State of Hulra

The State of Hulra was a short-lived state that was created during Rikwi's Pagan Rebellion, ending when the rebellion was crushed. During its entire existence, it was at a state of war with Etrancoast and Etrand - at its height, it managed to occupy much of Etrancoast and hold off the Etrandish for 13 years. This "state" also employed the Black Mob as its police force. It was also the first state in Artograch to ever have a national anthem.

Background
Rikwi's Pagan Rebellion was the third - and last - time the Etrancoasti rebelled against their overlords on religious grounds, with the first being Liudulf's Pagan Rebellion in 497-498, the second being the Great Rebellion of 514. As previously, the rebellion was motivated by a mixture religious persecution at the hands of the Church of Titanius (Pagan desire to practice their religion openly and freely), Etrancoasti/Hulran Nationalism (desire to be fully independent from Etrand), and a desire to end the large wealth inequality and lack of political representation in Etrancoast. Essentially, the ideology of the rebels was a mixture of Pagan Theocratism, Nationalism and Agrarian Socialism/Communism. The final aim of the rebellion was to establish an Independent Hulra as a peasant republic, but during the span of the rebellion, the state could more accurately be described as a theocratic military dictatorship.

Rikwi's Pagan Rebellion started not too long after the Kingdom of Etrand lost the Fifth Cymbairan War against Gabyr. Much of Etrand's navy was manned by Etrancoasti sailors, who were disgruntled and thus eager to join this new pagan rebellion. The participation of the sailors made this rebellion even more dangerous than the previous ones, as the rebels had a navy too.

Rise
Rikwi's rebellion started in the north, and it started with attacks on the estates belonging to nobility. In order to convince the peasantry to join their side, whereever they went, they redistributed the land among the peasantry, winning their favour and compelling them to re-embrace the religion of their ancestors. Surviving nobles and clergy of the north fled the south first, and eventually into Etrand.

After their initiatial successes against the nobility, Rikwi's army marched to the city of Yrvhaven. His army encircled the city, while his fellow commanders were organizing raids around the rest of the land. Not being patient enough to starve the city into submission, he launched an assault - many of the city's defenders surrendered on spot. The city was sacked, and there was an initial massacre - a pogrom, as one might say - against several specific groups of inhabitants: Etrandish people, faithful Titanists, High Elves and Wood Elves. Men and children were forcibly taken into slavery and were put to manial labour. Women were raped, and then abducted and forced into sexual slavery. Even Etrancoasti people weren't safe - those who were rich were accused of collaboration with the "Etrandish oppressors", and had their wealth confiscated, redistributed among those who claimed to be faithful Pagans.

News quickly spread about this not-so-harmless group of rebels seizing land, giving it to the peasants and succesfully capturing and sacking a major city. In an anticipation of a similar atrocity taking place in Waterburcht, many of its inhabitants - Etrandish, Elves, faithful Titanits, bourgeoise of any race or religion - fled the city. The remainder of the Etrandish-Etrancoasti military stationed in the area focused on evacuating all the civilians who were eager to leave. Because a lot of peasants did not want to leave - anticipating land redistribution at the hands of Rikwi's rebels - the authorities took punitive measures such as torching their fields or taking their crops by force, further driving the peasantry into the arms of the rebels.

Decline and Fall
In 575, during a campaign to the south Rikwi the Heathen got ill and died, and with him died hope of the rebellion succeeding: leaders of his movement began bickering among each other. Truth be told, the cracks of disunity began appearing much earlier - for example, despite having won the favour of the peasantry earlier on with the land redistributions, Rikwi's rebels began losing the peasantry's favours by constantly forcibly collecting their food for the army, and for their policy of "direct taxation" (taxing peasants crops, blacksmiths iron, woodcutters wood, etc. instead of currency), which in reality was simple extortion. The fact that the state was isolated and had no one to trade with - other than Gabyr (which required gold, something they lacked) - also made the previously popular regime unpopular over time.

Rikwi's sudden death was the final nail in the coffin - just one year later, the Etrandish and Etrancoasti authorities re-asserted themselves, squashing the rebellion completely. The exiled nobles and clerics came back, and re-took their land with military support. Those urban bourgeoise who lost their wealth re-gained it by accusing many of their neighbours who did not have share their fate of being rebellious collaborationists. A lot of peasants were punished for being early supporters of the rebellion, and those city-people who were accused of having benefited from the rebellion had their wealth confiscated, redistributed amongst those who claimed to have lost their wealth. The apostate peasants were forced to re-embrace Titanism, and those who refused were either killed or enslaved and deported to Etrand.

This was the last time the Pagans of Etrancoast rose up against their Etrandish overlords. Nevertheless, underground resistance - and with it, the existence of the Black Mob - continued well into the 620s.

Legacy
The rebellion devastated Etrancoast. Settlements were sacked, entire farmlands were torched, thousands were imprisoned, executed or enslaved. There would have been another famine, had it not been for the Church's relief and charity efforts, convincing the starving peasants to once again embrace Titanism by bribing them with food. It would take almost a century for Yrvhaven and Waterburcht to recover. For several decades, the High Elven community of Etrancoast has completely evaporated, not re-emerging until the turn of the century.

Even though the establishment authorities have firmly reasserted their rule by 576, underground pagan resistance movements - such as the Black Mob - would continue existing well into the 620s. Nevertheless, Rikwi's Pagan Rebellion was the last major noteworthy uprising in Etrancoast - at least, the last one that was motivated by religion and desire for independence.