Land of a Thousand Swords

The White Horse of Vortigern, a symbol still widely used throughout the Land of a Thousand Swords

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Vortish

Before the Empire was founded, the lands that are now known as the Land of a Thousand Swords were known as Vortigern. Vortigern was home to powerful tribes of warrior lords who fought fiercely for control of fertile land and strategic hillforts. When Basarab I conquered Vortigern, these warlords fought him fiercely at first, but eventually submitted, accepting high places in the Empire's nobility. Vortigern became the heartland of the Empire. Vortish warriors made up the core of the Imperial armies and were famous both for their tactical discipline and personal valour. Vortigern was particularly famous for its horses - Vortigern steeds are universally acknowledged as the best in the Accord Lands, and the nobility of Vortigern were trained to fight from horseback from a young age. So prized were horses that a white stallion has always been the symbol of Vortigern.

After the collapse of the Silent Empire and the first Treaty of the Accord, Vortigern was the largest and most powerful of the new nations. Ruled by its most powerful aristocrats under a weak and ineffectual King whose authority was based on a tenuous relationship to the Basarion dynasty, Vortigern endured for fifty years, but began to fall apart, first due to power struggles between the most powerful nobles, and then due to religious strife as the Church of the Inner Sea became more and more popular, leading to the abandonment of ancient feudal laws and compacts. By 100 AT, Vortigern existed in name only, with the King's authority limited to a small area around Stirling Castle, and the the rest of the country contested between petty nobles and hedge knights, peasant communes, bandit groups and expeditionary forces from neighbouring nations. When the leaders of the Accord Lands came together in Othery to negotiate the second Treaty of the Accord, the representatives of the King of Vortigern were not seated, as the other rulers had no faith in his ability to deliver on the terms of the Treaty. Ever since then, Vortigern has existed only as an idea.

The area that was once Vortigern is now known as the Land of a Thousand Swords - a reference to an ancient Vortish law by which two nobles could resolve a dispute by going to war, known as the "Duel of a Thousand Swords". The grim joke is that the entirety of the lands of Vortigern was now involved in one such giant, eternal duel.

In the last century, the Land of a Thousand Swords has become more peaceful. This is largely because its various petty rulers have learned to live with the status quo and have worked out a complex web of regional alliances, understandings and armistices that has allowed day-to-day life to go on largely unhindered, although scarcely a month goes by without some petty dispute cropping up somewhere. Usually these disputes are resolved without violence, but even when war does break out, it is usually a minor local affair. There have been times when violence has escalated and spread throughout the various statelets, but on every occasion, one or more neighbouring powers has stepped in to end it.

The most recent survey by the College of Geography of the University of Othery in 241 AT stated that the land of a Thousand Swords contained 67 noble domains ruled by various Dukes, Earls, Counts, Viscounts, Margraves and Barons; 14 theocratic territories ruled by religious leaders; 455 protectorates governed by hedge knights; 518 self-governing towns; 771 self-governing peasant communes; 5 arcanocracies governed by wizards or bards; and finally 83 hybrid or mixed communities, including several that were effectively bandit republics. Professor Delphine Huxley noted that during the three year survey, 15 territories combined into large territories, while 17 split into smaller territories, and several others entered ambiguous relationships that amounted to partial secessions or combinations. The smallest territory had only 400 inhabitants and could be crossed by horse in 30 minutes This only described the formal situation, with many de facto independent communities within or between formal ones, and many areas of de facto and de jure being non-contiguous. Huxley's thesis concluded that effectively describing the political authority in the Land of a Thousand Swords was impossible.

Although attempting to summarise a map of the Thousand Swords is a fool's errand, there are some areas of stability, including some larger states, although even the largest is very modest. The most notable are the Duchy of Stirling, centred around the old royal castle; the Archbishopric of Sugdewen, controlled by the Church of Vaad and governed from the Divine Forge, and the Earldom of Goldenhorde, known for its relatively large cavalry army, whose soldiers are often rented out as mercenaries in other demesnes' conflicts.

Large areas of the Thousand Swords are occupied by foreign troops, mostly from Marlia, Othery, Knagel and Marklight. This is usually done in collaboration with local leaders, who are often grateful for the security even a small force of foreign soldiers can bring. A few of these rulers are puppets whose territories are effectively governed by political agents from the larger nations.

Despite the sorry state of their nation, the people of the Land of a Thousand Swords have lost none of their pride and still tend to view what was once Vortigern as the beating heart and soul of the Accord Lands. Swordlanders are still famous warriors, and are respected for their skill and battle prowess throughout the Empire - ironically the armies of every nation include Swordlander mercenaries, most notably the Vortish guards who act as the personal household troops for the Lord Protector of Othery.

Most of the people of the Swordlands and practically all of its rulers still give lip service to the idea of the Kingdom of Vortigern, and the symbols of Vortigern are still often present, including the white horse flag and portraits of the ancient Kings and Emperors. Vortish law is still widely practiced, and even rulers who want to change laws usually do so under the pretext of refining or reinterpreting ancient Vortish law. Every now and then a charismatic and ambitious leader, or a group of local rulers, attempts to start a movement to reunite Vortigern, but this always ends in failure - something the Swordlander's neighbours are usually happy to encourage.

The Land of a Thousand Swords is extremely diverse in its religious adherence. About half of the people are followers of the Archons, and half of the Inner Sea. Many rulers adhere to one or the other, but many practice religious tolerance or benign neglect. The Vortish nobility traditionally owed near exclusive adherence to Vaad, but this has fallen away, possibly as the ruin of their realm has made it hard for them to believe that justice is on their side.

The city of Sudgewen is still considered the capital of the Land of a Thousand Swords, but this is a purely nominal status, although it is the largest city. Other notable cities include Balborough, sight of the greatest battle during the Great War; Shifton, a forest city governed by its guilds; Wickigton, a city divided between three rival noble families; Hathambedi, aka the "High City", built atop a mountain rising out of the forests, and Wagdon, an agricultural centre that is currently occupied by the Otherite army.

Swordlanders are usually of medium height and stocky build, with brown hair.