Varrenholm

Currently Undergoing major rework
Varrenholm (/Vare-en-hole-mm/) is one of the fourteen major Council nations in New Voldrania, and is located in central Rogash. The nation is comprised of a mesh of survivors from Voldrania, but was not an official nation until 62 AE in New Voldrania. The chief occupants are from Mynyyd, but its overall population is varied ethnically.
==History==
Varrenholm is one of the youngest of the Voldranian nations, having been founded in 62 AE after the settling in New Voldrania. Despite its late founding, the roots of Varrenholm stretch back to the Voldranian nation of Mynyyd. Having been founded by a majority of the surviving Mynyydites, Varrenholm could technically be considered the New Voldranian variation of Mynyyd; though most would consider it a brand new entity. This is mainly in part due to none of the original Mynyydite leaders taking power, instead opting for a brand new government to be established. Additionally, Less than 30% of the founding population was actually from Mynyyd, the rest were random scattered citizens from all of the other Voldranian nations.
Between the years of 61 AE and 63 AE, the currently nameless nation and its citizens spent most of their time setting up the nation, aiming for it to reach a state that it could be officially founded. The government was officially set up in 92 AE, with the now established leader Jason Seigfried declaring "We are a people, the people of the land of the brave. Let us forever be such."
The nation was officially named Varrenholm, which translates from Norvitrian to Land of the Brave, in honour of the new king's declaration. Over the next year, Varrenholm continued to develop, inhabiting more of its claimed space. While exploring, multiple groups of natives were discovered. These groups included the Ranovitrians of the Grindrae Tribe, the Iysks of the city Kaer'Maevel, the outcast mages of the city Dalverad, and finally the Llysovian traders living on the southern coast. Formal relations with these entities were never fully established, but the king of Varrenholm decided to let all of them remain independent. After all, they had gotten there first.
While the Ranovitirans took the kind action well, eventually establishing a small trade route with the nearby Varren city of Jokulsa, the Iysks and Llysovians showed very little reaction, and continued their daily lives. However, the outcast mages of Dalverad did not take the new neighbors very well. Throughout the 93 AE, several mages from within the city set out to the small settlements around the cavern in which the city was built. The actions they took were varied, but all were intended to cause terror. The most common actions involved tampering with the citizen's mental state, causing them to go on animistic rampages, or simply break psychologically. There were also several cases of indiscriminate murder.
While this conflict went on, the small number of able fighters that were found in Varrenholm attempted to build a makeshift military to fight back the terrorists. However, they were unable to do very much to organize a force able to stand up. Thankfully, many other outcast mages from the city joined the side of Varrenholm, hoping to build a positive relationship with the nation. With the help of the friendly Dalveradians, all of the opposing mages were eventually captured and imprisoned. However, one of the resistance leaders Zane Black vanished after casting an unknown spell, and was never brought into custody. By the end of the year, the conflict now known as The Dalverad Outbreak came to a close. Relations between Varrenholm and the remaining Dalveradians began to appear, though now they were more positive.
Around the time The Dalverad Outbreak ended, representatives from the neighboring nations of Baratan and Jados began to approach the leaders of Varrenholm. They proposed Varrenholm join their newly founded alliance The Western Accord, in hopes of establishing a voting block in the newly established council. Varrenholm accepted the offer, aiming more towards building relations with the alliance members. However, Varrenholm's decision to join the alliance prompted the formation of the East Voldranian Alliance of Independent Nations, "EVAIN". The formation of this alliance prompted a near-war between the two alliances, which caused Varrenholm to retreat from its alliance.</span>
After retreating from the alliance, Baratan threatened violent retaliation on Varrenholm, but was stopped when Akarv and EVAIN offered Varrenholm protection. After this, war between the Accord and EVAIN fell apart and the nations of the Accord began to fall apart on their own. Unfortunately, Varrenholm also began to grow politically unstable from this ordeal. Most began to lose trust in the leaders for choosing to join such an alliance, and the smaller political figures began to grow corrupt.
