necroman
被发现的隐藏阶级敌人、特务头子
注册日期: Aug 2002
来自: DNDRPG对阶级敌人特殊部门
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1192 - Third Crusade
In the year 1192, Richard the Lionheart, King of England, ventured across Europe during the Third Crusade. At the height of this aggression, the fabric of reality was briefly torn, allowing a short but devastating influx of magic and spiritkind to be unleashed across the Earth. Now, some 400 years later, and alternate yet hauntingly familiar history has evolved.
When Saladin's forces failed to pay tribute demanded by the crusaders, Richard's trusted advisor whispered to his king that the Muslims should be punished and their threat ended for all time. The advisor told Richard to gather several holy artifacts to the city so that a diving ritual could be initiated to bless Richard's forces and curse their foes. Believing his counsel, Richard unknowingly brought them together - and these artifacts, relics of creation itself, and of such power, began to undo reality simply through their congregation. As the material fabric of Earth tore, spiritkind and magic were unleashed across the world. Hordes of demons and strange beings of power sprung up in the streets of Acre, surrounding Richard's army.
After heavy losses, Richard and Saladin joined forces to wade through the hordes. With incredible valor, the two heroes wounded the advisor, now revealed to be a mage of considerable power. The advisor fled, along with a host of the evil creatures, allowing Richard and Saladin to seal the breach. Although the battle lasted but a few hours, the Disjunction, as it would come to be called, unleashed vast forces across the entire planet, changing history forever.
1192 - 1220 Disjunction - Ramifications in the Kingdoms of England and France
King Richard the Lionhearted was more a warrior than a politician. He assumed the throne after defeating his own father in 1189 and immediately left upon his Crusade in 1190. During this time, he left two justicars to control English affairs while sending his younger brother John south to their holdings in Brittany (what would be north western France). Almost immediately after Richard's departure, one of the justicars, William Longchamp, came into power as the Chancellor of England.
But William Longchamp was not to control England long. Seizing the opportunity, John wrested control from the chancellor and assumed the throne in 1191. It was only months later that the Disjunction would change everything.
Within hours of the Disjunction, small tremors were felt in the lands surrounding the English Channel. But these earthquakes in Brittany and the English islands, which initially terrorized the common populace, were minor compared to the great tremor that occurred several days later. England herself was broken into two lesser islands and within a month, Scotland would become its own island.
The tremors caused great damage, but the floods caused by the massive rush of seawater into newly lowered lands caused more devastation than the shaking itself.
Ireland suffered little at first, suffering no tremors or loss of land as its sister island had. But by 1193, the Irish realized with horror that their island was not being broken up - it was simply sinking, slowly falling beneath the waves of the Atlantic.
In Brittany, the coasts were also slowly dissolving with each quake. By the end of 1194, Brittany was all but gone. What was once the Seine River was now a beach stretching nearly to Paris, and the ocean was slowly moving south, consuming the acre after acre of countryside as it approached the Leone River. England had already broken into eight islands and continued to have her lands dissolve at a steady pace. The Irish fled their island in droves and Irish refugees began to populate every port city in the region. Within four years of the Disjunction, what remained of the deserted Irish landmass slipped completely beneath the waves.
Through all this, John managed to rule England even though his economic power dwindled as his holdings in both England and Brittany vanished into the ocean. With the throne shifted to London, he was able to unite the barons in the common goal of protecting their lands and holdings. Titles and lands shifted not with war but with the changing geography. Then in late 1194, Richard contacted John and forgave him his past treacheries against his throne. Richard and John struck a deal whereby Richard would remain King in name but John would control England as High Chancellor as long as he continued to fund Richard's ongoing war against the tides of darkness.
It was also during this time that the new magics unleashed up the world were first used by the devastated English. Not only did magic find use in the repair, communication and defence of the nation, it also begat the formation of a centuries-gone power group - the Druids. Although originally small in number, the Druidic orders began to slowly coalesce in remote portions of England and gain power.
The tremors plaguing the lands began to occur less frequently as the century came to a close. Slowly, England began to emerge as a nation made of many small kingdom-like islands. In order to tighten his grip over all the islands, John formed a pact with the emerging druidic powers. Although secretive, the druids became John's greatest ally and by 1204, the year of the last recorded tremor in England, John had an ironclad rule over all his baronies.
