This thread is an index and guide on the Lore of the Queen of Hearts Roleplay
For anyone who finds this guide interesting, Queen of Hearts is always open for new members
This guide was compiled by Evil Tofu, and may only be edited by the 3 GM's of the Roleplay

♥ History and Lore of Sterthorpe ♥

Sterthorpe is a neutral country of roughly two and half million official citizens and five million outlaws. It is located on the central area of the Eastern shore of the continent Helendrill. Sterthorpe was once responsible for exporting 60% of the continents Lumber. However, after the Battle of Eden there weren't many forests left in Sterthorpe. The country has many coal mines where the majority of citizens work. Up until recently, Sterthorpe gained most of it's money from exporting magical artefacts and relics. The current Monarch of Sterthorpe is the 3rd Queen of Hearts. Since the beginning of her reign, the population of Sterthorpe has decreased by ten million and over 80% of the nation live in poverty. The Capital of Sterthorpe is Queenstown.

♥ Etymology
Before anyone had set foot on Sterthorpe, scholars of the Old Country had suspicions that such a nation could exist across the vast emptiness of the Victorian Sea which separated their continent from Helendrill. Parts of Helendrill had already been discovered, what with The Wastelands only a days journey overseas from the Old Country. The problem with The Wastelands was that they were deemed uninhabitable by the scholars of the Old Country. Many explorers died of thirst, and the rest were presumed to have been taken out by the vicious desert monsters which roamed the sand or the Papilsag People who's bodies had evolved to withstand the harsh desert. The explorers decided that they would need to take the months long journey past The Wastelands in hopes of finding Terra Copia; the name given to Sterthorpe by the Scholars, which is translated into 'The land of plenty'. When the first fleet arrived in 134 AKB (After King Benvolio), they kept the name Terra Copia for twenty years. After an argument between three opposing leaders (Gregory Ishtar, Simon Greenblade and Henry Sterthorpe), the name Sterthorpe was settled upon by Simon and Henry. Gregory Ishtar was given what they presumed to be a small nation, which he named Ishtar. To their surprise, Ishtar was three times the size of Sterthorpe. To this day, the name Sterthorpe has been preserved. Simon Greenblade was given a rather large forest on the East coast of Sterthorpe, which he named Greenblade forest.

♥ Geography
Sterthorpe was believed to be a land of plenty by the scholars of the Old Country. When the first fleet arrived on its shores, they were certainly surprised by the number of forests and soil perfect for growing crops. The central area of Sterthorpe is almost entirely plains, with barely a forest in sight. Whilst the East and South coast are littered with magnificent forests. The North and West regions of Sterthorpe are filled with large, mountainous structures which separate Sterthorpe from The Wasteland and Ishtar. Sterthorpe is speculated to be close to the edge of the world, also referred to as the Brink, because of it's constant cold temperature all year. The Ice Season is particularly harsh, with no crops able to be harvested. It even occasionally snows in the Fire Season. Most of it's rain comes around the midpoint of the Fire and Ice Season. During this time, Sterthorpe is more prone to flooding.

♥ Festivities
The Festival of Fire and Ice
This festivity is held twice every year to mark the changing of seasons from the Fire Season to the Ice Season or vice versa. During this mid points, Sterthorpe sees quite a lot of rain and is prone to flooding. This only become a festival 280 AKB. Before, it was a sacrificial offering to the God of the Sky in hopes they would protect their land and crops from the floods. After a while, once magic became more prominent, a group of Magical Dancers would assemble in each town and perforrm the Rain Dance. This Magic allowed the Mages to channel the power of the rain and manipulate it into dams scattered across Sterthorpe. Over the years, this event developed into a festivity where people dressed in the traditional Rain Dance attire; skirts made of straw with a crown of sea shells and pearl bracelets. The woman laced shells together to cover up their breasts. It is a time for drinking and music. The current Queen, despite her hatred of Magic, has allowed for the Rain Dancers to continue to work as to prevent the flood from soiling the lands crops. It is the two nights of the year where the Queen and her men turn a blind eye to Sterthorpe; allowing Magical Creatures and Humans to bond together and celebrate. Unfortunately, not many Magical Creatures show up to such events as after they are finished the Queen usually hosts an Inquisition where she bribes her citizens into telling her about the creatures who showed up.

The Reaping Day
During the time of the Witch Hunts, the King of Sterthorpe thought that it would be more effective to round up anyone suspected of being a Witch and keep them inside the dungeons. Whenever there was a Blue Moon, the King would relinquish everyone of their duties and force them to attend a public hanging of every Witch they had captured between the last Blue Moon and the current one. After the reaping was completed, the Witch's bodies were burnt in a large, festive fire and the entire town celebrated. These days, the Witch Hunts have stopped but the Queen still allows for a large festivity to occur.

The Delegation
Whenever the leaders of a nation travel to Sterthorpe to speak with the Queen, she insists upon every member of the Guard taking a day off to enjoy a banquet with the visiting party. During this time, the regular citizens of Sterthorpe open up a large, Black Market inside the streets which sell everything from food and clothing to Magical Relics. Because there are no Guards present, they do not fear being caught.

♥ Politics
Before 135 AKB Natives
The Niveus Turba, as they called themselves, were the original natives of Terra Copia. They spoke English fluently and it was even hard to distinguish between appearances. For this reason, Gregory Ishtar and the First Fleet had no problems against them and asked if they could inhabit their land. The Niveus Turba agreed to hand over the land to him with the promise that it will one day be returned to them.
135 - 154 AKB Gregory Ishtar
For the first 20 years after Terra Copia was discovered, Gregory Ishtar was the dictator of his crew who sailed with him during the first fleet. He worked together with the Niveus Turba to build huts, gather medicine and food and start a small colony.
154 -309 AKB King Henry
The first official Monarch of the new land, Sterthorpe. Henry and his advisor Simon ran Sterthorpe, but also broke the treaty between them and the Niveus Turba. As a result, the Niveus Turba felt betrayed and the two groups were at constant war with each other. The strange abilities of the Niveus Turba easily won the war. Even though the King was dead, this opened up the minds of the now bustling land of Sterthorpe to the prospect of Magic.
309 - 567 AKB The Magic Council
With the discovery of Magic introduced by the Niveus Turba, a council of eight people was established. These were the King and Queen of Heart, Clubs, Spades and Diamonds. The King and Queen of Diamonds left Sterthorpe eventually to return to the Old Country.
567 AKB Onwards Queen of Hearts
The Queen of Spades is the current Dictator Monarch of Sterthorpe, having hired the Niveus Turba to exterminate the other King and Queens as well as any Magical Creature they could find.

[B]♥ History

More to come! There's just a lot to write in the History section, so I'm going to take a break.