Continuity/Bandit and Neydisa Castles

Updates

Beta

Both Bandit and Neydisa Castles were empty for most of the development and beta test. According to entries in the original ACExplorer data, Neydisa Castle was empty as of 9/29/99. The following entry, dated at 10/3/99, stated that it was now a full service town with a lifestone, bowyer, healer, mage, weapon smith, ivory crafter (in the nearby tower), leather crafter, and trophy smith.

The Bandit Castle entries also contains useful information. According to the earliest entry, it was still empty as of 12/4/99. This entry would have been from just before the first update, Sudden Season, was released, which went live on 12/15/99.

Metadata from the NPCs in Neydisa Castle and Bandit Castle corroborate these early ACExplorer entries.

Original Neydisa NPC weenie info is as follows:

NPC	WCID	WCName
Lady Tallial	5644	neydisacastleladytallial
Archmage Philomon	5646	neydisacastlearchmage
Brother Jarviso	5647	neydisacastlehealer
Viamasa the Weaponsmith	5648	neydisacastleweaponsmith
Lisatha the Bowyer	5649	neydisacastlebowyer

Original Bandit Castle weenie info is as follows:

NPC	WCID	WCName
Barkeep Gorth	5832	banditcastlebarkeeper
Shi Ki-Yong the Armorer	5833	banditcastlearmorer
Melia Thorn the Archmage	5834	banditcastlearchmage
Provisioner Murdo	5835	banditcastleshopkeeper
Karwin, the Lunatic	5836	banditcastlekarwin
Gwillim, the Apprentice	5837	banditcastlegwillim
Jourgensson	5838	banditcastlejourgensson
MacDugal	5839	banditcastlemacdugal

Neydisa NPCs being approximately 200 ID values early than the Bandit Castle NPCs would correspond well with Neydisa being populated in October 1999 and Bandit Castle being populated in December 1999.

Release / Sudden Season

The text History of Neydisa Castle goes into detail on Neydisa castle and briefly touches on Bandit Castle. During the period of Olthoi enslavement, a man named Foster discovered the castle that would later be known as Neydisa Castle. He lived there until the liberation came, and vowed to never return. Later, a group left Cragstone and took up residence within Bandit Castle. There was a disagreement in the group, and some, led by the woman Neydisa, left Bandit Castle and made their way to Foster's Fort. Neydisa herself passed away prior to the era of Lifestones, and the place came to be known as Neydisa Castle.<ref name=HistoryOfNeydisaCastle>1999/11 Release - History of Neydisa Castle</ref>

The text The Legend of Lilitha provides another piece of information regarding Bandit Castle. the text places Lilitha's exploits duing the early days of Elysa's reign. It says that she was the first person to come upon the fort later known as Bandit Castle, but she traveled on.<ref name=TheLegendOfLilitha>1999/11 Release - The Legend of Lilitha</ref>

Lady Tallial herself says that MacDugal and his band have recently re-occupied Bandit Castle. This dialog dates to Frostfell, 10 PY.<ref name=LadyTallialDialog>1999/12 Sudden Season - Lady Tallial dialog</ref>

Should the Stars Fall

When the Vesayen Isles were introduced, we were given some details on the founding of Kryst, MacNiall's Freehold, and how Isparians ended up on those islands. These new details come from the texts The History of Kryst and The History of Vesayen Isles.

The History of Kryst is written by Natalie the Scribe. The other characters that appear in it are Zenzaburou Hensu, Vanten, Vesayen Hylin, and Sharon. The events described in this text can be summarized as follows:

During the time of Olthoi enslavement, Zenzaburou, Vanten, and Vesayen tried to plan an escape. After a strange earthquake, they set their plan into motion. They gathered other slaves and exited the Olthoi nest through a portal. They were pursued by Olthoi into the forest, losing some of their ranks as they fled. They eventually found another portal. Zenzaburou and Vesayen guided everyone through the portal, intent on being the last two through. Zenzaburou barely made it, Vesayen did not. In the end, 20 had made it through the portal. They founded Kryst. The dangers of these islands meant that they had lost a few others, and, due to this lack in safety, some people left Kryst, living further in the chain of Isles.<ref name=TheHistoryOfKryst>2000/11 Should the Stars Fall - The History of Kryst</ref>

The History of Vesayen Isles is written by Onda Nakoza. Other characters that appear in it are MacDugal, MacNiall, Shi Ki-Yong, Jourgensson, Zenzaburou Hensu, and Vesayen Hylin. The events described in this text can be summarized as follows:

