On Lexnol III of Ratik

 “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.”

― Francis Bacon, The Essays

 “Frodo: ‘I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.’

Gandalf: ‘So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.’”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

 

Archbaron Lexnoll III

Lexnol had the misfortune to ascend the seat of the Barony of Ratik as trouble loomed. So too all of his generation.

Ratik had enjoyed decades of peace, prior; and he expected as much from the future. This is not to say that there were no challenges. There were always orcs raiding from the Rakers, and Fists descending from the Kelten Pass in the spring and summer months. And Barbarians harassing the coastal waters and high seas. But Ratik had always endured these nuisances. Its people were a tough lot, for their climate and borders demanded that they be so.

Despite these usual trials, Lexnol’s life was the envy of those who knew him. His was an adventurous life. Yet his was a stable realm, a prosperous realm. Sadly, his wife had passed beyond this world, but before she had, she bore him a son and heir, one hale and strong and brave. Lexnol thought himself truly blessed.

But those happy days were coming to an end.

The orcs were stirring.

The Kingdom was failing.

And evil was on the rise everywhere.

Only a fool could be so blind as to not see such. And Lexnol was not a fool.

560 CY

In 560, nonhuman tribes from the Rakers and Blemu Hills struck into Bone March, subjugating the land in 563 and slaying its leaders. Herzog Grenell of North Province reached out to these usurpers, seeing an opportunity. [LGG – 91]

563 CY

The Fall of the Bone March

In 563 CY, orcs invaded Spinecastle by secret ways that offered its defenders little warning or means of preparation. [LGG – 36]

Lexnol had been busy. He had been mending fences. Ratik was a narrow nation, bound by towering mountains and a vast, trackless sea. The Great Kingdom was not as it was, and though he was always the loyal subject, Lexnol knew there might come a day when Ratik’s great protector might not be as loyal to its northern protectorate that they had always professed themselves to be.

No matter. Lexnol was secure in the knowledge that Clement of the Bone March was a fast and true friend, and that he would surely come to Ratik’s call, as he would Clement’s. But one could not have enough friends. For rumours of doings to the south were of growing concern.

Lexnol

Ratik and its baron, Lexnol III, had been forewarned and deflected most of the invaders, but could not prevent the disaster that befell the march. Lexnol, a skilled leader and tactician, realized that he was now isolated and no succor would be forthcoming from the south or the court of Overking Ivid V. He approached the lords of Djekul, who had grown less wary of the proud Aerdi in the intervening years and were even grudgingly respectful. With the Fruztii, Lexnol forged an affiliation called the Northern Alliance. Ratik subsequently became fully independent of the Great Kingdom and had the might to both hammer the orcs and gnolls of Bone March and dissuade an invasion from North Province. [LGG – 91]

The blunt but popular Lord Baron of Ratik is a ranger: a woodsman, tracker, warrior and scout who has fought for years against the Bone March humanoids raiding his lands. Lexnol’s cool, hilly realm is rich with natural resources. He is on good terms with local gnomes and dwarves, and he has made a treaty for mutual defense and trade with the Frost Barbarians to the north. [PGTG – 25]

566 CY 

Many of Lexnol’s lords had questioned his treating with the Barbarians, but the wisdom of his doing so was soon apparent. And timely.

Within just three years, the nonhuman masses had laid low the nation from the outside in and the inside out, dominating the realm from Johnsport almost to the Flinty Hills. A raid into Ratik was attempted, but an alliance between Lexnol and the Fruztii prevented its success. [LGG – 36]

575 CY

War had come to Ratik.

The Newly Proclaimed Archbaron of Ratik

The newly proclaimed Archbaron of Ratik frantically organized his forces after the joint Ratiker-Fruztii foray into the Bluefang-Kelten Pass. The humanoids so soundly defeated in the campaign of 575 were again raiding over the border, and the gnomes of the Lofthills (west of Loftwood) were being continually besieged. Losses from the campaigns in Bone March and with the Frost Barbarians could be replaced by mercenaries and volunteers from foreign lands only.

