How to Guide to the Gift of the Gods

A central theme of my stories is the using of a powerful artifact, the Gift of the Gods.  The Gift of the Gods is actually four parts, (two gems, a staff and a circlet), but a strong magic user has to use the magic to make it work.  Though presented to the High King, who did learn magic to use the staff, a very strong magic user must use the Gift.  The only people to use the Gift was Amber Blackwolf and in my High King's Sword, Duncan.  Both were very gifted magic users and could take the surge of magic running through them to call upon the Gods themselves.

The staff originally called eight dragons to open the gate, but these dragons came from the Chosen, breaking a part of their souls off to create them.  Only Flash was the only flesh and blood dragon to be dragged into the mess.  The second time the Gift was used, the dragons created by the Gift were used once more.

To use the Gift, the mage must be in the Temple of the Gods chanting the incantation which is in Ancient Elven, his hand around the staff, the circlet upon his head.  The power surging through the user most likely will kill them, unless the Gods intervene and find the person worthy.

Military Service on Martapa

Depending on where a person lives, a person may or may not be required to serve in the military.  In Tridon, peasants are not required to serve in the military, but can sign on willingly.  The nobles and merchants try hard to have a child or children as Knights or Knight Captains, since it is very prestige to be tied to one or the other.  A lot of second son peasants who will not inherit the farm from their parents join the local militia or the army of the House they live by.

In Ariella it varies.  If the person lives in the Empire, then a male of 18 years of age must serve 2 years in the military.  Women may join, but few do and they are not required to.  After the service time is up they may return to their homes, though if they are good enough the legions will try to entice them to stay.

Akicitia in Ariella do not have a standing army, but every adult, male or female, are trained to defend themselves and protect the village.

Elves on either continent do not have a standing military, but usually families, whether rich or poor, like to send one child to be trained in the martial arts so as to help with defense if need be.

Dwarves have a five year mandatory service for both men and women, though they engage very rarely.  The military practices their skills by protecting the stoneholds from ogres and the like, which bothers them often.

The High King's Succession

The High King has always been and will always be a powerful position in Tridon.  Being the ruler of all of Tridon and the Lord of 12 (once 16) Houses and so many standing armies brings power.  But what happens when a High King dies?  There are several options for succession.

1) The High King's eldest son.  He is always the first choice, though there have been several High King's that have passed to a second or third son.  There has only been one time this has proved problematic, but it has been done.

2) The High King's eldest daughter.  Twice in the history of Tridon, the High King has been a High Queen.  One was Lady Elizabeth who ruled for thirty years before passing crown on to her son.  She fought along side her father because she had no brothers.  The second was the youngest daughter of the High King Joseph, who's sons fought amongst themselves, eventually killing each other and leaving only  her.  She married to an heir of House Weatherworn and let her husband rule in her name.  He did rule fairly, but was happy to pass it on to their son when he was of age.

3) A Leader of one of the Houses, chosen by the Council of Leaders.  Sometimes the High King dies without heirs.  It's happened three times in recorded history.  But when the Leader is chosen, the Council tries to find a Leader who may have Peter's blood in him.  At the time of the High King's sword, a fourth occurrence, the Houses can't agree and thus why there is so much turmoil.

4) The last option is to find someone of the blood.  This has not be exercised, but most certainly could cause civil war if not handled correctly.

The King's Council

The High King, if there is one, rules from Stormvale, a city not within a House.  Stormvale is independent of all other Houses, because the High King rules all of Tridon, not just the area of a single House.  But the High King needs help from time to time, and thus has a Council to help him make decisions, (if he is so inclined to listen to them, though he doesn't have to).

The Council is made up of all the House Leaders, the head of Council of Priests, the head of the Council of Mages and the head of the Bard College, Warrior College and the head of the druids.  Usually the people upon the Council do not change often, but sometimes there is totally upheavals which throws the Council into disarray.

The High King asks for help in matters of state, such as going to war or major trade agreements, but ultimately the High King is still in charge.  His word is law.  Being on the Council is an honor with perks.  People who have the King's ear tend to be able to elicit favors more easily.

In game, the characters may have to sit in on a Council meeting as a squire or even as a guest of one of the Colleges.  This should only happen if the characters are very important (aka very high level) or if the High King needs them for some mission his normal troops can not do.

The Mystery of the Teleportation Circles

I hint in the third book as to why the Teleportation Circles are no longer in use in the time of the High King's Sword.  It's a small hint, more of a whimsy at the time, but something which I believe will grow into something bigger, eventually.  As Targon is talking to Taniger about the circles, Taniger mentions it was reasonable what the High King did by shutting down the circles, after what happened.  I never say what happens, but here is the gist of what happened.

