Aug 28, 2016 7:52 pm
OOC:
Whilst everyone is finishing up their sheets and getting everything ready to go, I figured I would give you all a little bit of IC knowledge...things that you all would know about the Shining Paragon of Virtue and Law that is the island nation of Talingarde.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Capital: Matharyn (105,000)
Notable Settlements: Ghastenhall (82,000), Daveryn (59,000), Havelyn (21,000), Farholde (9,500), Aldencross (1,800), Varyston (1,200)
Ruler: King Markadian V, called the Brave, Protector of the Righteous
Government: Religious Monarchy
Languages: Common, Dwarven
Religion: Mitra, the Shining Lord
Talingarde has known much struggle and strife before becoming the land of peace and prosperity it is today. A brief overview of the royal family's history follows:
King Markadian I, called the Victorious showed mercy to the remaining nobles of House Barca after defeating King Jaraad in battle, allowing them to keep their titles and lands if they would only swear loyalty to the new king and bow before the great god Mitra. For 46 years, he sat on the throne as the sort of ruler that only comes about every thousand years. He dealt the bugbears of the north a savage defeat at the Battle of Farholde, scattering them for a generation. He confronted the pirates who made the western coast of Talingarde their stronghold and burned them out. It seemed as though the Victor was undefeatable on the field of battle. His reputation was such that he once sent a rebellious warlord a letter that simply asked "Must we meet on the fields of war?" The warlord surrendered and became of loyal subject. By the end of the Victor's reign, almost all of the island south of the Watch Wall was firmly a part of Talingarde. Only a few parts of the great and trackless forest Caer Bryr remained unmapped.
King Markadian II, called the Learned, was the eldest son of the Victor, born Martius, and he ascended to the throne after the Victor's death. More a scholar than king, he was largely disinterested in affairs of state. He is known largely for his commisioning of the great library at Matharyn and renovation of an old family castle into the great palace known as the Adarium. When the first wing of the Adarium was complete, he retreated there and was rarely seen.
His younger brother, Prince Hallen, was not so reserved. He had no official power, yet ruled in the king's place and commanded great loyalty from the knights of the realm. It was almost an acceptable arrangement. After all, Hallen was a soldier and heir to the Victor. He very well could have become the de facto ruler while Markadian II sat in his distant pleasure palace and library. Alas, it was not to be...you see, Prince Hallen was quite mad. He was convinced that his mother (who had died in childbirth) was actually an angel of Mitra; therefore, he was a demigod and could do no wrong.
His madness was subtle at first. He often dressed in all white, and even had a set of wings made for himself that would allow him to soar over the capital. In time, though, the visions began. He would commune with these so-called "angels" and they whispered that he should replace his brother and become the true and immortal master of Talingarde. "My brother but jests" was something the Learned would reply when he received the disturbing reports of the prince's madness...right up until the "angel" prince flew up with a flaming sword and killed him in his precious library.
Declaring himself King Markadian III, called the Immortal, Hallen's kingship could have been accepted and acknowledged by the nobility at large. After all, his brother was little loved due to all the time he spent in his library, and tongues wagged that getting rid of him was a blessing. Maybe the Immortal was a divine messenger of Mitra's will. Within days of his ascension to the throne, the mad decrees began to flow from the Adarium. The king decreed that Mitra's high holy day would no longer be the summer solstice, but his birthday instead. He ordered the military to prepare to invade Hell and commanded his wizards to research opening a great gate. First, he told his advisors, the gate would be used to go to Mitra's shining realm and build an army. Then he would personally lead that army to invade the nine hells and overthrow Asmodeus himself. Finally, the people had enough of the Immortal's ravings, and the records show that Markadian III, called the Mad, tried to fly from the palace's highest tower without his wings after ruling only five months.
Fortunately enough, Martius (Markadian II) had a son, Marcus, who was neither mad nor a recluse. Clever enough to avoid the Adarium and the capital during Prince Hallen's angelic rampage, the grandson of the Victor was a handsome knight twenty nine years of age and closely resembled his grandfather. Thus he was crowned Markadian IV, and Talingarde was spared another bloody war of succession.
Called the Zealot, Marcus quickly realized that he needed to solidify his power and explain the difficulties of the last six and a half years. In short, he needed an enemy to unify this fractured nation - and he found one in the Temple of Asmodeus.
The Zealot blamed the Cult of Asmodeus for using their black magic to summon a devil to possess the former king and drive him mad. It was a brilliant (and utterly fictional) political solution. It removed the blame from House Darius and placed guilt upon a small, unpopular, marginalized cult. Thus began the Asmodean Purges.
The Knights of the Alerion took the lead in destroying temples. High priests were burned at the stake, and the sect was driven underground. For 12 years, the Zealot sat upon the throne. During that time, he did his best to annihilate the cult of Asmodeus. He very nearly succeeeded, before dying comparatively young at the age of 41 of a mysterious illness. Rumor had it that the Cult of Asmodeus placed a curse upon the king, which only fulled the purges further.
Markadian IV was followed by Markadian V, his son. Twenty-two when he took the throne, he has ruled for sixteen years as a capable, beloved, and energetic king who has done much to put bad memories in the past. He has proven himself time and again as the true heir to the Victor, personally leading the army to relieve the Watch Wall after another bugbear incursion. It was there that he earned himself the title the Brave.
The Brave has continued the prohibition against Asmodeus, but does not pursue the purges with the same vigor as his father. That battle is largely won, after all, and no one has heard of an Asmodean cultist in Talingarde for years. Instead, he turns his attention to the West and North, hoping to tbe the king who brings the entire island under his dynasty's dominion.
He has failed in one duty, however: he has yet to father a son. Instead, he has only one child, a beautiful, brilliant princess named Bellinda. At twenty years of age, she has shown herself to be a prodigy of the arcane arts. If her father produces no heir it is an open question whether the men of Talingarde will follow a queen instead of a king.
