"Those are the brave lads of Dahndi-Wahler..."

Such things are often heard along the road as the assembled troops of the Confederated Duchies march to war against the rogue Deckarde. It's no surprise that the troops of Dahndi-Wahler (Dan-dee-Val-or) have made such an impression, their resplendent purple uniforms cost more than most tenant farmers earn in a lifetime. In addition to their striking appearance the men of the Dahndi-Wahler Regiment of Light Foote have earned themselves a reputation as fierce fighters after their first encounter with troops loyal to Deckarde. The Dahndi-Wahler Regiment of Light Foote were acting in a scout and skirmisher capacity when they encountered forward pickets of a significant enemy force on the outskirts of the small town of Jerkin. Over several hours of fighting the men of the regiment repulsed numerous attacks by irregulars flying the banner of the Meddenites.

Meddenite forces attack.

As the ammunition of the Dahndi-Wahler soldiers ran low they drew their sabers and charged dispersing the enemy in the direction of Hauberk. A Meddenite prisoner was reported to say, "Those troops in purple could not be dissuaded. They would not give ground and pushed us back from our farms and houses. They fought like lions, fierce and unrelenting." The mans statement has stuck with the Dahndi-Wahler Regiment of Light Foote earning them the nickname "Dahndi-Lions". The name clearly a bit tongue in cheek but the men of the "Dahndi-Lions" seem to enjoy the title immensely as it has been sewn onto the regimental colors.

(100p.n.) Unflinching Destruction.

For the past 3 months, the armies of the Meddenites and the Traitorous Hauberkan Army of Northrun have been in a grinding siege of the City of Hauberk, capital of  the duchy of the same name.  With the stocks of food inside the city running dangerously low, and thousands of non-combatants already dead of starvation or stray mortar rounds gone over the shattered killing ground of the former city wall, turned blasted mound of fortified rubble.

Hoping to soon storm the city for the last time, and take the wealth stored in the palaces and warehouses of the city. The declaration of war by Brambleburg and the Confederated Duchies, came with no small amount of frustration to Deckarde, who promptly ordered three corp to intercept the Brambleburg armies in the field somewhere to the south of Hauberk in the Kuhld Ridge.

Numbering around 10,000 men, the force is headed by Quincy De Loy, the traitor general of the Hauberkan Army of the Northrun.  They are a mix of the well trained Hauberkan army and the milita's of the Meddenite Crusade. All however, have had minor experiences in the siege, to a greater or lesser extent. It remains to be seen how they will perform on the fresh, and strongly motivated armies of Brambleburg. But all signs now point to a vicious slaughter of an engagement to take place sometime in the coming weeks.

Only time will tell...

"They'll not dictate to me which, if any, God I am meant to pray to!"

This quote has come to be the mantra of the notoriously eccentric King Prince Elector of Brambleburg and his fellow Electors within the Alliance of Confederated Duchies. Since the beginning of the Siege of Hauberk the Electors of the Alliance have disputed the right course of action to take in order to halt the alarming spread of Meddenite forces. Some have championed fortifying their respective towns and Duchies, but not surprisingly the King Prince Elector of Brambleburg has taken a different course of action. Since Wesford's missive for assistance arrived in the resplendent palace of Brambleburg the King Prince Elector has busied the entire state with the act of raising a massive army to do battle against the fanatics of Deckarde.

King Prince Elector Johan Gesturitz of Brambleburg

Now the King Prince Elector of Brambleburg marches at the head of a force composed of Brambleburg troops as well as many regiments drawn from the other Confederated Duchies; a force that can rival that of the Meddenite army; a force not dependent on a god for victory. For the Alliance, for Brambleburg, for FREEDOM!

A Summary of The Old World.

To understand the current, crisis in Jaradia you must understand the political and religious system that governs the so called "Old World".  This term, coined by the original Jaradian colonists, refers to multiple continental landmasses to the north and east of Jaradia.  Each containing a variety of cultures, religions and races, most are heavily industrialized and are where the bulk of organized society currently resides. The names of these continents were under a constant state of flux during the last two centuries, as the Old World nations fought among themselves for dominance and power, but at the moment the names of these regions are Tamnia, Alexhope, and Soun.

Tamnia

Tamnia, was at one time a lush grassland, mixed with small forests. It has since been made barren with over farming, city building, and several years of constant warfare.  It is the site of  nearly 50 different countries, and the center of power for the Temple of Hemyawyn. It is a place of nearly constant twilight, such is the air pollution, massive cities and grand gothic citadels. Most of the population lives in large community halls, and work in the great factories, that produce all manner of goods, and equipment for trade and construction.  It is a brutal, depressing and dreary place, that is the source for many newcomers to Jaradia.

The governments of these countries often view the Jaradian countries, as children not fit for the game of kings.  Often disdainful or outright hostile towards men who went from factory manager to leader of their own small kingdom in the span of a few years.  Though usually the Tamnians are too busy attempting to expand quarterly profits to care a whole awful lot about these sorts of things.

