----Personal note from the main author/idea man------------------------------------ I've always liked to write and tell stories, especially to my kids. However, getting the story from my mind onto paper or word processor has been a challenge. I KNOW the story, the times, places, and events, it just never translates well or uncorrupted once its in print. My processor and memory works great, just the printer has a corrupted cable if you will. I had a discussion with a good friend and she suggested that I put the information down as best as I can, and let others write the stories, especially if I feel the story should be taken/written/read in a journal form. Post it somewhere on the web and let others fill in and extrapolate based on the info I give them. I have no delusions of making money with any of my stories, but if someone were to offer a book deal, everyone who contributed work to the published "book" would get an equal cut of whatever payment if any. This "stuff", "Kingdom", has been rolling around in my head for years. It was a story I always wanted to tell but the dark parts of it was never meant for kids, and I always felt my late wife Mai wouldn't of approved. My daughter however read through it not to long ago and said Mai would've loved it. If YOU, whomever YOU are, are overly religious or completely closed minded you might as well stop reading here. My imagination goes wild, and since Kingdom was originally inspired by a series of reccurring dreams I used to have (nobody likes to admit it, but our dreams get crazy sometimes despite ourselves) there are parts that might make people wonder WTF I was thinking..... Like the "Free Ride".... I've actually tried to pound out a few stories based on the info below but I never get very far. ------------------------------------------------------------------- "Kingdom" By Chris Gresham (I figured if I ever decided to write a book about Kingdom I'd write it as if the story was coming from the journals of random folks throughout the Plains. "Master Dwarf" herself was an avid writer. In my mind the "story" is read by "Serenity", one of Grace's descendants over a thousand years later. She volunteers to maintain the Haven Keep as the current interim government is corrupt and forcefully removes the majority of Haven's residents out of Haven into a new city they claim to be a shining beacon of Humanity, where only Humanity is welcome. Grace as we all know isn't exactly human, and neither are her descendants. As she explores the Keep and it's many rooms she stumbles onto the journals and memoirs of it's ancient inhabitants and reads the thoughts and memories contained therein. After the White King leaves for a shortwhile the interim rulers make a pact on the Dragon Throne to serve in the best interests of Kingdom, if they are corrupt, the throne kills them. The first few dozen years after his departure everything runs smoothly, but after that people stop making the pact and just crown themselves king or queen. Serenity is the rightful interin queen as she made the pact on the throne, but the current interim government doesn't recognize her as anything but a demon not fit to lick their boots. ) What-- The "Kingdom" is the territory of the White King. It's on the 9th plain of hell but towards the end of his reign it encompassed everything down to the 6th plain of hell. The land itself is sometimes referred to as the "Plains". While "Kingdom" is just a simple name, it was chosen because of it's simplicity, ease of translation as every known language on the Plains has a word for Kingdom, and it's neutrality. The White King ruled for centuries and did what no other ruler was ever capable of doing, uniting multiple races, and 3 different plains. He chose to take a sabatical before starting a capaign against the 6th plain, mainly because during all his time as king he always seemed to be fighting. He would try to have a peaceful break, but there would be some little warlord that would start pillaging and murdering and he'd have to put them down, then their buddies would get upset and they'd have to be put down, oh wait their buddies came from another plain so they'd have to be put down as well. Most beings that come to the 9 Plains of Hell don't remember who or what they were before they came. (You can be born on the plains, which you are just like any other baby, or you can "just appear") Maybe 1 in a million have any memories of their past lives with those memories being fragmented at best, and the extremely few that do rememeber tend to become quite powerful. The White King retained all his memories, and while he didn't know everything, he knew enough to point people in the right direction. Like blasting powder, he knew what was in it, but not exact measurements of the ingredients, or how to refine it. But by pointing the dwarven craftsmen and tinkerers in the right direction he made Kingdom a powerhouse on the plains. The same with medicine, engineering, and farming. It seems that science of all types stagnates, the dwarves knew of the ingredients for blasting powder (gun powder), but never once thought to combine them. It's the same with magic, no new magic spells have ever been created. A fireball is a fireball is a fireball, untill the White King came along and gave things a nudge with some creativity. The 9 Plains of Hell isn't most peoples definitions of hell. Their is no firey inferno, no great monster that devourers souls. However, the deeper into the plains you go, the worse it becomes as far as life goes. There are demons, but there are also dwarves, elves, and all kinds of other beings that are just trying to survive. The "monsters" of the 9 plains are usually the various human realms that are constantly at war with everything that's different. Nobody knows how the "White Kings" came about, only that there have been 1000s of them over the eons. When one dies, another one "pops" in somewhere on the 9th plain and everyone magically recognizes him. It's always a male, and 9 times out of 10, they're always jackasses. People can and do die, old age, sickness, injury etc. Nobody knows what happens when you die, but some people theorize that when you die on the plains you get reborn into the "Living World". The world with a sun and a moon. Some people believe that only a valiant death, a death after a life well lived gets you reborn into the "Living World". While others believe that you can only be reborn after slaughtering as many beings as possible in trade for their souls. And still yet, others believe that when you die on the 9 plains you face, oblivion. The 9 Plains are stacked on top of each other.