Mekkhas the Conqueror

Mekkhas the Conqueror
10,954 ON to 10,887 ON

Mekkhas the Conqueror was a prince born in the region of Lekkas that lies in the north-eastern portion of Mekkhor found west of Skalovia and south of Gromdalia on Velas. He conquered his way into becoming an emperor and his empire stretched from the lands in western Velas known as Lekkas, Orcini, Ravois, Catarein, Ashriq, and Malkhabir. His legacy includes much of the societal foundations of Velas in the Age of Flame and the current borders of the modern Velassian regions as of 0 ND. His famous tale is told in multiple history books, by bards, and his tactics and methods are still taught today by military theorists. He united nearly all the lands by military conquest and created the powerful Mekkhorsi Empire which would last for over three thousand years and go on to influence the world after.

Origins

Mekkhas was born to Doreios and Anteia of the city-state of Nessalonika which was found in northeastern Lekkas about three hundred miles west of Skalovia, a cold land inhabited by draconic kinds that was ruled by dragons. Mekkhas's father was the basileus of Nessalonika, its king, and he was often absent in Mekkhas's life due to the multiple campaigns he lead when warring against other city-states and the encroaching Skalovians. Lekkas, a northern region of Mekkhor on the continent of Velas found on the western border of the Fang mountains of Skalovia, had long been at war with Skalovia and the Scale Princes, the draconic rulers of the frigid land that claimed individual city-states within it. His mother personally taught him what she could of history, legend, mathematics, and how to be a great general in the vein of his father. Mekkhas grew in the shadow of war in Lekkas and he served with his father as a strategos along with his older brothers Kephelon and Maiandrios. He had served for only a year when he had seen his father and brothers fall to draconic invasions, burned to death by the red dragon Cagath at the tail end of his final invasion of Nessalonika. 

Escape and Wisdom

Eventually, Nesalonika fell and Mekkhas escaped to the city of Paiontos. There he met with Anaxis of Many Colors, a mercenary captain that had made quite a hoard of gold from fighting in wars across the lands of Lekkas, Orcini, Ravois, and Catarein. He became a drinking companion to the young Mekkhas and fed him knowledge he had learned in his time across the land. Men only respond to power. That power is won by iron and blood. All else is pageantry. Mekkhas joined Anaxis on his campaigns and learned of these other lands and how they lived and warred. He realized he was narrow-minded in his thoughts. Lekkas was insufficient and too small to truly defend itself. Lekkas was also not the entire world. Mekkhas of Nesalonika swore to unite the human lands together in order to create a world for man to prosper and rule. He began his campaign with several shrewd moves working within Anaxis's mercenary company. He bargained for lands and titles instead of gold. He created his own united kingdom in southern Lekkas and then spread its influence through conquests. He met and won the loyalty and respect of men like Anaxis who had true wisdom. These men would become his archons, generals and governors, and raise professional armies in his new kingdom of Thralonika built in the western portion of Lekkas. 

Empire Building

His kingdom became an empire once he caused the city-states of Lekkas to submit, the tribal chiefs of Ravois to kneel, and the kings of Orcini to lay down one crown for another as they were convinced to become archons. He continued his conquests well into the south, into Catarein and the deserts of Ashriq. He planned multiple projects over the decades including renovations of cities, great works made in the empire's name, and the establishment of some of the earliest institutions in Mekkhor. His name would ring out with greatness and every man that bowed to him at one time in shame would grow to adore him. He would always keep his eyes on Lekkas and sent legions to keep back the Scale Princes from progressing forward.

Tragedy and Succession

Unfortunately, Mekkhas died before he saw his dream achieved. He died of a fever at the age of 67 in the harsh deserts of Ashriq. His heir, Anakreon, would take over and finish what he began. He personally saw his father's home freed and the lands of Lekkas torn away from the greedy talons of the dragons. Once the realms were united, a great invasion of near one million men was launched into the cold reaches of Skalovia. Not by the princes did the army of one million see its number halved, but by the cruelty of the frigid land. Skalovia is deadly cold in its falls and winters and it requires the use of magical hearthstones to produce heat. In the beginning, the legions of Anakreon were able to procure these stones in the warmer spring but they were in short supply and the area they covered could not support all the men. Many died in the cold numb, their blue faces in permanent expressions of chilling pain. The war went on for decades despite this, but every year would see the men grow weaker, grow in unhappiness, and lost the original vision their predecessors had. They grew tired of war and fighting hundreds of thousands of kobolds, scalebound, monks, and the abominations of the Scale Princes along with the dragons themselves. They pushed the princes back into Skalovia, and this was seen as victory enough. The men returned home to Mekkhor and a great wall was built that separated the two realms. The princes would continue to breach it and many succeeded but they would not grab a permanent foothold like they once had.