Post by Admin Adora on Jun 25, 2012 18:46:40 GMT -5
(I would just like to make a note that this is not considered required reading. You may read it if you would like to know a bit more about the setting and plot though.)
So you've somehow made your way to Albion from whichever elsewhere you were before, understandably you may be feeling a bit lost. Albion is a vast land with a very long and noble history, it would be a lot for anyone to take in.
Albion's full history could fill several large books, but in order to not overwhelm anyone this will simply be an overview.
How the vast fields were created and the great trees grown, is unknown. They were already here making the land prosperous long before the ancestor's of the horses that live here today arrived. The ancestors came here so very long ago that the truth of the matter has been lost from memory. Some say they came from beyond the eastern mountains, they came fleeing horrible beasts that wished to enslave them, and only managed to cross the treacherous mountain passes due to a miraculously long and warm summer that year. Others said they came from the south, from a land that was once bountiful and prosperous until a terrible drought set in and laid it all to waste, now all that remains is the southern sands. Others still say that the ancestors arrived on the backs of great wooden horses that galloped across the Sea of Fire.
Regardless of how they got here or why they came, arrive the ancestors did. Horses of every breed, stock, and color. Eager and excited for this new peaceful land of plenty. The even more plentiful then they expected, though not nearly so peaceful. In those days it is said that terrible creatures roamed the lands as freely as any horse. Creatures that could make it dangerous for even the strongest of stallions to venture away from the herd alone.
Griffins swooped down from the eastern mountains scooping up foals and fillies with ease and flying off again, back to their unreachable nests. Huge creatures with many sucking, pulling arms would emerge just off the shore and pluck up any horse who dallied to close to the water. Wyverns would fly up from their dens in the Southern Sands whenever they wanted an easy meal. Huge dire wolves in large packs hunted in every corner of the land.
The ancestors were persistent though, they fought back defending their claim to a chance to thrive in this prosperous place. It was hard, bloody, work. They so many foes, and so very many horses died. But through this pain and hardship, they found success. The last of the creatures to continue to harass the Albion herds were the Griffins, and no horse has seen talon nor feather of them in centuries.
With their new found peace the horses were then able to focus on going about their lives. Many herds and herd leaders came and went but three herds that have thus far withstood the tests of time are the Inyan, Adahy, and Tashunke herds. The Tashunke herd is the oldest of the three and may in fact be the original herd that made the voyage here from wherever it was they came from. The Adahy herd was the next to form. It was formed by the ancestor to the current herd leader, who wanted to create a herd that was a family, had strong community ties, and had roots in the concept of family first. Interaction with horses outside the herd was frowned on from the start, and when one of the herd leader's sons chose a mate from another herd he was very upset. He told the son to choose a 'proper' mate or never again be welcomed in the herd. The son left with his mate and they began a new herd, which they named Inyan.
The conflicts between the father and son did not end there. By this point the Adahy herd was large and still growing. They needed lots of space for grazing and foraging. They did not want to share that space with the Inyan Herd. So while the Adahy's took to The Great Wood, the Inyan's were forced to take to The Foothills. The Tashunke herd, not wishing to get involved in this conflict remained on the golden plains.
The tough life on the foothills has made the Inyan's hard, and the wound is still deep between them and the Adahy's. Over the years the resentment has had time to grow and fester in this wound and it would seem that they are now on the verge of hitting a breaking point.
A quarrel between father and son that happened centuries ago may very well be the cause for the coming end to the peace in Albion. When war breaks out across the land, all herds will suffer. They will all have a part to play in one way or another, as will every horse. What part will be yours?
So you've somehow made your way to Albion from whichever elsewhere you were before, understandably you may be feeling a bit lost. Albion is a vast land with a very long and noble history, it would be a lot for anyone to take in.
Albion's full history could fill several large books, but in order to not overwhelm anyone this will simply be an overview.
How the vast fields were created and the great trees grown, is unknown. They were already here making the land prosperous long before the ancestor's of the horses that live here today arrived. The ancestors came here so very long ago that the truth of the matter has been lost from memory. Some say they came from beyond the eastern mountains, they came fleeing horrible beasts that wished to enslave them, and only managed to cross the treacherous mountain passes due to a miraculously long and warm summer that year. Others said they came from the south, from a land that was once bountiful and prosperous until a terrible drought set in and laid it all to waste, now all that remains is the southern sands. Others still say that the ancestors arrived on the backs of great wooden horses that galloped across the Sea of Fire.
Regardless of how they got here or why they came, arrive the ancestors did. Horses of every breed, stock, and color. Eager and excited for this new peaceful land of plenty. The even more plentiful then they expected, though not nearly so peaceful. In those days it is said that terrible creatures roamed the lands as freely as any horse. Creatures that could make it dangerous for even the strongest of stallions to venture away from the herd alone.
Griffins swooped down from the eastern mountains scooping up foals and fillies with ease and flying off again, back to their unreachable nests. Huge creatures with many sucking, pulling arms would emerge just off the shore and pluck up any horse who dallied to close to the water. Wyverns would fly up from their dens in the Southern Sands whenever they wanted an easy meal. Huge dire wolves in large packs hunted in every corner of the land.
The ancestors were persistent though, they fought back defending their claim to a chance to thrive in this prosperous place. It was hard, bloody, work. They so many foes, and so very many horses died. But through this pain and hardship, they found success. The last of the creatures to continue to harass the Albion herds were the Griffins, and no horse has seen talon nor feather of them in centuries.
With their new found peace the horses were then able to focus on going about their lives. Many herds and herd leaders came and went but three herds that have thus far withstood the tests of time are the Inyan, Adahy, and Tashunke herds. The Tashunke herd is the oldest of the three and may in fact be the original herd that made the voyage here from wherever it was they came from. The Adahy herd was the next to form. It was formed by the ancestor to the current herd leader, who wanted to create a herd that was a family, had strong community ties, and had roots in the concept of family first. Interaction with horses outside the herd was frowned on from the start, and when one of the herd leader's sons chose a mate from another herd he was very upset. He told the son to choose a 'proper' mate or never again be welcomed in the herd. The son left with his mate and they began a new herd, which they named Inyan.
The conflicts between the father and son did not end there. By this point the Adahy herd was large and still growing. They needed lots of space for grazing and foraging. They did not want to share that space with the Inyan Herd. So while the Adahy's took to The Great Wood, the Inyan's were forced to take to The Foothills. The Tashunke herd, not wishing to get involved in this conflict remained on the golden plains.
The tough life on the foothills has made the Inyan's hard, and the wound is still deep between them and the Adahy's. Over the years the resentment has had time to grow and fester in this wound and it would seem that they are now on the verge of hitting a breaking point.
A quarrel between father and son that happened centuries ago may very well be the cause for the coming end to the peace in Albion. When war breaks out across the land, all herds will suffer. They will all have a part to play in one way or another, as will every horse. What part will be yours?