The Scuttled Ship… Finally

The first Lloegyr game, The Moorstepper on Lloegyr, was a "closed door" larp, meaning that it was designed to be played by a group of characters who couldn't leave the immediate area.  Typically, this involves being trapped in a room, and some sort of premise as to why you can't leave.  Rather than come up with a plot device, I came up with a tradition: important diplomatic discussions were held on a ship that had been scuttled upon a sandbar… and you couldn't leave until you came to an agreement.  Thus the concept of the Scuttled Ship was born.

The sequel to Moorstepper was also set on the Scuttled Ship, as well as the recent prequel game, Mournful Their Mood.  I have a special attachment to using it as a timing device, because the "way out" is through other characters, and you're not problem solving as much as racing against time (which is slightly unusual in convention games).  I'm especially excited to bring this to Ubi Sunt, as after 19 episodes, I wanted to do something very special… and the Scuttled Ship is one of the most special things in Lloegyr.

Why?  Because the meta-concept of the Scuttled Ship is that on the ship, every character is the hero of their own tale.  You have to be important to get on that ship, because space is at a premium and a very important decision is going to be made.  If you're at all political, you don't want to be off the ship, because that's where the most important political decisions are made.  The Scuttled Ship isn't about two important individuals arguing… it's about a mess of converging interests who have to be at the decision point.  Anyone with any stake in the matter of Lloegyr will be there.  Which probably includes your character… or someone your character cares about… or someone who cares about your character.

Why wouldn't you be there?  I've heard some concerns… why would a "Vincian/Kraki/Guth" be there?  Why not sink it?  Won't it just be full of magical events?

To answer your questions…

First, if you're not a Heorot or a Wahlan, you still probably have a stake in what happens.  This is going to determine the next few years, if not decades, of Lloegyr's history, and you can be certain that Guihelm Duke of Vincia, Olaf Olafson, and all those hidden players you've heard of will want someone on that boat.   So will the Faith of Arim, and the priestesses of the Dunmar-Gog, and probably a few others you might not expect.  I guarantee… if you're at all uncertain as to why you might be there… ask, and you shall receive a reason.

Second, it's relatively safe.  You might have thought "why not sink it?"  Of course, so did the Guth, over a century ago.  Remember, the ship is already sunk, and on a sandbar.  It's in the Bay of Bertha, which is adjacent to the neck and the full might of both the Aelic and Heorot people.  Most nobles will bring their guards with them to the shore, and since the days of Rand and Dannis, their navies.  While treachery is certainly possible by those on the ship… it would be quite a battle to attack it again.

And finally… will it be all magic?  No, far from it.  There will be… events, I am sure, because the Matter of Lloegyr is a mystical thing.  But it is first and foremost a political matter… the sum of decisions made by flawed and might people… and as such, politics will be at the core of the game.

Beyond the North, Revisited

I've touched on what's beyond the North before here, and I know Matt's visited Ravar in his tabletop game.  However, as I was recently outwitted by a player and may be forced to flesh out more of the world, I thought I might as well share it here, for the educated players to see.

As previously mentioned, there are established names and identities for both the Merov Duchies and the lands the Kraki have conquered.  The Merov Duchies of Cutane, Naever, and Burgen all have their own identities, and it might trouble some to note that in many ways, they're more Vincian than Vincia.  Additionally, the Hess, Tets, and Thars... all conquered by the Kraki... are somewhat similar to the Kraki (and thus the Heorots and the Guth, who are all cousins), as well as their Lorn neighbors.  To provide a little details on these places, beyond simple names...

• Cutane is the Duchy that borders the Protectorate of Timber, and is thus the most heavily influenced by the Faith (and probably the most advanced, technologically).  They're also the least centralized of the Merov Duchies, with the Duke of Cutane far weaker than his peers.
• If the Duke of Vincia rules through political manipulation, the Duke of Naevar rules through force.  His power is nearly absolute, and his court is a rigidly organized bureaucracy.  However, his power is curbed by the fact that Naevar is the smallest of the the Duchies.
• The largest Merov Duchy is Burgen, which is also the most influenced by their neighbors.  Burgen is, by Merov standards, barbaric (although this still makes them far more refined than the Heorots or Kraki) due to the influence of their Rav and Tet neighbors.  They are the largest and most populated of the Duchies.
• The Hess are a conquered people of the Kraki, and dwelt in a lowland forest close to Guthlund.  They were a very war-like people, with very little central organization, and although they fought fiercely, they were easily defeated in small numbers by Rolf over the course of two years.  
• The Tets were a people much like the Kraki, heavily influenced by their Merov neighbors, who conducted trade (and raids) along the rivers of the continent.  They were the first land to be conquered by Rolf, before he turned his eyes toward the County of Pendrose in Vincia.  After Castus' intervention, Rolf looked at his other neighbors.
• A mountain-folk, the Thars were intensely hard to subjugate, and the area was in a limited rebellion up until the day Rolf died.  Because of it's geography, the trouble Rolf had with the Thars prevented further conquests.
• Protected by narrow mountain passes and high altitude, the Lorn are an isolated and strange people, early converts to the Faith of Arim, and for some time an island in that Faith.  Dedicated to maintaining their homeland, the Lorn have perhaps the strongest cultural identity in the known world.

