ravenDivinity

Uldor, Land of Glory. (High Fantasy) [Interest Check]

Welcome to Uldor.

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A member of the Coal Arm, a contemptible fraternal organization that was based in Sappir, had assassinated the King of the Sappiri. The Coal Arm framed the country of Smaragd for the killing, and the Sappiri readily accepted the rumors as truth: that the death of their king was apart of a Smaragdani plot to capture Sappir. In truth, the Sappir people were blinded by a centuries-old feud between the two nations and came to see the Smaragdani as teacherous serpents bent on bringing evil to the world, and Smaragd verily was irresponsible for the assassination. Yet, the blame still fell upon the Sappiri's rival, and Sappir declared war on Smaragd, with the Kingdom of Nintale from the North intervening despite exhortation to avoid the conflict. With that, Sappir and Nintale threw the world into the Global Arcane War in 712 EG, and Sappir, at the time a strong military power, heavily attacked Smaragd and Efydd with the assistance of Nintale. Himaya provided assistance to both sides of the conflict, capitalizing on the events and entering an era of prosperity. Its neutrality was compromised when Nintale and Sappir succeeded in procuring a spell, an arcane flame capable of destroying entire cities, and destroyed one of Himaya's many port towns along the waters of the Oorti Sea in the South. The acts of the Arcarti Rim Union, comprised of Nintale and Sappir, however, tipped the scales of the battle against them and resulted in their defeat in the year 715 EG after Himaya and Smaragd relieved the side of the Forjin continent, north of the Agdan mountains, of Sappiri and Nintaleian joint occupation.

After the war, Nintale took the largest hit, the kingdom being blamed for most war crimes and owing most of the debt caused by the war, disproportionately to Sappiri charges. Smaragd received the territory occupied by Sappir and Nintale from the Agdan Mountains to the Lesser Arcarti shores of the Forjinn continent; however it lost the island of Perak it had gained through colonial exploits before the war, for Smaragd lacked the money necessary to maintain its imperialism on the island in the Southern Arcarti Sea. Himaya, meanwhile, entered an era of prosperity which enabled it to conquer the lands extending from the eastern savanna to the Great Tauran Mountains, and Efydd received full control of the jungle. Gorudon explorers, from Gorudo, a nation unaffected by the war, discovered Dayaman, another unaffected land in the aftermath of the conflict, thereby completing the map of the world and opening up the entirety of the sea to exploration.

Three alliances emerged from the war: the Arcarti Rim Union (Nintale and Sappir), the Glorious Alliance of the Noxard Ocean (Efydd, Himaya, and later Dayaman and Gorudo), and the Western Arcarti Front (Smaragd, Gorudo, and Perak). The Western Arcarti Front focused on protecting Forjinn and remained neutral, however the Arcarti Rim Union and the Glorious Alliance continued to be at odds with each other. Their conflict could potentially erupt into another terrible war.

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OOC Thread.
IC Thread.

Map

Map (Political)

When the Flames Die

Gareth agreed. He didn't vocalize it, but he acknowledged it with a quick nod. The necessity of the key was in doubt, for Harker knew they left the doors open all day given that he could go in and out of them as he pleased that morning and that he saw people enter it before in the evening. "Yes, he should be." Sir Hoyt wasn't a member of the normal guard, since he was the postmaster and partook in neither the guard duty nor the Order's oath. Assuming that, the half-elf suspected Hoyt would be in the Tower of the Thistle, in one of its many administrative studies not unlike the one where he met with Sir Walden or the one where he met with Sir Redwyne, albeit likely smaller and containing more postal items. Wallace seemed to Gareth to not have much to do with the Order, Canti looking as though he had no idea where he was going and outright stating they'd be asking around, not something someone who interacted with the Order much would have to do.

When the Flames Die

Wallace commented on the Order's modus operandi, and Gareth cringed a little bit on the inside. He knew exactly how they liked to do things, and he didn't like it at all. Wallace and Gareth would be looking for the postmaster Sir Hoyt, who should've been around the palace. If Sir Hoyt was gone, then he'd immediately be a suspect. But if Sir Hoyt was there, and they could learn something about the nature of the package, then they'd have their first lead. "Ah, yes, sir." Gareth stood and pushed the chair back in. "Where are we going? The Tower?" He assumed so, given Hoyt's position as the Order's postmaster, but he didn't actually know where the postmaster could be found—he never met the man.

When the Flames Die

Gareth hearkened to Wallace's words without interruption, and critically he considered Wallace's insight. It wasn't true—Gareth hadn't met many people at all during his time at the castle; however, still he did make note of the court. No questions presented themselves in the way of the court's innocence in Redwyne's death, a death which proved particularly crippling and threatening to the king. Someone wanted to overthrow the king, and Redwyne's absence lost the Order some important brainpower and honorable character that would've made solving these issues much easier. The nature of many members of the court was abhorrent, and Harker tried to avoid trusting too many of them fully. He'd keep his eye on them. The postmaster. No other person could give such an item clearance—he received all packages coming through, and he was likely whom Walden obtained the snake from. "Then where is he? Has he been, um, looked at?" asked Gareth with a quizzical, pouting look on his face pointed at Wallace.

