Prologue
To my successor,
I believe The Age of Kingdoms has been dubbed appropriately, unlike the Age of Enlightenment, which I have previously discussed. Dubbed appropriately because it was the reforming of the old kingdoms that existed during the Age of Enlightenment that brought about the official title. At the beginning of the Age of Kingdoms, there was not a single kingdom that was not affected in some way, thanks entirely to the efforts of my forces, by The Hundred Year War. Over decades and even centuries in a couple cases, those old kingdoms gradually brought their borders back to pretty much their previous boundaries, where they have maintained them vigilantly for hundreds of years since.
That is not to say that the kingdoms do not still war with one another, but barely if ever do the actual borders change anymore. A pity perhaps, but there is one notable exception. The Kingdom of Kodia once had dominion over the valleys that stretched into the Hodak Mountains. So strategic an area they actually moved their capital there, where it remained until the downfall of their capital, Striphis City. Strategic as it was, it was not without conflict for the mountains surrounding the valleys are home to many goblin clans, who mostly live in the caves of the mountains and even delving deep to the wonders far below the surface. Other forces or possible enemies include mountain trolls and varying giant races, most notably the ice giants who rule the mountains near the coastline on the northern border of Drilain. But even with these forces lingering about, the Kodians, with the Kreewood elves supporting them, kept their numbers in check, the elves being extremely beneficial in those efforts with their expertise in the forests.
But all that changed with the fall of Striphis City. And what a dramatic fall it was. Although many forces tried to kick the humans out of the Hodak Mountains, their forces always prevailed. Until their fall came about by their own hands. Tampering in magic they ought not to have been meddling in, the Kodians invoked the wrath of the gods, or so the legend goes. For trespassing into the upper realms, or the heavens, as most refer to the three known upper planes of existence, the powers that ruled Striphis City were permanently transfigured into a variation of the gorgon race. Then the snake-like monsters ravaged the remaining population with their strange magic.
From there on out the gorgons ruled the city and had no interest in anything other than the protection of their cursed city along with their cursed existence. Without a central meeting place, the Kreewood elves and the Kodian humans dissolved past relations and looked to their old borders thus leaving the Hodak Mountains to find their own way. After a couple failed attempts at retaking the former capital, anyway. Politics and those two kingdoms playing the blame game as to who was ultimately responsible for the catastrophe that happened to Striphis City played a big part in the eventual abandonment of the territory as well. So the Hodak Mountains have not technically been part of a kingdom every since the fall of Striphis City. They were simply part of the wilds that no one, save the goblins really, considered responsibility for.
With so long a time of the so-called good races of Drilain not managing the Hodak Mountains I imagine there is more there than just the goblins who rule due to just sheer number but I cannot be certain on anything except the fact that no force of anything other than goblins has stepped up to claim responsibility for the mountains. The gorgons that ruled Striphis City certainly didn’t claim responsibility. They mostly stayed hunkered down in their city, leaving the rest of the territory to its own devices and no race dares go anywhere near Striphis City; at least not while it was in the hands of the vile gorgons.
All of that is now changing. A new kingdom, which I will get to the importance of that in a minute, is taking control of the mountains and forging their own pages within the history books. Firefist Kingdom, a kingdom with both humans and dwarves counting themselves as members of the populace, is forming.
A dwarf by the name of Dalin Firefist has named himself king which would lead you to believe that the dwarves hold more power than the humans but this kingdom is starting out unlike any other I’ve witnessed. I’ve been able to ascertain that King Dalin has actually taken into his home two human orphans as his own thus making them royalty. There is another prince as well, which is the king and queens own son, Denstrom by name, who just happens to be best friends with my long-standing enemies, or friends depending on point of view and which member you are actually referring to, the Silver Guard.
The Silver Guard played a large part in the forming of this budding kingdom. It was by their efforts that the Firefist Clan and a host of other slaves were freed from the bonds of slavery. The Silver Guard defeated Deathmar the Black’s forces and somehow took control of an army of golems. These golems were used to put down the mysterious gorgon race that ruled Striphis City for over two centuries. They were the perfect weapon against a race of creatures whose inherent magic had decimated all that came before them. The golems of both stone and iron were more than a match for the gorgons and alongside their dwarf and human commanders, the golems were triumphant in seizing Striphis City back from the hideous gorgons.
