Wintershade MUCK is a furry MUCK with a heavy focus on realistic roleplaying. It is set in a fictional medieval world.
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Once upon a time, there was a caring monarch amongst the ruling class who had the best interests of the people in his kingdom at heart.
These are not those times.
Nearly a decade ago, many members of the noble houses had grown tired of their king's interference in how they ran their estates. Though he did not require from them the exorbitant taxes of his forefathers, King Aidan responded promptly to pleas from the peasant classes based on their inability to pay the taxes their own lord required. While this made him very popular among the lower classes, it also made him some very strong enemies.
It did not surprise anyone when Aidan was assassinated, but the results could not have surprised more people. The assassin and the nobles alike were surprised when the loyalty of the guards extended past the time when they no longer had an employer to put food on their tables. While many of the guards and soldiers did abandon the royal estate to be snatched up by the next highest bidder, many stayed to defend the remnants of the royal family.
During the months of warfare that followed, tension grew between the noble families that had orchestrated the initial attack. By the time the last remaining members and staff of the royal house had been killed or driven into hiding, there could be no hope of reconciliation between the members of the houses, and therefore no peace. What had only a year previous been a relatively content and prosperous land became ravaged by civil war. When noble houses vying for the top position within the kingdom stretched their fighters too thin, farmers and cobblers eager to not have their families singled out for the next attack were conscripted into the fighting force, resulting in shortages of all goods, and even now, many years later, there is no end in sight.