Dragon Rebellion: The Rise of the Lakou
Many a tale in the world in which we live, in the south, the story of the first Ysigthier rider and how he learned to tame the great beast.
In the North, the tale of the Bear fighter who fought and killed a great brown bear with his bare hands.
In the west the tale of the Sands Snakes and how they fought off the Occupation of the D'leons.
Even the tale of Avos Dracko, the man who united the entire continent for a cause.
But there is a tale from the lands known only as the Bayou.
Now too many the Bayou is nothing more than a fetted swamp and jungle where barely anything can live without having to stave poisonous plants, venomous frogs, venomous fish, venomous insects, venomous snakes and gods know what else.
But for those who live there it is the memory of everything they were willing to fight for against the super power of the time the Kingdom of the Lions Plains, who in the space of two generations had managed to conquer both the Western Deserts as well as enslave several tribes of the Swamp peoples living in the Bayou.
This is the tale of a man known only as Mackandal.
Chapter 1: The Raids
The year was 1249 of the second age of Man, the 9 kingdoms were embroiled in constant wars, there was never a point when at least two of the kingdoms were fighting each other. The super power of the time the D'leon family who had rules Kings and Queens of the Plains or Roi Des Lions, since the kingdoms founding, had begun to spread their influence and power across the continent.
They were constantly sending forth their armies and fleets to engage their neighbours in battle after battle, they hoped that by proving their power they could become the most powerful of the 9. Economically for the Human kingdoms they were the most powerful, producing more edible crops than all of the other kingdoms combined, permitting them to host both vast armies and expansive ideals.
They decided first to secure their borders to the north, where the open plains met the light forests which in turn lead onto the depths of the jungles and swamps of the Bayou. Where the swamp tribes constantly harried any attempt for the D'leons to send armies north to face the forces of the Nordin kings.
Finally in 1251 the King, Falcur D'leon decided that had had enough of the constant nuisance of the swamp folk. He ordered a brutal campaign of destruction upon the tribes, sending in multiple small armies to engage and capture the black natives. Hundreds of thousands were captured in the first few months, all of them put to work on the plantations of the nobility across the kingdom, the slave trade had begun. But Falcur would not see its end, with the king passing away a year later, he was succeeded by his son Falion, who not trusting the slaves ordered continuous raids in the Bayou to collect more slaves and to ensure that the tribes would not be an annoyance ever again. His mistrust of the slaves continued at home where he put forth a strict code of law for the slaves, they were not permitted to leave their masters estate unless with a signed document, they were not permitted to use any tools outside the fields, they were not even allowed to grow their own food.
Any breach of the rules were met by extreme punishments, ranging from beating, scolding irons, Ear lopping, Whip lashings and many even worse forms of torture. The initial idea was to force the slaves to give up any notion of resisting as well as prevent them from helping others to escape, one such slave who attempted to run away back to the Bayou was recaptured and was hung drawn and quartered as a warning to the others.
Chapter 2: What Unites us
However the one thing they could not change no matter how hard the masters tried was the unification of the slaves through their beliefs. Unlike the division of faith among the different races, the Slaves held onto their ancestral belief of the mysterious voodoo ways that they had been born too, it was this that often held them together not only as a family but as a nation.
The Slave trade was mostly concentrated to the north in the region known as perle des plaines, "The Pearl of the Plains" where the vast majority of the slaves could be found, working among the vast estates, plantations and farms of the nobility. The Plantations grew everything that could be sold on to the kingdoms neighbours, from Sugar cane, Pipe weed to Coffee and Tea. These made the Nobles more wealthy which in turn allowed them to purchase more slaves with every "Delivery".
Among one of these deliveries was a young man who had been captured during a raid on the depths of the bayou roads. He was known to the slavers as Voodoon, however the world and the Lakou would forever remember him by the name he gave himself Mackandal.
Mackandal worked on a large sugar plantation where whilst working on compressing the cane juices his left arm was caught and had to be cut off at the shoulder joint. Yet even with only his right arm to work with, slaves from across the plantation upon which he worked would come to him for medicinal help, for he was voodoo priest in training before enslavement meaning he had learnt the tools of medicine, understanding which herbs could help with which affliction.
There were even times when slaves from other estates would ask permission to go over and see him to seek help. Many of the nobles noticed this including his own master, who saw a possible tool to use, believing Mackandal to be calming the violent nature of their slaves, the noble masters decided to grant him the right of movement, allowing him to move from plantation to plantation, farm to farm calming the slaves and ensuring peace.
Chapter 4: The Plot
However what they never realised was that Mackandal was plotting a movement among his enslaved peoples, knowing the masters would always be watching him, he decided to be a calming figure to lull his masters into a sense of relaxation, where he could move between the different estates and speak with the leaders of the different slaves groups without arising suspicion.
