Forest & Kingdom Balance
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YK 588
FAR LANDS: An agent of the Eastern Alliance infiltrates Jarod’s capital and kills the Red Knight. Upon reappearing the Red Knight is told of Jarod’s treachery. The Knight and the agent battle their way free from the palace. The agent becomes the first captain of the Knight’s Crimson Guard.
YK 613
FAR LANDS: The final battle of the rebellion sacks the capital of Western Province led by the Red Knight and his Crimson Guard. King Jerome (Jarod’s Son) is stoned to death as he is dragged through streets.
FOREST: Fifty years of observing constant battle has left the Caretaker disgusted with humanity. He looks into flames swollen with revenge, hatred, greed, and blood lust. He experiences empathy and sadness for the vast throng of humanity who’s lives were torn apart. Children starved as families found themselves trampled under the twin boots of both tyranny and the supposed rebellion that would bring freedom to their lords, and nothing but more hardship for them.
He leaves the Far Lands to humanity and travels over the sea to rediscover his balance. Deep in the mountains of a far continent, he sits in mediation before a serene waterfall.
YK 1100~
FAR LANDS: Kingdoms come and go. For hundreds of years betrayal, treachery, and at least three attempts to hold him captive have left the Red Knight no choice but to rule from a position of strength.
FOREST: As the Red Knight accepts his role as Supreme Sovereign the Caretaker chooses another path. He envisions the perfect balance. Within his quiet glade, years flow like water in a stream. His thoughts reflect on his journeys and the lessons they have taught him. In human form, he eats when he is hungry, sleeps when he is tired. When the elements threaten his vulnerable form, he becomes a tree to weather the storms.
One beautiful summer’s day found the Caretaker deep in meditation on the perfection of balance. Slowly he felt himself drawn to the falls and through to the ledge that ran behind. In a waking dream state he could see the perfect balance he had always envisioned laid out before him. He turned and entered. The pure joy of the land flowed through him, and he felt the profound peace he had always sought.
Over time his vision did not fade as he thought it would. He realized that this was not a vision but a reality. He extended his consciousness to encompass the glade at the falls. It was there, and beyond that, humanity.
Whether the land of perfect balance had always been there, or his thoughts had created it, was a question he was quite happy to ponder for centuries or more, without resolution.
YK 1845
FAR LANDS: Western Kingdom astronomers use shadow readings and experiments to determine the world is round and calculate its circumference. Maps are drawn that show all known land in reference to the globe. The continent is vast but the maps show two thirds of the surface as unknown.
The Red Knight sends a decree to all shoreline kingdoms to build ships and explore.
YK 2034
FAR LANDS: Paladin is born. He becomes a shipwright like his father in the southeastern coastal kingdom of the Mindow. He learns every aspect of seamanship from shipbuilding, navigation and mapmaking, to instrument design and manufacture. He achieves the rank of captain at age 28 and is the voice of the Shipwright’s Guild at the royal court
YK 2064
FAR LANDS: At age 30 Paladin is chosen to design and build eleven ships of exploration that he will lead.
YK 2068
FAR LANDS: Paladin’s fleet sets out
YK 2069
KINGSPORT: After 14 months at sea land is sighted. Paladin has lost four ships during the voyage. Malnutrition and its associated disabilities are rampant. After stopping for rest and provisions, he determines that this not part of the known continent and sails the coast in search of a settlement site. Not far north of his original landing, Paladin sails into the natural harbor that will become Kingsport.
FOREST: The Caretaker takes note of their arrival but is unconcerned. He chooses to let them be as long as they don’t expand toward him.
YK 2070
KINGSPORT: The following year three ships are retrofitted to retrace their route home. Paladin sends his best navigator with maps of currents, trade winds, and the location of an island mid way that will be needed for the crossing. He also includes his designs for ship improvements based on their experience of the deep seas.