The manpower pool of the Archbarony was totally dry in 577. Because of the relatively good relations between the Fruztii and Ratik, the woodsmen and elven warders of the Timberway were moved south to the Loftwood, and new recruits were formed into units of light troops called the Volunteer Borderers. Most were likewise stationed along the southern edge of Ratik, from the Loftwood through the hills and mountains of the Rakers’ eastern thumb. Fortunately, Archbaron Lexol had ample funds for these undertakings, as the treasure taken from the campaigns of the previous two years was more than sufficient to support the army and equip new units.

The standing army of 2,225 foot and 500 horse was augmented by four companies of borderers (900 men) and the cadre for four more such units. Levies and militia totalling about 4,000 were also equipped and put into training. Lastly, some 600 sylvan elves were enlisted for the Loftwood.

The Dwurfolk

Missions sent to the gnomes and mountain dwarves brought back confirmation that both groups were quite willing to aid Ratik, although the dwarvenfolk refused to leave their mountain strongholds due to continual warfare going on at the time, for large bands of gnolls and like humanoids were attempting to move northward into the central Rakers. Therefore, only about 3,000 gnomes could be counted on to join forces with the Archbaron’s army against an invasion from the south.

The usefulness of the new Volunteer Borderers was proved in the summer of 578 when one of this formation’s patrols discovered that the orc tribe of the Vile Rune was indeed moving northward. In addition to 5,000 tribe members, the force had 2,000 goblins, 1,000 norkers and xvarts, and 1,000 hobgoblins, orgrilIons, gnolls, and ogres. With this detestable agglomeration were nearly 2,000 bandits and brigands serving as mercenaries. Its forerunners were worgmounted goblins, a handful of whom were slain to obtain the intelligence.

Thus alerted, the Marshal of the Archbarony laid a trap which the unsuspecting invaders blundered into. The humanoid horde moved north along the fringe of the Loftwood where it butts against the hills. At the northern terminus of the trees there awaited the full army of Ratik, its numbers made to appear three times greater by magical means. The gnomes held the western (hillside) flank, while the light forester troops and elves formed the other arm of the “U,” well concealed in the dense timber.

Euroz in the Loftwood

The Battle of the Loftwood saw considerable magical competitions in addition to the standard hand-to-hand combat between the strongest fighters on the opposing forces. The real fighting was between the masses of troops, however, and this was fierce in the extreme. At one point, a score of foreign volunteers saved the day because their leader, Queg, a Fruztii, had prepared an extensive ambush with rocks, tree trunks, pits, and trees to set fire to. This action turned back 250 or more hobgoblins, killing or wounding half of them, so that the flank of the Archbaron’s army couldn’t be turned. Simultaneously, the gnomes on the left flank were nearly broken by a rush of gnolls, bandits, and goblins, and were saved only by the superb slinging of a flanking group of the Hillrunners and the innate tenacity of the gnomes themselves.

Finally, the scale was tipped by an attack on the right (of the orc horde) by the elves and foresters. The humanoid invading force broke and fled, and in the rout there was a great slaughter. Only about 1,000 orcs died in the battle, but fatalities among the other sorts of humanoids ranged from 50% to 75%.

Most of the bandits and brigand mercenaries were killed or captured. About 1,000 were willing to join the Archbaron’s army, so that effective losses to that force, after lightly wounded soldiers returned to action, were less than 5%. Furthermore, the loot gained from the invaders was considerable, and the renown gained from the victory brought a stream of new mercenaries to Ratik. Best of all, Archbaron Lexnol was able to prove that the free town of Dekspoint […], long suspected of aiding the enemies of Ratik, was supplying various forces in Bone March. This evidence of active support of an enemy gives the Archbaron just cause to add the town to his holdings — provided he can capture the place quickly enough.

