The Flame Priest (The Silk & Steel Saga) (58 page)

NAVARRE

The youngest
kingdom
of
Erdhe
,
Navarre
was founded less than four hundred years ago by a daring adventurer, Alaric
Navarre
, who rescued the youngest daughter of the king of Coronth from a band of sea pirates infesting the
Orcnoth
Islands
. Gaining the king’s confidence, and his daughter’s hand in marriage, Alaric earned a freehold of land running along the
Western
Ocean
where he later established his kingdom. His domain includes the
Orcnoth
Islands
.

While defeating the nest of pirates, Alaric discovered a long-forgotten focus. The magic of the focus renders the royal house very fecund, enabling the queens to bear six to ten children in a single pregnancy. After using the magic, both the king and the queen become sterile. The focus is the secret strength of the royal house of
Navarre
, the bedrock for the succession to the throne. Alaric abandoned the convention of primogeniture, declaring that all of the tuplets have an equal chance to the throne. He instituted the practice of Wayfaring, a type of fostering where the heirs develop their greatest interests, striving to become excellent at a skill, a knowledge, or a trade, so that they can bring this knowledge back to Navarre and thus enrich the kingdom. After the Wayfaring, the King, together with the royal council, chooses the successor to the throne based on the talents, skills, and temperament that best fit the needs of the kingdom at the time.
Navarre
is well known for its uncommonly wise rulers…but with every great boon there is also a cost, the hidden focus brings with it the Curse of the Vowels.
 

The symbol of
Navarre
is a white osprey soaring on a checkered field of red and blue. The seat of their power is Castle Seamount, perched on a rocky outcrop on the edge of the
Western
Ocean
.
Navarre
has always had close ties to the sea.

KING IVOR NAVARRE
, the eighth ruler of the
kingdom
of
Navarre

-his siblings:

PRINCE IRWIN
, died of poison, believed to be a victim of the Curse of the Vowels

PRINCESS INGRID
, fell from the rigging of a ship and died, believed to be a victim of the Curse of the Vowels

PRINCESS IRIS
, accused of murdering her two siblings, exiled to the
Orcnoth
Islands
she murdered her guards and then disappeared

PRINCE ISADOR
, Commander of the Army of Navarre, advisor to the king, nearly fell victim to the Curse of the Vowels

PRINCESS IGRAINE
, Counselor to the king, court historian, tutor to the Royal Js

PRINCE IAN
, Royal Bowyer, advisor to the king

PRINCESS IVY
, Captain of a royal merchant vessel of
Navarre

-his wife,
QUEEN MEGAN
, a princess of Tubor

-their children known as the Royal Js:

PRINCESS JEMMA
, Wayfaring with the Queen of Lanverness to to learn the way of multiply coins

PRINCE JUSTIN
, Wayfaring to become a bard, he receives permission from the King and Council to travel to Coronth to try and overthrow the Pontifax, also known as the Dark Harper

PRINCESS JORDAN
, Wayfaring with the Kiralynn monks to learn the art of war, she remains locked in a healing coma, felled by the treachery of the Mordant

PRINCE JARED
, Wayfaring with the Octagon Knights to learn the way of the sword

PRINCESS JULIANA
, Wayfaring with
Navarre
’s merchant fleet to learn the way of the sea

PRINCE JAMES
, Wayfaring in Tubor to learn to become a vintner

PRINCE JAYSON
, Wayfaring in the Delta to learn the secrets of a new water
 
wheel

his retainers:

MASTER SIMMONS
, the royal healer

DUNCAN TRELOCH,
a master archer and trusted counselor, the companion of Princess Jordan’s Wayfaring

LANVERNESS

Carved from the ashes of the War of Wizards, Lanverness is an old kingdom, steeped in tradition, often relying on its wealth of natural resources and the shrewdness of its rulers to grow in prosperity and influence. Never fecund, the royal line of Lanverness has been forced to branch out several times over the centuries. The Rose Throne is currently held by the Tandroths. The Tandroths nearly lost the throne when the last king of Lanverness, King Leonid, failed to produce a male heir. The king survived a revolt and forced his noblemen to accept his only daughter, Liandra, as the heir to the Rose Throne on the condition that she marry a peer of the realm. Liandra is the only queen to rule a
kingdom
of
Erdhe
. Under Queen Liandra’s stewardship, Lanverness has become the wealthiest kingdom in all of Erdhe.

The symbol of Lanverness is two white roses crossed on a field of emerald green. The seat of their power is Castle Tandroth, rising from the heart of Pellanor, the capitol city.

QUEEN LIANDRA TANDROTH
, ruler of the Rose Throne, also known as the White Rose of Lanverness, also known as the Spider Queen, also known as the Black Widow Spider

-her husband,
PRINCE-CONSORT DONALD TERREL
, chosen from among the noble families of Lanverness, Lord Terrel was raised up to be the Prince-Consort to the Queen on condition that he forsake his name and his lineage. He died in a hunting accident shortly after the birth of his second son. The heraldry of house Terrel is a red unicorn rearing on a field of green.