Alexhope

Named after Alexander Isan,  Alexhope, is a varied landscape of mountians, forests, and lakes.  Long ago during one of the many wars in Tamnia, Alexander and his servants families, along with other noble merchant houses fled the burning fields and war torn cities to go to the Northeast, into the bleak Nommne Mountains, several months later, he and the survivors came out on the opposite slopes,  finding hundreds of thousands of acres of untapped woodland.    

Nearly three centuries later, Alexhope is a place of massive wood walled cities, separated by hundreds of logging camps in the deep green forests.  The continent's inhabitants are largely peaceful,  but what war's do break out often times utilize large mob formations of men wielding axes, swords or small firearms, such is the terrain of the region that traditional Pike and Shotte tactics become a detriment. Alexhopes northerly climate means that its stuck in a eternal autumn, with the temperature rarely ever rising above 65 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The primary export of the region is lumber and dye, but the primary imports are grain and fresh fruits, though some areas of the forests have been cleared away for agricultural concerns, the soil is not conducive to growing crops or raising livestock,  keeping the population of the countries in Alexhope relatively low in comparison to Tamnia and Soun. 

Soun

By far the most fertile region, Soun is a land where the rivers running through Tamnia and Alexhope from the Nommne and Greatcap mountain ranges intertwine and dump into the ocean, meaning the vast floodplains of the Great Soun Valley is overflowing with an abundance of nutrient rich soil.  It is here that the food for virtually the entire Old World is grown,  and as a result the people of Soun are fabulously wealthy, the palaces of the Sultans, Barons and Emperors here are the envy of the known world, and many people live happy, comfortable lives in the humid sun bathed plains.  

The Sounians are generally not warlike, as they rely on their total monopoly of agriculture to get their way in most disagreements, and as a result most countries have small (though very well equipped) standing armies.  

The House Of Guillton

The current ruling house of the merchatdom and by far the most brutal going to any lengths to secure any venue which may seek to gain them monetary worth legal tender, gold, jewels, and other valuable items. The standing army of the merchantdom  as it was always agreed to be due to the constant change in government the people of the merchantdom are not expected to serve instead the army is built up out of royal family guardsmen and the block is filled out by hiring out mercenary bands to act as standing units for the military. The Guillton families royal unit is as follows

The Guillton Dragoons

The Royal Firebirds( riflemen)

The Bloody Marries (an all woman melee unit)

These units have almost become known as the standing military and with each passing year become less the dogs of the Guillton family and more protectors of the realm soon some say that they will simple be the standing units of the merchantdom, if so another first for the Guillton family as that would be first standing military for the merchantdom to date.

The Guillton Merchantdom is not fully named after the ruling family it was altered from the families real surname "Galltone" to "Guillton" as the family has their own sub language and this word meant great or inspiring in their second-tongue as it is known in the merchantdom for many ruling families would have their own private language as a sign of higher learning or being more intelligent. The current head of the house is the young Lord Garekk Larson Galltone, whom over sees most all general trades for the realm he is considered a very important man and enemy in most all the countries of the realm.

GALLTONE FAMILY TREE (present)

                              Lord Garekk Larson Galltone -Duchess Marblek V. Galltone

Prince Garekk Larson Galltone II- Prince Musten Ruin Galltone-Princess Mareth Sasun Galltone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                 

Disaster in Talerico (100 p.n.)

Late Wednesday afternoon in the Palace of the Duchy of Hauberk, Duke Wesford ordered his "Army of the Northrun"* to head to the countries border with Medden, to secure it, in chance of hostilities.   Under the command of General Quincy de Loy, the Army of the Northrun numbers some 120,000 men, cavalry and artillery piece.

This hefty force marched into the Duchy's Talerico region, and made camp just outside the border city of Pamnes.

At around 7:30 this morning, initial reports started to come in of Meddenite reconnoiter teams, in the woods.

At 9:00 the Meddenite main body was sighted and had prepared Battalia into battle form.

10:30,  General Quincy de Loy and his staff, ride under flag of truce to meet with the Meddenite commanders.  Where he meets the Archbishop himself.  Overcome by the presence of the holy man, de Loy sinks to his knees and pays homage to Deckarde.

11:00  The order comes to the Duchy's army, to stand down, and join with the Meddenites.  

11:45  Mutinies occur in various parts of the Army,  as regiments turn to fall back from the traitors, and return to warn the Duke of whats occurred.  

12:00  A running battle ensues between around 70,000 Loyalist Hauberkan troops, attempting to flee to the capital,  and at this point nearly   250,000 Meddenites and Traitors.

2:30  Riders finally reach the capital and warn Duke Wesford of the disastrous events of that day.

by 5:00 the Combined Armies of the Archbishop, and De Loy surround and lay siege to Hauberk itself.


Current defenders inside the town are reported to be no more than 75,000, including all possible militia. with food stores estimated at anywhere from four weeks to three months.  Riders were sent our prior to the city becoming surrounded and sent to all nearby governments, each carrying a simple message written by Wesford himself.

------------------------------------------------------------------

 Hauberk Besieged by Meddenites
 General and Army became turncoat to Deckarde
Currently holding with loyalists.

Meddenites MUST BE STOPPED HERE!

Send all possible aid at once!

