Secession from Virdama (987 MH)
A relatively young nation in the north, Leodama seceded from Virdama following the succession crisis of Lafrida the Great. Leodama as a region in Virdama had always been difficult to control, reclusive, in marshy region of the country, and yet still able to exert significant influence over its suzerain due to its religious importance. When it finally declared its independence therefore may took no notice of this, at least not those who were Cathirian. Within Hythness however, the importance of this event could not be understated.
To fully understand why this was, one must appreciate the variance of Hythnetic belief. Even if two nations worship the same primary deity of the pantheon, there are often differences that have developed over the thousand years of worship. In Leodama this manifests in what is known as ‘the Lion Bloods’, a mythological class of people bestowed with unique boons by Lothred. Mythologically speaking, these individuals were great warriors, who would pass on this blood through dynasty.
The most legendary is the Line of the First Lions, who allegedly could trace their lineage back to the first cirithlings of Lothred. During the Gnoman invasion of the north, the dynasty was notoriously ferocious and swung many a battle through the bravery and leadership. Ultimately however, the line would be ended as the Gnomans routed out its members and put them to death. When the Gnoman Empire collapsed, the Leodamites accepted the first monarchs of Virdama as the Line of the Second Lions, the successor dynasty to blessed by Lothred. Even when then dynasty would go extinct, or be too remote to be considered a member of the bloodline, the new monarch, Lafrida’s great-great-grandfather, Wulfrid, would then be adopted as the progenitor of the Third Lions. and everything had run relatively smoothly since then.
Another reason for Leodama’s historical accession to Virdaman rule was undoubtedly the volatile state of the north, particularly for a Hythnetic nation. Virdama relied heavily on Leodamite soldiers when war did arrive, but equally had shown itself capable at smoothing tensions with its neighbours. With a period of prolonged peace however, these thoughts were far from the minds of the successors. Two potential candidates where vying for the throne, both remote relatives of Lafrida, but only one considered by the Leodamites to have the Lion Blood.
Surprisingly, when Leodama did attempt its secession, there was little protest for the Virdaman side, instead diplomats worked to establish a treaty to ratify the creation of a new and independent state.
Consolidation (988 MH - 1024 MH)
With it’s independence uncontested, Leodama quickly established it’s precedence taking on a structure of Hythnetic theological monarchy. Generations of the Third Lions came and went with the transition of power being peaceful, a the culture coming into its own and settling around its king. In the outskirts however it was very different, as these deprived areas where often neglected in favour of strengthening the core of the nation. A reticence to delegate power by Leodamite kings lead to de facto independent lords ruling over border fiefs.
Those who where lower on the rungs would fight amongst themselves, with a belief that might made right and to forge a better life. It was far from an easy problem to solve either. Fervent worship of Lothred was core to the acceptance of the King, and without, many among the Rithard feared to weaken this fervour as it my damage the ability of their ruler to lead. Despite being free of direct rule, none could doubt these were loyal Hythnetics, to cast them out or destroy them would risk instability and jeopardise relations with similarly minded nations. Even worse was the timing of this, Hythness was under attack as the Papacy made further pushes into the north it being only a decade since Geltvyre had been swayed.
It was quite the conundrum, but the King at the time, Farabald II ‘the Cunning’, had a plan. He was banking on centuries of reverence when he descended from the then capital of Leodama, a grand palace in the swamps known as Kunsell, and walked among his people. He went to the hinterlands and began his attempts to sway these folk to fall under his banner directly. Undoubtedly, his presence as King helped, with many swearing fealty at his mere arrival, but in other cases the sword was required. Farabald was an accomplished duellist and slew nearly a dozen of these petty lords in combat. The culture that had been fostered in these borders and his divinity in the eyes of many made it easy to then assume control of these domains.
As word spread of Farabald’s exploits in many cases he no longer needed to even appear before the lords as messengers were dispatched to pledge absolute allegiance. There was still a significant pocket of resistance on the very edge of the Virdaman border however. Here, there had been a clear separation as those who still considered themselves to be Virdaman, not Leodamite, rebuked the king. For much of the time they had kept there heads down, acting without notice as many of the lords had, but when Farabald made his move, it became clear this would no longer be possible.
Farabald issued a challenge directly to the Petty Lord of the Border and the Lord accepted. Such an act was unheard of and it cost the Lord many of his Hythnetic followers. A great duel was held, a rare spectacle that attracted the attention of eyes abroad. Farabald entered an arena with the Petty Lord of the Border and fought him to the death. Brutal blows where exchanged and Farabald’s arm was severed, but the king did not succumb to his injuries, rallying and thrusting blade into the heart of the Lord. Victorious, and in Lothred’s name, he imbibed the blood of the Lord and offered it to the earth as a sacrifice. In a story of legend, his severed arm began to regrow but with the appearance of a lion’s limb. It was the Lion’s Blood manifest and it cemented his rule in Leodama, no true Hythnetic could oppose him.
There was the small matter of the Lord’s loyal followers, many had fled across the border already fearing Farabald’s reprisal, but the king showed surprising mercy. The few figures of authority where offered a choice, swear fealty to him, or leave. The majority chose the latter, fleeing with their compatriots to Virdama.
The peace that Leodama settled into would span the remainder of Farablad’s reign and would be characterised by outreach and cultivation. Leodama would never be at the pinnacle of technological advancement, but the centralisation of the nation was complete and its governance as a single entity was subsequently unchallenged.
The Pretender Wars (1024 MH - 1036 MH)
The end of Farabald’s reign saw his second son, Godri ascend to the throne. Taking rulership as a second child, (albeit by circumstance as his elder brother had been taken by swamp fever), was damaging to Godri’s prestige as rules and he was plagued by pretenders from his other siblings.
