Hurssian History

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ancient History

Back in the mists of time, Hurssia was ruled over by the dragons. The land was split into two areas, the mountains and the forests, and within the forests, the moors.

In the mountain ranges lived the dwarves, and their everlasting enemies, the goblinoids - the goblins, flins, ogres, kobolds, orcs, knolls and hobgoblins. The mountains were also home to many of the dragons. In the forests lived the elves, at one with their elven trees, and other fairie folk, as well as the hobbits. The gnomes lived in the forests, and on the moors.

Luknar was the Emperor of the dragons but he became imprisoned in a gem, called 'The Memory of the Mountains' which found its way eventually to the realms of Ravenloft, thousands of years later.

The peacefulness of Hurssia was broken when humans entered the land from overseas. With their coming, the elven forests were divided and diminished in size. Humans took the land for farming, leaving the Gruskan mountains alone in the main part.

In the third century, Lodos, god of the dragons, became a demigod. We do not know how this occurred, or if the humans caused it in any way.

Around the fifth century after the humans arrival, Hurssia had stabilised again. The elven forests had been reduced to two main areas - the Larrowmor Forest, ruled by King Ortar's family, and the Shirewood. A split occurred between the elves, and the Earl ruling the Shirewood aligned himself to Kursaval, a human nation.

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History of Hurssia, 500 - 1153

In 502, Aragorn the White was born. Although unmomentous at the time, Aragorn's actions would effect the history of Hurssia for the next 600 years. At the end of the seventh century, Aragorn the White deposed King Hervan of Hervaxiath, claiming it for his own. Hervaxiath is a small island north of Hurssia. The gates of Morgaurd, which protected Hervaxiath against marauding white dragons, were destroyed by Aragorn in 723, in order to keep the country loyal to himself.

In 878, the second largest threat to Hurssia's stability, the Green Lady, attempted a hostile bid to take over the Wizards' Guild.  She was banished by Duke Mergash, and transformed into a dragon in 893.

927 - 947 were the Tursen wars, where the Green Lady took over Turse, killing all the barons except for Getyphin and Sherin I.

In 952, The Green Lady hired Aragorn to imprison Lodos.  She paid Aragorn with 1000 Tursen slaves.

In 1142, The Green Lady instigated the Barbarian Wars. A year later, she made a pact with the Kursavalian king, King Aleksandr XVI to help in the war. In return, the king was forced to take on priestly advice from her Inquisitors.

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History of Hurssia, 1154-1160

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1154

During the winter of 1154, Whiteflight and company returned to Hurssia after a short period trapped in Ravenloft.  Having survived their escapades there, they returned to a small group of islands to the far south of Hurssia.  These islands were being used as a secret breeding ground for the Green Lady’s off-spring.  During the ensuing scrap, all the adventurers fell except Whiteflight, who was able to make a deal with the Green Lady in return for their own lives.  He promised, fully intending not to keep his words, to kill the Lord Wizard, Duke Quintith.  On returning to Hurssia Whiteflight alerted his intended victim to the deal.
After breaking his promise, Whiteflight became a wanted bard.  Shortly after the deadline the inquisition arrived, looking for him.  At about the same time a knight of the Order of the Dragon was slain and the murder weapon placed in Corwin’s possession.  Corwin was later arrested for this crime but subsequently freed after the intervention of the rest of the group.  At the close of 1154 the Inquisitor was mysteriously murdered on the road north of Barander.

