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A TALE OF BLOOD AND BLACKSTONE 495 E.S. - 515 E.S. An artist’s rendition of Castle Morteskvan from a crow’s eye. Issued by the DUKE OF VIDAUS, VIKTOR III On the 15th day of Msitza ag Dargund of 522 E.S. Morteskvan stands tall and proud as the northern shield of Hanseti-Ruska, the mighty seat of the ducal House Ruthern. A testament to the centuries-long duty of their bloodline to safeguard the mountainous passes of the realm, the Dukes of Vidaus envisioned a fortress to withstand any test, trial, or tribulation. With its high, strong walls and towering spires, it acts as the kingdom's first line of defence in the North. Garrisoned by the house’s own Black Company, it ensures able-bodied soldiers are provided the necessary provisions and weaponry to stand against both skirmish and siege. The long history of its founding and the site upon which it reclaimed follows shortly. Originally dreamt up by the Baron Viktor and with its origins beginning under the rule of Duke Aleksandr, this massive and ambitious construction has spanned the reigns of two dukes and has lasted through the trials of wartime, famine, and personal familial loss. Despite all, Morteskvan is a testament to the force of will possessed by its creators, who foresaw a monument to last for generations to come. Here follows a historical account of the timeline of its conception and creation. TIMELINE | The origin of Morteskvan and the Aevosian settlement of Vidaus begins in the aftermath of the Fall of Karosgrad, and the ruination of the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska’s Almarisian lands by the Mori’quessir threat in the year Ehr Sigmunda 478. The threat had been contained in large part by the Kingdom, and throughout the years as foreign realms fell one by one into exile, the Kingdom had stood strong with volunteer forces trekking across the continent in the defence of other nations, and even achieved temporary successes in driving out the conquering threat from beneath the earth of Haense itself, such as the brutal reconquest of an old fortification that had once belonged to the family of the Bishops, and before them, Amador. The Black Company stood present through many if not all battles of this period, under orders of the Duke, and often led by either the heir or their foremost captain. Eventually, the fall of Karosgrad came, violent and sudden, and the fall of the Highlander Realm’s capital came as a lethal blow to the stability and security of its’ vassals, who were forced to abandon their own unfavourable positions in surrounding holdings. The abandonment of Vidaus, and vacation of the Castle Drusztra came as painful blows to the House Ruthern. The Ducal House under the leadership of the then-ill Duke Aleksandr, his wife the Crown Princess of the time Analiesa, and his heir Viktor, Baron of Rostig, lead their kin in the joined exodus south to the ruins of Old Savoy, where stood the final bastion of the Descendents upon Almaris, defended fiercely by foreign volunteers from across the seas known as the Brotherhood of Brev. Where all else across the continent the sky had cracked and turned to darkness, those ruins presented the few remaining rays of the Sun’s light. The exodus continued hence from there into abandoned tunnels that stretched far and across beneath the aforementioned southern seas, and so began a long and arduous trek through the dark of the underground. Where once the Mori’quessir had claimed dominion of the underworld, the Descendents now were forced to take their place temporarily. Haense, and the House Ruthern, trekked for a number of years with God’s guidance to a new land and a new sky. In the year Ehr Sigmunda 480, with Godan’s divine providence to guide him, then King Georg I laid the first cornerstone of the new Royal capital of Valdev upon the new continent of Aevos. The following development of the citadel of Valdev to the city was a rapid one, the Haeseni man being productive and well-suited to frontier life, and the land around the rivers so named the Dules and Lahy for the ancient Ruskan rivers of old were tilled and put to crop to support the populace of Hanseti-Ruska. Said population had grown following the return to the above world from the Almaris, and it was not long afore the colonial period of Haense had come to full-swing. During these times, the Baron of Rostig cut his teeth exploring and scouting the general surrounding lands of the capital under the Royal Commission for the Exploring and Chartering of Aevos, under the leadership of the then-Friar Iosef, who in later years would gain prominence for his ascension to Patriarch of Jorenus, and