Notes: - Commodore, Charge, Sarget, Brigadier, Privateer, Ensignal, Master.
Duncan Weaver becomes the 1st king of H.E. and later, his family gets a
summer fief named Conté, thus.
Before H.E.- Aura Moonwave stood at the podium. It was her turn to tell of her findings. There had been several reports of spidrens in the country. There had also been reports of killer centaurs and bothersome pixies. Something had to be done to get rid of the destruction these Beasts were making. There were plenty of wizards to do something, but how to go about it was what Aura had to figure out.
"I have found a way," she said, "to rid this land of the Beasts that have plagued us these past few years since we came here. We cannot live among them peacefully. I have searched our libraries for days to find this. What I have come up with is a spell. It is simple yet powerful. It will force every existing Beast to be confined to the place it came from. I have only the crude beginnings of the spell here. It needs to be perfected by the more powerful wizards before it will work." As soon as she said this, she produced a paper from inside her jacket pocket. She opened it and read aloud, "These creatures who came before, shall live in this Realm no more. By our strong and mighty hand, we banish them to their former land!"
She stepped from the podium and took her seat. The Head Wizard came over and she handed him the paper with the spell. Ever since her band of explorers had came to settle here, it had been a non-stop battle with the Beasts, as her people called them. They had been trying for ten years to find a way to get rid of them. Only recently had the problem with the Beasts become so serious to the point of daily attacks on their fortress.
The city within had increased over the years and then, so had the Militia. More people had wanted to join in the fight against the Beasts. Since last year, Good Cove had been desperate enough to allow women and girls to fight. Usually, females were allowed other rights such as voting and holding positions of honor, but never were they allowed to fight. Fighting, for females, was considered unwomanly. Women were physically weaker than men, and therefore, could not be risked in the battles of Good Cove.
However, since women had been allowed, more young girls were beginning to come forward to train in families where no sons were present. It seemed that the parents, having not yet produced any sons, felt that their daughters were capable of handling the work of a Fighter.
Boys, as well as girls, could be seen in the fields of some Fightmaster, learning the ways of the Militia and how to handle weapons. Aura had been training since two years ago. Now she was sixteen and a Privateer in the Militia. It was just under a Brigadier and above Ensignal and Master. There were two groups of fighting men and women: the Fighters and the Militia. The Militia was concerned with the details of battles and the fighting in the long term wars. The Fighters were concerned with the skirmishes, scouting, and patrol duty. The Fighters also were in charge of training people to fight so that one day they could maybe join the Militia.
For children as old as twelve, who had been born in the Other Land, joining the Militia was an option. They would train with the Masters and learn to fight, but they would also be put in charge of other heavier matters if they were seen fit.
Aura had started out as a Master in the Militia, but those who were Wiser had seen that she had a knack for devising schemes and researching for ideas and solutions to problems. This ability was not Mysticality. Only Wizards had Mysticality and Wizards were not allowed in the Militia. This was something she had learned.
She was taught from Younghood how to do well in what she was asked. She was very intelligent. She could read from age two. This was considered a sign of High Intelligence. It wasn't Mysticality, but it was also a gift from Above. People with High Intelligence often got very far in their life. Most other sixteen-year-olds would still be an Ensignal or even a Master still.
As for those with Wizard skills, they were all tested at six months old. If they were found to possess such skills, they were taken from their home to train and hone their Mysticality skills. When they were eight, they would be placed in an Order. There were six Orders: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Stone, and Color. Each Order possessed gifts corresponding to that Order name. Wizards in Color possessed gifts that did not belong in any of the other Orders. These Wizards were the most honored.
The Wizard looked at the paper and nodded. "Thank you," he said. "It will be very interesting to see how this turns out." He motioned to the other Wizards in the room and they all left.
The meeting was adjourned and Aura left for her rooms. Once she had arrived at the wing of the barracks marked with the symbol for females: a gold circle crossed by a silver circle with an orange ball in the center, she walked to the third door and unlocked it. She shut the door behind her and removed her jacket and her boots.
She went to her desk and produced a paper. This was another copy of the spell. She looked at it. How were the Wizards going to make this work? All she had found was the words to the spell and a description of what it was for. The book never said anything about how to activate the spell or how to change the words so that it would work. Oh well, she thought. The Wizards will figure it out. I know they will.
