History of the Kingdom of Sodoria

Introduction

I have spent most of the years in my long life researching and writing historical texts pertaining to this continent of Eskor. It is with great pride, that I bring you The History of the Kingdom of Sodoria, a contemporary look at Eskorian history.
In this volume, I will cover the beginning of the Kingdom of Sodoria all the way through its current affairs. Some of the events listed in this book will be available in greater depth in my other works.

Publisher's note

Events have been updated and republished on the 20th of Tael 732.

The Nine Kingdoms

Before the unification, Eskor was divided in nine kingdoms: Azdir, Sylvanis, Malghor, Sodoria, Garland, Windfyre, Hel Borim, Pelion, Traemor.

Azdir

Azdir was a region inhabited by Orcs. The region had seen Orc kingdoms rise and fall, some of them even peaceful. It was here that the Azdirite Empire began. Since the end The Great Orc Conquest, Azdir's borders are said to encompass all of West Eskor and stop at Irongate. Unfortunately no historian has been able to infer first hand accounts for many centuries, relying only on information from foreign seafarers. Therefore, our knowledge of the Azdirite Empire after the Orc Conquest is very limited.

Sylvanis

Sylvanis was a kingdom located in South East Eskor. Current day Owl Coast and Kingspar Isle. Sylvanis was a powerful kingdom, considered the face of Eskor because of its many ports and good relations with overseas kingdoms.

Malghor

Malghor was a kingdom located West of Sylvanis. Current day Malghor, Gate Lands, Wyndfire and Pelion. Malghor was allied with the Azdirite Empire for part of The Orc Conflict. This is the reason why its territory was drastically split.

Sodoria

Sodoria was a kingdom located in North East Eskor. Current day North Cliff and Hel Borim. It was this kingdom that united everyone under one banner to beat back the Azdirite Empire. Therefore, it was this kingdom's name that was continued onward and its king became the first ruler of the Kingdom of Sodoria

Garland

Garland was a kingdom located in East Eskor. Current day Garland.

Windfyre

Windfyre was a kingdom located in West Eskor. The dragonborn kingdom was one of the Orc King's first targets. Their downfall was bloody and tragic. Thankfully, after the split of Malghor, Windfyre's residents and lords were granted new lands in South East Eskor, where the kingdom rebuilt itself anew. (See "Windfyre, a tragedy of pride and honor" and "The founding of Griffinhorn").

Hel Borim

Hel Borim was a kingdom located in West Eskor and deep within Eskor's Teeth. The dwarven empire was resilient, rich and strong. It was only through treachery from Malghor that the Azdirite Empire was able to penetrate deep within Hel Borim's territory and drive them to the eastern side of the mountains. After the The Great Orc Conquest, lords of Hel Borim were granted their land back from Malghor and received lands from North Cliff.

Pelion

Pelion was a kingdom located in West Eskor. The centaur kingdom, Pelion was the least defended and the easiest to defeat during The Great Orc Conquest. Centaur refugees within the Kingdom of Sodoria were granted lands previously belonging to Old Malghor. Present day Pelion is located South of Lake Secret.

Traemor

Traemor was a kingdom located in West Eskor. It is unknown what happened to Traemor during the Great Orc Conquest. No one from Traemor was ever encountered or heard of after the beginning of the conflict. The kingdom is believed to be destroyed and its surviving inhabitants are believed to have displaced in other lands West of Eskor.

Treaty of Middle Eskor

The Treaty of Middle Eskor is a no-conflict treaty signed by The Azdirite Empire and the Coalition of East Eskor. The treaty brought an end to The Great Orc Conquest. All of West Eskor was left for The Azdirite Empire, the Coalition of East Eskor kept the land East of the river that runs down Eskor's Teeth, forming a defensible choke-hold (current day Irongate). New territories were created after the Treaty. Malghor was stripped of much of its territory and its defectors were granted land in present day The Gate Lands.

Founding

The Kingdom of Sodoria was founded in 542 TG. Its founding was after the signing of the Treat of Middle Eskor. (Please read "The Orc Conflict, a collection of first hand accounts" for more information). The Kingdom was founded by General Asger Rune, a Hero of the war. He would also become the first king. (More information on Asger Rune can be found in "Asger Rune, a biography Vol I,II and III").

