[center][h1][b][u]Acadia[/u][/b][/h1][/center]

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In the earliest days of humanity, trolls were not the only foes the humans faced.

There was another threat. This one far to the north. They had once been humans themselves, but had been changed. Corrupted. They became monsters.

They became Iskrill.

The Iskrill ravaged their former kin who had not been changed. Moving as a ferocious tide, they tore entire villages and tribes apart. When they ran out of victims, they began to migrate southward, intent on slaughtering all that they could find. Resistance seemed impossible, and many chose to flee before this onslaught.

But a few chose to stand and fight.

One such tribe was the Skonos Tribe. Instead of fleeing the danger, their warriors advanced toward it. They took position on a hill, constructing barricades and fortifications. The Iskrill had not expected such a unified defense, and came at them in bits and pieces. For four days, ach attempt was driven back.

But eventually, the Iskrill learned. Their warbands joined together, intending to use the weight of their numbers to overwhelm the hill’s defenders. On the fifth day, their first unified attempt failed, but they inflicted such grievous casualties upon the defenders that they would surely succeed the next day.

Then Simain Flameweaver arrived.

Wielding unmatched magical might, she appeared just as the Iskrill began their advance. She bathed the disorganized horde in fire, and made the ground too muddy for them to find their footing. Once again, the Iskrill were driven back, and with their chieftain mortally wounded, the Skonos chose to make their saviour their new leader. With Simain’s magic reinforcing their defenses, they prepared for the next attack.

But this time, they did not stand alone.

Cadien himself had taken notice. The prayers of his followers as they were consumed for food or driven from their homes had not gone unnoticed. So as the fleeing tribes prayed for salvation, he answered. Rather than offer them the relief or the salvation they sought, he berated them for their cowardice. If they would not fight for their homes, if they would chose to flee while others stood and fight, then why were they worthy of his blessing? Why were they even worthy of their own lives?

And so, the master of mankind had convinced his stray and scattered children to turn back, and gave them directions on where to meet their foe.

So it was that on the seventh day, as the Iskrill were in the midst of another attack, the Skonos Tribe was finally reinforced. Hundreds of men and women arrived on the battlefield, striking the Iskrill host in the flank. The arrival of help gave the exhausted defenders new resolve. Together, the Iskrill army was pushed back, taking heavy losses and once more scattering into disarray.

But they did not stop there. The Iskrill were not just a threat. They were a blight. A stain. An insult. They had to be eradicated, until none remained. So Cadien urged his followers to carry onward, to continue running toward the danger instead of away from it. The Tribes forged an alliance, and under Simain’s leadership, they embarked on a crusade northward.

Now it was humanity that was united, and the Iskrill that were in disarray. The abominations were steadily driven back, and although the crusaders took heavy casualties, their numbers continued to swell as more and more answered the call to flock to their banner. The Iskrill were pushed all the way back to the sea, only for a host of Merelli to emerge from the ocean and attack them in the rear. After linking up, the combined wrath of the Merelli and the Humans drove the abominations eastward.

The Iskrill had been driven back, and the Eastern Highlands were saved.

The crusaders rejoiced. But Simain was no fool. She knew that as long as the Iskrill existed elsewhere, there was still a chance that they might return. So she founded a kingdom. Both the human tribes that followed her and the Merelli who aided her settled down on the land, which was named ‘Acadia.’ 

Acadia was meant to be an ever-vigilant shield to the rest of Highlands, by keeping the northern front secure. Both the human tribes that followed her and the Merelli who aided her were integrated into this new society.

To this end, they threw themselves wholeheartedly into the worship of Cadien, striving for perfection and efficiency of all else. They created a caste system, with the warrior, mage, and priests being at the top, while the labourers and farmers were at the bottom. Those who were born with noticeable defects or disabilities were cast out, as caring for them was seen as a waste of resources. It was strict, rigid, and perhaps even harsh, but those who disliked it were kept in line either through religious zeal or knowledge that infighting would leave them vulnerable to mankind’s ancient foes.

And indeed, those foes still remained. From the west across the river, and the east in the Aberrant, the Iskrill continue to plague Acadia to this day. For while Acadia’s numbers have grown, so have theirs, and both sides have only gotten bolder over the centuries. Some whisper that a new crusade might be in order, lest the Iskrill become too powerful once again. Others say it would be better to remain on the offensive, and continue to serve as an immovable wall.

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[color=violet]“Hmm…”[/color] Cadien mused as he surveyed the latest developments of the city which bore his name. [color=violet]“I must say, they’ve done quite well for themselves.”[/color]

And in fact, they had. Acadia was one of the largest and most powerful of all the Highland cities. They controlled a vast amount of land, possessed a remarkable grasp on magical talent, and their warriors were some of humanity’s finest. There were certain elements of their society that Cadien found distasteful, such as their disposal of infants with defects - even one who is has been disabled can still find other ways to be useful - and their rigid caste system, which could force people into careers they weren’t best suited for. But despite these flaws, there was no denying their commitment to their cause, or their successful fulfillment of it.

