Expansion and Wars of the Nation States

## 2590-2650 Udbotsi Expands

During this period, Udbotsi expanded through incorporation and colonization.  Fearful of their position in the world as a small nation, they expanded and grew to make themselves a much more significant player among the thrones of Eirethune.

### 2590-2593 The Green Cities Incorporate

The Potentates of Udbotsi felt cramped in their section of the world.  Their trade partners in Aden Shahn still posed an threat to the power of Udbotsi, so they were determine to gain more land and power.   The southern tip of the continent was still in the hands of the independent Green Cities that were also gaining strength.  Soon, Udbotsi would be surrounded by yet another threat to their dominion.

In the same way that the people were rallied to create a single sovereign nation in the southeast, the Potentates began a campaign of information slander against the traders from the Green Cities -- talking about unfair trade, fishing rights, land rights, and the threat from the south -- How could people who were once part of Eastlom be so cold to their brethren?  Months and years went by with hired troublemakers reiterating the words to make the Green Cities seem dangerous, unfair, ungrateful and expansionistic.   The fervor in the streets of Daemore was strong, and the call for action began to be invoked by the common man.[1]

By 2593, it was time for the Potentates to act; to listen to the calls of their people to do something about the traitors to the south.   The Potentates demanded a meeting with the Lords of the Green Cities in Haazeal, the island city.   When the Udbotsi lords showed up, they showed up with the entirety of their fleet.  They did not attack, but they moored just outside the harbor.   At the same time, the army of Udbotsi moved south and split, surrounding both Traymont and Galazoar; not attacking either city, but just camping outside waiting for the outcome of the meetings.

The lords of the Green Cities were taken aback by the presence of the Udbotsi navy at their meeting, and further so when they received word of the armies camping outside their cities.   There were many of the Green City lords who were willing to fight against the invaders right then and there, but cooler heads on both sides prevailed.  The Potentates did not want a war, they only wished submission.  They conveyed that they had no intent on changing rule in the Green Cities, but they did want fealty.  Udbotsi felt an existential threat due to independent nations on multiple sides, and if the Green Cities and Udbotsi could align themselves together, then in both areas the danger would be mitigated.   The pressure and discussions went on for weeks, but ultimately, Udbotsi prevailed.   The lords of the Green Cities swore fealty and the Potentates, their navy and their armies returned home.  Udbotsi could now expand into the South Amed Plain without conflict with the previously independent Green Cities, and they could also defend themselves a little bit better, both in trade and warfare, with the much larger nation of Aden Shahn.

### 2592-2650 Around the Horn of Tatan

Udbotsi would expand farms and holdings in the west, in the South Amed Plain; but the east also offered more of the intrigue of exploration that the people of Udbotsi have long possessed.  There had been small vessels venturing towards Point Newmeer and the Horn of Tatan, but nothing more than simple hunters or explorers wondering what was out there.   With the incorporation of the Green Cities established, and expansions starting in the plains of the west, the Potentates made a call out for the bravest and most adventurous people to attempt to colonize the east.  There was known areas that could be harbors should a settlement be established, so why not invest in the knowledge?  What more what that the Potentates would be willing to fund their expeditions (at least in part).

In similar fashion, the propaganda went out, and the bravest citizens took up the call, seeking glory and new lands to incorporate into the realm.  Surrounded by cliffs of the Ladro Mountains, the town of Ittrok became into being.  A rush of settlers attempting to build a city where no man had previously tread, close to the high peaks and dangerous shoals of the Horn of Tatan.  As the town grew, it became a new point for adventurers and explorers to base their operations.  As they expanded, they came into some small settlements of dwarves still left in the Ladro Mountains; survivors and escapees from the great halls which were destroyed by dragon-kind 1000 years ago.

More explorers went around the horn to the east, where the winds were hard and rough, but with good care they could manage Point Newmeer.   The explorer Vlandrahl found a deep channel charging a shore with slowly rising plains pushing into the Hills of Newmeer, and he immediately started building a pier and a palisade with a few of the men helping him there.  Vlandrahl would be hailed as the founder of the town, but he would be lost in an exploration mission far to the north reportedly near the fjords.

