Freehold of Hykkfjord

The **Freehold of Hykkfjord** is a neutral country located in the North. It borders the Kingdom of Gurtrenn to the east, the Kingdom of the Green Grove to the south and the Duchy of Redlyre to the west. It has a coastline on the Frozen Ocean to the north. After the fall of the Freehold of Innyria in 748 AW, Hykkfjord became the last Freehold in Enselonde for centuries until the founding of the Freehold of Nytalyria in 1228 AW.

Hykkfjord was one of the so-called Resurgent Freeholds founded in the wake of the War of the Envoys. A former Archmage under Lyxis the Blind during the Divine War, Hykkron, had been stationed as Envoy to the Freehold of Ryliria. He joined the rebel Envoys seeking to distance themselves from the Nytalyrian Empire in 320 AW. In the coming fifty years, Hykkron became the last surviving Envoy, as he distinguished himself from the rest of the Envoys through the use of Blood Magic.

While Blood Magic usually kills people soon after using it, Hykkron managed to maintain control. However, the extended use of the magic nonetheless destroyed his body, slowly crippling him. Controversially, he began using thralls, transferring his soul into a new body which he began using as a puppet until it, too, began to decay. In this way, Hykkron achieved immortality in a roundabout way. Hykkron achieved great power rivalling that of Lyxis the Blind, which allowed them to found the Freehold of Hykkfjord at the end of the war in 370 AW.

Since then, Hykkfjord has remained under the control of its demigod, who has grown increasingly paranoid and mad with each transfer of bodies. This paranoia led to Hykkron believing that Lyxis and her loyalist were out to get them, which fuelled the increasing militarism of Hykkfjord. In the modern day, under Thrall-Queen Lysannia I, Hykkfjord remains one of the most isolated and militant states in Enselonde. Only a handful of visitors have ever been inside the country's borders.

## History

### Founding

What is now the heartland of the Freehold of Hykkfjord originally belonged to the Freehold of Ryliria, named after the city of Rylire. Ryliria was one of the Old Freeholds who had, by the skin of its teeth, survived the Divine War, mostly thanks to its geographic isolation. To go through the Green Grove, the untamed woods filled with Faerian guerillas, was a logistical nightmare. No Human general was willing to spend all that effort just to reach the frozen and strategically worthless lands of Ryliria. While this meant that Ryliria was spared from destruction by the Kingdom of Humanity's advance northwards, it nonetheless became de-facto controlled by the Nytalyrian Empire under Lyxis the Blind. After the Divine War ended, much like the New Freeholds, Ryliria was assigned its own Envoys of Magic, acting as the eyes, ears, and voice of Lyxis abroad.

In the case of Ryliria, they were assigned three Envoys, the most important of which was Hykkron. Hykkron was an archmage who had been part of the same mage circles in the Freehold of Alymore as Lyxis the Blind, being a fellow apprentice alongside her. He became part of the governing class of battlemages in the Nytalyrian Empire, and fought across the Divine War, tearing through Human armies with his specialisation in Electromancy. For his service throughout the Great War and his talents as a mage, Lyxis offered to make Hykkron an Envoy of Magic. Hykkron was excited to be an Envoy, for it would give him a sense of importance and greatness. A good Envoy could, if playing their cards right, end up as the de-facto governor of an entire Freehold.

In this way, the Envoys were flawed, for they were mortal, and the lust for power became overwhelming in the system. While supposed to be little more than ambassadors, corruption was widespread, with many Envoys treating their assigned Freeholds like personal fiefdoms. The mages who were powerful enough to become Envoys in the first place usually lacked anyone who could oppose them locally, and they would often get rid of opponents in broad daylight if need be. Hykkron was no exception to the rule, extorting the weak kings of Ryliria. Tensions boiled over in the year 320 AW, when Lyxis disbanded the Envoys and ordered them all to return home. What followed was the War of the Envoys, between Envoys loyal to Lyxis sponsored by the Nytalyrian military and rebellious Envoys seeking distance from the Empire. Hykkron sided with the rebels, rapidly taking Rylire and ousting the local kings. For the next fifty years, the area remained under the occupation of Hykkron and the followers.

The Nytalyrians tried many times to drive Hykkron from Ryliria with little success. Still, the attempts increased in frequency and scale. When Electromancy no longer proved enough to repel these attacks, Hykkron, in an act of desperation, turned to Blood Magic. While Blood Magic usually proves lethal, Hykkron was one of the unlucky few who managed to control it. Instead of near-instant death, like many others who dabbled, Hykkron was slowly injured over years. The extensive use of Blood Magic, while lethal on the battlefield, began crippling him over time, as his body began failing him from blood loss, injury, and corruption. By 366 AW, unable to get out of bed from a mixture of his injuries and old age, Hykkron transferred his soul into a thrall, a nearby guard who would become the first Thrall King: Niyimer I. Hykkron's original body died immediately after.

