 |
| The Far North |
They conquer, and then conquer again, further and further afield until the crown can no longer contemplate the vastness of its territories. They are too far-flung; the distances are too vast; they sprawl out to this horizon and that, and beyond those, again. Where is that again, it asks? Tenh? The Quaglands? The minutiae of the day-to-day governance of so vast a territory overwhelms it, and it must then rely on its governors, for who knows their lands better than they? So long as the taxes are collected, what of it?
That’s all well and good until the governors take umbrage with sending the crown their gold, receiving naught in return.
300-350 CY
 |
| Anarchy crept into the Great Kingdom |
The Bandit Kingdoms are a collection of petty holdings. Each little
kingdom is ruled by a robber chieftain claiming a title such as Baron, Boss,
Plar, General, Tyrant, Prince, Despot and even King. In all there are 17 states
within the confines of the area, ruled by 4 to 6 powerful lords, and the rest
attempting either to become leading rulers or simply to survive. [Folio - 8]
310-360 CY
The fiefs north of the Nyr Dyv looked
to their borders, both north and east, and discovered that they were bounded by
villainy and evil. Something must be done, they realized, otherwise they would
be pillaged and sundered by it. A vanguard of lords and knights came to the
fore and banded them together, promising to keep them safe. The knights became
the Knights of the Shield, and the lands took their name, becoming the Shield
Lands.
When the Bandit Kingdoms
began to grow powerful, the petty nobles of the north shores of the Nyr Dyv banded
together in a mutual protection society. [Folio - 15]
When similar circumstances resulted, ultimately, in the formation of
the lawless Combination of Free Lords to the north, the southern nobles banded
together, forming the "Shield Lands" as a bulwark against the
depredations and chaos of the north. Since the earl of Walworth commanded
Admundfort, at the time the only notable city in the region, he was chosen as
the knight commander of the combined forces of the nobles. Within a handful of
years, the new capital saw the formation of the Knights of Holy Shielding, a
Heironean order that both formed the core of the new national army and served
as an example of good, clean living through dedication to strict, militaristic
goals. [LGG - 104]
318 CY
 |
| Veralos |
The North was vast. And for all its peoples,
for all its scattered states, and for all its history, it was largely
undiscovered. Few saw the foundations of the Ur-Flans kingdoms, but they were
there for those tenacious enough to find them. Why, some would ask. They were swept
aside, and of no concern. But not everyone was so foolish. Some knew what power
they wielded, what wonders they forged before the rise and fall of Vecna. Zagig
Yragerne was one of those. He wished to find the fabled city of Veralos, for he
believed that a culture that could produce Vecna and sunder the Elven Empire surely
must have produced a great many artifacts worth seeking. So, he and his Company
of Seven, a young Murlynd and Keoghtom among them, left to much fanfare to do
just that, and returning a year later, they claimed to have found and plundered
the city, producing a wagon laden with treasures to prove their claim. Their
expedition revived the legend of the lost citadel, and indeed, that of the
Ur-Flan and their civilization, which had all but been forgotten since their
Aerdy conquerors pulled down their ancient settlements and built their new ones
on top of them, laying waste to Flan magic, art, and writings.
320 CY
 |
| The Relentless Horde |
Nomads swept into the North from
the West, but the northern steppes were so vast, the Rovers remained unaware of
the Relentless Horde until it had already gained a foothold in their lands.
And, by then, it was already too late to stop them.
Before too long, they had cut
off Blackmoor and the Quaglands from the rest of the Great Kingdom.
Mixed Oerid-Baklunish nomad bands had gradually moved into and laid
claim to the steppe lands beyond the Yatil range, pushing eastwards as far as
the Griff Mountains. Border skirmishing with the southern nations went on as
these wild horsemen pushed into the Flanaess. Perhaps the civilized states
could have stopped their eastward progress had they not been busy fighting with
the Aerdi for their independence. [Folio - 6]
The Relentless Horde pressed the
Rovers of the Barrens ever east. Because they must. They had little choice;
they too were being harried from the west, themselves forced ever eastward by
the Brazen Horde, who were conquering the whole of the Paynims.
Soon, Kha-Khan Ogobanuk, ruler
of the Restless Horde, had conquered most of the Plains. Ilkhan of Tiger Nomads
ruled the western steppes in his name. The Wolf Nomads pressed on but could
advance no further than the Cold Marshes and the Howling Hills. Their horses
could not race across the former, and they met with the Rover’s resolve in the
valleys of the latter.
