Magnus Emil

Master of the Arcana of Prime, Duke of Westerfold, Lord General of the Enlightened Army, Protector of the Truth, Consul of the Northern Realms, Marshall of Livonia, Baron of Höfenstahl, Viscount of Drang, Ritter af Borg and Helm's Hold. Thus runs the list of titles held by Magnus Emil. While of noble birth, his inheritance was no more than the old, though lowly title of Ritter af Borg, and a couple of estates in north-western Livonia.


Born in YE 995, as a boy Magnus Emil proved to be an exceedingly bright, although hot-headed child. He took to reading as a Wezellian to counting coins, and he also quickly astonished his father with his prowess in the martial disciplines. Magnus's father, Gustaf Emil, Ritter af Borg, believed that the Fates had a plan for his son, and on Magnus's seventh birthday, he took the boy to a soothsayer. The old crone foretold that Magnus would bring the Chained God back to Argos, and that he would grow to be feared by his enemies. To his father this was all he needed to know, and thereafter no expense was spared to make Magnus ready for his destiny.


The men of the Borg family have been members of the Knights of Angermar since time immemorial, and Gustaf Emil was no exception. He now called upon all the resources his family and the ancient fraternity could muster, for at last their goal of awakening Bolgen was within reach. The best teachers were hired, and and as soon as Magnus came of age, in YE 1015, a commission in a Livonian mercenary company was purchased for him. And so his military career was begun fighting in the Corillian War. His Awakening came shortly after his arrival in Corillia, and after having fought for six months, he needed to seek new horizons.


The following year he spent travelling the world, visiting Southern Eria, the Western Isles, and the Hannuman Caliphate. He arrived in the Caliphate as the War of Fate erupted, and he quickly lent his sword to the cause of Aziz. For the duration of the war, Magnus fought with the Mujahed against the Army of Light, and in YE 1021 he commanded an artillery unit at the Battle of the White Tower. It was in this battle that Grishnak, the fallen Daeva, was slain by Morfeus, the Prince of Nightmares, and when the Daeva fell, the surge of power caused mass Awakenings. Magnus, allready Awakened, came away with a new fire in his soul.


When he returned to Livonia, he found that his father had passed away and that he was now the Ritter af Borg. He set to leading his estates with an energy and a focus that soon made him a leading figure in the politics of the realm, as well as within the Knights of Angermar. 


Shortly after his return, he discovered a rich Tass-vein in the old mines of Helm's Hold, and his bid for power was funded with the profits from these mines. In his journeys he had also come across an artifact of great power, the Coeur de Dracon, and its power was harnessed to open new and deeper shafts. During this work he found a forgotten passage to Hardhagrav, the tomb of the Chained God. With the ultimate goal of the Knights of Angermar now within reach, they rallied behind Magnus Emil, and the work to finally free their god was begun. This work was interrupted in the first days of YE 1022, when the Pius Cabal stole the Coeur de Dracon, as well as a large amount of Tass.


Still, despite this setback, the Ritter af Borg continued to prove himself to be a dangerous and ruthless politician, and more than one opponent passed away under mysterious circumstances. In Eria the Great War had by now become a reality, and in Livonia Magnus strengthened his power-base. When the Arcane Congress was convened in Wezell, he attended as the Grand Master of the Knights of Angermar, as well as the ambassador of the Kingdom of Livonia.


Over the course of the Congress, Magnus Emil came to be recognised as the leader of the Party of Enlightenment, a coalition of cabals and orders within the Congress. Further, when the Enlightened Alliance, a.k.a. the Northern Alliance, declared war on the Enlightened Skythian Empire and the temple of Man Supreme, Magnus Emil was named the lord General of the Enlightened Army. This army, together with the Host of Man, has been tasked with conducting the war on behalf of the Congress and the Alliance.


Since the War of Enlightenment began in Sextum, YE 1022, the Lord General has led his forces deep into the Empire, and he is now gaining a reputation as the greatest war hero of this age. 