A few days went by; then a few more. Aura grew bored of waiting for the Wizards to come up with an answer. Every day they promised to find the solution. Every day the entire Militia sat in the meeting hall waiting for the Wizards. They never came. The Militia waited everyday in the meeting hall in silence. They all hoped that the Wizards would come. They didn't.
Finally, several days later, they came. The great door in the side of the meeting hall opened. In walked all the Wizards. First came the Order of Color. Second came Earth, followed by Fire, then Water, Wind, and Stone. They all sat at the stage. The Head Wizard stepped up to the podium.
He began, "We have indeed found a solution. We have prepared the spell. We will activate it tomorrow at dawn in front of all Good Cove. Meeting adjourned."
All the Wizards rose as one and left, led by Stone and followed up by Color in the rear. Then all the Militia left to get some sleep. It was already the tenth hour after midday and dawn was only a few hours away.
Dawn came. Everyone in Good Cove had turned out for this event. Everyone had brought a seat or a blanket to sit on. The Wizards had decided to hold the activation on the central lawn. They had raised a platform to stand on as they read the spell. The people gathered, Wise and Young alike. The Militia sat in even columns and rows just in front of the platform. The Fighters sat behind them, ranged out in a semicircle, protecting the Militia and the front of the platform. Everyone else was spread out behind the Fighters; a family here, a school group there, and so on until there was no more room on the lawn for anyone else.
All of the Wizards had arranged themselves on the platform. The Head Wizard would read the spell while the other Wizards would complete the physical part. They had found things to represent what they wanted in the spell. The Order of Earth found leaves of a Carthakian Violet, which had tiny hairs on them so they felt soft, would represent the Beasts that they wanted to get rid of. The Order of Fire decided to burn the leaves to represent their destruction. Stone would create a barrier where the leaves' ashes were to float to. Wind was in charge of blowing the ashes inside the barrier. Water had to provide a light rain to keep the fire contained and the Wizards refreshed. And lastly, Color was in charge of minding the Young Wizards who were younger than eight while they were on the platform.
The Head Wizard raised his large staff and his other hand in a motion for silence. There was a wave of quiet that started in the front and rolled to the back, until every last person was silent. He started, "We are now going to activate the spell. When we have finished, all of the Beasts will have been banished to where they came from."
At that point, the head of the Order of Fire raised his palm and created a fireball. All the other Fires were holding hands, giving their strength to the Head. The Head of the Order of Earth raised the leaves, putting power into them. All of the other Earths were holding hands, to give their Head power. Meanwhile, all the other Orders were preparing their part. The head of Water raised his arms to the sky, commanding rain. All at once, the Head Wizard began, "These creatures who came before, shall live in this Realm no more. By our strong and mighty hand, we banish them to their former land!" All the while, the other Wizards were acting out their part. The Head of Fire lit the leaves. As the leaves burned, Stone created a barrier. When the leaves had burned, Wind blew the ashes into the barrier, which was immediately sealed off just as the Head Wizard finished the spell.
There was a blinding flash of light. Everyone covered their eyes. When the flare had dissolved, only children remained. Everyone under the age of ten was left standing. Everyone else was gone. The only Wizards that were remaining were all of the young ones. There was absolutely no one over the age of ten.
Duncan Weaver was nine. He was in the Order of Color. He could talk to animals and change into them. His little sister was only two. She was probably going to be in the Order of Stone. She could move things and make things stronger and create Mystical barriers. He was standing on the platform holding his sister's hand when the flash had come. Now his sister was crying. So was he.
As he and his fellow Wizards looked out at what was once a filled lawn, he realized that now they were all alone. With no Wise to look out for them, no family to teach him, he was alone. He led his sister to where all of the other Wizards were weeping and said, "I think we should destroy that spell. We should find the copy and get rid of it. We are now in charge. There are no Wise to guide us. No one to tell us what to do. We need to take charge and do something now."
Everyone looked at him, even those who were ten. One said, "I agree. That spell has brought us harm. Yes, it did get rid of the Beasts, but look at what else it got rid of. It rid us of everyone who was born in the Other Land! No one must ever be able to find that spell or to use it." With that, the Wiser Young got up and turned to the lawn. There was absolutely no Militia left; however, there were some Fighters. They were all huddled together. The school groups and the families had joined together as well.
