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Burningoutbright
 
PostPosted: Sun, May 10 2015, 18:47 PM 

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Joined: 17 Mar 2007
Location: Where the She-Devils roam

***This is a player resource which is currently incomplete and may contain some wrong information, especially when it comes to player actions and involvement in the region. Please be patient as I am working on it. It is locked to keep it from being cluttered. The purpose is to provide information about Ostland, Caraigh and Wiltun and general information about Ruathym.***



Circa 1020 DR:

Hawmin I, first paternal forebearer of the Wiltun, leaves the Jarldom of Ruathym Island to expand the Ruathym Island chain as other Northmen did who would settle other smaller Jarldoms, such as Nareth, Ostland and Axard. He assists in the uniform effort of the Northmen of Ruathym in clearing the island chain of monstrous creatures. Notably, Hawmin I ends up slaying an entire population of sea elves in the immediate region around Wiltun Island who were attempting to defend their ancestral grounds.

Circa 1100 DR:

Hawmin II follows in his father's footsteps and brings his people to settle on the small island chain that would become the Jarldom of Wiltun. A tribe of massive trolls occupies the island chain and the island that the Jarldom would be built on, however. The Hawmin tribe, under their chief axe Hawmin II, allies with a large and peaceful humanoid tribe from the Moonshaes who arrived a couple generations before and succeeded in agriculture where the Northmen of Hawmin from Ruathym could not. The peaceful tribe from the Moonshaes are believed to be indigenous Eldathans and worshipers of the Earthmother, believed to be an aspect of Chauntea. They aid the Hawmin tribe in eradicating the trolls.

Circa 1150 DR:

Hawmin III maintains his tribe's alliance with the large tribe from the Moonshaes, and together they slaughter other monstrous humanoids, such as the orcs in nearby Caraigh--or so they think. Some orcs survive underground and eventually give birth to the monstrous half-orcs that now dwell on Caraigh today. As such, finally, the island of Wiltun is secured by the Hawmin tribe and their Moonshae-descendent allies and construction of Fortress Wiltun begins.

Circa 1183 DR:

Hawmin IV takes over Fortress Hawmin (which later becomes Fortress Wiltun) from Hawmin III and when his tribe becomes settled, it attempts to enslave the Moonshae-descendent tribe which aided his ancestors, to force them to continue to fight monstrous creatures and humanoids, to clear the rest of the immediate island chain. It leads to a rebellion, and the massive humanoids from the Moonshaes, reputed to paint their faces red with clay during times of war, is slaughtered by Clan Hawmin and goes extinct.

Circa 1220 DR:

Lord Jasht of Wiltun is the first Lord of the Wiltun Legacy. He inherited the throne from his Great Uncle Hawmin IV, though inherited is a loose interpretation. Lord Jasht saw his uncle's fortress as being weak after establishing their fortress, which cannot be tolerated. He earns prominence for the small Jarldom when he out-competes the four established and greater jarldoms on Ruathym island, and wins the hand of the daughter of the First Axe of Ottar's Jarldom. He accomplishes this with a subtly enchanted lance, imbued with Eldrich magics of Force to unseat his opponents during the jousting competition that would determine her suitor. With his new found prominence in marrying a daughter of the First Axe of Ottar, he overthrows his uncle, and kills him and all heirs to the throne in order to ensure his rule and installing himself as the Chief Axe of his own sovereign nation, named Wiltun. The long history of Wiltun's close relationship with the ruling family in Ottar is cemented.

Circa 1280 DR:

Lord Erlandr Wiltun II is the grandson of Lord Jasht of Wiltun I, and it is claimed he invented the arbalest now used all over the realm. While the arbalest was used extensively during the Ruathym civil war, the arbalest was invented 50 years prior by Waterdhavian dwarves and Lord Wiltun II acquired or purchased the patent from them. However, the arbalest invention is considered to be his biggest contribution to modern military efforts by historians, and the helped the Wiltun clan gain prominence in warfare.

