Brisbane Lost History
WORK IN PROGRESS
The Background History for Chageling: The Lost 2013 Chronicle, history. The timeline represents history as known by the Freehold, the Stories represent history as told by the Freehold. The history may be innacurate, or straight up fabricated but for whatever the reason these are the stories that everyone knows in one form or another.
How the Story Goes
Timeline
(Feel free to add events here)
1800s
- The first Changeling in (what would become) Brisbane emerge in Moreton Bay on Stradbroke Island as the Penal Colony started to draw in large numbers of new faces, leading to the formation of the Moreton Bay Trod. (Now the Amity Point Trod)
1830s
- Freehold Commons established in a sheep farm Homestead in (now) Nundah by four Changeling seeking the shelter and protection of the Wyrd in the response to a Fae origin Plague which coincided with the arrival of a real world plague brought by Quaker Missionaries and the Loyalists/Privateers who accompanied them in 1836.
1900s
- Brisbane was named a city, The Freehold has remained fairly small at this point, becoming almost friendly with only the same small group of Loyalists as neither group is able to oust the other. The number of Lost, free or Loyal is stable and low.
1940s
- The Freehold/Loyalist dichotomy was fairly stable until WWII (~1941) when The Eagle Farm Racecourse became the standing ground for thousands of American Troops when the sudden influx of troops opened up two new Trods. One in Eagle Farm Racecourse and One in Archerfield Airport.
- The First Monarchs make it to the Trod's first as The Others lead the Wild Hunt from Arcadia into the real world. They clash and in the Battle one of The Others is slain by the Summer Queen. Together they drive back the Loyalists and open up both Trods for Lost to escape through.
- Lost population in the city thrives and grows, making relationships between Loyalist and Freehold Lost quite tense. The quantity of glamour manipulation and emotional static helped to cause the Brisbane riots.
1950s
- The Freehold formally formed with all the new Lost.
- The Legendary First Monarchs depart from Brisbane, never to be seen until the modern day, founding the Knighthood of the Purest Light to watch over the Freehold.
- The Second Monarchs managed to negotiate entrance into the Supernatural Concord, the price they paid has been kept secret.
1960s
- The Loyalists are repelled from an unexpected and unprecedentedly forceful assault on the Archerfield Trod, in the battle the garrisoned troops of the summer court are decimated, Crimson King Robert, was discovered in the centre of the Hollow surrounded by hedge monsters. The Loyalists forces were so bloodied by the Summer defence that they weren't able to take the Trod.
1980s
- A trod opens in The Gold Coast, Loyalist presence in Brisbane briefly diminishes in the meantime.
The Commonwealth Games are held in Brisbane, a Loyalist plot to take a large group tourists to Arcadia is foiled due to the Information of Winter and the actions of Spring courtiers. The Freehold wonder at the fact that no retaliation is taken.
1990s
- The Second Spring King and his two close friends, Rosa and Ivan, vanish. They're confirmed missing when their hollow is broken into by concerned courtiers after a few weeks of absesnce. No sign of struggle, or coercion, simply their clothes are discarded in a trail leading into the brambles.
2000
- One of the bloodiest skirmishes between The Freehold and Loyalists in recent history. Mother Lupa had just escaped from Arcadia, with Loyalists hot on her heels and the First Response closing in. The mess started when Jack managed to overtake and attack Lupa, the First Response were cut off by the rest of the Loyalists. The First Response rescued the new Lost, but they lost the battle. Two dead and one taken, in return for Jack and Greg critically wounded of the Loyalists.
2008
- The Year of Summer. The Freehold loses control of the Archerfield Trod to the Loyalists followed by the Eagle Farm Trod. In response to this unprecedented imbalance in power between the loyal and Free Changeling, the Summer Monarch declares Martial Law and takes sole leadership of the Freehold by slaying the Second Autumn Monarch in a ritual duel. Shortly afterwards Black Rook ascends to the throne of the Court of Fear. During the Summer Monarch's rule the Eagle Farm Racecourse/Domestic Airport Trod is reclaimed, but infighting prevents the war effort from retaking the Archerfield Trod as well.
2010
- The Freehold Pledge is missed during an argument, as The Summer Army and The Spring Court are taken and killed en masse in an ambush. During the argument the Freehold is attacked, hordes of screaming lurkgliders and burrowing tunnelgrubs complement the baying hounds and roaring winds and fire. The Freehold scatter and flee.
- Two weeks later The Knighthood of The Purest Light bring the scattered Lost together to reswear the Freehold Pledge. The Freehold establishes the Regency system in it's earliest dual Regent system with Ada and Lizzy Spoons for the six months of Drought then a six months of Storm.
2011
- The Regency ideal updates to the simpler, single regent system, The Drought season from June to November and then Storm season from December to May.
- Drought Regent:
- Storm Regent:
2012
- Drought Regent:
- Storm Regent:
2013
- The reign of (Storm Regent) has come to an end, the Freehold begins the prepare for the reswearing of the Freehold Pledge :and the Election of the Regent.
Mythical History
In the very early days of Brisbane there were no Lost, Free or Loyal, but there were hardly any humans either. The area was newly discovered and so far away it may as well have been on another planet. True to the human spirit however, this didn't stop anyone and before too long people were coming from all over Great Britain, on prison ships to earn their freedom on this prison Continent. A hell on earth.
A perfectly fitting place for the Lost.
In 1823, a British Captain, name lost to the ages, took a ship of Convicts to Australia. It was a long and arduous journey, several died, more got sick, all detested the journey. However even this hell had an end in sight, finally the ship hit land the Convicts alighted onto solid ground once more.
"Welcome all of you, to Terra Nullis, to the Land of No Return. All of you, who have broken England's laws, are to earn your freedom by working here. Look around you, for this Land is your Prison, you will never see the shores of England again. Those of you with family, you will never see them again."
And turning on his left shoulder the Captain spat in the water and walked away. This act of emotion, of arrival and of a new beginning, topped off with an offering of phlegm proved sufficient fertaliser for The Hedge to grow through to our world and so th first Trod of Brisbane was formed.
And it was then that the first four free changling, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring, came forth and fled because hot on their heels came the Loyal ones and their masters, hunting the Legendary first, just as they still hunt us now.
And for the next one hundred and twenty years, those four remained the only Free lost in Brisbane.
Time passed ever on, a penal colony became a free one, became a city became a metropolis. In 1939 World War Two was upon us, Archerfield became an important military airfield for the Royal Australian Air Force, United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), Royal Netherlands Air Force and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm.
Around about the same time, even as Archerfield became the main location for all of the incoming and outgoing military planes and the focus for the military planning and all the intense emotions, The Eaglefarm Racecourse suddenly housed all of the thousands of soldiers here for the war effort.
These intense emotions proved to be huge, tearing open reality into the hedge, starting in Archerfield. Meanwhile on the Hedge side, the Legendary First Monarchs were waiting and preparing for battle. They managed to defend the Trod from The Others, slaying one of the terrible creatures right before reality. The beasts corpse remains to this day, Summer's mighty Spear still impaled on it's skull.
This victory signalled the beginning of the age of Freedom, The Free Lost were finally able to enter Brisbane and in 1954, the Freehold was formed, the Pledge Sworn on the Stepping Stones before The Archerfield Trod and The Legendary First Monarchs were finally crowned.
The Tradition was formed and every year The Freehold Pledge would be resworn there. At least for a while