When the Stars Bled

scribed by
Conscientian Hamchekk
Before we begin our journey one must needs understand the basics of our
world ; the land, the people and their cultures and of course the history. We
will begin with the largest and most fertile of our worlds inhabitants.
Olympiania.
With Luscious forests, green hills and felds as far as the eye can see. Her
famous capital city surrounded by !he "rincess #ing, a circular natural moat
where $ ri%ers meet, bleeding in from the &alted &ea 'Or the salty death if
youre an Olympeon fsherman( ) *ingdom in name but in truth the
Olympeons ha%ent *neeled to a +ing for o%er a century, rather they elect a
council of f%e men to rule o%er its subjects and administrate for the daily
running of its a,airs. ) scholarly man and educator whose wisdom is oft
needed. ) craftsman and architect with his *nowledge of building and
geometry. ) healer who aids the sic* and cures disease. ) cleric with his
learnings of the -ods and spirituality. Last but most importantly in these
perilous times, a Warrior, a bra%e man with s*ill.at.arms and tactical
*nowledge of warfare whose job it is to protect and safeguard the +ingdom
and its people.
!hese men of s*ill and *nowledge ma*e up the /ouncil of Olympiania, *nown
collo0uially to their people as !he 1i%e. But they are not the only power.
holders in the +ingdom, the people still cry out for a leader of high birth and
noble blood, gentle and *ind, chaste and %irtuous, gracious yet strong ; )
"rincess. &o as it is written in the -reen &croll, e%ery winters pass the council
of 2 will gather to debate and discuss their possible choices for Olympianias
new "rincess. ) maiden of no more than 34 years who has yet to spill her
%irgin blood, born from a line of noble ancestry and beautiful to behold. )
pinnacle of regaling, she will be lo%ed admired... Or feared, despised and
e%entually sacrifced should the crops fail or disease stri*e.
!he Olmypeons belie%e that should the -ods disappro%e of !he 1i%es chosen
"rincess then they will ma*e their wroth *nown in the form of plague and
pestilence. Which has resulted in the grisly end for many a would.be
Olympeon "rincess. 5t is said that common superstition amongst the peasant
people is that if the "rincess does not lose her maidenhead on the night of
her coronation then the -od of lo%e and pleasure will curse the people, drying
up the wombs of young girls and congealing the seed of young men, dooming
the +ingdom to a future without a future. )s a result of this superstition, a
second "rincess is chosen, but one born from lesser blood, a peasant girl
more oft than not, with a 6imsy crown upon her head and a drun*en sham of
a coronation she is ta*en from pot.shop to barrac*s, from barrac*s to ta%ern
to be used by the many men who fre0uent them. !o the horror of her family
and to the delight of the -ods..&hould the tale be belie%ed. 7ost li*e it is the
jealousy and lust of common men that causes such brutality and not the wish
of -ods.
Olympiania is, for the most part, a peaceful +ingdom. "etty struggles against
their ancient foe, the +ingdom of Orr8gon, scare reach the mainland. 5nstead
both sides see* to control the &alted &ea by way of piracy, bloc*ades and
sabotage. )lthough this War of ships has been raging for o%er $99 years,
there has ne%er been a formal declaration of war. &hould a %essel be
captured by either side, their crew will be put to death and their goods
sie:ed. &hould a nobleman be captured they are oft ransomed bac*
unharmed, sa%e for a few fngers or toes, grotes0ue trophies for the captain
of their captors ship.
)lthough seperated by the +ra*ens Left 'a stretch of the &alted &ea(
Olympiania oft faces deadly raids from nomadic barbarian tribes from the
north. !hey row their longships, painted blac* with tar, with padded oars in
the blac* of night to burn the northern.most %illages of Olympiania and carry
o, the wealth and women bac* to their huts and ho%els in the free:ing ice.
desert *nown to Olympians as the ;orthern Waste, or to the peasants as the
Wolf Waste 'due to its alleged population of ferocious pac*s of wild, white
wol%es(
!he ne<t +ingdom we shall discuss is *nown as the +ingdom of Orr8gon, or to
the peasants of Olympania, !he Bastards 5sles. =nli*e Olympiania, Orr8gon
is a true +ingdom. With a +ing whos ancient bloodline has ruled the
archipelago since the )treyu con0uest. +ing )treyu sailed his 6eet of ships
from island to 5sland, sa%aging the nati%es and claiming each as his own
domain. 5t is not *nown where )treyu and his companions originally sailed
from, some tales say they sailed from the ;orthern waste, some say from the
!ricaliphate in the south, others yet e%en more fanciful suggest that )treyu
was the -od of war himself, who grew bored of his peaceful life in the
hea%ens and sought to bring bloodshed to the world. !he truth of the matter
is no one *nows where )treyu came from, the story in which his royal
decendants oft preach is that of a monstrous sin*.hole that appeared in the
centre of the &alted &ea andout poured a thousand.thousand ships with
)treyu at the bow of his terrible dromond, Blac*wynd, to claim his +ingdom
by right of con0uest.
Orr8gon is not unli*e Olympiania, in culture or geography. 5t is lush, green and
supports millions of peasant wor*ers who toil in the felds, farms and forests.
7any of its islands contain mines for gold, sil%er, coal and other rich
resources. >et it is %ery unli*e Olympiania in terms of royal succession and
rulership. !he Blac* throne has passed from father to son and to grandson
ali*e, unbro*en, for as long as history records. !he +ing of Orr8gon is the
absolute ruler of the land and seas. Oft considered to be a -od by the
peasants, and some of the more maniacal +ings of old, the +ing of Orr8gon
answers to no man but himself. When the -od of death sees ft to carry him
o,, his son, the "rince of the isles will ta*e his place as the new +ing and rule
thereforth til his death and so it has been since the beginning of and so it
shall be til the end.