Chapter Six, Part Two: Last Days of Summer, 1200-1250
The 13th Century would prove to be a time of transition in Talbeah and Keshigu. The full effects of the nearly seven-hundred years of continual contact between Europeans and natives would come to fruition, as the few advantages that the Europeans had started out with slowly faded away and the playing field became much more equal. The first half of this century would also prove to be the last “great hurrah” for many nations, as environmental factors after this point would begin to work against the various cultures that had developed on Talbeah.
Setraland
Going into the 13th Century, Setraland was at the height of its power and influence. The Dawnland had been pacified, the grandees were generally peaceful, and the development of the Thoir-Thair culture witnessed a flourishing of art and literature. All of this was made possible by the maple sugar trade and the lucrative profits it brought along with it. Indeed, Setraland was one of the wealthier states of Christendom in this period, due to this natural bounty.
Hrein Iron-Hand died in 1201, at the age of 53, and the King Thing gathered once again at Dun Cormac to vote on a successor. Two month’s deliberation saw the Thing agree to elect Njall, the third son of Hrein. The chronicles list two different nicknames for Njall; the Chronicles of Rineen refer to him as Njall “Goldenrod”, the Faithche Chronicle lists it as being Njall “Merchant-King”. Common in both these names is the implication of wealth. An examination of his Kingship shows that these sobriquets was well-earned.
Njall was also notable for his name- the Ostish form of the Irish “Niall”. While his father had been the first truly Thoir-Thairmonarch, Njall was the first to more fully reflect this development. In Njall, indeed, all of the foundational communities of Setraland could be found- his mother was of Briton stock, his father purely Ostish, he himself bore an Irish name, and, perhaps most notably, had a wife that was native, the daughter of an Afonbreni Ethnarch. For the first time in its history, the realm’s future King would be a measctha.
Njall’s main focus in his reign would be on expanding trade and helping increase prosperity for his realm. This would be facilitated by his being in a position to take full advantage of the recent changes in Paqwachowng. The conquests of Matoaka had opened up more land for oyangwa, which was all the rage in Europe. Every year, more oyangwa became available in the markets of the Paqwachowng realm. It would be dried and processed for smoking, then loaded onto ships that would sail to Bolverkstead or Costa Dhearg of Peace Town. From there, it would be loaded onto larger ships alongside barrels of maple sugar bound for Angland- the main European receiving point for the trans-Atlantic trade.
Njall was no miser with his newfound wealth. During this period, his court became famous for its patronage of poets and chroniclers, as well as its architectural achievements. While his grandfather had focused on building fortifications, Njall focused instead on building cathedrals. Influenced by the developments in church construction in Europe, Njall commissioned a grand cathedral in Peace Town. He imported architects from Francia to oversee it, as well as precious goods from across Talbeah- for example, jade from the League of Mayapan, gold and obsidian from Cholula.
While he would not live to see it completed, his cathedral would be a wonder to behold- and still is to this day, as it remains standing. It’s name is a familiar one, that of St. Brendan. For it was in Njall’s reign that Brendan, the monk who stumbled on a continent, was elevated to sainthood by the Pope. It was also in Njall’s reign that the Bishop of Tairngire was made an Archbishop.
Njall’s rule, however, would mark the beginning of the end of Setraland’s “Golden Age”. When he died in 1233, after a notable reign of 32 years, the weaknesses of the King Thing began to show themselves. Njall had left behind a large treasury, which were tempting targets for his brood. His five sons, competing for the votes of the Thing, made grand promises and threats to grandees for their support. It would become apparent to any observer that the Thing was no longer looking for the “best” among the descendants of the King- they were looking for the one that would give them the best bribes.
That turned out to be Njall’s second son, Dufgall. Dufgall had promised to the grandees that he would “expand the realm”, looking for more land to press into and exploit, dividing it among them. He had also spent liberally from his father’s treasury to augment these promises, depleting the once-robust coffers. This made expansion a necessity, not only to keep his promises, but also as a way to refresh his wealth.
