GUIDE THE HORDE — knights and mercenaries under vampiric rule

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THE HORDE'S HISTORY.

The Horde found its' origins in a time long in the past, a time when nobility and knights were still common sights, back when royalty ruled over the masses. The kingdom of Erelath had been the original home of The Horde generations ago, back when the royal family of the Rosencrantz bloodline had been in power. It had been no secret at the time that the royal family had been vampiric and had once upon a time possessed a wealth of servants for sustenance and the usual needs of nobility. The citizens of Erelath had grown tired of the tyranny of the ruling King at the time, and many of the knights that served under the banner of the Rosencrantz family had been brought into collusion with the disillusioned citizens, nobles and descendants of the family.

Stormy was the night that the uprising began, with many whispered accounts speaking of an elk adorned in white fur spattered by blood leading the charge against the corrupt royal family. It was none other than the former Captain of the Knights, Sir Reynard who led the coup against the former vampiric overlords of the Rosencrantz family, though a turned vampire himself. That bloody night was forever written in the memories of the Knights of the Rosencrantz family as they were forced in the aftermath from their homeland. Their actions had been done to protect the innocent and the suffering from the cruelties imposed upon them by their former King and his brethren, but as vampires and servants of vampires themselves, the former band of Knights were treated with distrust and malicious actions. The citizens were not so quick to forget the weights placed upon them by their former vampiric overlords and had no love for the vampiric heroes of the coup, quick to drive them away where they could no longer be a threat to their lives.

Driven from their home and what they knew, the band of Knights grew tighter together under the pretense of fighting for justice, protecting the innocent and somehow making up for the sins of their past, for letting the King destroy his own kingdom, for tarnishing the trust of those who depended on the Knights to protect them. In the first few years of the band departing from their homeland, they had come across young survivors of the Rosencrantz lineage. Seeing a chance to correct the wrongs of their past at least in some part, Reynard took the young vampires under his wing and with the guidance of the Knights, they rose the young former royals under the temperance of lessons paid for in blood and through time, until they felt that they were fit to rule as their forefathers should have done. Continuing on through the ages, the band of Knights slowly lost the values they had began with, and had taken on the name of The Horde, led by the descendants of Reynard's line and that of the Rosencrantz family's descendants.

The Horde not only gained themselves the monikers of mercenaries and sell-swords, they had also earned the reputation of selling their morals for a bit of coin. This remained true of The Horde until times recent, where a young prince of the Rosencrantz lineage took power and decided that it was time for The Horde to set it's roots down once and for all after generations' worth of travel. He led The Horde north-west through the lands, subjugating and taking over settlements along their path. When the young prince, a chap named Lothen Rosencrantz finally stopped their advance, The Horde had come across the settlement of Fort Crom, the last in their journey to find a home. Many of the hopes and supplies of The Horde had finally begun to run out as they laid siege to the impenetrable Fort, spending years at war with the citizens within until finally, The Horde prevailed and assimilated the citizens within Fort Crom.

The strategic hold of Fort Crom quickly became the new home of The Horde, where the young Prince Lothen formed a court of nobles and took his first wife, Vayda Rosencrantz, the daughter of a noble from Fort Crom, to ascend to the rank of Lord, preferring to do away with the outdated and tarnished title of 'King'. Lord Lothen spent many of his younger years here, riding off into conquest when the time called, but never forgetting the mercenary roots of his people and often giving them free reign to take on jobs as they pleased. The Horde still swears to uphold a version of their original oath, swearing to uphold justice for the weak, to remove the corrupt, and most of all, to take payment for their sacrifices.

In his twilight years, Lord Lothen began to fall ill, succumbing to the illness of madness. It took him with the arrival of his youngest children, his dearly beloved Lady paying the ultimate price for the arrival of the young Ladies and Lords. The Horde has seen a bloody return to their former ways, many citizens expressing their displeasure with the way of their ruler and the Knights they should be proud to call their own. This leads us to the predicament of today, under the slowly growing reign of the former Lord's very own children, in a time of bloodlust, intrigue and charged political tensions.

