The Bladeforge (comments)

[HuManBing]

This story is the result of several meticulously considered posts in the main forum about Vlad Drakov and the scant backstory to his character. Inspired by several excellent suggestions, I decided to try my hand at writing a history for him.

The main complaint about Drakov is that he does not appear to have any justification for his cruelty, his technophobia, his racist attitudes towards demihumans, and his gender discrimination against women. Furthermore, several of his quirks as ruler appear to be illogical and irrational - almost to the point of being just plain inept.

I hope to give some creative justification for these quirks by detailing the childhood he had on Taladas (the "Far Side" of Krynn, world of Dragonlance) and the formative events that occurred in Ravenloft after his arrival.

I have the "Time of the Dragon" boxed set for Dragonlance, which details Taladas. Everything else is either taken from Dragonlance nexus (a premier fansite) or my own noncanonical creation.



List of characters
* Asterisks denote a canonical character or place from TSR or WotC sources.
† Obelisks denote a character or place from the Dragonlance nexus fansite.

Forg village:† a village with a valuable iron mine and forge for making steel. Unique to the Taladas setting of the story, children in Forg appear to be named after their mothers - possibly because marriage is relatively rare. (A nod to Jean de Florette, by Marcel Pagnol.)

Bela-jir (also called Cob, Ah-Cob, the Captain, and Hawk) - the antihero of the story. He will one day become Vlad Drakov, a cruel warlord in Ravenloft, but starts his life on Krynn.
Bela (mother) - tall, strong, solid woman. Kind to Bela-jir, whom she calls "Boy".
Wilmar (adoptive father) - tall, fairly lean, bearded. Has a complicated relationship with Cob.
Anveran - Wilmar's cousin, a soft spoken woman from Hasid.
Sootri - Anveran's daughter, adoptive sister to Cob. Also from Hasid.

Prent (best friend) - gentle natured and merciful. Goes into the clergy.
Gelajir - Prent's half brother, son of Gela.
Prent's father - big red haired man
Lotal - local bully, later friend and fellow adventurer. Loud and crude. Left handed fighter.
Prasti - wounded farmer/soldier's son, later fellow adventurer. Moody and introspective.
Lellik-jir - strong and large boy, who becomes a fast crony of Cob even though he's not good at marching and drills.

Himlak - village chieftain.
Lindo - Himlak's son.
Allin - Himlak's relative, a good horseman.

Terrek - military trainer and representative of Lord Belkrestar.
Poltren - subordinate soldier to Terrek. Literate.

Parras - Gemcutter.
Carrustin - blacksmith.
Filspar - lame rancher, daughter Ilka slept with Prasti.
Casper - vintner.
Celbur - rancher, his farm is attacked by brigands one winter.

Dartoraigh - Parson of Forg, booming voiced red haired man.
Kenian - Prior of Forg after Trandamere recommends him. He succeeds Dartoraigh.

Kellin - Lotal's older half-sister. Marries Rithak and stays loyal to Cob and Lotal's cause.
Rithak - marries Kellin. Supports Cob and Lotal.
Gram - a young man who joins Cob's company and can read a little.
Settajir - a young man inside the city who is friends with Lindo.
Chantra - a serving wench who dallies with soldiers in Forg.
Rudrick - a drunk who starts bar fights.

Sarpurin - a soldier serving Captain Nanje, originally from Flex, who has a startling piece of news to tell Cob.

Town of Flex:† provincial capital and protectorate power over Forg.

Lord Belkrestar - ageing protector of Flex. A well-respected leader.
Perringen - son of Belkrestar.
Captain Taric - nobleman and army leader. Later appointed General of the King's Army.
Captain Nanje - nobleman and army leader. Has a rivalry with Taric.
Varadis - cousin to Bela, aunt to Cob. A minor noble.
Sardricor - thug in the employ of Varadis. Leads the Company of the Scimitar, a ruffian group.
Paldras - a member of the Scimitar. Has a shameful secret.
Leera - a prostitute who covers for Cob.
Bett - a madwoman in the refugee camps, who steals something very dear to Cob.
Casredan - one of the quadrumvirate ruling junta of Flex.
Mellichar - quadrumvirate member.
Vost - quadrumvirate member.
Dantor - quadrumvirate member.
Parovel - Temple head at Flex.
Trovell - priest at Flex.

