The Foundation of the Land and Houses
(Extracts from Master Sataram's extensive historical work From Sea to Shadow)
Our calendar dates as zero the year in which an armada of many ships and boats arrived on the southern shores of this new land.
The first settlements in the land were created by the ancestors of House Caervil and House Malmor. Leader of the people at that time was Duke Rostamund of Caervil, though the members of the family that would become House Malmor were also of great influence and power. Novryk was the place of first landing and became the first real settlement under Duke Rostamund's rule.
Little more than a decade had passed before Rendall of Malmor declared his independence from the rule of Duke Rostamund and established a holding to the east of the originally settled land. Malmor's willingness to raise their opinion to a matter of armed dispute dissuaded House Caervil from dealing with them in any other way than with careful disapproval.
House Caervil expanded westward and northward with their offshoots becoming House Greendale and House Genlith respectively. While the expansion of House Greendale westward was done with the blessing of Duke Rostamund who benefitted for a time from tribute of grain and cattle from the fertile lands, the expansion of what would become House Genlith was more a matter of the uncivilised clannish elements of the settlers bristling against being ruled over and striking out northward to find territory of their own. Few in the south were sad to see them go, though it is unfortunately true that once settled in their hard northern lands, the people of Genlith seemed keen to strike southward in raids against their neighbours.
House Malmor sent out forces and citizens northward into the mountains and established Raendor. Orginally subservient to House Malmor, the settlers thrived in the harsh conditions and by producing valuable resources they managed to demand their independence over time, particularly when they had to defend their borders against the wolves of Genlith and House Malmor offered them more freedom and resources to accomplish this.
House Genlith's action on the northern borders of what was then Greendale led to a border land being developed and granted to House Tyaldi, originally a minor house of House Greendale who grew into their own power. The borderland expanded over time to encompass the current House Tyaldi domain. For some time these border reaches were a place of frontier justice which eventually became codified into the detailed and fair law codes for which House Tyaldi are now famous.
House Orloi split off early – opinions differ as to whether they were House Malmor or House Caervil originally – and founded their own remote coastal settlements in the northwest, spreading eastward from there. Both senior Houses attempted in the early days to collect tribute from House Orloi, but House Orloi never seemed to pay up and the histories do not record why the demands stopped.
The Kaevil a cadet branch of House Caervil centred to the north of Caervil lands formed another defensive buffer against House Genlith. Their success in this brought the Wolves of Genlith to heel at the Council of Mount Kell and the period of raiding came to an end.
House Kaevil established enough independent strength and influence to demand their right to be regarded as an independent House and in time (and through their leadership in the wars against the Trolls ) unifying the nation as The Royal House of Kaevil.
Little more than a decade had passed before Rendall of Malmor declared his independence from the rule of Duke Rostamund and established a holding to the east of the originally settled land. Malmor's willingness to raise their opinion to a matter of armed dispute dissuaded House Caervil from dealing with them in any other way than with careful disapproval.
House Caervil expanded westward and northward with their offshoots becoming House Greendale and House Genlith respectively. While the expansion of House Greendale westward was done with the blessing of Duke Rostamund who benefitted for a time from tribute of grain and cattle from the fertile lands, the expansion of what would become House Genlith was more a matter of the uncivilised clannish elements of the settlers bristling against being ruled over and striking out northward to find territory of their own. Few in the south were sad to see them go, though it is unfortunately true that once settled in their hard northern lands, the people of Genlith seemed keen to strike southward in raids against their neighbours.
House Malmor sent out forces and citizens northward into the mountains and established Raendor. Orginally subservient to House Malmor, the settlers thrived in the harsh conditions and by producing valuable resources they managed to demand their independence over time, particularly when they had to defend their borders against the wolves of Genlith and House Malmor offered them more freedom and resources to accomplish this.
House Genlith's action on the northern borders of what was then Greendale led to a border land being developed and granted to House Tyaldi, originally a minor house of House Greendale who grew into their own power. The borderland expanded over time to encompass the current House Tyaldi domain. For some time these border reaches were a place of frontier justice which eventually became codified into the detailed and fair law codes for which House Tyaldi are now famous.
House Orloi split off early – opinions differ as to whether they were House Malmor or House Caervil originally – and founded their own remote coastal settlements in the northwest, spreading eastward from there. Both senior Houses attempted in the early days to collect tribute from House Orloi, but House Orloi never seemed to pay up and the histories do not record why the demands stopped.
The Kaevil a cadet branch of House Caervil centred to the north of Caervil lands formed another defensive buffer against House Genlith. Their success in this brought the Wolves of Genlith to heel at the Council of Mount Kell and the period of raiding came to an end.
House Kaevil established enough independent strength and influence to demand their right to be regarded as an independent House and in time (and through their leadership in the wars against the Trolls ) unifying the nation as The Royal House of Kaevil.
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