Other settlements would continue, but Ittrok and Vlandrahl would be the bases for scouts and explorers moving up the east coast, beyond the shadow of the ruins of the Tatanic Dwarven Halls.  The world is wild in the east, but the people of Tatan still pay homage to the lords in Eastlom for having started them on their quest to discover and expand.

## 2594-2612 Balmorien and the Destruction of Calandoriel

Balmorien rebuilt after their war with the southern regions and enjoyed over a century of peace with its neighbors.  There were the typical minor battles between the cities, but for the most part, Balmorien was growing again in population and power.  Towards the end of the 26th century, Balmorien was strong and starting to look beyond its borders again.

In the 2580s, the people of Devnah had sought to expand to the west, starting settlements along the Bryan, in the rolling plains of the Bardd Shores and even to the Misniuil Basin.   These were dangerous lands, but establishing more settlements provided a way to expand and gain more presence along the Bryan.  King Joachim wanted the settlements to succeed, but was quite worried about moving too far in to the west as the clans of Rhorden would certainly not make their presence welcome.  To help support the settlements, King Joachim had supplies sent along the Bryan; yet there were no good mooring along that stretch of the Bryan so only small amounts of supplies could make their way on to the shores.

The settlements in the Bardd Plain did go very well.  The wilderness of the Bardd Shores and Wood was quite hostile, including a substantial number of aggressive spirit creatures and tree folk that were unafraid and determined to keep the settlements from encroaching on their lands.   When information about the tree folk and spirited creatures reached King Joachim, he immediately associated them with the Calandirens.  Before jumping completely to conclusions, he sought out the help from the Calandoriel, to request that they intervene and support the settlers, using their powers over the trees to persuade their kin to share the lands.

The tree folk of Calandoriel knew that there could be folk to the east in the Bardd Wood, but they were not of the same roots as what was found in Glenhome.  Calandiren also didn’t really want Balmorien and their incessant infighting and aggression to be spreading to close to their own borders.  King Dannogh dismissed their request, indicating that they had nothing to do with the tree folk to the Bardd Wood. He also indicated that Balmorien was welcome to settle the Bardd Shores if they could, but there should be an implicit dividing line at the Misnuil Basin where neither Calandiren or Balmorien should expand to; let alone the dangers that possible intrusions from the Rhorden clans would entail.

King Joachim was not going to be lectured or threatened by some westerners who could barely take care of a few giants in the past century.  The regions of Balmorien had been the defender of all of the people of Eirethune in the past, and the remaining people should be more grateful to their protectors.  They should be lucky that the people of Balmorien aren’t aggressive towards their neighbors, nor do they demand tribute for their passivity.

This type of rhetoric went back and forth between the two kings. King Dannogh never made any demands of King Joachim, but the words of the Calandirens were always taken a bit more aggressively and condescendingly when received in Balmorien.  After the first exchange of communiques relating to their refusal to intervene with the tree folk, King Joachim started to spread word of the lack of respect and disdain shown by Calandiren to the people of Balmorien.  In the courts and streets of the large cities, declaimers were appointed and hired to retell the communications between the kings, seeking more support and allegiance to the throne of Balmorien.  People across Devnah, Thearth and Roane were being made aware of the threat Calandiren was posing to their settlers on the Bardd Shores; oh, the poor settlers.  Regardless of the fact, that only a few small outposts were able to survive on the shores, the exaggerated plight of the intrepid settlers pitched against the tree folk of Calandiren enraged many noble and common folk throughout the realm.

Finally, the time came when it took only one comment from King Dannogh that could be contorted by the Balmoriens for the court in Aachnarn to demand that they teach the tree children of Calandiren a lesson in understanding the world.  Nobles from all regions of Balmorien answered the call and began to muster and build ships.  The Balmoriens would not march across the coast, rather they would sail into Draboar and head directly to Calandoriel for the lesson to be taught.

When the grand fleet of Balmorien arrived in Draboar, the Calandirens did not know what to make of it.  It was known that there had been discussions with the Balmorien king that weren’t going well concerning expansion along the north shore of the Bryan, but that was about it.   They didn’t expect an armada of soldiers to show up, let alone land and start assaulting the port city.  The assault didn’t last long, and the city was plundered, but at least the word was out that the Balmoriens had arrived and were not here for more discussion.

