The Torrhen Clan

The Torrhen Clan is a divergent clan which emerged during the Second major conflict of Sargeroth at the beginning of the 3rd era. They emerged from within the ranks of the Gloran Clan and are all of the Floatist faith.

Origins
During the Second major conflict of Sargeroth, the Gloran clan and Kessel military annexed the Light district of Greater Sargeroth. It was at this time that the whole of the Gloran military force was concentrated in the district including their fortress, the Pagoda. During this time, one night, about 1/3 of the Gloran military mounted an insurrection that lasted until dawn of the subsequent day. Gloran soldiers who subscribed to Floatist beliefs had been joining together in secret for weeks beforehand to plan the uprising.

Glor Gloran, king of the Gloran clan was a staunch believer of the Mountain God faith. This, paired with his strong alliance with the Kessels, angered many of the newest generation of Gloran soldiers. During the third era, there was a large-scale effort to increase the military numbers of the Gloran clan. In doing this, any Sargerithian willing to join the clan "for life" was accepted into their ranks. Many Floatists saw economic opportunity by joining the most prosperous House in the city, leading to dozens of them being employed.

As war approached, members of the Gloran clan began meeting to speak on their grievances against Glor. They had tried to convince their king years before to convert. Glor responded by inviting in priests for great banquets a few times per year. However, he continued to do the same with Kessel family members, even going so far as to switch out banners of the floating church for paintings of the Mountain. It was their united belief that without a true Floatist leader, their true desires for the clan could never be met and as the faithful in clan Gloran grew, so did their mistrust of their leader. Not much is known about the meetings but it is known that over time, these dissidents elected a leader whose identity was obscured from the public for many years. Referred to only as Grot (see Yorefi Talinblade), he orchestrated a secret attack of the Gloran forces by their own soldiers.

Insurrection in the Light District
As light faded on the day of the attack, the insurrectionists took up their positions around the fortress and surrounding district. Some were stationed as guards while some were off duty in the ground floor bunkroom. Those in this bunkroom began first, killing as many soldiers as possible while they slept. They then made their way to the second floor and openly attacked the stationed guards as their co-conspirators joined in. All of the attackers dawned a red armband to mark themselves and all those found without an armband was killed. Even Glor himself, as well as T'clai of the barbarians, who was present, took up arms and defended the Pagoda. Over the course of several hours, the Pagoda was ignited and partially burned down. As well, it was charged into by Torrhen soldiers spread around the district. In the confusion, many Glorans were mistakenly shot and killed by their fellow soldiers.

Glor's own body guard, Root, withheld his armband for hours before finding the King in a vulnerable position, at which time he stabbed Glor Gloran in the back (though one tome describes it as "up his back end") several times and finally slitted his throat before T'clai heard the commotion and rushed in to kill the assassin, however he was too late; the assassin has still not been identified. It was then T'clai who led a rally which successfully repulsed the remainder of the insurgency. The remaining Torrhens fled, some out of the city, while others crawled into the crevices and cliffs of the Light district. These remaining forces would be a continual threat until the Glorans were eventually forced out of the District into the north by the Sargeroth Guard.

The official casualty count of the conflict is as follows: Of 311 soldiers contained in the original Gloran military force, 124 were affiliated with the Torrhen clan and all were involved in the conflict. Of the 134 Torrhen soldiers, 72 were killed. Of the remaining 177 Gloran soldiers, (including Glor Gloran) 104 were killed. After the battle was over, the Torrhen soldiers fled into the city to their predetermined safe houses and disrobed into civilian clothing. The Gloran soldiers who survived began caring for the wounded and dead. Any wounded Torrhens found were immediately thrown into the Pagoda pit for execution.

