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DokuOlhain

The Lost Chronicle

The hills of Artois

ChaptersHistory

The first episode begins under the beeches of the Olhain forest, on the hills of Artois. Pip, a little knight, and Russet the fox find the pages of the Great Chronicle there, from the enclosure hidden under the trees to the castle standing on the water and the Fairies' Table. Then the Mist drags them back to the Stone Age, into a frozen future that may never happen, and onto the hill of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, in 1915.

The Mist

The Grey Mist, made up for the game: one night it blew over Olhain and scattered the pages of the Great Chronicle, and without them Olhain forgets its history. It then becomes the Mist of Time, which tangles the ages, the Frost Mist, which freezes a possible future, and the Mist of Forgetting, which would like to erase the names of the soldiers of the Great War.

6

chapters

0

mini-games

21

notebook species

The real history

What the episode tells

On the first ridge of the Artois hills, the Olhain state forest covers about 290 hectares; with its hillside, it is listed as a natural area of ecological interest (ZNIEFF). Under its trees, archaeologists have recognised a Neolithic enclosure, about 6,000 years old and more than 25 hectares across: its first dig, in September 2022, turned up flints, pottery and sandstone objects, and the site has been a listed historic monument since 15 June 2023. Close by, at Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen, the Fairies' Table, a slab of some ten tonnes resting on three standing stones, has been protected since 1889, and the village has carried its name since 1925. Olhain castle, in the middle of a moat up to about 80 metres wide, dates from the early 15th century: it is said to be the finest medieval fortress of Artois, and it has been a listed monument since 1989. On the neighbouring hill of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, where fighting went on for months in 1914 and 1915, a national cemetery has kept about 43,000 soldiers since 1924, and since 2014 the Ring of Remembrance has carried nearly 580,000 names of soldiers of every nationality, side by side. Right next to the forest, the Olhain county park, opened in 1973, welcomes about 700,000 visitors a year.

The episode's home screen in the game

Key dates

  1. 1

    6,000 years ago

    Neolithic people dig a large enclosure under the trees of Olhain.

  2. 2

    1407

    Oak is delivered for the "hôtel d'Olehain": the present castle dates from the early 15th century.

  3. 3

    1889

    The Fairies' Table is listed as a historic monument.

  4. 4

    9 May 1915

    The French army launches the Second Battle of Artois; after terrible fighting, the front settles at the foot of the hill of Lorette.

  5. 5

    1924

    Notre-Dame-de-Lorette becomes a national cemetery: about 43,000 soldiers rest there, 22,970 of them unknown, beneath a 52-metre lantern tower.

  6. 6

    8 January 1925

    Fresnicourt becomes Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen.

  7. 7

    1973

    The Olhain county park opens.

  8. 8

    12 April 1989

    Olhain castle is listed as a historic monument.

  9. 9

    11 November 2014

    The Ring of Remembrance is unveiled on the hill of Lorette.

  10. 10

    15 June 2023

    The Neolithic enclosure of the Bois d'Olhain becomes a listed historic monument.

The chapters

Chapter by chapter

  1. Chapter 1

    The Olhain forest

    Beeches, oaks, a stream… and a 6,000-year-old secret.

    Pip is
    a little knight
    He throws
    magic acorns
    You cross
    the forest edge, the bluebell glade, the stream, the secret under the trees, the fairies' fountain
    The guardian (made up)
    the Great Bramble

    Chronicle pages

    • 6,000 years agoUnder the trees of Olhain, Neolithic people dug a large enclosure of ditches and banks. You can hardly see it today!
    • 15 June 2023A LIDAR survey, a laser that "sees" the ground through the leaves, revealed the enclosure. Since 15 June 2023 the Bois d'Olhain site has been a listed historic monument.
    • 1973The Olhain county park opens: 450 hectares, nearly 170 of them wooded, and about 700,000 visitors a year. A 564-metre zip line sets off from its lookout tower!
    In the notebookOakBeechBluebellWood anemoneRed squirrelGreat spotted woodpeckerRoe deer
    Companion wonSword
    Game screenshot — The Olhain forest
  2. Chapter 2

    Olhain castle

    A castle standing on the water, and eight centuries of history.

    Pip is
    a little knight
    He throws
    magic acorns
    You cross
    the bank, the first bridge, the lower courtyard, the bridge of Questions, the gatehouse, the castle courtyard
    The guardian (made up)
    the Mist Knight

    Chronicle pages

    • 1407Oak timber is delivered for works on the "hôtel d'Olehain": the castle we see today dates from the early 15th century.
    • 1409Alix de Nielles marries Jean I de Berghes. The Berghes-Saint-Winock family will keep Olhain until 1900!
    • 12 April 1989Olhain castle is listed as a historic monument. It is said to be the finest medieval fortress of Artois.
    In the notebookMallardRed squirrelCommon frog
    Companion wonBaby Dragon
    Game screenshot — Olhain castle
  3. Chapter 3

    The Fairies' Table

    At night, the white ladies dance around the stone.

