A History of the SheldomarA History of the Sheldomar
By Kirt Wackford (wackford@biology.utah.edu )
Edited by Scott Rennie (scott.rennie@virgin.net) for 'Black Hart' campaign consistency, and
subject to revision.
c. CY -180 (SD 5336) to CY 20
[29]
Oeridian invasion of Sterich. Keoland expands out of river valley
in all directions. Settlement of Yeomanry, Gran March by nomad
Warlords.
The valley of Sterich, and the
Yeomanry and Geoff as well, were at this time heavily forested
with tall, majestic old growth over most of their extent, and
were home to fairly settled Flan tribes. In the Sterich, the
swift-flowing Davish River had carved a deep river valley filled
with a younger, more brushy forest and open marshy meadows. None
of this land was ideal horse country, and had heretofore been
ignored or avoided by the nomadic Suel and Oerids. Indeed,
testament to how little the newcomers cared for these western
lands was the valley of the Yeomanry. This had served as the
major gate of access to the Flanaess for most of the Suel
migrants for centuries [34], but no migrants had yet settled
there [35].
The arrival in Sterich at this point in time of Oerid tribes
represented the toll the continued Oerid-Suel-Flan-Humanoid
battles were taking in the Flanaess as well as the growing power
of the nation of Keoland; many tribes were exploring
farther-flung and less hospitable regions simply to distance
themselves from the conflict. The Oerid who chose the Sterich had
originally been rebuffed from a similar attempt at capturing
Geoff [68,A]. Undaunted by this defeat, they quickly conquered
the Flan of Sterich and set about ruling [21,33,D].
By now, the Sheldomar River Valley proper had been populated from
the Axewood to the Azure Sea coast. The long and narrow Kingdom
of Keoland ruled it all. What portions of the river could be
easily diverted for rice fields had been, and all this
productivity had given Keoland steady population growth. Outward
settlement began in earnest in three regions. In the north,
victories over the nomads made the plains safe enough for
herdsmen of cattle and horses, and these quickly spread out. The
power of the early Keoish kings (compared to their own nobles)
came in no small part from their dominance in horse-rearing. In
the east, herders of goats and sheep moved into the dry foothills
of the Lortmils. And in the west, all along the Sheldomar River,
the edge of the great forest began slowly to be pushed back by
agrarian settlement. The Suel and Oerid ploughing techniques were
revived for this dry farming, but crops traditional to the
halflings of the region were grown. Dwarven and gnomish iron was
needed for heavy ploughs and strong axes.
The time was not without conflicts. Suel and Oerid raiders still
roamed the plains, and menaced the new villages and herds. But
they were each independent groups, and fled before the unified
forces of Keoland. In the east, Oeridian tribesmen had completely
subjugated the local Flan, and constantly harassed Keoish
settlers. In time, however, they tired of defeats, and joined the
Kingdom when they were allowed to retain their status as local
rulers [36]. In the west, every mile of forest cleared brought
untold numbers of humanoids down upon the woodsmen and settlers.
These hordes were fought and driven back. The Keoish rulers
quickly realised that operations against the humanoids, to be
effective, could not be simply reactive. They began making war on
humanoids in an organised fashion. No longer did they merely
defend their people or seek reprisals for specific raids. Human
armies, aided by demi-human scouts and auxiliaries, pre-emptively
sought out and destroyed humanoid lairs and camps in places far
from the areas around Keoish settlements. Thus too were the
forest borders made safe.
It is likely that the co-ordination required to repel all these
raids and hunt down their perpetrators actually held the
rapidly-expanding Keoland together. Though nobles increased in
land and power they still remained dependent on the King and his
national army. Thus, the decentralisation which often accompanies
rapid growth was prevented.
There were some menaces with which the armies of the King could
not help, however. Even after the humanoids had been driven off,
many regions of the Dreadwood forest remained forbidding places.
Were-creatures, undead, and worse haunted many a dark stand of
trees. Often lumbermen would encounter strange and ancient ruins
in the woods; nearly as often they would later sicken, or suffer
bizarre and gruesome accidents. Even after settlement, village
colonies which had been in the woods for years would sometimes
completely vanish overnight. The common folk needed little
prompting to leave these areas alone, but were sometimes forced
to settle by their overlords. With no land of their own, they had
to do as their nobles required.
