Subverting the Caspian Line

I love C.S. Lewis's Narnia stories but I have never been satisfied with his cursory representation of Narnian history under the Telmarines including: how the Telmarines came to Narnia in the first place; who they came to conquer; why they did not use Cair Paravel, why their main castle was near Beaversdam; and how the machinations of Telmarine Narnian politics played out over time.

The Caspians had ruled Narnia for time out of mind.

It had been two hundred and fifty years to be precise. Far longer than the White Witch's reign or the fifteen years of the Golden Age. The latter, though memorable and sorely missed, had passed like the blink of an eye and faded into distant legend.

Ever since the men of Telmar had ridden into Narnia and liberated it from the Northern Giants in the year 1998, they had stayed. They had been welcomed. Then.

In the years leading up to 1998 the humans, the dwarves, the talking beasts and the magical creatures were maintaining a guerrilla existence to survive the Giants' destructive occupation. They were all utterly exhausted, traumatised and grief stricken.

Thousands had been eaten, like so much meat in a mincer. Others had retreated towards the high passes of Archenland and were merged with the Archen people defending the borderlands. The nations of Terebinthia, Galma, Seven Isles and Calormen had accepted a few boatloads of humans, Talking Beasts and magical creatures fleeing the rampaging Ettins, but the rulers of these countries had steadfastly refused to lend assistance to drive the Giants out. Oh no, those rulers were wise enough to know that if the Narnians with all their wily ways and eldritch powers had not been able to stop the Giants from stomping on everyone who stood in their path (or roasting them slowly over the fires for their Autumn Feasts), then they were certainly not going to get involved. "Narnia is trouble" they said. "It has been so before and has become trouble again. Best leave it be". Archenland being the closest neighbour took the strategic decision to simply maintain its borders and accept as many refugees as it could handle.

By 1994 the Giants isolated Cair Paravel by quarrying a great channel just out of slingshot of the walls, right across the peninsula upon which Cair Paravel sat. Then as the last of the Resistance faltered, starving, demoralised and cut off from the mainland, setting off in small boats and clinging to bits of flotsam and rescued by mermaids, the last of the hope of Narnians died. The Giants then just waded across in numbers and climbed up to the walls and began bashing the castle to rubble. The home of Narnian royalty since the days of Frank and Helen's grandchildren, the fair and valiant Cair Paravel, was razed to the ground.

The Telmarines, despite their nautical sounding name, and coming from a land with vast salt lakes, generally had a morbid terror of the sea, and were not of a mind to rebuild the seat of power on the coast. It was on an island now anyway. And there was something in their darkest past which haunted them still of which they never spoke. So, Cair Paravel was a lost cause, whichever you looked at it. It was left to its own devices and the ravages of time and eventually the woods grew up along the coast and cloaked all memory.

Instead, the Telmarines surveyed the great valley of Narnia and arrived at a site in the North-west part of the country, across the Great River from Beaversdam, overlooking the confluence with the northern tributary and up towards the distant spray of the Great Waterfall. The Castle which Caspian 1st caused to be built there also had panoramic views down the great valley and across southern Narnia towards the mountains of Archenland. It enabled beacons and light signals to be used to communicate quickly and easily from many parts of Narnia. It was easily the most strategic position for intelligence. Being situated on the rocky heights above the confluence, it was also in a most defensible position.

Whilst almost no-one would have stood in his way, Caspian, the Telmarine Warlord, honourably married a Royal Narnian, Princess Ida, in order to legitimise and stabilise his claim to the throne. She was the only remaining royal left after the great troubles, that was young enough, poised enough and royal enough to please all sides and she was frankly grateful to be so chosen. She had lived from hand to mouth in the forest caves and dwarf warrens under the tors of South-western Narnia for four years. When the Telmarine liberators had first driven out the Giants and set up their great camps down near the ruins of Beruna, she and her followers came amongst them looking half-starved with hollow cheeks, and fell on their knees before their liberators.

Gaining the land of Narnia had come at great cost and a campaign of several years' duration, so Caspian and his followers were not about to leave the place to its own devices in a hurry. The land was rich and being situated in an east sloping vale, was flooded with the morning sun throughout the day and the northern side of the river was particularly bathed in strong light throughout the spring, summer and autumn.

But the Telmarines were never comfortable with the Talking Beasts, the Wiggles, the Fauns, or the wood and water nymphs in her retinue. The Dwarfs they would tolerate as long as they did what they were told or kept out of the way. Horses and dogs they understood and liked well enough, as long as they held their tongues. But the Gryphons and Centaurs un-nerved the Telmarines with their raw power, whilst the Fauns and Satyrs and Nymphs with their rustic ways and bestial semi-nakedness were walking proof of the wanton nature of this land which in time must be tamed. So the Telmarines bode their time.

