pre-TNESIII: The Once and Future Thread

Alright, I've done as much as I can for the Lourdesiers. I believe in you, Thlayli.
 
Just to clarify, Athsar itself is off the map.

On Foreigners

To your south, the continental mainland is occupied with what seems to be unending waves of barbarian invasions, cultic uprisings, and civil unrest. On the Isles, the Continent at large is often called The Republic that Burns, this name often accompanied by some sign of warding to thank the true gods that the same fate has not befallen you.

The Sublime Republic as such has fallen, the Scholastia disbanded in fire and blood during the Second Sack of the city which has now endured seven. Many parties claim to act in Athsar's name, managing simultaneously to act against each other and the foreign enemies which beset them from all sides. The most important of these (who you may interact with) are the Daughter Cities and the Peregrin Brotherhood.

The farthest borderlands of one of the vassals of the distant Xardavate of Kalimakas also stretch into the corner of the visible map.

The Daughter Cities:

The Daughter Cities were the eleven great colonies founded by Athsar, meant to be miniature copies of the Supreme City and its institutions to spread the perfect light and culture of Athsar to each new subject province added to the republic. Of the eleven, six survive under independent Athsarin rule. The smallest and northernmost of the Daughter Cities was once called Eredinium, which is now Yyredin, the seat of the Elming kings.

Five of the survivors to the distant south are of little concern to you. The sixth, the dowager city of Mernaix [ancient Athsarin Marinex], on the northern coast of the continent, is a source of exotics like glass, porcelain, books, potions, and luxuries from the south, and is a voracious consumer of northern grain, iron, and timber. The surviving Daughter Cities have formed a loose alliance that protects each others trading interests and are bound to come to one another's defense in times of emergency. Mernaix, while a tempting target due to its fabulous wealth and not incredibly strong on its own, would be a force to be reckoned with if it summoned its sisters.

They generally do not participate in the adventures of the Peregrins, preferring to protect flickering light of ancient Athsarin urban life in isolation from the outside world as best they can, idolizing and emulating the early Republic.

The Peregrin Brotherhood:

Alternatively lauded as the Republic's greatest champions or vilified as usurpers of its rightful authority, the Peregrin Brotherhood is the most powerful military force on the northern half of the continent, but it is beset from foes within and without. Named after the swift falcon that is one of the favored forms taken by Calia in her appearances to mortal heroes, the Peregrin Brotherhood originally started as a cult within the legions of the late Republic.

Following the growth of serious corruption and factional infighting within the Scholastia, the legions of the Republic were surprised and overwhelmed by the first wave of barbarians that emerged simultaneously from north and south. The loss of the Isles and the southern borderlands was a shock, but not as much as the trial and execution of several beloved army commanders in the Republic's search for a scapegoat.

The legionaries revolted under the cult's leaders, demanding the right to elect their own commanders and tax their own lands to ensure adequate funding. The Scholastics and the Peregrins waged a twenty year civil war, ending with the success of the Brotherhood in starving out the Supreme City. But in the course of the civil war, the first of the great cultic empires rose in the jungles of the southern continent, and a million of their fanatics overwhelmed the Empire's overstretched southern defenses and sacked Athsar itself.

The Brotherhood retrenched, assuming control of the governing apparatus of the Republic. From then until the present day, what remained of the Republic became a decentralized elective military dictatorship under Peregrin control, the Council of Brothers and their Father-Commander the only real authority that remained in Athsar.

Following the sack, Xardic cults spread across the Continent, and the old faith of Calia was hard-pressed to root out the cultists, even as the Daughter Cities began to break free of Athsar, claiming that it had been replaced with Peregrin domination. A short-lived attempt to re-assert Scholastic authority resulted in an overzealous Peregrin commander sacking the city of Athsar itself, this episode being notable for both an appearance of an otherworldly evil and Calia herself descending to the world to fight it. (It is unclear how much of this is Peregrin hyperbole and legend, however.) Regardless, the damage from the fires, arcane or natural, to the city was immense from the Second Sack.

Five sacks have followed from various causes, and an Eighth seems imminent, as Kalimakas and the God-King of Meltra have supposedly signed an unholy alliance, to which the exhausted Peregrins are unprepared to confront. In the past hundred years, many individual Peregrinates have fallen under the control of powerful families, with the elections first becoming a formality and then disappearing entirely. This is frowned upon by some Brothers but encouraged by others.