Irongate

Early Days

The building of the Irongate Fortress was one of the first rulings of King Asger I. The building itself is an architectural marvel. All of the best architects of the newly formed kingdom worked together to design the strongest fortress in all of Adellon. Some say that the fortress is imbued with magic, but no one knows for sure. (More information regarding the Irongate Fortress can be found in "Irongate Fortress, a marvel of Eskorian engineering").
It was around this time that King Asger I designed the The Gate Pact. The timing was shrewd, as morale and nationalism was very high at end of the long war. There was no opposition to the Pact. New and existing Lords, happy with their new fiefs, posed no resistance to the newly acquired debt to the crown.

The Gate Pact

The fortress' initial garrison was made of the professional soldiers left in the Sodorian Army, one thousand men. Each settlement provided a portion of their abled men to serve as soldiers, this brought the total initial garrison to 2,000. The initial provisions were levied at 10% of each held fief.
An ongoing levy with no end date was signed where each fief had to provide a small percentage of its farms yield and monetary profits to the Irongate Fortress each season. Another ongoing levy was signed where each ruling House had to provide a portion of their army every year to serve for six months at a time as defenders of the Irongate Fortress. Irongate was not only a source of debt from the vassals to the crown, it also provided services.
The garrison of Irongate Fortress was sworn to protect The Kingdom of Sodoria from any enemies West of the Irongate Wall. Master at arms within the fortress were sworn to train recruits that served a minimum of six months. The fortress was to provide room, board and provision to any that served a minimum of six months. The garrison at Irongate was to be paid using the funds from the levies with the following pay by rank system.

Pay by Rank

Trainee [1 cp/day] Requirements: Able to hold a weapon.
Recruit [5 cr/day] Requirements: Combat ready, over the age of maturity.
Man-at-arms [1 sm/day] Requirements: Professional combat training and/or combat experience.
Knight [5 sm/day] Requirements: Extensive combat training. Combat experience. Horse combat training. Adequate armor and weaponry.
Sergeant [1 gc/day] Requirements: Leadership experience.
Captain [5 gc/day] Requirements: Military academy training. Military leadership experience.

The Fief

The lands around Irongate became known as The Gate Lands. The Lords who had defected from Old Malghor, were granted the highest places within the fief. (For a full description, including family lineage, please read "The Gate Lands, a boon based on treachery"). Irongate itself was not only a fortress, but also city, located a stone throw away from the fortress itself. In the early days, the city saw much activity, as soldiers from the war went looking for employment. Many traders and scavengers sold their goods into the high demand of the fortress. During these times, blacksmiths, shops and many taverns opened up. This was the biggest economic boom in Irongate's history. Decades later, we would see a drastic downturn.

Recent Events

In recent years, Irongate has seen a decrease in voluntary recruitment. Many fiefs have complained about the constant need to supply for a large garrison who has not had to deal with real threats for over 100 years. Indeed, the last real threat to the realm was the Orc siege of 607 (For more information about this, read "The Orc Conflict, a collection of military actions taken after The Orc Conquest"). The fortress has also experienced increased desertion and a decrease in troop quality. House Kildall, the ruling house of The Gate Lands, is a Malghorian house who claims ties to the First Men. Recent events show increase dissent in the area and the creation of several anti-crown factions. (For more information, please read "Malghorian dissent, why a Malghorian uprising is imminent").

Pelion

Early Days

After the war, Pelion was destroyed, all centaurs had lost their home. Many centaurs went back to the way of their ancestors and formed tribes in the forest and wilderness of Eskor. But many others became soldiers and refugees. The centaurs had provided a much needed boost to the low mobility of the Coalition's army. Many of them enlisted as horse archers or skirmisher cavalry. Others who couldn't fight, turned messengers and even wagon pullers. Centaurs were the backbone of the logistical side of the army in the later years of the Orc Conquest. The centaurs who made a name for themselves during the war were awarded landed title in a new scoped out land named 'Pelion'. This piece of land, taken from Old Malghor, was a tiny thing compared to their previous nation, but the centaurs accepted it with much gratitude.

