[Completed] Nation Application | The Barrowlands

[SimplySeo 6229]

Nation Settlement PRO MC Name: MalchediaelVult

 

Nation Name: The Petty-Kingdom of the Barrowlands

 

What is the history of your settlement since its founding and what has transpired for it to ascend to the status of a fully-fledged, multi-playergroup nation?(1000 words minimum): Since leading the Barrowlands expedition west from Aaun into the heart of Almaris, much has changed, in spite of the short span of time since their initial arrival. Carving out their fiefdom, it would seem, did not pose as difficult a task as the settlers originally suspected. Though the region was cold and dreary, and the dead there restless, the soil was fertile, and the strength of the Barrowlanders proved more than enough to drive off the occasional band of brigands or restless undead that would wander too close to the fortified city. Earning a reputation as fearsome heavy cavalry, the Barrowlander Knights would begin scouring the realms of Canondom in search of worthy squires to carry on their fight, some to greater success than others. During this period of time, two new men from the ranks of Uther’s expedition would prove themselves as worthy members of the cause. Ser Garen, the son of Ser Alwyn Glennmaer, who soon became the Master at Arms of Caer Pendraic, noted for his skill beyond the furocity that came naturally to that house. Then also came Ser Waldin of House Thassion, a cadet branch and descendant of the House Thassarion of yore. Ser Waldin Thassion proved none-other than the son of Ser Rolvald, one of the original members of Ser Uther’s warrior band, who served as the de-facto police of the lands of Acre during the brief but turbulent period of the Harvest Confederacy. Ser Waldin, in spite of the storied history of his house, proved just as humble as his father before him, a simply hedgeknight with the respectable goal of defending the weak, and upholding the chivalric tenants by which all Knights swore, and yet few acted. Sers Waldin and Garen proved valuable members of the band of Pendraic in the struggle that soon came… Waking from within the barrows, disturbed by forces unseen, masterless undead began gathering in hordes within the dilapidated cairns that bordered Barrowton to the southeast, and thrice were driven towards Barrowton, drawn by the lights and activity of the bustling fortress-town, thrice they were repelled through great effort, during these attacks, the Knights of the March finally proved to themselves and the world just how formidable a force they were. Ahorsed with lance and sword, the warrior band drove back numbers often near five-times their number or more, and in the aftermath of one such battle, Ser Uther (Now Lord Uther) saw fit to ordain the first of his generation of Templar, none other than Ser Adrielle Adris, previously known as Arnarra prior to her Owynist reaffirmation. Not terribly long after this however, is when it would become clear that the lingering Undead were the least of Barrowton’s problems. Revealing themselves to the Barrowlanders, an ancient race of Nemiisae-worshipping ‘Dark Elves’ known as the Mori’Queissir came with a message, swearing to conquer and enslave the human colonists, and that thousands of them dwelt beneath the earth, unable to be stopped. Rather than flee, or send word to the other mannish realms for aid, Lord Uther took this threat as an open challenge, one he almost gleefully accepted before beginning preparations for a siege. When word was sent abroad, it was a warning rather than a call for aid, for truth be told, the Templar-Warlord was almost excited by the notion of making war against these Mori. After wartime-preparations were made to the castle of Caer Pendraic, plans were drafted for the further fortification of the Barrowlands… That however, would have to wait, as there was still much work to be done within the walls of Barrowton. As all this transpired, Barrowton welcomed a new wave of migration into the fold from perhaps the most unlikely of places. It was not a swath of landless-knights and second sons like those who first ventured into the Barrowlands, nor any of the more ‘Aaunic’ aligned Adunians, who remained out-east. But High Elves, chiefly from Haelun’or, but also others who, driven by a division in Haelun’or itself over the status of the so-called Bronze Band of High Elven adventurers, came to shelter in Barrowton after invitation by Court-Witch, Alara of House Camian. What was intended to become a temporary arrangement for the sake of assisting his southern elven friends became a permanent one as many of the Elves who came to Barrowton soon converted to Canonism, adopting the same rites as Uther in an ironic twist of history. Around this time also Uther adopted a new name, a more regal name befitting the status of an independent ruler, taken in the Owynist tradition, a Flexio name meaning ‘Flame of God’. Uriel. With ranks swelled now of both Mannish and Elven populations, Uriel began planning greater things, to move beyond the lone outpost of Barrowton, and eventually secure dominion over the rest of the Barrowlands, these plans swiftly became accelerated by necessity, as the constant burning of farmland and occasional attacks by the Mori made it evident that the Fortress-Town itself could not survive alone. Invitations would be sent for more adventurers and more crusaders from the east to join them, and shortly thereafter they would also at last be rejoined by the long-lost fiancee of Lord Uriel, Orelia Darkwood, as well as the daughter of their old friend, Emilie, a bubbly girl by the name of Briar. Swiftly married, Lord Uriel allowed himself a brief reprieve from the coming war, but the pressing of time would make it obvious yet again that expansion was necessary. Such was decided during a meeting of Uriel’s council, where it was acknowledge that so long as Barrowton remained a Lordship, and that only, the eastern powers would seek to assert their dominance over it, and though Aaun at the least was trusted in the short-term, in the long term, the Barrowlands Expedition needed recognition from the one power on Almaris who could assert their right to sovereignty for generations to come. His Holiness, Pontian the Fourth. With endorsement from the Church, no other could claim dominion of the Barrowlands without creating conflict with a recognized Canonist ruler, as such, during a pontifical visit to Barrowton to appoint local priest Tonito as Cardinal, Uriel asked this of His Holiness, who, in recognition of Lord Uriel’s unceasing conversion efforts (first of his own Adunian folk, then the High Elves) agreed to coronate the Lord of Pendraic as King of the Barrowlands upon his return from a pilgrimage. Now, the soon-to-be King of the Barrowlands prepares to assert his rule over the rest of the Barrowlands, and to resist the Mori raiders, in whatever numbers they may come, unknowing of the fact that all of Almaris would soon face the threat as a whole.

