The Kingdom of Esteria

Kingdom of Esteria
When "Esterian" history truly begins is a topic commonly debated amongst the scholars of the 5 Human nations. The Esterian ruling bloodline claims themselves to be direct descendants of the now mythical Lanikos Dynasty, a theocratic monarchy who devoutly worshipped the moon goddess Kyr and were famously the rivals of the Agni worshipping Helikan Dynasty. However, most non-Esterian sources agree that due to the total destruction of the Lanikos Dynasty during Agni's Crusade it is impossible that current monarch King Edwin III could be descended from Lanikos blood.

The kingdom itself stretches far along the eastern coasts of Falgranen and includes several of the continent's larger islands within its domain. Along with its coastlines and beaches, Esteria is also world-renowned for the prowess of its people at sea, and in modern times it is undeniable that the Esterians possess the mightiest naval force the world has ever seen. Esteria is also incredibly industrialized and urbanized, with a population and industrial capacity exceeded only by their neighbor and ally the UAD. Esteria also ended up massively benefiting from the results of The Grand Campaign with occupation of Elsarian island territories and over 50% of the High Elven lands being added to their domain.

Traditionally Esterian culture was centered around the practices often associated with coastal life: large fishing villages, a large shipbuilding industry and worship of the moon goddess Kyr, a practice often looked down upon in other Human kingdoms but encouraged in Esteria. However, in modern times more popular culture has rooted itself into the Esterian way of life, where many famous works of literature and theater influence the population all around the kingdom, and now more than ever the high Gnomish population spreads their traditions around the kingdom, with certain parts of Esteria being the last true beacons of pure Gnomish culture.

Early History
The earliest records of the peoples who would found the Esterian Kingdom are subject to debate and interpretation themselves, with the first written source being The Saga of Boris the Navigator, a semi-mythical semi-historical epic poem which records the life story of a famous chieftain of a tribe of Humans who lived in the easternmost islands of Falgranen. The tribal people in question are the Norryk peoples, which recent archeological studies have concluded are almost certainly the true predecessors to the modern Esterian people. What information has been gathered about the Norryk has concluded that during their time on the islands they were very simple people who were able to thrive via fishing, trading, and raiding. Both the Saga and archeological finds prove that the Norryk were devout worshippers of Kyr, which combined with their geographical location would imply that they were once members of the Lanikos Dynasty, though most historians believe the Norryk were vassals rather than fully fledged members of the Lanikos bloodline. The Sagas describe the Norryk peoples as being divided underneath 12 great families which oversaw the 12 Norryk Tribes. Boris the Navigator was the head of the Sjiftal Tribe, originally among the more insignificant of the 12, but, under his leadership, the Sjiftal managed to completely conquer a neighboring confederacy of Goblin tribes and then build a large fleet of ships which would be used to spread Boris's influence to other nearby islands. Over the next 20 years, the text describes how one by one Boris united the 12 Norryk Tribes and passed on the title of Chieftan to his son, Boris the Explorer. The sagas claim that it is under this Boris that the first Norryk colonists reached the mainland of the continent and begin to spread their influence about the coast.

The Elyngarde Dynasty
The first-ever recorded Norryk or Esterian presence on the continent by an outside source is in records from the Gnomish lands of Sellsyr, noting on the eastern coasts a court held by a man known as Henry Elyngarde in a modestly sized castle town called Estburke in the year 614 BTI. However, this dynasty would be absent from any records for some time until an Elven chronicler would note that in the year 565 BTI Estburke would be officially proclaimed an Earldom under the leadership of Earl Coryn the Saint, a legendary cleric who would eventually go on to slay the wicked dragon Taranoore who was gathering an army of his own kin to attack the eastern Human states.

In 396 BTI the Earldom of Estburke would lead an invasion to the small Human fiefdoms to it's direct south, with there allegedly being a long-standing rivalry between the Kyr-worshipping Norryk peoples and Agni-worshipping descendants of the Helikan dynasty. The ensuing Reconquest of Lanikos would last a total of 20 years of on and off warfare, with the Elyngarde pushing deep into the heart of their enemies territory but never quite being able to deliver a finishing blow. Eventually giving in to fatigue the Elyngarde allowed religious moderates to help broker a peace, which led into the Treaty of Lankaos, which granted large swaths of land and fiefdoms to the Elyngarde and forced the southern Human states to recognize the dynasty as legitimate. Once this was complete the dynasty would declare itself the Kingdom of Elyngarde and order construction to begin over a site of ruins which was at the time believed to be the ruins of the capital of the Lanikos dynasty.