It was as Niyimer I that Hykkron would found Hykkfjord. In 370 AW, after yet another defeat, Lyxis agreed that Hykkron could keep his little fiefdom in Ryliria. With his legitimacy as a monarch now secured, the Freehold of Hykkfjord became an independent country. Though, as a sign of goodwill, Hykkron did allow some degree of Nytalyrian oversight in his new country. He also released and pardoned former loyalists to the Nytalyrians within Hykkfjord's borders, allowing them to leave if they so pleased. These deeds came as a surprise to many, given how ruthless Hykkron had been throughout the War, yet what they did not know at the time is that it wasn't Hykkron who was in control, anymore. Only partially.

While transferring his soul from body to body made Hykkron immortal, in a sense, it had unintended side effects which would only begin to become an issue a century or so later. For one, the thralls that Hykkron possessed barely lasted a tenth of the usual lifetime of a Hyllidan. While an ordinary Hyllidan could easily live to the age of 300, if not longer, the Thrall Kings and Queens rarely lasted thirty years before their bodies were ruined. Also, something which Hykkron quickly took note of, is that when transferring his soul to a new body, he would take the old soul with him. This wasn't a problem, at first, as the powerful archmage could drown out the "lesser" souls that would occupy his thralls with him, yet with each change of body, a new soul was added, and his own became increasingly muddled.

While his followers made a cult religion surrounding Hykkron and his Thrall Monarchs, going so far as to make it their state religion, they were blissfully unaware of the chaos taking hold over their new deity. It wasn't until the seventh century AW that things began deteriorating fast. In 613 AW, upon taking possession of a new Thrall King: Iyvis I, a minister asked if Hykkron's new body was to his liking. In the blink of an eye, the enraged Hykkron tore him apart, screaming and rambling at his court, referring to themselves as "we" over and over. The calm before the storm had ended in Hykkfjord. Hykkron's original soul had been the one drowned out by the other souls, becoming just one of many. The descent into madness had begun.

### Clashes with Nytalyria

Hykkron's mental decline became a significant problem for Hykkfjord, for its population could not wait for their deity to die. Paranoia began taking over the court around Hykkron, as they would begin lashing out at ministers and supporters of the Thrall Kings, charging them with imagined crimes and sending them to their deaths. This culture of fear was passed down from the court in Rylire to the rest of the country. The people of Hykkfjord became increasingly wary of the rest of the world.

Besides the so-called Army of Hykkron, the standing army of the Freehold, the Border Defence Force was also formed during this period. This defence force was a dysfunctional merger of a myriad of groups, ranging from professional soldiers to conscripts, volunteers and militias, vigilantes and even bandits. Travellers and traders seeking to enter the country were turned away, robbed, or outright killed by the Border Defence Force with the support of the various Thrall Monarchs. Unsurprisingly, the empowerment of the Border Defence Force harmed Hykkfjord's position on the world stage, with embassies being closed and trade routes drying up. Hykkron did not care, for they no longer trusted other countries. They believed that a Nytalyrian plot to bring down Hykkfjord had taken root, which further accelerated the growing militarism.

In 710 AW, a plot against Hykkron failed. The general of the Army of Hykkron, Agis Yinnian, with a wide front of supporters, took control of the capital. The royal palace was stormed and Hykkron's Thrall King, Inofyr I, was killed. This would prove a catastrophic mistake, as Hykkron were released once more. They possessed Agis himself, making him the new Thrall King of Hykkfjord. His memories became part of Hykkron, which revealed many unknown details and key players of the plot. In the following decade, a nationwide purge took place, with thousands upon thousands being killed for treasonous actions. This all boiled over when, in 719 AW, Thrall King Agis I moved to get rid of one particular archmage: Lady Sarandis.

Sarandis was a remnant of an old agreement from Hykkfjord's founding, allowing Nytalyrian oversight. She had been appointed to Hykkfjord in the late 7th century AW, though, at this point, oversight was non-existent. The Nytalyrians had long lost their oversight thanks to the growing paranoia, yet Hykkron believed that Sarandis was plotting with Lyxis and the rebels to overthrow them. Sarandis and her Nytalyrian entourage were arrested and executed in full, sparking a diplomatic incident with the Nytalyrian Empire. Unsurprisingly, Hykkron were unwilling to negotiate for anything resembling apologies or repayments, which sparked a conflict between Nytalyria and Hykkfjord known as the Sarandisian War.