But the Druids also demanded much from the throne, and it was widely rumored that John was nothing more than their puppet king. Regardless of the validity of those rumors, the Church indicted John in 1206 for heretical practices and then excommunicated him in 1210. But problems with the Church meant little to John at the time. His island nation had finally stopped splintering and now consisted of 15 primary islands, his barons were constantly vying for independence, and he was constantly struggling with his druidic allies. This was compounded in 1208 by the invasion of the Storm Dragons into northern England.
Although they were aware of the threat, the English forces were unprepared for the Dragon invasion, and in 1208, they lost control of four islands. After the initial onslaught, however, the English armies were able to slow the advance of the serpent armies greatly. But by 1215, it was obvious the English were losing their fight - almost half their country lay in the hands of the Storm Dragons. Frustrated, the remaining nobility in England forced John's hand and he signed a document called the Magna Carta. The document was intended to increase the nobles' ability to determine the direction England followed in the war effort, but it would have far-reaching consequences. It has been widely speculated that John signed the pact without the consent of the druidic powers that be, which may have caused his rather mysterious disappearance in 1216.
In that same year, King Henry III, a boy of nine, was crowned as the war against the Dragons began to stagnate. The war would remain a bloody and brutal stalemate until the return of Richard and his armies in 1219. United by Richard's presence, the armies of England drove the dragons from their islands in 1220.
Henry III would remain on the throne for many years, although it was widely rumored that the Druids directed his actions from behind the scenes. It is suspected that the secret order still exists and controls the throne even today - though there is little evidence to support this.
The English of today tend to have a more open view towards magic. In many parts of Europe, they are despised as heretics and hated by the Inquisition-controlled nations. But they are among the best seafarers in the world and London remains a center of trade and a haven for those with the taint of magic in their veins.
The sinking of Brittany ended in 1197, and while devastating, the loss of land had little effect on France. The French would continue to be worn down by invasion and war, would not be re-established as a major European power until the middle of the 13th century.
The Inquisition (1231 - )
The effects of the Disjunction caused drastic and pervasive changes to many societies around the world. Monstrous creatures roamed the wilderness and even in the safest streets of the western capitals, some humans were possessed by spirits and cast dark spells against innocents. While the Knights Templar waged war across the continents against the organized forces of evil, the taint of dark magic threatened the security of the western cities.
Alarmed by the rapid spread of magic across the world, the people of Europe looked to their rulers and the clergy and demanded protection. In 1231, the western kings and the Papacy agreed to the formation of the first Inquisition, an organization of disciplined holy investigators trained to seek out and deal with the evils wrought by the Disjunction. In the first few years of its existence, the Inquisition focused its efforts on tracking down the monsters plaguing the outskirts of the western cities and exorcising their dark spirits. To this end, the Inquisition worked closely with the Knights Templar to rid the world of evil.
Using their combined forces, the Inquisition and the Templars began to drive the organized tribes of monsters away from the cities and into the shadows. But as the Knights Templar continued to expand influence outward for greater security, the Inquisition turned its attention inward to root out evils that had infiltrated society. Not only were the evil beasts the target of the Inquisition, but also any "inappropriate" magic-touched beings.
For the Knights Templar, the situation seemed especially delicate. The War Wielders proved to be highly valuable in the struggle against many of the Templar's enemies. But the Templars understood that not all Wielders used their power for good. As early as the beginning of the Fourth Crusade, the magic using Wielders found that their magical powers allowed them great influence among the general population. Although some Wielders could temper their magic with compassion and humility, others could not resist the urge to seize control, using their magic to subjugate and control people.
In 1249, the rampage of the Mongols devastated parts of Italy, the stronghold of the Inquisition and the Holy See. Eventually, the crusaders would push back the vastly overextended Mongol army, but not before significant damage had been done. Although they fought valiantly, many Inquisitors died against the Mongol Horde. Those few that survived fled west to Spain to regroup, but the order would not recover its influence for many years.
Once the Mongols had been defeated, some of the Wielders became even more brazen, especially with the Inquisition weakened. As well, the children of the first Wielders had already started to manifest physical traits of their magical heritage. Those descended from magic-users with powerful fire and earth spirits became known as Sylvants, a sub-race of tainted humans with elemental features. The children of Wielders with bestial spirits became known as Feralkins, larger and more physically powerful than normal humans. Also, Demokins, children of Wielders with fiendish spirits started to walk openly in the streets of Europe. Many of these new races exhibited abilities beyond those of normal pureblood humans, causing a disruptive rift between the pure and so-called 'tainted' races.
