Merchant Kingdom of Eleshir
Banner(It's a large image so I thought best to link it - you may recognise it as Henry VI of England's personal coat of arms, I somewhat have a soft spot for his disastrous reign).
Motto: "Fortune and honour!"
Allegiance: South
Location on map:
Establishments:
Lisanst Castle - situated closest to the Teeth, historically built so that war parties could quickly travel to block the narrow pass while still being in close proximity to the nearby villages along the coast. This is the seat of the ruling aristocracy although in peaceful times they may reside in Elianst due to the relative luxury it provides because of its wealth.
Elianst: Not situated on the actual cost, a safe settlement where trade was conducted. The villages nearby see a great deal of maritime trade from the North but it all goes through Elianst where the markets were set up and the merchants from both nations felt sufficiently safe to conduct their trade without persecution - largely due to the proximity of the Castle. The aristocracy have a palatial home in the outskirts of the town with the Council House not far, the place where the elected aldermen sit and deal with the day to day affairs of the Kingdom.
Tredir: More recently absorbed. Trade and military harbour that feeds off all trade coming from the South, a great deal being diverted from its path to the North via Elianst to increase income from tariffs. It was absorbed to better protect the sea trade routes from pirates and give the land armies better mobility in war.
Brief historyThe Kingdom has existed for a mere ten years although the Toles family have owned and ruled the Lisanst castle for at least six hundred. At first they were satisfied with their informal rule over the surrounding lands but the invasion by Victus shook their authority.
The increasingly-powerful town of Elianst began to resist the Toles' occasional demands for trade levies and taxes. This tense standoff continued for three generations, Elianst establishing its Alderman Council to rule itself while clashing with the Toles over ownership of the local land and industry.
Cultural significances Merchant-based society with burgeoning middle class. The mountainous area is rich in minerals and has some hardier livestock (goats, certain cattle breeds) but lacks the flat pastures to breed more palatable herds upon or even grow crops. The lower classes are employed by the merchant class to work in the mines, pastures and docks across the country, all taxed by the lord who rules the Castle in return for protection - the councils ruling the two major towns are elected by the merchants and represent their towns in any discussions with the lord of the land.
While not approaching real democracy, there are no slaves (except criminals with life sentences - they are seen as having lost their right to freedom and become a tradeable object usually put to work in the more dangerous parts of mines) and only those granted a writ (to possess land, a company or a ship) by the council or Lord can vote.
Army:
Permanent castle garrison: forty men at arms (half-plate, longswords and tower shields) sixty longbowmen (longbows, reinforced leather haubergeons, poleaxes/battle axes/war hammers). These never leave the castle except in an all out, last ditch battle.
Toles retainers: two hundred heavy cavalry loyal to Henrietta and her alone. Made up of her retainers, their families and talented youths lifted out of poverty they are single-minded in their devotion to their Warrior-Queen and will not flee the battlefield without her (full-plate, armoured horse, bastard swords/morningstars, kite shields)
Four hundred longbowmen: recruited from local huntsmen and trained by the garrison archers to form a more professional force, these longbowmen are very skilled but lack the strong morale that the garrison troops have (longbows, haubergeons, axes/swords/knives)
Seven hundred pikemen (2x350): recruited from logging camps, hunting lodges and mines these men are strong and hardy. They choose to serve over working in their less well paid professions and are usually young and unwed; everything to gain and little to lose. Discipline is hammered into them so they're able to form phalanx as well as pike walls and squares around archers. They are usually split into two units for flexibility.
Seventy five ships: largely built for ship to ship combat these vessels have shallow hulls for speed with a single mast. They are fitted with banks of oars which are manned by dockhands while archers and lightly armoured footmen board or set fire to their targets. A dozen ships are sturdier and slower with an upper deck in which small siege weapons can be placed.
Twenty five siege weapons: three trebuchets and their teams who also carry heavy two handed weapons (mostly axes and hammers).
ParagonName: Queen Henrietta Toles
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Physical Appearance: Coming soon.
Clothing/Armor:
ArmourWeapons:
Longsword and kite shield, no designs or frills besides the family insignia emblazoned upon the shield and cross guard of the sword.
Armoured horse, again with no overly colourful or obvious insignia to identify her by.
Skills:
Particular skilled when fighting from horseback and well versed in land battles.
Generally a defensive fighter, she forces enemies into attacking her fortified positions and is thus particularly adept at defending her own territory.
Personality:
Fierce, charismatic and pragmatic. Violence is her last resort due to its uncontrollable consequences however she will deploy it ruthlessly for effect when necessary. In all other circumstances she prefers to grow loyalty with her force of character than through fear; although a healthy dash of both remain after her first dealings with the Council.
History:
Henrietta lived a relatively sheltered life, although there was the ever present threat of war between her family and the Alderman. Brief skirmishes were frequent but rarely led to significant bloodshed as neither side felt strong enough to go the risk of all out war.
Her father, George Toles, became increasingly frustrated by the Council as years passed; he was also concerned that his only heir was Henrietta and that, after he had passed away, the Council would see her as a weak opponent and destroy the family for good. He trained in leadership, tactics and strategy as well as putting her through significant arms training with their Master of Arms.
Still, despite his precautions the Council became more confident and flagrantly flaunted the family's ancestral rights to taxation and even began to encroach upon their inherited lands. The final straw was the construction of a mine a mere four miles from the castle itself, forcing George's hand.
The tension exploded into bloodshed when the Toles' family head attempted to force the Aldermen into submission, leading footmen into the town. When his demands were delivered and summarily rejected, George Toles ordered his men to kill the Aldermen but they turned their swords on him instead.
Henrietta Toles, then aged a mere fourteen and the only daughter of George Toles, approached the Council and was given an audience. A peace was made and the Council invited Henrietta to a feast to mark the occasion.
The Council underestimated the young noblewoman and when they attempted to assassinate her their hired hands turned on the Council and slaughtered those who had led the plan to destroy the Toles. With a mixture of bribery and sheer charisma the fierce Henrietta won over the surviving Council Aldermen and their supporters, appointing her own officials to fill those seats left by the slain.
Henrietta offered a diplomatic solution to the - protection and legitimacy in exchange for those revenues that had previously belonged to her family. Also her sovereignty was sworn to officially, the long-standing issue about the Toles' rule settled and the Kingdom of Eleshir founded.
Ten years later and Henrietta's rule is cemented. Tredir accepted her rule with little fuss, the small port turned into a hub of shipbuilding; the young Toles Queen had been bent on destroying the pirate threat and nearly had, her retainers now leading a professional force of longbowmen, men at arms and a core of heavily armoured knights. The large part of her forces are composed of pikemen and archers, usually local hunters, recruited and maintained by the towns.
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