Malderen

Malderen (pronounced: mol-DARE-en) was the smallest of the kingdoms in the First Age. It was founded in 86 FA after a swath of land was deemed inhospitable after the Shaeren Civil War. It was destroyed in 800 FA by its arch rival, the neighbouring kingdom of Indier.

History
After a vicious civil war in Shaere, a reasonable chunk of land to the north of the kingdom was burnt, and every village and settlement destroyed. At the time, resources were low, and the Crown could not afford to make the area hospitable once more. A Shaeren nobleman (name lost in the histories) decided to build his home there. Within a few years, his estate had flourished to a village, with the new inhabitants working to heal the land. From this one, small village eventually sprouted a city. While records do not show when or why the Shaeran monarch allowed this new settlement to become its own citystate, it is known that after many decades, the city of Malderen became a small country of its own.

The Malderen people were content at the start. Their main resource was cotton, which they traded freely with Shaere and Andwick, to the north. Despite the neighbouring kingdom of Indier attempting to trade, Malderen responded with hostility. The monarchy of Malderen wanted to expand, and had its eye on the rich shoals of fish off the Indieran coast. In 209 FA, the King drew up enough forces and courage to attempt to seize his neighbour for him. Thus began the six century long Conquest Wars.

The Conquest Wars
For seven centuries, the Conquest Wars raged between Malderen and Indier, with few breaks. Only three times, in 180, 345 and 701 FA, were there any attempts at peace. Eventually, there was such a prominent hatred between the two smallest kingdoms, that the two countries ended up at each other's throat constantly.

With the superior forces, Indier mostly beat Malderen back when they attempted to invade, although they lost various outlying villages. Indier wreaked havoc when they made the first move, destroying many settlements. It was in 800 FA that the two countries unleashed their largest attacks yet. It was in this last battle that both monarchs met on the field of battle. King Himaj of Indier fell beneath King Saerol of Malderen, but shortly afterwards, Saerol was crushed by a boulder from a catapult. With their respective rulers dead, both forces fell into disarray, and the war fell apart. It was not over, however, as chaos broke out ... and the Conquest Wars finally ended after seven hundred years, with both countries dying in flames.

Present Time
Malderen, along with its arch nemesis, has been swallowed by its former neighbour, Shaere, in a backwards of echo of the founding of the kingdom. All that is left of the country - and the small capital city, Bar Evin - are overgrown ruins.