A History Lesson
Mark's favorite book (actually a manuscript without a binding) was the The Best Way of War. It is over a hundred pieces of parchment long, and so cannot be copied here. What follows, however, is the key message. It is how the author of this text (unknown – he or she left no signature) summarizes their work:
The ideal goal of any general is to not fight. It is to win. Even if your goal is genocide, the systematic eradication of armies, the people they protect, and their shared culture, fighting them is not the best way to do this. Defeating them is. Hound. Harass. Ambush. Duck and weave. Hit and Run. Remind your enemies that anyone who bears arms against, wishes ill to, and seeks to kill you is just a corpse who doesn't know they are dead. Kill them when they eat, kill them when they sleep, kill them when they make love to their spouses, and kill them when they stoop to relieve their bowels. Poison their food, hold their children hostage, and disrupt their lives in everyway imaginable. Follow your treaties only when it is to your convenience. This is the best way to fight a war.
It was after reading this book Mark resolved that, if he ever commanded an army, he would never commit it to a pitched battle. Such fighting was an easy way to lose one's assets. Weapons and medical supplies would be expended far too quickly. Better yet, Mark thought, avoidance of a pitched battle would make it easier to preserve one's soldiers lives.
Mark's resolve to never commit himself to a pitched battle was further reinforced by this following excerpt and the history that accompanied it.
... the barbarian armies of Caledonia fight with such a strange ferocity! May this letter never find its way into the hands of his Majesty, but I do not believe Etruria can triumph. Wherever I marched my troops, they dropped from trees, cliffs, and when these were no where to be found any other high landmark they could find. There are few open fields in this accursed country, but even when we fought on them, they dressed in strange clothes – cammoflague, we would call it – which allowed them to blend seamlessly with the grass around them. They refuse to fight and march in single file. They refuse to refrain from warfare during winter. Strangely, I think the raids they conduct into our caravans and supply camps have inflicted more casualties than the actual battles. Hunger is a terrible foe during war – especially when it is winter.
Mark shook his head despairingly as he read this letter. It was part of a story he knew quite well.
Etruria was a land renowned for piety. Their devotion to the teachings of Saint Elimine. Naturally, certain elements of the Church felt as though they had an obligation to reinforce this idea abroad; through military force if need be. To that end, a radical faction of the high ranking clergy politically outmanuevered their peace loving leader, Pope Utilim. When so out done, the Pope was forced to (reluctantly) proclaim a crusade – a religious holy war – against the 'pagans' of Caledonia, Sacae, and Ilia.
By studying history, Mark learned that attacking Ilia for the purpose of conquering and controlling its institutions was the worst mistake a general could make. The government was simply too decentralized. In essence, Ilia was a military-centric republic. Farmers were respected, but knights held most of the influence due to their popularity. Denizens of one of Ilia's many territories would elect someone (almost always a knight, for they held the most respect and had the most knowledge of Elibe's affairs) to represent them at the capital, Edessa. These representatives in turn would choose one from among their own number to be the 'Winter General'.
The problem? The problem was that there was too little political power distrubted among too few territories. Essentially speaking, each Ilian territory was responsible for its self. The territories would often work together out of a sense of community, but in general each one grew its own food. Perhaps more importantly, each one produced its own knights.
If a general seized control of Edessa, it wouldn't be the same as seizing control of the capital of a different nation – the territories had great automony. They weren't a federation like Lycia. They were the opposite – a confederation.
In this case, Etruria thought by storming Edessa they would win control of the country. They were wrong. The Ilians lost their capital, but the Winter General conducted many (fruitful) raids and masterfully kept the northernmost territories free of Etrurian control in every sense of the word. Eventually, the Etrurians were forced to leave simply because they couldn't garner enough economic or political influence. The Ilians then moved their government, weak but effective, into Edessa. The first crusade had failed in the north.
Mark speculated that the only country which would have even moderate success in taming Ilia would be Bern – and even then the country would have to expand its alright boistrous military. Moreover, even then it would be difficult and could cost no end of life or money.
Bern would never be that foolish. There isn't anything of worth in Ilia anyway. Mark corrected himself. At least, nothing they know about. Nergal had told Mark many tales about the treasures of the seemingly worthless country. Countless valuables of the Ancients lay buried in catacombs in the deep mines of snow covered mountains.
