Percussion Kingdom

The Percussion Kingdom is a kingdom within Orchestria, home to the percussion people. The kingdom itself is a large desert area populated by multiple noble families varying from maracas to snare drums.

## Geography

The northern region of the kingdom is known as the Darbuka Desert, a mostly flat desert with little water. The few oases in the area have spawned settlements, such as Bingo Bongo, the capital of the kingdom, as well as other small desert towns. Several islands, like Alto Atoll or Castanet Island can be found off the coast of the kingdom.

The central region of the kingdom is mostly made up of savannas, and houses the majority of the population. The flat land is perfect for building settlements on and has a better source of water than the north, but is cut off from the coast and lowers trade, preventing a period of rapid growth from occurring, like what happened in the capital Bingo Bongo.

The south is where the deserts and savannas give way to grassland. This area is perfect for farming and acts as the main food source for the kingdom, using Flying Cymbal Saucers to transport food. This area, much like the rest of the kingdom, is very flat. It's even harder to defend than the north since it has a constant fresh water supply, preventing war of attrition tactics from being used.

The west is a mountainous region and it is easy to defend the narrow mountain passes. This area has become vital for the defense of the kingdom, especially after the defeats to the String Kingdom. The mountains have also allowed more troops to be diverted to the Tuba Wars, since it is easier to defend the mountain passes and they require less men to garrison them. This way, the kingdom can be protected from the String Kingdom and still fight the growing Brass Empire.

## Political System

The Percussion Kingdom's political system is unique in Orchestria. Rather than having an absolute monarchy, the Percussion Kingdom instead prefers to decentralize itself. There are two main entities in the kingdom, the Percussion High Council and the Monarchy.

### Percussion High Council

The Percussion High Council is a council where every noble has a seat. It meets every six months to discuss laws, policies, foreign relations and other important matters. The monarchy cannot pass laws without the High Council's approval but it can suggest them, as can every noble. The High Council also has the power to appoint a king if the previous king dies with no heir. Naturally, the High Council is divided into multiple factions, mostly by familial lines but there are other factions that are based on policies. For example, the small Bongo family will often support each other's proposals but one Bongo may also be apart of another faction that wishes to do something the other Bongos will disagree with.

### Monarchy

The Percussion Kingdom has an elective monarchy, however, there is only an election when the monarch dies with no heir. The monarch has little power beyond how much they can influence the nobles. This means that a king's power is limited by how much they can control the Percussion High Council. Being the monarch, they are well known and the majority of the High Council will support them, but a wise king will always keep the nobles on his side, to prevent an uprising.

The monarch presides over every meeting of the Percussion High Council and has the power to call an emergency meeting in times of crisis.

By far the most powerful the monarch can be is during a war. In times of war, the monarch automatically assumes control of the military. The nobles are often appointed as commanders and advisors to the king during these times. While it is hypothetically possible for the monarch to pull off a coup, it has never been attempted due to most of the troops being from the noble's household troops and because a civil war will inevitably ensue, ensuring the loss of the war.

## Inhabitants

The kingdom is known for its wide variety of inhabitants, you might meet any sort of instrument from castanets to triangles to xylophones. Because of this diversity, immigrants from all sorts of kingdoms have traveled to the desert kingdom, only increasing the variety of instruments found there. These immigrants can still become noble families. For example, one of the biggest noble families is made up of harmonicas.

The Percussion people are a resilient people due to the harsh desert conditions. Resourcefulness is not only praised but required to live anywhere outside of the large cities.

## Culture

The culture of the Percussion Kingdom is generally individualistic and praises resourcefulness. Percussion culture is also very diverse, due to the large amounts of immigration. The percussion people are largely very accepting of other people from other kingdoms, however, recently anti-Brass rhetoric has started spreading in the kingdom due to the start of the Tuba Wars.

Historically, immigration has only caused the enrichment of percussion society. The String Kingdom brought the idea of unity, the Woodwind Kingdom brought individuality and the Brass Empire brought an element of militarism. This is not to say that the Percussion Kingdom never had their own culture, though. The harsh lands have made the percussion people prefer blunt honesty instead of the more 'flowery' words used by the other kingdoms, this often makes it hard to make alliances, but when united by a single goal, they can happen anyway.

The percussion people are often mercenaries that fight on every side of a war. They are well paid and are considered elite troops. It is often said that a battalion of percussion mercenaries and a few Flying Cymbal Saucers can win any battle.

## Royals

Due to the large amount of members in the Percussion High Council, the royals are divided into two groups. The first group will list the monarchs of the kingdom, while the second group will list and provide a brief description on all noble factions in the Percussion High Council.

