The Kingdom of the White Sword is one of the largest kingdoms in the eastern lands. It stretches from the River of Blood in the northwest to the Gray Isle in the southeast. It is comprised of five duchies and one march. The king sits upon the Dragonbone Throne in the city of Draghold.
The origins of the Kingdom of the White Sword stretch back eleven hundred years. In CY 345, Gorm of Casteal founded the small domain, the Kingdom of Strioch centered on the city of the same name (the original name of the city of Draghold). It was a time of chaos and violence and Gorm was able to accomplish little beyond holding onto the small realm that he had founded. In 587, Gorm's descendent, Gowen II, conquered the Kingdom of Acrebray to the north, almost doubling the size of his domain and making the Kingdom of Strioch one of the most powerful in the eastern lands.
In 793, Elsa the Fair, the first woman to ascend to the throne, captured the magical sword which would become the kingdom's greatest symbol. After Elsa's premature death which left no successor, a great struggle arose among the most powerful nobles of the kingdom for the throne. This struggle was ultimately cut short by the depridations of the dragon Samisdahl. Facing one of the most powerful dragons in history, the nobles put aside their differences and united to defeat their foe. In 799, wielding the White Sword, Countess Selema of Drumbridge slew Samisdahl and ended his three-year long reign of terror. She then proclaimed herself queen and unilaterallty assumed full authority in the kingdom. To justify her claim, she argued that the Kingdom of Strioch had ended with Elsa's death and that a new one, the Kingdom of the White Sword, had been created with her crowning. At the time of her proclamation, little of the kingdom was under her control, but in 801 she captured the city of Strioch. To commemerate her victory, she had a throne constructed from the bones of Samisdahl which, along with the magical sword, became synonymous with kingly authority in the kingdom. Although the last claimant for the throne would not give up his claim until twenty years later, after 801 Selema's position as the primary authority in the kingdom was relatively secure from 801 onward.
The Kingdom of the White Sword is comprised of five duchies and one march. It is ruled by King Aldred, who succeeded to the throne only three years ago at the age of four. As a result of his young age, his mother Elsa is serving as regent. Although Aldred's rulership is not disputed, Elsa's regency is and she has been occupied over the past two years in dealing with rebels in the south.
The march was established in 961 after the disastrous attempt by King Gorm IV to extend the kingdom's authority into the Shadowed Mountains. Failing to conquer the humanoid tribes of the northern mountains, King Cormac (who ascended to the throne in 961 after his father died in the aforementioned campaign) established the Blood March, so-named because it protects the kingdom's northern border, the River of Blood. It is currently ruled by Margrave Varda II, the fifth of her line to bear the title. She is a cousin to
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