Foundation and bedrock.
Something that just came up and out.
A World Changes.
The earth shakes and roars to the new sound of finality. The final tremble removes that old crust. It shakes off the millions of memories associated with it and casts it to the bottomless depths of the ocean. The world has been changed forever.
No longer do we see the Old Kingdom. The other familiar kingdoms have disappeared. The lands where the Invaders came from might be there. But it's all lava flow. It's all gone from the face of the earth, tossed aside as so many motes of dust.
We're left to settle everything that seems inhabitable. None of it seems inhabitable. New forms of life took over, the plants and animals are all different. I think this used to be home but how can I be sure? Everything is defferent. The topography, the climate, the flora and fauna. Even the sky.
The stars look different. No matter where I go they all look different. All the familiar formations gone. The Bull, the bears, The archer, the Crab and scorpion. Nothing is familiar. The clouds glow red, the sky reflects purple. My homeland is gone.
The Intorduction.
I am Haakon Epaphroditos. I am the son to Enyu Ander the Imperial High King, Lord of Dawn, Instructor of Light, Bringer of Peace. I am the Only Child of the Royal Line to sruvive. I blame it on the curse of the Royal Blood. I was born thirty-three years ago in the Royal Chambers of my father's Throne Room. He did not always sit in that chair. I'm told it was a grand thing to see, but nothing so grand as what was built after he made my kingdom.
The kingdom I was supposed to rule was remarkable in itself. My father forged the kingdom with his bare hands from the local lordships of the times to the Imperia that it became. I suppose I should tell you of the beginning. I have the time.
A History.
My father's line runs all the way back to the time of First Kings. When man eventually settled down and stopped their nomadic ways, there were men and women who ruled over them. They didn't do it out of greed but instead they did it out of the best interests of the communuity. One of those Elder-Kings was who I am now descended from. They have successfully held their original lands from those days and managed to expand. Sometimes forcefully, but more often than not, peacefully. It's been hundreds of thousands of years since then.
The Family Motto is "Peace, Wisdom and Generosity." I've always understood it to mean that a a good leader is to be as one with his or her subjects and share their burdens. Become one with the community and the community will understand you and your burdens a little better. Or, at least, that's how I see it. My father has always told me that the wording is what's important, To look at the meaning behind them and act accordingly keeping in mind at all times the motto.
"Peace," he says, "has many meanings. But they all mean the same thing with little variations. these variations are what you'll need to keep the peace."
"Wisdom. Wisdom comes from a life of living and learning. You cannot truly be wise until you've been there and experienced it. You cannot have peace without wisdom and good decisions."
"Generosity... I am not an expert on generosity. I use it as a tool. If you're wise, you'll learn to be generous without giving everything away."
My father grew up as the bastard son to the heir of the throne. The heir's father outlived him. The heir wasn't the right one for the kingdom, he had been greedy and shown and done everything a good king shouldn't. My father was the only son the heir had, and luckily the heir would brag about his conquests and make his private life quite public. The King found my father, a babe at the teat at the time, and raised him as the next heir in line seeing as the King had no other children.
As he grew up as the heir of the kingdom, there were rumors of touble brewing to the North. But they were just that, Rumors. When my father came of an age, he was sent away to learn abroad and gain insight and knowledge of his subjects and the lands bordering his. It was at this time that he saw that things were worse than they were being told back at home. It was at this time that he started to unify the scattered kingdoms under one banner. This banner just so happened to be his own white one.
A little side note.. It is tradition for children of the Royal Blood to choose a color. That is then the color of their (Plain)device, or heraldic emblem, until they either marry out of the family or they are crowned King or Queen. At which time, they may take the device of the family they are marrying into. The Royal Device may only be taken by the crowned King and Queen.
My father rallied the neighboring kingdoms under his banner. Through force of hand and tricky maneuvering, he led those lords and ladies who followed his banner to victory against the invading armies from the north. What they didn't know was the the invaders were being pushed south by a much larger, much more experienced civilization who took pride in their empire and wished daily to expand it.
When my father learned of this, he went swiftly home and informed the ailing crowned King of this dilemma. The crowned King told his heir that they would not, could not afford to oppose this invading civilization. My father stayed for a while trying to convince his King that they should do something and not let the invaders do just that.
