The Lands of Classic Castle Lore Submission Thread.

[Mark of Falworth]

Lore Submission Thread.
Well, here it is! Write a backstory for the Lands of Classic Castle, and post it here.
You must submit your story before Monday 2/27/2012 and a poll/vote will be done after that.

Here are some things that should be included:
-Include the names Garheim (blue), Lenfald (green), Loreos (red), and The Outlaws (Black), keep their respective styles and traits in mind.
-Limit of 400 words per entry.
- Include a reason why there's little/no magic in the three main factions.
- No war…….. Yet.
- Incorporate the King.
- Your entry must contain at least the following topics:
- An event that sparked conflict between the different factions (like an assassination, economic crisis, natural disasters etc).
- The name of the land.(Roawia)

Read through the LCC General Information and FAQ and make sure your lore generally fits with what’s been written there.

The winning entry may have to be tweaked to fit into the rest of the story.

*Edit* No more submissions voting has begun. in this thread, http://www.classic-castle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21677

[AK_Brickster]

I feel I should stress that this is not a contest, but rather a submission thread, as the name indicates. As we saw with the map, the best result comes from putting our heads together to come up with the best possible combination of ideas.

So with that said, don't be too upset if someone uses something you've written as the basis for their own version. Together, we'll come up with a terrific back story for LCC

Also, if your story is 401 words, don't worry about it. We'll allow for a margin of error. The idea was just to keep it succinct enough that newcomers can read it and get the general idea of the story without getting bogged down in something that's excessively long.

[mencot]

good its up.
Hmm that no war thing, ok I have to change my old Roawia story a bit but I think it will work
And yes Ak thats true

[koffiemoc]

Chips! I've shortened my story (I started already before this topic was opened, as I had one growing in my mind today), but I'm still at 866 words. A knife, my kingdom for a knife! I've gotta kill my darlings.

[skaforhire]

Sooooo.... Yeah, I wrote a story the other night for this, but did not realize we were going to be so limited for words. I could perhaps bullet point it, but it wouldn't flow nicely. So, for that reason, I am going to post the whole story, and if it is way too long to be considered that is cool. Maybe it will help someone think of a short version, or some new ideas. Oh yeah... I changed the current monarch from King to Queen, because I liked that better.


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

The recent history of Roawia

During the Fourth Age, man lived happy upon the lands of Roawia - ruled by the great Legsburg Dynasty - and peace was abundant. Then came the Reckoning. Appearing in the South, Bolgist the Black gathered inhuman monstrosities and the most powerful of magiks under his banner of death and enslavement. His march north towards the grand capital of Roan corrupted the very soul of the earth. Army upon army of the then King Henrique fell to the minions of the black.

It was at this point that the king's eldest son Gareef the Falcon discovered Avdaniam - a metal that drank magic like a camel drinks water. This metal, when fashioned into armor or weapon proved to protect the user, or at least diminish the effects of magic. Unfortunately, the metal was only mined in the deserts and badlands of the kingdom which lie to the now conquered south. Lensilot the Dragon, 2nd son of the King marched his army south past the main forces of Bolgist, and into the now occupied badlands. He encountered a resistance, led by the former trader Loreos who had set up small outposts to farm the land Bolgist seemed uninterested in. Loreos was willing to set his many men and large stock of draft horses to the task of procuring the metal in return for a noble title and the benefits it entailed.

Although a source of Avdaniam was found, Roan laid under siege. In the eleventh week, Bolgist opened up the sky and a flood of dark magic poured down into the city. Before the horrified eyes of the Roawian troops, their magnificent capital was melted to obsidian, along King Henrique. As the fight moved north, Avdaniam items began to arrive amongst the brother's armies. Soon battles were won and all the citizens rejoiced. On the last day of the Reckoning, Bolgist was caught and imprisoned within a Avdaniam shell. Thus ended the Forth Age and began the period known as the Hunting Time.

Fearing what great mages could do, the brothers put together a special army headed by the now Duke Loreos. This army hunted down almost every mage of the land and killed them. Those who survived fled to the dark isle or remained in solitary hiding. Meanwhile, the brothers themselves decided to rule Roawia together, With the north belonging to Gareef and the South to Lensilot. Loreos, who felt cheated, as he did most of the dirty work during the Reckoning, demanded his own third of the continent. When the brothers refused, Loreos raised his army once again and marched on Lensilot's kingdom. It was at this point the Gareef died of poison, and his infant son Gareef II ascended the throne. The Regent council decided against helping Lensilot keep his kingdom from Loreos. The lion-hearted troops of Loreos destroyed Lensilot's army in a matter of a few years, and soon marched on the North.

