History of Westhaven

[Work in Progress]] The early history of Westhaven, as with all men, remains shrouded in mystery and legend. Oral traditions in the kingdom tell of a time of war and strife with her neighbours and other races such as the Shadik; wars won at great cost by the first King, Torimund Iolaireach. Though long independent, it was never able to achieve its true potential due to the poor quality of the soil and the difficulty of sustainable crop yields, and its population remained semi-nomadic and pastoral until quite recently. For this reason, and the militant nature of the ancient Great Houses of Westhaven, the First Ostian Empire was unable or unwilling to conquer the valleys and glens, particularly after the Westhaven Inquisition which saw whatever footholds had been acquired by the vampires purged in bloodshed and fire. Yet with the advent of new metalworking technology and the iron plough, the land underwent sweeping changes to the nature of its agriculture, and as a result the kingdom began to see a population boom, helped by an influx of refugees from the east, who brought with them technology and social ideas which over time strengthened the realm. It is from this time that the kingdom began to be known as Westhaven in the Common Tongues, though its inhabitants retain its original name in their own language, calling it Tìr na h-Àirdean - "the land of the heights".

While this had the potential to be an era of prosperity and growth for the kingdom, events to the south saw to it that the kings had to turn their attention to the Riabhach Mountains, from where a similar population explosion among the Shadik Republic saw increasing raids and invasions in search of land by the lizards. The back and forth wars over the centuries which followed are deeply ingrained in the consciousness of both nations, and the most recent, An Cogadh Ceart, promises to be as bloody as all the Shadik-Westhaven Wars.