HISTORY
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HISTORY |
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This page is divided into the following sections:
Click on the section names to return to the top of the page. People | Geography | Powers | Other Things BEFORE THE FORESTThe city of Moscow was founded by Ivan, son of Tsar Ferapont of the Courts of Kiev. This is an ancient place far away from where Moscow now stands [the Courts of Chaos-equivalent]. The Courts of Kiev were all there was of land in those ancient days, standing between the endless Misty Marsh that was all there was of the land, and the endless Sea. Only occasional lakes and rises broke the Misty Marsh. [All of these were fixed points, the equivalent of the ancient pre-Pattern shadows of the Amber universe; the Sea is the equivalent of the Abyss] The Feraponts, even then, were known for their skills in agronomy, gardening and horticulture, enhanced with the powers of Magic and Miracles. A loyal son of the Tsar, Ivan, along with his older brothers Dmitriy and Vasiliy, worked hard for the good of the Feraponts and was considered the most inventive and creative of the family for generations. As such he was as horrified as the rest of his family when something began stealing a few golden apples each night from the trees in the magnificent and supposedly inviolate private orchard of the Feraponts. None of the guards were able to track the culprit. Tsar Ferapont stopped eating and drinking, and he became listless. He asked his three sons to solve this problem. They all volunteered to lay in wait for the intruder. Dmitriy, the oldest, stood watch the first night, but fell asleep and more apples were taken. The next night, Vasiliy, the next oldest son tried but he, too, fell asleep, and yet more apples were taken. Lastly Ivan kept watch. He stayed awake, and in doing so saw a magnificent two-headed Firebird come down, lighting up the whole orchard with its light, and begin to eat of the Ferapont's apples. Ivan sneaked up and grabbed it by the tail, but the bird managed to get away, leaving Ivan with only a tail feather, so luminescent that if brought into a dark room, it lit it as if illuminated by the setting sun. Ivan used the feather as part of the evidence he presented to the family about what was raiding their garden. Dmitriy and Vasiliy were very envious of Ivan for what he had done. Although the Firebird did not return, Tsar Ferapont was very impressed by its feather, and began to eat and drink again. He sent his three sons out to find the bird and bring it back alive so that it might grace the garden of the Feraponts forever. They vowed to do this. Ivan and his brothers went off hunting the Firebird. His two older brothers, Dmitriy and Vasiliy, travelling together took an easier route to the east along the coast. Ivan took the harder route, directly inland into the Misty Marsh. As far as anyone knows, the Feraponts still have the feather of the Firebird that was taken so long ago. Ivan travelled on horseback across the realms of the Courts of Kiev for as long and as far as he could, following tales of the Firebird. They always led him north. When he could ride no further he took to the waters of the Misty Marsh, and punted onwards, the punt being the only vessel capable of negotiating the Misty Marsh, ever north. Eventually Ivan caught up with Firebird. While hunting a large marsh salamander for food he saw it, two-headed, come down and carry off the salamander. Following it as fast as he could, he saw the Firebird land behind the walls of a Kremlin built on a low hill by a wide slow river running through the marsh. THE KREMLIN OF KOSCHEI THE UNDYINGHe approached the gates of the Kremlin, and spoke to the guards inside, but was not admitted, and had to go back into the marsh. He did find out that the name of the Kremlin, or the place where it stood, was Moscow. In the night he had a dream - a vision - of a great city based around the Kremlin. A city of tents, spires and golden domes such as he had never seen. He woke the next morning resolved to build that great city on the hill. As such he decided that he must get into the Kremlin, as the city was clearly centred on it. But despite his best efforts he could not convince the guards to let him in. He hunted around the walls of the Kremlin for days, until he found a place where he could climb the walls and see inside. Beyond was a garden, where the firebird sat perched with twelve women, obviously princesses, each one more beautiful than the last. Equally obviously they were all prisoners in the Kremlin. When he saw the last and loveliest of the princesses he instantly fell madly in love with her, and vowed to go to her, and free her, regardless of the cost. Summoning all of his power, and perhaps aided by the power of the Firebird, Ivan threw down the gates of the Kremlin and made his way inside, fighting all the while. Although injured, he found the women, and his love, Elena Prekracnaya (the beautiful). Injured, he nonetheless confronted the ruler of the Kremlin, Kosechi the Undying, who did not wish him to free the princesses, and they fought. It was a mighty struggle, but one it seemed that Ivan was destined to lose. Koschei's powers made him impossible to kill. But as the fight raged around and through the Kremlin, Ivan was helped by the Firebird and by Elena, who had fallen in love with him, too. With their help, Ivan was able to find the place where Koschei had hidden his life, and despite Koschei's best efforts, take possession of it. Defeated, Koschei traded with Ivan. Ivan returned his life to him in return for Koschei's power and knowledge. With the power transferred, he let Koschei, now much reduced in power, leave. He went out into the marsh, never to be seen again. THE CREATION OF