The Book of Battles

APPENDICES

THE ALMANAK

Anson Aethelyn Prince of Westrial- (b. 1699)- the second son of King Anthal of Westrial, born to Essily of the Crystal Isle. Appointed First Knight of the House by the age of nineteen, 1718, served with distinction in the border wars and was appointed Captain of the King’s Horse in 1727. The animosity between the prince and his brother Cedd led to Anson’s flight at his brother’s accession to the throne. Now more famously known as the lover of Ohean Penannyn of Reghed.

Caedmon Aethelyn King of Westrial– (b. 1694) the first child and heir of King Anthal of Westrial and the only son of his first queen, Tourmaline of Harrowfast. He succeeded his father as King in the fall of 1729, triggering the flights of his brother Anson and sister Imogen. Generally known as Cedd.

Hilda Aeseflad Princess Aethelyn – (b.1707) the second born daughter of King Anthal and Queen Emmaline.  She entered into the Abbey of Saint Clew at the age of fifteen (1722) was declared Reverend Mother. In 1729 she was ordained Abbess of Saint Clew and Directoress of Inglad. 

Imogen Aethelyn Queen of Reghed - (b. 1711) the youngest daughter of Queen Emmaline, the last wife of King Anthal. She fled Westrial with her brother Anson, and upon reaching Reghed wed King Idris in the early summer of 1729.

Morgellyn Princess Aethelyn Queen of Essail – (b. 1700) the firstborn of King Anthal by his third wife, Emmaline. Upon her mother’s death she was married to King Stephen of Essail (1715) becoming Queen at the age of fifteen and shortly bore Linalla, Philip, Peter and Lewys. In 1729, after the sudden death of King Stephen, she assumed the Regency of Essail in the stead of her son, Young King Philip.  

Quinton Allaveros- (b.1702-) in Callaion near the Sussail border to a family of Sinercian descent, priest of the Second Grade Ascending to Third and chief lover of Matteo Vallarti.

Derek Annakar- (b.1700) to a minor noble Doman house near the Essail and Senach border. He is the principal lover of Conn Aragareth and a priest of the Third Grade moving toward the Fourth. His sisters are Julia and Tessaya. His brother is Douglas Annakar.

Connleth (Aragareth)- (b. 1707-) the son of Willem and Maire of the village of Trott. In 1724 he followed his older sister to the Blue Temple in Kingsboro to become a dependent, but ended up joining the Azul Ierateío after his first year there, training to be a priest of the Third Grade. In 1729, he and his Ogdoad left Kingsboro with Ohean Pennanyn and Anson Aethelyn.

Allyn Baldwin- (b. 1697-) son and heir of Ulfin Baldwin, younger brother of Edith Baldwin and current Earl of North Hale.

Edith Baldwin- (b. 1691- ) oldest child of Ulfin of North Hale and Alice of Cleves, Queen of Inglad, Hale and North Hale.

Ulfin Baldwin- (b. 1669- ) Earl of North Hale and father-in-law to King Edmund. His children are Allyn, Edith and Pollanikar.

Isobel Beregond Tryvanwy- (b. 1709) Queen of Westrial and elder daughter of King Raoul Beregond of Sussail and Hermudis Tryvanwy Queen of Sussail and Princess of Armor, wife to King Caedmon, secretly trained as an enchantress on the Rootless Isle.

Birch- a witch woman who lives at Stone Cottage

Lord Austin Buwa of Desseret- (1700- ) only son of Lord Nephy Buwa, and practioner of the Zahem faith. His wife is the Lady Ashley Buwa, also born of the Outer Zahem. His lover is Pol Kurusagan.

Myrne Cenned of Herreboro- (b. 1710-) daughter of  Toman Earl of Herreboro and his wife Lady Imlay. Entered the Rootless Isle in 1724 and rose to the rank of Dame in 1727, In 1729 she came to the attention of Allyn Baldwin who proposed marriage to her at which she feinged acceptance, fleeing to her family’s holding of Herreboro to declare herself Queen of the Three Lands and wed Osric Wulfstan, her second cousin and co claimant to the Three Lands.

