Trouble in Qeodhar
by Marc SaindonMystara's Iceland equivalent is a subject state of the Alphatian Empire. With that empire in ruins (whether with the canon cataclysm or the just the 'lite' civil war), Norlan makes his moves. He vows to support Zandor, although he wants to make a special coronation ceremony to consolidate the link between emperor and what was mostly in the past a largely ignored vassal. However, Norlan's scheme is to assassinate Zandor, which the would-be emperor suspects (Zandor is too interesting to kill off). Norlan makes his moves, fails, and Zandor is quick to bind him through magic and have him publicly executed after a semblance of trial. He then lets his troops sack Qeodhar as retribution, awards the title of Baron of Qeodhar to a third-rate toady, and leaves the island-nation. The toady, as the ruler, ineptly rules island while mercilessly draining what few resources it has.
Meanwhile, Norlan's brothers, who live Norwold, hear about this and plot revenge. Wind of this is caught by a Heldannic spy, and the Heldannic Order sets in a plan of "liberation". After capturing the flying ship Mastwalker (suspected of being Alphatian spies, despite the Karameikan pavillon), the Order takes Norlan's widow, Mariella, as a prisoner. The Order assembles troops and fleet of Warbirds, take Mariella along, and quickly invade the backwater nation of Qeodhar. The toady is captured, summarily judged, and publicly executed, to the cheers of the crowds he exploited. Mariella is then brought forward as the figurehead of the liberation movement, and she takes back her role of Queen Hyldeborg (her alias in Qeodhar) and tells her folk that the Heldannic Knights are "invited" to stay because of their help. While this sets up Qeodhar as an independent nation, the reality is its now occupied as a Heldannic protectorate, with the Queen as a figurehead but in reality is still the Order's prisoner and reliant on it for protection from Zandor.
Back in Norwold, Norlan's brothers begin issuing challenges to the legality of a woman ruler in Qeodhar, which echoes in their homeland. The Heldannic diplomats figure out that a simple solution is to arrange a mariage with one of Norlan's brothers to provide the Queen with a more legitimate claim, although such a wedding offer is left vague enough that both brothers begin to argue with each other.
While Norlan's brothers court Mariella, the Heldannic Order continues to bring resources and troops into Qeodhar, to both further control it and to use it as a launching point for further expeditions, both against Alphatia and into Skothar
(pic from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/The_Norwegians_land_in_Iceland_year_872.jpg)