The following year in early spring: King Odokar of the Longbeards, lead a massive army invading the northern provinces of the Rumelian heartlands. His forces included three tribes of the dwarves from the Aphaesias mountains, which was north of Rumelian heartlands: All the tribes of the Goss, which numbered 15 in total, joined him on his campaign; as well as four tribes of Tutonians, which followed him south as allies. A host with a grand total of 22 tribes under one banner, it was one of the largest forces to threaten the Rumelian Empire. If the empire was in its heyday, it would be a tough but manageable fight. However, the Empire was in a state of rapid decline: Its recovery period after the last massive civil war, which has been ongoing for more than a generation, was rudely interrupted by repeated Hussack raids and incursions. In short, decades of martial conflict left the cities of the once legendary empire in a crippled state.
By repeated bitter compromise and factious infighting; the internal state of the empire was divided into three main polities, and led by two separate emperors, and managed by four interior consuls, and five nominal consuls ruled in the outlining territories. The Empire on paper had shrunk to half its size in the last 100 years, with many of its client states declaring a peaceful secession. It was still a behemoth to the other nations; and few would dare trespass against this wounded tiger, let alone invade it. To the shocked surprise of the rulers of Rumelian Empire, such a foe did arrive at the threshold of their lands.
In a command tent at the center of the Longbeard’s war camp the Gossic king led directed his armies. King Odokar stood over a map and finished reading a letter from his brother Arnulf. Arnulf was currently serving as a mercenary general under the magister millitum Aurestes; his brother was acting as a psudo-hostage to ensure that the deal between Odokar and Aurestes, would proceed without issue. Odokar adored his younger brother, and he wouldn’t have mobilized such a large army if it was not for his pleading. Aurestes promised a grant of land in the northern heartlands if he would aid him in deposing the Western Rumelian Caesar Nepitus.
The relationship between Odokar and Aurestes was complicated; they both served as generals under the Great Chief Aquila of the Hussacks. They enjoyed many victories together against the Eastern Cesar Theosius, not including a few profit-filled campaigns into the Rumelian heartlands. While they made a good team and overall, and their relations were friendly, Odokar could not bring himself to like the man. Odokar viewed their situations in a different light; he and his tribe served Aquila because they were subjugated, and the choice was between falling to the sword or swinging a sword in his service. On the other hand, Aurestes was a Rumelian born of a great patrician house. He willingly sold his services to Aquila and gladly sacked and pillaged his own people. The man stunk of self-serving ambition and greed, he was at best a merry-weather friend, and at worst a smiling snake.
When Aquila died a few years ago and the subjugated tribes of the Hussacks gained their independence; Odokar never expected to hear from Aurestes again. In some strange twist of fate, Caesar Nepitus valued Aurestes skills and acumen; and went so far as to hire him and appoint the guy as his magister millitum. It was as a fantastic honor; Aurestes was put directly in charge of all generals in the Western Empire. Then he was mandated to gather a host and quash the seceding client kingdoms in the west; with his experience and connections, it would be work but it was not an impossible task. Aurestes sent Arnulf, to beg Odokars assistance in the same year he was appointed to his new office. Odokar was given a nominal generalship under the magister millitum and granted the resources to hire the surrounding tribes and raise his host.
Nepitus gave Aurestes a title, all the money he could afford to raise an army, time, and resources to wage a campaign in the west; he was rewarded for his trust with a backstab worthy of a bard’s song. To add insult to injury to the poor Caesar: Aurestes proclaimed the start of this incursion as a righteous rebellion against the tyrannically incompetent rule of Nepitus and hired a small army of heralds to proclaim it to all who would hear it; which in a way, is true since the Caesar did personally appoint Aurestes.
Odokars eyes fell on the top of one of the drafted scripts prepared for the heralds in this rebellion: “The blood of the Rumelian people cries out against injustices of this tyrant! We the proud sons of Rumelia; proclaim with virtuous anger that we shall raise arms against this false Caesar. We shall stop, and we will fight to the last man, to depose the rule of this man who has no merit to his name beyond of his corrupt connections. His filthy hands are covered the blood of the innocent, and his terrible visage has slain countless children. Nepitus’s crimes are without end, his depravity knows no bounds, and he will sacrifice the Empire to false idols in order raise up his pride. Join us citizens of the Empire snt together we defeat him today, cast aside terrors of yesterday, and usher in the glorious new hope of tomorrow!”
Odokar knew it was all blatant propagandistic dribble; but it did not matter in the grand scheme of things. He could not help but feel some sympathy toward the soon to fall Caesar. The Longbeard’s King did not hate the empire; granted he did fight against them under the banner of the Great Chief, but it was what the circumstances demanded. Odokar could remember a time in his childhood when one of the many proselytizing priests lived in his tribe, both he and his brother were taught how to read and write by the kindly old priest. The same priest would go on to convert many of the members of his tribe, along with the two brothers; to the religion of Artinian Ever-pureism, which was nominally the same faith as the Church of Rumellia. These religions shared a common body of scriptures and held the same faith that the Ever-pure was the only son of the High Father. Yet they diverged in major doctrinal point on the nature of the Ever-pure: Hundreds of years ago this issue came to a boiling point at a great council, led by the Emperor of a United Rumelian Empire, with the leading priests of the faithful.
