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Glasmalerei Guildmaster Goswin Schubert

Guildmaster of Glasmalerei Guild of Rosenberg

Guildmaster Goswin Schubert known to be an incredibly pious and kindly man, whose father was a lowly shoemaker.

Goswin was born in Rosenberg to Ernst and Elke Schubert. Ernst was a kindly and generous man who took great pride is his craft. Young Goswin dutifully followed his father’s instruction and by the age of 9 was of considerable skill. His hands were not yet strong enough but his agile mind compensated. He described tools and implements which would help him to compensate for it. His father commissioned a blacksmith friend to make a couple of them to humor his son. To Ernst’s amazement they worked as Goswin had described. Although it took him longer than a more experienced apprentice, is results were of very high quality.

Ernst praised his son at guild meetings and several older members started using the implements to help them as the strength had started to leave their own hands. Rumors of the young prodigy drifted in Merchant circles and eventually reached the ears of Guild Master Monika Weber, who was then the Guildmaster of the Glasmalerei. She knew Ernst to be a humble, and devout man. If he was moved to such praise then there might be more to it.

Guildmaster Weber, often attended convocation in peasants garb. The purpose was twofold. Firstly, that she might be able to remove the mantle of office and focus on spiritual matters for a time, secondly to be better positioned to hear the voice of the people unfiltered by their compulsion to respect her office. She had been keeping a watch on young Goswin when an event unfolded that would forever change his life.

On this day, Guildmaster Weber had decided to follow 12 year old Goswin home. She did so from a distance so as to remain unobserved. It was a difficult rainy season and the streets were a muddy mess. A peasant woman, heavy with child, tripped in the middle of the street. As expected, young Goswin hurried over to assist her. As he helped her up, he politely asked how she fared. She said she was well and thanked him. Young Goswin looked at her feet. Her muddied toes poked out through worn shoes. Goswin asked her if she’d do him a favor and she replied that of course she would. He then proceeded to remove his own boots and asked if he could have hers.

“I could never young master,” said the woman.

Goswin replied, “Please ma’am. It’s not just a matter of charity. I’ve never seen their like. I’m a shoemaker’s apprentice and i’d they’ve given me an idea.”

The woman eventually relented and blessed him as she walked away with a fine new pair of boots.
As Goswin started off home, barefoot and with worn shoes in hand, the disguised Guildmaster stopped him.
“young man, why did you trick that woman into taking your shoes?”

Goswin studied her for a moment and then responded, “the almighty calls us to be charitable and help one another. It was not simply a trick ma’am. I provided her with a compelling argument that was based in truth. Seeing her shoes did create an idea, for a simple shoe, that would be more readily afforded by those with less coin. I can’t estimate the value of that idea, as i have yet to put it into practice. I wanted to repay her, and she’s a poor woman with child. I assessed my boots to be both something she needed and fair trade. I have other shoes, a walk home in the water will remind me of the blessed life i lead never having wanted as does that good woman. Although my father will at first be displeased he is a good man, and might have done something similar were he present. I feel confident that it will be well. In the end, if nothing else I feel that i have at least attempted to honor to the leonem I wear about my neck.”

The Guildmaster smiled, and said, “you seem to be a good hearted young man.”

Goswin then replied by saying, “May I ask you a question … ma’am?”

the Guildmaster then smiled and replied, “of course. I have pried into your moment, there is no reason I should not return the same.”

Goswin then assured his position as an apprentice under her direct tutelage by saying, “Why does a woman of your station pretend to be poor?”

Taken aback she responded, “how is that then?”

“Well m’lady, your hands are rough as one who works, but there are the ink stains of one who often writes, or likely signs, documents on your fingertips. The ring on your right small finger is diminutive, but of goodly value. A memento I suppose. Though tarnished, your Leonem is of outstanding craftsmanship, and your meticulous enunciation is of one who speaks often and well. You smell of summer flowers and your clothes though of poor quality are very clean. Lastly, i point to your shoes, the topic of our previous discourse. My father’s work is better, but Master Klines work is very highly regarded and demands a high price,” he said.
The feat of mental acuity might have been enough, but the fact that the boy’s tone was not one of chastisement, or denigration at all. He was simply, being inquisitive and denoting the things that had caught his eye.

