When the armies of the Empire flooded south they came across a great barrier of mountains which reared up in front of them. The shape of the peaks gave the impression of dragons teeth and hence the mountains were known as The Dragon Teeth Range.
It took 3 years for the armies to find away through the mountains, harried constantly by the mountains inhabitants of orcs, goblins and the Drow Elves themselves. The narrow paths with their shear drops on one side and solid mountain on the other made excellent ambush sites, but eventually the army made it through the mountains. On the other side of the mountains the army found a scarcely inhabited but fertile series of valleys and plateaux. The Emperor realising that his men were to weary to carry on decide to make a temporary base in the largest of these high valleys. So beside a great fresh water lake he made his camp.
It soon became clear to the emperor that if the crusade was to be a success then he would need fresh troops in order to continue his campaign, he would also need a safe passage through the mountains.
So the Emperor set about using the troops he had to secure a route through the mountains and after 2 years he had succeeded. Leaving the rapidly growing camp to his trusted lieutenant The Duke Of Almeria, the Emperor set of home to raise a new army.
Alas the Emperor was not to return, on reaching the Empire he found it torn by disorder and strife. In his absence his brother had attempted to usurp him and if the Emperor had not been forced to return early he would have lost the Empire completely. Even so it took 4 long years of civil war before the Empire was once again united behind the Emperor. Six months later he was dead, worn out from constant fighting he left the throne to his son.
The new Emperor was not interested in crusades and as the Drow Elf threat had diminished
greatly the Emperor spent his time rebuilding the once great Empire.
Soon a new city began to grow up alongside the Lake. The Lake was known as Thessandria, or in the language of The Empire, Life giver. Thus the new city became known as Thessandria.
The Duke encouraged his men and those women that had followed the Crusaders to mix with the local populous and find partners. Gradually a new nation was being built.
The Duke had taken a wife of his own from one of the local chief’s family and this union was
blessed with three children two daughters and a son. As the years past the new Dukedom became
stronger and the people were happy. With the Duke's death some 20 years after the founding of
The Dukedom, which had become known as the Dukedom of Thessonaliki, after the locals name
for the land, the old Duke's son became the new Duke.
To strengthen the City and as a memorial to his father the new Duke set about the building of a mighty stronghold on one of the hills over looking the City itself. Twenty-five years later the castle was finished and named Castle Almeria, in honour of his father, the last Duke of Almeria and to remind the people of their roots.
With the death of The Emir the Drow Elf contingent returned home. With the powerful Drow
Factions no longer holding the army together the remaining forces natural dislike or even in some
cases hatred got the better of them and they fell on each other eventually dispersing, some of the
forces returned to their homes in the south east whilst others settled in the mountains, raiding the
nearby human settlements and making the whole area a dangerous place to live.
As the Drow Elves were nearer to Thessonaliki than the Empire it fell on The Duke and his forces to meet the enemy first. It was recalled how the 1ST Crusade had floundered on the narrow tracks of The Dragon Tooth Mountains and so the Duke choose to attempt to use the Drows tactics on themselves, what followed was a series of small battles as the Duke fought to hold back the Emir's forces as they tried to force through The Red Mountains.
Slowly foot after hard fought foot the Dukes forces were forced backwards till eventually they faced being cut of from the valleys of Thessonaliki, so they retreated out of the mountains and deployed to meet the enemy one last time.
Unknown to either force Karl Gustuv had finally arrived in Thessonaliki and even as the Duke's forces were retreating out of the mountains The Imperial forces were hurrying south.
The Battle of the Red Valley, as it became known, was a bloody and brutal affair. On The Northern side of the field were deployed the Dukes forces, footmen armed with pole-arms and longbows with his knights deployed on either sides. The Duke and his bodyguard to the rear.
On the southern side were deployed the Emirs forces, a great mass of Orcs, goblins and hobgoblins deployed in front of the grim faced Drow Elves, with the Drow mounted cavalry, armed with lance and bow on the flanks.
The battle started with the Orcs and goblins racing forward, but they were cut down by the longbows and driven back by the heavy knights of Thessonaliki. Again and again the orcs and goblins were thrown forward every time they were driven back until The Emir judging his moment perfectly launched the elvish host forward. The Duke's archers were spent, having used their arrows against the goblinoid masses. The elvish infantry few at the Duke's infantry whilst the Elvish cavalry kept the knights occupied with charges and feigned retreats, it soon become obvious that the day would be lost unless something spectacular happened. The Duke decided on one last throw of the dice , forming his bodyguard into a tight wedge he led them forward towards the Emirs standard, cutting through the Elvish infantry till they were within a swords length of the Emir, in fact the Duke managed to cross swords with The Emir, but then the Emir’s forces overwhelmed The Duke and his bodyguards. The Duke was dragged from his horse and hacked to pieces by the blood crazed Drows, all was lost and for that moment The Emir was happier than he had ever been.
Then came the trumpets, they seemed to come from every where from in front of his host, then as if in answer from behind. It was Karl Gustuv and his allies, The Dwarves of the Black Mountains in the north, the Silvarian Elves of the woodlands within the Empire and the Imperial army itself.