Lord Palatine of the realm. In the months following these initial expeditions, House Ruthern began preparations to scout for a suitable location at which Vidaus might be staked and their claim laid to the land and natural resources of the new continent. Whilst other Houses elected to settle in the more temperate river lands about the south-flowing Dules, House Ruthern’s expeditions opted to follow the river to its’ source at the Northern great lake, an immense body of freshwater that was, and is, undoubtedly the greatest reservoir upon the entire continent discovered as yet. It was named Lake Georg, in honour of the King. Georg I, King of Hanseti & Ruska 458 E.S. - 482 E.S. Reigned during the initial planning and building of Morteskvan. The Duke Aleksandr, Patriarch of the House, took to supplying great funding to additional expeditions of the North under the command of his son, as their first expedition into the snowy north had discovered traces of black ore on the north-eastern mountains named the Greater Kareninas that loomed far in the distance above the Royal City of Valdev. Following initial and rudimentary prospecting of the first expedition, reports were brought back to the city of potentially immense veins of mineral wealth to be held in the mountains. Such a resource, the Duke considered, would bring great wealth to the family and ensure its prosperity on the new continent, and so further expeditions under the command of his Eldest son were commissioned at the Duke’s own expense. Aleksandr II, Duke of Vidaus 446 E.S. - 489 E.S. Patriarch of House Ruthern, who ruled over Druzstra and first envisioned Ruthern rule in the north. 485 | This discovery, and the excitement that came to accompany the intrepid explorers, was soured by further discoveries in the mountains. Initial interest came with the discovery of old, blackened ruins in the mountains, that seemingly intensified in concentration the further that one trekked through the treacherous conditions, with populated settlements far to the North upon peaks that overlooked the great lake, and with further concentrated settlements found upon the southern ravine that gouged the south-western flanks of the Barrowmount, named by the Ruthern explorers of the time. Darkspawn, it seemed, infested these mountains, and posed a great threat to the future safety of the realm, and to the personal plans of House Ruthern for the north. The terrain leading to these ruined settlements, and the Mountains, later named the Artzov Ridge, were mapped in great detail. They were charted as accurately as the men could manage with the wintry conditions that claimed many lives. This loss of life only grew as supplies grew shorter, and bouts of small-scale combat with the darkspawn natives of the land, and eventually this Second expedition was forced to retreat south for the intensification of the winter season that had befallen Hanseti-Ruska, to lick their wounds and prepare. 486 | In the following year, preparations for a new punitive expedition were made, though stretching over their expected time and into the next year after that with considerably mounted costs. When this Third Expedition finally made north to trek into the mountains, properly armed and prepared, they took to spreading much violence and bloodshed in the initial darkspawn settlements that they came upon, torching all that they came upon and reducing the evil of the lands to ruins and pyres. Such began the period of purification in the Artzov Ridge. The 3rd Expedition continued its northwards march, utilising the carefully prepared and scouted maps that it had procured years prior to make way relatively safely through passes and along mountainside cliffs, whereupon eventually they came to the great and old Blackstone ruins that served as the primary and main settlement of the assorted witches and Ibleesian ill-folk that had long perpetrated their evils under the covering veil of the mountain snows and icy updrafts. The fighting is violent and terrible, and much damage is done to further reduce the old ruins to further ruin. In the aftermath of the battle, it is noted that the numbers slain and eradicated seemed lesser than one might have expected from those encountered on the march there. Viktor var Ruthern, Baron of Rostig, Later Viktor III, Duke of Vidaus 489 E.S. - 522 E.S. Patriarch of House Ruthern upon Aevos, who oversaw Morteskvan from beginning to end. 487 | Following the cease of bloodshed seemingly for the time being, a sizeable detachment of expeditionaries and Black Company retinue-men are left in the north to prepare a rudimentary mining operation, and the first shipments of daemonsteel ore are