Kændal

Old Empire, The Black Kingdom

Kændal, ca. 654 DR

Kændal, ca. 654 DR

Kændal (Nor Kàlas Kændal) was the heartland of the Dekàli Empire. The largest of the city-states, Kændal once stretched from Taldàna to the Tor’n Nuld, but now barely reaches half that distance. Divided into five major separate kingdoms (e.g., Carámis, Kændal, Ōlood, Pastar, and parts of Saránð) and ravaged by frontier wars and seasonal Ortòri raids from the West, the kingdom exists within a perpetual state of siege. What was once the prosperous and well-defended heartland of a great Empire, now struggles to maintain its borders. Many Kændàlyr are openly nostalgic for a time long gone and pray for its return.

For centuries, Kændal was referred to as the Black (earth) Kingdom due to its dark rich soil and bountiful farmlands.

Government

  • Type – Dekàli Monarchy (Living Crown)
  • Ruler – High Lord Gāírmar Lor Danið the Third of Kændal
  • Capital – City of Kændal
  • Cities – Kændal (110,320), Fvehēr (19,750), Horkòral (18,460), Gidðir (10,200), Lirðùn Rið (10,130), Jergòrrið (9,980)
  • Calendar – Dekàli Reckoning (DR)
  • Festivals – …

People

  • Population – Kændàlyr (650 DR) 3,230,450
  • Races – (Yrūn 81%, Bor 11%, Ōéle 3%, Dwürden 2%, Gnor 1%, other 2%)
  • Ethnicities – Fvyni
  • Languages – Kændàlic, Trade, Wōdic
  • Religions – Kændlan (Wōd…)

Trade

  • Currency – Nul (0.125d), Aurèul (1.5d), Mordùral (18d), Talar (432d), Dragor (5184d)
  • Imports – Raw minerals, textiles, exotic goods from all lands
  • Exports – Ale, cheese, produce, textiles, wine

Regions, Geographic

Regions, Political

There are ten lordships (i.e., harygrā) within the borders of present-day Kændal. Each domain is ruled by a powerful lord who serves the High Lord in Kændal. Each High Lord assumes rule over the lordship of Kænygrā, which includes the capital city.

Cities, Towns, and Villages

Landmarks

People

Kændàlyr are stereotypically fair skinned, hard-working, well-fed and hardy people with a generous demeanor. The veneration of Kændlan and her dogma is evident throughout the region. What is sometimes lost in this generalization is the widespread use of Bor (i.e., Bu-Ortor) slaves throughout the Fertile Coast. While slavery is accepted among the wealthy and powerful of Teréth End, the practice is commonplace in Kændal. The annual Ortòri raids inevitably leave behind another generation of Bor offspring. These hybrids, even though they may be a family’s own, are not accepted in proper Kændàli society and relegated to the slave class. Due to their abundance, they occur within all economic ranges. Poor farmers might harbor one or two, much the same as a rich baron. The baron however, presumably living behind stone walls, has a better chance of protecting his wife and daughters from the raiders and therefore is probably not related to their slaves. While the naturally stronger Bor slaves are worked hard, “family-slaves” are generally treated well. Over the centuries, Bor have been emancipated in exchange for military service. Within Kændal, these freemen live apart from the their Yrūn neighbors, while others choose to migrate north to more accommodating lands like Carámis or Taldàna.

History

The Wasting Campaign

See the History of Pastar.

Third Kændàlan Civil War

See the History of Pastar.

The Kændlanite Rebellion

In 285 DR, High Lady Tanàda I convened a clandestine meeting of nobles called the Council of Horkòral, the largest since the End War. Though the purpose of the Council was kept secret, the Temple had grave suspicions as no Pryr Kændlan were invited. Once gathered, the High Lady outlined the country’s finances: their revenues, their taxes, and their expectations. She then outlined the Temple’s finances to the astonished chamber. Not only were the nobles surprised by the Temple’s wealth, but they were shocked that the High Lady had managed to uncover the figures. The High Lady then laid out her plans for a redistribution of wealth within the domain. Temple lands that did not host temples and shrines would be seized and returned to the state, the “rightful holder of common lands”. Taxes and duties from those holdings would be returned to local governments. All temples would be compelled to provide the same taxes and duties as secular institutions, manors, or baronies. The economic success of the port cities under policies enacted by Tanàda’s father had done little to help inland areas of the country. The strain of supporting the western fortresses (including those being built in Pastar were also putting a great strain on the Kændàli lords at all levels. The sequestered Council conferred about the High Lady’s wishes for a fortnight before offering their anonymous support. Pamphlets were printed and distributed throughout the country, though at the request of those gathered, only Tanàda’s name appeared.

