Skip to content

The Dogs of War

"These men went by the unflattering terms of mercenaries, outlaws, bloodthirsty warriors and rejects. Having dubbed themselves 'Dogs of War,' they blindly followed their leader, Vanius."

The mercenary company that founded Cadwallon. 200 warriors, organized into 21 free companies under 21 lieutenants, led by Vanius into the cursed jungle of Lanever to claim the buried riches of the dead Cynwäll city. They are the literal ancestors of the Free Leagues and the origin of nearly every institution in the Free City.

Two pages, two angles

This note covers the founding war and chronology. For the company as an institution — composition, command, named units, present-day footprint — see Dogs of War (Other Organizations). The [Dogs of War](<../04 Factions/Other Organizations/Dogs of War.md>) link (no "The") resolves to that organization page.

Who They Were

Outlaws, exiles, and sellswords with nothing left to lose — the dregs and daredevils of Aarklash, drawn by rumors of Cynwäll treasure under the bewitched ruins. They were not heroes. They were rejects who followed one charismatic man because he promised them something the rest of the continent wouldn't: a place of their own.

Vanius organized them with deliberate structure:
- 200 men total
- 21 free companies, each led by one of Vanius's 21 lieutenants
- Each company cleared, dug, and held a section of the ruins

That number — 21 lieutenants + Vanius = 22 — is not a coincidence. It is the same 22 as Desire's wounds, the 22 arcana, and the 22 months of the Free Calendar. The structure of the company prefigured the structure of the magic that would save it.

What They Did

  • Cleared the ruins — "took care of clearing away the dirt and rubble," deforesting the bewitched jungle (the Magical Groves that grew back are commemorated on the Day of Flowering)
  • Held against the Meanders of Darkness — the forces of Acheron under Sophet Drahas tried to drive them out
  • Won the Battle of the Wall of Earth — the decisive engagement, won with the empowered tarot
  • Founded the city — the surviving lieutenants became the first Peers; their companies became the first institutions

The Companies

The 21 companies are mostly lost to record, but fragments survive in Cadwë names and legend:
- The Steel Hearts — one of the named companies; the dwarf Yelmor claims to have served in it before vanishing into the catacrypts in 857
- The 21 companies later gave their names to the first version of the Free Calendar's months (before Duke Lothar's reform)
- Each surviving lieutenant founded a noble lineage; the Houses of Peers trace their "degrees of lineage" back to these founders

Legacy

Everything descends from the Dogs of War:

  • The Free Leagues are their direct legal heirs — the "shrews" who kept exploring the ruins when they were too poor to settle, reborn as the city's defenders in 983
  • The Houses of Peers are the lineages of the lieutenants who did settle
  • The Free Calendar is structured on their 21 companies + Vanius
  • The ducal title itself exists because Vanius refused both kingship and barony on behalf of these men
  • The 22 arcana were distributed one per lieutenant (with Vanius keeping two)

Relations

A company's lost card

If each of the 21 lieutenants received one of Vanius's arcana, then each of the 21 founding noble lineages should still hold one. Most don't — the cards were lost, stolen, or scattered. A league that traces which founding family held which card has a map to the scattered deck.

The Steel Hearts return

Yelmor served in the Steel Hearts and walked out of the [[Labyrinth]] 146 years late, convinced only days had passed. If one Steel Heart survived the maze, others may still be down there — Dogs of War, centuries old, still fighting a battle that ended before Cadwallon was born.

See Also