The Kingdom

The Kingdom has now withered and died. The idea was very, very good. A game of thrones inspired accumulation of the entire Graal Military Community would have seemed like a crazy idea to me if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. It actually happened. The entire community was involved in the system. However, there were significant issues. For one, all the houses aside from House Regium were very weak, and there weren't nearly enough officers to support the large scale of the system. It had it’s moments, sure, one being the Crawford revolt after Vulnus was crowned the King. Crawford rebelled, and all the other houses rallied behind House Regium and destroyed them. A twelve hour battle was ended in 25 minutes, with Crawford agreeing to return to the system, and being given the territory of Deadwood. As much as I wanted it to, this system was never going to work. There are a few big factors to this. Auel created his house with the expectation that he would win the King election. After the election, not wanting to manage his house as opposed to be the King, he went inactive. As mentioned before, the guilds were weak and short-staffed. The King election itself contributed to its failure. All the confusion and disagreement caused a lot of infighting, but I will admit, seeing all those people in the castle was cool as fuck. All in all, good idea, and poor execution. However, the system did prove something important: Community unification is possible! Now can we replicate it? - Article from Xiao's Blog, by Roanoke Han

The Kingdom, formally the Kingdom of Graal, was a prominent and monumental project of the Graal Military Community, inspired by the HBO series, Game of Thrones. While problematic, the Kingdom showed potential for a unified community, and served as a renaissance for military graphics. The guild was conceptualized by Auel Vist and Vulnus Regium, but Sherlock assisted in bringing it to life. The Kingdom's purpose was to unify the military community and return it to its traditional values.

History

In a meeting between Auel, Vulnus, and Sherlock, a system was formulated to support a sizable guild that would unite the community under a single banner. Vulnus later drafted and archived the plans for future use.

When their plans were put into effect, the Kingdom unified every military guild in existence into one common cause. There were numerous great houses, each led by their respective family. Subservient houses flocked under the great houses, which typically had guilds starting with "Knights of." All houses had claims to land, as well as the right to compete for territories against other houses.

Initially, the Kingdom system had no chosen leader, until elections for a High King were hosted and coordinated by Roanoke Han, also known as Xiaoguard. Unbeknownst to Auel Vist, Vulnus won the elections and was crowned High King. Opposed to being the King, Auel went inactive, and with him, House Vist fell dormant.

House Crawford would later secede from the Kingdom system and incite the Crawford Rebellion, challenging The Royal Army (the joint forces of the Kingdom and its houses). High King Vulnus called upon and rallied the collective houses, mustering what was arguably one of the largest armies in the history of the military community. The two sides clashed in combat for less than an hour, until the leader of House Crawford was forced to swear fealty to the High King before the eyes of the Kingdom.

In due time, Auel Vulnus stepped down and abdicated the throne to Auel Vist. This action did not sit well with the other houses and caused major unrest, eventually leading to the demise of the Kingdom.

Knighthood

Knights are the primer fighting force of the Kingdom. They are sworn to fight for and protect their Lord. To become Knight, one must display the attributes of a Knight, someone who is level-headed, intelligent, respectable, and talented warrior. One can only become a Knight after training under a Knight as a Squire, then being Knighted by the Lord of their Hold in a formal ceremony. This ceremony signifies the transition of being a warrior within a Banner to a respected Officer within a Hold.

Structure

The Kingdom is an immensely large guild structure, so large in fact, that the rest of Graal has never seen anything quite like it. The Kingdom is ruled over by the King and the royal family, who rule the Kingdom from their guild, The Royal Family.

The royal family has direct control over two other guilds which are allied to it. These guilds are the royal guards divisions. The royal family also has some dominion over other great houses. These great houses in turn have dominion over regions of Graal known as holds. These great houses have control over minor houses, which make up most of the great houses’ armies. Each great house can have three minor houses to rule over. The major houses also have a guild of knights at their disposal to protect their holds.

Minor Houses are filled with two types of people, house members and bannermen. House members are official members of the family, which are allowed to have a small fief of land to control within their Lord’s domain. Bannermen are those that serve as the guards and soldiers for the house. They can be anything from Knights to new recruits. What makes a bannerman a bannerman is that they serve under their Liege-Lord and their Liege-Lord’s family.

Knights serve under the direct authority of their Lord. They are among most highly skilled and respected members of their hold. They train constantly so they can go out and protect the realm and their respective hold.

Great Houses

• House Regium - Auel Vulnus
• House Vist - Auel Vist
• House Mako - Constantine Vasa

Minor Houses

• House Avalor (Overlord House: Regium) - Sol Fessler
• House Vaiken (Overlord House: Vist) - Tyrell Vaiken
• House Mustang (Overlord House: Regium) - Donald Rhodes
• House Rakai (Overlord House: Vist) - Xzavier Rakai
• House Midas (Overlord House: Mako) - Lasha Midas

Unrecognized Houses

Houses that were not Great Houses or tied to them as Minor Houses were known as Unrecognized Houses. These houses followed the same structure and rules of the other houses, and were often seeking a Great House to align with.

• House Crawford - Germain Crawford
• House Valeria - Achilles Heracles
• House Wolfbane - Dragimere Wolfbane
• House Camelot - Dean Valeria
• House Vatras - Praecursator Vatras

Gallery