During this era in Ostland (which was established as a mining outfit for Ottar, and thus owed them a debt just shy of a century earlier), a change in rule occurs after the ruling family. The Bathries, in their capitol Ostdur have lost all their male heirs to the complications of anemia. The threat of revolt is whispered amongst lesser noble families, unhappy with the Bathrie's rule. Lord Magnus Pimpant I takes over as the Jarl of Ostland, which is subservient to Ottar, despite most other future Jarldoms (like Wiltun, Axard, Nerth, Holgerstead, etc) being independent villages and nations. Magnus I is successful in bringing wealth to the region by commanding the foreign trade of iron from Ruathym's mountains at a high price, but a large percentage is sent to Ottar.

This did not sit well with the lesser noble houses and the poor who often went and worked until they died in the iron mines, and offered more to the capitol than any other, and they demanded of Magnus I to cut free from all ties to Ottar and cede from all kinship in Ruathym, or they would revolt. Magnus I, instead, lured all the dissenting nobles he could into a "party" in a separate long house to discussing the region's wealth--the only who were absent were tha Bathries (who had no male heirs at the time) and some who could not attend. Magnus I, attempting to assert his control over the dissenters, has the longhouse set on fire and his knights murder anyone who tries to escape. It is not clear how his involvement in the "accident" was revealed, but it causes Magnus I to flee Ostland, while his son Magnus II stays behind to defend his home. It causes a civil war in the region when the noble families which remain form an uneasy coalition and secede from Ruathym, declaring themselves independent from Ottar and keeping the region's valuable iron trade to themselves. Or attempting to--Ottar pushes Ostland from the iron mines of Ruathym island.

During the Civil War, orders come from Ottar to Wiltun to assist in handling the uprising in Ostland in the capitol's stead as they defend their own iron mines. Lord Erlandr Wiltun II endures this war against the Sovereignty of Ostland on behalf of his extended family in Ottar, whom were shaping up to unify the whole region within the next few decades. Wiltun II blockades Ostland with his navy as well as he is able, but the nation of Ostland continued to trade heavily with its foreign allies, and as it lost access to the iron mines of Ruathym, captured the iron mines along the coast of Caraigh--then ruled by several barbarian clans, who would later be murdered or absorbed in the Blackmoor Clan. As the Civil War efforts progress, Lord Erlandr Wiltun II becomes ill and his mind deteriorates into madness, and as he withers, his son Salbjorn Wiltun III assumes the role of Jarl as his father slowly passes away.

Circa 1285 DR:

Lord Salbjorn Wiltun III is the son of Lord Erlandr Wiltun II is Jarl during a significant wartime in the Ruathym region, and is one of the bloodiest lords of all of the Wiltun dynasty. His so-called peaceblade is rather an executioners blade, and led to the ends of many Ruathym tribes and families who would challenge his authority, both domestic and abroad.

It is believed this was done to declare many people the Wiltun Jarldom was indebted to as rebels, and to have them quartered instead of paying out wages to the families and mercenaries that joined the side of Wiltun in the civil war. The Peaceblade of Wiltun III was famously used during the Civil War with Ostland. Salbjorn initially attempted to force the Soverignty of Ostland to submit by calling his family's substantial political capital to employ neighboring Jarldoms to choke Ostland out of its imported resources and trade and starve them until they submitted bloodlessly.

Wiltun III, who had heard of the fabled treemasons of Ostland's territory called on them, and the Proudbeard Clan of dwarves proved valuable allies, alongside the barbarian dwarves of the wilds--the Ostlanders are forced to abandon the iron mines of Caraigh and are prevented from accessing them again, which caused more pressure to be placed on Ostland from foreign nations who relied on the iron mines, including Luskan.