“I am Guildmaster Monika Weber, and I have a desire to make you my apprentice.”

Goswin replied, “I see. I’d like to finish the work on these new shoes, for the people, first and then, of course, my father must approve. It’s a great honor and I suppose we both know he’d agree,” he smiled, “thank you for the opportunity Guildmaster.”

The story of Goswin’s giving the unknown woman his shoes is well known. Although it is retold that the Guildmaster happened across him by chance, and the subsequent conversation is known to only a very few.
Guildmaster Goswin Schubert rose slowly through the ranks of the Glasmalerei Guild. His relationship with Guildmaster Weber grew throughout this time. Often they were referred to as the Mother and Son (of the Guild). In her last decade of service he was her right hand and he transitioned smoothly into his position.

In his time he has innovated several aspects of the Guild’s work. Not only refining processes at the higher end of the spectrum, but also creating a much easier to produce product that is more readily accessible to lords of lesser means. He is much loved both within the guild and throughout Rosenberg.
He has continued the tradition of attending convocation in unassuming clothing, and it has become a common practice throughout the guild.

Although he has had several apprentices during his career with the guild itself, he has not selected one since the passing of his dear friend Guildmaster Monika Weber.

Since becoming Guildmaster he has spent 1 week, every 3 months, with the Cyanihim Order of the Sacred Glass.

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Lineage: Bergenthaler

Lineage Name: Bergenthaler
Common Names: (male) Jurgen, Junghans, Joachim, Jakobus, Johannis, (female) Emmelina, Ernesta, Eugenia, Eulanie, Else, Elbarathia
Social Class: Peasants (almost entirely)
Intermarriage with outsiders (from non-Sauber lands): Uncommon
Intermarriage with second cousins: Common
Typical number of children: 4-7
Home Town: Laatzen and its environs, chiefly in villages dotting the lower hills, and on the northern plains villages close to the hills.

Geographic Distribution:
Almost entirely in Sauber lands until the last generation. Now starting to look for settlements near Engel and Rosenberg lands, usually in hilly territories with sandy/rocky soil, good drainage, and plenty of exposure to south-easterly sunlight. Within Sauber lands, the Bergenthaler family can be found in around a dozen villages, with maybe six additional large specific farmsteads that are the homes of very large multi-family housholds (in the dozens of Bergenthalers, plus farmhands).

Recorded History:
Little to none. The first written records of the Bergenthaler lineage go back approximately 150 years ago, when Jorgenmund von und zu Bergenthal is recorded as having purchased a plot of land in the hills surrounding Laatzen from a town magistrate. This record is kept in the town archives of Laatzen. Over the subsequent decades, little to no history exists outside of recorded land plot purchases, and debts owed and settled to the nobility or to Laatzen itself. At this time, curiously, Laatzen appears to be in contract with the patriarch of the family to purchase fifty barrels of wine at the start of every year — for the next decade.
Outsider History: “Busy little bees, all of them. Now, they appear pious, and they talk all humble, but it sure isn’t right now much coin they’ve made since Jaap Bergenthaler made a name for himself at Graff Sauber’s castle. He had an uncanny hand for growing grapes, Jaap – you can even tell now, even as he’s almost sixty. But he was barely twenty in those days, and he had a touch… well, I wouldn’t say it was witchcraft, never, but the things he did with them vines, and the effect the wine had on the highborn.. let’s just say I’ve never seen the likes of it. I don’t know how the old Graf heard of his simple peasant and his wine, but one day this boy finds himself pouring wine for knights, for ladies .. why, I think he was even invited to bring wine to the banquets. Now most men, they would’ve been content collecting the coin, and bowing on the way out, and telling the story to his grandchildren about how he was at the Graf’s court one year, and lived to tell the tale. But not Jaap. The sheer courage that little upstart had.. Why, it takes my breath away. As we all know, trade and merchants are not held in high regard at the court, but the Graf’s knights were always patrolling the borders and going to other towns for escorts. Jaap somehow gets some of his barrels brought into neighbouring towns, and gives some of the squires and men at arms a cut of the coin. Now they’re the richest peasants in the hills, all on the backs of that initial good bit of fortune, I tell you.”