The High King, and all the nobles, frequently used the circles to get from one House to another for business and visiting far off relatives in a short period of time.  The High King at the time of the accident was away fighting pirates and his wife, son, and soon to be born child were going to Weatherworn to see her mother and be somewhere safe while she gave birth to her second child.  They left Stormvale but never arrived at Weatherworn, though the circles were both activated.  It was the biggest mystery of the time and many mages were banished because they could not answer the King's questions as to what happened to his family.  As a mage of the time said, "Magic is as unpredictable as the God of Magic, himself.  They could have been whisked off to some far off circle, ported to some place in the past or even the future.  I'm sorry, my lord, I wish I could tell you more."

Because of this, the High King shut down all the circles, hurting trade and ease of coordination at the time, but in a generation or three hardly anyone remembered the circles or their uses.  But the High King's family was never found and it is hinted that a seer "saw" them still alive, but in a far off time or place.  Perhaps the High King yet to be crowned is floating through time and space just waiting to be released by the magic holding him and his mother.

Choosing of Houses

From the characters' point of view in the  High King's Sword and the Time of the Chosen, the Houses of Tridon started out perfect.  That's usually what happens with time and history.  But in this case, all was not well when Houses were appointed by High King Peter.  Several of the Houses were appointed by near force, specifically Varanath and Vandez, while others were fought over for their prime locations, Bloodhelm and Cole mostly.  Peter finally put his foot down after a lot of bickering and in fighting, saying that the country was going to be torn apart before it started if he didn't do something.  He didn't want to step on his friends' toes, but at the same time he knew he was responsible for all of Tridon, not just individual friends.  There was some hard feeling for a while, but eventually all saw reason to his choices, or at least the history books say.

First Contact

When the world of Martapa was first created, the races started apart, for the most part, since the Gods wanted to give them time to find themselves.  When elves and humans first came upon each other in the now region of  Western Tridon it was a tense, but ultimately peaceful interaction.  The humans came upon the elves in their forests when they went in search of more lumber.  The elves, of course, didn't mind the humans taking some of the wood, but wanted to ensure these strange creatures didn't take important trees.  So ambassadors were sent to the humans and unfortunately killed by ogres that were passing through.  The humans were blamed and the elves were ready to wipe them out until it was discovered ogres had caused the tragedy.  The humans, who had also been preyed upon often by the ogres, learned of the deaths and offered to help the elves have their revenge.  In the end they worked together to secure safety of the area by ridding of the ogres and a truce was arranged between the two races which lasted for some time.

A Little Goldleaf History

Since Cailus Goldleaf is the center of the background stuff going on in my novels, I thought I might mention a little history about House Goldleaf.  Goldleaf is pretty much out in the middle of no where, but for many reasons.

The first one is Ryan Goldleaf, though an excellent fighter, was also a good herb gatherer.  Though many herbs could be cultivated, there were some that just had to grow in the wild.  Some of those needed for some of the strongest healing medicine were only found in the northern forests so he placed his fortress there.

Second, was all the timber in the area, (which is still harvested for a great profit for the House).  The timber in the area is managed well: planted, thinned and maintained to give a profit and still keep the streams clean that feed the House and surrounding villages.  Goldleaf takes the timber so seriously that a group of fire wardens roam the woods looking for fires during fire season to ensure the forest, and all its commodities, do not fall to fire.

Finally was the high abundance of meat and leather.  The leathers are shipped around Tridon and the meat is dried and stored away for those long winters and when other food sources just fail.

Sea Elves and Calabay

I've mentioned in the past the Calabay people revere the sea elves and try to live in harmony with them.  To do so, they keep in touch with banner signals from the castle and magical lights from the sea. Once a day lights will appear in the sea to say whether the sea elves are good or not and the castle of Calabay will put up their banners to say they are good.  If either presents a bad sign the other will come to the others' aid.  Though by the time of the High King's Sword the sea elves haven't been seen in a while, the castle still put up the flags each day, though most do not know why they do.  Magical lights have not been seen in generations so most would not know what they were if they saw them.

Plains of People of Taina

Before Peter and his Kingdom of Tridon, the people of the plains lived a different existence.  They lived in large family groups, traveling with the herds and the seasons.  This brown, almost red, skinned people were excellent hunters not only from the ground, but horseback as well.  When Peter made his kingdom, for years the best fighters from horseback were the plains people.  They hunted bison, range elk, and deer.  Children hunted small mammals with slings and women and girls would find roots, berries and other edible plants to supplement the diet.  Everything was used.  Hides for clothes and shelter, bones for weapons and decorations, sinew for rope.

Before Peter, the people of the plains were matriarchal, where the men moved to the women's family after they were married.  Everything, except a warrior's horse and weapons, was considered the woman's in a marriage, especially the children.  Because there were many ogres wandering the plains, boys and men always ran patrols around encampments.  All children were taught how to use weapons to defend themselves and encampments could easily be pulled down in the matter of an hour or less if need be. (Sometimes only the important items were taken and rest left if the need arose.)

