Grandwater League

The Grandwater League is a confederation of merchant cities that operate as a shipping cartel throughout the ports of Ethora.

History
The city-states of Forham, Oxgarde, and Still Harbor were founded as fishing villages by the former Kingdom of Eskile around 700 DR. As the settlements grew, so did their populations' nautical skills. What started as a few docks used by local fishermen, by 1000 DR, had become some of the busiest ports in all Ethora. A booming naval economy was created due to these cities close proximity to Tol En'Taure, land of the High Elves, and their convenient access to the bounties of the sea. Tons of fish were unloaded daily in itheir ports and trade fleets set forth to bring all the riches of the known world back to their docks. This brought much prosperity to the cities and the Kingdom of Eskile, eventually gaining the attention of the expansionist Kingdom of Kaedras.

In 1141 DR, High King Bolenal II of Kaedras marched an army of 30,000 men into the Riverlands to crush the Kingdom of Eskile and claim it's flourishing port cities for his own. The Kingdom of Eskile was slow to muster it's forces and met the Kaedran host just outside it's capitol of Ennefurt. With great ferocity, High King Bolenal II accomplished a stunning victory, crushing the forces of Eskile and capturing it's capitol three days later, essentially dismantling their formal rival. Rather than surrender and allow Kaedras to annex them, the Eskilic cities of Still Harbor, Forham, and Oxgarde banded together to confront their mutual enemy, forming the Grandwater League. The cities set about conscripting every able fighter in residence and hiring any foreign mercenary available to combat the Kaedran threat.

For several months, the Grandwater League kept the forces of Kaedras at bay; applying their knowledge of the waterways and shallows to slow the Kaedran advance by bogging them down in the marshlands that covered their approach. Such tactics stalled the Kaedran troops from making any meaningful gains against the League, however High King Bolenal II was steadfast in his resolve to capture the cities, and the war remained a stalemate. Realizing that Bolenal had no intention of retreating, the Grandwater League turned its hope, and gold reserves, to the Electorate of Rausivia, long time adversary of Kaedras. A deal was struck and Rausivia agreed to enter the fray in return for 1,000,000 platinum pieces and a new fleet from Oxgarde's shipyards, nearly bankrupting the Grandwater League.

With his central provinces now threatened by Rausivian forces, High King Bolenal II withdrew his army to fortified positions  across the Greymist River, so as to bolster Kaedra's southern march. Seizing the opportunity, the city-states pushed to occupy the territory vacated by the Kaedren host, establishing the borders we know today. The conflict began to falter as the Grandwater League's wealth dwindled and Kaedras focused its efforts towards it's borders with Rausivia. Peace was finalized with the Assembly of Ennefurt, ceasing hostilities between the two factiions and establishing a border along the Greymist River