Northern Alliance

The **Northern Alliance** is a political, economic and military coalition of races from the north of Maíandir, located primarily in the Argent Basin. It was formed during the War of Ashes as a means to combat the dreadborn invasion. Although the alliance lasts to this day, the strength of the bond between the races that make up the union tends to vary, and the signing of the Triskele Treaty has stretched many of those bonds thin.

## History

### War of Ashes (2E 1691 - 2E 1716)

The Northern Alliance had its official beginning as a temporary pact between elves and aarakocra in the year 2E 1691, around three years after the beginning of the Dread War. Although the two races had previously not shared the most peaceful of relationships, it was evident to both that the dreadborn were not a threat that could be faced single-handedly.

When the war began, the elven tribes that inhabited the valley floor of the Argent Basin faced the brunt of the invasion. The sheer number of attacks across the region threw the tribes into disarray, and any previous alliances or enmities dissolved in the chaos. Elders of the tribes that survived the initial assault eventually came together in council to decide how to face the threat. It was this council that sent envoys to the other major races of the Argent Basin in a desperate effort to build a large enough military force and fight back. The aarakocran tribes that had their roosts to the northeast of the valley were the first to respond. Although the two races had previously fought frequently in border disputes, the aarakocra faced assaults of their own on their villages, and understood the magnitude of the threat. They agreed to ally themselves with the elves. The dwarves, who had not yet come under attack, did not, preferring instead to fortify their own cities. Regardless, when the various tribes of both elves and aarakocra came together, it was one of the largest meetings of individual chieftains in recorded history.

Despite this, the first efforts of the newly formed alliance would not prove fruitful. The forces of the two races were still vastly outnumbered and outmatched, and the dreadborn continued a steady advance across the Ashburn and all the way north up to the shores of the Witherburn. Thousands gave their lives on both sides of the war, and each inch of land was fought for in blood. The first major test of the alliance came in 2E 1702, more than a decade after it first began, and was a resounding failure. Elven and aarakocran forces were routed and slaughtered in bulk in a battle across a ford in the Witherburn, and were forced to retreat into the Everglades further north. It was here that they met the secluded tribes of firbolgs that inhabited the woodlands. The tribes joined the alliance soon after and proved steadfast allies, if reluctant to leave their homes.

The ancient magic that pervaded the thick forests where the alliance had now established their remaining territory would give the dreadborn pause for some time, and although there were frequent skirmishes at the edges of the area, the two opposing forces found themselves at a stalemate. This would come to an end in 2E 1706, four years after the disastrous battle at the Witherburn. A daring raid by seafaring Sceída elves on the labour camps where the gnomish population had been enslaved took the dreadborn largely by surprise, and disrupted the machine of war significantly. It was the first major victory for the alliance, and would prove a turning point in the tide of the war. The gnomes that escaped with the raiding party, a large chunk of the remaining gnomish population, joined the alliance shortly after.

Infuriated by the loss of their slave labour, which was a major part of the driving force behind their machine of war, the dreadborn attempted a similar manoeuvre by using the mountain ranges that surround the Argent Basin to circumvent the barrier of woodland that stood in their way. By doing so, they ventured into dwarvish territory and began swarming through the myriad of tunnels that percolated essentially the entire northern wing of the Mogul Caí and the Celcaras. This sudden and immediate threat to their homes would drive the dwarves to finally accept the offer made long before and become the last race to join the alliance.

With the northern races now on the same side, the combined forces of the Northern Alliance began to painstakingly turn the advance of the dreadborn into a retreat. It would take four years for the war to come to a head, with the full might of the alliance brought to bear for the first time, and proving effective enough to finally bring an end to the decades long conflict.

### After the War (2E 1716 - 3E 240)

Following the end of the war the alliance persisted as more of a political necessity to restrict each race to their respective regions and prevent the interracial fighting that had been prevalent before the war. This peace between races allowed the populations of the region to recover from the heavy losses they had suffered. The respective territorial boundaries established by each race gave everyone space to grow and flourish, and trade in some extent persisted between most of the members, leading to substantial economic growth.

