Continuity/Bandit and Neydisa Castles

== Overview ==
The history of a Bandit and Neydisa Castles is a complicated one, with the lore behind them changing over time. In this article we will review each stage of development, analyze what has changed and what conflicts were created, and attempt to draw some conclusions about the end state of the lore.
== Updates ==
=== Beta ===
Both Bandit and Neydisa Castles were empty for most of the development and beta test. According to entries in the original ACExplorer data, Neydisa Castle was empty as of 9/29/99. The following entry, dated at 10/3/99, stated that it was now a full service town with a lifestone, bowyer, healer, mage, weapon smith, ivory crafter (in the nearby tower), leather crafter, and trophy smith. 
The Bandit Castle entries also contains useful information. According to the earliest entry, it was still empty as of 12/4/99. This entry would have been from just before the first update, Sudden Season, was released, which went live on 12/15/99.
Metadata from the NPCs in Neydisa Castle and Bandit Castle corroborate these early ACExplorer entries.
Original Neydisa NPC weenie info is as follows:
NPC 	WCID	WCName
Lady Tallial 	5644	neydisacastleladytallial
Archmage Philomon 	5646	neydisacastlearchmage
Brother Jarviso 	5647	neydisacastlehealer
Viamasa the Weaponsmith	5648	neydisacastleweaponsmith
Lisatha the Bowyer 	5649	neydisacastlebowyer
Original Bandit Castle weenie info is as follows:
NPC 	WCID	WCName
Barkeep Gorth 	5832	banditcastlebarkeeper
Shi Ki-Yong the Armorer 	5833	banditcastlearmorer
Melia Thorn the Archmage	5834	banditcastlearchmage
Provisioner Murdo 	5835	banditcastleshopkeeper
Karwin, the Lunatic 	5836	banditcastlekarwin
Gwillim, the Apprentice 	5837	banditcastlegwillim
Jourgensson 	5838	banditcastlejourgensson
MacDugal 	5839	banditcastlemacdugal
Neydisa NPCs being approximately 200 ID values early than the Bandit Castle NPCs would correspond well with Neydisa being populated in October 1999 and Bandit Castle being populated in December 1999.
=== Release / Sudden Season ===
The text History of Neydisa Castle goes into detail on Neydisa castle and briefly touches on Bandit Castle. During the period of Olthoi enslavement, a man named Foster discovered the castle that would later be known as Neydisa Castle. He lived there until the liberation came, and vowed to never return. Later, a group left Cragstone and took up residence within Bandit Castle. There was a disagreement in the group, and some, led by the woman Neydisa, left Bandit Castle and made their way to Foster's Fort. Neydisa herself passed away prior to the era of Lifestones, and the place came to be known as Neydisa Castle.1999/11 Release - History of Neydisa Castle
The text The Legend of Lilitha provides another piece of information regarding Bandit Castle. the text places Lilitha's exploits duing the early days of Elysa's reign. It says that she was the first person to come upon the fort later known as Bandit Castle, but she traveled on.1999/11 Release - The Legend of Lilitha
Lady Tallial herself says that MacDugal and his band have recently re-occupied Bandit Castle. This dialog dates to Frostfell, 10 PY.1999/12 Sudden Season - Lady Tallial dialog
=== Should the Stars Fall ===
When the Vesayen Isles were introduced, we were given some details on the founding of Kryst, MacNiall's Freehold, and how Isparians ended up on those islands. These new details come from the texts The History of Kryst and The History of Vesayen Isles.
