Basil Zariyatam

[masterdaorin]

Speaking of Vos, does anyone want to offer where they think the most famous Vos of them all was born?

Rovninodensk, south, east... thoughts?

[Fizz]

Speaking of Vos, does anyone want to offer where they think the most famous Vos of them all was born?
Rovninodensk, south, east... thoughts?

I've always envisioned him coming from the far north, from an isolated particularly harsh region. My thinking is that for him to become tsarevic, he must have been strong and tough, and respected for both. But also important would be his ability to unite the tribes. I see him as being unaligned with any of the other tribes, perhaps even nearly an outsider, free of any feuds or loyalties that would have prevented tribes from uniting otherwise.

-Fizz

[Magnus Argent]

I've always envisioned him coming from the far north, from an isolated particularly harsh region. My thinking is that for him to become tsarevic, he must have been strong and tough, and respected for both. But also important would be his ability to unite the tribes. I see him as being unaligned with any of the other tribes, perhaps even nearly an outsider, free of any feuds or loyalties that would have prevented tribes from uniting otherwise.

-Fizz
In my version of Cerilia, Basil was born to one of the tribes of Molochev. When he was young, his family acquired a slave from a successful raid into Rheulgard. The slave was Nachteben (a priest of Ruornil) and, from him, Basil was introduced to the notion that prosperity was possible through unity.

Because he embraced this odd notion of unity, Basil was not well respected; in fact, he made his tribesmen uncomfortable. He opted to leave before the other members of his tribe ran him out. Subsequently, he spent years traveling and trading -- first in Khinasi, then in Brechtur.

When Basil caught wind of the creation of the League of Brechtur and their plans to invade Vosgaard, he returned to Vosgaard, intending to unite the tribes against this common enemy and forge them into a single, unified nation. Unfortunately, his dreams of unity were just that -- once the immediate threat of the Brecht League had been delt with, centuries of rivalries and blood feuds reasserted themselves and the Vos went back to squabbling amongst themselves.

But not everyone disagreed with him. Over the years, a growing number of Vos have come to share in his vision of unity. The traditional Vos call them "Nona".

The Nona Vos hold Basil in high regard, believing him to be a visionary, the progenitor of their social movement. None of them realize that the vision was originally a Nachteben slave's. And they certainly don't know that the Nachteben's capture had been the will of Lirovka -- his opening move in a divine battle to claim his rightful place as the patron deity of the Vos.

[Fizz]

In my version of Cerilia, Basil was .....

Very detailed stuff you have, much more detailed than my initial thoughts. Though to be fair he's not ever come up in my game. :)

-Fizz

[masterdaorin]

In my version of Cerilia, Basil was born to one of the tribes of Molochev. When he was young, his family acquired a slave from a successful raid into Rheulgard. The slave was Nachteben (a priest of Ruornil) and, from him, Basil was introduced to the notion that prosperity was possible through unity.

Because he embraced this odd notion of unity, Basil was not well respected; in fact, he made his tribesmen uncomfortable. He opted to leave before the other members of his tribe ran him out. Subsequently, he spent years traveling and trading -- first in Khinasi, then in Brechtur.

...

Very intriguing. I like it.

I do favor the southern lands as his birthplace idea, but this could present several problems...

1) Rovninodensk seems to be the de facto "center" of Vosgaard...
2) Lake Ladan is next to it... and that's the battle he is famous for...
3) The Vos invaded the land of what is now Rzhlev from there...*
4) There is a huge goblin realm in the way of the southern Vos uniting with the northern Vos...

As an aside, I think I prefer Molochev as his birthplace, since I've always viewed the Molochevians as something of the black sheep of the Vosgaard tribes... they seem to be alone from the others, as it were, and thus it seems like a natural place for one such as Basil to hail from.

But for those four problems above... Of course, they aren't big problems, but still... anyone wanna play devil's advocate and convince me that Molochev is the right place...?

*Or, this possibly could be from Molochev, as well...

[masterdaorin]

Another intriguing option is the land of what is now the Manticore's Domain...

That does seem to be (or once was, at any rate) the "spiritual" center of Vosgaard...

[masterdaorin]

I've always envisioned him coming from the far north, from an isolated particularly harsh region. My thinking is that for him to become tsarevic, he must have been strong and tough, and respected for both. But also important would be his ability to unite the tribes. I see him as being unaligned with any of the other tribes, perhaps even nearly an outsider, free of any feuds or loyalties that would have prevented tribes from uniting otherwise.