Having given some detail on these people, I feel a bit more comfortable teasing out the other major peoples of Arimdom... What must be known is that the greatest "nation" (an anachronistic concept used carefully) is certainly the Protectorate of the Patriarch, which is centered around Tiber.  To the West and South of the Protectorate, along the sea that defines the continent, there are a collection of cultures that all speak a dialect of Albers.  The Albersians are not a people but rather a group of people who practice a more advanced sort of feudalism, and are generally continually at war either with each other. Finally, there are the Rav, who control a very large territory but have a relatively small population density... largely as they are on the edge of civilization.  Beyond Rav is the forest primeval, where dark and strange things (perhaps even stranger than in Lloegyr) lie.

On the Tradition of Marriage in House Two Tower

House Two Tower has a very formal marriage arrangement, which was developed to promote the health of its heirs and secure alliances, while ensuring there are never significant rival claimants to any of its holdings.

Usually, all three Earls of House Two Tower (Lothan, Senton, and Kenton) were cousins of some degree.  Two of these earls would take wives outside the house, while one of them would enter an arranged marriage with one of his cousin's sisters.  For example, Codder, the last Earl of Senton, married Odette, while his first cousin, Walder, likewise married a woman from outside the House.  However, Oswulf, Codder's second cousin, married Ethel, Codder's older sister.

Orders of Arim, Part III - Specialized Orders

The Faith of Arim is a massive organization, and most priests are quite different from the stereotypical white-robed preacher seeing to the masses.  A tremendous number of different duties maintain, promote and facilitate the functioning of the largest religion in the world.  In Tiber, the Faith resembles a far more advanced organization, with a bureaucracy that dwarves even the most complex Merovian structures, and this bureaucracy is reflected by the specialized orders that make up the bulk of the Faith's clergy.

A specialized order exists because the Faith needed it.  The Golds exist because the Faith needed soldiers, while the Greens exist because the Faith needed messengers.  Gradually, their roles expand or contract, but in all cases, a specialized order consists of priests who serve the faith in some world manner.  This is not to say they are not faithful, nor to dismiss the sacraments they offer.  However, to a Green priest, the primary duty is not to see to the sacraments, but to deliver messages securely.  Their vows ensure their loyalty and allow them to see to each other's sparks.  But their training is vastly different than a White or a Blue's.

A priest of a specialized order only administers sacraments to others of his or her order.  A Drab priest, for example, has no right or ability to see to the penance of a Black priest, or even a commoner.  Their vows vary, but generally there is not a prohibition against marriage or property, as much as there simply is no time for it: a messenger has no time for a spouse, and if they did, they would likely not rise up through the ranks of the messengers.  Further, they resemble priests less than others of their profession... a gold appears to be a warrior, a yellow, a Wahlan noble.

The most numerous of the specialized orders are Order of the Broke Sword, also called the Golds.  The Golds were founded far to the east in the early days of the Faith, before it had been consolidated around Timber, and its founder, St Benjamin, is still the matter of much conjecture and legend.  To hear the Golds speak of him, he was a contemporary of the original three Archons, but most scholars assert he was a warlord (probably from Ravar) who led a small kingdom in the early days of the Faith.  That kingdom fell, but his soldiers travelled to Timber, and have guarded the holy places ever since.  There are many legends of him and St Sylvia the Black, and they may have been contemporaries, but even the most stubborn scholar will admit there are things the Faith does not know about its past.

