Rienzi, who came to be known as "Rienzi the Magnificent," was a priest of Myrmidia from the Tilean city-state of Remas during the second half of the 5th century IC. He was a great scholar of the cult's holy texts, and one of the first mercenary generals to command mercenaries in Tilea. His tactical acumen proved fundamental to consolidating the dominance of his own city.[1a]
History[]
When word came of Remas' defeat at the hands of Monte Scorri, the count of Zeluco, Rienzi, the younger son of a Reman merchant family, saw an opportunity to honour his goddess -- and make a profit. He offered to build the city's rulers an invincible army if they signed a binding contract and paid his fee. Desperate and afraid, they agreed. Over the winter Rienzi recruited and trained an army, drilling them over and over in Myrmidian precepts of strategy and tactics, paying them well so they could serve full-time.[1a]
In the spring, the new Reman mercenary army, called the "Eagles of Remas," crushed the Black Count's army in the Battle of Blood Ford. Monte Scorri's heavy cavalry charged Rienzi's pikemen again and again, but couldn't break through. Meanwhile, the crossbowmen loosed volley after volley into the Black Count's Goblins, who broke when Rienzi's cavalry slammed into their flanks. The Black Count's army fell apart, and he died while trying to escape across the river. Remas was saved.[1a]
Instead of sending his troops home, however, Rienzi kept them in his service. Offers began to pour in from the other Tilean city-states, and Rienzi knew a money-maker when he saw one. The mercenary army marched out to meet the Orc tribes that plagued all of Tilea in those times. Rienzi pitched his tent on one side of a mighty river from where he could observe the enemy encampments. He noticed that various Orc contingents would occasionally fight each other, and in fact, the whole Greenskin army was plainly riven with dissent and only the personal attention of the big Orc warlord was keeping it together.[1a]
Rienzi decided that rather than fight the Orcs, the Eagles of Remas would simply hire half the Orc army to fight the other half. That way, no matter which side won, the Tileans could not possibly lose, and the spoils won by the victorious half would pay for the cost of hiring them.[1a]
Thanks to the example of Rienzi, soon other entrepreneurs were raising their own mercenaries, and Tilea's so-called "Dogs of War" became one of that fractious land's main exports.[1a]
Trivia[]
Rienzi's name is inspired by that of the Italian politician, Matteo Renzi, while the title "The Magnificent" refers to another notable character from Florence, Lorenzo de' Medici.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Up in Arms (RPG)
- 1a: pp. 41-42