The Lanatius Era
For years after the Elyngarde victory in the Reconquest of Lanikos, there was relative peace and stability in the region, with most of the smaller Norryk realms swearing fealty to the dynasty as they claimed themselves to be the legitimate successors to the Lanikos dynasty. This was displayed the most with the construction of a new capital on the site of an ancient Lanikos ruin, a city which was originally called Lakitalos but the Elyngarde pronounced as Lanatius. This city, while slow to grow and construct, would become the heart of the unique culture found in the eastern fiefdoms and over time would become a melting pot of all peoples who lived in the general area. In 165 BTI King Alinn II made a formal request to the Republic of Sellsyr for Gnomish architects and engineers to come to Lanatius and help in its development. With the help of these Gnomish allies, Lanatius would grow in only 20 years from a sleepy castle town built on the hills to a sprawling urbanized area which rivaled even the oldest imperial capitals which existed. However, this development was not constrained to the city, but development and public works were in development all across the kingdom. It is estimated by some that between the years of 230 BTI and 880 ATI that the population of the kingdom tripled. The Kingdom of Elyngarde would end up fighting in several small scale conflicts during this time, however, these conflicts never lasted for more than a few years. One of the few notable among these was the brief but devastating Elsarian Wars, in which a group of Elves migrating north ended up in conflict with the Elyngarde over territory and over a period of 6 months completely wiped out the Elyngarde armies. A truce was quickly signed and the Elves established the Kingdom of Elsaria to their north.

Division and Re-Unification
In 965 ATI the Kingdom of Elyngarde would face total disaster and collapse, when King Josef IV would die under suspicious circumstances at the age of 30. His only living relative and presumptive heir was a young noblewoman by the name of Ethel Elyngarde, however, under Norryk traditions women could under no circumstance inherit the throne. With a potential succession crisis on their hands the local clergy attempted to make a case to the lords of the land that under their religious principles they must allow a woman to take the throne if she is the rightful heir, as it is what Kyr would encourage. This would divide the Kingdom into two pieces. The first side of this conflict is those who were loyal to the clergy and to the traditional dynasty and supported Ethel's right to rule, the loyalists, or "gelds" because of the color of their banners. The other side was made up of dozens of smaller nobles and various traditional warrior clans, who would be called the "routs" because of the color of their banners. This conflict would be the largest the region would see in a long time, with both armies fielding armies of over 40,000 men and allowing magic to be used to it's fullest extent. For the first 3 years of fighting the loyalists would seem to be at a major advantage, winning decisive victories at Northbrooke, Brunswicke and Halbshire and even besieging and taking the original Rout capital of Brightmoore. However, in 969 ATI the Routs would strike back and with force, having convinced the Elsarians to come and assist them in overthrowing the Elyngarde dynasty, which the Elsarians were more than happy to do.

By 975 ATI the tides had completely been turned and the loyalists now held less land than the Routs, finding it near impossible to keep up with both their armies and the Elven armies which opposed them. This all led up to the Seige of Lanatius, in which a combined force of 60,000 Humans and High Elves began to wittle down the forces of the great Elyngarde capital itself. For 8 months the city would hold out, and for 8 months the besiegers fought day in and out, slowly letting the city bleed dry. In a desperate last attempt, Ethel Elyngarde herself would organize the city garrison and storm out of the gates in order to face the enemy army directly, while a relief force would march in to fight at the same time. On April 19th, 988, Ethel's armie sallied out of the city and slammed into the army opposing them, outnumbered approximately 9:1, while at the same time a relief army of ~10,000 men attacked the enemy from the back. Stunned by this daring manuver, the combined Rout-Elsarian force took heavy casualties and within hours was routed. The Battle of Lanatius was won, but all was not well, as unknown to anyone else Ethel herself was struck with a magical projectile in the midst of battle and died.

With the last of the Elyngarde family line gone the loyalists saw little reason to continue fighting a losing battle, and only a month later all those involved sat down to figure out what the future of this region would look like. Negotiations were slow, as with no single ruling family now everyone with strong ties to the old dynasty attempted to seize control, and even with religious moderators from the clergy no clear agreement could be brought to. In the end nothing could be decided on, and several key families involved in the negotiations stormed out, deciding this would be settled on the battlefield.

For decades longer the war raged, and the Elyngarde War of Succession soon became the Esterian Civil War. This war would on several occasions be stopped with truces only to once more begin as new family members came into power or accidental skirmishes turned into full-on battles. The war would go on until approximately 1063 ATI, when the young Count Fredrich the Unifier defeated the most powerful lord opposing him, Duke William of Brightmoore, at the Battle of Sommorset Valley. At that point most lords, exhausted of the constant warfare, recognized Count Fredrich as the new King of Esteria, though for 3 more years he fought against what families refused to submit. In 1066 ATI, the newly coronated King Fredrich declared the Kingdom of Esteria to exist.

Largest Cities
Lanatius - 5.7 million residents Brightmoore - 2.1 million residents

Northbrooke - 1.3 million residents

Devonshire - 910,000 residents

Norrshire - 745,000 residents

Westbrooke - 615,000 residents

Paranswood - 600,000 residents