Today, the Golds serve as the martial arm of the Faith.  They are purely defensive in nature, as most kings and nobles become very uncomfortable about a standing army in their midsts.  The golds are the most diverse of all the priesthoods, as they take nearly anyone who is willing to arm a post.  They also are a refuge for criminals, as taking a mantle absolves one of previous sins.  However, the peasantry form the single largest recruiting source for the order... they are always well fed and live in warm cathedrals, so it is an attractive life for a strong youth who doesn't want to work the fields from sunrise to sundown.

The other commonly encountered specialized order is the Order of the Wooden Road, or the Greens, which was founded by a Kraki priest named Krunna.  St Krunna was something of a thug but also an excellent rider... legend has it that she was also quite cunning and something of a trickster.  Very early, she fell in with Blue priests who had came to the Kraki, and started serving them as a guide and a messenger.  Her skill with words is legendary in Kraki lands, who consider her their patron saint, but most famously, she recruited others of her country to help her coordinate between the warring Kraki tribes of the time.  Her organization was so useful it spread to Merovia and later to Lloegyr, until it proved so vital that event the Tiberians had to concede the use of this distinctively Northern order.

The Greens were originally messengers of the church, but early on they realized the value of reliable messengers protected by the Faith.  They are the singular reason correspondence is so prevalent in the North (and that correspondence has had a dramatic effect on the demographics of the region over the centuries).  Anyone can use a Green, who are sworn never to reveal the contents of any of their messages.  Still, they are just men and women, and rumors of corruption occasionally bubble up.  This doesn't damage their utility: they are the only messenger service in existence: if you don't have your own messenger, then you simply have to use a Green.

The Order of the Last Retreat is a silent order, known as the Drabs, who were muted charcoal cloaks and are sworn never to speak to the living, except for each other.  The disciples of St Thomas, they are full of secrets and no one knows their origins (although they are believed to be Tiberian, and centuries old).  They exist for one purpose: they see to funerary rites amongst the Faithful.  They collect and prepare bodies for cremation, in silent vigil, whispering to the flesh as they check to make sure the spark is let out and no lingering elements of corruption remain.  While occasional rumors of necromancy invariably circulate, there is little founding to them... sometimes having secrets and mystery is merely a side-effect of unwavering devotion and a little too much time spent around dead bodies.

The last specialized order known to Lloegyr is only a decade old, known as the Order of the Western Sun, or the Yellows.  They are Wahlan in nature, and known to follow St Nella... which is, coincidentally, the name of the founder of the Onellon clan.  Their purpose is seemingly to advise other Wahlan nobles, and they occupy a particular place in their nobility... slowly becoming more and more involved in politics as the Faith of Arim takes hold in that nation.  But there is one notable element about them: rumors (mostly unfounded) say that every yellow priest has some capability for magic.  

Orders of Arim, Part II - Cloistered Orders

While most common folk will encounter a member of the Open Orders, and these are by far the most numerous, the cloistered orders probably form the spiritual core of the Faith.  Whereas the Open Orders deal only with administering the sacraments, and the Specialized Orders focus on particular tasks, the Cloistered Orders maintain the theology of the Faith, essentially defining what it means to be part of the Faith of Arim, and how the Faith functions in the world.

A Cloistered Order is defined as an order who can administer sacraments to any Mantled priest (but not Brethren or common folk).  They also forsake personal property and relations.  However, they are best known for their lifestyles: they generally live with others of their Order, devoted to a particular purpose, and often have little or no contact with the outside world.  Instead, they focus on their studies, researching and investigating esoteric knowledge, and offering vital insight to the Faith as a whole.

The single most important Cloistered Order, and also the the least likely to be encountered, is the Order of the Ancient Tome, also called the Browns.  Founded by St Barnabas, one of the original three Archons, they are (along with with the Whites and the Blues) one of the three oldest Orders of the Faith.  It is said that when Gregor, Jomar, and Barnabas brought the Faith to Timber, it was Barnabas' idea, for he was the one who wanted access the ancient libraries of that city to write his canon.  This canon is known to all the Faithful, for St Barnabas is the author of the Book of Names... it is he who collected all the ancient and holy gospels and legends, and created the first holy tome in the history of the Faith.

Today, the Browns are a small order, but their place remains vital.  They are the ones who produce the actual Books of Names, dutifully copying the tome over and over again.  However, they are also the experts on canon law and dogma, and the authoritative sources on what is or is not heretical.  They live lives in small monasteries, far away from the corrupt world, and are rarely visited, except by other priests, and the occasional Green who comes to pick up some new copies of the Book of Names.

