Entsteig (The Servant)

The Kingdom of Entsteig is one of the Western Kingdoms, along with the lands of Westmarch and Khanduras. Entsteig has a lengthy history with the barbarian tribes and the monks of Ivgorod, as well as a unique culture. Entsteigians are noted for being devout Zakarumites, though they mix their local religion with their native practices.

Early History
The roots of Entsteig began with the migration of several human tribes that settled the Sharval Wilds, establishing a collection of various tribes and territories. Around -300 AK a large group of Barbarians began to migrate into the region, the Strigen and Wozdor, who conquered the native peoples and created a new nation.

Most prominent was the foundation of the city of Entsteig itself, traditionally said to have been established in -223. According to legend, a powerful chief received followed a white eagle leading his tribe until the eagle rested upon a great tree. There, the tribe established the city of Aent Strigen (Strigen of the Eagle).

Aent Strigen, eventually becoming known as Entsteig, grew in power over the local landscape, developing into a powerful city, and by the early -2nd century there were kings within the city. During this period, several minor tribes settled and established petty kingdoms, and by the end of the year -150 the so-called "Octarchy" period began, with eight major kingdoms formed in the land. The Octarchy was made up of the kingdoms of Edenna, Strigex, Nossoz, Sossoz, Wessoz, Abreena, Cant, and of course Entsteig. Entsteig itself was the foremost of the vying kingdoms, its walls never conquered and the city never conquered. Over the years it continued to consolidate power, despite numerous barbarian and rival invasions.

Unification
Circa 58 AK, several large barbarian tribes began a series of successive raids, moving into the region. Several of Entsteig's rival kingdoms crushed by these barbarians, and Entsteig itself was besieged multiple times. However, under the leadership of Athelred the Mighty, the kingdom of Entsteig was able to successfully fight off the barbarians, crushing them at the Battle of Blackwood. Athelred consolidated further territories, which continued under his son, Edmund the Just, who formed the foundation for political administration of Entsteig and firmly established the kingdom of Entsteig. His descendants, the Antrean Dynasty, would rule and govern Entsteig for centuries.

Assur's Invasion & the Great Anarchy
In the year 302 the archdemon Assur launched an invasion of Entsteig. An army led by Earl Edgewulf met the invaders at Bear's Hill. The demons defeated their human foes, and continued north on to the capital, razing villages and slaughtering their inhabitants on the way. Assur was slain at Brennor by Siggard, and his invasion was thwarted.

Following this however, Entsteig underwent a long period known as the "The Great Anarchy" when law and order broke down and warring earls, barons, and minor lords began to fight each other following the death of the King Edmund the Weak in 318. The Great Anarchy lasted for centuries, as rival claimants fought for the throne or against each other, with notable periods of peace under the reigns of a few stable monarchs. During this period, any warlord with enough strength and men-at-arms could claim his own land, provided he had enough skill to win it from his rivals.

The Great Anarchy was, despite its tumultuous nature, also so the development of many notable epics and classical sagas of Entsteig, most notably featuring the legendary hero Siggurd.

Aughild's Conquest
By 950, the Great Anarchy was coming to a close, with Entsteig divided into a few smaller factiosn. Out of this chaos emerged on man capable enought to finally unite the kingdom, known as Aughild. In 961 the warlord became the only person to ever successfully besiege Entsteig's capital, capturing the majority of the nobility within the capitol. He gave the nobles fifty demands (which were later written into his bracers) that had to be met before he would spare their lives, including being recognized as the true king of Entsteig. were later written into his bracers. Aughild was crowned king of Entsteig, and his vestments were crafted to reflect both his savagery and his nobility. But despite his new power, in the end it proved to be his undoing, as his grip was always tenuous and fraught with challenge.

In 966 a large uprising began under Lord and Lady Dunhyld of Fintoft, one of the major nobles who opposed Aughild. Lord Dunhyld was killed, and his wife was banished to the land of Khandurus, thus effectively ending dissidence for the time. In addition, numerous brigands and bandit groups were formed, such as those under Hawthorne Gable, Dar Gulle, Khan Dakab. Legends even tell fo Aughild murdering a fallen angel Raziel, or mysterious being such as the Archivist or the Tomekeeper. Future revolts in occurred in 979, 983, and 987. The latter was the final rebellion that saw the death of Aughild, though his son Derman would defeat the rebels under the mysterious figure known as Fecklar.

