Lordship of Argosia
The Alban Crusader State
The Lordship of Argosia is one of the three Crusader States located in southern Ezura, specifically the Girded Valley. It has occupied the region for more than five centuries, having lost much of its initial splendour and power. Nevertheless, it still boasts a mighty army and defends the southern bank of the Spine of Sat-Jek with both valour and courage.
Its origins are that of the kingdom of Alba, and was the first crusader state to settle with its own government and borders. Today, it is considered a punishment to be sent from Alba to guard the river, but in yonder years it was an honour.
Argosian War Elephants, adapted from the jungle and used to brutal effect.
History
The Crusader States are three semi-autonomous lordships operating in the Girded Valley in the south of Ezura. They were the natural evolution of the Crusade, a desperate show of force by the kingdoms of Albion to prove their valour and might in the eyes of the Mother Danu, after the fall of the Empire. It was also a show of unity, as well as a land grab of both materials and resources, not to mention man power. The people of the Damaran, native humans of southern Ezura, were to be converted and preferably recruited into either society or the armies that made up the Crusade. Any who resisted were crucified without mercy, henceforth named the 'Crusade'. The Road of Crosses still bears the signs of brutality of the first crusaders today, with the skeletons of the innocent still hanging off their cross, exposed over centuries to the light of Danu until they are naught but dust.
The Cause of the Crusade
The common consensus is that the beginning of the First Crusade was a call from Uriel the Merciful to reclaim human lands captured by monstrous people or turned heretic; the origin is, however, widely debated. Much of the lack of clarity comes from the number of armies operating without a central unity in the First Crusade, which eventually turned into the three crusader states present today.The Materialist View
A person can be devoutly religious, but still seek to gain wealth in conquest. People of all classes felt the economic pinch at this stage of time after the fall of the Empire. The serfs that had no place in the existing feudal structure in Albion went south-east, often taking their families and worldly possessions in a hope to move and colonize a new home there. The inheritance of the possessions in a family being passed down to the eldest son left a whole slew of second children with no holdings of their own. Some who marched in the Crusade set out to claim holdings of their own and became Princes in their own right. For many of these people, conquest in the name of the Folk of Danu opened an avenue to a better, richer life.The Spiritual View
Another camp sees the Crusade as an attempt by Uriel the Merciful to expand the power of the church and reunite the Damaran people with its beliefs. This would also have the effect of liberating those who still believed in Danu from the heretics who chose others as their deity. Those scholars arguing on this side also point out a couple reasons that a material view isn’t necessarily consistent with the actions of those in the Crusades. The incredibly expensive journey of the Crusade was not only funded by the church, kings or nations. While the Church did offset some of the cost, most who joined the Crusade paid their own way. Aristocrats sold their assets to fund their journey.Territories
Argosia is a landlocked crusader state situated north and in-between of Thessalon and Achaea. Its northern border is clearly marked by the impenetrable width of the Spine of Sat-Jek, calling it a river would be doing it an injustice. Though it provides food through fishing and a ready access to the Sea of Visceria, it is often host to watery horrors and reptilian pirates and raiders.
The southern borders are less perilous, but only just. When peace exists between the crusader states, trade and travel thrive. But more often than not the different lords have de facto or de jure reasons to be at war - or at the very least in a state ready for war - with each other.
Military
Argosia was the first of the three crusades to arrive in the Girded Valley, and used its mighty armada to construct Kirkshaw Harbour - later conquered by Achaea. Its impressive advantage of ships was lost, and today it is the smallest and weakest of the three, both militarily and economically. Whatever local militias it can scratch together it will, and it only retains one army of well-trained soldiers that lack both supply and equipment. How it has managed to keep its borders in check, particularly against the ravaging horrors of the jungle, is a mystery and has spawned the odd rumour or two about its true allegiance.
Foreign Relations
The Lordship of Argosia has good relations with its parent kingdom - Alba - but has little options of trading with them besides a dangerous journey over the Sat-Jek river and into the Sea of Visceria, after which narrow choke points need to be avoided by skilled sailors. If all of that is achieved, another 3 months of sea voyages separate the two states.
It is believed, though never proven, that Argosia has had some favourable relations with the Yaun-Ti of the Togatal Jungles, a claim that would ruin the Crusader States and its claim to legitimacy. How and where it procures resources besides its paltry farmland is unknown, though jungle has been cleared in the north for more farmland in the past.
Its relations with the other two crusader states is tenuous at best, as all three ultimately vie for control of the entirety of the Girded Valley. When need is dire and heretical rebellions or monstrous invasions threaten the three they will unite, and have done so in the past. But when no common enemy exists, the three brothers are at each other's throats like wolves.
Founding Date
27AE
Capital
Leader
Leader Title
Government System
Monarchy, Theocratic
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Traditional
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Comments