The Tiger Nomads were driven from the southern plains by the invading
Brazen Horde almost three centuries ago. Thrown together with the Wolf Nomads,
and other bands of mixed Oerid and Baklunish refugees from the plains, they
arrived in the northern steppes in defeat and disarray. Yet, within a few
years, they grew strong enough for their ilkhan to command the whole of the western
steppes under the great Kha-Khan Ogobanuk of the Relentless Horde (c. 320 CY) [LGG - 114]
Following the lead of the
Viceroyalty of Ferrond, the outer dependencies of Aerdy too began to claim
sovereignty. The Great Kingdom, ever riven by inner turmoil and its increasing
decadency, was shrinking. And in its lessened state, it could do nothing to
stem the tide.
Perranders, Velunians, Furyondians and Tenhas achieve success,
establishing independent status one after the other in a series of minor but
bloody wars. [Folio - 6]
Even as Furyondy broke free of
the Great Kingdom, they sought to lay claim to the Quaglands. But the Quaglands
were isolated, cut off from the rest of the South except through mountain
passes. Always a fiercely independent people, they had no wish to be or remain
under their dominion.
 |
| The Quaglands |
They took the first appearance of the Relentless Horde in the north (c.
320 CY) as the opportunity to break free of the yoke of their overseers. The
bailiffs and the troops loyal to them were expelled, and the distracted kingdom
of Furyondy was unable to spare the forces necessary to put down this last
rebellion. [LGG - 86]
342 CY
The Theocracy of the Pale chaffed under the
dominion of the infidel. Neither Nyrond nor the Great Kingdom followed the path
of the blessed Blinding Light, so what right did they have to determine their
destiny of the Faithful! The Council of Nine selected its first Theocrat to
rule as the semi-independent leader of the Pale. And bided its time.
Ceril the Relentless, […] greatly revered as a patron saint of the
nation […] founded the Council of the Nine, which organized the government of
the early nation and chose the first theocrat from their number in 342 CY.
Together, they fashioned a government in accordance with their strict
interpretations of doctrine. The Palish considered themselves far removed from
the politics of the overking and his court, whom they continued to fear and
mistrust despite their separation. [LGG - 82]
345 CY
The Quaglands soon discovered that being part
of a greater whole had its benefits when it was taken from them. The Hordes
were sweeping across the North, and they as they pled for aid from the Aerdi
and Dyvers, they were cut off. None came.
Hostilities were inevitable; the
Tigers were warlike and desperate for lands to call their own; but if anything,
the Quaglanders were crafty, and adroit at dealing with this new threat.
The nomads were indeed a threat to the Quaglands freeholders, and the
Sepia Uplands saw many bloody skirmishes between the two peoples. Even the
death of the nomads' Kha-Khan Ogobanuk and the division of the horde into twin
nations (345 CY) did not completely end the hostility. [LGG - 86]
 |
| Tiger Nomad |
With their cousins, the Wolf Nomads, they were the terror of the north,
from the Dramidj coast to the Griff Mountains. When KhaKhan Ogobanuk made his
final journey to the invisible realm in 345 CY, the ilkhan of the Tiger Nomads
withdrew from the Relentless Horde, forming his own nation of Chakyik. [LGG - 114]
[The Tiger Nomads] warred with the Flan tribes of the Burneal, whom
they called the Uirtag, as well as the Guryik people from the Land of Black
Ice. [LGG - 114]
Luckily for the Quaglands, the
Nomads were far from unified.
The Wolf Nomads consider themselves the true heirs of the great
Relentless Horde that once challenged all the nations of the northern Flanaess.