Glenhome and Gelden began to muster troops in the Ár Dale and Geld Plain, in hopes of stemming the tide of Balmorien incursion.   It hadn’t appeared that Balmorien brought an unsurmountable force at all, probably less in number than just the mustered Glenhome army.  What was not known, however, was that Balmorien was only here to make a point, a devastating and scandalous point.

To the mind of King Joachim, the whole venture to Calandiren was brought about by the westerners’ refusal to negotiate with the tree folk.  If Calandiren wouldn’t do anything about it, then the Balmoriens would have to show them how.   In the vaults of the temple of Mata and Girkahd in Dag Mier, the arch mages created a black tar from the soul and sinew of demonic slaves, that when lit, would burn most anything it came in contact with.  It was King Joachim’s intension to observe what this would do to the living spires of Calandoriel and their tree folk. [3]

After Drabor, the Balmorien army spent no time waiting, and instead marched straight towards Calandoriel.  They had flanking delaying forces on either side, but their goal was to head straight to the spires.

When they arrived at Calandoriel, they met with a large force of sylvan and tree folk, by some estimates, larger than the Balmorien force.  Fighting ensued and the Balmoriens were being held back, until they decided to use the demonic tar.   The tree folk suffered immensely, being brought down in seconds by the screams and lashing of burning, demonic, black flaming tar.  But even worse than that destruction, was what it the tar did to the spires themselves.  The burning tar took joy at running up and down the spires; casting any life found into the fiery maws of demonic heads which now arose from gorging on so much living wood.  Heads and claws of black fire now chewed and clawed at all of the beauty that was Calandoriel.

At first the Balmoriens had cheered, but as the destruction was revealed, they, too, were aghast.   The fighting between the Calandirens and Balmoriens slowly ceased, and both sides were now trying to contain the demonic plague of gluttonous fire that was taking the city.  The mages and priests of both sides were trying to contain the demonic organism stretching through the wood, but it still continued to expand.  It looked as though all could be lost, until Caladan’s sacrifice.

The religious leader and spirit of the Calandiren people was being protected by a cluster of tree folk and Sylanus priests while he focused on a ritual.  As the ritual progressed, Caladan’s spirit was being stripped away and bound with the wood surrounding the central demonic blaze.   Little by little, the trees in the Forest of Cellen became impenetrable and resistant to the gnawing of the demonic fires as Caladan started to fade and dissolve.  When the fire could find nothing else to contaminate or burn, it, too, began to fade and recede into the cracks in the scorched ground.  Finally, as the last bit of fire faded, the body and spirit of Caladan faded as well.   There were some who said that they heard the voices of Sylvana squeezing and grinding the demonic force from the life in the area.  Others said they saw the spirit of Caladan coating the living barrier trees like a viscous, glaze of life.  Whatever had happened, the threat and savior were gone.

The Balmoriens retreated from the area.  Some of the Balmorien nobles went before the Calandiren forces and killed themselves to show their disgust for what they had done.  This would end the Balmorien expedition to the west, and change the relationship between Balmorien and Calandiren forever.  Although there were almost immediate promises of Balmorien helping with the rebuilding of Drabor, they would not get much time to do so in the short term, as there were rumblings on the borders of Vendratti, Dag and Roane.

## 2605-2628 The Savaging of Vendratti

At the start of the 27th century, the leader of clan Grogthank was Ugok-na-Korgat, an orc who was learned yet merciless to any who opposed him.  He, like many Grogthank, excelled in stealth and misdirection[4], and his blood guards did the same.  After Ugok-na-Korgat secured his place at the top of his clan, he looked beyond the steppes as many of the Ûr Lords do.  Ugok had seen the expansion of the Vendratti into the lands east of the mountains of Dag, and knew that they were both growing and vulnerable.  At the same time, Ugok knew that an attack on this area would be noticed and addressed, possibly in force.  But that response might leave other areas more vulnerable to infiltration, which was more of what Ugok truly intended.

