Viamontian Lore

[Thryn7686]

I recently completed the Mt. Lethe recall quest. And, after you bring the Water back to Celcynd, he gives you the book "The Reign of Alfrega". My friend with LP had to log for a few minutes, so I burnt some time reading this book. It turned out to be an engrossing read, even for a piece of lore. It talks about how the Viamontians used to rule over Aluvia, and how ruthless it rulers could be; killing almost anyone even suspected of being, or harboring those, against their rule.

The story also mentions a ring crafted Harlune and another mage called Urbex: the Rose of Celdon. The ring made of rose quartz allowed the wearer to "run all night with urgent messages," "see on a moonless night," and if it came to it, "the ability to negate the pain of fire." I think such a ring would make an amazing rare drop...

All this ties in very well with the info we have about "Throne of Destiny". The Viamontians as a race are nice, but their NPCs and nobles aren't. And, if I found a rare ring that's mentioned in an in-game text, well I know I'd start buggin'. :)

Thumbs up to Turbine. I think they're doing a bang-up job.

[Protes]

I don't think I ever read that book when I've done the quest. I knew that there was something I had come across about Viamontian lore but couldn't recall where from.


Is there anything near Crater Lake/Mt Esper that has lore pretaining to Viamontians? From what I remember reading about this patch both Mt Lethe and Crater Lake areas were changed.

[Flynn]

Well, at least we can make them toast when they get here. Finally, cooking love!!

I'm a little curious as to how the Viamontians (or is that Viamontese, or Viamontines?) arrived on Dereth.. has Asheron's spell that called the Sho, Aluvians and Gharu'ndim expanded further? We know Asheron went home for some reason.. was he trying to put an end to the damage his spell caused, only to make it even worse? Are we going to suddenly see an influx of new blood in Dereth in the near future as his spell grows out of control??

[boneyard]

if you feel upto it copy paste the book to here.

[Thryn7686]

"The Reign of Alfrega" is a nice 49 pages... so I really can't post it all here. However, Maggie has just about every text on her website. The book is here: "The Reign of Alfrega" (http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Culture/Texts/Alfrega.htm)

From the sound of the book, the Viamontians ruled over Aluvia, but were eventually overthrown... so quite possibly, they were exiled, therefore escaping Asheron's portals. Maybe, his spell has grown in power naturally, and has encompassed the new land of the Viamontians.

[Fiction_LC]

Introduction

The three masted ship slid into the harbor of Tirethas. The rails of brass and the mass of storm wands signaled that this ship carried men of wealth and import. Despite the obvious wealth, as the ship made its way to the docks of Tirethas the beggars, who survive on the generosity of sailors, began to leave the area.

Curious as to why the beggars were fleeing the area, Nayt al-Yad approached one on the street.

"Excuse me sir, why do you shirk away from this vessel?" queried the young scholar.

Looking back with one eye and extending a withered limb the beggar replied, "For a small donation I will tell ye."

Nayt pulled out a few small coins and placed them in to the gnarled hand of the beggar.

"May the Blessing of the Beggars be upon thee", he said as he placed the coins in the folds of his tattered shirt. It was commonly believed that the beggars of Tirethas could give a blessing that would protect sailors from harm. Because of this they received many coins from the sailors who ported here.

"That ship," he said as he pointed with his good arm, "will never receive a beggar's blessing. Tis the craft of the Viamont privateer, Juan "Red Fist" Bullier. A ruthless man who considers himself a noble of the court. He is nothing more than a murderous dog who helps the expansionist courts of Viamont fill their coffers from piracy."

At this point the ship was tied up, and a man dressed in great finery with brocade and gems sewn into his clothing disembarked. A tri-cornered hat with a long feather sticking out sat rakishly upon his head.

"There be the daemon himself", spat the beggar.

"How do you know so much of him?" asked Nayt al-Yad.

The beggar pointed to his eye patch and his withered arm and said, "He did this to me."

Nayt nodded and watched the noble looking man as he walked down the docks with an entourage of muscular men, sending all the beggars scurrying to the shadows.

Two nights later a great storm came out of the Naqut and Juan "Red Fist" Bullier was never heard from again as his ship, Nessie, vanished beneath the waves of the Ironsea.