The political situation would only continue to decline over the next 12 years, with King Jason Seigfried constantly working to uproot the corruption. The arrival of Nether forces in the 94 AE did not help matters, as Varrenholm was mostly defenseless against this force. Thankfully, as a result of the nations general lack of military might, the nation was for the most part ignored by the nether forces. Things began to change the following year, however, when a mysterious man known only as Vor arrived in Varrenholm. Having proven his unparalleled combat skill, Vor was given a high ranking in what little military Varrenholm had managed to assemble. With his assistance, the military began to take a positive step forward, establishing ranks and increasing in numbers. On top of that, Vor picked 5 apprentices to teach his skills to. These apprentices would later go on to be some of the largest figures in the Varren military for decades to come.
While the raise in military might was positive, it also began to draw the attention of the nether forces. Varrenholm responded by finally joining together with the other New Voldranian nations in the war against the nether. Later that year, Varrenholm was asked to contribute to the strike team aimed at ending the war ANRT. Having lost significant military force during the war, Varrenholm was only able to offer a few combat-able vessels. However, leading the Varren charge was the soldier Vor, along with his 5 apprentices. When the time came for ANRT to strike at the heart of the enemy. Vor joined the small strike team aimed at taking out their leader, while the rest of the forces remained outside and held off the enemy. The strike mission was a success, and the war came to an end that same year.
With the war over, Varrenholm was finally able to start rebuilding. The damage was not as catastrophic as most of the other nations, but it was still a significant hit to what little Varrenholm had. However, with the war now over, the nation resumed its politically unstable state, having a temporary reprieve during wartime. The now established military had only helped a little in easing this instability during the war. However, with a significant portion of the forces now lost, the reprieve it had provided quickly faded away. Over the next 7 years, the political instability neither declined, nor improved. Most of the citizens and leaders had just accepted that political instability had become a part of the nation, and had moved on.
While the leaders sought solace, other sought opportunity. Due to the nation's instability, the organization known only as The Thieves Guild set up shop in Varrenholm in 81 AE. Several citizens and leaders began to hear rumors of this organization over time, but neither party was able to do much about it. This was exactly what the guild had hoped for, and only flourished under the safety of their new headquarters. To top it off, mere months after the guild's arrival, the king Jason Seigfried fell fatally ill. While the king managed to pull through later on, he declared that his son, Reginald Seigfried, would be his successor. King Reginald Seigfried took office in the middle of 81 AE, but he was unable to improve the already unstable government much during his first few months in power.
When the nation thought matters couldn't get any worse, more disaster struck towards the end of the 81 AE. Word had traveled east to the capital from the nation's western region that a group of invaders had begun marching east. It would not be long before the invaders reached the capital city, and forces that could meet it were very limited. The military force in the capital was sizable, but not large enough to take on this new threat. Additionally, the largest chunk of the nation's military; including the soldier Vor and his organization known as The Unknown Soldiers; were operating from the nation's southernmost region. With the long distance between the 2 areas, a force would not be able to reach the capital in time. 
Hoping to preserve as many lives as possible, the recently appointed king Reginald Seigfried was prepared to make an official surrender to the invaders. However, before he sent the message out, a mysterious letter appeared at his doorstep. The letter was not signed with a name, rather just the words "Past Trio." While the exact contents of the letter never reached the eyes or ears of anyone besides the king, the letter talked about means of countering these invaders. With a combination of scare tactics, illusions to trick the invaders into thinking the active force was larger, and precisely placed offensives, the means of pushing back the invaders was all included in the letter. Having no other options, Reginald decided to follow the advice of the mysterious Past Trio. To his surprise, the tactics worked. Within days, the invading forces had been forced into a full retreat. The Varren forces choose not to pursue the invaders, instead deciding to remain vigilant of their possible return. Things were finally starting to look up in Varrenholm, for the first time since its founding.
==Voldrania==
While Varrenholm didn't exist in Voldrania, the nations founders and citizens were most of the survivors fleeing from Mynyyd, as well as all other nations. Originally the nation was to be called "New Mynyyd," but a new name was chosen since none of the original Mynyyd leaders took power.
==New Voldrania==
===Founding===
Varrenholm founded itself in central Rogash 1 year after the arrival in New Voldrania. It was quickly decided that Varrenholm should be led by a monarch, somebody that people would look up to. Former Fallnavorian and Mynyydite noble Jason Seigfried was quickly chosen as the first king, due to his former ranks as well as his extensive knowledge of leadership.