By 1260, an alliance of ambitious Wielders boldly moved to consolidate their influence. Some of the more powerful and audacious Wielders proclaimed themselves to be dukes or governors and established minor duchies or provinces within the western kingdoms. Using their various magical abilities to expand their influence, these Wielders ruled nearly a quarter of Spain and parts of France by 1263.
In 1268, the rulers of the western nations and the surviving leaders of the Inquisition convinced the Knights Templar of the need to contain the Wielders, to ensure the hegemony of the pureblood race. The Inquisition passed a series of edicts to protect citizens against the abuses of magic and to punish those who wielded magic illegally. The Inquisition used these edicts as a pretence to move against the Wielders entrenched in the governments of Europe.
While some of the good War Wielders loyal to the Knights Templar accepted and understood the Inquisition's edicts, many other Wielders did not and openly attacked Inquisitors attempting to reclaim their lands.
In 1269, the Spanish Inquisition formed to reclaim the lands of Spain taken by the Wielders. The Inquisitors launched the Reconquista, also known as the Reconquest, an incredible series of magical battles that engulfed Spain and France in civil war. The rogue Wielders summoned terrible elemental forces while the Inquisitors invoked mighty divine magic against the rebels, resulting in a staggering loss of pureblood and tainted human lives.
The Reconquista lasted six years, and by 1275, the Inquisition had vanquished the rogue Wielders. The War Wielders still loyal to the Templars quickly distanced themselves from the evil wizards that had controlled parts of Europe. However, the Inquisition still regarded all wizards with deep suspicion and would never allow them to gain influence over the public again.
Many years of continuous scrutiny against the Wielders followed, and more edicts passed that restricted the movements of wizards and the tainted races. In 1343, the Spanish Inquisition decreed that a union with any non-divine spirit to be a heretical offence. To escape persecution, some Wielders once loyal to the Knights Templar fled to England, where restrictions against magic use were far less severe.
The Inquisition created a clear distinction that magic generated by divine spirits would be acceptable to those within the ranks of the Inquisition. Those Wielders that openly used magic found themselves within the dreaded chambers of the Inquisition with little hope of escape. Other Wielders used their magic to hide and conceal their nature, but even with such sorcery, the Inquisition still doggedly tracked them down. Conditions would never improve for those born with visible marks of sorcery, as the tainted races would be subjected to night-time raids of their homes by the Inquisition, and countless trials and interrogations. Many Sylvants, Feralkins and Demokins would integrate into society eventually, but those visibly tainted by magic would at best be treated as second-class citizens.
In 1421, after the crusade against the Fell Spirits further polarized public opinion against spiritkind and the tainted races, Grand Inquisitor Tomas de Torquemada launched a vicious campaign to purge Spain, France and Italy of all magic-users. Torquemada brought thousands of suspected wizards before the Inquisition to stand trial for suspicion of using heretical magic. While some of the accused were in fact Wielders, many wrongfully accused innocents suffered greatly or perished as a result of the interrogations.
More than a century later, the Inquisition has driven the practice of magic completely underground. Few foolish wizards openly cast spells, for fear of never being seen again. Rumors abound that some clever wizards have managed to form secret havens in the larger cities where Wielders can gather safely, though the threat of the Inquisition's constant vigilance makes such stories unlikely.
1241 - Invasion of the Golden Horde
The Great Khan Ogedei cheats death by binding with the fell spirit Weichi. Since Ogedei did not die, Batu Khan would not be recalled from his European campaign as in normal history. For an entire year, Batu's forces surged west, destroying enemy armies ill-equipped against the lightning fast Mongol cavalry.
While continuing west, Batu gathered a vanguard force of monstrous warriors - hideously cruel goblins formed from the union of dark spirits and humans. These creatures adapted to the Mongol style of warfare quickly, mastering the use of crafted short bows while riding swift beast-mounts into battle. Batu's Golden Horde swelled with goblinoid forces as he cut a wide swath through the territories of Eastern Europe. Batu's progress alarmed the nations of the west, already weary from their war against the Storm Dragons. In 1243, the Fourth Crusade against the Storm Dragons ended, allowing the Knights Templar and the forces of the west to join the eastern forces against the Mongol horde.
The coalition succeeded in slowing the advances of the Golden Horde for several years, yet Batu's forces continued to gain ground. In 1249, the coalition finally halted Batu's advance in Italy, but not before many Italian provinces felt the savagery of the Mongol horde. The situation appeared so desperate that the Holy See fled west to Spain, where it has stayed since.