When the Flames Die

Harker nodded as if he accepted the job. An investigation was in order; he'd be a detective and a spy of sorts, and a squire, all at once. His face went gaunt at the mentioned killings of people whom he met personally, people who died within a short time of his meeting them. "The first was..." He recalled that night, when the corpse of Karl Leid fell from the roof of the Tower and when the castle broke into chaos for a good few hours and then died into utter nothingness and Sophia's drunken musings and jolly Walden's mood that took weights off their shoulders. "Um, it seems the first was a scare tactic." No doubt in his mind, he knew that was true. Karl Leid had nothing to do with the inner workings of Keilaudrin's court by then, and it seems there was no motivation to kill him other than to strike fear in the people due to the publicity of his death. Sir Redwyne died in private, in front of Gareth, who spent Redwyne's last moments trying to keep him alive, who still did so even afterwards. He stared at the table. "The second... was truly purposeful." Harker rubbed his eyes as if he expected himself to cry, but the time for tears already passed and while he harbored a deep sadness, no longer could it manifest physically. "But who would do such a thing?" He avoided Thomas, who'd be first suspect due to his being named successor. After Thomas, it could be any nameless face. He scolded himself for putting Thomas at the top of the list. He didn't like his acting commander, but for the investigation he had to set aside his personal feelings. Anyone who wanted Keilaudrin to be weak would do such a thing given the opportunity. But it was nobody from Lyok, no, Gareth ruled that out as a red herring. Who else? "Maybe someone who gave Sir Walden the package, or whoever else had anything to do with it..."

When the Flames Die

Gareth felt the heat rising to his face again as a new proposition dawned on him. First Walden, and second Wallace, and nay, the half-elf was not mad, for the requests flattered him—they would earn him a degree of influence and trust within the castle, and on top of that they outright complimented his character with pleas of honesty and observance. Surely Wallace, too, sought to take advantage of the innocence and nonalignment of Gareth. He relaxed his shoulders as his mood calmed the furthest it could given recent occurrences, and his mid-tone, smooth voice attempted to enunciate a clear response, however incapable he was of avoiding speech particles. "Ah, well," he gave a small chortle as he came to the realization that Wallace sought out Gareth's eagle eyes to collect information. "By all means, please proceed, and do, um, indulge me with whatever request you have, sir."

When the Flames Die

Hearing his name called, Gareth swallowed the last bits of food down his throat, and he turned his attention in the direction of the voice, his eyes spotting a tall brunet approaching the table. "Oh, yes, hello!" Harker rushed a greeting, and immediately he began to try and fetch the name of the man from the top of his head. Thank goodness he hadn't forgotten yet. "Yes, you may. What say you, Mister Canti?" Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glance of Sophia and a new arrival talking, but quickly he looked up again to Wallace's face which appeared as though important business was afoot.

When the Flames Die

Gareth returned to his small quarters, and he dropped his boxe, which he promptly began sorting through, on a table. The clothes he stuffed in his wardrobe, firstly, but the books he shelved on the wall and the knickknacks he placed somewhat randomly about the room. In the privacy of his room, he wondered whether Sophia was done or not and whether he'd have anything else to do for the day. His inner ramblings were interrupted by the grumble of a stomach that hadn't had a proper meal all day, and he considered his questions answered. He left the room for the great hall, and once there he found a seat and put together a plate for himself from the food prepared an hour ago for lunch. The meal he made had roasted chicken, bread, and mashed potatoes, and immediately the starving half-elf set to work consuming the lunch—with all manner of public etiquette in mind.

When the Flames Die

Where do we go from here? :/

When the Flames Die

Gareth rose from his chair after he could mentally guarantee that Walden was long out of the corridor. He exited his quarters through the door which he slowly and steadily shut abaft himself with a click of the lock, and the blue-eyed boy ventured elsewhere outside the gates en route to his recently vacated home. Streets were packed at this hour, and on the main road headed east, he barely found the crowd budging. With patience, however, Harker soon found himself back at the property. He had no need for the furniture there anymore—what he really sought were his personal belongings. Busied hands rushed to gather clothes, knick-knacks, heirlooms, and books into two boxes. The first of the two was light, containing only the most portable of items, and the latter was slightly weighted. With a small amount of effort they were stacked and taken into his arms, but he didn't carry them out for long, for he left them just out the door for a moment. In some time, he produced a note indicating his recent move and that the house was open to live in, and he was off on his way to the castle again, him taking longer this time with some weight to maneuver around.