Current Events:
The current patriarch of the Bergenthaler lineage is Joachim Bergenthaler, who is known to be in ill health. His younger brother – one of five siblings – Jaap Bergenthaler, parlayed an initial stroke of luck into expanding the family’s small production of wine and apple farming into a thriving business that is reaching regional fame for its sweet, quaffable products. A relatively pious family, at least one brother from each branch will seek to become a monk, or, if enjoying education by the church, enter the priesthood. However, this only extends so far – it is usually left to the eldest son to determine if the family can spare a full set of hands to the church, or if all are needed to help. Their relative wealth has allowed them to hire more farmhands and fieldhands, and the more ambitious young members of the family are known to have given longing looks to the city of Laatzen and the promises of a life without back-breaking toil.

Professions, Occupation & Family Life:
Almost all Bergenthaler men are farmers of one type of another, either supervisory laborers who specialize in their branch (such as viticulture or fruit farming), or specialists in animal husbandry who manage the livestock needed to operate farms. A few have sought out specialized education in irrigation and apothecary skills, believing it will improve their farming output, but the vast majority of agricultural production is determinedly traditionalist in method and approach. A large number of Bergenthaler women inter-marry with well-to-do farmers in neighbouring villages. An uncharitable observer might note that the relative wealth and promise of free-flowing supplies of fruit and grapes (and related items) have been remarkably successful in convincing some farmers to marry Bergenthaler women whom they would have normally considered below their station. A charitable observer will note that inter-marriage with the Bergenthaler lineage often leads to more inter-marriage, with mutually beneficial results from sharing farming expertise, crop rotation methodologies, and mutual labour cooperation. More than one new entrant into the Bergenthaler family has praised Benalus for the large number of new family members showing up during harvest time to help out, or to erect a barn. In terms of family life, the stout traditionalism of the Bergenthaler lineage helps them stay close and safe. Households are very large, with many siblings encouraged to stay with their families until they have enough children to strike out on their own. It is not uncommon for farmsteads to number in the dozens of Bergenthalers, with a dozen or more fully-grown men in good health ready to work the fields and defend the home.

Outliers:
Considered an unfortunate and rarely-discussed exception, Joachim Bergenthaler’s eldest son, Jurgen, was meant to lead the family after his father’s death. What happened to Jurgen is perhaps the best cautionary tale for commoners not to aspire above their station. Forty years ago, Jurgen – in his late teens then – set out to Laatzen with a group of brothers and friends. News of his uncle’s success at court has just reached his father’s farmstead, and Jurgen was determined not to be left behind. With his uncle’s help, he convinced the church to grant him additional schooling, and eventually a knight down on his luck agreed to take him on as a cup bearer first, with promises of becoming a squire down the line. The story gets unclear at this time, but shame and misfortune befell Jurgen Bergenthaler, and although it’s rumored that he must have perished, his father and uncle both insist that he is still alive. A very different fate befell another outlier, Ernestina Bergenthaler. Now in her twenties, Ernestina caught the eye of the local priests at a young age for her ability to decipher texts quickly that she should not have been able to reach. After much examination, the church finally concluded that Ernestina was not cursed, but in fact highly intelligent. She rapidly rose to become a scribe aiding the various monastic orders around Laatzen, displaying an uncommon skill at memorizing long passages from religious scrolls (and other writings), and replicating them in beautiful illuminated script. Some of her works have become favoured by the ladies at the Graff’s court, and it is surely only a matter of time until one of them brings Ernestina into her retinue.

Bergenthaler Family Line (highly incomplete)

Joachim Bergenthaler m. Hildrun Engel
Children
Jurgen,
Ernestine, m. Robert Landorf, 3 children (1 son, two daughters)
Egeline, m. Ungemar Weimers, 7 children (five daughters, two sons)
Jens, m. Lorelai Beilhand (5 children, all sons)
Janos, m. Heidrun Erdentopf (2 children, all daughters)
Siblings
Jaap, m. Sibelia Walgrun
Children
3 sons, 5 daughters
Elsa, deceased
2 sons, 1 daughter
Egrun, deceased
4 sons
Jagrun, married Mine Hollseng
1 son, 1 daugher

