ldoran[pronunciation] is a
small nation, battling against the forces of Chaos for a piece of
the world for its citizens to live in piece.
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Table of Contents
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ldoran[pronunciation] is a
small nation, battling against the forces of Chaos for a piece of
the world for its citizens to live in piece.
Ruled by a hereditary monarch, the people of Aldoran are relatively well-off. The battle against the nasty creatures in the wilderness has been going on for years, and the human forces appear to be holding their own.
300 years ago, in (distant?) lands, a great war was fought between two great empires, Megamemnon [pronunciation] and Al-tok [pronunciation]. Al-tok, in the third year of the battle, acquired the services of a powerful wizard. This wizard, rumored to be an evil dragon, a worshipper of demons, and worse, cast a dread spell on whole batallions of the enemy, sending these batallions to far off locations, where they could never get back.
Some batallions were sent to the bottom of the ocean, where they drowned, some were sent to horrible hot deserts, where they died of exposure, and others were sent to their doom in caves deep underground, from which there was no escape. Some believe that these batallions were sent to other worlds entirely, and could never get back.
Three battalions, ruled by Lord Curtis Aldoran, were sent into the center of a horrible forest, populated with unknown and unnamed horrors. They managed to hold their own, build crude forts, and beat back the wilderness enough to survive. They bore children, trained them to fight as well, and took over more and more of the land. Major Aldoran, a truly great war general, managed to create a small kingdom (named after himself) in which his people could live before he died, still fighting, in a battle against a legion of Orks.
3 generations later, the kingdom expanded to include a piece of shoreline. The Kingdom of Aldoran built a large sailing ship, using knowledge still posessed by elder members of the kingdom, engineers from a previous world. They built the ship, named the Homeseeker, and it set forth to find Megamemnon, if it could. The brave explorer Kurt McDougal sailed forth with a crew of 70 men. They were never heard from again. One further ship was built, the Tradeseeker, which sailed abroad, trying to find other civilized kingdoms with which to trade, but came back from each direction, a failure. The ship was eventually beached in the harbor city of Porton, where it stands to this day, maintained by a small grant of the government as a historical artifact. No further ships were built.
Aldoran consists of a scattering of cities and towns throughout its interior, ruled over by a hereditary king.
Interestingly, the king's eldest boychild is not chosen to be the next king. Instead, the children are trained in the arts of war, and the one who performs the best is chosen to become king.
There are two local governmental systems in Aldoran. One is for the relatively safe and peaceful towns in the interior, and one is for the towns and forts surrounding the Kingdom.
In the interior, local political rulers consist of Barons, who are nobles who hold and administer land and many towns, and Lord Mayors, who perform the administrative duties and administer justice in individual towns. Crime rates tend to be low, so the law enforcement in local towns typically consists of a few strong farmers and their eldest sons, who mete out judgement with a strong arm and (sometimes) a large blunt object or three.
In the exterior, the economic system, and thus, the control of the towns, is quite different. These towns and forts tend to be dominated by the military, who get paid in goods and gold. Support industries build up around these military bases. The leaders of these towns are typically Barons. They rule the town and control the military, in most cases. In some rare cases (particularly those where much military activity is going on), the Baron delegates most of the administrative duties of the outpost to a Lord Mayor. Law enforcement in these towns tends to be performed by the military itself, with individual cases brought before the Baron or Lord Mayor, if appropriate.
In some cases, there are infractions against the law which merit more sophisticated perusal by trained investigators. To this end, there is a special branch of the military, known as the Royal Investigative Force (change this name), which is sent out to deal with such knotty problems as they arise. In addition, members of this organization travel from town to town searching out problems that might arise. They are often called in as experts when a trial for murder or treason is being exacted. Their organization reports directly to the king, and to no others.
Every boy must report for compulsary military service from the age of 12 until the age of 20. A girl must report for military service at age 14, until the age of 20. At the end of this period, the boy or girl may choose to remain in the military, or to go home, typically to follow in the trade of his father. Occasionally, youths are turned away from their compulsary service after a year, after determining that they are unfit for service. This is very shameful, and happens rarely.
There are few laws in Aldoran. Most towns and outposts mete out judgement as seems appropriate at the time. Murder and rape nearly always end in the execution of the criminal, as well as crimes of malicious witchcraft, treason against the crown (which includes interferance with the war effort against the Forces of Chaos).
Other crimes are punished on a case-by-case basis, with typical punishments being fines, imprisonment, and public service.
If a boy refuses to report for his compulsary military service, he is typically punished: public lashings, imprisonment, and the like are not uncommon. At the very least, in the most lax parts of the nation (deep in the interior), the family is fined.
There are two predominant racial groups in Aldoran. Both are human. There are very few nonhumans who interact with society. In the capital, a few delegates of the Crag Trolls represent their people and the treaties which have been made with them. Most other nonhumans are considered the enemy, and are killed on sight.