The Emirs force was trapped between to great hosts, behind and in front of him. Those
Goblinoids that tried to flee where hunted down by the fleet footed riders of The Silvarian Elves.
The Drow Elves formed up in a tight circle and prepared to sell their lives dearly. Karl Gustuv
had different ideas, bringing up his archers he destroyed what was left of the Drows, later The
Emir’s body was located and hung from a tree.
By spring the next year all was ready. The imperial armies headed south across the Red Mountains and into the lands of the Drow. South of the mountains lay the Satrap of Bulgarde, the northern most province of The Drow Empire and it was into this the Imperial armies swept.
The Emir's death had caught the Drow out and they were not ready for an invasion, but even so the armies of the Drow were not completely destroyed, the Satraps still had their own personal armies and it was a collection of these that first attempted to stop The Emperor and his forces.
The Satraps of Bulgarde, Aradia and Central Arandia joined under the overall command of the Satrap of Central Arandia, but neither he or the other two were a match tactically for the Emperor and in a daylong battle their armies were destroyed. Although the immediate danger was averted The Emperor began to see that the Drow Empire for it's true size and the prospect of conquering and holding it may be beyond his resources. Therefore he sent out envoys to the remaining 9 Satraps and the old Emir's son who was trying to claim the Throne of Samarash for himself.
Of the 10 envoys the one sent to Palmenia, the nearest province to were the Imperial armies had
made camp was executed and his head returned separate to the rest of him. The Emperor was
furious and descended on Palmenia in anger, a short battle was fought were the Army of the
Satrap was destroyed and any prisoners executed, on the capital of the satrap, the satrap was
taken prisoner and beheaded and the army was let loose on the capital, 5 days of rape and pillage
ensued with the city being left a smoking ruin. Messages were sent out again to the remaining
Satraps and the Prince, Palmenia was and example others could follow.
The Peace of Macadon With the destruction of Palmenia, the Satraps quickly sued for peace. The Prince was brought in to meet with the Emperor, they met at Macadon, the capital of the Satrap of Maccadiria. The Emperor explained his position, how it would be possible for him to take what he wanted by force, destroying all that opposed his will. He went on to explain that was not what he wanted, what he wanted was peace, his lands free from invasion from the Drow and how if everyone worked together they could all be happy. He informed the Prince that he was prepared to allow the Prince to ascend the throne, but not as Emir but as Regent of Samarash, holding the lands in the name of The Emperor, he could rule them as he felt fit provided he paid The Emperors Tax and agreed to be guided by a council of Lords. This council would consist of 4 Satraps chosen by The Prince and 4 Imperial noblemen chosen by The Emperor, these lords would take over the Satraps of Palmenia, Bulgarde, Aradia and Central Arandia. Finally there would be an Imperial chancellor who would work with the Prince hand in hand at he would be The Duke Of Thessonaliki.
After 4 days of further negotiating, it was agreed. The Peace of Macadon was signed.
After the peace was signed the Duke spent his time between the Regency and his Dukedom. As he could not spend as much time as he wished in his own lands the dukedom grew slowly.
Much of the development was left to the people themselves and soon Guilds began to spring up.
People formed these Guilds with a common interest working together for theirs and the Dukedoms best interests.
Amongst these Guilds was The Guild of Adventures.
There had been an influx of new settlers how spread out through the Dukedom but in many instances they found themselves attacked.
They were attacked by the many groups of Goblinoids that had escaped the Emperors wrath after the battle of the Red Valley.
The bandits that had sprung up in the wilder parts of the Dukedom also attacked them.
Therefore a group of like-minded individuals got together and formed The Guild.
They looked for other brave hearted warriors and adventurers to join them.
Soon they had established a representation in almost every settlement.
The Guild provided shelter and employment for their members as well as giving the locals someone they could turn to in trouble.
The Dukedom today is still much unsettled, although new roads have sprung up most travellers have to use the old tracks made by the local goat herders.
The only safe routes across the mountains are those roads that have been constructed. For although there are tracks and paths through the mountains these are not always safe, for many goblinoids and unruly elements still inhabit the less accessible parts of the Dukedom.
Today there are seven main centres of population.
The Capital, Thessandria, is where the majority of new settlers start their new lives, having battled across the great northern mountains they rest here before heading on to one of the newer towns.
The town of Aridhaia lies in the foothills of the Dragons Teeth Mountains. This is the first town the new settlers reach on entering the Dukedom. Some settlers who felt they had travelled far enough and since then it has slowly grown in size established it.
The town of Komotini is the most eastern of the dukedom’s towns. It is also the newest, becoming established after the completion of a military outpost there.
The town of Nigrita is the second largest settlement. Only the capital has a larger population. It is the second oldest of the towns.
The town of Thelonika is the oldest of the towns. It lies in the foothills of the Red Mountains, not far from the site of the battle of The Red Valley.
The town of Durras is the Dukedoms only port, it lies on the edge of the Adrianati Sea. Some settlers have started to arrive from the Empire via this town but as the sea journey takes longer than the land route it is not that popular.
The port itself has become a thriving centre for trade with The Regency and other southern nations.
The town of Edirane is the last town in the dukedom before the regency, it lies on the southern side of the Red Mountains and was once part of the Regency but became part of the Dukedom with the signing of the peace treaty.