The History of New Gornia – Land of Opportunity and Adventure
The story of New Gornia starts roughly 250 years earlier and many leagues to the West, across the treacherous North Sea, far from the civilized world and the 7 Kingdoms. The largest of the kingdoms (Gornia) frequently sent trade expeditions to the uncharted wilds in search of land, gold and trade goods. One of these expeditions, beset by a ferocious hurricane, was blown ashore far from the trade lanes of civilization – deposited upon the shores of a large continent, apparently once civilized, but long abandoned by those who dwelt there.
After a fruitful expedition turned up fertile lands, vast mountain ranges, and intriguing ruined cities of old, the expedition leaders hurried back to the King of Gornia and civilization, anxious to present this new land for the glory of Gornia. The King hurriedly assembled a large fleet of ships, complete with soldiers, masons, farmers, and all the needed implements of colonization and conquest. This initial party landed at the ruined coastal fortress city now known as Rynd Hold and began at once to repair the ruins and colonize the land in the name of the King. The efforts of the early colonists and the King were successful beyond their wildest expectations, and slowly but surely, civilization started to spread across the land now known as New Gornia.
Fast forward 250 years.
Several Kings have ruled since New Gornia’s discovery and initial colonization. As the colonization proved successful, the King sent his two most trusted nobles, Duke Ferren Uberroth, and Duke Kirin Rynd to establish centers of trade and to put order to the wilds, and more importantly, to begin to extract riches from the wilds and press further inland to expand the kingdom.
The two Dukes, while loyal to their king, harbored an intense hatred for the other, and a competitive drive that led them to start a race to tame the wilds and gain the favor of the king. Duke Rynd established his Duchy at Rynd Hold, the largest city yet discovered on the continent, and Duke Uberroth established his claim at Uberroth Hold, a smaller coastal city to the West of Rynd Hold. Both Dukes found the business of colonization to be relatively easy, and both marveled at the pace that their troops began to reclaim the land. But after a little more than 200 years of unchecked success and growth, suddenly things changed. Hostile humanoids appeared and wreaked havoc upon the forces of New Gornia, routing the complacent troops and burning, pillaging and ravaging the small settlements of man.
Not all the stories were dark, however. In their struggles, the men of New Gornia found allies in the reclusive Halfling folk of Hill Gap – the ancestral land of the halflings, long secluded and wary of man until the attention of the forces of evil drew the two races into an alliance and mutual respect for the other. With the help of the Halfling people and reinforcements from Gornia, the forces of good were able to push the humanoids and forces of darkness back into the recesses and the north land beyond the Blood Tooth Mountains, where they have stayed unseen for the past decade. The process of colonization resumed, albeit at a more cautious and measured pace, and several forts and outposts have been constructed to aid in the defense of the populace, and to provide a sign to the forces of evil that the colonists were here to stay.