The Complete History of Erinia

The Complete History of Erinia by Luris Thomsonov
Greetings, my name is Luris Pharaim Thomsonov and I am a historian hailing from the town of Merchant in the Lakedon Republic. I have recently decided to take upon the task of writing this comprehensive work, a full history of the Erinian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth of Erinia stands today as an all-encompassing entity. A massive nation that includes the entirety of the western world and beyond. Writing an unbiased account of its history while stationed in the Garmanel institute of culture, an institution that receives almost a majority of its funds from the erinian government, will be no easy task. However, I discovered early in my academic years that there was no recent comprehensive and easy to understand summary Erinia's history. I will take it upon me and hope that the dear reader will find knowledge and perhaps even some enjoyment out of these texts.

Chapter 1 - A brief history of the Arostrians
To understand the history of the Erinian Commonwealth fully, we must first look its predecessors, the free state, the kingdom, and the three republics, and to understand these we must first look at the people that who them, the Arostrians. These people should be no strangers to anyone, as they make up approximately 80% of the commonwealth's population today (and besides the fact that I myself belong to this group and so do the vast majority of my readers). These Arostrians that have come to dominate the continent of Dovania took their name from their original homeland, the island of Arostria. There are no particularly trustworthy sources regarding the early days, the most comprehensive one being the famous Arosancia, most likely written as a piece of propaganda by Lord Alapold the Wise in the 1st century. Regardless, it will be my primary source for this period due to a lack of alternatives.

To make a long story short, the inhabitants of Arostria lived in what the Arosancia describes as a perfect society, free from all greed, violence and poverty. Legend goes they were forced to flee their homeland to escape a devastating war with the neighbouring island of Dyra, which was started over a dispute over the regal sword of Dyra. The Arostrians fled to the seas arrived on the large island of Minea, where they carved up numerous independent petty kingdoms that warred with each other for thousands of years. From this era originate many of the legends and myths of the Arostrians, from the mighty kingdoms of Valernia, Lyra and Kaysaria, to the great kings of Castor, Magnias, Tiranos and Domitiak. The petty kingdom period ended in 322 BN when king Domitiak of Kaysaria united all the other kingdoms under his rule and founded the Kingdom of Minea. For the next hundred years, Minea prospered and its population grew at a great rate, so much so that overpopulation became a serious problem for the island. Lack of farmable land caused many of its inhabitants to turn to banditry, forming large bands that would terrorize the countryside. In 209 BN, King Alexianak warred against the bands and decreed that every bandit would be exiled from the island. Most of the bandits later arrived on the island that would later be named Rayka Prime, founding their own culture there that continues to this day. The overpopulation continued to be a problem throughout the 2nd and 1st centuries BN, leading to a great desire in the Arostrians to acquire new lands. The best place they could look to was the continent of Dovania to their north, but there were the innumerable kingdoms and tribes of the Nulians, a loosely connected people who were native to the continent for untold centuries. The resistance of the Nulians forced the Arostrians to wait and bide their time for many years, until an opportunity finally presented itself.

In 36 BN, a group of peoples arrived on a peninsula on the southern tip of Dovania. The ancient name for this peninsula has been lost to time but today it is called Bergania, named after the Bergan peoples who were now arriving in huge numbers. The Bergans quickly overran the peninsula and sent the Nulians there fleeing north to their brother kingdoms. This was the start of the Great Selesvarian War, which would ravage southern Dovania for the next 22 years. After the many years of fighting, the Bergan armies depleted their numbers and thus resorted to hiring the Arostrians of Minea as mercenaries. With the help of the Arostrians, the Bergans quickly turned the tide of the war. However, their treasuries soon began to dry out and with no money to pay the Arostrians, they instead switched to promising them vast lands that they would win from their Nulian enemies. The war continued for five years more after that, seeing only small and bitter gains from each side at a time, usually only temporary. Finally, in 14 BN, delegates from the bergan kingdoms of Parsis and Nhoge met with delegates from the Nulians states to formalize a peace. It was agreed that the Bergans would keep the Selesvar valley and all the lands south of it, but the Nulians were steadfast in that no other lands besides these would be taken from them. Thus the Bergans could not grant the Arostrians the vast lands that they promised, and when they were told so, the Arostrians ran berserk.

In April of 14 BN, many of the generals and leaders of the Bergan armies gathered at the slopes of Mount Phalsan to decide the future of the Bergan people. Who knows what would have been decided there, perhaps the whole of the Bergan people would have been united into a single kingdom, and it would be they who came to dominate Dovania instead. Instead, they were ambushed by their own Arostrian mercenaries who had been betrayed of their earned lands. The Bergan leaders were slaughtered to the man, leaving much of their people divided and leaderless. In the coming years, the Bergan peninsula would splinter into a hundred feuding kingdoms and would remain divided until the Erinian conquests.

