The Rape of the Reach, or the Myth of Red-Eagle, chapter I: The Brewing of the South

The following is the first chapter from the Reach epic called "the Rape of the Reach", which is better known to modern readers as the myth of Red-Eagle. The story focuses around the war of conquest between the First Empire, led by empress Hestra, and the ten kingdoms of the Reach. When the Reach fell, the last king, Faolan, led a guerrilla war against the legions in the Reach, and he eventually became the first Briarheart, a person whose heart is replaced with a Briar Heart, and experiences improved pain resistance, strength, and magickal abilities.
The story stems originally from an oral tradition, and as such many anachronisms and contradictions have found their way into it. As such, the Imperial names have been changed to fit better with a Reach audience, as well as many of the episodes. A good example of these anachronisms is the almost complete absence of the original pantheon of the Reachmen, which has been replaced (albeit 'Reachified') by the Imperial cult almost completely.
Seeing these changes, none of this should be taken as historical accurate (although our world is filled with strange and absurd phenomena).

One day, Hestrám uí Aledb went to the chantry, for she knew hunger for land and for conquest and for rule. She asked the priest Tulír - Beautiful-talk - where she might find land and conquest and rule. "In the north are lands free from your conquest and your rule, and they are not yet your lands," said Tulír.
"What might be the name of these lands that are free from my conquest and my rule, and are not yet my lands?" asked Hestrám.
Tulír answered: "these lands are named many by their people, who are Nord, Nede, Orc and Mer. They are named Reachmen by us, who are Círoid - men of Nibhenn and Coloviagh and Seshach, which is the Heart Lands."
Hestrám replied: "I will ride to these lands, which are free from my conquest and my rule, and are not yet my own, with my army of 1500 men. And for every of those I will have ten, and for every ten I will have nine, and for every nine I will have eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. For every one of them slain by the men of the Reach, I will slay them eightfold, for this is a holy number, given to us the Círoid."
Tulír replied: "Be wary, O great queen Hestrám, for the men of the Reach have many warriors and heroes and champions, such as Destrach and Muirlehmne and Fiachna of Kath and Fiachna of Drachstaír and Fergus and Suibhne and Suibhne and Suibhne [-for these were cousins-] and Fáfdir and Róeich and Finnbenach the bull and Mardach and Granthac and Hírti and Gláess and Birhambne and Fiarde strong-arm and Ríarmach and Lechan and Lechan and Firthemne and Aillil and Sebhthagh and Terargh and Faolan. Each of these men is as strong as another hundred, and needs as many women to be pleased. they are the bane of any army, and their weapons crack thunder and light forests, so that no man might flee from their terror. May you heed this warning, and not undergo the same fate as those that stood in their way, for no man survived their meeting with these warriors and heroes and champions."
The Queen replied: "I am aware of these men, Tulír, for they have a name that reaches to the far edges of Tamhréal, which is the Wonder of the Dawn. I will not meet them ill-prepared, and I will be sure to bring warriors and heroes and champions of my own. Do not forget that I have Orcí -Snake- in my entourage, who is a deserter and a traitor to the Reach, but a helper an ally to us. He knows all these men and their weaknesses. Along with those warriors and heroes and champions, and the Snake, I will bring my trusted Spears and Javelins and Horses and Swords and Armours and Claymores and Blades and Shields and Darts and Daggers and Bows and Arrows. No man will best me and my armies, for I wear Cim Aedáibh Baím, which is the Stone of the Covenant. With the Ruby on my breasts I shall overcome these men, for I am blessed by Kai and so are my men!"
These were the words spoken by Hestrám and so they were heard throughout the corners of Tamhréal, and all men gathered for this great war that was about to begin.