Post by aspenivan on Dec 12, 2017 0:48:00 GMT
Kingdom Name: Stonefoot Clan
Race: Orcs
Religion: Orcish Aedak
Monarch:
Acca Boarsplitter (Captain / Spymaster)
Acca has done much to build a public image as a dutiful warrior, ostensibly spending most of her time training and leading an elite company of cavalry - most recently commanding them on the front of the Sacrye War. However, behind her gruff exterior as a "hardy shield-maiden of few words" lies a far-sighted politician responsible for crushing, humbling, or reconciling a whole host of enemies of House Boarsplitter over the last eleven years, essentially since she reached the age of majority. Her capabilities and ambitions have finally begun to become apparent, however, provoking respect from many but hostility from those who still stand to lose much if she succeeds in full. Her most public and well-known contribution to Stonefoot politics is the creation of the Waepenbora military-bureaucratic class, initially framed as a sympathetic warrior's benevolent patronage for nobles struggling to maintain their lands and finances. But now some speak of suspicions that she orchestrated the very debts and legal disputes that impoverished some of her beneficiaries, namely those who had possessed enough wealth to challenge Boarsplitter dominance. Yet, she continues to enjoy great loyalty from among the Waepenbora, perhaps because the stability of their new position tends to breed either reassurance or resignation, but no proper channel for rebellion.
Capital:
Cournoy
An ancient city, Cournoy holds a name so old that does not fit even medieval Orcish language or conventions. It is often referred to as “Cornton” or “Cornburg” by the common people. In ancient times, it is thought that Cournoy held a role similar to what Thundercrown would become centuries later, as the border of a settled orcish civilization and bulwark against the Wasteland nomads to the West. However, unlike the Firetooth capital it did not hold the tide, and the culture it represented apparently disappeared long before it became the hold of House Boarsplitter some seven-hundred years ago. By then, its importance was much diminished. The fortified town was useful for its stone walls, comparatively large number of tradesfolk, and proximity to the Grey River, but otherwise of similar worth to a large hillfort.
It would take the victory of the Northern Empire against the Great Wasteland Horde and the subsequent Aedakomization of the Wastes to see Cournoy rise once again as a proper center of Orcish civilization. After several generations of migration from the West, conscious development by House Boarsplitter, and the natural growth of industry fed by mines and logging near to the East, the city's size and population have grown to rival Thundercrown
Provinces:
Istbalc (Capital Province)
Wistbalc
Snálanda
Docgalanda
Wargemnet (West)
Brádlanda (West)
Aeschlith (West)
(Additionally requesting Colonial Administration - Aedakfaesten)
History:
Origins of the Stonefoot State
When the combined might of the Imperial Army and the Northern Vassals defeated the great Wasteland Horde sent to conquer the East, the wastelander orcs were thrown into disarray. The victors were quick to proselytize to the defeated, who were more than receptive now that their old gods had been humiliated. Yet, only partway into the conversion process, the Fifteen Years' War erupted and left the wastelander converts to develop their theology largely by themselves. Unsurprisingly, their version of Aedak was rather unorthodox. Nonetheless, it was a powerful unifying force, and eventually power was concentrated into the hands of the Stonefoot Clan, which had preserved more power and prestige after the war than its counterparts.
It was one of very few settled Clans in the Wastes, centered around the small but ancient city of Cournoy, with Houses whose power was measured in hillforts and castles projecting power over surrounding villages. They had long oscillated between uneasy cooperation and open conflict with their nomadic cousins, a flow usually governed by Stonefoot willingness to pay tribute and nomadic clans' willingness to test Stonefoot defenses. But after the Great Wasteland War and the advent of Aedak in the Wastes, the tables were quickly turned and scores of small Wastelander clans subsumed into Stonefoot. Soon, they ruled as proper feudal lords, sustained by a mix of Wastelander, Firetooth, and Southern influences.
