King Marcus

King of Veiland

The current ruler of the Kingdom of Veiland, Marcus I, also known as the SIlver King of Veiland. King Marcus ruled with Theia of Charis, who was the Silver Queen during the time of the Empress’s campaign of the West. This period of nearly a decade would later be known as the Rising of the Red Scepter, the period of time when the Sanguine Empire moved from the south, conquered much of the east, then set it’s sights on the west.

King Marcus and Queen Theia had difficulty conceiving for years after they had been wed, which resulted in 2 miscarriages. Prior to the Battle of the Grey Plains, the Queen was once again pregnant but sent a letter to the King before the battle that indicated that she sensed another miscarriage. This greatly factored into the King’s decision to leave the battlefield at his Commander’s request.

The Commander, Arthur Ages insisted that the King retreat to safety with his brother Phillip during a hard fought battle with the Phoenix Scepter and the Shimmering Knight. Although the King initially did not want to leave, thoughts of his wife lingered and informed his decision to escape to safety in a decisive battle with the Shimmering Knight.

After reaching a safe distance at a high vantage point, the King and Phillip Ages witnessed a white light that bubbled around the battlefield and engulfed both sides of the conflict. Looking back, the two saw that everyone and everything involved in the battle was gone. King Marcus and Phillip Ages were the only survivors of the Grey Plains incident.

HISTORY

King Valentinus was the first King of Veiland who ruled hundreds of years prior to the Solstice Arcs. The ruling seat of Veiland is in the capital city of Selene where Valentinus’ descendant, Marcus I ruled with Theia of Charis. Marcus was known as the SIlver King of Veiland.

The Silver King was around 36 when the Empress of Gules came to Veiland to discuss the assimilation of Veiland into the Sanguine Empire. The Sanguine Empire was one of Hedgemonic practices and utilized the powers of the Shimmering Knight and The Soothsayer to coerce nations into integrating with the Empire. At this time, the Empress had already assimilated much of the Eastern nations as well as the central nation of Meridian. Many had heard of the destructive power of the Shimmering Knight, although the Silver King was skeptical. However, the Empress shook the King’s resolve with a prophecy from the Soothsayer that spoke of the King and Queen’s difficulty in producing an heir.

The Empress however was patient and would require several meetings with the King and Queen before the negotiations came to fruition. During one of the final meetings where the King would be required to make a decision about the direction of his nation with respect to the Empire, the Empress of Gules passed away during childbirth. This information became a rumor that that the Empress was pregnant and died in childbirth. This rumor changed to the idea that she was killed by her own advisor, which then turned to the widely spread rumor that she was assassinated on orders of the King of Veiland.

The Sanguine Empire was in disarray after Anahita's death and taking Veiland was paramount to the occupation of the west. The Shimmering Knight, the General of the Empire’s forces, moved against Veiland in an effort to overtake the throne. He led the Phoenix Scepter against the Crescent Shield in a forest near Selene to take the kingdom on behalf of the Empire.

The Shimmering Knight was known as Victor Noble to a few confidantes of the Sanguine Empire. Victor requested that Simon Perish create a Resonating Artifact out of Victor's medallion that would enhance his powers. Victor had done this once before through other means and knew that this would allow him to easily crush Veiland’s army. At the time, Simon had deemed the Artifacts too dangerous to use but he now felt that there was nothing left to lose.

The disruptive and unstable nature of the Artifact would prove too powerful for Victor to control and it created an explosion that destroyed most of the battlefield with major lives lost and intense casualties on both sides. The Bastion Forest, where the battle took place, became known as the Grey Plains, because of the ash that had spread over the fields in the aftermath.

After this devastating blow to the Empire and its inevitable downfall, Simon had fled. He intended to take is newborne daughter with him east to a monastery where he used to reside. long ago. Before he could get out of Veilan, he was captured by forces of Selene but was able to leave the baby in the care of the Soothsayer, who was able to escape undetected.

Simon was brought back to Selene where the King intended to use his power of healing to help the Queen who could not conceive a child. She had already had 3 miscarriages and they requested that Simon find out what is wrong. Simon refused to help and was sentenced to death by the King. Simon could not be killed by the noose so it was prepared for him to be beheaded. At the last second, he was rescued by the Soothsayer and the pair attempted to escape. The Soothsayer told Simon where to find his daughter but knew that she would be killed, as she had foreseen her death several months prior, when she saw the deaths of Anahita’s entourage including Anahita herself. It is here the Soothsayer revealed that she had foreseen the passing of events but they already in motion and were in essence caused by the love between Simon and Anahita. She finally reveals that although the Empress was gone, somehow she saw that she would be the death of Simon Perish. The Soothsayer was able to allow for Simon to escape but was killed in the process.