YK 2076
KINGSPORT: The first ships arrive from the Mindow Kingdom in the Far Lands. Many artist and craftsman make the journey.
YK 2088
KINGSPORT: Ships from other kingdoms arrive and use Kingsport as a base to explore the shoreline north and south. Messages from the Red Knight command reports on the land and their progress in settlement.
YK 2109
KINGSPORT: The Mindow Palace and Garden Tiers are completed in the spring of the year. At midsummer Paladin is honored with a celebration of his 40 years of rule. He passes away in the fall at age 75.
YK 2991
KINGSPORT: Palinar (Age 28) is crowned king upon the death of his father in a border skirmish with the Northern Kingdom. His father’s untimely passing forces Palinar to take up the mantel of many unfinished tasks, among them is a recent decree from the Red Knight ordering the Mindow to conquer and consolidate all the coastal peoples to facilitate greater expansion. The order explicitly requires mapping and exploration of the mountain range and beyond.
YK 2997
KINGSPORT: Palinar comes to be known as the poet king. He concentrates his reign on many arts, including the art of war. Mindow troops sweep both north and south utilizing new and innovative tactics. His neighbors have no choice but to sue for peace. All border disputes are resolved and the borders are clearly set by treaty. Both Northern and Southern Kingdoms must pay war reparations.
YK 2999
KINGSPORT: Palinar sends a report to the Red Knight. He documents the Northern and Southern kingdoms attempts to annex Mindow land and his successful campaign to stabilize his borders. He informs the Knight of his opinion that stable borders will lead to greater growth than war and subjugation.
In reference to the Knight’s request for information on expansion into and beyond the mountain range to the east, Palinar sites the casualties and lack of success in preceding attempts and suggests that exploration be made from other parts of the continent.
YK 3003
KINGSPORT: The Red Knight’s armada crosses the sea and is joined by ships and troops from the Northern and Southern kingdoms. The combined force overwhelms the Mindow defense. Sergei, captain of the Crimson Guard is appointed first king of the joined new lands kingdom. The Northern and Southern Kingdoms are dissolved by decree and their kings are given the title of Viceroy.
The Mindow are stripped of their protections under King’s Law. Palinar’s wife and children are put to death.
FOREST: Palinar is wounded and escapes into the mountains where he is found and healed by the Caretaker.
FAR LANDS: The Red Knight returns to the Far Lands confident in his captain’s abilities and loyalty. He assumes the expansion will begin at a proper pace and returns his thoughts to the many difficult issues facing him on the main continent.
YK 3004
FOREST: The Caretaker agrees to Palinar’s request for a kingdom safe from the Red Knight. Mindow refugees begin to arrive at Angel Falls.
YK 3009
KINGDOM: The new kingdom takes shape, approximately 2,200 Mindow have joined the new kingdom. The Caretaker returns to his sanctuary.
YK 3011 through 3016
FOREST & KINGDOM: The Caretaker begins to return to the Kingdom regularly to visit the people that he worked most closely with during the settlement. Over a period of years he invites many to live with him in his sanctuary. Eventually several hundred join him.
YK 3019
KINGDOM: Palinar, now in his mid-fifties, marries his long time friend and High Councilor Margaret. Their wedding takes place among the raw marble block and scaffolding of the royal castle under construction.
YK 3021
KINGDOM: A royal heir is born, she is named Ariana in honor of Queen Ariana, Palinar’s first wife who pleaded with him to forgo the battle and flee. In the Kingdom, the name Ariana becomes synonymous with the concept of wisdom.
YK 3295
FAR LANDS: A king under the tutelage of the Red Knight is killed beside him in battle. His queen gives birth to their only child a few months later. The Red Knight takes a personal interest in the child and assigns a regent. The infant Kale is given the title of king.
YK 3309
FOREST: Diana is born with the gift after a generation without a Sentinel.
YK 3313
KINGDOM: Stefan is born to King Tabor and Queen Philipa. The young Queen dies in childbirth. King Tabor waited until later in life to marry, he is in his late 40’s when his only child Stefan is born.
