Quillus was founded from the remains of the a Gnoman legion lead by the Imperator General Aquillius. The legion initially consisted of approximately 2500 soldiers, including 300 human auxiliaries and had been sent north to push the frontier in 220 PHE. Advancement and conquest was easy, many of the tribal peoples were no match for the Gnoman discipline. Some attrition was recorded, but those who were seriously injured or died where few and far between.
Upon reaching the northern coast, the legion discovered an unsettled area which was suitable for the construction of fortification. Intelligence gathered on their march northward indicate any local threats would be nullified with the construction of basic fortifications, with the human and elven tribes having no concept of ‘modern’ siege warfare. Materials were gathered from the surrounding wilderness, which was surprisingly still forested. Up on a promontory the first fort, named Quillus Primus after the legion’s general, was constructed.
While the precise circumstances of what would happen is unknown, it was near universal knowledge that the legion would fall foul of an immense magical curse. After supplies from the legion stopped, scouts would be dispatched only to return shell shocked and terrified of what they had seen. Reports of the dead walking, seemingly very much aware of their situation, was cause for grave concern and an exclusion around Quillus Primus was established. As the Gnomans cemented their grip on the surrounding land, this edict would be extended to include conquered populations, not that much encouragement was needed.
As this news travelled, many called for an attack to be launched against Quillus, although this was never realistic. Even though the Gnomans could certainly muster enough troops to fight a force of 2500, finding anyone who would dare set foot within the exclusion zone was another matter. None were certain as to why Aquillon’s force had converted, but rumours circled that the very land itself was cursed and this didn't lend a positive outlook to invasion. The propagation of this rumour, lead to the exclusion zone becoming increasingly wider, year by year, as administrators considered whether their maps were drawn quite as accurately as they thought. After all with the ever looming threat of the undead, one could never be too careful.
As centuries past, Quillus Primus, or just Quillus, as it would come to be known, developed an almost legendary status in the minds of many of the northern states, gaining the moniker ‘the Tyrant State’. Particularly following the collapse of the Gnoman Empire, the undead inhabitants became maligned for many events. Famines and floods would be blamed on the curse, missing children or lost livestock too. Rumours would spread of people setting foot across the border, only to be instantly whisked away, never to be seen again.
The Walls of Quillus
The Gnomans had built walls and forts to watch the borders to Quillus, although no activity was recorded for many a decade. After their collapse, given that most gave the walls a wide birth, it was widely believed that these defined the borders of Quillus. The walls were in disrepair and were never manned, but none the less no-one would claim them. It was only with the establishment of local border guard by the Kingdom of Virdama, that any activity would be observed, the occasional flit of movement during the night, and this would remain for nearly a century.
The Virdam Council (603 PHE)
A single undead bearing a laurel branch, a symbol of peace and diplomacy, would march slowly towards the nearest sign of habitation. This naturally caused alarm and mobilisations took place while the single skeletal undead waited, standing in a field for nearly a week as the various bordering states gathered dignitaries and delegates, and prepared for the worst.
When a meeting finally occurred, those same soldiers who had expected to face an undead attack, more often than not found themselves preventing the peasantry from attacking the Quillian envoy. Aside from the undead, the meeting was attended by representatives from Virdama, Palus, Ovrin, Resa, and Olus, all of whom were either direct neighbours, or close enough to the exclusion zone to hear of the forthcoming meeting. It would have been a tense affair without the complication of the undead, given that Resa and Olus were at war with each other, (although a temporary ceasefire had been put into effect), and it was expected that talks would rapidly deteriorate. Language was also an issue as the undead spoke an archaic form of Laurum, something only the Palish and Resian diplomats could parse with any accuracy.
As it was, this would not be the case and, once introductions had been set, talks would begin, with the receiving parties, (the living), allowing the guest to speak first. In hindsight this may well have been an error, as this served to only further unnerve many of the diplomats. The undead introduced themselves as Legatus Marius of Aquillon’s legion, indicating his origins were indeed the Gnoman Legion. With much of the knowledge surrounding the Gnoman Empire lost in its collapse, this meant little to the representatives, other than to imply a subtle threat, intentionally or not, that Quillus was a military power.
