Tilea

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Tilea during 2276 IC in Warhammer: The Old World

The Free Cities Of Tilea were a nation of the Old World, lacking a central government. Sharing a common language and culture it was politically divided into several rival city-states that were in a loose alliance. [7][12]

The city-states had varying forms of government - some were republics while others were principalities. [7]

Tilea was (in)famous for its mercenaries or Dogs of War and although Men were the most common, Dwarfs, High Elves and Ogres were also employed in the armies of the Merchant Princes.

Geography

Tilea roughly surrounded the Tilean Sea with the Apuccini Mountains forming the eastern border, the Abasko Mountains the western, and the Irrana Mountains forming the northern border. [7]

The Apuccinis protected Tilea from the lawless region of the Border Princes, but the forests of the foothills were dangerous enough, harbouring predatory beasts with Goblins and bandits also being a pervasive threat. [7]

The coastal states were important maritime powers that struggled with the Arabyans and Estalians for dominance of the sea trade. Although Tilea was distinguished by the rivalry between its city-states, the recognition of a common heritage ensured that they usually cooperated against common enemies. The inland states were mostly concerned with agriculture and were sometimes subservient in some way to the coastal states. [7]

Major city-states

The city-states were bound together by complex trade deals and a need for protection. [12]

Other city-states

Other Locations

Society

Tileans were bold, adventurous, and innovative people. They've also been called greedy. A long time ago they did away with nobility and kings. Instead of royalty, Tileans became ruled by merchant dynasties, with the source of power being trade and greed instead of any hereditary right to rule. These wealthy families were locked in generation-long vendettas with their rivals. [12]

Languages

Locals spoke the Tilean Language.[11] They were often mistaken for Estalians when speaking which was guaranteed to annoy them.[7]

Military

Tileans had no regular military, but the Merchant Princes did employ large guard retinues. Instead of standing armies, all Tilean city-states employed companies of mercenaries. The companies ranged from groups of hardened, professional soldiers who would honourably fulfill the terms of their contract to the letter, to unscrupulous rabble all too prone to rebellion, plundering, and treachery - particularly if coin ran out or a better offer had been received.[12]

Mercenary Crossbowmen were always in high demand in the Empire [6a] but usually retained their own clothing and banners when serving there. Tilean flags were often striped with designs created at the whim of the leader of the company. [6b]

Even worse than the Dogs of War were the Pirates of Sartosa, a den of thieves and cutthroats. However, many Merchant Princes considered the pirates their defacto naval force and were known to hire them for use against their rivals. [12]

Trade

Tilea was renowned for its wines and the various city-states had many merchants and fleets of ships to facilitate trade or to explore new lands in search of riches or commerce. [2a] Additionally they invented many fabulous works. The artisans of Remas, Pavona, Luccini, and many others were world-famous. [12]

History

Roughly 1,500 years before the coming of Sigmar, the elves abandoned their colonies around what would later come to be known as the Tilean Sea. Elven sailors would report, about 800 years later, spotting human shepherds tending to their flocks among the ruins of their former cities.[4a]

Legend states that a pair of lost twins named Lucan and Luccina took refuge in a cave. The cave belonged to a monstrous leopard with two heads and a trio of tails. This leopard not only spared the twins, but protected them from wolves, orcs, and even trolls. Circa -25 IC, some of the local shepherds came across the cave mouth, surrounded by the bones of the leopard's kills. The leopard spoke to the shepherds, prophesying that Lucan and Luccina were destined to to found a great city, but also that their descendants would struggle against each other for control. The city of Luccini is founded amidst one of the elven ruins in 1 IC, the first of many such cities in the region.[4a]

The Tilean Branch of the Cult of Myrmidia teaches that their goddess manifested as a mortal woman in 20 IC, but that despite great struggles, she came to lead a massive army, and with it marched west to establish the Reman Empire, making her birth city of Remas it's capital (though there is a huge cultural and religious debate regarding which city Myrmidia hailed from - the Estalian Branch of the Cult insisting that she was born in Magritta and instead marched east with her army [8]).[4a]

