Kingdom of Balgrendia
The kingdom of Balgrendia, as it exists today, was forged in blood, suspicion, and uneasy peace. Though ancient grievances between the Bhal and Grenn stretch far into the past—through centuries of border skirmishes, broken truces, and terrible oaths—it was their marriage, not their war, that birthed the nation.
In 387 AF, King Harold IV of the Grenn knelt before Princess Ansa of the Bhal, pledging not only love, but unification. Their union ended a brutal era of civil unrest remembered now as the Age of Strife, a time marked by tribal hatred and the dark vacuum left by the vanishing of The Queen of Dreams and Shadows. Her realm, Niflheim, had fallen centuries before, and with her absence, the last great check on Human violence disappeared. The woods grew wild. Monsters multiplied. And the Bhal and Grenn turned on one another with renewed fury.
Harold and Ansa's marriage changed that. It did not undo the animosity between their peoples—an animosity still alive in every village dispute and sideways glance—but it imposed a single crown upon the land. Thus began the Age of Civility, the defining era of Balgrendian identity. The seat of power was established in Bazazan, the City of Accord, and though the realm remained poor, superstitious, and scarred by its past, it was, at last, one nation.
Barely a generation later, in 402 AF, Balgrendia was annexed by The Empire, drawn in by promises of protection and prosperity. In practice, the Empire gave little and took less, its influence withering beneath the weight of Balgrendia’s forests and stubborn independence. Though a province in law, the kingdom remained self-governed, watched more by its ghosts than any Imperial eye.
The long peace held—tenuous, but real—through the centuries that followed. The threat of the deep woods, the howling of twisted things in the dark, and the memory of what happens when the Bhal and Grenn turn their weapons inward were enough to maintain the balance. But it was King Frederick, crowned in 837 AF, who sought to make that unity tangible.
His most ambitious reform came with the creation of The Borderguard in 868 AF—a conscripted force drawn equally from both peoples, tasked with guarding the kingdom from raiders, monsters, and worse. It was a bold vision: to turn former enemies into brothers-in-arms. The cost was steep. The Borderguard is reviled in many quarters for its forced levies and high mortality, yet without it, many villages would lie silent beneath moss and bone.
Now, as the end of the 9th century AF approaches, Balgrendia stands much as it has for generations: divided in spirit, united in necessity. The old tribal lines have faded, but never fully vanished. The forests still breathe with old magic. The Empire turns a blind eye. And across the land, from mountain to fen, the people of Balgrendia keep to their iron charms and salt-marked doorways, praying that the Queen of Dreams and Shadows does not return—and fearing that she might.
In 387 AF, King Harold IV of the Grenn knelt before Princess Ansa of the Bhal, pledging not only love, but unification. Their union ended a brutal era of civil unrest remembered now as the Age of Strife, a time marked by tribal hatred and the dark vacuum left by the vanishing of The Queen of Dreams and Shadows. Her realm, Niflheim, had fallen centuries before, and with her absence, the last great check on Human violence disappeared. The woods grew wild. Monsters multiplied. And the Bhal and Grenn turned on one another with renewed fury.
Harold and Ansa's marriage changed that. It did not undo the animosity between their peoples—an animosity still alive in every village dispute and sideways glance—but it imposed a single crown upon the land. Thus began the Age of Civility, the defining era of Balgrendian identity. The seat of power was established in Bazazan, the City of Accord, and though the realm remained poor, superstitious, and scarred by its past, it was, at last, one nation.
Barely a generation later, in 402 AF, Balgrendia was annexed by The Empire, drawn in by promises of protection and prosperity. In practice, the Empire gave little and took less, its influence withering beneath the weight of Balgrendia’s forests and stubborn independence. Though a province in law, the kingdom remained self-governed, watched more by its ghosts than any Imperial eye.
The long peace held—tenuous, but real—through the centuries that followed. The threat of the deep woods, the howling of twisted things in the dark, and the memory of what happens when the Bhal and Grenn turn their weapons inward were enough to maintain the balance. But it was King Frederick, crowned in 837 AF, who sought to make that unity tangible.
His most ambitious reform came with the creation of The Borderguard in 868 AF—a conscripted force drawn equally from both peoples, tasked with guarding the kingdom from raiders, monsters, and worse. It was a bold vision: to turn former enemies into brothers-in-arms. The cost was steep. The Borderguard is reviled in many quarters for its forced levies and high mortality, yet without it, many villages would lie silent beneath moss and bone.
Now, as the end of the 9th century AF approaches, Balgrendia stands much as it has for generations: divided in spirit, united in necessity. The old tribal lines have faded, but never fully vanished. The forests still breathe with old magic. The Empire turns a blind eye. And across the land, from mountain to fen, the people of Balgrendia keep to their iron charms and salt-marked doorways, praying that the Queen of Dreams and Shadows does not return—and fearing that she might.
Founding Date
387 AF
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Leader
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Founders
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Command/Planned economy
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
Related Plots
