I’ve recently finished the first draft for The Many Antlered Crown, the sequel to The Wind from Faerie. It feels great to be done with writing and move on to the editing phase. I’m hoping it will be released around August of next year, but we’ll see how the publication process goes. In other news, we are now nearing the end of our tour of the Halystrian Empire. We’ve covered Tythia, Ephyria, Halystria, Abydia and Modonia so far, and only have two more provinces to go. Today we’ll be visiting the province of Rhegia, home of the horse lords.
Rhegia lies at the center of the Empire, and is one of the largest provinces by land area. Rhegia has the Evidon River for its northern border, while Bythnia borders it to the west. Halystria and Abydia form Rhegia’s eastern border. Rhegia is well known for its broad plains and rocky hills, but it also has labyrinthine canyons on its northern margin. Rhegia’s cities are some of the oldest in the River’s Cradle, and nearly all of them could double as a fortress. The Rhegians build even their smaller towns on defensible hills and ring them with stone walls. Inside their walled towns, the Rhegians build simple plaster houses with terra cotta roofs. They have little use for the ostentatious marbles of the richer provinces, or for the finely dressed stone of Bythnia. Despite the advancements of the Empire and the availability of luxury goods, the Rhegians prefer to live life in the same way they have for centuries.
The provincial capital of Kythrion is not as large as many of the other provincial capitals, and not much larger than the other wealthy Rhegian cities, but it makes up in prestige what it lacks in size. Kythrion has long served as the meeting place for the Rhegian nobility, a middle ground where they could settle their differences and enact common rulings. In times past, the Rhegian lords ruled their lands independent of all other authority, and they waged war on one another as commonly as they led their cavalry against the other ancient kingdoms of the River’s Cradle. Kythrion was the principle place where the horse lords could come together in peace. Its importance was formalized during the integration of Rhegia into the Empire.
The Rhegian horse lords were among the first allies of Aurelanus Denarius. He allied himself to a prominent Rhegian warlord through marriage, and with his help was able to subjugate the remaining Rhegians to his cause. Aurelanus’ campaigns in Rhegia were among the longest during his conquest of the River’s Cradle. He captured the Rhegian cities piecemeal, taking one or two between larger campaigns against the Abydians or Ephyrians. It was the support of the famed Rhegian horsemen that helped Aurelanus triumph over the infantry-centered armies that were more common across the River’s Cradle. He gained so much respect for the Rhegian horsemen and their lords that he allowed them to maintain a significant degree of autonomy, even after their full incorporation into the Empire.
Though the Rhegians are not the only province to support a cavalry, they are widely recognized as possessing the finest horsemen in the Empire. Rhegians are taught to ride at an early age, and the warriors are the greatest riders among them. The Rhegians have a proud warrior tradition, one that spurs them to train their youths in warfare long before they are eligible to join the Telons of the Empire. The typical Rhegian horseman carries a javelin, sword, and shield. Their sword is longer than the Halystrian standard, making them more effective when swung from horseback. The Rhegian cavalry hurl their javelins during a charge to soften the enemy before impact, then use their longswords to devastating effect. Though their ancient tactics have been traditionally effective, casualties were high among the Rhegians during the Halystrian Expansion Wars. The long spears of the dwarves wrought havoc among the Rhegian cavalry, and the cramped mountain passes left little room for flanking. Despite the martial character of the Rhegians, they were gladder than most to see the end of the war.
Rhegia’s most famous commodity are its horses, which roam in massive herds across the plains. Each noble’s wealth is first measured in the size of his herd and the quality of his horses. Indeed, ownership of a large herd is the ancient right by which the horse lords claim their nobility. Aside from horses, the Rhegians also keep sheep and cattle in large numbers. As to crops, the Rhegians grow exceptional grain at the foot of their hilltop cities. Though the simple lifestyle of the Rhegians makes them mostly self-sufficient, they do import wine, oil, and other commodities.
The Sensiahd word of the day is “epalos”, which means “horse”. Example sentence: Sath ys eth awilliar epalos. She is a fine horse.