Family History

Mr. Aranved

Lived in Era 40 and got 1 heir(s) (Aranved).
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Mr. Aranved

Lived in Era 41 and got 1 heir(s) (Aranved).
The beggining

And so it came to pass that Aranved decided to fight for his place in the world of Fantasia, just like his ancestor by the same name. Aranved was the leader of a small village and it's people, who named the village after their leader. Now it was up to him to lead the people of Vedonea, be it to greatness or to ruin. One or the other, they were his to command.



Rise and fall

Soon Vedonea had grown into a beautifull city, and already sister towns had been founded in the western valley when the northern kingdom of "JUICY" sent men into Vedonean lands. First reactions were tense, but soon the invaders agreed to a honorable truce. Untill a commander from the kingdom came from the west with an unrelenting and merciless attack. Soon two cities fell to the onslought and a third was besieged. It would not be long untill they reached Vedonea itself. A few days later Vedonea was besieged. However, the advancing troops underestimated Aranved and his people's resolve. Soon two armies were defeated on the field of battle with few losses and a third mighty siege was lifted, retreating to Hillshire, the last standing Vedonean settlement, to finish the job that the first army seemed unable to do. Vedonea was free and still standing... at least for a few days...



Diplomacy fails

After a few days of relative peace Aranved tried to negotiate with the kingdom of JUICY. The first attempts at diplomacy were for naught, but still he had to try. The answer from his attacker was obviously negative. But after a few days a messege was sent asking for Aranved to give up. His boisterous attacker, for all his arrogance stating that there was no survival for Vedonea, now seemed to be annoyed by Aranved's presence. Well he would not get an easy mark or a quitter. Soon Vedonea's defences were bolstered even further and the city prepared for a siege...

Soon after Lady Sexier Thank Quietone's troops advanced Aranved tryed to negociate with JUICY's leader, Commander Aligreat. And though the man was honorable and just he could not accept Aranved's bid for peace. But he did give Aranved a choice: to leave with his people to the far lands of the east. A decision to consider...



No exile for Vedonea

After some days of pondering Aranved accepted Commander Aligreat's proposal. Scouts were sent ahead and soon they would look for a suitable place to found a new city. However, once the scouts were close to the border castle of JUICY an assault from the east, by the kingdom of Insane Asylum, was sent to try to gain a foothold on Fantasia. Before they knew what was going on the poor few men sent from Vedonea were ambushed and killed by patrols from the kingdom of JUICY and a messege sent by Commander Aligreat warning that he could not hold his commanders from attacking Vedonea since in this critical time having an untagged lord within their borders was just too risky. And so Vedonea once again braced for a siege.



The Siege of Vedonea

A few days after the beggining of the eastern invasion, Mr. Draiken, an elf commander from JUICY, sent an army 10000 strong to besiege Vedonea. However, the city was well prepared for a siege and would hold. Now there was nothing that Aranved could do but prepare the defenses and hold his ground...

After twenty or so days of siege the defenses had not failed. Finally, after seing that the city could not be taken, Mr. Draiken withdrew his army and left, probably to aid the defenses against the invasion from the east. Vedonea had endured... for now...



Hope for the future

Some time after the siege was lifted Aranved recieved a messenger from Lady Sexier Than Quietone of JUICY. The messenger stated that the time for Aranved and his people to move east was up. Aranved was surprised. Had they not known that the deal was off? Or was there misinformation? Aranved asked the messenger to question his lord and see what they could decide upon. Eventually, negotiations for a truce were reopened as Lady Sexier Than Quietone had enemies to the west and could not afford any distrations. Vedonea was now well fortified and garrisoned. A battle to take or raze the great city would certainly drain all but the strongest army. And so Aranved sent scouts to see if he could settle elsewhere. And he fortified his position. Maybe he could help out his one time foes. Maybe he could prove that he wanted nothing more than peace for his people. Time would tell... now invaders were also comming from the south...

Eventually the western scouts stood on a region seemingly free of JUICY presence. There they built a small town to erect watch towers and survey the land. The town was named New Vedonea, in honor of the resillient city. However this was frowned upon by Lady Sexier Than Quietone, with whom was agreed that no more cities would be settled. It was also stated that the area around New Vedonea belonged to JUICY aswell. Serving no purpose, the small town was scrapped and abandoned, and the scouts resumed their mission. Later Lady Quietone of JUICY took over the ruins, proving the point that the area indeed belonged to JUICY.

Meenwhile, Vedonea still stood. The city had grown to become a proud beacon of hope for it's people. For now, Aranved and his people had peace.