In 451 IC, the Black Ark Ultimate Oblivion launched the very first of a series of Dark Elf and undead raids on the humans of the Old World, alongside a Khemrian fleet led by Settra. This first attack was on the Reman Empire's western coastline, where they besieged the city of Sartosa, captured it, and took every single inhabitant of the city captive.[9] Only 24 years later, the Tilean 'Dark Ages' begin when a massive orc Waaagh! invaded and successfully sacked multiple cities. It would take over five centuries to push the orcs back out of the lowlands and into the Apuccini mountains, while the Tileans strived to fortify themselves against future greenskin incursions. Meanwhile, Norse raiders took over Sartosa and plagued the coastline until they too could be defeated in 1017 IC. Rather than execute them, the city of Luccini uses a tactic that proved successful against the orcs and buys the loyalty of the surviving raiders.[4a]

As Araby invaded Estalia, Tilea was dealing with Arabyan corsairs, who had captured Sartosa from its Norse defenders, but also decades of skirmishes with Bretonnians, with neither the Bretonnians managing to successfully annex the Tilean vineyards that they were trying to, nor the Tileans managing to properly drive out their invaders. After 43 years of conflict, the Bretonnians were forced to abandon their claims after their chosen champion lost an honourable joust at Ravola. This freed up Tilean knights and mercenaries to join the war to free Estalia from Arabyan control. When Tilea entered the conflict, the Sultan of Araby sent several fleets against Tobaro, but all of them were defeated. The Arabyans in control of Sartosa were finally evicted 53 years later, again, the surviving Arabyans were permitted to stay so long as they served the city of Luccini.[4a]

A dark elf raid on Remas in 1487 IC led to probing questions from Tileans about where these elves were coming from. The elves of Ulthuan said that they were their enemies as well, but refused to go into further detail than that. The merchants of Remas were eager to fund expeditions over the western oceans though, hoping that they could take revenge. In 1491 IC, a Reman merchant named Marco Colombo acquired a map from a Norse sailor that had the eastern coastline of a continent on it that he had never seen or even heard of before, further west than even Ulthuan was believed to be. Not only that, but the map had the locations of Norse settlements on it, as well as markers indicating dangers, prevailing winds, and journey times. Within a year, Marco had financed an expedition of three ships to Skeggi. His ships arrived instead south of Skeggi, near Tlax. He presented the Lizardmen with captured Skaven as sacrifices for their gods and agreed to have his crews work for them as mercenaries. Not only did he earn a hoard of treasure as recompense, but Marco also witnessed the the dark elf raiders he was hired to find slaughtered by his employers. His mission done, and with unrest brewing among his men, Marco set sail back to Tilea with a hold full of gold and gems.[3a]

As the first successful Tilean expedition to Lustria returned with a hoard of treasures, Tilea began to suffer under the threat of the Skaven. The population of the village of Escantos was entirely consumed by rats and the city of Tobaro was struck by a series of Skaven raids from below it's streets that resulted in swathes of the city being burned to the ground and a multitude of citizens being abducted by the ratmen. An army of mercenaries and adventuring elves arrived at Tobaro in 1565 IC, successfully driving the Skaven back to where they came from.[4a]

The merchants, Ricco and Robbio had convinced various princes of Tilea to finance an expedition to the east to find an alternate route to Lustria and hopefully even Ulthuan and the source of silk. A huge mercenary military force accompanied them and it attracted a large contingent of slayers who considered the whole thing doomed. They left Karaz-a-Karak in 1699 IC, but for years nothing was heard of them. Then in 1714 IC, a caravan with pack yaks laden with silk arrived in Verezzo accompanied by a message from the brothers who were residing in the previously unknown empire of Cathay. They had set up a trading enclave in the westernmost city of Shang-Yang and subsequently opened up a trade route which became known as the Silk Road.[3b]

The next three centuries saw an increasing amount of political intrigue in Tilea, as well as epidemics of disease, the spread of which was (correctly) blamed on Skaven. Sartosa rebelled against Luccini in 1757 IC, resulting in the city becoming an anarchic free port, inhabited by various pirates and smugglers.[4a]

The Tilean Era of Enlightenment began in 2000 IC, sparking centuries of flourishing Tilean art and culture, though eventually, the principalities would devolve into bickering, in-fighting, and intrigue yet again. Republics were proclaimed in Remas and Verezzo in response to the increasingly tyrannical antics of the princes of those cities, though the other five principalities would continue to be ruled by princes (or, in the case of Miragliano & Pavona, the widows of princes).[4a]