His sights were set on an ambitious piece of territory- a stretch from the peripheries of Paqwachowng territory to the borders of the subdued Dawnland. [1] He readied the warbands for invasion...
The Lenape War
But this would prove to be a mistake. Dufgall had never fought a war before; no one had, not since his grandfather’s earliest days on the throne. Sure, there were always squabbles between nobility in the periphery, where the King’s Justice was not strong, but there hadn’t been an organized war in most people’s lifetimes.
That wasn’t the case in his targeted land. The expansion of Setraland into the Dawnland, and its subsequent repression, had sent tribes scattering into the region, fleeing for their lives. From the south, Mataoka’s conquests had done the same, forcing tribes north to escape the forced labor and oyangwa quotas. These new tribes entered a region in transition; many of the tribes in the region had been on the end of the Blade Trade for centuries, ever since the Afonbreni Confederacy had been first visited by the men of the Gofordi. Warfare had been a way of life ever since the first warriors realized that iron blades and iron armor could tip the scales.
During the previous thirty years leading up to Dufgall’s ill-fated expedition, the changes in the region were coming to a head. Where previously there had been many smaller realms, many had been united under one common banner- that of the NishashManshapiahasik Këlamapisin, the Seven Beaded Belt. The Seven Beaded Belt was not exactly a unified native confederation; rather, it was a sort of “confederation of confederations”, a military and economic alliance of several smaller confederacies, such as the Muhhcanneuw, the Onyota’a:ka (a tribe vaguely related to the tribes that had once made up the Afonbreni Confederation) and, most notably, the Lenni-Lenape. The Seven Beaded Belt was nominally headed by the Lenni-Lenape, which formed its largest member and strongest advocate.. It is from the Lenni-Lenape that the more common name for the realm (at least in Christian circles) emerged- the Lenapehoking. [2]
The Lenapehoking’s rise was partially due to the fears of invasion from either of the region’s greedy neighbors, but was also the result of centuries of development. As previously stated, the tribes in the region had been on the receiving end of the Blade Trade for generations. Defensive palisades had to be erected and scattered tribes had to gather together to defend against raiders armed with metal weaponry. Alliances were forged for mutual protection or mutual gain, and over time these alliances solidified into proto-states. As threats grew, these proto-states were forced to come together and form confederacies to face them. [3]
Thus, the Lenapehoking was the culmination of changes kicked off by the arrival of Europeans. These same Europeans were about to reap what they had unwittingly sown.
The Lenape War can generally be divided into three phases; the initial Setralander invasion (1234-1238); the Paqwachownginvasion (1238-1243); and the Lenape counter-invasion (1243-1248). The course of this fourteen year war is complex, and to discuss it in detail is beyond the scope of this work. Therefore, a summary will have to suffice.
Under Dufgall, the Setralander army marched south from the Dawnland along the coast, aiming to secure the coastline first of all. This was a traditionally Ostish move, as ships would be able to keep the army in good supply and maintain communication as they went, as well as provide a quick getaway. However, this pointed them right at the traditional Lenni-Lenape homeland- the heart of the Lenapehoking. After winning a few paltry skirmishes, Dufgall found himself facing a well-constructed native palisade. Digging in for a siege, and ignoring reports of a gathering native force, Dufgall prepared to add another city to his realm.
He was surprised, then, when the reported native force arrived in large numbers, armed and equipped similarly to his own army. Caught between the besieged settlement and the advancing enemy, Dufgall quickly decided the best bet was to have his army flee to the boats. Unfortunately for many of his men, the Lenape moved too quickly. The chronicles differ in their numbers, but a good-sized chunk of the Setralander army was left behind on the field while their king fled.
This news electrified the region. Tribes that had been nervous about joining the Lenapehoking, upon hearing news of a Setralander defeat, rallied to the banner of the Seven Beaded Band. This is understandable; for centuries, the native peoples of Talbeah had been on the receiving end of defeats from Setralanders. The Afonbreni, the peoples of the Dawnland; nothing had seemed to stop the Christians from over the sea. But the Lenape had made them flee. The tide, it seemed, had turned.
