Northern Wars

Shortly after the conclusion of the War of Brothers and the consolidation of the Kalmasan Samraj, Samrajan Mahendran I turned his new Samraj and its forces towards the goal of achieving his vision of bringing all of Torvalen under Kalmasa’s rule. The colonies of Koryem in southern Barendar to the north, as well as Guryar in southeastern Kemesh had already been well established before before his time and had now come into the sway of the Samraj. However, Mahendran sought lands with established civilization, trade and rule of law to bring within his dominion, places where the difficult and unpredictable work of settling the land and establishing order had already been done by the native people. To this end Mahendran looked far north, to Heimval, particularly to the lands nearest, the large Jolnir rikja of Rotskjoldland existing on the southeastern peninsula of the continent.

Kalmasan explorers had discovered these lands decades ago as part of numerous exploratory expeditions sent out since the time of Gheran bas Arbiram himself. Trade had been established between Kalmasa and Rotskjoldland towns and cities, with the permission of Rik Torvald. Kalmasan envoys provided the rik and his theotans gifts of previously unknown iron and steel weapons and other precious goods. But relations were not perfect, since Kalmasan merchants were occasionally raided by Jolnir pirates and though none could say that Torvald or any of his nobles had a hand in such attacks, neither did Torvald attempt to stop or punish such attacks. Protestations and demands by Kalmasan representatives of trade associations or rajans whose business was disrupted were met with disdain in Torvald’s Golden Hall. He laughingly admonished these foreigners, declaring that if they did not possess the ability to defend what was theirs, they had no right to it and that the Gottir rewarded only the doughty and ready. He advised them that their lyka and wyrd lay not in being tradesmen and that their delicate nature was more suited to being the stewards and scribes of stronger men.

During the War of Brothers, this piracy increased in frequency and many Jolnir sea raiders from Rotskjoldland, smaller Skjoldir rikjar and Ostland went farther by raiding villages along the coast of Koryem , western Kalmasa, even as far down as Guryar. They were hungry for iron and steel and also took captive Kalmasan craftsmen, particularly smiths and shipbuilders, as well as many others who were sold into slavery, mainly to the Vandir tribes of the interior.

After the Samraj’s founding, tradesmen and nobles took their grievances to their new Samrajan. In their protestations he saw many advantages. In it he saw grounds for an active naval defense of Kalmasan trade in the north, the strength and weaknesses of Rotskjoldland’s governance, and also the unassailable moral justification for active attacks on Rotskjoldland itself from its ruler’s own mouth. Mahendran responded to the protests and complaints of these petitioners with displays of righteous indignation and assurances. It was an affront to their people and Lord Evran himself. He declared that the Eshtem had fled their ancient homeland because of such barbarity and that never again would they be forced to run away from their foes. They would stand up to these brutal, uncivilized Jolnir, and show them the strength and resolve of the Eshtem and the supreme power of the Devas. It was imperative that all of Torvalen be made safe for the lone flame of civilization in these wild lands.

A fleet was sent northwards from Koryem to patrol the waters. The ships were Mahendran’s own design and were the fleetest, most powerful vessels known. In addition, a fort was established in the wild northern coastal forests of Barendar. However, the contingent established there was unable to expand and clear the land for but a few miles inland before running into resistance from the ‘tree demons’. These creatures had been encountered years before during the settlement of northern Koryem peninsula of southern Barendar, but only when workmen or forces entered the thick forests.

Since most of Koryem was sparsely forested, rolling plains, there was little incentive to test these strange forest beings. However northern Barendar was forested to the beachline and the only way to have land for farming or to harvest lumber was to clear the thick forests. The ‘tree demons’, later known as the dhun, fought within the forests with consummate skill and strength. Some sung strange songs that brought trees to life, cracked the ground beneath their feet or brought titanic swarms of biting and stinging insects upon them. In the end, a stalemate was reached where the settlement, Fort Marekar, was only able to control an area of 15 square miles. This however proved sufficient for their purpose of establishing a sea port from which to stage attacks northward, quarter reserve soldiers and see to ship repairs and resupply.

During this time the Jolnir of Rotskjoldland were aware of these developments and remained vigilant, but the reports showed that the Kalmasan fleet was much smaller than their own and the soldiers they could bring to bear were also small compared to the horde the Rotskjoldir could set against them. Additionally, the Jolnir were also unimpressed with the relatively short stature of the Eshtem and Calmaxtec foreigners they had seen.

