Mount and Blade Bannerlord[WIP]

### Enhanced Bannerlord Lore: Faction-Specific Histories Up to 1084 AE (Pre-Bannerlord Civil War) This **improved, faction-focused lore compilation** draws directly from official TaleWorlds sources (Encyclopedia, dev blogs), Fandom wiki, and the highly-detailed fan timeline "Filling In the Gaps" on TaleWorlds forums (a 2021 thread reconstructing pre-1084 gaps with lore-consistent events). All events **strictly end at 1084 AE** (Bannerlord start, Empire civil war onset). No post-1084 content. Perfect for **Pax Historia AI training** – chronological per faction, verifiable via forums/wiki links. Fan elements (e.g., exact dates in "Filling In the Gaps") noted where used. **Overall Pre-1084 Context** Calradia: Continent settled ~2000 BE by proto-Calradians (exiles under **Calradios the Great**). Unified Empire ~0 AE (Agerian Era start). Peak expansion (0-400 AE), then decline via invasions, migrations, and internal strife. By 1084, Empire shatters into Northern (Lucon Osticos), Southern (Rhagaea Pethros), Western (Garios Comnos) courts amid civil war. --- **1. Kingdom of Vlandia: Ballion Migrants & Feudal Knights** **Origins**: Descendants of heavy cavalry from **Ballion** (western continent; Norman/Frank/Frankish analogs). Arrived as Empire mercenaries for land grants against Battanian tribes. Diverse tongues unified under feudal barons; conquered western coasts/forests. **Culture/Troops**: Knightly orders, crossbow sergeants, billmen; lion heraldry. Feudal oaths to King Derthert. **Detailed Timeline (Up to 1084 AE)**: - **~600-705 AE**: **Great Vlandian Migration** – Waves of 10,000+ adventurers/knights flee Ballion wars/famine via sea. Settle as Empire vassals (Rovalt, Jaculan, Galend). Families: Osrac, Deragiac, Adalhard. - **~705 AE**: **Osric Iron-Arm** (or Valandion/Wilund the Bold analogs) unites clans, declares kingdom, seizes imperial **Paravenos** (renamed Pravend). - **~800 AE**: Expand into Battanian lands; shaky Empire alliance for autonomy. - **~900-1000 AE**: Baron feuds; Rhodok mountain precursors rebel (tax oppression leads to future Swadia-Rhodok split). - **1077 AE**: **Battle of Pendraic** – Aid Emperor Neretzes vs. Sturgians/Battanians; heavy losses strain loyalty to Derthert (Osric descendant). - **1084 AE**: Dominant western power under **King Derthert dey Meroc**; poised for Empire opportunism. --- **2. Principality of Sturgia: Nordic Traders & Northern Tribes** **Origins**: Fusion of **Nordland/Nordvyg Vikings** (raiders/traders from far north fjords) and local tribes. Nords brought longships for fur/honey/iron trade; intermarried, formed river boomtowns. Empire forced prince election for unity. **Culture/Troops**: Boyar lords, axe/druzhina infantry, huntsmen; elective monarchy tensions. **Detailed Timeline (Up to 1084 AE)**: - **Pre-900 AE**: Nordic migrations northeast; alliances subdue tribes via trade/weddings. - **~900 AE**: Confederation of principalities; rivers enable mercantile rise. - **~984 AE**: Empire mandates **prince election** for war cohesion (hereditary twist). - **~1000 AE**: Boomtowns flourish; resist Empire taxes. - **1077 AE**: **Battle of Pendraic** – Ally Battanians raid Empire; clash with Vlandians/Imperials. - **1084 AE**: Fractured under **Prince Raganvad**; boyars plot southern grabs (Vaegir precursor). --- **3. Sultanate of Aserai: Banu Sasan Desert Nomads** **Origins**: Oasis farmers + Bedouin nomads united by **Banu Sasan dynasty**. Post-Empire raiders of trade routes; geometric banners, mamlukes. **Culture/Troops**: Emir clans, camel/horse archers, faris cavalry. **Detailed Timeline (Up to 1084 AE)**: - **~650-700 AE**: Tribes unify south vs. Empire (Dabarah Emirate as central kingdom). - **~900 AE**: Sultanate forms; oasis raids intensify. - **~1150 AE** (fan est.): Fragments into emirates; Dabarah localizes. - **1084 AE**: **Sultan Unqid** unites 7 emirates (Rhotae, Askar); prime for Empire south grabs. --- **4. Khuzait Khanate: Steppe Horse Lords (Scourge Descendants)** **Origins**: Eastern nomads (Turkic/Mongol; **Scourge Horde** ~450s AE ancestors rampaged central Calradia, ruining Velucum/Sargoth). **Culture/Troops**: Khan clans, horse archers/lancers (lantern helms). **Detailed Timeline (Up to 1084 AE)**: - **~450s AE**: **Scourge Horde** pyrrhic defeat near Velucum; weakens Empire west. - **~700 AE**: Khanate coalesces from tribes. - **~1000 AE**: Seize Empire east; endless raids. - **1084 AE**: **Khan Monchug** leads existential Empire threat. --- **5. High Kingdom of Battania: Woodland Clans** **Origins**: Ancient forest tribes; druidic kings, falx warriors resisted Empire forever. **Culture/Troops**: Clan kings, falxmen, skirmishers. **Detailed Timeline (Up to 1084 AE)**: - **Pre-Empire**: Independent kingdoms. - **~700 AE**: Vlandians encroach west. - **1077 AE**: **Battle of Pendraic** – Sturgian allies vs. Empire/Vlandia. - **1084 AE**: **King Caladog** holds clans amid fractures. --- **6. Calradic Empire Splinters (Northern, Southern, Western)** **Origins**: ~0 AE unification; legions/cataphracts dominated. **Key Pre-1084 Decline**: - **1064 AE**: **Arenicos Pethros** reigns ~20 years; Vaegir Guard reforms, disbands legions. - **1077 AE**: **Pendraic Disaster** – Neretzes slain, Dragon Banner lost. - **1083-1084 AE**: Arenicos dies; splits: Northern (Lucon), Southern (Rhagaea), Western (Garios). Nords: Long before unification, the Nords inhabited **Nordvyg** (also called Nordland or encompassing regions like Jumne), a rugged northern frontier of jagged fjords, dense taiga forests, stony fields, and icy coasts. Each fjord settlement was independent, ruled by local chieftains who relied on the sea for survival. Longships sailed south laden with walrus ivory, whale oil, and salted fish for trade, returning with plunder, captives, and exotic goods. Southerners dismissed the half-dozen "kings" of Nordvyg as petty lords controlling mere shrines or slave markets behind wooden palisades. General History Of Caldradia A generation ago (~1050-1070 AE), **Volbjorn the Hungry** returned from a decade serving in the Calradic Empire's elite **Vaegar Guard** (Sturgian-inspired imperial unit), amassing great riches. He used blood, bribery, and force to compel chieftains to swear as his jarls, forging the **Northern Kingdom** for the first time. His realm spans from the Jumne River in the east across Nordvyg to the isle of Beinland in the west, with key settlements like **Hargard** (a trade hub for Nords, Vanni, and Sturgians), **Thronderlag** (capital), **Gretysfjord**, and **Hvalvik**. Historical ties to Calradia: Nords were invited by the Empire to crew galleys, rewarded with northern coastal lands. Post-Empire collapse, * 1000 BE (Before Empire): The subcontinent which will later be called Calradia is inhabited by many different tribes. In most of the west dwell the Battanian clans. In the south and east are the Palaics; the Dryatic Palaics and Laconians live in the very center, and the Ialoics live in the southwest. In the north are the Vakkens and proto-Sturgians. Outside of mainland Calradia, across the northern sea is snowy Jumne, home to the Nordic, proto-Vlandian, and proto-Swadian peoples. In the east, across the Great Lake, are the steppes of the Devseg plateau where the Iltanlar live. In the south, on the other side of the Perassic Sea, is the Nahasa Desert, divided into two halves by the River Damar. Jawwal nomads roam the whole Nahasa. The western Nahasa is colonized by the Kannics, who control a seafaring merchant republic with its capital at Quyaz; while the eastern Nahasa is home to the ancient and powerful Temetian Kingdom, whose citizens have thickly populated the Jarjara Escarpment for thousands of years. Further to the southeast are the proto-Aserans and the Darshi, who live in vast empires ruled by Shahs and Padishahs. Finally, over the western ocean are the islands of Balion, inhabited by tribes related to the Battanians. Palaics and Battanians build great trading towns across the continent. The tribes of the Lycarean region fight a long war with the Palaics of the