Five Pillars Covenant
After decades of being driven west and north by the advance of civilization, the "outsider races" finally dug in their heels west of the Boreal Sea. A few charismatic leaders brought together an alliance of orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, and ogres to capture territories in the region, culminating in their takeover of the dwarven city of Whitewater. That city is now called Five Pillars, after the monument raised in the town square to honor their leader, and their alliance is known as the Five Pillars Covenant.
Structure
The Covenant is an alliance of multiple groups bound together by a mutual need for survival. One of the terms of this alliance was that each of these groups would enjoy considerable autonomy within the territories they captured. As such, they follow an agreed-upon set of laws to keep the peace, and their respective leaders regularly come together at the Five Pillars to mediate for them. This assembly, the Moot, is a sometimes vitriolic event, but nonetheless all groups involved generally manage to avoid coming to blows.
The leaders of the alliance are:
The leaders of the alliance are:
- Chief Jahrukk Eight-Fingers, leader of the orc tribe. Jahrukk is a highly experienced war-chief and a barbarian of great ferocity, but also has a keen instinct for tactics. The alliance was partly his idea to begin with. He lost the last two fingers on his right hand in a battle many years ago, not that it impedes his fighting abilities at all.
- Warlord Ozinag, commander of the hobgoblin contingent. She is a "war-born", birthed in a war camp during a campaign, and therefore (according to her culture) a natural warrior. This is quite true, given that she turned out to have significant magical talents and strategic skill.
- Queen Seglit, matriarch of the goblin contingent. Seglit is very, very old by goblin standards, and has four generations of descendants in her warren, but while age has taken away most of her physical strength, she remains very wise and experienced. As a cleric of Melora, she can also call upon powerful natural forces to defend herself and her children.
- Bonn, leader of the bugbear gangs. Known for always looking bored and sleepy at meetings, he hears more than he lets on; he just prefers to play the long game like any good ambush predator.
- Graagh the Crusher, ogre boss. Like most ogres, Graagh is not especially smart, but he's smarter than the average member of his species. At least, he's intelligent enough to articulate his mob's needs at the Moot, and has enough sense to understand that they're only prospering because of their alliance with the others. Also, he sometimes gets to smash things with his signature maul, so that's a great incentive to keep working with them.
Culture
While its constituent races all have reputations as violent raiders who pillage just for the sake of destruction, in reality they prefer to mind their own business, only resorting to raiding in hard times. Now that they've finally siezed a "homeland" for themselves, they appear to have settled down. The Covenant army still keeps their blades sharp, but for the most part, any aggression on their part is either in self defense (usually against dwarves who want to take back Whitewater), or a pre-emptive strike in response to something the Moot has judged to be an imminent threat. The land they inhabit is tough, but it's enough to provide them with food and living space, so raiding their neighbors is unnecessary.
The culture that has formed within the Covenant over the last twelve years shows signs of a gradual blending of its constituent races' cultures. Orcish toughness, hobgoblin perfectionism, and goblin communalism all run together to form a highly resilient mindset.
The culture that has formed within the Covenant over the last twelve years shows signs of a gradual blending of its constituent races' cultures. Orcish toughness, hobgoblin perfectionism, and goblin communalism all run together to form a highly resilient mindset.
History
The races that compose the Covenant have been in Vesperia at least as long as anyone else, on the edges of "civilized" society. They first settled in what is now Parthenia and Acadia, only to be driven back by settlers who would found those countries and Vinland. They only continued to be pushed away as the frontier moved west and north. While many remained in the Freeholds region, particularly the Roaring Plains and the Frostpines, some of the wiser tribes migrated to the northern tundra, west of the Boreal Sea. This region was sparsely settled except for a few dwarven mining colonies, and the ground was not too hard for digging warrens or planting crops, so the various orcish, ogrish, and goblinoid folk were able to mostly go about their business untroubled by other races.
All of this changed when the dwarves decided to go on the offensive. The lands occupied by these races had previously been surveyed by dwarven explorers, and they knew that there was gold and iron there. In 2585, the leaders of Whitewater Colony and several neighboring outposts launched an attack on the Goldtusk orc tribe and the hobgoblins of Cold Mountain, aided by humans from the eastern borders of Opona and Vinlander mercenaries. Hostilities continued for over a year, escalated when Warlord Ozinag of Cold Mountain formed a Host and Chief Jahrukk Eight-Fingers of the Goldtusks made alliances with some other tribes.
After all that fighting, the winter of 2586 came on hard and fast. Depleted by their campaigns, the allied orc tribes and the Cold Mountain Host were beginning to lose ground. It was Ozinag who first considered forming a united front, but first she had to manage her own people. Her goblin, bugbear, and ogre subordinates were on the verge of mutiny. The Warlord then made the difficult decision to break thousands of years of tradition: she offered the other races in her Host equality. Instead of being forced to go along with the hobgoblins' orders, they would have seats on her war council and equal share in the spoils. They cautiously accepted. At the same time, Jahrukk reached out to her with a proposal of an alliance. This culminated in the first Moot, and the formation of the Covenant.