Then came the time know as the Awakening. Merrian, the sister of Lensilot, and daughter of the great king Henrique made an offer to Loreos. She would marry him, allowing legitimacy to his claim of one third the former kingdom of Roawia. Loreos wanted peace, entering his older years he accepted - but, using his army as leverage, he negotiated the entire south of the continent. Lensilot agreed to this, and by marrying his brother's widow, he inherited the throne of the North. Thirty years of happiness followed.

The time of Mourning began with Lensilot's death, the kingdom was divided in half between his first wife's son and his second wife's son. The southeast took his name, or Lenfald, while the Northeast took his brother's; Garheim. And there was again peace, but within five years the Black Plague spread through the continent like wildfire. Once great cities, just starting to recover from the Reckoning and the Hunting Time were depopulated by the thousands. Whole villages were wiped out. Loreos himself had died in the plague. He was soon followed by both of Lensilot's sons. At that point, the two great families - Loreos's line and Henrique's line met at the site of the once capital. The wise and old Merrian, who had claims to every throne decided to recreate Roawia as one nation. She placed Gareef's now adult son on the throne, and the kingdom was whole. However, the three provinces over the last 50 years had grown apart. The lesser nobles squabbled over the reunification and eventual determined that the provinces would form the house of nobles - the ruling body that would support the king (who would have no province of his own, and thus could not raise money on his own). However the nobles were foolish, they were no longer great kingdoms, the plague had taken nearly an eighth of the entire population of the known world. All of the provinces had shrunk significantly, leaving many wilds outsides the reach of their rulers. Thus began the Fifth Age.

Today, The year 257 PR (post reckoning), the factions have recovered in population little. The noble houses are still fighting over who will lead each province, and the queen sits on a tenuous throne. Matilda II, let magic not touch her soul and the light shine on her forever, has no heir. At 37 years of age it is unlikely that one will be produced. Her last husband - Wallance the Red has recently died in a hunting accident and her captain of the guard fell on his own sword. The monarchy is tenuous, and relies on the partisan House of Nobles to maintain the fragile kingdom. This is not an easy task, as those nobles have aligned themselves more with their province than their kingdom.

In the great white Garheim, Falkeert The steady is an elderly Duke that rules the Garhims. His law is just, yet merciless. The decedents of Gareef see it their natural right to keep the beautiful North from becoming too merchant oriented. They shun newer inventions and trends, and tend to be steadfast against change in general. They do love their festivals.

Their great rival to the south, the Lenfels, see life as something worth living. They have been graced with incredible coffers filled with gold, as they not only grow much of the world's food but also almost all of its delicacies. But farming is a task for the lower classes - hunting, the sport of kings, is what the nobles of Lenfald spend most of their life doing. Much of the forests (that are not marked as lumber forests) are off limits to the peasentry and stocked with the most ferocious and cunning game. It is said that a Lenfel is not a man until he has killed his first Bullcat.

The more hated province of Loreos still rules most of the south. Although the Avdaniam deposits have all but dried up, they still hold on to their earned legacy of the Reckoning. Many a bards tale still recount the good old days. In fact, most of society revolves around the past. Those whose ancestors served in the resistance, or were close to Loreos himself find themselves elevated in class. Horse flesh is the main trade of the region now, but there are many creative merchants that will sell you just about anything.

With a Repressive tax rate for those who cannot trace their heritage back to the Resistance, many of the peasents have been forced into hunger. Some of these have taken to the Oldlands to the south - once great parts of Roawia, now mostly forrests and ruins. Within the Oldlands they have created a rebel or outlaw faction. Often praying on each other and outsiders. Small bands of some of these Oldlanders have grouped together for better protection. Also, outside the reaches of the provinces, lay those who still practice the old arts. The kin of those few survivors that made it through the Hunting Time dwell in the shadows here. Magic is nubile and almost forgotten because of the great purge of sorcerers, but it is slowly making a comeback.

