At the end of the Great Crusade Sir Adelstan knew that even though he had attained a huge fortune from plundering the Arabs he would just be another younger son. Sir Adelstan started thinking of what he could do to change his prospects. He had heard that there was land to be had for the taking along the Black Gulf. The land was only occupied by scattered villages living in constant fear of Orcs, Goblins, and bandits raiding them.
Air Adelstan gathered a force fromt he unoccupied Knights, and men at arms, and had them sware fealty to him in return for fiefs in the land of his new domiegne. The force he gathered contained over 300 Knights, 900 mounted men at arms, 2000 archers, 200 horse archers, 600 halberdiers, 200 swordsmen, 1200 pikemen, 140 handgunners, 160 axemen, 300 foresters / foragers, 6 Great Cannon, and 12 lesser cannon, plus a baggage train of over 1200 mules, and 80 wagons with their handlers, and 60 Dwarf Engineers, Smiths, and Armourers with their apprentices.
With this force Sir Adelstan landed just to the east of the Black Peninsula and established a base of operations by building a rampart and stockade fortress. From this base he set about the business of conquering the surrounding territory. As new lands were conquered, new forst were built and manned. Prinz Adelstan maintained his army by recruiting local peasants and more troops from those left unoccupied by the end of the Crusades. He also received allies from the Dwarf Holds in the area of mountains to the north, as it was the Dwarfs' hated enemies the Orcs and Goblins he was fighting.
After eight long years of fighting the area east of the Orco River was cleared of the worst of the Orc and Goblin tribes as far east as the River Noir, north to the area below Karak-Izor, and the length of the Black Peninsula. Thousands of settlers had moved to the region from Tilea, Estalia, and even from as far away as the Empire coming through the passes of the Black Mountains in search of land to farm and places to employ their crafts and to trade goods and improve their station.
There were still raids by Orcs and Goblins from the forests to the west of the Orco and from the mountains to the north and Prinz Adelstan had to maintain a standing army and keep ever vigilant. There were also the neighboring Princes to keep watch against and several large bandit gangs in the large unexplored forests.
Several of the surviving Knights from Prinz Adelstan's original force were made Barons and the others were given lesser fiefs to reward their faithful service.
The many hard fought battles such as the one as BlackNeck where Baron Hamund fought the Orc Warlord Borfagg Irontooth in a bloody hand to hand combat, have taken a toll on the original foce with which Prinz Adelstan set forth. There were many new forces amongst Prinz Adelstan's army and his Nobles. All of the Nobles respected Prinz Adelstan, and the people loved him. Prinz Adelstan had three sons: Sir Waimar, the oldest, who succeeded him as Prinz; Sir Chonrad, who founded the Martial Order Knights of the Golden Spear; and Lucianus, the youngest, who was known as the scholar and became a great historian at the University of Noln. Prinz Adelstan lived to an old age and saw his sons grow to manhood and his grandchildren born.
Prinz Waimar was not the great conqueror that his father had been, but he was the right man to succeed him, as he was a great statesman and organizer. Prinz Waimar built the foundation upon which his successors would rule. He set up a fair set of laws for justice and the regulations of trade in the Principality and with other nations, he set forth regulations for a standing army and to regulate the forces of the Nobles. He created a Navy to protect the Principality's trade upon the seas. He created the Rangers to protect the borders and to scout the wildlands. Prinz Waimar also brought scholars and teachers to EhrenStadt to found the University and a system of education for the sons of the nobility and aristocracy. Prinz Waimar also finished building the Great Sea-Wall and harbor started by his father, giving EhrenStadt one of the finest deep water harbors in The Old World.
With the trade of Dwarf-made items, minerals from the mines, the rich farmland of the Principality, and the eastern trade Principality D'Adelstan became a prosperous domain. The only thing that still troubled the domain were the many border raids the Principality had to fight off. These constant border wars have created a warrior nation that has honed its fighting skills to higher degree than those of the soldiers of more settled regions.
The Principality has been blessed with a line of competent, if not always brilliant, rulers. The lone of succession has through the centuries remained with the decendants of Prinz Adelstan avoiding the ruinous succession wars that have weakened other nations. The present Prinz Vilhelm came to the throne in his middle years and has sons to succeed him.
Back to Principality D'Adelstan
This page hosted by GeoCities.