THE FORESTAs Ivan settled in to the Kremlin and his life with Elena, he saw that he could make something new and good out of the Marsh, using the power he had inherited from Koschei. Rather than hiding his life somewhere as Koschei did, he could spread it over all the world, making himself un-killable that way and at the same time remaking the world into something new and better. He took what Koschei had gifted and taught to him, ingredients from Koschei's magical gardens, and his own skills, helped by the miraculous power of the Firebird, and made a Seed into which he incorporated his life. The seed of a new world. Planting the seed in a secret, hidden garden deep within Koschei's Kremlin, it began to grow rapidly. Out of it grew the trees of the Maze [the Pattern-equivalent], filling the garden within the Kremlin. Then the roots of Ivan's seed spread out and off, far and wide. As they did so, the Forest also grew and spread out and away across the Misty Marsh, replacing it with the Forest. The Bear Tsar, the Grey Wolf, Baba Yaga and so on appeared with the Forest at this time, perhaps out of the unconscious of Ivan himself, or perhaps not. And only Ivan could comprehend the Forest - which was, largely, himself - enough to be able to successfully navigate it. This was some twelve hundred years ago. AFTER THE FORESTWhen he had established himself in the Kremlin, Ivan returned to Kiev with the Firebird and Elena. However, as they neared Kiev they were ambushed by Ivan's older brothers Dmitriy and Vasiliy, who killed him and took both the Firebird and Elena. However, unbeknownst to them, Ivan's life was now elsewhere, spread through all of the Forest, and so he could not be permanently killed. As such, after a time he revived, and came to Kiev where he rescued both Elena and the Firebird from his brothers, who had presented them both to their father as the fruits of their search. However, his accusations were disbelieved, and his powers marked him as alien, while his creation of the Forest made him shunned by the Courts of Kiev for changing things so much without consideration or respect for the other people of Kiev. Thus he was exiled. And thus he, Elena and the Firebird unhappily returned to the Kremlin of Moscow. THE BUILDING OF MOSCOWWith the blessing of the Firebird, Ivan married Elena and adopted the Firebird as the symbol of his new realm of Moscow. He explored his new realm and found inhabitants in many of the clearings in the Forest. He and persuaded some of them to come to Moscow and join the inhabitants of the Kremlin in building the City of the dreams of Ivan the Elder. The other eleven women who were present in Koschei's castle (Adaliunda, Chekhinia, Eupraksiia, Gaianiia, Kogorshed, Konstantiia, Liubava, Milava, Pansemna, Siuiun-Beka and Vakhtina) married some of the men he brought in, and they formed the first generation of the Boyars of Moscow, and the first Boyar families. Eventually he and Elena had a son, who they also named Ivan. It quickly became clear that young Ivan, being of the blood of the man who had created the Forest, was also able to comprehend its secrets. As such he navigated the Maze of Trees, and became able to wander the Forest as he willed. Ivan the Younger also explored in the Forest, and brought in more people to help Moscow grow. He learned many powers, and although he could not hide is life in the entire world as his father had, hid it somewhere very secret. However, he did not get on with his father perfectly, and they frequently argued about the best way forward for Moscow. THE DEATH OF ELENANever having wanted to hide her life as Kosechi and after him both Ivans had done, Elena Prekracnaya eventually died of old age. The older Ivan became lost in grief. With his grief making him less able to run the place, it began to adversely affect Moscow as a whole. When it became clear that Ivan the Elder was not getting over his grief, the Ivan the Younger overthrew him, 'for the good of Moscow'. He deposed and imprisoned his father, but with his life being spread through all of the Forest, it could not be destroyed, despite Ivan's best efforts. And so Ivan I lived on. He is, apparently, imprisoned, but no-one other than Ivan II knows where... SINCE THE ASCENSION OF IVAN IIThe Firebird has been seen in Moscow far less often since the overthrowing of Ivan I. Ivan II has also been out of Moscow far less since then. This has led to rumours that the Forest, being an extension of his father, is now hostile towards him because of what he did. These rumours remain unconfirmed, and are spoken in whispers... Ivan II imported more people as trade routes and the population of Moscow expanded. Thus the city of Moscow expanded, and new districts were built. He took a wife from the Boyars, Evdokia Vyshetavitch Vakhtina and had three sons, Yaroslav, Yuri and Nicholas, with her. Like Elena, Evdokia aged and, eventually, died. When he was mourning the death of Evdokia, two of his three sons, Yuri and Nicholas, attempted to remove him from the throne. However, Ivan II was less distracted by grief than Ivan I had been when he was removed from the throne, and this attempt failed. The two Princes were brutally executed. EXPLORATIONAs time passed, Ivan II took more wives and lovers, and had more children, all of whom successfully navigated the Maze of Trees and thus became able to explore the Forest. This they did, establishing contact with peoples and realms spread far and wide through the Forest, and along the rivers that ran through it. Ivan IIs children Grigori, Andrei, Anastasia, Ilyana, Daniil and Aleksey were all born during this time. THE WAR OF FILTHThe Underwater Realm lived in harmony with Koschei the Undying, and this harmony continued with Ivan I when he first began to build Moscow. However, as the city grew