The golem victory is most impressive. In fact, though only numbering a few hundred, the golem army is perhaps the single greatest army to ever walk Unarhi for no other reason than their uniqueness. Never has there been an army of golems.
How that arrogant Havander Righe was able to accomplish activating such a great number of living constructs still eludes me. He somehow keeps himself relevant on a consistent basis. Most recently with the acquisition of Archdale Academy and whatever secrets are held in that long lost arcane magic treasure trove. In time I will have to deal with the young mage but in the meantime I’m curious to follow the progress of Firefist Kingdom.
All in all this makes for an exceptional game. A game that I imagine will have unexpected twists and turns and I can’t wait to see which way I can mold those moving pieces. For a few different reasons other than just my boredom.
For one, a “new” kingdom has not been formed on Drilain since the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment. The kingdoms that exist now, or at least their names, have existed in some form or another for thousands of years. Everything has changed during some point in their history, whether it is their exact location or borders, which race rules the kingdom, or whether that kingdom was actually gone at one point and brought back into existence after being decimated, as I did to the kingdoms during The Hundred Year War. Nevertheless the kingdoms still remain. Feywood, Kreewood, Searcy, Astoné, Aldar, Kodia, The River Lands, Cruz, Santon and of course Casta; the largest of the kingdoms, who I can’t wait to see how they react. There are also others but they are not necessarily kingdoms or don’t call themselves a kingdom. Notable exceptions being the drow of the underdark, the necromancers east of Casta, and of course the Ironhammer Clan.
I imagine Casta and the Ironhammer Clan will have a lot to say about a brand new kingdom forming, especially one under the rule of a dwarf, but they are so far removed they will have to rely on influence from afar, which I’m sure Casta will eventually try, especially considering the former arcane academy known as Archdale Academy resides within the walls of Striphis City. They may want relations opened back up with the academy, but seeing as the Silver Guard has taken control of the academy and their relationship is on the wane with the wizards who claim to control a lot of the politics in Casta that may be easier said than done.
Which leads us to the adjacent kingdoms, two in particular those being Kreewood and Kodia. The River Lands and Santon may have something to say as well being so opportunistic but if I were to guess, it would be a side note to the conflicts emerging elsewhere. In this I sense opportunity.
Kodia will for sure want to claim their former capital and return it to its former glory. Something they could accomplish now that the gorgons are out of the picture especially with their close allies, the Kingdoms of Astoné and Aldar lending aid. I actually don’t favor that outcome due to the fact that those three closely related kingdoms are run by religious zealots. Not to mention Kodia had its chance and it was by their doing that they allowed the gorgons to even come into existence. An argument I use whenever debating the qualities of being so tied to a religious organization.
On the other side, Kreewood will be wary of any change and are so distrustful of humans, I imagine they will not be swayed that another kingdom coming into existence will be beneficial to them. Being that dwarves’ trust is also hard to win over due to their stubborn nature I envision conflict there as well. It will be interesting to see how this new king of theirs handles the politics that goes into running a kingdom while managing his neighbors, especially a brand new kingdom which in it of itself will be so controversial.
Aiding and in service to the king will be a fraction of the forces allied against them. They have only a few hundred soldiers and most of those are not well versed in the ways of war. They have their golems, which more or less sacked Striphis City for them, and they are a devastating force for any to go up against but they would be better served to act as a defensive unit for the city. I can’t imagine them running around the wilds chasing the goblins around which will certainly be more than just a nuisance to the new inhabitants of the Hodak Mountains.
Smack dab in the center of all of this will be the Silver Guard. They have sworn allegiance to Firefist Kingdom and are always up for a fight. It’s odd to imagine them living so far up north. From their beginning they always worked out of Casta in their old home in the town of Lanos. There they had ample opportunity to forge their reputation as the best hunters and killers of the undead that has ever lived. There is not so much of that element with a foothold in the northwest of Drilain. I surely wouldn’t want them to get rusty. I will have to keep their instincts sharp as I watch the politics of Firefist Kingdom unfold.
- Braden Aranor
Part I
Building