Ralph Curakin (Rafe) (b.1689-? ) Lord of Two Bridge, Ansafede and Clyddanon, Duke Sandabar and Powell, Knight of the Dragon, Chancellor of Idris of Rheged and member of the Order of the Red Lily, he was born in obscurity in northern Chyr and arrived at the court of King Math beside Ohean when they were both adolescents. There he proved himself a warrior par excellence. Ohean’s one time love, and oldest friend, currently serving King Osric and Queen Myrne at the pleasure of Idris and Imogen of Rheged.

Idris Desmond (b.1692-)  son of King Amr of Rheged and Princess Llyell of Far Isles, King of Rheged (1714), wed Imogen Aethelyn (1729), first cousin to Ohean Penannyn and brother by marriage to Anson, Cedd, Morgellyn and Hilda. His two illegitimate children from a previous union are Kelyvn and Isomer.

Ohean Desmond Penannyn (Ash) (b.1689- ) the son of Senaye of the Rootless Isle and grandson of the Crystal Lady. He holds the title The Great Ash from which comes his nickname Ash. Chief councilor to both the kings of Rheged and Westrial, some attribute to him divine origins, calling Ekkrebeth or Akkrabeth, and he is acknowledged as the mightiest of sorcerers though only vaguely associated with the Wizards of the White Island. His cousins are Meredith, Pollanikar and Nimerly the Crystal Lady as well as his lover, Anson Aethelyn.

Rufus of Daumany- (b. 1689- ) King of Daumany and illegitimate son of William IV of Daumany by his one time lover, Herleva of Dinmont. He is King Edmund’s chosen heir to the Three Kingdoms.

Ruval- a Black Hand pursuing Theone. His true name is Kenneth

Odo Abbot of Saint Fundagast at Fonteroy- (b. 1692)  younger brother of King Rufus, the oldest son of his mother Herleva of Dinmont’s marriage to Gearstand the Badger.

Calon Everidon- (b.1700) a chosen attendant of Abbot Fero of Fero House, Calon is a priest of the Second Grade and holds the position of Janitor of the White Door in the Blue Temple. His chief lover is Gabriel Rokomont, and his dearest friends are Obala Waymon, Sara Hemnon and Matteo Vallarti.

Michael Flynn Earl of Loxley- (b. 1699- ) dispossessed of Loxley Holding in Southern Inglad, the Loxley’s went to Westrial where Michael joined the army and befriended Anson Aethelyn. The Loxley’s were devotees to the Green Faith, and after the war, seeking peace, Michael came to the Green Wood where he was named Robin Wood in his generation.

Cynric Hessenfelt (b. 1705- ) maternal cousin to Myrne Cenned through his mother Mallory Thothanaye Lady Hessenfelt.

(His Holiness) Dahlan Kimball- (b.1715- ) current Prophet of the Zahem, born in southwestern Zahem to Aimee and Joses Kimball.

Pol Kurusagan- (b. 1704- ) born by the Sussail border from a Solahni mother and a half Itzumi father, he traveled to Kingsboro with his brother, in time becoming a successful streetworker. Close friends with Prince Anson and current companion of Austin Buwa and Ralph Curakin.

Arvad Lavran- (b. 1713?-) the houseboy of Turnthistle Farm

Dissenbark Layton- (b. 1705-) companion to Theone and later Ohean, Anson and Conn. A witch born in Chyr to a Vandish mother, but raised in the village of Layton by her Westiran father once he was widowed. At the time of the fires she flees to the Rootless Isle and becomes close to the Lady Nimerly.

Mehta- (b. 1713?-) the housekeeper of Turnthistle Farm in northeast Zahem.

Pollanikar Meretane, Mariamne of the Green Wood- (b.1704-) the daughter of the priestess Meredith, raised on the Rootless Isle, she attained the rank of Dame by the age of twelve. For some time she served in the court of Queen Ermengild IV under her councilor, Owena. Eventually she went into the New Forest seeking the Sword of Callasyl only to meet and love Michael Flynn. Her father is Ulfin Baldwin.