===The Dalverad Outbreak===
While exploring the land claimed, multiple settlements were discovered; including the Iysk city of Kaer'Maevel, a group of ranovitrians from the Grindre tribe, and the city of Dalverad. While relations between the former two were eventually established, the city of Dalverad didn't react very well. Several groups of citizens from Dalverad began moving out of their city, and either killed or seriously injured countless citizens. What there was of a military attempted to quell the attackers, but unorganized soldiers weren't much of a match for several highly experienced mages who specialized in killing magics. With help from the citizens of Dalverad that were against the attack, Varrenholm eventually managed to take down the leaders, as well as most of the attackers. Most of those who were caught ended up imprisoned, however one of the leader's sons, Dorian Hawk, managed to escape imprisonment, and has been hunted ever since. Dalverad and Varrenholm have become sort of friends since the outbreak was quelled.
===The Western Accord===
Upon its formation, surrounding nations Jados, Baratan, and Scavoran approached Varrenholm about joining the alliance they were dubbing "The Western Accord" in an attempt to create a voting bloc in the Council. This prompted the formation of the East Voldranian Alliance of Independant Nations, "EVAIN". The formation of this alliance prompted a near-war between the two alliances, which caused Varrenholm to retreat from its alliance.
After retreating from the alliance, Baratan threatened violent retaliation on Varrenholm, but was stopped when Akarv and EVAIN offered Varrenholm protection. After this, war between the Accord and EVAIN fell apart and the nations of the Accord began to fall apart on their own, including Varrenholm, despite its departure from the Accord.
===Nether War===
When the Nether War hit in Y74, Varrenholm was for the most part defenseless. With the political instability caused by the Western Accord still a serious issue, means of dealing with the incoming nether threat were very limited. Thankfully, Varrenholm wasn't considered to be much of a threat, so it was ignored for the most part.
When the alliance ANRT was formed, Varrenholm offered to join, despite its extremely limited military resources at the time. The only things offered were a few simple ships, as well as the services of the man known as Vor. When it came time for ANRT to strike, Vor was put on the team that went in to attack the Void Devourer, while his two apprentices remained outside to help deal with the attacking nether creatures.
===The Formation of the Thieves guild===
In the 81 AE, the thieves guild was established within Varrenholm, acting as a sort of HQ for thieves in New Voldrania. While Varren king Jason Seigfried was aware of their existence, he simply didn't have the resources to deal with them at the time. The Thieves Guild is still going strong, and no other nations are even aware of its existence
===The Arrival of the Vexians and The Past Trio===
In 81 AE, a group of warriors from the Old World calling themselves the Vexians arrived on the west coast of Varrenholm, and were threatening to invade the still habited areas. However, shortly before the King signed an official surrender, an anonymous note arrived at the kings home, sent through a long network similar to that of the monitor's messages. The letter was from a group calling themselves "The Past Trio," a group made up of three smart Varrenholm citizens who had the nations wellness at heart. The note talked mostly of strategies and striking points to push the threat back to the tip of the penninsula, if not back onto their boats and back to the Old World. With no other options, the king decided to try out the Trio's strategy, and it ended successfuly. The Vexians were pushed back to the peninsula they landed on, where they began to dissasemble their ships to build homes.
===The Nations Comeback===
In 82 AE, only a few short months after the Vexians were repelled, another note was left behind by the Trio, giving ideas on how to repair the political instability in the area. Having trusted the suggestion of the trio before, the King decided to follow this suggestion again, and again it was successful. This process continued to several months, and in the end, the King labeled the Past Trio as his official advisors. The agreement was that the Trio would remain a secret to everyone but the King, and they would help make the larger, more nation affecting decisions, while the King and his people would tend to the more common problems. Of course, everyone in Varrenholm thought that the Trio's decisions were made by the king, and the Trio's members themselves remained a complete secret. The identities of the Trio's members were known to nobody but the members themselves, and they would meet and discuss changes using a system of code words that they had developed, that way anyone passing by would simply think they were three people talking about common life.
