Lahn

This page is about the province of Lahn.

Lahn is an official mainland province in the Empire of Apfeldonia, It is in the center of the nation. It is bordered by the provinces of Oschtauch to the north, Erstiks to the northeast, Custach to the east and southeast, Verbania to the south, and Ostcelestria to the west. It is the most populated province in mainland Apfeldonia. The province is in a special position, as the capital of the province, Lipton, is also the capital of the nation, thus making Lahn the Capital province.

Ancient History
Like most provinces, Lahn is believed to have been settled by Schulfens in the time before the Apfeldite invasion. Several stone monuments set up by the Schulfens exist throughout the province, many are national heritage sites. Almost all of these sites are believed to be connected to the Vortgeiht, the ancient Schulfen religion. The province was a border zone between the Lerz and the Trident empires, with the former gaining the most control over the area. Most of the province was held by local warlords, and not the two empires however, it will be one of these tribes that later form the Kingdom of Lahn, the kingdom Rutgar was born into.

Early History
After the ushering of the Apfeldonian middle ages, the province was like the rest of the future nation, split up into various factions all biding for regional power. One of these factions would rise to power in the Solms Valley, meanwhile, two other local kingdoms also grew stronger. The Kingdom of Lahn, and it's ruling family, the House of Volland, would spring up to control the Solms valley and set the course for history. the Kingdoms of Goldwind and Summerfield also took control in their areas, and a powder keg was in the making.

That powder keg was not lit however until an unremarkable prince of Lahn ascended to the thrown. Rutgar, a reserved and seemingly mundane and normal crown prince, who had no more power than a local noble's son, would change the history of the country and the world forever. In 1052, the reigning king of Lahn died, leaving his heir, Rutgar to take power. At first the new king's reign was going as expected, quiet and peaceful, however on a fateful day, a plump little apple fell from a tree in the royal gardens, an event that would spark the powder keg. Rutgar quickly summoned his armies and marched on Goldwind. He was able to breach the legendary white walls of the Goldwind keep and conquer the territory. With even more power, he swallowed up the neighbor of Summerfield, thus uniting most of the future Lahn province under his control.

Rutgar decided that in order to achieve his goals, he needed a new seat of power, he choose a large empty plain that ran next to and was split by the Uiop and several of it's branches. Here he built a fortress that no other castle could compete with, it was this fortress that would break down into seven tiers later, it was this location that the future capital of the nation, Lipton, would be seated.

Civil War History
Richard I  decided that the royal household, which still resided in the Solms valley, would be moved to Lipton. However, Lipton at the time was nothing more than a large castle town, hugging the walls of Rutgar's fortress. The fortress was hardly in use after Rutgar, and had became a drabby, drafty, dark, and damp carcass of stone that loomed over an equally dull plot of town of which was not suitable for the royal family. In order to change this, he first planned to renovate Lipton into the capital city that was locked inside. To do this, he required massive amounts of resources, and not your common stone and wood, but gold, silver, and iron, all of which could only be supplied from the rich Schulfsrum mountains. The only way to extract the requires materials from the mountains is by employing those who live near or in said mountains. Richard did this, forcing the northerners to work harder to gain the required materials. Once the city was built, Richard realized that the fortress was no suitable place for his future family, so he decided to build a grand new palace in his new capital city.

Geography
The geography of Lahn greatly reflects that the province is little more than broad sweeping farmland and rolling hills, specked with ancient forests. The Uiop flows greatly, supplying the province with it's fertile soil, making it the bread basket of the nation.