- 30th of August, 100pn.
Archibold Wesford.






* The Army of the Northrun, is raised from the region on the Northern bank of the River Stahl.  This bank contains 4 major towns,  Pamnes, Hauberk (the capital), Stahlberg, and Vanderville, and as well contains a number of smaller towns and villages. Three faiths predominate the Northrun,  the Temple of Hemyawyn, Charlism, and Naturalism.  The area is heavily industrialized, with mills, and modern factories pumping out oily coal fire into the skies, creating a haze that often settles eerily over the countryside.  This creates a number of technical marvels,  such as heavy cannon, and the impressive Land Galleons.







-The picture is really an oil painting of the Surrender at Breda in 1628. taken from wikipedia without permissions.

The Meddenite Crisis. (100 p.n.)

Issador Deckarde

It has been many months since the tumult of the Spring,  which saw fighting in the Circa, and the Kashkar Tribal Deals resolved bringing a calm across the lands of Jaradia.   The summer months saw a return to largely internal politics in many countries.  As the Orpheians' set about creating their fourth territories groundwork and place in government, the Sultanate continued its exploration of the interior continent, the Guillitonne Merchantdom's Ruling family has gone into a period of flux with yet another power struggle occuring, and the varied tribesmen, city states, and empires generally concerning themselves with preparing for winter.

It is in the decline of summer, in the waning days of August in the 100th year of Postulum Nexi. That Issador Deckarde, takes absolute power in the city state of Medden. Which lies on the Eastern shores of Jaradia, due north of the Orphiean Allegiance. At 58, Deckarde was already a seasoned politician, and religious leader prior to taking control of Medden.  His experience includes many years in the Medden Senior Council, a brief stint in the Meddenite Guards, and most notably was awarded the lofty position of Archbishop of Exploration, by the Prophet of Hemyawyn {hem-yah-wen}.

This sort of notable figure, wrestling control of a city state would ordinarily not be bothersome on a global scale. This however was no ordinary coup.  Deckarde, is rumored to have taken the country, by declaring all organized governments not under the direct stewardship of the Temple of Hemyawyn, to be heretical.  Its very evident that news of Deckarde's actions has yet to reach the Prophet in the Old World, as other Archbishops and the Temple's addresses have in no way mirrored a similar sentiment.

It is evident that Deckarde is going to attempt to use his isolation from the Temple's central authority, and the weight of his title to carve out his own empire in Jaradia.  The sinister implication of attempting to bring an army led by Issador Deckarde to battle is that many colonists from the Old World, are staunch adherents to the Temple's teachings.  Posing an troublesome dilemma for the Officers of many armies in the East.  "How to you get a soldier to fire at the army of one of gods prophets ?"

It is now a question of when Deckarde will begin his attack,  rather than "if",  and he must hurry for the divide between the Old World and Jaradia can be bridged in a matter of months, so within the year retribution from the Temple might fall hard on the wayward Archbishop.


The Temple of Hemyawyn. 

The Temple, is based in the Old World and branches out to many different nations offering a form of commons for leaders to meet and find common ground. In exchange the Temple is allowed to set itself up in the "steward"  nations and draw profits from tithes of its followers. This works well in the Old World and keeps the nations there in a state of uneasy peace.  This deal does not extend, to Jaradia however, as its nations are new, fluctuating and in some cases, abhorrent to the Temples religious philosophies.

The tenets of the Temple feature, an importance on breadth of life experience, which is called "aspectual communion".  A normal temple adherent will often have 5-6 extremely different occupations throughout the course of their life, one of which is usually a military position, and one (generally towards the end of life) as a part of the temple priesthood.

Hemyawyn, is often seen as a elderly man, with multiple faces, each face having weathered a different but no less fulfilling life.  It is commonly supposed that the spreading of ones experiences, will be the most beneficial thing to man kind.

Meddenite Templars of Hemyawyn 

The Battle of the Highridge Estate (100. p.n.)

The war between Sir Desmond Highridge, a wealthy manor owner, with ambition to claim all of the Circa as his own personal kingdom and Lord Adrian Banner, an Ex-Parliamentarian military captain. For the past several months the two have been caught in a series of brutal skirmishing between their properties, amounting to almost forty dead. Banner, has finally gathered his assets, from his old military days and is moving to eliminate his rival and make the Circa an independent and powerful state.  With the forces of Banner marching down from Hidelburg, and the Crested Ridge, Highridge is left scant hours to gather his immediate friends and family into an ad-hoc fighting force.

Order of Battle.

Forces of Lord Adrian Banner. 

- 2x Battalia of Ex-Military Line  (both Pike and Shotte,  approx. 100 men) 
- 1 Light Cannon 
- Hidelburg Fire Brigade  (Mounted on horse, armed with pistol and sword, acting as forward Recon.)

Forces of  Sir Desmond Highridge

- Friends and Family of Highridge.
- Highridge Estate Farmers              (60-80 personnel)
- Adam Highridge and the "Ommenbach Young Mens Riding Club"  (light cavalry) 



The opening shots of the battle come as The Hidelburg Fire Brigade rides into the lower stables of the Highridge Estate and are met by Highridge's 15 year old son, and his riding club buddies, escorted by Hierm, the only member of the defending force to have actual military experience and Highridge's own man servant.