The Wiser Young said, in as loud a voice as he could, "Do not fear. We need to make order and take up where the Wiser have left off. If you are with me, come forth and we shall begin." It took a moment for the message to spread, but once it did, everyone got up and walked closer to the platform to resettle their seats so they could hear better. The Wiser Young continued, "This is Duncan. He has given me the courage to speak to you all. I think we should make him the leader. We should all listen to him." He tugged Duncan's sleeve and brought him to the center of the platform.
Duncan, still holding his sister's hand, cleared his throat. "I believe that the spell that was just said was made wrong. I think that instead of having the leaves represent only the Beasts, they were somehow transformed to mean all that were not born on this soil. Our first order of business should be to find any copies of that spell and destroy them. It would be terrible if someone used it to cause the destruction of an enemy, thus causing destruction to themselves. Then we will all come together and take stock of who is left. From there, we can take further steps to make our lives easier and so we can work together. There are only a few hundred of us, so it shouldn't be too hard. Now, if we can, let's get started searching for copies of that spell. I'm sure you all remember how it goes, so I will not repeat it. If you would all search your homes, libraries, and any other building you come across, we should all find at least one copy of the spell somewhere. So, let's go." And with that, he let go of his sister's hand, jumped from the platform, helped his sister off, and went to his Dormitory to search.
Everyone else slowly left, trying to decide where to go first. After a while, everyone had left to find the spell.
A week and a few days later, nearly fifty copies of the spell were found. Duncan held a huge spell burning party. Every Youngster brought food and drink to it. Some brought instruments for music. Games and dancing also took place. In the middle of the festivities was a large bonfire. At the beginning of the celebration, Duncan had given out every copy of the spell to a lucky few. One at a time, they threw the paper or book with the spell into the fire. Once every copy had been burned, the music started up and the celebration lasted for three days.
And that was how the beginnings of Tortall were made. The Young grew up, had families, and generations passed. Good Cove became Corus, named after the singing that could be heard at night from the large parties that were held. Since more explorers came and Corus needed to expand and people were awarded lands for good deeds, Tortall began to spread into what it is now.
Thus, Duncan Weaver, later to be known from the fief Conté, 1st King of Tortall, established a new calendar to commemorate the year in which the Beasts had been banished back to their lands. Instead of 631 P.E. (Peaceful Era), the year became 1 H.E. (Human Era).
COMING SOON: 448 H.E.
Before H.E.- Aura Moonwave stood at the podium. It was her turn to tell of her findings. There had been several reports of spidrens in the country. There had also been reports of killer centaurs and bothersome pixies. Something had to be done to get rid of the destruction these Beasts were making. There were plenty of wizards to do something, but how to go about it was what Aura had to figure out.
"I have found a way," she said, "to rid this land of the Beasts that have plagued us these past few years since we came here. We cannot live among them peacefully. I have searched our libraries for days to find this. What I have come up with is a spell. It is simple yet powerful. It will force every existing Beast to be confined to the place it came from. I have only the crude beginnings of the spell here. It needs to be perfected by the more powerful wizards before it will work." As soon as she said this, she produced a paper from inside her jacket pocket. She opened it and read aloud, "These creatures who came before, shall live in this Realm no more. By our strong and mighty hand, we banish them to their former land!"
She stepped from the podium and took her seat. The Head Wizard came over and she handed him the paper with the spell. Ever since her band of explorers had came to settle here, it had been a non-stop battle with the Beasts, as her people called them. They had been trying for ten years to find a way to get rid of them. Only recently had the problem with the Beasts become so serious to the point of daily attacks on their fortress.
The city within had increased over the years and then, so had the Militia. More people had wanted to join in the fight against the Beasts. Since last year, Good Cove had been desperate enough to allow women and girls to fight. Usually, females were allowed other rights such as voting and holding positions of honor, but never were they allowed to fight. Fighting, for females, was considered unwomanly. Women were physically weaker than men, and therefore, could not be risked in the battles of Good Cove.
However, since women had been allowed, more young girls were beginning to come forward to train in families where no sons were present. It seemed that the parents, having not yet produced any sons, felt that their daughters were capable of handling the work of a Fighter.
Boys, as well as girls, could be seen in the fields of some Fightmaster, learning the ways of the Militia and how to handle weapons. Aura had been training since two years ago. Now she was sixteen and a Privateer in the Militia. It was just under a Brigadier and above Ensignal and Master. There were two groups of fighting men and women: the Fighters and the Militia. The Militia was concerned with the details of battles and the fighting in the long term wars. The Fighters were concerned with the skirmishes, scouting, and patrol duty. The Fighters also were in charge of training people to fight so that one day they could maybe join the Militia.
