MASSDIN: Mirioth History Pt. 1

Moderators: Gman Russell, Gman Russell

Post Reply
User avatar
Gman Russell
Posts: 3947
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2001 3:31 pm
Location: Russell Castle, Mirioth
Contact:

MASSDIN: Mirioth History Pt. 1

Post by Gman Russell »

I'm sorry, I ran out of time to finish the whole thing, but here is the first part. :kaiser




The Alejian Clans of Mirioth


Terminology
Tract- The specific piece of land that was given to each clan.

Chieftan- The leader of each specific clan.

Great Chieftan- The leader of all the Clans of Alejia.

Alejia- The Cedrist Goddess of Passion and Fury

Clan Council- The ruling body of a clan headed by the Chieftan.

The Great Council- The ruling body of all the clans, presided over by the Count.

Councilor- a specific position that has authority over a specific topic.

Great Councilor- a specific position that represents their specific clan in the Great council.

Blooded- A slang term for referring to someone who is related by blood to a clan.
example: "Why should we help him? He ain't blooded!"

Leechfinger- A slang term that refers to any clan member who relies on his clan without ever giving something back in return.
example: "John is such a leechfinger, he hasn't had a job in three years!"

Cult of the Descendi- An evil, secretive cult that worships deamons.

The Dark City- A slang term referring to the now-ruined ancient capital.

The Noir- County MASS secret police.

the Angel Guardian- Sent by the Goddess Lumina to protect the Russell family, he is immortal and is the only living link to the past.

Mark of Death- An ancient mark given to any prisoner who is to be executed, thus marking him as a fugitive in the event of escape.

The Great Clan Graveyard- A massive, derelict graveyard and necropolis.

Hollow- A hollow is a large, family-sized home commonly found on Mirioth in use by the Clans of Alejia.

Balgurd- Cedrist version of Hell.

Origin and history


Origins
b4205

The modern history of Mirioth begins with the ice age that followed the eruption of the now-dormant volcanoes on the isles of Amity and Mirioth. Killing all the previous inhabitants, it also caused massive problems for the now-landlocked fishing and trading cities on nearby Yardistan Proper. With the massive ash clouds caused by the eruptions, their crops withered and died from lack of sunlight. The fish surounding the island were driven away by the toxins, and trade all but ceased. Facing a dire famine, Darcy Russell, a fisherman from Blissburk, was on the verge of death from starvation, when he recieved a vision.

Alejia, the Goddess of passion and Fury, heard his desperate prayers, and decided to lead him and anyone who would listen, to a new location, where they would be able to find a new prosperity. Upon waking, Darcy felt revitalized, and immediately began to preach of a new land where they would not starve. While the results of his demagoging were... mixed, he found enough families desperate enough to pack their belongings (such as they were anymore) and leave to start a new life. Recieving inspiration from Alejia in his sleep, he led his followers to Mirioth using the new landbridges that had formed after the eruption. Though willing to follow, there was a strong undercurrent of fear that their leader was leading them to one of the islands that had just erupted. As Mirioth came into view, their fears proved true, and only through Alejia's miraculous appearance did Darcy avoid a lynching. She explained to them that though Mirioth was desolate now, soon it would become a thriving land of plenty again. She reorganized each family into one of thirteen clans, and named them each after their patriarchs, who became their first chieftans. She explained the new laws they were to follow, and swore to them each that if they would follow these laws, then she would always provide an abundant life to them. To each clan she gave one specific blessing, as well as one specific ban, divded the isle of Mirioth between them, and vanished in a pillar of fire.

With new-found faith, they each moved to their new tract of land, and began the process of building a new life for themselves.


Early History and the Imperial Period
b4205-b2600

Empire and the founding of Mirioth City
b4205-b3205

All official written records are lost from this era, and only oral traditions and private clan writings remain. Regardless, these oral traditions and private writings speak of the great and glorious golden age of the clans.

The clans of Alejia worked very hard to turn their island from a lava-ruined mess into a prosperous and powerful force in the region. Though they could not match the sheer agricultural potential of their sister island, Amity, they made up for Amity's cash crops with a well-rounded economy. By being able to produce the vast majority of everything they needed right there on the island, they were able to keep prices low, and within a few hundred years became a leading economic force in the Yardistani Archipelego.

Before the eruption of the miriothan volcano, the island had been a colony of the Khaz Modanians. A few decades after the clans had settled Mirioth, a Khaz Modanian expedition ran across them by chance. Expecting the island to be desolate and barren of all life, they instead found that the hardy and industrious clans of Alejia had managed to turn Mirioth back into a relatively stable place to live. They returned to their homelands and reported on what they had seen. The Khaz Modanian Emperor decided that the clans would be a great asset, and that since they still technically owned the island, that they would claim dominion over the Clans of Alejia. Sending a fleet of warships to the North Bay, they landed a small force of diplomats and soldiers, and claimed rule over the island. It is unkown what kind of treaty was established between them and the Great Chieftan Darcy Russell, but that very night the clans fell under the Khaz Modanian Empire without bloodshed.