Aunts, Uncles, Cousins
4 uncles, all deceased. 3 had children, all of whom have existing families, mostly settled near Hugeldorf
2 aunts, all deceased. 1 (Elbera) had a child. Records are spotty on her husband’s name.
Elise Bergenthal, m. Waldemar Hartstadt, settled near Knollenheim
Children
Seven sons, two squired to House Sauber, one in service to the Chamberlain at House Sauber’s Court

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House Sauber

House Sauber
Coat of Arms: A white sword with rays of light over a black field
Maxim: Truth is sacred
Home: Laatzen
Keep: The Eternal Fortress

Accepted Ancient History: House Sauber can trace its lineage back to the Age of Witchkings, and was considered powerful even when the first Emperor, Victor von Herkheist, began his conquest of the other Gothic kingdoms. Ruled by a self-proclaimed King, Gotthard von Sauber, the kingdom of Saub offered only nominal support, and is thought to have been slow to bend the knee in obedience to the new Emperor. Even through the Selwick revolt and a succession of warrior kings, House Sauber managed to retain control over their ancient capital of Laatzen under the new Throne of God on Earth. It is unknown why the swearing of loyalty to von Herkheist was reluctant, although rumors abound. House Sauber, widely considered to have been a mighty dynasty in purely economic and martial terms, quickly took to the fervor of belief in Holy Benalus, and rapidly became known for their zeal and dedication to Benalus. Their relationship to Lethia is said to be more complex, although details have been hard to come by.

Religious History:
House Sauber maintains a vault inside their capital, Laatzen. The vault holds what is generally thought to be one of the most extensive libraries of original documents and first-general copies of holy scripture, including gospels depicting the life of Benalus not included in the Testimonium, accounts of mortal interactions with Archangels, and other works of great theological relevance. House Sauber believes it is their sacred and holy duty to protect these documents, so that they can never be lost or amended. The Order of Enlightenment is known to be a regular contributor and visitor to the library, and has contributed a notable corpus of religious artifacts, reputedly including some found beneath Laatzen and on digs throughout the Empire.

Disputed Political History:
House Sauber is rumored to have two distinct factions that hold diametrically opposed views but are duty-bound not to engage in conflict with each other. Their maneuvering against each other through the last few centuries is what has kept what is arguably the most pious house from becoming more powerful within the Empire; should they ever unite, they would become a much greater threat to the ruling Herkheist dynasty. Although these rumours sound plausible, it is notable that they’re only common to the chattering classes in the cities run by House Engel, House Rosenberg, and House Trakt. The common people in Laatzen eschew such gossip, and instead focus their attention on the regrettably-sloping forehead and allegedly missing chin of Graff Trakt instead.

Disputed Religious History:
Erna Dahl, who was later lionized by the Church, discovered ancient religious scrolls in the catacombs beneath Laatzen that had been intentionally hidden away by heretics during the ascension of Viktor von Herkheist and his alliance with the Church. Much of that material is now secured in the library inside the vault of Laatzen, which only appears to be open to visiting priests and scholar, but in fact holds an extensive – and secret – section of heretical works. Why such a pious house would retain control over heretical works is a mystery, however, and even the most loose-lipped or inebriated gossipmonger is usually unwilling to speculate within Laatzen or really anywhere in Sauber lands.

Speculation (popular in Morgstadt):
House Sauber has a small, insidious, and long-standing streak of heresy that alleges one of the Triumvirate of Thorns is not truly a fallen Archangel of Benalus, but in fact an ancient, pre-Benalian God worshipped by the primitive people who became what is now the people of Laatzen and other Sauber lands. In their warped, diseased minds, the rites of this ancient God became the rituals of Benalus, and the modern Church is merely a reformed, palatable version of this heretical interpretation of divinity. To make things worse, the Church has turned this true God into an enemy of Benalus, using a kernel of truth to spread a monstrous lie. Such Anathema can of course not be tolerated, which is why House Sauber has been projecting a pious image for centuries now – to hide the rot within, to pretend that their true goals are not power and desire.