In contrast, the Order of the Hidden Names (the Blacks) are much better known, by the nature of their duty.  Whereas the Browns focus on ancient legends and histories, the Blacks focus on the occult, and strange phenomenon found throughout the world.  They seek to understand the work of the Daemurg and demons and other supernatural events, so that they can both reconcile them with the Faith, and learn to combat them in the future.  While they often keep to their libraries, they also do field work, and are often known for their investigative abilities.

The Blacks were founded by St Sylvia, who was one of the first priests to convert the Tets and Burgens in ancient days.  Predating what we now consider Merovia, the Blacks were long associated with the four Dukedoms, as St Sylvia was known as a counselor to kings, and her counsel was highly valued for her insight into pagan practices.  The highest concentration of Blacks is still in Merovia (particularly in Burgen and Naever), but their dark reputation has spread far and wide, and they are often valued as advisors due to the belief they know some bits of folklore and magic that could give ruler an edge over his or her rivals.  St Sylvia herself was believed to be martyred on a mission to Ravar... it would be hundreds of years before that area would convert.

While the Blacks are well-known, in the North, the most commonly encountered Cloistered Order are the Order of the Sacred Cup, the Purples.  Their purpose is a bit strange... they trace their founding back to St Adrian the King, who was an ancient king of a hall that is between Vexspar and Krakspar in what is now Kraki.  Adrian founded the Order after abandoning the crown to his son, and vowing to keep the ways of his people alive in this new faith.  As such, the stated purpose is the preservation of the Dragon Relics... remains of the ancient faith of the North.  However, in practice, the order has a far more particular purpose: the practice of medicine.

The Dragon Relics allow the Purples to practice alchemy, along with a number of other academic studies, which have proven valuable for healing, and over the centuries their purpose has shifted toward healing, with the preservation of the relics being secondary.  They are also probably the least centralized of the Cloistered Orders, preferring personal exchanges of knowledge in a network of priests, as opposed to centering their studies around strongholds.  This is, of course, due to the nature of their niche: they need to be where the sick are.

Orders of Arim, Part II - Open Orders

The most vital duty of the Arimite clergy is the administration of Sacraments, and thus the most vital of Mantled Orders are the Open Orders, who deliver the Sacraments to the masses.  To date, three Saints have become known as Archons by initiating Open Orders, and these three Orders form the public face of the Faith of Arim.

First and foremost, there is the Order of the Heavy Mantle, who are also called the Whites.  When a commoner thinks of the Faith of Arim, they almost certainly think of the Whites.  The local abbot who runs the village church, the Vicar of a major town, and the Bishop of a great city are all always Whites, who are tied to a particular geographic place in a very specific hierarchy.  They also administer the lands and holdings of the Faith, and have a significant amount of political power.  The Primate is almost always a White (with the recent exception of Augda, who was actually of the Black mantle).

The Whites were founded almost a thousand years ago, and are believed to have been the Browns believe they were the first Mantled Order.  Along with the Browns and the Blues, they are considered an Ancient Order, meaning their founding is apocryphal.  However, it is agreed that they were founded by St Gregor, first of the Archons, who knew Arim when the latter had clothed himself in flesh (it is tradition, but not canon, that the Archons each have had a personal vision of Arim).  St Gregor, along with St Barnabas and his cousin St Jomar, were said to have brought the Faith of Arim to the city of Tiber, and established the worship as we know it today.  In particular, St Gregor is said to have formalized the Sacraments, and the rituals and liturgy used today are called the Gregorian Protocols, for the man who wrote them down.

It should be noted that White organize slightly differently than other Orders... due to their numbers, they have multiple Bishops within a Primacy (essentially, the Primate functions as the "Bishop of Bishops" within a geographic area).  With in the Primacy of Lloegyr, there are six Dioceses: Caerlot (which is always administered by the Primate), Kenton (with parishes in Merleton and the surrounding villages), Timber (which had a parish in Roost), Lothan (with parishes in Senton and the surrounding villages), Lamark (which included Bessex and the entire Lamar peninsula), and Farpont (responsible for the entire Eastern Shore).

In contrast to the Whites, who are geographically tied, the Order of the Sublime Sea, or Blues, spread far and wide, but have few really bases of operation.  An order of proselytizers, their function is to travel into areas that do not yet tend their sparks, and convert them.  They are remarkably good at what they do: they are universally affable people, both likable and respectful, who possess a number of valuable and rare skills as well as an unshakeable faith.  Their modus operandi is to enter an area and live amongst a foreign people... learning their ways while merely demonstrating their own faith.  Through the strength of their character, they typically earn a few converts... who promptly learn to read, write, and gain superior trade craft in a field like medicine.  Most villages that encounter a Blue are turned within three years; the entire culture of the Wahla (the most recent converts to the Faith) gave up their old ways in less than ten years.