Embarrassed and enraged, Dufgall regathered his forces and tried another approach in 1235. Moving south from Setralanderterritory along the Tullaha, Dufgall reasoned he could avoid smacking into well-fortified palisades. He was right, to an extent; there were few palisades in the region, but worse than that were the mountains and hills he had to cross. Covered in dense woods, the Setralanders were forced to blaze new trails and build roads to ensure their supply wagons could come along. All the while, they were harassed by Lenape warriors.
After a year of little progress, Dufgall and his men reached a palisade of the Muhhcanneuw known as Sa-ra-ta-ke. Here, theywere finally met by the Lenape in open battle. This proved to be more of a close-run battle, and in many respects, the Setralanders held the field and won. However, casualties had been so heavy that Dufgall feared a follow-up attack. He gave orders to pull back on his line of supply. This allowed the Lenape to view this as a victory; after all, the enemy retreated, right?
Years of little progress had made the grandees furious with Dufgall, and news of his retreat in the face of victory turned the fury white hot. In 1238 the flag of rebellion was raised in Setraland. Dufgall was forced to withdraw entirely from the Lenapehoking to deal with the revolt.
However, there was no peace yet for the Lenape. From the south, news came of a Paqwachowng attack. Onawmanient, the great-grandson of Mataoka and the current Paramount Chief, had determined that the Setralander’s failed attempts to invade had weakened the Lenape sufficiently to allow for a push. More land and thralls were an attractive idea for this ambitious Chieftain, and the lesser chiefs of the Paqwachowng readily followed his call to arms.
Unfortunately for this would-be conquerer, he found himself running into the palisades of the Lenape, much as Dufgall had in his first attempt. Unlike Dufgall, Onawmanient lacked the means to quickly reduce a fortification; siege weapons were unknown among his people at this time. The war broke down into a series of long sieges or costly attempts at storming with ladders, allowing the Lenape time to rebuild and regain their strength. In 1240, after two years of this, the Lenape struck and dealt Onawmanient a stinging blow, forcing him to pull back to already conquered palisades. Further offensives by the Paqwachowng chief were put on hold due to a large rebellion among his western vassal tribes; he departed, leaving forced to hold down the taken forts. The next three years saw siege and countersiege reign supreme, as Onawmanient put down the flames of revolt.
He returned in 1243, prepared to continue the war, but fears among his lesser chiefs of repeated revolts breaking their economic wealth (compounded by Lenape piracy) led to an assassination. Onawmanient’s underage successor, Paemotinck, was placed under a regency council of sorts, which quickly sought peace with the Lenape. A border was set between the two realms- the Patawomke River. [4]
Peace was made just in time for the Lenape, as the Setralandersreturned. Dufgall, after failing to defeat the rebels in the field, had agreed to some of their terms, easing the feudal duties that had been placed on them by his great-grandfather, Ansgar. This enabled him to turn his attention back to the Lenapehoking, where he dispatched a warband to take some bordering palisades. He hoped, it seemed, to gain just a toehold in the region.
Even that hope would be dashed, as the battle hardened warriors of the Lenape returned north and drove his men out. They then did the unthinkable- they launched a counter-attack into the Dawnland.
The presence of a native force electrified the still recently pacified region. Many of the Christians that had been forced to convert at swordpoint threw off the cross for the spirits, attacking priests and Setralander merchants alike. A new revolt was called, and the leadership of the Lenape made promises about restoring the Dawnland to native rule.
This proved to be too ambitious, as Setraland, alarmed at this development, rallied to the defense of their hard-won territory. The palisades that had proved a tough nut to crack in the first Christian invasions proved even tougher for the Lenape to break. Though they developed siege tactics of their own, the course of the war soon ground against them. Many of the warriors were tired- the nation had been on war footing for fourteen years, and many were calling for peace. An embassy was sent to Peace Town, and an equally tired Dufgall agreed to the meeting.
