The 9th century AD bears witness to significant change within the Gallic League. For generations the League had been using the Council System for electing and appointing officials. In the Council System all members of society (who’ve had military service) have a voice vote but it is the elected/appointed leader that has the final deciding vote. Within families it is the head of the family that votes, within tribes it is the head of the tribe, and within clans it is the head of the clan {family = a group of immediately related persons, tribe = a group of related families, clan = a group of related tribes; “Houses†a term used to usually mean a group of related clans though it can be used to refer to groupings as small as a single family}. Voting to elect the four Vates for a given region is done on a clan level (after the rulings from the lower councils have been heard the clan leaders then nominate and vote). Military training is compulsory but only those who have served in battle can voice their vote at councils. It is the nobles of a given House, in conference with the elected Vates of that region, who often makes decisions on allocating supplies, military aide, and workforce (and can be done without the approval of the lower classes).
This is all changed in the later portion of the 9th century. High King Seorus implements direct voting – Vates (as well as family, tribal, and clan leaders) will be elected via tallied vote. Seorus will also create the Warrior Tax, those not wishing to be trained at a Military Academy can choose to pay a tax in stead (it is in everyone’s best interest to have at least a little military service as eligibility to cast a vote is still based on serving as a warrior for at least two years. Not only that but anyone looking for more than a basic education – and not seeking the scholarly life of a druid – must go to an academy for those are the only schools that offer more than just simple reading and writing.
In Egypt the Civic Council continues to subvert the will of the king – mainly do to the weak and cautious nature of the Egyptian leaders after the death of Necho VI. There will be a significant growth in their trade as direct contact with the Chi Empire is reestablished. This however will provoke a decades long pirate war with not only Bactria but also the Kamiharou.
Bactria, like the Egyptians, will find themselves constantly watchful of the horizon. Though land raids had become rare sea borne attacks were frequent and with the trouble Bactria faced in keeping the locals of the Spice Islands under control they hadn’t the resources to free themselves of the Kamiharou.
Dacia and Sarmatia will are likewise fully aware of the draining effect of constant border raids. The tribes of the Volga, though having more of an impact on Dacia, were a constant nuisance to both Catholic empires. Since the schism there has been less and less cooperation between the two states. Several fundamentally different perspectives, which had been around since the formation of the church, had now grown to insurmountable sizes. For example, the Sarmatian Patriarch was akin to God on earth, infallible and gloriously righteous. The Dacians believed the Patriarch was merely the head of the House of Bishops – a man like any other man who was simply better versed in the nature of their Lord. Sarmatians believe in the biblical cannon had its place in everything – from church steeple to the marriage bed. Dacians found the bible to be a list of commands, punishment, and guidelines that had no place in how a married man and woman interact (or when). Sarmatians saw their God and gracious and caring. Dacians had come to believe God was kind but harsh and vengeful.
The seeds of great change are sowed in Kanem at this time. Though largely self isolated from the surrounding empires (mainly due to their constant infighting) they did have one external outlet. They sent nearly constant envoys to the Mehrdadian Caliph who in turn eventually sent one of his ministers to Kanem. Ashraf, and those he brought, will lay the ground work of what will become a new uniting dynasty in Kanem history.
807AD: Angus Og writes his first play (after his near fatal duel). By the time of his death in 849 his work will comprise of 200 poems and plays – to this day he is considered one of the League’s greatest bards.
813AD: High King Esus dies and leaves the crown to his eldest son Ailin (813-835).
818AD: Safety in Egypt had been compromised by the expansion of the Mehrdadian Caliphate. Thieves and cutthroats off all kinds found safety in the Arabia as long as they practiced the local faith – and didn’t annoy the local authorities too much. There was nothing stopping these raiders and criminals from crossing back into Egypt to carryout any number of dubious acts. Such had been the case for 20 years – under pressure from the Civic Council, King Ramesses XIII (804-826) begins to send a military escort with all trade caravans. This proves to be only a temporary fix as the surrounding empires grow edgy over the constant movement of Egypt’s armies. Therefore, in 818 Ramesses XIII decided to reestablish direct trade with the Chi Empire (access had been intermittent for a number of centuries because the Julian Road had fallen victim to nomads and little, if anything, came through Bactria and now the Caliphate).