About five hundred years before the Chosen, the plains people became nearly all assimilated to cities, though there was small hold out groups for a while.  Their culture and traditions remained, until Shaniko wiped so many of them out, but were adapted to the sedentary life of a city.

History: The Creation of Martapa

Martapa, like all seven of its sister planets, were created out of the Void by the Gods.  No one is sure where the beings called Gods came from, but it is assumed the Void created them.  Catiana, Sarjon and Targon were the first Gods and the three of them brought forth the worlds of the system as the remaining Gods were summoned forth by Catiana.  (This does not make the other Gods less powerful then Catiana, but she is deemed their "mother" because of it.)   The Gods then decided on the Balance, which creatures to create and how they would interact with the world.  Obviously not all the Gods liked the plans (mainly Kahalla) but all said they would abide by such plans.  Once mortals were placed upon the world the Gods stepped back and watched their world grow.

History of Squires

The Knights of Martapa didn't start out as Knights, they were just the men who fought along side Peter and his friends at the battle which made Peter High King.  They fought in leather armor, (if they had any) and some hardly knew how to use the weapons at their side.  Peter knew such a condition could not continue if they were to keep mankind safe from the darkness.  So Peter instituted a learning situation where older, fighting men, no matter rank would take in the younger men to teach them what they knew.  Originally this was just anyone who served in Peter's army, because there were no nobility.  As time marched on those who fought for Peter and Tridon and were of nobility were termed Knights and they took on younger nobles as their squires.  This took generations to be so selective, and for a long time even common men could become Knights and squires.  (As a side note a lot of the minor noble houses are led by men who descended from just those sort of common men.)

Squires are usually in training for three years, after which they are sent on a quest to better not only themselves, but Tridon as well.  Now adays very few squires come from common stock, but it is not unheard of if a man (or woman) in the regular army or militia proves themselves to the local lord and granted such a boon.

Hall of Kings

In the royal palace in Stormvale is a hallway lined with paintings and statues of men in different poses and attire, but always wearing the circlet of the High King.  This hallway, about two thousand yards along the outside western wall of the palace, is the display area for all the portraits and statues of High Kings long gone.  Naturally there are far too many such pieces of art to be put up at all times so a caretaker swaps out the various statues and paintings every once in a while (usually once a month) so all the High Kings can be seen now and again.  The painting and statue of Peter are always present at the north end of the hall and the current High King (if there is one) is at always at the south end.  Scholars often come to gaze upon the portraits for study or to look at painting and carving techniques of eons gone by.

Those portraits and statues not in use are carefully stored in a room in the lower levels and always under lock and key.  For the last sixty years or so the paintings have remained untouched, even by those who were friends with the Wizards and Kin.  A new caretaker with knowledge of the past High Kings will need to be found soon before all knowledge of the paintings and statues are lost.

A Brief History of Weatherworn's Mages

In my stories, I hint at the fact that Weatherworn's mages are powerful weather mages, people who can change the weather at a whim.  I don't ever explain it in depth, just hint they can do colossal damage if they truly want to.  Originally, when Gustaff was given charge around the area of Weatherworn, his wife Lillith was a powerful weather mage.  In the "old days" they were called witches, but now all who use magic are termed mage.  She could control the weather around the stormy coastal city, which allowed for ships to enter the deep harbor without fear of smashing into the tower rock cliffs.  It was her magic, and the magic of her daughters, which made the long, rock ramp leading from the harbor to the city up above.

Tradition shows that all daughters of the current Weatherworn Leader are born with the ability to cast these strong magics, though there have been a few born without such talents.  Everyone of them are trained and cared for by the House until death, even if they marry.  This makes for a very large "stable" of weather mages, all of whom live in the area of Weatherworn, but not necessarily in the city itself.

Very rarely have they had to be called upon for to protect Weatherworn, most of the time they are used for making sure crops grow and ships make it into the harbor safely.

History of the Term Houses

Capital cities, or Houses, are the center piece of every Leaders responsibility.  This is where he or she trains her troops, has their base of operations and where the royal family lives.  But how did such an important place get such an odd name?

Originally, when Peter's friends set off to rule their small section of Tridon, they build houses for themselves and their followers.  Simple, one or two room houses that were merely utilitarian in nature.  From here they made policies and handed out grants of land to those who would eventually become minor Houses.  It was Olaf Cole who termed the title "House".  He joked he was ruling his people from his small house and how could anyone ever take him seriously.  But the name stuck and even today Capital Cities are termed "Houses".