Recent Events

The centaurs progress in the kingdom has been slow. It took centuries for House Longstride to begin production of trade goods and establish trade routes with nearby regions. To this day, much of its populace is still living in the wilderness of the Guilrath Thicket, a large forest south of their main city of Canterfield. The old ways of the centaur do not account for city life, therefore the adjustment has been difficult for many in the community.
Due to the centaur's inability to man the human sized walls of Irongate, the centaurs have been exempt from supplying troops to the wall's defense. The only contribution it makes is supplies. Many ruling Houses in Sodoria are not happy and claim this to be an injustice, especially because the supplies are based off a percentage of what the province produces, which in the case of Pelion, is very little. Animosity has led to multiple clashes involving rogue battalions from unknown houses in the realm. House Longstride has also been in and out of conflicts with "wild" centaur tribes in the area.

Wyndfire

Early Days

The Dragonborn migration was difficult and a large source of strife and embarrassment in the Dragonborn community. Its early days were filled with uncertainty and mistrust of outsiders.

Recent Events

The province is ruled by house Griffin and its capital is Griffinhorn. The other Dragonborn houses in the Wyndfire province play a role in the government. House Thildal - The leading house in matters of Religion. House Curthol - The leading house in matters of culture. House Morder - The leading house in matters of war. House Elmic - The leading house in matters of finance. Most decision are made directly by Lord Rhoxan of House Griffin. The rest of the Houses can veto any decision made by Rhoxan with the exception of periods of emergency, such periods are: war, famine and disaster. To veto the Lord's decision, all five Houses must come to a majority vote, including House Griffin. Each House has their own methodology on how they come to a vote, but most commonly, the elders vote and majority wins. Griffinhorn has a floating district that is believed to be fueled by a powerful enchantment. The city has been targeted by foreign raids and attacks intended on stealing a powerful artifact that is holding the city afloat. All claims of the existence of this artifact have been vehemently rejected by House Griffin and the Dragonborn Council.

The Owl Coast

Early Days

The Owl Coast was the main territory area for Sylvanis. As the second biggest contributor during the war, members of the Sylvanis kingdom who had become Lords of The Owl Coast, were also granted membership into the King's council. No additional land was granted to what would essentially be the new Sylvanis, instead the high ranking lords decided to gift Kingspar Isle and its surrounding islands to the elves.

Recent Events

The Owl Coast has found relative prosperity since the rise of House Isenbar. The current liege, Duncan Isenbar has consolidate most of his power in Helmstead and its surrounding areas, making the outskirts of The Owl Coast perilous in the process. Owl Coast dissenters claim that the fief is too large and should be be split in half, several minor houses have created movements to do so. (For more information, please read "House Isenbar, policies and mandates through the years"). House Isenbar has ties to the royal crown, the Queen herself being the Lord Duncan Isenbar's own sister, therefore it gains special privileges and has a very high standing with the royal crown.

Kingspar Isle

Early Days

Kingspar Isle was part of Sylvanis' territory and graciously granted to elves who had been displaced by The Great Orc Conquest. Before the war, no woodland elves ever sat on a council seat, let alone held lands in any kingdom, while high elves held high ranks in magic schools and even governments. But after the war, Kingspar Isle was given as a fief to the woodland elves. Many high elves left the mainland to live with their woodland kin in Kingspar Isle, here they formed new Houses or brought forth their own ancient Houses. (For more information on the Elves, please read "The Elven Kingdom, my birthplace", "The Ancient Houses of Elves" and "Woodland Elves, a new political powerhouse").