Soren Nelson- the owner of Turnthistle Farm.

Sir Anthony Pembroke of Gaverton (b. 1697)  – chief steward to King Cedd and his one time squire. They both distinguished themselves at the Battle of Edmonton (1718) where Anthony was granted the title Duke of Wilmington.

Gabriel Rokomont- (b.1699) An Azul Ierateíon of the Fourth Grade, Gabriel Rokomont was born of Doman and Armorian stock in the Blue Temple of Nassagora to a Blue Priest and the Red Priestess Sharadon Rokomont. The Rokomonts, though of Sendic and Doman origin, have deep roots in the Blue, Red and Green Orders, seeming to have turned from their original Sendic faith during the time of Sir Wylan Rokomont during the Disposession. According to legend he married into an old Royan family and the Rokomonts, though white in appearance, have several notable kindred among the women of the Rootless Isle and the priestly families of Chyr. Though noted for his skill and poetry, Gabriel is most noted for his relations to Calon Everidon and Connleth Aragareth.

Maud Princess of Thaary- (b. 1705) daughter of Beregond of Thaary and his Solanhi wife, Juana, she was orphaned and raised by her fairy godmother, Yarrow, a councilor to Queen Ermengild IV. In the court of Ermengild she met Ethan of Vand who then became the love of her life from whom she was separated several years. She is close to Ethan’s grandfather, Ronnerick, councilor of Queen Ermengild.

Sir Teryn Wesley (b. 1713-) born in southern Westrial to a half Royan family, lover and squire to Lord Anthony Pembroke.

Cauda Wulfstan- (b. 1688-) born in South Hale to an Elmeth mother and a Hale father, she became the lover then wife of Eoga Wulfstan and fled to Ohean at Eoga’s urging before he was imprisoned. In northern Rheged, under Ohean’s care she bore Osric, called Wolf.

Osric Wulfstan- (b. 1709-) the son of Prince Eoga of Inglad, Hale and North Hale and the grandson of King Edred. After the murder of his father, his mother, Gedran, fled to Rheged where she lived with Ohean Penannyn until her death. Raised with the understanding that he was heir to the Triple Throne, for his safety Ohean trained him to be a servant and taught all to refer to him as Wolf.

Matteo Vallarti- (b.1705) born in Kingsboro from a poor family of Sinercian, Armorian and probably Doman stock, Matteo is a priest of the First Grade Ascending to the Second, best friend and sometimes lover of Connleth and the chief love of Quinton Allaveros.

Ethan Prince of Vand- (b. 1695) a member of House Alcontrad though his mother, Xillihyha Princess of Vand,  and his father, Lord Dessanon of Triary. His grandfather is Ronnerick, the councilor to Queen Ermengild IV and after it was known that Princess Essnara had died, Ethan went on a quest to find the Beryl of Elladyl. His affianced is Maud of Thaary.

Eryk (Lord) Waverly  (b. 1705) the maternal cousin to Myrne Cenned through his mother, Margaret Yfildeth of Imlay.

Theone Xiihylah (b. 1709- ) daughter of the Black Star Jurgad and Princess Essnara of Chyr. Held captive by the Black Star until with the help of Ethan of Thaary, she escaped. 

Yarrow- the Mistress of Stone Cottage in the Dauman Marches, though mighty in magic, little is known of her but that her true name is Indul. Her companion is the equally mysterious Birch.

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GLOSS

The Age of Chaos- not the be confused with The Flood, a time often ill described, when the various peoples of the earth who, up until then, lived close together, split up due to warfare. According to the Book of Nations, many people were destroyed. It was at this time that Osse took his people to Ossar and they became the Royan.

Ankar- the western settlement of Royans who left Chyr and spread across Ossar. A millennium before the Imperium, it solidified into a massive high kingdom under the leadership of the Kingdom of Locrys at Ondres. This mighty union last five centuries and then began to devolve into five main kingdoms, but by the time of the Sinercians, had fallen so far, it was known at the Hundred Kingdoms, with Prince of Ondres and King of Locrys remaining only an honorific. In the time of the Sendics, Ankar was divided into the five kingdoms of Inglad, Westrial, Essail, Senach and Sussail.

