Peristaltico Family/Bustoarsenzio

The history of Bustoarsenzio Peristaltico

The first days as noble on Dwilight

Bustoarsenzio was born from and old and almost forgotten branch of the Peristaltico Family, emigrated to Dwilight and living in Donghai since countless years. Since long time they cut all contacts with the rest of the family and Bustoarsenzio was never aware of the other noble Peristaltico around.
The Peristaltico, as many other easteners that landed in the surroundings of Donghaiwei, were heavily oppressed by the Dwili and joined the religion driven rebellion lead by "The cloudy" Deverka Cryfwdr, that eventually founded Morek. They were rewarded with a piece of land a minor noble title in Donghai. As soon as Bustoarsenzio was old enough to start his career as noble, he was sent to serve into the ranks of the nobility of Morek. He gladly accepted his fate, full of dreams of glory and a deep faith in the Bloodstars.
When Bustoarsenzio joined Morek, the knightly Order was still restoring itself after a huge monster invasion and a failed rebellion. Huanghai and Cailyn were barely under control, and savage hordes of monsters ravaged the borders on a daily basis. Bustoarsenzio swore an oath of fealty to the Lord of Donghai, Lady Maura Hart, that sent him into the Order of the Maddening Star, Morek's main army, under Marshal Vesuvius.. Slowly, he began to master the foundations of military discipline and improved his knowledge of Sanguis Astroism, Morek's one and only religion. He understood what the Warders of the Temple were about, but never joined their ranks, not completely sharing their point of view.

Knight of Deverka Cryfwdr and leader of the Maddening Star First Battalion

Morek was growing and starting to reclaim regions from the wilderness. The realm expanded into Shomrak and Ashrak, and a colony was developing in the city of Libidizedd. Soon however, tensions rose between Morek and its colony, Astrum. Many arguments and quarrels took place into the halls of Sanguis Astroism, and back then Bustoarsenzio decided not to meddle to much in such political affairs, remaining focused on day-by-day knight duties and fightings.
Due to the extensive confrontations against monsters, one day Deverka Cryfwdr, Hero and Grandmaster of Morek, Duke of Donghaiwei, offered a generous stipend for the noble that was willing to lead a huge unit as a specific weapon against monsters. Bustoarsenzio proudly put his name forward and, for the surprise of many, himself included, he won. Later on Grandmaster Deverka confessed that never choice had been so right, and he praised the Bloodstars for having given him the wisdom to choose.
Bustoarsenzio became a knight of Donghaiwei and the leader of the Maddening Star First Battalion, that still restlessly fights countless battles against the enemies of the stars. Thanks to his place inside Morek's capital he was able to discover some short pieces of history about the Peristaltico family, and thaks to his increased income, he was able to select his own insigna, since then flying on the banners of the Maddening Star First Battalion.

Unterstrom

It was back then that Grandmaster and Duke Deverka Crywfdwr married Lady Allison Kabrinski, High Inquisitor of Morek. Bustoarsenzio knew little of her and was somewhat scared by her choleric and hot headed attitude. As a marriage gift, Grandmaster Deverka granted Lady Allison the Duchy of Donghaiwei, claiming the Duchy of Unterstrom for himself. The Order of the Maddening Star was then tasked with the conquest of the lands surrounding the city, and to capture the city itself. In the meantime the Ordermaster (Marshal) of the Order of the Maddening Star joined the Warders of the Temple, leaving the leadership to sir Hather Grindle, former vice-marshal. Bustoasternzio then became the vice Marshal with the blessing of his master and mentor, Grandmaster Deverka. The bond between Bustoarsenzio and Deverka grew till the point that the Grandmaster named him as Lord Steward of Unterstrom city, tasked with holding it till the day the true Duke would have taken the power. Once in command of the city, Bustoaresenzio built there the first temple dedicated to the Bloodstars and blessed by his holiness the High Prophet Mathurin Hossenfeffer in person. The temple still stands there, half abandoned but not forgotten. Unfortunately, monsters hordes and restless peasants proved to be too many for the Order of the Maddening Star, and soon the city was lost to riots, for the triumph of heathens and anarchists. Bustoarsenzio never forgot the city, and many other times he would have had to do with it again.