THE ACCOUNT OF LOTHEN ROSENCRANTZ
FIRST LORD - MURDERED BY POISONING.
(Read with a grain of salt -- mentions of mental illness, cannibalism, mistreatment of children, and murder)

Spoiler:

From his youngest years, Lothen Rosencrantz had always been painfully aware of the expectations and responsibilities he carried on his shoulders. He had been born to a litter of four lynx cubs and had been born with the darkest fur and reddest eyes of the four newborns. His parents could care less about their children, often pitting them against one another in their early years until a clear hierarchy had been established; Lothen had come out on top with his older brother and sister coming just behind him in the familial hierarchy. At this time, his parents began to educate him in the ways of leadership, giving the young boy many hardships to solve his way through. By the time Lothen had reached maturity, he had already taken control of The Horde from his parents, the former leaders of the group having mysteriously gone missing during a food shortage. Nobody asked questions about it, nor did he ever give space for any. As a young man, Lothen had dreams of greatness and after growing up constantly on the move, he desired to settle down. It just so happened that his betrothed, a young woman of the name Vayda Sylver, was the daughter of a noble family that resided over Fort Crom. Making the decision by himself, Lothen directed the weary Knights of The Horde in the North-West direction, straight for Fort Crom. He planned to marry her and settle in the city, but his plans were soon foiled. It had come to his attention that a young new recruit had been sneaking in and out of the encampment The Horde set up, and that young recruit just so happened to be Vayda Sylver, making undercover visits to his older brother. An evil plan was hatched in the young Lothen's mind, a plan to rid himself of the remaining threats to his reign over The Horde, and to secure his betrothed.

An invitation was delivered to his older brother and sister, inviting them both along on a hunting exercusion nights before they were set to reach Fort Crom. Only Lothen returned the following morning, covered in blood and leaves with the horrible news that his sister and brother had conspired to remove him from the throne and that he had been forced to defend himself and drive his sister off while their brother was not so lucky. A search was carried out for the older prince's body, but there were no successful traces found, leaving Lothen to be haunted by the worries of where his brother had gone. There had certainly been suspicions that the prince had gotten rid of his siblings himself, but those who suggested such things were soon silenced or otherwise disappeared. A week later The Horde arrived at Fort Crom where Lothen broke the news to a grieving Lady Sylver who declared that he could not enter the city and marry her daughter until he had proven himself to her. Lothen took this as a chance to lay siege upon Fort Crom, to test it's defenses and to prove himself to Vayda's mother. It took years before Lothen was able to wear the Fort's inhabitants down alongside his own forces, the two finally meeting to discuss a surrender and the marriage between Lothen and Vayda. Not a month later was Vayda married to Lothen, bearing the Rosencrantz name as he took his place as Lord of The Horde. As age wore on the man, he fell victim to his paranoia and anxieties, the ghosts of his brother, his parents and his multiple victims coming to haunt him nightly. When his first litter of children were born, he was tortured by the sight of his brother in his eldest son, constantly reminded of the crime he had committed to ensure that Vayda would be his wife and his throne would be secure. He all but turned his back on his son, trying to ignore the fact that his son looked so much like his older brother, often harsh and rough with him until Vayda fell pregnant once more with his children. This time, three young cubs were brought into the world but at the cost of their mother's life. Vayda Rosencrantz succumbed to death on the very evening she brough her youngest children into the world, and was buried a week later. By the time of Vayda's demise, Lothen had lost a lot of his sanity and control, leading to the children being raised by nannies and kept out of his view until it was necessary. The last nine months of Lothen's life passed in this manner, avoiding his children for the insanity that had taken him, often sending the Knights out on missions, his own personal Knight being sent on long conquests that had no end, and brought the aging insane man no peace. His finals days were spent in weakness, poison that he had been fed over the last six months finally taking effect and putting a miserable end to the cruel reign he ran. His murder left his children and The Horde in a state of political tension and strife, his councilors that had become used to having their own ways of corruption and freedom were being pressured under the refusal of his children to listen to their accusations of murdering him.

A GROUP OF KNIGHTS, MERCENARIES AND VAMPIRES.

credit @/teef