Town of Lothgren: provincial capital, lying closer than Palt and Roshan on the periphery, but further out from Flex and Forg in the heartlands.

Castellan Andeython - leader of Lothgren.

Town of Hasid:† provincial capital, roughly the same distance from the capital as Lothgren. A buffer province between the frontiers of Palt and Roshan, and the inner lands of the Thenol kingdom.

Raseyan Verdinesh - a stonemason and last descendant of the troubled Verdinesh family.
Natroch-gar and Drachlortan - tribal brothers living in the temporary encampments around Hasid. Former bodyguards of the Verdinesh.

Thadros - high priest of the Temple at Hasid. A thin man, with a short temper.

Karas Markeides - cousin and husband to Alicov, and putative heir to Prince Delrist Raimos' holdings. Missing, presumed dead.

Town of Palt: one of two provincial capitals that takes the brunt of Malarchus' invasions.

Castellan Berdavestis - leader of Palt.

Town of Roshan: the other of two provincial capitals that takes the brunt of Malarchus' invasions. Lies near the Parshelian Ridge Valley, a rich farmland and site of a battle.

Castellan Breshgard - leader of Roshan.
Kash - a young man who joins Cob's company and stays with him afterwards.
Rhemus - a former convicted poacher who bears a grudge against Malarchus.

Town of Hawkbluff*: mountainside aerie town, famous for its hawks. Cob retreats here after his worst military defeat, and adopts a new name as a largely civilian function.

Hawk (also The Captain) - Cob's nom de guerre when he comes to Hawkbluff to start a new life after being pardoned for crimes committed as Cob.
The Company of the Talons of the Hawk* - the fighting company that the former Sons of Forg form under Hawk after he changes his name from Cob and his allegiance from Forg. Initially starts off as twelve men including Hawk, Lotal, Prasti, Lellik-jir, Gram, Kash, Pejri, Tolsin, Jaydo. Directly referenced as the name of Drakov's outworld fighting outfit in many Ravenloft canon books.
Ariana - a girl.

Bishop Trandamere* - Temple leader, assumes control of Flex in a power vacuum. Becomes a major NPC in Time of the Dragon.
Stalvan - a priest in the First Temple, the Temple at Hawkbluff, who supervises the Company of the Talons of the Hawk. A plump, pleasant man.
Torrem - a priest serving with Stalvan. Younger but still plump. Good with numbers.
Marquis of Oakensborough - a fat, extravagant noble who learns a harsh lesson in discipline from Hawk.
Aspadistris - a noble family who commissions a wedding paean from Alicov.

Master Alicov - a prolific writer in Hawkbluff.
Remigerius - bodyguard and relative to Alicov.
Lorisel - an assistant editor later hired for Alicov Publishing.

Calomines - battle veteran who trains with Hawk at the Temple's training grounds. Also runs a slave fighting ring.
Lord Vesilgras - employer of Calomines.
Cleera - a barmaid who takes a shine to Lotal. Has a passing resemblance to Alicov.
Brigadier Trammelstern - a stuffy cavalryman with a grudge against Hawk for losing in a duel to him.
Drasten - guard leader in the Overlook District.
Lavedistran - guard leader of a noble house. Trains with the Company.
Lattoverdius - guard leader of a noble house. Trains with the Company.

Aldrenay - priestess in a farflung village in Hawkbluff's province.
Chelgreave - pastor in the same village.

City of New Aurim*: capital of the Kingdom of Thenol.

King Caropalix III - monarch of the Kingdom of Thenol.

Flavia the Fair - striking historical figure.

Malchior Verdinesh - head of the troubled Verdinesh family.
Beldrish Verdinesh - brother to Malchior.
Kastorim Verdinesh - brother to Malchior.
Kadia, Snyrjana, Petja - sisters to Malchior.
Geshon - former reeve to the Verdinesh holdings in New Aurim.

Father Solapar - Temple leader at New Aurim. Still subordinate to Bishop Trandamere, who hails from Hawkbluff.
Rankwen - a priest under Solapar. Brings suit against Hawk. Compact man with a military air about him.
Fitbin - elderly, terse priest under Solapar. Brings suit against Hawk.

Wastes of Grilom: frozen lands chillwards, lying between Thenol and the inhumanoid empires.

Count Malarchus* - warmongering leader at the peripheries of Thenol. (Detailed in "Time of the Dragon".)
Feristalen - Malarchan commander, killed by Cob at the battle of Parshelian Valley.

