The Ortegid Empire

At the end of Dragon Quest I, the hero (who, for the purposes of The Saga of the Ortegids, I've given the name Aleph Wyrmbeorn - if you know, you know) defeats the Dragonlord and marries Princess Gwaelin of Alefgard. The king gives him the option to stay and succeed him, but he instead chooses to sail across the sea and settle a new kingdom.

Dragon Quest II picks up generations later, where there are now three kingdoms where the royal families claim descent from Aleph, and by extension from the Ortegid Dynasty. Two of these kingdoms are named different things in Japanese and English, but I'm once again going to use the Japanese names for the kingdoms and the English names for their capitals, as they sound more like city names. Ergo, the northeastern corner of Torland is home to the Kingdom of Lorasia and the Kingdom of Samartoria, with the northern continent being split roughly evenly between them; the Kingdom of Moonbrooke is across a strait to the south, occupying a considerable part of the southern continent.

It's mentioned in the instruction manual that Samartoria and Moonbrooke split off from Lorasia after the first king, on his deathbed, divided his land between his three children. That's a backstory I'd like to keep. But it does imply that Aleph was a very successful king, conquering nearly half of Torland (if you've played DQ1, you'll know that this is particularly funny) and ruling it as one. The three kingdoms, then, are successor states of a short-lived Ortegid Empire.

This is quite similar to the history of the Carolignan Empire, which was briefly a major power in Europe before falling into chaos after being divided between Charlemagne's three sons. It seems reasonable to believe that something similar could have happened in this case. A campaign set in the immediate fallout of Aleph's death could be placed against a backdrop of unrest and civil war, with border disputes and factions squabbling to take control of all three kingdoms. This would give the PCs plenty of options in terms of who they'd want to ally with, or if they wanted to get in on the action in carving out a domain for themselves too.

Another time period I think could be interesting to explore would be what the region looked like before Aleph became king. The fact that he specifically chose it as an unconquered territory has implications to me. In all likelihood, his empire was the first large-scale state in the area, and he may have waged a campaign to unify disparate lands under his banner. The fact that he was able to conquer such a large swathe of territory in one reign is certainly in keeping with the feats of legendary heroes, but if he was mainly fighting (and/or allying with) smaller tribes and jarls, especially with the backing of Alefgard on his side, this would be an easier task.

Art by Peter Jackson
(Still not that one)

I've mentioned before that Dragon Quest in general and Torland in particular makes use of Norse themes. You've probably been asking this whole time "where are all the Vikings." Well, here's your answer. In my personal interpretation of the series' lore, northeast Torland was inhabited primarily by seafaring barbarians and raiders before being unified by Aleph's conquests. Samartoria, in particular, has a long coastline with easy access to Alefgard and the southern continent, which would make sea raids quite strategic. A campaign set in Torland before the events of DQ1 could definitely make use of Norse history and mythology for inspiration.

Given the shared history, Lorasia, Samartoria, and Moonbrooke are likely culturally similar. If I was to differentiate them, I'd portray Lorasians as Danes, Samartorians as Norwegians, and Moonbrookers as Swedes, in order to call back to the Norse inspiration.

Notable Locations in Lorasia:

• Midenhall: The capital. There is a portal located in the castle that links to the island of Zahan, which may indicate a previous alliance, or perhaps the castle is built on ruins that once housed a network similar to that of Old Aliahan.
• Leftwyne: A town located on the border between Lorasia and Samartoria. Likely a strategic chokepoint, a trading post, or both.
• An oracle lives on an island in the northeast bay.

Notable Locations in Samartoria:

• Cannock: The capital.
• The Spring of Bravery: An underground wellspring located northeast of Cannock, guarded by a hermit. It is a sacred location that travelers go to purify themselves in before making a journey.
• An abandoned silver mine on an island in a lake to the west.

Notable Locations in Moonbrooke:

• Moonbrooke: The eponymous capital. Was destroyed by forces from Rhone, which kicks off the events of DQ2.
• Hamlin: A city located on the river northeast of Moonbrooke. Likely an important port due to its sea access. Holds a lottery.
• The Tower of Winds: A ruined tower in the southeastern mountains. A cloak that allows the wearer to glide and survive long falls can be found here.