Lordless Land

The central part of the Eastern Continent was a place of historical significance,
with fertile land and a temperate climate perfect for the development of humankind.
The Ancient Empire also flourished here,
though many wars lead to an outbreak of monsters which made the land uninhabitable.
This forgotten land was restored by Gustave XIII
and once again returned to the spotlight.
Here we will investigate that Lordless Land.

[ Added 12/05/21 ]

Shifting Forms of Government

As the name suggests, the Lordless Land is a place without rulers. The region earned that moniker in the year 604, when the last of the feudal lords fled the disturbances that continued after the fall of the Hahn Empire. Before then, it had been called the Central Plains and was known as a centre of politics, not a land sullied by monsters.

The Lordless Land was originally where humankind flourished. Circa 2000 BS, there were city-states not only in the Anath River basin, but also in the plains of Merchmin beyond Zahl Peak and in the hills of the southern region known as Moundtop. Naturally, people gathered in these city-states and they became centres of growth.

The founding of the Hahn Empire brought about the most prosperous era, but after its fall, the land was overrun by monsters and rendered uninhabitable.

The region was not mentioned in human history for nearly 600 years, but once again returned to the spotlight when Gustave XIII led his troops toward the Eastern Continent in 1247. After the construction of Hahn Nova and the death of Gustave XIII, this land was the stage for many battles.

Because of this historical background, the people are strongly aware of their own defenses and are governed by the same unique system of independence with a Senate as in the Era of City-States. Many ideals of the Republic remain in this land.

Shifts in Government

～3500 BS	Beginning of Civilization
3500 BS ～ 400 BS	Age of the City-States
400 BS ～ 465 BS	Age of the Hahn Empire
	Ruled by the Hahn Empire
400 ～ 604	Collapse of civilization in the Central Plains
604 ～ 1247	Lordless Era
1249 ～ 1269	Gustave’s Empire
	Ruled by Gustave XIII
	Ruled by Cantal
	Ruled by the Count of Jade
1272	Hahn Nova Independence

Timeline

45,000 Years Ago	Appearance of modern humans
10,000 Years Ago	Agriculture developed in the Anath River basin
c. 7000 BS	Settlements established
c. 3500 BS	Transition to City-States begins
1900’s BS	Quells are introduced
c. 1800 BS	Conflicts between City-States worsen. Transition to the Warring Nations Era
400 BS	City-State of Hahn becomes the Kingdom of Hahn
370 BS	Merchmin Expedition by the Independent City Alliance
341 BS	Hahn gains control of the Central Plains
272 BS	Hahn seizes control of Merchmin
1 BS	Hahn crushes the last of the Grand Teille powers
Beginning of the Common Era	Hahn Empire and its borders established
	Advancements in social infrastructure
374	Rebellions in the Imperial Capital
400	Succession Wars
400’s	Members of the intellectual class continue to leave
452	Invasion of rebel troops from the Grand Teille
453	First Battle of Hahn
464	Second Battle of Hahn
465	Third Battle of Hahn – Fall of the Empire
473	Anti-Imperial Coalition dissolves
c. 500	Massive outbreak of monsters
500’s	Mass outflux of the general populace
604	The last feudal lord leaves the Central Plains
	The land becomes Lordless
1247	Gustave XIII’s Army lands at Yuno Beach
1248	Battle of Buckethill
	Gustave XIV executed at the Ruins of Hahn
1249	Construction of Hahn Nova
	Reign of Gustave XIII begins
	Lords and common folk begin to settle there
1269	Tragic death of Gustave XIII at the Southern Fort
	Round-table conference at Hahn Nova
1271	Cantal’s Army invades from the north
	Jade Army retreats and abandons Hahn Nova
	Hahn Nova in Flames
	Cantal abandons Hahn Nova
	Hahn Nova becomes lordless
1272	Beginning of rule under Cantal
	Hahn Nova reconstruction
1275	Cantal’s Army defends the western coastline
1276	Kelvin lands at Yuno Beach
	Kelvin placates the lords and adopts their policies
	Hahn Nova Assembly begins to represent the people
1277	Second Battle of Buckethill
	Jade Army defeated at Zahl Peak
	Jade Army withdraws to Yuno Beach
1278	Jade Army once again advances up to Anath River
	Jade Army withdraws from the Lordless Land
1280	Jade Army lands again on Yuno Beach
	Cantal’s Army gathers at the Ruins of Hahn
	Battle of Anath River
1281	Hahn Nova Assembly becomes the Senate
1282	Battle of Fort Zandvoort
	Jade Army once again withdraws from the Lordless Land
1285	Charles’ Army lands
1286	Charles’ Army is defeated yet again at Zahl Peak
	Jade Army withdraws from the Lordless Land for the third time
1288	Death of Cantal causes a succession war in Otto Principality
	Kelvin takes Hahn Nova
	Pact of Lords signed
	Provisional rule under the Count of Jade begins
1290	Battle of Salisbury
1292	Kelvin dies
1293	Charles begins to suppress rebellions
1295	A series of rebellions by those claiming to be descendants of Gustave
1297	Peace established with Laubholz
1303	Peace Conference begins
	Charles pressures the Senate
1304	Fake Gustave occupies Hahn Nova castle
1305	Battle of Hahn Nova. Count Charles of Jade dies in battle.
	At the Sixth Peace Conference, Jade gives up rights to the land east of the Anath River
	Battle of South Moundtop
	Hahn Nova Treaty

