Knights of Gosca

Founded by Pope Urban IV following the third crusade and raching its territorial height by the fourth crusade, the Knights of Gosca, or Gosca, was a knightly realm that controlled the holy lands of southern marcia. In a thousand year long history, the knights of Gosca protected the Divinitist holy sites of their realm and went on to manage a key Marcian power and state throughout the third age.
Created to fight the Seldrinar Supremacy, the crusader state would eventually fall to their elven enemies in the 40 Year War with all their former territory now under the control of the elven state. Once the pride of the human nations, the fall of Gosca remains a painful memory for Divinitists around the world with the most sacred lands of the faith now under the control of a heathen and hostile state.

Structure

The Knights of Gosca was ruled as a military state by the grand council of the Goscan Knights in Arcadia. The state worked as a unitary authority with smaller dioceses to manage local issues based at key towns and castles throughout the region. The knights would occasionally hire civilians to help with lower levels of beaurocracy, but as a rule if there was something the state did, you would be dealing with a knight of any rank directly.

History

Ancient History

The Holy Land of southern Marcia has always been a borderland between the Marcian and Southern regions of Prima Terra. In Ancient history, the land went by numerous names but was largely inhabited by gnomes and halflings. The region was partially settled as a frontier land by the giants of the mythic age, and became a core part of the Sun Elf Empire in the first age.
Much of the more ancient settlements and relics were likely destroyed by the First Soulthek War, with only sparsely found lone columns, building foundations, or sunken walls now found to remind us of the empire's that once stood here. This abandoment saw the human Altruscii and Gallyian tribes move into the region in the second age, along with a post-rexian exodus of Divinitst followers from the great steppes during the second Soulthek War.
The Marcian Empire would absorb the region and incorporate it into its Gnomeria, Marcia Major, and Marcia Minor provinces. By the time of the Marcian Empire, the region had a strong Divinitist following and its own unique south marcian culture mixing human, halfing, and gnome styles of life. From this mixing pot, the Last Prophet was born in Nazarentia in 1933. The Prophet roamed Southern Marcia with their three apostles of the future Saints Vitus, Tannacus, and Cannow.
Touring the region performing miracles and evangelising the population, the Last Prophet would be arrested by the corrupt Marcian authorities and executed in the town that would later be called Perdition. From this southern region, the new divinitist church sprung into existence. The three apostles continued to spread the reformed religion and would go onto convert the entire Marcian Empire from the old religion to the new one.
The region became a hub for pilgrims in the early church, with holy sites made at places the Prophet was born, lived, and where they died at Perdition. It was from the 20th century of the second age the land became collectively known as the holy land by the citizens of the Marcian Empire and beyond, with the collective former tribes, villages, and kingdoms being bound under the single name. New holy sites would emerge around the birthplaces of Saint Tannacus, Vitus, and Cannow in their respective home towns.
Much of the region was devestated by the Vandalgarian invasion during the 2070s and was the site of the infamous Battle of Vitallium where Emperor Garatus was captured by the Vandalgarians and dragged back to New Rexia. The region saw some stabily by the Castian dynasty, but peace would be short-lived as the fall of the empire came and the region was swallowed by the barbarian kingdoms of Norvjold and Marschland, with the latter taking the holy city of Perdition.
The Holy Land would be liberated by an East Marcian woman named Catherine of Arcon, later St. Catherine, with new kingdoms emerging from the cities of Arcadia and Reveria. These small regions would ally themselves closely with the papal states in Neapia, essentially acting as an extension of the pope's own fiefdom from the dark ages onwards.