Marshal of the Order of the Maddening Star and the Secession Wars

Morek had no other enemy than monsters, bandits and rebels till that moment. With the vaste wilderness surrounding the few realms dotting Dwilight countryside, war seemed a distant ghost to read about only in books. It would have not been so for long. Soon the Duke of Muspelheim and Bishop of Sanguis Astroism, sir Cato de la Fare, seceded from the nearby realm of Springdale (Realm) after a failed assasination, claiming his religion was the reason why the King wanted him dead. His reasons are exposed in a letter to the realm. Once again, a storm of discussions fulled the halls of the churches for days, and the bond between Bustoarsenzio and his liege eventually strenghtened even more, given the young knight appreciated and agreed with the moderated and detached behavior the Grandmaster held during those quarrels, as opposed to his wife's heated rhetoric.
The decision to send the Morekian Warders of the Temple to defend the newly formed theocracy of Virovene against Springdale was then taken, and war broke between Morek and his ally Springdale. The Grandmaster duty was a secular one, and he focused on maintaining the realm while the religious warriors fought in Springdale. Bustoarsenzio followed him once more, ignoring the call to arms issued by the Waders and remaining inside the Order of the Maddening Star. All the resources of Morek were poured into the Warders, knights were called and gold was delivered in large amounts. The Order of the Maddening Star was left alone and considerably weaker against the hordes of monsters, tasked to defend the south and without any hope to push the border to Unterstrom once again.
During those difficult times, Bustoarsenzio distinguished himself for bravery and military skill: largely considered by the nobles of the Order their true leader, he was then promoted Marshal when sir Hather Grindle left the active life in favor of a retired one. As Marshal and leader of the First Battalion, he fought with his handful of brave nobles dozens of battle, succeeding in holding off the countless monster hordes no matter the few resources available. This acknowledged success yielded him large prestige and renown between the nobles of Morek, even between the highest ranked ones. He was starting to be considered an influencial noble and that was a significant step. The political power in Morek was in fact largely held by the Warders of the Temple that saw him under a bad eye, given his secular interest and lack of religious zeal. Due to Bustoarsenzio reserved nature however, this disrespect was always kept implied, as the Warders never had the need to oppose him openly given his poor interests in any career, but of course no offers were made either.

Enlarged Morek and the Ordermarshal rank

The Secession war ended when the nobles of Springdale displayed the poor bound they possessed with their Emperor, Neel Arya. The Duke of Aegir, sir Edward Raiva, seceded and created his own Tyranny, the Raivan Empire. Duke Sammael of Springdale changed the allegiance of the largest and wealthiest Duchy to Morek, Springdale reduced overnight only to the Stronghold of Nifelhold, eventually taken over by Virovene later on. This unexpected turn of events, outcome of a series of plots orchestrated by the tireless Duchess Allison Kabrinksi, gave a whole new dimension to Morek, now by large the most powerful and big realm on whole Dwilight. Morek quickly imposed himself on the surrounding realms, starting a two-day war against the Raivans to enforce the church claim on the city of Freke. The Raivans formally agreed on making Sanguis Astroism their only religion, probably just to avoid destruction, and waited their occasion for revenge.
Soon troubles start to show themselves. Many former Springdalians refused to obey to the choice made by Duke Sammael leaving Morek, while many others remained to honor their oath while secretly woking against the estabilished government of Morek and Sanguis Astroism they blindly hated for what it has done to their former monarchy. At the beginning, Springdalians were still a shy minority of Morek, largely governed by the Warders of the Faith whose former Marshal Lady Anabellium West was appointed High Inquisitor of Morek after the wife of the Grandmaster became the Duchess of Donghaiwei. In time however, many of the most powerful and influent Warders left the realm, seeking personal glory thanks to the help Morek would give them in exchange of their previous service. And so two former Ordermarshals of Morek, sir Vesuvius and sir Medugnatus left Morek the former form the colony of Aquilegia in Flowrestown, the other to join the holy state of Corsanctum in Mimer as the right hand of the Holy Prophet.
The Warders became few and demotivated, weak and vastly ignored. Morek's strong faith dwindled while the number of the heathen Springdalians grew and their voices rose above the silent knights of the Duchy of Donghaiwei, perhaps too used to having the Warders speaking in their stead. To administer such a huge realm skill and competence were required, since monsters kept swarming the southern front and the sheer size of the land owned was a challenge for the bureaucrats. In this because of this that the realm eventually supported Bustoarsenzio in the elections for the Ordermarshal position that followed. His main opposed was Sejieda Vita, Marshal of the main army of the Springdale Duchy, celebrated military chief by his comrades and steady opposer of Sanguis Astroism. In the end however the nobles belonging to the Donghaiwei Duchy still formed the majority of the realm, and they were well aware of Bustoarsenzio's past deeds. He was then elected Ordermarshal on the 5th April 1009.
Under his Generalship the realm was held together, but even with the apparent availability of sir Kniva Gothicus, Vice-Marshal of sir Sejieda Vita, the two Duchies were culturally and religiously divided too much to let them work together. While the former Morekians, members of the Duchy of Donghaiwei, felt to belong to Morek itself, the nobles of Springdale Duchy did not care about anything else than their own duchy. In time, this lead to even more dislike and hate between the two Duchies, and open quarrels inflamed the channels of the realm very often, Sanguis Astroism as one of the most discussed arguments.

