Hesgarigani

Hesgarigani, from Mirselec Hesgari "to raid", is a historical term used to refer to several kingdoms, populated by the Mirsel and based mostly on Masalne, from the first to fifth centuries DN, most noted and notorious for their raids on shipping and coastal cities all along modern day Osonde and even Norugatne. Besides being raiders, however, they were also proficient traders and explorers who founded several kingdoms along the coasts of areas they had captured.

The historical impact of the Hesgerigani on its surrounding lands, as well as towards the development of kingdoms in modern day Risevne, is both varied and deep; the long-range raids, and later trading expeditions, brought back much continental culture that influenced the later scripts of the Mirselec language, while the age itself became the topic of countless sagas and epics. Ironically, as the formerly advanced empires in Osonde and Norugatne collapsed and fell into ruin, the artifacts and lessons taken by the barbaric raiders began a cultural flowering back in Masalne.

First Raids

The first documented raids made by the Hesgerigani are known from records kept by the collapsing empire of the Igusonkla, in modern day Kavena, and date back to the late first century DN. The brief record simply states that late in summer this year (generally agreed to be around 88 DN) light boats from across the ocean of the east attacked and burned several towns, followed by a list of nearly 20 towns. The fact that they all came under raids at around the same time, and also that most of the towns were around the mouth and lower valley of the Agronus river (with some towns up to 30 km upriver), indicated that far from being isolated incidents the raiding seems to have been organised.