Trade Towns Develop

= Trade Towns Develop =
== 1514-1712 Trade and Growth in the East ==
=== 1514 Founding of the Tcherna Council ===
The time after the wars with the Ûr Lords brought stability to all of Eirethune.  In the southern plains of Surrin and Crocia, the cities expanded out permitting more and more farmland to be worked by the lords and citizens.  And with larger populations, comes a need for more things in general.  More resources, more materials, more people.  Surrin and Crocia are relatively rich in resources, but the expansion demanded more, and as soon as possible.
Trade routes with the cities in Azmunth along the Bryan were decent, but the land trade routes from there south, took a great deal of time.  There were settlements in the Smothe and southern Crocia along the Tcherna Sea, but they were mostly fishing villages at the time.  
Argot Rednan of Niemandale was a fisherman, but he knew the Tcherna Sea extremely well, searching for the best fishing banks no matter where they lay.   He would go out through the Bae Eern Straits as well and out into the South Seas to hunt for better and better results fishing.   To an extent, he was a better explorer than fisherman, and definitely a wise opportunist as well.  Argot changed his routine from just exploring and seeking new fishing beds to learning the wind and wave patterns around the Tcherna Sea and the Arms of the South – visiting each of the settlements along the coast and recording what they had to offer.   With that information in hand, he went into the main merchant quarter in Niemandale and sought to discover what merchants had the longest land trade routes.  With that information, he slowly began to offer alternative sources for goods. No merchant would trust all of their goods coming from unknown and unreliable sources, but Argot had to start somewhere.  With some request writs in hand, he headed off to cities in along the coasts to see if there were ways to get those cities to increase their production to accommodate the trade good requests.   
The regions around the Tcherna Sea do not trust each other.  And in future years, that distrust would even grow, but Argot needed to see if the isolated towns along the coast could grow and establishment some level of trust.  The towns in Lebben, Osebb, Crocia and the Smothe initially had no trust in Argot, but Argot was patient and persistent.  Argot convinced the towns to just sell very small portions or amounts of trade goods, paying a good price for them, and then brought them back to Niemandale.   The merchants in Niemandale were not yet satisfied either, but at least it was something.  Argot continued this practice, slowly increasing the goods acquired and sold little by little, losing money to a great extent at first, but slowly gaining money as trade continued.
Still, the towns were still apprehensive to over produce anything.  It was still just selling light amounts of goods, barely over consumable margins; but the towns were getting used to trade.  Argot need to start making money or his creditors would end his venture, so Argot requested that a member of each of the towns accompany him on his next voyage so they could meet the merchants buying the goods.  And so when they all met in Niemandale with merchants present there, the first Tcherna Council was convened in 1514.  As it so happened, at the time, only towns that were in the Tcherna Sea were present, but the council continues today, and includes cities and towns in the South Seas as well.
=== 1514-1527 Lebben & Osebb Construction Alliance ===
The Arms of the South are difficult places to live.  There are cliffs along the coastlines.  The interior is either barren hills, mountains or deep forests, making it tough for the towns in Lebben and Osebb to expand.   One advantage to their resources, however, is that they can easily acquire the materials for construction of elements of strongholds – manor houses, walls, keeps, aquaducts and more.
When Argot Rednan brought the first representatives for organized trade along the Tcherna Sea to the first Tcherna Council, brought forth enthusiasm for the isolated communities in Osebb and Lebben.   Lord Vainom of Léomar and Lord Domison of Bae Eern were at the first Tcherna Council and they knew that they both had similar trade items – fish, stone, iron, wood, more stone, more wood, more iron, more fish.   They could try to undercut each other competitively, but they both knew that they would only end up with a thin margin of profit.  Instead, they decided to bind together and provide goods as a single trade partner when it came to items they both could provide.  They would still work with the Tcherna Council, but when resources are available in both places, they would set a price and share the production responsibility.  This cartel became known as the Construction Alliance because so many of the resources the towns could provide were directly related to construction.   