Thus is the state of the world as the Fifth Age opens up. How long can Matilda II, let magic not touch her soul and the light shine on her forever, reign? Who will come to power afterwards? Will a new great war open up? Will the land turn back the increasing tide of magic entering into this world? Only time will tell.

[richardanthonyc]

Garheim the deathless was the first leader of the men north of the grey wall the southeners call the Iron Mountains. For over sixty years he led his people and during his reign the people named the area they had settled Garheim in his honour. The land was not the most fertile nor the weather the warmest, but the land was rich with iron, copper and other minerals.

He founded the mighty city of Laodros and from there he opened up the way for the world to interact with his peopel when he build the famed docks of Dalven. From there Garheim's huge fishing industries began to grow and their exports of ores and mienrals made the land wealthier than most lands south of the Iron Mountains. That was over a thousand years ago and today the descendants of Garheim still hold power over the land with the house of Eralgor currently holding the rule of the land despite intense pressue from many other provincial lords efforts.

The land is no longer an independant land that Garheim has build though, instead the land is part of the wider land of Roawia since the war of Sundering untied the three lands of Garheim, Lenfald and Loreos. Those events still marr the land as the war was fought with Dragons, Elves and Wizards who scarred entire continetns and rent destruction across the Isles of Roawia. For this reason the land of Garheim forbids the practicing of any form of magic in their land and from the Blkue Tooth fortress, the Lord Feldúr the Brown sends forth his spies and assasins to keeps the edict in place.

The King of Roawia knows that he no longer can contain the united forces of the subdued lans of Roawia and so he plays off their weakness, jealousy and lust for power. But Garheim stands ready to again assert her independance and unbeknownst to the king , the Blue Tooth's assasins are preparing for regicide on an undreamt scale where the entire land will be united under the Blue Flag of Garheim. Young Prince Derzún the red and his Brother Feldúr the brown are now the two most powerful men in Garheim and they will unite all the lords of the land...

Just a quick back story for Garheim. I'm in work and it is really early so go easy on me

[mencot]

Here is my backstory version, I had to shorten it a whole lot and change it because of the rules but here goes:

Kingdom Of Roawia, a peaceful kingdom of might and magic ruled by the noble King Leonard de Royal and 3 houses: Loreos, Lenfald and Garheim. Every dwelling from human to orc lived and worked together under the Standard of Justice, an utopian society of all species living in peace.

Many years passed until one day a dark cloud cover the lands, Master Kelvenius one of the Kings cloest counsellor got overwhelmed by his own power and got tired this peacful arrangement. In peoples mouths he was really know as Keliim the cruel, he inflantrate the throne and started spreading out lies about the Royal house and the other rulers. Then he knocked off more lies about the different speices hating each other saying that the Volyorcens (orcs,trolls,goblins etc) were inferior to the human species.
Some where of the same opinion and others believed the lies and Kelvenius gained ranks quickly. Being a master of dark arts he finally turned to the magic users who lived under the Rule of Magic. Saying that it restricted them from becoming to powerful and that they could alone rule the land, so many magic user travled to a island of the shore and named it the Magic Island.
King Leonard acted quickly trying to repair his dream. He sent out his Royal guard and the Knights of Justice to stop a war, restore the peace and calm the people. The Kings guard being away, Kelvenius did his final act of treachery he stabbed the King with a poisoned Volyorc blade. And then he disappeared to return in a more suitable time. The King died in the arms of the captain of the Royal guards Derrigh.

Derrigh like a son to Leonard, took place as an temporary ruler swore to find the murder.He ruled with an iron fist he first disband the Knights of Justice making them join the royal guard or go in to exile, meaning that the Kingdom would be easier to rule with one loyal army, being the Royal guards.
Then he started hunting the magic users and the Volyorcens meaning they could not be trusted and that they are all evil. The other houses blame each other for the planning and assassination of the King making them more hostile to each other and they all left for their own territory.

Many joined the magic users and the other that had been banned from the land, making them Rebels in the eyes of the ruler. Parts of the land where now infested by bandits and scum, but the southern part of Roawia they took as their own.

A flame of war was just waiting about to happen.

Here the story begins of Lands of Classic Castle
Let me know what you think, some opinons

[AK_Brickster]

In the great white Garheim, Falkeert The steady is an elderly Duke that rules the Garhims. His law is just, yet merciless. The decedents of Gareef see it their natural right to keep the beautiful North from becoming too merchant oriented. They shun newer inventions and trends, and tend to be steadfast against change in general. They do love their festivals.

