Archduchy of Whitesword
In 1388 the first bricks of Port Whitesword were lain. The city was founded to bridge the gap from Arcanix to the lands further south. Settlers were paid a handsome stipend from the The Kingdom of Freebridge to build a dedicated mercantile hub to move goods into Solea. By that time, a family had already settled in the northwest of the The Garden Expanse, but they were not diplomatic and isolationist. The Border Princes disliked the thought of their fledgling kingdom being encroached upon. Families Ravenlight, Wimblybrook, Greytree and Lastreach, the four families of the Border Princes petitioned the The Kingdom of Freebridge to make them settle further south, but the King refused their benign request.
When the settlers finally reached the bay and coast by ship, they began to build the first skeleton of Port Whitesword. They were to be ruled as an Archduchy by a young noble couple of sound morality, the Silvercrows. The first five years of construction were difficult, creatures descended from the mountains, hills and forests. All in search of an easy meal. The Silvercrows sent a request for aid to the The Kingdom of Freebridge, which was swiftly denied due to a large orc war-band incursion coming from the Worlds Edge Mountains. The Silvercrows felt betrayed, and time was running out for them. With little in way of a militia and no defensive walls ample enough to defend them. In desperation they sent envoys to the Lands of the Border Princes to beg them for protection. The ruling family at the time was King Francis Lastreach, a staunch isolationist. King Lastreach struck a deal with the Silvercrows, for them to send shipments of gold for a period of time no less than five years. In return, the Border Princes would send soldiers to defend the young town of Port Whitesword.
The Silvercrows agreed, and shipments of Freebridge gold flowed across the The Garden Expanse to the Lands of the Border Princes. Immediately a large host of nearly 2,000 soldiers from the four families arrived in Port Whitesword. At first, the attacks did not stop, but once the trolls, goblins and hobgoblins realized they could no longer prey on the settlers with ease, they laid off the assaults, retreating into the mountains and forests. Such was the beginning of a cordial relationship with the Border Princes and their king Francis Lastreach. The appreciation went so far from the settlers to request they surrender to the Border Princes as a vassal state, in order to secure their protection. The Silvercrows, feeling abandoned by the The Kingdom of Freebridge, quickly agreed, and bent the knee to King Francis Lastreach in 1394.
It wasn't until 1632 that unrest began to arise. For over two centuries there was peace in the The Garden Expanse. Security, prosperity and quality of life was high. However, the descendants of the original families that settled Port Whitesword became disgruntled with being the vassal of the Border Princes. They felt they had earned their own independence, and felt as if they were being extorted for their close proximity and mining of gold, silver and granite. Duke Balor Silvercrow, recently crowned as duke due to the passing of his father, Duke Brenl Silvercrow, was being pressured for calls of independence. Wilma Petra, the high counselor to the Duke, ushered him to not call for a senate of approval for independence, warning him it will lead to a war they could not win. Duke Silvercrow, who considers him a man of the people, chose them over the advice of his counselor.
In spring 1653, he officially declared a call for independence personally, and visited the capitol city of Lastreach to see the sitting King, Joeseph Ravenlight. Joeseph beseached Silvercrow to reconsider his stance, and reminded him that the Kingdom had sacrificed hundreds of soldiers to protect the new port town centuries before. Stating that being a vassal to the Border Princes was a great honor, and Port Whitesword would not exist without the princes in the first place. This enraged Duke Silvercrow, wrongly perceiving the King as looking down upon him. The Duke was stricken with dangerous pride and marched out of the hall to return to Port Whitesword. From there, he swiftly declared war, and rerouted his massive reserves of mining silver and gold to mercenary groups throughout the land. He petitioned the Kingdom of Meirval, the Royal Draugen Empire, groups such as the The Gray Legion and monetary aid from the Merchant Princes of Westermarrow and The Kingdom of Freebridge to come to fight on Port Whiteswords behalf. From autumn 1653 to 1658, war raged across the The Garden Expanse. Lush hills turned to ash, riddled with cannon ball craters, and entire forests were felled to supply the war effort. Thousands upon thousands of children were made orphans, Keep Ravenlight was captured by Draugen forces, and two of the three princes at the keep were slaughtered along with their families, only Prince Nicolas Ravenlight escaped west into the wilds. By 1658, all of the hamlets, villages and cities were conquered and reduced to little more than rubble. King Joeseph's body was transported to Port Whitesword where the peasantry dragged him through the streets where he was then drawn and quartered. The last of the Border Princes, Nicolas Ravenlight swore revenge, and gathered what remained of his people, taking to the woods to fight a ruthless gorilla war.
Never to bend again
Founding Date
1388
Type
Geopolitical, Archduchy
Capital
Leader
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Copper Swords, Silver Swords, Gold Swords
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
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