History of the Vlandian People (2024)

The History of the Kingdom of Vlandia

🙤 The Arrival of the Balo-Jumniites and Early Vlandian Lords 🙦
[Circa. 741-818]

In the summer of 741, the first Balo-Jumnite ships arrived from the North on mainland Calradia. The six raiding vessels hugged the coast until eventually they entered the Ludistrum river which runs into the Tyndarian Ocean just north-west of where Pravend, which was then an Imperial settlement named Paravenos, now lies. They navigated up the meanders of the Ludistrum and eventually came into contact with the native Battanians who had inhabited the hills of this land for time immemorial. Filled with lust and avarice, they put the men of the small hamlet of Brua Mór to the sword, abducted the women and made off with the silverware produced by the craftsmen of the village. They spent the summer there raiding Battanian villages before returning to the Baelish and Jumnish isles, intent on returning again come next spring.

As intended, the following spring these raiders returned, although this time their fleet and men had tripled in size. There is seldom a dearth of ambitious warriors in the isles willing to risk their lives for fame, fortune and glory in foreign lands. This time, however, they landed around two miles up the Ludistrum, by the hollow shell of the first village they had ravaged a year previous. Here they made camp and prepared for deeper incursions into this foreign territory. However this time they were not met with rudimentary farmers equipped with sickles and the likes, but by the might of an Imperial force rallied from a local colony. Although these raiders outnumbered their foe, they were defeated at the battle of Phoric pass in 742. Those that escaped mounted their vessels and made war for the mouth of the Ludistrum, where they could gather supplies to make ready for the voyage home to the isles. Some never forgot the slight they had received at the hands of the Imperials, however, and swore vengeance.

Among these men who swore vengeance was a powerful Jarl by the name of Völundr, Vlandicised as Wilund. He took it upon his own treasury to raise a new force to return five years later, better equipped and more numerous. He raised a force of some 145 longships and some 6'500 warriors from accross the Baelish and Jumnish isles, enticed by the promise of riches beyond their wildest dreams. In the Spring of 747, he and the other Jarls who had agreed to accompany him set sail for Calradia.

They once again met a host of Imperials troops shortly after landing and defeated them. They then razed the colony, putting the men to the sword, abducting the women and carrying off any treasures that remained. They continued on their vicious warpath, razing a handful of other villages before making the crucial decision to spend the winter there. The first longphort was founded south of Pravend, and by the time winter arrived three more had been constructed further down the Ludistrum. Some boats were sent home, however, in order to transport some of the seized treasures and to implore more men to come to bolster the raiding force.

The men came, and the force was further swelled by some 60 longships from the isles. Now the force lay at almost 8'500 men, accounting for the casualties sustained. When the spring came and the snows began to melt, the army once again set out in the direction of Paravenos. They razed some four imperials villages before being met by a force of imperials whom they once again defeated. The path to Paravenos lay open. By this time, those in the Empire named these foreigners the Uilandoi after their leader, Völundr. It is from this term that we get the modern word Vlandian.

The Empire at this stage was locked in a long war with the Aserai and had sustained considerable casualties. The Sturgians also pressed forth in raids on Imperial territory, and the Battanians resisted their purple yoke furiously with a series of rebellions. The Empire could not afford to deal with this northern menace, so instead sought to strike a deal with them. In exchange for payments in silver and artefacts, the Northern army pledged to fight the Battanians on behalf of the Empire. They quashed rebellion after rebellion between the years 749 and 752 in what has become known as the Lambic Wars, an event that still holds a bitterness in the cultural memory of the Battanians.

After the Battanians had been utterly crushed by 752 and no new leader emerged to promise them liberation from the Imperial yoke, the senate who ruled at the time sought to renew the Empire's contract with the Northerners, proposing that they remain in the west and keep the Battanians in check. They knew that these people had no intention of returning to the isles, and therefore sought to remain on the right side of their fury. In return for their martial aid, he elevated a variety of notable chieftains to the position of legati auxilarii occidentium, or auxiliary legates of the west. Among these newly appointed legates was Vilund.

Between the years of 752 and 818 the Vlandians intermarried with Imperials and Battanians alike, and slowly grew distant to those inhabiting their ancestral homeland. The term 'Vlandian' was not commonly used, however, except by those in the Empire. Each man owed his loyalty to his legate. They solidified their holdings and galvinised their control over the natives brutally. Their religious affiliation remained with the old Gods of Jumne and the Baelish isles, however by this stage Osricism was taking hold. It would be just over 100 years before Osricism gained any notable presence among their populace.