Overview of the Stables as the groups close

The Fire Brigade Scout up Banner's left flank. 

Adam and his mates ride out of the stables, towards the right,  Highridge yells after his son to be careful

The Fire Brigade Over extends, and finds itself in a world of pain. 

Line Infantry Meet

Adam and the riding club chase after the fleeing Fire Brigade and attempt to flank the Muskets of Banners forces, but are scattered by a disciplined volley from the hard bitten soldiers.  None of the boys are killed, but tragically, Adams' horse Buttercup, was slain by the volley.  Highridge, saw the boys scattering, and the firing of musket, due to the largest stable blocking his view. Fearing his son dead, Highridge orders his forces to retreat back to the Manor house.


Part 2

As the forces of Highridge, retreat further up the hill. Banner's men loot the lower stables and barns, and capture Adam. As the fires of the pillaging lights the night skies, word of Banners success spreads, and glory seekers flock to the foot of the Highridge Estate.

The next day, Banner's men march up the main road towards the house in an impressive display of force.  The defenders take hidden positions in the forest, and behind stone walls, firing volley after volley into the advancing enemy.   The light cannon booms from the small hilltop, but does no immediate damage.

However, as the Pikes of Banners troops reach charging distance from the defenders, the cannon shatters the barn and the Friends and Family that Highridge had relied on to hold his estate, retreat in good order, across the fields and make their way back home,  no longer seeing merit in their relations cause.

It is not until Adam is brought out by Banner that Highridge, actually surrenders his holdings to the usurpers...

Banner's bolstered forces, advance on the Manor House

Despite artillery fire, the defenders withstand the bombardment to deliver much well disciplined resistance

Highridge finally surrenders to Banner.

Aftermath

The engagement, though relatively small, with casualties in the 50's or 60's, placed Lord Banner firmly in command of virtually all of the Circa. However, it also shone a spotlight on the Circa,  showing everyone on a national scale just how unstable the region actually was.  Embarrassed,  but sensing opportunity,  the Orpheian Allegiance parliament, takes action,  giving Banner the ultimatum to relinquish all of his holdings and surrender his "Terrorist Army" to the Parliament,  or be force ably  made to do so by the Allegiance military. Angry and disgraced, Banner surrenders peacefully and ventures west into the frontier.

It was thus that the territory of "Orpheia" was born, from the holdings of Lord Banner in Circa. It functions as an area under the direct jurisdiction of the Allegiance Parliament, and is suspected, as a result to grow significantly in power.

 

A Selection of Some of the Indigenous Creatures of Jaradia.

Like many of the other continents, Jaradia is not populated by only Humans, there are in fact many Indigenous populations that live around the continent and the world.  Here is a selection of a few.

The Illuminator Hatcheries 

The Illuminator are a strange race of creatures, and though they do not have a civilization in the same sense as that of humanity, it is apparent that they have a sophisticated understanding of magick, technology, and politics. The Hatcheries are a form of the Illuminator, and are as far as can be understood the only member of their species able to reproduce. The Illuminator is a being made up of light energies, bound tightly around a dense nucleus of unknown composition.  We know that the Hatchery drops these nucleus in open fields, where they attract radiation and energies from sunlight, until it reaches a certain critical mass and blooms into a youthful Illuminator. There are various forms of Illuminator, which form is created appears to depend on  the weather conditions and the amount of sunlight that was collected by the nucleus in it gestation period.  

The Ghastwould

The Ghastwould are a reclusive group of "Tree-Folk" (being of part animal and plant).  That appears to be mostly concerned with their own ends. What these machinations are exactly is not clear.  While not overtly hostile, the Ghastwould are not known for their welcoming accommodation to other races.  They have an interesting anatomy, with their outer skin consisting of plant cells and forming a thick bark which is connected to a form of animal-plant hybrid cell that forms a sort of secondary skin below the bark which then forms into animal cells and organs with a proper mammalian circulatory/regulatory system. As if this were not already an extreme curiosity, the Ghastwould's heavy usage of magick, has given them an almost ethereal nature, and many can float and use magickal abilities as second nature.  As a result of this, the Ghastwould live primarily upon Sun Tears, building grand cities atop the largest, and floating down like angels (or wraiths, depending on their current attitude towards your kind.) to walk in the "underland" as they call it.  The exact rituals and governance of their civilization is left to murky understanding to the uninitiated, but it seems that they have a form of Council or Tribunal, that handles many of the large national affairs of their 4 different nations. Ghastwould nationality can be determined by the facial carvings of the individuals.

Untergolens

Weather or not Untergolens are an actual civilization or just a small collective of creatures is not entirely known, as there has been no contact of a political form with them, or any contact with the creatures other than severe hostility for that matter.  If they are a civilization their homeland exists in the unexplored land to the far west of the Nexus.  There have been only three encounters with the creatures. The first was a Orpheian Allegience "Pioneer Battalia"  which was a brief square off with the creatures on the frontier with the two parties surveying one another carefully, until the Untergolens moved in to what appeared to be assault positions, which is when the Pioneers fled back to the East. The second and third sightings, were in frontier colonies, where the creatures executed surprise raids.  Few survived.  It is perhaps because of these creatures that the expansion west, has been so slow.   