Crusades and Origins

The fate of the holy land would be changed forever with the rise of its future conquerer, the Seldrinar Supremacy, on its southern border. The Seldrinar invasions of the southern kingdoms saw refugees flood north, including the former Divinitist kingdom of Goscantinople. As an act of solidatarity, Pope Lucius II granted lands to these refugees in the holy land, granting them special privilages as march lords and defenders of the sacred sites.
The allowance of these escaped 'enemies of the state' to settle right on their border angered the then ruler of the Seldrinar, Supremator Myras. Myras invaded the Holy Land - angering the papacy and Divinitist world. Lucius II called for a crusade to defend the 'lands of the prophet and saints' and warriors from across the human world marched south to push back the elven menace.
By the crusade's end, the Holy Land was occupied by knights, nobles, lords, and crusader orders from every Divinitist country in Marcia and the West. The region was divided between these powers, collectively known as the Crusader States. In truth, these were small bickering nations who were barely the sum of their parts. This weakness and division lasted a hundred years until the Seldrinar would return and the third crusade was declared.
The Third Crusade was a defensive war against the Seldrinar invasion of the eastern most crusader states in Acua Vitae, Paladium, Zebre, Aluria, and Victorae. Pope Urban IV, the warrior pope, took a more direct role in the war itself, organizing and using his charisma and leadership to rally all the crusader armies behind the holy banner. The Seldrinar would be driven to a standstill in the Sun Mountains, and a white peace would be signed as Urban's health failed.
The peace saw the Seldrinar keep control of Zebre, Purgatoria, Drydalis, Prima Signa, Paladium and Acua Vitae. The Papacy then began a massive restructing of the crusader nations, bringing the various religious orders and fiefdoms under a single new banner - the Knights of Gosca.

Fourth Crusade

The Goscan Knight leadership was created by merging the most prominent paladin crusader orders and taking their most talented warriors and leaders. The Knights were granted the remaining lands and headquartered themselves on the island fortress of Arcadia. The Knights, under their first Lord Commander, united rigourously trained their new forces, inducting knights from across the holy land and rallying them together for what would comen next. Urban's successor, John III, would call on the new holy order and others to begin the fourth crusade to retake what the Seldrinar had occupied.
This crusade was quick and effective, showing the strength of a united holy army. The Holy Land was again united as one, with the Knights of Gosca as their new protectors and owners. The Knights made quick work of building defences on their borders with the Seldrinar, expanding keeps and walls, building trenches and watchtowers across their southern lands. The Knights had beaten the supremacy so hard it would not return until to the region until the next age.

Height of the Holy Order

The late second age and early third age would be the height of the order's power and prestige. For 600 years, the Knights of Gosca would be the most famed military in the Divinitist world and kept a vigilant watch on the Supremacy to their south. The order was neutral on all international affairs, seeing their mission as to protect the holy land only and not interfere beyond it. They would not openly go to war unless called upon or attacked and would care for all who came to their realm.
The Order went about building castles, walls, churches, and rest stops across their realm. New sanctuaries and shrines would be opened up on all the main pilgrim roads with the Goscan order often helping travellers from holy site to holy site. The order also fostered new seminaries for trainee clerics with instututes in Arcadia housing some of the most important theologicial and philosophical minds of the age.
Even as the Seldrinar rebuilt and looke to interfere beyond their own borders again, competing with the newly formed Eldrian Empire to influence the Marcian kingdoms, The Goscans remained neutral from this interference and fiercly independent. Neither side could use their usual tactics with the knights as their firece codes of honour and honesty protected them from subterfuge and corruption with some of the most chivalric and lawful rulers ever seen.

