The Books of Blutora

13 : Mariott Ervuln & the Tulora

In the far reaches of northern Blutora sits the land of Kyn Alora. The Macabre people have resided in the far north since well before the first Dukaze and Ezeru arrived on Blutora. Within the society of the Macabre there are leaders known as Mariotts that rule over the cities of Icrifivalon and Filantalos individually. This has been the case for as long as known history of the Macabre dates back. Mariott Ervuln of Icrifivalon ruled during the A-era, taking the throne of the capital city during the year A-344 after the death of Mariott Etuhn. In Kyn Alora, when a Mariott faces death, their successor is chosen by methods unlike anything seen across the rest of Blutora. The city votes on anyone among their peers until the two Macabre with the most votes is clear, it is then that those two individuals must fight to the death in hand to hand combat to decide who is the more fit ruler. Fortunately for Mariott Ervuln, he bested his opponent with relative ease at the summit in Lethio. Unfortunately for Mariott Ervuln, he took the throne of Icrifivalon during the height of unrest and unease due to the Tulora.

The Tulora are an ancient group of bandits and outcasts dating back to pre-A era times. During the transition of power in the capital of Kyn Alora in A-344, the Tulora were at the height of their influence and strength. This group never occupied one area for too long, always keeping on the move to prevent being attacked. They were masters of navigating the seas and moving through the nights undetected, even in large numbers. While always on the move, the Tulora never left the snowy tundra of Kyn Alora as the group of outcasts and brigands were made up primarily of Macabre people. Among their goals was taking their homeland for themselves and ruling as they saw fit, true anarchy where only the strongest survive. Previous to the ascension to power of Mariott Ervuln, the Tulora had completely razed a handful of towns within the snowy north, becoming a true symbol of fear amongst the Macabre people of Kyn Alora. 

Within the first months of ruling over Icrifivalon, Mariott Ervuln would experience the first ever attack on Icrifivalon by the Tulora. Seemingly out of nowhere, and during the dead of night, the Tulora sailed to the peninsula that the capital city occupied, landing ships away from the city to march on foot, as well as attacking the city directly with their remaining ships. The Macabre were caught off guard completely, and while the city guard fought back as well as they were prepared to, the Tulora had burnt half of the city to the ground and made off with much of the citizens wealth before being forced to retreat due to a timely snowstorm that rolled in during the transition from night to day. Both a blessing and a curse to the people of Icrifivalon, the snow storm forced the Tulora out, but killed many Macabre who could not shelter themselves from the harsh conditions due to half of the city sitting as a pile of rubble. This terrible night is remembered as the Bloodstorm. 

The people of Icrifivalon would suffer a massive hit that night, but would not stay down for long. Mariott Ervuln was quick to react, and kept his head most importantly. The very next day he sent word to Milora to the south for assistance after the attack. The assistance requested wasn't in an army or protection however, it was in builders and miners, any that the crown could spare. Within the week, upon the request being granted by the crown, Icrifivalon began construction of a defense plan put in place by the recently empowered Mariott Ervuln. The idea was that rather than chasing retaliation on a target that was impossible to chase down or locate, they would fortify their surroundings and prepare to defend upon the next attack, one that was all but guaranteed to happen. The Tulora were known for leaving no town standing, any settlements they set upon in the past met an untimely demise, they would be back. Mariott Ervuln knew that if they fortified the place too well, the Tulora might be scared off and move on to different targets than the capital. This wouldn't stand to the new leader, he wanted to be attacked, he had a plan.

Motivated extremely well, the people of Icrifivalon worked overtime to get the fortifications and plans in place. Towers were to dot the coast of the peninsula with large mounds of wood atop ready to act as signal fires. Within each tower was a detachment of city guard archers, ready to act on a moments notice. At the base of the peninsula where the mainland met the capital area, a Wall was to be built to prevent any large land forces from invading easily. Everything was in place to lure the Tulora into the trap, and lured they were. Roughly a month after the first attack, the bandits returned both by land and sea. A large group were marching from the mainland, and a group of ships were sailing in to land at different sections of the peninsula just as before, with a cluster attacking the city directly. First, the land attack was attempted, as the group approached amidst the dense night fog and witnessed a newly constructed wall, and without enough time to think and react, the retaliation begun. Archers appeared at the top of the wall as the signal fires upon the wall were lit. A hundred archers fired upon the helpless force of invasion, and with no cover, the foot soldiers were all dead within moments. The signal fire sparked a chain reaction down the peninsula, as each tower lit their fire, the stationed archers stood upon the roof, lighting their arrows ablaze and firing on the ships approaching that were exposed by the bright blazing fires on the coast. One by one, as tower beacons lit, arrows pierced the ships and they began to quickly become engulfed in flames. Any survivors that made it to the coast were shot dead before they could freeze to death. As the tower beacons made their way north on the peninsula, the city was alerted to the attack and archers quickly filled the coastal sections of the city having been on stand by within the coastal buildings, firing arrows ablaze upon the invading force until not a single ship remained afloat. All through the night survivors of the invading force were spotted and killed instantly. Any of the ships that attempted to turn and flee were helpless to the extraordinary bow abilities possessed by the Macabre within the capital city. The night, and defense would be fittingly remembered as the water on fire.

Finally, the morning sun arose and the carnage was clear. All around the peninsula, loads of burnt floating debris and lifeless bandits. Every tower within the defensive infrastructure was unscathed, and some stories claim that the water was tinted red for that entire day following the attack. Mariott Ervuln had watched the entire event play out from atop one of the castle towers, and by sunrise he knew that Icrifivalon had won. The Tulora weren't a very strategic group, they always attacked in full force with every able body, and as a result of such tactics, it was on that fateful night in Icrifivalon during the year of A-344 that the Tulora would meet their permanent end. Mariott Ervuln was beloved by the Macabre of Icrifivalon from that point onward, despite the defeat of the Tulora being his crown achievement, he continued to rule favorably for the rest of his tenure on the throne of the capital city. 

The fortifications and defense tactics put in place by Mariott Ervuln stand still to this day, with some minor improvements made over the course of time. A symbol of triumph and strength, a sign that the city of Icrifivalon would not roll over, that the Macabre people of unrelenting will would always find a way.