Olivantia continued to grow in strength and size for nearly a hundred years without any serious oppostion. Cities sprang up all along the coast of the Southern Ocean and South Sea. Towns grew in many of the small valleys dotting the heartland.
Since the vampyr didn’t age each councilor simply grew in strength as the decades passed. Each controlled larger and larger households as their children bore children, and their children bore more. These households became powers in their own right, though each ultimately answered to Olivanticus and his family.
By the year 120 P.F. eighteen households had emerged in Olivantia. Each was led by a vampyr of staggering power. Scores of minor houses had also been born as offshoots of the first eighteen, but none controlled one of the coveted council spots.
Since each councilor was responsible for governing a district Olivanticus decreed that no new councilors could be created unless new districts were added. This meant that any aspiring councilor had two choices. Attack one of the existing councilors, not a wise choice in most cases. Or find a way to create a new district.
Nearly a dozen lesser houses formed an alliance to accomplish the second goal. If they could conquer new territory it would mean the creation of new districts and the appointment of new councilors. So all they needed to do was invade one of Olivantia’s neighbors.
This left them several choices. They could attack through merfolk territory to conquer the plains of Ebat Cen on the far side of the South Sea, they could attack North into the kingdom of Valys or they could try settling the Blood Wood.
The last was the least attractive option, as any attempt to settle the blood wood meant constant assault by the forces of the Tree. Crossing the South Sea to assault Ebat Cen would be extremely difficult, as any attacking force would have long supply lines and little support.
The conspirators settled on the third option. To attack the kingdom of Valys they’d need to cross the river Eldinore. On the other side lay a series of border forts marking the kingdom’s southern border. If they could overwhelm these forts they’d have a solid foothold on Valysian soil, and could petition for the creation of new districts.
Sixteen dreadlords gathered an army of nearly three thousand consumed, five thousand Orokh and several hundred Maw Pirates. This force was divided into three groups, each targetting one of the Valysian border forts. The assault was staged on a moonless night and caught the Valysians completely unprepared.
Their knights fought valiantly, but two of the three border forts fell in a matter of hours. The last managed to repulse the vampyr, though they sustained heavy casualties doing so. The surviving fort sent riders back to the capital requesting assistance even as the dreadlords moved to lay seige.
The third fort was well prepared for the seige and refused to yield despite near constant assaults by the vampyr. The Binders used the same tactic that had taken Reverian, lobbing consumed over the walls with catapults. These consumed wreaked havok, but the warmasters and knights managed to contain them.
The vampyr were unable to take the third keep, and time worked against them. When word reach the capital city of Valys a large force of knights was dispatched to break the seige. The battered vampyr forces were forced to withdraw to the two keeps they’d successfully taken.
The Valysian relief forces were unable to retake these two citadels, though they did reinforce the surviving border fort. This left the two opponents in a stalemate. The vampyr couldn’t advance deeper into Valys without risking a sally from the remaining border fort. Yet as long as the vampyr occupied the two border forts Valys lacked the strength to drive them from their lands.
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Olivanticus takes a direct hand
The attack on Valys had been launched without support of the council, and when word reached Olivanticus he was furious. He didn’t mind his dreadlords taking initiative, but he expected results not excuses. Instead this group had embroiled his nation in a war with a powerful opponent, a war that offered no tangible gain.
Yet what could he do? Since the war had begun he knew that Valys wouldn’t simply accept an apology. The only solution was to prosecute the war and overwhelm Valys. Conquering them would give access to their enchanted iron and silver mines, as well as control of the Hammer of Reevanthara, a powerful earth catalyst.
So Olivanticus ordered the council to marshal their forces. He gathered over fifty thousand consumed, six thousand undead and some two hundred thousand Orokh. These forces descended on Valys like a storm, scouring its defenders away. The third border fort was overwhelmed, though it was badly damaged in the assault.
Valys brought the bulk of its army to meet Olivanticus in the Garvus Gap. Despite holding the high ground and knowing the terrain Valys’s army was slaughtered to a man. They wrought hideous casualties among the Orokh, though they enjoyed less success against the undead and consumed.
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Hasra Enters the War
Olivanticus would likely have conquered Valys in a few short months had they been his only opponent. Unfortunately for him that was not the case. Valy’s neighbor, the Hasran Imperium had long eyed Valys as a potential vassal state. When Olivantia invaded they smelled an opportunity.
The current imperator sent a missive to the Queen of Valys. Join the imperium and gain the protection of its battlemages. Or face their current predicament with no aid. Valys had no choice. They accepted Hasra’s offer, becoming an official part of the imperium.
Hasra immediately sailed for the coast of Valys, debarking the eleventh, forteenth and thirty sixth legions to retake the border forts. Their swift cavalry, powerful battlemages and well trained infantry overwhelmed the rearguard Olivanticus had left to hold the forts.
Meanwhile Hasra sent six more legions to meet the bulk of Olivantia’s army in the field. The two forces met at the plain of Harkur. Olivanticus expected a quick and decisive victory given that his forces vastly outnumbered the Hasran’s.
Unfortunately the Hasran’s tenacity was well beyond anything he could have expected. Their forces worked with a level of coordination not seen since the Elentian empire. Their battlemages rained death on the Olivantian forces, while their warmasters held firm against the rush of the disorganized Orokh horde.
The consumed were opposed by the warmasters, who held them at bay long enough for the battlemages to sear them to ash. The undead met a similar fate.