The Peace of Manna-hata saw Setraland recognize the Lenapehoking as an independent realm in its own right. The Dawnland was not restored, but amnesty was promised to rebels as well as an ease on the draconian policies that governed the region. Trade was also reopened- a welcome boon to many who had lost fortunes in the war.
In the end, the Lenape were the real winners of this half-century, with Setraland the definite loser. The myth of invincibility had been broken, and the nation began to look elsewhere for glory...
Paqwachowng
Prior to the invasion of Lenape, the Paqwachowng were enjoying a time of great prosperity. Mataoka’s system of fobbing of oyangwa production on smaller tribes was a veritable coup for the core of Paqwachowng power. Onawmanient’s father, a more peaceful man, ruled for much of this period, and oversaw the flourishing of the native culture, as well as the Ahonist faith.
Ahonism truly hit its stride in the beginning of the 13th century, notably seeing the creation of a proto-scripture. Though it was not the Christian Bible or Ismaili Nasi by any means, the “paramount priest” did manage to compile different moral lessons and legends about their deity into one place, as part of a further attempt to bind the nation closer together. Religious homogeneity was enforced- sometimes brutally. Setralanderobservers would note people being “buried alive” or “crushed beneath stones” for expressing views contrary to the new party line. It seemed as if the Ahonists had learned lessons from the Christian repression of the Dawnland.
The main city of the Paqwachowng, Attaangwassuwk, also became more of a city in this period. Sprawling out from its previous palisade borders, Attaangwassuwk had gaming dens, ball fields, drinking dens, blacksmiths, merchants, and all the other wonders of “civilized” life. The paramount chief even had a “palace” of sorts built for himself; more a seperate compound, it nevertheless reflected the Paqwachowng absorption of European Christian ideas.
After the assassination of Onawmanient, and the “regency” of his son, the Paqwachowng began to then their attentions southward. Their taste for expansion may have been dulled by the Lenape’s blades, but it was not fully satiated...
Asgard
Far to the South in Mirwick, Asgard was reaping the benefits of its thalassocracy. Even as conflict in Fjothrland intensified, the Asgardians continued to grow rich off trade with the various kingdoms and city states there. This wealth drove them, according to the Mirwick Annals, to “ever greater heights of greed”. [5]
Their sights were set on complete hegemony of the Sea of Lukkai. The native Lukkai, for whom the sea was named, were devastated by the plagues introduced by the Asgardians, much as the Fjothrlanders had been. Weakened, their island chiefdoms proved tempting targets for Asgardians looking to gain more territory. While outright conquest was uncommon, more common was binding chiefs to the Asgardians through treaties of “mutual benefit”, backing their ambitions with arms and men. Asgardian protectorates popped up on many of the islands; on islands where demographic devastation (or Asgardian greed) was too strong, small Asgardian colonies were set up.
Why would the Asgardians be so interested in these regions? The answer was simple- crops. Following the example of their Setralander brothers and the Paqwachowng, the Asgardians introduced the dreaded man-tax on their protectorates, as well as dictating quotas of oyangwa. Another important crop was beginning to be exploited in this fashion as well- indigo. While perhaps not the traditional indigo plant, Fjothrland and the islands of the Lukkai had a plant that could produce the valuable dye. Afterall, the Maya had been utilizing it for centuries. [6] When made aware of this, the Asgardians went wild; soon, indigo was making them a pretty profit.
This wasn’t enough for the Asgardians, however; one avenue of trade was closed to them. The Pawu on their island dominated the trade up to Shingu river, and the Asgardians wanted it. Thus, in the close of this period, Asgardian ships began the first attempt to conquer Pawu. Though devastated by plague, the Pawu would prove a tenacious foe; assisted by the natural dangers of fighting in the tropics, they managed to fend off this first attempt.
But the Asgardians would be back, and with them would be a force of brutality never before seen in the Western Hemisphere...
