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Post by Alexandra Feanor on Jan 15, 2017 3:13:31 GMT
Name: The Petty Kingdom of Gyn
Kingdom at a Glance:
The Kingdom of Gyn is a small kingdom grown from a handful of large cities under the rule of a central monarchy in the city of Gyn. It retains control of the river valley that runs along the middle of the Calrou river. It is characterized as secured cities that act as central trade hubs between the western and eastern reaches of the former empire.
Size and Location: Medium Size
The location of Gyn and its principle cities, Gyn, Mareth, and Lyst, is the river valley contained around and in between the split of the Calrou River in the central reaches of Ardell. Contained in river valleys as well as bordered by the forests and plains around them, the cities are connected by a road system that is guarded and observed. Its place in regards to other notable sights includes it being west of Vadisi, southeast of Therien, and northeast of Tyre.
Wealth: Its wealth remains in the upper areas, due to is position on the lands of Ardell and its access to resources. Firstly, there comes in its abilities to control and regulate the waterways that flow from the northern reaches to the cities of the south, able to ensure safety to ships and travelers moving through the Petty Kingdom and inspiring trade to expand and grow with little restrictions. In addition to this, the supply of lumber, and ample amount of farmable land allows for population growth to be more than possible within Gyn with no need of importing of either resource.
Unlike other parts of the former empire, Gyn is not privy to large reserves of natural resources found in mountainous regions. While Iron is available to them, luxury goods such as gold is far less common and as such needs to be imported along with a great deal of otherwise foreign goods and materials making civilized life easier. This means that they must rely on the trade to receive these goods.
Stability: Medium stability.
Due to the recent years and the only new reign of the Petty Kingdom, Gyn is one that still has a minor problem with those who would prefer the old corrupt rule rather than the newer rule. Though, most citizens of the petty kingdom are accepting of the new rule as it brough more stability to the kingdom as a whole and eliminated more problematic elements in the old rule.
Danger to Travelers: Low
Form of Government: The Government is one of an absolute monarchy that deligates rule of cities directly to the monarch and its advisers. While under the rule of the empire the position was not named king but had existed in this way for several centuries now. With the new rule of the Female Elven queen, a new dynasty has been propped up and the absolute monarchy was maintained after the fall of the empire. Succession is by Tanistry.
FREEDOM AND OPPRESSION: (WORK IN PROGRESS)
Common Species: While primarily Elven and Human, a small number of dwarves have taken to a quarter in Gyn. Gyn itself is primarily elven while Lyst is primarily Human and Mareth retains the most obvious mix.
Military Focus: The petty kingdom of Gyn prides itself on Infantry and archers, as well as a small corp of mage trained warriors known as the Broken which oversees and maintain the named Broken wall to the southeast of the petty kingdom.
The Broken - A group of Magically trained warriors which oversee the protection of the 'Broken Wall'. They act as a honor guard for the Kingdom as a whole but more directly as one for the Monarchy as the main command structure and most decorated are chosen as royal guards for the monarch in power. Numbering only two thousand, they are generally split into garrisons of two hundred alongside larger more complete garrisons of normal troops. Unlike common soldiers, the Broken are also users of a curved blade in addition to the more common longsword, a weapon adopted by a privious ruler three hundred years before.
Main Military - As stated before, the Kingdom of Gyn prides itself on infantry and archers due to the nature of their forested and river valley kingdom. The lack of more open lands makes training of mass cavalry much harder and as such has been replaced with a focus on defensive warfare. This also means that the military itself is well versed in the creation of forts at a rapid rate as well as the construction of battlements around cities themselves to protect and safeguard the people of Gyn.
Lastly, Gyn Soldiers are normally well armored, though not clad in thick suits of armor. They are generally armed with a longsword, shield and bow, and drilled in all three. These soldiers are part of the populace and as such are pulled directly from it in times of war or unrest as well as creates a more direct route between the ruler and those around him as the Gyn Military works based on a meritocracy over a line of nobility.
Technology: Late Medieval
Player Controlled: Yes, Alexandra is the Monarch. With this said, characters are more than welcome to set up cities, forts and other locations that expand the Kingdom. If you plan to be in charge of those, just give me a heads up so I know and then feel free to get writing and adding to this thread. I want this to be a community info and lore thread for the Petty Kingdom, so the more the merrier.
