Procopius of Aeldin

[[updated with a new addition. I am also in the works of creating an updated timeline that will keep up with current events.

Procopius rises slowly from his chair. He had been sitting for several hours, and his legs ached. He stretched his back and released a short sigh, scratching his bald head and fumbling with his green robes. He looked down to the book that was centered on the desk: it was a rather large tome, leatherbound and simple enough in design, placed above a mess of parchments and charts. The historian lowered his hand down to the book, slowly opening it to the first page, revealing a roughly drawn physical map of the northeast regions of Athera. ________________________________________________________ THE PROCOPIAN CHRONICLE PHYSICAL MAP ((http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u385/Procopius1453/GeographyMap_zpsaaffe349.jpg~original)) ________________________________________________________ Procopius flips through the next few pages, which are more detailed maps and charts. He stops upon the first block of text and smiles, admiring the work he has put into this tome. Written records and proper histories had been discarded in this time, and Procopius, ever a scholar and intellectual, sought to remedy such a dark time. It is in this belief that he has written such a tome – The Procopian Chronicle: dedicated to the history of Manking since the fall of the Fourth Empire of Oren. ________________________________________________________ The Triarchy The fall of the Imperium Tertius and the collapse of the following Carrion dynasty plunged Humanity into a dark age – a time where written records were lost, charts and maps destroyed or outdated, and Humanity as a whole devolving into squabbling realms much akin to the Era of Five Kings. Three kingdoms ultimately came out of this age – which started in the year 1480 – and are hereby referred to as the Triarchy – The Kingdom of Renatus, the Kingdom of Akovia, and the Kingdom of Aesterwald. The collapse of the Fourth Empire of Oren marks the transition for Humanity. No longer was Humanity in the highest echelon of power and influence, and nor did it hold the same prestige the old Empires commanded. Humanity was fractured into three, and the catalyst was the man known as Maric Varodir, former Grand Knight of the Empire. The reasons behind Maric's Rebellion are clouded in both rumor and speculation – some claim the Grand Knight's purpose was to become elected Emperor after the death of Tuvya, and ultimately divide the Empire back into their respective kingdoms, dissolving the title of Emperor and fracturing a united Humanity. Emperor Tuvya discovered this plot and quickly sought to prevent it, revoking the title of Grand Knight from Maric and stripping his holding of Kaer Angren. Maric's plot, truthful or otherwise, was now revealed to the public, and the lord had no choice but to act. Gathering his forces, he declared an open rebellion against the Emperor, rallying support from the non-human nations of Orcs and Dwarves and claiming the mantle of the Kingdom of Renatus after marrying an up-and-coming noblewoman from the Horen dynasty. Although the claim was weak and argued as entirely fabricated, the rebellion was considered a Renatian uprising, and rallied many of the more conservative lords to Maric's side, the most prominent being House Stafyr, whose support would come later in the rebellion. Seeking an opportunity to finally be free of their Raevir overlords, the Kingdom of Aesterwald also declared independence, and threw in their support for Maric. The resulting Renatian-Waldenian efforts, coupled with what seemed like godly intervention, crumbled the last Empire of Man, with Emperor Tuvya being exiled to the realm of Chernarsus. This left Maric in control of all land east of Petrus, and Maric himself established his capital in the citadel of Kaer Angren. Petrus was left to the Lord Godfrey III Horen, who, with the help of the Hounds under the command of Captain Alfred Redstrit Crodtmir, gained control of the city from the Orenic supporters by means of a peaceful surrender. The Renatian nobility consists of House Horen, Blackwell, Valois, Stafyr, and Briarwood. The town of Aldersberg, originally a prominent and prosperous settlement in the Empire, had declared its support for Renatus, but claims no oath of fealty and remains an independent duchy under the Duke Olivier de Savoie, whose domain consists of both Aldersberg and the free city of Leuvaarden. The remnants of those loyal to the Imperium Quartus, mainly those of Raevir descent, formed the Kingdom of Akovia, located in the southern reaches of the Empire's territory. Akovia, ruled by King Varon Kovachev, a former Raevir House, claims all territory south of the Vilgo river, and incorporates much of the Blackwood forest in its domain. King Varon, once a vehement supporter of the Carrion dynasty, has claimed Akovia as Oren's successor, and established his capital just under Mount Letholdus, in the city of Karovia. The Akovian nobility consists of House Kovachev and House Vanir, and the Akovian military is primarily supplemented by the Karovian Guard. The Kingdom of Akovia claims itself as the Protector of the Raevir People, and has thus bestowed upon itself the duty of ensuring the safety of all the Raevir, at home or abroad. The last member of the Triarchy is the Kingdom of Aesterwald, and is arguably the oldest Kingdoms of the three, claiming its origin back to 1469. Aesterwald, always a rival of the Carrion dynasty and the Raevir people, quickly seized the opportunity to reclaim their independence. Their support of Maric’s Rebellion was an opportunistic move, and it once again freed the Waldenian people from any overlord other than themselves. Situated firmly across the Fluss river, the Kingdom of Aesterwald is perhaps the most martial of the Triarchy, with a resounding national pride nearly equivalent to the Kaedreni people. The Kingdom of Aesterwald incorporates a large amount of Marian and Hansetian values and culture into its society, and