This concordance lists people, places and things from the world
of Earth-Yvoire. Occasionally, some of these entries may spoil the surprise if
you have not looked deeply into the wonders and mysteries of Yvoire. For the
rest of us, this concordance is a way of reminiscing about old friends and new
adventures!
CAPTIF DYVOIRE REDUX trademark and (c) Pisces All Media 2004, 2005 all rights reserved.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y Z
Ayga-Mortas ("Deadwater") or Stillwater is a small city set into more extensive ancient ruins. Stillwater seems anarchic because it lacks any Carolingian ruler. So weak are the Carolingians in this
region that a council of pirates, known as the Princes de la Mer or Princes of
the Sea, are treated as the feudal liege of the city answerable to King Rudolf II in Arles. Despite their
Roguish form of government, the people of Stillwater are predominantly feisty
pioneers and dynamic traders rather than outright bandits. Stillwater is
notable for its arena, Roman ruins, catacombs and waterways which allow access
to virtually every part of the city. Provence Bullfights
are held in the city’s amphitheatre. Stillwater has few practising members of
the Church, with a lot of pagans and heathens
amongst the population.
The Kingdom of Arles is the city-state that Yvoire and the Camargue should
technically be part of. The River Rhone, which flows through the Yvoire region,
forks at Arles and this fork forms the Camargue Delta. Although King Rudolf II The Uniter of Arles is the lord of all the
Camargue, this is more of a claim on a map than an actual fact of daily life.
There is an awful lot of territory and few people to control it in this region.
The Kingdom of Arles is basically the splendid City of Arles plus whatever
Rudolf II’s warriors can grab and hold. The City of Arles goes back to at least
Ancient Greek times when it was known as Theline, and was a city of note
through the Roman period. It has suffered invasion by Vikings, Arabs and Franks,
with the Franks controlling it in 965 AD after their final conquest of the
region. However, Arles, like all Frankish cities, is under threat from other
claimants.
Provence Bullfights are held in
the city’s amphitheatre.
Click HERE for a picture of the Arena of Arles, where bullfights, theatre, "Roman games" and town meetings occur
Click HERE for a player map of the Kingdom of Arles
A principality nearby to Yvoire’s
region. Averoigne is steeped in magic and dark forces and has a reputation for
beautiful summers and brutal murders.
A large sprawling wood. Somewhere in this wood there is the ruinous and haunted Chateau
des Faussesflammes; and, also, there was a double tomb, within which the Sieur
Hugh du Malinbois and his chatelaine, who were notorious for sorcery in their
time, had lain unconsecrated for more than a decade. Of these, and their
phantoms, there are grisly tales; and there are stories of loup-garous (“werewolves”,
more or less) and goblins, of fays and devils and vampires that infest
Averoigne.
The de Benaire family are Carolingians, claiming as
pretenders the lands of the Petite Camargue including Yvoire.
The current claimant is the heathen Duc Bessem Carolus
de Benaire.
Bullfighting is the Atlantean practice of arena combat
between an unarmed or lightly armed man and a suitably aggressive or wild bull.
In a Provence Bullfight, a garland of flowers is placed on the horns of the
bull and a team of athletes run into the arena and desperately try and grab the
garland from the bull’s horns before the animal kills or maims them. The garland
is a great local honour, well worth the risk of taking the bull by the horns.
Byzantium is the capital of the Roman Empire of the East
and it gives its name to that whole Empire. Byzantium survived the fall of the Roman
Empire in the West and powered on. Byzantium in 965 AD is a powerful imperial
presence across the whole of the eastern world and affects affairs in the west
as well if it can. Its physical distance prevents it from straying much further
west than the island of Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula but Byzantium
is still a force to be reckoned with. Byzantium is home to the Eastern Church
which is hostile to The Church.
A Caid (pronounced Say duh, as in rhymes with “made”) is
a lord, but in the sense of a powerful champion, not a feudal ruler of a
kingdom or duchy. A delver or other adventurer could be called “Caid” as an
honourific. It is not common for delvers below the tenth level to ever have
this title given to them. The feminine form of Caid is Caida (pronounced Say EE
dah). Origin: al sayyed, Arab. “lord”.
The Camargue is a huge sprawling swamp with extremely
shallow waterways and a unique local ecology. Many species of fascinating
plants cover the ground and even some areas of water. The region is also home
to pink flamingos, a special breed of local horse, wild and domesticated swamp
cattle, wild cats, normal and giant fish and many other species. The Camargue
is roughly triangular with the “base” as the Mediterranean cost on the Gulf of
Lion. At the apex inland is the capital, the city of Arles.