Nifelhold, Unterstrom and Muspelheim

Even with the scarce cooperation and bad training of Morekians' armies, their sheer number was still imposing. Under the leadership of Bustoarsenzio Morek started to reclaim untamed regions to the south till Weinschenk. Meanwhile the restless Duchess of Donghaiwei Allison Kabrinski, as she later on publicy stated, worked to undermine the neighboring theocracy of Virovene, whose very existance relied on the intervention by the Morekian warders but that was now turning its back to Morek itself. One by one the Lords of Virovene defected, cutting the stronghold of Nifelhold out from the capital and exposed to starvation. This lead the Duke sir Claudius von Ravenheart to switch allegiance to Morek that readily feed the people and restored the infrastructure of the keep. Meanwhile the former High Inquisitor Lady Anabellium was appointed Duchess of Donghaiwei when Lady Allison decided to leave the position. Sir Branthorpe Silverbear became the new High Inquisitor, marking a radical change in the neverending discussions taking place in the realm, where he seldomly got involved at the beginning. At the same time, the Coffermistress position was won by Lady Alanya Costella of Springdale, in agreement with the desire of the former Morekians to integrate the Duchy of Springale in the realm life as much as possible.
Finally the armies of Morek were able to reach Unterstrom once again, and Grandmaster Deverka rightfully claimed his ducal seat. Bustoarsenzio was invited to leave the Donghaiwei Duchy to become the first knight of Unterstrom, in hope to build a third strong Duchy as opposed to the dualism between Donghaiwei and Springdale, with Nifelhold largely uninfluent. He gladly accepted not only for the personal relationship with the Grandmaster but also for the desire of detach himself from the endless arguments that the Donghaiwei Duchy love to discuss with the Springdalians. Few days after the pacification of Unterstrom, Morekian armies were called north, were the capital of Virovene, Muspelheim, remained alone after the defection of the lord of Muspel sir Hericus Lefanis, was about to revolt because of starvation. It is important to remark that the vast majority of the troops involved in the operations that lead the pacification of Unterstrom first and the conquest of Muspelheim after were all belonging to the Donghaiwei Duchy. Springdale's army was unable to provide any useful support besides defending the northern border of Mt. Black Nastrond, since many of its member were not interested in aiding Morek outside their duchy.