in size, the pollution caused by so many people in one place caused serious problems in the Underwater Realm. However, Ivan II and the Boyars of Moscow dismissed these problems as irrelevant. So the Water Tsarina declared war. With the control of the River exercised by her and her minions, the Underwater Realm was easily able to fight the Muscovites on an even footing. And the War of Filth dragged on. Eventually Ivan II sued for peace. As such, Moscow was somewhat rebuilt, and ever since has had far better sewerage treatment facilities than the rest of the city might indicate. THE FORMATION OF THE RUSAs the contacts between Moscow and the other realms of the Forest became more extensive, treaties of both defence and trade were signed between them. Eventually some of these treaties evolved into alliances, and then into those states joining with Moscow to become part of Moscow. Sometimes this was done voluntarily, but sometimes it was not. As the numbers of realms that were part of Moscow grew, they became a greater realm in their own right, one that became known as the Rus. As part of the formation of the Rus, piracy such as that of the Ushkuiniks was suppressed or eliminated along much of the Moscow River and its tributaries. Long after the War of Filth, Ivan courted the Water Tsarina in an attempt to cement closer relations between their two realms. Although this was not entirely successful, a daughter, Irina, was the result of their liaison. Ivan IIs other children Emelian, Avvakum, Ekaterina and Vladislav were all also born during this time. THE MONGOL INVASIONSome four hundred years ago a powerful force known as the Mongols emerged from far off in the Forest, invading and taking control of more and more of the clearings there. They possessed a power, the Unity, that let them and their horses, dogs and so on act as One when in battle (although they are still entirely individuals the rest of the time) and which, in so doing, also made them much harder to kill. Their symbol was the ant, with its strength in unity. The Mongols proved to stronger than Moscow, and after a number of bloody battles, with several clearings being razed, Ivan II was forced to surrender or watch all of Moscow and the Rus be utterly destroyed. It was during this time that a number of rumours of towns having escaped the Mongols by mystical means and vanished from the Rus begin to circulate. In particular rumours of the town of Kitezh which escaped the Mongols by sumerging itself in the lake on whose shores it lay remain in wide circulation to this day [for more possibilities on this see here]. For more than a hundred years the Mongols ruled Moscow, with Ivan II as their instrument. Princesses Ludmilla and Natalya were born during this time. Ivan's children Emelian, Ekaterina and Vladislav died during the Occupation period while leading abortive uprisings against the Mongols. One of his two youngest daughters, Ludmilla, was taken to be a wife of the Mongol Khan and has never been seen again, despite later efforts to find her by the Family. Before the Mongol invasion Ivan was reasonably level-headed. However, the traumas of all of this made him much less tolerant and more mad than he was... Under a pretence of collaboration, Ivan II learned about their Unity and slowly turned the Mongols against one another until the One-ness of the entire Mongol nation was broken. As the various Mongol factions fought amongst themselves, Moscow was able to make itself free, and take over many of the lands formerly ruled by the Mongols. The former Mongol realm now forms the basis of the Oprichnina. Also, people who were formerly Mongols inhabit many clearings in the Forest. The Tatars and many Cossacks are also descended from the Mongols. SINCE THE MONGOLSFrom time to time over the years Ivan's suspicions have been aroused about various Family members, thinking that they are conspiring against him in one way or another. Many of them have been interrogated, or even tortured about these alleged conspiracies. Other than in the tragic case of Daniil, they have so far all escaped this escalating to a fatal level. The Rus has been rebuilt since the end of the Mongol Occupation, with more central control and military presence than before, as well as more expeditions to curb resurgent piracy and other forms of organised resistance to the power of Moscow. Princes Feodor, Konstantin and Pyotr were all born during this time. STENKA RAZINSome one hundred years ago, Moscow attempted to extend its control over many of the Cossack people out in the Forest, and to levy taxes and conscription upon them. Many peasants from other areas hoping to escape their tax burdens also fled and joined the bands of marauding Cossacks. Stenka Razin rose up as a Cossack leader who united many of the Cossacks against Moscow and Tsar Ivan II, wanting to remove the Tsar and deliver freedom to the poor. He formed a huge army of Cossacks and with them advanced up the River towards Moscow, joined en route by many others who were disaffected with the Muscovite government. Unfortunately for him, the forces of Moscow were better trained, organised and led, and in a major battle in Simbirsk they were routed. Stenka Razin was captured and taken to Moscow in chains, where he was tortured and executed. Despite this, his legend continues among many of the more oppressed people of the Rus, who whisper that he will one day return in the hour of their greatest need... THE CURRENT AGEIvan II rules over a peaceful Moscow and a peaceful Rus. However, he is arbitrary and dictatorial, doing his best to break the power of the old Boyar families while promoting his own service nobles in their place. His youngest child, Prince Filaret, was born during this age. And all the while rumours of atrocities come from the Oprichnina... |