Valdemar
A land of rolling hills, abundant farming land, the large crater lake, Lake Evendim, and the edges of the Pelgir's forest, Valdemar is a welcoming and bountiful kingdom of Velgareth. It is bordered by Rethwellan and Karse to the sourth, Hardorn to the east, the mysterious and shielded Iftel to the northeast, and the Icespine mountains of the north. It's capital is Haven and is ruled by Queen Selenay.
Unique to Valdemar, it has primary protectors in the form of its Knights and Companions.
History
Demography and Population
As a nation founded by exiles, Valdemar has always been welcoming to anyone seeking refuge or a new home. Consequently, the kingdom has a true melting-pot of races that call it home.
Territories
Valdemar is bordered by wilderness on the north and west. While the Northern tribes occupy regions farther north and the Tayledras Vales are scattered throughout the Pelagirs to the west, there has always been room for Valdemar to expand in these directions. The Tayledras, in particular, purposely move farther west periodically, leaving the land for others to settle. Evidence of their prior residence still exist in some parts of Valdemar.
The Palace Complex lies atop the tallest hill in the center of Haven. The guarded Palace Wall rings the entire area.
The Royal Palace of Valdemar is part of the Palace Complex at the center of Haven. The original defensive keep has been added on to many times over the centuries. It is now a vast, sprawling building incorporating several wings and a number of towers. In addition to the Royal Palace of Valdemar and the Palace gardens, the Complex also contains the four Collegia, the House of Healing attached to the Healers' Collegium, and Companion's Field.
Knights, including the ones in the field, have quarters there. Knights were once housed in the Old Palace, which dated back to King Valdemar's day. It had gotten so crowded that they were packed in four to a room. So a new wing was built shortly before King Randale assumed the throne.
It was said that King Valdemar had used the old magics that were only in tales to help to construct it. Certainly no one in these days would have attempted to build walls with blocks of granite the size of a cottage, and no one really had any idea how the massive blocks could have been set in place to the height of six stories. There were even rumors that the blocks were hollow and contained a warren of secret passages. The outer walls were at least two meters thick, and you could tap on them until you were a graybeard and never get a hollow echo.
The Old Palace has several Work Room which Knights sometimes use when employing their Gifts for the Queen's business. The royal wing includes the Queen's Garden, which is only accessible through the Queen's suite.
The palace has numerous suites for Guests and for courtiers and their families. The palace kitchens serve all of the meals at Court.
Military
Religion
While Valdemar does not have any particular set state religion, considering their "no one true way" mentality, the Companions are nevertheless a boon to the kingdom granted by a consensus of all the gods.
Companions are highly intelligent magical creatures who look like (but are not) animals. They are as intelligent as humans. Able to take a variety of forms, so as to best suit the Knight they will Choose and their own preferences, they nonetheless share some common features. They are easily recognized by their pure white coats, bright blue eyes, and silver nails/horns. They draw upon magical energy to enhance their abilities, giving them extended endurance, greater speed and the ability to Heal themselves quickly.
Only a person Chosen by a Companion can be a Knight, and the two become partners for life.
Companions "Choose" Knights, but the exact nature of the "Companion's Choice" is not stated explicitly. Knights have described the moment in various ways: "being weighed and measured," "falling into [the Companion's] blue eyes," and "finding something I didn't know I was missing." The defining factor of one's Choosing seems to rely on the individual's moral fiber and where applicable, their ability to provide something that is needed by Valdemar at the time. The Choice bonds Companions to their Knights in a mutual relationship, and the bond can affect both parties' spiritual and physical well-being. The Companion becomes a loving friend who guides, supports, and sometimes augments a Knight's abilities.
The Choice is, for the most part, permanent; it can be broken while in its early stages, although doing so will physically and emotionally scar both parties. After the initial phase, however, the bond becomes so important that the loss of either Knight or Companion is followed by depression and almost always death. Despite this, a Companion can break the bond with their Chosen if at any time, they believe the Knight or Knight-Trainee to have become unworthy. This is called repudiation.
Companions have great speed and endurance - an ordinary creature of the same type cannot keep up with them. All Companions have Mindspeech and can communicate with each other, and most Knights can mindspeak with their own Companions even if they don't have the Mindspeech Gift.