received in Valdev in the following year; they are mined from surface veins upon the Mount, at the time, and then taken down the mountain at great effort and great cost of human life, where they would then take the final leg of their journey south upon great barges hewn from the northern pines. The beginning of this operation, and its seeming initial success, achieves two things. First among these is the securing of the nation’s vital supply of the valuable and heavy-duty metal, which would later serve as the ore from which many of Hanseti-Ruska’s Brotherhood detachments were equipped in the Covenant War of later years. The secondary effect was that such mines, under the purview of House Ruthern and their Black Company Trading greatly alleviated the economic pressures of their expensive northern expeditions, and allowed a surplus that permitted the later conception and construction of the Castle Morteskvan. 489 | In the year Ehr Sigmunda 489, Viktor assumed the Ducal seat as Duke of Vidaus. At the time, he is known to be the Third, or the Second-born, or most commonly said beneath hushed breaths, the Kinslayer, for he assumed rule of the family through the killing of his own father the Late Aleksandr in a private dispute. In the following year, he is driven to slay one of his uncles additionally in a duel; the Mad Dog of Druzstra, Kazimir, is sent to the Skies by his nephew, and the new Duke of Vidaus spends much time securing his rule over the family and his own lineage. Work upon the Vidausi hinterlands, his future feudal landings, and the planning of the Morteskvan bastion, languished as a result. 495 | In the year Ehr Sigmunda 495, a visionary architect named Wylein Alpyne is recruited for the purposes of finally constructing the bastion and seat from which the Dukes of Vidaus would rule their lands from; this grand castle project became a shared passion of he and the Duke both. At the time that he was taken on board for such a project, he is quoted to have taken on such a job on the condition that he would have relatively free reign to build the most impressive castle that Aevos had yet seen. This was the beginning of a long, arduous process that stretched over many years, and many thousands of hours of man-labour. Wylein Alpyne, Head Architect, Mastermind behind the creation of Morteskvan, and later Siegemaster of the Covenant The initial land clearing in preparation for further building and colonisation comes after a lengthy period of planning and blue-print drawing. A site is chosen upon which the main keep may be built, and the rest is designed further with such in mind. The initial clearing of the land and preparation for construction is a difficult task, fraught with much danger, and the progress upon the taming of the northern wilds that would become Vidaus sees progress brought in blood with every step. The gates that would come to serve as the first point of defence of the Ducal lands are finally repaired and made operational once more in the year Ehr Sigmunda 497, and the bridge to the plateau upon which the great blackstone ruins resided is completed and repaired in two parts; the first half is completed prior to the Mummer’s Gate coming into operation, and the second half much more perilously in the later months of the year with pressure from the Duke to speed up the proceedings. Such pressure for the progress to increase may have come as a result of the Duke Ruthern’s office as Lord Emissary, which made him privy to much of the political machinations occuring in the east in the Midlands and Heartlands. Progress upon the castle continues, despite the looming spectre of war, and the still perilous conditions in the northern mounts. The first cornerstone is laid for the great watch-tower, and the walls begin to be erected along the outside edges of the great plateau; these new structures are constructed of quarried stone from the Haeseni lowlands, and so is only transported up to the beginnings of Morteskvan with great effort and at great expense. Were it not for the profits that the intensifying Daemonsteel mining operation yielded, even such a process may have proven too frivolous for the Ducal coffers to support. With the completion of the first tower in the year Ehr Sigmunda 499 and its’ own gates becoming operational, so named the Gallows Gate, Castle Morteskvan is officially considered to have been founded in this time period, and the House Ruthern begins to utilise this structure as a home away from their stifling manor in the capital, putting efforts to increasing the comfort and safety of the building now that the noble house resided there. Progress intensifies in the period following the year