With their forces combined, the new Covenant was considerably stronger. The orcs benefited from the Host's tight organization and tactical skill, while the Host was strengthened by the orcs' supplies and medical care (not to mention their brawn). The dwarves and their allies suddenly found themselves being forced back, and back, until they were trapped within the walls of Whitewater. The siege held out for six months, but a combination of goblin sappers tunneling under the fortifications and ogre siegers bombarding the gates eventually led to them giving out in 2587. To their surprise, the dwarves, who were prepared to see the entire town slaughtered, were met not with a murderous horde but a flag of parley. The Covenant leaders personally approached the dwarven generals and Jarl with a very simple request: get out by the next dusk and don't come back, or they would be burned and pillaged. They evacuated with great haste.
Though the dwarves sabotaged a great deal in their exit, the Covenant was able to move into Whitewater with relatively little trouble. They repaired the fortifications, inventoried the food stores, and re-excavated the collapsed entrances to the underground vaults and mines. A group of stonecarvers took great slabs of granite from these excavations and used them to erect a monument in the town square: a ring of five standing stones, each carved with the image of one of their leaders. In their honor, the colony was renamed Five Pillars.
All of this changed when the dwarves decided to go on the offensive. The lands occupied by these races had previously been surveyed by dwarven explorers, and they knew that there was gold and iron there. In 2585, the leaders of Whitewater Colony and several neighboring outposts launched an attack on the Goldtusk orc tribe and the hobgoblins of Cold Mountain, aided by humans from the eastern borders of Opona and Vinlander mercenaries. Hostilities continued for over a year, escalated when Warlord Ozinag of Cold Mountain formed a Host and Chief Jahrukk Eight-Fingers of the Goldtusks made alliances with some other tribes.
After all that fighting, the winter of 2586 came on hard and fast. Depleted by their campaigns, the allied orc tribes and the Cold Mountain Host were beginning to lose ground. It was Ozinag who first considered forming a united front, but first she had to manage her own people. Her goblin, bugbear, and ogre subordinates were on the verge of mutiny. The Warlord then made the difficult decision to break thousands of years of tradition: she offered the other races in her Host equality. Instead of being forced to go along with the hobgoblins' orders, they would have seats on her war council and equal share in the spoils. They cautiously accepted. At the same time, Jahrukk reached out to her with a proposal of an alliance. This culminated in the first Moot, and the formation of the Covenant.
With their forces combined, the new Covenant was considerably stronger. The orcs benefited from the Host's tight organization and tactical skill, while the Host was strengthened by the orcs' supplies and medical care (not to mention their brawn). The dwarves and their allies suddenly found themselves being forced back, and back, until they were trapped within the walls of Whitewater. The siege held out for six months, but a combination of goblin sappers tunneling under the fortifications and ogre siegers bombarding the gates eventually led to them giving out in 2587. To their surprise, the dwarves, who were prepared to see the entire town slaughtered, were met not with a murderous horde but a flag of parley. The Covenant leaders personally approached the dwarven generals and Jarl with a very simple request: get out by the next dusk and don't come back, or they would be burned and pillaged. They evacuated with great haste.
Though the dwarves sabotaged a great deal in their exit, the Covenant was able to move into Whitewater with relatively little trouble. They repaired the fortifications, inventoried the food stores, and re-excavated the collapsed entrances to the underground vaults and mines. A group of stonecarvers took great slabs of granite from these excavations and used them to erect a monument in the town square: a ring of five standing stones, each carved with the image of one of their leaders. In their honor, the colony was renamed Five Pillars.
Religion
One of the conditions of the Covenant was a ban on the worship of the Corrupted Gods, demon lords, archdevils, and any other evil entity. This decision was met with some resistance from traditionalists, but the groups that came together to form the Covenant in the first place had already turned away from the likes of Bane and Gruumsh for the most part. There are still occasional incidents where the Moot's enforcers uncover a small cult or lone apostate, but those people are swiftly punished.
Now, the most popular deities in Five Pillars are Kord, Erathis, and Melora. The Storm Lord appeals to orcs and ogres as the embodiment of strength and perseverance, the Law-Bearer is popular with the orderly hobgoblins, and the goblins and bugbears, who have always lived close to the land (sometimes under it), favor the Wild Mother.
Now, the most popular deities in Five Pillars are Kord, Erathis, and Melora. The Storm Lord appeals to orcs and ogres as the embodiment of strength and perseverance, the Law-Bearer is popular with the orderly hobgoblins, and the goblins and bugbears, who have always lived close to the land (sometimes under it), favor the Wild Mother.
Founding Date
2587 A.U.C.
Type
Political, Confederation
Capital
Alternative Names
The One Tribe (orcish), the Big Clan (goblins and bugbears), the Great Host (hobgoblins), The Horde (dwarves - derogatory)
Demonym
Covenanter
Government System
Oligarchy
Power Structure
Confederation
Economic System
Command/Planned economy
Currency
Barter system
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
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