Northern Marches

The Northern Marches of Huncle were the northern provinces of the Kingdom of Huncle.

For long a frontier of humanity to the wilderness of the north, these northern marches were border lands, scarcely populated and only barely tamed, founded originally due to military needs against the northern human and Kanov pagans, Orcs and bands of Goblins.

They existed before the First War of the Power, but afterwards were extended significantly to the wilderness, the wild lands to the north. Nominally vassals of Huncle, they were rather independent factually, due to the weakness of the Hunclech monarchy. Most of them were human marches, but there was as well settlements of Grey elfs, such as the Mark of Cairie, as human authority was far away.

History[]

The first Northern Marches: the Valley of the Arg and Cairie[]

While the Five Kingdoms of the Northwest originated from the lands of the Weseuros, by the creation of Sargos, Degoland, Huncle, Tardos -and later, La Cruz- the southern border of the Five Kingdoms was clearly defined by the Osorio river, but the northern borders weren't as defined, being called the Wild Lands or the Wilderness.

Slowly, free settlers will move to the north -to the fields of Argia-, and this migration process will strengthen due to the wars during the Five Warring Kingdoms period.

These free settlements, set in a dangerous frontier were lawfully made under the power of the Hunclech monarch, but the needs of the settlers of coin and protection meant that the King of Huncle decided to make the March of Argia to the north -which basically was a move to free their northern vassals of some tax and military feudal obligations, in exchange of not requiring royal protection anymore.-

Later, along the Arg River will be founded as well the marches of Haut and Passage -long after the actual settlements had flourished in the region-, setting a northern border for Huncle that largely was left to its own authority due the weakness of the Hunclech monarchy.

Not only escaped human serfs, second sons of nobles or poor farmers will settle in the Wild Lands of the free north to escape the wars of the south, but as well grey elves will decide to settle these northern lands, escaping from racial persecution: and so will be founded the March of Cairie, which in its own was the only Grey elven nation among the Five Kingdoms.

As these northern colonies were working hard to endure the hardships of life, they were struck -as the rest of the Five Kingdoms- by the First War of the Power, as an army of the Dark Legion of Demons marched down from the north, sacking and destroying in its path -and setting the colonisation efforts a setback of decades-.

The second colonisation: Goelathia, Lysandia, Vin and Haven-Morrow[]

With the defeat of the Dark Legions and the end of the war, many of the occupation forces of orcs, goblins and demons of the Five Kingdoms escaped to the north, to the Wilderness.

This worried the Hunclech monarchs, and while there was already being launched a large and ambitious colonisation project by the humans and elves in Polforia, the Hunclech decided to colonise the north, extending the northern marches.

After the destruction of the First War of the Power -and a long demonic occupation-, there was a large number of refugees who had lost all -and as a result of the demonic occupation of about twenty years, many former collaborationist, heretics and demonic cultists, and as well half-breeds, be result of violation or consensual unions with the demonic occupation forces.: all of them who had been marginalised by society- who will march to the north.-giving the Northern Marches a reputation of demonic cults, hybrids and heresy-

To try to counter this, new high nobles were appointed by the Hunclech monarch -which clashed with the previous history of lax monarchic rule-, resulting in political turmoil -and even more rebels will escape to the Northern marches after the failure of the Rivieries.

The northern marches will extend themselves to the north -which worried the dwarves of Helmed, who began their own expansion westward, into the Wilderness, to cut-off the human expansion.

The Karentian Christian church, worried on its own by the fame of a safe haven for heresies and demon worshippers, and interested in the conversion to Christianity of the Navaarmen, will found the prince-bishopric of Haven-Morrow.

With the expansion of the Northern Marches, Helmed and the conversion to Christianity of Navatiak, in the maps it looked like all the north had already been settled and divided: but this wasn't the reality of the scarcely populated northern wilderness, where there still were wild tribes that resisted.