Within its borders are the small cities of Ayga-Mortas
and Saint Maries de la Mers (meeting-place of the Gypsies) and a scattering of
much smaller settlements protected by castles, amongst them the Village of Yvoire watched over by Chateau D’Yvoire.
Carolingians are the rulers of Franconia,
which is what in our own world became France, but also
included Western Germany, northern Italy and the Alps. The name Franconia means
“Lands of the Franks”, Frank being the name the people of
the realm gave to themselves centuries earlier during the last decades of the
Roman Empire in the West. The gradual accumulation of power and later conquests
established an empire of Franks, in which blood relationships determined the
position within the governments of the various Carolingian states.
The original Carolingians were power brokers and
seconds-in-command to the earlier Merovingian dynasty. Charles Martel was one
of the earliest Carolingian heroes, and after his heroic defeat of Islam, which
prevented the conquest of Western Europe by Moslems, the Carolingians’ power
grew spectacularly. Politicians as well as conquerors, the Carolingians made
alliances with the Church, culminating in the Carolingian king Charlemagne
(Carolus Magnus, Charles or Carl the Great) assimilating huge tracts of land
and many races and forming the true Carolingian Empire.
By the time of Captif D’Yvoire: Redux, the Carolingians
have dissipated their power and influence through the process of partitioning. Partitioning is the practice of sharing out land to all
male heirs. So if a king or duke has three sons, all the land he had amassed as
a single empire gets divided amongst those sons. If those sons argue or try and
reunify the land through battles with each other, that region is plunged into
chaos. The barbaric enthusiasm for fighting and conquest which originally let
the Carolingians hack their way to power now meant that they would inevitably
devastate their lands as they continually war amongst themselves.
In 965 AD the Carolingians still rule a vast area but
after centuries of empire the individual regions are semi-autonomous and
fragmented spectacularly into hundreds of individual states each ruled either
by a Carolingian or a foreign conqueror. The final threats to the Carolingian
Empire is two-fold: invaders from the sea in the form of Vikings and North
Africans, two different sorts of sea-wolves.
The current Carolingian King-Emperor in 965 AD is Lothar
or Lothair, son of Louis IV.
“Jesus is the only son of God and he died for our sins to
be reborn as a symbol of God’s promise to us.”
Monotheistic (ie worshipping a single all-encompassing
God) religion. Followers of the Church are known as Christians, Followers of
the White Christ (the Viking term for them), Romans (from the capital of the
Church’s empire) or Churchmen. The term
Follower of the White Christ can be offensive to Christians as it may imply a
racial slur which is not part of the religion. The Church teaches that the
ruler of its religion, the Pope, who is a powerful feudal lord and equivalent
to a king-emperor in his own right, is the leader of all the faithful on Earth.
Churchmen throughout the world report back via the Church channels directly to
the Pope, who has a curia much like that of any other effective monarch. The Church
is only one of the major types of Christianity. Byzantium has its own form of
Christian religion –the Eastern Church- and it most certainly does not
acknowledge the superiority of The Church in Rome. This has led to religious
conflicts and military battles in the past and no doubt will again.
The D’Alcene family are Occitan Carolingians, claiming the
lands of the Petite Camargue including Yvoire as of right under the laws of partitioning. The current
Duke is Gastar Carolus D’Alcene D’Yvoire.
The de Benaire family are Carolingians, claiming as
pretenders the lands of the Petite Camargue including Yvoire. The current
claimant is the heathen Duc Bessem Carolus de Benaire.
A shallow lake or huge pond of
the Camargue.
A Grand Duchy within the
Carolingian Empire. It has within its borders the cities of Paris and Orléans.
“Free Man” or simply “Free”.
Name given to the barbarian allies of Rome in Gaul (later Franconia and later
still Western Germany, France and Northern Italy) to signify that these people
were free citizens of their realm and not bound as slaves or mercenaries to
Rome. Franks were legendary warriors and divided their people into two basic
types: Salians and Ripuarians. “Salian” means “Salty” and refers to coastal
dwelling seafaring Franks. “Ripuarian” means “River” and refers to the inland
Franks and those who travelled by river. There are several sorts of laws in
Franconia, and two sorts apply to people based on which of these groups they
fall into.