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1155

On the very first day of the new year, Whiteflight, still wanted for his crimes against the Green Lady, was turned over to the forces of Count Svallrik by his companion, a half-elf named Kael.  After the monthly prayer time of Allaveer, Kael was knighted for his heroic capture of the devious villain and Whiteflight was handed over to the Inquisitor's assistant, Rostfan.  Sir Kael was then instructed to escort the prisoner and Rostfan as far as the Tursen border.  Upon reaching the border village of Merrenbrook, Sir Kael was invited to stay before returning.  During the evening celebrations Sir Kael was poisoned.  After a daring rescue, Sir Kael and Whiteflight were both removed from the clutches of the Green Lady and returned to Kursaval where the latter was pardoned. 
During the Early Summer celebrations Corwin was able to destroy the mysterious Bone Ring which they had recovered from the not-so ruined Castle Belltath the year before.  His deed led him to being knighted in the holy order of Allaveer.  Later that same month a border dispute, partly linked to the events surrounding Sir Kael nearly erupted into war.  Archbishop Grugran, head of the Green Lady’s religious order in Kursaval was tried and executed for treason.  Following a build up of forces a peace settlement was negotiated and both armies retreated, partially.  The Archbishop was raised. 
It was not, however, long before trouble once again erupted at the border.  The young Duke Torman, ruler of Rew, was captured whilst out hunting with Sir Kael and Sir Corwin. After a very daring and near fatal rescue the group managed to rescue the Duke.  Later, Brangwen's stunning feat of riding brought down the treacherous Helren.  In the same encounter Sir Corwin defeated Sir Kerrin in single combat. 
In early autumn the Battle of City Gate took place in Lanmere.  A large barbarian force attacked the town in revenge for several attacks on their raiding parties by Counts Pherenath and Svallrik.  Although the human defenders were victorious Count Svallrik fell in the fight.  Sir Kael was named as his heir, but Rossenfur, Svallrik’s missing half brother, claimed the title.  After accepting defeat, Sir Kael and company attempted to rid a recently disturbed ruined temple of several vampires and a ghost.  During the process the entire group were killed.

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1156

Early in the year Archbishop Grugran, still living in Nyr’Danr, accused Count Rossenfur of Barander of worshipping Mallus, god of the Undead.  Rossenfur denied the claims, stating Grugran was trying to get revenge for his execution in 1155.   Grugran threatened Rossenfur in public in Nyr’Danr, and the King intervened, providing Rossenfur with a Royal Guard and warning Grugran to be sure of his facts.  At the end of Freshyear Grugran’s Chief Inquisitor was killed by the King's body guard protecting Rossenfur.  Within two months the Green Lady was threatening military action unless the king handed over Rossenfur and the guards responsible for her Inquisitor's death. 

On the 28th of Longday, the Order of the Stormsword, comprising of two regiments of heavy foot, lay siege to the border town of Rew.  King Aleksandr declared war within a week and started rallying for support.  Both the Ukrall and the elves of the Larrowmor forest declared themselves neutral in the conflict.  On the 15th of Early Summer the King’s army, aided by the Shire massed outside Nyr’Danr and prepared to move east.  On the 19th of the same month the two armies clashed in the First Battle of Rew.   After twelve hours of heavy fighting the Green Lady was victorious in the First Battle of Rew.  Among the dead were Countess Kira, the King's Field Marshal, and Duke Torman. 
The Green Lady’s army pressed on towards Nyr’Danr, laying siege to the city on the 25th.  On the 6th of Midsummer the Order of the Seasword and the elite Order of the Dragon launched surprise attacks on the Ukrall.   Within a fortnight both Y’Goth and Wearmill had both fallen with little resistance.   Meanwhile at the opening of Reapers' Harvest the Kallergan Highlanders sent reinforcements to Kursaval to try and aid Aleksandr.   At the same time the town of Morwith was also taken, without a fight and the attacking armies move on towards Traiger.   The siege of Traiger lasted less than a week and on the 18th day of Reapers' Harvest the Ukrall surrendered to Turse. 
Kursavalian reinforcements, including the Kallergan Highlanders reached Nyr’Danr, bring a short respite to the beleaguered city.   During Weathers' Month the Shire surrendered to the Order of the Dragon, who then pressed north towards Nyr’Danr.  On their way to the capital, the Order of the Dragon entered the Shirewood and massacred the inhabitants.   At the close of 1156 both armies had dug in for the winter.  Meanwhile the Green Lady started killing those nobles and sheriffs still opposed to her in the Ukrall and the Shire.

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1157

As Spring arrived food levels in the besieged city had run low and the Green Lady’s forces, also suffering from a lack of supplies launched a final offensive.  After nearly ten months of siege King Aleksandr surrendered control of the city to the Green Lady on the 19th of Oaksborn.  The Green Lady spared the lives of most of the citizens but beheaded King Aleksandr XVI, calling him a traitor to his people.  On the first day of Longday. Count Rossenfur declares Barander and its lands an independent state.  It takes the Tursen army nearly three weeks to bring the town to heel.  Rossenfur escaped before the Tursens took the town.
On the 10th day of Early Summer, a fleet of forty war galleys arrived on the north eastern coast of Turse.  They dispatched the White Legion, which immediately laid siege to the Royal Forest, home of the Green Lady.  Within two months the Order of the Dragon had returned to their home to defend it.  On the 25th of Midsummer, the White Legion moved west, conquering the remaining lands of Turse.  The Green Lady confronted her new opponent at the Second Battle of Rew.  After several days of fighting the Green Lady fell at the hands of the new tyrant.  By the end of the year a growing undead army, known as the White Legion, had swept across Kursaval.  Among its victims was Archbishop Grugran who was put to death in a very public execution on the 3rd day of Deepwinter. 

