The North Sea Confederation

The North Sea Confederation (NSC) was founded roughly two centuries after the fall of The Dauntier of Agaricus by leaders, Visard Nunam of the city of Mawuna and Jorlaug Karrson of the city of Duernhelm. The main purpose of the NSC was to form a confederation that would allow the less populated isles of the tumultuous northern seas to cooperate by developing trade routes, funding exploration, and creating a unified set of alliances governed by a group of island representatives. Jorlaug Karrson, was chosen as the first Chancellor of the NSC and his first challenge as a leader would be met when he was called to intervene in a situation Northwest of the mushroom isles and Duernhelm.

## The Edict of Duernhelm

The first great challenge the NSC faced in its history was whether it had the capability to ensure the order of the Northern seas. A long conflict had been brewing between the reclusive inhabitants of Nil-Pijarli and the nether city state of Sheol, over Sheol’s development of land considered to be apart of Nil-Pijarli’s territory. The NSC, looking to demonstrate it’s power and possibly win over another member into the confederation, decided to help Nil-Pijarli in the conflict. NSC knights would sail from Duernhelm and Mawuna to the islands of Nil-Pijarli and prepare for their first battle. They would split their forces in two, with one group attacking the Sheol settlement in the disputed territory and the other entering the realm of the spirits to attack Sheol. The group sent to pillage the settlement in Nil-Pijarli territory were met with little resistance, for they had overwhelming numbers to counter any defense. In the nether, knights traversed the uneven terrain of lava pits and cliffs. Sheol’s defenses proved to be unfit to match the might of the NSC and Sheol surrendered, leaving the cold soil of the North for good.

## Duernhelm's Disappearance

After helping Nil-Pijarli with their war, the NSC approached them with hopes that they would join the NSC, only for Nil-Pijarli to refuse so that they might maintain their quieter way of life. After these events the NSC would eventually travel east to the isle of Shorakia to meet the King Jevta and Shorakia would soon afterwards join the NSC as well. For many years the NSC would continue to work on developing trade routes and good relations between the three lands of Shorakia, Duernhelm and Mawuna. This would be threatened when one day, while Jorlaug Karsson was on one of his many voyages, the inhabitants of the city of Duernhelm would mysteriously disappear. Disheartened by this great loss and finding no answers, Jorlaug Karsson would make Nunam his successor.

## The Successor

Chancellor Nunam would find herself in a precarious position, as one of the most populated cities of the NSC had just suddenly vanished, forcing her to rely more heavily on other places for trade, such as the ports of Ferruflumine in the Stratocracy of Ataelia. Chancellor Nunam would spend her first years convincing the isles of Ashax, Nil-Pijarli and the city state of Valida to join the NSC. With each new island incorporated into the NSC, Nunam could see the main purpose of uniting the north sea as one, grow closer and closer. However these islands had small culturally isolated populations and traveling across the vast sea to communicate and operate efficiently made the NSC’s influence over these northern seas weak.

## Mawuna Concordant

However, despite all of this Shorakia would begin to colonize the mainland in order to gain access to the warmer weather more suitable to growing the crops it needed to sustain its growing population. This would lead to the formation of the bread basket known as Fingerland, which would be joined by another colony of Fengdao molemen, called Lemqin. The Lemqin governor, Pitāng Qin would approach Chancellor Nunam asking for the NSC’s help in defending their new colony from the looming threat of the duchies to their south. Recognizing the need for allies to help protect their interests in Fingerland, having an affinity for the molemen’s spiritual ways and feeling sympathy for them, Chancellor Nunam would agree to the terms of the Mawuna Concordant.

## Fingerland Crisis

For a time, the NSC would continue to struggle with the severe depopulation of its newly acquired islands due to the Great Plague and the chokehold the stress of the disease had had on its attempts to establish trade routes. As the NSC grew even weaker, the colony of Lemqin would see itself expand both in the newly gained territory of Cinelli and in the explosion in moleman population. The tensions between Shorakia and Predastad would grow over the years until the fateful day when Duke Jugo would aggravate the leader Stadghatskreil Baarehyd Kaaljokreogh of Predastad to the point that Predastad plans to conquer Fingerland had been leaked to the lands of Shorakia. Sending the entirety of the northwest region into a crisis. Meanwhile, Lemqin had made the Trinity alliance in secret with Predastad, agreeing that Lemqin would get Cinelli and Predastad would get Fingerland. With the news of the threat of war, opposing sides in Lemqin began to slip dangerously close towards the beginning of a civil war. All the while, the leader of Fingerland, who was actually a puppet of Duke Gishiki, began to threaten that he would leave the NSC. Duke Jugo was sent to trial for treason for instigating the situation and executed. Duke Gishiki, Chancellor Nunam and Governor Pitāng Qin would meet in Lemqin to discuss the situation. A plan was proposed by Duke Gishiki to make Fingerland independent and to replace its old leader in order to make the region neutral ground. Before this plan could begin to come into effect, King Jevta would make Governor Pitāng Qin the heir to the lands of Shorakia after succumbing to madness. Lemqin would give back the main isle of Shorakia to the new heir, Duke Gishiki, but decide to keep some of Shorakia’s former smaller islands. Duke Gishiki would crown themselves as the new king of New Shorealis and attempt to purge the corruption within the dying remnants of the former duchies of Shorakia. With the new independence of Fingerland, the leader was able to take advantage of the situation after narrowly avoiding being sent to trial for his own previous attempts to leave Shorakia. The leader of Fingerland would sell the land to Lemqin and claim that a spirit had told him that King Gishiki should be killed. Lemqin agreed to this of course and together with the leader of Fingerland, lured King Gishiki into the vaults of the Lemqin bank and murdered him. Lemqin’s gain of Fingerland went against the terms of the Trininty Alliance and it was soon after, officially broken, deeply angering Predastad. With the death of Gishiki, the leader of Fingerland was pressured by outside forces to invade New Shorealis and take the throne for himself. However, the spirit of Gishiki would come to possess the body of Fion Ferdinand, who would threaten to defend his title as king from the leader of Fingerland. The leader of Fingerland surrendered and fled south of Predastad into the wilds. Fion Ferdinand was crowned a second time and instead of holding malice towards Lemqin for murdering him and taking former lands belonging to New Shorealis, decided to keep the alliance with Lemqin. The lands of the Northwest had narrowly avoided war but at a great cost that was the final nail in the coffin for the NSC.

## The Final Days

News of Gishiki’s spirit’s possession of another body reached Chancellor Nunam, and this offense to her own understanding of the spirits deeply disturbed her. Nunam was faced with the the near collapse of New Shorealis and the sobering realization that the NSC was unable to protect the islands in it's confederation. After receiving a vision warning Nunam of the threat that Lemqin posed and assessing the chaos that had ensued it was clear that the NSC needed to be dissolved. The city state of Mawuna would become the capital of Telleyari Republic, a land limited to the mushroom isles and cut off from the rest of the world.