The Great Civil War of Neptaris

This is an article on the History of Feyworld
Years: 645 NC to 670 NC
Age: The Third Age of Man
Continent: Duria
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The History of Neptaris
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The Fall of the Neptarchs	Valerius Marcosi and the Code of Urban Law

As had become the custom under Regent Xaphar, he invited his daughter, grandson and a number of clergymen from Neptaris, including the Archbishop of Betshaba, to observe a battle against the Kamarians in what would come to be known as the Battle of Stones in the fall of 645 NC. As Xaphar and his company watched the battle (which the Neptarans were winning), huge boulders suddenly began falling from the sky. The boulders killed every member of the party except the young Xaphargus. When he crawled from beneath the bloody rubble he rose to face Mandrake, the former Archbishop of Neptaris. Mandrake pulled his sword and ran the boy through. Though Mandrake didn't realize it at the time, the last true Neptarch died by his hand.

When Mandrake returned to Neptaris after more than a century of exile in Kamaria, he expected a hero's welcome. Instead, the nobles of the city immediately began bickering amongst themselves over the now empty throne. Mandrake, finally disgusted with the whole affair, left the city to live out his years in the Arisan forest, now known as Darkwood. Without an Archbishop to call an Ecumenical Council, even the priests of the city began arguing over what should be done. The few who were not killed in the Battle of Stones either did not desire the position of Archbishop or refused to vote for anyone but themselves. By the spring of 646 NC, neither an Archbishop nor a Neptarch had been chosen. Each of the noble houses gathered their troops and prepared for war. Deimos of House Rimman was the first to take Castle Zepharos, so he had a clear advantage early on, but the other noble houses cut him off from the rest of the city, critically hampering his attempts at re-establishing the regency of House Rimman. Fighting raged through the streets as each House attempted to put its head on the throne. Soon, the fighting spilled into the countryside as mercenaries began flocking to the city to fill the ranks of the various noble Houses. In 652 NC, the fighting was briefly interrupted when a new Archbishop was finally chosen, but even he was ineffectual at calming the nerves of the embattled Houses and too afraid of repercussions to name a Neptarch himself until there was a clear victor.

In 664 NC, after almost twenty years of nearly endless warfare, House Arisan finally declared that it was tired of the fighting and was going into voluntary exile in the Arisan forest. Caridius of House Rimman, believing the House to be fleeing only so it could prepare its forces, departed the city in pursuit of the migrating House Arisan. He eventually found them and his men attacked, killing each member of the House in what would become known as the Massacre of the Wintering Hill. The Wintering Hill, located some ten miles northeast of the city, became muddy with the blood of the innocents who died that day; even still the hill is devoid of life and many suggest that it is haunted by those who were slaughtered. Caridius returned to Neptaris, expecting the others to bow before his obvious might, but he was killed by an arrow shot before he even reached the city gates.

The fighting continued after the Massacre of the Wintering Hill and House Delane made a simple decision that would shape the future of the city. House Delane was suffering great losses, as many of the Houses were, and hiring mercenary companies to fight their battles had become standard procedure. So none thought anything when they hired the Great Gryphon Mercenary Company, led by the son of a merchant, Valerius Marcosi.

Valerius Marcosi proved to be a brilliant military commander who won victory after victory for House Delane. In the Battle of Krios Forge, he overcame the combined forces of House Perrenos and House Rimman even though he was outnumbered five to one. He also used fishing ships as transport vessels to get his men to and from the city as quickly as possible. By the time his contract with House Delane was up in 668 NC, he had effectively destroyed the ability of most of the major Houses to wage war. When House Delane offered him double his previous salary, Valerius unexpectedly refused the offer. A week later, the army of Kamaria arrived at Neptaris, with Valerius Marcosi's Great Gryphons leading the charge. The Noble Houses fought a losing battle for the next two years as Valerius and his Kamarian allies scored victory after victory against the Neptarans. Most believed that Valerius had been hired by the Kamarians to assist in again annexing Neptaris in its time of weakness. When the last noble House surrendered to him in 670 NC, they discovered that they were very wrong.