===The Unification===
By 89 AE, King Reginald Seigfried sent a scout to investigate what the Vexians had been doing for the past 8 years, just to make sure they werent planning another attack. The Scout chosen was Vor, one of Varrenholm's Unknown Soldiers, as well as the stealthiest soldier Varrenholm had. Upon his arrival, Vor noticed that none of the Vexians were armed, and they were simply wandering the markets, as if it were any other city. While remaining hidden, Vor snuck into the largest house, which he assumed was where the leader was. While hiding on the ceiling, Vor managed to sneak into a room at the very back of the building, in which was a man with strange dark purple hair wearing an elegant black cloak. The man, without looking up, somehow knew Vor was there, and asked him to come down. The man, who eventually revealed his name to be Bryn Tullin, told Vor that the settlement wouldn't attack Varrenholm on the occasion that Varrenholm didn't attack them. Vor and Bryn talked for awhile, during that time Vor learned the history of these people. He discovered the tribe hailed from a city on the southwestern tip of the Old World Known as Vexia. Apparently the city was attacked by an overwhelmingly large group of unknown raiders, and the city was eventually evacuated. What was left of the citizens who escaped sailed aimlessly, eventually landing on the western tip of Varrenholm. However, after they landed, a mysterious cloaked figure had shot a flaming arrow at them, setting one of their boats on fire and burning it to ash. This was seen this as an act of war, causing the Vexians to fight back, even though none of them wanted to. It was eventually decided by Vor and Bryn that a treaty between the 2 groups should be proposed.
By the end of 89 AE, that treaty was official, and the Vexians were accepted among the Varren community.
===The Skalian Catastrophe===
In the 85 AE, Varrenholm's colony, Skal, suddenly went silent. It wasn't until 90 AE, however, that the silence was noticed. King Reginald Seigfried responded by sending a messenger to the islands to see what had happened. The messenger quickly returned, claiming that a power had been found in the archipelago, and that Reginald should give himself up to it. When Reginald refused, the messenger attacked, but was inevitably killed by the royal guard. However, even after decapitation, he was still concious, and able to talk. Unsure of what to do, the issue was placed on the backburner for a few years.
In the late days of 94 AE, Reginald sent Vor to the area to find out exactly what had happened; and to respond accordingly. Upon arrival, Vor discovered that the mysterious power was in fact the Zeno Stone, and the spirits inside had begun to control all of Skal's citizens. To make matters worse, the Vada and Xicci stones were also present. Since the stones had both been stored in the Hofoish Vault in the archipelago, it is assumed that the stones were stolen from there.
Not long after his arrival, all of the spirits contained within the 3 stones, as well as within the scattered citizens, re-united into the spirits Zeno, Vada, and Xicci before flying off. With the islands free of control, the citizens of Skal began to rebuild. This relief was incredibly, short lived, however. Not even 2 weeks after the spirits left, the city on the southern edge of the largest island, which contained 95% of the archipelago's population, was struck with an incredibly severe Burning Sky. Only a few hundred survived the storm, and those that survived quickly fled back to the mainland. Skal has stood almost completely abandoned since that day.
===The Monitor Invasion===
In the late days of 93 AE, King Reginald Seigfried recieved a surprise message from the Past Trio. The message mentioned a strange tower that had popped up just off the east coast of Bron. Out of concern, Reginald ordered a small naval force to investigate the tower. Just a few weeks later, the naval force was decimated, and the tower was revealed to be The Monitor's Superweapon. This marked the start of the Monitor Invasion.
When the first messages of the Invasion were sent out, ordering all nations to stand down, another message was recieved by the Trio. This message ordered Reginald to assist all of the other nations in the west in standing down. In addition, if Reginald did not comply, the weapon would be fired on the nation. With no other choice, Reginald complied, and sent out most of the Varren military to other nations to root out vigilantes.
In the later days of the invasion, when the superweapon was claimed by the Heroes of the Monitor Invasion, Reginald ordered all forces to begin hunting down any Monitor agents or supporters they could find. The Trio was also put on the hunt list, as Reginald felt they too were Monitor agents. For the next few months, agents were found, and promptly imprisoned in Tentel Down.