However, Ostland was not intending to submit without blood, and began courting their foreign trading partners into waging war on Wiltun and the allied Jarldoms of Ruathym--a plot which was swiftly uncovered by Ruathymni spies. Wiltun III then elected to take swift action. The dwarves of Ostland gift Lord Wiltun III with a blade they forge themselves, claiming it was prophesized that he should wield it--this was the Peaceblade. When it had been forged, the forces of Wiltun III marched in force upon Ostland's capital, Ostdur, with Lord Magnus I and his knights, and seized the city. The nobles were rounded up in the courtyard for execution, but to Magnus I, Wiltun III ordered the knights of Magnus to hold him, and Magnus I was the first of all of them to be executed.

Order in Ostland was forcibly restored by Lord Wiltun III, who returned the nation to a Jarldom swearing fealty to Ottar. Magnus I's eldest son, who stayed and served in Ostland as a knight even as his father fled, was installed as ruler and Jarl of Ostland by Wiltun III. His name was Heinrich Magnus II. Magnus II was a fairer and more sensible ruler than his father, and all in Ostland gained a healthy respect and fear for the lineages in Ottar and Wiltun (including Magnus II, who watched his father be executed). Peace is made with the capitol, and the Jarldom of Ostland regains access and rights to Ruathym's iron mines, which are then managed by noble families in order to prevent another uprising.


Circa 1355-65 DR:

In the coming years, Magnus II would have only one son, named Agnar, who was a bright and intelligent boy with an adventurous heart, fitting for a Northlander. He and his father were well-liked, though his father worried for him not having enough education in battle for him to be a fitting Jarl one day. When Agnar had turned sixteen, his father arranged for him sent his son to learn at an Academy in Ottar, serving directly under the First Axe of Ottar, Ulphron Lithyl.

A few weeks before Agnar was set to leave, feeling comfortable in the region and wishing to spend as much time with Agnar as possible, Magnus lineage vacationed at their home in the port town of Osthavn, and enjoyed themselves readily, unaware that a Luskan fleet was approaching and that their troops of about ten thousand had made landfall up the coast and were marching on them over night.

Osthavn is blockaded by sea and placed under siege, preventing them from receiving aid from the capitol or signaling distress until it was too late. The night before Osthavn was destroyed, it is rumored that Magnus II had resigned to die there, but did not resign for his son and all of his lineage to do the same. Perhaps it is only wishful hopes, but many believe that Agnar Magnus III and several of his cousins escaped Osthavn that night with a few loyal knights and the family's caretaker. By the morning, the siege had ended in Osthavn being destroyed, and the remaining Magnus family were executed and hung in the courtyard. The young Agnar Magnus III, his cousins, and the caretaker were reported missing, and believed to be officially burned and charred to death during the volley that destroyed Osthavn. Others hold out hope that they escaped to the Moonshaes.


Preceding the attack on Ostland by Luskan raiders, conflict arises in around 1355 DR in Ottar, when the Ottar navy attacks and sinks a foreign Luskan vessel and Luskan declares war on Ruathym. First Axe Ulphron Lithyl in Ottar and the Holgerstead tribe drive Luskan from the island of Ruathym, though Luskan attacks again in 1356, which results in the destruction of Osthavn and the murder of the Magnus lineage, and other acts of piracy in the region.

The Lord's Alliance intervenes and threatens war on Ruathym and Luskan if they do not resolve their conflicts, though their focus shifts to combating Luskan as they do not wish Luskan to have control of the Iron Mines. On that like ground, the Lords Alliance, the Jarldom of Wiltun, and other northern Jarldoms band together and break off supply lines for Luskan, which causes the Luskans to pillage Ostland. When the Luskanites attempt to take Ostdur, the Bathries who have survived due to the extensive lineage of their family (due to political marriage) rises up to thwart the Luskans. The Luskans are ousted, but their razing and pillaging has caused a famine to occur.

The Lord's Alliance attempts to aid by sending grains by ship to Ostland, but the trip is long due to storms and almost all the shipment is spoiled by the time it arrives. It is said a miracle happens then, that the usually barren trees of Ostland produce a beautiful and nutritious fruit rich in iron, which saves them from starvation.

