A few details about this kingdom:
It is about 100 miles across, for a total of a little under 10,000 square miles of land. Its climate is on the colder side of temperate. The geography is inspired by the West Coast of Canada (simply because I like west coast Canadian landscapes), with an ocean on the Western border, snow-capped mountains on the Eastern border, and forests to the North and South. The North and West are wetter, the South and East more arid (though not desert). A major river system runs down out of the mountains to the sea, passing through a large lake, named Silverlake, in the middle of your kingdom. Your capital, also named Silverlake (a full concentric castle with its own harbour and temple) is built on an island in the centre of this lake, with smaller villages dotting the shores. Their are also some smaller streams along the coast, and some smaller lakes in the interior. You also have two other towns/fortresses: Westport (a fishing port/trade centre) at the river's mouth, and Ironhall, in the mountains (a fortified mining settlement).
This kingdom, and adjacent lands, are populated by approximately 100,000 human beings, and 200,000 non-human magical beings. The forests to the north are populated by monsters- vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and the like, with the usual power sets. Their are also a number of rogue wizards who have set up shop here, enthralling the local monsters as troops. Twice before in the kingdom's history, a dark lord has arisen here and then invaded the South, the second time even besieging the capital before the Lord of Westport arrived with his household knights and broke the siege. However, this was nearly 100 years ago, though recently rumours of beasts emerging from the forest and villagers vanishing in the night have filtered South.
The forest to the South is populated by elves- immortal, good at healing magic and communicating with plants and animals, and generally living as hunter-gatherers in the woods. They are ruled by a council of elders and have a small militia armed mainly with bows. They are presently neither friendly or hostile, but mostly isolationist. Border skirmishes have happened in the past though. A very few have chosen to live among humans, intermarrying and interbreeding. About ten percent of your population, mostly in the South, has some elvish heritage. Their are rumours, hotly denied, that some of the royal family does as well.
The Eastern mountains contain a number of dwarfish settlements burrowed into the mountains. They are open to trading their metals and craftsmanship in exchange for food, timber, and cloth from the above ground people (which they have in rare quantities), and particularly fish and pearls from the sea, which they have no access to otherwise. However, they take a dim view to humans setting up a mining settlement of their own in the mountains, and some of their more radical elements have advocated war. The mountains also have a serious bandit problem, which has further exacerbated tensions with the dwarves, and on rare occasions, dragons have swept down from the mountains to slaughter, plunder, and burn. Tribes of goblins also sometimes raid from their holes in the mountains, though they are disorganized and have only the crudest of weapons. However, while blessed with skilled siege engineers and smiths and good at fighting in tunnels, the dwarves don't have much of an army for fighting above ground, usually relying on holing up in their network of secret tunnels to wait out any foe. The are ruled over by a council composed of representatives of the different guilds (the main ones being the mining guild, metalworking guild, architectural guild, and mercenary guild), and their main fighting strength is the guardsmen of the guilds, who are hired from the mercenary guild, and who fight with weapons derived from their tunnelling tools- picks, hammers, and the like. They do, however, have crude explosives. A number of dwarves live as diplomats, traders, mercenaries, or craftsmen in your lands, comprising about five percent of your population, and over half your non-human population.
The sea has never been crossed in living memory, and is often wracked by storms and plagued by great krackens and serpents. Since your most advanced vessels are small cogs and galleys, and only a few of those, sailing across the sea is something few would even contemplate venturing. A few islands beyond the western coast have been settled by your people, however. They are largely independent fishing and farming communities, but some have taken to piracy against your vessels. Until recent events, this was considered the foremost military threat to your realm. The Lord of Westport has been pleading with the Crown to send him additional troops, and commission the construction of more ships, for some time, and some of the knights and West Coast inhabitants have been agitating for a punitive expedition against the island settlements.
As for your own lands- you are currently at a Medieval technological level, pre-gunpowder. Your country is a monarchy, obviously, with the King ruling from Silverlake and the Eastern and Western towns ruled over either by a member of the Royal Family or, when one is not available, a particularly trusted or accomplished knight. The Westport lord is your uncle, and nearing 70. He is loyal, but turning senile, and has no heir. The Ironhall lord is the former Captain of the Royal Guard, giving the posting as a reward after he lost a leg fighting bandits and could no longer lead the Guard. He has a daughter, 19 years of age, and a 15 year old son, who is expected to be knighted and join the Royal Guard next year. The heart of the Kingdom is mostly a mix of farmland and woodlands.
Social values are somewhat regressive, with traditional gender roles, male heirs favoured for inheriting, and women generally being married off for wealth or politics, although laws passed by your father and grandfather do ban slavery and rape and allow a degree of freedom of worship (dark magic such as mind control and necromancy, however, are harshly prohibited). The Crown, or its representative lords, act as judge, jury, and executioner. Most of the populace is peasant farmers (or on the coasts, fishermen), although their is a growing middle class of craftsmen and merchants, particularly in the East. Literacy is rare outside the nobility, merchants, and priesthood, but common among them. Their is a single major roadway, running East to West through the three main population centres/centres of government, as well as harbours at Silverlake and Westport.
The primary religion worships a Sun God who created the world, with the night representing the forces of evil and decay. This religion officiates most marriages and funerals in the realm, as well as royal coronations, and practices a belief in reincarnation. Cremation is the preferred form of disposing of the dead, due to the symbolic association of fire with the Sun (and as a practical means of keeping the dead from rising again).
Magic is present, mainly in the form of small-time healers and psychics, though occasionally their have been legendary battle mages who could conjure fire, move objects with their mind, and shield themselves from enemy attacks. Their have also been those who dabbled in the black arts. Magic is largely frowned on, though it is not uncommon for a King or even a lord to keep a mage on quietly as an advisor. The tomes on magical lore are restricted to the royal library, and only the King has the key.
Your standing army consists of the Royal Guard of 100 knights in partial plate armour, plus a handful of ships and the guards of the Eastern and Western lords (about 100 more men). You can also raise a militia on short notice of several thousand peasants, mostly unarmored and armed with crude bows, slings, and spears. Their are also several hundred sellswords roaming the kingdom, mostly either employed as guards by the more wealthy merchants and craftsmen, or turning to banditry and piracy to support themselves. Your realm's full military capability would likely be around 5,000 men (500 horse and 4,500 foot) and half a dozen warships, given about a week to muster them.
Now for you- you are twenty years of age, the Crown Prince (or Princess) of this realm, and the only heir besides your senile uncle. Or rather, you inhabit their body, but retain their memories. You are currently betrothed to either the Lord of Ironhall, or their daughter (depending on gender). However, two days ago, your father the King died (apparently a sudden illness, but the rumours speak poison). Your coronation is imminent, but a trusty servant has come to you in private, and warns you that your father's Steward (a regressive who intends to repeal the recent reforms and takes a militant view towards non-humans and other faiths) intends to blame you for the death and take the throne for himself, and that he has bribed enough members of the Royal Guard (including the new commander) to put down any likely initial resistance. This servant tells you that she has arranged to leave the castle's postern gate unlocked and has a boat standing by at the docks to leave in one hour.
What do you do?
Edit: I will post further details later, with the direction the scenario takes depending on your answers.