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1158

The early months of 1158 saw Aragorn the White, commander of the White Legion conquer the territories of the Ukrall and declare himself Ruler of Hurssia.  In the Autumn of this year, King Ortar, King of the Larrowmor elves, refused Aragorn’s terms of surrender.   Aragorn declared war on the elven nations.   He also raised a new legion of undead soldiers, the 13th Legion.  On the 20th of Darkeven. King Thekk of Clan Kallergan made an alliance with King Ortar.  At the close of the year Aragorn’s forces launched a disastrous attack on the elven town of Selwynd.  The elves scored a complete victory, inflicting major losses on the White Legion.

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1159

In the spring of this year Aragorn created the 9th Legion, a unit of heavy infantry who have declared their loyalty to him.   The new legion is made up entirely of humans, although nationality is no longer a question.  Among the legion's officers was Rossenfur, former count of Barander, who had become Legate (2nd in Command) of the new legion.   On the 11th day of Oaksborn the new legion launched an attack against the elven town of Selwynd.  Although the losses were not as great as the previous year the elves were once again victorious.
Aragorn next set about reorganising his forces, placing two legions on the borders of the dwarven and elven kingdoms. The 13th Legion was dispersed amongst the provinces (former countries) of Hurssia as a police force.  For the rest of the year the 13th swept through the countryside burning churches and their priests.  The great Colleges of Magic were raised to the ground and their occupants butchered.   Non-humans living in the human settlements were driven out or killed and anyone suspected of being linked to the former ruling families was killed.   Among the dead are the remaining knights and some loyalist soldiers.

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1160

Persecution of spellcasters, nobles and loyalists continues and many are driven away or killed. For many peasants not much has changed.

The spring of 1160 was quiet.  Neither Aragorn nor the elves or dwarves wanted to make a move against each other, leading to stalemate.   In the provinces persecution of spell-casters, nobles and loyalists continued and many were driven away or killed.   The general populace were forced to submit to the rule of the tyrant Aragorn.  Life was fairly hard after several years of war but for many peasants not much has changed.  The country side along with many places where battles were fought, had become dangerous places to roam at night. 
Deep in the Kavil Forest, outlaws had banded together and raided Aragorn's forces to survive. Duke Torman, who had faked his death, gathered useful outlaws to him and sent some to Blakmar to find a missing agent to help in the upcoming war. One of these outlaws was Aspen, once a fighter companion of Whiteflight. There they discovered Sir Kael, Sir Corwin, Brangwen, Chryssiana (the only surviving priest of Tarrak) and Florimel the mage who had all been imprisoned five years before, whilst the rest of the world believed them dead.
Duke Torman sent Brangwen and Sir Kael to the Dwarven Clanholds, to serve the Queen. Far from Kursaval, Queen Tulia I, only surviving child of Aleksandr, was hiding.  There with her loyal remaining knights, she planned an all-out attack on Aragorn.  King Ortar of the elves, King Galar and King Thekk of the dwarves, and Queen Tulia devised a plan to combat Aragorn's forces on all sides, on the first day of 1161.

Headed by Sir Corwin, and aided by Duke Torman, the outlaws accomplished many things in the months leading up to the war. They found Clintmar, a young black dragon who aided their fight, and were noteworthy in irritating Aragorn.  The party also rescued Sir Ketterin and Sir Loark, formerly of Turse, who aided their fight.  Also noteworthy is the pregnancy of Randall: whilst both polymorphed into goats, Randall the bard and Igelkordock Aischros copulated, and Randall became pregnant. 
During their travels, the group were guided by an unknown person to the prison of Krentish, a Silver Dragon. which also held Lucknar, Gold Dragon and Emperor of Hurssia, both imprisoned over two thousand years before.  Duke Quintith, Lord Mage of Kursaval, released the dragons from their imprisonment, who then flew to the Dwarven Clanholds to aid the fight against Aragorn.