Not long after the Alliance was formed, the other cities of Osebb and Lebben joined, namely Kaddrin and Benthous.  Other smaller towns along the coast and inland also joined the alliance so that some residual income could be seen by all, and it was no longer the responsibility of just a convenient port city to produce all of the trade goods required of a commercial pact.  It wasn’t long after, that Benthous began trading with the Haazeal.  When the island-based city requested more construction trade goods from Benthous, the traders were introduced to the Construction Alliance as well.
The Construction Alliance not only provided Lebben and Osebb with a way to share income, but it also allowed them to grow and communicate together.  The Alliance still exists today, but the cities that are part of the Alliance feel a connection to each other, even though they are not part of the same political realm.
=== 1520-1656 Building of the Green Cities ===
In the early years of migration of the north, towns were founded in Eastlom,  The area prospered and expanded along the Profiad Plains and into the Profiad Hills.  There were travails for the region, especially once the dragons were found, but they had reasonable resources and a good coast if nothing else.  They could also trade with the East Smothe and Osebb if they needed to.
A few generations after the dragon wars were over, there was a portion of the population who neither wanted to serve nor fight the dragons, but didn’t want to just leave the area.  Alkhara Tomboor was a merchant from Daemore who was known as someone would could get anyone what they wanted.  He could get gems or books or lumber or walls or ships or even dragon teeth, though the latter had gotten a bit tougher.   He was quite knowledgeable of resources and of what any line of business would need which made him an excellent trader. 
In 1520, he had left on trading vessel heading towards Osebb when they ran into a storm, only 160 miles south of Daemore.  Only a few people survived the wreck, but Alkhara was one who did, winding up along the shore in a large wooded bay at the southern tip of the continent.  They knew they were on the continent and could travel north, but they stayed a couple days at the bay, resting up, building a small shelter and acquiring game before they left.  Alkhara was impressed with the area, both in terms of a good place for a port, as well as being a resource-plenty area.  When they left, Alkhara made careful notes as to where it was in the night’s sky as well as how they ventured from it on their way back north to Daemore and Eastlom.
By the time he returned to Daemore, Alkhara had a plan to begin to settle there.  He knew there were people in Daemore who were somewhat disgruntled about the situation with the dragons, yet were unwilling to leave the area overall.  Alkhara could sell most anything, and worked his magic to convince several families to come with him and attempt to settle the area.  Alkhara aimed at families in Daemore who were excellent farmers, herders, builders and hunters. Alkhara knew where to get construction goods if they were going to need it from his trade work with Osebb, so the settlers would have most of what they needed.
Traymont (named for the sailor who saved Alkhara during the storm) grew fast for a small community.  Alkhara had the contacts to get whatever the community needed, and worked with the newly founded Construction Alliance in Osebb to get additional materials without going through the lords of Daemore.  Alkhara sought more independence from Daemore, while still being close enough to continue their social and cultural ties.  As Traymont grew, the lore of having a city apart appealed to the frontier folk mindset of the people of Tatan, so a small migration from there to Traymont helped boost the population further.
As the population overcame the capability of the town, the settlers expanded to a few more locations.  Over the course of the next 100 years, the towns of Galazoar and Haazeal were founded by settlers seeking a bit more distance from Eastlom, but still a connection to their area from which they came, a land of good resources, and a land part and more independent than that where they came.   The three cities were founded by merchants, and the cities kept that sense in their core.  They had resources, but they would trade with whomever they could, whether the trade partners were in Eastlom, Tatan, Osebb, Lebben or the regions in the Tcherna Sea.  Haazeal, in particular, would go anywhere for goods, and it would serve their growth well.
=== 1618-1712 Eastlom Trade and Resurgence ===
The increased trade regions all around did not skirt around Eastlom. The merchants and nobility of Daemore saw how quickly the Green Cities were growing, and how much of it was due to their willingness to trade with multiple other lands to get what they need.  They didn’t have to produce everything themselves, but rather they could secure contracts and build inter-reliances to accommodate both trading partners.