After slaughtering their former employers, the Arostrians marched to the lands they had been promised in the Bergan Compact, located in south-eastern Dovania. Since they were promised in a compact, they were simply called the Compact Lands as an easy reference, but the name has stuck ever since and thus continues to be used even to this day. The mercenaries easily ousted the war-exhausted Nulians from these lands and with an influx of people from Minea, founded numerous colonies in the new lands.

Chapter 2 - The founding of Erinia
The city of Erinia was founded on the 21 of August in the year 509 AA. Many of the details of the founding have been diluted by various myths, legends and patriotic propaganda. Depending on who you ask, you might get a story of heroic and independent settlers that bravely conquered wild and untamed lands, or a story of an imperially mandated colony whose spot was chosen simply for its favourable trade position. I will try my best to find a compromise between these viewpoints.

As the 5th century drew to a close, the Empire of the Arostrians was prospering. Emperor Valdyna had taken up a great effort to expand his domain over eastern Dovania through a pattern of conquest and colonization. This resulted in the founding of settlements such as Tyberdon, Lakedon and Skagon who would each become a power in their own right in the following centuries. As the previous century gave way to the next one, the imperial court received word of a series of fertile and lush lands surrounding a bay just north of their recent conquests. In particular interest to the court was a spot where the many rivers of the Great River Valley coalesced into a single river which emptied into the bay. A settlement in such a spot would have vast potential for farming and commerce, and thus an expedition was organized to settle the land. This expedition would have numbered in around 10.000 people, mainly families, with an armed escort of 800 soldiers. It was made up of people that were said to have been practical and down-to-earth thinking, having little to no interest in the politics of the empire. A legend goes that an imperial inspector asked a man in the expedition whether or not he XXX. The man chosen to lead the expedition was Henri Carason, formerly one of the captains of the imperial hunting grounds. This didn't mean that Henri wanted to lead the new colony, as he sought to retire to his own farmstead in the settlement's vicinity as soon as it was established.

In March of the year 509, the expedition entered into territory beyond the control of the empire. Taking the path straight up the river Peron, Henri Carason lead the expedition through what he thought uninhabited territory where they encountered much wild game. They when surprised when a group of nulians suddenly attacked a hunting party, leaving only one alive to bear news of the attack to the rest of the expedition. They had entered into territory of the Siape nulians, a fierce group of tribes who made their homes around the Peron. Even worse was that the expedition had entered a sacred hunting ground that the different Siape tribes all shared in unison, all but guaranteeing their hostility towards the expedition. As a result, Henri Carason deemed it best to go the long way and march completely around the Siape's territory to the east. This route would be much longer and harsher than the settlers had planned to, but would lessen the risk of having to fight the nulians. Arguments sparked within the expedition as many of the soldiers thought that they could rout the "barbarians" with their superior discipline and continue the easier path up the river instead of the treacherous and dangerous route Henri was proposing. After bitter arguments, around half the soldiers and 2000 settlers decided to continue into nulian territory while the rest went with Henri Carason the longer route. The way was indeed quite treacherous we are told, with scarce food and water and a path that was twice as long as originally intended. Many died along the way, including the wife of Peyter Mastris, the future governor of Erinia. However, the settlers proved their tenacity and reached the Peron river basin at the end of August in 501, where the river itself emptied into the sea. There, the settlers finally rested their eyes upon the bay that the river emptied into and appropriately named it Haven Bay, for that was what it was to them at the time. On September the 1st in the year 509, the city of Erinia was officially founded, named after the old Arostrian hero.

The first order of business for the settlers was the construction of Fort Namder, to ward against any attacks from Nulian raiders. After that were made residential buildings, a merchant square and a small shipwright. A governing body of a 10-man city council was stationed in a collection of fortified tents that eventually grew into the Governor's Hall. To the local Nulians, it must have seemed like a city had sprung up overnight. Although many texts describe these Nulians as hostile to the new city, evidence supports that they traded extensively with it, helping it grow and prosper as a result. It is also highly likely that local Nulians moved into the city and were absorbed into the culture, even marrying into arostrian families. This might be one explanation as to why the Erinians generally have a lighter skin tone compared to their arostrian cousins down south, but most erinian patriots would reject this, even today.

In the first decade after Erinia's founding, the city grew rapidly. In 515, the town docks were built, allowing for increased trade across Haven Bay and beyond. In 534, construction of the city walls themselves was started, which would connect the city itself to Fort Namder, which had in itself grown quite inefficient at guarding the entirety of the settlement.