Kuqa region ending in the destruction of the great seaside city of Ancient Kuqa, which will be known as the Kuqan War, and survive in exaggerated epic poetry. * 900s BE: According to Nahasan myth, Queen Eshora imprisons evil jinn in caves around Quasira with a magical seal. Devseg myths also say that King Ahhak the Snake-King ruled Odohk at this time. * 750s BE: The legendary figure Calradios is said to have led his tribe northward, from an unknown location, to live in the hill country between the southern sea and the Battanian forest. He establishes the city of Rhotae on a hill between two rivers. His tribe will later be named after him: the Calradoi. * 600s BE: Swadic tribes begin to migrate across the north sea from their homeland of Jumne in small numbers, and inhabit the areas of Rovalatys (Rovalt) and Ostican. The legendary warrior Horsa is said to have planted his spear on the beach of the village which would become Horsger. * 550s BE: The enormous Darshian Empire conquers the Temetian Kingdom, ending its millennia of sovereignty. Its Darshi-speaking people spread throughout the western Nahasa; in Hubyar, the cruel King Thuran establishes a hunting lodge that later grows into a town. * 500s BE: Asera, the patriarch of many Darshi clans, slays King Thuran in vengeance for the enslavement of his family. Asera will become the namesake of the many people descended from him- the Aserai. * 450s BE: The hero Echerion slays the tyrant Cypegos, ending the Calradic monarchy. The freed Calradoi form a government based on popular assembly with representative senators, known as the Calradic Republic. Cypegos' allies among the nearby Jalmarii tribes wage small-scale wars against the new Republic for decades. * 400s BE: According to legend, Queen Glanys marries five Battanian High Kings, bestowing sovreignty on them each. Her seven sons are later killed by the Battanian hero Ochlaigan. The Republic manages to defeat the Jalmarii, and capture their first inland territory: the city-state of Jalmarys. Padishah Hoshtar of the Darshian Empire builds the fortress of Akkalat during an attempt to conquer the Devseg plateau. * 350s BE: Alixenus the Great, famous leader and renowned tactician, is born. Once grown he inherits his father's small Ialoic kingdom, and in a shockingly rapid series of campaigns, defeats the largest empire of the day (the Darshian Empire) and conquers enough of its former territory to build an empire which stretches from Poros and around the Perassic coast to Razih, Quasira, Husn Fulq, and even further beyond to the far-off lands of Lokti. * 300s BE: After Alixenus accidentally breaks his neck in a drunken brawl and dies, his empire shatters as rapidly as it was built. The Republic establishes their first colony on the shores of the Perassic, Ortysia. This is followed a decade later by annexing the Calradic settlement of Iltarica (later Zeonica). * 250s BE: Calradians sail from Ortysia and establish their first colony outside the Perassic region, at Charasea (Charas). It becomes a regional capital of their new territories in the West. In the following decades, the colonies of Paravenos (name originally "Parzeonerea", meaning "City of He Who Rules By Heaven's Will") and Jaculan are also established. * 200s BE: The Kannic War occurs, as the Calradians at Ortysia contest the Kannic city of Quyaz for control of the Perassic Sea. The war lasts on and off over decades, with the Calradians eventually capturing Quyaz itself, and holding it intermittently over the centuries. The Calradians also first record contact with the tribes who will come to be known as Sturgians and Vakkens living in the northeast. Relations are initially friendly. * 150s BE: As a result of the Kannic Wars, the Republic now controls the Western Perassic sea trade, and has a well-developed military which seeks new targets. In the west, Galend is conquered and a town called Velucum (later known as Sargot) is founded, while Lageta is taken from its Palaic owners by an act of treachery. In the north, the eccentric