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Tewsbury and the Rush to the River
With the founding of Tewsbury in 524 MC, Merceria now had a heavily armed garrison able to respond quickly should the rebel forces of King Talburn choose to attack. Additional small settlements were established, extending the border to the river, but until the founding of Hawksburg, there were no towns of significant size north of Tewsbury.
When King Talrath issued a reward for his brother's head, adventurous sorts ventured north, in search of fame and fortune. Very few returned. By 550, they encountered armed resistance, significant enough that the king declared such enterprises to be stopped. The villages of Wickfield and Mattingly sprung up to support the garrisons that were stationed there, while Hawksburg was founded at the fork in the road where it splits to go to the two northern villages. It wasn’t until 602 that Hawksburg was granted Baronial status and a noble appointed to oversee its operation.
The fertile lands around Hawksburg were found to be ideal for breeding horses, critical to the new, cavalry heavy army of Merceria. Through selective breeding, the great Mercerian Chargers were bred, the largest horses in all the kingdoms, a tradition that extends to this day.
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