Companions cannot be disguised, although they are surprisingly able to avoid discovery when separated from their Chosen on a mission. Their white color is a normal result of exposure to magic energy, and their coat naturally sheds dirt, mud and dye.
Companions generally conceal any other special abilities, even from their Chosen, unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Some Companions can directly enhance the abilities of their Chosen. Rarely, a Companion might have some Mage or Healing ability.
The Companion to the Monarch's Own "was always a male, and never seemed to age (though it was possible to kill him)" and has the ability to bond with a second Herald if the Monarch's Own dies; as Rolan has Chosen both Talamir and Talia. The Monarch's Own Herald is also subject to this; if his or her Companion dies, it is possible for the Herald to bond to a newly-arrived Grove-Born Companion.
The current list of forms Companions have taken:
- Hawk
- Lynx
- Owl
- Wolf
- Raven
- Falcon
- Tritail
- Blink Dog
- Almiraj
- Flying Monkey
- Enfield
- Tressym
- Winged Serpent
- Pseudodragon
Foreign Relations
While Valdemar is generally at peace with the majority of its neighbors, there are some longstanding problem areas. The biggest of these is Karse. The two nations were at war off and on for centuries. Another continual problem area is the raids by the Northern tribes.
Laws
All the laws of Valdemar are based on one principle: There is no one true way. As such, Valdemar has become a safe haven for anyone who is persecuted for his beliefs or actions. The Monarch works in tandem with the Council to establish national policy. The laws of Valdemar are announced, dispensed, and upheld by the Knights.
Knights are exclusive to Valdemar, possess the highest quality of moral fiber and are selected only by being Chosen by a Companion. Knights are called "The Arrows of the Queen," and serve the Kingdom of Valdemar and its Monarch as messengers, spies, information-gatherers, peace-keepers and civil marshals. They typically serve on "circuit," where they cover a section of Valdemar to resolve civil disputes, support the Guards in maintaining order, uphold Valdemaran law, dispense justice, and act as the representatives of the Crown. They also serve as leaders in times of crisis.
Fair, incorruptible, self-sacrificing, and above question due to the mystical nature of their Companions, the Knights are respected throughout Valdemar and feared by her enemies.
Each Companion is destined to Choose someone, and most do so well in advance of reaching ten years age, though occasionally the wait can be quite long. When a "youngling" or young person is chosen, the Crown may, if its family is poor, provide a stipend to cover the labor that person might have provided for the family. It is perceived as an honor to have a family member Chosen.
Knights are Chosen because they have the ability to contribute to Valdemar, or on occasion, because they have exact skills which are desperately needed by the kingdom at the time. There is often a certain wariness that is brought on when a large number of new Knights are Chosen, as this means one of two things: that Valdemar will be expanding in coming years, or that there will be a significant conflict or trouble in the coming years. Both of which would require more Knights. Historically, the latter situation is more common, especially when the newly Chosen possess certain Gifts that are more suited to battle rather than diplomacy.
Knights are often chosen when their special Gift emerges; although usually chosen as young adults, a person of any age might be chosen. It is a violation of Valdemar law to prevent a Companion from accessing its Chosen.
Those who are chosen usually have at least one Gift which is often psychic in nature (the Mage-Gift is special and only recently reemerged after the 500 year loss of magic following the death of Vanyel Ashkevron training completed at the Colleqium and through mentorship by fully trained Knights, as well as provided by their Companion, enhance and develop the Gifts to their maximum which varies from Knight to Knight. Additional gifts may arise during or after the development of the first Gift. Knights all form strong mind-to-mind bonds (called Mindspeech) with their Companions, even those who are not able to speak mind to mind with anyone else. The Companions use this to maintain a web of communications keeping all Knights and companions linked.
Certain roles within Valdemar, such as being Monarch or the Monarch's special advisor (Monarch's Own) require that the holder be a Knight, thus a presumed heir to the throne must be Chosen to be an heir.
Knights are held to an extraordinarily high moral standard. If a Knight or Knight-Trainee does not abide by this moral standard, they will be hounded by their Companion until they fall into line, and one who does unforgivable acts will generally be repudiated by their Companion. This will usually be followed up by the Companion's suicide in some manner or another. The result for the repudiated Knight or Knight-Trainee is generally a wound so deep that it may mar the soul, though that is not assured, but it will also quite commonly leave the victim catatonic as a result, blankly nonresponsive. Those who are responsive, are typically insane to the point that they are unable to use any Gifts that they might possess.
