A BRIEF HISTORY OF P'BAPAR
Birth of P'Bapar
In 329, Duke Veledar Tilomas, ruler of P'Bapar and the surrounding lands in the far north of the Kalamaran Empire, with the support of the majority of the other senior lords of the city, ceded from the Empire, declaring himself Archduke and sole ruler of B'Papar.
Although Kalamaran politics had become increasingly embroiled in intrigues and power struggles focused around Bet Kalamar and the inner provinces, this treason nevertheless garnered an immediate, loud and furious response, and the Northern Legions based in Korak were ordered to march on the city and retake it.
However, prior to declaring independence, Veledar had been in close talks with Lord Harosito Akiha, commander of the Northern Legions garrisoned predominantly in Korak, who was not only equally interested in independence from Kalamar, but also with overthrowing his brother Duke Herisano, the current ruler of Korak. Prior to Veledar's statement of secession, Harosito ensured that his legions were deployed in such a fashion that they could not easily be mobilised to besiege B'Pabar, including the relocation of logistical and supply elements in such a fashion that the process of redeploying could be further hamstrung by administrative delays and obfuscation.
When it became clear that the Empire lacked the wherewithal to respond meaningfully to Veledar's actions without the cooperation of the Northern Legions, Harosito staged a military coup in Korak several months later, also declaring independence from the throne. Herisano fled to Bet Kalamar, where he was held responsible for the losses of both B'Pabar and Korak, and was promptly executed.
The Early Years
Archduke Veledar ruled B'Papar for 32 years, with the full support of the Princes of the Realm, the five other powerful lords who could trace their lineage back to the Kalamaran Emperors or major houses of the Empire. It was a time of peace, prosperity and stability for the newly independent city state. However, upon Veledar's natural death at the age 54, his son, Valinon, proved to be a less capable ruler. Veledar left most of the day-to-day chores to his subordinates, particularly Prince Haraman and the Archducal seneschal Lord Fanam. These two nobles both supported the Archduke's hedonistic excesses, while using their positions of authority to gather as much power as possible for themselves.
When Veledar died of mysterious causes at age 36, only three years into his reign, leaving no legitimate heir, Lord Fanam was quick to install Hul'Mar, one of Veledar's bastards, onto the throne. This proved to be a poor move, however, as none of the Princes was content with this turn of events, and within four years Prince Selemar, with the support of Koraki soldiers and most of the other Princes, staged a relatively bloodless coup and seized power.
Selemar's reign was relatively stable, although the court remained rife with intrigue as Princes and Lords Magnate continued to plot behind the scenes. Ten years into his reign, Selemar fell to a wasting disease, abdicating the throne to his eldest son Folikar before he was completely incapacitated.
Five years later, Prince Senovar attempted another coup, this one failing when the plot was revealed by the Archduke's spies. Enraged, Senovar decided enough was enough, and began an aggressive program to root out disloyalty from the court. Initially, his efforts resulted in the imprisonment and execution of a number of Lords Vulgate, mere pawns in the game being played by the Magnates. When he began to turn his attentions to the Lords Magnate, however, the great lords of the realm were forced to respond, plunging the Archduchy into civil war.
For three years, the throne sat empty as the Princes and several Lords Magnate vied for power, alliances forming and shifting constantly. By 386, Prince Molamar was in ascendance, and called a gathering of the Princes. Expecting to find Molamar demanding that they bend the knee, the other Princes were surprised to find that he instead demanded that the decision as to who should rule the realm be turned over to the Lords Magnate, who would select a Prince to be elevated to the Archduchy.
Molamar, known for his honour and honesty, vowed to place his economic and military power behind this new system, even should the Lords Magnate not choose to elect him, and over several months of heated negotiations, eventually swayed the other Princes with his arguments. In truth, all were weary of the conflict and instability, and they were further encouraged to seek a peaceful resolution by an impassioned plea from both the Prince and the General of Korak, urging them to bring this period of unrest to an end.
Eventually, a formal constitution was established, defining the precise method by which the Lords Magnate would elect one of the Princes to the position of Archduke -- to stand for life, or until recalled by an absolute majority of the Magnates.
Prince Nerator was ultimately the first elected Archduke of the realm and his reign was long and successful in no small part due to the unwavering support of Prince Molamar, who proved true to his word.
Reign of the Princes
For the next hundred and forty years, P'Bapar experienced peace and prosperity under the reign of the Princes. There was, of course, still intrigue and politicking behind the scenes, but the Princes were discouraged from excesses by the new authority that they had granted to the Lords Mandate. Should any Prince decide to seize power, he would face the anger of the Magnates, whose will and legal rights he had usurped.