For children as old as twelve, who had been born in the Other Land, joining the Militia was an option. They would train with the Masters and learn to fight, but they would also be put in charge of other heavier matters if they were seen fit.
Aura had started out as a Master in the Militia, but those who were Wiser had seen that she had a knack for devising schemes and researching for ideas and solutions to problems. This ability was not Mysticality. Only Wizards had Mysticality and Wizards were not allowed in the Militia. This was something she had learned.
She was taught from Younghood how to do well in what she was asked. She was very intelligent. She could read from age two. This was considered a sign of High Intelligence. It wasn't Mysticality, but it was also a gift from Above. People with High Intelligence often got very far in their life. Most other sixteen-year-olds would still be an Ensignal or even a Master still.
As for those with Wizard skills, they were all tested at six months old. If they were found to possess such skills, they were taken from their home to train and hone their Mysticality skills. When they were eight, they would be placed in an Order. There were six Orders: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Stone, and Color. Each Order possessed gifts corresponding to that Order name. Wizards in Color possessed gifts that did not belong in any of the other Orders. These Wizards were the most honored.
The Wizard looked at the paper and nodded. "Thank you," he said. "It will be very interesting to see how this turns out." He motioned to the other Wizards in the room and they all left.
The meeting was adjourned and Aura left for her rooms. Once she had arrived at the wing of the barracks marked with the symbol for females: a gold circle crossed by a silver circle with an orange ball in the center, she walked to the third door and unlocked it. She shut the door behind her and removed her jacket and her boots.
She went to her desk and produced a paper. This was another copy of the spell. She looked at it. How were the Wizards going to make this work? All she had found was the words to the spell and a description of what it was for. The book never said anything about how to activate the spell or how to change the words so that it would work. Oh well, she thought. The Wizards will figure it out. I know they will.
A few days went by; then a few more. Aura grew bored of waiting for the Wizards to come up with an answer. Every day they promised to find the solution. Every day the entire Militia sat in the meeting hall waiting for the Wizards. They never came. The Militia waited everyday in the meeting hall in silence. They all hoped that the Wizards would come. They didn't.
Finally, several days later, they came. The great door in the side of the meeting hall opened. In walked all the Wizards. First came the Order of Color. Second came Earth, followed by Fire, then Water, Wind, and Stone. They all sat at the stage. The Head Wizard stepped up to the podium.
He began, "We have indeed found a solution. We have prepared the spell. We will activate it tomorrow at dawn in front of all Good Cove. Meeting adjourned."
All the Wizards rose as one and left, led by Stone and followed up by Color in the rear. Then all the Militia left to get some sleep. It was already the tenth hour after midday and dawn was only a few hours away.
Dawn came. Everyone in Good Cove had turned out for this event. Everyone had brought a seat or a blanket to sit on. The Wizards had decided to hold the activation on the central lawn. They had raised a platform to stand on as they read the spell. The people gathered, Wise and Young alike. The Militia sat in even columns and rows just in front of the platform. The Fighters sat behind them, ranged out in a semicircle, protecting the Militia and the front of the platform. Everyone else was spread out behind the Fighters; a family here, a school group there, and so on until there was no more room on the lawn for anyone else.
All of the Wizards had arranged themselves on the platform. The Head Wizard would read the spell while the other Wizards would complete the physical part. They had found things to represent what they wanted in the spell. The Order of Earth found leaves of a Carthakian Violet, which had tiny hairs on them so they felt soft, would represent the Beasts that they wanted to get rid of. The Order of Fire decided to burn the leaves to represent their destruction. Stone would create a barrier where the leaves' ashes were to float to. Wind was in charge of blowing the ashes inside the barrier. Water had to provide a light rain to keep the fire contained and the Wizards refreshed. And lastly, Color was in charge of minding the Young Wizards who were younger than eight while they were on the platform.
The Head Wizard raised his large staff and his other hand in a motion for silence. There was a wave of quiet that started in the front and rolled to the back, until every last person was silent. He started, "We are now going to activate the spell. When we have finished, all of the Beasts will have been banished to where they came from."