Simon finds the baby and makes his way east but is once again cut off by soldiers of the King. He hides the girl by a tree and attempts to ward off the soldiers. The Silver King had tracked Simon nearly to the borders of Veiland with a regiment of 100 soldiers. Simon fights back and slaughters many of the Crescent Shield soldiers in the ensuing struggle and injures Phillip Bold. He is then cornered on a bridge and confronted by the King himself. After killing so many, Simon fights King Marcus and finds himself at a disadvantage from exhaustion. The King defeats him in combat and shoots him in the head with an arrow. Simon falls into the frozen river and washes away.

King Marcus and his close friend, Commander Phillip Bold are among the very few that are left alive after the Battle of Rune Crossing. They attempt to return to Selene when the King hears the cries of the baby girl and finds her near a knotted tree. The baby has small protrusions for antlers and the deduces that she was Simon's child. Not knowing what else to do with her and desperately longing for a child he takes the baby with him. Phillip understands what his friend intends to do and swears himself to secrecy.

The baby was taken to the Queen. She accepts the child as her own and never asks where she came from, though the King suspects that she knew. The Queen Selene was once Theia of Charis and she names the girl Aletheia. The only other person that knows of Aletheia’s heritage is the Queen’s caretaker Abigail. Even the younger handmaidens are unaware. As she grows, the Queen has the girl’s antlers removed during the summer months. After the baby develops red hair the King speculates who her mother is as well, believing her to be the offspring of Simon Perish and The Empress of Gules. The reason behind this is that Faun Elves are only known to ever have silver or black hair. Soon after, the Queen begins to cover the baby with veils and opulent crowns, which mimicked the fashion of the Queen. In addition to this, the crown of the King and Queen were notably having wings which could be mistaken for antlers.

The Queen's Death

After the Grey Plains incident, some people in Selene had begun to grow ill. The sickness was called White Eye and it took many lives in Selene over the next few years. There was no rhyme or reason for how it was contracted but those that did displayed symptoms of white freckles around their eyes. No one knew that it was caused by the devastation released by the Shimmering Knight, and the illness began to dissipate after a few years. The Queen was one of the last to contract the disease and died when Aletheia was around 3 years old. A Statue was erected in the main square to honor the queen that sat above a fountain. It was notable to have the winged crown that resembled antlers.

Several years later, there were very few who questioned Aletheia's heritage and the princess grew to be loved and admired by the citizens of Selene. Those that did know of Aletheia's true heritage were those that were part of the workings of Crescent Keep. For this reason, rumors of her not being the King's daughter began to fade. It came to the point where people began to falsely remember the Queen being a Faun Elf since Aletheia appeared to be of Elven descent. The statue of the Queen in the main square of Selene reinforced this, with her crown looking very much like antlers. Few people actually saw the Queen without veils when she was alive and Aletheia often would wear them as well.

When Aletheia was a young girl, she showed kindness to a poor man in the market. The man was Simon Perish, who was there to take her back but he recognized her kindness and that she was happy in her life as the Princess of Selene. This was the life that she now knew, one without him. He thanked her but said nothing of who he was. Since he no longer had a place in her life, he decided to let her live out hers in peace and left Selene and the west for good.

THE PRINCESS OF SELENE

Aletheia eventually developed a power when she was 8 that began to make others lethargic when touching her. By the time she was 10, it grew to the point where she would put people to sleep completely if they came in contact with her. During this time, it was becoming more apparent that more and more people exhibited strange powers. With this shift, came persecution. The King had always loved the princess like his own and feared that she would be persecuted, especially after The Shimmering Knight caused so much destruction. It had been nearly 10 years since the Empress used The Shimmering Knight as a weapon of fear. Because of this, people with powers were considered dangerous and untrustworthy despite their relative scarcity.

A young Priest named Basildes recognized the growing distrust toward these people. He was soon brought in by the King to possibly help Aletheia, though he was able to convince the King that Aletheia did not need to be healed. The Silver King realized his own ignorance and agreed that Aletheia did not need to be cured. He did not want her to be feared by others though, so he often kept her hands and her skin covered.

