History of the Alliance
Once, seven or eight generations ago, the land here was barren and without human
habitation. A few dwarves lived in the mountains while the elves lived in the
forests, but hardly anyone populated the central plains.
Then, in a far
distant land, a war broke out that encompassed many different countries and
states. Enemies of civilisation drove into the heartlands, and whole countries
were decimated. Some, however, were able to prepare for the onslaught, they
built ships and sailed away to start new lives. Some say those wars are over
now, and that the evil armies were driven out of the nations, but that phase of
history has long passed for members of the alliance.
However, our story
concerns three groups who chose to resettle their people on these coastal
plains, and are now part of The Alliance.
The Kingdom of Gon took a
twofold approach, it built up its army and fought for its survival, but it also
used its resources to build a huge fleet and send many of its people away.
Various nobles sent one of their sons or daughters, along with a cross section
of the people from their estates to the new lands, each noble house building,
buying or renting the ships they needed. Eventually a fleet of nearly 1000 ships
sailed from Gon under the command of Admiral Augustus Frederic, second son of
the King of Gon, who was destined to become King of Gonma in his own right. (In
the old language Gonma means little Gon). Once on land King Frederic
established a system of Nobility and Chivalry based on the ancient structures of
Gon.
Karl Alfonse Bentner was completely different, Karl was a
merchant prince in the best sense, he owned a fleet of sips, as well as trade
caravans, trade routes, caravanserai, warehouses and other business premises,
but he still held no great political power in the lands of kings and nobles -
after all he was just a businessman. Many of Karl’s peers saw the war as a
business opportunity, with the chance to ship weapons and supplies around at
heavily increased costs, but Karl was, perhaps, smarter and saw the potential
damage to his markets long term. Karl exchanged his land based resources for
ships and building materials, the other merchant princes smiled and ‘took
advantage’ of Karl’s idiosyncrasy, getting his trades routes at what they saw as
a knock down price. However, Karl, managed to assemble a fleet of over 300
ships, and then offered free passage to all those who would declare him their
prince and swear fealty to him in the new lands. Now Karl’s offspring are the
Princes of Laroy, and his family has all the respect he ever wanted. Laroy is
named after Karl Bentner’s merchant company. Once established, Karl established
a number of Sherriff’s loyal to him and his family to make sure that he got that
which he was entitled to under the law, but allowed local leaders to establish
themselves as a chivalric level, who managed the day to day running of the
country. In many ways this replicated his commercial success, which was
achieved by appointing local managers and then using company inspectors to
ensure the books were properly presented.
Versair had a completely
different beginning - their founders came from a number of different nations and
settings. Many local leaders established small flotillas of ships that would
bring them, and their retainers/followers, to the new lands. None were big
enough to establish control of a land parcel individually, but between them they
could. The commander of each flotilla, took a parcel of land and (and copying
the peerage in Gonma) appointed themselves as barons. They established a
semi-democratic system where the barons ‘elected’ one of their members to act as
their ‘prince’. When the current prince stood down or died in office, a new one
was elected from among the current crop of barons. On land, each ship’s captain
took a small parcel of land for his people, and they soon became the chivalry of
their new nation. They decided to call their new lands Versair – which means
‘Hope’ in Old Common.
Things went well, to start with. They settled
in and made contact with the dwarves of Desolbek and the elves at Faitree but,
a generation later, as the nations prospered, they started to gain attention
from the humanoids who lived in the mountains. As the attacks started, the
peoples remembered the wars they had fled and acted proptly. Coming together
under the Alliances they had signed a single army was put into the field under
the Command of a War-Duke called General Rebul. This combined army pushed the
humanoids back into the hills and secured the land for the people of the three
nations.
However, the leaders saw that the general was a popular man and
had attracted many personal followers from among his Army, and they further
recognised that he could be a threat to their own security. Wisely, they came
up with a solution that rewarded their general in a way that provided more
security for their own states. The named the area around the Final Battle field
after their general and gave him dominion over it as a ruler in his own right.
Not quite on the same level as the king and princes, but certainly a royal
position in its own right. This had the advantage of leaving the unsettled
military elements with Duke Rebul (as he was now known) and still left a
military stronghold on the flank that had been subject to attack.
A
couple of generations later, the same thing happened again, a Humanoid army
poured into the central plains through the gap between the Great Forest and the
Harkness Mountains. Again, a joint army was put into the field - and again its
commander was rewarded for his success by being granted the title of Duke and
given lands to rule in his own right. This time the Duchy of Falmar was
created.
Meanwhile, a new settlement (Rediton) had sprung up a bit
further along the coast from Gomna, which was proving to be an attraction for
those who did not fit into the social structures in the other states. It became
home to those who fled the repressive regime in Laroy, those displaced during
the wars and immigrants who could see no place for themselves in the established
states. At one point there was concern that the residents were moving towards
piracy, wrecking and smuggling, although over time they established themselves
as fishermen, artisans and stone workers. However, there is still a tradition
of ‘privateers’ sailing from the quays at Rediton running small expensive
cargoes and to try and lure ‘pirate’ ships into their clutches. There are few
import controls in Rediton, so many items are cycled through the ‘free port’
before they are introduced into the rest of The Alliance.