Mahendran died of old age shortly after Fort Marekar was established. His younger brother Makal ascended to the throne and it was he who ordered the initial attacks upon Rotskjoldland. The initial point of invasion was in the marshes and fens near the mouth of the Tugn River at the very tip of the peninsula. The invasion fleet was sighted from the watchtower of one of Theotan Elgur’s forts and his forces were ready to meet them on the flat Hollgard plains just north of the Tugn marshes. Elgur’s forces outnumbered the Kalmasans’ two to one. Elgur’s force was primarily infantry and archers armed and armored in bronze and leather, with a small stordyr mounted cavalry armed with steel swords, axes and spears. The Kalmasan force was composed of infantry and archers in iron chainmail. The infantry wielded long pikes and the archers used composite longbows. Their heavy cavalry were mounted on armored horses, wielding spear, shield and sabre.

The Jolnir took the offensive in that first battle, having the numbers and physical advantage over the Kalmasans, but their lack of understanding of the horses' strength and intelligence as well as the battle magic of Vidvanya jen Dharmu mystics was their downfall. Though their large dadyr mounts were fearsome, with their horns and claws, they were not as easily bidable or trainable as horses and though speedy and hearty, horses were equal in speed and greater in stamina than the keratoplexan mounts.

The battlemages raised themselves into the air, protected by both armor and mystic shields from arrows and sent a great fog sweeping over the Jolnir forces. From their high vantage point, others rained down fire and lightning in the among the jolnir, sending up a panic. During this panic, the Kalmasan archers sent wave after wave of steel tipped arrows into the fog. The infantry then charged in with pikes, driving them back until they broke into a route, when the cavalry attacked and harried them for miles.

The description of this battle by the survivors of Theotan Elgur sent shockwaves throughout the rikja and beyond. Previously, they had only known the Kalmasans to be good sailors and keen merchants, but without courage or strength to dare pose a challenge in open warfare. The magic was both universally reviled and feared for three reasons: It was not solely women using this magic, they were actively using it in battle, and they were not servants of the Gottir. Each act was an abomination on its own, all three at once was unspeakable. Also unspeakable was their undeniable effectiveness.

Kalmasan forces established a series of small forts in the southern tip of Rotskjoldland from which they pushed into the interior. Simultaneously, other landings were carried out on the eastern and western coasts of the peninsula. And though some Jolnir commoners fled inland after their lands were conquered, most stayed, finding that once they offered no more resistance, their villages and people were left unmolested as long as they provided supplies to the occupying force and labored for them in building their forts, for which they were paid in good silver rupyas, better value than most ever received from their own lords for the same goods and services.

Rik Torvald raised a mighty army and navy to respond to this threat. In addition to this he incorporated the Daenir and Saedir sisterhoods in their war effort. The Daenir, servants of Ragna, were expert enchanters and healers. The Saedir, servants of Thera, were masters of winds and water. When the Kalmasan forces attempted similar tactics to those on the plains of Hollgard, matters where decidedly different. Conjured mists were blown back in the faces of the Kalmasan troops, skyborn battlemages were blown out of the sky and dashed to the ground by cyclones. Rik Torvald’s forces were equipped with iron and steel gathered from the vaults of all the great lords. In addition, this gear was blessed with the luck of Ragna, granting men fearlessness, armor turning sword and arrow and blades that struck uncannily true with wounds that did not close. Their navies were evenly matched. The Kalmasan navy vessels were better and stronger, but the Heimval fleet was more numerous and its sailors more skilled in navigating the treacherous northern seas.

Matters had reached a stalemate. Rotskjoldland and its allies now had the time to reorganize and adjust their tactics and strategy from fighting each other to fighting the foreign threat of a technologically superior foe. The sisterhoods became formally incorporated in the armies, with their leaders given rank and command, previously unheard of in the paternalistic Jolnir cultures. More iron mines discovered and opened, mainly in Ostland. In Kalmasa and Barendar, ships were turned out at a fantastic rate, and many were turned into proper artifactual constructs, their sails, hull, and steerage enchanted by highly skilled semioticians of Vidvanya jen Dharmu. Kalmasa continued to hold and fortify Hollgard.

