Hinterlands: Tarindal (West of Durnalia)

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Taliesin
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Hinterlands: Tarindal (West of Durnalia)

Post by Taliesin » Fri Nov 05, 2004 10:07 pm

I'm thinking of Durnalia with the geography that Josh described-- above a body of water like the Mediterranean and south of a mighty mountain range... and have decided to do develop my first provincial culture along the western border.

At the furthest western edge of the historical Kingdom of Durnalia, there's another mountain range-- analogous to the Northern Mountains in the same way the Appalachians are to the Rockies. Older, rounder, lower peaks but still definitely mountains. Right? Right.

Now, beyond those mountains there's (working east to west) vast ancient forests, a fertile coastal plain, and the western ocean. It is in these sometimes wild and often mysterious territories that the realm of Tarindal lies.

Once a land of tribal warriors and animistic ritual, colonized by gentle Paternician missionaries (I'm working on the singular cult of the Father of Light here, people), the land of Tiarna became the westernmost outpost of the Durnalian Empire. Brutally suppressed under Itracian rule, its people won their independence in the Wars of the Gryphons behind the leadership of a king whose life and deeds have by now become legend.

In this modern era, the Kingdom of Tarindal is defined by a society that is in places far cruder than anything east of the mountains-- and in others more elegant as well. A Kingdom known both for the valor of its noble warriors and the Patercian faith of its glorious cathedrals... and the whispers of things far older and stranger than Empire that still come at times from the mists on the moors.

More to come next week.

Taliesin
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The Tarindal Gazetteer

Post by Taliesin » Thu Nov 11, 2004 12:11 am

A collection of random notes on Tarindalian issues...

PRONUNCIATION:

1. Tarindal: pronounced "tah-RIN-dahl"

GLOSSARY, or A COUPLE BITS OF WORDS:

1. 'dal' or 'del' was the Old Tiarnan word for a dwelling; it has evolved such that when used in a place name it signifies 'home' or 'the land of'. Thus, the region of Arandel is the ancient land of the Aran people, Much like 'England' signifies "Angle-land".

2. Along the same lines, 'tar' means tower or fortress.

I'll be continuing to add more words over time.

SOME GEOPOLITICAL NOTES:

The Kingdom of Tarindal is ruled by the High King from his capital at Dal Tiaran. Bound to the king by blood-ties and feudal oaths that in some cases stretch to the time before the Durnalian Conquest are the seven Tiarnan Princes.

Each Prince is hereditary lord of a district of Tarindal whose borders correspond roughly to the ancient lines of the lands claimed by the Eight Tribes. Over times, these regions have evolved from tribal territories to pretty kingdoms, to sovereign principalities of the Tiarnan Kingdom under the legendary High King Barin and his heirs, to Durnalian territories ruled by local governors, to restored principalities beneath the new High Kings of Tarindal.

As you can no doubt imagine, this means there's a long and colorful internal history of both cooperation and rivalry in this kingdom....

AND WHAT'S THE POINT OF THIS WITHOUT A FEW SIGNIFICANT PLACE NAMES

Arandel: A coastal region in the northwest. Ancient home of the Aran people, one of the various tribes into which the prehistorical Tiarnan people were divided. Prior to the Durnalian Conquest, one of the petty kingdoms into which the land (greater Tiarna) was then divided. Now one of Tarindal's eight principalities.

Barindel: The largest of the eight ancient principalities. Known to the ancients as Taerendal, the people have long since adopted the name of their most famous son, the legendary High King Barin (from whom the current line of kings claims descent), for themselves and their land. Barindel stretches from the coastal region south of Arandel in the west to the Dresdain Forest in the east, at the foot of the Emerald Mountains. The wide and lazy River Thendril winds its way westward throughout this region, and from its banks rise the walls and spires of Dal Tiaran, City of Kings. This is now (obviously) royal land.

Benatar: A mighty walled city upon the eastern slopes of the Green Mountains bordering Durnalia, and an outpost of the Prince of Valandel. Tales tell that this city was built by Triciana, the legendary Warrior Queen of the ancient Valanites, who defeated a Durnalian force bent on conquest by summoning an avalanche of titanic proportion. A sorceress whose love for the magic of earth and stone was nonpareil, the boulders she sent rolling down upon the invading army lie there still, in the foothill vales beneath the city.

