"In the beginning, the world was a huge amount of powder, without shape or form. Then came the Water of Life, which bound the powder and formed the world."
The Christian religion states that Gods hands kneaded the World into being. Others argue that it was a random mixing of the elements. That a God was involved is clearly proven by the fact that the lands of the known world look like a muddy foot, bathed in the ocean waters.
There si a long uncharted time where man lived a barbaric life in small secular villages and nomadic tribes. Soon trade increased from village to village and man began to travel. This was the beginning of the Greek Empire which lasted 20 Generations. At the end of it's reign, the Greek Empire covered most of the Northern Continent and went as far south as the Sundar Desert, which was pronounced unpassable.
The Greek Empire ended when the Celts attacked from the South, travelling around the Sundar Desert in great ships. The Great War was long and bloody and lasted several generations. The Greek Court was eventually defeated on the plains of Markesh and the remaining Greecians fled into Trieste. The Celtic Empire did not last very long after it defeated the Greeks. Almost immediately, Clans split up the continent into Nations which have evolved into the present countries.
The next major event in History is the Crusades in to Sundar. Nearly 10 generations after the Celts sailed around the Sundar desert, an expedition into the desert came into contact with the dark-skinned Sundarians. The Christian Church then organised a massive Crusade from the North to convert the Sundarians to the "True Faith". It failed at a horrendous cost of life, due to the fact that the Sundarians are fierce warriors and completely at home in the harsh desert environment. Over a third of the Crusade force died without actually seeing combat.
It is only in the last two generations that trade has been established with the Sundarians and there is now a land route between the two halves of the continent, as well as the traditional sea routes.
A map of the known world (B/W or colour or colour).
Thanks to Michael Switzer, for his wonderful rendition of my scrawled map.
The white tiger is the national symbol (some say mythical, so rare is it seen, rumoured to be extinct). White tigers inhabit the snowy peaks of the Cardinal Ranges. The Valley of the Mist is said to be the paradise of the white tiger, and that all tigers go there when they are about to die. The Markesh crest is a rampant White Tiger standing on a rocky peak, with three stars beneath.
The Palace (and Capital) is the City of Triumph. Named after and built on the site where the ancient Greeks were driven into the sea by the Celts at the formation of the Celts Empire. The prince has a palace at Whitecrests.
Although the Celts bought their Christian religion with them, many of the Greek gods are still worshipped in clandestine sects and orders, with shrines hidden in the villages. The Church sends knights about the country to rid the world of these sects and wizards, who are labelled devil worshippers.
Rough Map of Baron Targellan's land
A bed and supper is usually a couple of copper pieces, and a horse is usually a couple of gold pieces. A dowry of 20 gold pieces is not unheard of. Any metal work is usually expensive, especially the forged iron used in swords and armour.
Magical items are incredibly rare and can only be bought on the black market. Anyone the Church finds holding Magical items is killed as a heretic devil-worshipper, and the item is rendered to its components
Next, comes the barons private armies, which are paid by the barons, who in turn get a tax rebate whenever their armies are used to defend the countries borders.
Most cities have their own militia, that patrol the city walls and streets in their leather & chain armour. Most have a pike or halberd and a small sword by their side. Despite this robbery is very common, although almost all thieves belong to a guild and the ties between the thieves guild and the city government is too complex to discuss here.
Go to a story set on this world.
