Garuck Udor
Contents
History and Culture
Garuck Udor, land of the prideful Udorian people. A tiny spit of land on the shores of the Euschean, blessed with resources beyond its size and a beauty that has inspired the tongues of poets and the lust of conquerors since time immemorial.
The Udorians, or 'Udur as they call themselves, first conquered this land from the native Saritian tribes as part of the larger Palm Sea diaspora some three centuries before the colonization of Dwilight by the men of the East. The 'Udur were a coalition of nomadic tribes from the northern portion of the Palm Sea, forced to leave their homeland due to the sudden drying up of many of the great desert's natural wells. These masters of horse and bow cut a path to the north until they reached the rich and fertile southern coast of the Euschean.
Naming the land Gharuq 'Udur, the Dominion of the Udorians, they settled down and slowly adopted a more sedentary lifestyle over the course of about a century, mixing their culture and bloodlines to some extent with their Saritian subjects. The results of the conquest are reflected to this day in a complex and semi-fluid caste system, where purity of Udorian blood and relation to more prestigious tribes of the original conquerors are given weight interchangeably.
The chief contribution of the Saritian tradition to Udorian culture is their skill in stonemasonry, which was pursued with great zeal by the artisans of the 'Udur as the old nomadic traditions faded. Its results can be seen in the Bridge of Ciarin, perhaps the greatest Udorian landmark and a marvel of architecture, spanning the Strait of Ciarin, a length of several miles. The multi-leveled villages carved from the faces of the sea cliffs are less famous, but no less impressive for their graceful beauty and wondrous craftsmanship.
These villages, each run by a tribal chief whose bloodline is traced back to the leaders of the conquest, are the centers of the land's wealth, rich in the trade that comes from land and sea. The head families of each village are counted as petty nobility, and they are notoriously closed-fisted when it comes to taxation from Colonist realms. Wise Lords of the region give them a wide degree of autonomy and economic freedom. Their cliff-hewn villages are, after all, practically impregnable fortresses in their own right.
The colonization of Eastern Dwilight brought radical change to the continent, but while the region has changed hands from one Colonist realm to another over the years, the Udorian culture remains vibrant and unique. Poetry is a chief pursuit of the upper classes, following the traditional patterns of the desert bards, and their music and dance is evocative of their ancient roots in the Palm Sea culture. The nomadic-pastoral tradition is preserved to a degree in the rustic inland areas, where sheep and goats are grazed freely over the rolling grasslands.
Udorian Names (OOC note)
Udorian names resemble a mix of Arabic, North African and Greek names, and follow a set formula of a given name, the word “men” meaning of or from, and a patronymic, ie., the name of the person's father, regardless of the person's gender. Ex. “Khoros men Fabri” (scribe of Jonn Dodger).
Recent History
Myern Control
"Not very long ago, Garuck Udor was one of the regions belonging to Myern. However, due to a sudden rise of monster activity troughout all of Dwilight, Myern had to abandon this fertile soil, and both Wasylis Zond (who was in control of the region at that time) and Skyndarbau Melphrydd, Knight of Garuck Udor, were forced to look for a new place to call home. Myern has already reclaimed Sulorte, and in the near future, hopefully they will be able to reattach Garuck Udor as well."
- As told by Skyndarbau Melphrydd, in the Summer of the year 9
Lurian Empire
In the spring of the 9th Year of Dwilight the religious fanatics of Holos took control of Garuck Udor reclaiming it back for Myern. Shortly after that the pending invasion of the Lurian Empire influenced Count Galeo to change his allegiance to the Empire. With the war banners of Pian en Luries crossing the Bridge of Garuck Udor the region has been safely claimed by the Empire. It subsequently fell back into barbarism with the fall of Myern. The Lurian Empire reclaimed Garuck Udor for Pian en Luries in the 15th year, appointing Wilfred the new Count.
Southern League War
The events of the Southern League War would see Garuck Udor taken by force by D'Hara in the 28th year of the Colonization. In the year 29, the fall of Barca at Aveston would pave the way for the region to return to the Lurian Hegemony. Jonn Dodger, Knight of Askileon, was awarded the region for his military endeavors, especially the skirmishes leading up to the Battle of Thar Gortauth, in which he led the vanguard along with Woolston O'Deathh of Niselur, also a Knight of Askileon. These two alone were responsible for the defeat of five or more full enemy units while taking very few casualties, in a running series of skirmishes that ranged from Ciarin Tut to Garuck Udor to Thar Gortauth itself. They also took part in conquering the region after the fall of Aveston upon transferring from the Lurian Home Guard to the Imperial Battlemasters. These events cemented a firm friendship between the two foreign Knights of Askileon.
Shortly thereafter, Sir Jonn was named Viscount Jonn of Garuck Udor. He was delayed in taking his seat by a massive battle in Ciarin Tut, in which the Lurian armies defeated the combined forces of D'Hara, Astrum, and Fissoa. After fighting in the battle, Lord Jonn took the long trip across the Bridge of Ciarin only to find three Fissoan units waiting for him. In what would become known as the Battle of the Assumption, Lord Jonn's men managed to kill more of the enemy than they lost, despite being outnumbered two to one, and forced the Fissoans to flee the region. Although he was forced to retreat to save his men, his valor on the field won him more notoriety and the respect of the Udorian people.
The divide of Luria Nova
Garuck Udor became part of the new Luria Boreal of Duke Mayhem, during its rule under the Lord Gilbert Daele.
