Southward Voyages

The **Southward Voyages** or the **Great Salt Voyages** were a series of mass emigrations from the Reaches of Helinska from 1080 to 1106, amid the dissolution of the Great Northern Horde.

## Timeline

* Lord Ejnar Lenlandr called a war council in response to alleged incursions into Horde lands by the Polganian Army. Multiple Clans refuse to commit to war, believing it would be catastrophic for the diminished Horde, and the council ends in failure.
* Clan Sorrel of the Sorefoot Isles rebels against Lord Ejnar, hoping to supplant him with their patriarch, Bertrajmjus Sorrel in order to avert renewed war with Polgan. The conflict ends in a shaky truce, but the Sorrels, fearing for their lives, wealth, and status, choose to resettle along the coast of Helinska. They collect their wealth into a fleet of ships, restocking at the forts of many of their fellow clans and spreading the notion of emigration far and wide. No one immediately joins them, and they proceed onto the south alone.
* The Sorrels make landfall on the Esqueta Peninsula in northeastern Helinska, land that is *de facto* held by the Duke Grifyn IV Burne of Volaysia. They begin construction of the city of Heliogatenberg. Ere long, the Duke personally leads an army against Bertrajmjus Sorrel and is decisively defeated. The city of Staptonsburg is constructed on the battlefield. Duke Grifyn is forced to swear fealty to the Sorrels, establishing the cadet branch "Clan Burne of Staptonsburg" under the vassalship of Clan Sorrel. The former Duke, now *Lord* Grifyn, is charged with defending the Sorrels' capital city of Heliogatenberg. At the same time, the divided and diminished Volaysian House of Burne is no longer able to compete with their southern neighbor, the Duchy of Camaria, who invade and install a client duke in their place. This leaves the Sorrel-aligned Burnes the only living branch of the family, and the Volaysians under the control of the Camarians. Clan Sorrel proclaimed the "Lordship of Heliogatenberg" in 1083, syncretizing the titles and styles of Northern nobility with the feudal traditions of Volaysia and Camaria. One of their first acts was to sign a preventative peace treaty with the Duke of Camaria, exchanging hostages and setting up rudimentary trade agreements.
* The Sorrel conquest presented an opportunity for Volaysian families to seize gold and glory. Local families adopted the northern traditions of the Sorrels, such as housecarlry. These families became known as Clan Wayland, Clan Vandreis, Clan Gerrison, and Clan Addy. The Waylands in particular abandoned trade contracts with the Duke of Volaysia to serve Clan Sorrel, which gave them a vested monetary interest in the success of the northern conquerors. It was not long before vast wealth began pouring into the Sorrel coffers, making ridiculous money through the Volaysian saltpans, maritime tributary system, and continual raiding.
* The Holy Monarchy of the First Son launches a **Northern Crusade** in 1085, during which Ejnar Lenlandr and most Clans loyal to him are caught and crushed decisively. Ejnar is forced to convert to the faith of the First Son, prompting the immediate election of an anti-king, Lord Lear IV Learsen. He pledges to defend the traditions of the Great Northern Horde against foreign intervention. In reality, however, the central authority associated with his title no longer existed. The various Clans that used to march under the banner of the Lord of the Reaches now functioned as *de facto* independent entities. They only needed a unifying figure to protect them from the existential threat posed by the HMOFS.
* In 1089, after years in the custody of the HMOFS, Lord Ejnar returns with an army at his back, hoping to **reclaim his overlordship** of the Great Northern Horde (as a puppet of the Holy Monarchy). The Frederiksens, who had opposed Lear's election and wanted their own leader, remained neutral. But Lord Lear had many supportive Clans, among whom included the Skulders, Geilars, Koetts, Czegos, Grafsens and Karlsens. They assembled and marched against the HMOFS in early winter. These two forces met decisively in 1090, at the Battle of Salu; in this conflict, Lord Lear was killed and his army routed. The Grafsen lord was captured and forced to convert, swearing fealty to Lord Ejnar through an unprecedented feudal contract. Meanwhile, the late Lord Lear's army scattered into the wind. A war council was called with the remnants of the northern Clans debating how to defend themselves. The Frederiksens pragmatically suggested inviting the Polganian Army into the war, offering them border lands in exchange for fending off the HMOFS. This was vigorously opposed by most other Clans, who threatened to emigrate as Clan Sorrel had successfully done years prior. They feared that inviting Polgan onto their land after generations of hard-fought warfare to keep them out would be treasonous. The representatives of Clans Skulder, Koett, Geilar, and Czego stormed out of the meeting, and the Frederiksen patriarch was elected new Lord of the Reaches by the remaining clan heads.