Lyxis herself did not participate in the conflict. Instead, Hykkron was faced with their (and the other Envoys') replacements: the Nytalyrian Sirens. The Divine Offspring of Lyxis the Blind, collectively called the Sirens, made landfall in a naval invasion of Hykkfjord in 720 AW. The small Hykkfjordian fleet based out of Rylire was hopelessly outmatched against the wrath of the Nytalyrian Navy. Rylire, as well as many other coastal settlements, fell, with Hykkron fleeing southwards into the largely uninhabited inland territory. Hykkron and their followers remained there for the next fifteen years, as northern Hykkfjord came under military administration under Nytalyrian General Oris Ayroth.

For the next seventeen years, Ayroth reigned supreme over most of Hykkfjord, putting the country under martial law. The reception to the Nytalyrian occupiers was as cold as the land itself, however. Instead of being cheered on as liberators, the Nytalyrians came under constant attack from the native population, most of which had long been indoctrinated into supporting Hykkron utterly. Hykkron's paranoia had become a nationwide part of life, and Nytalyrian garrisons were harassed and ambushed daily. Only a handful of brave souls defied Hykkron, sheltering with the Nytalyrian garrison in Rylire. In the long term, however, the occupation was impossible to maintain. Slowly, piece by piece, the military government based in Rylire lost territory, until they held no real power outside the city anymore. At this point, in 737 AW, Rylire was besieged by Hykkron and their followers. Outnumbered and backed into a corner, General Ayroth arranged for a naval evacuation of the city. The entire Nytalyrian garrison abandoned the city on transport ships protected by the Imperial Fleet, razing Rylire behind them as they fled. Hykkron retook control over their Freehold, ending the Sarandisian War in a costly victory for the natives. Most of the Freehold lay in ruins, and those who had defied Hykkron's reign had left alongside the Nytalyrian garrison, seeking a better life on the Nytalyrian Islands. This, however, led to certain shortages in workforce and manpower and did long-term economic damage to the already poor Freehold.

Some further isolated clashes with the Nytalyrians followed in the coming years. Hykkron ordered the navy to rebuild and launched a half-hearted series of raids on Nytalyrian shipping, only for the fleet to be sent to the bottom of the ocean a second time. When the Freehold of Innyria, in the western parts of the continent, fell after the Wyrsian-Innyrian War in 748 AW, Hykkfjord became the last Freehold in Enselonde. They would retain this title for centuries to come under the reign of the mad deity.

### Modern Day

Since the Sarandisian War, Hykkfjord has remained isolated from the rest of the world. Occasionally, there is a border skirmish between itself and neighbouring countries, though they have made no real effort to expand or engage in diplomacy. Over the years, the country has turned further inward, seeking to distance itself from the rest of Enselonde entirely. Hykkfjord remained out of the Great War and ongoing Epilogue Wars, and nobody has made any real effort to recruit to them to any of the competing alliances vying for power.

The recent death of Lyxis the Blind and the Nytalyrian Crisis has been, surprisingly, met by scorn by Hykkron. Instead of one organised threat from just the Empire, Hykkron now also fear plots from the breakaway Republic of Southern Nytalyria and Freehold of Nytalyria, both of which contain key people formerly serving under Lyxis, fuelling further paranoia towards these states. The borders of Hykkfjord remain firmly defended by the Border Defence Force, keeping out any outsider seeking to destroy the country.

It would seem that Hykkfjord seems to be content with its isolation, having achieved some degree of autarky. However, there are certainly things in which the country lacks, particularly in the front of technological advancements. For now, the countries around the Freehold eye its borders warily, always prepared for a cross-border skirmish. This has been the status quo for centuries, and bordering states no longer bat an eye at these raids. Hykkfjord is a mockery, treated by foreign countries like an irrational child, lashing out randomly at other countries. Their antics have grown old and predictable, and no change seems to be coming in the following years. Perhaps Hykkfjord can one day find respect and cooperation on the world state. But, for now, the mad deity reigns eternal.

## Relations

* **Empire of Nytalyria** - Hykkfjord believes that the Empire of Nytalyria is plotting to destroy it.
* **Republic of Southern Nytalyria** - Hykkfjord believes that the Republic of Southern Nytalyria is plotting to destroy it.
* **Freehold of Nytalyria** - Hykkfjord believes that the Freehold of Nytalyria is plotting to destroy it.
* **Kingdom of Gurtrenn** - Hykkfjord believes that the Kingdom of Gurtrenn is plotting to destroy it.
* **Duchy of Redlyre** - Hykkfjord believes that the Duchy of Redlyre is plotting to destroy it.
* **Kingdom of the Green Grove** - Hykkfjord believes that the Kingdom of the Green Grove is plotting to destroy it.
* **Kingdom of Wyrsia** - Hykkfjord believes that the Kingdom of Wyrsia is plotting to destroy it.