Tag: Writing

The Order of the Eternal Dawn

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Coat of Arms

The Order of the Eternal Dawn has stood watch over the various kingdoms of the north since the Age of Glory, when Adalgott, the first king, fought against the demon Azrael. The order was founded from former companions of Adalgott, who knew the battle between good and evil had only just begun. Their first knightly commanders prayed along the shore of Midland to Cinder, god of the sun and light. Upon hearing their call, Cinder bestowed the world with a dawn brighter than any fire or midday sun, golden and radiant beyond words. Upon this sight, the knights painted their shields with the image of the dawn upon the ocean’s horizon and formed the brotherhood.

From Castle Zweleran, a massive complex of towers and walls, the Order of the Eternal Dawn guards the realm against various foes, from lowly bandits to giants come to reave along the shore. In recent years, the rise of kingdoms in the north has taken away much of the power, crippling their reach and influence. Now the knights operate chiefly in Midland, though a few of their order quest through the rest of the world, seeking holy relics or lost knowledge.

The House Oderyr

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Coat of Arms

House Oderyr has stood, rather, sunk in the Red Marsh for thousands of years. Their capital and only walled castle, Green Rock, has stood the test of the wetlands, surviving both floods and frigid winters. House Oderyr is considered the weakest of the Midland houses, even more so than Moricar, with roughly a thousand or fewer levies in total. Oderyr’s contribution to Midland is their key chokepoint, as Green Rock is the only roadway through the Red Marsh, and into Midland.

Recently, Oderyr has declined even further, as their liege lord Theodric, and his wife, Elanna, have been driven mad from old age. The lands of Oderyr are now practically autonomous, with no real authority of law.

Set Sail, the Song of Erastrius

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Poem

A traditional drinking song of the Erastrians, the maritine people of the south. From a collection of poems from, The Sword to Unite

Set Sail!

Set Sail! Set Sail you folk of Baudoin!

For you destiny lies across the sea

And the chance won’t soon come again

In lands so rich and hearths so warm

Where a man can trip over lots of gold

Set Sail!

Set Sail! Set Sail you folk of Baudoin!

For there we face our final test

Our path set against our foes

So pack your things

For the harbormaster calls your name

Set Sail!

Set Sail! Set Sail you folk of Baudoin!

Let not the storm drag you down

Nor the wind send you off course

Let the stars be your guide

As they have for many generations before

Set Sail!

Set Sail! Set Sail you folk of Baudoin!

The Map of the North

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Book Stuff

Another great piece by Piere. This is the map inside the book. It started out as a rough sketch hanging in my room, and with Piere’s help it became a true work of art. If The Sword to Unite does well enough, I intend to do more stories with other parts of the world currently unmapped.

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Note: Image is copyrighted by Peter Hopkins, all rights reserved.

The Green Man

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Discussion

Throughout ancient European, and for that matter, world mythology, there is an unspoken character who dictates the laws of nature, who binds the seasons to his will, who has the power to bring the hero strife or glory. That character is the Green Man.

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The Green Man is quite literally nature made characterized. Often in fantasy, and mythology that influenced it, the Green Man is a figure of rebirth, life, death, decay, and the changing of the seasons. The color green is vital to his character, representing not only the lush green of summer and spring but also the otherworldly nature of his being. The best example of this type of power can be seen in Tolkien’s superb work, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which Galdwin is accompanied by the ghostly visage of a green knight.

In the natural aspect, the Green Man often appears in literature at the beginning with summer or fall, representing the fading of happy days, and the coming of strife for the character. One of the best examples of this, is from Geogre R.R. Martin’s widely popular Game of Thrones series, with the classic Stark words being, “Winter is Coming”, as the long summer comes to a close.

In my own work, the Green Man arrives in the middle of summer, when the days are longest in hottest. In the winter, the stakes are dire, and all hope seems lost in the soul-crushing effects of ice and snow, for life has faded and been corrupted. The book ends in the spring, heralding the Green Man’s return, and the renewal of life.

Please leave comments for any books you can think have a Green Man character, and be sure to like and subscribe!

The Twiddle and the Whittle

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Poem

A poem from The Sword to Unite, sung by the elf, Eadwine

 

Oh the farmer had a pig

A hog so fat and full

It snorted and twiddled

While the farmer sat and whittled

And the pig did laugh and the pig did jest

For it knew not why the farmer whittled

While he did twiddle

Then came the day

When the farmer had whittled

A spit for the pig

That the pork did no longer twiddle

Rather did it sizzle!

