King Bison II

King Bison II is remembered as one of the greatest Scovanians to ever live. Under him, Derpscovy would destroy it's rivals and forge Scovania into one realm with Bison at its head. The great kingdom he created would continue to exist even after his death, something uncommon in such a chaotic region.

Childhood
Bison II's earliest memories were of playing on his family's estate with the children of serfs and servants. A large child, he was dominant in all of the games they played. His mother caught a chill and passed when Bison II was still a boy, so he spent much of his youth with a select group of highly skilled tutors hired from across Scovania. With a voracious appetite for learning, Bison II eagerly threw himself into his lessons. He read every book he could lay his hands upon, whether they be of legendary figures, distant realms, warcraft, or religion. When he was sent his first sword master to train with, Bison II discovered a natural aptitude for fighting.

On his 12th birthday, his father visited him for the first time in years. He gave him a sealed letter, but instructed him not to open it until "the time was right". Along with this, he gave him a simply ornamented but master-crafted longsword, the pommel a bear's claw. He left just as suddenly, leaving Bison II full of questions and frustration. Unbeknownst to him, this would be the last time Bison II saw his father.

Taking the Throne
When Bison II was 14, a lone rider arrived at his estate late in the night. He introduced himself as Cirion Leon, and asked Bison to produce his sealed letter. Upon reading it, Cirion knelt and told Bison II that he was now King of Derpscovy. The two left the following morning, after Bison made sure the estate would not collapse upon his departure, and as they made their way to Derptroit Cirion brought him up to speed on the disaster Derpscovy had just undergone. Bison II, still a boy, would be taking command of a kingdom on the brink of collapse that had just lost most of its top commanders and nobles in a massacre. Upon entering the throne room of Derptroit, Cirion and Bison found Jamtein Adsum, his bastard uncle, sitting on the throne. Presenting Bison II before the court, Jamtein ungraciously stepped down from his role as regent and Bison was proclaimed King Bison II of Derpscovy.

The Child King
Although he had not met any meaningful resistance from the court, Bison II's problems had not even begun to be addressed. A band of barbarians known as the Blue Tribe had seen their weakness as an opportunity to pillage the countryside. When Bison rode out to meet them, their leader known as Blue Man insulted him. Not one to take an insult lying down, Bison challenged him to a duel and lopped off his hand, sending the barbarians fleeing. Next, the Soupists demanded that he hand over a Lazarosi prisoner which Jamtein had taken. Jamtein argued against handing over the prisoner, and when Bison II agreed to host a joint Soupist-Derpscovian trial for the prisoner Jamtein released her and helped her escape.

The Soupists and Cliffhalls would start another war, and while Bison II commanded Derpscovy stay neutral in order to try and regain the resources that had been wasted, Jamtein went against orders and in the eyes of Bison unneccesarily endangered many of his people in order to try and escort the same prisoner to safety, an effort that was in vain. As the Soupists and Cliffhalls had weakened one another, Bison took the opportunity to march against the Cliffhalls. in the battle known as "The Storming of the Citadel" he captured Ryland Cliffhall, who Bison would use as a bargaining chip. In exchange for Ryland's release, King Connor Cliffhall would submit himself to Derpscovian custody. With the man responsible for his father's murder in his grasp, Bison II ordered the execution of Connor. As Bison brought his blade down on the murderer's neck, Jamtein blocked it, an act of treason in Bison's eyes. Jamtein and his loyal followers fled, and Bison himself beheaded King Connor. Bison would ride out to try and reason with Jamtein a task he failed as he had declared himself rightful ruler of Derpscovy. Realizing how unprepared they were for a civil war, Bison II left Derptroit in Cirion's hands as he went to rally support. While he was gone, a rebel group of peasants rose up which he would return to put down before leaving once more.

