Aruëlian Hillranger

The Hillrangers

The land north of the Morin can be wild and cruel. Farmland is sparse and barely grows enough grain to feed the population. Animals seem more aggressive and whenever something can go wrong, it will. Thankfully amidst this chaos, there were pillars of support and strength. Today, not alot of them remain. Time to remember them.

Origins

The Hillrangers originated from the first larger settlements in what would later become Aruëlian soil, meaning that they far predate the founding of the Kingdom. The first rangers were simple men of the hills, who were tasked with securing the vicinity of their chosen settlement. In return they received support from the settlement in the form of supplies, occasionally shelter and medical help, should the need arise. The hillrangers of old passed on the knowledge they held, be it geographical, botanical or military, to apprentices they took every few years.
Over time, the profession grew in demand as settlements gew in size and the hillrangers started forming organized structures, with local masters of the hillrangers and superlocal grandmasters. Eventually, when the lands north of the Morin were first incorporated into the relatively young realm of Aruël, they began taking more and more requests from the crown directly or the appointed nobles.

Their Prime

The hillrangers soon blossomed into their peak, when the King formalized the profession by decree. From now on, the hillrangers were under official pay by the King and with this stable funding came an increase in stability for the realm. The hillrangers set up training grounds, built their own administrative centres within larger cities and had an increased influence in politics.
During this time, the north of Aruël saw an unprecedented time of stability, major roads were patrolled, but more importantly the hinterlands each had their own lawkeepers, who kept townfolk safe from rogue bandits or the occasional monster.

Decline and Troubles

With the invention of stirrups and lances over spears however, and the subsequent rise of the mounted knight, the hillrangers got unwanted competition. The newly developing fighting force of the realm was far more mobile making quick deployment at the Kings command possible. Additionally, a true Aruëlian Knight was a formidable foe, capable of handling greater threats than a lone rangers might.
As a result the hillrangers fell out of favor at court, funding declined and many open apprenticeships were no longer filled. Eventually, more and more knights replaced the hillrangers as the safekeepers and the profession functionally died out a little less than a century ago.
However, in small pockets of the world, the hillrangers still survive. And by now, people have noticed that the Knight is not without his own downsides. In remote places without good roads or open terrain, such as The Ogre Hills, the knights can no longer ensure the safety of the realm and infestations of ogres and worse beings terrorize settlers. Perhaps one day the hillrangers could return and fight for the small people once more.