Baltheria
26-02-2007, 06:12
For centuries, the tiny kingdom of Baltheria had existed in utter obscurity and isolation, its very existence concealed from the rest of the world. Since its inception, the kingdom had been ruled by one isolationist xenophobe after another, each of them equally reluctant to divulge the country's existence to the global community, let alone invite foreigners in. Surrounded on all sides by rugged, daunting mountains, and nestled beneath a nearly impenetrable blanket of fog, the kingdom was almost totally inaccessible, and very difficult to find. What few people managed to stumble across it were always immediately captured, imprisoned, intensely interrogated, and then executed in a swift but indescribably grisly manner. The fear of foreigners stemmed from many factors, not the least of which was the fact that the original Baltheria had suffered countless invasions and subjugations, forcing its survivors to relocate and rebuild the kingdom in the mountains. Fear of outside influences subverting its deeply conservative, traditional culture was another factor. Having been isolated for centuries, Baltheria was a kingdom without modern technology; culturally and technologically, it was on about the same level as 1500s Europe. No advancements had been made since then. Agriculture employed the vast majority of the populace, serfdom was still practiced, and atheism was as unheard of as palm trees in Antarctica.
However, upon the recent death of King Geshtar III, who had ruled with an iron-fist for nearly fifty years, his more liberal-minded son, King Vandole I, felt determined to turn his back on the past and openly embrace a new future. Over the objections of Baltherian clergy and other hard-liners, he sent a small expeditionary force to the contact the outside world and let people know that, for the first time ever, Baltheria was indeed open for business. What they discovered outside came as a big shock - and would change the backward kingdom forever.
However, upon the recent death of King Geshtar III, who had ruled with an iron-fist for nearly fifty years, his more liberal-minded son, King Vandole I, felt determined to turn his back on the past and openly embrace a new future. Over the objections of Baltherian clergy and other hard-liners, he sent a small expeditionary force to the contact the outside world and let people know that, for the first time ever, Baltheria was indeed open for business. What they discovered outside came as a big shock - and would change the backward kingdom forever.