Aquilonia

Aquilonia is a Kingdom ruled by Nanoc I. After the Vailian Empire collapsed, lords and other opportunists fought over control of the lands. In the end it was the barbarian Nanoc who claimed the title of King.

## **Locations**

### **Capital-region**

* Beregost
* Bodoz
* Candlekeep
* Fortin
* Naskhel
* Seglet
* Tarantia

### **Helm's Mur**

* Mezza
* Leonor
* Ankhel
* Parnast

### **Grønmark-region**

* Metzenia
* Grønningen
* Gråmarsken

### **Trappist-region**

* Rochefort
* Achel
* Chimay
* Orval
* Westmalle
* Westvleteren

## **History**

### **Soldiers and Farmers**

Aquilonia was a region within the Vailian Empire . It was quickly settled as the Vailian Empire began spreading. Through conquering and rewarding veteran soldiers with land, many Vailian families moved into the prosperous and green lands of Aquilonia. The temperate lands were highly fertile and arable, making for great farmlands. As villages and towns formed, Vailian nobles were selected to rule, decentralizing rule of the Empire.

### **Orcs**

As the fertile farming villages began to prosper, so did the Orcs of Gruumsh. While many cities were protected by Imperial Guards and former veterans, the many packs of Orcs were a problem. The Legions could hardly follow the fast-paced orcs and with the focus on conquest to the east, the Vailian Legions were spread out. It was the villagers who suffered. While many had found peaceful and prosperous lives, so did many find their lives ruined by the Orcs.
When villagers east of Ankhel were attacked by the Orcs of Gruumsh, they begged the powerful wizard turned lich Iniarv, to help them rid the lands of Orcs. Cruelly, Iniarv agreed by unleashing destructive spells and flooding the lands with ocean water, drowning Orcs and Men alike. Those who lived fled and settled elsewhere. The fertile lands becoming a marsh of death, known as Gråmarsken. The losses were devastating to the Orcs, who began to march towards Iberum.

### **The Great Battle**

It was in Aquilonia near Helm's Mur that the First Heroes led the battle against Tiamat.Through great magical power, the First Heroes devastated the land, creating an unstable magical field, here they opened a portal to the Nine Hells to banish Tiamat, at the cost of releasing demons and hellspawn upon Isilmir. It was that battle that ended the Age of Dragons and started the Age of Heroes.

### **Bodoz and the Half-Orcs**

Bodoz  a small city on the northern peninsula was founded by Half-Orcs. Not fitting in with human society and seen as weaklings by pureblooded Orcs, they were outcasts. In 277 TA, the Vailian Legio VI Victrix besieged the city. Many Half-Orcs were initially slaughtered, but they were soon annexed and integrated into the Vailian Empire . The Governor of Aquilonia Major hoped that the Half-Orcs could be hired as diplomats between the Empire and the Orc tribes that lived throughout the continent. Though the initiative saw some success, most of these diplomats were seen as weak and inferior and often returned without a head. Bodoz however were allowed to live and prosper within the realm, as it opened up for trade within the Empire.

### **End of an Empire**

With the Empire collapsing in the 5th Century of the Third Age, the powerful nobles began internal fighting over control of the region. For over 100 years, war ruled the land, as nobles and opportunists sought to claim the throne. In the period known as the Feud of Counts, the Kingdom was split and united. Chaos ruled as usurpers claimed the throne, only to be assissinated. In the middle of the 6th century, King Numedides found lasting rule over the Kingdom, uniting the counts with an iron fist.

### **The Corrupting of Minds**

In 566 TA Cyric, the Prince of Lies, began corrupting the minds of local lords of Aquilonia helping Bane, God of Tyranny. He manipulated them to wage war on each other. Peace seemed impossible. Cyric, who was a mortal man, cheated death many times, often turning his enemies against each other.  Myrkul, God of Death, sent one of his death knights, Hazirawn. The Knight of Death found Cyric on the obsidian bridge of Sortsten. Cyric had tricked two armies to fight. Through his guile Cyric got Hazirawn's own sword and struck him down with it. The sword turned black as the bridge on where the knight was slaughtered as it reaped the darkened soul of its former wielder. Bane who had an alliance with Myrkul was furious at Cyric. What had intially been a grasp for power by Bane instead went to Cyric. Cyric eventually proclaimed himself the "One True God" and ascended to Godhood after murdering Leira. Left in his wake was chaos, tamed in following years by followers of Bane.

### **The Barbarian King**

With King Numedides on the throne, Aquilonia was united through tyranny. Unrest was punished with death, crippling the population in fear. Numedides ruled for many years until a mysterious barbarian called Nanoc led a rebellion. The mysterious barbarian had traveled through the world, learning the secrets of the East and training with the finest warriors. Through a long and bloody rebellion King Numedides was overthrown, putting the Barbarian King Nanoc on the throne. While some revere Nanoc, others see him as a foreign usurper and hail the dead King Numedides.

"These matters of statecraft weary as all the fighting done never did. It seems ages since had a horse between knees - but Publius says that affairs in the city require presence. Curse him!" ... When he overthrew the old dynasty, it was easy enough, though it seemed bitter hard at the time. Looking back now over the wild path he followed, all those days of toil, intrigue, slaughter and tribulation seem like a dream. He did not dream far enough, Prospero. When King Numedides lay dead at his feet and he tore the crown from his gory head and set it on his own, he had reached the ultimate border of his dreams. He had prepared himself to take the crown, not to hold it. In the old free days, all he wanted was a sharp sword and a straight path to his enemies.

"Now, no paths are straight and my sword is useless. When I overthrew Numedides, then I was the Liberator - now they spit at my shadow. They have put a statue of that swine in the temple of Torm, and people go and wail before it, hailing it as the holy effigy of a saintly monarch who was done to death by a red-handed barbarian."

When he led her armies to victory as a mercenary, Aquilonia overlooked the fact that he was a foreigner, but now she can not forgive him. Now in Torm's temple they come to burn incense to Numedides' memory, men whom his hangmen maimed and blinded, men whose sons died in his dungeons, whose wives and daughters were dragged into his seraglio. "The fickle fools!" - The Tales of Nanoc the Barbarian (In Loving Memory of Robert E. Howard)

## **Inspiration**

A combination of Southern England and France. Also draws inspiration from the works of Robert E. Howard.