At that point, the head of the Order of Fire raised his palm and created a fireball. All the other Fires were holding hands, giving their strength to the Head. The Head of the Order of Earth raised the leaves, putting power into them. All of the other Earths were holding hands, to give their Head power. Meanwhile, all the other Orders were preparing their part. The head of Water raised his arms to the sky, commanding rain. All at once, the Head Wizard began, "These creatures who came before, shall live in this Realm no more. By our strong and mighty hand, we banish them to their former land!" All the while, the other Wizards were acting out their part. The Head of Fire lit the leaves. As the leaves burned, Stone created a barrier. When the leaves had burned, Wind blew the ashes into the barrier, which was immediately sealed off just as the Head Wizard finished the spell.
There was a blinding flash of light. Everyone covered their eyes. When the flare had dissolved, only children remained. Everyone under the age of ten was left standing. Everyone else was gone. The only Wizards that were remaining were all of the young ones. There was absolutely no one over the age of ten.
Duncan Weaver was nine. He was in the Order of Color. He could talk to animals and change into them. His little sister was only two. She was probably going to be in the Order of Stone. She could move things and make things stronger and create Mystical barriers. He was standing on the platform holding his sister's hand when the flash had come. Now his sister was crying. So was he.
As he and his fellow Wizards looked out at what was once a filled lawn, he realized that now they were all alone. With no Wise to look out for them, no family to teach him, he was alone. He led his sister to where all of the other Wizards were weeping and said, "I think we should destroy that spell. We should find the copy and get rid of it. We are now in charge. There are no Wise to guide us. No one to tell us what to do. We need to take charge and do something now."
Everyone looked at him, even those who were ten. One said, "I agree. That spell has brought us harm. Yes, it did get rid of the Beasts, but look at what else it got rid of. It rid us of everyone who was born in the Other Land! No one must ever be able to find that spell or to use it." With that, the Wiser Young got up and turned to the lawn. There was absolutely no Militia left; however, there were some Fighters. They were all huddled together. The school groups and the families had joined together as well.
The Wiser Young said, in as loud a voice as he could, "Do not fear. We need to make order and take up where the Wiser have left off. If you are with me, come forth and we shall begin." It took a moment for the message to spread, but once it did, everyone got up and walked closer to the platform to resettle their seats so they could hear better. The Wiser Young continued, "This is Duncan. He has given me the courage to speak to you all. I think we should make him the leader. We should all listen to him." He tugged Duncan's sleeve and brought him to the center of the platform.
Duncan, still holding his sister's hand, cleared his throat. "I believe that the spell that was just said was made wrong. I think that instead of having the leaves represent only the Beasts, they were somehow transformed to mean all that were not born on this soil. Our first order of business should be to find any copies of that spell and destroy them. It would be terrible if someone used it to cause the destruction of an enemy, thus causing destruction to themselves. Then we will all come together and take stock of who is left. From there, we can take further steps to make our lives easier and so we can work together. There are only a few hundred of us, so it shouldn't be too hard. Now, if we can, let's get started searching for copies of that spell. I'm sure you all remember how it goes, so I will not repeat it. If you would all search your homes, libraries, and any other building you come across, we should all find at least one copy of the spell somewhere. So, let's go." And with that, he let go of his sister's hand, jumped from the platform, helped his sister off, and went to his Dormitory to search.
Everyone else slowly left, trying to decide where to go first. After a while, everyone had left to find the spell.
A week and a few days later, nearly fifty copies of the spell were found. Duncan held a huge spell burning party. Every Youngster brought food and drink to it. Some brought instruments for music. Games and dancing also took place. In the middle of the festivities was a large bonfire. At the beginning of the celebration, Duncan had given out every copy of the spell to a lucky few. One at a time, they threw the paper or book with the spell into the fire. Once every copy had been burned, the music started up and the celebration lasted for three days.
And that was how the beginnings of Tortall were made. The Young grew up, had families, and generations passed. Good Cove became Corus, named after the singing that could be heard at night from the large parties that were held. Since more explorers came and Corus needed to expand and people were awarded lands for good deeds, Tortall began to spread into what it is now.
Thus, Duncan Weaver, later to be known from the fief Conté, 1st King of Tortall, established a new calendar to commemorate the year in which the Beasts had been banished back to their lands. Instead of 631 P.E. (Peaceful Era), the year became 1 H.E. (Human Era).
COMING SOON: 448 H.E.