Averheim's History Overview

Averheim is firmly planted in central Calador as one of the more developed and powerful kingdoms on the Northern continent. They are modeled somewhat on Medieval Europe and have a caste system of knights, nobles, ladies, and the peasantry workforce. The kingdom is divided by houses that govern their respective territories and answer to the king of the realm. The main houses are the: Warwoods, Covenriver, Keenbinder, Proudsong, Rosegloom, and Ravenridge houses. Each house governs the territory that their families live in and conflict between the houses is usually kept to dueling and open military conflicts between the families are rare. All of the house leaders report to Averheim's king as part of his council court, and are expected to pay dues of taxes, troops, and goods to the capital every year. Averheim was founded by the Urador initially, who fled from the White City during the War of the First Bloods and settled in central Calador. Warrior Titus Jorag founded the City of Stratholme and dedicated a Cathedral monument to the Lady Gya who had brought them away from the Civil War that ravaged the world at the time. Titus founded the Kingdom as its first king under the laws of chivalry and knighthood, and is often credited as Forlonde's first White Knight. The Realm surged in population growth for 34 years as bloody conflicts continued to erupt around Sirrus the Blackheart's uprising and forced many refugees out of their homelands and into Averheim. Things changed however, when Jothram Jorag took the throne after his father passed, and Gya's ambition only increased with her newfound champion and Averheim's power at her disposal. She directed Jothram in a dream to invade the Northern Realms, where Gya's brother Drogos had settled with the Manakiim, and waged war on her sibling for control of the Northern Peoples. This conflict was known as the First Holy Crusade, and the land was torn for 5 years from intense conflict between the North and the South. Jothram continued to grow in power and Zeal for Gya's will, and declared the Theocracy that would change Averheim forever. All followers of any other faiths would be put to the sword or imprisoned. These reforms earned Jothram the title of "The Butcher." The first crusade finally ended when Jothram's sister Tetra, married the Drogos the Dragonlord and sealed peace between the 2 peoples for a time. While King Jothram was returning home, his returning company of knights were ambushed at the Mana Valley ford, and a stray arrow struck Jothram in the throat and he died shortly after. Jothram was recovered by a roaming patrol investigating his absense. When news of Jothram's death returned home, his son Boram Jorag reigned in his stead. The realm prospered under Boram, and peace reigned in Averheim for the first 12 years of his ascent to the throne. Averheim once again was dragged into the conflict of the Great War, as men and monsters poured over the border into the lush Urador territories. It was during this time that Boram issue the command to gather all of his kingdom together to defend the realm from the invaders. This order was known as the pact of the Dawn, and all of the Noble houses were under oath to respond to the king's summons with troops and supplies within the next 3 days. Boram Rode with his armies to meet the invaders head on to spare his people the slaughter that would have been in the countryside and evacuated the outermost villages and hamlets into the inner territories. The Knights of Averheim fought bravely, but the horde of nightmarish monsters continued to gain ground within the kingdom. Day by day, more and more continued to fall to the darkness that was choking the land, until a warrior named Alphus slew the dark general Borkist the Bloodthirsty during the battle of the burning thickets and routed over half of his fighting forces. Boram later arranged for Alphus to marry the Mistran princess Hunae and secured an alliance with the elves in the process. With the Help of the Mistrans, Boram and Alphus rallied what remained of Averheims knights and made a push into the dark territories to put an end to the rampaging monsters once and for all. The alliance pushed deep into the corrupted lands and finally defeated Sirrus the Blackheart at his castle as he was trying to assume the Mantle of the Ivory Throne, and banished him to the Nether along with his hordes. Peace again returned to the land, and Boram was Known as Boram the Just and ruled his people fairly until his death of old age 45 years later. His grandson Dunwin then reigned in his stead. Dunwin, who would later be known as "The Builder" was a skilled architect and administrator, and built paved roads between the major cities. King Dunwin focused his efforts on improving the fortresses on the borders and strengthening the kingdom's infrastructure at every possible turn. These improvements brought in more trade from foreign kingdoms and merchants, and even the lowest classes saw some major improvements to their quality of life.