823AD: The first Egyptian ship in over a hundred years makes port in the Chi Empire (they are well received).
A Chi scholar by the name of Wu Song invents the mechanical clock. Interestingly, Wu Song did not set out to create such a device, he set out to improve upon the “Gear Box†an instrument added to many carriages that helped determine distance and regulate rates being charged by the carriage service.
825AD: Egypt enters into a pirate war with Bactria and the Kamiharou – no formal war is declared as none of the kingdoms involved are in a position to enter into such an action. This state of active piracy will continue for much of the rest of the century.
828AD: In Toledo a new sword makes its debut. The keyl, a long slender blade (longer even the standard longsword), double edged, and ideal for jabs and thrusts. It was developed out of the evolving practice of dueling, whereas with the standard bouts brute strength often favored the victor, the keyl on the other had was a lighter weapon madefor the agile. For those using this blade against typical swords it meant you could dance around your foe and thrust in under an attack. The sometimes unwieldy length forced the users to often take up a second weapon in their free hand (be it a cloak, dagger, or thick leather glove). The keyl will spur new techniques and generations of teachers and schools.
829AD: In response to several harsh raids over into Scanza King Alvis leads his army into the contested territories of what had formally belonged to Dacia. The attack fails, the king himself is injured and forced to remain in bed for many weeks. The land had already been ravaged by wars for many years and so there was little to sustain an army on. All but one of the several battles fought would be lost – the one victory occurred as Alvis, confined to a wagon, led his shattered army home.
830AD: Byzantium rises up against the Caliphate.
The emerging influence of the Scandinavian navy over the last few centuries becomes apparent in the wake of the latest military loss. The navy didn’t operate under any official designation it did have several pseudonyms that were used interchangeably. The most popular of which was a term coined by an Icini captain; upon his capture (and before his death) he described the Scanza crew as a Viking. What was meant as an insult grew into a badge of honor. 15 Viking captains, some of whom were already ministers to the king, form their own council in a challenge to the monarch’s absolute authority. Facing civil war or a loss of authority King Alvis opts for sharing his power (essentially, in time of war the Viking Council would assume command).
832AD: The Dacian Patriarch Lucian begins preaching against loyalists of the Sarmatian church still living in Dacia.
The Byzantium uprising is suppressed by Caliph Ali Hasan’s forces. Al-Muhsin, one of the Caliph’s sons, is placed in charge of Byzantium (the defacto authority of all of Anatolia as well). A month later Caliph Ali Hasan dies and passes the Empire to his eldest son Walid (II) – 834-850.
834AD: The geocentric theory, assumed since man first started examining the sky, was formally established by Egyptian scholars in the 2nd century AD. But in this year a new theory takes center stage – heliocentric. Eli Dolius a scholar from Athens, based on Aristotal’s writings and his own observations, puts to the public the idea that the sun is the center of the universe. Although condemned by some within the League (and almost every neighboring kingdom) as fantastic and delusional the theory is picked up and seconded by a number of other scholars from Vesuvius and Alexandria in the coming years (by the middle of the next century heliocentric had replaced the geocentric as the driving theory in the League, Egypt, and Scanza).
835AD: High King Ailin dies, his son Caolabhuinn will take up the Gallic crown (835-850). Though the previous High Monarchs had banned wines and other spirits from the palace it was High King Caolabhuinn who expanded the ban to include all wines and games – other than ritualistic – in Alesia (attempts will also be made to curb such extravagances in the whole of the empire – though these attempts are met with little fanfair and sometimes even little success).
Patriarch Lucian, with military aide, begins arresting Sarmatian missionaries (the process will continue for the next 10 years).
