Skjoldrbrodir

The Jarldoms of Skjoldrbrodir is a Valdic nation-state holding vast amounts of territory and lands within Phoros and Plagos, Skjoldrbrodir is known for the hardness and passion of its people who are always looking to have some fun whenever is possible ranging for large parties in their glamorous mead halls encrusted with gold or bursts of adrenaline from the glory of raiding and bloody thirsty looting.

Motto: "Fear not death, for the hour of your doom is set and none may escape it."

Founding:
The tale of Skjoldrbrodir starts with a young man with a lust for knowledge and a growing ambition to be more than a simple Valdic hunter, As Acon Kolbeck grew older he began to become curious about the history of the Valdics of old and the many petty Jarldom’s that came before, as Acon searched for more wisdom from the library of Erthvald he came upon an ancient saga that told of a Jarldom called Lavdreyja who’s people fled north to find a new life free from the constant infighting that left them poor and raggedy and infertile lands that left them starving and dying, it told of them finding eternal riches and lands pure and green beyond their wildest dreams.

Seeing the words of this saga set his mind and will into a burning inferno of curiosity  giving him questions such as; “How have I not heard of this saga before? and why have we not heard from Lavdreyja since then?“ But that would have to wait as Acon recruited the likes of Cluify, Ezee8, Higion, Ruralwolf and Ghoul for his voyage to the north, these five men would become the founders of Skjoldrbrodir they would go on to found the first town of Skjold called Ustokol which was a small but quaint town isolated from the rest of the world.

On the 21st of February the island nation of Skjoldrbrodir would be born.

Bardonian rule
Shortly after the ice melted from the frozen winter of the Shattered sea large warships were seen on the horizon flying a banner of a Dandelion, as these heavily armed and skilful soldiers, the Leader of the large group of men gave the five men an ultimatum be crushed and slaughtered under the heel of the Bardonia empire or join them, hesitantly Acon knelled knowing if he did not he would be killed and his men along with him but sensing he could learn from these foreign warriors, following suit the other men followed suit and knelt to the Bardonians.

A few years later after the fall of the chancellor, Skjoldrbrodir regained its independence and its freedom.

The Question of Nova Roma
Skjoldrbródir looked to it's south at the prospect of creating alliances and sewing new land into the stitch work of it's nation. All eyes turned to Nova Roma, a nation which was known to Skjoldrbrodir to be lacking active citizens. Skjoldrbróðir's leader, AC0N heard the anxiousness in his people's voices and decided to claim Nova Roma as his own. He could do this in one of two ways.

Plan 1) Raise a levy of Karls and have them fight as Himthiki in order to conquer the land by force. This would appease his people, as they were ready to die for Skjoldrbróðir at any given time, but this would also decrease international opinion of Skjoldrbróðir. They could not be seen just as savages who fought for more land every chance they got. So he turned to his second plan.

Plan 2) Through diplomacy and the one true power of the land (money) he would buy the whole nation of Nova Roma. With this plan, he would preserve his public image and negotiate a peaceful solution to the Question of Nova Roma.

AC0N ended up paying 30,000 for Nova Roma and remarked on the trade, saying quote, "All of Nova Roma has been sold to Skjoldrbrodir for 30k, this is a legitimate purchase and has been documented in a book signed by both leaders (AC0N [High Jarl of Skjoldrbrodir] and CosmicElephant [Leader of Nova Roma]). All land of Nova Roma is now a part of Skjoldrbrodir."

The integration of Nova Roma is still ongoing to this day as the purchase was negotiated on May 9th, 2021. CosmicElephant became the first Jarl, as he was the past leader of Nova Roma, set as overseer of the Jarldom of Veneto

The Jarldom's of Villhorn and Narva would also be established with BalloonDwarf718 (Gustavus Villhorn) and Ezee8 as the Jarls of each.

