This is
THE ILSAMIREN WARS
an original fantasy concept in development for Medieval II:Total War and the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
GENERAL INFORMATION
The mod is not based on any film, book or period in our history. The setting, factions and religions are entirely original. All designs, though influenced by real life equivalents are also original. The concept for this mod came to me after years of toying with a fantasy concept, originally I was planning on writing three novels, but that did not eventuate. I have developed religions, cultures and even the beginnings of two languages relating to this concept and I suddenly realised that a mod was the way to make it public.
BACKGROUND
The world of Cleru Denaurath is generally peaceful, but for the occasional raid on the Ilsamiri by their neighbours of the Northern Kingdom and the Seaborne. These raids have of late become increasingly regular and organised, a poor omen. The Ocean Tribes conduct their civilisation quietly among the Islands of the Dividing Sea and the Southern and Western Kingdoms carry out their trade and agriculture under stable rules, but they too are increasingly threatened, largely because of their close relationship with the Ilsamiri. In the far south, in the great Forest of Light, Clauthnor, the warlords stir.
On the Eastern Continent, the Mekathenain civilisation is preparing a mass exodus. They have been driven to abandon their once fertile land by the encroachment of the desert from the centre of the continent. Rain has not fallen on their farms for almost 100 years, and so they have constructed a mighty fleet of ships and assembled a vast force for the colonisation of as yet undiscovered lands.
Note: Some of the terms e,g. the Malice, are the closest possible translations from the Ilsamiren terms. For example, the people of the Northern Kingdom do not worship what the Ilsamiri call the Malice, they worship the Lechan, the True God.
TIME FRAME
As the mod is in a fantasy setting the timeframe is not particularly important. The period of conflict which the mod is concerned with begins in the 7,032nd year After the Fall. The mod ends about 8 years or so after that date with a world changing cataclysm. The length of turns will be perhaps only a day or a week or a month - this will be considered.
THE WORLD
The world of the Ilsamiren Wars is entirely fictional. I will be posting a map shortly indicating the positions of settlements, province borders etc. The world consists of two continents, one in the East, one in the West, separated by a wide ocean. Throughout the ocean are scattered various islands. The Western Continent is divided among five factions and the Eastern has only one – though there are very few provinces here and all are coastal. The islands in the ocean are divided among two factions, the Seaborne in the North and West and the Ocean Tribes in the South and East. The Eastern Continent is almost entirely desert, the Western is largely Green. As you can see there is a large forest in the South of the Western Continent and a mountain range separates the Northern Kingdom from the Ilsamir lands.
THE KINGDOMS AND PEOPLES
The Ilsamiri
People of the fallen Iraneth realm of old, you are bringers of learning, wielders of swords, bearers of shields, shapers of metal, hewers of stone, creators, holders, champions of this Empire.
- from the Call of the King, spoken to all soldiers upon their deployment and first heard upon the Haven Beach in 653 DH ([or] Dari Huler – after [the] fall).
The Sky City, Iraneth, fell, or so say the Ilsamiri, after an assault by the evil spirit of their religion, the Malice. They are the followers of the Weaver, Denaur. Their language is rich and expressive and their script is complex and subtle. They favour plate and mail and blades, and the metal for these things they gather in the mines of the Arkiri Vimer (Northern Mountains).
The Morchanin
What good will it do you to kill me, king, it will only redouble the wrath of my kin.
- the last words of the Instigator, Kudelir, before he was slain by the King Ilregin I. He was seemingly the sole driving force of the Morchanin Mutiny of 1123 DH.
The Morchanin dwelt upon the southern banks of the River Darineth for a long while before the Ilsamiri came to this world. They have become a key element of Ilsamir society, despite their transgressions of the 12th century. They are specialists in guerilla warfare and take much pride in their skill with the distinctive blades and blow-pipes they wield.
The Seaborne
Do not kill them! Take them! And unharmed if you can!
- a snatch of speech from a Seaborne captain recounted by a survivor of a raid.
