbered for years in the open woods were found and murdered in their sleep as suspected loyalists. Still, the winter took a toll on the rebels as well, as they faced constant sorties from the highlands. The spring of 377 found them much weakened and fatigued by the long siege. Loyalist fortresses, running low on supplies, began to surrender within a few months, but Bluepeak citadel, the greatest of them all, remained well-supplied and defiant. Two assaults by troll sappers and kobold engineers failed miserably, and the rebel army grew frustrated and discontented.
In the summer of 377, the Aybari and dyarvikim reinforcements arrived, and Dawnwatcher found himself facing a war on two fronts. He abandoned several sieges, and leaving half his suga trolls and trollspawn to bottle up the barumbesukeh in Bluepeak, he sent his kobold and dwarf allies west with trollspawn cavalry to hold off the Aybari while he led the remaining trolls north to fight the dyarvikim. His gamble almost paid off; while he smashed the northern trolls mid-summer 377 at the Battle of Tediroom Monastery, the Aybari legions narrowly defeated the kobolds in late summer near the trollspawn city of Pradyarva. The Aybari would go on to retake half the land previously taken by the rebels, liberating besieged barumbesukeh as they went. The winter of 377-78 would be more bloody than the last, as armies fought and foraged in the deep snow, and exhausted trolls constantly interrupted their hibernation to defend against raids.
As 378 dawned, Dawnwatcher felt his age catch up with him; he knew that when he slept at the end of the year, he might not awake for decades. His army was in poor shape, though still outnumbered the enemy and held an advantage on the open ground. Their only chance lay in forcing and winning a pitched battle. Most of that spring and summer passed in a bloody stalemate, but finally, as fall first touched the leaves, Dawnwatcher saw his chance. Drawing back his forces from Bluepeak, he simultaneously launched a surprise all-out attack on the Aybari garrison at Pradyarva. At the same time, a small force of the most experienced trolls and Scalethein mountaineers seized the beacon between Bluepeak and Pradyarva, sending a false signal that the rebels had been crushed at Pradyarva. The High Council at Bluepeak took the bait, and marched forward in strength, thinking the rebels were retreating. Quickly, Dawnwatcher moved his forces south, and caught most of the Aybari and loyalist army at the great stone circle of Radyr.
The Battle of Radyr was the most bloody of the entire war. Dawnwatcher himself led the charge against the elite loyalist Stoneguard, and Aybari died by the hundreds under a relentless catapult barrage. Unnerved and unprepared, the Aybari commander ordered his troops to withdraw, enraging the getterim troll chief, who promptly killed him, sending the legions into disarray. Loyalist trollspawn clans retreated, leaving the bulk of the barumbesukeh trolls exposed. The suga and kobolds surged forward and surrounded the High Council itself, capturing or killing most of the chieftains. When the battle was over, the forces of Five Stones had, against the odds, been resoundingly defeated. By late fall, Dawnwatcher and his suga would march into Bluepeak citadel without a fight and accept the surrender of the barumbesukeh.
The Broken-stone War, as it came to be known, had devastated Five Stones, the border regions of Scalethien, and cost both sides dearly. At least 2,500 trolls and eight thousand troll-spawn had died in the course of the three-year war. Some clans had been all but wiped out. Losses had been worse for the Aybari army, which lost 300 trolls and three thousand legionnaires all together. In a cruelly symbolic move, Dawnwatcher banished all barumbesukeh who would not swear allegiance to a rightful suga High King, instead of a chieftain. They and their descendants were exiled from the new Kingdom of Five Stones, and forced into the wilds just as winter arrived. He appointed his child, Chief Morningstar of the Stargazer clan, as his heir apparent, and announced him as the rightful political and religious leader of all trolls. Satisfied in his revenge, and wearied of war, Dawnwatcher settled down to sleep. He would never awake again.