The Magnanimous Free City of Kruithia

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Coat of Arms

To the south, beyond the realm of knights and peasantry, cold winds and colder demeanor men, lies the self-titled, Magnanimous Free City of Kruithia, the Golden Coin of Eln, the Six-Pronged Saviour, and other titles too long for most northerners to memorize. It is the largest city of men, consisting of dozens walled sections which rise high into the clouds. It stands suspended across a deep running moat which wraps around the city like a ring. To the lower districts, sewage runs freely in the streets, and cramped conditions force people deep into the dimly lit alleyways of the inner rock. To the bottom, the Pit, a fighting arena where prisoners are made to bleed for the amusement and example of the rich and poor.

To the upper tiers of the grand city, open air terraces and vast green gardens litter the skyline, with some private estates having their own little forests. Gold-domed palaces reach high above the filth of the city, reflecting light as a coin being inspected for quality.

Kruithia is ruled by six oligarchs, each a head of a noble clan of Kruithia, hence the six-pronged coin. They chose six, so that no decision could be made with a fifty-fifty divide, a majority would always rule in Kruithia, no matter what.

Krutithia also holds the largest bank in the world, The Shimmering Star, named for the treasure rumored to be hidden deep within the vaults and thick iron doors of the bank. The Shimmering Star was an artifact from the first days of man, a gift from the gods themselves, a meteor composed of pure light. None know if this treasure exists, for the bankers are not ones to divulge their accounts.

The House Crawe

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Coat of Arms

To the north of Lorine, the winds grow cold and the earth hardens into soil akin to stone, yet House Crawe shines as a pinnacle of wealth. The Crawes have ruled the different lordlings of Midland for centuries, keeping power through wealth, rather than brute force. Founded by Scallion Crawe, a merchant from the Elnish lands with barely a copper to his name, they would rise to the rank of the most powerful nations in less than a lifetime.

Scallion came north with a handful of iceberries, a species of grape nearly immune to cold, with little need for water or rich soil. Scallion cast the grape seeds across the fields of Midland, and by the summer harvest of the next year, was the wealthiest man in Midland. His wineries appeared throughout the fledgling nation. Crawe was no kind soul, he was rumored to have burned at least five competing vineyards and alehouses, all in the name of monopoly.By the end of his life, he had built a city of marble, named Prav, and had amassed one of the largest fortunes the world had ever seen.

His descendant Malcom now rules Midland as Vine King, guarded by fill regiments of men bearing the golden vine upon their breastplate. Wealth flows into Prav from the country, though the sweet nectar of iceberry wine has weakened the industrial nature of house Crawe, who have not worked the land like their ancestors for generations.

The House Arrington

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Coat of Arms

House Arrington is the second most powerful house in Lorine, behind only the crown. From the lakeside city of Lahyrst, they rule with sublime wealth and power, with a rigorously trained professional army, and a network of spies and agents who live to serve the Red Fox of Lahyrst.

Arrington took the symbol of the red fox to show their cunning and refined nature, with bright red to show their strength, and blue to show the calm of their rule. William Arrington is the current chancellor to King Oswine, and the patriarch of the Arrington family. Known as a reserved man, his intentions are not revealed, until he is ready to reveal them.

The House Thorne

by Peter Hopkins, posted in Coat of Arms

One of the oldest, if not wealthy, houses in Lorine, House Thorne has lived in their ancestral house of Orford since the time of King Orfric. Edric, first of the blood of Thorne, was a common sellsword, contracted by the king to rescue his youngest daughter from the lair of a foul cyclops. Edric did so, slaying the behemoth with a single arrow in the eye, thereafter known as Edric the Marksman. Edric was rewarded with the village of Orford, and the hand of the princess in marriage, forever binding House Thorne and the crown. For their sigil, they took the noble visage of the Griffin, an animal which has resided in their forests for as long as any can remember. Thorne has never been a significant player in the politics of Lorine, their liege lords preferring to go questings in far distant lands or work the fields alongside their landbound peasantry.

Thorne has never been a significant player in the politics of Lorine, their liege lords preferring to go questings in far distant lands or work the fields alongside their landbound peasantry. Most notably amongst these heroes was Albert, who fought in the Green Mountains aiding the Dweor, or dwarves who raise flocks of white sheep along the mountain range.

The current lord, Cedric, son of Albert, and the great-grandson of Edric, rules Orford in the time of King Oswine. He is a young man, educated at court, trained in warfare, bearing the blood of an ancient household which the world thought extinct.