Rhitallia

Rhitallia
Capital Largest City Duchies	Hatdhes Hatdhes Hatdhes (1)

Artemis, Duke of Hatdhes, was an old friend of the deposed king of Nighthelm. Shortly after the rebellion, Artemis severed all ties with Nighthelm and led Hatdhes in secession. With Edairn, a region of Antoza Commonwealth, the dictatorship of Rhitallia was born. Senoske Himoura fled to the new realm and was quickly installed as the Duke of Hatdhes. Now reduced to the sole region of Masahakon, Nighthelm was on its knees.

King Thraymn knew that Nighthelm’s army, once among the most fearsome on the continent, needed significant help in order to reclaim Hatdhes. An agreement was quickly made with the Antoza Commonwealth, a realm that had until just recently been at war with Nighthelm. The details of the agreement were simple – the utter destruction of Rhitallia with the Commonwealth retaking Edairn and Hatdhes flying Nighthelm’s flag once again.

Battle of Hatdhes and its Aftermath

A combined force of troops from the Antoza Commonwealth and Nighthelm descended upon Hatdhes. Rhitallia had little time to prepare its defences and Hatdhes only had a limited number of militia to defend it. Unfortunately, what seemed like certain victory for Nighthelm and its ally turned into a debacle.

Troops from the Commonwealth and Nighthelm, too used to treating each other as enemies, began to fight each other during the battle. Confusion was rife and commanders on all sides quickly lost control of their men until it was too late. Even with this unexpected turn of events, Rhitallia’s forces were decimated in the battle. Nighthelm’s troops broke through the gates of Hatdhes and stormed the city.

With the massive losses sustained during the battle, Nighthelm was unable to begin any semblance of a takeover. In the end, Nighthelm and the Commonwealth were forced to withdraw. Swearing to return, the two realms signed a formal alliance so that the disastrous sequence of events would never be repeated.

Surrender

During the battle, Dictator Artemis appeared to have suffered a mortal wound. His body was never found, but everyone believed him dead. Gurido was quickly installed as the new Dictator of Rhitallia. As Nighthelm and the Commonwealth began rebuilding their forces and Rhitallia’s own resources dwindled, Gurido realized that any further conflict would be pointless. He contacted King Thraymn and surrendered.

In short order, Gurido returned Edairn to the Commonwealth and began preparations to surrender Hatdhes to Nighthelm.

Soliferum Involvement

In the midst of these negotiations, Soliferum’s army suddenly arrived in Hatdhes and rapidly occupied the city. When questioned, Soliferum claimed that its troops were present in the city to keep the peace and protect the people of Hatdhes. Repeated calls for Soliferum to remove its presence were ignored. Soliferum repeatedly stated that Nighthelm would be unable to feed the people of Hatdhes and would therefore be inadequate rulers of the city. Mindful of Soliferum’s previous attempts at capturing the city, Nighthelm was wary of Soliferum’s motives and made such suspicions clear.

Reluctant to bring Nighthelm into yet another conflict, King Thraymn persuaded the Antoza Commonwealth to demand that Soliferum leave the city to Nighthelm and to guarantee the provision of a stable food supply. Eventually, after much diplomatic pressure, Soliferum vacated Hatdhes, but not before leveling the great walls that protected the city.

The true reasons for such an action will never be known but Hatdhes was now a shadow of its former self.

Senoske’s Involvement

Dukes Senoske of Hatdhes began a painful rebuilding process. After a limited amount of construction was completed, he surrendered the city to Nighthelm, ending Rhitallia’s short existence.

Once this surrender was complete, King Thraymn revealed Senoske’s secret dealings with his old realm. Wracked by the guilt of knowing that he almost brought the realm that he helped found to its knees, Senoske swore to undo what he had done while he was on the throne of Nighthelm. When Senoske joined Rhitallia, he immediately contacted King Thraymn and both of them began to plan how best to restore Nighthelm.

Senoske worked from within and planned to disrupt Rhitallia’s attempts to defend itself and afterwards worked to end Soliferum’s occupation of the city. In return for this, King Thraymn promised Senoske that he would be allowed to serve Nighthelm again. However, Senoske would never again be allowed to hold a place on the council nor would he be allowed to command any region. In addition, Senoske would have to leave the Far East for a month in a journey of reflection and repentance. Senoske readily agreed.

When Hatdhes returned to Nighthelm, Senoske departed to lands unknown in the knowledge that when he returned he would have restored his honour as best he could.