The Kingdom of Five Stones and the Elamian Pact; Bet Aybar Shaken
The war had earthshaking political and religious consequences. The Aybari losses in the war prompted insurrection in the north of the Empire, and heresies announcing their defeat as a sign of the impurity of the Empire or the coming end of the world. In the north, the dyarvikim clans disavowed the new Southern kingdom, and accepted the many barumbesukeh refugees, if coldly. The trolls were confused: how could the Five Ancients have let the rebels desecrate the holy land and kill so many trolls? Two competing theologies emerged over the next ten years: many dyarvikim and Aybari sages declared that the land of Five Stones must not, in fact, be the holy land that Stargazer prophesied. The wondrous land he commanded trolls to seek was in fact found only after death. However, the barumbesukeh believed that they had been punished for their impurity and adoption of foreign ways and customs. They became ever-more conservative and reclusive. Some retreated to the wilderness or small homesteads where they could live simply, but many were forced by poverty and hunger to live seek the cities of Bet Aybar, where they laboured in shame for food and protection. They would become the most nomadic of all stone-trolls, constantly moving, only having the strength of their backs to offer.
In 374 the northern troll and trollspawn clans met in a great Assembly at the fortress of Gar Elam. They invited human, kobold, and even Promethean representatives of those peoples living in their territory. Together, they pronounced their official refusal to submit to the new King Morningstar and his suga kingdom. They elected, for the first time, their own High Council, and created permanent Assemblies of Voices and Reflection. They declared that never again would troll fight troll in their kingdom, unless they be a suga blasphemer. Finally, they decided on new defensive and military measures to defend against Feinar and Grogar raiders. This new union was called the Elamian Pact.
In Five Stones, work on rebuilding began immediately. While most kobolds and dwarves returned home, Morningstar was obliged to offer many veterans lands within Five Stones. The rest of the suga and rebel trollspawn flocked to the new Kingdom of Five Stones. They began to mine and work iron as they had been taught by their Scalethein allies. With the gift of this technology, great forges were built in the mountains to armor the trolls. At the same time, new roads were blazed through the mountains towards Scalethein. Morningstar realized if the suga were to survive, they would have to secure trade with the small scaly beshtekar, but especially the small, squat, hairy beshtekar of Uthien. With constant aggression on all sides by Aybari and Elamian raiders, Morningstar worked to rebuild and reinforce the fortifications of the valley over the next thirty years. While the devastation wrought by the Broken-stone War would be a half-century in repairing, favourable harvests, ample herds, and prosperous trade aided the new king.
In 390, Morningstar passed into slumber, and a new High King, Cloudreacher, was elected by the suga chiefs. By this point, it was clear that a true Assembly of Voices would not be re-instated in Five Stones; instead, a royal bureaucracy modeled after that of Scalethein was instituted. While clan chiefs, now termed “Lords” in the fashion of the hairy beshtekar, still selected the High King, the Assembly was deemed a perversion of Stargazer's vision. Trolls should be led by an anointed priest-king who could guide them politically and religiously. The Five Ancients would make it apparent to the clans who the rightful King was. As the century came to a close, and an uneasy peace settled over the new stone-troll kingdoms, High King Cloudreacher officially re-opened the monasteries of Five Stones, welcoming troll sages and philosophers from across the world. Despite the legacy of the war, many knowledge-seeking trolls could not help but return to seek wisdom, and the prestige of the wisdom of Five Stones once again grew in the broader world.
Summary of Changes:
Cultural: Massive changes in the culture of the stone-trolls. Troll culture and religion becomes divided into three main groups:
1. The
barumbesukeh: banished, nomadic exiles from Five Stones. Conservative, xenophobic, and proud. Dislike trollspawn. Suspicious of technology, especially the written word, and believe in a simple life, either in nature or earned by the strength of their back. Believe that their Most High Chieftain is rightful speaker of the Troll Assemblies, and that no other trolls will be welcomed by the Five Ancients in the stars.