(It's assumed they're stacked, because while traveling through a Super Gate you feel as if you're falling down, or flying upwards depending on where you're going.) Each Plain can be reached by going through a "Gate". There are 2 "Super Gates" that are constantly open on each plain that leads immediately up or down. Mages can open smaller gates to allow travel to any Plain if they're skilled enough at their craft. The Super Gates on the Plains ruled by the White King are heavily guarded by all manner of Golem, Dragon, and beasty imaginable. The Super Gate to the 6th Plain was walled up, the walls around it are so thick that it resembles a small mountain. (instead of a big shiny magical gate, I was thinking of a massive set of ornate stone stairs that spiral up and down to each individual plain. Wide enough for 200 people standing shoulder to shoulder to march up and down them. How high are they? When you look down you can't see the bottom, and from the bottom you can't see the top) As mentioned, there is no sun or moon, there is light during the "day", it's warm, plants grow, but there is no actual sun. The sky is always clear and blue, even when it rains the sky is still clear and blue. There is no dusk and dawn, at 7pm and 7am the sun turns off or on instantly. Characters- Who- The "White King" A somewhat immortal being, he can live forever as long as nobody kills him. While he sits on the throne he's invulnerable, nothing can kill him. Eventually however, he has to get up to take a dump and thats when his loyal subjects have whacked him in the past. Everytime a White King dies, another "being" is seemingly randomly chosen and takes his place to rule. The current "White King" rules with a stern but fair hand, and unites a large part of the 9 plains of hell. He's known for his no-nonsense straight to the point way of speaking, his fast temper and swift and sometimes brutal but always just brand of justice. He sees all beings as equals until their actions prove otherwise. He has demons, were-beasts, elves, dwarves, men, and dozens of unnamed beings united under his banner and most wouldn't hesistate to give their lives for him. The current White King is also the only one that has retained his memories from before he came to Kingdom, which has allowed him to do and know things that have greatly increased his ability to rule. 5ft 10 in. The "Red Queen" She is an immortal with magical abilities that far exceed pretty much everything else in the 9 plains. She is constantly at war with the White King but eventually falls to his forces. It is even hinted that she had a thing for the current White King, but he refused her advances which sent her into a rage, that proved to be her downfall as she wasn't able to control her magic as well, it got out of hand and it's thought that some of her own people actually did her in as the White Kings forces were advancing on her tower. The war between the red and white lasted 20 years. She was 5ft tall but often appeared much taller to look more imposing. "Master Dwarf" A dwarven matron whom is never named or called anything other than "Master Dwarf". She is the keeper of the castle, and the sharp end of the White Kings orders. She maintains the castle, directs the servants, and even rules in the absence of the White King on occasion. She is the only person allowed to speak the Kings real name, also the only person brave enough to contradict him and does so regularly. He considers her his "reality check" and she has no problem playing that role. Master Dwarf is also a fine craftsman, she has designed the majority of the uniforms the various military personell wear, the layout of the city and all of the clockwork gadgets used to distract the King when he gets upset. She admits she is in love with the King, but a relationship with him isn't proper and nearly leaves on one occasion. She serves faithfully for 128 years before she falls protecting the king. She was 4.5 feet tall or there about. She also kept very accurate and indepth records, meetings all neatly transcribed, laws, rulings, favorite foods, her journals are considered "the" history of Kingdom. She encouraged everyone to keep a journal, while quite a few did, most didn't, and even those that did usually followed personal thoughts and opinions in that beings life. Lewis "Short-Stack" Whittman A Human boy caught theiving in the market district. He eluded guards for months and seemed impossible to catch. The White King saw him stealing one day and followed him until he dissapeared without a trace in a dead end alley. The King, at the top of his lungs ordered him to come out of hiding. The boy did so and begged forgiveness, he stated he only steals just enough to live off of and gives the rest to the other homeless kids. The king takes him in and with the boy's suggestions and knowledge immediately sets a plan into action to insure that nobody is homeless and everyone is employed. The King and Short-Stack set up a postal service where the formerly homeless who know the streets and it's people better than anyone work and maintain a first rate messenger service. The King also sets a mandate that anyone who is hungry is welcome to eat at the Kings table. The Keep was always lively with dinner guests, even if the only thing to eat was a few slices of bread everyone was welcome. (this was towards the beginning of his rule, after this thieves were dealt with harshly, there was no reason to steal if you were hungry when all were welcome at the Keep) Short-Stack is very short for a human, never grows to be very tall but is a very fast runner and is the only person that carries official messages for the king. The King claims him as his son and grieves for years after his passing. He serves faithfully for 52 years before succumbing to old age. He leaves behind a son and a daughter and dozens of grandkids. Fully grown he was 4 and a half feet tall. It was a sight to see with him standing next to his 6ft wife. His journal entries usually pertained to how well endowed someone was, the daily joke between he and the White King, and how many times Biry Gar bragged about his beard on any particular day. He does break from his normal routine during wartime when he's on official business carrying messages for the King. His journal entries are heartbreaking to read as he recounts riding on the back of Amarra racing through burned out villages or worrying like an old maid because the King is on the frontlines. "Mahala" A "Warbear" princess. The Warbears are were-bears, bears that can take human shape. Nobody knows the whys or hows of how they came to be nor does anyone really care. In exchange for help with routing bandits and a very generous trade treaty the chieftan sent his only daughter to insure the White King sticks to his part of the treaty. Mahala accompanies the King nearly everywhere he goes, and even allows him to ride her into battle on a few occasions. Fast friends and eventual lovers. They are married for close to 60 years before she passes of old age. No kids. She stood 8 ft. tall in bear form, and 6 1/2 feet tall in human form. (Unlike other were-beasts, a bite from a Warbear doesn't pass on lycanthropy, which also makes some Sages wonder even more how they came to be.) Her journal entries were few and far between. What she did write usually involved her heart-ache at why the White King didn't notice her. Her journal entries stop almost entirely once they marry, and even then she only writes when something weighs heavily on her, like being unable to give the King a child, or when he falls ill. "Garrim