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Post by Alexandra Feanor on Jan 15, 2017 3:14:30 GMT
The City of Gyn
 The City of Gyn is one with a rather secure and prosperous landscape that stretches out around it and allows for a vast range of growth when concerning it alone. Being home to a large population of 32,000 people, it has a vast variety of districts to manage while also reaching out past its walled fortifications into the numerous farms that surround the river valley which contains the capital city of the Kingdom bearing its name.
The walls of the city are constructed from limestone and brick, reaching up twelve meters from the ground at its highest, and nine at its lowest with a system of ramps and ladders for soldiers to scale the walls from the inside quickly. The width of those walls being four meters deep with guard towers capable of holding numerous men and light siege weapons every fifty-three meters from each other to provide a well-ringed city. The walls themselves were covered in an overlapping serious of stone tiles avoid the walls themselves, protecting soldiers from the use of arrows and other airborn based weaponry. This ring of walls in no way seals the city though that it creates problems, there exists three gates, one grand land based one that reaches out from the southwest end of the city, and two river based gates where trade goods can be removed from ships, and brought over bridges into the city before being sent further down the river or back up it.
The City itself is a tight and active one, able to see a great deal of people in its streets from dawn to dusk and even into the night. Acting as the main trade center for the petty kingdom, it boasts a strong economy as well as a place where ideas and technology can be adopted and shared readily. This expands to its population as well, with Elven and Human majorities but also a district in which dwarves have set up their community and numerous smaller communities for those who are of more exotic origin. With this split of communities though does lead to a focus on elven and human culture, though, allowing for a less welcoming environment than a city like Mareth.
A great deal of the buildings are stone, built to avoid mass fires created by thatch and wooden housing and as such the streets have water drains that run off and out of the city, pushing water and filth down the river and away from the city as best as possible. This allows for a wider variety of businesses to operate more closely to each other, such a blacksmiths and vendors thus making the trade all the more possible in the city.
The City, being the center of political power in the kingdom also is home to the Broken Castle, the seat of power for the ruler of Gyn as well as the command center for The Broken. This fortification lies above the city itself, nestled securely on the highest hill within the city and separated from other buildings quite well by two additional fortifications stretching out from it. This is also where the Mages of Gyn are brought to receive their approval before being sent to the Broken Wall or one of the other cities as overseers.
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Post by Alexandra Feanor on Jan 15, 2017 3:14:40 GMT
The Broken Wall
 The Broken Wall was the main series of fortifications, placed in a three-tiered system that protected the Petty Kingdom of Gyn back before the formal Empire had ever been founded much less before it had included Gyn into its borders. While this wall would stretch back to form a weaker system of walls until it connected with Mareth and Lyst, the primary fortifications were built against the southwestern land route into the kingdom. Why it was built was to combat an enemy that has not reared its head in centuries, and even if it still existed would have been absorbed into the former empire just as Gyn was.  As shown, The Broken Wall, named for its ability to break the armies which had attempted to attack it was separated by clear breaks in each of its tiers. The first defense was the small canal, a way to ensure crude siege weapons constructed by the enemies of Gyn would not be able to easily approach the outer and inner walls. This canal could be filled and was before, which is where the first defensive line and the outer walls come into play. To persuade people from attempting to fill the canal, there was two expanses of terrain for troops to defend attackers on. Infantry could mount a defense on the ground level while the second level could be filled with reserves and archers, or simply reserves and weapons of war while the main inner wall held the archers. This allowed for soldiers to cycle out tired and in fresh troops through a gate and ramp that exists between the first tier and the second tier (A similar method exist between the second and third tiers). The Inner wall, or third tier, was the main insurance against assaults. Because of its heightened position, creation of siege engines that would be able to scale the walls was unlikely, making assaults forced to work through means of catapults and stone throwers in the time they were built. Because of this, those enemies with a sun impaled on their banner were forced to simply stone stones after capturing the second wall, and even then repeatedly losing the second tier as the third wall provided safe shelter for troops and allowed for constant protection and rest while those trying to hold the second tier could be pelted by arrows, oil or other disruptive means. Aside from the obvious defense purposes behind the walls, trade was never put out of mind. There are numerous gates lining the wall, enough to allow for shipment of goods and resources between the forts and the towns that have sprung up in the open lands outside and inside the fortifications. As with all other things kept in mind for the lands of Gyn, trade is paramount amount the concerns as it has been for many years.