And the faithful Narnians also bode their time. They were thankful for their liberation, but always worked to bring the Telmarines around to Narnian traditions, Narnian cheerfulness and Narnian open-mindedness.

But the Caspians were sticklers for their own traditions, if nothing else. The firstborn son was named Caspian and in his time became Caspian 2nd at his crowning. And this tradition continued without fail until the years of Caspian 9th.

In the early days, there was still much coming and going between Telmar and Narnia. At the beginning, many of the Telmarine soldiers who had fought and lost their compatriots had sent home and brought their families and beloved ones out of the wide dry plains and salty inland seas of the far west to this fruitful little land that just seemed to burst with life at every turn. Most had no conception of the reasons for this happy state of affairs nor felt comfortable with the various strange beings who were beginning to make themselves felt at large again after their long defeat at the hands (and feet) of the Giants. Nevertheless, by the time of Caspian 3rd, Beruna was openly inhabited by many traditional non-human Narnians working and living alongside their Telmarine human counterparts and much of Narnia was beginning to honour the old ways. The Winter Father had even been seen in several places during Yule and the Centaurs were beginning to be consulted by the royal family. The portents regarding the dances of the lords and ladies of the firmament were becoming more widely known and listened to again.

This state of affairs was not at all to the liking of some of the counsellors and relatives of the Royal line and within very few generations, two parties had emerged within Narnian politics. First there was the Party of Protection. This party honoured the trials and efforts of Caspian the Conqueror and his followers in liberating Narnia and continuing to protect it from further ravages of the Giants. The trouble was, as time progressed, any other being which was not strictly human or which looked like a beast but which could speak in the tongues of men was also seen as questionable and belonging to a dark past which should best be stamped out. Fauns and Nymphs were equated with Minotaurs and Hags. And the party faithful did all they could to put this "stamping out" into action, at least in their own estates and larger domains. Then there was the Party of Resistance, which was devoted to bringing the Narnia of the past into the light of the present time, honouring the ancient traditions, encouraging the dwarves to live in the open, holding woodland dances in due season and working in harmony with the remaining gods and goddesses of the springs and the sacred groves… and in honouring the Great Lion.

The machinations of each party were played out in the Great Council of Narnia which advised the King or his regent. Each generation of the Caspian line had the faithful of each party influencing the choice of spouse, the education of the royal children and the generation of stories about conspiracies about either side, only some of which were true. To be working or living at court was to be caught in the jaws of a wolf and neither side was ever prepared to let go.

But try as they might the valiant efforts of the Resistance Party proved to have less and less influence over wider affairs as the pressure from the Protection Party waxed and waned over time. The Dwarves retreated or merged into the human population. The Talking Beasts stayed silent and those who could not pretend they were domestic animals (and many which could), simply retreated into the Western Wild or the relative safety of the southern mountains and stayed there. The Centaurs, the Unicorns and the Royal Gryphons mostly lived in out-of-the-way places in Archenland, serving the Archen Royals and forming a Narnia in exile as it were. The fauns and satyrs and the nymphs of the woods and streams were seen less and less. And the trees never spoke or moved, unless it was to trip some unwary Telmarine soldier or his horse at dusk or dawn. Their anger and fear was palpable and it was a brave person of any persuasion who ventured alone or even in a small company into the woods. Gradually the hopes and dreams of the Resistance began to seem much more like nursery stories, the delusions of the naïve and the vainglorious or the curses of the evil-minded.

Timeline:

1976: Royal Narnian Princess Ida born at Cair Paravel. Youngest child of four.

1994: Invasion of Narnia by Northern Giants. Ida's brothers and parents killed in action. Princess Ida goes into hiding.

1998: Liberation of Narnia by Telmarines. They are welcomed with open arms. Caspian the Conqueror is their leader (aged 42). He stays ostensibly to help stabilise Narnia and defend it from further invasion.

2002: Caspian (1) the Conqueror marries Princess Ida (aged 26). Court initially set up at Beruna.

2004: Male Child born. He also is called Caspian (2). Castle above confluence of river is begun.

2033: At age 29, Caspian (2) marries Marchioness Grazina (aged 25) from Eastern Telmar.

2036: Castle completed to the point of being occupied. Work continues with help of dwarves etc. Caspian the Conqueror's grandchild (3) born.

2039: Caspian the Conqueror dies (aged 83). Narnia mourns with mixed feelings. Queen Ida (aged 63) abdicates. Caspian (2) crowned King Caspian 2nd at (aged 35)

2039-2050: Under Caspian 2nd and Grazina's rule, a large following of citizens and soldiers of Telmar enter Narnia, swearing allegiance to the Narnian Telmarine nation. Many people of Telmar build fortified houses and hamlets across Narnia. Woods are being knocked back. Many native Narnians becoming wary and angry. Deputations to court from those wronged become a regular event. Queen Ida is distraught and argues with her son, regretting her abdication. She establishes strong relationship with her grandson (3), attempting to influence him for the future.