Gar" The king of the overland dwarves, the first race to sign a treaty with the White King and the ones most responsible for getting the kingdom back on its feet after the death of the previous White King. He's an old soul and one of the forefathers. Meaning he's ancient! With little haggling he eagerly signs a treaty and commits his subjects to the promise of peace and prosperity for all. Due to a war injury that mangled his face- The magic that was used to heal his face left only moderate scarring and no beard. A dwarf with no beard is just a human girly man, but don't dare say that to Garrim. Garrim is a master golem-smith and his golems and statues can be seen standing guard everywhere. He serves loyally for 18 years before falling to an assassins poisoned blade. As a forefather he was much taller than most dwarves, he stood 6ft tall. His journal entires consist mostly of his golem designs and commisions. He does occasionally comment on the state of the Kingdom. He often disagrees with the King, but openly admits that his methods get the job done and life is better with him in charge than at any other time in history. "Biry Gar" NO RELATION TO THAT BEARDLESS GIRLY MAN! King of the mountain dwarves and fourth to sign the treaty. Loud, obnoxious, and a firm believer that the biggest axe, wins. He is a master blacksmith and has no qualms in teaching others if they want to learn. A father figure to the White King. Despite his brashness he only critiques the king behind closed doors. A staunch supporter, once he signs the treaty he basically hands everything to the White King. He serves for 128 years before falling to an assassin. He and Master Dwarf defend the King with their lives. His beard was 5ft tall. His journal entires consist of how many mugs of ale he can consume before puking, the length of his beard, and bragging about some new joke or riddle he overheard Short-Stack and the King laughing about. Occasionally between the jokes and beard comments he has something deep and thoughtful to say. "Ljos" The Elf queen. ----Never makes much of an appearance in my dreams, she was there but was like an "extra". "Amarra" Amarra is a "Warren", a race of extremely large cats, What they resemble is their role in life. Lions are the leaders, Tigers the warriors, Jaguars the assassins, etc etc. The Warren were encountered during a march on the Vampire kingdoms to put the evil bloodsuckers down. It took a while to earn their trust but once it was earned they were loyal for life. Hunted nearly to extinction by the vampires, the remaining Warren were treated as royalty for the remainder of their lives. There wasn't enough of them left to sustain the species and they eventually died off. Amarra was fast friends with Short-Stack and was often seen carrying him racing down the street. She was Jet black, and fast as lightning. She served for 48 years and passed shortly after Short-Stack, most likely from grief. In the center of Haven is an ancient oak tree. It's at least 100ft tall and 20 feet in diameter. In life, Short-stack and Amarra used to nap under the tree, after their passing, it is assumed the tree out of grief- reshaped some of it's roots into a likeness of the Cat and her boy napping. She kept no journal obviously, but if she could've it would've consisted of "ate breakfast, played with Short-Stack, ate lunch, ran really fast with Short-Stack, ate dinner, played with Short-Stack, held Short-Stack close and purred him to sleep" "Annika" "Anni" is an Amazon warrior sent to observe the White King. It's through her efforts that the Amazon Nation eventualy comes under the rule of the White King. Anni serves as Captain of the guard, and eventually opens a school for girls to learn the Amazonian ways, minus the man hating part. The Elite Amazons fight and die loyally for centuries before the last pure blood Amazon dies. Anni also served as personal body guard to the KIng and is responsible for the death of dozens of would be assassins. Strong, fast, and deadly with a blade staff- A magical staff has a sharp 2 foot blade on the end, the staff can triple it's length instantly and strike with blinding speed. Anni winds up marrying Short-Stack, she claimed that no male could ever best her at anything. So he challenged her to a race. He won, she immediately fell in love and they were married soon after. She serves loyally for 30 years, but dies during the Horde campaigns. Her and a handful of Amazon trainees fend off thousands of orcs and goblins and various other beast races. Her actions showed a level of courage the horde didn't think was possible from the pretty people, withdrew their forces and eventually fell under the banner of the White King. She was also a staunch supporter of the Candle Knights after one jumped in front of her to take an arrow that was meant for her. In her presence, nobody speaks ill of Goblins. She was seen many times writing things down, but no journal was found after her death. It, like many other writings from the White Kings inner circles, would be considered a national treasure if ever found. (If found, her journals would most likely contain troop movements, strategies and thoughts on war, the White King mentioned once that she was probably Sun Tzu in a former life. She was also deeply devoted to Short-Stack, so her journals would probably mentioned him and her jealousy of Amarra, possibly, I don't think she was capable of being jealous really) "Ysuelt" A deformed human male who slips through the shadows like he is one. Rarely does he show his face and most people don't trust him. The White King hired him on the spot to run a spy network, he was chosen because he doesn't like the idea of spying on his own people. What better person to spy than someone with a conscience about doing it. He serves for 20 years and aquires a vast network of snitches, moles and informants before he finally commits suicide. He was charmed and ordered to kill the White King, he couldn't do it and cut his own throat. There is a statue of him in the corner of the throne room where he used to stand and watch everyone. No matter how you look at the statue, no matter the time of day, it always seems to be draped in a shadow. He never wrote anything down, what he had to say he told directly to the King and no other being. "Grace" Grace was a demoness concubine of the previous White King. One of the current White Kings first orders was the release of all slaves, Grace wasn't used to any kind of kindness and thought it a trap so she stayed fearing for her life. She never left and became an advisor of sorts. She possessed and unearthly level of beauty and not many men could resist her, but most only wanted to bed her. She couldn't understand why this White King resisted her. She eventually married one of Short-Stacks children and bore several of her own. She passes after serving faithfully for 128 years, she falls with Master Dwarf and Biry Gar defending the White King. Her great great great granddaughter serves as an interim ruler 1000 years after the current White King leaves. (Master Dwarf believes that Grace is much much more