Not so hard decisions

It was a fatefull sunny day when something happened that could very much decide the future of Aranved's people. A messenger grom JUICY arrived at the city gates asking for an audience. He came into the lord's chamber and offered a parchment with a messege. There it was written that Vedonea would be left alone and it's people free for as long as the war with the Dorian Empire lasted if only Aranved would help in the fight to defend JUICY lands should the need arise. Just like that, peace and freedom for his people, even if only for a few months and with the prospect of other fights, was there right before Aranved. He need only accept an alliance with those that once would have destroyed him. However, though it would seem otherwise, the Lords of JUICY that once could have besieged Vedonea in a blink of the eye had grown to become respected friends of Vedonea recently. The peace talks with Lady Sexier Than Quietone were going well and, though ruthless once, Aranved had understood the reason. And the leader of JUICY, Commander Aligreat, had left an impression of honor and greatness in Aranved's thoughts. Ofcourse there were others who were not well seen, but every kingdom has it's darker side. And then there was the prospect of peace, even lasting peace, who knew, for his people. Aranved's choices were simple. Either accept, help his newfound friends defend their lands if needed, and maybe win respect and freedom for his people, or decline and dig in, to eventually have to fight once again at the gates of Vedonea, and probably see his people be slaughtered in the burning streets of their homeland. Was there really a choice?



Preparations for war

Though Vedonea was but a single city, it had stood for a long time, and almost always against overwhelming odds. That was probably one of the reasons Lady Sexier Than Quietone had asked for help. Aranved knew how to dig in and defend. And so, once the decision to help the Kingdom of JUICY was taken, Vedonea sent settlers and troops to a valley north of Fallout, a city guarding the pass from the south. Once the settlers arrived they started preparations for the arrival of the garrison that would guard the pass. Once there, fortifications were built and after all was prepared, they waited. The new keep was named Eastwall Keep, for it was east of the capital and it would proudly guard the pass should it ever be needed. That day could never come, but Aranved had given his word. Should the day ever arrive, the brave Vedonean souls would guard the pass with their lives. Not only for honoring their word to JUICY, but because they were Vedoneans. Should any army besiege them, they would hold out. As long as their spirits held, siege weapons or magic could destroy their walls, but not them or their will. Untill that day, when the call to war sounded, Eastwall Keep stood proudly in the valley, Vedonean flags waving proudly.

In the meantime, Aranved recieved word of some members of JUICY praising him for they heard tales of the acomplishments of his people. And he grew fonder of them, proud kingdom that they were. Maybe they could all still be friends and Vedonea would stand for even more that any would give her credit...



Invasion

An uneasy peace had settled, however it would not last more than a month. A large invasion by the Dorian Empire comming from the south crossed over to the lands of Fantasia, and they had come to stay this time. Soon, armies were pouring past Hot Pocket and would besiege the defenses there. Hot Pocket, though bravely defended, fell, as did Eastgarde, Greenshire and soon Hillshire. It wasn't long untill Vedonea itself was besieged. However, the walls held the enemy at bay. But even so, the garrison was occupied enough to not be able to hold the mutitudes of warriors from getting past Vedonea. Eventually they came to the north, defeated at least one army that came to meet them on the field, and tried to establish a position on the closeby northern lands belonging to JUICY. Many cities fell, and though JUICY mounted several counterattacks, by the time the siege of Vedonea had lasted for close to two months the Dorian Empire was still on the offensive...



The siege

Though many had gotten past Vedonea, Aranved was adamant about keeping his promise. As such, when an army had gotten close enough to attack, Vedonea sent it's troops to intercept it. The battle was easily won, and so one less army would get past to attack the northern provinces of JUICY, but the army besieging Vedonea, a multitude of the strongest Trolls, berserkers, managed to react in time and attacked the Vedonean Guards. The battle was an onslaught. The Vedoneans faught well, but the sheer savagery of the enemy was unmatched. The survivors managed to flee to Vedonea. There they tended to the wounded and manned the defenses. As for the enemy, losses were incurred, but nothing of significance. Their own troops, in their frenzy, probably killed more of their own forces than the Vedoneans. It was a bitter defeat that day, but even so, the enemy had been stopped. And Vedonea would not give up.

To hold the enemy siege, Vedonean mages sent locusts to destroy the enemies' provisions and disrupt their preparations. The tactic was a success, and that one act probably bought Vedonea the time it needed to fortify.

The siege lasted for many more days. Soon the mages recast the spell and gained even more precious time for Aranved's people to hold out. And soon enough another army made the same mistake as before. A human army, primarly of mounted troops, got too close, probably on their way to South Green, a fort holding the bridge to the east, to aid another army with the siege. And so, once again, but this time against a much greater force, the Vedonean Guards marched out and met the enemy on the field.