With newly-opened trade routes to the north, and well-established trade-routes to the south, the Clans of Alejia rose into a golden age. The acting capital of Mirioth was Nordagaat, but within a few years of joining the khaz Modanian Empire, the clans had enough money to create a new capital at the base of Mount Mirioth. They erected an impenetrable castle, named Castle Mirioth, and created a new capital city in its shadow. For over a thousand years Mirioth City prospered. From its strong walls flowed forth a golden aura that lifted Mirioth into a legend.

Eadan and the rise of the Descendi
b3205

In the final decades of the Clan's first golden age, Count Barra Russell and his wife, Countess Julia Russell conceived a son, whom they named Eadan. Though he was the first male heir, he was also the sixth child in their family. Having five older sisters, he was often the butt of all their jokes (as well as their jealousy). As the child grew older, he came into his family's curse (explained later), and began to expirement with the occult. As he grew older, his father decided to retire and pass on the county throne to his son, secretly hoping it would whip him into shape, and out of his increasingly distant relationship with his people. It is said that at his ascension ceremony, as the ceremonial sword was handed to him, a chill wind blew through the hall, all the torches went out, and a chorus of shrill voices cried out.

As the months dragged on, Count Eadan's edicts grew increasingly bizarre, and it was feared by all that their new ruler had gone mad. Barra and the Angel Guardian grew concerned about their charge's seeming lunacy, and visited him one night in the winter. He knocked on Eadan's chamber door, but no reply was given. After a minute of waiting, they simply opened the door and went in anyway. The sight they saw was straight out of a horror story. In the middle of the room, lay a small, dead girl, bound and gagged. Surrounding her was arcane drawings and writings, and a blood-smeared Eadan with a bloody knife. Disgusted and angered by what he saw, he called the guards and Eadan was thrown in the dungeon for murder and consorting with deamons. For days, the Angel Guardian and Barra argued about what should be done. The Angel Guardian argued that he should be executed for his crimes, but Barra simply could not kill his favorite offspring. Eventually, Barra was persuaded that Eadan should be given the mark of death and executed, and sadly gave the edict.

As the guards entered Eadan's cell, Barra and the Angel Guardian sadly looked on from the back. Crying and screaming for mercy, his pleas were ignored and he was branded. As they finished the branding, he bellowed with rage and threw the guards across the room, killing them instantly. Barra and the Angel Guardian drew their swords to fight, when Eadan let loose a furious storm of lightning from his hands. The Angel Guardian was instantly knocked unconcious, but Barra (though injured) remained conscious. Eadan, with tear-stained cheeks, stood over his injured father and vowed to kill him and end the Russell line. Escaping the dungeon and the castle, he fled into the winter night, swearing revenge upon the Gods and those who followed them.

Come the Dark City
b3195

Eadan had not been seen in ten years, and his oath of revenge had largely become a joke in the courts and in the hollows of the clans. Nothing more than a bedtime story meant to scare children into sleeping without a fuss. "Do as I say or Eadan the Mad will come and get you!" they said. Little did they know that Eadan wasn't simply wallowing in madness, but closing the noose around Mirioth City. Barra Russell had once again assumed the mantle of Count, and in a last ditch attempt to have a male heir, had actually managed to conceive another male child. He named his new son Colla, who was absolutely adored by the public.

Every year, on the winter Solstice, the clans assembled in the Great Clan Graveyard to honor their ancestors. As the sun went down on the graveyard, the assembled masses began to wind down their celebrations and return to Mirioth City, when there arose a great moan from the ground. All around them, from the cyrpts and graves arose the dead, brought back to the living by the blasphemous black arts of Balgurd. The attack had been unexpected, and the slaughter was immense. By midnight it was estimated that more than twenty-thousand lay dead at the hands of their undead ancestors. The ranks of the undead then swelled, as every person killed by one of the undead, rose back and joined the horde of undead that was now marching for Mirioth City.

Barra Russell, his wife Julia, their children, and the Angel Guardian, had already returned to the castle and were preparing to sleep when they heard the watchmen's bell sound all across the city. The gates had been left open, since so many were still out at the graveyard, and by the time the watchmen of the walls had realized that they were under attack, the undead had already overwhelmed them. Panic ensued, and within hours the city had fallen to the Cult of the Descendi.

Barra could only watch helplessly from his castle as the city fell below him. He knew that they would not be able to hold the castle forever, and that it was only a matter of time before they too would be slaughtered. Eadan had finally gotten his revenge. He left his perch overlooking the city and called for the Angel Guardian, who had been fighting in the city below. Once he had been found, Barra asked him if he would take little Colla with him and escape the castle. The Angel Guardian vehemently argued against leaving, but was eventually persuaded to leave with the child. As he escaped the castle, he looked back one last time and saw the castle burn.

