Veruna
Veruna is the house of Kirenna, the youngest child of Garacaius. It is a federation of islands that lives from the sea and from trade. It has the largest navy in Darien, and more long-range units and defensive towers than any other house.
Kirenna, the Sea Mage
Kirenna is the child most like her father, and she shares his love of the sea. As a young woman she sailed on trading ships to the far corners of Darien, and the crews named her the Sea Mage. With Veruna she received the ring holding Macha's Tear, one of the Five Legacies.
Among her first laws, she ended all internal taxes and doubled the pay of experienced seamen. Veruna soon came to control almost all trade by sea. She rules from a palace above the harbour of Lendra, the capital.
In battle, Kirenna has 14,800 hit points and can move over water as well as land. She fights with a trident and three spells: Water Ball, Water Burst and Water Blast. She builds Walls, Gates, Lodestones, Guard Towers, the Enclave and the Sea Fort. She can also summon the Angel of Lihr, the god of her house.
The Islands and Their People
Veruna was the home Garacaius chose, and its noble houses welcomed Kirenna as their ruler. Its noble houses rarely fight each other. Their usual weapon is a trade boycott. The people worship Lihr, a great sea god.
The atlas follows a traveller around the islands. Lendra is the largest city and a market for goods from all of Darien. Wyldon, the second city, is home to artisans and scholars. Meredoc, in the southern islands, lies on the main trade route to Aramon, and its people worship both Lihr and Anu.
Kirenna keeps her father's oath against magic, like her brother Elsin. Thirsha of Zhon has banned Verunan traders from her land and encourages pirates to attack Verunan ships. Lokken of Taros has raised customs duties, and ships sailing to Taros have disappeared. Her friendship with Elsin has survived several quarrels, and Aramon is her likely ally.
The Noble Houses
| Noble house | Lands | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Aenir | Vidara, the largest island | Most of Veruna's soldiers, including the archers on its warships |
| Yddyn | Athri and the eastern islands | The best navigators in Veruna |
| Jatha | A few small islands in the south | Thinkers and officials, close ties to Aramon, and the command of the war fleet |
| Iuli | Vidara | Probably the first merchant house; it settled Irgiron and founded Estoril |
How Veruna Fights
Veruna's strength is its navy. Its Sea Fort builds six kinds of ship: the Skiff, Harpoon Ship, Transport Ship, Man of War, Trebuchet Ship and Flagship. Aramon has two ships and Creon three, and Taros has none. The Flagship is also a builder, and it can raise the Floating Tower, a defence that stands on water.
Veruna fights from a distance. Of the 17 fighting units it can build, not counting builders, the monarch and the god, 13 attack from range. Not counting monarchs and gods, eight Verunan units reach a range of 700 or more, and no other house has more than four. The Trebuchet Ship has a range of 2,537, second only to Aramon's Trebuchet.
Veruna also has the most armed structures of any house: the Guard Tower, Bastion, Mortar, Floating Tower and Lighthouse. The Mortar lobs cannonballs to a range of 1,450. With 36 units in its build tree, Veruna has the largest choice of units of any house.
Its foot soldiers are lighter. The Warrior is the basic swordsman, and the Crusader is its toughest foot soldier with 4,325 hit points. Magic is rare: only the Priest of Lihr and the Sea Dragon carry personal mana. Support comes from the Priestess, who builds and heals, and the Pillar of Light, which heals Verunan units around it.
Veruna builds up from the Enclave and the Sea Fort to the Citadel, and then to the Priest of Lihr. The Veruna build tree has every unit along the way.
Notable Units
| Unit | Role | Mana cost |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior | Basic infantry | 265 |
| Crossbowman | Ranged infantry | 300 |
| Priestess | Builder and healer, unarmed | 505 |
| Musketeer | Long-range infantry | 745 |
| Amazon Knight | Cavalry with thrown spears | 1,136 |
| Flagship | Builder ship | 1,237 |
| Dirigible | Airship that drops bombs | 1,611 |
| Harpoon Ship | Warship | 1,711 |
| Man of War | Heavy warship and transport | 2,656 |
| Floating Tower | Defence on water | 3,608 |
| Priest of Lihr | Top-tier builder and spellcaster | 5,292 |
| Trebuchet Ship | Long-range siege ship | 5,843 |
| Sea Dragon | Dragon, one at a time | 49,287 |
Veruna in the Campaigns
You play Veruna in 8 of the 48 missions of The Book of Darien: missions 6, 14–16 and 20–23. The first is Jungle Screams, a landing in Zhon. In The Butcher of Zakum, Kirenna's forces raid a Tarosian island to end the rule of Baron Leimar.
In The Iron Plague you play Veruna in 5 missions: 2, 4, 5, 7 and 18. Most of them are fought against Creon. That makes 13 Veruna missions in all.
Sources
- Total Annihilation: Kingdoms manual, The Chronicles of Darien (1999): the history, the Veruna chapter and its noble houses
- The lore atlas in the GOG release of Kingdoms: the Veruna section
- Game data extracted from the GOG release: units, build lists and missions