However, during experimentation with different recipes for the fruit, the nobles and the ruling Bathries become very very sick after cracking open the pit of one of the fruits to make a jam out of the inside of it. They become anemic, and have a lot of pain and gastrointestinal distress which cripples them and leads them to almost never be seen. The people hear the rumors and while they continue to rely on the fruit, they do not eat the pits.


It is during this time a grave change takes place--no longer are public punishments held such as stocks, floggings, executions and hangings. All who committ crimes are sentenced to life in the dungeons and are never seen again, and Luskans are hunted down with a frightful passion and locked away in the dungeons. Fear comes to rule in Ostland. The people, desperate, hold out hope that the rumors are true, and Agnar Magnus III, who was much loved and was lost to them in the initial Luskan raid, is out there and will return to claim the throne to save them.

The cold war begins between Ruathym and Luskan during this time as well. The Luskans employ the Kraken Society, a group of Umberlants, to attempt to frame Ruathym as a danger to the region, to the Lord's Alliance by placing pickled sea elves in Ruathymni barrels and sending them to Waterdeep. The conspiracy is exposed, however, and Ruathym manages to fight back Luskan, and Waterdeep threatens Luskan with war which causes them to retreat and begins a long cold war between Luskan and Ruathym.

In this period, Lord Varrin Wiltun IV is Jarl of Wiltun and gains astounding credit and military prestige for commanding forces against Luskan and Ruathym's enemies, and leaves rather big boots for his son, Arsant, to fill in the coming years. Lord Varrin dies gloriously in battle.

Circa 1370 DR:

Lord Arsant Wiltun V gains the throne and inherits a dillapitated fortress after enduring the weather and some minor skirmishes with Luskan generations before. Fortress Wiltun invests greatly into preparing for the war against Luskan, which has bitterly fallen into a Cold War, causing the small jarldom to fall quiet, aside from boasting the largest and best prepared navy in the region. He has married a woman named Julianna from the Moonshaes, but she has tragically passed away in giving birth to their one and only child, a daughter named Oilanna.

1373 DR:

Avadon, a foreigner tiefling to the region, is knighted as a lord in the court of Arsant Wiltun and takes a wife in Misty Summers, though the marriage is short lived.

1376 DR:

The beleaguered island of Caraigh is not yet under the control of the Jarldom of Wiltun. In this year, a group of rangers and shifters leave the druidic Oakmist Grove on Amia and settle in Scath Crann, Caraigh. House Shadowflame, in the wake of war within their House, re-establishes from their mysterious manor in an obscure potion of the Shadowflame to an ancient tower on a craggy penisula of Caraigh.

1377 DR:

Visitors from foreign lands begin to enter and settle into Ceyren's Mill, including a small and curious academy rumored to teach much-feared magic and swordplay, led by Samantha Lockeheart. Notable amongst the foreigners was Ser Robert of House Caris from Cormyr, his wife, and the associated members of his House and their allies from Kohlingen.

1378-89 DR:

Ser Robert elects himself as a Baron of a provisional government seated in the Mill, and is defacto ruler of all of Caraigh. His contributions included a hefty amount of gold and supplies for the Mill, which aided them, but did not secure their love of him. He peacefully arranged that the Church of Bane leave Caraigh, or face the wrath of himself and his allies; an inappropriate response to tyrants which left a blemish on this reputation. After nine months, the barony of Caris is voted out and dissolves, leaving the people free. Ser Robert willfully abdicates his rule.

Shortly after his abdication, a second plague comes to Caraigh when Cult of Orcus, a demon lord who has much power on Caraigh, moves in and claims the doomed and fallen village of Aigheshed as their own. This year, they bring terrifying, bloody war to the island. An avatar of Orcus is summoned, and brings several powerful demons, infectious larva, and vicious illnesses with him, bringing dark times to the island and those who chose to defend it. The Asylum of Father Darian, though suspicious and archaic means, heals the sick and gains wary attention and prominence on the island.

