Life is Feudal Official Forum

[Swiftfoot]

This is a true history of the Crownlands Server and it is my response to the post "How to you put lore into a NPC free server?" Easy, the lore creates itself and someone just writes it down.

The War of the North – The Battle of Rourke Keep
Summer 1297
My story begins like every other major event in history, with something that seems rather innocuous. I was hunting by the lake one day, looking for animals to tame for the farm and searching for wolves or boars to keep my bow eye sharp. I came upon a camp I had visited many times before, the camp of the BloodShields. My mercenary group has traded with the BloodShields on occasion for the various things we needed as we are fairly close neighbors.
The air of the village was different this day, and I should have known better, but I approached the BloodShields Keep to see a wild horse just standing around. I asked my neighbors if they were going to tame that horse or if they would like me to. Kahn the Barbarian, acting leader of the BloodShields and known criminal, approached.
With no preamble, Kahn exclaimed, “Leave or die.”
Not even giving a second to comply, the Barbarian swung his mighty maul as I began to ride off. He landed a glancing blow on my leg that cracked my chainmail and caused a deep gash. However, with the honor of the Ravenheart mercenaries at stake, I could not let this insult go unrequited. I drew my sword and charged back into the village, swinging at anything that moved.
This is a good time to interject some history between the Ravenhearts and their neighbors. As I said, we have had a shaky alliance with the BloodShields, fighting one day and trading the next, but it has always been known that they are Barbarians, attacking without provocation, stealing whatever could be found not nailed down and showing civility only when it suited them. As a mercenary, their politics do not really bother me, but the lack of honor is what I cannot stand.
So there I was, surrounded by my enemies, but never alone, for I am a Ravenheart, and support is never more than a fire arrow shot into the sky away. Tawl the Mighty, leader of the Ravenheart mercenaries, saw the signal and signaled in return that he was coming to my aid. I began to make my way toward our keep and was chased by no less than 5 of the Barbarians. While dodging arrows in my saddle, stepping quickly around trees and rocks and heathens with pikes, I was unhorsed and with it lost my saddle bags. The evil barbarian leader was poised over me with his hammer preparing to strike when, in shining plate armor, Tawl crests the hill and barrels into Kahn with his horse.
“Only 5 of you?” Tawl scoffed as he dismounted his horse and pulled out his sword and board.
Wounded and bleeding, I got onto my horse and made my way back to our base while Tawl held off now 6 tattered savages in rags, and more on the way.
Fearing for my leader’s safety, I knew he would need aid and soon. Blood was now pooling in my boot and I was beginning to feel faint, but I could not stop. I decided to visit the House of Rourke. As with our other neighbors, the relationship between the Ravenhearts and the Rourkes was tenuous at best, but every moment mattered and Tawl’s strength would not be able to hold out forever. Struggling to stay in my saddle, I pushed on past Ravenheart Keep and continued southeast around Holy Mountain, until I saw the high walls of House Rourke. Dropping out of my saddle at the gates, I was able to utter two words before passing out.
“Tawl,” I sighed…”BloodShields.”
Before my vision went black, I heard the Honorable Chief Johan of house Rourke calling his men into action. I knew Tawl would be safe, for now, but the political fallout of this decision could not be foreseen.
The Rourkes rode to the aid of the Ravenhearts, and made it to the skirmish to find 3 barbarians dead and Tawl still holding strong, but he was wounded and bleeding. With the arrival of the Rourkes, all fighting stopped. The barbarians knew they could not handle this fight. By this time, Kahn was finally getting back to his feet, with nothing injured but his pride.
“You know we cannot fight 5 armored men on horses,” cried Kahn. “We’ll settle this the old way. Trial by combat! Choose your champion.”
There was no way to refuse this challenge with honor intact. Everyone knew Tawl was the best fighter, but he was in no condition for a duel. The Honorable Johan stepped up to the challenge.
“I will champion the Ravenhearts. Prepare your weapon barbarian,” barked Johan as he pulled out a sword and shield. Kahn pulled out a two hand sword and the fight began. Mighty swings from Kahn’s claymore were narrowly blocked by Johan’s shield. Strike and counterstrike, time seemed to stretch for hours, but then Johan landed a solid blow and clearly gained the advantage. Kahn did not yield, and he did not finish the fight, but instead he cowardly fled. He lost the duel and then did not honor the Trial by Combat and welched to the demands of the victors.
I awoke at house Rourke with my wounds bandaged and pigeons arriving with the news. The BloodShields sought aid and so they turned to the enemies of their enemies. They allied themselves with House Morawski.
This was a fine recipe indeed, and I could smell war brewing…