### **Rulers**

**King Timpani I** [1S 0 - 1S 64]

**King Timpani ll** [1S 64 - 1S 121]

**King Timpani lll** [1S 121 - 1S 172]

**King Timpani lV** [1S 172 - 1S 202]

**King Timpani V** [1S 201 - 1S 260]

**King Timpani VI** [1S 260 - 1S 317]

**King Timpani VII** [1S 317 - 1S 349]

**King Timpani VIII** [1S 349 - 1S 407]

**King Timpani lX** [1S 407 -1S 422]

**King Timpani X** [1S 422 - 2S 13]

**King Snare l** [2S 13 - 2S 41]

**King Snare ll** [2S 41 - 2S 82]

**King Snare lll** [2S 82 - 2S 114]

**King Snare lV** [2S 114 - 2S 164]

**King Snare V** [2S 164 - 2S 186]

**King Snare Vl** [2S 186 - 3S 1]

**King Snare Vll** [3S 1 - 3S 36]

**King Vibraphone l** [3S 36 - 3S 46] *(ALIVE)*

### **High Percussion Council Factions**

##### **Snare Family**

This faction was arguably one of the strongest and most respected factions in the High Percussion Council, often being the voice of reason during arguments. They alerted King Timpani IX of the Cymbal Family's plans to overthrow. They eventually ended up becoming rulers for a long period of time.

##### Cymbal Family

This faction no longer exists, as they were disgraced and exiled after attempting to overthrow King Timpani X. Nevertheless, they played an important part in the history of the Percussion Kingdom.

##### Bongo Family

A reasonably small family in the High Percussion Council, but one that has been around for ages. Their faction is usually connected by familial ties, but this is not always the case.

##### Maraca Family

One of the largest families in the council, the Maraca Family holds lots of influence. While the family has been trying for years to become monarchs, they have been unsuccessful as of yet.

##### Harmonica Family

This family is similar in size to the Maraca Family, also holding lots of influence. However, the harmonicas are made up of immigrants, leading to some distaste among certain factions.

##### Bass Family

This faction of bass drums was heavily connected to the Snare Family, often sharing the same opinions and viewpoints. The two factions can usually be seen together, and rarely place on different sides of an argument.

##### Vibraphone Family

One of the oldest factions in the council, the Vibraphone Family is extremely talkative, with their booming voices shouting over the rest of the council. Whether for better or for worse, they were recruited to monarchs following the assassination of King Snare Vll.

##### Marimba Family

A small but respected family that is quite popular among the locals of Bingo Bongo. During the events of Tuba Warriors, one of the members of the Marimba Family is murdered by Tuba Officer.

##### Claves Family

This faction is quite proud, and has a grudge with the Conga Family. Rarely do the two factions agree.

##### Conga Family

This faction is quite proud, and has a grudge with the Claves Family. Rarely do the two factions agree.

##### Castanets Family

This family cares a lot about the Percussion Kingdom's foreign relations, often being the ones to send representatives or ambassadors to other kingdoms. They try to avoid battles, but conflict is often inevitable in a kingdom full of mercenaries.

##### Woodblock Family

This family is quite reckless, often picking fights with the other factions. They especially love sparking conflict between the Claves and Conga factions.

## History

### First Stanza

#### Founding

By 1S 0, the kingdom was founded by King Timpani l, who saw opportunity in what others considered a barren desert wasteland. The population quickly grew to become the biggest and most populated kingdom. During the first Stanza and the peace brought by the Grand Accord, the Percussion Kingdom flourished and quickly spread towards the central savannas. The population and economy was to grow rapidly during this time, but it was not to last.

#### String-Percussion war

In 1S 298, the King Timpani VI declared war on the String Kingdom, over the Kettledrum Outlands. He also created Flying Cymbal Saucers to increase troops. Due to the strength of both armies, this war was bloody and lasted a long time. There were only two major battles in the war, due to each side's caution about losing their army.

##### Battle of High Tide

In 1S 324, the battle of High Tide took place. The battlefield was a large coastal valley. Both sides were encamped on a hill and descended into the valley to give battle. The Percussion Kingdom favored a strong center, in an attempt to pierce the string lines. While the String Kingdom favored strong wings in an attempt to encircle the percussion army.

Both armies advanced and began combat, however, soon after combat began the tide began to rise, separating the two armies. Some still attempted to fight but either drowned or were cut down when they reached the other side. Due to the contrasting configurations of both armies lines, many troops were cut off from support and were trapped on the other side of the water. These troops, on both sides, made a last stand before being killed.