And yet, from his wider view, he knew that Acadia was in more danger than its inhabitants realized. No doubt the Iskrill in the Aberrant had replenished their numbers by now. Then there were the Iskrill to the west - they had spread more slowly, but no crusade had been launched against them, so recently they had been able to lay low an entire city. If they found a way to travel across the river en masse, then Acadia would be fighting a war on two fronts.

Then to the south, there were the strange insect creatures which arrived from orbit so long ago. If they joined forces with the hated Iskrill, then Acadia could very well find itself to be surrounded and cut off. To say that the Acadians had grown complacent would be inaccurate, but they simply weren’t prepared to deal with a threat of this magnitude.

Perhaps it was time to lend them further aid…

[hr]
As the human King and the merelli Queen of Acadia knelt for their morning prayer to the gods, they made the usual requests. For Cadien, they asked him to grant their warriors the strength to vanquish humanity’s foes. To make it so that neither their valour nor arms will falter on the field of battle. And to ensure that the next generation would not be plagued with sickness or defects.

They made the same prayers every day, as countless generations had before them. They had become routine. That was not to say they did not earnestly believe in the gods, but they knew the chance of such prayers actually being granted were slim to non-existent. Nonetheless, they kept at it, out of respect and tradition, if nothing else.

Which is why it came as a colossal surprise that, when they finished their prayer to Cadien, and were just about to move on to their prayers to Evandra, a mysterious voice spoke deep within their minds.

[color=violet][i]Granted.[/i][/color]

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The changes Cadien had made were subtle, but would become known in time. 

There was a forge on the western end of the city, where spears and swords were crafted. Cadien had imposed a subtle enchantment on that, while the local smith prayed to him that morning. All metal crafted on that forge would be invulnerable to water damage. This would greatly aid the cause of the city’s Merelli warriors, who frequently engaged in amphibious warfare against the Iskrill across the water.

Throughout the rest of the kingdom, Cadien bestowed a series of blessings. In dire situations, their warriors and mages would be less likely to be crippled by fear. The warriors would remain in their physical prime for far longer. And both the warriors’ and the mages’ children were guaranteed to be born healthy.

It was not just the warriors Cadien aided, however, but the people who supported them too. The labourers were made stronger, while the farmers were gifted greater stamina. All of these boons were subtle, but were immensely beneficial in their own way, and would give the kingdom the edge it needed in the years to come.

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[hider=Post Summary]
This post sums up the early history of Acadia, a city in the northeastern Highlands. Basically, shortly after the gods were banished, the Iskrill became super aggressive and started overwhelming human settlements. To combat this threat, Cadien commanded a bunch of human tribes and villages to band together and fight back, which they did under the leadership of a female mage named Simain Flameweaver.

The humans pushed the Iskrill all the way to the sea, where tribes of Merelli arrived to strike them in the rear. Attacked on both sides, the surviving Iskrill fled east into the Aberrant to replenish their numbers. Meanwhile, the victorious humans and merelli built a city: Acadia, both to honour Cadia, and to also serve as a shield against the Iskrill should they ever return. Eventually, the city became a kingdom.

However, while Acadia grew, so too did the Iskrill they had banished. The Iskrill have done much to replenish their numbers. Additionally, the Vespians had landed in the Highlands, and Cadien suspects they may eventually turn their attention toward Acadia. 

In order to help Acadia out, he gives them a series of subtle blessings.
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[hider=MP Summary]
[u]Cadien:[/u]
[b]Beginning DP:[/b] 2
[b]Beginning DP:[/b] 5
-1MP to consecrate a holy site with the title: “Waterproof Metal I.” The holy site is a forge, and all weapons crafted on it are invulnerable to water damage. +1 toward the Smithing portfolio.
-1MP to provide a blessing: all members of Acadia’s warrior and mage castes are more resistant to fear. This does not make them reckless, it simply means that fear is less likely to cloud their judgement so that they may analyze situations more rationally. +1 toward the Valour portfolio.
-1DP to provide a blessing: all members of Acadia’s warrior and mage castes are born without defects or sickness. They can still develop ailments later in life, but in the early days of their birth they are in peak health. +1 toward the Endurance portfolio.
-1DP to provide a blessing: all members of Acadia’s warrior caste will remain in their physical prime until they reach the age of 40. +1 toward the Strength portfolio.
-1DP to provide a blessing: all members of Acadia’s mage class are born with excellent reflexes and hand-eye coordination. +1 toward the Dexterity portfolio.
-1DP to provide a blessing: all of Acadia’s labourers possess greater strength, allowing them to lift heavier objects and perform more work. +1 toward the Strength portfolio.
-1DP to provide a blessing: all of Acadia’s farmers have greater stamina, and can work for longer periods of time before they tire. +1 toward the Endurance portfolio.
[b]Ending MP:[/b] 0
[b]Ending DP:[/b] 0

[u]Portfolio Progress:[/u]
Strength (4/5)
Dexterity (3/5)
Endurance (5/5)
Valour (1/5)
Smithing (1/5)
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