THE AGE OF UNIFICATION

Chronicling the events of the War of Unification or as it is commonly known, Balasich vs. Kastus Round 2   Dramatis Personae:

• Lady Arlena Kastus, last of the Greater House of Kastus: Commander, Knights of Samarah [Onderian]
• Chen Danai, nulla domus: First Lieutenant, Knights of Samarah [Onderian-Mar'Kaa]
• Lady Elayne Vasilus, House of Vasilus: Tactician, Knights of Samarah [Onderian]
• Lady Brea Vasilus, House of Vasilus: Liaison, Knights of Samarah [Onderian]
• Iona of Tern: Healer, Knights of Samarah [Wild Tribe-Onderian]
• Lady Raine Riling, House of Sagona: Scout, Knights of Samarah [Nagul-Onderian]
• Cerwenna, survivor of the Tusk'a massacre: Muscle, Knights of Samarah [Ney'shi]
• Lord Brecken Balasich, Heir Apparent to the Greater House of Balasich: Commander General, Trykan Army [Onderian]
• Lady Kaela Balasich, House of Balasich [Onderian]
• Lord Callen Balasich, House of Balasich [Onderian]
• Lady Riga Balasich, Archon of the Greater House of Balasich: Ruler of Trykan [Onderian]
• Lord Leonas Vitara, House of Balasich: Consort to Archon Balasich [Onderian]
• Lord Talin Thana, House of Thana [Onderian]
• Lady Vidya Vasilus, Archon of the Greater House of Vasilus, the Brute of Barron's Cross: Ruler of Herlan and Heran [Onderian]
• Lord Kalius Vasilus, House of Vasilus [Onderian]
• Nathair Dykstan, nulla domus: The Rat King of Trykan [Onderian]

The era before unification is known for its lawlessness, disorder, and chaos. Before the War of Unification, Onderian society was composed of city-states and domains headed by Ruling Houses and smaller “border” towns and villages which served as buffers between Ruling Houses. Bandits and bandit clans roamed free, as did ethnic nomadic clans of the Forest of Herne. The Mar'Kaa and the Wild Tribes often encroached upon many an Onderian territory unless these territories had armies supported by ruling Houses.   PART ONE - CATALYST   PROLOGUE   The city-state of Aurain, the Domain of the Ruling House of Kastus, is sacked in middle of the night by the rival Ruling House of Balasich. An eight-year old Lady Arlena and her younger brother, of the Ruling House of Kastus, are awoken by their elder brother, Lord Keyan, the Heir Apparent - he has been charged by their parents with protecting his younger siblings and fleeing from the city at once.   Lady Riga Balasich, the Archon of the Ruling House of Balasich (and thus, ruler of Trykan) and her consort, Lord Leonas Vitara, face off against Archon Kastus and her consort. Archon Balasich charges her right-hand man, Frey, to find the Kastus children. From the conversation between the Balasichs and Kastuses, it is implied that Archon Balasich was in love with the consort of Archon Kastus. They were betrothed at a young age, but the Consort broke the engagement to marry Archon Kastus. Archon Balasich took this as a slight to her family and since then has a vendetta against Aurain. Archon Balasich tries to kill Archon Kastus but the latter uses her cryokinesis (ability to conjure and control ice) to defend herself and her husband.   Frey catches up to the children and accidentally ends up killing both the Heir Apparent and the younger Kastus boy. Arlena, however, is taken alive and brought to the Throne Room. At the sight of their two dead children but a still alive Arlena, the two Kastuses lay down their arms and are beheaded. This causes a young Arlena to demonstrate her telekinetic gifts for the first time. Archon Kastus becomes interested in the child and decides to keep her alive, stating that she will be a good playmate for her son, Brecken. Aurain becomes a "protectorate" of the Ruling House of Balasich.   THE KNIGHTS OF SAMARAH   20 years later, Arlena has become the Commander of the famed Knights of Samarah, serving at the behest of the Ruling House of Kastus. She and her knights have been charged with escorting a VIP to Trykan through the Forest of Herne.   Nomadic Wild Tribes attack the traveling party. We are introduced to the Knights of Samarah, who are forced into action with their various abilities and skills, to save the traveling party. First, we see the Lady Raine Riling, of the House of Sagona. A half blood of Nagul descent, Raine serves as the "scout" of the group, using her shapeshifting abilities inherited from her Nagul blood to search for threats ahead. Arlena is telekinetic. Her second-in-command, First Lieutenant Chen Danai, fights without weapons. It is clear that she is half-Mar'Kaa which bothers the Balasich soldiers of the traveling party. The Ladies Elayne and Brea Vasilus, of the Ruling House of Vasilus, are twins. The former is skilled with a long bow and arrow while the latter is a Siren. Iona of Tern, the resident healer of the group and a half-blooded Wild Tribe, utilizes her flight abilities (of the Onderian blood) while Cerwenna, a full-blooded Ney'shi (an ethnic group hailing from the Forest of Herne) demonstrates her regenerative healing abilities.   The Knights of Samarah save the traveling party and the VIP. The small Balasich force guarding the VIP is led by none other than Frey, whom Arlena surprisingly greets warmly as her mentor. Frey tells Arlena that she and her Knights have been summoned back to Trykan. He remarks that it has been eight years since she set foot in the Domain.   