As again the Marches had escaped from direct royal control of the king of Huncle, wars and struggles between the marches became more and more common, and many of the Marquises began to dream of a royal crown.

But as the cities of the valley of the Arg became richer and more populous, the Hunclech monarch began to take an interest into bringing the northern marches back into the royal fold.

Reaffirmation of the Hunclech royal authority[]

While the Sargonic wars delayed any attempt of the Hunclech crown to reassert their rule on the Northern Marches. the Return of Demons and the beginning of the Second War of the Power will give the opportunity to the Hunclech kings.

The Campaign of Sargos of the demons of the 2440 against the Five Kingdoms in Sargos and Degoland, but as well against Nortender and across the Barlans and into Erenian and across many mountain passes of the Dargoina Mountains, demonstrated both the weakness of the Northern Marches to coordinate their defensive efforts and their vulnerability from an invasion from the Dargoina or from the north, if not for the Order of Nortender.

Because of this, the kingdom of Hunclech took the opportunity to reaffirm the royal authority over the northern marches, renovating the vassalage, bringing more settlers -more loyal to the crown-, paying stipends and building castles and garrisons to control the mountain paths.

This process was resisted in principle -especially by the richer Marches of the Arg valley, Argia, Haut and Passage.

The Northern Marches in the Holy Sargonic Empire.[]

The Imperial Province of the Northern Marches was formed officially at the 2501 a.a.H (after the apparition of Humanity), when the northern marches of Huncle of old -Argia, Haut, Passage, Cairie, Goelathia, Vin, Lysandria and Haven-Morrow- were integrated into the Holy Sargonic Empire.

The northern marches -once the wild northern border of the Five Kingdoms of the Northwest- under imperial influence will see the arrival of numerous settlers, the reclamation of lands from forests and swamps, the foundation of cities and villages, finally taming the Wilderness .

The Imperial Province enjoyed prosperity, becoming rich and populous lands, that enjoyed the boost of the incorporation into the province of former surface holds of the dwarves of Helmed, lands who would largely settled by humans, but still remaining many dwarf settlements that thrived with the commercial exchange.

Dwarf forges, grey elven magic academies, rich mines of iron and wool will fuel the trade, and the shipyards of the coast would build ships for all the Empire.

The name of the Northern Marches became just an historic legacy, for it was no longer a frontier of mankind, and became ruled by a single governor, with his power granted by the Emperor.

But this prosperity and peace will come to a sudden, screeching end, as in the south -in the five kingdoms-, the fracture between the Emperor and the Archbishop of Karentia broke, sending the empire into turmoil and disarray in the Sargonic Religious Wars at the 2586 a.a.H.

The powerful Archbishop of Haven-Morrow and Goelathia sided with the church of Karentia, while Cairie, Vin and Helmed with the numerous non-human population sided with the Emperor and his religious reforms: the other old marches were divided, and war erupted between the factions.

Divided and weakened, the Emperor Don Camilo VIII The Apostate brought from across the frigid northern seas the Sukke, first as mercenaries to serve his cause: but the northern barbarians from Hieyoks seized Navatiak for themselves at the 2588, and the following year marched down into the Northern Marches, fighting Imperials and Karentians factions alike.

After the initial pillaging and ravaging, the Sukkeses barbarians seized the imperial province and after defeating the Apostate Emperor in battle they proclaimed they own Sukkes Empire.

While they claimed to be an empire and where able to defeat the Apostate, the Karentians and the invasion of the Caliphate of the Orange Sun of Blazakhov, tribal divisions were strong among the Sukkes, and they failed to set institutions and organisation, often relying only in existing, weakened Holy Sargonic Institutions for tax collection: as well, despite the immigration of settlers from Hieyoks, they were chronically short of manpower, and a small minority over their northern Weseurian subjects, failing to legitimise their rule, depending only on their military might.