The Blues, like the Whites, trace their roots back to one of Arim's original three Archons, St Jomar.  Whereas the nature of the other two Ancient Archons means that there is a fair bit of evidence for their existence, the acts of St Jomar are completely shrouded in legend.  She is the one who was charged with the conversion of the Tiberians and actually gaining an audience for St Gregor's sermons.  He was already an old woman at the the time of the legendary Tiberian mission, and numerous local legends around the world claim a visit from her in her younger days.

The last Open Order is more recent, a development that came about in Southern Merovia several centuries ago through the work St Franna of Cutane (St Franna is considered the patron saint of Cutane, coincidentally).  The Order of the Unending Walk, or the Roses, wear pink mantles and eschew any sort of home, but rather bring the Sacraments to individuals who may not be part of a parish.  In areas with larger stretches of land, the Roses are absolutely vital, and they are also called upon to administer the Sacraments to travelers in lands where Arim has no permanent presence.  Generally, they serve as an alternative to the White mantles when establishing a church is not necessarily feasible.  They are relatively rare in Lloegyr, and are generally known only in Wahla, when there were no existing temples appropriate to the Sacraments already in existence.  

Heorot Men Marry Late, and the Primacy of Player Decisions

First, the actual setting material.

Heorot men typically come of age in their mid-teens, when they are physically capable of battle.  The Heorot rite of passage is typically a test of mettle: the month of Geor is typically reserved for all kinds of tourneys and games, and when a boy competes in his first games, he is considered a man.  Coincidentally, this seems to be about the same age that women begin menstruating, and so both men and women reach maturity about the same time.

However, Heorot men typically marry relatively late, particular since the Guth War.  The heroes of that generation... Castus, Burgred, Finn, Oswulf, Walder... all started their families relatively late in their lives (in their late twenties).  The first legitimate child born to one of Castus' close friends was Aldred, who was born when Burgred was already in his mid-twenties.  The King himself was 28 when his son was born, and Ala, the King's only legitimate child, was not born until the King was 35.  The reason for this was relatively practical: until it seemed that Castus had a legitimate chance of winning the war, having heirs was of secondary importance.  Even then, there was a general sentiment that the kingdom should be won before children be had, and most men of this generation delayed starting a family.

This sentiment was passed down, in a manner, to the current generation.  The general attitude amongst Heorot noblemen who are old enough to remember the Guth war, but not old enough to have fought in it, is that one should accomplish something before he marries.  As such, the many heirs of this generation... Aldred of Timber, Nulte of Lothan, Lud of Kenton (generally those of age to have fought in the Merov War)... are unmarried.

While this was a cause for concern amongst the Earls for some time, with the death of Nulte of Lothan without issue, this has quickly become a common topic of discussion in Heorot Halls (when they're not talking about rebellions, succession, and murder, of course).  There is a prevailing attitude that it is time for the eligible Heorot bachelors to find themselves wives, and get to making new bachelors for the decades to come.

From a meta-game perspective... all of this background is about twenty minutes old as of the time this blog was published.  The facts have always been true, but there has never been a reason given for why the named characters of the setting married so late.  Instead, the dates came about from players all picking their ages independently, and when I put them on a timeline recently, some demographic information became apparent.

There's some thematic elements of this game I try to hammer home (i.e. honor), because they're vital for the tone of the game.  If players do not understand or address Honor, or hospitality, then the storyteller has to reinforce that element.  Other elements, however, I try to leave alone, and justify in the game.  This is one of them... the ages at which your characters marry and have children might not strictly reflect the source material, but in the end, it's better to allow players to define the setting, and use it to come up with interesting additions to the setting.

Veterans of the Merov War

It looks like the coming games are going to feature conflict between the handful of warriors in Lloegyr who have actual wartime experience.  As this is a game of tragedy and interpersonal drama, it's necessary to offer context for relationships, and as such, it's time for your intrepid storyteller to define who went to the Merov War.