Ugok-na-Korgat rallied the Grogthank and some minor clan leaders to the east of Kharin Dûn that now was the time to move on Vendratti and remove these feeble children from the domain of the Ûr Lords.  Building up support and forces for this endeavor was also meant to direct the gaze of the dwarves of Kharin Dûn, so that if Ugok was doing something else, it might not be noticed. Ugok had heard of the Gate Artifices created by Arddig for the magic guilds and Houses of Raj Gohn, but he knew little more than approximately what they permitted.  He felt that if there was some way to learn more about them, then perhaps the Ûr Lords would not be as handicapped against the Houses of Raj Gohn during an invasion of the south.

Ugok rallied the Ûr forces and headed south east to avoid as much of the Kharin Hills as he could; then they struck from the east of Vendratti.  The encampments and settlements on the beautiful plains of Vendratti were scorched and burned, taking prisoners for slavery or slaughter.   When news of their attacks came, Stah Geider, the capital mustered troops and called out for assistance.   The dwarves of Dag Dwarven Deep and the House of Thangku’Ur began to muster.  Balmorien was still embroiled in their brief war with Calandiren, so they would not be able to help.

The Ûr clan forces were massive and without remorse, eating and enslaving anything they could get their hands on.  In addition, Ugok had shamen who possessed the ability to salt and dry the land.  No more would these feeble children expand into their domain.  Every fertile field became fallow and then dust.  Most of the lush vegetation in the Stah Ceir Plain was being turned into desolation. [5]

When the Ûr clan arrived at Stah Geider, their gates were blown apart by a bone beast hammer the size of a bireme named The Skull Works.  The citizens were slaughtered and the Skull Works was used to pound the city into rubble. The royal family of Vendratti was killed and only a few forces survived by retreating as fast as they could into the Ariel Wood.

The dwarves had moved south through the Ariel Hills into the Valley of Zagrog.  The House of Thangku’Ur joined them on some hills just to the northwest of Mount Zagrog.  They had brought a partial Gate Artifice with them so that they could speed the fleeing people of Vendratti, allowing them to get to Mount Zagrog as soon as possible.

Prior to the attack from the east in Vendratti, Ugok-na-Korgat had sent his chief blood guards to the southwest, through the Ariel Hills and down into the Valley of Zagrog to scout the location and observe.   When the House of Thangku’Ur forces arrived in the valley, the blood guards followed them closely, watching and observing what they were doing.  When they saw them use the modified Gate Artifice, they knew that they need to somehow get it.

The Vendratti arrived at the fortified position in the valley ahead of Ugok’s forces, increasing the overall size of the defending force to nearly the same size as Ugok’s.   Ugok drove on, directly into the defense in the valley, throwing everything they had with viscious, relentless assaults.   The Vendratti broke immediately, but the dwarves and Thangku’Ur forces held strong.  Yet in the chaos and confusion of the battle, one of the Thangku’Ur mages was found dead and the Gate Artifice missing.

The battle raged on, and the Ûr forces were still fighting strong, until one moment when a horn broke out above the maelstrom of the violence.  Then the Ûr went ballistic.  They fought as though they felt no pain or damage.  They jumped and ran and crawled into battle creating even more chaos.  The dwarves and Thangku’Ur slowly pulled back, but were able to do so while still remaining mostly intact.  The losses to the Ûr were tremendous, whether the combatant was orc or man.

As the defenders retreated, they noticed that the Ûr that was still attacking, no longer had any demon present.   They wondered if they had killed them all, but it could not have been.  Either they had retreated or were in hiding.   The defenders retreated back into the Akos Hills, facing fewer and fewer Ûr.   Finally, the dwarves and Thangku’Ur pushed and wiped out the remnants of the Ûr force.  The carnage was spread all over the valley, which from this point on would be known as the Bowl of Death.   They returned across the Bowl of Death, over the decaying corpses of thousands, to investigate their original defensive position and to see if anything remained of the Gate Artifice and Arch Mage Gol-Gûn, who had been entrusted with it.  When they found his body, it was surrounded with black and red eyes, watching and staring at them as they stood above the corpse.  The mouth of Gol-Gûn spoke: “Touch me and you will be marked.  You will always be known. Such will be the fate of those who touch the dead here.”  The dwarves and the Thangku’Ur would not stay nor touch anything; instead they continued back out into Vendratti to see if they could help anyone left over from the invasion.