This battle made both sides of the war more cautious, since their armies were depleted and they did not want to lose more men.

##### End of the war

The war eventually ended in 1S 356, after King Timpani VIII led a botched assault on a mountain pass. The peace deal was kind to the Percussion Kingdom as the String Kingdom only demanded half of the Kettledrum Outlands. This war caused a distrust between both kingdoms that still lasts to this day. Whether this is the war that ended the peace brought by the Grand Accord is unknown and is still under debate.

In 1S 312, the Bell Kingdom split off from the Percussion Kingdom, taking advantage of the fact that they were too busy fighting the String Kingdom to retaliate. At first they survived due to the Percussion Kingdom recovering from the war. In 1S 420, the current king, King Timpani IX decided to instead allow the existence of the Bell Kingdom in exchange for an alliance, which was accepted due to the Percussion Kingdom's power, effectively turning the Bell Kingdom into a client state in all but name.

#### Three Nation Alliance

In 1S 424, King Melodica V of the Key Kingdom died with no heir, the Woodwind Kingdom and Brass Kingdom invaded the Key Kingdom. This initially went well for the Woodwind-Brass alliance, but in 1S 425 they were horrified by the killing of King Glockenspiel I, the String Kingdom and Percussion Kingdom formed the Three Nation Alliance with the Key Kingdom. Once the armies mustered, they matched to Organ City, where they won a great victory over the Woodwind-Brass army.

The Key Kingdom wanted to annex land but both the String Kingdom and Percussion Kingdom wish for the defeated Woodwind Kingdom to remain strong to preserve the balance of power. This war pushed the Key Kingdom firmly into the spheres of influence of the String Kingdom and Percussion Kingdom.

### Era of Instability

In 1S 426, the Era of Instability began. The Percussion Kingdom was the most hard hit. This was expressed by a plot led by the Cymbal noble family. The plot's goal was to overthrow King Timpani X and to limit the power of the Percussion High Council. The plotters carried out two assassinations on loyal supporters of the Council and began recruiting of noble families, with the promise of land taken from other families not participating in the plot.

The plot grew to dangerous size, with every southern lord and most central lords participating. However, when the plotters attempted to recruit the powerful and loyal Snare family, the Snares declined their offer and informed the king about the plot. It was met with swift and destructive consequences. In 2S 0, the Cymbal's lands were revoked and they were exiled from the kingdom. Most of the Cymbals didn't not heed this warning, however, and they tried to rally the plotters to war. A few rose up in rebellion but most did not, as their loyalty evaporated once the king's attention was on them. The rebellion was swiftly crushed in the one-sided battle of the Red River, it was named this way because according to witnesses the river that the rebels were defending ran red with blood.

This ended the Era of Instability for the Percussion Kingdom and once all instability in Orchestria was crushed or successful, the first Stanza ended.

#### Aftermath

The Cymbal family was disgraced and were exiled. The land of the rebels was given to new families that were loyal to the king. The Percussion High Council publicly praised King Timpani X for how quickly the rebellion was crushed. With the new loyal noble families inside the Percussion High Council, the monarchy entered a period of unprecedented power. This is not to say the Percussion High Council was stripped of power. The ultimate power still rested in the hands of the Council, it was only that more nobles families were blindly loyal to the king and the former plotters were cowed by the battle of the Red River.

### Second Stanza

In 2S 13, King Timpani X died with no heir. The Percussion High Council appointed King Snare I to rule as king. This is often the time that is pinpointed as the time the Percussion Kingdom became known for warriors and mercenaries, since the Snare dynasty was more militaristic than other dynasties.

#### Military build-up

The Snares felt humiliated by recent defeats and so, in 2S 24, King Snare I began a period of severe military build up. This period of time was when the String Kingdom started using their culture as a weapon. Some of this culture still remains today, integrated into the percussion culture. This soft power made the people of the Percussion Kingdom love the String Kingdom, and due to the many strings inside the kingdom, there was almost a separatist rebellion, but because of the new military strength this was avoided.

This build-up has become the back-bone of percussion power ever since and is often credited as to why the Percussion Kingdom was never invaded by the String Kingdom.

The mercenary trade became very popular at this time and it was not uncommon to see percussion units fighting alongside other kingdoms. In fact, this trade was encouraged by King Snare I as it trained troops that could be used in war and gave the Percussion Kingdom a reputation for being fearless fighters. It was also very profitable, quickly becoming one of the Percussion Kingdom's main source of revenue.

