Lion Knight History 3 + 4

Chapter Three: 1986

After the chaos of the war, and then the subsequent terms of victory in place, it was time to establish peace in the kingdom.  Part of this was facilitated by the arrival of a royal presence – a young queen came to make sure this was done, and she was accompanied by an escorting knight and some troops to make sure that her authority wasn’t questioned.  This came in the form of a Roman-style ballista, which was really the only major military upgrade of this period.  The old guard was still in place, and the dominance of Castle Lion remained supreme, but on to the huge military fortifications, the queen oversaw the construction of some civilian buildings, and even had the magnanimity to share the ideas of new architectural styles with the Black Falcons, who were now welcomed to trade and stay within the taverns and armouries.  This was the peak of architectural design during this era, as seen by the fact that two of the sets from 1986 (Guarded Inn and Black Falcon’s Fortress) were re-released in 2001 under the Legends series.

So peace was established, but under what terms, and how long could it last?  The signs were hopeful at least, but there were still tensions in the kingdom…

Chapter Four: 1986

The time of peace between the Lions and the Falcons brought an opportunity for cooperation, and that led to new industries springing up.  Harvests were gathered in, and heavy construction tools were being developed.  A new fortified outpost was built, which required a lot of manpower that would have previously been used for military duties, and this placed them closer to water sources.  For the Lion Knights, all of this allowed for the creation of a new type of transport in the form of boats, which had never been seen before in the Castle kingdom.  A state barge was created for river duties, and a larger ship attempted to set off for a longer voyage, but these soldiers were only just learning the skills that they would need – why else would they be using spears and axes for rowing?

The time of peace came to a sudden end when the Lion Knights launched a huge surprise assault against the Black Falcons at the end of this period.  What led to this change of attitude to their former rivals?  I can only surmise that the young queen’s reign came to a sudden end – whether that was a tragic illness or through more sinister means we have no idea, but the generals saw their opportunity to crush the Falcons once and for all.  A series of huge siege engines were built (see both 6062: Battering Ram and the 1987 Ideas Book) and the Lions stormed the Falcon fortress.  The Black Falcons stood no chance and were all but wiped out.  They wouldn’t ever pose a threat to the Lion Knights again.

Victory had been easy on this occasion, so the Lion Knights could look forward to celebrating their achievements.  However, all of the construction, building and the military campaign, along with their encroachment into the river areas, meant that they had disturbed the peace of other previously unknown factions, who were now building their strength to make their presence felt – and they would ultimately challenge the Lion Knights for supremacy in the kingdom…