The Kings List and History of Lemish

Other Rules

by Simon Lipscomb

Prior to the Cataclysm, Lemish was a forested area abutting the trade routes between Solamnia and Xak Tsaroth. It was sparsely settled by a barbarian folk who worshipped nature deities. Little is known of this early religion since it was deemed unsuitable by Istar and all but wiped out. A resurgence was to occur many years later but over time the specifics changed. The secrets of the religion are (or were) kept by a closed priesthood known as the Borvoi.

The Borvoyan rituals seem to have been quite bloody, involving sacrifice to the nature gods to ensure fertility. Human sacrifices were not unheard of, if certain texts in the Palanthus library are to believed. They speak of a crop-blessing ritual in which a human sacrificial victim was drugged, flayed and dragged (still alive) around the perimeter of the field to be blessed. The same texts also speak of sacred trees from which victims were hung, or tied to for mutilation. Some scholars dismiss these texts as lurid traveller's tales, but the later resurgence also featured bloodthirsty practices (for example the temple of Duerghast in Sanction). Extant Istarin texts concerning Lemish religion merely state rather primly that it was "a variant of Chislev".

Lemish society was divided into tribal groups that fought each other for control. This disunited nature made it easy for Istar to dominate the region. After the Cataclysm, Lemish found itself with a coast, and ignored by the larger power Solamnia.

Vodanaard I "The Reformer" (Regnal Years 0-50AC)

Vodanaard II "The Younger" (Regnal Years 51-55AC)

Vodanaard the Reformer seized control and announced himself king. He declared independence for the Nation of Lemish, tore down the Istarin gods and constructed shipyards along the coast. Refugees from the nearby lands came seeking sanctuary (mostly of the Plainsman stock). Vodanaard solved the problem of a population influx by enslaving the plainsfolk. He ruled for fifty years before the kingdom passed to his son, Vodanaard II who continued his father's works.

A cabal of tribal rulers (barons) worked to eradicate Vodanaard's nearest family and remove his family from the succession. They put their support in his cousin and after Vodanaard II was assassinated they raised up Julanaard, hoping to control him from behind the scenes.

Julanaard "The Barren" (Regnal Years 55-75)

They were sadly mistaken. Julanaard had all of his former conspirators "disposed of" in a mass sacrifice to the old gods and embarked on a bloody twenty year reign marked by aggressive foreign policy and oppressive home rule. A slave revolt was crushed and a reported 10,000 executions took place to break the spirit of the plainsfolk "slave race". Julanaard launched naval campaigns against Sanction and Caergoth, conquering the first and reaching stalemate on the second. Such was his fear over losing his throne that he left no heir when he died, paving the way for a civil war.

First Civil War (75-88AC)

The two main contenders were Vodanaard III (a Vodanian who had survived Julanaard's purges in exile in Estwilde) and Agronaard. The civil war lasted thirteen years with no clear result except that Caergoth was able to break free from its siege. Eventually it ended with a split kingdom - "East Lemish" (essentially Sanction) in the control of Vodanaard (who continued to use the royal suffix) and "Greater Lemish" (true Lemish) in the hands of Agronaard.

It was at this moment that Solamnia took the opportunity to re-establish a presence in Lemish with an army under the command of Praetor Theobald Lenturius. Agronaard fled to Sanction and asked for the protection of his old rival. Vodanaard gave it, on the proviso that the Agronians recognised his authority.

Solamnic Occupation (88-125)

Lenturius was military governor of Lemish for five years before losing his Praetorship in an election. Five more governers spanned the next twenty five years; Caspius, Sharpeye, Vurtainus, Virkhunus and Caspius again before Lenturius became military governor for a second time.

During the Solamnic Occupation, Vodanaard was making his plans in Sanction. It was during this time that the temple of Duerghast was built. Alliances were made with tribes in the Khalkist Mountains but Vodanaard died before seeing his plans to fruition. This was left to his son Vodanaard IV.In the 124th year after the Cataclysm, Vodanaard IV "the Liberator" led an assault to reclaim his homeland from Solamnia. Lenturius was old, cautious and careworn whereas Vodanaard was young, aggressive and determined. Whereas the Solamnian played holding actions the Lemisher risked his troops, including hobgoblin mercenaries, with reckless abandon. The war lasted two years before Lenturius was recalled by the Solanthus Senate and conceded the victory to Vodanaard. Lenturius was pilloried in the Senate for his failure and died broken and embittered.

Vodanaard IV "The Liberator" (Regnal Years 125-131AC)

Vodanaard then did something unexpected - he negotiated a treaty with Solamnia ensuring Lemish independence. The hobgoblins were given Throtyl as a reward (and a buffer zone). In exchange for self-rule, Lemish would provide ships for the Solamnic Navy. This was the Accord of Karantus (127AC).

