Costayne Allegiance

COSTAYNE ALLEGIANCE

  • Words: Vulneratus Non Victus (Bloodied Yet Unbroken) 
  • Colors: Black and Yellow (Gold)  
  • Symbol: Black Bull
  • Patron: Aenryia, Dagmar, Sarai
  • Cultural Majority: Norn
  • Leader: Jarl Othilia of Costayne
  • Seat: Oldcastle
  • Pronounced: cos-TAYNE

Costayne carries the last banner of the fallen kingdom of Kernow, and they carry that banner proudly. The Costayne have borne many blows that would have felled a lesser Allegiance; they pride themselves that a Costayne may retreat the field but will always return to triumph. They make long-term plans and pride themselves that no foe can outlast them, and no task defeat them.  

  • Costayne are determined, single-minded, and steadfast. 
  • They believe anything worth doing is worth seeing through to the end. 
  • They fear no enemy, and see no task as impossible through the proper application of strength, skill, or willpower
  • They defend what’s theirs tenaciously, and seek to better both themselves and their situation.

In 146 AR, Costayne’s capital is the fortress of Caer Connor; they also control the city of Oldcastle. Many other nearby settlements and resources are unclaimed by any Allegiance.  

COSTAYNE HISTORY

  • 112 AR:  Herethryth Gorloisdottir comes of age (18) and adeptly fulfills her role as Jarl of House Costayne.
  • Cuthbald Gorloisson searches for the closest living descendants/relatives of Sarah Redemond and Alain Brandroy to find himself a ‘Kernish’ noblewoman to wife. To the great surprise of the southern heartlands, Cuthbald discovers and marries Othilia Bodilsdottir, great-niece of the famed King Duncan of Kernow.
  • Dame Saoirse mac Roisin mac Glenveigh – The Horns of Costayne – takes her mentor’s cousins, Denothe Gorloisson and Tuigim Gorloisson, as squires. Under Saoirse’s tutelage, the trio lead the people of House Costayne in the successful transition to their peacetime occupation of raising cattle – specifically, the Aurochs = The Black Bull.
    • To fully recover from their 20-year Fomorian war, House Costayne requires more farmland than the House commands.
  • 127 AR:  As the Pendragon’s former empire crumbles away, Jarl Cuthbald (age 32) and his wife Othilia Bodilsdottir make a bold move and claim all of the lands of former Kernow for Costayne.
    • Costayne’s economic prosperity crumbles along with Albion, but their available resources before the Red Death ravages the land means that the plague doesn’t hit Costayne lands as hard, and those who survive are well-prepared to continue on. 
  • 130 AR:  Cuthbald (age 35) and Othilia return Costayne to its Kernish origins, embracing old Norn traditions, political structures and law codes, giving their depleted peoples a renewed sense of national identity and pride.
    • Cuthbald is re-titled as Cuthbald-Jarl Gorloisson, the proper Norn version of his name and title.  His wife is Othilia-Jarl Bodilsdottir. 
  • 131 AR:  The Fomorian presence once again harries Costayne; Fomori encampments rapidly begin to appear in the vast forests and mountains between Caer Connor, Oldcastle, and Greywatch.
    • Fomorian raiding flotillas prowl the eastern seas, shallow-drafted longships sailing far upriver to raid and plunder. 
    • In a final push to hold Costayne and its lands together:
      • Kaye Gorloisson (age 22) leads a contingent of warriors upriver to Greywatch to participate in a two-pronged, joint attack with Huskarl Aria Kasuna against the Fomori flotillas anchored in the harbor near Greywatch and along the eastern coast.
      • Simultaneously, Duke Cuthbald-Jarl Gorloisson (age 36), Lord Protector of Costayne, summons all remaining warriors to Carlisle – where 3 rivers converge from Khaz Agrulbar, Caer Connor, and Oldcastle and lead out to the sea.
        • Having grossly underestimated the Fomori forces amassed at Carlisle, Cuthbald is soundly defeated and abandons the city.
  • 135 AR: Cuthbald re-invigorates the Order of the Black Bull, a group of the best crafters, warriors, and Adepts of Costayne. Cuthbald dedicates the Order to the memory of his father Duke Gorlois. 
  • 136 AR: Costayne begins a campaign to clear the countryside and build the infrastructure of their lands.  Many young warriors relish in the chance to prove their skill. 
  • 138 AR: While Costayne makes a push to rid their lands of enemies,  it leaves their cities less defended. Greywatch is swarmed by Formorians from the eastern coast. 
  • 142 AR: Costayne forces led by Thegn Audhild Faasdotter make a failed push into Carslile.  Although Carslile is never recovered, Caer Connor and Oldcastle never fall during this time. 
  • 143 AR: Costayne lands become known far and wide as regularly patrolled by heavily armed warriors. The lands of the Bull are as secure as any land can be in these dark times.
  • 144 AR: Jarl Cuthbald Gorloisson recruits Thegn Audhuld Faasdotter to build a force that can retake Greywatch from the Fomorians. 
  • CURRENT CONCERNS
    • Reclamation of Greywatch– taking and holding the coastal city would grant Costayne a triangular area that would be strategically solid and easy to secure from enemies. 
    • Connecting the three remaining strongholds – Caer Connor, Oldcastle, and Greywatch – securing the safety of the roads and communication lines between them.
    • Clearing all Khraal, Fomori, thieves, cattle rustlers, etc… from the lands encapsulated by Caer Connor, Oldcastle and Greywatch, and re-establishing their cattle herds and farms in that area.

MAP: 

  • Yellow is Costayne
  • Blue is Gwent (Friendly) 
  • Green is Seridane (Neutral) 
  • Dark Red is Khaz Agrulbar (Neutral) 
  • Red (south-west) is Benwyck (Rival) 
  • Light Blue (south-east) is Norgales (Enemy)
  • Grey (south) is Malagant (Neutral)  
  • Tan is unclaimed settlements
  • Diagonal hash-lines are The Swordlands (Lost Logres)