Fall 1297
Political tensions have been high these past few months. There is not a day where pigeons and missives could not be seen crossing the land. The most troubling are the rumors of the trader Joejean. Her emporium has been in the Crownlands since I can remember, and she has helped many a neutral trader get businesses going. But the rumors that made it to the north speak whispers of Joejean allying herself with the Morawskis by initiating shady deals and using the Morawskis as her muscle to continue to claim non affiliation.
The Morawskis have always been known to be ruthless, often using underhanded tactics and subterfuge. The Rourke Keep was one of the latest victims of these fiends and their misdeeds were witnessed by the Ravenheart leader himself. But the Ravenhearts were mercenaries, and we do not fight for politics, just coin. However, there could be no ignoring that the Morawskis movements would end up being a threat to more than just the Rourkes.
Every trader in the Crownlands was full of rumors of the Morawskis stockpiling siege supplies and naphtha explosives. It was clear that they would be soon moving against their enemies, and now was the time for alliances to be made. The Honorable Chief Johan of Rourke rode out into the lands of the local houses to request aid for the storm that was sure to come. One of the most powerful alliances Johan was able to broker was with the King of the Crownlands, Lord Matthias Veligar. King Matthias was known as a fair King who made good on his promises, but there was history between him and the Morawskis as they came from the same lands. What’s more, this was an alliance of convenience for the King, but necessity for the Rourkes as their enemies were growing around them, while the list of potential allies seemed to be shrinking.
Chief Johan finally made his way to Ravenheart Keep to seek aid from Tawl the Mighty and his mercenaries, but the Honorable Johan was not looking for hired swords, he would settle for nothing less than allies. Tawl agreed to escort Johan to a meeting of allies and discussed terms further. Johan’s final stop was Kragmount Keep. It was rumored that Joejean had attempted to extort these peaceful traders and they could potentially be made into useful allies. King Matthias was supposed to be here as well, but there was no word from the Veligars for the past 2 days.
It was a cold and drizzly fall night, and the warriors of the Rourkes and the Ravenhearts stood in the round with the traders of Kragmount to discuss the current state of their country.
“The War of the North is coming!” intoned Johan. “We are here to call you to honor the alliance made with your house.”
Unthuz, with the beard of a farmer and the voice of a man who has seen many winters, responded. “Our leader has not been seen for many days. This alliance you mention was made with him, with no input from the rest of our village, but I now speak for the citizens of Kragmount. We have discussed the matter and come to a decision together. You must understand, we are not warriors.”
“Join us,” Said Johan, “and you will be supplied with everything you need.”
“So we can be thrown on the front lines to die in a war we have no stake in?” Ogzughi responded, in a deep and gravelly voice.
Johan began to sound vexed. These might be the last hope of defending his keep and they didn’t want to fight. “The Morawskis are our enemies.”
“The Morawskis are YOUR enemies,” retorted Ogzughi.
Johan continued, “Here, in this circle, stand the heart and soul of The Crownlands. When I look around me, I see honorable men. I see virtuous men. I see men who believe in fighting for what is right.
The Morawskis do not care for honor. They do not care for Virtue. The Morawskis only care for blood. And it is only blood they understand. That makes them everyone’s enemy. It is time for the good men to unite against injustice and lance this boil from our lands.”
“We have heard you Johan. And your words are true,” said Unthuz, “but we must discuss this further. Look for a pigeon from us in one week’s time.”
“In one week’s time my keep will be dust and I will be dead.” Johan growled. It was clear the discussion was over. Johan turned his back on the circle and left the keep.
I could not understand this. These people were already being threatened by thugs and they wanted to do nothing but hide behind their walls. The blood in my veins began to boil. It was not my place to speak, but I could not hold my tongue. “What do you think will happen if the Morawskis come in force and destroy Johan? And then the Ravenhearts? Do you think they will continue to just pass you by and leave you be? If we do not ally now and stop them together, they will pick us apart one at a time.”
With that I was out of the gates before my disgust could turn into rage. The mercenary life is all I’ve ever known, but I realize there is more going on here and if we just sat on the sidelines waiting for someone to hire us, we may well not have anyone left to pay us. I saw in Tawl’s eyes that he was thinking the same thing.
“We will fight with you,” said Tawl. He was never known to be brief, but when it mattered, Tawl was stoic as a mountain. “Where to now?”
“To Cardinal Aberri’s Abby for a blessing,” Johan directed as he mounted his horse. “If it’s just going to be us, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Winter 1297
It is the eve of battle and Ravenheart Keep is abuzz with preparation. All around me I hear the ringing of blacksmith hammers and the bubbling of tubs. Even with all the activity, there is still calm in the Keep. We are no strangers to battle and no one seemed nervous, even the newest recruits. I was standing on the walls, sharpening my arrows, when I saw a rider approaching with the flag of a messenger.
Tawl met the missive at the gate. He was informed that a rider had been sent out with an announcement to every major house from the Morawskis. Tawl read the message out loud:
“House Morawski hereby has declared a siege on House Rourke. House Rourke
must exit their gates and surrender. They must provide a tribute of 200 flux and
swear fealty to House Morawski. The Rourkes have 1 hour to comply or we will
destroy the gates and kill every man, woman and child in the city.”