In the region adjacent to the isles, you are party to the Peregrin of Iverre, a man of little repute who is content to do his duty, and the Peregrin of Castrenavis, one of the more powerful Peregrins of the north, a noted commander with an iron sense of discipline and an impressive level of humility. He is said to be one of the more hawkish members of the Council of Brothers.

The Dux-Peregrin of Lieve is something of a rogue general who has defied his distant brothers. His house, a long line of noble warriors serving the interests of the Republic for centuries, has begun to assert hereditary rights resembling those of the northern Graylings, and the local gentry has supported him in this. He is a serious rival to Castrenavis, but neither one has had the leisure to challenge the other as of yet.

The Xardavate of Kalimakas:

This is a barbarian empire vast in splendor and power, to whom a thousand nations and tribes kneel, whose most distant frontier is but fifty leagues from Lieve. The palaces of Kalimakas himself are thousands of leagues to the south, and the regions that touch the northern coast of the continent are a backwater, held by a vassal of a vassal of a vassal, a tribal chieftain called the Stepan Dar. Kalimakas himself makes war on Athsar far to the south, hoping to seize it as a base to claim the much wealthier lands. He wars the Peregrins, but this region is at peace due to its relative unimportance. The Gray Isles themselves have been far too rude and poor to attract the notice of the higher echelons of the Xardavate's leadership, their eyes set on richer prizes.

An arrangement has been established whereby the Dux-Peregrin of Lieve pays a protection fee to the Stepan Dar, who is perfectly happy to take his cut and then pass the remainder up to his superiors. This has kept the frontier quiet for decades, and everyone is satisfied with the arrangement. The Xardavate is vast and incomprehensible in its customs and desires. Kalimakas is said to be part man and part snake, but this could either be Peregrin propaganda or simply a barbaric legend that has passed to your ears. Naturally, most believe it.
 
Exhaustion closing in, there is little more I can do except work upon Thlayli's best judgment and recommendation, and offer these suggestions...

Spoiler :


1 - The Red Keep
2 - Major southerly township which is the beneficiary of landborne commercial traffic from the south
3 - Significant stronghold overseeing (2) and (4) which is held more or less directly by the Clan Dugallach
4 - Central township which is a crossroads of trade and strategically important
5 - Outlying fort which is used primarily as marking the border between the lands of the Clan Dugallach and its northerly neighbor
6 - Ruling seat of a loyal and trusted vassal to the Clan Dugallach, which oversees the port township nearby
7 - Regional port and the breadwinner of the vassal clan
8 - Smaller stronghold which -- with the large fortress to the southwest -- is used to control the strait
 
@LoE: That's fine, but you have to name your holdings too. :p You should probably name 'The Red Keep' something a bit more Fennachty sounding too, whatever the translation of that name is in Fennacht.

Unfortunately, my computer crashed last night and I lost a fair amount of border stuff. Thankfully, I have some .jpg backups saved remotely, but it'll be a bit tedious to redraw. Oh well, c'est la vie.

I'm going to power through this setback and work on the map for about 8 hours tonight, so I should have finalized borders up by then, if not holdings. I will be less active over this weekend, and coming into finals week, but we're definitely still on target for launch.

I am still owed completed templates from bombshoo and LordofElves. I'm expecting holding information from Strat.
 
Do I have any leeway as far as making up animals for stories goes or do I just try and avoid them until some sort of 'official bestiary' has been released?
 
Winds Are Always Restless

“Hail Jölvandr! Hail he who gives us our strength, our lifeblood, our soul!”

The Broken Men moved slowly through the market. Frowned upon in many places within the Kingdoms, the worship of Jölvandr was mainstream on the Isle of Kathar. The Broken Men were essentially the most powerful religious order on the island, devotees of the Broken God. Their hair and beards were long, braided and encrusted with sea salt, their robes were dirty, grey-green and damp while their eyes were wide, and spoke of some hidden madness within them. All had the grey eyes of their kind, as the few foreigners on the island did not take well to the worship of a god most viewed as insane. The people sharing the market with them withdrew when they approached, but it was obvious that the priests were being shown respect, not fear.

“Damned priests just want everyone to know they’re there, attention-seeking fools,” laughed a tall, strikingly handsome youth as he watched from the balcony of a nearby inn. “Half of them probably wouldn’t be able to see the Broken God through those manes of theirs if he appeared in the market right now.”