After the Lichemaster creates the fortress of Krinal in the Vaults in 2460 IC he begins sending armies against northern Tilea. Several Tilean Dukes pledge allegiance to him to stop his raids and once more Kemmler turns his attention to Bretonnia, attacking Carcassonne in 2470 IC.[5a]

End Times

During the early stages of the End Times, the city of Trantio was completely torn apart by a perfumed storm and all of it's residents' souls were taken by Slaanesh.[10a] Tilea was then invaded and completely overrun by a seemingly numberless horde of Skaven boiling up from underground. Those Tileans not slaughtered and/or eaten were enslaved and taken back into the tunnels of the Under-Empire.[10b]

Timeline

All dates are given in the Sigmarite Calendar.

  • c -1780 - Legend has it that the ancient city of Tylos was destroyed on this date.[4a]
  • 978 - Tileans drive the invading orcs back over the Apuccini Mountains.[4a]
  • 1240 - The Corsairs of Araby invade Sartosa.[4a]
  • 1366 - As the civil war ravages the Empire, Tilean mercenaries fight on both sides.[4a]
  • 1425 - The historic tournament of Ravola against the Bretonnians.[4a]
  • 1448 - Mercenaries from Tilea help free Estalia from Sultan Jaffar's army.[4a]
  • 1501 - The mercenary army of Luciano Catena recaptures Sartosa from the Corsairs of Araby.[4a]
  • 1563-1565 - Skaven capture Tobaro. Meldo Marcelli recaptures it later with Sea Elf allies.[4a]
  • 1681 - The Night of the Living Dead, the Cult of Morr help to ensure that the skeletal hordes do not overrun Tilea.[4a]
  • 1722 The plague fleet of the Chaos Champion Erghal Bloodhard besieges and sacks Zorastra.[4a]
  • 1757 - Sartosa becomes a lair of pirates after successful rebellions against the Prince of Luccini.[4a]
  • 1812 - Tilea is ravaged by the Red Pox. [4a]
  • 1877 - Tobaroians elect a pig as their prince. It retains the throne for 12 years.[4a]
  • 1948 - The Year of the Four Tyrannies of Tilea.[4a]
  • 2012 - Leonardo of Miragliano, the inventive genius, enters the service of Stefan Franz of Altdorf.[4a]
  • 2236 - Grottio is exiled to the island of Nonucci for painting 2,000 naked nymphs on the ceiling of the Palazzo Verezzo.[4a]
  • 2243 - The Black Cygnet, an infamous pirate retires and founds the estate of Udolpho.[4a]
  • 2302-2320 - Small towns near the Blighted Marshes are razed or disapear.[4a]
  • 2321-99 - Recurrent famines grip Tilea. They are caused by thousands of mice eating the grain supply.[4a]
  • 2379 - Dark Elf corsairs are shipwrecked near Sartosa, they steal several ships including the flagship of the pirate lord Ernezio Porcurio and raid the coasts near Remas and Luccini. They are later betrayed by the mercenaries they hired and become captives themselves.[4a]
  • 2401 - Inspired by the example of the formidable Mana-Lisi, 500 Tilean mercenaries hold out against 10,000 Orcs at the siege of Monte Castello.[4a]
  • 2406 - Mercenary General Ennio Mordini is employed by Duke Fabriano of Lambrusco but is so competent that he makes his employer increasingly nervous.[4a]
  • 2411 - Mordini is slain with his men, betrayed by his employer.[4a]
  • 2416 - A skeleton army flying the tattered banner of Mordini emerge from Appucini mountains, lay siege to Lambrusco, overrun it, and fortify it.[4a]
  • 2418 - Undead and daemonettes, commanded by a sorcerer named Otranto Udolpho, attempt to seize the Udolpho estate from his relative. Pirate lord Ernezio Porcurio's corpse is found in the windowless basement of his castle in Luccini, with it's door locked from the inside.[4a]
  • 2430 - Melmoth Udolpho of the Udolpho estate sells his soul to Slaanesh.[4a]
  • 2442 - Angelo Fittorini of Miragliano gains fame as a sculptor of the gods.[4a]
  • 2460 - The Lichemaster sends armies into northern Tilea, several Dukes secretly pledge themselves to him and he attacks Bretonnia instead.[5a]
  • 2485 - Borgio the Besieger declares himself Prince of Miragliano.[4a]
  • 2488 - Prince Luigi of Pavona is assassinated, leaving his beautiful young widow, Lucretia Belladonna as ruler of the principality.[4a]
  • 2489 - The battle of Villa Vennia. A mercenary army from Remas is defeated by Miragliano.[4a]
  • 2494 - Prince Borso of Pavona is wounded after being wounded in a lost battle against Verezzo. Lucretia Belladonna finds her herself widowed once more.
  • 2495 - At the battle of Via Vedia, Verezzo is defeated by Miragliano.[4a]
  • 2497 - Prince Donato of Pavona dies soon after signing an alliance with Trantio. At the battle of Vittoria Viccia, Trantio is defeated by Miragliano, after Pavonan forces betray their Trantian allies.[4a]
  • 2503 - The mighty Borgio the 'Besieger' is killed in his bath with a toasting fork. Unrest ensues in Miragliano as his mercenary army fractures.[4a]
  • 2505 - Lorenzo Lupo becomes Prince of Luccini after a succession crisis.[4a]
  • 2506 - The Water Wizard, Ysidro d'Amato, gains a monopoly on all drinkable water in Miragliano.[4a]
  • 2507 - Miragliano is beset by a virulent outbreak of the Yellow Ague, it is traced back to the water sold by the Water Wizard, who flees the city.[4a]
  • 2509 - Leopold di Lucano and the exiled temple guard from Luccini whom he leads, decide to send a generous portion of all their earnings back to the temple of Lucan and Luccina that they were banished from. Their fortunes change and they win the first of many victories, becoming renowned as the Leopard Company.[4a]
  • 2513 - Prince Poggio of Pavona is poisoned by Lucretia Belladonna. He is her 7th husband.[4a]
  • c. 2523 - Tilea falls in it's entirety to the Skaven during the End Times.[10b]

