TEXT:  
  Gran March
   
  Relations with our powerful neighbor to the east have always been problematic for the 
  Gyri.  In the past our border with them has been a matter of some dispute.  Cultural  and 
  ethnic differences have been a source of friction for generations.  Even now, after the 
  Gran March has helped liberate Hochoch and Preston and clear Pregmere of giants, there 
  are those Gyri who resent the March and most Marchers.  Perhaps it is because the March 
  loves its lawful, rigid structure and the order it brings, while the Gyri love the open 
  horizon?  Whatever its cause, ill will toward the March is folly, since they are Gyruff’s 
  single most important military ally.  However, let me review some recent history with 
  you. 
   
  After the fall of Gorna, Commandant Vrianian permitted refugees from Gyruff to settle in 
  the Gran March and established refugee camps on the March’s Western borders.  The 
  following spring, the Commandant offered many Gyri refugees to take parcels of land 
  scattered throughout the March with the promise that the land would be free of charge.    
  After some refugees accepted his offer of land, it was learned that while the land would 
  be given freely, those accepting itwould be required each to take an oath of allegiance to 
  the Gran March and to enlist in the Gran March military or work gangs.   This is, of 
  course, the normal burden placed on all citizens of the March, but it seemed very foreign 
  to the Gyri.  Not surprisingly, many of the Gyric refugees balked at this  and returned to 
  Gyruff with a distrust for the March and the Commandant.  
   
  Owen the Brenin also sought refuge in the Gran March.  He established a court-in-exile 
  of sorts in Shiboleth and for a time, relations with the March, to the extent they were 
  conducted by the Brenin and Sierra Blackblade, remained favorable notwithstanding the 
  general resentment and mistrust held by the Gyri refugees generally.  This improvement 
  in relations took place primarily because the Brenin was even then building the 
  groundwork for his reemergence and he wanted the support of the March. 
   
  After the liberation of Hochoch, the March administered Hochoch as a governorship.  
  The first Governor, Karl Neumann, was unpopular with the Gyri.  His most notable acts 
  were his forcible imposition Marcher law in Hochoch and severe punishment of any Gyri 
  who disobeyed.  He also outlawed the consumption of alcohol and the speaking of Flan 
  for a brief period in CY 591.  With rumors of Gran March’s annexation of Hochoch 
  circulating, the Gyri began to seethe in rebellion.  Believing Darlon Lea to be behind the 
  rebellion, Neumann declared Lea a traitor and placed a bounty on his head.  Full-scale 
  rebellion was prevented by the intervention of the Knights of Watch and the 
  establishment of an uncertain truce. 
   
  In time, we learned that much of the unrest was fermented by an agent of the giants and 
  Neumann was under his mental control.  Even after he was removed, Neumann’s actions 
  served to fuel the Gyri distrust of the Gran March, which was, of course, the Sakhut’s 
  goal all along.  I would be remiss if I did not mention that Owen the Brenin insisted on 
  
  Neumann remaining as long as he did, or Gran March would have removed Neumann a 
  long time before. 
   
  After the Battle of Bloody Ridge, the Brenin returned and reclaimed his sovereign right 
  to rule Gyruff.  While many Gyri rejoiced at his return, the Brenin alienated Watcher 
  Gundar Krevitz, Unrelenting Sphinx, and other Knights of the Watch by the manner in 
  which he took charge.   
   
  In the summer of CY 594, Commandant Vrianian arrived in Gyruff at the head of a 
  second Gran March army, to aid Gyruff in further offensives.  Prior to commencing 
  offensive operations,the Commandant asked that all the land between the Javan and the 
  Realstream be ceded to the Gran March by right by conquest.    Despite wide-spread 
  resentment amongst many Gyri, Lady Blackblade saw the necessity in retaining good 
  relations with our primary ally, and reluctantly acceded to this request.  The subsequent 
  defeat of the giant forces outside Pregmere by the united armies demonstrated the 
  wisdom of her decision.  
   
  While the Knights of the Watch and the Knights of Dispatch are, together, an 
  organization independent of the Gran March, it is appropriate to consider them at the 
  same time as the March.  Knight Field Marshall Alicia Hellensdotter is the most 
  prominent member of the Knights of Dispatch and the one most zealously dedicated to 
  the cause of freeing Gyruff.  The Knight Field Marshall’s leadership and the Knights of 
  Dispatch were key components in the victory at Pregmere.  Now that Commandant 
  Vrianian has relieved Dispatcher Hellensdotter of her command, it is unclear what role 
  she and the Knights of Dispatch will play in further campaigns against the giants in 
  Gyruff.     
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Living Greyhawk/Metaorg Material/Geoff/History and Geography/Foreign Relations-Gran March.pdf