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Post by Alexandra Feanor on Jan 15, 2017 3:14:58 GMT
The Broken
The Broken are an order of mages who have taken up the physical blade to better protect the lands which they were tasked to defend. These magi exist as the first line of defense in many cases and as the guard for the ruling class in Gyn, serving without question or hesitation in most instances as well as overseeing sensitive operations. More bred for their position than being trained into or getting in through familiar connections, The Broken is a chief example of a meritocracy when it comes to its layout and the position of its members. The Broken utilize a wide variety of magics, but the most commonly seen are nature based variants, summoning, and healing, with individuals utilizing unique arts of magic. In addition to this, it is not uncommon for current generation members to have been altered in some way via magic by the previous system that had been put into place. This makes a member of the generation leading the Broken distrustful of people outside of their circle, especially other groups of magi. The founding of The Broken was by no means the example presented by the former leadership. Originally the Broken had been founded alongside the very wall sharing their name, fighting back and being reduced to such low numbers by a band of Orcs and other raiding forces that were intent on entering the river valleys and forest these men came from. When a few magi arrived to help change the battle, they worked to create a larger force of magically inclined individuals with the purpose of the war in mind over one of scholarly study. This was a small help, though, as the knowledge at the time was in small forms as compared to the magic of the Imperial age. To offset this, though, a dragon which called the very place home had been approached and asked to side with the Humans and Elves that made up the region, and it agreed as long as a deal was struck. The lands around its home would be defended by the humans for as long as time should flow, and in return it would help teach them and fight but in the form of a human, rather than as its draconic form so that no common man would know of its aid as more than that of their being. With the deal struck, the knowledge was quickly shared, and one person served as the personal attendant to the dragon while it remained in human form and the knowledge it kept in a library that would only grow as the ages passed. With the small aid provided by the dragon, the region was able to defend itself and devoted its resources to protecting the lands around the home of the dragon whose name was Gynthas.  Centuries led to the need for a constant force protecting The Broken Wall and the emerging Kingdom of Gyn, which had sought to unite those in the valleys and forests under one unified banner, that would be able to protect all those in the region. The founding of this kingdom brought with it greedy hands, those looking to capitalize on the location of the rising kingdom and the Order which had protected it for several hundred years now. In seeking to further 'protect' the kingdom, a group of Magi who had become members of the Broken started to buy and experiment on personal slaves, twisting their blood and bodies with mana itself to create better conduits for magic but also to allow easier control of these slaves. As more of these Handlers, the title was given to those who studied this magic form, took positions of power, the practice became far more normal and commonplace. Soon the numbers of Broken was being phased out by these breed creatures of war, Humans and Elves twisted so that they fit the purposes of their Handlers and can more easily achieve certain purposes or use a unique forms of magic. This knowledge had caused for the dragon to lock his library, only choosing the Guardian of it himself in the future years and not allowing any to enter other than that Guardian. Before the Kingdom of Gyn could be turned into an expansionist force itself, it was met with subjugation. While the transition of power was peaceful, a fact pushed for so to allow those with power to retain it, the public act of altering their slaves was less open. This was not because of Imperial policies, but rather the wanting to keep this knowledge secured and protected by their circle and not to allow that outside to attain it. It was during this time The Broken became enforcers and watchdogs, acting as puppets to be used to assassinate and intimidate any who became a problem for the Handlers. It was not unusual to see governors of the region turn a blind eye to the action of the Handlers as they could kill the governors without hesitation sometimes, having put spies and assassins as guards for those very men. This was a practice which would continue uncontested until the fall of the empire began. It was around this time the Broken had started to be stirred into action by the dragon which had no longer wanted to see the region further destabilize. As far as it was concerned, the Handlers were becoming too dangerous, and so it sent out its Guardian to find a suitable group to return the Order to its previous standing and purpose. Over the next few years, The Broken was reshaped and systematically killed off the Handlers that had controlled Gyn up until that point. Once the region was returned to its previous status by the Order, it placed on the throne of the newly founded Petty Kingdom one of their own as queen, to ensure that the same does not repeat itself and at the behest of the dragon who revealed its nature to the members. This current generation of Broken became the main driving force for the rebuilding of the kingdom and soon began to train up a new generation, one which would not be altered in the ways they were unless those who trained desired the modifications on their own and after being warned. This is where The Broken stand as far as current events, safeguarding Gyn and protecting its people. The Reforged
The Reforged are a branch of The Broken which hold the singular purpose of protecting the Kingdom of Gyn's ruler. They are the best of the order and are chosen through their merit, ability, and loyalty to the kingdom with the purpose of protecting the ruler in their mind. Specializing in battle magics and summoning, these warriors only number one hundred souls at any given moment, but are always tested to ensure they keep up their abilities. This is a group devoted to laying down their life to protect their ruler.