The coming year is likely to be crucial to the survival of the new Archbarony, and much of the fate of the state hinges upon whether or not the alliance with the Frost Barbarians remains firm. With a secure rear, Ratik can attack Bone March (probably the region around Johnsport) and greatly decrease the threat of further humanoid incursions into the realm. If that is accomplished, manpower will be less likely to be a concern, for volunteers will flock to a successful commander. Ratik most desperately needs an effective naval arm in the coming years, and the Fruztii alliance would facilitate this eventuation, providing the pact holds through the next two or three years. [Dragon #57 – 14,15]

576 CY

The Baron's forces are able to defend Ratik, but they are not strong enough to dislodge the humanoids from the mountains of the plain to the south. The baronial levies consist of schiltrons of spearmen and a light cavalry. Large dwarven contingents are available in time of need, as are several companies of sturdy gnomes. A force of men-at-arms, crossbowmen, and mounted sergeants comprises the army of Ratik, with bow armed woodsmen patrolling the north and sling equipped hillrunners watching the southern borders. [WOGA – 32]

579 CY

Were that the only troubles. But hostilities were breaking out far and wide. The Great Kingdom had sundered, and it wished to have those seditious states back within its domain.

Semiregular skirmishes between Aerdy's South Province and Nyrond erupted into open hostilities in early 579, when Overking Ivid V made war against the so-called "Golden League" (Nyrond, Almor, and the Iron League). [LGG – 15]

One wonders if this spurred isolated Ratik to look for allies?

In 579 CY, Lexnol's only son, Alain IV, the heir to the throne of the archbarony, married Lady Evaleigh, the daughter of the count of Knurl. The county was the only surviving province of Bone March, and the union was arranged to improve the lot of both realms. [LGG – 91]

580 CY

The orcs were not stupid, even if they were savage and cruel. They understood that so long as Ratik and the Barbarians remained allies, they would be hard pressed to defeat tiny Ratik. So, they took measures.

Intruders

In 580 CY, intruders from Bone March attempted an audacious act of treachery by stealing the Seal of Marner, an object blessed by the gods of the Suel barbarians that was the symbol of the new Northern Alliance. The plot was foiled when the raiding party was captured in Kalmar Pass before making it back to Spinecastle with their prize. [LGG – 36,37]

[The] Seal of Marner was stolen by agents of Bone March, an effort by the nonhumans to quash the alliance between Ratik and the Frost Barbarians. The document was recovered before it was secreted to Spinecastle, but not before news of the theft drove a small wedge between the Fruztii and Ratikans. [LGG – 91]

c. 580 CY

Lexnol had been working on a treaty with the Schnai to shore up his position against Bone March and its allies in North Kingdom [….] [LGG – 89]

Alain was always a headstrong boy. He was brave, too; to a fault, one could see as much, if one has the eyes to see it. Lexnol was an indulgent father, and he indulged his son in his desire to strike back at the orcs who held the March, for so long as those vile beasts held the once benevolent lands of the departed Clement, his bride worried after the safety of her father and family.

Alain acquired the dream of uniting Ratik and Bone March, but failed to convince the king of the Frost Barbarians of his plan to drive out the nonhuman tribes. Many whispered that Alain was encouraged in these ambitions by his step-family, particularly the count of Knurl, whose position between Bone March, North Province, and Nyrond was grossly precarious. In certain agreement were the immigrants from Bone March, who were driven from their lands by the invaders. [LGG - 91]

584 CY

RATIK, ARCHBARONY OF

Ruler: His Valorous Prominence, Lord Baron of Ratik, Lexnol

Capital: Marner (pop. 3,400)

Marner

Ratik's relationship with the Great Kingdom cooled following the ascension of the House of Naelax in the Kingdom, which increasingly neglected this little state. When the Bone March was overrun with humanoids, Ratik began to court the Frost Barbarians, and formed an unlikely alliance with them to jointly raid the Bone March and North Province.

Ratik's population is not great, so the people here can only hold their land against humanoids and not decisively repulse them. Ratik men and women are all militarily trained, and conscription is universal. Specialized woodsman troops with bows as well as sling-firing hillrunners are among the cream of Ratik's forces. Ratik is not wealthy, despite its fine natural resources, since it has few customers plying trade. The Sea Barons and Frost Barbarians buy wood here still; however, trade with the Theocracy is slow, and trade with cities of the North Province is extremely low. Ratikers are now even more insular and self-reliant than before the war. [FTAA – 34]

586 CY

Alain could see that the time to strike was at hand. The orcs were vulnerable as one tribe sought to dislodge another. To wait risked losing Ratik’s opportunity to free the March and unit Ratik with Knurl.