#### War with the String Kingdom

Alarmed by the String Kingdom's expansion into the center of Orchestria, the Percussion Kingdom allied with the Woodwind Kingdom to prevent further expansion. In 2S 172, war was declared. The Percussion-Woodwind army pillaged all string settler homes in an effort to slow expansion. After a long period of no response both the Percussion Kingdom and Woodwind Kingdom became paranoid and, in 2S 173, decided to return home. Once the armies split, they were ambushed by string armies, defeating the Woodwind Kingdom's army. The percussion army fared better than their woodwind counterparts. At the battle of Datong forest, the Percussion army was ambushed by the String Kingdom's army, taken by surprise the percussion troops at the front died first. However, showing their newly trained discipline, the percussion army quickly formed into a shield wall. Having lost the element of surprise, the String Kingdom's troops slowed their advance and made three wedge formations to pierce the shield wall. They advanced onto the shield wall and were initially successful, killing most of the first rank. This victory was short-lived however. As King Snare I moved the rear rank of the shield wall around to flank the String Kingdom's troops. This tactic worked and the String army was encircled. The majority of the String troops were killed before they surrendered. The String army was allowed to leave, with their weapons. Shortly after the battle, the percussion army returned home safely but with their numbers significantly thinned.

A peace treaty was signed and the String Kingdom's expansion into the center of the continent was not stopped, but was slowed both due to the pillaging and a new found caution.

#### League War

This became a time of peace due to the Snare's prowess in battle and the String Kingdom's power. This meant that the Percussion Kingdom could not expand but at the same time it would not be invaded. The mercenary business grew to massive proportions as the warriors of the kingdom lusted for battle.

However, while there was peace on the borders, there is never peace in internal politics. This culminated in a large scale war, known as the League War, between percussion subjects. It was caused by a minor dispute over which noble family owned a piece of land in the north. In 2S 181, This started a war that rapidly spiraled out of control, when the Woodblock Family purposely tries to raise tension between the two, as both sides invoked old alliances. Eventually, the war became about the power of the monarch over the High Council and The League of Monarchical Empowerment and The League of High Council Defense were formed. There were very few lords not involved in this war, however the Woodblock Family, who had added wood to the fire that would become the war, was one of the few that didn't pick a side.

The official stance of the monarchy was one of neutrality. King Snare V often attempted to host peace talks but they all failed due to the king supporting The League of High Council Defense. The monarchists accused the king of being poisoned by the High Council and of being in debt to them for putting his dynasty on the throne.

The war grew longer, and after a monarchist push at the start of the war, became a stalemate. There were many skirmishes on both sides until finally, in 2S 183, the king officially supported the Council defenders. This shook The League of Monarchical Empowerment as they could no longer claim they were acting on the king's will. Soon multiple lords switched sides and the monarchist army was weakened allowing for the battle of Steelpan Hill to take place. While the monarchists fought well in their last stand, they were eventually defeated and a peace treaty signed.

Once more, the king was publicly praised, for ending the League War. The leaders of the monarchist league were punished by losing some of their land to the Council loyalists and the rest of the monarchist lords left with little punishment. The Woodblock Family, who had contributed to the dispute spiraling out of control, somehow escaped unscathed.

#### Great War

During the reign of King Snare VI, the String Kingdom's soft power became too much for the other kingdoms to bear. In 2S 199, every nation of Orchestria formed the Alliance for String Containment (ASC) and declared war on the String Kingdom, creating the Great War. Percussion troops merged with the Key Kingdom's army and marched through the Kettledrum Outlands, taking the small garrison by surprise. Meanwhile the Brass-Woodwind army began their march to Lentando Lagoon. Both armies were harassed during their march by string detachments. This slowed their advance and allowed the String Kingdom's army to muster just north of the Mezzo Plateau.

##### Battle of Tremoloa hill

Once the Key-Percussion army exited the Mezzo Plateau, in 2S 200, they met with the String army encamped on a hill. Both sides deployed and prepared for battle. Due to a disagreement with the percussion and key generals, the percussion troops advanced without keyboard support. They attacked the String army's right flank, hoping to collapse it before reinforcements arrived. The string right flank retreated a short distance, giving time for the string center to reinforce the right, leaving the left to guard against the stationary keyboard army. This meant that the percussion troops were surrounded on three sides, the situation was unwinnable, but regardless the percussion troops proved their reputation and held their ground.

The keyboard units finally saw their chance and attacked the string left flank. After heavy fighting, the string left flank was routed. Seeing this, the string army retreated, denying the Percussion Kingdom and Key Kingdom the decisive victory they wanted. King Snare V is reported to have said "They can fight and they can run just as well."