He recruited another slave, a voodoo priest known as Boukman to come over and aid him in planning something he hoped would turn the tide of the battle of the slaves independence. "But first" he told Boukman "I must contact our brethren in the Lakou". Boukman knew what this meant and smuggled the tools Mackandal would need in order to make an successful escape, including a simple knife, a lock pick and at least 3 days worth of barley.
Then during the night, Mackandal used the lock pick to unlock the door of the barracks and made his break to freedom. Promising his friends that he will return for them when he could and take them home to the Lakou.
Now free of enslavement, Mackandal began the long journey back to the swamps where he hoped to find the resistance communities known as the Maroons.
Professor Lanark "The Maroon were people who had managed to escape from slavery and founded communities of their own in the safety of the Lakou, from where they could resist any raids from the Plains"
With Success Mackandal found several Maroon settlements and managed to convince their leadership to come together and help him in his plan to free not a few dozen slaves but tens of thousands. This was something that had never been attempted by any of the Maroon communities, despite them being able to launch small raids on outlaying plantations that were lightly defended. But Mackandal planned on not going for small plantations but going after those that brought a greater profit, which he knew generated the profit for that kept the slave trade running.
Professor Lanark "Mackandal wanted to go after slavery itself... he wanted to bring down the system that enslaved his people..... he planned to have the slaves free themselves"
Mackandal became a defacto leader of the Maroon and had them build weapons in vast amounts most notably Machetes.
Ariana Levell: Expert in the Lakoun wars "He had them forge weapons that could be smuggled onto the plantations.... weapons like the Machete were common among the slave workers, and no one would notice them unlike swords which were prohibited and could have tipped the authorities that something was wrong"
After becoming the leader of the Maroons, Mackandal met up with his old friend and fellow voodoo priest Dutty Boukman. And the two of them called a secret meeting of all the leaders of the Maroon communities and the plantation slaves at a location which is now considered hallowed ground to the Lakou, a small grove hidden within the forest on the border called Bois Caiman (Bu wa Ka eee Ma). Where Mackandal finally revealed the full length of his plan, instead of the Maroon launching simple raids, the slaves upon the Plantations would rise in revolt and liberate themselves from the masters. Many considered it suicide for them enslaved to rise up, but Mackandal managed to convince them by explaining "The Lions have stretched their claws too far.... they fight in Nordin.... they fight in the Deserts..... they fight in the Lakou... in the mountains...If we rise.... they would not be able to send a strong force against all of us ... not if the entire region rises".
It was now clear to them all, that what he planned was not for several plantations to rise up but all of them across all of the northern regions of the Lions Plains. Such an act with divide the plains and Mackandal hoped that the rising and the consequential burning's of the plantations and farms would utterly crush the economy of the masters, allowing the slaves to escape to the Bayou and fight on.
All of the leaders agreed, the weapons would be smuggled onto the plantations and the warriors among the populations of slaves would use them when the time came, the attack would be two pronged, the slaves on the plantations would use smuggled arms to rise up and overthrow the masters, at the same time the Maroon resistance fighters would come out of the Bayou and launch an all out attack on the garrisoned forts dotting the landscape.
They were all sworn to secrecy and to help time the attack, Mackandal gave to each leader a lunar flower, a beautiful plant with white petals, which has a magical connection to the moon. So much so that the flower will only open on nights of the fullest moon.
Ariana Levell "Basically he chose that night because it the fullest moon, and he said the next time you see this flower open, that is the night you shall strike"
Chapter 5: The Rise
On the 21st of August 1254 of the second age of man, exactly one month after the initial meeting, across the thousands of estates and plantations. Hundreds of thousands of Slaves were awoken in their barracks, uncovered their weapons from the hiding places and turned the same tools they had been forced to use for the masters benefit were now turned against them.
Entire farms, plantations, mansions, store houses, barracks, even the fields that the Lakou had been forced to work within were set alight by the rebels and the Maroons. Mackandals plan was working, the shear size of the rising caught the entire kingdom off guard.
Professor Lanark "You know these fires were so large, so bright, so massive that people in the Capital city were awoken because they thought that the sun was coming up even though it was barely midnight.... hell even the king was woken up by his servants because they thought it was dawn"
With such an extreme revolt occurring, the military leadership were slow to respond, their usual tactic of sending troops to put down simple revolts that had occurred on plantations in the past and Maroon raids. Were now making matters worse, for with each passing hour pleas for help from nobility and isolated garrisons kept arriving by carrier pigeon, soon their surplus of troops was stretched to the breaking point, with most of their forces having been sent out in small companies to strike back at the rebels.
