Now, I'll not do the whole history - cos that was a three pages long... and also, as you can from the name, I'm retconning a lot of it... well, no - I will be editing some parts, but not all of it. Some things will never change, but the circumstances surrounding them might get switched up a bit to make the setting more consistent or interesting...
Anyway, what're the things that'll never change? Well, here's a bullet pointed history:
- Jugisium was originally home to Orcs, and other 'lower' races such as kobolds and goblins.
- Elves settled on the western coast. About the same time, Dwarves settled the mountains in the south-east.
- Humans came from continent to the north, and had a few colonies in north-eastern Jugisium.
- There was a war, either against Orcs or each other, and at the end Elves were in charge.
- Mages got too big for their breaches, and ended up fomenting a revolution.
- There were some Dark Ages, but no one is really sure how long they lasted.
- Dwarves, Elves and Humans agreed to jolly cooperation and created the Triumvirate - a federation of sorts.
... And really that's about it. Everything else is confused by several centuries - or millennia - of barbarism, oral tradition and legend... So, I can feel free to give differing accounts whenever I feel like it. Perfect.
Anyway, this leads me onto this... the actual fluff I wrote. It's long, so, if you don't much care... I'll be back next week. But, if you do fancy it, I hope you enjoy it. Volodanti out.
History of LeVehn.
LeVehn as a nation is relatively new – indeed, it has only
existed in a recognisable form for a little over six centuries. Before that,
was a collection of petty kingdoms; the aftermath of numerous and
ill-remembered warlords. After the fall of the first empire, the lands of
Jugisium descended into anarchy, barbarism and war for an unknowable length of
time – long enough that no Elves lived through it.
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| Map for your benefit |
Firstly, understand that before the dark ages, humanity was
not united. An old kingdom existed in the south of Aran, whilst newer
cosmopolitan peoples lived within what would later become LeVehn, and a few
colonies dotted the isles connecting the two. Approximately a millennia ago, a
migration occurred as peoples from northern Aran began to seek richer lands to
the south. These new peoples subjugated the current inhabitants, or else forced
them from their lands, creating an influx of refugees in other lands. Because
of this, the island colonies united under the leadership of the largest city,
creating the maritime Empire of Dornuk.
South of them, the plains of eastern Jugisium were the site
of a thousand wars. Over the centuries, City States led by Warlords fought for
dominance, bandits raided any townships unable to defend themselves, a
alliances changed daily as everyone sought to exert more control.
Around the same time as the formation of the Island Empire
of Dornuk, four main powers had emerged within the plains east of the Sea of Vas.
In the North, the Kingdom of Numorra held the lands beyond the River Hettan,
competing with Dornuk for control of the waves. In the west, the Brerriki
Alliance hugged the coastline of the inland Sea, occasionally mounting
expeditions toward the old Imperial Capital. To the South, the Plosheni of Dho
Masun made frequent war due to shortages in food and surplus in iron. And
finally, the Dolnac Confederacy lived in relative comfort – plentiful farmlands
and the ‘fruit’ of the forest affording them a laborious but enviable life.
Around two centuries before the foundation of the
Triumvirate these nations finally began to push against each other’s borders.
Numorra and the Dolnac had long divided themselves by the Hettan, but until
then that was the only shared border. Now, the mouth of River Umpton was forced
to divide the Numorrans from the Brerriki, and the Plosheni and Dolnac began to
feud over lands to the east of the Upper Umpton. Realising they could not
overcome the militant southerners, the leaders of the Dolnac – a council of
barons – entered into an alliance with the King of Numorra to dissuade their
belligerent neighbours. Sadly, this had the opposite effect – the Plosheni
mistook this for the beginnings of a war, and launched a pre-emptive strike
against their rivals. They quickly reached the greatest city of the Dolnac and
after a short siege it was razed; the inhabitants left to their own fates after
the army continued its march north.
Numorra quickly sent its forces south to defend its ally; their
superior navy allowing them to land a sizable force downriver of Dho Masun,
effectively cutting off supplies, even if they were incapable of standing
against a concerted assault. Though they received many requests from both
sides, the Brerriki remained neutral in the ensuing war – lacking either a
sizable military or interest in the outcome of the conflict.