It was at this time that he met my mother. As it has been with my bloodline since it's creation, my father met my mother at a fairly inopportune moment. He was only home to petition his king. And, as the Bloodline dictates, it was something akin to love at first sight and they concieved that night. The next day they married. The ceremony, as usual was small and prompt, leaving the larger and more public marriage for a later date. My father rode out within a week, disgruntled with his King's decision.
His next action was to rally more kingdoms and unify them in defiance to the invaders. He gave them direction where previously they had none. He directed manpower to strategic locations and started building of fortifications. He trained troops and participated in directing them in battle. He did everything a good war leader needs to. It took about three years, but he defeated the invaders in many decisive battles. He defeated them so thoroughly and clearly that they swore fealty to him, as if he were the invader instead.
By the time negotiations and treaties had been signed, a total of six years had passed. In the fifth year of my life the King died, leaving my father as King. He wore the mantle well. He traveled for a while still bringing more smaller kingdoms to his banner, but this time in promise of peace and prosperity, not defiance and bloodshed. It was in these years that he gained his titles.
There were ancient kingdoms that promised not to bow to his unless he took the title of their kings and pass it on through the generations. He did so willingly. Not out of ego or selfish reasons, but out of genuine care for the well-being of the community around him. He had a vision of a prospering imperium and wished to see this through. So he did. His empire grew in population, wealth and size. The Empire encompased the known continent by the time I grew to be about twenty five years of age.
My Story.
I know for a fact that the Empire finally spanned the known continent because it was that year that I came upon a discovery that changed the world as we knew it. One of my seven siblings and I were chasing each other through the halls of the Old Castle, (My father bestowed it upon me to rule the Old Kingdom) playing a game that the eight year old wanted to play that day. I was chasing her when we stumbled upon an old and unused corridor near the heart of the castle. We decided to stop the game and explore this corridor with it's musty rooms and their old tomes.
I can remember the doorway and what laid behind with no problem. We had explored all of the other rooms and decided to save this one for last. The other ones contained rows and rows of musty old books and furniture for reading them. We found the content to be rather dry, as it looked like the ramblings of old senile people. But that last door was different from the rest. It looked like it was overlayed with gold. Opening it, it felt like it was made of some heavy metal. I can still remember the first rush of air as the room let it's chill burst out and surround us in a rush. I can remember how there was lazy light streaming through windows, yet we were in the very heart of the castle with multiple floors above us and rooms all around us. After that initial rush of air, I could feel the room inviting me in with new warmth. It felt like a lazy afternoon in the summer where one would feel most comfortable curled up with a book or a lover. As I entered, it felt like I was the only one there and that I was the first to enter in ages. The room seemed to brighten with soft light, illuminating most everything in there.
I could see on the far wall a set of out-dated armour. There were two bookshelves to either side of it. On the wall to the right There were three hangings, each depicting a different kind of disaster overcome. To the left was a great hearth with seating for seven or so. But what caught my eye was the stand in the center of the room on a dais. Upon it was a book of some sort, the cover being the only thing I could see. I went to the stand and in doing so was facing the doorway when I looked upon the pages. What I saw shocked me, I couldn't believe my eyes.
These words were what I read on the pages of the open book: |Haakon Epaphroditos, She cannot be allowed in this room. You will rid her from my presence before I will allow you to begin.|
I looked up to see my sister staring wide-eyed at me from just outside the doorway. I'll never know what she saw, for in the next moment she ran. I know not where, I know not why, but she was never seen again. I've heard rumor that she had started running and never stopped. When she left my sight, the doors to the room closed and a page on the book turned.
|Haakon Epaphroditos, You are of the Royal Blood, are you not? If so give me proof and we can begin.|
I have no idea why I did it, but I took the dagger from my belt and pricked my finger, letting a single drop of blood fall on the book's page.
|Haakon Epaphroditos, You are of the Royal Blood. We may commence.|
I have no idea what this is about and where it will lead, except for what is shown at the beginning. I don't even know if I'll continue from where I left off if I do continue, or even if I will remember where I might be going.
Basically I just spent the last four or five hours churning this out. I don't even know if that's an accurate portrayal of time, since I don't even know when I started. I hope that whoever reads it enjoys. I'd appreciate criticism. Like, where there might be holes, where it drags and all that fun stuff.
