Thoughts on the Traladaran campaign of AC 900
by LoZompatore.I collected some info from many modules which give some interesting details about the Thyatian invasion of Traladara (Karameikos) in AC900.
From DotE we know that the invasion was planned by Emperor Gabrionus IV who was in search for some easy conquests. The conquest of the main settlements seems to be accomplished by AC 901. From DDA1 (describing a chapel built inside Senator Helenites Osteropolous estate in Thyatis) we read:
The chapel was built by Flavian, grandson of Eusebius and grandfather of Helenites, in AC 901. He built it to honour Vanya for his safety and success in the campaigns of conquest led by Emperor Gabrionus IV against the Traladarans... Its construction was financed by spoils of the war. Flavian was undoubtedly the Osteropolous most accomplished in the martial arts, as well as, the most pious. He seems to have been surprisingly honest in his political activities, as well.
The Osteropolous family was very wealthy and influent already in AC 900 (their estate on the Capitol Hill was built around AC 750), so we may think that Flavian Osteropolous got some important role in the conquest: likely he was a general (or the general of the campaign) or an important officer.
From a secondary module, the Combat shield and mini adventure it is also known the name of the original Duke of Traladara (it seems that the land was annexed to the Thyatian Empire as a Duchy shortly after the conquest):
The expedition was undertaken 100 years ago by Colonel Rosentos. The colonel led a troop of 200 soldiers, most of whom were on foot. Duke Stefan the Hermit ordered Rosentos and his troop to explore and claim the lands to the west. At that time, the duke's lands were very new.
This module, in my opinion is quite interesting, because it reports a long diary log written by Fondulus, a captain of Rosentos' troop describing the expedition and how it incurred in heavy losses searching for a lost treasure in the swamp bordering the Five Shires. At last the expeditionary party dispersed and nothing more was heard of them, except for some scattered survivors.
A couple of interesting passages:
The colonel sent back periodic reports of the expedition's progress. After Rosentos reached the small village of Luln, however, the reports stopped. No more was ever heard from the expedition. Rumours speculate that Rosentos found a fabulous treasure and, preferring not to give out shares to his men, betrayed them to an evil sorcerer. The rumour has never been proven true.
If the current duke learns of plans to find the fabled treasure, he sends ducal collectors to accompany the party so that a proper share of the treasure may be taken for the duke's treasury.
Finally, the captains spoke to Rosentos. "We marvel at the generosity of this chief. Surely you, in your talks with him, have learned the source of his treasure. Share this with us, and we will swear to give you the General's share, as well as make you the duke's treasurer so that you might collect his share."
The General mentioned above might be Flavian Osteropolous.
Another interesting info about Rosentos' expedition comes from the names of his captains (I suppose that every name mentioned in Fondulus log belong to captains under Rosentos command, because when Fondulus reports the death of common soldiers he does not care to mention their names):
- Fondulus
- Espsisios
- Melkos
- Turim Fellbeard (possibly a dwarf)
- Hadric the Lame
- Grisbaldos
- Kerid Bey the seer
- Juchmora
(I add to this list someone Carmelita, grand daughter of a Rosentos soldier left behind, who live in a village in the swamp as of AC 1000)
Some of them seem to be of M-Spanish derivation, so it's likely that the troop was made also from Ispan soldiers. Considering that some of them apparently married and had children with the local people, maybe nowadays there is a small Ispan-descended population in western Karameikos.
Notice that AC 900-902 is also the period of the great Ispan migration from Thyatis to the Savage Coast: I was wondering if the Ispan (and other people from Yavdlom, Thyatis, Ylaruam) migration was caused by the info collected during the Traladaran campaign, where the conquerors might have known about the early Traladaran migration to the Gulf of Hule.
I was also wondering if religious intolerance had a role in this migration: from K:KoA and GAZ1 we know that the original temples in Marilenev were demolished by the Thyatian conquerors and substituted with their own: it seems to me quite a strange behaviour for such a cosmopolitan empire. Maybe the beginning of the X century was a period of religious unrest in Thyatis, who knows.
Said so, a couple of more interesting info about the military campaign to Traladara:
From K:KoA it is known another military commander of the time: Jan Vandevic, the founder of the Vandevicsny settlement:
The Vandevics won their land 100 years ago, during the Thyatian invasion. Gustav's great-grandfather Jan Vandevic led a band of mercenaries in the service of the Thyatians, and he was rewarded with a fief.
From PWAI (1 Nuwmont entry for Karameikos: "Start of the fifth year of rule") it seems that Marilenev was ruled by Radu's family around the time of the Thyatian conquest. Here we read a sentence about AC 873 being the 15th year of rule of Radu, where for the "year of rule" is intended the government of Marilenev settlement.