In 1250, the European armies finally defeated the Mongol forces through terrible attrition, with both sides sustaining heavy casualties. Batu cleverly dispersed his goblin tribes against the Europeans, sending the monsters through the ranks of the westerners to cover his escape. The Mongols retreated as swiftly as they arrived, and a few of the goblin tribes managed to break through the European forces to race toward the western lands. As Batu's army retreated, the vengeful Khan ravaged more cities, mercilessly descending upon any nation that had aided the European armies. The furious march erased several powerful forces from history, including Byzantium and the Teutonic Knights.
1194 - 1244 The Fourth Crusade against the Storm Dragons
After the Disjunction, hordes of magical creatures scattered across Earth. The most powerful of these creatures were the Storm Dragons, immense reptilian beasts capable of unleashing terrible destruction with their claws, breath weapons and magic spells that could control the weather and summon natural disasters.
By nature, the Storm Dragons were very territorial, so they spread across the planet swiftly to carve up the landmasses according to their elements. The Frost Drakes flew to the icy reaches of northern Europe, the Inferno Drakes plagued the hot deserts of Africa and the Middle East, Thunder Wyrms soared to the Americas, and the Kraken controlled the waters of the Pacific.
For the two years, since the Disjunction, King Richard had remained in the Middle East to help his ally Saladin battle the creatures unleashed by the cataclysm. Near the end of 1194, Richard was preparing to march his forces back to the west when the Inferno Drakes, led by the terrible desert dragon Hassachrid, swarmed over the Middle East.
With the invasion of the dragons, Richard stayed to help Saladin deal with the fierce attacks against the holy cities. By 1196, the crusaders had lost nearly half of their forces fighting the dragons with antiquated methods of warfare. Conventional arrows, bolts and ballistae proved to be nearly ineffective against the thick scale hides of the inferno dragons.
Near the end of the twelfth century, the humans that had become hosts for alien spirits started to comprehend the extent of their new powers. These Wielders would become the first human wizards, people who could shape a new form of energy channelled through their spirits. These Wielders would prove to be invaluable against the dragons, as their defensive magic could protect troops against the scorching dragonfires and their offensive spells could pierce the tough dragon hides. By 1201, Richard and Saladin employed War Wielders to complement all of their forces.
As the crusaders began to turn the tide of the war with magic, the Frost Drakes conquered Sweden and launched a series of brutal attacks against the Nordic territories. For several years the wyrms raided human settlements, wearing down the defences of the already depleted European armies.
In 1205, the Frost Drakes captured Norway and forced King Inge II into the first dragon-human alliance. Inge's fearsome dragonriders quickly conquered the remaining Nordic territories and then turned their fury south.
By 1210, word reached a war weary King Richard that Europe was in dire straits. Without the Knights Templar guarding the homeland, the Frost Drakes tore through Europe's meager defences, conquering the Germanic territories and large parts of England and France.
Needing to return to Europe quickly, Richard turned to the Wielders for a rapid means of transporting his army back to the west. The Wielders, still relatively young to their powers, informed Richard of a possibly hazardous transportation magic involving the use of raw earth magic. Desperate to prevent the fall of European kingdoms, Richard ordered the Wielders to invoke a mighty spell that would create a magical route through the Earth. The Wielders combined their power and summoned magical crystals from the ground - a reckless spell which sprouted many such crystals randomly across the Earth. Although the crystals were empowered with various effects and some proved to be quite hazardous, the Wielders were able to form a few stable bridges between Europe and the Middle East, saving the crusaders months of valuable traveling time.
When Richard's forces arrived through the portals, the Knights Templar and the Knights of Saladin who accompanied them engaged the Frost Drakes, starting the long campaign to push the dragons out of continental Europe.
By the year 1218, Germany and France had been liberated, and in 1220, England was also free of the dragons. In 1222, the crusaders marshalled a vast navy to sail against the dragons in Norway and attack the heart of the dragon's empire, the glacial fortress of Icingspire. However, the sea invasion proved disastrous, as the Frost Drakes had summoned their water brethren, the Kraken, to aid them. The devastating tidal waves and monsoons summoned by the sea dwelling dragons sank the crusaders' navy. The largest of the Kraken capsized and tore apart the fleet's flagship, the vessel of King Richard the Lionheart, and it was presumed the great crusader perished in the churning waters.
The loss of Richard would prove so disastrous that the crusaders would not be able to muster another fleet for another eight years. However, by 1230, the crusaders landed in Denmark and slowly captured Nordic territory.
