Ghalt

Ghalt is a land of rain and mud; of snow and ice. It is an inhospitable land long left uninhabited by the men of the mortal realms. The culture here is a young one still working to overcome past differences and unite as a single people. The history of Ghalt is likewise short, and even so it is one full of strife and struggle. This is a land shared by the Vostani and the Teugors, both who fled their homelands under threat of sword and flame. They have come to share this land, but this partnership was not one that came easily. Even now that the two people have come together under a shared banner, they are still a fragmented people merely struggling to survive each harsh winter.

CELTIC OPPIDUM ZAVIST - IRON AGE 100 BC by JP Krasny

Structure

Ghalt is not a truly unified nation, and rather exists as a loose confederation of various tribes. There is a high chieftain selected by popular vote from among all the chieftains every ten years, but his power is limited to arbitrating disputes between rival tribes. He has no economic or military authority over the people outside of his own tribe, although a particularly charismatic high chieftain may still try to unite the Ghaltish people under a single banner in times of dire need.

History

The history of Ghalt may not be a long one, but it is a bloody history fueled by the despair of the dispossessed.

From Blood and Snow: A History of the Ghaltish Migrations by Baeleron Marcovici.

The history of Ghalt starts some two hundred years ago in the land now known as the Kingdom of Teugoras. The Teugor had long been a fiercely independent people unwilling to bow down before any man who might call himself king. When a period known as the dark times struck their lands around 650 I.R. however, a strong leader named Kheldan rose up and began to unite the tribes. When he died in 678 I.R., his son Jerrik named himself king and took up the sword to continue the work of uniting the tribes with a simple message: join us or die. Many rose up against this self-proclaimed king of the Teugors, but time and again their rebellions were put down. In the end, those malcontents who survived what would come to be known as the Scouring of Teugoras fled north and settled in the frigid land now known as Ghalt.

For almost a hundred years those who fled north from Teugoras worked to establish a new life. They were left alone by their southern cousins, and the Vostani in the west had no desire to leave their forested home and cross the mountains into Ghalt. That changed when the men of the west came. In 803 I.R., the Mardhelm Empire finally pressed into the lands of the Vostani, sacking the town of Vraenhem and pushing on into the forest. The Vostani fought back, and continue to do so to this day, but many of them fled in the face of such calculated slaughter. Those refugees who wished to leave the threat of imperial domination far behind them did cross the mountains into Ghalt, and found they escaped the imperial sword to be met by the tip of a spear.

Attack of Germanic Tribes against Celts by JP Krasny

For almost ten years, the Teugors of Ghalt fought to repel the Vostani refugees. Although this was no army, entire tribes flooded over and around the mountains. Women and even children took up arms on both sides to either defend their homes or to find a new one. In the end a great moot was called and chieftains from both sides met to seek a resolution. The Vostani were allowed to settle in Ghalt and the confederation of tribes was founded.

Organization Type

Geopolitical, Province

Government Type

Confederation

Founding Date

725 I.R.

Demonym

Ghaltish

Associated Ethnicities

Vostani
Teugor

First King of the Ghaltish

Beowulf Concept by Dermot Power

Although the people of Ghalt have coexisted peacefully for almost fifty years under their confederation of tribes, one chieftain has recently grown to power above his peers. Handrecht of Jechio leads the first tribe to found a true city in Ghalt. He has established trade with his Teugor cousins in the south, and imports arms, armor, and even mercenaries from Teugoras. He has named himself King of the Ghaltish and challenged any chieftain to refute the claim. Thus far none have come forward, seeing the upstart as little threat behind his city walls. But, should another high chieftain be named in his stead at the next great moot, the would-be monarch will likely respond with violence. The Teugorian king might see Handrecht as a potential puppet lord, but the chieftain has his own plans for Ghalt. Primarily among them is the subjugation of the Vostani. After this, one can not be sure how vast his ambition might be.