Successfully gathering a large host, Bison II would return home immediately upon hearing that Derptroit had been seized by House Adsum in his absence. With Cirion Leon escaping his captivity and rallying to Bison, The boy king felt confident enough to confront Jamtein and his new allies, the Landwehr. Full of righteous fury, Bison challenged Jamtein to a duel, which he refused. His attention would be turned back towards the Cliffhalls however, as Soup Cliffhall had been arrested by his kin and turned over to the realm for trial. Bison II would demand he perform the execution, and under the Godswood he beheaded the man directly behind his father's death. When he received word that House Adsum and Landwehria were marching against him, Bison rallied his forces and challenged Jamtein to another duel, which this time he accepted. His youth and natural talent made up for Jamtein's greater experience, and after Jamtein was captured House Adsum would flee Derptroit. Unfortunately, Bison was unable to press the advantage as he had to take much of the Derpscovian levy to combat a provincial revolt. When he returned, everything had fallen apart. Jamtein had escaped, the Landwehr, Cliffhalls, and House Adsum had formed a powerful faction, and the Soupists had murdered his steward, Cirion Leon. Bison's careful management of Derpscovian resources and his skill at rousing support granted him an extremely powerful army, and he would need it to oppose the coalition he faced. He formed a coalition of his own, creating an uneasy alliance with House Lazaros and the Soup Empire. In the battle that followed, Jamtein and his adopted heir Totem would be captured and the coalition routed. Victorious, his army returned to Derptroit and Bison offered Jamtein and Totem the chance to have their crimes forgiven, and to be welcomed back into the fold. Before he could convince them to accept the offer, he was brought to the front gate where an Coalition army had arrived under the white flag of peace. A group was allowed into Derptroit, still flying the white flag, at which point they threw it down and began massacring the unprepared Derpscovians once more. They managed to hold the gatehouse open long enough for the rest of the army to enter, and Derptroit was viciously sacked, the prisoners they had fought so hard to take were rescued. Bison II would survive, albeit bereft of his left eye, and swear vengeance. Over the next few weeks, he sent cells of troops in to join the coalition army, it's large nature making it easy for the Derpscovian commandos to join and disguise themselves. When his men were ready for the counter attack, the signal was given to the commandos to begin reaping chaos, and as the Coalition force panicked the Derpscovian cavalry, spearheaded by Bison himself, and aided by the Soupists and Lazarosi, destroyed the Coalition army.

Bison called for a peace conference, to determine the future of Scovania. Representatives from every faction showed, but it quickly spiralled out of his control as the topic changed to the extermination of the Soupists. Still bitter at their murder of Cirion, Bison did not oppose the notion but did not support it either. He watched from the sidelines as the Soupist delegates were murdered, and continued to watch as the Soup Empire made their final stand. Sick of war, Bison II proposed a simple 5 year ceasefire. All knew that once this ceasefire was up the war would merely continue, but that was an issue of the future. For now, peace had been secured.

The Not-So Child King
After 3 years of peace under the ceasefire, House Buffia attacked Derpscovy out of nowehere. They sought vengeance, as Bison II had executed their previous lord, but the odds were stacked against them and King Bison won handily. Taking the eye of Buffius II as a lesson, Bison would then release him into the wilds. A group of warriors from the town of Whypp had previously aided Bison, and so when they called for his help in defeating House Mollusk he decided to join the little war. This skirmish would quickly turn into a much larger war, however, as The Coalition would take the side of the Mollusks. Though he won the battle in the field, Bison was unable to take the palace and had to be content with Totem, heir to House Adsum, as his prize. He negotiated that in exchange for Totem's release, Bison II would be named the heir to House Adsum. With that, all Bison had to do to end the civil war was kill Jamtein. After Totem's release, a stalemate ensued until Bison II ordered that Derpscovy march on the palace with their Whypp allies. Whypp arrived late, however, and the Derpscovian army was caught by surprise while on the road. They were routed, but the Coalition were unable to press their advantage due to heavy losses on their side as well.

After this battle, King Bison met with Jamtein Adsum in an near-empty tavern. The two talked for hours, and left only as the sun dipped below the trees. They agreed to form a pact of Non-Aggression, the first step in ending the Civil War. Privately, Bison II also shared his ambitions of uniting the realm as one, something Jamtein was hesitant to support. Instead of standing with the Landwehr or the People of Whypp in the next battle, both House Adsum and Derpscovy remained neutral.