As the crusaders continued to rout the dragons, the enslaved Nordic warriors broke free and battled against their captors. In 1239, the crusaders liberated Norway with the help of King Hakon IV and drove the dragons into the sea. For the next several years, the last of the dragons gathered within their near impregnable glacial fortress, Icingspire.
The final battle of the Fourth Crusade took place in Iceland in 1244 at H鷑afl骾, in what historians refer to as The Bay Battle. The crusaders brought ships from every coastal province to siege Icingspire. Armed with magical ballistae forged by the Wielders, and enchanted siegecraft designed specifically to hunt dragons, the fleet assaulted the fortress in a siege that would last two months and result in the extermination of known dragonkind.
1316 Famine in Europe
The decade following the Disjunction was a time of great suffering for Europe. Entire cities were destroyed, continents underwent major upheavals, and the swarming hordes of monsters released by the Disjunction decimated Europe's population. Most agrarian communities were laid waste, which lead to shortages of food and starvation. As Europe entered into the 13th century, however, the use of divine magic and a lower population balanced out against the destruction brought by the Disjunction, and in many places, humans began to prosper once more.
In most areas, the changes resulted in fewer, more densely populated towns and cities. Even in rural areas, the farmers grouped together and paid local mercenaries for protection as a farmer working his fields alone often never returned home. In many places, the population often had to farm less suitable land out of sheer necessity. This caused an increase in the cost of food across Europe and occasional food shortages. Magic was often used to offset this, however, and over the course of the 13th century, there was a population boom across Europe.
In 1316, the Inquisition declared the practice of magic to be heresy - even when it was used to offset nations' food shortages. This edict, combined with an ever-increasing population, caused a terrible famine. By the winter of 1316, almost the entire population of Europe was starving. The prices of grain fluctuated greatly and many farmers switched to more dependable cash crops, worsening an already bad situation. After a similarly poor winter in 1317, the Inquisition reversed its edict and allowed the practice of magic to increase the harvest as long as it was supervised by the clergy.
Unfortunately the damage was already done. And while some parts of Europe were sufficiently fed, the region would continue to suffer from a shortage food for over a hundred years.
1347 The Black Death
The plague came to Europe from Asia via the Mongol invasion in 1346. Mongol invaders, already plague-ridden, had laid siege to Kaffa. To make the best of a bad situation, they catapulted their disease-ridden dead over the walls. The Genoese traders there panicked and fled back to Sicily, taking the Black Death with them.
The famine and the overcrowding of the population centers made a perfect breeding ground for the plague. It spread across the continent, killing roughly a third of the human population.
Through this, the Inquisition held fast to its 1343 decree forbidding magical association with spirits or otherwise. Many Wielders appealed to the courts to allow them to practice their magic to cure the diseased population only to find themselves imprisoned or worse. The divine wielders within the Inquisition were either swamped or too busy ferreting out rogue wielders to greatly assist the population, and as a result, many commoners died. Ironically, many of the imbued were more resistant to plague, so while purebloods died around them, the population of the tainted actually grew.
Between 1347 and the end of the 14th century, the plague struck Europe many times. And where tainted births had accounted for only a small percentage of the population until this time, by the beginning of the 15th century, there were enough tainted births that the variations in human bloodlines had taken on their vernacular names of feralkin, demokin, and sylvant.
1429 - 1433 The Campaign of Jehanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc)
The sinking of Normandy and Brittany into the Atlantic Ocean had little effect on France. The country was essentially a collection of feudal territories answering to the king and much of the lost land was not actually in possession of the French crown at the time. Disputes between England, Burgundy and Spain, as well as encroachments by various hordes throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, caused the royal domain to shrink steadily. While France was able to expand its control occasionally, by the early 1400s during the Hundred Years War, much of northern France was under control of the English and lower France was separated into various duchies with little alliance to the king.
Famine and the plague had taken a greater toll on the kingdom than its neighbors, and the continuing wars left the populace greatly burdened. When Charles VII took the throne in 1422, France was in turmoil. Things worsened as the threat of the Necromantic armies to the south and east began to threaten all of Europe.
In 1429, just when it seemed as if France might lose any remaining European authority, a young girl of 17 named Jehanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc) managed to gain audience with Charles. She convinced the King to allow her titular command (acting as a figurehead) over one of his armies. This should have been no easy task for any man or woman, but it was rumored that Jehanne was infused of an immensely powerful divine spirit. Various records state that Jehanne herself claimed this spirit often spoke to her - through its power, she may have been able to enthrall others.