Even today, the thinned woods of the Keoish-held regions harbour
many a dark grove, unvisited by locals and best left alone. Of
all the Keoish, those of the south and the west have the most
dark, brooding dispositions. They are in strong contrast to the
tempestuous plainsmen of the north and sunny, cheerful rivermen
and hill-farmers of the east. It is said that over the years many
noblemen have investigated these dark places - some to dispel the
superstitions of their peasants, others seeking ancient
knowledge. Most returned, but were never the same. It weakened
many, who died wasting deaths years later. But to others these
places gave dark strength and great cunning [B].
As a point of Sueloise honour, the wars with humanoids were
sometimes pursued at great cost to the lives of the Keoish, and
the demi-humans came to greatly appreciate the sacrifices of
their human neighbours. Demi-humans in the Ulek states (then not
a part of Keoland, except for the County) in particular
encouraged such activities near them, and gave great gifts and
praise to the Suel nobles. As the eastern hills were made more
safe, human farmers and fisherfolk settled among the demi-human
communities. There they grew grapes, olives, figs, and grains,
often having been taught by the local halflings or elves. Though
personal subjects of Keoish lords, these peasants lived in lands
deemed those of the Ulek peoples. Keoish influence, if not
territorial claims, spread north and south of the County of Ulek.
It was in this region that the language of the Oeridian horsemen
became infused with the speech of the Suel, the Flan, and with
numerous demi-human tongues as well, eventually becoming what is
now known as Keolandish. From there this speech spread throughout
the country, a language which united the many peoples of the
Kingdom before Common existed [37].
In gratitude and with goodwill the demi-humans continued to trade
with humans. Dwarf and gnome-made ploughs were essential to the
growth of the nation, but their weapons and armour were also
highly valued. Halfling agricultural advice and technology
continued to be prized. The elves of the river valleys supplied
the Keoish with products such as wine, fruits, nuts, oils,
incenses, pitch, resins, dyes, lacquers, woods, and medicinal
herbs, as well as magical items. Some elves even married into
noble Suel families. It was out of deference to the elves that
the great river forests of Axewood and Silverwood were not
cleared for human settlement. This forced restraint became a
further spur to human expansion into the western forests.
As the decades wore on not only Suel and Oerid, but Flan peoples
as well, took up the ox or horse and plough, and turned the
forests into farms. It was becoming difficult to separate Suel
from Oerid from Flan among the common folk, so similar were their
lifestyles now and so intermarried had they become. The Keoish
nobility, while more carefully preserving their identities, had
the blood of many races in their veins (including that of elves).
A general Keoish culture of unified nationhood, not separate
racial identity, was developing.
As the Keoish moved west, and to some extent east, ever more
humanoids were extirpated from the region. Some moved just ahead
of civilisation, battling their farther-removed fellows for land,
and so made the tasks of the Keoish that much easier. Others
found their way to the Lortmils and sought refuge from the
land-hungry humans among the high peaks and deep valleys of the
range.
Nomadic Suel and Oerids were also pushed back, at least those who
did not join the Kingdom. But new developments were astir. With
more and more Flan taking up the settled farming methods,
including those outside of Keoland, Flan communities were
becoming more stable, dense, and productive. A subtle demographic
balance was shifting - it was becoming possible for the Suel and
Oerid horsemen to make their livings as the settled despots of
forest clearings rather than as wandering raiders. More and more
of these groups settled down to rule Flan communities as
Warlords, appropriating the surplus production of the new
agricultural methods [21]. This meant the Flan were permanently
oppressed, rather than subject to periodic raids. But they were
now a source of stable, continuous income for particular rulers -
and thus were defended and protected by their rulers from other
rulers and from the nomadic horsemen still remaining. If the
lives of the Flan were not easier or richer, at least they were
more secure.
Suel horsemen thus subjugated the native peoples in the areas of
what is now the Gran March. Suel rulers and the Flan tribes they
had mixed with settled the sparsely inhabited lands of the
Yeomanry and there established petty states [38]. In all these
lands, and Sterich as well, the great western forests began to be
permanently cleared for farm and pasture land.
Those few truly nomadic Suel and Oerid still remaining found life
ever more challenging. Settled, well-defended states were
springing up everywhere, and nomads were increasingly pushed to
the margins, becoming more barbaric and desperate. Nomadic Oerid
and Suel were pushed ever more south, down to what would become
the lands of the Sea Princes [39]. Some Suel even escaped into
the Amedio Jungle [40,41]. A steady stream of Suel and Oerid
bands crossed the Stark Mounds and were accepted into the Valley
of Geoff as settlers, not rulers [42].