Time for bed.
A World Changes.
The earth shakes and roars to the new sound of finality. The final tremble removes that old crust. It shakes off the millions of memories associated with it and casts it to the bottomless depths of the ocean. The world has been changed forever.
No longer do we see the Old Kingdom. The other familiar kingdoms have disappeared. The lands where the Invaders came from might be there. But it's all lava flow. It's all gone from the face of the earth, tossed aside as so many motes of dust.
We're left to settle everything that seems inhabitable. None of it seems inhabitable. New forms of life took over, the plants and animals are all different. I think this used to be home but how can I be sure? Everything is defferent. The topography, the climate, the flora and fauna. Even the sky.
The stars look different. No matter where I go they all look different. All the familiar formations gone. The Bull, the bears, The archer, the Crab and scorpion. Nothing is familiar. The clouds glow red, the sky reflects purple. My homeland is gone.
The Intorduction.
I am Haakon Epaphroditos. I am the son to Enyu Ander the Imperial High King, Lord of Dawn, Instructor of Light, Bringer of Peace. I am the Only Child of the Royal Line to sruvive. I blame it on the curse of the Royal Blood. I was born thirty-three years ago in the Royal Chambers of my father's Throne Room. He did not always sit in that chair. I'm told it was a grand thing to see, but nothing so grand as what was built after he made my kingdom.
The kingdom I was supposed to rule was remarkable in itself. My father forged the kingdom with his bare hands from the local lordships of the times to the Imperia that it became. I suppose I should tell you of the beginning. I have the time.
A History.
My father's line runs all the way back to the time of First Kings. When man eventually settled down and stopped their nomadic ways, there were men and women who ruled over them. They didn't do it out of greed but instead they did it out of the best interests of the communuity. One of those Elder-Kings was who I am now descended from. They have successfully held their original lands from those days and managed to expand. Sometimes forcefully, but more often than not, peacefully. It's been hundreds of thousands of years since then.
The Family Motto is "Peace, Wisdom and Generosity." I've always understood it to mean that a a good leader is to be as one with his or her subjects and share their burdens. Become one with the community and the community will understand you and your burdens a little better. Or, at least, that's how I see it. My father has always told me that the wording is what's important, To look at the meaning behind them and act accordingly keeping in mind at all times the motto.
"Peace," he says, "has many meanings. But they all mean the same thing with little variations. these variations are what you'll need to keep the peace."
"Wisdom. Wisdom comes from a life of living and learning. You cannot truly be wise until you've been there and experienced it. You cannot have peace without wisdom and good decisions."
"Generosity... I am not an expert on generosity. I use it as a tool. If you're wise, you'll learn to be generous without giving everything away."
My father grew up as the bastard son to the heir of the throne. The heir's father outlived him. The heir wasn't the right one for the kingdom, he had been greedy and shown and done everything a good king shouldn't. My father was the only son the heir had, and luckily the heir would brag about his conquests and make his private life quite public. The King found my father, a babe at the teat at the time, and raised him as the next heir in line seeing as the King had no other children.
As he grew up as the heir of the kingdom, there were rumors of touble brewing to the North. But they were just that, Rumors. When my father came of an age, he was sent away to learn abroad and gain insight and knowledge of his subjects and the lands bordering his. It was at this time that he saw that things were worse than they were being told back at home. It was at this time that he started to unify the scattered kingdoms under one banner. This banner just so happened to be his own white one.
A little side note.. It is tradition for children of the Royal Blood to choose a color. That is then the color of their (Plain)device, or heraldic emblem, until they either marry out of the family or they are crowned King or Queen. At which time, they may take the device of the family they are marrying into. The Royal Device may only be taken by the crowned King and Queen.
My father rallied the neighboring kingdoms under his banner. Through force of hand and tricky maneuvering, he led those lords and ladies who followed his banner to victory against the invading armies from the north. What they didn't know was the the invaders were being pushed south by a much larger, much more experienced civilization who took pride in their empire and wished daily to expand it.
When my father learned of this, he went swiftly home and informed the ailing crowned King of this dilemma. The crowned King told his heir that they would not, could not afford to oppose this invading civilization. My father stayed for a while trying to convince his King that they should do something and not let the invaders do just that.