long-haired military genius Sarapios takes the city of Epicrotea from the Battanians. In the eastern Palaic territory, Amitatys falls to the Republic as an earthquake fortuitously destroys its walls, and Poros surrenders soon after. * 100s BE: Lycaron peacefully negotiates an alliance with the Republic and is eventually annexed. Saneopa is conquered by the Calradians. The region of Diathma is next to fall, as the Dryatics who inhabit the area die fighting the Republican legionaries to the very last man; a city is founded where they died. The Republic's Nahasan territory expands from Quyaz to Sanala. * 50s BE: The Laconians of Argoron willingly integrate into the Republic, seeing them as a protector against the more warlike Palaics. Phycaon, largest of the Palaic cities, initially led a strong coalition of Palaic city-states in resistance; but later surrendered, seeing the Republic's expansion as inevitable. * 45 BE: Portix Scinius Kaisar is born to an influential Calradic patrician family. He later serves as an officer during the Republic's capture of Qasira and earns distinction, retiring to become a Senator at the age of 31. The Republic, in a two-pronged assault, also forces Razih, Hubyar and Husn Fulq to pay tribute. * 12 BE: The Battanian Wars begin, an extremely bloody and hard-fought series of battles which result in a large Calradic army being wiped out, along with most of its generals. * 10 BE: The Battanians reach the point of besieging Charas. In a panic, the Senate grants the powers of Imperator (among Calradians, a title meaning supreme command over the Calradian armed forces, also including emergency powers over government) to the Senator with the most military experience remaining among them, Scinius Kaisar. * 6 BE: With considerable skill of generalship, and exploiting the Battanians' fractious nature, Scinius manages to ruthlessly defeat the Battanians in three years. His armies even conquer more territory around the Llyn Modris (later known as Ocs Hall). Proclaimed Savior of Calradia, Scinius is so popular with the military that they still refer to him as Imperator past the legal limits on the title, sparking anger in the Senate. * ~5 BE: The power of the Republic is split between two men: Scinius has the support of the military, and his great rival, Vontus Lagetus, commands a powerful Senate faction. Scinius is accused by supporters of Vontus of seeking the kingship of all Calradia. Following a failed assassination attempt on Kaisar during a Senate meeting, he and his military allies declare war on the forces of Vontus and the bulk of the Senate. War breaks out all across the Empire. * 0 AE (After Empire): After a long war, Scinius Kaisar marches his troops into Rhotae, and defeats the senatorial coalition in a climactic battle; Vontus throws himself on his sword. The remainder of the Senate are intimidated by Scinius into changing the law to make him Imperator Perpetuo - creating the position of Emperor for Life, which all Calradic rulers after him will use. While Scinius does not explicitly declare himself king, this is the de facto moment when the Calradic Empire is created, and the year will be used as a marker by future Calradian historians. Onira, Razih and Husn Fulq, after many years of maintaining independence, are also seized by the new Empire, completing its encirclement of the entire Perassic Sea. The Calradic Empire will dominate the continent for 500 years, and will be remembered long after it is destroyed. * 50s AE: The small town of Vostrum is built up into a city-state by the breakaway Calradian mercenary lord Archacos, who styles himself god-king. His dynasty lasts a few generations before being crushed by the Empire. Syronea is also founded around this time, and the Empire launches an invasion of Balion across the western sea, which results in part of it being conquered, colonized and Calradicized. * 100s: The Empire purchases territory in Chaikand, and establishes client states in the surrounding area; it also temporarily captures Pen Cannoc, but is then