Infighting soon broke out between several of the nonhuman tribes, and the sides remained stalemated until 586 CY, when Alain IV, Archbaron Lexnol's son and heir, launched a raid into the fallen realm that was composed in large part of expatriates of the march, it was a doomed mission. The unusually organized nonhumans laid a trap for the force in the hills north of Spinecastle. Horrified survivors who escaped back to Ratikhill reported that the trapped raiders were dragged from their horses, torn apart, and eaten alive before their eyes. Raids into the archbarony from Bone March have resumed. [LGG – 37]

Nearly three hundred Ratikans were left for dead during the hasty retreat. [LGG – 91]

Upon hearing of his son's demise, old Baron Lexnol collapsed. He awakened the next morning with a shock of white hair and a palsy that confined him to bed. Lady Evaleigh, now widowed, assumed the throne and has guided Ratik through the trouble that has befallen it. Raids from Bone March have become progressively stronger and more organized the last few years. [LGG – 91]

Evaleigh, Torn by Duty

Evaldeigh was tasked with a task beyond her experience. She’s been a cloistered lady, more suited to the ballroom than the wheels of state. But despite her being stricken by grief, mourning her lost love, and beset with worry for her father and father-in-law, she left Lexnol’s sick bed at his bidding to rally Ratik’s defense of the Kalmar Pass.

She did. It held.

While the rulership of the realm rests completely with the hands of the baron or baroness, its lord takes counsel with numerous constituencies, including the Council of Great Lords (fourteen human and dwarven peers), as well as the burghers of the small cities and towns. The current baroness, Lady Evaleigh, is the widowed [daughter-in-law] of old Baron Lexnol, who yet lives but has been incapacitated for several years. Baroness Evaleigh is mistrusted by many in the kingdom, for she was not born in Ratik and does not always seem to understand its precarious position. It was the old baron who won the trust of the Fruztii and negotiated a treaty with their king. The dwarf and gnome lords respect decisiveness, and Evaleigh has shown little during her short tenure. While the military is loyal to the crown, many grumble that the count of Knurl, Evaleigh's father, has grown far too influential in the affairs of Marner. [LGG – 89]

The tenuous peace has been far more dangerous to Evaleigh than the battles she endured. She  soon discovered that perfidious politics was plumb with more traps than the most dangerous Ur-Flan ruins. She spends hours at Lexnol’s bed, seeking advice, but the once adroit statesman has no heart for her straits. He lay lifeless, only rarely taking interest in her plight. It is only by Luxnol’s ever more rare lucidity has she kept the wolves at bay, thus far.

590 CY

How fared the realms of Ratik and Knurl in the aftermath of Alain’s folly?

Knurl was only saved by the intervention of Istus, for Ratik had been too weakened by Alain’s folly. And Lexnol was too incapacitated to rally his nation.

In 590 CY, a full-scale assault over the Blemu Hills into Knurl was also attempted, but failed. Thus far, the defenses of the count have held firm, but he expects another wave of attacks this year. [LGG – 37]

[Baroness Evaleigh] father's [his Notable Grace Dunstan, Count of Blemu, Lord of Knurl] realm, the county of Knurl, was attacked a few months ago and was only saved by the snows of winter. [LGG – 91]

Humanoid tribes and bandit gangs appear to be cooperating of late. Masked advisors were seen by spies in the councils of the orcs and gnolls at Spinecastle. Treasure seekers have entered the abandoned keep at Spinecastle, but few have returned alive. Without aid from Ratik, Count Dunstan of Knurl might ally with Ahlissa or North Kingdom to save his realm. [LGG – 37] 

Lexnol had been working on a treaty with the Schnai to shore up his position against Bone March and its allies in North Kingdom, but these efforts are currently in shambles. Few things would please North Kingdom's "Overking" Grenell more than to see this realm succumb to chaos. [LGG – 89]

