Duchy of Thorpes
The Duchy of Thorpes is an independent duchy primarily populated by gnomes. Situated about the Tralin River, some gnomes resettled their ancestral homeland following the Great Revolt.
History
Pre-Elven Era
Before the Conquest, gnomes lived along the Tralin River in central Khalon. A sedentary people, gnomes grew crops and created fine wood crafts. This way of life came to an end when Morenthyr demanded gnomish submission in 396. For over thirty years, gnomes fought alongside pre-imperial human nations to hold back Morenthyr, but eventually they were worn down. Expelled out of their land in 431, bands of surviving gnomes wandered in all directions, scrounging for survival. Their human allies fell soon after, being forced to live in servitude. Eventually, surviving gnomes would congregate and form the Cavalcade, living as nomads.Elven Era
With the gnomes forced out of their lands, the area which would become the Duchy was sparsely populated. The Thyrian government offered land grants to encourage elven settlement, with limited success. Throughout the imperial era, the Tralin was populated with scattered plantations which used human labor to produce crops to export to the south. During the Great Revolt, the few elves who ran the plantations on the Tralin were either killed or fled in the fighting. Scattered villages of freed humans were all that remained.Post-Elven Era
Following the success of the Great Revolt, some influential members of gnomish society called for the gnomish people to resettle their ancestral homeland along the Tralin River. Backed by Fenci the Unyielding, one of The Devoted, a few thousand gnomes settled the area in the late 1370s and early 1380s. Early tensions between gnomish settlers and the existing human inhabitants were quickly quelled as the local economy prospered, providing much needed stability to the region. Fenci the Unyielding became the de-facto leader among the settled gnomes, negotiating with nearby nations. The collapse of the short-lived state of Lysia led to Thorpes bordering Treavley to the north and Ilyria to the south. Border tensions across Khalon led to a period of intense negotiations culminating in the signing of the Calydonian Accords in 1377. The Accords established the Duchy of Thorpes as a region of Ilyria, with Fenci the Unyielding becoming formally recognized as Duchess. In the ensuing years, Thorpes grew as an important stop along the highway connecting Treavley and Calydon.
Founding Date
1377
Type
Geopolitical, Duchy
Demonym
Thorpian
Parent Organization
Related Ethnicities
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