The Ard- the Sinercian teacher regarded as an incarnation of Varayan whose main disciples became the White and the Black Monks. They brought his teachings to Ossar, but later other followers formed an institutional church (The Communion) with a highly hierarchical clergy (The White, Black and Brown Orders of Priests) which eventually came to dominate the south of Ossar as well as Daumany and Armor.

Armor- the land across the Solahn Sea, east of Solahn, west of Daumany and north of Ferrar, Eshaan and Marandé, a holdover of the old Sinercian Imperium.

The Book of the Blessed- the last of the holy books of the Royan, commited to memory until around seven centuries ago, in some ways associated with the end of this present world and the beginning of another.

The Book of Oloreth- a love poem, and the most ancient of the Royan poems dating, in fact, from the ancient land of Atlé,  from which Osse and the first Royan came.

Creation- it is widely held that the Earth was created several times, and twice before destroyed. Only by divine and magical means did some survive the destruction and was the world remade. The last destruction of the world is said to have been only thirty-five hundred years ago, and this current world is believed by not only Royans, but many peoples, to be the Third Creation, held together by magic. It is said that there will not be another one.

Chyr- the kingdom that shares the Cambrian Peninsula with Armet and Rheged, known for generally having women rulers, who are often schooled on the Rootless Isle. Its current queen is Ermengild IV.

Daumany- the kingdom east of Armor which was taken over by the Dauman, a group of Dayne who intermarried with the native population around four hundred years ago. Their current king is Willem (William) and by an old marriage they are now linked with the House of Armor.

Dayne- the peninsula to the northeast of Ossar, icebound at its northern region from which the Hale, the Ayl, the Daumans and many other groups come. Though it seems at one point in time Dayne was the name of one of the many tribes of the peninsula, in time it came to be known as the entire land. Less than three centuries ago the Ragnarsson family began the union of Dayne and in 1108 most of the peninsula became the Kingdom of Dayne.

The Flood- according to the Song of Oloreth, the mighty flood which destroyed the Old World and brought an end to the Age of Heroes. The whole landmass of Atlé sank beneath the sea in this destruction, but most of their direct descendants settled on Solea and then later the contient of Ossar becoming the Royan.

Hale- the nation north of Inglad that takes up the Trunk of Ossar, also the people for whom the nation is named. At one point in time it included the northernmost country of the Sendics, North Hale.

Locrys- the high kingdom roughly approximating modern Westrial which, descended from the House of Chyr and the House of Enro, ruled over the once might kingdom of Ankar. After the fall of Ankar, Locrys maintained its unity and its name conjured respect so that even now, the Kings of Westrial, Rheged and Elmet all count themselves heirs to Locrys. The ruling city of of Locrys, was Ondres, south of Kingsboro on the River Westyl, then called Astyl. 

Marnen- along with the Thads of Thadden Ro, are the herding people whose home is in central Chyr. They are known for the great circuit they make through Chyr, the Sendic kingdoms and Solahn which takes around two and a half years. Famously, though they are brown and black and resemble (and have surely intermarried with) Royans, their origin is unknown save that the Thad and Marnen are related to each other. They seem to have appeared shortly after the end of the Second Creation, though there is no agreement as to their prior history.

The New Faith- (also called The Communion) the religion born from the teachings of the Ard. It is new in comparison to the religions it replaced or incorporated, but has dominated Westrial for eight hundred years. Also called The Kirk, also called The Assembly and/or The Assemblies.

North Hale- see Hale.

The Book of Oloreth- a love poem, and the most ancient of the Royan poems dating, in fact, from the ancient land of Hur from which Osse and the first Royan came.

Oloreth- the great Hero of the Song of Oloreth who lived after the age of Heroes on the island of Solea. He was the son (or grandson) of the hero Enkial, and his song records the love for his best friend, Nardil, their adventures, and the history of the Osse, the ancestors of the Royan.