The Distant Past

Viamont, is one of Ispar's most agressive and expansionistic domains. Bordered on three sides by water, Viamont's only land border is shared with Aluvia. With an established navy and a large force of Privateers (known to everyone else as pirates), the Viamonters control most of the traffic that crosses the Ironsea.

A strong sense of duty to king and country (and rumors of a secret police), helped Viamont rise above the petty squabbles that consumed the neighboring Aluvian clans. As Viamont grew, expansionistic ideals began to take root in its courts. The squabbling Aluvians and the young Gharu'n made tempting targets. First came the invasion of Aluvia in 804 RC. Royal Governor Alfric I was installed, and Viamont now had a solid footing in the lands to the east.

While under Viamont's "protection", Alfric's son, Theolaud, repudiated Viamont overlordship, and established himself as independent king of Aluvia, Much to King Elous VII's chagrin. Irregardless of this political upheaval, a great deal of Aluvian treasure found its way to Viamont. More of the famous Viamont castles, known to be magnificent, airy white marble palaces, were built during this period than during any other.

The Aluvians began to chafe under the yoke of Viamont. The assassination of beloved King Pwyll III caused the Aluvians to rise up and expell the Viamonters from Aluvia. If it were not for the defenses already built along the border between the two kingdoms Viamont may not have survived.

Around the Roulean Calendar year 973 King Etien ruled Viamont. He accepted the petition of the new nation of Gharu'ndim, all the while keeping his eyes on it for weakness. He did not have long to wait, for within a few decades Gharu'ndim had fallen into chaos.

Stinging from defeat at the hands of the Aluvians, and needing money for expansion, the Viamont shipyards began to amass a fleet which eventually made its way to Gharu'n. Sailing south across the Ironsea, the Viamont navy and army quickly took control and set up a puppet ruler, Zahir ibn Ma'mun.

History would prove that the Viamonters had once again spread themselves too thin for the puppet strings to hold. Jawhar al-Shamshir led a revolution in Gharu'n. The Viamonters abandoned Gharu'n, but not before looting that country's coffers, and taking the wealth of the desert to their home.

The Present

Using the wealth of the Gharu'n and the time that has passed the Viamonters have been rebuilding and waiting. Viamont has not been idle. Realizing it had burned its bridges with both Aluvia and Gharu'n, it has focused its trading relationships on the Empire of Roulea. Viamont has been steadily re-establishing military strength, including but not limited to the hiring of Souia-Vey mercenaries. Some say that war with the Aluvians is not far off.

A diplomat to Viamont would find it a harsh land that has the mentality of a state always at war. Security is tight, and the military police rule the streets. While not as forboding as Milantos, a traveller in Viamont should be very careful in actions and words, as many "spies" fill the dungeons.

Viamont is a kingdom to watch carefully, for as the history of Dereth progresses, so will that of Ispar.

(The Viamonters seem to be an Isparian mix of historical Spain and France. With the Spanish pirates and the French Privateers it seemed natural connection. The Spanish were expansionists, and the French led the crusades against the Holy Lands. The constant wars against the German kingdoms by the French also support this connection.)

[Thryn7686]

Wow, what text is that from?

Guess we're calling them Viamonters now...

[Silifi Of Death]

It's not from a text, as far as I know, it's player-written, found in CoD. Don't think of it as simple fan-fiction though, it's made up mostly of the official lore, save that little intro.

[Protes]

Hmm.. I checked to see what info Maggie's site had on the Viamont and the link took me to the same essay on CoD site. Yeah, it most be player written though an author of it isn't listed.

[Black-Wolf]

I never believed it was an accident to bring the Isparians here to Dereth. Perhaps Asheron knew the bad blood between Viamont and the other races and decided to split them apart. Then again, perhaps Asheron didn't know he brought the Viamontians here, it'll be intresting to see how the Viamont did arrive.

[Bluntmn04]

only bad blood between Viamontians and Aluvians... maybe we could be in for soem sort of faction wars between the people of dereth? would be interesting to see :)

[Cerulia]

It's a kind of off topic, but Black-Wolf, are you the same Black-Wolf from Shadowclaim who was roleplaying in several town attacks? ^_^

As for the Viamontians, since Asheron didn't even know WE were here till Elysa went and knocked on his door, it seems a good chance he just didn't notice them...

