Greindrifa

The Greindrifa or the Divisions was a period in Solstianan history from the 10th to 14th century characterized by a shifting political landscape, subjugation by foreign powers, and slow economic growth. It began with the decline of the First North Sea Empire and ended with the Skredderstat, which brought about economic reform and eventually political reform as a result.

History

In the immediate aftermath of the First North Sea Empire's withdrawal from Solstiana, two factions quickly emerged. The western area of Svøyen was controlled by Hrodmir, a kingdom under the direction of Orderic Whitehand who continued to attract warriors and adventurers through the same raider economy practiced by the Ghaillish Marauders. On the eastern coast, the Ghaillish city of Connheim became the capital of Valderik, a state with loose control over central Svøyen, which sought to restore the central government of the North Sea Empire. The first kings of Valderik sought to restore the throne to Arve Bardson, but after the death of Cerdicus, Valderik primarily pushed for its own monarch to become king of the north sea.

In 1001, Ingbal the Terrible led a rebellion of the Himmerling clan against Valderik to establish the kingdom of Sandsvaer, leading to a second rebellion of the Drammish against King Arnvid of Valderik in 1032. Shortly thereafter, Valderik's connection to the North Sea Empire was severed when the Edgeric clan of Heintrach supplanted the Ghaillish kings and established the Kingdom of Skirnve. Meanwhile, Hrodmir suffered several military defeats at the hands of Fullholt under King Gudrun Strongbow in 1105, breaking the state into the smaller territories of Svernica, High Skogn, and Vermland. After the fall of Hrodmir, Skrinve enjoyed a period of primacy fueled by control of trade to the Rudolphine Confederation.

Skirnve's Weranification ultimately brought about the Horsene period and the resurgence of the North Sea Empire under Gregor Whitetree. In the west, some of the old Hrodmirish states had coalesced into the Kingdom of Kragdal, one of the first Edgeric states to ally with the Fullholt. In central Svøyen, the city of Angpern emerged as the leader of an alliance of city states, many of which also adopted the Horsense language of the North Sea Empire. The North Sea Empire's involvement in the Brutish Wars in Geatland and the threat of the Rudolphine Confederation ultimately led to its bankruptcy and dissolution, after which Angpern became the primary power on Svøyen.

During Angpern's primacy, it actively sought to weaken and break up larger states into smaller units: Kragdal was divided into Nauma, Angvik, and Klovemark; the former North Sea Empire into Grauthus, Anganborg, and Egers; finally, Vermland ceded Larstrond to Angpern and the remaining territory became known as Rosryg.

In the final chapter of the Greindrifa, as Angpern's ascendancy faded, the eastern states were again reorganized (Sorligoyen-Kvalgard, Haverbrake, and Dellirborg and St. Gunhildson emerged during this period) and Larstrong emerged as a serious contender for power, reclaiming Rosryg and the territory of old Vermland. Angpern itself was no longer the capital of it's former realm, which became known as Bracilon. The disputes between Larstrond and Bracilon ultimately provided the impetus for the next era of Solstianan's history in which commercial interests were divorced from the state. The unified economic power of guilds came to overshadow these small principalities in the Skredderstat.