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 100-300 [29]
Keoland assumes Sterich and the Demi-Human Protectorates.
For three centuries wise and just rulers had presided over a
large and thriving Keoland. A succession of Kings had waged
unceasing war on humanoids, driving them out of the region and
into the Dreadwood or the Lortmils. With the humanoids gone and
plains raiders settled, humans cleared vast expanses of the
western forest, turning it into farmland. Villages multiplied and
towns grew in the moist west. The Earldom of Sterich joined the
County of Ulek as a formal vassal territory of the Kingdom
[44,D]. Demi-humans internally and on all sides sought the
protection and assistance of the magnanimous Keoish rulers [45].
Typically, human garrisons would be placed in a border region,
defending it in the name of Keoland without interfering in the
affairs of the local communities. While demi-humans were thus
surrounded by the larger nation, they retained internal
self-rule. Numerous independent communities in Celene and the
Ulek States (including all the Pomarj) joined the Kingdom this
way, piecemeal, during this period [46,69]. In some regions, but
not all, human settlers moved in to take advantage of the newly
safe lands [47].
At the same time Keoland was assuming control over such a large
area, with many local interests, changes were underway in the
nature of Keoish rule. Before, the nobles in their narrow
river-lands had needed the assistance of the kings just to
protect their domains from humanoid raiders. Only those who had
the King's favour could hope to get enough protection to expand
their lands, and that meant they had to satisfy the King in terms
of benevolent rule and virtuous nature. In those times, the King
was the moral guardian of the Kingdom, the Scion of Suel Virtue.
But the Keoish campaigns against humanoids and raiders had proven
so successful that few nobles now faced any serious threats. Many
ruled vast areas of stable, secure lands, and some families
rivalled the kings in power and wealth. To the King fell the duty
of protecting the still dangerous lands on the peripheries of the
Kingdom, lands that belonged to the demi-humans, not the nobles.
Thus the situation had come full circle from the early days - the
King now needed the support, in troops and materials, of the
nobles, and it was they who could make policy the reward for
their contributions. Nobles now had a great deal of independence
- they were free from the moral standards the King had long held
them to. Many sought to use their new power to wrest further
independence from the King, and some were successful.
The Keoish Kings sensibly reacted by expanding the Royal
Military. They desired a force more reliable than noble troops,
one whose availability could not be made the subject of favours
and whose loyalty and honour were more to the King's standards.
Within the Military the kings created many elite units [C].
Officers were commissioned knights and paladins of the martial
faiths (Heironeous, Pholtus, Pelor) sought to serve as
inspirational leaders to the troops.