Overextended, they will clash with Gorbegea at the 2620 a.a.H in the Gorbegea-Sukkes War, and later faced the invasion of Ne'Sargonics in the War of Sargos, at the 2624.

Defeated by the Gorbegeos in the south at the 2625, soon they were as well forced out of the Five Kingdoms, retreating to the Northern Marches: there, they will try a last stand in the Battle of the Argian Fields, at the 2629. The Ne'Sargonic -aided by a large revolt of them weseurian subjects of the Sukkes- will prevail. There, died the sukkes chieftain Sturmt Starkbein, resulting in the final collapse of the Sukkes Empire.

But the Northern Marches didn't had time to recover from these wars, when began the Third War of the Power (2633-2675), which turned the Northern marches once more time on a battlefield:

After taking Navatiak, the Dark Legions of Demons marched over the Northern Marches and into Huncle in the 2636-2638 offensive.

Imperial forces would fight back in the 2641, expelling the Dark Legion from Huncle, and in the next years advanced, forcing the Dark Legion back from most of the Northern Marches.

At the 2644, with news of a large Nortendi revolt in Hieyokscream, the Imperial forces crossed the Dargoina Mountains, but the promised massive revolt never happened, having to do a hastily retreat before the fall of winter.

After this, the Northern Marches and the Sargonic Empire will be caught in a thug of war that will last until the end of the war, with the Sargonic marching northwards, then to be pushed to the south by the Dark Legion offensive, and then repeat: a large scale bloodbath, without tangible results: However, by the 2665s, the weakening of the Empire was beginning to show, and the demonic offensives of the 2670s weren’t countered anymore by Imperial offensives in retaliation. By the 2675, the end of the war, most of Huncle had fallen, and the Holy Sargonic Empire was making plans to completely abandon it, along with most of La Cruz.

Chronology of the Northern Marches[]

Dark Age of Demons[]

