Gnok
Holding back the borders of The Dark Forest is a holy calling, and by the grace of the gods many have answered that call, and The King of Gnok has seen fit to house and supply us on our divine crusade
Having both Tavelia and The Western Marches on it's borders has always made Gnok a dangerous place, and for much of it's history Gnok has been entirely overrun by incursions from its most dangerous neighbors. Today, with the assistance of Lechia and clerics and paladins from across The Shattered Continent, the horrors of Tavelia have been pushed back beyond it's borders, allowing the Kingdom enough breathing room to push the tribes and raiders from the Western Marches out, and Gnok has become a pilgrimage destination for many paladins.
History
The entirety of The Eastern Marches exist because they proved to be too troublesome for the larger nations of The Great Inland Sea to colonise due to both distance and their proximity to The Western Marches. In gnok's case, its location on the border of Tavelia has only made it a less desirable location, with only the most daring or desperate attempting to settle there.
In the mid 1800s the fifth son of a prominent Bommbergonian family, Sebastian Wraith, arrived in Gnok with a small cadre of loyal servants and men at arms. Reclaiming an ancient fort from the ghouls which had infested it, unwelcome transplants from Tavelia, he and his followers repaired it and then began building a town around it, highly defensible due to the hill on which it was constructed and with layers of palisades and walls. From this first town, which they named Stronghill, they began to expand, clearing away the forest to create farmland and building a road northwards to connect with the nearest Lechian border town.
Pushing the various tribes and raiding parties from the Western Marches back across The Western Wall would have been a tremendous task even without the continuing incursions of creatures from The Dark Forest. For a time it seemed as if making Gnok safe for further settlement was an insurmountable task and the kingdom would collapse as so many had before it until a delegation arrived from Lechia. Unbeknownst to Lord Wraith and his men, it had long been a tradition for paladins and clerics of Sigune and Siegmund to conduct a minor crusade once a decade to cleanse Gnok and ensure that the borders of Tavelia didn't further expand into untainted lands.
The pair of high ranking paladins leading the crusade admitted to Lord Wraith that they had half expected to find the remnants of another failed settlement when they reached Stronghill, and he in turn confessed that given another year or two their expectations may well have been proven correct. A savvy leader, Lord Wraith made a proposition to the crusaders; He would have his people build houses of worship to each of their gods and housing for the crusaders and in exchange a garrison of the faithful would be provided with responsibility over the southern border with Tavelia. The crusaders agreed to this idea, with the stipulation that should the followers of other good aligned gods ask the same would be provided for them.
With the southern border dealt with, the men and women of Gnok were able to finish driving the tribes and raiders back into the Western Marches and begin expanding, building settlements, and developing the land. Today, worshippers of Iker and Ambroys have joined the arrangement to with Gnok, and it has become a pilgrimage destination for young paladins looking to gain experience and make a name for themselves. The borders of Tavelia have been pushed back to their historical limits and Gnok is beginning to rival Berbot for the title of most the most developed of the Marcher Kingdoms.
Society
The Vigilant Crusaders
With the support of the nascent kingdom under King Sebastian Wraith, a once a decade crusade to purge Gnok of invaders from the Western Marches and abominations from The Dark Forest of Tavelia has turned into an order of vigilants. The Vigilant Crusaders are a multi-denominational order of clerics, paladins, and other warriors of the faithful who are dedicated to ensuring that the darkness of Tavelia doesn't spill out beyond its borders. Their numbers are bolstered by foreign paladins and clerics who view a pilgrimage to the borders of Tavelia and spending time among the Vigilant Crusaders as a trial that all of the martial minded faithful should undertake at least once in their lifetimes.
The Common Man
The people of Gnok are hardy by necessity, tough frontiersmen and women who have chosen to live out on the edge of civlization, united in their determination to tame this wild land and make it safe for future generations. With The Vigilant Crusaders taking care of the Tavelian border, the forces of Gnok have been able to push the trespassers from The Western Marches back across The Western Wall and hold them there. Without the constant raids from either border, the people of Gnok have been able to build roads, clear lands for farming, and build up their settlements into proper towns and small cities in a relatively short amount of time. Through their efforts, Gnok now rivals Berbot for the title of most developed of The Marcher Kingdoms.
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