In today’s Ark Lore Tuesday (check out our other Ark Lore articles) we want to talk about the Lynx Rebellion. This is an event that took place hundreds of years before the game takes place and therefore does not feature in the game (bar a few history books and fireside tavern songs). However, the event is one of the bedrocks of the current social order of the Kingdom and has shaped the Kingdom into what it is today.
The relative autonomy
While the Animal Kingdom is a monarchy ruled by lions, the other noble families still have a degree of control over their own territories. This relative autonomy came about hundreds of years ago as the aftermath of the Lynx Rebellion. This rebellion started after a series of imposed regulations and levies in the Kingdom by the lion king Red.
The lynxes pushed back on this, declaring complete autonomy from the crown and thus a long struggle ensued, sometimes called The Third Northern War. In the beginning, King Red believed the rebellion will be squashed soon and gave it no thought, but similar rebellions were soon beginning to spark in other regions of the Kingdom as well. That’s why Red decided to send his son Nathaniel to help the royalist soldiers squash the rebellion.
Healing a broken paw
As the story goes, Nathaniels carriage broke down near the battlefield so he never made it there. He stayed at a northern village nearby for the next few days, healing his broken paw. When he healed, the battle was already over and the lynxes had won yet again.
Instead of regrouping and continuing the fight, Nataniel decided to solve the problem in a different way. He rushed back to Blackbark and, having learned much about the northern problems in his brief stay in the northern village, he told his father about their problems and how the policies and regulations imposed by the crown are hurting them.
A new system was born
Advised by his son and heir, King Red started a series of reforms, which his son finished, which transformed the unitary nature of the Kingdom into a more decentralized structure.
Thus a new system was born – in which the local royal cats have more autonomy over regional issues and established permanent embassies in Blackbark for each noble family where their envoys can discuss grievances over issues pertaining to the entire Kingdom.
These Embassies have since moved to the new capital Pride but serve the same function since they were introduced – to coordinate and adjust the kingdom rules to the specifics of each region.
Nathaniels wise decision to use diplomacy and lenience instead of war is hailed by historians as a very intelligent, compassionate and prudent move by the lions, and the wisdom and wits of lions in this situation is one of the many legends immortalised in folk songs and sung throughout the Kingdom by royalists.
However, those who oppose the crown believe that this peace was a squandered opportunity for ending the lion’s rule.
Bonus content: How Snowy Wasteland came to be
A sketch
Work in progress
Final scene
Animated scene
