Chereads / My Roguelike RPG System / Chapter 7 - Side Story 1: The Kingdom of Lond

Chapter 7 - Side Story 1: The Kingdom of Lond

The Kingdom of Lond was founded 3000 years ago by the great hero Bell Lond, who saved humanity from the clutches of Vesco the Mad Witch.

Traversing through the treacherous Gloaming woods, he came upon a small clearing, where he decided to settle down. Originally, Lond was not a bustling city, but a sleepy little village for the great hero to retire to. Hero Lond had originally named the village 'Novice', as an homage to his late Uncle Mungh 'No Vice' Lond, who led a life of abstinence from all vices his whole life.

However off-topic comment made during on of Hero Lond's drunken monologues caused Lond to be what it was today. During a bout of extreme inebriation, he spoke of a new hero being born here within Novice Village, bringing forth a new age of man.

While this was later proven false, it did not stop the throngs of adventurers, who rushed towards Novice like their lives depended on it, all for the small chance that they or their offspring might have a chance to be in the same party as the legendary hero. Due to the huge increase in population, Novice quickly expanded from a small village to a bustling town. As time went on, Novice grew in size yet again, becoming the first city to exist within the southern coast. With his retirement plans basically anulled due to how busy and noisy Novice had become, Hero Lond set his sights on ruling a vast empire.

To show his determination, the now middle-aged Hero Lond challenged everyone in the city to a duel, where the winner would be crowned king of the growing city. Remarkably, Hero Lond managed to beat all 5707 participants, becoming the Regent of the City of Novice. To christen his ascension, Hero Lond declared that the city of Novice would now become the Capital City of Lond. It was rather unfortunate, however, that Hero Lond passed away just 3 days after his coronation, by alchohol intoxication. Succeeding him was his son, Gerald C. Lond, who was more commonly referred by the masses as 'King Lond Gerry', who had a penchant of finding women's undergarments from the most unlikely of places, during the most inappropriate of times.

Nestled between multiple danger zones, the City of Lond is truly a one of a kind city.

To the West lies the great Gloaming Woods, where danger lurks around every corner, but is a vital resource of herbs,furs and wood to Lond. Newbie adventurers can be often found here, since as long as one doesn't wander to deep within the woods it was relatively safe.

To the East lies the great Edan Mountain range, which is nearly impossible to traverse. It is home to the largest population of Mountain Trolls in Alaris. It is also where most quarried stone and minerals in Lond comes from. Miners go about their way, through the caves and caverns within Edan, hoping to find precious jewels and minerals to sell.

To the West lies the defunct city of Drei, an old city under the rule of Lond. 20 years ago, it was lost due to the rampaging monster tribes that fled from the Nova desert. Once a bustling city that held most of the fiefs that the nobility held in Lond, it was now a paradise for monsters and bandits alike, where the many tribal chiefs made their home within the crumbling castles of a bygone era.

To the South lies the Onyx Sea. It's dark waters are home to many large and dangerous sea beasts, but is also where one can find all manner of treasures hidden within the depths of the Onyx Sea. Courageous fishermen and adventurers brave the monster infested sea daily, hoping to fish up valuable seafood or mysterious treasures. Due to the danger and difficulty of entering and exiting the location, Lond has yet to establish a stable trade route.

Being surrounded by many danger zones has its advantages and disadvantages. Despite how lucrative such areas were, the difficulty of obtaining resources from the danger zones makes resources within Lond not plentiful, but not too scarce. Coupled with the high mortality rate for adventurers, Lond was an average nation of average economic prosperity. Then, one might ask, how does Lond still survive to this day? With such fantastic resources, shouldn't Lond have already been conquered by a stronger empire?

The answer to that question were the danger zones themselves. These zones were so inhospitable to man that most nations that had attempted to attack Lond were defeated before they stepped foot onto Londian soil. The Ilia Theocracy had once attacked Lond through its reknown Navy force, staging attack from the South via the Onyx Sea. However en route, their entire fleet were attacked by all manner of sea creatures. By the time they reached the coast, their force had already dwindled from a 100 to just a handful, where they surrendered peacefully on the dock. These soldiers eventually defected to Lond when they realised that there was no safe passage back to Illia.

Lond does not have any official trade routes anywhere, mostly due to the difficulty of setting up one. With only the strongest of adventurers capable of traversing through the multiple danger zones, foreign trade is sparse and sporadic in Lond. Fortunately, with advances in magic and technology, Lond has be able to keep a line of communication with the outside world via magical means, courtesy of the Arcane Consortium.

Lond has had its fair share of good and terrible rulers. From the Great, such as King E. Lond the Masked, who made many systemic reforms that pushed Lond to a new age of technological progress, and who was never seen without a mask; to the Terrible, like Dunn B. Lond, who was known as the most foolish king that ever existed. Lond has stood the test of time and survives to this day, exemplifying the 'Can Do' spirit that it's pioneers once had, that founded the nation. It is fitting that Lond has kept its Maxim, written by Hero Lond himself, all those years ago:

'We will still be here, Lond after all of you are dead.'