The day of our banner has long passed, no longer does the mere mention of our name stop conflict and make evil turn and run.  The War of Betrayal was bad enough, but then the Orc exodus and minotaur slave parties were to much to bare in the end.  The Crimson Sword once defended not only our homeland but those surrounding us as well.  Small kingdoms and independent towns in need of help.  Now our once mighty towers and forts lay abandoned.  Our forces unable to even fully defend the holly places and royal family anymore let alone out lining provinces.  I feel bad for those people.  So long have they depending on our protection and now it is gone.  I fear there will be many deaths before they manage to get their own defenses up… those that ever do, many more will become slaves to stronger kingdoms or minotaurs.

We started low, but grew so great and noble.  Who would imagine that in the end our kindness and nobility would be our downfall, and risk the destruction of our kingdom.  Then again our kingdom grew with us as well.  Hmm, I seem to be rambling now.  I guess I should start at the beginning.

The holy kingdom of Vikalin as it is now called.  But we started out as refugees.  Our king was driving the people to death in an attempt to become strong enough to conquer his rival’s kingdom.  In the end the only thing the two fools would end up doing is killing all the peasants in the land.  So lead by a brave priestess we left to search out some place safe.  Now for anyone that has done much traveling in our lands you’ll know that was a foolish idea.  War seems to be everywhere.  So unable to find a spot near civilization that we would not be made into slaves we ran into the mountains with the goblins.

The kingdoms in the area were to busy fighting each other to bother cleaning them out of the mountains and taking the land there.  It was a risk though.  The priestess had many civilians which followed her.  But she only managed to convince a group of conscript swordsmen to join her retreat into the mountains.  They were barely more then armed farmers.  Yes they were the first crimson swordsmen.  This small band had many lives counting on them, and by all rights they should have failed and the priestess and her people slaughtered or worse.

However, no matter how many goblins came, or how many times they came these swordsmen held out.  Killing scores of goblins till finally the goblin tribes began to flee out of the area completely.  By the end of these many months the swords of this band had slain so many, they were said to be permanently stained crimson.  Thus was born the Crimson Swordsmen.  Forever after defender not only of the priestess and her people, but of all innocents that needed protection.  Lofty goals and for a while we stood up to them.

With the goblins cleared the land was easy for taking.  The people who had followed the priestess built villages, then towns and cities a kingdom grew.  So too did the swordsmen, many recruits joined the ranks.  Other military forces were made like any kingdom, but always the swordsmen were separate and special.  While the rest protected the kingdom proper the Swordsmen protected the priestess and her temple themselves, while the rest of their numbers journeyed outside the kingdom helping small towns and villages, protecting roadways for travelers and more.

With the stabilizing force soon the wars even died down.  Two kingdoms alone remained in the land near the priestess’.  Calamin ruled by a skilled but kindly warrior king.  He had risen as a champion to the people and over threw many wicked warlords.  The there was Plainsherd, lead by a very charismatic chieftain, who had diplomatically joined several kingdoms together.  The three became fast friends and over generations the bond between them grew strong.   The people knew mostly peace and prosperity.  The three able to combine forces against any evil.

The Swordsmen prospered during this time and grew in numbers.  They helped many smaller areas surrounding all of the three kingdoms.  They kept the peace from crime and roving monsters.  They were loved by many people and were welcome in all places.  Vikalin was always lead by a priestess.  And the current priestess started very young.  But her heart knew no end of energy or caring.  She lead the kingdom to great prosperity.  In fact all three kingdoms benefited from her rule.

Then came the War of Betrayal.  The grand champion of Plainsherd was leading a force against an army of bandits.  They were fighting defensive because they knew the army of Calamin was coming to help.  No one questioned when the Calamin army arrived behind the Plainsherd line.  No one thought of foul deeds from their forever ally.  But Calamin turned on and slaughtered the Plainsherdmen and their champion.  Then their armies started on the lands of Plainsherd and Vikalin.  The Deathbringer lead their army.  I never learned his true name, but it’s not like such a monster deserves one.

He lead a skilled army of men, while the warriors of Plainsherd and the holy army of Vikalin weren’t unskilled, they had nothing near the power of the Calamin army.  Vikalin knights fell in large numbers as did Plainsherd champions.  Behind the Deathbringer’s armies came an army of orcs and goblins, who raped and pillaged all.  No one was left alive for long.  Now the combined armies may have been able to defeat Calamin, but not without leaving their people to fates worse then death at Calamin monster’s hands.  So the armies fought a fighting retreat trying to hold back the Deathbringer’s force so their people could flee.

