Project: Tales of the Unified Kingdom
Oct. 1st, 2009 09:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mark_asphodel OK, so I've been bashing out one-shots and have my Norne-the-Archer WIP posted. But a great deal of behind-the-scenes effort is going into my most ambitious project (besides the FE2/3/8 crossover), "Tales of the Unified Kingdom," a series of interrelated post-war FE3 'fics.
Because, to me, the big question is-- once you'veconquered liberated an entire bloody continent, what do you do with it?
The continent Marth's handed at the end of FE3 really is a Pottery Barn special-- everyone and their brother has taken turns breaking it, and it's his now. Every last shattered piece of it. Royal dynasties are defunct, many great aristocratic houses are broken, the Church/Magic community seems to be pretty well in Marth's pocket, and there just doesn't seem to be any sort of merchant class outside of a couple of ports like Galder and maybe Warren. Oh, and they've just had two continent-spanning wars in the course of a decade, lasting for most of said decade. And the militaries of most countries have been gutted in the process, leaving the citizenry basically defenseless when it comes to pirates, bandits, and the like.
But all that's okay, because the gods are on Marth's side. You just have to believe!
I realize the "timeframe" of FE games is a big jumble, and it's a fine act of tail-chasing to try to place them historically. I "see," and "write," Archanea as kinda-sorta 1300-1500 European, because that's a period I'm comfortable with and enough elements do fit to make it workable. And through that paradigm, I came to my own vision of the Unified Kingdom of Archanea (not to be confused with the earlier Holy Kingdom of Archanea).
Element 1: Smashing/overturning of the old social order, including the ruin of old noble houses and the decimation of knightly orders.
Element 2: Power shift between the church (such as it is) and the state.
Element 3: Following #2, the new royal dynasty governs by explicit divine right. With the sanction of divine dragons, no less.
Element 4: Recent "discovery" of a new, smaller, continent to the west.
Element 5: War breeds technology. Always does, always will.
Element 6: Degree of intermarriage-interbreeding between the citizens of the former seven nations that is probably unprecedented. Example: Abel/Est, Marth/Caeda (duh)
Element 7: Wartime erosion of social classes leading to unions like Julian/Lena and Samson/Sheema
Sounds like exciting times to me.
So, this is the project:
Prologue (602):
"Song for a Fallen Kingdom"-- Cain escapes the massacre at Menedy River
Interlude (606):
"Sketches from Valencia"-- Palla, Catria, and Est as strangers in a strange land [Completed]
"Widening Gyre"-- Palla writes letters to Est while Minerva's reign crumbles.
Main Arc (608-648):
"Another Piece of Blue"-- Cain and the process of building an empire
"Interregnum"-- Cain, Catria, and the Crown Prince of Archanea
"Forsaken"-- Abel searches for Est, and loses himself [Completed]
"Homecomings"-- Catria and Abel, coming to terms [Completed]
Side Stories (throughout):
"Good Neighbors"-- Alm, Cellica, and the true cost of bread [Completed]
"By Any Other Name"-- the never-before-told story of George and Minerva [Completed]
I actually started with "Homecomings" first and have been working progressively backward. Lord knows which one will see the light of day first. Stay tuned, I guess....
ETA: Added "Forsaken" and "Song for a Fallen Kingdom" to the line-up, marked more 'fics as Completed.
Because, to me, the big question is-- once you've
The continent Marth's handed at the end of FE3 really is a Pottery Barn special-- everyone and their brother has taken turns breaking it, and it's his now. Every last shattered piece of it. Royal dynasties are defunct, many great aristocratic houses are broken, the Church/Magic community seems to be pretty well in Marth's pocket, and there just doesn't seem to be any sort of merchant class outside of a couple of ports like Galder and maybe Warren. Oh, and they've just had two continent-spanning wars in the course of a decade, lasting for most of said decade. And the militaries of most countries have been gutted in the process, leaving the citizenry basically defenseless when it comes to pirates, bandits, and the like.
But all that's okay, because the gods are on Marth's side. You just have to believe!
I realize the "timeframe" of FE games is a big jumble, and it's a fine act of tail-chasing to try to place them historically. I "see," and "write," Archanea as kinda-sorta 1300-1500 European, because that's a period I'm comfortable with and enough elements do fit to make it workable. And through that paradigm, I came to my own vision of the Unified Kingdom of Archanea (not to be confused with the earlier Holy Kingdom of Archanea).
Element 1: Smashing/overturning of the old social order, including the ruin of old noble houses and the decimation of knightly orders.
Element 2: Power shift between the church (such as it is) and the state.
Element 3: Following #2, the new royal dynasty governs by explicit divine right. With the sanction of divine dragons, no less.
Element 4: Recent "discovery" of a new, smaller, continent to the west.
Element 5: War breeds technology. Always does, always will.
Element 6: Degree of intermarriage-interbreeding between the citizens of the former seven nations that is probably unprecedented. Example: Abel/Est, Marth/Caeda (duh)
Element 7: Wartime erosion of social classes leading to unions like Julian/Lena and Samson/Sheema
Sounds like exciting times to me.
So, this is the project:
Prologue (602):
"Song for a Fallen Kingdom"-- Cain escapes the massacre at Menedy River
Interlude (606):
"Sketches from Valencia"-- Palla, Catria, and Est as strangers in a strange land [Completed]
"Widening Gyre"-- Palla writes letters to Est while Minerva's reign crumbles.
Main Arc (608-648):
"Another Piece of Blue"-- Cain and the process of building an empire
"Interregnum"-- Cain, Catria, and the Crown Prince of Archanea
"Forsaken"-- Abel searches for Est, and loses himself [Completed]
"Homecomings"-- Catria and Abel, coming to terms [Completed]
Side Stories (throughout):
"Good Neighbors"-- Alm, Cellica, and the true cost of bread [Completed]
"By Any Other Name"-- the never-before-told story of George and Minerva [Completed]
I actually started with "Homecomings" first and have been working progressively backward. Lord knows which one will see the light of day first. Stay tuned, I guess....
ETA: Added "Forsaken" and "Song for a Fallen Kingdom" to the line-up, marked more 'fics as Completed.