##### Skirmishes

In 2S 201, the String Kingdom employed hit and run tactics and fought multiple skirmishes similar to the Battle of Tremoloa hill, being defeated but ultimately never losing their army. This slowed the ASC armies and they were slowly worn down. The Brass-Woodwind army preferred to damage the String Kingdom as much as possible by pillaging the land they entered, successfully rallying the southern strings to use guerilla tactics, sabotaging the supply lines. This was countered by the Brass Kingdom as they diverted a detachment of units to protect the supply lines. The Percussion-Key army preferred to use a more honorable form of warfare, where conquered land was treated with respect, even more so if they fought back.

Both armies turned north towards the String Kingdom's capital of Stradivarius. They merged south of the city, while the String Kingdom's army sallied forth and chose their place of battle.

##### The Battle of Harp River

The String Kingdom chose a plot of land near the Harp River, forcing the ASC to cross it if they wished to attack. The river is in a valley and so the wooded hills on either side of the river severely slows flanking maneuvers. They had picked their place well and when the ASC army approached they paused.

Once the plan was decided the Brass Kingdom's troops made two wedges on the left flank, the Woodwind Kingdom would form two more wedges in the center and the Key Kingdom would form a standard shield wall on the right. This was to prevent the String's left from being pushed too far back, since the Percussion Kingdom's troops were sent to climb the hill to the right and to flank the String Kingdom's army. If the string left was pushed too far back the percussion troops may not be able to flank the strings because of the rough terrain slowing their movements.

When the percussion troops were half way across the hill, the rest of the ASC army advanced. As the troops stumbled through the river the String Kingdom's units charged them. This assault killed many ASC soldiers but once the alliance's troops regained their footing they began to push back. Slowly, the String Kingdom's units were giving ground, except for the string right. This was because the Key Kingdom's units were only in a standard shield wall and were not trying to push.

As the battle became a stalemate, the percussion units descended from the hill undetected due to the forest. They slammed into the string left and trapped them, killing almost all of them. This caused string morale to plummet, some units attempted to flee while others fought, as chaos reigned in the String Kingdom's army.

Thoroughly humbled by the result of the battle, King Cello IV began negotiations.

##### Peace treaty

The Brass Kingdom and Woodwind Kingdom argued for large land concessions in center of Orchestria, but the Percussion Kingdom and Key Kingdom argued that the String Kingdom should instead have minimal land concessions and instead limit their diplomatic abilities. The Key kingdom hoped to keep a strong ally doing this, while the Percussion Kingdom were afraid of the Brass and Woodwind Kingdoms and wanted to preserve the balance of power.

Eventually, the Percussion Kingdom and Key Kingdom won the argument and the Brass Kingdom and Woodwind Kingdom begrudgingly signed the treaty. This marked the last time the kingdoms of Orchestria were united and the end of the second Stanza.

### Third Stanza

The start of the third Stanza was a period of peace, as every kingdom was recovering from the Great War. Due to this peace, the percussion mercenary business's profits dropped, and with it, the Percussion Kingdom's economy. Normally, this would cause trade with the String Kingdom to increase, but due to the recent war and the Brass-Woodwind pillaging of the String Kingdom, that was anything but the case.

#### Brass Kingdom

In 3S 27, the Brass Kingdom annexed and subjugated the Woodwind Kingdom, Orchestria's reaction was one of concern. The Percussion Kingdom enacted sanctions on the newly declared Brass Empire. However this didn't last long as the Tuba Wars began in 3S 35.

The String Kingdom proposed an alliance with the other kingdoms but it was rejected due to the mistrust left over from the Great War. The Tuba Wars weren't entirely bad news for the Percussion Kingdom, however, as it allowed the mercenary business to pick up again, along with the economy.

King Snare VII was a very skilled warrior and has won multiple battles against the Brass Empire, although this is not enough to stop the brass advance. The king also dueled many brass generals and won. King Snare VII was well-loved until he was assassinated, leaving no heir. The Percussion High Council quickly met and appointed King Vibraphone I as king. The investigation into who assassinated the previous king is still ongoing, however there are rumors that it was carried out by the Tuba Wizard, since he had also assassinated Queen Viola l of the String Kingdom shortly before.

## Trivia

• One of the desert towns named "Sitar" is actually named after a string instrument, due to string immigrants settling there.

• The kingdom's national animal is the Tambourine Cobra, which are huge serpents that burrow under the sand.

• The Percussion Kingdom was also called the Flat Kingdom in less formal talk due to the kingdom's flat geography, however this was also an insult, often implying that percussionists were "flat" (as in having a poor taste for music).