Led by the mighty Kha-Khan Ogobanuk, the host encompassed both the Wolf and
Tiger nations until 345 CY. All the lands west of the Griff Mountains were
under their sway, though by the end of the khakhan's lifetime the territory
east of the Fellreev Forest was already lost. After Ogobanuk was laid to rest
in the Howling Hills, the Wolf and Tiger Nomads became separate nations, though
still bound by language and tradition. Both the ilkhan and tarkhan have
followed the kha-khan's decree and studied the art of beguilement, for any
ruler who cannot deceive his enemies is not clever enough to lead a free
people. [LGG - 133]
c. 350 to 360
CY
The Short War:
 |
| The Short War |
Keoland held sway from the Pomarj to the Crystalmist Mountains, while
her armies pushed into Ket and threatened Verbobonc and Veluna City (c. 350-360
CY). The Ketite expedition came to grief in successive battles (Molvar,
Lopolla), while an alliance between Veluna-Furyondy ended the Keoish threat in
that quarter (Short War). Coincidentally, the Olvenfolk within the boundaries
of Keoland objected to the warlike policies of the King and began expelling royal
garrisons in the Ulek Provinces and Celene. In the ensuing struggle, the
freemen of the western portion sided with the demi-humans. Raiders in the far
south took advantage of these conditions to harry the Keoish coast from Gradsul
to Gryrax. [Folio - 12]
Bissel has long been the gateway between three worlds (the Baklunish
West, the Sheldomar Valley, and the rest of the Flanaess), and as a result has
been repeatedly invaded, conquered, and settled by a variety of Oeridian,
Suloise, and Baklunish peoples. Some present-day villages and trade routes were
established before the ancient Baklunish-Suloise Wars. The area shows the
influences of many cultures, but the inhabitants tend to be untrusting of
foreigners and keep to themselves. The land was eventually brought into Keoland
(c. 302 CY), its troublesome peoples forcibly subdued by the Knights of the
March, Keoish forces invaded Ket and Veluna from Thornward through 350-360 CY.
[LGG - 32]
356 CY
The founding of Nyrond marked be beginning of
the Great Kingdom’s decline. One might think that the founding of Furyondy had
marked such, because in truth, the Great Kingdom had already begun to lose its
furthest protectorates; but it had not looked to its Western Provinces in decades;
nor had those provinces sought their aid or council, so when the Viceroyalty of
Ferrond declared its sovereignty, the Great Kingdom hardly took note. It had
grown myopic. Its focus was inward, its attention was rooted in the East, and
that was where its interests lay; so, when its Eastern protectorates began to
secede, the Kingdom rose from its stupor and took note.
The House of Rax, ruling Aerdi dynasty, was at the time sundered by an
internal feud, and the junior branch, then known as Nyrond, declared it lands
free of the rule of the reigning Overking [Portillan] and sovereign.
[Folio - 6]
[T]he ruling dynasty of Aerdy, the Celestial House of Rax, had grown
especially decadent. In response, the western province of Nyrond declared
itself free of the Great Kingdom and elected one of its nobles as king of an
independent domain. Armies gathered from all loyal provinces of Aerdy to
suppress this brazen act. [LGG - 14]
 |
| Fate Takes a Hand |
A coalition of Fruzt, Schna and mercenary barbarians mounted a major
foray into the Aerdian North Province. The Overking's army, raised to invade
Nyrond, swung northeast and soon the invaders were crushed. The end of the
campaigning season arrived before any action could be taken against Nyrond.
[Folio - 6]
Of course, Fate may not have had hand in it, at all. Nyrond surely knew
that the Kingdom would not take their declaration of independence lightly;
surely they knew that the Kingdom would retaliate. So it isn’t out of the realm
of possibilities that Nyrond may have sent emissaries to the Thillonrian
Peninsula, informing the Barbarian tribes that the North Province might soon be
vulnerable. And the Northern tribes just may have listened. Stanger things have
happened. Of course, no one can say for certain if this really happened. But
the timing is suspicious. Then again, sometimes Fate takes a hand, doesn’t it?
The Battle of Redspan
Nyrond’s secession was just the
beginning. They pressed Tenh to join them in revolt, convincing them that this
was the time to rise, that true freedom could be theirs. Tenh did not need much
convincing. Tenh had always believed that they were independent of the Great
Kingdom, had always believed that they were self-determining, but until then,
they had never brazenly declared themselves so, fearing retribution, for the
Great Kingdom was vast and strong, and they were small. They saw that now was
the time to do so. The Aerdi were hard pressed, the Aerdi were weakened, so if
not then, when? They rose up with Nyrond, and the Tenha cavalry routed the Aerdian
forces at Redspan. And when that was done, the Duke of Tenh ended his fealty to
Aerdian Crown.