Fungus Ogres

Fungus Ogres can be found in the damp forest lands to the north of the Nexus,  they grow from large mushroom like fungi, in small groups.  The Ogres themselves, are around 1 meter tall, and often bright shades of colors, with flamboyant patterns on their skin.  They have large mouths, and many sport small fungal growths on their bodies which provide all manner of beneficial chemicals to the ogre's bodies. The Ogres are fairly human in their civilizations having many tribes, kingdoms, and republics spread across their Forest homelands, They are primarily concerned with technological pursuits, over magic ones, and will often augment their bodies with steam parts, and use advanced rifles and equipment. When they go to war, it is in a vast horde of brightly colored halfings, sporting all manner of devastating weapons. It has often been said of their race, that, their civil wars, and national wars are often great displays of beauty with wondrous colors and fantastical explosions and rifle fire traded between both hosts. 

Mutants

Perhaps, not a race, but worth mentioning, many regions are hostile in their environs and many (such as the Moskan Lee's) contain radioactive areas or magick seepage that might cause a variety of nasty mutation to the errant adventurer.  The exact ramifications of this are varied, from race to race and country to country, but in general mutants are shunned and often from collectives of their own. It is such mutant collectives that started the "Genetic War of East Puro-Asika"  where a Mutant warlord had amassed so many Mutant followers in the radiation drenched wastes of Purosvka that he felt bold enough to carve out his own inter-continental empire, which very well might have succeeded had it not been for the combined strength of 13 of the strongest and most influential nations in Asika  meeting the Mutant armies head on in the mountains separating the two continental landmasses.  Exact reports of that battle and the wars of other lands is for a different time however. But since the time of that war, many nations enact purges of mutant populations, to keep the possibility of a large mutant population rising against a nation of "genetically pure" people.

More chronicles on the indigenous populations of the world to come later.  

-Art by Orpheian Alliegance head of pioneers, Aaron Reynolds

(100 p.n.) The Exchange of The Protectorate of Jandii

Since the defeat of the notorious Sardindada Pirates, the isles of the Sardindada have existed as a group of Sultanate Protectorates. This day marks a change in the policy of the Burnzined Sultanate. As a gesture of friendship and in the hopes of fostering trade with the Orpheia Allegiance the small chain of islands in the northern Sardindada will now exist as a Protectorate of the Libertus Wing.

A full map of the Sardindadas.

New territorial borders of the Jandii Archipelago.

The sparsely populated Jandii Archipelago will now be considered sovereign territory of the Libertus Wing. Laborers from the nearby city of Sambala will be sent to help the new colonists settle the Jandii into a land that will be productive and prosperous.

(100 p.n.) Orpheia Allegiance Folklore - Unten Den Kirsten

The Story of Unten Den Kirsten  or  "The Sad Girl Kirsten"  was brought over by the original settlers of what is now the Orpheia Allegiance  The story starts with a family of three, a wife, a husband, and their daughter Kirsten. The Husband is called to fight in the wars, but refuses to answer the call. After the war the militias come to the families home to exact vengeance on what they see as a coward,  as they drag the father from the home and move to cut the wife's throat. The girl Kirsten offers herself to the militia in the stead of her parents and the militia take the crying girl away from her family.  Rather than killing Kirsten the militia leader is so inspired by the little girl that he adopts her for his own and raises her in the honor of a son. She grows to much glory in her kingdom, but every victory comes with an aura of sadness and listlessness for Kirsten.  The story will at times end there,  other renditions will continue with Kirsten either being reunited with her parents, slain by her enslaved father in a far off battlefield in a quirk of fate,  and even sometimes bringing a sense of happiness and closure to the girl-warrior's story as she becomes an arch-duchess and forms her own family. The ending will usually change from region to region and teller to teller. With the modern re-telling's often omitting the adoption and simply killing Kirsten.  In any sense the main idea of the folk tale is to stress the importance of heeding the call-to-arms and taking responsibility for ones own actions. While a usually dark tale, the veiled message of unity of arms and adherence to a system of crime and punishment, although a barbaric one, is a leading cause to the cultural identity of the Orpheia Allegiance which helps to form the glue that holds the often at odds states that make it up in a suspension of mutual cultural unity that keeps them from constant civil war,  in addition of course to political and economic concerns.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A note on "Classica Orpheian Linguistics"

The basic linguistic form of Orpheian uses a base of simple root words that are usually 3 to 4 letters in length and a series of prefixes that are added to form more complex words, with a small section of conjunctions, such as "Den"  which, depending on their distance on a written page,  or time passed since the base word-prefix was uttered,  is either a verb or  the word "the".

so for instance in the phrase  "Unten Den Kirsten"