By the time the sun was truly rising, the King was neither enraged nor furious, some witnesses claimed he was awestruck.
Ariana Levell "For years he's considered them to be little less than animals.... lesser beings even lower than the Elves, Orcs and Goblins.... now here they were overwhelming his military strength"
With his army stretched out across the continent, the king finally made a choice he ordered the immediate withdrawal of troops from the fighting on the Border with Nordinbar and recalled most of his army in the Western desert back to help deal with the revolt. But his generals all informed him such a move would take weeks, the King agreed and ordered the forming of the local militias to try and hold the rebels in the northern regions and defend the Capital city.
Ariana Levell "But they didn't go south... they went no further than the Meres river.... why would they.... Mackandals plan wasn't to conquer the capital it was to burn down the system that had enslaved his people"
For Two weeks Mackandals forces launched attack after attack on thousands of plantations across the northern provinces, liberating hundreds of thousands Lakouns. All the while burning the fields and plantations as well as brutally killing the masters that had committed crimes against their peoples. Yet there were times when he showed restraint especially when it came to Nobles and villagers who had been kind to the enslaved. Such as woman who Mackandal knew had helped smuggle children out of the kingdom, even a local farmer who smuggled food and medicines to the old and the sick.
With entirety of the northern region burning, the land was christened with a new name, from that year on the the perle des plaines was now forever more "les terres cendrées" the Ashen Lands .
Professor Lanark "If you were to dig into the soil about a foot down you would come across thick ash and charcoal for about another foot or more down.... so it shows just how powerful and vast these fires were"
Chapter 6: The retreat
With the first phase complete Mackandal finally gave the order for the rebels to withdraw back into the swamps where they would build up a nation of their own. When the Kings army finally marched north they found the Ashen plains completely deserted, only refugees fleeing south with their skins covered in dirt and ash.
The Nobility who had their wealth all focused on the plantations and farms in the region, were said to have broke down in shock and awe from the sheet destruction of the source of their wealth. Mackandals plan had worked the money that enslaved his people was now all gone, whilst the D'leons and their nobles picked up the pieces and tried to repair the extensive damage done. Mackandal and the Lakoun prepared for the war to come, they regrouped at a sacred site to their culture, the worlds largest Mangrove tree, so immense that the branches stretched out for hundreds of metres shadowing the entire of the Maroon settlement beneath it.
Mackandal decided this location as the capital for the Lakou kingdom, as its location was perfect all of the roads and paths that lead through the Lakou met at the crossroads around the Mangrove tree. Such a location would be perfect as the location could be held with only a small force for significant periods of time, soon the settlement was fortified with two levels of defensive walls the larger being within the city limits as a last resort for defence.
Soon after the last stake was placed within the wall, Mackandal was elected as the King of the Lakou and named Mackandal Gator for his ferocity for Maroon independence. But he claimed he would never wear a crown as long as he lives.
A year of rebuilding the D'leons found themselves on the brink of economic and military ruin, the rebuilding of the farms and the housing of the refugees, now they were lacking the funds necessary to keep their army and without the army to keep the expansion of their power, their enemies began to close in.
The first to close in would one day become the closest friend and ally of the Lakou, the kingdom of Nordinbar formally recognised the Lakou as an independent kingdom and offered a full alliance and made a promise to protect their sovereignty from the other kingdoms. This would begin a long line of friendship between the two realms.
After reorganising themselves the D'leons rallied forth and decided to restore their reputation by putting an end to the Lakou nation once and for all. They sent an army consisting of well over 5,000 men at arms and 300 cavalry, the Lakou were outnumbered and stretched not only because they did not know where the invasion would come but also Mackandal now only had a volunteer army, the vast horde of the rebellion was allowed to live normal lives. So Mackandal had to stretch his army out across the border to watch for the oncoming army, this however meant that his forces couldn't focus themselves in resistance, so Mackandal decided to allow them entry.
Chapter 7: The River of Bones
As soon as the D'leon army entered the swamps however, they were forced to stick to the properly formed routes and roads that avoided the more rugged swamp and streams, which in turn limited their manoeuvrability and exposed their supply routes to ambush. Which allowed the Lakou to use their knowledge of the rivers, streams and flooded paths through the bayou, which they used to entrap the D'leons within the depths of the swamp.
With no other choice they had to go forwards, pushing with every day trying desperately to get to the Lakou stronghold of the Mangrove Tree. The General of the army, Guy D'vaugn hoped that by taking the stronghold he would be able to properly supply his army by river and end the Maroon resistance once and for all.