🙤 Crisis in the Empire 🙦
[Circa. 813-815]

Crisis struck the Empire in the year of 813. The senate, who had for decades been losing control to the people's assembly. Various demagogic tribunes had tried to pry the power away from the ruling elite. In 813, warfare erupted as a result. A people's tribune named Garios Fistulus played into the desires of the people, blaming the ruling senators for their afflictions, and in 813 a riot broke out in Zeonica, allegedly at Garios' instigation, which resulted in the burning and collapse of the senate house and the subsequent death of some 34 senators. A further dozen were mudered by rioters.

Those that survived commanded Garios to relinquish his tribinician rights immediately so that he may face trial in their capital, Charasea (modern Charas). Should he refused they warned that they would pursue their charges with sword in hand. Garios deliberated, all the while securing the loyalty of some southern legions with promises of generous donations. He also secured the loyalty of around three quarters of the Vlandian legates. When he informed the sante that he had no intention of renouncing his power, they raised several legions and marched to meet him near Jalmarys. The Vlandians who did not side with Garios sided with the senate, and Vlandian marched against Vlandian to war. Those that sided with the senate were also promised great rewards for their loyalty.

In the end, Garios was victorious and styled himself dictator of the Calradic Empire, a title traditionally granted briefly and reserved for times of emergency, holding both the powers of a tribune and that of a princeps senatus, or a first senator, which is the highest rank one can attain. The Vlandians who were loyal to him received the land confiscated from those that went against him. His reign was short lived, however, as others, now having a just reason to claim dictatorial power and raise their own legions, also vied for the purple. History has recorded the events of 813-815 as the year of the four dictators.

Once again, the west was split, and various legates each promised their aid for different would be dictators. The grandson of Vilund, a man named Bohemond, was the most powerful among them. He, alongside some three other legates, vowed to fight for Sulpicius Messana. This contender won in the end and those that fought by his side were greatly rewarded. Vlandian power in the west now rested with three men, Bohemond among them. As the lands under their rulership had greatly expanded, they were also granted more titles to further appease and reward them for their loyalty. They were now known as duci militum occientium (Singular Dux), and almost the entirety of Western Calradia was under their rule. At this stage, Osricism had become the prevalent religion among the common folk. Some higher ranking Vlandians had also began converting to the religion.

The Empire would experience peace for more than fifty years after this.
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🙤 Increased Autocracy, Osricism and the War for Magir Fjord 🙦

With their new found religious fervour, the Vlandians turned their sights to the north-east, to Sturgia. They sought to liberate Osricists inhabiting an area of land surrounding Caleus Castle, lying on the coast of what the Sturgians called Magir Cove. The stories goes that Osricists within this region were being mistreated by their Strugian overlords, being unable to practice their religion with freedom. Whereas before they were left without a protector, the conversion of their powerful neighbours changed the tides of their fortune.

The Vlandian answer to the Osricist petition was to martial their troops and march on Caleus, without first consulting their de facto lieges, the Empire. An army martialed by the Northern Dux, bolstered by detatchments from the south, was gathered at Rovalt with the intention of marching on Caleus.

The war was short-lived, however, as the Sturgians were no match for the Vlandian army, equipped with weapons and armour bought with Imperial silver. The siege of Caleus concluded after some 60 days. With the city at their mercy by late 952, the Vlandians expelled all non-Osricists from the city and its surrounding villages, later settling other, Western Osricists there. A counter-siege was launched by one of the Sturgian Princes, although the siege was broken by a Vlandian army and its forces scattered. Two further attempts at regaining their lost territory were made by the Sturgians between 952 and 954, both of which were repelled by the Vlandians. While the fighting mostly stopped in 954, peace would not be officially agreed upon until 960.

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🙤 The Rise of Osric 'Iron Arm' 🙦
[960-979]
From the early 960s, a young Vlandian noble was on the rise, by the name of Osric dey Meroc. The great-nephew of the first Osricist dux militum, he was a man invested with a sincere religious fervour and a fierce but educated mind for war. Fighting in the war for Magir cove at the age of just 16, his bravery and martial skill were proven by him being one of the first to storm through the breach in the wall. He also eagerly defended the castle from his heathen enemies three times.