"Un"  is the prefix, meaning  the opposite of in this instance

"ten"  is the base word, which means literally in common tounge  "excited feminine child"

therefore the combination of Un and ten means "sad girl"  or the "Not Happy feminine child"  and "Den" placed as it is approximately 1cm away from the original phrase means "the"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of the Exotic Near West

THE GREAT BURNZINED SULTANATE

     The largest and most powerful land in the Near West is undoubtedly the Burnzined Sultanate. Its name stems from the ruling Sultan, Mezhemet the II of the long standing Burnzined dynasty. His family has sat on throne for more than twenty generations. The Sultanate has existed as an absolute monarchy since the unification of the realm under Gazim the Magnificent. The Sultanate is united by two things, the common belief in the Creator of Mankind, and the belief that the Sultan is his messenger on this plain. Sultan Gazim the Magnificent was able to unite the different kingdoms that make up the Sultanate today by proving his divine sovereignty through conquest. Since that time the Sultanate has been relatively peaceful, suffering only intermittent bouts of war with their Northern neighbors the Kingdom of Kashkar.

     Despite the peaceful history of the Burnzined Sultanate, the kingdom has always maintained a standing army of a significant strength known as the Jamayzhed. The policy stems from one of Gazim the Magnificent's decrees. The standing army of the Sultanate is comprised of orphans who after being sold to the Sultanate as slaves must spend their entire life as soldiers until they are killed in service or become too feeble to perform their duties. The system has endured the many reforms and technological developments with little change.

     In more recent years a system for levying troops has come to be in order to augment the standing army and ensure that the Northern border remains secure against ever mounting attacks from Kashkar bandits. Most levy troops are drawn from the farmers and foresters who populate the central Sultanate. These men are paid a sum of one ducat per year of service and rarely serve more than two years. While not as well trained as the Jamayzhed they are more easily replaced and often armed with more modern arms. It is likely that these levies will be needed more and more in the future.

A levy soldier armed with an
arquebus.

     The peace provided by the strong armies of the Sultanate have allowed trade and farming to flourish within the kingdom. The lands are fertile and starvation is not common among those able to work. Trade is taxed heavily but the revenues collected are often reinvested into the towns and cities of the Sultanate. This has resulted in most cities being large, clean, and filled with state sponsored schools and hospitals. A high value is placed on education and classical knowledge, but technology is not quickly adopted in the lands of the Sultanate. Most cities boast engineering colleges but those engineers are put to work maintaining and enlarging buildings, not inventing unusual contraptions. Gunpowder is widely accepted by the population of the Sultanate, however most Jamayzhed refuse to arm themselves with it seeing it as a way to wrap ones physical weakness in alchemical strength.

     One notable exception to the Burnzined aversion to technology is the Sultan's War Balloon Fleet. Having been established under Sultan Mustafah the Mad the airborne ships proved invaluable in repulsing the attacks of the Sardindada Pirates. Every year the victory over the pirates is celebrated across the Sultanate with the release hundreds of small balloons from the many coastal towns and cities.

     It's unclear what the future holds for the Burnzined Sultanate. The Sultanate has been threatened more and more by outside dangers, and during the reign of the previous Sultan Bahram the Lethargic most diplomatic efforts were halted as a cost cutting technique. His nephew and ruling Sultan Mezhemet the II has made several efforts and expanding the Sultanates foreign influence and trade. It is even whispered that he may have designs on conquering nearby lands in a bid to restore some of his families lost honor. If this is true the Sultanate might be headed for a long and turbulent reign under the young Mezhemet the II.

THE HARDY MEN OF THE KASHKAR MOUNTAINS

     The other notable land in the Near West is the Kingdom of Kashkar. Who the reigning king of the Kashkar is depends on who you ask. In the Northern Kashkar Dahbis Zandri proclaims himself the King and is widely supported, while in the Southern Kashkar Zibmeht the Blood Sodden rules with an iron fist. Within the lands of the Burnzined Sultanate they say that the men of the mountains have no true king and that they are little more than bandits. All this aside the Kashkar people are fierce warriors determined to govern themselves and their homeland as they see fit.

     Unlike the Sultanate to their South the Kashkar have no god, they instead see the natural world as simply a place to inhabit. They believe themselves no different than the animals that live beside them. This extreme difference is belief is often a source of conflict between the two peoples. They view war and crime as legitimate enterprises and good ways to elevate oneself from poverty, this also creates much conflict for the people of the Kashkar Mountains.

     The Kashkar Mountains are arid and difficult to farm, but their are a few valleys famed for their fertility and blessed with fast flowing rivers. These rare environments are highly prized and often the sight of conflict among the Kashkar people. The towns that exist in these valleys are guarded by civilian militias and usually swear allegiance to a local warlord or King. In this time of unrest it is not uncommon for a town to be sworn to both King Zandri and King Zibmeht in the hopes of staving off attack.

A Kashkar footman.

     The poverty of the Kashkar people makes their views towards technology pointless. Even if they wanted to embrace the new inventions of the day they simply don't have to means to make or buy them. It is not uncommon however for particularly successful bandit chiefs to have some or most of their men armed with firearms, but these are undoubtedly loot acquired from unlucky merchants or Sultanate troops.
     It is certain that there will be more conflict between the people of the Kashkar Mountains and the Burnzined Sultanate, but whether this is the result of banditry or a Sultanate invasion is unclear. Only the passage of time and the shedding of blood will spell the fate of these two kingdoms.

