Background

Unifying Themes

• Respect for the feudal heirarchy and your place within it
• Striving towards a Lawful Good Alignment - the end NEVER justifies the means
• Dark Age setting in terms of social and political structure
• Early Crusades appearance - chainmail and leather armour rather than full plate
• Religion is not a central aspect of the faction - but adds more to it

Kingdom Stereotypes

Albion is comprised of a ten Kingdoms (actually 9 Kingdoms and a Principality) known as a decarchy - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heptarchy - for more information.  Each kingdom has its own traditions, customs and way of life.  Whilst all of Albion is united under the High King, each kingdom is ruled independently by its own monarch.  The following information is designed to provide a primer for players to use to shape their characters, groups and roleplay.  It is intended as a loose guide, not a rigid list of commandments.

Kingdom of Bernicia

• Ruled by Queen Cersei
• Capital - Eboracum
  
• A remote, wild, harsh and unforgiving land
• Towering mountains, deep glens and dark forests predominate
• Bandits, wild beasts and terrible monsters plague the population
• Knightly Orders in the realm hold back the darkness and protect the weak
• Most of the settlements are fortified towns close to the coast
• Bernicia is analogous to the Border Kingdoms of Dark Age Scotland - and potentially further north when considering the Orkney based knights from Arthurian legend

Principality of Norholt 

• Ruled by Prince Greyhame
• Capital - Norholt Town
  
• Isolated by mountains and rocky coast from the rest of Albion
• Forests, moors and heaths cover most of the region
• Historically was an independent region set between Albion and Fir Cruthen lands
• Small population with few settlements, the Town of Norholt being the only settlement of any size
• An important centre of learning due to the presence of the Norholt Library
• Norholt is quite distinct from the rest of Albion, independent and isolated and also a more fantastical setting than found elsewhere
  

Kingdom of Deira

• Currently no King after the passing of King Tristian
• Capital - York, currently Lancaster
  
• Traditionally a rich, prosperous and powerful realm
• York was Albion’s second city, and the seat of the Church of Law
• It suffered greatly following the Fall of York and the corruption of the Nything
• Some consider the population cursed and many mistrust them because or recent events
• Tristian's return has brought the population hope for the future
• Entering a renaissance and emerging from the darkness of the Nything's destruction of York
• Deira is in many ways the opposite of Britain following the Roman Withdrawl, moving forward into a new and brighter future
  

Kingdom of Elmet 

• No monarch currently reigns
• Capital - Manchester
  
• A large, but impoverished region
• Sheep farming and mining are main industries present
• Historically fortified against attacks from neighbouring Cymrja
• Population are proud of their kingdom and made resourceful because of it
• A more backward and traditional realm of Albion, the inhabitants eschew foreign influences and stick to 'what the know best'

Kingdom of Anglia 

• No monarch currently reigns
• Capital - Lincoln
• Large green valleys and rolling countryside cover most of the realm
  
• Farming is important in the kingdom and the land is bestowed with nature's bounty
• The folk are seen as hard working and fair in word and deed
  
• A strong sense of duty prevails amongst the population, from the lowly serf to highest of nobles
• Anglia has long been a strong supporter of Albion's values and acts to steady the lofty ambitions of Oxford and Wessex

Kingdom of Oxford 

• Ruled by Queen Kiera
• Traditionally the seat of the monarchy before the move to the decarchy
  
• The most civilised and cultured kingdom in Albion
  
• Oxford University is also an eminent centre of learning
• Strong links to the Elven folk of Elvesham and the powerful magic there
• Population feel superior to the rest of Albion and seen as pompous in return
• Oxford emboides the archetypal romantic and fantastical aspects of the Arthurian Legends, all the white towers, fluttering banners and questing knights you could shake a Joining at!
  

Kingdom of Wessex 

• Ruled by King Cornelius
• Capital - London
• Rich, powerful and populous region
• London has the largest population and is at the centre of Albion’s trade routes 
• Historical ties to Oxford have led to a powerblock in the past against old enemies in Essex and Sussex
• Religious centre in Canterbury has increased in importance since the Fall of York
• Population viewed with both respect and suspicion, arrogant with their wealth
• Wessex can be viewed as a typical British feudal kingdom, with the growing mercantile urban sprawl of London at its' heart
  

Kingdom of Essex 

• Ruled by High King Lucas
• Capital - Cambridge
• Strong feudal society alongside religious, trade and maritime traditions
• Centre of shipbuilding industry and home to Albion's naval forces
• Population often seen as roguish and mercenary, yet respected for their talents and connections
• Essex is similar to Wessex in many ways, but is more open to influence from the Continent Lands. The difference in attitudes and customs has bred an heir of cosmopolitanism and superiority, as well as contempt for the population

Kingdom of Sussex

• Ruled by King Benegar
• Capital - Bristol
• Rich and fertile heartland of Albion and another kingdom where farming plays an important role
• Important religious centres at Wells and Winchester, and ancient ties to Solkar through the Templars
• A growing and prosperous kingdom, and rapidly becoming a rival to the realm of Wessex
• Recent campaigns in Cornwall have provided a stimulus to development
• Population are seen as entrepreneurial and resourceful, and aspire for greater achievments
• Sussex's current situation and social structure could be compared to the rise of feudalism within Britain during the late middle ages
  

Kingdom of Cornwall

• Ruled by Queen Samantha
• Capital - Tintagel
• Isolated and mountainous realm, separated by wild moors from the rest of Albion
• Only ‘recently’ subjugated, civilised and properly settled
• Mining and fishing form the main industries of the kingdom
• Currently a shattered realm following the Fey led invasion
• Whilst the population are seen as backward and uncultured, a sense of common unity is fast developing
• Cornwall could be likened to the situation Britain faced during the Anglo-Saxon 'invasions' of the early Dark Age