The Kingdom of Teralon is a territory spanning around 2,500 miles, covering the fertile grasslands of the Teralonian Heartland, the great Faelian River and the prosperous river valley towns beside it, portions of the eastern woodlands, and much of the Calisian archipelago to the south. Trade has kept the King and his loyal subjects rich compared to the citizens of other nations or city-states. Sansam, a plant popular for smoking (sansam cigars are worth even more than our Cuban cigars) and drinking (sansam tea, a soothing drink, and sansam beer, a strong alcoholic beverage of the Calisians, are popular throughout the kingdom), is harvested by the wealthy and enjoyed by nearly all nations on good terms with Teralon. Note that there are few independent nations left that have the nerve to stand up to the Teralonians. Royal Dragoons have stalked the countryside for centuries, quickly and without a moment’s hesitation putting down any rebellion or disruption of the peace. Their means may be cruel (entire villages have been burned and their peasant populations killed for the rebellious planning of three or four men), but their cruelty has ensured order within the King’s domain, and few have complained about their actions until very recently. King Hyron the Great ruled during the peak of Teralonian power. When he first took the throne, the current domain of Teralon had consisted of three smaller kingdoms: the Kingdom of Greater Teralon (the current nation), the Kingdom of Calis (the southern archipelago), and the Kingdom of Herennor (the eastern woodlands). By the time he died, sixty-six years later and thirty-nine years before the present-day, Hyron had unified Teralon through warfare and diplomacy. For while it had been easy to negotiate with the Herennite king, as Mezzanite warriors literally knocked on the walls of Herennite cities and the King had no men to spare, the Calisians had to be burned, sacked, raped, and pillaged into accepting Hyron’s annexation. His incompetent son, Prince Tyrian IV, was king of this unified nation for only six years. His drives to increase taxes and force the Herennites and Calisians to commit to unpopular wars in the eastern forests quickly angered their kings, who proceeded to storm the Teralonian capital and demand their independence. In a meeting with his top advisers in a locked conference room within the Royal Palace, Tyrian refused the demands of the Herennites and Calisians, and his advisers slew him on the spot for the sake of the Kingdom. Tyrian’s son, Hyron II, was just one year too young to rule the kingdom officially, so Tyrian’s advisers took over in the meantime, reuniting the Herennites and Calisians under the Teralonian banner and returning Teralonian riflemen from the unpopular eastern theater. Hyron II is the father of our protagonist. His thirty-three years on the Teralonian throne went well for the first thirty-two, but a series of dramatic events turned it for the worst, and defined a new chapter in Teralonian history. Armies from the Mezzanite Empire fired rifle and cannon through lines of Herennite riflemen, soundly defeating them in six consecutive battles and allowing the Mezzanites easy access to the inner Kingdom. The entirety of their army bogged down in battle against top Mezzanite generals near the Imperial capital, Teralonian war planners had expected the Mezzanites to fall back and defend their capital. Instead, with a force of 500,000 men, the Mezzanites marched all the way through the Heartland, offering salvation from their wrath to passing villagers in return for a pledge of allegiance to the Emperor. In that palace, Hyron II, Queen Catherine, and his three-year-old Prince Hyron III, had locked themselves within the gates, confident that the Dragoons could pull through, all six hundred of them, and defeat the single largest military force in history. On the contrary, the Mezzanites simply marched in with nearly no opposition, greeted anyone stupid enough to resist with bayonets and shot, and casually imprisoned the Royal Family within their own palace. It was then that Hyron II betrayed not only the Kingdom, but also his very family. In return for being able to survive the Mezzanite occupation, Hyron II had to conceal his identity and travel to the city of Eastern Calisia, where he was forced, under surveillance from the new Teralonian Secret Police, to live out the remainder of his life as a butcher and observe his young son’s upbringing on a nearby sansam plantation. Thus began the life of Hyron III, the Red King. --- I've thought of this as the background for an RTS or TPS, but the actual game that could be created from it is still in the air. If it does become part of a game or series of games, Hyron's bildungsroman and ascension to the throne would either be part of the first title (and one of three points of view) or a legend that occurs two to three hundred years prior to the first title.

The story seems good. That "sansam" sounds cool ^^

I don't really understand some aspects :
1. Who is Mezzanite empire? I think there's not enough description on it.
2. Is the era medieval or renaissance or what?

1) I came up with the Mezzanites on the spot when I realized that there was nothing for the good guys to fight. Culturally, the Mezzanites draw heavily from the Ottoman and Persian Empires, but with several key differences.

2) This is really a world in itself. Military tactics are similar to those of the first half of the 20th century (no 19th century line formations and colorful uniforms), military technology similar to that of the late 19th century (bolt-action rifles, cannon, rare Gatling-style repeating cannon), manufacturing techniques dating back from the early 18th century, and politics from the 11th century. What results is a truly unique world; cultures and times from our worlds are blended and changed subtly as not to seem ridiculous, and there are as little blatant anachronisms as possible.

[Edited by - gclark03 on September 23, 2007 5:48:13 PM]

I like it, the blend of cultures is kind of similar to Fullmetal Alchemist (although more realistic).

Your an awesome writer, maybe you should make a detailed story about Teralonian history. Sounds more of a book (or movie) than a game.