Marcian Wars

Like the other Marcian states, the third age height of the Marcian States would come to a calamitous end with the start of the Marcian Wars. It had been over half a millenium since war last shook the Holy Land, and although the knights were trained for war, none had seen it beyond fighting brigands or monsters. The Seldrinar had become strong and powerful, and had been capitalising on the Terror period of East Marcia - annexing the Selonny region in the fifth century. Tensions rose between the supremacy and the new human power, the Eldrian Empire, with both buying up the loyalty of the Marcian factions.
War would begin when the Eldrian supported king of East Marcia, Francis X, invaded Selonny. The Goscans had hoped to remain neutral, but empire had gained influence over the pope, who called on the Goscans to crusade against the Seldrinar and liberate the east marcian lands. The knights went to war once more. Goscan territory was relatively unscathed during the war outside of a Seldrinar occupation of Drydalis. The Goscans had managed to repel Seldrinar armies ten times from the valley fortress of Prima Signa and successfuly invaded the Supremacy supported Altruscia.
The greatest loss to the knightdom in the wars was manpower. Tens of thousands of knights and holy warriors died in the fifty five long year period of conflict. Although their land remained unscathed, the loss of life impacted harvests and declining numbers of pilgrimages, causing an economic and production decline. Like their fellow West Marcian states, the Knights of Gosca signed the Treaty of Saunton and marched on the Seldrinar forces with a large push into the occupied Duchy of Aquitaine to their east and assisting the Altruscians in invading Seldrinar Prime.
By the end of the war, there was not a knight in the order who hadn't seen the horrors of war and confluct, and although they were on the winning side, the goscans were exhausted from conflict with many losing their idealistic world view and retiring from the order completely.

Decline

The Goscan order would never recover from the Marcian Wars, and would spend the next 500 years limping to its eventual death. The entire Marcian region were now firmly under the thumb of either the Supremacy or the Eldrian Empire in one way or another, and as the human world turned to Eldron for guidance and protection, the influence and prestige of the Goscan order faded from memory.
The order continued its work in the holy land - restoring what was damaged and continuing to protect and maintain the holy sites and churches, but to many they were a relic of a by-gone time of crusades and feudal lords and kings that had no place in the modern world. The once proud order saw it's numbers shrink as fewer and fewer faithful travelled to Arcadia to take their oaths.
Although the region was generally prosperous and peaceful in the five hundred years between the Marcian Wars and the 40 year war, to the outside world the order was a minor player in a land of emperors and science. The Eldrians saw them as a reduant tool, the papacy saw them as an unfortunate legacy, the Marcians saw them as a meaningless player, and the Supremacy saw them as an easy target for when they were ready to strike again.
The repuation of being byzantine and unfit for purpose was definitely unfair to the Goscans, as successive lord commanders had done much to modernise and improve their realm. The order maintained their defences as best they could, had state of the art weapons and armour, and kept their reputation as chivalrous and noble defenders of the faith, but this would not be enough to save them from the inevitable.

40 Year War and Collapse

To the world's surprise, the Knights of Gosca had lived into the new millenium, but it was clear to many they would soon be at the vanguard of a new conflict for the fate of Marcia. Whilst the Eldrians began their death spiral in the 990s, the Seldrinar Supremacy, now fully rebuilt and ready to try and expand their lands once more, began to push small forces into the border regions of Goscan territory.
These border conflicts were small, and often only invovled a handful of troops and minimal deaths on either side, but they did send alarm bells ringing within the order. From 998 onwards, Lord Commander Geoffrey Rallane would tour the Divinitist kingdoms warning them the Seldrinar were planning something, but none would listen. The Empire was in the midst of a civil war, the Commonwealth was newly independent and wanted to remain out of the geopolitical minefield that Marcia could be, and the Marcian Kingdoms themselves had become complacent with the peace or were panicking as they sought new allies as the Eldrians warred amongst themselves.
Rallane warnings would come true as in 1002, the Seldrinar launched a two pronged invasion into East Marcia and The Holy Land. The Knights fought valiantly, but they were ultaimtely alone. Joining the Eldrian Faction, their allies were preoccupied on other fronts. The Empire and East Marcia were deep within the latter's kingdom being pushed back by the sizeable Seldrinar force, their Altruscian allies to the North had sent some reinforcements but were ultimately stuck in war with Estrella, and Iranno was torn between defending the East Marcians and Altruscians, whilst the papacy was too far north and small to do anything to defend the holy order. The Goscans were alone.
Despite their armour, numbers and strategy would win the day for the Seldrinar. Battle Mages blasted through Prima Signa and devestated the central regions. Fighting was tough in the Sun Mounts, but the outmanouvered knights were pushed back at every pitched battle and crushed at every siege. Slowly each Goscan fortress was defeated, and their numbers continued to shrink. The Holy cities of Nazarentia and Perdition fell despite a desperate last stand for each sanctuary.
Eventually, the remaining organized knights were driven back to their capital at the island fortress of Arcadia. Lord Geoffrey had spent much of the pre-war period rebuilding Arcadia's ancient and impressive walls moats, and defences. The bridges to the city were destroyed, scorpian ballistae placed atop every tower, and internal city defences constructed hastily. Arcadia with stood siege for two years using what resources it had - including its long hidden resrves of Rexian Fire, an oily substance that could burn on water, to hold back the Seldrinar transport ships and fleets.
But as their numbers decline with each skirmish along the walls, the Seldinar would eventually push there way in. Every knight fought till they could not longer, with Commander Geoffrey dying before the sanctuary of St Vitus. The Seldrinar victory saw the entire holy land occupied, and despite a desperate Altruscian push the Divintists would lose it completely.
With the fall of Arcadia, the papacy officially disbanded the order. Many surviving knights would struggle on using gureilla tactics, but none would survive. The Seldrinar outlawed the order and its symbols, hunting any survivors or collaborators. The last known knight, Edward Grantson, a Southaxian, would die trying to protect Aquitanian refugees in East Marcia.

