Meridell
- Darigan redirects here. For information on the ruler of Darigan Citadel, see Lord Darigan
Meridell is a medieval land of knights, kings and magic from Neopia's past. It was discovered by a group of unlikely adventurers - Lisha and her friends - somewhat by accident as part of the Champions of Meridell plot. The region encompasses the Kingdom of Meridell, Brightvale, and Darigan. Meridell is know for its great games, mostly involving vegetables, Faerie Quests, Ultimate Bullseye, Mortog kissing, puzzles and other things.
The nation of Meridell has been involved in two wars, the first in the plot Champions of Meridell was the first Neopian war in which the players could choose either of the sides, and the second in the plot Battle for Meridell. This makes Meridell the most fought-over area on Neopia.
Meridell's colours are red, blue and gold. Meridell is ruled by King Skarl from the Meridell Castle, a large white, red and gold structure. The castle is defended by The Castle Defender, a Kougra warrior who acted as the war boss for the good side in the first Meridell war but did not appear in the second. An explanation for this is given in The Castle Defender TCG card, which describes it as "a powerful illusion, but just an illusion". Jeran is one of the leading knights of the kingdom.
Yooyuball
Meridell's Yooyuball team is all about speed, and is said to be described with just that one word. Their superior conditioning allows them to wear down oppenents with a relentless flurry of cuts and screens from the opening face-off until the end of a game. Their speed, however, masks the fact they aren't the most accurate or powerful shooters.
Other Kingdoms connected with Meridell
Darigan
Darigan Citadel, which floats in the air thanks to many engines of an unknown mechanism, was once part of its own land of plenty, until King Skarl's knights stole a magical orb that kept the kingdom prosperous. The Citadel came to the Meridell region as part of the Champions of Meridell plot to wage war on King Skarl and his kingdom. During this time, the Citadel was ruled by Lord Darigan, who vanished at the end of the plot. Lord Kass took over in Lord Darigan's absence and waged a second war against Meridell from above as part of the Battle for Meridell plot, during which time it was know as Kass Citadel. Darigan returned and took back his kingdom in the course of the plot.
Attractions include the Darigan Toys shop and the Petpet Battledome, along with the fortress' many dungeons and the games that have developed in them.
Yooyuball
Darigan's Yooyuball team have few major weaknesses, although they are critisized for playing too easy a schedule during the regular season over the years, and as a result are unprepared when the tournament comes. To fix this for the 2006 season, Darigan Citadel relented and added some more matches against a few of the better teams. Due to this they didn't finish as high in the standings as they normally did, but it would give them the toughness to play in the games which mattered the most (or at least this is what the fans hoped). Their tactic payed off, and they managed to place 2nd in the Altador Cup.
Brightvale
Brightvale, a Neopian world discovered on 11th August 2004, is an almost Utopian kingdom of scholars and fine arts ruled by King Skarl's older brother King Hagan. The first glass windows came from this kingdom, and every year on 11th August a festival is held commemorating its discovery. Brightvale's colours are green and white, and its flag consists of a triangle of white over a triangle of green, defaced with a star.
Attractions in Brightvale include the Wheel of Knowledge, Brightvale Castle, and numerous shops: the Royal Potionery, The Scrollery, the Brightvale Armoury, Brightvale Books, Brightvale Fruits, the Brightvale Motery, and Brightvale Glaziers.
Yooyuball
Brightvale's Yooyuball team is known for being the most crooked lineup of cheating and rough players, despite being the land of wisdom and learning. They know the rules of the game very well, and use it to their advantage by giving sharp jabs to the ribs when no one's looking and other such tricks to win. Their reputation of rough playing is even greater than Darigan Citadel and the Haunted Woods.
Plot Summaries
Champions of Meridell
- Main Article: Champions of Meridell
After the magical arrival of a group of school children back in time in Meridell Castle, the peace of the kingdom of Meridell, ensured by a legendary magic orb which kept the land around it prosperous, is threatened by the original owners of the device, the people of Darigan. After a massive war, Lord Darigan, in his sinister, floating citadel, reclaimed the orb and wrecked most of Meridell, devastating its attractions and taking over the Castle. However, when Lord Darigan went insane over the orb and tapped into its magic to turn himself into The Spectre of Lord Dairgan, an all-powerful weapon, it was left down to prisoner-turned-escapee the Yellow Knight to rush to Meridell and explain the situation to General Galgarroth, who led Darigan's army with Meridell's surviving defences in a strike against the power-crazed Lord to stop him before he took over all of Neopia. After his defeat, Darigan disappeared, and the orb, which he had taken to wearing as a necklace, cracked in two to be shared between the realms.
Battle for Meridell
- Main Article: Battle for Meridell
Lord Kass took over rule of the Citadel through threats and bribery, disposing of those who apposed him, and then started a campaign of propaganda against King Skarl and Meridell. This culminated in an invasion of the land the citadel floated over, with the castle's weakness to air-based attacks was exploited, as noted by the Meridell Castle TCG card.
In Meridell during this time, Lord Darigan had surfaced. He had lost almost all his memories and was completely mad, stalking farmer's fields as The Bat-Thing, until he took up lodging for a short while in a barn, fed by a little Usul girl.
This invasion was more effective that the previous as Lord Kass used the powers of his enchantress Morguss to first stop King Skarl ordering the defence of his border (by enchanting him with the dance of Morguss's daughter) and possessing Meridell's own peasants to fight what little forces had been sent to the front. Kayla's own magical efforts allowed, once Skarl had been disenchanted, an effective Meridell counterattack to Kass's large war machines.
During this time, the farm Lord Darigan had taken as his housing was raided, and when he fought off several soldiers to protect the Usul that had helped him, the guards' reactions prompted him to remember who he was, and he flew off to the Citadel, silhouetted by the moon.
A second counterattack, lead by Jeran, attacked the Citadel itself from the air. However, this sneak attack was met by a well prepared Lord Kass, and despite their only being a skeleton force on the Citadel itself, the attack quickly dispatched, Jeran himself plunging over the side of the floating fortress. Lord Darigan arrived shortly after, to Lord Kass' horror, and they sparred, Lord Kass determined to fix the "mistake" of Lord Darigan being left alive, but Lord Darigan won over and Kass fell to the floor, where his amulet smashed and The Three stole him away for his failure.
Neopets: The Darkest Faerie
- Main Article: Neopets: The Darkest Faerie
Template:Spoiler ...to be added...
NeoQuest II
- Main Article: NeoQuest II
Template:Spoiler Meridell is the location for the events in the first chapter of Neoquest II. The bosses in this act are The Miner Foreman, Zombom, The Sand Grundo, and Ramtor. The user starts out in the village of Trestin with the character Rohane, and later can add Mipsy to the party.
Trivia
- Meridell is the largest Neopian World, consisting of five maps (Meridell, Meridell Castle, Brightvale, Darigan Citadel, and Meriacres Farm) - two more than the joint second largest (Terror Mountain and the Lost Desert).
External Links
- Plot Info: Champions of Meridell, Battle for Meridell
- Game Links: Escape from Meridell Castle, Invasion of Meridell, Petpet Battles
- Neopedia: The Meridell Rubbish Dump, King Skarl, Destruction of Meridell, Escape From Meridell!
- Editorial: 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 73, 74, 75, 77, 79, 83, 86, 87, 89, 93, 99, 100, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118