A More Civilised Time

A More Civilised Time: A History of Chalois

by Jacques Fayette

Chalois, still the greatest nation of Menune, once ruled over Northern Narador. The laws of Chalois were upheld from the Eastern coast to the Western coast, stretching south from the Golkan Tundra into the Great Expanse.

The island kingdoms of Kirandur and Noxxara were, in theory, independent. In truth, however, Chalois heavily influenced the laws and actions of the two nations. In the case of Kirandur, the extent of this was such that the Emperor of Chalois forced the King to abdicate on two occasions.

To defend against Golkan raiders harassing caravans in the Craglands, the Empire of Chalois united a number of Golkan clans in the north of the Golkan tundra, forming a loose confederacy named Jymark. Jymark, however, remained independent.

The Collapse of the Empire

The first province to declare independence was the Kingdom of Noxxara. An outbreak of Tar Fever on the island led to the death of Prince Relak Vede and later King Kasvik Vede. The second son of the King, Silav Vede, the self proclaimed black sheep of the family, was the leader of the infamous Blackboot mercenary band. He had long been in uninterested in the throne and the crown was expected to pass to the third child of Kasvik, Vlinok. During the coronation, however, Silav led his Blackboots, allied with The Howling Knaves, led by Julius Brisk and the Sisters of the Brute, led by Dryjna Skaldottir, invaded Noxxara, executing his own brother and many of the nobles. Silav Vede then established the Republic of Noxxara, headed by the Council of Three. The original three were Vede, Brisk and Skaldottir, but this eventually became simply the most powerful three generals of the land.

Chalois resisted this, but the military prowess of the former mercenaries proved to be too much, and attracted other mercenary bands to join their nation.

Following this, Valaeron, a protectorate of the Empire, sent a formal request for independence to the Emperor, citing its armed wing, the Brotherhood of Light, as evidence it no longer needs protection from Chalois. When this request was denied, Bishop Patriarch Rustem Plessis encouraged Kirandur, Cendall, Sovrune and Elricia to join him in a union and request independence. After a short period, the regions joined with Plessis, threatening open rebellion unless they were allowed independence. The Emperor eventually conceded, granting independence to Kirandur, Valaeron and Cendall.

Centuries later, peasants of Sovrune rebelled against taxes that they viewed as unfair. This protest was brutally put down by knights of Chalois and this spawned a fierce nationalist movement in Sovrune. A few years later, a group of insurgents assassinated the Viceroy of Sovrune, a nobleman, usually from Chalois who was appointed to rule over the province. This started another rebellion against Chalois, with the rebels using guerrilla tactics, hiding in the mountains of northern Sovrune and using pitchforks as pikes to defeat the mounted cavalry sent after them.

During this rebellion, calls grew in Elricia for independence and the Emperor of Chalois negotiated with the leader of the Elrician independence movement, granting the nation independence whilst maintaining strong ties, including an agreement that they would aid Chalois against Sovrune, who at this point were winning the war.

The combined forces of Chalois and Elricia managed to gain the upper hand in the conflict, pushing the Sovrunian rebels out into the Craglands. Then, however, an event happened which nobody could predict. Noxxara, which had secluded itself from the rest of Menune after gaining its independence, joined the war on the side of Sovrune. The Noxxaran forces pushed Chalois back, forcing them out of Sovrune and shattering their forces, which led to the creation of the Republic of Sovrune.

Following the war, the Noxxaran army retreated back to their island. It then became known to the world what the price of their aid was. Sovrune rounded up their nobles, many of which were descended from the former Noxxaran nobility, and sent them to Noxxara. The nobles that managed to escape this fled to Chalois.

Chalois has never fully accepted the independence of Sovrune, claiming that the Southern part of Sovrune known as Rohannes' Corridor, which is fertile grassland, is still part of Chalois. This has led to countless wars between the two nations over the centuries, with the borders between the two shifting constantly.