Agronaard II "The Weak" (Regnal Years 132-140AC)

Although Vodanaard's ultimate intent was to destabilise Solamnia from within, many among the baronial families saw it as a betrayal and plotted his downfall. Vodanaard and his family were murdered and Agronaard II was installed as a puppet ruler. At last the barons had a king who would leave them to their own devices, but their petty squabbling caused great damage to the country. Sanction broke away again, the former ally Throtyl raided, and when the barons sent no ships to support Palanthine vessels at the First Battle of Kalaman (139AC), the country faced the wrath of Solamnia again.

Verminaard I "Dwarfbane" (Regnal Years 141-143)

One man stepped in to save the country - Verminaard I. Using the threat of an outside invasion to unite the tribes he first gained support and respect by leading an attack on the dwarven nation of Kaolyn. The action was a moderate success in terms of material gains, but in terms of reputation it did Verminaard plenty of good. The country was beginning to become more united when a dwarven crossbow bolt ended his glorious career. His only heir was a daughter - Verminaaria.

Vadyanaard "Wife Child" (Regnal Years 143-156)

Verminaaria "Puppeteer Queen" (Regnal Years 156 (officially)-210AC)

Knowing that the barons would never accept a woman as a leader, Verminaaria married the weak Vadyanaard, chosen successor to Verminaard I. Through him she went on to great success and became known as the "Puppeteer Queen". She won a naval battle against Sanction and reclaimed the breakaway colony. She cowed the hobgoblins and re-negotiated the Accords of Karantus. In addition she undertook many public works. The palace and the library at Lemish were built, blood sacrifices were banned and literacy soared. Roads and aquafication projects were constructed, ships built and all manner of buildings in the style of Palanthus and Tarsis. When Vadyanaard died Verminaaria kept on and no-one noticed.

Not all loved her, however. As well as the usual bickering baronial families, she had crossed those who still held to the old Borvoyan ways and they sought her downfall. For her sixty year rule she managed to outwit them until finally she was brought to book on charges of adultery (which were true, but given that at the time she was eighty-three years old they were hopelessly outdated). However, through bribes and other nefarious means she was convicted and executed.

Verminaard II "The Avenger" (Regnal Years 210-230)

This action by the Borvoyans was ill-considered however, and they found an enraged populace rising up against them for murdering their beloved queen. The time that followed became known as the Persecution. Fed by political opponents to the Borvoyans, any who were even suspected of sympathies for the priesthood were hunted down and killed. Instrumental in this were the children of Verminaaria and Verminaard II became king. However, in his fervour to avenge his mother he overstepped the mark and began persecuting the baronial families. Fearing for their lives and positions the barons deposed Verminaard II and drove him into exile in Sanction.

Second Civil War (230-250AC)

Speakership of Otolya (250-268AC)

There then followed yet another period of turmoil for Lemish until Fenric of the Otolya family rose to prominence among the barons. He did something that no-one had done before: he compiled a body of law (the Corpus Otolya) limiting the power of the barons and compelled the others to sign it, mostly by trickery and coercion than by a show of force (250AC). Otolya himself refused the kingship, instead taking the title of Speaker of the newly formed council of barons, or Lemishad.

Agronaard III "The Dutiful" (Regnal Years 269-302)

Of course, eventually power-play among the barons meant that a king was put forward again by one faction hoping to gain power by alliance. Passing over the Vermian and Vodanian dynasties they rose up King Agronaard III. Once again the king proved less of a puppet than the barons would have liked. He revised the Corpus Otolya, removing even more power from the barons, resigned the Accords of Karantus and was on good terms with Solamnia.

The Lemishad worked to undermine Agronaard III's power. Through a mixture of bribes and threats they ensured that the Lemish fleet arrived late for the Second Battle of Kalaman (276AC), then switched sides (resulting in a victory for Kalaman). Relations between Solamnia and Lemish were decidedly cool after this, and the Senate failed to even ask Lemish for help during the Third Battle of Kalaman (280AC). They did, however, request troops to help during the Throtyl Incursions (300AC) but during that battle the Lemish troops kept switching sides depending on who was winning!

Agronaard IV "The Zealot" (Regnal Years 302-307 first reign)

Agronaard died in 302 and was replaced by his son Agronaard IV. The Lemishad had taken care to tutor the boy to try to get him on their side. However, Agronaard IV had also been tutored by a secret society of Borvoyans, and it was to their cause that he was sympathetic. Once in power he began to systematically undo the work of the Vermian family, seemingly driven by hatred of that particular dynasty. He destroyed statues, pulled down the buildings built by Verminaaria and burnt the library. His attempt to replace the Lemishad with Borvoyan practitioners was his downfall and he was swept from power to be replaced by Otolyaard I.

Otolyaard I "The Foolish" (Regnal Years 307-311 first reign)

Third Civil War (307-311AC)

Otolyaard has always been considered an unpopular and mediocre king, even though he arranged trade agreements with Kaolyn for metals and Throtyl for mercenaries as well as negotiating an alliance with Sanction. Most of his reign was taken up with fighting a civil war with Agronaard IV and his Borvoyan supporters whilst guarding his back against political opponents in the Lemishad. In this he was moderately successful until beaten at the Battle of Kurish Plain by Agronaard and an army that included freed Plainsfolk slaves.