There, at the gates of Vedonea, a great battle was fought. The army marched out of the gates and quickly engaged the knights in battle. And soon the fields would be painted red with blood. But, hail to the gods, it would be their blood! The forces of Vedonea carried the day and routed the enemy, just in time to retreat to the safety of the great city. The victory was close, but nonetheless it rejuvenated the people's morale and hope. Many had died gloriously on the battlefield, but many more had returned victorious.

And so the menace of that advancing force was eliminated. Later Aranved was told that the siege on South Green retreated, probably knowing they could not win without support, but who knew. Now the troops needed to once again man the walls and hold out.

In the meantime, Eastwall Keep had it's walls razed by an enemy spell, but that would not stop the garrison there. They quickly tried to rebuild the walls, and the mages stationed at the city helped to freeze a passing enemy army in place for JUICY to try a counterattack. And they did all they could to help with the war effort.

And so, Vedonea, after some two months of siege, was still standing, even against an overwhelming army, seen at the time as the third most powerfull army in Fantasia. Still standing against all odds... standing, and fighting back...



The fall of Vedonea

After two more weeks of seige Vedonea still stood. But now other armies were comming close. The walls, though strong and manned by the brave hearted Vedoneans, could not stand against the whole of the Dorian Empire. Something had to be done. But first something had to be done about the siege.

Once again Vedonean mages prepared to send Locust and disrupt the siege outside, but this time something happened that did not bode well for the brave city. A stray arrow hit Vedonea's leader, Aranved, and he was gravelly wounded. As fast as the soldiers could they carried Aranved to the safety of Vedonea Keep and there the priests tended to his wounds. Though Vedonea would not fall if it's leader did, the event spread dark clouds on the minds of the people. Like an omen of things to come...

Two days after, the enemy assaulted the walls with a fury unmatched. The siege was over, the assault upon the city started. Now was moment when it would all be decided.

The enemy charged forth with battering rams and ladders and soon they would be pounding the gates and climbing the walls. Vedonean guards rushed to the walls and did all they could to hold off the enemy berserkers. Archers sent volleys at the black mass of trolls outside the city. Many fell, but many more were being slain by the brutes. Soon the walls were full of a multitude of berserkers that in their fury and bloodlust even sent some of their own falling down. The enemy was relentless in their assault and the defenders were forced to flee most of the walls into the city itself. There they fought the enemy house to house. Soon Vedonea was in flames. The people did all they could to fight, but the slaughter was merciless. Men fell to defend their famalies, only to see them too slain in their last breaths. Those that could fled to the keep, their last hope for a solid defense.

While the battle raged, the battering rams managed to open the gates at last. The troops there fell quickly to the wave of trolls that entered the gatehouse and charged forth to the city itself. Soon Vedonea was flooded with trolls and all that was left was the keep, which soon was too under attack. There the battering rams blasted the doors open and the enemy prepared to enter. But they were surprised. The guards there held, as if they were being helped by a powerfull force. And amidst them was an armored figure that cut down troll after troll while the men watched with awe. With a grace unsusual for a soldier the figure led the men and held the trolls back for as long as they could. But they could not hold forever. Once the armored soldier ordered the retreat every Vedonean soldier layed down and a multitude of archers sent a volley that killed every troll in the room. And in seconds the room was flooded again. But the soldiers had fled. And they had bought all the time they needed.

The enemy kept advancing through the keep. On the way they fell defender after defender. None could stand against them. Every defender was soon dead, their corpses littered the ground all over the keep and many held headless from the parapets, their heads on pikes as signs of the complete victory won that day by the trolls. The throneroom was trashed and every room defiled. And outside Vedonea burned.

A few hours later, away from the city, hidden in the hills to the west, a small group of armed men, leading a band of survivors, reached another group that had arrived earlier. The leader of the group rushed forth to the middle of the camp. There Aranved, still with marks of his wound, met the leader with a child on his arms. The figure took off the helmet and let out beautifull flocks of hair, her face had sweat running down the cheeks and her beautifull blue green eyes burned with hope and all the joy they could muster on that dark day. Aranved rushed forth and held his beloved, Lady Ana, in one arm, and their daughter, Beatrix, in another, and they wept. It had been a nightmarish day, but somehow they had survived. Vedonea had been taken, but some had managed to escape. That was one of the few things to be thankfull for. Now they would flee to Eastwall Keep and do all they could to survive. So the group departed one hour later, heading for Eastwall Keep through the mountains. Behind them, Vedonea still burned and huge columns of smoke rushed for the sky... and with Vedonea, their dreams...



