Parlesia

Alone in the Northern Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Ireland, the Grand Duchy of Parlesia is a major tourist destination for hunting, gambling, racing, and sightseeing. The residents of Parlesia are well bred and friendly, welcoming the tourism industry into their small island nation for the resultant lower income tax burden. Consisting of few large towns and several small fishing, mining, and farming villages, Parlesia is the ideal "bedroom" community. The small population allows hightened voter participation in government affairs and a low crime rate. Visitors to Parlesia will remark as to the cleanliness of the streets, the waters, and the air due to the minimal industrial sector. With a British-style government presided over by the Grand Duke of Parlesia, an aristocracy continues to exist and wield vast influence. Welcome to Parlesia, the gambling capital of the North!

Geography and Climate

With a geographic location of 57ºN, 17ºW, the Island of Parlesia is quite far north. Not as mountainous as nearby Iceland, nor as far north, Parlesia has a more moderate climate. Temperatures in the winter reach below zero for several months, but the summers warm with average temperatures in the upper 60's. The growing season is short with main agricultural crops being wheat, corn, and soybeans. The island itself is small, but features a small mountainous region in the west, several large forests, and a large plain where much of the food products are grown. Larger towns are centered on the naturally protected harbors scattered around the coast.

History

Parlesia has a long recorded history stretching back to the Roman Empire. No archealogical evidence supports the belief that the island was inhabited prior to 125AD, but there was a tribe of native peoples living on the island when Roman explorer Janus Victorianus reached the island in 187AD. According to his written account of the discovery, a small group of people living on the island came to the beach where he landed. He traded with them for food supplies and fresh water in exchange for tools and cloth. These peoples were probably Celtic tribesmen from Ireland or early Nordic travelers. The historical record remains silent for several centuries until an Irish monk, St. Odelphius, arrived on the island in 548AD with a small group of followers. According to his written accounts of life on the island, The Annals of North Island, the island was uninhabited when his group arrived.

St. Odelphius founded a settlement near the site of present day Jamestown. He and his followers built stone houses from the abundant stone outcroppings in the natural harbor. In 549AD, they built a stone church for worship. Other settlers arrived on the island over the next few decades, and by Odelphius' death in 586AD, the island's population was about 200. After his death, the settlers named the island after him, Odelphius Island. By 750AD, the island's population had risen to over 2500 with several small settlements scattered throughout the southern half of the island. The town of Easton was founded in 754AD as the administrative seat of the island. The priests of St. Odelphius Church in the original settlement moved to a new church built in Easton in 757AD. The newly built Church of the Holy Father served not only as the spiritual center of the island, but the political center. Father Barnabus Merwyll became the head of the island's government in 770AD according to an account in the History of the Church of the Holy Father, a record book kept by the priests of the church.

As the island's population grew naturally and through immigration, the people desired a secular head of government. In 881AD, a powerful landowner, Aedelbert of Cairne, declared himself the leader of Odelphius Island. To maintain peace throughout the island, he raised an army and granted chieftainships to other landowners across the island. The descendents of Cairne continued to govern Odelphius Island until the arrival of the Nordic Vikings in 993AD. The Vikings burned, pillaged, and raped their way across the small island in a matter of days. The leaders of the island were all killed, and a Viking Chief became the ruler of Odelphius Island. Nordic settlers began pouring onto the island to claim the land that had belonged to the now deceased former islanders. The churches were destroyed except for the Church of the Holy Father. The Viking Chief Gryndelson made the Church his home and office.

Life under the Viking Chiefs was short and brutal. Viking rule only lasted until 1071AD, though, with the arrival of the Normans led by Thomas the Parley Killer. Thomas was a brutish warrior who sailed to Britain in 1066AD with William the Conquerer. As the leader of a squad of foot soldiers, Thomas was in the thick of almost every battle with the Britons. He quickly developed a method of winning that employed the use of the parley. He would offer to parley with the British leaders and meet them between the armies. Upon reaching them under apparent truce, he and his lieutenants would brutally murder them. He quickly earned the title of the Parley Killer for his use of this tactic. By 1069AD, Thomas was in good standing with the Conqueror and granted a large tract of land and the title of Knight. However, Thomas was not inclined to farming, prefering adventure and warfare instead. In 1071AD, he set sail from Britain with a complement of 100 swordsmen toward the west.