However, one House would gain more than the others: House Boarsplitter, master of the city of Cournoy. Their main hold had always been a source of prestige, and their role as hosts and feast-masters earned them their name more than any direct connection with hunting. Yet, this had not translated to hegemony when surrounded by nomads and dependent on unstable connections to other Houses' hillforts for protection and trade. But now, with the Stonefoot Clan's territory consolidated and soon connected to the other realms of “the North,” caravans relied less and less on the old, restrictive path of fortified stops. As Wastelanders were made to settle and banditry diminished, Cournoy transformed into virtually the only relevant commercial hub in the land. This granted House Boarsplitter greater and greater control over the explosion of trade, and its accompanying ideas and technologies, following the first Firetooth missionaries in Stonefoot lands.
Consolidation and Clan Absolutism
The Clan and its most powerful House would proceed to make a name for themselves for two competing tendencies. First, they would act as steadfast allies of the Firetooth Clan and its project to unite the orcs under a Greater Tribe, joining in their campaigns against the Kazan and the Ironskull and even the Great Northern War. Second, all the while, they would seek to preserve their political and ecclesiastical independence from suspected Firetooth and Orthodox meddling through aggressive centralizing reforms. Land was craftily swindled from competing Stonefoot Houses, some to expand the Boarsplitter demesne while many other plots were awarded to migrant Wastelanders, granting the House a loyal and militarily fearsome landed gentry. Village militias were sidelined under the pretext of "generously" reducing their obligations while increasing taxes, and this money was funneled into a great expansion of Stonefoot professional infantry and artillery forces. Priests were granted privileges and Clan resources, and in partnership with the consolidating state they formalized a rigid clerical hierarchy in Stonefoot territory. From the growing ranks of subjects personally loyal to House Boarsplitter came a new generation of tax collectors and, later, the beginnings of a full "modern" bureaucracy like those of the Southern Kingdoms, from whom the Stonefoot Clan drew no small inspiration.
By the beginning of Chief Hardak's reign, the Stonefoot stood as the most centralized and some would say Absolutist of the Orcish Clans. While this greatly benefited the power of its rulers and essentially nullified the power of its former rivals, new sources of discontent grew as heavy taxation burdened the peasantry and Wasteland-descended feudal aristocrats found their recent privileges curtailed as a mere stepping-stones to Boarsplitter dominance. However, they maintained one particularly loyal ally: The exiled Ironskull Clan, who accepted the Stonefoot as host (and de facto lord protector) in the face of Jaggedfist bloodlust and hatred for the Firetooth - the primary instigators of Ironskull demise.
Chief Hardak, “elected” some twenty-nine years ago, devoted much of his reign to resolving internal tensions, but his efforts were a patchwork amounting more to containing the problem than eliminating it. Aristocrats were bought off ad hoc with honorary titles and military posts, and then mobilized to enforce the final disarmament of village militias. But their loyalty remained questionable at best, especially as many of them maintained “retinues” consisting of entire nomadic bands wandering the land. Meanwhile, small by growing pockets of peasants evaded disarmament, often by leaving their plots and turning to brigandry
An Heir in Name, A Chief in Deed
During this time, the work of truly defusing the powder-keg of rebellious elements fell to Acca Boarsplitter, Hardak's heir apparent. Outwardly a relatively unassuming figure focused on her position was a warrior and small unit commander, through a network of intermediaries she exerted influence in every corner of the land, generally in such a way that those she pushed perceived the changes as coming from rivals of their own class or authorities other than the ruling House. Elements unruly enough to be charged with crimes were identified and rounded up with uncanny precision, peasant rebels by nobles, and nobles by local garrisons on the ostensibly autonomous initiative of minor commanders.
Meanwhile, more uncertain pockets of potential resistance, stubbornly autonomous rural communities and law-abiding but untrustworthy noble bands, were gathered under the authority of the clergy. In a new wave of Aedakom Missions to the West, these elements were uprooted and marched into the “frontier,” in order to “civilize and convert” the independent (but largely already Aedakom) clans. Stonefoot clergy cooperated with the Firetooth and Orcland more generally, but the large numbers of Stonefoot-vassal wastelanders “returning to claim their holds” with accompanying waves of peasant settlers belied the greater power in this push. Within the decade, these regions were de facto provinces under the Stonefoot Clan, administered through the fortified “missionary post” of Aedakfaesten.