Their great rival to the south, the Lenfels, see life as something worth living. They have been graced with incredible coffers filled with gold, as they not only grow much of the world's food but also almost all of its delicacies. But farming is a task for the lower classes - hunting, the sport of kings, is what the nobles of Lenfald spend most of their life doing. Much of the forests (that are not marked as lumber forests) are off limits to the peasentry and stocked with the most ferocious and cunning game. It is said that a Lenfel is not a man until he has killed his first Bullcat.

The more hated province of Loreos still rules most of the south. Although the Avdaniam deposits have all but dried up, they still hold on to their earned legacy of the Reckoning. Many a bards tale still recount the good old days. In fact, most of society revolves around the past. Those whose ancestors served in the resistance, or were close to Loreos himself find themselves elevated in class. Horse flesh is the main trade of the region now, but there are many creative merchants that will sell you just about anything.

With a Repressive tax rate for those who cannot trace their heritage back to the Resistance, many of the peasents have been forced into hunger. Some of these have taken to the Oldlands to the south - once great parts of Roawia, now mostly forrests and ruins. Within the Oldlands they have created a rebel or outlaw faction. Often praying on each other and outsiders. Small bands of some of these Oldlanders have grouped together for better protection. Also, outside the reaches of the provinces, lay those who still practice the old arts. The kin of those few survivors that made it through the Hunting Time dwell in the shadows here. Magic is nubile and almost forgotten because of the great purge of sorcerers, but it is slowly making a comeback.

Well, while I enjoyed your story, it did seem a bit long. The part above though definitely made me smile. Very nice little sub-stories about the factions

[Hayden.]

In the 4th age of the Hammerhead dynasty, the king, Cale the Fist, was leader of the kingdom of 4 colours for which he had a title, he was the arch duke of the red nobles, the Chieftain of the blue devils, and champion of the green elves, but he was also Lord thief of the black outlaws and bandits,
and under these titles was able to prevent a war and create a united safe and feared empire, Roawia, for his army had hand-picked knights, the best of the wild clan members, archers who shot the straightest arrows, and the slyest, nastiest assassins and spies able to recruit and keep loyal.
Now because of this his enemies hatted and feared him,but he was not perfect, for he was a human.
And all humans have faults, and unfortunately his were just as numerous as his redeeming features, for while he could carve an empire, his blood lust would not let him be happy to keep it at any time the same size, his desire for war almost ruined his kingdom and raised mutinous talks, but another of his good features was to have a tongue of silver and could quite any noble, wildman and elf, and if that failed he could always bribe them.
But his real downfall was his lust of an heir,he got through as many women as he did battles, He discarded them like old fruit and picked up newer riper ones. No-one really knows how wives, girlfriends and lovers he had because his ever loyal documenters kept this secret very safe.
Now while he loved women he have a hatred for mages, he found them repulsive, arrogant and to crafty, but of course when all the women of the kingdom could not give him an heir maybe magic could.
One night as the moon was bright and the clouds gone, Cale's famous Fist knocked upon the door of Craven the thirsty, this name derived for his thirst for riches, as Cale entered the building, made of Lenfald wood and Garheim stone, he was sat down and made to tell his struggles to the mage, Now, craven could only think of what power could be his if he were to exploit him.
So he told Cale his demands and foolishly, and drunk from the fact that he could soon have a son, granted them, but this was to be his biggest mistake.

Craven's demands had not been small, like lots of gold but land and more land than some barons, he wanted an estate of 30 acres from each land, which he got, now this ruffled the feathers of the people who live their, for they knew his reputation, his desire for power which had devoured his soul, but what made it worse was that he made his servants treat him like a king which the people liked less and then when kidnappings of the children of nearby villages throughout the lands into complete anarchy! The people saw fro the first time how hungry fr a heir their king was and how he'd risk such things and treat the people so badly for it, It was too much, riots broke out and while no battles where fought, the king had lost his respect.
In a furious rage The king killed Craven the thirsty and outlawed magic, which led to the rumour that magic dirtied your soul and gave your children dreadful diseases, who spread these rumours is disputed but most think it was the king's men.
As the inner-factions started top doubt the king, their loyalties divided, the outlaws turning their backs to the king, the knights wanted a ultimate ruler but with a council which led to their nickname (Meaning ruled with aid) that stuck and the blue devils became Garheim which meant "free to wonder" they demanded nothing to do with a king part from trade and protection, and the Lenfald's wanted a new king.