Exile

Upon arriving at Eastwall Keep the group was quickly tended to. After a few days those that survived had spread the grim news to the keep's defenders. All in Eastwall now had a grim resolve to survive. They would need it.

An army soon laid siege to Eastwall Keep. The defenders would not give them an inch, but still something had to be done. Defending alone would only invite more armies to come and eventually take the keep. Aranved would have to do something soon...



The battle of Eastwall

After days of siege the enemy assaulted the fortress. Wave after wave of warlords, mighty troll blademasters wielding swords as big as a man, charged the walls of Eastgarde. Many died, but they simply used the bodies to climb higher. Eventually they reached the ramparts and fought the defenders there. The vedoneans held the walls for as long as they could, but were retreating inch by inch. Eventually they were holed down in the southern wall's towers. Though the rest of the walls remained unbreached, taking that section enabled many trolls to climb down and assault the inside of the castle. But there they were outmatched. The forces stationed on the rest of the walls quickly moved to sorround the force that had penetrated the fortifications and slew them all. Then they proceeded to reinforce the tower's defenses and take the fight to the trolls on the occupied walls. After a fierce battle the trolls withdrew. They regrouped outside the city and held back to lick their wounds. The battle was won... for now.

Though the battle had been won, many defenders had perished before the skilled Troll warlords. And without reinforcements the troops could do nothing but hold the line, just as they had sworn.

After the battle, the mages stationed on the keep tried desperatly to cast harmfull spells on the besieging army, but they failed. Many died that day. After the attempt, there was little to do but wait...



The fall of Eastwall Keep

Soon the enemy army would assault the walls once again, but this time they would be more successfull. Since many had died on the previous battle, the walls were now undermanned, and with the trolls advancing from various directions it was only a matter of time untill the garrison had to leave the walls for the enemy and take refuge within the keep. There they fought bravelly to the last defender. They were Vedoneans, they would have it no other way. Soon the fortress had collumns of smoke comming out to meet the sky and those that could escaped to the only place that they could. The only hope they still had...



Hope

Days before the battle of Eastwall, the people of Vedonea that had survived untill now came forth with a representative to meet Aranved. The man spoke that should their leadership die, then they would have little to hold on to. And so he begged Aranved and Lady Ana to flee Eastwall and settle further west, where the people could rebuild their lives and have hope for the future. Though relunctant to leave his people behind to fight alone, they accepted. It was, after all, the will of the very people that they did not wish to leave behind. And so Aranved left with his family and all those that could follow them. Together they crossed the woods north of Eastwall and went further East. There they asked for the local members of JUICY for sanctuary and settled the city of Anahnia, named after Lady Ana, a new hope for the people of Vedonea.

Eventually news of the fall of Eastwall Keep came. They were recieved with pride, for those who fought there took their promise to hold the pass to the bitter end. They would all be remembered as heroes, and the comming generations would honor them.

And so the Vedoneans lived on. They would see their city grow and become a beacon of hope. Now the question was, how long would that hope last...



Dark Days

Anahnia did have it's peace for more than 4 months, but eventually war came once again to the Vedoneans. JUICY was losing the war on the area. They were overwhelmed by at least four diferent kingdoms, and in the south of Fantasia only. While the Dorian Empire continued it's march and took over southeastern Fantasia. Eventually they met with the Insane Asylum invasion from the east. There were rumors that both kingdoms were at odds so skirmishes surely took place. From the north came Foundation. And also from the south marched Chocolate, seemingly in league with the Dorian Empire. Their sheer numbers were more than enough to take over the whole area and eventually they came to Anahnia too. There, the brave Vedoneans braced for a siege against two seperate armies from Chocolate. The southern gates were soon being pounded and the area outside filled with a multitude of Halflings, supported by Elven Archmages. Though Anahnia held fast for days it would not be long untill it would fall, for even if it defeated both armies soon they would be crushed by the onslaught of the many invading kingdoms...



Exile

And so it came to pass that Anahnia fell to it's assailants. After months of siege the enemy finaly managed to cast a powerfull spell that made the earth roar and tremble. The walls did not withstand the fury of the earth and crumbled. And soon the city was overrun with attackers. The months of siege enabled the defenders to prepare for such a defeat, and while many defended the city bravely, and died for it, they merely bought time for the population to retreat past the perimeter of the city through tunnels dug recently. While the attack was in place the enemy was distracted and did not notice the retreat taking place. And Aranved and his family and his people, what were left of them, fled, their chances at carving a place for themselves in Fantasia lost. They were exiles now.

The flight took them many days and they regrouped far away. There they bid their time so that they would rebuild and find a place of their own... in another era to come...