 |
| The Battle of Redspan |
Eventually, the Great Kingdom showed signs of decay. When the Nyrondal
princes declared the end of their allegiance to the overking, the duke was
persuaded to follow suit. The Battle of Redspan signaled the end of the duke's
fealty to the overking of Aerdy. The Aerdy force was routed by the Tenha
cavalry and pushed down the "Red Road to Rift Canyon" in an action
made famous in the ballad of the same name. The army of the Great Kingdom was
not actually swept into the Rift Canyon, as the ballad proclaims, but they were
so thoroughly defeated that many of the Aerdi officers and soldiers chose exile
in the Bandit Kingdoms over the punishments awaiting them at home. [LGG - 113]
The Theocracy of the Pale,
already self-determining, proclaimed its autonomy in the wake of Nyrond’s
successful bid. There was little risk to doing so, they thought; the Kingdom
would not reach them without crossing newly independent Nyrond. They were free
and clear, they thought. They prepared for the possibility, nonetheless.
As the rot of cultural and social decay started to penetrate the Great
Kingdom, many of the more devout and outspoken followers of the god Pholtus
withdrew from the increasingly corrupt core of the land. Some of these settled
between the Rakers mountain range and the Yol River. When Nyrond declared its
independence from the Great Kingdom, so did these religious refugees. Thus was
the Theocracy of the Pale formed. [WG8 - 47]
c. 357 CY
"And then it started like a guilty thing; Upon a fearful summons" [Hamlet]
Evil and decadence had corrupted
the heart of the Great Kingdom. All knew it. They had cavorted with nether
worlds and grown cruel.
It was at this time that the
evil began to grow within the rulers of the Great Kingdom. The House of Rax
became decadent, its policies ineffectual and aimed at appeasement. The
powerful noble houses took this as their cue to set up palatinate-like states,
and rule their fiefs as if they were independent kingdoms. [Folio - 6]
359 CY
Nyrond, the Theocracy of the Pale soon
discovered, did not recognize the Pale’s right to self-determination. In its
hubris, Nyrond did not see itself as divisible as it had the Great Kingdom.
Nyrondal forces marched into Wintershiven, and annexed the newly formed
Theocracy of the Pale, and, later, the County of Urnst. While occupied, Wintershiven
was burned to the ground, and ultimately abandoned. And so it came to pass that
New Wintershiven was founded twenty miles north of the old.
Some still claim that the invaders razed the city to the ground. Calmer
heads disagree, citing nothing more than carelessness: apparently some drunken
Nyrondese soldiers set fire to a barn, and the fire spread to destroy the city.
[WG8 - 47]
The occupation was short. Nyrond chose to accept Theocracy and Urnst
independence after the treaty of Rel Mord, in return for pledges of mutual
protection. The Pale celebrates this day as the Emancipation.
371 CY
 |
| Latavius of Rookroost |
[Rookroost's] founder was an
Oeridian robber baron named Latavius, and under his dominion the city enjoyed
its most dynamic period of growth. [When] Latavius died suddenly -- under rather
suspicious circumstances -- the throne of Rookroost was taken over by the
former commander of Latavius's personal bodyguard. [WG8 - 3]
c. 400 CY
Stalemate is inevitable when
combatants are evenly matched; attrition takes its toll, and before long, they
dig in and wait for the other to “make a mistake.” They probe. They flank. But
in the end, they fortify. Keoland raised sturdy walls to protect the Fals Road
at Thornward; just as Ket raised Avernand to anchor its line of forts to either
side of the Irafa Road. And there they watched. And waited.
After suffering defeats in Ket during the Short War, Keoland pulled
back and made Bissel the "Littlemark," the kingdom's northernmost
domain. Thornward, now a town of respectable size, was established as its
capital to check Ketite expansion south and east of Bramblewood Gap; it grew
into a major trade center between Baklunish west and Oeridian/Suloise east.
Bissel also profited greatly from trade between Keoland and Furyondy through
the Fals River Pass, and Mitrik became the destination of much overland and
river traffic. Knights of the Watch have had much influence here over the last
190 years, serving in the margrave's court and armies. [LGG - 32,33]
The Quaglands finally threw off
the yoke of Dyvers. Furyondy had claimed them, but the freeholders discovered
that there was little benefit to being within its fold. Furyondy offered little
aid, yet demanded that the Quaglanders pay their taxes and fill the ranks of
their legions. It was only a matter of time before they realized that Furyondy
needed them more than they had ever needed Furyondy. If the ever had.
 |
| The Flan in the Yatils |
Nomad raids continued for
many years in the north, while Ket several times invaded the Wyrm's Tail and
nearly took Krestible. The Quaglands and Yatil freeholders defended their
borders tenaciously, but lacked the strength to make themselves truly secure. A
plan was then devised to unite the defenses under a single leader, while
allowing clan holdings to remain relatively independent. The freeholds were
marked into eight cantonments, joined by oaths of mutual armed assistance
called the Covenant of Concatenation. The leaders of these collected states
elected the strongest of their number, Perren, to be their voormann, c. 400 CY.