2051: Queen Mother Ida dies (aged 75).

2068: At age 33, Caspian (3) marries Princess Flora of Archenland. She is of Frank and Helen's house, descendants of Lune, Cor and Aravis.

2069: Princess Junis and Princess Junillian are born.

2076: Caspian 2nd dies (aged 72) and King Caspian 3rd crowned (aged 41). Caspian 3rd and Queen Flora work to help restore Narnia for Narnians. Flora helps this by supporting many Narnians who had settled in Archenland to come back. This includes both human and non-human. Some traditions begin to be reintroduced under her influence. Snow ball fights, Christmas, Spring dancing in the woods with fauns and dryads. Mixed markets and trading. Many Telmarine Narnians are very happy about this but others are implacable and establish the Protection Party and begin to consolidate themselves at court, citing crimes against humanity by native Narnians and emphasizing the importance of maintaining the Northern defence against the giants with other matters dubbed "of much lower priority".

2078: Prince Caspian (4) is born.

2101: King Caspian 3rd becomes gravely ill and bows to pressure and to placate the Protection Party, Caspian (4) is married to a local Telmarine Lord's daughter Lady Vincenze from Eastern Narnia. Queen Flora is outvoted and outmanoeuvred.

2103: King Caspian 3rd dies (aged 68). Prince Caspian (4) crowned King Caspian 4th of Telmarine Narnia (aged 25). Queen Flora is grief-stricken and returns to the land of her birth. Many Narnians follow her, despairing. Queen Vincenze gives birth to a healthy boy called Prince Caspian (5).

2135: At age 32, Prince Caspian (5) marries a pure-blood Telmarine, Lady Bologna of Ettinsmuir (aged 18), a family which has led the hold off of the Giants now for over 130 years. The Protection Party re-consolidate their powerbase.

2136: Princess Brionne born. Most dwarves begin to retreat. Pure dwarves persecuted. Others deliberately interbreed with nymphs and Narnian humans of the Resistance Party to breed themselves out for their descendants' safety. Non Telmarine humans and part humans (where it can be detected) become second class citizens or worse. Nymphs and nature spirits retreat. Many talking beasts hide amongst the dumb ones hoping to not be noticed or enslaved. Others migrate. Centaurs, unicorns, fauns, satyrs, giants and gryphons retreat to distant wild places or are killed.

2138: Prince Caspian (6) born.

2140: King Caspian 5th dies in hunting accident. Protection Party claim it was a terrorist act by native Narnians and gain control of Council. Lady Bologna's elder brother acts as Regent. Sets in place many new laws and measures before his nephew gains his majority.

2159: Prince Caspian (6) gains his majority (aged 21) and is crowned King Caspian 6th. He also marries Lady Linnet Sopespian, another Protection Party family from Beruna. Inward looking focus of Telmarines is emphasised. Harassment deepens. No pure dwarves live in proximity to Telmarine villages anymore. History of Narnia is rewritten. All old Narnians are outlawed.

2161: Twins born, Prince Caspian (7) and Princess Coralina to Caspian 6th and Queen Linnet.

2195: King Caspian 6th dies young (aged 57). His wife Queen Linnet blames the Resistance but Prince Caspian (7) knows better. He joined the Resistance Party in secret when he was only 15. He is crowned King Caspian 7th. He breaks with tradition and almost immediately arranges a marriage to Tarkheena Niravel from Tehishbaan, Calormen as part of a trade and security alliance. This puts the Protection Party out of reckoning. Niravel travels to Narnia via Archenland jointly escorted by Narnians, Archenlanders and Calormenes. Such a wedding has not been seen in Narnia for time out of mind.

2199: Princess Coralina marries a Lord from South Eastern Narnia with ties to the Resistance Party. The Protection Party are not pleased and begin to manoeuvre.

2202: Prince Caspian (8) born.

2206: Princess Crispina born. Their mother Queen Niravel tells them many tales from the South about the special blessings brought by the skirling winds of the desert and the many wayside shrines devoted to local deities of spring and stream, grove and grotto. Caspian (8) begins to wonder whether Narnia might have such things too. His mother is wise to Narnian Telmarine politics and assures him that whilst the country never had shrines as such, and since the Telmarines liberated Narnia from the Giants of the North, there have been much less of their kind being seen, Narnia does indeed have gods and goddesses in the streams and woods and mossy grottoes. She laughingly tells her children that many of the Narnian Telmarines consider them to be ghouls and ghosts but that she knows better, but tells them to keep quiet about this matter until they can learn more.