Finally, to address the mass of Wastelander-derived nobility that had settled more firmly into Stonefoot land but might pose a challenge to Boarsplitter authority, Acca's networks engineered local disputes over feudal rights and obligations, often mobilizing townships and villages against the aristocracy. While the relatively recent nature of these nobles' status made them difficult for House Boarsplitter to challenge directly, since it had handed out the titles only a generation earlier, on the other hand legally they were easy prey to the ancient rights of orcish settlements. As the gentry's authority and holdings were diminished, by petitions for redress, Acca the Warrior “generously” sponsored their “promotion” to a more stable status as Waepenbora. Rather than the mere ad hoc military promotions of her father, this move began to create a class with permanently vested interests in loyalty to the House. The Waepenbora were granted secure land rights, but only to relatively modest holdings, and without the usual degree of authority over subjects coupled with older landholding titles. However, they gained the prestige of guaranteed military rank, with the right to bear arms in the name of the Stonefoot Clan in return for state service. In essence, they were demoted from lords to knights, but with more dependable land rights and legal protection from their patron House. Of course, the bulk of the nobility – whose plots had been relatively small to begin with – transitioned into this new status more seamlessly and often saw it quite clearly as a step up. While theoretically this would make them all soldiers, posts in the bureaucracy (which many were working in already) could equally fulfill their obligation to the state. As the ranks of Waepenbora grew, they would come to take a leading role as representatives and enforcers of Boarsplitter power, creating a natural rivalry with the remaining “great magnates” holding on to more powerful titles.
Some eleven years of such efforts did much to complete the centralizing ambitions at work in the Stonefoot Clan for the last century. More and more, House Boarsplitter and the State became one and the same. Yet, even if the family's involvement could not be confirmed, their benefit from these happenings could not be hidden. Furthermore, some nobles simply remained out of reach of Acca's networks or had too much sheer power to successfully demote. On more than one occasion, Clan troops were forced to confront open rebellion, though so far such uprisings have remained small and disorganized enough to suppress efficiently.
But now, with the death of Chief Hardak in glorious battle, the remaining great magnates sense what might be their final opportunity to join with disgruntled lesser compatriots to demand a reversal. There are even rumors of shaking loyalty from the grand standing army of House Boarsplitter, unsatisfied with the course of the war against the Sacrye Empire. Can they amass a force to challenge the new Chief? Or will Acca's assumption of power be the final nail in theirs?
Placement:
Race: Orcs
Religion: Orcish Aedak
Monarch:
Acca Boarsplitter (Captain / Spymaster)
Acca has done much to build a public image as a dutiful warrior, ostensibly spending most of her time training and leading an elite company of cavalry - most recently commanding them on the front of the Sacrye War. However, behind her gruff exterior as a "hardy shield-maiden of few words" lies a far-sighted politician responsible for crushing, humbling, or reconciling a whole host of enemies of House Boarsplitter over the last eleven years, essentially since she reached the age of majority. Her capabilities and ambitions have finally begun to become apparent, however, provoking respect from many but hostility from those who still stand to lose much if she succeeds in full. Her most public and well-known contribution to Stonefoot politics is the creation of the Waepenbora military-bureaucratic class, initially framed as a sympathetic warrior's benevolent patronage for nobles struggling to maintain their lands and finances. But now some speak of suspicions that she orchestrated the very debts and legal disputes that impoverished some of her beneficiaries, namely those who had possessed enough wealth to challenge Boarsplitter dominance. Yet, she continues to enjoy great loyalty from among the Waepenbora, perhaps because the stability of their new position tends to breed either reassurance or resignation, but no proper channel for rebellion.
Capital:
Cournoy
An ancient city, Cournoy holds a name so old that does not fit even medieval Orcish language or conventions. It is often referred to as “Cornton” or “Cornburg” by the common people. In ancient times, it is thought that Cournoy held a role similar to what Thundercrown would become centuries later, as the border of a settled orcish civilization and bulwark against the Wasteland nomads to the West. However, unlike the Firetooth capital it did not hold the tide, and the culture it represented apparently disappeared long before it became the hold of House Boarsplitter some seven-hundred years ago. By then, its importance was much diminished. The fortified town was useful for its stone walls, comparatively large number of tradesfolk, and proximity to the Grey River, but otherwise of similar worth to a large hillfort.
