May Ohros hold the world-thread steady and may his gaze not be diverted by our actions.
It is the sixteenth day of the thirteenth moon of the second year of the rule of King Ohra of Galadiahos.
I take up my unworthy pen to set down the recent history of our holy brotherhood, the Exiled Red Brigade. For several moons we have been fighting in the land of our birth, ad outlaws rather than exiles. We have resisted the torture squads of the unworthy King. Some have paid in blood for their beliefs. Most dear to me of these were my predecessor, Keezato the Quartermaster, who has been drawn up by the Death of the Swords and who awaits the judgement of Ohros The Great, and Louzo the sorceror. Despite Louzo's calling and heathen ways I feel sure that the great Ohros will judge his actions well, for Louzo fought with us on the field at Vradee and lost his life defending his holy vow and saving the lives of his brothers. He was slain by Ohra's foul henchmen Kismano the Unclean and it was in revenging Louzo's death that Keezato lost his life, slaying Kismano though he was surrounded by thirty or more or the King's honour guard.
It is uncomfortable for us to speak of it for we were once part of that guard. Those who hold the positions now are an insult to the name of the guard and to the memory of the founding fathers of the brigade who were exiled for honourable actions. Where is the justice in exiling such true folk and populating the guard with rapists and thieves?
I have reluctantly agreed to take over Keezato's role as quartermaster although I felt my own calling was towards that of chaplain. Still, our Captain feels I would be of more service as quartermaster and it is certain that we are in dire need of supplies and provisions. Eleos has taken his master's place as sorceror. He is young and still somewhat innocent. Istera and I have ensured that his education has been even- the rites of sorcery are his business but the worship of the gods is our first duty and none of us should forget that. In the aftermath of the battle of Vradee we have once more sought refuge in the hills around the sacred shrine and monastery established by our first Captain. The monks there are sympathetic to our cause because they fear that Ohra is not only letting his bullies loose on the people but that his is probably neglecting his religious duties and may even be a heretic. It is certain that his patron is the Death of Ecstasy, whose cult the brigade has opposed since even before our founding. Since Estasia is strictly speaking a manifestation of Divine Ohros, one cannot question the sanctity of the goddess. However, no-one would claim that all clergy are true to the faith or that all worshippers respect their patron sufficiently. One always suspects with worshippers of the Death of Ecstasy that religious revelation comes second to hedonistic self-indulgence as a reason for choosing one's patron.
The battle at Vradee was technically a loss for the outlaw forces opposed to the King, but the feeling of Captain Selahee (and myself) is that the victory has cost him sore. His bully boys did not hire on to fight real soldiers with real spears and real discipline. They signed on to fight old ladies and frightened little girls and I think that a taste of organized resistance will see Ohra's forces start to dwindle. Ours of course cannot be increase as if Ohra tightens his hold he forces more people into our care, yet if he loosens his hold, the people use their increased freedom to spy and subvert his enterprises. Only the priesthood could save Ohra now, by a divine manifestation to prove the will of the gods. Thankfully, there are none so heretical or depraved as to wish to summon even the least aspect of Great Ohros for Ohra's purposes.
It is strange to muse on how such a great ruler as Rodenos could have left the country in the hands of such a vicious and petty man. Perhaps it is that mother's eyes are blind. The cynical amongst us suggest that to really guarantee one's reputation as the greatest of rulers one must ensure that those who come after you cannot eclipse you. Selahee is of that opinion but I think it is uncharitable to a woman whose actions were always proper and lawful, though not always fair or popular.
The brigade is now reduced to perhaps half its previous number, firstly because of those who fell at Vradee, second because many brothers and sisters have left in order to return to family and friends in other part of the kingdom, the better to protect those who are still dear to them from the depredations of Ohra. I cannot truly blame those who grasp at the opportunity to regain the life that they had lost, although I fear for most of them it is a fool's errand and although gratitude may be swiftly one it is also swiftly lost and loss turns to resentment as the wheel of time turns.
Our strategy has been one of harrying Ohra's servants where possible, hiding the majority of the grain from his inspectors, keeping the young and vulnerable in the mountains whilst their fathers still toil away in the valley growing food to support us all. Where we can, we damage the records and papers of the civil service for if Ohra cannot control his provinces the nobles will rebel and place one of their number in his place.
We have not been paid by any man for nearly two years now and the strain is showing on us. We have worn the same uniforms for too long, the colours are fading and the feathers are scraggle ends. We have no money to replace weapons, nor provide for first aid for the wounded, nor to equip ourselves to survive the winter. As a result, most of our supplies are simply looted. At least we manage to restrict ourselves to stealing from Ohra and his servants for the most part- besides, these days if a man has wealth it is because he serves Ohra well.
Food is no great problem- the people of the kingdom are generous and the harvests have been good. Of much more concern is the military equipment- we are desperately short of arrows- and even more so the armour situation. We plan a raid on an armoury soon.