One month later, the People of Caraigh choose to ally themselves with the Jarldom of Wiltun for protection, having more in common with their fellow Northmen than a foreigner from Cormyr. Two-hundred and ninteen residents are all which is left of the Mill's residents when they swear fealty to Wiltun.


The War Knights of Tempus, Dawnguards of Lathander, and the Triadic Knights of Kohlingen allied with House Caris, and a variety of other ragtag adventurers band together and drive the Avatar of Orcus to the dark and fabled Blackmoor Keep, which is then sunk into the bottom of Blackmoor Lake and thought to have been stolen away to the Abyss.


1380 DR:

In order to gain legitimacy, House Shadowflame and its solitary ruler Cory Shadowflame swears fealty to the Jarldom of Wiltun and is named the Thane of Caraigh. The penisula tower of his House is acquired by the Jarldom as an outpost and the few remaining Shadowflame Guards swear their oaths of fealty, and become members of the Iron Guard of Caraigh, on behalf of Wiltun. The Jarl-Kapten Diedrecht maintains a station at the penisula tower to ensure that Arsant's will is being done, and the Caraigh Militia folds into the rank and file of the Wiltun Guard.

In this year, the War Knights of Tempus claim the ancient Dwarven stronghold known was Rethgaard, which is around six millenia old. They enter the conflict, but attempt to remain unaligned in the region, caring more for the safety of the people of Ostland than who rules it. They do not choose a side in the war until it is too late.

Blackmoor Keep returns from the bottom of the lake and a third session of the plague continues on Caraigh.

1381 DR:

In 1381 DR, the war knight keep is overtaken by the Bathries of Ostland, and the War Knights are forced to leave Rethgaard, and rather decide to leave the region all together. The Bathries move into the Keep, making it the seat of their power in the region. War Lord Malatril perishes in this year during a fight against Ostland, and his corpse is lost at sea.

The historic conflicts between the Jarldom of Wiltun and the Jarldom of Ostland, which dates back to the rule of Wiltun II around 1280 DR, rears its head again as the lost son and rightful ruler of Ostland, Lord Agnar Magnus returns from the Moonshaes and takes steps to seize Ostland from its corrupt rulers and save the people he loves. Agnar is a man now, and has a contingent of rebels under his command. They ally with the southern Jarldom of Wiltun, to reclaim Ostland from the Bathries, and now have an encampment of rebels and mercenaries on Caraigh near Ceyren's Mill.

---

Misc:

In our lore, the capitol of Ruathym (on Ruathym island) is no longer called Ruathym, because that is confusing. It is called Ottar. Ottar is ruled by the First Axe Aumark Lithyl. Wiltun enjoys a tight bond with them due to a marriage between Wiltun I and one of the Lithyl daughters from before the unification--Wiltun is one of their earliest allies.

The Jarldom nearby Wiltun is Nerth, and is also a small island. They are Wiltun's direct rival, and also homebrew. More information can be given by request.

The people are Ruathymni, and the language is Ruathen.

The Captain's Alliance occurs very briefly (lasting around four years) when the Lord's Alliance first threatens to intervene. The Captain's Alliance is between Ruathym territories, the North, and Luskan, because they feel like they have more in common with eachother as Northmen than they do with the people in the Lord's Alliance. It dissolves, however, because they keep fighting among themselves and desire to pillage each other.

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"The world takes and takes, even things that aren't offered. Finally, it gave us something back; I wish he was here to share it with me."


 
      
Burningoutbright
 
PostPosted: Sun, May 10 2015, 19:06 PM 

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Joined: 17 Mar 2007
Location: Where the She-Devils roam

Keep in mind that your character may not be mentioned in the player resource timeline, out of respect for your character's actions being sneaky, or not very well known (and they wanted it that way, or it warrants more IC/IG investigation) but it is mentioned on the DM Ruathymni Timeline resource.

_________________
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"The world takes and takes, even things that aren't offered. Finally, it gave us something back; I wish he was here to share it with me."


 
      
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