Caliph Walid II places his brother Talib in charge of his armies in Arabia in response to several petty skirmishes among the nomadic tribes.
840AD: The Icini finish their conquest of southern Breton. The following year the Brigetes are dealt a major defeat at the hands of the Ereaians and much of their lands are occupied.
Caliph Walid II sends one of his chief ministers (also his most important priest) to Kanem at the request of that kingdoms leader. Ashraf will bring his whole family, and several dozen scholars and priests, with him to the African kingdom.
842AD: The Fifth Pagan War (842-847).
Perhaps hoping that a concerted front would reunite the Church Patriarch Philio calls for a new campaign against the pagan empires (it is doubtful that even if Dacia hadn’t been already engaged in battling the hordes along its northern border that they would have joined).
As it was, Patriarch Philio had to take extreme measures to stoke the flames of religious passion within Sarmatia. He promises that any person joining the army would be exempt from taxation, any noble family with more than two relations in the army would be exempt from the Noble Tax, any solider dying in combat will be granted a monitary dispensation (depending on the nature of their death) to be given to the fallen’s family.
These measures did well to bring forth the holy warriors and soon the Sarmatian army was headed for the Gallic League. Their attack would come by sea as they didn’t have permission to march through Dacia.
A large Sarmatian army (reported at nearly 20,000) lands in Thrace. The initial attack is victorious and both Odessos and Mesembria are captured and put to torch (after being thoroughly scavenged). But the same failing that stifled Sarmatian victories in the previous Pagan Wars challenged them now. Unable to decide on a course of action the leadership of the Sarmatian army split their forces. One army marched down the coast with plans on sacking Shiar Cashtal, a second force headed into Thrace with their eyes set on Mezek, and a third moved along the Danube (there goal was never established – though they did cross the river at several points into Dacia).
Who knows what would have happened had the Sarmatian army stayed together, they may have been able to take Mezek and then been able to control much of the Greeklands before a sizable Gallic army could arrive. As it was, for a time the distraction of three separate armies played in Sarmatia’s favor. While the garrison out of Mezek was busy battling the army headed for that city, the Sarmatian army marching down the coast managed to take control of several cities despite local war parties.
843AD: Al-Muhsin is murdered by an angry mob in Byzantium. The leader of the resistance is a man by the name of Emrys – he was a member of the garrison and will lead his fellow soldiers in a revolt against the Caliphate (843-847).
844AD: By mid year both the battles in and around Mezek and the coast had dwindled and Sarmatia was now taking up isolated defensive position. The army marching along the Danube would in fact strike north fully into Dacia, the commander of this force seemingly deciding that the false Patriarch was a better target. Within weeks this army is defeated and captured by the Dacian military.
Patriarch Philio finds that the treasury is not sufficient to meet the promises that were made to the army. He will propose to the Holy See the idea of tithing (if they were to do God’s work than certainly it wasn’t too much to ask of the populous to pay for the honor of being the Hand of God).
For many years now Sarmatian missionaries had been traveling what had been the Julian Road preaching the word of God. They achieved much success in influencing the religions views of a number of tribes. So, along with tithing, some tribute does trickle into Sarmatia from various other outlaying nomad groups. Without question, at the time the most powerful of these nomads was Khan Boris (a tribal leader with a large following), who, with the help Sarmatia consolidates the tribes and nomads loyal to him to form the Khanate Kingdoms. Boris will supply to the Patriarch a small number of troops (several well trained cavalry units) but will soon become distracted with his own war with the Caliphate.
845AD: High King Caolabhuinn arrives in Macadonia with an army. He finds a refreshed and resupplied Sarmatian army instead of a nearly defeated enemy. This prompts him to order the Gallic fleet to step up their attacks on Sarmatian ships.
The Gallic League formally decrees that no Dacian or Sarmatian ship will pass through the Hellespont – this comes as somewhat of a surprise to Dacia as they were not currently at war with the League but their own concerns with the tribes along the Volga prevented them from doing anything other than protesting.