pushed back. Myzea is convinced to peacefully join the Empire by Senator Litos, who later attempts to establish the city as a soverign entity modelled on the old Republic, but is defeated. The famous physician Galerian lives and writes treatises on medicine. * 150s: Through military conquest and a series of client states, the Calradic Empire reaches its greatest extent: furthest north, their newly founded colony of Varnovapol; furthest south, Askar, furthest east, Chaikand, and to the west is Galend. Across the western sea, even Balion is partially colonized. Only the Battanian and Sturgian towns, Rovalt, Ostican, Hubyar, and most of the towns past Chaikand remain free. * 200s: The Jalmaryan general Carsos stages a coup to seize control of the south and east of the Empire from Emperor Petronnes and declare himself Emperor, beginning the Calradian Anarchy. Petronnes retains control of much of the north and west, and moves his court to the western regional capital in Charasea (Charas), although the Senate continues to be based in Rhotae. The war between Petronnes and Carsos continues for several years. * 250s: A second, larger wave of Swadic barbarians migrates over the sea from Jumne to settle in coastal Imperial territories without permission. The Empire, strained by civil strife, lacks the capability to prevent this. The weakened Carsosian and Petronnian halves of the Empire agree to peace, ruling each of their halves jointly in a system called the Diarchy. The western regional capital is moved from Charasea (Charas) to Paravenos (Pravend). * 300s: Emperor Danicus abolishes the Diarchy, and reunites both halves of the Empire under his rule. Following the civil wars and barbarian migrations, the western half of the Empire is weakened, so Danicus moves the capital to a strategically useful trading port in the Calsea region, renaming it Danustica. The Imperial powerbase shifts towards the East, though Paravenos remains the western regional capital. Rhotae's influence dwindles. * 350s: The Empire is holding together with great difficulty, at war with "barbarians" on multiple fronts: Khuzaits, the Darshi shahs and padishahs, Battanians, Swadians, and Aserai. With native soldiers stretched too thinly, a policy is began of hiring some barbarians as mercenaries to fight other barbarians. The Empire permanently withdraws from its castrum at Askar as it lacks troops for the garrison; it is claimed by the Aserai. Balion's colonies are abandoned by the Empire's legions. * 400s: Wilund the Bold, a Swadic warlord, is contracted by the Empire for mercenary work in the Nahasa and Devseg regions. When his contract ends and the Empire is unwilling to pay him, he leads his army in rebellion against their employers, successfully sacking the city of Rhotae. The Empire decides to pacify the situation by paying Wilund and his followers with western land grants, and they settle and grow their numbers further. Wilund, or Valandion as he is known in Calradic, becomes the namesake for his tribe- the Vlandians, a sub-group of the Swadians. * 450s: The Scourge Horde, an ancestor of the Khuzaits, rampages along the center of the continent through to the western territory of the Empire, and is narrowly defeated near Velucum in a hard-fought battle. However, this victory is Phyrric: Velucum (later known as Sargot) is left in ruins after being razed and many Imperial forces are lost, leading to a near-total breakdown in authority in the West. In the Nahasa, the weakened Empire also loses control of Quyaz, Sanala, and Qasira to barbarian marauders. * 500s: By this time, the territories of the western coast are mostly populated by Vlandians, who assimilate the Battanians and Calradians, establish their own petty kingdoms, and barely even pretend to be ruled by the Empire. The "Old Senate" of Rhotae is now little more than a local government council; the New Senate is located in Saneopa to be closer to the Emperor. * 550s: The Empire experiences a restoration period, as a succession of "good" emperors manage to reconquer