Persecution

During the Great Orc Conquest, orcs used their newly found wealth and military power to defeat their ancient enemy, the Elf. The various orc chieftains were granted free slaughter of elven tribes as reward for their service. This method of reward was so popular that it became difficult to find elves in the Azdir woodlands. This led to clandestine operations where slavers and mercenaries were paid handsomely for the kidnapping of elves. Since most woodland elves in East Eskor were displaced from woodlands in Azdir, they were the poorest and weakest of folk of the land and easy prey for slavers. (For more information see "The Elf Tragedy, how kinship died when blood was on the line"). High elves have also suffered during the war. Eladrins had made important contributions to the Coalition's army, not only in martial force, but also by forming magical battalions that changed the course of battle in many occasions. I am in no way an anti-eladrin, I am in fact, a high elf myself. But history does not lie, the wood elves suffered a much greater loss during the war and their seat at Kingspar Isle is well deserved.

Recent Events

The ruling House in Kingspar is House Shalathor. Although House Shalathor is a woodland Elf House, many of the High Elves have gained the upper hand in politics of the region. Several minor houses have brought forth an edict to move many of the Elves to an overseas Elven Kingdom. Information in Silverwynn is quite sparse and, although I am a member of a minor Eladrin House myself, I have been left in the dark about many facts surrounding this. King Armine has made a point to give Kingspar more autonomy than any other province and the Elves have taken full advantage of it.

North Cliff

Early Days

As the new leaders of the kingdom, North Cliff retained their Sodorian territory almost to its entirety, giving away only a small part of their western borders to aid the dwarves who had lost much during the conflict. The gift was shrewd, as it benefited North Cliff's economy greatly. King Asger I had the power of the kingdom, but did not have the arms to suppress an uprising, The Gate Pact was one way to decrease the power of any potentially rebellious province, but it did not help the newly named North Cliff province raise arms of its own. The gift of Highbridge and its surrounding lands sealed a long lasting partnership with the dwarves. Not only would the dwarves rally to King Asger's side in case of an rebellion, they would also use the port city of Highbridge to sell their weapons and armor. King Asger found that the dwarves were more than happy to sell their wares at a lower cost to the crown. This partnership was greatly beneficial for both sides.

Royal Lineage

After the death of King Asger I in in 559, the crown went to Asger Rune II. Rune II ruled from 560 to 587. Succeeding King Asger II was his only son, Asger Rune III. King Asger III ruled from 587 to 640. He died at the age of 97 and was nicknamed the Old King. King Asger III had outlived his son, who died at the age of 75. One of his grandsons had perished in a military campaign at the age of 35 and another was a stillborn. The only remaining heir was a granddaughter of 25 years of age. The crown therefore succeeded to Algenta Rune. Queen Algenta was married to Dormund Drystan. After Queen Algenta's death in 690, the crown succeeded to her son, Dormund Drystan II, ending House Rune's 150 years long rule. The crown currently resides to King Armine I, who became king in 716, following the death of his father.

King Armine I

King Armine is a great statesman and governor, untested warrior and passive general. King Armine had made one battlefield appearance during his tenure. After receiving a serious arrow injury, he decided to abstain from the field of battle, deploying generals in his stead. King Armine is undoubtedly popular with the aristocracy, but there are some who view glory and military prowess higher than statesmanship and governing ability.
King Armine I is married to Katarine of House Isenbar, sister to Duncan Isenbar, Lord of The Owl Coast. They have three sons, Gwalter (9), Bartholomew (6) and Nicolas (2).

Garland

Early Days

Garland was an economic powerhouse at the end of the war and found itself at a mediocre standing in the kingdom, this brought discontent with the unification and with King Asger I and eventually led to the Garland Uprising of 545.

Uprising

The Garland uprising was a rebellion against the crown in 546 led by Aleifus Sadek. During The Great Orc Conquest, Aleifus was the King of Garland and commanded a major force in the Coalition of East Eskor. He was a great general, but over confident and pompous. Towards the end of the long conflict, Aleifus believed that he was going to lead a military campaign into the heart of Azdir. His military campaign failed and Aleifus barely returned with his life. He had lost a major portion of the coalition forces and was shunned. After the founding of The Kingdom of Sodoria Aleifus grew jealous and began plotting an uprising that took many years to accomplish. (For an in depth look at the Garland Uprising and more information on related topics, please read: "The Garland Uprising, a collection of first hand accounts", "The biography of Aleifus Sadek" and "Dissent in Garland"). The uprising lasted eight months and twenty days. In the 26th Silv of 547, Aleifus Sadek and three other generals were executed by order of King Asger I. House Sadek was stripped of all lands and titles, its members were sent into exile overseas.

