Ancient History (Pre-1400)
The Fangwood was first a part of the ancient empire of Andrig, which rose in the 400s ME. In 520, the Empire fell to the first
Kivish Scouring, and the area was left largely uninhabited outside of a few pockets of settlement in the hills. These communities fell under the lordship of the Elf Spirit known as the
Moonlit Hunter, an entity that "ruled" in an arbitrary and violent way that mostly prioritized their sporting whims. Over time, this became normal; for centuries, these were the hunting woods, where unwise travelers would vanish in the night. Finally, in 1120 ME, the spirit was driven away, its thralls were defeated, and the Fangwoods were liberated as part of the
Kingdom of Verzavek.
The population of the Fangwoods boomed with that of the rest of central Gernzlov from 1120 to 1300. The new arrivals culturally overwhelmed the survivors of the Elfenlord days, but old population did bring a sense of hopefulness and freedom that infected the whole population. This was a new realm, with new possibilities! Paladins of
Theia, Goddess of Freedom sought to ignite a utopian justice movement during this period in Gernzlov, which was subsequently crushed by the feudal elites of Verzavek and Hain. However, a different movement came to inherit that energy as the Theian struggle and struggle against the elves died down: the unification of the
Uvaran religion in 1200. Messianic Uvara burned through the region like wildfire - and it caught on in Eastern Gernzlov, through the Fangwoods, perhaps most of all. The survivors and ruins of the Elfendays became prophetic symbols of the coming of the
Irunek: the Horned Hunter's statues became statues of
Ustav reborn. The old hillside communities, deep in the forest, became pilgrim sites for religious revivals and trials of proving. And the old Theian movement, defeated but not forgotten, inspired Uvarans to seek spiritual egalitarianism here. A kind of druidic-monastic feudalism settled into the land, where peasant communities flocked around religious centers that hosted ascetic monastic orders dedicated to druidic education and self-mastery. The ruling monarchies of Verzavek and Hain accepted this as long as they still paid taxes, but it did lead to a very curious and non-traditional feudal order where elite status became tied to druidic spellcasting.
Hanarholn (1400 - 1529)
The
Uvaran religious fervor of the 1200s would repeat itself several times over the following centuries, as new disasters and miracles spurred new forms of ritual and worship. The terrible wars of the 1370 through 1440 period were particularly brutal for this region, but this violence only intensified the utopian Uvara of the population. After the dust settled in 1441, Northern and Eastern Gernzlov (along with part of what is now Hain) became an independent kingdom known as the
Kingdom of Hanarholn: a druidic-theocratic monarchy, that embraced the monastic feudalism of the Fangwoods as a political alternative to traditional feudalism.
Hanarholn based its religious and ceremonial capital in the Fangwoods:
Haldrang, the Circle of Celestial Beasts. This was partially named after an emerging local phenomenon known as
Beast spirits - the transformation of a number of local druid-monks into animal-oriented shapeshifting spirit creatures during the horrific Third and Fourth Scouring Wars. At Haldrang, the new theocratic royals, descended (supposedly) from the first Uvaran elves and former Hosts of the Moonlit Hunter, communed with the beast spirits and brought them peace through the chant of Uvaran canticles. While the main political capital was further South, the Fangwoods flourished as the region dedicated entirely to magical education and pilgrimmage. Hanarholn and their close ally,
Kingdom of Nidever, pulled each other back from total ruin through trade and mutual aid. All was for a time well.
Marchlands Period (1527 - 1730)
In 1527, a border dispute escalated into an all-out invasion by
the Kingdom of Hain; the fledgling kingdom was annexed in 1529. The importance of the Fangwoods/Haldrang declined, yet was still locally important and overwhelmingly druidic. For a century, the forest fell into relative obscurity, and was even condemned by some priests as semi-pagan (for having religious expressions in un-Hainish ways). There were some attempts to move
Ketarun Cats into the forest, to take it over from the local druids and humanoids.
In 1645, though, the newly revived
Horned Knights of Hain, a religious order devoted to militant defense of the
Uvaran religion, rode into the region with a more open-minded attitude. The Horned Knights recognized fellow warriors of the faith, and named the Haldrang a sacred site of
Ustav to the
Autumn Court and Hainish King. From 1645 to 1690, the Fangwoods transitioned from peripheral druidic preserve to religious-intense militarized marchland. A great Horned Hall was built, and small castles soon dotted the edges of the woods. Pilgrimmage intensified once more, paired with a zealous recruitment effort into the armies of Ustav.
Being a Marchland meant that the Fangwoods became a battleground when they otherwise may have escaped notice. From 1690 to 1730, a new apocalyptic war known as the
Fifth Scouring burst across the land. Huldrang, the Horned Hall, and the castle line were all destroyed in fire and
Ederstone. The beast spirits and magic that had been fostered and grown by the druids became hostile and feral, viciously attacking friend and foe. The Fangwoods became like a wasteland, closed to all but the mindless beasts and monsters of the forest.
The Fangwoods Period (1730 - present)
It is this new, dangerous form of the forest that was dubbed "the Fangwoods" by settlers who entered the region after 1730. Periodic attempts to cull the Fangwoods were largely failures, requiring investment that the crown of
Kingdom of Dovenar simply could not muster. From 1730 to 1900, the Fangwoods were a realm of haunted ruins home only to the most desperate bandits and exiles.
A plan was formed in the 1860s to exorcise some recognizable ghosts and hunt some of the more notable monsters, though this plan was ultimately put on hold until the 1950s. In 1957, the 1861 plan was executed and a final "culling" of the Fangwoods took place. The forest was deemed "safe" - but, in reality, it only removed some of the more aggressive and easily-handled creatures. Most of the Beast Spirits remained; many other local terrors were unmoved. And yet, the Fangwoods were deemed open to settlement. Two notable villages and a few other minor hamlets were made in the 1957 - 1981 period; an attempt to cleanse the woods through occupation. Most of the smaller hamlets have withered away, and the two villages are hardly in a good place. Undersupported and neglected, the Fangwoods may yet be wild again.
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