Kantle

The Halet Raids and Their Consequences, by Yetalo Escrima, Daemedran Academy Historical Scholar

High in the mountains and taiga forests of northern Kindreth lies the nation of Kantle, a deeply religious state which was absorbed into the Arvairian Empire several decades ago. The country is governed by a council of Sages representing each of the four most powerful gods: Tahmay, Tanthik, Ageria and Meerdin. Each sect is of equal standing, but the High Cleric of Tahmay is typically appointed as Prime Minister.

 Kantle has a long history of conflict with the Sabbran city-state of Arezza and the dragons of the Red Savannah. Though many powerful clerics, mages and knights reside there, Kantle’s harsh environment keeps its population small. No Kantish army has ever come close to the numbers its southern neighbors could muster. Despite this, the nation remained nearly isolationist for centuries. They repeatedly refused aid from their occasional trading partners Arvair, Norvair, and Lumas while barely holding against dragon raids from the eastern plains and Sabbran fleets invading from Chasm Lake. Their independence was born of what many saw as misplaced piety. Kants saw most other nations as deviants, purposefully ignoring the tenants of peace passed down by the gods. Though there were many powerful Kantish warriors, they only ever fought in the name of national defence. Of course, this meant that their enemies could attack without fear of reprisal. And eventually, this fact came to the attention of the most infamous raiders in the world: the pirates of the Thousand Eyes.

 On the infamous occasion in question, a trio of Thousand Eye man’o’wars braved Halet’s Channel and sacked the Kantish port town of Haden. The Kantish military, thinking the attack to be an isolated incident, ordered their own warships not to pursue. Two weeks later, the same three ships hit a Kantish fort on the border with Arvair and two miles from the coast. They disappeared with tens of thousands of iron weight’s worth of weapons and armor. The navy was ordered to form a blockade off the eastern coast of Norvair, the safest waters in the channel and the most likely route for the pirates to take. The blockade saw no activity for two weeks, but then received word that another town had been sacked in eastern Kantle. Behind them. With outrage among local lords building, the High Council themselves ordered the navy to scatter and scour their shores until they were sure the pirates had gone. The plan seemed to work, the coast was quiet for nearly a month. But then, reports came in that several Kantish warships had never returned from patrol. Several days later, a story came via a Norvairian trade vessel that added insult to injury. The Norvairians had passed a small fleet led by three Thousand Eye ships and followed by six battered Kantish warships flying the Thousand Eye flag. The ships were sailing west at a swift clip, already well beyond Kantle’s waters. This astounding embarrassment was compounded by the discovery that the pirates had camped on the southern tip of Mistlorn, less than a week’s sail from Kantle and well within striking distance of their navy. This was the beginning of a shift in opinion of Kantle’s military and political leadership that reached a head nine years later.

 When Emperor Bernus was assassinated by Sabbran conspirators, and Empress Alutia took the throne, she responded by conquering Sabbré in under a year. In Kantle, many citizens who had suffered Sabbran raids for centuries took to the streets in droves to celebrate the defeat of their bitter enemy. The High Council and their sects were quick to officially and openly discourage such conduct, calling it hateful and unnecessary. Whether true or not, those words fed a fire that had been smoldering ever since the Halet Raids. Several rebel factions sprung up, calling for the High Council to step down, on the grounds that they had become disconnected from the sensibilities and needs of their people. Most of the groups called for an Imperial takeover and even went so far as to send envoys to Empress Alutia. After several weeks of civil unrest and public protests, a battle broke out between an especially violent rebel faction and a military patrol. The battle ended with many dead on both sides, and with the rebels taking several officers hostage. The government responded by instituting martial law, which only drove Kantle even deeper into chaos.  Four months of civil war followed, ceasing only when an Arvairian army marched in from the south, taking control of Hightemple and several rebel headquarters with little resistance. To their credit, the Arvairians brought leaders from both sides to the negotiation table. After weeks of tense discussion, the High Council agreed to let their people choose Kantle’s fate. Hundreds of thousands flocked to the capital and voted heavily in favor of Imperial control. It was decided that the High Council would remain in place but with three new additions. The first two were non-cleric councillors chosen by popular vote. The third was an Arvairian diplomat chosen by the Empress to serve as the Imperial Arbiter of Kantle. The Imperial Arbiter’s power is equal to that of the Prime Minister but also carries the weight of the Arvairian throne. Kantle’s military leadership was dismantled and replaced by Arvairian generals who reported directly to northern Imperial Command at the Grey Berg in Stonechorus. Their army was subsequently bolstered by thousands of Arvairian and Norvairian troops and officers.

 Though Kantle has adjusted well to Imperial control overall, some grumbling has endured from the former ruling sects, albeit in a resigned and quiet fashion.