History
The United Homelands of Esruen, colloquially know as the “UHE”, can trace its modern roots back to 1504 when the first Esruen landed in modern-day Hjemmelbukta. Over the subsequent decades, thousands more Esruen immigrated to Hjemmelbukta and the surrounding regions. Dozens of small towns and settlements soon dotted the land around Mjemmelbukta. These towns quickly grew into city states who, despite a strong sense of independence and occasional war, remained loosely knit together by their shared religion and culture.
Esruen culture is defined by their religion, a polytheistic tradition in which one Supreme Creator of all Existence, called Ja Evigvatar (Yaw-e-vihg-vah-tawr) created the world which is overseen and governed over by a pantheon of gods. Esruen religion places heavy emphasis on family connections. One’s actions in and fidelity to fulfilling their duties to their family are believed to be central to the life hereafter.
Early on, the Esruen came in contact with the Venur, an indigenous people who lived in clan-ruled-states primarily west of Tørrygg Mountains. Relations were at first largely friendly and this period of growth saw relative peace between the two cultures, though tensions began to rise as the Esruen population increased and many Venur began adopting Esruen religion.
During the seventeenth century, a political division ripped through the Venur leading to widespread warfare between their clan-states. During this time, Esruen city states found it profitable to sell the service of their armies to the war-torn Venur. This practice became increasingly common in the bloody decades of the mid-1600s. Later on some ambitious Esruen jarls sold their armies to rival Venur factions with orders to turn on their respective Venur allies in the middle of battle and seize power over those factions for their jarl. As the devastating Venur Wars came to a close during the 1680s, among others, this practice especially, sewed the seeds of the Cataclysm.
One clan-state, Krir, victims of multiple of these attempted betrayals grew to become the dominant Venur power in the final years of the Venur Wars. They exploited the widespread distrust and fear of the growing population of the Esruen to unite the majority of the Venur clan leaders behind them. Tensions quickly rose between the two cultures and shortly after the turn of the century, in 1703, the Krir-lead Venur abruptly launched a campaign of extermination against the Esruen. The Esruen, recently embroiled in their own political conflict, were ill-equipped to respond to the sudden invasion.
Divided and in disarray, the Esruen were scattered before the Venur, unable to organize any unified force large enough to challenge the Venur armies. The Esruen city states that attempted to hold their ground quickly fell in the face of the overwhelming Venur force. Those who weren’t killed fled before the Venur for six months.
Then, without warning, the unrelenting Venur killing machine abruptly halted. Their armies suddenly camped and then withdrew. This unexpected respite gave the surviving Esruen an opportunity to regroup. During this time, the City of Esruenhiem became the focal point of Esruen gathering. Its defensible location atop steep cliffs made it an ideal redoubt for the beleaguered Esruen.
Eventually, the survivors learned the reason for their attackers’ mysterious retreat: A moderate faction within the Venur had staged a rebellion against the Krir-lead regime, prompting the recall of all Venur military forces to quell the uprising. With their reinforcements, the Krir ruthlessly beat back the rebels. The rebels, seeing the fight was lost, fled.
They took their flight into the northern highlands east of the Tørygg Mountains. The Adrami government, reeling from the brief, but bloody civil war, did not pursue.
The rebels eventually came to Esruenhiem. After a tense stand-off outside the city walls, the leaders of the two groups met. There, being both of them just and prudent men, they put aside their peoples’ enmity and forged an alliance against the genocidal Krir government.
A year later, after repulsing a massive assault on Esruenhiem the New Alliance came down against the genocidal Krir-Venur. After nearly a year of campaigns, the two sides fought a final climactic battle outside the city walls of the city of Venir after the New Alliance drew the Krir army out and fell upon them. There the Krir king and his viziers were killed. Soon after, Venur resistance crumbled. The New Alliance marched uncontested across the land, retaking cities with little or no bloodshed. Within a year, the New Alliance marched into the Venur capital city of Surtr and proclaimed victory.
Throughout the next year in 1708, a new government was established from the ground up, presiding over both the Esruen and Venur. People returned to their cities and began the arduous task of rebuilding their homes. Trials were held and justice was served.
Despite their victory over the Krir-lead Venur, the newly elected Esruen Oberjarl, Irin, forbade any reprisal against the Venur, reminding the Esruen that were it not for the Venur who had rebelled against their Krir leaders, the Esruen would be all but extinct. He weeded out retaliatory jarls and clan-leaders and worked to undo centuries of strife between the two peoples. Under Irin’s rule, the newly founded nation began the long and difficult process of reconciliation and healing.