Of the humans, there is a rough north-south split to the population. In the north, the tall blonde Klatchian's dominate, descendents of the two Klatchian batallion, while in the south, the shorter, red-haired Scotsmen live, descendents of Arthur McDougal's batallian.
Aldorans, on a whole, are a loud, good-natured bunch. Open and honest by and large, the constant battle with the forces of Chaos have left the populace with little time or patience for the political intrigue and backbiting which normally rots a kingdom from within.
There are two gods in Aldoran. The first, Ailix, a god of war, is worshipped, largely, by warriors and their like. The second, Asmon, is the god of Agriculture.
Ailix, the God of War, grants men but one gift: that of life. After that, men are on their own. There are priests to Ailix, and they can wield divine magic, but it is not a gift from Ailix. It is a side effect of their devotion and faith.
Men who die bravely and fiercely die with Ailix's favor, and can go on to the fields of battle of death, wherein they fight in causes in the afterworld for Ailix himself, in his vast army. The more accomplished warriors they are in life, the higher their rank within Ailix's afterworld army.
Asmon, the god of Agriculture, requires that men work hard and long in the fields to earn the harvest that the god bequeaths upon them. The only way to earn Asmon's respect is to eliminate all traces of softness and laziness within themselves, and struggle to receive Asmon's bounty.
A typical farmer's life remains mostly the same from the age of 20 (when he ends his compulsary military service) until the age of around 65, when he has worked himself out. Every morning that there is work to do (depending, of course, upon the season), he rises with the sun, working in the fields under a Field master until nightfall, with only brief stops for meals. All work is done in this fashion, from plowing to seeding to weeding to harvesting to preserving the food for winter. In the winter months, there is less work, so the farmers spend this time resting and enjoying life, before springtime and its harsh schedule begins again.
It is believed that Asmon detests laziness, weakness, and fear, and that this schedule must be maintained, lest a blight fall upon the land. In recent years, a blight has fallen. They were warned.
Throughout Aldoran, around the time of the harvest, there are a number of harvest festivals in various parts of the land. There are those who travel from place to place, in order to attend as many of these festivals as possible, be they contestents in the great games, merchants attempting to sell as many goods as possible, or just revellers, hoping to have as much fun as possible.
There is, of course, lots of food and entertainment, dancing and drinking. There are the great games, in which all come together, farmers and soldiers, craftsmen and merchants, and compete for various prizes (best scythe fighter, best polearm fighter, furthest distance run, other contests of physical prowess and might, contests of music, brewing, and oration are common). Some of the more popular contestants (known as gladiators) have fans who follow them about to see their victories (and losses!)
A very special celebration to the people of Aldoran is Lord Curtis Aldoran day. It is the day, May 3rd, that the people of Aldoran first arrived in this place, and started to make their stand against the horrors that existed here. It was first celebrated on the twelfth year after arrival, when it became clear that the original citizens were going to survive. Lord Aldoran was crowned king on that day, and it is looked upon as a good omen for the monarch when a king is crowned on this holiday.
Most cities and towns have celebrations on this day, but many people make the long trek into the capital city of Rowenburg to enjoy the celebrations there. Every year, the city tries to outdo all previous years' festivities, and provide the most lavish entertainment, the most extreme stunts, and finest gladiators compete for extravagent prizes. Once, a Lord set his daughter's hand in marriage as the prize for the finest swordsman, and more than once, the King himself has offered land and titles to the winner in a particular contest. The skill exhibited at these contests is breathtaking.
Also, the King personally gives out awards and promotions on Lord Curtis Aldoran Day, and every year, makes a speech to start the festivities in Rowenburg.
Booklearning is relatively rare, and truth be told, looked upon with some suspicion by the populace of Aldoran. The church will teach all those who wish to learn to read, and there is a royal library in Rowenburg which contains copies of books written in Aldoran since the populace settled here. The library is the place to go for those who wish to learn the more scholarly ways. Most do not.
The Fire Magi maintain their own library, and those who wish to study with them travel to their fortress, only to emerge when they have mastered their control over the flame.
The economic system in Aldoran serves two purposes. First, the people of Aldoran must get enough food for themselves and their children during the summer and fall months to last throughout the winters. Secondly, the war effort against the forces of Chaos on the borders must be funded. The economic system in place meets both of these needs adequately.
The king taxes to support the war effort. 30% of all goods produced get delivered to the King. These goods are redistributed to the various military institutions after the King removes his small share to support his own household.
In good production years, the king sometimes takes more goods, and launches major offences against the forces of Chaos, sometimes taking more land or building more Keeps. In bad production years, the King may take fewer goods, cutting back on military activities to a bare minimum. Thus, the military is rarely an unreasonable burden on society.