powerful than she leads others to believe, and that her current form isn't what she actually looks like, and to maintain a metamorph such as this for weeks and months would require massive amounts of magical abilities, not even ancient Dragons can maintain their humanoid morphs for more than a few days at a time.) She always had a quill or paintbrush in hand. She wrote fanciful tales of the various peoples exploits to protect Kingdom, and while accurate they tend to be a little on the light hearted side. Her journal entries revolved around her love for the White King, and later on after she married her heart-ache at not feeling loyal to her husband because she still loved the King, but also her husband. "Bork, Fork, and Spork" The 3 goblin musketeers as christened by the king. They lead the "Candle Knights". A small army of Goblins that were rescued by the White King's forces during a seige of a vampire stronghold. They were given their freedom and not knowing what to do with themselves they followed the King's forces and started immitating what they saw. They would pick up weapons from fallen soldiers, form up lines and flank enemy positions with the skill of a trained veteran warrior. They were instrumental in taking several strongholds as their smaller stature let them slip behind enemy lines unnoticed. Later, they were witnessed in an empty pasture immitating the kings forces holding ceremonies to bury their dead, and again later on drilling their troops to step in time, march in formation and practice their skills. The White King approached them after several months and asked for their leader. Bork, Fork, and Spork slinked up to him wearing candles on their heads so that the other goblins would recognize them as leaders, and from that day forward they were christened Candle Knights. Special helmets were made for them that had a slot for a candle to be placed on it. For a goblin, there is no greater honor than to have the king himself light their candle. The Candle Knights volunteer for everything, if the street needs swept, they'll do it, a tribe of berserkers is getting out of hand, they'll handle it. The forward lead of every marching column is lead by the Candle Knights. They are the epitomy of bravery,,, and often stupidity. The better the king treated them, the more they gave of themselves. Eager to please as long as they got a good meal and a pat on the head. Aside from their military readiness, the goblins have proven themselves able builders and craftsmen. While not good with precision, the "artistic" quality of their work is second to none, and even a few dwarven masters have a goblin or two following them around as students. Bork passes away towards the end of the vampire campaigns jumping in front of an arrow meant for AnniKa. Fork looses an arm and is put in charge of guarding the supply tent, but passes defending it from a hungry dragon.( He takes the dragon with him) While protecting a retreating caravan of injured soldiers, Spork blows himself up in the middle of a bridge with a barrel of blasting powder. They are memoralized at the Haven Keep's front entrance as stalwart defenders, never to be underestimated, never to be denied, and never to be forgotten. Female goblins were the sages of the Goblin peoples. Those that could read and write, did so, and were held in very high esteem. They kept the Goblin histories, transcribed through word of mouth. While there are no journal entries of specific Goblins, they do have accurate birth and death records and Goblin exploits far and wide. They also have been charged with maintaining Kingdom's many libraries. Some also have a very bad habbit of rewriting things that are hard to understand into something easier to understand. Why write 100 words to say someone died, when you can just say "he died". "Brunhild" The last living White Dragon. She was ancient in the extreme, and formed a solid alliance with the White King after vampires raided her den and destroyed her eggs. She had been incubating the eggs for centuries, there would be no more if they didn't survive. She joined with the King and his forces providing aerial recon and helping negotiations with the various Ice giant tribes that inhabited the mountains surrounding several vampire strongholds. At the end of the vampire campaigns, Brunhild committed suicide. The Ice giant tribe of the Joltinar used to worship the White Dragons, and after hearing of her suicide asked to join the White King, and provided him with a White Dragon egg that had been in their care for a 1000 years. It never hatched, and is now in the royal museum for all to see and to learn about the histories, triumphs, and losses of all the people that surround the egg. Misc. Infos Dates usualy go from the first year of a new White King being crowned, till he dies. This isn't very accurate, some Kings have only ruled for a day, while most make it to 5 or so years. The Current White King changed the calendar system and named his rule the "New Era". Starting at year 1. NE 1, there are 4 seasons, however they come and go with clockwork precision. The seasons seem almost artificial, always lasting the same length of time every year. 90 days, or 3 months each season. There are 12 months in a year, all months are 30 days long. The major city of "Haven" where the current King resides has pleasant summers thanks to its proximity to a large lake, but often has severe winters. Springs warm up quickly and falls cool down just as fast. There is no moon, and no visible sun, dawn and dusk are nearly non-existant. People trade with gold and silver coins. Large transactions use banknotes, gaurentees of funds written on fancy parchment that any bank will redeem provided they have the necessary funds in their vaults. Counterfeiting is punishable by death. The Adventurers Guild Was originally set up to help fund Kingdom when the current White King took the throne. Kingdom was broke, flat busted, but the King figured there was some folks that could and would be willing to go sack a bandit layer, clear out a cave of undead etc, and wouldn't mind giving up a small portion of their haul in exchange for medical treatment, a base of operations and info on where the next big haul could had. The guild started out small just answering farmers pleas for help, and is now the biggest guild in the Plains. There are always dozens of jobs posted and waiting for some able bodied adventurer to pick up, the loot tax was reduced from 10% to 5%. The adventurers are asked that anything they don't need be sold at reduced prices to the Kingdom but nobody is punished if they don't, but most do. Info on bandit layers, rogue dragon's, and all sorts of beasties is freely traded in guild halls across the plains. The greatest treasures in the Kingdom, and wielded by the White King and his forces have been donated by the many adventuring parties that come and go. At times of need, adventuring parties of the highest renown act as special forces for the Kings armies, they're instrumental in many campaigns. Many soldiers once finished with their tours elect to sign up with the Adventurer's Guild and serve in that manner. Goblins, ESPECIALLY the Candle Knights, are banned from the Guild. Crime and punishment- Most crimes are punishable by death, while this seems harsh, crime is nearly non-existant. All crimes go before a 3 person tribunal, if all 3 agree, it's death, if even 1 disagrees it's innocence. Some crimes have special rules. Cheating on your spouse falls into a special rules category, as does travelers from foreign lands. If you're a woman cheating on your husband, you have all your worldly possessions stripped from you, clothes taken away, a tattoo that says "Free Ride" inked across their backs, and they're forced to walk naked for the rest of their lives to be used as any being sees fit.