A Free Lance is a general
term for adventurer, especially a non-seafaring Warrior for hire.
A Gargoyle is a stone gutter
to channel away water from a roof or drain. The Gargoyle can also be a living
stone monster resembling a winged statue.
Heathenism is sometimes called Devil-Worship. Heathenism
venerates spirits, ancestors and demonic entities who control the elements.
Heathenism is different from Paganism because there is no set code of conduct or
contract between the god-like entities who are worshipped and the worshippers.
Heathen gods might demand one thing one day and the opposite the next. Although
more powerful than a Human, Heathen gods are basically colossal monsters, not
true immortals. Heathenism followers are called heathens.
“There is no God but God and
Mohammed is the prophet of God”
Monotheistic (ie worshipping
a single all-encompassing God) religion. Followers of Islam are known as
Islamists, Moslems, Musselmen or Mohammedans. The term Mohammedanism can be offensive to Moslems as it may imply
worship not of God but of his prophet which is heresy. Islam teaches that the
Arab Mohammed was the last major prophet of God. Mohammed wrote the Q’uran,
also known as the Koran, which is the holy book of Islam. Islam teaches
tolerance of the people of the book which includes followers of The Church.
However, in the rough and tumble world of politics and conquest religious
charity and mercy frequently get overlooked during the warfare and competition.
In 965 AD Spain is largely controlled by Islamic rulers, Lords (Sayyedin) of
the Little Kingdoms (Taifa). Whereas in the parts of Europe where the Church is
the main religion there are duchies and baronies and kingdoms, in the Islamic
world there are taifa, caliphates, sultanates and other exotic states. All are
surprisingly similar to their European equivalents however. In the period in
which Captif D’Yvoire: Redux is set, the Islamic world controls much of the
Eastern Mediterranean although the Eastern Roman Empire of Byzantium is well
and truly rolling the Islamic conquerors back from some of the island nations
previously conquered. The T’ah are heathens but racially related to the North
Africans who are mostly by 965 AD recent converts to Islam.
The commoners of a realm;
the peasantry.
A revolt of commoners of a
realm; an uprising by the peasantry.
A King is a feudal ruler in
Europe or Asia who answers to no-one but The Church. A female King is known as
a Queen. Kings are the leaders of a hierarchy of feudal lords, below whom are Earls,
Dukes, Barons and lesser lords. Kings can still be followers. Kings of small
realms or of realms heavily dependant on another realm or kingdom can
conceivably be obedient to a more powerful King. The King who has other Kings
as his followers is a King-Emperor. A King’s realm is a Kingdom.
Lingua Franca, Latin for literally “Language of the Franks”. This
tongue is a legacy of the conquests of the mighty Carolingian King-Emperor Charlemagne. After
his reduction of the west and his creation of a European Union, his native
language, Frankish common speech, was enforced and became quite naturally the
Common Tongue of Western Europe and beyond. Because language is not a static
thing, Lingua Franca continues to evolve. In the isles of Britain it is already
shifting because of local language and in Franconia itself there are Northern and Southern dialects of Common.
Lothair (941-986), Carolingian King of France, son of Louis IV,
succeeded his father in 954, and was at first under the guardianship of Hugh
the Great, Duke of all the Franks, and then under that of his maternal uncle
Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne. The beginning of his reign was occupied with wars
against the vassals, particularly against the duke of Normandy. At the time of Captif
D’Yvoire: Redux in 965 AD Lothair is consolidating and
attempting to work out feasible plans for conquering other duchies and kingdoms
within the Carolingian Empire. In the process he is ignoring the problems along
the borders such as the war in the Camargue.
Malvolio is a powerful evil
sorceror. His age is uncertain although he seems to be in his early middle age.
He dresses well, almost foppishly, but he is a ruthless and deadly opponent in
physical or magical combat. He interferes and aids the side of evil in any
conflict he can find but his evil allies make a big mistake if they think he
has the slightest deeper interest in them or their cause.
Contraction of “North Man”.
Rulers of Northwestern Francia in Franconia. They are a Viking clan who rule
their territory with an iron fist. Despite intermarriage with Franks, the
Normans are a distinct race and see themselves as the elite of the post-Roman
rulers of Europe.
A person of southern
Franconia, especially a region known as Languedoc, which includes the Camargue
and Yvoire. An Occitan is someone who speaks the southern dialect of the Lingua
Franca, and says (in that tongue) “oc” (pronounced like the Scottish “och!”) rather
than “oil” (pronounced “oy”) for yes. Languedoc is a name for their region
derived from the Common tongue phrase “Langue d’Oc” – “tongue in which you say
oc”. Thus it means “region of the oc-sayers”.