However With each day his army grew weaker and weaker as they pushed on, when they finally caught sight of the Mangrove tree, the army was on the brink of deserting, D'vaugn ordered the army to set up camp and prepare to launch the siege the following day. This was his first mistake, his second was the belief that the Lakoun army was tucked away inside the stronghold, when in fact Mackandal had placed his forces throughout the swamp surrounding the D'leon encampment. And to ensure victory, had requested his ally of Nordinbar send help against the invasion, although it would take time the reigning Queen Reila, promised all the help she could muster from her people.
During the night Mackandal gave the order, whilst the D'leons soldier slept the Lakou warriors maneuvred into position around the encampment, whilst some took up position near the horses ready to spook them when the time comes, others took up positions with bows with poisoned arrows ready to rain them on the enemy when the signal is given.
Finally with the moon at its highest Mackandal gave the order for the attack to begin. With the moonlight shining through the fog and branches, the sentries on the D'leon perimeter slowly began to fall as venomous blow darts and arrows found their marks, with their eyes gone came the next stage of the assault, Maroon fighters came out from the swamps with torches and began to burn the tents and stores of the encampment, the D'leon troops were awoken only by the screams of their burning comrades.
And by then it was too late to organise a defence, as the Maroons pushed through the weakened army And even worse came when the D'leon commanders looked to the river and saw large River boats carrying the Bearin flag coming in from the direction of the coast. By the time the sun began to creep through the trees, all 5,000 men at arms lay dead in the mud and water, the only survivors of the D'leon army were a few dozen cavalrymen who "escorted" Guy D'vaugn away to safety. That is the tale the Nobility say, yet the Lakou say that he fled at the first chance he got.
Mackandal gave a clear order to all of his peoples, items, armour, weapons, supplies, horses, anything and everything of worth was to be taken at will. However the bodies of the dead D'leons were to remain their until the end of days, to serve as a warning to any who would dare to try and enslave the Lakou ever again. Even to this day people across the world call the location where the encampment sat, a collection of small muddy islets in the river as the River of Bones, as to the very moment the bones of the dead Plainers remain their, entangled by the roots and vines of the Lakou they had tried to enslave.
Epilogue:
Mackandal became a mythical figure among his people and many wanted him to claim the crown of the Lakou as his. Yet once again he refused it wanting to stick by his promise that he would never wear a crown upon his head, He would eventually fall in love, marry and have many children, with the banner of the Alligator watching over the Bayou for all time.
Treaties were signed with all of the kingdoms of Vakor even with the Dwarven Halls, but the closest and only true alliance the Lakou ever accepted came from the Nordin, thankful for the help they had sent in their hour of need, Mackandal gave to them eternal friendship and even allowed two of his daughters to marry into the Bearin family.
However war would return as the D'leons went once more to battle the Nordin, being friends and allies the Lakou followed the Nordin into battle, granting them passage through the bayou and into the Ashen lands where the two fought side by side. During once such battle, Mackandal was captured by the D'leon armies and was sentenced to be executed for treason, his execution was made all the more brutal when all of the captured Lakou warriors from the war were forced to watch as Mackandal was placed atop a pile of lumber and slow burning oils in the middle of the public square of the Lions Den.
As the pyre was set alight many of the nobility who had lost their fortunes because of Mackandals actions smiled and some even cheered, but the peasantry and even some of the more anti slavery nobles were shocked at the actions of their king, even though the man before them was an enemy of the kingdom. Many regarded him as a prisoner of war worthy of ransom back to his people or at the least exchanged for the return of prisoners.
But the most suffered was done upon the captured Lakou, who could only watch in horror and hatred as their king and saviour was slowly burning alive before them as the flames began to engulf him ever more.
Suddenly Mackandal broke free of his shackles and lept out of the fire, and this is where the story divides as no one is quite sure what happened to Mackandal after this moment.
The D'leon Royalty and their supporters claim that Mackandal was recaptured during the escape attempt and was thrown back into the fire where he finally succumbed to the fires rage. The Lakou however believe that Mackandal managed to escape into the crowd and disappeared. But one thing is for certain.
Mackandal was never seen again.
But the manner upon which he was executed made the Lakou fight even harder against the D'leon family. 3 years later a Coalition of Westerlings, Nordinbar and Lakou armies laid siege to the Lions Den and eventually forced the capitulation of the royal family.
The great and power Kings of Lions had to submit to a humilation through a treaty, he would have to recognise the sovereignty of the Western Desert as well as the Independence of the Lakou. But for Mackandals sons this was not enough, they wanted to finish what their father had started.
Upon signing the treaty, the King of Lions had also signed a new firm law banning the slave trade in Lakou folk, the following year all Maroon and Lakou who were still enslaved were released and were given safe passage to the Bayou.