Lord Ahnsi of Daemore thought to fully commit to the same style of trading, and this would cause Daemore to increase in size greatly.   They would trade with Tatan or other local communities, but by increasing their trading fleet and land caravans, they could get even more resources or trade goods as they like.  Caravan routes headed into the Smothe while regular shipping commenced with Osebb, Lebben and even into the Tcherna Sea up to Crocia  Both Eastlom and their trading partners benefitted from the increase in trade and inter-reliance.  
Daemore truly expanded to become much larger than all other communities in Eastlom. The fears of the dragons and not being able to expand started to fade from the psyche of the people in Daemore as the town and port grew.
Daemore was large and still growing so its needs were becoming different than some of its trading partners.  Some of their trading partners would have fluctuating rates due to the fact that the towns were small and could not secure what they needed to in order to make sure their trade good rates would be consistent.  Daemore needed this stability, so they turned to larger trading partners to help them, even if it meant paying more.  Daemore therefore ended up dropping the East Smothe and parts of Osebb as trading partners, and tied their trade routes to Crocia instead.   This caused great hostility in the East Smothe for a few reasons.  There were production commitments in the East Smothe that now had no buyer.  There were established trade caravans and shipping vessels that had no destination.  The lords of the East Smothe became incredibly angry; not primarily with Daemore, but rather with Crocia, since they were undercutting them and it was Crocia and the Smothe that were members of the Tcherna Council, not Daemore.
== 1712-2214 Wars in the East ==
=== 1712-1714 First Eastern Smothe War ===
The loss of solid trade with Daemore and Eastlom hurt and destabilized the East Smothe in multiple ways.  Every unbought good, each unpaid laborer, each ship unable to sell its goods caused the people of East Smothe to look at Crocia with disdain and hate.  There was still some routes to the north that could serve as a destination for some of the goods they had allocated for buyers in the south, but it was still not going to be enough.
Lord Radjeen of Garlish and Lord Carcainn of Bog’s Head were the most enraged by the trade and production drop caused by the Eastlom and Crocian trading pact. They called for a meeting of the nobles of the East Smothe to come to some conclusion as to what they should do about the situation.   Although all were angry, the decision from the meeting was to submit complaints at the next Tcherna Council meeting.   This was not enough for the two Lords.  Radjeen and Carcainn decided to take matters in their own hands and start raiding the shipments between Niemandale, Daemore and the Green Cities.  They not only outfitted their own pirate vessel, but they also made contact with some pirates that Radjeen was familiar with out of Katorba and Kaddrin. They would fund their voyages if they would target the trade vessels as well, either taking their cargo or sinking it, at their option.
The piracy and raids broke up the trade routes, but not without Niemandale and Daemore discovering who was behind the raids.   Several Lords of Daemore who had lost money through the raid decided to take vengeance against the entirety of the Smothe.  They levied troops and marched on into the Amed Plain to seek vengeance. As angry armies commonly do, the army marched on the nearest city in the Smothe, namely Hatchmann, and razed the supporting lands around it.   Lord Rohim of Hatchmann had sought recompense for the trade pact breakage, but had not been in favor of war or piracy.  It was too late for that, however, and now his own city was about to be sieged.  He took up arms, but also sent word to Garlish and Bog’s Head for assistance.  Both of those cities levied troops and sent them on to relieve the siege, which they did in short measure. Carcainn was a very adept mage, quite capable in conjuring arts.  After the relieving force nearly wiped out all of the attacking armies from Daemore, there were tales of Carcainn’s black fire cyclone that found their ways into songs for years to come[1].
The people of the Smothe are close-knit, and the other cities bound together quickly, sending troops from as far as Feanon down to Hatchmann to make sure the Eastlom nobles wouldn’t be sending troops into their lands again.