Jehanne soon assumed full control and led her army sweeping across France with a sword in one hand and a banner in the other. Her ability as a strategist and a leader were remarkable, and within a year, her soldiers and most of the populace believed she was a saint. Her army grew in size as she returned area after area to the crown - although it should be noted that most regions were easily captured due to the extended Fifth Crusade. By 1431, she had reclaimed lands across northern and southern France as well as recapturing Paris. France's royal authority once again stretched from the Mediterranean to Guienne and north to Flanders.
In late 1431, she was briefly captured and put on trial by the Inquisition. The trial itself was remarkable only for the fact that Jehanne proposed no defence at all and yet was acquitted. In a strange coincidence, all members of the court of inquiry fell insane within a year of the completion of the trail.
Jehanne and her armies shifted focus in 1432 and joined with the Fifth Crusade against the necromancers, right about the time the necromancers' forces were plundering France in search of relics. Jehanne and a vanguard of her men clashed with a massive force of undead at the resting place of a relic in a series of caverns in southern France. It is said that the amassed army and magic wielding forces of the undead caused the cave to collapse, killing her and the rest of her men.
Jehanne's death made her a martyr to the people of France and their support buoyed the armies of France. The French forces played a pivotal role in the defeat of the necromancers and continued to consolidate French holdings. The nation of France returned to the world theater and the French people finally united under their king for the first time in history.
1390 - 1449 The Fifth Crusade - Rise of the Necromancers
After the Disjunction in 1192, several long buried pharaohs returned from the afterlife to restore their rule over Egypt. There was a brief period of civil war during which the newly risen god-kings of the Nile attempted to defeat each other to control their ancient lands. Of the pharaohs that arose and attempted to control Egypt, many were again returned to the afterlife while a few retreated into southern Africa to create new empires. After three decades of war, Egypt finally came to peace with Ramses II assuming control of the entire Nile region. But the tendrils of Egyptian rule had expanded their influence over Africa. This rule would continue peacefully for over a hundred years.
Sometime around 1390, a group of powerful dark wizards stole a magical tome possessing the secrets of life and death from the pharaohs. The Book of the Dead detailed the art of necromancy, the magic of the afterlife and death. After studying the book, these necromancers twisted the ancient rituals and bound dark spirits to dead bodies, creating a powerful army of mindless undead warriors.
Beginning with a direct attack on the populous capital of Alexandria, the necromancers decimated the unprepared and unwary Egyptian forces. As the city burned, the bodies of fallen warriors and citizens increased, and so did the armies of the undead. Alexandria became a city of the dead on Earth and the capital of the necromancers' nation. Within a year, the surrounding African nations had also fallen and the necromancers and their ever-growing army of undead controlled all of Northern Africa.
With an advance into Southern Europe and the Middle East inevitable, the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of Saladin gathered their forces to wage war against the encroaching forces. The first attacks came in the winter of 1418, and for several years, the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of Saladin slowly lost ground to the advancing undead horde.
By early 1428, the Necromancers expanded their campaign of terror by sending their massive bone barges across the Mediterranean and attacking European nations directly. While the undead armies attacked human forces in Asia, Africa, and Europe, the necromancers sent their most powerful undead creatures to find the hidden artifacts guarded by the Knights Templar and Knights of Saladin.
In 1431, one of the undead armies very nearly succeeded in wresting one of the holy relics from a secret crypt in southern France. The Knights Templar and the Knights of Saladin battled bravely, but the horde of undead continued to march into the underground halls of the crypt. When all hope seemed lost, the remaining knights allowed a mystic Knight of Saladin to invoke a powerful warding charm. The spell sealed the crypt with a lasting magic that would prevent the undead from leaving with the holy relic. Soon after, reinforcements arrived to relieve the knights, but the crypt had already been sealed. Many years later, all but the Knights Templar would forget the location of the crypt, although the valor of the trapped knights would never be forgotten.
By the year 1435, the Inquisition had managed to turn the tide of the war by embracing the use of 'divine' magic, a power supposedly derived from the spirits of holy ancestors. The Inquisitors discovered that this divine power could drive back undead creatures or even destroy them outright. Inquisitors secretly ordered the forging of magic weapons imbued with this divine magic to help eradicate the undead.
