OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - The National Penterham Four-Bases Association

Izz · 10-04-2019, 06:18 AM

An introduction

Penterham was a young country, born of equal parts piracy and charisma. Captain Lukas Penterham, a privateer and wide-ranging scallywag, never intended to carve out a land in his name but, as so often happens, he unwittingly found himself at the forefront of momentous events.

The 1820’s (for the record, the Lingia Calendar is being used in this account, rather than the New Avillalan Calendar, which would place this in the mid-100s) were a time of discontent and fear for the inhabitants of Froia. The accomplishments of Lord Cecil Vangar, who united the nomadic tribes and city states on the southwestern part of the continent a century earlier, were long forgotten. Still quite fresh, however, was the civil war that led to Froia splitting down the middle and the nations of Avillala and Ardielterra forming. Even fresher were the armies of Lingia camped at their northern borders and helmed by their fanatic priests, who held to the belief that the first humans were birthed from a grove of towering Ingijia trees in their northern forests. Recently, some Froian academics had proposed that humans may, in fact, have existed elsewhere before coming to this land. Elsewhere on the planet or, and this is what riled the Lingian clergy to the point of war, from another world entirely.

Without getting bogged down in the details (this is an account of the National Penterham Four-Bases Association, after all) Captain Penterham inadvertently found himself face-to-face with a quintet of Lingian Navy vessels upon returning from a raid on merchant ships passing through the channel by Chaw. Some daring tactics plus a healthy dose of luck saw his solitary ship emerge unscathed, three of his five Lingian adversaries sunk. It so happened a Froian scout ship saw proceedings and the news of Penterham’s victory beat him back along the coast.

Before long he led an alliance of cities against the Lingian threat. While he didn’t repel the invaders, he did fight them to a stalemate, no mean feat considering the military power Lingia commanded. A treaty was drawn up and signed by all parties. Penterham’s allies then convinced him to continue leading them, this time in declaring independence from Froia. What remained of Froia’s army responded half-heartedly and were easily repelled, the new nation’s status officially secured on Jhin 7th, 1828.

All seemed rosy.

But then, in 1832, as heroes often do, Penterham died. Not in battle, or doing anything else glorious, but in his bed at home after a swift sickness. A disease brought on by his wanton womanizing, the Lingian priesthood and his adversaries within the Froian courts opined; a treacherous poisoning, his supporters rebutted.

The truth may never be known, but the young nation of Penterham (named after the Captain at the insistence of his advisors) faced an early crisis. Rumors in 1833 that the Lingians were again mobilizing to attack saw the cities of Brid, Douth, Dudmatnes, Pennet and Brethet return their allegiance to Froia. Penterham’s loyal cabinet stepped up efforts to keep the remaining cities under control but they knew as well as anyone that the longer martial law remained in place the greater the discontent of the citizens would grow.

They faced a real crisis and had to do so without the considerable charm and intellect of their late leader, Lukas Penterham. To that end, on Novr 14th, they held a meeting in Penterham City (this was renamed by the Captain at his own insistence) to discuss what possibly could be done.

10-04-2019, 06:18 AM	#1
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,467	The National Penterham Four-Bases Association An introduction Penterham was a young country, born of equal parts piracy and charisma. Captain Lukas Penterham, a privateer and wide-ranging scallywag, never intended to carve out a land in his name but, as so often happens, he unwittingly found himself at the forefront of momentous events. The 1820’s (for the record, the Lingia Calendar is being used in this account, rather than the New Avillalan Calendar, which would place this in the mid-100s) were a time of discontent and fear for the inhabitants of Froia. The accomplishments of Lord Cecil Vangar, who united the nomadic tribes and city states on the southwestern part of the continent a century earlier, were long forgotten. Still quite fresh, however, was the civil war that led to Froia splitting down the middle and the nations of Avillala and Ardielterra forming. Even fresher were the armies of Lingia camped at their northern borders and helmed by their fanatic priests, who held to the belief that the first humans were birthed from a grove of towering Ingijia trees in their northern forests. Recently, some Froian academics had proposed that humans may, in fact, have existed elsewhere before coming to this land. Elsewhere on the planet or, and this is what riled the Lingian clergy to the point of war, from another world entirely. Without getting bogged down in the details (this is an account of the National Penterham Four-Bases Association, after all) Captain Penterham inadvertently found himself face-to-face with a quintet of Lingian Navy vessels upon returning from a raid on merchant ships passing through the channel by Chaw. Some daring tactics plus a healthy dose of luck saw his solitary ship emerge unscathed, three of his five Lingian adversaries sunk. It so happened a Froian scout ship saw proceedings and the news of Penterham’s victory beat him back along the coast. Before long he led an alliance of cities against the Lingian threat. While he didn’t repel the invaders, he did fight them to a stalemate, no mean feat considering the military power Lingia commanded. A treaty was drawn up and signed by all parties. Penterham’s allies then convinced him to continue leading them, this time in declaring independence from Froia. What remained of Froia’s army responded half-heartedly and were easily repelled, the new nation’s status officially secured on Jhin 7th, 1828. All seemed rosy. But then, in 1832, as heroes often do, Penterham died. Not in battle, or doing anything else glorious, but in his bed at home after a swift sickness. A disease brought on by his wanton womanizing, the Lingian priesthood and his adversaries within the Froian courts opined; a treacherous poisoning, his supporters rebutted. The truth may never be known, but the young nation of Penterham (named after the Captain at the insistence of his advisors) faced an early crisis. Rumors in 1833 that the Lingians were again mobilizing to attack saw the cities of Brid, Douth, Dudmatnes, Pennet and Brethet return their allegiance to Froia. Penterham’s loyal cabinet stepped up efforts to keep the remaining cities under control but they knew as well as anyone that the longer martial law remained in place the greater the discontent of the citizens would grow. They faced a real crisis and had to do so without the considerable charm and intellect of their late leader, Lukas Penterham. To that end, on Novr 14th, they held a meeting in Penterham City (this was renamed by the Captain at his own insistence) to discuss what possibly could be done. __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report Last edited by Izz; 10-04-2019 at 05:35 PM.