Fears of the Past - The History of the Montagues

S

Stormwolf

Newbie
Chicago Staff
To the Noble Houses of Rathfall, Unbounded, and the People of Our Beloved Land,

I spoke with several of the Unbounded last market about my concerns with a Montague potentially back in power. The fall of the Montague Royal Family marks a significant and tragic chapter in our shared Rathfall history and I believe it is important that more people know the full story behind it.

Part 1: Mad King Seymour​

Over 400 years ago, when the shadows of the Second Wave of Blight began to creep across our lands, the once-proud Montague family line, at the time known for uniting houses together to usher Rathfall’s power into a golden age, found themselves clinging to power with desperation and eventually became ensnared by the very darkness they sought to repel.

Within the first hundred years of the Second Wave, King Seymour Montague, in his attempts to combat the Blight, resorted to extreme and brutal measures that amounted to war crimes against his own people. His reign, marked by fear and paranoia, led to a series of atrocities that left deep scars on Rathfall.

  • In his effort to bolster the army, King Montague enforced mandatory conscription, indiscriminately drafting men, women, and children into service. Young boys and girls, some as young as twelve, were armed and sent to the front lines of the encroaching Blight, resulting in countless unnecessary deaths and lifelong trauma for survivors.
  • Accusing outside rural towns and villages of harboring agents of Blight, the king ordered mass executions without trials. Entire communities were rounded up, and those suspected of collaboration or showing any signs of blight infection were executed on the spot. The bodies were disposed of in mass graves, often denied proper Spirit Farewells or local ceremonies, depriving families of closure.
  • Any form of dissent was brutally suppressed. Those who spoke out against the king's methods were arrested, tortured for confessions, and executed. There is a corridor sealed off in the Whitecrown Palace that served as the torture chambers for the king, with many innocents subjected to inhumane treatment before their deaths.
  • To sustain his war efforts, King Montague requisitioned food and resources from local populations, leading to widespread starvation. Entire regions were left destitute as crops and livestock were seized, and those who resisted were punished severely.
It was these very unspeakable acts that prompted a rebellion from the people. While this Corvodian Rebellion did fail, and its instigators punished, this act weakened the king’s hold on the nobles. Within the next decade, it led to the Earth’s Chosen and the Mistweavers pushing to reject Rathfall’s absolute monarchy, helping create the position of Archduke, the City Council, and the modern version of the Triumvirate we know today.

Earth’s Chosen stripped the Montague’s of their family name within their records, removing them from any significant power within Rathfall.
 

Part 2: Viceroy Magnus Montague​

One hundred and twenty years and two Archdukes later, the Montague family rose from the ashes of their dark legacy to reclaim power in Rathfall once more. This dramatic return was set against the backdrop of the Blight's relentless destruction, which had left the Rathfall vulnerable and desperate for strong leadership. The key figure in this resurgence was Viceroy Magnus Montague, Bryas Montague’s great uncle, a charismatic and cunning leader who deftly navigated the treacherous political landscape to restore his family's influence.

The Blight had intensified over the years, spreading its tendrils across the Expanse. Crops failed, cities crumbled, and hope waned as the people of Rathfall struggled to survive. The existing governance, despite its efforts, was unable to stem the tide of decay. The council's fragmented leadership and indecisiveness only exacerbated the crisis.

Amid this chaos, Knight-Commander Magnus Montague began to reassert himself as a military hero. While gaining military victories, he had also quietly rebuilt the resources of his family and cultivated alliances. He presented himself not as one of despotic rulers of old, but as saviors with a plan to combat the Blight.

Magnus exploited the council's shortcomings, highlighting their failures and inability to protect the land. He orchestrated public demonstrations and leveraged his allies in the royal courts to sway opinion against the current leadership. This erosion of trust in the council set the stage for his rise.

A pivotal moment in Magnus's consolidation of power came with the tragic shipwreck of the Empress Dawn, which claimed the lives of many prominent house leaders. This suspicious accident allowed Magnus to manipulate his loyalists into positions of power, further tightening his grip on the city-state. The City Council promoted him to the newly created role of Viceroy and granted him unheard of powers to help stop the Blight.