Dal Tiaran: The City of Kings, ancient home of the Tiarnan people, royal seat of the Kings of Taerendel, the High King of Ancient Tiarna, and (since the War of Restoration, the local chapter of what is known in Durnalia as the Holy Wars) the High Kings of Tarindal. Also here, one will find the Commanderie of the Order of the Eagles, the seat of the Tiarnan Church, and good roast beef.

More to come.
Rich


Palamon
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Post by Palamon » Thu Nov 11, 2004 1:09 am

I think that the word for a castle should be 'Pat' so when you have a castle in Tiarnan, it would be 'Pat Tiarnan' for example. or 'Pat Benatar' ... heh heh

I was wondering what sort of role religion played in Tarindalian history; why was it such a sour point between Durnalia and themselves?

Taliesin
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Post by Taliesin » Thu Nov 11, 2004 3:35 pm

Well, if you take a closer look, you'll find that Queen Triciana absolutely loved to rock and roll... so yes, there's actually a joke in there that combines Pat Benatar and Joan Jett. ;)

I set up that 'sound off' thread to try and learn who's out there and get them posting. I really don't want this to be the Elph-and-Rondo Show; I know we both want real input from others. Collaboration. Anyhow...

I'll get to religion. I have some notes on it... it just might take a while for me to get them up, what with crazy work, a wedding to plan, a house to buy etc.

One thing I will say is that the religion practiced in Tarindal is a very curious thing indeed to Durnalians. Tiarna was nominally brought into the fold of Durnalian religion by the Paternician missionaries prior to Imperial times, but their message evolved over time. This is due in part to the belief in (and occasional involvement of) the mysterious Fair Folk in Tiarnan society....
Rich


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Post by Palamon » Thu Nov 11, 2004 5:16 pm

Sounds good, man. You wouldn't happen to have a way to get in touch with Daerith, would you? Or Indy? Those two are highly imaginative and very well educated in history and ancient cultures, and would be excellent assets, especially in this kind of environment. Although I definitely want more input, I am slightly concerned that too many cooks spoil the soup. I want to make sure we've got good cooks.

Taliesin
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Tarindal: History

Post by Taliesin » Fri Nov 12, 2004 10:53 pm

Alright, more notes on my favorite little hinterland. Now, as I think about it, "hinterland" is a funny word for Tarindal-- from their point of view, anyway. From the Durnalian p.o.v., it makes perfect sense, being as they're off over the Green Mountains anyway... or was that the Emerald Mountains... you know, I really ought to eliminate my own internal inconsistencies. Let's do that first.

It's the GREEN MOUNTAINS from here on in.

And the religion comes originally from "Patercian" missionaries, not "Paternicians" or "Patronuses" or anything else... but the Church is the Holy Tiarnan Church. Not the Church of Tarindal or anything else. It's an offshoot of the Old Durnalian faith in much the same way that Christianity and Islam are offshoots of Judaism.

So... let me give a brief overview of history from the Tiarnan point of view. I'll line it up by the ages of the Durnalian epochs so that we can have a sort of side-by-side view.

1. Durnalia: City-state era. Tiarna: Myths and Legends.
Very little, if any, written records exist from this time. If not for the strong oral and musical traditions of the Tiarnan people, all knowledge of the ancients would be lost. If the tales are to be believed, interaction with the mysterious Fair Folk was far more common in this era than it has been in modern times. Society was still focused around the tribal unit; the eight tribes at this stage were clearly established, and had settled in the lands that bear their names to this day.

2. Durnalia: First Kingdom. Tiarna: Petty Kingdoms.
The tribal regions had grown to bear numerous petty kingdoms. All told, within the borders of modern Tarindal, there may have been between fifteen and twenty-five "kings" ruling their own little warbands at any one time. The Fair Folk still drift in and out of the affairs of lesser mortals, and the first Patercian missionaries appear from the east. There is some trade by sea with the Kingdom of Durnalia, but the realm remains mostly insulated. It was via these merchants that the tales of Durnalian chivalry first caught hold.