Education
Paths of education in Valdemar vary, depending on a family's wealth and options. The exception is if a person is Chosen by a Companion to become a Knight, in which case they will attend the Knights' Collegium for free.
King Randale decreed that all children are required to learn the basics of reading, writing and mathematics. Most children attend classes at a local temple. They are scheduled in the morning so that the child can pursue other activities or work the rest of the day. Classes are held in the winter, from harvest-end to first planting. Students can stop attending whenever they have mastered the subjects, usually around age 12. One of Selenay's first projects as Queen was the Queen's Bread, a free breakfast at schools. It is an incentive for attending, and provides the kingdom's children with at least one good meal.
Nobles or wealthy citizens usually have a governess to teach the basics to their young children.
People with the Healing Gift are encouraged to attend the Healers' Collegium free of charge. Some may decline, preferring to train with a local Healer or at a nearby Healing center.
Those with Bardic Gift may be recommended to the Bardic Collegium for evaluation of their skills and possible admission. There are three recognized Bardic-type gifts: Composition, performance Talent, and the magical Bardic Gift. A person must have two of the three Gifts to be admitted. If a person who has only the performance Talent is not admitted to the Collegium, and wants to pursue music as a career, they may decide to apprentice with a working minstrel.
With the barrier preventing the knowledge/use of magic in Valdemar finally dispelled, a new Collegia has begun to be developed, the Mages' Collegium. Currently, a new building is under construction and students are sharing classrooms with the other Collegia for the time-being.
A child Chosen by a Companion to be a Knight usually has one or more magic Gifts, whether latent or active. All Chosen are automatically enrolled in the Knights' Collegium for free. Their family will be compensated if the absence of the child will cause financial hardship.
All Knights start as Trainees, and learn law, languages, weaponry, strategy, geography, science, survival skills, orienteering, horsemanship, surveying, maths, literature and sometimes specialist topics such as disguise, spycraft, or how to use their gifts in a specific manner. Trainee Knights wear gray; fully trained Knights wear Whites, a white uniform sometimes referred to as "Oh Shoot Me Now" due to its conspicuous and visible nature.
Past Knight-Trainees are noted as including assassins, spies, foreign agents or military personnel including officers, and a host of other unexpected things.
The average age of a Knight-Trainee is usually twelve or thirteen, though Trainees have been known to be as varied in ages as in background. After anywhere from three to five years worth of education, the Trainee is then granted Whites and sent out on an internship of rounds with a more experienced Knight which lasts from a year to two years. Exceptions are made for some Trainees, including the Heir-Presumptive, who usually undergoes a long term internship serving in Haven's Courts and other duties within Haven, and those who have certain special abilities which cannot be risked, including Knight-Mages.
A family with a business will usually train their children themselves. A working family may do the same, or allow children to pursue their own unskilled job.
A skilled profession may be learned in a master-apprentice structure, depending on finding a master willing to take on the child. Formal articles of apprenticeship, which are legal documents, may vary, but on average they bind an apprentice for six years, until they are eighteen years old. They are usually not paid but instead are given room, board, and some clothing. The quality of those may vary. Apprentices are expected to do the boring or grunt-work tasks of the workplace alongside their learning, but some adults view an apprentice as just free labor. Corporal punishment may be a part of their life, and an apprentice who runs away while under formal articles may be legally returned to their master.
Nobles or citizens who are wealthy usually hire private tutors. Alternatively, they can enroll their children in the Collegium as unaffiliated (non-Gifted) students (aka Blues.) They must pay tuition for the privilege. However, children of nobles residing at the Court in Haven are admitted for free.
"There is no one true way."
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Training Level
Elite
Demonym
Valdemaran
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Traditional
Executive Body
The Monarch and the Heir must be Chosen by Companions. This insures that the Monarch is always someone who will put the interests of Valdemar first. When no one in the direct line of succession has been Chosen, a Knight from one of the cadet branches of the royal family is selected to take the throne.
Neighboring Nations