Meanwhile, Niemandale and the rest of Crocia had been feeling the squeeze from the raids as well, but hadn’t been as rash as the nobles from Daemore.  However, once the Smothe bound together militarily, the act was enough of an impetus to serve as an excuse to trump up the militaristic and violent nature of the current Smothe lords.  After a few staged rallies, Niemandale and Branch Haven mustered and sent troops east to Garlish.
The Battle of Garlish 1714 would end in both sides suffering heavy casualties with no clear victor.  However, one outcome was the death of both Lord Rohim and Lord Carcainn, which allowed the remaining nobles to come to a peace.  The Tcherna Council was immediately called, and the lords of Daemore were asked to join so that all sides could be heard.   Eastlom and Daemore would have to work with the Council directly rather than just picking merchants in the region that they wanted, thus expanding the power of the southern trade cartel.
=== 1714-1772 Lord Ryder - Land and Law ===
During the mess of the war, the traipsing of troops across the southern parts of the Amed Plain resulted into plundering of many innocent farms in the space between Fools’ Wood and Awed Wood.  This was the land of Lord Ryder, a noble originally from Bae Eern who sought open land instead of the tight space of the arm.  Lord Ryder had made wealth in trading and converted it into land holdings at the edge of the Awed Wood in the plains.
When the troops came through during the Eastern Smothe War, Lord Ryder rallied other settlers in the area and determined that they needed some protection.   The town of Ryder’s Corners was built on the crossroads between Eastlom, Osebb and Smothe so that all in the plain would have a place to rally and protect themselves.   In addition, Lord Ryder made it plain to those in the Smothe or Eastlom, that troops wandering across their lands regardless of purpose would be confronted.  Any raid or war party venturing through the plain would be assaulted, unless a toll was paid to compensate the community for what it would certainly lose to the soldiers.  The nobles of Eastlom and the Smothe did little more than chuckle when they received a courier bearing the document “Lord Ryder’s Law”.  Regardless, Lord Ryder was serious.
A few years after the issuing of Lord Ryder’s Law, some farms north of Daemore were raided by some goblins and wargs that had come down from the hills.   A raiding party went back into the hills after them, tracked them down, killed several and forced the rest further north.   Rather than make their way back through the hills, the hunting party went back out into the Amed Plain and leisurely headed south returning to Daemore.  Along the way, they wandered into a farm looking for food, but the farmer wasn’t there at the time; so the raiders took it upon themselves to break in and see what food was to be had.   As it happened, there were workers in the fields who saw this, and ended up reporting the intrusion of the raiders to a nearby lord.  The call went out, and Lord Ryder and a group of nobles and yeomen from Ryder’s Crossing headed southeast to cut off the raiders as they returned to Eastlom.  When the groups met, Lord Ryder attacked and killed all except for a couple of the more armored, apparently wealthy raiders, who happened to be lesser lords of Daemore.  Lord Ryder held them until the ransom was paid, and then reissued messengers to spread Lord Ryder’s Law to the cities of Eastlom and the Smothe.  There wasn’t any immediate retribution for Lord Ryder’s, but it wouldn’t be forgotten.
=== 1768-1789 Return of the Wyrms ===
When enough time passes, people forget.  Perhaps not in Eastlom.  Perhaps not in Wainmouth.  But with the increased trade came the need for the East Smothe to expand their efforts lumbering, mining, and acquiring more to help other communities build and expand.  Bog’s Head had successful mining operations in the Wedyn Hills near House Detmanth, but Lord Krakh decided to extend their operations further south, since it was relatively untouched.   When Hatchmann got word of that, Lord Bodge wanted in, so he sent mining and transport teams into the hills near to Lord Krakh’s work.  They wouldn’t fight about it, but they did definitely compete.  The two nobles spread across the hills, excavating, testing, investigating caves for veins of iron, gold and other metals.  East and east they both went, almost to the edge of the Desolation of Shagkur.  They were both finding plenty of resources, an incredible glut in terms of production, with transport lines stretched across the Amed Plain.