Ehr Sigmunda 500, wherein the three baileys of the bastion are completed, alongside the walls that so encircled them all, and the cornerstone for the Keep itself is laid. In the years following this, stone-works intensify and greater and greater quantities of southern limestone are taken north to complete the outer shell of the Keep, and the accompanying load-bearing supports for such a grand construction. Many workers died during this period, as work conditions were hazardous, and fatal falls from the cliffs which surrounded the Castle claimed many lives. The lack of concern for safety comes alongside the concern of potential Veletzian assaults passing through the northern mountains while there still stood no war-worthy fortifications, though these workers are paid handsomely in turn for the mortal peril. 505 | Fears of war are not unfounded, as conflict breaks out between the newly formed Covenant of Five (later joined by Norland and Numendil) and the Captaincy-General of Veletz and its ally the Iron Horde. Such hostilities slow the progress of the building of Morteskvan, and further disaster strikes when in the year 506 the bridge that served as the sole safe path into Morteskvan collapses violently from the increased foot traffic; old blackstone bricks and cobbles crumble to dust, and many are crushed, including a number of the Black Company itself whom had been deployed to protect workers during war-time construction. Repairs of the bridge are immediately taken underway, and under the command of architect Wylein, the bridge is made once more usable through recycling of old stone from the ruins and great pine beams brought north from the Karoswood to shore up the supports. This collapse comes to be considered an omen by workers under Ruthern employ, however, and progress slows to a crawl as a result of many labourers not trusting such repairs to hold up under intense use. 508 | In the period after the bridge’s collapse, and with the war taking the primary focus of House Ruthern, Morteskvan makes no progress, and its wealth is dedicated to supporting the war effort. The Duke of Vidaus comes to be known as Daemonsteel for his constant presence in the foundries and smithies of the capital and his direct involvement in the equipping and quartermastery of much of the Brotherhood and its auxiliary detachments. There is a crushing defeat at Westmark which marks the most severe blow of the war effort, and the House is forced to lick its wounds alongside its Sovereign state Haense and the greater alliance. 511 | Come the absolute victory at Hippo’s Gorge, however, the spirits of all those fighting are rekindled, and there is much wealth to be had in the collection of war loot in the immediate times after that fierce cavalry battle upon Balian’s coasts. The Duke of Vidaus is known to have remarked his thanks at the time to the Veletzian foe and their Stassionite and Orcish allies for their great contributions to the wealth of House Ruthern and the financing of the House’s great work. In the following years, using the aforementioned finances secured from war profits, the construction of the Castle proceeds smoothly and without much incident; and with little death, to suit, which is viewed as a favourable sign by the workmen under Ruthern employ which serves to redouble the speed at which work proceeds. Whilst this progress continues, the Duke ‘Daemonsteel’ and the chief architect Wylein Alpyne, who finds new fame as the head siege architect of the war, dedicate their efforts primarily to the preparation and support of the Northern Thunder banner. Wylein Alpyne is responsible for many of the successful, and occasionally bizarre siege camps of the Covenant that led to their victory at many a siege, with the mountain-side fortress opposing Drusco serving as one of the man’s crowning achievements. 515 | Finally, in the year Ehr Sigmunda 515, the Castle Morteskvan is declared complete, much to the relief and pleasure of the Duke and his kinsmen. Celebrations ensue amongst family and newly settled denizens of the ducal lands, headed by the Duke’s own grandchildren. Born from his departed daughter and heir Mikhaila, this was a fitting end, for the past and future of the house to come together in prideful commemoration of this glorious monument. DRUZ GJERNZ AG GRYVNZ, His Grace, Viktor var Ruthern, ‘Daemonsteel’, Duke of Vidaus, Count of Metterden, Viscount of Greyspine, Baron of Rostig, Lord of Morteskvan, Lord of Barrows, Patriarch of All-Ruthern and Protector of the South. Her Ladyship, Tatiyana Josefina vas Ruthern Her Ladyship, Milena Anastasya vas Ruthern OOC thanks below to those the castle couldn't have been done without.