 

How has your settlement expanded into a core LotC staple, warranting nation rights?: I believe I have (mostly) succeeded in my original goal of establishing a definitely lawful-good faction, a place where people who were less interested in the deeply-ingrained political RP of the rest of the server, and who just wanted to rp the fun cliche of a ‘knight in shining armor’ could go and RP. If you want ‘metropolitan’ RP there’s quite of few places you can go for that, but the Barrowlands is very much leaned into the ‘frontier’ aesthetic/vibe. As a nation, it would be much easier to capitalize on this once no-longer constrained to the simple 150 by 150 we currently live in.

 

What are your plans once getting Nation Status and the remainder of your tile?: I would like access to the rest of tile 62 for the few remaining months we have left on this map so I can expand upon the aesthetic of the Barrowlands, that being a few fledgling fiefdoms out in the middle of the sparsely-populated center of Almaris. We’d be making some improvements upon the local terrain, and ‘spacing out’ certain aspects of the Barrowton build which were, by necessity, sort of built on-top of eachother. It would give room for the various Marcher-Houses to flourish, rather than everyone be cramped into little apartments of Barrowton, irregardless if they are a knight, page, or peasant. Essentially, it would provide us with some much needed ‘breathing-room’ for the few more months we are on Almaris. Also I need more farms, ******* Mori keep burning mine, can’t have shit in Barrowton..

 

What niche does your nation capture that does not exist among the current ones?: Barrowton may be cliche in that it is a ‘medieval town led by a King’ but I believe there’s more than one way of doing a Kingdom without it being cliche. Aesthetically, Barrowton is a far departure from the prim-and-proper cities of Aaun, and leans more into the ‘rugged frontier’ aesthetic which, admittedly it shares with certain Highlander communities, but only on paper, furthermore, while Barrowton remains Adunian majority/led, as of late, because of the large Elven population it has leaned more into a region of many cultures, united by faith, purpose, and aesthetic. For the rest of this map, and going into the next map, this is something I plan to encourage this ‘openness’ while retaining a defined culture to avoid the usual mire that ‘multi-racial’ settlements fall into. At its core, Barrowton is an Adunian Canonist Kingdom with a 11th-13th century aesthetic (opposed to the usually ‘late medieval/early renn’ aesthetic of the Heartlands, the same thing but in snow for Haense, or vaguely-noncommital viking for Norland), an Arthurian theme, and a culture less defined by pre-existing names or titles, where the quality of your character matters more than what cadet-cadet branch of Horen you belong to, or the shape of your ears.

 

Do you feel confident that your settlement has grown to the point that it can survive the departure of its existing leadership? Is your player-group able to incorporate new players into the existing roleplay community that founded your settlement?: Yes

 

[Valannor 6373]

If you don't fix this font I'm going to put chemicals in the water to turn the frogs gay

 

+1 for the barrow homies

[Sarven 1917]

+1 for the barrowton comrades

[_RoyalCrafter_ 4369]

fun rp and aesthetic, +1