* The Polganian Army, alongside several distrustful Clans, march against the HMOFS. It is a long, brutal, and bloody campaign, through which many northern villages are burned and thousands suffer. The carnage wrought by this conflict finally convinces Lord Angjaar the Old of Clan Skulder not just to remain neutral, but to emigrate and seek prosperity elsewhere before the war reaches his halls. He persuades Lords Koett, Geilar, and Czego to join him.
* After gathering their families, troops, and worldly possessions, they set off and land at Einar Island off the coast of Helinska. The villages of Dullen, Csegrup, Kotberg, and Grsbrg are founded. Contact is made with the Sorrels, but rather than immediately proclaiming their new home a feudal "lordship," the Clans exist in an egalitarian, communal setting for the first decades of their settlement. They take to raiding the high seas as well, which is where they derive most of their income.
* Clan Hagen deserts the Polganian army of Lord Frederiksen in the north and decides to emigrate as well. They were previously among the most powerful supporters of Clan Frederiksen, and their absence destroys the illusion of local support for the Polganian presence in the north. By deserting, they lend credence to the idea of emigration, convincing Clan Karlsen and Clan Ullor to make the journey and join their fleet. However, a storm divides their ships. The Hagens and Ullors land on a large island, founding the city of Lear in honor of the last truly respected Lord of the Reaches.At the same time, Clan Karlsen lands in the territory of the Duchy of Camaria in continental Helinska. They briefly establish the city of Karlport before being driven out by local troops. They set sail again and land on Ironhorn Island, establishing the town of Stenwell along the River Sten.
* The great city of Lear becomes a major force in northern Helinskan trade, attracting the attention of a Camarian family called the Dunnes. They emigrate to Lear and set up trading guilds there, before fully adopting local traditions and becoming Clan Dunne. They set up in the Dunfort, very close to Lear.
* The Polganian Army enters secret negotiations with the HMOFS to establish a truce, which would effectively allow the Holy Monarchy to roll over Clan Frederiksen and reinstate the apostate Lord Ejnar as head of the decapitated Great Northern Horde. Upon discovering this secret treachery, the Frederiksens march back to their holds on the pretense of resupplying, but actually prepare for a grand southward voyage of their own. This is easily the largest voyage yet organized. Many artifacts of great historical significance, such as those owned personally by Frederik Fairhair, are loaded onto the ships.
* The Frederiksens have a large and powerful fleet, supported by Clans Lanter and Lykke (with whom they had established marriage-alliances). They viewed these clans who had already settled on the eastern Helinskan islands as traitors, having betrayed the Horde in its hour of need, and resolve to ravage their lands. The Frederiksens first pillage Einar Island, burning Csegrup, wiping out half of Clan Czego and capturing the core of Clan Koett. The Koetts are brought onto the ships and taken against their will with the Frederiksens.
* Next, the Frederiksens raided the Isle of Lear, but not as decisively as they had struck Einar. They plundered villages outside the great walls of Lear before moving on. They reached Ironhorn Island and found the settled Karlsens an easy target, reaving up the River Sten and taking much loot. Clans Lanter and Lykke were left on Ironhorn Island as representatives of the Frederiksens, while the main fleet moved swiftly to capture Gran-Caulberg Island. The small city of Oerth was built there as a tradeport. They also captured Ragnalloc Island, establishing the towns of Ragnalloc and Two Folds - again, leaving only a small skeleton crew to confirm their control of the islannd. After a few more weeks, the entire Warmwater Chain was settled - with a capital for the colonists built at Onnfrey. Clan Koett was given lands, and the Frederiksens proclaimed a feudal Lordship of Onnfrey. They claimed control over all the lands of the Great Northern Horde, as well, but this was mere fiction. In fact, Lord Lear V Learsen had been elected the Lord of the Reaches by a small war council shortly after the Frederiksens emigrated. He tried unsuccessfully to keep Polgan in the war.
