High Kingdom of Urland

The High Kingdom of Urland was founded from the of a speculated three hundred individual tribes of the Blethic peoples in Southern Ecoralia. Archaeological records find that the High Kingdom was founded roughly around 900 BCE, though historians tend to divide the High Kingdom into 3 distinct eras as the High Kingdom evolved beyond its foundation.

The High Kingdom was a fierce competitor and rival to many of its neighbours at various times, leading to its eventual diplomatic isolation and downfall in 20 CE, such as the Wizkanian Empire, Great Sedic Confederation and Leauge of Ilona. Though external forces are not the only reason for the region’s collapse. The High Kingdom’s titular rotating High Kings and the near independence of its subject tribes led to many internal conflicts, not too dissimilar to the High Kingdom of Æðelstan. Some records show many minor civil wars during the High Kingdom’s existence.

Etymology
Urland means "Ourland" in Urlic, their belief is that they are the rulers over “Our Land”, where “Our Land” is everything.

History
The High Kingdom was a confederation of 300–315 individual tribes. Although, of these 300 tribes, only 21 were granted the right to become the High King. These “Twenty One Tribes”, also known as the “Bledhisnga Bledh” (Blessed Blood) were in actuality the only tribes given representation at all under the confederation, while the other tribes were subjects under the primary 21. It is said that after the Anerkjennelse war a great meeting was held with all tribes involved in Byenklippen that created the confederation and later Byenklippen to Helliklipe.

The seat of the “High King” and the confederation itself evolved from a spiritual belief that the land in which these people lived belonged to no singular child of the Gods, thus the divinely blessed bloods came to a semi-mythical historical accord after several devastating wars which declared each and every child (and tribe) of the Gods equal and granting each of the blessed bloods a chance to rule “Urland” as the spirits and gods’ guardian and protector of the land. Important decisions are made in Helliklipe, such as choosing invasion targets and mediation between member tribes. Tribes often do their own independent diplomacy such as forming tributaries of non-member states or rarely forming alliances outside the confederacy.

The seat rotated to the next tribe in queue upon the death of a High King, how tribes were queued is currently debated as it seems some tribes were granted the seat more than once in a row, showing some sign of tampering or changes to the initial accord. The most popular theory is that if a High King proved extremely competent, the tribe would be given a “Divine Writ” from the clerical class of people to grant them the right to rule by succession rather than rotation until the Gods deem the tribe unworthy.

Early High Kingdom
Many believe that the Early High Kingdom period is when Urland was at its strongest, as rivalry between tribes lessened and the major tribes worked in full cooperation with each other. The high kingdom managed to disrupt the status quo of the region, weakening neighbouring hegemonies and forcing weaker states into forming other confederacies.

League of Ilona
Although at first Urland was a weaker state compared to Ilona they attempted to challenge Ilonan hegemony in the north and raided various border cities. Urland was not able to conquer any land from Ilona but it did weaken it economically and threatened its credibility as a hegemon in the north. The constant raids of Urland are commonly attributed to the start of the league's downfall.

Wizkanian Empire
Archaeological evidence shows that the Wizkanian Empire and the High kingdom of Urland were in contact with each other during 700 BCE, and even some tribes traded with the Wizkanian empire.

Middle High Kingdom
The middle high kingdom is where the clergy class was the most powerful, it is also where "Divine Writ" was developed and used. Although Divine Writ created envy between tribes it also created a more stable succession and gave the high king more power, this enabled them to challenge more powerful and faraway empires such as the Wizkanian Empire.

Late High Kingdom
The constant abuse of the high kingship, divine writ, and tribes' public disobedience signifies the late high kingdom period. Internal strife, which includes religious and civil unrest, caused the confederation to crumble and officially wiped out in 20 CE when Helliklipe was burnt down alongside its high king.

Military
Each tribe has its own individual army which they maintain and train and have full authority over it. However, the high king can create a host or a "Sammenkomst" where each tribe is required to send some of its armies to the high king. The Sammenkomst is later divided into several Bannermen or "Bannermænd" led by a chieftain.

Society and culture
The “Úrlendhac” (Úrlac, later on) peoples were a very diverse group. While they all shared one faith (to a degree), many of the tribes claimed descent from a variety of sources. Some even recorded to share some semblance of descent from Sedic peoples, giving credence to some of the language’s diverse dialects.