History of Kelas

2000 BC
First evidence of human settlement along the Western coast of Kelas by Norse peoples. Archaeological remnants in the form of swords, tools and jewellery. Most famously the burial mound at Astrlid has provided us with much of what we know about these early inhabitants of Kelas.

1500 – 500 BC
More and more settlers arrive from various Nordic and Anglo-Saxon tribes and establish themselves along the coast of Kelas, Nordic settlers being strongest in the north, home to Kelas’ grand fjords and fishing shoals while the Anglo settlers established farming communities first in what is now the Province of Aesir around the site of what would become Taranium and migrating north into the great fertile plains of Beyla Province.

Here in Beyla, the two societies intermingled seemingly without much conflict, as after 1000BC we see artefacts from both cultures spread amongst the household and graves of both groups. Conflict did exist, and we see an increase in the complexity, manufacture and importance placed upon the Nordic sword and the legendary Anglo bow.

Items from beyond Kelas’ borders begin to be found dating from this period, especially among Norse households, where trading connections seem to have been established with their brethren across Scandinavia.

150 AD
This era is most associated with King Sceaf, legendary first King of a united Kelas. Legend speaks of him emerging from the sea clad in armour made of dragon-scales, and when he was challenged by the best warriors of the Nordic and Anglo camps (who had previously been feuding amongst themselves) defeated all of them without spilling a drop of blood and sparing all their lives. This act of power and compassion inspired both conflicting tribes to unite under Sceaf’s leadership, as he brought all of Kelas under his peaceful and enlightened rule as the first King. To this day his legend is a popular metaphor for the notion of prudence and wise-action over haste and harsh judgement fuelled by raw emotion.

300 AD
Kelasian, having borrowed the runic system of writing from other Nordic peoples, adapted it to its own syntax and the great scribes of Utgard at the base of the Fenrir Mountains set down the close to 200 volumes now collectively know as the “Folkvang Sagas” named after the historical title for the rich central farmlands of Kelas. From approx. 345 AD an accurate picture of who was on the throne of Kelas emerges and the truly historical records of the Royal Family begin.

Kelasian as a written language prospers and the runic alphabet is adapted once more to the Old English spoken by the Anglo south. Soon Kelas becomes a historical anomaly in the fact that it is bi-lingual by government order at a very early stage. All road markers, town signs and public notices must be presented in the runic form of both languages. In trying to appeal to all Kelas however, it spelled the beginning of the end for Kelasian as a first language since much of the rest of the world in days hence would use English as a main language and in modern Kelas, only the Province of Ida and the northern parts of Jotuheim is Kelasian spoken as a native tongue.

200 AD – 500 AD
Kelas having benefited from a strong series of early kings had not evolved into a culture dedicated to war. For this reason when raiders from across Scandinavia began assaulting the southern reaches of Kelas in the early 2nd Century they overwhelmed native resistance. Progressing steadily up the coast until the 4th Century, settlements and outposts of these invaders were established along the way. As with many invading armies, these sailor/soldiers quickly adapted to Kelasian culture and created lives for themselves along the foreign shores of Kelas. These remaining settlers are responsible for many of the Nordic names that dominate Kelas’ modern vernacular and eventually these war parties transformed into peaceful trading missions, further strengthening ties between the Kelas and the other nations of Scandinavia.

On a slightly ironic note, many Nordic nationalists in Kelas hearken back to these days as their ‘liberation’ from weak-minded Anglo domination by the strong, noble warriors of Scandinavia.

500 AD – 824 AD
With the pacification of relations with Scandinavia and their own domestic troubles, Kelasians soon became more introverted. The kings of this era were weak minded and lapsed in their duties, allowing scheming individuals below them to usurp power in their name. Kelas divided once more along tribal lines of Nordic and Anglo. After a series of summer campaigns, the Anglo armies, having now perfected the longbow and siege weapons surrounded the Nordic settlement of Giltnir and proceed to starve it into submission, lobbing animal carcasses and other foul items over the walls to spread disease and desolation. While most of the Anglo force was occupied slowly killing Giltnir however, a Nordic army, using flat-bottomed raiding boats based upon those of their Scandinavian ancestors sailed up the rivers from the Fenrir Mountains and in a swift and bloody campaign decimated the populace of Taranium. Having slain the people of the city, drunk on bloodshed the raiders set the town alight, burning it to the ground. In events that are shrouded in mystery, the leaders of both warring armies were killed and a peasant uprising in the bi-cultural community of Celes refused to allow the war to continue. This peasant revolution ruled Kelasian affairs for several years until a process whereby the people (‘people’ at this time meaning male landowners) of the nation would elect the King, ensuring that no weak-minded or feeble kings could ascend to the throne. The first King elected by this system, King Leif the Wise solidified Kelas’ newfound peace by marrying his daughter to an Anglo noble family, solidifying relations between the two peoples.

824 AD - 1002 AD
This new system for ascension to the throne ushered in a new era of genuine peace for Kelas and culture prospered in what has been termed the “Lighting of the Lamp” in reference to the emergence from the gloom of the Dark Ages. During this time Kelasian metalwork, pottery, craft, poetry and art in general flourished and resurgence in scribal work preserved the many sagas and histories of earlier times of which we might never have known. While still a feudal society of serfs, lords and knights individuals could ‘buy’ their way into higher society through intellectual work such as the arts or proving themselves in the political arena as a community leader.