Eventually, it was logistics which brought this war to a
close – though Plosheni defeated any force sent against them, their supply
lines had been hamstrung since the beginning. They lacked any food but what
they could forage and new equipment and soldiers were sporadic at best. Knowing
they were soon to reach the point of collapse, they offered a cease-fire to
their foes. These people met in a small town on the outskirts of the Great
Forest known as Ven to agree the terms of the peace. The lands south of the
Forest and east of the River Rhigus were to be retained by the Plosheni, but
they would return any other lands, and pay a small tribute for the destruction
of the Dolnac ‘capital’.
During the war, the Numorra and the Dolnac had grown
noticeably closer, and over the following decade many of the barriers began to
disappear – bonds forged in battle and strengthened in peace began to unify
them. The Barons of the Dolnac were invited into the Royal Council of the Numorra,
and from there they were all but one kingdom. Though nominally a separate
nation, they functioned as a client of the Numorra for several years before the
pretence was quietly dropped and the capital moved to Dho Hettan. During this
period there was a number of minor skirmishes along the border, though
primarily by proxy or else ‘misunderstandings by over-eager officers’.
Meanwhile, the Brerriki began to grow uncomfortable with the
westward approach of the Plosheni.
Fearing an imminent attack, they sought a defensive pact with their
northern neighbours – a request quickly refused, in light of the Westerner’s
historic neutrality. This all came to a light some forty years after the
ceasefire, when the fights along the Plosheni’s northern border stopped and an
invasion force marched on Dho Valents. When this fell, Numorra realised the
error of pettiness – with access to the western coastline, the Plosheni could
solve their greatest weakness; the scarcity of sustenance. They quickly sent a
force southward to harass their lands, seeking to interrupt their supply lines
as they had previously, whilst their navy reinforced the Brerriki port-cities.
Though Dho Valents fell quickly, the war was not nearly as
one-sided as the prior one. The Plosheni fought hard for every gain, divided as
their army was between defending one border and extending another. The ensuing
conflict lasted seven years, with the majority of the fighting occurring along
around the mouth of the Umpton, though neither side made much headway after the
second year. By the end, both sides were exhausted, nearing bankruptcy and
lacking almost a third of their populations. Once more, they met at the town of
Ven, and sought an end to the war.
In the so called Accords of Hand, the countries made peace,
and agreed to air grievances in bi-yearly meetings, rather than escalate to war
again. Additionally, the lands of the Brerriki were divided between the
Kingdoms of Numorra and Dolnac, and the Plosheni Empire.
Though tensions remained high, this state of affair lasted
for half a century before issues occurred. The Dwarfs had begun to emerge from
their holds and offered limited trade with the men of the Plosheni Empire. Soon
thereafter, the Brerriki made contact with the Elves – though initially
hostile, they at least willing to meet peaceably on the islands in the Sea of
Vas.
This led to something of a crisis for the two nations, as
they were now wholly surrounded by unified nations, whilst still independent
countries riddled by internal divisions. In the following meet, they sought a
way to at least present a unified front to these foreign powers.
And so occurred the Second Accord by Hand; which partially
unified the two countries.
In essence, it stated that, whilst retaining theoretically
independent, the Kingdom and the Empire would present a single face to other
peoples. A Council of the most prestigious nobles would meet for the purposes
of diplomacy, foreign policy, and war. Originally dominated by Numorrans and
Plosheni, it was eventually adjusted to include roughly even numbers of
Brerriki and Dolnac.
Thanks to this, the tensions – though never forgotten – eventually
eased enough that outright hostility gave way to simple regional disagreement.
The town of Ven grew to become Dho Ven, an unofficial capital of sorts. A
century later, the Triumvirate was founded – wherein the peoples of Jugisium
agreed to a military alliance in face of foreign powers and reduced taxation on
internal trade. After this, the Council of Ven became the de facto ruler of the
nation, with the royal families reduced to little more than regional governors,
though they retained their prestige amongst the nobility and always possess a
seat on the council.
Today, LeVehn is to all intents and purposes a single
country – at least, before the civil war. Though prejudices are common, and
like generally sticks to like, the republic has remained stable for near six
centuries.