Otolyaard abdicated, wearied by the constant struggle, and went into voluntary exile in Solamnia.

Agronaard IV "The Zealot" (Regnal Years 312-320AC second reign)

Agronaard IV reclaimed power in 312 whilst the Lemishad were debating about who should replace Otolyaard. He quickly "rewarded" his slave followers by murdering them all in a massive sacrifice to "ensure the prosperity of the country".

Over the next few years, Agronaard strengthened his position, executing plotters and bringing in outside help: hobgoblins from Throtyl, as his personal guard. He announced the merging of Lemish and Throtyl to form the Agronian Hegemony (318AC). Sanction was also declared a part of the Hegemony although this seemed to be in name only. Certainly the ruling Vermian family paid no homage to Agronaard IV. The Hegemony fell apart a few years later following an incursion from Estwilde (320AC). Both parties in the Hegemony accused the other of providing insufficient aid, or even inviting the raids in the first place.

Fourth Civil War (320AC)

Meanwhile, in Solanthus Otolya was gathering support in the Senate for action against Agronaard. The formation of the Hegemony gave substance to his claims that Agronaad would soon be a threat to the southern reaches of Solamnia. The Solanthan Senate was not keen on entering another war, but raised the Civil Army (a deliberate snub to the Knights) and sent envoys to Agronaard. Otolya travelled to Sanction to appeal for aid, which the Vermians gave to him in the form of a token number of troops.

Drunk with power, or succumbing to madness, Agronaard killed the Solamnic envoys, which proved to be a big mistake. The Senate moved from wishing to avoid all-out war to crying for revenge. Whilst ships from Sanction launched a naval assault, Solamnic troops marched on Lemish City and resoundingly crushed Agronaard's army.

The king himself was executed, but the Senate ordered that his sons be taken to Solamnia as hostages. Since Otolya was to become Agronaard's successor, and the Senate did not entirely trust him, they ordered that his sons be taken as hostages too. Otolyaard co-operated, although he resented the Solamnian's treatment of a former ally. In the meantime he occupied himself with rooting out as many Borvoyans as he could.

Otolyaard I "The Foolish" (Regnal Years 320-328 second reign)

After a few years of brooding, Otolyaard became more and more upset that his sons were hostages. "If the Senate held no threat over my sons", he said, "then I would lay waste to that treacherous country." So it is said, one of the barons heard this and took it upon themselves to solve the king's problem by sending an assassin to murder his sons in Solanthus. Whether this was done out of some misguided loyalty to grant the king his wish, or by some rival spotting a way to bring down Otolyaard is unknown. In any case, the two hapless sons of Otolyaard were found poisoned.

Otolyaard was furious and blamed the Senate. Hastily gathering his army he marched to war against Solamnia and of course was utterly defeated. The king was imprisoned in Solanthus so that he could see first hand that the Solamnics did not murder captives. The Senate then returned the hostage sons of Agronaard to Lemish and installed the eldest on the throne.

Agronaard V "The Willful" (Regnal Years 329-present (351AC))

Agronaard V was thoroughly Solamnised by his sojourn as a hostage, but he bore that country no goodwill. Whilst putting on an outward show of friendship with Solamnia, he secretly plotted to hamper them at every turn: sponsoring bandits, privateers and hobgoblins to harry their borders and disrupt trade routes; engendering political rivalries in the Senate through his agents and controlling vast tracts of the economy through a variety of syndicates. His inside knowledge of Solamnic society enabled him to pull strings throughout the Republic with no fear of the deeds being traced back to him. The Senate suspected, of course, but was never able to prove anything.

Agronaard V rebuilt much of the damage caused by his father in the civil war. Most of the money came embezzled out of Solamnia and with it were built public works, new buildings, ships and arms.

The Rise of the Dragons (332-present)

In 332 the dragons made themselves known to the people of Sanction, including the Vermian family. With their help the Vermians rose in power, placing their support with the goddess Leurkhisis (Queen of Night) and her dreams of a "Dragon Empire" that would span all of Ansalon. As the temple to the new goddess was being built, a young boy of ten years old watched on and knew that one day he would be the Queen's greatest servant. This same boy, at the age of sixteen became the ruler of Sanction and gave himself the royal variant of his family name: Verminaard.

Under the Queen's guidance he gathered and trained an army and dug secret tunnels beneath Leurkhisis' temple for some project that the Queen was planning. After ten years of this slow, secretive service Verminaard was rewarded with command of one of the new armies as they poured forth from the Khalkist Mountains to test their strength against the Petty Kingdom on Nordmaar.

After two years of victory and conquest in the east, the Dragon Empire turned west, towards Solamnia. Verminaard presented himself to Agronaard V, who was both amused by and frightened of the upstart who gave himself a kingly title. Worried by the power of the Dragon Empire, Agronaard V decided to ally himself with the greater power.

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