Extracts from A Military History of Albion, the standard textbook for Scone's military academy

The experiment failed. This was the conclusion of all involved, and the navy was split into Red and Blue, White already destroyed by Hamilton's treachery.

Those of the Red were invited to join the Venerable Order, and the Blue to form part of the East India Company, protecting its merchant vessels. Though there were a certain number of requests to move to a different service, the re-integration was remarkably quick. Many attribute this to the desire of all involved to put the Hamilton Incident as far behind them as possible.

Some semblance of an organised Navy remained in Cornwall, with Commodore Stirling transferring his services to King Richard of Cornwall. Some suspect that this was caused by the less than warm welcome his ex-lover was preparing for him in the Order.

The army reforms that were implemented in 1650s were the largest to be brought to bear upon the body since it’s foundation. Not only were standards and uniformity of equipment brought in but also of drill and manoeuvre. That, combined with the standardisation of command under each major general and the creation of the Regiment of Engineers, allowed a greater flexibility of field force than had previously been achieved. Actions on the mainland of Europe also showed that the requirement for cavalry was still present and the re-introduction of larger bodies of such men were quickly implemented. This expanded New Model Army, of a total of 43 regiments at it’s initial founding, became the premier example of a modern military body in Europe, if not the world.

A council of Liaison was created between the various branches of service, though no longer the Navy as it was disbanded quickly, and the Lord Martial, a role first taken by the then Lord Montgomery D’Arcy, sat in authority over this council and over all the branches. This new structure allowed for a greater level of communication and planning than had been achieved before and reinforced the capability of Albion to fight combined service actions at levels of efficiency that few had previously seen.

Following his promotion to the post of Master Gardner after Tolliver's death at the end of the civil war, Alexander Gray led the Horticulturalists through one of their greatest periods of development. As well as expanding the number of gryphons, dragons and sea serpents already under their command, Gray brought in the scouting and command worms that now provide such an advantage to Albion's forces at war. Further, while the Horticulturalists still officially deny the existence of the Special Sphinx Service, vague reports of elite trained sphinx flying units date back to shortly after Gray's promotion.

Gray's work with France firmly cemented the alliance between the two countries; although tensions raised on many occasions, no war ever broke out in his lifetime, not least as many of the creatures in France still considered themselves loyal to Albion, and specifically to Gray himself.

Under Greyhawk's leadership the remains of the navy were divided between the Order and the EIC and the Order was once again responsible for the safety of Albion's shores, and while based in Cornwall it served King Matthew while the kingdoms were separate, though a number of Captains took Cornish citizenship to avoid having to make excuses about where their Chaplains (long left behind) had got to. The reforms proposed before the disastrous experiment that was the Navy were implemented, a selection of defensive squadrons were formed and every Captain who holds a Letter of Marque was obliged to serve six months out of every three years under one of the Commodores, whose role included liaising with the Companies and the Navigators to provide best coverage. The rest of the Order was slightly more controlled, with several large cruising areas defined and Captains assigned to them in numbers appropriate to the political situation at the time, with mechanical birds as messengers to keep track of where people are and ensuring that the diplomatic incidents the Order was previously famous for were kept to a bare minimum.

Ares Jones made a welcome addition, and many of the Order cheered on Greyhawk as he chased Prince Lang, very briefly a member of the Order, to the ends of the earth every so often.

An extract from Chapter 3 of Foundations in Economics: “Merchant Companies”

Trading has come on some considerable way since Richard Molyneux set up the first true trading house. As well as frequent demonic testing following the discovery of Mammon’s infestation of MISC, and the EIC following its incorporation there, the Divination and Trading Act of 1712 worked to stop many of the issues raised by the trading of the Court Astrologer and her husband in the mid to late 1600s.

Many remark on the late adoption of these laws, considering how early the problem was realised. It is generally believed that while many of the Court Astrologer’s actions would now be illegal, no action was taken to move the act in earlier as much of the money being raised was being used to the benefit of Albion. The poor laws were much improved, and the many parishes of Albion benefited from food, transport, employment and the raising of land funded by the Duke and Duchess of Hereford. Edinburgh in particular benefited from these monies, as much aid was required following the apparent purification that occurred there.

Extracts from The Crown of Albion by T. Quint

Matthew was served and protected well by his privy council for the remainder of his life. The Court Astrologer served to advise him on matters of security, and Matthew’s memoirs record his occasional annoyance at her insistence and pedantry in some aspects of this, although it seems he did always follow her advice. The Baron Mandrake and Duke Hereford similarly served and protected his Majesty until his death in 1660.

Richard married shortly after being announced the King of Cornwall in 1649 to Lady Morenwyn Zennor, a Cornish noblewoman. While the wedding was clearly Anglican, there were rumours of a separate pagan ritual to sanctify the marriage according to Lady Zennor’s religious beliefs. Indeed, while the marriage was fruitful, producing a total of eight children, it is said that at least one of these was born of a Beltane union. Certainly, there was little love lost between the couple.

[…]

Richard always remained wary of his half-brother Zacharias, despite his oath of fealty. While the latter often seemed to try to gain the King’s friendship, Richard continued to extend little more than the minimum courtesy required of him.