It is believed that Rik Torvald planned to wait out the invaders, rightly understanding that such an expedition would eventually chafe at the Kalmasan lords, since the armies took both labor from the fields and sailors from the merchant ships, thus increasing labor costs while simultaneously raising their taxes. However, some of Torvald’s theotans insisted on bringing the fight to the lytlings. They said it was an embarrassment before the Gottir and the Aettfaðir that the Jolnir twiddled their thumbs and swilled beer in their halls while the foreigners held their land and ruled their people, growing ever stronger. Foremost among these voices was the young, handsome Theotan Mjolkar Mjolkarsen. Mjolkar was a popular lord, both for his treatment of his peasants as well as his skill in speech and song. He was also a veteran of the battles with the Kalmasans.

Over months, Mjolkar won more and more lords to his way of thinking. Whispers had begun among the nobility and peasantry that perhaps Torvald was a coward. Angry and embittered as Torvald was by these whisperings, he realized that allowing this sentiment to grow would result in a call to choose a new rik of Rotskjoldland.

Thus he made plans for a secret attack on the city of Udvala, the main shipyard for the Kalmasan navy in Rotskjoldland and central command of the Kalmasan army. He would march a large force on land, in small, separate forces, who would behave as if they were merely skirmishers. However, the would join together as a force in the Aar forest west of Udvala. Simultaneously, a large fleet would be assembled to attack Kalmasan ships, fleeing at the slightest chance of defeat. At the appointed time, they would gather to blockade Udvala and attack the port at the same time the armies attacked from the forest. This pincer attack would cripple the Kalmasan command. It was hailed as masterful by his war council. Torvald himself would lead the army, appointing his eldest son, Einar as regent in his absence. Mjolkar was appointed as his warchief.

Over the next few weeks, the strategy proceeded flawlessly. Patrols and supply trains were attacked on land while merchant ships and smaller war vessels were attacked by sea. There were no great victories, but there were also no significant losses of men. Finally, the moment of truth arrived. Torvald’s armies, assembled in the dense forest, advanced towards Udvala hours before dawn. They emerged from the forest to find themselves encircled by Kalmasan forces. Though they fought bravely, they were overwhelmed. Torvald was killed by an arrow and Mjolkar was captured, wounded, in addition to many others.

The will of the Skjoldir was broken with the catastrophic loss. Negotiations began, with Mjolkar facilitating in his captivity. Over the course of weeks, an agreement, the Treaty of Udvala, was entered into by the theotans and the Kalmasan Samraj. It allowed the theotans of Rotskjoldland to maintain their holdings and rank, but as provincial lords of the new Kalmasan province of Rotskjoldland. Mjolkar was chosen as rik during a moot approved and attended by the Kalmasan envoy. Officially, he was now rajan of Rotskjoldland. Kalmasa would respect Jolnir traditions and religion as long as Kalmasan Samraj's forces were respected and Samraji law was not violated. In addition, the Skaltir were granted official recognition as a tribe of their own by the Samraj with the protections that went along with that recognition.

Many theotans flocked to Einar’s banner and a desperate civil war played out over the ensuing months, but was ultimately defeated and Einar was hung as a traitor to the Samraj. His younger brother and successful warleader named Skarvi, managed to escape into Ostland on a stolen ship. Afterwards, dark rumors arose that Mjolkar had been an spy and ally of the foreigners all along and that he, known to be friendly with the itinerant Skaltir, had used them to send messages to the Samraj and betrayed the attack. The new status the Skaltir gained only inflamed these rumors, especially among the Daenir, with whom they had always had an antagonistic relationship.

Over the years, Mjolkar proved to be a competent ruler and Rotskjoldland has grown rich from trade and new knowledge and ideas from Kalmasa. He has strived to share this bounty among his people, yet the stain of rumor never went away over his long rule. His son Valki, by his Eshtem wife Vahara, was chosen as rik after his passing, but not without grumbling from many that he was a half-breed and no true Jolnir, and that he also worshipped foreign gods.

These grumblings have only grown in Rotskjoldland after the defeat of the Samraj and loss of the Volenaran colonies. Some have left the province and rallied around Torvald’s last living son, Skarvi Eightfingers, 65 years old and a lord of land and sea in Ostland with a powerful fleet with which he has raided Kalmasan shipping all his life without capture. They hail him as the rightful ruler of Rotskjoldland and have energetically sought to win lords of both Ostland, as well as the Thalkunir rikjar to their cause.