The King and Basildes then decided to change the public perception of people with these powers. Basildes had secretly been friends with the Shimmering Knight who was not the monster everyone believed. He knew that the people with powers were just people. He believed they could make another man like the Shimmering Knight that inspired people.

King Marcus and Basildes work through their ideas for months at the Monos Cathedral. Their attempt to give a name to supernatural people varied from calling them, Angels to Paragons to Apotheoun. The terms for their abilities ranged from Blessing to Powers to Virtues. Basildes recognized though that it was important to stress that these people were still human, just gifted humans. They decide upon calling these gifted people Champions. Basildes begins use his influence in the church to create reverence for Champions. He often mentions these Champions during congregation and tells people that they are to be cared for like any other.

Two years pass and Aletheia is turning 12 years old. The King and Basildes continue their work to uplift Champions. They locate a young man in Opelia who was rumored to have supernatural strength. The lad’s name is Michael and the pair decide that he could be a grand figurehead to further elevate Champions. Michael is given the persona of The Lunar Guardian and he is christened the High Champion of Selene. He is to protect the people of Selene from darkness. Immediately after this, the Lunar Guardian quickly becomes a Champion of the people to the commonfolk.

CREATION OF THE HIGH CHAMPION

People with supernatural abilities were becoming more prevalent, with various kingdoms adopting Veiland's example and employing those with the moniker of High Champion. Istoria created the Gold Griffin, Meridian created the Meridain Bolt. Even in the South, the nation of Kivarenah created the Red Shayir and several eastern High Champions were created as well. Creation of the High Champions ended much of the warring and infighting between Meridan and Istoria as High Champions were utilized as displays of their nation's power. By the time Aletheia was around 15, most of the public began to revere the High Champions as their protectors and anyone with powers were referred to as Champions.

There began to be more research on powers as well, as scholars began taking more of an interest now that powers were less rumor and myth. One such scholar, Samuel Ward, was tasked to learn about the supernatural powers of Champions in order to help Aletheia control her own power. He was a Champion as well and his interest in powers had stemmed from the study of a book called the Shakti Manuscript. The manuscript was found by his mentor Heron Daima after the collapse of the Empire. When Heron Daima was killed in an alchemical accident, the manuscript came to Sam. The Shakti Manuscript was written by Arka Mitra, unknowingly an alias for Simon Perish.

Sam's study of powers demonstrated that many of them had debilitating drawbacks to the body or minds of those that possessed them. Every power gave a Champion a weakness in some way. Aletheia's power would put commonfolk to sleep upon touch but it was especially serious to other Champions. It would affect Champions by augmenting the weakness of their own power. Sam discovered this as contact with Aletheia made his nose bleed and he became ill. As it happens this was the same effect he had when overusing his power. Aletheia also learned that she would have seizures if she used her power successively.

Aletheia’s power became known as the Seal power in an effort to keep it from having a negative connotation. She was unable to come into contact with others but despite this, Aletheia would adopt a very positive and sensitive outlook on life, most likely because of her friendship with Sam and the Lunar Guardian, Michael Firenne. She longs to be near others and instead of fearing being close to them she often forgets her power if she is excited or delighted by something.

SUMMER SOLSTICE

Marcus I loved Aletheia and considered her his true daughter. He wanted the best for her which is what compelled him to create the idea of High Champions in the first place. Because of this, he became very protective of her and would seldom let her out of the Crescent Keep, although he had suspected that she would leave it often on her own. This was especially true during the Summer Moon Festival that spread rumors of the princess walking the grounds of Selene in disguise.

He never cared for the practice of removing Aletheia’s antlers and as such stopped doing it altogether. He struggled with the possibility of telling her of her heritage but deep down, knew that she would search for answers on her own. He knew what kind of person she was becoming and knew that she would find out the truth for herself. He only prepared himself for the time when she would confront him about it and hoped that it would not completely fracture their relationship.

JOHN NOBLE | ALETHEIA | MICHAEL MITHOSE | SAMUEL WARD | MITHOSE SISTERS
ANAHITA | SIMON PERISH | KING MARCUS | SOOTHSAYER | SHIMMERING KNIGHT
DONOFREY | GILCOLM GREVE | BASILDES | HERON DAIMA