Kingdom of Ocila
The Kingdom of Ocila, founded in 1 OA and dissolved in 325 OA, was a powerful kingdom that controlled the western Ioforan region of Dausus. It was established and ruled by the Blackwood Royal Family after their flight from the Talic conquest of their homeland. The three centuries of their rule was an era of peace and order, interrupted by periods of aggressive Ocilan expansion and brief civil wars. Revered by many and loathed by others, whether or not Blackwood rule was ultimately beneficial to the region is a topic departed among many contemporary historians.
History
Arrival in Southern Dausus
By 25 BKO, the ever-expanding Talic Empire had reached the borders of Ocalis, the native lands of the Ocilan people. War quickly broke and in just six months, the empire had annexed all of Osalis. For two years, Marcalis Blackwood and his army harried the Talic occupying forces. However, they were unable to earn any significant victories and were dealt several crushing defeats costing thousands of lives. With two armies closing in on him, Marcalis fled with his forces in the fall of 23 BKO. As they traveled west, thousands of common-folk joined them, not wanting to be a part of Talic rule. In the Spring of 22 BKO the Ocilans settled in a small area that was disputed by the Republic of Camrbiss and the feudal lords of Southern Dausus.
This inevitably set up a series of conflicts with both groups. Marcalis quickly ceded the eastern banks of
They were a battered and broken people refuged in a foreign land. A general and an army with a dozen lost battles to its name had fled from a scorched countryside alongside terrified peasants. Yet within the span of a single human generation, they established a kingdom that would last for three centuries.
the Serebor River to Cambriss in exchange for a non-aggression pact. Once peace with Cambriss was ensured, Marcalis turned his attention towards the Dausians. Using the experience they gained fighting the Talic Empire, the Ocilans were able to force the Dausian lords into submission, and one-by-one they all swore fealty to Marcalis. In 1 OA Marcalis was crowned King of Ocila.
The Early Years
by MOM
In the years that followed, Marcalis continued on a military westwards along the coast to subjugate most of the remaining Southern Dausian lords. In 8 OA, Marcalis died and his son, Tosalis, took the throne. Shortly after, Tosalis completed the conquest of Southern Dausus. His rule consisted of fighting off aggressors from the north and eventually subjugating them into the kingdom as well. As the kingdom grew, Tosalis decided Lionspride was no longer strategically positioned to support his conquests. In 28 OA, Toslais moved the capital to the lake-side city of Raykan and renamed it Ocilion. Towards the end of his rule, House Elwin married into the royal family and together, they broke apart the Uk'orin people of The Northern Wall, but were never able to bring the region under their rule.
By 58 OA, Ocila controlled both the southern and central regions of Dausus and was surrounded by natural barriers on all sides. For the first time in over 80 years, the Ocilan people felt secure and the kingdom entered a period of peace and stability. Diplomatic relations opened with the Northern Dausian power of Foxdale and they entered a long-term trade partnership that included the construction of a 1,500 mile-long trade route.
Height of Ocilan Power
Relations with Foxdale broke down during the rule of Marcus I. What started as a dispute over mineral rights evolved into a war between the two powers in 172 OA. While Gaelyn Fox initially had success working his way past the Northern Wall towards Ocilion. His forces would never make it that far and the Royal Army pushed Gaelyn back to the city of Foxdale. In 176 OA, Gaelyn swore fealty to Marcus I. With their new territorial gains, Ocila now had direct access to the Murgothi Desert and Crystal Waves. Marcus I quickly established trade relationships with the Murgothi Confederacy and even the Talic Empire. The following hundred years were considered a golden age for the kingdom and its people – crops were bountiful and even farmers were able to increase their wealth by selling their surplus crops to merchant caravans and ship captains.
It was during this period that the Ocilan rulers began constructing great monuments to their rule, culture, and religion while leaving the culture and of the Dausian people largely unacknowledged. This audacious display of cultural dominance would act as the catalyst that would lead to the kingdom's demise. Many Dausians were left feeling slighted and began plotting with Dausian nobles who had been passed over for important government roles. The reigns of King Marcus II and King Tolren would be defined by putting down peasant revolts and separatist movements.
The Fall of Ocila
The golden age ended with the assassination of King Tolren by Foxdelian separatists in 286 OA and the brief civil war that followed. At the conclusion of the war, King Marcus III turned the attention of the Royal Army towards dealing with the separatists' backers, the Amethyst Trade Bloc. For the next four years Marcus fought a grueling war along the isthmus connecting Dausus and Awira, until the Murgothi Confederacy's failed siege of Dune's End and subsequent march south forced him to give chase. In 291, the two armies engaged each other in the Battle of Fairise Plains in which Ocilan battle mages turned on the king, killing him and destroying both armies in the process.
With several separatist movements newly emboldened and rumors of the Royal Army reanimated as shambling corpses on the move, the newly crowned Atrena Blackwood fled Ocilion and joined her last remaining allies in Elwin's Keep. From there she would attempt to rule a crumbling kingdom with no success until 325 OA when the Urlak Ork tribe attacked the keep killing her, her children and grandchildren, and the last of the Blackwood allies. While the Kingdom of Ocila had lost all their political and military power in 291, this marked the official end of the kingdom and the House of Blackwood.
The People of Ocila
At the height of Ocila's power, the kingdom encompassed all of the native lands of the Dausian people. Over 90% of the human population were of Dausian decent, while only 5% of the population were Ocilan. The remainder were of various foreign ethnicities and mostly lived along the eastern border regions of the kingdom. While the Dausian people were allowed to keep their faith and culture, most of the Crown's funding designated for cultural and religious projects went towards temples and organizations run by Ocilans. This, combined with the difficulty Dausian nobility had in obtaining prestigious positions in the government, led to the many separatist movements seen in the later years of The Second Peace.
In addition to the human populations, the halflings of the regions, living predominately in small farming communities, are also considered citizens of the kingdom. Largely reclusive, they remained largely unaffected by the political changes over the three centuries of Ocilan rule, though they did enjoy reduced raiding from the orc, goblin, and gnoll tribes. Communities of Awiran dwarves were also found throughout the port towns along the Ocilan coast. Combined, halflings and dwarves made of 5% of the citizenship.
The formerly unified Uk'orin orc tribes in the Northern Wall were never considered citizens of Ocila. Diplomatic relations were maintained with them through House Elwin, though they were usually tense and often hostile.
Territory
At the height of its power, Ocila controlled the entire regions of Dausus. The western border was defined by the Sunset Depths. To the north, the Iceway formed an inhospitable barrier between Ocila and Awira. A thousand miles south, the Serebor River divided the great kingdom from the Cambriss Republic. On the eastern side, Avolenth's Spine provided a strong, natural boundary with the Murgothi Desert.
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