Hahn Empire

Beginning of the Common Era 〜 465

The Hahn Empire is the ancient civilization which unified the Lordless Land. It was a vast Empire which ruled the entire Eastern Continent from the Imperial Capital located near the Anath River. The governmental system was an Aristocratic Republic run by a Senate of 900 nobles with the Emperor having the final say on national policy. Each noble was put in charge of a region in which they also held individual control.

1 Legend of the Founding of a Nation

Hahn was originally a settlement that became a city-state near the Anath River basin in the Lordless Land. The poet Gilius (70 BS 〜 19 BS) sings about its founding in the epic poem “The Southern Hero”, in which a hero from the south wandered for a long time before building the foundations of Hahn. His descendants, the twin brothers Rom and Rem, were abandoned near the Anath River soon after birth, but were saved and raised by a female wolf. They later returned to develop the City of Hahn and reigned as Kings for nearly 40 years.

2 Aristocratic Republic

The City-State of Hahn was a member of the Independent City Alliance. Though the King held power, nobles had a right to speak in the Senate that simultaneously ruled this Aristocratic Republic.

Nobles exclusively held important government positions in the Republic. At the time, there were clear social divisions in Hahn, in particular between the nobles and notable families of the Patricii and the commoners and farmers of the Plebs. The highest ranking positions in the Senate, such as Consul and Dictator, were exclusively given to members of the Patricii. The King was bestowed with the title of Princeps (“the first man”) and ruled as a figurehead.

3 Development of the Empire

The power of the King strengthened as Hahn expanded its borders and absorbed the Independent City Alliance. Since the King was in charge of the military, its influential leaders reinforced and restored his political control. Then upon returning from the victory over Laubholz in Grand Valley, the King was given the title of Augustus (“majestic”) by the Senate. As a result, the King was given authority to command the military, power in the bureaucracy, and the ability to appoint Consuls, and Hahn became an Empire. The Emperor respected the Republic which had ruled until this point, however. Provinces were divided amongst members of the Senate, who were given joint authority to rule.

Actually, this system where a monarch or Emperor rules in conjunction with a Republic is called a Principatus. This is generally identified as the point when “Imperial Hahn” (the Hahn Empire) was established. Its social infrastructure improved and the Empire steadily developed over the next 200 years.

4 Maintaining the Social Infrastructure

Maintaining social infrastructure was one of the most enforced policies of the early Empire. Many of the improvements implemented back then are still in use today. The stone bridge at Grand Valley and the Water Tower used to irrigate the Grand Teille are prime examples of what was built. But the most important innovations of note are the road networks between major cities and the sewer systems running underneath each city. Needless to say, maintained roads increased the flow of wealth and sewer systems prevented the spread of disease, paving the way for the emergence of megalopolises.

5 Creation of the Five Ranks

Ranks were titles assigned to nobles as a display of their social status. These ranks originated from the days of the Empire and were determined by the given territory. For example, the feudal lord in charge of Berth in Merchmin was given the rank of Marquis and the right to call himself Marquis of Berth. However, the Marquis of Berth could not become a Duke. If that were somehow to happen, he would instead become the Duke of an already established territory, such as Laubholz. In this way, the number of Imperial titles was limited to prevent an increase in the number of unnecessary nobles.

Influential persons across the land created their own titles after the fall of the Empire, but as oaths were sworn between the ruling class and the non-ruling class, more importance was placed on the legitimacy of those titles. The New Empire on the Southern Continent was acknowledged as the continuation of the Hahn Empire and kept the same ranks.

Gustave XIII

1249 〜 1269

The reign of Gustave XIII in the Central Plains began with the construction of a new castle at Hahn Nova. However, the population in the Lordless Land at the time was no more than 5000, so Gustave spent a significant part of the early years subjugating monsters. People returned to the Lordless Land as Gustave reclaimed it and this reclamation eventually became national policy as the population increased. Gustave also aided the settlement of new lords in the land.

