The History of Konti-Nyuum

The history of the Protectorate of Plort, Konti-Nyuum is a tale of grandeur, tragedy, and glory. It has been told and retold many times. It is traditionally divided into four ages.

The Golden Age
The reign of Xing, Emperor of Fanvik-Neht, was a harsh time. Many of his subjects, starving and oppressed, struck out into the unknown, founding their own petty kingdoms and nations. History speaks of the savage Drake Rebellion, and the flight of the Lady Cassandra to the dense forests of Fixionarly. Other names are spoken of more softly.

Among those who fled Xing’s persecutions were two valiant knights called Jay and Acacia. They fought bravely in the Emperor’s wars against the barbarian hordes known only as the Marizu, but on their return, Jay and Acacia found no triumphant welcome. The castle Harpwire was in ruins, and guards lurked to seize their property and persons. Despite their great victories, Xing had signed a treaty with the Marizu, and had vowed to deliver up those leaders of Fanvik-Neht’s armies who had wrought the most destruction on their lands.

Jay and Acacia were forced to flee, with little more than their armour, weapons, and steeds. In the wastelands to the north, they chanced upon a roving philosopher, who undertook to guide the fugitives to a fair land: the uninhabited island of Konti-Nyuum.

Konti-Nyuum, ringed with reefs and faced with sheer cliffs, presented an imposing spectacle to the exiles. The philosopher guided them unerringly to the island’s one true harbour, where Jay and Acacia beheld the lush grasslands, and the vast forest beyond. Stepping as one from the boat, they declared with ringing voices: “This shall be the end of our wanderings, and should any seek to do us harm, our wrath shall fall upon them! On this day we found a new city, and a new realm: the Protectorate of Plort! Let Fanvik-Neht and Marizu alike tremble at the name.” Standing tall and proud on the shingle beach, they drew forth pen and parchment and inscribed a glorious Constitution, inaugurating their new domain in word and in fact.

Many soon gathered to the Protectorate: soldiers and knights who had served alongside Jay and Acacia, and followers of their exploits from afar. As the city Borrd grew, so too did the naval might of Plort. The coastal lands of the Marizu soon burned, assaulted by black ships that vanished into the night.

In the centre of Borrd, standing high on unassailable rock, Jay and Acacia dwelt in the castle Otik. They gathered to the castle a brave circle of knights, whose names are told in song to this day: the fair Kaitlyn, the twin warriors Andy and Saphie, the stealthy Architeuthis, commander of Plort’s spies. Many tales are told of those golden years: how a quest was ordained to seek the sacred idol of Emestee, and undertaken by a mere servant, and how said servant now rides in azure armour as a noble knight, still bearing the name of the man he once served.

Chief among the knights of Otik were the three mighty paladins: Cam the Ruthless, Thalia the Weaver, and Bast the Grey Lady. Cam, chief trainer for Plort’s armies, taught them all the skills which Jay and Acacia espoused; Thalia, the war-leader, sailed in the black ships, bringing ruin upon the Marizu; Bast, the high priestess, ordered the worship of the twin gods of Plort, Kanun and Spelin. Guided by these luminaries, the people spread across the land.

The disaster came swiftly. Without giving reason, Jay and Acacia barred the doors of Castle Otik, allowing access to none, not even their loyal paladins. When at last Architeuthis crept inside, she found the halls and chambers abandoned, thick with dust: Jay and Acacia had departed, their destination unknown.

The Elder Age
The three paladins now shouldered the burden of rule, but Konti-Nyuum under the Triumvirate was a troubled island. Each reigned in her separate citadel: Cam from the military camp at Ofum, Bast from the Temple of Spelin, Thalia from the fortress Fanvik. Each sought to rule in her own way, and while each held sway in the lands around her own castle, the borderlands were unruly, troubled by bandits and feuds.

With the three Protectors distracted by the tensions between them, the eastern regions of Konti-Nyuum chose that moment to declare their independence as the Kingdom of Chaett. Here the strictures of Jay and Acacia’s laws were relaxed, and in the cities and towns of Plort, Chaett was held up as a model both of the dangers of lax rule, and the allure of freedom. The Oracle of Chaett declared that, in times to come, all of Konti-Nyuum would know the release which Chaett represented.

Despite the troubles which had already struck, the worst was yet to come: in a fell winter, it came to light that Thalia, the weaver and Protector, had betrayed all of Plort. Seeking to enlarge her own status as war-leader, she had passed intelligence to the hated Marizu, bringing crushing defeat on an army led by Cam. Worse, she had claimed that her own forces had been similarly destroyed, when in truth, they had never existed. The revelations shook the foundations of Plort.

Cam and Bast, united by their horror of what had come to pass, but still recalling the nobility and honour which had made Thalia a true Paladin under Jay and Acacia, sought to limit the damage: Thalia would be stripped of her titles, but allowed to live on in the castle Fanvik. It was to no avail: Thalia forsook Plort and Konti-Nyuum, setting out into the unknown, never to return.