2. The
Dyarvikim: the Northern trolls (or Mountain-trolls) of Five Stones and the Elamian Pact. These trolls are eager to trade with beshtekar (smaller races), and welcome them eagerly as sworn subjects to their rule, though they do not accept challenges to their authority. Trollspawn, however, have a large say affairs of state. While politically divided, they both have tremendous architectural and agricultural skill and are renowned herbalists and lore-masters. They build mountaintop citadels and dig hidden caverns for protection. They are also known for their elaborate ritual stone circles. Generally, they are disinterested in precious stone, seeing animals and land as wealth enough. They tend to graze hardy animals like goats and sheep in their hills, and have a deep respect and affection for the trollspawn clans with which they have a symbiotic relationship.
3. The
Getterim: the Southern trolls (or City-trolls) of the Empire of Bet Aybar. They participate in the Imperial Cult of the Five Ancients and while they still practice many troll traditions, their culture heavily reflects their Imperial Loyalties. Trolls are given half of all Imperial territory for their herds and hunting, for which they serve in the Empire's army and engineering corps. They adorn themselves with jewels and precious metals, and take pride in their armour and clothes. Getterim trollspawn ride horses, ponies and unicorns, unlike the Mountain-trolls, and increasingly prefer the city to the wilderness. Their culture has become increasingly martial, sedentary, and agrarian; while they still consider knowledge, wisdom, and freedom as ends in themselves, they take pleasure in contests of strength and martial skill. Many do not migrate and live in special woods outside major cities. Others focus on agriculture in the Get valley or devote their lives to managing huge herds on the lowlands.
A monastic tradition has also emerged in Five Stones and Elamia, and several important schools and monasteries have been established, welcoming trolls and trollspawn of all clans, groups, and even other races.
Technological: The trolls have begun to work closely with dogs, often massive beasts spawned alongside them in the womb of a troll for a life-long bond, to help herd their animals. The trolls are increasingly sedentary and agrarian, as opposed to exclusively breeding and raising large herds of animals. Major advances have been made in architecture and engineering, especially in fortifications and roads. Irrigation, terraced fields on the sides of mountains, and new agricultural technology is developed.
Military: The Stoneguard is abolished, but is the model for all other semi-standing troll armies in the North. Trollspawn fight with spears, slings, and increasingly arrows. Trolls fight with maces, now increasingly clad with long metal spikes. Many new technologies have been borrowed from the kobolds, including the pult and a ballistae – of great interest to the trolls, who can load and hold a modified ballistae in their hands easily. Aiming and firing these massive weapons can sometimes kill a charging troll at a distance, and they have become weapons of choice for many trolls who are not trained warriors. Troll warriors prefer armour made of bronze plates and hardened leather.
Government: Trolls are now divided politically into three kingdoms: Bet Aybar, Five Stones, and Elamia. While the Getterim trolls are sworn to Bet Aybar, they organize their clans similarly to the trolls of Elamia. The major political distinction is between “clansmen” and “suga”:
1. The
suga: new rulers of Five Stones, minority elsewhere. Monarchists, ironically akin to their sworn enemies, the barumbesukeh. Descendants of former Promethean slaves, in particular of the Prophet Stargazer. They believe that Stargazer's direct descendant should rule as High King and that the Assembly leads trolls astray if unguided. The Assembly is a largely ritual body, and the real power is in the High King and his troll and trollspawn Lords/Chieftains and their bureaucracy.
2. The
clansmen: the trolls of Elamia and Bet Aybar. Support a tribal confederation held together by strong Assemblies of Voices and Reflection, which speak on political and religious matters, respectively. In Elamia this Assembly is semi-permanent. While there is a High Council, any major decisions must be approved by a majority of the five High Chieftains. The minority Chieftains and their clans are not obligated to participate in the decision they voted against; but all clans must abide by their decision once they have chosen. The very loose federation allows internal conflict only under strict conditions; broader conflict must be resolved by the Assembly.
Territory Changes:
The Feinar continue to expand their territory in the North, Elamia extend almost to the borders of Yossod, and Five Stones now borders Scalethein on two sides. Bet Aybar is pressed by Grogar hordes to the West and North.