Colonization of Eldham
After the discovery of land east of Skjoldrbrodir, settlers were sent out to claim land for the high Jarl. After a few years Skjolrbrodir would more than double its total size with the newly acquired colonial possessions. Skjoldrbrodir's Eldham holdings are right in the middle of the map, near Lumuria and Regnum Drakaes in the continent of Phoros. After months of searching, the location for modern day Steinborg had been chosen. Steinborg got it's name from it's rocky, mountainous terrain. this grand citadel was to be handed to Jarl Pipo of Alfuna (PipoH1PP0), who chose Sir Breadstic of the Pot (tasty_breadstic) to be Thane of Steinborg. Steinborg has constantly been under construction, although it cam to a swift halt when Grassel, head architect and High Thane of Skjoldrbrodir, died.

The Skjold-Limurian Wars
The Battles of Limuria

Skjoldrbrodir, now settled heavily in Eldham, started a period of diplomacy trying to reach nations across our water and land borders making Non aggressions pacts, making trade routes with different nations...etc, the people of Skjold discovered an unusual neighbours, these neighbours were covered in fur, with long tails coming out of their column and long arms that reached for the nearby branches, this 'people' had a massive claim over our area and including Regnum Drakaes, Terrather, and more (although this claim was finally turn down as new and powerful nations appeared). Skjoldrbrodir in its search of friends and treaties, came across two nations, Urakiend and Regnum Drakaes, this two nations will be the foot for the start of the conflict. AC0N the High jarl contacted regnum while Grassioso the High Thane contacted urakiend, the two relations prospered, in the case of urakiend we signed an alliance with them making the two nations official friends, with regnum relations went well too, even giving us information about Limuria cutting their trade route and their possible interest of taking them out (this sparked the flame) Some time passed and the horror begun, Limurian forces atacked our urakiend ally without Skjold noticing threatening them to the point of having to give away land, after that skjold just saw Limuria as a threat and war preparations were starting.

The time came, diplomats from Skjold reached the Limurian capital handing a declaration of war, the conflict started and peace or surrender wasnt an option. This declaration caused a national repercusion mostly for the Skjold side, as secret pacts from other nations with Limuria came to light making them stronger and our supposed ally Regnum Drakaes left us alone in this conflict.

The First Skjold-Limurian Battle
Drums could be heard in the nearby dense jungles of the Limurian capital, Skjoldrbrodir forces with the help of some mercenaires and allies rushed to the gates and started to fight, even holding the capital for some time until they got pushed back. The final result of the battle was a draw, as both sides were unable to push each other and tired after a long fight, Skjold seeing this result decided to do whatever it took to win the next battle and be stronger than the enemy.

The Second Skjold-Limurian Battle
Skjold refused to lose or surrender, in the time pre second battle, Grassioso and the Jarls made diplomatic relations and friends across the world, making Skjoldrbrodir able to gather a great army of friends and allies, a second great population boost would hapen and turn out to be vital for the next conflict This task turned out to be rather easy as a pthera of nations didnt like Limuria and decided to help Skjolderbrodir in its war.

This time Skjoldrbrodir forces were defending in Steinborg the biggest city at that time. The battle started, and the Limurians along with their allies came from the East. Time passed and Limurian forces had entered into the city, what followed could only be described as a masacre of the Limurian's. After many deaths the Limurian's were routed out of Steinborg and a final push was made by Skjoldrbrodir and her allies. The frontlines were pushed right back to the Limurian capital, in which the slaughter continued. This led to a decisive end to the war.

Upon the End of the battle the Limurians attempted to sell off their land to the Imperial Archonate of Viodoxa who in the end would simply gift the land back to Skjoldrbrodir.

Before abandoning their homeland the Limurian's destroyed their ancient capital lest it fall into the hands of the Valdic peoples of Skjoldrbrodir. Having found the ruins of the city, Jarl BalloonDwarf718 founded the resort City of Ruddersdam as a modern settlement where one can indulge in their deepest desires.

From the Ruins of Limuria the Jarldom of Alfuna was Expanded and the Jarldom of Nyr VIllhorn was founded.

Further Expansion
After The Limurian War's many new moments of expansion were set into motion.

