The Kingdom of Eaglecrest was a Gawedi kingdom along the Dragonhills of the Dragon Coast, at its height reaching to the western coasts of Lencenor. They were most known for their “Scalemail” made from the hide of the nearby kobolds, and for their determination in defending their land from a multitude of invaders.
History[]
Following the initial Gawedi conquests into Lencenor in 475 and subsequent repulsion by the Lorentish Kingdom in 530, the Gawedi Kingdom waited for an opportunity to strike again into Lencenor and the Small Country. Eventually they were successful when the Lorentish Kingdom went through the War of the Three Roses, a civil war, in 600. Their hold was tenuous however, with many back and forth conflicts once the civil war had ended. The Gawedi Kingdom created the Kingdom of Eaglecrest, a subject led by a cadet branch of the House of Gawe, to stabilize and hold the region from the Dragonhills. The capital of Eaglecrest being its namesake fortress, once a former fort of the Gnomish Hierarchy, and before that a bastion of Castanor.
Eaglecrest managed to break free from the Gawedi Kingdom in 795 whilst the Gawedi troops were stationed up north preventing any Gerudians from raiding their lands. Freedom, however, proved to be their downfall. During the Era of Black Ice, the coast of Eaglecrest was vulnerable to the raiders, no longer protected by the Gawedi Kingdom. Later in 826, a group of raiders led by Askel invaded Eaglecrest; lured there by Iochand, Eaglecrest’s rival. The raiders won, taking the coastal western portion of Eaglecrest and ruling it as the Kingdom of Reveria. Following that, the Gawedi Kingdom vassalized the weakened Eaglecrest.
The Gawedi Kingdom fell during the War of the Sorcerer-King, being attacked on two fronts by both Black Castanor and the Kingdom of Lorent. The result of the Third Tall War against Lorent in 981 was the Gawedi Kingdom losing their lands in the Small Kingdom as well as the independence of Eaglecrest. Once independent however, Eaglecrest then needed to defend itself from the encroaching Black Castanor.
Eaglecrest joined with the League of Free Realms in the fight against Black Castanor and assisted in relieving the Siege of Alenath in 982. The Gawedi Kingdom fell in 986 and Castanor soon turned their armies toward Eaglecrest. In 992 Eaglecrest came under siege and was pushed back to the Lodan Crags where they maintained a resistance effort throughout the war. Much of the Small Country had been liberated by 1002, however it wasn’t until 1007 that Eaglecrest was finally liberated, being too far away from Aelcandar to be defensible.
Eaglecrest made it out of the War of the Sorcerer-King intact and independent, however not for very long. A few decades later the Kingdom of Lorent, with their dominant position in the Small Country, conquered Eaglecrest while Gawed was still recovering from the war. Later in 1055, Gawed manages to overcome a Lorent weakened by the White Pestilence in the Fourth Tall War and annexes Eaglecrest’s former lands as well as the lands of what became the Bluefoot Halflings.
Economy[]
Eaglecrest had two main products of note. First of which being their unique scalemail fashioned from the scales procured from slain kobolds. It was noted as being rather durable while maintaining a light weight. Eaglecrest was also known for their large flocks of sheep, well suited for the Dragonhills. The wool and mutton from them was plentiful and a common sight at markets in the area.
Military[]
The military of Eaglecrest is a hardy one with a history of defending their land. Being set between the Alenic Frontier and Lencenor often made the lands of Eaglecrest a battlefield. Sometimes, like in the War of the Sorcerer-King, Eaglecrest would come under occupation. This would not stop the army from defending its lands, however. The Order of the Crag was created to honor those who maintained a war of attrition from the hills during periods of occupation.
The Eaglecrest army was composed primarily of infantry wearing Eaglecrest’s well known kobold-scale cuirasses. The kobold scales were gathered primarily from trespassing kobolds coming down from the Dragonheights and served well as armor. Along with the infantry were Eaglecrest’s Alenic knights, a sizable force of heavy cavalry. Using heavier horses than Gawed, the Alenic knights were less maneuverable but better at charging. These knights wore practical armor with little to no ornamentation unlike others to the south.