Varhold

Varhold was a large Varlish country occupying most of the northeast shore of the Trade Lake.

Varhold's former holdings encompass all of modern Satï, Ulgard and Varland, as well as parts of Talor, Kafetra and Hanharth.

## History

Varhold was originally centred around the settlement of Varra, near modern Fjoll. It declared its statehood in the early 2nd Century, as had many other towns and cities around it. The warlords of Varhold quickly consolidated a small holding around its capital - this became the unimaginative name of the country - the Hold around Varra - Varhold.

The fledgling state had its work cut out defending itself from larger countries - Jurvik to the west and Nidvelr to the north. The warlords Eirik and Harald eventually won enough victories to keep these predators off of Varhold, and in 214 Harald managed to annex Jurvik entirely. His grandson Aelrik repeated this victory in 248 with the conquest of Nidvelr.

From here, Varhold snowballed. Its power was now virtually unchallenged, and the warlords steamrolled through the forests of the northern Trade Lake shore. The state reached critical mass in 441 with the annexation of Gudaland - what is now western Hanharth. The primitive administration of the state was unable to keep up with its duties, and many regions fell into stagnation.

Many areas, until now content with the state of affairs, began to grow restless and rebellious. There were major uprisings - Folkenkop in 443, Kalgrafir in 452, and Lingstrup in 454 are three of the major events, and while all three were put down mercilessly, this did not win the government any favour with the citizens. The Maan who inhabited the area around Lingstrup, in particular, incited several more rebellions and still despise the Varlish, blaming them for the Lingstrup Massacre even three hundred years after the fact.

Varhold managed to somehow hold on to hegemony for another half a century. It is rumoured the government was heavily in debt by this point, hiring bands of mercenaries to do their bidding in place of the corrupt officials and disloyal soldiers. In 501, the warlord Kurt heard of a coming threat - the Tungrids.

The Tungrids had been displaced from the Sharqiya of Ferahaa in 499, and after wandering aimlessly had set their sights on the rich, fertile and uninhabited area south of the Huon Range. Here Kurt saw an opportunity. Defeating the Tungrids would surely show his nation that the government was still strong - it would, in Kurt's eyes, quell the rebellions and give the people renewed trust in their leaders. In any case, Kurt didn't have much of a choice. The Tungrid leader Adagan Khan had already decided to march through Varhold whether Kurt liked it or not, and simply allowing the horsemen to pass through would likely destabilise Varhold to the point of collapse.

So Kurt called on his allies. He called on the people of the Trade Lake to stop the Tungrid menace, and his calls were answered. Most of the nations that banded together with varhold did so either out of a lust for profit - Varhold was a vast and valuable trading partner - or out of a hatred of change - they saw exactly the same as Kurt in that Varhold would collapse if the Tungrids were not stopped.

The Trade Lake alliance rallied its forces and, in 502, met the Tungrids in battle at Vorgebirge. The fight was a disaster, and the alliance was utterly broken. The shattered allied soldiers fled in all directions, with many of the Varholdians among them deserting and turning to banditry. Varhold fractured not long after - Kurt had been killed during the battle, and while the government squabbled over his successor, the common people lost faith in the government. Several noblemen marched on Varra to claim the throne, but all that was accomplished was that the city was sacked. Varhold splintered inso dozens of pieces, with every petty warlord claiming a piece of the Varholdian cake.