Abridged Backstory

For the Barons of Isselande game: a speech by King Erik Gustav Soren Sorensson, the first of his name, later named the Foresighted, just before the game begins.

Isse-Lande is troubled. The wars of Our succession were but the latest - there has been nothing but strife in this land for generations. The ground is ash beneath Our boots. To the east is desert, to the west is wilderness. We are impoverished.

And this peace will not last long - perhaps not even until Our son, the Prince Henrik Gustav Ibsen Kessler, gains the crown. The land is still filled with mercenaries, eagerly anticipating the plunder of another war, some turning to banditry as they wait. To the north lurks a subtle foe, the Crow King Galgamoth, who will stoop to anything to wreak Isselande's destruction. Even the Church is a threat to the peace - Bishop Matthias the Elder is a man of fierce convictions, and hungers to launch an inquisition against any who he feels threatens the word of the Timmaraque - even at the price of civil war.

And that is not the worst. We have had visions - dreams of prophesy. There is a scourge coming - vermin, of some kind, possessed of a terrible cunning and a greater malevolence. Whether man, beast, or worse, the vermin will pose a greater threat to Our son - and Isselande - than any other. We must prepare.

And that is why We appointed you. You are Our most trusted servants. It is in no little part due to your support that We gained the throne, and have held it this long. So it is that We reward you with new posts. You are now Barons of Isselande. It is your duty to your soverign to rebuild Isse-Lande - turn ash into fertile soil, desert and forests into gold mines. In the times to come, if Isse-Lande is not strong, it will be dragged into the depths. Fill your storerooms with well-earned lucre, and ensure that does not happen.

We will help as we can. The Crown, too, is weakened by the wars, as is all Isselande. But there is land that We can sell, services We may yet provide. Vow only this - to never practice treachery against Us, or war within this land. Do this, and Isselande may yet triumph.

Isselande today! Isselande tomorrow! Isselande forever.