Chapter 3 - Fall of the empire and the Battle of Erinia
Trouble started brewing in 545, when emperor Arelic in Garaldia raised emergency taxes on the city to help combat resurgent Nulian states to the north of the Empire. The taxes were an intense burden on the city, as they were for most cities of the Empire, but in Erinia and the other western colonies they were seen as particularly unfair and unjustified as these supposed enemies were an entire world away. Sentiment began to turn, people began asking; Why should we pay for the emperor's vain attempts at military glory? As it turned out, these military campaigns became ever more frequent as the years went by, and were increasingly important to keep the empire together as the emperor quashed rebellions and external invasions alike. The more the emperor taxed, the more rebellions rose up, the more he needed to tax, the more enemies took advantage of their weakened foe, and the more campaigns needed to wage. This spiral continued for a few decades until in 567 an army of rebellious peasants managed to defeat the imperial army in open battle. The peasants then marched on the capital of Garaldia and sacked it, with no record that we know of ever mentioning what befell the emperor himself. With the sacking as a catalyst, central authority quickly collapsed across the Empire. Cities and regions all over the western world, whether they were loyal to the Empire or not were now faced with the choice of either staying loyal to a dying state or taking matters into their own hands. Needless to say, almost all of them chose the latter.

In 588, the erinian governing council of 10 men met on the hill of Junas, forever known thereafter as the Junas council. There they decided to declare Erinia a free city, independent from the Empire and with themselves as the heads of state. There is a conflict in our sources on whether or not the people celebrated this declaration or looked at it as a necessary evil. Without a doubt, many still harboured strong loyalties for the old imperial government but in these times of chaos of uncertainty, there were few, if any who argued against this move.

The Free City of Erinia is today known as the first independent state of Erinia, but it would last for less than two years. As the Empire collapsed around them, the people of Erinia withdrew themselves to behind the walls of their city, isolating themselves from the chaos in the country. We are told that on numerous occasions did roaming bands of bandits and brigands group together and attempt attacks on Erinia's walls, only to be repelled by their brave defenders. Nonetheless, the city's supplies were soon dwindling and its cramped population were soon restless. The popularity of the Junas council sank as its members squabbled and failed to provide decisive decisions on any matter. Intense rivalries tore the council apart even as more and more problems presented themselves in the city. The only member of the council that enjoyed favour among the people was a certain man named Karl Nikesiac. He was a wealthy noble who had garnered this favour throughout the years by funding building and infrastructure projects in the city, mostly out of his own pocket. He was a member of the council when independence was declared and had enthusiastically spoken in its favour. Nikesiac is described by some today as the first Erinian nationalist. He had for long believed that the empire was a constraining and despotic entity and that Erinia would blossom if it could tear itself away from it. Now Nikesiac found himself in circumstances where he could position himself to lead an independent Erinia, if it were not for the other nine members of the Junas council. They all despised and envied Nikesiac's popularity among the people, almost always standing against his proposals out of pure spite, which did not help with their already low popularity. It can be speculated that tensions could have escalated to open conflict in the city, if not for outside intervention.

In March of the year 590, a large army of Siape Nulians approached the city from the south. It is unclear when this army formed or under what circumstances. What is clear is that this army was far too large to be comprised of only one tribe, and was likely an alliance or confederation between the various Siape tribes of the Peron River. Perhaps there was a conscious effort to remove the Arostrian threat from their borders, perhaps they were simple looters taking advantage of the chaos. Nonetheless, on the 3rd of April, this army arrived outside the walls of Erinia and laid siege to the city.

Even to this grave threat, the response from the Junas council was lacking. When Karl Nikesiac called for enforcing the walls and establishing barricades, other councilmembers suggested paying off the invaders and that this bellicose stance of Nikesiac would only encourage them to attack the city. Ignoring their wishes, Nikesiac prepared for battle with support from the commander of the city garrison and his long-time acquaintance, Frederik Hilkinberg. It seems though that this response came too late, as the Nulians attackers breached the walls only a few days into the siege. Vicious street fighting ensued, as the nulians burned and looted much of the lower city. Nikesiac and Hilkinberg continued the fighting, which is said to have lasted for at least 2 days before the erinians were pushed to the city centre. It was there that the morale of the defenders began to break, and all hope left the city. It was then that the elderly Karl Nikesiac himself picked up a sword and, in front of everyone, charged the invaders and was struck down dead. This legendary event can probably be credited to stern erinian propaganda, but widely it is said to have been the moment that saved the city. Lead by Frederik Hilkinberg, the defenders turned to the attack, driving the nulians first from the city square, then from the lower city itself. Many of the nulians were busy with pillaging and were very disorganized, unable to mount a proper defence against the erinian counter-attack. Many simply took what loot they already had and left the city, travelling back to their homeland on the Peron. One historian mentions that the Siape host later descended into squabbling over the loot and destroyed itself, although we'll take this telling with some scepticism.

With the fighting over, Frederik Hilkinberg stood as by far the most popular man in Erinia, with a great many of her inhabitants directly loyal to him. Moreover, Karl Nikesiac's heroic sacrifice made him a revered figure among the population, and Hilkinberg positioned himself as his direct successor.