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| Valnesse | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 26 2013, 10:30 PM (139 Views) | |
| Wanderlust | Oct 26 2013, 10:30 PM Post #1 |
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The Sleeping Soul
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History Of the countries that make up the New Xenthian Empire, it is Valnesse that has survived the longest. For nearly seven centuries, the monarchy was ruled by the scions of the noble House Reinhardt, who traced their ancestry back to Ancient Xenthia. It is said to have been founded by Valthaera, a disciple of the goddess Avaleria and one of the few survivors of the calamity that befell the great civilization, who with other refugees built a colossal fortress known as Castle Greymoore at the edge of the Great Divide. In the decades that followed, the followers of the Warrior-Queen Valthaera subjugated and absorbed the surrounding tribes and provinces, eventually growing to become the great kingdom that would one day be known as Valnesse. In time, the entire central region of Athylon would come to be part of the Valnessian Dominion, a fledgling empire until their expansion was stopped by the united western city-states and the eastern Roukhani clan. Although Valnesse in this time was a brutal, war-torn land, and feared by their neighbors, many saw the country as the last surviving bastion of Ancient Xenthian culture and thus the religious center of the continent. As such, many followers of the Six made pilgrimages through Valnessian territory to pay tribute at the fallen temples of the gods in the ruined city-states of Xenthia that covered Valnesse and the lands beyond. The first of many paramilitary religious orders, founded to guide pilgrims through holy land and reclaim Ancient Xenthian ruins, was born in this time; they were the Awakening, who would one day come to be known as the Order of Saint Alerion. The ruin of one of the greatest of the Xenthian city-states, Avalare, was located in modern day Al-Shahar. The Valnessian Dominion and the Ahmiranian Empire were already engaged in territorial disputes for control of central Athylon, and, seeking the reclamation of Avalare, the leader of the Awakening, Alerion Reinhardt, pledged his order’s support to the Valnessian army. This bolstered Valnesse’s military to the point where they were able to successfully push past the border into Ahmiranian territory, turning the skirmishes between the countries into an all-out war that would last for almost a decade. Valnesse clashed with the endless armies of the empire numerous times, but were unable to finish off the Ahmiranian King of Kings himself until the Awakening forged an alliance with the native Ro’janni warrior tribes and freed Shahari slaves, who had no love for their tyrant king; together, they orchestrated the fall of the Ahmiranian Empire. As part of the covenant Alerion had made with the Ro’janni, after the reclamation of Avalare and other Xenthian ruins, Valnesse withdrew their forces from Al-Shahar. Alerion, after his legendary campaign throughout the rest of Athylon, was eventually wed to the Valnessian queen, and for centuries his descendants ruled the Dominion. However, Valnesse’s obsession with keeping their Ancient Xenthian ancestry pure led to the widespread practice of incest within the royal family, which is said to have eventually bred madness in the minds of their monarchs; the cruelty of one particular king eventually led to the fracturing of the Dominion, the seceding of western Valnesse, and the birth of the Corvailian Republic. Even so, House Reinhardt kept their hold on Valnesse until the start of the Great Unification, when, in an ironic twist of fate, Queen Raethia was deposed by the Order of Saint Alerion, the very order her ancestor founded. Valnesse is now firmly part of the New Xenthian Empire under the rule of a Regent Lord who answers only to the emperor and the Senate. |
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| Wanderlust | Nov 1 2013, 04:22 PM Post #2 |
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The Sleeping Soul
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Culture Under Construction |
| A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one. | |
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| Wanderlust | Nov 1 2013, 04:22 PM Post #3 |
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The Sleeping Soul
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Territories Under Construction |
| A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one. | |
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| Wanderlust | Nov 1 2013, 04:24 PM Post #4 |
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The Sleeping Soul
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Dramatis Personae Main Characters Supporting Characters Raethia Reinhardt † Vireda Fortea † The former guard captain of Valnesse, whose devotion to the deposed queen did not waver during the coup. Presumed dead, as many will attest to her attempting to hold off the Awakening's coup singlehandedly. Prior to then, she was known for disregarding protocol on a regular basis. The last that was seen of her was her sword, broken in half, bloodstained, and through the skull of her last opponent. Siegfried the Warbringer † indicates a character that is deceased or presumed deceased. |
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11:26 PM Jul 10
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11:26 PM Jul 10