The Kingdom of Alban - Recent History

Things have changed much for the Kingdom of Alban in the past few months. The heir to the throne of Alban came into the country unannounced. Averin Arach last of his line had been secreted out of the country by the royal guard. Raised in Gauldin, he grew into adulthood having never set foot in his homeland. Yet from the time he could walk he was trained to be its savior. Cared for by former members of the royal guard he was practically raised with a sword in his hand. Not just any sword though, Mighty An Dlí itself. The sword blessed by the races of Alban and capable of controlling The Wyld. Without it the great forest would grow unchecked and, in time, swallow the rest of Alban. 

The young Arach lived an interesting life. He squired for the knight who would become king of Gauldin, traveled the world as a swordsman, and finally started his own mercenary company with the offspring of the royal guard who escaped with him as a babe. It is this company with additional hire-ons that accompanied him to Alban to retake his kingdom.  

The young king's journey first took him to The Hills of the Dwarves to treat with the dwarves. There he met with Warlord Ei Halvard . Averin told the Warlord of his identity and beseeching him to have the Dwarves reforge their alliance with the humans. Ei agree but only if Averin proved his valor. A mighty beast of The Wyld had taken to threatening The Wyldthorn barracks. The dwarves needed an airship to deliver a weapon capable of destroying this beast. The terrible Wyld Archon.  

Among the king’s companions was the crew of The Silver Shrike. An airship made years ago in a joint human and dwarf venture shortly before Bànach’s betrayal. The captain of the ship Captain Arthur Maddock and his first mate Eirwynn Rodrick agreed to to assist in the slaying of The Wyld Archon. Averin lead his own men on foot to distract the beast while the airship finished it off. With this done the dwarves once again swore allegiance to the throne of Alban. Imbuing An Dlí with their magics. 

From The Hills of The Dwarves Averin and his companions traveled to The Moors of The Wildlings. Having sent a scout ahead in the form of his trusty new hire Sir Cairex Forgepyre , Averin was quickly granted an audience with Madadh Allaidh : representative of the collected tribes. Again Averin spoke of his identity and beseeched the wildlings to reforge what was broken. Madadh agreed but only on three conditions. 

First among these conditions, Averin was to imbibe a sacred mixture. He was to travel without food or water to The Spire: a place of great spiritual power. There he was to stay until he either had a vision or perished. It was within The Spire that Averin was confronted with a manifestation of his spirit, a mighty dragon who spoke to him of who he truly was and what may come to pass. After this Averin, returned to the Wildlings. Drained, but triumphant.  

The second task was to best Madadh in a trial of combat. The first to shed the other’s blood would be declared the winner. Madadh was a powerful and fierce combatant, but the wildlings heart longed for peace, so the clan’s chief conceded the fight easily. This irked the young king to no end. Still by the Wildlings laws he had won the day.  

The third and final task was to bring The Fae to heel,he bestial fairies having taken to hunting The Wildlings for sport. Averin was told that should he fail then The Wildings would march to war. Wiping what remained of the human population of Alban from its surface. Then they would turn their sights on the other races. Averin accepted this burden and in turn received the blessing of The Wildlings magic.  

With The Dwarves and The Wildlings won over, Averin faced his greatest challenge: The Fae He and his companions braved The Wyld to seek parlay with them, in their capital of Scáth’leann.. The wild proved as treacherous as it was feared to be. The group was attacked by a giant bear and a pack of dire wolves. But both were dealt with in turn. Averin adopting a bear cub and Cairex emerging as Alpha of The Wyld pack. Finally the man who would be king arrived in The Fae city of Scáth’leann. 

The Fae proved as wily as was expected, Ailionóra uí Muineacháin, leader of The Fae, already knew who he was and why he had come. They even had a task prepared for him. Averin was told that to win their favor he must travel alone into the most deadly part of the Wyld: The Dragon’s Run, where the mighty scaled beasts dwelled in number. The Run is a stretch of the impenetrable forest scorched clean of growth by the dragons who lived there. Once there Averin was to acquire a lost relic of The Fae and return it to them. 

Averin, having no choice, accepted this challenge. Making his way to The Run and locating the relic in the hands of @cuteness2 . The young king hadn’t expected the dragon he was to face to be as young as it was. What might have been easy for some proved a challenge for the king; his lack of experience with children causing the young dragon to cry for its mother. This mighty behemoth of a dragon proved closer to what Averin feared he would have to face. A difficult battle took place and the young dragon Ith seeking to save his mother’s life tossed Averin’s prize from the cave. Averin left in peace taking the relic with him back to Scáth’leann. 

The Fae were pleased to have their relic returned and as such, granted Averin both their vow and the blessing of their magics. Finally, mighty An Dlí was restored to its full glory. With sword in hand and the vow of the three magical races of Alban secured Averin marched to the City of Avelius the last bastion of humanity in Alban. There he was soon hailed as hero and king. Alban has been restored to peace for the moment and the future looks bright. But such things rarely last.