Continuing on, the Legatus would set out a series of demands, with mutual recognition of sovereignty being top of the agenda. Following this, Marius also set out a code of conduct for the undead citizens of Quillus stating that they would remain within its borders, those marked by the old Gnoman walls, and in return, guarantees would be made that no nation would invade them. Realistically, this was far better than any of the delegates had hoped for, the majority had expected a threat of warfare, and the proposals where accepted. This agreement being named the Treaty of Northern Conciliation .
The Leodamite Invasion (1187 MH)
Following the conquest of Virdama by Leodamite forces in 1168, there was great concern among the neighbouring nations as to the state of the treaty. Leodama was not a signatory, and the brand of Hythness practised within Leodamite culture was highly imperialistic. Indeed, the only certainty against invasion was to be clearly militarily superior to the nation and this was not the case for Quillus. In an attempt to prevent invasion the two remaining signatories, what was now Palingvyre, (formerly Palus), and Rusager, (following the the revolution of Resalia, successor state to Resa and Olus), both ceded territory creating a joint buffer zone in the Protectorate of Silvillud. The two nations also invited Quillian troops to position themselves in the Protectorate and, although Quillus refused, citing the potential morale issues with undead soldiers working alongside the living, they did agree to supply the troops stationed there.
This would be a mistake however, as the Leodamite forces would attack Silvillud in 1187 MH. The fortifications and troops present put up stiff resistance, and where able to stall the Leodamite advance, but the loses were heavy. For Quillus, it was galvanization to act and the war machine of the legion ground back into action and some 1,800 strong army marched out into Silvillud to relieve the defenders. The precise plan of Leodama was unclear, they clearly anticipated the undead with the Leodamites seemingly unfazed be the sight of them, and survived the initial shock, but they severely underestimated the abilities of their foes.
Nearly a thousand years outside of combat had not blunted the swords of the legion and alongside their living allies, they lay waste to the Leodamite forces. Indeed, had the Quillian army continue to advance, they could undoubtedly have invaded Leodama proper. Once the threat was repelled, however, they returned home. The Rusagan and Vyrnish forces had warmed a little to the undead over the few days of fighting and this, coupled with their own loses, meant they too held back, following the Quillian lead.
In the following talks, Quillus did not attend, leaving the negotiations to Rusager and Palingvyre. The severe losses on both sides had led to bad blood between between the parties, so even getting the Leodamites to accept defeat was tough, but having the Quillian troops visible from the border certainly helped. From there it was a difficult matter to organise reparations from Leodama to both Palingvyre and Rusager, not helped by the questions of whether Quillus should also be compensated. In the end it technically only resulted in a capitulation by Leodama to Rusager and Palingvyre, with Quillus never mentioned.
It should however, be mentioned that Quillus was not entirely absent in diplomacy. During the same year, following approaches from Palish diplomats, Quillian delegates agreed upon the imaginatively named 2nd Palish-Quillian Treaty, allowing Palish undead to become Quillian citizens should they wish. Being an undead in Plaingvyre was technically not illegal at the time, but the treaty certainly illustrated a softening of attitudes towards them. Rusager would follow this lead, instituting their own Treaty of Expulsion in 1191, allowing illegal undead in Rusager to leave peacefully and join Quillus or settle in Silvillud. In return, Quillus agreed to allow registered merchants to trade goods in Quillus and make regular food exports beyond merely Silvillud, (given the obvious lack of domestic demand).
The 1st Papal Decree of 1401 (1403 MH)
Those two treaties would be the last major developments in Quillus for over two centuries as the Tyrant State fell dormant for a while. Indeed, it would be an external article that would once again stir activity within the state. The 1st Papal Decree 1401, like all Papal Decrees, was probably unknown to Quillus and would likely have stayed that way, had it not been for the impact it had upon it’s neighbours.
The Decree provisioned protections for certain construct races deemed to have sentience and, while it didn’t mention undead specifically, a ruling in Palingvyre in 1403 decided that undead would be covered, thusly granting them full Palish citizenship. This then lead to Palish diplomats once again approaching Quillus, this time with propositions to revise the treaty, reciprocating and allowing Quillian civilians, a portion of whom were originally Palish or Rusagan, to settle back in Palingvyre. Despite the option however, only a few would ultimately take it, many having already made their homes and taking comfort amongst their fellow dead.