The first crusade did have one important effect. While Etruria failed to turn Ilia into a protectorate, interaction with priests traveling in the wake (or ranks) of Etruria's army eventually convinced most Ilians to convert to the Church of Elimine. The Etrurians had mixed feelings about that.
A year later, a new army was raised and it attacked Sacae. This one had much more military success – the Sacaens weren't as accustomed to hunting men as the Ilians. In time, however, the Saceans adjusted their horse-bow style to that task. After two years of bloody fighting, the Etrurians were forced back. The second crusade was also a failure. Etruria did, however, accomplish something which would later become important. During the war, they had established a provisional town at the heart of Sacae. This was Bulgar. Later, a small Sacean tribe moved into the town and became 'semi civilized' merchants. This tribe conducted trade and foreign diplomacy with the rest of Elibe for both its sake and that of all Sacean tribes. In doing so, they helped establish Sacae as its own country as opposed to a 'free for all' territory where 'barbarians' 'happened' to wander – a perception which, up until that time, most countries of Elibe had held.
A year later, the Etrurians declared a third crusade. This army was led not by "push overs", as the last two had been, but by the Mage General himself. Leonare de Falcose. The letter Mark was reading had been written by this man.
Leonare was a brilliant tactician in his own way but he had spent too many years fighting Bern's army. He thought in terms of aerial attacks with Wyvern knights and clashes with armored soldiers on open fields. "If it worked against the most militarized nation on the face of Elibe, then it will work against these barbarians." That summed up Leonore's attitude on the matter.
That was also why the Third Crusade was the greatest failure of all.
By this time, however, the Etrurians were fed up with failure. They wanted to win. Not to spread the faith – they just wanted revenge for their hurt pride. To this end, an obscure and out of the way noble rose to the task of reforming Etruria's strategy in Caledonia. This man was Harold the Cruel.
Leonare had been a man of many faults. There was no doubt about that. He never saw non-Eturians as equals, not even men from Lycia or Bern. Nonetheless, due to his steadfast belief in the rules of war, he never targeted women or children. He never caused villages discomfort, even if he knew they were sheltering or providing aid to his enemies.
Harold had no such inhibitions. In fact, his strategy caused him to be later known as the "father of total warfare". Harold didn't just wage war against a people's army. He fought against their warriors, their country, their people, and their way of life. He waged war psychologically as well as physically.
The number of people who died in Caledonia during Harold's comission as Knight Commander was staggering – as was the amount of forests burned or cliffs demolished by magic. Geography revealed that Caledonian land still bore scars of the Etrurian conquest.
Mark shook his head in frustration. Why would anyone do something like this? Who could end life so ... abi? So needlessly?
Nergal saw his Morph in distress. "What is wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," Mark said. At that moment, neither one of them knew that a great obstacle had just been raised between servant and master.
A/N: This chapter was written (basically) to teach people about some of the history of my version of Elibe. I also tacked on a bit at the end where a small part of the stage for Mark's betrayal of Nergal is set.
ALSO - as a plot device that will later become imporant in the story:
Things may have changed, but I don't think everyone knows that Nergal is actually Nils and Ninian's father, and the husband of the ice dragon Nini. His wife was kidnapped during the Scouring. He sent his children to live at Dragon's Gate and told them to wait for him while he tried to rescue their mother. He also advised them to go through the Dragon's Gate if he didn't come back after a long time (because if that happened he reasoned he would most likely have to been slain by Nini's kidnappers). The attempt obviously ended in failure, and for some reason Nergal wasn't able to return. After waiting for a very long time, Nils and Ninian took their father's advice and set out through the Dragon's Gate. Later, due to the fact centuries had passed and he had become insane, Nergal could no longer recognize his children. Nils and Ninian didn't recognize their father for a similar reason - he just looked too old and crazy. Not only that, but their own memories had been affected by their long absence from Elibe. Yes, this is actually a part of the official game story. It is only revealed in information outside the game, however.
Hm ... maybe I'll respond to reviewers next time. Not many new ones right now anyway.