Duke Magus Von Doom: Shield of the South (Uses Conditional Variables)

Author's Note: Perhaps foolishly, I've added conditional modifiers to the existing chapters. As such this story is now designed to be read after hitting the "Start Game" button.

The South of Itheria is a barren, and inhospitable place. While most of the country is flat plains home to fertile farmland and lush forest filled with game, a weeks' ride south of the capital and one would enter swamps, bogs, and marshes. Three days after that, and you would come upon rocky terrain that marks the start of the Frostpeak Mountains. Named for the permafrost upon their plateaus, the Frostpeaks stretch from "The Sea" in the west, all along Itheria's southern border to the east. Eventually, the mountains shift north and ease, forming rolling hills that extend nearly all the way to Phebis. But the southern wall forms a natural, nearly impassable, barrier between Itheria and its southern neighbors.

While the swamps that divide the south from the rest of the country are humid and muggy; the peaks, due to their elevation, are cold and home to Goblins, Dragons, and worse. The mountain range is also rich in precious gems. As a result, the Frostpeaks attract massive mining, and make up a disproportionate amount of Itheria's mineral wealth. Because of this, the humans who inhabit the south are plagued by goblin raiders and an occasional dragon attack; as such, they have adopted a "warrior" mentality and make up the elite of Itheria's military might. Unfortunately, the inhospitable nature of the south means their numbers are relatively small. It is said that one Frost Knight is worth five from the capital, but they're wrong.

A Frost Knight is worth more.

At the start of the Frostpeaks in the west, jutting out of the sea like a spear is "The White Spire". Over three times the height of the next highest mountain in all of Motania, the Spire dominates the landscape for miles. It is said that on a clear day one could see the Spire from the top of the Crags, but that is an exaggeration... mostly. The seat of power in the south rests in the colossal Fortress Von Doom, which is built at the base of, and into, the White Spire. Over the centuries it has been attacked numerous times, by bandits, raiders, goblins, dragons, and foreigners but it has never fallen, earning it the reputation of being "Unassailable". The constant raids have instead turned it into the largest fortification, outside of the capital, in all of Itheria. It is here that your family has made its home for generations.

Today you sit: Duke Magus Von Doom, Shield of the South, student of the Coven, and cousin to the King... three generations removed.

Your great-great-great grandfather, Lord Yanos Von Doom engineered a stunning political maneuver when he married his son to the King's daughter. For more than a century this was seen as nothing more than a cementing of an alliance between two powerful houses in Itheria. However, according to bloodlines you are technically, weak though your claim may be, next in line for the throne.

Your father, Duke Uthic Von Doom, served both his king and lands loyally for thirty years. As his only son, you were raised in the traditional arts of both warfare and diplomacy for most of your early life. Then, when you were ten years old, you displayed a most unfortunate gift for a noble: magic. The Duke, following custom, sent you to the Coven of Magi to be trained as a sorcerer. Tradition dictated that an individual who could wield the arcane, abdicate their titles; this would have been expected of you, had you a sibling. Instead, your father managed some crafty political savvy and insured that you would only remain his legitimate heir until the Duke had another child. A child that never came.

Then, just before your twentieth birthday, you received word that your father had been slain.

Goblin raids, always frequent, died down before picking up into a massive push against the town of Riverain, a settlement along one of the more secured routes through the marshlands. Your father led a of Frost Knights against them, and though the battle was won, your father was killed. Immediately, despite the protests of the Coven over your incomplete instruction, you were recalled to the Spire to be appointed the new Duke. The first year of your reign was rocky, as you were no longer expected to be the next Duke, your training in such matters had fallen by the wayside. Thus you had to be reeducated in matters of politics and war; a task compounded in difficulty as the Coven insisted your magical tutelage be continued. As such your court is busier than any at the Spire in over a millennia, and rivals even the King's own, with advisers, councilors, generals, mages, and priests.

It has not all been instruction however, twice Goblin raids have become so pressing that you've been to take the field. Though victorious, your rapid adaptation and rise has caused many throughout Itheria to look upon you with concern. Many wonder what kind of Duke you will be, and many more fear what someone with so much power and only one step away from the throne will do...