Kingdom of Jormoth

Jormoth is the largest human kingdom on the continent of Dreotha, both in terms of landmass and population. Unlike the Dreothan successor kingdoms and the pre-existing realms on the continent, the realm of Jormoth was founded after the founding of Dreotha. The realm of Dreotha had been founded by settlers from the Federation of Nations. Nearly 500 years later, in 1770 Y.A. (497 A.F.) a group of settlers led by a man called Jorm of Amruthar arrived (from where is not known) and founded Jormoth. He soon settled the cities of Jorm's Point and Brightwater, the latter of which became the realm's capital. The current ruler of Jormoth is King Reingard.

## Overview

Jormoth has long been known as a formidable maritime power, an economic giant, and somewhat of a magocracy. Though not officially ruled by mages, each of its rulers has happened to be one. The kingdom boasts one of the world's best magic schools, and makes unparalleled effective use of spellcasters in its military. As the current controller of most of the port-worthy coast among human kingdoms of the continent, Jormoth serves as a major trade hub, and has a great deal of economic power as a result. The kingdom has also often expressed expansionist ambitions, and shown repeated lack of respect for the borders of other realms.

## History

### Early Years

Jormoth was founded in 497 A.F. (497 years after the Realm of Dreotha was founded). The kingdom was named for its first king, Jorm of Amruthar, who arrived on the continent of Dreotha with a large expedition of thousands. The arrived from a distant, unheard-of continent aboard hundreds of ships. Jorm was ambitious, quickly settling and developing as much open land as possible before it could be claimed by either the Realm of Dreotha or the Elvish Empire. The land was extremely fertile, allowing for extensive agriculture operations, which helped the kingdom grow unusually fast. The use of Jormoth's advanced agricultural techniques accelerated this further, Jorm also used his vast personal wealth and the expertise of his people to construct a large and effective navy, which he used to secure the maritime trade routes between the continent of Dreotha and several of the other continents. This opened up previously unavailable trade with the rest of Ataraxus. In order to construct and support his navy, he needed lumber and iron, which Jormoth had little of. This forced him to trade extensively with Dreotha, the Elvish Empire, Hyldsorn, Eöstrend, and Aivuria, which invigorated the economy of the entire continent. The rapid success of the new realm of Jormoth outpaced even the early days of Dreotha (though it could not compare to Dreotha at its height). This success attracted immigration from other nations on the continent as well as all around Ataraxus.

### Declining Diplomacy

For the first 50 years of its existence, Jormoth maintained good diplomatic and trade relations with the other realms on the continent. However, in 547 A.F. King Jorm realized his control of the trade routes and farmland could be leveraged to exert political dominance of the continent. He started charging high tolls to sail through Jormoth's waters, and high tarrifs on agricultural goods. Tensions rose with both the realm of Dreotha and the Elvish Empire. It almost came to war several times, but conflict was averted due to Dreotha's might and the Empire's sheer size, as well as the two realms' willingness to work together to crush Jormoth between them.

#### The Landgrab

In 564 when the undead invasion in Dreotha and the Elvish civil war erupted nearly simultaneously, the Jormothans saw their chance. As Dreotha collapsed, Jormoth took over large swaths of land that had been controlled by the failing realm. It was only the founding of the Dreothan successor kingdoms that stopped this expansion from continuing indefinitely. Meanwhile, the Jormothans launched an invasion across the channel into the Elvish Empire, claiming the land on the eastern side, and solidifying their maritime supremacy. Jorm's daughter, Queen Noyra, and her son, King Treftmire continued the tradition of leveraging the control of trade routes to maintain political control, which prevented the reclamation of the land. This policy stayed in place over the generations, standing even in present day.