It is rumored that the grave of Aughild was pillaged by the ghosts of those he slew, and that those ghosts carry shards of his armor with them to this very day.

War of Thorns
Following Aughild's death the line passed on through his descendants, members of the Aughildian Dynasty. During this period, the kings of Entsteig began to engage in greater conflicts with the nearby nation of Ivgorod and their powerful monk warriors. In 1006 King Aldfrid annexed several small farming territories of Ivgorod, and ordered that they pay homage to him. The Patriarchs refused, and Aldfrid, in his fury, declared war. According to legend he said that "they are but thorns to us. Annoying, painful, and always in the way, but tiny little things that we shall cut out from the ground and burn"

The initial campaign was good for them, with several small victories achieved in the war. By 1007 the armies of Entsteig had forced their way to the walls of Ivgorod itself. Here however, the legendary Five Monks emerged, the greatest warriors of Ivgorod, who encouraged the citizens of the city to fight back, and successfully repel the invaders.

Aldrid was forced to retreat, but regrouped and prepared his forces for another battle. The Battle of Creten Hill saw the vast monks of Ivgorod in the open, out of their elements. In addition, the only one of the legendary Five Monks remained, Vylnas, who received mortal wounds. Despite this, his determination spurred on the Ivgorod warriors, and he personally lead a charge that killed King Aldrid and forced the Entsteig forces to retreat.

Following the death of King Aldrid, power in Entsteig fell to his wife, Queen Stanfleda. She ruled for two years as regent for Aldrid's son Wimund, before a civil war broke out with Aldrid's older bastard son Sigbert. Sigbert received support of many nobles who despites Stanfleda, and led to a decade long civil war.

This civil war finally ended in 1019, when Wimund dramatically claimed the throne, killing Sigbert and banishing his mother, finally restoring order and stability to Entsteig. His son, Aldrid the Wise, took the crown in 1040, marrying a Zakarumite.

Zakarum Rule
When Rakkis marched west in 1045, he eventually came to the region of Entsteig, meeting with its King Aldrid in 1048. Aware of the powerful military and tactical genius of Rakkis, Aldrid converted to the Zakarum religion, thanks in part to his wife's urging. Rakkis and Aldrid struck up a friendship as well, with Entsteig benefiting from the alliance with new technologies, ideas, and military aid. In return for embracing the Zakarum faith, Entsteig was allowed to retain much of its independence. Because of its quick acceptance of foreign rule, Entsteig quickly modernized and became an important Zakarum territory, with Edgar the Faithful, son of King Aldrid, helping to integrate the new religion into his nation.

For the next two centuries, Entsteig enjoyed a relatively stable peace, minus a brief civil war in 1189, or an outbreak of plague in 1210-1224. As the years went on, however, Entsteig began to grow more and more isolationist, in part thanks to the growing corruption within the Zakarum Church. This process only exacerbated during the Zakarum Inquisition, with the reigning King Edgar clashing several time with church officials and inquistors, who sought to "purify" the Zakarum within Entsteig.

Following the Inquisition era, Entsteig recoiled in horror following the Darkening of Tristram and the fall of Khandurus. When the Worldstone was destroyed in 1265, the northern regions of the kingdom were devastated, with a new gulf formed. The now elderly King Edgar worked to keep order, only to deal with large hordes of surviving barbarians fleeing southwards. The stress and chaos killed the king, but his son Ulfric managed to stabalize the kingdom, and begin a period of isolation. For the next few decades Entsteig focused itself on maintaining its borders and minding its own business.

Currant Status
Entsteig remained a lone but stable nation in the West, and began to rise out of its isolated state during the Diablic War. Following the Second Reformation, King Aelfmaer met with numerous other political leaders, and seeing the threat of the Prime Evils, signed the White Concord. Entsteig served as a powerful ally in the Diablic War, helping to turn the tide and win the war in Sanctuary's favor.

In the aftermath, Entsteig has begun to enter into a golden age, as one of the few states that has endured relatively calmly in the past century of chaos, guided by King Aelfmaer.

Government
Entsteig is an absolute monarchy, ruled by the reigning king or queen of Entsteig from the namesake capital city, these individuals are buried in impressive burial mounds, and a curse is said to fall upon anyone who defiles their graves. This reverence for the crown, who is referred to as having been divinely chosen, in integral in keeping the king secure.

The king is advised in his actions by the Witan, or council. The Witan is not a representative assembly, with its members possessing no real political power, and the king under no legal authority to obey them. Despite this, the Witan is a common and practical matter, with Entsteigian kings rarely so foolish as to flaunt their guidance and wisdom, and the Witan is regularly called together for important matters of state, offering advise and further credibility to the king's actions.

Administration
The kingdom is sub-divided administratively into shires, some modelled off of old kingdoms or sub-tribal districts, such as Edenna, Nossoz, Wessoz or Strigen. Others are named after the important towns that served as administrative centers: such as Brennor, or Entsteig itself. Individual shires are governed by officials, drawn from the upper nobility and appointed by the king, known as ealdormen. They are charged with general responsibility for the governance of their shire, but they have a particular responsibility for defense. Warriors of the shire were summoned to join the royal fyrd or army, and in rare cases the ealdorman might summon the shire's forces himself. In addition, ealdormen play a role in judicial case in their shires, as well as supervised the crown's financial resources within the shire, collecting and accounting the shires revenues in return for a portion of said revenues.

Along with the ealdormen are the shire reeves or sheriffs. Sheriffs can be drawn from any class, and are appointed directly by the king, dependent on the crown for their power and position. Thus, they act as an important check upon any ealdorman aspiring to unwanted degrees of independence, especially since many ealdormen control multiple shires.

Shires themselves are further divided into small territorial units known as hundreds, which effectively function as small shires, with a hundred court, with a community that can be called upon to raise a military force or pursue escaping criminals. Hundreds are generally comprised of 100-120 hides, a standardized unit of land which was is used as the basis for taxation, the construction of fortifications, and the levying of troops for war. Within each hundred, every estate and village is assigned to pay a portion of the hundred's total hidage assessment. This systems can be erratic and unequal, but functions as being very flexible and adaptable.

Law and Justice
Entsteig possess no policing body nor professional lawyers and judges. Instead, it relies upon a network of shire and hundred courts, which are headed by royal officials responsible for maintaining peace and doing justice. Several crimes are considered royal offensives, and thus the royal officials can directly prosecute in these cases. However, the majority of crimes can only be brought to court by the self-help efforts of the victim or their family. Feuds are known to erupt in these cases, when families decide to take justice into their own hands, though the kings of Entsteig attempt to prevent such problems.

In concordance with the legal systems, Entsteig relies upon the King's Code, a standard and comprehensive law code that date's back centuries. The King's Code is revised and released regularly during an individual king's reign, but has remained, on the whole, largely unchanged. New editions adjust for the times, but the King's Code has defined law and justice in Entsteig for centuries.

Geography
Entsteig is bordered by the Broken Gulf to the north, the Great Ocean to the west, the Gulf of Khandurus to the south, and the Tamoe Mountain Range to the west. Thick, mountainous forests blanket Entsteig, though it has some open fields. The Broken Mountains are located in the kingdom's north, surrounding the capital itself and serving as natural barriers. A number of main roads cross the country (e.g. the King's Road and Queen's Road), and during times of harvest, multiple people can be seen travelling them. Entsteig has a number of towns, but they are dwarfed by their counterparts in Kehjistan. Also, unlike Kehjistan, these towns are not planned; most villages in Entsteig simply grow as people congregate in a given area.

The Sharval Wilds cover most of the southern portions of the kingdom, a thick and heavily forested region that has serves as the main supply of lumber.

Culture & Society
Entsteig is a proud kingdom that has pledged its loyalties to the Zakarum faith. However, faith in the Light is mixed with paganistic beliefs and elements of their former culture, (at least some of which include the concept of minor nature gods/spirits) and its people believe the Sharval Wilds to be an enchanted place of fey spirits, who help or harm travelers. Goblins and dragons feature in Entsteig folklore as well, long rumored to exist under the ground or the deep caves. Interestingly, the people of Entsteig have always believed in Heaven and Hell, perhaps even before any other culture on Sanctuary.

Many old customs and pagan rituals are still practiced by Entsteig's inhabitants in the Sharval Wilds, as per their spiritual beliefs. Harvest festivals are a common tradition in the rural villages of Entsteig, often during special days and periods to give offerings to the spirits. Even so, these ancient rites have not conflicted with the observance of the Zakarum faith. Rather, Entsteig's people have managed to meld their own esoteric beliefs with their adopted religion. In fact, many of the most devout Zakarum paladins have hailed from Entsteig.

A common tradition among the Entsteigians is the concept of "Naming" their newborns. It is considered bad luck for the child if they do not receive a name within two months of their birth, which carries great importance for carrying on ones legacy.