When the day ended the Olivantian forces were in tatters. Tens of thousands of Orokh were dead. Their undead had been wiped out. Only a few thousand consumed remained. The Hasran forces were exhausted and battered, but Olivanticus knew they’d won the day.
He ordered his captains to retreat back to Olivantia, leaving the remaining consumed behind as a distraction. These consumed scattered all over Valys, killing anything living they came across. The Hasran forces were forced to split up and hunt down each individual group, which allowed the Olivantian leadership to withdraw uncontested.
Hasra saw this as a great victory, which it was. They’d gained Valys as a vassal state, and managed to drive the Olivantian’s from the field using a much smaller force than their opponents. Yet it wasn’t the total defeat Hasra assumed.
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Learning for past mistakes
Olivanticus was furious over the loss of so many Orokh, a difficult resource to replace. It would be at least a decade before they’d breed enough warriors to replace those lost in the war with Valys. The consumed and undead were another matter entirely.
Each had been wiped out, but the dreadlords who controlled them were very much alive. It was a simple matter to have them gather new forces, and within a few months Olivantia had amassed a huge horde of more undead and consumed.
Olivanticus sent spies to observe the Hasrans, who’d built up a large force at the three border forts along the river. From their numbers it was easy to guess that they’d soon launch an invasion into Olivantia, which was the last thing he wanted to deal with.
He came up with a simple solution. The Olivantian navy carried thousands of consumed and undead to the Valysian coast. They were released by the dreadlords controlling them, free to spread throughout Valys killing as they went.
The Hasran forces had no choice but to sent small squads throughout Valys to deal with the consumed and undead. They were able to stop them, but the effort took several months and resulted in countless thousands of deaths.
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The First Treaty
Olivanticus had grown weary of pointless war with Hasra. It gained him nothing and took entirely too much of his attention. So he decided to sue for peace. He sent missives to Hasra with a simple offer. Hasra could have the land north of the river, Olivantia the south. As long as both sides remained on their side of the border there would be peace.
If Hasra refused Olivanticus threatened to spread consumed through Enestius, Calmora and Hasra itself. He might not be able to best them on the field of battle, but he could threaten their cities. Could Hasra defend all of them? It was an impossible task, something the Hasran imperator recognized.
He agreed to a meeting and in 124 P.F after four years of fighting the two sides signed a treaty. They agreed to leave each other in peace, something neither side really wanted but both realized was in their best interests.
This peace lasted for a generation. Hasra spent its effort expanding in other directions, while Olivantia focused on rebuilding it’s Orokh horde. During this time Olivanticus also laid the groundwork for future wars with Hasra, as he knew that sooner or later the imperium would attack.
He constructed six border forts on the south side of the river to serve as a bulwark against the three controlled by Hasra. Each was heavily fortified and overseen by one of his most powerful binders.
In addition Olivanticus began a school designed to train his dreadlords to fight against Hasra. Each was taught martial skills and learned to defend themselves against battlemages. They were supplemented by other types of mages, and a small number of Na’Vithin bodyguards designed to protect them.
Olivanticus hoped that when the inevitable invasion came his dreadlords would be far better able to protect both themselves and their minions, but he knew that wasn’t enough. He needed a strong military leader, one who could organize the Orokh into an effective fighting force instead of a simple horde.
He searched long and hard through the Orokh for the perfect specimen. He needed a leader, one charismatic enough that the others would follow. He also needed one intelligent enough to grasp tactics, and strong enough to prevail on the battlefield.
A two year search yielded just such a specific, an Orokh warrior named Karg. Olivanticus gifted him with the blood seed, and to his elation the Orokh survived the process intact. Olivanticus gave him a potent eldimagus axe and had his best tacticians begin schooling the brute in war.
Karg united the Orokh hordes, creating a cadre of intelligent tribal leaders to serve him. The tribes learned to fight as a cohesive force instead of a mass of berserk warriors. Olivanticus armed his Orokh with enchanted steel weapons purchased from Enuria, making them a far more formidable force.
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The Second Invasion
For fifty years Hasra conquered the city-states and kingdoms around it, but eventually every realisitic opportunity for growth had been reached. If Hasra wanted to continue it’s expansion the best way to do it would be to conquer Olivantia. This would both remove their greatest opponent, and grant them control over several new catalysts.
Hasra sent two dozen legions to assault Olivantia, relying on the same tactics that had won them the first war. Unfortunately their foes had learned a great deal in the intervening years. Karg’s Orokh engaged, surrounded and decimated the Hasran forces. His losses were heavy, but victory was his.
Meanwhile Olivanticus sent forty thousand consumed into Hasra. They were disbanded into groups of ten to twenty and let loose to bedevil the countryside. This guerilla warfare decimated the Hasran population, and it took nearly two years to quell the consumed threat. This ended any desire they had to wage war against the vampyr.
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The Long Peace
Olivantia was at peace for the next 160 years. During this time they fortified their defenses, but Hasra expressed little desire to invade. The memory of the second war still lingered.
Olivanticus focused instead on wiping out or enslaving as many consumed as possible. He was largely successful in curtailing the Tree’s influence, eventually driving back the consumed to the Veil, an energy barrier erected by the tree to protect itself.
Things looked wonderful for Olivanticus. He celebrated his third century, growing more powerful with each passing year. He was revered among the vampyr as a god, his authority unquestioned. His nation was arguably the strongest in the West, and the vampyr reign seemed secure.