Thomas' party arrived at Odelphius Island in July 1071AD and immediately set forth to defeat the Viking overlords. After eight decades of soft living, the Vikings were ill equipt to fight off the battle veterans under Thomas. Within months, resistance had faltered and the last Viking chieftains were executed. By this time, the population of the island had reached approximately 4000 with nearly 2000 of Norse ancestry. Thomas established himself as the ruler of Odelphius Island, moving the capital to present-day Sullivan, then called Riedelig. Remaining in contact with King William I of England, Thomas adopted the surname of Parley and was granted Odelphius Island by the king in 1073AD. Along with the land came the title Baron of Parley Island. To cement his rule and fortify the island, Thomas had keeps built at Riedelig (renamed Gwyndella in 1074AD), modern-day Reed Hill, Northington, Berington, Newbern, Leadville, and Jamestown. The keep at Jamestown would grow into the modern-day capital of Parlesia.

Parley Island prospered under the rule of Baron Thomas Parley (1032-1094). He instituted taxation and restored the Church back to its former glory. The Church of the Holy Father was restored after a century of neglect. Thomas also founded the Monastery of St. Odelphius on the coast between present-day East Haven and Downers Point. For his support of the Church, Pope Urban II created the Bishopric of Parley Island in 1090AD. The first Bishop was Robert Downer, a priest in the hamlet of Greten. As Bishop, he began the magnificent Cathedral of St. Barnabus in Gwyndella in 1093AD and the Bishop's Palace near the Cathedral in 1095AD. Neither was finished upon his death in 1102AD, causing him to be buried at the old Catholic Cemetery near Eastern Point. In 1205AD, the place was renamed Downers Point in honor of the first Bishop.

Thomas died in 1194AD after naming his son, William, heir to the barony. Lord William Parley (1072-1129) ordered the building of a palace in Gwyndella in 1095AD. The island's population steadily grew over the next few decades with the peace and proseperity of Lord William's reign. However, William died in 1129AD without an heir, allowing his younger brother Robert Parley (1075-1138) to become the Baron of Parley. Robert was a less able administrator and a short period of decline ensued. Upon Robert's death in 1138AD, his son Edward Parley (1099-1160) became the Baron. Prosperity once again reigned over the island for the next few decades. Edward instituted the construction of stone-paved roadways spanning the island to connect Gwyndella to the west coast and the interior farming hamlets. These roadways also enabled Edward's newly formed Home Army swift movement to troubled spots.

Edward died in 1160AD after a fall from his horse, leaving his son, William Parley II (1126-1200) as Baron. The reign of Lord William II was long and prosperous, seeing the doubling of the island population during the forty years William ruled. In 1174AD, William sailed to England to meet with the English King and discuss the colony in person. While there, William was raised to Count of Parley and gifted five sailing ships laden with goods and settlers. The Cathedral of St. Barnabus was completed in 1191AD after nearly a century of construction. Lord William presided over the opening ceremonies and Bishop George Parley, William's cousin, consecrated the Cathedral. William's only son, Baron Richard Parley, had died in 1197AD, prompting him to name his grandson, William Parley III (1174-1238) heir to the County.

Lord William III ascended to Count in 1200AD, beginning another long, prosperous reign. Under William's reign, construction began on a series of western forts along the western coast. William suspected a threat coming from the west and wanted to protect the island from the unknown invaders. As the year's of his reign passed, William sank into senility, issuing unusual edicts and ordering eccentric building projects. In 1229AD, he organized an expedition of three ships to seek out the supposed invaders from the west. The ships returned two years later having discovered the Americas and meeting natives in that land, but not discovering any threat. By 1235AD, William had sunk into such a severe senility that his son, Baron Henry Parley (1201-1277), became regent for his father.

Upon William's death in 1238AD, Henry became the new Count of Parley. For nearly forty years he ruled the island with a stern hand, using the Home Army to enforce his taxes and edicts. His reign was marked by great building projects such as the stone harbor at South Bay (Jamestown), the Northern Lighthouse, and the Greathouse near the mountains. The Greathouse (1266-1417) took a century and a half to build, and was the strongest fortress in the English world at the time. It still exists as the base and foundations of the town of Ironton. Lord Henry lived to age 76, dying in 1277AD of pneumonia. He was laid to rest in a stone sarcophagus in the Cathedral of St. Barnabus. His son, Baron Henry Parley II (1226-1281), became Count for a short reign. After four years, Henry II succumbed to a respiratory disease that had plagued him most of his life, and left him unable to be an effective ruler. He was also entombed at the Cathedral.

Lord Louis Parley (1252-1317) ascended to Count upon his father's death in 1281AD.

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