The Kingdom of Keoland is one of the greater kingdoms of the Flanaess, located in the Sheldomar Valley. It is the oldest continuously ruled human realm in the Flanaess since the Baghluny-Suloise War. The capital city of Keoland is known as Niole Dra.
The borders of Keoland are defined by the Sheldomar River in the east, the Azure Sea in the south, the Javan River in the west and the Rushmoors to the north. The entirety of the dreadwoods, a dense forest full of wondrous and dangerous creatures, lies wholly within the borders of Keoland, separating Keoland from a small area of land in the Hool Marshes that it controls.
The lands of the Sheldomar Valley on which Keoland now stands were once inhabitated by the Flan, in particular elves, dwarves and halflings. The Good Hills and Lortmill Mountains contain rich ores, and the valley itself is very fruitful, and provides the perfect weather conditions for many crops. As a result, the Sheldomar Valley was a prime target for both the Suloise and the Baghluny, who had waged the Suloise-Baghluny War over the territory.
After the Suloise-Baghluny war, in which both sides have destroyed themselves to lay claim to the Sheldomar Valley, Keoland would be founded as a posthumous symbolic peace treaty between the two lost empires. It was founded by refugee family Heli from the Empire of Su, and refugee family Rhola from the Baghluny Empire, along with numerous small Oeridian states. Niole Dra was made the capital of this new nation. By consensus of the nobility, a nobleman of House Heli was established as its first king.
Nyhan I ruled for 28 years until -314 CY, when the throne as assumed by Malv the Defender of House Rhola. The throne of Keoland would be held variously by scions of Rhola and Heli for most of its history, with rare exception.
Since its founding, Keoland had been adimant at outlawing any form of magic, a law that many other states would soon follow.
Keoland's first five rulers are known in retrospect as the Early Kings. By -236 CY, they would expand Keoland to establish the kingdom's dominance over the region.
Malv I was succeeded in -295 CY by Lorgyr the Seer of House Heli, who ruled until -279 CY. He was succeeded that year by Nyhan the Forlorn, who ruled just seven years until -272 CY, when he was succeded by Mandros I of Sedenna.
Mandros was the first and only member of an Oeridian noble house to ascend to the throne, although intermarriage between the Suloise and Oeridians was well established by then. Mandros continued the kingdom's expansion, and by -242 CY, the borders of Keoland first established to their modern extent as of 478 CY.
The practice of religion was constrained during the reign of Mandros. In -267 CY, oppressed followers of Trithereon in the Kingdom of Keoland fled to the Wild Coast, where they established a temple.
The kingdom's growth continued under Mandros and successive kings, largely through peaceful annexation of new territories and alliances with the local inhabitants, whose nobles were typically given seats on the Council of Niole Dra.
In -236 CY, the throne returned to House Rhola, with kings Luschan I and Luschan II ruling a combined 43 years until -193 CY. Early in their reign, in -230 CY, Sterich was founded. The successor, Malv II of House Rhola, founded the Gran March in -161 CY. In -96 CY, during the reign of King Lanchaster the Wise, the Yeomanry was incorporated into Keoland, and wisely allowed to retain their democratic tradition.
In 49 CY, King Malv the Explorer of House Rhola died, and was succeded by Cedrian I of House Heli. This began a 229 year Heli dynasty known as the Slumbering, during which Keoland ceased its expansionist efforts, followed by the eight-year reign of Gillum the Mad, who died in 286 CY without an heir.
The throne subsequently reverted to House Rhola in the summer of 287 CY, when a conclave elected Tavish I, Duke of Gradsul, to the throne. Known as Tavish the Great, he began a period of conquest with the intent that Keoland should rival the great foreign powers of its day. He raised great armies, and built castles across the frontier
In 289 CY, Keoland fought a brief skirmish with Ket at the city of Thornward. In 292 CY, Tavish negotiated a treaty of union with the Ulek states, and soon made diplomatic overtures to Celene. Within his lifetime, Tavish the Great established a great confederacy of states spanning the Sheldomar Valley region.
Tavish died in 346 CY and was succeeded by his son, Tavish the Blackguard. In 348 CY, Tavish II made the Wealsun Proclamation, declaring Keoland's manifest destiny to conquer the entire Sheldomar Valley and beyond. He sent his armies to Veluna, forcefully annexed the Pomarj, and drove out the rulers of Ket.
Keoland is viewed to have reached its peak in 356 CY, when Nyrond was formally established.
In 361 CY, the Yeomanry and Celene responded to Keoish aggression by closing their borders and withdrawing their forces from the armies of Keoland. Keoland was beset by a major internal revolt around this time, and its military forces were over-extended elsewhere, allowing Yeomanry the opportunity to declare independence.
The conquest of Ket was a gradual failure for Tavish II, and by 400 CY Keoish forces had been forced to withdraw to Thornward, where they fortified the Fals Gap and left Bissel the most northerly province of Keoland.
In 395 CY, Nemonhas of House Heli was selected as Tavish II's successor, but refused to accept. In his place, duke Luschan Sellark IV of House Rhola served as regent, a peaceful period known as the Duke's Regency which lasted until the duke's death from illness 414 CY. His young nephew, Malv Sellark, assumed the name of Tavish III, called by historians the Boy King.
The era circa 420-450 CY saw Keoland in further decline, ending Keoish aspirations of empire.
In 433 CY, Tavish III's brother disappeared in the Amedio Jungle, speculated the victim of pirates. The two decades from 434-453 CY saw the rise of the pirate slaver coalition known as the Sea Princes in the south, while in 438 CY the Small War between Furyondy and Keoland saw the secession of the March of Bissel and resulted in a complete end to Keoish power and influence in Furyondy and the northern Sheldomar Valley.
In a disastrous attempt to save face, King Tavish launched an invasion to recover lost lands in the south. In 453 CY, during the Siege of Westkeep south of the Hool Marshes, King Tavish III was slain.
His son, Tavish IV, assumed the throne immediately, and put a formal end to Keoland's era of conquest. Keoland conceded the independence of the Yeomanry in 460 CY and Celene in 461 CY.