The landing of the Khans army would prove to be the last for Sarmatia and far from ending the war it only managed to prolong the fighting and exasperate High King Caolabhuinn to the point that he declared no clemency (all captives would be put to death).
846AD: King Boris of the Khazars invades the northern lands of the Caliphate along the Caspian Sea. Much territory is lost before Caliph Walid II can shift some of his forces from fighting in Anatolia.
The first meeting of the Breton Senate in over a hundred years – although only nobles from the Icini and Ereaian convene.
847AD: Trapped in the Greeklands with no supplies the Sarmatian army will surrender in Meitheamh (June) (the Gallic fleet in the Cheusthie Sea had managed to take control of the waters and no more Sarmatian landings would occur). The Sarmatian treasury would be emptied to payoff the League – and the decree disallowing Sarmatian ships traveling through the Hellespont will not be lifted.
Caliph Walid II defeats a Khazar army and ends the invasions but the victory would come too late as Emrys of Byzantium had done much to weaken the Caliph’s control in Anatolia. Walid II will make peace with Emrys and grant him control of Byzantium as a client state of the Caliphate.
The conflict now turns to between Byzantium and the League. The Gallic hold on the Cheusthie Sea had stifled the trade passing through the Hellespont and therefore had affected the coffers of the emerging Byzantine state. However Byzantium currently only had a small army, no navy, and not wanting to request military aide from the Caliphate the situation lies unresolved for a number of years.
850AD: The Second Sarmatian War (850-851).
At a banquet a Sarmatian assassin (under the guise of an Egyptian priest) attacks and stabs the High King. The assassin escapes and later caught but his task had been completed. Though Caolabhuinn survived the assault the blade was poisoned and he would die several days later from the wound. His eldest child Beitris will become the next High Queen (850-876).
Enraged by this murder High Queen Beitris calls for war with Sarmatia. She rides out immediately for Shiar Cashtal and the Gallic fleet. Our best efforts to land an army in Sarmatia are defeated by the line of fortifications along the coast (though the Sarmatian fleet is either destroyed or captured). There would be little time to conduct any major assault as trouble in the heartland for the High Queen’s attention elsewhere.
The tense peace in Breton is brought to an end. In the spring of 850 King Eadglis and the (Council) of Scanza begin to war on Ereaian (it will eventually spread to Icini lands). The conflict will continue on and off for the next 50 years (though the war itself will be in hand by 662).
852AD: The Social Wars (852-864).
The attempts made by the Oghma, High Monarch, and the High Council to the current tensions among the houses prove ineffective and a war breaks out between several families (most of which are armed with keyls). Full engagements are not conducted but active raids are carried out and for the next dozen years there are roving bands (some the size of a war party {~50}) in the streets of many cities and along League roads. Within 2 years there is hardly a family in the League that isn’t at war with their neighbor.
856AD: The fighting among the houses sparks further unrest. The lower classes (farmers, merchants) tired of being ignored by the nobles and fighting their wars for them band together into their own army. It started in the villages outside of Paris and within months many villas had been ransacked and the nobles slain.
High Queen Beitris, frustrated with meeting with clan, tribal, and family leaders shuns further discussions and orders the army into motion to restore order. Ignoring the squabbles between the houses she first sets her attention on the peasant revolt.
The peasant army was well organized and led by a warrior who had taken the name of Brennus (he has come down in history as Brennus Y Parisii). High Queen Beitris will chase his army through Gual, Celtiberia, and into Lesser Carthage before Brennus is defeated (862). The Grand Chance seems to have in itself helped Brennus with his cause, with every retreat he gained many new volunteers believing, as he did, that the current system had broken down.
858AD: Emrys of Byzantium had been slowly exerting more and more influence over greater Anatolia since being granted semi-autonomy in 847. In this year however Caliph Al-Rahman decides to put an end to Emrys’ wandering armies and sends an army of his own into Anatolia (858-860).
