Known Rulers of the Past
| Year | Ruler(s) |
| 0 | King Valdemar |
| ? | Queen Terilee |
| -> | King Tavist |
| -> | Queen Leshia |
| 750 | Elspeth -the Peace Maker |
| 798 | King Randale |
| 820 | Co-consorts- Trevan & Jisa |
| ? | Elspeth -The Wise |
| ? | Elspeth -The Clever-Handed |
| 1077 | Co-consorts- Theran & Fyllis |
| -> | King Clevis |
| 1270 | Co-consorts- Arden & Leesa |
| 1315 | King Roald |
| 1355 | King Sendar | 1376 | Co-consorts Selenay & Prince Daren |
Current Ruler(s)
~Queen Selenay and Prince Daren~
During a battle with Ancar, Daren becomes
chosen by a Companion. After the battle, he meets
Selenay and they become lifebonded.
They have at least two children; twins named Lyra and Kris.
Elspeth, Selenay's first daughter, renounced her position as Heir, making the twins
Heir-presumptives until they are chosen.
God or Goddess / Current Religion(s)
The Gods and/or Goddesses are unknown
because King Valdemar prayed to many for help.
He received the Companions as his answer.
As for Religion, Valdemar is a land
that is open to any and everybody; there are
many religious sects and temples. The Goddess Astera
seems to play an important deity to much of Valdemar.
Location
Capital = Haven
Valdemar is large.
It borders each of these lands...
| To the West- Lake Evendim |
| To the East- Iftel & Hardorn |
| To the North- The Forrest of Sorrows |
| To the South- Karse & Rethwellan |
Allies
| Rethwellan | ? |
| Hardorn | after and before Ancar's time |
| Karse | After Solaris became ruler |
| The Tayledras | As of the Mage Winds trilogy |
| The Shin'a'in | As of the Mage Storms trilogy |
| The Kaled'a'in | As of the Mage Storms trilogy |
| Iftel | As of the Mage Storms trilogy |
Enemies
~Past and Present~
| Eastern Empire | Since the Founding of Valdemar |
| Karse | Before Solaris became Ruler |
| Hardorn | When Ancar ruled |
What are Heralds?
They are the people who are chosen by Companions.
Bloodlines do not matter; they are chosen
based on loyalty to their duty and the purity
of the hearts. They are know as the "Arrows of the Queen/King"
because there is no surer or faster way to send
an important doument; They can be completely trusted
because they cannot be swayed or corrupted.
They act as LawGivers and are also the Dispensers of Justice.
They also act as judges because, unlike
regular village judges, they are all capable of invoking
the Truth Spell, something that renders the person incapable of lying.
They spread the laws and report back to the Monarch
and Council so they know the true conditions of the land.
These people risk everything, including their lives,
for the safety of the Kingdom and it's Monarch.
Because of this, only about half live to see an honorable old age.
They are inevitably alone; most remain unmarried
and very few find their life-bonded partner.
The sad fact is, the better the Herald, the more likely the Monarch will
set them to risky tasks. But, each
Herald has a Companion and the bond between them is so
strong it is more than friendship can ever fullfill.
This love and friendship leaves little room for much else.
The Heralds are also friends amongst eachother, though
they often do not see eachother except for the few occasions
where they gather at the Palace.
One does not apply to be a Herald, they
can only be Chosen by a Companion.
Most Heralds have some sort of Mind Magic, or Gift.
After Vanyel Ashkevron's time in the Last Herald-Mage
trilogy, Valdemar and its people virtually forgot that all
true Mage craft even existed. They specialized in
the training of their Gifts. These Gifts may be as
small as Mindspeech or they can reach all the way
to the more "eccentric" Gifts such as FireStarting
or Fetching (to obtain objects by calling for them).
*For a list of all Mind Magic and True Magic capabilities*
Click Here
The Heraldic uniforms are made entirely of white.
Their Companions are also white; This is because
they can feed off of magic to help them run faster and longer
than any other horse. Magic bleaches the hair white and the eyes blue.