The People of the Jauchal, Dragon, bear no ill will to the Ilsamiri, but their chief concern, labour, is enough to make them an enemy of the Ilsamiri and their southern allies. They come swiftly in ships both rowed and sailed, take what they can and flee to their mysterious, indefinite home. Equipment recovered from what small engagements have been fought suggests an island existence, though this has not been verified.
The Mekathenain
Bezhir! Begwa’az asin vau la yohim!
- the first words of Mekathenic spoken on the Western Continent, overheard by a Morchanin scout.
Hailing, some say, from a great eastern land the Mekathenain landed upon the southern coast of the Western Continent late in the year 2019 DH. They wear armour of great richness and complexity wrought of bronze and brass interlaced with silk and under this they wear fine silk garments. They brought no beasts with them but came with many ships, almost beyond counting.
The Northern Kingdom
…but know that the Lechan watches you with kindness in all your duties and worthy tasks and that he is all-knowing of your ordeals. This day is no different. He watches and sees and perceives. Fear not! Your d… [Final word missing, see note]
- from Elhea’s Book, date unknown, context unknown; book damaged, surrounding text illegible. Last readable letter is an Ilsamiren “D”.
The people of the Lechan, the True God, Fedh, the Malice, to his enemies, dwell on the Northern Planes and upon the foot-hills of the great mountain ranges. Their capital is Lechanis, City of the True God. They are the bitterest enemies of the Ilsamiri from whom they violently diverged in a religion-fuelled war. What strange beasts dwell beyond the Three Ranges can only be guessed at, but they are sure to be terrible and obscene.
The Southern Kingdom
Strong were our founders but we have gone beyond them, standing for ourselves upon this hard isle, keeping our own but ever fair and generous to our friends. Our Isle is what you defend, and the keep upon its high Hill. Stand now, shield-to-shield and imperishable as the stars and defend what we have made for ourselves.
- from Auldir’s Prayer, first spoken in 1672 LI ([orn ga] Lian Indulath – [in the] Year of the Isle) to the Shields of the Isle as they awaited the foe.
The Southern Port was founded in the Ilsamir year 352 DH partly as a response to increasing bandit activity on the southern borders but largely because of the perfection of what would become the Port Isle (orn Indul Glatir) as a defensive point in their ever-expanding realm. Shortly after the founding and construction of the city the Ilsamiri passed control of their southern lands to a council of merchants who would rule jointly as Kings. The Arkiri Eltarise (Setting Mountains) to the west of the Bay were, like their northern counter-parts, rich in ores and so the warriors of this Southern Kingdom developed a military style unique in the world for its patience.
The Western Kingdom
Lay down scythe and sickle, rest you ploughmen and your beasts, gaze upon the sun, upon the sheafs of wheat. Ended is the harvest, warm the fire, cool the river, dark the forest, plaintive the wolf’s cry.
- from an untitled and unattributable hymn sung across the Kingdom at the completion of the harvest.
The wealth of the Western Kingdom, a client of the Ilsamiri, lies in its abundant wheat fields and wide pastures which are perfect for raising fine horses. The King of the Cehu Cirume’ath, the People of the Sun, has his court upon the Glemir Darinethas and from here oversees all agricultural activity from the Ilsamir border to the west coast and from the Three Ranges to the northern Setting Mountains. The rich among them build structures of wood but the chief technique used among the common citizens is wattle and daub, though none finer is to be seen on the continent. Cavalry is the force for which this Kingdom is famous, but the bulk of their army is made up of strictly trained peasant volunteers.
The Ocean Tribes
Foinlhue o etia, foinlhue hch itlie.
- approximated transcription of an undeciphered Oceanic saying, heard from hiding by a trader of the Southern Kingdom.
The Ocean Tribes are an enigma. Said to undertake vile religious rites in worship of a dark god they are still but a rumour of fear in the south-east of the Dividing Sea.
War is upon the Ilsamiri...
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