The Kingdom of Gallica is a major polity on the Continent.
Demonyms Gallic (the Gallic culture, a Gallic sloop) Gall (a Gall archer). Ship Designation Le/La/L’ (“The”). Touchstones Medieval France (culture, governance), Chinese Yuan Dynasty (history), Conan the Barbarian (ruling dynasty). Languages: Gallic Cimmerian (aristocratic classes; written in Lemurian script). Gallic Coppali (lower classes, mutually intelligible with modern Coppali).
The Kingdom formed two hundred years after the beginning of the Age of Amun’s Grace from a council of local Lords united under the proclaimed King of Gallica, Charles I. From the capital of Louen, the Carolingan dynasty ruled this country for nearly eight hundred years.
In 988 A.G., a massive conquering force rose from the eastern steppes, led by the Cimmerian warlord Aquilon the Conquerer. The seventeen-year-old king Henry IX was hung from the Louen city gates for three months as Aquilon’s armies systematically conquered the country, castle by castle, lord by lord. Having conquered Gallica, he turned his face to Lochlann, but found a match in the highly mountainous terrain inhabited by berserkers sworn to the proud lords of the Loch. Aquilon himself was slain by a stray arrow, and his forces retreated to the wide plains of Gallica.
Aquilon’s eldest daughter Valeria claimed rulership of Gallica upon his death, exiling the remaining Carolingan royal family to Copallia. (The Carolingans ill-fate followed them to their new home; within 100 years, the line had ended, the Carolingan family name utterly disappearing). She took the castle at Louen as her own domain, and styled herself the true Queen of Gallica, heir to Charles I in legacy, if not by blood. Her progeny have ruled Gallica ever since, even as her siblings failed to prevent the rest of Aquilon’s vast empire to the east from fracturing.
Gallica is a monarchy, with local Lords paying the monarch honor and tribute in a traditional feudal arrangement. The high castle walls of the Galls are unrivaled across the rest of the Continent.
The current King of Gallica is Aquilon IV, who ascended to the throne in 1031 A.G.
Factions
The Twelve Paladins of Louen
The Twelve Paladins of Louen, sometimes called The Twelve, are a knightly order sworn to the service of the Monarch ruling in Louen, in Gallica.
While they are renowned for their expert horsemanship, this association is often wrongly attributed to the Aquilonian dynasty now ruling Gallica; on the contrary, they were organized under Monarch Charles III in 422 A.G., half a millenia before Aquilon’s conquest.
Each Paladin in the order is legally considered a landless Lord of Gallica. In centuries past, these twelve Lords each resided in Louen at the service of the Monarch, but more recently they have spread their influence across the Continent; a few have even traveled as far as the Serpent Isles prosecuting the interests of their Monarch (and doubtless lining their own pockets in the process).
Mont Saint-Belit
Mont Saint-Belit is the Continent’s first true university of learning.
The university was named for the minor Aquilonian dynasty princess Belit, a polyglot and probable genius who firmly believed in the universal virtues of education. Moving beyond the scholastic, monastic academic traditions of her day, she founded Mont Belit in 1084 A.G. It is the Continent’s first academy of higher learning opening enrollment beyond those of Noble blood or monastic vows.
The Patriar contemporary with Belit, Tutmouse IV, was taken with her vision and, upon her death, canonised her as a saint—thus lending a good deal of international political legitimacy to her project. Today, many scholars associated with the school, often known as “Scholars of Saint Belit,” travel the Continent and beyond in their quest to gather knowledge (and spread it in kind).
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The Kingdom of Gallica
The Kingdom of Gallica is a major polity on the Continent.
The Kingdom formed two hundred years after the beginning of the Age of Amun’s Grace from a council of local Lords united under the proclaimed King of Gallica, Charles I. From the capital of Louen, the Carolingan dynasty ruled this country for nearly eight hundred years.
In 988 A.G., a massive conquering force rose from the eastern steppes, led by the Cimmerian warlord Aquilon the Conquerer. The seventeen-year-old king Henry IX was hung from the Louen city gates for three months as Aquilon’s armies systematically conquered the country, castle by castle, lord by lord. Having conquered Gallica, he turned his face to Lochlann, but found a match in the highly mountainous terrain inhabited by berserkers sworn to the proud lords of the Loch. Aquilon himself was slain by a stray arrow, and his forces retreated to the wide plains of Gallica.
Aquilon’s eldest daughter Valeria claimed rulership of Gallica upon his death, exiling the remaining Carolingan royal family to Copallia. (The Carolingans ill-fate followed them to their new home; within 100 years, the line had ended, the Carolingan family name utterly disappearing). She took the castle at Louen as her own domain, and styled herself the true Queen of Gallica, heir to Charles I in legacy, if not by blood. Her progeny have ruled Gallica ever since, even as her siblings failed to prevent the rest of Aquilon’s vast empire to the east from fracturing.
Gallica is a monarchy, with local Lords paying the monarch honor and tribute in a traditional feudal arrangement. The high castle walls of the Galls are unrivaled across the rest of the Continent.
The current King of Gallica is Aquilon IV, who ascended to the throne in 1031 A.G.
Factions
The Twelve Paladins of Louen
The Twelve Paladins of Louen, sometimes called The Twelve, are a knightly order sworn to the service of the Monarch ruling in Louen, in Gallica.
While they are renowned for their expert horsemanship, this association is often wrongly attributed to the Aquilonian dynasty now ruling Gallica; on the contrary, they were organized under Monarch Charles III in 422 A.G., half a millenia before Aquilon’s conquest.
Each Paladin in the order is legally considered a landless Lord of Gallica. In centuries past, these twelve Lords each resided in Louen at the service of the Monarch, but more recently they have spread their influence across the Continent; a few have even traveled as far as the Serpent Isles prosecuting the interests of their Monarch (and doubtless lining their own pockets in the process).
Mont Saint-Belit
Mont Saint-Belit is the Continent’s first true university of learning.
The university was named for the minor Aquilonian dynasty princess Belit, a polyglot and probable genius who firmly believed in the universal virtues of education. Moving beyond the scholastic, monastic academic traditions of her day, she founded Mont Belit in 1084 A.G. It is the Continent’s first academy of higher learning opening enrollment beyond those of Noble blood or monastic vows.
The Patriar contemporary with Belit, Tutmouse IV, was taken with her vision and, upon her death, canonised her as a saint—thus lending a good deal of international political legitimacy to her project. Today, many scholars associated with the school, often known as “Scholars of Saint Belit,” travel the Continent and beyond in their quest to gather knowledge (and spread it in kind).