The Swordsmen pulled back from their various posts and gathered together, with the priestess and the Chieften of Plainsherd they made a grand army to fight Calamin to a halt.  The battle was massive, the Deathbringer was horrifying.  He killed more then even the Calamin king.  The battle came to a near close when the Plainsherd chieftain fought in duel with the king of Calamin.  Now mind you I couldn’t see the battle myself.  Few could, most of the Crimson sword were facing off against the monsters.  Only the Holy guard, the bodyguards to the priestess, and the priestess herself were close enough to see.

It is said that the Chieftain fought a magnificent battle, and mortally wounded the Calamin King before being killed.  Thing would have gone bad, were heavily outnumbered and had little chance of survival.  But then the Human and Monsters of Calamin started to fight each other.  We can only guess that it was the Calamin king himself that controlled them.  When he was wounded they returned to normal and turned on Calamin.  It gave us the time we needed to flee.  So many people died, but more so the armies were badly depleted.

In the aftermath of the war we found the people of Calamin had been reduced to slavery to their own royalty.  We freed them, and they thanked us.  No one knew what happened to turn the good king into such a heartless tyrant.  But many believe it was corruption from a dark force.  The Deathbringer was probably the champion of this dark force to help in the blood shed.  With them gone the area started to rebuild.  The lands of Calamin though separated into loosely bound city states and provinces.  None were very well defended but still many grew separate from Plainherd and Vikalin.

Many thought the danger over and in time the three kingdoms may fully recover as would the Crimson Sword.  But it was not to be it seems.  Danger came again this time in the shape of goblins.  Those that had survived the battle that killed the dark army of Calamin had gone and gathered their warrens.  They knew we were weak and they came in hordes to try and take what we had.  They hit the lands of Calamin first, the rebuilding villages were massacred.  By the end of the horde invasion those that remained were little more then army camps,  anything less spelling death in their lands.

The hordes hit hard Vikalin and Plainsherd before finally being turned back.  The damage was done though, the holy knights were barely more then a handful.  The Crimson Sword had to thin there outlying patrols and posts.  We were stretched thin, crime started to pop up in some areas again and we were mostly trying to react to it instead of preventing.  The tribes and kingdoms of Plainsherd were started to fall apart.  Since the death of their chieftain and head leaders there was no one that could truly bring them together.  So they began to segregate, giving Vikalin less help and more problems.

But the lands woes were not done yet.  Some say the world was annoyed at our prosperity while so much of the continent suffered.  That is why so many tragedies befell us.  I’m not sure if I believe that, but there is something to say that those with misery seek to spread it to as many others as possible.  Our next disaster came in the form of a minotaur slave fleet.  A large force that had found out how weak our kingdoms and area had become.  They came to get large amounts of slave labor.  The Crimson Sword in the frontiers fought them from the beginning.  All were pulled to the front, and all the forces we could muster were thrown at the minotaurs to keep them from their prize.

We were not fully successful.  Yes we forced the minotaur fleet to retreat and leave the area, but not before they did gather hundreds maybe thousands as slaves.  After the slave war, things were bad for the kingdoms.  Plainsherd was no more, they separated, there was even some infighting for power and resources.  Many claimed to be the new chieftain and that only drove them further apart.  Calamin hadn’t recoved really from the goblin invasion.  Still it’s lands were mostly dead, those villages were heavily armed and even more paranoid.  Even farmers there had become remorseless killers.  All were trained in the ways of war.

As for Vikalin.  We went from peacekeepers surrounded by friends and allies.  To surrounded by potential enemies with few friends left at all.  The Holy Knights had taken many new recruits into their ranks, but those truly skilled could be counted on just two hands.  The Swordsmen were now numbered in dozens instead of hundreds.  Our people had suffered the least it is true, but we could barely now protect our lands.  However as I said many people had depended on us.  They were left to their own devices, left to bandits and roving monsters.

The priestess, so caring and loving, I haven’t seen her smile in a long time.  She cries a lot, it seems to be how she goes to sleep each night.  It hurts us all to see her like this.  She is torn though.  She must protect her people, but leaving all those outside our kingdom that we have protected alone hurts her to do.  We know there is little choice but it is still hard for someone so caring.  There is talk and rumor that the remaining sword will again be sent to outlying areas.  There will be no Crimson Sword protecting the holy temple.  New recruits and surviving veterans will do that now.

New armies will protect Vikalin while we will go back to protecting those that need it most.  Already scouts have been sent out to see what areas are in the most need of help.  My men looked into our old stomping grounds.  Near the woods.  An elven kingdom is in the woods but on the fair side.  To far to help the towns on the close side.  A few petty nobles have risen.  One in particular is greedy and somewhat cruel, but he is keeping crime down.  It angers me to think we may need to let him continue in power just to help us keep the peace in the area.