The Kingdom of Oléon - Sign-up and Discussion

[The Sarge]

 

 

Kingdom of Oléon
The Kingdom of Light

Victorious yet weary, Oléon claims divine favor after its triumph in the Long War. Its theocratic monarchy is bolstered by the Church, and its armies are feared for their discipline and zeal. Now, it turns to consolidate power and expand overseas holdings - particularly in Afar. However, unrest increases in the never quite tamed march of Terra Pontilla, where the heathen natives are eager to throw off the Oléonder yoke.

 

Sub Factions:

Afar Trade Outposts | Terra Pontilla

Heraldry

Flags: Blue
Colors: Blue (and white)
Sigils: Crowns, Crowned Lions (Blue), Fleur de Lys *
* For example. Faction colors are key.

Lay of the Land

 

Political

Ruler: King Alaric IV the Stormbringer, Chosen of Zeus
Capital: Granoleon
Government: Absolutist feudal monarchy

Faction focus

Faction Focus is a roleplaying instrument that helps indicate what a Faction finds important on a quick glance. It can help inspire your builds or shape your stories. The ranking of the Focuses indicates what a Faction finds more important, i.e. the Focus that comes first is most important to a Faction.

 

People and History

Traditionally, a typical Oleander's life centers around the values of – traditions. Considering themselves the most culturally advanced people, Oleanders take great pride in their rich heritage of arts and literature. They are generally pious people, living in accordance with the divine rules of the Gods. It is true that the Order of the Faith holds its sway over the people, but that doesn't refrain Oleanders from enjoying life. And especially the nobility is known throughout Halos for celebrating the grandest and most opulent feasts.

Some time before the beginning of the Long War, Oléon had launched a crusade into the territory of its southern neighbor, Pontilla, with the intention of bringing the Faith to its people and securing Oléon's southern border from pagan incursions. However, the integration of Terra Pontilla has been difficult and the march remains a wild and untamed place, dangerous to most people venturing into its gloomy mountains and dark forests.

More success was gained by Oléonder merchants setting up trade routes to the lucrative spice territories of Afar and beyond. Negotiating successful treaties with local rules, Oléonder trade companies were able to set up a series of small trade outposts along the coast, in order to resupply ship sailing further towards Mogholay.

Recently, the Kingdom of Oléon was victorious over its arch nemesis Corrington during the Long War. As such, the Kingdom has been caught up in a wave of national pride with the King and Church basking in glory. Many monuments and memorials are being erected, dedicated to the King and the heroes of the War.

 

Geography

Oleon is the largest country on the peninsula, and its land is naturally an important economic factor. Wealth is usually measured in land holdings, and hereditary grants pass on from father to son for generations. In the interior, the rural nobility traditionally resides in prestigious castles, and peasants live in little hamlets, and work for their lords as they have for ages. There are few large cities in the interior, but towards the coast things are beginning to change as innovations are developed. Passing from a rural hamlet with the lord's impressive manor towering over it, to a bustling port town is like going from one world to another. A multitude of coastal hubs have begun to spring up.
With oceans bordering Oleon on either side, these towns have become quite numerous, and have contributed to a new emphasis on seafaring. The Order of the Faith has encouraged this emphasis, but is still eager to preserve the traditional social ways by keeping its mystical hold on the people.

Example builds

[Example MOC or troop build]

 

Real world inspiration and influences

• Mainly medieval France
• Future equivalent in BOBS: Oléon

Subfactions
Sub Factions are for all intents and purposes part of the Main Faction, but they offer the chance at playing a character of a distinct culture or subgroup of the Main Faction. As Sub Faction are mostly less strict in terms of uniform, the overall Faction uniform is of less importance here. What is important is that soldiers or armies of the Sub Factions still fly the main colors/flags of the Main Faction

 

Afar Trade Outposts

Vast, rich, and only half-known, the trade outposts in distant Afar are Oléon’s prize and peril. Trade flows, but so do blades and blood. It is a land of opportunity, but you need to be willing to take risks if you wish to reap its rewards. The Afar Trade Outposts are the result of the endeavors of Oléonder merchants and explorers having made trade deals with local Afarian chieftains along the coast. The Outposts are slowly turning into bustling seaports, where trade ships traveling south are resupplied. The Trade Posts are a place for adventurers, a place with little royal intervention and where the heavy hand of the Church has no power.