FAR LANDS: King Kale turns 18, the age of command, and assumes his duties. The Red Knight takes the strong young king under his wing as student and protégé.
YK 3318
FOREST: Catherine is born with the gift. Diana, age 9, helps to sooth her mind and takes care of her.
YK 3324
KINGDOM: Tressan is born. He is the sixth child to farm family in the Second Valley.
YK 3329
FAR LANDS: Fortune’s Child / Yamikura is found by Brother Domen on the roadside.
YK 3333
FAR LANDS: The Red Knight’s protégé, now Emperor Kale, has consolidated most of the Far Lands. The Realm of the Warrior Queen is the only one that openly defies the combined might of Kale’s forces and those who owe him allegiance.
The Realm of the Warrior Queen is a matriarchy located in a desolation area of the central continent. Its fertile lands are protected by both natural defenses and a fierce military. The highest trained and most deadly of their warriors are Harriers, a corps of women warriors raised from birth to defend the land.
Kale assails the Warrior Queen’s defenses with an army four times the size of the defenders. Kale is nearly defeated but springs a surprise attack that was held in reserve until Alantra had committed all her troops. Thousands of mounted warriors attack and Alantra is captured. The Emperor uses her to produce an heir to his empire.
YK 3334
FOREST & KINGDOM: Stefan age 21 meets Diana age 25. Catherine age 16 begins her Sentinel training.
FAR LANDS: A female child is born to Alantra, she is named Kalibra and is given to the three last surviving Harriers to raise and train as a Warrior Queen under the watchful eye of the Emperor Kale.
YK 3337
KINGDOM: Stefan and Diana are married.
FOREST: Catherine takes on greater Sentinel duties.
YK 3338
KINGDOM: King Tabor dies at age 74. Stefan and Diana are crowned King and Queen.
FOREST: While the Caretaker deals with Diana’s absence and the emotions that her leaving has brought up in him, the loss of his longtime friend Tabor further unbalances him. He finds solace in his friendship with Catherine.
YK 3340
KINGDOM: 16 year old Tressan sets out from the family farm to seek his fortune, he is intercepted by Catherine and is offered service as a Trader. He is brought into the Forest for training.
YK 3341
KINGDOM: Princess Dionara is born. The Caretaker is so taken with Dionara that he and Catherine visit the castle often.
FOREST: John is born a few months after Dionara. The Caretaker perceives that he has the gift. Catherine and the Caretaker become lovers. He invites her to live with him.
YK 3343
FOREST: 19 year old Tressan leaves the Forest on his first trading run as apprentice to trader Dorian.
YK 3347
FAR LANDS: Yamikura leaves the Healers Sanctuary.
YK 3349
KINGSPORT: The latest request for information on expansion is received from the Red Knight. Councilor Deminar includes several of his best men on the expedition with the order, “Succeed or die.”
YK 3352
FAR LANDS: Kale assigns his 18 year old daughter Kalibra as military commander of his army to defeat an uprising and earn the title Warrior Queen. In several campaigns over a three year period her reputation for ruthlessness spreads quickly.
The Red Knight reads a report on the failure of the latest Kingsport expedition. He decides to assign his own men to the task. He chooses his two most accomplished assassin spies. Both are trackers as well as mapmakers and have been trained to mute their flames to go unnoticed.
YK 3355
KINGDOM: Stefan & Diana are murdered at Angel Falls by the Red Knight’s agents. Both Dionara and John witness the carnage. The Caretaker veils Dionara’s memory and a few months later befriends her as a talking frog. He begins to subtly instruct and mentor her.
FOREST: The Caretaker tries to heal John’s guilt unsuccessfully. He then takes John into his confidence and makes him his second in the war against the Red Knight. At age 14, it takes John three months to learn how to change. After his first change his injuries are gone and he begins physical training in addition to the Sentinel training he already begun.
