Transcript of Cal's History Lecture

[Cal Soulshadow]

I will keep it brief as my ship fer Gorimdor leaves at first light
A'right, so we have a mixture here, some Kaldorian born, who will know the history...and some not. This is mainly fer the benefit of those who are unaware of our past.
I'll start with where we're now standing...Britannia, as it is teday...but long ago it was known as Akalabeth. Akalabeth was ruled over by King Wolfgang, a fair and wise man. Unfortunately fer him, his youngest son was ruthless and ambitious and, not a little evil. He murdered his father and attempted te claim the throne fer himself. Ye will know his name whether ye are Kaldorian born or not. It was Mondain.
Now, history talks much of Mondain, but it doesnae mention Wolfgang's elder son, the heir te the throne of Akalabeth. The reason fer this is that Mondain did a good job of wipin' any mention o' him from records. As far as the people o' this land are concerned, he may as well never have existed.
His name was Kaldor Heartsease.
Kaldor, like his father, was a good man, and a born leader. When he heard of what Mondain had done, he gathered the most faithful of his followers and went te seek Mondain out.
However, the young mage had grown more powerful than any could imagine. He created a trap fer Kaldor and his men...a rift that lead te another world.
They came prepared fer a fight, but it was denied te them. They were hurled through this rift and found themselves in strange lands...the land we now call Gorimdor.
Back in those years, Gorimdor was a wild and dangerous place, but it was not uninhabited. Realising that he and his followers could not return to Akalabeth, Kaldor decided te make the most of it, and they set about building dwellings on the site of what has now become Kaldor City.
However, the native Gorimdorians took exception te this. They saw these strangers as a threat, and made raids against them.
The first Kaldorians, as they had become, knew little else but battle.
One o' these tribes was known as the Bear Clan and after many raids, they eventually made an alliance wi' the Kaldorians. King Kaldor, fer he was now king o' the new country of Kaldor, ended up marrying the chieftain's daughter, thus securing a long alliance. The men and women o' the Bear Clan were large and well built warriors, and as a mark o' respect they became Kaldor’s honour guard, the Maul Knights, whose symbol is the bear.
Ye can read more o' that story if ye seek out "Kaldor and the Bears" in the library.
That, though, is how the Kaldorians first gained their footing in the land o' Gorimdor.
Gorimdor, however, is a huge continent...several times larger than Britannia. It is made up of five nations. Kaldor, at the heart of it...Ceita, the highlands, te the north, home te the Bear Clan whose capital is Urkana, and te the mountains.
Te the east lies Valki, a trading nation specialising in arms and armour, and te the west, the isle of Aminos.
Over hundreds of years, Kaldor either conquered or joined with these lands until a united kingdom was formed.
The last region te be conquered was the desert lands of Treido, te the south. Treido itself is an arid and inhospitable place. Most o' the tribes here were nomadic, though there are some smaller towns.
However, the southern Treidoans are barbarians, and these still resist our rule teday, mounting numerous raids and assaults on our southern garrisons.
This aside, Gorimdor is now largely a peaceful place.
This was certainly not the case even as little as forty years ago.
Ye all familiar with our religion?
Edwin: I am nay Ma'am
Victor Corona: Barely.
Cal Soulshadow: In brief, then, we have a pantheistic religion. At the head, is Tieous, the creator and father of the gods. Below are His children...Dondinia, Goddess of Nature...Sorius, God of the Elements...Melana, Goddess of Night...Xathos, God of Death...and Raza, God of War.
There's also Almarr, God of Ale, but he's somewhat minor...
There has been a strong rivalry between Raza and Dondinia ever since Raza imprisoned Xathos in His own realm, the Halls of the Dead.
Over a hundred years ago, this rivalry turned te bitter warfare between the followers, the Disciples of Raza and the Clerics and Sentinels of Dondinia.
These were black times fer Gorimdor. Warfare raged across the whole land, resulting in much death and destruction. The followers of Dondinia were almost exterminated.
The war ended because it had te...because we were tearin' ourselves apart.
But additionally, it had te end because something miraculous happened.
Ever since Kaldor and his men became trapped in the land of Gorimdor, Kaldor's sorcerers had been working on finding a way te return here.
Kaldor himself died long ago, but the sorcerers continued their research in the hope that we could eventually return here and claim the land that is rightfully ours.
Tewards the end o' the Great War between the Razans and Dondinians, they finally discovered a means of travel. How it works only the wisest of sages knows, but we call it the Tieous Gate, and through it we are able te travel between these lands and Gorimdor.
Though our forces were much depleted by the Great War, an armada was assembled. Those brave men and women sailed forth te find out what had become of Akalabeth, and thinking that Mondain or a descendent must now rule...they prepared fer war.
Unfortunately, Sorius was not with us that day. There were dreadful storms, and the fleet was decimated. Some ships managed te limp here but found this land very different from what they'd been prepared te expect.
Lord British, vanquisher of the evil Mondain, now ruled, and was loved by his people...though in his vanity had renamed the land after himself.
The survivors tried te seek each other out.
Some made lives here, married locals, and made the best of their lot. Others became mercenaries, and eventually, General Dravon Vlagshaw gathered enough Kaldorians te make a small army, and founded Strongholt, where we stand teday.
Dravon was a fierce and warlike man, and even though the land was not what we expected he decided te carry out orders anyway, and go te war te claim it back fer ourselves. Since then we've had a mixed and bloody past in these lands.
General Vlagshaw was replaced by General Paladis...others came and went...
alliances have been forged and broken then reforged again...but ultimately, our goal is the same.
Te claim this land as our own once more, fer it is our birthright.
That concludes teday's lecture.
However, there will be more detailed lectures on other aspects of Kaldorian life includin' religion and history.
Thank ye all fer comin.