1 Protection

Gustave XIII seemed to have little interest in politics and entrusted those responsibilities to his retainers. This is why Mouton, as Minister of the Interior, handled almost all governmental affairs. Mouton first enacted policies to revive local industry. As much as possible, he made sure that the Lordless Land was exempt from taxes and instead used revenue from other regions ruled by Gustave XIII, such as Merchmin, for administrative costs. This gave rise to various industries around Hahn Nova, transforming the Lordless Land into a prosperous country.

2 Redevelopment of Infrastructure

Gustave XIII felt apathetic about domestic affairs, but was quick to handle military matters and ensure protection of the people. He began to redevelop social infrastructure simultaneously with the construction of Hahn Nova.

In 1252, three years after moving to Hahn Nova Castle, maintenance was completed on the Hahn Empire highway networks and roads for military use spread across the Lordless Land. This meant that troops could immediately be dispatched to any part of the region, which reduced threats from monsters and invading nations. A new series of designs in urban planning also created practical, convenient environments for the citizens.

These improvements to infrastructure allowed the Lordless Land to prosper once more.

3 The Grave Mistake of Gustave XIII

Gustave XIII is one of the most prominent figures in history. Not only did he establish the Lordless Land as a great power, but he also paved the way for the manufacture of Steel equipment in this Spell Society. He also had the right people in the right governmental positions to enact those policies. However, there was one fatal flaw that Gustave did not address: the matter of his successor.

Gustave never married and, according to the historical record, never had children. This meant that there was no definite successor to inherit his great power. Not addressing this problem until well in his forties can be called pure folly and the gravest error of an irresponsible ruler. He seemed to be considering the child of his sister Marie as successor, but nothing ever came of it.

Hahn Nova Independence

1272〜

After the death of Gustave XIII, the Lordless Land was ruled by Marquis Cantal of Otto. However, the repeated landings of Count Kelvin of Jade meant the region was the stage of many bloody conflicts between the two. Hahn Nova was controlled by Marquis Cantal, though he never set foot there since he instead resided in Thermes. Naturally, reconstruction efforts to recover from the fire were ignored on the administrative side and Gustave’s capital city lay forgotten in ruins.

1 Independent Reconstruction

Hahn Nova was abandoned by Cantal, so reconstruction of the city was begun by its residents. That is a testament to how Hahn Nova was already well on the way to establishing its independence. Funding and military aid was never received from the Principality of Otto, of course, so reconstruction work was carried out under the constant threat of monster attacks.

Reconstruction efforts were extremely difficult since people could not gather in the ruins for politics or commerce. Since it had lost its value as a strategic point in the declining Lordless Land, however, the city was never razed to the ground a second time. Thanks to that, people gradually returned and Hahn Nova was rebuilt.

2 Senate

As people began to gather in Hahn Nova, the leading scholars unified the city under a new independent system of government. The scholars were selected from regional representatives within Hahn Nova and became an Assembly which made important decisions. In 1281, the Assembly officially became the Senate which governed Hahn Nova, just as the Senate previously managed the Hahn Empire. Many people were fleeing the horrors of war around the time the Senate came to power, so Hahn Nova rapidly expanded. When Marquis Cantal died in 1288, the city was restored to a level comparable when it was under the rule of Gustave.

3 Jade Army Garrison

After the death of Marquis Cantal, Count Kelvin of Jade stationed his troops in Hahn Nova during a lull in the succession war. Kelvin faced strong opposition since he had essentially abandoned the people of Hahn Nova in 1271, but it was common knowledge that he carried on the will of Gustave and only insisted on claiming the rights to Hahn Nova Castle. Kelvin also signed a pact stating that he would only station his troops at Hahn Nova and let the Senate handle all other matters. In this way, an unusual alliance between Kelvin and the Senate was established. The Jade Army was stationed at the Castle and ruled the Lordless Land while simultaneously the Senate maintained its independent rule over Hahn Nova.

4 Fake Gustave

After the death of Kelvin, Charles succeeded and became fixated over ruling Hahn Nova. The pact made between Kelvin and the Senate was still in effect, however, and the Count of Jade could take no action to nullify it. He instead put political pressure on the Senate, specifically by increasing the number of requests to supply provisions to the Jade Army stationed there. Then in 1305, Hahn Nova rejected his requests and brought in the army of Fake Gustave.

Fake Gustave had won over the Senate and crushed Charles’ Troops on the battlefield, but was in turn defeated by Charles’ son David and his Peacekeepers. After the battle, David enacted the Hahn Nova Treaty. Though the Treaty essentially dissolved the Senate, each nation which signed was allowed to remain under independent rule. In this way, Hahn Nova gained true independence and became the center of commerce in the Lordless Land.