Redspan/A History of the Realm

Chapter 1: The Early Years

Many details concerning the early years of the Kingdom of Redspan are still a mystery. It is known that the realm was founded by Dr. Sceptre (who eventually became the first King) as a colony of Lamar upon the lands once known as Kanzum. It is also known that at the height of its initial glory, Redspan consisted of 14 regions: Meldeen, Byblack, Rogeshore, Atblane, Stargard, Upperfell, Ambermel, Sullenport, Cummaol, Bolgar, Lurgrod, Chasnoff, Matakonis and Lanston. The Great Dragons of Stargard were its protectors, but all of this was changed by the forming of the Northern Alliance (NA).

Chapter 2: The First War (also known as "The Great War")

A war broke out; one of the greatest wars Atamara has ever seen. Redspan and her allies, Abington and Lamar, stood alone against the onslaught of the combined might of the NA; Tara, Cagilan Empire, Talerium, Darka, Carelia and Eston. The war was long and brutal, and many of the battles took place on Redspan soil. The 3 allies fought bravely, but after beating back uncountable waves of attacks Lamar was unfortunately conquered. Now only Abington and Redspan stood to oppose the NA. Try as they might, the two allies were now vastly outnumbered. King de rode ridder, who was also serving as General at the time, led many valiant strikes and fought many battles, but the NA armies were relentless. Eventually, the realm of Redspan was reduced to only 1 region; Stargard.

A siege was set upon the city, and many nobles abandoned the realm for dead. The situation was dire; at one point there wasn’t even a functioning recruitment center. Money was collected and sent south to the survivors of Lamar in hopes they would be able to recruit the last of their loyal soldiers and carry on their fight in Stargard. Even with all these challenges, a loyal few refused to give up hope and continued to fight. The NA attempted a massive assault upon the city, but after a rousing speech by Lei’o’mano Kamehameha and timely arrival of Abington reinforcements, the city was saved. Unfortunately, the survivors were running low on both food and gold, and King de rode ridder and the Redspan loyalists were forced to sign a peace treaty essentially surrendering most of the regions they formerly owned, including Sullenport, one of the greatest cities in all of Atamara.

Chapter 3: The Dark Age & The Coming of Da Great Goat

The realm of Redspan was but a shadow of her former self. King de rode ridder, distraught over the loss and exhausted from the years of fighting to survive, decided to retire and flew off on The Last Dragon, leaving Redspan in the care of her few remaining nobles. The realm was without direction or purpose until a strange thing happened to the 2 most promising surviviors, ry2n BloodDiver and Manaydur Lamont.

Da Great Goat came to them both in a vision one night, and revealed to them Da Way. They immediately told the rest of the nobles about it, and soon every noble in Redspan became a devout follower of Da Hairy One and his teachings. This was to be a turning point for the realm, and every event since, whether major or minor, has had some benefit for Redspan and her nobles. This is why we serve Da Great Goat; Da Way has always been true.

ry2n became King, and Manaydur his chief advisor. With their direction, Redspan began repairs and rebuilding of their now tiny realm, now reduced to just 3 regions. They had made an uneasy alliance with the NA for the purpose of self-preservation, and the negotiations, though long and diffucult, eventually resulted in Redspan regaining 3 more regions to act as a buffer state between Abington and the closest members of the NA. Abington became upset with Redspan for what they perceived as defection, and refused to return 3 regions which they had retaken from the NA during the war. This was a diffucult time for Redspan and her nobles; because of the treaty, they were forced to participate in many battles in which they gained nothing but scars and misery, all suffered for the gain of their NA allies. ASI (the Ash Sea Islands), our neighbor to the north, saw Redspan’s weakness and attempted to annex the region of Ambermel. A great battle was fought there and the brave defenders of Redspan fought valiantly and slew Lelnor, a great Hero and the King of ASI. This put a quick end to the war, and raised the spirits of the nobles of Redspan for a while, but ultimately many despaired and again left the realm for dead. Even King ry2n had grown weary of serving the NA, and decided to leave Redspan in the care of Manaydur. Thing looked bleak for the now tiny realm.

Chapter 4: New Hope & The Second War

But Da Great Goat did not forget his followers. After many years of fighting battles for far-away allies and gaining nothing, King Manaydur and his nobles were fed up. The King desperately wanted to return Redspan to her former glory, and shared his plan with the nobles, who were in agreement. All they needed to do was wait for the right time, and again Da Great Goat delivered them. Mysteriously, a war broke out within the once-mighty NA, and many of its realms began to experience inner turmoil. Almost as mysterious, a few of the old nobles began to rejoin RedSpan, including the former King, Ry2n BloodDiver. King Manaydur perceived the signs from Da Hairy One, and knew the time was right. A master of negotiating, he managed to repair relations with Abington and ASI, and formed a Southern Alliance (SA). The King also appealed to King Paradigm of Carelia with an offer to join the Alliance, but he declined, and instead instigated a conflict between the two realms by invading and annexing the region of Cummaol.