1002 AD – 1130 AD
This period marks the darkest moment of Kelasian history. A series of decade long conflicts marred relations between Kelas and its neighbours. A policy of expansionism marked Kelasian royal policy which, while producing limited political victories, did much greater harm to the Kelasian people.

1130 AD – 1200 AD
While we do not know the precise date, the first references to Christianity and Christian missionaries emerged around this time. Coming from other Anglo nations, they preached in English and Latin, further hastening the decline of Kelasian as a strong language. Christian virtues of tolerance and peace struck a strong cord with Kelasians and they converted en-masse. As a sign of collective remorse and regret, enhanced by their exposure to Christian piety, craftsmen and architects from all the Nordic communities helped rebuild the settlement on the ruins of Taranium and in 1135 founded the city of New Taranium as a gesture of a new everlasting peace between Kelas’ two ethnic groups. The first cathedral in Celes was begun in 1173 and was officially completed in time for Christmas Mass in 1200.

1200 AD – 1720 AD
Little but wise rule and the work of many great Kelasian intellectuals marks these centuries. The printing press brought media to the masses and copies of the Bible were circulated in English and Kelasian even before the Church approved them. Science and technology made leaps and bounds along with the rest of Europe during the Renaissance and Kelas’ first university, Mimir, was established in Celes, the new central capital in 1394.

The Reformation when it swept Europe did not leave Kelas unscathed and some religious tensions emerged between the new Lutheran Churches and the Catholic cathedrals. These however were diffused when, realising the inevitable, the Arch-Bishop of Celes officially donned the vestments of a Lutheran minister and converted his Cathedral to the Lutheran faith. This change prompted the rebuilding of Celes Cathedral, replacing it with the High Gothic, Church of the Agnus Dei we know today in 1675.

1720 AD – 1859 AD
In a seemingly counter-intuitive move by the people of Kelas, in 1720, they abandoned the simple parliamentary system by which they elected their monarch and invested their trust in the Magnusson family, of whom many had previously been elected monarch as the new, fully hereditary leaders of Kelas. The Magnusson family ruled well during the golden years of the Enlightenment, often travelling the world and making frequent visits to the Aren court several palace intrigues centre around various Kelasian monarchs and members of the Royal Family. Intermarriages further solidified ties between the two nations and cultural and economic ties grew during this period.

Railways were being established in Kelas as early as 1836, linking Celes and New Taranium, and the linking of all major cities was completed in the 1860s.

1859 AD – 1905 AD
As revolutions swept Europe and with the formation of true active political parties to the south, Kelasian intellectuals began forming political unions, embracing various areas of the political spectrum. New political parties, beginning with the Socialist Party (precursor to the Social Democrats) began to run for positions In city and provincial governments. The Royal appointed Council in Celes was not open to public election however and this was strongly campaigned against by various emerging political groups. After decades of making small inroads, the Council, re-christened the National Parliament was opened to public candidates and the first democratically elected First Consul was sworn-in during 1905.

1905 AD – 1970 AD
The first two-thirds of the 20th Century were uneasy times for Kelas, with the tumult of European war and the rapidly advancing worlds or science and political thought both Parliaments and the monarchy had a hard time weathering the storm. The Magnusson Kings increasingly relied upon advisors to make their decisions and paid less attention to the daily duties of kingship, preferring to disappear to their chateaus in the countryside of Fensalir. As extremist left and right wing parties battled it out in Parliament during the 1950’s and 60’s the King could no longer be relied upon to be a moderating voice and provide judgement. His sudden vacations and extended times away from Celes often meant that bills and documents requiring his approval would not be signed into law for months. By the late 1960’s popular student movements on both ends of the political arena were calling for King Harald V to abdicate or be thrown from office.

1970 AD
The year 1970 is the most significant moment in the modern history of Kelas and marks the point at which the Kelas we now know was formed. King Harald now very worried about his preserving his position of authority and untrusting of the Parliament or his own advisors declared Martial Law using a decrepit legal device left over from the Middle Ages and brought the military in to enforce his status. Riots were suppressed around the country and the Royal Palace itself was almost the victim of vandals and mod violence on a number of occasions. Seeing the rising violence, flaring tempers and the moral outage at this abuse of power by the King, military leaders abandoned their monarch and pledged allegiance to the Parliament and the First Consul. King Harald was officially deposed by an act of Parliament on April 16th 1970 and the Democratic Republic of Kelas was proclaimed later that day. This shift in government has come to be known as the ‘Social Revolution’ as social and human values won out over renegade politics and abuse of power.

1970 AD– 1990 AD
These two decades were full of reforms to Kelas’ antiquated political system and brought it up to date with the rest of Europe. Universal health-care, welfare systems and other public services were established and political and religious freedoms were made universal. Educational policies designed to preserve Kelasian as a spoken language were enacted and Kelas began to transform its military into a peacekeeping role as well modernizing and making it more efficient. In 1990, 20 years after deposing their last monarch, the Kelasian people, through their Parliament voted to restore the Magnusson family to their Royal role but merely as figureheads, representing Kelasian unity and a link to their shared past. On April 16th 1990, two decades to the day that his father was removed from power, King Vígbjörn was crowned, and swore to uphold the Constitution of the Democratic Republic. King Vigi has become something of a cult figure in recent years, appealing to many youth causes and has made the environment and poverty his special causes.

1990 AD – Present
Modern Kelas is a diverse and open nation. Recent governments have opened Kelas to the world and actively are perusing policies to make Kelas a vital player in regional politics. Kelas feels it has an important role to play on the world stage and looks forward to fostering peace and peaceful relationships with all the nations of Europe.