Regnum Drakaes
Relations between Skjolderbrodir and The Regnum Drakaes would collapse in the wake of the war after the Drakaes betrayal to their supposed allies Skjolderbrodir. A few weeks later the Regnum Drakaes would collapse and a sliver of their norther territory would be taken by Skjoldrbrodir, and by many it was seen as a Devine retribution.

Terrather
Upon the fall of Valeso fallowing the Limurian wars the nation of Teratherr stood alone. Not wishing to meet a terrible fate it joined Skjoldrbrodir as its own Jarldom.

Plagatean collapse
As the Empire of Plagatéa began to collapse from war with the Skittles Alliance the Province of Eden became an independent state, however its king, Aepollonier Wished not to be dragged into the brutality of the war. instead it opted to join Skjolderbrodir as a Jarldom. Though it could have rejoined the Second Empire of Plagatéa upon its founding it instead opted to stay; having more a cultural connection to Skjoldrbrodir.

The war with Zamotz
After the Limurian war the Lemurfolk of the nation fled to the Island of Zamotz and along with the other nations on the island would form the Zamotz Union.

However, the Limurians never forgot the war they had lost and the shame and hat they felt transformed into a rage against Skjolderbrodir. Thus on the 8th of October 2021 17:22 GMT  the Zamotz Union declared war on SKjoldrbrodir and her allies. The Limurians hoped to steal the western lands of SKjoldrbrodir in order to create a new rump state that one of their puppets would rule.

A battle would follow suit at the fortress of Hefnaheim in which the Zamotz union would win (Though it was won through unscrupulous tactics that broke many a war rule)

Finally after a month long peace negotiation it was agreed that Skjoldrbrodir would pay a large sum to Zamotz and in return the Entente wouls sign NAP's with Skjoldrbrodir.

(For a more in depth of this war go to its dedicated wiki Zamotz - Skjoldrbrodir War)

Joining The Sapphire Commonwealth
As a direct result of the war with Zemots Skjoldrbrodir joined the Sapphire Commonwealth in order to be closer to her greatest allies.

The New Yoake Purchase
In mid November VonObby Vampire Queen of the Republic of New Yoake declared she was bored with the nation and decided to leave. This led to most of the upper class and government of New Yoake abandoning the nation. Seeing the opportunity New Yoake was purchased by Skjoldrbrodir and became a Jarldom with Soul Leyla-Earcala as its Jarl.

A Return To Peace
Skjoldrbrodirs, after facing what effectively was a defeat against Zamotz and it's allies, moved back into a position of peace and stability. It was decided that war for the time being would not be a good soultion to it's current standing. They now seek to increase their internal holdings with new building projects and welcoming new members to their nation.

Culture
The Valdic People of Skjoldrbrodir have a long and rich culture and religion.

Language
The main language of Skjoldrbrodir is Northern Valdic, a dialect/branch of the wider Valdic language. Northern Valdic began its split off from the greator Valdic language soon after the founding of Skjoldrbrodir; only fully being recognized as a new dialect in the year 39 A.L.

State Religion
After the colonization of Eldham a newer religion was needed for the Northern Valdic people of Skjoldrbrodir, this task was given to BalloonDwarf718 the Grand Shaman of Skjoldrbrodir. Feeling that the existence of Eldham directly contradicted theology of The Nostíkur Faith Practiced by most Valdic People until this point. This led to a complete spit with theology of old and the creation of a new faith named Nýr Nostíkur (New Nostikur).

Prelude
Just coming off of the collapse of the Sapphire Commonwealth and a big loss during the Zamotz-Skjoldrbrodir war, the nation was in a very critical state. The citizens grew ill, the cities were crawling in filth, and the troops were exhausted and crippled. Supplies for war were low as well. The once powerful and dominant nation of Skjoldrbrodir was weak and recovering. One day, a Skjold scouting party came back with information on a squatters settlement near Itolu, Terrather. Jarl Pipo Harvardr of Álfuna and Jarl Loggy of Terrather rode out to parley with the squatters, as per the usual routine when dealing with them. After about twenty minutes of trying to talk to the guard, it was clear these were not the usual Valdic rebells. The city of Itakshiir was adorned in sets of extremely intricate armor and advance roads and carvings. The people didn't speak Valdic either, so Loggy and Pipo were forced to talk in a more common alphabet they haven't had to use during the Limuria wars. A half fox half man came to the walls. Although. he looked similar, he was no Vulpur. The fox man demanded the independence of Itakshiir and all the land in its immediate vicinity, the whole of the Terrather Jarldom. It was here where the long series of conflicts inside Central Eldham began.

The Annexation of Terrather
The Terrather wars was a series of wars caused by expansion and miscommunication. Negotiations were slow and tiring. The Skjold leadership was taking regular shifts to organize who would have to talk with Mosir because it was draining. Many treaties were scrapped and many words were said, but about a few days later the two nations had almost come to an agreement. The nation of Skjoldrbrodir would cede all Terrather land to Mosir Sumari except the coast. The problem though however, was that both sides really wanted that coast. The following week was a very long series of arguments about who would get the coast. AC0N, the High Jarl of Skjoldrbrodir, was offering anything from land, artifacts, and books, but Mosir wouldn't budge. Despite being the Jarl of Terrather though, Jarl Loggy didn't participate much in negotiations. Further slimming the amount of land Skjold would get to keep, the treaty was finally signed and Mosir Sumari would officially show on the map of Eldham with land of their own. Peace was achieved with no actual bloodshed, but it didn't last long as both sides would clash swords in the near future.

Turmoil in the Shattered Sea
While Skjoldrbrodirs lands in Eldham were constantly in flux, its lands at home had remained unchanged, until a squatter settlement showed up. The squatters lived on a small, man-made island on the edge of Skjoldrbrodir's sea claims, near the abandoned city of Nova Roma. At first they were not paid much attention, but eventually it was decided to take the land before the squatters could gain any legitimacy. The squatters, who were called the Drokish, obliged, knowing they would likely be crushed. This settlement would come to be known as Drokeseon, and would slowly grow into one of Skjoldrbrodir's largest cities in Rathnir. Their leader, Adri Floyen, was still bitter over the annexation, and had a decent amount of autonomy in Skjoldrbrodir yet didn't have much political say. When the Sapphire Commonwealth collapsed however, Adri saw a chance and declared independence. Skjoldrbrodir readied for war, yet ultimately nothing came. A deal between Skjoldrbrodir and Drokeseon was reached, and Drokeseon was retaken by Skjoldrbrodir. This however did not end the idea of independence in Drokeseon. Drokeseon still had no rights in government, however eventually this too would change. The death of Drokeseon's independence movement truly happened, following the first shots of the Skjoldrbrodir Civil War, where Adri, the leader of Drokeseon, stood side by side with the Loyalists in their fight againest the GSA.

The Civil War
Skjoldrbrodir had long been unstable due to tensions within the government, however tensions finally broke after Samai, the Jarl of Vilhorn leaked important government documents. Samai retaliated by sending an ultimatum and a gang of bandits to attack the government officials who opposed her, threatening war. Adri, Pipo and Alexa were having an important government meeting when the ultimatum arrived. The ultimatum demanded 500k in payment to Samai for Drokeseon and Ustokol to give 20% of their income to the Jarldom of Vilhorn, for Eldborg to be handed over to the Jarldom of Vilhorn, and for Raging, a associate of Samai to be given a high ranking government position. The letter threatened that if the demands were not met, a coalition of towns including Narva, Etersir, and Feneyjar would declare war on the remaining Skjold Government. Very few took the letter as serious however, as it was doubted Samai could back up their threat. However, that idea was quickly found to be wrong. On September 9th, 2022, Narva, Feneyjar, and Etersir declared independence and war on Skjoldrbrodir. Eldborg also joined the coaliton, now named the Greater Skjold Coalition, however they were quickly captured by Skjold Loyalist forces as Eldborgs leader, Loggy, was in Eldham. The first battle of the war thus was an invasion of Eldborg by Coalition forces in order to retake the island, however the attack failed. After the battle of Eldborg, Loyalist forces took Feneyjar and then Narva, and repelled an invasion of Drokeseon. Coalition moral was low, however they refused to surrender. The Loyalists, expecting the Coalition to be weak, sent a small army to invade Etersir, however the attack failed. The Coalition, now emboldened, sent several attacks on Loyalist cities which all failed. After their failures, the Loyalists and Coalition stopped launching any real invasions, instead battling over the icebergs of the Shattered Sea. Finally, after winning several small naval battles the Loyalists invaded Etersir successfully and defeated the Coalition, ending the war.

Reconstruction and Post-Civil War
The Civil War had been very deadly to the towns who chose to fight with the Coalition. The cities were in ruin, and the populations had left for towns less affected by the Civil War. No other city was more destroyed then Feneyjar, the former capital of Nova Roma, a nation Skjoldrbrodir had bought long ago. Nova Roma was a declining culture within Skjoldrbrodir, and after the Civil War, the last Nova Roman, Bravox died, effectively killing the culture. Most high-ranking Coalition leaders were given back their respective jobs in government after the Civil War, in an attempt to bring the country back together. One of the few Coalition cities not destroyed by the war was Etersir, due to being conquered last, which experienced massive population growth post war, becoming the largest city in Skjoldrbrodir, surpassing Ustokol and Drokeseon. The most important lasting effect of the Civil War was the rekindling of Skjoldish expansionism, as that was the leading ideology of the Coalition.

The Zendenia Incident
Adri Floyen, the leader of Drokeseon had gotten the help of several of his friends in order to defend Drokeseon during the Civil War. One of this friends, British-Russian was a high ranking official within Zendenia, a nation which at the time was being illegally occupied by Bardonia. In an attempt to appease the expansionists within Skjold, High Chieftess Alexa, with the help of Chariz Lucio, negotiated a secret deal with British that would attempt to free Zendenia by buying them from Bardonia. The Zendenian parliament and Bardonia quickly accepted the deal, however one of the two Kings of Zendenia stalled the deal in the hopes of getting a better one. Unfortunately, Zendenia was bought by Lunaris from Bardonia before the deal was accepted, leading to an awkward dispute. Skjoldrbrodir quickly gave up the claim knowing Lunaris would easy defeat them in a war, however many in Zendenia still wished for independence. Currently, Zendenia is still disputed on many maps due to the incident.

Cities
Ustokol - Capital City ruled by AlexaWasTaken_(Rathnir)

Feneyjar - City ruled by RagingGamerYT378 (Rathnir)

Veneto - City ruled by RagingGamerYT378 (Rathnir)

Narva - City ruled by Eazy8 (Rathnir)

Drokeseon - City ruled by LilWolfieKing (Rathnir)

Etersir - City ruled by doom_is_here and Not_SmileyBl (Rathnir)

Nyr Aciester - City ruled by Jjjace (Rathnir)

Steinborg - City ruled by PipoH1PP0 (Eldham)

Fjordvik - City ruled by Eazy8 (Eldham)

Ruddersdam - City ruled by BalloonDwarf718 (Eldham)

Rotspring - City ruled by Deathpope (Eldham)

Uracil - City governed by Kai999, Ruled by PipoH1PP0 (Eldham)

Papari - Town governed by wefse, ruled by LoggyLag (Eldham)

Fubbarvik - Town governed by N8thegr8, ruled by AC0N (Eldham)

Niedshall - Town governed by KempenCommie, ruled by AC0N (Eldham)

Varcheg - City ruled by AC0N (Eldham)

Everfrost - Town governed by Hiro, ruled by inferno_alex (Eldham)

Shergorod - Town governed by GunterTheGamer, ruled by AC0N (Eldham)

New Yoake - City ruled by Soul74800 (Eldham)

Hefnaheim - City governed by Mr_Deadlock, ruled by inferno_alex (Eldham)

Trivia

 * Skjoldrbrodir translates to "Shield Brother's" in the Valdic language
 * Skjoldrbrodir's capital Ustokol is the location from which Athaz set sail on his trip to discover Eldham
 * The Shamans of Skjoldrbrodir use a unique calendar known as The Gustavic Calendar