Welcome to the Codex! Every Friday, we will focus on one topic from one of the upcoming books, or one of the books that have been published. The Codex will review what is commonly known about that topic in the world, even if just at a scholarly level. There will still be mysteries, but if you are interested in learning more about something you read in the book or in another blog post, the Codex is the way to go.
Given that the last few Codex entries focused on cosmic or divine topics, I'd like to celebrate North Star's release in paperback to focus instead on an entirely different topic. Namely, the country of Ailund.
Ailund plays a minor role in North Star as the homeland of Gaenor's organization, the Knights of the Ashes, and as the "access point" to Freyfthor through the Frozen Lands, but in reality, the importance of this young land cannot be overstated, and its history is fascinating.
For the last few millennia of the Fourth Age, the region where Ailund now exists was part of a broader domain usually called the "Northern Wilds", and subjected to Ailanel's dominion. Ailanel was the Ledhrorn goddess of air and weather, and she claimed rulership over this area, forbidding settlements in the northern portion of what would become Ailund, as well as in the lands beyond the Craveth Wyvan mountains (which would later become Argilin). The reason was unknown at the time, although the Amyrean Crisis in 498 F.A. may have provided a clue, and the Anger War in 502-503 F.A. may have provided another. More on this later.
After the Ledhrorn lost power, the Northern Wilds - rich in natural resources such as lumber, iron, and silver, as well as including large swaths of land suitable for pastures - were quickly settled. The settlers came from the kingdom of Erkanth and the principate of Meverne to the south (both of them on the south shore of the river Neviryl), and the newly born kingdom of Brightland to the west. A patchwork of settlements led to the appearance of small city-states and petty kingdoms who engaged in continuous struggles to dominate the region, while the barbarian tribes of the northern reaches of Ailund watched these foreigners coming to claim the lands that were rightfully theirs.
This led to an assault by the combined might of the Gaerth barbarian tribes which the various petty kingdoms were unable to effectively stem before it became all-out war. The barbarians, aided by eldritch saeling, slaughtered settlers and razed settlements, and it was only when Erkanth and Brightland came to their help that the tide was turned. The Battle of Hummil Plains, in the early second century, led to the defeat of the barbarians and their exile beyond the Craveth Wyvan. The various kingdoms of Ailund realized they couldn't survive another assault separated, and created the Confederation of Ailund, with its capital in the city of Logard. Over the next three centuries, the Confederation grew into a state of its own, with previous kingdoms losing their individuality, but still, Ailund was ruled by a council of nobles who were once those petty kings.
The Anger War of 502-503 F.A. changed everything. The barbarians, spurred by the machinations of the Tree of Aarti, swarmed Ailund again, and their power - augmented by the saeling - was at the disposal of their greatest warlord, Ernskad Fellspear. Ailund was caught by surprise, and despite attempted warnings from the Knights of the Ashes, failed to prepare adequately. The barbarians overran Ailund, culminating in the Razing of Logard in early 503 F.A., and routing the defenders of the crumbling Confederation. It was only due to the timely intervention of the Runeknights, a group of Knights of the Ashes who had uncovered a vast conspiracy connected to the distant past of Ailund, that the tide of war turned. In 503 F.A., the Anger War ended with Ernskad leaving the tribes in disgrace, and the tribes pushed back to the inhospitable lands on the edge of the Roof of the World, deprived once and for all of their saeling allies.
Ailund was rebuilt, but this time, finally aware of the history of the land it inhabited - the rich legacy of the ancient kingdom of Gaer Arythal - Ailund became a kingdom. Sibrim the Undying, a champion and leader of the Anger War, was crowned Arbitrator - the Ailundian title for king, taken after the ancient Arythali title - and presided over the rebuilding.
Ailund has seen its share of turmoils, but its future finally looks bright; nonetheless, there are tales to be told there, perhaps. It's a cosmopolitan kingdom, a frontierland still where various races live in relative harmony with each other, and the main conflict there is with the untamed wilderness that still covers most of the land. It's a young, vibrant kingdom, and thanks to the Knights of the Ashes, a place where ancient lost history is being slowly rediscovered. And in time, it may well become a bastion of learning, and a kingdom on par with ancient Gaer Arythal whose legacy it has inherited...
Thank you for joining us on another Codex entry. See you next week!
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