===The Near Nether War===
In the middle of 95 AE, the second event in what has come to be called The Near Nether War occured in the Varren capital of Ulfarstradden. Mysterious gates appeared in the sky over the city, manifesting massive skeletal arms to capture citizens. However, for reasons unknown to the public, the occurance was expected, and the city's guard had prepared. Special triple barreled rotary cannons, designed by Varrenholm, were placed in the attics and rooftops of buildings all over the city. There were enough of these cannons within firing range of the gates to bottleneck the arms.
All was not won, however, as an extremely sudden burning sky formed over the area around the gates. However, instead of the highly concentrated lighting striking randomly all over the place; like a typical burning sky; the bolts struck all of the cannons. With no cannons left in range, the skeletal arms began to grab the citizens that had not yet evacuated from the area. However, an unknown force managed began to strike the arms with powerful magic, and the gates were once again bottlenecked. Shortly after, witnesses stated that 3 strange men were seen flying into the gates. One of them had wings, one seemed to have an incredibly long arm underneath him, and the third was jumping a few dozen feet in the air at a time. Most of these claims have been shrugged off, however, and have been labeled as hallucinations.
The gates vanished not long after that, and the culprit was apparently found shortly after.
==Geography==
Varrenholm is situated in a continental archipelago, separating the large islands that make up Baratan and Jados. The western side of the nation is covered in lush spruce and oak forests, mostly covering the island of Ixar, but reaching a bit onto the island of Ulfaria. Dominating the central and southern parts of the nation is the Great Rogash Desert, which is temperate but dry. The central part of the desert, on the island of Vliss is also extremely windy, causing large sand dunes to form all over the island. On the southern tip of the nation, on the island of Bron is another oak forest.
==Magic==
Varrenholm managed to develop a very intricate form of dark magic known as glyph magic, which greatly helped the nations growth and power. In addition to glyph magic, Varrenholm had several citizens attend the College of Unnatural and Supernatural Arts in Krolesk as well as the Llysian Mage's college in Llysos to learn other forms of magic. An official mage's collective was established in Y83, with the revolutionary mage Tabarinth Savegaze acting as its arch mage.
Most notably is the city of Dalverad, located underneath the island of Ulfaria. The city has stood for over a century, acting as a haven for outcasted mages. Once relations with Varrenholm and Dalverad were made, many of Dalverad's citizens began working with Varrenholm to help advance its magic. Because of this, Varrenholm is currently the Voldranian leader in Dark Magic.
==Expansion==
While exploring in Y65, Varrenholm claimed a small archipelago south of Zaescaes. The archipelago was later named Skal, and has stood as Varrenholm's colony ever since.
In Y82, Vor was sent to try and put an end to the Jadosian civil war, in which he succeeded. The winning side, led by a man named Knoll, offered Varrenholm a small amount of political pull in the new Jadosian government.
In Y84, Varrenholm paid off Zaescaes' debt to Scavoran, in exchange for power in the nation. A new council and emperor were quickly chosen personally by king Reginald Seigfried, and Zaescaes quickly began to recover from the damage it had recieved.
In Y90, Varrenholm was offered a seat on the council of Scavoran, which they accepted. The main reason was to keep a close eye on the nation, as its government had just gone through several massive changes.
==Notable leaders==
Varrenholm's leadership position is rather unique. Unlike conventional monarchies; where the king's next of kin becomes the new king; the one who will become the next king of Varrenholm is selected by the previous king. It can be any citizen of Varrenholm, they dont even need to be related to the previous king. The one chosen is offered the choice to take the mantle, they aren't forced to. However, if an heir is not named before the king dies, then the position is handed off to the next of kin.
Jason Seigfried: ruled 62-80 AE
Reginald Seigfried: ruled 80-95 AE
Flavious Seigfried: rules 95-present
==Regions==
Varrenholm has divided itself into several regions, each led by a Jarl, or a small king of sorts. All of the Jarl's live under the rule of the nations King, who also acts as the Jarl of the capital region.
===Current regions===
====Ulfarstradden====
The Capital of Varrenholm, Ulfarstradden is situated on the island of Ulfaria. The city of the same name covers the entire region. The city of Dalverad is also hidden underneath this region. It is from Ulfarstradden that the King rules, and watches over everything.
