Heraldry and Colors
– A maritime compass with 8 points
– Blue and Green (official, civil, and military)
People of Interest:
Prince Aylin – As the current reigning monarch of what survived of the Kingdom of Aldoria, the half-Syndar prince is, to date, the only known high royalty currently on Mardrun. An ambitious and cunning ruler, he often lets his more playful side show through to disarm those with whom he deals, though beneath that friendly face lies a cold and calculating businessman that will always garner profit and come out ahead.
The Settlement of New Aldoria – Mardrun Colony
After the massacre, not very many ships reached Mardrun. Between the diseases of the wounded, the lack of ample food and water, and the haste in which they left the continent of Faedrun, the kingdom of Aldoria was doomed. The King never survived the trip to the colony he worked so hard to fund and his son would bury him at its shores. The houses and nobles were scattered, in poverty, or left with nothing upon their arrival to the new colony. What was once a proud nation of Faedrun was nothing more than a handful of bloody survivors, refugees, and battered soldiers.
Not all hope was lost, however, as the remaining nobles and military leaders tried to put the pieces back together and lead the colony. They proclaimed the King’s son the new leader and began a plan to rebuild. This course of action was not favored by many of the original colonists, who had grown hearty and cold with having to carve out a living on the new continent, and the colonists of Newhope declared their independence from Aldoria. The newly arrived refugees did not have the funding or men to rule what they had created, and the nobility could not resist the secession. Instead, the survivors of Aldoria banded together and carved out their own piece of the new continent and created the settlement of New Aldoria. This settlement grew strong by learning from the Ulven, yet keeping them at a distance, and battling the Mordok. Prince Aylin grew up in this environment, working his way around the people and vying for political power. Everyone knows him to be an ambitious leader, savvy in both politics and combat, if not bitter from the history of his kingdom. It is rumored that he is planning on gaining a following and campaigning for rule of Newhope on Mardrun, rumored to be finally fulfilling his father’s wishes of controlling the colony his shattered nation helped build. More settlers and refugees continue to band together under the banner and colors of the prince and his Aldorian Guard, and more nobles have pledged support as his power expands.
New Aldoria narrowly averted a full scale war with the Watchwolf Clan after an ill disciplined and rowdy group of their Soldiers, secretly in the employ of an ambitious noble, tried to murder a young lady of the royal family and frame an Ulven Ambassador and the Captain of the Crow’s Guard for the attempt. Their plot was discovered, however, and foiled by a party of brave adventurers at the Wayward Inn.
Raskolf Vakr, the Voice of the Watchwolves, responded with a diplomatic mission to New Aldoria, where he met with the Prince personally. The Watchwolf Ulven and the New Aldorians averted war and actually managed to improve relations between the two nations. When Mordok attacked children playing on royal hunting grounds, the Ulven Ambassador’s seven-year-old daughter saved the life of the Prince’s own young son, and the two became fast friends.
To date, New Aldoria has largely kept with the traditions of their homeland, valuing ambition, cunning, and political and economic acumen. Though significantly smaller than the colony of Newhope, New Aldoria is an economic powerhouse, maintaining trade with a wide network of merchants and tradesmen across the continent, in large part due to their penchant for maritime trade. Of the human settlements, New Aldoria boasts the largest and most diverse fleet, from cargo barges to transport ships, and includes the reborn navy and their vessels.
Many holdovers from Aldoria remain in the new continent: the blue and green banners that fly from the ramparts and masts of her ships have always represented Aldoria, and do so in the new world. Mildly deceitful business practices are not frowned upon in Aldoria as they may be in other settlements, seeing such swindles as a lesson to unwary buyers, rather than deserving of punishment for the merchant. Though this has been addressed by Prince Aylin and has reduced in frequency and severity, the reputation for a “survival of the fittest” economy has remained. Along those same lines, New Aldoria boasts some of the more elaborate courthouses on the continent, where lawyers and judges might bicker and argue for days, weeks, even months and years over a simple hearing, exploiting loopholes in a delicate game of strategy to trap the opponent in a lie or technicality before being caught yourself. This has led many to see the Aldorian courts as corrupt, though to Aldorians, it is the far more civilized way to settle disputes.
Located on the southwestern coast of Nightriver territory, the land granted to New Aldoria on which to settle has allowed them to flourish, granting them access to the seas through which they are able to greatly expand their trade network. This maritime skill served the colony well during the Civil War, as New Aldoria used her ships to break through the Squallborn blockades, earning a powerful ally in their Stormjarl neighbors. Though their navy is not as substantial as that of Clan Stormjarl and fairly comparable in size to that of Clan Squallborn, New Aldoria’s true strength lies in the diversity of her ships, allowing for faster transport of larger quantities of goods or soldiers around the continent.
The Creation of Aylin’s Reach
In April of 265, a combined martial campaign by Aldorian and Clan Stormjarl forces allowed the Prince of Aldoria to take sovereign lands for his people. The colony of New Aldoria in City-State lands faces a mass exodus as almost the entire colony relocates to this new land. The once great and bustling settlement of New Aldoria is reduced to a shadow of its former glory, with Newhope residents moving in but lacking the infrastructure and commerce to maintain the size of it. Administration of the former colony is gifted to squabbling lesser nobles vying for notice and prestige from the City-State Council, and only half-heartedly managed by those assigned. It is unclear why the settlement retained the name of New Aldoria; either a snub against the Prince and his people moving out, an attempt to cling to the marketability that the name used to afford, or a clear lack of administrative stewardship is unknown.
Years later, Aylin’s Reach has flourished and grown rapidly. The entire territory has seen expansion, new mercantile networks, a number of nearby Clans to trade with, and a symbiotic relationships with the Stormborn Coast territory of Clan Stormjarl being their direct neighbors. While seemingly isolated on the map, there is considerable wealth and opportunity flowing into, out of, and through the territory of Aylin’s Reach.
Recent/Current Events:
264:
Taking a less aggressive role in the war, the second largest human colony has spent the past year making very controlled, decisive movements, militarily, economically, and politically. Reaching out to nearby settlements to establish trade routes and political allies, Prince Aylin has been subtly ambitious in his dealings, much to the ire of Newhope. When the war began to escalate once again, the soldiers and sailors of New Aldoria were present and visible, blue and green banners flying high, bringing with them supplies, reinforcements, and the backing of the most economically powerful human settlement on Mardrun.
265:
Aldorian forces with Clan Stormjarl allies and mecernary forces invade Clan Squallborn territory. Their refusal to sign the peace treaty meant these forces were free to continue martial campaigns against their enemies, catching Clan Squallborn offguard, isolated, and without their Clan Grimward ally. The conquered lands that were taken are immediately settled by Clan Stormjarl and Aldorian people, and the territory and colony of Aylin’s Reach officially begins construction.
268:
After years of expansion, the official dissolution of Clan Squallborn concluded with the ritualistic honor duels of fealty-or-freedom of the Aettenjav. While former Pack Squallborn members dueled to leave the territory freely or be absorbed by Clan Stormjarl, the conclusion of this event also solidified the territory of Aylin’s Reach. The neighboring Clan Stormjarl territory officially becomes known as the Stormborn Coast, meaning any fledgling claims by Pack Squallborn people to the land are no longer formally recognized.