The Northwestern Wastes

Long before the age of connection, the Northeast Wastes, now ruled by the Kingdoms of Birwoldenia, Tienkenia, Geimons, and the Tsardom of Ry, was an incredibly desolate place. Facing the incredible cold and frost of the Endless Ice, but without the flowing waters that facilitated heat and movement that the Elladans of Myos have, it lacked much civilization or population. For the most part the furthest civilization extended was the southeastern shores of the Stein, and the furthest points to which Elladia’s Cradle protrudes into the Ice.

### **Those native to the land, and those who visited before the Settlement period**

However, while the lack of civilization and organized population is obvious, there was still some who lived in and around this area. The most well-known are the Elladan tribesmen who live in the hills and forests of the Ice. Prior to the settlement and colonization of the region, these tribes could be found plentifully, with tribes existing North of the Stein, around the Mentowich river, and as far east as the tip of Ry. These tribesmen built little to no permanent structures, besides some sites of worship for Elladia (and other corrupted idols), made out of mammoth tusk, wood, and stone. These tribes were very territorial and fought fiercely to hold onto their lands, though their fighting could not stop the waves of settlers that gradually came to the region.

Besides the tribesmen, there were some others who did end up in the region, most notably the Yamoto and Shawzen traders and merchants who move through the Jade Gulf and into the Ethereal Waters as to do trade with the Zhendinese Theocracy. These merchants ended up sailing past the Northern coast of the Jade Gulf often, and in time were tempted to land there as to pick up furs and goods that the tribesmen were willing to trade. These trades, though scarcely reported, are some of the first instances of outside interaction between the Tribesmen and an outside peoples that did not end in bloodshed.

Finally, the other group to end up in the North East before the period of settlement was the many Slovan warriors who crossed the Jade gulf as to hunt for sport and training. Their relations with the local tribesmen are said to have been warm enough as to ensure that fighting would not occur at fight sighting of eachother, though besides this their interactions seem to have been fairly limited.

### **The Settlement Period**

#### The Shawzen Settlement

The era of settlement to the area came a few hundred years before the connection, at a time where Shawzen leaders were desperate to somehow counter the power which the Myosian empire was exuding. While movements from the Astellians had begun to tap against the powerbase of Myos, this was not enough for the Shawzen. Dominus Ariaric, the leader of the city-state of Stein, began plans to move settlers across the Stein and begin settlement of the region around there. This spread over a few decades, before the town of Gradenau was formed, sitting opposite the Stein Inlet from Shlilertal. This town became the basis of the Bietesbachian Empire’s settlement plans, and within the next few decades after the settlement of Gradenau, the towns of Apeierheim, Staudesburg, Hobron, and the trade city of Bosinhadt were settled. Bosinhadt in particular became quite prevalent as a trade stop for traders making the journey through the Jade Gulf, and within a couple decades had risen in status similar but not equal of Stein. During this period of increased trade, unauthorized settlers from Bosinhadt settled the towns of Abigton, Fichach, and even a small trading stop known as Geitilertal. From this period we also know of a settling fleet which sailed towards the island of Tienkenia and was than not heard from for a century or two, before the true nature of Tienkenia was revealed.

The mass settlement of the Northwest by the Shawzen saw heavy taxes imposed on the people of Stein and the Bietesbachian Empire, leading to what is now known as the Stein tax revolt. While the city of Stein burned with insurrection, and eventually the Dominus (the successor of Lucienne, who was the successor of Ariaric) Vandil was overthrown, the cities of Apeierheim, Bosinhadt, Hobron, Fichach, Abigton, and Geitilertal threw off their bindings and created the Kingdom of Birwoldenia (Shawzen meaning “Old Cast off” or rather “Casting off the Old”). However, while this Kingdom was initially prosperous, disagreements over the new settlements of Rutten, Shlisen, and Hamosfield, as well as the increasing popularity of Geitilertal as the main stopping off point for North Jade Gulf traders caused the Kingdom to fracture, and within a few years of its creation it was torn apart. The ensuing Settler Civil War set about the current dynamics of the Shawzen kingdoms and empires, which have been fairly static since, and have come to regard eachother as either allies, or with cold indifference.

Beyond this, the towns of Schalberg and Haigach are relatively new to the world stage, having been settled a couple centuries after the connection.

The Shawzen settlement of the region speaks often about the inter-warfare that occurred, and little about their encounters with the tribesmen, however, the few instances that do talk about much horror and bloodshed. An account from explorer Thela details “the barbarians who settle this desolate waste are horrifying creatures, able to the head off a man with brute strength alone, only to then gorge themselves on the person’s innards. They are despicable, and despite their lack of steel weaponry, they have been able to murder many of my men. At this rate we will not be able to reach the river Mentowich on this expedition”. Thela was one of Stein’s best explorers at the start of the settlement period, and had been within the Northwestern Area multiple times, so to see that the response from the tribesmen was still incredibly violent towards the explorer shows either a virulent hatred between the two groups, or an inability by the Shawzen to peacefully interact with the tribesmen. Either way, the Shawzen response to the Tribesmen’s violence was to push back hard, eventually either killing them all or forcing the remaining tribes to move further north into the Ice.

#### The Slovan Settlement

A few centuries after the settlement by the Shawzen of the Northwest, and during the massive wars between the Nawatli and the Slovans after the connection, the Slovans began to settle the part of the Northwest which had not been touched by the Shawzen. Major glacial runoff had turned the area between Geimons and the Posledni peninsula into impassable marsh and mud, making settlement of the peninsula near impossible for the Shawzen. However, this worked out for an intrepid group of explorers sent by Tsar Vujadin Miocic, the second to last Tsar who ruled from Ococuitzotlan. These explorers very quickly found a proper place to start a settlement, and within the year the settlement of Truchesk was created. Nestled among the dense forest of the peninsula, it became a safe haven for Slovan’s fleeing both the incoming Nawatli, as well as the later invasion by King Liebwan of Tienkenia.

Left without a benefactor, the settlement of Turchesk rapidly became a trade city, filled with furs and exotic goods. From here the Tsardom of Ry would emerge, led by the Miocic dynasty who had been able to flee the incoming Nawatli. The forest the kingdom encompassed contained many native animals and creatures, as well as Elladan tribesmen. However, unlike the Shawzen’s approach to these tribesmen, the Slovan’s accepted their way of life and allowed them to live within the borders of the Tsardom, gradually civilizing these tribesmen.

This is clear from the first of the two cities that sprouted within Ry, that being Staufengen. Staufengen is a city filled mainly with Elladan tribesmen, who have settled down from their nomadic roots and became citizens of the Tsardom, as well as some of their best warriors. On the otherhand Izheshev is a city which stands at the end of a continent. Settled only in recent memory, Izheshev was initially known as the last point of land, and seen somewhat superstitiously by sailors. Even before the establishment of Truchesk, a lighthouse has stood in the area, a project by an unknown Slovan Tsar. The town was built around the lighthouse, and has become a permanent fixture which continues to grow by the year.