Factions (alleged):
It has been glaringly obvious for the better part of five generations – well over a hundred years – that the internecine war at the heart of House Sauber is crippling its most promising men, forcing them to abjure the great game of politics in favour of simple defense of the Eternal Keep in the employ of the Guardians of Truth, or dreary manual translation tasks in the Order of Enlightenment. Similarly, this war has been driving its most promising matriarchs-in-waiting into the arms of less.. complicated nobles of other houses. Although House Sauber is perhaps one of the most populous noble houses of Gotha, somehow its members end up in positions that do not make the most of their upbringing or their talents. Rumours trace this back to the first Emperor of the Herkheist dynasty, but more practically-minded talk is focused on specific events in the last century. It is alleged that two promising male siblings of House Sauber chose to go their separate ways over an issue that was never fully understood. Those became the Loyalist and Modernist branches of House Sauber, respectively. Gottmund Sauber, the originator of the Loyalists, wanted a closer union with the ruling dynasty, and saw the future of the house as true Benalian paragons, inter-married with the Herkheists, close to the true power at the heart of the Empire, albeit bending the knee to a greater house. Coupled with this desire was an inexplicable hatred of House Engel, although rumor holds it that, inevitably, it was his rejection by the eldest daughter of Graf Engel at the time that turned him away. Nonetheless, this union with Herkheist could have led Sauber to true greatness. Yet it was not to be: Gottmund was not the heir of House Sauber. The true heir, Hagen Sauber, returned after a long absence to Laatzen, and immediately started modernizing the House. His approach was pragmatic and focused on wealth creation for the minor nobility and ensuring his house pursued aggressive inter-marriages with lesser, albeit wealthy, houses. Within twenty years, his influence had grown sufficiently to where the Empire thought of House Sauber as a threat. Yet it was not to be – a strong man still in his Prime, Hagen contracted a mysterious wasting disease that ended his life within weeks. He left behind a newly-strengthened House — and only daughters. For the next eighty years, the Loyalists and Modernists traded control of House Sauber, each of them seeking different alliances within Gotha and outside — and each of them, allegedly, pursuing very different vision of the Benalian faith. Which may explain their allegedly strained relationship with Lethia…

Insider Narrative (Loyalist Noble):
“It is true. Imperial House Herkheist has been less accommodating to us in the last few years than previously. The decrees speak for themselves, as do some of the instructions for how our troops will aid the imperial armies. But it is obvious why. The cold war that Herkheist have been waging on House Engel for the last few decades will soon come to a head, and our own Graff has chosen to turn his back on the Imperial House and marry Hildrun Engel. He is, of course, a learned and pious man. His own father was a learned and pious man, and it is self-evident that he possessed great wisdom that would lead him to commit his eldest son, his heir, to a union with that graceless bovine masquerading as a noblewoman. But it does appear that good sense has skipped one or two generations. His eldest son has found a perfect match in Lady Rosenberg. Such a charming young woman, and her hips are ideally formed to allow the characteristically large head of House Sauber’s children to enter this world in a hale and healthy manner. Yes, I think the heir of House Sauber is quite well-taken of, especially given what we know about Graff Rosenberg’s union with Lady Engla Sauber. Now, if only the Graff would recognize that his line of succession is well-handled, and maybe chose to retire.. yes, that would really speed up the return to the rightful order of things.”

Insider Narrative (Modernist Gentry):
“The old man had it right. I heard him give a speech once, you know? No, not the current Graff. That’s Leopold. His father, I meant. Sigismund. It must been thirty years to the day. He was talking to an assemblage of minor muckety-mucks, and I was in the employ of the Chamberlain at the time, Alfons. Now that was a man.. where was I again? Yes, Graff Sigismund. He *understood*, you know? He really understood how House Engel has been working their way back into power for a long time now… maybe over a hundred years, I don’t know. Now Graff Sigismund almost spelled it out for us. He talked about the place of Laatzen on the map of Gotha, and about how we’re constantly weakened by the incursions. About how we need the coal and iron, which we don’t have enough of, and how our lands provide crops that are valuable but can’t always feed us. We’re meant to be traders, but we became soldiers and priests. Good ones, too, but we are always fighting with the land. I remember his son standing by his side, blank look and everything. But he listened, I could tell. He understood the speech and knew that it’s together with House Engel we could form a union so formidable none could oppose us. That was his word: formidable. He described the trade routes. The natural resources. Even – no, I am serious, no, I have not been partaking of wine – how over prior three Graffs of each House, we had too many boys, and they had too many girls, and how this was a sign from the heavens that we were meant for each other. No, I didn’t really follow that one.. didn’t seem like something Benalus would’ve said. But he left me a believer, just like many of us were. We just knew that together with Engel, we could be something else, something bigger. Such a shame Graff Sigismund died at a young age. Those wasting diseases can really catch you napping.”