Sanala and Qasira, and re-establish Imperial authority in Paravenos, Charasea, Jaculan, and Galend. * 600s: Lady Zeona rules the Empire as regent for her son. The town of Iltarica is renamed Zeonica in her honor. * 650s: The gains of the good emperors in the south are quickly reversed: Razih is conquered by the Aserai, and not long after is followed by Qasira and Sanala. Yachios (Iyakis), however, remains independent. * 700s: Imperial influence in the seas fades, leaving a void. It is filled by the Nords, who begin to spread outside their ancestral homelands of Jumne to raid and trade along the Calradic coastlines, even as far as Aserai lands and Balion (which they colonize). * 750s: Nords land in the vicinity of Balgard and demand tribute from the local Vakken and Sturgian tribes, who form an alliance and defeat them. Afterward, the spoils of the battle cause the tribes to bicker; another Nord known as Gundar offers to help divide the loot of his dead countrymen fairly, and the pleased tribes eventually elect him as a leader. His Gundaroving descendants will later rule the Principality of Sturgia. * 800s: Other Nord tribesmen sail over to Sturgia as merchants or mercenaries, and begin to intermarry into the Sturgian population and establish settlements. The Iltanlar, mountain-dwelling cousins of the Khuzaits, descend to the plains to create the settlement of Baltakhand. * 850s: The Empire loses Husn Fulq to the Aserai, but the strong defences of Danustica "hold the line" against further Aserai incursions into Empire territory. * 900s: An interregnum period occurs in the Empire. Vlandian warlord Osrac-Iron Arm, great-grandfather of Derthert, takes advantage of the lack of leadership to overwhelm the remaining Imperial garrisons and conquer the cities of Baravenos (Pravend), Galend, Charasea (Charas), and Jaculan. The disorganized Empire is forced to acknowledge him as a king in order to secure peace. In this way, the Kingdom of Vlandia is founded, and the far West is forever lost to the Empire. * 950s: The Vlandian warlord Oca conquers the Llyn Modris valley, pushing its Calradicized Battanian inhabitants inland. The town of Ocs Hall is founded there and named after him. The Massa - a tribe allied with Vlandia, who joined the invasion - also found a town named Sargot, on top of the ruins of the Calradian town of Velucum. * ~980: Sturgia's boyars officially unite into a Principality in order to present a united front against the Empire. * ~994: Emperor Darusos, the saintly but ineffective teenage emperor, is toppled by one of his own generals. A cult (the Embers of the Flame) springs up around the concept of his reincarnation. * 1020s: "Two generations ago," the rising of a distant conquerer to the East forces the Khuzait clans to move into territory of the Empire. The leadership of Khan Urkhun forms them into a confederacy which quickly conquers Odokh, Akkalat, Ortongard, and the Imperial protectorate of Chaikand. * 1034: The fortress of Iyakis, once known as Yachios, is no longer able to maintain independence; it finally defects from the Empire and joins the Aserai. * 1044: Khan Urkhun's forces reach north and capture Baltakhand and Makeb. A Vlandian baron sends an invasion force to Balion, and conquers the Nords there, creating his own petty kingdom. As a result, Balion's culture will be similar to Swadia's 200 years later. * 1077: Battle of Pendraic, involving the Calradic Empire, Khuzaits and Aserai on one side; and the Vlandians, Sturgians and Khuzaits on the other. Results in the death of Emperor Neretzes, followed by the election of his trusted subordinate Senator Arenicos to the position of Emperor of Calradia. *~1083: Emperor Arenicos is assassinated, and the Calradian Civil War begins, with three influential Calradians and their supporters each separately claiming the rulership of the Empire: Princeps Lucon with support from the Senate in the North, Basileia Rhagaea with support from the aristocracy in the southeast, and Dominus Garios with support from the military in the West.