Occitans or Occitains have a
distinctive culture influenced by the Moors who rule Spain, the North African
raiders who visit the Camargue, and their long separation from the rest of
Europe. Occitan civilisation has a tradition of history and higher education
going back far beyond Roman times.
Paganism is the pre-Church religion venerating a
pantheon of gods or immortals who control the elements of nature, are ruled
over by a Sky-Father and who have a set philosophy, ethical standards and general
religious code of conduct. Worship of the Gods of Greece and Rome and the
Viking pantheon of Asgard, as well as the pantheons of India and China, are all
forms of Paganism. Someone who follows Paganism is called a pagan.
King Rudolf II The Uniter is
the ruler of the city-state of Arles and with it, at least on paper, the
Camargue. However, he has a hard time enforcing his will outside his city and
can’t help his liege man Duc D’Alcene take back his Duchy from the pretender de
Benaire. Rudolf II inherited a kingdom from his father and doubled it in size
through conquest to make the new Kingdom of Arles, alternatively known as
Burgundy or Transuria. Outposts of Arles report back from as far away as central
Switzerland. Rudolf II is personally dynamic, wise and ruthless but he is let
down by the tyranny of distance and by some highly eccentric local rulers
amongst the Duchies and Baronies of his Kingdom. He is loyal to the Lothar, Emperor-King
of the Franks, but not so loyal that he will lose his own kingdom to him.
The T’ah are one of several
North African tribes who have crossed the Mediterranean and invaded southwestern
Europe. Unlike the North African raiders of the Spanish peninsula (the Moverigs
or Almoravids) the T’ah are heathens. T’ah of all classes encountered are very violent
and ruthless fighters. Their distinctive blood-red costumes mark them at long
range and make them seem even fiercer. Many classes of T’ah have been sent as
mercenary lackeys of Duc de Benaire to aid him in his war with the D’Alcene
clan. The people of the T’ah nation, like the Moverigs of Spain, are Al-Murabitun,
that is, their culture is one founded on rulership by Warrior Monks. The leader
of all the T’ah is known as the Daemon Sultan of the T’ah.
Despite their extreme
fierceness in Yvoire and elsewhere in Europe, at home the T’ah are far from the
most powerful or fiercest of the North African peoples. They share the Atlas
Mountains with other tribes, most of whom are recent converts to Islam. T’ah are
heathens and so they are in a constant state of bloodthirsty warfare with their
neighbours in North Africa.
The T’ah have a mountain
city capital and a lowland trade centre around an oasis. Due to the prosperity
of the oasis the T’ah homeland is usually called the Oasis Kingdom.
A “seeker”, as in seeker of
stories and songs, and also seeker of something deeper. The Trouvère
is usually a Rogue by class, sometimes a Wizard, who wanders the countryside
collecting lore and entertaining tavern customers and nobility in return for
bed, board and sometimes a few coins.
Vikings or Northmen are barbarian raiders and settlers who terrorised Europe and beyond, although they were also skilful and dedicated traders and town builders.
Vikings were called Northmen, Normans or Norsemen because they came from the Northern European lands of Scandinavia. The Medieval Warm Period meant that the Vikings could access areas that were iced up before the Tenth Century or after the Nineteenth. The Vikings had a massive influence on the culture and society of the peoples they raided or conquered.
In Franconia, the Viking leader Rollo was actually given a large area to rule due to the Franks’ inability to defeat him or dislodge him from the coastal area he had already conquered. His realm became known as the Land of the Northmen, or Normandy.
Realm within the Carolingian
Empire of Franconia which
includes at its southernmost extent the Camargue and with it the Duchy of
Yvoire. Western Francia was established by King Charles the Bald in 843 AD as
his share of the Empire of Charlemagne, given to him under the practice of partitioning.
A small Duchy in far
southern Franconia, at the sea border of Western Francia. Yvoire is on the edge
of part of a vast shallow watercourse known as the Camargue. The struggle over
Yvoire’s throne is the central theme of Captif D’Yvoire: Redux.
Click HERE for a picture of armes (heraldic shield) of the Duchy of Yvoire
BACK TO THE OFFICIAL SUPPORT FOR THE
DUAL SYSTEM T&T MODULES