Mackandals dream of a Kingdom in the swamps free of Slavery had finally come true.
In the North, the tale of the Bear fighter who fought and killed a great brown bear with his bare hands.
In the west the tale of the Sands Snakes and how they fought off the Occupation of the D'leons.
Even the tale of Avos Dracko, the man who united the entire continent for a cause.
But there is a tale from the lands known only as the Bayou.
Now too many the Bayou is nothing more than a fetted swamp and jungle where barely anything can live without having to stave poisonous plants, venomous frogs, venomous fish, venomous insects, venomous snakes and gods know what else.
But for those who live there it is the memory of everything they were willing to fight for against the super power of the time the Kingdom of the Lions Plains, who in the space of two generations had managed to conquer both the Western Deserts as well as enslave several tribes of the Swamp peoples living in the Bayou.
This is the tale of a man known only as Mackandal.
Chapter 1: The Raids
The year was 1249 of the second age of Man, the 9 kingdoms were embroiled in constant wars, there was never a point when at least two of the kingdoms were fighting each other. The super power of the time the D'leon family who had rules Kings and Queens of the Plains or Roi Des Lions, since the kingdoms founding, had begun to spread their influence and power across the continent.
They were constantly sending forth their armies and fleets to engage their neighbours in battle after battle, they hoped that by proving their power they could become the most powerful of the 9. Economically for the Human kingdoms they were the most powerful, producing more edible crops than all of the other kingdoms combined, permitting them to host both vast armies and expansive ideals.
They decided first to secure their borders to the north, where the open plains met the light forests which in turn lead onto the depths of the jungles and swamps of the Bayou. Where the swamp tribes constantly harried any attempt for the D'leons to send armies north to face the forces of the Nordin kings.
Finally in 1251 the King, Falcur D'leon decided that had had enough of the constant nuisance of the swamp folk. He ordered a brutal campaign of destruction upon the tribes, sending in multiple small armies to engage and capture the black natives. Hundreds of thousands were captured in the first few months, all of them put to work on the plantations of the nobility across the kingdom, the slave trade had begun. But Falcur would not see its end, with the king passing away a year later, he was succeeded by his son Falion, who not trusting the slaves ordered continuous raids in the Bayou to collect more slaves and to ensure that the tribes would not be an annoyance ever again. His mistrust of the slaves continued at home where he put forth a strict code of law for the slaves, they were not permitted to leave their masters estate unless with a signed document, they were not permitted to use any tools outside the fields, they were not even allowed to grow their own food.
Any breach of the rules were met by extreme punishments, ranging from beating, scolding irons, Ear lopping, Whip lashings and many even worse forms of torture. The initial idea was to force the slaves to give up any notion of resisting as well as prevent them from helping others to escape, one such slave who attempted to run away back to the Bayou was recaptured and was hung drawn and quartered as a warning to the others.
Chapter 2: What Unites us
However the one thing they could not change no matter how hard the masters tried was the unification of the slaves through their beliefs. Unlike the division of faith among the different races, the Slaves held onto their ancestral belief of the mysterious voodoo ways that they had been born too, it was this that often held them together not only as a family but as a nation.
The Slave trade was mostly concentrated to the north in the region known as perle des plaines, "The Pearl of the Plains" where the vast majority of the slaves could be found, working among the vast estates, plantations and farms of the nobility. The Plantations grew everything that could be sold on to the kingdoms neighbours, from Sugar cane, Pipe weed to Coffee and Tea. These made the Nobles more wealthy which in turn allowed them to purchase more slaves with every "Delivery".
Among one of these deliveries was a young man who had been captured during a raid on the depths of the bayou roads. He was known to the slavers as Voodoon, however the world and the Lakou would forever remember him by the name he gave himself Mackandal.
Mackandal worked on a large sugar plantation where whilst working on compressing the cane juices his left arm was caught and had to be cut off at the shoulder joint. Yet even with only his right arm to work with, slaves from across the plantation upon which he worked would come to him for medicinal help, for he was voodoo priest in training before enslavement meaning he had learnt the tools of medicine, understanding which herbs could help with which affliction.
There were even times when slaves from other estates would ask permission to go over and see him to seek help. Many of the nobles noticed this including his own master, who saw a possible tool to use, believing Mackandal to be calming the violent nature of their slaves, the noble masters decided to grant him the right of movement, allowing him to move from plantation to plantation, farm to farm calming the slaves and ensuring peace.
Chapter 4: The Plot
However what they never realised was that Mackandal was plotting a movement among his enslaved peoples, knowing the masters would always be watching him, he decided to be a calming figure to lull his masters into a sense of relaxation, where he could move between the different estates and speak with the leaders of the different slaves groups without arising suspicion.
