The Landing and Foundation (853-946)
In the brisk Summer of 853CE, Andrennian Kalga Surguard had completed his rounding of the Horn, and was sailing south along the coast of northern Craviter. After months of sailing and observing the coast, he finally decided on the small peninsula today known as Kalgary Halvøy. He landed on the rocky coast, and moved to make encampment, only to find himself matched with a small band of Cogorian locals. What sparked the conflict is unknown, but a few days later the Andrennians had slaughtered every Cogorian they could find on the peninsula. Kalga was founded, named after the leader, which was made up of a few shacks and huts surrounded by a thin log wall, and the settlers immediately realized the problem with growing crops. The ground was hard and not easy to dig into. They did what measly farming they could, mostly relying on the animals and supplies they had brought with them.
When Winter came, they were sorely surprised that this land had cold as bad, or even worse than in Andrenne. Snow and frost covered everything, the powder often reaching above four or five feet and trapping people in their own homes. Going outside during a storm was basically suicide, as the winds would knock people off their feet, and they could hardly see past a metre.
Once Spring had arrived, and the weather started to warm, the total casualties were tallied, and over half of the original settlers had been killed off by disease and infection, the cold, or starvation. However, with more time, they managed to set up small farms, though providing small yields, it was something. Kalga immediately sent one of their vessels back to the homeland. Once they had arrived back in Andrenne, they requested more people and supplies to be shipped over to Kanada. A surprising number of people signed up to go along the perilous journey, whether just for the adventure, or for hope of better financial prospect. They were not aware of the agriculture situation.
In the meantime, Surguard had formed a band of nearly 60 men to explore the peninsula and surrounding area. They observed the massive mountains on the horizon much closer and mapped it the best they could. Multiple years passed, and thousands more people had arrived in the fresh country. In 858CE, Kalga Surguard declared himself Jarl of Kalgary, and claimed the nation as an independent state as opposed to being part of any Andrennian Kingdom. As the small realm expanded south, they pushed the Cogorians out of the way, and slaughtered any that refused.
In 866CE, an aging Jarl Surguard formed a force for the defense of the Jarldom to help defend against incursions from the natives who resisted their occupation, Surguard conscripted over 10% of the male population to serve in the defense of the Jarldom. Most were going to be stationed around the peninsula, near to home, so there wasn’t too much protest, but those who believed the forceful enlistment of people into the army was immoral simply packed up and left, marching south in a small caravan, disappearing into the mountains and forests.
Jarl Surguard passed away in 871CE, but had no sons. He left the nation to his closest friend, Magnus Kanad, beginning the Kanad line, which remains to this day. The population of the Jarldom of Kalgary was estimated to be a little over two-thousand. Kanad ordered an expansion of the town to the south, and he began construction of the Magnus Wall, a stone wall along the Skarp River, which almost cut off the peninsula into an island from the mainland. More permanent homes were made out of cut stone, quarried at first from the rocky shoreline, then from the foothills of the mountains south of the town.
In 901CE, Sundeon was founded by the settlers that had left during the conscription disagreement. They founded their town on the coast of the Shrouded Sea, across the water from Maloria. They had been battered and worn by the weather, wildlife, Cogorians and even a few Malorians, but they managed to form their city on the coast, where the beach was sandy as opposed to rocky. Erik Fostere was elected as a Jarl by the people, and began massive expansion, often letting Malorians and Cogorians join them as opposed to slaughtering them, which made for a boost in population, but they weren’t getting the same immigrant stream of people as the Kalgarians were.
Both realms continued to silently grow, becoming more and more used to the harsh weather and living conditions. Agriculture was easier for the Sundeonians, however.
The First Clash (946-948)
The continuous expansion south for the Kalgarians and north for the Sundeonians would eventually lead to them meeting. Instead of peacefully sitting down and discussing what the border should perhaps be, the Sundeonians simply charged and scared away any Kalgarian explorers. In response, Jarl Kanad II simply mobilized the army, which had been organizing and becoming more professional with each passing day. Kanad II had removed the conscription law, instead preferring the patriotic volunteers to make up the ranks of a smaller, better funded and trained army. The Sundeonians took a more of a ‘people’s army’ approach, ironically taking up the practice of conscripting the people to fight.
When Jarl Fostere found that the Kanadian settlers were now being backed by professional soldiers, he mobilized his own, larger army. These two forces clashed in the mountains of central Kanada, fighting over a riverside settlement that had been made by the Kalgarians. The Sundeonians expected to cross the river and take everything in the town, including the people, but instead found over 300 armed Kalgarians waiting for them. The first group of soldiers to cross the river was slaughtered, and the two forces found themselves just staring at each other across the river, with the occasional arrow being fired. Neither wanted to cross the river and meet the other side, so the Kalgarians simply went on with building their settlement and its fortifications while the army watched. Frustrated, the Sundeonians turned and left.
A week later, in the dead of night, however, the Sundeonians did return, and managed to cross a bulk of their army across the river. The waking Kalgarian forces did their best to form ranks and fight them off, but were forced to retreat into the mountains, burning the town behind them. Multiple small battles like this followed for two years, with mixed results for both sides. Eventually, the two men agreed to meet and figure out a border. After almost a month of negotiations, they agreed.
Intermission
Population of Kalgary in 1000: ~13,100
Population of Sundeon in 1000: ~12,300
The Creation of Senneran (954-956)
In the Spring of 954, the Kalgarians sent a group of settlers very far south, bypassing Sundeonian borders and setting up a pre-planned fortress town, with walls protecting the new settlement of Senneran on a high hill, overlooking the surrounding fields for miles. They raised the Kalgarian flag and their own flag side by side, an independent hold on the side of the North. Furious, Sundeon summoned their army. The Kalgarians summoned their army in the defense of Sundeon, but the south continued anyways, marching towards the Fortress, which was still under construction. After three unsuccessful charges up the hillside, the Sundeonians prepared for a siege, however once the Kalgarians began burning villages and outposts in northern Sundeon, they pulled away to defend their homes.
The two armies skirmished slightly, but both nations once again sat down for peace, Sundeon again not on the winning side.
The ‘Peaceful’ Era (956-998)
The Jarldoms entered a time of peace, growing and expanding and developing. The first road from Kalgary to Fort Fostere was constructed, a glorified flattened dirt path. A combination of trade with their Nordic brothers in Prydania, as well as continued immigration from Gothis and an increase in the native born Kanadian population led to the development of new settlements and holds throughout Kanada. These factors also led to the growth of already established settlements like Kalgary, Sundeon, and Senneran.
Sundeon and Kalgary used the opportunity of these new holds to help further their own power during this time of peace. Alliances were made between the two dominant powers with smaller and less powerful ones to help secure their authority and power. Marriages, often accompanied by plentiful feasts amongst the clans, were a sign of this friendship and solidarity but the continuous waves of immigration made these alliances ebb and flow, constantly changing as some areas took root out of what was sparsely populated. This constant change of allegiances also helped keep the peace however, as it deterred conflict from sparking due to the inconsistent and moving political situation of the region.
While peace existed among the Kanadian holds and their people, the start of raiding occurred by the different tribes and clans in order to continue bringing material wealth back to their homes. Kanadian raiders sailed across the Shrouded Sea and plundered cities and towns along the coast, indiscriminately targeting Malorian and Cogorian populated areas. Many prisoners were taken during this time, usually women and children, so they could be assimilated into the Nordic population and help bolster their numbers. This constant raiding and pillaging would go on for more than a century and would help cement Kanada's position in Northern Craviter.
Post mainly written by Kanada with minor revisions by myself.
