Aquitainians

The Aquitainians are Goths, Visigoths to be precise. The Goths were created when their war god mixed the blood of conquered foes with dirt to make a hardy race of warriors. They originally lived on the wild and savage isle of Scandza, far to the north and the east. Its wild forests and harsh, wintery plains made them tough. Then the Goths left there upon their horses, “always seeking better ways,” and came to Scythia. There they divided into two tribes; first were the Visigoths, the others were the unimportant Ostrogoths. The Visigoths sought better pastures, and so they came south. The Romans resisted, but lost in battle, and so the Visigoths lived among them in Italy, a mild land that could have made them soft. A hundred years ago the Roman emperor asked the Visigoths to settle the lands of Gaul and Iberia and defend them from savage barbarians. It was a ruse. When the warriors left to conquer, the treacherous Emperor massacred the wives and children of the Visigoth soldiers. For revenge, they sacked Rome and afterwards have ruled their lands without overlord. The victorious Visigoth king divided his lands among his loyal followers. At that time, he gave Aquitaine to the care of the great regulus (king) Lancelot, grandfather of Sir Lancelot of legend. The arrogance and cruelty of the Romans had brought about their own downfall, but they also had many admirable features which King Lancelot preserved. Thus, the Aquitainians also kept their ancestral virtues and religion which had brought them their successes. Thus they “combine the best of their own ancient ways and those of the Romans.” When King Lancelot died, he divided the land between his two sons, Ban and Bors. Aquitaine is the land of the troubadours, noble singers who know all the ways of love. Thus, such knights have good skills at poetry and entertainment, but more importantly, the special skill of Venery. Venery is the skill of love, and the characters with this can use it in place of both Flirt and Romance, as they wish.