He recruited another slave, a voodoo priest known as Boukman to come over and aid him in planning something he hoped would turn the tide of the battle of the slaves independence. "But first" he told Boukman "I must contact our brethren in the Lakou". Boukman knew what this meant and smuggled the tools Mackandal would need in order to make an successful escape, including a simple knife, a lock pick and at least 3 days worth of barley.
Then during the night, Mackandal used the lock pick to unlock the door of the barracks and made his break to freedom. Promising his friends that he will return for them when he could and take them home to the Lakou.
Now free of enslavement, Mackandal began the long journey back to the swamps where he hoped to find the resistance communities known as the Maroons.
Professor Lanark "The Maroon were people who had managed to escape from slavery and founded communities of their own in the safety of the Lakou, from where they could resist any raids from the Plains"
With Success Mackandal found several Maroon settlements and managed to convince their leadership to come together and help him in his plan to free not a few dozen slaves but tens of thousands. This was something that had never been attempted by any of the Maroon communities, despite them being able to launch small raids on outlaying plantations that were lightly defended. But Mackandal planned on not going for small plantations but going after those that brought a greater profit, which he knew generated the profit for that kept the slave trade running.
Professor Lanark "Mackandal wanted to go after slavery itself... he wanted to bring down the system that enslaved his people..... he planned to have the slaves free themselves"
Mackandal became a defacto leader of the Maroon and had them build weapons in vast amounts most notably Machetes.
Ariana Levell: Expert in the Lakoun wars "He had them forge weapons that could be smuggled onto the plantations.... weapons like the Machete were common among the slave workers, and no one would notice them unlike swords which were prohibited and could have tipped the authorities that something was wrong"
After becoming the leader of the Maroons, Mackandal met up with his old friend and fellow voodoo priest Dutty Boukman. And the two of them called a secret meeting of all the leaders of the Maroon communities and the plantation slaves at a location which is now considered hallowed ground to the Lakou, a small grove hidden within the forest on the border called Bois Caiman (Bu wa Ka eee Ma). Where Mackandal finally revealed the full length of his plan, instead of the Maroon launching simple raids, the slaves upon the Plantations would rise in revolt and liberate themselves from the masters. Many considered it suicide for them enslaved to rise up, but Mackandal managed to convince them by explaining "The Lions have stretched their claws too far.... they fight in Nordin.... they fight in the Deserts..... they fight in the Lakou... in the mountains...If we rise.... they would not be able to send a strong force against all of us ... not if the entire region rises".
It was now clear to them all, that what he planned was not for several plantations to rise up but all of them across all of the northern regions of the Lions Plains. Such an act with divide the plains and Mackandal hoped that the rising and the consequential burning's of the plantations and farms would utterly crush the economy of the masters, allowing the slaves to escape to the Bayou and fight on.
All of the leaders agreed, the weapons would be smuggled onto the plantations and the warriors among the populations of slaves would use them when the time came, the attack would be two pronged, the slaves on the plantations would use smuggled arms to rise up and overthrow the masters, at the same time the Maroon resistance fighters would come out of the Bayou and launch an all out attack on the garrisoned forts dotting the landscape.
They were all sworn to secrecy and to help time the attack, Mackandal gave to each leader a lunar flower, a beautiful plant with white petals, which has a magical connection to the moon. So much so that the flower will only open on nights of the fullest moon.
Ariana Levell "Basically he chose that night because it the fullest moon, and he said the next time you see this flower open, that is the night you shall strike"
Chapter 5: The Rise
On the 21st of August 1254 of the second age of man, exactly one month after the initial meeting, across the thousands of estates and plantations. Hundreds of thousands of Slaves were awoken in their barracks, uncovered their weapons from the hiding places and turned the same tools they had been forced to use for the masters benefit were now turned against them.
Entire farms, plantations, mansions, store houses, barracks, even the fields that the Lakou had been forced to work within were set alight by the rebels and the Maroons. Mackandals plan was working, the shear size of the rising caught the entire kingdom off guard.
Professor Lanark "You know these fires were so large, so bright, so massive that people in the Capital city were awoken because they thought that the sun was coming up even though it was barely midnight.... hell even the king was woken up by his servants because they thought it was dawn"
With such an extreme revolt occurring, the military leadership were slow to respond, their usual tactic of sending troops to put down simple revolts that had occurred on plantations in the past and Maroon raids. Were now making matters worse, for with each passing hour pleas for help from nobility and isolated garrisons kept arriving by carrier pigeon, soon their surplus of troops was stretched to the breaking point, with most of their forces having been sent out in small companies to strike back at the rebels.
