The Second Middle Age
In the Second Middle Age of the Hodl, a large and prosperous human civilization came under rule by a King and his 6 Councilors. The origins of this King, known simply as King Tusk, are clouded in mystery. King Tusk, using circumstance and his political wit, ruthlessly took control of large swathes of the Realm of Hodl. He took advantage of the savage conflict that had broken out between the Bears and Apes over the resources of the Realm’s woodlands. Through false treaties and hollow promises, King Tusk enticed the once noble Bears to join his forces in creating a new Empire to span the entirety of the Hodl. Only the distant Seal Villages upon the Open Sea and the remote Penguin enclaves in the South were free from the power of the throne.
Once the Kingdom of the Apes had fallen, the King turned inward to domestic affairs. He became a tyrant who ruled with an iron fist, uniting the Empire only through fear of slavery or death. He sought complete control over the Empire’s flourishing economy. A fraudulent system was devised by the Royal Court in which all the Empire’s subjects were forced to store their wealth in state-controlled vaults. Once completed, King Tusk had absolute control of the Empire’s collected wealth, selfishly siphoning half of all deposits under the guise of taxation to maintain his now massive army. When questioned by his subjects, the King claimed that these ‘taxes’ were a necessary fee to ensure the peace and prosperity of the Empire. At the expense of the masses, the King and his Councilors’ fortune grew day by day. As the gap between the rich and the poor continued to widen, poverty became commonplace. The time for change was nigh however King Tusk resided safely behind the high walls of the Royal Palace, refusing to acknowledge the chaos erupting throughout the countryside.
There were those, however, who decided no longer would they live under the tyranny of the King. Those who believed that technology and progress belonged to the people arose to challenge the power of the throne. Their movement was called the Guild.
The Guild was formed by the Arch-mage Sashimi Macchiato. He was joined by five Ancient Masters, and together they began to devise a weapon to overthrow King Tusk and his Councilors. The weapon came in the form of a completely decentralized system capable of possessing the knowledge of all those connected. It was called Bitcoin. Sashimi and the five Masters reveled in their accomplishment, assured they had crafted the very means to undo King Tusk. However, a young Arch-mage in training, Vitalis warned that such a weapon must be kept hidden lest the King discover their motives. He begged Sashimi and the other Ancient Masters to conceal their newly created weapon until the proper time. Sashimi did not heed Vitalis’s pleas as he believed that Bitcoin was a force even the King himself could not control. The time, Sashimi claimed, had come.
Word of the Guild and their plans travelled quickly. King Tusk demanded for the technology to be handed over to the Council. Any who were caught in connection with the Guild were subject to immediate death or a lifetime of hard labor in the furthest reaches of the Empire. Sashimi and the five Ancient Masters were hunted and soon vanished altogether to the edges of the Realm. Young Arch-mage Vitalis was not seen again. All was thought to be lost.
Last modified 8mo ago
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