It was at this time that he met my mother. As it has been with my bloodline since it's creation, my father met my mother at a fairly inopportune moment. He was only home to petition his king. And, as the Bloodline dictates, it was something akin to love at first sight and they concieved that night. The next day they married. The ceremony, as usual was small and prompt, leaving the larger and more public marriage for a later date. My father rode out within a week, disgruntled with his King's decision.
His next action was to rally more kingdoms and unify them in defiance to the invaders. He gave them direction where previously they had none. He directed manpower to strategic locations and started building of fortifications. He trained troops and participated in directing them in battle. He did everything a good war leader needs to. It took about three years, but he defeated the invaders in many decisive battles. He defeated them so thoroughly and clearly that they swore fealty to him, as if he were the invader instead.
By the time negotiations and treaties had been signed, a total of six years had passed. In the fifth year of my life the King died, leaving my father as King. He wore the mantle well. He traveled for a while still bringing more smaller kingdoms to his banner, but this time in promise of peace and prosperity, not defiance and bloodshed. It was in these years that he gained his titles.
There were ancient kingdoms that promised not to bow to his unless he took the title of their kings and pass it on through the generations. He did so willingly. Not out of ego or selfish reasons, but out of genuine care for the well-being of the community around him. He had a vision of a prospering imperium and wished to see this through. So he did. His empire grew in population, wealth and size. The Empire encompased the known continent by the time I grew to be about twenty five years of age.
My Story.
I know for a fact that the Empire finally spanned the known continent because it was that year that I came upon a discovery that changed the world as we knew it. One of my seven siblings and I were chasing each other through the halls of the Old Castle, (My father bestowed it upon me to rule the Old Kingdom) playing a game that the eight year old wanted to play that day. I was chasing her when we stumbled upon an old and unused corridor near the heart of the castle. We decided to stop the game and explore this corridor with it's musty rooms and their old tomes.
I can remember the doorway and what laid behind with no problem. We had explored all of the other rooms and decided to save this one for last. The other ones contained rows and rows of musty old books and furniture for reading them. We found the content to be rather dry, as it looked like the ramblings of old senile people. But that last door was different from the rest. It looked like it was overlayed with gold. Opening it, it felt like it was made of some heavy metal. I can still remember the first rush of air as the room let it's chill burst out and surround us in a rush. I can remember how there was lazy light streaming through windows, yet we were in the very heart of the castle with multiple floors above us and rooms all around us. After that initial rush of air, I could feel the room inviting me in with new warmth. It felt like a lazy afternoon in the summer where one would feel most comfortable curled up with a book or a lover. As I entered, it felt like I was the only one there and that I was the first to enter in ages. The room seemed to brighten with soft light, illuminating most everything in there.
I could see on the far wall a set of out-dated armour. There were two bookshelves to either side of it. On the wall to the right There were three hangings, each depicting a different kind of disaster overcome. To the left was a great hearth with seating for seven or so. But what caught my eye was the stand in the center of the room on a dais. Upon it was a book of some sort, the cover being the only thing I could see. I went to the stand and in doing so was facing the doorway when I looked upon the pages. What I saw shocked me, I couldn't believe my eyes.
These words were what I read on the pages of the open book: |Haakon Epaphroditos, She cannot be allowed in this room. You will rid her from my presence before I will allow you to begin.|
I looked up to see my sister staring wide-eyed at me from just outside the doorway. I'll never know what she saw, for in the next moment she ran. I know not where, I know not why, but she was never seen again. I've heard rumor that she had started running and never stopped. When she left my sight, the doors to the room closed and a page on the book turned.
|Haakon Epaphroditos, You are of the Royal Blood, are you not? If so give me proof and we can begin.|
I have no idea why I did it, but I took the dagger from my belt and pricked my finger, letting a single drop of blood fall on the book's page.
|Haakon Epaphroditos, You are of the Royal Blood. We may commence.|
I have no idea what this is about and where it will lead, except for what is shown at the beginning. I don't even know if I'll continue from where I left off if I do continue, or even if I will remember where I might be going.
Basically I just spent the last four or five hours churning this out. I don't even know if that's an accurate portrayal of time, since I don't even know when I started. I hope that whoever reads it enjoys. I'd appreciate criticism. Like, where there might be holes, where it drags and all that fun stuff.
Time for bed.