It would take the victory of the Northern Empire against the Great Wasteland Horde and the subsequent Aedakomization of the Wastes to see Cournoy rise once again as a proper center of Orcish civilization. After several generations of migration from the West, conscious development by House Boarsplitter, and the natural growth of industry fed by mines and logging near to the East, the city's size and population have grown to rival Thundercrown
Provinces:
Istbalc (Capital Province)
Wistbalc
Snálanda
Docgalanda
Wargemnet (West)
Brádlanda (West)
Aeschlith (West)
(Additionally requesting Colonial Administration - Aedakfaesten)
History:
Origins of the Stonefoot State
When the combined might of the Imperial Army and the Northern Vassals defeated the great Wasteland Horde sent to conquer the East, the wastelander orcs were thrown into disarray. The victors were quick to proselytize to the defeated, who were more than receptive now that their old gods had been humiliated. Yet, only partway into the conversion process, the Fifteen Years' War erupted and left the wastelander converts to develop their theology largely by themselves. Unsurprisingly, their version of Aedak was rather unorthodox. Nonetheless, it was a powerful unifying force, and eventually power was concentrated into the hands of the Stonefoot Clan, which had preserved more power and prestige after the war than its counterparts.
It was one of very few settled Clans in the Wastes, centered around the small but ancient city of Cournoy, with Houses whose power was measured in hillforts and castles projecting power over surrounding villages. They had long oscillated between uneasy cooperation and open conflict with their nomadic cousins, a flow usually governed by Stonefoot willingness to pay tribute and nomadic clans' willingness to test Stonefoot defenses. But after the Great Wasteland War and the advent of Aedak in the Wastes, the tables were quickly turned and scores of small Wastelander clans subsumed into Stonefoot. Soon, they ruled as proper feudal lords, sustained by a mix of Wastelander, Firetooth, and Southern influences.
However, one House would gain more than the others: House Boarsplitter, master of the city of Cournoy. Their main hold had always been a source of prestige, and their role as hosts and feast-masters earned them their name more than any direct connection with hunting. Yet, this had not translated to hegemony when surrounded by nomads and dependent on unstable connections to other Houses' hillforts for protection and trade. But now, with the Stonefoot Clan's territory consolidated and soon connected to the other realms of “the North,” caravans relied less and less on the old, restrictive path of fortified stops. As Wastelanders were made to settle and banditry diminished, Cournoy transformed into virtually the only relevant commercial hub in the land. This granted House Boarsplitter greater and greater control over the explosion of trade, and its accompanying ideas and technologies, following the first Firetooth missionaries in Stonefoot lands.
Consolidation and Clan Absolutism
The Clan and its most powerful House would proceed to make a name for themselves for two competing tendencies. First, they would act as steadfast allies of the Firetooth Clan and its project to unite the orcs under a Greater Tribe, joining in their campaigns against the Kazan and the Ironskull and even the Great Northern War. Second, all the while, they would seek to preserve their political and ecclesiastical independence from suspected Firetooth and Orthodox meddling through aggressive centralizing reforms. Land was craftily swindled from competing Stonefoot Houses, some to expand the Boarsplitter demesne while many other plots were awarded to migrant Wastelanders, granting the House a loyal and militarily fearsome landed gentry. Village militias were sidelined under the pretext of "generously" reducing their obligations while increasing taxes, and this money was funneled into a great expansion of Stonefoot professional infantry and artillery forces. Priests were granted privileges and Clan resources, and in partnership with the consolidating state they formalized a rigid clerical hierarchy in Stonefoot territory. From the growing ranks of subjects personally loyal to House Boarsplitter came a new generation of tax collectors and, later, the beginnings of a full "modern" bureaucracy like those of the Southern Kingdoms, from whom the Stonefoot Clan drew no small inspiration.
By the beginning of Chief Hardak's reign, the Stonefoot stood as the most centralized and some would say Absolutist of the Orcish Clans. While this greatly benefited the power of its rulers and essentially nullified the power of its former rivals, new sources of discontent grew as heavy taxation burdened the peasantry and Wasteland-descended feudal aristocrats found their recent privileges curtailed as a mere stepping-stones to Boarsplitter dominance. However, they maintained one particularly loyal ally: The exiled Ironskull Clan, who accepted the Stonefoot as host (and de facto lord protector) in the face of Jaggedfist bloodlust and hatred for the Firetooth - the primary instigators of Ironskull demise.