3. Durnalia: Empire. Tiarna: (1) King Barin, (2) Durnalian Province
During this era, the Patercian religion took hold, but the threat of absorption/annexation by the Durnalians became most dire. In the days of one of the more aggressive and expansionist Emperors, the Tiarnan kings were united by the legendary Barin, allegedly the son of the Prince of Taerendel and a woman of the Fair Folk, who was anointed High King at Dal Tiaran on White Sunday in the twenty-first year of his life. Inspired by his Patercian faith and the stories of old Durnalian chivalry at that time sweeping Tiarnan courts, King Barin united the many states of Tiarna and won a series of decisive battles against the Durnalian foe. His reign became a brief golden age, but upon his death, the realm threatened to fall apart at the seams... and his sole child, a daughter, wed herself to a Durnalian Lord to prevent it. Her sacrifice of sovereignty for peace remains a matter of great debate among Tiarnan scholars. So began the reign of Durnalia west of the mountains. It would last many centuries, but the tales of King Barin were never forgotten....

4. Durnalia: Itracian Empire. Tiarna: Oppression and Rebellion.
The reign of Itracus Invictus was a hard one for the Tiarnan people, who already had chafed beneath imperial rule for many hundreds of years. Of the lines of the original princes, some few had accepted Durnalian rule, and become hereditary governors; others had died off completely. Yet the Princes of Barindel, descended as they were from a Durnalian lord and King Barin himself, had been allowed to keep the title of Prince at least. This would end with the shadow of Itracus Infernus. The Patercian religion was brutally oppressed in the latter years of his despicable reign: monasteries put to the sword, churches set aflame, etc. Prince Tarin Agilende rode to Editia itself in protest, and there was jailed to await execution. The story of his miraculous escape, his return unlooked-for to Dal Tiaran, his supposed pact with the Fair Folk, the raising of the ancient banners and the War of Restoration... well, it's too long a tale to tell here. But it happened, the Durnalians were kicked out, and the High Kings returned to Dal Tiaran by the sea. Yay!

5. Durnalia: Second Kingdom. Tiarna: Kingdom of Tarindal.
The heirs of the High King Tarin would not repeat the mistakes of their ancestors, his son and grandson building upon the success of their heroic sire. The realm was made whole, and healing began. The Order of the Eagle rose to prominence, and the Order of Saint Talasin raised cathedrals where the ashes of churches had fallen. The Durnalian War of the Gryphons threatened Tarindal, but aside from the Battle of Benatar and a few skirmishes at sea, the westerfolk saw little of the chaos that plagued their eastern neighbors (who, the Tiarnans reasoned, pretty well deserved it).

6. Durnalia: Third Kingdom (modern). Tiarna: Kingdom of Tarindal.
This is where we stand today. Tarindal has chilly relations with Durnalia, whose people the Tiarnans regard as haughty, overfond of themselves, and corrupt. It is, perhaps, a rather flawed view, but these people who suffered so much at the hands of Itracus and his ancestors have little reason to love their eastern neighbors.

That's all I have for this week. I've drawn liberally from numerous traditions to come up with these ideas, so some of it may look familiar... but I'm hoping there will be others among you who'll help me flesh it out and make it more real in its own right. :)
Rich


Palamon
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Re: Hinterlands: Tarindal (West of Durnalia)

Post by Palamon » Sat Nov 13, 2004 3:17 am

Excellent, Rich. I love it. By the way, Neon, whose real name I do not know, is working on creating a "Britannic" kingdom north of Tarindal, an island (or two or three) in the seas. So you two should talk a bit about relations between Tarindal and the one he creates, especially in terms of culture and modern religion. Also, what is the Tarindalian take on the modern "Emilian" Durnalian Church? One thing I like is the continuity and evolution of culture we have going on.

I am very excited about the possibilities that are arising here. As always, I'll continue to work on Durnalia. Also, I want to start working on the Middle Sea's southern shores (Durnalia's "Carthage" so to speak) and the fragmented kingdoms of that area - long since destroyed and now largely independent city-states of their own.

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