The Gawedi Kingdom was a barbarian kingdom and predecessor of the modern-day Kingdom of Gawed. The kingdom was formed by the Alenic Gawedi tribe in 474 by Godrac the Invader, who conquered the city of Vertesk from the Damerian Republic during the time of the Dragonwake.
History[]
Origins[]
The kingdom and its namesake originate the Gawedi people that inhabited the northern portions of Cannor in the region known as the Alenic Frontier. Historians state that the tribal confederation rose from various disparate peoples that were pushed to the northern fringes by their southern neighbours as well as gradual migration from the northern peoples of Gerudia over time.
The Gawedi peoples beyond the Alen were infamous for their hardiness and hostility even amongst the warring tribes of the Alenic Frontier, and proved as a major thorn to Castan's Empire for much of their existence, even being the principal opponents in Castan the Quareller's campaigns into North Cannor - it is due to their existence that Castanor never properly established a foothold in the Giant's Grave sea.
Throughout their existence the Gawedi people were never fully conquered by the imperial forces of the Damerian Republic and Castanor, a feat that many Gawedi people hold as a badge of honour even to this day.
Dragonwake and establishment of the Gawedi Kingdom[]
During the Dragonwake in 470 the Gawedi tribe, united by Godrac (later known as Godrac the Invader), crossed the Alen River into the lands of their southern neighbours in what is known as the Gawedi War of Aggression causing various tribes to flee south into the lands of the Damerian Republic, primarily the Three Tribes of Wexonards, Marrodic and Crodamic peoples, and by 471 forming the Gawedi Kingdom of Vertesk after conquering said city.
Whilst most of the tribe settled Vertesk, a subset continued southwards deeper into the Damerian Republic and in 473 failed to conquer Bal Hyl which was defended by an alliance of Damerian forces and the Three Tribes (whom they had initially displaced).
Gawedi Invasions of Lorent[]
In 474 the Damerian capital of Damenath was razed by the dragon Zaamalot effectively causing the collapse of the republic and the only remaining imperial power in Cannor. With the mass hysteria caused by further dragon attacks, the Gawedi Kingdom turned its eyes westwards to Lencenor, thinking it was a safer location from the Dragonwake which had originated to its east. In 475 the first of the Gawedi Invasions of Lencenor began in which the kingdom fought against both local Lencori tribesmen as well as the Lencori Empire, a rump state of the recently collapsed Damerian Republic, which too collapsed in 480 due to Gawedi attacks.
The collapse of the Lencori Empire ushered in the period known as the Lencori Warlord Era, in which many Gawedi chieftains and nobles settled and established themselves all across Lencenor. It was only until 495 that the Gawedi met serious resistance, in the form of Lorenan the Great, founder of the modern-day Lorent. By 530 the Gawedi was pushed out of Lencenor entirely, igniting the fierce rivalry between Gawed and Lorent that exists to this day.
Era of Black Ice[]
Despite their closeness to the Giant's Grave sea the kingdom was relatively untouched from the early raids of the Gerudian Reavers of the Era of Black Ice. It was only in 864 when the city of Vertesk as well as Gaweton was sacked by a large host of Reavers led by a raider sailing up the River Alen and who would become Castan Ebonfrost.
9 years later in 873 Castan Ebonfrost invaded Gawed and annexed Balmire, with the rest of the kingdom becoming a tributary of the Castan's Empire.
War of the Sorcerer King[]
During the War of the Sorcerer King Gawed was invaded proper and was a major battleground for much of the later war. Despite being conquered many fled to the forests and hills and started the Gawedi Resistance, led by the increasingly powerful Moor Lords of Westmoor. Gawed proper was reorganized into the Vertesk Dominion, centered around the ancient Castanorian city of Vertesk.
Gawed serves as the main base of the Castanorian forces during the war, but was consistently harassed by the Gawedi Resistance until its liberation by the Free Realms forces in 1015.
The modern-day kingdom was founded in 1015 after the Liberation of Gawed that freed the kingdom and the ancient House of Gawe, which had survived by fleeing to the Westmoors, was reinstalled as king.