Note from the actual author: This is a fantasy story I wrote sometime ago. Apologies to the various fantasy authors I was inspired by/shamelessly cribbed from. Any similarities to any actual people living or dead is unintentional, which should probably be assumed being as it's fantasy.
The Calandrian Chronicles: Eloise's Journey
From the pen of Tatiana Eversure, Royal Calandrian Historian, junior grade:
In my role as Royal Calandrian Historian I've been tasked by this office with relating the following story for public consumption. A story that on it's surface may seem somewhat frivolous but is an important one in the history of our great Nation and will, in this record, be relayed authoritatively to the people for the first time While it took place near 20 years ago when I was a small girl, every detail has been confirmed to me both by the people at it's core who are still with us as well as verified by documentation where possible. As a result, this book will bear the symbol of this office, meaning it is now the official account of the story, long the subject of much gossip and half-truths.
To understand this story some geographic knowledge is required of the Kingdoms and Nations mentioned within. While the principal nations are well known regionally, interest of this story is widespread, being as it has inspired similar undertakings around the globe. As such a very amateur verbal cartography will be undertaken.
The primary, of course, is Calandria itself. A relatively small, coastal nation on the eastern side of the Great Western Continent. Calandria has always had little in the way of land but blessed by what land there was. The Great Coastal Mountains encircle our western borders, providing the bountiful mineral resources that has long made Calandrian wealth the envy of many while simultaneously acting as the country's best defence against any aggression from those envious parties. Attempts by foreign parties to invade via the narrow mountain paths have always been beaten back by our dedicated soldiers with the bare minimum of casualties and the maximum of ease. After the mountains there is a relatively small valley of good farmland and roads before one reaches the capital city. The capital city encompasses the entire coastal region. The world's largest and busiest seaport is here which allows our ships to trade our wealth across the globe as well as providing docking for the unrivalled Royal Calandrian Navy. Thus it is that we are protected on land by the mighty mountains and on sea by our powerful ships.
These reasons, among others, explain why in it's long history, Calandria has never been successfully been invaded or there been a serious attempt made to do so. For near two thousand years, since the old Western Empire was fractured, Calandria has been a stable and prosperous nation. The people of Calandria noble and true, their skins tanned a light brown by the sun of our coast and their mannerisms orderly and refined.
The Ascibian Empire is, I suppose, the secondary player here. A nation of tremendous physical size but little by way of resources. It's once powerful military had been humbled in recent attempts at conquest at the time of our story. This led to economic problems within as, naturally, once a nation who has built itself on the spoils of war as well as dedicated much of their production to supplying their armies with supplies and materials finds itself in peacetime they can find the foundation they've built their economy upon to be a precarious one.
Despite these problems, The Ascibians had long been friends to Calandria for both geographic and economic reasons. Calandria was and is the Empire's largest trading partner. The Empire had the vast and bountiful farmlands Calandria didn't and required the metals and money that Calandria could exchange. Calandria has always been surrounded on all sides by the Ascibians. They shared the mountainous border to our west and stretched on for hundreds of miles both North and South. Trading via land would be near impossible without a friendly relationship with the Ascibians. Once the dominant power on the continent, at the time of our story they were thought by many to be in the final stages of any real power. Physically, Ascibian people tend towards the pale and slender.
The final nation relevant to our story is Nilfenhem. Less a nation really than a loose tribal collection of pirates, hunters, fishermen and raiders united under the banner of a War Chief. The harsh icy coasts of the North and several of the larger islands in the Frozen Sea were the lands they called home. Perhaps a result of the harsh climes, their people grew abnormally large and strong. It was their victories over the Ascibians that truly halted the Empire's aggressive tendencies and, though now at peace, there remained an unease between the two nations.
Throughout the story there may some historical issues that may need clarification. If so, I will provide editors annotations as
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A final note before our story begins. Some of you may be asking both how I'm able to relay such intimate details about the events as well as why this office would write of them in such ribald and descriptive terms. The answer to the first question is simply the diligent research this office is known for combined with extensive interviews. The answer to the second, I suspect anyway, is that some of our drier histories have sold quite poorly amongst the public of late and our office is facing it's bi-annual budgetary review. I'm told amongst the common folk that tales of this sort are quite popular.
~Chapter One, in which tensions boil over~
"It is foolishness, utter foolishness"
Those were the words spoken by Princess Eloise as she paced about her sitting room. If she'd been the sort to swear or throw things she might very well have done so. This was not in her character, however. She'd been raised to be the very picture of stolid Calandrian royalty and the fire in her blue eyes were the only outward signs of her anger and disbelief. The wind was cool, a light breeze coming in from the bay that the Seaside Castle overlooked.
Our Princess was truly a beauty. She was said by all who saw her to not just conform to the standards of Calandrian appearance but also to be the finest example of it seen to date. She was of medium height with long, golden hair that was usually tied into an elaborate braid and skin that had been lightly kissed by the sun. Her face was at once aristocratic and delicate. High cheekbones and and a small, slightly upturned nose spoke to her high breeding while the sparkling sapphires of her eyes as well as the fullness of her lips simply spoke to how blessed she'd been. Her body was slender, soft and exceedingly well curved. Those curves, while earning her the admiration of all visiting nobility, palace guards and the occasional lucky messenger, tended to be well obscured by the formal, flowing silks she was required to wear as crown princess.
Truly, if she was one of many children she'd have been a terrific boon to her father. He could have demanded near anything he wanted for her hand and likely have found twenty dukes or visiting kings willing to pay the price.
But she was not one of many. She was one of one. The only child birthed by her mother, Queen Wilhelmina, before her tragic death when the Princess was only two years old. Eloise's marriage would determine the next King and the foolishness of which she spoke was the decision made in that regard. Today was the day marking her 18th year and, as custom, her betrothal had been announced. King Pietrus the IV had announced that she would be married to Francis, youngest of the three sons of the Ascibian Emperor.
(
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: King Pietrus, though some may see him as the villain of this piece, was said by many to be a far more reasonable man before the death of his wife. Whether this is true or not, he was widely been come to known as King Pietrus the Incredibly Short-Sighted.)
"I don't know, Milady" spoke Georgina, one of the Princess' attendants "Francis is quite handsome and a Prince to boot. Girl could do worse."
"Don't be so bloody daft." the Princess replied, using language that was among the harshest she'd ever spoken "I was always going to marry someone of high birth. And handsomeness has nothing to do with the matter."
Eloise was no naive girl. She'd long known and accepted that any marriage she'd have would be one of political machination rather than of any childish notions of romantic love. What she'd long hoped for, what she saw as her duty, was that her father would choose the head of a powerful nation and important ally to align with and who'd rule to the benefit of both lands. Failing that, a intelligent Calandrian noble with a good head for statesmanship and warfare who'd make a fine king. As a last resort, she'd even have accepted a relatively harmless simpleton who she could rule through.