House Adsum and the Commonwealth would fight a battle to defend the Duke of Sano against House Mollusk, resulting in the deaths of Hauptmann Tim, of Landwehria. The Commonwealth collapsed quickly after this, weakening Bison II's enemies greatly. Instead of turning his attention to the newly formed House Ravenoak, or to the now alone House Cliffhall, Bison set his eyes on the new group of slave traders that had decided to make Scovania their home. Other houses followed his lead, and Bison lead a grand coalition to force the slave traders and their Ryall allies out of the realm. A goal he accomplished, quite efficiently.

After returning home victorious against the slavers, Bison met a man calling himself Narmacil. He claimed to be a member of House Leon, and due to his friendship with Cirion Bison shared a drink with the newcomer. This would quickly prove to be a mistake, however, as Narmacil made an excuse and fled and Bison began to feel ill. The wine he had drank was laced with Ricin, a deadly poison. His friends gathered at his deathbed as he neared death, and the court began preparations for a funeral. Miraculously, however, Bison recovered fully after being at deaths door. The official cause of this recovery has never been released but there are numerous theories. One states that the poison had not been purified, and was thus not completely lethal. Another that the King had been eating certain poisons in small doses to build an immunity, another that the dose had been too small. Of course, the most common story goes that a Soupist warrior, often cited as Tano Pasman, gave Bison a potion that allowed him to cheat death, but most historians agree that this is unlikely to have any basis in fact.

After recovering, Bison ordered a hunt for Narmacil, placing a massive bounty on his head. Narmacil would escape his grasp initially, but eventually he would be caught and dragged back to the King for execution. On a dark, rainy morning, Narmacil was taken to the Godswood in front of a solemn court. Bison went through the motions stiffly, ignoring the pleas for trial of the murderer, and swiftly beheaded Narmacil. After returning to Derptroit, Bison received news of a new coalition, consisting of a number of new powers to the realm. House Saba, the Regime (later House Ryall), and House Ravenoak. Along with Whypp and House Adsum, he managed to defeat this Coalition in a series of pitched battles and stormings. At the peace summit called for by The Regime, Jamtein Adsum was stabbed with a poisoned spear. Mortally wounded, he was taken to his deathbed in Derptroit. Jamtein announced that House Adsum would once more serve under the Derpscovian banner. He asked for Bison to slay him personally, to die an honourable death at the hand of his former greatest rival. Jamtein was taken to the courtyard, giving Bison his blade, and the King would put it through his heart, finally ending the Civil War.

The First King of Scovania
After the "execution" of Jamtein, a lull fell over the realm. Jamtein had become a supporter of Bison's plan to unite the realm, and his death had made the king realize that waiting to act would simply increase the risk. A meeting of major lords was called hosted by Derpscovy at The Palace, a holding which they had recently peacefully taken from a skeleton guard of men-at-arms while the Cliffhall family and army was away. On his way to the meeting, Bison met with an old friend, Rabbi of the Soup Empire. Rabbi pledged to join his cause, and act When the lords were gathered in the main hall, Bison unveiled his ambitions. He declared himself King of Scovania, and pledged to end the eternal wars that plagued the realm. As he expected, Whypp stood with him, and to his surprise House Ravenoak and Lazaros did not leave the hall in disgust; however they seemed put off by the idea. Bison traveled to Ravenoak Hall, as they had agreed to act as a middleman between himself and House Saba whilst he tried to convince the realm to submit peacefully. The tension in the hall rose very quickly, however, and although it is unknown who attacked first, King Bison and his retinue came out on top and drove House Saba from the castle. Unfortunately in the process House Ravenoak was angered and took a firm anti-unity stance. Seeing that more houses would soon join the cause against him, King Bison led a shock cavalry raid on House Saba's home, slaughtering many of their levies and damaging the fort before retreating with nearly no losses. They failed to kill Hawkwood, the leader of House Saba, and so Bison sent an assassin after him. His trail led to Ravenoak Hall, where the asassin's attempt was foiled by Eyvind Ravenoak.