Lay of the Land

 

Political

Ruler: Various: Oléonder viceroys, native kings, and warlords
Capital: No capital, semi-autonomous entities; Granoleon de jure

Real world inspiration and influences

• The Outposts are based on the earliest colonies along the African coast, mostly founded by Portuguese merchants on their way to India. Another inspiration are the medieval trade connections with the Levant and trade bases in Cyprus and the like.
• The armed forces of the Trade Posts are usually a mixture of ex-military men, foreign mercenaries and local native auxiliaries.
• Future equivalent in BOBS: Oléon-owned Guelph (New Oléon)

 

Terra Pontilla

Officially a march of the Kingdom of Oléon - conquered by various religious knight orders in decades past, Terra Pontilla is still more wilderness than province. Settlers are mostly soldiers, laborers, or exiles sent to hold the land against the native tribes, who still control much of the countryside. Its dark forests and mountain passes are home to mystery and dread. Distantly related to the Phoideratoi of the Pyrite Empire, the native Pontillans are known to be excellent horsemen and strong warriors, experts at guerrilla warfare. While many of the Pontillan nobility has accepted the Faith, most of the commoners still hold fast to their pagan beliefs. 

Lay of the Land

Political

Ruler: Grand Master of the Knights of Poseidon
Capital: Taurgas de facto; Granoleon de jure

Real world inspiration and influences

• Pontilla in itself is based upon Central European cultures, such as Poland-Lithuania, Bohemia and Romania, coupled with the rest of the Baltics and medieval Georgia.
  • This is reflected in its geography, which ranges from hard to cross mountain ranges in the east, to deep and dark forests in the south along the Varcosian border and large grassy plains to the west where the land borders the Pyrite Empire.
• The relation between the Oléonder knightly state and the natives, and the recent history of Terra Pontilla is influenced by the real-world Northern Crusades.
• Future equivalent in BOBS: Pontilla

 

 

Want to join the Kingdom of Oléon and bask in wealth and glory?

To sign up, post a picture of your signature figure, preferably accompanied by Oléon formal flag colors. You are welcome to include a bit of a description as well. 
Your signature figure, or sigfig, will represent your character throughout your MOCs within Tales of Old (That does not mean that your sigfig has to be in every MOC you make).

Although this is the “Blue” faction, that does not mean that everyone should have a blue-uniformed soldier as sigfig.
Within Tales of Old you build your own story – for example, your sigfig could start out as a carpenter that decides to work on a ship.

[Jeff of Clubs]

Raoul de Courtenay, soldier of fortune.

Courtenay is a minor noble house with land holdings in the eastern reaches of Oleon. Lands that are now decimated by the decades long Corrish occupation of the Great War. With this conflict over and little wealth to be wrought from their recently restored properties, this son of house Courtenay must find new avenues of advancement.

 

Raoul has lived his entire thirty years as a product of the war and his family has been pushed to the brink of ruin by it. He alone remains as the sole inheritor of salted fields, burned hamlets, dusty coffers, and a ruined manor. However the same war that took so much from his forbearers, has rendered unto Raoul a steady nerve and a more than capable sword arm. Two assets which can pay a man well in the wild lands of Afar.

 

The war may be over but Raoul's first steps home are across the sea.

-Sigfig for ToO, ♧

[TribunM]

Lucien de la Tour Forbie was born in 326 AE in the border province of Pontilla, the second son of the House of Forbie. His family was ancient but of modest influence, and Lucien was set early on the path of the clergy. His uncle, Dom Alaric, recognized the boy’s sharp intellect and took him to Arondrelle, where he served as professor of theology. Under Alaric’s guidance, Lucien studied theology, philosophy, and the sacred law of Oleon.

Gifted in logic and languages, he soon began lecturing informally to other students, his clarity earning him quiet admiration.
He sought not power, but truth — a virtue that drew both respect and suspicion. Between 348 and 350 AE, Lucien composed De Bellis Sacris et Justitia Caelesti, an inquiry into divine justice and the nature of holy war. He claimed that no war could be holy unless it served the balance of Poseidon, not the ambitions of kings or clerics. What began as a work of theology became an indictment of spiritual arrogance. Praised by scholars yet condemned by the Order of the Faith, the treatise ignited fierce debate in Arondrelle.

After months of interrogation and academic isolation, Lucien was stripped of his chair. Though never excommunicated, he was branded a “theologian of dangerous sympathies.” Dom Alaric, in the course of this affair "promoted" to a Bishop seat in Valduria — a remote, windswept province far from the centers of power — used his remaining influence to secure Lucien’s safety.

Through his mediation, Lucien was accepted by the Knights of Poseidon and assigned to the Maison Côtière d’Ouest on the western coast of Pontilla.
There he lived as a Frère Archiviste, cataloguing manuscripts, repairing maps, and writing by candlelight. The sea became his teacher; the wind, his prayer.
Amid solitude and exile, he began to compose De Profunditate — the Theology of the Depth. What exile intended as punishment, he turned into revelation.
As Dom Alaric toiled under the burden of his new office in distant Valduria, Lucien descended into silence and found the wisdom of the waves.
From that silence, his true voice would rise — calm, enduring, and as deep as the sea itself.
 

Spoiler

Spoiler

Either I was late with my order or the post was too slow. Either way, I wanted to participate and will replace the placeholder as soon as possible. Holds true for "Return home".

Edit: Replaced it with correct picture

Edited November 21, 2025 by TribunM