The Realm of Gardoria is a Realm in southwestern Andoras, ruled by House Dermond. Notorious for its isolation, its forests and its soldiers' guerrilla tactics, Gardoria is a land that is shrouded in mystery for many. Marcus Dermond III is the current Highlord. The region is mostly alpine, with evergreen forests and little shrubbery.
In ancient times, Gardoria was one of the last places on Andoras to be reached by the Edrossi missionaries of the Two Paragons, as it was the furthest from the landing points that men came over from in Doras Edrossi; even to this day there remains little Edrossian blood in Gardoria and it never has been plentiful there. However, Gardoria also has the first signs of human habitation -- there are settlements, particularly Elkwood, which have ruins that predate even the earliest Drakonian structures, possibly from the Age of Creation. There was, unlike everywhere else, no kingdom in Gardoria when the missionaries of Nyule landed in the First Era, but rather a congregation of tribes that had not been united in the general location that Gardoria was. Even then, the proto-Gardorians were famous for being distant from the rest of Andoras; their forests provided natural protection that extended throughout a wide swath of land going from The Wetlands to the end of the sea hundreds of miles to the south.
History[]
Starting in prehistoric times, Gardoria was never highly coveted due to its distance from the rest of the landing points on Andoras. The first organized tribe of Gardorians, known as the Trythosii, appeared in the historical records roughly 9,300 BC in the First Era, and settled in a relatively less forested area of Gardoria in the midwest of the region. Not much of known of them or Gardoria, however, until 7,822 BC, when the missionaries from the Two Paragons arrived and attempted to convert the local tribes to their newly found religion. At the time, the political situation in Gardoria was very decentralized (something that continues in present day), with no one ruler establishing dominance over the region. Tribes came and went, and even in the First Era there was a predecessor to the Gardorian confederations, with large groups of tribes joining together in coalitions against other, larger tribes. Some of these still exist today, but the most influential soon became the Dermii, the progenitors to House Dermond. By the late Second Era, Gardoria had been united, albeit very crudely. Of the hundreds of tribes that still existed within the modern-day Paramouncy, only 47 of them chose to willingly be vassalized by the Dermii. More of a massive confederation themselves, the Dermii had very little real hold over their vassals, and their only pledge of loyalty was to send troops in times of war.
By the late First Era, however, six tribal kingdoms had formed, all with dozens of their own vassal tribes themselves; the Dermii retained a good portion of western and central Gardoria, while the Feadeii dominated the northwest. The Swemii, not truly Gardorian but rather migrants from the Wetlands, took root in the northeast, and the Gardii, from whom most of modern Gardorian culture is based on, ruled the east. The last two tribes, the Edalii, ruled the southeast, and the Comedii ruled the southwest; note that the true name of these tribes is not known, and these names are simply what the Edrossi missionaries called them.
Of all tribes, the Dermii were by far the most powerful, but the Gardii were very influential in the region, and claimed that they were the rulers of Gardoria by birthright. Large wars took place between the tribal kingdoms for hundreds of years, culminating in the Tribe Wars. By the early Second Era, the Dermii, ruled by Gryge of the Dermii, had led a coalition aganist the then-united Gardii, Edalii, and Comedii tribes and won the war, forcing them to swear fealty to him; however, the vassals did not remain as centralized as they were as a kingdom, and the former tribal kingdoms were split apart into the borders of their direct vassals, creating something very similar to Gardoria's modern borders today. Unlike the feudalistic government that exists today, however, Old Gardoria was more of an oligarchy. Representatives of the former kingdoms (typically the former kings themselves) were chosen for life amongst all landowners in Gardoria in elective succession, and this continued until Gardoria was reformed by the Dragomyrs upon their invasion -- historical records are unclear, and there is very little known about how exactly Gardoria developed in the thousands of years before the Dragomyr invasion. It is known for certain that in the Seventh Era, Gardoria had already adopted its current name, House Dermond were de facto the sole ruling house (although their laws of oligarchy and elective rule still persisted), and, thanks to records based in Thunder's Shore during the Ironwood War, they had begun to grow out their massive forest in attempts to hopefully isolate themselves from most affairs on Andoras.
Upon the invasion of the Dragomyrs, Gardoria's government was forcibly renovated by the administration of Draegon Dragomyr, and all laws that were established for elective succession were abolished -- they were not closely followed, so this had little effect on Gardoria, but it made it easier for the comparatively complex lawmaking of the Drakonians to enforce their rulings over all of Andoras, and this first began with making sure all paramouncies converted smoothly to their new government under the Kingdom.
Present Day[]
Gardoria has not been involved in a major war for quite some time; they prefer to remain neutral, citing their isolated nature and disconnection from the general affairs of the world. They are not known to be involved in many affairs at this time, aside from warning House Karthmere's head Dalan Karthmere that if he brings the War of Embers into his borders, he will declare war on him and join Thunder's Shore and The Wetlands in the matter.