Tol Goldora/History
Tol Goldora was created by a secession from Sol, two weeks after Eastern colonists took Golden Farrow in the Year 46, Winter (November 2018). It was founded on the backs of the Six Nobles from the Eastern Dwilight, known as the Founders, who would later go on to play important roles in the development of the small, fledgling Nation.
In the early days of Spring, Year 47, Westgard would begin a cruel and injust invasion of Golden Farrow which would known to the locals of the City and surrounding Regions as the Gold Sea Conflict. The war which started here spread like wildfire across the whole of Dwilight. With the newly proclaimed Lurian Empire choosing to defend Tol Goldora and the opposing axis of the Alliance of Free Nations, Dwilight plunged into war.
After some initial hesitation, Tol Goldora resettled in the old city of Via late Summer, Year 47. Left as rubble from times gone, Tol Goldora recolonised the surrounding area and began rebuilding. Campaigns from Via to Farrowfield and back have been a regular theme for many seasons with marginal gains and losses felt, like the ebb and flow of a river. However, it was the realm of Sol that felt the wrath of war. On the second day of Winter, Year 47, the capital of Sol, Unterstrom, was sacked by the eastern allies of Westgard as a reaction to their support of their brief colony. Needing a greater infrastructure to support their war effort, Tol Goldora proceeded to takeover the city of Echiur in Spring, Year 48. However, this was short lived.
With the rise of the Zuma Coalition, the Tol Goldoran government was tested by the Zuma General, Tar'goz. Ultimately, Tol Goldora failed the daemon's test and proclaimed a ultimatum to abandon the city of Echiur and it's outskirts, which they did.
Through this sign of weakness, the Westgardian campaign came in new strength in the Summer and Autumn of Year 48. This period began a new phase of the war in the west where looting of newly expanded Westgard influence south of Duil. Including a noticeable looting raid by the Lurian Empire in the heart of Westgard and in Storms End, Avernus. Nevertheless, the Tol Goldoran borders had only marginally changed.
With the turn of Winter, Year 48, Navarch Medrawt did not seek re-election for the Gylden Throne, with his desire to return to the front lines. Therefore, Solomon Greybrook, Stratarch of the Golden Host since it's inception, secured election to become the 2nd Navarch of Tol Goldora.
Under Navarch Solomon, Tol Goldora proceeded to capture the city of Itau, another forgotten city to rebuild in their name. It was during this time that Founder Umerith became a prophet of the Church of the Tidemother, which has become a popular faith within the realm.
In the Winter of Year 49, Tol Goldora pushed once again pushed into Farrowfield where while the peasant population rised up in the name of Tol Goldora's ancient claim to the land, it was in the following battle where the hero Sir Tukimin Adiyanto was slain as a hero of Tol Goldora. Despite short term success, Farrowfield was taken back by Westgard.
The next campaign in the Spring of Year 49 and Summer of Year 50, the newly elected Royal Stratarch Medrawt led a campaign which saw the capture of Dunnbrook, Walefishire, Duil and destruction of the walls of Eidulb Outskirts. However, in the proceeding battle defending the Outskirts, Vestarch Margrave Beryl Blue was slain as a hero of Tol Goldora.
In Autumn, Year 50, the combined forces of Luria Nova and Tol Goldora laid siege to Farrowfield once where the townsland was successfully captured after three successive victories against the Westgardian forces. Using this success to drive forward, the Gylden Raiders set course for the Westgardian homelands in Winter Year 50 to disrupt their limited bushel supply to great success. By the end of the campaign, Gelene Outskirts was taken by Tol Goldora and was left to rogue by Westgard.
In Winter, Year 51, Tol Goldora once again set course to raid Westgardian lands to prepare the realm for an daring siege on Golden Farrow in the Spring. Outmaneuvering the enemy for a time, Tol Goldora was not able to liberate Golden Farrow without clashing with the enemy. Forced to stage a siege in Farrowfield at the turn of Summer Year 52, the battle was won by Tol Goldora and Westgard and D'Hara were repelled from the walls through the sacrifice of many Tol Goldoran soldiers. Yet, when morning came, Tol Goldora did not have the strength to hold the walls one again and the attackers won the second battle for Farrowfield where hero of Tol Goldora Sir Johnathon Shepherd was killed. This victory saw D'Hara take the townsland away from Tol Goldora yet it was the catalyst for peace negotiations and ultimately, the end of the Gold Sea Conflict.
