Kingdom of Reikland
The Kingdom of Reikland | |
|---|---|
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Flag | |
| Motto: "Loyalty, Duty, Honor" | |
| Location | Nordenwald |
| Capital | Carolton |
| Largest city | Aretria |
| Official languages | Reikish |
| Recognised national languages | Reikish |
| Religion | The Faith, some presence of other religions |
| Demonym(s) | Reikish |
| Government | Feudal Absolute Monarchy (to 516), Constitutional Monarchy (to 1183) |
• First King | Charles I |
• Last Absolute Monarch | Adrian I |
• Last Monarch | William III |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Establishment | |
• Unification of Reikland | 872 AR (183 BD) |
• Adrian's Edict | 1571 AR (516 AD) |
• Reikish Civil War Starts | 2175 AR (1120 AD) |
• Treaty of Abdication | 2195 AR (1140 AD) |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 54,470,284 (estimate 1065 AR) |
| Currency | Pound Sterling |
The Kingdom of Reikland, was a Monarchy in Federation of Allies controlling the continent of Reikland. Founded in 872 AR after the final conquest of Reikland by King Charles I, it would serve as the supreme power in the region until the Reikish Civil Wars from 2175 to 2195.
Etymology
History
The history of Reikland and the Reikish people is a long and often difficult to determine saga, made up of as much myth and legend as actual history. Despite being a distinct culture group for near 6,000 years, the modern Reikish people are a more recent development and the product of thousands of years of migration, conflict, and accumulation.
Pre-Return History
People first arrived in Reikland many thousands of years ago in a series of migratory events. Most of these early inhabitants would remain, settling across the continent. The population that would eventually become the Reikish migrated from Nordenwald in the 38th Century BD (2700s BR), travelling west and colonizing the lands that would eventually become Grenham. Little is currently known of these proto-Reikish during the migration or during the centuries leading to the Return. What is known is that the Reikish became skilled seafarers and metallurgists, learning to craft exquisite iron by the 3000s BD and even decent steel by the turn of the 15th Century BD.
The Return
By the time of the Return from 1100 to 1055 BD, the Reikish had developed a complex society that many outside observers found to be odd. Modern historians have described these early Reikish migrants as "A strange mix of cultural sophistication and simultaneous barbarism". According to contemporary sources, the first Reikish to land in Nordenwald in 1100 BD did so in large, clinkerbuilt ships. Writing nearly 200 years later, the Elixian historian Jaius Jarius Furii described the initial landings as follows, "The invaders reached the shores of the Great Northern Jungle in a fleet of boats. A group of armed men from the local garrison went to meet them, engaging in a short dialogue that ended in conflict. The records of the garrison did not include what words were said as the commander was slain in the battle, alongside no fewer than two dozen of his men. Thus began the Invasions which drove our Empire to ruin and exile." Reikish sources, compiled in the Chronicles written by Alfred in the mid-900s AR (circa 1st Century BD), indicate a similarly violent clash. According to Heathbert, the apparent leader of this first landing party, "The Elians came from the treeline, armor glistening in the sun, and drew up for battle. I drew my party up likewise and bade the völva Greita to come forward and offer prayers to Areia and Tor, asking for victory. For their blessings, I and my captains took the völva's blade and did cut our hands, sprinkling blood upon the ground as we beseeched the Gods for their favor. With our sacrifice made and our wounds bound, we were greeted by a pair of riders. They spoke in a tongue we did not and I called for the merchant, Aethelred, to translate. The riders asked our business and demanded we return to our boats. I replied that we would do no such thing. We were told once more to leave on pain of death. I replied that we would neither leave these shores nor shirk from death. With these words exchanged, the riders returned to their host and the battle commenced. I sought out the host's leader, a man clad in more ornate armor with a plume of hair atop his helm. With my lance I pierced his throat, laying him low upon the field. I then took my sword and parted his head from his shoulders, placing it atop my lance and lifting it high so as to be seen by all. At the sight of their leader's head, the Elixians lost heart and fled. Five we lost that day, their bodies burned on that beach to speed their spirits to the Godshall."
While this first meeting was violent, many subsequent meetings were peaceful. For forty-five years the Reikish traded with the Elixians and occassionally skirmished with them. According to the historian Alfred, this was done by various Reikish rulers gather intelligence before a great invasion was undertaken. Furii describes the invasion, what Reikish scholars would call "The Return", as follows, "There came from the East a great host of ships, long and low, with a single tall mast with a single, large sail. The ships approached the Great Jungle and sailed along the coast, raiding and burning settlements as they went. A Sektor was raised to repel them and then another and another, on and on until fully forty-thousand men had been raised to meet the invaders. This host arrived at the mouth of the River Eli, a day behind the invaders ships. There, arrayed on the beach as far as the eyes could see, were ships. A host of men, a hundred thousand strong, was arranged on the banks of the river, awaiting our arrival. The General drew his host up for battle and made a gallant charge. The battle was fierce and lasted the whole day but, in the end, was futile. The General fell, as did his sons and fully thirty-thousand men." Accounts from Reikish sources put the invasion force at 1,000 to 1,200 ships and many thousands of men. Modern historians have agreed that the claims by Furii of a Reikish army of 100,000 men is embellished and many have argued that the Reikish claims of over a thousand ships are also an embellishment. However, archaeological digs in Northwestern Reikland, where the invasion is alleged to have occurred, have uncovered hundreds of ships along the banks of the River Eli, dating to 1050s BD. Similarly, the records of the Elixian garrisons did survive mostly intact, allowing modern historians to confirm that twenty to thirty Sektors were present at the battle, putting the Elian force at between 30,000 and 60,000 men. Analysis of the size of Reikish ships in this time period put the Reikish invasion force at between 50,000 and 60,000 men.
The Battle of the Eli marked the end of the Return and the start of over 150 years of near constant warfare between the Elixian Empire and Reikish warlords. The wars eventually culminated in the Great Seafare being undertaken by the Elians in 902 BD.
The Reikish-Elixian Wars
The Return in 1055 BD marked the beginning of a century and a half of near constant war between Reikish armies and the Elixian Empire. The Reikish, who had colonized largely western jungles around the River Eli, found themselves with a largely trapped opponent. The Reikish longships owned the rivers and the coast and the mountains were nearly impassable at the best of times. The armies that landed here would carve out two of the most influential Reikish kingdoms, Mercia and Tomsaete. From this foothold, the Reikish would expand, driving the Elixians to flee the continent.
Before the Elixians could be brought to flee, many campaigns and battles were fought.