The edict was answered by the Kændlàni Rebellion beginning in the Summer of 285 DR. Pryr Kændlan spread across the countryside, cursing the fields and manors of those suspected of supporting the redistribution laws. A drought the following summer hit the Fertile Coast particularly hard and failed crops and strained food-stores were blamed on the Temple. Shrines and temples throughout the land were burned in retaliation. In the City of Kændal, food prices soared and ships left for other, more profitable ports. In the autumn of 286 DR, the High Lady sent a regiment to Kyrm Or’Kændlan, demanding that the High Priestess surrender herself to the Living Crown. When the High Priestess declined, the soldiers set fire to the great Temple, destroying centuries-old gardens, trees, and holy relics. The people of Kændal were outraged and rushed into the Temple grounds to defend the High Temple. Many were killed, but the High Lady’s soldiers were eventually forced to retreat under waves of the Kændlànyr.

That night, armored reinforcements arrived and encircled the smoking gardens, staged to slaughter the thousands gathered. At that time, the High Priestess surrendered herself to the High Lady’s men to prevent the letting of more blood within the holy gardens. The High Priestess was bound and dragged to Kry Kærdàgal, where she was sentenced for treason, disemboweled, and hung from the castle wall. When word of the High Lady’s great sacrilege spread to the nobles of Kændal, they sought to distant themselves from the events in the capital. The High Lady’s own cabinet started abandoning Kry Kærdàgal one by one, secretly catching ships to distant ports, or carriages to remote country retreats. By the 1st of Ældrūan, the castle was emptied except for the High Lady and a handful of retainers. For the next three years, Tanàda roamed the great hallways muttering and screaming nonsense, while the country outside the walls continued without her. It was believed that her sudden madness was by the hand of Kændlan and that mortals should not interfere with the punishment. In 289 DR, the High Lady was found dead, collapsed at the foot of a Kændlàni altar. Moments after she was found dead, the corpse of the High Priestess, rotting for three long years, separated from its fetters and crashed to the ground before the Great Gate. While relations between the nobles and Temple normalized on the outside, the lords never relinquished the lands and monies they’d gained by the edict. The relationship between Kyrm Or’Kændlan and the family of Lor Danið remains strained to this day.

Time Line

(Dek) Time of War, 120-1 AR

  • 47 AR, 4/511 ER; Kændal conquered
  • 1 HK, 4/559 ER; House Dara (formerly Tindàra) becomes First Kændàli Dynasty
  • 221 HK, 4/779 ER; House Haérēde becomes Second Kændàli Dynasty

(Kæn/Pas) First Kændàli Civil War 242-250 HK

  • 242 HK, 4/800 ER; Queen Erádēna I sails to Lanàdus, begs High King for aid
  • 243 HK, 4/801 ER; Queen Erádēna I and is imprisoned
  • 250 HK, 4/808 ER; First Kændàli Civil War ends; House Haérēde ends
  • 254 HK, 4/812 ER; House Do Morið becomes Third Kændàli Dynasty
  • 259 HK, 4/817 ER; First Regency established in Pastar
  • 761 HK, 4/1319 ER; House Diráden becomes Fourth Kændàli Dynasty
  • 886 HK, 4/1444 ER; House Amáelde becomes Fifth Kændàli Dynasty

(Kæn/Pas) Second Kændàli Civil War; 978-1008 HK

  • 978 HK, 4/1536 ER; The Kændàli Civil War begins; Pastar and others withdraw/secede
  • 980 HK, 4/1538 ER; First Battle of Danárul (Opp)
  • 980 HK, 4/1538 ER; Battle of Fvehēr (Kæn)
  • 981 HK, 4/1539 ER; First Battle of Gidðir (Kæn)
  • 996 HK, 4/1554 ER; Region of Horkòral reunited by marriage of Queen Laéra VI
  • 1000 HK, 4/1558 ER; Second Battle of Danárul (Kæn)
  • 1008 HK, 4/1566 ER; Kændàli Civil War ends; Pastar remains independent
  • 1041 HK, 4/1599 ER; House Landar becomes Sixth Kændàli Dynasty

