[MS] Non-Linear Worldbuilding: The Succession Wars

[Wasp]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

>> After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.