It’s not clear which group found the cave, but when the cave was unearthed, it didn’t matter which group you were part of.  Two young wyrms arose and burned as many as they could see.  Some of the guards of the camps attempted to fight back, but the wyrms just continued to burn, finding their way along the trails and trains of goods all the way back into the plains.  Both Lords solicited help and some additional troops were mustered to see if they could protect whatever was left.   Most of what remained seemed safe until the wyrms attacked.  When the lords mustered, they had also acquired a hedge mage adventurer, Cael Cahor, who was eager to make a name for himself.  When the wyrms attacked, Cael was able to dispel protections and weaken one of the wyrms, and finally sending in a bolt capable of downing the beast.  The other wyrm retreated, but she would not be gone for long.
A few quiet weeks followed.  The crews left the hills and worked their way back to the cities.  Many thought the truce may have been reinstated, but all agreed not to reopen the sites and caves in the Wedyn Hills where they had found the twin wyrms.  But the wyrms came to them instead.
The young wyrm was joined by a greater red wyrm, arriving on the Amed Plain where the bones of the dead wyrm were left to rot.  From there, the wyrms went out 150 miles in every direction from the remains of the wyrm and burned what they could find.  Hatchman and Bog’s Head were directly attacked, though not completely destroyed, but the areas around them, and also near Ryder’s Corners were laid to waste (killing Lord Ryder in the process).   They wyrms retreated back to the Wedyn Hills, but the lords didn’t know what or when they would attack next.
People were able to resettle areas close to the major towns in the East Smothe. However, when people went to resettle further out towards the location where the wyrm bones still lay, the wyrms would return and savage the area.
After years, Lord Krakh and a group of laborers went to the bones of the wyrm.  They gathered the bones in a series of wagons, and headed back towards the Wedyn Hills.  The wyrms circled above, but did nothing.  When Lord Krakh reached the cave where the wyrms had originally been found, they set about to place all of the bones in the cave carefully, and then leave.  From that point on, the people of the Eastern Smothe could again repopulate the land.
=== 2000 Detmanth Trade Pact ===
House Detmanth had been a protector and neutral overseer for the lands to the southeast for generations.  For the past 500 years, House Detmanth built and prepared for the next war waged against all man races.  Detmanth grew at a slow pace, building the labyrinthine walls and towers of the great castle in the Barrier Mountains, but steadily it continued.  The Houses of Raj Gohn were all more solitary and independent groups.  They were aware and had dealings with the realms they observed around them, but they remained independent.
Finally, Lord Ainu Detmanth changed the position of House Detmanth in the later portion of the 19th century Second Age.  Lord Detmanth believed that they could gain more strength by working with the people around them, and offering their services and wealth in turn.   House Detmanth knew and worked the peaks and hills of the east, and so they could provide many resources and knowledge to people willing to work with House Detmanth, so Lord Ainu was determined to open possible trade with the peoples of Eastlom, Osebb, Smothe, Crocia, Surrin, and Azmunth.  
The Smothe had long been the closest land to the great castles of Detmanth, and they had for many years contact for trade or help with each other.  When Lord Ainu sent out messages to all of the regions, Lord Honus, in particular, was taken aback that other regions were included in the communique, when Bog’s Head (in particular) and the rest of the Smothe had worked with House Detmanth for centuries to get them what they needed.  Lord Honus sent a message to House Detmanth demanding that they should be the partner with House Detmanth because of the centuries of work together.  House Detmanth responded with issuing a request for all regions to meet in Bog’s Head for a meeting if they were interested in working an agreement.