This peace lasted a considerable length of time, until the year 3E 223, around five centuries after the end of the war. At this point, internal conflict between the three major subsections of elves in the region (the Arlans, the Elvedel, and the Sceída, all of which had tribes that occupied various regions in the Argent Basin) sparked a civil war that had been long in the making. This would lead to the infamous campaign led by a young Elvedel king, Athelvad (who would become known as Athelvad the Conqueror), that would finally unite all the elves north of the Sentinels under one crown. Naturally, this led to significant worry among the other members of the Northern Alliance, since King Athelvad now held enough manpower to defeat all of them combined in open battle. It was decided ultimately that the alliance would continue, but the shift in the balance of power led to the other races in the coalition having to swear fealty to the elven king, a fact which some (notably dwarves from the Celcaras region) resent to this day. The swearing of these oaths, binding the five races together forever, would finally cement the Northern Alliance as a permanent union in the year 3E 240.

### The Invasion (3E 240 - 3E 1253)

Following the death of Athelvad I in 3E 275, the holdings of the Elven Empire (the political region known as Atheldael) spread south past the Sentinels under the rule of his son, Athelvad II. With control of the Marble Vale, a rich region of hills and arable land, the economic structure of the alliance continued to flourish, remaining stable over centuries. This period of time is considered by many to be a golden age of sorts, where the constituent races of the alliance held sway over the vast majority of Maíandir. By the year 3E 722, peace was a way of life, and the warlike ways of the past were forgotten over decades of complacency. As this persisted, the Elven Empire, and by extension the alliance itself, became rife with internal political struggle and corruption, causing the coalition of northern races to be utterly unprepared for the following invasion.

In 3E 1248, a seaborne horde of warlike tribes from the east landed at the mouth of the Andrel and swiftly swept through the Marble Vale, catching the alliance off guard and effectively splitting the Elven Empire in two. Within three years, the last alliance outpost in the Marble Vale had fallen, and the Northern Alliance was confined to the north. A smaller group of elves, the Mordael, now separated from the remainder of the Elven Empire, remained in the Blood Dunes, and became their own faction, dropping out of the alliance.

With the invaders pushing north, the alliance was forced to reassemble its collective armies, or risk losing the entirety of their holdings. The two opposing forces clashed in the mountain passes of the Sentinels, were the armies of the alliance were ultimately successful in repelling the invasion. Despite this the Marble Vale, now known as Edraxis, was now lost to the invading tribes, and the might of the alliance would never return to previous heights.

### The Second Dread War (3E 1253 - 4E 103)

Following the turmoil caused by the invasion, the alliance had to reform and rebuild much of its strength. Now constrained to Atheldael and part of Ravnmark, the resources available were far more limited. Nonetheless, the uncontested access to the Mit'lhorn meant trade with the south of Maíandir and Yuantica could continue. The importance of this trade led to the rise of guilds of seafaring traders, centred primarily in the merchant city of Winterport. Though internal trade between races persisted, the bulk of incoming wealth now came from Kyoshai, and more importantly from the Domari Sovereignty.

Naturally, military power remained an important factor in the alliance's structure. The kings of the Marble Vale led several invasions north over the years, but the elves and their allies had made the mistake of being ill-prepared once, and never again. With the formation of the Vigil Protectorate in 4E 26, the need for a strong defence became even more prominent. For the first time in centuries, invading forces broke through the mountain passes of the Sentinels and rampaged into the valleys beyond. They were stopped following a clash at the Ashburn, a battle which caused thousands of casualties on both sides. Determining that constant bloodshed would solve little, the newly crowned Queen Cassandra, the latest monarch of the Elven Empire, and leader of the alliance, signed the famous Triskele Treaty with the Vigil Protectorate. This decision was criticised heavily by many members of the alliance, but as of the year 4E 102, the treaty still stands and the alliance is in a tenuous peace with its southern neighbours.