Fjothrland
Cholula in this period rose to dominance in Fjothrland, filling the vacuum left behind by the fall of Tollan. Their control, however, was different, more in line with traditional Fjothrlander practices- only parts of the region were directly controlled, the rest being under tributaries. Nevertheless, a sizeable portion of the region paid homage of some kind to Cholula, which began to reap the rewards of control. The realm would come to dominate trade with Asgard, and thus the wider world.
The Maya as well would see trade with Asgard grow in importance. The Confederation of Mayapan saw new life as a means of collective bargaining, preventing the Asgardians from pitting Maya cities against each other for better trade. The conflicts that raged during the height of the plague in the previous century came to a relatively peaceful conclusion, though conflicts between Maya states were known to flare up, and flare up violently.
The Purepechans in this period also made a major discovery, however. The native metalworkers were well-known for their talents, and the arrival of the Southern Blade Trade sent them into overdrive. Experimentation, knowledge passed from Asgardians, and ingenuity saw their forges turn towards the creation of native iron weaponry. Additional advances saw the beginning of rudimentary mines cropping up across the region, with the ore flowing to the Purepechans for construction.
While a small factor in this period, Purepechan ore-work marked the beginning of the end of the Blade Trade; in turn, this would mark the beginning of the end of Asgardian and Setralandertrade domination. As the 14th century approached, trade would become more equal across the Western Hemisphere as European advantages continued to fade in the face of native ingenuity.
K’omani
Perhaps the greatest example of this native ingenuity was K’omani, which continued its rise in this period. Entering what historians label the “Ten Cities” period, K’omani forged a confederation of its own with nine other proto-states along the upper Kikadit. Why did it do this? For protection, as this marked the first instance that the “Horse People” rode out of the northern plains and raided the more settled communities along the Kikadit. [7]
Despite all the “cities” being equal in this arrangement, K’omani, with the largest population and the strongest economic base, naturally came to dominate their fellows, only increasing their control over the “Ten Cities” as the century wore on. Anti-Jesus figures begin to appear in burial sites across a wider region in this period, suggesting that the K’omani religion played a part in this domination. Whatever the case, the “Ten Cities” period marked another step of K’omani’s meteoric rise to power, providing it with additional manpower and security to help it survive the coming lean years...
The Ice Age Cometh
For something that no one could count on was approaching. From 1250 on, the years would get more and more cold. This would cause massive changes in Talbeah, changing the face of the Western Hemisphere forever...
[1]- Parts of modern day New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware
[2]- On terminology: It can get confusing, as the term Lenapeand Lenni-Lenape are used to describe different things for different people. The term Lenape was used by contemporary chroniclers and most historic records to refer to members of the greater Seven Beaded Belt, and is used so in this document, while Lenni-Lenape is used to refer to members of that specific tribe. While the author’s usage of Lenape in this way is not, perhaps, the most accurate (given that some members of the Seven Beaded Belt spoke a completely different language and had a widely different culture), it has traditionally been the most acceptable term.
[3]- Perhaps the author has been remiss in not discussing the developments beyond the major players in Talbeah. Supplemental maps and information will be coming soon to correct that error.
[4]- OTL Potomac River
[5]- The Mirwick Annals date from the 15th century; this was definitely NOT the perception at the time.
[6]- The plant in question is Indigofera suffruticosa, or anil. It produces indigo and was used by the Mayans to make the bright blue paint for their murals.
[7]- From the K’omani term Arusa Piita. The Horse People were not one unified tribe, or even one unified culture. It was a general term applied to the tribes across the Great American Plains that, by this period, had begun to utilize horses for raiding, trading, and hunting. Horses had worked their way across the continent in the several-hundred years since their introduction. Most settled cultures used them for draft animals or to speed up delivery of messages, preferring to fight on foot. That was not the case on the Plains. The rise of the various tribes of the Hose People will be discussed in further detail later in this work, as they become more prominent in Talbeahan politics.
