Concerning the Commencement of the James War

The James War was a period in history spanning from 1082 C.E. to 1100 C.E. and most modern information concerning it has been gathered from the journal entries of James Abravhar (James the Great). His accounts are detailed, but there has been controversy stemming from the difficulty of translating from Ancient Jameish, a long dead language. Through careful research and dedication, Vladimir Godzenovic has managed to create a coherent, all encompassing translation bringing unity to an area previously fraught with discontent. (Read excerpts at https://www.thejameswar.org/faq/)

The James war, unlike so many through history, begins not as a contest for land or power, but as a feud between a prince and his servant. James Abravhar, often hailed as the “Protagonist” of the James war, was not a powerful individual through his youth, though he was the servant of the prince Jhim Callanak of Ashalat (the first to sit on the throne of Ghaldribohr) in his later teenage years. Jhim Callanak was a unique individual, famously quiet, but in the words of James, a man of “inimitable finesse”. He was feared by the royal court not for any outward misdeeds, but for mannerisms “akin to the stalking of a silent panther” and covered by “an emotional veil hiding a cold evil” . He was power hungry, and was found guilty of murdering his four elder brothers to become the crown prince. In the year 1066 he killed his father, king Gondril, by use of hemlock poison. But in James Abravhar’s own perception, the conflict that would lead to the James war began when the king Gondril of Ashalat, on his death bed, told James that he should take the throne rather than let it fall into Jhim’s hands.

So it was that when the king Gondril died and James was publicly recognized as his heir, Jhim attempted to poison him. James, through methods unknown, survived the ordeal, but was believed dead long enough for power to transfer to Jhim. James fled the kingdom, knowing that if he were discovered alive, Jhim would have him killed. Thus began the “trek of proverb” the Jamish pilgrimage of 1068. James journeyed through the frigid mountains of Hamesland, and the deserts of south Billgarath. “I walked from Ashalat to the mountains of northern Hamesland in search for an answer, a sign that there was a righteous path. Each day I would wake more tired than the last. And each night as I tried to sleep, the ground would grow colder beneath me. I cried as I walked most days, but the tears did not cleanse the great taint that seemed to spread through the world…” (From the account of James Abravhar the Great Vol. III)

After ten years wandering, the great James returned to his homeland a different man. The kingdom had been renamed “Ghaldribohr” (a name taken from an ancient prophecy for telling the birth of a kingdom that would consume the entirety of the world.) Already, its boundaries were expanding through two continents. James lived in Ghaldribohr for six months in secret before he was discovered and brought to King Jhim Callanak. James was sent to the castle’s dungeons to await sentencing, and Jhim was said to have visited James each day, torturing him slowly without intent of release. It is unknown why Jhim did not have James killed, but many label him a severe and dangerous sadist. 

The account of James over this period in his life is dark and describes the steady, inevitable approach of insanity. During this time, he found solace in the stories of ancient sorcery. He is said to have wasted away through the nights trying to master the spell of death that would free him of confinement, and indeed, his life. However, after two years of trial in vain, an error in his casting of the death spell gave him the means to escape. He fled to the north, where he built influence, hoping to one day take his revenge. In 1082, he led an army against Ghaldribohr in what has been named the commencing strike of the James war.