Marter

## Kingdom Of Marter

The Kingdom of Marter is one of the major Human Kingdoms of Esea created and named after the Noble House Marter. It is located in a region known as The Wetlands, a large muddy marsh that stretches towards the eastern coast of Esea. The King is given the title of *Lord of The Swamp* by the Celestial Church who he pledges fealty to as do the other kingdoms. The capital of the kingdom, Redhold, is located between the Castleglen River and the Putumn Fork. The castle is built upon an artificial man-made island that has two sets of walls that surround it. The kingdom also controls the port city of Lastport located in the Stormlands, a series of small islands a few kilometers off the coast.

### The Wetlands

With the Kingdom of Marter being located in the Wetlands, the people have historically had many issues living in this area. It is said that millions of years ago, the Wetlands were all once submerged under water and were actually a part of a series of large lakes known as the Siblings which some speculate to have been three large lakes including Little Lake, which is the only last one still visible. However, it is theorized that the other two lakes dried up and combined into the Castleglen River which eventually ran off into the sea. This resulted in the surrounding lands to turn more into swampy muddy areas due to the remaining water from the Sibling lakes. The Wetlands were thus created which for the most part were inhospitable excluding a few areas along the coast and in the north. Because of the swamps, the lands attract all sorts of wildlife, including dangerous creatures. There are the venomous Titan Swamp Snake, a snake that can grow up to five meters in length and have bites that can kill a human. The Marsh Bear, a large carnivorous black bear that roams the swamps killing and eating fish and alligators. And the Giant Merriweather Tortoise, a tortoise that can grow up to 3 meters wide and 2 meters tall which has jaws that can crush bones. It is also worth noting that there is also a small minority population of indigenous creatures that live in the area known as the Gnoll, a furry humanoid creature which live primarily in the north away from the swamps, however, they come during the winter seasons down into the swamps to get away from the cold. The Wetlands despite being difficult to live on also provide a natural defense against enemies. The capital itself is built in the heart of the Wetlands where the only way to get to it is by passing through the swampy muddy terrain. The people of the Wetlands themselves are very resilient folk, making a life in the harsh environment. However, in many other parts of Esea, the people are looked down upon, often being called insulting names such as: "Bog Walker", or "Mudfolk". Nevertheless, the terrain and environment has shaped the people, making them stronger than most other humans, they have grown accustomed to their surroundings even relishing in it. The armies of Marter have particularly an advantage when battling in their home turf as they are able to effectively utilize the swamp better than others, luring their foes into deep swampy areas, or blinding them with the dirt and mud. Even the most prestiged troops, the Knights of Marter get their hands dirty, often they are regarded by their signature muddy-diery look, often returning from battles with mud and dirt smeared all over their crimson red plated armor.

### The Knights of Marter

Following the Great Schism, the houses of the east split from the rest leading to a series of wars in the area known as the Swamp Wars. One knight by the name of Sir Rathar Ledger, who served under The Order of The Winter Knights, had defected from the Order along with a small group of similar knights and made the trek all the way to Redhold where they all pledged their allegiance to the king of Marter. The King accepted them and formed his own chivalrous order to which he aptly named, The Knights of Marter. At first the order was just a small group of defected knights, but later as the years went on and the order saw more action, the numbers quickly grew into the thousands. They first saw action during the Marter-Monband Wars which saw the knights switfly slay their enemies, following the subjugation of house Monband to the Marters, the knights saw themselves fighting the dreaded warriors of Baygrave where once again they proved their worth, killing the terrifying peoples. The Knights themselves quickly became notorious in the region for being very powerful foes, utilizing their Sulanian Arms which had been given to them by the Celestial Church. With the help of knights, House Marter would successfully subjugate most of the houses in the east forming their own kingdom. The Knights saw more action during the first Marter-Guilland War where the infamous "Crimson Charge" move was used. The Knights would go on to fight in more wars, proving more of their worth, eventually rivaling that of the Winter Knights. During the Esean Civil War, the Knights of Marter would see action in the west, facing off against their rivals the Winter Knights in the snowy regions. During the battle of Fearde's Pass, the outnumbered Winter and Maxwen soldiers successfully fended off the Marter forces before counter attacking them leading a devastating defeat to the Knights of Marter. Without access to the pass, the Eastern coalition army would not have a way of aiding their allies in the west. Fortunately, a path was found which cut between Fearde's Pass and lead them straight to Berothe where the coalition army could meet up with their allies House Roestals and lay siege to the capital. The Knights of Marter would once again face off against the Winter Knights along with their allies the Knights of the Celestial Church but this time defeating them leading to the knights retreating from the city. In the Siege of Midshore, the Knights of Marter were successful in capturing the outer city walls but were unable to penetrate the inner walls leading to a five month siege. During the fifth month of the siege, the remaining garrisoned forces would lead a sally against the coalition but were unsuccessful in breaking through the lines leading to the slaughter of the forces and the Knights of Marter capturing the city along with the Celestial Church. However, this victory would be short lived as only 2 weeks later, a massive force from Cerulia would converge upon the city taking it back in a day. The Knights of Marter would be sent north to capture the capital of the Winter Knights, there the two forces would meet for one final battle in the Battle of Snow and Mud. During the fight, both forces would be evenly matched up, the fighting would be fierce, both lines holding strong with neither gaining much room. Eventually however, a small contingent of Marter cavalry would be successful in sneaking past the main battle line charging into the rear of the enemy with a deadly crash. The result charge would lead to the Winter Knight line crumbling leading to the remaining force to retreat back into the town. A large skirmish in the town would ensue with fighting happening all over the streets lasting all day and eventually deep into the night. By day break and with the dust settled, most of the High Chair of the Winter Knights were captured and brought together by the Marter forces. One by one the knights would be executed as the Marter forces would simultaneously burn the town to the ground. With the Order of the Winter Knights defeated, the kingdom of Marter would be unstoppable on the battlefield. Eventually the Cerulian force would catch up to the coalition forces which had been razing and sacking the lands for many weeks now. The two forces would fight it out in the Battle of Nebenwood where once again the Knights of Marter were present. This time however, the Cerulian force would be successful in the first skirmish due to the help of Valkyrie Illyana and her friends who had arrived just a few hours before the first engagements. Along with Illyana were assistance from the Crowfolk and other neighboring houses. With all the enemy reinforcements and the staggering strength of the young Valkyrie girl, the Knights of Marter and the army itself would be crushed, the leader of order being slain during the battle and the remainder of the coalition army surrendering or routing. With this, the Order of The Knights of Marter were defeated and would not be seen again for some time after the Civil War. After the signing of the Treaty of Esea, the Knights of Marter would be allowed to continue to exist however the knights were forbidden from having Sulanian Arms leading to a drastic loss in combat effectiveness essentially reducing them to regular foot soldiers. The Knights would exist for some time after the Civil War, fighting the barbarian armies in the north before fading to obscurity during the \_\_\_\_