Sir Corwin's party prepared for the war. On the eve of 1161, the party stormed the Palace in Nyr'Danr, and successfully killed the generals of Aragorn's army, preventing reinforcements being sent to the battlefield. The soldiers poured out of the palace in panic as Sgt. Kurngrim turned into a bear and ripped apart their commander in a blind beserk. The townsfolk rose up in arms and Nyr'Danr was freed from the control of the 13th Legion.

In the Larrowmoor forest, Aragorn's 9th legion finds itself fighting within the forest. Heavy losses are sustained. At the borders of the Dwarven Kingdoms, the Legion is besieged, unsuspectingly. No reinforcements ever arrive and Hurssia is freed.
In the Larrowmor Forest, a mass illusion left Aragorn's legion fighting within the forest. Heavy losses were sustained. At the borders of the Dwarven Kingdoms, the Legion was besieged, unsuspectingly. No reinforcements ever arrived, and Hurssia was freed. 

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History of Hurssia, 1161 - 1166

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1161

On the first day of the year, Emperor Luknar entered Nyr'Danr triumphant. Queen Tulia I was crowned Queen of Kursaval, and Aragorn banished to Hervaxiath. The undead legions were laid to rest finally, and slowly and surely, Hurssia began rebuilding.  The party were richly rewarded with titles and monies for their deeds - indeed, it is discovered that Randell's issue, 'Corwin', affectionately known as Goat Boy, is heir to the throne of Turse once Duke Randell died. And so life settled down, and continued...

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Hurssia and the New Emperor

Since his release, and the banishment of Aragorn, Luknar has re-declared himself Emperor. Although no one is in a position to argue, several groups have shown their displeasure. Among those who have outwardly sworn loyalty are Queen Tulia I of Kursaval, The Sheriffs of the Shire and King Ortar of the Larrowmor Forest.

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Kursaval

During Freshyear of 1161, Queen Tulia I, oldest surviving child of King Aleksandr XVI was crowned ruler of Kursaval.   Duke Quintith remained as Lord Wizard and Duke Torman continued to rule the Duchy of Rew.  Apart from these two nobles, all the others were new appointments.  Klerryed, the half-elf son of Duchess Neumya of Uridge, became the new Field Marshall.   Sir Kael became Count Kael, and was given the region of Barander to govern.  Lady Brangwen became the Queen's Knight Commander, with her first job to be the organising of new knights.  Princess Jekky became the new ruler of Vern, although she did not take the lesser title of Duchess.  Sir Isandr, one of the last original knights of Issiad, became the Master of the Knights and was given Lanmere and a Counthood (as is traditional).  The towns of Lethander and Uridge were both still in the hands of the Crown, since there had been no new suitable nobles to fill the positions.  A new Lord Chancellor, Lord Chamberlain and Lord Magistrate were also appointed.

 

Turse

At the beginning of 1161 Turse divided up into two nations, as agreed by the resistance forces a year earlier.   East Turse is now ruled by King Ketteran, formerly a knight of the Green Lady.  His appointment has outraged some in Hurssian political circles, namely the Shire, but these have so far been largely ignored.  West Turse is now ruled by King Getyphin, one of the former Barons of old Turse.  The Baron was believed to have died at the hands of the Green lady, some 200 years ago, and thus was not taken into account when Turse was originally divided up.  He had made it quite clear that he does not approve of the split in Turse, or the appointment of his adversary, King Ketteran.  A legal challenge put to the supreme ruler of Hurssia, Emperor Luknar, has failed.  Although neither state has declared war on the other, diplomatic measures are being taken nearer and nearer to their most crude form.

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Ukrall

In the summer of 1161 a group of 'adventurers' rescued Count Ervlich from his own dungeon in his castle in Milger.  Although questions were asked no one is quite sure how he got there or why he wasn't slain.  Since these are largely unimportant, and since he was the last remaining Ukrallish noble, he was crowned King.  Although there was never actually any fighting in the Ukrall, the country had fallen into ruin over the previous decade  and the economy is in a poor state. Many of the senior positions within the Ukrallish regime remain unfilled, even by 1166.