2028 As the Hunclech knights are tied in the Second War of the Clover, an orc horde of the Wilderness seizes the opportunity and begin to ransack Argia. They will be finally defeated and forced to retreat at the 2030.
2037 the armies of Argia defeats a Kanov Horde from the Wilderness.
2061-2063 Argia sends a host to support Huncle duiring the Third War of the Clover.
2074-2076 The Protector of the North, Duke of Argia, during the Fourth War of the Clover, rebels against Hunclech royal authority. His rebellion is finally defeated, and a new Duke of Argia is impossed by the king of Huncle.
2080 Due a harsh winter, the Free Clans of the Wilderness invade the valley of Arg, under limited support of the Dark Legion. The hungry, loosely allied host breaks agaisnt the walled boroughs of Haut, without major intervention of the Protector of the North.
2081-2082 Rebellion of the Boroughs of Haut against the Protector of the North. Rebellion will be quelled only after the arrival of Hunclech forces and the fear of a peasant revolt.
2082-2083 Peasant revolt of farmers of Passage. Rebellion is crushed by the Hunclech, the Lord of the North and the communal militias of the boroughs of Haut. Many of the rebels escape to the Wilderness and Polforia.
2087 Destruction of human settlements north of Argia by one of the Free Clans prompts a punitive expedition by the Protector of the North, attacking other clans that weren't involved, looting and seizing slaves. This will spin a series of slavery raids by the Protector of the North.
2089-2091 The Free Clans, reunited under a demon general of the Dark legion, invades Argia. After some initial setbacks for the humans, they finally defeat the host of the Free Clans, dispersing it.
2102 During the Fifth War of the Clover, with some of the host of Argia in the south hearing the call of the Hunclech monarch, a Host of the Dark Legion invades Argia. They are defeated without Hunclech help. Slave trade of the prisoners of war fills the coffers of the Duke of the North.
2104-2118 Rebellion of the North. During the Fifth War of the Clover, echoing the Sargonic claims of illegitimity of the Hunclech monarch, the Protector of the North, Duke of Argia, claims the Hunclech throne, raising his armies and marching to the south in rebellion. Succesfully invading the capital and self-crowning himself at the 2114, a peasant uprising and a new invasion of the Free Clans however forces the Argian usurper to march to the north to defend Argia, being retaken the capital by the Hunclech monarchy. As the War of Clover ended, the Hunclech royal army marched to the north and defeated the Duke of Argia.
2119 The March of Argia is divided in three marches: Argia, Haut and Passage.
2128 Passage Knights defeat a much larger Dark Legion Host crossing the Pass of Cirene.
2134 Peasant revolt in Passage and Haut, crushed with the help of Argia and Huncle
2144 Invasion of the Free Clans of the Wilderness, during the Seventh War of the Clover. The united armies of Argia, Haut and Passage force them to retreat to the north, after heavy casualties.
2150s weakening of Hunclech presence in the Northern Marches
2154-2157 War between Passage and Haut. Passage was able to defeat Haut expansionist claims.
2156 Navaarmen raids on Argian shores. Argia is forced to develope a fleet to counter the sea raiders.
2160s Dark Legion of demons increase their influence over the Free Clans of the Wilderness. More and more human and grey elven settlements north of the Arg River are raided.
2161-2164 War between Argia and Haut. War ends in a status-quo under the treath of a Kanov invasion.
2164 Kanov invasion of the Arg Valley. They retreat before facing the armies of Argia and Haut.
2168 A Dark Legion Host is defeated in the pass of Cirene by the army of Passage
2174 Argia army march north against an amassing army of the Free Clans. Free Clans are dispersed, but Argia becomes wary of demonic influence in the Wilderness. The Duke of Argia requests support from Passage, Haut and Huncle to "unroot the evil of the Wilderness". They calls are unasnwered.
2177-2179 Second War of Haut-Passage. Hunclech monarch forces a peace treaty.
2184 An Argian army, marching into the Wilderness, is destroyed by the Free Clans under demonic influence. The Duke of Argia falls in the ambush. Argian succession crisis.
2185 In the Dargoina Mountains, Passage Knights finds the remains of a Dark Legion army in the pass of Cirene. Unknown to them, it had been destroyed by the Car'Haad in the Car'Haadhook war. The destruction of this army delays plans of the Dark Legion in the Wilderness.
2189-2190 Exploting the War of the Four Leaf Clover and the Argian crisis, Haut launches the third Haut-Passage War. Haut extends their rule over some of the richer lands of Passage
2191 With the end of the Car'Haadhook war, the Dark Legion reasumes their plans in the Wilderness.
2912-2194 Peasant revolt in Haut and Passage -influenced by dark prophets-. Extension of demonic heressies.
2194 Invasion of the Free Clans -under demonic influence-. of Haut and Passage. Only Argian support and Haut walls will avoid final defeat. The northern marches are weakened.
2197 A demonic host forces their way throught the Cirena Pass. After sacking Passage, they retreat to the Wilderness, founding fortresses and bases in the Wilderness for the Dark Legion. Passage joins the Argian claims for the Five Kingdoms to unite against the menace of the Dark Legion

First War of the Power[]

2203 An Army of the Dark Legion of Demons that had forced the Pass of Navatiak, invades the Northern Marches. The king of Huncle doubted to march to the north, and delayed his decision as he gathered his vassals and armies. However, as King Reinald delayed his action, other armies menaced Huncle, and so the Northern Marches where abandoned to their own devices. Huncle is defeated in the Battle of Huncle.
2204 the last remnants of organized resistence of the Northern Marches fall. Beginning of demonic occupation.
2220 Many forces of occupation of the Northern Marches retreat back to the Polforian demonic homeland.
2223 End of the First War of the Power. Final defeat of the Demons. Remaining occupation forces in Huncle and the Northern marches begin to retreat, facing peasant revolts, proclaiming of indepent kingdoms -by Dark Legion commanders or rebels-, while Hunclech forces march to the north, to try to pacify the region. Large numbers of Dark Legionnaries escape north of the marches, to the Wild Lands.
2224 Northern Marches pacified, again under Hunclech authority