Ambassadors from the Scarlet Brotherhood were spied in Djekul. Ratik wants to expand the alliance against Bone March and North Kingdom to include the Snow Barbarians, but the Schnai will negotiate only with Lexnol. Agents of the Sea Barons have approached Evaleigh to gain access to Marner. A half-orc spy working for North Kingdom was discovered in Ratikhill but escaped. [LGG – 91]

Ratik is a land plagued by political turmoil. Since the fall of Archbaron Alain IV in the Bone March campaign, Guilds and nobles seek to claim the reins of power from his successor—and widow—Lady Baroness Evaleigh. As factions vie foe power, relations with the Frost Barbarians to the north falter, rumors of infiltration by Scarlet Brotherhood spies abound, and military opposition to hostile humanoid armies deteriorates. It seems that the abundant resources of Ratik may be available to one hostile enemy or another; whether from inside or outside her borders remains to be seen. [LGJ#1 – 30]

House Bredivan’s militia has triumphed in desperate battle against an invading army of savage humanoids from the southern Loftwood. Ratik now turns its attention north. The Timberway provides vital shipbuilding materials, precious furs and hides,and is the shared territory of Ratik’s stalwart allies, the Frost Barbarians. For many years Ratik and Fruztii nation have lived in relative peace under the Northern Alliance, an agreement forged by Lord Lexnol. All looked well; the monarch of the Fruztii, King Hundgred Ralffson, even married a Ratik noblewoman. But now, Ratikteeters on the brink of political collapse, skirmishes have erupted between the northernmost nobles and the Fruztii clans. The crown has yet to take any action, either politically or militarily, once again leaving its nobles to stand alone. This time House Ulthek and the Order of the Hart guard the border. [LGJ#3 – 29]

Attacks against the borders of Ratik have besieged the militias of the northern and southern nobles over the past several months. […] Lumber production in the Timberway and Loftwood has plummeted. All the while, Archbaroness Evaleigh has done nothing. The Council of Lords pleads and demands for decisive action to no avail. The majority of the army remains entrenched at Ratikhill to support the Bone March campaign, while the Lords of Ratik sacrifice the own troops in the country’s defence. Finally, some of the noble houses have begun to plot more immediate and drastic action. At the same time, the plummeting economy and lack of trade has driven the various guild leaders to take actions of their own. The throne of the Archbarony, the Council of Lords, and the merchants guilds appear to be deploying for an internal conflict which could devastate the country more than any invading army. [LGJ#4 – 30]

Dire dispatches, indeed.

Lexnol, Beset with Grief

Lexnol lingers, his mind intact, if beset with the grief that shrouds it, as his body continues to fail him.

Evaleigh is torn by duty: duty to her father, and his cries for aid; and duty to the nation she now rules. Grief and worry have stricken her. She neglects the nation as she endeavours to administer to Lexnol, in his time of need. But no healing droughts have roused him from his bed. No spells have restored his health and vitality. He slips away, a little each day, brought low by a broken heart.

Evaleigh is pulled in two directions, with none to guide her in her own time of need. 

My noble father,

I do perceive here a divided duty.
To you I am bound for life and education.
My life and education both do learn me
How to respect you. You are the lord of my duty,
I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband,
And so much duty as my mother showed
To you, preferring you before her father,
So much I challenge that I may profess
Due to the Moor my lord.”
― Shakespeare William , Othello

One must always give credit where credit is due. This History is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is exhaustive. Thanks to Steven Wilson for his GREYCHRONDEX and to Keith Horsfield for his “Chronological History of Eastern Oerik.”

Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.

The Art:

Mazlin-2 by fedodika

Grief-Of-War by cha4os

Night-light by aktos309

Mazlin by fedodika

Game-of-the-Hunters by 6kart

Orc-In-Forest-Wip2 by warmics

Hunting-Party by vablo

The-Forbidden-City by unkopierbar

The Death of Prince Alain IV, by Joel Biske, from Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000

29-4-19 by beaver-skin

Map detail, by Darlene, from World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980

face-83 by panrafik

Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1068 Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991
2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1977
9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1981

Saga of Old City, by Gary Gygax, 1985
9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11374 The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Dragon Magazine 57
OJ Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online
LGJ .
Greychrondex, Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda