Post-Gnoman Early History (734 MH - 812 MH)
The origins of Orwicce are the trading post that sat on the banks of the River Or. The exact lineage of the old Orkings is hotly disputed, but it is expected that the founders of the trade post may well have been enterprising gnomes, looking to secure northern trade routes in the aftermath of the collapse of the Gnoman Empire.
River trade was incredibly important, but also incredibly dangerous. The dominant faith at the time was Cathirianism, but this only made the frontier post a more tantalising for resurgent Hythnetic raiding parties. The population was temporary, soldiers and merchants constantly moving back and forth from civilization. Initial hopes that the civilised world may remain in the north had rapidly dimmed, and so the flow of merchants stopped and with them, the prizes that raiders so prized.
With the wild lands around inhospitable, unsuitable for agriculture and housing many dangerous flora and fauna, it was surprise that anyone would choose to remain, but a few families remained, mostly elves who felt ostracised by the central Gnomanic countries. By the start of the next century, a manuscript of questionable provenance put the population of the outpost at under a hundred permanent residents, a two score farm animals.
Reconnection with the North (812 MH - 863 MH)
As the area began to stabilise travellers would come across the trading post, bringing news of mighty kingdoms that had formed in the north and that would be ideal trade partners. The groups that had remained where mostly foragers, with little expertise in trade or bartering, but a few would rise to take on the role. Notably, this would be where the family of Lundall would become rulers of Orwicce, a wealthy patrician house that would quickly shed their roots and take on a more complicated role. Orking ships would sail south, bringing with them goods from the north and taking back gold and other materials to barter for better gain.
Positioned centrally and with exclusive access to the main river trading routes of the time, wealth poured into the coffers of Orwicce. With the town attracting attention it grew in size and economic strength, still modest compared to some other nations but its positioning made it an influential power beyond its weight. With Papal eyes turning northwards, the Lundalls became the hosts of choice for many delegations from the Church and forged strong ties with them. This ultimately resulted in the appointment of the Cardinal of Orwicce in 857 MH, and a small garrison of Papal troops in 861 MH.
The Excommunication of Lundall, the Decade of Fools Gold (874 MH - 887 MH)
While Lundall’s reputation with the Papacy afforded many privileges, there was intense scrutiny of the families habits and opulence. Nothing would ultimately result of this but the Lundall’s fame is widely considered a contributory factor to the unfortunate event that would follow. The family was collectively excommunicated by Pope Gregorios in what is chronicled as his first bout of madness. Despite the Pope’s dubious health, there was little that could be done and the trade routes that supplied Orwicce with its wealth and supplies dried up.
While this may have been terminal for what was a heavily dependant city state, the Orkings remembered their roots. A hardy folk they had the benefit of a century more of learning the land; What was safe, what was not, and when and where to forage. A great boon to the city was also its rulers, the Lundalls willing opened their stores to the peasantry, handing out food and arranging secretive barters with other nations at cut rates. Many of the finest jewels that had once adorned the nobility were traded over the decade in return for grain supplies, the passage of refugees, and on occasion military support.
Orwicce had lost its protection after all and while its wealth had diminished, it was again a prime target. A group with the favour of the Papacy could hope to take on the mantle of its former rulers after all. Had it not been the for the goodwill that the House had cultivated a more fractious people may have deposed their ruler, but even through starvation and bloodshed, the Orkings remained loyal.
The future looked bleak for a time, with their enemies growing ever bolder and mustering for all out war, when Pope Gregorios died. The new Pope reconciled the Lundall’s immediately, and a Papal garrison returned at the end of 887 MH.
The Plague (905 MH - 907 MH)
After nearly two decades of recovery, Orwicce had returned to it former glory. Again benefiting from favourable relations with the Papacy, wealth had flowed from upstream and out into the north again. At this time, it was still very much a case that it was Orking merchants making the journey to bring back valuable goods, most commonly to the sea, near Unbekannt, and inland to Resalia.
It was from the south however, that a new blight would spread and a great plague swept across the southern and central kingdoms. Were it not for its unusually strong ties to the south, Orwicce may have been spared the pestilence, but it was not to avoided. The Orkings has survived attack, starvation and isolation, but they could not survive plague and it ravaged the population. Orwicce was a city state, it had few rural if any rural population and its people had to cooperate. It was particularly devastating on the mercantile contingent killing many of those who would brave the frontier is search of profit. When the plague finally passed the city was a shadow of itself, two thirds of the population taken by the grip of disease.
Decline (907 MH - 1025 MH)
For the next century the House of Lundall desperately tried to regain their losses, but it was simply not to be. The north was becoming known nations were building ties, diplomacy between faiths secured trade routes and the Or was no longer the hub it used to be. Over the next century, three generations of the ruling house would toil for meagre scraps of wealth, but the city was in an uncontrollable decline. The great halls that once burgeoned with life lay empty, unused building fell into disrepair simply due to a lack of craftsmen to repair them. It was over, for the great days of the merchant domain.
Rekindling of Faith (1025 MH - 1032 MH)
While the city remained a ghost town, the only thing that kept Orwicce protected from being absorbed into a larger neighbour was its enduring relation with the Papacy and this was not unappreciated. Uthred Lundall had watched his grandfather and father suffer and die in a futile attempts to resurrect the city, and he had watched as the only comfort where the cardinals and priest who would regularly stop at the lavish Blue Tit Hall, the seat of the Lord of Orwicce.
Uthred had been swayed to the Church from a young age and upon taking lordship of his own, his dedicated his life to it. He invited religious scholars, chapels, and functionaries all to settle in the city. With modest needs, they were perfect guests and with a deep rooted history, in the Papacy’s eyes Orwicce was ideal. It had the added benefit of being an insignificant sort of place, that no country vying for favour would take affront to the choice. When Uthred finally died, it transpired that he had bequeathed the land to the Church for the continued proliferation of the faith that had given his family so much.
The Papal State of the North (1100 MH)
At the turn of the century the Bishopric of Orwicce was reopened with a formal consecration ceremony. Now ruled by a Lord Bishop, the Papacy had invested huge amounts of wealth and material, Orwicce truly shone as it had only at its height. The Blue Tit Cathedral, as it had been renamed, became a bastion of faith with many of the cities old buildings converted an improved. Embellishments of gold, silver and gemstones were common and in a twist of irony once again turned the eyes of bandits to the city, but few would dare steal from a sacred place and far less from one so well defended. The ceremony was a signifcant moment, cementing the Papacy’s hold on the north.