Kingdom of Estwed

During the 8th century, Estwed was a small Kingdom to the southeast of the, then, powerful Kingdom of Lanuch. In 775, King Wulfhelm of Lanuch invades Estwed and though he is initially defeated, eventually by the autumn of 776 Estwed falls and becomes another province of Lanuch.

Though Estwed's King, Pybba, is slain and all his male heirs executed (sacrificed along with many of the other warriors who led the defence of the kingdom to Bis), his wife Aethelflaed is enslaved by Estwed's new reeve, Edwin.

Within Estwed though the Cult of Asabeth always had some considerable influence, a fact overlooked by the new occupiers. Aethelflaed herself was a priestess of the cult, and in 781, she kills (poisons, it is said) Edwin, and a small group of women overwhelm his huscurls.

Within two months, the Cult, now a respectable fighting force of several hundred warrior women, meets a counter attack by Lanuch on the field of battle. The use of magic, and the surprising ferocity of the women, surprise the Lanuch force, which is overwhelmed and routes back to Lanuch in tatters.

By this time, King Frithstan of Lanuch (crowned in 779) is still having to deal with certain administrative issues in his kingdom, and he is forced to ignore the Estwed problem for now. By the time he is able to muster a force ready to retake Estwed (in 783), he is dead, and Lanuch begins its descent into civil war. By the end of the year, Queen Aethelflaed has been installed as Queen of Estwed, and her own branch of the Cult of Asabeth, called the Crimson Blades, has been formed.

So begins the golden age of Estwed, a time of much darkness and blood, for the rule of the Crimson Blades is not a light one, being known for much cruelty and injustice. A matriarchy is installed at all levels of power, slavery is introduced on an unprecedented scale, and much of the wealth of the Kingdom goes into the support of its army.

Surprisingly, Estwed has no desire to expand its own lands. It is only in 841, when the warrior women attack and defeat the Brytish invasion force which is terrorising the rest of the region, that they actually venture beyond their borders. A payment of gold is extracted from the Brytish, and it is forced into Emrend.

By the late 9th century, the Kingdom is in a bad shape. Financially, the kingdom is almost bankrupt, and increasing unrest leads to bloodier peacekeeping which only fuels further resentment. In 880, Queen Osith makes the decision to expand Estwed's borders, believing that more land is the only solution to the problem.

In 880, the Crimson Blades lead a raiding force into Aiden, which is highly successfull. Wealth is obtained, and the distraction is enough to enable her to put off the problems within the heartlands of the Kingdom. Again though, the Crimson Blades are unable to keep their new lands stable despite their military superiority, and five years later raids are directed at East Lanuch.

Again, these tactics are initially successful, but again the cult finds that conquering land is far easier than holding it afterwards. By 889, most of the new lands, as well as the main heartlands of her Kingdom are in turmoil, being beset by lawlessness, fear and famine. It is in this climate that Queen Osrith is murdered, and within two weeks the Crimson Blades have been wiped out within the Kingdom by an uprising partially aided by Lanuch and Talmoth.

In the summer of 889, King Peada is crowned king, and the Kingdom shrinks back to something approximating its original borders.