Brief history of Taingaard

Back when Arleif (above) made a pact with the griffins and rode to battle along with his army and the griffins to slay the beast king, that had terrorized Taingaard and driven the griffins away. The conquest was a success and Arleif then built Leifheim - the first city of Taingaard - however he did not declare himself king. Today in the darkest recesses of Taingaard you will still find remnants of the old beasts, dark magic and long lost knowledge about what was before man.

Although this has been taken for granted, history in Taingaard is rather vague about the subject of the first king. Because when Arleif finally died in the ripe age of 157 years, a battle for leadership began. No one had questioned that Arleif was the true leader when he was still alive, but the Haldar clan wanted a king, or a Tain, to rule the land and make sure it would grow and expand in a prosperous way. However they were met great resistance by the other clans including clan Vanskaar and it ended with the Haldar leaving Leifheim along with a few other clans going east where they decided to expand on one of their small settlements - Vikhafen - that is today the capital of Taingaard.


For many years Leifheim didn't have a ruler although they were still under the governance by Haldar. This changed however when the pirates attacked their western border and the poorly led forces of Leifheim suffered a major defeat that almost meant the downfall of Leifheim. Haldar then gave them an ultimatum - to take care of things the way they had always done or instate the first Tain in Leifheim and become governed by Haldar of Vikhafen.

The choice was a given one and once the Vikhafen joined and Leifheim's strong forces had been rallied properly, the pirates had been pushed back and out of Taingaard. This was the reason that a huge wall called "Brynjefors" was erected in the years following the crisis and the land was officially named "Taingaard". Pirates and bandits however still reside in Taingaard their main hub is located close to Østfold and is name Svarthafen.


Skulhøy was however not created because of strife, but rather because of opportunity. While the large and fair humans where the most common of the ones who conquered Taingaard, there were also the crafty and not as tall humans who have some resemblance to dwarves and culture and looks - although significantly taller though. While the Vanskaar and Haldar revelled in the grass plains, rolling hills and forests, long before Leifheim got its first Tain the descendants of Skulfir settled in near the mountains and build the Skulhøy, which was to be the greatest source of ore and jewels in Taingaard.

While Leifheim and their council could care less seeing that their land brought them everything they needed in abundance, Vikhafen and the Haldar were quick to make dealings with the Skul-people ensuring great material growth for Vikhafen and advances in general craftsmanship. A Tain was put in place to govern Skulhøy, and it was only when Leifheim got their Tain too, that they started to trade and make use of each other again.


Today Leifheim and Skulhøy both follow the general rule of the Tain in Vikhafen they are largely individually governed. And although pirates and beasts have been largely defeated, there are still places in Leifheim where these old magic beasts roam freely as well as the pirates and highwaymen. But any traveller calling themselves friend of Taingaard will surely have the gods and the land behind them in their quest for glory and righteousness in this still to be explore wild landscape of Taingaard!