    Pip is
    a little knight
    He throws
    magic acorns
    You cross
    the night path, the standing stones, the fairy ring, Hoot's tree, the Fairies' Table
    The guardian (made up)
    the Grey Mist

    Chronicle pages

    • NeolithicA huge slab of about 3 metres by 2.5 metres, some ten tonnes, rests on three standing stones. Neolithic people raised it.
    • 8 January 1925By decree, Fresnicourt becomes Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen: the village takes the name of its dolmen.
    • LegendThey say "white ladies" dance in a ring around the stone, and that a spellbound walker might be dragged underneath. A legend from oral tradition.
    In the notebookCommon frogTawny owl
    Companion wonSollem
    Game screenshot — The Fairies' Table
  4. Chapter 4

    The Stone Age

    Mammoths in the dust, and Olhain's first farmers.

    Pip is
    a little Stone Age hunter
    He throws
    spears
    You cross
    the gate of old stones, the mammoth steppe, the herds' crossing, the cleared forest, the campfire, the first farmers' enclosure
    The guardian (made up)
    the Great Mist Mammoth

    Chronicle pages

    • The last ice ageA great grassy steppe, the "mammoth steppe", covered parts of Europe and Asia. The woolly mammoth stood up to 3.4 metres at the shoulder and weighed up to 6 tonnes.
    • The NeolithicPeople learn to grow plants and raise animals, and often live in villages. Their polished stone axes help them clear the forest.
    • September 2022Archaeologists begin to dig Olhain's enclosure: flints, pottery, sandstone objects. It covers more than 25 hectares, and its ditches break off to form entrances.
    In the notebookReindeerWoolly mammothAurochs
    Companion wonFire
    Game screenshot — The Stone Age
  5. Chapter 5

    The Frozen Future

    Olhain under the snow, robots everywhere… and a future to mend.

    Pip is
    a little snow scout
    He throws
    bolts of light
    You cross
    the snowy forest, the fallen pylons, the robot depot, the frozen moat, the shelter, the ruined power plant (made up)
    The guardian (made up)
    the Frost Colossus

    Chronicle pages

    • 6 January 1709The Great Winter: a terrible cold falls on Europe. In Paris it is −23 °C; wine freezes in the barrels, and even the Old Port of Marseille is caught in the ice.
    • 15 January 1885In the United States, Wilson Bentley fixes a camera to a microscope and photographs a snowflake, a first. He will photograph more than 5,000 of them.
    • March 1980There is no nuclear power plant at Olhain! The most powerful one in France is at Gravelines, in the Nord, by the sea: its six reactors start up from 1980 to 1985, cooled by the water of the North Sea.
    In the notebookEuropean robinStoatSnowdrop
    Companion wonSpaceship
    Game screenshot — The Frozen Future
  6. Chapter 6

    The Hills of Remembrance

    1915, on the hills of Artois: a carrier pigeon, poppies, and names not to forget.

    Pip is
    a little messenger
    He throws
    poppy petals
    You cross
    the trenches, the crater field, the ruins of Ablain, the pigeon loft, the ruins of Souchez, the Lorette plateau
    The guardian (made up)
    the Mud Beast

    Chronicle pages

    • 5 October 1914At the start of the Great War, the hill of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, very close to Olhain, is taken by the German army. Trenches are dug there, and the fighting goes on for months.
    • 1914 – 1918When nothing else could get through, carrier pigeons carried the messages: the French army had tens of thousands of them.
    • 11 November 2014The Ring of Remembrance bears nearly 580,000 names of soldiers who died in the region, from more than 40 countries, in alphabetical order, without rank or country: all side by side.
    In the notebookSkylarkCommon poppyCornflower
    Companion wonDove
    Game screenshot — The Hills of Remembrance

With care

What the game makes up, what it doesn't show

  • Pip, Russet, Hoot, Mist the fairy, the Grimoire, the Grey Mist, its Mistlings and its guardians are made up. The Mistlings stand for no side in history, and they are "dispelled", never killed.
  • The game never has you fight Spaniards, Dutchmen or the soldiers of 1915: the castle's sieges are told by the pages, and the Mist Knight is an empty suit of armour, puffed up with mist.
  • At Lorette, no soldier is an enemy and no weapon or flag is shown: Pip is a messenger, his shots are poppy petals, the Mist of Forgetting takes the shape of barbed wire, rats and mud, and there is never any fighting in the cemetery.
  • The time gate under the castle is made up: under the castle, the sources speak of Merovingian walls, and Olhain's Neolithic remains are the enclosure in the wood. The game's mammoths, reindeer and aurochs are peaceful: Pip only chases the mist.
  • The Frozen Future is a possible future, entirely made up, and the game says so: there is no power plant at Olhain, and the bears and wolves Pip dispels are frost, not animals.
  • The dance of the white ladies is told as a legend, and the notebook shows species common in the forests of northern France, not an official inventory of Olhain.

For real

Go and see the places

Also on appynamic.comThe Olhain guideThe forest, the castle and the Fairies' Table in full: the castle's timeline, the legend of the white ladies and an explorer's notebook.
On the devlogOlhain — The Lost ChronicleRead the article
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