Guillton Merchantdom 

The Guillton Merchantdom has existed since the earliest years of what they refer to as the realm 

though not always a power trade might they are now.

It, like most other factions, started small first being a semi-nomadic caravan village that traveled the entire expanse of the golden brush, the only faction known to have done this to date. The first family to establish dominance over the caravan and form the style of government that would become the Merchantdom was the Vileploons, a family of hard working lumber jacks, this giving guillton it first big break into the trade world being at the time all starting nations required vast amounts of lumber to build with and none had seen as much of the golden woods as the ,Vileploon Merchantdom. 

the Guillton Merchantdom has not always held the Guillton name as you have gathered from the passage above, this is because periodically the ruling family will change due to either some sort of political upheaval, dyeing out of a family line or means of assassination, whatever the means the jest is the same the ruling family does not stay forever.

After the Vileploon families reign ended the rule of the merchantdom passed through several family hands not all of which were ever pertinent the most notably one following the Vileploon however was the Rudion family whoms main interest was ores, jewels, and metal working. this being important due to the Rudion family ruling during a time of war for the realm creating yet another form of trade that the Merchantdom that they would come to have total control over the deal making here in the realm.

The next most notably family being the Tortrikon which ruled duringone of the longest times of peace for the realm. They believed strongly in "pleasure over pain" so they became quite knowledgeable of items of ecstasy such as drugs and tools of a "sexual" nature and of course in the selling of the flesh. Though viewed as the least morally inclined family it is perhaps this family that would do the most to cement the Merchantdoms position in the world as the central hub of all trade for the realm.

And finally the currently ruling family the Guillton whom came to power by means of a small battle with the family preceding them the Douconies in the conflict know as "the fields of bloody doves" the battle takes it name from the crest of the Douconies family being a dove. as we know now the Guillton won however we were unaware to what degree, they slaughtered the entirety of the Douconies family in a well coordinated assassination plot, in which the main body of the family and its underlings were killed on the battle field and the heads of the family were killed in varied ways back in the city during the conflict in the golden fields. A fterwards the Guillton took power and taking the ideas of the past three major ruling families made up the new system of trade goods and bartering permanently sealing the Merchantdoms place as the trading might of the realm for the decades to follow.                   

(Year 100.pn.) The Orpheia Allegiance National Summary

A forward Scout Pikeman looks across the fields of the Sun Tears

The Orpheia Allegiance. 

A Conglomeration of three different nations, the Papolia Bloc, Libertus Wing, and Free Circa Peoples. All united under a single parliamentary council which supposedly makes decisions for the good of all three nations within the Allegiances' borders. The Allegiance is rife with political rivalries and internal strife, but still a symbol of great power, due in most part to the vast amount of people and industrialization that take place there.

The Papolia Bloc is a nation that adheres to a loose communist creed and it is heavily concerned with the creation of new technology such as new gunpowder formulas and better armors. It has little interest in the more agrarian concerns of most nations as it relies on the other two members of the allegiance to supply grain, and beef in order to feed its quickly growing populace.  It has its own council of elected officials which are drawn from business owners and other prominent members of Bloc society.  The Bloc Communists Committee or "B.C.C" controls internal concerns for the bloc, such as negotiating relations with the two other nations in the allegiance and electing members for parliamentary council. They also have the ability to raise their own levy of troops separate from that of the Parliament's Army. However the Bloc's food dependence on the Wing and the Circa keep it fairly hesitant to start anything with its sister nations.

The Libertus Wing, is a democratic republic that works primarily on maritime pursuits. They provide virtually all the naval power for the Allegiance navy, and bring in much of the fish and other oceanic resources to the allegiance.  The main political opponent of the Wing is the Bloc, however the Bloc relies on the Wing for food and the Wing relies on the bloc for advanced ship building materials and navigation equipment, so both need one another, limiting the amount that each interferes with one another.  The Wing uses direct democracy, to count every vote from every region in the nation and then use the results to elect a single individual who carries the almost spiritual title of "Libertus" which is viewed as a demi-god figure of justice and supremacy. The Libertus has the ability to command basically anything that they want of the entire nation, and is responsible for the well being of everyone who lives there.  The Libertus always attends any important state event, be it the National Carnival at the Nexus,  or parliamentary meetings.  The Libertus holds their position for exactly 5 years and 5 days until the next Libertus is elected.   Libertus Wing Armies typically add hints of light blue or cyan to their uniforms to pay homage to their Libertus.  This is also visible in traders, and explorers.

The Free Circa Peoples is an anarchistic region of nobles, lords and upstart bandit kings. It's peoples are hardy and mainly agricultural. Typically the land is controlled by the most powerful noble/lord/king  who happens to have conquered it at that point in time. Fortunately perhaps this means that the rotation of rules is typically cycled out every view years, perhaps giving a broader spectrum of representation of people in the "nation".  It's traders mainly send out grain, ore, and beef to the wing and bloc nations. An army drawn from the Circa might be drawn from any number of sources so its impossible to tell what it is that you might be getting when the levies are drawn from Circa.