The lands of Konti-Nyuum fell into despair. Ruthless Cam withdrew from society, appearing less and less frequently in the cities, until at last she announced her own departure. Rather than handing sole rule over to the increasingly bitter Bast, she appointed barons to govern the regions of Plort in her stead.

Slowly, life on Konti-Nyuum returned to normal. To take the population’s minds off their troubles, festivals were ordained: the great Shipfest, when the harbours became thronged with lovers; the Games of Batveg, with prizes for achievements in song and storytelling; the Gatherings, when citizens gathered from far and wide in the capital of Borrd to celebrate their island home.

Bast soon followed the examples of Jay, Acacia, and Cam: she withdrew into her castle, and finally chose to depart. Rumours abounded as to her reasons: some claimed she had been shunned by those she saw as her inferiors, others that she had fallen away from the true worship of Kanun, while yet others declared that she had simply seen that the lands had grown beyond her tending. Under the barons she left in her place, life continued as usual.

The Age of Revolution
After long negotiation, the council of barons finally reached an agreement with the splinter Kingdom of Chaett: the two nations would reunite, with the authority of the barons extending to the former Chaett. However, the authority of the barons, now at several removes from the founders, had to be tempered with the freedom of Chaett: from henceforth, barons would no longer appoint their own replacements, but would be elected by a free and fair vote of the people.

On a bright day in spring, the border between Plort and Chaett was torn down, and an election held. To rule over the lands that had once been Chaett, two new barons were appointed to the council: Huinesoron the historian, and Dann, whom rumour identified as a powerful mage.

In these new enlightened times, the war against the Marizu quickened. The ships and knights of the reunited Plort struck at new lands: Roe Lin, the Magedom of Yung Wi-Sods, the vast Confederation of An-Emay. In each they were vastly outnumbered, able only to engage in swift raids and flying assaults: even in the Kingdom of Lotor, where Jay and Acacia had first fought, the grip of the Marizu was still strong.

But the renewed onslaught was noticed - and brought retaliation. Vast armies of hideous trolls crossed the sea, swimming through the reefs, leading their gargantuan ypur mounts through the water. When they made landfall, they brought ruin upon whatever they found. Only the combined forces of the barons was able to bring them down - and those which escaped swore, in their vile tongue, that they would return.

Fortifications were built, in preparation for the next assault, but the next enemy Plort would face was not the Marizu. Distrustful of the barons, the lands that had once been Chaett rebelled anew, forming the Republic of Iric. Huinesoron fled to Plort; Dann remained in Iric, a leader of the revolution.

Iric claimed a new form of government: true democracy, with elected officials, not absolute rulers. The people of Plort were skeptical - but some took the idea to heart. The Librarians’ War was swift and bloody. When the fighting died down, the south coast of Konti-Nyuum had become the Commonwealth of Wechi. Here, all were truly equal: though the baron Neshomeh still held her castle, and her opinion was sought in time of dispute, Wechi was not her domain.

The Age of Union
The splintering of Konti-Nyuum might have continued indefinitely, had it not been for a further assault by the Marizu. Driven from their homes, the people of Plort fled to the western city of Ozerbord - and found the citizens of Wechi there before them. Even the folk of Iric soon joined them, and as their united armies drove away the trolls, the three nations took conference.

The outcome was perfect for none, but acceptable to all. The nations would once more reunite into a Union of Plort, but would not thereby become a single realm. Instead, it would be a union of four countries. Over each would be placed barons, to lead the common war effort - but beyond matters military, the nations would be independent. The Protectorate of Borrd, comprising the north and central areas, would continue to be ruled by its barons. The Republic of Iric would continue to elect its own leaders, known for no apparent reason as ‘Ops’ and ‘Dars’. The Commonwealth of Wechi renewed its commitment to absolute democracy, while granting its barons the power to exile inhabitants at need. Finally, in the west, Ozerbord and its hinterland were created the new Refuge of Ozerbord: a monument to the unity of Plort, a bastion in time of need, a place of celebration. Over this primarily military realm, the exiled baron Huinesoron was placed.

In the years which followed, the population of Plort grew and grew. Many migrants arrived from the distant land of Tivit, often with strange and erroneous ideas of what life in Plort entailed. New barons were appointed, and the borders of the baronies shifted with time: the baron July commanded large domains in both Iric and Wechi, but when she suddenly departed, her successor Cassie chose to dwell elsewhere. There were conflicts - a series of brief but savage border disputes between Borrd and Iric - and surprises - the sudden and unexpected return of the fabled blue knight, after years of wandering - but all in all, life in Plort was good. Many harked back to the days of Jay and Acacia - but at the same time, they looked forward, to the future.