Post by SS Admin on Sept 24, 2006 21:37:12 GMT -5
Sun and Shadow - a Valdemar RPG
The year is 1570 AF - approximately one hundred years after the beginning of Selenay's reign, one hundred and fifty years (or so) after the end. The current monarch is King Jonathan III, a man nearing fifty whose skills at running a country leave - well, needless to say, they leave much to be desired. The recent death of the King's Own has only intensified the pressure on Jonathan; when Alden Pyreson was King's Own, he was more than capable of handling most of Jonathan's job, and often times did - he had been King's Own for the entirety of Jonathan's father's reign, and knew what he was doing. The King's Own passed away in late July 1570, and as of August 1, the Companion has not yet returned to the Collegium with a new Chosen - and the absence of a King's Own is already being felt. The upper class is making their distaste of Jonathan felt, and tensions have sharply risen in the recent past, as they make their disgust common knowledge. It's gotten to the point where many of them feel that they can do a better job ruling than Jonathan can - and the only thing stopping them from ruling, they feel, is an outdated law requiring the monarch to be a Herald.
In the meantime, life in Valdemar continues as it always has. Students come and go from the Collegium, graduating with the intention of leaving their mark on the world and some actually succeeding at doing so. The number of Herald Trainees, while not at an all-time high, is most certainly a large enough number that few are worried about the Heralds becoming stretched thin any time in the near future; there are enough Heralds in Whites and Trainees nearing their Whites that the Heralds can be on circuit for lengthy periods of times without worrying about their not being enough Heralds elsewhere, and all circuit areas are covered. Trainees are being Chosen to make up for any losses of Heralds at any given time, and even exceed that number, making the Collegium a busy, bustling place. As the number of Herald Trainees grows, so too does the number of Bardic and Healer trainees - the only Collegium that seems to even remotely be struggling is Mages Collegium, and that's only because they send half of their trainees to the White Winds school in Rethwallen every year.
This leaves Valdemar in a precarious position, with the forces of any one side pushing to tilt the balance of the kingdom in their favor - and it is only a matter of time before one succeeds, and who will come out on top remains yet to be seen. Will this tale result in a ballad as well known as Sun and Shadow, or will the Heralds come out on the losing end this time?