VALERIAN THE MAN!

Valerian was once known as Ulaya, a War Chieftain of the Atlaia, one of the foremost of the clans in the Sea of Grass. His Father Ultur had forged a tribe, a rare opccurance, uniting 32 Clans under his banner. A great man indeed, but as nothing compared to his son, Ulaya...the man who would become Valerian, Emperor of the Dragonthrone, the most powerful man in the worlde, the only 'Dragonfriend'. With the tribe ATlaia, Valerian set out to forge this power.



The clans of the Sea of Grass were unusual. They had no concept of CONQUEST. It had never occured to them to want to dominate another culturer, as they fought amongst themselves endlessly. However, there were clans who had suffered from the depredations of Telmior, a princedom bordering the Sea of Grass, to the west. They operated under a slave culture, and the clans were a prime target. Strong, lean, practised warriors, they commanded a high prince in Ancillia, to the north.



Ultur has forged bonds with the elusive clans of the West, and he sent Ulaya and Alatai, his other son to negotiate. His tribe may have been great, but the western clans were the best tamers of the great Spurhawks that inhabited the stunted mountains of the Sea. Ultur and Ulaya both saw the possibilities that a larger force of these war birds would engender. ALatai was sent to the West CLans summer trails, and began negotiations with a clan that tamed the birds, the Paeirtun. Ulaya went deeper into the scared lands about the mountains, and was found in an entirely different situation.



In these deeper places, he was said to have been ambushed. His SPurhawk was slain and his body wounded, and he was captured. The Palioaer were the only breeders of the rare Black Hawks, and intended to feed him to their birds or ransom him. In the month that followed, he began to make negotiations into their becoming a part of his Father's tribe. AT first, the captors laughed at him, and beat him, but, later, thenh began to listen. It was here where Ulaya made his name. One night, the clan was attacked in full force by the twin clans of Abiidi and Narutar, intent on taking their Black Hawks and selling the clan to the Telmior.



During a frantic battle, the Palioaer cut Ulaya's bonds, and he cut down many foes. He set the clan's war banner by his feet, and defended it against all who came for it. It is said he slew over thirty foes. The warriors rallied to him, and he led a ragged defence. It is said that he won that battle by sheer force of will. They spent a day burying the dead, or burning them, and he led a counter strike on the clans. In a swift battle, he mnanaged to have half of his force on Spurhawks, shooting bows again and agian into the panicked foe. Ulaya then led a cavalry charge into the combined camps. Everywhere the foe fell in droves, until they surrendered to his, admiring his prowess.



He was held for another month, but as honoured guest. Upon his return to his Father, he led 3 clan chieftaions who would join the Tribe, and the only clan that could breed and tame Black SPurhawks. His brother came back with assurances of aid, but at the cost of war with Telmior.



Ultur and his sons had bound the north, with their fair caravans, the Eastern Clans with their vast herds, the West with it's fierce Hawks, and the south with it's greater numbers.



To Ulaya came one of the Old Ones. It was a great risk, for his father had them slain on sight, seeing them as degenerates. This man, nameless to the end, explained the many aspects of the Old Ones' lives. They wished to treat with him, as their visions showed the death of his father being close by. They had abilities beyond the norm, and would treat with him for the protection of their ways and their future. Ulaya went further. He spent two weeks with this man, then went to their sacred groves to the south and learned much from them. They would send seers with him when he returned, for his father would be dead. Dead at the hand of Ulaya's brother.



With his seers, Ulaya moved north at speed. Their passage was eased by the magics of the Old Ones. He swept into the southern camps, to find that the entire tribe was in disarray. Some had joined his brother, most were unsure, but there were those that flockled to Ulaya. With the Hawk CLans behind him, he droive north once again, gathering horse clans and Saer Riders to him. His Brother met him one mile south of the Tribe encampment. There was a battle, but it was never in doubt. Ulaya had a rare grasp of tactics, and completely crushed the clans that had followed him



The survivors of the 'rebel' Clans were given the choice of a Clan or death. Many took the former, and joined an existing Clan that they had marriage bonds in. Some few choseto die. His brother was flayed asnd torn apart by horses. The ones who chose death were made into a bodyguard for Ulaya - the Honoured Dead. From that point, they were his forever.



There was a month of feasts, of tears for the dead and many of the ancient rites that the Old Ones observed.



Ulaya had to turn this force to some end. Telmior was a foe of old. It had been using mercenaries to slave into the Western Clans. Those that were not already His came to him, asking for forgiveness that they had delayed their fealty, brining signs of war, supported by some few of Clans already Ulaya's. The tales were worse than ever before. The Telmior were simply observing the lack of warriors in the west, not seeing fyrther than their notion that the Clans would never work together. They would find that this was a dire mistake. With the bodies of mutilated dead, tales of mercenaries coimmitting worse atrocities, Ulaya's moment was made, his decision as bright as the mid-day sun.



Ulaya moved north at speed, with horse and Hawk, and there followed the train in his wake. He commanded 16,000 SPurhawk Cavalry, 8000 Horse and 22,000 warriors. The mercenaries were not prepared for this. They were strung out, killing, slaving, intent on rapine, and he struck them at every point, given the places by his Seers. The orders were to capture, not kill. 3,200 mercenaries were captured, leaving just under a thousand dead. In one long day, they had killed or captured every Telmioran mercenary.



The response to this was saids to be savage. Whether he later regretted it will never be surely known, but he hacked them to pieces. They were strung up, lost limbs, maimed ina thousand ways, then sent to Telmior's capital, Telimir, itself, with one sighted man leading nine blind on a chain. The way was torturous, but they were fed and watered, to ensure the greater part made it to their destination. Abandoned about a mile from Telimir's walls, they marchedto the city, a testament to the brutality of the ALtaia.



Ulaya was no fool. He had just added thousands of useless bodies to a city that would find itself under attack within days of the train of cripples entering it's great gates.

Quick question, is Valerian still alive?

he died year 535
now, it's year 1532