The meeting did take place in Bog’s Head, although Lord Honus was not completely pleased with this, for he still felt that they deserved to be the beneficiaries of the agreement with House Detmanth.  Much discussion ensued. Claims of individual rights, reminders of trading groups and alliances, requests or demands for birthrights.  After weeks of meetings and days of contemplation, Lord Ainu determined that there would be a pact for trade, governed by the merchants at Bredenkham, with allowances for abiding by the Tcherna Council and Construction Alliance, to find the best prices or barter for whatever resources the partners would need.  It seemed fair to most, but as with other situations in the past (even centuries past), the East Smothe felt they were going to be subservient to Surrin and Crocia once more.   They were only begruntled at first, but after Lord Shandat of Branch Haven ridiculed the Smothe delegation, suggesting what pathetic trades they would get in return for their service, Lord Honus got up and stabbed Lord Shandat, and so started the Second Eastern Smothe War.
=== 2000-2021 Second Eastern Smote War ===
Branch Haven was slighted by the killing of their representative, and immediately withdrew from the proceedings, sending a note home to start mustering troops.  In fact, all of the cities present returned home to start mustering troops.  It was true that Azmunth or Lebben would probably not be involved, but on the other hand, there might be some opportunities available should vulnerabilities present themselves.  House Detmanth was probably the only participant in the meeting at Bog’s Head who did not start mustering troops.
For the next 20 years, the cities from Azmunth to Eastlom to Lebben found reasons to muster troops and send them forth for advantage.  Mercenary armies were sometimes hired to attack cities, until they were no longer needed.  When freed, the mercenary armies continued on, razing the lands or attacking smaller towns and cities.
As the wars progressed, the troops slowly began to migrate to the east, picking more and more on easterly towns, until they moved almost solely between Polkevin to Ryder’s Corners and Benthous.  Over time, little by little, the East Smothe became more and more desolate.  For a land that had plenty of fertile land and resources, it was becoming more and more farrow. Fortunately, a few years before the end, the other cities in the east stopped mustering or paying for troops, and the refugees started outnumbering the troops, so the East Smothe barely survived.  Even Bog’s Head, which had been the original instigator of the misery was ready for an end; the remaining lords of which made amends with Crocia, which was more than what they normally could bare.[2]
=== 2022-2214 Great Eastern Peace ===
Once the entirety of marauding armies dissolved, the areas involved in the war put aside the past and started slowly to rebuild both themselves and the trade relationships they shared.  The period of warfare was devastating to the region, and all decided that resorting to violence due to problems with trade negotiations had ruined too many lives.  The Detmanth Trade Pact was signed, as well as renewals of the Construction Alliance and Tcherna Council.  Each of the regions had mechanisms to work together and share the wealth and opportunity that any other might have without having to seek more bellicose solutions.
For the next 200 years, the peace mostly held.  There were minor outbursts of violence from a noble or two, but no two towns in Surrin, Crocia, Smothe, Osebb, Lebben or Eastlom attacked each other as a whole in any way.  Trade routes, both naval and land-based expanded and solidified.  Regular trade traffic provided supporting industries with more opportunities for stability and growth as well.  And with the increased wealth, the towns and cities prospered.
== Links ==
Next, The Great Science
Previous, Ebb & Flow of the Northeast Fiefs
== Notes ==
[1] Lord Carcainn was a solid devotee to Girkahd and Mata, and able to work well with creatures from other planes. One of his bindings was made permanent in a cloak that he wore, which he named Shroud of the Bloodstorm. When activated, the shroud sprayed black, acidic blood in a column around the wearer, causing near blindess, fear and damage to any too close to the wearer. At the Battle of Garlish, Carcainn was wounded and dragged into the Gartre Hills. His head was found, but never the rest of his body, nor his cloak.
[2] Lord Honus, instigator of the war, did fall during it. He was assassinated in a coach heading to Garlish, and later his body was returned to Bog's Head for burial, although the place is not known. It is said the dagger he used to kill Lord Shandat was made to never miss, and so people have sought to find his burial place to see if the dagger was buried with him.Category:Eirethune
Category:RPG
Category:History
Category:Chronology
Category:Second Age
Category:Years of Resurgence