Prologue & Pre-Paulian History
(2463 AD - 2666 AD)
The Mahonics first became of notice to history in the year 2306 AD, when Vincent Mahonic (later known as King Vincent II), a minor chieftain of one of the many occultist tribes of the Northeast, managed to gather a grand army, and, through bravery and guile, managed to conquer most of New England, declaring himself King of New England. And it was here that the illustrious line of Mahonic began. And for the first few generations, all was well for the Mahonics and their realm of New England. The realm was stable, the vassal chieftains were loyal, and the local peasants were, if not prospering, at least not starving. The situation looked set for a thousand-year reign of the Mahonic line. But as the old world saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and so would the Mahonics.
The end of the Mahonics began with the failure of the Hudsonian wars. King Zadok, eager to prove to his new subjects his strength and will, invaded the Anabaptist Kingdom of Hudsonians, under the Rodhams. And for a time, things appeared to be going well. Zadok's own proficiency in military strategy and the strength of the New Englander armies defeated the Hudsonians in battle after battle. However, in a chance encounter, the great and loyal Hudsonian commander, Darius Tregart, managed to slay King Zadok. Afterwards, Tregart became something of a legend among the Hudsonians, being offered the highest honors Hudsonia could offer, and something of a demon among the Occultists of New England. Either way, after the death of King Zadok, the New Englander forces were finally routed, and the first major victory of the war for the Hudsonians had been won. This crushing defeat, combined with the chaos in the royal court in Boston and the continuing resistance by the Anabaptist population of upstate New York against the Occultist New Englanders, led to a complete loss in the war for the New Englanders, who were forced to give back all occupied lands to the Hudsonians and give massive reparations to the Hudsonian king.
While the Hudsonian wars did not affect the heartland of New England directly, they drained it's army, humiliated it's rulers, and gave a sign of weakness to the many ambitious vassal chieftains just waiting to revolt. While the reign of King Sidrach ended peacefully, if prematurely, the fall of King Vincent II would cause the fall of the Mahonics, and after a while, the fall of any semblance of unity amongst the tribes of New England. Vincent's cruelty, paranoia, deceit, increasing lunacy, and simply unjust rule would finally provoke one of his vassal chieftains, Solomon King, to revolt against him, calling many of the other vassal chieftains to his banner. In the end, it was a personal dule between Solomon and Vincent that would decide the victor of the war. King emerged victorious, naming himself King of New England.
However, New England's troubles were not over yet. While Solomon's reign was largely uneventful, King Solomon died at the young age of 30, with only a daughter to succeed him. The vassal chieftains of the realm could not accept a Queen, and like they had done with Vincent II, installed their own King on the throne, Malcolm Zane (after a brief Mahonic restoration). However, the bloodshed and instability did not stop. Malcolm Zane had a son much like the late Vincent II, Jacob. Jacob had both his father and his brother, Quentin (whose reign lasted barely three days), murdered in quick succession. However, Jacob's reign lasted only two years before he himself was unseated by Owen Fenimore. And while the Fenimore kings were by no means bad Kings, the rapid successions and constant civil war had destroyed any semblance of unity within the Kingdom, and after the death of King Vincent III to a coma, New England completely collapsed.
During all this chaos, the Mahonics were not all gone. The last remaining few fled to their old great house in Boston, where they became just another minor Hetman family. The stories of the great Mahonic kings were relegated to the library of the great house, or as bedtime stories. And this may have been how it ended, indeed, this was how it stayed for nearly two centuries, until 2628. Lazarus Mahonic, always ambitious, always enthralled by the stories of the Mahonic Kings in the Crimson Library, saw an opportunity to revolt against the incredibly unpopular Chief of Boston Randolph Munroe. With the support of the post-Mahonic state of Nogad, and a few well-placed bribes, Randolph was forced out of his position and was forced to flee to the Chiefdom of Kennebec. Lazarus was declared Chief of Boston under the protection of the High Chiefdom of Nogad, and the Mahonics finally ruled again. The rest of Lazarus' reign went peacefully, until the old man passed away in his sleep on the 23rd of December, 2665 AD. And now, the ruler of Boston is the perhaps even more capable Paul Mahonic, the son of Lazarus, and now the very last of the Mahonic dynasty. However, Boston is weak, under foreign rule, and beset on all sides. It would take a miracle for the Mahonics to rise again.
