Sixlands

'Sixlands' or 'Sixlunds' is a common name applied to the Starm Confederacy, a union of smaller principalities (usually called 'holds' or 'realms') in northwestern 
Amallon. Individually the realms that form the Sixlands are Sen, Lathan, Lithend, Trenn and Calend. The last of those was formerly divided into two seperate lands but they were united through a marriage between their respective ruling families two generations ago, and have been a single realm ever since.
While autonomous in many areas, the Sixlands are united under a common government and common law. Movement between the realms is trouble-free for merchants and travellers. Each of the principalities is governed by its own Prince; the collection of these five is called Grimjaws' Table. From among the people of the lands they select a king--although, in practice, this king is usually drawn from among the members of the Table itself.
==Standard==
While each of the five principalities that make up the Sixlunds possesses its own standard, the Confederacy itself possesses one of its own. A field of blue is 
divided into six sections, alternating blue and white, representing the six lands that together make up the Confederation. Laid over this is a hollow red shield, representing both Grimjaws' Table and the blood that was spilled by the Hrogar during the invasion that led to the Confederacy's foundation.
While two of the original principalities have merged, forming the single land of Calend, the standard of the kingdom has retained its sixfold division, holding to its history.
In addition to the national standard, two others are employed by the people of the Sixlunds. The first is that of Grimjaws' Table , which serves as a sort of standard 
of the ruling council and sign of the government. It can be viewed on the linked page.
The second is that of the King himself, and serves as both a sign of royal presence or activity and an official seal or sign of his approval of decisions made by the Table. The King's Arms depict crossed longswords behind a shield, representing the martial and protective might of the monarch. A field of white and green represent the highlands of much of the kingdom, and the low, rolling dales and valleys that fill the rest. 
The standard of the king and that of the nation itself are often flown together. Some kings have combined the arms into a personal standard, but this pactice seems to be the exception rather than the norm.
==Unification==
After the devastating events of 1385 AS, in which the hordes of Hrogar Kharan invaded and destroyed the kingdom of Rythe, the other rulers in the region gathered together to take council and look to their own security. The end result was an open and permanent alliance between each of the six realms involved. Within two years of the formation of the alliance Trenn and Lithend fell to squabbling concerning matters of an economic nature; it seemed certain that war would be the result. In the end disaster was averted when Starm Grimjaws, Lord of Lathan, allied himself with the Senish House of Narn. Grimjaws' forces, armed with Senish steel, was enough to gain the attention of the other four realms. Wisely seeing the unspoken threat before them, each ruler agreed to swear fealty to Grimjaws, who promptly declared himself King, changing the title of each realm's ruler to 'Prince'. Defying expectations, Grimjaws did not make the monarchy hereditary, instead setting in place a mechanism whereby the six princes would select the king from among their people.
Grimjaws created an overarching set of laws--the First Laws--that were made common throughout the Sixlunds; however each realm retained the right to enact its own laws so long as they did not conflict with the royal ones. Royal decree also created a common currency throughout the Sixlunds, standardized systems of measurement, and described the responsibilities each realm bore towards the others in times of peace and war. Finally, inspired by the Ayrn of ancient Alindor, Grimjaws created an independant order of knights--the Knights of the Scepter--whose duty was to ensure a smooth succession between kings. During the reign of the king, the knights devote themselves to safeguarding the Sixlands.
===One Land?===
Surprisingly, wars for the throne were absent for the first two hundred years the confederacy existed. Grimjaws' laws prevented any one realm or noble house from securing the throne permanently and the Knights of the Scepter, devoted to their duty, ensured that political ambition was curtailed and the selection of a new king valid under the First Laws. In 1817 AS tension erupted between the realms of Cragun and Arlund; a marriage between the eldest children of each ruling House solved the dilemma. Within twenty years the two lands were united as one, known now as Calend, and today the people of the two lands no longer think of themselves as seperate.
Category:Kingdoms
Category:Sixlunds