Saldaea

[bcxanth]

History:

 

After the fall of Hawkwing’s empire the strongest houses among the territories were left to fight for their supremacy. While the area known as the nation of Basharande during the Trolloc Wars and now known as Saldaea, was not excluded from such struggles, it did enjoy a more amicable unification than did some of the southlands due primarily to its need to have a strong front along the Blightborder. Attention could not be turned from their chief concern for long and in-fighting could not be allowed to detract from the efficient protection of their northern border.

 

The first to hold sway over the expansive region was Guar Zerenaan, and upon his death, his wife Leira. Under the rein of house Zerenaan, Saldaea expanded toward the southeast to encompass part of the former nations of Oburun and Roemalle, as well as northern sections of Masenashar and Indrahar, all of which comprise the modern day Black Hills and a small portion of Arad Doman. Unfortunatly the expansion was sort-lived. With so much attention given to the area of the nation to the extreme north, little man-power was left to regulate the vast and sparsely populated Black Hills and eventually those in the area were left to their own devices for governance.

 

Guar and Leira’s only child, a daughter named Iyende, was next to rule. Under her the nation flourished and with her husband Darin, she produced seven children, six of which survived to adulthood. House Zerenaan prospered for nearly three hundred years. They kept a tight grip on the throne through the prolific production of heirs and the very shrewd policy of the monarch naming his or her successor early into their reign. It was not until the untimely death of King Verund followed closely by the death of his wife during the birth of her first child that the monarchy was first compromised. Queen Reina, only three months on the throne, was holding out on naming an heir so that she could name her own as yet unborn child.

 

In the absence of a successor, the noble houses of Saldaea were plunged into a fierce civil war. Over the period of a year, the throne saw three rulers rise and fall. The fourth, Malinche Goshelle, maintained her claim through sheer determination and tenacity. She and her armsmen survived no fewer that four sieges upon the capitol. After the last, she sent her allies to hunt down ever last detractor and see that they fell in behind her, either through reason and negotiation, or by force. It was Malinche that made Maradon the site of the capitol; though in her time it was simply the estates of house Goshelle.

 

The rule of house Goshelle was indeed the worst in Saldaean history. A greedy and ruthless woman, Malinche amassed great wealth for herself and the capitol, sponsoring many of the additions that now comprise the core of the palace in present-day Maradon but neglecting the causes outside her immediate presence. Again the nation’s borders contracted as that had after the addition of the southeastern territories. The land that is now the northern portion of Arad Doman was lost and the border to the east constricted several miles back towards the rest. In addition, the villages and roads far to the south and west from the capitol fell into squalor without support from the monarchy or protection from royal forces. Malinche’s heirs were no better. For a period of nearly a century, Saldaea declined steadily. The only thing that did not suffer was the protection of the northern border as it was vital to house Goshelle’s protection of its own holdings.

 

Eventually, in a revolution that would be mirrored over 500 years later, the nation rose up against its neglectful ruler. House Varash was not large, but nor was it small. The high seat, Lady Brenaile, was a charismatic woman who had the favor of many stronger houses all wishing for her to marry their sons and make an alliance. As beautiful as she was charming, Brenaile was also keenly aware of politics and very clever by anyone’s standards. Her shrewd handling of her suitors and keen political sense allowed her to amass the largest army of supporters and armsmen ever seen by the nation and march upon Goshelle’s estates.

 

Legend goes that as the army approached the walled manor, Brenaile rode to the front of the column of men, dismounted, and threw back the hood of her dark cloak to address the Saldaeans guarding the gate. It is said that she gave such a stirringly patriotic speech about the good of the nation over the good of any one house and that her beauty was so enchanting that the combination of the two made those men at the gate and all of those along the wall immediately remove their Goshelle livery and lead Brenaile and her army straight to the heart of the estate, giving victory through the advantage of surprise.

 

Slowly but surely Saldaea began to recover under house Varash. Brenaile married shortly after assuming the throne and once again the legacy of smooth succession was in place. After the fall of Goshelle, the sprawling estates gained were kept as the capitol due to their proximity to neighboring Kandor as well as the Blight, though it was named Maradon, in honor of a fallen compatriot of Brenaile, her half-brother Marad. Cities across the nation grew and fortified. The army grew as well, as did the fortification of the Blightborder. For the next five centuries, the rule of Saldaea was solid but quiet, seeing no more revolts or gross incompetence until the ascension of queen Farazi.

 

Military:

Obviously the vast majority of the military forces available are stationed along the Blightborder, protecting the nation from invasion. Roughly 4/5 of the active duty soldiers occupy various forts, encampments, and cities within sight of the border. The remaining fifth is stationed at the capitol for the protection of the queen. The assignments of the men are rotated regularly and every soldier spends at least two months for every year on duty at the palace.

 

While most estates have armsmen that can be called up from the ranks of its workers or neighboring farmers should they be needed, all men who are soldiers by profession serve in the royal army, swearing fealty to the nation and the house that rules it.

 

The largest problem, militarily speaking, is the increased area of Blightborder since the fall of Chachin. Now alone with the ocean to the west and the Shadow to the right, Saldaea has been working hard to bolster its numbers. In addition to the increased responsibility, there is still some work to be done in the area of integration of the Royal Army and Leilwinn Jasma’s army. Almost half of the soldiers now serving the nation were men that followed and fought alongside queen Leilwinn during the revolution, but the greater portion are men who were sworn to Saldaea through queen Farazi. In most cases the tension is low, however the Marshal General must constantly work to ensure that every installation from towers on the border to military forces stationed throughout the nation are integrated with both loyal followers of the queen and members of the original Royal Army.