860AD: The Mehrdadian Caliphate is invaded once again by the Khazars. With Emrys’ soldiers fighting mostly defensive actions Caliph Al-Rahman decides to shift much of his army to battle the Khanate Kingdoms.
The mechanical clock, first invented in the Chi Empire makes its way into the Gallic League. It is seen as a novelty and has little immediate impact on our society – though it does become popular among the druids and so will remain a scholarly device for many years.
862AD: Caliph Al-Rahman defeats the Khanate but no longer has the military strength to reopen the war in Anatolia (whereas Emrys has had almost 2 full years of fortifying and strengthening his position). Al-Rahman recognizes the independence of Byzantium. Emrys would not bask long in his accomplishment – he will die the following year, leaving Byzantium to his daughter Alma (862-881).
The war between Breton and Scanza takes a turn for the worse for the Icini. Several Catavulanii princes are killed by the Icini creating an ill-timed period of unrest (although this was largely unknown at the time, the murdered princes were the same turncoats who were very instrumental in the Icini conquest of southern Breton – it seems they were trying to make a similar deal with Scanza and were caught).
863AD: With the defeat of the peasant army Beitris turned her attention on the warring houses. At this time much of the scattered war parties had coalesced into small armies and their attention had turned from mainly warring among the houses to taking the fight to the Oghma. Although the battles between the tribes of Breton had sparked the conflicts between the houses of Gaul it was the success of Scanza over Breton and the League’s ignoring of this insult that brought the war parties to bear on their representatives.
The presence of High Queen Beitris’ main army back in Gaul, dozens of arrests, and several executions quickly forces the spontaneous army to disband – and its members to go into hiding. This does not stop the High Queen from punishing the houses – to paraphrase, she punished everyone so that she knew she got the right one.
With danger closing in from the Khanate and now Byzantium Caliph Al-Rahman moves the capital to Susa (a city he and his family had many direct ties to). The abandonment of the Holy City is seen as insult to the Prophet and Al-Rahman will spend the rest of his reign ruling over a hostile populous.
864AD: By the end of the year some order had been restored to the League, although for the time being much of the empire would live under the thumb of the military.
Queen Alma of the Byzantine Empire reopens the negotiations on the control of trade through the shared port. With a larger well trained army and a navy of their own she is in a much better bargaining position than her father had been (though at this time Byzantium could not hold a candle to the size and strength of the League). War was not seen as a favorable option there were many in the League who felt the same way about Breton as they did about Anatolia. High Queen Beitris was therefore compelled by Oghma and High Council to seek an amicable agreement. It is decided that the League would be responsible for tolls leaving the Cheusthie Sea and Byzantium would control traffic entering the Sea.
865AD: The Viking Council sends the fleet out in search of more lands. Within a few years there are seasonal fishing villages established on several surrounding islands.
866AD: High Queen Beitris orders the arrest of any person carrying a Keyl in public. Though not supported by the High Council they also make no move to prevent the measure from being passed.
870AD: Scanza establishes their first permanent colony in Iceland.
876AD: High Queen Beitris dies without children and without being married; she passes the crown to her youngest brother Aladair (876-888). Aladair, secretly an avid duelist, ends the arrests started by his sister, and in keeping with his family tradition (or perhaps simply to cut back the competition) he closes all dueling schools.
881AD: Queen Alma of Byzantium dies, the only event matching the grandure of her funeral parade was perhaps that of her father’s (both are buried in the same tomb, which had been constructed during Alma’s reign). Barisadem, the Queen’s son, will take on the Byzantium throne (881-905).
886AD: Emperor Ying Ze pacifies the Kamiharou with a substantial bribe (there will be similar exchanges over the next 10 years).
887AD: Emperor Ying Ze begins a new campaigne against the Po Kingdom (887-890).
888AD: Gallic Civil War (888-891).
High King Aladair dies, the unpopular nature of the family finally forces the High Council to step in and refuses to honor Bayard’s (Aladair son’s) claim to the throne. Although the Nervii house had been unpopular the Oghma didn’t want to see a still rancorous League without a High Monarch and so in turn they refused to allow another Regency.