The History of Kryst is written by Natalie the Scribe. The other characters that appear in it are Zenzaburou Hensu, Vanten, Vesayen Hylin, and Sharon. The events described in this text can be summarized as follows:
During the time of Olthoi enslavement, Zenzaburou, Vanten, and Vesayen tried to plan an escape. After a strange earthquake, they set their plan into motion. They gathered other slaves and exited the Olthoi nest through a portal. They were pursued by Olthoi into the forest, losing some of their ranks as they fled. They eventually found another portal. Zenzaburou and Vesayen guided everyone through the portal, intent on being the last two through. Zenzaburou barely made it, Vesayen did not. In the end, 20 had made it through the portal. They founded Kryst. The dangers of these islands meant that they had lost a few others, and, due to this lack in safety, some people left Kryst, living further in the chain of Isles.2000/11 Should the Stars Fall - The History of Kryst
The History of Vesayen Isles is written by Onda Nakoza. Other characters that appear in it are MacDugal, MacNiall, Shi Ki-Yong, Jourgensson, Zenzaburou Hensu, and Vesayen Hylin. The events described in this text can be summarized as follows:
During the time of Olthoi enslavement, a group of slaves led by the cousins MacDugal and MacNiall made their escape one night. They saw an unstable portal in the distance. MacNiall wanted to go through the portal, while MacDugal did not, reminding them that mysterious portals had led to their years of Olthoi enslavement. The group split, with MacDugal and others heading to the foothills, and MacNiall and his band taking the portal. On the other side of the portal, they found another band of escaped slaves, led by Zenzaburou and Vesayen. The two groups settled together, but the shared settlement failed, as MacNiall and his band could not live with the traditionalists. They left and founded Freehold.2000/11 Should the Stars Fall - The History of Vesayen Isles
Zenzaburou Hensu himself also mentions that the Vesayen Isles were named after his friend, who gave his life to ensure the others made it through the portal to safety.2000/11 Should the Stars Fall - Zenzaburou Hensu dialog In his note Mosswart Feud Rumor, Onda Nakoza makes a somewhat ambiguous claim that "we" named the archipelago the Vesayen Isles, but does not provide more detail than that.2000/11 Should the Stars Fall - Mosswart Feud Rumor
=== Later Additions ===
In the 2003 article The History of Auberean Volume V a date of -12 PY is given for when the group of escaped Isparian slaves find the portal to the Vesayen isle and found Kryst. It reiterates that differences in the group led to some leaving to found MacNiall's Freehold.2003/03 A Perfect Paradox - The History of Auberean: Volume V: New Arrivals (-540 to 13)
Our final information comes much later with the introduction of the Town Network in 2010. There, we can find town descriptions for Neydisa, Kryst, and Freehold that have slightly updated information.
The Neydisa sign is nearly identical to the first two paragraphs of the text History of Neydisa Castle, with one important addition (bolded for emphasis):
:"They sought shelter within the walls of Bandit Castle, where MacDugal and his band had lived for some time, but some disagreement split their ranks, and a number of them trekked down the road and wound up at Foster's Fort."2010/06 Shifting Gears - Town Network: Neydisa (Town Network Sign) description
The Kryst sign appears to be a summarized and condensed version of the the text The History of Kryst. It does not change any details, but it does reiterate that: 1) the leaders were Zenzaburou, Vanten, and Vesayen, 2) Vesayen died making sure everyone made it through the portal, and 3) the archipelago is named in honor of Vesayen.2010/06 Shifting Gears - Town Network: Kryst (Town Network Sign) description
Similar to the sign for Kryst, the Freehold sign appears to be a summarized and condensed version of the the text The History of Vesayen Isles. It makes one significant change: the sign states that MacNiall's band met up with another group of escaped slaves, who were led by Zenzaburou and Vanten, rather than Zenzaburou and Vesayen.2010/06 Shifting Gears - Town Network: Freehold (Town Network Sign) description
== Analysis ==
The Beta/Release version seems consistent with itself, and can be summarized as follows:
* -15 PY to 0 PY: During the time of Olthoi enslavement, Foster discovered the location that would later be Neydisa Castle.
* 0 PY to 1 PY: After the Olthoi Queen was defeated, Foster left the fort and vowed never to return.
* 0 PY to 1 PY: In the early days of Elysa's reign, Lilitha discovered the location that would later be Bandit Castle, but she moved on from there.
* 1 PY or later: "Much later" an Aluvian faction left (or was kicked out of) Cragstone, and ended up at Bandit Castle. There was a disagreement, and part of the group left. That group was led by Neydisa, and made their way to Foster's Fort.
* 1 PY or later: Neydisa died before the era of the lifestones.
* 1 PY to 10 PY: Bandit Castle is abandoned.
* Leafcull, 10 PY (release): Neydisa Castle is populated, Bandit Castle is not.
* Frostfell, 10 PY (Sudden Season): MagDugal and his band and re-occupied Bandit Castle.
There are some minor issues, such as whether or not Neydisa Castle was continuously occupied once Neydisa's band move in, and when/why Bandit Castle was abandoned, but these issues are merely a lack of information, and not contradictory information. When we get to the new information provided in the Should the Stars Fall event, we start running into conflicts.