Arrayed against King Bison, Houses Lazaros, Ravenoak, and Saba stood. Their grand army marched against the Palace, which King Bison defended along with the Soupists and of course his own Derpscovians. The storming of the Palace was brutal, and after the walls fell the two armies fought eachother building to building. The battle culminated with Bison and his bodyguard Gavriel Laforteza holding the throne room against a large group of Coalition soldiers. Through clever maneuvering, the two were able to defeat the entire party and with that defeat the Coalition army. The retreating army left King Hawkwood behind, and he was captured by the Derpscovians. To secure his own freedom, Hawkwood agreed to bend the knee to King Bison. In the wake of the battle, a prisoner exchange was agreed upon between the two sides, as Rabbi had been captured by the Coalition. However, a daring plan led to Rabbi escaping his captivity, and Hawkwood bending the knee meant he was no longer a prisoner anyways. After their victorious defence, the Derpscovian forces marched on the Island Fort held by the Ravenoaks and House Saba, which had not accepted Hawkwood's surrender. As the siege fell into a stalemate, Rabbi led the spearhead of an assault that managed to break through the stout Coalition defences. The follow through mopped up the remnants, and those who survived had to flee the fort by water.

During the fighting, Bison II had captured Xanthar. Commonly known as the last Soupist. He would play an important role later. Having successfully broken the Ravenoak-Saba coalition, the King temporarily ruled from what was once the Cliffhall palace. When the Cliffhalls tried to return to their home, they demanded the palace be returned immediately, a request King Bison denied. In response, they joined with the remnants of House Saba and Ravenoak. Determined to finally eliminate the rebellion Bison and his supporters rode on the mountain fort, where the rebels had found sanctuary. As the siege lines were drawn up, the King received word that House Lazaros had finally taken up arms against Derpscovy. He prepared a counter-charge to meet the Lazarosi army coming up the mountain side, and was able to defeat them before turning his attention back to the besieged coalition. A ruthless storming of the gatehouse allowed the King's army to flood into the fortress, but before the siege could be finished Bison received more bad news. A group of mercenaries known as the Black Militia in the employ of the Coalition had taken the palace from under his nose. Enraged, he called off the siege before the defenders could be fully defeated and marched in full strength to defeat the mercenaries. They were shown no mercy, and the few who escaped would report that it was the King himself who lead the clearing of the main palace complex, slaying men as he fought through room after room.

Before we continue, it is worth noting that Derpscovy has never been a populous nation. Much of its power comes from the strength and shock of its elite cavalry, and the constant pressure they are able to apply to enemies. Even after their numerous defeats, the Coalition with the new additions of House Lazaros, Cliffhall, and the Black Militia were able to field an army three times the size of the Bison's. Bisons failure to complete the siege and return to the Palace allowed the coalition to quickly raise new levies. With their fresh new army, and momentum rapidly slipping out of the King's hands, Bison needed another decisive victory to keep the war in his favour. He rode to the mountain fort, to finish the job he had started, but instead of being spread out like they had been the last battle the entire coalition army had assembled to stop Bison's advance. The cavalry charge was blunted by the massed pikes and spears of the coalition, and quickly the battle turned in the coalitions favour. Bison's bodyguard Garviel Laforteza defended the King, and bought him enough time to escape and order a general retreat. Regrouping at the palace, there would be no relief for the King as an counterattack struck his defences. At great cost, they managed to provide stiff enough resistance that the Coalition was forced to pull back, and prepare for a second assault.

Instead of fighting another grinding battle of attrition over the palace walls, a battle that Derpscovy had no chance of winning, King Bison set a trap. He and his personal guard hid outside of the fortress. When the Coalition army had commited to their new attack, they sprung out and crushed the coaltion flanks, trapping the enemy between themselves and the soldiers within the palace, who were now streaming out to close the trap. His plan had won a decisive victory for his forces, and captured Sir Robb Cliffhall and Prince Jose Lazaros. House Cliffhall bent the knee in exchange for Robb's release, and seeing the changing tide the Black Militia, now known as House Ryall, would swear fealty as well. Bison would ride one last time against the Mountain Fort, this time with their new vassals, and houses Ravenoak and Saba simply could not resist the tide. The remnants of House Saba fled the realm, while the Ravenoaks would finally kneel to King Bison. House Lazaros would agree to a self-imposed exile, and leave the realm to places abroad. Xanthar, who had long since escaped, would try to murder Bison but fail and flee the realm as well.

In the Year 0 AC, Bison II would be formally acknowledged as Bison II, High King of Scovania by the Houses Ravenoak, Cliffhall, Ryall, and all those who had opposed his reign.