Over the course of his 20's, Osric would go on to prove his valour countless more times, defending Vlandian lands from Sturgian, Battannian and even Jumnish raids. It was in one such battle that he earned the nickname of 'iron-arm'. A band of raiders setting sail from the Jumnish isles landed west of Pravend on the banks of the Ludistrum. Osric himself mustered a force from the garrison and the adjacent castle of Drapand intent on meeting the raiding party. The Vlandian's won a decisive victory, burning the raider's ships and slaying them down to the last man. It was said that during this battle, known as the battle of Moris which took place in 962, Osric struck an enemy with such force that the blade of his shortsword cleft through the metal hauberk of his opponent on his right shoulder and cut him down to the abdomen. Henceforth, the name 'iron-arm' was donned for the young man.

A series of deaths in his late 20's and early 30's, that of his grand-uncle, his grandfather and his father saw Osric ascend to the position of dux Paravenis. As Dux, he reorganised Vlandian administration and structure into the titles commonly found today. He entitled himself Duke of Pravend, setting beneath him a variety of counts and barons to govern lands in his name. This was the early beginnings of the feudal structure. While based on the Imperial adiminstration and following similar land borders, the titles within his Duchy were all hereditary. He reorganised the military, keeping a small standing army of proffessional soldiers while also demanding a certain levy in wartimes from his vassals. The tax system was also reorganised into a variety of fiscal districts, which increased the yield and the efficiency of tax collecting. These reforms were soon followed by other Vlandian powers, and this became the staple form of government of Vlandia. He also organised the strategic marriages of his family with Dukes in other parts of Western Calradia, binding them by marriage. In Osric most saw a leader and his precedence over them was something slowly but definitevely asserted by the conclusion of the 970's.

At this point, the Vlandians were totally autonomous from the Empire in all but name.

Osric's victory at Moris commemorated on the Ocs Hall Tapestry.

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🙤 The Kingdom of Vlandia and the Rovalt Affair 🙦

The remainder of Osric's reign was spent fortifying his eastern border lest the Imperials seek to once again bring the Vlandians under their yoke. Osric's long reign came to an end in 1004 when the King died a natural death. His eldest son, Ingalther, already a man 51 years old, inherited the Kingdom. His reign would be short-lived and uneventful, however, as he died after a long illness in 1008. His eldest son, Roland, inherited the Kingdom. A strong military man and a brilliant commander, he had been the mastermind behind the siege of Rovalt in 987.

From the beginning of his reign, however, worrying rumours began to spread of his uncle's design for the throne. His uncle, the youngest son of Osric 'Iron Arm', was surrounded by sycophants within his court at Hongard Castle. Their obsequity fed his desires and convinced him that he, as the son of Osric, ought to rule Vlandia instead of his nephew. Armed with a fabricated document containing the dying words of Osric, in which he bestowed the Kingdom and all of its lands to his son Osmund, he raised what rabble he could and made his bid for the throne. His ideas of Kingship were soon vanquished, however, and the lies fed to him by the lickspittles at his court soon became apparent. Very few rose to bolster his claim, he therefore instituted a policy of conscription. Those he conscripted he lacked the funds to properly arm, many of whom were poor farmers and other men employed in menial labour. It is due to this that the civil war has earned the name 'The Ploughman's Folly', as the majority of the army raised by Osmund consisted of troops clad in the dress of a common farmer and armed with common farming tools.

The war was short-lived. The rabble sacked the villages of Marin and Pallisona before being met on the field west of Palisona by an army marshalled by King Roland. The decisive battle, named the battle of Palisona (1011), was a total Rolandian victory, and the pretender was trapped within the walls of Hongard. He was betrayed by the common-folk, who bore him no love on account of his conscription, and beheaded beyond the castle's gates in 1012. The story has a certain didactic value, teaching its readers of the dangers found within being overly prideful and most of all, delusional. For his role in these events, history remembers Osmund alongside his epithet, 'the bold', which is the closest that Vlandian historians have ever come to genuine comedy.

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🙤 The fen Giall Offensive and the Razing of Pen Cannoc 🙦
[1016-1029]
In the year of 1016, war would once again rear its head at Vlandia. The western Battanian clan of the fen Giall under their leader Garbhán fen Giall, sought to gain riches and glory by raiding their Vlandian neighbours. The large force of Battanians entered Vlandian lands through Pen Cannoc pass in Spring 1016, and began their montage of murder and rapine by marching south and razing the village of Rodetan and its surrounding settlements, before they stormed the castle of Talivel which they reduced to a smouldering ruin. A force marhsalled from Sargot rose to meet the raiders, but was defeated and its leader, the Count of Etirburg, tortured and killed. The Battanians, their bloodlust not yet satiated, turned their sights west. Following the route of the Ludistrum west, they pillaged the golden fork, leaving a trail of desolation evident by the plumes of smoke on the horizon. With their ox-carts full of plunder and slaves dragged in long columns, they turned and marched back towards the Pen Cannoc pass.