Demography and Population

Gosca was mixed state of gnomes, halflings, and humans with a sizeable half-elf and southern elf minority in the region. Since the 40 year war, the human population has decreased massively with gnomes and halflings making the majority of the population. The human population originated from mixed backgrounds, with the crusader armies from several states going onto form their own hybrid south marcian culture that mixed elements from around the western nations of Prima Terra.
At its height, the Goscan realm enjoyed a high life expectancy and stable birth to death rate with a steadily increasing population across most of its history with a few key wars as anomolies. Life in the holy land was amongst the highest standard of living throughout the late second age and into the first century of the third age.

Territories

Goscan territory spanned the south marcian Holy Lands, bordering the Silver Coast of the South Terrasic to its west, the Pythonic Dales to its south, and its eastern territory being entirely located within the southern top of the Sun Mounts. The Goscans controlled the divinitist holy cities of Arcadia, Nazarentia, and Perdition. Outside of the control of the holy sites, the goscan's key territorial asset was the agricultural South Marcian plains, a grass savannah home to wild game ranches, vinyards, and fruit orchards.

Military

The Goscan Military were an exclusively holy order of paladins dedicated to Divinitism. Paladin's could take an oath to any saint or to Divinitus or the Last Prophet themselves. Oaths to the faith as an abrasct were also common throughout the 1000 year history of the order. Anyone from around the world, so long as they worshipped Divinitus, could come and join the order. This made the military the most multi-cultural armed force in the region, housing knights from the Eldrian Empire, Tumbria, Kernow, Aedrinar, East Marcia and across the west marcian states.
As as a stratocractic society, the knights were not just soldiers but local guards, town councils, builders, escorts, tax collects, healers, or anything the state as a whole needed them to do. Every knight was equipped for all manners of combat, but the majority worked as heavy infantry using one-handed weapons and shields with a heavy cavalry support. Towards the end of their ruler, many started to take up forms of battle magic and arcane artillery.
All but extinct, those knights who survived the fall of Arcadia would die fighting in other fronts on the war, with any supporters or left over knights in occupied territory purged and executed. The last known Goscan knight died in 1034, not accounting for knights who were purged by the Seldrinar Supremacy.

Victory in Faith. Faith in Victory

Knights of Gosca territory (red) before the start of the 40 year war in 1002, 3e.

2439, 2e - 1007, 3e

Type

Geopolitical, Protectorate

Alternative Names

Gosca

Demonym

Goscan

Government System

Stratocracy

Power Structure

Autonomous area

Economic System

Market economy

Official State Religion

Divinitism