The First Great Famine

The First Great Famine was a magical plague created by The Enemy that devastated the agriculture of House Brody, Duilintinn from October 1592 to October 1595.

## Timeline of Events

Lord Brody's Titling in April 1592 enraged The Enemy, prompting him to give himself fully to his dark, otherworldly magic over the course of the following months. This culminated in late October that same year when The Enemy used the additional power of Hallows' Eve to release a grotesque, unnatural plague upon the lands of House Brody.

The following years were a nightmare for young Lord Brody. Despite working tirelessly to deal with the situation, the new lord was helpless to stop the plague as it decimated the region's crops every spring and fall.

In August 1594, after two years of failed harvests and another on the horizon, Lady Brody suggested to her husband that they leave the country with their two young children, Ashlee and William, so they don’t starve. Lord Brody refused, insisting that things will eventually get better. Upon hearing this, Lady Brody took the children in the night and fled.

In April 1595, yet another harvest failed. Soon afterward, Lord Brody, overwhelmed, distraught, and depressed, attempted suicide. Lord Schneeplestein managed to save him, defying death for a second time since saving the king from The Enemy's first assassination attempt.

For reasons no one understood at the time, this was the last harvest to be affected by the famine. The plague vanished the following season, and October 1595 produced a booming harvest.

## Significance

We now know that Lord Brody's suicide attempt and Lord Schneeplestein's ability to save him from the brink of death caught The Enemy's attention. Lord Schneeplestien had already foiled The Enemy's first attempt to kill King Sean, and by repeating the feat with Lord Brody, the "good doctor" proved that his miraculous ability to defy death was not a fluke, but something that would continue to stand in The Enemy's way as long as the doctor lived. Content that the state of mental and physical distress that he caused Lord Brody would last long past the end of the famine, The Enemy ended the magic of the plague and changed his plans to target Lord Schneeplestein instead. These plans would ultimately lead to the Second Attempt on the King's Life.

**Socioeconomic Significance**

*(disclaimer: copied directly from my notes)*

As some of you know, I’ve been quietly working on developing the cultural progression during the quest years (1565-1577) that miraculously turned the troubled post-imperialism land into a unified kingdom. **One of the major demographics of this time was the established plantation owners in the fertile lands of (future) House Brody**. Arriving with the ships from Waldren, these farmers made a stable living settling the area with massive farm complexes.

**These plantation dynasties prided themselves on preserving the traditional way of things**, especially after Waldren abandoned Duilintinn. After decades of self-rule, these families grew to distrust the idea of being ruled by someone who could potentially change that order. As a result, **these farming clans only agreed to become part of Duilintinn after an intense series of negotiations**. This is part of the reason why the region wasn’t ruled by a noble lord until 1592.

Of course, nothing brings a nation together like a mutual enemy. Nor are people more willing to give up their liberties for the sake of safety after a sudden, surprising attack. **The first attempt on King Sean’s life convinced the plantation families accept a noble lord**, especially since Lord Brody was a (slightly estranged) member of one of their own farming class.

However, the formation of House Brody caused a *lot* of demographic changes in the region. **Each noble house saw large amounts of people emigrate to the region immediately after its founding, and House Brody was no exception**. The established plantation owners were not at all happy about this, but unfortunately, they didn’t have long to complain.

These plantations were very focused on cultivating the “civilized” crops to produce the exact same product grown by their Waldren ancestors, at the cost of crop diversity. **As a result, the First Great Famine absolutely decimated the crop yields of traditional plantation families**.

By contrast, the new, smaller farms worked with a diverse range of native crops. They adapted to the land, unlike the plantations which sought to dominate it. While Duilintinn still suffered greatly during the famine, **the ceaseless efforts of these emigrant farmers saved the kingdom from complete destruction.**

By the time the First Great Famine ended, most of the old plantation families had fallen into ruin. The farmers who remained were united by their tireless efforts to bring hope and life to what was then the darkest part of Duilintinn’s history.