Leif Andersen

[Ayzek]

By the eve of the 13th century, the Holy Lanlanian Empire had come into a dominant position in western Skathia. Though the Florinthians and Vallish controlled sizable territories along the coast of the Sea of Nyland, the northern coast of the continent had fallen firmly into Lanlanian hands following a short naval war with the Oslanburgish in the second half of the century. Imperial settlers were beginning to explore further inland, spreading their roots and coming into conflict with indigenous populations as they went. Lanlanians had an inherent love for the sea, however, and many more continued to explore the waters to the south and settle along the coasts.

While the majority of the empire's colonial efforts were through charter companies, a few were the result of pioneers settling on lands they wandered onto. The islands of Saint Leaf and Saint Sage were such colonies, which were settled in the early 13th and accepted as an Imperial territory in the middle of the century. It was primarily settlers from the Saint Islands that colonized the southern Aesean Ocean, and lead the Empire into conflict with Valland.

New Arvendel, New Alden
24 Nueva 1289

Leif Adersen had inherited his father's pioneering spirit. He'd joined his father, one of the original colonists of Saint Sage, in his early adulthood, and was struck with the ingenuity and human spirit that the colonists had expressed early in Saint Sage's colonization. The togetherness expressed in those early days, by people working together to build homes, develop farms, and survive the winter, affected Leif deeply. As Saint Sage grew and more settlers arrived from Lanlania and elsewhere, Leif became disillusioned with life on the island. A governor was sent from Halvadag following his father's death. Businesses took over many of the functions that the people had previously worked together to achieve. Ships filled the docks, bringing with them goods and soldiers. Gone were the simple days.

It was no surprise, then, that Leif chose to repeat his father's achievements. Taking with him men who felt much the same, Leif commissioned a ship to take them south to what would become New Alden in 1286.

The first two years hadn't been too difficult. There indigenous population was small and spare, while the wildlife was largely tame. There were no wolves or bears. Leif and many of the men had experience with building a village from scratch, and they'd built enough homes to welcome their wives and children on the second year. The governor of the Saint Islands, impressed by their spirit, sent them supplies and livestock.

By the third year, New Arvendel had developed into a small village of over 100, with many children. The farms around the village were giving dependable harvests and the seas were bountiful. Of course, the peace would not last. By now, the Vallish had noticed the settlement and were upset at the Lanlanian incursion onto land they'd claimed first.