The Kingdom of Saksia

Written by The Mad Professor

The Kingdom of Saksia was a fiefdom which separated itself from the Empire, but was later lost to the aggressive expansion of its neighbours.

History
With the Arameian Empire decaying all around him the ambitious noble Golmen of Saksia saw an opportunity to enhance his own power. Gathering his knights, he formed the pact of the Firebrand, a knightly order dedicated to the creation of an independent kingdom. With his allies the former Duke took the city of Leman and in 3717 declared the Kingdom of Saksia as independent from the Arameian Empire. The Firebrand knights were sworn to him personally and received important posts in his new kingdom for their services and fealty. As it was a time of upheaval the new kingdom grew rapidly, encompassing much that Nevros had claimed but could not hold onto. The River Sault, that the new capital Leman lay on, found itself as the primary vein of communication for the new kingdom and it spread with the river roughly as its central hub.

The heavy cavalry of the Firebrand knights served the King well, managing to hold off the majority of the other fiefdoms that now attempted to invade his land. The king got trapped in a nasty stalemate in the north, however, there were few who had an interest or the power to assault his southern holdings but both Starkwater and Nevros were interested in his northern holdings and the king lacked the manpower to field an assault on either, as the costly northern war slowly ate away at the king's treasury, a certain malaise among his nobles could be seen to form. In 3898 King Andre II was killed by assassins in the back alleys of Leman, by the time his son was on the throne much of the kingdom's northern holdings were lost to Starkwater's armies, most notably the city of Grey Lake, which was a great financial loss to the king of Saksia.

The loyalty of the Firebrand knights had eroded to the point where the king no longer trusted any of them and tried to declare the Firebrand pact void. A last, desperate attempt to retake his northern holdings involved taking 400 of his city's merchants and artisans, decking them out in armour and declaring the Firebrand knights as having been reborn. The untrained and untested army was routed by Starkwater regulars.

After this, the king's authority rarely extended beyond the city limits of Leman. When the Archduke's army came to Leman in 3944 the king's castle was set ablaze before they could take it. According to the legends at the time, this was done to keep them from capturing the king, or to keep Starkwater from getting their hands on the treasure hoards the king had garnered over the years, or it was done to make sure the king could escape unseen through a hidden escape route. Regardless of the truth, the king of Saksia was never captured, though his two brothers and a sister were taken to Spire City where they had the pleasure of being in the Archduke's company till their untimely death. The fire in the king's castle was allowed to continue unchecked and when the entire city had burnt down, there was no one left with the funds to rebuild it. Some half-hearted efforts were made, but half a century later the city was abandoned, little but ruins left of it.

Geographical Location
At the height of its power Saksia stretched all the to Grey Lake in the north, stopping just short of the mountain ranges that belonged to Nevros then, it stretched to Fort Resolve in the west and took a good deal of good farmland from the weaker Longmoorians. To the south, the Old Woods served as a natural boundary for Saksia. The ruins of Leman, which was located roughly at the centre of Saksia can be found along the Sault River to this day, some distance into Starkwater. It is occasionally used as a place for boats plying the river trade to moor, though sees little other use these days.

Historical Impact
Saksia has overall had little impact on the history of Adylheim. It had little lasting impact on the fiefdoms around it, the stronger fiefdoms swallowing it up to expand their own territories. It lacked the wealth of resources that the larger fiefdoms could call upon and never managed to obtain the funds necessary to keep up in the increasingly competitive atmosphere. Saksia remains largely a footnote in the annals of history.

Legends
While Saksia has done little to remain in the consciousness of the people, legends still speak of the ghosts of the Firebrand knights who are bound to wander the lands without rest till they are redeemed by the new king of Saksia. That is the cost they must pay for breaking their oaths of fealty. Another legend says that the king of Saksia was consorting with unclean spirits for power when Starkwater invaded Leman and that it was only an accidentally knocked over brazier which prevented the land from being covered in a terrible demonic plague conjured up by the court magus.