(although it's illegal to intentionally injure them) Men have thier member removed, stripped of their clothes, and they're used as slave labor. This is the only legal form of slavery allowed and they are generally used for some of the most back breaking work that needs to be done. Suffice it to say, nobody cheats on their spouse. Marriages tend to last for life. Divorce is not frowned upon, but people are encouraged to get to know their lover before taking their vows. Foreign travellers are allowed leniency based on the crime. More often than not, they're ejected from the Kingdom never to return under fear of death. Murder is punished in the same way as the murder was done. If you killed someone with poison, then you're killed with poision, you strangle someone, you get strangled. Rape involves having large red hot pokers put in places where these objects don't belong. Suffice it to say, only the most foolhardy or desperate commit any crimes in Kingdom. "Haven" The seat of the Kingdom. It's the largest city in Kingdom and boasts the most diverse population of beings across the entire plains. Every kind of elf, dwarf, demon, spook and boojum imaginable live there and go about their daily lives. It's so diverse because of what the White King calls his "Dimensional Market". Gates to every place imaginable are available for travelers and merchants. The city is built in a wheel shape, the market is in the center, and major streets leading out like spokes. The Kings keep sits at the northen end of the wheel over-looking all of Haven. The market guards are straight out of the military and are ready for anything. The occasional nasty manages to slip through a Gate but between the merchants protecting their own interests and the guards most incidents are over long before they start, and anything nasty is usually executed on the spot. While the King encourages the different races to live together, most tend to stay in their own neighborhoods. Dwarves have their own section of the city, elves in their own, humans tend to mingle freely with both. Demons of all types tend to stay close to the castle keep because while the King has ruled that they're just folks like anyone else, inevitably someone picks a fight with them. Plus, despite the Kings rulings, some demons are just flat out malevolent and need to be watched. Generally the fastest way to tell which District you're in is just to look at the architecture. Dwarves love stone, elves wood, humans a mixture of both etc etc. The Market district is lined with Inns of all kinds. Big and fancy to small rat holes just perfect for a goblin. The higher class Inns and entertainment venues tend to be above ground, while the lower class venues tend to be just below street level. The eastern edge of Haven is reserved for the more draconic visitors. At any one time their are at least a dozen dragons of all types in Haven not counting the more or less permanent residents that call Haven home and lend their strengths to maintaining the peace. Nobody is allowed into the Dragon district without invitation, to show up uninvited could get you eaten, however that only rarely ever happens, most times a being just gets chased out with slightly crispy hair. The western edge of the wheel is home to the various guilds. The Farmer's guild is by the far the biggest guild hall, a being can attend classes free of charge here. You can have a guild rep survey your farm and offer specialized training for the type of land a being's farm sits on so they can maximise crop growth. This is also where a being signs up for the "Farm Loan." The Mage's and craftsmen's guild halls are also here. They're more or less self explanatory. Anyone can sign up for training in the use of magic, but magic over all is carefully regulated and any use of magic without belonging to the guild is punishable by death. Power without wisdom has caused many a fire and the king put a stop to unrelegulated magic as a result. The Craftman's guild, like the mages guild, is a place where anyone can sign up for training. Generally, specialized training is guided and regulated. If the city is short on blacksmiths then people will be encouraged to go that route, over say becoming a Joiner. A person is allowed to choose whatever they want, but rewarded for choosing a career that is needed, and if a being is good at their craft they can become quite rich just from contracts from Kingdom itself. The best of the best students can eventually apprentice under one of several masters always on staff. Kingdom's Central Library is located here as well. It's one of the biggest buildings in Kingdom, and also serves as a museum. It is mainly staffed and maintained by several hundred Goblin wives and daughters and like their husbands and fathers, take their jobs very seriously. In the beginning most of them couldn't read, but that changed quickly. Their are hundreds of miles of tunnels under the main library leading to the various branch libraries across the plains. A being can order a book, and a goblin runner is immediately dispatched via Krick-Lizard or pony and in a day or so the ordered item is delivered. Most of the tunnels are actually to narrow for a mount, or anything bigger than a Goblin to get through. This was intentional so as to keep any malcontents from using the tunnels. The southern end of the wheel/Haven is the Great Gate. The city is surrounded by a large stone wall, and other than flying or gating/teleporting in, the Great Gate is the only way in. It's almost always open and a large guard presence is always stationed at the gate. The city of Haven itself is mostly completely surrounded by farm land, carefully layed out to maximise land usage. The Northern part of Haven sheers off into a large lake. The roads are constantly patrolled by soldiers on Krick-Lizard/horseback. (Krick-Lizards are large bipedal lizard things, they stand as tall as a horse, but run immensely fast with a light weight rider. They're kind of stupid (read, stupid as a bag of wet hair), but loyal to a fault. They get their name from a couple of feathers on their heads that flap in the wind and sound like crickets chirping. They're not as physically strong as a horse, but again they're much much faster than a horse so they have their uses.) Kingdom boarders the Amazon nations far to the south where the jungles grow. They are their own seperate entity but enjoy