====Grindr====
The dead center region of the nation, Grindr is situated on the island of Vliss. It is home to the only remaining Southern Trikash structure in Varrenholm, Babel, and is the only region that physically borders neighbor Jados. There is also a small town built around a bridge connecting to Baratan.
====Arthenvale====
The smallest civilian region in Varrenholm, Arthenvale is situated on the island of Arthenen. Arthenen is home to the city Kleifar, as well as a small Skith settlement to the northeast. On the western side of the region is the island of Kal'Kleath, which is home to the Iysk city of Kaer'Maevel.
====Malevisk====
A small region existing at the southern tip of Varrenholm, Malevisk is primarily inhabited by the Varren military, as well as their families. There used to be a Llysovian trading colony on the southern tip of the region, but it was destroyed by what was left of a burning sky in 80 AE.
====Markkland====
A forested region west of Ulfarstradden, Markkland is situated on the island of Ixar. It has several small villages dotted around, but is primarily used for wood to trade.
====New Vexia====
A small independent area on the western tip of Markkland, New Vexia is home to the Vexians that came from Vexia. Until 89 AE, New Vexia was a restricted area, but after relations came between its inhabitants and the rest of Varrenholm, it is now accepted and open to all.
====Skal====
A small island chain northwest of New Vexia, Skal is Varrenholm's colony. It was at one point independent, due to its radical worship over the Zeno stone. However, after the Zeno stone incident was resolved, relations between Varrenholm and Skal resumed as they had before.
==Relations==
Varrenholm tries to make allies wherever it can, and avoid making enemies wherever possible.
*Akarv: ALLIES
*Krolesk: ALLIES
*Llysos: ALLIES
*Aea: ALLIES
*Jados: ALLIES
*Baratan: ALLIES
*Scavoran: ALLIES
*Haisonuuna: NEUTRAL
*Altenahnenwalde: NEUTRAL
*Ralkeis: DISTRUSTFUL
*Equis: NEUTRAL
*Evonski: NEUTRAL
*Teas: NEUTRAL
*Skylyn: ALLIES
*Namess: FRIENDLY
*Zaescaes: ALLIES
*The Lirun: HIGHLY DISTRUSTFUL
==Military==
The Varren military is divided into divisions. Each division has an entry test, with each being more difficult than the last. The current divsions are:
MP Division: The Military Police(MP) Division is the easiest division to make it into, as well as one of the most active. Members of this division act as guards and police in the nation's various cities and towns.
Ground Division: The Ground Division is the most popular division, having the most members. Members of this division act as ground troops, fighting on foot when in battle.
Naval Division: The Naval Division is the entirety of the Varren Navy. Members of this division operate the nation's numerous warships, but are occasionally called to assist the ground troops on the ground.
Sky Division: The Sky Division is the entirety of the Varren Air Force. Members of this division drive the nation's airships, whether it be for battle or for transport.
Elite Division: The Elite Division is comprised of the group known as the Varren Elite. Elites are hand picked from any other other divisions due to their combat skills or intelligence. Elites are typically assigned to special rolls in any of the other divisions, or act as bodyguards for international ambassadors. Every elite is also offered the chance to join the Unknown Soldier Program.
True Elite Division: The True Elite Division, often called the Known Soldiers, is the highest official division in the Varren military. A True Elite is an elite who completed at least 2 and a half years of Unknown Soldier training, but was unable to finish the rest. True Elites are typically put in charge of bases, or leading other divisions.
The Unknown Soldiers: The Unknown Soldiers are the best of the best, and act as special agents. Every elite is offered to join the unknown soldiers, but they are warned that the training will take 3 years with no days off, and death is always possible. Very few elitess accept the training, and even fewer actually pass it. Every single unknown soldier sacrifices his name, identity, and past life when he completes his training, hence the name "Unknown" Soldiers. They are trained in Infiltration, Stealth, Advanced Glyph Magic, Disguise, extreme perception, and extreme agility. One unknown soldier would be capable of sneaking into just about any place and get out undetected, and even if they did get caught, they would be able to handle themselves.
Category:Nations Category:New Voldranian Nations Category:Varrenholm Category:Stub