The razing of Rodetan (1020).

As they attempted to cross through the Pen Cannoc pass, the Battanians met an army marshalled by the King's brother and the marshall of Vlandia, Varic dey Meroc, in 1020. Caught on an open plain and transporting a vast quanitity of loot, before the battle even began Battannia stood at a disadvantage. The armies met and the infantry fought hard. For a time it seemed the Battanians may hold their own against the Vlandians, until the Count of Verecsand led a cavalry flank and shattered the Battanian right. The rest of the Battanians were enveloped and crushed, whereafter the Vlandians reclaimed their lost loot and rescued those otherwise destined for a life of thralldom. Garbhán fen Giall was killed during the battle.

The Vlandian army, teeming with bloodlust and a desire for vengeance, followed the routing army back to Battanian lands and marchd on Pen Cannoc, reinforced by a caravan from Pravend with trebuchets and onagers. They mounted siege and bombarded the city for months, until a variety of breaches had been opened in the walls. They proceeded to sack the city entirely, whereafter they set flame to the thatched roofs of the Battanians. The kinsmen of Garbhán, including his infant children, were put to the sword, his banners burnt and his fort levelled. The Battanians, their hero and semi-mythological warrior crushed and him and his family dead, have not marched on Vlandia since.

The battle of Pen Cannoc pass.

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🙤 The War for Phorenia's Gate and the Siege of Volusia 🙦
[1029-1034]
Roland spent the rest of his reign in peace, and died in the year of 1026. He was succeeded by his son, Morcon, whom history has labelled Morcon the Elder, not to be confused with the living son of the current King. Morcon the Elder was a man whose valour had been proven time and time again. He was a man of unbridled ambition whose plans for Vlandia were vast. His most notable achievment, however, was his war against the Empire for a strip of land above the bay of Phorenia's gate. The Empire had, for centuries, contested the coast of Phorenia's gate, where their ancient trading port of Volusia is located. The Vlandians, seeking to gain a presence in the area and bring the Vlandians already living there under their control, demanded the territory from the Empire. Too proud to admit that they could not face the might of Vlandia, the Empire denied their request. War was declared in the Winter of 1029.
The Empire assumed a defensive stance, not willing to risk a foray into Vlandian lands, but rather to protect what they already had, primarily the city of Volusia. The Vlandian's marshalled an army from the south, mainly comprising of men from the Duchies of the Two Sisters and Rhodokkia, although some were also sent from other regions of the Kingdom. A well-equipped army accompanied by all manner of siege engineers, they marched on Imperial regions within Phorenia's gate in the spring of 1030. The first blood of the battle was drawn when two scouting forces met and fought near Volusia, with an Imperial victory. Vlandia marched further towards Volusia with their main force. Many of the Imperial settlements encountered along the way capitulated due to their vast numbers, and those that didn't were mercilessly slaughtered. When they reached the hinterland of Volusia, the Imperials opted to evacuate the surrounding hamlets and villages, taking their inhabitants into the safety of the city walls along with all their stored food. These shells of villages and the stubborn few who refused to leave were left to be devastated by the Vlandian host.
Siege was laid on Volusia in the autumn of 1031. A land blockade was placed. The Vlandians also attempted to place a blockade on the trading port of the city, however it was unsuccesful. Not being capable of starving the city out, the Vlandians opted to assault the walls. Ladders and siege towers were constructed while the ancient Imperial walls were assailed by onager and trebuchet fire. The walls were thick, however, and they failed to breach them. In a last ditch effort to decisevely end the conflict and claim all of Phorenia's gate for himself, the King ordered the troops of his host to attempt a scaling of the walls. Three assaults were made and three assaults were stopped.

Vlandian troops assault the walls during the siege of Volusia (1032)
The conflict had become a stalemate, and negotiations were opened. The sides agreed on splitting the coast of Phorenia's gate between them. The Vlandians would take the Western side, while the Imperials would retain the eastern side, including their city of Volusia. As part of the settlement, the daughter of King Morcon would wed a member of the Imperial family and an alliance signed.
The Vlandians, under the orders of King Morcon, constructed strongholds along the new border with the Empire. Brun Castle is one such stronghold.
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🙤 The Last Half-Century and the Battle of Pendraic 🙦
[1034-1086]

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