The death of Deverka Cryfwdr and the second loss of Unterstrom

It was in that tense moment that the worst imaginable disgrace stroke Bustoarsenzio, Morek and entire Dwilight. Grandmaster Deverka Cryfwrd was invited in Ymer's Fall, territory of Summerdale for a diplomatic mission. On his way back, in Nifel, he was ambushed by a large pack of monsters that caught his guards by surprise, slaughtered them and killed the hero and founder of Morek. It was like an ice cold shower, a punch right in the stomach. Morek as it was known to Busto and to the entire continent was no more. It crumbled like a huge castle of cards. Suddenly and without warning, every thing around which his life was turning was no more. Speechless and hopeless, Bustoarsenzio, at that time in Muspelheim, made a desperate run for Unterstrom in hope to keep the city, now without a Lord, under control. Meanwhile Morek was torn apart by political disputes for the sucession to the Grandmaster throne. Bustoarsenzio was ready to take up that responsibility, as he considered himself one of the few nobles respected enough by both duchies while detached enough to rule above them. He was on the other hand aware that he had by no means the authority Deverka possessed. Bustoarsenzio never put his name forward for the elections. The main candidate for the Springdale Duchy was the Duke of Springdale, sir Sammael. For Donghaiwei, the Duchess Lady Anabellium stubbornly decided to run, even when suggested not to. She in fact was not liked at all by the Springdalians and even between the Dongese had many opposers. Some wise nobles warned her that running she would have split the Donghaiwei Duchy votes, yielding an easy victory to Springdale. Yet she did run, and Bustoarsenzio avoided to run himself since that would have worsened the situation. As feared, victory went to Duke Sammael of Springdale, the man who created what Morek became, by leaving the realm of Springdale with his entire Duchy. Duke Sammael was a complicate figure. He was a fervent believer of Sanguis Astroism and loyal to Grandmaster Deverka and what Morek was. He was charismatic enough to allow an entire Duchy made by dozens of nobles to turn side in a war without defecting him. Yet, once in Morek, he was not what many Dongese thought him to be. Thanks to him, Sanguis Astroism took a strong foot in Springdale territories. Even if often considered not vocal enough (from the Donghaiwei Duchy noble's point of view) or very liberal (from the Springdale ones) when discussing of secular topics, Duke Sammael shown a true commitment to the religious cause, building the largest temple of Sanguis Astroism history records and spreading the faith actively as a priest. Under his guidance, several Lords of the Springdalian regions became followers of the stars, and temples quickly dotted whole Morekian countryside.

(draft: link busto-sammael, evolution of morek. secessions.)

Current War notes

What follows is a sketchy tale of what happened on the 30th November 1009 in Croton, where the Raivan and Libero Empire attacked Xinhai forces running a takeover. The report can be found here (temporary placed here. Soon to be moved elsewhere)

Roleplay from Bustoarsenzio Peristaltico

Message sent to Message sent to everyone in your realm (35 recipients)