The Parliamentary Council elects members of each of the different nations within it. Based on the merit of their country in terms of their benefit to the allegiance as a whole and the need of the people within that region concerning invasion, drought, disaster to be represented.  Typically their are 33 seats in parliament the exact proportion of representatives from each nation in the allegiance differs as stated prior. The Parliament is based in Ophei giving it a central location from which to act on its dominion. It is able to collect a national tax, summon its own Parliamentary Army from each of the three nations, declare war, and many other powers.  The Parliament meets typically 4 times a year to discuss a variety of things concerning the nations,  though they have been known to meet more when the allegiance is threatened.

Political Map of the Allegiance 

Current Time

Currently the Bloc is in power in the Parliamentary Council, with 20 seats to  the Libertus's 8  and the Circa's 5.  This overwhelming heaping of power in the parliament is due to the Bloc's sizable mercantile gains after conquering a rich nearby city state with it's personal army and bringing great wealth to the region.

The Circa is being torn open by internal strife between Lord Banner and  Sir Desmon Highridge's  personal estates.  A minor civil war already claiming close to 40 lives.

The Wing has just elected Susanna Jerhico as the new Libertus, a beautiful woman in her early 20's it is hoped she might, through marriage bring new nations into the Allegiance's fold.

Sebastian Pella  has been named as the Arch Castellan of Parliament, placing him in control of the National Army.

Adam Sunner is the current head of the B.C.C.  giving him power over internal affairs in the Communist nation. He is a powerfully charismatic man in his mid forties, and it is thought that he has strong ambitions of conquest  and a longing for war, as evidenced by his conquest of the Eastern Traders Confederation, a city state of some small renown to the north of the Allegiance territories. 

(Year 100.pn) Information about The Realm.

(first a bit of background about what we, intend for this blog here.   We are playing a miniatures wargame called "Pike and Shotte" produced by Warlord Games, it is originally intended for use with a historical time period but we have invented our own unique Fantasy world to play in.  We intend for a very heavy political level of roleplaying, with the actual wargame taking place at appropriate times. All that being said, the information below is going to detail what it is exactly that our world is and why we would want the things that you will see in future posts, which will be a basic transcript of our nations actions that year, which will be approximately once a week)  

- The World is known by several names, all unique to each kingdom, though for sake of general speech it is referred to simply as "The Realm"

- The Continent of which we are concerned with is a type of Faux Europe known as Jaradia. Which has several regions in it they are.
} Mosken Lees,  a region of sulfur gases, rocky crags and pits of oil, it is a dangerous and hostile place, but important to burgeoning nations for its rich deposits of rare metal, oil, and noble gases.

} The Froz, a frozen wasteland, filled with caves and mountains, riddled with trenches and frozen lakes, and inhabited by the mythical "Wyrms"  a single massive creature, the last of its kind whispered about by adventurers the world over but almost never seen on the surface.

} Golden Brush, a place of forests and gentle hills, it covers most of Jaradia.  It is such named for its permenant foliage color of golden yellow.

} Sun Tears, though the sun tears float above the lands all across the world, there is a single region in the center of Jaradia that they congregate. a Sun Tear is an island covered in crystalline gems emitting with mystic energies, that has a chunk of the ground with it forming a floating island. These islands are used as mines for the crystals that they contain.

}The Nexus, a structure with an unknown history that has always been used as a neutral place for government affairs. It is considered sacred by all, even the bandits of the world regard it and will not attack anyone near it's grounds.

The world has one sun and three moons; there day is around the time of 6 our days, three in light, three in darkness. The three moons obviously leads brighter nights making stealth a harder tactic. Most mornings open with a fog but it quickly disappears before mid morning. Clear weather and rain are equally common.
=====================================================================

There are a variety of nations and kingdoms on Jaradia and the Realm in general, the three major ones and the ones that we will be playing as are...

Aaron Reynolds:  The Orephia Allegiance,  a conglomerate of three nations, the Papolia Bloc, a communist party, involved in industrial advances, the Free Circa Peoples, an  anarchistic region of nobles and lords, which is in a constant state of strife, and the Liberius Wing, the democratic section of the allegiance.  The Allegiance works with a central parliamentary system, with officials elected based on their regions impact on surrounding kingdoms and their benefit to the Allegiance  The Parliamentary Council makes decisions for the whole Allegiance.

JD Hedgecock:  The Guilletton, a mercantile nation that spans the sprawling fields of  the "Golden Brush" . they over see most all trade pacts made between nations and as well handle all the buying and selling of all trade goods for there region. This nation being one of mercantile power the ruling power goes to the family whom controls the most trade routes, markets. and shops. The current family being the Galltone.

Owen Ligon: The Nomadic Tribes of Windchill Shire (often referred to as "The Nomadic Tribes") a nation which has no actual cities, it's tribes move constantly based off of season and environment. It lacks a strong national level government but of it's government happens at a tribal level. It's people and their religion are highly connected with the environment. 
========================================================================