“I don’t understand, Sir Stefan. What’s happening? Where are we going?”
“Please be quiet, Majesty,” the greying knight replied to his queen’s worried questions, steadying her with a hand on her elbow as he guided her through the murky tunnel.
“You’re in grave danger.”
“I don’t understand,” Elya said, voice lowered.
“Lord Janolf has killed the Captain of the Guards and filled the palace with his own men. People say he has released a... a monster, or a demon to slay anything that stands in his way. He’s headed for the Throne Room.”
Elya swallowed. “And... my Lord Husband?”
“The King...” Stefan hesitated, “We do not know, Majesty. All I know is that he instructed me to take you and the child to safety.”
Swallowing again, Elya nodded. A part of her knew that she should be panicking, that her life was crumbling around her into dust, that her husband might very well be dead. That the life of the child she carried was in danger.
But most of her was numb, and simply followed Stefan without question as he led her through the dark tunnels underneath the Royal Palace until they finally surfaced, finding themselves in a small room.
A man was waiting for them and in his nondescript clothing and deep hood it took Elya a second to recognise him as the ambassador from Ilvance.
“We must hurry, Majesty,” he said, “Janolf will soon have closed the city gates. I have horses waiting.”
Still numb, Elya just nodded and allowed the men to usher her out of the house to the waiting horses, mounting the stallion they indicated and wrapping the cloak they gave her around herself.
They rode through the night.
***
Darlond laughed loudly as his small hands closed on the frog he had been chasing and he turned to hold it up to his mother for inspection. A fond smile on her face, Elya nodded from over her embroidery.
“That’s very nice, my love,” she said, “Why don’t you return it to the pond?”
As usually happy to comply with his mother’s wishes, Darlond nodded and trotted off toward the pond at the far end of the enclosed garden on chubby legs. Elya followed him with her eyes until she was suddenly interrupted by a servant stumbling out through the doors to the garden.
“Your Majesty,” he panted, “There’s a messenger. From Alcea.” He took another deep, desperate breath. “Not from Janolf.”
***
Basic plot is as follows:
About three years ago, the ruling House of the country Alcea was overthrown by the powerful sorcerer Janolf, a man driven by an insatiable hunger for power. The King and most of his loyal knight were slaughtered, as was the whole of the Royal House. Except his young wife, pregnant with his child.
She managed to escape with the help of an ambassador from Alcea’s neighbour, Ilvance, and took refuge with the Emperor there.
Since Janolf’s takeover, a movement of resistance has grown, consisting of nobles from the Houses disfavoured by Janolf as well as more common folk dissatisfied with their new ruler, who the rumours say is in league with demons and monsters.
Elya is living in comfort in Ilvance with her now three year old son when a messenger from the Resistance reaches her, telling her that the true heir of the crown of Alcea is needed in the fight against Janolf and she decides to leave Ilvance and find the headquarters of the Resistance. Meanwhile, the Resistance sends out a group to meet Elya and her son and show her to their headquarters.
The idea is for people to play one of the people Elya recruits to escort her through Alcea (an exile from Alcea, a native of Ilvance, something else entirely...) or someone in the party sent out to meet her. The messenger would be fine to play, as well.
Notes on the world
It is, as you might have noticed, not plotted in any great detail so I encourage you to do your own worldbuilding! But here are a few basic things:
1. There are only humans.
2. Magic is innate to some people and is quite rare. It’s not something that is very well understood and attitudes toward it vary. Some think it’s ungodly and some see it as a gift. In Alcea, there is no system for training those born with magic; instead, they’re usually carted off to someone’s friend’s cousin’s acquaintance’s old uncle who can call on the winds. There are tales, though, of great organisations of powerful mages in far off countries...
There is also the deeper even less understood power of the lands and of the earth. Power that can be harnessed through rituals and amulets and so on. This is the kind of power that binds the royal family to the throne.
3. Gods and goddesses. Alcea’s official religion is the worship of the Sun-god and the Moon-goddess, just called the god and the goddess, but there are minor deities and cults all over the country. Which are real? Time will tell.
4. Technology. Late Medieval times. Swords, bows and crossbows. Stuff like that.
So, basically, this is a pretty standard fantasy RPG with a lot of freedom for the players. There is a basic plot, but not much more than that.
I will be playing Elya, perhaps someone in the party sent out to meet her if that turns out to be relevant and various NPCs as needed. And bad guys. Although I suppose the players could be bad guys as well.
