Omund
King Omund, popularly known as Good King Omund, was king of Vasloria. His decades-long reign was known as a legendary era of peace, only ending with his death, on the tenth of Lyleth of Chaos 314, as he was killed by Ajax. [1][2]
Lustitia Primum, Deinde Pax -- Justice first, the Peace
History
Early life
Omund was the son of two minor nobles, his mother a hereditary knight of Oll. [2]
He distinguised himself in battles against the elves of the Elgenwode and Beowode, earning him the title of Scourge of the Fae, as he became known as a fierce elf-fighter. [2]
The Army That Never Fought
His reputation lead the Lord of Dalrath to call Omund to lead an army into the Great Wode, there to do battle against the Queen of the Orchid Court. [2]
Omund took volunteers from among those who served with him in Oll and began the weeks-long ride to Dalrath. Along the way, hundreds of soldiers from Tor, Bedegar and Dalrath joined him. He accepted only seasoned veterans, scaring away anyone less experienced with tales of what the elves did to their captives. When he arrived at Castle Dalrath, his army was many thousands strong. [2]
He took his army into the Wode and there met the forces of Queen Imyrr. Her forces were smaller, but it was their forest. However, none doubted that Omund's greater army, led by seasoned commanders used to wode-fighting would prevail, but only at tremendous loss of life. [2]
Then Omund and his herald, Lady Rhedyn, handed themselves to the elven forces. Presented before the Orchid Court, despite the military advantage, Omund negotiated, invoking the Lay of Dremidydd, an epic song-poem written by a high elf troubadour which laid out the recent history of the Wode and High Elves, which acted as a kind of treaty between them. The lay allowed any noble to petition the Orchid Court for a high elven arbitrator. And so the Queen summoned a noble from the Sun Court to mediate the negotiations. [2]
In the end, Omund managed to negotiate a treaty of peace with the elves without any bloodshed. [2]
Omund's army became known as "The Army That Never Fought". A romantic ideal the people held on to, even after many brutal battles. [2]
Rise to King
Omund saw a weakness in the feudal structure of Vasloria. Each Duke ruled a large area of two or three baronies, their power came from their promise to protect the barons from the other Dukes. And, for a few years, they did. But that was generations ago. Now the Dukes used the Baronies as banks, existing only to fuel the dukes' military ambitions against each other. The dukes spent, and the barons paid. [2]
Omund knew well the barons of Oll, Bedegar, Dalrath and others. He knew they would rally to him if he supported their cause of independence from the Dukes. Starting with the barons of Dalrath and Oll, Omund built a coalition, marching first south, then east. [2]
He spent three years bringing the Dukes of Western Vasloria to heel. In Chaos 272, when Omund was 31, he forced five of the seven Western Dukes to sign the Treaty of Dur Marr. The treaty forced the Dukes to swear fealty to Omund and listed the protected rights of the Barons to rule their land with many expanded freedoms from the Dukes' tyranny, as well as the first language protecting the rights of serfs and freesouls. The treaty established Omund King of Aendrim & Corwell, though there were dukes and barons in each land who refused to sign, their lands became more and more lawless in the years afterward as more of their citizens migrated to Omund's land. [2]
Reign
Dur Marr, or as it became later known Castle Omund, was a Goal keep ancient and abandoned when Omund used it as his eastern fastness, grew over the decades of his rule. By the time of his death, it was a massive structure with many levels below it excavated. Part of Omund's power was due to the tomes of lore his court wizard, Vitae, found below. [2]
Omund reigned over most of Aendrim and parts (a third [2]) of western Corwell and northern Graid for 45 years, since Chaos 271 until his death (Chaos 314). [2]
During his reign, Vitae created[as of when?] the Dragon Phalanx, an order of draconian knights, to uphold law [3]. They were created to be the perfect knights, bringing law and dispensing justice throughout the land.
However, one member of the Dragon Phalanx, Mandrake, captain of a Dragonflight, was corrupted, seduced by the power offered by Ajax. Due to his betrayal Omund's his castle fell to Ajax the Invincible. [1] [3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Matthew Colville, et al. Draw Steel Rules, August 2024 Backer Packet (PDF). (Patreon), pp. 9. Retrieved on 2024-08-30.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Matthew Colville Good King Omund (PDF). (Patreon). Retrieved on 2024-11-12.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matthew Colville, et al. Draw Steel Rules, August 2024 Backer Packet (PDF). (Patreon), pp. 17, 18. Retrieved on 2024-08-30.