Rise of House Kalanasi
Towards the end of the third century IR, B'Renol became Prince of House Kalanasi, at the time the weakest of the Princely lines. Through a series of astute business dealings, he slowly increased the economic and political power of the house, establishing strong relationships with the more powerful guilds in the city, negotiating exclusive trade arrangements with a number of dwarves in the Legasa Peaks. His greatest achievement, however, was in encouraging a boom in trade from Cosdol, offering incentives to Cosdolese merchants already inclined to avoid trade with Eldor. Over half of Cosdol's exports already travelled through P'Bapar, but Hul'Mar managed to increase this volume such that P'Bapar suddenly had an almost complete monopoly on trade in and out of northern Brandobia.
In 602, a careful allocation of trading rights, opportunities and outright bribes saw E'Dos, son of B'Renol, elected to the Archduchy. E'Dos continued to expand the house's power, continuing to strengthen ties with the guilds, establish new trade deals and gradually buying up farmland.
By the time E'Dos' son Pilamel succeeded his father to the throne, House Kalansi's grip on the P'Baparan economy was absolute. The vast majority of P'Bapar's arable land was owned by Pilamel, and Kalanasi was possibly the richest noble house in the Young Kingdoms.
Identifying some discontent from the other Princes, who saw their power steadily diminishing, Pilamel enacted strict laws limiting the ability of the Princes and Magnates to recruit armies, simultaneously establishing the P'Bapar militia and hiring Koraki veterans to train both the Royal Army and the militia.
Pilamel also reorganised the political structure of the realm, dividing the city state into twelve Earldoms. Each Earl is the highest legal authority in his province, and is tasked with maintaining law and order, but each Earl's primary task is to maximise the flow of wealth back to P'Bapar. Some Earldoms were granted to the Archduke's allies, while others were granted to those who might otherwise have railed against some of the other changes instituted by the Archduke.
Current Day
It was little more than a formality when E'Dos II was elected to the Archduchy on his father's natural death. The wealth and power of P'Bapar has steadily increased with the rise of House Kalanasi, and no other Prince could hope to rule effectively without the full support of the House.
Some of the Princes rail against this dynasty (although never loudly or publicly) but they are currently powerless to oppose the Archduke. Like his father and grandfather, E'Dos II is a skilled merchant and cunning diplomat, loyal to his allies and able to appease or outmanouevre his enemies.
By Sable Wyrn reposted from the HackMaster forums with permission
Birth of P'Bapar
In 329, Duke Veledar Tilomas, ruler of P'Bapar and the surrounding lands in the far north of the Kalamaran Empire, with the support of the majority of the other senior lords of the city, ceded from the Empire, declaring himself Archduke and sole ruler of B'Papar.
Although Kalamaran politics had become increasingly embroiled in intrigues and power struggles focused around Bet Kalamar and the inner provinces, this treason nevertheless garnered an immediate, loud and furious response, and the Northern Legions based in Korak were ordered to march on the city and retake it.
However, prior to declaring independence, Veledar had been in close talks with Lord Harosito Akiha, commander of the Northern Legions garrisoned predominantly in Korak, who was not only equally interested in independence from Kalamar, but also with overthrowing his brother Duke Herisano, the current ruler of Korak. Prior to Veledar's statement of secession, Harosito ensured that his legions were deployed in such a fashion that they could not easily be mobilised to besiege B'Pabar, including the relocation of logistical and supply elements in such a fashion that the process of redeploying could be further hamstrung by administrative delays and obfuscation.
When it became clear that the Empire lacked the wherewithal to respond meaningfully to Veledar's actions without the cooperation of the Northern Legions, Harosito staged a military coup in Korak several months later, also declaring independence from the throne. Herisano fled to Bet Kalamar, where he was held responsible for the losses of both B'Pabar and Korak, and was promptly executed.
The Early Years
Archduke Veledar ruled B'Papar for 32 years, with the full support of the Princes of the Realm, the five other powerful lords who could trace their lineage back to the Kalamaran Emperors or major houses of the Empire. It was a time of peace, prosperity and stability for the newly independent city state. However, upon Veledar's natural death at the age 54, his son, Valinon, proved to be a less capable ruler. Veledar left most of the day-to-day chores to his subordinates, particularly Prince Haraman and the Archducal seneschal Lord Fanam. These two nobles both supported the Archduke's hedonistic excesses, while using their positions of authority to gather as much power as possible for themselves.
When Veledar died of mysterious causes at age 36, only three years into his reign, leaving no legitimate heir, Lord Fanam was quick to install Hul'Mar, one of Veledar's bastards, onto the throne. This proved to be a poor move, however, as none of the Princes was content with this turn of events, and within four years Prince Selemar, with the support of Koraki soldiers and most of the other Princes, staged a relatively bloodless coup and seized power.