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Post by Alexandra Feanor on Jan 15, 2017 3:15:12 GMT
Reserved - Mareth
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Post by Alexandra Feanor on Jan 19, 2017 13:10:33 GMT
Reserved - Lyst
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Post by Alexandra Feanor on Jan 19, 2017 13:11:22 GMT
Gynthas' Library
A library veiled in magic and protected by runes, wards and sentinels that were created by an ancient dragon which calls the Forests of Gyn it's home. The dragon, whose name is Gynthas, created the library in order to collect the vast history of magic and civilization of the world, drawing from the world around it to attain eternal life for all beings through the stories of their lives. His own immortality allowing the library to have within its confines the thousands of years of knowledge that creatures of this world created through their actions and studies. Contained behind those barriers and magics hiding it deep in the forest is a spectacular stone structure, but one that remains as ancient as long dead civilizations. Pillars and arches dominate the structure, with wide windows that filter light into the halls and rooms while vines and trees hug the building itself, enveloping it in a shade of green that even without the magic veil begins to hide the structure. Its creator remains there as the protector and resident of the library, talking only to those who stumble upon its home or to the guardian it charged with the task of acting as the dragons voices. Updating the library and somehow increasing it size year after year, without the addition of a single other stone. Its creation was long ago though, one made out of the understanding that comes with mortality and how short the lives of the beings around it are. This realization came from two deaths in particular, the first being that of a kin, one that Gynthas has been forced to kill and soon studied, studying first its fellow dragon from scale slowly to the bone, and immortalizing the skeleton within the forest which the dragon had begun collecting its knowledge. Gynthas took on the task with regret for the death of its kin and never revealed the reason for killing one of its own which would be questioned by the second being which led to the creation of the dragon's library and the system of guardians who would act as the mortal voices for the dragon to spread what it would allow to be spread out of the library's internal collection of knowledge.  That man was a warrior and scholar, one who found the dragon resting and had been sent to deal with it. As far as the greater populace would know, he would slay the dragon and throughout the years the legend was spread of this warrior who had slain a dragon alone and without being scarred. And yet, this myth was created by way of the dragon's wishes and after the man and the dragon had formed a bond rather than bring either of the being's deaths. It was from this man the suggestion of a collection of the dragon's knowledge be created, so that those of his own descendants would witness the history of their ancestors. The dragon scoffed at this notion the first time it had been suggested, viewing lesser beings with their mortal lifespans as beings not worth recording and preserving to give them an immortality of sense, and yet as the years drew on, and the dragon talked to this man while studying the world around him, the dragon began to enjoy the human man's ramblings of preserving the world around him in form of text. The dragon did not begin until after the man's death, building the library first as a tomb for the man who had become his friend before adopting that man's form and building his home in the likeness of the human's homes and cities. As time progressed, so did the library, and soon the library stopped growing physically and was replaced by a space of reality that could grow without the need for his home to be altered. For centuries it remained this way until the humans and elves which remained in the forests and region around his home found the home, or rather two in particular. These two, a human and an elf who were running from beings assaulting the peoples of the forest and the forest itself, stood confused by the sight they had found, and soon the dragon met them. It led them through the library before stopping and looking at the two while the skeleton of its old kin hung over their heads in one hall. It was there that the dragon offered them salvation and in return they would be granted the knowledge in the room around them, the means of saving their people from these southern invaders if those two would make a sealing pact with the dragon. One would be its voice, speaking its words among those mortals who required direct communication from a being that was at this point worshiped as an ancient god within the Moonlit Pantheon. The other would act as the grand master of a magic order, one who would speak to the dragon through the second and the two of them would lead their people to salvation. In return, the area he lived in would remain sacred in the religion of the people around this place. When the deal was struck, the dragon offered up his knowledge to the two before binding them to their word through magic itself. The first, the elf, would remain his guardian, his warrior and voice who would act on his behalf outside of the Library while the second would leave with a binding on his word to form an order which would protect and enforce the sacred nature of the area around his home. They would create stones and wards which were fed by the dragon and protected the region which Gyn would come to rule. That is the way it remains, with the guardians and leader of the broken changing hands for generations, and now resulting in a flip of roles. The Guardian, a being born from the union of a human and a forest spirit, while the second an elf whos being is no longer pure like those of the elf's ancesters.
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Post by Alexandra Feanor on Feb 14, 2017 22:21:54 GMT
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