What appeared to be a strong and capable leader saving the kingdom from the Blight was, in truth, a pawn in a far more sinister game orchestrated by vampire blight agents. At the heart of Magnus's rule was his most trusted military advisor only known in the annals of history as Seraphis, who was secretly a vampire agent of the Blight, offering Magnus necromantic power that he greedily accepted. Seraphis had been a master manipulator, working in the shadows to assist Magnus’s horrific actions. His ultimate goal was to isolate Rathfall, weakening it from within and making it ripe for the Blight’s spread.

Key Manipulations by Seraphis:

  • Isolationist Policies: Seraphis convinced Magnus to assert Rathfall needed to be cut off from its allies. The army closed trade routes, diplomatic ties were severed, and the city-state became increasingly insular out of fear for vampire agents.
  • False Intelligence: Seraphis fed Magnus false intelligence, who in turn fed the same lies to the Triumvirate, making everyone believe that the outside world was overrun by the Blight and that only complete isolation could save Rathfall.
  • Creating Paranoia: Seraphis stoked Magnus's fears, leading to a crackdown on any perceived dissent. At this time a dozen large prisons, nicknamed The Cages, were created (although only two today remain). This created an atmosphere of mistrust and paranoia, weakening the internal cohesion of Rathfall.
As dissent grew, Magnus, with the help of Seraphis' chaotic magic, secretly began corrupting his opponents, transforming them into undead soldiers loyal only to him. This private army of the undead was used to crush any rebellion (unlike his great great grandfather) and maintain his tyrannical rule.

In a final, horrifying twist, Seraphis assisted Magnus in performing a ritual that transformed him into a powerful vampire, a being of immense necromantic power not seen since the Necromancy Wars from nearly two millennia ago. This transformation marked the complete corruption of Magnus, turning him into the very embodiment of the Blight he had once sought to fight.

The Civil War

Despite most of the council powerless to stop him, the reign of the undead Viceroy Magnus Montague was short lived. The Minor House of Rumil, united with House Fortinbras, led a massive civil war to overthrow the corrupt viceroy and his allies. This brutal conflict would ultimately liberate Rathfall from Seymour’s dark hold, defeating him.

The civil war left Rathfall scarred but free from the dark influence of the Montagues. The aftermath of the conflict led to significant changes in the kingdom's governance, ensuring that such a tyranny could never rise again.

The story of King Seymour’s rise and fall is a cautionary tale of power and corruption. There has been enough compiled history to know that nothing good comes from a Montague in power. As I told Unbounded during the last market, all lands with ties to Minor House Montague, past and present, need to be raided and proven that no necromantic or blight corruption is present. As well, I request that the Earth’s Chosen need to bring Byras in for questioning.

Only then, can some of our very valid concerns may possibly be lifted.


-Landgrave Forsythe
 
I noticed a lack of mention of death of these former leaders. Can you clarify that for me please? Do we have proof that both of these former kings are dead? Since there was interaction with necromancy and undeath, it is valid concerns to have, even if they have nothing to do with Byras.

-Astraea ☆
 
Landgrave Forsythe,

I would state firstly. We cannot be held responsible for the past transgressions of or ancestors. We can learn from their mistakes and do our best to make the lives living here and now better. I do understand that for those of us with longer lives and memories that the events of the past, feel more recent.
I was told this by my father many, many moons ago.

"My name is not my own,
it is borrowed from my ancestors,
I must return it unstained

My honor is not my own,
it is on loan from my descendents,
I must give it to them unbroken

Our blood is not our own,
it is a gift to generations yet unborn,
we should carry it with responsibility."

We should with the knowledge of past deceptions by those who live in the Blight, and watch for them to try again. Grant Prince Consort Pro-Tempore the benefit of the doubt. Let his actions speaks. A wise woman once said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

Secondly, I agree with Astrea. What happened to those who came before and were corrupted by Necromancy?

Baroness FallingStar
 
His father wants to move on
 
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