Arlena, the Vasilus twins, and Raine are the only ones allowed into the Trykan party. Arlena laments this but Danai brushes it off - she will have to watch over Cerwenna and Iona, who tend to get into trouble if left by themselves. At the party, Arlena is warmly greeted by the Lord Callen Balasich, the youngest of the three Balasich children, whom she clearly has a close relationship with, and a lot less warmly by the middle Balasich child, Lady Kaela. It is revealed that the VIP that Arlena and her Knights escorted to Trykan is none other than Kaela's fiancé, the second child of the Archon of a state that has now transformed into a Balasich protectorate. While Kaela is cold to Arlena, her fiancé cannot stop going on about how the Famed Knights of Samarah saved his life.   We find out why the Vasilus twins and Raine were invited to the Trykan party. The Vasilus twins' mother is the Great Archon Vasilus, whose House army singlehandedly held off an invasion by the Mar'Kaa Chen Dynasty. Raine is the daughter of the eccentric Lord Balor Riling, a merchant of the House of Sagona. The House of Sagona rules a smaller city-state, but are subservient to the Ruling House of Balasich, depending on the Balasichs to keep their territories safe.   At the party, the Archon Balasich speaks highly of her "foster" (aka hostage) daughter, Arlena. She wishes that Kaela was more like Arlena, much to Kaela's consternation (she is clearly disfavored by her mother).   Last but not least, Arlena "reunites" with Lord Brecken Balasich, the Heir Apparent of the Ruling House of Balasich and the apple of his mother's eyes. It is clear that the two were lovers in their youth, having been raised together in Trykan. Arlena broke off their relationship eight years ago and left to protect the Balasich borders as the Commander of the Knights of Samarah and they haven't seen each other since. She did so because Archon Balasich wanted the two of them to marry, which would legitimize the Balasich Occupation of Aurain. Arlena and Brecken clearly still have feelings for each other but they end up fighting yet again about their relationship.   They are interrupted by saboteurs - Aurainian nationalists/Kastus loyalists - who have crashed the party and have taken Archon Balasich hostage. Arlena and her three Knights at the party work together to de-escalate the situation and take the assassins alive for interrogation. However, the Kastus loyalists make some comments towards Arlena that gives her blinding headaches and flashbacks of the night Aurain fell - her telekinesis falters with the distraction and they take a chance to hurt Brecken. This causes Arlena to lash out violently, showing the true might and strength of her abilities. The saboteurs are imprisoned alive. Archon Balasich uses this opportunity to praise Arlena even further and without the consent of either her or Brecken, announce the engagement of the two.   Later in the night, Brecken sneaks into the barracks to spend the night with Araina. Their time together is cut short by Dana who tells them of the ruckus that Brea, Cerwenna, and Iona have caused in the Red Light District (we meet The Rat King, the leader of the street reds of the Red Light District). The three go to deal with it. Afterwards, Arlena escorts Brecken back to the palace, although he actually follows her back to the barracks to escort her back safely which she does notice but pretends not to.   Meanwhile, we meet the crazy Greater House of Vasilus. Elayne and Brea attend a dinner party with their mother Archon Vasilus, her multiple paramours/consorts, and the rest of their siblings (7 in total). We can see that Archon Vasilus is a wily and tough lady and her daughters are very intimidated and controlled by her.   Arlena and Brecken interrogate the Aurainian nationalists the next day. They find some evidence of a plot brewing in Aurain. The Balasichs want Arlena and her Knights to deal with it but she's clearly uncomfortable - she thinks someone else should go. Archon Balasich threatens to send Frey and Arlena doesn't want that because Frey is old and she knows that if he goes, he'll probably die there. Arlena agrees to lead only the Knights of Samarah (a small force) with Frey leading a larger back-up force but staying further away. It is clear from this interaction that Arlena's memory about the night of that Aurain fell has been blocked - she doesn't remember the true brutality of the night, that Frey killed her brothers, though she does remember her parents' deaths.   At Aurain, Arlena and her Knights discover two intertwined plots. The first is for Aurain to regain its independence from Trykan through the raising of Arlena as the Archon Kastus. The second is a greater goal - that of unifying the Onderian city-states under one ruler as one nation. There are many city-states that have grown weary of the Trykan dominance but also understand that as long as the Onderians stay divided, they remain easy prey to the Mar'Kaa and Wild Tribe incursions. These Greater Houses combine to form the "Unification" alliance and are currently led by the Greater House of Thana. They seek to make Arlena the One Queen. On the other hand, we have the Greater Houses led by the Balasichs and their alies that desire to remain independent - they are the "Independence" alliance. However, we find that the Archon Balasich actually does intend to unify Onderon, but under her rule as the One Queen. She is only using the Kastus-Balasich war as an excuse to do this.    