With the combined forces of the Inquisition and the western and eastern nations, the crusaders drove the necromancers back into northern Africa and cleared the Mediterranean of the undead naval presence.
The Inquisition and the Knights Templar relentlessly hunted down and destroyed every last necromancer to ensure the black arts would never be practiced again. In 1449, the knights killed the last necromancer, Lord Amonsil. Although the exiled pharaohs were innocent of the crimes perpetrated by the necromancers, the Inquisition viewed them as abominations and dispatched them without mercy, allowing the Ottoman Empire to control northern Africa.
There are still some remnants of the undead army lurking in dark forests, old graveyards, and tombs throughout the world, but few dare to practice the lost and forbidden art of necromancy.
1461 - 1464 The Crusade against the Fell Spirits
Over the course of several long and difficult crusades, the people of Europe turned to the strength and leadership of the Inquisition for stability. The kings of continental Europe maintained their titles, but discovered to their consternation that true power, the faith and influence of the people, rested with the Inquisitors. Italy, fractionalized and divided since the devastating Mongol invasion, found unity in the Inquisition and eventually became a full-fledged theocracy ruled by Inquisitors in the early 1400s.
With the threat of the necromancers neutralized, the Knight Orders returned to their home territories to help rebuild the cities, while Inquisition moved to establish their unequivocal power. Those that spoke out against the Inquisition risked being charged with heresy.
In 1461, a respected official of the Spanish government found himself accused of practicing magic and was brought before the Inquisition as a prisoner. The prisoner confounded the four Inquisitors, however, resisting their attempts at exorcism, demonstrating inhuman endurance, and speaking in ancient languages to confuse his interrogators. After days of arduous proceedings, two of the four Inquisitors collapsed from exhaustion. The third Inquisitor fell prey to a strange malady after the prisoner had asked to speak with him privately so that he could confess his sins. When other Inquisitors returned, they found the interrogator babbling about the "Fell Spirits" while the prisoner laughed beside him.
Learned Bishops and high-ranking Inquisitors came to examine the man and were equally frustrated by his openly hostile and resilient attitude. Though these Inquisitors were no closer to exorcising the prisoner's demon, he spoke proudly of ages past, when the Fell Spirits were known as demons to many of the old religions. To the Hindus, they were known as the terrible Daityas, to the Persians the Daevas, Buddhists knew them as the hungry Pretas, the Hebrews called one of the Fell Spirits Asmodeous, and the Christians feared Lucifer above all else.
Although the official record of the final interrogation with the first Fell Spirit has never been released, it is widely believed that the Grand Inquisitor personally visited the Fell Spirit and concluded the interrogation. Some historians have recorded that Torquemada had summoned and bound a divine spirit, one who opposed the Fell Spirit on many occasions in the past. According to these historians, Torquemada did not emerge from the Chambers for several days, but eventually succeeded with the exorcism. It is rumored that Torquemada imprisoned the Fell Spirit deep within the Chambers of the Inquisition, so that its evil could not corrupt others again.
Only weeks after the incident in Spain, word of the incident with the Fell Spirit spread quickly. It was widely believed that other such demonic forces had infiltrated governments of other kingdoms.
The Inquisition initiated a widespread campaign to ferret out any other people in positions of power that could be possessed by the Fell Spirits. The resulting hysteria crippled the capitals of Europe, as the Inquisition restricted travel and trade between the cities. Communities turned on each other, and hundreds, possibly thousands, of innocents found themselves facing the harsh interrogations of the Inquisition.
In 1463, the Inquisition sent representatives to London to ensure the sanctity of English monarchy. When the Inquisitors requested an audience with Queen Elizabeth, they were allowed to meet her in the presence of her honor guard. While exact details of the encounter are not known, it is evident that the Inquisitors attempted to perform a perfunctory interrogation on the Queen. Offended, Elizabeth had the Inquisitors put to death. The incident severely damaged relations between England and the Inquisition, and the two forces nearly went to war. However, in 1464, the words of diplomats prevailed and an unsteady truce ensued.
By this time, the Inquisition had also started to curtail the search for more Fell Spirits. Though many dark creatures were found hiding in the shadows of the cities of men, they could find no evidence of any other dreaded Fell Spirits infiltrating the governments of Europe. The crusade's success could be measured only by the hysteria it induced and the innocents who suffered through it.
Though the Crusade against the Fell Spirits ended, the relations between England the Inquisition had suffered irreparable damage Both the English and Spanish nations started to build up their navies to protect their trade routes and overseas interests. Over the years, occasional skirmishes flared up, slowly fueling the fires of discontent on both sides.