FAR LANDS: The intense personal training given to his agents allows the Red Knight to sense their deaths. He only knows that they died violently somewhere in the mountains. He resolves to solve this riddle personally, but first he needs to deal with Kale’s plot to overthrow him.
The Red Knight invites Kale and Kalibra to his citadel to celebrate her successful military campaign as well as her 21st birthday. When Kalibra arrives virtually unguarded and without her father, the Red Knight knows that Kale will attack almost immediately. He imprisons Kalibra and prepares for open war.
FOREST: After the fact, the Caretaker pieces together who the agents were and how they came to be in the Kingdom. He perceives the Red Knight’s interest in the Warded Mountains and buys time by interfering in the Red Knight’s war with Kale. For the next 4 years, the Caretaker subtly supplies Kale with all of the Red Knight’s plans and knowledge of his tactics as well as unmasking his spies. Time and again the Red Knight and Kale battle to a stalemate.
YK 3357
KINGSPORT: The Caretaker and Catherine enlist Tressan’s help to keep an eye on Kingsport. Between manipulating the Red Knight’s war, instructing Dionara, John’s Sentinel training, and the normal tasks of Sentinel duty, they have their hands (minds) full. Tressan joins the Palace Guard in Kingsport.
YK 3358
FAR LANDS: Yamikura kills the entire Crimson Guard. When the Red Knight arrives, he bargains with the warrior, and then offers him the post of captain of the Crimson Guard.
YK 3359
FAR LANDS: Frustrated and baffled by his inability to defeat Kale, the Red Knight offers Kalibra the leadership of his army and the prize of her mother’s lands and title if she defeats her father.
FOREST: Kalibra’s intuitive methods and erratic behavior neutralize any help the Caretaker can give. Despite his best efforts, Kalibra is able to defeat her father. It only takes her two years.
YK 3361
FAR LANDS: With the Kale’s final stronghold taken, and Kale himself dead, the Red Knight turns over his affairs to his steward and makes preparations to leave for Kingsport. During the war he has taken Kalibra as a lover and asks if she would like to accompany him. She agrees.
YK 3362 MAY
KINGSPORT: The Red Knight and Kalibra arrive in the new lands to find their task complicated by an idiot king, a duplicitous High Councilor, and a slave population with stronger flames than the citizens.
FOREST & KINGDOM: Shortly before her 21st birthday, Dionara takes a trip with her friend Froggy to visit his mythical ‘Enchanted Forest.”
V
About the Author
Hello, (and thank you!) I hope you’ve enjoyed the story.
I am a visual storyteller by trade. I’ve created imagery in one form or another most of my life as a photographer, graphic designer, and motion graphics designer. I grew up enthralled by classic science fictio
n. McCaffrey, Heinlein, Herbert, Dickson, and E. E. (Doc) Smith were a few of my favorites. As science fiction matured through the second half of the twentieth century, I found myself longing for an earlier style that seemed to have gone out of vogue. The solution was to write the story I wanted to read, which happened quite by accident.
I started writing for recreation in 1993. One day in 1999 I sat down to write an e-mail to a friend and have a little fun. My thought was to give the ‘princess and the frog’ fairytale a playful twist. Okay, she was a cute friend and my intent was to flirt with her shamelessly. However that is beside the point. After all, many great endeavors have begun with nothing more than a little harmless flirting. Just ask Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, and Queen Isabella of Spain to say the least!
I never did send my friend an e-mail that day because fourteen hours later I found myself still writing. For the next fifteen years I made a hobby out of contemplating what the world of ‘Forest & Kingdom’ would be. Over the years the story world became richer and deeper as my life experience grew.
The overall story arc has two more parts. Hopefully they will come to fruition a bit quicker than the first. I have the story arc’s general direction, but I’m quite content not to know the details until they wondrously appear in front of me as I write. I believe that the first rule in life is this:
Always leave a little room for magic.
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