Vendratti was no more; nothing in comparison to what it had been.  There were people who survived, and some even wished to stay in the Stah Ceir Plains, but it would be nothing like it had been, other than a challenge to settle and a place to call your own.  Some forces were left to see what the survivors needed, but the rest of the army went to the northwest to see if they could meet up with forces from Balmorien that were starting to arrive in the Kharin Passes north of Oaz Krier.

Once joined, the Balmorien, Dag and Thangku’Ur forces met up with the Kharin Dûn dwarves, moving into the Kharin Hills to prepare for an attack against what remained of the Grogthank.  The Kharin dwarves had observed them heading north from the Stah Ceir Plains, but there was still time to attack before they reached Grogthank Dûn.   The combined force headed down into the steppes to seek out the remnants of those that commanded the clans.  The Ûr were no match for the southerners this time, and so the victors quickly investigated the dead to find the leaders.  There were plenty of Ûr dead, but nowhere was Ugok, his blood guard or the Gate Artifice to be seen.

## 2598-2612 The Retrogradation of Teldor and the Surrin Question

Since the inception of Teldor, the division of Surrin was a thorn in their side.  This thorn became more painful when Aden Shahn incorporated.  Ever since this division, the relations between Teldor and Aden Shahn had been getting more and more contentious.   At the same time, Teldor was always apprehensive about the militaristic and aggressive nation of Balmorien to the north.  It was true that the East Bryan Bridge was gone, but Balmorien had a large fleet, and their warlike nature wasn’t something that would leave their psyche even after the loss to the southern forces.   Teldor was worried about Balmorien vengeance or opportunity at all times.

When Balmorien commenced their bellicose rhetoric with Calandiren, Magnate Megrakk watched and started thinking of an opportunity.  In his mind, once Balmorien had committed to some sort of strife with Calandiren, they would probably not be aggressive towards Teldor as well.  The Magnate started his own rhetoric in the royal court about the need for reunification of Surrin.   Although Redenkorz was a relatively large city, the combination of villages, towns and cities in South Surrin was still a prize that the Magnate wanted for Teldor.

The nobles of Balkmore were supportive of the Magnate’s mission, and the people of Azmunth cried out for unity of their kin.   On the other hand, the people in True Surrin were only moderately supportive of the Magnate’s unification dream.   The people in north and south Surrin did communicate and trade with each other, perhaps more easily than with other cities in Teldor.  Regardless of the Surrinese apparent ambivalence, the people of Teldor readied for war.

In Aden Shahn, they heard the rhetoric of the Magnate and sent communiques to the court indicating that southern Surrin had indicated their preference long ago, and that bringing up the thought that somehow the people had changed their minds was nonsense.  Aden Shahn and Teldor should squabble over sovereignty of an area that was peaceful in nature.   The response from Aden Shahn was retold to be an assault on the Teldor people and their beliefs, that they were to be treated as children, even though the nation of Teldor existed longer (by a year or two).  Teldor was ready for war!

In truth, Teldor was not ready for war with Aden Shahn.  Teldor is much smaller than Aden Shahn, and although there is probably no country with a greater number of assassins than Teldor (including Balmorien), the land forces were no match for Aden Shahn.   Magnate Megrakk gathered his forces in Azmunth and sent them south into Surrin along the west roads.  They would basically blockade the three Surrin cities in Aden Shahn to the west, and siege Bamtie.  The Magnate also used assassins to kill any Aden Shahn noble that was left unprotected in west Surrin; several of the Surrin nobles falling to the blade.

The cities of Surrin in Aden Shahn truly did not want to be part of Teldor, and now that their nobles were being assassinated by invaders, their animosity towards Teldor grew exponentially.   Crocia and the Smothes mustered, as well as southern Surrin, gathering in the Smothe Plain.   After scouting out the Teldor forces, King Lahdrin then decided to split his army.  He left a large force in the Smothe Plain to break the blockade over Carndred and the south routes to Bamtie and Thangor, and then moved the remaining force straight up into the Reden Fields.