Such was their devotion to this great warrior and statesman that he was elected
voormann five consecutive times; after his death, the young nation adopted his
name.[LGG - 86]
430 CY
Few looked to the North. It was cold. It was
savage. It had little of value, so thought the South. And so, it was left to
its own devices. Thus, only the strong ruled. Vlek Col Vlekzed was one such.
 |
| Vlek Col Vlekzed |
Who was he? Where did he come
from? Some say that he was a Rover, who after years of plundering the lands
around his, had fled to the northern peninsula with those Rovers and bandits
who followed him. He was reckless and fierce, and took the lands of the Colten
Feodality for his own, having lured them to their deaths on the pretense that
they were to treat and come to an accord of peace.
Others contend that he was one
of the Colten Atamans, and that he seized control of all their lands when he
betrayed his peers, slaughtering them while they revelled in his Hold, besotted
on his wine. Still others contend that he was from Tenh. Wherever he came from,
and however he came to control the Atamans, he drew them into his fold, and
collectively, they came to be known as the Hold of Stonefist.
The inhabitants of the area, the Coltens Feodality, were tricked into
negotiation with Vlek. These negotiators and their escorting force were
slaughtered, the remainder of the Coltens host routed by surprise and ferocity,
and Vlek settled down to rule over the whole territory. [Folio - 16]
The Coltens folk had no place in this hierarchy, and many fled to the
Hraak Forest, or beyond the Big Seal Bay and the northern thrust of the Corusks
to dwell in the Taival Tundra, in the land of the Ice Barbarians). [LGG - 109]
The inhabitants of the area,
the Coltens Feodality, were tricked into negotiation with Vlek. These
negotiators and their escorting force were slaughtered, the remainder of the
Coltens host routed by surprise and ferocity, and Vlek settled down to rule
over the whole territory. [Folio - 16]
437 CY
The Great Kingdom continued to tear itself to
pieces during the Turmoil between Crowns. The North took little note. Rauxes
and Rel Astra were distant lands, and few Northerners had ever heard their
names.
This name is given both to
the decade of internal schisms under the rule of the last Rax overking, Nalif,
and to the civil war which followed Ivid's ascension. [Ivid - 4]
438 CY
The Second Short War
 |
| The Second Short War |
Furyondy vs. Keoland, ends
Keoish influence in Veluna and wrests Littlemark from beneath Keoish control.
Littlemark becomes a tributary state of Furyondy for a few decades. [Folio - 9]
Bissel was conquered by the
combined forces of Furyondy and Veluna in 438 CY, which ended Keoish influence
in western Veluna. The throne in Chendl kept Bissel's office of the margrave,
but replaced the ruling family with nobles sympathetic to the affairs of the
east. [LGG - 33]
c. 440s-460s
Torn by its
turmoil, the Great Kingdom began to break apart. Beginning with the Viceroyalty
of Ferrond, the other western satellite states followed suit, Veluna, Bisset,
Keoland. At first the Malachite Throne took no action. But as the tapestry of
state continued unravelling, it had little choice but to rise from its stupor
and take action, lest it lose the entirety of its lands. But try as it might,
it could not stem the tide. The Iron League formed. Nyrond seceded. Alain II of
Ratik declared his fief an arch-barony, not entirely willing to completely
sever ties with the mother country, as yet. But in truth, he ruled Ratik as
though it was indeed independent, as did the Marquis of Bone March. What choice
did they have? The Crown was embroiled in what came to be known as the Turmoil Between Crowns, and it took no
interest in the administration of its provinces.
One must always give credit where credit is due. This History is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is interminable. Thanks to Steven Wilson for his GREYCHRONDEX and to Keith Horsfield for his “Chronological History of Eastern Oerik.”
Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.
The Art:
JUDICATOR-LET-THERE-BE-NOTHING by mitchellnolte
Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Ivid the Undying, 1998
Dragon Magazine
OJ Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex, Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer
Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Ivid the Undying, 1998
Dragon Magazine
OJ Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex, Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer
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