“Those ‘damned priests’ are half the reason why our family rules this island and not some foreign Ulk Fyr, Leif.” The reply came from his companion, similar looking, though older, less distinguished and much rougher.

“I know, Tyr, I was just trying to make conversation. Ale is meant to loosen your tongue, but instead you’re talking to me about as much as you manage to talk to that Hybjorn girl you’re so keen on. You-“

“Her name is Asta!”

“Asta, fine, but my point still stands. You wake me up in the dead of morning, bring me to some tavern, and just when I think that my older brother, heir to the Kathar estate and future Fyr of the Wind Greylings had finally come to his senses and decided to have some fun you go silent and expect me to entertain myself in this filthy place on my own! Tell me what this is all about.”

Tyr opened his mouth, but movement at a door nearby closed it. A bear of a man came through the doorway, his long bushy red beard and great furry cloak only making him seem even larger. “Here he comes, you’re about to get your answer.” Tyr said, reclining.

“Olin Hybjorn? You’re asking Asta’s brother for her hand in marriage? You can barely even speak to the girl!” Leif started to laugh. “You even brought me in case he, entirely reasonably, said no?” Tyr glared at his younger brother, but stayed silent. Olin approached, nodded at both men, and sat down.

“You called and I have come, Tyr Kathar. It has been too long. Last time I was with you we were hunting pirates. I hope you have something just as adventurous for me today!" Olin shouted, as befitting his giant frame. Tyr nodded and smiled.

“Look out at this market. Out at this city. Thorberg has been the capital of our people since we landed here. It’s the largest city of Wind Greylings in the world. It’s a major trading port for our merchants. It’s the centre of life for our people. You see that building over there?” Tyr pointed at a large chiselled stone mansion down a nearby road. Olin nodded. “That’s owned by an Ulk Fyr. He comes here with his mistress every few months to unwind. That building over there is owned by another Ulk Fyr. That inn on the other side of the market was bought by an Ulk merchant a few months ago. The damn Kings brother owns a house on the other side of the city, which he built a temple for Calia next to because he found the constant worship of Jölvandr around him off-putting.”

“I get it, Tyr, what’s your point?”

“Our ancestors led the fight against the Ulk many years ago. We were weaker back then, we had only just learned how important our freedom was. And we still took it. We fought the Ulk on our island and we killed them. We fought the Ulk that followed and we killed them too. And before we could kill any more Ulk, they told us they would give us our freedom. And we believed them. They said they would make us equal to them, and we believed them. They granted us titles and concessions and trade rights, anything we asked for. I now know why.”

“Why? What is any of this about?”

“They never had any intention to make our people equal. They want to make our people their people. In their ideal future, there is no more Wind. There is only Ulk. If they couldn’t rule us directly, they do it indirectly, allowing us to govern our island under the guise of ‘independence’ while my father, and your father, continue to pay taxes to the King, provide ships and soldiers for his armies, all while they destroy our culture and attempt to make us economically dependent on them. They realised they didn’t need to beat the Wind Greylings if no one saw themselves as a Wind Greyling. Failing that, they’d make us a minority in our own adopted homeland. So I have a proposition for you.”

“I’m listening.”

“My father is a great man, but he has spent too long as Fyr under an Ulk King to fully appreciate how much trouble our people are in. He may come around, but not yet. Neither will yours. While our families are close, it is no secret that your father wishes to be equal to mine rather than subordinate, and he does his dealings with that in mind, not with any strong loyalty to his people. You and I are different. We do things. We can see what’s wrong and we know we have to fix it. So I say we fight. Not now, not today. But we fight. We take our independence from the King like we should have centuries ago. We may have far fewer men but we can dominate them on the seas, and if we find allies there will be no stopping us. Our people will rule their own destiny, Olin, and we can make this happen.”

Leif leaned in. “Dear brother, are you trying to say that you are planning, behind the backs of our respective fathers and, shall we not forget, rulers, to incite and lead an armed rebellion against the King?”

Tyr smiled. “You catch on fast, little brother.”

Leif pondered for a moment, and threw his arms up in the air. “I’ve never liked the King anyway. And trying to keep up with court politics in such a large realm has always been far too complicated for me. I’m in. Olin?”

The giant stared at the two brothers, and banged his fist onto the table. “If we do this, we’ll be legends. It’s dangerous, but so was the first rising. I am also in.”