Moleeno, Quartermaster.
It is the sixth and hopefully final year of the rule of King Ohra the heretic of Galadiahos. The brigade, having survived and acted as the rallying point for the forces opposing the heretic king, have now enlisted in th service of Prince Skara, the King's younger brother and the new leader of the forces attempting to overthrow the heretic and return the kingdom to the righteous rule of Ohros the Pale.
Ohra's final mistake was to alienate the priesthood. I spoke in my previous letter of the priesthood containing his last hope. Ohra did not see that and continued to sate the unwholesome lusts of himself and his sycophants at the expense of all and sundry until finally he started on the temples themselves. Twisting the holy doctrine of Ohros, he claimed that the priests and the god needed no large temples or sumptuous apartments, nor fine statues or painted walls. He began to break up the smaller temples in outlying parts of the kingdom to feed his hangers-on and their insatiable greed for fine things that do not belong to them.
Of course, this was an unstable situation. For the last three years Ohra has remained in power largely because he has had access to the hitherto almost inexhaustible riches of the royal treasury. These he has used to pay his thugs and bullies, to hire his spies, to recruit his sorcerors and to placate the nobles.
The royal treasury, however, is founded on the labours of the people. When there is no grain, there is no gold. When no-one digs in the mountains, there are no gems.
Finally, the only resource left to Ohra to bolster his fading rule was the sacred temples. So he plundered them. Starting with those in outlying places, the heretic and outcast priest Kane began to dismantle the finest old temples. The priests were told to establish themselves in poor quarters or caves as holy monks or hermits. The buildings were used by Ohra's henchmen as their private dwellings. The contents of the temples were sent to fill the royal coffers and thence into the pockets of those in Ohra's pay. It is fortunate that Skara came forward when he did, for perhaps between us we can stop this final desecration before it has gone too far.
Moleeno.
It is but six short months since I last wrote in this journal, but much has changed. The brigade has expanded to about a hundred men once more and we act as a cadre, training and enforcing discipline throughout the army of Prince Skara the just. We have fought battles against the forces of Ohra the heretic and each battle we win is a double loss for Ohra, for those in the lands previously ruled by him join freely into the army of the liberator and purifier, Prince Skara the blessed! The main strategic problem is not how to win, but how to turn the liberated into an army powerful enough to ensure Ohra's final annihilation with minimal losses to ourselves. Skara is no great military mind, but he has theat uncommon gift of choosing advisors with great sense who can work together. It gives us great pride that Captain Selahee is one of those advisors and that our word once more carries weight in the councils of command.
I think that Ohra will be ousted afore the moon turns three more times. The only thing which in my heart causes me secret fear is the assassinations. We believe that the sorcerous clan spoken of early in the journals is still active in Galadiahos, and what is more that it supports Ohra. One can only conjecture what foul reason there might be for this: my own feeling is that not all of those who have disappeared in Ohra's purges have met a clean death.
I am pleased to welcome Proales to our number. Proales is a master engineer from Skara's army who Selahee approached and asked to join our company as Engineer, a position vacant for many years but whose services and skills are sure to be required in the campaign to conquer the heretic and return the kingdom to righteous rule.
Moleeno.
This should probably be my last entry in these journals. I record here how we toppled the rule of Ohra the abomination and heretic and joyfully report that it is the sixth day of the ninth moon of the first year of the rule of King Skara the blessed of Galadiahos.
The kingdom is now beginning to return to some degree of normality after the years of civil war that have torn her apart. The temples are been purified or built and the caches of many an evil man emptied and the scared relics returned to their rightful places.
The final battle against Ohra occurred on the fields outside Edos, where we had pursued Ohra and the remnants of his army after expelling them from the siege of Korona. One can only wonder why Ohra fled the field so early, causing the centre of his line to crumble and allowing our wings to close around his defeated army like the jaws of a great beast. Ohra himself was finally caught trying to take ship at Limanos, accompanied only by the depraved priest Kane and perhaps a dozen guards and assassins.
It was fortunate that Eleos was with te detachment of the brigade who finally chased him down, for many of his bodyguards were sorcerors of considerable talent and had Eleos not concentrated his efforts at undoing their witchcraft Ohra would surely have escaped justice. As it was he was tried by the religious court on Diadhos and sentenced to be imprisoned in a bronze cage for the carrion to devour. They say he lived nearly a full moon, for his flesh was so bloated by his overindulgence that he weighed twice as much as any normal man. I think the true reason for his longevity was that he himself was a sorceror and used his unnatural powers to prolong his own life in the hope that his assassins would rescue him.
Since then the brigade has been held in high honour and once more can claim to be the Red Brigade of the Royal Guard of Galadiahos. We have come home.
Moleeno, Lieutenant of the Royal Guard.
Last modified 12 Sept 1998 Questions or comments: Hywel Phillips