Aduëlian

Granting southern kin refuge

Ice Scene near a Wooden Observation Tower by Jan van Goyen

In recent generations it became a common thread of worry for all tribes that call themselves Aduëlian meaning "from the northern lands". Whenever the southern kingdom stretched out its greedy fingers for the hills beyond their borders, whenever Knights rode out at the behest of their lord, eventually it meant a choice for the tribe closest to the Kingdom Aruël:

Bend to the might of the riding Lords, accept your new kings tax,
forsake the spirits of old and worship only the new goddesses.

or

Abandon your home and move to the north, while your lands join the enemy.

And for your northern neighbors it meant a dilemma. Most tribes of Aduël feud with each other over land, hunting rights, family disputes and much more. People outside your social group are distrusted first, despite of how much you have in common with them overall. But at the same time, they are not invaders, but people who would rather abandon their ancestral home than join the Kingdom to the south, which you may dislike even more than your neighbors, if only just.
Even more so, you must keep in mind that now that they are coming north, it may be you against the might of the crown of the continent in only a generation or so.

And so, the people of the north bear this burden. The refugees are most often not turned away. They join your home and in almost no time, you may even forget that they are different from you. Yes, they may have strange perspectives sometimes, they may skin a rabbit in an unusual way or go about Appeasing the Spirits in a weird way. Yes, they may not share your blood.
But in the end, they are human too and you can thank the spirits that you were born further north than them. For now that is.

But what about those who stay?

If you choose to submit to the expansion instead of fleeing, there are new expectations awaiting you:

• Pay the Kings tax: You will be subservient to a local lord who represents the crown in all matters. They expect your fealty, but more importantly, they expect you to pay a tenth of what you produce.
• Worship the Trinity: Instead of the Spirits of old, or any other religion, you are to only worship the true faith of the The Trinity of Noria.
• Follow the Kings laws: This is the most problematic one from a practical point of view. The person who judges the common folks behaviour and decides how to interpret the law is the local lord. Given that their new serfs often do not have any grasp on the laws of the Kingdom, this gives the lord a great deal of control over how they want their new lands governed.
• Send one fighting man (or woman) as levies if your lord calls you to war: This of course means that in only a couple of years, you may be forced to take up arms in the next expansion.

In return there are some benefits to being part of the Kingdom, though for many they do not outweigh the problems:

• Protection: The new lord often brings with him an entire retinue of knights, which are bound by their oath to uphold safety and order for their lord and King.
• Access to the trade network of the Kingdom. Often only some months or years behind the army that conquers a land are travelling merchants looking to tap into this new market. They bring with them tools developed and forged in the plains to the south, cheap grain, and wines from the vineyards along the Morin. Yes, some daring traders also trade with free Aduëlian tribes, but the sheer amount of new goods coming northwards sees a significant uptick.

What would you choose?

Now, dear reader, that you know what deal this devil is offering you, would you take it? Can you swallow the new problems you might face and enjoy your new situations benifits? Or would you rather live outside the oppressive thumb of a feudal realm.