State of Alabama
System of Government: Feudal State
Head of State: Governor, selected from sons and nephews of ruling Governor, prior to his death
Population: 425,000
Religion: American Non-Denominational Church
Totemic Symbol: Yellowhammer (Northern Flicker)
In the early years of the new medieval Era, the Governor of Mississippi was extremely powerful. Along with his counter part in Georgia they were undoubtedly the kings of the South. The Governors of Alabama had little such luck. Hobbled by constant rebellion and invasions from all sides the state was nibbled away at until nothing remained and it was completely absorbed into the now Commonwealths of Georgia and Mississippi. For the next 300-400 years, the border between Georgia and Mississippi was an area in flux, with border lords raiding and taking over villages from each other. Occasionally these lords would stop paying their taxes and rebel, citing some obscure nonsense about taxation without representation as though they knew anything about the old American Constitution. However, as the central authority of the Mississippian governor eroded over time these rebellions would last longer and take more effort to put down.
This came to a head when the Golden Circle took charge in Mississippi and the Governor's power really took a nosedive. Unfortunately, the Golden Circle seized power in a time when their own control over the remaining warlords of the Commonwealth was shaky. Sensing an opportunity, and locked out of the corridors of power, many landlords in what was once Alabama and Northern Mississippi schemed to wrestled power away from the Golden Circle. This new group, who called themselves the Men of the Red Cross banded together and declared themselves independent. They gathered in Birmingham and marched on Meridian to either split the Commonwealth in two or usurp power from the Golden Circle. At Meridian they managed to capture the puppet Governor Robert IV Maddox and used him as a hostage against the Golden Circle. However, what they did not count on was the Governor of Georgia getting involved. Sensing an opportunity to expand the size of his own lands to shore up his own power-base he invaded from the east. Quickly the Men of the Red Cross marched east and fought the Georgians to a stalemate at Sylacauga. Then they marched back west to the Mississippi River to protect their lands which were being ravaged by Shelby County mercenaries. It was there they met the armies of the Golden Circle.
Battle did not immediately commence though. Knights were sent to parlay. The Alabamian delegation threatened the Mississippians by stating "If pitched battle should ensue, y'all gonna regret it. We have the governor". The Mississippians responded with "If the governor dies, we'll have the new governor and all y'all going be left with is a stinking body."
Obviously parlay talks were at an impasse. With violence being the only answer, the Battle of Batesville would ensue. Tired from weeks of marching in the dying heat of summer and grinding down the Georgians, the Alabamian army was defeated but managed a semi-orderly withdrawal. From there they fought a fighting retreat all the way to Montgomery where storms forced an end to the fighting. The seizure of most rebel holdings ensured the integrity of Mississippi was intact and so the Golden Circle stopped and disbanded their armies, personal power secured. Further treaties between the Men of the Red Cross and the Golden Circle would have the Men of the Red Cross rescind their claims over the land they no longer held and for the return of the puppet Governor.
However for the former rebels, this meant that they were reduced to a thin arc on the northeastern border of the Commonwealth of Mississippi. There was not nearly enough land for many lords still alive. New Governor of Alabama Adrian Henderson hosted a dinner for the remaining lords. He slaughtered all but 3 who had already pledged allegiance to him.
In the following years, the new State of Alabama would implode. When the eldest of Henderson's vassals Tobias Bringier, died, Henderson would seize all of his lands instead of giving it to Bringier's son as was expected. This would prompt Henderson's remaining vassals John Chambers and Remus Upson to win their own independence from Henderson. Facing an army larger and more organized than his own, Henderson would allow Chambers and Upson to break off. Their nation, centered on Montgomery would tear itself in two upon the death of Chambers. Montgomery would later erupt into a peasant rebellion that made the city and it's surrounding lands independent from warlords. Montgomery's independence is now upheld by both the Commonwealth of Mississippi and Georgia. Neither nation is willing to see the valuable city fall into their rival's hands and so it remains independent.
What remains of the State of Alabama is a strip of land along the Tennisy river. In it's weakened and diminished state it has come to be dominated by the State of Tennisy who have replaced governors they dislike multiple times. The current Governor Darius Allen was himself installed 20 years ago when as a young colonel he was prohibited from marrying the old Governor's only child. He stole her away in the night and declared for the throne in Huntsville. With support from Tennisy , Darius defeated his father-in-laws army. Caving into his wife's pleading, Darius spared his father-in-laws life, instead locking him away in a castle where he is of no harm to anyone.