The "Merov War" is a name only used in Lloegyr... it would more accurately be called the "Campaign of the Peren Hills" for the woodlands on which it was fought.  The wars between the various Dukes of Merovia lasted nearly a decade, and the forces of King Castus fought only in one summer before the Duke of Vincia, dismayed with the performance of Heorot and Aelic warriors in massed battle, turned back to the use of southern mercenaries.  His dissatisfaction was largely due to the refusal of the Heorots to either integrate with foreign mercenaries, or support themselves in combine arms tactics: they simply lacked the number to fight independently but could not be combined with any foreigners without incident.  Therefore, to a denizen of Lloegyr, the war lasted one bloody, brutal summer, and was fought without glory or victory, or even purpose.

Castus did not send a full compliment of warriors to the South, with the total contingent numbering only about five hundred men.  They were mostly men of Timber and Trademeet, as it seemed to be an opportunity for the "Little Earldoms" to distinguish themselves, although Castus also sent Oswulf, Earl of Kenton, an experienced commander, overseas at the Earl's request.  Oswulf had fought in every major engagement at his king's side, and did not believe it proper for a vassal to shy away from his king's wars.

All in all, the nobles who journeyed South were:

• Oswulf, Earl of Kenton - This man served as the commander for all Heorot and Aelic forces in the South.  His primary activity was to liaison with the Duke of Vincia's war captain, Osric, Count of Marckelle, and see to the employment of his troops.
• His Vassal, Kendell - Just as Oswulf had fought for his king in every conflict, so to did Kendell, Thane of Thanet, fight with Oswulf.  His gift for logistics and administration made him a valuable aide-de-camp.  He and Oswulf were the only individuals with any significant battle experience, apart from the handful of young warriors who had fought in the War of the Three Kings.
• Nulte, Heir of Lothan - A young charismatic noble, Nulte led the cataphracts of House Two Tower into battle.  House Two Tower sent about a hundred horsemen, but saw less fighting than then men of Timber or Trademeet.
• Draught, Illegitimate Son of the King - Draught spent most of the war with the House Two Tower Cataphracts, but was transferred by his own request to Aldred's, later in the campaign.
• Lud, Heir of Kenton - Lud, a close friend of Nulte (and known by most to be his lover), fought the entire war at Nulte's side.  He was known for his loyalty and bravery in battle, but was possessed of a more quiet demeanor than his friend.
• Lander of Thanet - Kendell's son, and another noble in House Two Tower's cataphracts.
• Merrick of House Brendane - A minor noble and nephew of Kendell, who rapidly earned a reputation for both his prowess in battle and his grasp of strategy and tactics.
• Gilder of House Drannen - Another minor noble who would later become Champion of Senton.
• Hector, Bastard of Andel - Who fought in the war despite lacking any noble backing.
• Caillech of House Drannen - A little known noblewoman who masqueraded as a man.  She was discharged from the House Two Tower cataphracts after her sex was discovered, and fought most of the war with the men of Timber.
• Pendric of House Earthspur - The Champion of Kenton, an aging warrior who traveled with his lord.
• Hadric of House Earthspur  - Pendric's son, who would distinguish himself in the limited engagements in which House Two Tower fought.
• Glenn, Heir of Trademeet - A very young man who quickly earned a reputation as a fierce warrior, Glenn led the Aelic men of Trademeet in the South.  These men numbered only a hundred, and fought on foot, and quickly earned a reputation as skirmishers.  They engaged in a good deal of fighting, but did better than most, largely due to Glenn's extensive training in infantry tactics by his kinsman, Angus, Lion of the Aels.
• Aldred, Heir of Timber - The bulk of the Heorot forces actually came from Timber, which mustered troops and sent over three hundred riders.  A large number of them were Aelic, and not adept horsemen, however, they still fought fiercely and valiantly.  Often in the vanguard, these troops suffered the most significant casualties.  Aldred was one of the only nobles of his generation to fight in the War of the Three Kings.
• Drust of the Muress Woods  - A close friend and cousin of Aldred's, Drust did not actually fight in the Merov War, but was pulled from combat at the last minute by his influential foster father, Mark of the Muress Woods.
• Faljur of the Muress Woods - Aldred's brother, a fierce warrior but inept horseman, Faljur was captured in the ultimate battle of the war, a source of contention that lasted for years.
• Conder of Merleton  - A cousin of Aldred, who was not a particularly dutiful soldier, but known to be loyal and brave.
• Erin of the Muress Woods - A woman touched by Aelic gods, Erin travelled with her cousin, Aldred, to war, to serve as a healer.  After earning a bit of a reputation for her abilities, she stayed in the South after the war.