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.

[Ayzek]

Sainte-Rose, East Andallen Islands
6 Dein 1289

"Those stupid Lignais," spat Alphonse Legrand. Legrand, appointed Governor of the Vallish Southwestern Territories less than a decade ago, had many interests in the Western Andallen Islands. Not only was he charged with enforcing the Lavigne King's will, but he had come to use his family's assets to do it. It was the Legrand Family that had lead the Vallish colonization efforts on the East Andallen Islands even before Alphonse had received the king's writ. They'd also funded the settlements of Sainte-Martine and Sainte-Lyons and, recently, the southern coast of the western Andallens.

The arrival of the Lanlanians in the north threaten Legrand's own bottom line.

"I'm sure they know the King has claimed that land," Legrand continued, throwing the report onto the table, "do they want a war on their hands?"

"It seems the Emperor isn't behind these settlements," answered John Perrot. Perrot was the governor's go-to man for information. Rumor had it he was a pirate--but one's pirate was another's privateer and someone's entrepreneur. "My men in Sainte Sauge say that it's the private efforts of the island's young men."

"Ridiculous," Legrand spat. "I don't believe for a moment their Emperor can't control his subjects!"

Legrand sighed and drummed his fingers against the table. The two men met in the governor's study, in his manor overlooking the capital of the East Andallen Islands. The governor, a man of culture, had been sure to import ample books to decorate the room with, along with an Ustyaran carpet and an armchair made of the finest Brigidnan wood. Legrand certainly looked like a man of culture--well-fed and dressed in the finest embroidered coat and breeches.

"See if you can get a man on the inside," Legrand commanded, meeting Perrot's gaze. "I will prepare a force to burn down their settlement. If this isn't an Imperial settlement, they can't complain if we burn it down."

[Ayzek]

New Arvendel, New Alden
18 Tolven, 1289

Perrot had difficulty sneaking a man into such a small village. The settlers all knew each other from Saint Sage and would've immediately noticed an unfamiliar face. While there were alternative ways to get a man inside, he doubted the Lanlanians wouldn't be suspicious of it and limit the man's mobility. To make matters worse, New Arvendel was oddly alert. Their palisade had gone up quite quickly, despite the lack of predators or hostile natives. The indigenous people had always been friendly to the Vallish or, at worst, indifferent.

The palisade was little more than an uneven barricade of logs driven into the soil surrounding the few building. There were a couple short towers at opposite ends of the village and they were consistently manned through Perrot's week of reconnaissance. The men hunted daily and were well equipped. Though that wasn't anything out of the ordinary on the frontier.

Nonetheless, those were insignificant setbacks. Legrand had given him a small troop of men and a sloop-of-war with which to take the village. While the settlers were certainly armed and had basic defenses, they simply weren't a match for the professional Vallish marines.

As Governor, Legrand exerted some influence over the Vallish military forces in the region. It wasn't difficult for him to loan Perrot a small ship and some spare soldiers.

And as the Western Territories were still largely dependent on Valland for its defense, Perrot trusted the sloop, it's marines, and the troop of infantrymen they transported were well-disciplined.

"Second lieutenant," Perrot said, running his eyes from his spy to the commander of the troops, "I believe we've gathered what we could. Perhaps tomorrow you'll disembark and march on the settlement? We'll follow you along the shore and come upon the Lanlanians, say, tomorrow noon?"

The sloop was positioned in a small cove a few kilometers south from New Arvendel. It shouldn't take more than an two or three hours to march on the village.

"Aye," the officer replied, looking over the map. "The sooner the better. I'd like to get back to civilization."