The History of Janesh Part II

So after the volcano exploded those who remained of the Janesh culture made their way to the fishing village of Calabay.  (At the time of their landing this soon to be great House was little more then home to about three hundred fishing and farming folk with a very shrewd leader).  In exchange for leading the refugees further inland to an unclaimed area that was large enough to hold them all, the people of Calabay asked for a small chest of gold and teachers to use for five years.  Sterling Calabay knew knowledge was key to making life better for his people and he saw how advanced in magic and technology the Janesh were to his own people.  What was gold to people who bartered for their items?  (Though he did hire some dwarves to make a secure wall around the village and stout stone buildings that could withstand the siege of ogres and the like.)

The advance team for Janesh had built a suitable number of buildings in the area to house most of the refugees but building of more took place right away.  The Janesh stayed in contact with Calabay, but no one else, wanting to keep their great magics out of the hands of those who could not use it wisely.  After ten or so generations, even Calabay forgot mostly about them.

Timeline for Janesh

Around 5000 DC (During Chaos): A group of Humans and Elves were saved by the Gods' representatives and taken to the islands which would be later called Janesh.

5000 DC to 10,000 DC: The Empire of Janesh began to form.  What once was small farming villages came together and decided to start schools to share knowledge and build the House of Janesh, a large manor and library to study at and lead from.  Over time the Library of Janesh will span 20 acres with the manor spanning 10 acres of it's own.  The population spreads across the islands and great discoveries in magic and science occur and are shared.  The first official leader of Janesh is crowned.  There is only one break in this family's leadership and they are much beloved for the duration of Janesh's history.

200 AC (After Chaos): The Tayke family is usurped for 45 days by a group of wizards who think the Janesh people need to take their rightful place in the world as the ruler.  Those loyal to the Tayke family take back the capital city and the wizards are captured.  They are sent to a nearby island where magic is not usable and left to their own devices, since the people of Janesh to not believe in death as a punishment.

1500 AC: The dominate volcano on the main island of Janesh begins to resist the magical controls the people of Janesh have maintained upon it for so long.  Knowing they can no longer stay, expeditions are sent out to see where the populations can be relocated.

1520 AC: The mass migration of most of Janesh's population to a new location in Taina, the northern continent begins, landing in the small fishing village of Calabay.  Only a few humans stay, including the ruler of Janesh, trying to save the islands in one last effort.  No one is sure why but nearly every adult elf also remains, though the children are sent with the humans to safety.

1521 AC: The volcano explodes and no more contact is capable with those who stayed on the islands.

History of Janesh

Janesh, a small group of islands far off the east coast of Ariella, was once inhabited by a group of humans and elves who sought peace and harmony after all the chaos as the world began.  Learning to co-exist with magic and nature, these brave people tamed a volcano which sat in the middle of all their islands so they could live in peace.

There were seven fairly large islands and five smaller islands inhabited by this smaller statue humans as well as elves.  Agriculture was a mix of land and sea, where most meat was either fish or goat.  Rice and vegetables were the majority of their diet.  Learning was an important part of their culture, where even the poorest of the poor knew how to read and write.  Schooling was provided for all, at the cost of the state.  There was even a grand library, open to even the lowest individual to go in and read and study in.

The elves, who shaped their buildings out of living wood, lived in the wilds of the islands, while the humans had their centers of learning surrounded by farm land.  The two races co-existed peacefully and helped each other out.

Tomorrow: A time line as to what happened to Janesh

Calender of Holidays Wrapup

So to have an easy reference list here is the months and their major holidays:
Cold Dark: High King's Day
Deep Snow: Day's of Innocence
Melting Snow: Nature's Friend Day, Spring's Return
River Rain: Feast of the Running Rain
River Swell: Flowers of Spring, Celebration of Storms
Green Planting: Blessing of the Druids, Targon's Delight, Summer's Birth
Warm Sun: Days of Sun
Sun Scorch: Race Against the Sun
Harvest: Fall Celebration
Leaves Turn: Harvest Festival
Leaf Fall: Week of the Holy
No Grass: Festival of Snow

Holidays of No Grass in Tridon

This month, at the beginning of winter, is the most life threatening and dreary month of all.  The days are short, people are often stuck inside because of the weather, and travel is very limited.  So holidays are always welcome in this month.

One is the Festival of Snow.  This festival celebrates the shortest day of the year and in most of the northern Houses in Tridon snow has already begun to fall.  Again with the giant feasts, though a little more sparing since no one is sure how long the winter is going to last and this time of year gifts are given that have much thought put into them.  In poorer areas quilts, new sets of clothes, even new boots are ideal presents.  For those a little better off, horses, fine jewels and even small estates.  It is a time a reflection of the year and many seek to atone themselves by giving goodly donations to their favorite temples.  And it wouldn't be the Festival of Snow without playing in the snow.  Sled races, overland races on foot and even races with dogs sleds are often held.  Children build snow forts to be judged and sometimes the adults join in.