Family & Lineage
Graff Leopold Sauber m. Hildrun Engel

Children
Dietger m. Ingfried Rosenberg
Odette Sauber m. Derek von Engel
Helmer
Lanfrank m. Merlind von Trakt

Children
Soren von Sauber

Siblings
Elsa m. Edwin Trakt
Frank m. Beatrix Engel

Children:
Heribert, Seneschal of the Guardians of Truth.
Aunts, Uncles, Cousins
Engla m. Graff Ludwig Rosenberg
Adelheid,

Houseguests of note
Jalaan D’har, Benalian convert from Sha’ra, instructor in herbology, confidant to Hildrun Engel and Ingfried Rosenberg
Heinrich von Herkheist, aged 17, a distant cousin of the Imperial Prince, studying in the Laatzen library

Positions
Wardrobe: Dietmar Waalkes
Chamberlain: Hatto Hildebrandt
Man-at-Arms: Adolphus von Unterwald

Servants of note
Head Cook (foreign): Mona Scalfaro
Head Footman: Wilhelm Stahlwart

Notable Priests
Bishop Betram von Sauber (Cyanihim)
Father Malachi (Master Librarian) (Cyanihim)

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The Dirge of Dunland

Some say that fire purifies,
A noble force, bright passion’s burst.
They’ve never watched as infants died.
Babes tossed in flames to slake his thirst.

They’ve not seen swords with unholy flames
Strike down the unarmed in a purge.
They’ve not seen the acts which shame the name
Of the dragon house that birthed the Dirge.

The Dirge of Dunland he is called.
But we do not sing it in despair.
For those with conscience are appalled.
They can see sin. They can still care.

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The Battle of Dun Muir

O where were ye, upon that night?
At home in prayer for the highland men?
By Brightblade’s side, in Dun Muir, to fight,
To free our isle, each hill and glen?

They say that Brightblade there was caught,
By Captain Hoch, most cruel Blackwing,
A vile and sorcerous onslaught,
As good men fell to his curses’ stings.

As vile his greed in the days thereafter
To take what little each widow had,
So Dun Muir wept, where once was laughter,
As hope died too, with those brave lads.

So drink ye a glass, for Dun Muir’s dead,
And those who yet live, and long to be free,
And spit ye a curse on Blackwing’s head,
And his men, the Adamant Hart.

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History of Rogalia

Rogalia emerged from the Age of Witchkings in a much more structured position than other countries. During the Rule of the Witchkings it was Adrasteia, the Vampire Queen who held Rogalia, while her Vampire Counts reigned over the human population. Each Vampire Count or Countess had a province handed to him or her by the Queen, and quarreling amongst one another was forbidden. The Vampire Counts took their taxes from their peasants in the form of blood rather than coin or commodities. In that time, Nobleman and vampire were synonymous terms, and the vampires had armies of their Spawn as well as other monsters under their control. The humans, not required directly as in other countries for food production or war, served partially as a kind of cattle to keep the noblemen fed and become selected as Spawn when the need arose. Very few scholars are quick to admit, however, that as the Age of Witchkings lasted for nearly a century, by necessity the humans were not merely blood slaves.

In order to protect their existence, the noblemen had to manage their human factors carefully. While they themselves did not require bread or beer, the humans that fed them did. They also required clothing, settlements, and protection from the attacks of the minions of other Witchkings. And of course, the vampires themselves were once human as well, and many preferred to maintain a relationship with other humans to a point. The noblemen needed people to protect them while they slept through the day from attacks and other subversion, and furthermore to actually run their fiefs in the daylight hours. All of this interconnection actually meant that vampire rule was not actually so dissimilar from the feudal rulerships of the Lion Age. Some Counts even earned the genuine loyalty and trust of their people, though these reclusive lords were rarely seen very often with their peasants, to remind them as infrequently as possible of the inhuman nature of their master.

