Part 81: Falconier111 expands on the history of Ballonlea.
Kheldarn posted:
Christmas has come and gone, and my offspring bought the Animal Crossing Switch for themself, and regifted me their origial Switch, along with a copy of Pokémon Sword.
So, I want to say thanks again for this LP. It's gonna make my playthrough of Sword just a little more interesting, as I'll be thinking of this LP and the lore you created as I play.
I’m honored! So honored, in fact, that I’ll impart a bit of lore to you that never made it in to the LP:
After the Kingdom of Sied collapsed its inhabitants streamed into neighboring lands in search of shelter. One large group, including the bulk of Grenestowe’s former population, entered the Glimwood Tangle only to run into the forces of the lords to the north who actually owned the forest. The refugees and lords fought for years before Alfred the Unifier swept in, maneuvered both sides to the bargaining table, and offered them a deal; both sides would swear fealty to him, and in return he’d build them a prosperous town big enough for them to share on a site geographically closer to what used to be Sied (allowing the refugees to move in more easily) and located near the source of a major river that flowed to the north (allowing the lords easy access). Both sides pointed to the fact that that site was just more impenetrable forest and moved to end negotiations.
Then Alfred laid down a challenge: if he could build the entire town by sunrise of the next day, they would have to swear fealty to him and move in. Incredulous, they agreed, and swore oaths to abide by the agreement. So he went to work. He levied every human and Pokémon in his entourage and put them all to work, whether raising buildings from the earth, building a channel to the river, or, most importantly, burning back the forest. The representatives of both sides arrived the next morning to find a small city he’d built overnight, complete with buildings, defense, and enough virgin farmland to support those residents they couldn’t feed through trade. The refugees and lords’ men kept their promise and moved in, and their descendants have lived there ever since.
Of course, reality wasn’t quite as rosy; the buildings were just slabs of rock and earth raised by Ground-type moves and soon collapsed, while the forest eventually overgrew the farmland and the town itself. But the fact remains: King Alfred really did build a town in a day, and they have extensive documentary evidence to prove it. To this day, the town’s inhabitants call it Ballonlea, a name which (very roughly) translates from Old English as “forest clearing made through burning”.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to post that