the Waldenian people themselves have preferred to speak the Marian tongue instead of the more usual Common. Polar opposites to the Raevir, the Waldenians are a sophisticated and soldiering people, whose lifestyles are accustomed to the schedule of military life. Aesterwald, following the deposition of the Carrion dynasty, has secured their holdings once again, and the new King, Konig Arn Rovin, has established his capital in Vanderfell, with the loyal Houses of Rovin, Revandir, Roke, Winter, Bonehill, Faolain, and Armahnk swearing fealty to the Realm. The Kingdom of Aesterwald also houses its own retinue of professional soldiers, known as the Order of the Black Eagle, whose duty is to the Crown of Aesterwald. The Kingdom of Aesterwald is sometimes referred to as the successors of the Chivay dynasty, with House Rovin being an unwavering supporter of their once liege-lords. And so the Triarchy, formed from the ashes of the Imperium Quartus, had come to be. Each with states of their own and people to represent, these three kingdoms would define the Age to come. It is often argued among scholars that these three kingdoms, whose identities are unquestionably different from each other, are in fact the successors of the Great Houses of Old – of the House that once governed and managed the mighty First Empire, the House that led the Second Empire against the nonhuman oppressors, and the House that reunited and amplified the power of Humanity in the Third Empire. The Triarchy of this Age is the embodiment of the aged Houses of Asulon and Anthos: Aesterwald a Successor of House Chivay, Akovia of House Carrion, and Renatus of House Horen. ________________________________________________________ A Dissection of the Kingdom of Renatus The Kingdom of Renatus was the first kingdom of the Triarchy, forming from the bastardized conception of Maric Varodir and Ayana Horen, a woman whose existence had not even been recorded in the Horen family records, and is speculated to be a common lowborn woman under the guise of a Horen noblewoman in order to gain the claim – however weak – on a kingdom long inherited by Godfrey’s direct line. This amalgamation is, on all accounts of records still available, fabricated and almost wholly illegitimate, making Maric’s claim to Renatus null and void. But the simple nobles of this Nova-Renatus have turned a blind eye to this fabrication – due either to clever ignorance or a simpleminded loss of intelligence. Most would argue the latter, as the current nobility of the Kingdom of Renatus, exempting House Stafyr, has little historical presence or considerable significance to be called true Human Nobility. The Triarchy has done well with establishing a baseless standard for nobility, allowing even the most common of Houses to rise up simply for providing a favor to their liege. The very title of nobility is stained with the Renatian lords, claiming ancient lineages and great inheritances. The nation is a wolf’s den of opportunists and lack-minded lordlings, whose families had either discarded them or deemed them too insignificant to even consider one among their House. Although the Kingdom itself displays a rich history under Godfrey Horen, this new claimant, the usurper Maric, has forever ruined the pure and wholesome image that the First Emperor worked so hard to create and preserve. The cause of such incompetence in the Kingdom is the result of its lax, inept, and foolish heads of state that have no prior knowledge of government, nor do they appear to show any aptitude for true leadership. The Horen dynasty especially, which once fathered the greatest individual perhaps in Human history, has been exceedingly adept at spewing a much more inferior type of noble into the world. The Lord Regent of 1485, Lord Edmund Horen – who styles himself as ‘Teyrn’, as if his claim to nobility was scrutinized enough – exemplifies everything that is weak about the Kingdom. His mere presence lacks authority, and his decisions even more so. The man commands no respect, nor does he deserve it; such a man is the epitome of the Renatian noble: self-entitled, inexperienced and lacking in political awareness. The most recent treaty of Woldzmir describes the Kingdom’s fear of even the smallest rival state – a single barony can withstand the might of the Renatian military. The treaty is neutral and appeasing where it should be aggressive and demanding; anything less shows weakness – a weakness the other kingdoms can easily identify. It is equally embarrassing to the Renatian state to allow independent sovereignties like Savoy to prosper under a free and unwavering air of safety; and even the city of Petrus, the major city of the Mardonic region, enjoys a near-complete autonomy when it comes to governance and management. When a Kingdom who claims such greatness cannot even control the greater half of its home region, what is to be said about the Kingdom on a geopolitical scale? Even the Kingdom of Akovia, whose Raevir people prefer the simpler life of communal living can manage to hold and safeguard their home region of the Blackwood. It is a sad day in Humanity’s history when Renatus, once being the very definition of Human hegemony, has been reduced to an appeasing and easily frightened state led by lackwitted lordlings of no significance whatsoever. ________________________________________________________ ((So I've noticed that there is a distinct lack of history that has been actually recorded, and I have set out to fix that. I will be updating this as best I can with whatever events I can discover. It will be an IC account from Procopius' standpoint, who will be intensively studying the political aspects of these new Human Kingdoms. I hope I can help define this new period in Human history and for once, give a unique viewpoint of history written from an actual IC person. I'd also like to request that this be pinned. It will be a historical document that is integral to aiding new players and informing old ones. And sorry about the map format. The forums doesn't let me keep the image nice and big.))