Amazon Apocalypse 6 Worldbuilding: Kingdoms of Camlaan

Hey guys. I'm doing some worldbuilding for the next book. This is a minor faction.

Origin Myth of Camlaan:

In the beginning, Camlaan was beautiful. The world was a paradise, selected from a million candidates. And it would be home to a colony of peaceful people fleeing the chaos of their homeland in the distant stars. Far from home, then set down roots and abandoned the ways of machines, gods, and kings for a simple life among the fields.

United by common cause, they sought to build a paradise like the one they had lost. But even far from home, war still found them.

The magic they relied on to sustain their way of life was severed. Their technology destroyed. Bereft of their way of life, they fell to barbarism. Generations passed, and the young forgot the ways of their ancestors. A people who once bestrode the stars struggled to even save their crops from floods.

But not all their ancestors were dead. Among them was one mightier than all the others. He was known as the warrior, though in his long years of life he had tired of war, and his wounds burned him down to the very soul. He had built a farm for himself the same as all the rest, where he planned to live out his centuries in peace.

The sages came to him when their great arc burned.

"Save us, oh warrior! Only your strength can restore order."

But the warrior refused, and the great arc burned.

A generation later, when darkness plagued the land, the sages came to him again.

"Protect us, oh warrior! Only your strength can slay the fiends that plague the realm."

But the warrior refused, and the world saw only blood.

A generation later, when a tyrant rose up and claimed all the land as his own. All became his slaves, to feed his lust for power.

The sages came to the warrior again.

"Lead us, oh warrior! Only your wisdom can protect the land."

At last, the warrior put down his plow and hoisted it from the soil. Dirt fell from the weapon's length, revealing its true form. Even at peace, the warrior could never bring himself to let his sword fall from his hands.

"My wounds are great," the warrior said. "This I can do for you, but then no more. You must make your own way."

And so the warrior raised his arm high, and with one swing, the tyrant and all his armies were slain. From the ashes, the warrior gathered the people and told them how to live.

"I speak these words so all might remember them. I have slain a tyrant and returned your kingdom to you. It is up to you to keep it. The cycle calls to me," the warrior said.

"But what if another tyrant comes? Who will answer if not you? We need you still, warrior!" said the chief among the sages.

"And come I shall, not in this life, but the next. Keep well these lands, but when you need me most, I shall return," the warrior said.

"How will we know you?" the chief of the sages asked.

"You will know me by my sword," the warrior replied. And with those words he let go of his trusty weapon for the first time in a thousand years. It sank to the hilt in the stone at his feet, and though many tried to draw it, none could budge it.

Not long after, the warrior succumbed to his wounds, and his body was entombed within a mound at the heart of his kingdom. The sages built a shrine around the great mound and declared his grave holiest of all holy places. And all of Camlaan knew the hero who saved them once would return when they needed him most.

Knights of Camlaan:

There are many knighthoods spread across the various kingdoms of Camlaan, each of which takes after a different martial tradition traced back to the Warrior, who all knights claim discipleship from. To them, the Warrior is patron, teacher, and father figure.

Through him, they learned chivalry, honor, loyalty, and justice. By all respects, any true knight of Camlaan is a hero to the people, though there are always exceptions.

One order in particular is the Order of the Broken Shield. The lesser members of their knighthood are as noble as many others, but nearer to the top, corruption has set in.

In the event of a dramatic upheaval in their society, these knighthoods would be well positioned to battle monsters and restore security and safety to the surrounding settlements and countryside.

Nobility of Camlaan:

Camlaan is ruled by a decentralized nobility. While many nobles are members of a knighthood, not all of them are. Those that are not typically have much greater moral freedom.

A dramatic upheaval in their society might cause some of these nobles to turn more ruthless out of desperation to retain their power and station.

Wandering Wizards:

These mysterious magic casters have a long history of bringing both wisdom and fortune wherever they go. Most appear as humble bearded old men in robes, but not even a knight would dare cross them. These wizards wield the magic of the sages, passed down from an age long lost to time. Wizards have been witnessed conjuring fire from air, weaving barriers of light, and manifesting other miracles impossible to describe.

During a dramatic upheaval of their society, these wandering wizards might have access to special classes and abilities that would be difficult to obtain otherwise.

The Sages of Camlaan:

Following the death of the warrior, the Sages of Camlaan reorganized his army into a new kingdom, with the dead warrior as its eternal king. A succession of stewards would rule Camlaan, but none would reign as king, for that role could only lie with the warrior who gave his life twice over to free them from chaos and tyranny.

Meanwhile, the Sages of Camlaan would hoard what magic and knowledge remained, passed down to them by their ancestors from beyond the stars. They proclaimed that one day, a great change would overtake the world, and their powers would be needed more than ever.

Now, the descendents of these ancient sages gather in distant conclaves, practicing their magical arts and sharing their secret and precious histories. They guide the world of Camlaan from the shadows, for the most part. But every so often, one of their number finds themselves at odds with the others and travels the world as a wandering wizard.

Do the sages have their own agenda? And if the warrior returned, would they allow him to reclaim his rightful rule?

Order of the Broken Shield:

This group of knights are one of the oldest knighthoods on Camlaan and trace their traditions back to an artifact once wielded by the warrior himself. The shield was broken in a battle among the stars, and is said to still exist in one of the knighthood's vaults.

The Knights of the Broken Shield are the resident knighthood of the city of Tavalon. They are known for being helpful, particularly in times of distress.

However, Sir Argust, leader of the Order of the Broken Shield, has been seen leaving late at night to meet up with robed figures. Most knights believe their chapter master is merely embarking on an illicit romantic rendezvous, but others have darker suspicions.

City of Tavalon:

This city is one of the oldest and most established cities on Camlaan, and it is said that deep beneath the earth, one can still find the hull of the great ship that once carried the people of Camlaan to sanctuary across the sea of stars.

It is here that the Warrior's sword rests, and here where their once and future king will make his appearance.

Sir Argust, Chapter Master of the Order of the Broken Shield:

Leader of the Order of the Broken Shield. Some are suspicious of his chivalry due to unusual activity.

<Note>

Honestly, not sure how important this bit of worldbuilding is going to be, but it's backstory for one of the larger factions I want Carter to meet in book 6. You can think of them as the more classical fantasy world, filled with wizards, kingdoms, dragons, and a glorious, enlightened past that is connected to other powerful factions Carter is familiar with.

Naturally, the version that Carter will interact with will be a shattered remnant of the civilization described above, since they would have been just as destroyed by the integration as Earth was.

I'm debating how hard I will lean on some arthruian tropes for this one. If I am able to go into relative detail, I can get more original, but if I have limited page space I'll have to stick to things that readers can guess at from external cultural understanding. I'm playing this by ear.

I'm probably not going to explain any of this in text, so Amazon-only readers will have to pick this worldbuilding up from contextual clues. But this is basically the part of my notes on them that isn't spoiler-ish, so I figured I'd show you guys. There is more, but it would probably ruin some fun surprises, so I'm keeping that hidden.

Let me know if you guys want to see any more of this stuff, or if you're vote is to hurry up and start posting main content soon.