Tyr started to get up. “Come on then, we have a lot to do.”
 
Enter LEOFRIC

LEOFRIC: Too late, in the autumn now of my days
I feel that I have not lived mine own life.
True made for another, a brother, long dead
Led to his doom by a passion ill-formed
Leaving to me, on Earth, to take his place.
Desired I, long ago, to serve a god
To wander broken paths and hidden ways
Bound only by shackles of the wind.
Far far away from courts and dark intrigues
In place of hounds, free wolves, who would desire
Only a meal, not a fate-denied great crown.

Alas, alas, a mask I have worn long.
Instead of a god-priest, a prince, high and
Burdened with terrible duties and laws.
I wear shackles of gold and prison garb
Of furs and silk, and instead of a ball
wear a diadem that spawns envious looks.
I must lead good men to their early deaths
Because my king calls out for my service.
Instead of wind, I am become a stone.

I am hale and hearty, despite the years.
Yet my soul aches, too much like an old wound
Before a storm shatters the calm silence.
I fear, perhaps, that this peace which I long
Have strived to keep and build, shall soon
Be break’d, by some jealous princeling long stalled.

So be it! Too long have I weathered slings
And barbs of these noble men, unblemishéd
By their duty, ensconced in their titles.
I have endured much grief at their hands
With no true means of exercising my grief.
They shall then break upon me like waves upon
A rock! Like wind now before a mountain.
The bones of this great Earth does not, cannot,
bend knee before the howling of the storm.
Because the Gods asked of me that I be
of stone, and in all things, I serve the Gods.

EXEUNT
 
Nice stories, Taylor and Shadow. I liked them both.

---

Sorry for the delays. Bombshoo (I need to fix his placement after my computer crashed), ork, NK, Taylor and Defacto still need to be placed on the map. But it's coming together. Borders not final and subject to adjustment. I imagine it will start to look very nice once the holdings are added and everything else is filled in.

Spoiler :


There's only one major independent NPC on the Isles so far, an old Mael east of Cyneleth's lands. There will likely be a few more.

In the south, from left to right, are the Sublime Republic of Mernaix, the Peregrinate of Castrenavis, the Peregrinate of Iverre, TMG's Dux-Peregrinate of Lieve, and the Stepan Dar of the Xardavate of Kalimakas.

Do I have any leeway as far as making up animals for stories goes or do I just try and avoid them until some sort of 'official bestiary' has been released?

You can make up any legendary animal you want, but if you want a real one, you'll have to talk to me.
 
Spoiler Life Goes On. :
Jacob Lovell was one of those nobles who other nobles aspired to be NOT to become. It was not that he was particularly rude, cruel, or had any kind of particularly evil demeanor. It was just that he did not behave as a noble should.

To such an aloof man, it was hard to inspire loyalty in other people. Worse than that, he was plain. It was not that he was ugly, it was that he preferred wearing cheap, sturdy cloaks to the rich velvet fitting for his office. It was that instead of standing tall and proud, he had a permanent slouch to his form that reminded everyone else of a viper, poised for a lethal strike (Human body, I remind you, does not work like that. Humans use knives instead of bites).

Sure, the nobles said. The man was one of the most competent successors that the House Lovell ever produced. Hardy and strong, unlike his father. Clever and intelligent, much like his mother. But he was rumored to be quite a sneak and, in some more extreme of rumors, a magus, and so very few people gave him more sign of loyalty and kinship than those traditionally owed to their liege.

Even so, many of them raised an eyebrow in suspicion when his mother, Genevieve, decided that the clearly comatose father of Jacob was actually speaking in tongues that only she could hear. Ellen. Shy, but kind and dignified Ellen, had lived in his castle for his entire life. It made entirely no sense that he was now suddenly speaking in a language that only his wife could understand. Surely other people too must acknowledge that he was speaking in some kind of tongue reminiscent to the Grey language if Genevieve’s claim had any merit.

Oh well, they said in collective unison. If there was any foul play involved, surely Jacob, his father’s chosen spymaster for his last sane days, will find evidence as such. Many of them drew their hosts in support of the heir, just in case they were called.