Bleak days
b3195-b3180

For the next fifteen years, the undead plagued the island, with the various clan militias barely holding their own. Believing that the line of counts had been broken, there was nothing left to unify or lead the various clans except the Great Council, which without a strong leader had become paralyzed by fear and ancient rivalries. The Angel Guardian had left the main island of Mirioth for the smaller island of Dubh, which resided to the west, between two islands to the south and north. It had been given to the Russell clan by Alejia, and the Russell's had used it solely as a private tomb for their dead. An uncharted village had sprung up on the far side of the island though, which had been settled by outlaws and refugees fleeing the undead on Mirioth. Conn Village, it had been named, and it was here that Colla was raised.

Return of the Count
b3180

By the time Colla had turned twenty, he had become a strong fisherman, but had not been told about his noble heritage. The Angel Guardian had raised him as his own son, and had not told him of his past. All of this changed when one night in b3180, he was visited by the Goddess Alejia. He was told that he was the son of the late count, and that his noble birthright was to rule over Mirioth. Inspired by Alejia's visit, yet troubled that his father had not told him about any of this, he ran away from Conn that night and took his catamaran to the mainland. The next morning, when the Angel Guardian had woken up, he discovered that Colla was gone. What happened next is not known for sure, but sometime in the next year and a half, Colla and the Angel Guardian had been reunited, and had begun a military campaign to fight back the undead. By the year b3173, the last bastion of the undead army had been beaten back to the ruined city of Mirioth, now known as the Dark City. As Count Colla was preparing his army for one final assault, he received a message from his scouts that the entire city and castle had been abandonded. Sending a small vanguard into the city, they reported back that indeed the entire remnant of the undead army had disappeared. With no sign of the enemy, Count Colla and the Great Council could not justify the expense of keeping the army together, and so disbanded it. Without enough money to rebuild Mirioth City and the castle, it was also decided that the new capital of Mirioth would stay in the city of Nordagaat.

To be continued...
What follows has lead me to this place where I belong, with all erased.

User avatar
Andreas the Wise
Posts: 5253
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:41 pm
Location: The Island of Melangia, Atterock, Kildare
Contact:

Re: MASSDIN: Mirioth History Pt. 1

Post by Andreas the Wise »

Impressive, I look forward to more. :thumbsup
The character Andreas the Wise is on indefinite leave.
However, this account still manages:
Cla'Udi - Count of Melangia
Manuel - CEO of VBNC. For all you'll ever need.
Vincent Waldgrave - Lord General of Gralus
Q - Director of SAMIN
Duke Mel'Kat - Air Pirate, Melangian, and Duke of the Flying Duchy of Glanurchy

And references may be made to Vur'Alm Xei'Bôn (a Nelagan Micron of undisclosed purpose).

User avatar
Gman Russell
Posts: 3947
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2001 3:31 pm
Location: Russell Castle, Mirioth
Contact:

Re: MASSDIN: Mirioth History Pt. 1

Post by Gman Russell »

Thanks!


...ugh, I have so much to do...


1. Finish the MASSDIN Initiative.
2. Finish the Phoenix Forest story (which bridges into the Nelagan story...).
3. Finish role-playing through 'From Balgurd' in Nelaga.
4. Finish the Passing of the Elves story.
5. Finish the story arc of JASO and Erik.
6. Compile and complete the Yardistani Wiki page.
7.Compile a new Duchal Decree book.
8. Finish the Nelagan Navy Guide
9. Finish paying and organizing the Yardistani Militia

DAMN, BOY!!! :surprise
What follows has lead me to this place where I belong, with all erased.

User avatar
Kaiseress Anandja I
Posts: 695
Joined: Mon May 18, 2009 2:47 pm

Re: MASSDIN: Mirioth History Pt. 1

Post by Kaiseress Anandja I »

You could do as I do, delegate for Erbage. :)
Love and Happiness,

Kaiseress Anandja I
Marchioness of Goldshire
Baroness of Lakhesis

User avatar
Gman Russell
Posts: 3947
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2001 3:31 pm
Location: Russell Castle, Mirioth
Contact:

Re: MASSDIN: Mirioth History Pt. 1

Post by Gman Russell »

I'll get it all done, no need to spend money on delegation. :)
What follows has lead me to this place where I belong, with all erased.

User avatar
Andreas the Wise
Posts: 5253
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:41 pm
Location: The Island of Melangia, Atterock, Kildare
Contact:

Re: MASSDIN: Mirioth History Pt. 1

Post by Andreas the Wise »

It sounds like my list of things to do ... :document
The character Andreas the Wise is on indefinite leave.
However, this account still manages:
Cla'Udi - Count of Melangia
Manuel - CEO of VBNC. For all you'll ever need.
Vincent Waldgrave - Lord General of Gralus
Q - Director of SAMIN
Duke Mel'Kat - Air Pirate, Melangian, and Duke of the Flying Duchy of Glanurchy

And references may be made to Vur'Alm Xei'Bôn (a Nelagan Micron of undisclosed purpose).

Post Reply

Return to “County of Mirioth, Amity, and So-Sara”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests