History of Ostagaard

Over a millennia ago, the region that is known today as the county of Ostagaard was one of several colonies established by the fabled Republic of Aduron, an ancient city state situated on a large island far away from the mainland. During these ancient times, the colony’s borders encompassed much of what is presently considered to be the ‘southern tip’ of the Duchy of Ljón.

The city of Valnora was established as the region’s main port city, connecting Aduron to its mainland colonies. The region itself featured several paved highways to allow travelers and commerce to flow throughout the region. These ancient highways still exist today as unpaved gravel throughways and occasionally, pieces of ancient Aduron paving will work their way to the surface.

Exactly when and how Aduron collapsed is still a matter of debate amongst historians. They can only agree that the collapse came about roughly a thousand years before the founding of the county of Ostgaard by Atreus Wolfborn. The event leading to the destruction of the once prosperous Republic of Aduron is simply known as “The Great Cataclysm”. According to legends Anduron experienced a sudden series of violent earthquakes and floods, and in a single day and night of misfortune the island of Anduron supposedly disappeared in the depths of the sea. Only those living in the colonies on the mainland and present on the ships out at sea survived this event.

In the centuries following The Great Cataclysm, the descendants of the people of Aduron struggled to recover from the loss of their beloved homeland. Most of the survivors congregated in the city of Valnora and its surrounding lands. In time new communities were established amidst the remnants of the outposts of the once-great Republic of Aduron. While the original settlers were worshippers of Oceanus the Qin of water, many of their descendants adopted the Faedin religion instead. In modern times, worship of Oceanus is mostly limited to Ostagaard’s seafarers.

Cut off from their homeland, the inhabitants began to forget much of their heritage though they retained a fierce streak of independence as well as their unique language, now known as the Eldar Speech. The origin of the Eldar Speech isn’t widely known except amongst a select few. What is known is that the Eldar Speech isn’t related to any of the other regional dialects. Because of their unique and ancient heritage, the people of Ostagaard have the tendency to regard themselves as superior over the people in neighboring lands who mostly consist of native inhabitants and have no ties with Ostagaard’s original settlers.

What is remarkable, is that the native inhabitants of Ostagaard bear a striking physical resemblance to the Brudvir native to this part of the mainland, even though the Eldar Speech shares no roots with any of the modern Brudvir dialects. While most adhere to the Feadin religion, there are otherwise very few cultural similarities to the Brudvir. Scholars have speculated that the original inhabitants of Aduron split off from the main Brudvir line somewhere near the end of their evolution from proto-Neran into the modern Brudvir.

Owing to their heritage, the inhabitants of Ostagaard are accomplished shipwrights and seafarers as well as possessing a highly refined architectural tradition. In addition, some of the former colonists and their descendants developed a strong affinity for the local fauna in the wake of The Great Cataclysm, and in time they became accomplished beast masters allowing for the gradual domestication of local wildlife such as wolves and snow leopards.

In time the city of Valnora slowly recovered and once again established itself as a regional trading hub. The neighboring hamlet of Seornai was established around the remains of an old fort that had once served as a military outpost for the Republic of Aduron.

Today Seornai is home to the Shamans of Seornai, who came to help combat an outbreak of The Searing Plague. After helping heal the lands, the inhabitants of what is today known as Seornai were allowed to settle within the region and have fostered close relations with the people of Valnora.

During the modern era the Duchy of Ljón has extended its influence into most of the former Aduron colony with Valnora becoming the regional seat of power for the counts of Ostagaard shortly after its establishment by Atreus Wolfborn.

In recent years the people of Ostagaard have been taking to sea in increasing numbers and pushing beyond the boundaries of known waters in the hope of rediscovering what remains of their once beloved homeland and learning of its real fate so long ago.

Author’s note

The name Ostagaard is still pending approval by SBS. The county is currently known as Axeside. Axeside is located on the Selene server within the Duchy Westmist (eventually to be merged into the Duchy of Ljón) in the southwest of the Kingdom of Demalion. Our main professions will be animal breeding, shipbuilding and exploration. Our ultimate goal is the settlement of one of the new Adventure Islands. I have tried to weave our focus and ultimate goal through our back story while giving the whole thing an Atlantean theme.