military/financial support when needed in exchange for troops, advanced training, and various goods the Amazons get out of the jungle. While no where near as large as Kingdom, the Amazon military is by far the best in the Plains. Far to the north, just before the land turns to snow year round, live the Warbears. While not a single sovereign nation, the various Warbear tribes have joined into an Elder Council which speaks for each individual tribe. The council itself acts as a Nation state to Kingdom. The people of Kingdom are free to travel through Warbear lands as long as the rules of whichever tribal lands you're passing through are followed. It's not uncommon to see a group of Warbears in bear form sauntering through Haven like they were born and raised there. It should also be noted that almost all orphanages in Kingdom are staffed by a majority of Warbear maidens/matrons, if not entirely by Warbears. Major cities-- "Unterholme" is the capitol city of the Mountain Dwarves. It started out as a city inside a mountain, but after centuries of expansions it "is" the mountain now. Great wars-- (not in order, in my dreams they were out of sequence, if going by when people died the wars were out of sequence) "The Red Campaign" When the White King first arrived the Red Queen immediately set upon him trying to seduce and sweet talk him to her way of thinking. Any lesser man may have sided with her, and at first the King was cordial to her. Till he found out how she did things. While the King may be harsh on crime, he would never hurt anyone just for the sake of hurting them, or to see how far someones entrails could be pulled out till they died, or burn people alive because the smell was aromatic. Once he found out what she was like, he was dead set on ending her existence. She already had a large standing army, and at the beginning of the war she was quickly demolishing the White King's forces, but a clever planning and plotting on the side of the king forced the queens troops to disturb a sleeping Great Horn dragon. It was pissed, and it slaughtered thousands of her troops and razed dozens of her cities and fortresses before it's rage was sated. That stalled her advance and gave the King long enough to strike back and retake much lost territory. Also, thanks to the King's intact memory he was able to teach the dwarves about gun powder, and the day they started deploying cannons is agreed upon as the day the Red Queen lost the war. The White King favored ranged warfare, ballistas, cannon, long bows, wipe out as much of the advancing enemy as possible, "blacken the sky" usually signaled a massed volley of arrows, enough to literally darken the sky and lay waste to enemy troops. "The Viking Campaign" The White King called them Vikings, everyone else just called them barbarians. Making a treaty with the Warbears pissed off every Human and Orc barbarian tribe across the plains. While this war eventually became nothing more than a training excercise for the White King's forces, the loss of life was unfortunate. The barbarians would not negotiate, they would not see reason, it seemed all they wanted to to was throw themselves on a sword, and the White King had the biggest sword. By the end of the second year the barbarians were all but extinct. There are a few tribes out there somewhere, as they still occasionally raid settlements on the fringes of Kingdom, but they rarely kill anyone and rarely take enough to put that settlement in danger. The settlements that get raided the most often are frequently sent "lightly guarded" shipments of foodstuffs and necessities for the Vikings to steal. "The Blood Wars" The Red Queens final act before her death was to lift the veil and reawaken vampires into the plains. At first there were just a few, but they weren't hunted down fast enough, and after a few years they were in the thousands. They settled into small fortresses and at first left well enough alone. Only the stupid dared encroach or attack the White King or his allies. Eventually a brother and sister managed to start uniting them under one banner, and they started to pose a major threat to the other peoples of the plains. Entire villages and cities would vanish overnight and the White King once again took up arms and went to war. At the beginning of the war the lack of tactics from the vampires was their downfall. 1000s would be destroyed before they even got into melee range by the massed volleys of arrows, but it didn't take long before they started using their innate advantages and showing some intelligence in their manuevering. This war raged on for years, back and forth, the loss of life was staggering but the White King persisted, even riding into battle himself with a specially made sword that protected him from the bites of vampires and could cleave a blood sucker in half. A well timed full treaty with the Amazon Nations and the formation of the Mage's Guild was the eventual turning point in the war. The Mage's Guild hastened the teaching of a minor cantrip meant to light a person's home with sunlight. Between the Amazon's advanced battle strategies and hundreds of apprentice mages casting an insignificant "light" cantrip the vampires were demolished. Currently there is a bounty on vampire skulls, it's every adventurers dream to find a living vampire because their skulls are literally worth the adventurers weight in gold. "The War of Rights" The White King was always an advocate of letting a being's actions speak, not their heritage. If a demon wanted to live in Kingdom, and could "keep their nose clean" then they were welcome. However, not every being believes in this philosophy. The Bantor were a group of Humans that felt only pure blood Humans had any rights. Slavery of a pure blood Human was an abomination, however, a mixed heritage human wasn't good for anything but slavery or death. Any being that stood in their way and didn't believe exactly the same way they did was cut down. With Kingdom being an advocate of equality, harboring terribly evil monsters of all types, and enslavng pure blood humans, even if they were criminals, it was inevitable that these 2 mighty behemoths clash. At first the White King tried to reason with them, they were equals as far as ground forces went. However, the White King by this time had dozens of dragons at his call, and they were all willing to raze entire cities if so ordered. The Bantor, who had never lost a war by this time, whom every citizen upon their 15th birthday was immediately drafted and served a minimum of 5 years were quite full of themselves. The final attempt at negotiations broke down when the Bantor negotiator found out the White King favored a Warbear. Mahala was a beautiful woman, graceful, elegant, and the only reason the Bantor ever found out what she was, was because the King was trying to prove a point that not everything non-human was a monster. The negotiator drew a dagger and lunged at her, by this point she was completely shape-shifted and decapitated him with a swipe of her mighty paw, his head went rolling out of the door right in front of some Bantor