Mosk-Sopoh Dolysoh

Mosk-Sopoh Dolysoh
The Destroyer
Gole of Toor
Reign	1848-1870 FR
Predecessor	Meerō Dolysoh
Successor	Beejetoh Dolysoh
Personal details
Born	1829 FR
Died	1870 FR
Parents	Meerō Dolysoh and Toves Goonoh

Mosk-Sopoh Dolysoh, born Mosk Dolysoh and also known as Sopoh II and Mosk Sopohed, was the fourth gole of Toor, notable for conquering the Laeooy Coast, destroying the major city state of Troun and ending Tirna's status as an independent kingdom.

Mosk grew up in Gaskal and was Meerō's eldest son. Having turned 12, he accompanied his father on the Red Orchid campaign which was an unsuccessful attempt at defeating Tirna and Troun. He would later recount this time in his memoirs, saying:

"I was embarrassed for my family. I was embarrassed for my father. And I saw this embarrassment in the eyes of his generals. I knew that I never wanted anyone to look at any Dolysoh like that again. They shall look at us either with reverence or with fear. And that's how it was."

The embarrassment that he mentions relates to the humiliation that Gutsag, the gole of Tirna, subjected Meerō to: throughout the siege Gutsag had not only numerous times sent letters with insults by throwing them with rocks over the walls, but also had musicians and a choir perform songs with offensive lyrics about Meerō every morning.

Reign

Mosk chose to rule under the name Sopoh and was referred to by Ludoh as Sopoh II and by Porteek as Mosk-Sopoh. A version of the latter name can also be spotted in the inscriptions in the Gaskal royal palace, written as "Mosk Sopohed", which can be translated as Mosk of Sopoh.

Campaign against Tirna

Mosk-Sopoh opened his reign with an immediate march on Tirna. This campaign is known as the Green Cherry and was a resounding success, which also earned the new gole respect among his Jeens.

Unlike his father, Mosk-Sopoh was not in the habit of preparing for a campaign for years, instead putting together an army quickly and counting on the element of surprise. Additionally, he introduced the idea of first attacking Tirna from water and then, when most forces would be focused on the coastal side of the city, enter it from its southern gates. As Toor did not have warships, the attack was commenced at night, with hundreds of sailing ships carrying archers that began to fire flaming spears. This set Tirna's port and fleet on fire.

In the morning toorians attacked the southern gates and were able to easily enter the city. Tirna was then sacked and Mosk-Sopoh ordered its inhabitants slaughtered. He then had a choir perform drinking songs, while heads of executed Tirna leaders where hauled over the wall with siege engines.

Porteek references several toorian sources that explain that the brutal treatment was not simply due to Mosk-Sopoh's personal hatred of Tirna and how its gole embarrassed his father, but that he needed to be sure that he won't be attacked from behind when marching further west. But Mosk-Sopoh ended up leading his troops back to Gaskal due to the untimely demise of his sister, Goolytoh, with whom they were very close, having grown up together.

A relief in the Gaskal royal palace shows the toorians bringing back the spoils of war. The inscription below says:

"I painted the walls of their houses with the their blood."

Ultimatum to Deeras

Meerō honored his father's agreement with the Deeras family and Deeras was treated as an independent land. However, the consensus of nobility in Gaskal was that Deeras should at some point be confronted and begin contributing to the treasury. Uroh Maadoh became the negotiator with Deeras and established regular correspondence with them.

By the end of Meerō's reign, Uroh Maadoh began sounding the alarm that the population of Deeras had increased dramatically, due to the many Negy opting to migrate to the region and settle. Uroh Maadoh argued that Deeras might become a threat to Toor and choose to invade like they have during the reign of Opol.

The new gole was much more receptive to Uroh Maadoh. After the army returned from the campaign against Tirna, Mosk-Sopoh sent a convoy, led by Uroh Maadoh, to inform the Deeras clan that their senior representative is to travel to Gaskal to pay respects to the new gole.

"As a friend of your glorious house, allow to voice a humble piece of advice. Do bring gifts and offerings, as the gole is impatient and watches his visiting friends with a greedy eye."

The term "visiting friends" was doublespeak for "vassals" or "subjects", and if the quote is not a later embellishment, but an actual phrase uttered by Uroh Maadoh, this would have been understood as an ultimatum.

The Pale Grape: conflict with Troun, Nadd and Deeras

But the destruction of Tirna was treated as an ultimatum as well, and even before Uroh Maadoh could return to Gaskal, the western coast of Ydoh Rol was attacked by the naddians. They wreaked havoc on the coastal villages and ransacked several towns, murdering its inhabitants and leaders. Porteek quotes Brone Forod's memoirs, where he says:

"The prey was given too much time to eat and sleep. And when it got its rest, it attacked, fiercely and blindly, like an animal. Burning our homes and slaughtering our people. We took a long time training our muscle in the past, and it was perhaps too long. But when we were ready, we were ready to take on not just a single tree, but the whole forest!"

It indeed became clear that Troun and Nadd decided to make a preemptive strike. Apart form decimating the western coast, the naddians were able to burn the fleet of sailing ships that was used to attack Tirna.

The furious Mosk-Sopoh began swift preparations for a conquest on Nadd and Troun.