When Magnate Megrakk heard of this move, he doubled down, assaulting Bamtie heavily, but the walls of Bamtie stood strong.  Meanwhile, King Lahdrin continued north, and started to ravage and pillage any settlement or holding in the agricultural center of Teldor.  He then directed his northern force to Yardham, which he sacked, and then south to Rinarn, which he sacked, before heading back west, skirting Redenkorz and heading directly across the Reden Fields.  The other Aden Shahn force relieved Carndred and then moved against the Teldor screening force outside of Thangor, in effect relieving Thangor as well.

Magnate Megrakk attempted one more assault against Bamtie (which failed), and then started to retreat back to Great Azmunth.  When the western Aden Shahn force followed, Magnate Megrakk attacked them, hoping to pin the Aden Shahn army against the River Nant.  They were pinned, but they were also stronger.  Nonetheless, the battle was a draw, leaving many dead on both sides, decaying in the River Nant.

The draw was a strategic loss for Teldor, however, for the Aden Shahn army coming from Rinarn would catch the remainder of the main Teldor army outside of Great Azmunth.   Many of the Teldor nobles were killed.  When the army broke, serfs and slaves from the Teldor army scattered and head to Aden Shahn in hopes of freedom.

The war was an embarrassment for Teldor, and a disaster for years to come.   The nobles of Teldor were angry with Aden Shahn, but at least as angry with the Magnate and the court.   Although there had been in-fighting between the noble houses before, it continued to grow worse.  Many assassination attempts were made on the Magnate, but even more (and more successful ones) were made on nobles across Teldor.  In addition, Teldor became even more insular than it was.  Trade was almost completely cut off between Teldor and its neighbors.  After a few years, trade reopened, but there were high tariffs placed on all imports causing trade to remain minimal to this day.

## Links

Chronology of Eirethune

Previous, Formation of the Nation States

Next, Second Age: The Great War

## Notes

[1] It is said that the Family Udbarik has a quill that has been passed down through the ages which has helped them in their negotiations and influence in Daemore. The *Quill of Conversion* is said to allow the lords of Udbarik to write words that will later come out of unsuspecting mouths - almost like a mass suggestion spell.

[2] Vlandrahl was said to have a spyglass which allowed him to not only see great distances, but also hear things he was seeing with a small bit of concentration. The *Eye of Vlandrahl* was said to have been lost in lands north of the Porthak Fjord between the Shadatz and Astorkat Mountains.

[3] It is known that the *Voracious Fire of Demon-kind* was made in Dag Mier. It's believed that although King Joachim had ordered the destruction of all remaining specimens of the substance, that there were some that were set aside, hidden, in the vaults of the temples of Girkahd in Dag Mier.

[4] Ugok-na-Korgat wore a cloak that made him nearly invisible at all times that he chose to be. The *Cloak of Urgo-na-Korgat* could also protect him from damage from missile weapons when he was visible. The body of Ugok was never found, but the body and cloak is believed to be somewhere in the *Bowl of Death*.

[5] Ugok-na-Korgat had a set of arrows made prior to the invasion of Vendratti which would keep anything from healing when struck. This also included the lands of Vendratti. Several blood riders of Ugok had these arrows crafted as well, and when the Grogthank Clan arrived in Vendratti, many men were shooting these arrows into the fields to destroy them. Against foes, there would be damage from the arrow, but also a necrotic attack against the target and people near them. The Grogthank clan still has some of the *Arrows of the Undoing*, but there probably can still be some found in Vendratti, or in the *Bowl of Death*.

[6] The water ran red with blood from the *Battle of the River Nant* from all of the dead on both sides. However, it is said that a careful observer can still find relics from the battle. One of the common relics are the *Bracers of the Assassin* which is a common item for the assassin guild in Teldor. When an assassin reaches a journeyman level, they are fitted with a bracer of their choosing. As they grow in skill, the assassin often puts poison vials hidden inside it, or enchants it with tap magic of the assassin's choosing.