Written during Ptolemy's twilight years, who is a comrade of Mydei, this account details how Geocles created the Dromas Legion over a thousand years ago. It follows their meteoric rise in Amphoreus and the treachery that ultimately sealed their fate.
Part I
Preface
Having woven the immense fabric of time with the warp of countless years and the weft of rising and falling kingdoms, I, Ptolemy, exhausted every resource to measure, verify, and inscribe the magnificent purpose behind our world's history. The Chronicles of Aidonian Tribulations reached completion in Light Calendar 4153, documenting the evolution of 297 significant city-states across the Amphoreus world from 300 years before the Light Calendar through year 4100. Their histories have all been methodically examined and enshrined in these chronicles. It was then I wished to set aside my quill, ready to seal these volumes for posterity.
Then came Light Calendar 4159. As the holy city mourned Grand Craftsman Chartonus, who fell defending Okhema, I was tasked with crafting his epitaph. In that solemn moment, a question seized me: Should our chronicles only immortalize those of Kephale's descendants? This insight drove me back to my calling with renewed purpose. I began collecting scattered histories of various peoples, beginning with the Mountain Dwellers' Dromas Riders, whose valiant deeds deserve their place in the grand mosaic of Amphorean civilization.
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Volume 2: The Creation of the Dromas Riders
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After Geocles the Mountainbreaker set the Campa Mountains ablaze with revolution, leading his people from their dire circumstances into the historical spotlight, internal divisions quickly appeared among the Mountain Dwellers. Some abandoned warfare for agriculture and mining, only to be enslaved by the tyrant during the Chrysos War, condemned to ceaseless toil. Others, inspired by Geocles' ambitions and committed to fight for their people's future, rallied under his banner to form an army.
The Mountain Dwellers first joined the Chrysos War in Light Calendar 3798, using their remarkable stamina and physique to seize three cities in just ten days. Their weaknesses, however, quickly surfaced: sluggish movement, slow thinking, overly cautious planning, and combat inexperience. During the Month of Mourning, amid howling snowstorms that sealed mountain passes, Usurper Oleinus sprung his trap. He lured Geocles's forces into an ambush and exploited their fear of cold water by flooding them with icy springs from above. Three hundred mountain warriors, immobilized by cold and starvation, were captured and imprisoned. By then, Mountain Dwellers had already become highly prized slaves. And in his greed, the Usurper spared even the Mountainbreaker himself from execution, a decision that would ultimately cost him both his kingdom and his life.
The dungeons contained not just the newly captured mountain elite warriors but also dozens of dromases. These earth creatures were highly coveted by merchants. The strong ones served as beasts of burden, while the weak and old became meat rations for armies. Being creations of Georios like the dromases, Mountain Dwellers naturally speak the dromas tongue. When the guards grew careless, Geocles sneaked to the enclosures and shared his plan, persuading all the dromases to join his righteous cause. After the snow melted, the Usurper ordered the prisoners transferred. As soon as the dungeon doors opened, dust clouds erupted. The Mountain Dwellers drove the dromases forward like thunderbolts, instantly crushing the Usurper and his troops into a bloody mess.
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After overthrowing the tyrant and freeing Oleinus, the Mountain Dwellers established their base and began honing their military skills. During this period, Geocles devoted himself to studying warfare strategy day and night while training his forces, eventually forging an elite cavalry of dromas riders. Unlike their infantry, these dromas riders eliminated the problem of sluggish movement while maximizing the ferocity of the dromases. Once their charge gained momentum, none could stand against them. Though some tried setting traps, few could effectively contain dromases, and the battle-wise Geocles rarely fell for such tactics. By Light Calendar 3840, the dromas riders were feared throughout Amphoreus. From their Oleinus Plateau fortress, they proclaimed themselves defenders of earth's creatures, with no kingdom daring to challenge them. When Kremnoan forces attempted an interception, Geocles, understanding the limitations of pitched battles, smashed their front lines before swiftly withdrawing, leaving the Kremnoan troops without recourse.