Jack of Harts

Mass Migration is something that happens from time to time. Looking at history, something broadly resembling a mass migration normally takes place every few centuries. And it is generally a bad and dangerous thing for everybody involved. It is usually generated by very bad living conditions in one place, and/or an opportunity to obtain better conditions elsewhere. Some mass migrations are peaceful, though most end up being done at least partially through the tip of the sword. Sometimes there is a great disaster that people flee from in mass. They generally either have enough swords or gold to find a new place to live, or they are slaughtered or enslaved by the people who live where they are going. Other times, an organized and powerful realm has a lot of bored strong young men without much to do so the leaders decide to give them something to do. Go over there and take the land from those other people.

Either way, the bored strong young men aren’t trying to lure THEIR sweet young wives and daughters away from their comfortable fires. The key point in more organized mass migrations like this is that the rich people in power are insulated from the effects of the migration, while it is the poor people who do most of the fighting and dying and risking of limbs. They either do it because they are told to, or because their realm will recognize any land (and women) they conquer as belonging to them. Dreams of free land and women have tempted many bored young strong men into migrating to foreign lands to make it rich. That in fact is one of the greatest cycles of history across the world. Every square inch of ground on Earth, except perhaps for Antarctica, has seen migration in action. And we can see it all in the dirt if we know what to look for.