No announcement of foul play was made. Documents containing orders and asking for the year’s harvest owed to the liege came by as scheduled, with Ellen’s seal upon it. Jacob was now often spotted out of the castle. Lord Ellen Lovell is now no longer seen by anyone but his wife. Those two were the only noticeable change that occurred due to what was now called an unfortunate accident.
The nobles themselves shrugged their shoulders and returned to whatever schemes or work they had before the incident. The nobles who had gathered hosts prematurely sent the grumbling men back home to their loving families. The farmers tilled the soil as they had done so for generations. Miners returned to their mines and loggers to the forests

Traders from the east came by in their river barges and travelers who had braved the mountains arrived from the west, totally oblivious to the change that happened to the lands of Lovell. Jacob still wanders the waste of his lands with few trusted advisors. Genevieve laughs upon her throne of bones and writes with her husband's hands on new decrees.

Life goes on.
 
Okay here's where we're at! I am aware that there are some gaps, particularly where I need to fill up some major NPC's. But all of the players (except alex, who still has to send me his family information and template, and Defacto, who I forgot to do) should be on the board now.

bombshoo, Masada, LoE, NK, and cicero, some input as to ideas for your immediate NPC neighbors would be helpful to help me fill in that land.

Spoiler :


Now begins the process of placing all of the holdings I haven't placed yet.

Let's talk about vassals. There are two types of vassals: First there's the weaker sort, who you could dispossess and crush at will; these are not typically even shown on the map, except as holdings within your territory. You won't lose control of these unless something truly terrible happens.

Then, there are larger and more powerful vassals. They have their own colored external borders but their internal color is the same as yours. This reflects that they owe you loyalty and service, but also have the capacity to act independently in some respects. They can more easily rebel than small vassals or declare independence if you lose their favor.

Shadow, a small note, I might do this with your western island retainer(s) once you add the holding info for there.
 
That's a really pretty map. :)

only issue i can see is that its missing the castle in the Daufmark near the mountains. (Frostfang, held by the Ueberns if I remember correctly).
 
Thanks. I should have all holdings updated by the end of the week. Then comes stats.

We'll probably have 4 maps: Labeled political, unlabeled political, human geography (cities/castles), and physical geography (mountains, rivers, regions etc.). I just can't fit all the information on one map, but with the magic of layers in GIMP this is easier to maintain.


If players like Alex and bombshoo and ork don't at least give me a map or list of holdings ASAP, I'll just place them for them.

Turns out my last final is on the 29th, so a realistic start date for the NES is the 30th. I'll update the front page when I can.
 
It appears my holdings have expanded further south and west than before(?) so the preliminary map I made may need altering to account for a southerly shift in economic geography. I am making the potentially poor assumption that further south = better soil, better ports, however.
 
Shadow, a small note, I might do this with your western island retainer(s) once you add the holding info for there.

This was already my intent, as they are much more distant than any other holdings.
 
It appears my holdings have expanded further south and west than before(?) so the preliminary map I made may need altering to account for a southerly shift in economic geography. I am making the potentially poor assumption that further south = better soil, better ports, however.

Yeah. All the soil is rocky and non-productive except for your southern coastal territory which will be by far your most prosperous township. I had to expand it a bit so you'd have at least some decent land.

To be honest, glaciers once covered the whole of the island but that coastal rift was left untouched for reasons unknown. Not that you know much about glaciers.

EDIT: You can also see that I have given you a major loyal vassal clan to the north. The other major Fennacht clans, specifically Dudrangeidh, are considered inferior to you in precedence but are not loyal to the Ymherador and are sometimes hostile. Feel free to describe them if you like.

I'm also considering placing some Fennacht clans (though a different dialect) on the western end of the south island.
 
I just realized we haven't come up with island names have we?
 
That's correct, we haven't. Except for Kathar, the small northwestern island of the eponymous House Kathar. Since I don't think anyone else is going to take the lead, I'll probably end up doing so. It's enough that people are naming their regions.

Of course, if NK and LoE want to name *their* islands, since they're the major players there, that'd be fine.
 
I know its been some days since I last posted. My finals have been hitting me pretty hard.

bombshoo and LordofElves and alex994 owe me more information. At the bare minimum I'd like castle/town locations/names and any important retainers.

ChiefDesigner is working on something as well, which should be up soon, or so he's promised me.

Given my schedule for the next few days, it's looking more like this upcoming weekend is a more realistic target for the NES launch, given these outstanding templates and how much work is left for me to do before we go live. I'd hope for the 2nd.
 
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