More often, the noblemen were hated and feared, but the peasants could do little to resist. Vampires are truly immortal, and no act in the world can slay one forever. This changed when the Ordo Croix arrived, and at their head, St. Aren Kauspyre, Heaven’s Chosen. No one knew how, but the leader of the Ordo Croix had the power to slay vampires forever, and demonstrated it when he destroyed the Count of House Sanguinius, Sebastian. The peasant revolt was immediate and fierce, the entire county rising up with torch and rake against the remains of House Sanguinius, but they were put down at once by the beasts that served the Count, and his vampire sons and daughters took his place. Word spread, however, and acts of sabotage and insurrection began to occur more frequently, and with coordination from Ordo Croix agents in the area. When a Count was weak because of their meddling or because of an attack by the forces of Andrugal, the Sovereign Usurper or Sulterok, the Burning Prince, Ordo Croix would signal for the peasants to revolt against their Counts to give them time to make an attack on the castle itself, and bring St. Aren Kauspyre in to perform the execution.

It eventually became clear that this strategy could not bring the war for Rogalia to a close. Queen Adrasteia seemed capable of replacing her subordinates at least as quickly as Ordo Croix could arrange their ruin, and it seemed that only destroying the Red Queen herself would rid the land of her kind.

A conspiracy to sow agents of Ordo Croix into Queen Adrasteia’s court was made. Over the next 10 years, loyal subjects were discredited or killed and replaced with agents of the Ordo Croix (giving up their humanity to aid mankind) or dissenters and malcontents. The machination led to a horrible night of rebellion where Queen Adrasteia was torn limb from limb and consumed in her entirety by her own courtiers. From then, the grip of the vampire nobility was broken. Alone and besieged on all sides by enemies, the vampire nobility was strangled out by infighting amongst each other and the culture of vampire hunting that swept Rogalia.

The first of the new Rogalian Counts was Adam the Greathammer, the first man to lead a revolt against his vampire master and hold the territory from even other vampire lords. From there, others followed, and the remaining vampires were either destroyed or driven into hiding. The first generation of human Counts of Rogalia had been born, and the country began to largely stabilize under human rule. Early alliances formed to help route out the last of the Vampire Counts, already landed human lords installing their relatives or favorites into available domains. As the counties began to be settled under human rulership, the first great crisis arose.

Famine wracked the land in the winters after the human rulers began to settle. The new gentry were not prepared for the logistics of running the country and had no trade arrangements with one another, so without the infrastructure provided by the Vampire counts, shortages began to be the norm and conquest amongst the various counties began in the spring. As the seasons changed and militarism set in, the counties that had survived the year without having to kneel to another lord made a partial recovery due to an unusually bountiful harvest that year. The atmosphere, however, of the Rogalian countryside was set. Each county was on its own and should treat the others with hostility. This state of affairs persisted for decades.

When the Emperor arrived, he found the region completely militarized, with each individual section blocked out like fortresses. By this time, Victor von Herkheist was gray, but still potent, and Templar missionaries had already been preaching in the area to prepare for his coming. He sent messages to each Count inviting them to a small coastal fishing town called Archa, and proceeded to move his army through the region under a peace banner. Understanding that such an entrenched Rogalia would take years to conquer, likely a longer campaign he still had in him with Sha’ra and Njordr still left on the horizon, he decided on a diplomatic option. The Emperor’s army was vast and imposing, and would have been a hard battle for any three counts to match, but the Emperor did not attack any settlements, simply moving through the various counties in his path until reaching Archa. Once there, he awaited the counts.

Almost all of the counts were in attendance, and Von Herkheist explained the situation and his mission of creating the Throne. He promised relative autonomy to Rogalia, and pointed out that since the country was not unified, it could not resist his conquest. He explained that just as humanity had risen up here to overthrow its vampire oppressors, humanity would rise up everywhere and overthrow the darkness of the world. The meeting resulted in the signing of the Pactum Domini, which, amongst other things, created Rogalia as an official country, and ceded that country to the Emperor. The town became renamed to Port Melandir, and became the site of a Parliament of ruling Lords Temporal and Spiritual, which then would meet periodically to discuss the issues of the land and agreed to be bound by the decisions of the other lords.