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The Larrowmor Forest and The Grusk Mountains

The Elven and Dwarven kingdoms remained largely untouched by the wrath of Aragorn and the Green Lady.  King Ortar has continued to rule the Larrowmor, as have Kings Galar and Thekk of the Gruskan Mountains.  The only event of note was the birth of Galar's first born in 1157, and the Birthrite Ceremony be held in 1166. During the cermony, war with the goblins broke out, and King Galar was killed.  Duke Vindalf was appointed regent until Thorluck is old enough to assume the crown.

The goblin kingdoms have had two changes of rulership in the described period.  In 1163 King Grutag tragically died in his sleep. As is traditional, his death was far from peaceful.  The next ruler of the goblins was King Larenthug, a goblin of mysterious origins.  He was leader of the White Forests, a splinter group of the Storm Slayers and mortal enemies of the Blood-Claws, of whom Grutag was one.  Larenthug ruled for two years, and tried to implement several political reforms, which were unfortunately not heard over the din of battle!  He was ousted in 1164 by a half-orc named Nardik, a traditional Storm-Slayer and part time mercenary.  In 1166, Nardik battled with the Dwarven Halls of Clan Stonebeard, losing.  Two days later Larenthug returned to take control. Larenthug now wishes to promote peace and culture amongst the goblins.

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The Shire and The Shirewood

The Shire has re-elected its Sheriffs and is peacefully rebuilding the looted remains left by Aragorn.  In an unheard of move they have outwardly criticised the decision to crown Sir Ketteran as King of East Turse.  Although these protests were largely ignored it has shocked some in political circles.   Also on the agenda for the Shire has been the crowning of kings full-stop.  They are currently petitioning the Emperor to abandon the Divine Right of Kings in favour of a more democratic and representative form of government of Hurssia.

The Shirewood has been ruled by Earl Skarrin, the half-elf son of Skarra.  He was given the position by Tulia.  It is unknown whether he has been approached by King Ortar, like his predecessor was.

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The Guilds

Many of the guilds were relatively unaffected by the reign of the Green Lady and Aragorn. Three of note, namely the Guild of Wizardry, The Thieves' Guild and the Slayers' Brotherhood are worth talking about.  The latter two, during the reign of Aragorn, were heavily sought out, although rarely found.  As a consequence of this they both embarked on a campaign of covert operations against Aragorn's troops.  After the fall of Aragorn in 1161, they spent much of the year tracking down his followers, extracting revenge and helping themselves to the rather large piles of taxes that Aragorn had collected.  This brought them into some conflict with the Crown authorities.  Both guilds have now returned to their more original roles, but have profited quite nicely from the fall of the Necromancer.

The Guild of Wizardry was decimated by Aragorn, who feared the guild and wanted them destroyed.  The resulting situation in 1161 was a guild which numbered less than two dozen wizards and a small contingent of dragons.  Most of 1161 has been spent sorting out which spell books survived, and thus which spells, and who would take on the role of Guildmaster.   The small legal wrangle took up much of the year, during which time the guild moved its headquarters to Nyr'Danr, in the complex of cellars beneath the old School of Wizardry.  The matter was resolved by mid-1162, when four Guildmasters were appointed.  The four positions would be totally independent of each other, but would meet on a yearly basis to discus magical matters.

The four new Guildmasters are Silanus Shadonai, an elven mage from the Larrowmor Forest. He spent much of 1162 to 1166 continuing his work to rebuild the Grey School in Y'Goth, Ukrall.  The old Guildhall and many of the research labs and 'holding' pens for extra-planar creatures have been destroyed, and the work has taken some time, with the magical side still incomplete.  Mestranis Quillstrong has become master of the School of Wizardry in Nyr'Danr, which suffered the least at the hands of Aragorn.  Mestranis was responsible for saving most of the Guild's books and historical papers.  Grand Wizard Smake, the very ancient and clever gnome illusionist was never found by Aragorn, neither was his Guildhouse somewhere in South East Hurssia.  Although neither has reappeared, the Guild is known to be in existence again.

The guild's presence in Lanmere has traditionally been led by the head of the church of Tarrak.  Unfortunately, from Aragorn's reign to 1166 there was no High priest of Tarrak, and therefore no Guildmaster.  To this end the Steel Dragon, Ptira, was appointed Acting-Guildmaster, until the former position was filled.   In 1166 Bishop Cryssania was changed into a human as a reward by Tarrak, and ascended to High Priestess. She has now taken up the post of Guildmaster.

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