Last time I said that I would talk a little about the setting of Laeryk's Proving. Today's post is going to talk about Valdaran, the nation where two of our protagonists, Laeryk Thorn and Gavain Whiterose, hail from. Valdaran plays a central role throughout the series.
Records of the earliest days of what would come to be known as Valdaran have been lost to prehistory. No Valdaran can recount when the first humans crossed into the mountain range called the Wyvern Peaks and first encountered the wyverns. Nor can even the most venerable of Wyvern Knights now recall the stories which tell of how man and wyvern came to form an alliance with one another. What is known, is that in the oldest days, the people of Valdaran were split into six large clans, each allied with the wyverns.
The early Valdarans were constantly at war with one another. The Wyvern Peaks dominated the landscape, leaving few fertile valleys for growing crops and grazing animals. Survival was a constant concern for the Valdaran Clans, and each sought to claim the supplies of their rivals. Allegiances were made, broken, and forged anew as the clans struggled against each other.
Korvaft, the Jarl of the clan with what were arguably the strongest ties to the wyverns whom the Valdarans depended upon for their raids, eventually became aware of the wyverns' growing distress at the warring clans. He realized that while the clans' warlike natures were sated by the bloodshed, the wyverns mourned the actions their alliance with humanity was driving them to. The wyverns had no desire to fight one another, nor did they want to pick a single clan to support. Korvaft realized that if something wasn't done to stop the clans' wars soon, the wyverns would abandon their human allies, dooming all the clans.
Korvaft called the other five Jarls to a meeting and presented his concerns. At first the Jarls scorned Korvaft, believing that their wyvern allies would never abandon them. When Korvaft offered his solution to his concerns, however, the Jarls took immediate note of it. Korvaft suggested that the Jarls battle one another personally. The winner of this melee would be declared the strongest Jarl, and become Allking over all six clans. Each Jarl agreed to this contest, each believing himself to be the strongest.
When the fierce battles came to a close, Korvaft stood triumphant. The Jarls honored their words, and bowed before the first Allking. To their surprise, Korvaft announced that he considered each of the Jarls to be like brothers, each only slightly below the Allking in rank. The honor Korvaft showed them helped to salve the bruised egos of the Jarls, allowing Korvaft to gain their support for the next part of his plan. Korvaft knew that if his people were allowed to remain in their clans it would only be a matter of time before the fighting started again. Instead, Korvaft commanded each of the Jarls to bring their finest warriors to him. Once the warriors were assembled, Korvaft ordered each warrior to found noble houses which would help to oversee food and supplies for his people, now called Valdarans.
Korvaft's plan worked, though relations were still tenuous between the noble Houses, particularly those whose founders had once belonged to rival clans. Resources were still scarce in Korvaft's kingdom of Valdaran, even with everyone pooling their supplies together. Seeing no other way to survive, Korvaft set his gaze to the lands surrounding the Wyvern Peaks. To the south lay the Wastes, a desolate, dry wasteland contained within a bowl-like recess in the earth, a reminder of humanity's earlier wars against the inhuman Naelfarn which had once dwelt there. The Wastes would provide nothing to the Valdarans, and the lands to the south of the Wastes were too far for raids, even with the wyverns' aid.
To the west, however, lay the land of Deldanare. Full of fertile land, abundant with crops and livestock, Deldanare was ripe with the resources the Valdarans needed to survive. The people who dwelt with Deldanare, the Deldanari, were less than imposing to the Valdarans, who were among the largest of people in the world, while the Deldanari were, on average, considered somewhat short. Korvaft knew that the Deldanari would never be able to stop raiding parties from the Valdarans. Indeed, the largest threat to the raiding parties were the rivalries that still existed among the Valdaran Houses.
Developing another plan to bring peace to his people, Korvaft summoned the leaders of the noble Houses, including the former Jarls to his court. There, Korvaft announced that he was creating a unified military force for Valdaran, one which would fly on the backs of wyverns. He would split this military into five different "Wings," and each Wing would be commanded by one of the five former Jarls until such time as these new Wing Lords chose to step down and promote a replacement. Each Wing would focus on a different specialty. Further, Korvaft declared that the Wing Lords could counter the commands of the Allking if they voted with a single voice, giving his former rivals true power within Valdaran again. The new Wing Lords accepted their positions, but expressed concern for Korvaft's plan. "How," they asked him in private, "is this any different from the clans you worked so hard to end?" Korvaft ordered them to create their Wings from different Houses than the ones which had originally been in their former clan, so that the Wings would consist of members of each of the former clans. After that, Korvaft assured the Wing Lords that placing emphasis on the different Wings' specialties would create a sense of shared pride which would encourage the ranks of each Wing to work together, while ties of blood would keep them connected to the members of other Wings.
Though still dubious of the plan, the Wing Lords followed the command of their Allking and formed the Wyvern Knights as he had commanded. Korvaft's wisdom is recognized in modern Valdaran, where the old clans are barely remembered now, but the Wyvern Knights and the five Wings and Wing Lords still command the respect and devotion of the Valdaran people.
The newly founded Wyvern Knights began their raids into Deldanare, which were as successful as Korvaft had hoped. The raids kept his people strong, while also providing the Valdarans with an outlet to express their warlike natures. Unbeknownst to Korvaft, however, the raids into Deldanare would have a greater impact on the future of Valdaran than he could have ever imagined, though the change would not happen until the reign of his son, Hrothnir Korvaftsson.
But that is a story for another time...
Next Time: More information about Valdaran and the impact of its raids into Deldanare.
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