written 28th of February, AD 2015

Truman Still was born in the Year of Our Lord 2635, the second year of Franklin Greysnow’s reign as King of Iowa. Unfortunately, very little is known of his early life, and several possible tales are widely known. The most popular story begins with Truman’s birth in Independence (or St. Louis, Jefferson City, or Kirksville) and continues with his apprenticeship to either a merchant or the steward of a minor lord. The various tales tend to differ on his life between roughly the beginning of his apprenticeship and before his oath of fealty to King Franklin. Depending on the tale, in the early 2660s he either established himself as the independent ruler of the lands formerly known as northern Missouri or he spent some time at the court of King Franklin in Des Moines. Whatever the truth, it is known with some certainty that on the first of January in the Year of Our Lord 2664 Truman Still swore an oath of fealty to King Franklin of Iowa near the headwaters of the Chariton River in southern Iowa, and in return for his oath received the title Duke of Chariton and the counties of Nodaway and Paho. The source of Duke Truman’s standard of a red horseman on a black field is not recorded, but it is believed to date to a time before the Deluge. After his oath, Duke Truman is believed to have established his seat in Maryville, though most of the surviving records begin in 2666, the second year of his reign and the 33rd year of King Franklin’s rule.

Author’s note: I wrote about a page before going to bed this morning, and this is the result of my combining revision and editing with typing. More revision and compilation to come.