“Are we going to help them?” asked Tykado.
“No,” said Tawl, “we will wait for the signal.”
“What if they cannot signal?” said Ty, “What if they were already all dead?”
“We wait,” said Tawl. The tension in the base seemed to grow.
“Riders approaching!” yelled Apollo from the south tower. “It’s the Veligars.”
Tawl approached the south gate and greeted the King through the portcullis. King Matthias addressed him, “Well met, mercenaries. We received a messenger that the Rourkes are being attacked. Will you be riding to their aid?”
“We will be guarding our own walls until we are called for,” Tawl responded. The air of the camp grew colder. This was our leader and he seemed to want us to abandon our allies.
“Very well,” said King Matthias, “we will be riding to the Rourkes now. We hope to see you at the battle.” And with that the King rode on toward Rourke Keep.
I approached Tawl to speak to him. With a hushed voice I asked, “Why are we not riding with them?”
Tawl informed me in a whisper, “The King was seen meeting with the Morawskis last night. I fear there may be more going on here than we know. Johan was to signal us when the siege engines began to go up. They may have been here to keep us from aiding the Rourkes.” As if on cue, we saw white smoke begin to billow over the trees to the south east.
“The Signal!” yelled Tawl. “Ravenhearts, MOUNT UP! We ride to Rourke Keep!” And the Ravenheart Mercenaries prepared their horses and gear and made their way around the base of the Holy Mountain to Rourke Keep.
We rode upon chaos and death. The Rourke’s gate had already been destroyed when we arrived and the trebuchet line was being charged.
“To the fight,” yelled Tawl, as other battle cries sprung up around him. “For Ravenheart. For Glory!” King Matthias was already at the trebuchet when we arrived. It appeared that he was with the Morawskis and defending the trebuchet line but as soon as we hit the ground for a charge, the Veligars began attacking the Morawskis. Tawl the Mighty held true to his name, slaying 5 men and saving my life more than once. In the end, there were very few casualties on our side with the enemy completely routed.
The battle was well fought, the Rourke’s keep was safe, King Matthias had kept true to his word and it appeared that justice had triumphed. The rest of the winter was spent patrolling the north and making sure that all the Keeps of the Northern Alliance were safe.
Though this story has a happy ending and this battle was won, I am no stranger to the horrors of war and politics. I fear this is not the end.  

[Melissasworld29]

While I don't have time to read them all. I enjoyed this story. Thank you

[DarklyNoon]

Wall of text.. will not read.

Silmarillion btw?... tolkien much?

[Lif3forms]

Wall of text.. will not read.

Silmarillion btw?... tolkien much?

found the KoSer, reading is too much hahahah