A Born King - Act One completed
Since my first attempt at an AAR ended fairly quickly, I have decided to stick up this, my "project" which I have not postponed indefinitely (my name for the pieces I start and then decide should be binned)
I am not by any means a great writer, nor anything other than an amateur who getting easily distracted from studies
So, anyway, a brief history of the story:
A Born King (placeholder title) takes place almost eight years after a rebellion had disposed a dynasty which had held power (they claim) for centuries at least.
The Rebellion, named afterwards as the Rise of the Boar, occurred on the back of a previous war, named the Summer War, which saw the Kingdom of Narvir lose face as it was forced to give much of its wealth to the enemy who many Narviric nobles saw as defeated. With knowledge of this discontent, Bonifatius Iphus, Jarl of the Palehills and Defender of the Western Peaks declared that he was going to gather at his seat an army with which he would dispose of the current King, Damon Frost, and install himself as the King who would see Narvir regain its prestige.
Damon Frost, who had won every major battle in the Summer War, was informed of Bonifatius' plans by one of the loyal nobles. He then sent a force to arrest the disloyal Bonifatius and bring him to the capital of Dalla before a traitor army could be assembled. The force was ambushed and almost entirely destroyed. This didn't cause Damon to gather his army yet, and instead he organized a feast, with which he would begin the process of reinforcing the bond between his family and the ruling elite.
It is at this feast that the prologue of A Born King is set, some seven years before the actual events of the story...
Peoples of Sandria:
Note: The ancient histories of the peoples are merely tales. This is not a true fantasy story with gods and magic and mythical beasts able to speak the tongue of humans. There will be events which would probably never happen in real life, but that does not mean that anything can happen. Truth becomes warped with the retelling, as will hopefully become apparent in the story, but the reader will see (hopefully) through the falsehoods.
Anticuum:- were the bastard offspring of Welntos’ children with the Primores, and were deemed as candidates as mates, and in some cases husbands and wives, to the gods. They are tall, with a hard, lean build and dark or black hair. They were predominately found in Narvir, although a few outsiders claim an ancestry.
Primores:- were the first humans to inhabit the world. The first Anticuum had divine powers, but after their separation from the cloud city, they became true mortals. The Primores are now only different from the Anticuum in that their hair was brown or red. They worshiped numerous deities, in a variety of creeds. The most long-lasting is that of Welntos, the Warrior-Godking who fathered the Great Dallan Bears which ruled the lands before man.
Tempestas-Natus:- were conceived by the gods of storm and rock during the War of Strife, lightening their blood, salt their skin, and stone their souls. They are a small, thickset people with dark hair. The Tempestas-Natus are renowned for their savagery, despite considering themselves as noble exemplars of the new religion they follow. They had lived on the isles and coastlines of Sandria and Flendria, with kings claiming rule over vast kingdoms, sometimes even rivaling the might of Narvir, although that is long in the past.
Sol Populus:- descendants from the sun and the moon and the stars, these tall, tanned people with flowing honey-colored hair had expanded from the sandy wastes of the heartsoils of Gavoria to rule over almost the entirety of that continent. During one of their numerous wars, one of the Sol Populus leaders brought their people to the southern lands of Sandria, while another went around to the flatlands of southern Flendria. Those who settled in Sandria used violence to carve out their lands, trying their best to rid the lands of the “heathen” religions and replace them with their own version.
Paacras:- horselords from the Sea of Flames, they are a lithe people with dark skin and thick black hair. While they once only lived on Gavoria, they sold themselves as mercenaries and Paacra slaves have found their way across the known world. A large khanate, known simply as the Scourge, has traversed Flendria for nigh on a millennium, only allowed to remain due to the fact that it does not regularly threaten the powers clinging to the western rocks of the continent.
Kingdoms and powers of Sandria:
Kingdom of Narvir:
The kingdom is in the north of the continent of Sandria, kept safe from the other powers by a near impassable mountain range on three sides, and the Storm Sea to the east. Narvir is a cold land, flat and grey, with only a few hills and valleys scattered across the realm. However, there are large areas of land given over to dense forests of oak and pine, which are still rumored to hold the last of the Great Dallan Bears who had once roamed freely across continent.
It has not been conquered, even for a short duration, since the first records of man have been inscribed. It is often referred to as the Kingdom of Ice, given that the Narviric peoples believe that Welntos was once the god of winter before slaying his uncle with a spear fashioned from ice. The kingdom has the purest bloodlines of the Anticuum and Primores of Sandria, if not the entire world. There have been no great influx of foreign genes, although a few Narviric noble houses trace their history back to mercenaries or slaves who have earned their place in the realm through war.
Petty Peoples of the Frozenplains – a former extension of the Kingdom of Narvir, the nobles of the Frozenplains broke free from Dalla during the Summer War, and although they did not fight against the Dallans, it was the desertion of their men from Damon’s host which finally caused him to seek peace. They have no overlord, and instead war relentlessly to find a leader strong enough to rule.
Empire of Havoria – recent victors of the Summer War, the Haveras dynasty now rules a realm encompassing the entirety of the Divide, and almost all of the lands east of the Vein, the largest river in Sandria. While the Haveras are true-blooded Sol-Populus, as well as many of their powerful supporters, the vast populous are comprised of Primores, Tempestas-Natus, Paacras, Flendrians and the newly-arriving Tamverians.
Free-States of Empirus – a collection of cities which had formerly been vassals of the now greatly-reduced Republic of Argentumurbem, the Free-States maintain the only professional standing armies in Sandria. While the might of Empirus is great, the cities are constantly warring both openly and in the shadows, trying to assert their dominance. While the people were mostly Primores, the arrival of Tamverians has led to both a religious and ethnic divide between the cities, with those accepting the new arrivals forming closer links, while those who reject them create military alliances among themselves.
Republic of Argentumurbem – was one of the more secluded lands in Sandria, with natural defenses on all four sides, and only one safe route in to the fertile heartlands, which is defended by the Gate of Agothas. The Republic, at its height, ruled over Empirus to the south; the Vein to the east; the Divide to the north. However, given the greed of their leaders, the republic saw numerous civil wars and rebellions. Now, the council of the people has full control over the republic, and the general-rulers who had once commanded the respect of the army and the people have been killed. They have been driven back behind the Gates of Agothas, a situation which the councilors are happy with, until the people are finally comfortable with true democracy.
Petty Kingdoms of Saldinia – almost eight different families, from a variety of backgrounds, lay claim to the once legendary Saldinian Empire, which had covered as far west as Patagonia, and as far east as Tamveria. While the title of Emperor had not been used since a century before it’s inevitable fall, powerful warlords still claim to wish to see its old borders reformed.
Tribes of the Grass, Tree, Hill and Mountain – while many of the tribes inhabiting Sandria are little more than bandit gangs or groups of exiles, the majority are the old Primores who lived humbly off of the land, caring little for titles and power. However, they have learned over the centuries, and now war is more than their passion. When not bickering over petty disputes, they are gathering to invade the civilized lands. The tribes are mostly focused around the central belt of Sandria, from the Divide to Argentumurbem and along both banks of the Vein, but the hillforts or large caravans of carts can be found near enough anywhere.
Please, any comments, both negative and positive (if I see any negatives, just watch your back) will be most deeply appreciated!
( I of course joke about watching yourself if you comment negatively,)
Links to Chapters
ALSO, BEFORE I FORGET AGAIN: Big thanks, again, to Inarus for the Bear Banner (he made like six different copies for me) and the others which are not related to this
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Originally Posted by m_1512