After a season of negotiation, the Golden Farrow Accords were signed whereby the Farrowlands were formally bought from Westgard at the end of Summer Year 52. With Dwilight wide peace, the rogues returned to the West, in particular within Westgard during Autumn. Therefore, Tol Goldora sailed to the defence of their once enemies Westgard to aid them against the enemies of mankind. Once the rogues and been defeated, Navarch Solomon Greybrook announced the First Tournament of Golden Farrow which aligned with the marriages of Ambassador Alessia de Medici to Frederick Greybrook (NPC) and Navarch Solomon Greybrook to Margravine Sibylle Kinsey.
Many seasons passed as the Golden Host partially led a handful of raids to Darfix. Yet, another continental crisis brewed in the form of the Alliance of Free Nations continuing to hold influence over Dwilight affairs. The fallout from these affairs led to a change of direction within Tol Goldora to decide that it was time to re-embrace their raiding traditions and chose to enact the Gylden Price against Astrum.
After a series of raids on their land Astrum began their own raids against Tol Goldora, with the aid of their allies Avernus. During one of several battles, Archon Carlos Snodaert was captured and tortured to reveal the identity of his spy, Xavier Silverblade. Subsequently in the Spring of Year 54 the Archon declared hatred against Tol Goldora, which lead to total war between the two realms.
Whilst the war was going on, Tol Goldora also witnessed an internal conflict in Autumn/Winter Year 54. Dubbed as a time of troubles, calls for power and wealth to be evenly distributed lead to mounting protests against Navarch Solomon, which eventually lead to the creation of two new duchies: the Duchy of Via and the Duchy of Itau. In the midst of this protest, numerous clashes boiled to the surface which saw public disputes calling into question noble birthright by Mina Mejor, an internal assassination attempt on a fellow Tol Goldoran by Darren Rea, an foreign assassination attempt by Chance Harte and a defection movement by Helios Invictus. These events saw both Chance Harte and Helios Invictus banned by Tol Goldoran Vestarches.
It was during the breaks in war refitting that the Navarch Solomon Greybrook saw the need for honourable training matches of swordfighting to not only maintain noble skills but also finally embracing original Tol Goldoran traditions. This saw the creation of the Order of the Gylden Sword in Autumn, Year 55.
The campaign against Astrum saw numerous of assaults on Astrum territory, with the highlights currently including the capture of Dizeddo (Autumn, Year 55) and the razing of Mimiravair. Yet, the Astrumese stood fast with Tol Goldora failing to take the city of Libidizedd on two occasions.
During the Winter of Year 55, the twice banished assassin zealot, Dynys Velaryon, was executed on the grounds of their third attempt to kill an Tol Goldoran noble.
In Spring of Year 56, the D'Harans unofficially intervened in the war against Tol Goldora at the battle of Mimiravair, turning the tide against Tol Goldora.
To settle some internal disputes, a vote occurred in the realm to focus on Oligarchy or Tyranny as the Navarch had stirred up dissent with his ruling style. Tyranny won out and the title of Navarch was officially changed to Autarch.
Through careful planning, Tol Goldora was able to outwit both armies and launched a successful assault on Libidizedd. Upon the surrender of Astrum, Solomon secured his legacy and stepped down as Autarch.
Lucius Navaar's rise to power was built on changing things that Autarch Solomon had long imposed, and restoring some of the realm's meritocratic ways, and to free the realm from the bottleneck their expansion was trapped in. In a campaign where he turned the realm's focus inward, Tol Goldora expanded significantly to the surrounding regions, even throwing off the shackles of the Golden Farrow Accords by expanding to Grazne.
To the south, Lucius worked to earn the respect of the Zuma, gaining trust to the point that they were offered the opportunity to expand into lands once forbidden to them including the city of Echiur, Vakreno Heaps, and beyond.
The Autarch held no misgivings about his status as a ruler. He was young and mostly tested in a war that left him and his wife scarred, and while he instituted many changes and righted what he felt were several wrongs, in the end nobles left. He saw himself as a transitional ruler into the new ways of Tol Goldora. The older nobles disagreed with his methods, and the newer nobles did not think he had changed things enough to suit them. Older nobles filtered out and made holding the expanded lands difficult coupled with the distance between Tol Goldora's traditional holdings, it became a struggle to maintain some semblance of tradition with the burden of not trapping nobles in the west.
Near the end of Lucius' 3rd term as Autarch this dissent came to a head as Lucius appealed to the realm to consolidate. Solomon Greybrook rallied a number of nobles to leave the realm. In an attempt to dissuade them, Lucius stepped down and challenged Solomon for the throne once more. In the end, Solomon never took up the challenge and the election was won by another young upstart noble.