And so the story of how the king stopped being a absolute monarchy and had to step down from all of his power, and how the flame opf war was lighted, for it was only a matter of time before a factions interests crossed....



Well here is my story, I hope you like it and consider it.

[skaforhire]

Well, while I enjoyed your story, it did seem a bit long. The part above though definitely made me smile. Very nice little sub-stories about the factions

When I saw the word limit, I was just going to post the "today" part... But I figured it did not make much sense without the back-story. I know it won't be chosen due to its length, but I figured I spent some time on it, why not let people read it. I am glad you like it.

[Hayden.]

[quote="skaforhire"][/quote]
I like the part about the tax and people becoming outlaws!

[koffiemoc]

Now that I've seen a couple of stories, of which some are quite a bit larger than 400 words - no offense! - I dare to enter mine.
I've cut it down to 543. Using lesser words seems impossible to me, without either violating the story or falling back on a dry matter-of-fact eight 'o clock news style. I wanted a lore.

Once, long ago, there lived a king by the name of Alphundus. He was a direct descendant of Roawan the First, who was the very first king of these lands that were named after him. The line of kings had never been broken and Alphundus was proud of that. He himself had a daughter with his first wife. And after she died, he remarried and his second wife gave him three sons.

The children were alike their father. True knights, high-sprited, brave and good in combat. Tough Garmen was even taller than his brothers. Grave Lenard had arms like tree trunks because of his work in the shipyards. Swift Lorean was an athletic, for he liked to run and ride on horseback. All had the brown eyes of their mother. Except for the princess. She was much more like her own mother, slender and sinewy, and green-eyed. She didn't like jousts, nor other royal duties. She wandered the woods instead, speaking with travellers, hags and even centaurs and elves.

Times grew troublesome. It happened often now that the king had to ride out to set matters straight. The queen accompanied him, but his children not. They stayed safe at the royal keep. But left alone, the brothers started to argue. They gathered followers and agitated against each other and especially against their half-sister. She was, being the oldest, the legal succesor to the throne. But rumours spread that she was not the kings daughter, that never in history a woman had held the throne, that she was weird, that she was a witch. Though she was truly her fathers child and wielded the sword better than any of her brothers, the three factions together were too strong. She fled into hiding.

One day the king went a-hunting. But the stag he met was stronger than he, and he didn't survive. That very same night, the three brothers fought. At the end they withdrew, wounded, each in his own favorite territory. Garmen went to the northern mountains, where he knew richess and steel could be found in the mines. He named them Garheim. Lenard took off to the western forest lands he called Lenfold, where hunting game was abundant, and wood to build ships. And Lorean felt home on the southern grassy plains, between his horses. He named it Loreos. They didn't dare to crown themself king yet. But they did all they could to clear any trace of their half-sister, and to dispose of any strange creature she used to see.

Eight months after the quarrel news came from their mother. She had given birth to a fourth son. The three oldest did not want to give in to each other and certainly not to a fourth. But neither could they neglect the newborn completely. They decided that he could be king, but in name only. He would have no rights on any land. He could perform ceremonial tasks, and act as a judge, though he could not make laws.

And so it came that Roawia is divided in three, though it has one king, up to this very day. The name of the sister is forgotten now, as are the creatures she used to meet and the magic she was said to possess.

[Hayden.]

Pretty cool, I love how you have used the big red capital letters and the birth of the factions after a prince!

[AK_Brickster]

Nice job, koffiemoc. This is right up my alley, and also doesn't feel terribly drawn out. It was easy to read, which is important.

I'm not a huge fan of the King being the youngest of the brothers, but your story does do a good job of explaining why he has no land of his own, etc.

I'll be interested to see what other people think of this one.

[koffiemoc]

Thanks for the compliments, I'm glad you like it.

If you're worried about the current king being the youngest, that's not what it says. Re-read the first and last sentences. "Once, long ago .... ()..And so it came that Roawia is divided in three, though it has one king, up to this very day."
Neither do faction leaders/administrators need to worry that they have to name the leading figs Garmen, Lenard or Lorean. That was long, long ago.