Audio Blog available here.
Hello and welcome to my
first lore piece. These are going to feature bits of lore from the
fantastical worlds I create in my writing. I'm hoping they'll be able
to enhance my stories, help round out characters, answer some
questions, and otherwise make the stories a bit more vivid and
interesting.
Today's piece is coming
from the Alice Dippleblack series. Despite being 6 books long, there
is a great deal of information that is only touched on and not really
explained in depth in the stories. This is largely because most of
the story is told from Alice Dippleblack's perspective, and as a
simple country girl, her range of knowledge on things that don't
involve her directly is very limited. I created her this way, and
also made her a naturally curious fox, so her character would be more
aligned with someone who would be eager to explore and ask questions
from more knowledgeable characters, such as her friend, Twinkaleni.
Thus, she could serve better as a window into her world and would
engage in new experiences and learn along with the reader.
When the story begins,
Alice had already been an orphan for some time. It is revealed that
her father was taken by war, and her mother by a deep depression
stemming from the loss of her beloved husband. In this piece, I've
decided to reveal a bit about Alice's parents, with a focus on her
father, Robert Dippleblack.
(Alice from "A War of Steel and Stone" drawn by Connie Walker)
Born, Robert Eignhardt,
to a middle house of nobility in central Arsalia, Robert was trained
in swordsmanship at an yearly age, as was common for all young
knights. Being particularly fleet of foot and sharp of mind, he
excelled in his training and quickly surpassed the many instructors
his proud father sent his way. Even so young, word of his skill
spread quickly and Robert was asked by other lords to train their own
sons, bringing his family a great deal of honor. As he traveled, his
skills and charm made him rather popular with the other future
knights and noble ladies, but he was steadily earning the elders'
ire.
Idealistic, young Robert
not only trained his pupils to fight, but also sought to instill in
them his own reasons for why to. He believed strongly that violence
was a last resort, meant only to defend life and love. This was in
contrast to the heavily cemented dogma telling all to fight for the
crown and the kingdom it rules over. Those under Robert's tutelage
would eagerly share their lessons with their noble fathers. And
Robert's own father would feel the scrutiny of his peers and the
shame he began to believe his son's modern views were bringing to his
family's name.
Eventually, Lord
Eignhardt disowned his son, when the young knight defied his father's
wishes by breaching a long standing marriage arrangement with the
daughter of another noble house. For in his latest travels, he met
Jenna Skipstride, a servant of his most recent pupil's manor. Both
young and excited by the secret love they quickly grew to share, they
decided to marry without consent. His only son wedding a common girl
was a shame too great for his father to bare and Robert was stripped
of his name along with any claims to his father's titles and
inheritances.
Banished from his own
lands, Robert and his new wife were forced to wander the kingdom.
They headed south, finding work were they could. With his
swordsmanship, Robert was able to slay troublesome beasts and other
monsters, collecting the rewards for doing so. But once done, there
was little need for a honed sword, and so the young couple would
constantly be on the move, roaming from one distressed village or
farm to the next, keeping them from finding a true home. The couple
endured this weary life, needing only each other for happiness. It
was during these travels that Robert's slowly growing fame and fur
earned the wandering pair a new name, and so they began to introduce
themselves as Robert and Jenna Dippleblack.
After a time, the
Dippleblacks were blessed with a baby girl. By then, they had
traveled quiet a distance and, now needing to settle down, decided to
stay in a little place called Toki. An isolated village bordering a
monster infested forest, Toki was in need of a monster slayer, and
Robert was just the Tokala for the job. Able to provide for his small
family by hunting the local jelly monsters and trading in their
valuable core stones, Robert Dippleblack had finally found his family
a home. But their joys would not last long.
After only a few short
years, news of a new blood war reached the village. It wasn't long
after that missives would be sent all over the countryside, demanding
bodies to fuel the fires of hate spreading along the borders of
Arsalia and neighboring Feoria. Leaving his trusted sword for his
family's protection, Robert Dippleblack, along with many thousands of
other husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons, would soon be called
away to fight, many never to return.
I hope you enjoyed this
little bit of lore and it brought some insight into Alice's family
history. Future pieces I'm planning include, dragons, the origins of
the order of thermathrogi, how the blood war really started, and
likely some pieces on emberstone and other magic. If you'd like me to
hit on a particular subject, feel free to let me know in the
comments.
If you're new to my
writing, I hope this has built some curiously that might lead you to
explore my completed works, available on Amazon.com and as audiobooks
on YouTube.
To support more
adventures, visit my patreon page:
Fantastical rewards await!
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