This balking of the government instigated exactly what was trying to be avoided. War would breakout in Marta when Bayard and several loyal cohorts stormed Alesia. Within hours many of the High Council and Vates are captured and imprisoned. A few Vates and what remained of the High Council would retreat and reconvene at Kelheim. The petty fighting and several skirmishes that followed gave Bayard time to consolidate his position. He first restricted travel over as many roads as he could directly control (and any as many weigh stations, now all information passed through Alesia before being sent elsewhere). He then took control of the garrisons in Rome and Cartagena by dismissing both war chiefs and appointing his own.
After years of verbally sparing with each other King Victor of Dacia declares war on Sarmatia (with the full approval of the Patriarch and the House of Bishops).
Ying Ze’s war is halted for nearly a year because of Kamiharou raids. Though not as costly in lives or property what the marauders wanted most was the yearly bribe that was promised to them and never received. The Kamiharou withdraw after Emperor Ying Ze sends the payment.
889AD: The members of the High Council that had escaped Bayard’s treachery had been conducting a thorough search of the League for an heir to the throne (in truth they were not the only ones looking for an heir, Bayard’s soldiers were also ransacking the land in search of possible usurpers).
After failing to find and protect potential heirs on several occasions the High Council does manage to get the upper hand. They find a young Aedui farmer by the name of Seorus – a distant cousin of Bayard (Seorus was kin to High King Esus). Although Seorus himself was more interested in his fields than becoming the High Monarch his family had other ideas and quickly fell in line behind the High Council.
890AD: With Seorus more or less as a figurehead the High Council and the Oghma attack Bayard in the north from Kelheim and in Italia (by way of the Adriatic) from Mezek. By mid year the garrison in Cartagena deposes their war chief and sides with Seorus and the Roman Garrison is defeated in Campania. By Samhain Alesia is under siege.
Yi Zong, Emperor of the Po Kingdom, dispatches a large invasion fleet with the bulk of his army aboard (it is a desperate ploy as much of lands had been recaptured and the end was near). His plan was to land his army well behind Emperor Ying Ze to force a withdraw from the Po Kingdom. Had this occurred it probably would have been the end of the Chi Empire as Emperor Ying had committed nearly all of his land force to the invasion at this time. The Chi navy however would defeat the Po armada off the Silla coast.
891AD: The siege of Alesia is broken and Bayard is killed during the taking of the city.
The last of the Chi emperors dies. Ying Ze had no children and will mark the end of the bloodline that had founded the current empire. Xuan Chen, a trusted military man on the Emperor’s war council – and the man who masterfully led the Chi navy and defeated the Po Armada – will be appointed regent for 2 years while a search is conducted to find a member of the royal family.
892AD: Seorus is crowned High King of the Gallic League (892-899). Seorus had many friends in the peasant army of 856, and indeed at the time shared their views, now as High King he made it his purpose to settle those grievances. During his reign he will restructure the Oghma (by 895 the Council System begins to be phased out to be replaced by direct elections). Although the High Monarch will still be hereditary, the High Council is opened up to be voted on by all druids instead of being appointed by the High Monarch (the term would still be for life or abdication), and the Vates will be elected to the Oghma by direct vote. He will also institute a Warrior Tax – a paid exemption from military service (though initially implemented to appease the lower classes it will not be long before able bodied nobles are buying their way out of the army).
893AD: The Sarmatian army is defeated and Neos Syracuse is captured (Patriarch Ivan VI is captured and will die in prison). Sarmatia is incorporated into Dacia – some of the army and nobles do escape to the fringes of the kingdom where they set up their own principalities.
The ministers of the Chi Empire disappointedly end their search for another Chi Emperor and name regent Xuan Chen as the new ruler (893-910).
899AD: Seorus, old and longing to return to his fields before his death, steps down in favor of his son Baran (899-920).