In 1587, a naval engagement between Spanish and English forces resulted in the loss of many Spanish lives, including several influential Inquisitors and Spanish nobles. Unlike the conflict a hundred years before, no diplomats were exchanged to prevent the occurrence of war.
A year later, in the current time of 1588, it is known that the Inquisition has spent many months preparing for an inevitable conflict, which stems from the miserable sixth crusade. As the Inquisition prepares lengthy articles detailing heretical charges against England, the Spanish Armada has continued to grow, becoming one of the largest naval fleets in history.
1534 - The Prophet Nostradamus
In 1534, a spirit joined with Michel de Notredame, Nostradamus, a physician from southern France. Nostradamus began to experience strange and frequent visions, dreams of past and current events, and premonitions of things to come. The dreams and visions increased over the years, and many of the near future visions Nostradamus saw started to come to pass. Word spread throughout France that Nostradamus was a holy seer, a prophet who could foretell the future.
In 1550, Nostradamus moved to Salon-de-Provence and began writing a series of prophecies, and five years later, he completed the Centuries, a book containing over 900 "predictions". Only a few copies of the book circulated around France, but rumors started to spread among the populace that the prophet detailed a coming catastrophe that would threaten civilization - a catastrophe rivalling the destruction caused by the Disjunction.
Moving swiftly to prevent a panic, the Inquisition branded Nostradamus a dangerous heretic and destroyed all known copies of the Centuries. Inquisitors scoured France for years to find the prophet, but could never find him.
The Inquisition believes that Nostradamus might have perished in 1587. In one of the seer's most cryptic prophecies, Nostradamus predicts that he will fade from the mortal world and join the spirit world, which most sages have interpreted as a prediction of his own death.
1492 - Expeditions to the New World
As the crusaders waged war against darkness, the kings of the west sought to rebuild civilization. Others, ambitious rulers, even sought to expand their influence across the world. In the 15th century, Spain sent out navigators to explore the seas and search for new trade routes. One such explorer, Christopher Columbus, set sail in August 1492 and barely survived a harrowing voyage over the treacherous Atlantic Ocean. He sailed along the north coast of Hispaniola and returned to Spain in 1493, telling the King about the wealthy and powerful tribes of the New World.
Impressed with his discovery, the King Ferdinand funded Columbus for a second voyage in 1493, granting him a small army to establish a settlement in the New World. Having been knocked off course by terrible storms, Columbus' fleet finally landed in North America. Columbus ordered his army to clear a swath of overgrown jungle terrain to create a settlement for Spain, La Isabela. Two weeks later, the indigenous tribes of the land, riding monstrous reptilian mounts, attacked and butchered the colonists, killing Columbus and most of his troops. The few survivors of this expedition sailed back to Spain in 1494, and spoke of the horrors.
Determined to tame these savage new lands, King Phillip funded several conquistadors to explore and claim these new lands for Spain. One such conquistador was Hern醤 Cort閟. Cort閟 was given a fleet of ships to conquer the New World. During his first expedition, Cort閟 managed to establish a minor foothold in southern Mexico and learned of a powerful tribe, the Aztecs, who reportedly possessed vast riches. Cort閟 returned to Spain with treasures from the New World and requested more troops and resources to attack the Aztecs. In 1521, Cort閟 received a larger fleet and sailed to join his forces in the New World.
Joined by other tribes, enemies of the Aztecs, Cort閟 confidentially marched his army against Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. When Cort閟 laid siege to the massive city, the Aztecs unleashed a host of terrors never before seen by western eyes. Massive feathered serpents swept down from the city and destroyed the Spanish siege weapons as old Aztec gods walked among the fierce warriors, devouring the invaders. Cort閟 himself was severely wounded in the battle, and managed to retreat back to Spain with only a single damaged vessel.
The utter defeat of Cort閟' army was the last recorded attempt by European forces to gain a stronghold in the New World.
In the current time, Hern醤 Cort閟, maimed and coinless, still attempts to find funding for another expedition to the New World, but is forced to settle his crushing debts first.
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我们要与时俱进，将DNDRPG的填埋事业进行到底！
——代表人民，代表党，代表国家
坚定的和平主义者、共产主义者、女权主义者
DNDRPG的秘密填埋队长，阶级斗争部门的负责人，人民的公诉人和审判长
"Jedilich" Necroman
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11-03-2002 15:57