Recent Events

The province of Garland is ruled by House Fernhorn, a halfling house. Halflings aristocracy is known for their trading and economic prowess, House Fernhorn is no different. They have been able to be on the right side of trade and military deals for hundreds of years. Decades after the Garland Uprising, Garland was finally able to gain good standing with the crown. House Fernhorn's rule has proved to be pragmatic and economically efficient. In recent years, it has experienced an increase of illicit trade and slavery, therefore it has received some sanctions from the crown. In 730, King Armine created a trading commission to run inspections of inbound and outbound trade from Eastvale and surrounding ports.

Hel Borim

Early Days

The Dwarves of Hel Borim began reconstruction immediately after the war. Much of their territory had been destroyed by cave-ins caused by Malghorians. It is said that orcs had burrowed deep within Hel Borim's territory and looted many ancient artifacts, but this has been denied by Dwarven leadership. Thanks to King Asger's gift of Highbridge, the Dwarves gained had a trade hub with the surface world. In the following years there was plenty to do but not enough populace to accomplish it. During this time, Gindurri Bloodheart, the Lord of Hel Borim, previously known as the King of the Dwarves, called for a dwarven migration to bolster production. (For more information about Gindurri Bloodheart's reign, please read "Gindurri Bloodheart, a biography").

Dwarven Migration

The Dwarven Migration of 546 was a summons for all Dwarf-kin to return to their homeland of Hel Borim and help reconstruction and re-population. This edict was passed by Gindurri Bloodheart shortly after The Great Orc Conquest. The Edict asked for most able bodies dwarves to sell pack up their belongings and relocated to any settlement within Hel Borim's province. The edict was mandatory for most dwarves. Business and land owners were exempt but encouraged to migrate regardless. Each dwarf was promised employment and land. The punishment for not migrating was exile, meaning that the dwarf would no longer be welcome in dwarven fiefs. This was likely never enforces because of poor record keeping and no identification measures. Due to the massive exodus of dwarves from human lands, dwarven made goods became scarce and highly sought after. Highbridge and other dwarven settlements saw a massive increase in populace, which led to a higher production and higher fertility rates. Most Dwarves were happy to return home, although specific groups were adamantly against it. These groups were mostly composed of political rivals, criminals, aristocrats and freedom advocates. Non dwarves were also against this, due to various economic and social impacts.

Recent Events

Hel Borim has been the target of attack by Orc Clans. Because of the many conflicts with orcs belonging to mountain clans, the dwarves are nicknamed "Defenders of Eskor's Teeth". After its re-population, dwarves been steadily spreading around the Kingdom of Sodoria, finding work as craftsmen, jewelers, traders and mercenaries. Highbridge has found much prosperity in the centuries after the Orc Conquest, but in recent years, it has been the prime target of overseas raiders from the North.

Malghor

Early Days

Old Malghor was stripped of much of its previous power. Its ruler and high ranking generals were put to the sword and many noble families were exiled. During this transition period, Malghor was ruled by a representative from North Cliff. The interim Lord was Varb Rune, King Asger's cousin. Varb was killed during the Malghorian Rebellion of 551. His family was slaughtered and his estate burned down by rebels. There is not much information left about his time as interim lord of the province of Malghor because the fires burnt most of the documents in his estate. Historians have collected speculations about him based on information passed down by the populace. (More about this can be found in "The Rune cousin's life and death, a collection of first hand accounts about Varb Rune").

Recent Events

The fief of Malghor is under the rule of House Darkbrook. Hivar Darkbrook is the liege lord of the fief. Relations between House Drystan and House Darkbrook are shaky at best. Malghorians are fond of battle experience and ruthlessness, traits that King Armine does not posses. The province of Malghor has been wary of historians and researchers, therefore most of my accounts are based off purchased information, therefore it is somewhat unreliable. (For more on this, please read "Malghorian tales, stories and anecdotes about life in Malghor).