The Aftermath
By the afternoon of the subsequent day, T'clai had taken control of the newly reformed Glor clan. Simultaneously, a note was sent to the Captain of the Sargeroth Imperial guard, Yorefi Talinblade. The note was recovered and read as follows:

"By now, news of the battle of the Pagoda has reached you. We are the Torrhen clan. We are here to put an end to deceivers and false-prophets. All those who disregard the word of the Floating God will be sent to the depths as the Glorans have just witnessed. We will not rest until our duty to the Lord of the floating sphere has been accomplished. Let all who oppose our holy occupation fear righteous damnation."

In the weeks following, no official investigation was initiated. Talinblade, having to take on many responsibilities of the Lord of Affairs in the absence of Khal Menion and the nascency of Clovis's instatement, was unwilling to devote soldiers and resources to root out the insurgent clan. Because of this decision, the Torrhens were able to more or less disappear as violence subsided. though their banners could still be seen around the city, their presence was non-existent after the destruction of the Gloran forces in the Light District.

Post-agression Activity
It is now known that during the armistice, the Torrhens remained hard at work for their cause. Many of their number relocated to a remote sanctuary to the south east of Sargeroth. Here they continued to train, gather resources and bide their time until they could strike once again at Sargeroth.

The Sanctuary and Brother Silas
Once, mythically floating above the ground, a ruin of the sanctuary now lies crumbled under its own weight in the south east birch forest. But during its activity, we have gleaned some of what the Torrhens committed themselves to. Their numbers continued to grow after the conflict, and part of this expansion included that of a new religious leader. It is believed that Brother Silas was the key to the ability of the sanctuary to float. Under his command, all Torrhens attended studies of the Floating sphere and military training. This however seemed to help them little leading up to their defeat at the remarkable "Battle of the Birchwood forest."

Brother Silas
More can be found on brother Silas on his page. Little is known in fact about where or how Silas claimed his powers. He asserted to the Torrhens that he was the only Floatist from the original sanctuary who truly followed brother Zwickel's teachings. His creation of the Torrhen Floating sanctuary proved his assertions to the Torrhen horde. His teachings caused their ranks to swell and focus increasingly on combat. Being mosty impoverished sell-swords, Glorans, and otherwise brigands, the Torrhens wasted no time on sharpening themselves for war.

Brother Silas's Floating teachings were based in the idea that Zwickel had come back in order to cleanse the ranks of unbelievers (siting his attempts at Berric Kessel's conversion as proof) and thus with his murder, had condemned all of Sargeroth to death. It would be the sole responsibility of the Armies of the Floating God to carry out the righteous destruction of the city and all the non-believing populace.

The Battle of the Birchwood Forest
The full details of this battle can be found on the Battle Archive page.

The Torrhens were utterly unprepared for the attack on their floating sanctuary in the southeast birchwood forest. A coalition of Kessel, Vassal, and woodcutter soldiers converged on the sanctuary, some by a fleet of conoes on the Blood river and some coming from the direction of the city. Although the Torrhens had a formidable position, they (including Silas) had no idea that the Kessel-Vassal soldiers were rowing down the river to their east and then quietly scaling the ridge to their position. By the time the Torrhens realized what was happening, their disorganization had already decided the battle. Eventually the Sargeroth joined the fight to relieve the woodcutters who had sustained the most heavy losses. The entire battle lasted 2 days, with some hold outs of the Torrhens still defending the ruins of their sanctuary. Others had fled successfully to the south and have not been seen since.

Torrhens are cleansed from Sargeroth
Amid pressure from both the Lord of Affairs and his own staff, Yorefi Talinblade decided to cleanse the remaining Torrhen soldiers from the city. At least 100 Sargeroth Soldiers who acted as Torrhen sleeper cells were led out by Talinblade to a location where Private Blumen Soldiers were able to ambush and utterly destroy the force. To learn more about why Talinblade acted in this way, refer to his biographical page. Afterward, all remaining Torrhens were ousted from their hideouts and either murdered in the streets or exiled from the city.