retainers and the entire camp broke down into a bloody brawl. A baby proto-dragon that the White King had adopted ended the brawl with a couple of roars, the remaining Bantor troops ran and the war was on. The Bantor, like the barbarians from the Viking Campaigns, absolutely refused to give up. Bantor city after city was razed, no prisoners were ever taken as the troops would slaughter their own citizens if they thought their city was lost, then fall on their own blades. The final stronghold of the Bantor was a fortress of a city. It would've taken months, possibly even years to lay seige to the city. Even the dragons feared to attack because the walls were lined with ballista. So the White King set up camps surrounding the city and just waited. After a year of doing nothing, and hearing nothing out of the keep, a dragon was sent to do some recon, and the city appeared deserted, so the dragon opened the gates, and the King's troops found 1000s of Bantor, dead. Some from suicide, most killed by their own troops. The King of the Bantor however was alive and well, he was walled up in his keep with enough supplies to last for years. As punishment for his crimes against his own people, he was locked up for the rest of his life, he was given just enough food and water to sustain him but not enough to keep a healthy weight. He was kept at a state of starvation for 15 years before he managed to kill himself. It was later found in various journals from common folks and foot soldiers that they would've surrendered if not for the fear of losing family, or being shot in the back by their own people. All Bantor cities, except for their capitol city were razed into ashes, and forests were allowed to reclaim the land. The capitol is now a monument to what happens when fear mongering, stupidity, and religious zealotry is allowed to rule. Religions There is no Christianity, Judaism or Islam on the Plains. The current more or less dominant religion on the Plains is ancestor worship.(kind of like Shintoism) It has no official designation but most beings practice it. Singing the praises or curses of a persons ancestors. There are some that worship the various Dragons. Most Dragons don't encourage this, but a few find it interesting and will readily protect and give boons to those that have performed good/bad deeds in the Dragon's name. (not all dragons are good, they run the gambit of personalities just like everyone else) The Elves practice Druidism, or something pretty close to it. It has many different subsects but they all follow the same banner. Many barbarian tribes practice Shamanism and worship various animal spirits. The various vampire tribes/cities/kingdoms all worship a demon called the "Night Weaver". Supposedly the mother of all vampires. The kingdom of the Bantor worshipped a being they called the "Almighty" and according to his teachings only the Bantor had any rights. In Kingdom, the White King frowns upon open and organized religion. He stated once that organized religion has been the single most destructive force in the Living World. The worst atrocities ever commited have been done in the name of one god or another and it will not happen in Kingdom. He went on to say that he will not outlaw religion, but it will not be openly practiced, and no symbols of the various religions will be openly displayed. The vary nature of religion is one of strife and intolerance and that goes against the core of Kingdom's beliefs, that a beings actions are what that being is to be judged by, not his choice of god, race, or color. In the beginning there was a little strife and disobedience about his ruling, but that was quickly ended when the perpetrators were executed on the spot. Beings that live in Kingdom and practice their beliefs do so in their own homes and cause no problems. Beliefs that require certain things, like not eating certain kinds of foods, or not working certain days of the week are allowed and not punished, but most folks are grateful for the lives they live, the prosperity under the current White King is unprecedented and unlike anything any of the previous White Kings have ever accomplished. Many of the beings that would normally take a day off are happy to show up for work through the week. (Nobody is required to work on the weekends if they don't want to, nothing is open but Inns and the Dimensional Market) Education Education is provided free of charge to anyone that wants it. Reading is encouraged and learning multiple languages is also encouraged and rewarded. There are many schools throughout the various cities whose doors are always open. If you want to learn to read, just show up. Children of parents who need their kids to work get payed to go to school. Their pay is based on their grades so many children do exceptionally well so they get payed more. Higher learning is also free to some extent. If you go to college and learn to be a banker, you're expected to take up a position as a banker and go where ever you're needed anywhere in the Kingdom. Most people choose trades over the intellectual pursuits. Blacksmithing, Masonry, and Carpentry acedemies are always full up, but the colleges are catching up turning out teachers, engineers, and even the occasional artist and writer. The more expensive and time consuming the class, the more likely you'll be drafted by the government to be used as needed. It works the same as being in the military, 4 years in service to the Kingdom, then 4 years in whichever city or village you're needed most in, then you're free. Military At the beginning of the "War of Rights" the White King had the largest standing military on the Plains. Hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers, 1000s of werebeasts of various kinds, 100s of demons, 100s of dragons, to look out upon a military procession was a sea of brave men and women that would take days to march by at a brisk pace. Promotions were based on merit, not on wealth, and it wasn't uncommon to see an Orc or Demon leading a platoon of humans as it was to see a human leading a group of orcs or demons. Military service is mandatory for every being turning 18. You serve 2 years, then you're released into the reserves. (these are the people that don't want to be in the military long term) Beings that volunteer serve 4 years, then are released into the reserves if they choose, or can go ahead and muster out. Most beings that volunteer stay in for life. Bandits have found it hard pressed to sack outlying rural villages because those poor defenseless farmers sometimes show up in full armor and freshly sharpened blades to defend each other. It's not uncommon for poor defenseless farmers to bring in some of the more notorious outlaws in the Plains. The reserve forces help out during natural disasters, defend each other until the regular military shows up, and in general police themselves in the outlying villages. Humans make up the bulk of the miltary. After negotiating with the many Orc clans on the 8th Plain, Orcs now make up the second largest portion of beings in the standing army. Followed by Dwarves, Elves, Amazons, Warbears, Goblins, Were-beasts, and