Aldoran is an unusual country in that it is isolated from other countries altogether. It has no trading partners, and thus must produce all of the goods that it consumes itself. In addition, the economy is tied up with the war effort. This combination of things forces certain products to be unavailable in Aldoran.
There are, however, a few products that Aldoran makes extremely well.
Soldiers, for one. Born into a life of military service, all citizens must enter military service, men at 12, women at 14, and stay within until the age of 20. Many elect to stay on, and spend the rest of their lives fighting grim horrors from the wilderness that surrounds Aldoran. The military training and experience available in Aldoran is exceptional, and an experienced Aldoran warrior is among best of the world's warriors.
The second product that Aldoran excells in is whiskey. A lot of whiskey is brewed and consumed in Aldoran, and certain brewers have perfected the art, producing truly fine whiskeys. A few brewers, particularly in the south, produce highly acclaimed whiskeys, Glenmaroch and Leflam being two of the better known. Bottles of these whiskeys aged 15 or more years typically sell for 50 or more gold, while some bottles can bring a brewer thousands.
The groundwork for these two exceptional skills were brought with the original settlers of Aldoran from the old kingdom. The Scottsmen had been renowned in Megamemnon for their mastery of the brewing arts. The army in Megamemnon had been already one of the best in the world. Now, hundreds of years later, honing these two skills, who can guess how much they've improved?
Aldoran appears to be isolated altogether from other humankind. There are no civilized nations bordering them: only tractless wilderness. The early settlers attempted to travel by ship to far-off lands, but came back, reporting that only more forces of Chaos existed in all directions. Aldoran appeared to be entirely alone.
After about 20 years of life in this remote place, however, representatives from a nonhuman race in the nearby mountains, the Crag Trolls, came to offer treaties of peace and trade. From the Crag Trolls, the humans received iron and steel for tools and weapons, gold and silver for currency, and skilled labor to make any and all of these things. The Crag Trolls are fine swordsmiths, and can forge a mean plow. There are still human smiths, as the Crag Trolls expect high prices for finished goods, but sell raw metals for very reasonable prices.
The military is discussed at length in other parts of this document. One day, I might say more here.
There are occasionally those who irrationally believe that the military is unnessecary. These people are clearly wrong. The unexplored wilderness surrounding the Kingdom are packed full of all sorts of nasty creatures who regularly attack the borders, trying to get access to the rich fields of plunder found within.
Magic in Aldoran is almost entirely dominated by practitioners of elemental fire magic, known as the Fire Magi.
There are other mages, most of them in small towns and cities, elderly mages laborously teaching earnest apprentices. Some of these were once Fire Magi, others learned the magic on their own. None of these are a match for that organization of the wielders of fire.
Descended from a small group of fire mages originally sent to Aldoran, the Fire Magi continue their dark and secret traditions, smiting the foes of the country with firey magic.
The Fire Magi are feared. They dress, to a man (as only men can join their ranks), in deep crimson robes, trimmed with gold fibers. Their heads are covered, their features shadowed, their hands are held, always, precisely folded in front of them. They rarely speak unless directly addressed, and then only shortly. They never show emotion of any sort. And they wield earthshattering power.
The Fire Magi fight alongside the soldiers of Aldoran, blasting their foes with fiery destruction. Although largely feared and distrusted, the Fire Magi are grudgingly admitted to be invaluable in the fight against the forces of Chaos. Occasionally, a young soldier will take an interest in the magic wielded by the Magi. Occassionally, they will accept one of these to be trained. These young hopefuls are sent at once to the Flame Fortress.
One of the first fortresses, after the grand defensive structure in Rowenburg, was the Flame Fortress. The Flame Fortress was originally a wooden palisade, but, like all of the early fortresses, was rebuilt in solid granite. Now, the Flame Fortress is being rebuilt, stone by stone, in black marble shipped down from the Crag Trolls. None know how this enormous project is being funded, only that the Crag Trolls themselves are doing the masonry work.
None but the Magi themselves know what tests and training newly arrived novices are given when they enter the fortress. Some are never seen again. Those that do return are changed. They are cold and distant, unwilling or unable to exhibit emotion of any kind. But they wield power.
The power of the Fire Magi kept the early inhabitants of Aldoran alive. They use fire, shaping it to their wills, imbuing it with properties like intelligence and ferocity, and send it forth to destroy their foes. Enormous balls of flame appear at their gesture. Walls of fire engulf the enemy, splitting them into bite-sized chunks for the regular forces. Huge fists of fire smash the foe, while infernal meteors fall from the sky, raising craters in the earth, glazing the bodies of enemies into glass. Suffice to say, they are powerful allies, and formidable enemies.
The Fire Magi are used only in battle. They refuse to be used to exact justice, to settle disputes between lords or commoners. They cannot be bought or manipulated. They are fiercely loyal to the King, and will die fighting his battles. They are the Fire Magi.
