Here follows the account of the coming of Gwynne of the Isle to the West, who consolidated the Sunset Lands into a unified Kingdom and was sainted after his death to become Agin, the Realmwright. — From the Fyddic annals of Hroekfyde, penned c. 38 AL
Before the rule of Gwynne the Conqueror, the frontier lands of El-Shorrai were in chaos. Try as it might, the dying eastern empire had ultimately failed to keep its hold on the recently discovered new landmass, where dozens of men now called themselves “King.” These kings were a petty lot of grasping tyrants, using both their serfs and the natives of the land as fodder, seeking to solidify their claim to the new world and its untapped wealth of resources. When Gwynne came from the East and landed his ships at the Firth of Fyde, they fought hard against him and his leal knights’ attempts to bring order to the land. But they were as disorganized as they were dissolute, and they could not prevent the invaders from securing a foothold on the mainland, sailing up a tributary of the River Fyde and building a small motte-and-bailey ringfort as a bulwark against counterattacks, the aptly named “Gwynnfort.” He combined his forces with King Burm II of Norbury, who became his staunchest ally. It is believed by many that it was Burm himself who encouraged Gwynne to come West, to bring some semblance of control to the lawless new world.
The land reeled from the repercussions of the new arrival, and the local kings and lords conspired and bickered amongst themselves, unable to agree on a course of action to deal with the threat. Gwynne sent envoys to the neighboring colonies, demanding that each send a representative to Norbury to acknowledge his new kingdom and his right to rule. ”Queen” Ariatra of Alva proposed marriage and alliance if Gwynne would choose her son Darren as his heir, and Lord Wullen of Weoford declared that he would aid Gwynne in battle against his enemies, but would not yield. Gwynne rejected both of these offers, and none of the other rulers were willing to submit.
Gwynne moved quickly to the attack; with nearly two thousand infantry and four hundred mounted knights he had more military forces than any one of his individual foes. He fell upon the river lowlands with his knights while King Burm struck in the North. One by one the rival Kings fell in battle, swore fealty willingly, or were killed by their own councilors. The last of the petty Kings to fall was Ulmacht of Ystradell, known as the Storm King, who bent his knee to Gwynne on the Hill of Mora after two days of fighting in torrential rains. This day is remembered as the official end date of the War of Conquest, which lasted only eight months from the day of Gwynne’s landing.
After the fighting was done, Gwynne returned swiftly North to his hidden fastness of Norbury and began making plans with his allies to consolidate his power and establish a seat from which to rule. In a prudent move, he decided to allow freedom of religion in his new Kingdom, which won him approval from much of the native population with their queer pagan gods. Almost all of the peasantry liberated by Gwynne conquest came to him willingly. Their treatment at the hands of their previous lords had made them wary, but Gwynne was possessed of a powerful presence, commanding and charismatic. Word spread quickly of the nobility and honor of their liberator, no doubt perpetuated by his own allies. Several other lords submitted to Gwynne’s rule now, and many villages and holds were assimilated into the new Kingdom without much fuss. A few still resisted, and Gwynne’s new vassals were delighted to demonstrate their loyalty by laying siege to or burning their forts, or in the case of Castle Rookmoor, sending a single assassin through a postern gate to who killed Lord Feredach and hung his headless corpse from his own balcony before being killed himself while escaping.
The King’s coronation took place in the Gwynnfort late that year, as the days grew shorter and darker. He was crowned in front of all his lords by the High Shaman of Ayenwatha, a respected Wise Woman of the native tribes, a decision intended to show respect to the native beliefs but which some of his officers questioned. He took the titles of several of his fallen foes, styling himself as “King Gwynne Cartholan I, Monarch of Fyde and Strathgollen, Chieftain of Firth and Dale, Storm King of the River lands, and the Shield of his People.”
The day of his coronation was declared the start of a new era, and saw the implementation of a new epoch; it was the year O AL, with the start of the New Year subsequently falling on the anniversary of Gwynne’s landing on El-Shorrai. Lastly, he delegated authority to several loyal followers, declaring them his “High Lords” and giving them titles and holdings of their own. Gwynne and his knights planned to wait out the winter in the Gwynnfort, though hundreds of the peasantry would be dead from the cold by spring, Gwynne’s resolve remained strong.
Gwynne’s troubles were far from over. Relations with the natives began to sour after multiple incidents where conscripted soldiers torched their villages and raped their women, despite the swift justice dealt to the outlaws by the King. Bands of hardened Northmen wearing fur cloaks came down from the icy wastes to the North, unafraid of the cold, emboldened by tales of turmoil and uncertainty in the lowlands, and seeking to take what lands they could by force. They harassed the northern periphery of the fledgling Kingdom through the winter, until Gwynne sent his most leal knight Ser Baldric north with many warriors to deal with the threat. Ser Baldric slew their leader in single combat, temporarily routing the attackers.
As the snows melted in the lowlands, Gwynne ordered the construction of a large stone and wood castle on a promontory overlooking the junction of the River Fyde and the River Gollen. He named the castle Hroekfyde and set it as the capitol of his new country. He commanded his ships to sail East and return with more ships, and colonists to fill them. After word of Gwynne’s impressive deeds reached East across the Great Atlean Sea, this year became known as the “Spring of the Sunset Kingdom,” and even as the new realm began to prosper, secret and powerful factions in the Old Empire had their sights set on the West, and were plotting in secret to supplant the “pretender king” and his vainglorious audacity.
To be continued…