Dragons. The number of Dragons is always fluctuating, literally day by day. If one is flying overhead and sees the forces of the White King they'll generally lend a hand, but most of the time they just stop by to get a free meal, if that means snatching up a few bad guys, so be it. A tenuous relationship with several were-beast tribes has brought them into the rank and file of the military. They're generally used to infiltrate enemy encampments at night, or to raid fortified cities and raise hell. Only the most stable are ever allowed into the military and they're watched carefully. Since their introduction into the military they've had very few issues compared to say, Humans who get a little loopy in the head and start raping and pillaging, which by the way, is punishable by being drawn and quartered. Military tribunals are non-existant. A mage specialized in mind magic "reads" a persons mind and if they're guilty, they're executed. Almost all Goblins are members of the Candle Knights, those that aren't are usually working with the Dwarves as sappers or with an Elf as a spy. When it comes to bravery, Goblins have no equal. They are tried and true, give them a kind word and they'll die for you. Commanders that abuse their Goblins are disliked in the extreme, and tend to have "accidents". You need a castle wall breached, you call the Candle Knights, a Dragon being cranky, there's a good chance that a battalion of Candle Knights is already on the march. They live to please, and nothing pleases them more than having their candle lit by the White King himself. Over the years they've tempered their stupidity so they can actually live long enough to get their candle lit. Former Knights that have been injured, or just gotten to old are welcomed into rural villages with open arms. Bandits upon hearing a Candle Knight resides in a village tend to give that village a wide berth. C Knights are tenacious, if you don't hack one to pieces they'll keep coming and nobody wants to deal with a rabid chihuahua that carries a sword. The White King forcefully retires Candle Knights that have gotten to old, they don't like it, but they're free to do whatever they want. It's not uncommon to see roving bands of retired Knights traveling from village to village doing whatever needs to be done. Bandits, no problem, gardening, no problem, give them a kind word and a purpose and they'll take care of it. Despite being Goblins, they are the very picture of bravery and they are respected for it. Dwarves don't tend to put to much work into the front lines of a battle. They prefer blowing stuff up with their new fangled cannon. Their are a few Dwarves that put their time in on the line, they tend to be Berserkers wielding axes bigger than they are, Hunters with a big ass trained bear at their beck and call, or Druids busy healing troops or making mischief by causing lightning to fall from the sky. Elves tend to be Mages, Archers, and Spies. They, like the dwarves do occasionally make their way to the front lines as Druids and Swordsmen. Elven Swordsmen generally dual wield long swords and are hard to stop once they get some momentum built up. Elven Druids tend to be shapeshifters, prefering big cats that rival even the Warren in strength. Elven Druids also have power over nature itself. It's not uncommon to see a tree uproot itself, go stomping across a battlefield then plant itself in a new location. They don't stay active for long but it's really not necessary. Amazons are always women, they never practice magic, and are always front line troops. Most use Bladestaves and position themselves just far enough apart that they can make full use out of their staves reach. They are vicious, some say even heartless in battle. They don't take prisoners, and they're never set loose in a civilian populated area. Since an incident with a Candle Knight sacrificing himself for an Amazon, they'll rush to the aid to a platoon of Candle Knights without hesitation. They will take orders from a male, but if that male doesn't, or hasn't shown bravery equal to their position, they'll be ignored. They're no nonsense, all business and pound for pound, the absolute best soldiers on the Plains. Retired Amazons are generally shunned by most communities because of their brashness, so they tend to form their own communities. Unlike many retired soldiers however, the Amazons actually do retire, they'll take a husband, build a farmhouse and retire into anonymity. To them, that is the best reward for a well served life. Amazons have started adopting homeless girls and prostitutes and training them in the ways of the Amazons. Not many make it very far, but they still tend to make good soldiers. The younger the girl is taken in, the more likely she is to actually survive training. If a girl satisfactorily impresses an Amazon elder with her skill, she is then given full rights in the Amazon Nation itself, should she choose to live their. It doesn't take very long for the Amazon Nations leadership to warm up to the White King, mostly through the efforts of AnniKa. He's a male to be respected, he takes it personally when any being dies under his care. Everyone is family, and everyone is to be respected until they prove they don't deserve it. The Amazonian Queen spent much time in the presence of the White King. Some even thought they might marry, especially after the death of Mahala, but it never happened. It is speculated however that she left with the White King when he went on his sabatical since she dissapeared at the same time he did. Several platoons of Humans and Amazons have started carrying shields with the picture of a Candle Knight helm emblazoned on it. The "Knights of the Candle" as they have come to call themselves, hundreds of elite Human and Amazon (and a couple of dozen other races) soldiers are becoming just as feared and respected as their little green counter-parts. They tend to march side by side with the Candle Knights, act as their voices if needed, and tend to try and curb the "stupid" so many Goblins display. The White King calls them his "Paladins" and allows them to act as they choose without oversight as long as they serve the interests of Kingdom and it's people without selfishness. (When I originally dreamed this stuff up, the Candle Knights and their Paladin counterparts had a mantra they'd chant just before a battle, I could never "hear" the chant in my dreams, so I never knew what it was. But later on I found a little poem on the Warcraft message boards called the "Litany of a Paladin", and it fits what I always envisioned them saying. I take NO credit for this, and I don't know who wrote it. I got it from the WoW message boards years ago) "My comrades are my weapons, and I am their shield. While I draw breath, they shall not perish. So long as they live, our enemies will fall. I am defender, protector, guardian. I am a Paladin. " The Litany of a Paladin It was a sight to see and hear a couple of hundred Candle Knights and their Paladin companions wading through a battle chanting the Litany as they destroyed their foes.