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Artinius would brilliantly express his doctrine before the greatest priestly assembly of the Ever-pure faith. His argument was thus: “The Ever-pure was born the Son of the High Father, and therefore he is separate and subordinate to God, he can only be the creature and not the creator; for no child can be born before or at the same time as the parent, just as the day has its yesterday. He was chosen to be the savior, but he is not God himself.” For most it would seem to be a simple and logical outcome, but if the argument was true, the priests concluded that God would be dead, and the faith would be without purpose.
The Assembly debated with Artinius and their reasoning crystalized as thus: "We all hold that the Ever-pure is the Son of the High Father, on this there is no dispute: However, if the Son came from the Father; then in his essence he would contain a part of the Father. If he contains even a crumb of the Father, then with his passing so to would a part of the Father pass. The father is the great sustainer of the world, just as man cannot long live without air and the fish cannot long remain beyond the waters; so too can the world remain without his sustaining light. If a part of the father can pass so to would a part of the world pass, yet the world has not ended nor has it diminished."
The Assembly summated their counterargument to Artinius: The Son containing in part or in whole, the father is thereby eternal; hence the Son is eternal just as the Father is eternal. Conversely, if we assume the Son is a creature, as you have; then it would be natural to conclude that like all creatures that exist, they are finite and suffer death. Logically, if the High Father cannot die but the Ever-pure can die then he has nothing of God in him, because God cannot die; then he would not be the Son, for all sons exist in the similitude of their fathers, and our faith would be nothing but vanity, his resurrection and ascension would also be nothing but vanity. Our faith would be a blasphemy against God and all miracles that have followed the Adherents would be a nullity. Just as the scrolls have written: "You shall have no other gods but me."; if we follow your logic, it would be simple to conclude blasphemy!
The Assembly and Artinius debated these points fruitlessly for days; and without a definite conclusion: The only choice in the end, was to cast out Artinius and his doctrine, from the family of the faithful and declare him and his followers as Heretics. They would be denied communion and the community of the faithful; until they would renounce their erroneous doctrine and the practices of their heretical religion. For the followers of Artinius this meant that they would need to create their own communities; they left the boarders of the Rumelian Empire and preached amongst the pagans and heathens. They would find great success amongst both the enemy nations of the Empire and its allied client states; tribes like Odokar’s became the faithful converts and inheritors of both Artinius’s doctrine, and his follower’s grudge against the Church of Rumelia.
The King of the Longbeard’s moment of remembrance was interrupted by a report from one of his thanes. My King, we have successfully captured the cities of Ardia and Verdona: We also have sightings of Legio XXX Ulpari Victrix, they are mustering in and around the city of Corvinna. Odokar’s fists clenched as he made his declaration: “If the Victrix is in Corvinna, then the Caesar cannot be far. That legion is currently assigned directly under him, and I can’t imagine that he would depart from one of the legions loyal to him; in that case, this short war will be over when we crush those forces. Muster the nearby tribes, we will march on the city within the week.
A tortuous week would pass and Caesar Nepitus would look over the walls of the City of Corvinna, and at a massive horde comprised of Gossic, Tutonian, and Dwarvish warriors. Nepitus could be described in a few words; He was gregarious, diplomatic, dedicated, patriotic, and dutiful: However, no one would impute that he was particularly brave or valorous. It was unfortunate, if he possessed a rare heroism or hidden mettle, perhaps he would find away to turn the situation around. Yet, as he looked on the enemy army he could not figure out a way to win in a battle of four against one. He was able to muster 8000 troops, but he could see at a glace that Aurestes forces were at least quadruple the numbers of his own. Nepitus had only reigned as Caesar for nearly two years; it was because of a bold march with his personal army into city of Remilia, that he attained his rightful position as Caesar. It was his hope that if he made a bold decisive movement, he could repeat past victory and bluff the enemy into surrender or escape; thereby winning the day with minimal bloodshed, he was sadly mistaken. In hindsight it was a fool's gambit; to think that the barbarian hordes could be bluffed in the same way as Rumelians.
Nepitus scanned the army for its generals and his eyes fell on Odokar. The two men were a picture of contrasts: Odokar was bulky, broad shouldered, his aged body covered in scars, his beard was suitably long, and had the various signs of a man who lived on the road; Nepitus was fair, lean, carried a warm countenance, clean shaven, and led a comfortable life. However, the Longbeard King did respect the youthful Caesar, he came to this losing battle and he hasn’t fled yet, it shows that he has some bravery. Odokar only hoped that Nepitus would at least give him an interesting fight.