By the time the sun was truly rising, the King was neither enraged nor furious, some witnesses claimed he was awestruck.
Ariana Levell "For years he's considered them to be little less than animals.... lesser beings even lower than the Elves, Orcs and Goblins.... now here they were overwhelming his military strength"
With his army stretched out across the continent, the king finally made a choice he ordered the immediate withdrawal of troops from the fighting on the Border with Nordinbar and recalled most of his army in the Western desert back to help deal with the revolt. But his generals all informed him such a move would take weeks, the King agreed and ordered the forming of the local militias to try and hold the rebels in the northern regions and defend the Capital city.
Ariana Levell "But they didn't go south... they went no further than the Meres river.... why would they.... Mackandals plan wasn't to conquer the capital it was to burn down the system that had enslaved his people"
For Two weeks Mackandals forces launched attack after attack on thousands of plantations across the northern provinces, liberating hundreds of thousands Lakouns. All the while burning the fields and plantations as well as brutally killing the masters that had committed crimes against their peoples. Yet there were times when he showed restraint especially when it came to Nobles and villagers who had been kind to the enslaved. Such as woman who Mackandal knew had helped smuggle children out of the kingdom, even a local farmer who smuggled food and medicines to the old and the sick.
With entirety of the northern region burning, the land was christened with a new name, from that year on the the perle des plaines was now forever more "les terres cendrées" the Ashen Lands .
Professor Lanark "If you were to dig into the soil about a foot down you would come across thick ash and charcoal for about another foot or more down.... so it shows just how powerful and vast these fires were"
Chapter 6: The retreat
With the first phase complete Mackandal finally gave the order for the rebels to withdraw back into the swamps where they would build up a nation of their own. When the Kings army finally marched north they found the Ashen plains completely deserted, only refugees fleeing south with their skins covered in dirt and ash.
The Nobility who had their wealth all focused on the plantations and farms in the region, were said to have broke down in shock and awe from the sheet destruction of the source of their wealth. Mackandals plan had worked the money that enslaved his people was now all gone, whilst the D'leons and their nobles picked up the pieces and tried to repair the extensive damage done. Mackandal and the Lakoun prepared for the war to come, they regrouped at a sacred site to their culture, the worlds largest Mangrove tree, so immense that the branches stretched out for hundreds of metres shadowing the entire of the Maroon settlement beneath it.
Mackandal decided this location as the capital for the Lakou kingdom, as its location was perfect all of the roads and paths that lead through the Lakou met at the crossroads around the Mangrove tree. Such a location would be perfect as the location could be held with only a small force for significant periods of time, soon the settlement was fortified with two levels of defensive walls the larger being within the city limits as a last resort for defence.
Soon after the last stake was placed within the wall, Mackandal was elected as the King of the Lakou and named Mackandal Gator for his ferocity for Maroon independence. But he claimed he would never wear a crown as long as he lives.
A year of rebuilding the D'leons found themselves on the brink of economic and military ruin, the rebuilding of the farms and the housing of the refugees, now they were lacking the funds necessary to keep their army and without the army to keep the expansion of their power, their enemies began to close in.
The first to close in would one day become the closest friend and ally of the Lakou, the kingdom of Nordinbar formally recognised the Lakou as an independent kingdom and offered a full alliance and made a promise to protect their sovereignty from the other kingdoms. This would begin a long line of friendship between the two realms.
After reorganising themselves the D'leons rallied forth and decided to restore their reputation by putting an end to the Lakou nation once and for all. They sent an army consisting of well over 5,000 men at arms and 300 cavalry, the Lakou were outnumbered and stretched not only because they did not know where the invasion would come but also Mackandal now only had a volunteer army, the vast horde of the rebellion was allowed to live normal lives. So Mackandal had to stretch his army out across the border to watch for the oncoming army, this however meant that his forces couldn't focus themselves in resistance, so Mackandal decided to allow them entry.
Chapter 7: The River of Bones
As soon as the D'leon army entered the swamps however, they were forced to stick to the properly formed routes and roads that avoided the more rugged swamp and streams, which in turn limited their manoeuvrability and exposed their supply routes to ambush. Which allowed the Lakou to use their knowledge of the rivers, streams and flooded paths through the bayou, which they used to entrap the D'leons within the depths of the swamp.
With no other choice they had to go forwards, pushing with every day trying desperately to get to the Lakou stronghold of the Mangrove Tree. The General of the army, Guy D'vaugn hoped that by taking the stronghold he would be able to properly supply his army by river and end the Maroon resistance once and for all.