* In the north, the Polganians finally negotiated an exit from the Northern Crusade. The HMOFS army quickly rolled over the scattered local resistance (most of which was peasant-organized) and declared victory in 1104. They demanded the presence of the (remaining) northern nobility, intending to proclaim the false Lord Ejnar as their new master. Clans Learsen, Birger, Havnir, and Farsvarr were the only clans with any real influence remaining - the rest of the land had been occupied by the HMOFS or taken over entirely by peasants. This collection of misbegotten families attended the ceremony, but when the time came for Lord Lear V to renounce his claim in Ejnar's favor, he refused. Instead, Lear claimed the right of single combat, a legal tradition that could be used to settle disputes over "theft of property" - in this case, the entirety of his northern realm. Ejnar made to accept the proposal, but the HMOFS commander, Sergius Marsallas Ulpius, shut this idea down. A few minutes later, when moving as if to bow before Ejnar, Lear rose to his feet and attacked the man. Thus commenced an impromptu "single combat." Ulpius intervened, however, casting Lear aside and disemboweling him with a greatsword. A riot broke out, in which the representatives of the northern families immediately started attacking Ejnar and his HMOFS allies. However, the arrangement of the families led to Clan Havnir, a loyalist of the now-dead Lord Lear, being targeted too. HMOFS companies were called in, crushing the riot. All but the Havnirs were taken prisoner, including the late lord's son, Lear VI. The remnants of the Learsens, Birgers, and Farsvarrs felt they had no choice but to emigrate like so many of their compatriots had. On their way south, they pillaged the coast of the Principality of Polgan in retaliation for their unceremonious withdrawal from the war.
* The combined Learsen-Birger-Farsvarr fleet captured Gran-Caulberg Island from Clan Frederiksen, whose many newfound island possessions had them spread thin. The Learsens immediately proclaimed their own Lordship of Oerth, and helped the Birgers and Farsvarrs capture islands from the Lemetiate of Airolia to hold as their own personal domains. The Learsens eventually took the name "Larsen," embarrassed that Lear VI had been taken prisoner and forcefully converted by the HMOFS.
* The HMOFS finally managed to proclaim Ejnar Lenlandr as "Lord-Prior of the Reach" in 1107. This act ended the Great Northern Horde and established the theocratic Lord-Priory of the Reach, a rump state under HMOFS suzerainty. This political arrangement that persisted until the Dark Age of the HMOFS, when this territory was lost to the Prithanian Empire.
* Meanwhile, the Frederiksens decided to appoint one of their lowborn stewards as head of a Clan. It became known as Clan Saltbath, centered in the eponymous village.
* The Baxters and Taverlys, families that had intermarried with Clan Karlsen during their brief reign in continental Helinska, faced persecution by local Camarian officials and decided to flee to Ragnalloc Island in 1135. The Frederiksen forces there recognized the hopelessness of their situation and surrendered the island without a fight. The Baxters quickly established the town of Courienta. Their prosperity inspired similar immigration from Clan Sussang in 1157, a former sellsail family associated with the Midnight Flower Company. The Baxters proclaim the Lordship of Courienta, after inspiration from the native Frederiksens and deciding that it would honor the feudal tradition of their continental ancestors.

## Legacy

* Sometime in the 1100s, perhaps galvanized by their early defeat at the hands of the Frederiksens, Clan Skulder sees fit to centralize their authority under the aegis of the Lordship of Dullen. The Czegos and Geilars swear fealty.
* The Isle of Lear and Ironhorn Island remain ungoverned by a single lord for centuries. Conflicts between local clans are particularly bloody on Lear, such as in the Riverine Wars.
* Culture on all of these clan-settled islands beginsn to become more sea-oriented, leading to the formation of the common Litugian tongue.
* The rise of Graolism and its popularity amongst the former northern clans brings them closer together culturally, inspiring the eventual O'Leary Unification War at the turn of the 20th century.

## References

1. ↑ Unbeknownst to all, this started the process of Camarian political expansion that eventually birthed the Kingdom of Polmaria. They would acquire suzerainty over Artos, Pelaros, Telask, Kurvack, and other minor states in the following decades.