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This is a reference to the information known in our story!
Royal Family: King Sarian Trevaine is the brother to the late King Donovan Trevaine. They are the only two children in the direct Trevaine line. There are a few distant Trevaine cousins but they are distanced from the line to the throne. Donovan's children include the Prince, whom you will play. There can be other descendants of Donovan too, but the crown Prince is the oldest and therefore the important one. Donovan's wife would have died years ago, leaving his line solely to the crown Prince. Sarian is newly married (perks of being a king) to a young courtier, Marissa Delnovo, and Sarian is trying to get her pregnant and ensure he has an heir. The Prince is currently in line for the throne, but if something were to happen to him and Sarian had a son...
Country: The Kingdom is Alsveena. It's a moderately sized country, around the size of Spain and with similar geography. There is an expansive coast in the west and to the south, producing a strong trading and fishing industry. To the east is a tall range of mountains, which are actually very poor in mineral and metal resources. There are a few large marble and granite quarries but the mountains are used for protection, stone, and wood. The center of the land is flattens from the mountains to the coast and has great farmland and vast expanses of deciduous forests. The capitol of Alsveena, Markarth, is situated on the middle of the coast, and is a hub of sea-trade. A large river, the Tames, flows from the mountains and empties in the sea in Markarth, further allowing inland trade routes for the country.
Alsveena has been at war with its northern neighbor Sarkonia since practically Sarian's crowning. The two countries have had tense relations in the past, mostly over metal mines near the border. Shortly after Sarian became King, a small village in the northern edge of Alsveena was found burned and the inhabitants slaughtered - there were remnants of Sarkonian flags and metal, and Sarian declared war. It is rumored that the town was slaughtered because of Sarian's orders and he set up Sarkonia to have a reason to war for the southern land in Sarkonia, and therefore the vast amounts of resources in that land.
Unfortunately, Sarian is a terrible ruler. Besides drinking heavily, having a raging temper (including throwing things at courtiers), and cheating on his wife, Sarian cannot lead an army. He only once visited the army and never led any battles. That is all done by his generals, of which he has three. Two he put in place, and the third is a remnant general from underneath Donovan's rule. The battles have been going poorly. Instead of gaining land, the Sarkonian army is steadily pushing in from the north. There is a lack of supplies and routes of trade to the armies and starvation and deserters are rampant problems in the army. Sarian has depleted the countries population of men and workers and has nothing to back up the dwindling army. Needless to say, there is incredibly low morale in the army.
Meanwhile, in the capitol, Sarian enjoys giant parties, drinking, and feasts. He's vastly cruel to anyone who speaks out against his rule, and several well known nobles have been punished or lost their title due to flexing their tongue.
Culture: When I say medieval, I don't mean slummy peasants. This is a slightly more sophisticated culture, at least in Markarth. The trade hub allows the affluent people in the city to enjoy a vast array of spices and other luxury goods. Clothing styles come and go, and fashion, of course, is always a big deal and a hot topic for gossip. The land has several religions but the most common one, the one used in the capitol, involves worship of a single god who sends people to seven hells depending on their sin. There is the concept of a nice heavenly afterlife. For the common people, worship of a variety of gods is more common. A woman and man's role in society is very clear. Women marry between the ages of 16-20, and much after 20 and they are an old maid. Women do learn a variety of skills, including reading, but professions are not common, especially in the more wealthy families. Women run households. In the common settings, women have been forced, due to the lack of men, to start taking on men's roles. There are no men to tend fields or cattle, so they have been picking up the slack. Common culture is changing rapidly due to the declining resources. Many villages are starving without anyone to produce food. Sickness and even plague is rampant in many parts of the country because all the healers have gone to war. Sarian isn't too worried about the recent rebel uprisings because he knows the common people have nothing and are dying off. As long as he is safe within Markarth, he is fine with letting the rest of the country shrivel and die.
The Rebels: Rebellious uprisings have been uncoordinated and random in the last year, but are becoming more common as things get worse. An organized rebellion has begun to show itself in the form of attacking messengers from the capitol, raiding small caravans of goods heading to the war front, and sabotaging anything with the King's mark on it. They are a nuisance more than anything and therefore Sarian hasn't really bothered with crushing them because he understand that they have no resources... until they capture the Prince, that is.
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