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Nonetheless, the agreement is honoured at first, and over the following five years the Hajalad is peacefully integrated into Aeneleg’s Olgish kingdom. A new capital is constructed at the site of negotiations in Invarydd and new trade routes established connecting the coast with the Heath in the mountains inland, under the powerful protection of the Wertian cavalry. It is only in the autumn of 437 that the Hayan Olgs refuse payment of the in their eyes injust Wertian Taxes. Aeneleg enters negotiations calmly, either hiding his ire or seeing a long-expected threat come true. A drastic restriction of taxable transactions—largely relieving the merchants from their obligations and putting a greater strain on the general population—, the formation of an official recognized merchant guild—the [[Hayan Trade Magistrates]] based in Bernab—, and Aeneleg’s assurance that Wertian warriors remain on the Heath and do not enter the Hajalad initially settle the dispute, but the newfound peace cannot last. With the Hayan peasantry suffering and increasingly unable to fulfill their tax duties, Aeneleg once again exalts taxes on the merchants in 446, and, once again, the powerful Magistrates refuse to honour their obligations. His patience running thin and under the constant threat of seeming weak to the Wertian earls, who themselves have only recently submitted to a greater ruler, Aeneleg rallies his vassals in Invarydd and marches on Bernab in the Spring of 447. | Nonetheless, the agreement is honoured at first, and over the following five years the Hajalad is peacefully integrated into Aeneleg’s Olgish kingdom. A new capital is constructed at the site of negotiations in Invarydd and new trade routes established connecting the coast with the Heath in the mountains inland, under the powerful protection of the Wertian cavalry. It is only in the autumn of 437 that the Hayan Olgs refuse payment of the in their eyes injust Wertian Taxes. Aeneleg enters negotiations calmly, either hiding his ire or seeing a long-expected threat come true. A drastic restriction of taxable transactions—largely relieving the merchants from their obligations and putting a greater strain on the general population—, the formation of an official recognized merchant guild—the [[Hayan Trade Magistrates]] based in Bernab—, and Aeneleg’s assurance that Wertian warriors remain on the Heath and do not enter the Hajalad initially settle the dispute, but the newfound peace cannot last. With the Hayan peasantry suffering and increasingly unable to fulfill their tax duties, Aeneleg once again exalts taxes on the merchants in 446, and, once again, the powerful Magistrates refuse to honour their obligations. His patience running thin and under the constant threat of seeming weak to the Wertian earls, who themselves have only recently submitted to a greater ruler, Aeneleg rallies his vassals in Invarydd and marches on Bernab in the Spring of 447. | ||
With this action begin the Wars of Fish and Milk, named for the dismissive comment made towards the unsuccessful negotiators and [[Fänar of Unrír and Bernab|Fänar’s]] famous [[The Wars of Fish and Milk (stageplay)|stageplay of the same name]] dealing with the matter. Aeneleg’s campaign into the Hajalad is initially slow, held back by the torrential rainfall in spring and summer of 447. The Wertian warriors are admonished to respect the local peasantry, in the hopes of winning the lower classes for a common Olgish cause, but the populace is less than welcoming to the invading force and, if not outright hostile, meet the Wertians with indifference. The three-days’ march to Bernab is thus stretched to last over a week, giving the city a comfortable timeframe for preparations. The | With this action begin the Wars of Fish and Milk, named for the dismissive comment made towards the unsuccessful negotiators and [[Fänar of Unrír and Bernab|Fänar’s]] famous [[The Wars of Fish and Milk (stageplay)|stageplay of the same name]] dealing with the matter. Aeneleg’s campaign into the Hajalad is initially slow, held back by the torrential rainfall in spring and summer of 447. The Wertian warriors are admonished to respect the local peasantry, in the hopes of winning the lower classes for a common Olgish cause, but the populace is less than welcoming to the invading force and, if not outright hostile, meet the Wertians with indifference. The three-days’ march to Bernab is thus stretched to last over a week, giving the city a comfortable timeframe for preparations. The Magistrates, foreseeing a violent contention with Aeneleg, have long hired mercenaries of Geran and Belkondíl, and by the time Aeneleg’s cavalry appears before its gates, Bernab is heavily guarded. The Failed Battle of Bernab pushes the Wertians back, but Aeneleg is unwilling to compromise and abandon is undertaking, beginning a bloody conflict that will last for almost six years and leave the Hajalad in ruin. | ||
The war seems indecisive for the majority of its duration. Initially, their access to the port cities and a sizable navy prove an invaluable advantages to the Magistrates, but after Aeneleg can win the western Kalparians, already threatened in their existence by the Olgish settlers, for his cause, the Bight of Hajalad becomes a battlefield as much as the mainland. A glimpse of relief only emerges in 453, when Aeneleg himself is slain in the otherwise indecisive Battle at Niom Unrín. His dispersed army is rallied by [[Genvéreth the Shallow|Genvéreth, an earl or shieldmaiden]] of his retinue, who, having seemingly reached the conclusion that the barren land of the Hajalad be worth no further action of arms, has them chase down and pillage the Hayan wagon train hastily evacuating the Magistral treasury after a [[Naval Siege of Unrír|devastating Kalparian attack on the harbour of Unrír]], the provisional Hayan capital after the [[Sack of Bernab]] two years prior. Then, tired from years of war and now laden with riches, the Wertians turn their back on the Hajalad, returning to the heath and once more living in small earldoms and under the rule of petty kings, the dream of a united Wertian nation again a faint one. | |||
No official resignation is delivered to the Magistrates, and neither to the Kalparian allies, and the maritime war rages on for almost two more years. Initially planning on buying the Kalparian privateers, an increasingly worrisome lack of funds cripples the Magistrates’ diplomatic mobility and progressively alienates their mercenaries. Dissatisfied with the harsh conditions of the indecisive conflict and having gone months without pay, they first abandon their post before, having lost any interest in the Magistrates’ affairs, restoring their bands and raiding the Hayan countryside. The peasantry, already strained to their bare bones from the war, initially try to resist but soon recognize the superior strength of the freelancers and choose trade over | |||
-> the magistrates hire mercenaries from the Mairn etc. > Aeneleg dies in battle > he is succeeded by an earl who doesn't care about the land but takes the riches and withdraws > the magistrates are unable to pay their mercenaries > the mercenaries begin to raid the countryside > the populace tries to resist > eventually they work together in a great uprising > the magistrates fall > a short-lived republic under a new mercenary nobility > prosperity > What then? > eventually, the Wertians take the land back > all of this can take abt 400 years | |||
-> Great wealth in 4th century brings influx of Belkondilian Olgish settlers (mostly from Orinion, Atrissar, and Mairn) who occupy the southern Hajalad and slowly move north, marginalizing the Hayans and western Kalparians, until Kalparian is fully extinct; Hayan and Noridic survive but are suppressed -- only Olgish should be spoken in this Olgish country | -> Great wealth in 4th century brings influx of Belkondilian Olgish settlers (mostly from Orinion, Atrissar, and Mairn) who occupy the southern Hajalad and slowly move north, marginalizing the Hayans and western Kalparians, until Kalparian is fully extinct; Hayan and Noridic survive but are suppressed -- only Olgish should be spoken in this Olgish country | ||