Notes/Trivia

Many subsidiary settlements of Tilea were originally fan-made material created by the freelance writer Alfred Nuñez Jr. While the port cities were already mentioned in the computer game Man O' War: Corsair, the inland settlements and the precise borders between the domains of the major city-states were officially added to Warhammer canon with the release of Warhammer: The Old World.[12a][13]

The Dogs of War army in Warhammer Fantasy represented the armies of the various Merchant Princes and was comprised entirely of hired mercenaries.

Gallery

Sources

  • Stillman, N., Pirinen, T., Wigley, J. 1998. Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War. Nottingham: Games Workshop Ltd. ISBN 1-872372-02-3
  • Fall of Miragliano, UK White Dwarf no. 266.
  • Vermintide, UK White Dwarf no. 268.
Tilea
Units Mercenary Crossbowman
Characters Alexandra Giliani - Angelo Fittorini - Antonia Marsillach - Armanda de Pantaleon - Borgio the Besieger - El Cadavo - Fernando Pirazzo - Giordano Paolo - Giovanni Dantelli - Giovanni Gottio - Giovanni Lanfranchi - Giuseppi Tollucci - Gossippa Lotta - Grottio - Jacopo d'Arezzo - Leonardo of Miragliano - Louis di Burgundum - Lorenzo Lupo - Lucciano Soprania - Luigi Belladonna - Lucrezzia Belladonna - Ludovico Dandola - Lupa Stregga - Lupo Pirielli - Mana-Lisi Galeazzo - Marcelli Verdallo - Marco Colombo - Marco Polare - Meldo Marcelli - Melmoth Udolpho - Mydas the Mean - Nicholas DeGrutti - Orsini Sardus - Rienzi - Rosella Vanvitelli - Silak - Thaliaro - Titus Jemar - Vincenzo Corenzo - Ysidro d'Amato
Cities Aguilas - Kavzar - Luccini - Miragliano -Pavona - Remas - Sartosa - Tobaro - Trantio - Vedenza - Verezzo
Images - Miniatures - Vehicles

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