Selemar's reign was relatively stable, although the court remained rife with intrigue as Princes and Lords Magnate continued to plot behind the scenes. Ten years into his reign, Selemar fell to a wasting disease, abdicating the throne to his eldest son Folikar before he was completely incapacitated.
Five years later, Prince Senovar attempted another coup, this one failing when the plot was revealed by the Archduke's spies. Enraged, Senovar decided enough was enough, and began an aggressive program to root out disloyalty from the court. Initially, his efforts resulted in the imprisonment and execution of a number of Lords Vulgate, mere pawns in the game being played by the Magnates. When he began to turn his attentions to the Lords Magnate, however, the great lords of the realm were forced to respond, plunging the Archduchy into civil war.
For three years, the throne sat empty as the Princes and several Lords Magnate vied for power, alliances forming and shifting constantly. By 386, Prince Molamar was in ascendance, and called a gathering of the Princes. Expecting to find Molamar demanding that they bend the knee, the other Princes were surprised to find that he instead demanded that the decision as to who should rule the realm be turned over to the Lords Magnate, who would select a Prince to be elevated to the Archduchy.
Molamar, known for his honour and honesty, vowed to place his economic and military power behind this new system, even should the Lords Magnate not choose to elect him, and over several months of heated negotiations, eventually swayed the other Princes with his arguments. In truth, all were weary of the conflict and instability, and they were further encouraged to seek a peaceful resolution by an impassioned plea from both the Prince and the General of Korak, urging them to bring this period of unrest to an end.
Eventually, a formal constitution was established, defining the precise method by which the Lords Magnate would elect one of the Princes to the position of Archduke -- to stand for life, or until recalled by an absolute majority of the Magnates.
Prince Nerator was ultimately the first elected Archduke of the realm and his reign was long and successful in no small part due to the unwavering support of Prince Molamar, who proved true to his word.
Reign of the Princes
For the next hundred and forty years, P'Bapar experienced peace and prosperity under the reign of the Princes. There was, of course, still intrigue and politicking behind the scenes, but the Princes were discouraged from excesses by the new authority that they had granted to the Lords Mandate. Should any Prince decide to seize power, he would face the anger of the Magnates, whose will and legal rights he had usurped.
Rise of House Kalanasi
Towards the end of the third century IR, B'Renol became Prince of House Kalanasi, at the time the weakest of the Princely lines. Through a series of astute business dealings, he slowly increased the economic and political power of the house, establishing strong relationships with the more powerful guilds in the city, negotiating exclusive trade arrangements with a number of dwarves in the Legasa Peaks. His greatest achievement, however, was in encouraging a boom in trade from Cosdol, offering incentives to Cosdolese merchants already inclined to avoid trade with Eldor. Over half of Cosdol's exports already travelled through P'Bapar, but Hul'Mar managed to increase this volume such that P'Bapar suddenly had an almost complete monopoly on trade in and out of northern Brandobia.
In 602, a careful allocation of trading rights, opportunities and outright bribes saw E'Dos, son of B'Renol, elected to the Archduchy. E'Dos continued to expand the house's power, continuing to strengthen ties with the guilds, establish new trade deals and gradually buying up farmland.
By the time E'Dos' son Pilamel succeeded his father to the throne, House Kalansi's grip on the P'Baparan economy was absolute. The vast majority of P'Bapar's arable land was owned by Pilamel, and Kalanasi was possibly the richest noble house in the Young Kingdoms.
Identifying some discontent from the other Princes, who saw their power steadily diminishing, Pilamel enacted strict laws limiting the ability of the Princes and Magnates to recruit armies, simultaneously establishing the P'Bapar militia and hiring Koraki veterans to train both the Royal Army and the militia.
Pilamel also reorganised the political structure of the realm, dividing the city state into twelve Earldoms. Each Earl is the highest legal authority in his province, and is tasked with maintaining law and order, but each Earl's primary task is to maximise the flow of wealth back to P'Bapar. Some Earldoms were granted to the Archduke's allies, while others were granted to those who might otherwise have railed against some of the other changes instituted by the Archduke.
Current Day
It was little more than a formality when E'Dos II was elected to the Archduchy on his father's natural death. The wealth and power of P'Bapar has steadily increased with the rise of House Kalanasi, and no other Prince could hope to rule effectively without the full support of the House.
Some of the Princes rail against this dynasty (although never loudly or publicly) but they are currently powerless to oppose the Archduke. Like his father and grandfather, E'Dos II is a skilled merchant and cunning diplomat, loyal to his allies and able to appease or outmanouevre his enemies.
By Sable Wyrn reposted from the HackMaster forums with permission
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