However With each day his army grew weaker and weaker as they pushed on, when they finally caught sight of the Mangrove tree, the army was on the brink of deserting, D'vaugn ordered the army to set up camp and prepare to launch the siege the following day. This was his first mistake, his second was the belief that the Lakoun army was tucked away inside the stronghold, when in fact Mackandal had placed his forces throughout the swamp surrounding the D'leon encampment. And to ensure victory, had requested his ally of Nordinbar send help against the invasion, although it would take time the reigning Queen Reila, promised all the help she could muster from her people.
During the night Mackandal gave the order, whilst the D'leons soldier slept the Lakou warriors maneuvred into position around the encampment, whilst some took up position near the horses ready to spook them when the time comes, others took up positions with bows with poisoned arrows ready to rain them on the enemy when the signal is given.
Finally with the moon at its highest Mackandal gave the order for the attack to begin. With the moonlight shining through the fog and branches, the sentries on the D'leon perimeter slowly began to fall as venomous blow darts and arrows found their marks, with their eyes gone came the next stage of the assault, Maroon fighters came out from the swamps with torches and began to burn the tents and stores of the encampment, the D'leon troops were awoken only by the screams of their burning comrades.
And by then it was too late to organise a defence, as the Maroons pushed through the weakened army And even worse came when the D'leon commanders looked to the river and saw large River boats carrying the Bearin flag coming in from the direction of the coast. By the time the sun began to creep through the trees, all 5,000 men at arms lay dead in the mud and water, the only survivors of the D'leon army were a few dozen cavalrymen who "escorted" Guy D'vaugn away to safety. That is the tale the Nobility say, yet the Lakou say that he fled at the first chance he got.
Mackandal gave a clear order to all of his peoples, items, armour, weapons, supplies, horses, anything and everything of worth was to be taken at will. However the bodies of the dead D'leons were to remain their until the end of days, to serve as a warning to any who would dare to try and enslave the Lakou ever again. Even to this day people across the world call the location where the encampment sat, a collection of small muddy islets in the river as the River of Bones, as to the very moment the bones of the dead Plainers remain their, entangled by the roots and vines of the Lakou they had tried to enslave.
Epilogue:
Mackandal became a mythical figure among his people and many wanted him to claim the crown of the Lakou as his. Yet once again he refused it wanting to stick by his promise that he would never wear a crown upon his head, He would eventually fall in love, marry and have many children, with the banner of the Alligator watching over the Bayou for all time.
Treaties were signed with all of the kingdoms of Vakor even with the Dwarven Halls, but the closest and only true alliance the Lakou ever accepted came from the Nordin, thankful for the help they had sent in their hour of need, Mackandal gave to them eternal friendship and even allowed two of his daughters to marry into the Bearin family.
However war would return as the D'leons went once more to battle the Nordin, being friends and allies the Lakou followed the Nordin into battle, granting them passage through the bayou and into the Ashen lands where the two fought side by side. During once such battle, Mackandal was captured by the D'leon armies and was sentenced to be executed for treason, his execution was made all the more brutal when all of the captured Lakou warriors from the war were forced to watch as Mackandal was placed atop a pile of lumber and slow burning oils in the middle of the public square of the Lions Den.
As the pyre was set alight many of the nobility who had lost their fortunes because of Mackandals actions smiled and some even cheered, but the peasantry and even some of the more anti slavery nobles were shocked at the actions of their king, even though the man before them was an enemy of the kingdom. Many regarded him as a prisoner of war worthy of ransom back to his people or at the least exchanged for the return of prisoners.
But the most suffered was done upon the captured Lakou, who could only watch in horror and hatred as their king and saviour was slowly burning alive before them as the flames began to engulf him ever more.
Suddenly Mackandal broke free of his shackles and lept out of the fire, and this is where the story divides as no one is quite sure what happened to Mackandal after this moment.
The D'leon Royalty and their supporters claim that Mackandal was recaptured during the escape attempt and was thrown back into the fire where he finally succumbed to the fires rage. The Lakou however believe that Mackandal managed to escape into the crowd and disappeared. But one thing is for certain.
Mackandal was never seen again.
But the manner upon which he was executed made the Lakou fight even harder against the D'leon family. 3 years later a Coalition of Westerlings, Nordinbar and Lakou armies laid siege to the Lions Den and eventually forced the capitulation of the royal family.
The great and power Kings of Lions had to submit to a humilation through a treaty, he would have to recognise the sovereignty of the Western Desert as well as the Independence of the Lakou. But for Mackandals sons this was not enough, they wanted to finish what their father had started.
Upon signing the treaty, the King of Lions had also signed a new firm law banning the slave trade in Lakou folk, the following year all Maroon and Lakou who were still enslaved were released and were given safe passage to the Bayou.
Mackandals dream of a Kingdom in the swamps free of Slavery had finally come true.
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