Araluen has a long and complicated history riddled with conflict, leading to eventual unity.
The Unification of Araluen[]
Around 490 CE, the Scotti ruled Redmont, Norgate, Caraway and several other northern areas; in the south, Herbert of Araluen ruled. When the Scotti attacked Araluen Fief, King Herbert started a long war against the Scotti and at the end, drove them back to Picta.
Then he separated the newborn Kingdom of Araluen into 50 fiefs, each ruled by a baron. He also founded the Ranger Corps as his intelligence force and decided that every fief should have one Ranger.
King Herbert is known as the Father of Modern Araluen.
Civil Wars[]
First Araluen Civil War[]
When King Oswald was old and ill, Baron Morgarath of Gorlan was eager to take control. He looked for and located the mythical Wargals in the Mountains of Rain and Night, training them as his own personal army. When the king died the heir to the throne, Duncan, was young and inexperienced.
Morgarath began his rebellion and quickly conquered the southern part of the Kingdom, with the unofficial support of several barons, who, though not outwardly declaring for their treacherous fellow, secretly supported his plans. However, some of the most experienced and powerful barons chose to side with the newly crowned King. The first rebellion ended at the Battle of Hackham Heath; Ranger Halt defeated the Wargal army when he charged the enemy forces with a unit of heavy cavalry.
Morgarath was exiled and fled back to the Mountains of Rain and Night. Castle Gorlan was abandoned and crumbled.
Second Araluan Civil War[]
In the 15 years that followed, Morgarath trained a new army of Wargals. Searching deep into the Mountains of Rain and Night, he found the Kalkara, huge bear-like assassins with a greed for silver, and trained them as assassins.
The Second Civil War started in 643 CE when the two Kalkara began to assassinate senior barons with important military roles. Their ultimate target was suspected to be the King, but they were defeated at the ruins of Castle Gorlan by Will and Halt.
Morgarath's next step was to occupy a small country and ally to Araluen, Celtica. He did this slowly, kidnapping Celtic miners as a workforce to scale the Fissure, building a bridge over which to send his army. They would be stationed in Celtica and march to flank the Araluan forces on the Plains of Uthal.
He also hired a unit of Skandian mercenaries, who would arrive by sea and also hit the Royal Army from behind. Morgarath then sent his main army through Three Step Pass to the Plains of Uthal as a diversion while the real attack came from two other directions.
This was the final battle of Morgarath's rebellion. The Royal Army of Araluen fought against the Wargals of Morgarath, and after the flanking forces were defeated, the Wargal army was driven back by a cavalry strike. As the army fled into Three Step Pass, Morgarath attempted to get his final revenge by challenging Halt, who had foiled his plans several times, to single combat.
Before they could begin, the Battleschool trainee Horace challenged the former baron himself. Despite the King's objections, Horace dueled the Lord, winning and killing him through the use of unexpected and almost suicidal tactics. When their master was killed, the Wargals fled back to the Three Step Pass and the mountains beyond, and have not been seen since.
Skandian attacks and the Treaty of Hallasholm[]
Since the Araluans started to write down their history, they have been writing about the raids of the wolfships from Skandia. This abruptly ended after the Battle of Skandia, in which the intervention and aid of four Araluans practically saved Skandia.
Shortly after, the Treaty of Hallasholm was signed, declaring the peace between Skandia and Araluen, a pivotal moment in the history of these two countries.
Modern Age[]
By 1896, Araluen had been renamed The Republic of Aralan States and Redmont Fief had been renamed Redman County. An excavation team lead by Professor Giles MacFarlane had discovered the remains of Castle Redmont and the Ranger's hut.