Consolidation with the Suspended (Unknown to Sargeroth Scholars)
Those few who could safely escape the Sargeroth Guard or otherwise slowly made their way south. Those from the city first seeking refuge at the now entombed sanctuary. With no time to mourn however, they sought other survivors further south. Those survivors from the battle met up with Root Torrhen, the murderer of Glor Gloran. Root had always served since his escape as the trainer to new recruits into the faith. All Torrhens are bound to the sword and must learn to fight and more importantly, to no longer fear death, if not lust for it. He and his recruits were not present for the battle, nor were they aware that an attack was underway.

The Two Sects Meet
Altogether, about 35 to 40 soldiers massed at the Torrhen camp until a note was received. It was from none other than Brother Vance, the leader of the 1 other Floatist extremist group. Lodging was to be provided if they could make their way farther south than they had ever traveled. When they arrived at the location, it was nothing more than a cave which had been filled with wood floors, beds and even a smithy. Brother Vare, Vance's second in command welcomed the Torrhens and soon it became clear the two groups would combine for their mutual survival. The Torrhens had just lost their priest and all of their infrastructure. In contrast, the Suspended had infrastructure, organization and supply, but lacked man-power. The infusion of the Torrhens revitalized both parties as their new home was expanded even to include a fruitful mine.

Brother Vance killed
This information is not fully understood by any Sargerithian and yet, it is true. Brother Vance, the menace who kidnapped Kornuhn, the rightful heir of Berric Kessel, and also is responsible for several terroristic attacks throughout the city, was simultaneously living as the Pontifex of the Floating church. for reasons which are discussed on another page, the Sargerithian characters of Gavin and Fletcher are responsible for the murder of the Pontifex, though they two were unaware of his alter ego. Brother Vare was perhaps one of the only people if not the only person aware of Vance's true identity. However, being at the far southern outpost at the time of the assassination, no news came from the city. To the Torrhens and Suspended, their head priest, brother Vance had simply disappeared on his way to join them.

Riverpoint
Upon the decision to stop waiting for Brother Vance, Root and brother Vare, the new de facto leaders of their sects chose to look into brother Vance's study. They found a map which showed the location of another town, non-Sargerithian. It was labeled "Riverpoint". In truth it was the reconstitution of society which had previously lived in the villages sacked by the Torrhens years before. The survivors of the massacres grouped together behind a steep plateau. A river to the east and south and a mighty birthwood forest still farther south, the village was meant to be as well hidden as possible. However, the new band of faithful brigands lived south of the birchwood forest amongst the spires of a mountain range.

After much deliberation, it was agreed that they would make their way to the village and attempt to fold themselves into society. They set off with many precious goods from their mine and tried to look like anything other than a band of murderers and heretics. Surprisingly, the riverpoint people, though paranoid were desperate for workers as well as a commodity they thought they might never attain; in-depth information on the great city to their north. The guilty Torrhens quickly convinced the villagers however that they too had been victims, exterminated and thrown out of the city and that the Sargeroth military was responsible for the prior attacks on their homes. The riverpoint natives were quick to accept their story, having heard it before from another refugee.

Una and Yorefi II reunited with Torrhens
Described on Yorefi Talinblade's page, he and his sister gave rise to an incestuous child. After Yorefi was slain in the duel, Una and the child left the city in secret, fearing what might happen to them without Yorefi to protect them. Her intention was to find the Torrhen remnant so that the child of their leader would grow with the proper instruction in the faith. However, she was unsuccessful. dehydrated and weary, she was found by those of Riverpoint and taken in without question. the Torrhens had their story entirely validated through the prior testimony of Una. She too had claimed that she was a religious refugee, cast out from a hateful and faithless city to the north. These two, seemingly unrelated incidents solidified Riverpoint's trust in those truly responsible for their depravity.

The validity of the group's religious affiliation grew as well as it was discovered that the small child rescued by Riverpoint was the chosen child of the Torrhen leader. The clan rejoiced and praised their god for a clear sign of his direction and blessing. The holy bloodline of the one who led the Torrhens to power had been preserved in this child; Yorefi Talinblade II