[…]

His sister, Unity, was married early in her life to Edmond Dupont. Dupont’s ancestry was questioned by many observers; an orphan adopted by a noble family, some commented on his similarities in appearance, if not manner, to the traitors Hamilton and Wyndham, although no move was made to block the marriage.

From The History of the Religious Reformation published by Oxford University Press

While Cornwall led the way with religious tolerance, it was several generations before Greyhawk’s religious views spread themselves through the rest of Albion’s empire. The legislation to allow human sacrifice in the event of a willing volunteer in particular caused considerable contention: when it was discovered, it was only Albion’s control of the gunpowder supply in Europe that prevented a war occurring.

The trend started by Greyhawk, however, almost certainly led to Albion being the first European country to begin repealing its recusancy laws. Even before the laws were formally repealed, it was generally known that those of alternative religious persuasions would be unlikely to be punished for their views in Albion, regardless of the response they would receive in the rest of Europe. The only exception to this was to Catholics, who to this day still suffer abuse for their beliefs, although the government are making continued efforts to discourage this religious intolerance. Nowadays, of course, Greyhawk is revered as the great religious reformer, a man with a vision many years ahead of its time.

Extracts from “Domina Inustio Illumea: A History of Oxford and Invisible”, Raised London: Limehouse Press, 1901

“….the academic controversy surrounding the established and documented linguistic link between the Angelic and Daemonic tongues – revealed by noted scholar of Esoteric Languages Alexander Gray, in the years following the recovery from the Episcopalian Crisis – is one which seems incredible to the modern scholar, who merely accepts the languages' relation as fact. Nevertheless, the revelation caused a split which almost reignited the Oxford-Invisible tensions of earlier years, and outright violence over the academic debate was only prevented by skilled diplomacy on the part of many luminaries, not least the Master of Invisible College, Isabel Meredith, Eliza Gamut and many other luminaries of the time…”

“…as can be seen from the great statue that stands in Nathaniel Quad, was surely one of the best-beloved Masters of the College. His work to raise the College to the glorious academic heights it enjoys today, and to cooperate and collaborate with other Institutions of equal calibre, says as much for the willingness in latter years of Invisible men and women to admit Invention as one of the Gentlemanly Sciences as it does for the man's own loyalty to his alma mater…

…spiritual health of the College, meanwhile, enjoyed great assistance from the Sisters of Hecate, in particular the work of Gwen verch Morcant in helping the Spirit of the College recover from the trauma and torments inflicted by the erstwhile Master and Diabolist Christian de Winter…

…must be said that the influence of Andrew Jones upon the studies of Theurgy at the Invisible College may be considered at least partly responsible for the later Faculties of Hostile Archaeology which would spring up, with great success, at a series of academic institutions including Invisible. Professor Jones' no-nonsense attitude to the resting-places of Christian relics, and his exceedingly interesting theoretical lectures on the dangers and traps of such resting-places, enthused a generation of students who went on to enthuse others in their turn, and it is with reverence that his hat, whip and bible are kept to this day in a glass case in the Library…”

“…before his ultimate treachery was revealed, it cannot be denied that Lovecraft, whatever his eventual aims, performed some excellent theoretical research into Aztec and Cathayan Sorceries; their variants, their parallels and their applications – research which forms the ground for the modern study of Applied Daemonology.

…the Gamut Bursary, meanwhile, allowed an unprecedented number of young, capable but common-born Witches to study at Oxford, making use of the great resources there and contributing in their turn to the reputation of Cain's College as a centre of excellence for Witchcraft throughout Albion and its Colonies…

…Professor Meredith, eventually acceding to Master of Cain's College after the death of Christina Thompkins, was known to be well-beloved of both the Gargoyles and of her many enthusiastic Conjuration students. Despite the frequent and colourful rumours which dogged her career, it cannot be denied that Master Meredith did excellent things for the reputation of Cain's as a cutting-edge research institute, whether in Witchcraft, weatherworking or Sorcery; and, of course, she continues to hold the record for Master under whom Cain's won the highest number of Boat-Races, after that ill-fated institution was reintroduced in 1662…

…Professor Grover, meanwhile, taking up the position of Professor of Drama at Cain's College, provided not only striking illusions, but a worthy and interesting series of tuitions on the practical applications of Conjuration effects to the stage, enthusing a generation of young Conjurers to go on to work in the theatre. Some of his techniques are used even now by professional kinematographers…

…Hereford Cathedral School, meanwhile, and the later Hereford College, established the Duke of Hereford's name for funding academic excellence in all walks of life; the Scholarships established for Hereford boys at many Oxford colleges remain today in his name, in addition to records of several excellent guest lectures, often delivered in concert with his wife the Duchess Eliza, on the use of Witchcraft and most particularly Divination in military manoeuvres…

…Scone College, meanwhile, saw the attentions of the legacy of the heroic Altair ibn La-Ahad before his tragic death in the Episcopal Crisis, and continues to this day the exchange programme with Braganza College established under his name…”