17 ACI-The Years of Pain
Knowing that the County would need a Knightly presence to defend her, Castellan Thomas and Chancellor Boltac announced the first open squire challenge for the Knights of the White Talbot. Five men took the challenge, and began the Trials of Knighthood. Willie MacGregor, Alonso Coronado, Wilmeck McWell, Iain McCalpine, and Karl Hungus. Of the Five, only Three made it to The Trials of Mettle, And none passed.
And so, prosperity reigned supreme in the manner that had not been seen in ages. Surely the Renaissance had begun, and the County would rise to a bolder, grand new Era. Chancellor Boltac began his research into the history of the kingdom and region, and Chancellor Dunbar had began the search for new territories to explore.
The Dark Cloud
Then, a dark cloud came over the lands. When Willie MacGregor returned from a voyage across the seas, claiming to have preformed a dark ritual evoking a demon, none believed him. His tales of gathering the rudest band of cutthroats ever to stalk our lands, intent on destroying all of the Scots was dismissed as the boasts of a loon. But everyone was wrong.
Lord Brock returned one day, and with him the Minuet of Bones. This group was the vilest form of villainy to grace the land since the departure of the Kingdom. From their first meeting, Clan Chattan and the Minuet were bitter enemies. This rivalry was as bloody as any ever witnessed. Brock's minions smashed the Claws of Ursa, Slaughtered the Scumdogs, and broke every back of Clan Chattan again and again. Women and children were not spared as Clan Chattan fought back, with the ferocity of their symbol, the cat. Back and forth the battles raged, bringing ruin onto all factions, and the near burning of Nicholshire Manor when the Scumdogs fled into the County to evade capture by their foes.
Alonso Coronado decided to do something to stop the carnage. He formed the Castile de Leon. Noble in aspiration, they would heartily defend the peasants against the Warfare. This mere action angered the feuding factions to the point of turning their anger toward the fledgling Faction. This continued until the Grand Gathering.
A New Hope
At the Grand Gathering, a ghost of the past appeared. Clan Ravensblood was seen on their way to the battle field, and then on the field. The Castile, Claws of Ursa, and Clan Chattan allied with Ravensblood in order to attack the Minuet of Bones. The war raged on and on, as many were slaughtered. Morgath of the Minuet sent the Claws of Ursa away with a mere word, as the Castile were shamed off of the field. Ravensblood battled until the last man stood, but it was too late. The Minuet had won the day, and destroyed the majority of the Factions.
Shortly after the Grand Gathering, Lord Thomas stepped out of his office, and Chancellor Boltac Lowleaves was elected into the office of the Castellan. Boltac was quick to gather the Chancellors and attempt to re-build what had been lost. The Factions were granted tax-breaks in order to promote their formation. Ravensblood returned strongly, as did the Castile, however the Minuet of Bones seemed restless. Lord Brock went to Boltac and told him that he was not finished with the County, and he would return. Brock further informed Boltac to prepare for the coming revolution. Then the Minuet left the County and were not seen again.
The Last Hurrah
When the Autumnal Gathering neared, Steven Kelly began his journey to the Outland Krymm Frontier, where he would form a Colony, and he wished for a contingent of the County to help him. Boltac gathered the Scumdogs, and asked all of the nobles to join with him in fighting alongside Kelly. The nobles were outraged, and began a revolt, which led to the alliance of the Castile de Leon, the Claws of Ursa, and the Scumdogs, against Ravensblood and the Sword Swinging Spectacle. Battle after Battle was fought, until the Powerful forces of Ravensblood defeated the Alliance.
It was then that the Scumdogs turned on the Claws of Ursa, destroying them as they had been paid to do earlier that year by their own mate Elwood Chandler. The Claws of Ursa were forever destroyed. That day also marked the end of the Castile de Leon as Coronado renounced all ties to the county and nobility. Ravensblood had destroyed all other Factions in the area.