Arlena regains her memories of the night of Aurain's fall. She also sees the true nature of the Balasich cruelty towards her people. She always thought that by playing by their rules, she could prevent suffering but she realizes she was wrong. When Frey and Brecken and their force arrive at Aurain finally to be her "back-up", they are surprised to find that she stands on the side of the Aurainian nationalists. Arlena, the Knights of Samarah, and the Unifiers defend Aurain from the Balasich force. Arlena and Frey battle and she kills him, which Brecken witnesses.   PART TWO - RECKONING   We see the formalization of the "Unification" vs. "Independence" groups. The Vasilus twins spend most of their time trying to get their mother, the Great Archon Vasilus, to end their House's neutrality and join the "Unification" sect. Archon Vasilus' condition is that Arlena marries her second son and the twins' half-brother, Lord Kalius (Kal) Vasilus, so that the first King Consort is that of the House of Vasilus. Arlena is pressured by the leaders of the Unification to consider the marriage, but she still has feelings for Brecken even though they're fighting a war.    The Unification Alliance mounts a surprise attack on Trykan - they are aided by the Rat King of the Trykan Red Light District, Nathair Dykstan and his motley crew of street rats (all nulla domus). The three Balasich children including Brecken and the main Independence army are not present to defend Trykan as they are fighting the "fake" Unification force led by Kal which was meant to be a distraction. In this battle, Brecken and Kal face-off. The Trykan city-state falls to the Unification forces and Archon Balasich, Lord Leonas, and Kaela's fiance are all taken prisoner. In the skirmish, Kaela's fiance is killed by the Unification Forces which Arlena regrets. Lord Leonas also dies trying to save his wife's life. Archon Balasich and Arlena face-off - the former tells the latter that Brecken will never forgive her if she kills his mother.  In the end, Arlena ends up killing Archon Balasich, finally avenging her dead family.    The Balasich children are informed of the Unification attack on Trykan. Brecken is the one whom informs Kaela of her fiance's death. After he leaves, she turns an entire room into ice out of grief. Callen is also furious with Arlena and swears to kill her to avenge his dead parents. Brecken's feelings are very confused. He now has to come to terms with the fact that he is not only the Archon of the Greater House of Balasich and the Ruler of a sacked Trykan but also the Leader of the Independence sect.   Although Arlena has finally gained justice for her family's death, she can't let go of the guilt for killing Brecken's parents, the people who raised her for so many years. One night, she sneaks into the Balasich encampment to speak to Brecken. At first, Brecken can't even look at her. Then, they start arguing and she apologies. He forgives her and they spend the night together, coming to terms finally with their true feelings for each other in the context of the terrible things they and their families have done to one another. Arlena also feels really badly towards Kaela and Callen. Arlena leaves in the early morning to sneak back into her own encampment. Little does she know that Brecken follows her secretly, as he always does, to make sure she arrives back safely. Kaela and Callen see Arlena leaving Brecken's tent. Callen takes this as a sign of Brecken's soft heart towards Arlena and tells Kaela that if Brecken can't do it, he will be the one to kill Arlena and seek vengeance for their parents. Surprisingly, Kaela's tune towards Arlena has changed. She defends Arlena, which surpirses Callen greatly, for the two women have never been close. Kaela reminds Callen that their mother always favored Brecken and Callen over Kaela and put Brecken in the tough position that he is in. Kaela just wants Brecken to find as much happiness as he possibly can now - losing her fiance has softened Kaela's heart.   Unfortunately, Brecken is captured by Kal at the Unification camp and brought to their leaders. They want to kill him/hold him hostage but Arlena plaes herself in front of Brecken's body, saying that if they kill him, they kill her, it’s the same thing. Everyone finally sees the truth of the relationship between Brecken and Arlena. Brecken is escorted back to his camp safely by the Knights of Samarah. Talin confronts Arlena and warns her that she has to make the decision eventually – their goal of unifying Onderon or Brecken.   The Unification and Independent sects face-off in a great battle. Brecken and Kal are fighting. Callen confronts Arlena (he is very angry). Arlena defeats him but refuses to kill him, showing mercy. Instead, she is distracted by the fight between Brecken and Kal. Kal is about to kill Brecken when Arlena steps in the way. Kal's blade goes right through her body. The battle is paused, as Brecken runs with her body back to her side so that the healers can save her. He is completely distraught. He pleads to stay with her, but the Unifiiers don't allow it. They actually want to kill/capture him again, but the Knights of Samarah prevent this from happening. Iona fights to be able to serve as Araina’s healer, as the unification leaders want their own healers to heal Araina. But Iona makes the case that she has been Araina’s healer for longer than any of these “quacks”.   Sometime later, Kaela finds Brecken in a solitary room. She informs him that Arlena has died from her wounds. He is absolutely distraught.   In the epilogue, Danai enters a small cottage by a lake. She asks Iona how "she" is and Iona says grimly, "we don't know". They look over at Arlena who is currently in a coma. However, at that moment, Arlena's eyes open.      PART THREE - ASCENSION