The Steppe Crusade

By the year 171, the Empire Of Great Mountains had been well established. The Dwarven showed a zealous faith in the Cult that no other race, not even Men, did and they were well on their way to converting the entirety of Cynabakh. However, their work was not yet complete. Over the mountains lived the Centaur Tribes, savage heathens who knew of the Cult but did not respect its ways.   As it was done in 94 E.D., the only way to bring the heretics to heel was to force them under the boot. The third Mountain Emperor, Hethum I, personally went to Histria to request a final Crusade against Tribes. His request was not only granted but Aemilius II, King of Tellus, would also offer his Army against the Centaurs. Hethum was obviously pleased by this, and graciously accepted the Human King's offer, sending word to begin the Crusade in 172.   When the Dwarven and Human Armies began to sweep across the Steppe, the disorganized Centaur Tribes were completely blindsided. Villages full of women and children were incinerated, livestock was looted and if a Centaur warrior was captured and did not convert, his legs would be broken and he would be left out for the lions. While horrible crimes were widespread amongst the infantry of both armies, some of the most horrible crimes were committed by the Order Of The Acolytes Of The Holy Martyr. In one instance, they came across a small farming village known as Olurdi. The men had all gone to the war, and only women and children were left. The village did not take kindly to the Order's attempts to convert them, so the Acolytes used Geomancy to open holes in the earth under the women. As they fell into the holes, they then closed forcefully, shattering their legs. One by one, the children of the village were decapitated as their mothers watched in horror. With all the children dead, the Acolytes would leave, satisfied in their work and knowing that the vultures would soon pick the still trapped women clean. Luckily, a Tribal Warband would come across Olurdi and save the traumatized women, spreading the story across the Steppes. "Remember Olurdi!" would become a rallying cry of the Centaur people in both the Steppe Crusade as well as most subsequent rebellions, for it symbolized the worst of both Dwarven and Trinitist oppression.   In 173, with the Warbands beginning to rapidly fail, the Tribes of the land began to cooperate more closely. Until now, each Centaur Tribe was led by a hereditary governor known as an "Otaman". The Tribes warred with one another and all had their own relations, and while this was fine before the Crusaders invaded, it was proving to be their undoing. As such, Tribes with close relations began to band together into Hosts, larger associations that were led by a central leader, the "Ataman". This Ataman was usually the former Otaman of the largest Tribe in the Host. Five Hosts would be formed, the Tusuy, Segati, Anuran, Kenalan, and Jagasi, but it was too little too late. The newly formed Hosts would be fully subjugated in the year 175.   However, the fall of the Hosts would bring up a question: who were they to go to? Both the Empire of Great Mountains and the Kingdom of Tellus contributed more or less equally, and there had not been any prior discussions about territorial claims. Not wanting a war to break out between the faithful, the Mountain Emperor and the King of Tellus would travel to Histria, hoping that the Augus and his Apostles would be able to bring them to a conclusion. The Augus at the time was a Human, but he had a dream beyond the desires of his homeland. He dreamt of a worldwide Empire of Faith, one where all the Trinitist faithful could live in peace and harmony, praising the Gods in the way set out by Primus the Martyr.   He would share this idea with Hethum and Aemilius, both of whom were just as zealous as the Augus. In the name of logistics, it was agreed that Tellus be annexed into the Empire, but the Kings of House Milonius must keep their title and retain their power over their vassals. As well, the Great Steppe would be split down the middle between the two, with the Kingdom gaining vassalage of the Otamans East of the Tandzut River. Emperor Hethum would agree, but that was not all. Word of this would be sent to the Vampire Kingdoms of the Southeast, who had accepted the Trinitist faith long ago. While they were much more hesitant to join the Empire, they would be swayed after it was guaranteed that their system of slavery would be protected by the Empire, joining with the Empire in 176 E.D. While they would no longer be Kings, instead being given the rather plain title of "Lord", this new arrangement would raise profits almost ten fold, so there were no real hard feelings.   The Empire of Great Mountains quickly became the largest Empire the world had ever seen, but its problems were quickly apparent. Many different and conflicting cultures called the Empire their home, two of which greatly resented their part in it. Communication and logistics would also prove difficult, and while the Dwarves would immediately get to work connecting East and West via roads and easy to follow trade routes, the Gnomes and Centaurs would be neglected unless missionaries came to town, a bad decision that would only become worse in a few hundred years.