Osse- Father of the Royan (the Ossar), who was accompanied by the sorcerer Akkrebeth, then called Tismarion, on his flight from Atlé.

Ossar- the landmass incorporating the Royan kingdoms, the Sendic kingdoms, and Solahn, named for Osse, the legendary father of the Royans.

Remulans (Sincercians)- are a people combined of two (or three) races, the Remulans of the Isle of Cyra, the Achaens who are identified as Sinercians because they and the Rufanians came together in the Sinercian Peninsula to make the City States from which sprang the empire. The people of Armor and Sussail are in part descended from them as are many old families in Westrial and Rheged. Their first king was the legendary Remus and their capital was Remane. The modern calendar marks itself from the beginning of their empire seventeen centuries ago.  The Imperium began in the Merid Sea, Southeast of Ossar, and incorporated the whole of that sea and its coastlands and extended into modern Ossar, Solahn, Daumany and Armor, holding power for nearly five hundred years. They subsumed the many small kingdoms Locrys had devolved into, but were unable to take Chyr and the more ancient and powerful Royan lands of Cambria, so ended up making a peace with them. The Sinercians and Remulans, before the days of the empire, had already populated the land of Solahn and mixed with the native population founding a royal house, and many people from Solahn and from the chief Remulan isle of Cyra would colonize what would become the Kingdom of Armor after the Devolution of the Imperium around the late 400’s. Other lands born from the the empire lie on the southern mainland and are Borgund, Allataye, Sephara and the Sinercian City States themselves from which the Ard came and where the New Faith was founded.

When the Sinercian Imperium began to fold, though most of Ossar was left to its own devices, the southern part of it was still heavily populated by Armorians and Remulans, thus Sussail, though a Sendic Kingdom, is often thought of as more Armorian in culture, and the people of Southern Westrial are very often of Sinercian, Armorian, or Solahni stock, being olive or copper complexioned, dark or grey eyed and dark of hair. and are related to the Royan who ruled much of the western world including Ossar for millennia before the Empire and continue to do so to this day. Matteo Vallarti and Quinton Allaveros are both Remulan in descent.

Rheged- Kingdom north of Chyr and east of Inglad, Hale and Westrial.  It was, of old, a Royan territory part of the High Land of Locrys but, after the arrival of the Hale, a retreat for many of the Royan who had then lived in Inland Ossar. After the Battle of Colden, the descendants of the Kingdom of Dera reestablished themselves at Rheged and Elmet. The Kings of Rheged consider themselves the heirs of Avred Oss, the legendary last great king of Ossar.

The Rootless Isle- the revolving island of enchantresses and enchanters south of Westrial, currently ruled by the Lady Nimerly, birthplace of Ohean Pennanyn.

Royan- the descendants of Osse who lived in Ossar long before the coming of the Sendics at least fifteen centuries before the Imperium. Their oldest lands were in the Western Sea, and the Royan share kinship with the people of the Far South and Chem as well as the Remulans. They now live chiefly in the west, though most people in the Ayl kingdoms and not some few in the Hale lands have Royan blood. Royans are known for being darker than Sendics and gifted with magic but being composed of three main peoples, they differ more from each other than do Sendics.  

Sendic- the term the Royan use for the Domans, the Daumans, the Hale and the Ayl collectively. As mercenaries and then later raiders they came from the northlands over a thousand years ago and now inhabit the East Country and the North Country. The lands of the Hale and the Ayl are referred to as Sussany or Sussainy.

Westrial- the kingdom founded by Eoga the Sendic when he wed himself to the last Princess of Ankar. It is considered the hub of all the kingdoms of old Locrys, and the Kings of Westrial were, until the time of Edmund the Atheling, considered first among equals of the Ayl in the South.

Zahem- a primarily desert territory southwest of Westrial over the Siral Mountains, north of Solahn. It is primarily dominated by the ethno-religious group who follow the teachings of Joses Zahem.