Chief Hardak, “elected” some twenty-nine years ago, devoted much of his reign to resolving internal tensions, but his efforts were a patchwork amounting more to containing the problem than eliminating it. Aristocrats were bought off ad hoc with honorary titles and military posts, and then mobilized to enforce the final disarmament of village militias. But their loyalty remained questionable at best, especially as many of them maintained “retinues” consisting of entire nomadic bands wandering the land. Meanwhile, small by growing pockets of peasants evaded disarmament, often by leaving their plots and turning to brigandry
An Heir in Name, A Chief in Deed
During this time, the work of truly defusing the powder-keg of rebellious elements fell to Acca Boarsplitter, Hardak's heir apparent. Outwardly a relatively unassuming figure focused on her position was a warrior and small unit commander, through a network of intermediaries she exerted influence in every corner of the land, generally in such a way that those she pushed perceived the changes as coming from rivals of their own class or authorities other than the ruling House. Elements unruly enough to be charged with crimes were identified and rounded up with uncanny precision, peasant rebels by nobles, and nobles by local garrisons on the ostensibly autonomous initiative of minor commanders.
Meanwhile, more uncertain pockets of potential resistance, stubbornly autonomous rural communities and law-abiding but untrustworthy noble bands, were gathered under the authority of the clergy. In a new wave of Aedakom Missions to the West, these elements were uprooted and marched into the “frontier,” in order to “civilize and convert” the independent (but largely already Aedakom) clans. Stonefoot clergy cooperated with the Firetooth and Orcland more generally, but the large numbers of Stonefoot-vassal wastelanders “returning to claim their holds” with accompanying waves of peasant settlers belied the greater power in this push. Within the decade, these regions were de facto provinces under the Stonefoot Clan, administered through the fortified “missionary post” of Aedakfaesten.
Finally, to address the mass of Wastelander-derived nobility that had settled more firmly into Stonefoot land but might pose a challenge to Boarsplitter authority, Acca's networks engineered local disputes over feudal rights and obligations, often mobilizing townships and villages against the aristocracy. While the relatively recent nature of these nobles' status made them difficult for House Boarsplitter to challenge directly, since it had handed out the titles only a generation earlier, on the other hand legally they were easy prey to the ancient rights of orcish settlements. As the gentry's authority and holdings were diminished, by petitions for redress, Acca the Warrior “generously” sponsored their “promotion” to a more stable status as Waepenbora. Rather than the mere ad hoc military promotions of her father, this move began to create a class with permanently vested interests in loyalty to the House. The Waepenbora were granted secure land rights, but only to relatively modest holdings, and without the usual degree of authority over subjects coupled with older landholding titles. However, they gained the prestige of guaranteed military rank, with the right to bear arms in the name of the Stonefoot Clan in return for state service. In essence, they were demoted from lords to knights, but with more dependable land rights and legal protection from their patron House. Of course, the bulk of the nobility – whose plots had been relatively small to begin with – transitioned into this new status more seamlessly and often saw it quite clearly as a step up. While theoretically this would make them all soldiers, posts in the bureaucracy (which many were working in already) could equally fulfill their obligation to the state. As the ranks of Waepenbora grew, they would come to take a leading role as representatives and enforcers of Boarsplitter power, creating a natural rivalry with the remaining “great magnates” holding on to more powerful titles.
Some eleven years of such efforts did much to complete the centralizing ambitions at work in the Stonefoot Clan for the last century. More and more, House Boarsplitter and the State became one and the same. Yet, even if the family's involvement could not be confirmed, their benefit from these happenings could not be hidden. Furthermore, some nobles simply remained out of reach of Acca's networks or had too much sheer power to successfully demote. On more than one occasion, Clan troops were forced to confront open rebellion, though so far such uprisings have remained small and disorganized enough to suppress efficiently.
But now, with the death of Chief Hardak in glorious battle, the remaining great magnates sense what might be their final opportunity to join with disgruntled lesser compatriots to demand a reversal. There are even rumors of shaking loyalty from the grand standing army of House Boarsplitter, unsatisfied with the course of the war against the Sacrye Empire. Can they amass a force to challenge the new Chief? Or will Acca's assumption of power be the final nail in theirs?
Placement:
