The Legend of Frosthelm

[Orion]

An guardian that's forgotten its reason for guarding. An nobility that's forgotten who it swore allegiance to. A people who've forgotten why they came to this place.

This is what remains of Frosthelm.

Legends say a long time ago a great darkness descended over all the lands of Pelagia. This darkness was like a foul breath of evil, like a long and sinuous cloud of smoke that snaked its way through the mountains. It came from the south, beyond the last vestige of land, beyond the vale of ice and cold. It came to destroy whatever crossed its path, and from whence it came none could be certain. It was equally probable that the darkness was the result of some sorcerer as much as it was possible to be the army of aliens who had landed in the Antarctic. Whatever it was, even this has been forgotten in the aeons that have long since passed. Mankind fought back and won, and the darkness was repelled back across Calaspiria and finally to the Bridge of Mist. The Bridge of Frost, it is said, extended from the southernmost point of land on Pelagia, here on Calaspiria, and crossed the seas into the southern ice pack to locations unknown. It was across this bridge that the darkness crossed to reach Pelagia. In the final battle at the foot of the bridge, a combination of warriors and sorcerers used their collective powers to force the darkness onto the bridge. The warriors, sacrificing themselves, pushed the darkness across the bridge as the sorcerers destroyed the bridge itself, sealing both friend and foe on the ice. The darkness was defeated at great cost, but the survivors vowed to remain vigilant.

This, the southernmost spit of land, would be a guard post against the darkness. Here the survivors established a kingdom loyal to an empire now spoken of only in long forgotten texts. The nearby mountains held a few valleys where, sheltered from the snow and wind, trees grew and pastures could be tilled. Here they established settlements, and started to live in this inhospitable land. The mountains also served as guard posts, with a clear view of the south seas as they extended south into the dark and ice. From atop one of these prominent peaks the people built Helmsgate, a great castle fortress that would serve as a bastion against any future attacks. Groups of patrols were stationed in the tundra along the shores, their campfires flickering like candles on the permafrost. And so Frosthelm came to be the guard post against the darkness.

This, of course, was aeons ago when the world was still young.

Since that time the world has changed much. The empire that Frosthelm was first established as an outpost of has long since crumbled into dust. Only the sheer stubbornness of the old guard has kept Frosthelm together for this long. Much has become ingrained routine nonetheless. The warriors have forgotten what it is they are guarding against. The sorcerers have forgotten their magic and purpose. People have forgotten why they came to be in Frosthelm and have come to assume it has always been thus, and that the war against the darkness is but a legend, a fairytale told to children. And to challenge it all, science has come forth to slap the faces of the sorcerers, to tell them their old ways are outdated and obsolete. True aliens gather near the western borders and some elements of Frosthelm society suggest they are the darkness against which their ancestors fought. Yet despite these force sallying against it, Frosthelm remains as it always has, guarding, guarding, forever guarding against the darkness that could, at any point, creep forth from the ice and try to destroy the world again.

[Scott Alexander]

You join Merveilles as a place I will have to return to after watching more Game of Thrones / Song of Ice and Fire

[Orion]

Actually, I came up with that idea on my own. I haven't seen Game of Thrones yet either, nor read the books.

[Scott Alexander]

Well, you should!
(I saw the first four episodes. They were great.)