Post by Random Tree on May 12, 2006 17:25:29 GMT -5
The Ardenia Tavern is situated in the village of Rockhaven, a small farming community in the kingdom of Tulana. The town is just a few miles from the border of the neighboring country of Dekamalai. The two countries are at war with each other, so the border is a battlefront. Rockhaven may be on Tulanan soil, but the loyalties of its residents do not lie with either country. They had relatives and outlying farms on both sides of the border before the war broke out.
When the Archduke of Tulana, Ordon Dasl, came to power about five years ago, he decided that Tulana needed to expand. Modoria to the North had too great a standing army for Tulana to overcome. Shinalar to the east and south had a navy unsurpassed by any the Duke could muster. To the south is an inhospitable desert, inhabited only by camels. There were rumors of a desert people living far to the south, but the desert was not land that Dasl wanted to annex.
This left Dekamalai to the west. It had been wracked by civil war for the past 35 years, leaving its defenses weakened. The people were tired of fighting, and would not resist an invading army. The government itself was corrupt, leaving it ineffective. In short, Dekamalai was exactly what Archduke Ordon Dasl was looking for.
Dasl mobilized the standing army of Tulana first. The battle-hardened troops moved quickly on Dekamalai, storming their hill forts and passes. As their outer defenses fell like so many dominoes, the imperial hierarchy of Dekamalai quickly organized itself to defend from the new threat. They forced and oath of fealty from the various lords for the first time in years, and drew tithes from the peasants. In the short time available to them before the heartland of Dekamalai was breached, they had a respectable resistance force mobilized.
As his troops began to meet organized resistance, Archduke Dasl called upon his reserves of peasants. They were inexperienced, but sheer numbers made them effective in battle. They occasionally were forced to fight relatives, though, and desertion was a common event for Dasl.
As the war drew on, Dekamalai began sending raids of their own against Tulanan targets. Imperial assassins were sent to remove key advisors of Dasl, and succeeded more often than not.
In response to this, the Archduke sent his elite Kampos Guard from their position in Kampos, the capital of Tulana. The guards had seen many campaigns before, but were a bit rusty from lack of practice. They still were able to counter many an assassin, though.
This brings us to the present.
The village of Rockhaven is very nearly on the border between the two warring nations. As the tides of war shift one way and another, soldiers from both sides end up in Rockhaven. It is only due to their neutrality that the village has been saved from being razed by the Dekamalian troops.
The soldiers, when arriving in the village, invariably stop by in Ardenia Tavern. The haunt of many a Rockhavenite, ale flows after the fall of dusk. The normally boring talk of farming and marriages is interspersed by tales from the frontier by the soldiers who stop in. Most grimy and battlestained men simply hunch over their ale, not speaking, but some talk of glory and honor for their country. The tales fascinate the locals. Sometimes, a young farmer's son or daughter gets a whiff of adventure, and takes off to one side or another.
Occasionally, adventurers from neither country show up in Ardenia Tavern. They bring with them tales of far-off lands and great quests of honor, adventure and intrigue, rebellion and repression.
These tales stir in many a young heart the desire to see for themselves. As many young men and women as leave to join the war, leave for adventure.
When the Archduke of Tulana, Ordon Dasl, came to power about five years ago, he decided that Tulana needed to expand. Modoria to the North had too great a standing army for Tulana to overcome. Shinalar to the east and south had a navy unsurpassed by any the Duke could muster. To the south is an inhospitable desert, inhabited only by camels. There were rumors of a desert people living far to the south, but the desert was not land that Dasl wanted to annex.
This left Dekamalai to the west. It had been wracked by civil war for the past 35 years, leaving its defenses weakened. The people were tired of fighting, and would not resist an invading army. The government itself was corrupt, leaving it ineffective. In short, Dekamalai was exactly what Archduke Ordon Dasl was looking for.
Dasl mobilized the standing army of Tulana first. The battle-hardened troops moved quickly on Dekamalai, storming their hill forts and passes. As their outer defenses fell like so many dominoes, the imperial hierarchy of Dekamalai quickly organized itself to defend from the new threat. They forced and oath of fealty from the various lords for the first time in years, and drew tithes from the peasants. In the short time available to them before the heartland of Dekamalai was breached, they had a respectable resistance force mobilized.
As his troops began to meet organized resistance, Archduke Dasl called upon his reserves of peasants. They were inexperienced, but sheer numbers made them effective in battle. They occasionally were forced to fight relatives, though, and desertion was a common event for Dasl.
As the war drew on, Dekamalai began sending raids of their own against Tulanan targets. Imperial assassins were sent to remove key advisors of Dasl, and succeeded more often than not.
In response to this, the Archduke sent his elite Kampos Guard from their position in Kampos, the capital of Tulana. The guards had seen many campaigns before, but were a bit rusty from lack of practice. They still were able to counter many an assassin, though.
This brings us to the present.
The village of Rockhaven is very nearly on the border between the two warring nations. As the tides of war shift one way and another, soldiers from both sides end up in Rockhaven. It is only due to their neutrality that the village has been saved from being razed by the Dekamalian troops.
The soldiers, when arriving in the village, invariably stop by in Ardenia Tavern. The haunt of many a Rockhavenite, ale flows after the fall of dusk. The normally boring talk of farming and marriages is interspersed by tales from the frontier by the soldiers who stop in. Most grimy and battlestained men simply hunch over their ale, not speaking, but some talk of glory and honor for their country. The tales fascinate the locals. Sometimes, a young farmer's son or daughter gets a whiff of adventure, and takes off to one side or another.
Occasionally, adventurers from neither country show up in Ardenia Tavern. They bring with them tales of far-off lands and great quests of honor, adventure and intrigue, rebellion and repression.
These tales stir in many a young heart the desire to see for themselves. As many young men and women as leave to join the war, leave for adventure.