Meanwhile, Deeras refused to submit to Mosk-Sopoh and the family was able to put together a 10000-strong army, comprised of mercenaries, mostly from the Oaleed, but also from Urnotys, Jojnohs and Aagalohs. This army then invaded Toor, forcing Mosk-Sopoh to forgo his preparations for a conquest on Nadd and Troun and instead channel his resources towards this new threat. He led a 5000-strong Gaskal force against the mercenaries, who by this time managed to enter Ydoh Rol. The gole was able to force them out and push them back to Palas, then Dol, at which point the mercenary army fled to the west.

Mosk-Sopoh then proceeded to Deeras and attacked the city, defeating it easily: the city had almost no armed forces defending it and seemed to be very sparsely inhabited. There were also no members of the Deeras family. Mosk-Sopoh largely spared the lives of the city's citizens, proclaiming it to be under his jurisdiction and assigning Uroh Maadoh as Murdoh.

However, as the toorians were passing through Dol, they were ambushed by several Negy armies, which used the mountainous region to their advantage and very quickly surrounded the relatively small army of the gole. The encounter turned out to be a disaster for Mosk-Sopoh. Suffering heavy losses, the army was able to fight its way out and return to Gaskal. Just a week later news arrived that the Deeras family returned to the city and that Uroh Maadoh was executed.

Less then a month later Troun invaded Toor and burned down Palased. By this time Mosk-Sopoh's court was already long in the process of putting together an army for a future conquest against Troun, so in spite of heavy losses at Dol, Mosk-Sopoh was able to lead an army of about 8000 against the invaders. A key battle happened in a region known as Kees. Troun's army turned out to be much more numerous and was led by the gole Mod Dorvysoh, but he was killed early in the battle and his sons chose to withdraw. Mosk-Sopoh, who realized that he got lucky and that that battle could have been the end of Toor, did not pursue. On their way back through Ydoh Rol, however, Troun forces ransacked every village they passed through. This seriously undermined the region and for the next decade it was mostly in ruins. This also began to threaten the religious standing of both the region and the Dolysohs, which would eventually lead to the special sacred status of Ydoh Rol.

A mere year after the battle at Kees, in late autumn, Deeras again invaded Toor from the south. This time the army consisted mostly of Negy and Jojnohs. They reached Palas and stationed there, with the intention of biting away the region between the Palas and Dol mountains from Toor. Since it was winter, they counted on snowfall to slow down Gaskal's response. Mosk-Sopoh, however, moved out immediately, marched to the mount of Marij and hit Deeras' army from this less expected direction. The Negy quickly retreated, leaving two Jojnoh divisions to hold toorians back. Mosk-Sopoh managed to defeat one of them and pay off the other.

The toorians then pursued the Negy and almost caught up with them, but were forced to follow them beyond Dol, essentially playing into their hand again: the Negy quickly vanished among the mountains and hills, and then hit the toorians on their way out. This time the trap was even tighter and Mosk-Sopoh's troops suffered enormous losses, with the gole barely saving his own life.

As he arrived at Gaskal, he was greeted with even more bad news: the naddians had again attacked the west coast, and had once more burned down the fleet of sailing ships that the toorians had been rebuilding for the past two years. What was left of west Ydoh Rol was decimated completely.

This series of defeats between 1849-1852 FR, known as the Pale Grape, put a huge strain on Mosk-Sopoh's reign and on the sovereignty of Toor.

Ydoh Rol

The decimation of Ydoh Rol sent shock waves across Tarnaria, since to Xaewoon believers Ydoh Rol was a sacred land that was supposed to be guarded by Dolysohs. This was immediately viewed as a challenge to the Dolysohs rule by many, but, surprisingly, the events of the Pale Grape led to the strengthening of both Toor and Dolysohs grip on power.

Mosk-Sopoh wanted to respond with an immediate campaign on the Laeooy Coast to restore his family's honor, but was held back by Meerō Lōblyn, who suggested better preparation.

At the same time, a number of nobles led by Uroh Tydon began to suggest a neutral status for Ydoh Rol, distancing it from Toor and ensuring that no Xaewoon state would ever attack it. This was opposed by Brone Forod who viewed the connection of the Dolysoh court to Ydoh Rol as crucial. Uroh Tydon argued for the Dolysohs to establish and take the title of the Guardians of Ydoh Rol, which would be a formalization of the Dolysohs claim to rule over Ydoh Rol. Forod believed that the title of gole was higher than any other title in the land, and that the Guardian of Ydoh Rol should be subservient to the Gole of Toor.

However, Uroh Tydon's case was helped by the outcry directed at Deeras, who's troops entered Ydoh Rol. The Empire of Barud pledged to campaign on Deeras in retaliation, and Maird imprisoned one of the Deeras family members.

A campaign against Troun

1856 FR

Mosk-Sopoh had to wait for 4 long years to be able to respond. Mosk-Sopoh then marches on Nadd and Troun. A battle at Tirna ruins. Eventually Nadd and Troun are defeated. Deeras gets bad rep due to their entrance into Ydoh Rol and Barud prepares for an invasion. Deeras then reaches out to Mosk-Sopoh and agrees to become his subject in exchange for protection. However, both sides remember that the war is costly and Deeras and Toor never again enter into a military conflict.

Nadd survives Mosk-Sopoh due to a superhero warrior Mran Gantorn from Gantolia arriving. His powers have shielded the city without neither him nor the citizens realizing that they were about to be attacked.