Livonia

Government: Monarchy

Ruler: Queen Caroline Augusta

Capital: Valagard

The Livonian Peninsula separates the Inner Ocean and the White Sea, and like Pendrell and the Order State, it lies on the Terra Borealis, not on the Erian continent. In the north, shielding the peninsula from the Wild, lies the Goblinshield Mountains, stretching from the Aelevian Peninsula in the West, to the Hermetic lands to the East. South of the Goblinshield the land drops and forms rugged hills that runs southward, climbing again to form the Galderspears mountain range that runs like a spine down the peninsula.

On the western side of the Galderspears the the soil is deep and rich, and easily yields rich crops of barley and rye. In earlier days, these tracts were covered by deep forests, but over the centuries, industrial logging has pushed the woods steadily backwards. On the eastern side of the mountains, the land is less hospitable, but sheep and goats thrive in the hills that roll into the the White Ocean. The southern part of Livonia is dominated by a low plain, and the soil here is unrivalled in all of Eria. This area is often called the Breadbasket, and much of the kingdom's wealth comes from this region.

Typical Livonian farm

Livonia is also famous for it's timber, and shipwrights from all of Humanity wish for keels of witchwood, banner, or iron-oak for their ships. Another important contributor to the realm's wealth is mining; both the Goblinshield and the Galderspears are rich with precious ore. The Tass-mines in Hammer's Hold is only one such example.

Recorded Livonian history dates back to the last century before the Covenant, when the Livonii tribe allied itself with the Penderii in the Elfslayer Wars. Before this time, Skythian sources speak of the Livonii as a fierce people, sometimes raiding Skythian settlements along the Erian western coast. During the Elfslayer Wars however, they accepted the philosophy of Macharius, and when the Lord Solar founded Pendrell and thus left the Skythian Empire, the Livonii soon after followed suit.

During the Age of Reason, the Livonian culture developed from one dominated by warriors to one of farmers and tradesmen. Still, Livonian mercenaries remained a natural part of most armies in most of the wars fought in Eria. Yet, even in this Enlightened age, honour has a strong place in the identity, and blood-feuds are still recognised as a legal recourse.

During the Reign of Reason, when the Ministerium's persecution of freethinkers and the Enlightened spiralled towards tyranny and madness, the Livonian Ministers did not agitate the Presbyterian cause, and many of the atrocities witnessed in the Erian realms never reached Livonia. This may have something to do with the precarious nature of Livonian Pure Though. While worship of deities were forbidden here as everywhere else, elements of the old faiths were still maintained in most layers of society.

Livonian officer and noble

With the Arcane Congress, and the onset of the War of Enlightenment, Livonia has become a major player in Erian politics. Led by Magnus Emil, Duke of Westerfold, and the Knights of Angermar, the kingdom has gone through a radical change. With the death of the old king, by mysterious circumstances, and the collapse of the Cabal of Pure Thought, a vacuum was left in the realm's power structure. This was rapidly filled by the Duke of Westerfold and his party, and Livonia has now become a part of the Enlightened Alliance, a.k.a. the Northern League.

The Knights of Angermar's goal has long been to bring back the Old Gods, especially the deity worshipped as Bolgen. To this end, Magnus Emil and a cabal of Knights attempted to excavate the tomb of Bolgen during the winter of 1021-1022. When this was thwarted by a rivalling Arcane cabal, the Knights turned to a different approach. Using the collapse of the Cabal of Pure Thought, and the myriad of ill tidings from the outside world, they started a campaign of violent agitation that spread like wildfire across Livonia. The target of this campaign was the Men of Reason. The claim was that these people were actively seeking to end the world, and that only by bringing the Old Gods back could this be avoided. Almost over night, temples sprang up all over the kingdom.

It is still too early to say where this will lead, but at present, Livonian resources are vital to upholding the Alliance's war-efforts. Further, a Livonian army, more than 30,000 strong, led by the Duke of Westerfold, is campaigning deep in the Enlightened Skythian Empire. It is also said that somehow the Knights of Angermar have managed to bring Bolgen into Argos, and that they now plan to set him loose on the Erian battlefields.

The most recent event in Livonia is the destruction of the capital Valagard by a great explosion. It is believed that this is the same kind of catastrophe that hit Rederhafen only days before.

[Picture source: 1 own (see: Atlas, vol. I); 2 texturedJohn on Flikr; 3 Wikigallery]