Pennant Regency

Etymology

In the autumn of 309 ME, the Velgassi noble Odiss Pennant led a group of 2,000 settlers out of the Velgassi Empire. His expedition crossed the Brackish Mountains into the Elsir Vale, finally setting up an outpost south of what would later become the seaside Bastion Pass. The outpost was nicknamed Camp Pennant after the expedition leader. After continuing south and influencing the town of Kodonholm to join his cause, the two locations became the founding members of the nation.

The "Kingdom of Pennant" was the de facto name for the fledgling nation in 313 ME, but the nation was formally declared the Pennant Regency in the Constitutional Writ of 315.

Informally, the nation was still referred to as the kingdom of Pennant from time to time. It was also simply known as "The Regency".

History

In the waning days of the 3rd century ME, the Emperor Rothwaite XIV ascended to the throne of Velgassi. An expansionist, 22-year-old Rothwaite XIV envisioned an empire that controlled the entire Nentir Vale and beyond. He introduced a plan to establish cities in untamed portions of wild country, as well as to conquer lands under the jurisdiction of the fallen Arkhosian Empire.

As the Velgassi Empire began its period of rapid expansion, groups of nobles spoke out against the Emperor's Grand Design. In a flurry of political intrigue, many were found dead under mysterious circumstances over the course of a decade. Political oppression among the noble Houses became the norm; Rothwaite had support from powerful, unscrupulous Houses to silence his opposition.

When House Kerrivan noble Odiss Pennant approached Rothwaite with a plan to chart the southeastern Mainland for Velgassi, the Emperor agreed. In reality, Pennant had planned an exodus out of the beleaguered Empire in hopes of escaping the oppression and strife there. Pennant gathered supporters from House Kerrivan, House Kincaid, and House Ruxton, and headed south. Unbeknownst to the Emperor, Pennant had already moved many of the resources of House Kerrivan out of Castle Dellhaven to the new town of Crescent Lake.

Pennant and his expedition, with most of the treasures and materiel of House Kerrivan, crossed the Kingsbridge Pass in the early winter of 309 ME. Before Emperor Rothwaite XIV could respond to the exodus, the Pass closed up with heavy snow. The expedition formed Camp Pennant just south of the pass outside of Oxwood. The noble advisers to Pennant hoped to move the Camp farther south into the Elsir Vale, out of reach of the Empire, after winter quarters were lifted. Despite the closing of Kingsbridge, the expedition was not out of danger; Pennant relied upon secrecy and the deep cover of Oxwood to keep his people safe.

Initially, it was not Pennant's desire to form a new sovereign nation. He feared a war of secession against the military powerhouse of the Empire, and hoped the egress of a small fraction of its population would not be cause for taking up arms. As it turned out, military action was needed, but not against Pennant's old nation.

During the early days of 310 ME, scouts from Camp Pennant discovered a hobgoblin horde marching from the Brackish Mountains. Led by a warlord, Bahge, these 150-plus hobgoblins were en route to the city-state of Kodonholm to the south of Oxwood. Odiss Pennant was conflicted, as warning the city would mean revealing his secret camp's existence, and potentially exposing his refugees to harm.

Despite the danger, Pennant's 40 knights struck against the hobgoblins as they marched. Although superior in numbers, Bahge's Horde was completely routed from the unexpected attack from behind. Kodonholm's gratitude was overwhelming, and the city-state's leadership agreed to defend the refugees from Velgassi if necessary.

The alliance turned out to be unnecessary, as Rothwaite's dreams of recapturing the wayward Pennant were dashed by the outbreak of the Barbarian Wars. With the Empire's attention focused on protecting its heartland cities from the Central Mountain tribes, Rothwaite could not reclaim his lost citizens to the south. The Pennant Regency was established, and despite a few formal protests and declarations, it would remain an independent nation throughout the Middle Era. The death of Rothwaite XIV and the Velgassi Civil War was the final nail in the coffin for Velgassi's expansion into the Elsir Vale.

The Pennant Regency's influence grew exponentially, while Velgassi's slowly waned. In the span of a decade, the tiny kingdom of Barstow and the city-state of Mathar Falls were absorbed by the Regency. With the fall of Gladstone in 317 ME, the lowlands to the south were ripe for Regency expansion. During the Velgassi Civil War, entire cities in the Nentir Vale defected to the Regency. Gladstone's former capital, Elder City, was decimated by inter-city warlords until the Regency conquered it in 340 ME. Within a generation, Pennant's fledgling nation-state became a territorial powerhouse, covering the majority of the Elsir Vale and extending all along the Mainland's southeastern shores.

When King Odiss Pennant I died, his son took the throne. A so-called "man of the people", Odiss Pennant II did not have the administrative acumen of his father. Pennant II delegated much of his authority, which led to a brief civil conflict in Autumn 392 ME. Odiss Pennant III, an ambitious would-be king, was imprisoned for leading the attempting coup. Pennant II cited flaws in hereditary monarchy, and ordered the reorganization of the Regency into an elected demi-republic.