Boris of Tanaria

Boris of Tanaria is a novel & semi-fictional biography detailing the events of The Southwestern Expedition undertaken by the Dominion of Alterac. Its protagonist, Boris Vladdenkogh, is a semi-fictionalized version of the Expedition's and Dominion's leader, Reynalden Weisserose. The details and accounts concerning the Expedition have had all names changed & in many cases overblown in their scope for the sake of amusement & thrill. The novel was written by Dominion Marshal Raleigh Sternbridge & edited by various members of the Brotherhood of Alterac was ultimately unpopular among Alteraci citizens (primarily due to mass illiteracy).

Summary
Boris Vladdenkogh is a chubby nobleman from the Empire of Caretla, a large, prosperous nation in the southern tropics of the Eastern Kingdoms. When word reaches him of the fielding of an expedition to the distant desert of Tanaris, Boris immediately applies himself to join this Expedition. A short, ill-tempered drunk, Boris only manages to join the Expedition in order to get him out of the Imperial homeland by request of the novel's primary antagonist, Roland von Sturnenburg, an Imperial Knight & political rival to Boris. Boris, initially serving as a reserve commander when the Caretli forces land in the desert & begin a war with the native populations of Tanaris. However, Boris begins a love affair with a Tanari princess named Anshatiri and defects to their cause. Using his knowledge of the Caretli Empire's military tactics, Boris leads a successful guerrilla campaign against the Empire's expedition, becoming known as 'Sah Re Had Arvh al Furha' or 'The Dashing Camel of the East' in the Caretli's native language. Ultimately Boris pushes the Empire's military effort into near ruins & negotiates a treaty with von Sturnenburg that allows the Empire a single port on the desert's coast. Von Sturnenburg, however, betrays Boris and has the 'Dashing Camel' captured by indigenous trolls in the desert. The novel ends with a cliffhanger as Anshatiri rides with several armed cavalry groups towards the troll city as Boris is brought before the Troll King.

Chapter Titles

 * 1) Yearnings for Adventure
 * 2) Court of the Empire
 * 3) Tides of a New Dawn
 * 4) Dawnrise
 * 5) Blood on the Surf
 * 6) The Captured Sword
 * 7) Backwater Commander
 * 8) Princess of the Sands
 * 9) Sturnenburg's Massacre
 * 10) Into the West
 * 11) Among the Enemy
 * 12) Counterstrike
 * 13) The Dashing Camel
 * 14) Rout at Redstone Pass
 * 15) The Victory of Parfhen
 * 16) Meeting Foes
 * 17) Betrayal at Sunset
 * 18) At King's Mercy