During the time of Olthoi enslavement, a group of slaves led by the cousins MacDugal and MacNiall made their escape one night. They saw an unstable portal in the distance. MacNiall wanted to go through the portal, while MacDugal did not, reminding them that mysterious portals had led to their years of Olthoi enslavement. The group split, with MacDugal and others heading to the foothills, and MacNiall and his band taking the portal. On the other side of the portal, they found another band of escaped slaves, led by Zenzaburou and Vesayen. The two groups settled together, but the shared settlement failed, as MacNiall and his band could not live with the traditionalists. They left and founded Freehold.<ref name=TheHistoryOfVesayenIsles>2000/11 Should the Stars Fall - The History of Vesayen Isles</ref>

Zenzaburou Hensu himself also mentions that the Vesayen Isles were named after his friend, who gave his life to ensure the others made it through the portal to safety.<ref name=ZenzaburouHensuDialog>2000/11 Should the Stars Fall - Zenzaburou Hensu dialog</ref> In his note Mosswart Feud Rumor, Onda Nakoza makes a somewhat ambiguous claim that "we" named the archipelago the Vesayen Isles, but does not provide more detail than that.<ref name=MosswartFeudRumor>2000/11 Should the Stars Fall - Mosswart Feud Rumor</ref>

Later Additions

In the 2003 article The History of Auberean Volume V a date of -12 PY is given for when the group of escaped Isparian slaves find the portal to the Vesayen isle and found Kryst. It reiterates that differences in the group led to some leaving to found MacNiall's Freehold.<ref name=HistoryOfAubereanVol5>2003/03 A Perfect Paradox - The History of Auberean: Volume V: New Arrivals (-540 to 13)</ref>

Our final information comes much later with the introduction of the Town Network in 2010. There, we can find town descriptions for Neydisa, Kryst, and Freehold that have slightly updated information.

The Neydisa sign is nearly identical to the first two paragraphs of the text History of Neydisa Castle, with one important addition (bolded for emphasis):

"They sought shelter within the walls of Bandit Castle, where MacDugal and his band had lived for some time, but some disagreement split their ranks, and a number of them trekked down the road and wound up at Foster's Fort."<ref name=NeydisaTNSign>2010/06 Shifting Gears - Town Network: Neydisa (Town Network Sign) description</ref>

The Kryst sign appears to be a summarized and condensed version of the the text The History of Kryst. It does not change any details, but it does reiterate that: 1) the leaders were Zenzaburou, Vanten, and Vesayen, 2) Vesayen died making sure everyone made it through the portal, and 3) the archipelago is named in honor of Vesayen.<ref name=KrystTNSign>2010/06 Shifting Gears - Town Network: Kryst (Town Network Sign) description</ref>

Similar to the sign for Kryst, the Freehold sign appears to be a summarized and condensed version of the the text The History of Vesayen Isles. It makes one significant change: the sign states that MacNiall's band met up with another group of escaped slaves, who were led by Zenzaburou and Vanten, rather than Zenzaburou and Vesayen.<ref name=FreeholdTNSign>2010/06 Shifting Gears - Town Network: Freehold (Town Network Sign) description</ref>

Analysis

The Beta/Release version seems consistent with itself, and could be summarized as follows:

1. -15 PY to 0 PY: During the time of Olthoi enslavement, Foster discovered the location that would later be Neydisa Castle, and lived there. The location was then known as Foster's Fort.
2. 0 PY to 1 PY: After the Olthoi Queen was defeated, Foster left the fort and vowed never to return.
3. 0 PY to 1 PY: In the early days of Elysa's reign, Lilitha discovered the location that would later be Bandit Castle, but she moved on from there.
4. 1 PY or later: "Much later" an Aluvian faction left (or was kicked out of) Cragstone, and ended up at Bandit Castle. There was a disagreement, and part of the group left. That group was led by Neydisa, and made their way to Foster's Fort.
5. 1 PY or later: Neydisa died before the era of the lifestones.

References

<references/>

• Mosswart Feud Rumor

• AC:DM CD Lore/Early Dereth Texts/History of Neydisa Castle
• AC:DM CD Lore/Early Dereth Texts/The Legend of Lilitha
• AC:DM CD Lore/Early Dereth Texts/The History of the Vesayen Isles

• The History of Auberean/Volume V: New Arrivals (-540 to 13)

• Neydisa (Town Network Sign)
• Freehold (Town Network Sign)
• Kryst (Town Network Sign)