-their children:

PRINCE STEWART
, heir to the Rose Throne, Commander of the Rose Squad

PRINCE DANLY
, spare heir to the Rose Throne

PRINCESS ASELYNN
, died at birth

-her councilors:

LORD HIGHGATE
, the Master Archivist, the queen’s shadowmaster, right hand to the Queen

LORD WESLEY
, Lord of the Treasury

LORD TURNER
, Lord of the Royal Guard, also known as the Knight Protector, responsible for the safety of the Queen

LORD SHELDON
, the Lord Sheriff, leader of the constable force of Lanverness

LORD HELFNER
, General of the Army of Lanverness

LORD HUNTER
, a skilled diplomat, used as a roving ambassador to the other kingdoms of Erdhe

LORD BRADSHAW
, the Lord Steward, responsible for crops and farms,

LORD RICKMAN
, the Lord of Mines, responsible for the ruby, emerald and iron ore mines of Lanverness

LORD QUINCE
, Lord of the Hunt, Warden of the Royal Forests

LORD CADWELL
, Master of Letters, the secretary to the Royal Council

-her ladies-in-waiting:

LADY SARAH JAMESON
, a distant cousin of the queen, principle lady-in-waiting

LADY MARTHA
, a lady-in-waiting

LADY AMY
, the youngest of the

-other members of the court:

PRINCESS JEMMA
, a princess of
Navarre
, Wayfaring with the queen to learn the way of multiplying coins

CAPTAIN DURNHEART
, a captain of the Rose Guards assigned to protect the queen

MAJOR TELCORE
, a major of the Rose Army

SIR CARDEMIR,
fifth son of the Duke of Graymaris, the seahorse knight, sent by the queen as an emissary to the monastery of the Kiralynn monks

CAPTAIN RANOTH
, a captain of the Rose Squad

THOM BARKLEY
, a queen’s shadowman serving in the guise of a royal guard

TIMOTHY COLLINS
, a queen’s shadowman serving in the guise of a royal guard

JON DENT
, a queen’s shadowman serving in the guise of a royal guard

MASTER CARL
, master baker of the royal kitchen

PAULUS
, jailor of the dungeon

TALBERT
, valet to Prince Danly

-the people of Pellanor:

MASTER SADDLER
, a royal jeweler

MADAM STOCK
, the madam of an exclusive bordello

CORONTH

The
kingdom
of
Coronth
was long ruled by one of the oldest royal families in Erdhe. Tracing their lineage back to before the War of Wizards, the Manfreds struggled to maintain their kingdom despite the aftermath of chaos and famine caused by the magical war. Their descendents ruled in an unbroken line for over a thousand years until a preacher of the Flame god brought a new religion to the capitol city of
Balor
. Enthralling the crowds with the miracle of the Test of Faith, the Pontifax gained a rabid following. In less than a year, the new religion consumed the kingdom, making the Pontifax more powerful than the king. Ruling from the pulpit, the Pontifax declared that only a true believer of the Flame god could wear the crown of Coronth, forcing the king, his wife, and all of his children to submit to the Test of Faith. When the searing flames consumed the royal house, the Pontifax became the spiritual and secular ruler of Coronth.

The symbol of house Manfred was a golden lion rearing on a field of blue. The new symbol of Coronth is a golden flame on field of red, the symbol of the Flame god. The seat of power is the capitol city of
Balor
.

THE PONTIFAX
, the supreme spiritual and secular ruler of Coronth, also known

as the Enlightened One, beloved of the Flame God

-his priests and counselors:

THE KEEPER OF THE FLAME
, Senior priest of the Flame, leader of the Confessors of the Flame

LORD STEFFAN RAVEN
, Counselor to the Pontifax

GENERAL CAYLIB
, General of the Army of the Flame

ALAN JELLIKAN
, Pyromancer of the Flame

CLAVIN
, a senior priest of the Flame

-the people of Balor:

SAM SPRINGWATER
, a baker accused of sinning against the Flame, killed in a Test of Faith, father of Samson

SAMSON SPRINGWATER
, son of Sam the baker, a former sergeant in the city guard who returns to Balor as a refugee plotting to overthrow the Pontifax

JUSTIN
, a prince of
Navarre
, a bard, the leader of the plot to overthrow the Pontifax, also known as the Dark Harper

GRANDMOTHER MAGDA
, an old woman who has lost everything to the Flame God, a refugee who returns to Balor to overthrow the Pontifax

BEN OBERN
, a former drill sergeant of the Rose Army, he volunteers to return with the refugees to Balor

RED
, the leader of a gang of orphan boys

JACK
, a member of the gang of orphan boys

WILLIE
, a member of the gang of orphan boys, a roof rat

SHINER,
a member of the gang of orphan boys

DANIEL
, a tanner rescued from the Test of Faith, joins the rebellion against the Pontifax

LUCY
, daughter of the owner of the Jolly Penitent tavern

BEV
, a serving wench at the Praying Maiden tavern

OLAFF
, a mute giant, a guard serving Lord Raven

PIP
, an orphan lad who serves Lord Raven

SERGEANT JEXEL
, a sergeant at the Fortress of the Flame

MERCHANT RASINT
, a wealthy wine seller

MERCHANT GILDEN
, a wealthy wine seller