Ostoyas Founding

Founding

Elias Beralt and his followers travelled across the Grey Spine and claimed the lands behind those mountains as the community and later empire of Ostoya

Ostoya was founded centuries ago by Bürach secessionists—migrants who fled the fledgling Bürach Empire’s tumultuous early days to find a more peaceful country. A nobleman named Elias Beralt led his family and followers through the treacherous passes of the Grey Spine, emerging on the other side to find a country lush with pine woods and rolling hills. He named it Ostoya, which in the ancient tongue means “Our Own.”   Over the years, a loose confederation formed among the communities trying to carve a living out of the wild lands. The most successful of these became the provinces of Soma to the south and Raevo to the north. Other settlements of note include Malkovia, Fallowheart, Riven, and Voyd.   The Ostoyans worked hard to tame the land, clearing forests for livestock and lumber. With the discovery of coal and precious minerals in the foothills of the Grey Spine, mining towns soon opened, followed by roads and byways. Further to the east, explorers discovered a break in the seaside cliffs that led to a natural harbour. Here they founded the coastal city of Nov Ostoya, which became the seat of the Ostoyan Aristocracy.   While Ostoya was not known to have large populations of natural predators such as wolves and bears, every now and then people were known to disappear for good, often with signs of a struggle.