Gods: known by different names on Taladas.

Mislaxa* - goddess of healing and mercy. Although her sect went into hiding in Taladas after the events of "Time of the Dragon", this story is set slightly before those events, and she is openly worshipped here. More familiarly known as Mishakal on the Ansalon continent.
Hiteh* or Hith* - god of lies and deceit, and the foremost god of evil on Taladas. More familiarly known as Hiddukel on the Ansalon continent.
Manith* - god of contemplation. More familiarly known as Zivilyn on the Ansalon continent.

Directions:
I am trying to avoid earth's cardinal directions in this story. The closest approximation we can get is:

Risewards/Setwards - these depend on the sun's path during the day.
Chillwards/Leewards - these depend on temperature and climate.

I have no map of the fictitious towns I've included, apart from a mental map. The heartlands of Thenol are to the riseward, leeward corner, with New Aurim and Hawkbluff as near neighbors.

Then out towards the setwards horizon is Flex and Forg.

Further out setwards and chillwards is Lothgren and Hasid.

Finally, the towns of Palt and Roshan are most setwards and chillwards. They border the Wastes of Grilom, which are Malarchus' territory.

Even further than that is an inhuman empire - the League of Kristophan. They will not feature in any big way in this story.



_

[Manofevil]

Gotta say, I already like this cob guy.. and his father. Remind me of a father and son that I know. Good work.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Looking good so far! A very interesting premise. (Especially if this is going where I think it is.... )

[Nathan of the FoS]

ohhhh...

Can we post the clues we've noticed?

I see Cob has read "Ender's Game".

[HuManBing]

If you want to PM me or each other about the clues discussion, that's fine. But I'd prefer to leave it out of the comments section for the time being. I'm hoping to keep the focus more on the untold backstory if possible.

Edit: it's okay to talk about the plot and spoilers now. I fear nobody's really reading the fiction anyway.

As for Ender's Game, isn't that a science fiction story? I haven't read it yet.

[Nathan of the FoS]

As for Ender's Game, isn't that a science fiction story? I haven't read it yet.

Really? Wow...the scene were Cob beats up the other kid is eerily similar to a couple of scenes in Ender's Game.

[HuManBing]

As for Ender's Game, isn't that a science fiction story? I haven't read it yet.

Really? Wow...the scene were Cob beats up the other kid is eerily similar to a couple of scenes in Ender's Game.

My main player, whom we'll call "Roxy" here, is a huge aficionado of sci fi novels and has often talked with me about passages from novels that have impressed him. It would not surprise me to find that elements from a variety of novels have influenced him and therefore me.

Roxy is the guy who in real life works in an Oxford quantum physics lab and claims his job is to "discover the building blocks of the Universe" but that it has "very few practical uses".

[HuManBing]

This fan fic is not dead. It's just on hiatus. I will be adding more to the thread as I write it.

I hope you all are still reading, and I hope even more to read more writing and fan fiction by you all too!

[The Giamarga]

Interesting. I wonder where this is heading. Hmm... Ah-Cob, huh? Doesn't ring a bell. Guess I'll have to wait for more.

[HuManBing]

Another few episodes are up.

Warning: not for the faint hearted.

I may put a disclaimer in the title.

Edit: I have put a disclaimer in the title. It will be interesting to see whether this gets the fanfic censored.

An ancient Chinese philosopher once said:

If a fanfic includes questionable material and there's nobody around to read it, will it still be censored?

[HuManBing]

Another ancient Chinese philosopher said:

If a fanfic goes for two months between updates and nobody cares, it is still a fanfic?

[Manofevil]

I read it. Hard stuff man.

[HuManBing]

Another post.

I wasn't planning the "Terrek test", but I did a quick check and it's actually anatomically accurate. Wikipedia also tells me it holds correct in 85% of the relevant demographic.

Just goes to show what you can come up with when you're really bored, I guess.

Leaving HuManBing unattended is like giving your prize stallion rotten mixed feed bag - soon lead to uncontrollable outpouring of all sorts of random crap.

[Isabella]

Ah, HuMan - I feel your pain! No one commented on my stories either, although at least now the comic seems to be doing better. Just letting you know I read the story, and enjoyed what bits didn't turn my stomach I was very curious to see where this is going - it's original and difficult to predict.

[HuManBing]

There may be an update coming soon. I got an idea for the immediate scene and will write it up.