[Black-Wolf]

It's a kind of off topic, but Black-Wolf, are you the same Black-Wolf from Shadowclaim who was roleplaying in several town attacks? ^_^

As for the Viamontians, since Asheron didn't even know WE were here till Elysa went and knocked on his door, it seems a good chance he just didn't notice them...

Yep, I'm the same Black-Wolf.

You are right, maybe he didn't know of your kind. But one such as Asheron can lie.

[Cerulia]

Wow, I'd say something to compliment your roleplaying, but I think the fact that even after a year I can remember your name says it all really, you definitely made an impact ^_^

It's true Asheron could have lied, but remember that sometimes it's worse to overestimate your enemy (He is your enemy right?) than to underestimate him... Asheron's not omniscient, he didn't see Gaerlan's treachery coming, didn't realise the mistakes he made when sending the Empyreans into portal space, got trapped by Olthoi, tricked by Nuhmudira, half killed by Martine, fully killed by Bael'Zharon (Though technically that never happened... but we've all seen the screenshots ^_~). If he faked a few of those then it's understandable, but if he was faking it all then he must have no loyalties at all!

[Black-Wolf]

Wow, I'd say something to compliment your roleplaying, but I think the fact that even after a year I can remember your name says it all really, you definitely made an impact ^_^

It's true Asheron could have lied, but remember that sometimes it's worse to overestimate your enemy (He is your enemy right?) than to underestimate him... Asheron's not omniscient, he didn't see Gaerlan's treachery coming, didn't realise the mistakes he made when sending the Empyreans into portal space, got trapped by Olthoi, tricked by Nuhmudira, half killed by Martine, fully killed by Bael'Zharon (Though technically that never happened... but we've all seen the screenshots ^_~). If he faked a few of those then it's understandable, but if he was faking it all then he must have no loyalties at all!

Thankyou, that truly is one of the nicest comments I have heard. :)

You are right, Asheron is not omniscient. But there is more to Asheron than meets the eye. I would think Asheron's loyalties lie with the Yalaini Empyreans.

[Silifi Of Death]

only bad blood between Viamontians and Aluvians... maybe we could be in for soem sort of faction wars between the people of dereth? would be interesting to see :)

Actually... Everyone hated Viamont... They invaded Gharu lands too, and I think Milanteans. Only people who wouldn't hate them are the sho.

[Daz'ar Tae]

Remember that we never knew there were Isparians on the Vesayan isles, or Aphus, or anything on Aerlinthe, Marae, and the Caul until they were discoverd. The Viamontians (I'm saying Viamontians because that is what the devs used at Turbine Nation '04) probably arrived the same time we did, how else are they going to have buildings and all that stuff up when we arrive? They've been there, we just now made contact with them, is all.

[Silifi Of Death]

I don't think they arrived at the exact same time... I mean, all the other races appeared at different times...

As for getting buildings and stuff to their new island, well.. Viamontians are excellent expansionists, they have lots of experience with colonizing a new world. Not to mention they never had to deal with the Olthoi, or Tumerok attacks as Aluvians did.

I think it's more interesting if the Viamont came just now. I wonder what's been going on on Ispar since we left.

[Ibn]

Is there anything near Crater Lake/Mt Esper that has lore pretaining to Viamontians? From what I remember reading about this patch both Mt Lethe and Crater Lake areas were changed.

Mt. Lethe really has no connection to the Reign of Alfrega book except that:

- Celcynd wants the Water of Mt. Lethe
- Harlune loaned the book to Celcynd

The reference to Harlune in the book was the first clue that Harlune might be more than he seemed... this was of course before he dropped his Isparian guise altogether.

[MaddyFF]

Actually... Everyone hated Viamont... They invaded Gharu lands too, and I think Milanteans. Only people who wouldn't hate them are the sho.

Yup, the whole four stones way of live, you others ought to try it. ;)

[Uzi-El]

Personally, I prefer the Milantean way:

When in doubt, summon a large demon to solve your problems :D