Busto spent an uneasy night of meditation and prayer in the small makeshift chapel inside the camp of the Order of the Maddening Star. Everything was set, and there was no time to change anymore. Yet, he was visibily worried. Each time he went through the analysis of the formation and the movements he was satisfied, but too many things could still change. And that was a battle too important to be lost to chance. Few hours before full sunrise, when the first light of dawn begin to light the sky, he rallied his men: the Maddening Star First Battalion. Roaming in front of the line, he shouted: "First Battalion! In the plain ahead of us the enemies are gathering his forces. At sunrise there will be battle, and it will be a bloody dawn. Two realms are necessary to even remotely match the strenght of Xinhai and the will of the stars. But they won't be enough, as even together they will be defeated! This is the battle all of you have been trained for, the glorious battle we dreamt while facing monsters dug in in the ice frozen ground of Shomrak. It is our moment, and it is the time for us to show them what mistake they did attacking us! You are the finest of Xinhai, the first battalion of the Order of the Maddening Star and thus you will not enter the battlefield as mere soldiers. All the rest of the army will watch and follow you as an example and an inspiration, do never forget it. The entire Xinhaian army is made by your brothers and no one of you must let a brother fall at his side withouth sacrifying himself first. We do not fight for honor or glory alone, we fight for victory and for Xinhai as a whole. We will fight at the center of the battle line. The enemy must not breach there and the Maddening banner should be kept high all the time. Good luck men, and may the stars have mercy of our enemies for we will have none." The men turned side and took place in the middle of the Xinhaian army. With silver shining armors, blue cloaks and blue plumes they were an impressive sight to see. The sun rose above the Xinhaian army. In the distance, the dust lifted by the twin empires soldiers were filling the horizon. They were many, but not enough. As ordered, Xinhaian army deployed on three lines. Special forces and chosen archers entrenched behind makeshift wooden fortifications forming the first. Long range archers forming the second one, hiding behind mantlets and barricades. The third was composed by the Xinhaian infantry. An ordinated war machine waiting an order to unleash all its fury. First horn. The enemies are at range, the first and second lines open fire. Echoes of distant screams show the enemy is firing on our lines too, but the barricades should give us the upper hand for the ranged combats. The infantry marches into the corridors left open into the second line, all knowing where to head. Second horn. The enemies draw closer, the archers correct the aim, firing on the advancing infantry. Special forces prepare for melee combat. "Men! Double time!" Infantry starts running and fills the holes in the archer deployment, following a carefully planned scheme Then the clash. Like the strongest thunder during the strongest storm, infantry clashed against infantry. Men against men, shield against shield. "For the stars brothers!" Xinhaian left flank was made by the Austere Order, the Empire right flank by the Libero forces. Busto spotted the banner of Royal Marshal Sejieda, and in the distance, the royal insignias of Queen Alanya. Without their Vice-Marshal and leader of the infantry forces wounded during a night skmirmish, the Austere Order deployed a good amount of archers in melee in order to make up their somewhat lacking numbers. Heavy casualties were taken, but under the direction of Marshal Hericus Lefanis the Austere brothers fought valiantly, and the Liberonians were routed. Even the charge of the Queen in person could not turn the tide of that flank, and the Austere Order pushed forward encircling the right flank of Raivans' center. Xinhai right flank was led by Coffermistress Kabrinski and her large unit of archers. At the beginning of the battle however, an arrow wounded her and she had to be dragged back out of the line, her unit left into chaos. A large detachment of screaming raivans closed in, and the archers panicked without performing the planned movements. That cutted out the Bihand templeguards that could not take their place up front in time to defend archers, that suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat. Quickly however, the troops led by the Lords of Linhai, Zhongyuan and Cailyn, leading some among the finest soldiers of the Order fo the Maddening Star, along with the Skald Militia light infantry unit filled the gap slaughtering the snarling Raivans and capturing their leader, sir Igor Vats of Mt.Black Nastrond. The right flank was secured too, and quickly the Xinhaians start pushing towards the center of the Raivan formation. The center of Xinhai battle line was made by the Lord Polmarch and the First Battalion, the Archon's bodyguards and the former High Inquisitor along the current Judge special forces. Facing them the Raivans deployed the Gray Company, led by their General, the Imperator's brigate, led by the alpha imperator and the Imperial treasurer guard led by the Raivan treasurer. The fight was terrible, both armies were composed by well equipped and determinated veterans, and no one could seem to be able to prevail on the others. The warders of the faith special forces, in their shiny bloodstar red armor fought with their usual zeal, suffering terrible casualties but slaughtering dozens of imposing raivans. Finally after what seemed an eternity, the Raivan line broke under the combined pressure of the Xinhaian center and flanks. No enemy noble could be captured but the General and the Banker of the Raivan Empire were spotted while dragged away wounded by their men. Few of the Raivans survived, many were captured or killed. After three hours, the whole Xinhaian army, still deploying good numbers, shouted and celebrated the victory. Cleaning his heavy mace shaped as the maddening star itself sit atop a rocky formation overlooking the field of battle, Busto sent congratulations to all the Xinhaian nobles that fought in Croton. It would have been a day to remember, and all of them made their part for it to be so. Sir Bustoarsenzio Peristaltico Lord Polemarch of Xinhai, Marshal of the Order of the Maddening Star

Bustoarsenzio Peristaltico