(Kæn/Olo/Pas) The Pastar-Oloodi Wars; 1166-1193 HK

  • 1166 HK, 4/1724 ER; Battle of Run Pastûn (Kæn)
  • 1171 HK, 4/1729 ER; First Battle of Pastar (Pas)
  • 1177 HK, 4/1735 ER; Battle of Tor’n Zalkàntor (Pas)
  • 1185 HK, 4/1743 ER; First Battle of Castrìna (Kæn)
  • 1186 HK, 4/1744 ER; Second Battle of Pastar (Kæn)
  • 1193 HK, 4/1751 ER; Karóa II ends war; signs treaty with Oloodi lords
  • 1246 HK, 4/1804 ER; Pastar declares independence from Kændal; aids Acèntyra
  • 83 DR, 4/1887 ER; House Zyan becomes Seventh Kændàli Dynasty

(Kæn/Pas) The Wasting Campaign, 87-90 DR

  • 87 DR, 4/1891 ER; (Kæn) Kændal launches the Wasting Campaign, ravages traitorous Pastar
  • 87 DR; 4/1891 ER; Second Battle of Gidðir (Kæn)
  • 87 DR; 4/1891 ER; Battle of Myríðin (Pas)
  • 88 DR; 4/1892 ER; Third Battle of Gidðir (Kæn)
  • 90 DR; 4/1894 ER; Battle of Eastwall (Kæn)
  • 90 DR; 4/1894 ER; Second Battle of Castrìna (Kæn)
  • 90 DR; 4/1894 ER; Third Regency established in Pastar

(Dek) Time of Calamities; 211-240 DR

  • 216 DR, 4/2020 ER; Rain of Fire burns most of the City of Kændal to the ground
  • 217 DR, 4/2021 ER; Plague of Insects (locusts) destroy Kændali crops, thousands perish over winter
  • 227 DR, 4/2031 ER; Sleeping Plague kills thousands in Kændal
  • 238 DR, 4/2042 ER; House Lor Dànið becomes Eighth Kændàli Dynasty

(Kæn/Pas) Third Kændàli Civil War; 241-248 DR

  • 241 DR, 4/2045 ER; Uprisings in City of Gidðir, Castrìna; Kændàli businesses torched
  • 241 DR, 4/2045 ER; Widespread skirmishes against Kændàli holdings throughout Pastar
  • 242 DR, 4/2046 ER; Lord Garyðyr assassinated in City of Castrìna, Kændàlyr demand response from High Lord
  • 243 DR, 4/2047 ER; Spring: High Lord Soryn Domi I raises army and marches toward Pastar
  • 243 DR, 4/2047 ER; Fourth Battle of Gidðir (Pas)
  • 243 DR, 4/2047 ER; Kændàlyr remain near Gidðir while separatists attack holdings in northern Kændal
  • 244 DR, 4/2048 ER; Pastàri seditionists set explosives in Kændàli ports, Fvehēr wharf destroyed
  • 244 DR, 4/2048 ER; Kændàli warships attempt blockade at City of Castrìna
  • 244 DR, 4/2048 ER; Winter: Two Kændàli warships are lost to fire-barges
  • 244 DR, 4/2048 ER; The Bloody Winter: Kændàli nobles are seized, tortured, and executed throughout Pastar
  • 245 DR, 4/2049 ER; Kændàli nobles raise their own Noble Army
  • 245 DR, 4/2049 ER; Fifth Battle of Gidðir (Kæn), Gidðir is burned to the ground, Noble Army continues into Pastar
  • 245 DR, 4/2049 ER; Angered and embarrassed by the Noble Army’s success, High Lord’s army is withdrawn
  • 246 DR, 4/2050 ER; Noble Army is soon stranded, surrounded in Pastar
  • 248 DR, 4/2052 ER; After two years without support, Noble Army surrenders

Dynasties

Dekàlas

  1. First Kændàli House of Tindàra (65 AR – 1 AR)
  2. First Kændàli House of Dara (1 HK – 217 HK)
  3. First Kændàli House of Hāérede (221 HK – 250 HK)
  4. First Kændàli House of Do Mòrið (254 HK – 761 HK)
  5. First Kændàli House of Diráden (761 HK – 884 HK)
  6. First Kændàli House of Amælde (886 HK – 1036 HK)
  7. First Kændàli House of Landar (1041 HK – 1246 HK)

Post-Dekàlas

  1. First Kændàlan House of Zyan (83 DR – 235 DR)
  2. First Kændàli House of Lor Dànið (236 DR – present)

Nomenclature: Kaendal Dekàlic: Kændal (place), Kændàli (pertaining to), Kændàlyn (resident), Kændàlyr (people), Kændàlic (language)