Ingbal the Terrible

Ingbal the Terrible
Queen of Sandsvaer
Enlargement a miniature of Ingbal, painted in 1410 in Angpern
Reign	1103 - 1134
Successor	Henry of Sandsvaer
House	Hylia

Ingbal I, also known as Ingbal the Terrible, was the ruler and founder of Sandsvaer during the Solstianan Greindrifa from 1003 to 1034. Her progeny, which ruled over Sandsvaer until 1154, was known as the Hylian Dynasty, after her estate near the town of Hylia.

Ingbal was directly responsible for the decline and fall of Valderik, from the engagements between their forces she earned the name "Terrible". Later in her life, she also secured the independence of Dramland and conquered the city of Raehr. Her husband, Svein Ironheart, was legendarily killed by King Cerdicus of Valderik, sparking her rivalry with that kingdom.

Early Life

Ingbal was born sometime between 964 and 966 to a family of landowners in modern Hjarnmark, directly west of Hylia. Her parents secured a marriage to a son of a prestigious family in Hylia, part of the Himmerling clan, which held most of the territory between Josmyrn and Hylia in fief for the Valderik kings of Connheim.

'Twas the earliest of times   when Ingbal lived ;
then was state nor seat   nor restive crown,
nor was Kirke found then,   nor Heaven on high,
there was Yawning of Deeps   and nowhere haven :

— "Valderiksbrudd", Edda 3

According to some sources, Ingbal was an extremely effective administrator who organized the construction of the Himmerling fortress at Hylia, greatly expanded their lands, and even managed their horse breeding. It is difficult to confirm any of these accounts, but it is evident that the Himmerlings were rapidly enriching themselves.

The growth of the Himmerling land and power drew the attention of the King, who suspected that this wealth came from withholding tribute. Svein, who became the most prominent figure in the Himmerling clan after his father suffered a stroke, was summoned to Connheim. At Connheim, Svein was betrayed and killed, supposedly in an epic duel with King Cerdicus, though the accounts are mostly legendary.

Rebellion of 1001

King Cerdicus crippled the Himmerlings by killing their most prominent dynast and the clan seemed poised to divide their lands among some of the senior members to avoid further confrontation with Connheim. Ingbal, acting on behalf of her father-in-law, prevented this by rallying the clan and many of the families in their territory against Connheim.

From 994 to 1003, Ingbal acted as regent for the Himmerlings and organized an offensive against Cerdicus's nephew's fortress at Angpern. Cerdicus learned of this assault, which was planned long in advance and gathered a force of ships from Connheim and sailed around the coast to land at Filsbeinborg, where he camped for the winter of 999, waiting for Ingbal's forces at Losvann, near modern Josmyrn, to make an advance. Ingbal split her force into a main body, which fortified Losvann for the winter, and a large contingent which moved into the Vingfold Forest to raid and supply the main body with forage.

In the Spring of 1001 Ingbal refused to move and, eventually, Cerdicus approached her camp with his nephew--Seder Jorfot--reinforcing him from the rear. Expecting to seize the initiative as well as having the larger force, Cerdicus was impatient to begin the battle and ordered Seder to move around Losvann to attack their north flank and encircle Losvann instead of reinforcing the main attack. Seder's forces were almost immediately intercepted by Ingbal's foragers, who harassed Seder and slowed his advance until he reached the village of Gulfjøs. Gulfjøs had been abandoned because of Ingbal's raids, but Seder attempted to fortify his position and wait for an attack from the raiders.

Ingbal's raiders, however, quickly left Seder's forces and moved to outflank Cerdicus, who was already engaged with Losvann's defenses. Although Cerdicus alone had a superior force to Ingbal, when the raiders engaged them from the rear, they were pressed against the palisade around Losvann and rapidly lost their strength. Eventually, after trying to wait for Seder's arrival for a few hours, Cerdicus surrendered to Ingbal and agreed to forgive Svein's debts alogn with granting Ingbal additional territory and privileges.

When Seder arrived with his force, Cerdicus had already accepted an agreement. One element of the agreement was for Cerdicus and Seder to give Ingbal the horses in their armies so that Cerdicus would be forced to walk back to Connheim. An impromptu celebration was organized, which all parties attended to consecrate the new peace. On the morning of April 16th, Cerdicus and Seder again parted, Seder returning to Angpern and Cerdicus moving south along the river towards his ships at Filsbeinborg. As soon as both forces were out of sight, Ingbal dispatched contingent of cavalry, which quickly caught up with and scattered Cerdicus's army, killing many. Cerdicus himself was captured and returned to Losvann, where he was tortured to death. His dismembered remains were entombed in a cairn, which has since been archaelogically confirmed to be Cerdicus.

Seder's army learned of the betrayal of Ingbal within weeks as members of Cerdicus's army coalesced around Angpern. He immediately set out back towards Losvann, hoping to secure his uncle's release, and was reinforced by small groups of Cerdicus's men. Following the road back through Gulfjøs, however, his army was ambushed a destroyed. Seder himself was killed after the battle when he tried to surrender.