-Fizz

This explanation would favor Rovninodensk as being where he came to power, I should think...

This has merit, as well...

[masterdaorin]

And, finally, my other thought is that he came from Ust Atka...

That seems to me to be central to most of the other Vos realms, and thus an ideal place for him to come to power...

[Magnus Argent]

Very intriguing. I like it.

I do favor the southern lands as his birthplace idea, but this could present several problems...

1) Rovninodensk seems to be the de facto "center" of Vosgaard...
2) Lake Ladan is next to it... and that's the battle he is famous for...
3) The Vos invaded the land of what is now Rzhlev from there...*
4) There is a huge goblin realm in the way of the southern Vos uniting with the northern Vos...

But for those four problems above... Of course, they aren't big problems, but still... anyone wanna play devil's advocate and convince me that Molochev is the right place...

*Or, this possibly could be from Molochev, as well...

I don't see 1 or two as being problematic, 3 isn't wholly accurate.. Rzhlev was technically invaded by Vos armies chasing after the routed Brecht League forces via Kal Kalthor. And 4. was part of Basil's strategy. The Vos of Molochev "retreated' in order to lure the Brechts further into Vosgaard. The goblin nation is largely underground. The Vos riled up the goblins as they 'gave ground' to the Brechts, forcing the Brechts to play a deadly game of whack-a-goblin.

[masterdaorin]

...3 isn't wholly accurate.. Rzhlev was technically invaded by Vos armies chasing after the routed Brecht League forces via Kal Kalthor...

That's not wholly accurate, either. The Vos scattered the Brecht forces in several different directions, through Kal Kalathor, and through the Mistmoor as well.

Presumably Berhagen was invaded by the Vos chasing the Brecht who went south, and they chased the other Brecht forces over the Mistmoor into Grevesmuhl and the realm of what is now called Rzhlev.

[masterdaorin]

This is why I would like to nail down Basil's location... It seems clear that after he came to power, he was based out of Rovninodensk...

[Magnus Argent]

That's not wholly accurate, either. The Vos scattered the Brecht forces in several different directions, through Kal Kalathor, and through the Mistmoor as well.

Presumably Berhagen was invaded by the Vos chasing the Brecht who went south, and they chased the other Brecht forces over the Mistmoor into Grevesmuhl and the realm of what is now called Rzhlev.

We presume differently but that's not really relevant to this particular topic. I still fail to see how the events at Lake Ladan provide any clues as to Basil Zariyatam's place of birth?

You said there were 4 problems (not insurmountable) with the notion that Basil was from Molovchev.. but everything on that list was either random and unrelated or inaccurate, as far as I can tell. And you keep veering to Rovninodensk but I don't see why. Can you connect the dots for me? Because clearly you're seeing something that I'm overlooking.

[Magnus Argent]

This is why I would like to nail down Basil's location... It seems clear that after he came to power, he was based out of Rovninodensk...

There's no definitive answer to your question. All we can do is speculate based on what limited information we have.

The Battle of Lake Ladan is a historical event. Is there a specific reason why you need to have this information? In situations where there simply is no right or wrong answer, I find it best to concentrate on figuring out the "right" answer for you. For me, the right answer was that Basil is from Molochev because it fits best with my the backstory for my campaign.

[masterdaorin]

You said there were 4 problems (not insurmountable) with the notion that Basil was from Molovchev.. but everything on that list was either random and unrelated or inaccurate, as far as I can tell. And you keep veering to Rovninodensk but I don't see why. Can you connect the dots for me? Because clearly you're seeing something that I'm overlooking.

Vosgaard and its people is an area of Cerilia that is not well defined.

I don't really need to have the information; it's just something I've been curious about, and it's fun to speculate.

That doesn't mean we can't come to some sort of definitive answer, either. I would like us to try...

I did say I prefer Molochev. But the only clear locational data we have of him comes from the Battle of Lake Ladan. While it is not definitive, it's the only clue we have... and that lake is near Rovninodensk. Does this actually mean something?

Would he have come to power there? Did he sacrifice his own realm/power base (i.e. Molochev) to convince the other Vos warlords to ally with him? Was he actually a ruler or regent, or was he just a power figure behind the throne?

Inquiring minds would like to know. :D