During the Time of Kings the Rynkowskian people were ruled by five different realms, or kingdoms. While there were smaller independant realms, they were small, as well as a rare sight, and they had little say over the happenings of The Sundered Marches. No, it was these five kingdoms that ruled nearly all of Sundermark, they held nearly all the power in the region, and their only rivals where themselves and at times certain mighty Riverlords.
These five kingdoms would go back and fourth between fighting eachother, with some allying with others in order to wage war against another. The kingdoms endlessly fought eachother wiht no end in sight, and yet there was still some sense of unity among them. Marriages between the royal families were common, so many of the royals shared bloodties, and on occasion the kingdoms would unite in their effort against exterior forces.
Despite this violent way of life, the Time of Kings is still seen as a golden age for the Rynkowskian people. Legendary knights made their names during this age, and despite the near constant conflict around the region, many regions were safe, and warfare was conducted with a general set of morals and rules. The smallfolk were, usually, left mostly alone, and ransoming was expected, with executions seen as dishonerable. All in all, though society revolved around warfare, the people prospered compared to the ages that were to come.
The five kingdoms of this age were
| Kingdom |
Capital |
Geography |
Royal Family |
| Dumiria |
Rycerzowka (ruin) |
Strumlien to Capital |
Ryceriw |
| Granic |
Zapniany (modern day Rhaal'tuuch) |
Granica Highlands to Mytograd |
Czerwanya |
| Blodnovia |
Blodkowodnic |
Blodkowodnic to Las Wilkow, and between Smoknik's Rush and the Zelaso Mountains |
Dzerzy |
| Konarow |
Prudnik |
East of Range Krasn'lud, and from the northmost point of Zdradliwy to just north of Angar's Last Wish |
Konarski |
| Rynkowskia |
Ziwskowa |
Smoknik's Rush to the edges of Zdradliwy, from the borders of
Lawisko Forest to the River Kresu |
Halamir |
All these kingdoms were thrown into chaos, as was all of Sundermark in the aftermath of Kings Fall, and they would all eventually fall, though some quicker then others. Here is how and when all the five kingdoms fell:
- Granic was destroyed first, in the year of 1040 AR, a mere 9 years after Kings fall, to a great army of Goblins who then established a new settlement in the area, which came to be known as Rhaal'tuuch
- Blodnovia was next to fall. As the royal family was wiped out during Kingsfall, no true heirs existed. A brutal civil war broke out, and for nearly fourty years war was waged in order to claim the title of King. In the end, a temporary peace was agreed to, which saw the dismantling of Blodnovia officially in the year of 1080 AR.
- Rynkowskia and Konarow felled one another. For nearly a century regents barely held together both kingdoms as succession crisis came and went, until finally the regent of Rynkowskia declared war on Konarow, in an attempt to gain the glory neccesary to declare himself king. Disaster struck however. As the united armies met on the field of battle, they were ambushed by horde of Goblinoids. That day most nobility from both kingdoms were slain, and with it most living nobles secceded from their kingdom, and declared themselves rulers of their own realms, as such the two kingdoms were dissolved sometime between 1150-1170 AR.
- Dumiria was last to fall. It held out for far longer then all the other kingdoms. In the aftermath of Kings fall, nearly no nobility or royalty remained, and because of this the common folk, who had long been under the rule of tyrants and cruel lords, rose up. They were led by a bastard son of the old king, who had lived as a commoner all his life. He cast out all the families of the old regime, and replaced the nobility with his own loyal soldiers. This isolated the kingdom from other Rynkowskian nobility, who saw them as imposters and dangerous rebellls, but it made the kingdom unified, and largely without infighting. For centuries the kingdom would do its utmost to hold out against the endless hordes of invaders from the north, and eventually east. They truly fought till the last man, as the kingdom would not be destroyed until 1305 AR, when the capital was finally captured, and the last of the royals slain.
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