The new lore from Should the Stars Fall can be summarized as follows:
During the time of Olthoi enslavement, a group of slaves led by Zenzaburou, Vanten, and Vesayen escapes their Olthoi nest when a strange earthquake occurred. They escape during the day, find an unstable portal, and flee through it. Another group of slaves led by the Aluvian cousins MacDugal and MacNiall escapes their Olthoi nest during the night. They find an unstable portal, and half of the group, led my MacNiall, flee though the portal. The other half, led by MacDugal, run into the hills. The two groups they attempt to live together in the shared settlement of Kryst, but this ultimately fails. A portion of the people leave and found MacNiall's Freehold.
Importantly, the texts seem to make it clear that the two groups were not together when they escaped the Olthoi. Zenzaburou's group escaped during the day, after an earthquake, and they were pursued by Olthoi into a forest, where they discovered the portal to the Vesayen Isles. MacDugal and MacNiall's group escaped during the night, and their escape path took them out of the mountains and into the forests. They found their portal in the mountains they had just left. MacDugal and his band ran for the foothills, while MacNiall and his band went for the portal.
There are two major conflicts with the new lore:
# The text The History of Vesayen Isles states that when MacNiall's group ended up on the Vesayens, they found another group led by Zenzaburou Hensu and Vesayen Hylin. However, the text The History of Kryst states that Vesayen Hylin died getting people through the portal to the islands, and he never made it through the portal himself. Zenzaburou Hensu backs up this claim.
# With MacNiall and MacDugal parting ways after escaping the Olthoi, this heavily implies that MacDugal and his band traveled a short distance to a structure on a hill - Bandit Castle - and lived there. This contradicts much of the beta and release lore that seemed to imply the castle was empty for some time.
Next, we get to The History of Auberean. It gives us a date of -12 PY. The exact event is a bit less clear, though:
:A few escaped Isparian slaves stumble across a barely functioning portal leading to the Vesayen Islands. They establish the town of Kryst, but differences divide them and some leave to found the town of MacNiall's Freehold.
This article seems to lump both Zenzaburou's group and MacNiall's group together as one unit that escaped, found a portal, and founded Kryst, in contrast with the lore established in Should the Stars Fall. It also seems to rule out any possibility that Lilitha was the first to discover Bandit Castle, since it has now been occupied since -12 PY.
Finally, we have the much later addition of the signs in the Town Network. These signs make some slight changes and clarifications. Most importantly:
# When the group of Aluvians left Cragstone and took up residence in Bandit Castle, MacDugal and his band had already lived there for some time.
# It is confirmed that Vesayen did die before making it through the portal.
== Conclusion ==
The following timeline can be constructed from all the information above:
Portal Year 	Event
-15 PY to 0 PY 	Foster escapes the Olthoi, finds an empty castle, and lives there until the liberation comes.
-12 PY 	A group of slaves led by Zenzaburou, Vanten, and Vesayen escape the Olthoi. They make their way to a portal, Vesayen dies defending the group as they escape. They arrive on an archipelago, which they name the Vesayen Isles, and they found the town of Kryst.
-12 PY 	A group of slaves led by the cousins MacDugal and MacNiall escape the Olthoi. They make their way to a portal, but their ranks split. MacDugal's band heads to the foothills, while MacNiall's band go through the portal. On the other side, They find Zenzaburou and Vanten band, and for a time they live together.
-12 PY 	MacDugal and his band occupy Bandit Castle.
0 PY to 1 PY 	After the Olthoi Queen is defeated, Foster leaves his castle and vows never to return.
0 PY to 1 PY 	At some point, Bandit Castle is abandoned. Lilitha explores it, thinking she is the first to see it.
1 PY or later 	At some point after Lilitha's exploration, Bandit Castle is re-occupied. A group of Aluvians leaves (or is kicked out of) Cragstone, and reach Bandit Castle. There is a disagreement in their ranks, and some, led by Neydisa, trek down the road to Foster's Fort. Others stay behind and reside with MacDugal and his band, that have been there for some years.
10 PY or earlier	At some point, Bandit Castle is once again abandoned.
Frostfell, 10 PY	MacDugal's forces once again re-occupy Bandit Castle.
== References ==