A war then broke out between the SA and Tara & her allies, Carelia and the Cagilan Empire. This time however, Redspan and her allies were to be victorious, another blessing of Da Smelly One. Falasan soon joined the SA, and Tara began losing regions very quickly. Many battles were again fought on Redspan lands, but her nobles, led chiefly by Lei’o’mano Kamehameha and AJ Von Krondor, refused to give any ground and with a lot of help from their newfound allies fought back every army sent against them. With Tara being reduced to 4 regions under combined assaults from ASI and Falasan, and a large army from Abington, Redspan, and Minas Ithil on the doorstep of Carelia’s capital, Tara surrendered along with her allies, and a peace treaty (authored chiefly by King Manaydur) was signed. Peace was guaranteed between the realms for 3 years, and reparations were made by Carelia to both Redspan and Abington to atone for Paradigm’s foolish decisions and actions.

Chapter 5: Return to Glory

With the war over, the nobles of Redspan set to rebuilding once again, though this time as victors. The region of Atblane was added as reparations from Carelia, and Meldeen had been retaken from Tara. Da Great Goat had been good to his followers, but had one more blessing in store. In a grand gesture of friendship, King Nautilus of the Ash Sea Islands ceded the city of Sullenport back to Redspan, thus returning the city to its rightful owners. Now controlling 8 regions, including the 2 large cities, Redspan was now beginning to resemble the glorious realm of old.

A few months of peace followed the conflict, and the people of Redspan were busy with many things. Some had work to do in the newly acquired regions, and some headed off to compete in tournaments. The region of Cummaol was also returned to Redspan control by Carelia, bringing the region total to 9. There was also a population boom, and the total number of Redspan nobles grew to double the ammount serving here before the Second War.

The peace was unfortunately short-lived. The SA was dissolved as a war over land began between two of the members; Abington and ASI. Both realms wanted Redspan to take their side, but King Manaydur did his best to stay out of their conflict as long as possible. However, some troubling information came to the King’s attention. He discovered that nautilus, the King of ASI, had attempted some backhanded dealings before the SA was formed. Nautilus had attempted to negotiate splitting Redspan’s lands with Abington rather than taking Redspan on as an ally. Abington, of course, declined this proposal. King Manaydur was furious, and decided to aid Abington in the conflict. He negotiated a new Souther Alliance with Abington and Carelia, and declared war on ASI. The well-rested armies of Redspan quickly reclaimed the region of Rogeshore, and moved on to Byblack. ASI managed to raise a sizeable host, and the Redspan army temporarily retreated to Stargard, but Abington forces were gathering in the east. ASI left to defend their capital, and the takeover in Byblack was resumed & completed. The realm was now finally almost restored to it's former power, save the regions of Chasnoff and Matakonis. The once-tiny realm was now becoming a major political player on the continent, thanks to the hard work and diligence of all her loyal nobles.

Chapter 6: Federations

The next few weeks were tenuous to say the least. Abington and ASI were in heavy negotations to end their war after losing the Battle of Ash'rily I to the combined forces of Abington, Carelia, and Redspan. Discussions moved slowly due to apprehension and mistrust of each other shared by the involved realms.

About the same time, a new political format made its appearance on the continent of Atamara. The "Federation" was invented, and allowed realms to declare and cement relationships with their closest allies. As various Federations began to appear across the continent, King Manaydur knew that even though Redspan had grown dramatically in the last few months, the realm would also need to join a Federation to protect themselves and continue their growth. He worked diligently to form the Federation of Southern Atamara (again known as the SA) consisting of Redspan's long-time allies, Carelia and Abington. Together, they formed quite an imposing trio ..... maybe a bit too imposing for the likes of the leaders of some of the other realms of Atamara.

When Abington and ASI finally agreed to peace, a plan for growth began to be discussed among the Kings of the SA. Plans for a possible joint colony were debated, as well as possible areas of expansion. Unfortunately, their plans ended up bringing them great turmoil rather than the growth they had envisioned.

A message was intercepted by the ruler of the Caligan Empire containing part of discussion from the SA Kings about possible Carelian expansion into CE lands. He was furious and decided to make a premptive strike on the SA. CE called for help from their Federation partner Tara and hired Darka to assist them. The armies of these three realms began to gather in the Taran city of Foda, and the SA knew their plan had been discovered. The SA rulers were distraught at their mistake and the danger they had now placed their realms in. Both King Manaydur and aramil of Carelia stepped down in shame. The people of Redspan then displayed their unwavering faith in their King, and he was quickly re-appointed. Carelia took a new King, and asked for a breif ceasfire to re-evaluate their alliances. In the meantime the CE/Tara/Darka armies moved on Redspan in their time of weakness, and took over Meldeen. ASI, seeing their weakness, asked for help from their ally, Falasan], and also attempted an assault on Redspan. Carelia eventually affirmed their membership in the SA, and headed to Stargard to join Abington and Redspan against the growing armies at their doorstep.

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