Even the Monarch wears the plain white
uniforms. The only symbol of power is a single
gold coronet and the faint gold and silver
trims that are sewn into their uniforms.
When Chosen, a Herald-trainee, usually just going
through puberty, is taken to the Herald's Collegium
that resides in Haven on the Palace grounds. There
they remain training vigorously in fields such as combat, politics,
history, geography, reading/writing, and Gift training
(if they have a Gift) until they've earned their white
uniforms. While they are in training they
wear gray uniforms.
Herald's Collegium is not the only collegium
in Haven. There are also Bardic and Healer's
Collegiums.Bardic trainees wear a rusty-brown color
and then get red uniforms when they graduate.
Healer-trainees wear pale green and wear full
green once they graduate. There are
also people known as the Blues. These have not been
chosen, have no Bardic ability, and possess
no Gift of Healing. Some are from Noble families who
wish their children a high education. Most
are lowborn or Merchant classes. They distinguish themselves by
having high intelligence that earns them patronage
into the ranks of the Blues. Their talents are
very useful because some specialize in Mathematics and engineering.
The Ranks of the Heralds
Back in the day when Herald-Mage Vanyel Ashkevron was alive,
there was something known as the Heraldic Circle, These
were basically the most important Heralds in Valdemar.
The list is as follows:
The Monarch's Own Herald
The Seneschal's Herald
The Lord Marshal's Herald
The Monarch
The Heir
The Speaker for the Herald's with trainees
The Speaker for the Heralds out on circuit
The Speaker for the Herald-Mages
Currently, the term Heraldic Circle applies to every
single one of the Heralds in Valdemar, not just these
select few...but their jobs are still very important.
The most important Herald in Valdemar is said to be
the Monarch's Own Herald, second in rank only
to the Monarch him/herself.
"Traditions" & little Tidbits
~Heralds have to be chosen.
Age, gender, race, bloodline, and origins do not matter.
~All prospective Heirs must be Heralds to become King or Queen
~The Monarch's Own Herald is always Chosen by a Grove-Born Companion
~When a Herald and his/her Companion dies, the
Bell Tower Tolls, though it has no hammer to ring it with.
This is a place to grieve the lose because more often
than not, the bodies can not be returned to Haven.
~When a Herald or a Companion dies, they can choose
or are chosen to be reincarnated.
This fact was unknown to Heralds
until the Mage Storms trilogy.
~The Companions have secrets and abilities that
not even their Heralds have uncovered yet.
The Arrows of the King/Queen
After a Herald has finished training and acheived
his/her whites, they have to do an internship.
This is basically going out and riding
circuit with an experienced Herald for 18
months. The first 9 months they spend learning going
from town to town, the second 9 months the internees
are "in charge." This gives them experience
and prepares them to be alone while doing this
is the future.
Before they leave Haven,
they are taken aside to learn a very important
part in being a Herald; They are taught
the Arrow's code. No trainee knows
about this until they earn their whites.
The Heralds all have mud-gannet feathers on their
arrows; This is because the barbs are so thick and
regular that it is possible to count them. Each
Herald has their own pattern that is drilled into them
so ruthlessly, that they can literally produce those patterns
in the dark with their hands behind their backs.
When they are done making their personal
patterns, to a normal person, the arrows just looked
ruffled up a bit from use. These arrows are
necessary to send messages if the person does not
have strong mind speech. If a Herald is about to be captured
they can send their arrows off flying to,
hopefully, be picked up and tell the other
Herald the situation. There are different colors of bands that can
be attached to each arrow, each color represents a code.
The number of bands indicates how many units to send, for example,
sending every yellow band means to send the entire army.
| Arrow Color Code | |
| White | All is well, come ahead |
| Green | Send a Healer |
| Purple | Send a Priest |
| Gray | Send a Herald |
| Brown | Mild trouble, watch for message |
| Blue | Treachery |
| Yellow | Send Military Aid |
| Red | Great danger. Come quickly |
| Black | Total danger. Rescue/help needed |
| Broken (any color) | All hope gone. Don't rescue |
| Headless arrow | Dead |
