Foundation of Cambrecia

This is an article on the History of Feyworld

Years: 664 NC to 750 NC

Age: The Third Age of Man

Continent: Duria

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The History of Cambrecia

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Imperial Cambrecia and the Derlic War

After completion of the Zetian conquest of Simmeria in 97 BI by Antonius Argentis of House Zetar, the Zetian Senate again elected three consuls to expand Zetian territory on Duria in an attempt to establish a near-contiguous trade route around the Betshaban Ocean. Septimius Varros, a legate loyal to Consul Rufus Voltina of House Livius, was sent with the Zetian armada to Duria with the intent to conquer the Freecity of Neptaris. He arrived on the eastern shores of the Maroshan Sea in 89 BI, where he chose to establish a beachhead at the mouth of a river then known as the Kambros River some 250 miles north of Neptaris. He sent envoys to the local tribe that called the river their home, the Kambros, and began developing a relationship with them. The Kambros quickly took to working with the Zetian Legion, even providing some physical labor for the construction of Legate Septimius' fort on the banks of the river. By the following spring, Septimius was ready to expand his influence and secure the region for his ultimate march on Neptaris itself.

While serving in the Zetian military in its northern frontier on Aurea, Septimius Varros certainly read at least the first four books of Meditationes de Bello Simmerio, those initial writings of Marcus Argentis of House Zetar detailing the methods and tactics he used in the first few years of the conquest of the Divian Peninsula eight years prior (Antonius Argentis, his successor, had yet to publish the final two books of the Meditationes). Legate Septimius put his understanding of Argentis' writings to good use in this new land. By Spring, the leader of the Kambros, a man named Dravos, had formally requested aid from the Legate against their rival tribes in the river basin (presumably, an act encouraged by the Legate or his officers). The Legate agreed, under the condition that the Kambros would consider themselves under the patronage of Consul Rufus Voltina of House Livius, the Legate's sponsor. Perhaps not truly understanding the depth of their agreement, the Kambros enthusiastically accepted the terms. The disorganized men of the local tribes, accustomed to personal combat settling most disputes, proved no match for the highly-trained, professional soldiers of the Zetian Legion. The Duvarna, along the middle of the Kambros River were first to fall, followed by the Sarnoi in the uplands. Hearing of the quick defeat of their nearby cousins, the Amesi, a neighboring tribe friendly to the Kambros, secured an alliance with Kambros by offering up one of their own princesses as a wife to Dravos. By the end of summer, the Legions had also brought the Arishei, Gweri and Moragi under their dominion.

With the northern reaches and much of the coastline secure, Legate Septimius turned his attention to the Kingdom of Kamaros and their allies, the Melvartans and Branduri tribes. For most of the following year, Septimius continued to wear down the Kamaran defenses. The Kamaran, to their credit, realized that they had mobility that the Zetian Legion did not and often would withdraw from a region, allowing it to be taken by the Legion, only to return once the Legion had departed to disrupt the Legion's supply lines. Septimius, however, was relentless in his march on the Kamaros royal seat at Cerunis. After a protracted siege, Cerunis finally fell. As a condition of surrender, the Kamaran King Aaronar VI challenged the Legate to a personal duel. To everyone's surprise, Septimius agreed. The two squared off in the central courtyard of the Kamaran royal castle and, after a lengthy battle, Septimius finally killed the King. This was a striking departure from what had become Zetian tradition: a victorious general was expected to return to Zeth to display his former nemesis in chains in a Triumphal march through the city, where they would then by executed by order of the Senate. Instead, by following local traditions, not only did he become a hero to the Cambrecians themselves, but led to the Napoci and Ossamei to voluntarily join under his Dracones. To ensure a lasting peace, the daughter and heir of Kamaros became a wife of Dravos, who Legate Septimius then saw crowed as King of Kambresia (it would take less than two decades for the spelling to change to Cambrecia). Thus, scholars count the founding of Cambrecia to this event in 87 BI.

The Legate wasted no time moving to pursue a large contingent of Melvartans and Branduri who had fled from the Battle of Cerunis. Both tribes, already semi-nomadic, migrated eastward en-masse to escape the Zetian Legions. They crossed the Krios River just north of Neptaris and, as the Legate Septimius arrived in pursuit, the spring rains came and made the Krios too swollen to safely cross. Septimius quickly realized that he was in a precarious situation... his Legion was now much closer to Neptaris than to the source of his supply lines back on the Kambros River and Neptaris was certainly aware of his presence and had been preparing its own defenses. He could withdraw and lose the gains he had made to encircle Neptaris (at least to the north), nor could he wait for the Neptaran army to come meet him in the field, so he instead chose to march on Neptaris itself. Upon arriving, however, he was surprised to find that Neptaris was not prepared for war. There were few solders manning her legendary walls and the great gates were flung open to greet the Legate and his army. Among those to greet him was a Zetian ambassador sent by a rival of Consul Rufus Voltina named Lucius Crassus of House Manilius. Crassus informed the Legate that Neptaris was undergoing a bloodless revolution from monarchy to democracy and had formed a direct alliance with Zeth for legal advice and assistance during the transition (not to mention a lucrative trade deal that hinged on Septimius keeping the coast secure). Septimius was ordered to stand down and return to Zeth. He obeyed without question, sending his best officers back to see to his colony and support King Dravos in stabilizing his new Kingdom... which was, nevertheless, a client state of the Zetian Republic.

Septimius returned to a hero's welcome in Zeth. Stories had already been circulating about how he purposefully claimed territory in the name of his sponsor instead of aggrandizing himself, had personally fought the Kamaran King to the death and had stood down at the gates of Neptaris in accordance with Zetian law, despite the sizeable, blood-thirsty and victory-stained army at his back. Where returning generals had once faced automatic trial for despotism upon their return to Zeth, Septimius was hailed an exemplar of Zetian adherence to law and order. After a week of deliberation (and celebration), the Senate announced that, for the first time since the foundation of the city by the Septira, they were elevating a family to the status of Great House. House Varro was thus founded in 85 BI. Septimius himself remained in Zeth for over a decade, serving both as Senator and as paterfamilia of his new House, but finally returned to the Cambrecian shore in 68 BI. Again, he was lauded as a returning hero. The settlement he had founded at the mouth of that great river had become the royal seat of the King of Cambrecia (now the young son of Dravos, King Tarnos I). By royal decree, the city was named Septarium and the river that ran through it is called the Septimia River, after Septimus' mother. The former Legate, Senator and Paterfamilia of the first new Great House lived out another three decades in peaceful retirement in the growing city that carried his name, passing peacefully at a Latrunculorum table in his favorite tavern in 34 BI at the age of 87. During this time, Cambrecia and her welcoming people became home to many retired Zetian Legionaires, who often constructed vast agricultural estates near Septarium and employed native labor to work, often becoming indistinguishable from the local people within a couple of generations.

When the Empire was founded by Octavius of House Zetar in 1 IC, Cambrecia, as it had become known, was one of the last of the outer territories of the Old Republic to swear allegiance to the Empire.