***
There's room for more players!
“Please be quiet, Majesty,” the greying knight replied to his queen’s worried questions, steadying her with a hand on her elbow as he guided her through the murky tunnel.
“You’re in grave danger.”
“I don’t understand,” Elya said, voice lowered.
“Lord Janolf has killed the Captain of the Guards and filled the palace with his own men. People say he has released a... a monster, or a demon to slay anything that stands in his way. He’s headed for the Throne Room.”
Elya swallowed. “And... my Lord Husband?”
“The King...” Stefan hesitated, “We do not know, Majesty. All I know is that he instructed me to take you and the child to safety.”
Swallowing again, Elya nodded. A part of her knew that she should be panicking, that her life was crumbling around her into dust, that her husband might very well be dead. That the life of the child she carried was in danger.
But most of her was numb, and simply followed Stefan without question as he led her through the dark tunnels underneath the Royal Palace until they finally surfaced, finding themselves in a small room.
A man was waiting for them and in his nondescript clothing and deep hood it took Elya a second to recognise him as the ambassador from Ilvance.
“We must hurry, Majesty,” he said, “Janolf will soon have closed the city gates. I have horses waiting.”
Still numb, Elya just nodded and allowed the men to usher her out of the house to the waiting horses, mounting the stallion they indicated and wrapping the cloak they gave her around herself.
They rode through the night.
***
Darlond laughed loudly as his small hands closed on the frog he had been chasing and he turned to hold it up to his mother for inspection. A fond smile on her face, Elya nodded from over her embroidery.
“That’s very nice, my love,” she said, “Why don’t you return it to the pond?”
As usually happy to comply with his mother’s wishes, Darlond nodded and trotted off toward the pond at the far end of the enclosed garden on chubby legs. Elya followed him with her eyes until she was suddenly interrupted by a servant stumbling out through the doors to the garden.
“Your Majesty,” he panted, “There’s a messenger. From Alcea.” He took another deep, desperate breath. “Not from Janolf.”
***
Basic plot is as follows:
About three years ago, the ruling House of the country Alcea was overthrown by the powerful sorcerer Janolf, a man driven by an insatiable hunger for power. The King and most of his loyal knight were slaughtered, as was the whole of the Royal House. Except his young wife, pregnant with his child.
She managed to escape with the help of an ambassador from Alcea’s neighbour, Ilvance, and took refuge with the Emperor there.
Since Janolf’s takeover, a movement of resistance has grown, consisting of nobles from the Houses disfavoured by Janolf as well as more common folk dissatisfied with their new ruler, who the rumours say is in league with demons and monsters.
Elya is living in comfort in Ilvance with her now three year old son when a messenger from the Resistance reaches her, telling her that the true heir of the crown of Alcea is needed in the fight against Janolf and she decides to leave Ilvance and find the headquarters of the Resistance. Meanwhile, the Resistance sends out a group to meet Elya and her son and show her to their headquarters.
The idea is for people to play one of the people Elya recruits to escort her through Alcea (an exile from Alcea, a native of Ilvance, something else entirely...) or someone in the party sent out to meet her. The messenger would be fine to play, as well.
Notes on the world
It is, as you might have noticed, not plotted in any great detail so I encourage you to do your own worldbuilding! But here are a few basic things:
1. There are only humans.
2. Magic is innate to some people and is quite rare. It’s not something that is very well understood and attitudes toward it vary. Some think it’s ungodly and some see it as a gift. In Alcea, there is no system for training those born with magic; instead, they’re usually carted off to someone’s friend’s cousin’s acquaintance’s old uncle who can call on the winds. There are tales, though, of great organisations of powerful mages in far off countries...
There is also the deeper even less understood power of the lands and of the earth. Power that can be harnessed through rituals and amulets and so on. This is the kind of power that binds the royal family to the throne.
3. Gods and goddesses. Alcea’s official religion is the worship of the Sun-god and the Moon-goddess, just called the god and the goddess, but there are minor deities and cults all over the country. Which are real? Time will tell.
4. Technology. Late Medieval times. Swords, bows and crossbows. Stuff like that.
So, basically, this is a pretty standard fantasy RPG with a lot of freedom for the players. There is a basic plot, but not much more than that.
I will be playing Elya, perhaps someone in the party sent out to meet her if that turns out to be relevant and various NPCs as needed. And bad guys. Although I suppose the players could be bad guys as well.
***
There's room for more players!
