Kingdom of Austaferraz

Kingdom of the Austaferraz Austaferra rīkiją (Old Rua)
224–702
Capital	Awomunþa (224-283) Newjaburgh (283-)
Common languages	Old Rua, Nastivanic, Austaferric-Gauli, Old Basanian, Laimiaic (liturgical)
Religion	Koudish paganism, Cytoricism
Government	Monarchy
King
• 224–230	Erkablað (first)
• –702	(last)
Legislature	Þingą
Historical era	Decarchy
• Expedition of Erkablað Bright-Blade	224
• Westafolk-Ferra war	702
Currency	Rīkja
Preceded by Succeeded by Gauli polity Scylha polity Great Rua

The Kingdom of the Austaferraz (Old Rua: Austaferra rīkiją; Laimiaic: Ωσταφερρον; Nastivanic: ; Austaferric-Gauli: ; Old Basanian: ;), otherwise referred to as the Kingdom of Austaferraz, was one of the ten Kingdoms of the Rua Decarchy. It was founded in the third century after the expedition of Erkablað Bright-Blade, a Rua adventurer who married into the matrilineal line of Arfriþ Arframison, the son of Arfram Black-Eagle. Austaferraz, as well as the other Southern Rua states of Medjaferraz and Westaferraz, are collectively referred to as the "Ferrua", "Far-Rua" or "Ferruic states". The final king of Austaferraz was ($KING), who, alongside King ($KING) of Westaferraz, fought with King ($KING) of Westafolka in the Westafolk-Ferra war, where the Ferrua forces were defeated and both remaining Ferruic states were subsumed into the Great Rua.

History

The Kingdom of Austaferraz was one of the most prominent Kingdoms of the Decarchy throughout much of its history. They remained independent of outside influence, and waged numerous successful campaigns against the Ordanian polity in their early history. They also remained decidedly neutral in relations with other Rua states, only ever participating in war with Westafolka as a defensive measure. This level of peaceability between 468 and 700 allowed Austaferraz to develop greatly in culture and art.

Origin

The Rua came from a variety of cultures, linguistic groups and regions, and were only confederated for the purposes of invasion and subsuming of the Gauli people of Vostau. The Rua would undertake various expeditions to Vostau and beyond, with most being organised as "expeditions", where an expeditionary leader would rally a group of soldiers to campaign, and would reward them with tracts of land in the newly conquered areas. The expedition that led to the founding of Austaferraz was that of Erkablað Bright-Blade in 224. Most Rua adventurers to Vostau had used descent from the seminal adventurer Arfram Black-Eagle to justify their claims to the peninsula, though Erkablað was exceptional in this manner, instead having married Askadag, the daughter of Arfram's son Arfriþ. As such, Erkablað, himself older than Arfriþ Arframison, remains the only Rua adventurer in Vostau not directly related to Arfram, though all of his children would be related to Arfram through Askadag.

Between 224 and 348, Austafolka would remain a unified polity, with the monarch ruling the land at the top level and local authorities beneath him. In the Ferrua lands, local Rua officials were known as prækjaz, which would become a word for local officials in various southern Vostauc languages into the future. These prækjaz were originally delegated by the King, though in time, the King would grant power to the villages to elect their own prækjaz, and thus many Gauli came to be prækjaz, and were recorded in local oral records, some of which would later be written down in the Austaferric chronicle hoi húmnoi tôn prageiôn.

348 saw the death of the respected King Askablað I, who divided the land roughly between his four sons. As part of his spoken will, he stated that his first son Allablað ought to rule as King, but that only having one throne to give his children, each should gladly rule their own lands under the Kingship. This would be the first of numerous divisions of Austaferraz into territories ruled by Eiþans, many of which continued long into the future, some even after the invasion of Westafolka.

The most notable event in pre-Decarchy Austaferraz history was the Austaferraz Succession War, fought from 367 to 370 by Hwatblað 'Twice-Shamed' (Old Rua: Hwatblað Twaiskamǫ̂) against his nephew King Allablað II and the Queen-Regent Agdaga. The war was a crushing defeat for Hwatblað, who alongside his brother Anblað the Murderer (Old Rua: Anblað Murþrārijaz), who both had their lands siezed and returned to the royal demesne, later given to lords loyal to Allablað II.

Decarchy

The introduction of new hereditary subdivisions beneath the monarchy of Autaferraz continued into later years. The majority of Austaferric Eiþanates were borne from children of kings who were younger than the primary heir, though in the case of some Eiþanates, they were created from the splitting of larger Eiþanates between numerous sons, though this practice was rare. Both Gauli oral records and subsequent written records detail the lineage of the Austaferric monarchs.

List of kings

The following list of kings is considered largely accurate, though inaccuracies from the oral records would be hard to find.

Reign	Incumbent	Notes
224 to 230	Erkablað Bright-Blade	Engaged in the expedition which founded the Kingdom of Austaferraz. Founded the city of Awomunþaz upon his landing.
230 to 283	Xalloblað	Son of Erkablað. His mother, Askadag, ruled as Queen-regent from his ascension until 242.
283 to 323	Hwatblað I	Son of Xalloblað. Coins minted in the leadup to his reign show that an older brother, Arblað, was supposed to rule, but died a year before Hwatblað ascended to the throne.
323 to 325	Hwatblað II	Son of Hwatblað I. His mother, Agdaga, ruled as Queen-regent throughout his whole reign. Died at the age of four.
325 to 348	Askablað I	Elder half-brother of Hwatblað II, junior in the line of succession by Rua sucession law. Realm was first divided into Eiþanates upon his death.
348 to 354	Allablað I	Son of Askablað I.
354 to 367	Askablað II	Son of Allablað I. Both younger brothers attempted to usurp throne, and so the Eiþanates of Awoskelð and ($EIÞANATE) were given to loyal courtiers.
367 to 389	Allablað II	Son of Askablað II. Died childless.
389 to 400	Hwatblað III	Younger brother of Hwatblað III. Eiþan of Awomunþa from 367 to 400, a title given to his second son Anblað.
400 to 445	Askablað III	Son of Hwatblað III.