The Second Colonization[]

2226 Foundation of the March of Cairie, as part of the agreements between the Five Kingdoms and the Venerable Empire of Whide Axis, to set an "elven homeland" for Hunclech, Treboli and Cruzeños grey elves under protection of the Whide Axis.
2231 Foundation of the March of Goelathia. War of Goelathia against Terrag the Scourge, demon lieutenant who had proclaimed himself as King of the Wilderness, leading the remnants of the Dark legions. Terrag will be defeated at the 2236, but conflict will continue against the descendants of the dark legionnaries and free clans until the 2260s.
2260s Despite the accords regarding Cairie as an elven homeland, reality is aknowledged of the presence of human settlers in Cairie, being legalized their residence in the charters of many of the towns of Cairie.
2260s Ethnic tensions between Cairie and Goelathia. Prosecutions of non-humans in Goelathia, expel of elves and claims over Cairie territories with human minorities.
2264 Rebellion of the Pointy Ears. Non-human revolt in northern Goelathia against prosecutions and taxes. Is violently repressed.
2268 Cairie-Goelathian conflict leds to open battle. Cairie-Goelathian War. Hunclech monarch forces peace and marks boundaries between the two marches.
2268 Kanov Horde invades, seeing the division and internal turmoil of Cairie and Goelathia. Only with support of Argia, Haut and Passage they will be defeated.
2274 Foundation of the March of Lysandia.

2293 Foundation of the March of Vin
2326 Foundation of the Prince-Bishopric of Haven-Morrow.
2330s weakening of the Royal power of Huncle over the Northern Marches
2340-2440 Petty wars between the Northern Marches. Not a continuous war, but a string of small conflicts, personal feuds and etc., often only interrupted by foreign threats -the Navaarmen, demonic remnants, Free Clans of the mountains, Helmed mines, etc-. Sometimes the King of Huncle steps in when a war had dragged for too long or have become too big, to try to settle things down.
2390s-2420 Lowest point of Hunclech royal power. Some of the marches try to proclaim themselves as independent kingdoms. Others wage war against them using the idea to restore the kingdom as an excuse to fight their own petty conflicts.
2419 End of the Sargonic wars. Huncle, victorious and strengthened, begins to reassert the royal rule over the northern marches. The last petty wars (2420-2440) are normally between rebel lords and the king imposing his sovereignty.

Second War of the Power[]

2440 Invasion of the reunified Dark Legion to Sargos. The Northern Marches face as well attacks of minor forces across mountain paths. Some marches try to send reinforcements to Huncle, while others don't.
2440-2501 Northern Marches become more and more under influence of Huncle. They support the Holy Wars of Eden in Zarhuy -some warriors go as crusaders- or closely, in the Northern campaigns of Nortender. More settlers arrive, population expands, more cities appear.

2501-2588 Huncle -and the northern Marches- become part of the Holy Sargonic Empire. More settlers, more cities, and the Wilderness is finally tamed. No longer a frontier of mankind, the titles of the Lords of the Marches become largely historical. The Northern Marches become an imperial province, with a single governor. The Empire extends and comes to include much of former Helmed lands -incorporated to the Imperial Province of the Northern Marches- and Navatiak.
2586 Sargonic Religious Wars
2588 Sukkes invasion arrives at Navatiak.
2589 Sukkes conquer the Northern Marches. It becomes the center of power of the Sukkes.
2601 Sukkes conquer Huncle
2607 Sukkes conquer Sargos from the Blazakhovs, and found the Sukkes Empire
2.629 Northern Marches. Battle of the Argian fields. Sukkes king Sturmt Starkbein dies in Battle. End of the Sukkes Empire.
2633-2675 Third War of the Power