2216: Queen Niravel takes both her children on a family visit to Tehishbaan, with close supervision. But she manages to take the children to visit a Baoli, a stepped well. There she successfully calls the goddess of the well to the water's edge. The goddess looks upon both the children, says "Do Whatever You Can for My Brother and Sisters in Your Fair Land" and blesses them, touching both on the forehead with her wet finger before diving back into the clear water and disappearing from view. Thus anointed, the children return home full of imagination and passion for what their land could become again.

2223: Prince Caspian (8) is introduced to the Resistance Party. They give him insight into the Narnian resistance movement and the true underbelly of Narnian politics. He meets several Telmarine families who have deliberately bred native Narnian lines, with Dwarf, Dryad and Naiad strains and even a Werewolf strain in one unfortunate case. He comes to feel great empathy and vows to do what he can for the ancient people of Narnia once he becomes King.

2227: Prince Caspian (8) marries Lady Marvelle of Beaversdam who is quarter dryad after her grandmother had participated in a secret bacchanalian marriage to the land in Southern Narnia near Dancing Lawn, but this is not widely suspected. (More on this story in later chapters).

2239: After several mysterious miscarriages, Prince Caspian (9) born.

2241-2251: Prince Caspian (9) listens to his mother and also learns many old tales from his young nurse, who introduces him to Cornelius, her cousin who is a young scholar who had been trained in both Armouthe and Tashbaan.

2251: Marvelle is poisoned by the Protection Party which stages it to look like an assassination by a madman with leanings to the maligned Resistance Party.

2253: Caspian 8th is still grief stricken but remarries "to further stabilise your line sire" under pressure from the Council. He marries the Lady Mariana Glozelle, not openly a member of the Protection Party.

2257: Queen Mariana gives birth to Prince Miraz. Caspian (9) also guesses the truth after speaking with Cornelius and is consumed with grief and anger and vows to do whatever he can to bring back Old Narnia. He consults his father and they begin to make plans and alliances with the exiled Narnians in Archenland.

2261: Caspian (9) (aged 22) is beside himself with excitement. Whilst out on a foray on the Southern border he secretly visits Archenland under the secret aegis of King Nain and meets with Old Narnians. Prince Caspian has met a delightful young woman (Lady Silverlock) who is a Naiad of the Archen River. She has been educated at Anvard and her courtly skills are impeccable, although she has the unfortunate habit of taking off her clothes in broad daylight and diving into the nearest stream or pond. She comes across as very beautiful and very softly spoken. She has a name but can speak little about her origins. Much to the consternation of traditionalists and the Protection Party, he proposes to marry the mysterious Archen lady. The Council try to convince him to instead marry a Duchess of Galma or a Marchioness of Telmar, but he refuses. Finally the Council reluctantly agrees to let him marry her and for any issue to be recognised but withhold the right for her to be recognised as Queen. Telmarine society becomes split more openly. The Protection Party gather their forces.

2263: The Lady Silverlock enters Narnia with an Archen escort and she is married to Prince Caspian (9) at the castle near Beaversdam. The wedding is deliberately not attended by members of the Protection Party except for junior members of their families sent as witnesses. The snub is strongly felt. Caspian (9) and his Father Caspian 8th both try to change laws which outlaw old Narnians and are unsuccessful. Mariana makes life difficult for Lady Silverlock in the women's quarters.

2282: Despite Caspian 8th's efforts, under Queen Mariana's tutelage and the machinations of the Protection Party, Miraz secretly becomes part of the Protection Party. Queen Mariana is shot by a mixed group of Narnian Dwarfs and a Satyr while picnicking. Two are caught and brought back for questioning. Miraz tortures them to death in the deepest dungeons. He vows to the Protection Party that he will bide his time but will become King if it is the last thing he does.

2283-2289: Lady Silverlock experiences difficulty in holding an unborn child in the same way as Lady Marvelle. So in 2289 she and Prince Caspian 9th travel to Archenland on a state visit and she stays there for several months, finally carrying a successful pregnancy.

2290: Early in the year Lady Silverlock returns to Narnia and Prince Caspian (10) is born. Within 3 months, Miraz kills his brother by drowning and makes his sister-in-law who has just given birth, jump from a turret into the river below. He has her shot by crossbows multiple times before she reaches what she thinks is her freedom. He publicly blames it on her. A great pool of pond water is found around Caspian's body with water weed draped where he lies. Miraz assumes rule as Lord Protector of Narnia and of young Prince Caspian. He imposes martial rule. He locks up Marvell's nephews, sends Resistance party Telmarines away on a wild goose chase on an Archen ship. He keeps Caspian 10th to bolster his own legitimacy, until he is no longer needed.