Perhaps in an attempt to affirm his rulership as his father had done and after putting down yet another pretender revolt, Godri used his already mustered men to go to war with their northern neighbour, Gawabia. Gawabia was a rebel state that had split from Geltvyre following it’s conversion to Cathirianism and was in no position to defend itself. It capitulated quickly and the land was occupied by the Leodamites with little resistance.
Godri, however showed his naivety and believing the war was over left only a meagre garrison. He had not bargained on the Gelts wanting their land and the conspiracies against him may have neglected to advise him against withdrawing quite so many of troops. Not only was the land swiftly retaken, but the native Hythnetic Gelts where exterminated in their hundreds. Any good work was undone and Godri’s reign had been irreversibly marred by infighting and a loss of Hythnetic life.
Ultimately, his court refuted him and he was executed a traitor. The Line was continued by his brother, Aethal, but only time would tell if his reign would be better than his predecessors.
The War for Virdama (1167 MH - 1168 MH)
For nearly a century the monarchs of Leodama where kept tightly controlled by the functionaries of the Hythnetic faith. The Council of Cirithlings had taken a dim view on the actions of Godri, with the loss of thousands of Hythnetic lives needing to be recovered. A penance was needed from his successors and three generations of the Third Lions began to rebuild Leodama again, under threat of denouncement. It may seem like a long time, but it must be remembered that the Council had overseen Hythness for thousands of years and had notoriously long memories. Leodama may have done its best to obscure it’s past sins, but it was all meticulously recorded by the cirithlings. It was only at the middle of the next century when minds turned to the sleeping lion of Leodama.
It was a shadow of its former self in terms of leadership, its kings manipulated easily by the clergy and by the lords of the court, but militarilyy it had not lost it’s fire. In other words, it was a useful tool, if wielded in the correct hands. The Council’s hands. The threat of denouncement being removed and the chance to gain favour made it easy to sway the monarch at the time, King Beran, into acting in their interest. In this case, they had become ever aware of the repression of the Hythnetic faith in Virdama and in their eyes, something needed to be done about it. Virdama was an easier target than most. Not having any real allies in the north left it vulnerable and a semi-professional army was just unfavourable enough to be a safe selection. If worst came to the worst, they would simply pin it on the king or the lords.
The invasion took place in 1167 MH and lasted thirteen months. In that time they were able to route the Virdaman forces and take its capital. It was quite the statement on the international stage and garnered a new ally in Thresvyre, emboldening Beran. No action could be taken against the Cirithlings, but the corruption in the lords was comfortably weeded out as the weaker and incompetent generals were replaced by those loyal to the king. The reclaimed land enriched the country and, in a nod to his history, offered the Cathirian civilians a choice, convert or leave. Those who had no means to leave were forced to convert, but many did so willingly too. A conscious effort was made by the Beran, now less threatened by denouncement, to personally oversee the integration of Virdama, proclaiming a new capital from the ruins of the city of Vidima and calling it Lethringas dedicating it to Lothred. The Council were less than pleased as Beran had deliberately acted to retake religious authority from them, but there was little they could do with the fervour of victory and so they resigned themselves to plot his downfall.
The Leodamite-Quillian War (1187 MH)
It may have been confusing for many to invade Silvillud, the border protectorate of Rusager and Palingvyre, but the right presentation could certainly persuasive. The Protectorate had been active for nearly two decades and discipline was lax, particularly among the ill trained and poorly equipped Rusagan mercenaries. True, there was also the issue of dealing with a major power in Palingvyre, but Silvillud was well fortified and if those fortifications could be taken, and the belief was they could, they would serve the Leodamites just as well making it very difficult for Palingyre, which although fearsome had virtually no experience in modern siege warfare.
The final consideration was Quillus, but truly no-one expected them to act. Undead where hardly as stigmatised in Hythness as in Cathirianism and were significantly rarer. They would not have the advantage of fear and moral as they would against other armies and while they were known to be a legion, this was centuries ago, they would undoubtedly have been ravaged by time.
Thusly, an aged Beran, believing this to be another opportunity to take more power back to the monarchy invaded. The rest is history, and a devastating defeat by the Quillian Legion once again threatened the stability of liability. Luck would offer some consolation, as the legion would stop at the border and the peace treaty would mandate compensation be paid to Rusager and Palingvyre, on threat of invasion.
The Dark Age (~1190 MH - ~1370 MH)
Following the failure of the Silvillud campaign, Leodama descended into nearly two centuries of internal strife. From the outside, it was hard to get a bearing on what happened, as a policy of isolation saw Leodama close itself, even from its allies. Occasional rebellious states would declare independence only to be reconquered and it seemed unrest was stemming from a schism between the Council and the monarchy. A substantive period between 1290 MH and 1340 MH saw a theocracy established and begin to go through the formalities of diplomacy with its neighbours, but this too seemed to collapse from the inside and at the end of the 14th century, no outside observer seemed to know what was happening, even within the Hythnetic nations.
The Emergence of the Fourth Lions (1382 MH - Present)
After so long with little outside contact, Leodama announced itself on the world stage again. A banner was erected at the border of each nation, and heralds proclaimed a true son of Lothred, Frigras ‘of the Fourth Lions’ had taken the throne. Backed by both the clergy and the court, Frigras swore vengeance on the enemies of Leodama and proclaimed an ultimatum to his fellow Hythnetic, to recognise him as a Cirithling of Lothred or be cast amongst them. Who Fringras was, how he took power was a mystery, but a powerful hand guiding Leodama lead to a suspiciously stable decade.
For the first time in many centuries, Leodama holds significant sway on the international stage. It has renewed its old alliance with Thresvyre and found new allies in Kedoma, and the Sexen Triumvirate. Observers have noted industries in logging and smelting and it is clear that it attempting to regain its lost years and lost strength.