Of Kingdoms and Cutie-Marks: Developer Notes Entry 3- Elkienhiem · 5:33am Sep 13th, 2013
Elkienhiem. The land of the frozen north that shouldn't be.
Elkienhiem sits on the same longitude as The North Griffon Confederation, but is cursed with the climate and weather of a nation much further to the north as it still bares the scars of the first reign of Nightmare Moon.
After Luna was corrupted into the being known as Nightmare Moon, Elkienhiem aimed to support Celestia in her attempt to corral the monster that was once her sister. Their main army, lead by the famous skald mage Gunnar the Storm Bearer, crossed the border; aiming to link up with the Equestrian army lead by Starswirl the Bearded.
Nightmare Moon decided to make an example.
Flying to their capital, the possessed alicorn devastated the palace guard before conjuring a pillar of midnight black stone in the palace's courtyard. Since then Elkienhiem has been cursed with a short growing season and bitter winter weather, as the sun's ability to cast it's warmth within it's borders has been horribly stunted. Every attempt to destroy the pillar so far has failed.
The rise of king Gustav the Second has only made matters worse, as Elkienhiem has taken on the role of empire. Fuelled by a need for resources, over the last twenty years he has absorbed four smaller kingdoms between him and Equestria, some by marriage, some by conquest. All the while Nightmare Moon's curse has expanded with the nation's borders.
The return of Princess Luna to the joint throne of Equestria has strained relations between the two countries almost to the breaking point. The elk have not forgotten and the elk have not forgiven. And the Lion of the North has began to cast his eyes southwards, his armies backed by both magic and technology. An application of Gustav's "combined arms" approach to warfare.
Elkienhiem is mostly based on the Swedish Empire of the era of Gustavus Adolphus the Great and is probably one of the more antagonistic forces in the setting, sporting a chip on the shoulder almost a mile wide. But next time, I'll give some details on one of Celestia's allies.
Next time: The Empire of Tapira.
